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...
The 30th was officially the first day of Navaratri, and wherever I went, I could see people bringing home the Devi. It signals the beginning of a hectic week, where we have to carry out our normal routines, while making time for prayers and Parayanams, attending Bhajans in the colony, and also finding time to visit the temple. Things were further complicated with Samhith’s classes, as well as my sister’s birthday. I had to have a quick darshan at the temple before rushing off to Thane to wish my sister. The decoration at the temple depicted the Devi as LALITAMBIKAI, at the Thirumeeyachur temple, near Kumbakonam. This temple is about 13 Kms from Mayiladudurai, on the Mayiladudurai- Thiruvarur road, and is home to 2 Thevara Padal Petra Sthalams (i.e. 2 songs sung by the saints). The main deities here are Aruneswarar and Lalitambikai, who were worshipped by Surya the Sun God at this place. The Lalita Sahasranamam is said to have originated here from the Devi herself, and hence this is c...