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Showing posts from June 14, 2008


Book: Rudra – The Idea of Shiva

The book ‘Rudra – The Idea of Shiva’ by Nilima Chitgopekar tries to understand Lord Shiva through the eyes of Lord Vishnu, Mata Sati, Daksha, Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha. An authority on Shaivism, Nilima Chitgopekar delves deep into the classical texts dealing with Shiva and picks up vital information and narrates it through the eyes of Hindu gods associated with Lord Shiva. The views of the different gods in Hindu pantheon about Shiva are presented as first-person accounts. The accounts of the various gods are aided by the author’s scholarly notes and comments. About the book from Penguin flyer Na punyam na papam, Na saukhyam na duhkham Na mantro na tirtham, Na vedam na yajna Aham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhokta Chidananda rupah Shivoham Shivo’ham Beyond sin and virtue, beyond joy and sorrow, beyond scripture, ritual and pilgrimage, and beyond familiar experience. This is Shiva, in essence. Once feared as the capricious and terrifying Rudra, Shiva, the most ‘un-

Trees Cut from Orissa Forests for Puri Rath Yatra Chariots Could Create Environmental Problems

Each year three new chariots are built for the annual Puri Rath Yatra festival held at the famous Jagannath Temple . Big trees are cut annually from the forests of Orissa for the car festival and the woods are never reused. This is slowly eating away the forests of Orissa and inviting an environmental disaster. But luckily some people are trying to avert the ecological disaster by planting new trees. The wood needed for the making of the chariots for Puri Rath Yatra is provided free by the Orissa government. In fact, the temple authorities have been finding it difficult to find the right timber needed for making the huge chariots. The Rath Yatra at the Puri Jagannath Temple has been taking place for centuries. Each year nearly 1000 trees are felled for building the three chariots. The chariot construction requires about 1,135 big logs of about 400 cubic meters. Trees preferred for chariot making are Phasi, Kadamba, Dharua, Devadaru, Simili, Asana, Mahal