With #MahaShivaratri coming up this week, thread on Shaiva Kshetras in Odisha, a state where I had stayed for 4 years, and has some of the most magnificient Shiva Temples in India.
The capital Bhubaneshwar itself gets it's name from one Shiva's names "Tribhubaneshwar", meaning Lord of the 3 Worlds, and is also called as Ekamra Kshetra, as it's believed Shiva meditated under a tree with one mango here. The city is famous for it's Shiva temples.
The magnificient Lingaraja Temple said to have been built by Yayati Kesari and dates to the 10th century. Located over an area of 25,000 sq ft, the temple is marked by it’s huge tower soaring to 180 feet and which is elaborately carved with various sculptures.
Located over an area of 25,000 sq ft, the temple is marked by it’s huge tower soaring to 180 feet and which is elaborately carved with various sculptures. The huge tower can be seen from any place in the city and is a dominant feature of it’s sky line.
Right next to the Temple is the Bindusagar lake which is believed to contain drops of every holy river in India. The temple is built in typical Kalinga style architecture, with the main temple, the Bhoga Mandap, Yajna Sala and the Natya Shala.
The Parasurameswara temple is a complex of around 20 small temples and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This 7th century temple has sculpture of amorous couples, lions, elephants and birds.
The Mukteswara temple is another ancient 10th Century temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, the torana or the gateway is worth a watch, her for it’s fusion of Buddhist and Hindu styles of Architecture.
Next to the Mukteswara Temple is the Kedareswara temple, another temple dedicated to Shiva, again famous for it’s sculptures of women, animals, birds.
Another famous Shaiva temple in Odisha is the Ashtashambu located in Bhubaneshwar, 8 identical temples dedicated to Shiva, in which 5 temples are in one alignment called as Panchu Pandava.
The Ajaikapada Bhairava temple, located in Jagatsinghpur district, has Shiva standing just on one feet, which also accounts for it's name. The original temple was destroyed during Muslim invasions and it was subsequently rebuilt later.
The Dhabaleshwar Temple on a small island in the Mahanadi River, near Cuttack. The temple is entirely white in color, and was built by King Yayati Keshari, it is now looked after by the Athagarh royal family.
One very famous Shaiva Kshetra is Gupteshwar in Koraput district, where the Shiva Linga is located in a cave in very thick jungle. It is basically a limestone cave, and the Shiva Lingam here keeps growing in size every year.
Indralath Temple in Bolangir district, it's believed Indra worshipped Shiva here, which accounts for it's name. This is a brick temple built around 10-11th century during reign of Somvamshi rulers.
Kapilash Temple, located near Dhenkanal in a very thick forest, is worth a visit. You could either trek 1352 steps, through a thick jungle or take the winding ghat road. It's believed to be the site of Kapila Maharshi's Ashram.
The Leaning temple of Huma, around 23 km from Sambalpur, on the banks of the Mahanadi. To date none has been able to explain the reason for it's tilt. Shiva is worshipped here as Bimaleshwar.
Panchalingeswara Temple at Nilagiri, near to Balasore, so gets it's name from 5 Shivalingas enshrined in a hill, bathed by a perenial stream. This can be reached by a trek through the forests, and is another temple worth visiting.
Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar, does not actually have a deity inside, and is famous for it's erotic sculptures. The 11th century temple constructed out of dull red and yellow sandstone, is considered a Shaiva Kshetra due to the sculptures on outside walls.
The Rameshwara Deula Temple is regarded as Mausi Maa of Lingaraja Temple. It's believed to have been built by Shri Rama himself, and one day before Ramnavami, the main deity in Lingaraja Temple comes here in the Rukuna Rath.
This is not a very exhaustive list of Shiva Temples in Odisha, I shared only the rather well known ones. While the state is more known for Jagannatha worship, there are equally large number of Shaiva Temples in every town and city here.
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One of the important phases of Veer Savarkar's life was at Fergusson College, Pune, which laid the foundation for his ideology and thought.
Fergusson College was founded in Pune, 1885, by nationalist leaders Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar along with social reformer Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. It began originally as the New English School, and later Tilak, Chiplunkar founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884.
Shirole, the Patil of Bhamburde village on West bank of Mutha River , now called as Shivaji Nagar, donated 37 acres of land, on a 99 year lease, for just one rupee. Inaugurated by William Wordsworth, the grandson of the more illustrious poet of the same name, and the principal of Elphinstone College, it would become a crucible of the nationalist awakening in Maharashtra.
Pune capital of Peshwas, city where Chattrapathi Shivaji Maharaj grew up, the cultural capital of Maharashtra, and the Oxford of India, to which aspiring scholars, writers, thinkers, academicians flocked. It was the city which proved to be the epicenter of the nationalist, social reform movements that shaped Maharashtra in the early 20th century.
