A Brief Overview of Bhartrihari’s Hundred Verses on Detachment

By Venkataraman M

Bhartrihari is one of the important poets of Sanskrit Literature. It is said that he belonged to the first century B.C and that he was the elder brother of King Vikramaditya, the great ruler of Ujjain.

Bhartr̥ihari was not only a great King. He was a great scholar, a great poet, a great Yogi, a versatile genius and above all a great Vedantin. He has written many works in Sanskrit. Three of them are popular poems consisting of one hundred verses each. They are-the Shringara Satakam, the Niti Satakam and the Vairagya Satakam. Satakam means a work consisting of 100 verses.

Vairagya Satakam is a philosophical work dealing with the subject of liberation. Vairagyam means detachment. So, this work deals with the subject of Vairagyam as a pre requisite for liberation.

This book gives a brief overview of this poem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. VENKATARAMAN
• Release date: Sep 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223514787

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A Brief Overview of Bhartrihari’s Hundred Verses on Detachment

M. Venkataraman

Year of Publication-2023

Copyright - M. Venkataraman

Published by:

M.Venkataraman,

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Innovative Timberleaf,

Somasundarapalaya,

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Bangalore-560102.

E mail: [e-mail]

An audio book on this has also been prepared which will be available with leading audio booksellers.

Contents

Introduction

Verses 1 to 10

Verses 11 to 20

Verses 21 to 30

Verses 31 to 40

Verses 41 to 50

Verses 51 to 60

Verses 61 to 70

Verses 71 to 80

Verses 81 to 90

Verses 91 to 100

Books written and published by the Author

Audio Books published and narrated by the

Author

Introduction

Bhartrihari is one of the important poets of Sanskrit Literature. It is said that he belonged to the first century B.C and that he was the elder brother of King Vikramaditya, the great ruler of Ujjain.

Bhartr̥ihari was not only a great King. He was a great scholar, a great poet, a great Yogi, a versatile genius and above all a great Vedantin. He has written many works in Sanskrit. Three of them are popular poems consisting of one hundred verses each. They are-the Shringara Satakam, the Niti Satakam and the Vairagya Satakam. Satakam means a work consisting of 100 verses.

Vairagya Satakam is a philosophical work dealing with the subject of liberation. Vairagyam means detachment. So, this work deals with the subject of Vairagyam as a pre requisite for liberation.

According to the philosophical contents of the Upanishads, knowledge of the Self is the only means of liberation. This Self-knowledge known as Atma Gnanam requires, among others, four important qualifications. They are-discrimination, dispassion, discipline and desire for freedom.

The quality of discrimination is known as Viveka. It is discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the permanent and the impermanent. It is the discrimination between the Self and the non-Self. The quality of dispassion or detachment is known as Vairagya. It is indifference to sensual enjoyment. Vairagya will arise only through Viveka. Adi Sankara, in his Guru Paduka Stotram, salutes the sandals of the Guru. Here he says that the grace of the Guru drives away like Garuda the serpent of passion and provides one with the treasure of viveka and vairagya namely, discrimination and detachment.

कामादिसर्प व्रजगारुडाभ्यां विवेकवैराग्य निधिप्रदाभ्याम् ।

बोधप्रदाभ्यां दृतमोक्षदाभ्यां नमो नमः श्रीगुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ॥

One of these qualifications namely detachment or dispassion has been dealt with elaborately by Bhartihari in this Vairagya Satakam.

Bhartrihari acknowledges the fact that the things of the world do give some security and happiness. But the same objects also give sorrows and a sense of insecurity. This is the problem of life. This is due to the partial knowledge of the world. If we do not know the world at all, there is no problem. If we know the world completely, then also there is no problem. But when we know the world