On the 18th of January 2018, Sri Sri Vidyadheesha Tirtha Swamiji of the Sri Palimaru Matha will be taking over the responsibility of worshipping the Lord Krishna murthy at Udupi. This occasion is known as the “paryaya” mahotsava and is a unique tradition in the entire world — and one that has survived for nearly 500 years!... Continue Reading →
Medhashakti of Bhima: The Right Time for Dharma
This post is a part of the series of posts highlighting the ten guNas that bhimasena displays in the mahabharata. The ten gunas have been explained by Sri Madhwacharya in his mahabharata tatparya nirnaya as follows भक्तिर्ज्ञानं सवैराग्यं प्रज्ञा मेधा धृतिः स्थिथिः | योगः प्राणो बलं चैव वृकोदरो इति स्मृतः || २-१४१ || Vrikodara is... Continue Reading →
Tradition as ‘Essential Religious Practice’ under Sanatana Dharma
Post independence, the Hindu religion, or more appropriately sanatana dharma, has been the focus of “reform” both by our ruling dispensation and by the judiciary. Our Constitution itself provides for such a reform by mandating it as a clause under the Right to Religion. Due to this attitude, the Hindu religion has been constantly targeted... Continue Reading →
The Aspirations of the Majority
Dear Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji: Many congratulations on yet another fantastic electoral performance in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The BJP juggernaut just keeps on rolling. May it continue to do so for a long time. Many pundits are saying the reduced margin of victory this time in Gujarat is indicative of an... Continue Reading →
Educational Rights According To The Makers Of Our Constitution
Over a number of articles, we have seen the various phases of development of Article 30 during the framing of our Constitution. In particular, we have looked at how the text of the Article, as it stands today, was derived heavily from a memorandum submitted by a group of minority leaders during the Second Round... Continue Reading →
The 93rd Amendment vs Article 15(1)
Introduction This is part-2 of a two-part article that attempts to show why the 93rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, that inserted Article 15(5), is discriminatory and against Constitutional principles. The first part shows the origins of Article 15(1) and explains how its intent was to have an over-arching principle of non-discrimination across all provisions,... Continue Reading →
The Intent Behind Article 15(1)
This is part-1 of a two-part article that attempts to show why the 93rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, that inserted Article 15(5), is ultra vires (of the Constitution, of course). In this first part, the reasoning provided by the makers of the Constitution in creating Article 15(1) will be detailed. In the second part,... Continue Reading →
The Narasimha Yajna of Bhimasena
It was the seventeenth day of the great war — the bhubhaaraharana kaarya of Sri Krishna was in full swing — ably assisted by the five Pandavas — and of course Ashwatthama. Karna had defeated Yudhisthira pretty badly, and the elder Pandava had to return to his camp to recover from the injuries, after being rescued by Bhimasena. Bhima sent Arjuna... Continue Reading →
Agnipariksha is on; Rama shall soon reunite with Sita!
The erudite Sri @upanishadist has written a wonderful post on the ongoing Rama Janma Bhoomi issue, asking if Sri Rama shall return to his home at last. It is a very moving, emotional piece. Although a far lesser mortal, I too felt compelled to write a few words on this issue. Not because it is... Continue Reading →
Pranasutra 