The Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is an important example of Tamil architecture achieved during the Chola dynasty. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples".

 

This is one of the largest temples in India and one of India's most prized architectural sites. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD. Brihadeshwara Temple, also popularly known as the 'Big Temple', turned 1000 years old in 2010.

 

Thanjavur Periya Kovil stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimana (or temple tower) is 66 m high and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (Kalasha or Chikharam, the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock and it weighs around 80 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high. The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are close to Tiruchirappalli, about 60 km to the west of Thanjavur.

 

HISTORY

The temple had its foundations laid out by the Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja Chola I,

 

in 1002 CE, as the first of the great Tamil Chola building projects.

 

The Brihadeshwarar Temple was built to grace the throne of the Chola empire in compliance to a command given to him in his dream. The scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout. Temples from this period and the following two centuries are an expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power and artistic expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style.

 

The Brihadeshwarar Temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the universal order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as anointing the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of the king. It is an architectural example showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temple "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting."

 

CONSTRUCTION

The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is said to have occurred to Raja Raja while he stayed at Sri Lanka as an emperor.

 

The esteemed architect and engineer of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan as stated in inscriptions found at the temple. The temple was built per ancient texts called Vaastu Shastras and Agamas. He is the ancient ancestor of the doyan of Vaastu Vedic architecture, the late Dr. V. Ganapti Sthapati of Chennai and Mahabalipurim (architect of the 133' granite Thiruvalluvar statue at the tip of south India). Members of his family still live and practice the ancient art and science. The American University of Mayonic Science and Technology was initiated by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati to perpetuate the same form of architectural principles used by Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan to build the Brihadeeswarar temple. The temple was built using a measure of 1 3/8-inch called an angula (24 units equalling 33 inches called a hasta, muzam, or kishku). This is the same measure found in ancient Lothal and other sites in the Indus Valley dating back 4000 - 6000 years. This same measure is used to build structures compliant with the Vaastu Shastras and Agamas today. While some builders use a different measure this is considered a standard due to its antiquity.

 

This temple is the first building fully built by granite and finished within 5yrs [1004AD – 1009AD]. The solid base of the temple raises about 5 metres, above which stone deities and representatives of Shiva dance. The huge kalasam or Vimanam (top portion of the shrine) is believed to weigh 81.28 tonnes of single stone block and was raised to its present height by dragging on an inclined plane of 6.44 km. The big Nandi (bull), weighing about 20 tonnes is made of a single stone and is about 2 m in height, 6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The presiding deity of lingam is 3.7m tall. The prakaram (outer precincts of the temple) measures 240m by 125m. The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 81 dance karanas – postures of Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The shrine of Goddess was added by Pandyas during the 13th century, Subramanya Shrine by Vijayanagara rulers and the Vinayaka shrine was renovated by Maratha rulers.

 

TEMPLE COMPLEX

The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channelled to make a moat around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a smaller free-standing gopuram. The massive size of the main Vimanam (Shikhara) is ca. 60 meters high, with 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and attached columns are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the Vimanam.

 

The gopuram of the main entrance is 30 m high, smaller than the vimana. It is unusual in the dravidian architecture where the gopurams are generally the main towers and taller than the vimana.

 

MAIN TEMPLE

A first rectangular surrounding wall, 270 m by 140 m, marks the outer boundary. The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall (mandapas), and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasising the principle cult icons. The karuvarai, a Tamil word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga. The word Karuvarai means "womb chamber" from Tamil word karu for foetus. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.

 

In the Dravida style, the Karuvarai takes the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha for circumambulation (pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber housing the image of the god is the sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the universe. In the center is placed the image of the deity. The royal bathing-hall where Rajaraja the great gave gifts is to the east of the hall of Irumudi-Soran.

 

The circumambulation winds around the massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is repeated in an upper story, presenting the idea that Chola Empire freely offered access to the gods.

 

The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch with three staircases leading down. Sharing the same stone plinth is a small open mandapa dedicated to Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull mount.

 

TEMPLE DEITIES

The "moolavar" or prime deity of the Brihadeeswarar Temple is Shiva. All deities, particularly those placed in the niches of the outer wall (Koshta Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Surya, Chandra are of huge size. The Brihadiswarar temple is one of the rare temples which has idols for "Ashta-dikpaalakas" (Guardians of the directions) – Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Kubera, Īśāna – each of whom was originally represented by a life-sized statue, approximately 6 feet tall, enshrined in a separate temple located in the respective direction. (Only Agni, Varuṇa, Vāyu and Īśāna are preserved in situ.)

 

ADJOINING STRUCTURES

Surrounding the main temple are two walled enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the temple complex area. Here is the massive gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within this a portico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with over 400 pillars, is enclosed by a high wall interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined up to the main temple.

 

FEATURES

Another widely held belief is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramidal tower usually over the gateway of a temple) never falls on the ground. The temple is said to be made up of about 130,000 tons of granite. The Kumbam itself, a 60 ton granite stone carved in one piece, on top of the main gopuram is believed to have been taken to the top by creating an inclined slope to the height of 66m to the top of the gopuram. The prevailing belief is that a mud-slope, which starts at about three miles from the temple site, from Thirukoilore (birthplace of Raja raja's mother) near Sri Virateshvara swamy temple. Elephants might have been used to drag the stone up the slope. This was claimed to be the only part of the gopuram, which does not cast a shadow that fall on the ground, at least not within the temple premises.

 

MURALS

The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum potryaing Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to heaven. These frescoes were discovered in the 1940s and portray the mythological episodes of the journey of Saint Sundarar and the Chera King to heaven, the battle scene of Tripurantaka (Lord Siva) with Asuras (demons). The Chola artists have proved their mettle by portraying even the Asura women with a sense of beauty. Some of the paintings in the sanctum sanctorum and the walls in the passage had been damaged because of the soot that had deposited on them. Owing to the continuous exposure to smoke and soot from the lamps and burning of camphor in the sanctum sanctorum over a period of centuries certain parts of the Chola paintings on the circumambulatory passage walls had been badly damaged. The Tanjore Nayak kings replaced them with a few paintings of their own, about 400 years ago. The Archaeological Survey of India, for the first time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process to restore 16 Nayak paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola frescoes. These 400-year-old paintings have been mounted on fibre glass boards, displayed at a separate pavilion.

 

TEMPLE PERSONNEL

The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I & in 2010 a celebration commemorated the temple's thousandth anniversary. The temple maintained a staff of 1000 people in various capacities with 400 being temple dancers Besides the Brahmin priests, these included record-keepers, musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every type as well as housekeeping staff. In those days the temple was a hub of business activities for the flower, milk, oil, and ghee merchants, all of whom made a regular supply of their respective goods for the temple for its poojas and during festival seasons. Moreover as evidenced by the inscriptions that found in the compound wall of this temple, the temple had always been serving as a platform for the dancers who excelled in the traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam. vallamuthu minnadi generation worshipped this temple.

 

MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS

Built in the year 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple popularly known as the 'Big Temple' turned 1000 years old in September 2010. To celebrate the 1000th year of the grand structure, the state government and the town held many cultural events. It was to recall the 275th day of his 25th regal year (1010 CE) when Raja Raja Chola (985–1014 CE) handed over a gold-plated kalasam (copper pot or finial) for the final consecration to crown the vimana, the 59.82-metre tall tower above the sanctum.

 

BHARATHANATYAM YAJNA

To mark the occasion, the state government organised a Bharathanatyam Yajna, classical dance show under noted dancer Padma Subramaniam. It was jointly organised by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust, Thanjavur. To mark the 1000th year anniversary of the building, 1000 dancers from New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Singapore, Malaysia and the US danced in concert to the recorded 11 verses of divine music Thiruvichaippa (ninth of Thirumurai) composed by Karuvur Thevar (the guru of Raja Raja Chola) named Tiruvisaippa. The small town turned into a cultural hub for two days beginning 26 September 2010 as street performers and dancers performed throughout the town.

 

WIKIPEDIA

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was formally approved.

 

In 1976, British Aerospace was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979. During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.

 

The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 l; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS. Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.

 

Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993, the last such aircraft being delivered that same year. A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3. However, the Tornado ADV’s replacement, the aircraft that is known today as the Eurofighter Typhoon, met several delays – primarily of political nature. Even though the first production contract was already signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA for the procurement of a total of 232 for the UK, the development and eventually the delivery of the new aircraft was a protracted affair. It actually took until 9 August 2007, when the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that No. 11 Squadron RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had received its first two multi-role Typhoons. Until then, the Tornado F.3 had become more and more obsolete, since the type was only suited to a limited kind of missions, and it became obvious that the Tornado ADV would have to be kept in service for several years in order to keep Great Britain’s aerial defence up.

 

In order to bridge the Typhoon service gap, two update programs had already been launched by the MoD in 2004, which led to the Tornado F.5 and F.6 versions. These were both modified F.3 airframes, catering to different, more specialized roles. The F.5 had a further extended fuselage and modified wings, so that it could operate more effectively in the long range fighter patrol role over the North Sea and the Northern Atlantic. On the other side, the F.6 was tailored to the mainland interceptor role at low and medium altitudes and featured new engines for a better performance in QRA duties. Both fighter variants shared improved avionics and weapons that had already been developed for the Eurofighter Typhoon, or were still under development.

 

The Tornado F.6’s new engines were a pair of Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans, which offered 30% more dry and 20% more afterburner thrust than the F.3’s original Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans. These more modern and fuel-efficient engines allowed prolonged supercruise, and range as well as top speed were improved, too. Furthermore, there was the (theoretical) option to combine the new engine with vectored thrust nozzles, even though this would most probably not take place since the Tornado ADV had never been designed as a true dogfighter, even though it was, for an aircraft of its size, quite an agile aircraft.

 

However, the integration of the EJ200 into the existing airframe called for major modifications that affected the aircraft’s structure. The tail section had to be modified in order to carry the EJ200’s different afterburner section. Its bigger diameter and longer nozzle precluded the use of the original thrust reverser. This unique feature was retained, though, so that the mechanism had to be modified: the standard deflectors, which used to extend backwards behind the nozzles, now opened inwards into the airflow before the exhaust.

Since the new engines had a considerably higher airflow rate, the air intakes with the respective ducts had to be enlarged and adapted, too. Several layouts were tested, including two dorsal auxiliary air intakes to the original, wedge-shaped orifices, but eventually the whole intake arrangement with horizontal ramps was changed into tall side intakes with vertical splitter plates, reminiscent of the F-4 Phantom. Even though this meant a thorough redesign of the fuselage section under the wing sweep mechanism and a reduction of tank “0”’s volume, the new arrangement improved the aircraft’s aerodynamics further and slightly enlarged the wing area, which resulted in a minor net increase of range.

 

The F.3’s GEC-Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter radar was retained, but an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, the Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE), was mounted in a semispherical housing on the port side of the fuselage in front of the windscreen and linked to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. By supercooling the sensor, the system was able to detect even small variations in temperature at a long range, and it allowed the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction.

PIRATE operated in two IR bands and could be used together with the radar in an air-to-air role, adding visual input to the radar’s readings. Beyond that, PIRATE could also function as an independent infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking, and the system was also able to provide navigation and landing aid.

In an optional air-to-surface role, PIRATE can also perform target identification and acquisition, up to 200 targets could be simultaneously tracked. Although no definitive ranges had been released, an upper limit of 80 nm has been hinted at; a more typical figure would be 30 to 50 nm.

 

The Tornado F.3’s Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon was retained and the F.6 was from the start outfitted with the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, with the outlook to switch as soon as possible to the new, ram jet-driven Meteor AAM with higher speed and range. Meteor had been under development since 1994 and was to be carried by the Eurofighter Typhoon as its primary mid-range weapon. With a range of 100+ km (63 mi, 60 km no-escape zone) and a top speed of more than Mach 4, Meteor, with its throttleable ducted rocket engine, offered a considerably improvement above AMRAAM. However, it took until 2016 that Meteor became fully operational and was rolled out to operational RAF fighter units.

 

A total of 36 Tornado F.3 airframes with relatively low flying hours were brought to F.6 standard in the course of 2006-8 and gradually replaced older F.3s in RAF fighter units until 2009. The Tornado F.3 itself was retired in March 2011 when No. 111 Squadron RAF, located at RAF Leuchars, was disbanded. Both the F.5 and F.6 will at least keep on serving until the Eurofighter Typhoon is in full service, probably until 2020.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 18.68 m (61 ft 3½ in)

Wingspan: 13.91 m (45 ft 7½ in) at 25° wing position

8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in) at 67° wing position

Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6½ in)

Wing area: 27.55 m² (295.5 sq ft)

Empty weight: 14,750 kg (32,490 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 28,450 kg (62,655 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans with 60 kN (13,500 lbf) dry thrust and

90 kN (20,230 lbf) thrust with afterburner each

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.3 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)

921 mph (800 knots, 1,482 km/h) indicated airspeed limit near sea level

Combat radius: more than 1,990 km (1.100 nmi, 1,236 mi) subsonic,

more than 556 km (300 nmi, 345 mi) supersonic

Ferry range: 4,265 km (2,300 nmi, 2,650 mi) with four external tanks

Endurance: 2 hr combat air patrol at 560-740 km (300-400 nmi, 345-460 mi) from base

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

 

Armament:

1× 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 180 RPG under starboard fuselage side

A total of 10 hardpoints (4× semi-recessed under-fuselage, 2× under-fuselage, 4× swivelling

under-wing) holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload; the two inner wing pylons have shoulder

launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each (AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM)

4× MBDO Meteor or AIM-120 AMRAAM, mounted under the fuselage

  

The kit and its assembly:

The eight entry for the RAF Centenary Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, and after 100 years of RAF what-if models we have now arrived at the present. This modified Tornado ADV was spawned through the discussions surrounding another modeler’s build of a modified F.3 (and examples of other Tornado conversions, e. g. with fixed wings or twin fins), and I spontaneously wondered what a change of the air intakes would do to the aircraft’s overall impression? Most conversions I have seen so far retain this original detail. An idea was born, and a pair of leftover Academy MiG-23 air intakes, complete with splitter plates, were the suitable conversion basis.

 

The basic kit is the Italeri Tornado ADV, even though in a later Revell re-boxing. It’s IMHO the kit with the best price-performance ration, and it goes together well. The kit was mostly built OOB, with some cosmetic additions. The biggest changes came through the integration of the completely different air intakes. These were finished at first and, using them as templates, openings were cut into the lower fuselage flanks in front of the landing gear well. Since the MiG-23 intakes have a relatively short upper side, styrene sheet fillers had to be added and blended with the rest of the fuselage via PSR. The gap between the wing root gloves and the intakes had to be bridged, too, with 2C putty. Messier affair than it sounds, but it went well.

 

In order to make the engine change plausible I modified the Tornado exhaust and added a pair of orifices from an F-18 – they look very similar to those on the Eurofighter Typhoon, and their diameter is perfect for this change. This and the different air intakes stretch the Tonka visually, it looks IMHO even more slender than the F.3.

 

Another issue was the canopy: the 2nd hand kit came without clear parts, but I was lucky to still have a Tornado F.3 canopy in the spares box – but only the windscreen from a Tornado IDS, which does not fit well onto the ADV variant. A 2mm gap at the front end had to be bridged, and the angles on the side as well as the internal space to the HUD does not match too well. But, somehow, I got it into place, even though it looks a bit shaggy.

The IRST in front of the windscreen is a piece of clear styrene sprue (instead of an opaque piece, painted glossy black), placed on a black background. The depth effect is very good!

 

More changes pertained to the ordnance: the complete weaponry was exchanged. The OOB Sidewinders were replaced with specimen from a Hasegawa F-4 Phantom (these look just better than the AIM-9 that come with the kit), and I originally planned to mount four AIM-120 from the same source under the fuselage – until I found a Revell Eurofighter kit in my stash that came with four Meteor AAMs, a suitable and more modern as well as British alternative!

 

All in all, just subtle modifications.

  

Painting and markings:

Well, the RAF was the creative direction, so I stuck to a classic/conservative livery. However, I did not want a 100% copy of the typical “real world” RAF Tornado F.3, so I sought inspiration in earlier low-visibility schemes. Esp. the Phantom and the Lightning carried in their late days a wide variety of grey-in-grey schemes, and one of the most interesting of them (IMHO) was carried by XS 933: like some other Lightnings, the upper surfaces were painted in Dark Sea Grey (instead of the standard Medium Sea Grey), a considerably murkier tone, but XS933 had a mid-height waterline. I found that scheme to be quite plausible for an aircraft that would mostly operate above open water and in heavier weather, so I adapted it to the Tonka. The fact that XS 933 was operated by RAF 5 Squadron, the same unit as my build depicts with its markings, is just a weird coincidence!

An alternative would have been the same colors, but with a low waterline (e.g. like Lightning XR728) – but I rejected this, because the result would have looked IMHO much too similar to the late Tornado GR.4 fighter bombers, or like a Royal Navy aircraft.

 

Since the upper color would be wrapped around the wings’ leading edges, I used the lower wing leading edge level as reference for the high waterline on the forward fuselage, Behind the wings’ trailing edge I lowered the waterline down to the stabilizers’ level.

All upper surfaces, including the tall fin, were painted with Tamiya XF-54, a relatively light interpretation of RAF Dark Sea Grey (because I did not want a harsh contrast with the lower colors), while the fuselage undersides and flanks were painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165). The same tone was also used for the underwing pylons and the “Hindenburger” drop tanks. The undersides of the wings and the stabilizers were painted in Camouflage Grey (formerly known as Barley Grey, Humbrol 167).

 

Disaster struck when I applied the Tamiya paint, though. I am not certain why (age of the paint, I guess), but the finish developed a kind of “pigment pelt” which turned out to be VERY sensitive to touch. Even the slightest handling would leave dark, shiny spots!

My initial attempt was to hide most of this problem under post-shading (with Humbrol 126, FS 36270), but that turned the Tonka visually into a Tiger Meet participant – the whole thing looked as if it wore low-viz stripes! Aaargh!

 

In a desperate move (since more and more paint piled up on the upper surfaces, and I did not want to strip the kit off of all paint right now) I applied another thin coat of highly diluted XF-54 on top of the tiger stripe mess, and that toned everything done enough to call it a day. While the finish is not perfect and still quite shaggy (even streaky here and there…), it looks O.K., just like a worn and bleached Dark Sea Grey.

 

A little more rescue came with the decals. The markings are naturally low-viz variants and the RAF 5 Sq. markings come from an Xtradecal BAC Lightning sheet (so they differ from the markings applied to the real world Tornado F.3s of this unit). The zillion of stencils come from the OOB sheet, but the walking area warnings came from a Model Decal Tornado F.3 sheet (OOB, Revell only provides you a bunch of generic, thin white lines, printed on a single carrier film, and tells you “Good luck”! WTF?). Took a whole afternoon to apply them, but I used as many of them as possible in order to hide the paint finish problems… Some things, like the tactical letter code or the red bar under the fuselage roundel, had to be improvised.

  

With many troubles involved (the paint job, but furthermore the wing pylons as well as one stabilizer broke off during the building and painting process…), I must say that the modified Tonka turned out better than expected while I was still working on it. In the end, I am happy with it – it’s very subtle, I wonder how many people actually notice the change of air intakes and jet exhausts, and the Meteor AAMs are, while not overtly visible, a nice update, too.

The paint scheme looks basically also good (if you overlook the not-so-good finish due to the problems with the Tamiya paint), and the darker tones suit the Tonka well, as well as the fake RAF 5 Squadron markings.

Dedicated to my great friend Zdenko Zivkovic

Dedicated to St. Seraphim of Sarov, the Eastern Orthodox Saint

First Marine Division Association

 

Semper Fidelis

 

Dedicated to those men of the First Marine Division who gave their lives in the service of their country World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Southwest Asia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Guadalcanal campaign in 1942 was the first major American Pacific campaign in World War II and the first time the 1st Marine Division conducted combat operations as a division. The Division’s actions during this operation won it the first of three World War II PUCs. 1st Marine Division also won PUCs for the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa. Three weeks after Japan surrendered, the Division was dispatched to North China for occupation duty. While in China, the Division had numerous encounters with the Chinese Communists.

 

“The Old Breed,” as the Division became known, provided the Pusan Fire Brigade when war broke out in Korea and then was chosen to land at Inchon on 15 September 1950. The Division subsequently fought into the mountains around the Chosin Reservoir. The Chinese Communists suffered more than 37,500 casualties trying to stop the Marines’ march out of the “Frozen Chosin.” These battles, and those that followed between April and September, earned the Division its fourth, fifth, and sixth PUCs.

 

The 2d Battalion, 1st Marines deployed to Guantanamo Bay for two months in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. More than 11,000 Marines of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade participated in the naval blockade which forced the withdrawal of the missiles from Cuba.

In 1965, 7th Marines participated in the first major engagements for American ground troops in South Vietnam. March 1966 saw 1st Marine Division Headquarters established at Chu Lai. By June, the entire Division was in South Vietnam; its zone of operation – the southern two provinces of I Corps – Quang Tin and Quang Ngai. Between March 1966 and May 1967, the Division conducted 44 named and unnamed operations. Major engagements included Operations HASTINGS and UNION I and II. In these operations, 1st Marine Division units decisively defeated the enemy. During the 1968 Tet Offensive, the Division was involved in fierce fighting with both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army elements. It successfully beat back and decimated every enemy assault in its area of operations, pursuing the enemy into his sanctuaries. It was during this period that the Division earned its seventh and eighth PUCs.

 

After six hard years, the 1st Marine Division returned to California in 1971, closing another chapter of dedicated service to Corps and country. In 1975, the Division supported the evacuation of Saigon by providing food and temporary shelter at Camp Pendleton for Vietnamese refugees as they arrived in the United States. In 1990, the 1st Marine Division formed the core of the force sent to Southwest Asia in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. During Operation DESERT SHIELD, the Division provided the ground combat element of I Marine Expeditionary Force in Saudi Arabia against the Iraqi threat. In 1991, the Division fought alongside the 2d Marine Division under I MEF and with the rest of the Coalition Forces in Operation DESERT STORM. In 100 hours of offensive ground combat, 1st Marine Division destroyed the enemy in its path as it led the breakthrough to Kuwait City.

Immediately following the Persian Gulf conflict, the Division sent units to assist in disaster relief efforts in Bangladesh (Operation SEA ANGEL) and the Philippines (Operation FIERY VIGIL). In 1992, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines and the 15th MEU, brought relief to famine-stricken Somalia. The final phase of the operation involved the transition from a U.S. peacemaking force to a United Nations peacekeeping force. U.S. Marine involvement in Operation RESTORE HOPE officially ended 27 April 1993 when the humanitarian relief sector of Mogadishu was handed over to Pakistani forces. Elements of the Division ultimately participated in the extraction of U.N. forces from Somalia.

 

In early 2003, the Division deployed by air and sea to link up with its advance headquarters deployed to Kuwait under I MEF. In a high speed attack, and in conjunction with 1 U.K. Armored Division and the 3d U.S. Army Infantry Division, the Marines and Sailors conducted the deepest penetrating ground operation in Marine Corps history. Attacking to Baghdad alongside 3d ID and eventually seizing Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, the Division again showed the Marine Air-Ground team in action. The 1st Marine Division conducted stability operations in Baghdad, Tikrit, and then in south-central Iraq from May to October 2003. The Division then returned home to Camp Pendleton and 29 Palms and prepared for redeployment. These actions earned the Division its ninth PUC.

