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بحق الحب سيري ياحمامه
لطيف الروح وهاتيلي كلامه
ووديله تحيات الموده
على الطاير وهاتيلي سلامه
وقوليله ترى هجره سطابي
وفي القلب من الهجران شامه
Stone feet in the Louvre. Kind of like how feet feel when you spend hours upon hours, days back to back.... walking. Standing. Walking some more. Paris can be cruel to the lower extremities.
to the millions of children quietly suffering..
due to the adults' wars in too many places around the world.
This was drawn after a healthy community meal.
+11 adults and children each added to this drawing.
We have perfect weather to work with over `125 dedicated volunteers at Bear Creek Park and Stream filling a dump truck with trash and debris they removed from the stream and the adjacent park totally over 3 tons!!! This included 271 bags of trash, a truck full of metal to be recycled, 3.5 shopping carts, 4 rolls of roof underlayment, 2 bicycles, a wooden shelf, a stroller, a baby gate a roll of wire fence and much more! Thank you everyone so very much for all your incredible hard work under such tough conditions! Our volunteer’s dedication of working toward a cleaner, greener, healthier community and environment is without equal! Thank to everyone who volunteered with us today.
We would also like to thank the Ocean Conservancy, American Rivers, Day to Serve, and National Public Lands Day and for all their assistance and support on this cleanup. We also wish to thank Tradepoint Atlantic and Walmart for your generous donations allowing is to purchase much needed supplies! We would also like to thank the Students and faculty of Bear Creek Elementary and General John Stricker Middle School, Towson University, and the community for all the incredible volunteers they supplied! Thank you so much Tradepoint Atlantic for your generous donations allowing is to purchase much needed supplies! Thank you also to Baltimore County Highways for supplying us with a dumpster for our cleanup.
We also wish to thank Chick-fil-A Eastpoint for donating chicken nuggets and sweet tea, Squires Restaurant for donating Pizza and Dunkin Doughnuts for donating donuts to help feed all out hungry, hardworking volunteers!
Dedicated to Soviet soldiers who died during World War II. Alexander Garden, Moscow Kremlin. March 30, 2014. Photo: Neah Monteiro
He created those beautiful flowers, nothing compares his wisdom and sweet love.
A collection of my own images without textures.
He created those beautiful flowers, nothing compares his wisdom and sweet love.
Frame by Kim Klassen, thanks a lot!!
Please!! Don't advertise "ANY SIZE" of your own images in the box comment. I will remove it immediately!
dedicated to www.flickr.com/photos/garrota/
"Feel the Force of the newest sunlamps - only here! The Force is with us!"
This temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and is one of the 275 Padal Petra Sthalams or Thirumurai temples.
இத்தலம் சோழ நாட்டிலுள்ளது.
சுவாமிபெயர் - சாயாவனேசுவரர்,
தேவியார் - குயிலினும்நன்மொழியம்மை
வானத் திளமதியும் பாம்புந் தன்னில்
வளர்சடைமேல் ஆதரிப்ப வைத்தார் போலுந்
தேனைத் திளைத்துண்டு வண்டு பாடுந்
தில்லை நடமாடுந் தேவர் போலும்
ஞானத்தின் ஒண்சுடராய் நின்றார் போலும்
நன்மையுந் தீமையு மானார் போலுந்
தேனொத் தடியார்க் கினியார் போலுந்
திருச்சாய்க்காட் டினிதுறையுஞ் செல்வர் தாமே.
Appar
இது, சீர்காழிக்குத் தென் கிழக்கே12கீ.மீ. தூரத்தில் உள்ளது
Dedicated to Gregg John Froehner
Port Authority Police Officer - Emergency Services Unit
Chester Township Resident
Loving husband, father son, brother and friend
Saved many lives before perishing on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"
JOHN 15:13
Chester 9/11 Memorial - Chubb Park - Route 24 in Chester, New Jersey Google Map - Additional views
Miles to Ground Zero: 51
www.paranynj.org/Personal/RetireeNews/Archive/Froehner.htm
There is also a park named after Gregg Froehner. Gregg Froehner Memorial Park is located on Runnymede Drive (off of Valley Road near Hamilton Avenue) in Wayne, NJ.
Augost 1999. an earthquake couse to near 60 000 thousand people has lost their life at nortwest of Anatolia,Turkey..Still thousand of those people in pain.
