Ugra Profile picture
10 Dec, 6 tweets, 2 min read
Condition of Hindus from around 1300CE to 1335CE.These 35 odd yrs can be described as perhaps the darkest phases of Indian history. For the 1st time in its existence the entire Indian sub-continent had been overrun by foreign savages.

Year 1336 marked the rise of Vijayanagara(1)
It is during this 35 odd years that some of the worst kind of savagery was unleashed. Especially on Hindus of Dakshina Bharat. Barbarian kafur undertook his temple breaking campaign during this period. Almost every single major temple town in Tamil Nadu was ransacked. (2)
Of all the Kshetras, Madurai in particular faced the worst of the onslaught of the savages. The Maduraittala Varalauru gives an account of the condition of the legendary Meenakashi temple during that period. (3)
Gangadevi, wife of Kumara Kampanna who was the warrior son of the 2nd emperor of Vijayanagara describes the pitiful state Madurai & other parts of TN found itself in. This was described in her work titled "Madura Vijayam" which she composed post the Hindu reconquest of Madurai(4)
Gangadevi describes in Madura Vijayam the final encounter between Kampanna & the last savage invader of Madurai, allahuddin sikandar. With this act Madurai was reclaimed & in the following years it would be restored to its original glory along with all other ransacked temples(5)
The Hindu reconquest of Madurai remains one of the greatest pieces of Hindu history that often goes untold. Its a story that gives immense hope in the face of most uncertain of times.

Source: Further sources of Vijayanagara history by Nilakanta Sastri.

/end

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More from @_ugra_

10 Dec
{THREAD}

Since today is the Bhumipooja for the new parliament building, we'll see what our ancient text on Architecture, the Manasara-Shilpashastra says on the rituals to be performed & the deities to be invoked before the commencement of any construction activity. (1)
The Balikarma-vidhana (sacrificial offerings) are prescribed for various deities. These deities preside over different partitions of the ground plan of what is being built.

This is just an example of the various deities presiding over different partitions of the plan. (2)
Now each one of the 45 presiding deities need to be invoked & offered a "bali" (offerings). The offerings can be anything from milk, curd, butter, rice, sesame, honey, modaka sweet to fish & meat in case of asuric deities. We'll see in detail in the following tweets. (3)
Read 14 tweets
9 Dec
THREAD on Hindu Architecture.

Recently when the 3D renders for the new Parliament building was was made public, it was mostly met with criticism here on twitter. Criticized for failing to incorporate elements of architecture which represent splendour of our Hindu civilization(1)
While many may say it is unfair to criticize a design just based on 3D renders, there is a reason why this criticism holds good in this case. It is the same reason why we haven't been able to construct... (2)
..any noteworthy public building since 1947 reflective of our ancient & classical culture(rare exceptions exist though).

The reason being the complete abandonment a huge vast ocean of literature on Hindu architecture. (3)
Read 30 tweets
4 Dec
Nagabhatta's resistance against the Arabs was not an one off affair. Both him & later his grandson Nagabhatta II were constantly at war with the Arabs. Both managed to chase away the Arabs on multiple occasions as recorded in the Gwalior inscription. (1)
Nagabhatta II's grandson was Mihira Bhoja. He was the greatest emperor of the Pratihara clan. The arabs feared him the most. He was described as unfriendly towards them detested the "muhammadan faith". Yet he did not underestimate the arabs, hence maintained a large army (2)
Narasimha Deva of Eastern Ganga dynasty was probably the greatest Hindu king when it came to offensive tactics against turushkas. He took the battle into the enemy territory & laid them to waste. (3)
Read 5 tweets
3 Dec
Which Sikh repulsed the 1st ever arab invasion into Bharat in 7th century?Nagabhatta "Singh"🙂Which Sikh smashed islamic barbarians out of Kalinga in 12th century?Narasimha Deva "Singh"🙂Which Sikh liberated Southern Bharat from islamic barbarians in 1370's? Bukka Raya "Singh"🙂
Lesson here: Never belittle & suppress your own achievements in order to big up someone else, even if they happen to be a friendly ally.

No need for any exaggeration of historical facts either.

Plain honest truth telling will suffice.
If only a fraction of the credit is given to medieval Rajputs who stood as a bulwark against external aggression for over 400 yrs in the north & the Rayas of Vijayanagara who did the same for over 300 yrs in the South, our country would be in a much better place. Buy hey... 🙂
Read 5 tweets
3 Dec
Description of an average residential dwelling during the Mauryan times. (2300 yrs ago)

The principles & the rules governing Hindu architecture (Manasara) is as vast as an ocean. It is a pity we have moved away from traditional methods of construction of residential building.
Delegitimizing Vaastu shastra as some "pseudo-science" (just like Ayurveda) was the 1st step towards moving away from traditional construction techniques.

We had a highly evolved system of standardized measurement (Manopakarana vidhana). Shame it is not taught in schools /uni.
It is this system of measurement which went from the smallest measurable unit (Paramanu) literally meaning atom to Angulas( finger's breadth) to bigger units like hastas dandas & beyond that were used to sculpt small intricate murthis to some of the biggest Temples.
Read 5 tweets
29 Nov
THREAD ---->>

Today is Vaikuntha Chaturdashi. A day dedicated to both Lord Shiva & Maha Vishnu. The significance of this day and the vratha to be observed is described in a very detailed manner in the Kartikamasa mahatmya of the Vaishnava khanda in the Skanda puranam. (1)
On this very day during the Sathya yuga Lord Maha Vishnu went to Kashi to have a darshana of Mahadeva. Before proceeding for the darshana he took a bath at the Manikarnika ghat & in the process took a 1000 golden Lotus with him to worship Shiva. (2)
Vishnu took a 1000 lotuses to perform the Sahasranama for Shiva (1 lotus for 1 name). In order to test Vishnu's devotion, Shiva secretly takes away 1 lotus before the worship. Nearing the end of the Sahasranama, Vishnu realizes he is short by 1 lotus (3)
Read 20 tweets

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