Discussion on Indian Epics, Texts, Treatises & Kathas

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 12 Dec 2009 07:48

http://flonnet.com/stories/20091218262506200.htm

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 18 Dec 2009 03:01

Ancient Indians thought of evolution, says scientist

Delivering the inaugural talk on ‘How we understand evolution’ at the three- day lecture cum demonstration workshop on ‘Evolutionary Biology: Darwin and beyond’, jointly organised by Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin and the 150th year of publication of his ‘Origin of species’, at St Aloysius College here on Thursday, Prof Nanjudiah dwelt upon the idea of ‘Dasavathara’ and ‘rebirth’ propounded by the Indian mythology, and pointed out the chance that people at those ages actually thought about evolution and the origin of different species. However, modern science was not so influenced by Indian, Chinese or Egyptian cultures, as much it was influenced by the Greek culture, he said and explained that it was the Greeks who first decided that there is an objective world outside, which can be explained without actually being part of it. “Aristotle was the one who first asked serious questions about the behavioural patterns and mutations in animals, and hence can be aptly called the father of ‘embryology or developmental biology”, he added.

....

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 18 Dec 2009 03:54

that it was the Greeks who first decided that there is an objective world outside, which can be explained without actually being part of it.

Which was actually a wrong concept - and the Indian approach closer to physical reality. No observation is independent or unaffected by the observer, and we are part of the reality we think we observe. The fundamental postulates of the advaita are aligned closely with modern quantum mechanical concepts.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 18 Dec 2009 04:05

Wonder if Aristotle's theory of Imitation came before or after Alexander's expedition to india.It wont be surprise that Aristotle most probably was looking for peer review or validation of his philosophical ideas when he exhorted young Macedonian to march toward Indicsthan.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 20 Dec 2009 00:14

SwamyG garu,

Couple of moons ago you were asking the reason behind beggars’ “Dharmam Cheyyandi Babu (Sir, do Dharma)” call.

Came across this definition of Dharma, Artha, Kama recently. See if it makes sense –

Artha –Action(s) performed to achieve security (food/financial/physical etc) and cover one's (family's) basic needs. The benchmark on (true) Artha for a human is 1 day's worth of food. The human is expected to earn his food on a daily basis (of course I can work every day to earn my monthly salary and still fall in Artha category)

Kama – Action(s) performed to satisfy one’s desires. This includes extended security needs such as one accumulating Artha for his children and grand children

Dharma – Action(s) performed without any expectation of Artha/Kama. These actions are performed as gratitude towards god/nature/society. By saying “Sir, Please do Dharma”, the beggar is indicating his helplessness to return the favor (directly and indirectly) and asking you to give him some alms without any expectation.

And finally, Moksha - Moksha cannot be achieved with any actions, because the state of Moksha is Satyam (truth), Anantam (infinite), and Jnanam (Knowledge), one cannot achieve it by performing finite amount of deeds/actions. One's Dharmic actions prepare one to receive the Atma-Jnana from the guru. Once the seeker is ready the Jnana is passed from Guru and one achieves Moksha in instantaneously. After achieving Moksha, one may still stay in the human body (like Ramana Maharshi) but in terms of consciousness they achieved Moksha.

This reminds me the story of Samrat Prithu, on whose name the earth is called Prithvi. I will summarize it in my next post.

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 22 Dec 2009 08:07

संस्थाप्य मृण्मये पात्रे ताम्रपत्रम् सुसंस्कृतम् ।
छादयेत शिखिग्नीवेनार्दाभिः काष्ठपांसुभिः ॥

दस्तालोष्ठो निघातव्यः पारदाच्छादितस्ततः ।
संयोगात जायते तेजो मित्रावरुण संज्ञितम् ॥

अनेन जलभंगोस्ति प्राणोदानेषु वायुषु।
एवम् शतानाम् कुंभानाम् संयोगः कार्यकृत्स्मृतः ॥

वायु बंधक वस्त्रेण निबद्धो यंमस्तके l
उदान: स्वलघुत्वे बिभर्त्याकाश यानकम ll

sansthaapya mrinmaye patre taamrapatram susanskritam
chhaadayet shikhigni venaardabhi kaashthpaamsubhi:

dastaaloshto nighaatavya: paaradaachhaditasta:
sanyogaat jaayate tejo mitraavarun sangyitaam

anena jala-bhangosti praanodaaneshu vayushu
evam shataanam kumbhaanam sanyoga: karyakrit smrita:

vaayu-bandhak vastrena nibaddho yan-mastake
udaan: swa-laghutve bibhartyaakaash yaanakam

"Take an earthen pot, place a copper sheet, and put the shikhigreeva in it. Then, smear it with wet sawdust, mercury and zinc. Then, if you join the wires, it will give rise to energy (Tejas) called Mitravaruna. This will lead to disintegration of water into Praan vayu and Udaan vayu. A chain of one hundred jars is said to give a very active and effective force. The Udaan Vaayu thus created can then by trapped into an air-tight cloth with some tactic. If this is achieved, owing to self-buoyancy of Udaan vayu, it is possible to build a structure capable of flying in air"

- अगस्त्य संहिता शिल्प सूत्र - From Agastya Samhita, Shilpa Sutra (theory of architecture) - Most probably composed after 500 BC.

This verse gives following information

1. energy is produced by this particular assembly of chemicals and wire, that energy is of dual nature.
2. water can be split using that energy.
3. upon splitting of water, 2 gasses are produced
4. the energy can be amplified if the cells are assembled in series.
5. There exists a material OR a fabric which is airtight and which can be harnessed to build a structure which won't allow air to escape
6. Udaan vaayu, which is produced after splitting water, can be trapped in such air-tight assembly.
7. Udaan vaayu is light and self-buoyant
8. the self-buoyancy of Udaan vaayu can be harnessed to build a structure which is capable of flying in air.

Why Mitra-Vaarun?

Mitra-Varun are twin deities like Ashwinikumar.. They always exist in pair, like Dyava-Prithvi... The energy which is generated from above mentioned assembly exists in pair and cannot exist individually.

This refers to positive and negative terminals of cell and charges of electric field. One cannot exist without another, they have to exist in pair, just like Mitra-varuna..

Just an example of analytical and deductive nature of human brain in ancient times.. This verse is attributed to a person who existed around 2000 BC, although the language is not similar to one which was prevalent in 2000 BC. This language and style of writing is Post-Paninian Sanskrit (after 500 BC).

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 22 Dec 2009 10:49

Chiron, do you have any idea why Panini is dated at 500 BC? How is this date arrived at? Whats the sanctity?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Dec 2009 11:52

Jupiter do you know the story of origin of "Brihatkatha Nanjari" by Gunadya?

Facebook link on Brihat Katha

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Dec 2009 12:59

For Telugu reading members:

http://telugubooks.blogspot.com/

Has a treasure trove of Telugu classics.

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 22 Dec 2009 16:56

Sanku wrote:Chiron, do you have any idea why Panini is dated at 500 BC? How is this date arrived at? Whats the sanctity?

his writings say that his contemporary king in magadha is from Nanda Dynasty (probably mahapadma nanda).. He was from Peshawar (Pushkalavati, later Purushpur) in Gaandhaar province..

Probably he was during the Shishunaag-Nanda interregnum (When Shishunaag Mahanandi was assassinated by Mahapadmananda and Nanda Dynasty began) that gives us the date from (500 BC-440/430 BC).

There were 9 Nanda monarchs totally.. first was mahapadma nanda who killed mahanandi... last was dhanananda who was ousted by chanakya-chandragupta maurya..

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 22 Dec 2009 20:15

his writings say that his contemporary king in magadha is from Nanda Dynasty (probably mahapadma nanda).. He was from Peshawar (Pushkalavati, later Purushpur) in Gaandhaar province..

Probably he was during the Shishunaag-Nanda interregnum (When Shishunaag Mahanandi was assassinated by Mahapadmananda and Nanda Dynasty began) that gives us the date from (500 BC-440/430 BC).

There were 9 Nanda monarchs totally.. first was mahapadma nanda who killed mahanandi... last was dhanananda who was ousted by chanakya-chandragupta maurya..

This one says date of Buddha as 1700BC and in match with native Indian position regarding date of Buddha.

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0003/ET14-5679.html

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 22 Dec 2009 21:17

gandharva wrote:
his writings say that his contemporary king in magadha is from Nanda Dynasty (probably mahapadma nanda).. He was from Peshawar (Pushkalavati, later Purushpur) in Gaandhaar province..
This one says date of Buddha as 1700BC and in match with native Indian position regarding date of Buddha.

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0003/ET14-5679.html

Right so its linked to the Nanda's, so if we were to accept the Indian time lines (as per Buddhists traditions etc) Panini would also move back to 1700 BCE?

I had already posted a astral study of Buddha parinirvana by Narhari Achar dating it to 1700 before.

I am still searching does anything "break" if we move Chandragupta back to 1700s? Any inconsistencies in references.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 22 Dec 2009 21:24

Bji,
A nitpick.You refer to Madhvacharya as Madhavacharya.Madhva is derived from madhva-madhu which is milk.Perhaps you or Chiron or shaardula saar can give the etymology.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 24 Dec 2009 10:48

ramana wrote:X-posted...

Muppalla wrote:Yoga at the speed of Light

Linda Johnsen Courtesy & copyright Yoga International
It is amazing how much Western science has taught us. Today, for example, kids in grammar school learn that the sun is 93 million miles from the earth and that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Yoga may teach us about our Higher Self, but it can't supply this kind of information about physics or astronomy.

Or can it? Professor Subhash Kak of Louisiana State University recently called my attention to a remarkable statement by Sayana, a fourteenth century Indian scholar. In his commentary on a hymn in the Rig Veda, the oldest and perhaps most mystical text ever composed in India, Sayana has this to say: "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha."

A yojana is about nine American miles; a nimesha is 16/75 of a second. Mathematically challenged readers, get out your calculators!

2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas = 185,794 m.p.s.

Basically, Sayana is saying that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! How could a Vedic scholar who died in 1387 A.D. have known the correct figure for the speed of light? If this was just a wild guess it's the most amazing coincidence in the history of science!

The yoga tradition is full of such coincidences. Take for instance the mala many yoga students wear around their neck. Since these rosaries are used to keep track of the number of mantras a person is repeating, students often ask why they have 108 beads instead of 100. Part of the reason is that the mala represent the ecliptic, the path of the sun and moon across the sky. Yogis divide the ecliptic into 27 equal sections called nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven.

Each is associated with a particular blessing force, with which you align yourself as you turn the beads.

Traditionally, yoga students stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the mala around in their hand, and continue reciting their mantra as they move backward through the beads. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices, when the sun appears to stop in its course and reverse directions. In the yoga tradition we learn that we're deeply interconnected with all of nature. Using a mala is a symbolic way of connecting ourselves with the cosmic cycles governing our universe.

But Professor Kak points out yet another coincidence: The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter. The diameter of the sun is about 108 times the earth's diameter. And the distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter.

Could this be the reason the ancient sages considered 108 such a sacred number? If the microcosm (us) mirrors the macrocosm (the solar system), then maybe you could say there are 108 steps between our ordinary human awareness and the divine light at the center of our being. Each time we chant another mantra as our mala beads slip through our fingers, we are taking another step toward our own inner sun.

As we read through ancient Indian texts, we find so much the sages of antiquity could not possibly have known-but did. While our European and Middle Eastern ancestors claimed that the universe was created about 6,000 years ago, the yogis have always maintained that our present cosmos is billions of years old, and that it's just one of many such universes which have arisen and dissolved in the vastness of eternity.

In fact the Puranas, encyclopedias of yogic lore thousands of years old, describe the birth of our solar system out of a "milk ocean," the Milky Way. Through the will of the Creator, they tell us, a vortex shaped like a lotus arose from the navel of eternity. It was called Hiranya Garbha, the shining womb. It gradually coalesced into our world, but will perish some day billions of years hence when the sun expands to many times it present size, swallowing all life on earth. In the end, the Puranas say, the ashes of the earth will be blown into space by the cosmic wind. Today we known this is a scientifically accurate, if poetic, description of the fate of our planet.

The Surya Siddhanta is the oldest surviving astronomical text in the Indian tradition. Some Western scholars date it to perhaps the fifth or sixth centuries A.D., though the next itself claims to represent a tradition much, much older. It explains that the earth is shaped like a ball, and states that at the very opposite side of the planet from India is a great city where the sun is rising at the same time it sets in India. In this city, the Surya Siddhanta claims, lives a race of siddhas, or advanced spiritual adepts. If you trace the globe of the earth around to the exact opposite side of India, you'll find Mexico. Is it possible that the ancient Indians were well aware of the great sages/astronomers of Central America many centuries before Columbus discovered America?- the M! ayans or Inca-s!!!

Knowing the unknowable: To us today it seems impossible that the speed of light or the fate of our solar system could be determined without advanced astronomical instruments. -as Sanjee argues!!

How could the writers of old Sanskrit texts have known the unknowable? In searching for an explanation we first need to understand that these ancient scientists were not just intellectuals, they were practicing yogis. The very first lines of the Surya Siddhanta, for of the Golden Age a great astronomer named Maya desired to learn the secrets of the heavens, so he first performed rigorous yogic practices. Then the answers to his questions appeared in his mind in an intuitive flash.

Does this sound unlikely? Yoga Sutra 3:26-28 states that through, samyama (concentration, meditation, and unbroken mental absorption) on the sun, moon, and pole star, we can gain knowledge of the planets and stars. Sutra 3:33 clarifies, saying: "Through keenly developed intuition, everything can be known." Highly developed intuition is called pratibha in yoga. It is accessible only to those who have completely stilled their mind, focusing their attention on one object with laser-like intensity. Those who have limited their mind are no longer limited to the fragments of knowledge supplied by the five senses. All knowledge becomes accessible to them.

"There are [those] who would say that consciousness, acting on itself, can find universal knowledge," Professor Kak admits. "In fact this is the traditional Indian view."

Perhaps the ancient sages didn't need advanced astronomical instruments. After all, they had yoga.

Yoga International is a bi monthly magazine with very good articles. The language is simple & easy to understand. To subscribe in India log on to http://www.yimag.org.

Is there any link to Sayana's text? I'm interested in seeing where Kak is getting this from. There would be no way for anyone to measure the speed of light back then. A lot of work had to come before that discovery could be made.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 24 Dec 2009 11:22

I am still searching does anything "break" if we move Chandragupta back to 1700s?

Nothing will break at present but in 18th century it was pushing the time of creation of earth beyond 5000 years as stipulated by Bible.

niran · Post by **niran** » 24 Dec 2009 11:44

Carl_T wrote: Is there any link to Sayana's text? I'm interested in seeing where Kak is getting this from. There would be no way for anyone to measure the speed of light back then. A lot of work had to come before that discovery could be made.

he is getting it from reading the Vedas. you will have too, if you are interested.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 24 Dec 2009 22:11

gandharva wrote:
I am still searching does anything "break" if we move Chandragupta back to 1700s?
Nothing will break at present but in 18th century it was pushing the time of creation of earth beyond 5000 years as stipulated by Bible.

Yes, I am of course aware of that. But moving Chandragupta Maurya to 1700 BCE, means that the Alexanders disaster during 300 BCE refers to Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta period (Sandrokottus) does that then break things?

Also are there any other references which break? Sometimes its a pity that BRF is a really unforgiving place for purveyors of Mackualite gospel. Because they arent around when we need to test new ways of breaking their commandments.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 25 Dec 2009 00:49

krishnapremiji,
apologies - it is a typos. It has to be Madhavacharya.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 25 Dec 2009 02:49

ajay pratap wrote:
Carl_T wrote: Is there any link to Sayana's text? I'm interested in seeing where Kak is getting this from. There would be no way for anyone to measure the speed of light back then. A lot of work had to come before that discovery could be made.
he is getting it from reading the Vedas. you will have too, if you are interested.

I didn't see it anywhere. I've read the RgVed, and Sayana's commentary.

Although Kak himself is not very credible.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 25 Dec 2009 11:50

brihaspati wrote:krishnapremiji,
apologies - it is a typos. It has to be Madhavacharya.

Bji,
No,it is Madhvacharya.

I am trying to get your attention to that,if you are indeed referring to the Acharya of Dvaita Siddhantha.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhvacharya

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 25 Dec 2009 18:48

krishnapremi ji,
Actually, I am always torn between the two.

The militant, political side of me identifies with Madhava Vidyaranya, and the mystical spiritual ecstatic side identifies with Madhva. In my mind, they are two manifestations of the same spirit. I lean more heavily perhaps towards Vidyaranya - because that is the need of the hour. But somewhere Madhva also calls. I have this inability to believe in a conscious human form "divine" in spite of struggling to do so. Lets see.

The best combination would be a Madhava who transforms a Hukka-Bukka, in the real world, but also can sing in a torrent of feeling to wash all up in the same flow - from time to time. But you have raised a serious question in me. Where and how far the two can really be brought together.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 26 Dec 2009 08:17

Bji,
Thanks for the reply.I will engage you on this some time later.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 26 Dec 2009 12:22

ramana wrote:Jupiter do you know the story of origin of "Brihatkatha manjari" by Gunadya?

Facebook link on Brihat Katha

Jupiterji, For you!

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 26 Dec 2009 18:53

ramanaji,
I have heard of this, and had read only one paper on the Persian origins of the stories of Betal Panchabingshati. The stories had always fascinated me as being representative of something that stands out away from the general tenor of Sanskrit literature. The storeis border on "taboo" topics, and in some cases we can note the different style of presentation of the same taboo concept compared to other Sanskrit moral fables. But I thought it just represented an extreme case of the uncensored creativity of the period - and need not be attribute dto foreign soucres only!

For example, two taboo topics I noticed - belonged to extramarital affairs and transgender. The story that is mentioned on the Facebook site has parallels in similar stories in other Sanskrit sources, But there, the wife "entertains" the divine guest voluntarily - either because she mistakes him as her husband, or out of prevalent concepts of "hospitality" and the divine either tests the devotion of the couple, or gets punished himself (thousand eye of Indra - indication of Syphilis I guess). And then further back, there is not even awareness of taboo! (For example that of the family and descendants of Angiras - including that of Brihaspati, his wife, and brother's wife etc

or that of Swaha, wife of Agni and the Saptarishis and their wives). So what if it was the more conservative - only male "roaming" allowed - Persian influence sneaking in after the Persian incursions that has left its stamp on the more "liberal" earlier Indian stories?

Even the transgender stories show this progresion from "liberal" to "conservative" - so many stories of changing gender because of entering "protected" boudoirs/lakes of Shiva-Parvati, and they are treated normally in earlier Sanskrit literature. However in the Betal version, the gender change is subjected to twists of intrigue, triangles, and an ultimate reversion back to straight gender.

However, I am also thinking whether I should apply the allegory of Betal and Vikram's journey to the forum experience itself. Surely, you did not imply such a journey?

But this Pisacha is not interested in solutions - he is only interested in status-quo, and really lives in the past. He panics at the possibility of Vikram completing his journey and thinks that will upset the pisachic world order where the pisacha was all powerful!

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 26 Dec 2009 23:14

No I meant how did Gunadhya come to write the tales and why he chose the Pisacha language?

A few web links:

On Reading Katha Amrita in Kannada

Picture of Gundhaya writing the Brihat Katha

The last one is from

Telugus through the ages Museum.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 26 Dec 2009 23:55

ramana ji, this is an interesting direction. Will think and chew on this angle. "Pisacha" language could be a social indicator closer to home.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 27 Dec 2009 01:40

An early history of Knight's tour in Chess:

http://www.ktn.freeuk.com/1a.htm

I am looking to find when did the Queen evolve in Chess.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 04 Jan 2010 00:21

Ramana-ji,

I am downloading Katha-Sarita-Sagara from Internet Archive.

In the meantime, I have a question on Gunadhya Katha. AFAIK, Gunadhya enters into a bet with another scholor w.r.t educating king's sons in 1 year and he denounces speaking Sanskrit after losing that bet.

He goes to forests and tells his story in (newly compiled) Paisachika/Prakrit language, which even animals understand. The king upon hearing that all forest creatures are disappearing, goes on a search for root cause and finds Gunadhya with his prakrit language.

