Nalanda - The Giver of Knowledge



 

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Names of Rama and his brothers

  #Significance of the names of Rama and his brothers (Extracted and edited from esanskriti with permission) Dasaratha, was a great king of Ayodhya, whose happiness lay in his kingdom. His valour was marred by lack of male offspring to continue his lineage. Dasaratha did the Putrakameshti yagam to beget male progeny. At the end of the sacrifice a divine being emerged. He gave Dasaratha a pot of sweet porridge instructing him to divide it amongst his wives. Virtues of each Queen Dasaratha divided the sweet porridge into two portions, giving half of it to Kaushalya, his first wife. Kaushalya also known as Hrilekha was the one who possessed and spread divine virtues. She had her share of the dessert as soon as she received it, wishing for a son who would eventually become the king of the world. Dasaratha halved the remaining dessert yet again. This time he gave one half to Sumitra, his second wife. Sumitra was also known as Srilekha, one endowed with opulence and who shared th...
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Kakabhushundi and his devotion to Rama

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  Kakabhushundi and devotion to Rama Multiple universes co-existing at the same time is not a new concept in Hinduism. A very interesting and intriguing character in Ramayana called Kakabhushundi is mentioned in Ramcharitamanas. Kakabhushundi was supposed to have witnessed the Ramayana happening 11 times and the Mahabharata happening 16 times with different outcomes. Kakabhushundi was blessed to be Chiranjeevi (the one who can live through many yugas) and hence had witnessed the happenings of many yugas. Let us walk through an interesting episode of Kakabhushundi’s story. In the city of Ayodhya resided the mighty bird Garuda, the mount of Vishnu and a bird of great valour. The lineage of Garuda continued through his son Sumukha, grand son Suparna and great grand son Shyama. Shyama was an ardent devotee of Lord Rama. Lord Rama was immensely pleased with his devotion and granted him the boon that Shyama wanted – that he will continue to remember his devotion to Rama and remain hi...
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Satyakama - The Seeker of Truth

  Satyakama: The Seeker of Truth Chandogya Upanishad, 4.4 – 4.8 In Sanatana Dharma, knowledge seeking, debate and discussions is part of the fabric. We do not get angry when questioned about our practices. The other defining feature of the religion is the acceptance of knowledge from any and all sources. This is not now. A nice story from Chandogya Upanishad depicts this beautifully.   A young boy once came to Sage Haridrumata Gautama. He said “Guruji, I want to study under you. I would like to accept me as your student.” Gautama asked him for his family details and gotra. The boy was not aware of these details. He asked his mother but unfortunately, she also did not know. She was a poor woman and was only aware of her name that was Jabala. She had named her son Satyakama. Saying all this, Satyakama said, “Sir, I reveal myself to you as Satyakama Jabala. Is my name.”   In those days it was considered a requirement of every Guru to accept students who came for ...
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