Paradise comes to Mylapore
Paradise comes to Mylapore

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-04

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Viswam is a resident of Mylapore which is a place in the city of Chennai in India. Mylapore is an area famous for temples, churches and other religious and cultural places and is also historically, culturally and traditionally a very ancient one. It was a time of Dasara, one of the important festival of the Hindus. Immediately prior to the beginning of Dasara, there is a period of fifteen days known as Mahalayam also called as Pitrupaksha. It is a fortnight of ancestors and people having faith in the Vedic religion used to perform certain religious austerities. Viswam is making arrangements for performance of these austerities. Vishnu Sarma is the father of Viswam who passed away two years before. He comes to Viswam’s place on the earth in a group along with his family and friends from the world of the ancestors to take part in the acceptance of the austerities being performed by his son. These ancestors, who are dead and gone, are coming in their subtle bodies invisible to people on earth. Vishnu Sarma also brings along with him the English poets William Wordsworth and Alfred Tennyson from their place in the Paradise. Vishnu Sarma takes them along to the various places in Mylapore. How does Wordsworth and Tennyson enjoy their visit to Mylapore? What is the significance of these austerities? What is the greatness of the temples and other places in Mylapore? It is a story which primarily explains these things.

Sandhyavandanam Mantras-Meaning
Sandhyavandanam Mantras-Meaning

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-05-23

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13:

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Sandhya Vandanam is one of the efficient spiritual rituals of the Hindus. It helps in the realisation of the Divinity of the Self, called as Atman in Hindu philosophy. It is an obligatory daily ritual called as Nithya Karma. It is an all-round complete ritual which incorporates the principles of the Supreme Divinity referred to as Brahman. Each part of the ritual gives an external expression for the development of an internal mental attitude and spiritual feeling. In this process, there is an effort to bring about self-purification and attunement to the Cosmic Reality. The rituals are to be done thrice daily-early morning, at noon and at sunset. In the Hindu way of life, each person is primarily affiliated to a particular Vedic study, namely the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda. Though the objectives are generally the same, there are variations in the mantras of these three vedas. This book is an attempt to give the meanings of some of the important Mantras of the Yajur Veda sect basically followed in the southern part of India. Based on the different stages of the ritual, it has been divided into eighteen chapters for the purpose of easy grasp and understanding by those who are not well-versed in the knowledge of these mantras.

Slokas of Sri Ramodantam
Slokas of Sri Ramodantam

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-18

Total Pages: 67

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Valmiki Ramayana, as we all know, consists of 24000 verses written in Sanskrit by Sage Valmiki. There are other works on the life and deeds of Sri Rama in other languages like the Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil and the Ramacharitamanas of Goswamy Tulsidas in Awadhi. In the 15th century, one Parameshwara Kavi has composed in just 200 verses in Sanskrit, the seven chapters of the Ramayana that was written by sage Valmiki. This is Sri Ramodantam. In Sri Ramodantam, the author has presented the entire Ramayana in a very simple format. Termed as a Lagukavya, a minor poetical composition, this is generally prescribed as a study material for the beginners in Sanskrit language. It is a remarkable composition because of its brevity and simplicity. The term Sriramodantam is composed of two words ‘Srirama’ and ‘Udantam’ meaning ‘the story of Srirama’. Just like the Valmiki Ramayan, it has seven chapters called as Kandas starting from Bala Kanda and ending with Uttara Kanda.

Elegy written in a country churchyard of Thomas Gray
Elegy written in a country churchyard of Thomas Gray

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-18

Total Pages: 27

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This poem of Thomas Gray titled “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is one of the beautiful poems in English literature. The poet sees a country churchyard at sunset, which impels him to meditate on the nature of human mortality. He considers the fact that in death, there is no difference between great and common people. He feels that among the lowly people buried in the churchyard there might have been some natural poets like John Milton or politicians like Oliver Cromwell. Just like some rarest gems buried in the deep sea and the finest flowers spreading their fragrance in a forest, these great people might not have been discovered at all. This thought leads him to praise these dead unsophisticated poor villagers for the honest and simple lives that they lived. The poem has been presented along with a brief annotation.

Hanuman
Hanuman

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-05-23

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13:

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Hanuman is a well-known god in Hinduism. He is known as a monkey-god, and can be seen in temples throughout India. He is depicted in various forms. In some temples his image is set up alone standing with a mace in his hand. In some other places, he is seen with folded hands. In some other temples he is depicted sitting in a devotional posture before the images of Rama and Sita. He is the greatest devotee of Rama. Rama loves him the most. He is the god of power and strength. He remained a celibate and is stated to be an immortal. It is believed that he is present wherever the story of Rama is recited or spoken. This book contains some of the stories connected to him.

