My purpose in this series was to give a taste of every type of Sanskrit Literature. I did not write any post for well known texts like the Vedas, Mahabharata or Ramayana. Of course I have mentioned these and highlighted some of their aspects from time to time. This being the last post in the … Continue reading Zero to Infinity
Tag: Indian wisdom
Yogavashistha – the path of pure knowledge
Without giving the right context it is difficult to talk about spiritual traditions of India. That is also the difficulty one faces when planning to write any short article on spirituality. First of all spirituality and religion are not the same thing. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, 'Religion is the banana peel and … Continue reading Yogavashistha – the path of pure knowledge
X-factors of Sanskrit
ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ Aum! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we both (teacher and student) work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we … Continue reading X-factors of Sanskrit
who wrote and how?
Researchers and scholars are divided in opinion by wide margins when it comes to the period of the composition of most of the ancient Indic texts. In an earlier post I have addressed it. Similarly opinions vary about their authorship. In some posts I have brought out this issue. But there being so many sides, … Continue reading who wrote and how?
varieties of vidya
As we move towards the end of the AtoZ season it will be good to take an overview, then address a few important left out issues and conclude with a summarizing post. Giving an overview of all types of indic texts at this stage will make sense because, the reader who has been following my … Continue reading varieties of vidya
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
The Stuti Genre of Sanskrit Literature
Stuti is a musical composition in praise of a particular form of the divine. Sometime it includes the prayer element, sometimes not. The nearest word for it is hymn. Of course for the compositions of the post vedic periods, the word hymn is rarely is used since hymn has an ancient connotation to it being … Continue reading The Stuti Genre of Sanskrit Literature
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
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
Narada Bhakti Sutras
I will take this opportunity to talk about the Bhakti genre of literature as well as the sutra form of Indic texts. Bhakti literature flourished in the middle ages. The poet saints of that era wrote odes to particular form of deities. Those who were devotees of Lord Krishna wrote songs in praise of lord … Continue reading Narada Bhakti Sutras