The first Indian immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago arrive on this date in 1845, on the Fatel Razack, creating the Indian diaspora there. Most of them laborers bought to work on the large sugarcane plantations there owned by British.
This date is celebrated as Indian Arrival Day in the country.
Ironically it was the abolition of slavery that bought Indians to Trinidad and Tobago as indentured labor. Basically the sugarcane plantations were faced with a shortage of labor, to make up for it, the British came up with a system of indentured labor.
While there were Chinese too, the majority of the indentured labor bought to Trinidad and Tobago, were primarily Indians, and this period from 1845 to 1917, saw around 147,000 Indians being bought to work on the sugarcane plantations.
Honestly speaking, this "indentured" system was another form of slavery. People were made to sign a contract for 5 years, wages were as low as 25 cents a day, most of the Indian laborers were forcibly retained, contracts kept getting extended to 10 years.
One of the more famous Narasimha Kshetras in Andhra Pradesh is hat of Vedagiri Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, located on a hill called Narasimhakonda, around 15 km from Nellore city, at a village called Devarapalem on the banks of the Penna River.
Nellore dt, incidentally has two famous Narasimha Kshetras, this one and another at Penchalakona.
As per the Sthala Purana, there used to exist flying mountains that travelled from place to place. One of them was Malayagiri, and one of it’s 4 wings fell here, the other 3 fell at Yadagiri, Mangalagiri and Nandagiri.
When the mountain prayed to Vishnu for redemption, he granted the boon, that the places where the wings had fallen would be considered holy, and all these places are prominent Narasimha Kshetras.
As per Brahma Purana, Rishi Kashyapa, along with the other Saptarishis, Atri, Vasistha, Vishvamitra, Gautama Maharishi, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja performed yagna at 7 homa kundams on the hill here, and from the fire of the Yagna, Narasimha Swamy emerged in the form of a bright light, and entered a cave.
The murthy of Narasimha, was installed by Kashyapa himself on an auspicious day. As the Saptarishis pleased Narasimha Swamy, with the recitation of Vedas, it was called as Vedagiri.
To have lived long does not necessarily imply the gathering of much wisdom and experience. A man who has pedalled 25,000 miles on a stationary bi-cycle has not circled the globe. He has only garnered weariness.
Ashutosh Mukherjee, father of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, as great a personality as his more famous son, who made a significant contribution to the Bengali Renaissance.
The first student to get a dual degree in Maths and Physics from Kolkata University, the 2nd VC, founded Bengal Technical Institute, Rajabazar Science College, Hazra Law College, Kolkata Mathematical Society, Ashutosh Mukherjee was a towering figure by himself.
Also presided over inaugural session of Indian Science Congress, and called “Banglar Bagh” (‘The Bengal Tiger’) for his high self-esteem, courage and academic integrity.
His ancestors hailed from the small town of Jirat in Hooghly district. His father Ganga Prasad Mukhopadhyaya later migrated to Kolkata,and he was born on June 29, 1864 in Bowbazar. Most of his ancestors were renowned Sanskrit scholars, that included Pandit Ramchandra Tarkalankar.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Freedom fighter, nationalist, activist, thinker, writer and sadly a very misunderstood personality too.
Here was some one who braved the worst form of imprisonment at Cellular Jail for not one year, two years, but a whole decade. Imagine spending ten years in a hellhole, that would have broken the spirit of a lesser man.
There is so much about Savarkar to be told, his fight for independence, his Hindutva philosophy, his stay in Cellular Jail. Each of that episode would make a thread by itself. This post is more a personal tribute to him with links to some posts of mine on him.
#VeerSavarkar
The late 19th century, was when India was awakening to its spiritual heritage, its pride of place among the nations of the world, during ancient times. People like Dayananda, Swami Vivekananda were spreading social consciousness among India.
It was however just the beginning, only the ground work had been done, the rising tide of nationalism was yet to surge. While there was a mood of a national reawakening, it still remained dormant.
Precisely around that time in 1883, at a small village near Nashik called Bhagur, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on the 28th of May. Originally hailing from the Konkan, the Savarkars were quite influential in the final days of the Peshwas. historyunderyourfeet.wordpress.com/2017/02/11/vee…
Tomorrow is #VeerSavarkar Jayanti, however not many y know about the woman in his life, Yamunabai Savarkar or more affectionately known as Mai, a lady as great as her more illustrious husband. #SwatantryaVeerSavarkar
Her real name was Yashoda, and she came from a background, totally different to that of Veer Savarkar’s. Where her husband came from a modest family, supported by his elder brother, she came from a rich and influential family.
Born to Ramchandra Trimbak aka Bhaurao and Lakshmibai aka Manutai Chiplunkar in Thane district on December 4,1888, her father Bhaurao Chiplunkar was the Dewan of the principality of Jawahar in Thane District, and she grew up in the lap of luxury.