शौनकचा कट्टा..

  While examining the Indian nation through the concept of “parampara” (tradition) as articulated by Prof. Ram Shevalkar, the second part traced the traditions of Vashistha and Vishwamitra in the context of the question: the path of knowledge or the path of statecraft? In this part, we will examine another question, stability or dynamism, that is, “To be Static or to Adopt Dynamism” through the traditions of Bhargava and Narayaniya. Bhargav or Bhrigu:  Sage Bhrigu, like Vashistha, is also considered a Manasaputra of Brahma. According to Indian Puranic literature, these sages are born again in different Manvantaras. According to the Vishnu Purana, in the first Manvantara Bhrigu married Khyati. They had children such as Ayati, Niyati, and Bhargavi (Lakshmi). Among them, Lakshmi was married to Vishnu. According to the Shiva Purana, after the episode of Daksha Yajna and Sati, Bhrigu received a boon that he would be reborn in the Chakshusha Manvantara. Accordingly, he was reborn ...

While examining the idea of the Indian nation through the concept of “Parampara” as articulated by Prof. Ram Shevalkar, in the first we part briefly reviewed India as a civilization and culture, and concluded by identifying the Parampara that form its foundation. These Parampara are Vashistha, Vishwamitra, Bhargava, and Narayaniya. In this part, we shall explore Vashistha and Vishwamitra Parampara with the question: Is the path of the nation guided primarily by the path of knowledge or by the path of statecraft and power? Vashishtha: Sage Vashistha, considered the Manasaputra  of Brahma, is the bearer of the Brahmadanda, the staff of spiritual authority, and the embodiment of knowledge. He is counted among the 21 Prajapatis and served as the Rajpurohit  (Royal Preceptor) of the Ikshvaku dynasty of Lord Rama. Vashishtha Following the command of King Dasharatha, Sage Vashistha imparted guidance to Rama and Lakshmana on justice, ethics, and the principles of an ideal state. Thi...

  In his celebrated lecture series on Yogeshwar Shri Krishna, the eminent scholar and orator Vakta Dashasahasreshu Prof. Ram Shewalkar introduces the concept of “Parampara” (Tradition) in a profound sense.  By parampara, he does not merely refer to rituals, worship practices, vows, or social customs. Rather, he speaks of it in a much wider and deeper sense, as the civilizational, social, political, and cultural core of the Indian nation. While interpreting the life and philosophy of Shri Krishna, Prof. Shewalkar briefly elaborates upon this idea of tradition. Taking that thread forward, this is an attempt to understand the Bharat through the lens of parampara. When the word “Bharat” is uttered, what immediately comes to my mind is the description of the land of Bharat and its people found in the Vishnu Purana: उत्तरं यत् समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम्। वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः।। ( Uttaraṁ yat samudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam | Varṣaṁ tad Bhārataṁ nāma Bhāratī ...

Hemadri Pandit. Decolonisation is not merely the removal of foreign political power. It is the restoration of intellectual confidence. It is the recovery of systems. It is the reclaiming of institutional memory. The Maratha Empire did not simply challenge imperial authority on the battlefield; it reconstructed the civilizational backbone of Bharat. At the heart of that reconstruction lay something deeply profound yet often overlooked: the revival of the ancient Indic tradition of accounting and state book-keeping embodied in the concept of मेस्तक (Mestak). What is Mestak? Mestak was a structured accounting manuscript tradition, a codified format for recording state revenue and expenditure. But more than that, it was a philosophy of governance. The preserved shloka states: लेखकासी हे मेस्तक। नीतिवंता नीतिशास्त्र देखा। राजकी लोकांसि विवेक। प्रकट करी।। लेखणी दिधली ज्याचे हाती। तो स्वीकारिला सरस्वती। लेखनकळा वर्षा आरती। साधली तया I आताही जे असता धरिती येणेप्रमाणे लिहिती। त्यासी पावेल सरस्व...

