The image of Rayaru in a matha

These are some photographs of the Raghavendra Swamy Matha in Kalyani Gardens in Ashoknagar just off Thyagarajanagar. It is popularly called Kalyani Rayara Matha. An image of Rayaru is coming up on the left outer wall of  the Prakara housing the Brindavana of  Rayaru. Here are some pictures of  the manifestation. No other matha has reported such an event.     

A sole bulb illuminates the face of Rayaru which can be seen evolving.

The image of  Rayaru is garlanded with flowers. 

The image is now encased within a wooden frame with glass.

One can see the image slowly taking shape

The entrance to the Kalyani Rayara Matha 

Another view of the entrance of the Rayara Matha

There are scores of  Raghavendra Swamy Mathas in Bangalore. 

One such Matha and it is also among the oldest is the one at Kalyani Gardens in Ashoknagar just off Thyagarajanagar. This Matha is popularly called the Kalyani Raghavendra Swamy Matha or the Sathyabama Seethamma Kalyani Sri Raghavendashrama.   

The Kalyani Raghavendra Swamy Matha it is located next to the Madhwa Patashala and both are near Vidyapeetha.

The Matha has been drawing visitors and devotees because of a unique phenomenon. An image of Raghavendra Swamy is manifesting itself on the left outer wall of the Prakara housing the Brindavana of Raghavendra Swamy.

The image is slowly becoming more and more visible each day and the outlines of the face with eyes and nose can clearly been seen. There is no doubt that the image on a wall is that of our beloved Rayaru.

Till a few days ago, the image was left as it is on the wall. When the image was touched, the concrete surface was smooth than the rest of the wall. Many devotees and the priests told us that when they reverentially touched the image, it felt soft.

The image is developing by the day and as many people were touching it, the temple management decided to protect it by encasing it in a wooden frame with a glass front.

So if you go to the Matha, you can see the outlines of Rayaru through the glass. This is perhaps the first time in Bangalore that any such image of our Rayaru is manifesting on its own. 

The Kalyani Rayaru Matha is one of the oldest in Bangalore and it was established almost 70 years ago.   

It was Mrs. Seethamma and Ananda Tirthachar Kalyani who had built the Temple, performed Pratishtha and Utsarga of  Raghavendra Swamy at this very place (where the Brindavana is located) in 1942-43.

Thereafter, Mrs. Seethamma and Mr. Kalyani were functioning as Dharma Karthas of the temple. In 1953, the whole establishment was transferred to Mr. A.V. Krishna Murthy. However, in 1957 Mr. A.V. Krishna Murthy re-transferred the Temple Mutt and Pathasala to Mrs. Seethamma Kalyani requesting her to manage the Temple poojas and kattales

The Kalyani Gardens is a small industrial area that lies between Banashankari 1^st Stage and N. R Colony.

The temple of Raghavendra Swamy is off  the 6^th Cross and one can easily access this road from Chennammana Kere road and from Vidyapeetha on one side and N.R. Colony-Thyagarajanagar-Ashoknagar on the other.  

The temple is located just off a 30 feet road which is open to both way traffic. Since there are several industries, business and commercial establishments in and around the vicinity, the road has traffic. All the above photos were taken by us and they depict the image of Rayaru. The last two photos are that of the Kalyani Rayara Matha Brindavana.    

Museum in an airport

The National Museum in Kolkata is not only the oldest but also the largest museum in India. It has six main sections comprising 35 galleries.

It is also called the Indian Museum and it also the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific.

But in two weeks time, the National museum is all set to lose this distinction to a new upstart which is coming up in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital.

In just a little over ten days, largest museum where the entry will be on the basis of international airline tickets, will open its glass doors to the public.

The newly constructed museum in housed in the International Airport in Mumbai and it has 7,000 artefacts covering a range of  people, kingdoms and eras. What is more The museum will have a three kilometre long art wall which will feature works by over 1,500 artists.

This museum is built between the check-in and baggage claim and it is part of Mumbai's new integrated terminal T2. The art wall and the museum is so designed that it will showcase the best of Indian art, craft and designs to visitors, Indians and foreigners alike
The art wall and the art programmes will be one of the biggest of its kind in the world and no airport anywhere in the world will have this facility.

