December 2018
Note: This is the full text of the author’s address delivered on the occasion the launch of the Mysore Hiriyanna Library, a set of reprints of M. Hiriyanna’s books and essays, published by Prekshaa Pratishthana.
At the outset, I take great pleasure in extending a very warm welcome to all of you.
I really don’t know how to begin. The three people here: Hari, Arjun and Shashi have stolen all my lines. But let’s just say that I’ve mixed feelings...
Yudhiṣṭhira told the Yakṣa, “O revered one! I do not desire that which belongs to you; the noble ones do not appreciate such behaviour. I shouldn’t indulge in self-boasting; I shall endeavour to answer your questions to the best of my abilities. Ask, what are your questions?”[1]
Yakṣa: Who makes the sun rise? Who are those in his presence? Who makes the sun set? Where does the sun reside?
Yudhiṣṭhira: Brahman makes the sun rise; those who move...
ಮರಣಾಸನ್ನನಾದ ವಾಲಿಯ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಮನಮುಟ್ಟುವಂತೆ ವರ್ಣಿಸುತ್ತ ಆತನು ಹೊಗರನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಕಮಲಬಾಂಧವನಂತೆ, ನೀರೆಲ್ಲ ಸೋರಿಹೋದ ಬೆಳ್ಮೋಡದಂತೆ, ಆರಿಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅಗ್ನಿಯಂತೆ ತೋರುತ್ತಿದ್ದನೆಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಉಪಮೆಗಳೂ ಸಹಜ, ಸಾರ್ಥಕ:
ತಂ ನಿಷ್ಪ್ರಭಮಿವಾದಿತ್ಯಂ ಮುಕ್ತತೋಯಮಿವಾಂಬುದಮ್ |
ಉಕ್ತವಾಕ್ಯಂ ಹರಿಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠಮುಪಶಾಂತಮಿವಾನಲಮ್ || (೪.೧೮.೨)
ಮುಮೂರ್ಷುವಾದ ವಾಲಿಯು ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಕಳೆಗುಂದಿದ್ದು ಕಾಂತಿಹೀನಸೂರ್ಯನ ಸದೃಶವಾದರೆ, ಆತನು ರಕ್ತವನ್ನೂ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನೂ ಬಸಿದುಕೊಂಡದ್ದು ನೀರಿಲ್ಲದ ಮುಗಿಲಿಗೆ...
After tying the mekhalā, the boy was invested with the yajñopavīta (sacred thread).[1] While the yajñopavīta as a ‘sacred thread’ was largely unknown in ancient times[2], it became the focus of the upanayana saṃskāra in later years.[3] In later times, the young vaṭu was given the yajñopavīta and made to recite the well-known mantra, “The yajñopavīta is supremely sacred.”[4]
The yajñopavīta is prepared from threads that are spun by an unmarried...
AR Krishnasastri (popularly written as A R Krishna Shastry) was a scholar by his very birth. His father, Ambale Ramakrishna Shastry was the head professor of Grammar in the Samskṛta Pāṭhaśālā in Mysore. In addition to Sanskrit grammar, he was well versed in Jyotiṣa and Ayurveda too. Scholarship, therefore, flowed in Krishnasastri's veins.
Krishnasastri lost his mother at a young age and this probably was one of the reasons for him to develop a...
Hemachandra Vikramaditya: The Emperor Deprived of Fame
In the history of India, there have been a few decisive wars. The Battles of Panipat also form a part of that. If the results of the three Battles of Panipat had changed even slightly, the future of India would have been completely different. One of the great heroes who fell in one of these Panipat wars is Hemachandra or Hemu.
Hemachandra was responsible for bringing back the grandeur of...
Some historians have expressed a doubt that Maharana Pratap Simha wrote a letter of surrender in his last days. However, this has not been established conclusively. All his life, he lived, fought and died for the sole cause of wresting Chittorgarh back. His son Rana Amar Simha also continued his father’s fight.
Maharana Pratap’s valour was boundless. His name blazes brightly in the annals of warriors.
The term “Rana” means “Raja,” derived from...
Kunigal Sri Rama Sastri[i] had once embarked on a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had made all the necessary arrangements for the same. A team of chefs and servants, a palanquin and strongmen to carry it—this entire family accompanied him. Additionally, he had also issued hukumnamas [Royal Order] to the relevant administrative authorities of the places where Sri Sastri would camp for the night en route regarding the...
Upon listening to the story of Sāvitrī, Yudhiṣṭhira experienced a great deal of relief; he did not allow any more worries to plague his heart, and after spending some more time in the Kāmyaka forest he returned to the Dvaita forest along with everyone, where he established residence once again. It was there that their twelve-year forest exile came to an end.
During their stint in the Dvaita forest this time, the Pāṇḍavas fell into grave danger...
ಅರಣ್ಯಕಾಂಡದ ಉಪಮಾಪ್ರಪಂಚ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ವಿಸ್ತಾರವಾದುದು. ವಿಶೇಷತಃ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಹೇಮಂತವರ್ಣನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪಮೆಯ ವಿಶ್ವರೂಪವನ್ನು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು.
ಸೂರ್ಯನು ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ತಿರುಗಿದ ಕಾರಣ ಉತ್ತರದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಂತಿ ಕುಂದಿ ಅದು ತಿಲಕವಿಲ್ಲದ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನಂತೆ ಹತಪ್ರಭೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಆದಿಕವಿಗಳ ಮಾತು ಅಡಕವಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದೆ:
ವಿಹೀನತಿಲಕೇವ ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ನೋತ್ತರಾ ದಿಕ್ಪ್ರಕಾಶತೇ | (೩.೧೬.೮)
ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಮದ ಆವರಣದೊಳಗೆ ಹುದುಗಿದ ವಿಧುಮಂಡಲವು ಕುರುಡುಗನ್ನಡಿಯಂತೆ ಮಂಕಾಗಿದೆಯೆಂದೂ ಚಂದ್ರನ ಕಾಂತಿಯೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಸೂರ್ಯನಿಗೇ ಸೇರಿಹೋಗಿದೆಯೆಂದೂ ವರ್ಣಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ...