A SHORT TREATISE ON SANSKRIT PROSODY- PART-III

 

          In metres regulated by the number of syllabic instants one instant or Matra is allotted to a short vowel, and two to a long one.

          For the purspose of scanning metres regulated by the number of syllables, writers on prosody have devised eight “Ganas” or syllabic feet, each consisting of three syllables, and distinguished from one another by particularly syllables being short or ling.  They are given in the following verse:-

मस्त्रिगुरुस्त्रिलघुश्च नकारो भादिगुरुः पुनरादिलघुर्यः।

जो गुरुमध्यगतो रलमध्यः सोऽन्तगुरुः कथितोऽ न्तलघुस्तः॥

आदिमध्यावसानेषु यरता यान्ति लाघवम्। भजसा गौरवं यान्ति मनौ तु गुरुलाघवम् ॥

Expressed in symbols (The symbol l is denoting a short syllable, and a S long one) the different Ganas may be represented as follows:

यगणः = l S S = Yagana=(Bacchius);     रगणः=S I S =Ragana=(Amphimacer)   तगणः=l l S=Thagana=(Anti Bacchius); भगणः=S l l=Bhagana=(Dactylus)  जगणः=l S l=Jagana=(Amphibrachys);  सगणः=l l S=Sagana=(Anapaestus) मगणः=S S S=Magana=(Mollosus);      नगणः=l l l=Nagana=(Tribrachys)     Similarly ल (l) is used to denote a short syllable and ग (S) a long one.

SRI VAISHNAVA MANTRAS

   

     There are three Mantras hailed as Rahasya-trayas namely.  They are

1.     The Moolamantra alias Tirumantra or Ashtakshara –

“Om Naamo Narayanaya” means Salutation to Lord Sriman Narayana - Vishnu.

2.     The Dvayam –

“Sriman Narayana-Charanau-Saranam-Prapadye; Srimathe Narayanaya Nama: - I take refuge in the feet of Sriman Narayana joined with Sri (SriLakshmi the Goddess of Wealth) and salutation to Narayana with Sri.

3.     The Carama Sloka -

“SarvaDharman Parityajya Mamekam Saranam Vraja  l

  Aham tva Sarva Papebhyo Mokshayishyami maa sucha: ll”

(Srimat Bagavad Gita - XVIII-66)

Having relinfuished all dharmas resort to me alone as a refuge.  I will release you from all sins.  Be not grieved - Lord Sri Krishna said to Arjuna.

          Tirumantra, Dvayam and CaramaSloka predates Sri Vaishnavas itself, dating back to the first Azhvars (Tamil Vaishnavite Saints) and probably earlier, to the epic period.

          The name of Narayana is well rooted in the later Vaishnava Upanishads like Maharanya Upanishad, Subala Upanishad and in the Mahabharata, MokshaDharma section of the Santi Parva.

          The brief Narayanaatharvasira Upanishad quoted by the preceptors of Vasihnavism gives specific instruction in how the eight syllabled Ashtakshara Mantra, (Om Namo Narayanaya) is to be pronounced.

GOALS TO MEET IN 2025

 

Personal Goals

1.     Prioritizing the time management

2.     Not to miss any family gathering

3.     Not to commit to everything, and start to say no.

 

Creative Goals

1.     To take up teaching online.

2.     Improving the painting skills.

3. Joining the sports club.

A BLOGPOST ON A FELLOW BLOGGER

 

As a final campaign of the year 2024, Blog Chatter announced #Blogchatterwrapparty, with five constituent prompts, of which the following is the one:

“Give a shoutout to a fellow creator, sharing what you like about them”

I will write this blog post about fellow blogger Pandian Ramaiah.

He writes about mythological stories, fiction, and translations in his blog.

Particularly I liked his bilingual scholarliness. (English & Tamil)

Here is the link https://dwaraka.wordpress.com/

He posts his writings on Blog chatter and earns many stickers by participating in various campaigns.

“Shortness is sweetness” can be felt by reading his posts.

His blog is an interesting one and kindles me to read.

His writing style is very lucid and catchy.

Though I have not regularly read his posts, I found so much valuable information packed within the compass of his posts' limited length.

 

 

(This blog post is a part of #Blogchatterwrapparty. For more details here : https://www.theblogchatter.com/campaign-registrations/are-you-ready-to-wrap-up-2024-with-a-bang)

THE YEAR 2024 SO FAR

 

Recollecting six major milestones, I summarise the year in six words:

1.  Achievement

          Something that I have done successfully, especially through hard work.  It gave me a sense of achievement.

D.Litt stands for Doctor of Literature, received the Degree in June 2024. 

