Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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Nammaalvaar is one of the twelve Tamil Vaishnavite saints known as Aalvaars (Azlvar). He is at the top of the 12 saints because of his contribution to Tamil devotional poetry called Nalayira (naalaayira) Divya Prabandham (4000 poems on Vishnu). His erudition in Tamil language attracted even poets like Bharatiyar, who is the greatest poet in modern Tamil. We can ee Nammalvar’s poems echoing in his songs. Both of them assure us that they will bring Krita Yuga, the Golden Age and drive away the Kali Age, the iron age.
In this article I want to show that Nammalvar is the one who inspired great Chaitanya and others to dance and reach God. Tamil devotees used to sing and dance very soberly. If one goes to Sampradaya Bhajans in Tamil Nadu, one can see men and women dance to the tune of Bhajan singer or the Bhagavata. But they go in round and round and clap rhythmically. If women dance, they hold lamps or sticks in their hands and dance, known as Deepa Pradakshina or Kolaattam. They also do Kummi dance by clapping the hands while moving in a circle
(Kummi- dancing by girls with rhythmic clapping while moving in a circle.
Kolaattam doing the same as above, but with sticks).
But Nammalvar describes a different type of dance which one can see in ISKCON dancers. They jump up and down, and some even fly skyward. I thought Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the one who inspired such a type of dance. I found myself wrong when I went through the devotional poems of Nammalvar. They are called Paasuram in Tamil .
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived just 500 years before our time. But Nammalvar lived about 1200 years before our time.
If one reads the poems given below and note the highlighted words one will understand what he wants us to do.
Nowadays we see great Bhajans done by Chinmaya Mission, Sathya Sai Organisations, Swami Sivananda’s DLS, Ayyappa Bhaktas etc. But Hare Krishna dancers are the only one who come closer to what Nammalvar advised us to do.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also told us when one is nearer to God people will think that the person has gone mad. He narrated several anecdotes from Chatanya’s life to illustrate this point. It is true he danced like a mad man and spread the Vishnu worship in Bengal , Bihar and Assam. Abhang singers in Maharashtra walk miles and miles. But Nammalvar says you must jump up and down. Your head should hit the ground. When the people see your antics, people would laugh at you. They will say that you have gone mad. If they act do that, know that you are nearer to God and you are on the right track. Just read the poems below. These are only samples. He elaborates on the same topic further down in his long poem.
3057 மொய்ம் மாம் பூம் பொழில் பொய்கை முதலைச் சிறைப்பட்டு நின்ற கைம்மாவுக்கு அருள் செய்த கார் முகில் போல் வண்ணன் கண்ணன் எம்மானைச் சொல்லிப் பாடி எழுந்தும் பறந்தும் துள்ளாதார் தம்மாம் கருமம் என்? சொல்லீர் தண் கடல் வட்டத்து உள்ளீரே (1)
3057. The dark cloud-colored Kaṇṇan gave his grace to the elephant Gajendra when it was caught by a crocodile in a pond by a grove blooming with flowers that swarmed with bees. What is the use of those who do not get up, dance, jump, praise and sing the greatness of our lord? O devotees, who live in the world surrounded by the cool ocean, tell me.
3058 தண் கடல் வட்டத்து உள்ளாரைத் தமக்கு இரையாத் தடிந்து உண்ணும் திண் கழல் கால் அசுரர்க்குத் தீங்கு இழைக்கும் திருமாலைப் பண்கள் தலைக்கொள்ளப் பாடி பறந்தும் குனித்தும் உழலாதார் மண் கொள் உலகில் பிறப்பார் வல்வினை மோத மலைந்தே (2)
3058. Thirumaal destroyed the strong Asurans, ornamented with heroic anklets on their feet who killed the people of the world surrounded by oceans and ate them. If you do not bathe, sing, dance, and praise Thirumaal, you will be born on the earth again and suffer because you have collected bad karma.
3059 மலையை எடுத்து கல் மாரி காத்து பசுநிரை தன்னைத் தொலைவு தவிர்த்த பிரானைச் சொல்லிச் சொல்லி நின்று எப்போதும் தலையினோடு ஆதனம் தட்டத் தடுகுட்டமாய்ப் பறவாதார் அலை கொள் நரகத்து அழுந்திக் கிடந்து உழைக்கின்ற வம்பரே (3)
3059. He carried Govardhana mountain and protected the cows from their affliction. Those who do not jump and dance, rolling on the ground, and praise always the dear lord will go to hell and suffer.
3060 வம்பு அவிழ் கோதைபொருட்டா மால் விடை ஏழும் அடர்த்த செம்பவளத் திரள் வாயன் சிரீதரன் தொல் புகழ் பாடி கும்பிடு நட்டம் இட்டு ஆடி கோகு உகட்டுண்டு உழலாதார் தம் பிறப்பால் பயன் என்னே சாது சனங்களிடையே? (4)
3060. The god Sridharan has a beautiful pearl-like mouth. He killed seven strong bulls to marry Nappinnai whose hair was adorned with fragrant flowers. What is the use of those who are born as sages if they do not sing, dance, kneel, bow their heads and wander and do not praise the lord?
THEY FALL ON lONDON ROADS TO SALUTE LORD KRISHNA.
3061 சாது சனத்தை நலியும் கஞ்சனைச் சாதிப்பதற்கு ஆதி அம் சோதி உருவை அங்கு வைத்து இங்குப் பிறந்த வேத முதல்வனைப் பாடி வீதிகள் தோறும் துள்ளாதார் ஓதி உணர்ந்தவர் முன்னா என் சவிப்பார் மனிசரே? (5)
3061. The ancient beautiful shining god left his divine form in heaven and was born on the earth to defeat Kamsan who troubled the sages. What can those who do not sing, praise, dance and worship him do before sages who worship him, knowing all the sastras?
3062 மனிசரும் மற்றும் முற்றும் ஆய் மாயப் பிறவி பிறந்த தனியன் பிறப்பிலி தன்னை தடங் கடல் சேர்ந்த பிரானை கனியை கரும்பின் இன் சாற்றை கட்டியை தேனை அமுதை முனிவு இன்றி ஏத்திக் குனிப்பார் முழுது உணர் நீர்மையினாரே (6)
3062. People have been born in various forms— human, animal and others. The matchless god does not have birth and he was born on this earth to save his devotees. He sleeps on the wide ocean. He is sweet as a fruit, sugarcane juice, jaggery, honey and nectar. If devotees praise him with songs and dance without ever growing tired they will receive the wisdom of understanding all things.
3063 நீர்மை இல் நூற்றுவர் வீய ஐவர்க்கு அருள்செய்து நின்று பார் மல்கு சேனை அவித்த பரஞ்சுடரை நினைந்து ஆடி நீர் மல்கு கண்ணினர் ஆகி நெஞ்சம் குழைந்து நையாதே ஊன் மல்கி மோடு பருப்பார் உத்தமர்கட்கு என் செய்வாரே? (7)
3063, He gave his grace to the five Pandavas and destroyed the hundred evil Kauravas. What is the use of people who merely eat well and get fat without thinking of the god? What could they do to the good devotees who are filled with tears, melting in their hearts with devotion for the god?
3064 வார் புனல் அம் தண் அருவி வட திருவேங்கடத்து எந்தை பேர் பல சொல்லிப் பிதற்றி பித்தர் என்றே பிறர் கூற ஊர் பல புக்கும் புகாதும் உலோகர் சிரிக்க நின்று ஆடி ஆர்வம் பெருகிக் குனிப்பார் அமரர் தொழப்படுவாரே (8)
3064. Our father stays in northern Thiruvenkaṭam hills where flourishing cool waterfalls descend with abundant water. Devotees who repeat his many names and wander everywhere and dance while the people of the world mock them and laugh at them saying that they are crazy will be worshiped by the gods in the sky.
The last stanza here shows that they will laught at you and dub you a crazy fellow.
We have seen such criticism about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri Seshadri Swamikal of Tiruvannamalai.
Let us all become mad, I mean crazy about God.
Atheists are suffering from God phobia; let us suffer from God mania!
(above translation is by Kausalya Hart. I differ from it in only in a few places. Nammalvar used the word flying (paranthum) in Tamil.
–subham—
Tags- God mad, Dance, reach god, laugh at , up and down, fly and dance, Nammlavar, Tamil poems, Pasurams, Hare Krishna, ISKCON
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
Badavilinga, Hampi
Tamil version will be posted tomorrow
Brahma Vishnu Shiva are the three gods forming Hindu Trinity.Lord shiva is worshipped in 64 forms according to Sivapurana . He is worshiped in linga form as well; it is a formless, shapeless stone or metal. It rests on a pedestal; such structures are seen from Kedarnath to Kedeeswaram in Sri Lanka. And we find ancient Lingas in South East Asian countries too. Of late Hindus have built modern Shiva temples in all the countries in the world. Naturally formed Kailash mountain in the shape of a huge linga has been in our literature for at least 2500 years.
God is with form or without form. Linga means a mak or a symbol. Sanskrit students learn grammar from the age of five with words like akaaraantha pull Lingah Rama Sabdah, ,Ekaarantha stree Lingah ….etc. In some places image of Shiva is shown inside Shiva linga and it is known as Lingodbhava Murti
in Madurai and other places, big temple are erected over lingams two thousand years ago. If thousand mini lingas re sculpted over a linga statue it is called Sahasra Linga.
In Amarnath and other places even naturally formed ice lingas are worshipped. If they appear naturally then they are called Swaambu / spontaneous ingas.
It is a common adage that Siva is fond of bathing as Vishnu is fond of decoration. And so there is aways a copper vessel with a hole at the bottom hanging over the linga with dripping water. And the base or the pedestal of the linga is designed in such a way the water is drained off. The base is called Yoni in Sanskrit and Aavudaiyaar in Tamil.
Shiva abhishekap priyah
Vishnu alankaara priyah
Linga is considered as a symbol of Brahman. The quadrangular bottom of the shaft represents Brahma and the octagonal middle Vishnu and the circular upper portion Siva.
Sometimes a single linga is called Sahasra/ thousand linga. It is divided into 25 facets each of these latter having miniature representations of forty lingas and making up thus the number one thousand .
Sahasra = Aayiram in Tamil ; thousand in English
Huge lingams are found in Thanjavur, Gangakonda Cozapuram in Tamil Nadu.
Chenkal in Kerala
Twelve Most Famous Linga Temples in India
1. Mallikarjunam in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
2. Mahakalam in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
3. Kusmesam near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
4. Omkareswar in Omkaram on Narmadha, Indore (M.P)
5. Vaidhyanatham in Bihar
6. Bimasankaram in Maharashtra
7. Trayambakeswar in Maharashtra
8. Kedarnath in Uttar Pradesh
9. Visveswar in Benares, Uttar Pradesh
10.Rameswaram in Tamilnadu
11.Nagesam in Dwaraka, Gujarat
12.Somanatham in Saurastra, Gujarat
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Karnataka- Cambodia Sahsralingas
“Sahasraliṅgeśvara temple located near sirsi and is situated on the banks of the river shalmala, where a thousand lingas are found.
We have similar sahsralingas in river in Cambodia as well.
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Badavilinga Temple (or Shree Badavilinga Gudi) is a small but incredible temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Known for its impressive monolithic Shivalinga, which stands at about 3 meters (10 feet) tall, Badavilinga Temple attracts devotees and tourists around the year. It’s the largest Shivalinga in Hampi.
The colossal Shivalinga here is carved out of a single black rock stone and the statue is submerged in water.
Badavilinga Temple is on Hampi’s outskirts, close to the popular Lakshmi Narasimha Temple.
Bhojeswar Temple
The Mysterious link between Karnataka and Cambodia
Old article written 14 years ago by me and posted in this blog.
It is very interesting to find out a mysterious link between the Indian state of Karnataka and a South East Asian country Cambodia. This is an ancient link but existing till today. In both these places we find the sculptures SAHASRA LINGA, literally translated one thousand Lingas. Linga is the shapeless form of Hindu God Shiva.
Cambodia is famous for its Angkor Watt temple. This is the largest Hindu temple in the world outside India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and full of beautiful sculptures. It is a historical fact that the Hindus ruled various parts of South East Asia for 1300 years from 1st century AD. But not many people noticed the mystery of Sahasra Linga.
Sahasra Linga is located seventeen kilometres from Sirsi In the northern part of Karnataka known as Uttara Kanara. One can see hundreds of Shivalingas carved in stones and rocks in the middle of the river. The river is called Shalmala. All the statues are washed by this holy river water for ever. During Hindu festival Shivratri thousands of pilgrims visit this place and offer pujas. One advantage of visiting this place during Shivratri is the water level in the river is low and most of the Lingas are visible with their bases called Yonis. No one knew when and who carved them. People visit this spot for its scenic beauty as well. This place is situated in the middle of forest in the Western Ghats.
There is another place in Cambodia with the same name Sahasra Linga and there also the carved Shiva Lingas are in the middle of a river. The only difference is nobody worships it in Cambodia but tourists visit his place out of curiosity and to enjoy nature.
Bhuteswar, Chattisgarh
Cambodian Sahasralinga is located 25 kilometres from Angkor watt. There are statues of Hindu gods Lakshmi, Rama and Hanuman in addition to the Lingas. The place is called Kbal Spean and its meaning is ‘the Head Bridge’. Unlike Karnataka this place is not easily accessible. Tourists have to climb very hard and rough rocks. They have to go via a stone bridge. Animal figures are also carved on the side rocks. The river Slung Kbal Spean is flowing from Kulen mountains. There is a fifty feet high water falls which adds beauty to this holy spot. Long ago the kings used to come here for holy bath. No one knew who carved these lingas and for what purpose. But the tourists are told that the Lingas are symbols of creative energy and the river water that flows on the lingas will make the Cambodian paddy fields more fertile. A lot of Hindu symbols were destroyed during the civil war in Cambodia. But these Sahasra Lingas were not affected because of the surrounding thick forest. Those who wanted to travel to this place leave from Banteasy Srei and travel 12 kilometres and then walk for 45 minutes through rough terrain. The area is closed for tourists around 3 pm.
One of the remarkable sculptures here is of Maha Vishnu and Brahma emerges from his belly on a lotus flower. It is very heartening to see Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, all the three greats of the Hindu Trinity at the same place.
Any one who wants to see the pictures can see them on You Tube and images through google websites. Just type Sahasralinga in Karnataka and Sahasralinga in Kbal Spean you will see the beautiful images and videos.
Now the question is how come the same name and the same sculptures exist in two different places which are wide part by thousands of miles? Who and Why did they carve them? Neither the Indians nor the Cambodians knew. But if we dig deeper we can find the answers. I have shown somewhere
that Agastya was associated with the Pandyas in many copper plate inscriptions of the Pandyas and the famous Raghuvamsa Kavya of Kalidas. He led the Pandyas and other South Indian kings to South Asian countries two thousand years ago. He was the torch bearer of Hindu culture. Since those people were without a religion and culture Sage Agastya civilised them. This was not invasion but cultural expansion. As a token of gratitude Agastya statues were installed by the local people in different countries in South East Asia. Even before the British reached these areas French archaeologists and historians went to do a lot of research and published books on the temples. Anyone who has access to those French books can see the pictures of Agastya statues.
It is a well recognised fact that all the South East Asian scripts are evolved from Indian Brahmi. All Indian scripts also evolved from the same Brahmi. The Pallava script contributed to most of the S E Asian scripts. If one places the pictures of Pallava temples and S E Asian temples the similarity can’t be missed . And if one places more pictures from the Central American Maya temples the link can be easily established. So we can assume that the culture travelled from South India towards S E Asia and then to Central and South America.
Thanjavur Brihadeeswar
There is even mention of 1000 pillar Hall/Mandap in the Maya culture.
There are more Sahasralingas in India. For instance Pathan in North Gujarat has one Sahasralinga. But because of the foreign invasions followed by destructions only a 48 pillar mandap exists today with few lingas.
Sahasralinga also means one thousand linga forms on the face of a single big linga. The best of the Sahasralingas of this type is seen in Parasurameshwara Temple in Bhuvaneswar,Orissa.
Amazing Facts about Shivalinga
Post No. 12,924
Date uploaded in London – – 16 JANURARY 2024
Where is the tallest Shiv linga in the country?
Maha Mrityunjay Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Hindu God Shiva, situated in Nagaon, Assam, India. This Temple is special in its architectural sense as it is built in a form a Shivling. It is the World’s largest Shivalinga, at the height of 126 foot.
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What is the meaning of Linga Worship?
“ God is Omnipresent and All-pervasive. By the very nature of these qualities, He cannot have any form. He is, therefore, formless (Arupa). But in order to bless us, He assumes innumerable forms (Rupa). The Linga form in which we worship Isvara is symbolic of both His formlessness and form. It is symbolic of form because it has a particular shape; It is symbolic of formlessness because it has neither head nor limbs. The very conception of a Linga denotes something which has neither beginning nor end; the literal meaning of Linga is symbol.(Kanchi Paramacharaya 1894-1994)
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Why do we see Lingodbhava Murti in all Tamil Temples?
Isvara assumes various forms in pursuance of His Divine Leela. The prime manifestation with a form of the formless Isvara, is known as the Lingodbhava Moorthi, and He made his appearance in that form exactly at midnight on Sivaratri. That is why all devotees keep vigil during the night of Sivaratri, and worship Isvara at midnight.
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How Big is the Linga in Thanjavur Big Temple?
29 ft; It is 8.7 m (29 ft) high, occupying two storeys of the sanctum. It is one of the largest monolithic linga sculptures in India. Linga itself is 12 feet tall.
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Where is the tallest Shiv linga in Kerala?
Maheshwaram Shiva Parvathi temple, which houses the tallest Shiva lingam in Kerala, having a height of 111 ft, is located in Chenkal village. It is near Thiruvananthapuram .
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Shiva linga in Water Springs
In many places Shiva Linga is in the midst of a water spring or a tank. This is because Shiva is called ABISHEKA PRIYA (bathing) and Vishnu is called ALANKARA PRIYA (decoration).
Thiruvanaikkaa near Trichy has Jambukeshvar Shiva temple where the Linga is in a water spring. There are similar temples in Sirkazi, Thiruvedakam near Madurai etc.
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Natural Wonder- Ice Lingas in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Amarnath is the place in Jammu Kashmir state where a Linga is formed naturally inside a cave. It is made up of ice and it appears in and around August every year and then disappears.
Similar Ice Lingam is formed in a cave near Manali in Himachal Pradesh. It is called Amarnath of Himachal Pradesh. The 25-foot high Shiva lingam made of snow and ice is at Anjani Mahadev Temple.
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kotilingeswara temple
Ashta / Eight Famous Lingas in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu
The names of the Ashtalingams are:
Indra Lingam (East)
Agni Lingam (South East)
Yama (Ema) Lingam (South)
Niruthi Lingam (South West)
Varuna Lingam (West)
Vayu Lingam (North West)
Kubera Lingam (North)
Esanya Lingam (North East)
During every full moon day lakhs of devotees go round the hill at Tiruvannamalai and they worship all the above eight Lingas in eight different directions.
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Sun Light falls on Lingas
Kings of Choza Dynasty were great Shiva Bhaktas. They had clever civil engineers who built temples with many wonders. One of the wonders is to make the sun light enters into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple so that Sun worships the idol. And Chozas belonged to Sun Race (solar race)
One such temple where the sun rays enter and falls on Shiva Linga in the Garbha Griha is in Karaikurichi near Ariyalur. Sun light falls on the Linga twice a year in Uttarayana and Dakshinayana periods. Every year it happens on the same day in Hindu Calendar.
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Ghee Linga in Thrissur in Kerala
Since Lord Shiva is ABISHEKA PRIYA (fond of bathing), people pour various liquids on the idol . Thrissur Vadakkunathan temple has the famous Ghee Linga. For centuries , devotees have been bathing the god with clarified butter. Now the linga has disappeared because of the solidified layers of Ghee on the idol. People take the ghee as Prasad.
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Linga with holes on the top
Every temple has a special feature in Tamil Nadu. We see Shiva lingas with some peculiarities and stories are told about them. In Thirunallur and Needur we see Lingas with holes on top. In one place it is attributed to Saint Bhringi. He took the form of a beetle and made the whole. In Another temple also similar story is told.
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Kailash and Shivlinga Mountain
In the Himalayan range we come across hills which look like huge Shiva Lingas. Hindus give importance to such places. We have Linga shaped Mt. Kailash and mountain shaped like Linga in the Himalayas. It is called Shivling Mountain.
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Koti Linga and Sahasra Linga
We come across innumerable Lingas in certain places and they are called Koti Lingas. If they carve 1000 squares with Linga figure in one single shiva stone, it is called Sahasra Linga. Many temples have Sahasra Lingas.
—subham—
Tallest Shivalinga Near Trivandrum (Thiru Anantha Puram)
During my visit to India in March- April 2024, I had a busy Wedding schedule. I attended one wedding in Chennai and celebrated another wedding in Kovalam beach near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
Kerala now has one of the tallest Shiva lingams in the country after the India Book of Records certified the 111.2-feet structure of Maheshwaram Sri Shiva Parvathy Temple at Chenkal in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The cylindrical structure has eight floors, six of which represent chakras or energy centres of the human body. Temple authorities are now hoping the shiva lingam will enter the Limca and Guinness Book of Records.
Pilgrims would be able to see a ‘kailasam’, a replica of Himalayas, and idols of Shiva and Parvati from the top of the shiva lingam. The pathway is adorned with murals and statues with 108 shiva lingams on the base floor.
It is the only temple in the world, where devotees can worship 12 Jyothirlingams of Lord Shiva and 32 forms of Lord Ganesha at one place.
—subham—
Tags-Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம் -Part 25, Linga, Shivalinga, Jyotirlinga, Sahasralinga
History of the National Song, how it was called ‘anti-Muslim’ and given a communal colour, and how Congress found it ‘not suitable as national anthem’
Posted from OP India on 7-11-2025
Muslims argue that since the Vande Mataram song was an ode to Mother India, singing it is against the “tenets of Islam” and a “sacrilege against Allah” because a Muslim can bow to only Allah and no one else.
7th November 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of India’s National Song ‘Vande Mataram’. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the year-long commemoration of the iconic song at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital.
150 years ago, Bankimchandra Chatterji, also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, wrote the Vande Mataram song on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Navami, which was on 7th November 1875. Appearing first in the literary journal “Bangdarshan” as a part of Chatterji’s iconic novel Anandamath in 1882, the song invoked the motherland as a shining embodiment of strength, unity, prosperity and divinity. The song became synonymous with devotion to Bharat.
Chatterji’s composition transcended its literary origins and became a rallying cry for freedom fighters and nothing short of a national anthem during the independence struggle. Decades later, Vande Mataram became the national song of India, connecting Indians of independent Indian with those who fought and won freedom from the British colonial rule.
In the year 1896, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore sang the poem for the first time at the Kolkata session of the Indian National Congress. It was officially adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24th January 1950. At that event, Dr Rajendra Prasad had declared that Vande Mataram should be honoured equally with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
Set against the backdrop of the Bengal famine of 1770, which claimed 10 million lives, the novel Anandamath portrays a dystopian Bengal ravaged by exploitation, starvation, deaths and oppressive foreign rule.
Vande Mataram is a lyrical ode to the motherland. It personifies India as a divine feminine figure akin to Goddess Durga. Rabindranath Tagore performed the song for the first time in front of an audience in 1896 during a meeting of the Indian National Congress.
Vande Mataram and the Fakir-Sanyasi Rebellion
At the heart of Anandamath and Vande Mataram lies the Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion of the 18th century. The rebellion was a gritty precursor to the intensified resistance against British colonial rule.
Spanning 1763-1800, the Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion united Hindu Sanyasis and Sufi fakirs or Derveshis in guerrilla warfare against the East India Company and its puppet Nawabs in Bihar and Bengal. The rebellions torched British outposts, raided Company treasuries, and disrupted revenue collection over the British bans on pilgrim taxes, tolls and grants by Zamindars. Earlier, when Zamindars were affluent, they used to give grants to ascetics; however, since the East India Company seized the Diwani or tax collection rights, demands for tax from zamindars increased. Resultantly, the zamindars were neither able to pay taxes to the Company nor give grants to Sanyasis and Fakirs.
Back in 1771, over 150 Hindu Sanyasis were killed for no apparent reason, triggering an uproar and violence in Natore (now in modern-day Bangladesh). The Britishers deemed the Sanyasis as plunderers and wanted to stop them from collecting money from zamindars or headmen en route to shrines. Many sects of Hindu ascetics, including the Dasanami Naga Sadhus, participated in this rebellion.
Drawing heavily from the history, Bankim Chandra fictionalised the Sannyasis as secret warrior-monks in Anandamath, the abbey of bliss or sacred abbey. These warrior-monks rise against a famine-stricken Bengal struck by the dual tyrannies, British mercantilism led by Governor Warren Hastings and the misrule of Nawab Mir Qasim. The rebels chanted Vande Mataram as their rallying cry, and the song went on to become the paean of Indian resistance against British colonial rule.
Vande Mataram given a communal colour due to its critique of the Bengal Nawab’s misrule, which led to famine
Anandamath was founded during the Bengal agrarian crisis, when the region was struck by three successive famines in the early 1770s, against the backdrop of the Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion. However, interestingly, the novel blamed the agonising conditions on the ruler Nawab Mir Qasim and charged that the state’s downfall was caused by his tacit consent to the East India Company.
In Anandamath, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay unflinchingly depicts the Muslim Nawab of Bengal, modelled on Mir Qasim, as an absolutely corrupt tyrant whose policies exacerbated the famine in 1770. While the scenes of Nawab’s soldiers looting granaries and oppressing peasants, while the East India Company pulled the strings from afar, the novel fuelled allegations by the Muslims that it vilified Muslims as oppressors.
This, however, was far from the truth. The Bengali Muslim elite at that time, installed by the Mughal tyrants and subsequently co-opted by the British, were indeed complicit in the oppression of common people.
Muslims had a special objection to the invocation of Maa Durga and Hindu temple imagery in the Vande Mataram song, arguing that it was idolatrous and against Islamic monotheism.
“The East India Company was then calling the shots from behind the facade of a puppet Muslim Nawab. It was rack-renting peasant surplus to augment revenues from which the Company extracted a massive tribute. The drive was so relentless that three successive droughts produced a famine of catastrophic proportions in 1770. Much of the land returned to waste and approximately one-third of the population starved to death,” noted historian Tanika Sarkar in “Birth of a Goddess: Vande Mataram, Anandamath and Hindu Nationhood.”
The account, according to her, held “the Nawab responsible not just for widespread death and starvation, but also for a deliberate and total destruction of Hindus, of their honour, faith, caste and women. In other words, it forces a split between the agents and victims of the famine: the agents are Muslims and the starving and dying people are always identified as Hindus.”
All India Muslim League to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Vande Mataram got characterised as an ‘anti-Muslim’ song
First sung by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896, Vande Mataram evolved into a battle cry during the 1905 partition of Bengal and quickly advanced to become a strongly evocative representation of the freedom movement. However, the Muslim leadership at that time failed to see and embrace the nationalistic song beyond their narrow fundamentalist mindset. They argued that since the Vande Mataram song was an ode to Mother India, singing of Vande Mataram is against the “tenets of Islam” and a “sacrilege against Allah” because a Muslim can bow to only Allah and no one else.
Sadly, this Islamist viewpoint remains prevalent even in contemporary India, as many Muslim maulvis and Islamists in general refuse to sing Vande Mataram.
Many of the Muslim leaders in British-ruled India, who labelled Vande Mataram as some sort of ‘anti-Muslim’ or ‘Hindu nationalist’ song, ended up being the proponents of the separatist agenda that culminated in the creation of Pakistan. These Islamists not only derided Vande Mataram as idolatrous and anti-Muslim but also argued that the deification of the motherland amounts to ‘shirk’.
All India Muslim League President Syed Ali Imam while speaking at the organisation’s second session in December 1908, declared, “I cannot say what you think, but when I find the most advanced province of India put forward the sectarian cry of ‘Bande Mataram’ as the national cry, and the sectarian Rakhi-Bandhan as a national observance, my heart is filled with despair and disappointment; and the suspicion that, under the cloak of nationalism, Hindu nationalism is preached in India becomes a conviction.”
Three decades later, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who partitioned the country on Islamic lines, echoed similar views in an article dated 1st March, 1938, published in The New Times of Lahore:
“Muslims all over India have refused to accept Vande Mataram or any expurgated edition of the anti-Muslim song as a binding national anthem.”
Muslim League members walked out and Jinnah used the episode for his divisive agenda and to rally Muslim support for the same.
Notably, the main offence over the full Vande Mataram song stemmed from the lyrics “त्वंहिदुर्गादशप्रहरणधारिणीकमलाकमलदलविहारिणीवाणीविद्यादायिनी, नमामित्वाम्नमामिकमलांअमलांअतुलांसुजलांसुफलांमातरम् (Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen, With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen, Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned, And the Muse a hundred-toned, Pure and perfect without peer, Mother lend thine ear, Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Dark of hue O candid-fair In thy soul, with jewelled hair And thy glorious smile divine, Loveliest of all earthly lands, Showering wealth from well-stored hands! Mother, mother mine! Mother sweet, I bow to thee, Mother great and free.)
Jawaharlal Nehru truncated Vande Mataram to placate Jinnah and other Islamists
The Congress party’s ‘placate the Muslims at the cost of Hindus’ policy is not a post-independence phenomenon. Rather, the INC began to cede Hindu interests one at a time to appease Muslims, even in the pre-independence era. Since the Muslim community was offended by the Vande Mataram song due to its later stanzas mentioning Maa Durga, the Congress, instead of countering the Islamists by emphasising Bharat’s Hindu cultural and traditional foundation, chose to genuflect before the Islamist intransigence.
In consequence of Congress’s abject surrender, the Vande Mataram song was mutilated, and four stanzas were dropped out of six to satisfy those who, just years after, betrayed the nation.
It would not be wrong to say that, besides the support of Islamists, Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s biggest strength was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. M.K. Gandhi’s suicidal empathy for Jinnah and the ‘Muslim cause’ and undeserved attention helped Jinnah stay relevant and influential.
In 1937, Gandhi, apparently wary of alienating his Muslim ‘allies’, advocated that only the first two stanzas, which do not mention overt Hindu religious imagery, be sung. Thus, in the Faizpur Congress Session in that year, only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted this fact in his speech on Friday.
To understand how submissively the Congress leadership acquiesced to appease Jinnah and other Islamists, one needs to go through the correspondence and addresses of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
In a letter to Urdu poet Ali Sardar Jafri, Nehru stated that the song Vande Mataram is unrelated to the Congress and is “not suitable as a national anthem.”
“The Congress has not officially adopted any song as a kind of national anthem. In practice however the Bande Mataram is often used in national gatherings together with other songs. The reason for this is that 30 years ago this song and this cry became a criminal offence and developed into a challenge to British imperialism,” Nehru wrote.
Although Nehru acknowledged the popularity and significance of the Vande Mataram song in uniting Indians against the British, he further tried hard to reinforce Congress party’s secular credentials and wrote, “I do not think anybody considers the words to have anything to do with a goddess. That interpretation is absurd. Nor are we concerned with the idea that the author of the book, which contains this song, had in his mind when he wrote it, because the public does not think on these lines.”
In his pursuit of distancing Congress from ‘Hindu nationalism’, Nehru went on to write, “It contains too many difficult words which people do not understand and the ideas it contains are also out of keeping with modem notions of nationalism and progress. We should certainly try to have more suitable national songs in simple language.”
Similarly, in his letter to Subhash Chandra Bose dated 20th October 1937, Nehru said that the Vande Mataram song was meant to “irritate the Muslims.”
“I have managed to get an English translation of Ananda Math and I am reading it at present to get the back- ground of the song. It does seem that this background is likely to irritate the Muslims…There is no doubt that the present outcry against Bande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the communalists. At the same time there does seem some substance in it and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it. Whatever we do cannot be to pander to communalists’ feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist,” Nehru wrote.
Similarly, in his letter to Subhash Chandra Bose dated 20th October 1937, Nehru said that the Vande Mataram song was meant to “irritate the Muslims.”
“I have managed to get an English translation of Ananda Math and I am reading it at present to get the back- ground of the song. It does seem that this background is likely to irritate the Muslims…There is no doubt that the present outcry against Bande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the communalists. At the same time there does seem some substance in it and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it. Whatever we do cannot be to pander to communalists’ feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist,” Nehru wrote.
Gandhi and Nehru’s arbitrary truncation of Vande Mataram to appease Muslims reminds of another similar doing of MK Gandhi. The corruption of the Hindu bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ to secularise it and include ‘Allah’.
Although Gandhi is credited with popularising this hymn by using it during his famous Dandi March in 1930, the lyrics were taken from Shri Nama Ramayanan, an old religious text penned by Sri Lakshmanacharya, and modified by Gandhi.
While Gnadhi inserted “Ishwar Allah tero naam, sabko sammati de Bhagwan”, the original lyrics made no mention of Allah. Raghupati raghava rajaram, patita paavana sitaram, Sundara vigraha meghashyam, Ganga tulasi shaligram. Bhadra girishwara sitaram, Bhagat janapriya sitaram. Janaki ramana sitaram, Jaya jaya raghava sitaram.
Be it the truncation of Vande Mataram or bastardisation of Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram song, these episodes showed unmatched alacrity in stripping Hinduness of a song evoking nationalist fervour and distorting a Hindu religious song to address the reservations held by Muslims showed that just like in the post-independence Congress era, even in pre-independence times, it was always the responsibility of the Hindu majority to accommodate the demands of the Muslim minority while expecting nothing but betrayal in return.
Neither Gandhi nor Nehru nor the Congress party ever denounced the verses in the Holy Quran that call idol-worshipping a shirk/sin and ordain capital punishment for idolatry. Gandhi embraced the Khilafat Movement, which eventually gave strength to Muslims in Malabar and resulted in the Hindu genocide, also known as the Moplah riots of 1921. Gandhi embraced Jinnah, who eventually declared Direct Action Day, resulting in the killings and rape of thousands of Hindus, Sikhs and other non-Muslim communities.
History tells us that a Hindu departure from its religious roots has only pushed Muslims towards their religious extremist foundation. The more secular the Hindu leadership becomes by ceding its religious ground, the further Islamists expand their tentacles.
