Latest news with #Shankara
Business Standard
18-07-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Shankara Launches Hydrating Body Wash for Everyday Natural Self-Care - Rinses 30% Faster, Saving Up To 1,000 Litres of Water A Year
NewsVoir Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], July 18: When it comes to daily skin health, most of us need one product that can do it all, cleanse, hydrate, and refresh without fuss, especially during sticky, humid weather. Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash offers exactly that: a 100% natural, sulphate-free, paraben-free, toxin-free, cruelty-free, vegan, and non-greasy cleanser that turns showers into mindful resets while rinsing off 30% faster than conventional formulas to help save up to 1,000 litres of water a year. Unlike many body washes that use sulphates and harsh foaming agents, which strip the skin's natural oils and increase water usage, Shankara's gentle formulation cleanses effectively while respecting your skin's natural balance. With the soft floral scent of Nargis lingering in the steam, this body wash transforms an everyday shower into a moment of quiet reset. Watermelon Seed Oil and Glycerin get to work, cleansing without stripping and keeping your skin comfortably hydrated, while Sandalwood lends a subtle clarity that feels grounding. The lather is creamy but light, washing off easily without clogging pores or leaving residue just clean, refreshed skin that feels like it's been gently taken care of. Talking about the new launch, Astha Katpitia, Head of Shankara India, shares, "Body care is a daily ritual that allows us to care for ourselves with intention. With Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash, we have reimagined this everyday moment, blending time-honoured ingredients that nourish the skin while saving up to 1,000 litres of water a year. A formula that rinses off 30% faster, It reflects our commitment to creating daily rituals that are gentle on you and gentle on the earth.'' Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash brings care and intention back into daily routines with a thoughtful formula that cleanses, nourishes, and supports the skin. Each use becomes a mindful pause that cares for you while honouring the environment. Shop now at Instagram:
Fashion Value Chain
18-07-2025
- Health
- Fashion Value Chain
Shankara Launches Hydrating Body Wash for Everyday Natural Self-Care – Rinses 30% Faster, Saving Up To 1,000 Litres of Water A Year
When it comes to daily skin health, most of us need one product that can do it all, cleanse, hydrate, and refresh without fuss, especially during sticky, humid weather. Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash offers exactly that: a 100% natural, sulphate-free, paraben-free, toxin-free, cruelty-free, vegan, and non-greasy cleanser that turns showers into mindful resets while rinsing off 30% faster than conventional formulas to help save up to 1,000 litres of water a year. Unlike many body washes that use sulphates and harsh foaming agents, which strip the skin's natural oils and increase water usage, Shankara's gentle formulation cleanses effectively while respecting your skin's natural balance. Shankara launches Hydrating Body Wash With the soft floral scent of Nargis lingering in the steam, this body wash transforms an everyday shower into a moment of quiet reset. Watermelon Seed Oil and Glycerin get to work, cleansing without stripping and keeping your skin comfortably hydrated, while Sandalwood lends a subtle clarity that feels grounding. The lather is creamy but light, washing off easily without clogging pores or leaving residue just clean, refreshed skin that feels like it's been gently taken care of. Shankara launches Hydrating Body Wash Talking about the new launch, Astha Katpitia, Head of Shankara India, shares,'Body care is a daily ritual that allows us to care for ourselves with intention. With Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash, we have reimagined this everyday moment, blending time-honoured ingredients that nourish the skin while saving up to 1,000 litres of water a year. A formula that rinses off 30% faster, It reflects our commitment to creating daily rituals that are gentle on you and gentle on the earth.' Shankara's Hydrating Body Wash brings care and intention back into daily routines with a thoughtful formula that cleanses, nourishes, and supports the skin. Each use becomes a mindful pause that cares for you while honouring the environment. Shop now at Instagram: Website:
Hindustan Times
29-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Shankara's thoughts and their overlap with Kashmir Shaivism
I am writing this column from Srinagar. It is peaceful and very much the paradise it always was. My wife and I are the guests of an old friend, Jyoti Wazir, whose father-in-law was the Kashmiri Pandit chief justice of the state. She has a lovely cottage, and a beautiful garden full of hydrangeas, roses, pansies, magnolia and fruiting trees. But the best thing for me is that right above her home, on the hillside opposite, is the Adi Shankaracharya temple in clear view. Local legend has it that when Shankara arrived in Srinagar, his entourage camped just outside the city. (Wikimedia Commons) Fact and legend both indicate that Shankara (788-820 CE) visited Kashmir. The city was at that time renowned for its Buddhist and Hindu scholarship. Ever since Ashoka conquered the Valley in third century BCE, Buddhism had flourished here. There is historical evidence that the fourth Buddhist Council was convened here in second century CE. Along with Buddhism, Kashmir was also the locus of a specific kind of Shaivite philosophy, whose founder was Vasugupta (800–850 CE). He was the author of Sivasutras, a collection of seventy-seven aphorisms also known as Trika Yoga, which essayed a specifically Kashmir Advaita tradition. This philosophy echoed Shankara's monism, with the difference that Shiva was seen as the cosmic symbol of Brahman. Kashmir Shaivism also introduced the concept of Shakti as an integral part of Shiva worship. Shankara must have been aware of this powerful Kashmiri tradition, and would have travelled to meet at first hand its chief votary, Vasugupta. Local legend has it that when Shankara arrived in Srinagar, his entourage camped just outside the city. The teacher and his disciples were hungry and weary after their long travel, but had failed to light a fire to cook some food. A young Kashmiri girl then came to their help. Taking two pieces of wood, she rubbed them while chanting a mantra, and the spark that emerged from the friction lighted the fire. The wood, the girl explained, is Brahman. The fire that sprang forth from it is Shakti, the power inherent in Brahman. The Shankaracharya temple is located on the Gopadri hill (part of the Zabarwan Mountain overlooking Srinagar) a thousand feet above the Valley. It is also known as the Jyeteshwara temple, and was earlier called Pas Bahar by the Buddhists. Kalhana, the great historian of Kashmir says that it was first built by King Gopaditya (426–365 BCE), and later repaired by King Lalitaditya (697–734 CE). The interesting thing is that Sikander, the sixth Sultan of the Shah Miri dynasty in Kashmir (1389–1413 CE), who was called Butshikan for his propensity to destroy idols, did not destroy this temple. In fact, two Muslim rulers in later times—Zain-ul-Abideen in the fifteenth century, and Sheikh Mohinuddin, who was the Governor of this region when Kashmir was under Sikh rule—renovated the temple. All of this provides evidence of the great sanctity of the temple. The temple is a rock structure. It has a large Shivalinga surrounded by smaller idols of Parvati, Kartikeya and Ganesha. A tall trishul, with a drum balanced on the top of it, stands behind the linga. Set into an alcove on the outside wall of the temple is a portrait in marble of Shankaracharya, his forehead smeared with sandal paste, his eyes looking far into the distant horizon. The Shankaracharya of Dwaraka installed this statue in 1961. Next to the temple, at a lower level, is the cave where Shankara is said to have stayed in and meditated. A notice board outside identifies it as 'Jagad Guru Shankarcharya Tapasya Sthal'. The entrance to the cave is through a narrow and low entrance. Inside is a large portrait of Shankara, seated on a low peedha or stool, with two open books on a bookstand in front of him. The portrait is in the Thanjavur style, which shows the influence of the artistic traditions of South India. Next to the portrait is a large copper replica of a snake with its hood spread out in a protective posture. The three-pronged trishul also stands adjacent, like a sentinel on guard. The cave is cramped, but I sat, alone, on a rug spread alongside, to meditate for a while. It is believed that Shankara wrote the Saundarya Lahari, his passionate ode to Shakti, while he lived in this cave. When I was in Srinagar researching my book Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism's Greatest Thinker, I had stayed with N.N. Vohra, the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He arranged for me to meet Maroof Shah, a reputed scholar of Kashmir Shaivism, and of Hindu philosophy. I spent an afternoon discussing with him the intricacies of Shankara's thoughts and their overlap with Kashmir Shaivism. Maroof, a diminutive man with a heavy Kashmiri accent, works, improbably enough, in the state veterinary department. Philosophy, however, is his passion. As we ended our conversation, Maroof said ruefully, that very little work is being done now on Kashmir Shaivism within Kashmir. The interest in this aspect of Hindu philosophy is far greater abroad. Not even many Kashmiri Pandits are aware of the greatness of this tradition, or of its link with Shankaracharya. The significance of a devout Kashmiri Muslim, who happened to be keeping the Ramzan fast when we met, making this point, was not lost on me. Although Pahalgam happened, I urge Indians to visit this beautiful valley in large numbers in solidarity with the Kashmiri's who went on a spontaneous strike to protest the dastardly killings.