The installation at T2’s departure area occupies 80,000 sq ft and it will house ancient artifacts and finds some as old as the 10th century. A range of ancient articles including sculptures, statues, paintings, wood work, old temple chariots and articles of daily, religious and social use collected from villages, towns and cities will be on display.
The T2 is slated to open on January 15 and initially only passengers boarding or alighting from international carriers will be allowed to have a look-in. With a handing capacity of  40 million passengers annually, the museum could comfortably push Paris’ Louvre, currently the most visited art museum in the world with 9 million annual visitors, off its perch.
Similarly, the arrival corridor too has been given a massive brush up. It has works by several eminent contemporary artists such as Nek Chand, Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, Nilima Sheikh, Mithu Sen, Riyas Komu  Desmond Lazaro. All of them and of course several others have worked on the art wall that is 18 metres high and 1.2 km long. Like the departure wall, this wall too can be viewed from all levels.
Where there is Mumbai, can Bollywood be far behind. The best of Bollywood too is present here.

When the new integrated terminal will open on January 15, Air India’s Newark-Mumbai flight will be the first to arrive at the new terminal which is called T2.
T2 will have bigger areas for check-in, security check and baggage delivery. Spread over 439,000 square metres, the MIAL which will operate the airport is a joint venture of the GVK group, the Airport Authority of India, Airports Company of South Africa and Bids Services Division, Mauritius.

All of them are together executing the Rs 12,380-crore airport modernisation project. The work on the new terminal building began in February 2009.
While the old international terminal had 80 immigration counters, T2 will have 140.

The Hanuman who okayed Bhava Bhoda

The aradhana of one of  the greatest Madhwa saints, Raghuttama Theertha, who belonged to the Uttaradhi Matha, is being celebrated on January 11, 2014.

Raghuttama Theertha, whose brindavana is near Tirukoilur in Tamil Nadu, was the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha from 1557 to 1595.

Born as Ramachandra, he was the nephew of  Raghuvarya Theertha, the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha  from 1502 to 1557.

Raghuttama Theertha has written several tippanis or commentaries on the works of Madhwacharya and Jayatheertha, including the Bhava Bhodas and they are Tatwa Prakashika, Brihadaranyakopanishad Bhashya, Geeta Bhashya Prameya Deepika, Vishnu Tatwa Nirnaya Teeka, Nyaya Vivarana Teeka, Anu vyakhyana, Vivaranoddhara and Nyaya Ratna Sambandha Deepika.

He stayed at Srirangam for several years where he wrote the Bhava Bhoda. Legend has it that he penned down the Bhava Bhoda only after an Anjaneya idol before whom he commenced writing nodded his head in appreciation.

This temple of Anjenaya exists in Srirangam even today and it is known as Grantha Sakshi Anjenaya Temple. The God here is called Sakshi as he nodded his head or stood Sakshi or proof for the scholarly five works which together are called Bhava Bhoda.  

The Sakshi Anjaneya temple is also known as Bhava Bhoda Anjaneya or Hanuman Temple.    

Srirangam in Tamil Nadu is near Trichy and it is the first among the one hundred and eight Divya Desams for Vaishnavas. This is  the place where Ranganatha reclines and it considered to be very holy as Brahma meditated upon Vishnu.

Raghuttama Theertha has written Tippanis or commentaries on  Brihadaranya Bhavabhoda, Nyaya Vivarana Bhavabhoda, Gitabhashya Bhavabhoda (Prameya Dipika Bhavabhoda), Vishnutatvanirnaya Bhavabhoda and Tattvaprakashika Bhavabhoda.

All these five works were written in Srirangam and in the temple of Bhava Bodha Anjaneya. The temple is now under the Uttaradhi Matha and it is located at 194, East Uttara Street, Srirangam.

The temple looks like a house and it does not have any gopura. Raghuttama Theertha sat here and composed the five Bhava bhoda looking at the Pranavakara vimana of the Ranganatha Temple.

It is said that Anjaneya himself stood beside the seer and whenever Raghuttama Theertha looked towards Anjaneya after composing a  line, Anjaneya nodded his head in approval.

The idol of Anjaneya is eight feet high and it faces West. The left foot is placed a little ahead of the right foot.

There is a room in the temple with an idol of Anjaneya and this is where Raghuttama Theertha wrote the Bhava Bhoda.

By the way, there is another Grantha Sakshi Temple of Hanuman in Yeregol near Gulbarga, It was at Yeragol that Jayatheertha or Teekcharya wrote most of his works. The cave where he composed his works in Yeragol can still be seen. 

The composition on Srinivasa

This is a composition by Guru Srisha Vittala of Kanakagiri. He is also called Kuntoji Dasa or Narasima Dasa and he was a disciple of Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi.

