- published: 20 May 2009
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- author: AsianArtMuseum
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- Abhisheka
- Achamana
- Adi Shankara
- Advaita
- Agarwood
- Agni
- Agni Purana
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- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
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- Charu
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- Prayer in Hinduism
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- Simantonayana
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- Skanda Purana
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- Snake worship
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- Sreevallabha Temple
- Sri Aurobindo
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-
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. The province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali.
With a population recorded as 3,891,428 in the 2010 census, the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Bali, a tourist haven for decades, has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.
Bali was inhabited by around 2000 BC by Austronesian peoples who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Oceania. Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island's west.
wn.com/Bali -
Belur
Belur (Kannada: ಬೇಲೂರು, IPA: [beːluːru] or Bayluru/Baylore) is a Town Municipal Council in Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India.The town is renowned for its Chennakeshava temple, one of the finest examples of Hoysala workmanship.
Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. With Halebidu which is only 16 km away, this is one of the major tourist destinations in Karnataka, India. Belur is located in Hassan district. According to inscriptions discovered here, it was also referred to as Velapuri.
The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.
There are two more shrines here that are still in use by devotees and there is a Pushkarni or stepped well to the right side of the main entrance. The Dravida style rayagopuram at the entrance which was a later addition by the Vijayanagar kings, who considered this deity as one of their Kuladevata or family god.
wn.com/Belur -
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar /ˌbʊvəˈneɪʃwər/, also spelled Bhubaneshwar (Oriya: ଭୁବନେଶ୍ଵର Bhubanēsbara
pronunciation (help·info)), is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially spelled Odisha. The city has a history of over 2000 years starting with the Chhedi dynasty (around 2nd century BCE) who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital. Bhubaneswar has been known by names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Kshetra and Mandira Malini Nagari (City of Temples) otherwise known as the Temple City of India. Bhubaneswar, literally means the Lord (Eeswar) of the Universe (Bhuban). It is the largest city of Orissa, and a center of economic and religious importance in the region today.
Bhubaneswar's possession of magnificent sculptures and architectural heritage, coupled with the sanctity as Ekamrakshetra make this one of the great religious centres of Orissa since early medieval days. With its large number of Hindu temples (over 600 in number), which span the entire spectrum of Kalinga architecture, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a Temple City of India and together with Puri and Konark it forms the Swarna Tribhuja (Golden Triangle); one of the most visited destinations in East India.
wn.com/Bhubaneswar -
Chennai
Chennai /ˈtʃɛnaɪ/, formerly Madras /məˈdræs/, is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is a major commercial, cultural, and educational centre in South India, while the port of Chennai is the second largest port in India. As of the 2011 census, the city had 4.68 million residents making it the sixth most populous city in India; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 8.9 million, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
Although the area has been part of successive South Indian kingdoms through centuries, the recorded history of the city began in the colonial times, specifically with the arrival of British East India Company and the establishment in 1644 of Fort St George, an English settlement. The British defended several attacks from the French colonial forces, and from the kingdom of Mysore, on Chennai's way to become a major naval port and presidency city by late eighteenth century. Following the independence of India, Chennai became the capital of Tamil Nadu and a hotbed of regional politics that tended to bank on Dravidian identity of the populace. Chennai had become a bustling metropolis with beautiful classical and colonial European styled buildings, lining the city’s thoroughfares.
wn.com/Chennai -
Chennakesava Temple
Coordinates: 13°9′46.3″N 75°51′38.0″E / 13.162861°N 75.86056°E / 13.162861; 75.86056
The Chennakesava Temple (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಚೆನ್ನಕೇಶವ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) originally called Vijayanarayana Temple (Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಾರಾಯಣ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) was built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, an early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur is 40 km from Hassan city and 220 km from Bangalore, in Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. Chennakesava literally means "handsome Kesava" and is a form of Hindu God Vishnu. Belur is well-known for its marvelous temples, built during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty, making it and nearby Halebidu favored tourist destinations in Karnataka. Now these temple complexes have been proposed to be listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The temple was commissioned by Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 CE. Scholars are divided about the reason why King Vishnuvardhana commissioned the construction of the temple. The military successes of Vishnuvardhana is considered a probable reason. Some scholars believe Vishnuvardhana commissioned the temple to surpass his overlords, the Western Chalukya Empire (who ruled from Basavakalyan), after his military victories against them. According to another theory, Vishnuvardhana was celebrating his victory against the Cholas of Tamil country in the battle of Talakad, which resulted in the annexation of Gangavadi (modern southern Karnataka) by the Hoysalas. Another explanation points to Vishnuvardhana's conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism, considering this is predominantly a Vaishnava temple. The Hoysalas employed many noted architects and artisans who developed a new architectural tradition, which some historians call Karnata Dravida tradition. A total of 118 inscriptions have been recovered from the temple complex, covering the period between c. 1117 CE to 18th century, which give details of the artists employed, grants made to the temple and renovations.
wn.com/Chennakesava_Temple -
Guruvayur temple
Guruvayur Sri Krshna Temple (Malayalam: ഗുരുവായൂര് ക്ഷേത്രം, Guruvāyūr Kṣētṟaṁ) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krshna, located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus of Kerala and is often referred to as "Bhuloka Vaikunta" which translates to the "Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth". The idol installed at Guruvayur Sri Krshna Temple represents a form of Krshna with its four arms carrying the conch Pancajanya, the magical discus with serrated edges Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and a lotus with a boly basil garland. This idol represents the majestic form of god Vishnu as revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krshna; hence Guruvayur is also known as "Dwaraka of South India". Krishna is popularly known in Kerala by different names such as Kannan, Unnikkannan ("Baby" Kannan), Unnikkrshnan, Balakrshnan, and Guruvayurappan.
The "presiding" deity in the Sri Kovil of the Guruvayur Sri Krshna Temple is Vishnu. He is currently worshipped (the "puja") according to routines laid down by Adi Shankara and later written formally in the tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Cennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427). The Cennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris of the Guruvayur Temple. The temple (puja) routines are strictly followed. The tantri is available full time at the Temple to ensure this. The Melsanti (Chief Priest) enters the sanctum sanctorum at 2:30 in the morning and does not drink anything up to the completion of "noon worships" at 12:30 PM. The Vedic traditions being followed at this temple with absolute perfection is the hallmark of the Guruvayur temple. It is important to note here that, even though the shrine is considered to be one of the holiest spots for Vaishnavites, the temple is not a part of the famous 108 Holy Temples.
wn.com/Guruvayur_temple -
India
India (
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
wn.com/India -
Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
wn.com/Indonesia -
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari pronunciation (help·info) is a town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It was also referred to as Cape Comorin earlier. Located at the southernmost tip of India, it is the geographical end of the mainland. The district in Tamil Nadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari District. The closest major cities are Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District, (22 km (14 mi)) and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala (85 km (53 mi)). The town is a popular tourist place in India.
Cape Comorin was the southern limit of Tamilakam (the ancient Tamil country).
Kanyakumari takes its name from the Kumari Amman or Kanyakumari Temple, situated in the town of it`s , on the sea-shore, the very confluence of the three water-bodies – the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. In his work on ancient India, Ptolemy had identified Kanyakumari (Cape of Comorin) along with the Gulf of Mannar as a center for pearl fishery. He also identifies Korkai, a place to the east of Kanyakumari as an emporium of pearl trade, also Travancore Census 1931 says that Paravars ruled that Coast and built the temple for their reverence to [the] Sea Goddess.
wn.com/Kanyakumari -
Karnataka
Karnataka /kɑrˈnɑːtəkə/ is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore /maɪˈsɔər/, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the Kannadigas, Tuluvas, Konkanis and Kodavas. The capital and largest city is Bangalore.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area. With over 61 million inhabitants (2011), Karnataka is the ninth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.
The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.
wn.com/Karnataka -
Kedarnath
Kedarnath (Hindi: केदारनाथ) is a Hindu holy town located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is a nagar panchayat in Rudraprayag district. The most remote of the four Char Dham sites, Kedarnath is located in the Himalayas, about 3584m above sea level near the head of river Mandakini, and is flanked by breathtaking snow-capped peaks. Kedarnath hosts one of the holiest Hindu temples, the Kedarnath Temple, and is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrims from all over the world, being one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage.
Kedarnath is named in honor of King Kedar who ruled in the Satya Yuga. He had a daughter named Vrinda who was a partial incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. She performed austerities for 60000 years. In honour of her, the land is named Vrindavan. However, Kedarnath and its temple exist from the Mahabharata Era when the Pandavas are supposed to have pleased Lord Shiva by doing penance there.
There are 2 ways to reach Kedarnath: 1) By foot for a steep 14 km trek through a paved path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from Gaurikund, which is connected by road from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other known hill stations of Garhwal and Kumaon regions in Uttarakhand 2) Through helicopter service.
wn.com/Kedarnath -
Kedarnath Temple
Kedarnath Mandir (Tamil: திருக்கேதாரம், Thiruk Kedaram,Hindi: केदारनाथ मंदिर, Kēdārnāth Maṃdir ) is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located atop the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon). During the winters, the murtis (idols) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. In this region Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand', the historical name of the region. This temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam (the 275 Holy Abodes of Shiva on the continent), praised by the Tamil Nayanars saints in the 6th-9th century CE.
The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 14 km uphill trek from Gaurikund . The temple is believed to have been built by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. The older temple existed from the times of Mahabharata, when the Pandavas are supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The temple is also one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas.
wn.com/Kedarnath_Temple -
Kerala
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.
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Kolkata
Kolkata /kɒlˈkætə/, or Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its economic output as measured by gross domestic product ranked third among South Asian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Kolkata in 1756, and the East India Company retook it in the following year and by 1772 assumed full sovereignty. Under East India Company and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a centre of the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, an economic rejuvenation has led to accelerated growth.
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Kollur
Kolluru is a tiny hamlet situated about 37 kilometres (23 mi) from Kundapur Town, about 133 kilometres (83 mi) away from Mangalore City in Karnataka state in the southern part of India. This village lies at the foot of the Western Ghats and is famous for the Mookambika temple, a Hindu pilgrim center.
Kollur also called Kollapura, about 42 km north-east of Kundapur town and one of the important places of pilgrimage in Karnataka State has a temple dedicated to Mookambika.
The goddess is called Mookambika as she is said to have slain the demon Mookasura. The goddess is described as in the form of a jyotirlinga incorporating both Shiva and Shakti. The panchaloha image of the goddess on Shri Chakra is stated to have been consecrated by Shri Adi Shankaracharya. The Divine Mother is said to be a manifestation of trigunas or triple forms. The shikhara of the temple which is well gilded with gold is said to have been donated by Sankanna Savantha. Around the chief shrine of Mookambika, there are many other shrines.
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Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee (Tamil: திருக் கோணேச்சரம் கோயில்), historically known also as the Thirukonamamalai Konesar Kovil, the Temple of the Thousand Pillars and Thiru-Konamamalai Maccakeswaram Kovil, is a Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent. It is built atop Swami Rock, a rocky promontory cape overlooking Trincomalee, a classical period harbour port town. The primary deity is the Hindu god Lord Shiva in the form Konesar. There has been a kovil at this site since the 3rd century, possessing a hoary history with various dates of establishment and development attributed at different points before the classical era. At its zenith, the original Konesar temple was the main shrine of the Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple Compounds, one of three ancient connected Hindu temples on Swami rock with a considerably sized gopuram in a complex of nine major courtyard compounds. The Konesar temple stood distinctly in the middle of the cape at its highest eminence, with other shrines to deities Ganesh, Vishnu (Thirumal), Ambal-Shakti and Murukan stretching across the cape complex to its extremities. Heralded as one of the richest and most visited temple compounds in Asia, Koneswaram became one of the most important surviving and influential structures in the world by the early 17th century, inspiring a rich corpora of devotional and descriptive literature, inscriptions and art by royals and pilgrims.
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Mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram, derived from 'Mamallapuram' (Tamil: மாமல்லபுரம்) is the prior and colloquial name of a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, now officially called Mamallapuram. It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet).
Mahabalipuram was a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The name Mamallapuram is believed to have been given after the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who took on the epithet Maha-malla (great wrestler), as the favourite sport of the Pallavas was wrestling. It has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and the 9th centuries, and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Megalithic burial urns, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very dawn of the Christian era have been discovered near Mamallapuram. The Sangam age poem Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai relates the rule of King Thondaiman Ilam Thiraiyar at Kanchipuram of the Tondai Nadu port Nirppeyyaru which scholars identify with the present-day Mamallapuram. Chinese coins and Roman coins of Theodosius I in the 4th century CE have been found at Mamallapuram revealing the port as an active hub of global trade in the late classical period. Two Pallava coins bearing legends read as Srihari and Srinidhi have been found at Mamallapuram. The Pallava kings ruled Mamallapuram from Kanchipuram; the capital of the Pallava dynasty from the 3rd century to 9th century CE, and used the port to launch diplomatic missions to Ceylon and Southeast Asia.
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Mookambika
The Mookambika Devi Temple (Kannada: ಮೂಕಾಂಬಿಕಾ ದೇವಿ) of Kollur, dedicated to Mookambika Devi, is one of the most prominent shrines for people in the state of Karnataka and Kerala, India. Located at a distance of 147 km from Mangalore in the picturesque surroundings presented by the banks of the river Sauparnika and the lush green Kodachadri hill, the temple attracts millions of pilgrims every year. The temple holds immense relevance for the devotees as it is associated with revered Hindu saint and Vedic scholar Adi Shankara. It is believed that Adi Shankara perceived the idea of having a Mookambika Devi temple at Kollur and himself installed the idol of deity in the temple some 1200 years ago. People have high faith in Mookambika Devi Temple as Goddess Mookambika is regarded as a manifestation of Shakti, Saraswathi and Mahalakshmi. In fact the Temple of Mookambika Devi is one of the 'Seven Muktisthala' pilgrimage sites in Karnataka which are Kollur, Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbashi, Koteshwara, Shankaranarayana and Gokarna. [1]
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Nagara
Nagara is a village in the Shimoga district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is 17 km from Hosanagara or 84 km from Shimoga. This was called "Bidanoor" earlier during the 16th century, this was the last capital city of Keladi rulers. In 1763, Hyder Ali captured this area. Shivappanaika palace, fort, Devaganga tank, Neelakenteshwara temple and Gudde Venkataramana Swamy temple are worth to visit. The fort is built on a small hill, beside a lake. The fort has a system to circulate water around it for safety. On the hill, within the fort, there are Darbar Hall (King's Court), remains of a palace, two tanks called Akka Thangi Kola (Tanks of two sisters), and a cannon. Devaganga tank is a cluster of seven tanks for bathing. Nagara in Kannada language literally means city. The place is amidst green thick forests which are giving way to urbanisation and eventually to deforestation. Kollur Mookambika temple is 40 km from here
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (
i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Orissa
Orissa /ɔːˈrɪsə/ (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା [oˑɽisaˑ], Hindi: ओड़िशा – Oṛiśā), officially spelled Odisha, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on April 1, 1936, as a province in India, and consists predominantly of Oriya speakers. April 1st is therefore celebrated as Utkala Dibasa (formation day of Orissa). Cuttack remained the capital of the state for over eight centuries until April 13, 1948 when Bhubaneswar was officially declared as the new capital of Orissa, and is the present capital of this state.
Orissa is the ninth largest state by area in India, and the eleventh largest by population. Oriya (officially spelled Odia) is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by three quarters of the population. Orissa has a relatively unindented coastline (about 480 km long) and lacked good ports, except for the deepwater facility at Paradip, until the recent launch of the Dhamara Port (The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) is a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. DPCL has been awarded a concession by Government of Orissa to build and operate a port north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district). The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta supports the bulk of the population. The interior of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated.Deomali at 1672 m is the highest point of the state. Orissa is subject to intense cyclones. The most intense one, in October 1999, Tropical Cyclone 05B caused severe damage and nearly 15,000 deaths.
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Prambanan
Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.
The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples. One of the most majestic temples in Southeast Asia, Prambanan attracts many visitors from across the world.
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the construction of this royal temple was probably started by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty's answer to the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty's Borobudur and Sewu temples nearby. Historians suggest that the construction of Prambanan probably was meant to mark the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power in Central Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. Nevertheless, the construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that the Medang court had shifted the focus of its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism to Shivaist Hinduism.
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Radha Madhav Dham
Radha Madhav Dham, founded in 1990 under the name Barsana Dham by H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, is a large temple and ashram complex outside of Austin, Texas. Radha Madhav Dham is a place of pilgrimage reminiscent of similar locales in India. In April 2011, JKP Barsana Dham's new name was JKP Radha Madhav Dham. Radha Madhav Dham is the main US center of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. The ashram is led by a board of managing members, headed by board president Mr. Raj Goel. An ashram press release dated 4/28/2011 announced the name change.
According to articles in the International Journal of Humanities and Peace and Associated Press, Radha Madhav Dham was one of the largest Hindu Temples in the United States in 2000 and 1995 respectively. According to Harvard Plurism Project, the Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple at Radha Madhav Dham remains to be one of the largest Hindu Temples in the United States. It is the oldest Hindu Temple in Texas.
Radha Madhav Dham is a nonprofit, religious, educational, and charitable organization that follows the path of raganuga bhakti.
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Roermond
Roermond ( pronunciation (help·info)) (Limburgish: Remunj) is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.
The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231. Roermond town centre has been designated as a conservation area.
Through the centuries the town has filled the role of commercial centre, principal town in the duchy of Guelders and since 1559 it has served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Roermond. The skyline of the historic town is dominated by the towers of its two churches: St. Christopher Cathedral and Roermond Minster or 'Munsterkerk' in Dutch. In addition to important churches, the town centre has many listed buildings and monuments.
Roermond is situated in the middle of the province of Limburg bordered by the Maas River to the west and Germany to the east.
The community of Roermond consists of the following population centres:
Where before Celtic inhabitants of this region used to live on both sides of the Roer river, invading Romans built a bridge (now called the Steene Brök, or stone bridge) and founded the first town at Roermond, now a suburb called Voorstad Sint Jacob.
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Sabarimala
Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage center located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in world with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is believed to be the place where the Hindu God Ayyappan meditated after killing the powerful demoness, Mahishi. Ayyappan's temple is situated here amidst 18 hills. The temple is situated on a hilltop at an altitude of 468 m (1535 ft) above mean sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While functional and intact temples exist at many places in the surrounding areas like Nilackal, Kalaketi, and Karimala, remnants of old temples survive to this day on remaining hills.
Sabarimala is linked to Hindu pilgrimage, predominantly for men of all ages. Women between the ages of 10 and 50 are not allowed to enter the temple, since the story attributed to Ayyappa prohibits the entry of the women in the menstrual age group. This is because Ayyappan is a Bramachari (Celibate). The temple is open for worship only during the days of Mandalapooja (approximately November 15 to December 26), Makaravilakku (January 14- "Makara Sankranti") and Vishu (April 14), and the first six days of each Malayalam month.
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Sreevallabha Temple
Sreevallabha Temple (Malayalam - ശ്രീവല്ലഭ മഹാക്ഷേത്രം), a highly orthodoxHindu Temple dedicated to Purusha as Lord Sreevallabhan, is one among the oldest and biggest Temples of Kerala and a major destination for devotees all over India for centuries. Located in Thiruvalla town of Pathanamthitta district, this ocean of orthodoxy is well known for its architectural grandeur and unique customs that can be found in no other temples. The stone-wooden carvings and fine mural paintings inside the temple are worth seeing. Being one among 108 Divya Desams, Sreevallabha temple has been glorified by Alvars and many other ancient works. It is considered to be the vallabha kshethram mentioned in Garuda Purana and Matsya Purana.Kathakali is played daily in the temple as an offering, pushing it to the top in India in terms of places where Kathakali is staged in largest number of days per year. Lord Vishnu appeared here as Sreevallabhan for sage Durvasa and Khandakarnan. Pleased by prayers of an old Brahmin lady Sreevallabhan incarnated as a brahmachari and killed the demon Thokalaasuran. Later the idol of Sreevallabhan worshipped by Lakshmi and Krishna has been installed in the temple in BC 59. From then till date, the temple follows its own worship protocol that is known to be followed nowhere else yet. Sage Durvasa and Saptarishi are said to reach the temple every midnight for worshipping the Lord. The temple had governed one of the biggest educational institutions in ancient time and heavily contributed to the cultural and educational developments of Kerala
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Sripuram
The golden temple of Sripuram (Tamil: ஸ்ரீபுரம்) is a spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range of green hills in a place known as "Malaikodi" in the city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is at the southern end of the city of Vellore, at Tirumalaikodi.
The salient feature of Sripuram is the Lakshmi Narayani temple or Mahalakshmi temple whose 'Vimanam’ and ‘Ardha Mandapam’ have been coated with gold both in the interior and exterior.
The temple is located on 100 acres of land and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam, headed by spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma also known as Narayani Amma. The temple with gold covering, has intricate carvings and sculptures in gold. The lighting is arranged in such a way that the temple glitters even during night. The construction of the temple was completed on August 24, 2007. More than 1500 kg of gold was used to build this temple. The LED lighting on the ridge of the roof of the star path is lit up at night so that one can witness a star on the earth.
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Srirangam
Srirangam (Tamil: ஸ்ரீரங்கம்), Old name is Vellithirumutha gramam and Tamil name is Thiruvarangam (Tamil: திருவரங்கம்), is an island and a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli (also known as Trichy or Tiruchi), in South India.
Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River (also known as Cauvery river) on one side, and the Kaveri distributary Kollidam (Coleroon) on the other side. Srirangam is home to a significant population of Srivaishnavites (followers of Lord Vishnu, one of the triumvirate of Hindu Gods the other two being Lord Siva, the Destroyer and Lord Brahma, the Creator).
Srirangam is a native of a notable personality of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha Jayaram, where she had contested and won in State Assembly elections, 2011.
Srirangam is famous for its Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, a major pilgrimage destination for Hindus (especially Srivaishnavites) and the largest temple complex in India.
According to the temple's website, Srirangam can be considered the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world as it covers an area of about 631,000 square metres (6,790,000 sq ft) with a perimeter of 4 km (10,710 ft). Srirangam claims to be the biggest functioning temple, because Angkor Wat is the biggest but non-functioning Hindu temple in the world.
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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu /ˈtæmɨl ˈnɑːduː/ (Tamiḻ Nāṭu [t̪amɨɭ naːɖɯ] (
listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai, the largest city. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south.
Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the seventh most populous state. It is the fourth largest contributor (as of 2010) to India's GDP and ranks tenth in Human Development Index as of 2006. Tamil Nadu is also the most urbanised state in India. The state has the highest number (10.56%) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97%) in India, compared to the population share of about 6%.
The region has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use in inscriptions and literature for over 2000 years. Tamil Nadu is home to many natural resources, Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Thanjavur
Thanjavur, formerly Tanjore, is a municipality and the headquarters of the Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The name Thanjavur is derived from "Tanjan", a legendary asura in Hindu mythology. Thanjavur is one of the ancient cities in India and has a long and varied history dating back to the Sangam period. The town was founded by Mutharayar king Swaran Maran and rose to prominence during the rule of the Later Cholas when it served as the capital of the Chola empire. After the fall of the Cholas, the city was ruled by various dynasties like Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks and British. It has been a part of independent India since 1947.
Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian art and architecture. Most of the Great Living Chola Temples which are UNESCO World Heritage Monuments are located in and around Thanjavur. The foremost among the Great Living Chola temples, the Brihadeeswara Temple, is located in the center of the city. Thanjavur is also the home of the Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region. The city is an important agricultural center located at the heart of the region, known as the Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. South Zone Culture Centre in Thanjavur is one of many regional cultural centres established by Indian Government to preserve and promote traditional cultural heritage of India. It had a population of a 2,90,732 in 2011.
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Tilla Jogian
Tilla Jogian (Punjabi: ٹِلّہ جوگیاں, ਟਿੱਲਾਂ ਜੋਗਿਆਂ) is the highest peak in the Eastern Salt Range in Punjab, Pakistan. At 975 meters (3200 ft) above sea level, it is about 25 km to the west of Jhelum city and 10 km west of the model village of Khukha. The view from the top of Tilla is highly rewarding. Rohtas, Pakistan Fort is located to the east of Tilla Jogian at a distance of about 7 km from Dina, a rapidly expanding town on the Grand Trunk Road.
Tilla Jogian can be seen from districts of Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum and Chakwal. It is situated on a commanding place near the Jhelum River. From its height of 3200 feet, you can see a panorama unparalleled in Pakistan.
For thousand of years it was a place of sun worship for the Hindus because the sun can be seen here earlier and sets here later due to its height. It became a place of worship for Hindus. Tilla Jogian in Punjabi means the Hill of Saints.
Tradition holds that Tilla Jogian was founded 100 B.C. Tilla Jogian literally means Hill of the Yogis and lies about 50 kilometres North of Bhera. This is where the Kanphata Jogis, who pierced their earlobes and were an order founded by Guru Gorakhnath have left behind a monastery.
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Tirumala
Tirumala (Telugu: తిరుమల, {Tamil:திருமலை}) is a hill town in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Tirumala is a pilgrim center of Hindus. Popularly known as Sri Venkateswara Temple. Tirumala is dedicated for the Shrimann Narayana or Maha Vishnu. Sri Rengam, Tirumala and Badrinath are other existing places of Archavathara temples of Vishnu.
The Tirumala Hill is 3,200 feet (980 m) above sea level, and is about 10.33 square miles (26.8 km2) in area. Tirumala is a collective of seven peaks from Seshachalam range part of Eastern Ghats. The seven peaks represents the hood of Adisesha. The seven peaks are named as Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri respectively. The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is on the seventh peak, Venkatadri, and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini.
The word Tirumala is a combination of two words Tiru - sacred or honorable, and Mala - hill or peak (Tirumala means the "Sacred Mountain")in tamil.
The Chola dynasty were committed devotees of Lord Venkateswara and the vastly improved the temple and provided it with rich endowments.
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Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand[needs IPA] (Sanskrit: उत्तराखण्डम्, Uttarākhanḍam ?, Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड, Uttarākhanḍ ?), formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods (Hindi: देव भूमि, Dēv bhūmi ?) due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship. Known for its natural beauty and wealth of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai, the state was carved out of the Himalayan and adjoining north-western districts of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000, becoming the 27th state of the Republic of India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region on the north, the Mahakali Zone of Far-Western Region, Nepal on the east and the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the north west.
The region is traditionally referred to as Uttarakhand in Hindu scriptures and old literature, a term which derives from Sanskrit uttara (उत्तर) meaning north, and khaṇḍ (खण्ड्) meaning country or part of a country. It has an area of 20,682 sq mi (53,566 km²).
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West Bengal
West Bengal /bɛŋˈɡɔːl/ (proposed new English name: Paschim Banga) is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. Covering a total area of 34,267 sq mi (88,750 km2), it is bordered by the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). West Bengal encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north.
In the 3rd century BC, the broader region of Bengal was conquered by the emperor Ashoka. In the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by several sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, until the beginning of British rule in the 18th century. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) served for many years as the capital of British India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in expansion of Western education, culminating in development in science, institutional education, and social reforms of the region, including what became known as the Bengal Renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal – a state of India – and East Bengal, which initially joined the new nation of Pakistan, before becoming part of modern-day Bangladesh in 1971.
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Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term[citation needed] for the half of the Earth that lies west of the IERS Reference Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the Antimeridian (the International Date Line), the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.
In this sense, the Western Hemisphere consists of the North America, South America, the western portions of Africa and Europe, the extreme eastern tip of Russia, numerous territories in Oceania, and a portion of Antarctica, while excluding some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland.
The term is, however, often used in political rhetoric to mean only North America and South America (or the New World) and adjacent islands, however, the Western Hemsiphere does technically include all of the above mentioned territory.
In an effort to define the Western Hemisphere as the parts of the world which are not part of the Old World, there also exist projections which use the 20th meridian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemisphere. This projection excludes the European and African mainlands and a small portion of northeast Greenland, but includes more of eastern Russia and Oceania (e.g., New Zealand).
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Yameshwar Temple
Yameshwar or Jameshwar Temple is a very old temple dedicated to Shiva being worshiped by Yama.It is situated in Bhubaneswar near Bharati Math,in Jameshwar Patna.
The main Vimana is of Rekha Deula,Jagamohana is of Pidha Deula.Many portions of the temple are destroyed by natural calamities as the temple is built by sandstone.The outer Prakara is built by Laterite.The icons around the temple include many motifs like serpents,amorus images,animals,Dikpalas etc.The inner Garbhagriha houses Shivalinga.The building time of the temple is late 12th century during the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
The Jiuntia or Puajiutia festival which is also called Dwitvahana osha falling in Ashwin is very popular with this temple.Others being Shivaratri and Kartik Purnima.All Mondays and Sankramana days are important in this temple.People who visit this temple during Bharani nakshatra are said to be free from all miseries.
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Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (English: /ˌjɒɡjəˈkɑrtə/ or /ˌjoʊɡjəˈkɑrtə/,Malay: [jɔɡjaˈkarta]; also Jogja, Jogjakarta) is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region on Java in Indonesia. It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to 1949. One of the districts in Yogyakarta, Kotagede, was the capital of Mataram Sultanate between 1575-1640.
Although missing from the historical record since the migration of the capital of Medang kingdom in the 10th century to the eastern Java, the valley area in the south of Mount Merapi since the 15th century still inhabited by many people and perhaps become part of the region called "Pengging".
Kotagede was the capital of Mataram Sultanate now part of districts in Yogyakarta. The palace of the founder of Mataram Sultanate, Panembahan Senopati established in scene of part of Alas Mentaok. After a two times move it Capital, (Palace of Pleret and Place of Kerta, both located in Bantul Regency), The capital of Mataram Sultanate moved to Kartasura.
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Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara (Sanskrit: आदिशङ्करः Ādi Śaṅkara, pronounced [aːd̪i ɕəŋkəɾə]) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya was an Indian sage from Kalady in present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta. His teachings are based on the unity of the ātman and brahman— non-dual brahman, in which brahman is viewed as nirguna brahman, brahman without attributes.
Shankara travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta of which he is known as the greatest revivalist. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.
His works in Sanskrit concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of advaita (nondualism). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the Upanishads, and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutra, principal upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism.
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Ananda Coomaraswamy
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (Tamil: ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி, Ānanda Kentiś Kūmaraswāmī) (22 August 1877, Colombo, Ceylon − 9 September 1947, Needham, Massachusetts) was a Ceylonese philosopher and metaphysician, as well as a pioneering historian and philosopher of Indian art, particularly art history and symbolism, and an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West. In particular, he is described as "the groundbreaking theorist who was largely responsible for introducing ancient Indian art to the West."
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was born in Colombo, Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, to the Ceylonese Tamil legislator and philosopher Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. His father died when Ananda was 2 years old, and Ananda spent much of his childhood and education abroad.
Coomaraswamy moved to England in 1879 and attended Wycliffe College, a preparatory school in Stroud, Gloucestershire, at the age of 12. In 1900, he graduated from University College, London, with a degree in geology and botany. On June 19, 1902, Coomaraswamy married Ethel Mary Partridge, an English photographer, who then traveled with him to Ceylon. Their marriage lasted until 1913. Coomaraswamy's field work between 1902 and 1906 earned him a doctor of science for his study of Ceylonese mineralogy, and prompted the formation of the Geological Survey of Ceylon which he initially directed. While in Ceylon, the couple collaborated on Mediaeval Sinhalese Art; Coomaraswamy wrote the text and Ethel provided the photographs. His work in Ceylon fueled Coomaraswamy's anti-Westernization sentiments. After their divorce, Partridge returned to England, where she later married the writer Philip Mairet.
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Ashtavakra
Ashtavakra (Sanskrit: अष्टावक्रः, IAST Aṣṭāvakra) is a sage mentioned in Hindu scriptures. He is described as one born with deformities in eight limbs of the body (two feet, two knees, two hands, the chest and the head). In Sanskrit, Ashtavakra means "one having eight bends". Ashta (IAST Aṣṭa) means eight, while Vakra means bend or deformity. Ashtavakra is the author of the work Ashtavakra Gita, also known as Ashtavakra Samhita, a treatise on the instruction by Ashtavakra to Janaka about the Self. Ashtavakra is the Guru of the king Janaka and the sage Yajnavalkya.
Ashtavakra is first referenced in a single verse (6.119.17) of Yuddha Kanda in Valmiki's Ramayana. When Dasaratha comes to see Rama from heaven after the war of the Ramayana, he tells Rama -
In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, the legend of Ashtavakra is described in greater detail. On losing the game of dice with the Kauravas, the five Pandava princes and Draupadi are exiled for twelve years. On their pilgrimage, they meet the sage Lomasha, who shows the river Samanga to Yudhishthira. Lomasha says that this is the same river, on bathing in which the deformed Ashtavakra was cured of his eight deformities. On being asked by Yudhishthira, Lomasha narrates to the Pandava princes the legend of Ashtavakra, which forms three chapters of the Mahabharata.
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Brahmin
Brahmin (also called Brahman; from Sanskrit brāhmaṇa ब्राह्मण) is a name used to designate a member of one of the four varnas (castes) in the traditional Hindu societys of Nepal and India.
Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self. Brahmin or Brahmana refers to an individual, while the word Brahma refers to the creative aspect of the universal consciousness. The English word brahmin is an anglicised form of the Sanskrit word Brāhmana. In the Smriti view there are four "varnas", or classes: the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and Shudras. The Atreya smriti 141-142 enjoins that
One is a Shudra by birth
samskarad dvija ucyate
By observing Sanskara one becomes a Dvija
vedapathi bhaved viprah
By studying the Vedas one becomes a Vipra
brahma janati brahmanah
Traditionally Brahmin was the name given to persons who had attained the highest spiritual knowledge (brahmavidya) and who adhered to different branches (shakhas) of Vedas. This was described to be a difficult path of discipline of body, mind, and intellect. Irrespective of their birth or class,[citation needed] people who were dedicated to such an austere life were recognized as Brahmins.[citation needed] An example of this definition of Brahmin, that a person becomes a Brahmin, rather than being born as one, is the story of the sage Vishwamitra, who was a warrior, who became a Brahmin after attaining brahmavidya, and composed the Gayatri mantra. [defunct example from period before dharmashastras So,[citation needed] The belief that people born into the Brahmin caste, automatically become Brahmins, is a concept that emerged later in ancient India.[citation needed]
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Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Caitanya, IAST caitanya mahāprabhu) (1486–1534) was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India (specifically present-day Bangladesh and states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Assam, and Orissa of India) in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna. Sri Krishna Chaitanya was a notable proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to Krishna/God) based on the philosophy of the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita. Specifically, he worshipped the forms of Krishna, popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra and composed the Siksastakam in Sanskrit. His line of followers, known as Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as an Avatar of Krishna in the mood of Radharani who was prophesised to appear in the later verses of the Bhagavata Purana.
He was also sometimes referred to by the names Gaura (Sanskrit for golden one) due to his light skin complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Neem tree. There are numerous biographies available from the time giving details of Chaitanya's life, the most prominent ones being the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami and the earlier Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindavana Dasa (both originally written in Bengali but now widely available in English and other languages) and the Chaitanya Mangala, written by Lochana Dasa.
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Dayananda Saraswati
Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati (Hindi:स्वामी दयानन्द सरस्वती, Gujarati: મહષિૅ દયાનંદ સરસ્વતી) (Born:12 February 1824 – Died:30 October 1883. ) was an important Hindu religious scholar, reformer, and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya – "India for Indians" – in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak. Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship prevalent in Hinduism at the time, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently the philosopher and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of "makers of Modern India," as did Sri Aurobindo.
One of his notable disciples was Shyamji Krishna Varma, who founded India House in London and guided other revolutionaries. Others who were influenced by and followed him included Madam Cama, Pran Sukh Yadav, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Swami Shraddhanand Swami Shradhanad gave Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi the title of Mahatma Gandhi when Gandhi visited Gurukul Kangri along with Madan Mohan Malviya, Mahatma Hansraj and Lala Lajpat Rai. One of his most influential works is the book Satyarth Prakash, which contributed to the Indian independence movement. He was a sanyasi (ascetic) from boyhood, and a scholar, who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.
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Dnyaneshwar
Sant Dnyāneshwar (or Sant Jñāneshwar) (Marathi: संत ज्ञानेश्वर) (1275–1296) is also known as Jñanadeva (Marathi: ज्ञानदेव).
He was a 13th century Maharashtrian Hindu saint (Sant - a title by which he is often referred), poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition whose works Bhavartha Deepika (a commentary on Bhagavad Gita, popularly known as "Dnyaneshwari"), and Amrutanubhav are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature.
According to Nath tradition Sant Dnyaneshwar [1] was the second of the four children of Vitthal Govind Kulkarni and Rukmini, a pious couple from Apegaon near Paithan on the banks of the river Godavari. Vitthal had studied Vedas and set out on pilgrimages at a young age. In Alandi, about 30 km from Pune, Sidhopant, a local Yajurveda brahmin, was very much impressed with him and Vitthal married his daughter Rukmini.
After some time, getting permission from Rukmini, Vitthal went to Kashi(Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India), where he met Ramananda Swami and requested to be initiated into sannyas, lying about his marriage. But Ramananda Swami later went to Alandi and, convinced that his student Vitthal was the husband of Rukmini, he returned to Kashi and ordered Vitthal to return home to his family. The couple was excommunicated from the brahmin caste as Vitthal had broken with sannyas, the last of the four ashrams. Four children were born to them; Nivrutti in 1273, Dnyandev (Dnyaneshwar) in 1275, Sopan in 1277 and daughter Mukta in 1279. According to some scholars their birth years are 1268, 1271, 1274, 1277 respectively. It is believed that later Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping into the waters at Prayag where the river Ganges meets Yamuna hoping that their children would be accepted into the society after their death.
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Gangesha Upadhyaya
Gangesha Upadhyaya (Sanskrit: गंगेश उपाध्याय, Gaṅgeśa Upādhyāya) (late 12th century) was an Indian mathematician and philosopher from the kingdom of Mithila. He established the Navya-Nyāya ("New Logic") school. His Tattvacintāmaṇi (The Jewel of Thought on the Nature of Things) also known as Pramāṇacintāmaṇi (The Jewel of Thought on the Means of Valid Knowledge) is the basic text for all later developments. The logicians of this school were primarily interested in defining their terms and concepts related to non-binary logical categories.
Gengesha was born at Karion village on the banks of the river Kamala, 19 km south-east of Darbhanga in a Brahman family. According to tradition, he was illiterate in his early years but later he acquired the knowledge of logic as a boon from the goddess Kali. His son Vardhamana Upadhyaya was also a noted philosopher of the Nyaya school.
The text is divided into four khaṇḍas (books): Pratyakṣakhaṇḍa (book on perception), Anumānakhaṇḍa (book on inference), Upamānakhaṇḍa (book on comparison) and Śabdakhaṇḍa (book on verbal testimony). The first book opens with a salutation to Shiva.
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Gaudapada
Gaudapada (c. 8th century CE) (also referred as Shri Gaudapadacharya) was a very early guru in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. He is traditionally said to have been the grand-guru of the great teacher Adi Shankara, one of the most important figures in Hindu philosophy and also believed to be the founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math.
There is some dispute about the date of Shankara, but the most probable date is in the 8th century CE, as per the evidence cited by scholars such as Bhandarkar, K. B. Pathak and Deussen. Gaudapada is said to have been the teacher of Govinda, who was the teacher of Shankara. Shankara himself affirms this and quotes and refers to Gaudapada as the teacher's teacher who knows the tradition of the Vedānta (sampradāya-vit). Therefore, Gaudapada must have lived and taught during the 7th century CE.
The following well known Sanskrit Verse among Smarthas provides the list of the early teachers of the Vedanta in their order.
From this verse we can understand that, first teacher being Lord Narayana himself and line of descent from father to son up-to Sri Shuka Acharya. From Lord Narayana to Sri Shuka Acharya the line of succession is known as Vamsarsi-Parampara and from Sri Gaudapadcharya starts the descent of Sanyasins and known as Manava-Guru-Sampradaya.
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Jaimini
Jaimini was an ancient Indian rishi (sage), who was a great philosopher of the Mimansa school of Indian philosophy. He was the disciple of the great Rishi Veda Vyasa, the son of Rishi Parashara.
Jaimini is most known for his great treatise Purva Mimamsa Sutras (“First Reflection”), or Karma-mimamsa (“Study of Ritual Action”), a system that investigates the nature of Vedic injunctions. The text founded the Purva-Mimamsa school of Ancient Indian philosophy, one of the six Darsanas or schools of Ancient Indian philosophy.
Dated to ca. the 3rd century BC, the text contains about 3,000 sutras and is the foundational text of the Mimamsa school. The text aims at an exegesis of the Vedas with regard to ritual practice (karma) and religious duty (dharma), commenting on the early Upanishads. Jaimini's Mimamsa is a ritualist counter-movement to the mysticist Vedanta currents of his day. He was commented upon by Śābara in the early centuries CE.
He is also considered the author of epic work, Jaimini Bharata, which presents a version of Mahabharata, which most known for its Aswamedha parva.
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Jayanta Bhatta
Jayanta Bhatta (c. 9th Century CE) was a Kashmiri poet and philosopher of Nyaya school of Indian philosophy. In his philosophical treatise Nyayamanjari and drama Agamadambara, Jayanta mentioned about the king Shankaravarman (883 – 902 CE) as his contemporary. Also, his son Abhinanda in his Kadambari-kathasara, mentioned that the great grandfather of Jayanta was a minister of king Lalitaditya of 8th Century CE. So most probably Jayanta belonged to the last quarter of 9th Century CE.
From Abhinanda’s Kadambari-kathasara (5-12), we came to know about the genealogy of Jayanta. His ancestor Shakti was a Brahman of Bharadvaja gotra from Gauda, who settled at Darvabhisara, a place at the border of Kashmir. His son was Mitra and grandson was Shaktisvamin. Shaktisvamin, great grandfather of Jayanta was a minister of Karkota dynasty king of Kashmir Lalitaditya Muktapida (c. 724 – 761 CE). Jayanta in Nyayamanjari mentioned that his grandfather obtained a village named Gauramulaka (probably located north of Rajouri) from the king. The name of Jayanta’s father was Chandra.
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Kabir
Kabīr (also Kabīra) (Hindi: कबीर, Punjabi: ਕਬੀਰ, Urdu: کبير) (1440–1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' - the 37th name of God in Islam.
Apart from having an important influence on Sikhism, Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census. His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar.
Not much is known of Kabir's birth parents, but it is known that he was brought up in a family of Muslim weavers. He was found by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife, Nima, in Lehartara, situated in Varanasi. They adopted the boy and taught him the weaver's trade.
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Kanada
It has been claimed that Kashyapa, later known as Kanada (Sanskrit: कणाद; also transliterated as Canada as well as other forms) was a Hindu sage and philosopher who founded the philosophical school of Vaisheshika and authored the text Vaisheshika Sutra. He talked of Dvyanuka (biatomic molecule) and tryanuka (triatomic molecule).[citation needed] He probably lived around the 2nd century BCE, while other sources claim he lived in the 6th Century BCE. It is believed that he was born in Prabhas Kshetra (near Dwaraka) in Gujarat, India.
His primary area of study was Rasavādam, considered to be a type of alchemy. He is said to have believed that all living beings are composed of five elements: water, fire, earth, air, ether. Vegetables have only water, insects have water and fire, birds have water, fire, earth and air, and Humans, the top of the creation, have ether—the sense of discrimination (time, space, mind) are one. He theorized that Gurutva(Hindi/Sanskrit for Gravity) was responsible for the falling of objects on the Earth.
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Kapila
Kapila (Hindi: कपिल ऋषि) was a Vedic sage credited as one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy. He is prominent in the Bhagavata Purana, which features a theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy. Traditional Hindu sources describe him as a descendant of Manu, a grandson of Brahma. The Bhagavad Gita depicts Kapila as a yogi hermit with highly developed siddhis, or spiritual powers.
Many of the details about sage Kapila's life are described in Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, where it is mentioned that his parents were Kardama Muni and Devahuti. Kapila is considered an incarnation of the supreme-being (Narayana) and listed as such in the list of incarnations in Bhagavata Purana .After his father left home, Kapila instructed his mother, Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and devotional worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve liberation (moksha). Kapila's Sankhya is also given by Krishna to Uddhava in Book 11 of the Bhagavata Purana, a passage also known as the "Uddhava Gita".
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Krishna
Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण) (kṛṣṇa in IAST, pronounced [ˈkr̩ʂɳə] literally "dark, black") is a central figure of Hinduism. He is known as the eighth and "complete" avatar of Lord Vishnu, come to restore Dharma to the earth in a time of great dharmic imbalance. Krishna is identified as a historical individual who participated in the events of the Mahabharata.
Krishna is often described as an infant or young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana, or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the Supreme Being. The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana.
