Your Inspirational World Die/s Every Minute You Dont Read This Article: Sanskrit
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Showing posts with label Sanskrit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanskrit. Show all posts

Thursday, November 07, 2019

Narmada Shivling - नर्मदा शिवलिंग

Thursday, November 07, 2019 0
Narmada Shivling  - नर्मदा शिवलिंग

 Narmada Shivling  - नर्मदा शिवलिंग

It is a smooth ellipsoid stone. Banalinga is also called the Svayambhu Linga: (Sanskrit) "Self-existent mark or sign of God", as it is discovered in nature and not carved or crafted by human hands. 

 The Narmada Shivling are quite strong and the hardness is a 7 on the Mohs scale.

 

Narmada Stone are Swayambhu Shiva Lingas that have taken shape in the Sacred Narmada River. Sri Shiva Banalingams Blessings at your own home, healing place, meditation space, work place, Business Place, Corporate Houses. Narmada Lingam will bring and maintain peace and harmony. The Narmada Shivling is a most sacred symbol and divine energy tool, Enhanced Positive energy will be invoked in theplace where there is Banalingam of NarmadhaShiv Linga is holy symbol of Lord Shiva that is considered sacred by the devotees of Lord Shiva.'Lingum'in Sanskrit means, 'symbol'. Shiva Linga, therefore means symbol of Lord Shiva and is therefore considered most sacred.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

About Swami Vivekananda

Saturday, July 25, 2015 0
About Swami Vivekananda

About Swami Vivekananda

About Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was born in 1863 in Calcutta. His parents named him Narendranath Dutta, or Naren for short. As a young man, Vivekananda joined the course in philosophy at the Scottish Churches College of Calcutta (Kolkata), and also became a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a great mystic and devotee of Kali. Ramakrishna was a phenomenal enlightened being, and he saw great potential in Naren. Seeing his capability to percieve, Ramakrishna named him Vivekananda, where Viveka means perception in Sanskrit. Swami Vivekananda went out into the world to spread Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s message. In 1893, he was invited to the World Parliament of Religions, in Chicago. As a representative of Hinduism. he gave several speeches to great acclaim within the Parliament and the world at large. He is credited with playing a big part in bringing an understanding of Hinduism to the Western mindset.

Vivekananda stressed the importance of coming together for the betterment of society and urged Indians to adopt the Indian culture and the path of Karma Yoga, or the yoga of action. According to this, the path to salvation lies through active work in this world in selfless devotion, with bothering about the fruits of one’s actions. The respect that Vivekananda gained in the western part of the world had a great impact on his Indian contemporaries. British ideas of the Hindu way of life had looked at it as a collection of superstitious nonsense and pointless ritualism. Vivekananda’s outspoken defense of the Hindu way of life and his explanation of various facets of Indian culture won him many admirers in the East and the West. He fired the imaganation of Indian youth and became a national hero. His ideals had a big influence on many Independence-era politicians. The great liberal, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the fervent socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru, both acknowledged their debts to Vivekananda in their later years.

Though Vivekananda praised the nobler ideas of the Hindu spiritual tradition, he was also an inveterate critic of certain discriminatory practices such as untouchability, which he characterized as a social custom not justified by religion. In 1887, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission, as an organisation for the dissemination of Ramakrishna’s spiritual path. Vivekananda’s trips to several Western countries paved the way for the global spread of the Ramakrishna Mission. The Mission has published the eight volumes of his collected works, which contain his books on Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Karma Yoga, as well as his numerous speeches.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Krita Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a Kali Yuga.

Thursday, May 29, 2008 0
Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Krita Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a Kali Yuga.

Yuga: Spiritual -Theosophy Dictionary on Yuga

Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Krita Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a Kali Yuga.

Yuga (Sanskrit) Age; an age of the world, of which there are four -- satya yuga, treta yuga, dvapara yuga, and kali yuga -- which proceed in succession during the manvantaric cycle. Each yuga is preceded by a period called in the Puranas, sandhya (twilight, transition period, dawn) and followed by another period of like duration often called sandhyansa (a portion of twilight). Each of these transition periods is one-tenth of its yuga. The group of four yugas is first computed by the divine years or years of the gods -- each such year being equal to 360 years of mortal men.


Thus we have, in divine years:

1. Krita or Satya Yuga . . 4,000

Sandhya . . . . . . . . 400

Sandhyansa . . . . . . 400

4,800 or 1,728,000 mortal years

2. Treta Yuga . . . . . . . 3,000

Sandhya . . . . . . . . 300

Sandhyansa . . . . . . . 300

3,600 or 1,296,000 mortal years


3. Dvapara Yuga . . . . . . 2,000

Sandhya . . . . . . . . 200

Sandhyansa . . . . . . . 200

2,400 or 864,000 mortal years

4. Kali yuga . . . . . . . 1,000

Sandhya . . . . . . . . 100

Sandhyansa . . . . . . 100

1,200 or 432,000 mortal years

Total: 12,000 a Mahayuga or 4,320,000 mortal years

Of these four yugas, our present racial period is the kali yuga (black age), often called the Iron Age, said to have commenced at the moment of Krishna's death, usually given as 3102 BC. These yugas do not affect all mankind at the same time, as some races, because of their own special cycles in running, are in one or in another of the yugas, while other races are in a different cycle. This series of 4, 3, 2, 1, with ciphers added or not according to circumstances, are among the sacred computations of archaic esotericism, which shows that all the various kinds of yugas, the small being included within the great, are each governed by the same periodic and regular series -- all of which makes calculation no easy thing.

