ಸಕಲಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಸಮನ್ವಯಸೌರಭಂ
ನಿಖಿಲಚಾರುಕಲಾರುಚಿರಂ ಚಿರಮ್ |
ಅಭಿನವಾರ್ಥನಿಬೋಧನವಿಭ್ರಮಂ
ತ್ವಭಿನವಂ ಪ್ರಣತೋऽಸ್ಮಿ ಸುಮೋಪಮಮ್ ||
Author:Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh
Alam ativistareṇa. Let us delve right in.
नन्वाश्रयस्थितिरियं तव कालकूट
केनोत्तरोत्तरविशिष्टपदोपदिष्टा ।
प्रागर्णवस्य हृदये वृषलक्ष्मणोऽथ
कण्ठेऽधुना वससि वाचि पुनः खलानाम् ॥
O Kālakūṭa poison, who taught you to ascend to newer, better heights?
First you were submerged deep in the ocean,
Then you rose to live in Śiva's throat
And now you’re everywhere, in the words of scoundrels!
Literature has for its aim the creation of rasa, the aesthetic experience; it does not admit any other purpose. Bhaṭṭanāyaka stated this point blank – kāvye rasayitā sarvo na boddhā na niyogabhāk, ‘Literature offers enjoyment to every reader; as far as it is concerned, there exists neither an instructor nor an adherent.’ However, it is, at times, touted as a tool to prompt societal reform. This view is current not just among literary critics but also among the lay.
Bhīṣma, Yudhiṣṭhira, and Kṛṣṇa have been portrayed as the noble characters in the Mahābhārata. Among these, Yudhiṣṭhira looks upon Kṛṣṇa as an elder brother and a guide to their family; and as for Bhīṣma, he looks at Kṛṣṇa as a devata. Therefore, in the poet’s vision, in the whole of the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa is the noblest of them all, and the most worthy of worship. It is not surprising that fantastic tales have been weaved around his character. As mentioned earlier, his influence is the strongest in the epic.
Modern economic thought leans heavily on the extent of luxurious commodities that one uses while defining wealth and affluence. Sanātana-dharma, on the other hand, opines that one of the major indices of richness is the ‘judicious usage of resources.’ The great philosopher-seer Kauṭilya, author of the Arthaśāstra, while elucidating the principal focus of economics, stresses the need for disciplining both body and mind without giving in to inherent hedonistic appetites.
In the previous episodes, we discussed about Shiva being an ideal at the level of the individual and Rama being the family ideal. We will now look at the life of Krishna, the ideal at the social sphere.
Extracts from the Preface
The profiles and lives of all the people portrayed in this volume deserve our respect at all times. My attempt here is to show how the people of an era in our country’s history lived, as well as the ideals they believed in. There’s the renowned verse from the Ishwara’s mouth in the Bhagavadgita:
yadyadācarati śreṣṭhaḥ
tattadevetaro janaḥ|
According to the Gītā, dedicating every activity to the all-pervading brahman or working with divine inspiration is called ‘arcana’ (roughly translated as ‘worship’ or ‘praise’). The means of this worship is sva-karma, i.e., activity attuned to the temperament (sva-dharma) of the individual. Only this kind of worship leads an individual to perfection.
यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां
येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।
स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य
सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ॥
Bhagavadgītā 18.46
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Art, the creator of art, the final product of this creative process, and the relationship among the three has fascinated and has been explored by artists and aestheticians since ancient times.
The myth-legend of Pygmalion in Ovid’s Metamorphoses where a brilliant sculptor falls in love with his own creation and ends up marrying her has passed through countless interpretations. It continues to appeal to artists even today and will do so even in future.