A few days back I stumbled upon this extraordinary compilation titled, “Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature” by Vettam Mani (thanks to Geeta). Today, I finally found some time to “browse” through its 900+ pages….Below, two delightful snippets from the volume…Enjoy (emphasis added)..
ALPAKALA(M). A short time. (Alpa = short and Kala= time). In the Bhagavata the following definition is  given of alpakala :
Take two tender leaves of a lotus and place one on the other. Let a strong man take a sharp …

Many amongst you would remember the story of DharmaRaj and the “Yaksha Prashna” (Questions of the “Yaksha*”). I stumbled on these questions a few weeks ago on a Dr Srinivasan’s website . Dr Srinivasan has used the “Yaksha Prashna” as an anchor to write a primer aimed at inculcating moral and ethical values amongst the young and the children. I had almost forgotten this story until I re-read it a few weeks ago. It is a story worth telling. Some excerpts from “Yaksha Prashna” by Dr A Srinivasan
This episode is …

Some of you may have read about UK’s latest Hindu temple that opened its doors a few days ago in London. While glancing through the BBC report on its opening, what caught my eye was a reference to Mother Teresa.  The report quoted Ajay Jobanputra, “governor of Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK (SVNUK), the charity which raised the funds to build the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir” as saying (emphasis/highlight added):
Famous spiritual leaders and forms of Gods from other religions are featured in the carvings such as Mother Teresa, Sri Guru …

Start your weekend with these excerpts from a conversation between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and an IAS probationer, Shri Yuvaraj Karan in 1950, reproduced from the print edition of the monthly magazine “Secularism Combat” (thanks Jiggs).
…Shri Yuvaraj Karan, a former IAS Officer, who is also one of the escapees from Pakistan has written a book “Understanding Partition” published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. When he was at the IAS training institute in Dehradun, in the first batch IAS trainees, Jawaharlal Nehru was invited to address them. At the end of Shri …

This weekend, please find a selection of articles from the North-East, touching on some of the topics previously discussed here. More “Notes from North-East” next week. Stay tuned.
The first extract on Majuli, the world’s largest riverine island in the world and its “Satras“:
Majuli was one of the nerve-centres of the Neo-Vaisnavite Movement during its heydays. It was at Majuli (then known as Dhuwahat, Ahom territory) that Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva met his foremost disciple and apostolic successor, Madhavadeva for the very first time, in the 16th century. This event, referred to …

Some thought-provoking excerpts from Separate truths by Stephen Prothero…OR why is it misleading — and dangerous — to think that religions are different paths to the same wisdom. Pl read on (Note: emphasis is mine).
*** Excerpts from “Separate Truths” by Stephan Prothero ***
…At least since…the 1960s, it has been fashionable to affirm that all religions are beautiful and all are true. This claim…is as odd as it is intriguing. No one argues that different economic systems or political regimes are one and the same. …The same goes for democracy …

The final part of  “What is Dharma” by Harapriya. Today, can one fight a dharma yudh against adharma?
*** What is “Dharma”? – Concluding Part by K Harapriya ***

Can one fight a dharma yudh against adharma?
The Mahabharata gives a pretty clear answer —-yes, we can fight a dharmic war mostly although some acts of adharma will be committed.
This will seem like equivocation to most people because we tend to believe two prevailing myths:   one, that dharmic people should be held to much higher standards than the totally adharmic;   and two,  that …

Continuing from Part-I that appeared earlier this week. Today, lessons from the MahaBharata.
*** What is “Dharma”? – Part II by K Harapriya ***

Lessons of the Mahabharata
One epic which still holds profound lessons for us,  is the Mahabharata.  Here is an epic where a central character, Duryodhana, is an ambitious king who seeks wealth and power.  These desires, in themselves,   are the hallmark of a kshatriya and therefore befitting a king.  He, as the first born son of the first born Dhritarashtra ,  considers himself the rightful heir to Hastinapura.  Leaving …

Dear All: It is my pleasure to publish this guest post on “Dharma” by K Harapriya. I will be posting this in three parts. At the outset, I am grateful to her for a very well articulated exposition of a difficult concept. Please read and share widely. Today, a definition of “Dharma” and the role of Itihaasa in the Hindu value system (formatting and emphasis is mine).
*** What is “Dharma”? by K Harapriya ***

In the last great battle of the Kurukshetra war, Bhima is engaged in a fight to death …

The first post of 2010 – a brief excerpt from Chapter 3,  The Way of Action (emphasis mine):
Arjuna asked:
Hey God, if you feel that, wisdom is superior to action,
Why are you pushing me to do this savage war? 1
You seem to enchant my brain by your conflicting words,
Please tell me decisively that, by which I will get fame. 2

Lord said:
Oh sinless one, in the times ancient, I had taught
Two distinct ways of paths to follow,
The path of wisdom for the discriminatory and
The path of action to those performers of action. …

