--> Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February 3, 2007


Hindu Temple Katasraj in Pakistan to celebrate Shivratri

The Historic Hindu temple Katasraj in Pakistan will join the thousands of other Shiva temple across the world to celebrate Shivratri on February 16, 2007 . Newspaper reports suggest Katasraj temple will be celebrating Shivratri for the first time after the formation of Pakistan . Hindu devotees from India are expected to participate. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Katasraj temple is part of several Hindu myths. On hearing Sati’s death, two tears trickled down from Lord Shiva and fell on earth. It is believed that the pond at the Katasraj temple complex was formed by the tear that fell here. The temple was later built near the holy pond. The temple is mentioned in the Mahabharata and during their exile Pandavas stayed here for sometime. It is believed that the dialogue between Yaksha and Yudhishtar took place here. The Katasraj temple complex is in a dilapidated condition and restoration works gained momentum with visit of BJP leader L K Advani in 2004. The res

Research on Ramacharita Manas to Clear Misinterpretations

Several verses in Hindu epic Ramacharita Manas are used to suppress women and dalits. Onkaranandji, a lecturer turned saint, has been studying Ramcharit Manas for over ten years to understand the true meaning of the verses that have been used to exploit dalits and women. His findings suggest that all these couplets have been misinterpreted for exploitation by people with vested interests. Onkaranandji has a PhD in Sociology and before taking ‘sanyas’ he was teaching at the Banaras Hindu University . So, what made him to do research on Ramacharita Manas? Talking to Hindustan Times he says “After taking sanyas diksha in 1986, I attended religious discourse of some renowned saints in different parts of the country. Everywhere I found that they quoted famous couplets of Ramcharit Manas for advocating tough behavior towards women and dalits in the society, which really shocked me.” For a better understating of Ramcharit Manas, he traveled across North India and