 

In March 2004, the 1st Marine Division relieved 82d Airborne Division in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle. During Operation IRAQI FREEDOM II, the Division conducted counter-insurgency operations throughout the Al Anbar Province, culminating in Operation AL FAJR which liberated the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and enabled the first legitimate elections to occur in Iraq. During February and March 2005, 1st and 2d Marine Divisions successfully conducted the largest relief in place in the history of the Marine Corps.

 

Today 1st Marine Division is a multi-role, expeditionary ground combat force. The Division is employed as the ground combat element (GCE) of I MEF or may provide task-organized forces for assault operations and such operations as may be directed. The 1st Marine Division must be able to provide the ground amphibious forcible entry capability to the naval expeditionary force (NEF) and to conduct subsequent land operations in any operational environment.

 

Today, the 1st Marine Division continues to support the Global War on Terrorism by providing fully trained units and personnel in support of on-going Operation IRAQI FREEDOM/Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, MEU(SOC), and UDP requirements.

www.i-mef.usmc.mil/div/generalinformation.asp

Altarpiece Dedicated to Buddha Maitreya

Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), dated 524

Zhengding xian, Hebei province, China

Gilt bronze

 

This magnificent and uncommonly large altarpiece is one of the great artistic achievements of the Tuoba, a non-Chinese people who occupied most of the provinces north of the Yellow River by the middle of the fifth century. As founders of the Northern Wei dynasty, the Tuoba ruled northern China until 534. The cave temples of Yungang and Longmen sponsored by the Tuoba emperors are a tangible expression of their ardent faith in Buddhism. Further testimony to this strong devotion, the Maitreya altarpiece is a fine example of the creativity and skill of the late Northern Wei dynasty. Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, stands against the glittering background of a mandorla. With gestures of his hands, he reassures the worshipers and promises to grant their wishes. Two bodhisattvas stand at the Buddha's side, and two sit at his feet. Four offerers, perhaps Tuoba in their nomadic dress, hold bowls. Two thunderbolt bearers guard the corners of the altarpiece; two lions sit on either side of the incense burner, below the Buddha. Nine music-making angels alight on the rim of the mandorla. The images are placed on superimposed tiers that become narrower toward the top. A fluttering angel rests at the apex. All these holy participants seem to be enclosed in an imaginary triangle that becomes the symbolic boundary of the heavenly realm. In its linearity and abstraction, the altarpiece represents the mature Northern Wei style. The images, particularly that of the Buddha, display elongated narrow bodies swathed in several layers of clothing. Only the face and hands emerge as focal devotional points. Tension, vigor, and dynamism are strongly expressed by the decorative patterns formed by the flickering flames and the angels' fluttering ribbons that taper off in space.

 

Rogers Fund, 1938 (38.158.1an)

 

**

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent collection contains more than two million works of art from around the world. It opened its doors on February 20, 1872, housed in a building located at 681 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Under their guidance of John Taylor Johnston and George Palmer Putnam, the Met's holdings, initially consisting of a Roman stone sarcophagus and 174 mostly European paintings, quickly outgrew the available space. In 1873, occasioned by the Met's purchase of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriot antiquities, the museum decamped from Fifth Avenue and took up residence at the Douglas Mansion on West 14th Street. However, these new accommodations were temporary; after negotiations with the city of New York, the Met acquired land on the east side of Central Park, where it built its permanent home, a red-brick Gothic Revival stone "mausoleum" designed by American architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mold. As of 2006, the Met measures almost a quarter mile long and occupies more than two million square feet, more than 20 times the size of the original 1880 building.

 

In 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was ranked #17 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967. The interior was designated in 1977.

 

National Historic Register #86003556

New in 1985 in Coastliner livery, ECW Leyland olympian B521 UWW passed to York briefly between 1989 and 1990 before going to Harrogate and returning to Coastliner for the spring of 1992, then to Keighley in April 1992 where it resided until withdrawl from service in 2013.

 

Between 1978 and 1982 the National Bus Company undertook some market analysis in order to reshap and refresh the NBC brand. Rolled within this was the concept of using dedicated branded vehicles for certain routes, with the West Yorkshire operation looking at their long distance services to the Yorkshire Coast from Leeds. Using standard Leyland Leopard coaches and ten new ECW coach seated Olympians, such as B521 UWW, in the two tone blue NBC 'Venetian Blind' livery. The Yorkshire Coastliner fleet and identity was created, operating from Malton depot. De-regulation saw the West Yorkshire operation of the former NBC split up into smaller sub-companies.

 

The Yorkshire Coastliner operation as a seperate entity came into being in 1990, with the existing vehicles having been repainted into their 2nd livery for the operation, of which 421 in the photo is depicted wearing. These WYRCC Olympians stayed at malton until being replaced in 1992 by Northern Counties Leyland Olympians with private registrations (K2YCL-K7YCL, 402-407).

 

As part of Yorkshire Coastliner's 25 birthday event preserved 421 met up with the current 421, Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 BD11 CEA, at York Parliament Street and spent the day together, with some 26 years between them from when they were new. Surprisingly only these two double deckers have carried the fleet number 421, with a Mercedes Benz 709D G921WGS carrying the number in the early 1990's - meanwhile the number 422 was carried by Royale M922MYG, the third Royale in the fleet following two pre-production examples the year previous.

.... THE PARADOX?

This beautiful carousel is dedicated to the great writer Jules Gabriel Verne and its elements are all dedicated to his novels...

We know that he was very found of technology and looked at future with great enthusiasm, creativity and imagination...

Yes, I can say that in this part of Paris we can find future with all its most modern buildings...

and this carousel?

The best place to locate it, future in future, the imagination of future and the future itself...

future in the past and past in future...

present is the paradox here...

an old style carousel in one of the most modern place...

....enjoy your time and be happy....

*********************************************************

Jules Gabriel Verne

(8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his adventure novels and his profound influence on the literary genre of science fiction.

 

Verne was born to bourgeois parents in the seaport of Nantes, where he was trained to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer, but quit the profession early in life to write for magazines and the stage. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages extraordinaires, a widely popular series of scrupulously researched adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

 

Verne is generally considered a major literary author in France and most of Europe, where he has had a wide influence on the literary avant-garde and on surrealism. His reputation is markedly different in Anglophone regions, where he has often been labeled a writer of genre fiction or children's books, largely because of the highly abridged and altered translations in which his novels are often reprinted.

 

Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare. He has sometimes been called the "Father of Science Fiction", a title that has also been given to H. G. Wells and Hugo Gernsback.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne

AND

www.biography.com/people/jules-verne-9517579

*********************************************************

LA DEFENCE

is a major business district of the Paris Metropolitan Area and of the Île-de-France region, located in the commune of Courbevoie, and parts of Puteaux and Nanterre, just west of the city of Paris.

 

La Défense is Europe's largest purpose-built business district with 560 hectares (5.6 million square metres) area, 72 glass and steel buildings of which 18 are completed skyscrapers, 180,000 daily workers, and 3.5 million square metres (37.7 million sq ft) of office space. Around its Grande Arche and esplanade ("le Parvis"), La Défense contains many of the Paris urban area's tallest high-rises.

 

The district is located at the westernmost extremity of the ten-kilometre-long Historical Axis of Paris, which starts at the Louvre in Central Paris, and continues along the Champs-Élysées, well beyond the Arc de Triomphe along the Avenue de la Grande Armée before culminating at La Défense. The district is centred in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Courbevoie, Nanterre and Puteaux. La Défense is primarily a business district, and hosts a population of 25,000 permanent residents and 45,000 students. La Défense is also visited by 8,000,000 tourists each year, and houses an open-air museum.

 

FOR THE PLACE:

wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=48.890935&lon=2.242670...

*******************************************************************************

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

*******************************************************************************

Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

© All rights reserved

These pictures are dedicated to my “make-up” day that I stole from southern Gansu earlier in the week. As mentioned in the Singing Sand post, I was having breakfast at Charley Johng’s on Wednesday morning and talking with the owner who recommended this day trip.

 

It started at 8:00 a.m. on a coach that picked me up outside her restaurant (before proceeding to a hotel to fill out the rest of the 45 seats). I wasn’t the only foreigner, but I was the only one who didn’t look Chinese (or speak fluent Mandarin). I met some friendly Chinese who were living in Vancouver, and some Hong Kong folks (who are Chinese, but they most certainly distinguish from mainlanders…and most foreigners understand why).

 

So, off we went on our sojourn with six or seven stops. We drove west through the aforementioned “real” Dunhuang for about 15-20 minutes before the mountains and desert landscape began to resume control.

 

Our first stop, less than half an hour out of town, was “Old Dunhuang.” Really, they mean to say, “Old Fake Dunhuang,” but I jest. It’s…an area that shoots as a television studio when someone wants to shoot things that look like the Old West, Chinese style. For the bargain price of 40 RMB (about $7 in the current market on 1/10/16), you get to wander around this fairly decent-sized fake fort with fake everything inside…and a random prop fighter jet inside…and, outside, the backdrop of both mountainous sand dunes and snow-capped mountains off in the distance. All in all, it was a rather unique setting – at least one I’d never experienced before.

 

After 40 minutes there (not 35, not 45, but 40…per Mr. Coach Driver), we all climbed back aboard and headed a little farther west to what I think they call the “Western Caves.” This is a repository of Buddhist art in grottoes west of town, but since the world-famous Mogao Grottoes are nearby (and also in my personal plan for tomorrow morning), I didn’t feel particularly inspired to spend the very cheap and fair price of 15 RMB to see a few pieces of art. In retrospect, perhaps I should have, but who knows? I may be back this way again someday. I did spend my time at the Western Caves enjoying the panoramic view of the same snow-capped mountains and desert from Old Dunhuang with the juxtaposition of this particular oasis (which is apparently why this grotto/temple was built here in the first place).

 

A few minutes later, we kept making our way west towards Xinjiang. At some point just west of Dunhuang, the old Silk Road split into a northern and southern route. One of the first mountain passes (and forts, where we were heading) along the southern route is Yangguan Pass 70 km. southwest of Dunhuang. It was built in the 1st century AD during the Western Han Dynasty. This place was particularly enjoyable for me. Having been to quite a few sections of the Great Wall (and very much looking forward to the westernmost terminal of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall here in Gansu a few days later), I’m very much accustomed to these historical reproductions…and really love when I find some “real” history; the authentic walls and posts, though 500 years later, are just weather-worn rock.

 

Yangguan had a very nice mix of both the fake and the real. For 60 RMB (roughly $9), we had access to the completely remade fort with its bastions, gift shops, museum (a very nice one, admittedly), and what not. Out the back of the fort, and about a mile in the distance on a hill, is the original: one of the watchtowers that helped guard travelers for centuries along the Silk Road. To get there, you can walk, take golf carts on steroids (the kind you find at zoos that carry about 12-15 people), or rent a horse. Since I’d ridden a camel the day before and have ridden horses quite a few times, I went the lazy way…and got chauffeured up the hill. The watchtower itself is fenced off – and rightfully so – but, right next to it is a fantastic place to take in the surrounding landscape, with views of the mountains about 50 kilometers off. After a delightful two hours or so at Yangguan, we had lunch as a group at a Chinese restaurant near the fort. (It’s fun to eat with Chinese; the whole table of six, eight, or ten people just order random dishes of food. Everyone gets a bowl of rice then it’s a mini-buffet with your chopsticks from then on out.)

 

After being well-fed for about $3, we boarded the iron stallion and headed back down to the main road, then back east about 5 kilometers to the only road that turned off this western highway. The only point, it seems, of this side road is to go to Jade Pass (which follows the northern route of the Silk Road about 30 km down and, beyond that another 70-80 kilometers, it ends at Yadan National Park.

 

First stop down the über-long spur road: Jade Pass. To get there, all vehicles have to pass through a random checkpoint about 20 minutes down the road. Aside from that, it almost feels like you leave planet earth. I have never seen a flatter, more desolate landscape anywhere in my life. I almost imagine it’s what the lunar surface would feel like, with the exception of having a different atmosphere, gravitational pull, and what have you. Anyway, you catch my drift…

 

Jade Pass is beautiful landscape, minus the fort that you find at Yangguan Pass. The watchtower is in much better shape than those you find at Yangguan. But, unlike Yangguan, where they take better care of the watchtowers, over here at Jade Pass, you find plenty of pea-brained tourists ignoring signs (and fences) and climbing all over the watchtower as if it were a jungle gym. It’s times like these that it’s probably good my Mandarin is so poor. I would probably manage to somehow get myself deported, ironically, for yelling at idiots when I’m frustrated that they have no concept of conserving their own heritage. Running away from idiots as quickly as possible, I snapped a few pictures of the scenery…where more buffoons were blatantly ignoring signs and going where they oughtn’t. So, I cut my time at Jade Pass short and returned to the bus, which was waiting next to what looked to be a promising museum that we didn’t have the time to visit. We were apparently on a pretty tight schedule now.

 

Boarding the bus, we went a whole five minutes farther north for a stop to see the Han Dynasty Great Wall. Now, a few things to know. When people mention the “Great Wall” of China, it’s actually a series of walls that form a patchwork length that crosses from Shanhaiguan at the eastern terminal (ending famously in the sea), though there is a section in Liaoning province called Hushan that borders North Korea that I’ve been to and claims that it is the rightful eastern terminus of the wall. The western terminus of that wall is nearby (relatively speaking) at Jiayuguan here in Gansu province. The whole patchwork nature of that wall is emphasized by sections like Hushan. I only mention it now because the Great Wall of China refers to the Ming Dynasty wall…mostly built between 1368-1644 (with some sections marginally older, like Juyongguan, which dates to the Yuan Dynasty, immediately before the Ming).

 

The Han Dynasty wall out here dates to the original dynasty of China…in the 3rd century BC. So the wall here, while not as impressive as the rebuilt Ming sections of the wall in terms of visual appearance floored me because it’s original and almost 2,500 years old. The way the wall here was built (mud, adobe, etc.) is completely different than the Ming wall that came 1,500 years later. It’s shorter – in length (obviously) and height, but much longer in history. There is so little of this wall left here, though, that it would never be worth visiting on its own…or possible. Ten to fifteen minutes here is more than enough to get the “wall experience.”

 

From there, we were on to the ultimate destination of the day: Yadan National Park. I also discovered the reason we were on such a tight schedule. Yadan National Park is a very large park. Though this is lost in translation, I think the Chinese market it as sort of an “out of this world” experience, though I could be way off base. In reality, this used to be a seabed tens of thousands of years ago and the rock formations that are left here are the remnants of harder rocks that didn’t erode as quickly over time…which gives this park its current appearance.

 

Yadan National Park is strictly controlled. Admission was 150 or 180 RMB from what I recall (no more than $30) and, like Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, getting around the park is tightly controlled. (You have to take park-controlled buses from point to point, though at the various points, you can go out and explore the area.)

 

The landscape at this park, as mentioned, is quite unique. For anyone who has seen Chinese movies (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, for example, or Zhang Yimou’s Hero), the landscape will be familiar. The “far west” scenes in those movies were filmed near here in areas with identical landscapes. (I’m about 90% Hero’s western landscape was filmed just over the provincial border in Xinjiang. Crouching Tiger’s…I’m much less certain.)

 

After a few stops, we found that we were out in the middle of this out-of-this-world ghost city (Chinese definitely like to call these ghost cities) for a stunning sunset. After staying around for sunset for 30-45 minutes, we finally headed back to the visitor center and then boarded our own coach for the long, flat, 2-3 hour ride back to Dunhuang, where I gladly spent my last night in the nameless hotel before starting Friday’s slow trip back towards Lanzhou. Before bidding farewell to Dunhuang, though, Friday morning had an incredible trip – mostly unphotographed (as photography is forbidden and I tend to follow rules when traveling) of the Mogao Grottoes. More to come…

 

As usual, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions.

Dedicated to Tali

Fotos Nuevas Mayo 2013

 

© Álbum 0158

By Catedrales e Iglesias

By Cathedrals and Churches

Arquidiócesis Primada de México

www.catedraleseiglesias.com

  

Ex Convento Regina Coeli (Natividad de María Santísima)

Párroco Señor Presbítero José Cenobio Ramírez Chávez

Calle de Bolivar No 92

Colonia Centro

C.P. 6080

Delegación Cuauhtémoc

Tel. 5709-2640

Tel.

Fax. 5709-6272

 

En 1573 la administración virreinal cedió amplios terrenos a las religiosas concepcionistas en el viejo calpulli prehispánico de Moyotlán (más tarde barrio de San Juan) para que establecieran un convento.

 

La fundación, dedicada a la Reina del Cielo traducción de la expresión latina Regina Coeli y a la Natividad de la Virgen María, fue aprobada por el Papa Gregorio XIII en 1578.

 

El templo del monasterio se edificó en el ángulo que forman las actuales calles de Bolívar y Regina, frente a un espacio libre que ya en el siglo XVII se conocía con el nombre de Plaza Chiquita de Regina. Su forma irregular se origino en el trazo de una de las acequias que atravesaban ese baldío. El convento y el templo primitivos fueron muy pobres, con cimentación deficiente.

 

La reestructuración de estos edificios se realizó en 1656 a expensas de Melchor de Terreros. El templo se reformo después y se abrió el 13 de septiembre de 1731. La obra la proyectó el arquitecto Miguel Custodio Durán y la financió el arzobispo José Lanciego y Eguilaz.

 

Como todas las plazas y calles de la ciudad colonial anteriores a la gestión del virrey Revillagigedo, la Plaza de Regina no escapó a la suciedad y abandono en que se encontraban los espacios exteriores de la metrópoli: falta de drenaje conveniente, encharcamientos constantes, ausencia de empedrados y banquetas y carencia de iluminación nocturna, que la convertían en un lugar peligroso durante las noches. Además, en ella frecuentemente se asentaban tianguis y tablados de toda índole, habiendo sido utilizada, incluso, para matanza de animales, mezclándose a todas esas incomodidades el espectáculo de mendigos y menesterosos que se aposentaban en ella durante las funciones religiosas.

 

Transformación radical sufrió la plaza al ser exclaustradas las monjas concepcionistas, conjuntamente con las de otras órdenes religiosas, el 8 de marzo de 1863, y aunque estas volvieron al convento durante el imperio de Maximiliano de Habsburgo, el 14 de noviembre de 1867 se entregó el convento a la Secretaría de Guerra, sirviendo de cuartel hasta el 15 de junio de 1871, cuando el gobierno de la República lo dió, en pago de adeudos, al acaudalado Ramón Obregón.

 

El templo, por su parte, permaneció abierto al culto. Un informe rendido por el regidor del ramo en 1868, hace mención de las obras realizadas para que desaparecieran la insalubridad y los muladares acumulados en la plaza, donde ya existía una fuente pública que cuidaban las autoridades de la ciudad, insistiendo en que debía barrerse y regarse todos los días "por los aguadores que concurren a la fuente de Regina a sacar agua", así como para que los areneros, carboneros, zacateros o cualquier otro tratante de este género, asearan el lugar que ocupasen con sus mercaderías. Además, en febrero de ese mismo año, se instalaron faroles de hojalata con aparatos de gas líquido, de trementina, de veinte luces, sustituyendo al alumbrado de aceite instalado por la administración colonial.

 

Gracias a la generosidad y filantropía de la señorita María Concepción Máxima Béistegui y García, quien a su muerte, ocurrida en 1873, cedió sus bienes para la fundación de un hospital en lo que fuera el Convento de Regina, se pudieron salvar de la destrucción, que se había iniciado poco antes, el claustro principal y las crujías adyacentes al mismo. Así, el denominado Hospital Concepción Béistegui, después de laboriosa adaptación, fue inaugurado por el Gral. Porfirio Díaz el 21 de marzo de 1886.

 

El resto del convento fue dividido en lotes, construyéndose en su lugar varias casas y locales sin ningún valor arquitectónico. En 1967, las autoridades del Departamento del Distrito Federal, ante la necesidad de contar con amplios espacios abiertos en esta zona de la ciudad, eligieron la Plaza de Regina como una de las primeras en la restauración de los centros cívicos capitalinos.

 

Entonces la plaza fue cerrada al tránsito vehicular en el tramo de la calle de Regina que corría frente al templo, dejándolo fluir únicamente por la calle lateral ubicada al norte de la plaza, y llevando el pavimento pétreo, en adoquín de San Luis Potosí, hasta la fachada misma del templo. Los árboles existentes fueron reubicados al norte de la plaza para permitir mayor visibilidad al edificio.

Informacion tomada de

www.ciudadanosenred.org.mx/node/16488

 

Ex Convent Regina Coeli (Nativity of Mary)

Mr. Priest Pastor Jose Ramirez Chavez Cenobio

Bolivar Street No 92

Cologne Center

C.P. 6080

Cuauhtemoc

Mexico City

Phone 5709-2640

Phone

Fax. 5709-6272

 

In 1573 the colonial administration gave the spacious grounds of the old religious Conceptionists calpulli prehispanic Moyotlan (later district of San Juan) to establish a convent.

 

The foundation, dedicated to the Queen of Heaven translation of the Latin Regina Coeli and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, was approved by Pope Gregory XIII in 1578.

 

The temple of the monastery was built in the angle formed by the present streets of Bolívar and Regina, compared to free space in the seventeenth century and was known by the name of Piazza Regina Chiquita. Its irregular shape originated in the stroke of one of the canals running through this wasteland. The convent and the primitive church were very poor, poor foundation.

 

The restructuring of these buildings was performed in 1656 at the expense of Melchor de Terreros. The temple was later reformed and opened on September 13, 1731. The work was designed by the architect Miguel Custodio Durán and funded the Archbishop Jose Lanciego and Eguilaz.

 

Like all the squares and streets of the colonial city prior to the management of Viceroy Revillagigedo, Plaza Regina did not escape the dirt and neglect that were outside spaces of the metropolis: lack of appropriate drainage, ponding constant, no paving and sidewalks and lack of night lighting, which became a dangerous place at night. Moreover, she often settled swap meets and tablados of all kinds, having been used, even to killing animals, mixing all these discomforts the spectacle of beggars and needy that aposentaban there for religious functions.

 

Square underwent radical transformation when exclaustradas the Franciscan nuns, together with those of other religious orders, the March 8, 1863, and although these returned to the monastery during the reign of Maximilian of Hapsburg, 14 November 1867 gave the convent to the Secretary of War, serving as headquarters until June 15, 1871, when the government of the Republic gave it in payment of debts, the wealthy Ramón Obregón.

 

The church, meanwhile, remained open for worship. A report issued by the ruler of the sector in 1868, makes mention of the work undertaken to disappear unhealthiness and middens accumulated in the square, where there was already a public source guarded the city authorities, insisting he swept and watered every day "by the watermen who attend Regina source to draw water" as well as for litter boxes, coal, or any other dealer zacateros of this kind, asearan occupy the place with their merchandise. Moreover, in February of that year, tin lanterns were installed with liquid gas appliances, turpentine, twenty lights, replacing oil lamps installed by the colonial administration.

 

Thanks to the generosity and philanthropy of Miss Maria Conception High Beistegui and Garcia, who at his death in 1873, transferred its assets to the foundation of a hospital in what was once the Convent of Regina, were saved from destruction, that had begun shortly before, the main cloister and the bays adjacent to it. So-called Beistegui Conception Hospital, after laborious adaptation, was inaugurated by General Porfirio Diaz on March 21, 1886.

 

The rest of the convent was divided into lots, built several houses in place and local architectural worthless. In 1967, the authorities of the Federal District, to the need for open spaces in this area of ​​the city, chose Regina Square as one of the first in the restoration of civic centers in the capital.

 

Then the square was closed to traffic on the stretch of Regina Street that ran opposite the temple, just letting it flow down the side street just north of the square, carrying the stone pavement in San Luis Potosi cobble up the facade of the temple itself. Existing trees were relocated to the north of the square to allow greater visibility to the building.

  

M6 Wreay 19/04/2021

44th Annual Montana State University American Indian Council PowWow, Bozeman

Dedicated to our Sisters: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls

Dedicated to all Flickrite friends !

Wish you all the best in life !

  

First bloom from my garden.

Better view in large . (Straight off the camera )

+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Nakajima J9N Kitsuka (中島 橘花, "Orange Blossom", pronounced Kikka in Kanji used traditionally by the Japanese) was Japan's first jet aircraft. In internal IJN documents it was also called Kōkoku Nigō Heiki (皇国二号兵器, "Imperial Weapon No.2"). After the Japanese military attaché in Germany witnessed trials of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a request to Nakajima to develop a similar aircraft to be used as a fast attack bomber. Among the specifications for the design were the requirements that it should be able to be built largely by unskilled labor, and that the wings should be foldable. This latter feature was not intended for potential use on aircraft carriers, but rather to enable the aircraft to be hidden in caves and tunnels around Japan as the navy began to prepare for the defense of the home islands.

 

Nakajima designers Kazuo Ohno and Kenichi Matsumura laid out an aircraft that bore a strong but superficial resemblance to the Me 262. Compared to the Me 262, the J9N airframe was noticeably smaller and more conventional in design, with straight wings and tail surfaces, lacking the slight sweepback of the Me 262. The triangular fuselage cross section characteristic of the German design was less pronounced, due to smaller fuel tanks. The main landing gear of the Kikka was taken from the A6M Zero and the nose wheel from the tail of a Yokosuka P1Y bomber.

The Kikka was designed in preliminary form to use the Tsu-11, a rudimentary motorjet style jet engine that was essentially a ducted fan with an afterburner. Subsequent designs were planned around the Ne-10 (TR-10) centrifugal-flow turbojet, and the Ne-12, which added a four-stage axial compressor to the front of the Ne-10. Tests of this powerplant soon revealed that it would not produce anywhere near the power required to propel the aircraft, and the project was temporarily stalled. It was then decided to produce a new axial flow turbojet based on the German BMW 003.

 

Development of the engine was troubled, based on little more than photographs and a single cut-away drawing of the BMW 003. A suitable unit, the Ishikawa-jima Ne-20, was finally built in January 1945. By that time, the Kikka project was making progress and the first prototype made its maiden flight. Due to the worsening war situation, the Navy considered employing the Kikka as a kamikaze weapon, but this was quickly rejected due to the high cost and complexity associated with manufacturing contemporary turbojet engines. Other more economical projects designed specifically for kamikaze attacks, such as the simpler Nakajima Tōka (designed to absorb Japanese stock of obsolete engines), the pulsejet-powered Kawanishi Baika, and the infamous Yokosuka Ohka, were either underway or already in mass production.

 

The following month the prototype was dismantled and delivered to Kisarazu Naval Airfield where it was re-assembled and prepared for flight testing. The aircraft performed well during a 20-minute test flight, with the only concern being the length of the takeoff run – the Ne 20 only had a thrust of 4.66 kN (1,047 lbf), and the engine pair had barely sufficient power to get the aircraft off the ground. This lack of thrust also resulted in a maximum speed of just 623 km/h (387 mph, 336 kn) at sea level and 696 km/h (432 mph; 376 kn) at 10,000 m (32,808 ft).

For the second test flight, four days later, rocket assisted take off (RATO) units were fitted to the aircraft, which worked and gave the aircraft acceptable field performance. The tests went on, together with a second prototype, but despite this early test stage, the J9N was immediately rushed into production.

 

By May 1945 approximately forty airframes had been completed and handed over to IJN home defense frontline units for operational use and conversion training. These were structurally identical with the prototypes, but they were powered by more potent and reliable Ne-130 (with 8.826 kN/900 kgf) or Ne-230 (8.679 kN/885 kgf) engines, which finally gave the aircraft a competitive performance and also made the RATO boosters obsolete - unless an 800 kg bomb was carried in overload configuration. Most were J9N1 day fighter single seaters, armed with two 30 mm Type 5 cannons with 50 rounds per gun in the nose. Some operational Kitsukas had, due to the lack of equipment, the 30 mm guns replaced with lighter 20 mm Ho-5 cannon. A few were unarmed two-seaters (J9N2) with dual controls and a second seat instead of the fuselage fuel tank. This markedly limited the aircraft’s range but was accepted for a dedicated trainer, but a ventral 500 l drop tank could be carried to extend the two-seater’s range to an acceptable level.

 

A small number, both single- and two-seaters, were furthermore adapted to night fighter duties and equipped with an experimental ”FD-2” centimeter waveband radar in the nose with an “antler” antenna array, similar to German radar sets of the time. The FD-2 used four forward-facing Yagi style antennae with initially five and later with seven elements (the sideway facing rods) each. These consisted of two pairs, each with a sending (top and bot) and a receiving antenna (left and right). The set used horizontal lobe switching to find the target, an electrical shifter would continuously switch between the sets. The signal strengths would then be compared to determine the range and azimuth of the target, and the results would then be shown on a CRT display.

 

In order to fit the electronics (the FD-2 weighed around 70 kg/155 lb) the night fighters typically had one of the nose-mounted guns replaced by a fixed, obliquely firing Ho-5 gun ("Schräge Musik"-style), which was mounted in the aircraft’s flank behind the cockpit, and the 500l drop tank became a permanent installation to extend loiter time, at the expense of top speed, though. These machines received the suffix “-S” and flew, despite the FD-2’s weaknesses and limitations, a few quite effective missions against American B-29 bombers, but their impact was minimal due to the aircrafts’ small numbers and poor reliability of the still experimental radar system. However, the FD-2’s performance was rather underwhelming, though, with an insufficient range of only 3 km. Increased drag due to the antennae and countermeasures deployed by B-29 further decreased the effectiveness, and the J9N2-S’s successes could be rather attributed to experienced and motivated crews than the primitive radar.

 

Proposed follow-on J9N versions had included a reconnaissance aircraft and a fast attack aircraft that was supposed to carry a single bomb under the fuselage against ships. There was also a modified version of the design to be launched from a 200 m long catapult, the "Nakajima Kikka-kai Prototype Turbojet Special Attacker". All these proposed versions were expected to be powered by more advanced developments of the Ne-20, the Ne-330 with 13 kN (1.330 kg) thrust, but none of them reached the hardware stage.

 

The J9Ns’ overall war contribution was negligible, and after the war, several airframes (including partial airframes) were captured by Allied forces. Three airframes (including a two-seat night fighter with FD-2 radar) were brought to the U.S. for study. Today, two J9N examples survive in the National Air and Space Museum: The first is a Kikka that was taken to the Patuxent River Naval Air Base, Maryland for analysis. This aircraft is very incomplete and is believed to have been patched together from a variety of semi-completed airframes. It is currently still in storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Silver Hill, MD. The second Kikka is on display at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 8.13 m (26 ft 8 in) fuselage only

10.30 m (33 ft 8¾ in) with FD-2 antenna array

Wingspan: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Wing area: 13.2 m² (142 sq ft)

Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)

Gross weight: 3,500 kg (7,716 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 4,080 kg (8,995 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Ishikawajima Ne-130 or Ne-230 axial-flow turbojet engines

each with 8.83 kN/900 kg or 8.68 kN/885 kg thrust

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 785 km/h (487 mph, 426 kn)

Range: 925 km (574 mi, 502 nmi) with internal fuel

Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 10.5 m/s (2,064 ft/min)

Wing loading: 265 kg/m² (54 lb/sq ft)

Thrust-to-weight ratio: 0.43

 

Armament:

1× 30 mm (1.181 in) Type 5 cannon with 50 rounds in the nose

1× 20 mm (0.787 in) Type Ho-2 cannon with 80 rounds, mounted obliquely behind the cockpit

1× ventral hardpoint for a 500 l drop tank or a single 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is in fact the second Kikka I have built, and this time it’s a two-seater from AZ Models – actually the trainer boxing, but converted into a personal night fighter interpretation. The AZ Models kit is a simple affair, but that's also its problem. In the box things look quite good, detail level is on par with a classic Matchbox kit. But unlike a Matchbox kit, the AZ Models offering does not go together well. I had to fight everywhere with poor fit, lack of locator pins, ejection marks - anything a short run model kit can throw at you! Thanks to the experience with the single-seater kit some time ago, things did not become too traumatic, but it’s still not a kit for beginners. What worked surprisingly well was the IP canopy, though, which I cut into five sections for an optional open display – even though I am not certain if the kit’s designers had put some brain into their work because the canopy’s segmentation becomes more and more dubious the further you go backwards.

 

The only personal mods is a slightly changed armament, with one nose gun deleted and faired over with a piece of styrene sheet, while the leftover gun was mounted obliquely onto the left flank. I initially considered a position behind the canopy but rejected this because of CoG reasons. Then I planned to mount it directly behind the 2nd seat, so that the barrel would protrude through the canopy, but this appeared unrealistic because the (utterly tiny) sliding canopy for the rear crewman could not have been opened anymore? Finally, I settled for an offset position in the aircraft’s flanks, partly inspired by “Schräge Musik” arrangements on some German Fw 190 night fighters.

 

The antennae come from a Jadar Model PE set for Italeri’s Me 210s, turning it either into a night fighter or a naval surveillance aircraft.

  

Painting and markings:

This became rather lusterless; many late IJN night fighters carried a uniform dark green livery with minimalistic, toned-down markings, e. g. hinomaru without a white high-contrast edge, just the yellow ID bands on the wings’ leading edges were retained.

For this look the model received an overall basis coat of Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green), later treated with a black ink washing, dry-brushed aluminum and post-shading with lighter shades of dark green (including Humbrol 116 and Revell 67). The only colorful highlight is a red fin tip (Humbrol 19) and a thin red stripe underneath (decal). The yellow and white ID bands were created with decal material.

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a yellowish-green primer (trying to simulate a typical “bamboo” shade that was used in some late-war IJN cockpits), while the landing gear wells were painted in aodake iro, a clear bluish protective lacquer. The landing gear struts themselves became semi-matt black.

 

The markings are fictional and were puzzled together from various sources. The hinomaru came from the AZ Models’ Kikka single seater sheet (since it offers six roundels w/o white edge), the tactical code on the fin was created with red numbers from a Fujimi Aichi B7A2 Ryusei.

 

Finally, the kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish and some grinded graphite around the jet exhausts and the gun nozzles.

  

Well, this fictional Kikka night fighter looks quite dry, but that makes it IMHO more credible. The large antler antenna array might look “a bit too much”, and a real night fighter probably had a simpler arrangement with a single Yagi-style/arrow-shaped antenna, but a description of the FD-2 radar suggested the layout I chose – and it does not look bad. The oblique cannon in the flank is another odd detail, but it is not unplausible. However, with all the equipment and esp. the draggy antennae on board, the Kikka’s mediocre performance would surely have seriously suffered, probably beyond an effective use. But this is whifworld, after all. ;-)

Dedicated to Abbas Kiarostami

Dedicated in 1849, the Roman Catholic Church is named after "The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The parish boundaries include the areas of Rathcoole and Brittas and works in conjunction with the neighbouring parish of St. Finian's, Newcastle.

St.-Nikolaus-Kirche in der Altststadt (Chrám sv. Mikuláše - staroměstský)

 

St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town (Chrám sv. Mikuláše - staroměstský)

The baroque monumental building, erected in the years 1732-1737 according to the plans of K. I. Dientzenhofer, was towards the street "Pařížská třída" modernized. The interior with its interesting light effects is dominated by a chandelier with glass crystal fittings, which originates from the glass huts in Harrachov. This was one was by the Russian Czar dedicated to the Orthodox Church (Czech: Pravoslavná církev) for this church building. Today, the church of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (Czech Československá církev husitská) is also used as a concert hall.

The first mention of the church in a document of the Břevnov monastery dates from 1273, but a smaller Nicholas church stood already in the Romanesque time on the market square. In the second half of the 14th century followed a Gothic reconstruction to a three-aisled church with two towers and adjoining parish with school and a cemetery with ossuary. Around 1360, preached here Jan Milíč z Kroměříže (Johannes Milicius) and later Matěj z Janova (Matthias of Janov). The church belonged to the Hus camp. The so-called French fire of 1689 caused such severe damage that it was decided to tear down the church and to erect a new one in its place. One of the most prestigious Baroque builders, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, was entrusted with the carrying out of the building. In the years 1732 - 1737, was created the monumental architecture of Prague Baroque, financially supported by the Benedictine Abbot Anselm Vlach. The stuccoes were done by Bernard Spinetti with his companions, the frescoes stem from the Bavarian painter Cosmas Damian Assam, the sculptures are a work of Anton Braun, who had taken over the famous sculptor's workshop from his uncle Matthias Bernard Braun. In the year 1920, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church was founded here by Dr. K. Farský, the building is until today in its ownership.

The interior is very complex and sculpturally designed and with its interesting light effects it belongs to Dientzenhofers masterpieces. In the nave is a chandelier with crystal glass elements from the glassworks of Harrachov - a gift from the Russian czar Nikolai II to the Orthodox Church, which used the building until 1871. The church was extensively renovated from 1967 - 1977.

 

Der barocke Monumentalbau, errichtet in den Jahren 1732–1737 nach den Plänen von K. I. Dientzenhofer, wurde zur Straße „Pařížská třída“ hin neuzeitlich hergerichtet. Das Interieur mit seinen interessanten Lichteffekten wird von einem Kronleuchter mit gläsernen Kristallausschmückungen, der aus den Glashütten in Harrachov stammt, dominiert. Dieser wurde der Orthodoxen Kirche (tsch.: Pravoslavná církev) für diese Kirche von dem russischen Zar gewidmet. Heute wird die Kirche von der Tschechoslowakischen Hussitischen Kirche (tsch.: Československá církev husitská) auch als Konzerthalle verwendet.

Die erste Erwähnung der Kirche in einer Urkunde des Břevnov-Klosters stammt aus dem Jahr 1273, eine kleinere Nikolauskirche stand jedoch bereits in der Romanik auf dem Marktplatz. In der zweiten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts erfolgte ein gotischer Umbau zu einer dreischiffigen Kirche mit zwei Türmen und anliegender Pfarrei mit Schule und einem Friedhof mit Beinhaus. Um 1360 predigte hier Jan Milíč z Kroměříže (Johannes Milicius) und später Matěj z Janova (Matthias von Janov). Die Kirche gehörte zum Hus-Lager. Der so gen. französische Brand von 1689 verursachte derart starke Schäden, dass beschlossen wurde, die Kirche abzureißen und an ihrer Stelle eine neue zu errichten. Mit der Durchführung des Baus wurde einer der damals angesehensten Barockbaumeister, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, betraut. In den Jahren 1732 - 1737 entstand, finanziell getragen vom Benediktinerabt Anselm Vlach, die monumentale Architektur des Prager Barock. Die Stuckaturen führte Bernard Spinetti mit seinen Gesellen aus, die Fresken stammen von dem bayerischen Maler Kosmas Damian Assam, die Plastiken sind ein Werk Anton Brauns, der die berühmte Bildhauerwerkstatt von seinem Onkel Matthias Bernard Braun übernommen hatte. Im Jahr 1920 wurde hier von Dr. K. Farský die Tschechoslowakische hussitische Kirche gegründet, in deren Eigentum sich das Gebäude bis heute befindet.

Der Innenraum ist sehr komplex und plastisch gestaltet und zählt mit seinen interessanten Lichteffekten zu Dientzenhofers Meisterwerken. Im Schiff hängt ein Kronleuchter mit Kristallglas-Elementen aus den Glaswerken Harrachov - ein Geschenk des russischen Zaren Nikolai II. an die orthodoxe Kirche, die das Gebäude bis 1871 nutzte. Die Kirche wurde von 1967 - 1977 aufwendig renoviert.

www.prague.eu/de/objekt/orte/163/st-nikolaus-kirche-in-de...

    

dedicated to Rosa Dik with honor and love

Rom - Mars-Ultor-Tempel

 

The Temple of Mars Ultor was a sanctuary erected in Ancient Rome by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 2 BCE and dedicated to the god Mars in his guise as avenger. The centerpiece of the Forum of Augustus, it was a peripteral style temple, on the front and sides, but not the rear (sine postico), raised on a platform and lined with eight columns in the Corinthian order style.

 

According to Suetonius and Ovid, the young Octavian vowed to build a temple to Mars in 42 BCE just before the Battle of Philippi if the god would grant him and Marcus Antonius victory over two of the assassins of Julius Caesar, Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. However, work did not commence on the temple until after the recovery of the Aquilae in 20 BCE that had been lost by Marcus Licinius Crassus in the disastrous Battle of Carrhae 33 years earlier. Originally, the Roman Senate had decreed that the returned standards were to be housed in a temple to Mars Ultor that was to be built on the Capitoline Hill. Augustus however, declared that he would build it at his own expense on the site of his new forum. Augustus’s decision to wait to fulfill his vow has been speculated to have been due to a reluctance to celebrate his victory over those who were seen as the defenders of Libertas, whereas the return of the standards, and its symbolic revenge against the Parthians, was a more acceptable victory to commemorate.

 

The temple was dedicated, albeit in an incomplete state, in 2 BCE, to coincide with Augustus’s celebration of his 13th consulship as well as his acceptance of the title Pater Patriae. The temple (and the forum within which it was placed) was part of imperial propaganda campaign to glorify and bring about an acceptance of the authority of the new Augustan empire. To the imperial regime, it was vital to accentuate the favour of the gods, as well as glorifying the ancestral figures and past of Rome, and so overcome the disorder of the civil wars that had plagued the state for over 50 years. In the words of Augustus himself, “I have fashioned this to lead the citizens to require me, while I live, and the rulers of later times as well, to attain the standard set by those great men of old.”

 

On the pediment of the temple was inscribed the name of Augustus, along with a series of reliefs honouring the divinities that played a part in influencing the outcome of battles and wars through their intercession. In the centre was the figure of Mars, flanked by the goddesses Fortuna and Venus. Next to these were the seated figures of Romulus (in the guise of an augur) and the goddess Roma in arms. Finally, in the gable corners were reclining figures of the personification of the Palatine Hill and Father Tiber.[6] It was to these divinities that Augustan propaganda ascribed the self-styled “victory” over the Parthians that saw the return of the lost standards during Augustus’s visit to Syria in 20 BCE (and to a lesser extent, his victory at the Battle of Philippi as an act of filial vengeance against the assassins of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar). Further, it also emphasized the role that the goddess Fortuna played his triple victory in Illyria (33 BCE), at the Battle of Actium and in Egypt defeating Cleopatra. Finally, the role of Mars Ultor was critical in Augustus’s attempts to refashion the events of his coming to power in a way that obscured the illegality of much of his actions during those years.

 

Within the temple there stood three statues. In the middle, a colossal Mars Ultor depicted in full military dress, holding a large spear in his right hand and a shield in his left. On the right side of the god stood a statue of the goddess Venus, with Cupid – it was Venus whom all of the gens Julia claimed descent from. To the left of the god was a statue of Julius Caesar, or more specifically ‘Divus Julius’, as he had been deified after a comet was seen in the sky during his funeral games.

 

In 19 CE, the emperor Tiberius added two arches, one on either side of the temple, and it was later restored during the reign of Hadrian. The temple was used by the Senate as a meeting place to discuss matters of foreign policy, discussions around declarations of war, and to make decisions for awarding triumphs. It also served as a reception place to meet foreign embassies. By the end of the 4th century, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting non-Christian worship. During the ninth century, an oratory church was built in the ruins of the temple, and was called the church of San Basilio in Scala Mortuorum. This church was mentioned in the 12th century Mirabilia Urbis Romae and by the late 19th century, the temple ruins was home to the convent of the nuns of Santa Annunziata.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Im Jahr 2 v. Chr. wurde das Augustusforum mit dem dazugehörigen Mars-Ultor-Tempel von Kaiser Augustus in Rom eingeweiht. Das Zentrum des Augustusforums bildet der Tempel des Mars Ultor, des rächenden Mars. Dieses Forum war das zweite der vier Kaiserforen in Rom. Es handelte sich dabei um eine Erweiterung des Forum Romanum.

 

Der Komplex mit Forum und Tempel wurde von Augustus schon im Jahre 42 v. Chr. geplant, jedoch dauerte es bis zu dessen Einweihung noch 40 Jahre. Ursprünglich erdacht zur Demonstration der Nachfolge Octavians und zum Andenken an die Schlacht bei Philippi (42 v. Chr.), diente es bei der Fertigstellung als Symbol der Prinzipatsideologie und der Versöhnung des Kaisers mit dem Senat.

 

Architektur und Standort

 

Das Tempelinnere war prachtvoll ausgestattet. Das Gebäude bestand aus Carrara-Marmor und acht korinthische Säulen säumten die Front, sowie die Seiten des Gebäudes. Im Zentrum des Tempels (Giebelfeld bzw. große Apsis) befand sich eine Statue von Mars, dargestellt als Friedensstifter und nicht wie üblich als Kriegsgott – aber, durch einen Fuß auf der Weltkugel, immer noch als Zeichen römischer Weltherrschaft. Zu seiner Rechten standen Venus und Rom, zur Linken Fortuna und Romulus. Kapitol und Tiber waren durch allegorische Figuren dargestellt.

 

In den Säulenhallen und Exedren standen Statuen und Büsten von siegreichen Feldherrn, verdienten Beamten, Königen, mythologischen Figuren und Dichtern. Sechzig Karyatiden sowie weibliche Gebälkträgerinnen verkörperten die Unterwerfung fremder Völker. Vor dem Tempel stand mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit eine Quadriga, die Augustus im Triumph zeigte. Die Sockelinschrift lautete "pater patriae" – Vater des Vaterlandes. Die Ruinen des Augustusforums wurden ab 1200 für Paläste genutzt. Der Komplex befand sich im Zentrum Roms, nordöstlich des Kapitols. Er schloss unmittelbar an das Forum Iulium an.

 

Funktion und Bedeutung

 

Das Tempelareal wurde bewusst direkt in den Wohnsiedlungen errichtet, um Augustus als Herrscher darzustellen, der die Kommunikation zu seinem Volk sucht. Es diente zur Aufbewahrung von Caesars Schwert sowie der 20 v. Chr. von den Parthern wiedergewonnenen Feldzeichen. Außerdem wurden hier die Lorbeerkränze der Triumphatoren niedergelegt. Weiterhin wurden Statthalter, die man in die Provinzen entsandte, verabschiedet und der Senat traf Entscheidungen über Kriege und Triumphe. Des Weiteren fand hier die Anlegung der „toga virilis“ statt.

 

Durch das Augustusforum sollte der Kaiser als Teil der römischen Geschichte dargestellt werden. Er wurde hier mit den großen Persönlichkeiten der römischen Geschichte und Mythologie gleichgesetzt. Zudem diente es zur religiösen Darstellung Augustus, der seit 41 v. Chr. immer mehr Priesterämter übernahm.

 

(Wikipedia)

Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

 

Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

 

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").

 

HISTORY

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

 

According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.

 

According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.

 

In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.

 

In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."

 

In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

 

"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

 

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

 

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.

 

ARCHITECTURE

SITE AND PLAN

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.

 

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.

 

STYLE

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.

 

FEATURES

OUTER ENCLOSURE

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.

 

CENTRAL STRUCTURE

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.

 

Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

 

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.

 

North and south of the cloister are libraries.

 

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.

 

Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

 

DECORATION

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".

 

From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

 

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

 

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.

 

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

 

ANGKOR WAT TODAY

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.

 

WIKIPEDIA

vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/Dr-harsh-vardhan-dedicates-two-ne...

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today dedicated to the nation two databases brought out by the Department of Science and Technology on `S&T Awards in India’ and `Indian origin academicians and scholars abroad’.

 

The database on `S&T Awards in India’ is an attempt to build and manage the information about science and technology awards that have been instituted since 1928 in India. It provides data on various aspects such as discipline, periodicity, categories, awards level, chronology and state wise distribution of awards and their sponsors. It will be useful for planners, policy makers, funding agencies and other stakeholders to chalk out their programmes as per the priorities of R&D activities.

 

The database on `Indian Origin Academicians’, in turn, has information on 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. It is of immense relevance/importance in the present-day scenario where international collaborations with knowledge experts are the key factor for S&T led growth and competitiveness. The project team explored around 2,700 academic university websites to gather this information from selected countries (US, UK, Australia and Canada).

 

The Minister released the databases at a function to mark the National Science Day, which is celebrated every year since 1987 in remembrance of Nobel Laureate Sir C.V.Raman’s path breaking discovery of Raman Effect in 1930.

 

He also presented the National S&T Communication Awards, AWSAR (Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research) Awards, and SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board)’s Women Excellence Awards on the occasion.

 

Under the National S&T Communication Awards, Dr. S. Anil Kumar (Anilkumar Vadavathoor), a well known popular science writer in Malayalam has won the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines; Indian Resource and Development Association and Mr. Mihir Kumar Panda the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children; Dr Sheffali Gulati, Delhi and Mr.Rakesh Khatri the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods; and Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in Electronic Media.

  

National Science Communication Award Winner - Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Mihir Kumar Panda, Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Rakesh Khatri, Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa (top to bottom)

 

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today dedicated to the nation two databases brought out by the Department of Science and Technology on `S&T Awards in India’ and `Indian origin academicians and scholars abroad’.

 

In the case of AWSAR awards, Dr. Sangeeta Dutta of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has won the AWSAR Award for Outstanding Story under the Post-doctoral fellow category; Ms. Pooja Maurya of CSIR- Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, the AWSAR Award: First Prize (PhD category); Ms. Indu Joshi of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the AWSAR Award: Second prize (PhD category); and Ms. Shruti Soni of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore the AWSAR Award: Third prize (PhD category).

  

Photo-1: Winners of 'AWSAR' contest- Dr. Sangeeta Dutta (top left), Pooja Maurya (top right), Indu Joshi (bottom left), Shruti Soni (bottom right)

 

The winners of SERB Women Excellence Award are Dr. Shobhna Kapoor of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Dr. Antara Banerjee of National Institute for Research In Reproductive Health, Dr. Sonu Gandhi of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, and Dr. Ritu Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan

  

SERB Women-Excellence Award Winners- Dr. Shobhna Kapoor (top left), Antara Banerjee (top right), Dr. Ritu Gupta (bottom left), Dr. Sonu Gandhi (bottom right)

 

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister noted that India's global position both in innovations and scientific publications has seen a rising trend over the last six years, with its Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking improving rapidly to 48 (2020) from 81 (2015) and Scientific Publication ranking to 3rd position (2018) from 6th (2014)

 

Further, he pointed out that India ranked 8th in patents filed by resident scientists/innovators from respective countries as per WIPO Statistics and ranked 3rd in number of PhD degrees awarded (24,474) in Science and Engineering. Besides, women’s participation in R&D has increased to 16.6% (2018) from 13.9% (2016). India has reached 3rd position in the world in terms of number of startups.

 

He pointed out that compared to last year there has been a 30 per cent increase in the budget of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 and said that the Country’s upcoming Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy aspired to position India much higher among globally competitive and innovative economies and the coming policy on Scientific Social Responsibility will seek to provide a big impetus to create the mindset and value systems to recognize, respect, and reward performances which create wealth from S&T derived knowledge.

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Ministry of Science & Technology

Dr Harsh Vardhan gives away awards to science communicators and women scientists on National Science Day

 

The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country: Dr Harsh Vardhan

 

“Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”: Dr Harsh Vardhan

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also releases the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad

 

Also confers an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers

Posted On: 28 FEB 2021 7:10PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan today highlighted how science technology and innovation (STI) would impact our future in education, skills and functioning in the post-pandemic world. He was addressing the National Science Day (NSD) funFction through video-conferencing from Imphal, Manipur. Awards to science communicators and women scientists were also conferred by the Science & Technology Minister on the occasion of National Science Day which is celebrated to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect on this day every year. The NSD celebrations were organized by the National Council for Science Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science &

   

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country”. The Union Minister said that in view of last year's challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme of the National Science Day 2021, ‘Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work,’ becomes all the more important.

 

“World has witnessed how Indian S&T systems rose to this recent unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic. Scientific awareness and health preparedness shall become even more important in post-COVID 19 times. A comprehensive National programme has already been launched on health and risk communication with a focus on COVID-19, namely, Year of Awareness on Science & Health (YASH). We have brought out an online interactive multimedia bilingual resource for mass awareness on COVID- 19, COVID Katha,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan disclosed.

 

“The data portals launched today will be game changers. We feel that scientists with legacy from India should be on one platform and contribute to India’s growth story”, the Minister explained. He further said that the Prime Minister has been talking about Scientific Social Responsibility for which the Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. “So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged.

 

He also underlined the importance of sustained efforts of inculcating, nurturing, and unleashing the scientific temper and innovative mindset of projected population of 1.5 billion (+) people in 2050 for sustainable and inclusive growth.

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan presented the National S&T Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, and SERB Women Excellence Awards and conferred Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for outstanding work in science media and journalism.

   

The Minister also released the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad. The database on S&T Awards in India is an excellent source of information about S&T awards presented to R&D professionals in India. The database of Indian Origin Academicians is a unique database developed in the country and has a huge information base of about 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also conferred an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers.

 

Speaking on the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in driving STI as a tool for the growth and development of the country, Secretary DST Prof. Ashutosh Sharma said that science and technology has a critical role in creating ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, which is ready for the future. “Future of STI is going to impact us in every aspect of life. Recalling our glorious past will show us the light to take us to future. There are huge challenges, like sustainable development, climate change, clean energy, rise of intelligent machines, and so on. The future is multi-disciplinary, and in order to solve problems, one has to approach them in an interdisciplinary manner. The job of scientists is to help reach science to every corner of the country”, he pointed out.

 

Dr Shekhar C Mande, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR, highlighted the contributions of the Indian scientific community during COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has shown that the Indian S&T community is ready for facing all the challenges like the recent pandemic and those that may come in the future,” he said.

 

Dr. Gargi B Dasgupta, Director, IBM Research India, and CTO, IBM India and South Asia, Bangalore, India, delivered the special lecture on the theme and said that fourth industrial revolution is creating demand for new skill sets displacing existing jobs as well as giving rise to new ones. She spoke about the future of jobs and the urgency of science, highlighting the recent study by World Economic Forum (WEF) on the new emerging job clusters and the skills required for the economy of tomorrow.

 

Secretary, SERB Prof Sandeep Verma and Head, NCSTC Dr. Praveen Arora were also present on occasion.

 

National Science Day is celebrated every year on 28th February to commemorate the announcement of the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir C.V. Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The government of India designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986. Since then, theme-based science communication activities are carried out all over the country on this occasion.

 

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST acts as a nodal agency to support, catalyze and coordinate the celebration of the National Science Day throughout the country in scientific institutions, research laboratories, and autonomous scientific institutions associated with the Ministry of Science and Technology. NCSTC has supported various programmes countrywide through State S&T Councils & Departments for organization of a range of activities, such as lectures, quizzes, open houses, etc. DST also instituted National Awards for Science Popularization in 1987 to stimulate, encourage and recognize outstanding efforts in the area of science and technology communication and popularization as well as inculcating scientific temper among masses. These awards are presented every year on National Science Day. The awards consist of a memento, citation, and award money.

   

List of Awardees:

   

Science and Technology Communication Awardees

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines. : Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children: (1) Indian Resource and Development Association, Haryana (2) Dr. Mihir Kumar Panda, Odisha

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods: (1) Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Delhi (2) Shri Rakesh Khatri, Delhi

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in the Electronic Medium: Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa, Telangana

 

Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for Outstanding Work in Science Media and Journalism: Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

Appreciation Shield for National S&T Databases

 

S&T Awards in India: Dr Lalit Mohan, Society for Environment & Development (SED), Delhi

 

Indian origin Academicians Abroad: Dr. Rajesh Bhatia & Team, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh

   

AWSAR Awardees

 

Outstanding Story (PDF category)

Dr. Sangeeta Dutta, Bengaluru, Karnataka

 

AWSAR Award: First Prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Pooja Maurya, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

 

AWSAR Award: Second prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Indu Joshi, New Delhi, Delhi

 

AWSAR Award: Third prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Shruti Soni, Bangalore, Karnataka

   

SERB Women Excellence Awardees

 

Dr. Shobhna Kapoor

 

Assistant Professor

 

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

 

Mumbai, Maharashtra

   

Dr. Antara Banerjee

 

Scientist B

 

National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health

 

Mumbai, Maharashtra

   

Dr. Sonu Gandhi

 

Scientist D

 

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology

 

Hyderabad, Telangana

   

Dr. Ritu Gupta

 

Assistant Professor

 

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

 

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

   

(PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OF AWARDEES):

 

1… AWASAR

 

2….NCSTC

 

Click here to see Brochure NSD

 

indiaeducationdiary.in/dr-harsh-vardhan-gives-away-awards...

  

Dr Harsh Vardhan Gives Away Awards To Science Communicators And Women Scientists On National Science Day

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Feb 28, 2021

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New Delhi: Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan today highlighted how science technology and innovation (STI) would impact our future in education, skills and functioning in the post-pandemic world. He was addressing the National Science Day (NSD) funFction through video-conferencing from Imphal, Manipur. Awards to science communicators and women scientists were also conferred by the Science & Technology Minister on the occasion of National Science Day which is celebrated to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect on this day every year. The NSD celebrations were organized by the National Council for Science Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science &

   

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country”. The Union Minister said that in view of last year’s challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme of the National Science Day 2021, ‘Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work,’ becomes all the more important.

 

“World has witnessed how Indian S&T systems rose to this recent unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic. Scientific awareness and health preparedness shall become even more important in post-COVID 19 times. A comprehensive National programme has already been launched on health and risk communication with a focus on COVID-19, namely, Year of Awareness on Science & Health (YASH). We have brought out an online interactive multimedia bilingual resource for mass awareness on COVID- 19, COVID Katha,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan disclosed.

 

“The data portals launched today will be game changers. We feel that scientists with legacy from India should be on one platform and contribute to India’s growth story”, the Minister explained. He further said that the Prime Minister has been talking about Scientific Social Responsibility for which the Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. “So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged.

 

He also underlined the importance of sustained efforts of inculcating, nurturing, and unleashing the scientific temper and innovative mindset of projected population of 1.5 billion (+) people in 2050 for sustainable and inclusive growth.

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan presented the National S&T Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, and SERB Women Excellence Awards and conferred Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for outstanding work in science media and journalism.

   

The Minister also released the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad. The database on S&T Awards in India is an excellent source of information about S&T awards presented to R&D professionals in India. The database of Indian Origin Academicians is a unique database developed in the country and has a huge information base of about 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also conferred an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers.

 

Speaking on the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in driving STI as a tool for the growth and development of the country, Secretary DST Prof. Ashutosh Sharma said that science and technology has a critical role in creating ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, which is ready for the future. “Future of STI is going to impact us in every aspect of life. Recalling our glorious past will show us the light to take us to future. There are huge challenges, like sustainable development, climate change, clean energy, rise of intelligent machines, and so on. The future is multi-disciplinary, and in order to solve problems, one has to approach them in an interdisciplinary manner. The job of scientists is to help reach science to every corner of the country”, he pointed out.

 

Dr Shekhar C Mande, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR, highlighted the contributions of the Indian scientific community during COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has shown that the Indian S&T community is ready for facing all the challenges like the recent pandemic and those that may come in the future,” he said.

 

Dr. Gargi B Dasgupta, Director, IBM Research India, and CTO, IBM India and South Asia, Bangalore, India, delivered the special lecture on the theme and said that fourth industrial revolution is creating demand for new skill sets displacing existing jobs as well as giving rise to new ones. She spoke about the future of jobs and the urgency of science, highlighting the recent study by World Economic Forum (WEF) on the new emerging job clusters and the skills required for the economy of tomorrow.

 

Secretary, SERB Prof Sandeep Verma and Head, NCSTC Dr. Praveen Arora were also present on occasion.

 

National Science Day is celebrated every year on 28th February to commemorate the announcement of the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir C.V. Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The government of India designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986. Since then, theme-based science communication activities are carried out all over the country on this occasion.

 

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST acts as a nodal agency to support, catalyze and coordinate the celebration of the National Science Day throughout the country in scientific institutions, research laboratories, and autonomous scientific institutions associated with the Ministry of Science and Technology. NCSTC has supported various programmes countrywide through State S&T Councils & Departments for organization of a range of activities, such as lectures, quizzes, open houses, etc. DST also instituted National Awards for Science Popularization in 1987 to stimulate, encourage and recognize outstanding efforts in the area of science and technology communication and popularization as well as inculcating scientific temper among masses. These awards are presented every year on National Science Day. The awards consist of a memento, citation, and award money.

   

List of Awardees:

   

Science and Technology Communication Awardees

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines. : Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children: (1) Indian Resource and Development Association, Haryana (2) Dr. Mihir Kumar Panda, Odisha

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods: (1) Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Delhi (2) Shri Rakesh Khatri, Delhi

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in the Electronic Medium: Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa, Telangana

 

Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for Outstanding Work in Science Media and Journalism: Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

Appreciation Shield for National S&T Databases

 

S&T Awards in India: Dr Lalit Mohan, Society for Environment & Development (SED), Delhi

 

Indian origin Academicians Abroad: Dr. Rajesh Bhatia & Team, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh

  

hindi.webdunia.com/national-hindi-news/raman-effect-awsar...

 

राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस पर पुरस्कृत किए गए विज्ञान संचारक

National Science Day

 

Last Updated: सोमवार, 1 मार्च 2021 (12:07 IST)नई दिल्ली, समाज में वैज्ञानिक चेतना के प्रचार-प्रसार में जुटे विज्ञान संचारकों को राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस (28 फरवरी) के अवसर पर राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार प्रदान किए गए हैं।

 

राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार परिषद (एनसीएसटीसी) की ओर से हर वर्ष विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में उल्लेखनीय योगदान देने वाले संचारकों को ये पुरस्कार प्रदान किए जाते हैं। विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार के साथ-साथ इस मौके पर साइंस ऐंड इंजीनियरिंग रिसर्च बोर्ड (एसईआरबी) वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड, और ‘अवसर’ (ऑग्मेंटिंग राइटिंग स्किल्स फॉर आर्टिकुलेटिंग रिसर्च) प्रतियोगिता के विजेताओं को भी पुरस्कृत किया गया है।

 

विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार परिषद (एनसीएसटीसी) द्वारा विज्ञान को लोकप्रिय बनाने और संचार के क्षेत्र में उत्कृष्ट प्रयासों के प्रोत्साहन और वैज्ञानिक अभिरुचि बढ़ाने में योगदान देने वाले लोगों एवं संस्थाओं को छह श्रेणियों में विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार दिया जाता है। वहीं, ‘अवसर’ एक अखिल भारतीय प्रतियोगिता है, जिसमें विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी से जुड़े विभिन्न विषयों में डॉक्टोरल या पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल शोधार्थियों से उनके शोध विषय पर आधारित सरल भाषा में आलेख आमंत्रित किए जाते हैं, और चयनित सर्वश्रेष्ठ आलेखों को पुरस्कृत किया जाता है। इसी तरह, विज्ञान एवं इंजीनियरिंग में उत्कृष्ट शोध को प्रोत्साहित करने के लिए युवा महिला वैज्ञानिकों (40 वर्ष से कम आयु) को एसईआरबी वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड प्रदान किया जाता है।

 

केंद्रीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी, पृथ्वी विज्ञान, स्वास्थ्य तथा परिवार कल्याण मंत्री डॉ हर्षवर्धन ने पुरस्कृत लोगों को बधाई देते हुए कहा है कि “वर्ष 2021 के राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस की विषयवस्तु “विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी एवं नवाचार का भविष्यः शिक्षा, कौशल एवं कार्य पर प्रभाव” है, जो वर्तमान परिदृश्य के अनुकूल है।

National Science Day

पिछले एक साल में, कोविड-19 की चुनौतियों के बावजूद विज्ञान से संबंधित मंत्रालयों के लिए वर्ष 2021 उपलब्धि भरा रहा है। दुनिया ने देखा कि महामारी से उपजे अप्रत्याशित संकट से उबरने में भारतीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी तंत्र ने कैसे भूमिका निभायी है।” उन्होंने कहा कि हम तब तक एक स्थायी और समावेशी विकास का सपना नहीं देख सकते, जब तक कि वर्ष 2050 तक 150 करोड़ से अधिक लोगों की अनुमानित आबादी में वैज्ञानिक दृष्टिकोण और नवोन्मेषी मानसिकता के विकास के लिए निरंतर प्रयास न करें।”

 

इस मौके पर मौजूद विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग के सचिव प्रोफेसर आशुतोष शर्मा ने कहा कि “राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस एक ऐसा दिन है, जब हम न केवल ‘रामन प्रभाव’ को याद करते हैं, और इसका उत्सव मनाते हैं, बल्कि यह एक ऐसा अवसर है, जब हम आचार्य रामन के वैज्ञानिक कार्यों में निहित दृष्टिकोण से नये सबक भी सीख सकते हैं। उनको आचार्य कहना अधिक उपयुक्त है, क्योंकि इस शब्द का संबंध एक गौरवशाली परंपरा से है। आचार्य का अर्थ, ‘सर’ से बिल्कुल अलग है। ‘सर’ एक टाइटल है, जबकि आचार्य का अर्थ मूल रूप से स्कॉलर से जोड़कर देखा जाता है।”

National Science Day

नयी विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी एवं नवाचार नीति का जिक्र करते हुए प्रोफेसर आशुतोष शर्मा ने कहा कि “इस नीति में कई ऐसे अध्याय शामिल हैं, जो भविष्य की जरूरतों पर आधारित हैं, और विज्ञान को समाज से जोड़ने पर ध्यान केंद्रित करते हैं। भविष्य में हमें दो महत्वपूर्ण तथ्यों पर ध्यान केंद्रित करने की जरूरत होगी। सबसे पहले तो शोध कार्यों की प्रासंगिकता एवं उनकी सही दिशा का निर्धारण जरूरी है। वहीं, दूसरा आयाम शोध कार्यों की गुणवत्ता और गंभीरता से संबंधित है। दूसरों की नकल करके शोध विषयों का चयन करने का औचित्य नहीं है। हमें अपने आइडिया के आधार पर कार्य करना होगा, जो विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में भारत को लीडर के रूप में उभरने में मदद कर सकते हैं। इस तरह हम आचार्य रामन को याद कर सकते हैं।”

 

इस अवसर पर वैज्ञानिक तथा औद्योगिक अनुसंधान परिषद के महानिदेशक डॉ शेखर सी. मांडे ने ‘रामन प्रभाव’ की खोज से जुड़े महत्वपूर्ण पड़ावों और इससे संबंधित शोध कार्य में एक अन्य प्रमुख वैज्ञानिक के.एस. कृष्णन की भूमिका के बारे में जिक्र किया।

 

उन्होंने कहा कि “हम भले ही कोविड-19 महामारी से मजबूती से लड़ने में सफल हुए हैं, लेकिन आगे भी इस तरह की चुनौतियां बनी रहेंगी। महामारियों के अलावा, जलवायु परिवर्तन एक अन्य प्रमुख चुनौती है, जिससे निपटने के लिए प्रभावी वैज्ञानिक समाधान खोजने होंगे।”

 

पुस्तकों एवं पत्रिकाओं सहित प्रिंट मीडिया के माध्यम से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में योगदान के लिए इस बार कोट्टायम, केरल के डॉ अनिल कुमार को राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया है। इस पुरस्कार के तहत दो लाख रुपये की नकद राशि, स्मृति चिह्न और प्रशस्ति पत्र प्रदान किया गया है। विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में उत्कृष्ट प्रयास के लिए पांच लाख रुपये का राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार हरियाणा की संस्था इंडियन रिसोर्स ऐंड डेवलपमेंट एसोसिएशन और बालासोर, ओडिशा के वैज्ञानिक एवं नवप्रवर्तनकर्ता मिहिर कुमार पांडा को प्रदान किया गया है।

नवप्रवर्तक एवं पारंपरिक प्रणालियों के माध्यम से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार के लिए दो लाख रुपये का राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार दिल्ली की डॉ शेफाली गुलाटी और राकेश खत्री को प्रदान किया गया है। इलेक्ट्रॉनिक माध्यम में दो लाख रुपये का विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार तेलंगाना की डॉ कृष्ण कुमारी चल्ला को दिया गया है।

 

डॉ एस. अनिल कुमार मलयालम के एक प्रसिद्ध लेखक हैं। उन्होंने करीब 1500 नवोदित पत्रकारों को प्रशिक्षण प्रदान किया, कार्यशालाएं आयोजित कीं, और विज्ञान संचार के क्षेत्र में संचारकों के लिए आधा दर्जन पाठ्यपुस्तकें लिखी हैं। डॉ अनिल कुमार के 1500 से अधिक लेख/फीचर प्रकाशित हुए हैं एवं पॉपुलर साइंस पर आधारित 40 पुस्तकें भी उन्होंने लिखी हैं।

 

इंडियन रिसोर्स ऐंड डेवलपमेंट एसोसिएशन एवं मिहिर कुमार पांडा को अनूठे तरीकों से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी के प्रचार-प्रसार के लिए पुरस्कृत किया गया है। इन तरीकों में कठपुतली शो, फिल्म एवं स्लाइड शो, विज्ञान मेलों का आयोजन, प्रदर्शनी एवं वैज्ञानिक प्रयोगों पर आधारित कार्यशालाएं शामिल हैं। डॉ शेफाली गुलाटी ने व्याख्यान एवं प्रिंट तथा ऑडियो-विजुअल मीडिया द्वारा विज्ञान को लोकप्रिय बनाने में योगदान दिया है। वहीं, डॉ राकेश खत्री करीब तीन दशक से रंगमंच, कार्यशालाओं, मॉडल्स, नेचर टूर जैसे प्रयासों के माध्यम से विज्ञान के प्रति आकर्षण पैदा करने का कार्य करने में जुटे रहे हैं।

