July 2019
Just because the Mahābhārata was narrated in the period of King Janamejaya it doesn’t make it an ancient tale; it is fresh even today and it will forever be new because when will there not be disputes between cousins? Although it is a story of the kṣatriyas, such disputes exist in all communities around the world. The problem is described with great imagery and we feel as though the events are happening right before our eyes. Who doesn’t like a...
நமது பாரம்பரிய இலக்கியங்களான ஸ்ருதி (śruti), ஸ்மிருதி (smṛti) இவற்றைத் தெரிந்து கொள்வதற்குமுன்னும், ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட நூலின் காலக்ரமம் மற்றும் வெவ்வேறு நூல்களுக்கு இடையேயான காலக்ரமங்கள் போன்றவற்றை உள்ளடக்கிய நவீன வரலாற்று கோட்பாடுகளை கருத்தில் கொள்வதற்கு முன்னும், இந்திய வரலாற்று பாரம்பரியத்தை பற்றின தெளிவான புரிதல் நமக்கு இங்கே அவசியமாகிறது.
புள்ளிவிவரங்களைக் காட்டிலும் விலைமதிப்பற்ற கருத்துக்களை வலியுறுத்துவதே இந்தியர்களின் வரலாற்று நோக்கமாக...
The next morning, i.e. on the tenth day of battle, the Pāṇḍavas had created a battle formation with Śikhaṇḍi leading it. To his left and right stood Bhīma and Arjuna. Behind him, stood the Upa-pāṇḍavas (sons of the five brothers) and Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna). And behind them came Dhṛṣṭadyumna and other warriors along with the army. On the side of the Kauravas, as usual, Bhīṣma was at the forefront. Duśśāsana and other Kauravas stood to his left...
One of the stories of Sri Ramakrishna
Whenever I remember Bindu Rao, a story that Bhagavān Ramakrishna Paramahamsa often narrated comes to my mind.
A scholar approached a king with request to help. The king asked him, “What is your area of scholarship?”
The scholar replied, “I expound the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata.”
“Is that so? That is good to know! I’m curious to listen to the Bhāgavata-purāṇa. But I’m not at leisure today. If you’re here next...
किं वेदैः स्मृतिभिः पुराणपठनैः शास्त्रैर्महाविस्तरैः
स्वर्गग्रामकुटीनिवासफलदैः कर्मक्रियाविभ्रमैः।
मुक्त्वैकं भवबन्धदुःखरचनाविध्वंसकालानलं
स्वात्मानन्दपदप्रवेशकलनं शेषा वणिग्वृत्तयः॥
Why fuss over the Vedas, Smṛtis, Purāṇas, Śastras, and bewildering rituals? At best they grant access to a hut in the hamlet of heaven. Except entry into the blissful abode of one’s self, which burns away the misery of existence, everything else is mere business....
Basavanagudi Club
I've mentioned earlier that Venkatanaranappa was unassuming, disciplined, honest, dispassionate, and hard-working. There were, however, a couple of qualities that were unusual for a person of his stature, namely friendliness and humorous nature. Though he was conservative and religious in certain matters, tenderness that is innate to humans was not a rare quality in him. He desired to have the constant company of friends,...
The true root and heart of Mandra is located in the music of Raja Saheb and his small Mahadeva Temple overlooking the perennial, gurgling currents of Narmada River amid the dense jungle he has specially grown. In less than ten pages, Dr. Bhyrappa unveils a majestic opulence that at once encompasses the highest and the best traditions of Indian music, its underlying philosophy, its aesthetic goal and its ultimate ideal. He serves us a multi-...
The story of the Mahābhārata is gigantic. It is thus divided into eighteen parvas. These divisions are called kāṇḍas in the Rāmāyaṇa. What is termed as ‘sandhi’ in later works such as Jaiminī-bhārata corresponds to an adhyāya. Several adhyāyas together constitute a parva. The word ‘parva’ means a span between two nodes of a sugarcane. Just like the span between nodes in a sugarcane stalk, so also is the role played by the parvas in the...
Bhartṛhari begins his Vairāgya-śatakam with a verse on Śiva:
चूडोत्तंसितचारुचन्द्रकलिकाचञ्चच्छिकाभास्वरो
लीलादग्धविलोलकामशलभः श्रेयोदशाग्रे स्फुरन्।
अन्तःस्फूर्जदपारमोहतिमिरप्राग्भारमुच्चाटयं-
श्चेतःसद्मनि योगिनां विजयते ज्ञानप्रदीपो हरः॥
Victory to Hara, the lamp of knowledge shining bright in the hearts of Yogis! It is radiant with the flickering flame of the moon that adorns his head. It effortlessly reduced to ashes the...
On the fourth day of the war, Bhīmasena totally destroyed Duryodhana’s elephant division and killed eight of the Kaurava brothers including Jalasandha and Suṣeṇa. Bhagadatta climbed onto a huge elephant in rut and fought relentlessly with Bhīmasena; he shot a flood of arrows and made Bhīma faint. At that point Ghaṭotkaca came forward and struck a severe blow to Bhagadatta’s elephant. Listening to the elephant howling in pain, Bhīṣma and others...