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33 Vedic Traditions in the Maṇimēkalai
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CHAPTER-33 Vedic Traditions in the Maṇimēkalai The Tamil text Maṇimēkalai is essentially a Buddhist work, but it reflects a Vedic society with a sprinkling of other sects like the Jains, Ājivikas and others. It is against this background Cāttanār, the author, paints the picture of Buddhist id...
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30 Kṛṣṇa Sadhana
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CHAPTER- 30 Kṛṣṇa SadhanaKṛṣṇa SadhanaThere is an important text in Sanskrit called “Yamala Tantra”. It seems to have been popular in Bengal early. The Yāmala Tantra is oriented towards worship of Bhairava and Bhairavi cult, but it seems to answer some very intricate points about Hindu cult...
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29 Balarāma in Tamilnadu
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CHAPTER-29 Balarāma in TamilnaduBalarāma, the brother of Kṛṣṇa, was an influential god in early centuries of the current era, His sculptural representations are found in many places of India as at Nagarajunakonda in early period. He is shown generally with a drinking cup and standing by the side...
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27 The Origin of Rāma Cult : Myth and Reality
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CHAPTER-27 The Origin of Rāma Cult : Myth and Reality Recently there has been some sweeping statements about the origin of Rāma cult in her lecture at the Indian History congress at Kozhikode. As they are of great concern to Indian religious ethos they are examined here from the point of available hi...
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25 The Puzzle of Varāha
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CHAPTER-25 The Puzzle of Varāha It is well known that Varāha is the third incarnation of Viṣṇu and is portrayed in art and literature of India throughout, both in space and time. He is called Jñānappiran, the embodiment of knowledge. The famous Pallava site of Mamallapuram has two cave temples nam...
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23 Murugan
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CHAPTER-23 Murugan Ceyyon and MunrunganMurugan is the most venerated God of the Tamils from the time of their known history. He is the god of the Kuruñci people hill and surrounding — regions. The word Murugan stands for beauty, youth, victorious and so on. There are two words, “Ceyyon” and M...
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22 Vedic Origin of Goddesses: Some Aspects
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CHAPTER-22 Vedic Origin of Goddesses: Some Aspects From the time of Vedas, goddesses played a very important role in the life of the people. As powers of creation, protection, and dissolution, their presence was felt always. Scholars have already pointed out the role of some of these goddesses li...
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21 Sakti Worship in Tamilnadu
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CHAPTER-21 Sakti Worship in Tamilnadu The BeginningsVisualization of power both physical and abstract, like victories, conquest of nature, birth, preservation, growth, death and the like laid the foundation for the worship of Śakti, as the mother of all things. One of the immediate such powe...
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19 A Rare Kālabhairava
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CHAPTER-19 A Rare Kālabhairava A rare Kālabhairava sculpture is preserved in the Siva temple of Thirutturaippūṇḍi village in Tamil Nadu. It is a stone sculpture of Gajasamhāra mūrthi assignable to the time of Kulottuṅga Chola in circa 1200 CE. It has many rare features not noticed in sculptures o...
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18 ŚIVA AS THE DESTROYER OF BLIND DEMON“ANDHAKĀŚURA VADHA”
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CHAPTER-18 ŚIVA AS THE DESTROYER OF BLIND DEMON“ANDHAKĀŚURA VADHA” IntroductionAmong many forms of Śiva some have left deep impression in the mind of Indian people, that are visually represented in sculptural form and also in theological, literary and ritual texts, through the centuries. An...
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17 Bhujaṅga-Trāsita Nṛttam
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CHAPTER-17 Bhujaṅga-Trāsita Nṛttam Sculpture 24? of Tanjavur represents the karaṇa, bhujaṅga-trāsitam of the Nāṭya śāstra no 24. The left leg is placed on the ground in sama pose; leg is bent while the right is lifted and is across the body to the left as in Naṭarāja images. The body is twisted...
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16 Sandhyā-Vandanam and Naṭarājā
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CHAPTER-16 Sandhyā-Vandanam and Naṭarājā The Indian religious thoughts are rooted in the Vedas. Indian religion is Vaidika religion for the past four thousand years or more. The Vedic Gayatrī hymn is called the Mother of the Vedas “Gāyatrī Veda Mātā”. The Sage Viśvāmitra-Ṛṣi expounded Gāyatrī...
