November 2016
After casting aspersions on the authenticity of the Great War, Kosambi goes on to examine the ethics of the Gita as if the war happened exactly as narrated by the Mahabharata (emphasis is mine):
“...the Gita as it stands could not possibly help any ksatriya in an imminent struggle, if indeed he could take his mind off the battle long enough to understand even a fraction thereof. The ostensible moral is: “Kill your brother, if duty calls, without...
Then there was a matter related to Sanskrit Grammar. I had employed a certain diction in one of my writings. Actually, it was a re-edit of what I had written earlier. When Hiriyanna read it, he said, “we can justify your diction using a grammatical rule. But from the perspective of idiom, it appears that it is improper. We can accept your earlier usage. One may rethink this.”
Equally, to determine the meaning of a random poem that I’d written,...
दुस्सङ्गः सर्वथैव त्याज्यः । ४३
43. Always avoid bad company.
कामक्रोधमोहस्मृतिभ्रंशबुद्धिनाशकारणत्वात् । ४४
44. It (evil company) is the cause for lust, anger, attachment, decline of learning, and the destruction of the intellect.
तरङ्गायिता अपीमे सङ्गात् समुद्रायन्ते । ४५
45. The ripples (of lust, anger, attachment, etc.) take the form of the ocean because of such company.
कस्तरति कस्तरति मायाम् यः सङ्गं त्यजति यो महानुभावं सेवते निर्ममो भवति...
यदृच्छास्वच्छविस्तीर्णामविच्छिन्नरसावहाम्। अगाधापारपारम्यां श्रये संस्कृतवाहिनीम्॥
I
तदिदं मुदावहं यदाधुनिकसंस्कृतसाहित्यवरिवस्याविवेचनात्मकमत्र सत्रं प्रकल्पितम्। दिनद्वयात्मकेऽस्मिन् सारस्वतसवने समर्पितानि स्वरसानि बोधप्रदानि च नैकानि प्रस्तावनहवींषि, येन बुभुत्सवो व्युत्पिपत्सवश्च विद्वद्रसिकवैतानवह्नयः समाराधितास्स्युः। अन्यच्च प्रश्नोत्तरपुरोडाशानां संवादसोमाहुतीनां परिवादपशूनां च विनियोगेन सारस्वतसप्ततन्तुरयं सर्वथा सम्पन्न इति मन्ये।...
A popular prayer from the Upanishads implores a movement from lies to truth, from darkness to brightness, and from death to eternal life (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28). The second line of this prayer – तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय – is no doubt a metaphor, the darkness representing ignorance and brightness representing wisdom. Ignorance often results from laziness, and the word ‘tamas’ in Sanskrit captures all these shades of meaning – darkness,...
A documentary on Sir M. Visvesvaraya, an accomplished civil engineer and astute statesman who helped build the Mysore state.