The Ancient Indian Scriptures!

08.06.2026

POST NUMBER 8

VALMIKI RAMAYANA

BALA KANDA

CHAPTER NUMBER 8

RISHYASRINGA – THE INNOCENT

 Sumantra, the charioteer, was one of the confidential ministers of Dasaratha.

Sumantra sought the privacy of the king and said, “Lord, I happened to be at the assembly of the Holy Ones. There the Divine Celebate, Sanatkumara spoke. It is important to you. According to him, the divine Kasyapa has a son. His name is Vibhandaka. He is of unrivalled fame. He has a son named Rishyasringa. He is said to be spending all his days in the forest. He is constantly in service of his father. He is also mindful of reverentially tending to the Sacred Fires.

“It has come to pass that in the land, Anga ruled by Romapada, the country was experiencing severe drought. And the king thought that it was because of some neglect of his kingly duties. His heart was bleeding at the sight of his suffering millions. He sent for learned Brahamanas. He said to them, “Reverend Sirs, you have sounded the depths of knowledge, lay and clerical. You have profound acquaintance with the world and its ways. Advise me some rite whereby this crime of mine may be expiated. I want the land freed of this curse.”

Then the Brahmanas who were conversant with the Holy Books replied, “Your Majesty! You must somehow manage to get down here Rishyasringa, the son of Vibhandaka. And when he comes down here give him your daughter, Santa for a wife. You will certainly have rain.”

But the king Romapada did not know how to go about it. He decided to seek the help of the Brahmanas in this regard too. And the king sent for them.

They appeared before the king with faces blanched with fear. They cried out, “Not so, your Majesty! You should pardon us this unseemly refusal. But we dare not go to fetch Rishyasringa. For Vibhandaka’s curse is too terrible to think of. But we will suggest to you another plan. You can bring Rishyasringa here without his Brahmachariya (celibacy) being affected or interfered with.

The king followed their advice and got him down through courtesans. And he also gave him his daughter, Santa for a wife. And Sanatkumara said to me that the same Rishyasringa would take the steps to procure you an offspring.” 

Dasaratha drank in with eager ears the glad news. But he was also interested in another matter. He asked Sumantra, “Well, how was it that Romapada induced Rishyasringa to leave his forest-home and visit his country?”

“The priests spoke to the king through his ministers,” replied Sumantra, ‘Follow our advice and you will have your wish fulfilled. Rishyasringa has never been outside his native forests. The faithful discharge of his duties and the study of the Scriptures take up all his time. The face of woman is a new sight to him. He knows much less about her nature and her ways, nor the liquid fire that her looks send along a man’s veins. We will cloud his senses by sweet music, fine perfumes, delicious food, flowery soft touch and sights that captivate the eye and we are sure to bring him over here. Make up your mind to follow our plan. Send lovely courtesans on this business. Bribe the courtesans well by rich presents of silk and clothes, ornaments and money and they can never fail to have him at their heels.’”

Accordingly the girls went to the forest and hung about the cottage of Vibhandaka. They lay in wait for a chance to meet his son Rishyasringa alone. He was very much engrossed in attendance upon his father.

That sinless saint in the woods lived piously and mildly and purely. Sad-minded, solitary, for his eyes had never lighted on a human face except his father’s. Thus always young Rishyasringa’s heart was set on sanctities.

As fortune or misfortune would have it, that day he came out of his house. He indeed came to the very place where these damsels had set a snare to entrap his unwary self. They joyfully approached him with bright looks of welcome and cooed to him with alluring smiles, ‘Holy one, who are you? And how is it that you have chosen to make this dark and dreary forest your home?’

Their very forms and features were new to him and he obligingly replied, ‘Lovely beings! I am Rishyasringa, son of the holy Vibhandaka. I am full of religious austerities. My cottage is over there. And I will be extremely delighted to receive you there and give you the best welcome in my power.’

The girls smiled their assent and went with him. There he offered them water to wash and drink. He gave them delicious fruits and roots to eat. They received them with joyful thanks and desirous to leave the place before the terrible Vibhandaka returned. They said to him, ‘Fair, Sir! You will not refuse to taste of the fruits we have brought for you.’

They offered him every variety of sweet and toothsome delicacies. He partook of them with unfeigned delight and wonder. For never before had he seen such sweet and lovely fruits.

And at last they danced to his side. For a moment they set palm to palm, limb to limb, lip to trembling lip and breast to beating breast.

The girls then took leave of him. They said, ‘Holy Sir! Allow us to depart to our homes. For we are close upon the hour of prayer and worship.’

