The Dharma Dispatch

Duryodhana and Karna: A Friendship that Never was   This is the first episode of a series analysing the nature of the relationship between Duryodhana and Karna. --   One of the immortal and universal instances of the abuse of friendship is the miscasting of the transactional relationship between Duryodhana and Karna.    The durability of the myth of the “pure” and “ideal” friendship between Duryodhana and Karna is comparable to the myth that Mohandas Gandhi singlehandedly got India her freedom.   The worst offender in this entire corpus of literary licentiousness is the 1977 Telugu movie, Daana Veera Shoora Karna.    Duryodhana’s coronation of Karna is wholly illegitimate because it violates the most fundamental principles of Rājya-śāstra.   Karna’s coronation resembles the democratic coronation of Manmohan Singh by Sonia Gandhi.   Dhritarashtra was blind.    Manmohan Singh was mute.  ---- Do read the full piece! 📑🛕🕉🪔   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/duryodhana-and-karna-a-friendship-that-never-was

The downfall of Indian epigraphy after independence is a familiar chapter in the tragic saga of our cultural destruction directed by Nawab, Indira Gandhi, and frontally executed by Communist Party workers disguised as historians and scholars. 😔😡🙏 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-nehruvian-and-marxist-slaughter-of-hindu-inscriptional-studies

The downfall of Indian epigraphy after independence is a familiar chapter in the tragic saga of our cultural destruction directed by Nawab, Indira Gandhi, and frontally executed by Communist Party workers disguised as historians and scholars. 😔😡🙏 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-nehruvian-and-marxist-slaughter-of-hindu-inscriptional-studies

Dear New York Times: Eat Your Elitism. This is India's Century https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/dear-new-york-times-no-you-dont-have-any-fans-in-india-heres-why

When Diwan Purnaiah Lost and Regained his Eyesight: Glory of the Tirumala Thotti-Thirtam   In the final leg of his pilgrimage to the sacred Tirumala hills in 1872, V.N. Narasimha Iyengar recounts rare anecdotes about the glory of Srinivasa. His eyewitness descriptions of the whole thing is eye-opening to say the least. ---   The wealth of the Tirumala Srinivasa temple is considered fabulous. The managers are the Bhairagees who have got unchecked sway over the vast wealth of the institution. The chief guru of the Bhairagees is called the Mahant of the Math of Hathi Ram.    One of the sources of the temple revenues is the sale of the prepared rice.   Our Mysore Raja has founded a charity by which one gangala (large vessel) full of rich food should be daily offered to the God and distributed to the poor and strangers. There is a chatram of the Mysore Maharaja on the hill.   The Bhairagi Math people have watchmen at intervals along the ascent. They are armed with matchlocks, such as are found with the Hale Paika men of the Malnad. --- The whole essay is absolutely fabulous! Read it in full! 🛕🙏🕉🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/when-diwan-purnaiah-lost-and-regained-his-eyesight-glory-of-the-tirumala-thotti-thirtam

Trekking the Sacred Tirumala Hills in 1872   V.N. Narasimha Iyengar departs from Tirupati to Tirumala on 16 December 1872. He gives intricate details of the whole journey, which in itself is a valuable first hand source of history. ---   THE FIRST RANGE OF HILLS presents to the distant observer the form of a huge serpent, lying on the ground with its body extended in curves. This is due to the depressions in the surface of the range. Hence the whole is dubbed Seshachala or mountain of Sesha. The sthala purana goes to say that the hills are the avatars of the serpentine god.   The dhooley (palanquin) bearers keep singing one after another in a monotonous tone. The refrains are noom and volee. The way up to the gali gopuram is exceptionally steep and difficult.   The first gopuram or gate is the aforesaid gali gopuram. There is a Bhairagi Matha here which is richly endowed with inams for feeding the pilgrims.    After a weary trudge of nearly ten miles over seven hills, the dhooley was at last deposited in front of a ruined gate. No one is allowed, out of respect to the God, to proceed in dhooley or palanquin beyond the gate. The Svami of Sringeri was an exception so far as to be able to go a few yards further. It is a rule of the shrine that no one can ascend the hill with shoes on.  -- Do read the whole informative piece! 🛕🕉🙏🪔🛕 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/trekking-the-sacred-tirumala-hills-in-1872

Svatantra-Bhārata Abhinandanā-Stava: DVG’s Hymn to an Independent Bharatavarsha   The first episode of an English prose translation of the complete "Svatantra-Bhārata Abhinandanā-Stava." This was DVG's immortal Kannada hymn to Bharatavarsha that he wrote on the midnight of August 15, 1947. --   Few Indians could write about Bharatavarsha with such depth of feeling and accuracy as DVG has done in this extraordinary poem. Here are some excerpts.   What is Bharata? Is it merely a piece of earth or soil? Or is it a creation of the collective emotion (Bhāva-sr̥ṣṭi) of our people?    In DVG’s conception, Bharata is a Tejas (radiance). It is an innate awareness of the Ātma tatva  reflected in the beliefs, customs, traditions and lifestyles of its inhabitants. All these are reasons why the dust of this sacred soil becomes Akṣata when we sprinkle it on our head.    -- On this Independence Day, do read this poem in full and circulate it widely. 🛕🙏🕉🪔🇮🇳   Sri Rama Jayam https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/svatantra-bh%C4%81rata-abhinandan%C4%81-stava-dvgs-hymn-to-an-independent-bharatavarsha

The Tirupati Town that V.N. Narasimha Iyengar Saw in 1872   V.N. Narasimha Iyengar proceeds to Tirupati after departing from Arakkonam. The description of his journey and the portrait of the sacred temple town of Tirupati in 1872 is illuminating to say the least.   Here are some excerpts. --- After alternately walking and squatting in the bullock cart for about three hours, we arrived at the town of Tirupati, which is about six and a half miles from the railway station. The town is imbedded in a wide valley, enclosed by the Tirupati and Chandragiri ranges of hills, which are a continuation of the Eastern Ghats. It is tolerably clean and populous. The houses are almost all terrace-roofed and built with brick-in-chunam. At the entrance, there is a Mari or Grama Devate temple. At the front of it, two huge stone figures of Sri Devi and Bhu Devi, wives of Vishnu, are placed opposite each other, and the road runs between them.  The chief attraction of the place is the temple of Govindarajaswami. It is a very spacious structure: the entrance is crowned with a stupendous spire or gopuram of seven stories, with brass kalasas at the summit. It is of brick and chunam work, profusely ornamented.  Owing to the vandalism of the temple people, it is completely covered by a thick coat of filth, very tough and ages old.   The internal and external walls are built of slabs (some being of black stone) which are covered with inscriptions in Grantham, Tamil and Telugu. No one seems to have deciphered them. Here the people are Telugu, and their manners and customs have a tinge of those of Madras. -- Read the delightful piece in full! 😀📑🛕🙏🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-tirupati-town-that-vn-narasimha-iyengar-saw-in-1872

The Extraordinary Travel Diary of V.N. Narasimha Iyengar   V.N. Narasimha Iyengar, a Deputy Commissioner in the Mysore Princely State went on a pilgrimage from Bangalore to Benares in 1872 by train. He meticulously recorded almost every detail of this journey. It is a first-hand portrait of the socio-economic conditions of a large part of India of that era. It is also a slice of the history of Indian Railways. -- An excerpt is given below.   Arkonam (reached by 5 - 15 p.m.): Arkonam seems to be entirely a creation of the railway. It is a busy town, the trade of which is fed by the travellers, whose necessity is the opportunity of the small traders. Rice was being sold at fourteen seers a rupee, and good ghee was also procurable... The charge in the Brahman chatram is two annas per ordinary meal, embracing rice, charu, curry, an inkling of ghee and tair (curd). Ducks are reared here in abundance by the ryots and sold at four annas each. -- There is a wealth of historical material in this travelogue. Do read it in full! 📑🚂🛕🪔   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-extraordinary-travel-diary-of-vn-narasimha-iyengar

[ANNOUNCEMENT] Volume 2 of my Invaders And Infidels: The Khalji Devastation of Infidel Devagiri is now available! --- When QUTUB-UD-DIN AIBAK died in a polo game 1210, he had left behind a rickety, fledgling Muslim kingdom in Delhi. For the next eighty-odd years, its fortunes swayed wildly, witnessing a record twelve kings. The death of Balban extinguishes the so-called Muslim Slave dynasty and with it ends the short-lived Turkic Muslim imperialism. It also heralds the ascent of the Afghanistan-based Khaljis, classed as “low-born.” Book 2 of Invaders and Infidels traces the unlikely rise of Jalal-ud-din Khalji as an ill-suited monarch and ends with the maiden Islamic raid of Devagiri, the gateway to southern India. The incident will have far-reaching consequences for the history of India for the next six hundred years. -- Click the link below to buy the book now at a good discount! 📑🙏😀 https://www.amazon.in/dp/9392209495?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_EZDD2ECMQ6TSHX67X7GW

NewsClick: The Latest Actor in a Century-Old Drama of Treason   In-depth commentary on the anti-India outlet, "NewsClick" which was exposed as a propaganda arm of China. --- WHY IS EVERYONE SHOCKED that something called Newsclick is on the Chinese payroll? In fact, Newsclick is merely a fragment of a clutch of such treasonous outfits.   Newsclick is the latest exhibit of a familiar ideological phenomenon that continues to plague this blighted nation for more than a century. The ideology is Communism and national betrayal is its heartbeat.   Till date, the greatest success of Communists has been the creation of an influential, nationwide enclave of India-breakers.     Newsclick is part of the same anti-India global forces that want a regime change in India. One such indirect regime change operation was successful in the past. It was engineered by the USSR. With the support of Indian politicians.   This was the toppling of the Janata Government in 1980. -- Read the whole in-depth and powerful piece! 💪📑🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/newsclick-the-latest-actor-in-a-century-old-drama-of-treason

DVG’s Immortal 30-Point Advice to Young Men Delivered in 1971   This is the full text of a letter that DVG wrote in 1971 to a disconcerted young college student seeking advice on entering public life. ---- Some excerpts follow.   "Here is the substance of what I wrote in reply to a senior class student in a college who asked me for advice as to what young people can do in the present predicament of the country.   • Make up your mind once for all never to seek a public position in order to make private gain. • The first duty of patriotism is that you should avoid becoming a burden upon society. • you have first to accustom yourself to ways of simplicity and keep nerves of steel against temptation.  • Give up the notion that progress can be achieved by dramatic or revolutionary methods.  • Don’t be obliged to anyone else for your living.  • Contest no elections. • Your own conscience and good sense will be your guide in the light of knowledge and thought cultivated by study. • Young men must once for all banish all dreams of bringing about a change for the better by the use of brute force." --- The whole piece is worth its weight in gold. Read it. Take a printout. Distribute it. 📑🛕💪🪔🕉 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/dvgs-immortal-30-point-advice-to-young-men-delivered-in-1971

*Since time immemorial, the Meos were a first-rate Hindu warrior clan* who shared their antiquity with say, the Jats and the Gakhars. They formed the first line of defence in wars repelling alien invaders. -- My column in Open magazine https://openthemagazine.com/cover-stories/a-warning-from-history/