This composition of his is on Srinivasa and it is called Srisha Vittala  Stutirathnamamala.  

Here are the Kannada, Sanskrit and English lyrics.

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aÉÑÂaÉVÒû qÉkuÉUÉrÉÂ, qÉÔÂ sÉÉåMü‚ãü SÉãUã

aÉÑÂ ´ÉÏzÉÌuÉOûsÉ lÉqÉÉå ´ÉÏÌlÉuÉÉxÉ SrÉÉÌlÉkÉã |

The lyrics in English are:

BhanukOTi tEja,lAvaNya mooruti

sri vEMkaTEshanE namOnamO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

shEShAchalanivAsa, dOShadUrane,

bhaktapOShaka, srikAMta, namOnamO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

neelamEghashyAma, pAlasAgarashayana,

srilakumeeshane,namOnamO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

khagarAjavAhana, jagadoDeyane,

ninna agaNita mahimage, namOnamO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

shaMkhachakradhara, vEMkaTaramaNaa

sakaLaMka mUrutidEva, namOnamO

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

pannaMgashayanane, ninnaMta dEvaru innuMTe,

ajabhavasuravaMdyaa,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

sRuSTi illadale ottattigiddavarannu

sRuSTisi jIvarasalahuvI,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

tanumana, karaNagaLanu koTTu

animiSharanu abhimAnigaLenisidI,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe|

deenavatsala, ninnAdheenadoLagittu

j~JAna karmagaLAmADisuviyO

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

kShaNa biDadele bhaktajanara rakShisuvi,

durjanarige durlabhanenisuvI,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

vaiShamyanairghuNya lEshavillavara,

upAsanadaMte PalagaLIve

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

oMdE roopadi, bahumaMdiyoLagiddu,

baMdhamOkShapradha enisuvI

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

j~JAnigaLarasa, aj~JAnigaLoLu nAj~Jaani,

suj~JAnava pAlisO

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

naMbide nA ninna biMba mUruti

enna biMbadoLage poLi anidhIna,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

ninna horatu enage aMnyariMdEnayya,

ninna stutipa sukhakke eNegaaNE

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

ghanna mahima enaginnoMdu bayakilla,

ninna dhyAnadoLidu mariyadE,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

durjana saMga vivarja mADisi,

sAdhu sajjanara sEveyoLagidO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

Esu janmagaLIye lEsyu chiMteyu illa,

dAsaneMdenisu dAsyaviTTu,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

ennappa ennaNNa enna kAyva dEva,

ninna vismaraNeya koDadirO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

manasina chaMchalavannu tolagisi,

pAdavanajadallirisayya jitavAgi,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe|

karaNagaLiMda Acharisuva viShaya,

srihari ninna sEveyAgali swAmi,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

hariyE sarvOttama surarella dAsaru,

tAratamya bhEdha j~JAnavaneeyO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

budhdhipoorvaka guru madhwamathava,

tiLididdavane j~JaanavRudhdhanO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

gurugaLa karuNa susthiravAgiddavarige,

hari ninnanughahavAguvudO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

ninnavarallade anyaru ballare

ghannamatada sukha saviyannU,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

ninna chittake baMdudenna chittake barali,

atyaMta bayakeya koDadirO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

sthutiratnamAlA saMstutisi higguvarige,

pratidina sukha abhivRudhdhiyO,

srinivAsa dayaanidhe |

gurugaLu madhwaraayaru, mUru lOkakke dore

guru srishaviTala namO

srinivAsa dayaanidhe | 

A Sultan with a difference

History is never kind to people who do not impose their will on others and people who do not conquer to rule. If Alexander is remembered today, it is because of  his invasions of Asia and his burning ambition to rule over the world.

Kings in India like Samudra Gupta, Raja Raja Chola, Rajendra Chola, Krishnadevaraya, Akbar and even Chatrapathi Shivaji are today remembered for their conquests and martial qualities. Others like Ashoka are remembered for transforming themselves from being ruthless to kind and gentle. However, history has never given importance to such attributes. Aurangzeb was a tyrant. He demolished Hindu temples and was a bigot. Yet, his simplicity and austere life has never been adequately highlighted.

Many Kings and Emperors of India had a huge number of concubines and mistresses. Some even had several queens. However, one Muslim King who is buried in the country’s first Islamic tomb, Sultan Garhi, in Delhi was married only once and he is reputed never to have had any other women.

He was the eighth sultan of the Mamulk or Slave dynasty that ruled Delhi from 1206 to 1290. He was the youngest son of Shams-ud- Din Illutmish (1211-1236) and he was known for as the Darvesi King.  

He was as pious as he was noble. He lead a simple and austere life and spent most of his life copying the holy Quaran or Koran. He  gave up all his powers to the Turkish noblemen, particularly, Ghiyasuddin Balban.

On one occasion, the fingers of  this King’s wife were burnt while cooking. She then came to the King and she requested him to provide a maid-servant for help. The King or Sultan replied that he was merely a trustee of the State, he could not spend money on his personal comforts. The wife of the Sultan was the daughter of Balban and the Sultan was Nasir-ud-din Muhmad (1244-1266).

However, there are contradictions about this incident and some historians point out that the Sultan had more than one wife and that he did have many slaves who were also his concubines. Whatever the truth about women in his life, it is historically accurate that he was highly religious, pious and that he lead a plain and simple life.

Nasiruddin Mahmud died in 1266 and since he had no male heir, he designated Balban to be the next Sultan. However, historians Isami and the African traveler Ibn Batuta claim that Nasiruddin was murdered by Balban. Another traveler, Yayiha bin Ahmad Sarhindi does not accuse Balban of regicide. He says Nasiruddin Mahmud died a natural death.

As a ruler, Mahmud was loved by his subjects. He spent most of his time in prayer and aided the poor and the distressed.

He sold the handwritten copies of the Koran he had copied and used the money for his personal expenses. He had no servants to carry out his personal tasks. His wife had to cook the food for him and his family.

Nasiruddin Mahmud was only sixteen when he ascended the throne. During his rule, he remained content in surrendering the power of the State to Balban. In 1249, he married the daughter of Balban.

Himself an expert calligraphist, the Sultan patronised Minhaj-us-Siraj (1193-1259), the Persian historian, who wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and dedicated it to the Sultan.

History, however, remembers this Sultan as a mere puppet in the hands of Balban and a weak ruler, who was incompetent and who left the affairs of the State in the hands of his Turkish nobles.

Of course, it goes without saying that Nasiruddin cannot be compared to Ashoka, Samudra Gupta, the legendary Chandra Gupta, Raja Raja Chola, Rajendra Chola, Krishna Deva Raya or even Akbar. The point is that these kings were essentially known for their military prowess and single minded sincerity to protect their kingdom from their enemies and also extend the borders of their kingdom.

Nasiruddin, by comparison, was not even capable of defeating the Mongols without the help of his father-in-law Balban. The point is unlike his predecessors, Nasiruddun was content to lead a simple and uncomplicated life and this perhaps saved him from assassination and overthrow. It also helped him tide over the turbulent times. He perhaps was wiser than his sister Razia Sultan and was careful never to antagonize the nobles. All these clearly go to show that he was a Sultan with a difference.        

The world's first love letter

One of the first love letters in the world is to a God in India and this letter finds mention in the Puranas. The letter is as old as the Mahabharata and this makes it more than 3500 years old.

This is why the letter must rank as one of the first love letters and this is from Rukmini to Krishna.

The letter is often described as eulogy of love and it was carried to Krishna by a Brahmin messenger of Rukmini. This messenger was Sunanda, who in his next birth, was reborn as the great Madhwa saint Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) of Sode.

Sunanda carried the beautiful letter all the way from Central India to Dwaraka where Krishna was residing. This letter appears in the tenth book and fifty second chapter of the Bhagavatha Purana.

The letter has an interesting background.

Bhishmaka, the King of Vidharbha in Central India, decided to get his daughter Rukmini married. Rukmini, who had only heard of Krishna, had mentally accepted Krishna as her husband. She decides to marry Krishna but her brother, Rukmi, wants her to marry Sisupala.

Both Sisupala and Rukmi hate Krishna. Unable to extricate herself  from her proposed marriage to Sisupala, Rukmini writes a letter to Krishna extolling his qualities and expressing her desire to marry him.

She then selects Sunanda, an elderly Brahmin, to deliver her message to Krishna.

Rukmini’s letter reveals her devotion and love to Krishna. When Sunanda reaches Dwaraka with the letter, he tells the doorkeeper of the palace where Krishna resides of his mission. The doorkeeper lead him to Lord Krishna, who was sitting on a throne.

When Sunanda hands over the letter to Krishna, he reads it out. He then thanks the messenger for the letter and tells him that even he wants to marry Rukmini.

