The legs of the god Vishnu as the Cosmic Man depict earth and the seven realms of Patala. The feet rest on Shesha.

Nagas are believed to live in the lowest realm of Patala, called Naga-loka.

In Hindu cosmology, Patala or Patal (Sanskrit: पाताल, Pātāla) denotes the seven lower regions of the universe - which are located under the earth.^[1][2][3] Patala is often translated as underworld or netherworld. Patala is composed of seven regions or lokas,^[4][5][6] the seventh and lowest of them is also called Patala or Naga-loka, the region of the Nagas. The Danavas (demon sons of Danu), Daityas (demon sons of Diti), Yakshas and the snake-people Nagas live in the realms of Patala.^[2] According to Hindu cosmology, the universe is divided into the three worlds: Svarga (Heaven: seven upper regions), Prithvi (earth) and Patala - the underworld and netherworld.^[7]

Description[link]

Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage Narada to Patala. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga (heaven). Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely demon maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold.^[2][5]

The Bhagavata Purana calls the seven lower regions bila-svargas ("subterranean heavens") and they are regarded as planets or planetary systems below the earth. These regions are described as being more opulent than the upper regions of the universe, which include heaven. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The demon architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of the upper realms. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala.^[6]

Seven regions[link]

God Vishnu sleeps on the coil-bed of the thousand-headed Naga Shesha, supports the seven realms of Patala and the earth

According to the Vishnu Purana,^[2] seventy thousand Yojanas (a unit of measurement) below the Earth's surface lie the seven realms of Patala, which are located one above the other. Each of them extends ten thousand Yojanas. In Vishnu Purana, they are named as from the highest to the lowest as: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Garbhastimat, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala. In Bhagavata Purana and Padma Purana, they are called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. The Shiva Purana, replaces Mahatala with Tala. The Vayu Purana calls them Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Gabhastala, Mahatala, Sritala and Patala.^[2] The seven Patalas as well as the earth above them is supported on the head of the tamasic (dark) form of god Vishnu, the thousand-headed serpent (Naga) Shesha.^[2][4] Sometimes, Sesha is described to reside in the lowest region of Patala, instead of below it.^[7] Below the regions of Patala, lies Naraka, the Hindu Hell - the realm of death where sinners are punished.^[2]

Different realms of Patala are ruled by different demons and Nagas; usually with the Nagas headed by Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm.^[2] Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it. The first region has the cities of the daitya Namuchi and Naga Kaliya; in the second those of demon Hayagriva and Naga Takshaka; in the third, those of demon Prahlada and Hemaka; in the fourth of Kalanemi and Vainateya; in the fifth of Hiranyaksha and Kirmira and in the sixth, of Puloman and Vasuki. Bali rules the sovereign king of Patala.^[2]

Bhagavata Purana presents a detailed description of the seven lower realms.^[4][6] A similar description of the seven Patalas also appears in the Devi Bhagavata Purana.^[3] The summary of the description of these realms as given in the above Puranas is as below:^[3][4][6]

Atala is ruled by Bala - a son of Maya - who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women - svairiṇīs ("self-willed"), who like to marry men from their own group; kāmiṇīs ("lustful"), who marry men from any group, and the puḿścalīs ("whorish"), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death.^[3][4][6]

Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava - a form of Shiva, who dwells with attendant ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines. Here he enjoys sexual union with his consort Bhavani and their sexual fluids flow as river Hataki here. When fire - fanned by wind - drinks from this river, it spits the water out as a type of gold called Hataka. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region.^[3][4][6]

Part of a series on Hindu mythology

Sources Vedas · Puranas

Vedic mythology Rigveda · Samaveda · Yajurveda · Atharvaveda

Epics Ramayana · Mahabharata

Cosmology Hiranyagarbha · Swarga · Prithvi  · Patala  · Naraka

Deities Trimurti · Brahma · Vishnu · Shiva · Saraswati · Lakshmi · Parvati · Ganesha · Murugan

Personalities of the Epics Sapta Rishis · Bhrigu · Angira · Atri · Gautama · Kashyapa · Vashishta · Agastya · Pitrs · Bharata · Krishna · Kauravas · Pandavas · Rama · Sita · Lakshman · Hanuman

Hindu Mythology Portal

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Sutala is the kingdom of the pious demon king Bali. The dwarf Avatar of Vishnu, Vamana tricked Bali - who had conquered the three worlds - by begging for three paces of land and acquired the three worlds in his three paces. Vamana pushed Bali to Sutala, but when Bali surrendered to Vishnu and gave away all his belongings to him, Vishnu in return made Bali, richer than Indra, the god-king of heaven. Bali still prays to Vishnu in this realm.^[3][4][6]

Talātala is the realm of the demon-architect Maya, who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, destroyed the three cities of Maya but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.^[3][4][6]

Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) - the sons of Kadru, headed by the Krodhavasha (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Taksshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear Garuda, the eagle-man.^[3][4][6]

Rasātala is the home of the demons - Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents.^[3][4][6]

The lowest realm is called Patala or Nagaloka, the region of the Nagas, ruled by Vasuki. Here live several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hood is decorated by a jewel, whose light illuminates this realm.^[3][4][6]

References[link]

v t e Underworlds Aztec mythology Mictlan Buddhism Naraka Chinese mythology Diyu Persian mythology Duzakh Christianity Purgatory Limbo Hell Ancient Egyptian religion Duat Germanic and Norse paganism Hel Niflheim Greek mythology Hades Tartarus Hinduism Naraka Patala Islam Barzakh Jahannam Jainism Naraka Judaism Gehenna Sheol Shinto Yomi Turkic-Mongolian Erlik

Akkineni Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna at TeachAIDS launch in 2010
Born	Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao అక్కినేని నాగార్జున రావు (1959-08-29) August 29, 1959 (age 52) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Other names	Yuva Samrat, Nag, King
Occupation	Actor, Producer, Businessman
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Lakshmi Ramanaidu Daggubati (1984–1990 divorced) Amala Akkineni (1992–present)
Children	Naga Chaitanya Akkineni Akhil Akkineni
Parents	Nageswara Rao Akkineni Annapurna Akkineni
Relatives	Sumanth Yarlagadda (nephew) Sushanth (nephew) Ramanaidu Daggubati (ex-father-in-law) Venkatesh Daggubati (ex-brother-in-law) Suresh Babu Daggubati (ex-brother-in-law) Rana Daggubati (ex-nephew)

Nagarjuna (Telugu: నాగార్జున; born Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao) is an Indian film actor and producer who works primarily in the Telugu film industry (Tollywood). He has also worked in a few Bollywood and Kollywood films. He has won two National Film Awards, six Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.

He owns the Production company, Annapurna Studios and Annapurna International School of Film and Media based in Hyderabad.^[1] He is the brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers group in Andhra Pradesh.^[2][3]

Early life and Family[link]

Nagarjuna was born on 29 August 1959 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to actor Nageswara Rao Akkineni and Annapurna Akkineni. The family later moved to Hyderabad where he attended the Hyderabad Public School and studied his "Intermediate" from Little Flower Junior College and B.E. (Mechanical) from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai.

He completed M.S. in Automobile Engineering from Eastern Michigan University.^[4][5] He is the spouse of actress Amala Akkineni, the father of actors Naga Chaitanya Akkineni and Akhil Akkineni.

Acting career[link]

Nagarjuna acted as a child artist in the 1967 Telugu film Sudigundalu directed by veteran Adurthi Subbarao. Years later he made his debut as a lead actor through the 1986 Telugu film Vikram directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. In 1988, he was starred in Aakhari Poratam directed by K. Raghavendra Rao where he was paired opposite Sridevi and Suhasini.

In 1989, he was starred in the Maniratnam directed Romantic-drama, Geethanjali which became a major box-office success and was critically acclaimed. The film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990.

In the same year, Nagarjuna acted in Siva, an action blockbuster directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film earned him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award.^[6] In 1990, he subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film titled Shiva.

He followed it up with action films like Killer, Chaithanya and Nirnayam working with directors such as Fazil and Priyadarshan. Other films which were released in the subsequent years include President Gari Pellam, Varasudu, Gharana Bullodu and Allari Alludu. In 1994 he starred in a Hindi-Telugu bilingual Criminal directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The same year he ventured into comedy for the first time with Hello Brother. It was later remade into Hindi as Judwaa and dubbed into Tamil.

In 1996, Nagarjuna starred and produced Ninne Pelladatha, which was directed by Krishna Vamsi. The movie fetched a National Award for him by winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. The next year, Nagarjuna acted in Annamayya where he portrayed the role of Annamacharya, a 15th-century Telugu singer and poet, won him his third Filmfare Best Actor Award and his first Nandi Award for Best Actor. His subsequent releases were Nuvvu Vastavani, Ninne Premistha and Azad. He starred in the romantic comedies such as Santhosham, Manmadhudu, and Shivamani as well. He produced Satyam in 2003, that starred his nephew Sumanth.

In 2004, Nagarjuna had two releases—Nenunnanu and Mass. The latter was produced by Nagarjuna and directed by choreographer Lawrence Raghavendra. In 2005, Nagarjuna acted in and produced Super. In 2006, he starred in Sri Ramadasu, his second period film based on the 18th-century Telugu composer of the same name.^[7] Nagarjuna received the Nandi Award for Best actor for the film. In December 2007, he appeared in Don and a year later, he appeared in King alongside Trisha Krishnan and Srihari.

In the year 2010, he had releases such as Kedi and Ragada. His latest film Gaganam was released on 11 February 2011. Its Tamil version was titled Payanam. In 2011 Nagarjuna signed three movies in a row. They are Rajanna,^[8] Damarukam and Shirdi Sai^[9]

Television production[link]

Nagarjuna made his début as a television producer in 2009 with the serial Yuva.^[10] He is one of the shareholders of the television channel Maa TV.^[11]

Charity[link]

Nagarjuna, with his wife Amala, is the co-founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad,^[12] a non-government organization (NGO) in Hyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights. He is also involved in some of the welfare programs undertaken by the MAA TV association.^[13]

In 2010, he starred in an HIV/AIDS animated software tutorial created by TeachAIDS, a nonprofit founded at Stanford University.^[14]

Businesses[link]

Nagarjuna is also a well known business man in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His businesses include real estate, Film Studio Annapurna Studios, Annapurna International School of Film and Media and wide variety of restaurants which generally start with "N" (Ex: N-Grill, N-Asian etc).^{[citation needed]}

Awards[link]

National Film Awards

• 1997 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for producing Ninne Pelladatha
• 1998 - National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for acting Annamayya

Nandi Awards

• 1997 - Nandi Award for Best Actor for Annamayya^[15]
• 1999 - Nandi Award for Best Feature Film - Kansya (Bronze) for producing Prema Kadha
• 2000 - Nandi Special Jury Award for producing Yuvakudu^[16]
• 2002 - Nandi Award for Best Actor for Santhosham^[15]
• 2002 - Nandi Award for Best Feature Film - Swarna (Gold) for producing Manmadhudu
• 2006 - Nandi Award for Best Actor for Sri Ramadasu

Filmfare Awards South

• 1989 - Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for Shiva^[15]
• 1996 - Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) for Ninne Pelladatha
• 1997 - Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for Annamayya^[15]

Other Awards

• 1989 - Cinema Express Award for Shiva
• 1996 - Akruthi Film Award for Ninne Pelladatha
• 1997 - Screen Videocon Award for Annamayya
• 2000 - Andhra Pradesh Film Journalists Association Award for Azad
• 2011- TSR Kala Ratna Award

Bharathamuni Awards

• 1989 - Best Actor for Geethanjali
• 1997 - Best Actor for Annamayya

Vamsee Berkeley Awards

• 1986 - Best Actor for Vikram
• 1989 - Best Actor for Shiva

AP Cinegoers Awards

• 1989 - Best Actor for Geethanjali

Filmography[link]

As actor[link]

As producer[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Akkineni Nagarjuna

• Akkineni Nagarjuna at the Internet Movie Database

Prakash Raj
Born	Prakash Rai (1965-03-26) 26 March 1965 (age 47) Puttur, Karnataka, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, Film director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Lalitha Kumari (1994–2009 divorced) Pony Verma (2010–present)
Children	Meghana Pooja Sidhu (2000 – 20 March 2004)[1]

Prakash Rai (born 26 March 1965), better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning film actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films.He got introduced to films by K. Balachander in the movie Duet (1994). In remembrance, he named his production company "Duet Movies".^[2][3]

He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil and of late, as a character actor. He is considered to be one amongst the club of natural actors. He has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.^[4]

Early life[link]

Prakash Raj was born to a ethnic Bunt^[5] family in Puttur, Karnataka on 26 March 1965. He did his schooling from St.Joseph's Indian High School in Bangalore. He later joined St. Josephs College of commerce, Bangalore, where he participated in many plays.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Prakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. They have two daughters—Meghana and Pooja and a son, Sidhu.^[6] Sidhu died of injuries sustained in a fall in 2004. The couple divorced in 2009.^[7] He then married choreographer Pony Verma on August 24, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

