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[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

I am now commencing the task of disseminating information from

material that I brought along with me from India. I shall begin

with the Subhashita Nivi of Swami Vedanta Desikan from Sri. M.K.

Srinivasan's translation of this wonderful work of our Paramacharyan.

 

The term Desikan means "One who reveals the path". True to his name,

Swami Desikan reveals the ways of the uninitiated, the the ways of the

arrogant, the ways of the wicked, the ways of the ill-mannered, the ways

of the unworthy, the path of the noble, the path of the equanimous, the

path of the accessible, the path of the righteous, the path of the

generous, the path of virtuous poets, and finally, the path of the

arbiters in his treasure house of wise sayings. Swami Desikan conveys his

message in chaste Sanskrit in twelve exquisitely compiled sections

containing twelve gems each. Sri Uttamur Veeraraghavachariar Swamigal

has expounded on the several-fold meanings of these verses and has brought

out the many nuances of these verses to consummate effect in his

commentaries, which may be of interest to readers seeking an in depth

analysis of our Paramacharyan's collosus. This work was published by

Ubhaya Vedanta Grantha Mala Publishers in 1971 (India Printing Works,

Mylapore, Madras 600004).

 

The work "Subhashita Nivi", translated to mean "Treasure of Good sayings"

was composed by Swami Desikan at the request of King Mahendra Simha

Bhoopala, who sought a non-religious, non-philosophical treatise for

general discussion when in the Sabha with his ministers and courtiers.

Accordingly, Swami Desikan composed this work of 144 verses on ethics,

morals and human beahvior, consisting of twelve sections of twelve verses

each. The first five sections deal with the ways of the undesirable ones

while the remaining seven are devoted to the ways of teh virtuous.

Additionally, Swami Desikan also conveyed several interpretations of

each verse to the king's poets before delivering the work to

the king. It is reported that the king, his courtiers, ministers and

poets revelled in the varied meaning of the verses and greatly benefitted

from them.

 

These verses, containing pearls of wisdom from our Paramacharyan, are

relevant even in today's modern world and should benefit many in their

pursuits for personal elevation.

 

I shall present the translation from Sri. M.K. Srinivasan's

book in this multi-part series. I request other members who may have the

original text to post them at their convenience for the benefit of

the group.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy