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Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29×13 m, it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The relief was created to celebrate the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres . Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

2012 eight-acre corn maze featuring "Uncle Sam", and his You CAN Vote! message. Be a part of the “You CAN Vote!” charitable campaign, bring a non-perishable food item to the Farm to vote for your favorite CAN-didate and receive a one a token to be used anywhere on the Farm. The goal is to collect 25,000 cans of food to help stock local food banks.

This winter Physalis completes my "Physalis Set"

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Aufnahmedatum/-zeit: 22.12.2007 09:59

Aufnahmemodus: Manuell

Tv (Verschlusszeit): 1/60

Av (Blendenzahl): 2.7

Messungsmodus: Mehrfeld

Filmempfindlichkeit (ISO): 80

Objektiv: 6.0 - 72.0mm

Brennweite: 6.0mm

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department Administration Assistant Secretary Dr. Gregory Parham offers opening remarks at the 2016 Feds Feed Families Campaign closing ceremony at USDA on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama’s, “United We Serve” campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. The 2016 campaign collected a total of 12.5 million pounds of food and the United States Department of Agriculture contributed to over five million pounds of that total together as a federal family collecting non-perishable food items, gleaning and holding special events. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.

Hope is a waking dream. ~Aristotle~

And never stops - at all ~Emily Dickinson~

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

1 Peter 1:18-19

Soldiers of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division host a Food Drive ruck on Fort Drum, New York, November 17th, 2022.

10th MTN DIV Soldiers rucked across post with non-perishable goods to donate to the Watertown Urban Mission, a community organization specializing in housing assistance, The Bridge Program, food pantries, and Meals on Wheels. (U.S. Army Photos by Pfc. Kaylan Joseph)

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

This picture shows "mv. Frigoantartico" being manouvred prior to entering the South Dock from the Blackwall Reach section of the Thames. I believe she was a class of ship known as a Reefer, specially insulated and refrigerated to carry perishable goods. Her construction was completed on December 1st 1974 with a gross tonnage of 7,148 tons.

The well known local landmark of the Blue Bridge was about to be raised, to allow the ship passage through into the dock.

My photograph was taken just when the dock's trade was being run down in the late seventies (I think)

Taken on a Minolta SR-T101 camera and a 50mm f2 MC Rokkor lens on Kodachrome.

Watco's Perishable Express reefer car rides shotgun on UP's IG3AH transfer to NS at Ashland Ave as it moves through Lombard, IL. Tonight, the car will run on 24Z where it will connect with 22V in Harrisburg and eventually be delivered to Bethlehem, PA.

The Mount (53,505 square feet)

215 Las Gaviotas Boulevard, Chesapeake, VA

This church opened in 2008; it was originally a Winn-Dixie Marketplace, which opened on November 19th, 1998 and closed on June 21st, 2000. It became Cornerstone Christian Center in 2001, which closed in the mid 2000s.

If you look closely, the door on the left still says "Winn-Dixie Grocery Perishable".

-Story and photo by Jen Rovanpera, Archaeologist for the BLM Applegate Field Office

The BLM Applegate Field Office just completed stabilizing and preserving a 1930s root cellar on the historic Bitner Ranch located in Washoe County, Nevada. The root cellar was built in the 1930s to store food and other perishables. It consists of a large cavity (cellar) built into the side of a hill just east of the ranch house. Juniper poles were laid across the top of the cavity, the covered with hay from the nearby meadow. Dirt was then piled onto the roof into order to insulate it further. A small wooden structure with steps leads down into the cellar. Once inside, the maximum height of the cellar is about 6 feet. Shelving units were built along three of the walls.

Little is known about the beginnings of Bitner Ranch. A structure in Badger Meadows appears on a survey map as early as 1873/1874; however the land was not patented from the state of Nevada until 1900. Based on the style of barbed wire, some of the older corrals and fences were probably built sometime between 1874 and 1892. The ranch hosts a ranch house, a black smith shop with a bunk house for workers, a milk barn, a root cellar, an outhouse, corrals, and a small animal pen. Most of the remaining structures on the property were built in the 1920s, except for the root cellar which was built in the 1930s and the milk barn which might be one of the oldest standing structures on the ranch.

The Bureau of Land Management acquired the Bitner Ranch in 1995. Bitner Ranch is an excellent example of a high desert, homestead era ranch and one of the few remaining ranches to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management in northwestern Nevada. The goal is to preserve the historic ranch, continue research, and establish an interpretive center about the history and wildlife of the meadow.

The preservation project included removing the dirt that had caved into the cellar through the collapsed roof, stabilizing the wooden structure, and rebuilding the steps into the cellar. The project was completed in two weeks by Jed Mauldin, Dane Mauldin, and Kody Smith of S.T. Rhoades Construction, Inc.

Before photo: The roof of the cellar had collapsed and dirt filled the root cellar.

MAHAVATAR BABAJI CAVE

Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples,[2] who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, including a first-hand report of Yogananda's own meeting with the yogi.[3]Another first hand account was given by Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science.[4] According to Sri M's autobiography (Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master) Babaji, was Shiva. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.[5][6][7]According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.[3][8] The death less Master is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.