"All races have their own cycles, which fact causes a great difference. For instance, the Fourth Sub-Race of the Atlanteans was in its Kali-Yug, when destroyed, whereas the Fifth was in its Satya or Krita Yuga. The Aryan Race is now in its Kali Yuga, and will continue to be in it for 427,000 years longer, while various 'family Races,' called the Semitic, Hamitic, etc., are in their own special cycles. The forthcoming 6th Sub Race -- which may begin very soon -- will be in its Satya (golden) age while we reap the fruit of iniquity in our Kali Yuga" (SD 2:147n).

The four yugas refer to any root-race, although indeed a root-race from its individual beginning to its individual ending is about double the length of the great yuga as set forth in the above chart. The racial yugas, however, overlap because each new great race is born at about the middle period of the parent race, although the individual length of any one race is as above stated. Thus it is that by the overlapping of the races, a race and its succeeding race may for a long time be contemporaneous on the face of the globe.

As the four yugas are a reflection in human history of what takes place in the evolution of the earth itself, and also of the planetary chain, the same scheme of yugas applies on larger scales: there exist the four yugas in the time periods of the evolution of a planetary chain, as well as in the general time period of a globe manvantara. These cosmic yugas are very much longer than the racial yugas, but the same general scheme of 4, 3, 2 applies throughout.

"The sacredness of the cycle of 4320, with additional cyphers, lies in the fact that the figures which compose it, taken separately or joined in various combinations, are each and all symbolical of the greatest mysteries in Nature. Indeed, whether one takes the 4 separately, or the 3 by itself, or the two together making 7, or again the three added together and yielding 9, all these numbers have their application in the most sacred and occult things, and record the workings of Nature in her eternally periodical phenomena. They are never erring, perpetually recurring numbers, unveiling, to him who studies the secrets of Nature, a truly divine System, an intelligent plan in Cosmogony, which results in natural cosmic divisions of times, seasons, invisible influences, astronomical phenomena, with their action and reaction on terrestrial and even moral nature; on birth, death, and growth, on health and disease. All these natural events are based and depend upon cyclical processes in the Kosmos itself, producing periodic agencies which, acting from without, affect the Earth and all that lives and breathes on it, from one end to the other of any Manvantara. Causes and effects are esoteric, exoteric, and endexoteric, so to say" (SD 2:73-4).

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram - Another important pilgrim center that is close to Mysore

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 0
Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram - Another important pilgrim center that is close to Mysore
Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram - Another important pilgrim center that is close to Mysore

 Another important pilgrim center that is close to Mysore is Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram. Melkote is about 60kms from Mysore city and is located in a hilly region that comprises some of the oldest rock formations on earth. Cradled in the middle of these hills is the temple town of Melkote. This town gained religious importance in the 12th century AD when the famous South Indian Vaishnava philosopher and teacher, Sri Ramanuja lived in Melkote for around 12 years.

Melkote is nearing to Mysore in Karnataka houses an ancient shrine to Vishnu, worshipped as TiruNarayana. This shrine is known for its long standing association with the spiritual leader Ramanujacharya. Melkote is also known as Yadavagiri, yatistalam, Vedadri and Narayanadri.

Melkote is located in the Mandya district, Karanataka State in South India. It is around 30 kms from Pandavapura, 25 kms from Mandya and 160 kms from Bangalore (3 hours drive appx). It is at an altitude of about 900 metres above the sea level. The place has a very long history, dating back to "Kritha" Yuga, when it was called "Vedadri". In "Thretha" Yuga it was called "Narayanadri" and in "Dwapara" Yuga was called "Yadavadri". The main deity Cheluvanarayana, is known to have been worshipped by Sri Krishna and Balarama in Dwapara Yuga. In "Kali" Yuga, Acharya Sri Ramanuja, reinstalled the deity and the place came to be known as "Yathisaila". Melkote is equated to the famous Badarinath, and is called Dakshina Badari Kshetra. (South Badari)

Life in Melkote is centered around the Cheluvanarayanaswamy temple in the town and the Yoganarasimhaswamy temple on the hill overlooking the town of Melkote. It is these temples that have made the town a popular tourist attraction. These temples have helped to preserve the tradition of the town and at the same time is a repository of all the knowledge of culture. The temple premises houses the oldest Sanskrit Pathsahala in India that dates back to 1853.

The School continues to provide instruction in Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy. As a result of this rich cultural and traditional heritage it has been found that Melkote has managed to retain its traditional nature over the centuries. Studies have shown that there has been very little change in the town of Melkote. The changes have been minor whether in the town plan, type of houses or cultural practices. So visiting Melkote is like visiting our cultural heritage in its living form.

The festivals held at the temple involve the entire town. Some of the important festivals held in the temple are the Vairamudi Utsava, Teppostsava and the birthday or Tirunakshtram celebrations of important saints. What is unique about Melkote is that some folk festivals like the Angamani festival have been integrated into the temple rituals thus making all celebration meaningful to the common people.

The presiding deity here (moolavar) is known by the name Tiru Narayana, while the processional image of Vishnu goes by the name Selva Pillai or Sampath Kumara. Vishnu's consort is known by the name Yadugiri Taayaar. The image of Selvappillai is housed in the Rangamandapa. There are shrines to Yadugiri Taayaar and Kalyani Nachiyaar. The temple tank is known by the name Kalyani theertham.

Legend has it this image of Vishnu was held in worship by Bhrahma. It is believed that the festival image Sampatkumara was worshipped by Rama and his son Kusha; hence the name Ramapriya. Legend has it that Krishna installed this image here at Melkote.