"A forgotten policy that sowed the seeds of regional economic disparity and laid the foundation for future social and political identities." “So, despite having mineral resources and fertile land, Bihar, and now Jharkhand, too, could not make the desired progress” The late former President Pranab Mukherjee made this statement during a program held in Bihar in 2017. Western and southern India flourished on the strength of the resources of eastern and central India. A Member of Parliament from eastern India presented this fact from independent India’s economic history in somewhat needlessly aggressive language, which sparked controversy. But this naturally raises the question: How and why did this happen? In ancient and medieval times, the most prosperous kingdoms and empires were located in this very region. While it is not relevant here to delve deep into that distant past, one must note that the economic decline of eastern India began under British rule, and the Freight Equa...

 The Statesman Who Laid Grounds for Hindavi Swarajya Mahavir Ta Bans me bhayo ek avanis Liyo birad Sisodiyo diyo Is ko Sees ( The One born/ belonging to the legacy of Mahavir, took the title 'Sisodiyo' as he had offered his Head to the Ishwar..) Kaviraj Bhooshan has described the Sisodiya clan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in the 'Kulvarnan' in his magnum opus Shri Shivbhushan.  Mahabali Shahaji Raje Bhosale, was the man, the legend who lived up to this legacy of Sisodiya. The legacy originated in the lands of Bappa Rawal, Rana Pratap's Mewar. The legacy of protecting independence, sovereignty, and Hindu dev-dharma who laid the grounds for Hindavi Swarajya in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The book 'Mahabali Shahaji Raje Bhosale and his Times' authored by Pune based historian Guruprasad Kanitkar explores the life and legacy of the statesman, who inspired Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra and Vyankoji or Ekoji Raje in the south to establish Hindavi Swarajya.  Guru...

मुंबईकर-पुणेकर-नागपूरकरांच्या पुढे 'कर' जोडताना पु.ल. हे लिहून गेले आहेत, ".... एक तर मुंबईच नव्हती. ती मुंबई झाली साहेब आल्यानंतर. त्यामुळे मुंबईचे पहिले आणि अखेरचे राजे हे इंग्रजच. ..." ते तत्कालीन व्यंगात्मक लेखन होते. त्याचा आस्वाद घेत आपण सगळेच मनमुराद हसतो, पण वास्तवात मुंबई आणि मुंबई भोवतालच्या परिसराला हजारो किंबहुना कोटीच्या कोटी वर्षांचा इतिहास आहे. मुंबईच्या साठ्ये महाविद्यालयात उपप्राचार्य म्हणून कार्यरत पुरात्तवज्ञ आणि कलेतिहासकार डॉ. सुरज पंडित यांनी अपरान्त आणि पुरातत्त्व विभाग व बहिःशाल विभाग, मुंबई विद्यापीठ प्रकाशित 'वारसा मुंबईचा' या पुस्तकात तो समृद्ध इतिहास उलगडला आहे.  तो उलगडावा वाटला याचे कारण सुरज पंडित यांनी नमूद केले आहे. ते म्हणतात, "मला कायम प्रश्न पडत असत, ही मुंबई अशी का आहे? ही जर पोर्तुगीज-ब्रिटिशांनी वसवलेली असेल तर प्राचीन साहित्यात तिचे उल्लेख कसे येतात?  या प्रश्नांचा मागोवा घेताना एक प्रवास सुरु झाला.." त्याला साथ मिळाली ती मुंबई महानगर विकास प्राधिकरण अर्थात MMRDA च्या वारसा संवर्धन विभागाची आणि त्या अंतर्गत उभ्...

  "This Election for Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is Historic in true sense. This is the First election since the Constitution of India is fully applied to the region." This statement from the Prime Minster of India Shri Narendra Modi in the evening of 8th October 2024 holds multiple layers of meanings.  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the dispensation ruling since 2014 at the center, always believed in "Ek Desh Me Do Vidhan, Do Nishan, Do Pradhan, Nahi Chalenge" (There shall be No Two Statutes, Two Flags, Two Premiers in One Country) since its inception. They never backed from it and with the mandate of the people they did with political will, right intent of National Unity.  Adhering to their conviction and as promised in their election manifesto for 2019 general election, the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah 'Announced' in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India,  "....as from the date on which the Pr...

