Agni

Romesh Chunder Dutt (1848-1909)
Agni, or the Fire

Lighted Agni flames forth high,
Flings a radiance on the sky,
And his lustre, glorious, bright,
Mingles with the morning light.
And Visvavârâ chants her holy prayer,
Faces the east, and brings her gifts to Fire!

Lord of Eternity! Lord of skies!
Presiding Lord of sacrifice!
Agni! Whoso worships thee,
By him with thy blessings be!
Whose blazing altar sacred Agni lights, --
Affluence dwells with him and pious rites.

Agni! On the altar shine,
Flames and radiance bright be thine!
Grant us wealth with thy red flame,
Quell our foes, increase our fame!
Invest our homes with blessings from above,
And link our men and wives in bonds of love!

Agni! On the altar shine,
Flames and radiance bright be thine!
And I lift my pious hymn
To thy bright effulgent beam!
Bounteous god! Red lustre e'er be thine,
Flame on our altar, glorious and divine!

With pious hands we light thy flame,
With pious lips we chant thy name!
Invoke unto our sacrifice
The glorious bright gods of the skies!
For thou art Priest in every pious rite,
And makest gifts to gods with radiance bright!

Then let us unto Agni pray,
And he our offerings will convey!
And let us unto Agni sing,
And he the radiant gods will bring!
Priest and God! to thee we humbly pray,
Our pious offerings to the gods convey!
Notes
1] "Rig Veda, V. 28" (Dutt's note.)"Agni is the god of Fire; the Ignis of the Latins, the Ogni of the Sclavonians." -- Muir's Sanscrit Texts."All the names of the Fire and the Fire-gods were carried away by the Western Aryans; and we have Prometheus answering to Pramantha, Phoronus to Bharanyu, and the Latin Vulcanus to the Sanscrit Ulka." -- Cox's Mythology of Aryan Nations.The hymn translated below is one of peculiar interest, because it is said to have been composed by a pious lady, Visvavârâ." (Dutt's notes.)
29] "`As no sacrifice could be performed without fire, Agni, or fire, was called the invoker of the gods.' -- Civilisation in Ancient India, vol. i. p. 85." (Dutt's note.)

गायत्री मंत्र - The Gayatri -The Holiest Mantra of them all...

॥ ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

The essence of the scriptures...the holiest of holys... thekey to the universe... the great purifier...the gayatri mantra.

As scientific as I am and agnostic as i truly maybe, even an atheist at times... I feel the gayati mantra is the key to the spiritual wisdom of the ancients.

It has been passed down to us through the mists of time and has been the pillar of faith and strength for millions.

"May we meditate on the glory of Him who has created the earth, the nether world and the heavens (i.e. the universe), and may He guide our intellect"

Winter Solstice - Uttarayan- उत्तरायण

Yeah It's Winter Solstice the longest night of the year. The smallest day is done and the days will only increase in length from now on... until the summer solstice that is..

Uttarayan has begun.

The Maha Mrutyunjay mantra

॥ ॐ त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगंधिम पुषटीवरधनम उर्वारुकमीव बंधनाम मॄर्तयोर मोक्षीय मामृतात ॥

Blessed are the peacemakers...

Seek peace, and pursue it - Psalms 34:14

As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side. - Gandhi

"By thy grace, may there be peace and goodwill among all people everywhere."- Sikh Scriptures

"Recognize all humanity as one race, one brotherhood." - Sikh scriptures

Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah- Nonviolence is the greatest Dharma(Duty/faith) - Jain Proverb.

Om dyauhu shantih antariksham shantih prithivi shantih apaha shantihoshadayah shantih vanashpatayah shantih vishvedevah shantihbrahma shantih sarvam shantih shantir eva shantih sa ma shantir edhi

Om shantih shantih shantih

There is peace in the sky, there is peace on earth. There is peace in the heavans, there is peace in this world. There is peace in the waters, there is peace on land. There is peace within the plants, animals, flowers, insects and herbs. There is peace with men, and peace with women and children. There is peace with the Gods and peace with the Goddesses. May this all-pervading peace enter into us and permeate us to the very core of our beings.

Om peace, peace, peace. - Rig Ved,Hindu Scripture.

Our Lady of Peace

Pictures of Shree ShantaDurga - The Indian 'Our Lady of Peace'.

Shiv Parvati.12th Century Eastern India-British Museum

This beautiful fine statue was carved in India in the 11th Century, Eastern India.

It is rare to find fine carved statues of Shiva as Shiva is traditionally represented bu just the Linga . A beautiful example of the Linga is on the Blog heading.

Here however the sculptor has personified the Lord of destruction in a traditional statue along with Parvati his consort. Parvati is the daugter of Himavan and her name literally means daughter of the Mountains whereas Himavan means snow topped....

Om Namah Shivaya...

Saraswati , Goddess of Knowledge, Jain

Saraswati the Goddess of Knowledge was worshipped by all the subcontinental people of all faiths upto the 11th century.

The above statue is a statue of the Goddess Saraswati from a Jain Temple. This is now in the British Museum.

Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, Open our eyes ....

Buddha - Buddhism the ideal world religion....

Some simple yet profound quotes of the buddha ...

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. - Buddha

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. -Buddha

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.- Buddha

Peace comes from within.Do not seek it without. - Buddha

If God is indeed the creator of all living things, then all things here should submit to His power unquestioningly. Like the vessels produced by a potter, they should remain without any individuality of their own. If that is so, how can there be an opportunity for any one to practice virtue?

If this world is indeed created by God, then there should be no sorrow or calamity or evil in this world, for all deeds, both pure and impure, must come from Him.

If it is not so, then there must be some other cause besides God which is behind Him, in which case He would not be self-existent. -Buddha

Shree Ganeshaya Namah - Obeisance to Lord Ganesha

This is a wonderful image of Lord Ganesha. The statue is in the British Museum and is made of Schist. This has been made in the 12 Century in Eastern India.

Mahisasurmardini

Hail the Goddess, the very force of the Universe

Victory to Thee

Hail the Goddess, Who destroyed the Evil Buffalo demon Mahisasur

Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory unto thee....

Happy Diwali

Wishing everyone a very happy Diwali and a prosperous new year. Let us all go from darkness unto light.

Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur

On the eve of Deepawali, I have found this fantastic picture of Shree Mahalakshmi.of Kolhapur. The revered Ambabai in all her regalia.

HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE

Bhagvat Gita XII 13,14 "Hate no one"

He who hates no one, Is friendly and compasionate to all,
free from ego , equal and alike in Joy and Sorrow, Ever forgiving

Ever content,self controlled, of firm resolve- such is he, having surrendered his mind and heart to Me, the devotee dear to me.

Kolhapur Ambabai temple.

The Bhawani Mandap in Kolhapur holds the ancient and revered temple of Mahalakshmi, lovingly called as Ambabai.

Initially Built in the 7 th Century AD and then re built on several occasions especially by the Shilaharas of western India this temple of Black granite is trult beautiful. It has a wooden Mandap , perhaps built in the 18th century.

Pictures say it better than words and hence I put up some pictures of the Bhawani Mandap and the Ambabai temple.

Sahyadrikand - History of Goa

The Sahyadrikand mentions Goa as Konkan Kashi as the Kashi of the Konkan

Francis Xavier - Mixed Blessings....

Francis Xavier was a missionary who came to Goa. He was unhappy that the local populace were not christians as he thought this was the only correct way to salvation.

He did not know the language of the people and perhaps truly believed he was doing good. His letters have sadly shown how he hated the customs of the Local Hindus. Idol worship was not his cup of tea whereas for Hindus it was quite normal to have a sagun (With form) aspect of the Paramatman (Supreme Soul=God) along with a Nirgun (Without attributes) paramatman for worship.
Hindus do not see Idol worship as negative in any way. Muslims use symbols, they go round the kabba, kiss the quran, Christians have statues, crosses, and elaborate icons as symbols of the almighty yet they are vehemently iconoclasts in principle.
Francis Xavier did some good charitable work for the Local people but his attitude towards Hindus and Hinduism was sad.
These very converts made idols of Francis xavier (Above right) which were worshipped just as Hindus do their Idols (Above Centre).
Catholics and their churches in Goa venerate Francis Xavier as a saint(Above left).
Hinduism thrives in Goa today and Hindus form the majority. The Goan christians practice a christian faithfar removed from the faith practiced in the dark ages when Hindus were banished and Hindu temples were knocked down as part of the christian state policy.
Hindus and christians overwhelmingly live in peace and take part in each others worship and feasts. Perhaps if Francis Xavier lived today and could speak our tongue he may have relished reading the Bhagvat Gita and its philosophy. Idol worship would not seem so abominable to him.
But those were dark days and he did think he was doing the right thing...
Are we, today, enlightened enough to understand the misadventures of the past and move on as friends??? I hope so!

Great Konkani Book - Konkani MahaBharat Adi Parv- Krishnadas Shama

These were the days when the portuguese had landed on the sacred shores of the Konkan Kashi or Goa. They were keen to caputire the land for the King of Portugal and capture the souls for their God. Many so called saints and priests came from portuguese shores to convert the Hindus to the new faith of Christianity. To convert Hindus they had to first understand their language and their mythology and literature. It was in their interest to do so.

The Portuguese Jesuits set about writing down the literature of the Konkani Hindus. This book is a modern transliteration by Dr P Naik of the Thomas Stevens Konkani Kendra in Goa. Krishnadas Shama was a konkani saraswat brahmin from Kushasthali, saxti(Salcette), Goa who was well versed with Konkani Hindu folklore. He was proficient in Konkani, Marathi and Sanskrit and perhaps even Kannada. He gave an oration of the Mahabharat Adi Parv in Chaste Saraswat Konkani and this was written down by the Jesuits in Roman script. This happened just before the Hindu Holocaust in Goa in the middle of the 16th century.

The transliterated konkani mahabharat was filed away in the libraries in portugal when some Goans discovered them. Dr Naik, himself a jesuit priest transliterated this in the common devnagri script used by many Konkanis today and the TSKK published the same.

The preface thanks the jesuit priests who saved this piece of literature! Shouldnt they be blamed for the almost complete annhilation of the Hindu Konkani culture, temples, literature from Goa??? Wouldn't this be a living tradition if it were not for the portuguese and Jesuits iconoclasts who destroyed all the Goan temples in the province of Saxti (salcette).

There also a mention of Konkani being only an oral language before the Jesuits began to write it in the roman script . Unfortunately the then konkani literature, temples and culture was almost completely annhilated in the 1540s to 1560s to make sure that the Hindu religion never recovers and all the people were forcibly converted to catholicism.

However the mentioned book is a beautiful read for all the lovers of Konkani and makes one comprehend and lament the insurrmountable loss , the Konkani literature, culture and religion has has to suffer under the portuguese and jesuits.

Hindus and Catholics live peacefully in Goa today with a great deal of understanding. We have learnt our lessons from the past (At least we hope so).

Hindus form a majority in Goa today. Hindu temples are booming. Beautiful churches have also been built (some unfortunately on the graves of previous temples). These portuguese religious fanatics who wanted Goa to be cleansed of the Hindu faith are unfortunately not here to see that the Hindus have built a temple in Lisbon.

Do read the book.

Solavya Shekdantle Konknni Mhabharat Adi Parv

Published by the TSKK

Goa- 1990

By a kind donation of Rs 20,000 by the Kuwait Konkani Kendra.

Mahalakshmi

Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur

The Mahalakshmi temple of Kolhapur was built in the 7th Century AD by the Chalukyas.

A shakti peeth, the Amba-bai temple is very pretty.

The Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity is worshipedd and seen in her ful revelery here in the picture.

Ganapati

The Gowd Saraswat Brahmin Ganeshutsav in Mumbai is a mega event for the konkani community in Mumbai.





The huge pandal has a humungous murti of Ganpati and there are million Pujas and archanas going on. There is also a stall wherein Batata wadas, Biscut ambado , bajos and other modern stuff such as spring rolls are sold. Many come for the food :)

Konkani Books

Some good Konkani Books in Konkani

Konkani Chalval- Paulo Moraes

Konkani Sanstha

2003

St Aloysius College

Mangalore

575003

Printers-Brilliant printers pvt ltd. Bangalore

This One by Paulo Moraes is about the History of Konkani , its usage and its ups and downs; Its very very good.

Mahakavi Kalidas Vicharit Raghuvansh Maha Kavyam- Konkani Bhavanuvad

P Vaman Prabhu

March 1997

Codeword Process and Printers

Falnir, Mangalore

Phone 428218;421418

The Raghuvansh Katha in Konkani is perhaps only for the academics. P Vaman Prabhu tries a lot to makes the verses rhyme and perhaps the 'fun' is missing.

Nevertheless A good attempt.

Hey Its no bad thing to have in your konkani library you konkani fanatics :)