Melkote has two distinct temples. The Tirunarayana temple at the foothills and the hill temple to Yoga Narasimha. Legend has it that the Yoga Narasimha temple image was installed here by Prahlada.

King Bittideva of Karnataka who embraced the Sri Vaishnava way of life and patronized the saint Ramanujacharya, assumed the name of Vishnuvardhana and built five shrines known as the Panchanarayana temples. It is believed that at that time the Narayanapura shrine was in ruins and that both the images of Tirunarayana and Sampathkumara were missing and that Ramanujacharya discovered the image of Tirunarayana in the midst of Tulasi shrubs on the Yadavagiri hill and installed it back in the temple.

Legend has it that during the Muslim raids of South India, the festival image of Melkote was stolen and taken away and that Ramanujacharya restored it from the court of the ruler. It is said that it a muslim princess had gotten attached to the image of Selvappillai and that being unable to part with it, she followed the Acharya to Melkote and then merged into the shrine there. In honor of this, there is an image of Bibi Nachiyar here.

This temple is known for its Vairamudi Sevai in the month of March-April, when the image of Selvappillai is adorned with a diamond crown and taken out in procession. It is traditional belief that this crown is not to be looked at when it is not worn by the festival image; hence each year, during the occasion, the officiating priest picks up the crown from its chest with his eyes blindfolded and then places it upon the head of the image of Selvappillai. Thousands congregate to celebrate this occasion each year.

Such was the hospitality of the residents of Melkote that they were reluctant to let Ramanuja leave for Srirangam. Hence, Ramanujacharya made an image of himself and left it behind. It is to be noted that Ramanuja's body in its preserved state is maintained at Srirangam and that there is another image of Ramanuja at Sriperumpudoor near Chennai.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Varanasi - The holy city of India, is also known by the name of Kashi and Benaras. Kashi, the city of Moksha for Hindus since centuries

Monday, May 26, 2008 0
Varanasi - The holy city of India, is also known by the name of Kashi and Benaras. Kashi, the city of Moksha for Hindus since centuries

Varanasi, the holy city of India, is also known by the name of Kashi and Benaras. Kashi, the city of Moksha for Hindus since centuries, is known for its fine-quality silks, 'paan' and Benares Hindu University and Avimukta of the ancient days, Varanasi is the most popular pilgrimage point for the Hindus. One of the seven holiest cities, Varanasi city is also one the Shakti Peethas and one of the twelve Jyotir Linga sites in India. In Hinduism it is believed that those who die and are cremated here get an instant gateway to liberation from the cycle of births and re-births.

Varanasi, the holy city of India, is also known by the name of Kashi and Benaras. Kashi, the city of Moksha for Hindus since centuries

Considered as the abode of Lord Shiva, Varanasi is situated on the banks of River Ganges, which is believed to have the power of washing away all of one's sins. As pundits here will tell you, whatever is sacrificed and chanted here or given in charity reaps its fruits thousand times more than those good deeds performed at other places because of the power of that place. It is believed that three nights of fasting in Varanasi city can reap you rewards of many thousands of lifetimes of asceticism!

Varanasi is the oldest city of the world. Varanasi is more than 3000 years old and is famous as the city of temples. In Varanasi, there are temples at every few pacesVaranasi is the oldest city of the world. Varanasi is more than 3000 years old and is famous as the city of temples. In Varanasi, there are temples at every few paces. Looking at the number of temples in Varanasi, it is hard to believe that a large number of them were demolished during the medieval times. Jyotirlinga Visvanatha Temple or Golden Temple, rebuilt in 1776, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Jnana Vapi well (meaning 'Well of Wisdom) is believed to have been dug by Lord Shiva himself. It is believed that the majestic Alamgir mosque has replaced one of the most ancient shrines known as the temple of Bindu Madhava. The thirty-three hundred million shrines fill one with awe and wonder with sheer numbers.

The Ganga Ghats (river front) are the most popular pilgrimage spot of Varanasi and are centers of music and learning. There is a great tradition of Yatras in the holy city of Kashi and the most sacred path is that of Panchkoshi Parikrama, the fifty-mile path with a radius of five miles that cover 108 shrines along the way, with Panchakoshi Temple as its main shrine. Other popular pilgrimage route is Nagara Pradakshina, which covers seventy-two shrines along the way. Since time immemorial Varanasi is a great center of learning. The holy city has been a symbol of spiritualism, philosophy and mysticism for thousands of years and has produced great saints and personalities like Guatama Buddha, Mahavira, Kabir, Tulsi Das, Shankaracharaya, Ramanuja and Patanjali.

Varanasi is the City of " LORD SHIVA"
Varanasi is the Capital Of all Knowledge
Varanasi is the City Of Light
Varanasi is a Religious and Spiritual City
Varanasi is a city of Ghats of Holy Ganges
Varanasi is a City Of Temples Ashrams & Muths
Varanasi is rich in Arts, Music, Dance & Literature
Varanasi is a centre for studying Astrology, Sanskrit, Yoga, Ayurveda
Varanasi is famous for Banarasi Saree,Handicrafts, Jari Work, Wooden Items

  • Area: 73.89 sq. km.

  • Population : 1322248 (1991 census)

  • Altitude : 80.71 mtrs. Above sea level

  • Season: October – March

  • Clothing: Summer - Cottons; Winters - Woolens

  • Language: Sanskrit, Hindi and English

  • Festivals: Shivratri, Dussehra, Ganga Festival, Bharat Milap, Dhrupad Mela, Hanumat Jayanti, Nakkatyya Chetganj, Nag Nathaiya Panch Kroshi Parikrama.

