Ancient Culture ( Samskaram ) of Bharatham-5.5. : Swami Krishnananda.

-




-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#Opinion :Wednesday,  April  14, 2021. 07:16. PM. 2361.
Chapter- 5. Introduction to the Epics - 5.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


An epic, or an Itihasa, as it is called in the Sanskrit language, is basically a history of events that took place some centuries back. We have epics everywhere in the world. We have Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey written by Homer, which delineate the story of the Trojan War and such things, and the achievements of Ulysses, Achilles, and heroes of that kind of the Greek world. The Iliad and the Odyssey are epics. Epics are heroic poems. There is always a spirit of valour, chivalry, a warlike spirit, an action in the epics; and that you will find in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as we have in the Iliad and the Odyssey. There is another important epic in the Latin language written by Virgil, and that epic is called Aeneid, which refers to Roman history. Then we have got the great epic of Dante, called Divine Comedy in three books, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, worth reading indeed. It is a wonderful epic of the ascent of the soul from hell to heaven through the purgation of suffering which it has to undergo on the way. Then we have got Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, an English epic. And then we have got stories of Eddas in Iceland culture, epics of Nordic culture, etc.


Likewise, we have heroic poems in India, principally the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in Sanskrit. Actually, India’s culture is not only in Sanskrit. It is also in some other languages, for example, Tamil. The Tamil language is a very, very ancient cultural foundation, and modern English-educated youth have very little access to this culture of the Tamils. As we have got great kavyas or literature in Sanskrit, like Kalidasa, etc., we have got great epics in the Tamil language which are as profound, sometimes I should say more profound, than in Sanskrit verse, such as Cilappatikaram, Manimekalai, Valayapathi, Kundalakeci and Civaka Cintamani. These are the five great Tamil epics. Only those who are capable of understanding this classical Tamil, not the ordinary workaday Tamil, may be able to appreciate the masterly exposition in Tamil of wondrous secrets of human life. We have epics in the Kannada language, in the Telugu language, etc., also adding to the cultural value of the entire country. But the origin of the concept of the epic arose from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which are translated in poetic style by great experts in other languages also. The idea behind these epics is to instil into our mind an emotional appreciation of the very same truths of the Srutis and the Smritis, the Vedas and the Dharma Shastras.


I again repeat to you to read one or two books that I suggested: Foundations of Indian Culture by Aurobindo, Human Cycle by Aurobindo, Eastern Religions and Western Thought by Dr. Radhakrishnan, and other introductory books like The Spiritual Heritage of India by Swami Prabhananda, and I added one more the other day, Vedic Religion and Philosophy by Swami Prabhananda. Read these books. You will have some idea as to what actually is the implication of what I am speaking to you.


When you read the epics, this glorious Ramayana and the Mahabharata, you will always feel that you are stimulated from inside, as if you are drinking a cup of strong coffee. You are stirred up. After reading some passages of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, you will not be the same person that you were before you took up the book. And they are so impressive, so catching, so enlightening and absorbing, that you would not like to keep the book down. Some of the plays of Shakespeare also are like that. When you start reading some of the plays of Shakespeare, you would not like to keep the book down unless you complete the whole thing – so absorbing, and so very interesting and practical. They are emotionally attractive, and therefore it is that you feel the need to study them right from the beginning to the end. Like attractive novels, they will catch you from the very root of your soul, and you would not like to keep them down unless you go through the whole book, so absorbing they are. So the spirit of a novel, the spirit of a literature, the spirit of a heroic poem, the spirit of a spiritual teaching, all these spirits are found clubbed together in these great epics. Masterly literatures are these Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, the Ramayana written by Valmiki and the Mahabharata written by Sage Vyasa.

To be continued ...


=========================================================================


JAI HIND

JAI BHARATHAM

VANDHE MATHARAM

BHARAT MATHA KI JAI.


