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.

Great Saints of India
Great Saints of India

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 105

ISBN-13:

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Saints are the great souls who have devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective. India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable saints. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known saints.

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.

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.

Ancient Sages of India
Ancient Sages of India

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-03

Total Pages: 105

ISBN-13:

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The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and super sensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. Most of them are unknown. The truths discovered by them are known as the Vedas. Sages are the great souls who have found out the truth and devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective. According to Hindu chronology, the period of the ancient sages is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The penetration of these sages in the subjects they dealt with is very profound and clear. The later generation just interpreted their work and followed their footsteps. India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known sages.

ALWARS
ALWARS

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 56

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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.

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.

A few gods and goddesses of Hinduism
A few gods and goddesses of Hinduism

Author: M. Venkataraman

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2022-06-03

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13:

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The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and supersensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. These revealed Divine Truths are called the Vedas. According to the teachings of the Vedas, God is the One without a second — the absolute, formless, and only Reality. God is referred to as Brahman, the Supreme Universal Soul. It is said in the Vedas that by His mere will, Brahman manifests Himself as this universe. Hence, creation, preservation and dissolution of this world are the three aspects of God. These three basic aspects of God are represented by the Trinity called as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. There are also other deities in Hinduism to personify the various other endless powers and aspects of God. These are the gods and goddesses of Hinduism. A brief idea about a few important gods and goddesses of Hinduism are given in this book.

Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta
Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta

Author: Kalidasa

Publisher: Venkataraman M

Published: 2023-03-21

Total Pages: 79

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The Meghadhuta also known as Meghasandesam is one of the beautiful works of Kalidasa. It is a poem in Sanskrit Language consisting of 117 verses. It is actually one of a few minor compositions of Kalidasa. Being one of the greatest poets of Sanskrit Literature, he has produced epics like the Raghuvamsa Mahakavya and Kumarasambhavam and dramas like Abigyana Sakuntalam. The ideas contained in this poem is simple but romantic. Alaka is a mountain in the Himalayas. The god of wealth, Kubera is the king of this place. He has a group of divine attendants working for him. These attendants are known as Yakshas. One of these Yakshas was very much smitten and obsessed with his wife. Hence, he ignored his duties. Kubera, therefore, cursed him and banished him into the woods on planet Earth. The Yaksha came to a mountainous place called Ramagiri named after Lord Rama near the present state of Chattisgarh in India and was residing in an ashram there. The Yaksha spent several months on the mountain. Thoroughly dejected, the love-lorn Yaksha keeps thinking about his wife. His wife also keeps thinking about him all day and all night. It is the time of monsoon. The Yaksha sees a rain cloud passing by. He requests the cloud to carry a message to his wife. The Yaksha then starts to describe the route that the cloud should take to meet his lover. This forms the crux of the verses of this poem. The works of Kalidasa are synonymous with the beauty of nature, lyrical poetry, dramatic stories, great heroes and sensuous heroines. The Meghadhuta focusses mainly on sensual love and the beauty of nature. Kalidasa’s genius lies in making these two subjects flow into each other in this work. For example, Kalidasa picturises the rivers as sensuous women, and he advises his friend namely the cloud to take interest in the rivers along the way on his journey from the plains to Alaka.

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.