PEARL is a natural stone rectangular White Onyx bathroom trough vessel sink - 27.5" x 19.7" x 2.40"- genuine interior decoration pure genuine Onyx. The "Exceptional" cut in the block without any comparison with plastic and other chemical resin market often unaffordable. You will definitely not let anyone feel indifferent with this 100% natural stone unique in the US and exclusively available on Living'ROC.net.
Feel free to click on our facebook portfolio page to inspire yourself with our clients' projects...Simply our living'ROC style.
Discover the well-being and the restful feeling PEARL, with its pure genuine Onyx can give you. This model is one of our Bathroom range star; Its slim and sleek lines invite calm and serenity and will delight lovers of beautiful work, looking for rare, products. This creation will give your bathroom a minimalist still elegant look. At LivingRoc we have chosen the most beautiful stones. All our basins are made from high quality, pure genuine materials that will last for years to come. Onyx is a material perfectly adapted to bathroom use.
Made from a superb block of Afganisthan white onyx this bathroom trough sink will delight lovers of beautiful work, looking for rare, products. Add value to your home by transforming your bathroom into an oasis of elegance, calm, and tranquillity. Discover the well-being and the restful feeling our creation can offer you.
All of our trough sinks are the creation of a combined group of talented masons dedicated to the idea of creating bathware made from natural material, which is environmentally friendly. Waterproofed PEARL is ready to use, sitting on a vanity counter top. If you wish to standardize your project, you can choose among a wide range of our Trendy grey granite shower pans. Spacium, Palaos, Quasar or Dalaos.
Our creation is delivered without an overflow drain (not included) - every US drains models you can find on the market will fit perfectly on Living'ROC vessel sink. This model is ready to use over the countertop.
Jaguar Land Rover has launched its first APPROVED used-car facility in Dubai. The state-of-the-art showroom seeks to enhance and improve a customer’s experience when purchasing an APPROVED pre-owned vehicle.
No matter the season...no matter the temperature. You cannot stop a Filipino from grilling!
Inside Garage Status.
Zhen Zhen looking out from her hammock.
www.legacy.com/SIGNONSANDIEGO/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?Perso...
An evening totally dedicated to the artists themselves. The 2011 Ars Electronica Gala featuring the presentation of the Golden Nicas to the Prix Ars Electronica prizewinners is one of the Festival's highlights.
Photo showing Golden Nica Digital Communities winner Felipe Heusser (CL) for "Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente".
credit: rubra
This is dedicated to my beautiful friends Denise, Rasmus and their lovely lil bub. They are also lil Riley's Godparents and boy is she excited to meet her lil brother soon!
This was shot at my favorite mossy location and they were both such champs for lying and getting really comfortable on the wet, mushy (or mushroomy more like it) ground. so cute to see them cuddling each other just so in love! awh!! Also with the help of my darling Chris for supporting me on the stool and helping with the flying cloth. Unfortunately for the lack of sunlight I had to hike it up on PS to make them glow, and it turned out just as i hoped :)
Thanks Denise & Rasmus for naturally being so passionate and loving, it was super easy to shoot the both of you! hope you're happy with these fairy woodland series. much love xx
Dedicated to the designers, developers and engineers who build the world’s most engaging user interfaces. From the community, for the community.
U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor crew chiefs assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron are recognized during a Dedicated Crew Chief Ceremony held on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Oct. 23, 2015. During the ceremony crew chiefs were recognized for their dedication and hard work. Every F-22 Raptor has a dedicated crew chief assigned who is trusted with the care and maintenance of the jet. At the ceremony the Airmen received a coin from their respective commanders, a certificate certifying them as dedicated crew chiefs, and new maintenance overalls to designate them as dedicated crew chiefs while working on the flight line. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Wes Wright)
Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2,500-year-old city of Madurai and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature though the present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 CE. It houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50m in height. The tallest is the southern tower, 51.9 metres high, and two golden sculptured vimanas, the shrines over the garbhagrihas (sanctums) of the main deities. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 on Fridays, and receives an annual revenue of ₹ 60 million. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple. It was on the list of top 30 nominees for the "New Seven Wonders of the World". The temple is the most prominent landmark and most visited tourist attraction in the city. The annual 10-day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival, celebrated during April and May, attracts 1 million visitors.
LEGEND
Meenakshi (IAST Mīnākṣī Tamil மீனாட்சி) is an avatar of the Hindu goddess Parvati - the consort of Shiva, one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her. The name "Mīnachchi" means fish-eyed and is derived from the words "mīna" meaning fish and "akṣi" meaning eyes. The lady goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, not Sundareswarar, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. According to Hindu legend, in order to answer the prayers of the second Pandya king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai, Parvati appeared out of the holy fire of the Putra Kameshti Yagna (sacrifice for childhood) performed by the king. According to another legend, the goddess herself gave notice to Kanchanamalai in one of her previous births that Kanchanamalai would have the privilege of mothering the goddess. The girl who came out of the holy fire had three breasts. A voice from the heavens told the king not to worry about the abnormality and added that the third breast would vanish as soon as the girl met her future husband. The happy king named the girl "Tadaatagai" and as the heir to the throne, Tadaatagai was trained carefully in all the 64 sastras, the fields of science .
As the time came for Tadaatagai's coronation, she had to wage war in three worlds encompassing eight directions. After conquering Brahma's Abode, Sathyaloka, Vishnu's Abode, Vaikunta, and Devas' abode Amaravati, she advanced to Shiva's Abode Kailasha. She very easily defeated the bhoota ganas (IAST: Bhūtagana, meaning Shiva's army) and Nandi, the celestial bull of Shiva, and headed to attack and conquer Shiva. The moment she looked at Shiva, she was unable to fight and bowed her head down due to shyness, and the third breast vanished immediately. Tadaatagai realized that Shiva was her destined husband. She also realized that she was the incarnation of Parvati. Both Shiva and Tadaatagai returned to Madurai and the king arranged the coronation ceremony of his daughter, followed by her marriage with Shiva.
The marriage was to be the biggest event on earth, with the whole earth gathering near Madurai. Vishnu, the brother of Meenakshi, prepared to travel from his holy abode at Vaikuntam to preside over the marriage. Due to a divine play, he was tricked by the Deva, Indra and was delayed on the way. After the marriage, the pair ruled over Madurai for a long time and then assumed divine forms as Sundareswarar and Meenakshi, the presiding deities of the temple. Following the tradition, every evening, before closing the temple, a ritual procession led by drummers and a brass ensemble carries the image of Sundareswarar to Meenakshi's bedroom to consummate the union, to be taken back the next morning in dawn. The marriage is celebrated annually as Chithirai Thiruvizha in Madurai. During the period of Nayakar rule in Madurai, the ruler Thirumalai Nayakar linked the festival Azhakar Thiruvizha and the Meenakshi wedding ceremony.
HISTORY
The Meenakshi temple is believed to have been founded by Indra (king of Deva celestial deities). While he was on a pilgrimage to atone for his misdeeds. He felt his burden lifting as he neared the swayambu lingam (self formed lingam, a representation of Shiva used for worship in temples) of Madurai. He ascribed this miracle to the lingam and constructed the temple to enshrine it. Indra worshipped Shiva, who caused golden lotuses to appear in the nearby pool. Tamil literature speaks of the temple over the last two millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Saiva philosophy, mentioned this temple as early as the 7th century, and described the deity as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple is believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559–1600) under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayak Dynasty and the founder of the Poligar System. The original design by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak (1623–55). He took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the Vasantha Mandapam for celebrating vasanthorsavam (spring festival) and Kilikoondu Mandapam (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and Meenatchi Nayakar Mandapam were built by Rani Mangammal.
Rous Peter (1786–1828), the Collector of Madurai in 1812, was nicknamed 'Peter Pandian’ as he respected and treated people of all faiths equally. He donated a set of golden stirrups studded with diamonds and red stones to the temple. Goddess Meenatchi is believed to have saved Rous Peter from a fatal incident. He also wished that after his death, his body be buried in a position that would enable his eyes to face the temple.
During the period of early pandian kings, the king taxed the people for constructing this temple. People paid taxes and donations in the form of gold and silver. But the king wanted contribution as low as a bag of rice which would help in feeding the masans who constructed the temple. so the kings collected one handful of rice daily from every house. This would make few bags of rice in the month end. Thus people from all sectors of life contributed in building the temple. Thus, every family has an emotional attachment towards the temple.
