Prekshaa articles feed
The Sport of Renunciation: Bhartṛhari’s Vairāgya-śatakam
वयमिह परितुष्टा वल्कलैस्त्वं दुकूलैः
सम इह परितोषो निर्विशेषो विशेषः।
स तु भवति दरिद्रो यस्य तृष्णा विशाला
मनसि च परितुष्टे कोऽर्थवान् को दरिद्रः॥
Mandra: Beauty and Values: Ramkumari and Gore
In Ramkumari, sex doesn’t merely remain on the plane of beauty or emotion but elevates itself to the status of a value. Her encounter with her employer, the wealthy lawyer and musical connoisseur Gore is one of the most splendid literary episodes. Indeed, Gore’s character is also quite an extraordinary creation of the author.
Mahābhārata and its Place in Indian Culture – Part 4
Vyāsa is said to have presented to Brahmā the topics discussed in the Mahābhārata thus – “In this work there are several secrets of the Vedas; my definitive siddhāntas on them; several details and descriptions of the Vedas compiled from the ṣaḍaṅgas and the Upaniṣads; matters pertaining to the three time periods – past, present, and future; unambiguous descriptions about the nature of the origin and destruction of birth, death, fear, and disease; the characteristics of the various varṇāśrama-dharmas; the vidhānas (metho
কৃষ্ণ-জীবনে ভগবদ্গীতা – যুদ্ধ
গীতার মূল উদ্দেশ্য ছিল অর্জুনকে যুদ্ধে সম্মত করিয়ে শত্রুনিধন। কৃষ্ণ তাঁর বাক্যে কোনরকম জড়তা না রেখে অর্জুনকে অগ্রসর হয়ে প্রতিপক্ষের সম্মুখীন হওয়ার কথা বলেন। অর্জুনের মনে এই প্রত্যয় আনয়নের পথে তিনি নানাবিধ যুক্তিজাল বিস্তার করেছেন (ভ. গী. ২.৩১-৩৩, ১১.৩৪)। কিন্তু এগুলি কোনও শূন্যগর্ভ উপদেশাবলী নয়। কৃষ্ণ নিজেও প্রচুর প্রাণনাশ করেছেন। তিনি নিজেও নিজেরই আত্মীয়স্বজনকে হত্যা করেছেন। তিনি নিজের মাতুল কংসকে বধ করেছেন কারণ কংস একজন ধর্মভ্রষ্ট অত্যাচারী শাসকে পরিণত হয়েছিলেন। তিনি পূতনা (ভ.পু. ১০.৬), শকটাসুর (ভ.পু. ১০.৭), অঘাসুর (ভ.পু. ১০.১২), ধেনুকাসুর (ভ.পু. ১০.১৫), প্রলম্বাসুর (ভ.পু.
Mahābhārata – Episode 76 – Droṇa becomes the Commander-in-Chief
DROṆA-PARVA
नारायणं नमस्कृत्य
नरञ्चैव नरोत्तमम् ।
देवीं सरस्वतीं व्यासं
ततो जयमुदीरयेत् ॥Having saluted Nārāyaṇa,
the human and the divine;
Sarasvatī; and Vyāsa –
May Jaya be hailed!
The Sport of Renunciation
भोगे रोगभयं कुले च्युतिभयं वित्ते नृपालाद्भयं
माने दैन्यभयं बले रिपुभयं रूपे जराया भयम्।
शास्त्रे वादभयं गुणे खलभयं काये कृतान्ताद्भयं
सर्वं वस्तु भयान्वितं भुवि नृणां वैराग्यमेवाभयम्॥
Who are the Rasikas? (Part 1)
It will be appropriate to explain the purpose behind reminiscing several musicians and rasikas.[1] The purpose is simply the lament that connoisseurship has decreased in today’s world. Everywhere and in all walks of life, the business mindset reflected by the materialistic nature of people has increased. The number of people asking the question “What do you get by listening to music?” is increasing. High-rise buildings have value. Silk clothes have value. Motor cars have value.
Respectability of the Art of Dance
The mind and the intellect (manas and buddhi) are the two-primary means by which a man perceives the world and lets himself be perceived.
The eyes, the ears and other senses, and the parts of the body that shelter them become the instruments for the above two.
Training in arts strengthens the mind through refinement and the intellect acquires a refined strengthening through the knowledge of śāstras (roughly translated as ‘sciences’).
Mandra: The Tragic Character of Ramkumari
From one perspective, Ramkumari’s character is fundamentally tragic. She is the only character in Mandra who keeps “losing” throughout her life. Her loss isn’t merely her abandonment by Mohanlal or much later, by her own grown-up children who choose their long-estranged father’s fame and wealth over their mother’s lifelong sacrifice in nurturing them.