September 2023
Vālī’s wife Tārā heard that her husband had been struck down by an arrow shot by Rāma. She rushed out with her son from her cave-residence. At the sight of Rāma with his bow, many timid vānaras started fleeing. They warned Tārā not to go to the vicinity of Rāma and said, “Let our warriors protect the city and Aṅgada assumes kingship. We will all serve him!” Nevertheless, Tārā went to her mortally wounded husband and lamented, “O peerless warrior...
Upakosala (Chāndogya) continued
After three agnis instructed Upakosala, one amongst them, Gārhapatyāgni said, “Upakosala, I’ve four bodies, Pṛthvī, Agni, Anna and Āditya. Amongst these, the puruṣa who resides in the Āditya maṇḍala, I’m that. Whoever realizes this and does upāsanā, they will rid themselves from all the pāpa and will find prosperity.”
Then Dakṣiṇāgni addressed him thus, “Vatsa, I’ve four bodies, Jala, Dik, Nakṣatra, Candra....
Managing the family is a vrata. Marriage is a dharmic ritual. The transactions with the world that is done for these are opportunities for performing dharma. Household chores that are performed with this feeling are akin to tapas. It can also be thought of as yajña. We have already seen that the Vedas extol the entire life and all the worldly transactions of a jñāni as a great yajña.
tasyaivaṃ viduṣo yajñasyātmā yajamānaḥ ।
Mahānārāyaṇa-...
In the plays written by the great poet Bhavabhūti we find passages that not only reveal his personality and learning, but also his insights into literary aesthetics. Let us examine a few such passages. The poet presents the superior qualities of his creation in a verse that appears in Mālatīmādhava:
भूम्ना रसानां गहनप्रयोगाः
सौहार्दहृद्यानि विचेष्टितानि।
औद्धत्यमायोजितकामसूत्रं
चित्राः कथा वाचि विदग्धता च॥(1.4)
A profound plot rich with...
Satyakāma jābāla (Chāndogya) continued
The night was over. Satyakāma finished his morning routine and started his journey back to the gurukula with the herd of cows. The dusk approached. He collected the herd at one place and started his evening routine. He finished the agnikārya and sat towards the east of the Agni. Sūrya flew to him in the form of a haṃsa and said, “Satyakāma, I’ll reveal to you the other pāda of the brahman. One of the four...
Sugrīva was immensely pleased with Rāma’s promise but he wanted to make him understand Vālī’s prowess. He said, “Even before the Sun rises, Vālī traverses from the western to the eastern ocean and from the southern to the northern, without even the semblance of fatigue. He scales mountains, tosses their peaks up in the air, and catches them again. He enters the forest, shattering all kinds of mighty trees. In the past, there lived a powerful...
A gṛhastha performs karmas out of desire — for the wellbeing of his wife and children and for the sake of his friends and relatives. Worldly life becomes possible only if householders have those desires. His dharma is to take care of his family. Therefore, he performs certain karmas to support his dharma. If he thinks that he is performing all the karmas as it’s dharma and not for his own pleasure and satiation, it is as good as tyāga. This...
ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ವಿದ್ಯಾಭ್ಯಾಸಪದ್ಧತಿ ಹೇಗಿತ್ತೆಂಬ ವಿಚಾರ ಕುತೂಹಲಕರವಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ನೇರವಾಗಿ ವಿವರಿಸುವ ಗ್ರಂಥಗಳು ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲ. ನಾಲಂದ, ತಕ್ಷಶಿಲೆ, ವಿಕ್ರಮಶಿಲೆ, ವಲಭಿ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾದ ವಿದ್ಯಾಶಾಲೆಗಳಿದ್ದವೆಂದೂ ಅವು ಈಗಿನ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳಂತೆ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಗಳ ಪ್ರೌಢ ಅಧ್ಯಾಪನವನ್ನು ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವೆಂದೂ ತಿಳಿದುಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಯಾವ ಕ್ರಮದಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಕಲಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣವಿಧಾನ ಹೇಗೆ, ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು, ಗುರುಶಿಷ್ಯರ...
Rāma arrived at Lake Pampā that was full of lotus and lilies and was teeming with fish. The mere sight of the lake sent a joyous tremble through his body. But the next moment, he had an intense longing for love and said to Saumitri, “Look at Lake Pampā and the delightful woods around. The trees look like tall mountains with lofty crusts. But I still grieve over Bharata’s sorrow and the abduction of Vaidehī. This grassland, deep green and yellow...
Satyakāma jābāla (Chāndogya)
In the past, education would mean learning the vedas and allied branches like vyākaraṇa (grammar). The student had to leave his home and had to stay in the gurukula. There were no facilities for food and other amenities. One had to go around to get alms and live on that. One had to also serve the ācārya of the gurukula with utmost diligence, that would help to attain ācārya’s affection, only then one would get...