THE TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
The temple is the geographic and ritual center of the ancient city of Madurai and one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil Nadu. The temple complex is divided into a number of concentric quadrangular enclosures contained by high masonry walls. It is one of the few temples in Tamil Nadu to have four entrances facing four directions. Vishwantha Nayaka allegedly redesigned the city of Madurai in accordance with the principles laid down by Shilpa Shastras (Sanskrit: śilpa śāstra, also anglicized as silpa sastra meaning rules of architecture) relevant to urban planning. The city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric streets culminating from the temple. These squares continue to retain their traditional names, Aadi, Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to Tamil month names. Ancient Tamil classics mention that the temple was the center of the city and the streets happened to be radiating out like lotus and its petals. The temple prakarams (outer precincts of a temple) and streets accommodate an elobrate festival calendar in which dramatic processions circumabulate the shrines at varying distances from the centre. The vehicles used in processions are progressively more massive the further they travel from the centre. The complex is in around 180,000 m2.
GOPURAMS
The temple is surrounded by gopurams (gateway tower), - There are 14 gopuram the tallest of which, the famous southern tower, rises to over 52 m and was built in 1559. The oldest gopuram is the eastern one, built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan during 1216-1238 Each gopuram is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with thousands of stone figures of animals, gods and demons painted in bright hues. The outer gopuram presents steeply pyramidal tower encrusted with plaster figures, while the inner gopuram serves as the entrance to the inner enclosure of Sundareswarar shrine.
SHRINES
The central shrine of Meenakshi Amman temple and her consort Sundareswarar are surrounded by three enclosures and each of these are protected by four minor towers at the four points of the compass, the outer tower growing larger and reaching higher to the corresponding inner one. The Meenakshi shrine has the emerald-hued black stone image of Meenakshi. The Sundareswarar shrine lies at the centre of the complex, suggesting that the ritual dominance of the goddess developed later. Both the Meenakshi and Sundareswarar shrines have gold plated Vimanam (tower over sanctum). The golden top can be seen from a great distance in the west through the apertures of two successive towers. The area covered by the shrine of Sundareswarar is exactly one fourth of the area of the temple and that of Meenakshi is one fourth that of Sundareswarar.
The tall sculpture of Ganesh carved of single stone located outside the Sundareswarar shrine in the path from Meenashi shrine is called the Mukuruny Vinayakar. A large measure of rice measuring 3 kurini (a measure) is shaped into a big ball of sacrifice and hence the Ganesh is called Mukkurni Vinayagar (three kurinis). This deity is believed to be found during a 17th-century excavation process to dig the Mariamman temple tank.
TEMPLE TANK AND SURROUNDING PORTICO
The sacred temple tank Porthamarai Kulam ("Pond with the golden lotus"), is 50 m by 37 m in size. In the Tamil legends, the lake is supposed to judge the worth of a new piece of literature. Authors place their works here and the poorly written works are supposed to sink and the scholastic ones are supposed to float, Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar was one such work.
Only a fraction of 17th and 18th century paintings of Nayak period survives and one such portion is found in the small portico on the western side of the tank. It depicts the marriage of Sundareswarar and Meenkashi attended by Vijayaranga Chokkanatha and Rani Mangammal. The painting is executed on a vivid red background, with delicate black linework and large areas of white, green and ochre. The celestial couple is seated inside an architectural frame with a flowering tree in the background.
HALLS
The corridor surrounding the sanctum the Meenakshi is called kilikoondu Mandapam ("bird cage corridor"). The space was once used to keep green parrots that were trained to utter the name of Meenakshi. There are two large cages full of squawking green parrots.
The Kambatadi Mandapam ("Hall of temple tree") with its seated Nandi (sacred bull) has various manifestations of Shiva carved and also contains the famous "Marriage of Meenakshi" sculpture. Sculptures of Shiva and Kali trying to out-dance one another are pelted with balls of ghee by devotees. A golden flagstaff with 32 sections symbolizes the human backbone and is surrounded by various gods, including Durga and Siddar.
The Puthu Mandapam ("new hall") constructed by Tirumala Nayak contains large number of sculptures. It is situated opposite to the east gopuram.
The Ashta Shakthi Mandapam ("Hall of eight goddess") is the first hall in the entrance of Meenakshi shrine tower near to East Tower. Ashta indicates eight and Shakthi refers to goddess - the hall has statues of eight goddesses. The gopurams (towers) can be viewed from this hall. The passage was named for eight forms of goddess Shakti carved on its pillars. Other sculptures and paintings depict the Tiruvilayadal (holy games of Shiva). The sculptures of heroes of Mahabharata, the Pancha pandavas can be seen in the Pancha Pandava Mandapam (Hall of Pandavas).
