Ramanisblog

Tag: Temples of India

  • Six Hundred Artisans, Astronomer Lived In Thanjavur Temple Rajaraja Chola

    Six Hundred Artisans, Astronomer Lived In Thanjavur Temple Rajaraja Chola

    Apart from being an architectural wonder, the Big Temple of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu conveys a lot of information about the society of chola times of Rajaraja Chola. These inscriptions talk not only about the exploits of the King Rajaraja Chola, but about how the temple was built and details the contribution made by the artisans. He honoured them and recorded it as inscriptions. He also appointed an astronomer,’Perunkani’ பெருங்காணி.. He was in-charge of watching celestial events and based on their movements was expected to advise the temple adminstration date of Temple Festivals.Not only this, over six hundred people ,mainly from Artisans Class were allowed to live in the temple precincts!

    Temples were not merely places of Worship but also served as places where people could stay safely during Natural calamities and they were fed .

    he mentions in an inscription that the this all-stone temple called ‘kattrali’ (‘kal’ meaning stone and ‘tali’ a temple). This magnum opus, running to 107 paragraphs, describes, among others, how Raja Raja Chola, seated in the royal bathing hall on the eastern side of his palace, instructed how his order should be inscribed on the base of the vimana, how he executed the temple’s plan, the list of gifts he, his sister Kundavai, his queens and others gave to the temple……66 beautiful bronze idols Raja Raja Chola, Kundavai, his queens and others gifted to the temple. The inscriptions elaborate on the enormous gold jewellery, inlaid with precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, corals, pearls, for decorating each of these bronzes…… more than 600 people such as dancers, flutists, drummers, Vina players, conch players, canopy holders, water sprinklers, lamp keepers, laundry women, and so forth. These people worked for the temple for half a day, and spent the remaining time on farm work, on land which was lent gratis by Rajaraja I. The contract with the temple was carved on a stone. In exchange for using the farm land, it was their duty to engage in the construction work of the temple and to pull glittering festival cars on festival days. https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/2016/01/brihadeeswarar-temple-inscriptions.html?m=1

  • Hot Water Turns Cold as It reaches Idol’s Feet Lakshmi Venkateswara Gabbur

    Hot Water Turns Cold as It reaches Idol’s Feet Lakshmi Venkateswara Gabbur

    Temples of India never cease to astonish me. Apart from being sources of Spiritual strength, they are also architectural wonders. Many temples are astronomically aligned. Some are connected to celestial events.Some temples are aligned in the same longitude.Twelve Jyotirlinga temples form Fibanocchi Spiral. There are temples where sun’s rays fall at a specific place at a specific time. There are temples where Siva linga changes colors five times a day….the list goes on.

    Now another addition to these amazing temples. At Gabbur, Raichur District, Karnataka,It is the Lakshmi Venkateswara Temple . This temple is atleast 800 years old. It was built by Kalyana Chakukyas.This temple has Hanuman , apart from Sri Venkateswara.Here, Abhishek is performed with hot water and it becomes cold when it reaches the feet of the idol. One can see water vapour rising.However, the hot water is poured at the feet ,it remains hot!

    Sri. Lakshmi Venkateswara Temple,Gabbur,Raichur Dist. Karnataka.

    Gabburu is called the Temple town of Raichur District. There are as many as 30 temples and 28 rock edicts in the town. In ancient times, Gabbur was also known as Garbhapura and Gopuragrama.. Many of these temples were built during the reign of the Kalyani Chalukyas. Some of the prominent temples of Gabbur are the Hanuman, the Ishwara, the Venkateshwara, the Male Shankara, the Bangara Basappa, the Mahanandeeshwara, the Elu Bhaavi Basavanna and the Boodi Basaveshwara temple; there are several other temples in ruins

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbur

    How to reach. Nearest Airport.Bangalore. Railway station.Raichur.Buses to Raichur available from Bangalore.To Gabbur Local buses , limited in number, are available.Taxis are available.

  • How Nehru Ridiculed Temples Praised Tajmahal.Text

    How Nehru Ridiculed Temples Praised Tajmahal.Text

    I recently a forward from my friend Sri. Trisakthi Sunderraman on how Jawaharlal Nehru ridiculed South Indian temples. It is not surprising coming from Nehru. He ridiculed Indian traditions whenever he got an opportunity and he tried to portray himself as Secular to move with Foreigners especially with the British.His arrogance to everything Indian is monumental.To think I took part in Children’s day celebrations, celebrated on Nehru’s birthday, November 14,…..Am ashamed. Insidiously he promoted western concepts in India, through his book Discovery of India,the book he wrote as a series of letters to his daughter Indira Priyadarshini,aka Indira Gandhi in later years.This book was touted as The History of India and was included in school syllabus.Herebelow I am reproducing the relevant text of the speech he delivered in 1959, In Seminar on Architecture. Full text may be found at the link provided in the article. This observation by Nehru to my knowledge , is not from Discovery of India by Nehru.