  • Local Transport : Buses, Cycle-rickshaws, Auto-rickshaws

  • STD Code : 0542

Places to Visit

River Front ( Ghats)

The great river banks at Varanasi, built high with eighteenth and nineteenth-century pavilions and palaces, temples and terraces, are lined with an endless chain of stone steps – the ghats – progressing along the whole of the waterfront, altering in appearance with the dramatic seasonal fluctuations of the river level. Each of the hundred ghats, big and small, is marked by a lingam, and occupies its own special place in the religious geography of the city. Some have crumbled over the years, others continue to thrive, with early-morning bathers, Brahmin priests offering puja, and people practicing meditation and yoga. Hindus puja, and people practicing meditation and yoga. Hindus regard the Ganges as amrita, the elixir of life, which brings purity to the living and salvation to the dead; sceptical outsiders tend to focus on all-persuasive and extreme lack of hygiene. Ashes to the dead, emissions from open drains and the left-overs from religious rites float by the devout as they go about their bathing and ceremonial cleansing.

For centuries, pilgrims have traced the perimeter of the city by a ritual circumambulation , paying homage to shrines on the way. Among the most popular routes is the Panchatirthi Yatra, which takes in the Pancha, (five) Trithi (crossing) of Asi, Dashashwamedha, Adi Keshva, Panchganga and finally Manikarnika. To gain merit or appease the gods, the devotee, accompanied by a panda (priest), recites a sankalpa (statement of intent) and performs a ritual at each stage of the journey. For the casual visitor, however the easiest way to see the is to follow a south-north sequence either by boat or on foot.

Asi Ghat to Kedara Ghat

At the clay-banked Asi Ghat, the southernmost in the sacred city, at the confluence of the Asi and the Ganges, pilgrims bathe prior to worshipping at a huge lingam under a peepal tree. Another lingam visited is that of Asisangameshvara, the "Lord of the Confluence of the Asi", in a small marble temple just off the ghat. Traditionally, pilgrims continued to Lolarka Kund, the Trembling Sun", a rectangular tank fifteen metres blow ground level, approached by steep steps. Now almost abandoned, except during the Lolarka Mela fair (Aug/Sept), when thousands come to propitiate the gods and pray for the birth of a son, Lolarka Kund is among Varanasi’s earliest sites, one of only two remaining Sun sites linked with the origins of Hinduism. Equated with the twelve adityas or divisions of the sun, which predate the great deities of Modern Hinduism, it was attracting bathers in the days of the Buddha.

Much of the adjacent Tulsi Ghat – originally Lolarka Ghat, but renamed in the honor of the poet Tulsidas, who lived nearby in the sixteenth century – has crumbled. Continuing north, above Shivala Ghat, hanuman Ghat is the site of a new temple built by the ghat’s large south Indian community. Considered by many to be the birth place of the fifteenth-century Vaishnavite saint Vallabha, who was instrumental in in the resurgence of the worship of Krishna, the ghat also features a striking image of Ruru, the dog Bhairava, a ferocious and early form of Shiva.

Named for a legendary king said to have almost lost everything in a fit of self-abnegation, Harishchandra Ghat, one of the Varanasi’s two cremation of burning ghats, is easily recognizable from the smoke of its funeral pyres.

Further north, the busy Kendra Ghat is ignored by pilgrims on the Panchatirthi Yatra. Above its steps, a red-and-white-striped temple houses the Kedareshvara lingam, an outcrop of black rock shot through with a vein of white. Mythologically related to Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Kedara and its ghat become a hive of activity during the sacred month of Sravana (July/Aug), the month of the rains.

Chauki Ghat to Chaumsathi Ghat

Northwards along the river, Chauki Ghat is distinguished by an enormous tree that shelters small stones shrines to the nagas, water-snake deities, while at the unmistakable Dhobi (Laundrymen’s) Ghat clothes are still rhythmically pulverized in the pursuit of purity. Past smaller ghats such as Mansarovar Ghat, named after the holy lake in Tibet, and Narada Ghat, honoring the divine musician and sage, lies Chaumsathi Ghat, where impressive stone steps lead up to the small temple of the Chaumsathi (64) Yoginis. Images of Kali and Durga in its inner sanctum represent a stage in the emergence of the great goddess as a single representation of a number of female divinities. Overlooking the ghats here is Peshwa Amrit Rao’s majestic sandstone haveli (mansion), built in 1807 and currently used for religious ceremonies and occasionally, as an auditorium for concerts.

Dashashwamedha Ghat

Dashashwamedha Ghat, the second and business of the five tirthas on the Panchatirthi Yatra, lies past the plain, flat-roofed building that houses the shrine of Shitala. Extremely popular, even in the rainy season when devotees have to wade to the temple or take a boat, Shitala represents both both benign and malevolent aspects – ease and succor as well as disease, particularly smallpox.

Dashashwamedha is Varanasi’s most popular and accessible bathing ghat, with rows of pandas sitting on wooden platforms under bamboo umbrellas, masseurs plying their trade and boatmen jostling for custom. Its name, "ten horse sacrifices", derives from a complex series of sacrifices performed by Brahma to test King Divodasa: Shiva and Parvati were sure the king’s resolve would fail, and he would be compelled to leave Kashi, thereby allowing them to return to their city. However, the sacrifices were so perfect that Brahma established the Brahmeshvara lingam here. Since that time, Dashashwamedha has become one of the most celebrated tirthas on earth, where pilgrims can reap the benefits of the huge sacrifice merely by bathing.