The Viravasantharaya Mandapam is a large hall with huge corridors. To the south of this hall is the kalyana mandapam, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April. The golden images of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are carried into the 16th century oonjal mandapam (swing corridor) and placed on the swing every Friday at 5:30 p.m. The shrine has a 3-storied gopuram guarded by two stern dwarapalakas (guardians) and supported by golden, rectangular columns that bear lotus markings. Along the perimeter of the chamber, granite panels of the divine couple are present. The hall is situated in the western bank of the temple tank.
The Mudali Pillai Mandapam or Iruttu Mandapam (Dark hall) is a wide and long hall built by Muthu Pillai during 1613. On the pillars of the halls, there are fine sculptures depicting the story of Shiva taking the form of Bikshadanar to teach the sages a lesson.
The Mangayarkarasi mandapam is a newly built hall situated opposite to the marriage halls and bears the name of saindy queen, Mangayarkarasi who contributed to Saivism and Tamil language. To the south of Mangayarkarasi mandapam lies the Servaikarar Mandapam, a hall built by Marudu brothers in 1795. The Nagara mandapam (Hall of beating drums) lies opposite to Sundareswarar shrine was built by Achaya Rayar, the minister of Rani Mangammal in 1635. The Kolu Mandapam is a hall for displaying dolls during the Navarathri festival celebrated during September–October. This hall is situated in the second corridor of the Meenakshi shrine at the western side.
HALL OF THOUSAND PILLARS
The Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam ("Hall of 1000 pillars") has two rows of pillars carved with images of yali (mythological beast with body of lion and head of an elephant), commonly used as the symbol of Nayak power. It is situated to the north of Sundareswarar flag staff hall. The Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars. The hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569 and blends engineering skill and artistic vision. Ariyanatha Mudaliar was prime minister and general of Viswanatha Nayak, the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559–1600). He was also the founder of Poligar System, the quasi-feudal organization of the country dividing it into multiple palayams or small provinces in which each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief. At the entrance of the hall is the statue of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a horse-back, flanking one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is periodically garlanded by worshippers. Each pillar in the hall is a carved monument of the Dravidian sculpture. The more prominent among the carved figures are those of Rati (wife of Kama), Karthikeya, Ganesha, Shiva as a wandering mendicant and endless number of yalis (mythical figures of lions). There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the 1200 years old history of the temple are displayed. Just outside this hall, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note.
RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE
A distinct feature of Meenakshi in terms of iconography is the presence of parrot in her right hand. The parrot is generally associated with the Vaishnava azhwar saint Andal. "Pancha Sabhai" refers to the five royal courts of Nataraja (dancing form of Shiva) where he performed cosmic dance. The Tamil word velli means silver and ambalam means stage or altar. This massive Nataraja sculpture is enclosed in a huge silver altar and hence called "Velli Ambalam" (silver abode). This is a special figure of Natarja which usually differs from Chola bronzes; in the Chola images, Nataraja is shown dancing with his left leg raised, but this sculpture has the right leg raised. According to the Tiruvilayaadal Puranam (Shiva's sacred games), this is on the request of Rajasekara Pandya, who was a sincere devotee of Shiva. He requested the deity to change his position, as he felt that keeping the same foot raised would put enormous strain and got a graceful acquiescence from the divine master.
RITUALS
WORSHIP
There are close to 50 priests in the temple who perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to Shivaite to the Adishaivas, a Brahmin sub-caste. The priests live in a closed area north of the temple. The temple has a six time pooja calendar everyday, each comprising four rituals namely abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offerings) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. The puja (worship) ceremonies are held amidst music with nadhaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. The common practise is to worship Meenakshi before Sundareswarar. Margazhi (December–January) ritual is prominent one for winning a perfect, god-like husband - it is Meenakshi's ennai kappu festival. Aligned with the cardinal points, the street plans forms a giant mandala (group) whose sacred properties are believed to be activated during the mass clockwise circumambulation of the central temple.
FESTIVALS
The most important festival associated with the temple is the "Meenakshi Thirukalyanam" (the divine marriage of Meenakshi) that is celebrated in April every year. The wedding of the divine couple is regarded as a classic instance of south Indian female-dominated marriage, an arrangement referred as "Madurai marriage". The male dominated marriage is called "Chidambaram marriage", referring to Shiva's uncontested dominance, ritual and mythic, at the famous Shiva temple of Chidhambaram. The marriage brings together rural and urban people, deities and mortals, Saivas (those who worship Shiva) and Vaishnavas (those who worship Vishnu) in order to celebrate Meenakshi as the royal monarch. During the one-month period, there are a number of events including the "Ther Thiruvizhah" (chariot festival) and "Theppa Thiruvizhah" (float festival). Major Hindu festivals like Navrathri and Shivrathri are celebrated in the temple. Like most Shakti temples in Tamil Nadu, the Fridays during the Tamil months of Aadi (July–August) and Thai (January–February) are celebrated in the temple by thousands of devotees. "Avani Moola Utsavam" is a 10-day festival mainly devoted to Sundareswarar describes his various Thiruvilayadal meaning Shiva's sacred games.
