Sri Sri Sushameendraru and Sri Sri Suyateendraru

I will fall short of words to describe the blessings of these 2 Swamijis in my life.

Sri Sri Sushameendra Tirtha Swamiji

 

Sri Sri Suyateendra Tirtha Swamiji

Dasanagu Visheshanagu

Lyrics courtesy the comments at the YouTube site for this extraordinary song

ದಾಸನಾಗೋ ಭವಪಾಶ ನೀಗೋ
ಏಸೋ ಕಾಯಂಗಳ ಕಳೆದು ಎಂಬತ್ನಾಲ್ಕುಲಕ್ಷ ಜೀವ
ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ಬಂದ ಈ ಶರೀರ ತಾನಲ್ಲ ತನ್ನದಲ್ಲಾ
ಆಸೆ ತರವಲ್ಲ ಮುಂದೆ ಬಾಹೋದಲ್ಲಾ
ದಾಸನಾಗು ವಿಷೇಶನಾಗೋ
ಆಶಾಕ್ಲೇಶ ದೋಷವೆಂಬ ಅಬ್ಧಿಯೊಳು ಮುಳುಗಿ ಯಮನ
ಪಾಶಕ್ಕೋಳಗಾಗದೆ ನಿರ್ದೋಷಿಯಾಗೋ ಸಂತೋಷಿಯಾಗೋ

ಕಾಶಿ,ವಾರಣಸಿ,ಕಂಚಿ, ಕಾಳಹಸ್ತಿ, ರಾಮೇಶ್ವರ,
ಏಸು ದೇಶ ತಿರುಗಿದರು ಬಾಹುದೇನೊ-ಅಲ್ಲಾ ಆಹೊದೇನೋ
ದೋಷನಾಶ ಕೃಷ್ಣವೇಣಿ ಗಂಗೆ ಗೋದವರಿ ಭವ
ನಾಶಿ ತುಂಗಭದ್ರೆ ಯಮುನೆ ವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ
ಮೀಸಲಾಗಿ ಮಿಂದು ಜಪ-ತಪ,ಹೋಮ-ನೇಮಗಳ
ಏಸು ಬಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದರು ಫಲವೇನು? ಛಲವೇನು?

ಅಂದಿಗೊ ಇಂದಿಗೋ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಸಿರಿ ಕಮಲೇಶನನ್ನು
ಒಂದು ಬಾರಿಯಾದರು ಹಿಂದೆ ನೆನೆಯಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲಾ ಮನ ತಣಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲಾ
ಬಂದುಬಂದು ಭ್ರಮೆಗೊಂಡು ಮಾಯಮೋಹಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ
ನೊಂದು ಬೆಂದು ಒಂದರಿಂದ ಉಳಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲಾ ಬಂಧ ಕಳೆಯಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲಾ
ಸಂದೇಹವ ಮಾಡದಿರು ಅರಿವು ಎಂಬ ದೀಪವಿಟ್ಟು
ಇಂದು ಕಂಡ್ಯ ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಿಂಡಾಂಡ ಹಾಗೆ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡ
ಇಂದು ಹರಿಯ ಧ್ಯಾನವನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿ ವಿವೇಕದಿ ಮು-
ಕುಂದನಿಂದ ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಬೇಡು ಕಂಡ್ಯ ನೀ ನೋಡು ಕಂಡ್ಯಾ?

ದಾಸನಾಗು ವಿಷೇಶನಾಗು….

ನೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಶರಣು ಮಾಡಿ ನೀರ ಮುಳುಗಲ್ಯಾಕೆ? ಪರ-
ನಾರಿಯರ ನೋಟಕೆ ಗುರಿಯಮಾಡಿದಿ?ಮನ ಸೆರೆಯ ಮಾಡಿದಿ?
ಸೋರೆಯೊಳು ಸುರೆ ತುಂಬಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೂವಿನ ಹಾರ ಹಾಕಿ
ಗೀರುಗಂಧ ಅಕ್ಷತೆಯ ಧರಿಸಿದಂತೆ ನೀ ಮೆರೆಸಿದಂತೆ
ಗಾರುಡಿಯ ಮತ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ನಾದಬ್ರಹ್ಮನ ಪಿಡಿದು
ಸಾರಿಸಾರಿ ಮುಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಶಮನದಿಂದ ಮತ್ತೆ ಸುಮನದಿಂದ
ನಾರಯಣ ಅಚ್ಯುತಾನಂತಾದಿಕೇಶವನ
ಸಾರಮೃತವನೂಂಡು ಸುಖಿಸೋಲಂಡಜೀವವೆ ಎಲೋಭಂಡಜೀವವೆ…
ದಾಸನಾಗು ವಿಷೇಶನಾಗು
ಏಸು ಕಾಯನ್ಗಳ ಕಳೆದು ೮೪ ಲಕ್ಷ ಜೀವ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ಬಂದ
ಈ ಶರೀರ ತಾನಲ್ಲ ತನ್ನದಲ್ಲಾ ಆಸೆ ತರವಲ್ಲ ಮುಂದೆ ಬಾಹೋದಲ್ಲಾ
ದಾಸನಾಗು ವಿಷೇಶನಾಗು, ದಾಸನಾಗು ಭವ ಪಾಶನೀಗೋ

Progress on the portals

Last week, Samata and I combined a personal visit to Mangalore (to attend a marriage) with some work on the “Temples of Tulunadu” project. I was able to visit Belmannu, Bola, Kandalike and Pavanje. In the coming weeks, I will publish small writeups, as usual, on the Anandatirtha website. Visiting these temples right in the middle of the monsoon was indeed a challenge but the effort left me immensely pleased. In addition, we also visited Nellitheertha, Palimaru, Kulai and a small Mukhyaprana temple in Hosabettu, near Suratkal. I have come back spiritually re-charged 🙂

I am closing in on twenty temples now as part of the project. My first milestone has been 50 temples. If I am able to complete this in around 2 years (started sometime September 2008), that will be a great beginning.

In another good development, the Vishnusahasranama portal is seeing some good traction. Madhusimha’s untiring efforts led to the completion of the pages for the 1000 names. We are now full time into developing individual pages for each of the names. Madhusimha has also kindly agreed to contribute to this. In addition, my (e-)friend 🙂  Gautham Shenoy has also joined us. I am very optimistic that the portal will now see rapid development.

Update on the Vishnu Sahasranama Portal

Its been 15 days since the portal became available. Some updates to the website have been made.

• A facility to read the stotra online in Kannada, English and Devanagiri
• An amateur attempt at providing a Vishnu Sahasranama screensaver!
• The English translation of the specific portion of the Mahabharata where the Vishnu Sahasranama appears

With regard to the development of the portal, we have decided to split up the work into four phases. In the first phase, we will just add the names and their meanings. About 400 names are complete so far.

In the second phase, we will add individual pages for each name. This will contain name, pronunciation aid, meaning and namavali but no detailed notes.

In the third phase, we will add detailed notes for each name, based on several references we are accumulating.

In the fourth phase, we will upload short audio clips which will help one learn pronunciation and namavali. For example, refer to pages corresponding to the first two names in the portal.

My friend Madhusimha has joined in this effort to build the portal. Thanks to him, I am hoping the portal will shape up much faster!

P.S: Cross-posted here as well.

Sri Vadiraja Jayanthi

Namaskara,

I am moving all my spirituality and religion related content to a dedicated site. Please click here for this article.

Regards, Hari

Vishnu Sahasranama Portal

Today is the auspicious day of Madhva Navami, the day when Sri Madhvacharya left Udupi for Badari in order to stay with, and serve, Sri Veda Vyasa. It is believed that he is in Badari even to this day. It is a very important festival for Madhvas and grand programs are held in Udupi, Pajaka and other places.

According to some sources, this day occurred in 1317 A.D. Others attribute it to Magha Masa – Shukla Paksha- Navami – Pingala Samvatsara. This occurs on Sunday, January 19, 1318 A.D (and not 1317). In either case, it has been nearly 700 years now since Sri Madhvacharya proceeded to Badari.

On this auspicious ocassion, I am happy to let people know of a small project that I have undertaken during the past two months. It has been a while since I have been dreaming of building a comprehensive portal on Vishnu Sahasra Nama – the thousand glorious names of Lord Vishnu. Finally, I was able to get started with the work and the result is

http://vishnusahasranama.wordpress.com/

The goal of this portal is to build a comprehensive site on the great Stotra. It will have a separate page (and possibly more than one page) for each of the thousand names. In addition, it will have various resources connected with the stotra such as downloadable texts, audio files and so on. The portal will also give the meanings of the various names. The eventual aim is to provide multiple meanings to each of the names, as explained by the various Acharyas. In fact, Sri Madhvacharya has made it clear that there at the least, 100 meanings for every single name in the Vishnu Sahasranama!

