Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Practical Sanskrit on MyBangalore.com


after the brief stint with radio, this time, "Practical Sanskrit" is finding space on mybangalore.com - a local portal.

it is good to be noticed, without any publicity or marketing expenses. that also shows that it does have some true value, not such a passing fad.

and that reminds me, i did last the initial one week's enthusiasm.

"the wise pass time while entertaining with sciences and arts; the fool while getting in troubles, fighting or sleeping."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

SMART goals - यथाशक्ति चिकीर्षन्ति



people with wisdom wish to do (projects) as per their ability, execute as per their ability and do not consider anything small or trivial (don't disrespect any task).

यथाशक्ति चिकीर्षन्ति यथाशक्ति च कुर्वते ।
न किञ्चिदवमन्यन्ति नराः पण्डितबुद्धयः ॥ 1-26

yathA-shakti chikIrShanti, yathA-shakti cha kurvate |
na kinchidavamanyanti, narAH paNDita-buddhayaH ||


this is 26th shloka from chapter 1 of vidura-neeti, an excellent, stand alone section of the grand epic mahAbhArata. in this the great emperor dhRitarAShTra - whose sons were the villains making life miserable for their cousins pANDavas - is extremely restless about tomorrow's court appearance of the messenger, sanjaya, who brought the message from pANDava side.

a disturbed emperor calls for his wise minister and brother vidura at late hours and asks for words of wisdom regarding dharma (right conduct) and artha (politics).

the wise vidura bares all his wisdom for the benefit of the emperor, but sadly, to no avail, as the deadly war does take place.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

meditate upon ganesh - गणनायकाय गणदेवताय गणाध्यक्षाय धीमहि ।



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॥ श्री गजानन प्रसन्न ॥

गणनायकाय गणदेवताय गणाध्यक्षाय धीमहि ।
गुणशरीराय गुणमण्डिताय गुणेशानाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥

गानचतुराय गानप्राणाय गानान्तरात्मने ।
गानोत्सुकाय गानमत्ताय गानोत्सुकमनसे ।
गुरुपूजिताय गुरुदेवताय गुरुकुलस्थायिने ।
गुरुविक्रमाय गुह्यप्रवराय गुरवे गुणगुरवे ।
गुरुदैत्यगलच्छेत्रे गुरुधर्मसदाराध्याय ।
गुरुपुत्रपरित्रात्रे गुरुपाखण्डखण्डकाय ।
गीतसाराय गीततत्त्वाय गीतगोत्राय धीमहि ।
गूढगुल्फाय गन्धमत्ताय गोजयप्रदाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥

ग्रन्थगीताय ग्रन्थगेयाय ग्रन्थान्तरात्मने ।
गीतलीनाय गीताश्रयाय गीतवाद्यपटवे ।
गेयचरिताय गायकवराय गन्धर्वप्रियकृते ।
गायकाधीनविग्रहाय गङ्गाजलप्रणयवते ।
गौरीस्तनन्धयाय गौरीहृदयनन्दनाय ।
गौरभानुसुताय गौरीगणेश्वराय ।
गौरीप्रणयाय गौरीप्रवणाय गौरभावाय धीमहि ।
गोसहस्राय गोवर्धनाय गोपगोपाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥




|| shrI gajAnana prasanna ||

gaNa-nAyakAya gaNa-devatAya gaNA_dhyakShAya dhImahi |
guNa-sharIrAya guNa-maNDitAya guNe_shAnAya dhImahi |
guNA_tItAya guNA_dhIshAya guNa-praviShTAya dhImahi |
ek-dantAya vakra-tuNDAya gaurI-tanayAya dhImahi |
gaje_shAnAya bhAla-chandrAya shrI-gaNeshAya dhImahi ||

gAna-chaturAya gAna-prANAya gAnAnta_rAtmane |
gAnotsukAya gAnamattAya gAnotsuka_manase |
guru-pUjitAya guru-devatAya guru-kula-sthAyine |
guru-vikramAya guhya-pravarAya gurave guNa-gurave |
guru-daityagalachchhetre guru-dharma-sadA_rAdhyAya |
guru-putra-paritrAtre guru-pAkhaNDa-khaNDakAya |
gIta-sArAya gIta-tattvAya gIta-gotrAya dhImahi |
gUDh-gulphAya gandha-mattAya go-jaya-pradAya dhImahi |
guNA_tItAya guNA_dhIshAya guNa-praviShTAya dhImahi |
ek-dantAya vakra-tuNDAya gaurI-tanayAya dhImahi |
gaje_shAnAya bhAla-chandrAya shrI-gaNeshAya dhImahi ||

granth-gItAya granth-geyAya granthAntarAtmane |
gIta-lInAya gItAshrayAya gIta-vAdya-paTave |
geya-charitAya gAyaka-varAya gandharva-priya-kRite |
gAyakAdhIna-vigrahAya gaGgA-jala-praNayavate |
gaurI-stanandhayAya gaurI-hRidaya-nandanAya |
gaura-bhAnu-sutAya gaurI-gaNeshvarAya |
gauri-praNayAya gauri-pravaNAya gaura-bhAvAya dhImahi |
go-sahasrAya go-vardhanAya gopa-gopAya dhImahi |
guNA_tItAya guNA_dhIshAya guNa-praviShTAya dhImahi |
ek-dantAya vakra-tuNDAya gaurI-tanayAya dhImahi |
gaje_shAnAya bhAla-chandrAya shrI-gaNeshAya dhImahi ||


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Ganesh Stotram - praNamya shirasA devam.





गणेश gaNesha enjoys the adoration of all hindus' no matter what personal god (इष्ट-देव iShTa-deva) they choose.

  • Please search the internet for some wonderful art images of the iconography of गणेश and videos on youtube or other video sites.
  • Don't say 'idol of गणेश ', say 'statue of गणेश '.
  • Just like most 'gods' which are anthropomorphic representations of the aspects of nature, creation, universe, our feelings, qualities, गणेश also has rich visual imagery.
  • It is the most down to earth, dear to all, easily represented (just a lump of clay or a beetle-nut is enough) deity.
  • Lord of art, learning, crafts - गणेश has inspired artists simply in the art of depicting गणेश itself, resulting in perhaps the god with most types of depiction.

  • Detailed commentary will be much deeper and lengthier, so I am only providing approximate word-by-word translations. Some liberties have been taken to not do literal translation.
  • ^1, ^2 etc. are notes at bottom.
  • These translations are from स्मृति 'smRiti' and not श्रुति 'shruti' meaning not learnt from a teacher, so I might have chosen a less appropriate meaning, where words with multiple meanings are used.
  • e.g. गुरु guru also means heavy, main, most important, apart from teacher.
  • Pardon any mistakes, please do let me know.

[Please consider supporting this effort. Purchase the books from Practical Sanskrit. ]

It is surprising that one, the words to this are available only in context of "that महादेवन mahAdevan song from Hindi movie विरुद्ध Viruddha".
Second, a few sites that give the words, have major errors, (search for 'gananayakaya" on the net) breaking words where they should not, very ambiguous and incorrect transliteration.

It is important to know the correct words, for it enhances the essence of devotion, and brings about further change of heart, than just mumbling on a nice melody/music.

I could not find any good rendering of just the words, what to say of meaning. Hope this post, fills that void.





Meaning

गणनायकाय गणदेवताय गणाध्यक्षाय धीमहि ।
गुणशरीराय गुणमण्डिताय गुणेशानाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥

For the one who is - (common to all the adjectives/names of gaNesha) -

- gaNa-nAyaka = leader of the गण gaNa (^1), gaNa-devatA = divine god of the people, gaNa-adhyakSha = representative of the people, dhImahi = meditate (^0).

- guNa-sharIra = embodiment of गुण guNa (^2), guNa-maNDita = one adorned with गुण guNa, guNa-IshAna = lord of the गुण guNa, meditate.

- guNa-atIta = beyond गुण guNa, guNa-adhi-Isha = controller of गुण guNa, guNa-praviShTa = pervading the गुण guNa (or one in which guNa is pervading, full of all guNa), meditate.

- eka-danta = having one tusk, vakra-tuNDa = having curved trunk, gaurI-tanaya = son of गौरी gaurI (पार्वती pArvatI), meditate.

- gaja-IshAna = lord of the elephants, bhAla-chandra = with moon on forehead, shrI-gaNesha = श्री shrI गणेश gaNesha, meditate.

That is,
Meditate, for the leader of the people, meditate for the divine god of people, meditate for the embodiment of guNa ... etc.




