Duryodhana’s son, Lakshmana was a prince and was unlike his father. He met a brave end at the hands of Abhimanyu. Puranic texts say that he also had a twin sister Lakshmanaa. Duryodhana’s wife is also not named in the Mahabharata, though it says that she was kidnapped and married to her husband. Later texts name her Bhanumati. In some folk stories, she marries Arjuna after the war to end the hostility in the Kuru family. Popular lore laments the bad luck of Bhanumati – forcibly married, lost her husband & son to war and made to marry the enemy who widowed her. She is the symbol of how a woman keeps a family together in the face of setbacks. A popular Hindi saying is,
“कहीं की ईंट, कहीं का रोड़ा, भानुमति ने कुनबा जोड़ा”
“Kahin ke eent, Kahin ka rorda, Bhanumati ne kunba joda”
From disparate elements, Bhanumati created a family.
The Wikimedia image is of Raja Ravi Varma depicting Abhimanyu killing Lakhsmana.

Nanak ji spent a large part of his life on his udasis – spiritual travels where he went to important pilgrimage centres and interacted with common devotees. After his travels, Nanak ji probably returned to Punjab by 1520 since he mentions the attacks of Babur, the first Mughal. He spent the rest of his life till his passing in 1538 CE at Kartarpur, near the Indo-Pak border. Two Gurudwaras mark his stay here. Dera Baba Nanak in India, a km from the border, is where he meditated. Kartarpur Sahib 5 km across the border, marks the spot where he breathed his last. The visa free Kartarpur corridor connects the two sites now.
Source: Sikh Shrines in India; GS Randhir

High tea is often misconstrued as an incredibly lavish affair with sumptuous cakes and plenty of fine-quality tea, but the term actually originates from the Victorian era and is how the British working classes would refer to their evening meal at their ‘high table’ after a long day’s work. Afternoon tea, such as that taken by the Duchess of Bedford, was referred to as ‘low tea’ simply because one might sit in an armchair with the tea served at a side table that might be rather low.
Source: Tea Trivia, History and Recipes, Emily Kearns
Picture is a railway hoarding by Tea Cess Committee depicting a Sikh, Muslim and Hindu drinking tea, with the caption Wealth, Health and Happiness under each of these figures.

Mandukya is the shortest Upanishad with just 12 mantras. It teaches that the word OM represents the universe. Everything is Brahman and so is the self – the mahavakya ‘Ayam Atma Brahma.’
The self can be represented by four states of existence which are related to the syllables of the divine word OM – ‘A’, ‘U’, ‘M’ and a fourth soundless syllable.
The waking state is Vaisvanara which is related to ‘A’, the dream state is Taijasa related to ‘U’, the deep sleep is Prajna related to ‘M’ and there is a fourth state Chaturtha (later called Turiya by Gaudapada in his famous commentary on Mandukya) which is indescribable.
Verse 7 describes turiya as
“That is known as the fourth quarter: neither inward-turned nor outward-turned consciousness, nor the two together; not an undifferentiated mass of consciousness; neither knowing, nor unknowing; invisible, ineffable, intangible, devoid of characteristics, inconceivable, indefinable, its sole essence being the consciousness of its own Self; the coming to rest of all relative existence; utterly quiet; peaceful; blissful: without a second: this is the Ātman, the Self; this is to be realised.”
Source: Swami Krishnananda’s translation.

Garcia de Orta wrote a landmark book (published 1561) that details the medicinal properties of Indian plants & minerals and native diseases. De Orta’s Jewish family was converted to Christianity forcibly but were suspected of being secret Jews. The inquisition in Portugal targeted the converted Jews. He escaped to India and served the Portuguese viceroy. Later, he became the court physician of the Ahmednagar Sultan.

He became famous and the Portuguese gave him a lease to the then tiny island of Bombay (one of the 7 islands that make up modern Bombay) in 1553. Apparently, his family remained closet Jews. His sister was burnt at stake in Goa in the Portuguese Inquisition. He was convicted after his death in 1568 – his body was exhumed and burnt. The Portuguese would later acclaim de Orta as a hero.