Worship of a deity of Krishna, in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopala, can be traced to as early as 4th century BC. Worship of Krishna as svayam bhagavan, or the Supreme Being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the bhakti movement. From the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha in Orissa, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. Since the 1960s the worship of Krishna has also spread in the West, largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
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Kumārila Bhaṭṭa
Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (Devanagari: कुमारिल भट्ट, fl. roughly AD 700) was a Hindu philosopher and Mimamsa scholar from Assam. He is famous for many of his seminal theses on Mimamsa, such as Mimamsaslokavarttika. Bhaṭṭa was a staunch believer in the supreme validity of Vedic injunction, a great champion of Purva-Mimamsa and a confirmed ritualist. The varttika is mainly written as a subcommentary of Sabara's commentary on Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa Sutra. His philosophy is classified by some scholars as existential realism.
Scholars differ as regards Kumārila's views on a personal God. For example, Manikka Vachakar believed that Kumārila promoted a personal God (Parabrahman), which conflicts with the Mimamsa school. In his varttika Kumārila Bhaṭṭa goes to great lengths to argue against the theory of a creator God and held that the actions enjoined in the Veda had definite results without an external interference.
Bhaṭṭa is also credited with the logical formulation of the Mimamsic belief that the Vedas are unauthored (apaurusheya). In particular his defence against medieval Buddhist position on Vedic rituals, is noteworthy. Some believe that this contributed, to the decline of Buddhism in India because his lifetime coincides with the period in which Buddhism began to decline. Indeed, his dialectical success against buddhists is confirmed by Buddhist historian Tathagatha, who reports that Kumārila defeated disciples of Buddhapalkita, Bhavya, Dharmadasa, Dignaga and others. Though, records from Yi Jing's travelogue show Buddhism continued to proliferate in most of southern and northern India until the late 8th century CE.[citation needed] His work strongly influenced other schools of Indian philosophy, most notably Advaita Vedanta, especially since Vedanta adopts purva Mimamsa's epistemological arguments almost verbatim, with the exception that while Mimamsa considers the Upanishads to be subservient to the Vedas, the Vedanta school does not think so.
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Madhvacharya
Madhvacharya (Tulu: ಶ್ರೀ ಮಧ್ವಾಚಾರ್ಯ, Sanskrit: श्री मध्वाचार्यः Śrī Madhvācāryaḥ) (1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna and Ananda Tirtha, was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita (dualism) school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in many ways, going against standard conventions and norms. According to tradition, Madhvācārya is believed to be the third incarnation of Vāyu (Mukhyaprāṇa).
Madhvācārya was born on the auspicious day of Vijaya-daśami (Dussehra) in 1238 CE (AD) at Pājaka, a tiny hamlet near Uḍupi. Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍitācārya who later wrote Madhvācārya's biography has not recorded his parents' names. Traditionally it is believed that Nadillaya Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭa as name of the father and Vedavati as Madhvācārya's mother. They named him Vāsudeva at birth. Later he became famous by the names Pūrṇa-prajña, Ānanda-tīrtha and Madhvācārya.
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Nagavanshi
The Nagavanshi (Sanskrit: नाग वंशी) dynasty is one of the ancient Kshatriya dynasties of India. The Vedas do not mention Kshatriyas of either Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Nagavanshi, Agnivanshi or such Vanshas or lineages. The Puranas, of debatable dating, constructed such genealogies. The Puranas were supposedly written from the Gupta Period onwards (See: Puranas). Bhavishyapuran mentions 12 heavenly serpents like Takshak, Vasuki, Sheshnag, Anantnag etc. and Swastik as the weapon of Takshak. Swastik is a sacred symbol for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. On Hindu temples and homes, statues of the Buddha and Mahavir swastik symbol is quite common. Divine serpent Sheshnag is considered as the bed of lord Vishnu. While lord Shiva is always shown with a serpent around neck. All those things clearly indicate relationship between Nagavanshi dynasties and present Indian society.
A copper plate inscription from the Gupta Period relates to the Nagas being elevated to Kshatriya-hood (26). The copper plates of this period relate to the Nagas being defeated by the Guptas; and subsequently being married into them. One example is that of the King Chandragupta II who married Queen Kuber Naga. The Nagas were mentioned as a non-aryan snake worshipping tribe of ancient India (27). However, puranic legends constructed the genealogy of the Nagavanshis as a sub-clan of Suryavansha also known as Sooryavamsham .
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Namdev
Saint Namdeo (29 October, 1270 - 1350) (Marathi: संत नामदेव) or Bhagat Namdeo (Gurmukhi: ਭਗਤ ਨਾਮਦੇਵ) was born on October 29, 1270 in the state of Maharashtra village of Narasi-Bamani, in Hingoli district (presently called Narsi Namdev). His father, a calico printer/tailor, was named Damshet and his mother's name was Gonabai. Most of the spiritual message of Bhagat Namdeo emphasized the importance of living the life of a householder (गृहस्थ जीवन) and that through marriage and having a family one could attain enlightenment.
The first biographer and auto-biographer in Marathi and the foremost proponent of Bhagawad-Dharma who propagated the religion right up to Punjab
Saint Namdev, a contemporary saint-poet of Saint Dnyaneshwar, is considered a prominent religious poet of Maharashtra. He was one the earliest writers who wrote in the Marathi language. He is the foremost proponent of the Bhagwad-Dharma who reached beyond Maharashtra, right into Punjab. He also wrote some hymns in Hindi and Punjabi. His depth of devotion and talent in delivering Kirtan was of such a high standard that it is said even the Lord Pandurang swayed to his tune. Despite being a proponent of the Warkari sect, Saint Namdev established religious unity across the country.
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Narayana Guru
Sri Nārāyana Guru (Malayalam: ശ്രീ നാരായണ ഗുരു) (1856–1928), also known as Sree Nārāyana Guru Swami, was a Hindu saint, sadhu[Full citation needed] and social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against casteism and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and of social equality, thereby transforming the Kerala society and as such he is adored as a prophet.
Nārāyana Guru is revered for his Vedic knowledge[citation needed], poetic proficiency[citation needed], openness to the views of others[citation needed], non-violent philosophy[citation needed] and his unrelenting resolve to set aright social wrongs. Nārāyana Guru was instrumental in setting the spiritual foundations for social reform in today's Kerala and was one of the most successful social reformers who tackled caste in India. He demonstrated a path to social emancipation without invoking the dualism of the oppressed and the oppressor.
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Nimbarka
Nimbarka (Sanskrit: श्री निम्बार्काचार्य, Telugu: నింబార్కాచార్య Śrī Nimbārkācārya), is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology of Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. According to scholars headed by Prof. Roma Bose, he lived in the 13th Century, on the assumption that Śrī Nimbārkācārya was the author of the work Madhvamukhamardana. According to Nimbārka Sampradāya however, Śrī Nimbārkācārya appeared over 5000 years ago, in the year 3096 BCE at the time when the grandson of Arjuna was on the throne. He hailed from the present-day Andhra Pradesh, in South India.
Nimbarka's date is subject to much controversy. Although current research and scholarly consensus centres on a date somewhere just before Sankaracarya, in general scholars have not been able to come to a unilateral conclusion.
Dr. Bhandarkar has placed him as a philosopher after Ramanuja and has maintained his demise date as 1162 AD. Some hold that he is dated around 13th Century. However, Dr. S.N.Dasgupta dated Nimbarka to around middle of 14th Century. On the other hand, Dr. S A A Rizvi assigns the date of Circa 1130-1200 AD But Jadunath Sinha, has counted him as a 13th century philosopher, and Dr. Tarachand has held him to be a younger contemporary of Ramanuja.
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Prabhākara
Prabhākara (ca. 7th c. AD) was an Indian philosopher grammarian in the Mimamsa tradition. His views and his debate with Kumārila Bhaṭṭa led to the Prābhākara school within Mimamsa.
Commentaries on Prabhakara have been written by Shalikanatha in the 8th c.[citation needed]
One of the views of the prābhākaras is that words do not directly designate meaning; any meaning that arises is because it is connected with other words (anvitābhidhāna, anvita = connected; abhidhā = denotation). We know or learn the meaning of a word only by considering the sentential context which it appears; we learn such word meanings together with their possible semantic connections with other words. Sentence meanings are grasped directly, from perceptual and contextual cues, skipping the stage of grasping singly the individual word meanings (Matilal 1990:108).
This is very similar to the modern view of linguistic underspecification, and relates to the Dynamic Turn in Semantics, which opposes the purely compositional view of arriving at sentence meaning.
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Pāṇini
Pāṇini (Sanskrit: पाणिनि, IPA: [pɑːɳin̪i]; a patronymic meaning "descendant of Paṇi") was an Sanskrit grammarian from Pushkalavati, Gandhara - modern Charsadda, Pakistan (fl. 6th century BC).
Pāṇini is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (अष्टाध्यायी Aṣṭādhyāyī, meaning "eight chapters"), the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.
The Ashtadhyayi is one of the earliest known grammars of Sanskrit, although Pāṇini refers to previous texts like the Unadisutra, Dhatupatha, and Ganapatha. It is the earliest known work on descriptive linguistics, and together with the work of his immediate predecessors (Nirukta, Nighantu, Pratishakyas) stands at the beginning of the history of linguistics itself. His theory of morphological analysis was more advanced than any equivalent Western theory before the mid 20th century, and his analysis of noun compounds still forms the basis of modern linguistic theories of compounding, which have borrowed Sanskrit terms such as bahuvrihi and dvandva.
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Raghunatha Siromani
Raghunatha Shiromani (Bengali: রঘুনাথ শিরোমণি, IAST: Raghunātha Śiromaṇi) (c. 1477–1547) was an Indian philosopher and logician. He was born at Nabadwip in present day Nadia district of West Bengal state. He was the grandson of Śulapāṇi (c. 14th century CE), a noted writer on Smṛti from his mother's side. He was a pupil of Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma. He brought the new school of Nyaya, Navya Nyāya, representing the final development of Indian formal logic, to its zenith of analytic power.
Raghunatha's analysis of relations revealed the true nature of number, inseparable from the abstraction of natural phenomena, and his studies of metaphysics dealt with the negation or nonexistence of a complex reality. His most famous work in logic was the Tattvacintāmaṇidīdhiti, a commentary on the Tattvacintāmaṇi of Gangeśa Upādhyāya, founder of the Navya Nyāya school.
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Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna (pronounced: IPA: [Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo] listen (help·info)) (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay (IPA: [Gôdadhor Chôṭṭopaddhae]), was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an Avatar or incarnation of God. He is also referred to as "Paramahamsa" by his devotees, as such he is popularly known as Ramkrishna Paramhamsa.
Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural Bengal. He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of the main strands of Bengali bhakti tradition. The most widely known amongst his first spiritual teachers was an ascetic woman skilled in Tantra and Vaishnava bhakti. Later an Advaita Vedantin ascetic taught him non-dual meditation, and according to Ramakrishna, he experienced nirvikalpa samadhi under his guidance. Ramakrishna also experimented with other religions, notably Islam and Christianity, and said that they all lead to the same God. Though he quit conventional education, he attracted the attention of the middle class, upper middle class and numerous Bengali intellectuals.[citation needed]
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Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi (Tamil: ரமண மஹரிஷி) (December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950), born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master ("jnani"). He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation (moksha), he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus. He lived at the mountain for the rest of his life. Although born a Brahmin, he declared himself an "Atiasrami", a Sastraic state of non-attachment to anything in life and beyond all caste restrictions. The ashram that grew around him, Sri Ramana Ashram, is situated at the foothill of Arunchala, to the west to the pilgrimage town of Tiruvannamalai.
Sri Ramana Maharshi maintained that the purest form of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his presence and quieted the minds of those attuned to it. He gave verbal teachings only for the benefit of those who could not understand his silence (or, perhaps, could not understand how to attain the silent state). His verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct experience of Atman as the only existing reality. When asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha. Though his primary teaching is associated with Non-dualism, Advaita Vedanta, and Jnana yoga, he recommended Bhakti to those he saw were fit for it, and gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices.
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Ramanuja
Śrī Ramanuja (Tamil: இராமானுஜர், Rāmānujar ?, Telugu: రామానుజాచార్యుల వారు, Rāmānujācārya ?, Kannada: ರಾಮಾನುಜಾಚಾರ್ಯ, Rāmānujācārya ?, Devanagari: रामानुज); traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Śrī Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar (Yatiraja), Emberumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete. He is seen by Śrīvaiṣṇavas as the most important teacher (ācārya) of their tradition who followed Nathamuni and Yamunacharya, and by Hindus in general as the leading expounder of Viśiṣṭādvaita, one of the classical interpretations of the dominant Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.
The traditional biographies of Ramanuja place his life in the period of 1017–1137, yielding a lifespan of 120 years. However, the unusual length and roundness of this lifetime has led scholars to propose that Ramanuja was born 20–60 years later, and died as many as 20 years earlier than the traditional dates[citation needed]. Any chronology depends crucially on the major historical event mentioned in the traditional biographies: the persecution of Srivaishnavas under the Chola king Kulothunga and Ramanuja's subsequent 12-year exile in Melkote, in Karnataka[citation needed].
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Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (Bengali: শ্রী অরবিন্দ Sri Ôrobindo) (15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950), born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose (Bengali: অরবিন্দ ঘোষ Ôrobindo Ghosh), was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress and spiritual evolution.
The central theme of Aurobindo's vision was the evolution of human life into life divine. He wrote: "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of nature's process."
Aurobindo's writings synthesized Eastern and Western philosophy, religion, literature, and psychology. Aurobindo was the first Indian to create a major literary corpus in English.His works include philosophy; poetry; translations of and commentaries on the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Gita; plays; literary, social, political, and historical criticism; devotional works; spiritual journals and three volumes of letters. His principal philosophical writings are The Life Divine and The Synthesis of Yoga, while his principal poetic work is Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol.
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Srimanta Sankardeva
Srimanta Shankardeva (1449–1568) (Assamese: মহাপুৰুষ শ্ৰীমন্ত শঙ্কৰদেৱ Môhapurux Srimôntô Xônkôrdev), was a 15th-16th century Assamese saint-scholar, playwright, social-religious reformer and a colossal figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam, India. He is credited with providing a thread of unity to Assam straddling two major kingdoms (Ahom and Koch kingdoms), building on past literary activities to provide the bedrock of Assamese culture, and creating a religion that gave shape to a set of new values and social synthesis. The religion he started, Mahapuruxiya Dharma, was part of the Bhakti movement then raging in India, and he inspired bhakti in Assam just as Ramananda, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Basava and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inspired it elsewhere.
His literary and artistic contributions are living traditions in Assam today. The religion he preached is practiced by a large population, and Sattras (monasteries) that he and his followers established continue to flourish and sustain his legacy.
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Swaminarayan
Swaminarayan (Gujarati: સ્વામિનારાયણ, Devanagari: स्वामीनारायण, IAST: Svāmīnārāyaṇa) (3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, is the central figure in a modern sect of Hinduism known as the Swaminarayan Faith, a form of Vaishnavism. Within the faith, Swaminarayan is equated with the Supreme Being, Purushottama, or is venerated as an incarnation of Narayana from the Nara-Narayana deity pair.