गानचतुराय गानप्राणाय गानान्तरात्मने ।
गानोत्सुकाय गानमत्ताय गानोत्सुकमनसे ।
गुरुपूजिताय गुरुदेवताय गुरुकुलस्थायिने ।
गुरुविक्रमाय गुह्यप्रवराय गुरवे गुणगुरवे ।
गुरुदैत्यगलच्छेत्रे गुरुधर्मसदाराध्याय ।
गुरुपुत्रपरित्रात्रे गुरुपाखण्डखण्डकाय ।
गीतसाराय गीततत्त्वाय गीतगोत्राय धीमहि ।
गूढगुल्फाय गन्धमत्ताय गोजयप्रदाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥

For the one who is -
- gAna-chatura = clever at music (and singing), gAna-prANa = life of music, gAna-antaH-Atman = inner soul of music .

- gAna-utsuka = eager for music, gAna-matta = intoxicated in music, gAna-utsuka-manas = eager-minded for music .

- guru-pUjita = main (guru)(^3) among those who are worshiped, =guru-devatA = main god, guru-kula-sthAyI = main resident of the family.

- guru-vikrama = most brave, guhya-pravara = main among mysteries (to liberation?), guru = knowledgeable, guna-guru = elder or worthier by virtue of his guNa (guNa-guru) .

- guru-daitya-galan-kShetre = the main in the area of killing demons, guru-dharma-sadA-ArAdhya = main goal of dharma.
[one liner translations are so much injustice to sanskrit]

- guru-putra-paritAtRi = main protector of children (son), guru-pAkhaNa-khaNDaka = main destroyer of hypocrisy.

- gIta-sAra = gist of song/music, gIta-tattva = essence of song/music, gIta-gotra = enricher of music, meditate .

- gUDha-gulpha = one with deep ankles, gandha-matta = intoxicated with fragrance, go-jaya-prada = giver of victory over senses (go-jaya), meditate.

- guNa-atIta = beyond guNa, guNa-adhi-Isha = controller of guNa, guNa-praviShTa = pervading the  guNa, meditate.

- eka-danta = having one tusk, vakra-tuNDa = having curved trunk, gaurI-tanaya = son of gaurI (pArvatI), meditate.

- gaja-IshAna = lord of the elephants, bhAla-chandra = with moon on forehead, shrI-gaNesha = shrI  gaNesha, meditate.




ग्रन्थगीताय ग्रन्थगेयाय ग्रन्थान्तरात्मने ।
गीतलीनाय गीताश्रयाय गीतवाद्यपटवे ।
गेयचरिताय गायकवराय गन्धर्वप्रियकृते ।
गायकाधीनविग्रहाय गङ्गाजलप्रणयवते ।
गौरीस्तनन्धयाय गौरीहृदयनन्दनाय ।
गौरभानुसुताय गौरीगणेश्वराय ।
गौरीप्रणयाय गौरीप्रवणाय गौरभावाय धीमहि ।
गोसहस्राय गोवर्धनाय गोपगोपाय धीमहि ।
गुणातीताय गुणाधीशाय गुणप्रविष्टाय धीमहि ।
एकदंताय वक्रतुण्डाय गौरीतनयाय धीमहि ।
गजेशानाय भालचन्द्राय श्रीगणेशाय धीमहि ॥

For the one who is -
- grantha-gIta = sung of (praised) in the scriptures, grantha-geya = worthy of being sung of in the scriptures, grantha-antaH-Atman = the soul of the scriptures.

- gIta-lIna = immersed in music, gIta-Ashraya = patronage/refuge/saviour of music, gIta=vAdya-paTu = expert in singing and playing music.

- geya-charita = whose personality/praises are sung, gAyaka-vara = worthy/ideal of singers, gandharva-priya-kRit = benefactor (priya-kRit) of the musicians (gandharva).
- expander of the dominance of musicians(?), one who loves water of gangA (wrongly written as ganges).

- gaurI-stanandhaya = breastfed by gaurI, gaurI-hRidaya-nadana = bringer of joy to the heart of gaurI (or the child of gaurI's wish(heart)(^4)

- gaura-bhAnu-suta = brilliant (bhAnu) son of pArvatI, gaurI-gaNa-Ishvara = lord in the form of gaurI-gaNesha.

- gaurI-praNaya = dear to gaurI, gaurI-pravaNa = leaning towards gaurI (young gaNesha in her lap, or one who leads to shakti), gaura-bhAva = the essence of gaurI (bhAva), meditate.

- go-sahasra = [like, equal to] thousand/all senses/cows/veda, go-vardhana = enhancer of senses/cows/earth, gopa-gopa = protector of protectors, meditate. [go has multiple meanings]

- guNa-atIta = beyond guNa, guNa-adhi-Isha = controller of guNa, guNa-praviShTa = pervading the  guNa, meditate.

- eka-danta = having one tusk, vakra-tuNDa = having curved trunk, gaurI-tanaya = son of gaurI (pArvatI), meditate.

- gaja-IshAna = lord of the elephants, bhAla-chandra = with moon on forehead, shrI-gaNesha = shrI  gaNesha, meditate.



^0 dhImahi - meditate, focus the intellect on it, ponder on it
^1 gaNa = people, groups of people. gaNarAjya = democracy, people-rule.
^2 guNa = qualities, the three guNa (sattva, rajas, tamas), characteristic
^3 guru - teacher, but also, main, important, chief, heavy (with virtue)
^4 gaurI = pArvatI, shakti, umA, aparNA, gaurI, ... pArvatI created gaNesha out of her desire, using clay and then breathed life in it.

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Friday, August 14, 2009

the abundance of yes-men - सुलभाः पुरुषा राजन्


O King, abundant are yes-men, always pleasant spoken,
Rare are the speakers and listeners of the unpleasant but medicinal (truth).

सुलभाः पुरुषा राजन्, सततं प्रियवादिनः ।
अप्रियस्य तु पथ्यस्य, वक्ता श्रोता च दुर्लभः ॥

sulabhAH puruShA rAjan, satataM priyavAdinaH |
apriyasya tu pathyasya, vaktA shrotA cha durlabhaH ||


Yes-men are great! They make you feel more better, when you are feeling good. Similarly, when you are feeling down, they will take you even further down :) For they will simply say what you want to hear, not what you should hear!

It is like yelling in an echo well! Or watching yourselves in the mirror.

In corporates and administration, if you get yes-men, they are not even your eyes - to see the current or the future. It is like glasses on the eyes of a blind man.

But such yes-men are abundant. people don't want to offend others, specially if it is not in a large public place, where you could care less for others! For a king, a CXO, it could be dangerous. Render you aimless, submarine without periscope, ship without rudder, sailor without compass.

This shloka first appears in Ramayana (rAmAyaNa) [3:37:2] , when Maricha (marIcha) warns Ravana (rAvaNa) against his plans of abducting Sita (sItA). Later, in Yuddha Kanda, Vibhishana (vibhIShaNa) warns Ravana again to return Sita and avoid the war. Both times, the speaker dares to defy and go against the will of a King gone mad.

This shloka is also told by the very wise Vidura in the epic Mahabharata (mahAbhArata) to the blind emperor Dhritarashtra (dhRitarAShTra). One day the emperor calls for Vidura late at night to his palace, and complains of sleeplessness. Vidura says that "one who challenges a stronger foe, the helpless, the one who has been robbed of everything, one in affair or a thief - these suffer from lack of sleep, and asks if the emperor has any of the situation applicable."

After a long and stimulating counsel on what should a good king, statesman, leader do, he goes on to say this warning.

Reminds me of a much later saying - "We don't always love all whom we praise." Read it again, yes! There are lot of actors in the world, who would do anything to please you, as long as you have some muscle or money or power.

But for a leader, king, CEO it is important to get the real perspective, real clarity of thought. But such people who would say even unpleasant truths as long as like they are medicinal in value, would do long term good. A good king should surround himself with a panel of really learned, simple, truthful people who won't be scared to say they can't see the emperor's clothes.

Next time someones gives you criticism, or tells you the real truth about matters, thank them. For their truthfulness in feedback will help you improve.




And now the language aspects of the shloka -

sulabhAH = easily available
labh = to gain
lAbha = profit
lobha = greed
su-labha = easily available su- prefix for indicating good.

puruShA = man

rAjan = o king

satataM = always


priyavAdinaH = sweet spoken.

apriyasya = of (-sya suffix) apriya (unpleasant)
priya = dear, pleasant; a- prefix negates it

tu = but; short of kintu

pathyasya = of (-sya) medicine (pathya)

vaktA = speaker; from vAk - speech

shrotA = listener

cha = and

durlabhaH = scarce; not easy to obtain



(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Monday, August 10, 2009

two types of knowledge - विद्या शस्त्रस्य शास्त्रस्य


learning of the weapons [and] of the sciences - there are two types of knowledge for dignified living |
first is a matter of laughing in old age, second is respected always ||

