View allAll Photos Tagged devanagari
sanskrit/hindi देवनागरी, devanagari - «divine scribing»
Dance is art of learning and speaking with Universe, receive and scribe all knowledges.
*************
सर्वे मानवाः स्वतन्त्राः समुत्पन्नाः वर्तन्ते अपि च, गौरवदृशा अधिकारदृशा च समानाः एव वर्तन्ते। एते सर्वे चेतना-तर्क-शक्तिभ्यां सुसम्पन्नाः सन्ति। अपि च, सर्वेऽपि बन्धुत्व-भावनया परस्परं व्यवहरन्तु।
Sarve mānavāḥ svatantratāḥ samutpannāḥ vartante api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ eva vartante. Ete sarve cetanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarve’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu.
Все люди рождаются свободными и равными в своем достоинстве и правах. Они наделены разумом и совестью и должны поступать в отношении друг друга в духе братства.
**************
UNITY ART January at Sisi Biedermann's Gallery -
Background: MOUNTAINS In the Mist by Zia Branner
Haridwar es una ciudad santa y un municipio del distrito de Haridwar en el estado de Uttarakhand (en India).
Se encuentra a 10 km al sur de la ciudad de Rishikesh, a 140 km al sureste de la ciudad de Chandighar y a 200 km al noreste de la ciudad de Nueva Delhi (capital de India).
También se puede ver escrito Hardwar. En letra devanagari (utilizado tanto en hindi como en sánscrito) se escribe हरिद्वार. En el sistema AITS (alfabeto internacional de transliteración sánscrita) se escribe haridvāra
En hindi y sánscrito significa ‘dwar de Jarí’ o ‘puerta de Dios’ (siendo hari: ‘dios’ y dvāra: ‘puerta’).2 3
Según el Rudra-iámala, esta puerta conducía hacia Vaikuntha (la morada del dios Visnú).4
Los hinduistas consideran que Haridwar es uno de los siete lugares más sagrados de la India.
Der Taj Mahal, deutsch transkribiert Tadsch Mahal (persoarabisch: تاج محل, DMG tāǧ maḥall/ Devanagari: ताजमहल tāj mahal, „Krone des Palastes“), ist ein ca. 58 Meter hohes und 56 Meter breites Mausoleum (Grabgebäude), das sich auf einer 100 Meter × 100 Meter großen Plattform (jagati) am Fluss Yamuna am Stadtrand von Agra im indischen Bundesstaat Uttar Pradesh erhebt. Der Gebäudekern besteht ebenso wie die Kuppel und die Minarette aus vor Ort gebrannten Ziegelsteinen, die außen wie innen mit weißen Marmorplatten verkleidet sind. Der Großmogul Shah Jahan ließ den Bau zum Gedenken an seine im Jahre 1631 verstorbene große Liebe Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum, später auch Mumtaz-uz-Zamani) erbauen. (Wikipedia.de)
Der Taj Mahal, deutsch transkribiert Tadsch Mahal (persoarabisch: تاج محل, DMG tāǧ maḥall/ Devanagari: ताजमहल tāj mahal, „Krone des Palastes“), ist ein ca. 58 Meter hohes und 56 Meter breites Mausoleum (Grabgebäude), das sich auf einer 100 Meter × 100 Meter großen Plattform (jagati) am Fluss Yamuna am Stadtrand von Agra im indischen Bundesstaat Uttar Pradesh erhebt. Der Gebäudekern besteht ebenso wie die Kuppel und die Minarette aus vor Ort gebrannten Ziegelsteinen, die außen wie innen mit weißen Marmorplatten verkleidet sind. Der Großmogul Shah Jahan ließ den Bau zum Gedenken an seine im Jahre 1631 verstorbene große Liebe Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum, später auch Mumtaz-uz-Zamani) erbauen. (Wikipedia.de)
Die Jama Masjid (auch Jami Masjid; Urdu جامع مسجد, in Devanagari: जामा मस्जिद, „Freitagsmoschee“), eigentlich Masjid-i Jahan Numa (persisch مسجد-ا جہاں نما „Moschee, die auf die Welt blickt“), in Delhi ist die größte Moschee Indiens und eine der größten der Erde. Sie befindet sich auf einer neun Meter hohen Erhebung im Zentrum von Shahjahanabad, der nach dem Großmogul Shah Jahan benannten Altstadt Delhis. Der Bau erfolgte auf Geheiß Shah Jahans zwischen 1650 und 1656 (nach anderen Quellen zwischen 1644 und 1658) unter der Aufsicht von Allami Said Khan und Fazl Khan. 5000 Handwerker waren daran beteiligt.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explore #51
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
De: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom (13°26′35.89″N 103°51′34.85″E) fue la ciudad real intramuros fortificada construida por Jayavarman VII (1181 - c. 1220), rey del Imperio jemer, al final del siglo xii, luego que Angkor fuera conquistada y destruida por los Chams. Todo complejo de Angkor, incluido Angkor Thom, fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1992.1
La ciudad real fue construida al lado del río Siam Reap, con un área de 9 km² siguiendo la forma casi cuadrada de 3 km de lado, rodeada de un pozo y de un muro de 8 metros de alto. El palacio real actual fue construido durante el reino de Suryavarman I 150 años antes. Según la leyenda, el rey pasaba parte de cada noche con la reina Sol en el Palacio Celestial que forma parte de esta construcción.
Angkor Thom fue construido dentro de la cosmogonía hindú, dedicado al dios Visnu, aunque más tarde se dedicaría al tardío budismo. En el centro de Angkor Thom está el Bayón, que fue el templo de Jayavarman VII. Es conocido por sus torres, con la cara de Buda por los cuatro lados; las paredes estaban cubiertas de relieves mostrando escenas de la vida del rey y del pueblo.
...
══════════════════════════════════════
Angkor Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ [ʔɑŋkɔː tʰom]; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom (Khmer: នគរធំ [nɔkɔː tʰom]), located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII.[1]: 378–382 : 170 It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north. The site is one of the major tourist attractions of Southeast Asia.
Etymology
Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ) is the transform name from another alternative name of Nokor Thom (Khmer: នគរធំ), which is believed to be the correct one, due to neglect of calling it in incorrect pronunciation. The word Nokor (Khmer: នគរ, Nôkô) is literally derived from Sanskrit word of Nagara (Devanāgarī: नगर), which means City, combining with Khmer word Thom (Khmer: ធំ, Thum), which means Big or Great so as to form Nokor Thom then being altered to current name of Angkor Thom.
...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explore #50
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
De: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom (13°26′35.89″N 103°51′34.85″E) fue la ciudad real intramuros fortificada construida por Jayavarman VII (1181 - c. 1220), rey del Imperio jemer, al final del siglo xii, luego que Angkor fuera conquistada y destruida por los Chams. Todo complejo de Angkor, incluido Angkor Thom, fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1992.1
La ciudad real fue construida al lado del río Siam Reap, con un área de 9 km² siguiendo la forma casi cuadrada de 3 km de lado, rodeada de un pozo y de un muro de 8 metros de alto. El palacio real actual fue construido durante el reino de Suryavarman I 150 años antes. Según la leyenda, el rey pasaba parte de cada noche con la reina Sol en el Palacio Celestial que forma parte de esta construcción.
Angkor Thom fue construido dentro de la cosmogonía hindú, dedicado al dios Visnu, aunque más tarde se dedicaría al tardío budismo. En el centro de Angkor Thom está el Bayón, que fue el templo de Jayavarman VII. Es conocido por sus torres, con la cara de Buda por los cuatro lados; las paredes estaban cubiertas de relieves mostrando escenas de la vida del rey y del pueblo.
...
══════════════════════════════════════
Angkor Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Thom
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ [ʔɑŋkɔː tʰom]; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom (Khmer: នគរធំ [nɔkɔː tʰom]), located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII.[1]: 378–382 : 170 It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north. The site is one of the major tourist attractions of Southeast Asia.
Etymology
Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ) is the transform name from another alternative name of Nokor Thom (Khmer: នគរធំ), which is believed to be the correct one, due to neglect of calling it in incorrect pronunciation. The word Nokor (Khmer: នគរ, Nôkô) is literally derived from Sanskrit word of Nagara (Devanāgarī: नगर), which means City, combining with Khmer word Thom (Khmer: ធំ, Thum), which means Big or Great so as to form Nokor Thom then being altered to current name of Angkor Thom.
...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was of course not taken in Myanmar but in Nepal! 35mm slide film, circa early 90s
At the bottom is the national motto of Nepal, a Sanskrit quote of patriotism attributed in Nepal folklore to Lord Rama, written in Devanagari script, which reads “Mother and motherland are greater than heaven”.
Patan (devánagari: पाटन) es una ciudad de Nepal situada en el Valle de Katmandú, a orillas del río Bagmati, en el distrito de Lalitpur. Tanto el nombre Patan (पातन) como el de Lalitpur (लालितपुर) se utilizan para denominar la ciudad.
Su población al 2001 era de 162.991.
La histórica Plaza de Durbar de Patan forma parte del conjunto denominado Valle de Katmandú, declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1979.
Angkor Wat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
De: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Wat (/ɑŋkɔr vɔt/ en camboyano: អង្គរវត្ត, Ângkôr Vôtt), escrito también en ocasiones Angkor Vat, es el templo hinduista más grande y también el mejor conservado de los que integran el asentamiento de Angkor. Está considerado como la mayor estructura religiosa jamás construida, y uno de los tesoros arqueológicos más importantes del mundo.
Ubicado 5,5 km al norte de la actual Siem Riep, en la provincia homónima de Camboya, Angkor Wat forma parte del complejo de templos construidos en la zona de Angkor, la antigua capital del Imperio jemer durante su época de esplendor, entre los siglos ix y xv. Angkor abarca una extensión en torno a los 200 km², aunque recientes investigaciones hablan de una posible extensión de 3000 km² y una población de hasta medio millón de habitantes.
Desde su construcción a principios del siglo xii [cita requerida] y hasta el traslado de la sede real al cercano Bayón, a finales del mismo siglo, Angkor Wat fue el centro político y religioso del imperio. El recinto —entre cuyos muros se ha calculado que vivían 20 000 personas—, cumplía las funciones de templo principal, y albergaba además el palacio real.
Dedicado inicialmente al dios Vishnú, arquitectónicamente el templo combina la tipología hinduista del templo-monte —representando el Monte Meru, morada de los dioses— con la tipología de galerías propia de períodos posteriores. El templo consta de tres recintos rectangulares concéntricos de altura creciente, rodeados por un lago perimetral de 3,6 km de longitud y de una anchura de 200 m. En el recinto interior se elevan cinco torres en forma de loto, alcanzando la torre central una altura de 42 m sobre el santuario, y 65 m sobre el nivel del suelo.
La palabra Angkor viene del camboyano នគរ, Nokor, y a su vez de la voz sánscrita नगर, Nagara, que significa «capital», mientras que la palabra Wat es de origen jemer y se traduce como «templo». El nombre de Angkor Wat es en todo caso posterior a su creación, pues originalmente recibió el nombre de Preah Pisnokar, nombre póstumo de su fundador Suryavarman II.
Angkor Wat se ha convertido en un símbolo de Camboya, hasta el punto de figurar en la bandera de su país. El 14 de diciembre de 1992 fue declarado por la Unesco Patrimonio de la Humanidad.
══════════════════════════════════════
Angkor Wat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angkor Wat (/ˌæŋkɔːr ˈwɒt/; Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia, located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres). It resides within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor. The Guinness World Records considers it as the largest religious structure in the world. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire by King Suryavarman II during the 12th century, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century; as such, it is also described as a "Hindu-Buddhist" temple.
Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat more than 5 kilometres (3 mi) long and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) 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, alternatively Nokor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer. Angkor (អង្គរ ângkôr), meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ nôkôr), which comes from the Sanskrit/Pali word nagara (Devanāgarī: नगर). Wat (វត្ត vôtt) is the word for "temple grounds", also derived from Sanskrit/Pali vāṭa (Devanāgarī: वाट), meaning "enclosure".
The original name of the temple was Vrah Viṣṇuloka or Parama Viṣṇuloka meaning "the sacred dwelling of Vishnu".
Indra is the king of the gods, and Lord of Heaven in the Vedic mythology of ancient India. He is originally descended from the Indo-European god of war and storm.
Bodhnath Stupa, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal
This is the largest stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. A stupa (from Sanskrit: m., स्तूप, stūpa, Tibetan མཆོད་རྟེན་ chöten, Sinhalese: දාගැබ, Pāli: थुप "thūpa", literally meaning "heap") is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the ashes of Buddhist monks, used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.
.
IMG_7217-E.tif
Boudhanath (Devanagari : बौद्धनाथ) es uno de los lugares sagrados budistas en Katmandú, Nepal. También se conoce como Khāsti en idioma nepal bhasa y como Bauddha o Bodh Nath por los hablantes modernos de Nepal.
Situada a unos 11 kilómetros del centro en la periferia noreste de Katmandú, es una de las mayores estupas esféricas en Nepal, representando el mandala.
La estupa budista de Boudhanath es una de las más grandes del mundo. La afluencia de grandes poblaciones de refugiados tibetanos desde China ha propiciado la construcción de más de 50 gompas (monasterios) tibetanos en torno al santuario. En 1979, Boudhanath fue nombrado uno de los lugares Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la Unesco. Junto con Swayambhunath, es uno de los más populares sitios turísticos en la zona de Katmandú.
La estupa está en la ruta comercial antigua del Tíbet, que entra en el valle de Katmandú por el pueblo de Sankhu, al noreste, y pasa por la estupa Boudhanath a través de las estupas más pequeñas y antiguas de Ca-Bahi (a menudo llamadas Little Boudnath). A continuación, se vuelve directamente al sur, en dirección al río Bagmati, evitando así el centro urbano de Katmandú. Los comerciantes tibetanos descansaron y oraron en este lugar durante muchos siglos. Cuando los refugiados tibetanos entraron en Nepal en la década de 1950, muchos de ellos decidieron vivir cerca de Bouddhanath. La estupa alberga los restos de un sabio Kasyapa, venerable tanto para los budistas como los hindúes.
Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari) is according to common Hindu tradition the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, he is seen as the Supreme Person (God) and thus the origin of all other incarnations.
Krishna and the stories associated with him appear across the spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. Though they sometimes differ in details or even contradict each other reflecting the concerns of a particular tradition, some core features are shared by all. These include a divine incarnation, a pastoral childhood and youth and life as a heroic warrior and teacher. The immense popularity of Krishna in India also meant that various non-Hindu religions that originated in India had their own versions of him.
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna)
I met him on Bandra Hill Road liked his look , his turban , his peaceful attitude and shot a few frames.
He belongs to the Sikh religion.
about Sikhism
Sikhism,[1] founded in fifteenth century Punjab on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus (the last one being the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib), is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world.[2] This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root śiṣya meaning "disciple" or "learner", or śikṣa meaning "instruction".[3][4]
The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in waheguru—represented using the sacred symbol of ik ōaṅkār, the Universal God. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic concept of God, to the extent that one can interpret God as the Universe itself. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture entitled the Gurū Granth Sāhib, which, along with the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus, includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism's traditions and teachings are distinctively associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in Punjab in India and, until India's partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now Pakistani Punjab.[5]
The origins of Sikhism lie in the teachings of Guru Nanak and his successors. The essence of Sikh teaching is summed up by Nanak in these words: "Realisation of Truth is higher than all else. Higher still is truthful living".[6] Sikhism believes in equality of all humans and rejects discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikhism also does not attach any importance to asceticism as a means to attain salvation, but stresses on the need of leading life as a householder.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion.[7][8] In Sikhism, God—termed Vāhigurū—is shapeless, timeless, and sightless: niraṅkār, akāl, and alakh. The beginning of the first composition of Sikh scripture is the figure "1"—signifying the universality of God. It states that God is omnipresent and infinite, and is signified by the term ēk ōaṅkār.[9] Sikhs believe that before creation, all that existed was God and Its hukam (will or order).[10] When God willed, the entire cosmos was created. From these beginnings, God nurtured "enticement and attachment" to māyā, or the human perception of reality.[11]
While a full understanding of God is beyond human beings,[9] Nanak described God as not wholly unknowable. God is omnipresent (sarav viāpak) in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nanak stressed that God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart", of a human being: devotees must meditate to progress towards enlightenment. Guru Nanak Dev emphasized the revelation through meditation, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.[9] God has no gender in Sikhism, (though translations may incorrectly present a male God); indeed Sikhism teaches that God is "Nirankar" [Niran meaning "without" and kar meaning "form", hence "without form"]. In addition, Nanak wrote that there are many worlds on which God has created life.[12]
[edit] Pursuing salvation and khalsa
A Sikh man at the Harimandir Sahib
Nanak's teachings are founded not on a final destination of heaven or hell, but on a spiritual union with God which results in salvation.[13] The chief obstacles to the attainment of salvation are social conflicts and an attachment to worldly pursuits, which commit men and women to an endless cycle of birth—a concept known as reincarnation.
Māyā—defined as illusion or "unreality"—is one of the core deviations from the pursuit of God and salvation: people are distracted from devotion by worldly attractions which give only illusive satisfaction. However, Nanak emphasised māyā as not a reference to the unreality of the world, but of its values. In Sikhism, the influences of ego, anger, greed, attachment, and lust—known as the Five Evils—are believed to be particularly pernicious. The fate of people vulnerable to the Five Evils is separation from God, and the situation may be remedied only after intensive and relentless devotion.[14]
Nanak described God's revelation—the path to salvation—with terms such as nām (the divine Name) and śabad (the divine Word) to emphasise the totality of the revelation. Nanak designated the word guru (meaning teacher) as the voice of God and the source and guide for knowledge and salvation.[15] Salvation can be reached only through rigorous and disciplined devotion to God. Nanak distinctly emphasised the irrelevance of outward observations such as rites, pilgrimages, or asceticism. He stressed that devotion must take place through the heart, with the spirit and the soul.
A key practice to be pursued is nām: remembrance of the divine Name. The verbal repetition of the name of God or a sacred syllable is an established practice in religious traditions in India, but Nanak's interpretation emphasized inward, personal observance. Nanak's ideal is the total exposure of one's being to the divine Name and a total conforming to Dharma or the "Divine Order". Nanak described the result of the disciplined application of nām simraṇ as a "growing towards and into God" through a gradual process of five stages. The last of these is sac khaṇḍ (The Realm of Truth)—the final union of the spirit with God.[15]
Nanak stressed now kirat karō: that a Sikh should balance work, worship, and charity, and should defend the rights of all creatures, and in particular, fellow human beings. They are encouraged to have a chaṛdī kalā, or optimistic, view of life. Sikh teachings also stress the concept of sharing—vaṇḍ chakkō—through the distribution of free food at Sikh gurdwaras (laṅgar), giving charitable donations, and working for the good of the community and others (sēvā).
[edit] The ten gurus and religious authority
Main article: Sikh Gurus
A rare Tanjore-style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.
The term guru comes from the Sanskrit gurū, meaning teacher, guide, or mentor. The traditions and philosophy of Sikhism were established by ten specific gurus from 1499 to 1708. Each guru added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous, resulting in the creation of the Sikh religion. Nanak was the first guru and appointed a disciple as successor. Gobind Singh was the final guru in human form. Before his death, Gobind Singh decreed that the Gurū Granth Sāhib would be the final and perpetual guru of the Sikhs.[16] The Sikhs believe that the spirit of Nanak was passed from one guru to the next, " just as the light of one lamp, which lights another and does not diminish ",[17] and is also mentioned in their holy book.
After Nanak's passing, the most important phase in the development of Sikhism came with the third successor, Amar Das. Nanak's teachings emphasised the pursuit of salvation; Amar Das began building a cohesive community of followers with initiatives such as sanctioning distinctive ceremonies for birth, marriage, and death. Amar Das also established the manji (comparable to a diocese) system of clerical supervision.[15]
The interior of the Akal Takht
Amar Das's successor and son-in-law Ram Das founded the city of Amritsar, which is home of the Harimandir Sahib and regarded widely as the holiest city for all Sikhs. When Ram Das's youngest son Arjan succeeded him, the line of male gurus from the Sodhi Khatri family was established: all succeeding gurus were direct descendants of this line. Arjun Mathur was responsible for compiling the Sikh scriptures. Guru Arjan Sahib was captured by Mughal authorities who were suspicious and hostile to the religious order he was developing.[18] His persecution and death inspired his successors to promote a military and political organization of Sikh communities to defend themselves against the attacks of Mughal forces.
The Sikh gurus established a mechanism which allowed the Sikh religion to react as a community to changing circumstances. The sixth guru, Har Gobind, was responsible for the creation of the concept of Akal Takht (throne of the timeless one), which serves as the supreme decision-making centre of Sikhdom and sits opposite the Darbar Sahib. The Sarbat Ḵẖālsā (a representative portion of the Khalsa Panth) historically gathers at the Akal Takht on special festivals such as Vaisakhi or Diwali and when there is a need to discuss matters that affect the entire Sikh nation. A gurmatā (literally, guru's intention) is an order passed by the Sarbat Ḵẖālsā in the presence of the Gurū Granth Sāhib. A gurmatā may only be passed on a subject that affects the fundamental principles of Sikh religion; it is binding upon all Sikhs.[19] The term hukamnāmā (literally, edict or royal order) is often used interchangeably with the term gurmatā. However, a hukamnāmā formally refers to a hymn from the Gurū Granth Sāhib which is given as an order to Sikhs.
[edit] History
Main article: History of Sikhism
Nanak (1469–1538), the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī, now called Nankana Sahib (in present-day Pakistan).[20] His father, Mehta Kalu was a Patwari, an accountant of land revenue in the employment of Rai Bular Bhatti, the area landlord. Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki. His parents were Khatri Hindus of the Bedi clan. As a boy, Nanak was fascinated by religion, and his desire to explore the mysteries of life eventually led him to leave home and take missionary journeys.
In his early teens, Nanak caught the attention of the local landlord Rai Bular Bhatti, who was moved by his intellect and divine qualities. Rai Bular was witness to many incidents in which Nanak enchanted him and as a result Rai Bular and Nanak's sister Bibi Nanki, became the first persons to recognise the divine qualities in Nanak. Both of them then encouraged and supported Nanak to study and travel. Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, Nanak went missing and was presumed to have drowned after going for one of his morning baths to a local stream called the Kali Bein. One day, he declared: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (in Punjabi, "nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān"). It was from this moment that Nanak would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism.[21] Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometres, the first tour being east towards Bengal and Assam, the second south towards Tamil Nadu, the third north towards Kashmir, Ladakh, and Tibet, and the final tour west towards Baghdad and Mecca.[22]
Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of Bakala. They had two sons. The elder son, Sri Chand, was an ascetic, and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the Udasis. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand, was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, who believed in the ideal of rāj maiṁ jōg (detachment in civic life), both his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.
[edit] Growth of the Sikh community
In 1538, Nanak chose his disciple Lahiṇā, a Khatri of the Trehan clan, as a successor to the guruship rather than either of his sons. Lahiṇā was named Angad Dev and became the second guru of the Sikhs.[23] Nanak conferred his choice at the town of Kartarpur on the banks of the river Ravi, where Nanak had finally settled down after his travels. Though Sri Chand was not an ambitious man, the Udasis believed that the Guruship should have gone to him, since he was a man of pious habits in addition to being Nanak's son. They refused to accept Angad's succession. On Nanak's advice, Angad shifted from Kartarpur to Khadur, where his wife Khivi and children were living, until he was able to bridge the divide between his followers and the Udasis. Angad continued the work started by Nanak and is widely credited for standardising the Gurmukhī script as used in the sacred scripture of the Sikhs.
Amar Das, a Khatri of the Bhalla clan, became the third Sikh guru in 1552 at the age of 73. Goindval became an important centre for Sikhism during the guruship of Amar Das. He preached the principle of equality for women by prohibiting purdah and sati. Amar Das also encouraged the practice of langar and made all those who visited him attend laṅgar before they could speak to him.[24] In 1567, Emperor Akbar sat with the ordinary and poor people of Punjab to have laṅgar. Amar Das also trained 146 apostles of which 52 were women, to manage the rapid expansion of the religion.[25] Before he died in 1574 aged 95, he appointed his son-in-law Jēṭhā, a Khatri of the Sodhi clan, as the fourth Sikh guru.
Jēṭhā became Ram Das and vigorously undertook his duties as the new guru. He is responsible for the establishment of the city of Ramdaspur later to be named Amritsar. Before Ramdaspur, Amritsar was known as Guru Da Chakk. In 1581, Arjan Dev—youngest son of the fourth guru—became the fifth guru of the Sikhs. In addition to being responsible for building the Darbar/Harimandir Sahib (called the Golden Temple), he prepared the Sikh sacred text known as the Ādi Granth (literally the first book) and included the writings of the first five gurus. In 1606, for refusing to make changes to the Granth and for supporting an unsuccessful contender to the throne, he was tortured and killed by the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.[26]
[edit] Political advancement
Hargobind, became the sixth guru of the Sikhs. He carried two swords—one for spiritual and the other for temporal reasons (known as mīrī and pīrī in Sikhism).[27] Sikhs grew as an organized community and under the 10th Guru the Sikhs developed a trained fighting force to defend their independence. In 1644, Har Rai became guru followed by Harkrishan, the boy guru, in 1661. No hymns composed by these three gurus are included in the Sikh holy book.[28]
Tegh Bahadur became guru in 1665 and led the Sikhs until 1675. Teg Bahadur was executed by Aurangzeb for helping to protect Hindus, after a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits came to him for help when the Emperor condemned them to death for failing to convert to Islam.[29] He was succeeded by his son, Gobind Rai who was just nine years old at the time of his father's death. Gobind Rai further militarised his followers, and was baptised by the Pañj Piārē when he formed the Khalsa on 13 April 1699. From here on in he was known as Gobind Singh.
From the time of Nanak, when it was a loose collection of followers who focused entirely on the attainment of salvation and God, the Sikh community had significantly transformed. Even though the core Sikh religious philosophy was never affected, the followers now began to develop a political identity. Conflict with Mughal authorities escalated during the lifetime of Teg Bahadur and Gobind Singh. The latter founded the Khalsa in 1699. The Khalsa is a disciplined community that combines its religious purpose and goals with political and military duties.[30] After Aurangzeb killed four of his sons, Gobind Singh sent Aurangzeb the Zafarnamah (Notification/Epistle of Victory).
Shortly before his death, Gobind Singh ordered that the Gurū Granth Sāhib (the Sikh Holy Scripture), would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs and temporal authority would be vested in the Khalsa Panth—the Sikh Nation/Community.[16] The first scripture was compiled and edited by the fifth guru, Arjan Dev, in 1604.
A former ascetic was charged by Gobind Singh with the duty of punishing those who had persecuted the Sikhs. After the guru's death, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur became the leader of the Sikh army and was responsible for several attacks on the Mughal empire. He was executed by the emperor Jahandar Shah after refusing the offer of a pardon if he converted to Islam.[31]
The Sikh community's embrace of military and political organisation made it a considerable regional force in medieval India and it continued to evolve after the demise of the gurus. After the death of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, a Sikh Confederacy of Sikh warrior bands known as misls formed. With the decline of the Mughal empire, a Sikh Empire arose in the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with its capital in Lahore and limits reaching the Khyber Pass and the borders of China. The order, traditions and discipline developed over centuries culminated at the time of Ranjit Singh to give rise to the common religious and social identity that the term "Sikhism" describes.[32]
After the death of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh Empire fell into disorder and was eventually annexed by the United Kingdom after the hard-fought Anglo-Sikh Wars. This brought the Punjab under the British Raj. Sikhs formed the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal to preserve Sikhs' religious and political organization a quarter of a century later. With the partition of India in 1947, thousands of Sikhs were killed in violence and millions were forced to leave their ancestral homes in West Punjab.[33] Sikhs faced initial opposition from the Government in forming a linguistic state that other states in India were afforded. The Akali Dal started a non-violence movement for Sikh and Punjabi rights. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale emerged as a leader of the Bhindran-Mehta Jatha—which assumed the name of Damdami Taksal in 1977 to promote a peaceful solution of the problem. In June 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian army to launch Operation Blue Star to remove Bhindranwale and his followers from the Darbar Sahib. Bhindranwale, and a large number of innocent pilgrims were killed during the army's operations. In October, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The assassination was followed by the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots massacre[34] and Hindu-Sikh conflicts in Punjab, as a reaction to the assassination and Operation Blue Star.
[edit] Scripture
There are two primary sources of scripture for the Sikhs: the Gurū Granth Sāhib and the Dasam Granth. The Gurū Granth Sāhib may be referred to as the Ādi Granth—literally, The First Volume—and the two terms are often used synonymously. Here, however, the Ādi Granth refers to the version of the scripture created by Arjan Dev in 1604. The Gurū Granth Sāhib refers to the final version of the scripture created by Gobind Singh.
[edit] Adi Granth
Main article: Ādi Granth
The Ādi Granth was compiled primarily by Bhai Gurdas under the supervision of Arjan Dev between the years 1603 and 1604.[35] It is written in the Gurmukhī script, which is a descendant of the Laṇḍā script used in the Punjab at that time.[36] The Gurmukhī script was standardised by Angad Dev, the second guru of the Sikhs, for use in the Sikh scriptures and is thought to have been influenced by the Śāradā and Devanāgarī scripts. An authoritative scripture was created to protect the integrity of hymns and teachings of the Sikh gurus and selected bhagats. At the time, Arjan Sahib tried to prevent undue influence from the followers of Prithi Chand, the guru's older brother and rival.[37]
The original version of the Ādi Granth is known as the kartārpur bīṛ and is claimed to be held by the Sodhi family of Kartarpur.[citation needed] (In fact the original volume was burned by Ahmad Shah Durrani's army in 1757 when they burned the whole town of Kartarpur.)[citation needed]
[edit] Guru Granth Sahib
Gurū Granth Sāhib folio with Mūl Mantra
Main article: Gurū Granth Sāhib
The final version of the Gurū Granth Sāhib was compiled by Gobind Singh in 1678. It consists of the original Ādi Granth with the addition of Teg Bahadur's hymns. It was decreed by Gobind Singh that the Granth was to be considered the eternal guru of all Sikhs; however, this tradition is not mentioned either in 'Guru Granth Sahib' or in 'Dasam Granth'.
Punjabi: ਸੱਬ ਸਿੱਖਣ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਯੋ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ।
Transliteration: Sabb sikkhaṇ kō hukam hai gurū mānyō granth.
English: All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru.
It contains compositions by the first five gurus, Teg Bahadur and just one śalōk (couplet) from Gobind Singh.[38] It also contains the traditions and teachings of sants (saints) such as Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas, and Sheikh Farid along with several others.[32]
The bulk of the scripture is classified into rāgs, with each rāg subdivided according to length and author. There are 31 main rāgs within the Gurū Granth Sāhib. In addition to the rāgs, there are clear references to the folk music of Punjab. The main language used in the scripture is known as Sant Bhāṣā, a language related to both Punjabi and Hindi and used extensively across medieval northern India by proponents of popular devotional religion.[30] The text further comprises over 5000 śabads, or hymns, which are poetically constructed and set to classical form of music rendition, can be set to predetermined musical tāl, or rhythmic beats.
A group of Sikh musicians at the Golden Temple complex
The Granth begins with the Mūl Mantra, an iconic verse created by Nanak:
Punjabi: ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ISO 15919 transliteration: Ika ōaṅkāra sati nāmu karatā purakhu nirabha'u niravairu akāla mūrati ajūnī saibhaṅ gura prasādi.
Simplified transliteration: Ik ōaṅkār sat nām kartā purkh nirbha'u nirvair akāl mūrat ajūnī saibhaṅ gur prasād.
English: One Universal Creator God, The Name Is Truth, Creative Being Personified, No Fear, No Hatred, Image Of The Timeless One, Beyond Birth, Self Existent, By Guru's Grace.
All text within the Granth is known as gurbānī. Gurbānī, according to Nanak, was revealed by God directly, and the authors wrote it down for the followers. The status accorded to the scripture is defined by the evolving interpretation of the concept of gurū. In the Sant tradition of Nanak, the guru was literally the word of God. The Sikh community soon transferred the role to a line of men who gave authoritative and practical expression to religious teachings and traditions, in addition to taking socio-political leadership of Sikh adherents. Gobind Singh declared an end of the line of human gurus, and now the Gurū Granth Sāhib serves as the eternal guru, with its interpretation vested with the community.[30]
[edit] Dasam Granth
Main article: Dasam Granth
A frontispiece to the Dasam Granth
The Dasam Granth (formally dasvēṁ pātśāh kī granth or The Book of the Tenth Master) is an eighteenth-century collection of poems by Gobind Singh. It was compiled in the shape of a book (granth) by Bhai Mani Singh some 13 to 26 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji left this world for his heavenly abode.
From 1895 to 1897, different scholars and theologians assembled at the Akal Takht, Amritsar, to study the 32 printed Dasam Granths and prepare the authoritative version. They met at the Akal Takhat at Amritsar, and held formal discussions in a series of meetings between 13 June 1895 and 16 February 1896. A preliminary report entitled Report Sodhak (revision) Committee Dasam Patshah de Granth Sahib Di was sent to Sikh scholars and institutions, inviting their opinion. A second document, Report Dasam Granth di Sudhai Di was brought out on 11 February 1898. Basing its conclusions on a study of the old handwritten copies of the Dasam Granth preserved at Sri Takht Sahib at Patna and in other Sikh gurudwaras, this report affirmed that the Holy Volume was compiled at Anandpur Sahib in 1698[3] . Further re-examinations and reviews took place in 1931, under the aegis of the Darbar Sahib Committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee. They, too, vindicated the earlier conclusion (agreeing that it was indeed the work of the Guru) and its findings have since been published.
[edit] Janamsakhis
Main article: Janamsākhīs
The Janamsākhīs (literally birth stories), are writings which profess to be biographies of Nanak. Although not scripture in the strictest sense, they provide an interesting look at Nanak's life and the early start of Sikhism. There are several—often contradictory and sometimes unreliable—Janamsākhīs and they are not held in the same regard as other sources of scriptural knowledge.
[edit] Observances
Observant Sikhs adhere to long-standing practices and traditions to strengthen and express their faith. The daily recitation from memory of specific passages from the Gurū Granth Sāhib, especially the Japu (or Japjī, literally chant) hymns is recommended immediately after rising and bathing. Family customs include both reading passages from the scripture and attending the gurdwara (also gurduārā, meaning the doorway to God; sometimes transliterated as gurudwara). There are many gurdwaras prominently constructed and maintained across India, as well as in almost every nation where Sikhs reside. Gurdwaras are open to all, regardless of religion, background, caste, or race.
Worship in a gurdwara consists chiefly of singing of passages from the scripture. Sikhs will commonly enter the temple, touch the ground before the holy scripture with their foreheads, and make an offering. The recitation of the eighteenth century ardās is also customary for attending Sikhs. The ardās recalls past sufferings and glories of the community, invoking divine grace for all humanity.[39]
The most sacred shrine is the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, famously known as the Golden Temple. Groups of Sikhs regularly visit and congregate at the Harimandir Sahib. On specific occasions, groups of Sikhs are permitted to undertake a pilgrimage to Sikh shrines in the province of Punjab in Pakistan, especially at Nankana Sahib and other Gurdwaras. Other places of interest to Sikhism in Pakistan includes the samādhī (place of cremation) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
[edit] Sikh festivals
Festivals in Sikhism mostly centre around the lives of the Gurus and Sikh martyrs. The SGPC, the Sikh organisation in charge of upkeep of the gurdwaras, organises celebrations based on the new Nanakshahi calendar. This calendar is highly controversial among Sikhs and is not universally accepted. Several festivals (Hola Mohalla, Diwali, and Nanak's birthday) continue to be celebrated using the Hindu calendar. Sikh festivals include the following:
* Gurpurabs are celebrations or commemorations based on the lives of the Sikh gurus. They tend to be either birthdays or celebrations of Sikh martyrdom. All ten Gurus have Gurpurabs on the Nanakshahi calendar, but it is Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh who have a gurpurab that is widely celebrated in Gurdwaras and Sikh homes. The martyrdoms are also known as a shaheedi Gurpurab, which mark the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Tegh Bahadur.
* Vaisakhi or Baisakhi normally occurs on 13 April and marks the beginning of the new spring year and the end of the harvest. Sikhs celebrate it because on Vaisakhi in 1699, the tenth guru, Gobind Singh, laid down the Foundation of the Khalsa an Independent Sikh Identity.
* Bandi Chhor Divas or Diwali celebrates Hargobind's release from the Gwalior Fort, with several innocent Hindu kings who were also imprisoned by Jahangir, on 26 October, 1619.
* Hola Mohalla occurs the day after Holi and is when the Khalsa Panth gather at Anandpur and display their warrior skills, including fighting and riding.
[edit] Ceremonies and customs
The anand kāraj (Sikh marriage) ceremony
Nanak taught that rituals, religious ceremonies, or idol worship is of little use and Sikhs are discouraged from fasting or going on pilgrimages.[40] However, during the period of the later gurus, and owing to increased institutionalisation of the religion, some ceremonies and rites did arise. Sikhism is not a proselytizing religion and most Sikhs do not make active attempts to gain converts. However, converts to Sikhism are welcomed, although there is no formal conversion ceremony. The morning and evening prayers take about two hours a day, starting in the very early morning hours. The first morning prayer is Guru Nanak's Jap Ji. Jap, meaning "recitation", refers to the use of sound, as the best way of approaching the divine. Like combing hair, hearing and reciting the sacred word is used as a way to comb all negative thoughts out of the mind. The second morning prayer is Guru Gobind Singh's universal Jaap Sahib. The Guru addresses God as having no form, no country, and no religion but as the seed of seeds, sun of suns, and the song of songs. The Jaap Sahib asserts that God is the cause of conflict as well as peace, and of destruction as well as creation. Devotees learn that there is nothing outside of God's presence, nothing outside of God's control. Devout Sikhs are encouraged to begin the day with private meditations on the name of God.
Upon a child's birth, the Guru Granth Sāhib is opened at a random point and the child is named using the first letter on the top left-hand corner of the left page. All boys are given the middle name or surname Singh, and all girls are given the middle name or surname Kaur.[41] Sikhs are joined in wedlock through the anand kāraj ceremony. Sikhs are required to marry when they are of a sufficient age (child marriage is taboo), and without regard for the future spouse's caste or descent. The marriage ceremony is performed in the company of the Guru Granth Sāhib; around which the couple circles four times. After the ceremony is complete, the husband and wife are considered "a single soul in two bodies."[42]
According to Sikh religious rites, neither husband nor wife is permitted to divorce. A Sikh couple that wishes to divorce may be able to do so in a civil court—but this is not condoned.[43] Upon death, the body of a Sikh is usually cremated. If this is not possible, any means of disposing the body may be employed. The kīrtan sōhilā and ardās prayers are performed during the funeral ceremony (known as antim sanskār).[44]
[edit] Baptism and the Khalsa
A kaṛā, kaṅghā and kirpān.
Khalsa (meaning pure) is the name given by Gobind Singh to all Sikhs who have been baptised or initiated by taking ammrit in a ceremony called ammrit sañcār. The first time that this ceremony took place was on Vaisakhi, which fell on 29 March 1698/1699 at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. It was on that occasion that Gobind Singh baptised the Pañj Piārē who in turn baptised Gobind Singh himself.
Baptised Sikhs are bound to wear the Five Ks (in Punjabi known as pañj kakkē or pañj kakār), or articles of faith, at all times. The tenth guru, Gobind Singh, ordered these Five Ks to be worn so that a Sikh could actively use them to make a difference to their own and to others' spirituality. The 5 items are: kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small comb), kaṛā (circular iron bracelet), kirpān (dagger), and kacchā (special undergarment). The Five Ks have both practical and symbolic purposes.[45]
[edit] Sikh people
Main article: Sikh
Further information: Sikhism by country
Punjabi Sikh family from Punjab, India
Worldwide, there are 25.8 million Sikhs and approximately 75% of Sikhs live in the Indian state of Punjab, where they constitute about 60% of the state's population. Even though there are a large number of Sikhs in the world, certain countries have not recognised Sikhism as a major religion and Sikhism has no relation to Hinduism. Large communities of Sikhs live in the neighboring states, and large communities of Sikhs can be found across India. However, Sikhs only make up about 2% of the Indian population.
In addition to social divisions, there is a misperception that there are a number of Sikh sectarian groups[clarification needed], such as Namdharis and Nirankaris. Nihangs tend to have little difference in practice and are considered the army of Sikhism. There is also a sect known as Udasi, founded by Sri Chand who were initially part of Sikhism but later developed into a monastic order.
Sikh Migration beginning from the 19th century led to the creation of significant communities in Canada (predominantly in Brampton, along with Malton in Ontario and Surrey in British Columbia), East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom and more recently, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Western Europe. Smaller populations of Sikhs are found in Mauritius, Malaysia, Fiji, Nepal, China, Pakistan, Afganistan, Iraq and many other countries
Boudhanath (Devanagari : बौद्धनाथ) es uno de los lugares sagrados budistas en Katmandú, Nepal. También se conoce como Khāsti en idioma nepal bhasa y como Bauddha o Bodh Nath por los hablantes modernos de Nepal.
Situada a unos 11 kilómetros del centro en la periferia noreste de Katmandú, es una de las mayores estupas esféricas en Nepal, representando el mandala.
La estupa budista de Boudhanath es una de las más grandes del mundo. La afluencia de grandes poblaciones de refugiados tibetanos desde China ha propiciado la construcción de más de 50 gompas (monasterios) tibetanos en torno al santuario. En 1979, Boudhanath fue nombrado uno de los lugares Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la Unesco. Junto con Swayambhunath, es uno de los más populares sitios turísticos en la zona de Katmandú.
La estupa está en la ruta comercial antigua del Tíbet, que entra en el valle de Katmandú por el pueblo de Sankhu, al noreste, y pasa por la estupa Boudhanath a través de las estupas más pequeñas y antiguas de Ca-Bahi (a menudo llamadas Little Boudnath). A continuación, se vuelve directamente al sur, en dirección al río Bagmati, evitando así el centro urbano de Katmandú. Los comerciantes tibetanos descansaron y oraron en este lugar durante muchos siglos. Cuando los refugiados tibetanos entraron en Nepal en la década de 1950, muchos de ellos decidieron vivir cerca de Bouddhanath. La estupa alberga los restos de un sabio Kasyapa, venerable tanto para los budistas como los hindúes.
more nepali new year wallpapers at:
nepalifonts.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-nepali-new-year-20...
The largest ancient Buddhist stupa in the world in Nepal was badly damaged by the 7.8 earthquake in April 2015. It is still under reconstruction, the inset picture is how it was like before the earthquake
Swayambhunath , Svayambhūnāth stup) ist ein Tempelkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
Swayambhu (Devanagari is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie:Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.[1] For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
Tempellkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
Gauri Sankar (also Gauri Shankar or Gaurishankar; Devanagari गौरी शंकर; Tibetan: Jomo Tseringma;) is a mountain in the Himalayas, the second highest peak of the Rolwaling Himal, behind Melungtse (7,181m). The name comes from Sanskrit for the Goddess (Gauri) and her Consort (Shankar), denoting the sacred regard to which is afforded it by the peoples of Tibet and Nepal.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauri_Sankar
«Men who fear demons see demons everywhere»― Brom
One of the two Nio statues guarding the gate of the Yakuo-In temple of Takao mountain. Hachihoji, Tokyo, Japan. © Michele Marcolin, 2023. K1ii + DFA24-70.
Ungyo & Agyo, collectively the Nio, are the two fearsome and muscular temple guardians you see standing at the main gates of many Japanese temples. They’re usually portrayed with Agyo bearing his teeth wit open mouth, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī (अ) which is pronounced "a", and carrying a weapon; the unarmed Ungyo keeps his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह [ɦ]) which is pronounced "ɦūṃ" (हूँ). Inso doing these two characters together (a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things; the late Greek 'alpha & omega'. Though it does vary, as it can be seen for the Takao's Nio. They were dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon. According to scriptures originally they travelled with Gautama Buddha to protect him.
Swayambhunath , Svayambhūnāth stup) ist ein Tempelkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
Swayambhu (Devanagari is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie:Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.[1] For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
Tempellkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
Swayambhunath , Svayambhūnāth stup) ist ein Tempelkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
Swayambhu (Devanagari is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie:Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.[1] For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
Tempellkomplex, der im Westen von Kathmandu auf einem Hügel erbaut ist. Das beherrschende Element der Tempelanlage ist der buddhistische Stupa, der von Kathmandu aus betrachtet gut sichtbar von zwei hinduistischen Türmen flankiert wird. Wie an vielen anderen Orten in Kathmandu sind auch in Swayambhunath buddhistische wie hinduistische Heiligenstätten eng verzahnt.
Swayambhunath gilt neben Borobudur auf Java in Indonesien als eine der ältesten buddhistischen Tempelanlagen der Welt. Die inneren Bauten werden auf ca. 2500 Jahre geschätzt, die weiteren Umbauungen erfolgten später. Der Sage nach ist Swayambhunath eng mit der Entstehung des Kathmandu-Tals verknüpft.
«Men who fear demons see demons everywhere» ― Brom
One of the two Nio statues guarding the gate of the Yakuo-In temple of Takao mountain. Hachihoji, Tokyo, Japan. © Michele Marcolin, 2023. K1ii + DFA24-70.
Ungyo & Agyo, collectively the Nio, are the two fearsome and muscular temple guardians you see standing at the main gates of many Japanese temples. They’re usually portrayed with Agyo bearing his teeth wit open mouth, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī (अ) which is pronounced "a", and carrying a weapon; the unarmed Ungyo keeps his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह [ɦ]) which is pronounced "ɦūṃ" (हूँ). Inso doing these two characters together (a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things; the late Greek 'alpha & omega'. Though it does vary, as it can be seen for the Takao's Nio. They were dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon. According to scriptures originally they travelled with Gautama Buddha to protect him.
Prayer wheels surround the famous Swayumbunath Stupa, the idea being you walk around the stupa spinning them as you go and this releases the prayers.
More photos from the trip : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157709610673461
From Wikipedia : "Swayambhunath (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; Nepal Bhasa: स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie: Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'. For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
The complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi period. A Tibetan monastery, museum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two access points: a long staircase leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the south-west entrance."
My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd
© D.Godliman
PC: Happy Kids
This was taken during a fancy dress competition from his play school's annual day function. Jeeva Prabhanjan won the first prize (a medal with cash prize)!
Die Jama Masjid (auch Jami Masjid; Urdu جامع مسجد, in Devanagari: जामा मस्जिद, „Freitagsmoschee“), eigentlich Masjid-i Jahan Numa (persisch مسجد-ا جہاں نما „Moschee, die auf die Welt blickt“), in Delhi ist die größte Moschee Indiens und eine der größten der Erde. Sie befindet sich auf einer neun Meter hohen Erhebung im Zentrum von Shahjahanabad, der nach dem Großmogul Shah Jahan benannten Altstadt Delhis. Der Bau erfolgte auf Geheiß Shah Jahans zwischen 1650 und 1656 (nach anderen Quellen zwischen 1644 und 1658) unter der Aufsicht von Allami Said Khan und Fazl Khan. 5000 Handwerker waren daran beteiligt.
For other uses, see Shiva (disambiguation).
"Siva" redirects here. For the bird, see Blue-winged Siva.
Shiva
A statue in Bengaluru depicting Shiva meditating
Devanagari शिव
Abode Mount Kailāsa[1]
Mantra Aum Namah Sivaya
Weapon Trident (Trishul)
Consort Parvati or Sati or Shakti or Durga
Mount Nandi (bull)
This box: view • talk • edit
Shiva:(pronunciation: [ʃɪ.ʋə]; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, lit. "Auspicious one" ; Tamil: சிவன்) One of the Trimurtis. Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism. In the Smartha tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God. [2][3]
Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[4] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.[5]
Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.
In some other Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.[6]
mount-kailash.com/shiva/shivas_aspekte.htm
Lord Shiva - Seine Form und Aspekte
Der
Lord Shiva
Name Shiva (aus dem Sanskrit) bedeutet wörtlich "gütig, gnädig, freundlich". Der Freundliche.
Lord Shiva, der sich mit halbgeschlossenen Augen ständig in Meditation befindet, ist einer der meistverehrten Gottheiten im Hinduismus. Sein Wohnsitz ist der heilige Berg Kailash im Himalaya. Ihm folgen die meisten Sadhus, die heiligen Männer Indiens.
Shiva als Teil der göttlichen Trinität "Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva" manifestiert sich als der Zerstörer. Als solcher ist er jedoch auch Ursache der Schöpfung, denn ohne die Zerstörung des alten Zyklus kann keine neue Schöpfungsperiode entstehen. Brahma wirkt als Schöpfergott und Vishnu als Gott der Erhaltung. Die drei göttlichen Aspekte stellen die drei fundamentalen Kräfte der Natur dar, die es in der Welt gibt: Schöpfung, Erhaltung und Zerstörung. Shiva verkörpert Tamas oder die Tendenz zur Auflösung und Vernichtung.
Shiva der Gütige (Gnädige) ist auch bekannt als der Mahadeva (maha = groß, der grosse Gott) oder Mahayogi, der oberste aller Yogis, dessen Trommelklang die Menschen zum Erwachen aus ihrer materiellen Illusion verhilft. Shivas mächtige Trommel und göttlicher Tanz sind eine Quelle der Inspiration und drängen die Menschheit zu spiritueller Entfaltung und Vervollkommnung.
Shiva hat verschiedene Erscheinungsformen. Obwohl Er über Namen und Formen hinausgeht, stellen ihn Künstler
oft als jung und schön dar, mit weißer Hautfarbe. Er hat drei Augen und vier Arme; heilige Asche wurde über seinen ganzen Körper geschmiert. In zwei seiner Hände trägt er einen Dreizack (trisula) und eine Trommel (damaru), die zwei anderen nehmen symbolische Handstellungen (Mudras) ein, und zwar in der Bedeutung von Schutz (abhaya) und Gewährung von Wohltaten (varada).
In seinem Haar trägt er die Mondsichel, um seinen Hals winden sich Kobras. Die erhobene rechte Hand (Abhaya) bedeutet Schutz, Segen und Beruhigung. Die drei Spitzen des Dreizacks dienen der Vertreibung von Dämonen und stehen für die drei Aspekte der Gottheit: Schöpfer, Erhalter und Vernichter zugleich. Die Schlange (Naga) ist das Symbol des ewigen Kreislaufes der Zeit und der Unsterblichkeit.
