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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

Sep 18

From today I thought I'll put out information on temples that people usually arent aware of.

Kokilambal sametha Thiru Kameshwarar temple, Villianur (11kms from Pondicherry)

This temple was built by the Cholas in 12th Century when Villianur was called Vilwahnur, meaning city of Vilva trees.

The legend goes : Brahma and Vishnu were trying to establish supremacy over one another & approached Shiva. Shiva transformed into primordial flame &

Asked Vishnu and Brahma to find his feet and head. Brahma transforms himself into a swan and flies upwards to locate Shiva's head and Vishnu becomes a a wild boar and goes under the ground in search of Shiva's feet. Both of them fail but Brahma lies that he's seen the head.

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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

Jul 16

Let's tackle this one by one!

If you had done a search using AI you would've got the answer but you didn't cos your quest isn't knowledge but just quibbling!

"Killing of Bhishma using Shikandi"

The original text of Mahabharata gives the perfect explanation for Bhishma's death that differs significantly from popular misconceptions. According to Vyasa's narrative, the strategy was not devised by Krishna through deception, but emerged through a dharmic process that involved Bhishma himself.

The Dharmic Process Leading to Bhishma's Death

Yudhishthira's Initiative, Not Krishna's Deception

Contrary to popular belief, it was Yudhishthira who proposed going to Bhishma to seek his counsel on how he could be defeated, not Krishna. The text explicitly states that this idea came from Yudhishthira "unprompted by anyone, all on his own". Yudhishthira recalled Bhishma's earlier promise to provide counsel, and suggested: "Therefore, let's again ask Bhishma about how he can be killed – you and all of us together".

Bhishma's Own Guidance
When the Pandavas approached Bhishma unarmed and with reverence, he freely provided the strategy: "Keep Shikhandi before Arjuna, and let Arjuna release his arrows and pierce my body. I will not fight with Shikhandi". This was Bhishma's own dharmic guidance, not a deceptive plot.

Krishna's Dharmic Justification: The Atatayi Principle

When Arjuna initially refused to implement Bhishma's suggestion, Krishna invoked the fundamental principle of dharma from the Brihaspati Niti Shastra:

"Even if he is someone senior to you or an aged person, or someone endowed with virtues, if he comes to you to kill you and thus becomes an ātatāyi, you must kill him. This, O Arjuna, is the eternal dharma of the kshatriyas".

The term ātatāyi refers to "a great sinner" or "anyone who is making an attempt on your life, even though he may not be a sinner otherwise". This principle establishes that when someone becomes a threat to your life in battle, regardless of their personal virtues or relationship to you, stopping them becomes a dharmic duty.

Vyasa's Moral Framework
Bhishma's Own Desire for Death

Vyasa presents Bhishma as ultimately desiring his own death. On the tenth day, Bhishma himself tells Yudhishthira: "I have totally lost all interest in this body, O Bharata. I have spent too much time killing men in battles. For that reason, if you want to do what will please me, please endeavor to get me killed".

The Reality of Battle
The text makes clear that Bhishma continued fighting with full strength - "Like enraged snakes filled with poison and projecting their tongues out, these arrows pierce my very vitals. No, these arrows are not Shikhandi's... These arrows are Arjuna's". Bhishma explicitly acknowledged that it was Arjuna's arrows, not Shikhandi's, that were defeating him.

//killing Karna when unarmed// - another "beaten to death" narrative

What Happened: The Mahabharata’s Account

During the climactic battle, Karna’s chariot wheel became stuck in the mud due to a curse.

As Karna struggled to free it, he requested Arjuna to pause, appealing to the rules of war.

Krishna urged Arjuna to shoot, reminding him of Karna’s own disregard for dharma when Abhimanyu was killed unarmed and helpless by Karna and others.

Arjuna shot and fatally wounded Karna at Krishna’s behest.

Primary Source Perspective: Karna Parva Narrative

Vyasa’s narrative does not describe Arjuna’s act as adharma (unrighteous). Instead, Krishna justifies Arjuna’s action based on previous violations of dharma by Karna and the Kauravas, especially in the brutal killing of Abhimanyu.

Krishna directly addresses the ethical dilemma: He tells Arjuna, "Remember how Abhimanyu was killed when he stood weaponless?"

He implies that the rules apply reciprocally and that one who disregards dharma cannot expect others to uphold it in turn.

Curse and Karmic Cycle
The epic also describes several curses on Karna, notably by his guru Parashurama and a Brahmin (whose cow Karna killed inadvertently), both of which prophesied that Karna would die helpless and unarmed. The narrative suggests that these curses were being fulfilled, framing his death as a result of his own past actions, not as an unprovoked adharmic act by Arjuna.

Dharmic Justification in Vyasa’s Mahabharata

Vyasa presents Karna’s death as an outcome of his actions and the workings of cosmic justice (karma and nemesis). The sense is that Karna reaped what he sowed—the violation of war codes against Abhimanyu resulted in a similar fate for himself.

