The architecture of the Hindus , especially the Temples, is awe inspiring
THE Thanjavur Temple built in a region where there is no mountain nearby was built with stones;the top of the Temple tower has 80 tons of monolithic round stone; how people transported these huge stones and other materials over long distances when the swiftest mode of transport was,we presume were only bullock carts and horse driven carriages; it was built with calculations of Trigonometry so that the shadow of the Temple falls only on its base.
Or The Sun temple at Konark.
Or the world,s longest Corridor in Rameswaram Temple.
Or varius temples where the temples’ sanctum is so constructed that the rays of the Sun falls on the Deity at a particular time at a particular season.
At lease , in the last case you have an open area for the Light to fall on the Deity in the Sanctum.
But there is a temple where the shadow of pillars fall on Shiva Linga throughout the day and the Sanctum is closed on three sides while one through which one views the Deity is small where there is very little provision for Light to break in as the Sanctum is inside a Hall called Artha Mandapa.
This the Chaya Soma Lingeswara Temple in Telengana, India.
‘ Chaya Someswara Swamy temple, also known by the name Thrikutalayam, is a Hindu temple located in Panagal, Nalgonda district, Telangana, India
.It is a popular site during Sivarathri….
The temple was built in 11th – 12th centuries during by a Chola King of Ikshvaku Dynasty.
The formation of relentless shadow of a pillar falls over the main deity of Shivalingam throughout the day.
The local people thinks that the “chaya” is the shadow of one of the pillars constructed in front of it. They often stand beside the pillars to see their shadow inside the chamber. But it is not possible as the “chaya” is not the shadow of any pillar. They can only see a blurred shadow instead. If you want to see your shadow, you need to stand at the entrance (door sill) of the chamber.
The eleventh century architect might be aware of light diffraction and he constructed the temple in such a way that the light enters the inner chamber diffracting through two narrow passages on either side of the pillars in front of the chamber. The diffracted light enters the chamber making shadow of edges of entrance crisscrossing one with another leaving a gap between them. It may be noted here that Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word “diffraction” and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1660.
How to reach.
At a distance of 1.4 km from Panagal Bus Station, 4 km from Nalgonda Bus Station and 104 km from Hyderabad, Chaya Someswara Temple is a wonderful temple located at Panagal in Nalgonda district of Telangana. This is an interesting pilgrimage and historical site to visit from Nalgonda & Hyderabad.
As I have stated in the ‘About’ page of this blog, I started blogging because I wanted to share what interests me and what little I know.
Sites connected same Latitude.
As days went by,it turned into one of focusing on Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma detailing the fundamentals of the oldest Religion.
How sites in the same Latitude vare connected.
Again this became into one of concentrating more on Vedas, explanation of hidden meanings of these texts.
On individual Gods, Devi Upasna got the prime of place.
Golden Triangle.
Now it is becoming more research oriented on the spread of Sanatana Dharma throughout the world and the validation of Sanatana Dharma and Tamil texts.
Under this category most of them are proven while some of them exploratory as the one ‘ Shiva Man God or Reality’
What is special about Sanatana Dharma is that it does not shackle you when you interpret or verify it.
And it encourages you to question it.
And ,in Sanatana Dharma nothing is what it seems to be.
My conviction is that the Indian texts are records of knowledge and Wisdom unearthed by great men whose intention was to enlighten the world .
And Sanatana Dharma is open to All.
But this depends on one’s passion and the technology available .
Unfortunately, the present technology we have at our disposal is inadequate to explain most of what is found in these texts.
And many relics archaeological finds in the world defy one’s understanding.
I have explained in my blog such of those that can be explained,like the Fibonacci sequence in the poem on Lord Krishna or the value of Pi in a poem, advanced concepts of Modern Science including Quantum Mechanics in Hinduism.
Also some curious world facts archaeological finds which can not be explained by others are verifiable with Hindu Texts.
I have a few readers who update the actual finding from US and Canada and I interpret them with Indian texts.
One such is the fact that twenty sites in the world lie in the same Latitude and the distance between them represent the Golden Means/ Fibonacci number.
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The Giza Pyramids, The Nazca Lines (large petro glyphs in the vast deserts of southern Peru), Angkor Wat (the magnificent temple complex in Cambodia), and Easter Island are all related. You can draw a straight line connecting each site across the circumference of the earth. This precision is followed within one tenth of a degree of latitude.
From Easter Island a 25,000 mile line (the exact length of the equator of the earth) can be drawn which connects to: Paracas, Nazca, Ollayantambo, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman, Paratoari, Mali (where the Dogon tribe of the Sirius Mystery originates), Tassili N’Ajjer, Siwa Oasis, Giza, Petra, Ur, Persepolis, Mohenjo Daro, Khajuraho, Pyay, Sukhothai, Angkor Wat, and Preah Visear. This 25,000 mile line also happens to be at a 30 degree angle to the equator. Each of these sites are significant as spiritual centers, capitals, or sites where megalithic structures were built.
Of these twenty sites Easter Island,Machu Pichu , Nazca,Ankgorvat, PETRA,Mohenjo Daro, Khajuraho,Angkor Wat have Sanatana Dharma connections.
I have written on Easter Island, Machu Pichu, Petra having Shiva Temple.
The rest , Khajuraho, Mohenjo Daro Angkor vat are in India and I have written extensively on them.
Add to this the theory that Chidambaram , India being the Magnetic Centre of the Earth, three Shiva Temples representing thecthree natural principles,in Tamil Nadu,Nataraja’s dancing pose is the exact reproduction of a Super nove Explosioin the distant past,there is some message in the sites I have mentioned.
My future articles shall examine them.
Now one more information on these 20 sites.
‘Mohenjo Daro, the lost city of the ancient Indus valley, is the site of a possible ancient atomic blast. Radioactive readings have been found there on par with that of the atomic site of Nagasaki in Japan. Some 44 skeletons were found here, flattened to the ground, still holding hands in some cases, as if incinerated in a moment’s notice. From the epicenter everything was crystalized and vitrified in correlation with what may have been an ancient atomic weapon. We can only explain this by vindicating accounts like those of the ancient Vedic texts such as the Mahabharata. And perhaps we are seeing substantial scientific evidence of the spiritual here at this site. The implications of each of these points is history redefining. Mohenjo Daro is also the origin of a still un-deciphered language which is remarkably similar to the language found on the Rongo-rongo boards from Easter Island, literally half the world away.
Let’s look deeper at the connecting line between the main ancient sites of Giza, Nazca, Angkor Wat and Easter Island. Mohenjo Daro is located halfway between the Giza Pyramids and Angkor Wat. Mohenjo Daro is also located exactly opposite Easter Island on this same latitudinal line
. The hummingbird petroglyph of Nazca Peru is located directly opposite of Angkor Wat, Cambodia. You can draw a line from one to the other directly through the center of the earth and it would be off by a mere few tenths of a degree. This is incredible!’
These sites not only happen to be in a significant line, but in a significant ratio through which the encoded can be revealed. The ratio of the distances between these sites is equivalent to Pi which is shown in the brilliant work of Jim Alison. Alison found that the distance from Prassat Vihear of Angkor Wat, to the Pyramid of Giza is 4,754 miles (first 5 #’s of Fibonacci sequence #359 is 47542). From the Great pyramid, to the hummingbird of the Nazca lines of Peru, the distance is 7,692 miles (first 5 #’s of Fibonacci sequence #360 is 76924). From Nazca across the long side of the earth back to Angkor Wat the distance is 12,446 miles (first 5 #’s of Fibonacci sequence #361 is 12446)!!! This is not the only instance of this important ratio, or by any means the only connection like this. This axiom is found in thousands of sites, and still being uncovered in many more to this day.
What does this mean? First of all, these numbers indicate completely disconnected cultures somehow just so happened to place their structures on the same latitudinal line, and in a distance apart from each other which reflects Pi. Pi is so accurately reflected that it is maintained up to the first 500 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence.
What is the relevance of Pi? Pi (3.14159265359…) is a magical number whose decimals never end and never repeat. The Golden Number relates to harmonics, it is a proportion found everywhere in nature, and defines organic growth (2/3-1/3 or 1-1.6180399… and so on.) The golden spiral (the Fibonacci sequence) describes another perpetual sequence. (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 etc.)’
The worship of Shiva precedes the Sanatana Dharma and the worship of Shiva seems to have originated from the South of the Vindhya Mountains.
And the worship of Shiva is intriguing as a God.
One can find Shiva beibg worshiped as a Human being in the form of Nataraja and in other forms as a Human being, this mode of worship of Shiva in the north of Vindhyas is very limited when compared to the South.
In the South one can find the worship of Shiva both as a Linga and as a Human being or resembling a human being.
In the north the worship of Shiva as Linga is predominant.
And the worshio of Shiva as Ardhanaresswara form, of Shiva and Devi in one form is prevalent in the south.
Another interesting point is that the Gods as described in the Vedas do not seem to have a description as a human being.
Only their attributes are provided in the Sukthas and seem to be a reoresentation of the Principles of Nature.
Purusha Suktha drscribes the Evolution of the Universe,
The Narayana, Vishnu, Sri and Durga Sukthas describe the various aspects of the Universe.
However , the Sri Suktha calls Sri, Lakshmi as the one who resides in the
House of Sikleetha Rishi- Sikleetha
Vasame gruhe.
Excepting these lines no mention is
Made to the Gods as Humans.
The core of the Vedas is that the Reality , Brahman is without and beyond Attributes .
Shiva In Thiruvannamalai.
Nirguna.
However later concept s brought in the description of Gods in rhe image of Man in the Puranas and the Ithihasas Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Even here there is a uniqueness of Shiva.
Shiva appears, as recorded in the Tamil Classics and the Thiruvilayadal purana which describes the activities of Shiva at various points of Times while not much of this nature is found in the literature of North India.
And note the spread of Hinduism towards the East where Muruga, Subrahmanya worship is prevalent from Lanka to Australia and the spread of Shiva Cult here and also to thecwest of India from Middle East to Arctic and Russia.
However there are legends that Shiva was worshiped as a Tribal Chief.
Even today the Austrakians perform the Trinetra Dance of Shiva.
And there is a Temple for Shiva asKratha Shiva’ Shiva the Hunter in Kerala.
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The Indian tribes worship Shiva in their natural abode – jungles, hills, mountains, agricultural fields’ etc. It is the Hindus who brought him into temples. Shiva is always worshiped among the tribals in His presence as lingam.
In the bramhanical Hindu fold Lord Shiva has several names. Prominent among them are as follows: Shankar, Ashutosh, Shiva, Neelkantha, Jatadhari, Pasupati, Bholanatha, Viswanatha, Baidyanath, Kailashpati, Tripurari, Rameshwar, Ravaneshwar, Somnatha, Mahakal, Omkar, Nagesh, Trayambakeshwar, Chidambaram, Kedranath, Shambhu, Gauripati, Girijapati, Mahadeo, Umapati, Maulishekhar, Shashank-Shekhar, Chandrashekhar, Lingraj, Devadhideva, Hara, Bambhola. His every name makes him unique, peculiar, caring for his believers and followers but careless about himself. He does not run after the worldly affairs and luxuries. He is the divine guru. He is the sun that opens the lotuses of the hearts of great Yogis. He is most compassionate. He absorbs the devotees’ afflictions. He is the manifestation of the three worlds. He abides in bliss. He is delighted with devotees. He is forever blissful. He absolves the sins of the faithful. He lights up his devotees. He is beyond thought. He is associated with right thoughts. He is boundless. He is birth-less. He is without beginning or end. He is associated with knowledge. He is supreme in bliss and knowledge. He is slave of the devotees. He responds to the devotees. He is attentive to the devotees. He is the light of the devotees. He is a killer of devotee’s grief. He is the experience of devotees. He rescues devotes. He supports devotees. He is approachable through pure thoughts. He is the embodiment of consciousness. He has eliminated bodily passions.
From the available narratives of many tribal communities (as described in the latter part of this paper) it appears that the Hindu ancestors adopted Him much later. Gods are fathers and Lord Shiva is s father like personality for the all other gods. He is the greatest god, Mahadeo. He helps his indigenous people in all walks of life and in all geographical, ecological and natural conditions. He is malevolent. He is benevolent. He is supreme Lord. He is Lord of lords. The Taittiriya Samhita therefore, in the form of Rudra, rightly describes Him:
“Hail to him of the drum, hail to him of the drum stick, hail to the courageous and to the creations, to him on the footpath, hail to him of the pond, and to rivulet, hail to him of the lake. Hail to him of the well. Hail to him of the rain, hail to him of the cloud, hail to him of the sunshine and to him of the storm. Hail to him of the dwelling and to the guardian of the dwelling (TS.4.5.7.)”.
Non-tribal and tribal interaction in ancient India started much earlier than the Vedic period. A minute survey of the Rig Vedareveals that these indigenous people were considered low, uncultured, mindless and substandard people and referred to asDasavarna (black colour or Dasa colour),Adavea (the godless community), Ayajyavah(non-sacrificiers), Anindra (non-believers in Indra), Murudeva (worshippers of dummy Gods), Sishnadeva (worshippers of phallic Gods), Mridhravaaka (those whose language was obscure and unintelligible),Maleecha (a non-Aryan) anas (flat nosed people) Akratuh,Avratuh, Ayyajnya, Vratya, Pani, and dasa. Here anas is a tribal andsisnadeva is the phallus god- Lord Shiva. Tribals with black skin were humiliated by the Vedic community as dasavarna where as other tribes were criticized on the basis of their flat nose. They were initially not permitted to mix up with the Hindu community but very soon it was realized that the existence of Vedic cult would not be possible without incorporating the existence of Shiva in the Vedas. And all of a sudden in the later part of Rig-Veda we see how Rudra has appeared with his all power and grace combining malevolent and benevolent characters.
The three Vedas – Rig, Sam and Yajur – were recognized as canonical and calledTrayi Vidya (the threefold knowledge). TheAtharvaVeda (atharvam = charm), written later, was included in the canon only after a long struggle. Influenced by the religious and ritual practices of the tribes, which they used to practice in order to appease the gods (and many of them are still doing), it included spells and incantations for the practice of magic.
Slowly and gradually the Vedas developed six major limbs – Vedanga-s:
a) Siksha (Phonetic Science which mainly deals with pronunciation)
b) Vyakarana (Grammar)
c) Nirukti (Context conclusive meaning; etymology)
d) Chandas (Meter)
e) Jyotisha (Time Science; astronomy & astrology)
f) Kalpa (Rituals)
The seers and scholars who realized these aspects of knowledge from the Vedas, composed Sutras (short but potent phrases which convey a lot of meanings) on eachVedanga. Kalpa-sutra-s are of four categories, viz., Srouta (collective sacrifices), Grhya(family rituals), Dharma (occupational duties) and Sulba (building of sacrificial fireplaces, altars etc.).
According to the different levels of conditioned consciousness there are instructions in the Vedas for worship of different controllers, with the aim of reaching different destinations and enjoying different standards of sense enjoyment. Agamas(emanated scriptures) are books which are classified into five for this purpose:
Basic nature of the
Deity
Deity who controls
Branch of Agama
Energy
Shakti
Shakta Agamas
Visible source (
Sun)
Surya
Sourya Agamas
Controller
Ganapati
Ganapatya Agamas
Destroyer
Shiva
Saiva Agamas
Ultimate source
Vishnu
Vaikhanasa Agamas
Slowly and gradually the Vedic seers and scholars made the place for the tribal people and their rituals and tantrikpractices in the Vedic fold. They said, for those who are below standard for Vedic purificatory process, Lord Shiva gave theTantra Shastra-s. These have two general classifications, right and left. While the right aspect contains regulations for purification for those who are grossly engaged in meat eating, intoxication and illicit sex, the left aspect contains low class activities like black magic etc.
We find some legends of Lord Shiva Among the tribals of Chotanagpur, now in Jharkhand. I will begin with the case study of the Santhal – the largest Tribal community of Jharkhand. The supreme God of Santhal is called Marang Buru, Thakur Buru, or Mahadeo. His character is basically very similar to that of Shiva. Interestingly, the great and historicalJyotirlinga of Baidyanath, popularly known as Ravaneshwar Mahadeo, is located in the heartland of Santhal at Deoghar. Many Santhals claim that it is the entry point to the Santhal Territory. It is a place where all gods and goddesses reside with Lord Baidyanath. The prominent characteristic of the Santhal religious practices is belief in and worship of spirits or bongas and worship in the sacred grove.’
There is a school of thought which states that cthe Shiva worship was drwan to Sanatana Dharma from the South and later incorporated in the Vedic and puranas.
In essence the vedas treat Shiva more as Principle than as Human Being.
But considering the numerous references to Shiva as a Human being , the spread of Sanatana Dharma by Shiva and His son Ganesha, the archaeological finds around the world,mostly among the tribes who worship Shiva as their ancestor, I am of the opinion that Shiva wa a human being and He was a realized soul.
Note that the Siddhas consider Shiva as the first Siddha.
Siddhas transcend time and Space.
The view that human beings are God is not incompatible with Hinduism..
Man is a part of the Reality, Brahman
Those who Realize the Self are elevated to God hood.
Thus Shiva was a human being who realized Self and was elevated to Godhood embodying the principles of the Universe and The Tantra Sasta, the means of realuzing Self.
There is a Sloka that is to be recited before going to bed at night.
KASI Snanam
Kishkinda Bhojanam
Chidambara Darisanam
Siva Siva Nataraja.
This Sloka ensures undisturbed sleep.
I shall explain the significance of this sloka in another article.
Why is that Kasi also called as Benares,
Varanasi is so important that Hindus flock to this city throughout the year, offer oblations to ancestors and oneself and why the Ithihasas Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas speak highly of Kasi?
The first important reason is its antiquity.
Kasi enjoys the distinction of being the most continuosly lived city of the world.
Its history dates back to Vedic Times.
‘There is hardly any city in the world that can claim greater antiquity, greater popular veneration than Banaras”- P V Kane.
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The earliest human occupation in Varanasi is found in the Atharvaveda (5-22-14).
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Mahājanapada (Sanskrit महाजनपद) (literally “great realm”, from maha, “great”, and janapada “foothold of a tribe”, “country”) is one of the sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth centuries BCE to fourth centuries BCE. Ancient Buddhist texts like theAnguttara Nikaya[1] make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had evolved and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent and included parts of the trans-Vindhyan region,[2] prior to the rise of Buddhism in India.
Kasi is one of these tribes inhabiting the area.
The worship of Shiva precedes Vedas and there are evidences that Dravidian tribes were also living here.
Not only this.
Kassites who ruled Babylonia from 1500 BCE, but settled there from 1800 BCE bore names in a language related to Sanskrit.
Like Mitanni, who have very pure Sanskrit names (from 1400 BCE), they also spoke a language related to Sanskrit.
The fact is that they migrated from Gangetic plain, like Saurashtra (Zoaraster) migrated to Iran from Saurashtra coast of Gujarat (Please read Kanchi Paramacharya’s (1894-1994) talk on Zoaraster/Saurashtra.
Also read my article on Mittani Empire where I have detailed the Mittani link to Tamils.
Buddha used to frequent Kasi and two of the Jain Thirthankaras were raised here.
Adi Shankaracharya,Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya, the three pillars of Hinduism visited Kasi
The Vedas are dated sometime around 5000 BC.
I have published articles to theceffect the Vedas can becdated much earlier.
So Kasi is at least 7000 years old.
The spiritually correct name of Kasi is Avimukta.
There is a legend that the name Kasi is due to the two small rivers that flow Kasi, Varana and Asi before they join the Ganges.
Pottery belonging to 800 BC has been enearthed here.
Even before Vedic times Ajivakas and Kaapalikas and Paspathad whovworship Shiva lived here.
Even today one can see Kaapalikas and Aghoris on Kasi.
Such is the hold of Kasi on Hinduism that QutbuddinIbak had the temples in Kasi razed and Mosques built in 1194 and this tradition was continued till Aurangazeb. .
Kasi had over hundreds of Temples according to Hieun Tsang the chinese Traveler.
He states that there was a Shiva Statue of 30 Mtrs.
That ancient Indians had advanced concepts in Science especially Astronomy.
12 Astronomical Instruments by Lalla.
Please refer my article on Advanced concepts in Science Hinduism.
Also the post on Advanced Astronomical instruments India.
The latter was found in the Surya Siddhanta, which is considered as an authentic source on Astronomy.
In the earlier article I had written on the Astronomical instruments found.
Now there is information about another Astronomer , Mathematician Lalla of Gujarat.
He followed the Surya Siddhanta.
While the instruments mentioned in the Surya Siddhanta relate to advanced ones, Lalla’s Astronomical Instruments were are meant for daily use.
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Despite the significance of Lalla’s work, very little is known about his life. Lalla did not record any dates relating to his life or work in his surviving treatises. He is generally placed in the middle of the eighth century on the basis of his borrowings from earlier authors and those of later authors from him. He followed the tradition of Aryabhata I. His most important work is the Śiṣyadhīvṛddhida (Treatise Which Expands the Intellect of Students), which, as he says, was composed to expatiate astronomy as set out by Aryabhata. The Śiṣyadhīvṛddhida is in two sections, entitled Grahādhyāya and Golādhyāya.
Sphere, ring, dial, bow, time measuring water vessel. Gnomon, divider, scissor. Circular seat with central stick, semicircle with stick, combination of sticks, are the twelve instuments along with a stick.
The Gola yantra is a type of armilliary sphere used to locate planetary positions.
Bhangana is a ring with angular graduations alonge its circumference, it is a type of protractor.
Chakra is a circular disk with angular graduations, it is also a type of protractor.
Dhanu is a semicircular disk with angular graduations and a stick pivoted at the center, it is a type of protractor with a plumb bob arrangement.
Ghati is a small vessel with a hole at the bottom. It was used to measure time.
Shanku is a type of gnomon, a long vertical cone used to identify East-West-North-South direction based on shadow of its tip.
A special geometrical construction known a ‘Matsya‘ was used for this purpose. Altitude of sun and day time was also measured with this instrument based on the shadow.
Shakata consists of two ‘V’ shaped sticks, pivoted at the end.
Kartari means a seizer. This instrument is made up of two sticks both pivoted together. It was used like a caliper, and also to measure angle with the help of protractor.
Pitha is a horizontal disk with a vertical stick at its center. It was used to measure local time based on its shadow, it was used to measure the height with the help of special geometrical contruction.
Shalaka is combination of two sticks with a string.
Yasti is just a long stick having standard dimensions, it was used to measure height and distances. Special geometrical constructions were framed to facilitate the use of this stick. These proposed geometrical constructions were to construct the proportionate triangles with the help of which heights of terrestrial objects could be calculated.
Lalla was an eighth-century India.He followed the tradition of Aryabhata I. His most important work is the Śiṣyadhīvṛddhida (Treatise Which Expands the Intellect of Students), which, as he says, was composed to expatiate astronomy as set out by Aryabhata. The Śiṣyadhīvṛddhida is in two sections, entitled Grahādhyāya and Golādhyāya. Grahādhyāya deals with planetary calculations, determination of the mean and true planets, three problems pertaining to diurnal motion of Earth, eclipses, rising and setting of the planets, the various cusps of the moon, planetary and astral conjunctions, and complementary situations of the sun and the moon. The second part—titled Golādhyāya deals with graphical representation of planetary motion, astronomical instruments, spherics, and emphasizes on corrections and rejection of flawed principles. It is within Śiṣyadhīvṛddhida that the earliest known description of a perpetuum mobile is described. Lalla also wrote the Jyotiśaratnakośa, a treatise on astrology that survives in the form of several incomplete manuscripts. This work is one of the earliest known Sanskrit astrological works for determining auspicious and inauspicious times. His works were followed by later astronomers Śrīpati, Vateśvara, and Bhaskara II. Lalla also authored the Siddhāntatilaka.
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