Again, according to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: "Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West

There are very few accounts of Babaji's childhood. One source of information is the book Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga tradition by Marshal Govindan.[9]According to Govindan, Babaji was named Nagarajan (king of serpents) by his parents. [8] V.T. Neelakantan and S.A.A. Ramaiah founded on 17 October 1952, (they claim – at the request of Babaji) a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. They claim that in 1953 Mahavatar Babaji told them that he was born on 30 November 203 CE in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[10] Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust (Kriya Babaji Sangah) and their branch organizations claim his place and date of birth.[10] He was a disciple of Bogar and his birth name is Nagarajan.[9][10]

In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, many references are made to Mahavatar Babaji, including from Lahirī and Sri Yukteshwar.[3] In his book The Second Coming of Christ, Yogananda states that Jesus Christ went to India and conferred with Mahavatar Babaji.[8] This would make Babaji at least 2000 years old.[11] According to Govindan's book, Babaji Nagaraj's father was the priest of the village's temple. Babaji revealed only those details which he believed to be formative as well as potentially instructive to his disciples. Govindan mentioned one incident like this: "One time Nagaraj's mother had got one rare jackfruit for a family feast and put it aside. Babaji was only 4 years old at that time. He found the jackfruit when his mother was not around and ate it all. When his mother came to know about it, she flew in blind rage and stuffed a cloth inside Babaji's mouth, nearly suffocating him, but he survived. Later on he thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved without attachment or illusion. His Love for his mother became unconditional and detached."[9]

When Nagaraj was about 5 years old, someone kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His new owner however was a kind man and he freed Nagaraj shortly thereafter. Nagaraj then joined a small group of wandering sannyāsin due to their radiant faces and love for God. During the next few years, he wandered from place to place, studying holy scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.

According to Marshall Govindan's book, at the age of eleven, he made a difficult journey on foot and by boat with a group of ascetics to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. Nagaraj met Siddha Bhogarnathar and became his disciple. Nagaraj performed intensive yogic sadhana for a long time with him. Bhogarnathar inspired Nagaraj to seek his initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayam from Siddha Agastya. Babaji became a disciple of Siddha Agastya. Nagaraj was initiated into the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama or "Vasi Yogam". Babaji made a long pilgrimage to Badrinath and spent eighteen months practising yogic kriyataught to him by Siddha Agastya and Bhogarnathar. Babaji attained self-realization shortly thereafter.[9]

It is claimed that these revelations were made by Babaji himself to S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji was said to have appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together to work for his Mission in 1942

By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

MAHAVATAR BABAJI CAVE

Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples,[2] who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, including a first-hand report of Yogananda's own meeting with the yogi.[3]Another first hand account was given by Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science.[4] According to Sri M's autobiography (Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master) Babaji, was Shiva. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.[5][6][7]According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.[3][8] The death less Master is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.

Again, according to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: "Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West

There are very few accounts of Babaji's childhood. One source of information is the book Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga tradition by Marshal Govindan.[9]According to Govindan, Babaji was named Nagarajan (king of serpents) by his parents. [8] V.T. Neelakantan and S.A.A. Ramaiah founded on 17 October 1952, (they claim – at the request of Babaji) a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. They claim that in 1953 Mahavatar Babaji told them that he was born on 30 November 203 CE in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[10] Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust (Kriya Babaji Sangah) and their branch organizations claim his place and date of birth.[10] He was a disciple of Bogar and his birth name is Nagarajan.[9][10]

In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, many references are made to Mahavatar Babaji, including from Lahirī and Sri Yukteshwar.[3] In his book The Second Coming of Christ, Yogananda states that Jesus Christ went to India and conferred with Mahavatar Babaji.[8] This would make Babaji at least 2000 years old.[11] According to Govindan's book, Babaji Nagaraj's father was the priest of the village's temple. Babaji revealed only those details which he believed to be formative as well as potentially instructive to his disciples. Govindan mentioned one incident like this: "One time Nagaraj's mother had got one rare jackfruit for a family feast and put it aside. Babaji was only 4 years old at that time. He found the jackfruit when his mother was not around and ate it all. When his mother came to know about it, she flew in blind rage and stuffed a cloth inside Babaji's mouth, nearly suffocating him, but he survived. Later on he thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved without attachment or illusion. His Love for his mother became unconditional and detached."[9]

When Nagaraj was about 5 years old, someone kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His new owner however was a kind man and he freed Nagaraj shortly thereafter. Nagaraj then joined a small group of wandering sannyāsin due to their radiant faces and love for God. During the next few years, he wandered from place to place, studying holy scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.

According to Marshall Govindan's book, at the age of eleven, he made a difficult journey on foot and by boat with a group of ascetics to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. Nagaraj met Siddha Bhogarnathar and became his disciple. Nagaraj performed intensive yogic sadhana for a long time with him. Bhogarnathar inspired Nagaraj to seek his initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayam from Siddha Agastya. Babaji became a disciple of Siddha Agastya. Nagaraj was initiated into the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama or "Vasi Yogam". Babaji made a long pilgrimage to Badrinath and spent eighteen months practising yogic kriyataught to him by Siddha Agastya and Bhogarnathar. Babaji attained self-realization shortly thereafter.[9]

It is claimed that these revelations were made by Babaji himself to S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji was said to have appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together to work for his Mission in 1942

By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

_____________________________

Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a universal monarch and god-king, and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size. Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.