Swaminarayan was born Ghanshyam Pande in Chhapaiya, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1781. In 1792, he began a seven year pilgrimage across India, adopting the name Nilkanth Varni. He settled in the state of Gujarat around 1799. In 1800, he was initiated into the Uddhav Sampraday by his guru, Ramanand Swami, and was given the name Sahajanand Swami. In 1802, his guru handed over the leadership of the Uddhav Sampraday to him before his death. Sahajanand Swami held a gathering and taught the Swaminarayan mantra. From this point onwards, he was known as Swaminarayan and regarded as an incarnation of God by his followers. The Uddhav Sampraday became known as the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
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Tukaram
Sant Tukaram (1608–1650) was a prominent Varkari Sant (Saint) and spiritual poet during a Bhakti movement in India.
Sant Tukaram was born and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune in Mahārāshtra, India. Kumar, Munshi, Kincaid and Parasanisa, consider him to be of the Vani or grocer caste. In accordance with an ancient Indian tradition, Tukaram's family name is rarely used in identifying him. His real name is Tukaram Vhilhoba Aambe. Rather, in accord with another tradition in India of assigning the epithet "sant" (संत) to persons regarded as thoroughly saintly, Tukaram is commonly known in Maharashtra as Sant Tukaram (संत तुकाराम). He is known as Bhakta Tukaram to southern Indian people.
Scholars assign various birth years to Sant Tukaram: 1577, 1598, 1608 and 1609 CE. The year of Sant Tukaram's death —1650 CE— is much more certain.
Sant Tukaram's first wife, Rakhumābāi, died in 1602 in her early youth. Sant Tukaram and his second wife, Jijābāi (also known as Āvali), had three sons: Santu or Mahādev, Vithobā, and Nārāyan.
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Tulsidas
Tulsidas (Devanagari: तुलसीदास, Hindi pronunciation: [t̪uls̪iːd̪ɑːs̪], also known as Goswami Tulsidas), (1497/1532–1623) was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Rama. A composer of several popular works, he is best known for being the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana in the vernacular Awadhi. Tulsidas was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit. He is also considered to be the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman, the divine monkey helper and devotee of Rama. Tulsidas lived permanently and died in the city of Varanasi. The Tulsi Ghat in Varnasi is named after him. He founded the Sankatmochan Temple dedicated to Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of Hanuman. Tulsidas started the Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaption of the Ramayana. He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and world literature. The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen to date in vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.
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Vallabha Acharya
Vallabhacharya (Telugu: వల్లబ్హాచార్య) (1479–1531 CE) was a devotional philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India, following the philosophy of Shuddha advaita (Pure Non-dualism).
Vallabhacharya accepted the 'Acharya' designation of Vishnuswami Sampraday (Rudra Sampraday) upon request of Bilvamangala Acharya, the last Vishnuswami Sampraday acharya before Vallabhacharya. This was after Vallabhacharya won the famous debate of Brahmavada over Shankaras in the courtyard of the Emperor Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagara Empire - the prosperous South Indian Empire. Apart from being the acharya of Vishnuswami Sampradaya, Vallabhacharya also propagated the Pushtimarga upon the god Krishna's order and thus became the acharya of not only Vishnuswami Sampradaya but also Pushti Sampradaya.
He is the Acharya and Guru within the Vaishnava traditions as promulgated and prescribed by the Vedanta philosophy. He is associated with Vishnuswami, a prominent Acharya of Rudra Sampradaya out of the four Vaishnava Sampradayas.
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Valmiki
Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, vālmīki) (during Lord Rama's time) is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e. first verse, which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.
At least by the 1st century AD, Valmiki's reputation as the father of Sanskrit classical poetry seems to have been legendary. Ashvagosha writes in the Buddhacarita:
This particular verse has been speculated to indicate a familial relationship between Valmiki and Chyavana, as implied by the previous and subsequent verses.
Valmiki was the son of Sumali. Maharishi Valmiki was born in a shudra family. His birth name was Ratnakara. But the trust factor of the sources is questionable.When everyone left to travel south Sumali took his son and wife and moved near the bank of Vipasa River (Northern India). The Uttara Khanda tells the story of Valmiki's early life, as an unnamed highway robber who used to rob people before killing them. Other versions name him Valya Meet. Robbing people who passed by was the only source of money for him.
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Vedanta Desika
Vedanta Desika (Swami Desikan, Swami Vedanta Desikan, Thoopul Nigamaantha Desikan) (1269–1370) was a Sri Vaishnava Guru. He was a poet, devotee, philosopher and master-teacher. He was the disciple of Swamy Sri Kidambi Appullar alias Sri Aathreya Ramanujachariar who comes in the lineage starting from Sri Ramanuja with Sri Thirukurugai Piran Pillan alias Sri Kurugesar,Sri Kidambi Aachan, Sri Aathreya Ramanujar, Sri Aathreya Rangarajachariar and many in the order. He is considered as an Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumalai by Sri Vaishavites.
In the case Swami Vedanta Desika, certain oblique biographical references are available internally in his works, for example in the Prologue to his Sankalpa Suryodayam. Prathivadi Bhayankaram Annan (1300–1400), a junior contemporary of Swami Desika and a disciple of Kumara Varadhacharya (son of Swamy Vedanta Desika) gives some details about Vedanta Desika's parentage, education etc. in his " Saptati Ratna Maalika".
The birth of Vedanta Desika was in the Kali yuga year 4370, which corresponds to 1268 AD in the Tamil Year Vibhava, month Purattaasi, on the Dasami day of Sukla Paksha, a Wednesday, in the constellation of Sravanam (the same as that of Lord of Tirumalai).He was born in Thooppul, near Tiruttangaa (Himavanam) adjacent to the temple of Deepa Prakaasar in Kanchipuram, the birthplace of Poigai Alwar.
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Vidyaranya
Vidyāraṇya also known as Mādhava Vidyāranya is variously known as being a kingmaker, patron saint and high priest to Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of the Vijayanagar Empire. He was the 12th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from 1380 to 1386 A.D. He was born to Māyaṇācārya and Śrīmatīdevī in Pampakṣetra (modern day Hampi) in 1268 CE. Another account has it that he was born in Ekasila nagari (modern Warangal). He helped the brothers establish the empire sometime in 1336 AD. He later served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over the Vijayanagar empire. Vijayanagara or Hampi, the capital of the empire, has a temple dedicated to Mādhavācārya. He is the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha (सर्वदर्शनसङ्रह), a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu thought and Pañcadaśī, an important text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition.
Vidyaranya was an exponent of the Advaita school of philosophy in Hinduism. He is said to be the brother of Sāyaṇācārya who wrote a commentary on the four Vedas. He was a Hindu statesman and philosopher who lived at the court of Vijayanagara, the Southern Hindu kingdom. He is believed to have served as a minister under King Bukka of the Vijayanagara empire. His younger brother, Shyapa, was associated with him in the administration and was a famous commentator on the Rigveda. Shyapa's commentaries were influenced by and dedicated to Mādhava.
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Vyasa
Vyasa (Devanagari: व्यास, vyāsa) is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa (वेद व्यास, veda vyāsa), (the one who classified the Vedas in to four parts) or Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace). He is the author as well as a character in the Mahabharata and considered to be the scribe of both the Vedas, and the supplementary texts such as the Puranas. A number of Vaishnava traditions regard him as an Avatar of Vishnu. Vyasa is sometimes conflated by some Vaishnavas with Badarayana, the author of the Vedanta Sutras. Vyāsa is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to general Hindu belief. He is also the fourth member of the Rishi Parampara of the Advaita Guru Paramparā of which Adi Shankara is the chief proponent.
The festival of Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known as Vyasa Purnima as it is the day, which is believed to be his birthday and also the day he divided the Vedas.
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Vācaspati Miśra
Vācaspati Miśra (900–980 CE) was an Indian philosopher who founded one of the main Advaita Vedanta schools, the Bhāmatī school (named after his commentary on Śankara's Brahma-sūtra-bhāṣya), and whose work was an important forerunner of the Navya-Nyāya system of thought.
Vācaspati was a Maithili Brahmin who lived near the frontier between India and Nepal (what is now Vachaspati Nagar (Andhra Thardhi), Madhubani). The details of his life have been lost, though he is said to have named one of his works after his wife, Bhāmatī. He wrote commentaries on the main works of all the major Hindu schools of thought at the time, as well as one non-commentary, Tattvabindu.
In Tattvabindu, Vācaspati examines four competing theories of linguistic meaning:
After examining each of these theories, Vācaspati presents his own theory, abhihitānvayavāda, according to which understanding of the meaning of a whole sentence is reached by inferring it, in a separate act of lakṣanā or implication, from the individual meanings of the constituent words.
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Yajnavalkya
Yājñavalkya (Devanagari: याज्ञवल्क्य) of Mithila was a legendary sage of Vedic India, credited with the authorship of the Shatapatha Brahmana (including the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad), besides the Yoga Yajnavalkya and the Yājñavalkya Smṛti. He is also a major figure in the Upanishads.
According to tradition, Yājñavalkya was the son of Devarāta and was the pupil of sage Vaiśampāyana. Once, Vaiśampāyana got angry with Yājñavalkya as the latter argued too much to separate some latter additions to Yajurveda in being abler than other students. The angry teacher asked his pupil Yājñavalkya to give back all the knowledge of Yajurveda that he had taught him.
As per the demands of his Guru, Yājñavalkya vomited all the knowledge that he acquired from his teacher in form of digested food. Other disciples of Vaiśampāyana took the form of partridge birds and consumed the digested knowledge (a metaphor for knowledge in its simplified form without the complexities of the whole but the simplicity of parts) because it was knowledge and they were very eager to receive the same.
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The Hindu Temple
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- Duration: 4:50
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
An introduction to the art and architecture of the Hindu temples of India.
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An introduction to the art and architecture of the Hindu temples of India.
Indian Temple - Badrinath Temple Uttrakhand - Temple Tours
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- Duration: 25:01
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Watch the spiritual video of the Temple Badrinath situated in Dehradun in Uttrakhand. Badrinath is a place sacred to Vishnu particularly in Vishnus dual form of Nara Narayana. One legend has it that when the goddess Ganga was requested to descend to earth to help suffering humanity the earth was unable to withstand the force of her descent. Therefore the mighty Ganga was split into twelve holy channels with Alaknanda one of them. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
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Watch the spiritual video of the Temple Badrinath situated in Dehradun in Uttrakhand. Badrinath is a place sacred to Vishnu particularly in Vishnus dual form of Nara Narayana. One legend has it that when the goddess Ganga was requested to descend to earth to help suffering humanity the earth was unable to withstand the force of her descent. Therefore the mighty Ganga was split into twelve holy channels with Alaknanda one of them. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 23 Jan 2012
- views: 15409
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Saptashungi Mata Nasik - Indian Temple Tours
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- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
Get your wishes fulfilled by watching the spiritual video of temple Shaptashrungi. This temple is one among the 51 Shakti peethas located on the Indian subcontinent. The Devi is said be self-manifested on the sheer face of a mountain. She is surrounded by seven peaks hence the name - Sapta Shrungi Mata which means mother of the seven peaks. The image of the Devi is huge about 10 feet tall with 18 hands holding various weapons. The idol is always coated with Sindoor which is considered auspicious in this region. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Saptashungi_Mata_Nasik_Indian_Temple_Tours
Get your wishes fulfilled by watching the spiritual video of temple Shaptashrungi. This temple is one among the 51 Shakti peethas located on the Indian subcontinent. The Devi is said be self-manifested on the sheer face of a mountain. She is surrounded by seven peaks hence the name - Sapta Shrungi Mata which means mother of the seven peaks. The image of the Devi is huge about 10 feet tall with 18 hands holding various weapons. The idol is always coated with Sindoor which is considered auspicious in this region. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 23 Jan 2012
- views: 5509
- author: TheDivineIndia
Germany - The Hindu Temple in Hamm | European Journal
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:54
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
The town of Hamm is home to Europe's largest Hindu temple. Tens of thousands of worshippers come here for important religious celebrations close to a busy highway.The temple, which is also popular with worshippers from Belgium and the Netherlands, was founded by Tamil refugees when they came to Germany in the 1980's.
http://wn.com/Germany_The_Hindu_Temple_in_Hamm_|_European_Journal
The town of Hamm is home to Europe's largest Hindu temple. Tens of thousands of worshippers come here for important religious celebrations close to a busy highway.The temple, which is also popular with worshippers from Belgium and the Netherlands, was founded by Tamil refugees when they came to Germany in the 1980's.
- published: 17 Jun 2011
- views: 58629
- author: deutschewelleenglish
Indian Temple - Iskcon Mandir Krishna Balaram Vrindavan- Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
Pray to Lord Krishna with this devotional video of Iskcon Temple. Situated within Krishnas holy land of Vrindavan Iskcon Mandir offers a wide range of services and provides a variety of spiritual opportunities to residents and visitors. 6 aartis are offered to deities daily and 4 trained Pujaris pray to deities in a strict spiritual manner. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Iskcon_Mandir_Krishna_Balaram_Vrindavan_Indian_Temple_Tours
Pray to Lord Krishna with this devotional video of Iskcon Temple. Situated within Krishnas holy land of Vrindavan Iskcon Mandir offers a wide range of services and provides a variety of spiritual opportunities to residents and visitors. 6 aartis are offered to deities daily and 4 trained Pujaris pray to deities in a strict spiritual manner. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4903
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Geeta Ashram Hrishikesh - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Take a tour of the world famous Gita Ashram which is situated in Hrishikesh. Crossing Lakshman Jhula is the famous Gita Ashram that was set up in 1950s. It is famous for its depicted walls. Paintings statues scenes from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana adorn the ashram walls. A free ayurvedic dispensary is run here and a branch of Gita press Gorakhpur is also here. The complex has hundreds of rooms for pilgrims. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Geeta_Ashram_Hrishikesh_Indian_Temple_Tours
Take a tour of the world famous Gita Ashram which is situated in Hrishikesh. Crossing Lakshman Jhula is the famous Gita Ashram that was set up in 1950s. It is famous for its depicted walls. Paintings statues scenes from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana adorn the ashram walls. A free ayurvedic dispensary is run here and a branch of Gita press Gorakhpur is also here. The complex has hundreds of rooms for pilgrims. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 1205
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Shri Vaishno Mata Dham Mumbai - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Get blessings of Vaishno Maa by watching this video of Shi Vaishno Mata Dham. Situated in the hustle bustle of Mumbai city this temple dedicated to Goddess Durga is a replica of Vashino Devi Temple situated in Jammu and Kashmir. Vaishno Mata is a form of Goddess Durga and is symbol of power. The temple attracts many devotees specially during the Navaratras. Navratras are nine days dedicated to Durga Maa and her forms. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Shri_Vaishno_Mata_Dham_Mumbai_Indian_Temple_Tours
Get blessings of Vaishno Maa by watching this video of Shi Vaishno Mata Dham. Situated in the hustle bustle of Mumbai city this temple dedicated to Goddess Durga is a replica of Vashino Devi Temple situated in Jammu and Kashmir. Vaishno Mata is a form of Goddess Durga and is symbol of power. The temple attracts many devotees specially during the Navaratras. Navratras are nine days dedicated to Durga Maa and her forms. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 2717
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Prayers At Haji Ali - Mumbai Famous Indian Shrines
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:01
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
Get your prayers answered by watching this video of Haji Ali. Haji Ali Dargah is made in remembrance of Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. It has white domes and minarets reminiscent with the Mughal architecture of the period. The Dargah is a renowned pilgrimage site among the Muslims. Non Muslims are also allowed to visit the Dargah. Haji Ali Dargah is one of Indias most famous and prestigious landmarks situated in the middle of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. The structure was erected on a set of high rising rocks and was given its present day shape in the early 19th century after the Trust was legally formed as an entity in 1916. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Prayers_At_Haji_Ali_Mumbai_Famous_Indian_Shrines
Get your prayers answered by watching this video of Haji Ali. Haji Ali Dargah is made in remembrance of Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. It has white domes and minarets reminiscent with the Mughal architecture of the period. The Dargah is a renowned pilgrimage site among the Muslims. Non Muslims are also allowed to visit the Dargah. Haji Ali Dargah is one of Indias most famous and prestigious landmarks situated in the middle of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. The structure was erected on a set of high rising rocks and was given its present day shape in the early 19th century after the Trust was legally formed as an entity in 1916. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 21053
- author: TheDivineIndia
Last Part.Goda Devi(Andal) kalyanam was celebrated at DFW Hindu Temple,Dallas,Texas
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 16:28
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
Goda Devi(Andal) Kalyanam was celebrated on January 13, 2013 at DFW Hindu Temple,Irving,Texas. Andal (Tamil: ஆண்டாள் Äṇţāḷ, an 8th century or earlier [1]) is the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Srivaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of Margazhi. Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to the Lord Vishnu/Krishna, the God of the Srivaishnavas. The Srivilliputhoor Temple is dedicated to her and marks her birthplace.[2] Adopted by her father, the Alvar saint Periyalvar who found her as a baby, Andal avoided earthly marriage, the normal and expected path for women of her culture, to "marry" Krishna, both spiritually and physically. In many places in India, particularly in Tamilnadu, Andal is treated more than a saint and as a form of God herself.
http://wn.com/Last_PartGoda_DeviAndal_kalyanam_was_celebrated_at_DFW_Hindu_Temple,Dallas,Texas
Goda Devi(Andal) Kalyanam was celebrated on January 13, 2013 at DFW Hindu Temple,Irving,Texas. Andal (Tamil: ஆண்டாள் Äṇţāḷ, an 8th century or earlier [1]) is the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Srivaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of Margazhi. Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to the Lord Vishnu/Krishna, the God of the Srivaishnavas. The Srivilliputhoor Temple is dedicated to her and marks her birthplace.[2] Adopted by her father, the Alvar saint Periyalvar who found her as a baby, Andal avoided earthly marriage, the normal and expected path for women of her culture, to "marry" Krishna, both spiritually and physically. In many places in India, particularly in Tamilnadu, Andal is treated more than a saint and as a form of God herself.
- published: 31 Jan 2013
- views: 2
- author: DesiplazaTV
Indian Temple - Tripura Sundari Jabalpur - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Take a tour of the ancient temple Tripura Sundari with this devotional video. Tripura Sundari Temple is known for the idol of the Goddess that emerged from ground. The temple is a sacred place for Jain community. It is suppose to be built in the Kalchuri dynasty. It was a very important place of worship in the 11th century. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Tripura_Sundari_Jabalpur_Indian_Temple_Tours
Take a tour of the ancient temple Tripura Sundari with this devotional video. Tripura Sundari Temple is known for the idol of the Goddess that emerged from ground. The temple is a sacred place for Jain community. It is suppose to be built in the Kalchuri dynasty. It was a very important place of worship in the 11th century. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 3248
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Shani Shingnapur Nasik - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:24
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Pray to Hindu God Shani with this devotional video of the temple Shani Shingapur situated in Nasik in India. Shani is personified by the planet Saturn Shani who is the Lord of Saturday. The word Shani also denotes the seventh day or Saturday in most Indian languages. With Shanis blessings all the obstacles in a devotees life are removed. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Shani_Shingnapur_Nasik_Indian_Temple_Tours
Pray to Hindu God Shani with this devotional video of the temple Shani Shingapur situated in Nasik in India. Shani is personified by the planet Saturn Shani who is the Lord of Saturday. The word Shani also denotes the seventh day or Saturday in most Indian languages. With Shanis blessings all the obstacles in a devotees life are removed. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 12002
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Ashta Vinayak Darshan Of Ranjangaon Mahaganapati - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Watch this spiritual video of Temple Mahaganpati that is situated in the range of Pune district. It is 50 Kms from Pune. Legend has it that Lord Ganesha came to the aid of Shiva in destroying the citadels of the demon Tripurasura. The temple is believed to be built by Shiva himself. The idol faces the east is seated in a cross legged position with a broad forehead with its trunk pointing to the left. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Ashta_Vinayak_Darshan_Of_Ranjangaon_Mahaganapati_Indian_Temple_Tours
Watch this spiritual video of Temple Mahaganpati that is situated in the range of Pune district. It is 50 Kms from Pune. Legend has it that Lord Ganesha came to the aid of Shiva in destroying the citadels of the demon Tripurasura. The temple is believed to be built by Shiva himself. The idol faces the east is seated in a cross legged position with a broad forehead with its trunk pointing to the left. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 1419
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Ashta Vinayak Darshan Of Ballaleshwar Pali - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Get your wishes fulfilled by praying to Lord Ganesha in this video of temple Ballaleshvara at Pali. The temple is the only Ganesha who is famous by the name of his devotee and is dressed up as a brahmin. The Idol of Shri Ballaleshwar sits on a stone throne facing east with its trunk turned left and sitting against a background of silver which displays Riddhi and Siddhi. The idol eyes and navel contain diamonds. The deity is said to be famous for quick response to the prayers. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Ashta_Vinayak_Darshan_Of_Ballaleshwar_Pali_Indian_Temple_Tours
Get your wishes fulfilled by praying to Lord Ganesha in this video of temple Ballaleshvara at Pali. The temple is the only Ganesha who is famous by the name of his devotee and is dressed up as a brahmin. The Idol of Shri Ballaleshwar sits on a stone throne facing east with its trunk turned left and sitting against a background of silver which displays Riddhi and Siddhi. The idol eyes and navel contain diamonds. The deity is said to be famous for quick response to the prayers. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 990
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Ashta Vinayak Darshan Of Girijatmaj Lenyadri Pune - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:01
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
Watch this devotional video that will take you to a tour of a very famous Indian temple Girjatmaj Lenyadri situated in North of Pune along Kukdi river. The Ganesh Puran calls this place as Jirnapur or Lekhan Parbat. Girijatmaj Vinayak refers to the Ganesh as the son of Parvati. Girija is another name for Parvati and Atamaj meaning son. This is the only temple of the Ashtavinayak which is carved out of a single stone and is set in a Buddhist cave temple. It is believed that Goddess Parvati performed penance to beget Ganesha at this point. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Ashta_Vinayak_Darshan_Of_Girijatmaj_Lenyadri_Pune_Indian_Temple_Tours
Watch this devotional video that will take you to a tour of a very famous Indian temple Girjatmaj Lenyadri situated in North of Pune along Kukdi river. The Ganesh Puran calls this place as Jirnapur or Lekhan Parbat. Girijatmaj Vinayak refers to the Ganesh as the son of Parvati. Girija is another name for Parvati and Atamaj meaning son. This is the only temple of the Ashtavinayak which is carved out of a single stone and is set in a Buddhist cave temple. It is believed that Goddess Parvati performed penance to beget Ganesha at this point. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4696
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Kaal Bhairav Ujjain - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Get blessings from the world famous Kaal Bhairav temple that is situated in holy city Ujjain. Bhairav is the guardian deity of the city. It is the custom to leave the keys with the deity when the temple is closed at night in the belief that he takes care of the temple and its properties. However this temple is famous for its deity who guzzles wine by the gallons. The main offering to the deity is wine and this is also the only Prasad given to the devotees. People flock to this temple all carrying bottles of wine as an offering. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Kaal_Bhairav_Ujjain_Indian_Temple_Tours
Get blessings from the world famous Kaal Bhairav temple that is situated in holy city Ujjain. Bhairav is the guardian deity of the city. It is the custom to leave the keys with the deity when the temple is closed at night in the belief that he takes care of the temple and its properties. However this temple is famous for its deity who guzzles wine by the gallons. The main offering to the deity is wine and this is also the only Prasad given to the devotees. People flock to this temple all carrying bottles of wine as an offering. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 2490
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Annapurna Devi Temple Indore - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:01
- Updated: 03 Jan 2013
Watch this spiritual video of the Annapurna Temple situated in Indore. It is a 9th century temple dedicated to Annapurna Devi the patron goddess of food for Hindus. Parvathi is called by this name in honour of once proving to Shiva that food was not a part of the maya or world of illusion. The goddess is always shown holding a ladle and a container of porridge in her hands to signify that those who invoke her will never go hungry. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Annapurna_Devi_Temple_Indore_Indian_Temple_Tours
Watch this spiritual video of the Annapurna Temple situated in Indore. It is a 9th century temple dedicated to Annapurna Devi the patron goddess of food for Hindus. Parvathi is called by this name in honour of once proving to Shiva that food was not a part of the maya or world of illusion. The goddess is always shown holding a ladle and a container of porridge in her hands to signify that those who invoke her will never go hungry. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4284
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Moreshwar Morgaon Pune - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 05 Nov 2012
Enjoy this devotional video of the murti of Lord Ganesha riding a peacock in the form of Mayureshwara at Moreshwar Temple. Lord Ganesha is believed to have slain the demon Sindhu at this spot. The idol with its trunk turned to the left has a cobra poised over it protecting. This form of Ganesha also has two other murtis of Siddhi and Riddhi which are symbols of good health and wealth. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Moreshwar_Morgaon_Pune_Indian_Temple_Tours
Enjoy this devotional video of the murti of Lord Ganesha riding a peacock in the form of Mayureshwara at Moreshwar Temple. Lord Ganesha is believed to have slain the demon Sindhu at this spot. The idol with its trunk turned to the left has a cobra poised over it protecting. This form of Ganesha also has two other murtis of Siddhi and Riddhi which are symbols of good health and wealth. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 1141
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Radha Krishna Mandir Dehradun - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 40:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Take tour of a very ancient temple of Radha Krishna which is situated in Dehradun. The idol of Krishna is made of black granite while that of Radha is of marble. They are probably around 200 years old. At that time the artists only used vegetables and mineral extracts or dyes for paintings. Inside the sanctum sanctum of the temple. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Radha_Krishna_Mandir_Dehradun_Indian_Temple_Tours
Take tour of a very ancient temple of Radha Krishna which is situated in Dehradun. The idol of Krishna is made of black granite while that of Radha is of marble. They are probably around 200 years old. At that time the artists only used vegetables and mineral extracts or dyes for paintings. Inside the sanctum sanctum of the temple. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4870
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Chintamani Theur Pune - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 19 Jan 2013
Invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha by watching this video of Temple Chitnamani situated in Theur. Lord Ganesh as Chintamani brings peace of mind and drives away all the perplexities. Shree chintamani is situated at the confluence of the Mula Muth and Bhima rivers. It is 25 kms from Pune and is full of green beayty. Ganesha is believed to have resorted the precious Chintamani jewel from the greedy Prince Guna who stole it from Sage Kapila. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Chintamani_Theur_Pune_Indian_Temple_Tours
Invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha by watching this video of Temple Chitnamani situated in Theur. Lord Ganesh as Chintamani brings peace of mind and drives away all the perplexities. Shree chintamani is situated at the confluence of the Mula Muth and Bhima rivers. It is 25 kms from Pune and is full of green beayty. Ganesha is believed to have resorted the precious Chintamani jewel from the greedy Prince Guna who stole it from Sage Kapila. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4008
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Kamakhya Mandir Assam - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 30:01
- Updated: 26 Jan 2013
Bless your day with the divine darshans of the Kamakhya Temple. The temple is a Shakti Peeth temple situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in state of Assam. The Kalika Purana which is an ancient work in Sanskrit describes Kamakhya as the yielder of all desires. It is also referred the young bride of Shiva and the giver of salvation. Shakti is known as Kamakhya. Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as the Ambubachi Mela. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Kamakhya_Mandir_Assam_Indian_Temple_Tours
Bless your day with the divine darshans of the Kamakhya Temple. The temple is a Shakti Peeth temple situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in state of Assam. The Kalika Purana which is an ancient work in Sanskrit describes Kamakhya as the yielder of all desires. It is also referred the young bride of Shiva and the giver of salvation. Shakti is known as Kamakhya. Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as the Ambubachi Mela. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 11870
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Asias Biggest Mosque | Taj - ul - Masajid Bhopal | Famous Indian Shrines
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:01
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Bow your head in front of Taj-ul-Masajid that literally means The Crown of Mosques. The construction of the mosque was started by Sultan Shah Jahanin 1868. However the mosque was not completed due to lack of funds and after a long lay-off construction was resumed in 1971 by great efforts of Allama Mohammad Imran Khan. The mosque is also used as an Islamic school during the day and is one of the most beautiful sights of Bhopal city. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Asias_Biggest_Mosque_|_Taj_ul_Masajid_Bhopal_|_Famous_Indian_Shrines
Bow your head in front of Taj-ul-Masajid that literally means The Crown of Mosques. The construction of the mosque was started by Sultan Shah Jahanin 1868. However the mosque was not completed due to lack of funds and after a long lay-off construction was resumed in 1971 by great efforts of Allama Mohammad Imran Khan. The mosque is also used as an Islamic school during the day and is one of the most beautiful sights of Bhopal city. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 4176
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Varad Vinayak Mahad - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:01
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Bless your day by watching the video of divine temple Varda Vinakyak. Lord Ganesha is said to reside here in the form of Varada Vinayaka the giver of bounty and success. The idol was found in the adjoining lake in an immersed position and hence looks weathered. In 1725 AD the then Kalyan constable Mr Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar built the Varadavinayak temple and the village of Mahad. The idol faces the east has its trunk to the left and an oil lamp is said to be burning continuously since 1892. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Varad_Vinayak_Mahad_Indian_Temple_Tours
Bless your day by watching the video of divine temple Varda Vinakyak. Lord Ganesha is said to reside here in the form of Varada Vinayaka the giver of bounty and success. The idol was found in the adjoining lake in an immersed position and hence looks weathered. In 1725 AD the then Kalyan constable Mr Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar built the Varadavinayak temple and the village of Mahad. The idol faces the east has its trunk to the left and an oil lamp is said to be burning continuously since 1892. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 2524
- author: TheDivineIndia
Indian Temple - Siddhivinayak Siddhatek - Indian Temple Tours
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 30:01
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Siddhivinayak Temple is one of the eight Ashtavinayak Temples of Maharashtra dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Located on the banks of river Bhima this Temple of Ganapati is situated in the remote village of Siddhatek about 200 km east of Pune. The Ganesha enshrined in the Siddhivinayak Temple is said to be the one who is capable of granting Siddhi. It is believed that it was here on the Siddhatek Mountain that Vishnu acquired Siddhi and as such the idol of Lord Ganesh here is called as Siddhivinayak. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Indian_Temple_Siddhivinayak_Siddhatek_Indian_Temple_Tours
