जालवृत्तिका (Blog)
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Narmadāsragvaṇī: Sacred Geography of the River Narmada
This poem on the sacred geography of the Narmadā river (Central India) is an example of modern Sanskrit poetry composed by the Sanskrit scholar and poet Śrī Kuśāgra Aniket (Economist and Management Consultant, New York, NY, U.S.A.). In his own words:
“The composition is an attempt to enrich the tradition of nature and devotional poetry in Sanskrit by drawing inspiration from local cultures and traditions – one of the facets of Sanskrit as a Loka Bhāṣā. The song links the significance of Narmada in popular consciousness of the region to its description in the Puranas (Reva Khanda of the Skanda and Vayu Puranas). It emphasizes the intimate relationship between the “natural” and the “sacred” in Hinduism.
I have set this song to a tune based on Raga Bairagi Bhairava in Hindustani Music. Incidentally, the equivalent Raga in Karnataka Sangeeta is Revati, which is sometimes used as a name for Narmada (besides Reva). -
Viveka-Cūḍāmaṇi of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya
The Vivekacūḍāmaṇi is a prakaraṇa-grantha (introductory-text) within the Advaita-Vedānta paramparā traditionally attributed to Śrī Śaṅkarācārya. It is in the form of a poem in the Śārdula-Vikrīḍita vṛttam (metre). The classes are delivered in Sanskrit.
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Raghuvīra-Gadyam (Mahāvīra-vaibhavam) of Śrī Vedānta Deśika
Vedānta Deśika (1268–1369) was an esteemed ācārya in the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta & Śrī-Vaiṣṇava paramparā of Śri Rāmānuja. Raghuvīra-Gadyam, which celebrates Rāma’s valour, was composed when the author was residing at the temple town of Thiruvahindrapuram in Tamil Nadu. The temple has icons of Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, and here Rāma is seen as Kodaṇḍa-Rāma (with a bow in His hand). Inspired by this, Deśika wrote Raghuvīra-gadyam, in which he focuses on Rāma as a ‘mahā-vīra’ (great-hero). Hence Raghuvīra-gadyam is also known as Mahāvīra-vaibhavam. These lessons are delivered in Sanskrit.
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Līlāvatī of Bhāskara
Līlāvatī is Indian mathematician Bhāskara II’s treatise in Sanskrit on gaṇita-śāstra (mathematics), written in 1150.
These classes are delivered in Sanskrit.
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Simple Spoken Sanskrit – Teaching Methods
Chamu Krishna Shastry, one of the founders of Samskrita Bharati, explains why Sarala Saṃskṛta Paddhati is important for the spoken sanskrit movement. This is the method currently used by Samskrita Bharati the world over.
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Word-generating power of Saṃskṛtam
Chamu Krishna Shastry, one of the founders of Samskrita Bharati, speaks about the prakṛti-pratyaya-vibhāga (morphological transparency) that makes the Sanskrit language sanskritic, and why it is important to preserve that uniquely analytical feature of Sanskrit by coining neologisms in Sanskrit itself rather than adopt modern words (such as electricity, car, train, computer etc) from other languages into Spoken Saṃskṛtam.
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Only our collective will can revive Spoken Saṃskṛtam
Chamu Krishna Shastry, one of the founders of Samskrita Bharati – draws a comparison between the revival of Spoken Hebrew as a spoken language by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda in Israel in the 20th century, and the revival of Spoken Sanskrit on a massive scale by the efforts of a small community of commited enthusiasts.
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Posive action in promoting Saṃskṛta sambhāṣaṇam
Chamu Krishna Shastry, one of the founders of Samskrita Bharati – speaks of the need to speak in Saṃskṛtam rather than treating it purely as a symbolic identity-marker.
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Sanskrit: A historical linguistics approach
Lecture: Sanskrit: A historical linguistics approach
Prof Madhav Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA -
Indian traditions on the Vedas and Sanskrit
Lecture on: Indian traditions on the Vedas and Sanskrit
Prof Madhav Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA -
Vyākaraṇa-Darśana & Vākyapadīyam: Contribution to Linguistics and Philosophy
Vyākaraṇa-Darśana & Vākyapadīyam: Contribution to Linguistics and Philosophy – Speech by Prof. Ashok Aklujkar of the University of British Columbia, Canada