Is my narration correct?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Jan 2010 10:08

The version I heard last month goes like this:

The Satavahana King (most likely Hala) once splashed water on his Queen from Andhradesa. She said "Udakam, oddu!" meaning don't splash water. The King heard it as modakam(steamed sweets) and ordered his attendants to fetch a cart load of modakams for his queen. The Queen laughed at his ignorance of Sanskrit. The King was discomfited and called his ministers and wanted to learn the language in six months. Gunadhya the chief mantri said it would take six years. Another stepped up and said he would teach in the required period. Gunadhya proclaimed that he would leave the court and not speak either Sanskrit or the Queen's language(proto-Telugu) is the King learnt Sanskrit in six months. The King had a double challenge and set about accomplishing the task. Gunadhya left the court and retired to the forest. There he composed the BrihatKatha in Paisachi, the language of the goblins or vetalas. He wrote it in Devanagari script with his own blood as there wasn't any ink and had the book delivered to the now educated King. The king could read the script but not understand the words and had it returned to the writer. Gunadhya made a pyre in the forest and would read the stories aloud and all the animals would gather to listen and once the page was completed he would throw it in the fire. As the animals didn't move and here the story gets changed: one version says they grew lean and a hunter captured a deer and delivered to the palace. Other version says the cows didn't give milk as they were enraptured in the stories and forgot to eat. Anyway the King learnt of this strange story of a sage reading from an unknown script and burning the pages and all the animals becoming still. The King went to the forest to see the sight for himself and recognized Gunadhya who was on the last book. He stopped him from burning that one too and brought him back to the capital.

My friend who narrated this got it from his Telugu teacher from rural Telangana. The teacher also said there are ancient forms of Telugu in the text. He said modern Paisachi is still prevalent in the region as a dialect.

Read this Facebook Page and scroll down to

Baital Pachisi: Twenty-five Tales of a Baital
for another version....

And BTW to confirm my hunch

Satavahana rulers patronized both Sanskrit and Prakrit literatures. Hala, the Satavahana ruler was the author of Saptasati- a work in Prakrit. Brihat Katha, written by Gunadhya was in the Paisachi dialect.

LINK: http://www.salivahana.com/The%20Satavahana%20Rule.html

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Jan 2010 10:23

A real goldmine:

http://www.chandamama.com/index.php

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 04 Jan 2010 11:23

ramana wrote:The version I heard last month goes like this:
My friend who narrated this got it from his Telugu teacher from rural Telangana. The teacher also said there are ancient forms of Telugu in the text. He said modern Paisachi is still prevalent in the region as a dialect.

I heard the above story from my father who is from kosta.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Jan 2010 21:35

ravi_ku, Can you check the King's name?

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 04 Jan 2010 21:53

ramana wrote:A real goldmine:

http://www.chandamama.com/index.php

Awesome Ramana garu! thanks a ton.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Jan 2010 22:25

When I was a child, Chandamma used to arrive every month in Telugu. And my dad would read it aloud for all of us youngsters. That page/web link took me back to my childhood and memories of my father.

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 04 Jan 2010 22:50

ramana wrote:ravi_ku, Can you check the King's name?

Ramana,

I will try. can take a month or more- but more often than not, these were bedtime stories for us and he used to tell from memory and he used to mess up some stories. Once in semi sleep, he brought dogs fighting into kurukshetra story

So for us names were not so important.

Even today I buy chandamama when I am in hyderabad. Oh, the fights we used to have over it with my siblings

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 04 Jan 2010 23:12

ramana wrote:When I was a child, Chandamma used to arrive every month in Telugu. And my dad would read it aloud for all of us youngsters. That page/web link took me back to my childhood and memories of my father.

I vividly remember those days (late 70s) where we used to read old Chandamama books (bound by year) in Jinnuru-WGDist library.

Ravi_Ku garu, this is the village I mentioned in our NJ meet.

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 04 Jan 2010 23:24

RamaY wrote: Ravi_Ku garu, this is the village I mentioned in our NJ meet.

garu ni peekeyandi saar.

absolutely no memory about what you are talking about

Edit: got it from nukkad

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 16 Jan 2010 03:32

Folks this is a treasure.

http://www.indianfolklore.org/journals/

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Jan 2010 02:15

Has anyone come across Bhatta Laksmidhara's Krtya Kalpataru? A limited version on Tirthakanda is at Internet Archive site by Sri K.V. Rangaswami Aiyangar. The introduction of ~50 pages itself is worth reading.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 28 Jan 2010 02:47

Ancestry of South Korea's first lady is related to Ayodhya king family.

Ancestors of South Korea's first lady Ms. Yoon-Oak belonged to Ayodhya king clan, the Korea Times says. Per this article, 2000 years ago, a princes named Hiyo Wong of Ayodhya kingdom travelled to Korea and married Korean king. Gene samples collected from two burial chambers belonging to Gimhe clan