Konkanakhyana | Account of Kumarila Bhattacharya

Below is an account of the Nastikas (Jaina/Bouddha) matas were vanquished in Southern India, by Kumarila Bhattacharya. This seems to have been taken from an earlier work by Krishnadas Mudgal (1500s) and appears in Konkanakhyana, an 18th Century work on the history of GSBs.

Note that author uses Jaina/Bouddha interchangeably, though these exist as separate religions today. This is because from Vaidik perspective, both paths are Nastika paths i.e. they deny the superiority of Vedas, hence the same.

॥ संत महिमान ॥

मागुता श्रोता विनवित ॥ कळों आला सांगितला वृत्तांत ॥ 

परी आणिक पुसेन मात ॥ ती सांगितली पाहिजे ॥ १ ॥

The listener requests again, "I have understood the account that was narrated, but I wish to ask about another matter; please tell me that as well."

श्रीभार्गव क्षेत्रा माझारिं ॥ वस्ति झाल्या कैसापरि ॥ 

ऐशाचि बहुतां स्थळांतरीं ॥ जैनांची धरित्रि पै म्हणति ॥ २ ॥

How did the settlement of Saraswatas happen within the Shri Bhargava Kshetra (Parashurama Kshetra)? And why do people call many such places the 'land of the Jains'?"

तरी हा कैसा झाला विचार ॥ हा मज सांगावा सविस्तर ॥ 

म्हणोनियां जोडोनि कर ॥ प्रार्थिता झाला ॥ ३ ॥

"How did this idea arise? Please tell me about this in detail." Saying this, he joined his hands and prayed.

ऐसें श्रोता विनवितां ॥ मग सांगता झाला वक्ता ॥ 

म्हणें हें कलियुग आरभंतां ॥ बौद्ध मत विस्तारलें ॥ ४ ॥

Upon the listener asking this, the speaker then narrated, "At the beginning of this Kaliyuga, the Buddhist philosophy expanded."

बौद्धासी सरस्वती प्रसन्न ॥ तिचे प्रसन्नते करून ॥ 

पृथ्वीचे राजे संपूर्ण ॥ वश्य जाण पैं केलें ॥ ५ ॥

"The Goddess Saraswati was pleased with the Buddhists; by her grace, they brought all the kings of the earth under their control."

प्रत्यक्ष तेंच प्रमाण ॥ म्हणोनि करिती हवन ॥ 

काढोनि होमांतूनि द्विगुण ॥ दाविती जनांसि आश्चर्य ॥ ६ ॥

"They believed that what is directly perceived is the only evidence, and thus they performed havana (sacrificial fire rituals). They would produce double the offerings from the sacrificial fire to show miracles to the people."

वेदोक्त कर्मे निंदिती ॥ पुढाफळ भोगतां कैंशारिती ॥ 

देहचि होतां भस्मीं भूत ॥ कोण भोगित फळ भोग ॥ ७ ॥

"They criticize the rituals prescribed in the Vedas; [they ask] in what manner will the results be enjoyed later? When the body itself turns to ash, who will enjoy the fruits [of those deeds]?"

आले यासि अंत ॥ पंच भूतें पांचांसि मिळत ॥ 

कर्म फळ भोगी कोण येथें ॥ मरणेंचि मुक्ति मानिती ॥ ८ ॥ 

"This is the end; the five elements merge back into the five elements. Who will enjoy the fruits of actions here? They consider death itself to be liberation."

॥ भस्मि भवति देहस्य ॥ पुनरागमनः कुतः ॥ 

"When the body turns to ash, how can there be a return?"

ऋणं कृत्वा घृतं पित्वा म्हणत ॥ देह भस्मींभूत होत ॥ 

देता घेता कोठें आहेत ॥ ऐसें मत पैं त्यांचें ॥ ९ ॥ 

"[They live by the motto] 'Borrowing money, consume ghee' [live for pleasure], for the body turns to ash. Where are those who give and take [debts/karmic debts]? Such is their philosophy."

म्हणोनि यज्ञादिक निंदिती ॥ प्रत्यक्ष प्रमाण हेंचि म्हणती ॥ 

राजे पध्त्रीचे ऐशा रिती ॥ वश्य सर्वत्र पैं केलें ॥ १० ॥

"Therefore, they criticize sacrifices (Yajnas) and such, claiming that only direct perception is evidence. In this way, they brought all the kings of the earth under their control." 

शारदेचे प्रसन्नते करून ॥ स्वमत विस्तारलें संपूर्ण ॥ 

ब्राह्मणांसि वाद करितां जाण ॥ सरस्वती आपण त्यांस साहा्य ॥ ११ ॥ 

"By pleasing Sharada (Goddess Saraswati), they expanded their own doctrine completely; and you should know that when they debated with the Brahmins, Saraswati herself helped them."

ऐसें जैनमत विस्तारलें ॥ कितेक काळ चालिलें ॥ 

मग देवांसि संकट पडलें ॥ अवतरले ब्रह्माशंकर ॥ १२ ॥ 

"Thus, the Jain doctrine expanded and continued for some time; then, the gods faced a crisis, and Brahma and Shankara took incarnations."

हा पूर्वार्धाप्रति दृष्टांत आला ॥ मागुता येथ कांहीं बोलिला ॥ 

म्हणतां दोष नाहीं ह्या बोला ॥ ऐसें कृष्णदास मुदुल बोलिले ॥ १३ ॥ 

"This illustration was mentioned in the first half, and something has been spoken again here; there is no fault in these words, so said Krishnadas Mudgal.[Note - Same time frame as Eknath Maharaj]"

गौडदेशीं गौड ब्राह्मण ॥ भट्टाचार्य नामें आपण ॥ 

ब्रह्मा अवतरला जाण ॥ शास्त्रसंपन्न पैं झाले ॥ १४ ॥ 

"In the Gauda region, there was a Gauda Brahmin by the name of Bhattacharya; know that he was an incarnation of Brahma, and he became well-versed in the scriptures."

बौद्धाचा जो महंत गुरू ॥ त्यापाशीं विद्याभ्यास करूं ॥ 

म्हणोनि चालिले समोरु ॥ दक्षिण दिशेप्रति ॥ १५ ॥ 

"Thinking 'I shall study with the chief guru of the Buddhists,' he set off, heading towards the southern direction."

जावोनि भेटला त्यासी ॥ चित्त ठेवोनि अभ्यासीं ॥ 

गुरुदास्य करितां अहर्निशीं ॥ त्यांचे विद्येस घेतेलें ॥ १६ ॥ 

"Having gone there, he met him and focused his mind on his studies; by serving the guru day and night, he mastered their knowledge."

मग येके दिवसीं ॥ तैलाभ्यंग करीतां गुरूसी ॥ 

घाम आला सर्वांगासि ॥ थेंब गुरुमस्तकीं पडिनला ॥ १७ ॥ 

"Then one day, while performing an oil massage for the guru, sweat broke out all over his body, and a drop fell onto the guru's head."

मग गुरू पुसे त्यासि ॥ सत्य सांग तू कोण आहेसि ॥ 

अग्नितुल्य मम मस्तकासी ॥ पोळिलें कैसें ॥ १८ ॥ 

"Then the guru asked him, 'Tell the truth, who are you? How did you burn my head as if with fire?' "

येरू म्हणे मी ब्राह्मण ॥ तुम्ही वेदनिंदक म्हणोन ॥ 

पाखंडमति याचें निर्दळण ॥ वादीं जिंकोन करीन ॥ १९ ॥ 

"He replied, 'I am a Brahmin; because you are a critic of the Vedas, I will defeat you in debate and destroy this heretical intellect.' "

वेद अनादि भगवद्वचन ॥ यासि निंदी तो अघोर पापी जाण ॥ 

त्यासि वादीं जिंकीन ॥ ही प्रतिज्ञा पैं माझी ॥ २० ॥ 

"The Vedas are the eternal words of God; know that he who criticizes them is a heinous sinner. I shall defeat him in debate—this is my vow.' "

आतां मजसीं वाद करीं ॥ चाल जाऊं राजमंदिरीं ॥ 

हारीं येईल त्यासी कढईमाझारीं ॥ तप्त तैलीं घालावें ॥ २१ ॥ 

"Now debate with me, let us go to the royal palace. Whoever loses shall be put into a cauldron of boiling oil."

रायासि श्रुत केलें वर्तमान ॥ ब्राह्मणें सांगितलें हे नास्तिक म्हणोन ॥ 

करूं नये मुखावलोकन ॥ रायें धर्मस्थापना करावी ॥ २२ ॥ 

"The matter was conveyed to the King; the Brahmin stated that these are atheists, their faces should not be looked upon, and the King should establish righteousness."

राजा म्हणे करितां वाद ॥ जो जिंकेल तो स्वयें शुद्ध ॥ 

हारीं येईल त्याचा वध ॥ हा निश्चय पैं माझा ॥ २३ ॥ 

"The King said, 'Whoever wins the debate is himself pure; the one who loses shall be killed—this is my resolution.'"

उभयवर्गांचा पण एक ॥ करून वाद करिती देख ॥ 

मध्यें बांधोनि वस्त्र एक ॥ बौद्ध्यें स्वरस्वती स्मरियेली ॥ २४ ॥ 

"Both parties agreed to the wager and engaged in the debate; a cloth was tied in the middle, and the Buddhists invoked Saraswati."

करितां शारदेचें आवाहन ॥ घटीं तत्काळ प्रगटोन ॥ 

वाद करी तीक्ष्ण वचन ॥ ब्राह्मण विचक्षण पैं मोठा ॥ २५ ॥ 

"Upon invoking Sharada (Saraswati), she manifested instantly in the pot and spoke sharp, argumentative words, for the Brahmin was indeed very wise."

घटा बाहेर मुख बरवत ॥ शारदा बोले घडघडाट ॥ 

ब्राह्मण सावध धीट ॥ स्त्रीचा शब्द कंठ जाणितला ॥ २६ ॥ 

"From outside the pot, Sharada spoke with a thunderous voice; the brave and alert Brahmin recognized the voice of a woman."

शारदा ब्रह्मकुमारी ॥ ती नशिवे उचिष्टा उत्तरिं ॥ 

हें जाणोनि पुसिला प्रश्न करी ॥ तों ती राहे निवांत ॥ २७ ॥ 

"Sharada is the daughter of Brahma; she should not utter impure words. Realizing this, he asked a question, to which she remained silent."

मग जंव निक उचलूनि करीं ॥ धावो दिधला कलशावरी ॥ 

तूं वादमाता ब्रह्मकुमारी ॥ अधर्मसागरीं कां बुडसी ॥ २८ ॥ 

"Then, taking a pitcher in his hand, he rushed towards the pot and said, 'You are the mother of debates and daughter of Brahma, why are you drowning in the ocean of unrighteousness?'"

आतां गर्भवास भोगी सत्वरी ॥ येरी म्हणे मी तुमची कुमरी ॥ 

येईन तुमचे उदरीं ॥ ऐसें बोलोनि अदृश्य झाली ॥ २९ ॥ 

"Now, quickly undergo the suffering of the womb (rebirth). She replied, 'I am your daughter; I will be born from your womb.' Saying this, she disappeared."

अदृश्य होतां सरस्वती ॥ बौद्धाची खुंटली वित्पत्ति ॥ 

पळोनि जाती जेथिंच्या तेर्थीं ॥ सांपडले त्यां देती तप्ततैल ॥ ३० ॥ 

"As soon as Saraswati disappeared, the intellect of the Buddhists failed; they fled back to where they came from, and those who were caught were put into boiling oil."

सहस्रावधि संख्या मारिले ॥ कितेक देश टांकोनि गेले ॥ 

नेणो किती लपाले ॥ सांपडले ते घातले कढईंत ॥ ३१ ॥ 

"Thousands were killed, and many left their countries; who knows how many hid, but those who were found were cast into the cauldron."

यापरि वंशीं हाताहत ॥ करूनि आणिले त्यांचे ग्रंथ ॥ 

जळीं बुडविले समस्त ॥ अमरकोश ठेवोनि घेतला ॥ ३२ ॥ 

"In this manner, having defeated them, [he] brought their texts and drowned them all in water, [but] kept the Amarakosha."

या प्रसंगापासून ॥ जैनमत राहिलें जाण ॥ 

परी वर्तलें वर्तमान ॥ तें आतां साक्षी जन म्हणती ॥ ३३ ॥ 

"Know that from this incident, the Jain doctrine ceased; but the events that transpired are now recounted by people as witnesses."

त्यानंतर वदोक्त धर्म ॥ चालविति यज्ञादिक कर्म ॥ 

जे पूर्व स्थिति उत्तम ॥ तैसे वर्तती जन सर्व ॥ ३४ ॥ 

"Thereafter, the Vedic religion [was restored], and rituals such as Yajnas were performed; all people began to conduct themselves according to the excellent former state."

ऐशापरी धर्मस्थापन ॥ भट्टाचार्यें करोनि आपण ॥ 

वाराणसी प्रति येऊन ॥ देहांत प्रायश्चित्ता आरंभिलें ॥ ३५ ॥ 

"In this way, having established righteousness himself, Bhattacharya came to Varanasi and began the penance of ending his life."

गुरुद्रोह घडला म्हणोन ॥ आंगासि केलें गोमय लेपन ॥ 

कंठप्रमाण गोवरांमध्यें जाण ॥ देह दहन आंरभिलें ॥ ३६ ॥ 

"Because a betrayal of the guru occurred, he smeared cow dung on his body, stood amidst cow dung cakes up to his neck, and began to burn his body [as penance]."

The Objects of the Good Life | Charaka Samhita

By the observance of these rules, one achieves at once both the objects viz. health and the conquest of the senses.

O, Agnivesha!, We shall now describe the entire code of right conduct.

The Rules of the Good Life

It includes reverence for the gods, cows, brahmanas, preceptor, elders, adepts and for teachers; the tending of the ceremonial fire; the wearing of the holy herbs; bathing twice daily; repeated cleansing of the excretory orifices and the feet; trimming the hair of the head and the beard and the nails thrice a fortnight;

The wearing of clean and untorn apparel; keeping a cheerful disposition and the use of perfumes; being well dressed; keeping the hair well-toiletted; the daily use of oil for the head, ears, nostrils and feet; smoking; taking the initiative in conversation; being pleasant faced; helping the distressed; making burnt-offerings; offering sacrifice, charitableness; saluting at public places; making peace-offerings; hospitality to guests; offering of food balls to the manes; wholesome, measured, palatable and timely speech; self-control; piety; envy of merits and non-envy of the fruits of merits; freedom from anxiety; fearlessness; modesty; sagaciousness; high spirits; dexterity; forgiveness; good-ness, faith; the service of those who are superior to oneself in modesty, intellect, learning, birth and age, as also service of the adepts and preceptors;

Carrying an umbrella and a staff; wearing a turban; the wearing of shoes; looking ahead while walking with heedfulness;

Auspicious behaviour; avoidance of rags, bones, thorns, offal hair, refuse, ashes, fragments of earthen vessels and of places of bathing and sacrifice; relaxing from work before feeling the strain;

Fellowship with all creatures; winning over the angry; consoling the frightened; befriending the destitute; truthfulness; peaceful disposition; bearing with harsh words from others; overcoming impatience; showing a tranquil disposition; and removing the causes of passion and aversion.

The Interdictions on Evil Practices

Speak no untruth; take not away other's goods; covet not another's wife nor another's wealth; delight not in vengeance; commit no sin; sin not even against a sinner; expose not another's shortcomings; pry not into other's secrets; keep not the company of those who are irreligious, disloyal to the king, arrogant, depraved, given to feticide, mean and wicked;

Rise not a bad mount; sit not on a hard and knee high seat; sleep not on an un-spread, uncovered, narrow and uneven bed; roam not on the jagged peaks of mountains; climb not trees; bathe not in rapidly flowing waters; rest not under the shade of a bank; move not in the vicinity of conflagrations;

Laugh not loudly; indulge not in audible release of wind; do not yawn, sneeze or laugh without covering the mouth; do not pick the nose; do not gnash the teeth; do not drum with the nails; do not strike the bones one with another; scratch not the ground; do not idly pick at grass-blades or knead a clod of earth; make not unseemly gestures;

Gaze not at luminaries or undesirable, unclean or inauspicious sights; despise not a dead body; cross not the shadow of a tutelary tree, flag, teacher, or of any worshipful or unwholesome object; do not repair at night to a temple, totem tree, public hall, square, public park, crematorium or scaffold; enter not alone an uninhabited house or a forest;

Take not for wife, friend or servant a person of sinful conduct; contend not with your superiors; consort not with your inferiors; do not curry favour with the crooked; take not the shelter of a non-Arya i.e. untrustworthy man; spread not panic; do not indulge in rash acts or in excess of sleep, waking, bathing, drinking, or eating; sit not long on the haunches with the knees up;

