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The Valour of Guru Tegh Bahadur

Aurangzeb attacked Kashmir and attempted to kill all the Kashmiri Pandits. Struck by the fear of death, they requested the king of Kashmir to surrender the kingdom itself. In this manner, without the slightest resistance, Kashmir surrendered to Islam. Since the Kashmiri Pandits stepped back from sacrifice and martyrdom, the entire land fell to Islam. The society doesn’t pay heed to people who are not willing to sacrifice themselves. If we are unable to make sacrifices then we must accept our ordinariness. The Pandits who did not make sacrifices then are struggling to this day.

Mahābhārata – Episode 46 – The Thirteenth Year Begins

VIRĀṬA-PARVA

The Pāṇḍavas spent twelve years in the forest in this manner. One day, Dharmarāja called his brothers and said, “It has been twelve years since we left our kingdom and we are now in our thirteenth year. It’s difficult to spend this year under the conditions our enemies have put down for us. Where shall we live incognito without them discovering our whereabouts?”

ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಮುನಿಗಳ ಅಲಂಕಾರಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ—ಉಪಮಾ (ಸಮಾಪ್ತಿ)

ಸುಂದರಕಾಂಡದ ಸಾರವತ್ತಾದ ಭಾಗಗಳಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಸೀತೆಯನ್ನು ಹನೂಮಂತನು ಕಂಡದ್ದು. ವಿಶೇಷತಃ ಆಕೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಾರು ಹೋಲಿಕೆಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಆದಿಕವಿಗಳು ವರ್ಣಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು-ಕಡಮೆ ಒಂದು ಸರ್ಗವನ್ನೇ ಮೀಸಲಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಕೆಲವು ಸೂಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಸ್ಮರಣೀಯ:

ತಾಂ ಸ್ಮೃತೀಮಿವ ಸಂದಿಗ್ಧಾಮೃದ್ಧಿಂ ನಿಪತಿತಾಮಿವ |

ಸೋಪಸರ್ಗಾಂ ಯಥಾ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಂ ಬುದ್ಧಿಂ ಸಕಲುಷಾಮಿವ |

ಅಭೂತೇನಾಪವಾದೇನ ಕೀರ್ತಿಂ ನಿಪತಿತಾಮಿವ || (೫.೧೫.೩೩,೩೪)

ಆಮ್ನಾಯಾನಾಮಯೋಗೇನ ವಿದ್ಯಾಂ ಪ್ರಶಿಥಿಲಾಮಿವ |

Upanayana – A Few Aspects of the Ritual

Daṇḍa – The Staff [1]

The ācārya gave a daṇḍa (staff, stick) to the student, who accepted it by reciting the verse: “My daṇḍa fell down to the ground and I pick it up, for the sake of long life, to adhere to the path of brahman, and to begin student-hood.”[2] The daṇḍa represented control over the mind, speech, and body.

A R Krishnasastri (Part 2)

Prabuddha Karnataka

The Relevance of Acharya M Hiriyanna to the Contemporary Time

Note: This is the full text of the author’s address delivered on the occasion the launch of the Mysore Hiriyanna Library, a set of reprints of M. Hiriyanna’s books and essays, published by Prekshaa Pratishthana.

At the outset, I take great pleasure in extending a very warm welcome to all of you.

Mahābhārata – Episode 45 – Answering the Yakṣa’s Questions

Yudhiṣṭhira told the Yakṣa, “O revered one! I do not desire that which belongs to you; the noble ones do not appreciate such behaviour. I shouldn’t indulge in self-boasting; I shall endeavour to answer your questions to the best of my abilities. Ask, what are your questions?”[1]

Yakṣa: Who makes the sun rise? Who are those in his presence? Who makes the sun set? Where does the sun reside?

ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಮುನಿಗಳ ಅಲಂಕಾರಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ—ಉಪಮಾ (ಕಿಷ್ಕಿಂಧಾಕಾಂಡ

ಮರಣಾಸನ್ನನಾದ ವಾಲಿಯ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಮನಮುಟ್ಟುವಂತೆ ವರ್ಣಿಸುತ್ತ ಆತನು ಹೊಗರನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಕಮಲಬಾಂಧವನಂತೆ, ನೀರೆಲ್ಲ ಸೋರಿಹೋದ ಬೆಳ್ಮೋಡದಂತೆ, ಆರಿಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅಗ್ನಿಯಂತೆ ತೋರುತ್ತಿದ್ದನೆಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಉಪಮೆಗಳೂ ಸಹಜ, ಸಾರ್ಥಕ:

ತಂ ನಿಷ್ಪ್ರಭಮಿವಾದಿತ್ಯಂ ಮುಕ್ತತೋಯಮಿವಾಂಬುದಮ್ |

ಉಕ್ತವಾಕ್ಯಂ ಹರಿಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠಮುಪಶಾಂತಮಿವಾನಲಮ್ || (೪.೧೮.೨)

Upanayana – Yajñopavīta (The Sacred Thread)

After tying the mekhalā, the boy was invested with the yajñopavīta (sacred thread).[1] While the yajñopavīta as a ‘sacred thread’ was largely unknown in ancient times[2], it became the focus of the upanayana saṃskāra in later years.[3] In later times, the young vaṭu was given the yajñopavīta and made to recite the well-known mantra, “The yajñopavīta is supremely sacred.”

A R Krishnasastri (Part 1)

AR Krishnasastri (popularly written as A R Krishna Shastry) was a scholar by his very birth. His father, Ambale Ramakrishna Shastry was the head professor of Grammar in the Samskṛta Pāṭhaśālā in Mysore. In addition to Sanskrit grammar, he was well versed in Jyotiṣa and Ayurveda too. Scholarship, therefore, flowed in Krishnasastri's veins.

Krishnasastri lost his mother at a young age and this probably was one of the reasons for him to develop a tender heart full of empathy. Krishnasastri lent out a helping hand for many. He always had a soft corner for the needy.