January 2019

Draupadī told Bhīma, “I cried out loud, pouring out my miseries, for I could not control my sorrow; not with a desire to criticize the Mahārāja. Let bygones be bygones; now we must take up the work at hand, that which is possible to accomplish. Every day, Sudeṣṇā looks at me and my body, and says in a tone of suspicion, “Will the king ever let her go if he sets eyes on her!” She constantly doubts my fidelity. Knowing her thoughts and temperament...
ಅನುಮಾನಾಲಂಕಾರವು “ಅನುಮಾನ”ವೆಂಬ ತಾರ್ಕಿಕಪ್ರಮಾಣವನ್ನೇ ಆಧರಿಸಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಕೆಲವರು ಅಲಂಕಾರವಾಗಿಯೇ ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸರು. ಬಲುಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಕಾವ್ಯಲಿಂಗದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇದು ಅಡಕವಾದೀತು. ಆದರೆ ಇಂಥ ಅಲಂಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆದಿಕವಿಗಳ ಕೌಶಲ ಪ್ರಸ್ಫುಟ. ಮಳೆಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೋಡ ಕವಿದು ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಸುಳಿವೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದಾಗ ಸಂಜೆಯಾಗುವುದನ್ನು ತಾವರೆಗಳ ಮುದುಡುವಿಕೆಯಿಂದ, ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳ ಗೂಡುಸೇರುವಿಕೆಯಿಂದ, ಜಾಜಿಹೂಗಳ ಅರಳುಗಳಿಂದ ಅನುಮಾನಿಸಬೇಕಿದೆ: ನಿಲೀಯಮಾನೈರ್ವಿಹಗೈರ್ನಿಮೀಲದ್ಭಿಶ್ಚ ಪಂಕಜೈಃ | ವಿಕಸಂತ್ಯಾ ಚ ಮಾಲತ್ಯಾ ಗತೋऽಸ್ತಂ ಜ್ಞಾಯತೇ ರವಿಃ || (೪.೨೮.೫೨) * * *...
Kalpa is one of the six Vedāṅgas (limbs of the Vedas).[1] The traditional view is that without the help of these Vedāṅgas, the real meaning of the Veda cannot be deciphered. The etymological expansion of the word ‘kalpa’ is ‘kalpante vā anena vedāḥ’ – it helps us understand the Vedas correctly; it ensures that we execute the Vedas in the right manner. Kalpa is categorized into four groups: Dharma, Gṛhya, Śrauta, and Śulba.[2] All these groups...
Lal Bagh
During 1934-35, during Sir Mirza Ismail's term as the Diwan of Mysore, there were many prominent men from Madras who would come to Bangalore to spend their summer here. P S Shivaswami Iyer was one such person. His ancestors belonged to aristocratic and affluent families and thus Shivawami Iyer was well off even by birth. Just as the saying goes, "Śucīnāṃ śrīmatām gehe," he was born to a wealthy family yet a noble, dignified, and morally upright...
IndiaParliamen
At the individual level, the Bhagavad Gita’s dictum of uddharedAtmanAtmAnam (Let a person raise and purify himself by his own efforts) and its emphasis on Svadharma also means that one must rule oneself, which in turn means that the onus is upon the individual to constantly rectify himself. Hidden within these tenets is a call to discard one’s ego at every step. The opaque wall of ego blocks the sunlight of self-reflection required for the said...
Draupadī told Bhīma, “What is that which ails the wife of Yudhiṣṭhira? Knowing only too well all my sorrows, why do you ask me again? That Prātikāmi addressed me as ‘Hey maid-servant!” and dragged me to the court – even now I’m boiling with rage when I think about it. Putting up with such shame and sorrow, which other daughter of a king but for me would continue to be alive? When we lived in the forest, I was attacked by that wretched Saindhava...
೭ ಸಮಾಸೋಕ್ತಿಯು ಅಲಂಕಾರಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಒಂದು ಸಾರ್ಥಕಸದಸ್ಯ. ಪ್ರಕೃತಾಪ್ರಕೃತವಸ್ತುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶೇಷಣೈಕ್ಯವನ್ನು ತರುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಪ್ರಮುಖಸ್ವಾರಸ್ಯ. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಬಾರಿ ಇಂಥ ವಿಶೇಷಣೈಕ್ಯವು ಶ್ಲೇಷದಿಂದ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಅಲಂಕಾರವು ಜಡವೂ ಅಚೇತನವೂ ಆದ ವಸ್ತು-ವಿಷಯಗಳ ವರ್ಣನಾವಸರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವುಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಚೇತನತ್ವವನ್ನು ಆರೋಪಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಮತ್ತೂ ಆಕರ್ಷಕವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ನಿಸರ್ಗವರ್ಣನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಅಲಂಕಾರದ ವಿನಿಯೋಗ ಮಿಗಿಲಾಗಿ ಸೊಗಯಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಬಗೆಯ ಸ್ವಾರಸ್ಯಕ್ಕೂ ಆದಿಕವಿಗಳೇ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶಿ. ಕಿಷ್ಕಿಂಧಾಕಾಂಡದ ವರ್ಷಾಕಾಲವರ್ಣನೆಯ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ...
Education and Code of Conduct[1] The study of Veda did not merely consist in learning the mantras by heart. The students had to also understand the meaning. Many ancient thinkers have condemned the blind memorization of the Vedic mantras and have emphasized on learning the meaning (and meditating upon it). In spite of this, however, it appears that for several centuries the Veda was only committed to memory and most people who learned the Vedas...
MYSORE-oldPhoto
I will now talk about a small organization that lived only for a few years starting from about 1916-17. I also happened to be a member of the organisation. The name of the organisation was Non-entities. In other words, 'anonymous.' I don’t know the exact nature of circumstances that caused its birth. Bangalore was consumed by a rage of influenza in 1918. There were efforts put, here and there, to bring the disease under control and to cure those...
Mulabagilu
Muniswamy Achar was one of  the frontrunners among a group of connoisseurs at Mulabagilu. He was popularly called Gattanagari Muniswamy. He was a goldsmith. One of his ancestors by name Ghattanna might have probably gained popularity for his athleticism. Muniswamy loved music and literature; good-humored and generous, he was known to be competent in gold and silver smithy works. Yet I have never got an opportunity to see him at work. It’s true...