The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as the land of cardamoms and mangoes to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself universal monarch and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of god-king (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray. The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 24 km east to west and 8.0 km north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 48 km to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the dispersed, low-density nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 qkm beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

______________________________________

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

WIKIPEDIA

We were proud to serve 175 military families at this year's Holiday Meals for Military event on Ellington Field JRB, in Houston, Texas. Parents had the opportunity to visit with base and local community resources while children participated in games & activities. Each family not only received a few bottles of Pantene conditioner, courtesy of Proctor & Gamble, but took home a frozen turkey, a meal kit with non-perishable food items, roasting pans, & a $10 Sam's gift card, thanks to SAS Shoes. Thank you OH Volunteer Reservists, Carlton Staffing, community partners, P&G, and SAS for helping us build strong, stable, and secure military families!

It rained again today.

We're on the plus side of rain this year. Farmers have had a hard time getting crops planted, not having enough dry days to get planters in their fields. So the wait for dry days begins again for those with planting left to do.

The land at the lower part of this image, is all farm-land from edge to edge. The few exceptions are farm buildings and trees marking the edges of some of the fields and a lone water tower at the right that stands likely 70-80 feet in the air, storing up water for the local water district. That gives you some sense of scale to the clouds.

I was heading home, driving westward, to drop off some perishables in-between errands, when I saw these ominous and magnificent clouds, spread across the horizon. I abandoned my turn home and headed to Bradforton, where I knew I had this point of view.

I didn't have my wide-angle lens on the camera, but, knew that I could stitch this view together from multiple, overlapping images. That's what I did. I stopped in the drive of a business that was not open on Saturday. Rolled down my window, and started taking a series of images. There's about 20 in this image, put together using a software program called Autopano.

There's nothing like having seen it in person, but this comes close.

Be lucky! We certainly were. Before the storm our neighbor emailed to say he would have this trailer used for football tailgate parties that his class from the Naval Academy owns on his driveway- it has a freezer and fridge all run on propane. They offered the use of it if we needed to store perishable food items.

Other neighbors offered help prepping for the storm.

When Sandy hit full strength about 8 pm, the power went out. We had flashlights and lanterns ready and the tub filled with water for flushing. About 9 pm between wind and rain blasts, one couple across the street came over and we had a glass of wine by candle light and spent some pleasant time together.

Nick and I monitored our drains every hour until 1 am and he was back up at 5 to check again. Seems all our precautions paid off as we had no water in the house or basement at all. The rain gauge popped up yesterday and topped out at 5". Still raining lightly today.

So we could get out the generator this morning and get the fridge plugged in and the fan on the gas fireplace blowing out some warm air. The temperature dropped quite a bit with Sandy's arrival.

Power came back on about 1 pm today and we feel quite lucky. My heart goes out to those in New Jersey and New York and other places that bore the brunt of the storm. I hope their neighbors stick together like ours have!

Carta (Sibiu County): Cistercian monastery

The city and monastery of Carta are located 43 km from Sibiu on the road to Brasov. Here are preserved the ruins of the Cistercian monastery, one of the oldest and most important monuments of the primitive Gothic church in Transylvania. The Cistercians are a monastic order originating in France and widespread in several countries.

The Carta Cistercian Abbey played a major role in the political, economic and cultural history of medieval Transylvania, as well as in the introduction but also in the dissemination of Gothic art in the inter-Carpathian space.

The monastery was founded in the years 1205-1206 by King Andrew II of Hungary.

The beginnings of the monastery are confirmed with the erection of its first buildings, used, as the Cistercians used it, from perishable materials, that is to say wood. These can be dated with relative certainty between the years 1205-1206.

The stone parts of the monastery will be erected between the years 1220 and the end of 1230. The construction of the monastery was carried out in two main phases of execution, chronologically interrupted by the great Tatar invasion of 1241.

In the first phase of construction, which has stylistic characteristics dependent on the late Romanesque, the general plan of the monastery was drawn, the walls delimiting its inner courtyard being raised to a height of 3-4m above the ground.

In 1260, after the assassination caused by the Mongol invasion in the spring of 1241, construction work will resume under the direction of a new architect, trained in the environment of mature Gothic, and with the contribution of a workshop of stone with an eclectic structure.

By 1300, the church and the eastern wing of the Charter Monastery were completed, with the completion and construction of the southern wing of the abbey continuing for approximately two decades.

The fierce struggles with the Ottomans from 1421 to 1432 and the decline of the order made the church and its monastery a ruin. This also led to its closure by King Mathias Corvin in 1474.

However, the west facade is still standing and above the Gothic portal is a large rose window. The tower attached to the facade was built later, in the middle of the 15th century, and its transformation into a bell tower took place later.

Currently, the monastery no longer has all the original buildings and annexes, many of which collapse. The vaults of the huge church have collapsed and there are only a few exterior walls and two interior beams (south and north). To the south, there is still a single Roman column, and the side ships, according to the Cistercian plan, end in a small square choir. The main ship no longer has a ceiling - in its place is a cemetery in memory of the German soldiers killed in the First World War.

The Reformed Church today occupies only the choir and the apse of the old basilica. The Gothic portal has probably been moved from a side entrance and its profile betrays Gothic influences.

Numerous examples of the tombs of the founders of Cistercian churches allow the existence of a royal necropolis under Carta.