De Orta had a background in the Greek-Arab school of medicine, of Galen & Avicenna. In India, he also interacted more with Muslim physicians though his book features some Ayurvedic practitioners. His work draws attention to the other traditional medical practice in India – the Unani (Greek) school, which was developed by Indian Muslim physicians adapting Greek-Arab medicine to Indian conditions. The image is that of de Orta’s statue in Lisbon. Note the herbs in his hand.

Source: Jonathan Gil Haris, “The First Firangis”

Rig Veda has the oldest reference to the Dashrajna war. Dashrajna means Ten Kings. The war was fought, approximately, by ten kings. Numbers were generally used to denote large quantities and not a specific number. Therefore the war must have been fought among a number of kings, not necessarily ten. Pashtunistan, river Ravi and river Yamuna are clearly mentioned in the verses which identifies the geography of Dashrajna war.

Bharatas were an eminent ruling class. A king named Sudas, belonging to Bharata lineage, was the victor of the Dashrajna war. Sudas and some other kings formed one side. Rishi Vashishta was their advisor. Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Anu, Druhyu and others (maybe 20) formed the opposite side. Rishi Vishwamitra, who had been impeached by King Sudas earlier, was their advisor. The Puru group cornered Sudas along the river Parushi (modern Ravi). Heeding to the hymns of Vashishta, Lord Indra made the river shallow. This helped Sudas escape to the other side of the river. The Purus pursued Sudas, but the river had swollen by then because Indra released waters. Some were lost in the river. Those who managed to cross the river were defeated by Sudas. Some other kings crossed the river and paid a tribute to Sudas. Sudas emerged victorious after the Dashrajna war.

Rig Vedic verses are open to interpretation. It does not say what caused the war and what happened to the defeated kings. Some say, Vishwamitra’s removal by King Sudas caused it. Some say that it represents the Aryan Invasion Theory, which has however been disowned by now. Some say the defeated kings migrated westwards supporting the Out of India theory. Some say that this marks the spread of Bharata kings from Sind to Punjab. Prof Dhandekar mentions that Sudas wanted to bring both Vedic and non Vedic people together.

Source: Lecture by Mugdha Gadgil, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Chaturanga is said to have developed at the court of the Maukhari kings of Kannauj. They were one of the North India dynasties that succeeded the Guptas in the 6th cent CE. It was a war game to demonstrate the strategic use of the four (chatur) arms (anga) of the army – infantry, cavalry, chariots & elephants.

The ancient game of ‘ashtapada’ involving 64 squares but using one piece & not four types as in chess, is attested from Buddha’s time. He for some reason prohibited the game.

The 6th cent CE Persian manuscript ‘Wizarisn-i-Chaturang’ narrates that a chess game was gifted to the Sassanian Persian king Khusrau I by an Indian king Dewisarm, with an accompanying challenge. The Persians sent back an improvised game of backgammon as a counter challenge. Apparently, the Persian king won the challenge. Devisarm has been identified as Devasharvavarman, the Maukhari ruler of Kannauj.

The Arabs conquered Persia soon after. Arabic does not have the phonetic sounds ‘ch’ & ‘ga’ and that’s how ‘chaturanga’ became ‘shatranj’, the Hindi name of chess today. ‘Checkmate’ comes from ‘shah mat’ or Persian for ‘the king is dead’. The Arabs transmitted chess along with other Indian ideas to other parts of the world. Ancient Chinese, Romans & Egyptians also had proto chess games but chaturanga approximates modern chess the most.

The Wikimedia image from a Persian source depicts the Indian envoy presenting chaturanga to Shah Khusrau.

