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This was shot in Lithuania, processed in photoshop and diffused using topaz adjustments. Not one of my usual shots but its good to step out of my comfort zone!
This is a very simple, but very effective diffuser I have used for a most of the images taken with the 100mm macro lens you see on my Photostream this year. I was intending to write it up but haven't got round to it. These photos describe it.
37. Three - Three 3s. A number 3 on the dart board, 3 darts, and one dart landed in the triple. Nice grouping!
Strobist info - Metz 52 AF-1 with snoot and grid to the left, Canon 430EXII with diffuser below, right.
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES
Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".
In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.
In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.
ICONOGRAPHY
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.
COMMON ATTRIBUTES
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.
Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.
VAHANAS
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.
ASSOCIATIONS
OBSTACLES
Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."
Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.
BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".
AUM
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.
FIRST CHAKRA
According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".
FAMILY AND CONSORTS
Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.
The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.
Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.
WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
GANESH CHATURTI
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
TEMPLES
In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.
There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.
T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
FIRST APEARANCE
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.
POSSIBLE INFLUENCES
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.
A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.
First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).
VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE
The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".
Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.
PURANIC PERIOD
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.
SCRIPTURES
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM
Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.
Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.
Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
WIKIPEDIA
Hammered bare copper with black lava beads for essential oil diffusing. Best part? You can use 3 different oils
I got a Dex 25W LED desk lamp from Habitat to act as my light source. It has a pretty even illumination and the bulb lasts for ages.
I initially made a cone out of sugar paper to try to prevent as much light leakage as possible.
mk1 beauty dish diffuser. A Christmas pudding plastic bowl, some alu foil, end of a large millicano coffee can turned into a slight cone. and some fishing line
الصورة توضح عدد 2 ديفيوزر خشبي يعلق على الحائط
ويقوم بتشتيت الصوت بزوايا مختلفة بحيث يعكس كل نغمة صوتية في اتجاه مختلف عن الأخرى
مما يؤدي الى وضوح ادق تفاصيل الصوت
ويمنع الرنين او الصدى بدون كتم الصوت
Create a healthy environment by diffusing quality essential oils! www.YoungLivingTherapeuticOils.com
مقاسات الديفيوزر
عرض 52 سم
ارتفاع 120 سم
عمق 14 سم
السعر 1200 ريال
يمكن تصميم الديفيوزر على حسب رغبة العميل بحيث يمكن للعميل تحديد بداية مدى التردد المؤثر و نهاية التردد على حسب رغبته
QRD diffuser
الديفيوزر من نوع كيو آر دي
وله ميزة هامة جدا لا تتوفر في اي منتج اخر
وهي منع الصدى و الرنين داخل الغرفة بدون كتم الصوت
بعكس الواح امتصاص الصوت التي تمنع الصدى لكنها تؤدي الى كتم الصوت
アングラー：横山智英氏
ロッド：DIFFUSER DC78-2 Longcast
リール：SALTIGA 4000HG
ライン：モーリスアバニキャスティングPE MAXPOWER #3号
バリバスショックリーダー 50lb
ルアー：タックルハウス コンタクトブリットペンシルCBP145
ターゲット：キハダマグロ30㎏
遊漁船：安芸 神栄丸
These are the prototypes of the concave diffuser. This is just to test how the diffusion works and so they are only roughly put together so they can easily be modified.
Entrevista no Digiforum:
www.digiforum.com.br/viewtopic.php?t=78078
BUCCI - 50mm Quantaray Macro Tech 10 MX AF + Sistema de Flash D.I.Y FLASH DIFFUSER
A dirt cheap diffuser for my Metz 45CL3. The bowl is a poly food container ( UK cost 60 pence ). Lined with kitchen foil that has been crunched up then flattened out. Front face is a double layer of kitchen cloth taped to the bowl, but almost anything would probably do as long as it is sufficient to force the light to bounce around inside the bowl before exiting. Well impressed by the light from this, and it has had a lot of use.
These are the prototypes of the concave diffuser. This is just to test how the diffusion works and so they are only roughly put together so they can easily be modified.
This is my prototype Sony H Series flash diffuser made from translucent 35mm film canisters. Easily obtained from photo print outlets. Take off top, cut off bottom and slit up the side. Two thicknesses of canisters and I still have to use an f/6.1 setting to reduce the light. Only glue I had that stuck to this type of plastic was contact cement. Not pretty but works well and costs nothing. The diffuser sits atop the camera's lens barrel in the orientation shown and the elastic band slips under the view finder.
We’re all conscious of how our home smells and electric diffusers UK wide are becoming an increasingly popular way of freshening up indoor spaces. But why opt for these over other solutions?
First, candles and air fresheners are all very well, but naked flames can increase fire risk; and commercial air fresheners are often packed with unpleasant chemicals that can cause health problems. Electric diffuser UK wide use natural essential oils that can offer positive health benefits and because they’re powered by electricity, there’s no chance of setting fabrics alight. Secondly, speaking of health benefits, you can choose which fragrance you use to enhance the atmosphere in your home. Lavender oil, for instance, reduces stress while peppermint oil can increase energy and curb your appetite. Third, diffused essential oils have been proven to reduce mould and bacteria in indoor spaces by breaking down the free radicals that encourage their growth. And fourthly, essential oils last a long time in comparison to expensive air fresheners, saving you money longer-term.
And because many electric diffusers UK wide come with an automatic shut-off, you don’t need to worry about forgetting to switch them off either.
This is a simple Do-It-Yourself diffuser made from a 1 gallon milk jug. The diffuser is attached to the chin of the pop-up flash on my Canon T3i DSLR using a rubber band (or hair elastic band). I suspect that this technique will work on other DSLR's with a popup flash.
I used kitchen scissors to cut out the diffuser from the milk jug.
The reflector really seems to improve the quality of the skin on portraits and reduces some of the glare. It also gives the photo a little warmer tone. You can also layer a couple of diffuser on top of each other for a little more effect although one seems to do fine and doesn't decrease the flash range much.
I included a couple of sample shots in my photostream.
I used the diffuser on the flash gun, off camera to the left. It has brought out the detail in her eyes beautifully - normally she's very underexposed in the eye area, if not completely black. I really need to do a with and without experiment to see exactly the difference.
The history of the Lagotto is truly amazing. Brought back from near extinction, they are thought to be the most ancient and the possible ancestor of all the water dogs.
Boudoir shoot in our hotel room in Orlando, Florida. Light provided by two Lastolite diffusers with a Nikon SB900 in each. Image edited in Adobe CS5 using OnOne Software's Perfect Photo Suite v9.
This is a very simple, but very effective diffuser I have used for a most of the images taken with the 100mm macro lens you see on my Photostream this year. I was intending to write it up but haven't got round to it. These photos describe it.
Diffused light produces decorative patterns on the ceiling.
Ceiling lamp, white | Designer: A Nilsson/H Preutz/T Eliasson.
The Royal Albert Hall was opened in 1871 and at the time of the first acoustic tests an echo was identified. Although various methods were used to try and muffle the echo that reverberated around the auditorium the issue was not addressed properly until 1968 when 'mushroom' acoustic diffusers were installed. Originally there were 135 mushrooms but in 2001 these were reduced and reconfigured to 85 following more advanced acoustic testing.
67 of 125 pictures in 2025 - On the ceiling
Less than a mile away from Sutton valance is Chart Sutton, the sat nav said it would take 90 seconds to get there.
We went up Church Lane, but saw no church nor no sign.
We went old school and looked at the county A-Z.
St Michael lay at the end of a narrow lane, off Church Lane, there were no signs pointing the way, and room enough for one car outside the churchyard.
It was a dull and misty morning, and the church stood stark against the diffused vista.
I tried both the south and west doors; not open, and no keyholder information.
We left after I grabbed some shots.
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This is an enigma! The medieval church, of which the tower with its fine 14th century west window, survives, was destroyed by fire in the late 18th century. The story of the fires is recorded in Hasted`s History of Kent. It was rebuilt by Henry Holland as a classical box with gothic detailing – for instance the vestry lancet – but this was mostly undone by two Victorian restorations which combined to turn the church into a more standard building. The interior is barn like but the fine glass by Barraud and Westlake is all of a date around 1900, though some more recent repairs have been really botched with naïve faces much in evidence. The pulpit is fine work of the Victorian restoration with curving staircase and on the whole nothing jars. It is a building of two periods – each recorded by plaques and boards – and the crumbling ragstone exterior with galletted blocks gives the impression that it is waiting for the next period of change.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Chart+Sutton
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CHART SUTTON.
THE next parish southward from Langley is Chart Sutton, or as it should be more properly called, Chart by Sutton, written in Domesday, Certh.
THIS PARISH is but small, the lower or southern ridge of Quarry-hills divides the upper and lower parts of it, the latter is in the district of the Weald, where the country is low and flat, abounding with broad hedge rows, filled with large and spreading oaks. It is exceeding wet and miry in winter, the soil being a deep stiff elay. At the foot of the hill there rises a stream, which having turned a mill, flows from thence southward across this parish, till it joins the branch of the Medway just above Herefeed-bridge; on and about the hill the soil consists of the quarry-stone, thinly covered with a loam, being exceedingly fertile for corn, fruit, and hops. Just above the summit of the hill is the village and church, with Chart-place adjoining to the church-yard; beyond which northward the soil becomes less fertile, being a hungry red earth mixed with flints, which continues till it joins the parish of Langley.
The mention made in the record of Domesday of the three arpends of vineyard in this parish, ought not to be passed by unnoticed here, this being one of several instances of there having been vineyards in this county in very early times. I mean plantations of the grapevine; for I can by no means acquiese in the conjecture, that Vineæ universally meant plantations of apples and pears, at least so far as relates to this county, where the latter were not introduced at the time, nor for some time after the taking of the survey of Domesday. This opinion is further confirmed by the instance of Hamo, bishop of Rochester, who, when Edward II. in his 19th year, was at Bokinsold, in this county, sent that prince a gift both of wine and grapes, from his vineyard at Halling, near Rochester, the episcopal palace where he then resided. These vineyards being likewise measured by the arpend, the same measure that they usually were in France, shews that when the vine was brought from thence and cultivated here, the same kind of measure was continued to the plantations of them, a measure different from that of any other kind of land. Sir Robert Atkins, in his History of Gloucestershire, has indeed given two instances from records in the reigns of king John and king Edward II. to prove the contrary, which might suit exceeding well with the language of his countrymen, and the bleak county of Gloucester, where the grape-vine had never been seen, and the only beverage was that of the apple and pear, which they had dignisified with the appellation of wine. In my memory there have been two exceeding fine vineyards in this county, one at Tunbridgecastle, and the other at Hall-place, in Barming, near Maidstone, from which quantities of exceeding good and well-flavored wine have been produced. This parish of Chart, among others in the same situation, on the side of the quarry hills, is peculiarly adapted to the planting of vines, as well from the warm and nutritive quality of the soil, as its genial aspect, being entirely sheltered from the north and east, and facing the south on the declivity of the hill.
CHART was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in that record.
The same Adam Fitz Hubert holds of the bishop of Baieux, Certh. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is eight carucates. In demesne there is one, and twenty villeins, with five borderers having six carucates. There is a church and eight servants, and six acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of fifty hogs. There are three arpends of vineyard, and a park of beasts of the forest. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, and now, it was and is worth twelve pounds. Alnod Cilt held it.
Four years after the taking the above-mentioned survey, the bishop of Baieux was disgraced, and all his estates were confiscated to the crown.
This estate afterwards became the property of Baldwin de Betun, earl of Albermarle, likewise lord of the manor of Sutton Valence, to which this estate seems to have been accounted an appendage, and it afterwards continued with it, in a like succession of ownership, down to Sir Christopher Desbouverie, who soon after his coming into the possession of it in 1708, on a spot which he had purchased of others, on which there was then only a mean cottage, built for himself a mansion near the church here, where he afterwards resided. (fn. 1) He died possessed of it in 1733, leaving two sons, who both died without issue, and also two daughters, who became their brother's heirs, and on the partition of their inheritance in 1752, this manor was, among others in this neighbourhood, allotted to the share of the youngest, Mrs. Elizabeth Bouverie, now of Teston, who continues owner of it.
