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...
Long long ago , there lived a talented sculptor, who was also a very devout man. He once got a vision of Lord Muruga, asking him to make 3 sculptures of the lord as Shanmugha (6 faced), seated on a peacock, which would be more beautiful than any other idol made so far. Of course, a sculptor needs a patron, and the lord provided him a patron in the form of the king who wanted a beautiful idol for the temple at Sikkal. He wanted a stone idol for the moolavar as well as bronze idol for the Utsavar. The sculptor began his work with a huge block of stone at the village right next to Sikkal. He worked with so much devotion and dedication, that when he was done, it was certainly the most beautiful sculpture of Shanmugha ever made. It was so detailed, that even the veins on the palms of the lord and the on legs of his mount were visible. The whole sculpture stood, not on a base, but on the two spindly legs of the peacock, Muruga’s mount. It held in its mouth, a snake, and the Lord sat on it, 6...