गुरवे नमः (Salutations to Guru)

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो  महेश्वरः |
गुरुस्साक्षात्  परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ||

This is probably one of the most common and widely recited shlokas in Indian households and schools. As can be seen, it is very simple; but at the same time, it is often written and recited wrongly.

The above can be re-written after splitting the sandhis as below:

गुरुः ब्रह्मा गुरुः विष्णुः गुरुः देवः महेश्वरः |
गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ||

Here are some examples of common mistakes done in this shloka:

गुरुः looses विसर्ग and becomes just गुरु

and hence, गुरुर्ब्रह्मा or गुरुः ब्रह्मा becomes गुरु ब्रह्मा (similarly with विष्णुः and महेश्वरः)

गुरुस्साक्षात् or गुरुः साक्षात्  becomes गुरुसाक्षात् or गुरुर्साक्षात्

गुरवे  very commonly becomes गुरुवे
(Note that when saluting, चतुर्थी विभक्ति is used for whom salutations are done. चतुर्थी विभक्ति form of गुरु is गुरवे)

परब्रह्म becomes परं ब्रह्म or परब्रह्मा or परब्रह्मः
(Note that in “गुरुः ब्रह्मा”, ब्रह्मा is the प्रथमा विभक्ति एकवचन form of पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine gender) ब्रह्मन् शब्दः which goes as  ब्रह्मा, ब्रह्माणौ, ब्रह्माणः ‘while in “परब्रह्म” it is the नपुंसकल्लिङ्ग (Neuter gender) form of ब्रह्मन् which goes as ‘ब्रह्म, ब्रह्मणी, ब्रह्माणि’. ब्रह्मा is used to denote the 1st God of the Trinity (Brahma Vishnu Maheshwara), but परब्रह्म is used to denote the Supreme Brahman.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಶ್ಲೋಕವನ್ನು ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹೀಗೆ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು:

ಗುರು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ಗುರು ವಿಷ್ಣು  ಗುರು ದೇವೋ ಮಹೇಶ್ವರಃ |
ಗುರು ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ ಪರಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ತಸ್ಮೈ  ಶ್ರೀಗುರುವೇ ನಮಃ ||

ಮೂಲ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಶ್ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದಾಗ ಇದು ಅಶುದ್ಧ ಎನಿಸಿದರೂ, ಕನ್ನಡದ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಇದು almost ಸರಿಯೆನ್ನಬಹುದು! ಗುರುವೇ (ಗುರವೇ ಗೆ ಬದಲಾಗಿ) ಎಂದು ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿ ಬಳಸಿದರೂ, ಕನ್ನಡದ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇದು ಸರಿ. (ಇನ್ನೂ ಸರಿ ಎಂದರೆ ಗುರುವಿಗೆ ನಮಃ ಎನ್ನಬೇಕು, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ ಚತುರ್ಥೀ ವಿಭಕ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ)

Trekking in Shiradi Ghats: Venkatagiri and Arebetta

My third trek to Shiradi Ghats was supposed to be an easy trek. But at the end, we had hiked and trekked for around 25km in 2 days, which included thick forests, grasslands and railway track! But it was all worth, since from the vantage point of Arebetta peak, we got a top view of Shiradi range in its entirety – peaks all around, Kempu Hole river in the valley, Mangalore-Hassan railway line and the NH48 highway!

We had planned the trek in 2nd weekend of November, but rain played spoilsport again and forced us to postpone our plans by a week. On the eve of November’s 3rd weekend, we were all set to board the night bus to Kukke Subramanya, when I received a call from Sreekanth, who had reached Kukke a day earlier to do a solo trek to Kumara Parvata. Naren and I were supposed to join him in Gundya on Saturday night. Sreekanth informed us that he had just witnessed one of the harshest of rains while getting down from Kumara Parvata and he was bone-wet when he reached Gundya IB. Understandably he didn’t sound very encouraging and asked us to rethink on our plans of leaving Bangalore. Weather report said that there would be thunderstorms starting from 5PM on Saturday and I decided to try our luck. Naren was more than willing to proceed with the plan as he was trek-starved since his last trek to Ettina Bhuja an year back.

At 5AM we reached Gundya and stopped directly in front of IB. It was pitch dark all around and I realized that after having lived in well-lit city like Bangalore for long time,  my sensory organs have lost some shine and we were forced to use torch to walk a few yards into the IB. Sreekanth was woken up from his sleep and we just casually retired into the beds and next thing I know is Sreekanth waking me up at 7AM. After a nice hot water bath and a good Neerdose breakfast, we were ready to start by 8.30AM. This time I had insisted that we just need one guide, since the guides of Gundya were pretty expensive and they normally charged more than twice compared to their Charmadi counterparts.

We had done Mugilagiri during our 1st visit and Aramane Gudde in the 2nd visit to Shiradi. This time we had planned to cover Venkatagiri on Day 1 and Arebetta on Day 2.

Day 1

This time, the trail started pretty close to Gundya IB. Infact from the bridge (over Vidya river) near IB, we can see Venkatagiri peak very clearly.