    Mr. Chairman and friends, I have come here for a brief while this morning just to wish those people attending this Seminar and specially our younger architects, success in their talks here, meaning thereby a new fermentation taking place in the minds of this generation leading to more suitable types of architecture which fit in with conditions today and yet are things of beauty.

    Mr. Humayun Kabir referred to the great temples of the South and the Taj Mahal. Well, they are beautiful. Some of the temples of the South, how­ever, repel me in spite of their beauty. I just can’t stand them. Why? I do not know. I cannot explain that, but they are oppressive, they suppress my spirit. They do not allow me to rise, they keep me down. The dark corridors—I like the sun and air and not dark corridors.

    However, architecture today can hardly be thought of, well, broadly speaking, in terms of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is, of course, one of the most beauti­ful things anywhere and it is a delight to the eye and to the spirit to see it. It represented, as all architecture represents to a large extent, the age in which it grew. You cannot isolate architecture from the age, from the social conditions, from the thinking, from the objectives and ideals of that particular age. In an age which is rapidly changing, like our present age, in fact since the industrial revolution came, that necessarily has a powerful effect on architecture.

    Mr. Kabir referred to the static condition in regard to architecture in India during the last two, three hundred years. That really was a reflex of the static condition of the Indian mind or Indian conditions. Everything was static, not a question of architecture alone being static. Of course, that does not mean a country can ever be completely static—there are bright individuals and bright movements but taken as a whole India was static. In fact, India was static before that. Without being very accurate or precise, architecturally, for the last few hundred years, India was static, and the great buildings really date back to a considerable time. Even before the British came, we had become static. The British came because we were static. A society which ceases to change, ceases to go ahead, necessarily becomes weak and it is an extraordinary thing how that weakness comes out in all forms of creative activity. You see that weakness in our literature during this period. That again does not mean that big books were not written. Certainly some very fine books were written, but generally the Sanskrit language began to seed; a magnificent language, gradually it has became more and more repetitive: long sentences, ornate, lifeless except tingling songs and rhymes and all that. Take the early period of Sanskrit. It is a thing which strikes you in the head with its vigour and strength, its brevity; and then it becomes long winded, sometimes sentences going over two pages.I think Milton once said that “Show me the language of a people and if I do not know anything about that people, I will tell you what they are, whether they are brave, or timid or adventurous, creative or not”. The language, of course, is the most subtle medium of a people’s thinking. So also architecture, and all the creative arts. They really are not something outside yourself, they something that is inside us. Either we have that in us or we have not. If we have not, well, you produce the copy of what other people have done. Architecture is influenced by a number of considerations but apart from those considerations, architecture like all creative arts is influenced, if I may use the word—it is often used and misused—by the life forces of a people. If they have that vitality in them it comes out in painting, in architecture, in poetry, in literature, in everything that they do, in life itself. If they have not got it then they are just pale copies of human beings, without the vitality of human beings and naturally their arts are pale copies too. And that is basic. You cannot produce by any school course or college course life forces in a people. That is there or it is not there or it may gradually grow. And quite apart from that basic consideration, architecture depends certainly on climate; it depends on functions: the functions the people living in those buildings or looking at them have to perform.  It depends on the state of technological growth, that is to say on the material we use and obviously on the state of scientific and technological growth and on other factors too. Climate more or less is a permanent factor though even there to some extent, it can be overcome-not to a very large extent but internally, there has been always an attempt to overcome climate even in the olden days and those methods of overcoming it or, well, minimising the effect of climate have always been there. You may become more adept in doing it. The other factors, I said,—the function which a building is supposed to serve obviously has to govern it and the function a building serves depends to a large extent on the functions s that society is serving

    Source. 1959
    Nehru, Jawaharlal Address by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister

    In Seminar on Architecture, edited by Achyut Kanvinde, 5-9. New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1959

    https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-168488

  • Gangaikonda Chozhapuram Temple Architectural Marvel

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    Gangaikonda Chozhapuram Temple Architectural Marvel
  • Freeing Temples Nonsense? Minister Sadhgurus Stand My Reply

    Freeing Temples Nonsense? Minister Sadhgurus Stand My Reply

    Recently Tamil Nadu finance minister, while referring to the demand for freeing Hindu temples, has made several observations and they need to be answered. True to it’s philosophy ‘ The Hindu, gave a good coverage, with emphasis on the fact that the finance minister and his father PTR Palanivel Rajan are great devotees of Madurai Meenakshi and media states that the family had performed Numerous Kumbabhishekas for temples from Madurai to Tenkasi in Tamilnadu. If this , the elite thinks is a valid argument, then Naatukkottai Nagarathaar are the best qualified to run temples in India. There is no other community that has built more temples, maintain them, performed Kumbhabhishekam than them.Not only in South India, there are many temples managed,maintained by them in North India, including Kasi Visalakshi Temple.Will Tamil Nadu Finance minister publish a list of temples where his family performed Kumbhabhishekam and I shall provide a list of temples managed by Nagarathaar.

    Does not the finance minister know that his father PTR Palanivel Rajan was a close confidante of Karunanidhi? .And Palanivel Rajan never allowed Karunanidhi to meddle in the Meenakshi temple affairs till he was alive.

    Does the minister know the Annadurai,ex CM of Tamil Nadu and Karunanidhi were the people who ridiculed Hindu Gods?

    Sample. During mensuration, where will Madurai Meenakshi be and what will she do? What about Theetu?

    On Sri Renganathar , Srirangam. ‘ When will the day come to blow you away with canon?

    ‘

    You are a great devotee of Madurai Meenakshi!

    Random people make random noise. These are the people who want to break the goodwill of society,” he told The Hindu in a recent interview. Asked about the demand made by certain persons, including Isha Yoga Centre founder Jaggi Vasudev, he said, “In the case of Jaggi, he is a publicity hound who is trying to find another angle to make more money.” Those making the demand have contended that temples should be run by “bhaktas” (devotees).

    “Will a godman, who is focused on god, be selling Sivarathiri tickets for ₹5,00,000, ₹50,000 and ₹5,000? Is that a sign of a man of god? Is that the identifying mark of a spiritual man? He is a commercial operator pretending to use god and religion to get help,” Mr. Thiagarajan alleged.’

    ‘Good Will of society? Which Society? Your Muslim and Christian Vote Banks

    Who are these random people? Hindus are making it.Are they random People? These ‘Random people were/are the fools who elected you and your father?You expect Muslims and Christians should raise the issue as they are ‘People’ anot not ‘ Random people’?

    As to Jaggi Vasudev, did he ask you to hand over the running of the temples to him?If he is a commercial operator,what is DMK ? What are DMK’ assets? At the last count, it crossed over 60000 Crores and it still collects money from public and also extorts.

    Are you guys not swindling Money in the guise of running a Party?

    If you find that Jaggi Vasudev is an offender, encroached land, file cases; I understand enquiries did not yield sufficient grounds for prosecution and that he had refuted every single allegation.Instead of answering his questions, why talk something totally unconnected? If you think it is correct, your party is emininently disqualified to stand in elections even.

    Then ,you talk about Mismanagement of temples and funds. Are only Hindu temples are mismanaged? Even here, the major culprits are your party DMK Squatters in temple lands. Why don’t you evict them first?

    Are you aware that Wakf board and many Churches are mismanaged? Complaints from the Muslim and Christian communities are pouring in with Vatican being involved in such a case, Marthoma Church in Kerala?Has the government taken over all Churches , Madrassas,Christian organisations and Mosques?

    Understand the fact that when there is mismanagement to an institution belonging to a community, the community will correct it.Especially Religious communities.

    Secular means belonging to No Religion, non interference.NOT interfering in one Religion,Hindu.

    ‘

    The Minister rejected the suggestion that temples be run by devotees, contending that the temples were built by emperors and kings. “Who do they belong to? You say give it to the bhaktas. Forget whether it is right or wrong. Which bhakta will I give it to?”

    Which Muslim runs a Muslim Religious place,which Christian runs the affairs of The Churches, in the same way, such Bhaktas will run the Temples.You say’ give it to’ Are the temples yours to give it?

    Mr. Thiagarajan explained the difficulties in constituting a committee to manage the temples and electing members for it.

    “Who will create a committee? Who will decide the eligibility criteria for electing a member to the committee that is going to manage [the temples] outside the government? Only from the village where the temple stands or from outside?”

    “For example, whether a bhakta, who was born in Madurai and is a great Meenakshi devotee but is living in Chennai, eligible for it?” he asked.

    He also pointed out that when a temple was taken out of government control, there was also a need to register it as a separate entity. “That entity will be registered as what? A trust or society because it should exist within some legal framework. Who will regulate it? Who will audit it? How will you elect members of the board? Will the members elected to the committee be permanent till they die? Who is eligible to be taken as board members?” he asked’

    The Hindu society will take care of it.How does the government take care of it, even though it has no right morally and constitutionally?Once you leave , you need not bother. Remain in DMK corporate.

    Quotes,image of FM from The Hindu https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/demand-for-freeing-temples-from-hrce-dept-is-nonsense/article34561361.ece/amp/

    Bold and Italics are mine