Category: Books

Tarka Shastras and the culture of the argumentative Indian

Self styled liberal authors and film makers do frequently misrepresent Indian traditions. In the Tamil movie Dashavatara, which has nothing to do with the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the film makers show Shaivites and Vaishnavites engaged in violent clashes. It is now widely known that Isalmic Invaders and rulers desecrated and destroyed thousands of … Continue reading Tarka Shastras and the culture of the argumentative Indian →

Ritusamhara – there used to be six seasons, my love

प्रचण्डसूर्यः स्पृहणीयचन्द्रमाः सूखावगाह क्षतवारिसञ्चयः। दिनान्तरम्योऽभुय्पशान्तमन्मथो निदाघकालोऽयम् उपागतः प्रिये ।। The sun is furious, but the moon is cool. Bathing is pleasant, but ponds are shrinking. Day-ends are charming, but the Cupid stirs no more. Cruel summer has set in, my love. (Ritusamhara 1:1) random image collected from internet (supposedly the cover of a You tube … Continue reading Ritusamhara – there used to be six seasons, my love →

questioning is the key

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com धृतराष्ट्र उवाच धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः। मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय।। dhritaraashtra uvaacha dharmakshetre kurukshetre samavetaa yuyutsavah / maamakaah paandavaashchaiva kimakurvata sanjaya // Dhritarastra said : Assembled in Kurukhetra - the field of dharma, determined to fight it out, what did Pandu’s sons and mine do, O Sanjay? Bhagavad Gita //1:1// … Continue reading questioning is the key →

Panchatantra – world’s oldest written tale

A couple of years back I had suffered mitrabheda- there was some misunderstanding with a friend and we parted ways. It was somewhat compensated by the mitralabha or the gain of friends that happened due to the flurry of online activities during the lockdown last year. What added to the Corona woes were skirmishes with … Continue reading Panchatantra – world’s oldest written tale →

ones and zeroes

In fourteenth century AD a Keralite mathematician and astronomer wrote about the infinite series. He is known as the Madhava of Sangamagrama to avoid confusion with other Madhavacharyas. In seventeenth century Issac Newton and Wilhelm Leibnitz also discovered the series. However for a long time Newton and Leibnitz continued to take credit for the discovery. … Continue reading ones and zeroes →

Mricchakatikam – the cart of clay

Mricchakatikam, the Sanskrit play of the fifth century AD written by Sudraka, has all the element of a Bollywood blockbuster. It is unfortunate that the movies made on this paly in Hindi and other languages did not become so. Hindi movie Utsav was made on this play and it starred Rekha, Sekhar Suman, and Amzad … Continue reading Mricchakatikam – the cart of clay →

Kamasutra of Sage Vatsyayana

The difficulty of writing a post about Kamasutra is that there is so much free material already floating in cyberspace. With about 12000 verses Charaka Samhita may have 12 times more content than Kamasutra. But the wikipedia page of Kamasutra is definitely much more elaborate than Charaka Samhita. So sex being still a taboo, we … Continue reading Kamasutra of Sage Vatsyayana →