Glimpses from Indian spirituality, mythology and way of life.

The Hindu way of life is deeply influenced by the lives of ancient sages. Sages are the great souls who have devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people.  They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. When they were young boys they received education in places known as gurukulas. When they came of age they led family life. In old age, they retired to forests and lived there with their wives exercising strict control over their senses.

The period of the ancient sages, according to Hindu chronology, is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The Puranas project sages to more than a live figure and give them life span of thousands of years.

India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. As we all know, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata were given to us by Sages Valmiki and Vyasa. The epics and other religious literatures indicate the contribution of many sages towards uplifting of human ethical, moral and religious standards.

This episode gives a brief outlook on Sage Bharadwaja, one of these great sages.

I have also brought about an audio book titled ‘Ancient Sages of India’ which will be available with leading audio book-sellers like Google’s play books.

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_Ancient_Sages_of_India?id=AQAAAECcenU6-M

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/ancient-sages-of-india-by-venkataraman-m

https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/478085404/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india/461360

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1533790027

https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/1021931/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://shop.authors-direct.com/products/ancient-sages-of-india

GANESHA WROTE THE MAHABHARAT

Mahabharat is one of the two great epics of India. Sage Vyasa is the author of the Mahabharat. There is an anecdote in the puranas which says that Lord Ganesha, the cute little god of Hinduism is also involved in the composition of the Mahabharat. In this episode, Nithya Venkataraman presents this short story on how Lord Ganesha was involved in the writing of this great epic.

Firmness or determination is an important aspect of life. This story highlights the importance of the quality of determination in the personality of an individual.

For knowing about some of the other great sages like Vyasa, please also read the audio book titled 'Ancient sages of India' available with leading audio booksellers like Google’s play books.

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_Ancient_Sages_of_India?id=AQAAAECcenU6-M

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/ancient-sages-of-india-by-venkataraman-m

https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/478085404/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india/461360

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1533790027

https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/1021931/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://shop.authors-direct.com/products/ancient-sages-of-india

The Alwars are a group of twelve ancient Vaishnava saints who lived in Tamil Nadu in the eighth and ninth centuries. They are famous for their poetry in praise of Lord Vishnu. The collection of their 4000 poems is known as the ‘Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam’.

Among the Alwars, the first in the line up is Poigai Alwar, Bhudat Alwar and Pei Alwar. They are collectively called as "Mudhal Alwars" (the first Alwars) and belong to the same period of time. The other Alwars are Perialwar, Andal, Nammalwar, Madhura kavi Alwar, Tirumazhisai Alwar, Thondaridipodi Alwar, Thirumangai Alwar, Tiruppan Alwar and Kulasekara Alwar.

The Nalayira Divya Prabandham is the collective corpus of the passionate hymns of the Alwars. These hymns are known as ‘Paasurams’. These are   in the form of adoration of the deities of 108 temples. These 108 temples are known as Divya Desams and are situated in different parts of the country. The adorations in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham employ every form of poetics and prosody available in Tamil.

In this episode, I have dealt a little bit about Thirumangai Alwar. I have also brought about an audio book titled ‘Alwars-The Vaishnvie Saints’ which will be available with leading audio book-sellers like Google’s play books.

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_Alwars?id=AQAAAEAcKRZpGM

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1530919441

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/alwars-by-venkataraman-m

Sage Markandeya

Markandeya is one of the ancient sages of India. He is considered to be a Chiranjeevi, one who would live forever. There is a story in the Puranas as to how he was helped by Lord Shiva from the clutches of the god of death and blessed to live forever. There is a temple at Thirukkadaiyur near Mayiladuthurai which is associated with this incident. I have briefly sketched the story of Sage Markandeya in this episode.

One of the important hymns stated to have been composed by Sage Markandeya is the Maha Mrityunjaya Stotram. In this stotram we may notice that the sentence ‘Namami shirasa devam kim no mrityu karishyati’ comes almost throughout the hymn. It means ‘What can the god of death do to me as I bow by head before Lord Shiva’. It is somewhat like a challenge to the god of death saying that I am the devotee of Lord Shiva and you can’t do anything to me.

The recitation or hearing of this hymn is said to alleviate the fear of death and bring welfare and happiness. I have recited this hymn within this episode.

