पश्यन्ति paśyantī

Following are random excerpts from my old writings and some are from a letter I had written to my daughter’s middle school Math teacher (circa 2006) who would be showing slides of Varanasi in class and talking about untouchability. It turned out that he also held Bible related after-class gatherings at the school. This was my first exposure to the attack on Hinduism by the Church and how “untouchability” has been one of their favorite weapons, or should I say a beast that they have created, fed, and nurtured for several decades, if not centuries. A beast that we have been made to believe is our own creation. Anyhow, I thought I will share these since I feel it is quite relevant today due to the COVID pandemic that the world is going through. ******* Sushruta  (600BC ~ couple of centuries before Hippocrates), a Shalya Vaidya (surgeon) who describes over a 100 surgical instruments and stresses on keeping the instruments “pure” and practiced several hundred surgeries in...

And thereafter Rama was adorned with (Manu’s) bejeweled crown by the great sage Vasishtha! The Story of Rama is entrenched in all aspects of life in India. One of the most common events that is often seen on temple carvings, traditional art forms (such as tanjavur paintings), and performing arts is Rama's pattabhishekham (coronation). Through this short piece, I will be trying to look at composition and detail of some these common pieces of art and compare them with the description in Valmiki's Ramayana. At the outset, let me say that this is by no means a scholarly, exhaustive analysis. It is largely anecdotal and done in a spirit of celebration and appreciation of this art. First I am am sharing excerpts that are relevant to the scene of the pattabhishekham from the Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 128 of Valmiki's Ramayana. This will be followed by pieces of art and my commentary on them based on these excerpts. Excerpts from Yuddha Kand, Sarga 128 On the orders of Su...

Both illusion and reality is me, just me! Rama’s Birth Interesting excerpts from Valmiki’s Ramayana o n the occasion of   Ramanavami, April 2. 2020 When was Rama born?  ततो   यज्ञे   समाप्ते   तु   ऋतूनाम्   षट्   समत्ययुः  | ततः   च   द्वादशे   मासे   चैत्रे   नावमिके   तिथौ  ||  १ - १८ - ८ नक्क्षत्रे   अदिति   दैवत्ये   स्व   उच्छ   संस्थेषु   पंचसु  | ग्रहेषु   कर्कटे   लग्ने   वाक्पता   इंदुना   सह  ||  १ - १८ - ९ प्रोद्यमाने   जगन्नाथम्   सर्व   लोक   नमस्कृतम्  | कौसल्या   अजनयत्   रामम्   सर्व   लक्षण   संयुतम्  ||  १ - १८ - १० विष्णोः   अर्धम्   महाभागम्   पुत्रम्   ऐक्ष्वाकु   नंदनम्  | लोहिताक्षम्   महाबाहुम्   रक्त   ओष्टम्   दुंदुभि   स्वनम्  ||  ...