Vande Mataram: India’s National Song that does not get celebrated by all Indians
On 24th January 1950, Vande Mataram was adopted as independent India’s national song by the constituent assembly based on a proposal by President Rajendra Prasad. While the song is sung in school assemblies, Independence Day events, and patriotic programs, the portions truncated by Congress back in 1937 remain comparatively lesser known and sung. Such is the impact of Congress’s surrender.
Even today, the Muslim bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) and Anjuman-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, have come out in opposition against a government directive asking schools across Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the 150th Vande Mataram anniversary.
These Muslim bodies have given the same old excuse of infringement upon Muslim religious freedom and “against our religious beliefs”. They have also called an order to commemorate Vande Mataram, as “a deliberate attempt to impose an RSS-driven Hindutva ideology on a Muslim-majority region under the guise of cultural celebration.”
Islamists in general, too, have been opposed to singing Vande Mataram or raising Bharat Mata ki Jai slogans, calling it against their religious tenets. As the nation commemorates the sesquicentennial of Vande Mataram, India must remember the historical communalisation and derision of the song by Islamists and take measures not to repeat the sinful mistake Congress leadership made back then. Accommodating the unreasonable demands of Islamists does not bolster secularism or ensure peace; it rather amounts to tightening the noose around one’s own neck.
Shraddha Pandey is a Senior Sub-Editor at OpIndia, where she has been sharpening her edge on truth and narrative. With three years in experience in journalism, she is passionate about Hindu rights, Indian politics, geopolitics and India’s rise. When not dissecting and debunking propaganda, books, movies, music and cricket interest her. Email: shraddha@opindia.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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Part 22
Snake Goddess Manasa Devi (manasaa)
Manasā (मनसा).—Name of a daughter of Kaśyapa, sister of the serpent king, Ananta, wife of the sage जरत्कारु (jaratkāru) and mother of the sage अस्तिक (astika); so मनसादेवी (manasādevī).
Indus Valley Seal of Sarpa Rajni (Rig Veda Poetess name in Tenth Mandala Hymn 189)
Snake Goddess is worshipped during Vedic time and in Harappan Civilization. She is also seen in Egypt, Greece and in the Middle East.
Manasa Devi is worshipped mainly in Bengal and adjacent states of Bihar and Assam. She is another form of Parvati, wife of Shiva.
Manasa is greatly revered in Bengal , where she is believed to ward off poisonous snakes. She is the daughter of Kasyapa and Kadru and sister of Ananta or Vasuki according to local legends. Lord Vishnu lies on the snake bed in the middle of milky ocean, and he is said to rest between cosmic emanations.
Manasa stands upon or is shaded by a seven headed snake. Her symbols or attributes are snake and water jar.
She is the wife of Jarat kaaru . she is also called Jagad gauri, Nityaa (eternal) and Visha -haraa. Visha haraa means one who has the special power of counter acting the venom of serpents.
Snake worship originated in India. All the words for snakes in ancient languages are derived from Sanskrit and Tamil (Naga-S/Nake, Sarpa- Serpent), Oviyar- Ophis, Uraga, Pannaga). All Hindu Gods and Goddesses have snakes as their ornaments. Egypt followed Hindus and we see snakes over the heads of Pharaohs. Snake and Garuda are seen with Vaishnavite Naamam symbol in Wedget/Udget .
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Stories of Manasa Devi are told in different ways in Bengal. The gist of the stories is one gentle man ignored Manasa Devi worship and he lost his children due to snake bites. Ultimately they were saved through the worship of Mansa.
From Rig Veda, Indus Valley to Sabarimalai in Kerala, we see snake worship.
The greatest wonder is Brahmins worship snakes with reverence in daily oblation Sandhyavandana with a mantra beginning with Narmadaayai Namah….
(Mandhata’s son Purukutsa married Devi Narmada and the latter was the sister of Nagaas of Rasatala. Nagaas were afraid of Gandharvas as some six crore Gandharvas resided in Rasatala tormenting Nagaas by hunting their ‘Ratnas’(jewels) from their hoods. The Nagaas prayed to Bhagavan Vishnu and the latter assured that the son of Mandhata viz. Purukutsa would destroy all the Gandharvas at the instance of Narmada Devi. As professed, Purukutsa eradicated Gandharvas and the Nagaas gave a boon to Narmada that whosoever bathed in the River or even recited the following would be safe from ‘sarpa-visha’ or the poison of serpents; the relevant Shloka or stanza to be recited states:
(Devi Narmada! My salutations to you in the day or night, do safeguard me from the fear of Serpents and their poisonous bites!) The full mantra includes the names of great seers Jarat kaaru, Aastika and the King Janamejaya)
The Harappan seal with a goddess surrounded by snakes on either side shows Snake Goddess was worshipped from 2000 BCE or before that, because Nagaraani is in the Vedas as well.
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Story of Manasa Devi (from old article)
Chand was a merchant who did not believe in the Goddess Manasa devi. As a result, he lost all his sons due to snake bites. But yet he was very obstinate and never paid reverence to the Goddess. He got one more son who was the apple of his eyes. He was still obstinate in not worshipping Manasa and Manasa Devi was also relentless and she bit his son on his wedding day in spite of his precautions. His newlywed wife Vehula did not allow his body to be cremated. She was fasting till her body became a skeleton but never stopped her prayers to Manasa. She begged to Manasa for the restoration of his husband’s life. At last Manasa relented and gave his life back.
It is the belief of many that a person supposed to be dead by a snake bite, really lives in a state of suspended animation for a long time after.
Bengalese plant a milky white plant (Euphorbia Lingularum) on these days on a raised mound of earth in the courtyards of their houses and worship Goddess Manasa Devi. They worship her to get immunity from snake bites or avoiding bitten by snakes. If anyone has died due to snake bite in the family all of them join in worship and they pour milk in the ant hills where snakes live.
Hindus, by not killing the snakes, the vital animal in the food production chain, increase the production of food grains. The snakes keep even frogs and toads in control which freely enters every home during rainy season.
Villagers don’t fear snakes even when it enters a house; they simply trap it in a box or pot and release it in the field. They know the value of it.
Manasa Devi
The serpent worship is universal. There is no ancient culture without a serpent God. Whether it is Egyptian or Mayan, Indus or Vedic, Minoan or Babylonian we see serpents with Gods and Goddesses. But Hindus are the only race in the world who maintains this culture until today. We have Naga panchami celebrations celebrated throughout India where live snakes are worshipped. Hindus respect Nature and Environment and use the natural resources to the minimum.
Snake Goddesses such as Manasa Devi and Naga Yakshi are worshipped in India. The Vedas has an authoress named as Serpent Queen. She was one of the 27 women poets of Rig Veda and her poem is in the Tenth Mandala (10-189). Her name is SARPA RAJNI (Serpent Queen)
We have two more references to this lady in Taitriya and Aitareya Brahmanas. Sarpa Vidya (science of snakes) is mentioned in Satapatha and Gopatha Brahmanas. (see Vedic Index of name and subjects by authors AB Keith and AA Macdonell, page 438 for more details).
Aligi is the name of a kind of snake in the Atharva Veda (V-13-7) and Viligi, another snake, is also mentioned in the same hymn. Earlier scholars like AA Macdonell and AB Keith mentioned them as snakes in their Vedic Index Volumes. Bala Gangadhara Tilak did lot of research and told us that these were from the Akkadian languages. He dated the Vedas to 6000 BC. Modern research by scholars Dr Bhagawatsharan Upadhyaya and Dr Naval Viyogi showed that they were not snakes, but kings of Assyria- Aligi (Alalu) and Viligi (balalu) of 3000 BC.
Garuda with Vaishnavite Naamam on head.(left); Snake/Naaga (on left); Eye in the middle . Egyptian Symbol Wedjet
Atharva Veda in Sumeria 3000 BC
Taimata is twice mentioned in Atharva Veda (V-13-66; V-18-4) as a species of snake according to Whitney and Bloomsfield. Once again, the old Vedic translations are wrong. Actually Taimata is nothing but Tiamat found in Babylonian literature as a Goddess. May be it is the corrupted form of Sanskrit DEVA MATA (Goddess).
More research shows many Sanskrit words in Sumerian and Babylonian literature such as Berorus (Vara Ruci), Ottaretas (Urdhwaretas), Mesopotamian god Dumuzi/Tammuz/Sammata (fish God). They are pure Sanskrit words. One and the same god was called in different names by different cultures at different times and that too in corrupted forms. When we read Sumerian names we have to remove prefixes Nan, Nin,Sin. They are equal to Sri, Sow etc. Future research will prove that they have migrated from India in the remotest time.
Naga Yakshi worshipped in all the Ayyappan temples including Sabarimalai and other goddess temples found in the Middle Eastern countries around 3000BC. We see them in Indus valley and the Vedas as well.
My conclusion can be summarized as follows:
1. Vedic translations of Aligi, Viligi and Taimata are wrong and they were all really people, may be people with snake totem (Nagas). 2. Since Atharva Veda mentions Kings who lived around 3000 BC, it must be dated around that period. Rig Veda is (linguistically) older than Atharva Veda. 3. We see snake gods or goddesses in all ancient cultures. In India, we see it from Vedic days. They are worshiped until today proving that Indian culture is the oldest living culture. 4. Last but not the least; such continuity is possible only when this worship originated in India. So we can safely conclude that Hindus went to different parts of the world taking their culture. Like we lost the whole of South East Asia after 1300 year Hindu rule, we lost the Middle East long before that.
Tamil Version follows…………..
To be continued……………………………..
Tags- Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம்- Part 22 , Snake Goddess, Manasa devi, Alii, Viligi, Harappan, Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Tiamath
Research paper written by London Swaminathan Research article No.1421; Dated 19th November 2014.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva form the Hindu Triad. Of the three gods Brahma has amazing science behind him. We know about the cosmic rhythm in the dance of Shiva. We see the nuclear explosion in the description of Visvarupa Darsanam of Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. In fact it is Robert Oppenheimer, the Father of Atomic bomb, who compared Krishna’s Visvarupa Darsanam to the explosion of the first atomic bomb. Now I see the science of Black Hole in the same Visvarupa Darsanam! But no one has looked into the scientific aspects of Brahma like they did in the case of Dance of Shiva or Visvarupa Darsanam.
The story of Brahma is more interesting than a science fiction story. Hindu’s great scientific achievements and developments are weaved into his story. Brahma is the God of Cosmology God of Astronomy God of Mathematics God of Creation and Evolution
Scientific Fact 1 Only now we know that there are billions of stars and there may be millions of earths with possible extra terrestrial civilizations. The time scale is very different from our earth. What we spend as 100 years on earth may be one second or a fraction of a second for them. Human years are different from them. Satya Loka, the abode of Brahma, is a place where time moves very slowly. His life is hundred heavenly years, each of 360 days and nights. Each day or Kalpa is equal to 4,320,000,000 earthly years. Brahma’s current age is said to be 51 and each of his years the universe is destroyed and rebuilt. Hindus see the time in a different way from the westerners. When the world did not even learn to count 1000, we the inventors of decimal system went far ahead in numbers. All the yuga or kalpa calculations are in magical numbers; added together it will be 9. Ancient Sumers took it from us put all their pre dynastic kings age in the same way!
Scientific fact 2 He created the world; but he created himself from the primeval waters using the power of his desire. He thought a seed into existence which grew into a golden egg. The two halves of the shell became heaven and earth, within which he fashioned the sky. This is actually the description of Big Bang, though the word earth may be inappropriate here. Hindus knew that everything in the universe is globular. But the western word waited for a Copernicus and Galileo to “discover” it. Brahma’s name itself is Golden Egg= Hiranya Garba.
Till this day science could not explain why the Big Bang happened. Hindus only explain the Big Bang as God’s desire. Bible has taken this concept and used it in the lines “ In the beginning the word was there and the word was with God”. Bible and other Semitic scriptures did not explain about the cyclical nature. They concluded it as one off event.
Scientific fact 3 Foreign scholars took great delight in describing the “incest” of Brahma: He had a daughter by name Satarupa and through incestuous intercourse he created the world. She was very beautiful and Brahma turned to the direction where she went and got five heads. This is a symbolic story to tell about the evolution. If a teenager asked his mum or dad whether man or Woman came first they cannot answer this chicken and egg question. Actually Brahma’s story explains a scientific fact. In the beginning bacteria multiplied by splitting into two and then unicellular organisms appeared. Higher the ladder, there were hermaphrodite animals where both sexes were there in the same species (Like Artdhanaree of Shiva). Male and female species appeared separately at a later age. At one stage dominant male should have separated from the female. This story was used by the Bible saying that God created a woman from the left rib of Adam. In other words Eve is the “daughter of Adam”—came out of the same body. But both of them had sex. So the “story of incest” is the story of evolution.
Scientific Fact 4 Only now the cosmologist and astronomers write about the Big Bang (expansion) and Big Crunch (contraction). But Brahma’ life span explained the Big Bang and Big Crunch thousands of years ago.
Scientific fact 5 Vishnu’s Avtars (incarnations) as Fish, Tortoise, Pig, Man Lion shows the progressive evolution. In the Vedic literature the first three Avatars appear as Brahma’s Avtars. Later it was transferred to Vishnu. So Brahma is the God of Creation and evolution.
Scientific fact 6 Some Puranic (mythology) stories described Brahma coming out of the lotus which grew from Vishnu’s naval. In fact it is the story of continental drift. Continents were formed after millions of years of movements of earths plates. In the beginning there was only one big land mass called Pangaea. Though the books describe it as a Greek word actually it is Sanskrit Pangaya meaning Lotus. Like lotus blooming, earth also slowly bloomed and the continents drifted. Women are also said to give birth to children from their “lotuses”.
Scientific fact 7 Amazing number and the calculation of Yugas, eras, eons – all adding up to number 9 shows the amazing mathematical skill of the Hindus. They saw completeness in Number Nine. The calculation of big numbers itself show their knowledge and interest in mathematics .
Scientifc Fact 8 Brahma has 29 names in Amarakosa, first thesaurus in the world. He is a water born god. All the life forms appeared from Water in the beginning — is scientific fact. Without water molecules life forms cannot originate.
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My Visit to Brahma Temple in Tamil Nadu
French Stamp on Brahma from Indo China
Date: 14 April 2019; Post No. 6264
Brahma
It is said that Brahma hasn’t got many temples in Tamil Nadu. They say Pushkar in Rajasthan and a few places got temples for Brahma, one among the trinity. But to my surprise I saw a huge statue of Brahma thronged by a big crowd in Thiruppattur Brahmapureeswar temple in Tamil Nadu. Though the main shrine is devoted to Lord Shiva, Brahma was the sought after god there. The reason being people believed that He will rewrite your bad fate in your favour.
Lot of devotees came with their horoscopes written in note books and others came with A 4 size notes or Foolscap size note books. If some astrologers have written something bad will happen to you during such and such period, you may give your written prediction to the priest there. He collects and takes all of them to the God (in the form of statue) and return them to the respective devotee after Puja. Scores of note books of horoscopes changed hands during my short stay at the temple.
Apart from this belief, the statue itself was big and beautiful with sandal paste applied all over.
Where is Tiruppattur?
It is near Trichy. It is 34 kilometres from Trichy.Sa amyapuram is in between Trichy and Tiruppattur. When you google for this place you will be misled easily to other two Thiruppathurs in Tamil Nadu.
What is there?
In addition to a huge Brahma statue, there are 12 lings believed to be installed by Brahma himself. He worshipped Lord Shiva to get out of the curse.
Everyone must visit this beautiful temple. It was sung and praised by Saint Sundarar, one of the great Four Saivite saints.
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‘KA’ is Brahma – Interesting Info. from Panini and Kautilya
Post No. 8239; Date– 25 June 2020
Eight years ago, I wrote about the God ‘Ka’ (Prajapati, Brahma) in this blog. All Sanskrit scholars raised their brows without understanding or pretending not to understand the word ‘Ka’ in the Rig Veda (RV 10-121). The hymn itself ends with praising Prajapati (Brahma). Ka means ‘who’ as well in Sanskrit. In Sanskrit there is no interrogation mark. These half -baked scholars put interrogation mark at the end of each mantra in the hymn and started wondering or misinterpreting. But in Hindus mind, Ka is Prajapati/Brahma. If you remove the interrogation marks and read the poem/hymn it coincides with the last word Prajapati.
I have also shown that Egyptians borrowed it from us and made a hieroglyph out of it. Ka symbol means God and he is shown as the son of Pita (Ptah in Egypt).
Tamil and Sanskrit dictionaries give the meaning Prajapati. Probably Indian Rishi Mahadeva ( in Egypt he is Imhotep-Imho=Maha; tep=Dev )taught them about Vedic Mudras and Vedic Gods (Please see my 20+ articles on Egypt)
Interesting information from Panini
Kautilya who came a few centuries after Panini, proposed to Maurya Chandra Gupta a few interesting ideas.
Use religion to make money.
First, celebrate religious festivals ; second, make Gods’ dolls, idols and statues for sale, out of which government can make money.
Kautilya’s wonderful ideas work until today. We Hindus buy dolls of Krishna, Ganesh and Devi until this day to do Pujas on respective festival days. Religious tourism is not only popular in India, but also in other parts of the world. Mecca, Vatican City, Jerusalem and Lourdes are big businesses for Air lines, Hotels and Tourist Industry. The mementos , books and pictures they sell in these places mean huge money.
Let me come back to Panini.
Panini wrote only a grammar book with 4000 couplets in Ashtadhyayi. That and the complimentary works that came after it give encyclopaedic information about Hindu life 2700 years ago.
Panini mentions the following Vedic deities –
Agni, Indra, Bhava, Varuna, Sarva, Rudra, Mrida,
Vrishakapi, Pusha, Aryama, Twashta, Nasatya.
Mostly in 4th and 6th chapters .
I will touch only the controversial gods.
1.Vrishakapi is one of the names of lord Vishnu in Vishnu Sahasranama. When it came in humorous dialogue poem in the Rig Veda, foreigners deliberately translated it as ‘sexy monkey’ but Panini mentioned it as a god (4-1-37) along with other Gods; no fuss is made.
Second interesting thing is about
Nasatya (6-3-75); Two Ashwini Devas are known as Nasatya. The name is derived by Panini from Na Asatyaah- who are the opposite of non-truth. The other interpretation mentioned in Mahabharata and Nirukta is one who are born out of Nasa (nose) of Samnjaa, wife of Surya. Panini rejected this and went for the first one which is originally given by Aurnavabha. He lived before Yaska of Nirukta.
Third interesting thig is about ‘Ka’.
Panini refers to Prajapati under the symbolical name of Ka. Patanjali says Ka is not a pronoun (who), but the proper name of a deity.
Mridaani is not found later. This shows Panini lived nearer to Vedic times.
He also gives information about the worship of Month, Year, Season and Stars/Nakshatras.
He shows that Bhakti movement was there 2700 years ago. Particularly Vasudeva bhakti (Krishna Bhakti).
Temples were also there for public worship. There were temples for Kesava, Rama and Kubera (1-43-6)
Kubera worship makes interesting reading.
The reference to the bhakti of Maharaja or Kubera proves on the other hand that Panini surely had religious bhakti in mind (4-3-97).
An important sutra 5-3-99 ‘jiivikaarthe chaapanye’ proves Panini knows images of deities in his time .
There may be images installed in temples which are not of individual ownership, and hence not for anyone’s livelihood/jiivika, or for sale/panya, but for worship/puujaartha.
If it is for sale ‘kan’ suffix is added
Siva becomes sivaka
Skanda becomes skandaka .
Both ‘chala’ and achala images with the devalakas/owners of shrines would serve for worship/puujaartha, be a source of livelihood to their care takers/owners , but not for sale/apanya.
All these are the object of Panini ‘s rule , and they would be named as siva, skanda without ‘ka’ suffix.
Greedy Maurya kings
Patanjali adds more interesting information.
Mauryan kings , ‘greedy of gold’ /hiranyaathibhih, had ordered to set up , and most probably , to sell images . it served three purposes- jiivika, panya and puujaa .
Kautilya supplies the much needed commentary on this extraordinary Mauryan measure to replenish their exchequer.
The Devtaadhyaksha , officer for religious worship, is directed to raise money by manipulating the worship of divine images and exploiting the credulousness of the people, such as organising fairs and festivals in the holy shrines of deities – daivata chaitya- , improvising shows of miraculous Naga images with changing number of hoods, and spreading the news of other miracles etc
—Arthashastra 5-2
Kautilya got three birds in one stone – Jiivika/livelihood, Panya/sales and Puuja/divine worship. He is indeed a clever Brahmin!
–Source book – India as known to Panini, VS Agrawala, University of Lucknow, 1953 (with my inputs )
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Tamil Hindu Encyclopaedia- Brahma
Post No. 11,489
Date– 30 November 2022
Brahma is often confused with two other words Brahmana and Brahman.
The three words have different meanings.
1.Brahma is one of the Hindu Trinity, i.e. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
2.Brahmana or Brahmin is the name of the priestly class, one of the four Vedic castes
3.Brahman is god in the Upanishads, Hindu god is genderless.
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Brahma is given the job of Creation. He was born on a lotus that came out from the belly button of Vishnu lying in the sea bed on 1000 headed snake.
Ancient Tamils called him with different names based on the Hindu Puranic stories.
Following names for Brahma are found in Sangam Tamil Literature
பிரம்மா Brahma,
படைப்போன்- Padaippon- Creator,
பூவன்- Poovan – Mr Flower
நான்முகன்- Naan mukan- Mr Four Faced
ஆதி அந்தணன்- Aadhi Anthanan – First Brahmin
முதியவன்- Muthiyavan – Eldest/ Oldest,
வாய்மொழி மகன்- Vaaymozi Makan—Veda (mouthed) man
தாமரைப் பூவினுட் பிறந்தோன் – Person born in Lotus
மலர்மிசை முதல்வன், – First man on flower
உலகு படைத்தோன், – Creator
படைத்தோன், – Creator
முதுமுதல்வன் Old and First man
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பிரம்மா பற்றிய அறிவியல் உண்மைகள்
அறிவியல் உண்மை 1 கடந்த நூறு ஆண்டுகளாகத்தான் பில்லியன் கணக்கில் நட்சத்திரங்களும் அதைச் சுற்றி மில்லியன் கணக்கில் பூமி போன்ற கிரகங்களும் இருப்பதை உலகம் அறியும். அதில் பல்லயிரம் கிரகங்களில் வெளி உலகவாசிகள் (Extra Terrestrials) வசிக்க உள்ள வாய்ப்புகள் பற்றியும் விஞ்ஞானிகள் அறிவர். ஆனால் சத்ய லோகத்தில் வசிப்பதாகக் கருதப்படும் பிரம்மா பற்றிப் படிக்கையில் அவர் ஒரு வெளி உலகவாசியோ என்று வியக்கத் தோன்றும். அவருடைய வாழ்நாளின் காலம் நாம் இந்தப் பக்கத்தில் எழுத முடியாத அளவு பெரிய எண்ணிக்கை. மற்ற கலாசாரங்களுக்கு 1000, 10,000 என்ற எண்கள் கூடத் தெரியாத காலத்ததி , நாம் உலகமே வியக்கும் ஆயுளை பிரம்மாவுக்குக் கொடுத்தோம் அது மட்டுமல்ல இது ஒரு பிரம்மாவின் ஆயுள். அவர் போன பின், அடுத்த ப்ரம்மா வருவார் என்றும் சொன்னோம். இன்னும் விஞ்ஞானிகளுக்கு — காலம் என்பது சுழற்சி உடையது— Cyclical வட்டமானது என்று கூடத்தெரியாது. இப்பொழுது கருந்துளை ஆய்வுகள் நிறைய நடப்பதால் நமது கொள்கையை வெகு விரைவில் உலகம் ஏற்கும்.
பிரம்மாவின் ஒரு நாள் என்பது 4,320,000,000 ஆண்டுகள். இது போல அவர் 100 ஆண்டுகள் வாழ்ந்த பின்னர் புது பிரம்மா வருவார். இப்பொழுதுள்ள பிரம்மாவுக்கு வயது 51. ஏதோ அறிவியல் புனைக்கதை (Science Fiction) படிப்பது போலத் தோன்றும்.. இது கதை என்று யாராவது நினைத்தாலும் முதலில் அறிவியல் புனைக் கதை எழுதிய பெருமை நமக்கே கிடைக்கும்.
அது மட்டுமல்ல. யுகம் பற்றிய எதைக் கூட்டிப் பார்த்தாலும் ஒன்பது என்ற எண் வரும். இதை சுமேரியர்கள் கூட நம்மிடமிருந்து எடுத்துக் கொண்டு பிரளயத்துக்கு முந்தைய சுமேரிய மன்னர்களுக்கு இப்படி ஆட்சி ஆண்டுகளைக் கொடுத்துள்ளனர்!!
அறிவியல் உண்மை 2 பிரம்மாவுக்கு ஒரு பெயர் ஹிரண்ய கர்பன். அதாவது தங்க முட்டை! உலகம் உருண்டை என்பதைக் கண்டுபிடிக்க மேலை நாடுகள் ஒரு கலீலியோ, ஒரு கோப்பர்நிகஸ் தோன்றும் வரை காத்திருந்தது. ஆனால் நாமோ துவக்க காலம் முதல் பிரபஞ்சத்தில் உள்ள அனைத்தும் கோள வடிவானவை என்பதை அறிந்து, அண்டம் ( முட்டை வடிவானது), பிரம்மாண்டம், பூகோளம் (புவியியல்) என்று பெயரிட்டோம். அதுமட்டுமல்ல. அந்த ஹிரண்யகர்ப்பன் ஒரு நாள் திடீரென வெடித்து வானமும் பூமியுமாகப் பிளந்ததென புராணங்கள் பகரும் இதையே இப்பொழுது மாபெரும் வெடிப்பு Big Bang Theory — பிக் பேங் – என்று சொல்லுகின்றனர். இது ஏன் ஏற்பட்டது என்று விஞ்ஞானிகளால் விளக்க முடியவில்லை. நமது சாத்திரங்கள் மட்டுமே கடவுள் ஒரு சொல்லை நினைத்தார் — அதைச் சொன்னார்- உலகம் உருவாக்கப்பட்டது என்று சொல்லுகிறது. இதை பைபிள் அப்படியே நம்மிடமிருந்து எடுத்துக் கொண்டது. ஆனால் அதற்கு மேல் விளக்கவில்லை.
நாம் அதற்கும் மேலாக ஒரு படி சென்று மாபெரும் வெடிப்பு —ஒரு நாளைக்கு பலூன் போல ஊதிக்கொண்டே போய் பின்னர் முடிவில் வெடிக்கும் —அப்பொழுது காற்றுப் போன பலூன் போல பிரபஞ்சம் சுருங்கும் Big Crunch — மீண்டும் பலூன் போல ஊதும் — என்று – ஸைக்ளீகல் Cyclical —வட்டமான சுழற்சி உடையது என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறோம். இந்த பிக் க்ரஞ்ச்Big Crunch – கொள்கையை இப்பொழுதுதான் விஞ்ஞானிகள் ஏற்கின்றனர்.
அறிவியல் உண்மை 3 தசாவதாரத்தில் முதலில் மீன், பிறகு ஆமை, பிறகு பன்றி, பிறகு பாதி மனிதன் –பாதி சிங்கம் என்பதெல்லாம் டார்வீன் சொன்ன பரிணாமக் (Theory of Evolution) கொள்கையை ஒட்டி இருப்பதை நாம் அறிவோம் ஆனால் முதல் மூன்று அவதாரங்களும் உண்மையில் ஆதி நூல்களில் பிரம்மாவின் பெயரிலேயே (பிரஜாபதி) உள்ளன. ஆக அவரே படைப்புக் கடவுள்—பரிணாம வளர்ச்சிக் கடவுள். இதை சதபத பிராமணம் (Satapata Brahmana) முதலிய நுல்கள் விளக்கும். பின்னர் இதை விஷ்ணுவின் அவதாரங்களாக புராணங்கள் எழுதின. இதை இன்னொன்றாலும் அறியலாம்.
அறிவியல் உண்மை 4 வெளிநாட்டுக்காரர்களுக்கு கிளுகிளுப்பூட்டும் ஒரு விஷயம் நம் இலக்கியங்களில் உண்டு. அதை எழுதி, எழுதி நம்மை நக்கல் செய்வது—பகடி செய்வது—கிண்டல் செய்வது அவர்களுக்குப் பொழுதுபோக்கு. அது என்ன ‘’பலான’’ கதை என்கிறீர்களா?
பிரம்மா ஒரு மக:ளைப் பெற்றார். அவள் பெயர் சதரூபா (நூறு உருவம்)—அவல் அழகைக் கண்டு பிரம்மா அவளையே உற்று நோக்கினார். அவளுக்கோ வெட்கம் பிடுங்கித் தின்றது- வேறு திசையில் ஓடி ஒளிந்தாள் அங்கேயும் பிரம்மா திரும்பினார். ஒவ்வொரு திசையிலும் ஒரு முகம் வரவே அவருக்கு நாலு முகம் தோன்றி அவர் நான்முகன் ஆனார். அவளோ வெட்கப்பட்டுக் கொண்டு மேலே போனாள். அங்கு ஐந்தாவது முகம் உதித்தது. அவளுடன் ஒன்று கூடிப் (Incestual Intercourse) பின்னர் உலகத்தைப் படைத்தார். இதைச் சொல்லிச் சொல்லி வெளிநாட்டினர் மகிழ்வர். உண்மையில் இந்தக் கதையை நம்மிடமிருந்து பைபிளும் இரவல் வாங்கி முதல் அத்தியாயத்திலேயே எழுதிவிட்டது. ஆதாம் என்பவரின் இடுப்பு எலும்பை கடவுள் முறித்து ஏவாள் என்ற பெண்ணை உருவாக்கவும், ஆதாம் அவளுடன் கூடி (Incest?) மனித இனத்தை உருவாக்கினார் என்பது அக்கதை. ஒரே உடலில் இருந்து ஒருவரைப் படைத்தால் அந்த ஏவாளும் சதரூபா போல ஆதாமின் மகள்தானே!!
இதில் உள்ள அறிவியல் உண்மை என்னவென்றால் முதலில் பாக்டீரீயா போல இருந்த உயிரினம் ஒரு செல் உயிரினங்களாக மாறி நீரில் நீந்தி பிறகு ஒரே உடலில் ஆண் பெண் உறுப்புகளுடன் பிறந்தன (ஹெர்மாப்ரோடைட் Hermaphrodite). பின்னர்தான் ஆண், பெண் என தனித்தனி உயிர் இனங்கள் தோன்றின. இதை அர்த்தநாரீஸ்வரர் என்னும் சிவனின் வடிவத்துடன் ஒப்பிடலாம்.
முதலில் ஆண் தோன்றினானா? பெண் தோன்றினாளா? முதலில் முட்டை வந்ததா? கோழி வந்ததா? (Chicken and Egg question) என்ற கேள்விக்கு விடை கூறும் கதை இது. பெரிய விஞ்ஞான உண்மைகளை, சுவையான கதைகளாகத் தருபவை நம் புராணங்கள்!
அறிவியல் உண்மை 5 பிரம்மாவின் தோற்றம் பற்றிய கதை பெரிய பூகர்ப்பவியல் ( Geology ஜியாலஜி) கதையாகும். அவர் நீரில் படுத்து இருந்த நாராயணனின் தொப்புள் கொடியில் இருந்து உதித்த தாமரை மலரில் இருந்து தோன்றியதாக ஒரு கதை உண்டு. இது காண்டினென்டல் ட்ரிப்ட் Continental Drift எனப்படும் கண்டங்கள் நகர்ந்த கதை ஆகும். முதலில் பூமி என்பது ஒரே நிலப்பரப்பாக இருந்தது பின்னர் அது தாமரை மலர்வது போல மெதுவாக நகர்ந்து இன்றுள்ளது போல ஆசியா, அமெரிக்கா, ஆப்பிரிக்கா எனப் பிரிந்தது. இதையே தாமரையில் பிரம்மா தோன்றி உலகைப் படைத்தார் என்போம். புராணத்தில் கூட பிரம்மாண்டம் என்று இருப்பதைக் காணலாம். ‘ப்ரு’ என்னும் வடமொழி வேர்ச் சொல் மூலமே ‘’பெருகுதல், பிரிதல், பெரிய, ப்ருஹத், ப்ரம்ம’’ — முதலிய சொற்கள் வந்தன.
கிரேக்க மொழியில், முதலில் இருந்த சூப்பர் கான்டினென்ட்டை ‘’பங்கேயா’’ Panagaea என்பர். பங்கய என்றால் தாமரை எனப் பொருள். இது பங்கஜம் என்ற வடமொழிச் சொல். பிற்காலத்தில் இந்தப் பொருள் அறியாதோர் கிரேக்க மொழியில் புதுப் பொருள் கண்டனர் ( பேன்+ கயா ). பெண்கள் குழந்தை பெறுவதையும் தாமரை மலரில் இருந்து குழந்தை வந்ததாக வடமொழி இலக்கியங்கள் வருணிக்கும்.
அறிவியல் உண்மை 6 கணித விஷயத்தில், ஒன்பது என்ற எண்ணின் வியப்புறு குணங்களில் பல ஆராய்ச்சி செய்து அதன் பெயரில் பிரம்மாண்டமான எண்களைக் க(ல்)ற்பித்து (கல்பம் என்பதே பிரம்மாவின் ஒரு நாள், பரம் என்பது அவரது 100 ஆண்டு) உலகம் அறியாத புதுமைகளைச் செய்தனர் இந்துக்கள். ஒன்பது என்ற எண்ணின் பரிபூரணத் தன்மையை மனதிற் கொண்டே 108, 1008 என்ற அஷ்டோத்திரம், சஹஸ்ரநாமம் ஆகியவற்றைப் படைத்தார்கள் இது பற்றி நான் இரண்டு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் எழுதிய எண்கள் 18, 108, 1008 பற்றிய கட்டுரையில் விரிவாகக் கொடுத்து இருக்கிறேன்.
அறிவியல் உண்மை 7 நாரா (நீரா) அயனன்= நாராயணன், பிரம்மா மற்றும் முதல் இரண்டு அவதாரங்கள் எல்லாம் — நீரில்தான் உயிரினங்கள் தோன்ற முடியும், பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி பெற முடியும் —- என்று காட்டுகின்றன. இன்று வெளி கிரகங்களிலும் நீரின் மூலக்கூறுகள் (water molecules) இரு கின்றனவா என்று விஞ்ஞானிகள் தேடிக் கொண்டிருப்பதை நாம் அறிவோம்.
