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Friday, February 1, 2019

MumbaDevi Temple - Mumbai

MumbaDevi temple is one of the oldest city temples and is said to be the goddess who protects Mumbai city from all natural calamities. The current name of the city Mumbai is the original name; and is an eponym derived from "Mumba", the name of the local Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, and "Aai", meaning "mother" in Marathi.

History

This temple was built in honour of the Goddess Amba. The Mumbadevi temple is six centuries old. The first Mumbadevi temple was situated at Bori Bunder and is believed to have been destroyed between 1739 and 1770. After the destruction, a new temple was erected at the same place at Bhuleshwar.

Taj Mahal A Symbol of Love

The Taj Mahal in Agra is a massive sepulcher of white marble, worked in the vicinity of 1632 and 1653 by request of the Mughal sovereign Shah Jahan in memory of his most loved spouse. Called "a tear on the cheek of time everlasting" it is one of the magnum opuses of Mughal engineering, and one of the colossal vacation spots in India. Other than the white domed marble catacomb the Taj Mahal incorporates a few other wonderful structures, reflecting pools, and broad decorative patio nurseries with blooming trees and hedges.

Orissa Temples History

The temples of Orissa exhibit a majestic grandeur. An Orissan temple (deul) usually consists of a sanctum, one or several front porches (jagamohana) usually with pyramidal roofs, a dancing hall (nata mandir) and a hall of offerings (bhog mandir).

The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar boasts of a 150 foot high deul while the Jagannath Temple at Puri is about 200 feet high and it dominates the skyline of the town. Only a portion of the Sun Temple at Konark, the largest of the temples of the Golden triangle exists today, and it is still staggering in size. It stands out as a masterpiece in Orissan architecture.

The landscape of Orissa is dotted with a large number of temples. The temples of Orissa conform to the Indo Aryan Nagara style of architecture, with distinctive features specific to this region. The best known of these are the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneshwar, Jagannath Temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark.

There are two famous temples in Orissa

1.Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneshwar

Lingaraj Temple is a temple of the Hindu god Harihara and is one of the oldest temples of the Temple City Bhubaneswar, a revered pilgrimage center and the capital of the state of Orissa.

The temple of Lingaraja, the biggest of all at Bhubaneswar is located within a spacious compound wall of latterite measuring 520 feet by 465 feet. The wall is 7 feet 6 inches thick and surmounted by a plain slant coping.

2.Jagannath Temple at Puri

The celebrated Temple of Lord Jagannath now existent at Puri was constructed by Raja Ananta Varman Chodaganga Dev in 12th century A.D. The wooden images of Jagannath Balabhadra and Subhadra were installed in that temple. The management of the temple continued under the Hindu rulers till 1558, when the State of Orissa was conquered by the Afghan Nawab of Bengal and the temple was attacked by the Afgan General ‘Kalapahad’. Then, an independent Khurda kingdom was established by Ramachandra Deb, who assumed the management of the temple. He consecrated the temple and reinstalled the deities. Raja Mansingh, a General of the Mughal King Akbar, defeated the Afghans and annexed Orissa in to the Mughal dominion. It remained under the Mughals till 1751 A.D. Till 1760, the temple continued under the Khurda Raja, who was paying tribute to Mughals and Marhattas. Marhattas took up direct management of the temple till 1803. The Britishers annexed Orissa into British empire in 1803 and allowed Puri Raja to manage the temple. The position continued till 1947.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Autographs of Some Indian Legends

A P J AbdulKalam

Abul Kalam Azad Maulana

Amartya Sen, Dr.

Dr .B. R. Ambedkar

Amithab Bachchan

Story of Lord Vithal at Pandarpur

Story of Lord Vithal at Pandarpur

Pandharpur is known as the southern Kashi of India. This is a very famous and very holy place. It is visited by lakhs of devotees from all over the country. People from all religions and caste visit this shrine and the best part is all are allowed to enter the sanctum and touch the holy feet of the deity. Pandharpur is the only place in the country, where the devotee can touch the idol directly.

It is said that the devotee Pundalik founded Pandharpur. His father Janudeva and mother Satyavati lived in a thick forest called Dandirvan.
Pundalik was a devoted son but soon after his marriage he began to ill-treat his parents. To escape from their misery, the parents decided to go on a pilgrimage to Kashi.