Man Mandir Ghat to Lalita Ghat

Man Mandir Ghat is known primarily for its magnificent eighteenth-century observatory, equipped with ornate window casings, and built for the Maharajah of Jaipur. Pilgrims pay homage to the important lingam of Someshvara, the lord of the moon, alongside, before crossing Tripurabhairavi Ghat to Mir Ghat and the New Vishwanatha Temple, built by conservative Brahmins who claimed that the main Vishwanatha lingam was rendered impure when Harijans (untouchables) entered the sanctum in 1956. Mir Ghat also has a shrine to Vaishalakshi, the Wide-eyed Goddess, on an important pitha – a site marking the place where various parts of the disintegrating body of Shakti fell as it was carried by the grief-stricken Shiva. Also here is the Dharma Kupa, the Well of Dharma, surrounded by subsidiary shrines and the lingam over all the dead of the world – except here in Varanasi.

Immediately to the north is Lalita Ghat, renowned for its ganga Keshava shrine to Vishnu and the Nepali Temple, a typical Kathmandu-style wooden temple which houses an image of Pashupateshvara – Shiva’s manifestation at Pashupatinath, in the Mathmandu Valley – and sports a small selection of erotic carvings.

Manikarnika Ghat

North of Lalita lies Varanasi’s preeminent cremation ground, Manikarnika Ghat. Such grounds are usually held to be inauspicious, and located on the fringes of cities, but the entire city of Shiva is regarded as Mahashmashana, the Great Cremation Ground for the corpse of the entire universe. The ghat is perpetually crowded with funeral parties, as well as the Doms, its Untouchable guardians, busy and pre-occupied with facilitating final release for those lucky enough to pass away here. Seeing bodies being cremated so publicly has always exerted a great fascination for visitors to the city, but photography is strictly taboo; even having a camera visible may be constructed as intent, and provoke hostility.

Lying at the centre of the five tirthas, manikarnika Ghat symbolizes both creation and destruction, epitomized by the juxtaposition of the sacred well of Manikarnika Kund, said to have been dug by Vishnu at the time of creation, and the hot, sandy ash-infused soil of cremation grounds where time comes to an end. In Hindu mythology, Manikarnika Kund predates the arrival of the Ganga and has its source deep in the Himalayas. Vishnu cared the kund with his discus, and filled it with perspiration from his exertions in creating the world, at the behest of Shiva. When Shiva quivered with delighted, his earning fell into this pool, which as manikarnika – "Jeweled Earring" – became the first tirthas in the world. Every yea, after the floodwaters of the river have receded to leave the pool caked in alluvial deposits, the kund is re-dug. Its surroundings are cleaned and painted with brightly coloured folk art, which depicts the presiding goddess, Manikarnika Devi, inviting pilgrims to bathe and worship at its small Vishnu shrine, and at the paduka (footprint) of Vishnu set in marble on the embankment of the ghat. The most important of the lingams is the remains of Tarakeshvara, Shiva as Lord of Taraka mantra, a "prayer of the crossing" recited at death.

Strictly speaking, Manikarnika is the name given to the kund and to the ghat, while the constantly busy cremation ground is Jalasi Ghat, dominated by a dark smoke-stained temple built by Queen Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore in the eighteenth century.

Scindia Ghat

Bordering Manikarnika to the north is the picturesque Scindia Ghat, with its titled Shiva temple lying partially submerged in the river, having fallen in as a result of the sheer weight of the ghat’s construction around 150 years ago. Above the ghat, several of Kashi’s most influential shrines are hidden within the tight maze of alleyways of the area known as Siddha Kshetra (the field of Fulfillment). Vireshvara, the Lord of all Heroes, is especially propitiated in prayer for a son; the Lord of Fire, Agni, was supposed to have been born here.

Panchganga Ghat to Adi Keshva Ghat

Beyond Lakshmanbala Ghat, with its commanding views of the river. Lies one of the most dramatic and controversial ghats, Panchganga Ghat, dominated by Varanasi’s largest riverside building, the great mosque of Alamgir, known locally as Beni Madhav-ka-Darera. With its minarets now much shortened, the mosque stands on the ruins of what must have been one of the city’s greatest temples, Bindu Madhava, a huge Vishnu temple that extended from Panchganga to Rama Ghat before it was destroyed by Aurangzeb and replaced by an impressive mosque. Panchganga also bears testimony to more favorable Hindu-Muslim relations, being the site of the initiation of the medieval saint of the Sufi-Sant tradition, Kabir, the son of a humble Muslim weaver who is venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike. Along the river front lies a curious array of three-sided cells, submerged during the rainy season, some with lingams, others with images of Vishnu, and some empty and used for meditation or yoga. One of these is a shrine to the Five (panch) Rivers (ganga) which, according to legend, have their confluence here: the two symbolic rivulets of Dhutapapa (Cleansed of Sin) and the Kirana (Sun’s Ray), which join the mythical confluence of the Yamuna and the Yamuna and the Sarasvati with the Ganga.

Above Trilochana Ghat, further north, is the holy ancient lingam of the Three (tri) Eye (lochana) Shiva. Beyond it, the river bypasses some of Varanasi’s oldest precincts, now predominantly Muslim in character; the ghats themselves gradually become less impressive and are usually of the kaccha (clay-banked) variety.