Shiva sitzt auf einem Tigerfell, dazu gibt es folgende Geschichte: die Rishis (Asketen) waren neidisch auf Shiva, weil ihre Frauen alle in Liebe zu ihm entbrannt waren. Sie liessen einen wilden Tiger auf ihn los, er tötete ihn aber und zog ihm das Fell ab. Als sie ihm nun giftige Schlangen schickten, zähmte er diese und hängte sie um seinen Hals. Als man die Mondsichel nach ihm warf, steckte er sie sich als Schmuck in seine Locken. Daraufhin knieten die Rishis in Verehrung vor ihm nieder.
Shiva hat langes, filzhaftes Haar, und der lebensspendende Fluß Ganges entspringt oben am Kopf. Er trägt eine Mondsichel als Krone und Kleidung, die aus Tiger- und Elefantenhaut gefertigt wurde. Sein Hals, um den sich eine große Kobra windet, ist blau. Shiva hat eine Kette und Girlande aus Schädeln um, und Schlangen zieren seinen Körper. Ferner trägt er einen Gurt, eine heilige Schnur (yajnopavita) und Armreifen.
Shivas Augen sind halb geschlossen, d.h., weder ganz geschlossen, noch ganz offen. Es handelt sich um eine heilige Position, die Sambhavee-Mudra genannt wird. Geschlossene Augen zeigen an, daß sich die Person von der Welt zurückgezogen hat. Geöffnete Augen weisen auf jemanden hin, der voll der Welt zugewendet ist. Die halb geschlossenen Augen bedeuten daher, daß Shivas Bewußtsein im inneren Selbst ruht, während sein Körper in der äußeren Welt aktiv bleibt.
Künstler zeigen Shiva oft meditierend, mit dem schneeweißen Hintergrund des Berges Kailash, was absolut reines Bewußtsein bedeutet. Der Zustand der Meditation, den Shivas Haltung zeigt, birgt tiefe Symbolik, da Meditation das letzte Tor zur Selbstverwirklichung ist. Um Gott zu verwirklichen, ist es unerläßlich zu meditieren. Shiva repräsentiert das Ideal höchster Entsagung, die aus Gottverwirklichung entsteht.
Shivas weiße Haut symbolisiert das Licht, das die Dunkelheit vertreibt, das Wissen, das Unwissenheit vertreibt.
Album Esoteric - Ezoteryka www.flickr.com/photos/arjuna/sets/72057594082135474/
For other uses, see Shiva (disambiguation).
"Siva" redirects here. For the bird, see Blue-winged Siva.
Shiva
A statue in Bengaluru depicting Shiva meditating
Devanagari शिव
Abode Mount Kailāsa[1]
Mantra Aum Namah Sivaya
Weapon Trident (Trishul)
Consort Parvati or Sati or Shakti or Durga
Mount Nandi (bull)
This box: view • talk • edit
Shiva:(pronunciation: [ʃɪ.ʋə]; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, lit. "Auspicious one" ; Tamil: சிவன்) One of the Trimurtis. Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism. In the Smartha tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God. [2][3]
Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[4] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.[5]
Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.
In some other Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.[6]
mount-kailash.com/shiva/shivas_aspekte.htm
Lord Shiva - Seine Form und Aspekte
Der
Lord Shiva
Name Shiva (aus dem Sanskrit) bedeutet wörtlich "gütig, gnädig, freundlich". Der Freundliche.
Lord Shiva, der sich mit halbgeschlossenen Augen ständig in Meditation befindet, ist einer der meistverehrten Gottheiten im Hinduismus. Sein Wohnsitz ist der heilige Berg Kailash im Himalaya. Ihm folgen die meisten Sadhus, die heiligen Männer Indiens.
Shiva als Teil der göttlichen Trinität "Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva" manifestiert sich als der Zerstörer. Als solcher ist er jedoch auch Ursache der Schöpfung, denn ohne die Zerstörung des alten Zyklus kann keine neue Schöpfungsperiode entstehen. Brahma wirkt als Schöpfergott und Vishnu als Gott der Erhaltung. Die drei göttlichen Aspekte stellen die drei fundamentalen Kräfte der Natur dar, die es in der Welt gibt: Schöpfung, Erhaltung und Zerstörung. Shiva verkörpert Tamas oder die Tendenz zur Auflösung und Vernichtung.
Shiva der Gütige (Gnädige) ist auch bekannt als der Mahadeva (maha = groß, der grosse Gott) oder Mahayogi, der oberste aller Yogis, dessen Trommelklang die Menschen zum Erwachen aus ihrer materiellen Illusion verhilft. Shivas mächtige Trommel und göttlicher Tanz sind eine Quelle der Inspiration und drängen die Menschheit zu spiritueller Entfaltung und Vervollkommnung.
Shiva hat verschiedene Erscheinungsformen. Obwohl Er über Namen und Formen hinausgeht, stellen ihn Künstler
oft als jung und schön dar, mit weißer Hautfarbe. Er hat drei Augen und vier Arme; heilige Asche wurde über seinen ganzen Körper geschmiert. In zwei seiner Hände trägt er einen Dreizack (trisula) und eine Trommel (damaru), die zwei anderen nehmen symbolische Handstellungen (Mudras) ein, und zwar in der Bedeutung von Schutz (abhaya) und Gewährung von Wohltaten (varada).
In seinem Haar trägt er die Mondsichel, um seinen Hals winden sich Kobras. Die erhobene rechte Hand (Abhaya) bedeutet Schutz, Segen und Beruhigung. Die drei Spitzen des Dreizacks dienen der Vertreibung von Dämonen und stehen für die drei Aspekte der Gottheit: Schöpfer, Erhalter und Vernichter zugleich. Die Schlange (Naga) ist das Symbol des ewigen Kreislaufes der Zeit und der Unsterblichkeit.
Shiva sitzt auf einem Tigerfell, dazu gibt es folgende Geschichte: die Rishis (Asketen) waren neidisch auf Shiva, weil ihre Frauen alle in Liebe zu ihm entbrannt waren. Sie liessen einen wilden Tiger auf ihn los, er tötete ihn aber und zog ihm das Fell ab. Als sie ihm nun giftige Schlangen schickten, zähmte er diese und hängte sie um seinen Hals. Als man die Mondsichel nach ihm warf, steckte er sie sich als Schmuck in seine Locken. Daraufhin knieten die Rishis in Verehrung vor ihm nieder.
Shiva hat langes, filzhaftes Haar, und der lebensspendende Fluß Ganges entspringt oben am Kopf. Er trägt eine Mondsichel als Krone und Kleidung, die aus Tiger- und Elefantenhaut gefertigt wurde. Sein Hals, um den sich eine große Kobra windet, ist blau. Shiva hat eine Kette und Girlande aus Schädeln um, und Schlangen zieren seinen Körper. Ferner trägt er einen Gurt, eine heilige Schnur (yajnopavita) und Armreifen.
Shivas Augen sind halb geschlossen, d.h., weder ganz geschlossen, noch ganz offen. Es handelt sich um eine heilige Position, die Sambhavee-Mudra genannt wird. Geschlossene Augen zeigen an, daß sich die Person von der Welt zurückgezogen hat. Geöffnete Augen weisen auf jemanden hin, der voll der Welt zugewendet ist. Die halb geschlossenen Augen bedeuten daher, daß Shivas Bewußtsein im inneren Selbst ruht, während sein Körper in der äußeren Welt aktiv bleibt.
Künstler zeigen Shiva oft meditierend, mit dem schneeweißen Hintergrund des Berges Kailash, was absolut reines Bewußtsein bedeutet. Der Zustand der Meditation, den Shivas Haltung zeigt, birgt tiefe Symbolik, da Meditation das letzte Tor zur Selbstverwirklichung ist. Um Gott zu verwirklichen, ist es unerläßlich zu meditieren. Shiva repräsentiert das Ideal höchster Entsagung, die aus Gottverwirklichung entsteht.
Shivas weiße Haut symbolisiert das Licht, das die Dunkelheit vertreibt, das Wissen, das Unwissenheit vertreibt.
Album Esoteric - Ezoteryka www.flickr.com/photos/arjuna/sets/72057594082135474/
I could've spent days exploring Bhaktapur's Durbar Square but our trip to Nepal was only a week long so I had to make do with a few hours.
More photos from the trip : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157709610673461
From Wikipedia : "Bhaktapur Durbar Square, (Nepal Bhasa: Devanagari : ख्वप लायकू) is the royal palace of the old Bhaktapur Kingdom, 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the current town of Bhaktapur, also known as Khwopa, which lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. While the complex consists of at least four distinct squares (Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square), the whole area is informally known as the Bhaktapur Durbar Square and is a highly visited site in the Kathmandu Valley"
My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd
© D.Godliman
For other uses, see Shiva (disambiguation).
"Siva" redirects here. For the bird, see Blue-winged Siva.
Shiva
A statue in Bengaluru depicting Shiva meditating
Devanagari शिव
Abode Mount Kailāsa[1]
Mantra Aum Namah Sivaya
Weapon Trident (Trishul)
Consort Parvati or Sati or Shakti or Durga
Mount Nandi (bull)
This box: view • talk • edit
Shiva:(pronunciation: [ʃɪ.ʋə]; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, lit. "Auspicious one" ; Tamil: சிவன்) One of the Trimurtis. Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism. In the Smartha tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God. [2][3]
Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[4] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.[5]
Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.
In some other Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.[6]
mount-kailash.com/shiva/shivas_aspekte.htm
Lord Shiva - Seine Form und Aspekte
Der
Lord Shiva
Name Shiva (aus dem Sanskrit) bedeutet wörtlich "gütig, gnädig, freundlich". Der Freundliche.
Lord Shiva, der sich mit halbgeschlossenen Augen ständig in Meditation befindet, ist einer der meistverehrten Gottheiten im Hinduismus. Sein Wohnsitz ist der heilige Berg Kailash im Himalaya. Ihm folgen die meisten Sadhus, die heiligen Männer Indiens.
Shiva als Teil der göttlichen Trinität "Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva" manifestiert sich als der Zerstörer. Als solcher ist er jedoch auch Ursache der Schöpfung, denn ohne die Zerstörung des alten Zyklus kann keine neue Schöpfungsperiode entstehen. Brahma wirkt als Schöpfergott und Vishnu als Gott der Erhaltung. Die drei göttlichen Aspekte stellen die drei fundamentalen Kräfte der Natur dar, die es in der Welt gibt: Schöpfung, Erhaltung und Zerstörung. Shiva verkörpert Tamas oder die Tendenz zur Auflösung und Vernichtung.
Shiva der Gütige (Gnädige) ist auch bekannt als der Mahadeva (maha = groß, der grosse Gott) oder Mahayogi, der oberste aller Yogis, dessen Trommelklang die Menschen zum Erwachen aus ihrer materiellen Illusion verhilft. Shivas mächtige Trommel und göttlicher Tanz sind eine Quelle der Inspiration und drängen die Menschheit zu spiritueller Entfaltung und Vervollkommnung.
Shiva hat verschiedene Erscheinungsformen. Obwohl Er über Namen und Formen hinausgeht, stellen ihn Künstler
oft als jung und schön dar, mit weißer Hautfarbe. Er hat drei Augen und vier Arme; heilige Asche wurde über seinen ganzen Körper geschmiert. In zwei seiner Hände trägt er einen Dreizack (trisula) und eine Trommel (damaru), die zwei anderen nehmen symbolische Handstellungen (Mudras) ein, und zwar in der Bedeutung von Schutz (abhaya) und Gewährung von Wohltaten (varada).
In seinem Haar trägt er die Mondsichel, um seinen Hals winden sich Kobras. Die erhobene rechte Hand (Abhaya) bedeutet Schutz, Segen und Beruhigung. Die drei Spitzen des Dreizacks dienen der Vertreibung von Dämonen und stehen für die drei Aspekte der Gottheit: Schöpfer, Erhalter und Vernichter zugleich. Die Schlange (Naga) ist das Symbol des ewigen Kreislaufes der Zeit und der Unsterblichkeit.
Shiva sitzt auf einem Tigerfell, dazu gibt es folgende Geschichte: die Rishis (Asketen) waren neidisch auf Shiva, weil ihre Frauen alle in Liebe zu ihm entbrannt waren. Sie liessen einen wilden Tiger auf ihn los, er tötete ihn aber und zog ihm das Fell ab. Als sie ihm nun giftige Schlangen schickten, zähmte er diese und hängte sie um seinen Hals. Als man die Mondsichel nach ihm warf, steckte er sie sich als Schmuck in seine Locken. Daraufhin knieten die Rishis in Verehrung vor ihm nieder.
Shiva hat langes, filzhaftes Haar, und der lebensspendende Fluß Ganges entspringt oben am Kopf. Er trägt eine Mondsichel als Krone und Kleidung, die aus Tiger- und Elefantenhaut gefertigt wurde. Sein Hals, um den sich eine große Kobra windet, ist blau. Shiva hat eine Kette und Girlande aus Schädeln um, und Schlangen zieren seinen Körper. Ferner trägt er einen Gurt, eine heilige Schnur (yajnopavita) und Armreifen.
Shivas Augen sind halb geschlossen, d.h., weder ganz geschlossen, noch ganz offen. Es handelt sich um eine heilige Position, die Sambhavee-Mudra genannt wird. Geschlossene Augen zeigen an, daß sich die Person von der Welt zurückgezogen hat. Geöffnete Augen weisen auf jemanden hin, der voll der Welt zugewendet ist. Die halb geschlossenen Augen bedeuten daher, daß Shivas Bewußtsein im inneren Selbst ruht, während sein Körper in der äußeren Welt aktiv bleibt.
Künstler zeigen Shiva oft meditierend, mit dem schneeweißen Hintergrund des Berges Kailash, was absolut reines Bewußtsein bedeutet. Der Zustand der Meditation, den Shivas Haltung zeigt, birgt tiefe Symbolik, da Meditation das letzte Tor zur Selbstverwirklichung ist. Um Gott zu verwirklichen, ist es unerläßlich zu meditieren. Shiva repräsentiert das Ideal höchster Entsagung, die aus Gottverwirklichung entsteht.
Shivas weiße Haut symbolisiert das Licht, das die Dunkelheit vertreibt, das Wissen, das Unwissenheit vertreibt.
Album Esoteric - Ezoteryka www.flickr.com/photos/arjuna/sets/72057594082135474/
"The oldest living city in the world".
Pritviraj and Vinod, during their training at the gym, this morning at sunrise near Sankathi Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).
Pehlwani (Devanagari: पहलवानी, Urdu: پہلوانی), Kushti (Devanagari: कुश्ती, Urdu: کشتی), or modern Indian wrestling, is a synthesis of an indigenous Aryan / Hindu form of wrestling that dates back at least to the 5th century BC and a Persian form of wrestling brought into South Asia by the Mughals.
A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan (also spelled pahlwan in Persian, champion, literally a Parthian). Generally speaking, Hindu teachers of wrestling are known as guru and Muslim teachers ustad.
The Indian wrestling form has undergone several changes in both the nomenclature and training methodologies through the ages.
The more prominent influences include the introduction of Persian nomenclature and western training methods.
Wrestling competitions, known as Dangals, held at village levels, have their own rules which vary from place to place. Usually, a win is awarded by decision from the panel of judges, knockout, stoppage or submission.
© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
Nell'induismo, Hanumat (devanāgarī: हनुमत्; nominativo singolare हनुमान् Hanumān), anche noto come Anjaneya, è una delle figure più importanti del poema epico indiano Ramayana; è un vanara (spirito dall'aspetto di scimmia) che aiutò il Signore Rama (avatar di Viṣṇu) a liberare la sua consorte, Sītā, dal re rakshasa Ravana.
In Hinduism, Hanumat (devanāgarī: हनुमत्, singular name हनुमान् Hanumān), also known as Anjaneya, is one of the most important figures of the Indian epic poem Ramayana; is a vanara (monkey-like spirit) that helped Lord Rama (Viṣṇu's avatar) to release his consort, Sītā, from King Rahathasa Ravana.
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति) from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power (wikipedia)
Nic and Kiara released their first song: Om Namo Narayanaya - www.homefront-music.com/
Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission. © All rights reserved
La mesquita del Divendres (també coneguda com a Jama Masjid) està situada al centre antic de Delhi (Nova Delhi, Índia), propera al Fort Roig.
La mesquita es va aixecar gràcies a la voluntat de Xa Jahan (emperador mogol entre el 1627 i 1658). La seva construcció va començar el 1650 i es va acabar el 1656. Es tracta d'un edifici de grans dimensions on es poden aplegar unes 25.000 persones.
Es troba en una zona elevada a la que s'accedeix per tres escalinates, al nord, llevant i sud. Aquestes escales comuniquen, a través de portes monumentals amb un gran pati obert encarat a ponent, costat on es troba la part coberta, molt reduïda en relació amb el conjunt, els altres tres costats estan limitats per un tancament d'arcs. El mihrab (a ponent) es troba a la zona porxada (61 x 27,5 m) formada per set arcs que s'obren a la sala d'oracions coberta amb tres cúpules bulboses, és aquí on es troben també els dos alts minarets rematats amb chattri hindús. Bàsicament està bastida amb pedra sorrenca i marbre. Aquest tipus de construcció es repeteix, amb una planta gairebé igual, a la mesquita Badshahi de Lahore.
La mezquita del Viernes (también conocida como Jama Masjid) está situada en el centro antiguo de Delhi (Nueva Delhi, India), próxima al Fuerte Rojo.
La mezquita se levantó gracias a la voluntad de Xa Jahan (emperador mogol entre el 1627 y 1658). Su construcción comenzó en 1650 y se terminó en 1656. Se trata de un edificio de grandes dimensiones donde se pueden reunir unas 25.000 personas.
Se encuentra en una zona elevada a la que se accede por tres escalinatas, al norte, levante y sur. Estas escaleras comunican, a través de puertas monumentales con un gran patio abierto encarado a poniente, lado donde se encuentra la parte cubierta, muy reducida en relación con el conjunto, los otros tres lados están limitados por un cierre de arcos. El mihrab (ponente) se encuentra en la zona porticada (61 x 27,5 m) formada por siete arcos que se abren en la sala de oraciones cubierta con tres cúpulas bulbosas, es aquí donde se encuentran también los dos altos minaretes rematados con Chattri hindúes. Básicamente está construida con piedra arenisca y mármol. Este tipo de construcción se repite, con una planta casi igual, a la mezquita Badshahi de Lahore.
The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (Urdu: مسجد-ا جہاں نما, Devanagari: मस्जिद जहान नुमा, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Jama Masjid (Hindi: जामा मस्जिद, Urdu: جامع مسجد) of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. Construction began in 1650 and was completed in 1656. It lies at the beginning of the Chawri Bazar Road, a very busy central street of Old Delhi. The later name, Jama Masjid, refers to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done in a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "jāma masjid". The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including an antique copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Khajuraho"
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location Madhya Pradesh, India Edit this at Wikidata
Coordinates 24°51′08″N 79°55′20″E
Criteria Cultural: (i), (iii) Edit this on Wikidata[1]
Reference 240
Inscription 1986 (10th Session)
Khajuraho Group of Monuments is located in India
Khajuraho Group of Monuments
Location of Khajuraho Group of Monuments
[edit on Wikidata]
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments is a group of Hindu and Jain temples in Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres (109 mi) southeast of Jhansi. They are one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.[2][3] The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures.[4]
Most Khajuraho temples were built between 950 and 1050 by the Chandela dynasty.[5] Historical records note that the Khajuraho temple site had 85 temples by the 12th century, spread over 20 square kilometers Of these, only about 25 temples have survived, spread over 6 square kilometers.[3] Of the various surviving temples, the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is decorated with a profusion of sculptures with intricate details, symbolism and expressiveness of ancient Indian art.[6]
The Khajuraho group of temples were built together but were dedicated to two religions, Hinduism and Jainism, suggesting a tradition of acceptance and respect for diverse religious views among Hindus and Jains in the region.[7]
Contents
1 Location
2 History
3 Description
3.1 Architecture of the temples
4 Construction
5 Chronology
6 Arts and sculpture
7 Tourism and cultural events
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links
Location
The Khajuraho monuments are located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, in Chhatarpur district, about 620 kilometres (385 mi) southeast of New Delhi. The temples are near a small town also known as Khajuraho,[8] with a population of about 20,000 people (2001 Census).
Khajuraho is served by Civil Aerodrome Khajuraho (IATA Code: HJR), with services to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Mumbai.[9] The site is also linked by the Indian Railways service, with the railway station located approximately six kilometres from the entrance to the monuments .
The monuments are about 10 kilometres off the east-west National Highway 75, and about 50 kilometres from the city of Chhatarpur, which is connected to the state capital Bhopal by the SW-NE running National Highway 86.
The 10th century Bhand Deva Temple in Rajasthan was built in the style of the Khajuraho monuments and is often referred to as 'Little Khajuraho'.
History
The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the Chandela dynasty. The building activity started almost immediately after the rise of their power, throughout their kingdom to be later known as Bundelkhand.[10] Most temples were built during the reigns of the Hindu kings Yashovarman and Dhanga. Yashovarman's legacy is best exhibited by The Lakshmana Temple. Vishvanatha temple best highlights King Dhanga's reign.[11]:22 The largest and currently most famous surviving temple is Kandariya Mahadeva built in the reign of King Vidyadhara.[12] The temple inscriptions suggest many of the currently surviving temples were complete between 970 and 1030 CE, with further temples completed during the following decades.[7]
The Khajuraho temples were built about 35 miles from the medieval city of Mahoba,[13] the capital of the Chandela dynasty, in the Kalinjar region. In ancient and medieval literature, their kingdom has been referred to as Jijhoti, Jejahoti, Chih-chi-to and Jejakabhukti.[14]
Khajuraho was mentioned by Abu Rihan-al-Biruni, the Persian historian who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni in his raid of Kalinjar in 1022 CE; he mentions Khajuraho as the capital of Jajahuti.[15] The raid was unsuccessful, and a peace accord was reached when the Hindu king agreed to pay a ransom to Mahmud of Ghazni to end the attack and leave.[14]
Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of 12th century. This changed in the 13th century; after the army of Delhi Sultanate, under the command of the Muslim Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak, attacked and seized the Chandela kingdom. About a century later, Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller in his memoirs about his stay in India from 1335 to 1342 CE, mentioned visiting Khajuraho temples, calling them "Kajarra"[16][17] as follows:
Until the 12th century, Khajuraho was under Hindu kings and featured 85 temples. Central India was seized by Delhi Sultanate in 13th century. Under Muslim rule, some temples were destroyed and the rest left in neglect. Ruins of some old temples (Ghantai temple above) are still visible.
...near (Khajuraho) temples, which contain idols that have been mutilated by the Moslems, live a number of yogis whose matted locks have grown as long as their bodies. And on account of extreme asceticism they are all yellow in colour. Many Moslems attend these men in order to take lessons (yoga) from them.
— Ibn Battuta, about 1335 CE, Riḥlat Ibn Baṭūṭah, Translated by Arthur Cotterell[18]
Central Indian region, where Khajuraho temples are, remained in the control of many different Muslim dynasties from 13th century through the 18th century. In this period, some temples were desecrated, followed by a long period when they were left in neglect.[7][10] In 1495 CE, for example, Sikandar Lodi’s campaign of temple destruction included Khajuraho.[19] The remoteness and isolation of Khajuraho protected the Hindu and Jain temples from continued destruction by Muslims.[20][21] Over the centuries, vegetation and forests overgrew, took over the temples.
In the 1830s, local Hindus guided a British surveyor, T.S. Burt, to the temples and they were thus rediscovered by the global audience.[22] Alexander Cunningham later reported, few years after the rediscovery, that the temples were secretly in use by yogis and thousands of Hindus would arrive for pilgrimage during Shivaratri celebrated annually in February or March based on a lunar calendar. In 1852, Maisey prepared earliest drawings of the Khajuraho temples.[23]
Nomenclature
The name Khajuraho, or Kharjuravāhaka, is derived from ancient Sanskrit (kharjura, खर्जूर means date palm,[24] and vāhaka, वाहक means "one who carries" or bearer[25]). Local legends state that the temples had two golden date-palm trees as their gate (missing when they were rediscovered). Desai states that Kharjuravāhaka also means scorpion bearer, which is another symbolic name for deity Shiva (who wears snakes and scorpion garlands in his fierce form).[26]
Cunningham’s nomenclature and systematic documentation work in 1850s and 1860s have been widely adopted and continue to be in use.[23] He grouped the temples into the Western group around Lakshmana, Eastern group around Javeri, and Southern group around Duladeva.[27]
Khajuraho is one of the four holy sites linked to deity Shiva (the other three are Kedarnath, Kashi and Gaya). Its origin and design is a subject of scholarly studies. Shobita Punja[28] has proposed that the temple’s origin reflect the Hindu mythology in which Khajuraho is the place where Shiva got married; with Raghuvamsha verse 5.53, Matangeshvara honoring ‘’Matanga’’, or god of love.
Description
Sections and orientation of Khajuraho temples.
The temple site is within Vindhya mountain range in central India. An ancient local legend held that Hindu deity Shiva and other gods enjoyed visiting the dramatic hill formation in Kalinjar area.[27] The center of this region is Khajuraho, set midst local hills and rivers. The temple complex reflects the ancient Hindu tradition of building temples where gods love to play.[27][29]
The temples are clustered near water, another typical feature of Hindu temples. The current water bodies include Sib Sagar, Khajur Sagar (also called Ninora Tal) and Khudar Nadi (river).[30] The local legends state that the temple complex had 64 water bodies, of which 56 have been physically identified by archeologists so far.[27][31]
All temples, except[27] one (Chaturbhuja) face sunrise - another symbolic feature that is predominant in Hindu temples. The relative layout of temples integrate masculine and feminine deities and symbols highlight the interdependence.[28] The art work symbolically highlight the four goals of life considered necessary and proper in Hinduism - dharma, kama, artha and moksha.
Of the surviving temples, 6 are dedicated to Shiva and his consorts, 8 to Vishnu and his affinities, 1 to Ganesha, 1 to Sun god, 3 to Jain Tirthankars.[27] For some ruins, there is insufficient evidence to assign the temple to specific deities with confidence.
An overall examination of site suggests that the Hindu symbolic mandala design principle of square and circles is present each temple plan and design.[32] Further, the territory is laid out in three triangles that converge to form a pentagon. Scholars suggest that this reflects the Hindu symbolism for three realms or trilokinatha, and five cosmic substances or panchbhuteshvara.[27] The temple site highlights Shiva, the one who destroys and recycles life, thereby controlling the cosmic dance of time, evolution and dissolution.[28]
The temples have a rich display of intricately carved statues. While they are famous for their erotic sculpture, sexual themes cover less than 10% of the temple sculpture.[33] Further, most erotic scene panels are neither prominent nor emphasized at the expense of the rest, rather they are in proportional balance with the non-sexual images.[34] The viewer has to look closely to find them, or be directed by a guide.[35] The arts cover numerous aspects of human life and values considered important in Hindu pantheon. Further, the images are arranged in a configuration to express central ideas of Hinduism. All three ideas from Āgamas are richly expressed in Khajuraho temples - Avyakta, Vyaktavyakta and Vyakta.[36]
The Beejamandal temple is under excavation. It has been identified with the Vaidyanath temple mentioned in the Grahpati Kokalla inscription.[37]
Of all temples, the Matangeshvara temple remains an active site of worship.[28] It is another square grid temple, with a large 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high and 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) diameter lingam, placed on a 7.6 metres (25 ft) diameter platform.[27]
The most visited temple, Kandariya Mahadev, has an area of about 6,500 square feet and a shikhara (spire) that rises 116 feet.[10][27]
Jain temples
Main article: Jain temples of Khajuraho
The Jain temples are located on east-southeast region of Khajuraho monuments.[38] Chausath jogini temple features 64 jogini, while Ghantai temple features bells sculptured on its pillars.
Architecture of the temples
The layout plan of Kandariya Mahadeva Temple. It uses the 64 pada grid design. Smaller Khajuraho temples use the 9, 16, 36 or 49 grid mandala plan.[39]
Khajuraho temples, like almost all Hindu temple designs, follow a grid geometrical design called vastu-purusha-mandala.[40] This design plan has three important components - Mandala means circle, Purusha is universal essence at the core of Hindu tradition, while Vastu means the dwelling structure.[41]
The design lays out a Hindu temple in a symmetrical, concentrically layered, self-repeating structure around the core of the temple called garbhagriya, where the abstract principle Purusha and the primary deity of the temple dwell. The shikhara, or spire, of the temple rises above the garbhagriya. This symmetry and structure in design is derived from central beliefs, myths, cardinality and mathematical principles.[42]
The circle of mandala circumscribe the square. The square is considered divine for its perfection and as a symbolic product of knowledge and human thought, while circle is considered earthly, human and observed in everyday life (moon, sun, horizon, water drop, rainbow). Each supports the other.[29] The square is divided into perfect 64 sub-squares called padas.[40]
Most Khajuraho temples deploy the 8x8 (64) padas grid Manduka Vastupurushamandala, with pitha mandala the square grid incorporated in the design of the spires.[39] The primary deity or lingas are located in the grid’s Brahma padas.
Khajuraho temples use the 8x8 (64) Vastupurusamandala Manduka grid layout plan (left) found in Hindu temples. Above the temple’s brahma padas is a Shikhara (Vimana or Spire) that rises symmetrically above the central core, typically in a circles and turning-squares concentric layering design (right) that flows from one to the other as it rises towards the sky.[29][43]
The architecture is symbolic and reflects the central Hindu beliefs through its form, structure and arrangement of its parts.[44] The mandapas as well as the arts are arranged in the Khajuraho temples in a symmetric repeating patterns, even though each image or sculpture is distinctive in its own way. The relative placement of the images are not random but together they express ideas, just like connected words form sentences and paragraphs to compose ideas.[45] This fractal pattern that is common in Hindu temples.[46] Various statues and panels have inscriptions. Many of the inscriptions on the temple walls are poems with double meanings, something that the complex structure of Sanskrit allows in creative compositions.[26]
All Khajuraho temples, except one, face sunrise, and the entrance for the devotee is this east side.
An illustration of Khajuraho temple Spires (Shikhara, Vimana) built using concentric circle and rotating-squares principle. Four spires (left) are shown above, while the inside view of one Shikara ceiling (right) shows the symmetric layout.
Above the vastu-purusha-mandala of each temple is a superstructure with a dome called Shikhara (or Vimana, Spire).[41] Variations in spire design come from variation in degrees turned for the squares. The temple Shikhara, in some literature, is linked to mount Kailash or Meru, the mythical abode of the gods.[29]
In each temple, the central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the pilgrim to walk around and ritually circumambulate the Purusa and the main deity.[29] The pillars, walls and ceilings around the space, as well as outside have highly ornate carvings or images of the four just and necessary pursuits of life - kama, artha, dharma and moksa. This clockwise walk around is called pradakshina.[41]
Larger Khajuraho temples also have pillared halls called mandapa. One near the entrance, on the east side, serves as the waiting room for pilgrims and devotees. The mandapas are also arranged by principles of symmetry, grids and mathematical precision. This use of same underlying architectural principle is common in Hindu temples found all over India.[47] Each Khajuraho temple is distinctly carved yet also repeating the central common principles in almost all Hindu temples, one which Susan Lewandowski refers to as "an organism of repeating cells".[48]
Construction
The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern.
The Khajuraho temples are made of sandstone, with a granite foundation that is almost concealed from view.[49] The builders didn't use mortar: the stones were put together with mortise and tenon joints and they were held in place by gravity. This form of construction requires very precise joints. The columns and architraves were built with megaliths that weighed up to 20 tons.[50] Some repair work in the 19th Century was done with brick and mortar; however these have aged faster than original materials and darkened with time, thereby seeming out of place.
The Khajuraho and Kalinjar region is home to superior quality of sandstone, which can be precision carved. The surviving sculpture reflect fine details such as strands of hair, manicured nails and intricate jewelry.
While recording the television show Lost Worlds (History Channel) at Khajuraho, Alex Evans recreated a stone sculpture under 4 feet that took about 60 days to carve in an attempt to develop a rough idea how much work must have been involved.[51] Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone.[52] They concluded that these temples would have required hundreds of highly trained sculptors.
Chronology
The Khajuraho group of temples belong to Vaishnavism school of Hinduism, Saivism school of Hinduism and Jainism - nearly a third each. Archaeological studies suggest all three types of temples were under construction at about the same time in late 10th century, and in use simultaneously. Will Durant states that this aspect of Khajuraho temples illustrates the tolerance and respect for different religious viewpoints in the Hindu and Jain traditions.[53] In each group of Khajuraho temples, there were major temples surrounded by smaller temples - a grid style that is observed to varying degrees in Hindu temples in Angkor Wat, Parambaran and South India.
The largest surviving Saiva temple is Khandarya Mahadeva, while the largest surviving Vaishnava group includes Chaturbhuja and Ramachandra.
Kandariya Mahadeva Temple plan is 109 ft in length by 60 ft, and rises 116 ft above ground and 88 ft above its own floor. The central padas are surrounded by three rows of sculptured figures, with over 870 statues, most being half life size (2.5 to 3 feet). The spire is a self repeating fractal structure.
Temples, religious affiliations and consecration years
Sequence Modern Temple name Religion Deity Completed by
(CE)[27][54] Image
1 Chausath Yogini Hinduism Devi, 64 Yoginis 885 Khajuraho,Chausath-Yogini-Tempel2.jpg
2 Brahma Hinduism Vishnu 925
3 Lalgun Mahadev Hinduism Shiva 900 India-5696 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
4 Matangeshwar Hinduism Shiva 1000 India-5772 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
5 Varaha Hinduism Vishnu 950 India-5595 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
6 Lakshmana Hinduism Vaikuntha Vishnu 939 India-5679 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
7 Parshvanatha Jainism Parshvanatha 954 Le temple de Parshvanath (Khajuraho) (8638423582).jpg
8 Vishvanatha Hinduism Shiva 999 India-5749 - Visvanatha Temple - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
9 Devi Jagadambi Hinduism Devi, Parvati 1023 Khajuraho Devi Jagadambi Temple 2010.jpg
10 Chitragupta Hinduism Sun, Chitragupta 1023 India-5707 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg
11 Kandariya Mahadeva (Largest temple) Hinduism Shiva 1029 Temple at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India.jpg
12 Vamana Hinduism Vamana 1062 Khajuraho Vaman Temple 2010.jpg
13 Adinath Jain Temple Jainism Adinatha 1027 Adinath Jain Temple Khajuraho 12.jpg
14 Javeri Hinduism Vishnu 1090 Javari Temple, Khajuraho.jpg
15 Chaturbhuja Hinduism Vishnu 1110 Khajuraho Chaturbhuja Temple.jpg
16 Duladeo (Duladeva) Hinduism Shiva 1125 Khajuraho Dulhadeo 2010.jpg
17 Ghantai Jainism Adinatha 960 A ruin, pillars at Khajuraho, India.jpg
18 Vishnu-Garuda Hinduism Vishnu 1000
19 Ganesha Hinduism Shiva 1000
20 Hanuman Hinduism Hanuman 922[55] Hanuman Inscription at Khajuraho.jpg
21 Mahishasuramardini Hinduism Mahishasuramardini 995 Khajuraho India, Lakshman Temple, Sculpture 10.JPG
22 Shantinatha temple Jainism Shantinatha 1027 Jain group of temples - Khajuraho 09.jpg
Arts and sculpture
Khajuraho temples are famous for their erotic arts. These constitute about 10% of total art displayed at the monuments.
Erotic sculptures
The Khajuraho temples feature a variety of art work, of which 10% is sexual or erotic art outside and inside the temples. Some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall. Some scholars suggest these to be tantric sexual practices.[56] Other scholars state that the erotic arts are part of Hindu tradition of treating kama as an essential and proper part of human life, and its symbolic or explicit display is common in Hindu temples.[6][57] James McConnachie, in his history of the Kamasutra, describes the sexual-themed Khajuraho sculptures as "the apogee of erotic art":
"Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display their generously contoured and bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot across the surface of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing, and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles....Beside the heavenly nymphs are serried ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously, extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or lovemaking couples."
Over 90% of the art work at the temple is about daily life and symbolic values in ancient Indian culture.
The temples have several thousand statues and art works, with Kandarya Mahadeva Temple alone decorated with over 870. Some 10% of these iconographic carvings contain sexual themes and various sexual poses. A common misconception is that, since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities;[58] however the kama arts represent diverse sexual expressions of different human beings.[59] The vast majority of arts depict various aspects the everyday life, mythical stories as well as symbolic display of various secular and spiritual values important in Hindu tradition.[3][6] For example, depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians making music, potters, farmers, and other folks in their daily life during the medieval era.[60] These scenes are in the outer padas as is typical in Hindu temples.
There is iconographic symbolism embedded in the arts displayed in Khajuraho temples.[6] Core Hindu values are expressed in multitude of ways. Even the Kama scenes, when seen in combination of sculptures that precede and follow, depict the spiritual themes such as moksha. In the words of Stella Kramrisch,
This state which is “like a man and woman in close embrace” is a symbol of moksa, final release or reunion of two principles, the essence (Purusha) and the nature (Prakriti).
— Stella Kramrisch, 1976[29]
The Khajuraho temples represent one expression of many forms of arts that flourished in Rajput kingdoms of India from 8th through 10th century CE. For example, contemporary with Khajuraho were the publications of poems and drama such as Prabodhacandrodaya, Karpuramanjari, Viddhasalabhanjika and Kavyamimansa.[61] Some of the themes expressed in these literary works are carved as sculpture in Khajuraho temples.[26][62] Some sculptures at the Khajuraho monuments dedicated to Vishnu include the Vyalas, which are hybrid imaginary animals with lions body, and are found in other Indian temples.[63] Some of these hybrid mythical art work include Vrik Vyala (hybrid of wolf and lion) and Gaja Vyala (hybrid of elephant and lion). These Vyalas may represent syncretic, creative combination of powers innate in the two.[64]
Tourism and cultural events
Temples layout map – Khajuraho Group of Monuments.
The temples in Khajuraho are broadly divided into three parts : the Eastern group, the Southern Group and the Western group of temples of which the Western group alone has the facility of an Audio guided tour wherein the tourists are guided through the seven eight temples. There is also an audio guided tour developed by the Archaeological Survey of India which includes a narration of the temple history and architecture.[65]
The Khajuraho Dance Festival is held every year in February.[66] It features various classical Indian dances set against the backdrop of the Chitragupta or Vishwanath Temples.
The Khajuraho temple complex offers a light and sound show every evening. The first show is in English language and the second one in Hindi. It is held in the open lawns in the temple complex, and has received mixed reviews.
The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development has set up kiosks at the Khajuraho railway station, with tourist officers to provide information for Khajuraho visitors.
See also
List of megalithic sites
Jain temples of Khajuraho
Ajanta Caves
Badami Chalukya architecture
Western Chalukya architecture
Hindu temple
Madan Kamdev
Hemvati
Kama Sutra
Kamashastra
The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Devanagari: कंदारिया महादेव मंदिर, Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Mandir), meaning "the Great God of the Cave", is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India.
Contents
1 Location
2 History
3 Features
4 References
5 Bibliography
6 Further reading
7 External links
Location
Temples layout map of Khajuraho Group of Monuments: Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is in the western group
Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple is located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh in Central India.[1] It is in the Khajuraho village, and the temple complex is spread over an area of 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi).[2] It is in the western part of the village to the west of the Vishnu temple.[3][4]
The temple complex, in the Khajuraho village at an elevation of 282 metres (925 ft), is well connected by road, rail and air services. Khajuraho is 55 kilometres (34 mi) to the south of Mahoba, 47 kilometres (29 mi) away from the Chhatarpur city to its east, 43 kilometres (27 mi) away from Panna, 175 kilometres (109 mi) by road away from Jhansi on the north, and 600 kilometres (370 mi) to the south - east of Delhi. It is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the railway station.[1][5] Khajuraho is served by Khajuraho Airport (IATA Code: HJR), with services to Delhi, Agra and Mumbai. It is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the temple.[5][6]
History
Khajuraho was once the capital of the Chandela dynasty. The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India,[1][7] is the largest of the western group of temples in the Khajuraho complex which was built by the Chandela rulers. Shiva is the chief deity in the temple deified in the sanctum sanctorium.[8]
The Kandariya Mahadeva temples was built during the reign of Vidyadhara (r. c. 1003-1035 CE).[9] At various periods of the reign of this dynasty many famous temples dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Shakti of the Hindu religion and also for the Thirthankaras of Jain religion were built. Vidhyadhara, also known as Bida in the recordings of the Muslim historian Ibn-al-Athir, who is credited with building the Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple, was a powerful ruler who fought Mahmud of Ghazni in the first offensive launched by the latter in 1019.[1] This battle was not conclusive and Mahmud had to return to Ghazni. Mahmud again waged war against Vidhyadhara in 1022. He attacked the fort of Kalinjar.[1] The siege of the fort was unsuccessful. It was lifted and Mahmud and Vidhyadhara called a truce and parted by exchanging gifts. Vidhyadhara celebrated his success over Mahmud and other rulers by building the Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple, dedicated to his family deity Shiva. Epigraphic inscriptions on a pilaster of the mandapa in the temple mentions the name of the builder of the temple as Virimda, which is interpreted as the pseudonym of Vidhyadhara.[1] Its construction is dated to the period from 1025 and 1050 AD.[4]
All the extant temples including the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple were inscribed in 1986 under the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites under Criterion III for its artistic creation and under Criterion V for the culture of the Chandelas that was popular till the country was invaded by Muslims in 1202.[10][11]
Features
Various features of the temple marked on the Kandariya Mahadeo Temple.
Simplified map of the temple
The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, 31 metres (102 ft) in height, is in the western complex, which is the largest among the three groups of the Khajuraho complex of temples.[12] This western group of temples, consisting of the Kandariya, Matangeshwara and Vishvanatha temples, is compared to a "cosmic design of a hexagon (a yantra or Cosmo gram)" representing the three forms of Shiva.[5] The temple architecture is an assemblage of porches and towers which terminates in a shikhara or spire, a feature which was common from the 10th century onwards in the temples of Central India.[12]
The temple is founded on a massive plinth of 4 metres (13 ft) height.[13] The temple structure above the plinth is dexterously planned and pleasingly detailed.[14] The superstructure is built in a steep mountain shape or form, symbolic of Mount Meru which is said to be the mythical source of creation of the world.[8] The superstructure has richly decorated roofs which rise in a grand form terminating in the shikara, which has 84 miniature spires.[4] The temple is in layout of 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi), of which 22 are extant including the Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple. This temple is characteristically built over a plan of 31 metres (102 ft) in length and 20 metres (66 ft) in width with the main tower soaring to a height of 31 metres (102 ft), and is called the "largest and grandest temple of Khajuraho".[2][14][15] A series of steep steps with high rise lead from the ground level to the entrance to the temple.[16] The layout of the temple is a five-part design, a commonality with the Lakshmana and Vishvanatha temples in the Khajuraho complex. Right at the entrance there is torana, a very intricately carved garland which is sculpted from a single stone; such entrances are part of a Hindu wedding procession.[4] The carvings on the entrance gate shows the "tactile quality of the stone and also the character of the symmetrical design" that is on view in the entire temple which has high relief carvings of the figurines. Finely chiseled, the decorative quality of the ornamentation with the sharp inscribed lines has "strong angular forms and brilliant dark-light patterns". The carvings are of circles, undulations giving off spirals or sprays, geometric patterns, masks of lions and other uniform designs which has created a pleasant picture that is unique to this temple, among all others in the complex.[14]
The main temple tower with 84 mini spires
Erotic sculptures on the external walls of the temple
In the interior space from the entrance there are three mandapas or halls, which successively rise in height and width, which is inclusive of a small chamber dedicated to Shiva, a chamber where Shiva's wife, Parvati is deified, and a central sanctum or garbhagriha (literal meaning "womb chamber") where the Shiva linga, the phallic emblem of Shiva is deified. The sanctum sanctorum is surrounded by interlinked passages which also have side and front balconies. Due to inadequate natural light in the balconies the sanctum has very little light thus creating a "cave like atmosphere" which is in total contrast to the external parts of the temple.[4][13][17][18] In the interior halls of the temple and on its exterior faces there are elaborately carved sculptures of gods and goddesses, musicians and apsaras or nymphs.[4] The huge pillars of the halls have architectural features of the "vine or scroll motif". In the corners of the halls there are insets which are carved on the surface with incised patterns.[14] There is a main tower above the sanctum and there are two other towers above the other mantapas also in the shape of "semi-rounded, stepped, pyramidal form with progressively greater height". The main tower is encircled by a series of interlinked towers and spires of smaller size.[19] These are in the form of a repeated subset of miniature spires that abut a central core which gives the temple an unevenly cut contour similar to the shape of a mountain range of mount Kailasa of the Himalayas where god Shiva resides, which is appropriate to the theme of the temples here.[18]
The exterior surfaces of the temples are entirely covered with sculptures in three vertical layers.[4] Here, there are horizontal ribbons carved with images, which shine bright in the sun light, providing rhythmic architectural features. Among the images of gods and heavenly beings, Agni, the god of fire is prominent.[14] They are niches where erotic sculptures are fitted all round which are a major attraction among visitors. Some of these erotic sculptures are very finely carved and are in mithuna (coitus) postures with maidens flanking the couple, which is a frequently noted motif. There is also a "male figure suspended upside" in coitus posture, a kind of yogic pose, down on his head.[4] The niches also have sculptures of Saptamatrikas, the septad of mother goddesses along with the gods Ganesha and Virabhadra. The seven fearful protector goddesses include: Brahmi seated on a swan of Brahma; Maheshwari with three eyes seated on Shiva's bull Nandi; Kumari; Vaishnavi mounted on Garuda; the boar-headed Varahi; the lion-headed Narasimhi and Chamunda, the slayer of demons Chanda and Munda.[4]
Om is a beach close to the southern edge of Goa and by a quirk of sea waves, rock formations and the millenia of erosion, the facade and the profile give it a shape of the Hindu primordial utterance "Om" written in the Devanagari script like this 'ॐ' .
Enroute to this great beach one has to pass the huge salt pans in a flat valley where the sea water is dried and the salt obtained in the summers. The entire work on the salt pans is done by the tribal population living in this area. These very hard working people migrate to other parts of the country where they still do salt mining in pans from sea water. Most favoured destination - Goa in the summer.
View On Black,Large it does make a Big Difference !!
Dates
Taken on March 13, 2010 at 3.06pm IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr August 7, 2010 at 12.28AM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D70
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/10.0
Focal Length 34 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1/3 EV
Flash No Flash
DSC_4493 from nef wb blue tfm stretch scr sh 250pxl
May the auspicious festival of lights illuminate your life with happiness and prosperity!
I made this Rangoli in like 15 mins (which is super fast by my standards). Had some last minute shopping to do and got back home late but didn't feel like breaking my tradition (of making Rangoli on every Diwali LOL). So decided to make this small and simple Om Rangoli.
You can check out my previous Rangolis here, here and here
For those not familiar, Om or Aum, written in Devanāgari as ॐ and as ओम्, in Sanskrit known as praṇava प्रणव (lit. "to sound out loudly"), Omkara, or Auṃkāra, is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharmic or Indian religions, i.e. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The Māndukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable. The syllable consists of three phonemes, a Vaishvanara,u Hiranyagarbha and m Iswara, which symbolize the beginning, duration, and dissolution of the universe and the associated gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively.
A very dear friend of mine is getting married. I will be away this weekend to attend her wedding. Will be back on Monday. :o)
Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157627765541022/s...
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains ( ཧི་མ་ལ་ཡ་; Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of a massive mountain system that includes the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and other, lesser, ranges that extend out from the Pamir Knot.
Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the world's highest, and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest (Tb: Jomo Langma) and K2 (Tb: Chogori or Lamba Pahar). To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain range, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, at 6,962 metres (22,841 ft) is the highest peak outside Asia, whereas the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft).
The general location of the Himalayas mountain range.
The main Himalayan range runs west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km (250 mi) in the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km (93 mi) in the eastern Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The range consists of three coextensive sub-ranges, with the northernmost, and highest, known as the Great or Inner Himalayas.
NEPAL,
Swayambhu (Devanagari is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie:Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.[1] For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
Orchhā (o Urchha, en caracteres devánagari del idioma hindí: ओरछा) es una ciudad palaciega y fortificada de la India en el distrito Tikamgarh del pradesh (o estado) Madhya. Se encuentra en la región central de la India llamada Bundelkhand, a 15 kilómetros de Jhansi y en una planicie hoy semiárida a orillas del río Betwā afluente del Yamunā que atraviesa la meseta de Orchhāy. Orchha fue la capital de un célebre principado.
1 Album Esoteric - Ezoteryka www.flickr.com/photos/arjuna/sets/72057594082135474/
Krishna. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Hindu deity. For other meanings, see Krishna (disambiguation).
Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, kṛṣṇa in IAST ), according to various Hindu traditions, is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In the Bhagavad Gita (e.g., 10.15 and 15.19), he is seen as the Supreme Person and the highest God. Thus, according to traditions such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, he is the origin of all other incarnations.
Krishna and the stories associated with him appear across the spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. Though they sometimes differ in details reflecting the concerns of a particular tradition, some core features are shared by all. These include a divine incarnation, a pastoral childhood and youth, and life as a heroic warrior and teacher. The immense popularity of Krishna in India also meant that various non-Hindu religions that originated in India had their own versions of him.
Siddhārtha Gautama, Sanskrit/Devanagari: सिद्धार्थ गौतम,
(c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE).
From my misty "Moon" garden
For convenience of maintenance and gardening, I divided my garden into two areas that I called, respectively, The Sun and The Moon, according to their position above the garden and seasonal movement in the sky.
The placing of the hands together (prayer) in greeting is known as Namaste. Here my hands are behind my back as done in Yoga, reverse prayer.
Namaste, Namaskara or Namaskaram (Sanskrit: नमस्ते [nʌmʌsˈteː] from external sandhi between namaḥ and te) is a common spoken greeting or salutation in the South Asia.
"The light within me honors the light within you." (in yoga)
Pose: reverse prayer ( Viparita Namaska )
Aum Tattoo - Aum (also Om, written in Devanagari as ॐ) is the signifier of the ultimate truth that all is one
Texture: Skeletal Mess - www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/3860116644/ - thank you!!
Explore # highest position 186
PIC OF THE WEEK: www.flickr.com/groups/1010052@N20/ - ghostworks
31/8/2009
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.