Author:sandeep
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.
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?’.
Śrīmān (who was later knighted) P. N. Krishnamurti had to wait for quite some time before he obtained the position of the Dewan.
“ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮರಾಮಾಯಣ”ದಂತೆಯೇ ಈ ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಮಂಥರೆ, ಕೈಕೇಯಿ ಮೊದಲಾದವರಿಗೆ ನಿರ್ದೋಷತೆಯ ಪರವಾನಗಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಅದು ಸರಸ್ವತಿಯ ಲೀಲೆ. ರಾಮನು ವನವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿರುವಾಗ ಶಿವಾಲಯವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿವಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಈ ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಶಿವ-ಕೇಶವಸಾಮರಸ್ಯ ಸಂದಿರುವುದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸ್ತವನೀಯ. ಸೀತಾಪಹರಣವಂತೂ ಎಲ್ಲ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದಲೂ ಒಂದು ಲೀಲೆ; ಅಪಹೃತೆಯಾಗುವುದು ಮಾಯಾಸೀತೆಯೆಂದು ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಂತಿದ್ದರೂ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣರೇಖೆ ಇದ್ದೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ರಾವಣನಿಂದ ಮೊದಲ್ಗೊಂಡು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಸಂನ್ಯಾಸಿಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಅದ್ವೈತಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಾನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಶಿಖಾ-ಯಜ್ಞೋಪವೀತವಿಲ್ಲದ ಏಕದಂಡಿಗಳು. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಸುಗ್ರೀವ-ವಿಭೀಷಣರು ಕೂಡ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ನಿಃಸ್ಪೃಹರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ.
Around the year 1909-10; one day I was sitting in the Printing press of Navaratna and Sons. It was about 9 AM. Two customers arrived, and they consulted the cost of printing a thousand copies of a four-page article. The owner informed it would be three rupees including the cost of paper. Customers agreed. “These need to be delivered at 10 AM” they said. “I will give you by noon”, said the Owner.
There were two songs in that article. I am presenting here as I remember:
Learning of his capture, Caṇḍamahāsena came by himself to the main entrance to the city and escorted him [i.e. Udayana] with great respect into the city. The citizens were thrilled looking at Vatsarāja. "If our king plans to kill this person, by any chance, we will all give up our lives too!" they said. The king Caṇḍamahāsena declared, "I will not get Vatsarāja killed" and with these words, the crowd was brought under control.
‘Hṛdayavanta’—a person of good heart, one with refined taste—is perhaps the best way one can capture the personality of V Sitaramaiah (V Si) in a single word. It is hard to conceive of a person who has a heart better than his.