NORTON-PLACE is an antient manor and mansion in this parish, though now and for many years since made use of only as a farm-house, situated about half a mile northward from Chart-place. It was antiently the property and residence of the family of Norton, to whom it gave name; and in the south windows of this church there were formerly the essigies of Stephen Norton, who lived in king Richard II.'s reign, with his arms, Argent, a chevron between three crescents azure, on his tabard or surcoat, and Philipott says that he had found in a tournament of the Kentish gentlemen one of this name, in a tabard of the arms above-mentioned, encountering one Christmas, of East Sutton, not far distant, who was in like manner habited in a surcoat charged with his arms, expressive of his name, viz. Gules, upon a bend sable, three wassail bowls, or; which coat was likewise depicted in the south windows of Sutton church. But the partitions inherent to gavelkind, so diminished the patrimony of this family, that in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and afterwards, they were obliged to sell off several parts of it at different times, all which came at length into the possession of Sir Ed ward Hales, created a baronet in 1611, whose grandson and heir of the same name in 1660 purchased of the two coheirs of the family of Norton, married to Denne and Underwood, the seat itself, with the remainder of the land belonging to it, by a fine then levied by them and their husbands for that purpose. His trustees about the year 1670, conveyed it, with the manor of Sutton Valence and Chart before-mentioned, and sundry other premises, to Sir William Drake, of Amersham, with which it was in like manner sold, about the year 1708, to Sir Christopher Desbouverie, whose daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Bouverie, of Teston, after the death of her two brothers, and a partition of her father's estates between herself and her sister, is now entitled to it.
WALTERS-FOLLY, in the den of Ivetigh, now vulgarly called THE FOLLY, is an estate situated in the southern part of this parish, about a mile below the summit of the hill. It was antiently the property of the family of Ivetigh, antiently spelt Evythye, who implanted their name on it, as they did on other lands in this parish, still called by their name; and though the deeds of this estate, which mention them as possessors of it, do not reach higher than the reign of king Henry VI. yet, undoubtedly, they were owners of it long before.
In the above-mentioned reign, however, this estate was alienated by one of that name to Robert Mascall, who died possessed of it in the 4th year of Edward IV. By his will, dated Nov. 25, that year, he willed his body to be buried in the church yard of this parish. He devised 6s. 8d. towards the pavement of the church, and to the leading of it twenty shillings; all his lands and tenements to his wife, for her life, remainder to his son Thomas, his daughter Elizabeth mentioned in it. His son Thomas Mascall resided here, and some years after his father's death sold it to Wm. Lambe, who changed the name of it to Lambden; in his descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, on a fess or, two mullets of the field, between three cinquefoils ermine, it continued till it was at length sold to Perry, descended from those of Worcestershire, and it remained in that name till the reign of king Charles I. when Mr. James Perry, of Lenham, dying s.p. his three daughters, Elizabeth, married to Mr. Thomas Petley, of Filston; Anne and Mary became his coheirs, and entitled to this estate, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Walter, who rebuilt the house on it, which afterwards gained the name of Walter's folly; from one of his descendants it was purchased, in the reign of queen Anne, by Sir Samuel Ongley, of London, who gave it, together with an estate called Elderden, lying at a small distance from it, by will to his nephew, Samuel Ongley, esq. of Old Warden, in Bedfordshire, in tail: on whose death s. p. this estate came by the entail abovementioned to his nephew Robert Henley, esq. who took upon him the name of Ongley, and was in 1776 created baron Ongley, of Ireland, he died in 1785, and his son Robert lord Ongley, is the present owner of it.
ALMNERY-GREEN, usually called Almery green, is a place in the western part of this parish, where there is an estate called Haddis tenement, alias Almery, which was for many generations the residence of the family of Hadde, called in antient writings likewise Le Hadde. Robert Hadde lived here in the reign of king Henry III. as did his son William le Hadde in the next reign of Edward I. (fn. 2) At length about the latter end of the reign of king Edward III. this family divided into two branches, of which Robert le Hadde, the eldest son and heir, settled at Frinsted, where his descendants continued for many generations, and the youngest son inherited this family seat at Chart, which remained in the possessions of his descendants, till Thomas Haddys, in the reign of king Henry VII. leaving two daughters his coheirs, Margaret married first Wm. Wright and afterwards Nicholas Harpur; and Catherine, who married Thomas Bidlake, of Devonshire, this house and estate in Chart became the property of his eldest daughter Margaret, who entitled her husband, William Wright, to it; and he, anno 17 Henry VII. conveyed it to Roger Morys, of Ledes, and after some intermediate owners, it came into the possession of Robert Baker, who in 1612 sold it to Sir Edward Hales, bart. The trustees of whose grandson, Sir Edward Hales, bart. sold it with the manor of Sutton Valence, and his other estates in this parish, to Sir William Drake, of Amersham, with which they were in like manner afterwards sold to Sir Christopher Desbouverie; and on the partition between his two daughters and coheirs, these premises were alloted, with other lands in this and the neighbouring parishes, to Anne, the eldest daughter, married to John Hervey, esq. afterwards of Beechworth, who died possessed of them in 1757, and his grandson Christopher Hervey, esq. is now entitled to them.