 

डॉ कृष्णा कुमारी चल्ला भी करीब डेढ़ दशक से दृश्य कला, साहित्य, वीडयो, टीवी और इंटरनेट के उपयोग से आम लोगों के लिए विज्ञान संचार कर रही हैं।

 

एसईआरबी वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड इस बार चार महिला वैज्ञानिकों को प्रदान किया गया है। इनमें आईआईटी, बॉम्बे में असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर शोभना कपूर, मुंबई स्थित नेशनल इंस्टीट्यूट फॉर रिसर्च इन रिप्रोडक्टिव हेल्थ की वैज्ञानिक डॉ अंतरा बैनर्जी, हैदराबाद स्थित नेशनल इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ बायोटेक्नोलॉजी की वैज्ञानिक डॉ सोनू गांधी, और आईआईटी, जोधपुर में असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर डॉ रितु गुप्ता शामिल हैं।

 

‘अवसर’ प्रतियोगिता के अंतर्गत पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल श्रेणी में उत्कृष्ट आलेख के लिए बेंगलुरु स्थित जवाहरलाल नेहरु सेंटर फॉर एडवांस्ड साइंटिफिक रिसर्च की शोधार्थी डॉ संगीता दत्ता को पुरस्कृत किया गया है। इन्मास, डीआरडीओ से पीएचडी डिग्री प्राप्त डॉ संगीता जैव प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग में अपने पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल प्रोजेक्ट के लिए रिसर्च एसोसिएट के तौर पर कार्य कर चुकी हैं। उनके पांच शोध पत्र प्रकाशित हुए हैं, और एक पेटेंट भी उनके नाम दर्ज है। ‘अवसर’ प्रतियोगिता की पीएचडी श्रेणी में प्रथम पुरस्कार सीएसआईआर-सीडीआरआई, लखनऊ की शोधार्थी पूजा मौर्या को मिला है। द्वितीय पुरस्कार आईआईटी, दिल्ली में कंप्यूटर साइंस की शोधार्थी इंदु जोशी, और तृतीय पुरस्कार भारतीय विज्ञान संस्थान, बेंगलुरु की शोधार्थी श्रुति सोनी को दिया गया है।

 

सभी पुरस्कार विजेताओं को बधाई देते हुए डॉ हर्ष वर्धन ने कहा है कि "विज्ञान संचार एवं लोकप्रियकरण से जुड़े उत्कृष्ट प्रयास, वैज्ञानिक शोध में युवा महिलाओं का योगदान और विज्ञान संचार में अभिनव प्रयोग सराहनीय हैं।"

 

डॉ हर्ष वर्धन ने इस मौके पर वर्चुअल रूप से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी पुरस्कारों पर आधारित सूचनाओं से लैस एक ऑनलाइन डेटाबेस लॉन्च किया है। साइंस ऐंड टेक्नोलॉजी अवार्ड इन्फॉर्मेशन रिट्रीवल सिस्टम (STAIRS) नामक यह डेटाबेस स्वतंत्रा से पहले से लेकर अब तक विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी के क्षेत्र में पुरस्कृत भारतीय पेशेवरों के बारे में जानकारी उपलब्ध कराएगा।

 

इसी के साथ, विदेशों में कार्यरत भारतीय मूल के शिक्षाविदों एवं शोधकर्ताओं से संबंधित एक अन्य डेटाबेस भी लॉन्च किया गया है। यह डेटाबेस मौजूदा दौर में बढ़ते अंतरराष्ट्रीय सहयोग के संदर्भ में महत्वपूर्ण माना जा रहा है। इस डेटाबेस में, भारतीय मूल के 23,472 शिक्षाविद एवं शोधकर्ता शामिल किए गए हैं। अमेरिका, कनाडा, ब्रिटेन और ऑस्ट्रेलिया जैसे देशों के 2700 से अधिक विश्वविद्यालयों एवंअन्य शैक्षणिक संस्थानों की वेबसाइट्स को खंगालने के बाद यह डेटाबेस तैयार किया गया है।

 

आईबीएम रिसर्च इंडिया की निदेशक डॉ गार्गी बी. दासगुप्ता का विशेष व्याख्यान इस बार राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस पर एक अन्य प्रमुख आकर्षण रहा। डॉ गार्गी बी. दासगुप्ता ने “विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी, नवाचार का भविष्यः शिक्षा, कौशल एवं कार्य पर प्रभाव” विषय को केंद्र में रखते हुए अपना व्याख्यान दिया। उन्होंने अपने व्याख्यान में, मुख्य रूप से इस बात को रेखांकित किया कि चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति किस तरह नये कौशल की माँग करती है। उल्लेखनीय है कि साइबर भौतिक प्रणाली, आर्टिफशियल इंटेलिजेंस, इंटरनेट ऑफ थिंग्स तथा इंटरनेट ऑफ सर्विसेज इत्यादि चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति के प्रमुख उपकरण बनकर उभरे हैं।

 

सर सी.वी. रामन को याद करते हुए हर वर्ष 28 फरवरी को राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस मनाया जाता है। विज्ञान में नोबेल पुरस्कार प्राप्त करने वाले सी.वी. रामन पहले एशियाई थे। उन्हें यह पुरस्कार, वर्ष 1930 में की गई उनकी खोज ‘रामन प्रभाव’ के लिए मिला था।

I wish I could hug both girls. And I wish I could make things a tiny bit better for them.

This is the view from the campsite they were staying in with their parents - we stayed there a year ago.

Dedicated to Heather Buckley who luvs her some doll babies. More Toy Fair 2013 Coverage at idlehands1.blogspot.com !

Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

 

Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

 

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").

 

HISTORY

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

 

According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.

 

According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.

 

In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.

 

In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."

 

In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

 

"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

 

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

 

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.

 

ARCHITECTURE

SITE AND PLAN

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.

 

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.

 

STYLE

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.

 

FEATURES

OUTER ENCLOSURE

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.

 

CENTRAL STRUCTURE

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.

 

Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

 

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.

 

North and south of the cloister are libraries.

 

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.

 

Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

 

DECORATION

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".

 

From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

 

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

 

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.

 

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

 

ANGKOR WAT TODAY

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Officially dedicated on October 16, 2011, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial is located in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., within the area commonly referred to as the "National Mall".

 

The Memorial is America's 395th National Park System unit, and is located at the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, on a sight-line linking the Lincoln Memorial to the northwest and the Jefferson Memorial to the southeast.

 

The centerpiece for the memorial is based on a line from King's "I Have A Dream" speech: "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

 

A 30 feet high relief of King named the “Stone of Hope” stands past two other pieces of granite that symbolize the "mountain of despair." Visitors literally "pass through" the Mountain of Despair on the way to the Stone of Hope, symbolically "moving through the struggle as Dr. King did during his life."

 

A 450 feet-long inscription wall includes excerpts from many of King's sermons and speeches.

 

On this crescent-shaped granite wall, fourteen of King's quotes will be inscribed, the earliest from the time of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama, and the latest from his final sermon, delivered in 1968 at Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral, just four days before his assassination.

 

Covering a total of four acres, the Memorial opened to the public on August 22, 2011, after more than two decades of planning, fund-raising and construction.

 

Although this is not the first memorial to an African-American in Washington, D.C., Dr. King is the first African-American honored with a memorial on the National Mall, and only the fourth non-President to be memorialized in such a way. The King Memorial is administered by the National Park Service (NPS).

 

Image by Ron Cogswell on the morning of September 4, 2011, using a Nikon D80 and minor Photoshop effects.

 

DSC_0202

Dedicated to herLOVELYself!

She's "a best friend"!

:*

 

Dedicated in 2003

 

Concepción de Ataco, El Salvador is a small town located along the Ruta de las Flores in Ahuachapán Department, in the west of the country.

NOTE: Flickr makes a .jpg of uploaded files. The Jpeg process reduces actuance. The original scan has more detail than the .jpg file and in turn the original scan has less detail than is on the film. The film probably has 4 to 9 times (2 squared to 3 squared) the detail as you can see if made with a cracker jack lens and top rated film.

  

1. The bus was about 185 meters away from the camera.

 

2. The film does not have the reddish/maroon look that you see here. Scanning with the Kodachrome film type selection instead of the proper Color Positive selection miscolored the scan, my fault

 

Photos taken in this set were to test various stock lenses on some of my cameras. I started out with old 120/620 folders then added some modern 120 filmed examples. There will also be a few 35mm and 127 tests. You will need to open these up to their original size to see how good or bad the lens is. Also please see the type of scanner that was used because not all the scanners were able to scan at the same resolution.

  

Unless specifically noted, over time I used several films for these lens tests. Various Kodak and Fuji 100 speed reversal films and Fuji Velvia 50 speed were used. The difference in sharpness of the film was far less than the difference in the lenses.

 

Please take into consideration that when Flickr jpegs the uploaded tiff file some of the detail is lost so the original is sharper than what you can see.

  

Gentlepersons:

 

The Pictures...

 

These recently uploaded pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of color picture recording during about 85+ years that I was able to take color pictures, mostly slides at first. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a color slide. We took fewer pictures back then, trying to stretch resources, but some sere still frivolous.

 

I'm 97 (2016). I'm about at the end of my ability to continue posting. The ratio of today’s digital pictures that are kept for any length of time and/or printed is much less than the film photos taken in days past. History will be lost. Meanwhile you get to be bored by some old Kodachromes, Anscochromes, a Dufaycolor and perhaps an old black & white or so.

 

These recently uploaded pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of color picture recording during about 85+ years that I was able to take pictures, mostly slides at first. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a color slide. We took fewer pictures back then, trying to stretch resources, but some sere still frivolous. The first picture I remember taking was in the mid-1920s when my mother's sailor boyfriend brought an overseas camera to San Pedro.

  

The Camera: Rolleicord V, ca. 1954

 

I used a used but good condition Rolleicord V ca 1954. It has a single coated Schneider Kreuznach 75mm F:3.5 Xenar four element lens. I bought a second one so I could make medium format 3D (Stereo) slides. The two like cameras are less than 100 serial numbers apart but the second lens is not up to the quality of this one. Using the USAF1951 chart this lens gives over 60 lp/mm at F: 11.

  

The film: Fuji Provia 100 or Kodak E100:

 

This was shot on Provia 100 or Kodak E100 in 120 size. To scan with a 35mm dedicated film scanner I first used a Mamiya Super Slide punch. The film center was then mounted in 127 sized slide mounts which have the same external dimensions as 35mm slides. The surrounding mount has thinner sides than 35mm. This does give a 35mm scanner a chance to scan all film instead of having some mount blocking and reducing the amount of picture taken.

  

The Scanner, Minolta 5400 II:

 

The Minolta 5400 was advertised at 5400 PPI and actually gave out not only a scan of that size but also of that resolution. Testing was done using a 1951USAF glass microscope resolution bought from Edmond Scientific. When scanning a chart at maximum resolution one has to be concerned with registration between the lines on the chart and the pixel placement of the sensor. Exact registration is a hit and miss, re-trial exercise. With film the scanned bits of silver and dye clumps are randomly scattered without the need to have perfect alignment.

Dedicated to Dingleberry Handpump

Originally composed in 932 AH / 1525 CE and dedicated to Sultan Süleyman I ("The Magnificent"), this great work by Piri Reis (d. 962 AH / 1555 CE) on navigation was later revised and expanded. The present manuscript, made mostly in the late 11th AH / 17th CE century, is based on the later expanded version with some 240 exquisitely executed maps and portolan charts. They include a world map (fol.41a) with the outline of the Americas, as well as coastlines (bays, capes, peninsulas), islands, mountains and cities of the Mediterranean basin and the Black Sea. The work starts with the description of the coastline of Anatolia and the islands of the Aegean Sea, the Peloponnese peninsula and eastern and western coasts of the Adriatic Sea. It then proceeds to describe the western shores of Italy, southern France, Spain, North Africa, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, western Anatolia, various islands north of Crete, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus and the Black Sea. It ends with a map of the shores of the the Caspian Sea (fol.374a).

 

See this manuscript page by page at the Walters Art Museum website:

art.thewalters.org/viewwoa.aspx?id=19195

 

Dedicated to my dear friend Daniella 295

"St. Gangolf is the market and town church of Trier, dedicated to St. Gangolf. After Trier Cathedral, it is the oldest church building in the city. It is located behind a row of houses south of the main market.

 

The first market church, built in 958, was replaced by a new building between 1284 and 1344. Today's late Gothic building emerged from a renovation that began around 1500. Baroque elements were added in 1731 and 1746. The painting on the altar wall by August Gustav Lasinsky dates from the 19th century and is the most important monument of Nazarene art in Trier. In 1966, Charles Crodel's stained glass windows brought together the elements of the different eras in an overall picture.

 

The church has always been almost completely surrounded by houses and only the east side almost borders on a street (Grabenstrasse), but even here there are low-rise shop stalls, popularly known as “Gädemcher”, built in front of it.

 

The main entrance to the church is located at the foot of the church tower and, like the entrance in the side aisle, can be reached from Trier's main market through a small baroque gate (created in 1731/32 by the Augustinian Josef Walter).

 

Trier (/trɪər/ TREER, German: [tʁiːɐ̯]; Luxembourgish: Tréier [ˈtʀəɪɐ]), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves (/trɛv/ TREV, French: [tʁɛv]) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region.

 

Founded by the Celts in the late 4th century BC as Treuorum and conquered 300 years later by the Romans, who renamed it Augusta Treverorum ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the archbishop-elector of Trier was an important prince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to the Rhine. The archbishop-elector of Trier also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Because of its significance during the Roman and Holy Roman empires, several monuments and cathedrals within Trier are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

With an approximate population of 110,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen, and Koblenz. The nearest major cities are Luxembourg City (50 km or 31 mi to the southwest), Saarbrücken (80 kilometres or 50 miles southeast), and Koblenz (100 km or 62 mi northeast).

 

The University of Trier, the administration of the Trier-Saarburg district and the seat of the ADD (Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier, and the Academy of European Law (ERA) are all based in Trier. It is one of the five "central places" of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Along with Luxembourg, Metz and Saarbrücken, fellow constituent members of the QuattroPole union of cities, it is central to the greater region encompassing Saar-Lor-Lux (Saarland, Lorraine and Luxembourg), Rhineland-Palatinate, and Wallonia." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ---Lao Tzu :)

I wanted to express my eternal gratitude to Mr. Rick Simpson himself, Dr. Janet Sweeney and her dedicated husband George with the Phoenix Tears Foundation and Dr. Bob Melamede for not only saving my life, but the lives of so very many out there in the world. More than 11 minutes of my segment was edited out of the Ricki Lake Show cutting out my comments about these are angels on earth. I can't control the final edit of a television show. I am only a guest. But I feel it's important to give credit where credit is due. The best thing is that Ricki has invited me to appear as a regular, which gives us an opportunity to do MORE television in the mainstream to share more patient stories. I'm especially proud of Erin & Brandon parents of Mykayla Comstock and of course the bravest little girl in the world Mykayla :) Erin & Brandon presented themselves in such a professional and articulate manner that I was so very proud to be associated with their mission. I am so touched and inspired by them. The Phoenix Tears Project saves lives. I urge you to find out more and support their efforts. I remember being near death with just weeks to hang on, Dr. Janet Sweeney & George took me personally to the doctor and even paid for the doctor when I was completely tapped out financially back in 2009 from being sick for so long. We can never lose sight of these amazing heroes. We have a huge opportunity here as an entire community to get these stories out to the world. If we show the media, that we WANT and NEED this kind of MAIN STREAM programming, then great journalists like Russ and Johnny can start sharing news and stories of all of the amazing patients and activists out there. This is our time. We are at a tipping point. Let's make it happen. Can you help me by sharing all of the videos that I have posted here in the comments with your social networks? Can I ask you to add some comments of support on the links that I've shared so that we can share our movement with the world? Think of the lives we will both save and enrich. Think of our abilities to collectively influence public opinion to keep changing laws. This is our time. I need your help and I humbly ask you to support me in this mission. Please stay in touch with me through my social networks.

 

On the Ricki Lake Show Official Website:

Medical marijuana has long been a taboo subject, but The Ricki Lake Show tackles the subject matter head on with a debate on the most contentious topic in health care. The parents of a 7-year-old leukemia patient and cancer survivor Cheryl Shuman open up to Ricki on the positive effects of using cannabis in their treatments.

 

In a daytime exclusive, Erin and Brandon made national headlines with their controversial decision to administer marijuana to their 7-year-old daughter who is battling an aggressive form of cancer. Medical cannabis advocate Cheryl Shuman has been helping the couple with treatments for their daughter. Cheryl Shuman battled for her own life after ovarian cancer almost took her life, but she turned to medical marijuana and survived the disease.

 

In a television first, Shuman showcases legal cannabis products in the "Medical Controversies" episode. Shuman, known as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana," became an advocate and expert in the field for the $47 billion cannabis industry. See Reuters article : www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/08/idUSnMKW72163a+1c0+MKW...

 

Here’s a clip:

therickilakeshow.com/Health/Show-Makes-TV-History-With-Me...

 

EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO :) Arrival to the Ricki Lake Show, doing the run through, staging and rehearsals :) Please share:) www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj8EXhMqGFs

 

EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO :) Backstage at Ricki Lake getting dressed, makeup and hair. Then next stop, meeting with Rebecca, producer for preproduction reviews :) EXCITING! PLZ Share ;) www.youtube.com/watch?v=93sbnWuti_U

 

EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO :) Going on stage with Mykayla Comstock's parents known as Brave Mykayla :) Meet Erin Purchase & Brandon Krenzler :) You'll see all the behind the scenes happenings while the cameras are rolling on stage :) It's almost like being there! :) Please share :)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGYrPobcVG0

 

Thanks again for your support. I am eternally grateful.

One love,

Cheryl Shuman

 

About Cheryl Shuman:

Tom Cruise, Steven Tyler, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Myers, Elijah Wood, Lindsay Lohan, Fergie, Will.i.am and Michael Jackson are just a few of the names you'll find scrolling through the client files during the 25 year career of Cheryl Shuman. Known as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana," Cheryl Shuman announces the formation of Green Asset International Inc.. (www.GreenAssetInc.com ) Shuman brings decades of experience working with media, celebrities, marketing and health care in Beverly Hills. Shuman found her passion in the cannabis movement since 1996 working as an activist and legal cannabis patient. Since using cannabis therapy, she has survived cancer and injuries from two car crashes. Shuman was the founder of Beverly Hills NORML producing the largest cannabis convention on earth known as KUSHCon. As the face of KUSH Magazine, Cheryl Shuman was a founding member of the NCIA, National Cannabis Industry Association. Shuman transformed her non-profit career into a thriving profitable media enterprise.

 

Her private medical cannabis collective, "The Beverly Hills Cannabis Club" is unlisted and membership is by referral only. Through her personal relationships and connections within Hollywood, Cheryl Shuman has been named as one of the most influential women in the cannabis reform movement by international media. Her position within the cannabis industry creates the first and only company of its kind and at the forefront of entertainment marketing, celebrity endorsements, product placement integration, sponsorships, production and technology.

 

Cheryl Shuman serves as media spokesperson for the hot new vaporizer line of products produced by Rapid Fire Marketing (pink sheets: RFMK) and conducts their marketing, public relations, product placement, and consulting services.

 

Medical Cannabis Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of RFMK. Cheryl Shuman Inc., is a business development company and acquisition vehicle, made news with an historic funding facility dedicated to the cannabis industry with plans to go public by 2014.

 

Cheryl Shuman currently has a hot new reality TV series in development and is represented by the prestigious William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills, California.

 

Cheryl Shuman

Founder & C.E.O.

Cheryl.Shuman@GreenAssetInc.com

CherylShuman@Gmail.com

www.CherylShuman.com

www.GreenAssetInc.com

www.HauteVape.com

www.MedicalCannabisManagement.com

Spokesperson for Stock Symbol RFMK

www.Rapid-Fire-Marketing.com

Join us at The Beverly Hills Cannabis Club - Join Free Using "Cheryl Shuman" invitation code on:

www.BeverlyHillsCannabisClub.com

Social Network Links:

LinkedIN: www.LinkedIn.com/in/CherylShuman

Facebook: www.FaceBook.com/CherylShumanInc

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/CherylShuman

YouTube: www.YouTube.com/BeverlyHillsCannabis

YouTube: www.YouTube.com/CherylShumanTheOnly

Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/cherylshuman

 

All American Day.

Sony A7ii, Minolta 50mm F1.7

 

167/144

This Photostory is dedicated to Juliana. ;*

 

Yue GAG w/ Shin and Lenn/

El GAG de Yuecon Shin y Lenn

 

(Read in this order) PAG: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

 

PHOTOSTORY: In English / En Español

Shin: Trust me, you'll look gorgeous with that dress ;) Let's stand here and Sheryl will take a shot of us :D And don't be shy XD Smile, come on :)

Yue: (Aww... this is so embarrassing!!! I'm going red like a tomato ^__^u This is a dream!)

Shin: Cheeeeese XD

/

Shin: Ya verás como con ese vestido sales muy mona ;) Vamos a ponernos aquí y Sheryl nos sacará la foto :D I no seas tímida XD Sonríe mujer :)

Yue: (Ay... que vergüenza!!! Me estoy poniendo como un tomate ^__^u Esto es un sueño!)

Shin: Pa-ta-ta XD

 

COLLABORATION:

- Yue's Juliana Collaboration

 

SHERYL LINKS:

- Sheryl's Flickr: Photostories 2011 - Sketches 2011 / Photostories 2012 - Sketches 2012

Dedicated to the 3 other ones...

The former wnywaterfall-now VermontDreams Joe, my former area waterfall walker that is. He relishes relatively round random rocks in the foreground of his waterfall pictures. He ought to go for this one.

 

Paper Mill Falls on a beautiful sunny day in the low 70's.

14 FEB 13

 

Happy Valentines Day! Don't you moan and groan at me! What is so incredibly wrong with celebrating a day dedicated to the act of love?!? In this world we live in today more so then ever, we've learned that life is not a guarantee and each day is a gift, not a right. If seeing a giant heart on a desk reminds you or someone else to say I love you, then you or they are better for it! I view it as just a day to let people in your life know you love them. You should do it everyday, but why not have a day that is about love, simple as that.

 

I have so much to talk about. If you don't know by now, I am not one to write a paragraph and be done, so here goes, the tale of my Valentine's Day.

 

I have been so trapped these last weeks that I haven't gotten to go downtown and go on my long 3 hour city walks. Today, I just went for it. Loaded up the camera with the intention of doing the F8 challenge as well as do some genuine street photography. I parked on the far end of the walking/running trails for the free parking, but that meant a good 20 block hike until I would reach my destination...but that was a good thing because as part of Lent, my job is to exercise everyday for the 40 days. Last night I went hamburger on weights and some ballet work to work my legs. I felt every muscle fiber in my legs groaning as I ascended and descended those hills and stairs, but it felt good to be in the fresh air with the air a crisp 66 degrees.

 

I made it into downtown. I got some advice that one should sit in one place and let the people sort of come to you, but the first place I went, City Hall, had a maintanence worker parked out front watching me, so I didn't feel comfortable, so I left and walked another 4 blocks. Much to my surprise there was a GIANT sized basketball and hoop outside the Wells Fargo Building. I took a couple of shots, and then forged on. At this point, the trip was not going well. I attempted to be stealthy and shoot from the hip, but all the images came out cut off, incorrectly angled, terrible, so I kept going, kept trying to talk myself into courage. At one point the "mean kid" in my head was yelling, just do it p-----y! But I didn't. Finally some blocks down I saw a police officer on a horse stopped at a red light. Maybe in your city this is unusual, but here, we have them even patrolling Mall parking lots. I'm sure every out of towner goes, omg, its true what they say about Texas. I just have to roll my eyes.

 

I made it to the city mall up those stairs. I've grown to love the shopping center because its great canvas for photos, you can see bits of the city on the walkways, and its built over the city streets, so you can look down and shoot right into traffic. I did manage to get a few decent from the hip shots of a gaggle of girls, but not much else. I was failing at the mission. The longer I walked, the more I chickened out. I wanted to go home at this point because I felt defeated, but then from the sky walk way I saw the dome where the All Star Game is Happening this weekend. It was covered in red and like a beacon in the night, I followed its siren calls.

 

I made it to Discovery Green and the worker bees were alive with activity. Everyone was scrambling around setting up for parties, Limo's were everywhere, they were setting up for activities all over the park, and media was on every corner. It was exciting. There hasn't been this much buzz since the Superbowl was here...um...even though the All Star game is like every year here.

 

I saw a k9 unit with their dogs and I wanted to shoot that, but I chickened out again. I shot some guy being shot one camera for CSN news, but this was a pathetic effort. That is when I managed to walk by this guy pictured and my day went from lack luster at best, to fantastic!

 

I was passing by and this guy yelled out, "you should take my picture." I thought, yeah, okay, I'll have something for the day, and so I shot it in a quick snap. I noticed he had a strong accent, so I asked him where he was from and he told me he was from Senegal. I told him where I was from, and he smiled a huge smile and beckoned me over to sit next to him. We talked for a bit and then he told me he was a photographer as well. I must have been extremely oblivious looking back on this image, because he's wearing a media badge, he's got a camera bag, and turns out a laptop bag along with his iphone. Anyway, he wanted me to see his pictures after I explained that I was trying my hardest to shoot some street photography but I was a nervous pathetic wreck and couldn't do it. He laughed but not in a you suck way, more in a, its not easy, but you can do it way. He whipped out his laptop and showed me his images. F'in amazing stuff. Beautiful African women with colorful beads in their hair, some of his young family and his kids, a lot of shots of the beaches and nearby towns, some to die for sunsets...I was in shock at how incredible they were.

 

He then said, you know what, I want to walk with you. He said, will you please wait here so I can drop off my laptop at the hotel and I will be right back. So I figured, what the heck, so I waited and he did come back with his camera in his pack. He whipped out a professional Nikon with all the latest everything and we began to walk.

 

Talk about amazing this guy. He said the reason he was here in town for the All Star Game was because in Senegal he was and is a lover of basketball, so he created a blog about the Senegalese teams, the only such blog to his knowledge in existence. He just happened to be friends with one of the VPS that admisters these games here, so he called him up and said he wanted to cover the games here for his blog. Next thing he knows, he has a free plane ticket and free hotel and free tickets to cover the game...hence his media pass. Not only that, before I walked by, he'd literally just gotten off the plane, shuttled over his first time in Houston (though, not first time in the States), and had been sitting for a few minutes and then here we were about to walk through the city together. It was like a freaking movie. A few steps into our walk we were stopped by the hype patrol who proceeded to give us free t-shirts that read #real Fan. So now I have a free shirt which I think it pretty neat.

 

Laumine (I'm really probably screwing his name up) and I began our walk. He was a funny guy with a stutter. I wasn't sure sometimes in our conversation whether he was having a bit of an English problem or a stuttering problem b/c he would stop and look at me as if he didn't understand what I was saying, but then sort of find the words. It made him that more interesting really. We walked and walked and I began to relax and just point the camera. I talked about my nerves with doing this and he said, you no longer have to be nervous because I'm here with you. He was right. I stopped focusing on my nerves and started actually shooting. I aimed my camera directly at people, shot from behind them, climbed up and down to get shots. It was fun. I told Laumine that I am going to show him a secret about our city that not many outsiders are aware of when they come here. I said, we have an entire city underneath the city, miles of shops, restaurants, and connective pathways that connect all the downtown buildings. So we went underground. He seemed genuinely surprised that it was there and we walked it for a while before surfacing clear across the city.

 

By this time it was starting to get into the hour known as traffic hell, but I showed him the disappearing gnomes. Laumine was good. Even though he told me he was not a fan of Valentines Day, I explained my theory of just having a day to remember love to honor love not candy and flowers. He said, okay, he could agree to that. Then whilst I was taking a picture, he presented me with a rose he'd torn from a near by bush. A flower for you he said smiling. It was pretty funny. Going through his pictures and our conversation about Valentines Day, this guy had managed through his pictures to create an entire story about Valentines day. He had strategically taken photos of women with flowers, the signs about Valentines Day, flowers in the pathways. He said he was going to go back and compose his tale and interpretation of love day from the images. I was looking over mine, like, um, I'm just going to probably never let these see the light.

 

Afterwards, we said goodbye, exchanged information and away I walked. That experience really made my day.

NON HINDUS

ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE TEMPLE

 

Lingaraj Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Harihara, a form of Shiva and is one of the oldest temples in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the East Indian state of Odisha (formerly Orissa). The temple is the most prominent landmark of the Bhubaneswar city and one of the major tourist attractions of the state.

 

The Lingaraj temple is the largest temple in Bhubaneswar. The central tower of the temple is 55 m tall. The temple represents the quintessence of the Kalinga Architecture and culminates the medieval stages of the architectural tradition at Bhubaneswar. The temple is believed to be built by the kings from the Somavamsi dynasty, with later additions from the Ganga rulers. The temple is built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings), each increasing in the height to its predecessor. The temple complex has 50 other shrines and is enclosed by a large compound wall.

 

Bhubaneswar is called the Ekamra Kshetra as the deity of Lingaraj was originally under a mango tree (Ekamra) as noted in Ekamra Purana, a 13th-century Sanskrit treatise. The temple is active in worship practises, unlike most other temples in Bhubaneswar and Shiva is worshipped as Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva. The temple has images of Vishnu, possibly because of the rising prominence of Jagannath cult emnating from the Ganga rulers who built the Jagannath Temple in Puri in the 12th century.

 

Lingaraj temple is maintained by the Temple Trust Board and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The temple has an average of 6,000 visitors per day and receives lakhs of visitors during festivals. Shivaratri festival is the major festival celebrated in the temple and event during 2012 witnessed 200,000 visitors.

 

HISTORY

Lingaraj means "The king of Lingam", the symbol of Saivism. Shiva was worshipped as Kirtivasa and later as Harihara and is commonly referred as Tribhuvaneshwara (also called Bhubaneswar), the master of three worlds, namely, heaven, earth and netherworld). His consort is called Bhuvaneshvari.

 

The temple is more than 1100 years old, dating back in its present form to the last decade of the eleventh century, though there is evidence that part of the temple was built during the sixth century CE as the temple has been emphasized in some of the seventh century Sanskrit texts. Fergusson believes the temple might have been initiated by Lelat Indra Kesari who reigned from 615 to 657 CE. The Assembly hall (jagamohana), sanctum and temple tower wer built during the eleventh century, while the Hall of offering (bhoga-mandapa) was built during the twelfth century. The natamandira was built by the wife of Salini between 1099 and 1104 CE. By the time the Lingaraj temple was completely constructed, the Jagannath (form of Vishnu) cult had been growing in the region, which historians believe is evidenced by the co-existence of Vishnu and Shiva worship at the temple. The Ganga dynasty kings were ardent followers of Vaishnavism and built the Jagannath Temple at Puri in the 12th century.

 

The temple is believed to be built by the Somavanshi king Jajati Keshari, in 11th century CE. Jajati Keshari had shifted his capital from Jajpur to Bhubaneswar which was referred to as Ekamra Kshetra in the Brahma Purana, an ancient scripture. One of the Somavamsi queens donated a village to the temple and the Brahmins attached to the temple received generous grants. An inscription from the Saka year 1094 (1172 CE) indicates gifts of gold coins to the temple by Rajaraja II. Another inscription of Narasimha I from the 11th century indicates offer of beetel leaves as tambula to the presiding deity. Other stone inscriptions in the temple indicate royal grants from Chodaganga to village people.

 

ARCHITECTURE

The Lingaraj temple is the largest temple in Bhubaneswar. James Ferugsson (1808–86), a noted critic and historian, rated the temple as "one of the finest examples of purely Hindu temple in India". It is enshrined within a spacious compound wall of laterite measuring 160 m by 142 m. The wall is 2.3 m thick and surmounted by a plain slant coping. Alongside the inner face of the boundary wall, there is a terrace to protect the compound wall against outside aggression. The tower is 55 m high and the complex has 150 smaller shrines in its spacious courtyard. Each inch of the 55 m tall tower is sculpted. The door in the gate of the entrance porch is made of sandalwood.

 

The Lingaraja temple faces east and is built of sandstone and laterite. The main entrance is located in the east, while there are small entrances in the north and south. The temple is built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings). The dance hall was associated with the raising prominence of the devadasi system that existed during the time. The various units from the Hall of offering to the tower of the sanctum increase in height.

 

The bhogamandapa (Hall of offering) measures 13 m by 13 m from the inside, 17.15 m by 17.25 m from the outside and has four doors in each of the sides. The exterior walls of the hall has decorative sculptures of men and beast. The hall has a pyramidal roof made of up several horizontal layers arranged in sets of two with intervening platform. It bears an inverted bell and a kalasa in the top. The natamandira (festival hall) measures 12 m by 12 m from the inside, 15 m by 15 m from the outside, has one main entrance and two side entrances. The side walls of the hall has decortive sculptures displaying women and couples. It has a flat roof sloping in stages. There are thick pylons inside the hall. The jagamohana (assembly hall) measures 11 m by 9.1 m from the inside, 17 m by 15 m from the outside, entrances from south and north and has a 30 metres tall roof. The hall has a pyramidal roof made of up several horizontal layers arranged in sets of two with intervening platform as in the Hall of offering. The facade to the entrances are decorated with perforated windows with lion sitting on hind legs. The inverted bell above second unit is adorned by kalasa and lions. The rekha deula has a 60 m tall pyramidal tower over the sanctum and measures 6.7 m from the inside, 16 m from the outside over the sanctum. It is covered with decorative design and seated lion projecting from the walls. The sanctum is square in shape from the inside. The tower walls are sculpted with female figures in different poses.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

Bhubaneswar is called the Ekamra Kshetra as the deity of Lingaraj was originally under a mango tree (Ekamra). Ekamra Purana, a Sanskrit treatise of the 13th century mentions that the presiding deity was not seen as lingam (an aniconic form of Shiva) during the Satya and Treta yugas and only during the Dwapara and Kali yugas, it emerged as a lingam. The lingam in the temple is a natural unshaped stone that rests on a Sakti. Such a lingam is called Krutibasa or Swayambhu and is found in 64 places in different parts of India. With the advent of the Ganga dynasty in the early 12th century, who had Vaishnavaite orientation, a new movement started resulting in the synthesis of Saivism and Vaishnavism. The Ekamra was associated with Vaishanavite gods Krishna and Balaram during the period. It is attributed the raising prominence of Jagannath cult that became predominant during the construction of the temple. The Ganges remodelled the temple and introduced certain Vaishnavite elements like images of Vaishnava Dwarapalas namely Jaya and Prachanda, Jagannatha, Lakshmi Narayan and Garuda were installed. Tulsi leaves, which are favoured by Vishnu, was used along with Bela leaves for the worship of Lingaraj. Lingaraja was thus came to be known as Harihara, a combination of Shiva and Vishnu. The flag of the temple was fixed to a Pinaka bow instead of trident usually found in Shiva temples. The temple priests also changed the mark in their forehead from horizontal to a "U" sign with a dotted middle line. The Ganges also introduced certain fairs like Swing festival, Sun worship and mock quarell between priests after chariot festival, similar to the practises in Jagannath Temple in Puri. The influence of the Ganges dynasty has led to a cosmopolitan culture, that has reduced the status of Lingaraja temple as a distinct Saivite shrine.

 

FESTIVAL & WORSHIP PRACTISES

As per Hindu legend, an underground river originating from the Lingaraj temple fills the Bindusagar Tank (meaning ocean drop) and the water is believed to heal physical and spiritual illness. The water from the tank is thus treated sacred and pilgrims take a holy dip during festive occasions. The central deity of the temple, Lingaraj, is worshipped both as Shiva and Vishnu. The harmony between the two sects of Hinduism, Saivism and Vaishanvism, is seen in this temple where the deity is worshipped as Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva.

 

Shivaratri is the main festival celebrated annually in Phalgun month when thousands of devotees visit the temple. Apart from a full day of fasting, bel leaves are offered to Lingaraj on this auspicious day. The main celebrations take place at night when devotees pray all night long. The devout usually break their fast after the Mahadipa (a huge lamp) is lit on the spire of the temple. Every year the chariot festival (Ratha-Yatra) of Lingaraja is celebrated on Ashokashtami. The deity is taken in a chariot to Rameshwar Deula temple. Thousands of devotees follow and pull brightly decorated chariots containing the idols of Lingaraj and his sister Rukmani. This chariot procession stays for five days at the Rameshwar Temple and then will be brought back. This festival commemorates Lord Lingaraj having slayed a demon. Thousands of bol bom pilgrims carry water from river Mahanadi and walk all the way to the temple during the month of Shravana every year. Sunian day is observed from royal times in the month of Bhandra, a day when temple servants, peasants and other holders of temple lands offer loyalty and tribute to Lingaraja. Candan Yatra (Sandalwood ceremony) is a 22-day festival celebrated in the temple when servants of the temple disport themselves in a specially made barge in Bindusagar tank. The deities and servants of the temples are anointed with sandalwood paste to protect from heat. Dances, communal feasts and merrymaking are arranged by the people associated with the temple.

 

The Lingaraja temple is active in worship practises, unlike the other ancient temples of Bhubaneshwar which are not active worship centres. Non Hindus are not allowed inside the temple, but it can be viewed from the viewing platform located outside the temple. The viewing platform and the back of the temple can be reached via a lineway located to the right of the main entrance of the temple. Sanctity of the temple is maitained by disallowing dogs, unbathed visitors, menstruating women and families that encountered birth or death in the preceding 12 days. In case of a foreign tresspass, the temple follows a purification ritual and dumping of prasad (food offering) in a well.

 

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

The image of Lingaraja is abluted with water (called mahasnana) several times a day and decorated with flowers, sandal paste and cloth. Hemlock or hemlock flowers which are generally offered in other Shiva temples is not allowed in the Lingaraja temple. Bilva leaves (Aegle marmelos) and tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) are used in daily worship. Offerings of cooked rice, curries and sweet-meats are displayed in the bhogamandapa (hall of offering) and the divinity is invoked to accept them amidst scores of chanting of Sanskrit texts. Coconut, ripe plantains and kora-khai are generally offered to Lingaraja by the pilgrims. Bhang beverage is offered to Lingaraja by some devotees especially on the day of Pana Sankranti (Oriya new year).

 

The Lingaraja temple is open from 6 a.m. to about 9 p.m. and is intermittently closed during bhoga (food offering) to the deity. During early morning, lamps in the cella are lit to awaken Lingaraja from his sleep, ablution is performed, followed by adoration and arati (waving of light). The temple is closed at about 12 p.m. until about 3.30 P.M. A ceremony known as Mahasnana (ablution) is performed once the doors are closed, followed by pouring of Panchamrita (a mixture of milk, curdled milk, clarified butter, honey and ghee) upon the deity for purification. At about 1 P.M., a ripe plantain is divided into two, one half is offered to Sun god and the other half to Dwarapala (the guarding deities in the doorway). Between 1.00 and 1.30 P.M. the food offering called Ballabha Bhoga (breakfast containing curdled milk, curd and vegetables) is offered to the deity. The consecrated food is carried to the temple of Parvati and placed before her as an offering, a practice commonly observed by the orthodox Hindu housewives. At about 2 P.M., the Sakala Dhupa (morning's offering of food) takes place. After the food is offered to Lingaraja, the offerings are carried to the temple of Parvati to serve her. An offering called Bhanda Dhupa is carried out at 3.30 P.M. at the hall of offering. This food is later offered by the inmates to the pilgrims as Mahaprasad.

 

A light refreshment known as Ballabha Dhupa is offered to the deity at around 4.30 P.M. At around 5 P.M., Dwipahar Dhupa (mid day meal) is offered. At around 7 P.M., another offering called Palia Badu is placed before the deity. Sandhya arati (waving of lights in the evening) is performed during that time. Another light meal called Sahana Dhupa is offered at around 8:30 P.M. After the meals, the ceremony of waving light (arati) is performed before the deity. At 9.30 P.M, the last service of the day, Bada Singara (the great decoration) is performed when the deity is decorated with flowers and ornaments after which a light food offering is made. A wooden palanquin is laid in the room, incense is lighted, drinking water is served and prepared betel is placed. Panchabaktra Mahadeva comes to the palanquin and returns to his own abode after the arati is performed. This is a bronze image of Mahadeva having five faces and Parvati in his lap. Each of these ceremonies is accompanied by ritual observances and recitations of mantras (Sanskrit texts) specified for each occasion.

 

TEMPLE STAFF & ADMINISTRATION

King Jajati Keshari, believed to be the founder of the Lingaraja temple, deputed Dravidian Brahmins as temple priests over the local Brahmins on account of their increased knowledge of Saivism. The focus was to enhance the temple practises from tribal rites to Sanskritic. While the exact number of castes involved in the nijogas (practises) is not known, Brahmins, tribal worshippers and inmates from Untouchable castes are believed to be part of the setup. Bose (1958) identified 41 services with the involvement of 22 separate castes and Mahaptra (1978) identified 30 services. It is understood from the records that kings and temple managers of different times introduced or discontinued certain services, fairs, offerings and caste-centred core services during their regime. As of 2012, the temple practised 36 different services (nijogas).

 

In modern times, the Lingaraja temple priests are from two communities, namely Brahman Nijog and Badu Nijog. The Badu are non-Brahmin servant groups, whose origin is not ascertained due to unavailability of authentic records, while they are described as Vadu in chapter 62 of the Ekamrapurana. The caste group of Badu is called Niyoga, which elects the officers every year during the Sandalwood festival. Every Badu undergoes three distinct rites, namely, ear-piercing, marriage and god-touching. Historically, the Badus performed five different temple duties - Paliabadu and Pharaka, which were considered important and Pochha, Pahada and Khataseja, which were considered inferior. From 1962, only Paliabadu and Pharaka practises are followed and the others are discontinued. The Badus also carry out ablution and dressing of the images of Siddhaganesh and Gopalini. The temple is maintained by the Temple Trust Board and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The temple is guarded by security personnel deputed by the Police Commissioner of Bhubaneswar and security guards appointed by the temple administration. The temple has an average of 6,000 visitors every day and receives lakhs of visitors during festivals. The Shivaratri festival during 2012 witnessed 200,000 visitors. As of 2011, the annual income of Lingaraja temple from hundis (donation boxes) is around INR1.2 million per annum. Another INR4 million is collected annually from other sources like rents from shops, cycle stands and agriculture lands. Starting 2011, the temple charges an amount for six types of religious worship (special pujas) carried out by the devotees.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

flowers against beatiful sky ...at Tezpur

Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

 

Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

 

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").

 

HISTORY

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

 

According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.

 

According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.

 

In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.

 

In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."

 

In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

 

"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

 

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

 

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.

 

ARCHITECTURE

SITE AND PLAN

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.

 

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.

 

STYLE

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.

 

FEATURES

OUTER ENCLOSURE

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.

 

CENTRAL STRUCTURE

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.

 

Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

 

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.

 

North and south of the cloister are libraries.

 

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.

 

Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

 

DECORATION

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".

 

From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

 

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

 

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.

 

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

 

ANGKOR WAT TODAY

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples (Kovil) to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. The Sangam classics list chief architect Viduvelvidugu Perumthachchan as directing an early renovation of the shrine.

 

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. Its bronze statues and stone sculptures depicting various deities and the famous Thillai trees (Excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early Chola and Pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals Aditya I, Parantaka Chola I, Kopperunchinga I, Krishnadevaraya and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. King Kocengannan Chola was born following prayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structure. The shrine gave the town its name.

 

The deity that presides here is கூத்தன் - Thillai Koothan (Thillai Nataraja - Shiva, The Lord of Dance). Chidambaram is the birthplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, a Tamilian concept and motif in Chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. The shrine is the only Shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activities. The consort deity here is Sivakami Amman (form of Amman - mother goddess and female energy). Two other forms of Lord Shiva are represented close to this in the vimana (inner sanctum) of the temple - as a crystallised lingam - the most common representation of Lord Shiva in temples, and as the aether space classical element, represented with empty space and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilvam leaves (Aegle marmelos). Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam (பொன் அம்பலம்). The sculptures of Chidambaram inspired the postures of Bharatha Natyam. The Chidambaram complex is admired for its five famous halls (ambalam or sabhai), several grand smaller shrines to the Hindu deities Ganesh, Murugan, Vishnu and Sivakami Amman which contain Pandyan and Nayak architectural styles, and for its endowment from many water tanks, one of which links it to the Thillai Kali temple.

 

Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams, the holiest Shiva temples each representing one of the five classical elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether). Chidambaram is glorified in Tirumular's Tirumandhiram and was visited by Patañjali and VyagjrapadharPulikaal Munivar. It is the primary shrine of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar saints Tirunavukkarasar, Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundarar. Hailed in the Tiruvacakam series by Manikkavacakar, these very volumes of the Tirumurai literature canon were themselves found in secret chambers of the temple. The Periya Puranam, a biography of these Nayanar saints by Sekkizhar commissioned by emperor Kulothunga Chola II, was written in the shrine's Thousand Pillared Hall. In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, the Chidambaram shrine is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee and Mount Kailash.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional name of the temple complex, Chidambaram Tillai Nataraja-koothan Kovil, alludes to the environment of its location and its origins and significance in Saivite worship. The mangrove of ancient Tillai (தில்லை) trees (Exocoeria agallocha) of the forest surrounding the shrine when it was first built inspired the shrine's name and early artistic inspiration; the Tillai trees of the nearby Pichavaram wetlands, the second largest mangrove in the world, extends to the temple area. The shrine is venerated as Tillai ambalam (தில்லை அம்பலம் ), literally meaning Tillai Open Stage, the open space surrounded by Tillai Vanam (தில்லை வனம்) (the Tillai forest) - the original name of this area.[9] The name of the town of this shrine, Chidambaram comes from the Tamil word Chitrambalam (சிற்றம்பலம்) - "small hall/stage"; also spelled Chithambalam (சிட்டம்பலம்), from citt/chitthu and ambalam - meaning "wisdom of this open stage/atmosphere". The shrine is where some devotees believe they will attain liberation, or chitaakasam - "wisdom/consciousness of the sky". "Nataraja" or "Koothan" mean "Lord of Dance".