When Krishna hears that Rukmini’s marriage is scheduled for the following day, he decides to leave for Vidarbha immediately and he requests the Brahamin messenger to accompany him.

Both Krishna and the Brahmin reach the town of Kundina where Rukmini is slate to get married against her will.

Krishna’s elder brother, Balarama, is alarmed when he receives the news that Krishna is accompanied only by a Brahmin. Suspecting an attack on Krishna,  he rides with hi army towards Kundina.

Meanwhile, Krishna reaches Kundina. He sends the Brahmin inside the palace of Rukmini to let her know that he had arrived and that he has an escape plan for them. When Rukmini sees the Brahmin, she asks whether or not Krishna has come.

The Brahmin tells Rukmini that Krishna has come and that he will marry her and take her away to Dwaraka.

When King Bhismaka hears that Krishna and Balarama had come, he invites them to the marriage ceremony of  Rukmini with Sishupala. He is, however, unaware that Krishna plans to kidnap Rukmini and marry her.  

Krishna carries off Rukmini to Dwaraka in a charriot, even as Balarama and his army hold off Sisupala, his friend and Emperor of Magadha, Jarasandha, Rukmi and others are hot on the heels of India’s first couple, who before their marriage, exchanged perhaps the first love letters in the world.        

Home remedies to fight arthritis

This is poised to become the biggest epidemic of the country and more than fifteen per cent of Indians suffer from it in one form or another.

This year, it had emerged as the most common ailment and both the young and significant numbers of  both the old and the young suffer from it.

While it is Osteoarthritis in people aged 65 years and above, the younger lot are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

There are more than 160 million recorded cases of arthritis in India.

Recent surveys have indicated that 70 per cent of people above the 65 years of age are suffering from arthritis in India.

Some of the most common causes for arthritis in India is obesity, bone fractures or faults around the knees, trauma to knee and  meniscus tears or ligament damage.
Initially, arthritis leads to stiffness of knees and swelling of joint. If knee replacement surgery is one of allopathy’s cure to arthritis, Ayurveda too has an answer.

Ayurvedic treatment is a rather long treatment but there are absolutely no side effects. Generally, Ayurveda prescribes a combination of Panchakarma treatment, change in diet and lifestyle and oral medication to combat arthritis.
But what very few people know is that our kitchen too could be harvested productively in our fight against arthrites. Regular consumption of  some kitchen ingredients such as methi (fenugreek), jeera (cumin) and dhaniya (coriander) can help in the fight against arthritis.

If  Methi helps in controlling degenerative disorders. Jeera improves digestion and thereby controls obesity. Dhaniya is an age-old antacid and it is highly effective in fighting gas trouble.

Ayurveda practitioners have found that a combination of methi, jeera and dhaniya is one of the best home food to fight arthritis. What is more, they can also be consumed in raw or green form.

 Cinnamon (Dalchini) ground into paste and applied on the swollen are found to be the ideal home remedy.

Consume these kitchen ingredients and opt for regular oil massages to lessen the pain and also simultaneously reduce wear and tear of joints. Food rich in Vitamin E, calcium and oil can help prevent arthritis.

Fruits, green leafy vegetables and milk products apart from fish is generally recommended to fight arthritis. Drinking lots of water also helps.

Vegetable juices and soups are supposed to be excellent sources of strength. Juices of carrot, beat root and cucumber mixed together has been found to be beneficial. Fruits like apples, oranges, grapes and papaya have been found to contain elements that help fight arthritis.

Cooked vegetables like squash, zucchini and pumpkin and cooking with spices like cumin, coriander, ginger, asafetida, garlic, fennel and turmeric has been found to be ideal.

Ayurveda practitioners also recommend medicines and home products like ginger or shunti, bela, Kusta which is herb found in the Himalayas, shalyaki, guggulu, sahachar, rasna, nirgundi and even dattura for the battle against arthritis.

Since Vitamin D and B12 are as important as calcium to fight arthritis, exposure to sunlight every day is recommended. Direct sunlight is a good source of Vitamin D, which maintains calcium levels in your body, and B12. Milk and milk products (fat-free) and green leafy vegetables help to strengthen bones and joints.

Ayurveda says pains in the body are caused by the aggravation of vata (air) dosha. It says Arthritis is a condition which is caused by accumulation of ama, a toxic byproduct due to improper digestion,  and aggravation of vata. The ama deposits at certain sites in the body. When ama deposits in the joints and there is simultaneous aggravation of vata, it results in amavata.