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15 Śiva Bhāgavatas and Viṣṇu Bhāgavatas
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CHAPTER-15 Śiva Bhāgavatas and Viṣṇu Bhāgavatas The Bṛhad Nārādīya Purāṇa, has an interesting chapter on the definition of Bhāgavatas, that includes Śiva Bhaktas and Viṣṇu Bhaktas. For a proper understanding of the extreme sectarian approach that manifested in post 11th cent, this chapter i...
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14 Śiva Kaivalya in Cambodia
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CHAPTER-14 Śiva Kaivalya in CambodiaŚiva KaivalyaA Saivacarya named Śiva-Kaivalya, who served as the Rājaguru of Jayavarman II the king of Cambodia is well known to historians. He was the Guru to whom the worship of Devarāja was taught by a Brahmin guru, Hiraṇyadāman who came from “Janapada” at th...
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13 Viriñci Nārāyaṇa Śaṁkarātman
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CHAPTER-13Viriñci Nārāyaṇa Śaṁkarātman A prayer addressed to Savita in the Sandhyāvandana that appears at the end. It says that Savita is called the singular eye of the world (jagad eka cakṣuḥ), is the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution of the Universe (jagad prasūti sthiti nāsa...
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11 Liṅga Worship
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CHAPTER-11 Liṅga WorshipThe worship of Liṅga as Śiva according to most scholars, especially from the west arises from the worship of phallus. There are many ancient sculptures that represent this form, as in the case of Gudinallam Liṅga, and literary references, that justify this assumption. Th...
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09 -10 Āgama in theory and Practise
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CHAPTER-9Āgama in theory and PractiseContents | Chapter-8 | Chapter-10 | HomeĀgamas may in a very general way be defined as “Scriptures that deal with worship of God in Temples”. Āgama is also called Samhita or Tantra. There are different interpretations of the word Tantra but one good me...
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Chapter-08 Temples and Poetry
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CHAPTER-8Temples and PoetryContents | Chapter-7 | Chapter-9 | HomeThe paper is in three parts, 1.Abstrāct, 2.Summary and 3.Illustrations.1. Temple is a visual image = Poetry is a mental image2. Temple is Tantra = Poetry is Mantra3. Temple is gross (Sthūla) ...
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CHAPTER-7Viśvasya Āyatanam
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CHAPTER-7Viśvasya ĀyatanamContents | Chapter-6 | Chapter-8 | HomeThe Great Universal TempleThe Hindu temple is conceived in general parlance as “The Universe”. We come across a reference to a Universal Temple, called the great temple in the Veda. It is also called the temple of the univer...
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CHAPTER-6Jayādi homa
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CHAPTER-6Jayādi homaContents | Chapter-5 | Chapter-7 | HomeAt the end of all Homas a concluding homa called Jayādi homa is performed which is meant for the fulfillment of all rites. The rites begin with the vow that I shall now perform the offering of Fruition.I pray that let me and my consciou...
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3 The Form of Agni 4The Face of Agni: Agni Mukham 5Fire Offering: Agni Karya - Homa
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3 The Form of AgniAfter this purification of the verbal hymns and seeking the divine approval, the performer now meditates on the form of Agni (dhyānam). As in the case of mūrti dhyāna in iconography of sculpture, this is the dhyana śloka of Agni in fire. (F.C. 1, 2 & 4)“Agni has four horns, thr...
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02 Vedic Rituals: Punyāha-vācanam(Declaring the Sacred Day)
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2Vedic Rituals: Punyāha-vācanam(Declaring the Sacred Day) Hinduism, be it Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism, Sāktism or Smārta rituals, is rooted in Vedic-sacrifice, which means offering simply melted butter with dried twigs of trees like pipal or palāsa trees in a specially prepared Vedic fire alta...
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CHAPTER-1Agni
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CHAPTER-1AgniThe earliest body of Indian thought that is available for historian to read and understand is the Vedic literature that has been preserved meticulously. What was before that age and what about Harappan civilization etc, are questions that can not be answered satisfactorily becau...
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00 Vedic Roots of Hindu Iconography-R. Nagaswamy
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Vedic Roots of Hindu Iconography-R. Nagaswamy; Kaveri Books, New Delhi2012About the BookForeword: Nature of the Vedic ReligionPrefaceAgniVedic Rituals: Punyaha-vācanam (Declaring the Sacred Day).The Form of AgniThe Face of Agni Agni MukhamFire Offering: Agni Kārya HomaSacrifice of Ful...
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