Reality : King Jayachandra, has the Shikara of the original Vishnu Hari Temple covered with pure gold, makes innumerable grants to Brahmanas & scholars, patronises Mahakavis, levy's an exclusive tax called turushkadanda for the protection of his kingdom from ghori's hordes (1)
Led his forces of 80k men in armour, 30k in horses, 300k infantry, 200k bowmen/battle axes & a host of elephants, with himself seated on one to war against md.ghori to defend his kingdom.
Yet he is accused of inviting ghori against Pritviraja, when he himself died fighting ghori
The Kamuauli grant of Jayachandra refers to the gift of half a village made to Lolarka Surya. He is one of the most significant presiding deities of Kashi.
His father Vijayachandra constructed a grand temple(Atala devi), now occupied by turushkas.
On Deepavali & crackers. Extract from Dr V.Raghavan's book on Festivals of ancient India.
"But what is our Deepavali without the crackers which are fired after the bath and the wearing of new
clothes? How do the crackers come in?.. (1)
They are not new but are perhaps among the oldest, essential features of the Deepavali. They are not, as popular imagination may assume, part of merry making, but are part of the religious beliefs behind the association of the dead ancestors with this holy season... (2)
The Pitrs or manes who came down during the Mahaalaya are to go back now and it is to light their path along the firmanent that lamps on tops of poles are set up and crackers are made to burst in mid air. This is called in the texts Ulka dhana... (3)
The Gahadavalas, who were the last Hindu rulers of Kashi & Ayodhya practiced a very noble gesture.
Lakshmidhara, who was the Mahasandhivigrahika (minister of warfare) mentions how the sons of those who were killed in battle fighting turushkas were granted state pension.
The Krityakalpataru authored by Lakshmidhara gives numerous insights into the nature of the Gahadavalas. Its cursory reading will tell us that the Gahadavalas went out of the way in order to promote, propagate & preserve traditional Hindu culture.
The Gahadavalas were devoted to Suryanarayana. The often villifed Jayachandra made a grants to Lolarka Surya.
Gosalladevi, wife of Govindachadra(Jayachandra's grandfather) made a grant to Gangaditya Surya in Kashi.
Gangaditya & Lolarka are both mentioned in the Skandapurana.
I wish they invest a fraction of what is being invested in this laser light show in the renovation of many dilapidated Temples along the Sarayu ghat. No amount of laser gimmick can cover up that.
Its totally tragic that people in charge have lost all sense of aesthetics.
The educational curriculum in ancient India consisted of the 4 Vedas, 6 Angas, 10 Grantas, 14 Vidhyas, 18 Shilpas & 64 Kalas. Except for the Vedas, the other fields were open for anyone to enroll.
Rig, Yajur, Sama & Atharva consisted of the 4 Vedas. (1)
Shiksha, the methodology of pronunciation. Kalpa, the technique of ritualisim. Vyakarana, the study of grammar. Nirkuta, study of meaning of Sanskrit words. Chhandas, studies of poetry & Jyotisha, the study of the celestial bodies & impact on humans. These are 6 limbs of the Veda
The Dasha Grantas consists of the 6 Vedangas & additionally being well veraed in one's own Veda, the associated Brahamana, Aranyaka & Nighantu. The one who mastered these 10 Grantas would be conferred with the title of Dashagranthi Brahmana (3)
Read this thread am going to write now to know why Eastern Bengal (Bangladaesh as its known today) succumbed to turushka, while the Western part remained largely Hindu.
The source of this thread is Jadunath Sarkar's book on History of Bengal Volume 2. Here it goes (1)
"In these regions the people up to the foot holds of the hills were Mongoloid by race, spirit-worshippers by religion, and speakers of many local dialects which had no written literature and were foreign to the literary Bengali of Gaud, Varendri and Raarh.. (2)
.. By the inexorable force of geography, the people of
west Bengal, especially in the Gangetic valley were more largely
and more deeply subject to the Aryan or Aryo-Dravidian influence
that filtrated through Anga (Bhagalpur) than the natives of East
Bengal... (3)
"This structure, equalling in size the Great Mosque of Damascus, was built by the spoliation of Hindu and Buddhist shrines. According to R. K. Chakravartty, a Buddhist stupa was
dismantled to secure the necessary materials.. (1)
..for its building, but the remains of Hindu images as well are visible today in every part of this mosque. A block with the carved head of a lion which is said to have formed part of a Hindu throne, is found attached to the steps leading to the pulpit.. (2)
.. many mutilated figures of Hindu deities are found in the door-sills and prayer-niches all over the mosque. The 400 pillars with their graceful fluted shafts and
expanding lotus-capitals which produce such an imposing effect, were similarly transplanted from Hindu shrines.. (3)