There is an estate on ALMNERY-GREEN, which was formerly part of the possessions of the priory of Ledes, and most probably belonging to the almnery of that house, gave name to this place. It the remained with it till the reign of Henry VIII. when the priory being dissolved, this estate came, with the rest of the possessions of it, into the king's hands, and was settled by him in the 32d year of his reign, on his new-erected dean and chapter of Rochester, who are now entitled to the inheritance of it.
LESTED is an antient seat, situated on the northern side of the high road leading from Cocks-heath to Langley-heath, near Chart corner.
It was formerly part of the possessions of the family of Potman. who were possessed of other estates in this parish as has been already mentioned and it continued with them till Sir Richard Potman sold it to Simon Smyth, gent. who resided at Buckland, in Maidstone, whose son Simon was of Boughton Monchensie, and had the arms of his family confirmed to him by Camdem, clarencieux, in 1650. (fn. 3). He left a son Simon, of Lested, (fn. 4) whose widow afterwards remarried George Curteis, esq. sheriff of this county in 1651, when he resided here in her right.
In the descendants of Simon Smyth this estate descended down to the Rev. John Smyth, vicar of this parish, and rector of Hastingleigh, who died in 1732, and was succeeded by his son John Smyth, esq. whose widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Smyth survived him, and afterwards resided in it. She was daughter of Ralph Whitfield, esq. major of the Welsh fuzileers, by whom he left four daughters, Felicia, Elizabeth, Anna Maria, and Dorothea, his coheirs, and they or their respective heirs are now entitled to it.
CHENEYS-COURT is a reputed manor here, which appears in very early times to have been called Hadenesham, and to have been in the possession of Sir Robert de Shurland, a man of great eminence in the reign of king Edward I. who leaving an only daughter and heir, she carried this estate, with other large inheritanbe, in marriage to William de Cheney, of Patricksborne, in whose descendants it continued so long, that they implanted their name on it; at length Sir Thomas Cheney passed it away to John Iden, who died possessed of it in the 4th year of Henry VIII. and one of his descendants, leaving two daughters and coheirs, one of whom married Browne, and the other Barton, the latter of them, in right of his wife, possessed this estate, and in that name it continued till it was at length alienated to Heyward, for Rowland Heyward had the queen's licence, anno 16 Elizabeth, to alienate the messuage and manor, called Chenye-court, to John Long, of Tunbridge; after which it passed to Wolett, and thence to Jordan, and afterwards to that branch of the family of Fane, who were earls of Westmoreland, in which it continued till John, earl of Westmoreland, dying in 1762, s. p. this, among his other estates in this county, is at length, by the limitations of his will, come to the right hon. Thomas, lord le Despencer, who continues the present possessor of it.
There is the appearance of an old manor-pound belonging to it; but there has been no court held for this manor in the memory of man.
THE FAMILY OF SPENCER once possessed an estate in this parish, and resided here for some generations; one of whom John Spencer, esq. was of Chart Sutton, and bore for their arms, Argent, a fess engrailed, in chief three lions rampant, gules, at the latter end of the reign of king Henry VIII. as was his son of the same name afterwards. He left two sons, John and Nicholas, and five daughters, who on their elder brother's death s. p. became his coheirs; and in the beginning of the reign of king Charles I. joined with their respective husbands in the sale of their inheritance in this parish, to Sir Edward Hales, bart. it afterwards passed into the possession of Sir William Drake, and then to Sir Christopher Desbouverie, in whose descendants it has continued in like manner as the rest of his estates in this parish to the present time.
Charities.
RICHARD MASCALL gave by will in 1599, for the better support of the poor the yearly sum of 40s. in land in Ashford, vested in Edward Finch Hatton, esq. and now of the annual produce of 1l. 11s.
JOAN MASCALL gave by will in 1598, for the like use, the annual sum of 10s. in land in this parish, vested in Wm. Spong, and of that annual produce.
The poor constantly maintained by this parish are yearly in number about thirty-five, casually about twenty.
CHART SUTTON is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sutton,
The church, which stands near the summit of the hill, at a very small distance from Sutton Valence, is dedicated to St. Michael.
