Moved

No updates will be made here since this blog has moved permanently to http://www.aupasana.com/blogs/sanskrit.html.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

time reigns supreme

आकाशगामिकरमृष्टसुमं सुवक्त्रम्
मेघाश्रुपातबहुलेन फलं सुपक्वम् ।
वायुप्रकम्पशिथिलं पतितं च बीजम्
कः  बीजपाकवचनः स हि काल एव ॥

The flower blooms when it is touched by the rays of the sun;
The fruit ripens when it is watered by the tears of the cloud;
The seed falls when it is shaken and loosened by the wind;
But kāla alone can tell you when all of this will happen.

Friday, February 27, 2015

on vāsanās

इन्द्रियाध्यशनेऽतृष्णा वासनातानवे स्पृहा ।
कार्यालये रमाचिन्ता गृहे कार्यस्य चिन्तनम् ॥

When you feast on the senses, you attain dispassion; and when you do the opposite you attain desire. After all, when you at at work, you are thinking about your wife (home life). And, when you are at home, you are busy thinking of work !  (i.e. When you overload the senses at home, you attain dispassion about home and instead desire work. And vice versa)

Molai Forest

[link] http://www.thebetterindia.com/10904/jadav-molai-payeng-forest-man-india/

"Almost three decades ago, a teenager, after noticing the deaths of a large number of reptiles due to a lack of a tree cover, started planting Bamboo in an area that had been washed away by floods. Today, that same land hosts 1,360 acres of Jungle called Molai Forest, named after Jadav “Molai” Payeng, the man who made this possible single handedly!"

"That forest is now home to Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros, over 100 deer and rabbits besides apes and several varieties of birds, including a large number of vultures. There are several thousand trees. Bamboo covers an area of over 300 hectares. A herd of around 100 elephants regularly visits the forest every year and generally stays for around six months. They have given birth to 10 calves in the forest in recent years."

उन्निद्रवारिनिधिजृम्भपरिप्लुता सा
वन्ध्येव पुष्परहिता समभूरनन्ता ।
एकैकबीजवपनश्रमजीवितेन
व्याघ्रादिजन्तुगणपोषयुतान्नपूर्णा ॥

When the ocean expanded and yawned, it overflowed onto the land and rendered her barren for an infinite stretch. Then, by a life's work of painstakingly planting seed after seed, mother annapūrṇā has once again become the nourishing haunt of tigers and other herds.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

perfect circumstances

In a recent thread, an āstika was commenting on the dire straits in which many of the vedic traditions find themselves. In order to revive them, he was looking for utterly ideal circumstances to be provided by those in places of authority. He wanted "crown wearing" sannyāsis to take care of his every want. I found the situation comical --

चण्डे मरौ श्रुतितरुं समुपेत्य सन्धौ
सन्ध्याजलं कुत अहो विसृजामि सोऽहम् ।
मन्मन्त्रशक्तिधरवारिविशेषदाने
संन्यस्तराजमुकुटं हि समर्थपात्रम् ॥

Having approached the vedic-tree which is in a crisis state in terrifying desert conditions, he wonders -- "Where should I release my sandhyā waters? The only vessel fit to receive the waters that contain my mantra śakti is a royal crown laid down before me". The words sandhau, so'ham and sannyāsa all have a secondary meaning as well.

Monday, February 23, 2015

half-baked knowledge

I had an opportunity to engage with someone that encourages and teaches śloka recitation. Unfortunately, instead of sticking to simple basics, he attempts to teach nuances that are poorly grounded.

विना ज्ञानं विनादेशं लोककल्याणकाङ्क्षिणः ।
बोधयन्ति वयोवृद्धान् रिङ्खनं पादपातनम् ॥
रिङ्खनं मे सुप्रख्यातं कर्तव्यं तस्य बोधनम् ।
इत्येवं व्याहरन्तीमे कुर्वन्त्यन्धपरम्पराम् ॥

Sometimes well meaning people forge ahead to teach others, though they themselves lack a proper foundation, and lack any clear direction. They end up resembling children that attempt to teach adults how to crawl and move about. They believe that their celebrated method of crawling deserves to be taught. Unfortunately, this is simply a case of the blind leading the blind.

भाषास्वभावमनुपेत्य विमूढवत् ते
पाशादिकेन विनिहन्ति गतिप्रसारम् ।
इन्द्रादिचारुविहिता मुनिशक्तिसत्ता
पर्यश्रुनेत्रनदिकास्रवसिक्तदेहा ॥

Without understanding saṁskṛta bhāṣā's nature, they foolishly try to restrain her gait with nooses and the like. She who has been used elegantly by Indra and the devas, and she who is the very existence underlying the śakti of the munis ... her body is now soaked by the river borne out of her tear-filled eyes.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

ṛṣyādi nyāsaḥ

The locations for the ṛṣyādi nyāsa are given in the following verse in the prapañca sāra sāra saṁgraha --

ṛṣir gurutvāt śirasaiva dhāryaḥ chando'kṣaratvāt rasanāgataṁ syāt |
dhiyā'vagantavyatayā sadaiva hṛdi pradiṣṭā manudevatā ca ||

i.e. the ṛṣi is placed on the head, the chandas on the tongue, and the devatā is established in the heart.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

on meetings and projections

चर्चासभा सकललोकसुखप्रदात्री
पश्यन्ति शुभ्रफलकं पुरतश्च सभ्याः ।
ताराश्च सूर्यकिरणान् फलकानि तद्वत्
दृष्ट्वा प्रभातसमये प्रणमन्ति भक्ताः ॥

Everyone loves meetings, and those who partake in them love to stare at the shining white board (projector screen) in front of them. These bhaktas wake up in the morning, and salute the stars and the sun, and projector screens !