Just finished reading Oh, But You Do Get It Wrong! by Aditi Banerjee …a commendable analysis of Wendy Donger’s prejudices and liberties with truth. I’m reproducing excerpts below. The full article is also available for download from my Docs and Slides widget on the Links page.
*** Excerpts from “Oh, But You Do Get It Wrong!” ***
…Defamation of Critics
The introduction to the interview begins with a misleading quote:
“[Doniger] has continued to infuriate the Hindutva brigade with her unorthodox views on Hinduism and its sacred texts, earning for herself the epithet: “crude, …

This post is essentially a collection of excerpts from three recent articles/reports on the Saraswati-Sindhu civilisation beginning with a list of five questions that were asked of Prof. Michael Witzel.
Many of you must be aware of the recent controversy around Prof Michael Witzel’s visit to India. I received this email/ list of questions from a google group that I am subscribed to. It is worth reproducing in full (I have taken out email addresses to protect privacy). The questions explore the issue of scholarship with particular reference to Ancient Indian …

To all my readers I owe a big apology. I have long been promising a definition of the word “Dharma” – a word that crops up every now and then in many discussions on this blog – and is also the part of my blog’s sub-title. But as I started to write this post, I realised that this should actually have been one of my first posts, if not the first. Anyways, better late than never.
As I began to do some background reading on this subject, I realised that it …

I first heard about “Sharada Tirtha” (Sharada Temple) when I stumbled on these photographs on the net. A search led me to Varnam’s post from which I learnt that while “Sharada Peeth” was as important as Somnath, Multan and Thaneshvar in olden times, it does not find any mention in History books (nor does it find any mention in the Wikipedia list of Hindu Temples in Pakistan) .
Curious to find more, I ended up on this site which noted:
Kashmir contains the famous Sharda Temple where Sankara ascended the Sarvajna Pitha(the …

I am not a big fan of Ashis Nandy but I found this article thought-provoking. Excerpts from “Unclaimed Baggage Part I and Part II” (emphasis mine):
*** “Unclaimed Baggage” Excerpts Begin ***
…Today, we seem to be back to square one. There are some remarkable similarities between the Partition massacres of 1946-48 and the Gujarat riots. This is a wrong context in which to examine the vicissitudes of the Indian experiment with secularism.
…First of all, I must nervously proclaim that I have nothing to do with the decline of Indian secularism. I …

Readers would remember that in Part – I of this series, I had promised to share some notes on this issue and a summary of historical/ archaeological evidence.
In this Part (Part – II), I have made an attempt at explaining the backdrop to a very complex situation in an easy-to-understand and hopefully well articulated, manner citing historical and archaeological evidence. Most of what I have noted below is extracted from various arguments that have been put forward in support of reclaiming the Janmabhoomi.
In the following part (Part III), I will …

A hurried post from the middle of my travels. Pl. use this thread to post your comments and thoughts on the matter of homosexuality, Section 377, the recent judgement of the Delhi High Court, Homosexuality and religion etc.
Thanks to Sanjay for alerting me to this article.
*** CAUTION: Explicit Content ***
Homosexuality and Religion
An Encyclopedia – (ed.) J. Siker, Greenwood Press, 2007.
HINDUISM. Hinduism is the world’s oldest living religion, and Hindus constitute about one-sixth of the world’s population today. Hindu communities foster a wide range of philosophy and practice, and …

Dear All: Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing excerpts from a new book by Dr Radha Rajan titled, “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation“.
The first excerpt from the Introduction, below:
*** Excerpt from “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation” – Introduction ***
Historically, the sense of nation and nationhood among Hindus has been cultural and civilisational. The culture and its unique value system, founded in an extraordinary concept of dharma, touched every aspect of individual and collective life. Politics, a means to protect and preserve dharma, was subordinate to dharma. Historically, …

Start your weekend by reading about the “Renaissance man of India – Shri Aurobindo” – written by Shri Jagmohan (Former Governer,J&K), from which a brief excerpt:
Out of the stalwarts of renaissance, Sri Aurobindo emerged as the strongest champion of the Indian spirit and expressed the highest confidence in its underlying strength. In no uncertain terms, he declared: “India cannot perish, our race cannot become extinct, because among all the divisions of mankind it is to India that is reserved the highest and most splendid destiny, the most essential to the …

I have moved the last few comments on the discussion on Islam, Hindutva, Dr Zakir Naik, Godhra post here to prevent comment overload.
Please continue discussing your thoughts on this thread.
The extract below picks up from the last few comments.
*** Comments Begin ***
*** Comment by Naved

There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah.
A Muslim believes in the existence of that which is beyond human perception. A Muslim believes in Allah and His attributes. A Muslim believes in the angels, the scriptures, and the Prophets. …