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Showing posts from June 26, 2007


The Monsoon Wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati in Orissa

The Monsoon wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is a five-day long festival in Sambalpur, Orissa and is known as Shital Shashthi (Sital Sasthi). An actual marriage of the two deities is conducted during the festival, which takes place in May-end or June. Preparations for the marriage begin with the selection of two couples from the area, who act as the parents of the groom and bride (Lord Shiva and Parvati). The bride’s parents adopt Goddess Parvati and this initiation is observed as Patrapendi. On this day a lavish dinner is arranged at the bride’s house. Two days later Goddess Parvati arrives at the home of her adopted parents. From her adopted home, the bride is taken in a grand procession for the marriage ceremony, which takes place during the night. Similarly, Lord Shiva, the bridegroom, arrives for the marriage ceremony. All the rituals that are part of normal marriage ceremony are followed for the divine wedding. The marriage takes place at the auspicious t

Razmnama – Illustrated Persian Translation of Mahabharata

Razmnama is an abridged translation of the Mahabharata written in Persian at the behest of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and dates to around 1598–99. The original book is no longer available as the pages from the original Razmnama are scattered around the world; and are today the proud possessions of various collectors. Twenty-five elaborately illustrated folios of Razmnama are part of the large impressive collection in the John Fredrick Lewis Collection in the Free Library of Philadelphia, United States. For the first time since 1923, an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art brought together 25 pages of Razmnama at the John Fredrick Lewis Collection. The exhibition  was held from July 14, 2007 to December 9, 2007 . Razmnama is noted for it elaborate and exquisite illustrations. In the below painting, Karna Slays the Kaikeya Prince Vishoka. Style – Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper.