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Kathāmukhalambaka - 13 - The elopement of Vāsavadattā

As the days went by, Vāsavadattā’s love for the king of the Vatsas increased; her affection and respect towards her parents decreased; she was ready to defy them, then Yaugandharāyaṇa arrived, and making himself visible only to Vatsarāja and Vasantaka, exclaimed, “Mahārāja! Caṇḍamahāsena has deceitfully captured you; he desires to send you home only after getting his daughter married off to you; but if we ourselves abduct her now and go away from here, that would be a fitting response to his arrogance; we will also avoid being derided for lacking in manliness and courage.

The Nature of the Gītā

The Nature of the Work

The Gītā is simultaneously a simple-difficult work or a difficult-simple work. What does it mean? Words may be simple to understand but the meaning of the sentence is difficult. The part that teaches nīti is simple; the part that establishes philosophy is not. It is thus easy to fall in the trap of thinking that one has understood the Gītā. However, it is hard to realise its essence in one’s mind.

ರಾಮಕಥಾವಿಸ್ತರ: ಒಂದು ಮರುನೋಟ - 7

ಲವನು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ವಾರ್ತೆಯನ್ನರಿತ ರಾಮ ತಾನೇ ಗುಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಮುನಿಗಳ ಆಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಮಗುವಿಗೆ ಜಾತಕರ್ಮಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಲವ ಆ ಬಳಿಕ ದರ್ಭೆಯ ಕೂರ್ಚದಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮಿತವಾದ ಮಗುವಾಗಿ ಜನಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇತ್ತ ರಾಮನು ನೂರು ಅಶ್ವಮೇಧಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾದ “ರಾಮರಕ್ಷಾ ಸ್ತೋತ್ರ” ದಾಖಲೆಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಈ ಸ್ತುತಿಯು ಬಲಿದ್ವೀಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಪ್ರಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದುದು ಗಮನಾರ್ಹ. ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯ ಮಾತಿನಂತೆ ಸೀತೆ ಶತಪತ್ರಕಮಲಗಳಿಂದ ಪೂಜಿಸುವ ವ್ರತವೊಂದನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿರುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಬೇಕಿರುವ ಹೂಗಳನ್ನು ಲವನು ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆಯ ಅರಮನೆಯ ಕೊಳದಿಂದ ಕದ್ದು ತರುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದು ಅವನಿಗೂ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಕಾಪಿನವರಿಗೂ ತಿಕ್ಕಾಟವನ್ನು ತರುವುದಲ್ಲದೆ ಸುದ್ದಿ ರಾಮನ ವರೆಗೂ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ.

My Maternal Grandmother

My maternal grandmother Sakamma lived a long and healthy life. Cooking was an integral part of her daily routine. She was also responsible for the safekeeping and storage of the groceries. And she also had to keep the kitchen and the hall neat and tidy. She never took a day off. Like how my chikka tata (grandfather's younger brother) Ramanna took up the responsibility of managing the finances without running away from it, every single day, my grandmother held the responsibility of the household duties with the same alertness.

Kathāmukhalambaka - 12 - Rūpaṇikā's story, cont.

Lohajaṅgha kept composure even as he entered Lanka and met King Vibhīṣaṇa at his palace. The king treated him with respect and asked: ‘O great brāhmaṇa, what brings you here?’ The cunning Lohajaṅgha answered: ‘O king, my hometown is Mathura. Being afflicted by poverty, I observed severe austerities without partaking of any food, in a temple there, to please Nārāyaṇa. One night, he came to me in my dreams and said: ‘Go to my devotee Vibhīṣaṇa. He will shower you with wealth’. I asked: ‘How can this be, O lord, given my lowliness compared to Vibhīṣaṇa’s stature?’.