Siddhivinayak Temple is one of the eight Ashtavinayak Temples of Maharashtra dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Located on the banks of river Bhima this Temple of Ganapati is situated in the remote village of Siddhatek about 200 km east of Pune. The Ganesha enshrined in the Siddhivinayak Temple is said to be the one who is capable of granting Siddhi. It is believed that it was here on the Siddhatek Mountain that Vishnu acquired Siddhi and as such the idol of Lord Ganesh here is called as Siddhivinayak. Subscribe to take the memorable Indian Temple Tours at www.youtube.com . Visit the ancient spiritual Indian temples and check out all tour videos here www.youtube.com
- published: 21 Jan 2012
- views: 1390
- author: TheDivineIndia
photo: AP / ESPN Images, Eric Lards Bakke
31 Jan 2013
A freestyle snowmobile rider hurt in a crash at last week's Winter X Games in Colorado has died at the age of 25. Caleb Moore was attempting a backflip when his snowmobile caught the edge of a landing area, sending him over the handlebars. The 450-lb (204-kg) snowmobile rolled over him ... 'Deeply saddened' ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime
29 Jan 2013
By Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes. BEIRUT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible ... The U.N ... State media did not mention the incident ... STALEMATE ... ....(size: 9.0Kb)
photo: AP / Manu Brabo
01 Feb 2013
Hillary Clinton, the outgoing US secretary of state, has warned that Iran is stepping up its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is continuing to send money and arms to the regime. Clinton on Thursday accused Tehran of sending into Syria "more personnel" to support and advise military security forces in their fight against the armed opposition ... "The Iranians have been actively involved from the very beginning ... ....(size: 19.0Kb)
photo: AP / Eduardo Verdugo
01 Feb 2013
MEXICO CITY — Rescuers searched the rubble for survivors and authorities promised a thorough investigation after an office building blast killed 25 people and injured 101 at the headquarters of Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos ... Theories ranged from an electrical fire to an air conditioning problem to a possible attack. “We have no conclusive report on the reason,” Pena Nieto told reporters ... My son.” ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit
31 Jan 2013
Zeenews Bureau. Damascus. The Syrian Army has confirmed that Israeli Air Force fighter planes carried out strikes in its territory, but denied reports of a convoy carrying weapons to Lebanon was bombed. The Syrian Army statement says that the IAF jet fighters’ target was a military research centre near the border with Lebanon. Two people have been reported to be dead and five others injured in the attack ... First Published ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
New Straits/Business Times
01 Feb 2013
MORE than 3,000 Hindu devotees thronged the Sri Muniswarar temple in Tampoi along Jalan Skudai, here, last weekend ... from Saturday evening as Hindu devotees and tourists made their way to the temple ... Besides the allocation given to the Sri Muniswarar temple, he said the state government has also provided allocations to other Hindu temples in Johor....(size: 4.1Kb)
San Francisco Chronicle
01 Feb 2013
Babubhai "Bob" Patel was accused of billing insurers for expensive prescriptions he never intended to give to customers ... "Everything about this scheme was extreme ... Attorney John Neal told a judge ... Most were in the Gujarati or Hindu languages. Patel, a pharmacist, has deep ties to the local Indian community and was vice chairman of the Canton Hindu temple. ....(size: 1.6Kb)
BBC News
01 Feb 2013
Hundreds of Buddhists became homeless overnight after thousands of Muslims rampaged through villages, looting houses and burning down Buddhist temples ... "The mob first destroyed our temple and looted everything ... It is difficult for outsiders to know where these Buddhist temples are situated and which house belongs to the Buddhists." Religious minority ... In a few villages, Hindu temples and houses were also ransacked....(size: 6.0Kb)
Seattle Post
01 Feb 2013
DETROIT (AP) — A judge sentenced a Detroit-area man to 17 years in prison Friday for drug fraud worth millions, a sweeping scheme that was hatched in Indian languages and involved more than 20 pharmacies as well as pharmacists who emigrated from other countries ... Most were in the Gujarati or Hindu languages. Patel, a pharmacist, has deep ties to the local Indian community and was vice chairman of the Canton Hindu temple ... ... ___....(size: 2.8Kb)
Star Tribune
01 Feb 2013
DETROIT - A judge sentenced a Detroit-area man to 17 years in prison Friday for drug fraud worth millions, a sweeping scheme that was hatched in Indian languages and involved more than 20 pharmacies as well as pharmacists who emigrated from other countries ... with his sponsorship ... Most were in the Gujarati or Hindu languages. Patel, a pharmacist, has deep ties to the local Indian community and was vice chairman of the Canton Hindu temple....(size: 3.0Kb)
San Francisco Chronicle
01 Feb 2013
Detroit Free Press
01 Feb 2013
The Examiner
01 Feb 2013
Paris Hilton has generated a lot of interest in what she's up to these days when news broke that she is in a hot affair with a young male model ... MonsterandCritics.com reported the couple was previously in India together where Paris is well liked, Paris Hilton blessed in Mumbai temple. During a recent visit to Mumbai Paris was blessed in a Hindu temple. She posted on her Twitter account, "Went to The Siddhivinayak Temple for a blessing ... ....(size: 6.2Kb)
Detroit news
01 Feb 2013
By Associated Press Comments. Detroit — Federal prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison sentence for a Canton Township man convicted of prescription drug fraud worth millions. Babubhai "Bob" Patel controlled more than 20 pharmacies in the Detroit area ... Patel will get his sentence Friday ... Patel has deep ties to the local Indian community and was vice chairman of the Canton Hindu temple. Tweet ... A A A. Join the Conversation ... Down Up ... 25 ... ....(size: 7.7Kb)
Detroit news
01 Feb 2013
By Ed White Associated Press Comments. Detroit — Calling the crimes reprehensible, a judge has sentenced a Detroit-area pharmacy owner to 17 years in prison for drug fraud worth millions. Babubhai "Bob" Patel of Canton Township controlled more than 20 pharmacies in the Detroit area ... under Patel's sponsorship ... He has deep ties to the local Indian community and was vice chairman of the Canton Hindu temple. Tweet ... A A A ... 1.40 pm Bing ... 25....(size: 7.8Kb)
The Hindu
31 Jan 2013
A response to Madhu Kishwar’s article “Don’t like this temple? Choose another” in The Hindu, 17 January 2013) ... Madu Kishwar’s approach to the question of the entry of female devotees into the Sabarimala temple merits attention, as it is representative of a popular viewpoint ... Her prescription is hard to miss- Dalits should have their own temples if they are not being allowed into Hindu temples....(size: 7.4Kb)
The Daily Beast
30 Jan 2013
STL Today
30 Jan 2013
Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Missouri. Radio station 9.23 WIL will host its 2013 Polar Plunge at noon Feb ... Registration begins at 10 a.m ... Participants will learn about Hindu beliefs and customs on a tour of the new Hindu Temple of St. Louis ... The group then will travel to Temple Israel to see the 3,000-pound sanctuary sculpture depicting events in the Book of Exodus and learn about Reform Jewish traditions and worship services....(size: 9.4Kb)
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A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism. A characteristic of most temples is the presence of murtis (statues) of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are usually dedicated to one primary deity, the presiding deity, and other deities associated with the main deity. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities, and others are dedicated to murtis in an aniconic form. Many temples are in key geographical points, such as a hill top, near waterfalls, caves and rivers, because some believe the Puranas mention that "the gods always play where groves are near rivers, mountains, and springs."[1]
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology[link]
Many Hindu temples are known by different names around the world, depending upon the language. The word mandir or mandiram is used in many languages and is derived from a Sanskrit word, mandira, for house (of a deity by implication). Temples are known as Mandir (मंदिर) in Marathi and Hindi, Devasthanam, Kshetralayam, Punyakshetram, or Punyakshetralayam in Telugu, as Deula(ଦେଉଳ)/Mandira(ମଦିର) in Oriya, Devasthana (ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) in Kannada and Mondir (মন্দির) in Bengali, as Kshetram (ക്ഷേത്രം) or Ambalam (അമ്പലം) in Malayalam. Temples are known as kō-ail (கோயில்) (and occasionally, especially in modern formal speech, Aalayam (ஆலயம்) in Tamil.The etymology is from kō (கோ) or lord, and il (இல்) home. (Besides meaning a deity's home, this term could also mean a king's home, since the term kō (கோ) is used interchangeably for royalty and divinity.)
History[link]
The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of the Vedic religion to Hinduism.[citation needed]
Mandir construction and mode of worship is governed by Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India.[citation needed] During the consecration of a temple the presence of Brahman is invoked into the main deity of the temple, ritually making the deity and temple sacred.[citation needed]
Architecture and alignment[link]
Main article: Hindu temple architecture
Earth has its energy centres that correspond to universal data centres of life and awareness. The temple, through which contacts or relations are established among the states of being (humans, spirits, and gods), is thus a combination of the data of yoga, astrology, and sacred geography. In the temple structure, there are diagrams similar to the ones described for chakras according to yoga experience, with proportions similar to those deriving from the position of the stars, by which the influence can be explained. The characteristics of site and orientation are connected to the living structure of the Earth. The Hindu temple is thus not a place where the faithful may gather but a sacred building constructed to receive subtle influences.[2]
Hindu temples are generally divided into four main architectural styles: the Dravida style of South India, the Nagara style of North India, the mixed Vesara style and the Kalinga architecture (i.e. the temple style of Orissa).
Altars[link]
In Hinduism, altars generally contain pictures or statues of gods and goddesses. Large, ornate altars are found in Hindu temples while smaller altars are found in homes and sometimes also in Hindu-run shops and restaurants. The word for temple is mandir (san: मन्दिर), the altar (and that which contains it, even an alcove or a small cabinet) as hypostatised temple.
In South Indian temples, often each god will have His or Her own shrine, each contained in a minitature house (specifically, a mandir). These shrines are often scattered around the temple compound, with the three main ones being in the main area. The statue of the God (murti) is placed on a stone pedestal in the shrine, and one or more lamps are hung in the shrine. There is usually a space to put the puja tray (tray with worship offerings). Directly outside the main shrine there will be a statue of the god's vahana or vehicle. The shrines have curtains hung over the entrances, and wooden doors which are shut when the Deities are sleeping. Some South Indian temples have one main altar, with several statues placed upon it.
North Indian temples generally have one main altar at the front of the temple room. In some temples, the front of the room is separated with walls and several altars are placed in the alcoves. The statues on the altars are usually in pairs, each god with his consort (Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Shiva-Parvati). However, some gods, such as Ganesha and Hanuman, are placed alone. Ritual items such as flowers or lamps may be placed on the altar.
Shrines are usually made of wood and have tiled floors for statues to be placed upon. Pictures may be hung on the walls of the shrine. The top of the shrine may have a series of levels, like a gopuram tower on a temple. Each Hindu altar will have at least one oil lamp and may contain a tray with puja equipment as well.
Temple tanks (Kalyani)[link]
Main article: Temple tank
Kalyani, also called pushkarni, are ancient Hindu stepped bathing wells. These wells were typically built near Hindu temples to accommodate bathing and cleansing activities before prayer. They are also used for immersion of Ganesha idols during Ganesha Chaturthi.
Customs and etiquette[link]
The customs and etiquette when visiting Hindu temples have a long history and are filled with symbolism, solemn respect and veneration of Brahma's creation.
A bell (ghanta) hangs at the gate of many Hindu temples, which is rung at the moment one enters the temple.[citation needed]
Worshipers in major temples typically bring in symbolic offerings for the puja. This includes fruits, flowers, sweets and other symbols of the bounty of the natural world. Temples in India are usually surrounded by small stores called 'dukanam' (Telugu) or 'dukan' (Hindi) which offer them typically wrapped in organic containers such as banana leaves.
When inside the temple, it is typical to keep both hands folded together as a sign of respect. The inner sanctuary, where the murtis reside, is known as the garbhagruh. It symbolizes the birthplace of the universe, the meeting place of the gods and mankind, and "the threshold between the transcendental and the phenomenal worlds."[3] It is in this inner shrine that devotees offer prayers and salutations to the presiding deities. Devotees may or may not be able to personally present their offerings at the feet of the deity. In most South Indian temples, only the pujaris are allowed to enter into the garbhagruh.[4] In North Indian temples, however, it is more common for devotees to be allowed entrance.[4]
The mantras spoken are typically "Om Namo Narayana" or "Om Namah Shivaya" which mean "Obeisance to Narayana (vishnu)" or "Salutations to Shiva". These are followed by a series of shlokas or verses from the holy texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads or Vedas. Upon the conclusion of prayer, devotees get down on their knees or even fall flat on their stomach and bow before the symbol of the deity. If a pujari is present, they are likely to provide sacred symbolically blessed food, prasad to the devotee. He may also apply a holy red mark called 'tilak' to the forehead of the devotee symbolising blessings.
Finally the worshiper or visitor walks clockwise around the innermost sanctum, or garbhagriha, stop once on each side, close their eyes and pray to the All Loving Being. The worshiper may receive a sprinkling of the water from the holy river Ganges while the 'pujari' states "Om Shanti" which means "peace be unto all".
During religious holidays, temples may be swarmed with devotees chanting and praying loudly. There may be facilitators called 'paandaas' who help visitors navigate through the crowds and complete the pujas quickly.
Temple management staff typically announce the hours of operation, including timings for special pujas. These timings, due to the vast diversity in Hinduism, vary from temple to temple. For example, some temples may perform aarti once or twice per day, while other temples, such as those part of Swaminarayan movement, may perform aarti five times per day. Additionally, there may be specially allotted times for devotees to perform circumambulations (or pradakshina) around the outside of the temple.[4] There are also timings for devotional songs or music called bhajans, which are accompanied by a dholak or tabla soloist and/or harmonium soloist. There are dates and times for devotional dances such as the classical Bharata Natyam dance performed by accomplished performers.
Visitors and worshipers to Hindu temples are required to remove shoes and other footwear before entering. Most temples have an area designated to store footwear. Additionally, it may be customary, particularly at South Indian temples, for men to remove shirts and to cover pants and shorts with a traditional cloth known as a Vasthiram.[5]
The Hindu religion teaches that all life-forms are created by Brahma and that humankind needs to share the world with the animal kingdom. It is common to see stray dogs, cows, monkeys, and birds congregated at temples.
North Indian temples[link]
Hindu temple at Tilla Jogian, Pakistan
Most ordinary temples in North Indian rituals are very simple in stark contrast to South Indian temples which have elaborate rituals. Also North Indian temples often tend to be less orthodox and in many cases everybody are permitted to enter the innermost sanctum of the deity and worship the deity personally. In such cases, the deity is not adorned with valuable jewelry. The innermost heart of the temple is the sanctum where the deity (usually of fixed stone) is present, followed by a large hall for lay worshipers to stand in and obtain "darshan" or divine audience. There may or may not be many more surrounding corridors, halls etc. However there will be space for devotees to go around the temple in clock wise fashion circumambulation as a mark of respect. In North Indian temples, the tallest towers are built over the sanctum sanctorum.
