It was day 4 of the great war. The first day after Arjuna had finally given up his inhibitions against fighting his own family for the sake of Dharma. Bhagavan Sri Krishna had achieved the dual purpose of fulfilling his devotee Bhishma's wishes of holding a weapon in the war while at the same time... Continue Reading →
Bhimarjuna Veerya: Karna-Shalya Garvabhanga
The Swayamvara of Draupadi had reached its climax. After all the powerful rulers of Bharata - from Shishupala to Jarasandha to Duryodhana and Karna - had failed to even string the Kindhura, the divine bow of Lord Shankara, Arjuna easily lifted and strung it and pierced the matsya-yantra with five arrows. Raja Drupada's joy knew... Continue Reading →
Bhimasena and the Destruction of the Kalingas
On the second day of the Mahabharata war, a most extraordinary battle takes place that brings forth the great skill and force of Bhimasena and sets the tone for the direction of the war for the next 17 days (the Kauravas had a notional win on the first day). As the great warriors engage in... Continue Reading →
Pandemics and Planetary Placements
(Purpose of this post is to put together Jyotishya data collated. The intention is not to make any predictions, which is best done by sadhaka daivajnas). In light of the grave crisis that has engulfed the world currently, I started digging around to see what graha combinations or placements give rise to these global pandemics.... Continue Reading →
Mahabharata: Puru Vamsha Kathana
In the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, as Vaishampayana Muni begins to narrate the story of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Raja Janamejaya requests him to explain the benefits of listening to, or reading, the Mahabharata. Vaishampayana then narrates the great benefits of Mahabharata Katha-Shravana highlighting how it rids the listener of major sins and... Continue Reading →
Ramayana: Destroying the Moolabala of Ravana
Valmiki Ramayana is no doubt the most popular version of the Ramayana and is considered as one of the Itihasas in our land. Many sampradayas, though, refer to the existence of a 'Moola Ramayana' or the original Ramayana that predates Valmiki Ramayana. Sri Madhwacharya, in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, has explained that he has used... Continue Reading →
The purpose of creation
I was going through an extremely interesting article on the problem of evil according to Hindu view. In that article there is a section that explains two sutras of the Brahmasutras from an Advaitic and Vishistadvaitic point of view. The particular sutras I am referring to are part of the “na-prayojanatva-adhikaranam”. According to Sri Shankaracharya and Sri... Continue Reading →
CAB: An Expression of Our Gratitude
Yesterday, the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill. This Bill, once it is cleared in the Rajya Sabha, eases a few provisions for religious minorities from three neighbouring countries to become citizens of our nation. It also exempts them from being termed as "illegal" entrants into this country. In its present form, the bill... Continue Reading →
Karma and Phala: The Dvaita Interpretation
The 47th shlōka of the second chapter of the Srimadbhagavadgīta is the famous shlōka where Sri Krishna instructs Arjuna on how to perform (and at the same time, how not to) perform karma. कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन | मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोsस्त्वकर्मणि || "You have the right only on the performance of karma, not on... Continue Reading →
Dharma Parishad and the Questions of Religious Practice
In an earlier article, we had discussed in detail about how traditions and customs are very much accepted as sources of Dharma. Our scriptures declare that while the Vedas, Smritis, Itihasas and Puranas are the primary sources of our Dharmic law, the traditions or 'Achara' of a place or family can never be neglected. Given... Continue Reading →
