August 2018

Bharathi’s Thoughts on the Nature of the Universe Bharathi uses allegory to refer to forces which brought the universe to action in In Praise of Maha Kali (மகாகாளியின் புகழ்). [1]He talks about how the merger of the five elements would bring about the ultimate annihilation of the universe in The Dance of Doom (ஊழிக்கூத்து).[2] In all these compositions he invokes the Vedic idea that the universe will start and end in a single point only to be...
Subramania Bharathi was born on 11th December 1882 in Ettayapuram Jameen to Sri.  Chinnasami Iyer and Smt. Lakshmi Ammal. His birth name was Subramanian. When he was eleven years old, impressed by his poetic prowess, scholars in Ettayapuram awarded him the title ‘Bharathi.’ Bharathi was a multi-faceted personality. He is widely acclaimed for his patriotic poems and articles that ignited the minds of the Indian people, uplifting the spirit of...
Pre-eminent among the kings of Karnataka is the Kalyani Chalukya emperor, Vikramaditya VI. He was the son of Someshwara I. Fortunately, he had the poet Vidyapati Bilhana in his court and so his achievements have become immortal. In his poetical work in eighteen cantos, Vikramankadevacharita, Bilhana records the life and achievements of Vikramaditya VI, who ruled for over fifty years and his long reign was marked by lasting peace. His son was...
தனி மனிதனாக நம்மால் நேர்மையாக நிமிர்ந்து நிற்க முடியும். ஆனால் சமூக வாழ்க்கைக்கு இது சாத்தியப்படாது. தீய சக்திகளை வெற்றிகொள்ள பற்பல உத்திகளைக் கையாள வேண்டும். நம்மால் கிருஷ்ணனிடத்தில் தொலைநோக்கும், புத்திசாலித்தனமும் மிளிர்வதைப் பல இடங்களில் காணமுடிகிறது. பாண்டவர்களிடத்தே நட்புபாராட்டுவதற்கு முன்பே, மாற்றத்திற்கான விதையை விதைத்துவிட்டான். ஒன்றுமறியாத கிராமவாசியாக நகரத்துக்குள் பிரவேசித்து கம்சனைக் கொன்று வீழ்த்துகிறான். உடனுக்குடன்...
Draupadī said, “I am not denigrating dharma nor am I criticizing the Supreme; I'm just lamenting about my difficulties. The fruit of the action manifests itself only through karma, not through dharma; a man who falls asleep, entirely dependent on fate gets destroyed like a green pot kept in water. A capable man should not sit idle and silent for a long time, like one who is helpless. If one lacks competence, the fruits of his actions might be...
ಭಗವಂತನು ಮಾನವನ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯೋ ಮಾನವನು ಭಗವಂತನ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯೋ ಎಂಬ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಚಿರಂತನ. ಆದರೆ, ಇವರಿಬ್ಬರ ನಡುವಣ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಮಾತ್ರ ಇಂಥ ಎಲ್ಲ ಚರ್ಚೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮೀರಿದ ಮಧುರಾನುಭೂತಿ. ಒಂದೊಂದು ಮತದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಬಗೆಯಾಗಿ ಈ ಸಂಬಂಧವು ಬೆಳೆದಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಸನಾತನಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಇದು ನಿರುಪಮವಾಗಿ ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಮಿಕ್ಕ ಮತಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಗವಂತನೊಡನೆ ಭಕ್ತನ ಸಂಬಂಧವು ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಭಯ-ಕರುಣಮೂಲದ್ದು, ಆರ್ತ-ಅರ್ಥಾರ್ಥಿಸ್ತರದ್ದು. ಹೀಗಾಗಿಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸಂಬಂಧದ ಪ್ರಬುದ್ಧಪರಿಣತರೂಪವಾದ ಸ್ನೇಹ-ಸಲುಗೆಗಳೂ ಮಾಧುರ್ಯ-ಮಾರ್ದವಗಳೂ ವಿರಳವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಆದರೆ...
My first Sanskrit Guru was Sri Kashi Raghavendracharya. Although there were numerous Sanskrit Vidwans in Mulabagal, there was no formal Sanskrit Patashala (School). The three or four schools in town didn’t have any facility to teach Sanskrit. My father had immense enthusiasm and reverence towards Sanskrit. He made repeated applications to the Government requesting it to introduce Sanskrit classes in my school, the Ango-vernacular Middle School....