Author: Pavan Kumar Garikapati

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Rāmo Vigrahavān Dharmaḥ: The Sixteen Lakṣaṇas as a Complete Condition-Set of Dharma
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July 22, 2026July 22, 2026ESSAY

Rāmo Vigrahavān Dharmaḥ: The Sixteen Lakṣaṇas as a Complete Condition-Set of Dharma

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What does it truly mean to call Rāma "Vigrahavān Dharmaḥ" - the embodiment of Dharma? Drawing on the opening verses of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, this essay argues that the sixteen lakṣaṇas are not merely admirable virtues but a complete and indispensable condition-set for the embodiment of Dharma. Through a rigorous śāstric analysis of pramāṇa, lakṣaṇa, and embodiment, it presents a compelling philosophical framework that reveals why Rāma is not simply a follower of Dharma, but its fullest living manifestation.

Category Errors in the Study of Bharatīya Jñāna Paramparā
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April 16, 2026April 16, 2026PERSPECTIVE, PHILOSOPHY

Category Errors in the Study of Bharatīya Jñāna Paramparā

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Modern scholarship often misreads Bharatīya Jñāna Paramparā by forcing it into text-centric, innovation-driven frameworks that do not match its transmission-based nature. This article argues that the confusion arises from deep category errors about what knowledge is and where it resides. Rather than a collection of texts, the tradition functions as an integrated epistemic architecture sustained through guru–śiṣya paramparā. Recognising this distinction reframes continuity not as stagnation, but as disciplined preservation of valid knowing.

Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ: The Discipline of Stillness in Pātañjala Yoga
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January 12, 2026January 12, 2026COMMENTARY

Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ: The Discipline of Stillness in Pātañjala Yoga

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The author explains that Yoga is not a technique of suppression but a disciplined process of stilling the mind’s fluctuations - Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ. Drawing on Vyāsa’s Bhāṣya, nirodhaḥ is presented as a progressive settling of mental modifications back into their unmanifest source. As the vṛttis dissolve, puruṣa is no longer obscured by reflection in citta and abides in its own svarūpa. Yoga thus culminates not in transformation, but in the revelation of the seer’s ever-present clarity.