Venkatagiri peak as seen from IB, Gundya

After a few meters of walk we took the left deviation into a village road that leads to Venkataramana temple. Venkatagiri probably gets its name from this temple. After walking for around 500m, when the guide led us into the forest, our base altitude was 250m. We walked beside the Matsyadhara stream for a brief while before crossing it.  The forest floor was wet due to overnight rain and as expected there were leeches. We used pain-relief spray to counter them and sprayed it on our shoes and pants in liberal quantities. Similar to our Mugilagiri trek, this trail also had tons of leeches and we would have been in trouble but for the pain-relief spray, which turned to be a very effective way to counter leeches.

By 9.30AM we felt relieved to come out of forest and touch the Hassan-Mangalore railway line (440m) near tunnel 34.

Goods train near tunnel 34

We took a 30min break here and got rid of leeches from our clothes.  From here we had to climb over the tunnel towards Venkatagiri peak. We entered the forests again and after a 30min climb touched grasslands at 600m. From this point, towards East, we could clearly see the bridge near IB from where we had started the trek. Towards Northwest, we could see Amedikal and Ettina Bhuja peaks of the Charmadi range. Venkatagiri peak was visible at a height in the Southeast direction.

Venkatagiri peak as seen from the trail

 

Looking back …

We continued our trek towards the peak and reached the base (665m) of Venkatagiri peak at 11AM.  This area had elephant dung all round the place and looked like a camping place for elephants.

Mushroom growing on elephant dung

Towards north, Mugilagiri range was visible. It was almost midday, but being true to its name, the Mugilagiri peak was covered by clouds.

We started on the final ascent to Venkatagiri which involved a continuous uphill climb through grasslands. At 11.45AM we reached Venkatagiri peak (830m).  From Venkatagiri, Metikal gudda and Arebetta peaks were visible. It was so sunny and hot at the top and there was hardly any shade around. The place wasn’t suitable to have lunch and hence we settled just for a round of soup. We started the descent at 12.30PM. On our way back we met a team of 3 led by a guide on their ascent path in the midday sun and evidently they were struggling. They were carrying just a bottle of water and it was just crazy of them to attempt a peak with such meager resources. Their guide borrowed some water from us and he shared his concern with our guide. Apparently his group had taken a lot of beer before starting and he was worried about getting them back safely.

Train seen from Venkatagiri

We reached back the base at 1.15PM and finished  lunch.  At 2.30PM we were back at tunnel 34 from where we had started.  Our plan was to spend the night in Arebetta railway station which was 5km from here and 8 tunnels away. Thus we embarked on the next leg of our trek which was on the railway track. This brought back memories of my railway track trek that I had done on this very same route years back when trains weren’t running on this route when it was still a meter gauge line. Now this route has been converted to broad guage and passenger trains and a lot of goods train run on this line.

Arebetta as seen from Venkatagiri

Walking on the railway line is very uncomfortable, especially when you are in the last leg of your trek. We crossed many bridges and dark tunnels on the way. Just before reaching Arebetta station, we even took time and had evening coffee on the railway track. Mugilagiri range remained visible towards left throughout our walk. On the rocks beside the track, we could see a lot of wild banana pants (a variety of banana which grows on rocks called Kallu baLe in Kannada)

Wild banana seen adjacent to railway track

We finally reached the Arebetta station at 5PM. Arebetta station isn’t operational yet, but it has a few houses built for railway officials where we had planned to stay. There was a big group of Bihari migrant workers staying at the station after their day’s work. But fortunately we got a room to stay in a house occupied by the contractor who was overseeing the repair work being performed by this Bihari labourers.  Thus the night was spent at a comfortable location. It rained slightly in the night.

Day 2

The day’s plan was to reach the peak of Arebetta. We woke up in the morning to the sweet music of flutes being played by Bihari workers who were staying next door. It was pleasing to see that despite their hard life, they still managed to play music. In fact they were skilled enough to prepare their own flutes from the bamboo shoots they picked from the forests. We had to do a bit of convincing to get them out and play to the camera, as they were too shy to perform in front of the camera.

Here is a short video (courtesy Sreekanth) of them playing flute.

Naren plays flute and was specially interested in them and tried his hands (well… mouth as well) on their flutes. He even managed to get a flute gifted to him!

Arebetta as seen from railway line

We started to trek at 8AM. The initial part of the trek is on the railway track. We entered into forest after tunnel 27 and started climbing over it. There is a trail from here till the top of Arebetta. Part of this trail was built during a survey for a power project by KPCL. It looked like nobody had used these trail recently after rains and it was getting consumed by forest growth at many places. The steepness also added to the difficulty as it involved a continuous ascent.  To make it more difficult our guide lost his way more than once and deviated from man made trail into elephant tracks. The trail was full of elephant dungs and some of them looked quite fresh. We were doing the scariest part of our ascent through these trails and encountering a herd of elephants here would be least surprising! Our hearts pumped up for a second when Naren and I observed a disturbance in the forest canopy a few meters down the valley and assumed that it must be because of elephants. But our guide concluded that it is more likely be a herd of monkeys.

Mugilagiri as seen from Arebetta

After wandering around in elephant trails for some time, we rejoined the actual trail after which the ascent became a bit easier. However at 780m the forest ended and grassland started. We were now walking through the head-high elephant grass. Last two hundred meters  ascent through this grass was a bit challenging as it was steep and also the grass was so sharp that it could easily cause cuts in the skin. We were at Arebetta peak (940m) at 10AM.

The contrast between Arebetta and Methikallu

Arebetta in Kannada can be loosely translated as a ‘lessor hill’, but when it comes to the views from the peak, Arebetta is second to none. In fact, this was the peak where we had the best view of the Shiradi Ghats. One can have a panoramic view of mountain ranges all around from Arebetta. Arebetta creates two valleys, one towards North where Mugilagiri and Aramane Gudde range is present on the other side of the Valley. Towards South after the valley, Metikallu range which distinguishes itself with complete forest cover and no grasslands even at its peak.  Roughly towards East, the ranges near Sakaleshpura, Edakumeri and Devarabetta are visible.

Here is a short video of the peaks seen from Arebetta (courtesy Sreekanth)

Venkatagiri as seen from Arebetta

Down in the valley towards North, both NH48 and the railway line are visible.

Methikallu gudda as seen from Arebetta

We spent close to an hour at the peak. It was very windy at the top. We left the peak at 11AM and were back at Arebetta station at 12.30PM. We had to come back to this station since we had left our backpacks here. Next it was a difficult 5km walk back on the railway line. During this walk, we met a few teams who were doing the railway track trek from Subramanya to Arebetta. I was surprised to see that railway track trek still fascinates people given that there are trains running on the track and one has to constantly be on watch out for human excreta on railway track.  At 2PM we reached tunnel 34 and took a right deviation down into a forest trail which would lead us to Gundya. This route had a lot of leeches and we had emptied close to two bottles of pain-relief spray.  At 2.30PM we touched the jeep track, went past the Venkataramana temple at 2.45PM and reached IB by 3PM.

View from Arebetta

After a grand lunch at IB, we proceeded to Subramanya, which was overflowing since we had come here on the eve of Rathotsava. Some experiences in Subramanya can be found here (in Kannada). In the evening it poured at Subramanya and as last time, we didn’t feel like having dinner, thanks to the cook at Gundya IB.

Kempu Hole as seen from Arebetta

Back in Bangalore on Monday morning, I didn’t have to count the leech bites, I just had one from the entire trek! But by evening all of us started counting harvest mite bites which are more serious and long lasting than leech bites 😦

Shlokas in daily life

Recently I was referring to some course material (learning Sanskrit through correspondence) from Samskrita-Bharati  and I came across this set of nice and simple shlokas that are useful in day-to-day life for various occasions.

1. After getting up in the morning, looking at the arms:
कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः करमध्ये सरस्वती |
करमूले स्थिता गौरी प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ||
[Lakshmi resides at the end of the arms, Saraswati in the middle and Gowri at the base. (Hence need to) look at the arms in the morning]

2. When you step on the Mother Earth:
समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले |
विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्व मे ||
[Vishnu’s wife Mother Earth has ocean as her clothes, mountains as her chest.  Devi, pardon me for stepping on you]

3. To be chanted during morning times seeking a good beginning for the day from Trinity and Navagrahas:
ब्रह्मा मुरारिस्त्रिपुरान्तकश्च भानुः शशी भूमिसुतो बुधश्च |
गुरुश्च शुक्रः शनिराहुकेतवः कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम् ||
[Trinity and nine planets, brighten my day]

4. While taking bath:
गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति |
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् सन्निधिं कुरु ||
[Hey Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarsaswati, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri – please be part of this water]

Note the use of गोदावरि सरस्वति कावेरि – here you are addressing these rivers. These should not be be pronounced as गोदावरी सरस्वती कावेरी. The former are in संबोधन प्रथमा विभक्ति and the latter are in प्रथमा विभक्ति.

5. Before starting a meal:
अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे |
ज्ञानवैराग्यसिद्ध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहि च पार्वति ||
[Hey Annapoora Parvati, grant me Bhiksha for getting knowledge and Vairagya/renunciation]

6. After lighting evening’s light/Deepa:
दीपमूले स्थितो ब्रह्मा दीपमध्ये जनार्दनः |
दीपाग्रे  शङ्करः प्रोक्तः संध्याज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तुते ||
[Brahma resides at the end of the flame, Vishnu in the middle and Maheshwara at the base.  Salutations to evening’s light]

7. When receiving teertha (holy water):
शरीरे जर्जरीभूते व्याधिग्रस्ते कलेवरे |
औषधं जाह्नवीतोयं वैद्यो नारायणो हरिः ||
[When the body is sick and suffering, Water from Ganga is the medicine and Lord Narayana is the doctor]

8. Before going to bed:
रामं स्कन्दं हनूमन्तं वैनतेयं वृकोदरम् |
शयने यः स्मरेन्नित्यं दुःस्वप्नस्तस्य नश्यति ||
[Those who remember Rama, Shanmukha/Skanda, Hanuman, Garuda and Bheema before sleeping will not get bad dreams]

I am sure there are many such Shlokas which are useful in daily life for various situations. Let me know if you know other such Shlokas.