=========================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty starts with the Mughal man named Ghiyasuddin Ghazi. He was the City Kotwal i.e. police officer of Delhi prior to the uprising of 1857, under the Mughal rule. After capturing Delhi in 1857, in the year of the mutiny, the British were slaughtering all Mughals everywhere. The British made a thorough search and killed every Mughal so that there were no future claimant to the throne of Delhi. The Hindus on the other hand were not targeted by the British unless isolated Hindus were found to be siding with the Mughals, due to past associations. Therefore, it became customary for many Mohammedans to adopt Hindu names. So, the man Ghiyasuddin Ghazi (the word means kafir-killer) adopted- a Hindu name Gangadhar Nehru and thus saved his life by the subterfuge. Ghiyasuddin Ghazi apparently used to reside on the bank of a canal (or Nehr) near the Red Fort. Thus, he adopted the name ‘Nehru’ as the family name. Through out the world, we do not find any descendant other than that of Gangadhar, having the surname Nehru. The 13th volume of the “Encyclopedia of Indian War of Independence” (ISBN:81-261-3745-9) by M.K. Singh states it elaborately. The Government of India have been hiding this fact.

-
Image
OPINION : 31/05/2019 : 1811. Ref : Some hidden facts about the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty : By The Stud : Mar 02, 2013 : Speaking Tree. Sub : HIDDEN FACTS ABOUT THE NEHRU GANDHI DYNASTY JAIHIND. 1. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty starts with the Mughal man named Ghiyasuddin Ghazi. He was the City Kotwal i.e. police officer of Delhi prior to the uprising of 1857, under the Mughal rule. After capturing Delhi in 1857, in the year of the mutiny, the British were slaughtering all Mughals everywhere. The British made a thorough search and killed every Mughal so that there were no future claimant to the throne of Delhi. The Hindus on the other hand were not targeted by the British unless isolated Hindus were found to be siding with the Mughals, due to past associations. Therefore, it became customary for many Mohammedans to adopt Hindu names. So, the man Ghiyasuddin Ghazi (the word means kafir-killer) adopted- a Hindu name Gangadhar Nehru and thus saved his life by the subterfuge. Ghiy
Read more

Forgotten Tamil Artists : Remembering their contribution to the Art

-
Image
 30/12/2017    Forgotten Tamil Artists : Remembering their contribution to the Art. S D Subbulakshmi was one of them. She married the enterprising pioneer director K Subramaniyam. Subbulakshmi was the most popular stars in the 1930s.                                                         Padma Subramaniam They had two outstanding children: S. Krishnawamy, a critic and Pathma Subramaniam, one of the finest exponents of Bharatha Natyam. T P Rajalakshmi was one of the pioneer Tamil female actors in Tamil films.                                                                P.Bhanumathi P. Banumathi from Aandhra was yet another shining star in Tamil and Telugu films. Bhanumathi & Husband Ramakrishna There was yet another singing star Subbulakshmi. Her initials were M S. She was one of the outstanding Carnatic musicians that India could boast of. She too came into the field in 1930s and she too had acted in director K Subramaniam’s films. Som
Read more

15TH AUGUST 2019 :HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

-
Image
======================================================================== =========================================================================  OPINION : 16/08/2019 : 1887. ========================================================================= https://youtu.be/oUVPPdteuqI ========================================================================= ========================================================================  PM’s address to the Nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day :15 Aug, 2019.  ========================================================================= मेरे प्‍यारे देशवासियो, स्‍वतंत्रता के इस पवित्र दिवस पर, सभी देशवासियों को अनेक-अनेक शुभकामनाएं। आज रक्षा-बंधन का भी पर्व है। सदियों से चली आई यह परंपरा भाई-बहन के प्‍यार को अभिव्‍यक्‍त करती है। मैं सभी देशवासियों को, सभी भाइयों-बहनों को इस रक्षा-बंधन के पावन पर्व पर अनेक-अनेक शुभकामनाएं देता हूं। स्‍नेह से भरा यह पर्व हमारे सभी भाइयों-बहनों के जीवन में आ
Read more