New Indian Express
24-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Kerala Royal Enfield bikers go on a 'Bullets against Bullet' ride retracing Adi Shankaracharya's trail from Kalady to Kashmir
Over 1,200 years ago, a young monk from Kerala travelled from Kalady to Kashmir, propagating the oneness of existence, or what he termed Advaita. That ancient route traversed by Adi Shankaracharya was retraced recently by a team of 52 bikers who rode from Kalady to the Line of Control (LoC) as a homage to the lives lost in the Pahalgam attack and a message against terrorism. The bikers, who joined forces from across Kerala, rode under the motto 'Bullets against Bullet'. For the bullet that terrorists showered on tourists in Pahalgam, here were the bikers' own Royal Enfield Bullets. The two-week ride was flagged off on June 1 by Kochi City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya, who also heads the state's anti-terrorism squad. 'The idea came up after my friend R Ramanand, director of the Abhinava Gupta Institute of Advanced Studies, Vagamon, posted on Facebook about how the Pahalgam attack would soon be forgotten after the initial hubbub. The post got a lot of support, which encouraged him to take the idea forward and form the 'Bullets against Bullet' team,' says Mani Karthik, a startup consultant, who was coordinated the core group and the planning of the journey. 'Some of us were researching the links between Kashmir and Kerala's tantric traditions. Also, Shankaracharya's influence in Kashmir is still revered. That's how we decided to follow Shankara's footsteps and named our mission 'Shankara to Sharda'. The Sharda here refers to the ancient Sharda Peeth, now in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where Shankaracharya had travelled to in 7th century AD. We have restricted access to that place, and hence, our destination was the Yatri Sharda Peeth very close to the LoC, near the Kishanganga river.' Planning the journey wasn't without challenges. 'Our discussion group was infiltrated by stray social media users from as far as Pakistan, and agenda-driven individuals who tried to mar healthy conversations,' says Mani, who left a career in the US to settle in Kochi and guide NRIs keen on migrating and investing back home. 'We had to weed them out and plan carefully. Only our core group knew the route map. Everyone who wished to join was verified. We finalised 52 riders, including 10 women and a trans individual. Among us were techies, a temple priest, a farmer, and even a 76-year-old.' The 'biker priest' in the team was Praveen P M from Thiruvananthapuram, who rode with his wife Renjini and their five-year-old son Badrinath as pillion. 'We have done several such bike jaunts,' says Renjini. 'But this is the longest we have done.' The team faced many hurdles along the way. 'The summer blaze in some places was horrifying. When it got too sultry and humid, Badrinath, who rode on the bike with us otherwise, would switch to one of the two cars that accompanied the team as support vehicle. At times, there were delays when a bike broke down or a rider fell ill,' she recalls. Mani adds, 'On the leg from Nagpur to Guna through a forest stretch, we rode long into the night and couldn't find food. But through it all, we felt a higher power guiding us. Often, someone would appear just when we needed help. Other Royal Enfield bikers, whom we networked with, assisted us in finding service stations throughout the journey. People who came to know of our mission welcomed us warmly. In Hyderabad, we were treated to a five-star lunch. Our accommodation was mostly in auditoriums, ashrams, or sometimes open grounds.'
New Indian Express
16-06-2025
- Science
- New Indian Express
IIHR creates millionaire farmers
HIREHALLI(TUMAKURU): Four humble farmers of Tumakuru district, with just one unique plant each inherited from their forefathers, had never imagined that these plants would make them millionaires. This will be sweet to the ears of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised to double the income of farmers. Courtesy, the Central Horticultural Experiment Station(CHES), Hirehalli, of the ICAR-IIHR which has scripted the farmer-led conservation efforts. The 'lucky' farmers were projected as role models at a workshop -- 'Linking Biodiversity for Livelihood Security through Protection of Farmers' Varieties in Fruit Crops' -- at CHES on Sunday. The event was part of an effort to promote protection and sustainable utilisation of traditional fruit crop diversity. The jackfruit varieties, 'Siddu' and 'Shankara', tamarind 'Lakshmana' and jamun 'Nirantara Kumar jamun' were identified and supported with technical intervention to demonstrate how unique they were in terms of taste and medicinal value among others. These unique plants are being multiplied through grafting and have been commercialised. They have sold millions over the years. Through a benefit-sharing model, ICAR-IIHR paid SS Paramesha (Siddu) Rs 1 crore over five years, Shankaraiah (Shankara) Rs 21 lakh over 2 years and Lakshamanappa (Lakshmana tamarind) Rs 6.5 lakh over one year. The farmers on their own have also marketed their saplings to hit a jackpot and Paramesha has earned over Rs 5 crore. Soon, IIHR will give 'Nirantara Kumar jamun' farmer his share.
