Gita-God-Hinduism

द्वितीयःखण्डः SECTION TWO यदि मन्यसे सुवेदेति दभ्रमेवापि नूनं त्वं वेत्थ ब्रह्मणो रूपं यदस्य त्वं यदस्य च देवेषु अथ नु मीमांस्यमेव ते मन्ये विदितम्॥ yadi manyase suvedeti dabhramevApi noonaM tvaM vettha brahmaNo roopaM | yadasya tvaM yadasya cha deveShu atha nu meemAMsyamEva te manye viditam || yadi manyasE – in case you think (consider), suvEda iti – “I have understood well”, asya brahMaNaH – of this brahma, yat roopam – that roopam which, tvaM vettha – that you have known, devEShu – among the devAs, asya – of that, yat [roopam] – of which form, tvaM – you [vEttha] that you know, noonam – certainly, dabhram eva api – certainly insignificant (deficient, little, scarcely), atha nu – therefore, te – your, meemAMsyam eva – needs to be examined (reflected upon, investigated, discussed), manyE viditaM – you have understood, I suppose [Gurus says] In case you consider “I know well” about this form of ‘brahma’, and the form you have known in thes...

"kenopanishad" as it popularly known as is from the   thalvaraka   branch of sAmavEda, and thus is also referred to as   thalavakarOpanishad . It has got its name "kEna upanishad" probably because it starts with "keneshitham", with a few more "kEna"s following it. According to scholars, this is a significant upanishad because it attracted two bhAShyAs from Sri Shankara - pada-bhAShya and vAkya-bhAShya. This upanishad has four "khaNDa"s (sections or chapters), and deals with the nature of Brahman. The upanishad itself starts with an invocation of peace: आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक् प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि। सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम्। माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्याम्। मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत्।अनिराकरमस्तु। अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु। तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु।    ओं शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥ aapyAyantu mamAmgAni vAk prANashcakShuH srOtramatho balamindriyANi cha sarvANi | sarvaM brahmaopaniShad...

"eethaniga vasudevanu" an amazing composition from Sri KanakadAsa.  This is a beautiful translation from Rajeev Ramachandra on FB Kannadiga forum.   It is well know that Kanakadas compositions are always a little tricky to decode, as the meanings are hidden within complex riddles. Such compositions are called shardoola vikreeditha in Sanskrit.. This composition expounds the various facets of Lord Krishna, Adi Keshava, KanadAsA's aaraadhya daiva . Eetha-neega Vasudevano e samstha lokadodeya ...   Now, this is vAsudEva, the Lord of this entire universe ... dAsagolidu tEranEri tEji piDidu nadisidatA Daasa (Arjuna)nige volidu; tErannu yEri  (rathavanna  hathi); t Eji (Horse) piDidu (taking control of); nadisidata (he navigated it) The Lord melting to His servant, mounts the chariot, takes the rein, and navigates through the battlefield. The Lord submits Himself to those who submit to Him and navigate them through the difficult times.  In the fol...

In a recent post ( goo.gl/Fqz7Ez ), I complied the significance of numbers from 1-8, based on Sri Bannanje Govindacharya's book "ankeyalli adhyAtma". Here it the next set. Significance of 9: navagraha (9 influencing aspects)- soorya, chandra, kuja, budha, guru, shukra, shani, rAhu, kEtu navadwAra (9 windows/holes) - 2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth, pAyu (anus), upastha (genital) navaprajApatis or navabrahmAs (9 guardians) - mareecha, atri, aMgiras, pulastya, pulaha, kratu, vasiShTa, bhRugu, dakSha navavidhabhakti (9 forms of devotion) - shravaNa (kathAshravaNa), keertana (guNagAna), smaraNa, pAdasEvana, archana, vaMdana, dAsya, sakhya, aatmanivEdana navavidabhAgawataru (9 devotees, based on navavidhabhakti) - pareekshit (shravaNa), shukamaharShi (keertana), prahlAda (smaraNa), Laxmi (pAdasEvana), pRuthu (archana), akroora (vandana), aanjanEya (dAsya), arjuna (sakhya), balichakravarty (aatmanivedana) navashaktis of bhagavan - vimalA, utkarShiNi, jnAnA, kriyA...

In a recent conversation, a good friend of mine asked "why chant gAyatri japa in multiples of 12, like 12, 48, 108 etc". I made an attempt to explain the logic and beauty of numbers in the vedic culture. However I realized that there is much more than just this and Sri Bannanje Govindacharya has written an entire book on the significance of numbers in spiritual pursuit. I am recollecting some of those that can mesmerize even the most educated ones. Here is my interpretation and understanding, based on what I have read, heard, contemplated and understood.. Regarding the question "why 12" (or any other number for that matter): the idea is not about 12 or any other number but about "poorNatva" - the "completeness" or "fullness". Vedic culture has provided a perspective as to what makes something complete and that is through sankhya - or logic or numbers. Let us take a look at some significant numbers and what they represent: 1 - ekamEv...

अवतत्य धनुस्त्वग्ं सहस्राक्ष शतेषुधे । निशीर्य शल्यानां मुखा शिवो नः सुमना भव । avatatya dhanustvagaM sahasrAksha shateShudhe | nisheerya shalyAnAM mukA shivO naH sumanA bhava || avatatya – after unbending (covering), dhanu – the bow, tu – certainly, agaM – winds zig-zag (inconceivable nature; transcending the untranscended), sahasrAksha – all perceiving (thousand eyed), shata – hundred, iShudhe – quivers [that hold the arrows; iShudhyati means to request, to implore, to desire oblations], niShIrya – the indestructible (sheerya – perishable), shalyAnAm – of the arrows (sins, crimes, distress), mukhA – the directions (chief, head, face, source, logical viewpoint), shivaH – auspicious, naH – ours, sumanA – charming, bhava – obtain Oh the all perceiving one, the wielder of hundreds of quivers (which are filled with requests from devotees), the bow upon bending, winds inconceivably. By the indestructible arrows let all directions be auspicious and may our minds attain charm....