And the young ascetic’s senses were all in a whirl. He was infatuated with their divinely sight and by the delicious sweetness of the fruits. The heart ravishing strains of their music and the dreamy languor of their looks and not the least by their passionate kisses and embraces, that sent a stream of molten lava through his veins. He found his life miserable away from them. He yearned for the moment when he would meet them again.

He stood as one some dream of glory leaves distraught and spiritless. Then in his lonely state, he spent the hours with his face fixed, meditating their beauties.

After a time the unbearable restlessness took possession of him. That drove him to the spot where he came upon them the day before and with eager eyes he scanned the road they took.

They failed him not. They were there. They made sure that they had lured him into their man-trap. They said to him laughingly, ‘Light of our eyes! You do us a great injustice in that you do not return our visit to you. Come and see us where we live. You will find there nicer fruits than those we gave you yesterday. And you can be sure of a warmer welcome at our hermitage!’

He took their words for gospel truth and only too glad he was to go with them. The moment his feet touched the soil of Anga, great Indra’s wrath was gone and the rain burst over the land and drenched the thirsty fields.

And the people rejoiced at that. The king met his welcome visitor that brought with him the much-prayed-for rains. He reverentially touched his feet with his head. He said with joined palms, ‘Holy One! May an unworthy servant of yours sue for pardon for having induced you by an unworthy ruse to visit my kingdom? May I pray you to save me from the terrible wrath of your saintly father?’

Rishyasringa did not disappoint the king. And Romapada took him to his palace and joyfully gave him his daughter, Santa, for a wife. The sage lived with him thereafter. His least wishes were anticipated and every desire of his heart was gratified.  

 BLOGGER’S COMMENTS:

Rishyasringa’s story is fascinating. We are transported to the period when we fell in love with a great girl or boy, as per our sex. Quite a remarkable story. Rishyashringa’s eyes had not set on another human being except his divine father, Vibhandaka. And the day-to-day service to a loving father and his erudition relating to the scriptural perusal had been enough for his ascetic life. But then his eyes rested on a group of accomplished coquettes who had in their possession all the tricks of their trade. So, thus, molten lava started to course through the till then austere blood vessels.

And then Rishyasringa got to marry a real nice, beautiful and virtuous girl, Santa, a princely prize for any man. For the man, the saintly ascetic, Rishyasringa the shift from his austere life and the worldly life must have been tectonic.

Now think back on how Miranda in Shakespeare’s Tempest must have felt when she had had a darshan of an extremely beautiful and handsome youth, Ferdinand! And she had become a woman without ever having looked at a young human being. Ferdinand was the acme of everything in the virile and heavenly spotless young manhood! We can never forget the scene when her eyes came to beautifully set on the beauteous sight of her life hitherto!

And they became lovers! Rishyasringa and Santa, and Miranda and Ferdinand! Can we ever forget the pair in our life! Such is the noble nobility of true love and truly requited love.

Ok, now the question is why in this chapter there is an insistence to leave behind the hearth of the recluse and mingle with the other sex, lips to lips, limbs to limbs?

Because this pristine pure love and the resultant coitus is one of the noblest things of this earthly life! Even Gautama, the Buddha, quenched the thirst of his flesh into the flesh of his divinely wife who delivered him a son of incomparable beauty.

Hinduism speaks of the Purusharthas or the Principles of Life. They are four in number: 1.Artha, 2. Kama, 3. Dharma and 4. Moksha.

Of course, the ultimate aim of the human life here is scripting our own emancipation. And that goal has been set as the last one.

So, any average boy or girl must be mindful of what Hinduism says.

To lead a life here on the earth as a husband of a beautifully virtuous girl, we need wealth. And in order to earn and stock and save wealth, one has to indulge in a good work or a career. That involves great and activated   action and the resultant wealth should be earned in a good and honorable way. This is Artha.

 Next, Hidnuism leads you to Kama. Kama is nothing but enjoyment in a proper and injury-less way what you have earned. And then Dharma.

By this time both the husband and wife would have become past their prime. And this is the time to indulge in learning Dharma. This does not mean previously during the stages of Artha and Kama, dharmic considerations had no room. No, no. Both unrestrained and adharmic Artha and Kama are very injurious to self and the ultimate hope of attaining Moksha. But a stage will be attained by the couples when artha and kama would have become deleterious to the hope of self-emancipation. Dharma must be garnered as Artha, in other words, Man must become mindful of the attainment of Moksha and as such he must learn all the nuances of the Dharmic ways and this will pave the path towards the attainment of Moksha, the final Aim of life.

While Artha and Kama have the notion of culmination in the Man’s course of earthly life, Dharma and Moksha must be aspired for and scrupulously followed and stuck to till Moksha is attained.

But in the earlier stages of life the heavenly life of Rishyasringar and Santa on the one hand and Ferdinand and Miranda on the other, has a definite say in the life of a grihastha or householder.

SISTERS AND BROTHERS, NEXT POST ON 11.06.2026 – (11 June, 2026)        

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO   

08.06.2026

THE MAHABHARATA

BOOK 1- ADI PARVA

ASTIKA PARVA

CHAPTER NUMBER 08

“And then Indra, the king of gods and adored by Kadru, covered the entire firmament with masses of blue clouds. And he commanded the clouds, saying, “Pour you, your vivifying and blessed drops!” And those clouds, luminous with lightning, poured abundant water.

“And the sky, in consequence of those wonderful and terribly-roaring clouds that were incessantly begetting vast quantities of water, looked as if the end of Yuga had come. And in consequence of the myriads of waves caused in the falling torrents, the deep roar of the clouds, the flashes of lightning, the sky looked as if dancing in madness.

“The sky became overcast, and the rays of the Sun and the Moon totally disappeared in consequence of that incessant downpour. Upon Indra’s causing that downpour, the Nagas became exceedingly delighted. The Earth was filled with water all around. The cool, clear water reached even the nether regions. There were countless waves of water all over the Earth.

“And the snakes with their mother reached (in safety) the island called Ramaniyaka. And then the Nagas drenched by that shower, became exceedingly glad. Borne by that bird of fair feathers, they soon arrived at the island.

“That island had been fixed by the Creator of the Universe as the abode of the makaras. There they saw the terrible Lavana Samudra (ocean of salt). On arriving there with Garuda, they saw there a beautiful forest washed by the waters of the sea and resounding with the music of winged choirs. And there were clusters of trees all around laden with various fruits and flowers.

“There were also fair mansions all around; and many tanks full of lotuses. And it was also adorned with many lakes of pure water. And it was refreshed with pure incense-breathing breezes. And it was adorned with many a tree that grew only on the hills of Malaya, and seemed by their tallness to reach the very heavens.  

“There were also various other trees whose flowers were scattered all around by the breeze. That forest was charming and dear to the Gandharvas and always gave them pleasure. It was full of bees maddened with the honey they sucked. And the sight of all this was exceedingly delightful.

“And in consequence of many things there, capable of charming everybody, that forest was fair, delightful, and holy. And, echoing with the notes of various birds, it delighted greatly the sons of Kadru. The snakes, after arriving at that forest, began to enjoy themselves. They commanded the lord of birds, viz., Garuda, of great energy, saying, ‘Convey us to some other fair island with pure water. You ranger of the skies, you must have seen many fair regions while coursing (through the air).’

“Garuda, after reflecting for a few moments, asked his mother Vinata, saying, ‘Why, mother, have I to do the bidding of the snakes?’ Vinata thus questioned by him spoke to that ranger of the skies, her son, invested with every virtue, of great energy, and great strength, as follows: ‘O you best of birds, I have become, from misfortune, the slave of my sister. The snakes, by an act of deception, caused me to lose my bet and have made me so.’

“When his mother had told him the reason, that ranger of the skies, dejected with grief, addressed the snakes, saying, ‘Tell me, you snakes, by bringing what thing, gaining a knowledge of what thing, or doing what act of prowess, we may be freed from this state of bondage to you?’

“The snakes, hearing him, said, ‘Bring amrita (the nectar) by force. Then, O bird, shall you be freed from bondage.’ Garuda, thus addressed by the snakes, said to his mother, ‘I shall go to bring amrita. I desire to eat something in the way. Direct me to it.’ Vinata replied, ‘In a remote region in the midst of the ocean, the Nishadas have their fair home. Having eaten the thousands of Nishadas that live there, you bring amrita.

“’But let your heart not be ever set on taking the life of a Brahmana. Of all creatures a Brahmana must not be slain. He is, indeed, like fire. A Brahmana, when angry, becomes like fire or the Sun, like poison or an edged weapon. A Brahmana, it has been said, is the master of all creatures. For these and other reasons, a Brahmana is the adored of the virtuous. O child, he is never to be slain by you even in anger. Hostility with Brahmanas, therefore, would not be proper under any circumstances. O sinless one, neither Agni nor Surya truly can consume so much as does a Brahmana of rigid vows, when angry. By these various indications you must know a good Brahmana. Indeed, a brahmana is the firstborn of all creatures, the foremost of the four orders, the father and the master of all.’

“Garuda then asked, ‘O mother, of what form is a Brahmana, of what behaviour, and of what prowess? Doth he shine like fire? And, O mother, please tell me those auspicious signs by which I may recognise a Brahmana.’

“Vinata replied, saying, ‘O child, you should know him as the best amongst Brahmanas who having entered your throat would torture you as a fish-hook or burn you as blazing charcoal. A Brahmana must never be slain by you even in anger. Let Marut (the god of the winds) protect your wings, and Surya and Soma your vertebral regions. Let Agni protect your head, and the Vasus your whole body. I also, O child (engaged in beneficial ceremonies), shall sit here for your welfare. Go then, O child, in safety to accomplish thy purpose.’

 “Then Garuda, having heard the words of his mother, stretched his wings and ascended the skies. And endued with great strength, he soon fell upon the Nishadas, hungry and like another Yama. And bent upon slaying the Nishadas, he raised a great quantity of dust that overspread the firmament. And sucking up water from the ocean, shook the trees growing on the adjacent mountains.

“And then that lord of birds obstructed the principal thoroughfares of the town of the Nishadas by his mouth, increasing its orifice at will. And the Nishadas began to fly in great haste in the direction of the open mouth of the great serpent-eater. Those Nishadas blinded by the dust raised by the storm entered the wide-extending cleft of Garuda’s mouth open to receive them. And then the hungry lord of all rangers of the skies, that oppressor of enemies, endued with great strength, and moving with greatest celerity to achieve his end, closed his mouth, killing innumerable Nishadas.

“A certain Brahmana with his wife had entered the throat of that ranger of the skies. The former began to burn the bird’s throat like a piece of flaming charcoal.

“Garuda addressed, ‘O best of Brahmanas, come out soon from my mouth which I open for you. A Brahmana must never be slain by me, although he may be always engaged in sinful practices.’

“That Brahmana said, ‘Let this woman of the Nishada caste, who is my wife, also come out with me.’ And Garuda said, ‘Taking the woman also of the Nishada caste with you, come out soon. Save yourself without delay since you have not yet been digested by the heat of my stomach.’

“And then that Brahmana, accompanied by his wife of the Nishada caste, came out. And when that Brahmana had come out with his wife, that lord of birds, fleet as the mind, stretching his wings ascended the skies.

“He then saw his father, and, hailed by him, Garuda, of incomparable prowess made proper answers. And the great Rishi (Kasyapa) then asked him, ‘O Child, is it well with you? Do you get sufficient food every day? Is there food in plenty for you in the world of men?’

“Garuda replied, ‘My mother is ever well. And so is my brother, and so am I. But, father, I do not always obtain plenty of food, for which my peace is incomplete. I am sent by the snakes to fetch the excellent amrita. Indeed, I shall fetch it today for emancipating my mother from her bondage. My mother commands me, saying, ‘Eat the Nishadas. I have eaten them by thousands, but my hunger is not appeased. Therefore, O worshipful one, point out to me some other food, by eating which, O master, I may be strong enough to bring away amrita by force. You should indicate some food with which I may appease my hunger and thirst.’

“Kasyapa replied, ‘This lake you see is sacred. It has been heard, of even in the heavens. There is an elephant, with face downwards, who continually drags a tortoise, his elder brother. I shall speak to you in detail of their hostility in former life. Just listen as I tell you why they are here.

“There was of old a great Rishi of the name of Vibhavasu. He was exceedingly wrathful. He had a younger brother of the name of Supritika. The latter was averse to keeping his wealth jointly with his brother’s. And Supritika would always speak of partition.

“After some time his brother Vibhavasu told Supritika, ‘It is from great foolishness that persons blinded by love of wealth always desire to make a partition of their patrimony. After effecting partition, they fight with each other, deluded by wealth. Then again, enemies in the guise of friends cause estrangements between ignorant and selfish men after they become separated in wealth. They point out faults and confirm their quarrels, so that the latter soon fall one by one. Absolute ruin very soon overtakes the separated. For these reasons the wise never speak approvingly of partition amongst brothers who, when divided, do not regard the most authoritative Sastras and live always in fear of each other. But as you, Supritika, without regarding my advice, impelled by desire of separation, always wish to make an arrangement about your property, you shall become an elephant.’  