2. Celebration

          A celebration is a special enjoyable event that people organize because something pleasant has happened.  Participating in someone's birthday, marriage, anniversary, etc., in this way, I am highly glad to have participated in the same. 

3. Travel

          Travel is the main part of my life. The advantages of travelling include stress and anxiety reduction to alleviating tension. It improved my mental well-being and creativity and provided a sense of satisfaction. Apart from other travels, visited my native village twice this year.

4.  Asset

          Jewellery is the essential thing.  Gold enhances life span, wealth, body complexion, intellect, and memory, and eradicates the evil spirit.   Brought gold jewellery to compliment & wear as a symbol of my achievement.

5. Gaining health through exercise:

          Health is wealth. Prioritizing it, I got back to my routines. Regaining my health with rigorous exercise to stay in shape.

6.  Fair enough with my Passion for writing and reading

          Sparing time to Read books & write on specific themes and compose poems in Sanskrit.

A SHORT TREATISE ON SANSKRIT PROSODY - PART II

 

 

A syllable is as much of a word as can be pronounced at once, that is, a vowel with or without one or more consonants.

A syllable is लघु ‘Short’ or  गुरु ‘long’ according as its vowel is ‘short’ or ‘long’.  The vowels अ, इ, उ, ऋ & ऌ are short; आ, ई, ऊ, ॠ, ए, ऐ, ओ & औ are long.  But a short vowel becomes long in prosody when it is followed by an Anusvara, Visarga and by a conjunct consonant; as the vowel अ in गंध or गः. (The consonants प्र & ह्र as also ब्र & क्र are said to be exceptions, before which the vowel may be short by a sort of poetical license.  So also the last syllable of a pada is either long or short, according to the exigence of the metre, whatever be its natural length.

सानुस्वारश्च दीर्घश्च विसर्गी च गुरुर्भवेत् । वर्णःसंयोगपूर्वश्च तथा पादान्तगोऽपि वा ॥

FREEDOM LOST IN RIGHTS

 

 

 

Author:                  Smriti Kumar Sinha

Original Version:  Bishnupriya Manipuri

Translator:             Ramlal Sinha

Editor:                    Zinnia Sengupta

Publisher:              Niyogi Books

Genre:                    Literary and Contemporary Fiction

           Book buy link   ---- @Amazon

Smriti Kumar Sinha the renowned Bishnupriya Manipuri story writer for his first “Seducing the Rain God” which attracted readers around the world, influenced the Indian language Bishnupriya Manipuri by narrating the landscapes of the Northeast.

He is a reputed educationist and currently Vice-Chancellor of Pragjyotishpur University.  His short stories were published in “Indian Literature” the famous literary journal of Sahitya Akademi, India.  Now, he is a major activist for the revitalisation and development of minor and endangered languages of Northeast India over the past four decades.

The Translator Ramlal Sinha is a veteran journalist from Northeast and  Executive Editor of The Sentinel, Assam.  Being the Sub-Editor with The Newsfront, Guwahati, like Smriti Kumar Sinha, is devoted to making literature in endangered languages of the Northeast accessible to pan-Indian and international audiences.

The Selected story is titled “Freedom Lost in Rights”, written by Smriti Kumar Sinha one of the most reputed short-story writers of his generation.  The collection of these eleven Stories is best known for its immensely inter-woven characters, habits and customs, way of life, day-to-day adventures and their language in Manipur.

This nearly 200-page collection has been rendered in English by Bishnupriya Manipuri in a lucid way.  Though translating any work from one language into another is an arduous task, especially so if the work of translation consists of spoken words, Ramlal Sinha travelled the entire region of NorthEast, especially Manipur, for the live narration of the characters, language, region, and their lifestyle.

 It’s a tedious effort that requires the translator's abundance of dedication and unremitting labour of the translator over his assigned task without failing to provide the quintessence of North-Eastern diction. 

            The first story Grass or Land? Highlights the childhood friendship - never care about caste or creed; poor or rich.

The phrase from Page 17, “Undernourished, he is a bag of bones” echoes the Tamil Saying “Kaayame idhu poyyadaa, verum Kaatradaittha paiyyadaa”.

The phrase from page 29 “The Shampens are very happy because they are very close to Mother Nature.  For us, peace is scarce because we have distanced ourselves from nature” insists the reader to save the earth without ruining nature.

The phrase from page 125 “Anger is one letter short of danger” throws light on controlling the anger which provokes emotional downfalls.

            The eternal love between Akhanda and Prajna, the adventurous journey of the author along with his team to visit the Nicobar Islands to conduct the polling, and the reality of human life and soul through Nandeswar are well narrated.

The cover page, well designed was a theoretical representation through the mixture of old and modern art well designed by Maithili Doshi which makes the readers visualize the theme of the story - Freedom Lost in Rights the second one of this collection.

