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...
There is something about mountains that inspires devotion. Maybe it is the thought that they reach out to the skies, and are our connection to the heavens. Yet, the temples we build, are but specks against the backdrop of mighty mountains such as these..... We saw this small temple with the Dhauladhar Ranges in the background, from the top of the Kangra Fort. It was a beautiful sight, a lot more impressive than my camera managed to capture, and it reinforced the thought of how small we were, and how insignificant, as compared to these mountains, which have stood here for centuries. Yet, it was deeply spiritual. No wonder someone wanted to build a shrine here! This post is part of Skywatch Friday . For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch Page.