 

LEGEND

The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram). In the Thillai forests resided a group of sages or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. Lord Shiva strolled in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of Bhikshatana, a simple mendicant seeking alms. He was followed by His consort, Vishnu as Mohini. The sages and their wives were enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of The handsome mendicant and His consort. On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis got enraged and invoked scores of serpents (nāgas) by performing magical rituals. Lord Shiva lifted the serpents and donned them as ornaments on His matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the sages invoked a fierce tiger, whose skins and dons were used by Lord Shiva as a shawl around His waist and then followed by a fierce elephant, which was devoured and ripped to death by Lord Shiva (Gajasamharamurthy).

 

The rishis gathered all their spiritual strength and invoked a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. Lord Shiva wore a gentle smile, stepped on the demon's back, immobilized him and performed the Ánanda Tandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and disclosed his true form. The sages surrender, realizing that Lord Shiva is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

 

PATRONAGE

To Saivites, primarily in Tamil Nadu, the very word koil refers primarily to Chidambaram Tillai Natarajar.

 

Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 160,000 m2 in the heart of the city. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Shivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal. Chidambaram's earliest structures were designed and erected by ancient craftsmen called Perumtaccan. The golden tiled roof for the Chit Ambalam (the vimanam) was laid by the Chola King Parantaka I (907-950 CE) following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathhukku pon koorai veiyntha thevan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன், meaning the one who constructed the golden roof). In its floruit, kings Rajaraja Chola I (reign 985-1014 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 AD) made significant donations to the temple. Gold and riches to the temple were donated by Rajaraja Chola's daughter Kundavai II while Chola king Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals.

 

Donations of gold and jewels have been made by various kings, rulers and patrons to the temple from 9th to 16th century - including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy (the emerald jewel still adorns the deity) and the British.

 

Naralokaviran, the general of king Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building a shrine for child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar and installed a metal image inside it. He constructed a hall for recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper plates.

 

TEMPLE STRUCTURE

The temple is the only great temple complex to date mainly from the later Chola period, and contains the earliest examples of a number of features that are found in many later temples, including "the earliest known Devī or Amman shrine, nritta (dance) maṇḍapa, Sūrya shrine with chariot wheels, hundred-and-thousand pillared maṇḍapas, even the first giant Śiva Gangā tank".A classical Shiva temple as per Agama rules will have five prakarams (closed precincts of a temple) or circuits each separated by walls one within the other. The outer prakaram will be open to the sky except the innermost one. The innermost one will house the main deity as well as other deities. There will be a massive wooden or stone flag post exactly in line with the main deity. The innermost prakaram houses the sanctum sanctorum (தமிழ் = கருவரை).

 

Chidambaram is also referred to in various works such as Thillai (after the Thillai forest of yore in which the temple is now located), Perumpatrapuliyur or Vyagrapuram (in honour of Saint Vyagrapathar, Sanskrit: Vyaghrapada - "Tiger-Footed").

 

The temple is supposed to be located at the lotus heart of the Universe: Virat hridaya padma sthalam.

 

This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:

 

- the "form" - the anthropomorphic form as an appearance of Nataraja, called the Sakala-thirumeni.

- the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphic form as the Crystal linga of Chandramaulishvara, the Sakala-nishkala-thirumeni.

- the "formless" – as the space in Chidambara-rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala-thirumeni.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE DESIGN

The layout and architecture of the temple is replete with philosophical meanings.

 

Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).

 

The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.

The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.

 

The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).

 

The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.

 

TOWERS

The temple has nine gateways, and four of these have gateway towers or gopurams each with 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The South gopuram called the Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each other when they completed gopurams (and left it with one fish, in case it was incomplete). The earliest and smallest of the four is West gopuram constructed around 1150 and there are no reliable evidence on the construction. The sculptures shows goddess fighting the buffalo-demon and warlike Skanda astride his peacock. The North Gopuram was initiated around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD) in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 AD) as per epigrahical records and was repaired by Subbammal, the mother-in-law of the famous philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754-1794 AD). The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to date has been responsible for various functions in the temple and also maintain the temple car. The eastern gopuram is renowned for its complete enumeration of 108 poses of Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that leads to the gateway. Each gopuram has around fifty stone sculptures, with each repeating some portions from the other.

 

HALLS

There are 5 ambalams or sabhas (halls) inside the temple.

 

- Chit Ambalam or Chit Sabhai, which is the sanctum sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivakami Sundari, and gave the temple town its name.

- Pon Ambalam or Kanaka Sabhai – the golden hall in front of the Chit Ambalam, from where the daily rituals are conducted.

- Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, a 56-pillared hall lies to the south of the temple's flag mast (kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where Nataraja outdanced Kali and established his supremacy

- Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram (which in yoga is a chakra) at the crown of the head and is a seat where the soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus. Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state of union with The Divine Force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice. The hall is open only on festive days.

- Deva Sabhai, which houses the Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Ganesh, Somaskanda (seated posture of Lord Shiva with Pavarthi and Skanda), Sivananda Nayaki, Muruga and the image of Chandikeswarar.

 

SHRINES

- The shrines for the original Shivalingam worshipped by the saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the Thiru Aadhimoolanathar and his consort Umaiyammai

- The shrine of the 63 nayanars of Lord Shiva – called the Arubaththu moovar.

- Shrine of Sivagami.

- Ganesha shrine

- Shrine of Muruga or Pandiya nayakan

 

There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.

 

GOVINDARAJA SWAMY SHRINE

The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of vaishnava (those worshipping Lord Vishnu) tradition, alwars. Kulashekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century. Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava (festival image) of the temple to escape punishment. Down the centuries, king Krishnappa Nayak (1564-1572 AD) was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was lot of resistance from the shaivites (those worshipping Shiva) against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form. There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time - there was a dispute even in last century during 1849 AD regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi(sanctum of azhwars) between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court.

 

TEMPLE TANKS

The Chidambaram temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around the temple complex.

 

- Sivaganga (சிவகங்கை) tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by flights of stone steps leading from the shrine.

- Paramanandha koobham is the well on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai hall from which water is drawn for sacred purposes.

- Kuyya theertham is situated to the north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.

- Pulimadu is situated around a kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.

- Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on to the west of the temple opposite to the temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.

- Anantha Theertham is situated to the west of the temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.

- Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of the Anantha thirtham.

- Brahma Theertham is situated to the north-west of the temple at Thirukalaanjeri.

- Underground channels at the shrine drain excess water in a northeasterly direction to the Shivapiyai temple tank (சிவப்பியை குளம்) of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram. Due to poor maintenance, it has not been in use.

- Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-east of the Shivapiyai tank.

 

TEMPLE CAR

The Chidambaram temple car is, perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand devotees during the festivals.

 

ANANDA TANDAVA

The legend of the temple is same as the legend of Ānanda-tāṇḍava. Adhisesha, the serpent who serves as a bed of Lord Vishnu, hears about the Änanda thaandava and yearns to see and enjoy it. Lord Shiva beckons him to assume the saintly form of sage Patanjali and sends him to the Thillai forest, informing him that he will display the dance in due course. Patanjali who meditated in the Himalayas during krita age joins another saint, Vyaghrapada or Pulikaalmuni (Vyagra / Puli meaning "Tiger" and patha / kaal meaning "feet" – referring to the story of how he sought and got the feet and eyesight of a tiger to help climb trees well before dawn to pick flowers for The Lord before the bees visit them). The story of sage Patanjali as well as his great student sage Upamanyu is narrated in both Vishnu Purana as well as Shiva Purana. They move into the Thillai forest and worship Lord Shiva in the form of lingam, a deity worshipped today as Thirumoolataneswarar (Thiru - sri, Moolatanam - primordial or in the nature of a foundation, Eswarar- the Lord). Legends say that Lord Shiva displayed his dance of bliss (the Aananda Thaandavam) - as Nataraja to these two saints on the day of the poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai (January-February).

 

THE ANANDA TANDAVA POSTURE

The Ānanda-tāṇḍava posture of Nataraja represents pancikritya functions of the godhead believed to have created the dynamic force to create the world.

 

- The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.

- The fire in His hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.

- The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life forms.

- The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.

- The drum in His hand signifies the origin of life forms.

- The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the sound of the universe.

- His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.

- His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

- The crescent moon in His hair signifies benevolence and beauty.

- The flowing of river Ganges through His matted hair signifies eternity of life.

- The dreading of His hair and drape signify the force of His dance.

 

Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while His spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Myalagga forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

Pancha Bhoota Stalam (Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Lord Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of sky. The other four manifestations are Prithivi Lingam (representing land) at Ekambareswarar Temple, Appu Lingam (representing Water) at Thiruvanaikaval, Agni Lingam (representing fire) at Annamalaiyar Temple and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at Srikalahasti Temple.

 

Aathara Stala indicates the Shiva temples which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Nataraja temple is called the Anthaga stalam associated with Anthagam - the third eye.

 

Pancha Sabhai refers to the five places where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed His cosmic dance and all these places have stages or ambalams, also known as Sabhai. Apart from Chidambaram which has the Ponna Ambalam - the Golden Hall, the others are the I-Ratthina Ambalam - the Jeweled Hall at Thiruvaalangadu (rathinam – ruby / red jewelled), the Chitra Ambalam - the Painted Hall at Thirukutralam (chitra – painting), the Velli Ambalam - the Silver Hall at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple (velli – silver) and the Thaamira Ambalam - the Copper Hall at Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli (Thaamiram – copper).

 

RELIGIOUS WORK AND SAINTS

There is no reference to the temple in Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found in 6th century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet saints belonging to the 7th century - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar commences his Thiruthondar thogai (the sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees) paying his respects to the priests of the Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The works of the first three saints, Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Manikkavasagar, the 10th century saivite poet has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The Chidambaram Mahatmiyam composed during the 12th century explain the subsequent evolution and de-sanskritization.

 

THE CHIDAMBARA RAHASIYAM

During the daily rituals, the Chief priest, of the day, himself in a state of Godliness - Shivohambhava (Shiva - the Lord, in His Sandhi form - Shivo-, aham – me / us, bhava - state of mind), parts the curtain, indicating the withdrawal of ignorance and reveals the space, and The Lord’s presence.

 

The Chidambara Rahasya, is hence representative of that time when one, in total surrender, allows God to intervene and remove our ignorance, even as we get to 'see and experience' His presence and hence - bliss.

Temple administration and daily rituals

 

WORSHIP FORMS

A unique feature of this temple is the bejeweled image of Lord Nataraja as the main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is represented by an anthropomorphic murthi rather than the classic, anionic Lingam.

 

At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The Chitsabha houses a small sphatika(crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be a piece that fell from the crescent adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed by Adi Shankara. The linga is associated with the intangible fifth element, akasha (ether or space), the eternal infinite expanse where the dance of Lord Shiva takes place daily puja is offered to the linga and also to a small gem-carved figure of Ratnasabhapati.

 

Chidambaram offers a combination of the three apects of Shaiva worship - of the form Lord(Nataraja), of the form and the formlessness (linga) and of the formless omnipresence. The last is suggested by a "Chidambara rahasya", a chakra inscribed on a wall and blackened by applying "punugu" (civet) and over which hangs a string of golden bilva (bael) leaves. This can be viewed through the square chinks when the priest draws aside the dark "curtain of ignorance".

 

WORSHIP

The temple is managed and administered hereditarily by the Chidambaram Dikshitar – a class of Vaidika Brahmins whom, legends say, were brought here from Mt. Kailas, by Patanjali, specifically for the performance of the daily rituals and maintenance of the Chidambaram temple.

 

DIKSHITARS

The Dikshithars were supposed to be 3000 were called Tillai Muvayiram. Today they number around 360. These Dikshithars follow the Vedic rituals, unlike the Sivachariyars or Adhisaivars who follow the agamic rituals for the worship of Shiva and they sport a specific lopsided-to-the-left half shaved head. The rituals for the temple were collated from the Vedas and set by Patanjali, who is said to have inducted the Dikshithars into the worship of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. Every married male member of the Dikshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day. Married Dikshithars are also entitled a share of the temple's revenue. Though the temple is said to have been given endowments of almost 20 km2 of fertile land – having been patronized by various rulers for several centuries, it is managed almost entirely by privately run endowments.

 

DAILY RITUALS

The day begins with the chief priest of the day, performing required rituals to purify himself and assume the Shivoham bhava (Shiva-hood), after which he enters the temple to do the daily rituals. The day begins with Lord Shiva's footwear (padukas) brought at 7:00 am from the palliyarai (bedroom) to the sanctum sanctorum in a palanquin accompanied by devotees with cymbals, chimes and drums. The priest then performs the daily rituals with a yajna and a 'Gopujai' (worship of a cow and her calf). Worship (Puja) is done 6 times in a day. Before each puja, the spadika linga (crystal linga) or the semi form state of Lord Shiva is anointed with ghee, milk, curds, rice, sandal paste and holy ash. This is followed by presenting the naivedhyam or offering of freshly prepared food and sweets to the deity and the diparaadhana, a ritual of showing varied and decoratively set lamps, the reciting of Vedas in Sanskrit and the Panchapuranam (a set of 5 poems from a set of 12 works in Tamil – called the panniru thirumurai). The puja ends with the priest parting the curtains of the sanctum sanctorum to reveal the Chidambara Rahasyam (sanctum).

 

Before the 2nd puja, apart from the regular anointing of the crystal linga, a ruby Nataraja deity (the Rathinasabhapathy) is also anointed. The 3rd puja is at around 12.00 noon, after which the temple closes until around 4:30 pm. The 4th puja is performed at 6.00 pm, the 5th at 8:00 pm and the last puja of the day is performed at 10:00 pm, after which Lord Shiva’s footwear is taken in a procession for Him to ‘retire’ for the night. Before the 5th puja at night, the priest performs special rituals at the Chidambara Rahasya, where he anointed the yantra with aromatic substances and offers naivedyam. The last puja, called the arthajaama puja is performed with special fervor. It is believed that the entire divine force of the universe retires into the deity, when he retires for the night.

 

TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

The Diskshithars one and fully responsible for the administration and pooja. Simply they mentioned their surname as the Sri Natarajar Temple Trustee and Pooja forever. Dikshithars life and temple tied as the nail and flesh relationship.

 

FESTIVALS

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day after the new moon (chaturdasi) of the month of Masi (February-March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam (in April-May), indicating the third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of Aani (June-July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth puja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi (October-November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession that included a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja, is believed to have born on full moon day in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times a year, and on the previous night of Ardra, the bath rituals are performed on a grand scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offering to the deity are used for the sacred ablution.

 

There are references in Umapathy Sivam's

Kunchithaangristhavam that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession, however this is not in vogue these days.

 

Natyanjali is a prominent festival celebrated during February every year when Bharatnatyam dancers from all over the country converge to present dance offering to Nataraja.

 

HISTORY

Constructed to signify where Tamil Shaivites identify the centre loci of the universe to be, the shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has witnessed several significant events in the history of Tamil Nadu. A powerful legacy of Dravidian art, its structures and sculptures have attracted pilgrims to Chidambaram for over two millennium. The birthplace of Nataraja when Shaivite worship was highly popular during the Sangam period, Chidambaram had gained a reputation for holiness across the continent by the third century CE and the admiration of the Tamilakkam royals of the early Cholas, Chera dynasty and the early Pandyan Kingdom. Built by the early Cholas to one of their family deities - Nataraja-Koothan - it served as the king and queen's state temple and seat of their monarchs' coronations. The Chola royals underlined their non-partisan approach to religious iconography and faith by also patronizing the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Vishnu - their other Kuladheivam or "abode of family deity". Chola King Kocengannan who reigned in the first half of the 2nd century CE was born after his parents King Subhadevan and Kamaladevi worshipped in the Thillai Golden Hall (Pon Ambalam). He expanded the shrine in his later life and added to unfinished decorations. Saints Patañjali Tirumular and Vyaghrapada famously worshipped Nataraja at the shrine. The travelling Pallava-Chola king Simhavarman (II or III) who reigned in the 5th-6th century CE was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Shivagangai tank and in gratitude made extensive repairs and additions to the temple. He changed his name to Hiranyavarman or "golden bodied."

 

The Puranas, Sangam literature and the Tirumurai canon join several epigraphs and murals in highlighting the brilliance of the temple site and the devotion of Patañjali, Vyaghrapada-Pulikaalmunivar and patanjali to Nataraja at Thillai. The sthala puranam as well as umapathi sivacharya's koyil puranam give an account of how an ancient chola prince of kritayugam or first of epochal ages. Worshipped The Lord's feet at Chidambaram and being blessed with a vision of His was further helped by saint Vyaghrapada to consecrate a place of worship therewith. The temple murals and some cholan and pandyan literature refer to this sthala puranam. The chidambaram mahatyam as well as koyil puranam by the same author discuss as to how this prince who was presented with dhataki or atti garland and tiger flag in which Lord Indra would take abode to make him ever victorious was blessed with vision of lord and further attained mukti at this spot. This is very credible because all ancient literature and documents report that tiger flag and atti or dhataki (grislea tomentosa) garland as being emblematic with cholas. Some sangam period works also passingly refer to the krita age king's war with demons and his victory against them. The king also went by name Vyaghraketu after being gifted with the tiger flag.

 

Later during the 4th or 5th century CE, a pallava king called Simha Varman who was also a nayanmar saint by name Aiyatikal Kaadavarkon made some compositions and bathed in the tank and attained mukthi at tiru-perum-ppatra-puliyur or chidambaram. Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan had refurbished most of the parts and rebuilt some parts of the temple around 1213 AD.

 

At periodical intervals (12 years in general), major repairs and renovation works are carried out, new facilities added and consecrated. Most old temples have also 'grown' over periods of time with additional facilities, more outer corridors and new gopurams (pagodas) were added by the rulers who patronized the temple. While this process has helped to keep the temples 'alive' as places of worship, from a purely archeological or historical perspective these renovations have unintentionally lead to destruction of the original works - which were not in sync with the latter and usually grander temple plans.

 

To this general trend, Chidambaram temple is no exception. The origins and developments of the temple are hence largely deduced from allied references in works of literature and poetry, the verbal information passed over generations by the Dikshithar community and from what little, of inscriptions and manuscripts that are available today.

The temple site is very ancient one is known to have been crafted time and again by the ancient craftsmen guild known as Perumthachchans. The reference to the same is available in sangam literature as well as other documents. The tevaram trio in particular have held this site to be of great sanctity with some like Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar out of devotion being reluctant to set their foot in the place "because it would be an insult to the lord to put one's foot on his abode". The sangam works refer to the temple being favoured by all the three ancient crowns of south, the Neriyan (cholas), chezhiyan (pandyas) and uthiyan (cheras), even if the temple was in what was traditionally chola country.

 

INSCRIPTIONS

There are several inscriptions available in the temple and referring to the Chidambaram temple in neighbouring areas. Most inscriptions available pertain to the periods of Cholas - Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). Pandya inscriptions date from Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE), Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the descendant of Cheramaan Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found.

 

KUMBHABISHEKAM 2015

The sacred Chidambaram Sri Sabanayagar Temple, which is also described as Boologa Kailaasam and Chithakasam

 

Sri Sivagamasundari Samaedha Sriman Anandha Nataraja Moorthy's Chitsabha Samprokshana Chithvilasa Maha Kumbhabishekam is about to happen in a great way On the auspicious day of Manmadha (Tamil) year Chithirai month 18th day (01-May-2015) Friday morning between 7:00 am and 8:30 am Hastha Nakshthra, Thrayodhasi Thithi, Amirtha yoga, Rishabha Lagna.

 

INVASIONS

The temple was severely vandalised during Malik Kafur's invasions of South India between 1311 and 1325. A garrison was set up within the temple precincts and the walls were fortified during the Carnatic Wars between the East India Company and the French and the Anglo-Mysore Wars that the British fought with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Dedicated macro lens. No crop.

www.flickr.com/photos/nakedape/

More than 100 dedicated DMPS employees from a variety of departments were honored at a special luncheon on Wednesday at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines. Chief of Human Resources Dr. Anne Sullivan offered congratulations, and Superintendent Dr. Tom Ahart presented retirees with a golden apple for their service.

 

Students Aviva Adams-Wilk (Cowles Montessori School), Shakira Stiefvater (Callanan Middle School) and Courtnei Caldwell (Hoover High School) talked about the special teachers in their lives and the impact school has had on them.

 

Congratulations to our retiring employees!

 

Anderson, Rhonda

Andresen, Kimberly

Andrews, Kathleen

Balkema, James

Banks, Leane

Barnes, Steve

Bass, Cynthia

Behling, Denise

Bennett, Ronald

Berry, Mary

Blackford, Cynthia

Boal, Anne

Brandt, Marsha

Brier, Sandra

Brocksmith, Karen

Brones, Laura

Caligiuri, Mari

Callaghan-Mitchell, Barbara

Carlson, Philip

Carter, Shelley

Charron, Karen

Clausen, Katherine

Cockrell, Stephen

Collins, Melinda

Colton, Patricia

Cooley, Terance

Cooper, Janyce

Crandell, Kathleen

Cropp, Billie Jo

Cross, Karen

Culver, Peggy

Cusmano, Patricia

Dahm, Leslie

Day, Barbara

Decker, Mary

Dickerson, Donna

Dinsdale, Linda

Dunivan, Sandra

Durham, Dawn

Edwards, Pamela

Faust, Gloria

Fogle, Deborah

Forsgren, Thomas

Fritch, Marcia

Gaylord-Crispin, Marjorie

Gier, Kay

Graham, Kay

Grandanette, Joseph

Greiner-Glas, Susan

Hansen, Kathryn

Hanson, Steven

Harrington, Diane

Heideman, Julie

Henline, Thomas

Hetzel, Jannan

Hilger, Mary

Holmgren, Ronald

Holmgren, Teresa

Horn, Sarah

Hoyt, Lynne

Huston, Steven

James, Ethel

Jasso, Michael

Jefferson, Lucy

Johnson, Camille

Johnson, John

Johnston, Michael

Jones, Sarah (Jackie)

Jones, Karen

Jones, Melinda

Kerman, Lonny

Khalastchi, Barbara

King, Bonnie

Kitterman, Darrell

Kleinschrodt, Juli

Kulzer, Howard

Lehman, Kathleen

Leonetti, Juli

Lewis, Mary

Logsdon, Michael

Loux, Donna

Lowe, Julia

Lynch, Gene

Lynch, Nancy

Maass, Karen

Markle, Todd

Mattila, Lin

Mcdonald, Susan

Metge, Maria

Miller, Diann

Morain, Diane

Murillo, Janet

Murphy, Kathleen

Nemmers, Linda

Nemmers, Theodore

Neswold, Vicki

Nichols-Wood, Barbara

Nigro, Roberta

Nizzi, Jerry

O’lear, Laura

Parrish, Terry

Paul, Kathleen

Paulsen, Mary

Pearson, Genevieve

Reynolds, Kathy

Riordan, Therese

Robinson, Barbara

Rodriguez, Linda

Root, Valerie

Rosin, Julie

Schwering, Jeanette

Sircy, Katherine

Skinner, Peggy

Smith, Thomas

Smith, Birdie Mae

Smith, Jean

Smith, J Kirby

Stancel, Kenneth

Stark, Lee

Stetson, Deborah

Stinson, Donna

Stone-Flomo, Cassandra

Swanson, Carol

Swanson, Thomas

Sweet, David

Tebo, Janette

Thompson, Shari

Trullinger, Christy

Tursi, Madelyn

Van De Pol, Carol

Virden, Mark

Walag, John Michael

West, Sheila

Westover, Mary

Wilkinson, Rena

Williams, Patti

Wilson, Wanda

Winslow, Joanne

Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples (Kovil) to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. The Sangam classics list chief architect Viduvelvidugu Perumthachchan as directing an early renovation of the shrine.

 

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. Its bronze statues and stone sculptures depicting various deities and the famous Thillai trees (Excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early Chola and Pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals Aditya I, Parantaka Chola I, Kopperunchinga I, Krishnadevaraya and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. King Kocengannan Chola was born following prayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structure. The shrine gave the town its name.

 

The deity that presides here is கூத்தன் - Thillai Koothan (Thillai Nataraja - Shiva, The Lord of Dance). Chidambaram is the birthplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, a Tamilian concept and motif in Chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. The shrine is the only Shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activities. The consort deity here is Sivakami Amman (form of Amman - mother goddess and female energy). Two other forms of Lord Shiva are represented close to this in the vimana (inner sanctum) of the temple - as a crystallised lingam - the most common representation of Lord Shiva in temples, and as the aether space classical element, represented with empty space and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilvam leaves (Aegle marmelos). Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam (பொன் அம்பலம்). The sculptures of Chidambaram inspired the postures of Bharatha Natyam. The Chidambaram complex is admired for its five famous halls (ambalam or sabhai), several grand smaller shrines to the Hindu deities Ganesh, Murugan, Vishnu and Sivakami Amman which contain Pandyan and Nayak architectural styles, and for its endowment from many water tanks, one of which links it to the Thillai Kali temple.

 

Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams, the holiest Shiva temples each representing one of the five classical elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether). Chidambaram is glorified in Tirumular's Tirumandhiram and was visited by Patañjali and VyagjrapadharPulikaal Munivar. It is the primary shrine of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar saints Tirunavukkarasar, Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundarar. Hailed in the Tiruvacakam series by Manikkavacakar, these very volumes of the Tirumurai literature canon were themselves found in secret chambers of the temple. The Periya Puranam, a biography of these Nayanar saints by Sekkizhar commissioned by emperor Kulothunga Chola II, was written in the shrine's Thousand Pillared Hall. In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, the Chidambaram shrine is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee and Mount Kailash.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional name of the temple complex, Chidambaram Tillai Nataraja-koothan Kovil, alludes to the environment of its location and its origins and significance in Saivite worship. The mangrove of ancient Tillai (தில்லை) trees (Exocoeria agallocha) of the forest surrounding the shrine when it was first built inspired the shrine's name and early artistic inspiration; the Tillai trees of the nearby Pichavaram wetlands, the second largest mangrove in the world, extends to the temple area. The shrine is venerated as Tillai ambalam (தில்லை அம்பலம் ), literally meaning Tillai Open Stage, the open space surrounded by Tillai Vanam (தில்லை வனம்) (the Tillai forest) - the original name of this area.[9] The name of the town of this shrine, Chidambaram comes from the Tamil word Chitrambalam (சிற்றம்பலம்) - "small hall/stage"; also spelled Chithambalam (சிட்டம்பலம்), from citt/chitthu and ambalam - meaning "wisdom of this open stage/atmosphere". The shrine is where some devotees believe they will attain liberation, or chitaakasam - "wisdom/consciousness of the sky". "Nataraja" or "Koothan" mean "Lord of Dance".

 

LEGEND

The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram). In the Thillai forests resided a group of sages or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. Lord Shiva strolled in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of Bhikshatana, a simple mendicant seeking alms. He was followed by His consort, Vishnu as Mohini. The sages and their wives were enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of The handsome mendicant and His consort. On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis got enraged and invoked scores of serpents (nāgas) by performing magical rituals. Lord Shiva lifted the serpents and donned them as ornaments on His matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the sages invoked a fierce tiger, whose skins and dons were used by Lord Shiva as a shawl around His waist and then followed by a fierce elephant, which was devoured and ripped to death by Lord Shiva (Gajasamharamurthy).

 

The rishis gathered all their spiritual strength and invoked a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. Lord Shiva wore a gentle smile, stepped on the demon's back, immobilized him and performed the Ánanda Tandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and disclosed his true form. The sages surrender, realizing that Lord Shiva is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

 

PATRONAGE

To Saivites, primarily in Tamil Nadu, the very word koil refers primarily to Chidambaram Tillai Natarajar.

 

Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 160,000 m2 in the heart of the city. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Shivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal. Chidambaram's earliest structures were designed and erected by ancient craftsmen called Perumtaccan. The golden tiled roof for the Chit Ambalam (the vimanam) was laid by the Chola King Parantaka I (907-950 CE) following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathhukku pon koorai veiyntha thevan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன், meaning the one who constructed the golden roof). In its floruit, kings Rajaraja Chola I (reign 985-1014 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 AD) made significant donations to the temple. Gold and riches to the temple were donated by Rajaraja Chola's daughter Kundavai II while Chola king Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals.

 

Donations of gold and jewels have been made by various kings, rulers and patrons to the temple from 9th to 16th century - including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy (the emerald jewel still adorns the deity) and the British.

 

Naralokaviran, the general of king Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building a shrine for child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar and installed a metal image inside it. He constructed a hall for recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper plates.

 

TEMPLE STRUCTURE

The temple is the only great temple complex to date mainly from the later Chola period, and contains the earliest examples of a number of features that are found in many later temples, including "the earliest known Devī or Amman shrine, nritta (dance) maṇḍapa, Sūrya shrine with chariot wheels, hundred-and-thousand pillared maṇḍapas, even the first giant Śiva Gangā tank".A classical Shiva temple as per Agama rules will have five prakarams (closed precincts of a temple) or circuits each separated by walls one within the other. The outer prakaram will be open to the sky except the innermost one. The innermost one will house the main deity as well as other deities. There will be a massive wooden or stone flag post exactly in line with the main deity. The innermost prakaram houses the sanctum sanctorum (தமிழ் = கருவரை).

 

Chidambaram is also referred to in various works such as Thillai (after the Thillai forest of yore in which the temple is now located), Perumpatrapuliyur or Vyagrapuram (in honour of Saint Vyagrapathar, Sanskrit: Vyaghrapada - "Tiger-Footed").

 

The temple is supposed to be located at the lotus heart of the Universe: Virat hridaya padma sthalam.

 

This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:

 

- the "form" - the anthropomorphic form as an appearance of Nataraja, called the Sakala-thirumeni.

- the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphic form as the Crystal linga of Chandramaulishvara, the Sakala-nishkala-thirumeni.

- the "formless" – as the space in Chidambara-rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala-thirumeni.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE DESIGN

The layout and architecture of the temple is replete with philosophical meanings.

 

Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).

 

The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.

The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.

 

The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).

 

The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.

 

TOWERS

The temple has nine gateways, and four of these have gateway towers or gopurams each with 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The South gopuram called the Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each other when they completed gopurams (and left it with one fish, in case it was incomplete). The earliest and smallest of the four is West gopuram constructed around 1150 and there are no reliable evidence on the construction. The sculptures shows goddess fighting the buffalo-demon and warlike Skanda astride his peacock. The North Gopuram was initiated around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD) in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 AD) as per epigrahical records and was repaired by Subbammal, the mother-in-law of the famous philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754-1794 AD). The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to date has been responsible for various functions in the temple and also maintain the temple car. The eastern gopuram is renowned for its complete enumeration of 108 poses of Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that leads to the gateway. Each gopuram has around fifty stone sculptures, with each repeating some portions from the other.

 

HALLS

There are 5 ambalams or sabhas (halls) inside the temple.

 

- Chit Ambalam or Chit Sabhai, which is the sanctum sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivakami Sundari, and gave the temple town its name.

- Pon Ambalam or Kanaka Sabhai – the golden hall in front of the Chit Ambalam, from where the daily rituals are conducted.

- Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, a 56-pillared hall lies to the south of the temple's flag mast (kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where Nataraja outdanced Kali and established his supremacy

- Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram (which in yoga is a chakra) at the crown of the head and is a seat where the soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus. Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state of union with The Divine Force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice. The hall is open only on festive days.

- Deva Sabhai, which houses the Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Ganesh, Somaskanda (seated posture of Lord Shiva with Pavarthi and Skanda), Sivananda Nayaki, Muruga and the image of Chandikeswarar.

 

SHRINES

- The shrines for the original Shivalingam worshipped by the saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the Thiru Aadhimoolanathar and his consort Umaiyammai

- The shrine of the 63 nayanars of Lord Shiva – called the Arubaththu moovar.

- Shrine of Sivagami.

- Ganesha shrine

- Shrine of Muruga or Pandiya nayakan

 

There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.

 

GOVINDARAJA SWAMY SHRINE

The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of vaishnava (those worshipping Lord Vishnu) tradition, alwars. Kulashekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century. Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava (festival image) of the temple to escape punishment. Down the centuries, king Krishnappa Nayak (1564-1572 AD) was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was lot of resistance from the shaivites (those worshipping Shiva) against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form. There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time - there was a dispute even in last century during 1849 AD regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi(sanctum of azhwars) between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court.

 

TEMPLE TANKS

The Chidambaram temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around the temple complex.

 

- Sivaganga (சிவகங்கை) tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by flights of stone steps leading from the shrine.

- Paramanandha koobham is the well on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai hall from which water is drawn for sacred purposes.

- Kuyya theertham is situated to the north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.

- Pulimadu is situated around a kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.

- Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on to the west of the temple opposite to the temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.

- Anantha Theertham is situated to the west of the temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.

- Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of the Anantha thirtham.

- Brahma Theertham is situated to the north-west of the temple at Thirukalaanjeri.

- Underground channels at the shrine drain excess water in a northeasterly direction to the Shivapiyai temple tank (சிவப்பியை குளம்) of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram. Due to poor maintenance, it has not been in use.

- Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-east of the Shivapiyai tank.

 

TEMPLE CAR

The Chidambaram temple car is, perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand devotees during the festivals.

 

ANANDA TANDAVA

The legend of the temple is same as the legend of Ānanda-tāṇḍava. Adhisesha, the serpent who serves as a bed of Lord Vishnu, hears about the Änanda thaandava and yearns to see and enjoy it. Lord Shiva beckons him to assume the saintly form of sage Patanjali and sends him to the Thillai forest, informing him that he will display the dance in due course. Patanjali who meditated in the Himalayas during krita age joins another saint, Vyaghrapada or Pulikaalmuni (Vyagra / Puli meaning "Tiger" and patha / kaal meaning "feet" – referring to the story of how he sought and got the feet and eyesight of a tiger to help climb trees well before dawn to pick flowers for The Lord before the bees visit them). The story of sage Patanjali as well as his great student sage Upamanyu is narrated in both Vishnu Purana as well as Shiva Purana. They move into the Thillai forest and worship Lord Shiva in the form of lingam, a deity worshipped today as Thirumoolataneswarar (Thiru - sri, Moolatanam - primordial or in the nature of a foundation, Eswarar- the Lord). Legends say that Lord Shiva displayed his dance of bliss (the Aananda Thaandavam) - as Nataraja to these two saints on the day of the poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai (January-February).

 

THE ANANDA TANDAVA POSTURE

The Ānanda-tāṇḍava posture of Nataraja represents pancikritya functions of the godhead believed to have created the dynamic force to create the world.

 

- The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.

- The fire in His hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.

- The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life forms.

- The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.

- The drum in His hand signifies the origin of life forms.

- The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the sound of the universe.

- His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.

- His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

- The crescent moon in His hair signifies benevolence and beauty.

- The flowing of river Ganges through His matted hair signifies eternity of life.

- The dreading of His hair and drape signify the force of His dance.

 

Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while His spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Myalagga forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

Pancha Bhoota Stalam (Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Lord Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of sky. The other four manifestations are Prithivi Lingam (representing land) at Ekambareswarar Temple, Appu Lingam (representing Water) at Thiruvanaikaval, Agni Lingam (representing fire) at Annamalaiyar Temple and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at Srikalahasti Temple.

 

Aathara Stala indicates the Shiva temples which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Nataraja temple is called the Anthaga stalam associated with Anthagam - the third eye.

 

Pancha Sabhai refers to the five places where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed His cosmic dance and all these places have stages or ambalams, also known as Sabhai. Apart from Chidambaram which has the Ponna Ambalam - the Golden Hall, the others are the I-Ratthina Ambalam - the Jeweled Hall at Thiruvaalangadu (rathinam – ruby / red jewelled), the Chitra Ambalam - the Painted Hall at Thirukutralam (chitra – painting), the Velli Ambalam - the Silver Hall at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple (velli – silver) and the Thaamira Ambalam - the Copper Hall at Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli (Thaamiram – copper).

 

RELIGIOUS WORK AND SAINTS

There is no reference to the temple in Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found in 6th century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet saints belonging to the 7th century - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar commences his Thiruthondar thogai (the sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees) paying his respects to the priests of the Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The works of the first three saints, Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Manikkavasagar, the 10th century saivite poet has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The Chidambaram Mahatmiyam composed during the 12th century explain the subsequent evolution and de-sanskritization.

 

THE CHIDAMBARA RAHASIYAM

During the daily rituals, the Chief priest, of the day, himself in a state of Godliness - Shivohambhava (Shiva - the Lord, in His Sandhi form - Shivo-, aham – me / us, bhava - state of mind), parts the curtain, indicating the withdrawal of ignorance and reveals the space, and The Lord’s presence.

 

The Chidambara Rahasya, is hence representative of that time when one, in total surrender, allows God to intervene and remove our ignorance, even as we get to 'see and experience' His presence and hence - bliss.

Temple administration and daily rituals

 

WORSHIP FORMS

A unique feature of this temple is the bejeweled image of Lord Nataraja as the main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is represented by an anthropomorphic murthi rather than the classic, anionic Lingam.

 

At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The Chitsabha houses a small sphatika(crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be a piece that fell from the crescent adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed by Adi Shankara. The linga is associated with the intangible fifth element, akasha (ether or space), the eternal infinite expanse where the dance of Lord Shiva takes place daily puja is offered to the linga and also to a small gem-carved figure of Ratnasabhapati.

 

Chidambaram offers a combination of the three apects of Shaiva worship - of the form Lord(Nataraja), of the form and the formlessness (linga) and of the formless omnipresence. The last is suggested by a "Chidambara rahasya", a chakra inscribed on a wall and blackened by applying "punugu" (civet) and over which hangs a string of golden bilva (bael) leaves. This can be viewed through the square chinks when the priest draws aside the dark "curtain of ignorance".

 

WORSHIP

The temple is managed and administered hereditarily by the Chidambaram Dikshitar – a class of Vaidika Brahmins whom, legends say, were brought here from Mt. Kailas, by Patanjali, specifically for the performance of the daily rituals and maintenance of the Chidambaram temple.

 

DIKSHITARS

The Dikshithars were supposed to be 3000 were called Tillai Muvayiram. Today they number around 360. These Dikshithars follow the Vedic rituals, unlike the Sivachariyars or Adhisaivars who follow the agamic rituals for the worship of Shiva and they sport a specific lopsided-to-the-left half shaved head. The rituals for the temple were collated from the Vedas and set by Patanjali, who is said to have inducted the Dikshithars into the worship of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. Every married male member of the Dikshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day. Married Dikshithars are also entitled a share of the temple's revenue. Though the temple is said to have been given endowments of almost 20 km2 of fertile land – having been patronized by various rulers for several centuries, it is managed almost entirely by privately run endowments.

 

DAILY RITUALS

The day begins with the chief priest of the day, performing required rituals to purify himself and assume the Shivoham bhava (Shiva-hood), after which he enters the temple to do the daily rituals. The day begins with Lord Shiva's footwear (padukas) brought at 7:00 am from the palliyarai (bedroom) to the sanctum sanctorum in a palanquin accompanied by devotees with cymbals, chimes and drums. The priest then performs the daily rituals with a yajna and a 'Gopujai' (worship of a cow and her calf). Worship (Puja) is done 6 times in a day. Before each puja, the spadika linga (crystal linga) or the semi form state of Lord Shiva is anointed with ghee, milk, curds, rice, sandal paste and holy ash. This is followed by presenting the naivedhyam or offering of freshly prepared food and sweets to the deity and the diparaadhana, a ritual of showing varied and decoratively set lamps, the reciting of Vedas in Sanskrit and the Panchapuranam (a set of 5 poems from a set of 12 works in Tamil – called the panniru thirumurai). The puja ends with the priest parting the curtains of the sanctum sanctorum to reveal the Chidambara Rahasyam (sanctum).

 

Before the 2nd puja, apart from the regular anointing of the crystal linga, a ruby Nataraja deity (the Rathinasabhapathy) is also anointed. The 3rd puja is at around 12.00 noon, after which the temple closes until around 4:30 pm. The 4th puja is performed at 6.00 pm, the 5th at 8:00 pm and the last puja of the day is performed at 10:00 pm, after which Lord Shiva’s footwear is taken in a procession for Him to ‘retire’ for the night. Before the 5th puja at night, the priest performs special rituals at the Chidambara Rahasya, where he anointed the yantra with aromatic substances and offers naivedyam. The last puja, called the arthajaama puja is performed with special fervor. It is believed that the entire divine force of the universe retires into the deity, when he retires for the night.

 

TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

The Diskshithars one and fully responsible for the administration and pooja. Simply they mentioned their surname as the Sri Natarajar Temple Trustee and Pooja forever. Dikshithars life and temple tied as the nail and flesh relationship.

 

FESTIVALS

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day after the new moon (chaturdasi) of the month of Masi (February-March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam (in April-May), indicating the third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of Aani (June-July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth puja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi (October-November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession that included a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja, is believed to have born on full moon day in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times a year, and on the previous night of Ardra, the bath rituals are performed on a grand scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offering to the deity are used for the sacred ablution.

 

There are references in Umapathy Sivam's

Kunchithaangristhavam that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession, however this is not in vogue these days.

 

Natyanjali is a prominent festival celebrated during February every year when Bharatnatyam dancers from all over the country converge to present dance offering to Nataraja.

 

HISTORY

Constructed to signify where Tamil Shaivites identify the centre loci of the universe to be, the shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has witnessed several significant events in the history of Tamil Nadu. A powerful legacy of Dravidian art, its structures and sculptures have attracted pilgrims to Chidambaram for over two millennium. The birthplace of Nataraja when Shaivite worship was highly popular during the Sangam period, Chidambaram had gained a reputation for holiness across the continent by the third century CE and the admiration of the Tamilakkam royals of the early Cholas, Chera dynasty and the early Pandyan Kingdom. Built by the early Cholas to one of their family deities - Nataraja-Koothan - it served as the king and queen's state temple and seat of their monarchs' coronations. The Chola royals underlined their non-partisan approach to religious iconography and faith by also patronizing the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Vishnu - their other Kuladheivam or "abode of family deity". Chola King Kocengannan who reigned in the first half of the 2nd century CE was born after his parents King Subhadevan and Kamaladevi worshipped in the Thillai Golden Hall (Pon Ambalam). He expanded the shrine in his later life and added to unfinished decorations. Saints Patañjali Tirumular and Vyaghrapada famously worshipped Nataraja at the shrine. The travelling Pallava-Chola king Simhavarman (II or III) who reigned in the 5th-6th century CE was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Shivagangai tank and in gratitude made extensive repairs and additions to the temple. He changed his name to Hiranyavarman or "golden bodied."

 

The Puranas, Sangam literature and the Tirumurai canon join several epigraphs and murals in highlighting the brilliance of the temple site and the devotion of Patañjali, Vyaghrapada-Pulikaalmunivar and patanjali to Nataraja at Thillai. The sthala puranam as well as umapathi sivacharya's koyil puranam give an account of how an ancient chola prince of kritayugam or first of epochal ages. Worshipped The Lord's feet at Chidambaram and being blessed with a vision of His was further helped by saint Vyaghrapada to consecrate a place of worship therewith. The temple murals and some cholan and pandyan literature refer to this sthala puranam. The chidambaram mahatyam as well as koyil puranam by the same author discuss as to how this prince who was presented with dhataki or atti garland and tiger flag in which Lord Indra would take abode to make him ever victorious was blessed with vision of lord and further attained mukti at this spot. This is very credible because all ancient literature and documents report that tiger flag and atti or dhataki (grislea tomentosa) garland as being emblematic with cholas. Some sangam period works also passingly refer to the krita age king's war with demons and his victory against them. The king also went by name Vyaghraketu after being gifted with the tiger flag.

 

Later during the 4th or 5th century CE, a pallava king called Simha Varman who was also a nayanmar saint by name Aiyatikal Kaadavarkon made some compositions and bathed in the tank and attained mukthi at tiru-perum-ppatra-puliyur or chidambaram. Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan had refurbished most of the parts and rebuilt some parts of the temple around 1213 AD.

 

At periodical intervals (12 years in general), major repairs and renovation works are carried out, new facilities added and consecrated. Most old temples have also 'grown' over periods of time with additional facilities, more outer corridors and new gopurams (pagodas) were added by the rulers who patronized the temple. While this process has helped to keep the temples 'alive' as places of worship, from a purely archeological or historical perspective these renovations have unintentionally lead to destruction of the original works - which were not in sync with the latter and usually grander temple plans.

 

To this general trend, Chidambaram temple is no exception. The origins and developments of the temple are hence largely deduced from allied references in works of literature and poetry, the verbal information passed over generations by the Dikshithar community and from what little, of inscriptions and manuscripts that are available today.

The temple site is very ancient one is known to have been crafted time and again by the ancient craftsmen guild known as Perumthachchans. The reference to the same is available in sangam literature as well as other documents. The tevaram trio in particular have held this site to be of great sanctity with some like Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar out of devotion being reluctant to set their foot in the place "because it would be an insult to the lord to put one's foot on his abode". The sangam works refer to the temple being favoured by all the three ancient crowns of south, the Neriyan (cholas), chezhiyan (pandyas) and uthiyan (cheras), even if the temple was in what was traditionally chola country.

 

INSCRIPTIONS

There are several inscriptions available in the temple and referring to the Chidambaram temple in neighbouring areas. Most inscriptions available pertain to the periods of Cholas - Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). Pandya inscriptions date from Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE), Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the descendant of Cheramaan Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found.

 

KUMBHABISHEKAM 2015

The sacred Chidambaram Sri Sabanayagar Temple, which is also described as Boologa Kailaasam and Chithakasam

 

Sri Sivagamasundari Samaedha Sriman Anandha Nataraja Moorthy's Chitsabha Samprokshana Chithvilasa Maha Kumbhabishekam is about to happen in a great way On the auspicious day of Manmadha (Tamil) year Chithirai month 18th day (01-May-2015) Friday morning between 7:00 am and 8:30 am Hastha Nakshthra, Thrayodhasi Thithi, Amirtha yoga, Rishabha Lagna.

 

INVASIONS

The temple was severely vandalised during Malik Kafur's invasions of South India between 1311 and 1325. A garrison was set up within the temple precincts and the walls were fortified during the Carnatic Wars between the East India Company and the French and the Anglo-Mysore Wars that the British fought with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

 

WIKIPEDIA

When you get to the ballpark early for a mid-week late-season game between two teams that are both out of contention for any championships, and your tickets are high up in the nosebleed section, and the setting sun is glowering in your face, and the beer is too expensive, and the shave-ice isn't ready yet, and your comrades are stuck in rush-hour traffic --- well, being a fan can get a bit lonely ...

2012 © Nazmul Hossain

 

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