One example of a type of more elaborate North Indian temple is the style of temple known as the Shikharbaddha Mandir found in Northern and Western India, and particularly famous in the Swaminarayan Hindu tradition. These temples have towers, or shikharas, built over the sanctum sanctorum, in which the deity is installed.[6]
South Indian temples[link]
Temple in Kerala
Many large bannabs (grand stone temples) still stand in South India. Ritual tends to be orthodox and elaborate especially in the large vedic brahmincal temples, which follow the pan-Indian Sanskrit agama scriptural traditions. Apart from the main fixed stone deities, processional deities made of panchaloha (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin) are bathed, dressed, decorated with valuables and taken out in processions for festivals throughout the year. The richer the temple, the more elaborate the festivals. However, many ancient temples in small villages with great architectural and historical heritage value languish for lack of funds for maintenance.
Famous South Indian temples are Lord Sri Venkateshwara Temple, Tirumala Tirupati temple, Andhra; Mookambika temple, Kollur, Karnataka; Chennakesava temple, Belur (Karnataka); Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvanathapuram Kerala; Sreevallabha Temple, Thiruvalla, Kerala; Sabarimala temple, Kerala; Guruvayur temple, Kerala; Kodungallor temple, Kerala;anikkattilammakshethram pathanamthitta kerala, Kanyakumari temple, Tamil Nadu (TN); Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Tamil Nadu; Srirangam Ranganathar temple and Thiruvanaikaval temple of Tiruchi, TN;sri Boomi neela devi sametha Sri sundaraja perumal -pachapperumalpatti-thuraiyur tk -trichy dt-ABIMANA STALAM & PARIGARA STALAM, Golden Temple of Sripuram, TN; Brihadeshwara temple (Rajarajeswaram), Thanjavur, TN; oldest temples such as Kailasanathar temple, Varatharajaperumal temple, Kamakshi temple and Ekambareshwarar temple of Kanchipuram, TN; Thirukadiyur Abirami temple, TN; Andal temple, Srivilliputhur, TN; Natarajar temple, Chidambaram, TN; Kumbeshwara, Kumbakonam, TN; Thiruvannaamalai temple, Tamil Nadu; Palani temple, Tamil Nadu; Kodungallor temple, Kerala; Chettikulangara Devi temple, Kerala; Aranmula Parthasarathy temple, Kerala; Tripunithura sree Poornathrayesa, Kerala.
Temples in Orissa[link]
Temples often greatly vary in their appearance, rituals, traditions, festivals and customs from region to region. Temples in eastern state of Orissa.
The most world famous temples i.e. Jagannath temple at Puri, Sun temple at Konark, Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar are found in Orissa. These temples are over 1200 years old. In Bhubaneswar, around 10,000 temples are present which represents strong Hinduism in Orissa. Bhubaneswar is known as temple city (mandira malini nagri) of India
Temples of Goa and other Konkani temples[link]
The temple architecture of Goa is quite unique. As part of Inquisition of Goa, the Portuguese demolished more than 1000 temples on Island of Goa. New temples were later built in the areas in Goa which were not parts of Portuguese kingdom, and were under reign of Hindu princely states. Thus these temples are not more than 500 years old, and are a unique blend of original Goan temple architecture, Dravidian, Nagar and Hemadpanti temple styles with some Islamic and Portuguese architectural influences.Goan temples were built using sedimentary rocks,wood,limestone and clay tiles as well as copper sheets were used for the roofs.These temples were decorated with mural art called as Kavi kala or ocher art.The interiors were decorated with such murals as well as exquisite wood carvings depicting scenes from the Hindu mythology.
Temples in West Bengal and Bangaladesh[link]
In West Bengal and Bangaladesh, temple architecture has assumed a unique identity and evolved into the Bengali terra cotta temple architecture. Due to lack of suitable stone in the alluvial Gangetic delta, the temple makers had to resort to other materials instead of stone. This gave rise to using terra cotta as a medium for temple construction. Terra-cotta exteriors with rich carvings are a unique feature of Bengali temples. The town of Vishnupur in West Bengal is renowned for this type of architecture.
Usually a part of the intended total motif was carved by hand on one side of a brick and then baked. While under construction, these carved bricks were arranged to make up the entire motif.
The Bengali style of temple is not luxurious. Rather, most are modeled on simple thatched-roof earthen huts used as dwellings by commoners. This can be attributed to the popularity of bhakti cults which taught people to view gods as close to themselves. Thus, various styles like do-chala, char-chala, and aat-chala sprang up. However, there is also a popular style of building known as Navaratna (nine-towered) or Pancharatna (five-towered) in Bengal which is more luxurious than the Chala buildings. A typical example of Navaratna style is the Dakshineswar Kali Temple.
The Kalighat Temple In kalighat is a near very holy Destination Of Bengalis and the North Indians.It is dedicated to devi Kali.It is built on the traditional Bengali architectural style.
Hindu Temples outside South Asia[link]
Many members of the South Asian diaspora have established Hindu mandirs outside India as a means of preserving and celebrating cultural and spiritual heritage abroad. Describing the hundreds of mandirs that can be found throughout the United States, scholar Gail M. Harley observes, “The temples serve as central locations where Hindus can come together to worship during holy festivals and socialize with other Hindus. Temples in America reflect the colorful kaleidoscopic aspects contained in Hinduism while unifying people who are disbursed throughout the American landscape.”[7]
Numerous mandirs in North America and Europe have gained particular prominence and acclaim. The Shiva-Vishnu Temple at Livermore in San Francisco Bay Area, for example, attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year for a variety of cultural and religious events. The B.A.P.S. organization has built over sixty mandirs in North America, as well as numerous temples in Europe. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, for example, has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest traditional Hindu temple outside India, and has been constructed according to Vedic architectural standards.[8] The temples constructed in this traditional style of temple architecture are known as Shikharbaddha Mandirs.[9]
Another example of a Swaminarayan Shikharbaddha Mandir is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto, which is the largest Hindu temple in Canada. The Radha Madhav Dham temple, established by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, is one of the largest Hindu Temple complexes in the Western Hemisphere,[10] and the largest in North America.[11][12][13]
Temples in Indonesia[link]
Hindu temples of ancient Java, Indonesia, bear resemblances with temples of South Indian style. However later ancient Javanese art and architecture developed its own style. The fine example of 9th century Javanese Hindu temple is the towering Trimurti temple of Prambanan in Yogyakarta. In Bali, unlike the common towering indoor Indian Hindu temple, Pura (Balinese temple) is designed as an open-air worship place within enclosed walls, connected with series of intricately decorated gates to reach its compounds. The design, plan and layout of the holy pura is followed the "Trimandala" concept, three mandala zone arranged according to the hierarchy of its sacredness.
Temple Management and erosion of Autonomy by control of states and Law[link]
The Archeological Survey of India has control of most ancient temples of archaeological importance in India.
In India, theoretically, a temple is managed by a temple board committee that administers its finances, management and events.
However since independence, the autonomy of individual Hindu religious denominations to manage their own affairs with respect to temples of their own denomination have been severely eroded. State governments of many states in India (and especially all the states in South India) have gradually increased their control over all Hindu temples. Over decades, by enacting various laws which have been fought both successfully and unsuccessfully up to the Supreme court of India, politicians of the ruling parties especially in the southern states control every aspect of temple management and functioning.
See also[link]
Media related to Hindu temples at Wikimedia Commons
- Hindu temple architecture
- List of Hindu temples
- List of Hindu deities
- Altar (section Hinduism)
References[link]
- ^ Robinson, James. Religions of the World: Hinduism. 1st. Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Page 72.
- ^ The Hindu Temple. Alain Danielou.
- ^ Werner, Karel (1994). A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism. Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-1049-3.
- ^ a b c Narayanan,Vasudha. "The Hindu Tradition". In A Concise Introduction to World Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007
- ^ Bain, Keith, Pippa Bryun, and David Allardice. Frommer’s India. 1st. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, 2010. Page 75
- ^ Williams, Raymond (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–136. ISBN 978-0-521-65422-7. http://books.google.com/?id=tPkexi2EhAIC&printsec=frontcover.
- ^ Harley, Gail M (2003). Hindu and Sikh Faiths in America. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-4987-4.
- ^ BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, UK – Awards – BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London. Mandir.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-10.
- ^ Kim, Hanna (2009). "Public Engagement and Personal Desires: Baps Swaminarayan Temples and Their Contribution to the Discourses on Religion". International Journal of Hindu Studies 13 (3): 370.
- ^ Vedic Foundation Inaugurated at Barsana Dham, Austin. Retrieved Dec 15th, 2011.
- ^ Ciment, J. 2001. Encyclopedia of American Immigration. Michigan: M.E. Sharpe
- ^ Hylton, H. & Rosie, C. 2006. Insiders' Guide to Austin. Globe Pequot Press.
- ^ Mugno, M. & Rafferty, R.R. 1998. Texas Monthly Guidebook to Texas. Gulf Pub. Co.
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Not to be confused with Annapoorna devi.
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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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| Annapurna Devi | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1927-04-23) 23 April 1927 (age 85) Maihar, India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Instruments | surbahar |
| Associated acts | Alauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar |
Annapurna Devi (Devanagari: अन्नपूर्णा देवी; born Roshanara Khan (Urdu: روشن آراخان ) on 23 April 1927) is a reclusive surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani Classical Music.
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Family and life[link]
Devi's father and guru Alauddin Khan, founder of the "Senia Maihar Gharana" or "Senia Maihar School" of Hindustani classical music, was considered a singular phenomenon in the twentieth century Indian classical music. Her uncles Fakir Aftabuddin Khan and Ayet Ali Khan were revered musicians at their native place Shibpur in the present-day Bangladesh. Her brother Ali Akbar Khan was a legendary Sarode maestro and was considered a "national living treasure" in India and the USA. Her former husband Sitarist Ravi Shankar is perhaps the best-known Indian classical musician abroad.
Annapurna Devi was born in 23 April 1927[1] at Maihar, a small princely state of British India (now a part of Madhya Pradesh state of India), where her revered father Alauddin Khan was a royal court musician at that time. But, her family has their ancestry in the village of Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, in the then British India, present Bangladesh. Annapurna Devi grew up in Maihar as Roshanara Khan. She was one of the three daughters (Jahanara, Sharija, Roshanara) of Alauddin Khan. Sharija died an early death suffering from diseases in her childhood. When Alauddin's other daughter, Jahanara, got married, and a jealous mother-in-law burnt her Tambura, a shocked Alauddin Khan decided not to train his only other daughter Roshanara. One day, however, he came home to discover Annapurna teaching her brother Ali Akbar Khan, and her talent made the emotional father change his mind. Annapurna, since then, started learning classical vocal music, Sitar, and Surbahar from her father.
Early career[link]
Annapurna Devi became a very accomplished Surbahar player of the Maihar Gharana (school) within a few years of starting to take music lessons from her father, and started guiding many of her father's disciples, Nikhil Banerjee and Bahadur Khan) in classical music as well as in the techniques and intricacies of instrumental performances. Meanwhile, Alauddin Khan's Sitar student Ravi Shankar married Annapurna.(There is no documentary evidence, saying on the basis of Pandit Jotin Bhattacharya's two vol. Bengali book, Ustad Allauddin Khan o Aamraa. Marriage took place because of the eagerness and proposal of Uday Shankar.). The marriage between Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Devi took place when Ravi was 21 years, and Annapurna was only 14 years old. On marriage, she converted to Hinduism and received the name Annapurna from the Maharaja of Maihar, Maharaj Brijnath Singh Ju Deo[1]. The marriage lasted more than two decades, and she gave birth to a son, Shubhendra Shankar (1942–1992), whom Annapurna Devi trained in Sitar. Shubhendra Shankar (or "Subho", as he was popularly known) had rigorous training in Sitar under the tutelage of his mother Annapurna Devi, but decided to opt for painting when he grew up and subsequently settled down in the USA. However, though Subho did not have a solo career in classical music, he used to assist his illustrious father Ravi Shankar in concerts all over the world.
In early life, both Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Devi have performed even duets in a number of concerts nationwide. But later, while Shankar decided to go out to perform the Sitar all over the world, Annapurna Devi increasingly chose to rest.
Teaching[link]
Notable mentions among her students would be her nephew Sarod maestro Aashish Khan Debsharma; Biren Banerjee of Howrah also received training from her; renowned flautists Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Nityanand Haldipur; Sitarists Pandit Nikhil Banerjee received training from her, Chandrakant Sardeshmukh, the late Sudhir Phadke, Dr. Hemant Desai, and Professor Rooshikumar Pandya; and Sarodists Pradeep Barot, Amit Bhattacharya and Basant Kabra. The list of other occasional students includes Sandhya Apte (Sitar), Amit Hiren Roy (Sitar), Stuti Dey (Sarode), Uma Guha (Sarode), Milind Sheorey (Flute), and Kokila Rai, wife of the late Vasant Rai (Surbahar). All of them carry on the legacies of Annapurna Devi's, and thus Alauddin Khan's, music through their recitals.
She is also the key figure of Acharya Alauddin Music Circle (an association in the memory of the late Alauddin Khan for promoting Indian classical music), in Mumbai.
Honours[link]
Though she refrained from taking music as her profession, she received utmost reverence in all circles of Indian classical music especially for her unending repertoire in Indian classical music, and her traditional "dhrupadi" approach to music. She has received some of the most distinguished musical and civilian honours of India. She is the recipient of, among many, the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour) in 1977; and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (the highest Indian honour in performing arts) in 1991; and the Deshikottam which is an honorary doctorate degree by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University in 1999. In the year 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Government of India's highest organisation for promoting music and other fine arts, has appointed her a "Ratna" or jewel fellow (a lifetime honour).
She has not recorded any music albums. But some of her performances (notably, 1. Raga Kaushi Kanara and Raga Majh Khamaj, Surbahar recital; and 2. Raga Yaman duet Surbahar recital with Ravi Shankar) that have been secretly taped from her earlier (1950s) concerts, are non-commercially available among a percentage of music lovers in India.
In spite of her avoidance of media-limelight, she continues to be thought of as a classical instrumentalist of the highest calibre in India.
Footnotes and references[link]
^ Unveiling the Mystique of a Reclusive Artiste, Jaya Ramanathan, The Hindu, 28 June 2005. ^ Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay: An Unheard Melody: Annapurna Devi – an Authorised Biography, Roli, New Delhi, 2005. ISBN 81-7436-399-8.
- ^ Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 52. ISBN 0-8264-1815-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=OSZKCXtx-wEC&pg=PA52.
External links[link]
- Annapurna Devi's music, Source: The Vijaya Parrikar Library of Indian Classical Music
- Annapurna Devi by Mohan Nadkarni
A rare interview with Suanshu Khurana http://www.indianexpress.com/news/notes-from-behind-a-locked-door/619877/0
- Video
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Devi, Annapurna |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 23 April 1927 |
| Place of birth | Maihar, India |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