This church has been twice set on fire by lightning: the first time, a few years ago, when it was fortunately soon extinguished; the last time was on April 23, 1779, about seven o'clock in the morning, when in a dreadful storm of thunder, the lightning set fire to the beautiful spire steeple of it, and in about three hours time burnt that and the whole building to ashes, excepting the bare walls; since which it has been rebuilt from a plan of Mr. Henry Holland, junior, architect, at the cost of more than 1,300l. collected by a brief throughout the county from house to house, and a liberal contribution made by the neighbouring gentry and clergy.
The church of Chart was given to the priory of Leeds, soon after the foundation of it; the tithes of every kind, arising from the demesnes of the lord of the parish of Chart, and also twenty shillings annual pension from the church, to be paid by the hands of the rector of it, for ever, for the maintenance of the infirmary of the priory, being assigned and granted by archbishop Richard to the canons of the priory. (fn. 5)
In the year 1320, Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, appropriated this church to the priory, and then admitted William de Shoreham to the vicarage of this church; at which time he, by his instrument, endowed the vicarage of it as follows: first, he ordained and decreed, that every vicar, for the time being, should receive all oblations and obits according to the altar of the church, which the rectors of it used of old to receive, together with the tithes of wool, lambs, calves, hogs, hay, flax, hemp, mills, pears, apples, milk, milk-meats, sheep, and of whatever was planted and sowed in gardens; and also, that the prior and convent should bear and exonerate all burthens, ordinary and extraordinary, happening to the church, as well in books, vestments, reparations and rebuildings of it, as often as need should require, the procurations of the archdeacon, and other burthens antiently belonging to it, or which might in future be laid on it. And he further decressed, that the prior and convent should assign of the soil of the church, one acre and an half of land, lying conveniently for a dwelling for the vicar, and should build for him on it a convenient house for him and his successors to dwell in, and that they should pay to him and his successors, as an augmentation of his living, forty shillings sterling yearly.
On the dissolution of the priory of Leeds, in the reign of Henry VIII. this parsonage, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, and was by the king settled in his 32d year, on his newerected dean and chapter of Rochester, part of whose inheritance it remains at this time.
¶On the abolition of deans and chapters, this parsonage was surveyed by order of the state in 1649, when it was returned, that the parsonage, or manorhouse of the parsonage, consisted of a hall, a parlour, kitchen, cellar, buttery, five chambers, three garrets, one dairy-house, barn and stable, with all the tithes thereto belonging, and the tithes of as much of Suttonpark as lay within the precincts of Chart parish, with a court and barn-yard; the whole being valued at fifty pounds per annum, and let by the dean and chapter, anno 26 Charles I. by lease to Sir Edward Hales, bart. and Sir John Hales, his son, for twenty-one years, at the yearly rent of 13l 11s. 8d. and one good and seasonable brawn every Christmas, but that the premises were worth over and above, upon improvement, 67l. 3s. 10d. and that the tenant was bound to repair and maintain the chancel of the parish church. At which time the vicarage was valued at thirty-five pounds clear yearly income. (fn. 6)
Among the archives of the dean and chapter of Canterbury is a definitive sentence, made at Cranbrook, anno 1400, concerning the custom and method of taking tithes in this parish, made by Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, in a cause of tithes, between the prior and convent of Ledes and John Hadde, parishioner of this church.
Mrs. Elizabeth Bouverie, of Teston, is the present lessee of this parsonage. The advowson of the vicarage is reserved by the dean and chapter, in their own hands.
The vicarage is valued in the king's books at 8l. 12s. 8½d. and the yearly tenths at 17s. 3¾d. (fn. 7) It is now of the clear yearly certified value of 47l. 11s. 9¼d.
In 1640 it was valued at thirty pounds per annum, Communicants, 212.
The Rev. John Smyth, vicar gave by will in 1732, two hundred pounds as an augmentation, to enable it to receive the benefit of the like sum from queen Anne's bounty, (fn. 8) with which a small farm of twenty pounds per annum in Ashford parish, has been purchased for the benefit of the vicar and his successors.
I'd seen someone put a ping-pong ball on LEDs to diffuse them so I tried it. Here's a word of caution though. Don't try to burn a hole in a ping-pong ball because it will explode... Mine did and once I had put it out, I started to walk away from half of a melted ping-pong ball on the carpet. All of a sudden, I saw a burst of orange light and I turned around to see the re-ignited ping-pong ball blazing on the melting carpet...