MAHAVATAR BABAJI CAVE

Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples,[2] who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, including a first-hand report of Yogananda's own meeting with the yogi.[3]Another first hand account was given by Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science.[4] According to Sri M's autobiography (Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master) Babaji, was Shiva. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.[5][6][7]According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.[3][8] The death less Master is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.

Again, according to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: "Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West

There are very few accounts of Babaji's childhood. One source of information is the book Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga tradition by Marshal Govindan.[9]According to Govindan, Babaji was named Nagarajan (king of serpents) by his parents. [8] V.T. Neelakantan and S.A.A. Ramaiah founded on 17 October 1952, (they claim – at the request of Babaji) a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. They claim that in 1953 Mahavatar Babaji told them that he was born on 30 November 203 CE in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[10] Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust (Kriya Babaji Sangah) and their branch organizations claim his place and date of birth.[10] He was a disciple of Bogar and his birth name is Nagarajan.[9][10]

In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, many references are made to Mahavatar Babaji, including from Lahirī and Sri Yukteshwar.[3] In his book The Second Coming of Christ, Yogananda states that Jesus Christ went to India and conferred with Mahavatar Babaji.[8] This would make Babaji at least 2000 years old.[11] According to Govindan's book, Babaji Nagaraj's father was the priest of the village's temple. Babaji revealed only those details which he believed to be formative as well as potentially instructive to his disciples. Govindan mentioned one incident like this: "One time Nagaraj's mother had got one rare jackfruit for a family feast and put it aside. Babaji was only 4 years old at that time. He found the jackfruit when his mother was not around and ate it all. When his mother came to know about it, she flew in blind rage and stuffed a cloth inside Babaji's mouth, nearly suffocating him, but he survived. Later on he thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved without attachment or illusion. His Love for his mother became unconditional and detached."[9]

When Nagaraj was about 5 years old, someone kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His new owner however was a kind man and he freed Nagaraj shortly thereafter. Nagaraj then joined a small group of wandering sannyāsin due to their radiant faces and love for God. During the next few years, he wandered from place to place, studying holy scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.

According to Marshall Govindan's book, at the age of eleven, he made a difficult journey on foot and by boat with a group of ascetics to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. Nagaraj met Siddha Bhogarnathar and became his disciple. Nagaraj performed intensive yogic sadhana for a long time with him. Bhogarnathar inspired Nagaraj to seek his initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayam from Siddha Agastya. Babaji became a disciple of Siddha Agastya. Nagaraj was initiated into the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama or "Vasi Yogam". Babaji made a long pilgrimage to Badrinath and spent eighteen months practising yogic kriyataught to him by Siddha Agastya and Bhogarnathar. Babaji attained self-realization shortly thereafter.[9]

It is claimed that these revelations were made by Babaji himself to S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji was said to have appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together to work for his Mission in 1942

By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

Queen Street Market (nearby Albert Centre).

Queen Street, Singapore.

View On Black

Embassy Suites Team Members from seven properties throughout Orange County made their community service matter by joining forces to volunteer with the Orange County Food Bank. More than 30 volunteers prepared 1,290 boxes filled with non-perishable foods and toiletries for distribution to local families in need.

"Springhouse at the Roulette Farm", watercolor, 2011, private collection. This is a watercolor by Maryland artist Harry Richardson of an old stone structure at Antietam Civil War Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland.

The springhouse was a very important part of daily farm life. The building protected the vital water supply from contamination while creating a reliable cool spot to preserve the milk, butter, and other perishable farm produce during hot summer weather.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Corporation employees provided some much needed holiday cheer for military families in need by donating 156 family meals at their corporate offices here today. The company, NCNG and Army Reserve volunteers braved a chilly morning to load many of the boxes full non-perishable food for a Thanksgiving feast onto North Carolina National Guard Light Medium Tactical Vehicle for distribution. “It is a great opportunity for the team,” said Vince Toscano, a Wells Fargo consumer loan underwriter. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan, North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs)

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

_____________________________

Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a universal monarch and god-king, and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size. Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.

The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as the land of cardamoms and mangoes to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself universal monarch and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of god-king (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray. The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 24 km east to west and 8.0 km north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 48 km to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the dispersed, low-density nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 qkm beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

______________________________________

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

WIKIPEDIA

The interior of the store that had those fabulous Turkish Delight displays. You can see the displays on the extreme right. Apart from Turkish Delight, the store also sold other traditional Turkish sweets, honey, spices (I bought a few packs of cummin seed in there) and a mixture of various types of honey which they called 'Natural Viagra'. Despite my heavy purchases of Turkish Delight the previous day in the Grand Bazaar, I ended up spending nearly US$150 here as well, buying various things. (Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 2014)

PHONE 727.520.1314

SENDING TLC located at 4604 49th St N, Saint Petersburg FL is the go-to resource for packing, shipping, printing and business service needs of the residents and businesses of Saint Petersburg, FL.

Film has made me become a better photographer, in 1 week - because I have a vested interest. Each click is $1.25 in the end. I become more deliberate, intensive, and reflective of everything I shoot.

I’m using the Nikon F100 and a D 24-120mm lens. It can outshoot me, yet it can’t run itself - that’s the rub.

This was Ilford’s Delta 3200 shot at 1600 - and going from what I read up on this film stock, many say it’s really a 1600 speed - and from seeing the various examples online I took the cue and decided to stay at 1600. For some reason I can’t take Kodak’s Tri-X seriously. Maybe because I shot so much of it in High-School and it never did me any favors. But that’s a personal problem I guess.

Why Film ?

That’s the Jedi Mind Trick - Shooting film makes me feel like the skill is one of perishability - you either know what you are doing to get the shot or it vanishes to the shoulda, coulda, woulda.

The worst thing about film - I can’t confirm the result after the shutter fires.

The best thing about film - I don’t know yet, other than the boost to the psyche in thinking I’m somehow unique in the photographic space - which is nothing but trouble.

Film becomes a design constraint - give a designer all the choices in the world, and good luck getting a result - but give a designer limitations and you have a better chance at getting something great. Can the same be true in the photographic world - I don’t know ? ASA, and film stock are the limiters / aka the design constraints.

Where does this go ?

It keeps going until I get bored or I reach the law of diminishing returns for my efforts. And that may be a while - as I have a Yashica Mat 124 2-1/4” x 2-1/4’ in the mail for me to dig my teeth into.

Believe you me - this is going to be good.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Corporation employees provided some much needed holiday cheer for military families in need by donating 156 family meals at their corporate offices here today. The company, NCNG and Army Reserve volunteers braved a chilly morning to load many of the boxes full non-perishable food for a Thanksgiving feast onto North Carolina National Guard Light Medium Tactical Vehicle for distribution. “It is a great opportunity for the team,” said Vince Toscano, a Wells Fargo consumer loan underwriter. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan, North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs)

This photo is part of the 3/5/10 Kinship Circle alert Chile Quake – Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected. You can view the entire alert - with additional links and information - here: www.easyvegan.info/2010/03/06/earthquake-in-chile/

Caption: Kittens amid rubble. An 8.8. earthquake struck Chile's central region, namely Constitucion, Chile, on 2/27/10. photo source: 21paradigm.wordpress.com/

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Kinship Circle - info [at] kinshipcircle.org

Date: Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Subject: Chile Quake - Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

3/5/10: Chile Quake - Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected

Kittens amid rubble. An 8.8. earthquake struck Chile's central region, namely Constitucion, Chile, on 2/27/10. photo source: 21paradigm.wordpress.com/

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years

2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says

3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile's Animals

==================

1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years

CHILE EARTHQUAKE / DISASTER OVERVIEW

- 2/27/10: Magnitude 8.8 - OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE

- MAIN AFFECTED REGIONS:

60 miles NNW of Chillan, Chile

65 miles WSW of Talca, Chile

70 miles NNE of Concepcion, Chile

200 miles SW of Santiago, Chile

SOURCE: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010...

- (AP) 3/4/10: The magnitude-8.8 quake and tsunami that followed ravaged a 700-kilometer (435-mile) stretch of Chile's Pacific coast and killed at least 802 people. People missing, unknown. People affected, 2 million.

- Chile has asked other countries and the UN for temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.

- (guardian.co.uk) 2/27/10: The 22-mile deep earthquake caused buildings to collapse, fires to erupt, and unleashed a tsunami across the Pacific. It devastated the city of Concepcion, 70 miles from the epicentre.

- "This quake was around 500 times the magnitude of the one that devastated Haiti in Jan.," but it was deeper and Chile's buildings are sturdier, so there were less casualties.

- Powerful aftershocks: There were 29 of magnitude 5 or greater, and one reaching 6.9, the US Geological Survey reported.

==================

2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says

EFE, Chile. www.sach.bligoo.cl/

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE

www.cefu.cl/ * www.sach.bligoo.cl/

CEFU executive director Alejandra Cassino estimates more than 700,000 companion animals may be affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile's central region on 2/27/10. Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals (CEFU) has called upon other Chilean animal organizations to unite for these victims. Under the banner ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE, the coalition provides a national support network to cover veterinary care, resource management, communications, volunteers, etc.

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE MEMBER GROUPS, SO FAR:

- Animanaturalis

- Animal Consciousness

- Rima

- ADAR

- ASPS Talca

- independent animal Enraizarte

- Students from the Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad Mayor, Iberoamericana and Universidad de Chile

MONETARY DONATIONS TO ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE:

DIRECT DESPOSIT (the only option at this time)

Animal Relief Chile -- also called Socorro Animal Chile (SACH) -- asks the Chilean animal community and the rest of the world to join this campaign to help the animal victims of the earthquake, and their caretakers.

WIRE OR WESTERN UNION DONATIONS FROM YOUR BANK TO:

The account of the Organization OPRA

Account: 01-16460-0, Development Bank

Ruth: 65640920-0

CODE FOREIGN DEPOSITS: BKSACLRM

Send a confirmation email to: aporteanimal [at] gmail.com

SUPPLY NEEDS (translated from Spanish): For donations of perishables (dog/cat food...) and medical supplies, communicate directly with those responsible for receiving/coordinating aid:

** Animal Relief Chile: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=329459149031&ref=ts

Alejandra Cassino Marcel, 09-235-1982, socorroanimalchile [at] gmail.com

SOURCE OF THIS INFORMATION, TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH

Socorro Animal Chile (SACH)

socorroanimalchile [at] gmail.com, sosanimalchile [at] gmail.com

website: www.sach.bligoo.cl/

Coalition for the Ethical Control of

Urban Animals (CEFU)

coalicion [at] cefu.cl, denuncia [at] cefu.cl, prensa [at] cefu.cl

website: www.sach.bligoo.cl/

==================

3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile's Animals

Rescue worker Cristian Velasquez found and comforted this puppy found alive inside a collapsed house in Constitucion, March 1, 2010. Velasquez gave him bits of food and water after rescuing him from (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

WORLD SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS (WSPA)

animalsindisasters.typepad.com/

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The impact on animals is becoming clearer, as we now have information from several of our member societies in affected regions... A center run by our member society, Centro de Rehabilitacion y Rescate de Primates (CRRP) that provides shelter for 165 mistreated primates has been damaged too. CRRP staff said that one of the monkeys has died and others are much stressed... Some animal shelters run by non-member societies are also reportedly seriously damaged. Many dogs have been left homeless, and there are reports of animals roaming around towns.... Flights into Chile are very limited. We now have confirmed tickets, to fly directly to Santiago, on Sunday night...

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (IFAW)

www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/

IFAW Emergency Team on Alert -- A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near the city of Concepcion, Chile... More than 2 million people are displaced, wounded or otherwise affected... Shortly after the earthquake, IFAW reached out to our friends at animal protection groups in Chile to assess the needs of animal victims. We are standing ready to provide emergency grants or whatever else is appropriate during these difficult times.

Animales terremoto en Chile

www.flickr.com/photos/prensanimalista/sets/72157623551563...

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

Please Give To Kinship Circle's Disaster Aid Fund...So We Are Always Ready! Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Missouri Flood, Iowa Floods, Gustav, Ike, Kentucky Flood, California Wildfires, Haiti... You helped us be there for animals.

* DONATE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE DISASTER AID FUND: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:

Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

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Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29×13 m, it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The relief was created to celebrate the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres . Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Today, on my Day 18 of Shelter In Place and Governor Newsom's recommendation that people cover their nose & mouth in public, I started the day by driving to a medical facility in Rancho Mirage for an MRI. Most people wore masks...it was really eye opening to be out of the house. And I wore my mask into the bank! I took it off real fast. After the MRI I drove to a cannabis dispensary in Cathedral City, picked up a lot of cannabis and then went grocery shopping. I got most things on my list but yeast still can't be found. It's a brave new world out there. After shopping I came home, Took all the perishable food into the house and onto the island where Darek wiped it down with anti viral stuff while I thru my clothes into the washer and took a hot soapy shower.

Oh...and around 5 pm this evening we had a 4.? earthquake. Live goes on! Be safe friends & family!

This is the hacienda where they filmed the popular TV soap opera "Isabella"

A la altura del Km 141 de la carretera Panamericana sur, entre los distritos de San Luis y San Vicente, a escasos metros de la cinta asfáltica se encuentra ubicada la Casa Hacienda Arona, cuyo nombre primitivo era "Matarrones" vieja morada de Condes, Duques y del Notable Médico y Prócer de nuestra Emancipación Nacional Don Hipólito Unanue y Pabón, gran amigo de "tertulias" de Bernardo O'Higgins. Los archivos indican que la construcción del complejo se erigió en el siglo XVII y la culminó en el siglo XVIII. En sus viejos galpones, hasta inicios del siglo XIX albergó a más de 402 esclavos de ambos sexos y de toda edad. Fue declarado Monumento Histórico Nacional el 28-12-72 con R.S. N° 2900.

August 2007 -

The workers quarters of the colonial Hacienda Arona, standing since the 1550s, has been completely destroyed. The Hacienda Arona, located on the Pacific Coast of Peru in Cañete, was not only the home of many, but an extraordinary historical and touristic site. Now in ruins, all that is left, are workers that do not have shelter or food. Its stranded inhabitants are sure government aid will not reach them any time soon. They have besought any kind of non-perishable food as well as candles, flashlights and whatever can be spared.

MAHAVATAR BABAJI CAVE

Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples,[2] who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, including a first-hand report of Yogananda's own meeting with the yogi.[3]Another first hand account was given by Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science.[4] According to Sri M's autobiography (Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master) Babaji, was Shiva. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.[5][6][7]According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.[3][8] The death less Master is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.

Again, according to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: "Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West

There are very few accounts of Babaji's childhood. One source of information is the book Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga tradition by Marshal Govindan.[9]According to Govindan, Babaji was named Nagarajan (king of serpents) by his parents. [8] V.T. Neelakantan and S.A.A. Ramaiah founded on 17 October 1952, (they claim – at the request of Babaji) a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. They claim that in 1953 Mahavatar Babaji told them that he was born on 30 November 203 CE in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[10] Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust (Kriya Babaji Sangah) and their branch organizations claim his place and date of birth.[10] He was a disciple of Bogar and his birth name is Nagarajan.[9][10]

In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, many references are made to Mahavatar Babaji, including from Lahirī and Sri Yukteshwar.[3] In his book The Second Coming of Christ, Yogananda states that Jesus Christ went to India and conferred with Mahavatar Babaji.[8] This would make Babaji at least 2000 years old.[11] According to Govindan's book, Babaji Nagaraj's father was the priest of the village's temple. Babaji revealed only those details which he believed to be formative as well as potentially instructive to his disciples. Govindan mentioned one incident like this: "One time Nagaraj's mother had got one rare jackfruit for a family feast and put it aside. Babaji was only 4 years old at that time. He found the jackfruit when his mother was not around and ate it all. When his mother came to know about it, she flew in blind rage and stuffed a cloth inside Babaji's mouth, nearly suffocating him, but he survived. Later on he thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved without attachment or illusion. His Love for his mother became unconditional and detached."[9]

When Nagaraj was about 5 years old, someone kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His new owner however was a kind man and he freed Nagaraj shortly thereafter. Nagaraj then joined a small group of wandering sannyāsin due to their radiant faces and love for God. During the next few years, he wandered from place to place, studying holy scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishad, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.

According to Marshall Govindan's book, at the age of eleven, he made a difficult journey on foot and by boat with a group of ascetics to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. Nagaraj met Siddha Bhogarnathar and became his disciple. Nagaraj performed intensive yogic sadhana for a long time with him. Bhogarnathar inspired Nagaraj to seek his initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayam from Siddha Agastya. Babaji became a disciple of Siddha Agastya. Nagaraj was initiated into the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama or "Vasi Yogam". Babaji made a long pilgrimage to Badrinath and spent eighteen months practising yogic kriyataught to him by Siddha Agastya and Bhogarnathar. Babaji attained self-realization shortly thereafter.[9]

It is claimed that these revelations were made by Babaji himself to S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji was said to have appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together to work for his Mission in 1942

By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29×13 m, it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The relief was created to celebrate the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres . Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

(no es de mi colección)

Pisagua is a Chilean port on the Pacific Ocean, located in Huara comuna (municipality), in Tarapacá Region, northern Chile. In 2007, the new province of El Tamarugal was established and the comuna of Huara, previously within the province of Iquique, was incorporated to the newly created province.

Early history

According to Francisco Riso Patrón, and stated in Diccionario Geográfico de las Provincias de Tacna y Tarapacá, the name Pisagua has a quechua origin, meaning "place of scarce water": Pis - scarce, agua - water.

Pisagua was founded in 1611 after an edict by the Viceroy of Peru which established a base from which it could be possible to stem the illegal traffic of gold and silver flowing from the important mines of Potosí and Oruro, in the Highlands of the "Audiencia of Charcas", to the British and Dutch pirates operating in the Corregimiento de Arica. Thus, Pisagua became a minor port, subjected to the major Port of San Marcos de Arica.

This settlement, known today as 'Pisagua Viejo' (Old Pisagua) developed at the south side of the Quebrada Tiliviche, on part of an extensive ancient midden deposit. Some adobe ruins remain.

The "Nitrate boom"

It was not until 1810 when large nitrate ("salitre" or saltpeter) deposits were discovered in the Corregimiento de Tarapacá that Pisagua became an important port due to its major role in the export of this product. Tsunami forced the transfer of Pisagua to the place where it lies today, in 1836. This site is a small plain located between the peninsulas of Punta Pichalo and Punta Pisagua, about 3 km South of Pisagua Viejo.

The War of the Pacific:

On November 2, 1879 Pisagua was occupied by Chilean troops during the Guerra del Pacífico, in the "Battle of Pisagua". After the war, Pisagua went from Peruvian hands to Chilean administration.

The heydays of the town

Pisagua became an important port of the South Pacific during the nitrate boom of the 1870s. During the first years of the 20th century, Pisagua had become one of the most important ports of the whole country (after Valparaíso and Iquique), with offices from major banks, and one of the most beautiful cities on the Southern Pacific coast.

Railway history

The construction of a standard gauge railway line to connect Pisagua with the interior started in about 1865, while Pisagua was still a Peruvian possession. Work continued under Chilean administration, and by 1935 Pisagua was the northern terminus of a 400-mile (640 km) network of main and branch lines, with a connection to Iquique, the principal terminus of the line. Trains climbed from sea level at Pisagua to the interior plateau via three reversing zig-zags and a heavily graded line. Supplies for the interior towns and nitrate works were hauled up from the coast, and nitrate for export made up the return load. The principal traffic was always nitrate, after which came fuel, passengers, perishables, parcels, general merchandise, and livestock. Water for the steam locomotives and the town relied on two wells at Dolores (see map), 33 mi (53 km) from Pisagua, which today still derives its water from this source.

Decline

When the nitrate boom came to an end, the port of Pisagua could keep some degree of importance because of its new role in the fishmeal industry. However, at the end of the 1950s, Pisagua lost most of its population and economic base and went into precipitous decline and even ceased to be the third town in importance of Tarapacá province (after Arica and Iquique).

Pisagua as a prisoner site

Pisagua has often been used as a concentration camp for political prisoners. This happened during the rule of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (for male homosexuals), as well as that of Gabriel González Videla (for communists, anarchists and revolutionaries) and more recently, during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (for left-wing militants). Many bodies have been found under the waters of the port and several graves have been discovered in Pisagua since the end of Pinochet's military regime. Pisagua is geographically isolated, with the ocean on one side and a big desert on the other.

Pisagua today

The earthworks, embankments and cuttings that carried the railway into the town are clearly visible on the bare ground. The old railway station still stands in Pisagua itself, where there are other interesting (although semi-derelict) buildings made with Oregon pine wood. Good examples are the turret of the clock, the municipal theatre, and the hospital, all dating from the nitrate period. Today, Pisagua is no longer the proud and rich port that once was but a small and isolated village with a population of just 260, included in the municipality of Huara, which has only 2,600 inhabitants itself.

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Pisagua es un puerto chileno sobre el Océano Pacífico, ubicado en la comuna de Huara (municipio), en la Región de Tarapacá, norte de Chile. En 2007, se estableció la nueva provincia de El Tamarugal y la comuna de Huara, anteriormente dentro de la provincia de Iquique, se incorporó a la provincia recién creada.

Historia temprana

Según Francisco Riso Patrón, y consta en el Diccionario Geográfico de las Provincias de Tacna y Tarapacá, el nombre Pisagua tiene un origen quechua, que significa "lugar de escasez de agua": Pis - escasa, agua - agua.

Pisagua fue fundada en 1611 luego de un edicto del Virrey del Perú que establecía una base desde la cual se pudiera frenar el tráfico ilegal de oro y plata provenientes de las importantes minas de Potosí y Oruro, en los Altos de la "Audiencia de Charcas”, a los piratas ingleses y holandeses que operaban en el Corregimiento de Arica. Así, Pisagua pasó a ser un puerto menor, subordinado al Puerto mayor de San Marcos de Arica.

Este asentamiento, conocido hoy como 'Pisagua Viejo', se desarrolló al costado sur de la Quebrada Tiliviche, sobre parte de un extenso depósito de basural antiguo. Quedan algunas ruinas de adobe.

El "boom del salitre"

No fue hasta 1810 cuando se descubrieron grandes depósitos de nitrato ("salitre" o salitre) en el Corregimiento de Tarapacá que Pisagua se convirtió en un puerto importante debido a su importante papel en la exportación de este producto. El tsunami obligó el traslado de Pisagua al lugar donde hoy se encuentra, en 1836. Este sitio es una pequeña planicie ubicada entre las penínsulas de Punta Pichalo y Punta Pisagua, a unos 3 km al sur de Pisagua Viejo.

La Guerra del Pacifico:

El 2 de noviembre de 1879 Pisagua fue ocupada por tropas chilenas durante la Guerra del Pacífico, en la "Batalla de Pisagua". Después de la guerra, Pisagua pasó de manos peruanas a administración chilena.

Los buenos tiempos de la ciudad

Pisagua se convirtió en un importante puerto del Pacífico Sur durante el auge salitrero de la década de 1870. Durante los primeros años del siglo XX, Pisagua se había convertido en uno de los puertos más importantes de todo el país (después de Valparaíso e Iquique), con oficinas de los principales bancos, y una de las ciudades más hermosas de la costa del Pacífico Sur.

historia ferroviaria

La construcción de una línea de ferrocarril de ancho estándar para conectar Pisagua con el interior comenzó alrededor de 1865, cuando Pisagua aún era una posesión peruana. El trabajo continuó bajo la administración chilena y, en 1935, Pisagua era el término norte de una red de 400 millas (640 km) de líneas principales y secundarias, con una conexión a Iquique, el término principal de la línea. Los trenes subieron desde el nivel del mar en Pisagua hasta la meseta interior a través de tres zig-zags inversos y una línea muy inclinada. Los suministros para las ciudades del interior y las fábricas de salitre se transportaban desde la costa, y el salitre para la exportación constituía la carga de regreso. El tráfico principal fue siempre el salitrero, seguido de combustibles, pasajeros, perecederos, encomiendas, mercancías en general y ganado. El agua para las locomotoras de vapor y el pueblo dependía de dos pozos en Dolores (ver mapa), a 53 km (33 millas) de Pisagua, que hoy en día todavía obtiene su agua de esta fuente.

Cuando el auge salitrero llegó a su fin, el puerto de Pisagua pudo mantener algún grado de importancia debido a su nuevo papel en la industria de la harina de pescado. Sin embargo, a fines de la década de 1950, Pisagua perdió la mayor parte de su base poblacional y económica y entró en un estrepitoso declive e incluso dejó de ser la tercera localidad en importancia de la provincia de Tarapacá (después de Arica e Iquique).

Pisagua como sitio de prisioneros

Pisagua se ha utilizado a menudo como campo de concentración para presos políticos. Esto sucedió durante el gobierno de Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (para hombres homosexuales), así como el de Gabriel González Videla (para comunistas, anarquistas y revolucionarios) y más recientemente, durante la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet (para militantes de izquierda). Se han encontrado muchos cuerpos bajo las aguas del puerto y se han descubierto varias fosas en Pisagua desde el final del régimen militar de Pinochet. Pisagua está aislada geográficamente, con el océano de un lado y un gran desierto del otro.

Pisagua hoy:

Los movimientos de tierra, terraplenes y desmontes que llevaron el ferrocarril a la ciudad son claramente visibles en el suelo desnudo. En el propio Pisagua aún se conserva la antigua estación de ferrocarril, donde existen otras construcciones interesantes (aunque semiabandonadas) realizadas con madera de pino oregón. Buenos ejemplos son la torre del reloj, el teatro municipal y el hospital, todos ellos de la época salitrera. Hoy, Pisagua ya no es el puerto orgulloso y rico de antes, sino un pequeño y aislado pueblo de apenas 260 habitantes, incluido en el municipio de Huara, que cuenta con apenas 2600 habitantes

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Young Boy could not wait to get home to try his crackers...