Padma Subrahmanyam: The Patriot who Danced her way into our Hearts   A scholarly and aesthetic appreciation of the artistry of the danseuse extraordinaire, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam who fused uncompromising patriotism in her performances. -- Some excerpts are given below.   The extraordinary scholar and artist, Śatāvadhānī Dr R.Ganesh and Arjun Bharadwaj have jointly authored the wonderful work, Nayana-Savana, a creative appreciation of Dr. Padma’s artistry.   Some key statements that drive home Dr. Padma’s nationalistic vision have been powerfully expressed.    1 “She uses powerful words to emphasise the unity and greatness of our country and the harm that invaders and selfish individuals have caused.” 2 Padma has also said that her goal in life has been to put karaṇas into practice and thereby revive the bhāratīya heritage. It is interesting to note that not merely the content, but even the grammar of dance can help us realise national unity! ---- Read the whole brilliant essay! 🛕📑🕉🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/padma-subrahmanyam-the-patriot-who-danced-her-way-into-our-hearts

Some Protagonists of Sacred Traditions: The Book that Sanctifies Every Hindu Home   The following is my introduction to the English translation of DVG's immortal classic, Vaidikadharmasampradāyastharu. The English translation is titled, Some Protagonists of Sacred Traditions.   Excerpts are given below. -- Vaidikadharmasampradāyastharu is a solemn extravaganza of how Rta and Dharma express themselves through profound human lives.    Vedic traditionalists, Acharyas, Pandits, etc., who continue to be deliberately derided as superstitious & regressive, were endowed with eternal wisdom and the practical insight derived therefrom. Only the strength of undatable and unbroken tradition can instil it within a person.   When DVG wrote these profiles more than half a century ago, he observed a rapid descent of the Vedic culture that still remains the bedrock of Bharata.  In his own words, "How such people used to live their lives fifty or sixty years ago, how they had escaped the trappings of modern civilisation, how they found abundance in poverty and remained content, and how they remained steadfast to their svadharma... leading such simple, plain, and harmless lives… the very treasure trove of knowledge that is the life-blood of Bharata, that which is its very Atman, is vanishing before our eyes." -- Do read the whole essay and buy the book! 🛕🙏🕉🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/some-protagonists-of-sacred-traditions-the-book-that-sanctifies-every-hindu-home

This was the Lifelong Sankalpa of our Ancestors Just a Century Ago   In the final episode of this series, DVG evocatively reminisces about the lifelong conviction or Sankalpa that our ancestors had just about a century ago.  -- FIFTY YEARS AGO, the householder plucked the flowers from his own garden and the lady of the home transformed them into garlands. Today, flowers are bought from shops. In the past, family members would sit together and stitch meal-plates. Today, the meal plates are metallic, manufactured in a factory. Our ancestors believed that it was best to wash their own clothes with their own hands and cook their food by themselves. This was a natural discipline. In this discipline of cooking one’s own food by hand, there is an inherent element of soul-purification.    Our ancestors intuitively took a great Sankalpa in their mind so that God might be pleased and their birth, sanctified. They carried on their lives awaiting the time when this Sankalpa would be fulfilled. This feeling of submission to the unseen Divine is becoming rarer and rarer. -- Read the whole elevating piece and teach it to your children. 🛕🙏🕉🪔   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/this-was-the-lifelong-sankalpa-of-our-ancestors-just-a-century-ago

The Hindu Joint Family as the Purest Form of Democracy   DVG gives us a captivating and heartwarming portrait of the innate strength of a Hindu joint family system and characterises it as a government of the people in the real sense. ---   It was a life of real togetherness. Of late, that feeling of oneness has melted away and the attitude of individualism is gaining strength. This new etiquette is a blind imitation of the Europeans. In that system, there is no sign of the essential unity of the husband and wife.    The Hindu family system was a great training ground for cultivating Samskaras on the part of the husband and the wife: individual self-restraint and individual growth. -- Read the whole profound piece! 🛕🙏🕉🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-hindu-joint-family-as-the-purest-form-of-democracy

Healing a Wounded Civilisation -- In my column in the current issue of Open Magazine, I argue that the Uniform Civil Code not merely a legislative matter but has long-term civilisational dimensions to it. https://openthemagazine.com/essay/healing-a-wounded-civilisation/