Seafaring not Seafearing that brought us closer as humanity

Indus Valley Civilization (2600-1900 BCE) was known for seafaring using primitive boats and oars. In this regard, Rig Veda has several verses describing ocean-crossing.

In 1.116 The Deeds of the Asvins Verse 3 says:

"Tugra had left Bhujyu in the cloud of water as a dead man leaves behind his wealth.You brought him back, Asvins, in ships that were alive, that swam through the realm of air far from the water."

The Ashvins are twin gods in Hindu mythology, often referred to as the horsemen. They are associated with medicine, health, healing, and the sciences.

Later hindu Kings developed trade relations by navigating the oceans on ships with Persia, Java, Sumatra, etc. where they exchanged spices with local produce. Therefore, it is established that our forefathers knew about ship design and how to take advantage of trade-winds for navigation.

However, the invention of submarines apparently didn't take place in Bharat. The credit goes to europeans. Why is it important? The ships and sail boats traveling on the surface of oceans are subjected to storms and unfavorable conditions. The navigation could fail, making the ships end up in unexpected places. The oars-men could succumb to sickness. And so on. The submarines, on the other hand, have none of these and can travel faster than ships, especially the nuclear ones. By using a hydrofoil design, similar to planes, the friction is greatly removed. They can also take advantage of warm currents inside oceans, such as the gulf stream, which are highlighted in the animation movie "Finding Nemo" (2003).

When it comes to space travel, the hottest ticket is, not a rocket to Mars, what is called a "warp drive" that can travel faster than light, overcoming the limitation set by physicists for the massive objects like spaceships. The way they do it is by creating higher pressure in the backend several times greater than the pressure in the front much like hydrofoil. In other words, the warp drive is like submarines if only in space. The idea of warp drives started with science-fiction. Now it is proved to be possible by a number of breakthroughs in theoretical and experimental physics. The physicists are now betting that one can travel in a warp bubble back and forth to Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system 4.2 light years away, in a year's time.

But there is a catch. The physicists tell us that the warp bubble can only be sustained with negative energy and exotic matter that are yet to be invented. To understand negative energy, one can start with negative pressure which is seen in a building when an enclosed area has lower pressure than surroundings. In the case of a submarine, when in deep-dive, the pressure of water mass above the submarine will be many times greater than the atmospheric pressure inside. So the material of construction of the submarine should be able to withstand it.

As for the exotic mass, it often means "dark matter" that is thought to be pushing the galaxies apart at great speeds away from earth. Since it can't be seen with telescopes or measured with sensors, there is a great deal of speculation. It is possible to liken it to our negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves, near and dear ones, governments and the planet earth in general.

Thus, on this new year's day, let us resolve to give up negative thinking and pray for world peace. Just as navigating oceans, later skies in planes, brought us closer as humanity, despite Manu's prohibitions on crossing the seven seas, with space travel one day, we hope, we will be able to see the creator who holds the answer to all of our doubts.

Regards

Swecha Bharat

For many hindus Panchatantra is no stranger. But how many know many of the surviving historical manuscripts of Panchatantra are found in Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran; Oxford library, Indian Office Library, London (UK); Tibet and Japan, etc.? Its author Vishnu Sarma (200 BCE-300 CE) was blessed with most translations of any Bharatiya vignaan among the Indo-European and Indo-Persian language families.

As many know, "pancha" in Sanskrit means five and "tantra" is an "upaya" or a stratagem. The five being Mitra-bheda (The Loss of Friends), Mitra-lābha (The Acquisition of Friends), Kākolūkīyam (The Crows and the Owls), Labdhapraṇāśam (The Loss of Gains), Aparīkṣitakārakaṃ (The Rash Deeds).

Preceding Panchatantra was Chanakya's (350 BCE) 5 upayas: sama (persuasion), dana (offering), danda (punishment), bheda (isolation) in the art of governance that were largely superseded by the later Panchatantra because of the harshness involved in them. But you still find them among the fraternity of nations. For instance Bharat is in the last two legs vis-a-vis neighbors.

Also, there is a difference between Vishnu Sarma's mitra-bheda that means doing the opposite of Dale Carnegie's advice in his book "How to Win Friends And Influence People", and Chanakya's bheda which means isolation such as the "sanctions regime".

After independence, Bharat used Panchsheel: respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence that were called "non-alignment", later "non-aligned movement" by including more nations. In reality, Bharat favored the former USSR over the USA, the two nations engaged in cold-war.

The "Global South", "BRICS", etc. are later refinements to primarily counter the US Dollar's supremacy. So when the talk of Tariffs was going on, Bharat fell back to Mitra-Labha and the EAM went around scouting for new markets and trading partners. The foreign jaunts of nouveau riche on Bharat's Air Force 1 are reminiscent of American tycoon Carnegie's diplomacy on his yacht to engage primarily China and Bharat. While China acceded to open up trade relations and prospered, Bharat lagged behind.

If there is a stark difference between these two neighbors, it is the lingua franca induced lack of orderliness. Bharat, while proud of its English, had subscribed to sloganeering under the guise of 5-year plans such as "Garibi Hathao" (remove poverty), "Beti Bachao" (save the girl child), etc. neglecting infrastructure and overall hygiene. While the former made leaps and bounds in the recent past despite fiascos like Indigo grounding its planes, the latter never sunk deep into the citizens as they were offered more slogans like "Swacha Bharat", "Vikshit Bharat", "Atma Nirbhar Bharat", etc. instead of investment in practical tools to raise the standards of living.

For instance, whenever the world leaders visited the capital, the likes of Madanpur Khadar and Kathputli Colony, that are collectively called slums, were kept out of sight with make-shift pardahs along the surface routes. At the same time humanitarians like Mother Teresa and Mira Nair were heckled for not providing bathroom tissue to the slum dwellers instead of seeking fame and prizes.

So how to fix? While trickle-down economics by handing over public institutions to the oligarchs might work in the short-term, like Russia the GoI will bog down in unending border skirmishes throwing more "Agni Veers" in harm's way, for which the largely unemployed youth, who are enamored with government jobs that are synonymous with corruption, are to be blamed . The self-employed shouldn't be subsisting on "Pakora Stalls" without knowing nutritional value and basic hygiene, both of which can be fixed, like in China or Singapore, with incentives and repercussions rather than saddling with a GST. In other words, use Chanakya's precepts for internal affairs rather than making speeches in the General Assembly or informal press conferences by the select coterie to show "Swecha Bharat" or an utopian land of freebies from the leaders.

Regards

Future generations will be "autistic savants" with AI

Leaving the question whether math is innate or acquired, by nature or by nurture, there is ample evidence that infants and primitive tribes can count either mentally or using fingers. As per the "Dasama Nyaya" a person counting a group leaves himself out which means counting manually is prone to errors. Between 1911-18 Swami Bharati Krishna Tritha published what is called now "Vedic Mathematics" taught in school all over:

"After a deep study of the Vedas, he extracted 16 Sutras and 13 sub-sutras that form the backbone of Vedic mathematics. These formulas aren't limited to just addition or multiplication they extend to algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and more."

Besides Ramanujam (1887-1920), who was not a self-admitted vedic scholar, the aforementioned swami was the most celebrated hindu mathematician even though their mathematical intuition is worlds apart. For instance, Ramanujam thought about various kinds of infinity viz. countable, uncountable, ordinal, cardinal, etc. along with intuition of his co-evals in the west that there are more real numbers packed in between zero and one than there are numbers in the entire range of naturals.

My favorite puzzle is when you have a guest appearing at a hotel with infinite rooms that are all occupied, how would you check-him in? One solution is to ask the existing guests to shift by one room and the first vacant room is to be assigned to the new guest.

While it could be that vedic mathematicians didn't ponder over infinity besides the saanti mantra, called metaphysical infinity, which in essence means whether you add or subtract infinity from or to infinity the result is infinity, they deserve credit for zero, a mysterious number connecting the negative and positive numbers on the number axis. Its use in modern binary computers is well known.

For ancient hindus, math is not just an instrument to study reality, like posited by the scientists studying phenomenal laws, but a way to connect with the divine. Nowhere it is more apparent than in jyotish. Starting with sages Parasara and Jaimini (5000 BCE), Arya Bhata (476–550 CE) who was a mathematician-astronomer and author of Āryabhaṭīya and the Arya-siddhanta, Varahamihira (505- 587 CE) who gave us a compendium of Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and Indian astronomy called Pancha-siddhantika (“Five Treatises”), are some of the great jyotishi Bharat ever produced.

In the realm of counting or arithmetic, Bhaskaracharya who gave us Leelavati Ganita in 12th century AD, for sizing up weight, volume, currency, etc. that are commonly called "weights and measures" in modern curricula, Dharma Raja who was an expert in "yaksha hridaya ganita" whereby one could tell the number of leaves on a fully grown tree without counting or the number of horses on a battle-field by a mere glance, besides Ramanujam who said the sum of infinite series of nature numbers adds up to a negative fraction which is more like the destiny of human race, are well known.

With the advent of calculators and computers, though counting fast or efficiently using brain power have taken a back-seat, the challenges posed by infinity are ever present. For example, what is the largest number to represent a nation's GDP or trade deficit that are currently in the range of trillions? What is the largest prime number that can be used to encrypt this message? Is space infinite? And so on.

In Leelopakhyana of Ramayana, Sage Vasishta speculates that within each atom there is an entire universe composed of atoms that have their own universe endlessly. It could be that our universe is the last in that chain. As scientists try to smash atoms in particle accelerators, we miss the big picture the Sage had painted. For example, our puranas say Lord Vishnu "descended" to earth from Vaikuntha. None is any wiser.

Finally there are autistic savants like in the movie Rain Man who could be specialists in counting or arithmetic though cognitively limited when compared to normal people, as there are people who can remember dates while not knowing their street address. Modern AI is made possible by such autistic theory where the "neural networks" specialize in pattern recognition to the exclusion of commonsense. Unchecked, future generations will turn out to be autistic savants much like Sakuntala Devi and Bharatiya chess wizards like Anand had demonstrated.

Regards

Moral Depravity is the cause of Desecration of Statue

Almost two centuries ago, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj, spoke against idol worship and temples. Many advaitis in south knew but didn't join Arya Samaj that was credited for the accession of Hyderabad Nijam after the Rajakar's movement in 1948. Why?

Adi Sankara in 8th century AD defeated Buddhists, Jains, etc. who introduced idol worship into Bharat and sent them packing to the North. Prior to Buddhism and Jainism, it is believed that hindus predominantly conducted yagnas or fire worship much like Zoroastrians in particular and Persians in general. The vedic gods like Indra, Varuna, et al. were not worshiped using idols but were offered havis from yagnas. Many religious places of worship left behind by the Budhists and Jains became the temples of worship for hindus.

Invaders came in waves after 10th century AD and were involved in the defacement of hindu idols and places of worship. Whether they were assisted by the local kings or temple desecration happened even before because of in-fighting among the hindu kings as claimed by Prof Richard Eaton of University of Arizona , is debatable but the restoration of Ramajanmabhoomi of Ayodhya to hindus (2019) was done by the whim of judges probably awoken by the deity in their dreams just as Lord Rama was known to have repaid Bhakta Ramdas' unpaid dues during the reign of Tana Shah (17th century AD).

Over the centuries as the hindu diaspora spread across the globe, they built temples for idol worship and there were several instances of desecration that are in parlance called vandalism by miscreants but never by state actors until now. Thailand's military has been accused of destroying a tall Lord Vishnu's statue near the border with Cambodia.

It is interesting to note that both countries compete for tourism by heavily depending on tourists from Malaysia, China, Russia and South Korea along with Bharat. So far this year at least 25 million tourists came from these countries and nearly 43 billion US Dollars were earned by tourism. In 2024, 2.13 million Bharatiyas visited Thailand and in Thai currency spent nearly 84 billion or about 3 billion US Dollars.

As one can see Bharatiyas contribute about 15% to Thailand's tourism which is not a big deal as many are drawn to sex-tourism Bangkok is famous for regardless of events related to the latest border skirmish. The politics of Thailand are driven more by what happens in Bangkok than to an idol at the border.

However, from Cambodia's, which is called Kambhoji by Akhand Bharat vadis, perspective things are totally the opposite. About 75000 Bharatiyas visited Angkor heritage and Hindu Budhist temples in 2024. And more are expected this year and in the coming years.

Given these facts, it is the moral depravity of Bharatiyas who would go to Bangkok for anything but idol worship that has caused the Lord Vishnu's statue to drop from a high pedestal. One can give more facts about Bharat's transition from Buddhism to Hinduism and the tragic circumstances Bharatiyas experienced under foreign rule post Sankara era. But it won't measure up against the decrepit state of affairs vis-a-vis Thailand's Bangkok.

Regards

Purushottama v. Uttama Purusha

Purushottama v. Uttama Purusha

A casual glance at the scripture reveals that in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna uses the latter and in Vishnu Sahasra Namas the former is used. In simple words: "Purushottama signifies an exalted supreme being, embodying virtues and divine essence, often associated with Lord Vishnu." For the latter, an entire Chapter 15 called "Purushottam Yoga" was devoted in Gita.

The question: is there a difference? Gita answers affirmatively in terms of kshara purusha and akshara purusha where the latter means that which is imperishable, indestructible, fixed, immutable. What about Kshara Purusha?

This is where the masculinity concept is brought in. Starting with Greek gods like Hercules, Atlas, et al. the west had venerated masculinity in the fine arts and warfare. In the American context a phrase called "Hegemonic Masculinity" was constructed as: "men that are aiming to join military service to position themselves on the top of the hegemonic construct of masculinity". In the film, Pan’s Labyrinth, the idea of "fascist masculine" was used. As for the rest psychoanalytic theory, cognitive-development theory and learning theory definitions of masculinity apply which are:

Sex is biologically defined and gender is a social construct as male or female. Masculinity is a societal construct that is commonly associated with social problems like racism, depression, losing family and cultural value because in pursuit of true masculinity just to prove critics wrong, some men indulge in social vices like murder, theft and rape.

So anyway we cut it, masculinity is pejorative. In other words, as hindus we don't want to raise our children to live up to the masculine role models. That means, flexing muscles, subjugating minorities, exploiting females for progeny, etc. are not the qualities sought by us.

In the 20th century after hindus were finally liberated from the clutches of foreigners, a new found freedom led to the current "Kshara Purusha Crisis" for men that manifest as youth sporting beards (epitomized in the pan-India film Pushpa), women getting molested in public, sex tourism, pan-world films where heroes inspired by Super Man and James Bond project virility, machismo and chauvinism.

These kshara purushas have high fecundity which made sense when the economy was mostly agrarian and the infant mortality was high as more hands were necessary to tend the agricultural land even though it meant more mouths to be fed.

The kshara pusushas are also afraid that other religious groups will over-take them in terms of head-count and gain advantage in elections and convert Bharat to a theocratic state. While this seems like a legitimate grievance, the diaspora ascending to political heights in USA, UK, etc. is considered the same as "cognitively superior" merit-based immigration that opened the floodgates to immigrants in the west in general and USA in particular since 1965.

Regardless, the rest of the world sees Kshara Purushas using racist lens dividing them into androgynous and androgamus. The former is what we call "arathnaareeswara", the latter being my coinage that means subordination to the American hegemony.

In the west bollywood icons who are not Kshara Purushas were awarded honorary doctorates perhaps to create a competitive spirit among the religious minorities in Bharat that otherwise look up to "toxic masculinity" abroad. Many Kshara Purushas in the USA who spread hinduism through speeches, music, pravachanas, etc. project the Bharatiya soft power.

As Kshara Purushas come in more contact with other nationalities, preferring other women, we see a general feeling among their women as abandonment, rejection, and shame. So the Bharatiya women do the same and prefer macho men with shiny muscles or more wealth in other cultures. And this competition for appropriate mate goes on.

Lord Krishna is an Uttama Purusha because despite being in the midst of gopikas during raasa lilas, he was not swayed by any of them. The "Maryada Purusha" Lord Rama is known to all. At the same time, the follies of King Harischandra and King Dushyanta indicate the flip side of our culture.

The Adi Sankara's Bhaja Govindam advises the youth as:

nārī stanabhara nābhīdeśaṃ dṛṣṭvā mā gā mohāveśam | etanmāṃsa vasādi vikāraṃ manasi vicintayā vāraṃ vāram

Do not get drowned in delusion, infatuated with passion and lusty desires, by seeing a woman’s raised breasts and navel. These are nothing but a modification of flesh and fat, and the like. Do not fail to remember this again and again in your mind.

mā kuru dhanajana yauvana garvaṃ harati nimeṣāt-kālaḥ sarvam | māyāmayamidam-akhilaṃ hitvā brahmapadaṃ tvaṃ praviśa viditvā

Do not take pride in wealth, friends and youth. Each one of these is destroyed within an instant by Time. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of māyā and attain the realm of brahman, timeless truth.

Regards

Wendy Doniger Rig Veda Boy and Chariot

Table Of Contents

CREATION
CREATION - II
Death
Death - 2
Death - 3
Death - 4
Death - 5
Agastya - Lopamudra

సృష్టి
సృష్టి -- II
మృత్యువు
మృత్యువు -2
మృత్యువు -3
మృత్యువు -4
మృత్యువు -5
అగస్త్య - లోపాముద్ర

10.135   The Boy and the Chariot

10.135   బాలుడు మరియు రథము

ఈ ఋక్కు యమధర్మ రాజుకి సంబంధించినదని పూర్వీకులు చెప్పినా, యముడు మొదటి మరియు చివరి పాదాల్లో మాత్రమే మరణ రహస్య విచారణలో ప్రస్తావింపబడతాడు. దీని తాత్పర్యమేమానగా: ఒక బాలుడు తండ్రి మరణించగా, వాని ఊహల్లో తన తండ్రి వెనుక ఏడుస్తూ, వెనక్కి రమ్మని బ్రతిమాలుకుంటూ , యమలోకం చేరుకుంటాడు. ఇక్కడ బాలుడు మరణించేడనిగాని లేదా మరణించాలని భావిస్తాడనిగాని తెలుపబడలేదు. తండ్రి సమాధానంగా, బాలుడు తన ఊహలో తండ్రిని అనుసరించాలని నిర్మించిన రథము, వానికి తెలియకుండానే, తండ్రి వెనుక వస్తున్నాదని తెల్పెను. ఆ రథము అంత్యక్రియ లేదా దహన సంస్కారములో మృతుని శరీరాన్ని యముని మరియు పితరులకు తీసుకువెళ్ళే ప్రక్రియను సూచిస్తుంది¹. అలాగే బాలుడు మరణించిన తండ్రిని చూడాలనే వాంఛను సూచిస్తుంది². చివరి పాదంలో స్వర్గలోక ప్రస్తావన బాలుని ఊరడిస్తుంది³.

Though this hymn is traditionally dedicated to Yama, Yama appears only in the first and last verses (which are closely related), framing an allegory of the secret of death. The plot, though obscure, seems to be something like this: The father of a young boy has died, and the boy mentally follows the journey of his father to the realm of Yama, grieving and trying to get him to return; the hymn does not necessarily imply that the boy himself dies or even wants to die. The voice of the father answers the boy, saying that the chariot that the boy has built in his imagination to follow his father is already, unknown to the boy, bringing him after the father. This chariot is the funeral sacrifice or the oblation or the funeral fire that ‘carries’ the corpse to Yama and the fathers.¹ It is, at the same time, a manifestation of the boy’s own wish to see his father.² The final verse gives a vision of paradise, perhaps to reassure the boy.³

1 [The son:] ‘Beneath the tree with beautiful leaves where Yama drinks with the gods, there our father, the head of the family, turns with longing to the ancient ones.⁴

1. బాలుడు: యముడు దేవతలతో కలిసి పచ్చటి ఆకులతో కూడిన వృక్ష సముదాయంలో పానం చేస్తుండగా, నా తండ్రి, గృహ యజమాని, పితరులను చూడాలనే కాంక్షతో వెళుతున్నాడు⁴.

2 ‘ Reluctantly I looked upon him as he turned with longing to the ancient ones, as he moved on that evil way.⁵ I longed to have him back again.’

2. అతడు తన పితరుల దిశగా భయంకరమైన మార్గంలో వెళ్తూ వెనక్కి చూడగా నేను నిరుత్సాహంగా చూసేను⁵. అతడు వెనక్కి రావాలని మిక్కిలి ఆశతో ఉన్నాను.

3 [Voice of the father :] ‘In your mind, my son, you made a new chariot without wheels, which had only one shaft but can travel in all directions. And unseeing,⁶ you climbed into it.

3. తండ్రి : నీ మనస్సులో అన్ని దిశలా పయనించ గలిగే చక్రాలు లేని, ఒంటి దండమున్న రథాన్ని తయారు చేసుకున్నావు. తెలియకుండా⁶ దాన్ని ఎక్కేవు.

4 ‘My son, when you made the chariot roll forth from the priests,⁷ there rolled after it a chant that was placed from there upon a ship.’

4. పుత్రుడా, నీవు రథంలో పురోహితులను వీడి నప్పుడు⁷, దాని వెనుక మంత్రాల మహిమతో ఒక విమానం అధిరోహించేవు.

5 Who gave birth to the boy? Who made the chariot roll out? Who could tell us today how the gift for the journey⁸ was made?

5. ఆ బాలుని ఎవరు కన్నారు? ఎవరు రథాన్ని కదిలించేరు? ఎవరు ఈ పయనానికి⁸ కారణభూతాన్ని చెప్పగలరు?

6 How was the gift for the journey made? The beginning arose from it: first they made the bottom, and then they made the way out.⁹

6. ఈ పయన సాధనం ఎలా చేయబడింది? మొదలు దాని నుండే వెలువడింది: మొదట దాని ఆధార పీట చేయబడింది. తరువాత దాని నుండి నిష్క్రమించే మార్గము చేయబడింది⁹.

7 This is the dwelling-place of Yama, that is called the home of the gods. This is his reed- pipe that is blown, and he is the one adorned with songs.

7. ఇది యముని సదనము. దీన్నే దేవతల గృహంగా భావిస్తారు. ఇది వాని వేణువు. అనేక రాగాలతో అతడు భాసిల్లుతాడు.

NOTES

వివరణ

1. Cf. 1.164 for the mystic symbolism of the chariot that is the sacrifice, with no wheels and one shaft (10.135.3); and cf. 10.16 for the funeral fire.

1. 1.164 లో యజ్ఞమనబడే చక్రాలు లేని ఏక దండము గల రథము ప్రస్తావించబడింది. 10.16 లో దహన సంస్కారము తెలుపబడినది.

2. In later Sanskrit, the ‘chariot of the mind’ (manoratha) is a word for ‘wish’. Cf. 10.85.12 for a chariot made of thought.

2. తరువాత వచ్చిన సంస్కృత పరిభాషలో "మనోరథము" అనగా తీవ్రమైన కోరిక. 10.85.12 లో మనస్సుతో చేయబడిన రథమని సూచింపబడినది.

3. This hymn may be the kernel of the famous myth of Naciketas, in which a boy travels to the realm of death and converses with Death and with his father. But the present hymn cannot be interpreted as if it were already an expression of that complex myth.

3. ఈ ఋక్కు తండ్రి శాపగ్రస్తుడై యమలోకాన్ని చేరి యమధర్మరాజుతో మాట్లాడిన నాచికేతుని కథకు భూమిక. కానీ ఈ ఋక్కులో మిక్కిలి క్లిష్టమైన నాచికేతుని ప్రశ్నలు, వాటికి బదులుగా యమధర్మ రాజు యొక్క వివరణ పొందు పరచబడలేదు.

4. The dead ancestors in the realm of Yama. Cf. 10.14.

4. యమలోకములోని పితృదేవతలు సూచింపబడిరి. (10.14)

5. The path of death; probably not Hell, but cf. 10.71.9 and 10.85.30.

5. యముని మార్గము అనగా నరకానికి మార్గం కాకపోవచ్చు. (10.71.9, 10.85.30)

6. Literally, not seeing the chariot that you are mounting; symbolically, not understanding the power of the sacrifice.

6. గ్రాంథికంగా అధిరోహించే రథాన్ని గాంచలేకపోవుట. అనగా యజ్ఞము యొక్క మహిమ తెలియకుండుట.

7. The priests compose the funerary hymns which accompany the corpse and which are thus ‘carried’ by the chariot and by a ship (both metaphors for the sacrifice and the oblation) that the priests send away from them.

7. పురోహితులు వల్లించిన అంత్యక్రియల మంత్రాలు మృత దేహాన్ని అనుసరిస్తాయని సూచింపబడినది. అనగా రథము, మరియు విమానము (రెండూ యజ్ఞము మరియు ఆహుతికి చిహ్నాలు) పురోహితులచే ఆవాహన చేయబడినవని సూచితము.

8. Probably equipment with which the deceased was supplied for the journey to Yama’s abode (cf. 10.16.8), here identified with the chant placed on the sacrificial chariot. The word here translated ‘gift for the journey’ (anudeyï) occurs only once more in the Rig Veda, to describe the woman who accompanies the bride on her journey to the groom’s house (10.85.6).

8. బహుశా యమలోకానికి పయనించే మృతుని ప్రయాణానికి కావలసిన సాధనములు మంత్రాలు మరియు యజ్ఞ రథములుగా సూచింపబడినవి. ఇచ్చట ప్రయోగింపబడిన "అనుదెయీ" పదము, అనగా ప్రయాణ సాధనము, ఋగ్వేదములో మరియొక చోట వధువుతోపాటు అత్తమామల గృహానికి వెళ్ళే పడతిని సూచింపబడినది. (10.85.6)

9. This verse is simultaneously a literal description of the chariot and a figurative reference to the chant, with its opening and closing phrases.

9. ఈ పాదము మొదటి, చివరి పదములలో రథము యొక్క చిత్రీకరణము మరియు మంత్రముల యొక్క మహిమ సూచింపబడినవి.

Wendy Doniger Rig Veda Agastya-Lopamudra

Table Of Contents

CREATION
CREATION - II
Death
Death - 2
Death - 3
Death - 4
Death - 5

సృష్టి
సృష్టి -- II
మృత్యువు
మృత్యువు -2
మృత్యువు -3
మృత్యువు -4
మృత్యువు -5

1.179   Agastya and Lopamudra

1.179   అగస్త్యుడు మరియు లోపాముద్ర

In this conversation, Lopamudra seeks to turn her husband Agastya, who has undertaken a vow of chastity, away from his asceticism so that he will beget a child upon her. Although he argues that there are two ways to achieve happiness (or immortality), she overpowers him (v. 4), and afterwards he wishes to atone for his lapse by drinking Soma (ingesting the divine form of the protean fluid that, in its human form, has just been ‘sucked’ from him). Finally the poet affirms that the two of them, by uniting after each had perfected a power (she eroticism, he asceticism), achieved both forms of immortality, spiritual and corporeal (through children).

ఈ ఋక్కులో అగస్త్య ముని, ఆతని భార్య లోపాముద్ర మధ్య జరిగిన సంభాషణ వర్ణింపబడినది. అగస్త్యుడు బ్రహ్మచర్య నిష్ఠతో తపము నాచరించుచుండెను. కానీ లోపాముద్ర సంతతిని కాంక్షించింది. అగస్త్యుడు రెండువిధములుగా ఆనందము లేదా అమరత్వము పొందవచ్చునని వాదించినా, లోపాముద్ర మాటే నెగ్గుతుంది. అటు పిమ్మట అగస్త్యుడు తన పాపమునకు పరిహారముగా సోమ రసమును త్రాగెను (ఏలననగా తనలోని దైవ గుణము కలిగించే సోమము క్షీణించెను). లోపాముద్ర తనకున్న కామ వాంఛలతో, అగస్త్యుడు తపో నిష్ఠతో, ఆధ్యాత్మిక చింతన మరియు సంతానముతో, అమరులైరి.

1 [ Lopamudra:] ‘For many autumns past I have toiled,¹ night and day, and each dawn has brought old age closer, age that distorts the glory of bodies. Virile men² should go to their wives.

1. లోపాముద్ర: నేను రేయింబగళ్ళూ శ్రమించగా¹, వయస్సు మీరి, దేహ పౌష్టవము తగ్గినది. పౌరుషమున్న పురుషులు ² తమ భార్యల వద్దకు వెళ్ళవలెను.

2 ‘For even the men of the past, who acted according to the Law and talked about the Law with the gods, broke off when they did not find the end.³ Women should unite with virile men.’²

2. ఎందుకనగా, గతంలోని పురుషులు, ధర్మాన్ని అనుసరించి, దేవతలతో నియతిని చర్చించినప్పటికీ, తపో నిష్టను విడమరచిన వారైరి³. స్త్రీలు పౌరుషమున్న మగవాళ్ళతో మాత్రమే కలయవలెను².

3 [Agastya:] ‘Not in vain is all this toil,¹ which the gods encourage. We two must always strive against each other, and by this we will win the race that is won by a hundred means,⁴ when we merge together as a couple.’

3.అగస్త్యుడు: దైవ కృపవలన మన శ్రమ వృధా కాదు¹. మనము కలిసి కర్మల నాచరించి, దంపతులుగా ఏకమైతే అనేక మంది పూర్వీకులు⁴ వెళ్ళిన మార్గములో నడిచి విజేతల మవుతాము.

4 [Lopamudra :] ‘Desire has come upon me for the bull who roars and is held back,⁵ desire engulfing me from this side, that side, all sides.’[The poet:] Lopamudra draws out the virile bull:² the foolish woman sucks dry the panting⁶ wise man.

4. లోపాముద్ర: ఒక నియంత్రించబడిన బలమైన ఎద్దు వలె⁵, నా వాంఛ అన్ని వైపులా బలీయమవుతోంది. [ద్రష్ట: లోపాముద్ర ఒక పోటెత్తిన ఎద్దును ఉదహరించి², భర్తను ఆపసోపాలుపెట్టి నిర్వీర్యుడిని చేస్తోంది]

5 [Agastya:] ‘By this Soma which I have drunk, in my innermost heart I say: Let him forgive us if we have sinned, for a mortal is full of many desires.’

5. అగస్త్యుడు: నేను త్రాగిన సోమ రసము సాక్షిగా, మనము తప్పుచేస్తే దేవుడు శిక్షించు గాక. మానవ మాత్రులకు అనేక కోరికలు ఉంటాయి.

6 Agastya, digging with spades,⁷ wishing for children, progeny, and strength, nourished both ways, for he was a powerful sage. He found fulfillment of his real hopes among the gods.

6. మహా తపస్వి అయిన అగస్త్యుడు ఒక గునపము వలె⁷, సంతానమాసించి, శక్తిని కోరి శ్రమించెను. అతడు తన కోరికలను, ఆశలను దేవతల సహాయముతో తీర్చుకొనెను.

NOTES

వివరణ

1. This word often refers to the exertion of religious activity. When she uses it, she may refer to her work as his wife or to her own asceticism (the commentator suggests that both of them practise asceticism), and when he uses it (v. 3) he refers to his asceticism.

1. ఇక్కడ ఆధ్యాత్మిక పరిశ్రమ సూచింపబడినది. ఆమె పతి సేవా దురంధర లేదా ఆధ్యాత్మిక పరిపక్వత గలది (ఎందుకనగా దంపతులిరువురూ ఆధ్యాత్మిక చింతనగలవారు కనుక) అని సూచింపబడినది. అతడు ఈ పద ప్రయోగము (3 వ పాదంలో) చేసినప్పుడు తన వైరాగ్యం గూర్చి తెలిపెను.

2. This word (vrsan) recurs throughout this hymn (and elsewhere in the Rig Veda: cf. 1.32, 10.10.10). Its basic meaning is one who sheds rain or seed; it comes to mean a potent male animal, particularly a bull or a stallion.

2. వృషన్ అనే పదము ఈ ఋక్కులో, మరియు తక్కిన వాటిలిలో (1.32, 10.10.10) అనేక మార్లు ప్రయోగింపబడెను. అది వర్షము లేదా వీర్యమును కురుయుటను సూచిస్తుంది. ఒక బలిష్టమైన మగ జంతువు అనగా ఎద్దు లేదా గుర్రమును సూచిస్తుంది.

3. The end of their asceticism; that is, they died childless and unsuccessful.

3. వారి యొక్క ఆధ్యాత్మికత పరిసమాప్తమగుట. అనగా సంతానము లేనివారై, పరాజితులగుట.

4. He argues that each of them should go his own way, as various strategies are needed to win the race for happiness and immortality, but he implies that he will ultimately accede to her importunities. By ‘striving together’ they will engage in the agonistic Vedic sacrifice, like two rival priests.

4. అతడు సంతోషము మరియు అమరత్వము నాశించి మనుష్యులు తమదైన శైలిలో ప్రవర్తిస్తారని భావించినా, ఆమె కొరకై తాను రాజీపడవలెనని నిర్ణయించెను. వారిరువురు యజ్ఞంలో పోటీ పడుతున్న పురోహితుల వలె కలిసి శ్రమిస్తారని సూచింపబడినది.

5. He holds back his seed. If this verse is placed in Agastya’s mouth, it would mean: ‘The desire of my swelling teed [phallus], which is held back, overwhelms me …’

5. అతడు తన వీర్యాన్ని స్థంబింప చేస్తాడని సూచింపబడినది

6. He pants either with desire (before) or exhaustion (after); the verb merely indicates heavy breathing. This verse may follow an episode of mimed sexual intercourse.

6. ఇక్కడి పద ప్రయోగము దీర్ఘ శ్వాస క్రియను సూచిస్తుంది. అతడు మొదట కామ వాంఛతో, అది తీరిన తరువాత అలసి పోయినట్లు సూచిస్తుంది.

7. A metaphor rare in the Rig Veda but widespread elsewhere, and obvious.

7. ఈ ఉపమానము ఋగ్ వేదములో అతి తక్కువగా, మిగతా చోట్ల అనేక మార్లు వాడబడినది.