The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Kumbakonam is a town which is filled with, and surrounded by temples. What is amazing about these temples is that each and every one of them is huge, and has an interesting story to go along with it. While some are historical, and others are based on mythology, there are some which are based on the geography of the area they are placed in. One such group of temples is the Pancha Aranya Sthalams . Aranyam means forest, which is what this whole area must have been, once upon a time. Even today, in spite of so much development, electricity and water reaching the most far flung areas, this part of the land bears vestiges of the days gone by. Somehow, when we visit these temples, we are reminded of the jungles which once surrounded them. The five temples which collectively make the Pancha Aranya Sthalams are Thirukkarugavur Alangudi Avalivanallur Haridwaramangalam Thirukollambudhoor Thirukkarugavur The Thirukkarugavur temple is a famous one , for it is the abode of Garbharakshamb...