BHAGAVAD GITA INTRODUCTION
Fascinating Temples of India
India has earned a name as one of the fastest growing Nation in the World. There are numerous companies in diversified fields. But sadly, there are very few takers to explore the Temples that exist in India. Through This blog i am trying to share my experiences on these magnifiscent Temples. some of them are even today unexplored.
Monday, February 26, 2024
Bhagavad Gita Introduction
Friday, March 18, 2011
guru-graha-mantra.wmv
Listen to the Mantra for Jupiter.
The List of Mantras corresponding to the nine planets have been recorded by myself.
For all other mantras, please listen http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BAAE8AFA299C57D2
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Murdeshwar - 5
Blessed by Lord Shiva with the “Athma Linga”, The great King Ravana starts his journey to his palace. The lord Shiva, before handing over the “Athma Linga” to Ravana had told the King that the “Athma Linga” should not be kept on ground and if done, then it will be permanently forced to stay there the moment it touches ground.
All the Gods became more concerned that the “Athma Linga” had fallen into the hands of the King who was known for his villainous acts. They all went and begged to Lord Ganesh to ensure that Athma Linga does’nt stay with King Ravana for long.
Lord Ganesh takes the form of a cowherd and keeps walking in Gokarna along with his herd. It was evening and just about the time for the Great King to attend to his evening prayers.King Ravana was known for his devotion to God and he would never miss his prayers. The great king was worried about his prayers as it was getting late.
At that time, He saw a young cowherd who happened to be a Brahmin passing by. He immediately caught hold of the Cowherd and asked him to hold the “Athma Linga” with great care so that he would finish his prayers and come back. The cowherd told the great king that he should hurry. He also told Ravana that he would call his name thrice and that if he did not return within that time, then he would place the “Athma Linga” on the ground. the king agreed and hurried to take bath and attend his prayers.
Lord Ganesh knew that this was the time for him to deprive the great King from possessing the “Athma Linga”. After some time, the cowherd called the king by his name three times and Ravana finished his prayers and started running back to get hold of the “Athma Linga”. By this time, the cowherd, as agreed had called Ravana three times and since Ravana had not collected the Athma Linga, he quickly put the Athma Linga on the ground of Gokarna.
King Ravana was furious with the cowherd and he started thrashing the cowherd without knowing that the cowherd was in fact Lord Ganesh. He was so angry with the boy that he hit him with great force on the Head. At that instance, the cowherd took the form of lord Ganesh and became an idol( Can be seen in the picture below.). The great king tried in vain to lift the Athma Linga from the ground. All his efforts failed.
That is how the “Athma Linga” found its place at Gokarna.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Murdeshwar - 4
Friday, March 11, 2011
Murdeshwar - 3
Finally unable to bear the intensity of the Great King Ravana’s penance, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati appear before him and ask him to end his penance and promise that whatever he wishes for, it would be granted.
In the above picture, Sage Narada is requesting King Ravana to put an end to his evil deeds. The most important thing that should be observed in this picture is the Arms that are hanging around the waist of Goddess Kali.
The wedding of King Ravana and Mandodari.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Murdeshwar - 2
This post is dedicated to the genius of Mr. R.N.Shetty. In my earlier post about Murdeshwar, I had written about the Temple, The beautiful Beach and the gigantic statue of Lord Shiva built by the able financial support of Mr. R.N.Shetty.
Under the gigantic statue of Lord Shiva is a circular shaped museum where the story of Murdeshwar has been narrated in detail with the help of some exquisite statues of Lankan King Ravana, Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva. All these statues were developed under the financial aid given by Mr. R.N. Shetty. Below are the pictures of the statues. The statues are made of Plaster of Paris.
In the above picture, Lankan King, Ravana the great is in deep meditation and praying to please Lord Shiva so that the Lord grants him a boon. The statue is such a marvel that one feels that he is staring at King Ravana himsef. there is so much life in the statue.
While King Ravana is in deep meditation, Sage Narada is seen in the above picture narrating to Lord Vishnu, who is resting under the hood of Snake, Adhishesha. Sage Narada is telling Lord Vishnu the purpose of King Ravana’s Penance and the consequences if King Ravana succeeds in Pleasing Lord Shiva with his penance and is granted a boon. Goddess Lakshmi is seen in the picture.