Yathni’s Travel to Kailash
Yathni’s Travel to Kailash

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-18

Total Pages: 75

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This book is an abridged edition of the main book titled ‘Yathni’s Travel to Kailash’. This is a story based on Hindu mythology and is a mixture of facts and fiction. Yathni is a little girl studying in Fifth Grade and she is a devotee of Lord Ganesha. Ganesha takes her on an excursion to the legendary mountain of Kailash. How was this excursion, what are the things which she saw and how was her meeting with Lord Shiva. These are the things covered in the story. The main book titled ‘Yathni’s Travel to Kailash’ was published in the year 2012. While giving a number of anecdotes from Hindu mythology, the story takes one to the North Pole, the Moon and the outer space and beyond. In this process matters of educational interest like climate change, bio-diversity, space science etc have been dealt with. These are given with colourful illustrations.

A Brief Summary of the Yajurveda Brahma Yagnam
A Brief Summary of the Yajurveda Brahma Yagnam

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-20

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13:

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Brahma Yagnam is one of the important daily rituals to be performed by those following the Sanatana Dharma particularly those belonging to the brahmin community. It is a very simple process and would involve approximately 10 to 15 minutes daily. As is well known, the Vedas have been classified into four groups by Sage Veda Vyasa as Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda. Hinduism prescribes the learning, preserving and propagation of the Vedas particularly by the brahmin community. So, everyday after the Sandhyavandana in the afternoon, the learning process of the Vedas is required to be done. As a prelude to this process, the first mantra from each of the four Vedas is recited. While doing so, other important deities are worshipped in brief and tarpana, which may be called as oblations in English, is given to the Devas, Rishis and Pitrus. This is the Brahma Yagnam. A brief summary of the various mantras contained in Brahma Yagnam relating to the Yajurveda followers is given in this book along with the mantras. There is also an addendum consisting of the Sandhyavandhanam mantras.

A Brief Summary of John Keat’s ‘Ode to a Nightingale’
A Brief Summary of John Keat’s ‘Ode to a Nightingale’

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-20

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13:

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The "Ode to a Nightingale" is one of the beautiful poems of John Keats. One day in a forest area the poet hears a beautiful song of the nightingale bird. This provokes him to ponder over the matters relating to human mortality, the nature of the world, human sufferings etc. The poem explores the relationship between two different types of life. On the one hand, there is the human life. It is filled with sorrow. On the other hand, there is nature represented by the nightingale. The opposition between two different types of life is outlined from the very beginning of the poem. The poet perceives the song of the bird as a kind of eternal perfection, a beauty created by nature that humankind, for all its efforts and strife, struggles to match. It appears as though the poem seeks to question whether nature—represented by the nightingale and its song—represents a kind of beauty greater than anything that humans can make, a beauty that is more pure and eternal. The poet weighs up the possible beauty of poetry against the overwhelming natural beauty of the nightingale’s song but could not find a satisfactory answer.

Appayya Dikshitar’s Atmaarpana Stuthi or Unmattha Panchaa Shath
Appayya Dikshitar’s Atmaarpana Stuthi or Unmattha Panchaa Shath

Author: Venkataraman M

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-08-09

Total Pages: 33

ISBN-13:

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The 'Atmaarpana Stuthi' is a hymn in Sanskrit language composed by Appayya Dikshitar, one of the great saints and proponent of Advaita Philosophy after Adi Sankara. It is a hymn in praise of Lord Shiva and is also known as ‘Unmattha Panchaa Shath’. Once Dikshitar felt that he has to put himself to a test as to whether his devotion to Lord Shiva was indeed true. He thought, ‘Suppose I become insane, will my mouth utter the name of Lord Shiva. If that be so, then it must be real.’ So, he embarked on an experiment. He made a paste of Datura seeds. These seeds are poisonous and if taken in, will make a person insane. He also prepared an antidote to this poison. He called his disciples. He gave them the poisonous paste and the antidote. He told them to give him the first potion for a week and write down whatever he said in that state of mind. After recording this, they have to give after a week, the antidote that would bring him back to normalcy. Indeed it was a remarkable experiment to find out how serious he was about Shiva. The experiment started. The disciples recorded what he said during that time. It was this hymn on Lord Shiva consisting of fifty verses. ‘Panchaa Shath’ means 50 and ‘Unmattha’ means “one who has lost his mind”. So, it is 50 verses composed during the period when he lost his mind.

ALWARS
ALWARS

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13:

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The Alwars are a group of twelve ancient Vaishnava saints who lived in Tamil Nadu in the eighth and ninth centuries. They are famous for their poetry in praise of Lord Vishnu. The collection of their 4000 poems is known as the ‘Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam’. Among the Alwars, the first in the line up is Poigai Alwar, Bhudat Alwar and Pei Alwar. They are collectively called as "Mudhal Alwars" (the first Alwars) and belong to the same period of time. The other Alwars are Perialwar, Andal, Nammalwar, Madhura kavi Alwar, Tirumazhisai Alwar, Thondaridipodi Alwar, Tirumangai Alwar, Tiruppan Alwar and Kulasekara Alwar. This book gives a brief account of these twelve great saints.