Speech delivered by Sri Viswanatha Satyanarayana, at the award Presentation Function, Bharatiya Jnana Pith, New Delhi on 16th November, 1971

Respected President of the Indian Republic, Shri V.V. Giri! And the elite of this gathering!! Hail Rama Jain! Hail other members of Jnanpith! Hail Dr. Gopala Reddi! Hail Dr. KaranSingh, the Chairman, and the other members of the Selection Board! You always seek to glorify us poets. And we always glorify you, as is most …

Dasarathi Rangacharya’s Introduction to his Sukla Yajurveda Samhita

Another sumptuous read. The conversational style, the erudition, mincing no words, down-to-earth nature, everything is visible here.  భగవానుడు నన్ను అనుగ్రహించాడు. కేవలం పరమతుమ్ముని కరుణా కటాక్షం వలన శ్రీమద్రామాయణ (1963),శ్రీమహాభారత (1994), శ్రీమహాభాగవత (1970) గ్రంధాలను ఆంధ్ర  వచనంలో రచించగలిగాను. భారత సంస్కృతికి  మూలస్థంభాలు ఆ గ్రంధాలు. ఆ మూడింటినీ ఒక్కడు రచించిన  దృష్టాంతరాలు అరుదు.     భగవదనుగ్రహం లేక ఏ కార్యము ప్రారంభం కాదు. కొనసాగదు, పూర్తికాదు, ఏలనన …

Pliny the Elder on Gods

For this reason I deem it a mark of human weakness to seek to discover the shape and form of God. Whoever God is—provided there is a God—and in whatever region he is, he consists wholly of sense, sight and hearing, wholly of soul, wholly of mind, wholly of himself. To believe in gods without …

Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham – Message over CoronaVirus

The world is facing a serious challenge because of an epidemic by name Coronavirus. Citizens of many countries are affected by this epidemic. We are praying that all those people will recover soon and become healthy, and that no new person should be affected by this Virus. Even in our country, both the government and …

Translatability of Gods – If it doesn’t exist?

A simple Venn Diagram. A ∩ B exists only when there is something common between the both. Building upon Assmann, who says two of the major advantages of ancient polytheistic religions were religious tolerance and international law, this intersection exists there because though everyone has got their own religions, there is an equivalent god for …

January First as New Year Day

How many of us know that Jan 1 is new year because that's the day on which Jesus Christ was circumcised? There was an utter confusion with regard to new year between 12th and 15th century, with the most standard dates being 1 Jan - Roman New Year and the day of circumcision of Jesus …

The 16 fires of Zorastrians

The Zorastrians consider Atash Behram, the fire created out of the below 16 sources as the supreme. The sparks are collected and the fire is consecrated after 11000 hours of ceremonies. The one which was brought into India by the fleeing Zorastrians is considered to one of the oldest Atash Behrams and for that matter, …

Kunthap Sukta – Atharva Veda

Misinformation rules the day in this Kali Yuga. Whether it is for good or for bad, the point is, we are seeing misinformation is being spread day in and day out. To achieve what, god only knows. Now, look at this. Someone shared me reference to Prophet Muhammad in Atharva Veda. The main points mentioned …

Simhachalam Temple – Need for Course Correction

Two days ago, I was in Simhachalam. That was my second visit to the temple. Because it was a Saturday and Panchami, the rush was massive in the temple. We decided to have a Darshan through the 100 rupee Special Darshan. It was a very big mistake. It took almost half an hour for us …

Dara Shikoh’s Introduction to the Upanishads – Sirr-e-Akbar

Anquetil Duperron found a copy of Sirr-e-Akbar, Dara Shikoh’s translation of Upanishads and royally defaced the name, in the usual European style as Oppenk’hat. At the start of the book, Dara gives the author’s introduction to the work. This preface, where Dara says Upanishads are a commentary of the Quran, is considered to be the …