To effectively combat amavata, Ayuuveda stresses diet. It says once a proper diet is followed, no further ama is produced. Another method to cure ama is by fasting.

Ayurveda recommends avoiding eating hot, spicy and fried foods, sweets and beverages such as tea, coffee, alcohol, yogurt, chocolate and cocoa.

Copenhagen University, Denmark, in a research project, found that  73 of the 230 patients with joint pains given a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half a teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast were relieved of pain and within a month most of the patients who could not walk or who had limited mobility, walked without pain.

Thus we see that a change in the dietary and food habits will lead to better management against arthritis. We can make use of local Indian herbs, medicines, spices and fruits and vegetables to lead a more balanced and healthy life.

The oldest martial art in the world

This is perhaps the most ancient of all martial arts and it is also perhaps the only art that is still practiced only in a few small places in India.

Karnataka in such place where this ancient art is played out as per the old rules and regulations.  Even in Karnataka, this art comes alive only in Mysore and that too during Vijayadashami, which is an integral part of the famous Dassara.

The end of the Vajra Musti signifies the beginning of the Dassara procession. Eight combatants battle out in Vajra Musti bouts which is inaugurated by the scion of the royal Wodeyar dynasty. Contestants who participated in Vajra Musti bouts were called Jetties and they came to Mysore from Baroda. The first Vajra Musti bouts during the Wodeyar reign can be traced to the time of Raja Wodeyar when he made Srirangapatna his capital (Raja Wodeyar had shifted the capital of his growing Wodeyar Kingdom in 1610 from Mysore to Srirangapatna after defeating the Vijayanagar Viceroy of  Srirangapatna province, Sriranga in a battle at Kesare near Mysore). 

Apart from Mysore, a slight variation of this martial art was patronised in Baroda by the Gaekwads. However, the antiquity of this art, as of now, can be traced to 1000 BC. Apart from several Kings and Emperors of ancient India, the founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha (He too was a prince before he took to asceticism), was an expert in Vajra Musti, the ancient Hindu martial art which was also called as Mammar Adi.

Mammar Adi is better known today as Marma Shastra or the advanced art of pressure point fighting. Here, pressure is used to either snuff out life or make a person unconscious and all this is done by exerting pressure on the nerves of/in the body.

Marma Shastra holds that there are 107 marma points in a human body and that the prana or life flows through them. Putting pressure on one or many of them will ensure that the prana ceases to flow and the person dies.
If a combatant wanted to injure his opponent, he would strike one or many of the marma points. Thus, a hit or strike could be used to maim or even kill a person. If the combatant or Marma practitioner wanted to heal somebody, he would press a particular point with his thumb or the index finger. For example, Marma can cure impotency.

If the marma vipat near the groin is struck, it can cause impotency. However, if the Vipat is massaged, it can cures impotency.
Vajra Mushti or Marma Adi is the main art that Buddha learnt and excelled in in his younger days as a prince. He had to learn this art as he was a Kshatriya.

Kshatriyas or warrior were trained in Vajra Musti and this is part of the bouquet of martial arts that epic heroes such as Rama, Bheema and Arjuna among others learnt. Balarama was also a trained wrestler and he was considered t be unbeatable.

Even women Kshatriyas were trained in Marma. Legend has it that it was a woman who taught Bodhidharma this art. Bodhidharma is considered to be the 28^th East Indian patriarch of the Buddhist faith and he lived during the 5^th century.

Bodhidharma is commonly credited with being the founder of Zen Buddhism. He also began the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan.

Vajra-musti in Sanskrit means, “thunder fist” or “diamond fist”, and it specifically refers to a knuckleduster-like weapon and also the name of  this ancient art practiced by a shrinking class of wrestlers known as Jyestimalla.

The weapon that the malla use is sometimes called bhukhandi or Indra-mukti, meaning Indira’s fist. Wrestlers, who took to this art, later added blade and sharp edges to the musti but such weapons were rarely used in fight.

Combatants in ancient India fought nude and today they wear a loincloth similar to the one worn by Indian wrestlers. Mughal Emperors also took to this sport in a big way. During their time, malla would often use Bagh Nakh or tiger and iron claws instead of the vajra musti. It was called as naki-ka-kausti (nakh ka kusti) and it is this variation of the Vajra Musti that was patronized in Baroda.

