January 2020
Rajaji’s words of advice
It is a well known fact that at the end of the World War II, world leaders such as Churchill, Roosevelt, Clemenso and others put their heads together to work out a plan to prevent all future wars. They came up with many plans such as the announcement of the Atlantic Charter and the establishment of the United Nations and also considered other measures which would potentially establish world peace. I too got enthused with...
தண்டம்-கோல்[1]
ஆசாரியர் மாணவனுக்கு தண்டத்தை(கோலை) வழங்கும்போது, அவன், "எனது தண்டம் கீழே விழுந்துவிட்டது, அதனை நான் எனக்கு நீண்ட ஆயுள் கிட்ட வேண்டியும், பிரம்மசரிய மார்க்கத்தில் என்னை வழிநடத்தவும், எனது மாணவ-வாழ்க்கையின் துவக்கத்தைக் குறிக்கவும் மீண்டும் என் கையில் எடுத்திருக்கிறேன்", என்று கூறி தண்டத்தைப் பெற்றுக் கொள்கிறான்.[2] உடல், மனம், வாக்கு இவைகளின் கட்டுப்பாட்டை 'தண்டம்' உணர்த்துகிறது.
மாணவப் பருவமே ஒரு பெரும் யக்ஞம் என கருதப்பட்டதால்,...
Yudhiṣṭhira said, “However competent one might be, if destiny doesn’t smile on him, he will not earn any wealth. Even a helpless chap or a child, if favoured by fortune, earns a great deal of wealth. There are hundreds of people who have gained nothing even after great attempts and tribulations; there are also several people who have become wealthy without even trying. Similarly, those who tread the wicked path are living in comfort while the...
The following two verses are solutions to a single challenge that posits Viṣṇu is Śiva:
कपाली च कलापी च शिरसा भाति योऽवतात्।
स देहार्धसमासक्तकेशवश्चन्द्रशेखरः॥ (Shankar Rajaraman)
May Śiva who wears a skull as his crest-jewel and Kṛṣṇa who wears peacock feather in his diadem protect us in the form of Hari-hara. In this undivided manner, Viṣṇu is indeed Candra-śekhara.
रोदसीसङ्क्रमे काले वर्धमानस्तु वामनः।
क्रमेण कमनीयोऽभूत् केशवश्चन्द्रशेखरः॥ (R...
Sixty-seventy years ago, the erudite scholars of the era were blessed with an abundant vocabulary. Unfortunately, the themes on which this prowess was to be applied were not extraordinary. Shri. Tiruvengadayya of Mulbagal was a scholar in Telugu. He was an expert and an enthusiast when it comes to teaching classical poetry; pure in conduct; a true devotee of the Almighty. He was the headmaster of the Telugu middle school. Along with that he...
My Suggestions
Once, there was a certain shortcoming in the functioning of the Servants of India Society. Sastri was the head of the organization. The English weekly “Servants of India” which was run by the society was lacking in funds. It was my desire to somehow keep the magazine running and let it survive. I therefore penned down a few suggestions on a sheet of paper and included it in a letter addressed to Sastri. My suggestions were as...
மேகலை அணிவித்தபின் அச்சிறுவனுக்கு பூணூல்(யக்ஞோபவீதம்) அணிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.[1] யக்ஞோபவீதம் என்பது பவித்திரமான பூணூல் என்று இப்போதை உள்ளதைப்போல அப்போதெல்லாம் கருதப்பட்டு வந்ததாகத் தெரியவில்லை[2], எனினும் பிற்காலங்களில் இதுவே உபநயன சடங்கில் கவனத்துக்குரிய பிரதான கட்டமானது.[3] பிற்காலங்களில் இளம் வடுவுக்குப் பூணூலை வழங்கி அவனை, "யக்ஞோபவீதம் பரமம் பவித்ரம்", என்கிற பிரபலமான வரியை உச்சரிக்கச் செய்தார்கள்.[4]
கலியாணமாகாத பிராம்மண கன்னி நெய்ந்த...
Although Bhīṣma spoke many such words of peace and solace, Dharmarāja’s heart would not find peace; he would not be consoled. He lamented with the words – “Having done the most heinous of crimes with my own hands how will I now get peace just by wishing for it? When I look at your body, pierced with arrows, and blood oozing out from myriad wounds, my mind doesn’t have a moment of peace. It is because of me that you are consigned to this fate; it...