Full Moon of the Masters

People are wondering, 'can a single man write so much? is he one author or many called by the same name?' All such bewilderment is meaningless. For one Vyasa, you are thinking like that. What about such persons of extensive calibre, not one but many down the time? Some persons write one or two books in their lifetime. But some write not one or two, but libraries of books. Occasions have been many even till our own time. Otherwise how can you explain a Ganganatha Jha? Do you know what he has produced?

A scholar who has translated into English the tough commentary of Logic, Vatsyayana's Nyaya Bhashya. And he has written his own commentary. In our scale, simply a job of lifetime. Even this alone.

And again he has translated that still more tough and dry commentary of Purva Mimamsa, Sabara Bhashya. In my scale it is a job of two lifetimes. Not only that. There is a commentary on Sabara Bhashya by Kumarila Bhatta. One commentary? Nay but two. Slokavartika and Tantravartika. All these are running into more than 1000 pages 1500 pages or 2000 pages when translated and put into printed pages. Can you imagine the tediousness of translating, that too from a highly technical treatise in Sanskrit? It is a real challenge to your powers of imagination.

The giant is not satisfied with doing all these immense jobs. He has translated Manusmriti with commentaries in five volumes. And of course he has also translated Yoga Sastra with its commentary. And there is another book, Buddhist, Tattva Sangraham by Santarakshita with the commentary of Kamalasila. Our G Jha has translated the whole text and commentary into English in two volumes, all more than 1500 pages. And Chandogya Upanishad with the commentary of Sankara translated. I am trying to list only what comes to my mind. There are many more.

In addition to all these herculean tasks, our 'Vyasa' has written a lot of original treatises, which are superb and sine qua non. Books like Purva Mimamsa in its original Sources, Sources of Hindu Law, Prabhakara School of Purva Mimamsa and again many more.

In addition, yea, in addition to all these, he has edited innumerable texts. And not to speak of hundreds of articles written for scholarly journals.

As for me, Vyasa has always been a Present Tense in our history. And he will remain so for ever. Salutations to Vyasa on this Full Moon of the Masters.

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