Selections from Yogiyajnavalkya
The composition date of Yoga Yajnavalkya is unclear. Prahlad Divanji, an Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, states that the text was composed between the second century BCE and fourth century CE,...
View ArticleA Kannada article on Kumara Vyasa
Sri Kumara Vyasa, the author of a poetical work on Mahabharatha, lived a few centuries ago. There is a belief among some followers of the Madhva school that he was influenced by Sri Vyasa Tirtha. Sri...
View ArticleWas Chaitanya Mahaprabhu influenced by Madhva Philosophy?
There is a thinking among some that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was influenced by Madhva philosophy and that he had met and was guided by Sri Vyasa Tirtha. In this Kannada article Sri.G.R.Patil brings out...
View Article‘ShaNmata’ is mentioned by Thyagaraja
‘ShaNmata’ is mentioned by ThyagarajaThe famous Pancharatna kriti of Thyagaraja, ‘Endaro mahanubhaavulu..’, in one of its charaNams, mentions the term ‘ShaNmata’ with a prefix ‘shiva aadi’. The...
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A unique verse of Vachaspati Misra invoking five deities
Here the invocation of various deities by Vachaspati Misra (841 CE) is given along with an explanatory gloss: The deities are: Shiva, Aditya, Ganapati, Gowri (non-different from Saraswati) and Vishnu....
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Shiva, Vishnu and Devi – Sringeri
(See image below) The Padmapurana in the Bhagavatam 12 skandha mahatmyam says ‘he is a great Vaishnava who holds the three said above to be Brahman and does not see them as different.’ (See image...
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Sayanacharya refers to Prapanchasara as that of Shankaracharya
Sayanacharya refers to Prapanchasara as that of Shankaracharya In the Parasara maadhaviya, a commentary to the Parasara Smriti, Sayanacharya makes a mention of the Prapanchasara, widely believed to...
View ArticleThe Trimurti-s appear and disappear in every kalpa – The Parasara Dharma Samhita
The Trimurti-s appear and disappear in every kalpa – The Parasara Dharma Samhita The Parasara Smriti, a dharmashastra work, is an ancient one. It says that the Trimurtis have origination and...
View ArticleSelections from the Vrata KaanDa of Hemadri’s Chaturvarga Chintamani
The ‘Vrata kaaNDa’ (section on vows and observances) of Hemadri’s (13th Century CE) ‘Chaturvarga Chintamani’ Vol.2, Part 1, contains hundreds of vrata-s that the author has found fit to be listed for...
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A Ramanuja-‘scholar’ exhibits his ignorance of Advaita
A Ramanuja-‘scholar’ exhibits his ignorance of Advaita The author of an article, trying to pose himself as a well-read scholar, says about Advaita, Advaitic experience, etc: (For the Tamil passages of...
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A Vedantin’s commentary to the Shiva Sahasra Nama – a short selection
Here is an image from NilakanTha’s commentary to the Shiva Sahasra Nama of the Mahabharata. Just two names are highlighted: वृक्षकर्णस्थितिः and विष्णुप्रसादितः. The first cited name has a fund of...
View ArticlePrapanchasara: Shankara alludes to the ‘Sharabha-Shiva’ episode from the...
In this selection from a chapter of the Prapanchasara, a Shiva stuti’ is included. In one of the verses Shankara alludes to the episode of the Kaalikapurana that details Shiva taking the Sharabha form...
View ArticleThe Advaita Vasudeva Tattva
The Advaita Vasudeva Tattva इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिः सत्त्वं तेजो बलं धृतिः। वासुदेवात्मकान्याहुः क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञ एव च।१३६।। [The jiva (observer), all that is observed, sense (and motor) organs,...
View ArticleExcerpts from the ‘lost’ kaaThaka recension
The ‘lost’ kAThaka shaakhaa has yielded a set of srauta and grihya sutras. An excerpt from these and other texts that remain only as quotations in other works reveals to us that from the most ancient...
View ArticleHari-Hara abheda: Tulasi Das one with Veda Vyasa
Hari-Hara abheda: Tulasi Das one with Veda Vyasa In the Ramacharita Manas of Goswami Tulsi Das occurs this verse: http://tinyurl.com/yy58fbva शंकर प्रिय मम द्रोही,शिव द्रोही मम दास. ते नर करहिं कल्प...
View ArticleSome interesting excerpts from Uttara KaanDa of Ramayana
Some interesting excerpts from Uttara KaanDa of Ramayana In the Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda, the great event of Ashvamedha Yaga performed by Rama is described in very great detail. A few selections...
View ArticleBhasma dharana and Linga archana – Mahabharata
Bhasma dharana and Linga archana – Mahabharata In the Anushasanika Parva 13, in chapter 247 there is a conversation between Shiva and Parvati. It is a small chapter where the Pashupata Yoga is...
View ArticleAn Advaita-friendly selection from NilakanTha’s commentary to the SSS
An Advaita-friendly selection from NilakanTha’s commentary to the SSS In this short selection from NilakanTha’s commentary to the Shiva Sahasra Nama of the Mahabharata we get a glimpse of several...
View ArticleSiva-Rama darshanam on Ramanavami
Siva-Rama darshanam on Ramanavami In the Aranyaka Parva of the Mahabharata there is a rendering of the Ramayana by Marakandeya. In a verse describing Rama chasing the golden deer (Maareecha), to take...
View ArticleA short selection from the Manasollasa of Someshwara III
A short selection from the Manasollasa of Someshwara III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasollasa //The Mānasollāsa, also known as Abhilashitartha Chintamani, is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text...
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