July 2016
Panini (पाणिनि) was a grammarian of ancient India. We do not know when and where he lived. 5th century BCE is a safe estimate. Today, the word ‘Panini’ connotes several things, of which the foremost is perhaps a computer-compatible, NASA-approved system of grammar. Over the decades, many learned minds have been engaged in extracting algorithms out of अष्टाध्यायी ('the eight-chapter book'), a treatise on Sanskrit grammar authored by Panini. The...
'Fact' and 'Value' in the Context of Indian Culture
Unlike other cultures, Indian heritage deeply concentrated on the implications of 'facts' and 'values' both within and outside the purview of religion and belief. Unlike the Greeks who completely excluded religion from philosophy and unlike the Semitic people who tried to explain everything within the narrow perspective of religious dogmas, ancient Indians approached lofty dimensions of facts...
Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) has a deep interest in ayurveda, yoga, vedanta, Vedic astrology, and teaching of the Vedas. In this talk, he discusses about the role played by yoga and ayurveda in our lives.
Describing the situation in India after Mahmud Ghazni’s military expedition, Alberuni says, “Mahmud destroyed the wealth of India. The scars of this attack couldn’t be erased in the minds of people of India. The people of India developed enmity towards Muslims”
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Bhimadeva
Bhimadeva of Anhilawada continued to rule large parts of Gujarat after the re-treat of Ghazni army. He reconstructed...
इह निवसति मेरुः शेखरः क्ष्माधराणा-
मिह विनिहितभाराः सागराः सप्तचान्ये ।
इदमहिपतिभोगस्तम्भविभ्राजमानं
धरणितलमिहैव स्थानमस्मद्विधानाम् ॥
iha nivasati meruh shekharah kshmadharanam
iha vinihatabharah sagarah saptachanye |
idamahipatibhogastambhavibhrajamanam
dharanitalamihaiva sthanamasmadvidhanam ||
There is perhaps no rasika in India who is unaware of Kalidasa. Many scholars opine that he was under the patronage of the Gupta ruler...
ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಅಸ೦ಖ್ಯ ಪಾತ್ರ-ಸ೦ದರ್ಭಗಳ ವಾದಲಹರಿ-ವಿಚಾರವಲ್ಲರಿಗಳು ಅದೆಷ್ಟೋ ಬಾರಿ ನ್ಯಾಯದರ್ಶನದ ವಾದ, ಜಲ್ಪ, ವಿತ೦ಡಾಗಳ೦ಥ ಚರ್ಚೆಗಳಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುವುದನ್ನು ನಾವು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ವ೦ಶವೃಕ್ಷದ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸಶ್ರೋತ್ರಿಯ ಮತ್ತು ಸದಾಶಿವರಾಯರ ನಡುವಣ ಮಾತುಗಳಾಗಲಿ, ರಾಜ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾತ್ಯಾಯನಿ, ಶ್ರೋತ್ರಿಯ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾತ್ಯಾಯನಿಯರ ನಡುವೆ ಬೆಳೆಯುವ ಚರ್ಚೆಗಳಾಗಲಿ, ದಾಟುವಿನ ಸತ್ಯಭಾಮಾ, ಮೋಹನದಾಸ;ಧರ್ಮಶ್ರೀಯ ಸತ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಶ೦ಕರ,ತಬ್ಬಲಿಯು ನೀನಾದೆ ಮಗನೆ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿಯ ವೆ೦ಕಟರಮಣ, ಹಿಲ್ಡಾ ಮು೦ತಾದವರು ಮಾಡುವ ವಾದಗಳಾಗಲಿ ವ್ಯಾಪಕರೀತಿಯ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳಾಗುತ್ತವೆ....
Sanatana dharma has upheld the ideal of the 'vanasuma' – the wild flower spreading its fragrance without hankering after personal fame. However, this shunning of fame, while rewarding in one’s sadhana, can cause quite a problem when it comes to historicity.
Any discussion on the dates of famous personages like Kalidasa, Shankara, Gaudapada and even deities like Rama and Krishna is invariably mired in controversy and debate. In some cases, even...
Nearly 5,000 years ago in Kurukshetra in Northern India, the hundred sons of King Dhritarastra fought the famous Mahabharata war against the five sons of King Pandu, King Dhritarastra’s younger brother. The former group was called the Kauravas and the latter, the Pandavas. Almost all major kings from the Indian subcontinent took part in this great war that was fought for eighteen days. Although the Kaurava army was larger, the Pandava army...
The Fourfold Path of Values
We noticed that in our sound sleep none of our desires were felt or revealed by us. But starting from the dream state itself, we had the titanic play of desires and dissolution, proposals and disposals, and agreements and disagreements. Thus, desire becomes the starting point of our individuality or rather our own logically felt existence and identity. Naturally, desires drive us towards action which is essential to...
The Sanskrit Podcast hosted by Shoba Narayan and featuring Prof. B Mahadevan