Even after praying to Lord Shiva for many years, the lord was not pleased with King Ravana. Out of anger, the mighty king is seen in the above picture lifting Mount Kailash (abode of Lord Shiva) alongwith Lord Ganesh, Goddess Parvati and Nandi ( the divine Bull). All the ten heads of the mighty King and the twenty hands are clear visible and this statue, according to me is a master piece.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Murdeshwar, Karnataka. - 1
The gigantic statue of Lord shiva, Installed on top of the hill behind the main temple is the main attraction of this Temple town.
Just below the hill is the ancient and powerful Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, by the name of Murdeshwar.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sri Jaganmohana Ranganatha Swamy Temple.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thirunakkara Mahadevar Shiva Temple, Kottayam
Thirunakkara Mahadevar Shiva Temple claims a special mention among the numerous tourist attractions of Kottayam, due to its rich architecture. The interior walls of this temple are decorated with striking, colorful and enticing murals. The Temple has been built with elegant Kerala style of architecture. The sanctum sanctorum or the innermost shrine of Thirunakkara Mahadevar Shiva Temple is adorned with impressive images of epic characters from the Hindu mythology.
A large number of devotees and pilgrims from various parts of India visit Thirunakkara Mahadevar Shiva Temple Kottayam as it is one of the significant religious tourist spot in Kerala.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sri Keshava Temple, Somnathpur
The main of the three Sanctuaries
Somnathpur
is a small village located near the Karnataka-Kerala border. The village is situated on the banks of river Cauvery and a drive of around 140 kms south-west of Bangalore takes one to this village which is frequented by all the patrons of Architecture and sculptures.I was surprised to see the historical facts relating to the Somnathpur temple inscribed on a stone slab at the entrance of the temple. Written in Old Kannada script (which is the local language), it informs that the King who ruled during the time the Temple was built was Narasimha III (1254-91 A.D.). The brainchild for the construction of this temple was the Commander of the Army, Sri Somnath. The Sri Keshava temple at Somnathpur is regarded for its precision in symmetry with exquisite stone carvings.
The Somnathpur temple stands in the middle of a walled compound. The star shaped temple has carved pinnacles. The star-shaped sanctum – sanctorum and low elevation today stand as testimony to the style of Hoysala architecture.
The surface of the outer walls of the Temple is covered with beautifully sculpted plaques of stone depicting various Gods and Goddesses in different postures. Most of these plaques have been inspired from Ancient Hindu scriptures. Another striking feature of the temple is that it has 16 different ceilings - each ceiling depicting various stages of a blooming plantain.
This is an Idol of Lord Krishna surrounded by attendants, playing the flute beneath a tree.
The Lord’s dress and crown are richly ornamented with highly sensitive carvings. This typical ornate and intricate style of sculptures makes the Hoysala Architecture styles one of the easiest styles to recognize in Indian art.
This is one of those exquisite carvings that i came across during my visit. On the left is the Idol of Lord Ganesh in Dancing postures. Lord Vishnu seated on the sacred serpent Sri Aadhi Shesha. Between the panels is a female drummer. Another aspect of these Temple is that the sculptures are signed (Square Panels at the foot of the idols) under each main panels by the respective sculptors who worked on that particular panel. One name that occupied almost all the signatures in the temple was that of the great sculptor of that times Mallitamba.
The above 2 idols were the ones that took my breath away. I was so fascinated by the beauty and delicacy of the carvings that these 2 idols need a mention. The one on the Top is that of Goddess Lakshmi seated on the Lap of Narasimha( One of the Incarnations of Lord Vishnu).
The other idol is that of Lord Vishnu in Meditation. this particular idol reminded me of
Sri Buddha who happens to be one of the Incarnations of Lord Vishnu himself.
Truly, I realised that i am really blessed by the great Gods to be Born on this Earth that has a lot on offer. It's such a beautiful World that a mere 100 years of Life is not enough even to read about the places on this earth forget about visiting.