I have also brought about an audio book titled ‘Ancient Sages of India’ which will be available with leading audio book-sellers like Google’s play books. 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_Ancient_Sages_of_India?id=AQAAAECcenU6-M

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/ancient-sages-of-india-by-venkataraman-m

https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/478085404/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/ancient-sages-of-india/461360

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1533790027

https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/1021931/Ancient-Sages-of-India

https://shop.authors-direct.com/products/ancient-sages-of-india

This hymn is composed by Adi Sankara, the proponent of the Advaita system of Philosophy. The popularity of this hymn is not merely due to its poetic style but also because it brings about this philosophy briefly and effectively.

Guru occupies a very important place in Hindu way of life. The word Guru cannot be easily translated though roughly it may be said that the word represents a teacher. Dakshinamurthy is a form of Lord Shiva where he is stated to have manifested as a young boy imparting spiritual wisdom to the aged disciples. Another interesting aspect is that he conveyed the Supreme Truth through silence.

The supreme Brahman is the Truth. That is what we call God. It is the only reality.

This Universe is like the reflection of a mirror. It is the projection of Brahman. Prior to its projection, this Universe was present in Brahman in an un-manifested way. This un-manifested form gets manifested in various forms by the will of this Supreme Brahman. The unreal universe appears to be real and multiform through the power of Maya.

In fact, Brahman is the indwelling spirit in every being and is known as Atman. This indwelling spirit is changeless throughout the various states of the human being. Just as the brilliance of the sun exists even when intercepted by planet Rahu during eclipse, this indwelling spirit remains though clouded by Maya.

Just as a person on awakening becomes aware that he was asleep earlier and that whatever dreams which he had were unreal, a person who awakens to the consciousness of the Self recognizes his previous state of ignorance as unreal. The identity of the Brahman and the Atman will be apparent after self-illumination. He who destroys this delusion caused by maya and makes us aware of this indwelling spirit is Dakshinamurthy, who is embodied in the auspicious Guru. The embodiment of Dakshinamurthy in the Guru, by whose grace and grace alone the illumination becomes apparent is saluted in the fourth line of each sloka in the hymn.

I have also brought about an audio book titled ‘A few hymns on Lord Shiva’ which you may like to hear. It is available with leading audio book-sellers like Google’s play books.

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/few-hymns-on-lord-shiva-a

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_A_few_hymns_on_Lord_Shiva?id=AQAAAEAcdhw2EM

https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/474406294/A-few-hymns-on-Lord-Shiva

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1529867083

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/a-few-hymns-on-lord-shiva-by-venkataraman-m

https://www.hibooks.com/discover/audiobook/few-hymns-on-lord-shiva-a

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/few-hymns-on-lord-shiva/455949

https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/1020415/A-few-hymns-on-Lord-Shiva

https://shop.authors-direct.com/products/a-few-hymns-on-lord-shiva

This composition of Shyama Sastri, Saroja Dala Netri is on goddess Minakshi of Madurai.

Shyama Sastry is from Tamilnadu. In addition to Tamil, he became well-versed in Sanskrit and Telegu quite early in life. At the age of 18, he moved from Tiruvarur to Tanjavur with his family and became a great devotee of Goddess Bangaaru Kaamaakshi. He began learning music from his uncle and then became a devout disciple of Sangeeta Swaami.

Most of Shyama Shastri's compositions are in praise of Goddess Kamakshi. He had composed about 300 songs. Most of his compositions are in Telugu language. A few compositions are Sanskrit and Tamil.

It is said that Syama Sastri rarely went out of Tanjavur and that one day, a stranger asked him to go to Madurai and compose a few kritis on Goddess Minakshi, the presiding deity of that place. Next day, he went to Madurai and composed nine kritis, the Navaratnamaalika, the garland of nine gems, on Goddesss Minakshi. Saroja Dala Netri is one of this Navaratnamaalika.

In this composition, he says:

Oh! Mother Minakshi! The goddess whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus flower, who is the daughter of the Mountain of snow, whose tresses are dark like the honey bees, I have always trusted only your lotus feet. Please grant me welfare.

Oh! Mother! Who is holding a parrot in her hand, who is the queen consort of Lord Shiva, who is ancient and a bestower of boons! Is there a Goddess like You in this World? Please don’t be indifferent to me. Please grant me welfare.

