Monthly Archives: December 2006

The sarvAtmAn hymn to viShNu shows some variations between recensions and traditions but form accepted amongst smArtas has 40 core shlokas corresponding to Mbh 12.47.23-63. This an extremely important hymn of viShNu, comparable to the hymn to rudra by the … Continue reading →

One thing many fellow traditional Hindus have found frustrating about me is my lack knowledge and lack of affinity for the advaita stream of vedanta, and more fundamentally me being a svatantra. My blasphemous views regarding vedas and their apauruSheyatva … Continue reading →

One of the most towering of the colossi of arcane Hindu thought is yA~jnavalkya, the great adhvaryu, who demolished all other brAhmaNa-s who stood on his path. After he defeats his rivals in the famous brahmodaya contest, which has become … Continue reading →

The jinendra explained at length how the padmAvatI prayoga-s are performed as per the padmAvatI kalpa. Described below is the vidhi for padmAvatI ArAdhana: athaH sarvAvarNa pUjA: OM hrIM dharaNendrAya namaH – eastern door; OM hrIM adhachChadanAya namaH – southern … Continue reading →

Continuing with our encounters with padubai (padmAvatI), we come to that expedition that opened to us the secrets of this deity. The our nAstIka astronomer acquaintance of the 3rd varNa had mentioned that there was a large idol of padmAvatI … Continue reading →

The primary object of the Arya is to know indra: satyaM hIndraH | indra is verily the truth taM hendra uvAcha mAm eva vijAnIhi | And he told [pratardana daivodAsi] just perceive me etad evAhaM manuShyAya hitatamaM manye yan mAM … Continue reading →

The powers of the great god, who envelops the universe with his 3 strides, dwelling in the ocean of existence sleeping on the snake of time, watched upon by the epitome of the female kind, are put forth as deadly … Continue reading →

There is much reason to believe that the kAshyapa tradition is a real coherent tradition of magico-medical practices in post-Vedic India that survived in some form or the other in the midst of other traditions until recently. At some point, … Continue reading →

The vaiShNava journeying beyond the hallowed Oddiyana pITha, where he had performed the worship of vArAhI, and karNamoTini, arrived at the oasis of Khotan. Having obtained several manuscripts of various Indic texts in Central Asia he moved further ahead on … Continue reading →

One who is in the grip of the vidyA-s of the dreaded dhUmAvatI and rakta-jyeShThA will be released from them by the secret formula known as the “bonds of the devI”. The one who goes beyond that step attains that … Continue reading →

The eldest son of the great king of Nepal, pR^ithivi nArAyaNa shahA (who defeated the British and founded the Nepal Kingdom until its recent destruction by Marxists), pratApa siMha, compiled a voluminous work on the mantra shAstra during his brief … Continue reading →

An important, but neglected aspect of the history of India before the cataclysmic Islamic interruption, was the role played by the mantra-mArga siddhAnta shaiva-s in the unification of the country. We had earlier spoken of our historical clansman, the great … Continue reading →

We first salute the master of the school, matsyendra and ku~nkumAMbA who was his kulA~NganA without whom none of these mysteries would be known to us mortals. “siddhamAtA vibhuH shabdarAshIti yonyArNavI vAgvishuddhAsi vAgeshvarI” That provides the inspiration of the rudra-shaktI … Continue reading →

The vedA~NGa jyotiSha has been a strikingly difficult text to fathom despite its small size. It is the late vedic text that appears to be a quick and handy guide for calendrical calculations. It has attracted much attention of Western … Continue reading →