I: Spirituality and Freedom August here in India is the rainiest month. In spite of that we have celebrations galore. Most of our religious festivals follow the lunar calendar. There are two types of lunar months in India. Some states, especially those in South India follow a system where in the month ends on the … Continue reading August Contemplations
Tag: Sanskrit
Now out in Paperback
The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts is now available on paperback on select countries. Of course it is available on Amazon Kindle for all the regions. It is one of those books which is very close to my heart. Would be very happy if you could buy the book and leave a review on … Continue reading Now out in Paperback
Shri Jaganathashtakam by Adi Shankaracharya
An Ashtakam is a composition in eight stanzas. This is quite popular in the stuti genre of Sanskrit Literature. The Jagannath Ashtakam was composed by Adi Shankaracharya. It is not possible to give the exact meaning of each line. However, I have tried to be as near as possible in my translation. I have also … Continue reading Shri Jaganathashtakam by Adi Shankaracharya
The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts – the book
As part of the AtoZ series challenge in April 2021 I had written a series of posts about specific compositions in Sanskrit and the unique features of the Language. All these posts are now part of my latest E-book: The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts. For a long time I had been planning to … Continue reading The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts – the book
Zero to Infinity
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
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
The Language of Gods
नृत्तावसाने नटराजराजो ननाद ढक्कां नवपञ्चवारम्। उद्धर्तुकामः सनकादिसिद्धान् एतद्विमर्शे शिवसूत्रजालम् ॥ In response to the desire of Sanaka and other perfected ones, after the dance had subsided the emperor of Natas played his damaru fourteen times and henceforth originated the strings of Shivasutras. So the story goes that Sanat Kumara and other perfected beings (Siddhas) went … Continue reading The Language of Gods
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
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