12 September 04
Vyasacharya Namaskara
नमोऽस्तु ते व्यास विशालबुद्घे पुल्लारविन्दायतपत्रनेत्र ।
येन त्वया भारततैलपूर्णः प्रज्वालितो ज्ञानमयः प्रदीपः ॥२॥

Nam `stu Te vyasa visala buddhe phullara vindayata patra netra /
Yena tvaya bharata tailapurnah prajvalito jnanamayah pradipah // 2 ii

Namah - salutations, astu te -be unto thee, vyasa - O! Vyasa, visala buddhe - of profound intellect, phullaravinda ayata patra netra - with eyes like the petals of a full-grown lotus, yena - which, tvaya - by thee, bharata taila purnaha - full of the oil of the Mahabarata prajvalitaha - lighted, jnanamayaha - consisting of wisdom, pradipaha - lamp.

Salutation to thee O! Vyasa of profound intellect and with eyes large like the petals of a full blown lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata, has been lighted.

Though Vyasa is not the author of Bhagavad Gita, he collected and compiled the teaching and incorporated the same in the Mahabharata. We are very grateful to Vyasa, because (otherwise) we would not have known what has transpired between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.
Let this salutation go to you - te- O Vyasa. The original name of Vyasa is Krishna Dwapayana. He got the name Vyasa, because he classified the Vedas into Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharvan Vedas. Vi + as = Vyas to classify - Vedavyasa. Visalabuddhe - one who has vast knowledge - another meaning is Mind-antakarana. One who has got generous mind to spread the knowledge to the whole universe; who is compassionate. Pulla - fully blossomed aravinda- Lotus ayatha- long patra -petal netra- eye .His eyes are beautiful like long fully blossomed lotus. By this description Madusudanacharya is really describing the inner beauty of loving character and compassion. Vyasacharya has made many contributions to the society and humanity- the most glorious one is the Mahabharata where in he has incorporated the Gita. Yena tvaya - by you; jnanamaya - consisting of wisdom pradipah - a huge lamp; lamp of knowledge, not a flickering light. Knowledge is compared to a lamp because it destroys darkness and illumines the object in front. To reach the destination of happiness and freedom, the journey requires a powerful lamp of wisdom to illumine the pathway. Vyasacharya is switching on the Baghavad Gita lamp. For lighting the lamp you require the Mahabharata oil -mahabaratha thailam. Through the Mahabharata story he is teaching us the lessons of life.