Supritika, thus cursed, then spoke to Vibhavasu, ‘You also shall become a tortoise moving in the midst of the waters.’ And thus on account of wealth those two fools, Supritika and Vibhavasu, from each other’s curse, have become an elephant and a tortoise respectively. Owing to their wrath, they have both become inferior animals. And they are engaged in hostilities with each other, proud of their excessive strength and the weight of their bodies. And in this lake those two beings of huge bodies are engaged in acts according to their former hostility. Look, one of them, the handsome elephant of huge body, is even now approaching. Hearing his roar,     the tortoise also of huge body, living within the waters, comes out, agitating the lake violently. And seeing him the elephant, curling his trunk, rushes into the water! And endued with great energy, with motion of his tusks and fore-part of his trunk and tail and feet, he agitates the water of the lake abounding with fishes.

“And the tortoise also of great strength, with upraised head, comes forward for an encounter. And the elephant is six yojanas (roughly 48 miles) in height and twice that measure in circumference. And the height of the tortoise also is three yojanas and his circumference ten. Eat thou up both of them that are madly engaged in the encounter and bent upon slaying each other.

“And then accomplish the task that you desire. Eat that fierce elephant which looks like a huge mountain and resembles a mass of dark clouds, bring amrita.’

“Having said so to Garuda, he (Kasyapa) blessed him, saying, ‘Blessed be when you are in combat with the gods. Let water pitchers filled to the brim, Brahmanas, and other auspicious objects, bless you. And, O thou of great strength, when you are engaged with the gods in combat, let the Riks, the Yajus, the Samas, the sacred sacrificial butter, all the mysteries (Upanishads), constitute your strength!’

“Garuda, thus addressed by his father, went to the side of that lake. He saw that expanse of clear water with birds of various kinds all around. And remembering the words of his father, that ranger of the skies possessed of great swiftness of motion, seized the elephant and the tortoise, one in each claw. And that bird then soared high into the air.

“And he came upon a sacred place called Alamva and saw many divine trees. And struck by the wind raised by his wings, those trees began to shake with fear. And those divine trees having golden boughs feared that they would break. And Garuda seeing that those trees capable of granting every wish were quaking with fear went to other trees of incomparable appearance.

“And those gigantic trees were adorned with fruits of gold and silver and branches of precious gems. And they were washed with the water of the sea. And there was a large banyan among them, which had grown into gigantic proportions that spoke to that lord of bird coursing towards it.

“The banyan tree said, ‘Sit thou on this large branch of mine extending a hundred yojanas and eat the elephant and the tortoise.’ When that best of birds, of great swiftness and of body resembling a mountain, quickly alighted upon a bough of that banyan tree, the resort of thousands of winged creatures that bough also full of leaves shook and broke down!

BLOGGER’S COMMENTS:

It is worthwhile to note what Vinata, the mother of the king among birds, Garuda, advises him when the latter is set on his journey to get nectar or amrita from the gods. Even for the Garuda it is a stupendous task. Odds are stacked high against anyone who wants to take forcefully the nectar or amrita from the gods. It is not a mean job. But Garuda wants to appease Kadru, the mother of the snakes so that his own mother could be freed for ever from the abject slavery.

So there is no choice for Garuda except make good his words by bringing, nay, wresting the nectar or amrita form the safekeeping of the gods.

Naturally as a loving and caring mother, Vinata gives her son, Garuda, a scintillating speech by way of counseling him on the dos and don’ts of the adventure.

In the course of which, Vinata asks Garuda to never hurt a Brahmana. It is useful to recapitulate the important lines; Vinata tells Garuda: 

“’But let your heart not be ever set on taking the life of a Brahmana. Of all creatures a Brahmana must not be slain. He is, indeed, like fire. A Brahmana, when angry, becomes like fire or the Sun, like poison or an edged weapon. A Brahmana, it has been said, is the master of all creatures. For these and other reasons, a Brahmana is the adored of the virtuous. O child, he is never to be slain by you even in anger. Hostility with Brahmanas, therefore, would not be proper under any circumstances. O sinless one, neither Agni nor Surya truly can consume so much as does a Brahmana of rigid vows, when angry. By these various indications you must know a good Brahmana. Indeed, a brahmana is the firstborn of all creatures, the foremost of the four orders, the father and the master of all.’

We can break down the above paragraph for salient points:

1.Of all creatures a Brahmana must not be slain. He is indeed like fire. A Brahmana, when angry, becomes like fire or the Sun.

2. A Brahmana is the master of all creatures. For these qualities, the Brahmanas are the adored of the virtuous.

3. Neither Agni nor Surya truly can consume so much as does a Brahmana of rigid vows, when angry.

Before we start to evaluate the above salient points, it would not be out of place here to point out another BLOGGER’S-COMMENTS-passage appended to a Post in the Section VALMIKI RAMAYANA. In that Segment I have tried to argue the case of the soundness of the advice King Dasaratha took from his elderly Raja Guru, Vasistha. I have argued in the POST NUMBER 6 in the Section dealing with VALMIKI RAMAYANA under the heading DASARATHA’S MINISTERS, that even though Dasaratha had the benefit of the 8 incomparable Ministers apart from Jabali and other Counselors’ able assistance in the administration of justice as well as running of the government, the presence of Vasistha, the Brahmana Raja Guru was a sine qua none.

Sisters and Brothers, you can gainfully read that passage from the Post Number 6 of this blog along with reading these comments.

Having said that let me concentrate on the first of the salient points in the advice of Vinata to the Garuda:

1.Of all creatures a Brahmana must not be slain. He is indeed like fire. A Brahmana, when angry, becomes like fire or the Sun.

To slay any creature without any need is a sin. And among men, the average Brahmana takes the first seat. He is to be given so much consideration. An average Brahmana will not easily and readily get angry. To get angry at the drop of a hat is not for the Brahmanas. There should be very good reasons for that.

Because Brahamanas are satvic by nature and outlook. It is very hard to incite a Brahamana even in the present world. Even in our times, when there has been much mingling of blood between Brahamanas and other groups and communities of Hindus, it is not easy to get a Brahamana get nasty about anything. They are not docile. But they are intensely satvic.

Satvic people will not easily get lost to anger or for that matter to any emotions so readily. The world has always been ruled by the Satvic people. Even if the Ruler is of Rajasic nature, their counselor would be Satvic. It is truism. In life, only satvic people get the most out of life than the rajasic or tamasic people. All sorts of people belonging to the three gunas or tendencies are there even now in the world. Satvic people are there in the world in all countries.

Among Hindus, even in the other communities any number of satvic people are available. But for them the life here on earth cannot run smoothly. BUT BRAHMANAS AS A COMMUNITY IS KNOWN FOR ITS INTNTENSE SATVIC MENTALITY. Even now it is the case.

In the times when this epic was written, the average Brahmana must have been going around as a god. Because, they were people with rigid vows. Their lifestyle and outlook was completely different.

Even now, an average Brahmin boy or girl’s expectation, material expectations, will be far less than their counterparts in other communities. Of course, they are not simpletons. But they, it is in their DNA, do not give over importance for material well being. Other values and virtues are very important for them. But they as a race are not known to be pining for and being burnt up with craving for worldly things. If the basic necessities are supplied, they look to enriching themselves in matters spiritual.

But it is difficult even now to find a dull witted Brahmana because of their tradition. For thousands of years they were living as mobile repositories of the Vedas. It was not a simple feat. To be able to get by heart the four hoary Vedas and continue to deal with them and spend a lifetime in teaching them, with no other expectation in life, has clothed them with, every Brahmana, incomparable mental capacity, memory power and spiritual wherewithal.

Modern science will prove that the more the number of brain cells we use, the greater is the capacity and ability of our brain in its function. And an average Brahamana excels in this respect hands down. That kind of genetic capacity to store information in the Brain! As a race they are brilliant. And now we have, thankfully, similar men and women in all the communities among Hindus. But this brahamin community excels as a whole because of the above said and other reasons and factors.

In those times, the Brahmanas have lived like a flame in the lamp, so pure in heart, so elevated in the outlook and so grand in the total effect as human beings. One of the famous Chinese Travellers in the 7^th or 8^th Century has written in his book, that it was very difficult to find a Brahamana who was not up to the mark. That a Brahmana will rather kill himself than tell a lie!

That speaks volumes for the noteworthy qualities of the Brahmins of that day.      

2. A Brahmana is the master of all creatures. For these qualities, the Brahmanas are the adored of the virtuous.

We need only to refer to my BLOGGER’S COMMENTS appended to the POST NUMBER 6 in the Section dealing with VALMIKI RAMAYANA.

I have argued in that passage that the Four Varnas or Castes in Hinduism came into vogue in those ancient days with the approval of Lord Krishna. And I have stacked valid points in favour of the elite treatment given to the Brahmanas of those days. PLEASE REFER TO THE PASSAGE. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

3. Neither Agni nor Surya truly can consume so much as does a Brahmana of rigid vows, when angry:

This refers to the kind of devastating consequences a society that failed to honor the completely satvic people of the society. In all other communities, satvic people are there. But only in the Brahmin Community almost the entire population is satvic. This is a national wealth. We can ill afford to disregard the same.

In any community or society, for its growth, sustenance and stay, only the satvic people are giving so much by way of their individual share in giving and lending the shoulders to the revolving wheel of the society. The public weal depends mainly on the satvic people.

But when unnecessarily subjected to ill treatment by the society, the anguish produced from such stupendously satvic people will certainly scorch the well being of the society. After about 70 years of concentrated societal and political witch hunting in the State of Tamil Nadu, it has come to a closure just now at the hustings. But the development of the State and the Society and its well being has been compromise severely by the political pundits who have been routed in the latest Assembly Elections.

The wrath of the satvic people belonging to any community, religion or nation will make the aggressor pay through the nose. That has been exemplified in the latest history of the State of Tamil Nadu, India.

SISTERS AND BROTHERS, NEXT POST ON 11.06.2026 (11 June, 2026)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

08.06.2026

POST NUMBER 8

THE  UPANISHADS

Isha Upanishad or Ishopanishad

CHAPTER 1 – VERSE 2

FULL TEXT IN ENGLISH:

PERFORMING, INDEED, ACTIONS HERE, ONE SHOULD DESIRE TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS. THUS IT IS FOR YOU, AND NOT OTHERWISE THAN THIS. ACTION DOES NOT CLING TO A MAN

Jijeeviset satam samaah = one should desire to live a hundred years.

ONE SHOULD DESIRE TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS.

In the last post we saw the Rishi commanding us to continuously perform actions here on the earth. There can be no substitute for that command. We have to continuously perform ACTIONS in this life on this earth’s plane.

Now we come up against the logical corollary. We are encouraged to DESIRE to live a hundred years!

This is not a casual remark which we can go on with life in disregard of it. No, there is no casualness about this insistence. We all must take this life a serious business. We should not live in negation. We should live a full life for a hundred years. That is, we must firmly DESIRE to live for a hundred years. Nothing less will do the requisite.

There is nothing casual about this insistence. The Rishi’s advice for us to DESIRE to live for a hundred years is simply revolutionary.

Two things stand out in the Rishi’s advice.

 One, Hindu spirituality does not ask or advise us to run away from life. To run away into the forest. If   unmarried, take to that salient and golden path of asceticism. If married, no problem, leave your wife and home and run into the forest. Wife represents damnation and children binding entanglements and home is a constricting circumference. Run away from them. Run, run, run. While there is time, while there is energy left in your body, run away. Dedicate everything to your MAKER, God, and don’t pay homage to the curves and valleys of your wife. Run, run, run!

No, worldly life is not a sin. There is no shame attached to the householder. His love of the wife is no matter for shame. His love of the children does not represent any bondage. His life as a householder is rather a duty enjoined on him by Nature. Not just the Nature and the Universe, but his own nature represents an inviolable insistence on his running the family, loving the wife, lovingly bringing up the children and educate them and in the course of the same SCRIPT HIS OWN EMANCIPATION AND ATTAIN MOKSHA.

Two, spirituality is not a gloomy affair. It is not afraid of the world and worldly life. There is no need to negate wife and children. Indeed happiness is increased manifold to indulge in Karma Yoga along with the spouse. And it is a great feeling of achievement to be able to make the children fit for the proper householder’s life. In the kind of spirituality one earned inside the forest, one can only obtain emancipation for self and self alone. But a householder can help the wife and show the way through their life how to obtain their emancipation in their own lives and exertions along with their own spouses TO THEIR CHILDREN. So, thus, a properly attuned householder is the salt of the earth. 

jijeevishat

The desire to live:

People who leave worldly life in favour of intense exclusive spirituality might in the beginning feel a sense of morbid hatred of the worldly life. When spiritual awareness gains the upper hand in a person, it is but natural that he should feel, in the initial days of seeking spirituality, some enmity towards, what he might be induced to think as, the debilitating and enslaving mundane materialism IN THE WORLDLY LIFE; the abject bondage to house, land, wife and child. Thus turning against the world might be mistaken for turning against the misery and sorrow involved in the worldly life.

The Rishi is dead against such negativities. The real spiritual aspiration can naturally spring forth in the course of intense life and activities of a level headed householder. It has been said by great men   manushya janmam durlabham. That is, it is rare to obtain a human birth. There is no guarantee for us, for any of us, that we should come back here after death as human beings. Of course, it is in our hands what we return to the earth as at the end of the present birth. We have to live our lives suitable to get a human birth after death. We must lead our life here in the way adumbrated by the Scriptures. That said, it is not in our hands. And even granting that we will return as human beings, what guarantee could there be for us to have come here with the necessary wherewithal by way of  attitude to life and other inclinations which will ensure our leading a perfect human life that time?

So the wise decision is to make use of the present birth as human being to fetch emancipation. But whether it is possible for human beings who live here as householders or not? The answer is discernible in the Rishi’s insistence THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE TO LIVE (a hundred years).

So the wisest choice is to make full use of the opportunity to continue to live in that manner in this birth so we need not necessarily return to the world’s plane after death. And this is what is prescribed by the Rishi in the Upanishad.

We must desire to live (as householders).    

WE WILL CONSIDER THE COUPLE OF WORDS “satam samaah” on 11.06.2026.

SISTERS AND BROTHERS, THE NEXT POST ON 11.06.2026 (11 June, 2026)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

08.06.2026

POST NUMBER 8

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

CHAPTER  1 : VERSE 12

Arjuna Vishdha Yoga

              OR

THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA

VERSE 12

TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION

tasya samjanayan harsham kuru vrddhah pitaamahah

simha naadam vinadyo ‘cchih sarkham dadhmau

SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:

tasya = his (Duriyodhana’s); samjanayan = causing; harsham = joy; kuru vrddhah = oldest of the Kurus; pitamahah = grandfather; simha naadam = lion’s roar; vinadaya = having sounded; ucchaih = loudly; sankham = a conch; dadhmau = below; prataapavaan = the mighty;

TEXT IN ENGLISH:

In order to embolden Duryodhana, Bhishma the mighty grandfather, the oldest of the Kurus, now raised a lion’s roar and blew his conch. 

BLOGGER’S COMMENTS:

First of all, we must consider the inner feelings and attitude of great people like Bishma in the epic. Bishma, Drona and Vidura had no doubt about the annihilating war that was to happen. For long, like Krishna, they had been warning Duriyodhana that he was going steadfast on the path of Adharma or unrighteousness. That if he did not mend his ways and resolve the differences with the Pandavas, a holocaust in the form of a war would happen which would spell the end of the Kuru clan.

Duriyodhana had been so hardheaded and headstrong and arrogant that he would not pay heed to their good counsel. His overmastering hatred and jealousy of the Pandava brothers had not allowed him to make amends with them and set right his ways of life. His whole life was predominated by the singular thought of annihilating the Pandavas.

Then the actual war happened. But throughout the period before war and during the actual war the above said great people of the epic had no doubt whatever as to who was going to be crowned with success. Drona said to Arjuna that Krishna and Arjuna were Narayana (the world savior) and Nara (the heavenly being) respectively. Moreover Dharma was on the side of the Pandavas was the insistence by these elders.

These two factors, dharma was on the side of the Pandavas and Krishna was on the side of the Pandavas were enough to bring victory to the Pandavas and utter annihilation to the Kauravas. Just about every important character who was following the golden median was of the staunch opinion that Pandavas, for the above reasons, were invincible.

But Duriyodhana and scintillating warriors like Karna were completely oblivious of this truth.

Another aspect is about the personal Dharma of great characters like Bishma and Drona. Though they knew full well that in having chosen to fight on the side of Duriyodhana they had only been following the dictate of their heart and dharma. They both had been living all along with Duriyodhana and as such they could not go over to the side of the Pandavas despite their knowledge of who was going to win. At the same time they both had made it clear before the start of the war that they would not kill any of the five Pandava brothers.

The nuances of Dharma can be understood when Bishma decided to fight on Duriyodhana’s side. That he was fighting for the losing cause did not come in the way of his giving his all to the extermination of the warriors fighting on the side of the Pandavas.

Thus Bishma was ready to fight on the side of the personification of Adharma or unrighteousness. He knew full well he would be slain in the war. But these factors did not come in the way of his war-readiness and war-preparedness.

This Verse is the important evidence. All on a sudden Bishma starts to raise a lion’s roar (a war cry) besides blowing on his conch (signifying the actual beginning of the war) for two reasons. 1. Bishma wanted to encourage his grandson, Duriyodhana. 2. Bishma has decided that enough was enough. There was going to be no more show of arrogance or no more bragging about one’s invincibility by his grandson, Duriyodhana.

So he says indirectly that, “Ok, grandson, having come to Kurukshetra let us not dilly dally and spend time in hollow words. Let’s start the show!”

SISTERS AND BROTHERS, THE NEXT POST ON 11.06.2026 (11 June, 2026)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO