Bhagavadgeeta & Mankutimmana Kagga - Introduction
This blog topic is an answer for my very own search to sit and read to understand at my own pace - the epic Bhagavadgita in layman terms. Mankutimmana Kagga happens to explore the statements in gita at a more finer level. I made up my mind to have this in written form after listening to 'Guruaj Karjigi"'s narration of this series on his youtube channel. Often times, I felt to revisit a single poem or lines but i ended by re-listening to entire audio as I couldn't trace to exact minute of what i wanted. Hence, with all due credits to 'Gururaj Karjigi' sir for his effort and beautiful narration - my posts here are a mere attempt to pen down what he beautifully explained, so I have something in text to refer back, multiple times, as needed - to exact poem or sloka or context.
Below are my sources and I sincerely thank them for helping me in my quest to get better hold of the epic.
Dr Gururaj Karajagi : Makutimmana Kagga mattu Bhagavadgeete
Kagga Source : DVG Mankutimmana Kagga
What is BhagavadGeeta?
Author: Vyasa (Veda Vyasa : 3rd millennium BCE)
Language: Sanskrit
Verses: 700
Bhagavad Geeta, often referred as Gita, is a 700 verse Hindu scripture which is part of epic 'Mahabharata' (Bhishma Parva). The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At the start of the Dharma Yudhha (righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his own kin. He wonders if he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.
What is Mankutimmana Kagga?
Author: D.V Gundappa (Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa : 17 March 1887 – 7 October 1975)
Language: Kannada
Verses: 945
Mankuthimmana Kagga, written by Dr. D. V. Gundappa and published in 1943, is one of the best known of the major literary works in Kannada. The title of the work can be translated as "Dull Thimma's Rigmarole". Kagga is a collection of 945 poems, each being four lines in length. Some of these poems are written in old Kannada. Kagga poems are profound as well as poetic. Though the author calls it an 'a foggy fools farrago', it is a book giving expression to a noble personality's rich experiences.
How are the related?
Gita is often used as supreme guide or encyclopedia for setting a benchmark in living ones life to his or her atmost fulfillment among Hindus. There are many personalities in history (and present) who claim to have been influenced by Gita. DVG is one such of a person. Deeply inspired and influenced by Gita, his composition 'Srimad BhagavadGita Tatparya' received Sahitya Academy Award. Mankutimmana Kagga explores deeper questions of life, contemplates on the meaning of the Ultimate Truth (reality) and advises us to lead a balanced life in this complex and ever-changing world. Thus, Kagga advises us to follow the middle path while extending one hand towards the Ultimate Truth and the other hand to the phenomenal world. The message of many of the verses from Kagga is "samatwa". This surprisingly strikes so many parallels with Bhagavas Gita and hence Kagga is widely referred to as the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada.
Below are few quotes from noted personalities on BhagavadGita and Mankutimmana Kagga:
Quotes on Bhagavad Gita:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: "When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day".
Sri Aurobindo: "Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Swami Vivekananda: "The Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Vedas and the Upanishads"
Henry David Thoreau: "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."
Sunita Williams: carried a copy of Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads with her to space & said "Those are spiritual things to reflect upon yourself,life, world around you and see things other way, I thought it was quite appropriate"
Annie Besant : "That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us—such is the central lesson of the Bhagavad-Gītā."
Quotes on Mankutimmana Kagga:
Kuvempu: "When I got it in my hand I laughed at it. As I kept reading and reading, I felt so much reverence that I touched it to my fore-head. I became very serious. At the pinnacle of the realization – I folded my hands and bowed to your book.” – Mankutimma"
ಹಸ್ತಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೆ ನಕ್ಕೆ; ಓದುತ್ತ ಓದುತ್ತ ।
ಮಸ್ತಕಕ್ಕಿಟ್ಟು ಗಂಭೀರವಾದೆ ॥
ವಿಸ್ತರದ ದರ್ಶನಕೆ ತುತ್ತತುದಿಯಲಿ ನಿನ್ನ ।
ಪುಸ್ತಕಕೆ ಕೈಮುಗಿದೆ – ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ॥
Come board the train and lets leave on a long travel in understanding this life through two of the greatest works - Gita and MK. Happy Journey!
Below are my sources and I sincerely thank them for helping me in my quest to get better hold of the epic.
Dr Gururaj Karajagi : Makutimmana Kagga mattu Bhagavadgeete
Kagga Source : DVG Mankutimmana Kagga
What is BhagavadGeeta?
Author: Vyasa (Veda Vyasa : 3rd millennium BCE)
Language: Sanskrit
Verses: 700
Bhagavad Geeta, often referred as Gita, is a 700 verse Hindu scripture which is part of epic 'Mahabharata' (Bhishma Parva). The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At the start of the Dharma Yudhha (righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his own kin. He wonders if he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.
What is Mankutimmana Kagga?
Author: D.V Gundappa (Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa : 17 March 1887 – 7 October 1975)
Language: Kannada
Verses: 945
Mankuthimmana Kagga, written by Dr. D. V. Gundappa and published in 1943, is one of the best known of the major literary works in Kannada. The title of the work can be translated as "Dull Thimma's Rigmarole". Kagga is a collection of 945 poems, each being four lines in length. Some of these poems are written in old Kannada. Kagga poems are profound as well as poetic. Though the author calls it an 'a foggy fools farrago', it is a book giving expression to a noble personality's rich experiences.
How are the related?
Gita is often used as supreme guide or encyclopedia for setting a benchmark in living ones life to his or her atmost fulfillment among Hindus. There are many personalities in history (and present) who claim to have been influenced by Gita. DVG is one such of a person. Deeply inspired and influenced by Gita, his composition 'Srimad BhagavadGita Tatparya' received Sahitya Academy Award. Mankutimmana Kagga explores deeper questions of life, contemplates on the meaning of the Ultimate Truth (reality) and advises us to lead a balanced life in this complex and ever-changing world. Thus, Kagga advises us to follow the middle path while extending one hand towards the Ultimate Truth and the other hand to the phenomenal world. The message of many of the verses from Kagga is "samatwa". This surprisingly strikes so many parallels with Bhagavas Gita and hence Kagga is widely referred to as the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada.
Below are few quotes from noted personalities on BhagavadGita and Mankutimmana Kagga:
Quotes on Bhagavad Gita:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: "When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day".
Sri Aurobindo: "Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Swami Vivekananda: "The Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Vedas and the Upanishads"
Henry David Thoreau: "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."
Sunita Williams: carried a copy of Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads with her to space & said "Those are spiritual things to reflect upon yourself,life, world around you and see things other way, I thought it was quite appropriate"
Annie Besant : "That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us—such is the central lesson of the Bhagavad-Gītā."
Quotes on Mankutimmana Kagga:
Kuvempu: "When I got it in my hand I laughed at it. As I kept reading and reading, I felt so much reverence that I touched it to my fore-head. I became very serious. At the pinnacle of the realization – I folded my hands and bowed to your book.” – Mankutimma"
ಹಸ್ತಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೆ ನಕ್ಕೆ; ಓದುತ್ತ ಓದುತ್ತ ।
ಮಸ್ತಕಕ್ಕಿಟ್ಟು ಗಂಭೀರವಾದೆ ॥
ವಿಸ್ತರದ ದರ್ಶನಕೆ ತುತ್ತತುದಿಯಲಿ ನಿನ್ನ ।
ಪುಸ್ತಕಕೆ ಕೈಮುಗಿದೆ – ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ॥
Come board the train and lets leave on a long travel in understanding this life through two of the greatest works - Gita and MK. Happy Journey!
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