विद्या शस्त्रस्य शास्त्रस्य द्वे विद्ये प्रतिपत्तये ।
आद्या हास्याय वृद्धत्वे द्वितीयाद्रियते सदा ॥

vidyA shastrasya shAstrasya, dve vidye pratipattaye |
AdyA hAsyAya vRiddhatve, dvitiyA_Adriyate sadA ||


this shloka is also part of the preface to hitopadesh (practical counsel)
in which the importance of knowledge is propounded.

here, it compares the knowledge of weapons and sciences. on the surface it may seem the intention of using shastra and shAstra is merely for poetic, alliteration purpose, just had to say something. for it is difficult to find much depth in it.

unless we consider this:
1. this is being taught to princes - the future kings - it is like their BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) course.
2. a king has to be a soldier as well - adept at some weapons personally.
3. every king aspires to grow, like modern corporations.

by saying knowledge of weapons, it implies, how to actually use the weapon, e.g. how to best shoot with a bow, rifle, cannon, missile launcher etc.

but is that enough?

Saturday, August 8, 2009

recipe for disaster - यौवनं धनसम्पत्तिः



youth, prosperity of wealth,
power of authority and lack of right judgment;
each one is enough for catastrophe/disaster,
what to say where all four are present.

यौवनं धनसम्पत्तिः प्रभुत्वमविवेकिता ।
एकैकमप्यनर्थाय किमु यत्र चतुष्टयं ॥

yauvanaM dhana-sampattiH, prabhutvam-avivekitA |
ekaikamapyanarthAya kimu yatra chatuShTayaM ||


this shloka is the second of the shlokas that king sudarshan heard on his morning walk by the river gangA (no, Ganges is NOT the right name). see the first shloka here. (hitopadesh kathAmukhaM)

four situations that may cause mishaps, misfortune, catastrophe, wrongdoing.

youth -
youth think they are immortal, nothing is impossible (or should i use the copyrighted - impossible is nothing!), nothing can hurt them. they would do craziest things like para-sailing, driving motorcycles on rear wheel at 130 miles per hour, or any such adventure sport (add you favorite crazy thing here), which someone with family and secure job and a bit of age would consider - insane!

Monday, August 3, 2009

green, bountiful, mother earth - समुद्र-वसने देवि


o ocean-draped, o adorned with mountain breasts |
o consort of viShNu, forgive me for stepping on you ||

समुद्र-वसने देवि, पर्वत-स्तन-मंडिते ।
विष्णु-पत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं, पाद-स्पर्शं क्षमस्व मे ॥

samudra-vasane devi, parvata-stana-maNDite |
viShNu-patni namastubhyaM, pAda-sparshaM kShamasva me ||


this is the second of the morning shloka. as mentioned in the previous shloka, when the two shlokas are said at a relaxed pace - with 'aum' before and after, and then a minute to reflect on the morning to come, and your good fortune to be alive ... - it would take a minute or two, which is good enough to get the blood pressure stabilized for the brain.

so in the first one, we thanked our stars that we have our hands intact, figuratively meaning that our fate and future is in our hands to make or destroy. now the day has begun, and we need to 'make' the most of it. but how? no matter where we go, we will have to step on the ground. if you live on the 9th floor of an apartment complex or something ultra modern like that, think of the time a few hundred/thousand years back, when people lived closer to earth, even in ultra modern metropolis of the times.

now we all know and accept today, that mother earth needs to be saved green! aha, we do call her 'mother' earth, even though we have assumed we are given 'dominion' over her! imagine abusing one's own mother to the extent we have done! but here, in this shloka, the reciter says -
o mother earth, forgive me for i have to step on you, trample/touch you with my feet, for i have to go around my daily chores to make my destiny, my fate!

so three questions?
1. why is she called ocean-draped?
2. why is she called mountain-breasted?
3. and why wife/consort of viShNu?

you may want to take a pause and think about them

today we know that 70-75% of the earth surface is covered with water. i guess that much of the body is covered with clothes in any civilized traditional society (not at mardi gras or cancun for sure!) and water flows like a flowing garment of a woman. there is a beautiful poem where the river is like the flowing scarf on the beautiful lady earth, which she is trying to clutch with the fingers (in the form) of the moving bamboo shoots on the river bank! and water's "dharma", characteristic, is to flow, so it is apt to think of earth as ocean-clad.

and interestingly, india has had a LONG tradition of sea-faring traders. 'lothal' was a great port of saraswatI-sindhu (indus valley) civilization or the harappa civilization. this is fast being accepted as continuation of the actual vedic civilization. its farming practices are still practiced by farmers in eastern pakistan and rajasthan (western india). then later the sea faring indians went to trade all the way to south eastern asia - the mighty rAja rAja chola of the chola dynasty; cambodia, angkor vAT temple etc.

going along with the metaphors, the mountains are like her breasts, the nourishing source of the mother!

but why these two aspects and why wife of viShnu?

viShNu is the divinity of sustenance, the all pervading sustainer, the provider. and what do we need for sustenance? resource, wealth! and that is why lakShmI, the goddess of prosperity (material and spiritual) is viShNu's consort.

but why earth?

well, where do WE get all our resources and wealth? the food, the cloths, the minerals, metals, oil, medicines, gems, diamonds, sheep, cows, horses, whatever it maybe? everything we have, we get in this world, and leave behind in this world! we get all these resources from the earth. even the things we make in the factories, their raw materials come from the earth. in that sense, a non-hindu may say - what lakShmI? but universally it has to be accepted that earth is the giver of resources, i.e. vasudhA.

vasu = wealth; -dhA = treasure chest (fem.); vasudhA = treasure of wealth!

so even if we don't believe in lakShmI per se, we have to accept earth as the resource provider, and hence as the consort of viShNu.

and where are these resources found? although they are found many places, the mountains and oceans are special treasure places. after the churning of the ocean, the deva and dAnava (cousins) got the various celestial treasures - moon, lakShmI, celestial nymphs, ambrosia, indra's elephant airAvata etc. but the first thing that came out was the black thick poisonous fluid called halAhala accompanied with dense clouds. somehow this always reminds me of the petroleum extraction - natural gas on top, and dark black oil!

even today lot of important resources are obtained from ocean, including petroleum.
and don't forget that rains are caused due to the oceans

the mountains are also a special source of resources- medicinal plants as well water for rivers. in rAmayaNa, hanumAn has to go to himAlaya for getting the life saving medicine for lakShmaNa. lot of mountains are formed due to colliding tectonic plates and bring out things that were otherwise deep within the earth. that is how himAlaya is formed.

so at a macro level these are used to go along with the feminine image of earth, on the micro level, these are chosen because of the largest treasures of resources.


next time you think of environment, and green peace and recycling and think of this shloka which encapsulates the deeper understanding of our planet than meets the eyes.

and yes, say these two shlokas in the morning, thank the hands, ask for forgiveness and start day humbly! happy making your fate and destiny.

if you find this article enlightening, interesting or worth your time, i request you to leave comment so i know you read and liked.

[photos: himalaya - courtesy JP Gupta; sunrise - courtesy shashikant joshi; space - nasa]

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and now the shloka at hand -

samudra-vasane = o, ocean-draped
samudra = ocean
vasanaM = garment, cloth
vasanA = one who is garmented, clothed
samudra-vasanA = clothed with ocean
vasane = o vasanA; like sItA -> sIte, durgA -> durge, kamalA -> kamale etc.


devi = o female divinity (addressing)
devI = female divinity
compare the shloka on saraswatI for all feminine words ending in -I (-ee) changing to -i in addressing.
divya = illuminated, brilliant, from which comes the english word - divine
deva = male divinity

parvata-stana-maNDite = o one adorned with mountain breasts
parvata = mountain
pArvatI = of the mountain; daughter of himAlaya (king himavAn); another name for gaurI, shaktI
stana = breast
maNDita = adorned (masc); maNDitA (fem.)
maNDite = o maNDitA

viShNu-patni = wife of viShNu
viShNu = the all pervading; the second of the trinity, the sustainer
patnI = wife
patni = o wife (note the change of vowel to short -i)

namastubhyaM = bowing, salutations (namaH) for you (tubhyaM)
twaM = you
namaskAra, namaste all are coming from this root
namaskAra = act of saluting, bowing
namaste = namaH + te

pAda-sparshaM = touching (sparshaM) (by) feet (pAda)
pAda = foot; one-fourth -> cow has four feet, all mammals have four 'limbs', a shloka has four parts.

kShamasva = please forgive

me = my (touching you with feet, walking on you)


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