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Showing posts from June 30, 2021


Short Essay On Floral Decorations In Hindu Religion

Floor and wall decorations are considered auspicious, bringing good fortune and blessings of the deities in Hinduism. Traditional Hindu households regularly have auspicious floral and geometrical designs on floors. Here is a short essay on floral decorations in Hindu religion. Hindu women throughout the Indian subcontinent herald important occasions either by re-painting their houses or by decorating doorways and main entrances. Usually drawn at the doorway of a home, these patterns can be geometric or floral and are done afresh every morning. This ornamentation is known by different names in various regions of the country. In the western Himalayan region, it is called apna or likhnu; in Uttar Pradesh it is called cauk purna or sona rakhna; in the Gangetic Plains to the east, it is known as aripana or alpona; as rangoli in Maharashtra, Gujarat and most regions; and in Odisha it is called cita or osa. In Gujarat, it is known as sathiya and mandana, while in central and South India i

Art And Science Of Making Cosmetics in Ancient Hindu World – Gandhashastra

Gadhashastra is the art and science of making cosmetics in ancient Hindu world. Preparation of perfumes then as now is an intricate process. In the classical age of India, only specially trained persons were employed for this purpose and they were not allowed to take up any other work. The perfume-makers were patronized by royal families and temples. Atharva Veda, Sankhayana as well as Asvalayana Grihya Sutra and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to the use of scents. Arthashastra of Kautilya presents a vivid account of the elaborate perfumery used especially in the royal court. Perfumery in ancient Hindu world was both an art and a science – art in the sense of blending several aromatic substances for the production of enchanting perfumes; and science as the preparation of perfumes demanded a thorough knowledge of a wide variety of aromatic plants and animals, of their parts which would yield the desired scents and the method of extracting them. The naturally occurring ar

Shri Paramhans Dayal Ji Life History – Founder Of Paramhans Advaita Sect

Shri Paramhans Dayal Ji, also known as Shri Paramhans Swami Advaitanand Ji Maharaj, was born in 1846 in Chhapra (Bihar). As he was born on Ram Navami, he was named as Ram Yad. His parents died when he was only five years old, and he was brought up by a kayastha family. Because of his sharp mind, Ram Yad attained proficiency in Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic and Persian with in a very short time. He did not take interest in worldly affairs and was rather inclined towards a life of asceticism. When he was 17 years old, he got diksha (initiation) from Paramhans Ji Kedar Ghat (Banaras Wale mentor), and became Paramhans Dayalji. Inspired by his spiritual master, he wandered through the vast area of Ara, Deenapur, Bankipur, Patna, Motihari, Sonpur, Balia, Gazipur, and Saran. In this journey, he interacted with many saints and shared their spiritual experiences. Having visited Nandgaon, Gokul, and Vrindavan, he reached Mathura. Once while sleeping near ‘Kali Daha’ of Mathura, he had a vision

Gana Bhaskaramu – Theory Of Music And Dance

Gana Bhaskaramu is an important work in Telugu language, of 1918, on the theory of music and dance. It is the magnum opus of K.V. Srinivasa Iyengar, an outstanding musicologist of the 20 th century and a prolific write in Tamil and Telugu. Srinivasa Iyengar was born in a village called Kolattur near Chennai. He had a passion for music and dance from his boyhood and made an intensive study of the theory and practice of two arts. He ran a dance school in Chennai and trained several excellent dancers. He wrote a number of authentic and useful books on music and dance, including Gana Bhaskaramu. Gana Bhaskaramu deals exhaustively with the various aspects of musical theory, like shrutis (microtones), swaras (notes), gramas (three ancient scales of Indian music), murchnas (scales delivered by the application of the process of modal shift of tonic), jatis (the term corresponding to raga in ancient music0 and desya ragas (ragas prevalent in different provinces of India). These have pr

Ram Ganesh Gadkari – Marathi Dramatist – Poet – Humorist

Ram Ganesh Gadkari was a Marathi dramatist, poet and humorist. He was born on May 16, 1885, in Navsari in Gujarat. He was educated at Jamnagar, Karjat   and Pune, and received his education up to the end of the first year in college. He wrote numerous articles under the pen-name ‘Balarama’ and his poems under the name ‘Govindagraj.’ He worked as assistant editor of the Marathi daily Gnanaprakash, and was also an assistant teacher in the New English School in Pune for some time. Then he joined the Kirloskar Natak Mandali (an established dramatic company) for writing songs for plays. At the age of 17, Ram Ganesh Gadkari wrote a drama called Mitra-Preeti. He wrote an incomplete drama in 1906, which was completed by his friend and well-known actor, Chintamanrao Kolhatkar. His first poem, ‘Allad Premas” (To Immature Love), was published in Manoranjan, the popular Marathi magazine of his time. His humorous articles were published in the same magazine. His first drama, Prema-Sanyasa (Lo

Jean Filliozat – French Indologist

Jean Filliozat (1906 – 1982) was a renowned French Indologist and scholar. He was an eye specialist, and his first introduction to Hindu culture was through the works of 19 th century French poet, Loconte de Lisle, who had written a few Vedic and Hindu legends in verse. Filliozat studied Sanskrit, Tamil and Tibetan. His mentor in the area of Indological studies was Sylvain Levi, a great Indological scholar, under whose supervision Filliozat studied the Indo-European languages of Central Asia, as well as Chinese and Tibetan. Jean Filliozat studied in detail the principal texts on Indian medicine and traced the beginning of the system to early Vedic literature. His book, The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine, in 1949, brought out the originality of the ancient Indian medical system. Jean Filliozat taught Sanskrit grammar and Indian philosophy in Paris. He was professor of Indology in the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, where research in specific fields of science was

Nalambalam Temples In Malappuram District, Kerala

A look at the Nalambalams In Malappuram District, Kerala. Nalambalam darshanam, or visit of four temples in a day, dedicated to the four brothers of Ramayana – Sri Rama Swami, Sri Bharata Swami, Sri Lakshmana Swami and Sri Shatrughan Swami – is an important pilgrimage in Kerala. There are five different sets of Nalambalam Darshanam in Kerala. The four temples that are part of the Malappuram Nalambalam are: Ramapuram Sree Rama Swamy Temple (around 9 km from Malappuram) Karinchapadi -  Chirammal Sree Bharatha Swami Temple  Vattallur Chovvana Pangagara Lakshmana Swamy Temple Naranathu Shatrughna Swamy Temple (located on the banks of Naranathu River) The four temples are located in a radius of 2 km on the Perinthalmanna – Malappuram road. The Nalamabalam darshan begins with Ramapuram temple and also ends after visiting the Ramapuram Sree Rama Swamy temple. Nalambalam Darshanam in Malappuram District Kerala കേരളത്തിലെ മറ്റു നാലമ്പലങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും മലപ്പുറം ജില്ലയിലെ രാമപുരത്തെ ന

Simple Funny Stories In Hinduism Explaining Maya And Atman

A collection of simply fun stories in Hinduism explaining maya, atman and buddhi by Swami Chetanananda. In the 1950s I went to see P C Sarkar’s magic show in the New Empire theatre in Calcutta. The magician used a chainsaw to cut a piece of wood. Then he placed a young girl in a wooden box and closed the lid. He used the chainsaw to cut the box in half in front of a thousand spectators. After a few minutes, the girl came through the back door and walked down the aisle, saying, ‘Hi, I am here.’ Now, these one thousand people each bought a ticket paying twenty-five rupees. They knew for certain that the girl would not be cut in half, yet they still spent money to watch this illusion. That is maya and we love to watch it. My Vedanta teacher told me this story: Aham, the ego, fell in love with Buddhi, the intellect, and they got married. They were having a nice married life, full of fun and excitement. One day Buddhi says to Aham: ‘We are having such a nice time; we should share our jo

7 July 2021 Tithi - Panchang - Hindu Calendar - Good Time - Nakshatra – Rashi

Tithi in Panchang – Hindu Calendar on Wednesday, 7 July 2021 – It is Krishna Paksha Trayodashi Tithi or the thirteenth day during the waning or dark phase of moon in Hindu calendar and Panchang in most regions. It is Krishna Paksha Dwadashi Tithi or the twelfth day during the waning or dark phase of moon till 12:42 AM on July 7. Then onward it is Krishna Paksha Trayodashi Tithi or the thirteenth day during the waning or dark phase of moon till 2:39 AM on July 8. (Time applicable in all north, south and eastern parts of India. All time based on India Standard Time.  Good – Auspicious time on July 7, 2021 as per Hindu Calendar – There is no good and auspicious time on the entire day.  Nakshatra  – Rohini Nakshatra till 6:45 PM on July 7. Then onward it is Mrigasira or Makayiram or Mrigashirsha Nakshatra till 9:09 PM on July 8. (Time applicable in north, south and eastern parts of India).  In western parts of India (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, north Karnataka and south Raja