The first adhyAya of the gItA is said to contain no instruction from BhagavAn. But if you read it carefully, he was the one who set the entire viShAda of Arjuna in motion.

Till then, Arjuna is confident. He blows his conch with vigour. He asks his charioteer to take him to... the centre of the battlefield. Arjuna is eager to get into battle and wants to look up his foes, possibly to do a psyops on them. He wants to see who those dear to the evil-minded Duryodhana are. He sees the other side as just the other side. Nothing else...

...

Just like that. A nāgaraka-suprabhāta in Vasantatilakā

प्रातर्घटीविरणितैर्गमितार्धनिद्र!
बाष्पोत्थितैः 'शिशि'रवैर्दिनकर्मयुक्त!
उद्यानमार्गिहसितैः परिहास्यमान!
कल्याणनागरक हे तव सुप्रभातम्

Translation next. One whose sleep is half removed by morning alarms,
Who is engaged in daily work by steam-whistles,
Who is laughed at by those laughs in the parks!
O citizen of Kalyananagara (Bengaluru), may you have a great morning!

A small thread on Holi, Holikā, or Kāmana Habba.

It is a festival that signals Vasanta or the spring. As Vasanta is marked by his friend Kāma, it is also called Kāma's festival.

Doesn't श्रीकृष्ण revile Kāma as an enemy
"जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम्" in the Gītā?
(1/n) Let's not forget that he also considers Kāma to be identical with him - as long as it not against Dharma.

"धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोस्मि भरतर्षभ"

(2/n)

A thread on Ashokashtami based on MM PV Kane's work.

Today (चैत्रशुक्लाष्टमी) is अशोकाष्टमी. Special if with Wednesday & पुनर्वसु. DurgA is worshipped with Ashoka (Saraca asoca) flowers (state flower of Odisha). अशोकवृक्ष is considered to be Devi herself.

Pic: Wikipedia.

(1/n) Water mixed with 8 ashoka buds is to be drunk with the shloka -

त्वामशोक! हराभीष्टं मधुमाससमुद्भवम् |
पिबामि शोकसन्तप्तो मामशोकं सदा कुरु ||
(लिङ्गपुराणात्)

(2/n)

A small exercise.

As we know भगवान् has declared in गीता 10.51 that he is मार्गशीर्ष among months. I wanted to find out why. Naturally, our traditional व्याख्याs are our refuge.

Commentaries that lack this explanation have been omitted.

Thread follows.

(1/n) श्रीमधुसूदनसरस्वती whose गूढार्थदीपिका has almost all answers has this to say.
मासानां द्वादशानां मध्ये अभिनवशालिवास्तूकशाकादिशाली शीतातपशून्यत्वेन च सुखहेतुर्मार्गशीर्षोऽहम्।
(2/n)

(संस्कृतभारती अखिलभारत-स्तरे आयोजयति)
*"गेहे गेहे रामायणम्"*

रामाय रामभद्राय.रामचन्द्राय वेधसे।
रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः॥

मर्यादापुरुषोत्तमः श्रीरामः सर्वस्य भारतीयस्य आद्यः , आराध्यः। अस्माकं जीवितकाले अयोध्यायां श्रीराममन्दिरनिर्माणं तु परमभाग्यमेव|

(1/n)

https://twitter.com/udayanah/status/1381603438451023873

तदर्थं श्वासे श्वासे रोमसु धमनिषु च निष्कारणां रामप्रीतिं वहन्तः निधिसमर्पणम् अपि कृतवन्तः कोटिशः भारतीया वयम् ।

सर्वेऽपि आस्तिकाः भारतवासिनः श्रीराममन्दिरनिर्माणाय बहुधा सत्कार्याणि कुर्वन्तः सन्ति ।

(2/n)

Highlighting some small but significant things in this sankalpa.

अद्य अमुकगोत्रः श्रीनरेन्द्रदामोदरदासमोदी यजमानः *स्वराष्ट्रप्रतिनिधिभूतः* *चराचरजीवानां* भारतवासिनां *विश्वप्राणिनां* च *सकलारिष्टदुर्निमित्तोपशमनपूर्वकं निखिल-क्षेम-सुभिक्षा-कल्याण-प्राप्तये*...
(1/n)

https://twitter.com/adarshahgd/status/1291074786685149184

अनन्त-ब्रह्माण्ड-नायक-सपरिकर-भगवत्-श्री-सीताराम-प्रीतये निर्मास्यमान-नूतन-प्रासादङ्गभूतं शिलापूजनं परिकरैः सह अहं करिष्ये |

Note the wonderful points in that sankalpa. It is for
1. *All beings moving & non-moving*
2. Living in bhArata
3. As well as in the Universe
(2/n)

VaishAkha-shukla-tRtIyA a.k.a #AkshayaTritiya has morphed into a gold acquisition spree in recent years.

This is a thread attempting to share some details on AT's actual traditional practices. Oldest ref to #AkshayaTritiya is in विष्णुधर्मसूत्र. Emphasis is on the worship of vAsudeva,fasting, oblations of whole grains & donating them.Whatever a man donates on that day becomes inexhaustible.
उपोषितोऽक्षतैर्वासुदेवमभ्यर्च्य तानेव हुत्वा दत्त्वा च सर्वपापेभ्यः पूतो भवति।