Brahma in Sumerian Civilisation
அறிவியல் உண்மை 8 உலகின் முதல் அகராதி (Thesaurus/ Dictionary நூலான அமரகோசம் வழங்கும் பிரம்மாவின் 29 வடமொழிப் பெயர்களை மற்றொரு கட்டுரையில் தருகிறேன்.
பிரம்மா என்பவர் வானவியலை (Astronomy/ Cosmology) விளக்கும் கடவுள் பூகர்ப்பவியலை (Geology) விளக்கும் கடவுள் உயிரியல், பரிணாம வளர்ச்சியை (Biology / Theory of Evolution) விளக்கும் கடவுள் கணிதம், பிரம்மாண்ட எண்களை (Mathematics and Amazing Numbers) விளக்கும் கடவுள் பிக் பேங், பிக் க்ரஞ்ச்(Big Bang and Big Crunch) முதலிய அதி நவீன கொள்கைகளை (Ultra Modern Theories) விளக்கும் கடவுள்!!
—-சுபம்—
Tags-Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம்- Part 21 ,பிரம்மா , அறிவியல் உண்மைகள், Science behind Hindu God Brahma! Brahma Third part.
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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BRAHMA- First Part
God of creation; one of the Trinity, Brahma Vishnu Shiva.
Temples at Pushkar, Rajasthan, Brahmapureeswar in Tamil Nadu; all South Indian Saivite temples have Brahma’s statues.
No proper worship; like Archana, Sahasranama, Puja etc.
Sung by saints in all Saivite hymns as one searching for Shiva’s head along with Vishnu in Boar form searching for His feet; but both failed.
Brahma lied and so he was cursed that he won’t be worshipped on earth.
His abode is Satya Loka up above the earth. He has an end unlike Shiva and Vishnu. A new Brahma takes over.
But his life span in human years is very huge.
His wife is Sarsvati, Goddess of Wisdom and Education.
Brahma is portrayed as Prajapathi in the Vedas.
Now he is shown with four heads because one of his five heads was chopped off by Lord Shiva according to Tamil verses.
His references are in Tamil Sangam literature, Tirukkural, Tevaram, Tiruvasagam etc.
When he insulted others, Shiva cut off his fifth head. That happened at Tirukkandiyur near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu according to Sthala Puranas (local temple legends). His beautiful figure is at that place.
When he failed to tell the meaning of Aum- Pranava mantra—he was imprisoned by Skanda, Shiva’s son; later released at the request of Devas.
He created Sapta Rishis from whom humans were created.
Tamil Encyclopaedia Abhidhana Chintamani of Singara velu Mudaliyar gives 67 points about Brahma.
His vehicle is swan (Hamsa);
He came from the belly of Vishnu on top of a lotus flower. In Tamil Tirukkural as Malarmisai ekinaan.
He gave boons to lot of Devas and Demons.
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More about Brahma’s appearance
Brahma , distinct from Brahman, the all pervading Eternal Spirit, is the first member of the Hindu Triad. His principal function is Creation. Independent shrines dedicated to him are rare. Still figures of Brahma are commonly found decorating one of the niches in the north wall of the central shrine in Siva temples. Images of Brahma are sometimes seen on pillars, ceilings and other parts of the temple. But he is not worshipped as a chief deity except one or two temples in India.
According to Maanasaara, one of the standard works on sculpture, Brahma is represented with four hands. He has, however, one body with four heads. The image may be standing or seated. The form of the left lower hand exhibits the posture of conferring boons (Varada Mudra) while the right lower indicates protection (Abhaya mudra). The corresponding upper hands hold the water pot (Kamandalu) and the rosary (Akhsamaalaa) or sometimes the sacrificial ladle (Srik) and spoon (Sruva).
***
The following ornaments are seen in the finished picture of Brahma:
Earrings or pendants fashioned like the face of a crocodile.
The sacred thread, Yajnasutra, hanging right across the body from the left shoulder;
The scarf (Uttariiya) thrown round the neck so as to stretch down to the knees;
The utarabandhana, or literally girdle going round the belly;
Necklace and torque;
Armlets, arm-rings, wristlets, anklets, waist zone, finger rings set with gem stones etc.
His hair is made up in the fashion of Jataa-Makuta and he is attended by two goddesses Sarasvati on the right and Saavitri on the left.
Another representation shows Brahma riding a chariot drawn by Seven Swans (hamsa). He is seated on a full blown lotus flower (Tamil Tirukkral refers to it) , his eyes closed in a meditative posture. Goddess Saavitri is seated on his left thigh. There are various other representations of Brahma drawn purely from the imagination of the sculptor or painter, sometimes also based on puranic legends.
To be continued……………
Tags- Brahma, First part, Sarasvati, lotus flower, ornaments, Four heads, Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம் – Part 19
Oct 18, 2025, 11:24 AM | Updated 11:30 AM ISTTR Ramesh had challenged the construction of a shopping complex in front of the eastern gopuram of the Arunachaleswarar temple.A PIL by temple activist T. R. Ramesh has brought the Arunachaleswarar Temple under judicial spotlight, as the Madras High Court questions how far state-run temple departments can go in the name of modernisation and revenue.
Around 200 kilometres from Chennai is one of the most famous Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, standing at the foot of the Annamalaiyar hill.
It is a landscape where devotion and heritage have converged for centuries. To this day, thousands of devotees walk barefoot around the hill every full moon on the 14-kilometre Girivalam path, their chants mingling with the scent of camphor and jasmine that fills the night air.
But it is during Karthigai Deepam that the town truly transforms. Lamps flicker on every street, temple gopurams give a golden glow, and atop the hill, a massive flame is lit, said to symbolise Lord Shiva himself as an eternal light.
This annual spectacle draws pilgrims from across India, reaffirming Tiruvannamalai’s place at the centre of Shaivite devotion. Amid this timeless faith, however, a modern battle over the temple’s surroundings has taken shape, a case that may redefine how sacred heritage coexists with the world around it.
A few days ago, the temple witnessed something unusual. Two judges of the Madras High Court came to look at construction works inside and outside the temple. These had been brought to their attention through a PIL filed by temple activist T. R. Ramesh.
While he had challenged the building of a shopping complex in front of the Rajagopuram (eastern tower) of the temple, the Bench later expanded the matter to assess other projects proposed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department.
Hours later, after a thorough inspection, Justices R. Suresh Kumar and S. Sounthar, who were hearing the matter, returned and, after a few days, passed orders staying all such civil works. The final judgment in the matter is expected soon.
Given the stand of the Court till the last hearing, it is unlikely to go in HRCE’s favour. The outcome, Hindu activists believe, will set a national precedent to stop seeing temples as sources of revenue generation and to draw a red line on what can and cannot be done at a heritage structure in the name of modern amenities.
At this timely moment, Swarajya spoke with Ramesh to follow up on the case, about which he had spoken with this publication in great detail before approaching the Court in November 2023.
Q: Could you begin by explaining what exactly your PIL challenged? It would be helpful for those who have not followed the matter previously.
A: The PIL was filed against a government order, G.O. No. 336 of 2023, that approved the construction of 150 shops, a shopping complex, right opposite the Raja Gopuram, the main eastern tower of the Tiruvannamalai temple. The estimated cost was Rs 6.36 crore, taken from the temple’s funds.
The land in question belongs to the temple and has a 16-pillar mandapam at its centre. That mandapam holds immense religious significance. During festivals, processional deities are first brought there for worship before being taken out in chariots or palanquins.
The open space is crucial because the Tiruvannamalai temple has almost one festival every month. It has two or three major festivals during the year, but almost every month there is some celebration.
During festival times, thousands of people gather in that space. That open space is very important, both for religious significance and practical reasons. Whenever there is open space in a vantage position, the HRCE department wants to develop it in the name of building shops or other constructions.
Q: How did the court respond when you initially brought this to its attention?
A: Soon after they brought the G.O., they started constructing. I was in Delhi at the time for a case in the Supreme Court. When pictures of the construction reached me, I mentioned it before a special Bench of Justice Mahadevan and Justice Adikesavulu, who were hearing temple cases.
I mentioned the matter on a Thursday afternoon, explaining what was going on in Tiruvannamalai. I managed to produce pictures of the construction and the plan to the Honourable Bench. I had asked a colleague to take printouts and give them to the court. When the judges saw that, they were shocked.
The government counsel said, “No, there are already shops there, we are just reconstructing them.” All sorts of lies were presented before the court. The counsel also claimed that there were shops as early as 1920 and that the court had recognised them. It was a blatant lie.
In 1920, the court had said that the land belongs to the temple, not to the municipality, and also that no shops should be opened there. I had that judgment, given to me by a devotee, and I presented it too.
When the judges saw that they were being misled, they were very upset. At 2:45 p.m., they said, “This work should stop right now, at this minute.” They told the government counsel, “Call the Commissioner and instruct him immediately. We want the status by 4 o’clock.” By 4 p.m., they confirmed the work had been stopped. Remember, I had not even filed any petition yet.
Subsequently, I filed the petition and the stay order continues.
Q: Please tell us about the arguments made in court. Did you mention anything more than what you have said earlier, that the HRCE Act does not allow the use of temple funds for these purposes? What was the stand taken by the department?
A: Yes. We were helped by a judgment delivered by the Madras High Court. On 9 January 2025, there was another case regarding a shopping complex being built using temple funds, not within the temple complex, but nearby.
That construction was challenged before the Chief Justice’s Bench. After extensive arguments, the Chief Justice said that temple funds cannot be used to build a shopping complex.
That was the Nandishwarar Temple near Chengalpattu. The order was very detailed and said that neither surplus funds nor the main funds of a temple can be used for such constructions. The government made the Executive Officer of the temple file an appeal before the Supreme Court. In May, the special leave petition was dismissed, so the High Court’s order became final.
Subsequently, when the Tiruvannamalai case came up again in August, we brought this order to the attention of the temple Bench and pointed out that it had been upheld by the Supreme Court. Immediately, the HRCE took a different stance, stating that they would not construct shops now, but would instead construct a queue complex and waiting area.
It is alleged that they had already taken money from the contractor in advance. When the work was stopped, the contractor demanded his money back. To compensate, officials told him they would give him some other civil work in the same place.
That is when I objected, saying that the case was about G.O. 336, which specifically concerned a shopping complex. If they wanted to do something else, they should withdraw that G.O.
The court said they should not go ahead with the construction, but the matter was not finalised. They were asked to bring proper plans and drawings for the proposed queue complex outside the temple.
When those plans were submitted, I produced photographs showing that massive constructions for a queue complex and waiting area were already going on inside the temple, very close to the ancient wall.
This construction inside the temple had not been disclosed. The HRCE presented it as if they were only proposing the queue complex outside, while work was already going on inside. When I presented the photographs, the judges were shocked that HRCE had hidden this fact.
They said, “How can you build such a thing inside the temple? You cannot do this at all.” On that day, a stay order was given, preventing any construction inside or outside the temple.
The court also said they would inspect the temple themselves. The inspection took place on 5 October. I requested that the petitioner also be present, and the judges agreed.
Q: Since the stay on construction continues, it is clear that the judges were not pleased with what they saw on site. But could you please walk us through what happened that day? Was it a thorough inspection or just a quick visit?
A: It was a detailed check. The two judges were there for a few hours. During the inspection, they found three guest houses built inside the temple in the fourth prakara, all modern structures.
They also saw a massive Annadhanam hall under construction. The officials had earlier said it would only be temporary and covered with asbestos sheets, but the judges observed that concrete pillars were already up.
I pointed out that they had not even obtained municipal approval. They (HRCE) said they would get the approval. I asked how they could even start without it. The judges noted everything, including a modernised mandapam being used as the temple office. They were visibly disturbed.
Q: What followed that was the last hearing on 9 October. What did the Bench say about the inspection, and did you make any fresh arguments?
A: Last week, when the matter came up again, HRCE submitted a list of ongoing works and falsely claimed most were 70 per cent complete, clearly to pressure the court.
I again raised the issue of the Annadhanam hall, saying that the municipality cannot approve it without referring it to the Heritage Commission, as per the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission Act, 2012, which came into force on 1 March 2025.
Under that Act, any construction, development, or alteration in a heritage place cannot happen without approval from the Heritage Commission. The government counsel tried to say they had approval from a heritage committee, but that was a temporary body appointed by the court, not the statutory commission. The judges agreed.
I also presented an affidavit filed by the Municipal Commissioner in 2005 in the Supreme Court, stating there were only two shops inside the temple selling puja articles, and no shops outside or adjacent to it. All encroachments had been removed. The Supreme Court had accepted that affidavit and said that any future construction must have municipal approval.
I asked how these massive works could happen without it. Someone should go to jail for this.
The court continued the stay and directed the Tamil Nadu government to form the Heritage Commission within four weeks. The Act came in 2012 but was never operationalised until March 2025.
The court took cognisance after I presented the copy of the Act and the G.O. putting it into force. I doubt if the government will comply because the proposed composition of the Commission has too many bureaucrats and too few experts.
These are the developments so far.
Q: Are you happy with how the court proceedings have gone?
A: As far as interim measures go, yes. But look at the blatant violations. First, HRCE did not obey the law. Under the HRCE Act, temple funds can only be used for dharmic purposes. Constructing a shopping complex, that too in a sacred space used for monthly festivals, is completely anti-Hindu.
Second, the temple is being controlled illegally by HRCE. There is no order appointing an Executive Officer to this temple, yet one functions there, issuing tenders and orders. I have pointed this out to the court, but they said it does not fall under this PIL.
They already spent around Rs 50–75 lakhs on preparatory work. My prayer includes refunding that money to the temple and punishing those responsible, but the court has been silent on that so far.
The judges’ inspection made it clear that HRCE’s functioning is deeply problematic. I am grateful to the judges for personally visiting. Only then could they see the extent of what was happening in Tiruvannamalai.
The overall impression seems to be that all is not well, including crowd management and general administration. In fact, the judges orally observed that, given the scale of the temple and the crowds it attracts, it should be managed like Tirupati, under a Devasthanam-type structure.
That gives an idea of their thinking. They perhaps feel enough is enough.
So, I believe any judgment in the Tiruvannamalai case will be along similar lines, against the HRCE department.
Maa Annapurna idol adorned in gold at Kashi Vishwanath Temple complex
Story by HT Correspondent, VARANASI
• 6h •
The Silver coated idol of Goddess Maa Annapurna, housed in a temple located in Ishana Kona (the north-east corner ) of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises, has been coated with gold, the temple administration said in a statement on Saturday.
A new chapter in the splendour and grandeur of the ancient idol began in 2025, when silver plated stone idol and the temple it resides in were adorned with gold from top to base, according to the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple administration.
The distribution of a symbolic “treasure trove” (Kazana) to devotees from the treasury of the Maa Annapurna Temple began on Dhanteras (October 18) and will continue until October 22, the day of Annakut. The prasad, given as part of this tradition, consists of a coin and puffed rice, and holds special significance for devotees who visit the temple and seek the blessings of the Goddess.
The original idol of Goddess Maa Annanpurna was reinstalled in the Ishan Kon of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in 2021, following traditional rituals. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, presided over the reinstallation ceremony. Alongside the original golden idol of Maa Annapurna, a silver-plated stone idol was also installed in the temple. This Silver plated idol of Maa Annapurna has now been coated with gold.
The original idol was stolen during the colonial period by idol smugglers and remained preserved in a museum in Canada for approximately 108 years. Its identity was confirmed through the joint efforts of Indian and Canadian universities. Following diplomatic and cultural efforts spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the idol was repatriated to India in November 2021 and reinstated in the temple.
–subham—
Tags- Kasi, Varanasi, Golden , Annapurani, Diwali Darshan,Annakut, Kazana
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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Tamil Identity, Tamil Ritual Suicide, Tamil Front
Part Twenty Four; Akananuru Wonders continued………..
142தமிழ்கெழு மூவர்
In Akam verse 15, Maamoolanaar (MM) says that peacocks eat bitter gourd and bears eat Iluppai tree flowers and pods.
He says Paazi town of Chieftain Nannan is well guarded. Though my house had such a security, she ran away with that man.
Kosars of Tulu country had the virtue of hospitality; let my daughter’s place also should have that hospitality.
So, we got two historical points about Tulu country and Nannan’s Paazi.
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143
In Akam verse 31, MM gives more Tamil History. He gives an epithet to Chera Choza, Pandya kings as Tamil Kezu Moovar. All the three great kings of Tamil Nadu were brought within one Tamil bracket. It shows that though they fought among themselves frequently, Tamil culture united them. TAMIL IS THEIR IDENTITY.
Tamils are united on the basis of Three Things only:
1.When Hindu rituals are done; we saw that RAJASUYA YAJNAM UNITED THREE TAMIL KINGS
2. Second occasion is when others invade Tamil Lands. Kaaravelan of Odisah clearly say that he broke the Dramila/Tamil Sanghtan/Front. Asoka also mentioned the three kingdoms, the earliest historical reference.
3.Anything to do with Tamil language also united the Three Great Kings- Chera Choza, Pandyan Kings. For instance, we see Tamil Kezu Muuvar in this verse; elsewhere we come across TAMIZAKAM, that is the land of Tamils.
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144
Two more interesting points are in this verse. One is about land where many languages are spoken. It clearly shows that beyond Vekatam Hills (Tirupati- Tirumalai Temple Mountain) Tamil was not spoken; Kannadam, Telugu, Prakrit and Sanskrit were spoken. The lover had gone beyond Tamil speaking areas.
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145
Another interesting thing is a reference to EARTH QUAKES. Tamil land is not prone to earthquake; Tamils have experienced three or four Tsunamis. Two Tsunamis devoured Two Madurais. But Tamils knew about earthquakes that destroyed many monuments in Northern India. MM definitely knew this and he used ;the scorching sun has devastated the land as if earth quake has struck it.(“நிலம்புடை பெயர்வது அன்றுகொல், இன்று?” என)
மொழிபெயர் தேஎத்தCountries where Many Languages Spoken
Last but not the least, MM also referred to the birds of the arid land. Vulture, eagle, falcons, birds of prey, pick the eyes of the dead animals and feed its little ones.
The main theme of the PAALAI (desert land or arid land) is separation; temporary separation of the lover and the lady love. Here also that is the main message is separation. But when a poets deals with it he gives us so much information about flora and fauna, geography and history, language and culture.
Fast unto Death பிராயபாவேசம், வடக்கிருத்தல் வெண்ணிப் பறந்தலை, சேரலாதன், கரிகாலன்
பாடல்: 55 (காய்ந்துசெலற்)
காய்ந்துசெலற் கனலி கல்பகத் தெறுதலின்,
ஈந்துகுருகு உருகும் என்றூழ் நீள்இடை,
உளிமுக வெம்பரல் அடிவருத் துறாலின்,
விளிமுறை அறியா வேய்கரி கானம்,
வயக்களிற்று அன்ன காளையொடு என்மகள் 5
கழிந்ததற்கு அழிந்தன்றோ இலனே! ஒழிந்துயாம்
ஊதுஉலைக் குருகின் உள்உயிர்த்து, அசைஇ,
வேவது போலும் வெய்ய நெஞ்சமொடு
கண்படை பெறேன், கனவ – ஒண்படைக்
கரிகால் வளவனொடு வெண்ணிப் பறந்தலைப் 10
பொருதுபுண் நாணிய சேர லாதன்
அழிகள மருங்கின் வான்வடக் கிருந்தென,
இன்னா இன்உரை கேட்ட சான்றோர்
அரும்பெறல் உலகத்து அவனொடு செலீஇயர்,
பெரும்பிறிது ஆகி யாங்குப், பிரிந்து இவண் 15
காதல் வேண்டி, எற் றுறந்து
போதல் செல்லாஎன் உயிரொடு புலந்தே! 17
In the earlier part we saw PRAAYOPAVESAM, that is facing Holy North and starve to death. When great king Cheralaathan was defeated by the great Choza emperor Karikaalan, Chera king died by facing north. He did this because he had injury on his back; that is not tolerated by Hindus. If they get injuries on the front of the body that is heroism; if they get injuries on back that is cowardice. In the great war at Venni, Chera king got injuries on his back.
Most interesting thing is that on such occasions, other scholars join him and starve themselves to death.
When Rama decided to end his life by jumping in to River Sarayu in Ayodhya, thousands and thousands joined him and died. If you do it, you get a Visa Free Direct flight to Heaven. It is in Hindu scriptures. MM in verse 55 too say this.
A mother whose daughter eloped with a man, says I ma not worrying about my run away daughter. But I am unable to die like the great Chera King and the scholars who died along with him. This is great Hindu virtue that we, hear from Ramayana days. When the Monkey army searched for Sita Devi in vain, some of them thought of committing suicide by Facing North.
To be continued………….
Tags: 24 Ancient Tamil Encyclopaedia- Part 24; One Thousand Interesting Facts! -Part 24, Fast unto Death பிராயபாவேசம், வடக்கிருத்தல் வெண்ணிப் பறந்தலை, சேரலாதன், கரிகாலன், மாமூலனார், தமிழ்கெழு மூவர்
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SPECIAL EVENT-
Talk on Keezadi Excavations
Keezadi and South India
By
N Ganesh Raaja, Amateur Historian and Author
Ganesh Raaja. N hails from Tamil Nadu. He completed his engineering in 2003 and has more than twenty years of experience in the software industry.
He was attracted towards ‘History of India’ after noticing a defaming article in an Indian magazine. He has spent more than eight years researching on this subject. He has read vast number of books related to ancient Sanskrit literature, ancient Tamil literature, scientific evolution etc. written by eminent Indian and foreign scholars.
Each book he referred to catered to a specific aspect of Indian life. After understanding them, a natural interest arose in him to reconcile and chronologically arrange them in a ‘holistic’ and ‘interesting’ way. This is a first attempt at narrating India’s story ‘as-it-happened’.
The result is the book, titled, “The Jambū Island”. This book chronologically organizes the Rishis, kings, literaryevolution, people’slives, and scientificprogress based on Sanskrit and Tamil literature. It aims to eliminatemyths, interpolations, and exaggerations. It strives to present the story in a logical and captivatingnarrative, with many pictures.
This book covers the period from roughly 6000 BCE to 3138 BCE, narrating significant events including the rendering of the Vedicmantras by the Rishis, the Aryan clan split towards Iran resulting in the formation of the Zōrōastrians, the atrocities and defeat of the Haihaya clan, fusion of Nāgās and other native tribes into the Vedic religion, Āryancolonization of SouthIndia, and the Bharata battle at Kurukshetra.
Post launching his book, Ganesh has started an Youtube channel in Tamil to share his learnings. The goal of this channel to spread awareness about the greatness of our country and Hindu religion, to create a counter-narrative to the popular Dravidian ideology of Tamil Nadu.
_Eye_of_Horus_pendant,garuda%20namam%20naga.jpg)
Tamil and Vedas 
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