December 2021
2. Next Gomukha started narrating the story of Kumudikā:-
The Story of Kumudikā
In the city of Pratiṣṭhāna, there lived a king named Vikramasiṃha. His wife was Śaśilekhā. His cousins Mahābhaṭa, Vīrabāhu and a few other kinsmen who bore him ill-will, joined together and attacked his city. Disregarding the advice of his ministers to make peace, Vikramasiṃha readied for war. When their armies clashed, the king rode out on his elephant and started...
V Si. and Shastry always got their writings reviewed by the other. They would exchange ideas and opinions, mainly for their own clarity. Those were the years of great joy for both. V Si, in his pen portrait of Subrahmanya Shastry writes, “Whenever I recollect the discussions on literature we both had, I feel that the company of a person like him makes life light and easy…. I had never found that kind of friendliness elsewhere”.
Incidentally, it...
Thus, one who leads life in the form of tapas, yajña, and dāna, does not have to hanker after mokṣa. It is readily available. By leading a life that is dedicated to the divine, he climbs above the duality caused by lust and anger. Gradually he will realize that there is something beyond worldly enjoyment and becomes eligible to see the abode of paramātmā. Then is freedom from karmic shackles.
yastvātmaratirēva syādātmatṛptaśca mānavaḥ |...
Note: This is the transcript of a lecture delivered under the auspices of Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs and Prekshaa Pratishtana, as part of a lecture series titled Exemplars of Indian Wisdom from Karnataka.
It gives me great pleasure to speak on the life and works of D V Gundappa, endearingly known by his initials, DVG. He has been a great source of inspiration to me. He has shaped my worldview and moulded my personality. I am therefore...
10. Śaktiyaśo-lambaka
अवारणीयं रिपुभिर्-वारणीयं करं नुमः |
हेरम्बस्य ससिन्दूरम्-असिन्दूरम्-अघच्छिदं ||
avāraṇīyaṃ ripubhir-vāraṇīyaṃ karaṃ numaḥ |
herambasya sasindūram-asindūram-aghacchidaṃ ||
Let us pray to the trunk of elephant-faced Gaṇeśa, which his enemies find unopposable!
It is red lustred due to the sindūra and destroys all pāpas.
पायाद्-वः पुरदाहाय शंभोः संदधतः शरं |
समं-व्यग्रेषु नेत्रेषु तृतीयम्-अधिकं स्फुरत्...
While ‘kapālin’ is taken in literal sense before the word Pāṇigrahaṇa which literally just means holding hands is turned to the other meaning, taking one’s hand in marriage derived by lakṣaṇa is utilised while Satyasoma accuses Nāgasena in public when he first helps Devasomā to get up. There is also a suggestion that Satyasoma still couldn’t trust Devasomā completely since she has already betrayed Babhrukalpa before. Also notice that Nāgasena is...
An apt epithet for Prof. Srikanta Sastri would be satyānveṣī – ‘the seeker of truth,’ for all through his life, he worked against all odds to get to the truth, to declare it without hesitation, and uphold it despite trials and tribulations.
Srikanta Sastri – the Person
Soṇḍekoppa Srikanta Sastri was born on November 5th, 1904 at Nanjangud and was named no doubt after the presiding deity – Śrīkaṇṭheśvara. Both his parents hailed from illustrious...
In these verses Vyāsa has succinctly described the central focus of his poem and the nature of its characters. This is the way of great poets: they present the essence of the story upfront and then go on to narrate how it evolves. Lesser poets present the story in bits and pieces, intending to keep the readers hooked till the end. They sometimes stretch this technique to extreme limits, thus stripping the story of suggestive value and rendering...