Monday, September 28, 2009

The holy Kashi (Chap 1)

Kashi, also commonly known as Benares or Varanasi, is a city situated on the bank of the River Ganga (Ganges) and regarded as holy by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.

Varanasi is a holy city and a very sacred pilgrimage place. It has the holy shrine of Lord Kashi Vishwanath and also one of the twelve revered Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

There is a belief that bathing in Ganga remits sins and that dying in Kashi ensures release of a person's soul from the cycle of its transmigrations. Kashi is regarded as one of the Shakti Peethas, and that Vishalakshi Temple stands on the spot where Goddess Sati's earrings fell. Hindus of the Shakti sect make a pilgrimage to the city because they regard river Ganga itself as Goddess Shakti. Adi Shankara wrote his commentaries here, leading to the great Hindu revival.

Varanasi is home to four universities: Banaras Hindu University, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.

Varanasi has nearly 100 ghats. Many of the ghats were built when the city was under Maratha control. Marathas, Shindes (Scindias), Holkars, Bhonsles, and Peshwes (Peshwas) stand out as patrons of present-day Varanasi. Many ghats are privately owned. Most of the ghats are bathing ghats, while others are used as cremation sites. Many ghats are associated with legends or mythologies.

People often refer to Varanasi as "the city of temples", "the holy city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city of lights", and "the city of learning." Varanasi is a city of temples. Almost every road crossing has a nearby temple. Such small temples form the basis of daily local prayers and other rituals. But there are many large temples too, erected at different times through out the history of Varanasi.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple, also called Golden Temple, which in its present shape was built in 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, is located on the outskirts of the Ganga. This temple makes Varanasi a place of great religious importance to the Hindus, as Vishweshwara or Vishwanatha, the aforementioned Jyotirlinga of the Lord Shiva is enshrined here. In 1839, Punjab Kesari, the Jat-Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab donated gold to cover the two domes of the temple. On January 28, 1983 the Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust. The temple was once destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who built a mosque over it. It was later resurrected at a location near the mosque.

The new Vishwanath Temple, called Birla Mandir, mainly funded by Raja Birla of the Birla family of industrialists, was built as a replica of the old Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Planned by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the temple is part of the Banaras Hindu University, and stands for national revival.

Sankat Mochan Temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and is very popular with the local citizens. It is a place for many yearly religious as well as cultural festivals.

Kala Bhairava Temple: It is the ancient temple of Varanasi near VishesharGanj. God KalBhairav is believed as "Kotwal Of Varanasi" , without his permission no one can stay in Kashi.

To every visitor; Varanasi offers a breathtaking experience. The temples and shrines along the banks of Ganga …soul stirring hymns and mantras …and the refreshing dip in the holy waters gently splashing at the Ghats. Varanasi – the land where experience and discovery reach the ultimate bliss.

Should you desire more info, pl visit the following among other sites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasi

http://varanasi.nic.in/

http://wikitravel.org/en/Varanasi

I was planning to pay my 2nd visit there on LTC. This time with parents, wife and daughters. On the day of departure, however, the Air India flight got cancelled.

गंगा तरंग रमणीय जटा कलापं गौरी निरंतर विभूषित वाम भागम्

नारायण प्रिय मनन्ग मदापहारं वाराणासी पुरपतें भज विश्वनाथं

Sunday, September 13, 2009

ಭದ್ರಗಿರಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಅಚ್ಯುತ ದಾಸ

Last evening I attended a ಹರಿಕಥೆ by ಭದ್ರಗಿರಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಅಚ್ಯುತ ದಾಸ. It was held after facilitation to Sri Srinatha Marathe a veteran vocalist and classical music teacher of Mangalore.
Despite his ripe age of 80, ಶ್ರೀ ಅಚ್ಯುತ ದಾಸ held his audience spell bound with his mastery in the presenting the ಹರಿಕಥೆ of
ಭಕ್ತ ಸುದಾಮ. There was a right mixture of quotes from Upanishads & Bhagavatha, right doses of wit and humour and very melodious voice.

He sang many ದಾಸರ ಗೀತೆಗಳು. Particularly he chose ಇಟ್ಠಾಂಗೆ ಇರುವೆನು ಹರಿಯೆ for a detailed narration.
Why should we hear Harikathe from scholars like ಶ್ರೀ ಅಚ್ಯುತ ದಾಸ ?
ನ ವಿನಾ ವಿದುಷಾಂ ವಾಕ್ಯೈ: ನಶ್ಯತಿ ಅಭ್ಯನ್ತರಂ ತಮ:
{ The inner darkness do not get removed unless one hears a true scholar}
Blessed are those who hear ಶ್ರೀ ಅಚ್ಯುತ ದಾಸ with all sincerity.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Stories of Panchatantra (for Men!) Part-2

We were recalling the gems of wisdom in the stories of Panchatantra in sanskrit prose and verse. The book in its original form is a treasure house of knowledge which are usually lost in translation.
In the previous part we read about the romancing skills of women. Here let us see how they fare subsequently as per Panchatantra.
नाग्नि: तृप्यति काष्टानां नापगानां महोदधि: ।
नान्तक: सर्व भूतानां न पुंसां वामलोचना ॥
The fire is never satisfied by putting more and more fire wood. The ocean will never be satisfied with more and more rivers merging with it. Yama raja (Lord of death) also is never satisfied by taking the lives of more and more people. Similarly, women never satisfied from any number of men!.
रहो नास्ति क्षणो नास्ति नास्ति प्रार्थयिता नर: ।
तेन नारद ! नारीणां सतीत्वमुपजायते ॥
Many women have remained chaste. The secret of their remaining chaste is due to absence of private place or time and absence of courageous men who dare to enjoy them!.
यो मोहान्मन्यते मूडो रक्तेयं मम कामिनी ।
सा तस्य वशगो नित्यं भवेत्क्रीडाशकुन्तवत ॥
If anyone foolishly believes that “This woman is loving me fully”, then he is certain live like a puppet and become a permanent slave to her.
स्त्रियं च य: प्रार्थयते सन्निकर्षं च गच्चति ।
ईषच्च कुरुते सेवां तमेवेच्छंति योषित: ॥
Women desire such men who are always plead before them, who always loiter around them and who are ever ready to do petty helps. Such men are preferred by women.
I make it abundantly clear that the above descriptions are too general in nature, exaggerated to certain extent and cannot be universally true. We must realise that there are and there will be innumerable number of honourable exceptions. The only point I emphsise is the requirement of general public to revisit our classical texts to get wholesome entertainment in its multiple faces.
Well, more shlokas in the 3rd part. Watch out this space