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Showing posts from November 25, 2019


Pandav Leela – Folk Dance Of Pahari Rajputs Of Himalayan Region

Pandav Leela is a folk dance in Garhwal in the Himalayan region of North India especially in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Pandav leela literally means the play of the Pandavas of the Mahabharata and it is also known as Pandav Nritya (dance of the Pandavas). Pahari Rajputs, who regard themselves as descendants of the five Pandava brothers, the heroes of the Mahabharata, see it as a form of ancestor worship which would confer both spiritual and material benefits on the sponsors, performers and onlookers of the dance. Pandav Leela consists of dramatic vignettes of incidents from the Mahabharata, wherein the individual Pandava brothers were engaged in acts of valor and heroism. The play is accompanied by competitive dance and recitation of the relevant incidents. The dancers gorgeously dressed and wearing ornaments and headgear, feel themselves possessed by the characters of the epic that they represent. Several of the scenes from the great war of Kurukshetra, betw

Raga Kalpadruma – Sangita Raga Kalpadruma

Sangita Raga Kalpadruma is a unique work on classical music compiled by Pandit Krishnananda Vyasa (1795 – 1889),   son of Hirakananda Vyasa of Udaipur. Raga Kalpadruma has five major topics: Swara Raga Tala Vadya and Rasa Though the author wrote many volumes, he could publish only four. Three volumes have been published by the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad and another three by Bharat Kala Bhavan (of the Banaras Hindu University) in Devanagiri script. About 16,000 ragas and ten talas are mentioned and the raga ragini concept, uparagas, day and night distinction for presentation of ragas, etc, are dealt with in the text. In the chapter on dance, Tandava and Lasya, margi and desi types are discussed. Sangita Raga Kalpadruma is a major text on classical music which details several technical aspects. Bibliography Rajas of Indian Classical Music (1989) Anupam Mahajan – Gyan Books New Delhi History of Indian Music (1960) Sambamurthy P – The Indian Music Pub

Bhagavad Gita Teachings On Egoism

Teachings from Bhagavad Gita on Egoism All actions are performed, in all cases, merely by the Gunas (Qualities-in-Nature). He, whose mind is deluded by egoism, thinks "I am the doer. (3.27) He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving… Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessed of firm conviction, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to me. (12.13 – 14) Indifference to the objects of the sense, and also absence of egoism is knowledge (13.9) Given to egoism, power, haughtiness, lust and anger, these malicious people hate Me in their own bodies, and in those of others. (16.18) Having abandoned egoism, power, arrogance, desire, anger and aggrandisement, and freed from the notion of 'mine, ' and so peaceful --- he is fit to become Brahman. (18.53)