Krishna’s justification:

Krishna explicitly tells Arjuna not to hesitate, emphasizing that the ethical balance needs to be restored, and that dharma is not a shield for those who themselves violated it.

Nowhere in the critical edition of Vyasa’s Mahabharata is Arjuna blamed or accused of sinning; rather, the act fits within the logic of retributive justice that the epic upholds.

//Manipulating death of Aswatama//

Background: The Circumstances of Ashwathama’s "Death"
Ashwathama, son of Dronacharya, was a formidable warrior fighting on the Kaurava side.

To counter Drona’s near invincibility, the Pandavas (advised by Krishna) executed a strategy involving announcing the death of Ashwathama.

Yudhishthira declared "Ashwathama is dead," which was a half-truth referring to an elephant named Ashwathama, not the warrior himself.

This deception caused Dronacharya to lose heart and lay down his arms, making his killing possible.

The moral dilemma arises because this was a planned manipulation, bordering on untruth, contrasting with Yudhishthira’s known commitment to truthfulness.

Vyasa’s Commentary and Dharmic Justification
Vyasa portrays this act as part of the greater dharma of war, where strategy and necessity sometimes compel actions that are not straightforwardly truthful but serve the overarching cause of righteousness.

The manipulation was carried out:

To end a war that had already descended into extreme violence and moral chaos.

To neutralize a warrior whose skills threatened the survival of dharma upheld by the Pandavas.

With the explicit knowledge that Drona would only surrender his weapons upon hearing the death of his beloved son, making it a psychological tactic rather than outright betrayal.

While Yudhishthira was initially reluctant, he concedes understanding the necessity of this act for the sake of dharma.

Moral and Cosmic Balance Aspects

The Mahabharata sets war as an arena where dharma is not simply about absolute adherence to truth but about restoring cosmic order and righteousness.

Vyasa frames this incident as an example of the nuanced understanding of dharma, where:

The dharmic goal (end of Drona’s tyranny, protection of the Pandavas, restoration of justice) justified a tactical ruse.

The act is not glorified but accepted as an unfortunate necessity in the context of the larger dharmic war.

This is consistent with the recurring theme in the epic that war often involves difficult choices where conventional morality blends with the demands of higher dharma.

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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

May 25

A month ago I visited 14 Divya Desams in and around Nangur in the Sikazhi belt. Thirumangai azhwar has sung mangala saasanam in 11 of them.

1. Kaazhicheeraama Vinnagaram - Thirivikaraman Perumal

The moolavar is Trivikraman

The Thayar is Lokanayaki. The Theertham is sangu chakra pushkarini and the Vimanam is Pushkalavartha Vimanam.

The legend is that Lord Vishnu blessed Romasa Muni with a vision of Trivikrama.

It is believed that Thirumangai Alwar won a debate with Thirugyana sambandhar.

2. Thiruvaali Thirunagari - Sri Lakshmi Narashima Perumal

One of the pancha Narasimha Kshetram. This is the place where Thirumangai azhwar's wife Kumudhavalli was raised.

The moolavar at Tiruvaali is Lakshmi Narasimhar in a seated posture and the Thayar is Amrita Ghatavalli

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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

Apr 3

Last weekend was one of the best ones that I've had in a long time... Visited Trichy and finished all the Divya Desams inside and around it... And finally got to see the most beautiful Vaduvur Ramar and Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy!

Thread!

Like everyone started with Sri Rangam!
Everyone knows about Sri Rangam so I'm not going to add much.

This is the greatest wonder of this world of any period! All the Sannadhis have withstood the test of nature, islamic invasions and humongous crowds!

The perumal on the main gopuram!

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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

Feb 5

Just so that everyone knows,

The dargah on the hilltop at Thiruparamkundram is built around the grave of Sikandhar Shah of Madurai Sultanate

It was established in 1335 and ended in 1378 and in a span of 43 years it had 8 rulers!

The last one was Sikandhar Shah

The Madurai Sultanate was a feudatory of the Delhi Sultanate but after the financial stress faced by the Delhi Sultanate worsened the Madurai Sultanate led by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan broke away and declared independence.

Mind you Jalaluddin was called an Afghan!

The Delhi sultanate at that time were the Tughlaqs and Jalaluddin's son Ibrahim was their treasurer.

When Tughluq heard of Jalaluddin's rebellion he had his son Ibrahim killed in retaliation.

Though Jalaluddin defeated Tuglaq's army he was murdered by one of his own nobles

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KishoreIyer

@KishoreIyer5

Nov 16, 2024

I've been thinking a lot on the lack of "cleanliness" of a lot of cities in India, and something really struck me!

Indians were never unclean. There are documented/archeological records of the Indian civilization having the best sanitation facilities amongst all civilizations!

When Rome was ridden with plague, Indians used to send waste water away from the civilization to keep the people infection free

When Europeans used to defecate on the street, Indians used to bathe twice daily and used incense sticks!

Where did it all go wrong?

There has to be a timeline, after which Indian cities deteriorated.

This lack of hygiene didn't really creep in on its own. There should definitely be an event that drove this!

I'll definitely blame the colonization both Islamic and European!

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