LITERARY MENTION
Down the centuries, the temple has been a centre of education of Tamil culture, literature, art, music and dance. All three assemblies of Tamil language, the Tamil Sangam (about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE), were held at Madurai. Tamil poets of different epochs participated in these assemblies and their composition is called Sangam literature. During the third Tamil sangam, the comparative merit of the poets was decided by letting the works float in the lotus tank of the temple. It was believed that a divine force would cause the work of superior merit to float on the surface while the inferior literary work would sink. Tevaram, the 7th-8th century Tamil canonoical work on Shiva, are works by the three prominent Nayanars (Saivites) namely Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar. The temple has been glorified by the hymns of Tevaram by all the three poets. Different hymns of Sambandar on the temple mention the queen of Pandya Nadu, his desire to defeat Jains in debate, the miracles performed by him curing the king's fever, the Jains' provocation of Sambandar by burning his house and challenging him to debate, and Sambandar's eventual victory over them. A poem from the Third Tirumurai by Sambandar is as under –
"Lady who has eyes that are comparable to the startled eyes of the deer!
the great chief queen of the Vaḻuti! listen to what I say. Do not feel distressed that I am such a young boy from whose mouth milk is flowing. when the god in Tiruvālavāy stands by my side as help, I can not be easily defeated by the low people who inflict many sufferings on others and who live in hills beginning with great Āṉaimalai."
There are few poets in Tamil history who sang about goddess Parvati. The notable among them is Kumaraguruparar, a 17th-century Tamil poet, who composed Meenakshi Pillaitamil on Meenakshi of this temple. King Tirumalai Nayak's patronage of Kumaraguruparar has an important place in the history of pillaitamil (a genre of Tamil literature). Kumaraguruparar visited a lot of temples and when he visited this temple, he composed Meenakshi pillaitamil on Meenakshi. Legend has it that goddess appeared in the dreams of Nayak directing him to arrange the recital of Kumaraguruparar before a learned assembly. The king made elobrate arrangements for the event. Meenakshi impersonated herself in the form of a small girl and enjoyed the recital. As Kumaraguruparar was explaining the 61st verse, the goddess appreciated by garlanding the poet with a string of pearls and disappeared.
WIKIPEDIA
Tablet Dedicated to Thoth
Egypt, 1st-2nd century AD
Thoth appears three times, from left to right: Assimilated with the moon god Khonsu-Harpokrates, in baboon form, and as an ibis-headed crowned figure. The last wears an elaborate mythological kilt like those seen on representations of Roman Period pharaohs at Dendara. Three small panel on this kilt illustrate, the top: Griffin-type form that presumably represents the god Nemesis, an eagle (?), and a seated baboon.
Dedicated to the Semitic god Bel (Baal), lunar god Aglibol & sun god Yarhibol.
Architect: the Greek Alexandras (Αλεξάνδρας).
The 9-11 Memorial was dedicated on October 5, 2014 by the Fire Department New York Marine Corps Association. It is part of the 1.07 mile walking trail in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia. Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel is located next to Semper Fidelis Memorial Park. The trail covers part of the 1,300 mile Old Kings Highway (c. 1650-1735) built by order of Charles II of England. This route required colonial governors to create a main road which connected Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts. Semper Fidelis Park is next to the Marine Corps Museum, Locust Shade Park, and Marine Corps Base Quantico. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is at 18900 Jefferson Davis Highway (U. S. Route 1) in Prince William County.
Courtesy Dwayne & Maryanne Moyers, Realtors
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dedicated to Susan
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Ancient Greek has four distinct words for love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē.
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Born on a magic date ~ 03.03.2011 ~ Philia is the most amicable, friendly and funny little goat I've ever known, and she truly lives up to her name:
In modern Greek, Philia means friendship or affectionate love; it is a virtuous love which includes loyalty to friends & family & community, and requires virtue & equality & familiarity.
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