Please listen to this song rendered by Nirmala Ramachandran which is in Sanskrit.

This is a bhajan, Mamava Madhava, composed by Narayana Teertar and recited by Nithya Venkataraman.

Narayana Teertar is one of the important saints of India. He is an ardent devotee of Sri Krishna. He is believed to be an incarnation of Jayadeva, the author of Geeta Govindam. His 'Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini' is an important work consisting of many slokas and Kritis mostly in Sanskrit. It has got 12 chapters known as Tarangas. The Tarangas depict the life and childhood pranks of Sri Krishna and culminate in the auspicious wedding of Sri Krishna with Goddess Rukmini. These compositions form an integral part of Indian classical music and dance.

In this song he addreses Lord Krishna and prays:

'Oh Madhava, you are the Lord of the Yadava dynasty, please protect me.'

Hailing Lord Krishna with various forms of praise, he says

'Oh Lord, You are a support to all saints. You are the source of all thoughts. Your eyes are like lotus petals and your neck is like a conch. Your lips are red like a ripe bimba fruit and your face is beautiful like the moon. Your nose is sharp like the Champa flower adorned with shining pearls.

The pleasant moon of the autumn season is arousing amorous feelings. You had taken the eluding human form by your Maya. You have amazed Lord Brahma showing your magnificient power of creating the whole cosmos.

Oh Krishna, you look beautiful with your consort. You perpetually dwell in my mind. Please protect me.'

Swathi Tirunal was a king and one of the great exponents of Carnatic music. His kritis are mostly the outpouring of his devotion to Lord Padmanabha of Thiruvananthapuram.

He has also composed kritis on various other deities. Among these, the nine kritis he composed, for singing the praise of Goddess during the Navaratri festival stand out as a distinct and precious collection. This song is on Goddess Saraswati. It says:

Oh Mother Bharati!  the spouse of Brahma, Victory to You.  Kindly protect me.

You are always resonating with the melody of the Veena. You are the essence of Vedas.  You are always favorable to good people.

Oh Vani!   You are adorned with lovely white silk garment. You are auspicious. You are full of compassion and you are expert in looking after the welfare of those who take refuge in you.

Kindly take your abode in my heart and make my mind take shelter at your feet.

The song is rendered by Nirmala Ramachandran.

Thondaridipodi Alwar

Thondaridipodi Alwar is one of the important Alwars.  

In this episode, I have dealt a little bit about Thirumangai Alwar. I have also brought about an audio book titled ‘Alwars-The Vaishnvie Saints’ which will be available with leading audio book-sellers like Google’s play books.

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/VENKATARAMAN_M_Alwars?id=AQAAAEAcKRZpGM

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1530919441

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/alwars-by-venkataraman-m

This is a song composed by Muthusamy Dikshitar on Lord Shiva who is worshipped as Ekambareswara in the holy town of Kancheepuram in Tamil nadu.

Kancheepuram is a temple town. The temple of Ekambareswara and the temple of goddess Kamakshi are two important temples there. Further, Adi Sankara, the great philosopher saint, established the Kamakoti Peetam in Kancheepuram.

It is said that Goddess Kamakshi granted poetic prowess to a man who was dumb by birth and he composed the wonderful work called “Mooka-pancha-shati” of five hundred verses in praise of the goddess. He was known as Mooka-kavi (meaning mute poet).

Dikshitar has composed this song in Sanskrit. Dikshitar says:

Oh Lord Ekambareshwara, the giver of one and many benefits, I worship you. You are the eminent and auspicious one who had slayed the god of death, one residing at the base of a mango tree and is the one who removes tendencies for action and dualism. You are the form of the “Om” Mantra, whose sons (Ganesha and Skanda) are embodiments of wisdom and is the one praised by Guruguha.

You are the one represented by the five letter mantra, the one with a pleasing bright form and the one who has five faces, beginning with Sadyojata, which are beyond this universe.

You are the one with a charming face residing in the well-known Kamakoti Peetha, in the company of Goddess Kamakshi, who has been praised by the renowned Mooka Kavi and other such poets.

Oh Lord Ekambareshwara, the giver of one and many benefits, I worship you.