"जम्मू आणि काश्मीर विधानसभेची ही निवडणूक खऱ्या अर्थाने ऐतिहासिक आहे. भारताचे संविधान पूर्णपणे लागू झाल्यानंतरची ही पहिलीच निवडणूक आहे..." नुकत्याच पार पडलेल्या विधानसभा निवडणूक निकालांनंतर भाजप मुख्यालयात पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी यांच्या भाषणातील या वक्तव्याला अनेक पैलू आहेत.  भारतीय जनता पक्ष, त्याचा पूर्वसुरी जनसंघ यांची "एक देश में दो विधान, दो निशान और दो प्रधान नहीं चलेंगे" या सूत्रावर स्थापनेपासून अढळ निष्ठा आहे. आपल्या प्रत्येक निवडणूक जाहीरनाम्यात त्याचा उल्लेख त्यांनी केला आहे. त्यानुसार वर्ष २०१४ आणि २०१९ मध्ये भाजपला स्पष्ट जनादेश मिळाला, आणि राष्ट्र प्रथम, राष्ट्रीय एकता यांवर अढळ निष्ठा ठेवणाऱ्या केंद्र सरकारने दृढ राजकीय इच्छाशक्तीचे दर्शन घडवले.  ५ ऑगस्ट २०१९ या दिवशी केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री अमित शाह यांनी, राष्ट्रपतींनी गॅझेट मध्ये प्रसिद्ध केल्याप्रमाणे, कलम ३७० चे सर्व खंड लागू असणार नाहीत, तसेच ३५अ कलम रद्द झाले असण्याची घोषणा केली. कलम ३७० च्या खंड ३ मध्येच राष्ट्रपती जम्मू आणि काश्मीर घटनासमितीच्या शिफारशीने, केवळ गॅझेट मध्ये सार्वजनिक प्रसिद्धी ...

प्रा. राम शेवाळकर यांनी मांडलेल्या 'परंपरा' संकल्पनेच्या आधारे भारतीय राष्ट्राचा वेध घेत असताना दुसऱ्या भागात ज्ञानमार्ग की राजमार्ग या प्रश्नाचा मागोवा घेत वशिष्ठ आणि विश्वामित्र परंपरांचा धांडोळा घेतला. या भागात स्थिती स्थापकता की गतिवाद म्हणजेच To be Static or Adopt Dynamism या प्रश्नाचा मागोवा घेत भार्गव आणि नारायणीय परंपरेचा धांडोळा घेणार आहोत.  भार्गव  ऋषी भृगु हेही वशिष्ठाप्रमाणेच ब्रह्माचे मानसपुत्र. भारतीय पुराणांनुसार निरनिराळ्या मन्वंतरांत हे ऋषी जन्म घेतात.  विष्णू पुराणानुसार पहिल्या मन्वंतरात भृगु ऋषींचा विवाह ख्यातीशी झाला. त्यांना आयती, नियती आणि भार्गवी म्हणजेच लक्ष्मी इत्यादी मुले होती. त्यातील लक्ष्मीचा विवाह विष्णूशी झाला होता.  शिव पुराणानुसार, दक्ष यज्ञ आणि सतीच्या कथेनंतर भृगुंना चाक्षुष मन्वंतरांत पुनर्जन्म होण्याचा वर मिळाला. त्यानुसार तो झाला आणि या मन्वंतरातील जन्मात भृगूंचा विवाह पुलोमाशी झाला.  भागवत पुराणातील त्रिमूर्ती कथा. यज्ञात वाद पेटला की ब्रह्मा-विष्णू-महेशापैकी श्रेष्ठ कोण? निर्णय होईना. तो करण्याची जबाबदारी आली भृगुंवर....