I have managed to complete the pages for the first 100 names and thought it would be a good enough milestone to let people know. I have also put together some “meta data” pages which explain the idea behind the project, the to-do list items, pointers to resources on the net, some guides and so on. There is also a “random post” link on the portal. Clicking this will take you to a random page on the portal. I think this is a very good way of reading about a particular name – whenever one has time. “One Nama a day – keeps all evil away” 🙂

Please go through the portal and let me know your feedback and suggestions. Since the work is very much in initial stages, it becomes easy to incorporate feedback and implement the same for all pages.

Best wishes to all on Madhva Navami.

|| Sri Krishnarpanamastu ||

Padma Shree award for Sri Bannanje Govindacharya

Sri Bannanje Govindacharya has been awarded the Padma Shri for 2009 for his contribution to “Literature and Education”. This is a proud moment for all Madhvas. Sri Bannanje Govindacharya is one of the greatest Madhva scholars of this generation. His books and lectures are an outstanding source of information and inspiration to all Madhvas. He also has an excellent research mindset and has done amazing work in bringing out several unique facets of Sri Madhva’s philosophy.

He was also the consultant for the movie ‘Madhvacharya’ directed by Sri G V Iyer.

Truly a deserving award for Sri Bannanje!

• Website dedicated to Sri Bannanje’s works – anandamala.org
• Sri Bannanje’s wikipedia page.
• Sri Bannanje’s discourses online at kannadaaudio.com

The fall of Duryodhana

There are many incidents in the Mahabharata which, unfortunately, have not been brought forth correctly in today’s media (print, TV, etc). Consequently, wrong impressions are spreading about the great characters of Mahabharata. One of the favorite weapons of the bashers of the Pandavas is to note the methods used to kill Bhishma, Drona, Karna and others. People get great pleasure villifying Pandavas and projecting Duryodhana and his team as reasonable (even good) people. The fact of the matter is that Duryodhana was the avatar of Kali and he was “very” evil. Period.

In the original Mahabharata itself, there are clear references to many incidents which indicate that no  “tricks” were used by Pandavas to win the war. At least on two ocassions, the Pandavas approach Bhishma and Drona asking them how they could be defeated (killed). Bhishma indicates to them that he will not fight a non-male and Drona says that he can be killed if he is made to lose interest in everything. Bhishma and Drona are killed with their permission!

Another of the episodes highlighted very wrongly is the final battle between Duryodhana and Bhimasena.If one sees the incident in the popular TV serial Mahabharata, it will not be a surprise if first time viewers perceive Duryodhana as the great and honest hero who is deceitfully killed by Bhimasena. Sri Madhvacharya has once again brought out the truth in his Tatparya Nirnaya. Surprisingly, I was going through the original Mahabharata and many of the following points are mentioned even there! It is still surprising how wrong stories spread.

• After Shalya is killed, Duryodhana runs away and hides in a pond. This technique is called Jala Sthambana

• His goal is to complete some repetitions of mantras (thousands of them) learnt from Sage Durvasa. Success in this would have enabled him to revive his entire army and made him invisible.
• Some locals watch Ashwathama, Kripa and Krutavarma having a conversation with Duryodhana and report this to the Pandavas.
• Pandavas come and challenge him to come out and fight. He tries to fool them by saying he has lost interest in life. He actually wants to finish chanting the mantras.
• Yudhisthira (quite unlike him), chastises and berates Duryodhana heavily. Finally, Duryodhana is left with no option and comes out.
• Yudhishthira next makes a critical mistake. He offers several options to Duryodhana. Duryodhana can choose anyone to fight, any weapon of his. If he defeats even one Pandava, he gets back everything and Pandavas go to the forest once again.
• Krishna expresses extreme displeasure at this. But Duryodhana chooses Bhimasena only. If he had chosen anyone else, Pandavas would have lost.
• Sri Madhva has clarified that since the thinking ability of an individual is also completely controlled by Paramatma, Krishna ensured that Duryodhana chose Bhima only!
• A very good battle ensues between the two. Duryodhana is beaten badly several times.
• Bhimasena had earlier vowed to break both the thighs of Duryodhana and kill him.
• Towards the end of the battle, Duryodhana tries to play a trick. He tries “Avasthana” – some sort of a somersault. Just when Duryodhana is in the inverted position, Bhimasena hits him right between the thighs below the back. Both his legs become dysfunctional.
• According to the rules of engagement in mace-fighting during those days, one was not supposed to hit below the waist. Bhimasena never breaks this rule! Duryodhana foolishly turns upside down and brings about his own downfall.
• Bhimasena crushes Duryodhana’s face with his legs. Yudhisthira objects to this saying he is the King of Kauravas. But Bhimasena insists on doing it as Duryodhana had used obscene language against Draupadi. Krishna fully agrees with Bhimasena’s actions.
• Balarama is very upset with Bhimasena and challenges him to a battle. Bhimasena agrees! But Krishna steps in and stops Balarama. He tells him that Duryodhana has paid for his own bad karma and therefore nothing else counts. Balarama leaves the place unsatisfied with the response.
• Sri Madhva has clarified that the extra Punya that Balarama had accumulated as Lakshmana by serving Lord Rama got washed away in this avatar with such disagreements.

The trick by Duryodhana is mentioned here as well. Still, it is such a popular misconception that Bhimasena unfairly killed Duryodhana.

The Laksya Gruha episode

One of the most interesting episodes of the Mahabharata is the wax palace incident where Duryodhana tries to destroy the Pandavas by burning them down. A literal reading of the Mahabharata can give wrong or misleading conclusions about the entire episode and the role played by each of them. Srimadacharya, in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, has decisively laid down the actual incidents that took place, once again highlighting the greatness of Bhimasena.

• On the pretext of a festival, Dhritharashtra sends the Pandavas and Kunti to Varanavata. 
• Duryodhana sends his minister Purochana to the same place. Purochana mentions to the Pandavas that he has quit Duryodhana and wants to side with them.
• As soon as the wax palace is ready and the Pandavas enter it, Yudhisthira tells others about the real state of the palace.
• Sri Madhva has revealed that Purochana is actually the Daitya called Prahasta, who was the minister of Ravana in the Ramayana. Here, he is the minister of Kali (Duryodhana)
• Purochana keeps on waiting for an appropriate moment to burn the palace and the Pandavas. He wishes to ensure all the Pandavas are asleep so he can be sure they get burnt. But, he never gets to see Bhima asleep. Its not a surprise as (Mukhya) Prana never sleeps!
• The original Mahabharata talks about a nishada lady coming to the palace with her five sons and the Pandavas using her and her sons as substitutes so that Duryodhana is deceived. At the outset, it appears very wrong as innocent people are sacrificed by the Pandavas  in order to escape.
• Sri Madhva has once again given the perfect Tatparya to this question. The nishada lady is actually an evil Rakshashi who performs penance and obtains a boon from Lord Rudra that she needs to get the position of Aditi (mother of the devatas). Lord Rudra grants her the boon under one condition – that she should not die together with her five sons in this life. If she ensures that, she will obtain Aditi’s position. Bhima is aware of this and in order to keep Rudra’s boon, waits for the lady and her sons to arrive at the palace which happens after six months. Then, he sets fire to the palace when the lady, her sons and Purochana are all drunk and fast asleep.
• Carrying Kunti and his brothers on his shoulders, Bhima escapes through the tunnel prepared with the help of Vidura’s men.

Navagraha Mantras in Kannada

I have uploaded the “Saswara” Navagraha mantras in Kannada to my mantras page. These include the mantras for the Adhi Devata and the Pratyadhi Devata for each of the nine grahas.

The Graha – Adhi Devata – Pratyadhi Devata list is as below.

1. Aditya – Savitru – Agni
2. Angaraka – Prithvi – Kshetrapala
3. Shukra – Indrani – Indra
4. Chandra – Apa – Gowri
5. Budha – Vishnu – Vishnu
6. Bruhaspati – Indra – Brahma
7. Shani – Prajapati – Yama
8. Rahu – Sarpa – Nirruti
9. Ketu – Brahma – Chitragupta

Of course, the list of Adhi Devatas and Pratyadhi Devatas is slightly different in different traditions. Hopefully we can cover the other lists through comments 🙂