Literature

नित्यौचित्यकरावलम्बरुचिरो वक्रोक्तिवर्तिस्तुतो

ध्वन्युद्दामशिखास्फुटोऽक्षयरसस्नेहस्समुद्द्योतयन्।

धन्यानां सहृदां हृदि प्रतिपदं काव्यार्थमात्मोपमं

वाणीप्राणसमीरणो विजयते विद्याप्रदीपः कवेः॥

I

Sarga 6

The sixth Sarga describes Bhagīratha's efforts at procuring Gaṅgā from Śiva through penance and praise. Trickling from ¾iva’s dreadlocks, the river, now subdued, follows Bhagīratha. On her way, Gaṅgā engulfs the hermitage of Jahnu, is drunk up by him and then released through his ear. She then reaches the holy city of Kāśi –

आमन्त्र्य मूर्ध्ना प्रणतेन शम्भुमारुह्य च स्यन्दनमग्रतस्तम् ।
संप्रस्थितं पार्थिवमन्वयासीत्स्रोतः पयं कीर्तिरिवास्य मूर्ता ॥

Verbs alone are the lifeline of language; this is the opinion of Indian grammarians. But for our logicians (i.e. the proponents of the Nyāya [epistemology] and Vaiśeṣika [ontology] schools of philosophy), the subject indicated by the nominative case (prathamā vibhakti) alone is the lifeline of a language – i.e. the doer alone is the soul of language. The reason for this difference is crystal clear. Grammarians are śabdādvaitis (i.e.

Gaṅgāvataraṇam

This work, in eight Sargas, describes the story of how the celestial river, Gaṅgā, descended to the world of mortals. The potted contents of this poem, which like Śivalīlārṇava, also fulfils the criteria for a Mahākāvya, are given below. Also given are the translations of some fine verses

Critics of Indian—particularly Kannada—literature find monotony and boredom in the rhythm of classical poetic meters^[1] of Kannada and Sanskrit. They accuse our poets of the yesteryear for neither having the capacity nor showing the intent to break away from this so-called boredom.

A paper titled “A Study of the Significance of Travel in Classical Sanskrit Epics with Parallels in Greco-Roman Epics” was presented by Arjun Bharadwaj at the international seminar on “Sanskrit and Cultural Studies: New Perspectives” organized by the Sree Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady on 5th June 2017. The current article contains excerpts from the paper.

Travel in later epic poetry

A paper titled “A Study of the Significance of Travel in Classical Sanskrit Epics with Parallels in Greco-Roman Epics” was presented by Arjun Bharadwaj at the international seminar on “Sanskrit and Cultural Studies: New Perspectives” organized by the Sree Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady on 5th June 2017. The current article contains excerpts from the paper.

In recent years, antyākṣarī programs in various forms, have been entertaining people. The Vividhabhāratī channel of Ākāśavāṇī (All India Radio) perhaps set the precedent decades earlier by broadcasting antyākṣarī programmes based on movie songs. In my childhood days, many programs were organized, in close circles – both friends and family, in schools and colleges, where youngsters participated in antyākṣarī programs based on film songs. Their enthusiasm for antyākṣarī made them forget other pastimes and leisure activities.

The fifteenth Sarga begins with a description of the rainy season –

कटु भेकगणेन चुक्रुशे कलकेकामुखरेषु केकिषु |
कवयः कवयन्तु तावता कविपाशः किमुपैति मूकताम् ||

Even as peacocks cooed sweetly, frogs continued to croak. Do poetasters remain silent just because great poets are busy composing poetry? (15.14)

The sixteenth Sarga has a short description of the noon –

अस्ञ्चरत्पान्थमनालपद्द्विजं सरोजकोशोदरलीनषट्पदम् |
प्रतप्तहेमप्रतिमं समस्तमप्यभूदहर्मध्यगते जगद्रवौ ||

Kālidāsa and Other Arts

From his works, it is clear that Kālidāsa had extensive knowledge of dance, music and painting. His knowledge of dance can be estimated from his play Mālavikāgnimitram. At the very beginning, he makes his famous remark about the stage.

नाट्यं भिन्नरुचेर्जनस्य बहुधाप्येकं समाराधनम् |
The stage is a one-stop entertainment solution for people of varied tastes and orientations.