At Adi Keshava Ghat (the "Original Vishnu"), on the outskirts of the city, the Varana flows into the Ganga. Unapproachable during the rainy season, when it is completely submerged, it marks the place where Vishnu first landed as an emissary of Shiva, and stands on the original site of the city before it spread southwards; around Adi Keshva are a number of Ganesha shrine.

Vishwanatha Khanda

The Old City at the heart of Varanasi, between Dashashwamedha Ghat and Godaulia to the south and west and Manikarnika Ghat on the river to the north, lies Vishwanatha Khanda, sometimes referred to as the Old City. The whole area rewards exploration, with numerous shrines and lingams tucked into every corner, and buzzing with the activity of pilgrims, pandas and stalls selling offerings to the faithful.

Approached through a maze of narrow alleys and the Vishwanatha Gali (or Lane), the temple complex of Vishwanatha or Visheshwara, the "Lord of All", is popularly known as the Golden Temple, due to the massive gold plating on its shikhara (spire). Inside the compound - which is hidden behind a wall, and entered through an unassuming doorway - is one of India's most important shivalingams, made of smooth black stone and seated in a solid silver plinth, as well as shrines to the wrathful protectors Mahakala and Dandapani, and the lingam of Avimukteshvara, the Lord of the Unforsaken, which predates Vishwanatha and once held much greater significance. The current temple was built in 1777 by Queen Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore, and is closed to non-Hindus, who have to make do with glimpses from adjacent buildings.

Vishwanatha's history has been fraught Sacked by successive Muslim rulers, the temple was repeatedly rebuilt, until the grand edifice begun in 1585 by Todar Mal, a courtier of the tolerant Moghul Akbar, was finally destroyed by Aurangzeb. On its foundations, guarded by armed police to protect it from Hindu fanatics, stands the Jnana Vapi Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Aurangzeb. Its simple white domes tower over the Jnana Vapi (Wisdom Well), immediately north, housed in an open arcaded hall built in 1828, where Shiva cooled his lingam after the construction of Vishwanatha. Covered by a grate to prevent people jumping in, in search of instant moksha, and covered with a cloth to stop coins being thrown in, only the presiding Brahmins have access to its waters, considered to be liquid knowledge.

Pilgrims offer their sankalpa or statement of intent here, before commencing the Panchatirthi Yatra. Slightly north, across the main road, the thirteenth-century Razia's Mosque stands atop the ruins of a still earlier Vishwanatha temple, destroyed under the Sultanate.

Close by, the temple of Annapurna Bhavani is dedicated to the supreme Shakti ("She, the Being of Plenteous Food"), the queen and divine mother also known in this benevolent form as Mother of the Three Worlds. As the provider of sustenance, she carries a cooking pot rather than the fearsome weapons borne by her horrific forms Durga and Kali a subsidiary shrine opened only three days a year houses a solid gold image of Annapurna. Nearby is a stunning image, faced in silver against a black surround, of Shani or Saturn. Anyone whose fortunes fall under his shadow is stricken with bad luck - a fate devotees try to escape by worshipping here on Saturdays.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Also known as the Golden Temple, it is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of the city. Varanasi is said to be the point at which the first jyotirlinga, the fiery pillar of light by which Shiva manifested his supremacy over other gods, broke through the earth’s crust and flared towards the heavens. More than the Ghats and even the Ganga, the Shivalinga installed in the temple remains the devotional focus of Varanasi. Entry restricted for foreigners.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Astronomy: Panchanga

Sunday, May 04, 2008 0
Astronomy: Panchanga

Astronomy: Panchanga

 Panchanga–The Hindu Almanac

Panchanga–The Hindu Almanac

"Time creates the sky and the earth. Time creates that past and the future. By Time the sun burns, through Time all beings exist, in Time the eyes see. Time is the lord of all."

This verse from the Atharva-veda (19.54) expresses the importance of time in Hindu culture. In India time is conceived as an unending flow that moves in great cycles. The Matsya Purana speaks of the waters of time. (See: Heinrisch Zimmer, Myths ans Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization Bollingen Series, Princeton University Press, p. 27) Sometimes those waters move in a peaceful way, sometime they move in great and chaotic torrents. So it is with time. The movements of the sun and the moon, and the other celestial bodies are the indication of this flow of time. The Bhagavata Purana describes how the passage of the sun across the atoms on this earth creates the reckoning of time. The record of time is the pancanga wherein the movements of these celestial bodies are precisely recorded. No religious festival, family event, or even a civic affair is performed without first consulting the pancanga to know the favorable movement of this flow of time.

The Sanskrit word "pancanga" is made of two parts: panca and anga. Panca means five and anga means a limb or part. Thus the pancanga is a document made of five parts. These five parts are the tithi (lunar day), the vara (day of the week), the naksatra (lunar mansion), the yoga (luni-solar day) and the karana (half lunar day).

In order to understand these terms it is important to know how astronomers measure the sky. Just as a road map uses miles or kilometers to show distance between cities, so a celestial sky map uses degrees to show apparent distance between celestial objects. Keeping in mind that there are 360 degrees in a circle, it is easy to measure approximate degrees in the sky. Just raise your hand to the sky, and at arm's length, use your hand to measure the degrees in the sky. See the accompaning illustration that shows how the hand can be used to measure degrees in the sky.

At arm's length, for example, the width of the end of the little finger is almost one degree across. Check to see that the moon is about half a little finger in width and therefore can be estimated to be about a half a degree wide. This system is reasonably accurate for men, women and children, since people with smaller hands tend to have shorter arms. Astronomers have used this hand technique for thousands of years to make approximate measurements of the sky. To see how this system can be used to measure a common constellation see the illustration of the sapta-rsi (big dipper) and the star dhruva (polaris) to measure the degrees of separation.

As we begin to discuss the five elements of the Hindu almanac it is important to recognize the importance of the moon in Hindu culture. The basic calendar is primarily a lunar calendar. The lunar day, called a tithi, is all important in selecting a favorable time to begin a certain task. A person's name is often derived from the lunar position in the heavens called a naksatra. The reason for this is simple. In Hindu astrology the moon rules the mind.

Tithi (Lunar Phase)

The first element of the Hindu pancanga is the tithi or lunar phase. This is perhaps the single most important element of the pancanga. It is the building block for the lunar month. Simply stated a tithi is a measurement of 12 degrees of longitudinal separation between the sun and the moon. Another way to put it is to say that a tithi is the daily phase of the moon. For example, at new moon (amavasya) the sun and the moon are separated by zero degrees. We can say they overlap. As they begin to separate the first tithi begins when the sun and the moon have separated by 12 degrees. The moon is now a tiny almost imperceptable sliver. The second tithi begins when they are separated by 24 degrees. The sliver is slightly larger. The third tithi begins when they have separated by 36 degrees. The digit of the moon is new clearly visible. And so it goes until the sun and moon have separated by 180 degrees. This tithi is called full moon, purnima. These first 15 tithis or phases of the moon make up the waxing phases of the moon which in Sanskrit this is called the sukla-paksa. This is the bright side of the lunar month. After purnima, full moon, the tithi begins again counting from one as the longitudanal separation between the sun and the moon decreases back to zero. This is called the waning phase of the moon or in Sanskrit, the krsna-paksa or dark side of the lunar month. At certain times of the month when the sun and moon can both be seen in the sky at the same time you can estimate the tithi by using the hand method to measure the longitudinal separation between the sun and the moon.

The tithis are sequentially numbered from both the points of the new moon as well as the full moon. See the accompaning illustration. In this way, the sukla-paksa, begining with the new moon (amavasya), is followed by the first tithi, then the second tithi, the third tithi and so on up to the 14th tithi. There is no 15th tithi. Instead, this tithi is called full moon (purnima). After the full moon, the waning phase (krsna-paksa) again begins with the first tithi, the second tithi, the third tithi and so on up to the fourteenth tithi followed by the full moon. Afterwards the cycle repeats itself. In this way thirty tithis make up a lunar month, which is known as a masa. Some parts of India begin the month from the full moon whereas other parts begin the month from the new moon. Today, the lunar calendar is still in use throughout the world for Hindu religious purposes.

One of the greatest points of confusion between Hindu festival dates and the modern solar calendar is that the solar day begins at midnight whereas the lunar tithi can begin at anytime of the solar day. For practical purposes, however, the tithi that is current at sunrise is taken as the prevailing tithi for the day. This means that if a tithi begins just after sunrise and ends before the sunrise of the next day, it is eliminated.This is possible because the tithi can last between 19 to 26 hours due to the changing speed of the earth and moon in their obits. On average a tithi lasts for only 0.95 of a solar day. When this occurs a break in the numerical ordering of the days takes place. These factors cause a lot of confusion between the lunar Hindu calendar and the modern solar calendar.

From an astrological perspective the various tithis are considered either auspicious or inauspicious for different events. In general the sukla-paksa (bright side) is considered condusive to growth, increase and properity and would be selected for such occasions as weddings, moving into new homes or starting businesses, etc. The moon's krsna-paksa (dark side) is considered less favorable. In addition the 8th and 14th tithis, amavasya, as well as the 1st tithi of the sukla-paksa are generally considered inuaspicious. There are of course exceptions to this rule, the most notable of which are the various post funerary rites (sraddhas) that prefer the lunar dark phases. See the article "Hindu Funeral Rites and Ancestor Worship."

Vara (The Day of the Week)

The second element of the Hindu pancanga is the day, vara. In Sanskrit the days of the week are clearly named after seven major astrological influences:

Sunday, the sun, ravi-vara

Monday, the moon, soma-vara

Tuesday, Mars, mangala-vara

Wednesday, Mercury, budha-vara

Thursday, Jupiter, guru-vara

Friday, Venus sukra-vara

Saturday, Saturn, sani-vara

You can still see this astrological influence in the English names, Sunday, Monday and Saturday for the sun, the moon and Saturn respectively. If you examine the French and Spanish words for the days of the week you will see an even greater connection. Astrologically these days are named after these celestial bodies because the influence of that celestial body is said to be prominent on that day. For example, Tuesday, being ruled by Mars, the planet of war, would be a good date to enter into a battle, but not a good day to get married or move into a new home!

Naksatra (Lunar Mansion)

The third element of the pancanga is naksatra. The best way to understand naksatra is to observe the moon some evening. Notice the moon's position in relation to the background of stars. The next evening, at the same time and in the same location, again observe the moon's position in relation to the background of stars. You will see that it has moved consideralably. Use the raised hand technique to estimate how many degrees the moon has moved. The moon has moved somewhere between 10 and 15 degrees. In fact the moon has moved 13 degrees and 20 minutes. The region of the sky that has been displaced by the moon's eastward movement in one day is called a naksatra. In English this known as a lunar mansion. There are 27 such lunar mansions in the 360 degrees the moon travels in one lunar month ( 13.3 x 27 = ~360). In the Hindu Almanac each of these lunar mansions is named after a star or group of stars in each region of the sky.

The naksatra is very important in Hindu culture. At the time of birth a person's horoscope is made and one of the most important items to be known is the naksatra. Many elements of a person's character is thought to be determined by the naksatra. (Remember that the moon stands for the mind in Hindu astrology.) In many regions of India a person's name is based on the naksatra. Perhaps the first syllable of the name is derived from the naksatra. At the time of a puja or religious ceremony a priest will ask for the naksatra of the person performing the religious service so that it can be recited in the opening statement of the puja called a sankalpa. At the time of marriage considerations the naksatras of the both the bride and groom may be compared to check for pschological compatability.

The following is a list of the 27 naksatras along with their western astronomical designations. Note that in some cases it is difficult to determine exactly which western star name corresponds to the naksatras.

1. Asvini–alpha arietis (Hamal)

2. Bharani–41 arietis

3. Krttika–Pleiades

4. Rohini–alpha tauri (Aldebaran)

5. Mrgasirsa–lambda orionis (Bellatrix)

6. Ardra–alpha orionis (Betelgeuse)

7. Punarvasu–beta geminorum (Castor)

8. Pusya–delta canceri (area of M44 Beehive cluster)

9. Aslesa–alpha canceri (sometimes taken as the Hydra or Alphard)

10. Magha–alpha leonis (Regulus)

11. Purvaphalguni–delta leonis (lion's hind)

12. Uttara-phalguni–beta leonis (Denebola)

13. Hasta–gamma or delta corvi (Corvus)

14. Citra–alpha virginis (Spica)

15. Svati–alpha bootis (Arcturus)

16. Visakha–alpha libra

17. Anuradha–delta scorpionis

18. Jyestha–alpha scorpionis (Antares)

19. Mula–lambda scorpionis (near the globular cluster Shaula)

20. Purvasadha–delta sagittarii

21. Uttarasadha–sigma sagittarii (teapot)

22. Sravana–alpha aquilae (Altair)

23. Dhanistha–alpha delphini (Delphinis)

24. Satabhisa–lambda aqurii (Fomalhaut)

25. Purva-bhadrapada–alpha pegasi (Markab)

26. Uttara-bhadrapada–gamma pegasi

27. Revati–delta piscium

(To this group of 27 naksatras, one more naksatra known as abhit is sometimes added. Abhit includes the region of Vega in the constelation of Lyra. This is not on the path of the sun (solar eclipic) as are the other naksatras and so can be ignored.)

This system of 27 naksatra was the original Hindu way of dividing the 360 degrees of the solar ecliptic. The system of the twelve signs of the zodiac, in Sanskrit called rasi, was a later addition to Hindu astronomy.

Yoga (The Luni-solar Day)

The yoga (luni-solar day) is the period during which the combined longitudinal motion of the sun and moon amounts to 13 degrees and 20 minutes. Like the naksatras there are 27 yogas.

Karana (Half Tithi)

The final aspect of the pancanga is karana which is calculated to be 6 degrees of longitudinal separation between the sun and moon. In other words the karana is half a tihi. There are two karanas in each tithi. In total there are eleven karanas that rotate through the 30 tithis that make up the lunar month.

Both a karana and a yoga are similar to a tithi in the sense that they are all a measure of the relationship between the sun and moon. Recall that a tithi was 12 degrees of longitudinal separation between the sun and moon, the yoga is the combined longitudinal motion of the sun and the moon. Here the karana is half the tithi. In Hindu astrology the sun and the moon are both perceived to have a great effect on life, and their motions are precisely calculated. In addition to these five part of the traditional Hindu calendar the follow other elements may be added.

Masa (Month)

The Hindu year contains twelve lunar months named after the naksatra in which the moon is full:

Caitra (March - April) (citra-naksatra)

Vaisakha (April - May) (visakha-naksatra)

Jyaistha (May - June) (jyestha-naksatra)

Asadha (June - July) (purvasadha-naksatra)

Sravana (July - August) (sravana-naksatra)

Bhadrapada (August - September) (purva-bhadrapada-naksatra)

Asvina (September - October) (asvini-naksatra)

Karttika (October - November) (krttika-naksatra)

Margasirsa or Agrahayana (November - December) (mrgasirsa-naksatra)

Pausa (December - January) (pusya-naksatra)

Magha (January - February) (magha-naksatra) and

Phalguna (February - March) (phalguna-naksatra).

Different parts of India start the year during different months. In general the year begins either in the vernal month of Caitra or in the autumnal month of Karttika.

Rtu (Season)

Traditionally India has six seasons (rtu), each comprised of two months. The six seasons are:

Vasanta (spring, March to May)

Grisma (summer, May to July)

Varsa (rainy, July to September)

Sarad (autumn, September to November)

Hemanta (winter, November to January) and

Sisira (cool, January to March)

Another aspect of the lunar calendar is that its twelve months based on the lunar days (tithis) contain about 354 days. So just as every 4th year on the solar calendar must add an extra day to make up for the discrepancy in the earth's orbit around the sun, so every 30 months the lunar calendar must add an extra month. This leap-month (adika-masa) is generally inserted after the months of Asadha or Sravana and is called either a second Asadha or Sravana. Thus every second or third year contains 13 months. This of course contributes considerably to differences between the lunar and solar calendars. The consequences of these differences makes it hard to reconcile the dates from one calendar to the other without intricate calculations.

Hindu dates are usually given in the order: month, paksa and tithi, thus Caitra, sukla 7 means the seventh day from the new moon of the month of Caitra.