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

Interpretation of Indic texts

Knowing Sanskrit definitely helps in understanding the essence of Indic Texts. Even partial knowledge of Sanskrit may help to at least have a sense as to whether the commentator has interpreted correctly. Western scholars who are interested in Sanskrit texts usually learn Sanskrit. Unfortunately, this is not so with many Indian intellectuals even though it … Continue reading Interpretation of Indic texts

Finding out and fixing their dates of composition

Suppose a third world war happened and only two books based on ancient Indian texts survived. One is Devdutt Patnaik's version of Ramayana and another is Rupa Pai's version of Bhagavad Gita. As usual the few surviving copies of these books will be ignored by surviving Indians till these fall into the hands of a … Continue reading Finding out and fixing their dates of composition

Dayabhaga – the earliest legal attempt at women empowerment

Since the dawn of civilization, particularly after human society became agrarian, dispute over property has been a primary source of concern for the society. Needless to say that the whole Mahabharata war was because the Kauravas would not concede the ownership rights of even five villages to the Pandavas. The issue of inheritance was addressed … Continue reading Dayabhaga – the earliest legal attempt at women empowerment

Charaka Samhita – a treatise on holistic health

image source: creative commons license Dharmarthakamamokshanamarogyam mulamuttamam (Charaka Samhita 1:15) Health is the basis of four goals of human life - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha If grammar books and lexicons can be written in verses so that memorising will be easy, so can be a text on medical science. More so in the case … Continue reading Charaka Samhita – a treatise on holistic health

Bhajagovindam – a wake up call for everyone

Bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam Govindam bhaja mudhamate. Samprapte sannihitekale Nahin nahin rakshati tukkkun-karane. Oh Foolish Mind, sing the song of the divine, sing the song of the divine, sing the song of the divine. The memorization of grammar will not save you from impending death. In Sivasutras it is said, “VITARKA ATMAGNANAM”. One has to … Continue reading Bhajagovindam – a wake up call for everyone