Source: Raamesh Gowri Raghavan, you tube lecture on ancient games, for Tamil Heritage Trust; Ferlito & Sanvito, ‘Origins of Chess’, Pergamon Chess Monthly, Sept 1990

The Golden Light Sutra or Suvarṇaprabhasa Sutra is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch. The sutra was originally written in India in Sanskrit and translated into other languages. The name refers to a great drum that radiates a sublime golden light, symbolizing the dharma or teachings of Buddha. It became important especially in China & Japan because of its message, which teaches that the Four Heavenly Kings protect the ruler who governs his country in the proper manner.

The sutra also expounds the vows of the goddesses Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Drdha to protect any bhikṣu who will uphold and teach the sutra. Though Tibetan Buddhism is different from China & Japan, this sutra is part of their corpus. Sarasvati in Tantric Buddhism (predominant in Tibet, Sikkim & Nepal) is a meditational deity appearing as a goddess of literature, poetry and wisdom. She can have many different forms and names, but predominantly white or red. In her white forms she is generally a goddess or wisdom and learning. In her red forms she is a power deity. She is also sometimes depicted as the consort of Manjushri. Unlike in Hinduism, Sarasvati can have wrathful forms in tantric Buddhism.

Image is from Wikimedia Commons

Source: https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=351

The Constituent Assembly extensively debated how to describe India—whether as a Federation or a Union, and what name should be used for the country.

The Union Constitution Committee had initially proposed the term “Federation,” with a draft that began, “The Federation hereby established shall be a ….” Various names were suggested, including Union of India, Bharatvarsha, and Hindustan. There was even a proposal to describe India as a Secular, Federal Socialist Union of States.

Amidst these discussions, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar proposed a draft of the first clause: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” He did not offer any explanation for this wording. The proposal sparked debate, with no unanimity on the phrasing. H.V. Kamath suggested an amendment to rephrase it as, “Bharat, or in the English language, India.” However, Ambedkar’s wording was ultimately approved by a majority vote of 51-38.

The phrase “India, that is Bharat” reflects the civilizational continuity of India, linking its ancient heritage as Bharat to its modern identity as a unified nation.

Source: The Framing of India’s Constitution, B. Shiva Rao et al.

The original copies of the Indian Constitution were meticulously handwritten in both English and Hindi. For legal purposes, the English version is considered the authoritative text. Calligrapher Prem Bihari Narain Raizada (Saxena) single-handedly wrote the entire Constitution in a flowing italic style, completing the monumental task over six months.

He worked in a dedicated room within the Constitution Hall (now the Constitution Club), using parchment sheets measuring 16 x 22 inches, designed to last a thousand years. The final manuscript comprised 251 pages, weighed 3.75 kilograms, and stands as a masterpiece of artistic craftsmanship.

Raizada declined any monetary compensation for his work but requested that his name, along with his grandfather’s (who was also his teacher), be inscribed in the document. This request was honored, and their names appear at the end of the original Constitution, forever linking his legacy to India’s founding document. The Hindi version of the Constitution was calligraphed by Vasant Krishan Vaidya. Both original copies are preserved in helium-filled cases in the Parliament Library, ensuring their protection and longevity.

Source: https://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2021/Jan/engpdf/26-28.pdf

The Sanskrit word for wheat is Godhuma. The Tamil word is Godumai, remarkably similar. In Punjabi wheat is Kanak, in Bengali it is Gom or Gam and in Marathi it is Gahu.

Source: Origin and History of Godhuma, Patil D. A and Ahirrao Y.A

The ingredients for the Sadhya (feast) at the temple used to be taken by the boat. Once when the boat faced a threat, oarsmen from a village escorted the boat to the temple. In recognition of this, the Sadhya is offered to the Oarsmen from the region. The oarsmen are considered to be the deity itself. The feast is held over 60 days and crews of oarsmen are invited by rotation to participate.

Vanchipattu are riddles in the form of songs. The answers refer to food items in the life of Krishna. It is the tradition of the oarsmen to sing Vanchipattu (riddles in the form of songs) as a method of requesting the food that they would like to partake. Any food that is requested by the oarsmen is served since they are considered as deity themselves.