This art lay great stress on strengthening the hands and wrist. Practitioners of this art dipped their hands in milk and then repeatedly struck a marble slab with their knuckles. Thus, conditioning of the hand was the most important exercise.
Interestingly, this art flowed from Brahmins and it was subsequently popularized by the Kshatriyas. There are many statues and vases in and of India depicting certain fighting techniques of Marma Adi with bare hands.

The Vajra Musti became popular in the Vijayanagar and Mysore (Wodeyar) Kingdoms. Ranadheera Kanteerava of Wodeyar dynasty was a known expert in malla yuddha and he patronised this art. This form of fighting still takes place within the confines of the Mysore palace on Vijaya Dashami.

When the Dasara procession was revived by the Wodeyars in Srirangapatna in 1610, Vajra Musti, Jatti Kalaga, Malla Yuddha, boxing, grappling, lifting round boulders were part of the festival.
Jatti kalaga and boulder lifting contest were held at the grounds near the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangapatna.
Another art that was popular was Masti Yuddha or Mukki Boxing where combatants fought with bare hands. It existed for some three hundred and fifty years in the Benares before being officially banned by the British who preferred European boxing.

The miser who became a Haridasa

Just like his friend Purandara Dasa, he too was rich person and he was a miser too. If Purandara Dasa lived in Kshemapura in Shimoga district, he lived in Belur in Hassan district.

Though both were contemporaries, they did not know each other. If Purandara Dasa was a Madhwa Brahmin, this person was a Srivaishnava. If Hari himself transformed Purandara Dasa into a Haridasa, it was Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) who gave this man from Belur deekshe and transformed his mundane life into a pious and holy one.

Both Purandara and the man from Belur met at Hampi where they quickly became close friends. Both accepted the venerable Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539) as their guru and both composed innumerable devaranamas.

The man from Belur later went on to make a mark as a great devotee of Sri Krishna whom he always worshipped. This man is none other than Belur Vaikunta Dasa (1480-1550).

It was Vadiraja who reformed a rich Vaikunta Dasa and gave him a Hayagriva Saligrama. Vadiraja told Vaikunta Dasa that he could amass untold wealth and riches if he worshipped the Saligrama with sincerity and devotion.

More out of greed, Vaikunta Das began performing pooje daily to the Saligrama. Slowly but surely, he became devoted to the Saligrama and the pooje continued. Over a period of time, he realised that the Saligrama was more precious than all his wealth and that it could never be quantified.

He became a devotee of Hayagriva and lost interest in the materialistic world. When Varidara realised that Belur Vaikunta dasa was a transformed man, he blessed him and named him “Sri Vaikunta Dasa.”

Vaikunta Dasa became a Haridasa and began composing Kirtanas in Kannada on Sri Hari with Ankitha Vaikunta.

Vaikunta Dasa was a native of  Belur and he rarely if ever stirred out of Belur. He has a few compositions in Kannada which bear the ankita nama Vaikunta Dasa. He became a close friend and companion of Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa and also a disciple of Vadiraja Theertha.

His devotion to Hari was such that Krishna danced in front of him when he sang. All the three dasas -Vadiraja, Kanaka and Purandara have paid tributes to Vaikunta Dasa.

Purandara Dasa went around the Vijayanagar Kingdom spreading the tenets of Madhwacharya and singing the glory of Hari. During one such tour, he came to Belur in Hassan district where Belur Vaikunta Dasa was staying.

Vaikunta Dasa rarely, if ever, stirred out of  Belur and the few times he did was to visit his friend Purandara Dasa and his guru, Vyasa Raja. Though he was a Srivaishnava scholar, he  composed many songs on Hari.

Vaikunta Dasa lived in a house in Belur and when Puranadara Dasa came, he saw a beautiful child playing on the lap of the Dasa. Both Belur Vaikunta Dasa and the boy, whom Belur Vaikunta Dasa called Keshava, were so engrossed in playing that they did not notice Purandara Dasa.

When Purandara Dasa came very near to them, he suddenly realised that the Keshava who was playing in the lap of Belur Vaikunta Dasa was none other than Krishna himself.

Even as Puranadara Dasa was about to speak, the child looked up and on seeing a stranger burst into tears. The incessant crying of the child immediately spurred Purandara Dasa into composing a poem.