            While reading this collection of stories, the readers can  experience the north east region as if they were travelling and interacting with the characters in the Northeast region.

            There are many rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations described through the words like Navami, Pitupaksha, Vishu in Vaishak, Rathayatra in Ashadh, Hariuththan, Goshthalila, Rasalila etc Navami with related things like Aarti, Nukun the sacred thread, Firal, Champa, Kumkum, Kathidal, Leichandan, Prasad, Tika, etc. 

The ornaments like Patuki, Dhungri, Bulaki, Naugedi and pote;

the games and dance like Betgutta, Pung Chalan, Bhangi;

 the edibles like Dalmool, Kachi gani oil, Bhaat Khawaani, Senakapak;

 the clothes like Inafi, Nayanamuna, Kantha, Irufi, Talafuti, Chaubandi cholo, Kirtanar khutteri, Angavastra, and Chandua are interesting things that kindle the readers to visualize the entire scenario.

The book reveals the hidden treasure of the northeast of India and readers worldwide will get a glimpse of the people's lives in the region through literature.

This is a book with high literary merits and due importance to language, culture, and writing style is maintained throughout.

 

(This book review is the part of Blogchatter's Book Review Program)

A SHORT TREATISE ON SANSKRIT PROSODY - Part I

 

    PROSODY means the study of poetry.  In Sanskrit it is called Chandas or Vruttam.

    The earliest and most important work in Sanskrit Prosdy is the Pingala's Chandas-Sastram, attributed to the sage Pingala, which consists of Sutras or aphorisms distributed over eight books.

    The AgniPurana also gives a complete system of prosody founded apparently on Pingala's.  Several other original treatises have likewise been composed by various authors, such as the Sruthabodha, VrittaRatnakara, VrutthaKaumudi, ChandoManjari etc., 

    Sanskrit composition may be in the form of Gadya or Prose, Padya or Poetry expressed in the form of stanzas.

    A stanza or Padya is a combination of four Padaas or quarters (line, foot, stanza) which are regulated by either the number of Aksharam or Varna or syllable, or by the number of Maathraas or syllabic instants.

    A Padya is a Vruttha or Jathi.

    A Vruttha is a stanza the metre of which is regualted by the number and position of syllables in each Paada or quarter. (VarnaVruttham)

    A Jaathi is a stanza the metre of which is regulated by the number of syllabic instants in each quarter. (MaathraaVruttham)

    Vrutthas are divided into three classes:1. SamaVruttham in which all the four Paadaas or quarters composing the stanza are all similar; 2. ArdhaSamaVruttham in which the alternate quarters are similar and 3. VishamaVruttham in which the quarters are all dissimilar.

SUBHAASHITHA NEEVI - A DIDACTIC POEM BY SRI VEDANTA DESIKA

 The Subhashita neevi of Vedanta Desika is a short Kavya known in Sanskrit as Khanda kavya.  It is a book on morals and wisdom which go by the name of subhasita. A word about Neevi in the title Subhashita neevi means treasure, a knot particularly of feminine garment among other meanings.

          It belongs to a species of poetic composition called Padyam in which the poet goes on writing verses with varied ideas as and when they strike him.

        

  This work Subhashita Neevi is a short poem in a gross of verses divided into twelve chapters called Paddhatis with twelve slokas in each paddhati.  It is unique in several aspects.  This Kavyam is neither devotional nor philosophical, unlike the other works of the author.

          It is a didactic in its import and is intended to serve as a corrective to mankind by exposing its foibles and frailties and instructing it in the valuable norms of right social behaviour.

          In the very first Chapter called “Anipuna Paddhati means Unskilled Path” the author well narrated and shew his scholarliness or erudition that

Prathamasujanaaya pumse mahyamapi prathamadhurjanaaya namah l

Sarvam hathah krutham yau sakrudhupakaaraapakaaraabhyaam ll I - 1

A venerable bow to the Great Lord who is the first (best) good man and to me who is the first bad (worst) man; both of us whom by doing good or evil once will wipe off all the evil or good done so for respectively.

BOOK REVIEW OF TEN DAYS OF THE STRIKE

       

            Author:   Sandipan Chattopadhyay

Original Version:  Bengali

Translator:             Arunava Sinha

Publisher; HarperCollins Publisher India

Genre; Literary and Contemporary Fiction

Buy the book  here @Amazon

 

Sandipan Chattopadhyay was one of the pioneers of the Hungryalist movement, who influenced the Indian languages by narrating the Bengali landscape in his Kritadas Kritadasi. He was awarded the Bankim Puraskar in the year 1995 and the Sahitya Academy Award in the year 2002.

The Translator Arunava Sinha is a famous translator especially from Bengali to English.  He has succeeded in completing the translation of eighty literary works.

