| Page 222 | Prekshaa

Author:Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh

The Hinduism Series: A Glossary of Technical Terms

This is a short glossary of some of the technical terms often seen in Hindu literature. A glossary such as this becomes inevitable on most occasions since many of these terms don't have single word equivalents in English or any non-Indic language, since these concepts are often not found in other cultures.

artha • wealth; motive; cause. It refers to the material objectives and accomplishments of a person. One of the four puruṣārthas.

ātman • soul; spirit; the inner, higher Self of an individual.

The Hinduism Series: Hindu Scriptures and their Overview

The foundational works of Hinduism have, for centuries, been transmitted by means of an oral tradition – teachers taught their disciples, who committed every word to memory and then passed it on to their disciples without any variation. Needless to say, many ancient texts have been lost over the years. For ease of understanding, in this article we use the term ‘texts’ instead of ‘works,’ or ‘compositions,’ or ‘treatises,’ but they include both orally composed works and written texts.

The Hinduism Series: Sanatana Dharma from Scratch - 2

This is the second part of the article, Sanatana Dharma from Scratch by Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh, discussing about several fundamental aspects of Hinduism.

A story for a verse - Ramana Maharshi's eka-śloki

हृदयकुहरमध्ये केवलं ब्रह्ममात्रं

ह्यहमहमिति साक्षादात्मरूपेण भाति |

हृदि विश मनसा स्वं चिन्वता मज्जता वा

पवनचलनरोधादात्मनिष्ठो भव त्वम् ||

A story for a verse - Kāvyakaṇṭha Gaṇapati-muni's Uddiṣṭākṣarī

प्रीतिं ददाति विपुलां श्रियमातनोति

निर्माति नूत्नसमयं दुरितं धुनोति |

आर्द्रीकरोति हृदयान्यपि देवतानां

कस्मै शुभाय न भवेत्कविता विदोषा ||

A story for a verse - Kāvyakaṇṭha Gaṇapati-muni and the verse with four meanings

जगतीधरजामाता भवतां भव्याय भूयसे भवतु |

कञ्चिदकिञ्चनमपि यद्वीक्षा विदधाति शक्रसमम् ||

A story for a verse - Kāvyakaṇṭha Gaṇapati-muni and his concern for the nation

कुलीनः क्षुद्राय प्रवर इति धत्ते निजसुतां

अनार्यान् विज्ञाश्च प्रभव इति गायन्ति शतशः |

बलं बाह्वोर्लुप्तं हृतमपि च वाग्वीर्यमरिभिः

दशां देशस्यैतां प्रतिपदमयं ध्यायति जनः ||

A story for a verse - Gaṇapati-muni and tāmbūla

सुधाधिक्यं स्पृहेच्छत्रुः

फलाधिक्यं स्पृहेद्भिषक् |

पत्राधिक्यं स्पृहेज्जाया

माता तु त्रितयं स्पृहेत् ||

A story for a verse - Ambikādatta and Vāsiṣṭhagaṇapati-muni

सत्वरकवितासविता कश्चिद्गौडोSहमम्बिकादत्तः |

गणपतिरिति कविकुलपतिरितिदक्षो दाक्षिणात्योsहम् ||

Kāvyakaṇṭha Vāsiṣṭhagaṇapati-muni was good at composing poems even at a very young age. He excelled at composing poetry at an unimaginable pace. In his early years, he travelled to Navadveepa in Bengal to participate in poetry competitions. Navadveepa, which was full of people belonging to the Navīna-nyāya school of thought, hosted a poetry competition in the year 1823 ACE. (on the jyeṣṭha aṣṭami).

Myths, Legends and Rituals in Bhyrappa’s Novels – Part 4

Legends, Stories from Mythologies - Religious Rites, Rituals

As legends, mythological stories, religious rites and rituals intertwine with each other in many instances, I would like to present these under one title.