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Showing posts from September 1, 2016


Divodasa in the Vedas

Divodasa is a king mentioned in the Rig Veda (1.7.19 and 1.51.6). He was famous for receiving guests or aththis. He used to honor the guests for their erudition and therefore he was known as ‘atithigava’. Vedic literature also narrates about his campaigns against Haihaya, Turvasa and Yadu dynasties. But he was unable to defeat his enemies. He took the help of Sage Bharadwaja to perform a sacrifice called Putrakameshti Yajna. He obtained a powerful son named Pratardana because of the yajna. Divodasa was able to defeat the Haihaya kings with help of his son Pratardana. The name Divodasa is also mentioned in Bhagavad Purana and Mahabharata but they are different from the one found in Vedic literature. The king had another son named Sudasa. He shared the virtue of hospitality of the king.

Dolotsavam – Swing Festival in Hindu Temples in South India

Dola means ‘swing’ or ‘cradle’ and utsava means ‘festival.’ Many Hindu Temples especially in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh conduct Dolotsavam or swing festival. The utsava murti of the presiding deity in the shrine is carried on a palanquin or vahana (mount) during Dolotsavam. Dolotsavam is mainly performed to Radha and Krishna, Sita and Rama, Meenakshi and Sunderaswara and Valli and Subrahmanya. A series of steps are part of Dolotsavam Reception with customary fruits, sweets and milk. Offering of betel leaves and nuts. Lighting of camphor. Singing of matrimonial songs. Applying red lac on the sides of the feet of the murtis. Singing musical songs. Playing with flower balls by the deities. Swinging to songs. Singing of Lali Singing of lullaby Calling upon the guardian deities to protect the deities when they are sleeping. Waking up the couple. Mangalam – happy finale. Dolotsavam is normally followed by the marr