Notes on books I’ve read, interesting ideas I’ve explored, and experiences that have broadened my perspective.
The story of why the best teacher of Vedic culture was named Drona is a fantastic one. Legend has it that Bharadwaja, the great seer, while having bath, once saw an Apsara, a celestial beauty named Gritachi, having a bath at the same spot. It was one of the rare occasions when even a saint … Read more
One of the striking features of Bheeshma’s life was that he had the benediction to choose his time of death. One might feel that this was a blessing, which in fact it was. But the other side of it also meant that unlike others who have to wait for death irrespective of what happens in … Read more
At the Rajasooya Yagna of Yudhishthira, there was a ritual to provide arghya to start the sacrifice. What that meant was that someone deserving had to be chosen, whose feet the king would wash, among other things, as a mark of obeisance and respect. Bheeshma along with Sahadeva suggested that Krishna be that person, as … Read more
The fact of the matter was that with the three children still in their infancy, Bheeshma ruled the kingdom for all of those years by proxy. In the process, he expanded it beyond measure, so that when the sons of Vichitravirya came of age, they had a ready kingdom to rule over. The ruler by … Read more
Now if one were to think that things were fantastic in heaven so far, one may be forgiven to think that they get even more fantastic on earth. One would think all the effort that Bheeshma went through to get the three princesses for Vichitravirya and in the process, preordain his own death through the … Read more
After the vow, Shantanu and Satyavati’s marriage culminated, and as we know, they had two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada was a fierce warrior and extremely proud of it, which turned out to be the reason for his early death. As the name of the brave king Chitranganda spread far and wide, it turned out … Read more
Right from creation starting with Brahma, the first king in the Sun dynasty was Vivasvin and subsequently there was a lunar branch to it in which Bharat was the most successful emperor. In that dynasty, which is the earliest descendent of the Kurus, was a king named Mahabheesha. Mahabheesha was a very righteous king and … Read more
The Mahabharata is the longest epic in the world consisting of 110,000 verses that are said to be 7 to 8 times the size of the next two longest, namely the Iliad and the Odyssey. In Vedic scriptures, it is among the two epics called Itihasas, the other being the Ramayana with around 24,000 verses. … Read more
I was always what in India is called a “healthy boy”. And I have stayed more or less “healthy” throughout my adult life with a few minor fluctuations. I have been through some ‘before-after’ experiments over the past twenty years, but they have all been in a range. And every time I ventured down that … Read more