As actor[link]

Prakash began his acting career with Kannada Doordarshan serials like Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. He later took up supporting roles in Kannada films like Raamachari, Nishkarsha and Lockup Death. He was noticed for his dialogue delivery and histrionics. His breakthrough role came in form of Harakeya Kuri starring Vishnuvardhan and Geetha, directed by K. S. L. Swamy. His performance in the movie was noticed by Geetha and she, in turn, introduced him to her mentor K. Balachander, a Tamil film director. He acted under the screen name "Prakash Rai" in Kannada films and was rechristened "Prakash Raj" by K. Balachander for his debut Tamil film Duet, which saw him playing his first major role.

Prakash Raj re-entered Kannada films through Nagamandala in 1997, directed by T.S. Nagabharana which was selected for Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival in 1997. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai. In 1997, he acted in Mani Ratnam's biopic film Iruvar. The movie dealt with the relationship between politicians M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. One of Prakash Raj's greatest hits was his role in Telugu film Okkadu, where he played a gangster who is in love with the heroine. After Okkadu, Prakash Raj was flooded with offers. The film was remade in Tamil as Ghilli and in Kannada as Ajay starring Puneet Rajkumar. He starred in a malayalam film, Pandippada,with Dilip.His 2007 production Mozhi was a box-office hit and praised by critics proving that he can play a comedy role just as good as a negative character.

Mozhi, directed by Radha Mohan, was well acclaimed. He played an important role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja which became a box-office success. In 2008 he produced a film titled Abhiyum Naanum and played an important character in it. He remade the movie in Kannada as Naanu Nanna Kanasu which was critically acclaimed as well.

As producer[link]

He took on the mantle of producer and has produced several movies in Tamil (Kollywood). Most of the movies he produced turned out to be box-office hits and were also critically acclaimed.^{[citation needed]} His movies are also considered as family entertainers. He produced the movie Dhaya in which he acted as the hero with actress Meena which was a hit and earned him a special jury award for his performance. His movie Poi (lie in English) directed by his mentor, K. Balachander, was a non-grosser. It starred Uday Kiran, K. Balachander and Prakash Raj.

Prakash Raj had danced in the song "Kanchi Paanaiyin Maela" for his film Vellithirai.

His Kannada production Naanu Nanna Kanasu completed 100 days successfully across Karanataka. His next production venture, titled Akasmaath, is a remake of the Telugu hit Aithe and stars himself along with new actors. The movie is scheduled to go on floors in September 2010 to be directed by Dayal Padmanabhan. He made Puttakkana Highway in Kannada which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada in 2011.

As director[link]

Prakash Raj directed Naanu Nanna Kanasu in Kannada (2010), a remake of his own Tamil production Abhiyum Naanum.^[8] His next directorial venture is a Tamil – Telugu bilingual, sports venture Dhoni named after Indian cricket captain

Awards[link]

National Film Awards[link]

• 1998 – Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Iruvar.^[9][10]
• 1999 – Special Jury Award for his performance in the Telugu film Anthapuram.^[10]
• 2003 – Special Jury Award for his roles in Tamil film Dhaya and Telugu film Khadgam.^[10]
• 2008 – Best Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Kanchivaram.^[10]
• 2011 – Best Feature Film in Kannada for the Kannada film Puttakkana Highway (As producer)

Filmfare Awards South[link]

• 2002 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Nuvve Nuvve
• 2003 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Tagore
• 2004 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Ghilli
• 2005 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Sivakasi
• 2009 – Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil) – Kanchivaram

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards[link]

• 2000 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Vaanavil
• 2005 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Various films

Zee Cine Awards[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in a Negative Role- Singham

Apsara Awards 2012[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in Negative Role- Singham

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Prakash Raj at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Prakash Raj

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

Meera Jasmine
Meera Jasmine in MA, USA during a stage show 2011 May
Born	Jasmine Mary Joseph Thiruvalla, Kerala, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–present

Meera Jasmine (Malayalam: മീര ജാസ്മിന്‍) is an Indian actress, who appears in regional Indian films that includes Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 and is a two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards,^[1] as well as the Kalaimamani Award from the government of Tamil Nadu.^[2]