Turning over an old leaf

This is so cool
News from the Olds

I love the image of drinking in new knowledge from ancient palm leaf manuscripts. In some areas, palm leaves are still being painstakingly inscribed with sacred information.

Lontar is deeply venerated by Balinese, anyone who wishes to read lontar regularly needs to undergo a consecration ritual (mawinten) which must be performed by a brahman priest. Lontar cannot be sold or thrown away when damaged but it can be burned with proper ceremony and offerings.

A recent archaeological project collected palm-leaf manuscripts in the state of Chhatisgarh (formerly part of Orissa state).

In the first phase of a survey conducted by the National Mission for Manuscripts and assisted by locals, around 2,000 manuscripts have been collected from various archaeological and remote sites in Chhattisgarh...

But, how do the manuscripts contain words in "texts in Sanskrit, Oriya and Devnagiri" - since Devanagiri is a script, not a language? I think they mean that Devanagiri script was used to write the Sanskrit.

The photo at left shows an ancient manuscript in Kerala, in the possession of my friend Murali in Tiruvilwalmala, whose family have been Ayurvedic vaidyas for 17 generations.

I believe the script and language shown is ancient Tamil. (Someone know for sure?)

Originally, the pages would have been strung together with a thread through the central holes.

Hinduism Today's specialized news service, Hindu Press International, is where I saw this story, and a great source for all kinds of Hindu-related news items.

In the ongoing "pick on the foreigners" thread, Nepal's Pashupatinath temple has added insult to injury by charging perceived "foreigners" (read: people who don't look Nepali...so if you are Assamese Indian, or a Singapore Tamil, you are scot-free) double the previous entry fee - even though "foreigners" are prohibited from entering the actual temple, lest they pollute the hallowed grounds.

It's still okay to through plastic bags of trash into the nearby river and spit on the ground, though. No fines levied for that.

Peace sign

I adore this hand-painted billboard, that I snapped near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh three years ago.

It depicts a Jain saint seated peacefully among animals, and (in Telugu script, but Sanskrit language) says "Ahimsa paramo dharma," or, "Nonviolence is the greatest religion." 



Related reading:
Religion and Culture of the Jains.

Hymn to Her

Fun with liturgy
Kathmandu

Here's one of the Charya Giti I have been transliterating and, partially, translating. Not because I am good at it (I'm not really), but so that I can understand the dances I am learning. There are no English versions of these songs and poems. For those who've just tuned in, I am here studying the Newari Buddhist Charya Giti or Buddhist devotional dances.

Most of the lyrics I can "feel" but don't think my literal translation will do them justice. This is my attempt. There is a chance that this gita appears translated/literated in Kvaerne's 1977 Anthology of Buddhist Tantric Songs (Oslo) but as I can't locate this publication, I don't know.

My goal is to create an illustrated book of the Giti with Sanskrit, English phonetic and English translation, some background and illustrations of each Deity.
 

Sri Kurukulla Devi

Raga: Nata .... Tala: Jati

(the Raga is the South Asian equivalent of the key or "mode." This set of notes determines the "mood" of the melody much as the key does in western music - imagine playing "She Loves You" in Eminor instead of Emajor.

Tala is the rhythm or time signature of the piece. Again, imagine playing "She Loves You" in Waltz-time instead of 4/4. Changes everything. Every dance student must know their talas and ragas to some extent, though not as thoroughly as music and singing students.)

Tribhuvana jananii sri kurakullaa devii

Svetavarna makuta keshii trinayanaa

Mother of the three worlds, Sri Kurakulla goddess...

White-coloured with a crown of hair, three-eyed....

Namami devii sri kurakullikaa taraa

Chatura bhujaa karti khatpara shara dhanudharii

We bow to goddess Sri kurakulla the deliverer

Four-armed, holding chopper, knife, bow and arrow.

Rahu mastaka sthita nrtyapada dharii

Natha shodasha bhujaa aalikngana chun.

Tribhuvana vyapita niilavarna dehaa

Tumha varna devi anuttara sangama

Tempting Rahu (?), standing in a dance-pose

Permeating the three worlds, with blue-coloured body...

(This part confuses me. At one point she's red, at another blue....Sodasha means sixteen; the verse seems to say she has 16 arms but elsewhere she is described as "looking 16 years old.")

Piivad re mahaarasa sudrishta dehaa

Namami sri devii loka udharitaa

Drinking Maharasa (amrit), her form pleasing to see

I bow to the Goddess who uplifts the world

Bhanayikulishaa ratna giita charitaa

Namami sri devii loka udhaaritaa.

(This verse is an attribution stanza telling the name of the Gita composer; and again I bow to the goddess who uplifts the world.)

Here is more about Kurukulla from Vajranatha.com, which appears to be a cool and informative vajrayana web site.

And here is a fun "message from Kurukulla" which was received by Akkarri at Spontaneous Combustion. I especially liked this part:

"I am DANCING. This is to show you how to manifest divine energy for benefit of all....itting in uniform rows reciting rote attribute-lists of the results of human male ego-trips is not a Divine Activity, because it has nothing whatsoever to do with the acknowledgement of MY DANCE."

Related reading: 
Meditation auf Kurukulla 

Do you hear what I hear?

In the stars
Kathmandu

I've been trying to pick up bits about Vedic Astrology (better known as Jyotish) for the past several years. Evidently the most significant thing is one's Nakshatra, or lunar "mansion." Since there are 27 - odd days to a lunar cycle there are 27 Nakshatras. (I think.)

My Nakshatra is Shravana (in Sanskrit, Tiruvonam in Malayalam). Shravana means "Listening" or Hearing.

For those who know me, it really is frighteningly accurate, though I'm not so sure about the stable-minded part. Here's one summary:

Those born in the Shravana star are experts in music, dance and drama, truthful and stable minded; they enjoy hearing scriptures.

Another site reads:
This constellation signifies eternal quest of knowledge. The Shravana people are restless. They constantly involve themselves in conversations, or listening sessions to collect information. A person born under this sign is either an ardent student, or a well-versed teacher. They can be excellent counselors, owing to their art of listening and giving advise based on their vast knowledge.

See, it's official. I'm really supposed to be doing this stuff.