The Selected stories titled “Ten Days of the Strike” written by Sandipan Chattopadhyay who is one of the most skillful short-story writers of his generation.  The collection of these Ten Stories is best known for his immensely popular day-to-day adventures of every common man of Kolkata.

These stories explore the macabre as well as natural and are marked by the sharp characterization and trademark expression that distinguish his narration.

This collection brings together ten different types of his stories like The Last Metro, Meerabai, Banabehari and I, and The Ivy Shome Murder Case (1978) which readers of the middle Age will enjoy.

This collection with nearly 330 and odd pages has been rendered into English from Bengali.  It’s a monumental effort reflecting the enormous dedication and unremitting labour of the translator over his assigned task.

Translating any work from one language into another is an arduous task, especially so if the work of translation consists of spoken words.

The sixth story of this collection, Banabehari and I is the largest one which is endowed with more than 80 pages chaptered with eleven scenes, some chapters with three, and some with ten parts in each.  In the scene five, part 6 begins with a dialogue format.

The translation was rightfully discharged by the translator through his duty to recreate the original into English without deviation from the source.  The English language found in this book reveals the “Bangabhasha” or “Vangavasi”.

The descriptive style of the vernacular language of the region merged with the theme of the novel and the anecdotes which are suitable to the country yards help to strengthen the structure of the novel.

The cover page was well designed by the illustrator Sourish Mitra which makes the readers visualize the theme of the story - Ten Days of the Strike the second one of this collection.   Particularly in this story, how the middle-class family overcame from the day to day problems like inexplicable conditions in the bathroom like blocking of the toilet, overflowing septic tank, endowed with many cockroaches and centipedes etc.,   

This collection provides the approach to lead a life with great courage, and positive thoughts, maintaining relationships, and in turn, it helps to develop the feeling of rejoicing.

The book has many experienced faces in the form of the characters which provokes the readers to understand reality.

This classic edition consists and is graced with many moving stories, that will inspire the readers.  Readers can take a few minutes here and there and read the stories to remind themselves of the good in the world.

The author was successful in presenting the ten stories lucidly.

 

(This book review is the part of Blogchatters Book Review program)

ESSENCE OF NUMBERS - दश = TEN

 दश = TEN

The number 10 has many special qualities, including: 

Symbolism:

In Pythagoreanism, 10 was considered the most perfect number because it is the sum of 1, 2, 3, and 4. It was also a symbol of unity and completeness and was related to space.  

Numerology:

In numerology, 10 is associated with wholeness and unity and is the sum of 1 (the individual) and 0 (the infinite). It is also associated with leadership, karmic fulfillment, and career success. 

Decimal system:

10 is the base of the decimal numeral system, which is the most common way to represent numbers in written and spoken language. 

Other notable things:

10 is the highest possible score in Olympic competitions, and a woman's height is roughly 10 times the length of her hand. Crabs have 10 legs, and the Prime Minister lives at No.10 Downing Street. 

In Sanskrit, the following words indicate the number 10:-

1) दशदिशः (प्राची, आग्नेयी, दक्षिणा, नैर्ऋती, प्रतीची, वायवी, उदीची, ईशानी, ऊर्ध्वा, अधरा ) =

Ten Direction = East, South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West, North, North=East, Upwards and Downwards;

2)  दशदिक्पालाः (इन्द्रः, अग्निः, यमः, नैर्ऋतः, वरुणः, मरुत्, कुबेरः, ईशानः, ब्रह्मा, अनन्तः) =

Ten Direction = East = Indra, South-East = Fire, South = Yama, South-West = Nairruta, West = Varuna, North-West = Vaayu, North = Kubera, North-East = Siva, Upwards = Brahma, and Downwards = AadiSesha;

3) दशाङ्गुलयः (अङ्गुष्टा, तर्जनी, मध्यमा, अनामिका, कनिष्टिकादयः) = Ten Fingers =        Thumb, Index, Middle, Ring and Little Fingers in both hands;

4)   दशावतारः (मत्स्य, कूर्म, वराह, नरसिंह, वामन, परशुराम, श्रीराम, बलराम, कृष्ण, कल्की) =

Ten Incarnations of the Lord Vishnu = Fish, Tortoise, Wild-Boar, Lion-Man, Dwarf, Wielder of Axe, Sri Rama, BalaRama, SriKrishna and Kalki;

5) दशरथः = The celebrated Emperor who ruled Ayodhya and the father of Sri Rama.  He was capable of steering his chariot in all the Ten Direction = East, South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West, North, North=East, Upwards and Downwards;

6) दशाननः = The celebrated Demon Ravana who had ten heads.

(This blogpost is a part of Blogchatter's Half Marathon 2024)