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 …

Start your weekend with Sandhya Jain’s review of Prof BB Lal’s latest book which traces the continuity of Indian culture since the dawn of the Saraswati-Sindhu civilisation. Excerpts from Discovery of India by Sandhya Jain (emphasis mine):
Barely seven years after Prof BB Lal penned The Sarasvati Flows On: The Continuity of Indian Culture (2002), the defiantly-in-denial UPA has been forced to admit the existence of the Vedic Saraswati. In response to a parliamentary question, the Government revealed that a study by scientists of ISRO, Jodhpur, and the Rajasthan Government’s Ground …

*** An evening with Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi ***

Last evening, we had Dr ChandraPrakash Dwivedi at our home for dinner (thanks to Amitabh). I had met Dr Dwivedi before but last night was different…
We talked not just about “Chanakya” but also Buddhist philosophy, film-making, Vedanta and some of his recent projects, including “Upanishad Ganga“.
And I learnt what it is to be truly humble…The first thing that strikes you about the man is his humility. In spite of his prodigal talent and extraordinary creativity, there is not a trace of arrogance or …

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 …

On the occassion of Martyr’s Day
Please take a moment to remember the ones who did not come back
And have a look at this series on National Heroes
|| Jai Hind, Jai Bharat ||

Start this weekend with a story on Hyderabad’s links to Islamic terrorism
Next, read Sandhya Jain on the apparent unravelling of Jammu & Kashmir
Then read a retelling of the story of Shantanu by Jai Joshi
and finally, a personal request from Sanjeev Sabhlok, founder-member, Freedom Team of India.
Excerpts from all the articles below, as always.
.
*** Excerpts from How Indian-born Islamic …

This post was triggered by Vir Sanghvi’s misleading article “Ayodhya for dummies” that he wrote in response to his “younger readers…(who are) mystified by the fuss and annoyed by the refusal of journos to tell them what it (Liberhan Report) was all about”
RC has already done a masterful dissection of Vir Sanghvi’s seemingly clever play with words. So I will limit myself to a specific flippant remark made by Vir Sanghvi viz. “…Hindu kings destroyed Buddhist monasteries, more or less throwing Buddhism out of India”
Before I begin, I must stress …

Start this weekend reading about “Maccha Yantra” – which might have been the precursor to the mariner’s compass of today…
Next, read former Governor of J&K, Jagmohan’s account of  his trek to Amarnath…
…and finally, ponder over Chandan Mitra’s provocative piece on the purpose of history
Excerpts from all the three articles below, as always.

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 …

Stumbled on this somewhat longer than usual blurb (below) about a new book by Shrikant G. Talageri that explores unresolved issues around Vedic chronology and the homeland of “Indo-Aryans”
Important Note: I have not yet read the book. This is not a sales pitch for Sh Talageri’s work but more a note to myself for my personal reference.
***

“The Rigveda and the Avesta: The Final Evidence“
The single most significant unresolved problem in the study of World History today is the problem of the geographical location of the Original Homeland of the Indo-European …

This is a placeholder post for various references and resources related to Saraswati-Sindhu Script.
Dr Kalyanaraman-ji’s work:
http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/mlecchitavikalpa
http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/indus-script
http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/a-new-decipherment-paradigm
http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com/
.
Varnam’s posts and research:
http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/undeciphered-scripts/
http://varnam.org/blog/2009/04/indus-script-a-formal-language/
http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/hostile-reactions/
http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/indian-history-carnival-17/
.
Asko Parpola’s works:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~aparpola/
.
Please feel free to add any other links (to articles/documents) that you may be aware of – using the comments form below.
Thanks.
Related Post: Breaking the code: the Sarasvati-Sindhu Script
*** UPDATE ***
I am traveling until the 10th of July with very limited internet access. There will be some delay before I am able to respond to (and moderate) comments.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
***
Pl. note that if you …

This weekend, enjoy some history…
Start by reading about recent ISRO research that appears to confirm the presence of River Sarasvati in present-day Haryana. A brief excerpt from Sarasvati Nadi in Haryana:
Detailed studies on the status of Saraswati Nadi of northern Haryana have been carried out using multidate and multi resolution satellite images, GIS techniques and ground data. Palaeochannels have been delineated using remote sensing techniques and validated using discovered archaeological sites, sedimentological data from drilled wells and water quality data. Detailed analysis of hydrological data (rainfall and stream discharge), catchment area and petrographic …

Excerpts from a well-researched attempt at dating the MahABhArat… (published Feb ‘04 in the Daily Pioneer)
*** Excerpts Begin ***
…For thousands of years, we have believed in the divinity of Shri Krishna. For us he was a Karmayogi par excellence who gave us action oriented philosophy of life in the form of Bhagavad Gita. But questions have constantly haunted us as to whether Krishna was a historical or mythical character and whether the war of Mahabharata was actually fought.
Till recently, we did not have the wherewithal to search for and establish …

I recently came across The Whitewashing of History, by Nithin Sridhar. Nitin has kindly agreed to let me reproduce the article on this blog. Those of you who are interested in history will find here a devastating critique of current studies and interpretation of Indian History – which has largely been driven by leftist-leaning scholars steeped in their prejudices and with varying agendas.�
The article looks at the now thoroughly discredited “Aryan Invasion Theory” (AIT), the impact of Islamic invasions on India and the red-herring of “Hindu vandalism”.�
I have also included …

Amidst esteemed leader Karunanidhi’s latest remarks questioning�the historical basis�of Ramayana and Shri Rama, comes this news-report from The Hindu (Thanks, Anirban).
Excerpts (emphasis mine) from “Ramayana is not a myth: S.R. Rao”:
“President of the Society for Marine Archaeology in India S.R. Rao said that Ramayana cannot be dismissed as a myth, just as it was done earlier in the case of Mahabharata.
…In the case of Ramayana, he said strong tradition depicts Hampi in Karnataka as Kishkindha, which was visited by Rama. The culture of Kishkindha at that time was of …

Several months ago, a friend asked me the origin of the word India and �Hindu�. That question spurred this brief piece of research.
Most experts agree today that the name �India� was derived from the river Indus (in today�s Pakistan). But the name �Indus� itself has a fascinating history behind it.
In ancient times, the entire Indus river system (along with its seven tributaries – Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, Jhelum, Beas and the now extinct River Saraswati[i]) and the area it covered, used to be called �Sapta Sindhu[ii]� i.e. the land of seven …

Several of you may already be aware of the debate that has now been current for several years around the theory of �Aryan Invasion of India�. Based on archaeological evidence, new research and fresh examination of existing evidence (and stripping away the colonial bias of earlier interpretations), it now appears that the theory was fundamentally flawed and is difficult to justify in the light of new findings.
I was therefore very pleased when I read �The Aryan-Dravidian Controversy�, By David Frawley [- thanks Sukand]. It very articulately sets the argument for …

The Aryan-Dravidian Controversy
By David Frawley
The British ruled India, as they did other lands, by a divide-and-conquer strategy. They promoted religious, ethnic and cultural divisions among their colonies to keep them under control. Unfortunately some of these policies also entered into the intellectual realm. The same simplistic and divisive ideas were used for interpreting the culture and history of India. Regrettably many Hindus have come to believe these ideas, even though a deeper examination reveals they may have no real objective or scientific basis.
One of these ideas is that India is …