Go not near cruel, fanged or horned animals; avoid headwinds, severe sun, frost and storms; provoke not a quarrel;

Tend not the sacrificial fire inattentively or in a state of pollution; do not warm yourself by keeping a fire underneath; bathe not while fatigued or without first washing the face or in a naked condition; dry not the head with a cloth worn while bathing; do not thrash the tresses with the hands; do not put on the same clothes after a bath;

Step not out of doors without touching precious stones, sacrificial ghee, worshipful and auspicious objects and flowers; do not walk by having holy and auspicious objects to your left and thigs of dissimilar nature to your right;

Partake not of a meal without wearing a jewel on the hand; without having had a bath; or clad in tattered clothes, without saying your prayers, without performing the Homa- rites, without offering to the household gods and the manes, without first feeding the elders, guests and dependants; or unscented; ungarlanded; or without cleansing the hands, feet and face; or with unclean mouth, with the face towards the north, or listlessly, or waited on by an undevoted, unmannerly, unclean or hungry attendant; or in improper vessels; in an improper place; or at an improper time; or amidst a crowd; or without first offering to Agni; or without besprinkling the food with sanctified water or without saying scriptural chants over it; or while reviling anyone; nor eat food of a vile description; served by ill-wishers; nor consisting of stale articles with exception of flesh, greens, dry vegetables and fruits;

Partake not of a meal without leaving remnants except of curds, honey, salt, roasted-grain flour and ghee; eat not curds at night, eat not roasted grain flour by itself or at night or after a meal or in large quantities or at both meals, or interspersed with draughts of water; eat not by tearing with the teeth.

Do not sneeze, eat or sleep in a crooked posture. While pressed by natural urges, do not attend to other work. Do not void spittle, flatus, stools and urine, facing the wind, fire, water, moon, sun, a brahmaNa and an elder.

Do not make water on the road, do not blow the nose amidst a crowd, while eating and while engaged in auspicious acts like Japa, Homa, study and Bali offerings to gods.

Do not contemn or confide in the woman overmuch, nor divulge secrets to her, nor place her in power.

Do not indulge in the sex act with a woman who is in her courses or diseased, unclean, unfit, of undesirable appearance, conduct and nature, unskillful, unresponsive or desirous of another; or do not mate with another's wife, or with a female of another species of animal, or in extra-genital organs, or under a tutelary tree, in a public hall, at cross roads, in a public park, crematorium, or in the house of a brahmana or of a teacher, or of God; or during the twilights or the forbidden days, in an unclean condition or without taking an aphrodisiac, or without having made up your mind beforehand, or without having achieved the necessary erotic urge, or without having partaken of nourishment, or in an overeaten condition, in an awkward position, or hard pressed by the urges of urine and feces or in a state afflicted by fatigue, physical exercise, fasting and exhaustion or in a place that has no privacy.

Do not speak ill of good people and your elders; when you are in an unclean condition, do not practice necromancy nor worship the tutelary tree, temples, and venerable things and persons or practice studies.

Do not conduct your studies during unseasonal lighting, when the quarters are lit up with a lurid glow or while a conflagration is in progress or during an earthquake, festive tide, the time of meteoric showers, eclipses of the sun and the moon, the new moon day. and the two twilights or without being taught by the teacher or by slurring over letters or overstressing them, or raucously or in falsetto tone or without punctuating or too hurriedly or too leisurely, or in a spiritless manner or very loudly or in a very low voice.

Transgress not the majority decision, break not a rule, move not at nights in an improper place; resort not to dinner, study, sex act or sleep at the two twilights; do not contract friendship with the very young, the very old, the greedy, the foolish, the diseased and the impotent; do not develop a taste for drinking, gambling and the company of prostitutes.

Divulge not secrets; do not contemn anyone; be not self conceited; be not inept; be not obstructive; be not carping, speak not ill of the brahmanas, raise not your staff against a cow; defy not the elders, teachers, guilds and kings; do not talk over much; break not off with the relations, companions, helpers in adversity and those who know your secrets.

Be neither timid not overbold; be not ungenerous to your dependents; be not distrustful of your kinsmen; take not your pleasures alone; regard not the maintaining of character, scriptural enjoinments and social observances as a tax on you; do not trust everyone nor distrust every one; be not always ruminative.

Do not let slip the right moment of action; do not undertake anything without deliberation; do not be a slave to your sense-appetites; do not pander to the fickle mind; do not overburden the senses and the understanding; do not over-procrastinate.

Do not give way to anger and joy; do not nurse your sorrows; be not arrogant in success and dejected in defeat; remind yourself constantly of the vanity of things; be decided as to causes and their effects and consequently devoted to benevolent enterprises; do not grow complacent with your achievements; do not lose heart; do not recall calumny.

Story | Chakravarthy Linga | Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, Gokarna

Today, we know of so many Hindu artifacts which were taken away during years of foreign rule or secretly stolen in recent times, coming back to Bharata. But do you know, one similar artifact was voluntarily donated to an Indian Monastery (Math) by a high ranking Britisher in the late 1800s.

This is the unique and not well known case of a lingam named Chakravarthy Lingam. Christened by a famous British personality, Sir George Birdwood and donated to the Shri Gaudapadacharya Math for safekeeping, this lingam went out of the country for being exhibited, but came back and is finally present in one of the most holiest kshetras of Hindus, Gokarna, Karnataka.

The story of this lingam appears in the book Saraswat Bhushan, by Shri. M. Ramachandra Sharma, a Saraswat Scholar who documented a lot of important items for the Saraswat Samaja in early 1900s The translated and abridged article is as below;

When a Lingam Travelled the World and Came back to Bharata

This event relates to the Chakravarthi Shivalinga that came from England. A European gentleman named General Birdwood, while holding a high position at the Belgaum military cantonment some years ago, had two sons. Among them, Sir George Birdwood was the eldest. He, too, held high positions here. Currently, he resides in London after retirement. However, since India is his birthplace, he is exceptionally knowledgeable about the history of India, the Hindu people, their religions, and the various castes within them; and because of this, he holds great pride in India and its residents. And how sincere that pride is, is easily understandable to discerning readers from the correspondence provided ahead!

The renowned Mumbai High Court lawyer, Mr. Ghanashyam Neelkanth Nadkarni, B.A., LL.B., while traveling in Europe in the year 1896, met Sir George Birdwood in London. At that time, Sir George Birdwood showed him a beautiful Shivalinga that he had carefully preserved in his home. And he told him the history regarding where and how he obtained it. After he [Mr. Nadkarni] returned to India, Mr. Birdwood started a correspondence with him. Based on that correspondence, Mr. Nadkarni later sent a letter to Pandit Mishra Ghanashyam Sharma Shastri, a Kashmiri scholar who was under the refuge of Shrimad Atmananda Saraswati Swami Gaudapadacharya at Shrimath Khanapur, and presented that information at the feet of the Swami Maharaj. Following the instructions of the Swami, the Pandit wrote a reply, and accordingly, the Shivalinga arrived at Shrimath Khanapur in the month of Ashvin in the Shaka year 1819. Mr. Birdwood had expressed his wish to name this Shivalinga "Chakravarthi Shivalinga," and as that entire account is worth preserving.

Sir George Birdwood's English letter: "To my dear friend Ghanashyam Neelkanth Nadkarni, I am sending today, via the P&O Company's steamship 'Britannia' to your address, the Shivalinga which has not had Pranapratishtha (consecration) and which has been kept in my room for all these days.

I have made all necessary arrangements from here to ensure this Shivalinga is placed in your custody. Now, this Shivalinga is making its final journey across the seven seas. As this Linga will be installed upon reaching its motherland, it would not be out of place to provide a brief history of it on such an occasion. This Shivalinga was first sent from Kolkata, India to an exhibition held some years ago in the United States, in a place called Philadelphia(1876). However, it was not admitted into the exhibition on the pretext that a 'Linga' is a symbol representing a genital organ. Later, in the year 1888, an exhibition of objects from India and other places was held in the 'South Kensington' area of London. At that time, this Shivalinga was sent here from America, and it was about to be used for the purpose of breaking stones. Just then, as the Shivalinga caught my eye, I picked it up and brought it to my room and kept it there. It remained there until today.

Because I have reached the age of 65, my connection with the 'India Office' will soon be severed, and I was worried about what would happen to the Shivalinga thereafter. Several administrators at the 'various museums' in "Oxford" were ready to take it and keep it there. But even there, the same previous reason became an obstacle.

As I was having various thoughts [regarding what to do with the Shivalinga], I met you. And as soon as you said that you would take it to Mumbai and install it, a perfect opportunity in accordance with my wishes arose, and I am extremely happy. Once this sacred object reaches you, it will have completed a journey around the earth; having traveled through four continents and crossed the seven seas, it will be as if it has returned to its motherland. In truth, whatever the merit and holiness of the Shivalingas at Jambukeshwar, Tiruvannamalai, Kanchi, Chidambaram, Kalahasti, as well as Kashi Vishweshwar, Ujjain’s Amreshwar, Tryambak’s Gautameshwar, Omkar on the Narmada, Kedareswar in the Himalayas, and Rameswar near Kanyakumari may be, the one thing to especially note regarding this Shivalinga that I am sending you now is that this name 'Chakravarthi Linga' can only be given to this one. And it is my hope that you will also refer to this Shivalinga by this name.

However, I am extremely happy to see that you have planned to place this Shivalinga in the custody of the Adi-Guru (supreme teacher) of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of Western India, whose math (monastery) is located at Khanapur on the banks of the Malaprabha River in the Belgaum district. I was born in Belgaum, and I went back to Belgaum in the year 1855. My childhood memories are of Belgaum, its Ghataprabha River, and Ramghat. Belgaum means Venu-gram, and Venu-gram means the village of bamboo; and I have considered bamboo as the tree of my life and the Ghataprabha as the river of my life. The Malaprabha River is also the same. Actually, my memory of the later years, the year 1855, is not just of the Ghataprabha waterfall at Gokak, but of the Malaprabha River itself. The Malaprabha is indeed the true river of life. It flows constantly. It flows through many beautiful valleys and gorges. The local Brahmins believe that to save a peacock from a cruel hunter and take it to the peak on the opposite bank, a water deity broke the rock between Saudatti and Manoli and led the river there. In almost every village along the banks of that river, the Shivalinga and Shiva's vehicle, Nandi, are worshipped. I have fond memories of the bananas of Khanapur and the various Brahmins there, such as the Gaud Saraswats, Deshasthas, and Chitpavans. I often recall how the Brahmin women there wear beautiful saris and how both women and men wear ornaments on their bodies. I feel that the math of Shrimad Atmananda Saraswati Swami is like my own home, and I consider him my reverend teacher or, as you call it, my 'Mahant'. Please offer my salutations to the Shri Swami and inform him that I have felt the utmost satisfaction since handing over the 'Chakravarthi Linga' to him.

And my only wish is that, through the grace of the Shri Swami, harmony may grow between the Hindu people and the English people because of my actions.

I am very grateful for the trouble you have taken in this matter and the care you have shown. And may the result of this entire endeavor be pleasant for everyone.

Yours, 

George Birdwood"

Description of the lingam

This Chakravarthi Shivalinga is made of black marble stone and weighs 11 maunds and 4 seers. The circumference of its base is approximately 6.5 feet. It is 3.5 feet long and 2.5 feet high. The height of the Pindika (base) is 10 inches and its circumference is 2.5 feet.

There are four snake adornments on it, both at the bottom and top. One has offered its hood to the Pindi (linga) as a canopy. The second has embraced it tightly. The third appears to be lying prostrate on the Shalunka (base) in front of the Pindi, as if teaching devotees about the loving devotion of Sadashiva. The fourth, by its embrace, has become a waistband for the Chakravarthi Shivalinga, and as if holding the entire Shalunka on its head like the earth-bearing Seshnag, it is manifesting its extraordinary power of devotion. This thought cannot help but cross the mind of a keen observer!

Upon seeing the naturally occurring Tripundra (three lines) of ash on the stone of the Pindi, one might imagine: Bholashankar (Shiva) has just come after bathing and is seated on his throne; while applying Vibhuti (ash) with water from the Ganga to wear the Tripundra on his forehead, the two upper lines are moist and thus black, while the third lower line has dried immediately, revealing its whiteness and showing a smiling face—is he perhaps absorbed in the teasing of his companions? Such strange flights of fancy automatically arise in the minds of the poetic!

The twelve Jyotirlingas exist in Bharatkhand (the Indian subcontinent), and their great glory has been described in the Puranas. There is no objection in saying that the description of this 'Chakravarthi' (Universal Emperor) Linga closely resembles the description of the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Linga in modern times.

The ten-headed Ravana, the king of meat and liquor-consuming demons, pleased Bholashankar Sadashiva and obtained his Atmalinga on certain conditions. Because his conduct did not comply with those conditions, the Linga became Svayambhu (self-manifested). Although the mighty King Ravana tried to pull it out by force, it took the form of a cow's ear and eventually became unattainable to him. It was because of this quality that its appropriate name, 'Gokarna Mahabaleshwar,' came into usage.

Similarly, even though this Shivalinga was sent from Kolkata for the international exhibition of the meat and liquor-consuming American people due to the influence of their intense desire, its significance was incomprehensible to those impure-mannered people. Like a hidden ruby, it remained in a secret state until today, having traveled through four continents and across the seven seas. By doing so, it earned the title of 'Sarvabhauma' or 'Chakravarthi' (Universal Emperor).

To receive the uninterrupted service of the loving devotees here, and to be installed by the hands of the most holy and meritorious Shrimad Atmananda Saraswati Gaudapadacharya Swami Maharaj, it appeared with great eagerness at the Shri Khanapur Math on the banks of the Malaprabha River on the auspicious occasion of Deepavali, on Monday, the 30th day of the dark fortnight of Ashwina, in the Shaka year 1819! Truly, how extraordinary is this event!!

The story of its Pratishtha

Thereafter, thoughts began in the Samsthan (institution) regarding where to install this Linga. However, at that time, due to the outbreak of diseases that had emerged everywhere in India, which began to affect areas around Khanapur and Belgaum, and because of his own physical discomfort, upon the advice of the Sadd-gruhastha (good people/disciples) and disciples, Shri Atmananda Saraswati Swami, along with his newly initiated disciple-Swami and his family, moved to the Math at Kavale in Gomantak (Goa) in the month of Margashirsha of the Shaka year 1819. He entrusted the daily and occasional duties to the disciple-Swami, Shri Poornananda Saraswati Swami and remained only on Anupana (liquid sustenance/medicine). But, in accordance with the saying of Kalidasa, 'Death is the nature of living beings,' on Saturday night, the 12th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Margashirsha in the Shaka year 1820, he left the company of this mortal earth and became Brahmabhut (attained union with the Supreme). Due to many such unavoidable difficulties, the occasion for the installation of this Shivalinga was postponed.

Shri Poornananda Saraswati Swamiji

After a couple of years, after taking care of renovation activities in the old branches of Kavale Math and having completed various teertha yatras, Shri Poornananda Saraswati Swami arrived at the holy teertha of Gokarna. Having taken up the task of constructing the monastery (Math) that had been stalled for a long time, [they] completed it satisfactorily. In this very Gokarna Math, the ‘Chakravarthi Shivalinga’, about which information was provided earlier, was installed on February 29, 1920.

Sri Chakravathi Lingam, as in 2025, at Gokarna branch of Kavale Math.
Notice that it is West facing, as clear from the direction of the pranala (should face north)

Note - I visited the Gokarna shakha of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math in June 2026 and saw this lingam, which made me remember this article. With His motivation, i shared this information for everyone's benefit. Namah Parvati Pate Hara Hara Mahadev.

Saffron Payas (Kesar ka Payas)

 Description: This payas (pudding) is excellent.

Ingredients

• Khoa / Mawa (Condensed milk solids): 2 Chhatak (~115g)
• Almonds: 3 Tola (~35g)
• Fine Rice Flour: 1 Chhatak (~58g)
• Sugar: 1.25 Tola (~12g) (Note: Written in old Hindi fractional notation as १॥)
• Milk: 1.5 Seer (~1.4 Liters)
• White Batasha (Crisp sugar drops): 1 Paav (~250g)
• Saffron (Kesar): 5 to 6 Ratti (~0.6g to 0.7g)
• Rose Water: 2 to 4 drops

Instructions

Part 1: Making the Dumplings

1. First, take 2 chhatak of khoa (mawa) and 3 tola of almonds, and grind them together thoroughly on a grinding stone (sil).
2. Next, mix in 1 chhatak of fine rice flour and 1.5 tola of sugar into the ground mixture.
3. Shape this entire mixture into small, chickpea-sized balls (dumplings).

Part 2: Preparing the Pudding

4. Place 1.5 seer of milk on the fire to heat, and mix in 1 paav of white batasha.
5. When the milk reduces and becomes sufficiently thick, add 5 to 6 ratti of saffron to it.
6. Then, gently drop all the prepared dumplings into the milk.
7. After a short while, remove the pot from the fire.
8. Once the pudding cools down, add 2 to 4 drops of rose water and mix.

The Relative nature of Good Taste

We often say Indian food is the tastiest, but what is Indian food? Is it Mughlai, Punjabi, dosa, or fafda?

Making a general statement like "I love Indian food" isn't entirely accurate. Within our own country, people have a vast range of what constitutes good taste:

• The Mustard Oil Debate: One person may absolutely love Bengali food, while another might intensely dislike the smell of mustard oil.

• The Coconut Oil Divide: Many Malayalis love coconut oil-based sweets and dishes, but others may not appreciate the flavor profile.

• The Spice Myth: Statements like "If you like spicy food, you will love Indian cuisine" are fundamentally flawed. Not all Indian food is spicy! Many regional natives prefer bland, minimally spiced food.

• The Sweet Element: Certain communities in Gujarat and Maharashtra add sugar to most of their curries, viewing sweetness as a basic component of savory taste.

With all of this background, the central question emerges: What constitutes the basic definition of good taste?

Unfortunately (or fortunately), there is no single answer. Taste is deeply tied to an individual's conditioning and cultural upbringing. The cuisines of each region and culture have been shaped over centuries by a variety of dynamic factors:

Climate & Availability ➔ Unexpected Migrations ➔ Intermingling of Food Cultures

There are a few key points we should appreciate regarding the science behind Indian food. Our ancestors were incredibly intelligent. They didn't just cook for flavor; they engineered a cuisine based on two pillars:

1. Natural Abundance & Influence: They utilized the resources available around them while absorbing the rich culinary influences that arrived over time.

2. Medicinal Prevention: They understood that food, while nourishing, can cause side effects that vary based on climate and geography.

The Big Misconception: We often think certain spices are added purely to enhance taste. In reality, the food culture was engineered to hone our taste buds from childhood toward locally available ingredients that mitigate the after-effects of the meal.

Flavor vs. Function

Ingredient	Common Companion	True Functional Purpose
Asafoetida (Hing)	Potatoes / Lentils	Reduces flatulence and aids digestion
Cumin (Jeera)	Heavy Vegetables	Stimulates digestion and cools the gut
Carom Seeds (Ajwain)	Starchy Foods	Relieves bloating and gas

Our appreciation for these flavors is a cultivated taste, born out of a cultural necessity for health and balance.

Ultimately, taste is an entirely cultural phenomenon and cannot be subjected to generalized assumptions. Because food habits are so deeply personal and regional, one should never take it as a prestige issue if someone from a different culture is unable to appreciate their native cuisine.

A Ghost comes to Bombay after Three Centuries

Note - This is available in the archives of Asiatic Society.

The Bombay Chronicle

BOMBAY: OCTOBER 26, 1941

A GHOST COMES TO TOWN

Antonio De Mello De Castro Revisits Bombay After Three Centuries!

By G. N. ACHARYA

Straight out of the pages of history he walked up to me.

Bridging the gulf of three centuries, the great Viceroy of King John IV of Portugal, who, in the face of the definite treaty between his king and his royal son-in-law, the British king, Charles II, had quibbled and hoaxed the British and postponed the cession of Bombay for nearly two and a half years, came and stood near me with imploring looks. The statesman who had so clearly foreseen that "India will be lost the same day on which the English nation is settled in Bombay" now stood before me with an humble request, writ large in his gleaming eyes.

"Do you know me?" he asked.

"I know you, Antonio de Mello de Castro", I said. "I have heard much of you."

"And do you know Bombay very well."

"I do."

"Please, will you take me round Bombay, and show it to me," he implored.

Then And Now

"Are you mad, De Castro" said I, "show you the whole of Bombay; it is impossible. Do you think that Bombay is still a series of swamps and mud flats, with paddy fields and palm groves and a few villages and fishermen's settlements dotting its coast, as it was in your days. No, no. It is a great city now. From Mahim where in your days may still have lain the ruins of Mahikavati, the ancient town built by the Rastrakuta king Bhimadeva, right away and inclusive of the two southern islets which in your day were peopled by deep sea-fishers; from the western promontory of the wooded hill of Malabar where stood the cleft rock known to the pilgrims of your days as 'Srigundi', to the flourishing docks in the East whose foundations were laid in later years by Lowji Nassarwanji Wadia, there stands now a solid phalanx of no less than 65,000 buildings. In the place of the bare 10,000 people who were spread over the seven villages and a few smaller settlements of your day, there now live in this city as many as a million and a half human souls."

"I know," interrupted De Castro. "I have heard that through a series of geographical, political and social transformations, the poor island which I knew has grown up to be a splendid and populous city. That is why I want to see it, the whole of it. Not only do I want to see this city from outside, but I want to go into the homes and hearths of its denizens and watch their lives, their sorrows and sufferings, their pain and travail, their pleasures and joys, their hopes and aspirations; I want to see them in the exultation of their desires fulfilled, their tasks achieved, I want to see them in their despair and despondency of frustrated wishes. I want to watch them at labour, I want to watch them in the monotony of their leisure and employment, I want to see the whole of the human drama, which every day is enacted in the thousands of homes and other resorts of the people of this city."

Rock of Regeneration

It was a tall order. But there was no resisting De Castro. Somehow I was carried away by his request and agreed to survey the city as a whole.

And so, in order first to give him a bird's eye-view of the whole city, I took him up the Malabar Hill. Going along the well kept roads, lined by the houses of the leisured rich, De Castro told me how the whole area was in his day a thickly wooded hill. As late as 1842 there were but four bungalows on Malabar Hill. But near the southern tip of the hill, about the place where now stands the Government House, were the ruins of the temple of Walkeswaram or the Sand God which had been put up by the Silahara Kings of Chaul between the eighth and twelfth century A.D. The present temple of Walkeshwar was yet to be built by Rama Kamati early in the 18th century. To this temple and to the cleft rock, known as 'Srigundi' or the rock of regeneration, a long line of pilgrims wended its way up the hill along a narrow flight of steps whose memory is retained to us in the Siri (Sidi or steps) Road. It was reputed that even the great Shivaji who was a contemporary of De Castro, had come secretly and crawled through the rock-cleft, as it was considered to be very meritorious to do so.

And may be in the near future, the jungle path up the hill, once trod by devoted pilgrims' feet, will be spanned by a rattling, electric trolley-bus.

From the commanding position of the Malabar Hill, we looked down on the endless forest of buildings, packed close to each other and spreading far and away to the harbour and northward in a bend beyond our view. There stretched at our feet the heart of stirring and living commerce, the noise and bustle of a city in which beat the quick pulse of gain, and watching it we exchanged notes on what it was on that first day of February in 1665, when the British took possession of it and what it had grown up to be.

"Giri-Gaum"

The most important point of the island, then, De Castro told me, was a pretty, well-seated, but ill-fortified house, situated behind the present site of the Town Hall. About the house was a delicate garden, supposed to be the pleasantest in the land. To the south-west of this house and garden, was a certain area of open ground, and somewhere about the present site of the Elphinstone High School was a Franciscan Church. From here right away up to the foot of the Malabar Hill and the limits of the modern section of Mahalaxmi, was an almost unbroken line of cocoanut plantations, interspersed with paddy fields. Scattered among the palms were small villages, composed for the most part of rude, palm-roofed huts. Here and there might be seen a few better class dwellings, tiled and glazed with oyster cells, the property of the white men, across the sea, the Portuguese, who had acquired ownership of these lands.

To the south of the house, already mentioned, was the parish of Polo (the present Apollo Bunder) which contained a few huts and looked across an arm of the sea to the island of Colaba. To the north was a congeries of rude dwellings and a 'Mandovim' (a corruption of Mandvi) or Custom House. The modern Mandvi which to-day echoes the rumble of the bullock-carts and the shrill creaking of lorries, was lost in the voice of the waves which claimed the neighbourhood as the ocean's portion. Across a creek which separated it from the island of Bombay was the hill of Dongri and next to it the great fishing village of Mazagaon or Mazgaon. There was here a manor house and a Franciscan Church and a fairly prosperous township of Bhandaris and Kolis.

Still farther north was the village of Parel with yet another Franciscan Church. This Church was later converted to the use of the British Governors and still later came to be used as a plague hospital. Due west of Parel was the island of Vadali or Worli containing a small fort and hut settlement of the fisher folk. And farthest of all was Mahim where the Church of St. Michael, the first church to be built by the Portuguese, was the centre of Christian life.

But in three centuries the whole scene has been changed beyond recognition. "Let us go down and see things more closely" said De Castro. "Take me first to where the mountain village of Giri-Gaum stood."

Girgaum to-day is neither a mountain nor a village and the scenes and sounds of Girgaum made De Castro sick and dizzy. The 'hoot hoot' of the fast moving automobiles startled him; the rattle of trams and the roar of the trains distressed him. He was positively afraid of the huge double decker buses of which the B.E.S.T. is so proud. Those red-breasted monsters, hurtling along the highways, like temple cars in flight, struck terror into him.

(The article is incomplete. I had kept it for the notes on Walkeshwar and Shrigundi)

Walkeshwar | The Miracle of 'Shrigundi' (Rebirth)

Near the Walkeshwar temple, Brahmins established a unique ritual for atonement (Prayashchit). This practice was well-known by the end of the previous century. Instead of the various difficult penances—like sacrifices, chanting, or charity—prescribed by ancient sages like Manu or Yajnavalkya, the Goan Brahmins who reached North Konkan devised a clever and simpler method to burn away sins and achieve a 'rebirth'.

This method involved a large hollowed-out rock with a narrow opening. A person would enter through the top and squeeze out through the bottom hole, symbolizing a new birth from the womb. Around 1757, the traveler Grose noted that Hindus went through this to be purified of sins, though he remarked that the hole seemed too narrow for a person of average size. However, many large-bodied people successfully passed through it. This rock gained great fame in nearby villages.

• Kanhoji Angre reportedly passed through this hole once at night.

• Edward Moor (1810) wrote that many pilgrims used it for rebirth.

• Raghoba Peshwa stayed at Walkeshwar for some time and frequently passed through this rock.

• It is even said Shivaji Maharaj passed through it.

This rock is called Shrigundi or Sirgundi. This is a Konkani word, and its original form is likely 'Shrigundo'.

Note - There is a temple dedicated to Shri Gundi Devi, restored in 2015 by the Governor.

Ruins of Temple in Shri Gundi Temple (courtesy: theworldofshan insta)

Ruins of Temple in Shri Gundi Temple (courtesy: theworldofshan insta)

Ruins of Temple in Shri Gundi Temple (courtesy: theworldofshan insta)

Seems the ruins are worshipped as Shri Gundi Devi

PS. A video where a similar re-birth is shown performed by the Tribal community, signifying return to their original religion.