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Why Paśyantī?

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My blog is called Paśyantī:  pronounced puhsh-YAN-tee (पश्यन्ती), with stress on the second syllable, the “ś” a soft “sh” as in “shine.” The four levels of vāk (speech) This framework comes from Sanskrit grammatical and philosophical traditions, most notably Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya, and echoed in Kashmir Śaiva sources like Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka, which describe speech unfolding in four stages, from subtlest to grossest: Parā vāk (परा): “supreme” speech. The undifferentiated source of all speech, prior to any distinction of word and meaning. Pure potential, identified in Kashmir Śaivism with the highest reality itself. Paśyantī (पश्यन्ती): “the seeing one.” Speech at the stage where it is still a unified, intuitive seeing or vision; an idea grasped as a whole, before it fragments into sequence or grammar. The name comes from “to see”, reflecting that at this level meaning is seen rather than said. Madhyamā (मध्यमा): “the middle one.” Speech that has begun to differentiate in...
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KALINGA — Land of my ancestors Chapter 2: The Maṅgu-Nyāyapati Households Every family carries two kinds of memory. One is written — a gotra recited at a wedding, a temple record, a copperplate somewhere in an archive we have not yet visited. The other is carried on the body — a mark on the shoulder, a name a grandmother would not let us forget, a height, a hunger. This chapter is about both kinds, and about what happens when they don't completely overlap cleanly. I am writing this as a record of our collective memory to be preserved for posterity — for the benefit of curious descendants like myself. I have tried to piece together a probable story based on what I know. Members of the family can provide more details that could make this story tighter, correct any errors, and help me build on this. शङ्खचक्रे Although coming from the Rāmānujācārya sampradaya, I did not receive the śaṅkha-cakra on my shoulders. My father's father did not have one, and did not pass it to my father,...
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SACRED ENVIRONMENTALISM

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समुद्रवसने   देवि   पर्वतस्तनमण्डले  ।   विष्णुपत्नि   नमस्तुभ्यं   पादस्पर्शं   क्षमस्वमे  ॥ Oh Mother Earth , you who have the  ocean  as your  garments , and  the mountains  as your  bosom , O  Consort  of  Vishnu ,  Namaste  to  you ; please  forgive me for touching you with my feet! Sanatana Dharma is the world's oldest living tradition that provides a framework for an individual, a society, and the environment at large to coexist, prosper, celebrate life, and pursue the greater goals of life that go beyond material well-being without undermining it. Its relevance in modern times cannot be overstated as we face large-scale environmental degradation 1 , a mental health epidemic 2 , an alarming increase in substance abuse 3 , decline of the family as a unit 4 , and many other challenges. Although Sanatana Dharma can play a major role in combatting each of these challenges, th...
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ādikavi's ādikāvya

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World's First Poem As Mahārishi Vālmiki and his shishya Rishi Bhāradwāja approached the edge of  the Tamasā River, He was attracted by an area that was beautiful and mud-free clear water. Taking his kalasha and valkala vastra (bark garments) from his shishya, Valmiki enters the beautiful water of the Tamasā River. As he was entering the waters admiring the beauty and sounds of the birds, he sees two beautiful krauncha birds lost in union (kāmamohitam). At that moment, as though to destroy the serenity of the scene, a nishāda (hunter) shoots an arrow and kills the male bird to the lament of its partner. Looking at the lamenting kraunchi, Maharishi Valmiki says something to the nishāda,  This utterance of sorrow (śoka) that spontaneously fell into metrical form became the first śloka (verse) of Sanskrit poetry: मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः | यत् क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम् || १-२-१५ mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ | yat krauñca-mithunād...
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Sita's Agni Pariksha

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Sita's agnipariksha is a favorite episode for many Indian leftists to deride the uttama purusha of Bharatvarsha, Shri Ramachandra as a mysogynist. Unfortunately, while they use a modern western lenses selectively on Hindu themes and stories, most of them either do not know Sanskrit, have not read Ramayana, or they simply have known Ramayana through secondary sources that are compromised in their intent. While much of this poor scholarship remains alive due to the collective ignorance and apathy of the Hindus, it also true that in post colonial India, stories pertaining to gender inequality seem to corroborate perverted interpretations of Sanskrit itihasas. While the stories are true, as Veena Talwar Oldenberg explains, the reasons are largely buried in a dark colonial past: "It was also these twin features of colonial revenue collecting that made the British "civilizing mission" a travesty, driving tillers to debt and finally separation from their land, condemning ...
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