This beautiful poem is:

 “aLuvadyaadako raMgaa! atta raMjisuva  gummA  

puTTidELu divasadali!duShTa pootaneeya koMde

muTTi moleya haaluMDa kaaraNa! dRuShTi taakitE ninage kaMdayyaa  1

bAlakatanadalli gO! paalaroDagooDi

kALiMga maDuvanu kalakida kAraNa! kaalu uLakitE ninage raMgayyaa    2

turuva kaayalu pOgi! bharadiMda maLegareye

beraLali beTTavanettida kaaraNa! beraLu uLukitE ninage kaMdayyaa    3

vasudEva sutanaagi asurara mardiside

basurali bommana paDeda kAraNa! kisaru taakite ninage raMgayyaa     4

sharaNu vElaapurada  doreye  chennigaraaya

sharaNara salahuva karuNAnidhiyE varada puraMdara viThala rAya        5

When Purandara Dasa began singing in his melodious voice, the child stopped crying and gave a smile.

Puranadara Dasa stayed back at the home of Belur Vaikunta Dasa for some time before proceeding on his onward journey.

Another time, when Purandara Dasa was walking on the streets of Hampi or Vijayanagar one evening with Belur Vaikunta Dasa, a rogue elephant suddenly came out of nowhere and charged at them.

While Purandara Das managed to take evasive action, Vaikunta Dasa came face to face with the animal. Purandara Dasa immediately began singing,

“Sakala duritagala parihara maado Venkatesha, bhaktige volidu bandu bhaktana kaayo Venkatesha….varada Purandara vittala,”

Meanwhile, the elephant ran upto Vaikunta Dasa and it saluted the Dasa with its trunk and left. A dumbfounded Purandara Dasa had no words to describe his feelings and he embraced Vaikunta Dasa and both continued their evening stroll.  

A staff saved him from snake bite

He was asleep when Lord Hari came in his dream and asked hi to stop working as a clerk. The Lord directed the man to approach Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi and take instructions from him.

Lord Hari also told the man that he should become a disciple of Jagannatha Dasa and become a Haridasa. When the dream ended, the man got up and he determined to follow his dream.

The man went to Jagannatha Dasa who then was living in Manvi. He served Jagannatha Dasa devotedly for twelve years. One day, he was ruing his fate at having to spend 12 years when Jagannatha Dasa came to him and said he had asked him to stay back here as he would have otherwise died. He then gave him a staff and warned him that he would be bitten by a snake. However, he would live of he kept the staff on the wound. He then blessed Narasimha and asked him to leave.

Narasimha then took leave of Jagannatha Dasa and came under the influence of Hundekara Dasa or Srisha Vittala. He was given the ankita Sreesha Vittala Dasa by Hundekar Dasa. When a snake bit him, he remembered the words of Jagannatha Dasa and kept the staff on the wound. Sreesha Vittala Dasa survived the snake bite. 

He then settled down in Kuntoji village on the banks of the Tungabhadra.

After staying for some time in Kuntoji, he made Kampli his home. Kampli too was on the banks of the Tungabhadra. By then, this man had earned name and fame as Kuntoji Dasa or Narasimha Dasa or Kuntoji Narasimha Dasa. He was also known as Shreesha or Srisha Vittala Dasa.

Born in Kanakagiri, his father was Thamanna, a clerk. Thamanna had performed seve and pooje to the famous Narasimha of Kanakagiri to beget a son, whom he named as Narasimha.

Thamanna decided to retire from service and he asked Narasimha to take over his duties. He stopped working as a clerk only after Lord Hari asked him to do so. 

Like Jagannatha Dasa, his Guru, this Haridasa too was a devotee of Raghavendra Swamy or Rayaru and he has composed some of the most evocative and beautiful songs on the bard of Mantralaya.    

“Nodele Manave, Kondaadu Gurugala Padaa, Eedillavo Punyake, NadOge Guru Raghavendra Rayara Seve Madidhava Parama Dhanya Maanya”, is one of his best known songs on Rayaru.

His composition, “Guru Madhwarayarige NamO NamO, Guru Madhwa SaMtatige NamO NamO” is another famous work that even today is sung at the beginning of any Bhajan programme or Haridasa Sammekana.

“Baro Guru Raghavendra, Barayya baa Baa Narahari Priyane Baa, Guru Shreesha Vitalana KaruNa Patrane Bega Baa Guruvarane Parishoshisennanu Mareyadhale tava CharaNa Koteyalirisi Charambujavva Thorutha Twarithadhali Ododi Baa Baa”, is another popular song by this Haridasa.

He has written a beautiful commentary on Sriharikathamrutsara. Born in 1740, he lived for more than a hundred years. He died in 1846.

The aradhane of this great saint is being held at Kampli from January 1.