Monthly Archives: July 2010

mAhAsamanta “feudalism”?

Posted on July 31, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

“nUtana-mAnava-samAjasya-purashcharaNam mArksa-engelsa-lenina-nAmadheyAnAm tejasvinAm mahA-mAnavAnAm punIta-smaraNArtham ||” Thus, Kosambi the pitAmaha of the deshIya rudhira-dhvaja-s offers his ma~NgAlacharaNaM to his mentors, of all places in the introduction to his edition of the vAkya-s of bhartR^ihari. He claimed that he was working … Continue reading →

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The kingfisher

Posted on July 30, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The great kShemendra in his characterization of the qualities of a kavI had mentioned how he should be a good naturalist. This is an old quality whose germs are seen in vAlmIki himself. Below is a little word-painting by the … Continue reading →

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The mantra of aghorA according to the tradition of the kAlI-kula

Posted on July 27, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The devI aghorA, as we have seen before, emerged first as the shakti of aghora in the root tantra-s of the bhairava srotas. She was described under several related names such as aghoreshvarI and appears to be the foundation from … Continue reading →

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kaumara mantra-s of as per the vaikhAnasa shruti

Posted on July 25, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The kaumAra-shAsana holds that its mantra-s are of two types name shruti-prakR^iti and Agama-prakR^iti. The former mantra-s are those of vaidika origin. The rahasya trishati is said to specify mantra-s of both the classes. bhUtapatir gatAta~Nko nIla-chUDaka-vAhanaH || 34/287 The … Continue reading →

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The eka-pa~nchAshan-nR^isiMha-nAmAni according to the kaula tradition

Posted on July 24, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

As per the shaiva tradition of the brahma-yAmala that expounds the lore of kAplIsha bhairava and raktachAmuNDA, the sixth srotas is that of the nR^isiMha tantra-s. Another tradition like that recorded by abhinavagupta and jayaratha state this srotas was that … Continue reading →

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tris-sapta-pa~ncha-II

Posted on July 24, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
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The shR^i~NgAra katha of kumAra from the islander’s narrative

Posted on July 22, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

In later northern Indian tradition a euphemistic transformation was imposed on kumAra – from a deity capable of erotic flourishes he was transmogrified into an eternal bachelor who shunned women. Behind this façade was a persistent tradition in parts of … Continue reading →

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tris-sapta-pa~ncha-I

Posted on July 21, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
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The urban maNDala

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

Views on Indian urbanization While bhArata has had a long history of urbanization, there is a certain view that we have absolutely no memory of the first such event. As per this view the first urbanization is a purely archaeological … Continue reading →

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Tritonal recitations of vaiShNava-s

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

KRK astutely observed that the tritonal recitation of the nAlAyira divyaprabandhaM (DP4000) by the shrIvaiShNava-s might be a survival of an even earlier custom of the tritonal recitation of the pA~ncharAtra texts. The evidence from the AgamaDambara (AD) of jayanta … Continue reading →

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Snow flakes

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
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A killer sperm whale

Posted on July 1, 2010 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

A reconstruction of Leviathan by the artist C. Letenneur Recent fossils are clarifying the emergence of the crown group whales comprised of the toothed whales (odontocetes) and the baleen whales (mysticetes), overall accounting for about 80 species of mammals in … Continue reading →

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