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A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.
Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.
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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds
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LEEDS
IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.
THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.
LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.
Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.
Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.
The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.
On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.
After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.
Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.
His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)
His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.
The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.
After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.
After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:
In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.
In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.
King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.
Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.
In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.
But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.
His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.
Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.
Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.
Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.
After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.
The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.
Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)
He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.
A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.
• Anckljor: A short humanoid–shaped angel that hails from the plane of Paradise. It is the smaller and more agile counterpart of the DeyRhine, and holds similar duties in Heaven. Unlike the DeyRhine, the Anckljor is trained specifically for fighting, being especially skilled with blades and blunts, and can talk. It is also small enough to be sent down in decent numbers to the Prime Galaxy to aid in times of crisis, and indeed they have provided aid to the forces of Good in nearly every major conflict against demonic forces throughout history. Like all varieties of angel, they will protect and serve with their lives the Heavenly Lord of their association, in this case that of Justice. The Anckljor is also notable for being among the few angel species with actual halos, a feature normally reserved for the souls of the virtuous dead.
HEIGHT: < 1 meter
WEIGHT: 500, Extra–Corporeal
• Ebonorate: This humanoid from the Beta Octant’s planet Repapoge is extremely dangerous and should only be approached with multiple shotguns at the ready. The Ebonorates are vicious and hostile barbarians with no sense of civil decency yet a disproportionately vast understanding of technology which they use for horrific purposes. At birth, every Ebonorate has symbiotic ebony armor grafted to its body, a process that many of them do not survive. The Ebonorates have hunted multiple animal species of their home planet to extinction and, according to some historical evidence, may have even wiped out a second humanoid race that once existed on Repapoge. The most successful attempt ever to bring any sort of civilization to these monstrosities has been, ironically, the occupation of their planet by Kortshez of the Dynamo Legion from Ages 750–771.
HEIGHT: 5 Feet–2 Meters
WEIGHT: > 200 lb. (Armor accounted)
DURABILITY VALUE: ~900 (Armor accounted)
• Tiolmitch: The fourth out of five humanoid races of Sertrop. Tiolmitches live on a subcontinent in the Southeastern section of Sertrop’s geography, and once each year they travel across a long land–bridge to an adjacent set of islands on which their establishments of prayer are located, to celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of their homeland from the demons that originally inhabited it long before Age 0 Relative. Tiolmitches revere nature and plant life, and hold as their “Patron saint” the famous Guardian of Terramos. Some of them have even moved to said planet in order to be in an environment in which they feel more at home. The race is also notorious for its disdain for fighting, even when it is in their best interest to do so, as shown when they refused to aid the rest of their planet during the devastating Vision Wars. As punishment, the next time they visited their racial temples to perform the yearly rituals, a curse befell every Tiolmitch in which razor–sharp claws appeared from the next world and slashed them across the face, blinding them in one eye. The distinctive scar left by this assault was not only permanent, but every Tiolmitch born from that point on would have the same injuries from birth.
HEIGHT: 4–5 Feet
WEIGHT: 120 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 500–>600–>700
• Penpmole: The Penpmole is a big, dumb and gigantic beast–hominid found deep within the deep forests of Yominasst. They live in groups of about two, three or four and set up their camps by burning down the trees in an area to make clearings for them. The forests in which Penpmoles live are otherwise noted for their abundance of pineapples, and it has been pointed out how this beast superficially resembles said plant, a popular joke in Yominasstian culture. It is also said that their massive, uneven, rainbow liquid–filled eye sockets are the way they are due to the influence of Primal Energies lying beneath the region where they live. Yet despite their quirky characteristics, Penpmoles are in reality no laughing matter. Because as one saying goes, whenever you mess with them, chances are your brain will be smashed in within four seconds afterward.
HEIGHT: 10 Feet–3 Meters
WEIGHT: 500 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: > 1,000
• Vreremar: Free–floating, eel–like Hulptosian creatures that used to live primarily in and around the EndoBubble, and were one of the few other animals the Nelolmonts had direct contact with in their isolated society. When the EndoBubble was destroyed (see below), most of the Vreremar were killed in the explosions, with only the ones on the farthest outskirts surviving. After that incident, the remaining population migrated West to make their race’s new home around a dormant underwater volcano. Vreremar have the ability to shift the colors on certain parts of their bodies, a trait which is used both for camouflage and to attract mates. Other than that, they are basic, lesser creatures.
HEIGHT: 2–3 Feet (Fully extended)
WEIGHT: 20–25 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 200–300
• Nelolmont: Nelolmonts are/were aquatic intellectuals that once resided in The EndoBubble on planet Hulptos, which they were the predominant humanoids of. Created physically weak and feeble but highly intelligent and enlightened, they were isolated and protected from the rest of their planet’s environment by the energy field provided by the EndoBubble in which they lived. The Nelolmonts, who are also the only humanoids in the entire Prime Galaxy with both the ability to breathe underwater and the inability to survive on dry land, had one of the easiest existences of any race for centuries, time which was well–spent developing an underwater utopia that yielded many scientific, literary and architectural achievements. Given all their accomplishments as well as the fact that they were so relatively defenseless, it was an utter travesty that in Age 566, Hulptos was viciously invaded by the forces of Cosmo’rath personally led by the ruthless Evil Ninja Emperor Heinrich and the EndoBubble was orbitally bombarded by three Arcane Dreadnoughts with extremely powerful missiles of Infernal Energy that had been painstakingly created and brought into the mortal realm specifically for the purpose of doing just that, destroying it completely along with all Nelolmonts inside. Only one family, who was vacationing on another planet at the time, survived the genocide of their race, and once located they were immediately taken in against their own will by activists from Sertrop and housed in the MetaQuarium within Nog’Dod, where they were forced to (in)breed continuously for years whilst a project eventually came underway to construct a new EndoBubble, which was never successful. Currently roughly one hundred Nelolmonts, the only living members of their species, are still contained inside the MetaQuarium until the day a new home for their race is finally found… which may very well never come. In addition, all those years of inbreeding has left them significantly degenerated from what their kind used to be. Sad. Very, very sad.
HEIGHT: ~1–1.3 Meters
WEIGHT: 100 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 400
• Ggellod: One of the most bizarre mortal creatures there is to be found, not only on planet Ergnoplis but in all of the Prime Galaxy. Why is this? The answer is, this being is believed to have been created by a Primal Deity. It is thought that the vile spirit responsible for the existence of the Ggellods resides somewhere deep within the interior of Ergnoplis. Regardless of their nature, Ggellods are worshipped by certain cliques within Mulshian society, who believe them to be harbingers of good fortune, among other things. It is often noted how the creature’s body resembles the symbol of the Mulshian race. As they are faceless, two hatches exist on opposite ends of Ggellods’ bodies, one for pouring food into and one which excrement comes out of mere minutes after consumption. Mulshians provide the creatures “offerings” of food by way of these holes.
HEIGHT: 1.5–2.5 Feet
WEIGHT: 40 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 200–350
• Cooklo Lordar: A sentient beast found on planet Jamblibam. It survives in a hostile environment by creating shelter inside of any sort of container it can find, be it natural or humanoid–made. As a result, Cooklo Lordars are often found hiding inside the various urns, pots, jugs, buckets, baskets, etc. owned by the Vilvamions, the humanoids of Jamblibam. Them being generally harmless pests and the Vilvamions being generally gracious, they are usually allowed to remain doing so. They have unusually long natural lifespans, reaching upwards of eighty years, and as such their young ones mature at a very slow rate for a non–humanoid species, needing to be protected by their progenitors for several years. However, Cooklo Lordars rarely reach old age, due to their many vulnerabilities including, most notably, a very hard but still exposed brain.
HEIGHT: ~2 Feet
WEIGHT: 30 Lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 300
• Diechsiech: A large worm–like insectoid from planet Brinanzy, home of the unintelligible Manciatents. It has a massive poison stinger and can shoot red–hot laser beams from its eyes. This makes them among the kings of the insectoid world, on par with the quasi–insectoid Nirtrids and the infamous Dirivure of Terramos. Despite this, the Manciatents have... somehow... developed an efficient method of hunting Diechsieches with little danger on their part, and have made a fine racial delicacy out of them. Great care must still be taken, though, in removing the poisonous bits from the body before serving the meal, a task which requires a master cook.
LENGTH: 2.5–3 Feet
WEIGHT: 25 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 300
• Hilkidilk: A creature, and a most peculiar one indeed, of planet Qollag, home of the Uve Mards. The Hilkidilk is mostly a stationary creature whose head hides within its hollow pot of a body and waits for unsuspecting prey to come to it in the form of insects, rodents, etc. However, the most notable feature of this animal is that it can be domesticated to be used as a living stew pot. If placed over a fire, which does no harm to the Hilkidilk, the creature’s stomach acids, located in the open pot of its belly, react with the heat resulting in a liquid that food can be safely placed into and cooked in. Needless to say, the Uve Mards have made more than ample use of this. No other creature in the entire Prime Galaxy could ever replicate such an ability.
HEIGHT: 5 Feet
WEIGHT: 160 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 800
• Aspimean (Erratic Tribal): Aspimeans are the humanoids of planet Xekawiy in the Alpha Octant. They are supposedly the recreation of the only other humanoid species that coexisted with humans on Earth, albeit only barely intelligent enough to fit in the classification. Like other creatures from Earth, no one knows what the name for those creatures was. In any case, the Aspimean is a more advanced and civilized version of it. They live in tribes and clay hut–based villages in a beach/shoreline setting near vast jungles from which resources can be obtained, being hunter–gatherers. Their favorite food is evidently bananas, for some strange reason. They have their own language that they use among themselves but can speak English when needed, although their mastery of it is highly limited. They are also more than capable of defending themselves as a people, having successfully fought off multiple invasions of Xekawiy by the likes of the Skellen and the Dynamo Legion, sometimes with some help from the Mulshian Eggmen.
HEIGHT: 4–5 Feet
WEIGHT: 125 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 600
• Folleycap (Veg Muse): A wonderful creature that lives on planet Repapoge. One wonderful thing about the Folleycaps is that they live FAR AWAY from the Ebonorates, who would most likely eat their babies’ intestines for a late–morning snack if the two ever made contact. Fortunately, they haven’t, as the previous sentence already implies. They live on a magical island far off from the mainland on which they live in harmony, waddle around cutely, and produce beautiful natural music by rubbing their tendrils on their bodies. As such, the most beautiful song of theirs is “played” when they mate. Folleycaps can also fly by twirling the tendrils on top of their heads at super–speeds like propellers. As their bodies are fairly dense and heavy for creatures of such a small size, the speeds at which their propellers move need to be so fast that they can shred flesh that comes into contact with them during flight. As a result, they can attack by charging horizontally (or vertically) at something propellers–first.
HEIGHT: 1–3 Feet
WEIGHT: 30–50 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 300
• Imailniec (Thrax Crawler): A senile and irritable beast that lives on Dirtrama in the Delta Octant. It is a slow–moving quadruped that is protected by a jagged shell that covers a good portion of its body, and lives among drab, gray rocks and hills. It also has highly sophisticated eyes that can view both X–Rays and Infrared rays. Although, this probably is more of an inconvenience than an asset as this would severely overcrowd one’s field of vision. Imailniecs can retract their heads and legs into their bodies, and also bring them back out at high speeds to produce a headbutting effect. Even more notable is the creature’s tail, which includes one large scorpion–like stinger with multiple smaller ones growing out of it. These contain a variety of different poisons for different situations; some lethal, some not, some causing excruciating pain and others not so much. The Skellen know better than to mess with these highly dangerous creatures, and any adventurers visiting Dirtrama would be wise to do the same.
HEIGHT: 2.5 Feet
WEIGHT: > 100 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 750
• Goryshu (Abominable Seahorse): A demon best suited to aquatic environments that originates in the Sea of Sludge surrounding the Gomorran Desert and lives there dormant, growing and developing until the point that it sprouts Wrath creature–like claws that are used by the beast to claw its way out of the sludge and make the journey across the wastes of Hell. Then, the Goryshu climbs up the Shaft of Mortality and escapes into the Prime Galaxy. Next, it floats discreetly through space until it locates a place with a sufficient body of water to live in, and descends upon that planet. Once at its new home, the Goryshu begins its presence in the mortal realm by terrorizing and sodomizing any other water dwellers in the vicinity until they are all driven off and the demon has secured a sizable domain for itself and itself alone. Over a period of time, the creature’s evil residue taints the water and soil around it, making it increasingly unhealthy for any normal animals that draw near.
The Goryshu’s offensive capabilities include the power to shoot special demonic fireballs that can exist underwater from its mouth–tubes, and it draws this unique power from the three eyeball–shaped runes etched on its belly. The belly plating is made of reddish–colored metal substances including bronze, brass and copper, and a special invisible film secreted by the creature prevents them from rusting underwater.
HEIGHT: 6–7 Feet
WEIGHT: > 200 lb.
DURABILITY VALUE: 900
This is a view of Muller House from Narroways Hill. And if you're a resident of Bristol and haven't been to Narroways you certainly should go there! You can see where it is on Wikimapia or by clicking on the above Flickr map. To get there go up Stottbury Road, off Muller Road. When you reach the top you'll see a narrow pathway opposite Allfoxton Road. That takes you to Narroways. You'll get good views of the City as well as of Muller House itself.
The Grade II Listed building known as Muller House is well known to me and the countless other students and staff of the various Bristol colleges that have used it over the years. It's one of five buildings erected on the site by George Ferdinand Müller, an extraordinary German pastor and benefactor who was born on 27 September 1805 in the small Prussian town of Kroppenstedt about 30km northeast of the Harz Mountains between Hannover and Berlin. In 1810, the family moved to a village that Müller refers to as Heimersleben 6 km from Kroppenstedt where his father worked as a tax collector. In fact the village may have been Hamersleben which is 20 km northwest of Kroppenstedt
In his early years George Müller was far from virtuous. A spoilt son of an indulgent father, he became – even before he was ten years old – a habitual thief and fraudster. He would even purloin government funds that were entrusted to his father. In spite of his misdemeanours, George's father wanted his son to enter the Church so he sent him to the Cathedral School in Halberstadt. Later he attended a school at Nordhausen and finally the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. But, during his adolescence, he became a compulsive gambler and drunkard. And his behaviour gradually worsened until the Christmas period of 1821 when, aged 16, he spent 24 days in prison. Yet, at the age of 20, not only was he a student at a Lutheran university but – still as decadent as ever – he was accepted as a candidate for holy orders with permission to preach.
However, after a pleasure-seeking visit to Switzerland, a change came over George Müller. He made a full confession to his father and attended a prayer meeting led by an unsophisticated tradesman called Johann Wagner. The debauched but educated George Müller was by then well accustomed to high-flown religious services – and they left him cold – but Wagner's lowly prayer meeting was life-changing. Müller put his years of decadence behind him. He determined to live a life of active Godliness and, thereafter, attended Wagner's weekly prayer meeting whenever he could.
For a while his principal preoccupation was to attempt to convert Jews to Christianity but, in 1827, he spent two months in free lodgings provided in the orphan houses in Halle established a century earlier by August Hermann Francke. While there he learnt about how, starting from a single small house, Francke had set up network of orphanages in Halle. Then, in June 1828, the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews invited him to London on six months, probation. However, being a Prussian citizen, he was required to complete three years' military service. Fortuitously, having tried but failed to obtain exemption, he contracted an illness that left him unfit for service. He was therefore free to take up his London appointment.
In March, 1829, George Müller finally took up his post in London and started his work with a study of Hebrew and Chaldee. One of his fellow probationers told him about Anthony Norris Groves, an Exeter dentist who had given up his well-paid job and, with wife and children, gone to Persia to work as a missionary. During his study, George became ill again and, after a spell in hospital, was advised on medical grounds, to move to Teignmouth in Devon. During his recuperation in Teignmouth, Müller took the opportunity to study the Scriptures as never before. On returning to London he proclaimed that he was much better in body and soul. But he had also decided that the work of converting Jews to Christianity was not his forte and he therefore tendered his resignation to the Society.
Early in 1830 Müller was invited by his friends in Teignmouth to become the minister at the town's Ebenezer Chapel. The Chapel is still there though it's now the town's Gospel Hall (see the photo in the 3rd comment below). Müller accepted the invitation with some reluctance as, at that time, his command of English was not good. However he was helped in that respect by a Scottish evangelist by the name of Henry Craik. He was to become Müller's life-long friend and helper. Also in 1830, since he was now close to Exeter, Müller made a point of contacting Mary Groves, sister of the Anthony Groves the dentist who had become a missionary in Persia. On 7 October that year, they were married in St Davids Church, Exeter.
In 1832 the Müllers moved to Bristol where Müller became joint pastor of Bethesda Chapel that was then in Great George Street but was destroyed by a bomb in 1941. There were, at the time, many orphans in Bristol and George Müller couldn't help but remember the three months he had spent lodging in the orphan houses of August, Hermann Franke in Halle. In 1836 George and Mary Müller adapted their home to care for 30 orphaned girls. More room was soon required so they purchased houses in Wilson Street, St Pauls (now demolished). They housed 130 children, but that was still nothing like enough to house the many hundreds of orphans in the Bristol area. The Müllers response in 1849 was to open the first of five purpose-built orphanages on the hill at Ashley Down. Although they soon became known as the Muller Orphanages or, more often, the Muller Homes, that was never a name favoured by Müller himself. By 1870, 2,000 children were housed on the site. George Müller never went into debt, and never made a public appeal for donations, working on the principle that, if he had faith, God would provide.
One of the principal benefactors was another strongly religious German who had settled in Bristol. Conrad Finzel was a farmer’s son born in about 1790 in a village near Frankfurt. While still in his teens he fled to Britain to avoid being drafted into Napoleon’s army. He made his way to Bristol and started work in a in a sugar refinery. By 1830 he had founded Finzel's Sugar Refinery in the City. It was very lucrative but, in 1846, it was destroyed by fire. Many would have merely thought "What have I done to do deserve this". But, as was written in 1868 in The Christian Remembrancer, Volume 55 *, Finzel reflected more deeply on what had happened:
"I then asked myself"; he said some time afterwards, in terms eminently characteristic of the man, "what Conrad Finzel had done to call for this chastening stroke from God; and after thinking for some time, the truth flashed upon me. The Almighty had punished me because I had not given to His uses as He had blessed me. He had greatly increased my store, and I had only helped the poor in the same proportion as when I had little. Thus I deserved punishment, and God sent me this affliction to remind me of my duty, so, instead of giving so and so, I said, I will give one-third of my gains, for the future. I have given them, and God has gone on blessing me."
Finzel gave freely to all sorts of charitable institutions, but most freely of all to the remarkable Orphan House established on Ashley Hill, by his countryman, the Rev. George Müller. During some years it was reckoned, his gifts thereto amounted to £10,000 a year. When near his end, a friend once spoke to him of the misfortune that his death would prove to the institution. "What has the life of George Müller, or Conrad Finzel, or anyone else," he answered, "to do with the Orphan House? It is God's work, and God will take care of it when there is not one of us left." In that temper Conrad Finzel lived and worked in Bristol for nearly forty years. He died at Wiesbaden, while on a visit to his native land, on the 21st of October, 1859.
The five houses of the orphanage were constructed to designs by John Foster & Son during the 25 years that followed 1845. At the time of their construction they were designated by numbers that reflected the order in that they were built. Only later were they assigned the names by which they are known today. Number one, now Allen House, was constructed between 1847 and 1849. Brunel House followed in 1857 and Muller House itself in 1862. The two remaining houses, Davy and Cabot were built in 1868. There's an artist's impression of how the site looked at the time here in which Muller House is front centre.
The decade following 1865 saw many changes in George Müller's life. In 1866 his life-long friend, Henry Craik died and, on 6 February 1870, his wife Mary also died at the age of 72. Later the same year his daughter Lydia married his assistant James Wright. Then late in 1871 George himself re-married. His new bride was Susannah Grace Sangar, whom he had known for 25 years. Finally, in 1875 George Müller handed over full responsibility to Wright and started a programme of preaching first in Britain, Europe and America and later in countries such as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Ceylon and India.
In 1894, after 23 years of marriage, Müller's second wife, Susannah died. By then George himself was 89 and was living in House Number 3 – the building featured in the photo that's now known as Muller house. He preached his last sermon on 6 March, 1898 at Alma Road Chapel in Clifton and, four days later was found by his maid dead on the floor by the side of his bed. His funeral on 14 March was Bristol's largest by far. Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets – among them thousands of the orphans who had owed their start in life to George Müller. He was buried by the side of his two wives. He had never sought money for its own sake and died a poor man with few possessions.
After George Müller's death, his son-in-law, James Wright, continued to run the orphanage until his own death in 1905. Well before that James had made arrangements for his colleague George Frederick Bergin to take over as Hononory Director. George duly took on the job with the help of his two sons, Fred and William, both doctors. Fred died in 1910 followed, two years later, by George himself. William Bergin ran the orphanage until 1930 when he also died and Alfred Green was appointed Honorary Director. The next Director was Green's assistant and brother-in-law, Thomas Tilsley in 1940 who was succeeded in 1952 by John McCready the last director to have charge of the Ashley Down site.
In 1958 the Orphanages were relocated and the buildings became the home of a succession of colleges: Bristol Technical College, Brunel Technical College, various faculties of Bristol Polytechnic and finally the Ashley Down Centre of the City of Bristol College. Some of the buildings – including Muller House itself, were converted to flats when they were no longer required by the College.
In the closing years of the 20th century, the City of Bristol College decided to relocate about 60% of its teaching accommodation to a new purpose-built campus in Bristol's Harbourside. In the year 2000 listed building consent was given for residential conversion of all the orphanage buildings. The college wanted to finance this project by demolishing three of Müller's buildings and replacing them with a housing scheme. Predictably, the proposal triggered a hostile reaction from the local community. The college reconsidered their approach and came up with the idea of an "urban village". As at January 2012 that hasn't happened – if it ever will. However, Muller House itself has been converted into flats and in 2012 an application was submitted and accepted for the conversion of Allen House to 44 residential apartments. Meanwhile (as at Dec 21012), the other three houses are still in use by the College.
The five simple but imposing grey buildings at Ashley Down have long since ceased to be orphanages, but George Müller's legacy lives on in the form of the George Müller Charitable Trust. It's located at another Müller House – at 7 Cotham Park, Bristol– and has wider aims than those envisaged by the Founder. They include the advancement of citizenship and community development, particularly among children and families, young people and the elderly, and the relief of those who are in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantages, including deprivation of normal parental care.
For photos of George Müller and the people and places that were associated with him visit www.georgemuller.org/photos.html
* The Christian Remembrancer, Volume 55 by William Scott, Francis Garden and James Bowling Mozley, 1868.
Robert Cutts, bob@winton.me.uk
A list of sources will be added in due course.
"But the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God,
no torment shall ever touch them.
In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear to die,
their going looked like a disaster,
their leaving us, like annihilation;
but they are in peace."
– Wisdom 3:1-3, which is part of today's 1st reading at Mass.
Detail showing Noah from the ceiling in one of the Raphael rooms in the Vatican Palace.
In 1868, four Irish Christian brothers, P.A. Treacy, D.F. Bodkin, J.B. Lynch and P.J. Nolan, arrived in Melbourne to open a new Christian school in the booming, and somewhat wild, city at the behest of Bishop Gould. They began teaching in 1869 in a small rented primary school behind St. Francis’ Church in Lonsdale Street. However, they really wanted something more permanent than the rented school they had, and they also wished to have a monastery in which to reside, rather than the rented rooms in Fitzroy that they had taken as a temporary measure.
With help from the Irish Catholic Church, they acquired a parcel of land along the wide boulevard of Victoria Parade in East Melbourne. In 1871 their dreams were realised when a new bluestone college was blessed by Bishop Gould in the presence of the venerable Archbishop of Sydney, the Archbishop Polding. They called their new school Parade College, after the name of the street it was built on, and dedicated it to Mary Immaculate.
The building is an imposing three storey bluestone structure that was built to the designs of Melbourne architect William Wilkinson Wardell (1823 – 1899), who also designed the nearby St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The building has been designed in the popular Victorian Gothic style, a mostly ecclesiastical architectural style. It features gothic style windows on the Victoria Parade facade, and a double storey verandah of cast iron on the rear of the building, which when it was built, would have taken in beautiful views of the nearby Fitzroy Gardens and the burgeoning city beyond it. The building also included a beautiful chapel on the third floor, accessed via a stairwell that was also designed in the Gothic style. The chapel is small; however it makes up in beauty what it lacks in size, with a vaulted pressed metal ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows.
On the school’s first day, more than one hundred boys were enrolled and the number increased steadily as accommodation became available. As time went on, more Brothers arrived at Parade College from Ireland, and so the number of boys attending the school could increase. In 1902 the school building was extended yet again and finally completed William Wardell’s original designs. It is this building that we see today. This building was affectionately known as the "Old Bluestone Pile" and the school’s song takes its name from this building.
Gothic architecture was perceived by the pious Victorians as an expression of religious, and therefore, moral values, and this may be the reason why architects preferred to build schools in this style throughout the Nineteenth Century. Its revival was seen as virtuous and equated with moral revival; the perfect environment in which to educate young minds. For this reason an ecclesiastical character was predominant even on buildings that were not necessarily religious.
In 1999 after being located in Clayton for 25 years, the Catholic Theological College moved into the former Parade College building (which had been sold in 1994) alongside which it built a new modern building designed by Gregory Burgess.
William Wilkinson Wardell was a civil engineer and architect born in England. He studied under Gothic architect Augustus Pugin, who became his friend as well as his mentor. Between 1846 and 1858 he designed over thirty churches in England, which was a very prodigious output, and he had a flourishing business. Some of the churches he designed include: St Birinus, Bridge End, Dorchester-on-Thames which was worked on between 1846 and 1849, and Greenwich’s Our Lady Star of the Sea which was worked on between 1846 and 1851. By 1858, Mr. Wardell’s health was suffering and his doctors felt that the warmer climate afforded by Australia might be more beneficial to his health. Therefore he, his wife Lucy, his two sons and daughter migrated after Mr. Wardell obtained the position of "Government Architect" to the city of Melbourne. In Melbourne he is known for designing the first St Mary’s Church in East St Kilda in 1859 and the second in 1897, Government House Melbourne in 1876, the ANZ Gothic bank in Collins Street in 1877, and St Patrick’s Cathedral which was completed in 1897 but was still being modified by Mr. Wardell at the time of his death. He is also known in Sydney for designing, the ASN Co. Building in 1884, St John’s College at the University of Sydney, which was completed after a breakdown in relations between the architect and the Sydney City Council, and St Mary’s Cathedral which was not completed until after his death. Mr. Wardell died at his home, “Upton Grange” in North Sydney in November 1899 of heart failure and pleurisy, but left behind a rich legacy in Australia, not only of the commercial and ecclesiastical buildings that he created, but for the numerous private houses and mansions that he designed.
Portait of George Müller (1805-1898) of Kroppenstaedt, Prussia, and Bristol, England, the founder of the once famous Orphanages in Ashley Down, Bristol, from George Müller of Bristol and his Witness to a Prayer-hearing God by Arthur T Pierson (c1899).
Countless Bristol orphans owed a great dept of gratitude to George Müller but, in his early years, he was far from virtuous. The spoilt son of a tax collector, he became – even before he was ten years old – a habitual thief and fraudster. He would even purloin government funds which were entrusted to his father. His father wanted him to enter the Church and sent him to the Cathedral School in Halberstadt. Later he attended a school at Nordhausen and finally the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. But, during his adolescence, he became a compulsive gambler and drunkard. And his behaviour gradually worsened until the Christmas period of 1821 when, aged 16, he spent 24 days in prison. Yet, at the age of 20, not only was he a student at a Lutheran university but – still as decadent as ever – he was accepted as a candidate for holy orders with permission to preach.
However, after a pleasure-seeking visit to Switzerland, a change came over George Müller. He made a full confession to his father and attended a prayer meeting led by an unsophisticated tradesman called Johann Wagner. The debauched but educated George Müller was well accustomed to high-flown religious services – and they left him cold – but Wagner's lowly prayer meeting was life changing. Müller put his years of decadence behind him. He determined to live a life of active Godliness and, therafter, attended Wagner's weekly prayer meeting whenever he could.
For a while his principal preoccupation was to convert Jews to Christianity but, in 1827, he spent two months in free lodgings provided in the orphan houses in Halle established a century earlier by August Hermann Francke. While there he learnt about how Francke had, starting from a single small house, set up network of orphanages in Halle. Later the same year he was urged to serve as with the London Missionary Society, to convert Jews to Christianity. In 1928 he made the move to London. Subsequently he worked in Devon where he met and soon married Mary Groves. Whilst in Devon he also met the evangelist, Henry Craik, who became his life-long friend and helper.
In 1832 the Müllers came to Bristol where George became joint pastor of Bethesda Chapel which was then in Great George Street. In 1836 they adapted their home to care for 30 orphaned girls. More room was soon required so they purchased houses in Wilson Street, St Pauls (now demolished). They housed 130 children, but that was still nothing like enough to house the many hundreds of orphans in the Bristol area. The Müllers response in 1849 was to open the first of five purpose-built orphanages on the hill at Ashley Down. Although they soon became known as the Muller Orphanages or, more often, the Muller Homes, that was never a name favoured by Müller himself. By 1870, 2,000 children were housed on the site. George Müller never went into debt, and never made a public appeal for donations, working on the principle that, if he had faith, God would provide.
One of the principal benefactors was another strongly religious German who had settled in Bristol. Conrad Finzel was a farmer’s son born in about 1790 in a village near Frankfurt. While still in his teens he fled to Britain to avoid being drafted into Napoleon’s army. He made his way to Bristol and started work in a in a sugar refinery. By 1830 he had founded his own refinery in the city. It was very lucrative but, in 1846, it was destroyed by fire. Many would have merely thought 'What have I done to do deserve this'. But Finzel reflected more deeply.:
" 'I then asked myself'; he said some time afterwards, in terms eminently characteristic of the man, 'what Conrad Finzel had done to call for this chastening stroke from God; and after thinking for some time, the truth flashed upon me.The Almighty had punished me because I had not given to His uses as He had blessed me. He had greatly increased my store, and I had only helped the poor in the same proportion as when I had little. Thus I deserved punishment, and God sent me this affliction to remind me of my duty, so, instead of giving so and so, I said, I will give one-third of my gains, for the future. I have given them, and God has gone on blessing me.'
"He gave freely to all sorts of charitable institutions, but most freely of all to the remarkable Orphan House established on Ashley Hill, by his countryman, the Rev. George Müller. During some years it was reckoned, his gifts thereto amounted to £10,000 a year. When near his end, a friend once spoke to him of the misfortune that his death would prove to the institution. 'What has the life of George Miller, or Conrad F inrel, or any one else,' he answered, 'to do with the Orphan House? It is God's work, and God will take care of it when there is not one of us left.' In that temper Conrad Finzel lived and worked in Bristol for nearly forty years. He died at Wiesbaden, while on a visit to his native land, on the 21st of October, 1859." (The Christian Remembrancer, Volume 55, William Scott, Francis Garden, James Bowling Mozley, 1868). Paul Townsend has written more about Finzel's Refinery here.
The five houses of the orphanage were constructed to designs by John Foster & Son during the 25 years that followed 1845. At the time of their construction they were designated by numbers that reflected the order in which they were built. Only later were they assigned the names by which they are known today. Number one, now Allen House, was constructed between 1847 and 1849. Brunel House followed in 1857 and Muller House itself in 1862. The two remaining houses, Davy and Cabot were built in 1868. There's an artist's impression of how the site looked at the time here in which Muller House is front centre. And there's a recent plan of the site here – though it has Cabot and Davy houses the wrong way round!
The decade following 1865 saw many changes in George Müller's life. In 1866 his life-long friend, Henry Craik died and, early in 1870, his wife Mary also died. Later the same year his daughter Lydia married his assistant James Wright. Then late in 1871 George himself re-married. His bride was Susannah Grace Sangar, whom he had known for 25 years. Finally, in 1875 George Müller handed over full responsibility to Wright and started a programme of preaching first in Britain, Europe and America and later in countries such as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Ceylon and India.
In 1894, after 23 years of marriage, Müller's second wife, Susannah died. By then George himself was 89 and was living in House Number 3 – the building that's closest in the drawing below – now known as Muller house. He preached his last sermon on 6 March, 1898 at Alma Road Chapel in Clifton and, four days later was found by his maid dead on the floor by the side of his bed. His funeral on 14 March was Bristol's largest by far. Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets – among them thousands of the orphans who had owed their start in life to George Müller. He was buried by the side of his two wives. He had never sought money for its own sake and died a poor man with few possessions.
In 1958 the Orphanages were relocated and the buildings became the home of a succession of colleges: Bristol Technical College, Brunel Technical College, various faculties of Bristol Polytechnic and finally the Ashley Down Centre of the City of Bristol College . Some of the buildings – including Muller House itself, were converted to flats when they were no longer required by the College.
Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.
All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: its one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him. If it be aristocratic in organization, then it seeks to protect the man who is superior only in law against the man who is superior in fact; if it be democratic, then it seeks to protect the man who is inferior in every way against both. One of its primary functions is to regiment men by force, to make them as much alike as possible and as dependent upon one another as possible, to search out and combat originality among them. All it can see in an original idea is potential change, and hence an invasion of its prerogatives. The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are.
In the present case it is a little inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible to any public office of trust or profit in the Republic. But I do not repine, for I am a subject of it only by force of arms.
I believe in only one thing and that thing is human liberty. If ever a man is to achieve anything like dignity, it can happen only if superior men are given absolute freedom to think what they want to think and say what they want to say. I am against any man and any organization which seeks to limit or deny that freedom. . . [and] the superior man can be sure of freedom only if it is given to all men.
Off goes the head of the king, and tyranny gives way to freedom. The change seems abysmal. Then, bit by bit, the face of freedom hardens, and by and by it is the old face of tyranny. Then another cycle, and another. But under the play of all these opposites there is something fundamental and permanent — the basic delusion that men may be governed and yet be free.
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.
The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable. No virtuous man — that is, virtuous in the Y.M.C.A. sense — has ever painted a picture worth looking at, or written a symphony worth hearing, or a book worth reading.
When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental — men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost... All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the Bill of Rights.
The fact is that the average man's love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth. He is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty — and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.
No government is ever really in favor of so-called civil rights. It always tries to whittle them down. They are preserved under all governments, insofar as they survive at all, by special classes of fanatics, often highly dubious.
The main thing that every political campaign in the United States demonstrates is that the politicians of all parties, despite their superficial enmities, are really members of one great brotherhood. Their principal, and indeed their sole, object is to collar public office, with all the privileges and profits that go therewith. They achieve this collaring by buying votes with other people's money. No professional politician is ever actually in favor of public economy. It is his implacable enemy, and he knows it. All professional politicians are dedicated wholeheartedly to waste and corruption. They are the enemies of every decent man.
The highfalutin aims of democracy, whether real or imaginary, are always assumed to be identical with its achievements. This, of course, is sheer hallucination. Not one of those aims, not even the aim of giving every adult a vote, has been realized. It has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.
The pedant and the priest have always been the most expert of logicians — and the most diligent disseminators of nonsense and worse. The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by such learned dunderheads; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe — that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power, and hence a fraud. One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.
The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.
What is any political campaign save a concerted effort to turn out a set of politicians who are admittedly bad and put in a set who are thought to be better. The former assumption, I believe is always sound; the latter is just as certainly false. For if experience teaches us anything at all it teaches us this: that a good politician, under democracy, is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
Suppose two-thirds of the members of the national House of Representatives were dumped into the Washington garbage incinerator tomorrow, what would we lose to offset our gain of their salaries and the salaries of their parasites?
I propose that it shall be no longer malum in se for a citizen to pummel, cowhide, kick, gouge, cut, wound, bruise, maim, burn, club, bastinado, flay, or even lynch a [government] jobholder, and that it shall be malum prohibitum only to the extent that the punishment exceeds the jobholder’s deserts. The amount of this excess, if any, may be determined very conveniently by a petit jury, as other questions of guilt are now determined. The flogged judge, or Congressman, or other jobholder, on being discharged from hospital — or his chief heir, in case he has perished — goes before a grand jury and makes a complaint, and, if a true bill is found, a petit jury is empaneled and all the evidence is put before it. If it decides that the jobholder deserves the punishment inflicted upon him, the citizen who inflicted it is acquitted with honor. If, on the contrary, it decides that this punishment was excessive, then the citizen is adjudged guilty of assault, mayhem, murder, or whatever it is, in a degree apportioned to the difference between what the jobholder deserved and what he got, and punishment for that excess follows in the usual course.
Do they believe that the aim of teaching English is to increase the exact and beautiful use of the language? Or that it is to inculcate and augment patriotism? Or that it is to diminish sorrow in the home? Or that it has some other end, cultural, economic, or military? ... it was their verdict by a solemn referendum that the principal objective in teaching English was to make good spellers, and that after that came the breeding of good capitalizers. … I have maintained for years, sometimes perhaps with undue heat: that pedagogy in the United States is fast descending to the estate of a childish necromancy, and that the worst idiots, even among pedagogues, are the teachers of English. It is positively dreadful to think that the young of the American species are exposed day in and day out to the contamination of such dark minds. What can be expected of education that is carried on in the very sewers of the intellect? How can morons teach anything that is worth knowing?
Liberty and democracy are eternal enemies, and every one knows it who has ever given any sober reflection to the matter. A democratic state may profess to venerate the name, and even pass laws making it officially sacred, but it simply cannot tolerate the thing. In order to keep any coherence in the governmental process, to prevent the wildest anarchy in thought and act, the government must put limits upon the free play of opinion. In part, it can reach that end by mere propaganda, by the bald force of its authority — that is, by making certain doctrines officially infamous. But in part it must resort to force, i.e., to law. One of the main purposes of laws in a democratic society is to put burdens upon intelligence and reduce it to impotence. Ostensibly, their aim is to penalize anti-social acts; actually their aim is to penalize heretical opinions. At least ninety-five Americans out of every 100 believe that this process is honest and even laudable; it is practically impossible to convince them that there is anything evil in it. In other words, they cannot grasp the concept of liberty. Always they condition it with the doctrine that the state, i.e., the majority, has a sort of right of eminent domain in acts, and even in ideas — that it is perfectly free, whenever it is so disposed, to forbid a man to say what he honestly believes. Whenever his notions show signs of becoming "dangerous," ie, of being heard and attended to, it exercises that prerogative. And the overwhelming majority of citizens believe in supporting it in the outrage. Including especially the Liberals, who pretend — and often quite honestly believe — that they are hot for liberty. They never really are. Deep down in their hearts they know, as good democrats, that liberty would be fatal to democracy — that a government based upon shifting and irrational opinion must keep it within bounds or run a constant risk of disaster. They themselves, as a practical matter, advocate only certain narrow kinds of liberty — liberty, that is, for the persons they happen to favor. The rights of other persons do not seem to interest them. If a law were passed tomorrow taking away the property of a large group of presumably well-to-do persons — say, bondholders of the railroads — without compensation and without even colorable reason, they would not oppose it; they would be in favor of it. The liberty to have and hold property is not one they recognize. They believe only in the liberty to envy, hate and loot the man who has it.
The truth, indeed, is something that mankind, for some mysterious reason, instinctively dislikes. Every man who tries to tell it is unpopular, and even when, by the sheer strength of his case, he prevails, he is put down as a scoundrel.
The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line. The objection to it is not that it is predominantly painful, but that it is lacking in sense.
Laws are no longer made by a rational process of public discussion; they are made by a process of blackmail and intimidation, and they are executed in the same manner. The typical lawmaker of today is a man wholly devoid of principle — a mere counter in a grotesque and knavish game. If the right pressure could be applied to him, he would be cheerfully in favor of polygamy, astrology or cannibalism.
It is the aim of the Bill of Rights, if it has any remaining aim at all, to curb such prehensile gentry. Its function is to set a limitation upon their power to harry and oppress us to their own private profit. The Fathers, in framing it, did not have powerful minorities in mind; what they sought to hobble was simply the majority. But that is a detail. The important thing is that the Bill of Rights sets forth, in the plainest of plain language, the limits beyond which even legislatures may not go. The Supreme Court, in Marbury v. Madison, decided that it was bound to execute that intent, and for a hundred years that doctrine remained the corner-stone of American constitutional law.
I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind — that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.
I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.
I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty and the democratic form is as bad as any of the other forms.
I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.
I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech — alike for the humblest man and the mightiest, and in the utmost freedom of conduct that is consistent with living in organized society.
I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.
I believe in the reality of progress.
I —But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.
If he became convinced tomorrow that coming out for cannibalism would get him the votes he needs so sorely, he would begin fattening a missionary in the White House yard come Wednesday.
•The American Mercury (March 1936) - referring to Franklin Delano Roosevelt
It is [a politician's] business to get and hold his job at all costs. If he can hold it by lying, he will hold it by lying; if lying peters out, he will try to hold it by embracing new truths. His ear is ever close to the ground.
Public opinion, in its raw state, gushes out in the immemorial form of the mob's fear. It is piped into central factories, and there it is flavoured and coloured and put into cans.
No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the record for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.
The public...demands certainties...But there are no certainties.
Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.
The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.
Notes on Democracy (1926)
•No man, I suppose, ever admits to himself candidly that he gets his living in a dishonourable way.
•Democratic man, dreaming eternally of Utopias, is ever a prey to shibboleths.
•Democratic man can understand the aims and aspirations of capitalism; they are, greatly magnified, simply his own aims and aspirations.
•An aristocratic society may hold that a soldier or a man of learning is superior to a rich manufacturer or banker, but in a democratic society the latter are inevitably put higher, if only because their achievement is more readily comprehended by the inferior man, and he can more easily imagine himself, by some favour of God, duplicating it.
•My business is not prognosis, but diagnosis. I am not engaged in therapeutics, but in pathology.
•Democracy is shot through with this delight in the incredible, this banal mysticism. I have alluded to its touching acceptance of the faith that progress is illimitable and ordained of God - that every human problem, in the very nature of things, may be solved.
•Democracy, in fact, is always inventing class distinctions, despite its theoretical abhorrence of them.
•What is not true, as everyone knows, is always immensely more fascinating and satisfying to the vast majority of men than what is true. Truth has a harshness that alarms them, and an air of finality that collides with their incurable romanticism.
Nature abhors a moron.
Human life is basically a comedy. Even its tragedies often seem comic to the spectator, and not infrequently they actually have comic touches to the victim. Happiness probably consists largely in the capacity to detect and relish them. A man who can laugh, if only at himself, is never really miserable.
The Diary of H.L. Mencken (1989)
...I have given my whole life to newspapers. I am convinced that they have abandoned their functions, and in an abject and ignominious manner, in the present war. Nine-tenths of them, and even more than nine-tenths, print the official blather without any attempt to scrutinize it... It is a disgraceful spectacle, but I do not believe that anything can be done about it. Roosevelt has taken the press into camp as certainly has he has taken the Supreme Court. It has ceased altogether to be independent and has become docilely official. [1944]
I was wise to quit writing for the Sun back in January, 1941, for it was obvious by then that Roosevelt would horn into the war soon or late, and I knew by bitter experience in the last war that I'd be throttled at once. Since then I have thought out many likely articles, but not one of them has been printable. In these days, indeed, my very vocabulary is prohibited. I couldn't so much as mention Roosevelt or Churchill or any of the other frauds without having to face a savage official onslaught, with all blows directed below the belt. The common notion that free speech prevails in the United States always makes me laugh. [1945]
The Sun editorial on Roosevelt this morning begins: "Franklin D. Roosevelt was a great man." ...The argument, in brief, is that all his skullduggeries and imbecilities were wiped out when "he took an inert and profoundly isolationist people and brought them to support a necessary war on a scale never before imagined." In other words, his greatest fraud was his greatest glory, and his sufficient excuse for all his other frauds. It seems to me to be very likely that Roosevelt will take a high place in American popular history -- maybe even alongside Washington and Lincoln... He had every quality that morons esteem in their heros. It will be to the interest of all his heirs and assigns to whoop him up, and they will probably succeed in swamping his critics. [1945]
[Roosevelt] was always... finding new victims to loot and new followers to reward, flouting common sense, and boldly denying its existence, demonstrating by his anti-logic that two and two made five, promising larger and larger slices of the moon. His career will greatly engage historians, if any good ones ever appear in America, but it will be of even more interest to psychologists. He was the first American to penetrate to the real depths of vulgar stupidity. He never made the mistake of overestimating the intelligence of the American mob. He was its unparalleled professor. [1945]
The course of the United States in World War II, I said, was dishonest, dishonorable, and ignominious, and the Sunpapers, by supporting Roosevelt's foreign policy, shared in this disgrace. [1945]
Quote Source -> en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken
The Works of H. L. Mencken -> www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a578
The Mencken Society -> www.mencken.org/
He is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic era. Archaeological evidence from 1st-century CE and earlier, where he is found with Hindu god Agni (fire), suggest that he was a significant deity in early Hinduism.[4] He is found in many medieval temples all over India, such as at the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves.[3]
His iconography varies significantly, reflecting the variation in his legends. He is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near a peacock, dressed with weapons sometimes near a rooster. Most icons show him with one head, but some show him with six heads reflecting the legend surrounding his birth where six mothers symbolizing the six stars of Pleiades cluster who took care of newly born baby Kartikeya.[4][6][5] He grows up quickly into a philosopher-warrior, destroys evil in the form of demon Taraka, teaches the pursuit of ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.[5][1] He has inspired many poet-sants, such as Arunagirinathar.[1][7]
Kartikeya, as Murugan or Subrahmanya, is found as a primary deity in temples wherever communities of the Tamil people live worldwide, particularly in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Réunion. Three of the six most richest and busiest temples in Tamil Nadu are dedicated to him.[1] The Kataragama temple dedicated to him in Sri Lanka attracts Tamils, Sinhalese people and the Vedda people.[8] He is also found in other parts of India, sometimes as Skanda, but in a secondary role along with Ganesha, Parvati and Shiva.[5]
Kartikeya is known by numerous names in ancient and medieval texts of the Indian culture. Most common among these are Murugan (Muruga), Kumaran (Kumara), Skanda, and Subrahmanyan (Subrahmanya). Others include Aaiyyan, Cheyon, Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Svaminatha ("ruler of the gods", from -natha king), Saravanan ("born amongst the reeds"), Arumugam or Shanmuga ("six-faced"),[9] Dandapani ("wielder of the mace", from -pani hand), Guhan or Guruguha ("cave-dweller"), Kadhirvelan, Kandhan, Vishakha and Mahasena.[10] In ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya or Brahmanyadeva.[11] In ancient statues, he appears as Mahasena, Skanda and Vishakha.[12]
Skanda is derived from skanḍr-, which means to "spill, ooze, leap, attack".[13] This root is derived from the legend of his unusual birth. The legend, translates Lochtefeld, states "Shiva and Parvati are disturbed while making love, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground".[5] This semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges. The "spill" epithet leads to the name Skanda.[5][13]
Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas".[5] This epithet is also linked to his birth. After he appears on the banks of the River Ganges, he is seen by the six of the seven brightest stars cluster in the night sky called Krittikas in Hindu texts (called Pleiades in Greek texts). These six mothers all want to take care of him and nurse baby Kartikkeya. They argue. Baby Kartikkeya ends the argument by growing five more heads to have a total of six heads so he can look at all six moms, and let them each nurse one.[5][14]
Another legend explains his various names as the result of competition by many to seek and claim him. He loves everyone, and takes many names and forms to be with them. For example, Kumara spends time with goddess Ganga as her son, Skanda as the son of goddess Parvati, Karttikeya as son of Shiva, while Guha as the son of fire god Agni.[6]
There are ancient references which can be interpreted to be Kartikeya, Skanda, Kumara, or Murugan in the Vedic texts, in the works of Pāṇini (~500 BCE), in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali and in Kautilya's Arthashastra.[15] For example, the term Kumara appears in hymn 5,2 of the Rig Veda.[16][note 1] The Kumara of verse 5.2.1 can be interpreted as Skanda, or just any "boy". However, the rest of the verses depict the "boy" as bright-colored, hurling weapons and other motifs that later have been associated with Skanda. The difficulty with interpreting these to be Skanda is that Indra, Agni and Rudra are also depicted in similar terms and as warriors.[17]
Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee, 2nd century CE.
The Skanda-like motifs found in Rig Veda are found in other Vedic texts, such as section 6.1-3 of the Shatapatha Brahmana.[18] In these, the mythology is very different for Kumara, as Agni is described to be the Kumara whose mother is Ushas (goddess Dawn) and whose father is Purusha.[16] The section 10.1 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka mentions Sanmukha (six faced one), while the Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions a householder's rite of passage that involves prayers to Skanda with his brother Ganapati (Ganesha) together.[19] The chapter 7 of the Chandogya Upanishad (~800–600 BCE) equates Sanat-Kumara (eternal son) and Skanda, as he teaches sage Narada to discover his own Atman (soul, self) as a means to the ultimate knowledge, true peace and liberation.[20][21][note 2]
According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that Kartikeya mythology had become widespread sometime around 200 BCE or after in north India.[23] The first clear evidence of Kartikeya's importance emerges in the Hindu Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where his story is recited. In addition to textual evidence, his importance is affirmed by the archeological, the epigraphical and the numismatic evidence of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence linked to the Yaudheyas, a confederation of warriors in north India who are mentioned by ancient Pāṇini.[24] They ruled an area consisting of modern era Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (extending into Garhwal region, Uttarakhand).[24] They struck coins bearing the image of Skanda, and these coins are dated to be from before Kushan Empire era started.[24] During the Kushan dynasty era, that included much of northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted.[24]
The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Gupta Empire.[25] Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumārasambhava features Kartikeya.
The Tolkāppiyam, one of the most ancient texts of the Tamil literature, mentions cēyōṉ "the red one", who is identified with Murugan, whose name is literally Murukaṉ "the youth"; the three other gods referred to in the Tolkāppiyam are Māyōṉ "the dark one" (identified with Vishnu), Vēntaṉ "the sovereign" (identified with Indra) and Koṟṟavai "the victorious" (identified with Kali). Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[27]
In the Tirumurukāṟtruuppaṭai, he is called Muruku and described as a god of beauty and youth, with phrases such as "his body glows like the sun rising from the emerald sea". It describes him with six faces each with a function, twelve arms, his victory of evil, and the temples dedicated to him in the hilly regions.[28]
Kartikeya is mentioned in Shaiva Puranas. Of these, the Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts.[29] The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature,[30] titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan.[31] While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas.[31] The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda.[31][32] The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE,[33][34] but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions.[35]
Ancient coins of the Yaudheyas, dated to 1st and 2nd century CE, show Kartikeya as a warrior with either one or six heads. Kushan coins show him with one head. In general, single head is far more common regardless of which dynasty minted them.[36] The earliest statues discovered in Punjab and Kashmir show him with either one or six heads. The oldest sculptures such as those found in Mathura show him with one head, while six head iconography is dated to post-Gupta Empire era.[37] All Kushan Empire era artwork show him with one head, even though there are Kushan deities such as a goddess who is shown with multiple heads.[14]
The Kushan Empire era statues of Kartikeya, dated to 1st and 2nd-century CE, have been found at various sites in the Indian subcontinent, particularly at Mathura and Gandhara. They show him as a warrior dressed in dhoti (sheet wrapped at waist, covering the legs), armour like a warrior, spear in his right hand and a bird (rooster) in his left.[38][39] There is some difference between his ancient iconography in Mathura and Gandhara artwork. The Gandhara arts show him in more a Scythian dress, likely reflecting the local dress culture prevalent in those times. Further, it is in the oldest Gandharan statues where he is shown with a bird that looks like a chicken or cock.[40] According to Richard Mann, the bird may symbolize Kartikeya's agility and maneuverability as a warrior god.[40]
Kartikeya iconography shows him as a youthful god, dressed as a warrior, carring the weapon called Vel. It is a divine spear, often called sakti. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding the sakti or spear. His vahana (vehicle, mount) is a peacock. He has either one head or six, depending on the region or artist.[41][42]
The Epic era literature of ancient India recite numerous legends of Kartikeya, often with his other names such as Skanda. For example, the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata dedicates chapters 223 to 232 to the legends of Skanda, but depicts him as the son of Agni and Svaha.[19] Similarly, Valmiki's Ramayana dedicates chapters 36 and 37 to Skanda, but describes him as the child of god Agni and goddess Ganges.[44]
The legends of Kartikeya vary significantly, sometimes within the same text. For example, while the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata describes Skanda as the son of Agni, the Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the same text presents Skanda's legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.[19]
Granite Karttikeya seated on a peacock from 12th-century Andhra Pradesh.
In Vana Parva, the circumstances behind Kartikeya's birth legend do not involve Shiva and Parvati.[45] Rather it is deity Agni who goes to a hermitage of seven married Rishis (sages). He is sexually attracted to all seven, but none reciprocate. Svaha is present there and she is attracted to Agni, but Agni is not. According to the legend, Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and sleeps with Agni.[45] She does not take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife, because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of Agni into the reeds of River Ganges, where it develops and then is born as six headed Skanda.[45]
A totally different legend in the later books of the Mahabharata make Shiva and Parvati as the parents. They were having sex, but they are disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground.[5] Shiva's semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges.[5][13]
Some legend state that he was the elder son of Shiva, others make him the younger brother of Ganesha. This is implied by another legend connected to his birth. Devas have been beaten up by Asuras led by Taraka, because Taraka had a boon from ascetic celibate yogi Shiva that only Shiva's son can kill him. Devas learn about this boon, and plan how to get Shiva into a relationship. So they bring Parvati into the picture, have her seduce yogi Shiva, and wed Parvati so that Skanda can be born to kill Taraka.[46]
Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular in Tamil Nadu. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. Kartikeya's youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam.[44]
Theology[edit]
There is extensive Hindu symbolism and theology associated with Kartikeya. Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances, he is born through a surrogate abandoned near a river. He is raised not by his natural mother but a host of mothers. Kartikeya symbolizes a union of polarities.[47] He is handsome warrior and described as a celibate yogi. He uses his creative martial abilities to lead an army against Taraka and other demons, and described as a philosopher-warrior.[5][1] He is a uniter, championing the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism.[48]
His theology is most developed in the Tamil texts,[7] and in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition.[5][1] He is described as teyvam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman), as katavul (divinity in nature, in everything), as tevan (masculine deity), and as iraivativam (concrete manifestation of the sacred, saguna Brahman).[49]
According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan (also referred to as Murukan, Cheyyon), he embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism".[47] He is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron deity of the Tamil language.[50][51]
Murugan is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences. Subramanya is also a major deity among the Hindus of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Rituals like Nagaradhane are unique to Uttara Kannada region of Karnataka. Kataragama Sri Lanka temple is another important Murugan center.[citation needed]
In Sri Lanka and India, Murugan is popular with more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam. It was written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[citation needed]
Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has a famous temple of Lord Murugan.
Kartikeya is revered during the Kartik Puja festival, observed in November in eastern states of India.[52][note 3] During Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is featured as a son of Durga (Parvati) and Shiva, sitting along with his brother Ganesha.[54]
Kartikeya in Kartik Puja, Odisha.
Odisha[edit]
Kumara Purnima, which is celebrated by girls and newly married women on the full moon day after Vijayadashami. It is dedicated to Kartikeya in Odisha. The festivities bring girls together, they sing and dance, and play a game called Puchi. The prayers on the day are aimed with hopes of getting a husband similar to Kartikeya.[55] Kartikeya is worshipped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik.
Himachal Pradesh[edit]
Kartikeya is the main deity at Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The temple of Kartikeya in Kugti village is visited every year by thousands of devotees when the trek is opened in the month of March–April.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka[edit]
Karthikeya is worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamils but also by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo, a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favourite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, he is worshipped at the Kataragama temple, where he is known as Kathiravel or Kataragama deviyo. Local legend holds that Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local girls. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all Buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism.
The Tamil Hindu temple Nallur Kandasamy dedicated to Murugan (Kartikeya).
By the 16th century, the Kataragama temple had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[56] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15th century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[56] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[57]
Malaysia[edit]
Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by the Tamil Hindus in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thaipusam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan. Batu Caves in short also referred as 10th Caves or Hill for Lord Muruga as there are 6 important holy shrines in India and 4 more in Malaysia. The 3 others in Malaysia are
Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh
Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang
Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca
Other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Viralimalai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Chennimalai, Sivanmalai, Pachaimalai, Thindal malai (Near Erode) and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam.
Goddess Skandamata with son Skanda or Kartikeya on her lap, is worshipped as fifth form of Navadurga.
There are many temples dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad, one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district and one in Mopidevi,Krishna district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Murugan is worshipped as the Lord of the serpents. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
Thaipusam festivities near the Batu Caves, Malaysia.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple[63] in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[64] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. Thaipusam walk for Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, USA is very popular and attracting many devotees from all over America. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Val-Morin, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple[65] is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale[66] in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Murugan.
The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[67]
it seems an emblem of the tranquil close of busy life--serene, placid, and mild, with the impress of its great Creator stamped upon it; it spreads its quiet wings over the grave, and seems to promise that all shall be peace beyond it.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
"Isabel Uvedale lieth here, that was the virtuous wife
of Henrie Uvedale, esquire, and browght him by her life
thyrtene children to his joie, well nurtured by her daies.
To live and lerne the redie waie, to everlasting praise
And of Anthonie Erneley esquire of Wiltshire, daughter she
In whome there wanted no good gifte that in albeit should be
For uniforme manners, modestie, discretion, love and curtesie.
With manie a cominge propertie, to graste in her jentilitie.
Death cannot take awaie her praise, thoughe she be laied in grave
But here in brasse he due desurtes perpetuall fame shall have
She dyed ye 23 of January in ye 25th yere of ye reigne of our Sovereigne ladye Elizabeth AD 1572"
Isabel born in 1527 was the daughter of Anthony Erneley 1530 of Herrington & Mitford manor by Margaret widow of Henry Milborne 1518 who m3 Roger Yorke
She m Henry Uvedall 1599 of More Crichell son of William Uvedale 1562
Children- 13 in total
1. Edmund 1621 m Joan Michel === / m Elizabeth sister of John Williams 1617 +++ www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/71318F and daughter of Robert Williams and Anne de la Lynde
2. John 1600 m Anne Poynings
3. George m ......... Miller
1. Eleanor m c1547 John 1617 +++ www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/06amg9 only son of Robert Williams 1569 and 2nd wife Anne daughter of Sir Thomas de la Lynde of Winterbourne Clenston, Dorset by Alice Cheney
Husband Henry m2 (?) Elizabeth widow of Richard Mitchell === of Cannington and daughter of Alexander Popham of Huntworth and Jane Stradling flic.kr/p/ueeBjw
wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=an...
Brass now in Witchampton church
It's going around again, and I was tagged, so here's a new one. :) 1. I don't like photos of myself very much, so I don't post many here. This one is blurry, but I don't totally hate it, so here it is. I was just trying to take a photo of the hat to show a friend was was asking about it, so excuse my lovely bathroom curtain. 2. I have been a vegetarian for 15 years or so. I don't really eat fish or drink milk, but I do eat eggs and cheese. 3. Lest I sound too virtuous from the above point, I love pizza to a probably totally unhealthy degree. I don't eat it every day, but probably a couple of days a week. >.> 4. I cannot stand the smell of popcorn or the sound of people chewing. I have trouble going to movie theatres because of this! 5. I can't dance. I have the proverbial two left feet and I am self-conscious. I know the self-conscious thing is a bigger problem than my lack of coordination. 6. I always watch tv with the closed captioning on, if I can. I don't like to have the tv up too loud, because the explosions, etc. hurt my ears, but I feel like I'm always missing bits of dialogue otherwise. It also helps with people with accents, or if someone else in the room is talking to me (the dialogue remains onscreen longer in the written form, gives me a chance to catch up!) 7. I tend to be kind of obsessive about reading. It's the only thing I have an "addiction" to. Most things, if I need to put them aside, or avoid, if I need to. But books... I always am finding a rationalization to keep reading. I got in trouble for reading in class under my desk in grade school. I stay up too late reading. I sometimes read at work... but not often! If I need to focus, I just can't start any books that are likely to be good. But if I go too long without reading I get depressed. Sounds like addiction, right? ^^; 8. I wish I were about 5 years younger, because that's how old I feel. I also feel like I could use the added flexibility in terms of career and family of being a bit younger. 9. My job has been very stressful lately. I don't mind some amount of stress, but it's been enough that it's having too much impact on my mood overall, which I resent. Unfortunately, I've never loved my job, it's always just been something I do. I wish I were one of those people who knew what they wanted to do in life, even if they are still struggling to achieve it. I keep trying to figure it out, but I just have no idea. 10. I used to be very shy and always worrying over what to say to people. I still do somewhat, but I care much less than I used to. I can actually talk to people I don't know now without freaking out. I'm still pretty quiet tho, I just don't always feel like chattering on about myself, or telling people my opinion if I can see they don't agree, so I prefer to listen. I'm not uncomfortable with silence, tho I feel bad when I can't figure out how to fill it if the other person is uncomfortable. 12. I've always had long hair and can't imagine cutting it short ever. 13. I love conventions (tho I haven't been to many - or any? - professionally). I think I could enjoy a lawnmower convention, and I couldn't be less interested in lawnmowers. I don't like crowds, but it's just fascinating to be around people who are all interested in the same topic, and to see the giveaways and promotional stuff. 14. The house I grew up in more or less burned down a few years ago. We didn't lose everything, and no one was hurt. It was almost more like our house flooded and then froze (it was winter, and cold) instead of having been on fire. It was pretty awful, but the new house is really nice. I find I miss the stuff that was lost less than I expected. I'm not going to say anything wise tho about how stuff is just stuff, because that's true, but I haven't become any wiser - I still like stuff! And I can get sentimentally attached to the stupidest garbage. But there's a lot of things that you accumulate that you don't miss. I don't know if everyone else feels the same tho, I'm only speaking for my own things. 15. I love the sun and the long days that come with summer, but oh boy do I hate being hot. I like cold weather and snow, but I get tired of it being grey and bleak in the winter. I love spring flowers, but I'm allergic. I guess if it can't be fall weather all the time, then I'm glad I live in an area with some of every season because I have things to love and hate about every season and at least I can appreciate/escape from them all in turn. XD 16. I have terrible luck with blind box toys, but I am attracted to the element of chance nevertheless. I can't seem to stay completely away from them, even if buying them open online would be cheaper and more efficient. Fortunately this is the only form of 'gambling' I am interested in. 17. I don't seem to sleep very well and am always tired. Part of the problem is definitely quantity - I always have reasons to stay up too late - and part is quality - I definitely thrash around and wake up over noises. 18. I love coffee, as you might guess from the last point. I actually don't drink that much of it though, compared to many people. I don't have it every day, and I quit it altogether for several years. I learned to love tea instead (thus maybe sabotaging my caffeine detox, but I needed to quit drinking the coffee for my stomach) and I love tea just as much as coffee, but the 'romance' of tea is different. I kind of like the associations that go with coffee more, even if I fit the profile of a tea drinker better. 19. I have tried to start a bunch of blogs, but something always happens that sours me on the experience or I just find I can't keep it up. 20. I cannot seem to bring myself to use LOL. I used to feel that way about emoticons too tho, and now I probably overuse them. So probably someday my resistance to this will end too, LO... no, I still can't do it.
In the 13c north transept stands a tomb with two men kneeling, one in a gown, the other in armour with his helmet and gauntlet before him. On the dexter side, behind one of the men is his wife kneeling with 14 children. Behind the other his wife with 6 children; www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/687g25K5U9
The wife in question is Joan Tregarthin who died in 1583, the men are her 2 husbands John Kellaway 1513 & Sir John Wadham 1578
The memorial has suffered much neglect, and been whitewashed several times. Little colouring remains. The double appearance of Joan is thought to be unique in British memorial art of this period
"Here lieth intomb'd the body of a virtuous & antient gentlewoman descended of the antient house of the Plantagenets, sometime of Cornwall, namely JOAN one of the daughters & heirs unto John Tregarthin in the county of Cornwall, esq. She was first married unto John Kelleway esq who had by her much issue. After his death she was married to John Wadham of Meryfield in the county of Somerset esq, & by him had several children. She lived a virtuous & godly life & died in an honourable age September in the year of Chrsit 1583"
Joan , born c 1498, was the daughter of John Tregarthin / Tregarthen & Jane daughter of John Trethurffe / Tretherf, & Elizabeth Courtenay
She was the co-heiress of her grandfather Thomas Tregarthen and Margaret daughter of Richard Hendower and Katherine Chamberlayne
Her co-heiress was her sister Margaret wife of George Tanner of Cullompton
She m1 John Kellaway / Kayleway of Cullompton 1494 - 1531
(Joan brought to the marriage lands of her inheritance from Thomas Tregarthen esquire: the manors of Brannell, Trejeam (Tregiam), and Trelyon (Treliam Viam) [all in St. Stephens in Brannell]; Trebvreck, Tawarne, Grampound (Grampot) Bossilian, Woles and Bossilian Wartha, [in Creed], Truro (Truruburgh), Thymargh (C.); manor of Portelmouth, Malborough (D.) Isle of Purbeck (Dorset.); Southampton; Hendwr (Hendon) (Middx): Cornwall, Devon, Corset, Southampton, Merioneth)
Children
1. George b 1525, the heir aged 6 at his father's death
1. Mary Kelloway 1520 - 1589 m1 Thomas Codrington dc 1594 of Swallowcliffe Wilts ; m2 William Cooke of Thorne, Ottery St Mary, son of John Cooke and Margaret daughter of Stephen Daniel. (their grandson John Cooke 1632 of Thorne incorporates a similar heraldic escutcheon of 9 quarters, the 4th of which is Kelloway. flic.kr/p/Bnu41M
2, Agnes m John son Robert Beare
3. Elizabeth
4. Catherine
5. Anne
She m2 John Wadham of Edge, Branscombe and Merrifield, Ilton, Somerset. , son of Sir Nicholas Wadham 1542 & 1st wife Joan daughter of Robert Hill of Bridport & Alice Stourton,
Children
1. Nicholas b 1532 in Merrifield their only surviving son. Co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford. dsp 1609 m Dorothy 1618 flic.kr/p/96mKfT daughter of William Petre and Gertrude www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/6606526289/ daughter of John Tyrrell and Ann Norreys
2. Johanna b1533 in Merrifield
3. Joan 1536 - 1603 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/95J04nCym8 m1 Giles 1562 son of Henry Strangways and Margaret daughter of George Manners & Anne St Leger; m2 Sir John Young 1589 son of Hugh Yonge & Alice Rogate
4. Florence *** b1538 in Merrifield, d 1597 m John 1572 flic.kr/p/96qFQ7 of Watchet, son of John Wyndham by Elizabeth Sydenham flic.kr/p/96qFQ1 (parents of John Wyndham 1645 at Watchet flic.kr/p/96HxhR
5. Margaret bc1540 in Edge Branscombe d pre 1611 m Nicholas 1530 - 1596 at Puddletown flic.kr/p/96bhhH son of Robert Martin and Elizabeth daughter of John Kelway of Rockbourne who m2 John Tregonwell of Milton Abbas ;
There are 3 coats of arms:
Centre being a lozenge and impaled with each of the others. Arms - a lozenge quarterly of six
1. two crosses in saltier;
2 A chevron between
3 escallops; 3 Semee of escallops, a lion rampant.;
4 A lion rampant within a bordure charged with bezants, a label of 3 points
5. On a bend 5 roundels;
6. On a chevron 3 fleurs de lis
Sinister (left) Wadham, of 9 quarters, impaling Tregarthin, of 6 quarters. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/72sJ5zW4he
Wadham:
1st: Gules, a chevron between three roses argent (Wadham).
2nd: Or, on a chevron gules three martlets or
3rd: Argent on a chief gules two bucks' heads cabossed or (Popham).
4th: Gules, a chevron argent between nine bezants five in chief and four in base (Dene)
5th Sable six lioncels or (St Martin).
6th Per fesse indented, overall a bend
7th Barry of eight azure and argent an eagle displayed.
8th Per pale azure and gules a lion rampant ermine (Norwich)
9th Gules a bend fusilly/lozengy ermine (Read, Redege, Riedde etc., of Devon)
Tregarthin:
1st: Argent, two lobster's claws in saltire gules (Tregarthick)
2nd: Argent, a chevron between three escallops sable (Tregarthin)
3rd: Azure semée of escallops or, a lion rampant of the last (Hendower/Hender)
4th: Argent a lion rampant gules in chief a label azure of three points a bordure engrailed bezantee
5th: On a bend 5 (or six) roundels (Chamberlayne)
6th: On a chevron three fleurs-de-lys (Pever)
Dexter / right - quarterly of four
1 & 4 Two glaziers irons in saltier between 4 peas pendent within a bordure engrailed
2. A buck head caboched
3. A Chevron between 3 escallops impaling the coat on the lozenge
B; Shield on the sinister side quarterly of nine
1. a chevron between 3 roses
2. on a chevron three martletts
3. on sa chief 2 stags heads caboched
4. a chevron between 9 roundles
5. Si lioncels rampant or 3 2 1 6 per fess indented a bend
7. Barry of eight an eagles displayed
8. A lion rampant or
9. A bend lozengy each charged with an ermine spot
At the top is the crest of Wadham, a rose argent leaved vert seeded or
*** A story refers to Florence Wadham; just a year after her marriage to John Wyndham she was thought to have died. However, the sexton, on closing the vault, heard a noise from within the coffin. Florence, was removed from the coffin and soon after 'delivered of Sir John Wyndham' The date in this source is 1562 but her son was baptised in 1558. A 19c narrative poem written by Rev. Lewis Court, a later rector of the parish, embellishes the story. This tells that the sexton was tempted by her jewellery. Whilst trying to file a ring from the lady's finger, he drew blood causing Florence to come out of her 'trance'. She sat up and the sexton fled like a madman. On her return to the house her husband at first thought her to be a ghost (she was in a winding sheet) but the couple were joyfully reunited and had two sons to carry the family name
- Church of St Winifred, Branscombe Devon
www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tregarthen-12https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martyn-557
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Wadham_(1531%E2%80%931609)
www.geni.com/people/Joan-Wadham/6000000014100294908
Picture with thanks - copyright Michael Garlick CCL www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6160125
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]
Other names[edit]
Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]
Vedas[edit]
The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.
The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.
Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:
"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,
But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."
According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;
His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]
The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:
Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.
Legends[edit]
Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)
Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.
His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)
He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.
Other parts of India[edit]
Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."
Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).
However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.
Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.
In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]
Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.
Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,
Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]
By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]
Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]
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"To compel someone to adopt virtue never makes a virtuous man. Also forcing people to have faith never result in faithful hearts. It is freedom which is the base of virtue"
Location : Lumut, Perak, Malaysia
Please don't post here any awards, glitter text, images, and group invite
...I'd trade for a fishing pole.
You can go anywhere you want if you're packing a fishing pole. You arouse no concern. No one questions the fisherman, except to ask, "are they biting?" Folks know what you're up to--you're fishing. Unlike the dude with the rocket launcher, the fisher is part of the scenery, and evokes no alarm.
I love this photo, and hasten to give credit to my long time pal, Gary, who gave it to me on my last birthday--He knows me well enough to know how strongly it would resonate with me. I urged him to post it on his flickr site, (Kala Gush), but he hasn't. But he knows me well enough to know I couldn't resist sharing it for long.
The photo sits in a frame on my desk and reminds me of Lao Tzu and the Tao Te Ching. It reminds me that potency comes from wisdom and harmony with nature, not from firepower and threat.
"A person of great virtue is like the flowing water.
Water benefits all things and contends not with them.
It puts itself in a place that no one wishes to be and thus is closest to Tao.
A virtuous person is like water which adapts itself to the perfect place.
His mind is like the deep water that is calm and peaceful.
His heart is kind like water that benefits all.
His words are sincere like the constant flow of water.
His governing is natural without desire which is like the softness of water that penetrates through
hard rocks.
His work is of talent like the free flow of water.
His movement is of right timing like water that flows smoothly.
A virtuous person never forces his way and hence will not make faults." Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8
These recent shootings, where young guys in their 20s go crazy, I believe are rooted in their need to demonstrate their potency and power (with bullets and guns). Their bodies are fully formed, but their minds are confused and disturbed. If only someone had given them a guitar to strum, a role to play, or a fishing license, (in my simplistic world view), their frustrations might have been resolved.
When I go fishing, I start along the shoreline, turning over rocks, looking for the little bugs that will be my bait. Giving the fish what they like to eat, knowing where they escape the current, and wait for their meal to drift by. Success begins by starting early, and paying attention.
Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती, Sarasvatī) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning. She is a part of the trinity of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. All the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to create, maintain and regenerate-recycle the Universe respectively.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in Rigveda. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic age through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring) in her honour, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write alphabets on that day. The Goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects.
Saraswati as a goddess of knowledge, music and arts is also found outside India, such as in Japan, Vietnam, Bali (Indonesia) and Myanmar.
ETYMOLOGY
Saraswati, sometimes spelled Sarasvati, is a Sanskrit fusion word of Sara (सार) which means essence, and Sva (स्व) which means one self, the fused word meaning "essence of one self", and Saraswati meaning "one who leads to essence of self knowledge". It is also a Sanskrit composite word of surasa-vati (सुरस-वति) which means "one with plenty of water".
The word Saraswati appears both as a reference to a river and as a significant deity in the Rigveda. In initial passages, the word refers to Sarasvati River and mentioned with other northwestern Indian rivers such as Drishadvati. Saraswati then connotes a river deity. In Book 2, Rigveda calls Saraswati as the best of mothers, of rivers, of goddesses.
अम्बितमे नदीतमे देवितमे सरस्वति |
– Rigveda 2.41.16
Saraswati is celebrated as a feminine deity with healing, purifying powers of abundant, flowing waters in Book 10 of Rigveda, as follows:
अपो अस्मान मातरः शुन्धयन्तु घर्तेन नो घर्तप्वः पुनन्तु |
विश्वं हि रिप्रं परवहन्ति देविरुदिदाभ्यः शुचिरापूत एमि ||
– Rigveda 10.17
May the waters, the mothers, cleanse us,
may they who purify with butter, purify us with butter,
for these goddesses bear away defilement,
I come up out of them pure and cleansed.
–Translated by John Muir
In Vedic literature, Saraswati gains the same significance to early Indians, states John Muir, as Ganges river became to their descendants. In hymns of Book 10 of Rigveda, she is already declared to be the "possessor of knowledge". Her importance grows in Vedas composed after Rigveda and in Brahmanas, and the word evolves in its meaning from "waters that purify", to "that which purifies", to "vach (speech) that purifies", to "knowledge that purifies", and ultimately into a spiritual concept of a goddess that embodies knowledge, arts, music, melody, muse, language, rhetoric, eloquence, creative work and anything whose flow purifies the essence and self of a person. In Upanishads and Dharma Sastras, Saraswati is invoked to remind the reader to meditate on virtue, virtuous emoluments, the meaning and the very essence of one's activity, one's action.
Saraswati is known by many names in ancient Hindu literature. Some examples of synonyms for Saraswati include Brahmani (goddess of sciences), Brahmi (from being wife of Brahma), Bharadi (goddess of history), Vani and Vachi (both referring to the flow of music/song, melodious speech, eloquent speaking respectively), Varnesvari (goddess of letters), Kavijihvagravasini (one who dwells on the tongue of poets).
NOMENCLATURE
In the Telugu language, Sarasvati is also known as Chaduvula Thalli (చదువుల తల్లి), Sharada (శారద). In Konkani, she is referred to as Sharada, Veenapani, Pustaka dharini, Vidyadayini. In Kannada, variants of her name include Sharade, Sharadamba, Vani, Veenapani in the famous Sringeri temple. In Tamil, she is also known as Kalaimagal (கலைமகள்), Kalaivaani (கலைவாணி), Vaani (வாணி), Bharathi. She is also addressed as Sharada (the one who loves the autumn season), Veena pustaka dharani (the one holding books and a Veena), Vaakdevi, Vagdevi, Vani (all meaning "speech"), Varadhanayagi (the one bestowing boons).
Within India, she is locally spelled as Bengali: সরস্বতী, Saraswati ?, Malayalam: സരസ്വതി, Saraswathy ?, and Tamil: சரஸ்வதி, Sarasvatī ?.
Outside India, she is known in Burmese as Thurathadi (သူရဿတီ, pronounced: [θùja̰ðədì] or [θùɹa̰ðədì]) or Tipitaka Medaw (တိပိဋကမယ်တော်, pronounced: [tḭpḭtəka̰ mɛ̀dɔ̀]), in Chinese as Biàncáitiān (辯才天), in Japanese as Benzaiten (弁才天/弁財天) and in Thai as Suratsawadi (สุรัสวดี) or Saratsawadi (สรัสวดี).
HISTORY
Saraswati is found in almost every major ancient and medieval Indian literature between 1000 BC to 1500 AD. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic age through modern times of Hindu traditions. In Shanti Parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Saraswati is called the mother of the Vedas, and later as the celestial creative symphony who appeared when Brahma created the universe. In Book 2 of Taittiriya Brahmana, she is called the mother of eloquent speech and melodious music. Saraswati is the active energy and power of Brahma. She is also mentioned in many minor Sanskrit publications such as Sarada Tilaka of 8th century AD as follows, May the goddess of speech enable us to attain all possible eloquence,
she who wears on her locks a young moon,
who shines with exquisite lustre,
who sits reclined on a white lotus,
and from the crimson cusp of whose hands pours,
radiance on the implements of writing, and books produced by her favour.
– On Saraswati, Sarada TilakaSaraswati became a prominent deity in Buddhist iconography – the consort of Manjushri in 1st millennium AD. In some instances such as in the Sadhanamala of Buddhist pantheon, she has been symbolically represented similar to regional Hindu iconography, but unlike the more well known depictions of Saraswati.
SYMBOLISM AND ICONOGRAPHY
The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes light, knowledge and truth. She not only embodies knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality. Her iconography is typically in white themes from dress to flowers to swan – the colour symbolizing Sattwa Guna or purity, discrimination for true knowledge, insight and wisdom.
She is generally shown to have four arms, but sometimes just two. When shown with four hands, those hands symbolically mirror her husband Brahma's four heads, representing manas (mind, sense), buddhi (intellect, reasoning), citta (imagination, creativity) and ahamkara (self consciousness, ego). Brahma represents the abstract, she action and reality.
The four hands hold items with symbolic meaning — a pustaka (book or script), a mala (rosary, garland), a water pot and a musical instrument (lute or vina). The book she holds symbolizes the Vedas representing the universal, divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well as all forms of learning. A mālā of crystals, representing the power of meditation, inner reflection and spirituality. A pot of water represents powers to purify the right from wrong, the clean from unclean, and the essence from the misleading. In some texts, the pot of water is symbolism for soma - the drink that liberates and leads to knowledge. The musical instrument, typically a veena, represents all creative arts and sciences, and her holding it symbolizes expressing knowledge that creates harmony. Saraswati is also associated with anurāga, the love for and rhythm of music, which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music.
A hansa / hans or swan is often located next to her feet. In Hindu mythology, hans is a sacred bird, which if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. It thus symbolizes discrimination between the good from the bad, the essence from the superficial, the eternal from the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Saraswati is also referred to as Hansvahini, which means "she who has a hansa / hans as her vehicle". The swan is also a symbolism for spiritual perfection, transcendence and moksha.
Sometimes a citramekhala (also called mayura, peacock) is shown beside the goddess. The peacock symbolizes colorful splendor, celebration of dance, and peacock's ability to eat poison (snakes) yet transmute from it a beautiful plumage.
She is usually depicted near a flowing river or near a water body, which may be related to her early history as a river goddess
REGIONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SARASWATI
MAHA SARASWATI
In some regions of India, such as Vindhya, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam, as well as east Nepal, Saraswati is part of the Devi Mahatmya mythology, in the trinity of Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati. This is one of many different Hindu legends that attempt to explain how Hindu trinity of gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and goddesses (Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati) came into being. Various Purana texts offer alternate legends for Maha Saraswati.
Maha Saraswati is depicted as eight-armed and is often portrayed holding a Veena whilst sitting on a white lotus flower.
Her dhyāna shloka given at the beginning of the fifth chapter of Devi Mahatmya is:
Wielding in her lotus-hands the bell, trident, ploughshare, conch, pestle, discus, bow, and arrow, her lustre is like that of a moon shining in the autumn sky. She is born from the body of Gowri and is the sustaining base of the three worlds. That Mahasaraswati I worship here who destroyed Sumbha and other asuras.
Mahasaraswati is also part of another legend, the Navdurgas, or nine forms of Durga, revered as powerful and dangerous goddesses in eastern India. They have special significance on Navaratri in these regions. All of these are seen ultimately as aspects of a single great Hindu goddess, with Maha Saraswati as one of those nine.
MAHAVIDYA NILA SARASWATI
In Tibet and parts of India, Nilasaraswati is a form of Mahavidya Tara. Nila Saraswati is a different deity than traditional Saraswati, yet subsumes her knowledge and creative energy in tantric literature. Nila Sarasvati is the ugra (angry, violent, destructive) manifestation in a one school of Hinduism, while the more common Saraswati is the saumya (calm, compassionate, productive) manifestation found in most schools of Hinduism. In tantric literature of the former, Nilasaraswati has a 100 names. There are separate dhyana shlokas and mantras for her worship in Tantrasara.
WORSHIP
TEMPLES
There are many temples, dedicated to Saraswati around the world. Some notable temples include the Gnana Saraswati Temple in Basar, on the banks of the River Godavari, the Wargal Saraswati and Shri Saraswati Kshetramu temples in Medak, Telangana. In Karnataka, one of many Saraswati/Sharada pilgrimage spots is Shringeri Sharadamba Temple. In Ernakulam district of Kerala, there is a famous Saraswati temple in North Paravur, namely Dakshina Mookambika Temple North Paravur. In Tamil Nadu, Koothanur hosts a Saraswati temples about 25 kilometres from Tiruvarur.
FESTIVALS
Saraswati's is remembered on – Vasant Panchami – is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 5th day in the Hindu calendar month of Magha (about February). Hindus celebrate this festival in temples, homes and educational institutes alike.
In Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Saraswati Puja starts with Saraswati Avahan on Maha Saptami and ends on Vijayadashami with Saraswati Udasan or Visarjan.
SARASWATI PUJA CALENDAR
Saraswati Puja Avahan – Maha Saptami – Triratna vratam starts in Andhra Pradesh.
Saraswati Puja (main puja) – Durga Ashtami
Saraswati Uttara Puja – Mahanavami
Saraswati Visarjan or Udasan – Vijaya Dashami
Saraswati Kartik Purnima on (Sristhal) siddhpur of Gujaratis ancient festival since Solanki ruling of Patan state.
SARASWATI PUJA IN SOUTH INDIA
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the last three days of the Navaratri festival, i.e., Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami, are celebrated as Sarasvati Puja. The celebrations start with the Puja Vypu (Placing for Worship). It consists of placing the books for puja on the Ashtami day. It may be in one's own house, in the local nursery school run by traditional teachers, or in the local temple. The books will be taken out for reading, after worship, only on the morning of the third day (Vijaya Dashami). It is called Puja Eduppu (Taking [from] Puja). Children are happy, since they are not expected to study on these days. On the Vijaya Dashami day, Kerala celebrates the Ezhuthiniruthu or Initiation of Writing for the little children before they are admitted to nursery schools. This is also called Vidyarambham. The child is made to write for the first time on the rice spread in a plate with the index finger, guided by an elder of the family or by a teacher.
SARASWATI OUTSIDE INDIA
SARASWATI IN MYANMAR
In Burma, the Shwezigon Mon Inscription dated to be of 1084 AD, near Bagan, recites the name Saraswati as follows,
"The wisdom of eloquence called Saraswati shall dwell in mouth of King Sri Tribhuwanadityadhammaraja at all times". – Translated by Than Tun
Statue of Thurathadi at Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple (Yangon)
In Buddhist arts of Myanmar, she is called Thurathadi (or Thayéthadi).: 215 Students in Myanmar pray for her blessings before their exams. :327 She is also believed to be, in Mahayana pantheon of Myanmar, the protector of Buddhist scriptures.
SARASWATI IN JAPAN
The concept of Saraswati migrated from India, through China to Japan, where she appears as Benzaiten (弁財天). Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries. She is often depicted holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute musical instrument. She is enshrined on numerous locations throughout Japan such as the Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine; the three biggest shrines in Japan in her honour are at the Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay, the Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, and the Itsukushima Island in Seto Inland Sea.
SARASWATI IN CAMBODIA
Saraswati was honoured with invocations among Hindus of Angkorian Cambodia, suggests a tenth-century and another eleventh-century inscription. She and Brahma are referred to in Cambodian epigraphy from the 7th century onwards, and she is praised by Khmer poets for being goddess of eloquence, writing and music. More offerings were made to her than to her husband Brahma. She is also referred to as Vagisvari and Bharati in Yasovarman era Khmer literature.
SARASWATI IN THAILAND
In ancient Thai literature, Saraswati (Thai: สุรัสวดี; rtgs: Suratsawadi) is the goddess of speech and learning, and consort of Brahma. Over time, Hindu and Buddhist concepts on deities merged in Thailand. Icons of Saraswati with other deities of India are found in old Thai wats. Amulets with Saraswati and a peacock are also found in Thailand.
SARASWATI IN INDONESIA
Saraswati is an important goddess in Balinese Hinduism. She shares the same attributes and iconography as Saraswati in Hindu literature of India - in both places, she is the goddess of knowledge, creative arts, wisdom, language, learning and purity. In Bali, she is celebrated on Saraswati day, one of the main festivals for Hindus in Indonesia. The day marks the close of 210-day year in the Pawukon calendar.
On Saraswati day, people make offerings in the form of flowers in temples and to sacred texts. The day after Saraswati day, is Banyu Pinaruh, a day of cleansing. On this day, Hindus of Bali go to the sea, sacred waterfalls or river spots, offer prayers to Saraswati, and then rinse themselves in that water in the morning. Then they prepare a feast, such as the traditional bebek betutu and nasi kuning, that they share.
The Saraswati Day festival has a long history in Bali. It has become more widespread in Hindu community of Indonesia in recent decades, and it is celebrated with theatre and dance performance.
WIKIPEDIA
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]
Other names[edit]
Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]
Vedas[edit]
The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.
The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.
Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:
"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,
But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."
According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;
His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]
The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:
Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.
Legends[edit]
Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)
Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.
His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)
He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.
Other parts of India[edit]
Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."
Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).
However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.
Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.
In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]
Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.
Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,
Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]
By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]
Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]
He is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic era. Archaeological evidence from 1st-century CE and earlier, where he is found with Hindu god Agni (fire), suggest that he was a significant deity in early Hinduism.[4] He is found in many medieval temples all over India, such as at the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves.[3]
His iconography varies significantly, reflecting the variation in his legends. He is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near a peacock, dressed with weapons sometimes near a rooster. Most icons show him with one head, but some show him with six heads reflecting the legend surrounding his birth where six mothers symbolizing the six stars of Pleiades cluster who took care of newly born baby Kartikeya.[4][6][5] He grows up quickly into a philosopher-warrior, destroys evil in the form of demon Taraka, teaches the pursuit of ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.[5][1] He has inspired many poet-sants, such as Arunagirinathar.[1][7]
Kartikeya, as Murugan or Subrahmanya, is found as a primary deity in temples wherever communities of the Tamil people live worldwide, particularly in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Réunion. Three of the six most richest and busiest temples in Tamil Nadu are dedicated to him.[1] The Kataragama temple dedicated to him in Sri Lanka attracts Tamils, Sinhalese people and the Vedda people.[8] He is also found in other parts of India, sometimes as Skanda, but in a secondary role along with Ganesha, Parvati and Shiva.[5]
Kartikeya is known by numerous names in ancient and medieval texts of the Indian culture. Most common among these are Murugan (Muruga), Kumaran (Kumara), Skanda, and Subrahmanyan (Subrahmanya). Others include Aaiyyan, Cheyon, Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Svaminatha ("ruler of the gods", from -natha king), Saravanan ("born amongst the reeds"), Arumugam or Shanmuga ("six-faced"),[9] Dandapani ("wielder of the mace", from -pani hand), Guhan or Guruguha ("cave-dweller"), Kadhirvelan, Kandhan, Vishakha and Mahasena.[10] In ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya or Brahmanyadeva.[11] In ancient statues, he appears as Mahasena, Skanda and Vishakha.[12]
Skanda is derived from skanḍr-, which means to "spill, ooze, leap, attack".[13] This root is derived from the legend of his unusual birth. The legend, translates Lochtefeld, states "Shiva and Parvati are disturbed while making love, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground".[5] This semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges. The "spill" epithet leads to the name Skanda.[5][13]
Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas".[5] This epithet is also linked to his birth. After he appears on the banks of the River Ganges, he is seen by the six of the seven brightest stars cluster in the night sky called Krittikas in Hindu texts (called Pleiades in Greek texts). These six mothers all want to take care of him and nurse baby Kartikkeya. They argue. Baby Kartikkeya ends the argument by growing five more heads to have a total of six heads so he can look at all six moms, and let them each nurse one.[5][14]
Another legend explains his various names as the result of competition by many to seek and claim him. He loves everyone, and takes many names and forms to be with them. For example, Kumara spends time with goddess Ganga as her son, Skanda as the son of goddess Parvati, Karttikeya as son of Shiva, while Guha as the son of fire god Agni.[6]
There are ancient references which can be interpreted to be Kartikeya, Skanda, Kumara, or Murugan in the Vedic texts, in the works of Pāṇini (~500 BCE), in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali and in Kautilya's Arthashastra.[15] For example, the term Kumara appears in hymn 5,2 of the Rig Veda.[16][note 1] The Kumara of verse 5.2.1 can be interpreted as Skanda, or just any "boy". However, the rest of the verses depict the "boy" as bright-colored, hurling weapons and other motifs that later have been associated with Skanda. The difficulty with interpreting these to be Skanda is that Indra, Agni and Rudra are also depicted in similar terms and as warriors.[17]
Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee, 2nd century CE.
The Skanda-like motifs found in Rig Veda are found in other Vedic texts, such as section 6.1-3 of the Shatapatha Brahmana.[18] In these, the mythology is very different for Kumara, as Agni is described to be the Kumara whose mother is Ushas (goddess Dawn) and whose father is Purusha.[16] The section 10.1 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka mentions Sanmukha (six faced one), while the Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions a householder's rite of passage that involves prayers to Skanda with his brother Ganapati (Ganesha) together.[19] The chapter 7 of the Chandogya Upanishad (~800–600 BCE) equates Sanat-Kumara (eternal son) and Skanda, as he teaches sage Narada to discover his own Atman (soul, self) as a means to the ultimate knowledge, true peace and liberation.[20][21][note 2]
According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that Kartikeya mythology had become widespread sometime around 200 BCE or after in north India.[23] The first clear evidence of Kartikeya's importance emerges in the Hindu Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where his story is recited. In addition to textual evidence, his importance is affirmed by the archeological, the epigraphical and the numismatic evidence of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence linked to the Yaudheyas, a confederation of warriors in north India who are mentioned by ancient Pāṇini.[24] They ruled an area consisting of modern era Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (extending into Garhwal region, Uttarakhand).[24] They struck coins bearing the image of Skanda, and these coins are dated to be from before Kushan Empire era started.[24] During the Kushan dynasty era, that included much of northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted.[24]
The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Gupta Empire.[25] Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumārasambhava features Kartikeya.
The Tolkāppiyam, one of the most ancient texts of the Tamil literature, mentions cēyōṉ "the red one", who is identified with Murugan, whose name is literally Murukaṉ "the youth"; the three other gods referred to in the Tolkāppiyam are Māyōṉ "the dark one" (identified with Vishnu), Vēntaṉ "the sovereign" (identified with Indra) and Koṟṟavai "the victorious" (identified with Kali). Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[27]
In the Tirumurukāṟtruuppaṭai, he is called Muruku and described as a god of beauty and youth, with phrases such as "his body glows like the sun rising from the emerald sea". It describes him with six faces each with a function, twelve arms, his victory of evil, and the temples dedicated to him in the hilly regions.[28]
Kartikeya is mentioned in Shaiva Puranas. Of these, the Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts.[29] The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature,[30] titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan.[31] While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas.[31] The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda.[31][32] The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE,[33][34] but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions.[35]
Ancient coins of the Yaudheyas, dated to 1st and 2nd century CE, show Kartikeya as a warrior with either one or six heads. Kushan coins show him with one head. In general, single head is far more common regardless of which dynasty minted them.[36] The earliest statues discovered in Punjab and Kashmir show him with either one or six heads. The oldest sculptures such as those found in Mathura show him with one head, while six head iconography is dated to post-Gupta Empire era.[37] All Kushan Empire era artwork show him with one head, even though there are Kushan deities such as a goddess who is shown with multiple heads.[14]
The Kushan Empire era statues of Kartikeya, dated to 1st and 2nd-century CE, have been found at various sites in the Indian subcontinent, particularly at Mathura and Gandhara. They show him as a warrior dressed in dhoti (sheet wrapped at waist, covering the legs), armour like a warrior, spear in his right hand and a bird (rooster) in his left.[38][39] There is some difference between his ancient iconography in Mathura and Gandhara artwork. The Gandhara arts show him in more a Scythian dress, likely reflecting the local dress culture prevalent in those times. Further, it is in the oldest Gandharan statues where he is shown with a bird that looks like a chicken or cock.[40] According to Richard Mann, the bird may symbolize Kartikeya's agility and maneuverability as a warrior god.[40]
Kartikeya iconography shows him as a youthful god, dressed as a warrior, carring the weapon called Vel. It is a divine spear, often called sakti. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding the sakti or spear. His vahana (vehicle, mount) is a peacock. He has either one head or six, depending on the region or artist.[41][42]
The Epic era literature of ancient India recite numerous legends of Kartikeya, often with his other names such as Skanda. For example, the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata dedicates chapters 223 to 232 to the legends of Skanda, but depicts him as the son of Agni and Svaha.[19] Similarly, Valmiki's Ramayana dedicates chapters 36 and 37 to Skanda, but describes him as the child of god Agni and goddess Ganges.[44]
The legends of Kartikeya vary significantly, sometimes within the same text. For example, while the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata describes Skanda as the son of Agni, the Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the same text presents Skanda's legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.[19]
Granite Karttikeya seated on a peacock from 12th-century Andhra Pradesh.
In Vana Parva, the circumstances behind Kartikeya's birth legend do not involve Shiva and Parvati.[45] Rather it is deity Agni who goes to a hermitage of seven married Rishis (sages). He is sexually attracted to all seven, but none reciprocate. Svaha is present there and she is attracted to Agni, but Agni is not. According to the legend, Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and sleeps with Agni.[45] She does not take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife, because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of Agni into the reeds of River Ganges, where it develops and then is born as six headed Skanda.[45]
A totally different legend in the later books of the Mahabharata make Shiva and Parvati as the parents. They were having sex, but they are disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground.[5] Shiva's semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges.[5][13]
Some legend state that he was the elder son of Shiva, others make him the younger brother of Ganesha. This is implied by another legend connected to his birth. Devas have been beaten up by Asuras led by Taraka, because Taraka had a boon from ascetic celibate yogi Shiva that only Shiva's son can kill him. Devas learn about this boon, and plan how to get Shiva into a relationship. So they bring Parvati into the picture, have her seduce yogi Shiva, and wed Parvati so that Skanda can be born to kill Taraka.[46]
Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular in Tamil Nadu. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. Kartikeya's youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam.[44]
Theology[edit]
There is extensive Hindu symbolism and theology associated with Kartikeya. Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances, he is born through a surrogate abandoned near a river. He is raised not by his natural mother but a host of mothers. Kartikeya symbolizes a union of polarities.[47] He is handsome warrior and described as a celibate yogi. He uses his creative martial abilities to lead an army against Taraka and other demons, and described as a philosopher-warrior.[5][1] He is a uniter, championing the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism.[48]
His theology is most developed in the Tamil texts,[7] and in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition.[5][1] He is described as teyvam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman), as katavul (divinity in nature, in everything), as tevan (masculine deity), and as iraivativam (concrete manifestation of the sacred, saguna Brahman).[49]
According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan (also referred to as Murukan, Cheyyon), he embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism".[47] He is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron deity of the Tamil language.[50][51]
Murugan is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences. Subramanya is also a major deity among the Hindus of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Rituals like Nagaradhane are unique to Uttara Kannada region of Karnataka. Kataragama Sri Lanka temple is another important Murugan center.[citation needed]
In Sri Lanka and India, Murugan is popular with more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam. It was written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[citation needed]
Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has a famous temple of Lord Murugan.
Kartikeya is revered during the Kartik Puja festival, observed in November in eastern states of India.[52][note 3] During Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is featured as a son of Durga (Parvati) and Shiva, sitting along with his brother Ganesha.[54]
Kartikeya in Kartik Puja, Odisha.
Odisha[edit]
Kumara Purnima, which is celebrated by girls and newly married women on the full moon day after Vijayadashami. It is dedicated to Kartikeya in Odisha. The festivities bring girls together, they sing and dance, and play a game called Puchi. The prayers on the day are aimed with hopes of getting a husband similar to Kartikeya.[55] Kartikeya is worshipped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik.
Himachal Pradesh[edit]
Kartikeya is the main deity at Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The temple of Kartikeya in Kugti village is visited every year by thousands of devotees when the trek is opened in the month of March–April.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka[edit]
Karthikeya is worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamils but also by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo, a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favourite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, he is worshipped at the Kataragama temple, where he is known as Kathiravel or Kataragama deviyo. Local legend holds that Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local girls. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all Buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism.
The Tamil Hindu temple Nallur Kandasamy dedicated to Murugan (Kartikeya).
By the 16th century, the Kataragama temple had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[56] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15th century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[56] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[57]
Malaysia[edit]
Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by the Tamil Hindus in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thaipusam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan. Batu Caves in short also referred as 10th Caves or Hill for Lord Muruga as there are 6 important holy shrines in India and 4 more in Malaysia. The 3 others in Malaysia are
Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh
Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang
Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca
Other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Viralimalai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Chennimalai, Sivanmalai, Pachaimalai, Thindal malai (Near Erode) and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam.
Goddess Skandamata with son Skanda or Kartikeya on her lap, is worshipped as fifth form of Navadurga.
There are many temples dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad, one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district and one in Mopidevi,Krishna district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Murugan is worshipped as the Lord of the serpents. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
Thaipusam festivities near the Batu Caves, Malaysia.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple[63] in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[64] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. Thaipusam walk for Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, USA is very popular and attracting many devotees from all over America. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Val-Morin, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple[65] is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale[66] in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Murugan.
The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[67]
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]
Other names[edit]
Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]
Vedas[edit]
The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.
The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.
Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:
"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,
But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."
According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;
His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]
The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:
Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.
Legends[edit]
Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)
Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.
His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)
He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.
Other parts of India[edit]
Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."
Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).
However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.
Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.
In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]
Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.
Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,
Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]
By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]
Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]
The Iron Academy sword was forged by David DelaGardelle for the Iron Academy school, a school based out of Raleigh North Carolina that was founded to help craft young men into honorable, virtuous, humble, and Godly leaders for future generations.
Crafted to be large, powerful, imposing, yet precisely balanced and swift moving in the hand of its wielder. The blade was forged and hand ground out of high carbon 1075 steel, with mild steel blued fittings and a walnut wood core grip wrapped with veggie tanned blood red leather.
The overall design is a hybrid blend of many late medieval Northern European swords, while still having its own distinctive bold voice in its design and aesthetics.
Crafted to inspire and empower its wielder with strength and responsibility, no matter how young or old the wielding warrior of the sword may be.
Down the length of the fullers the hand engraved phrases read:
"Live Pure, Speak True, Right Wrong, Follow The King."
And on the other side:
"Iron Academy - Because Biblical Manhood Is Never An Accident"
Stats:
OAL: 43"
Blade length: 32 1/2"
Blade Width: 2"
Grip Length: 8 1/2"
Balance point: 2 1/4" from the guard
Blade Steel: 1075 high carbon
Fittings: Blued Mild Steel
Grip: Wooden core with Veggie Tanned Leather Wrap
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]
Other names[edit]
Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]
Vedas[edit]
The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.
The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.
Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:
"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,
But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."
According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;
His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]
The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:
Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.
Legends[edit]
Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)
Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.
His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)
He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.
Other parts of India[edit]
Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."
Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).
However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.
Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.
In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]
Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.
Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,
Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]
By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]
Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]
A scroll for a Keystone (AEthelmearc AOA level service award).
Inspired by Dijon, Bibl. mun., ms. 0173, f. 066 (Jongleurs). Gregory, Moralia in Job.
www.encyclopedie-universelle.com/abbaye-cisterciens-moral...
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Words are by myself:
Heralds proclaim loudly for all to hear these present letters, Magnus Tindal Augustus and Etain Augusta, greetings. Justice desires and reason demands that those men of virtue and great heart shall be, by their deeds and renown, rewarded in this life by certain signs and shows of honor and nobility in order that others should be moved also to pass their days in feats of service and virtuous works. For this reason We, the above mentioned Emperor and Empresses, announce and affirm that Ffynthcor o Fyndham has followed the paths of virtue, especially in his service to the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands, to an extent that he is worthy and deserving of notice. He shall be in all places and in the company of other worthy and noble men and women received, counted, numbered and acclaimed as a member of the Noble Order of the Keystone. Done on this 13th day of Februry, AS50, at the Investiture of Brandubh and Hilderun.
based on the grant of arms of Christopher Brown 1480
Thomas Gainsborough（1727 - 1788）
Oil on canvas
63.8 x 76.6 cm
Margaret Burr married Gainsborough in 1746 and this portrait may have been painted to celebrate her 50th birthday. Her direct gaze is striking for its suggestion of intimacy between painter and sitter. Her pose derives from a classical sculpture of pudicity (meaning modesty or chastity); a witty reference to the virtuous fidelity of a wife. The oval shape formed by the mantle also suggests a subtle, personalised version of the painted architectural ovals that frame more formal 18th- century portraits.
Samuel Courtauld Trust : Courtauld Gift, 1932
The Courtauld Gallery, London
The development of the typical Chinese garden with its full yin-yang symbolism was essentially Taoist in origin. The Han Emperors had earlier created vast artificial landscapes or parks with mountains, ravines, forests, rivers, lakes, and open spaces to provide a habitat for hordes of game for hunting, but during the time of the Six Dynasties and the T’ang, when Taoism prevailed, there developed the quiet intimacy of the Taoist garden, intended to reflect heaven on earth. It became a symbol of Paradise where all life was protected and sheltered. The park had been given over to the grandiose, the artificial, extravagant, and luxurious, to the hunter and aggressor; the Taoist garden was a place of naturalness and simplicity, a haven for the sage, scholar, and nature lover. Both landscape painting and garden-making owe their development to the Taoist philosophers who derived their inspiration from Nature as the Mother of All Things, the womb of life, eternal renewal, with her rhythms and moods. What was said of the painting of a landscape applied equally to the creation of a garden: “Chinese painters intuitively felt these same forms to be the visible, material manifestations of a higher all-embracing Reality; the Word made—not flesh—but Living Nature.” Or: “The Sages cherish the Tao within them, while they respond to the objective world.… As to landscapes, they both have material existence and reach to the realms of the Spirit.… The virtuous follow the Tao by spiritual insight and the wise take the same approach. Landscapes capture the Tao by their forms and the virtuous take pleasure in them. Is this not almost the same thing?… The Divine Spirit is infinite, yet it dwells in forms and inspires likeness, and thus truth enters into forms and signs. But while landscapes portrayed the vastness and grandeur of Nature, the garden revealed her intimate aspect. All forms of art are the outward and visible expression of Ch’i, the Cosmic Breath or Energy, with which all creation must be in accord, whether it be painting, poetry, music, or the creation of a garden. Indeed, all these arts developed side by side, for the Chinese scholar was expected to be capable of interpreting the same inspiration in all three arts together and the place of both their inspiration and expression was most usually the garden, this term being applied also to the rural retreat of a sage or hermit where in some remote and beautiful scenery a hut had been built and round it trees planted. In a well-designed garden it should be difficult to distinguish between the work of man and Nature. One should “borrow scenery from Nature” and the ideal place was “among trees in the mountains.” Wherever it was, the garden was a place of quiet, meditation, and communion with Nature, whether in wild scenery beside a waterfall, or a trickling stream, or in a bamboo grove, or the courtyard of a city dwelling. The garden is “the natural home of man” and house and garden were situated according to feng-shui (wind and water) influences in harmony with the currents of Ch’i; these were held in balance in both the house and garden, as in Nature, by the yin-yang forces. The yin lunar and yang solar powers were represented by the yin valleys and waters and the yang mountains and sky with all their endless yang and yin qualities such as sunshine and shadow, height and depth, heat and cold. However small the space utilized, the garden was never laid out as a flat expanse from which all could be viewed at once. This removal of any definite boundary made for succession, expansion, rhythm, and a sense of unlimited time and space. The garden, like Nature, is ever-changing, a place of light and shade with a life-breath (Ch’i yün) which is in harmony with the rhythms of the seasons and their contrasts in weather. Irregularity of line also suggests movement and life. “Everything that is ruled and symmetrical is alien to free nature.”[3] Or, as it has been said: “The awareness of change, the interaction symbolized by the yin-yang theory, has caused Chinese gardeners to seek irregular and unexpected features which appeal more to the imagination than to the reasoning faculty of the beholder. There were certain rules and principles for gardening, but these did not lead to any conformity. The basic elements were the same for landscape painting, shan shui or ‘mountain and water’” which might be imposing scenery or simply a pond and rocks. The smallest space could be converted into an effect of depth, infinite extension, and mysterious distance; groves, rockeries, bushes, winding paths, all helped to lure on beyond the immediate scene. As Rowley says of Western and Chinese art: “We restrict space to a single vista as though seen through an open door; they suggest the unlimited space of nature as though they had stepped through that open door.” The entire garden must be considered in association and relationship with all things in Nature. Chang Ch’ao says: “Planting flowers serves to invite butterflies, piling up rocks serves to invite the clouds, planting pine trees serves to invite the wind,… planting banana trees serves to invite the rain, and planting willow trees serves to invite the cicada.” These are all traditional symbolic associations. In the past in China, though man was the mediator between Heaven and Earth, he was not the measure of the universe; his place was simply to maintain the balance and harmony between the yin and the yang. It was Nature which was the Whole, and controlling cosmic power. The garden helped man in his work of maintaining harmony; it also had an ethical significance and influence. According to Ch’ien Lung it had “a refreshing effect upon the mind and regulated the feelings” preventing man from becoming “engrossed in sensual pleasures and losing strength of will.” Its pleasures were simple, natural, and spiritual. A Suchou poet wrote of the garden: “One should enter it in a peaceful and receptive mood; one should use one’s observation to note the plan and pattern of the garden, for the different parts have not been arbitrarily assembled, but carefully weighed against each other like the pairs of inscribed tablets placed in the pavilions,[6] and when one has thoroughly comprehended the tangible forms of objects one should endeavor to attain an inner communication with the soul of the garden and try to understand the mysterious forces governing the landscape and making it cohere.” The garden was for all seasons with their changing moods and colors, flowers and trees, so the pavilion and open gallery were necessary for enjoyment in the heat of summer or the cold of winter and became an integral part of the scenery. Even in winter one sat out in the pavilion to admire the beauties of the snow and to watch the budding of the almond and plum blossom. A portable brazier of glowing charcoal kept one warm and a large brazier was used to melt the snow to make tea. The garden was particularly evocative by moonlight and the new and full moons, times of spiritual power, had their own festivals, especially the festival of the mid-autumn moon. Other festivals were also celebrated in the pavilion or garden; the vernal equinox, observed on the twelfth day of the second month of the Chinese year, was known as the Birthday of the Flowers. Pavilions and galleries obviously had to blend with their surroundings. The Yüan Yeh says: “Buildings should be placed so as to harmonize with the natural formation of the ground.” When pavilions were connected by galleries these followed the rise and fall and curves of the land or winding of the waters which were often crossed by bridges, bringing in all the symbolism of the crossing of the waters, of transition, of communication between one realm or plane and another, as well as of man as mediator, occupying the central position between the great powers. Added beauty and symbolism was introduced in the “moon bridge,” a lovely half-circle which when reflected in the clear water below formed the perfect circle of the full moon. Roofs were curved and painted and the lattice work of the balustrades was lacquered and painted in harmonizing and symbolic colors. Harmony and proportion had to be maintained but symmetry was alien to Nature, thus the garden contained no such thing as clipped lawns or hedges or stiff geometrically designed flower beds, or flowers marshaled in rows or patterns. And “landscaping” had to absorb buildings and, like planted trees, make them look as if they had grown there. “One erects a pavilion where the view opens and plants flowers that smile in the face of the spring breeze.”[7] It was a place for both relaxation and active enjoyment, for solitary meditation and study, or for convivial gatherings for friends to meet and drink tea or wine or take al fresco meals. There they composed poetry and music, painted, practiced calligraphy or discussed philosophy. One amusement was to compose a poem in the time that it took a floating wine cup and saucer to drift from one end to the other on a meandering water-course set in the floor of the pavilion. A poet failing to complete his poem in the time had to catch and empty the cup. These water-courses could also be constructed in symbolic forms such as the swastika, or the cross-form of the Chinese character for the number ten, or in the shape of a lotus or open flower. Sometimes the water tumbled over small waterfalls or rocks. Pavilions were given names such as the Pavilion of the Hanging Rainbow, the Fragrance of the Lotus, the Secret Clouds, the Eight Harmonious Tones, Invitation, or Contemplation, of the Moon, Welcoming Spring, Pleasant Coolness, and so on. In some gardens there were Halls of the Moon; these were constructed in the shape of a hemisphere, the vaulted ceiling painted to represent the nocturnal sky with innumerable small windows of colored glass depicting the moon and stars. The total effect was one of the subdued light of a summer’s night. Sometimes the floor was planted with flowers, but more usually it contained running water, the moon and water being closely allied: “The moon washes its soul in the clear waters,” but although moon and waters are both yin water is symbolically related to the sun since the waters catch and reflect back the sun’s light, the yang. These halls could be large enough for holding banquets or of a smallness suitable for intimate sitting about in conversation or listening to music and poetry. Here, in the garden, where heaven and earth meet, music and poetry become the natural form of the expression of harmony. While the pavilion was built in and for the garden and was open to it, this breaking down of the distinction between in and out of doors applied also to the dwelling house which was not only sited for feng-shui but for fitting as naturally as possible into the scenery and giving access so immediately to the garden that there seemed no dividing line. Doors either did not exist or were left open. (Socially, closed doors were not considered courteous since they implied exclusion, while the open door symbolized the welcome extended by the essentially outgoing Chinese temperament with its spontaneous and natural relationships developed over the ages in the highly socialized life of a large family). Doors were often only a means of enhancing a view into the garden or to the scenery beyond, such as the moon door, a beautifully placed circle framing some special outlook. Not only was every aspect used to its full natural advantage but “if one can take advantage of a neighbor’s view one should not cut off the communication, for such a ‘borrowed prospect’ is very acceptable.” The house opened on to the garden and the garden came into the house; rooms opened on to the courtyards where flowering trees grew and ferns and flowers fringed a central pool, usually with golden carp swimming in it, for the garden was a place for animal and bird life also. Indeed, animals and plants were not considered the only ‘living’ things; everything shares in the cosmic power and mountains and rivers also ‘live.’ Nor was it at all unusual for the house to go out into the garden, for the lover of nature would move a bed out of doors, beside some special tree, shrub, or flower which was coming into bloom, so that no stage of its development and beauty would be lost; or one would sit up all night to enjoy the effect of the moonlight. “The moonlight lies like glittering water over the countryside. The wind sighs in the trees and gently touches the lute and the book that lie on the couch. The dark rippled mirror of the water swallows the half-moon. When day dawns one is awakened by the fresh breeze; it reaches the bed and all the dust of the world is blown out of one’s mind.” The garden was not, however, merely aesthetic but creative and a reminder of, and contact with, the creative forces and the great cycle of the seasons, birth, maturity, decay, death and rebirth. The merging of the native Taoism with imported Buddhism in Ch’an, or Zen, carried on the tradition of the intimate relationship between man and Nature. Ch’an Buddhism and gardens were two facets of Chinese inspiration which were adopted and carried on by the Japanese, but in later decadent times the original symbolism of the garden as a reflection of Paradise was lost and gardens became mere pleasure grounds, except where attached to monasteries in which much of the symbolism was taken over and where the association with meditation remained. In those gardens of effete times artificial extravagances crept in; windows were made in shapes which bore no relationship to symbols, such as teapots, animals, vases, and fans, even if some of these forms had, in fact, a symbolic content. But these aberrations were stigmatized by the Yüan Yeh as “stupid and vulgar” and “intelligent people should be careful in such matters.” (Shades of plastic cranes and gnomes!) The garden was a reflection of the macrocosm and embodied all the yin-yang dualisms projected in manifestation. Mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, were all represented. As Cheng Pan ch’iao said: “The enjoyment of life should come from a view regarding the universe as a garden… so that all beings live according to their nature and great indeed is such happiness.” The importance of water in the Chinese garden was not only due to yin-yang symbolism but to the wide significance of water itself as, next to the Dragon, the greatest Taoist symbol. It is strength in weakness, fluidity, adaptability, coolness of judgment, gentle persuasion, and passionlessness. While mountains and rocks are the bones of the body and the earth its flesh, rivers and streams are the arteries and blood, life-giver and fertilizer. Flowing water and still water symbolized movement and repose and the complementary opposites, and water-worn stones represented the interaction of the soft and the hard. Still water also takes on all the symbolism of the mirror. Water could be made by forming lakes and rivers in the earth excavated for making mountains, though mountains were most frequently represented by rocks, hollow and weather-worn, fretted out by the restless sea or the elements or formed from the strange shapes of petrified trees. These rocks were carefully selected for their color, texture, grain, and shape; some were upright and towering, others, larger at the top than at the base, gave the effect of disappearing into the clouds, others, lying down, took fantastic animal shapes, some gave out a note when struck, others were mute. Sometimes the rocks formed grottoes, but whatever the shape they always appeared as natural to the setting and were as near to the form of wild mountain crags as possible, giving the impression of Nature, untamed and capricious. (In this “naturalness” it must be remarked that the mountains of China in the Yangtze gorges, the far West, and the Southern provinces have been worked by nature herself into fantastic and sometimes grotesque shapes.) “Try to make your mountains resemble real mountains. Follow Nature’s plan” but “do not forget they have to be built by human hands.” Symbolically, the mountain is of course the world axis, but in the Chinese garden it also represented the yang power in Nature with the waters as the yin; the “mountain” is traditionally placed in the middle of a lake or pond, the rock being the stable and eternal, the water the flowing and temporal. This mountain-and-water (shan shui) symbolism also obtains in landscape painting. The rock and the shadow it casts are also yang and yin. Rocks are “silent, unmovable, and detached from life, like refined scholars.” Their ruggedness also suggests the challenging and dangerous element in the mountains and in life. In larger gardens the mountains were sufficiently high for the formation of small valleys and dales, with winging streams opening out into lakes on which boat journeys could be taken and where the water could be spanned by bridges. Sometimes a series of islands or rocks were so connected. Tunnels in the rocks gave the same effect and carried the same symbolism as bridges in passing from one world to another. But “even a little mountain may give rise to many effects… a small stone may evoke many feelings.”[11] Shen Fu says: “In the designing of a rockery or the training of flower trees one should try to show the small in the large and the large in the small and provide for the real in the unreal and the unreal in the real. One reveals and conceals alternately, making it sometimes apparent and sometimes hidden.” Both the yang mountain and the yin tree are axial and so represent stability and balance between the two great powers; they also offer a line of communication for man between the celestial yang forces coming down to earth and the earthly yin forces reaching up to heaven, with man again as central and responsible for the maintenance of balance and harmony in responding equally to the yin and yang powers. Trees were an essential feature of both the domestic and hermitage garden, particularly the latter where they were often the only addition made by man to the natural scenery and their variety was almost as important as the trees themselves. While all trees are beautiful and symbolize the feminine power, some were especially noted for their yin-yang qualities. Though yin as a tree, the pine and cedar express yang masculine dignity and rigidity in contrast to the feminine gracefulness, pliability, and charm of the willow, both these trees were considered necessary to maintain the yin-yang harmony. Dog scientist in a desert of stone, as he dreams, we know see through the wall ....
Chinese scholar's rocksScholar's rock, 11th century
Chinese scholars' rocks (Chinese: 供石; pinyin: gōngshí), also known as scholar stones or viewing stones, are small naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars. Scholars rocks can be any color; and contrasting colors are not uncommon. The size of the stone can also be quite varied: scholars rocks can weigh either hundreds of pounds or less than one pound. The term also identifies stones which are placed in traditional Chinese gardens. In the Tang dynasty, a set of four important qualities for the rocks were recognized. They are: thinness (shou), openness (tou), perforations (lou), and wrinkling (zhou). Chinese scholar's rocks influenced the development of Korean suseok and Japanese suiseki. Origin The origin of the stone is a notable feature. Lingbi stone feom Anhui. Ming Dynasty, 15th century Lingbi stone (Lingbishi) from Lingbi, Anhui province, limestone Taihu stone (Taihushi) from Lake Tai, Jiangsu province, limestone Yingde stone (Yingshi or Yingdeshi) from Yingde, Guangdong province, limestone Evaluation The evaluation of a scholar's rock identifies subtlety of color, shape, markings, surface, and sound. The overall array of qualities which are prized include awkwardness or overhanging asymmetry resonance or ringing when struck representation or resemblance to landscape or figure texture.
Opinion
Investing in midwives
By Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi
May 10, 2022
Pakistan observed the International Day of the Midwife on May 5, which also marked the 100th anniversary of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) that together with the UNFPA and the WHO organizes the day. The main objective was to ensure that the global community recognized the importance of instituting quality midwifery programmes and amplifying the life-promoting work of this virtuous profession.
The WHO has also recently set out the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2021-2025 based on an interrelated set of policy priorities designed to help countries to ensure that midwives and nurses optimally contribute to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and other population health goals. The document uses the terms “midwife” and “nurse” as different occupational groups by appreciating the professional distinction between midwives and nurses.
The government of Pakistan is determined to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals relating to health, particularly the attainment of UHC, by the year 2030. A major impediment in this colossal undertaking is an acute shortage and lopsided balance within the Human Resources for Health (HRH). Pakistan falls within the countries with the most acute shortage of HRH. While the WHO recommends a density of at least 45 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 to attain UHC with one doctor for four nurses, midwives or lady health visitors (LHVs), Pakistan in end-2017, with a population of close to 208 million, was at 14.5 and that too with a lopsided balance.
The number of doctors was almost double the number of nurses, midwives and lady health visitors combined. This indicated that between 2018 and 2030 we have to bridge the 8-fold shortage in the number of nurses, midwives and lady health visitors by producing around 800,000 of these crucial professionals.
Until now we have focused mainly on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) care in addition to communicable disease control and have yet to properly address the control of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and chronic respiratory diseases. Despite this focus, however, our maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate and population growth rate are the highest in our region signifying that we are missing some crucial link.
When we use the term midwife, it refers to a woman who assists a prospective mother in childbirth. It stands to reason that professionals belonging to this cadre are likely to play the most pivotal role in improving our critical MNCH indicators and warrant our priority attention. However, midwifery was usually lumped with nursing, disallowing the profession to develop an identity of its own. Until quite recently when diploma programmes were the norm, candidates were admitted after 10 years of schooling to a four-year nursing training, only the last year of which was devoted to midwifery. Thus, the majority of registered diploma holders had little or no experience in deliveries.
After 1952, the government began establishing public health schools offering two-year courses for LHVs focusing on midwifery and essential elements of public health. Subsequently, the government launched a cadre of community midwives, which were not of adequate quality and failed to impact our indicators. Later, the Pakistan Nursing Council allowed registered nurses to undertake a two-year Bachelors’ programme in Midwifery in the Aga Khan University Karachi and later at the Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi.
Meanwhile, in the run up to attaining UHC, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination developed a PC-I for the strengthening of the nursing and midwifery sub-sector in 2019, which called for four-year degree programmes in nursing and midwifery after 12 years of schooling. However, a lot of time was taken up in apportioning the share of federal and provincial costs and subsequently a PC-I at federal level was approved, which has not taken off yet due to lack of releases in view of the Covid-19 response and other funding modalities.
What is important is that the federal and provincial governments have resolved to do away with nursing and midwifery diploma programmes and shifted to four-year Bachelors’ programme after FSc. They have also agreed to institute a two-year bridging programme for registered nurses leading to a BSc in Nursing or Midwifery will also be available.
The good news is that after an extensive dialogue with several stakeholders, an advanced draft of the Midwifery Strategy has been developed based on which each province can draw up its strategic framework and operational plan. The principal and foremost consideration of the strategy is to establish a separate, distinct and discrete identity for the midwifery profession and not obscure it as part of nursing.
The strategy also envisages reducing the overlapping in some related cadres in the health and population sectors that could be merged with the midwifery cadre after establishing the bridging programmes. Efforts will also be made to ensure that midwives enjoy the same career pathways allowed to nurses (Grade 16-20) or even higher by changing the nomenclature of certain positions, reserving certain positions manned by doctors for midwives and creating new positions. This is important as currently very low grades are allowed to midwives and lady health visitors with no opportunities for personal or professional growth.
The Pakistan Nursing Council Act should be renamed the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council, while incorporating a code of conduct relating to the practice of midwifery to remove any ambiguity. The larger schools of nursing recently upgraded as colleges of nursing should apportion a significant proportion of their seats for midwifery as well, while all the 27 public health schools producing LHVs in Pakistan should also be upgraded as midwifery colleges.
The federal MoNHRSC should expedite its support for the upgraded colleges in faculty development and provision of equipment for skills laboratories, anatomy laboratories, science laboratories, IT laboratories, audiovisual laboratories, library books/journals and access to online databases to maintain a high quality of teaching. The provincial governments should also work on the upgradation of these institutions on a priority basis.
New positions of midwives will need to be created at all levels of the health system, including teaching hospitals, district headquarter hospitals, tehsil headquarter hospitals, rural health centers and basic health units where female paramedics are not available. The MoNHRSC and PNC need to ensure uniformity and standardization in the implementation of all public policies relating to midwives to establish similar job descriptions, roles and responsibilities for all the professionals.
Each province will need to decipher the exact number of midwifery professionals required by 2030 in order to attain UHC, based on an accurate needs analysis in each district within their jurisdiction. Efforts must be made to adhere to the ICM standards for accreditation, advocacy, autonomy, admissions, assessments, competence, curriculum, and midwife-led continuity of care, educational standards of care and their evaluation process including continuing education.
Moving forward these strategy elements need to be rapidly endorsed by all stakeholders as soon as practicable so that the provincial operational plans can be developed on a priority basis along with an equitable allocation of funds. Planning should be carried out realistically with achievable targets and foreseeing challenges together with the means to mitigate them. However, the bar should be set high so as not to compromise on the quality of education imparted.
These measures can enable Pakistan’s coveted dream of bringing down its indicators for maternal and child health to acceptable levels, while attaining Sustainable Development Goal No 3 encompassing Universal Health Coverage by the stipulated timeframe of 2030.
The writer is a senior public health specialist and editor-in-chief of the Public Health
Action journal of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases.
Once the world was overburdened by the unnecessary defense force of different kings, who were actually demons, but were posing themselves as the royal order. At that time, the whole world became perturbed, and the predominating deity of this earth, known as Bhūmi, went to see Lord Brahmā to tell of her calamities due to the demoniac kings. Bhūmi assumed the shape of a cow and presented herself before Lord Brahmā with tears in her eyes. She was bereaved and was weeping just to invoke the Lord's compassion. She related the calamitous position of the earth, and after hearing this, Lord Brahmā became much aggrieved, and he at once started for the ocean of milk, where Lord Viṣṇu resides. Lord Brahmā was accompanied by all the demigods headed by Lord Śiva, and Bhūmi also followed. Arriving on the shore of the milk ocean, Lord Brahmā began to pacify the Lord Viṣṇu who formerly saved the earthly planet by assuming the transcendental form of a boar.
In the Vedic mantras, there is a particular type of prayer called Puruṣa-sūkta. Generally, the demigods offer their obeisances unto Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by chanting the Puruṣa-sūkta. It is understood herein that the predominating deity of every planet can see the supreme lord of this universe, Brahmā, whenever there is some disturbance in his planet. And Brahmā can approach the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, not by seeing Him directly, but by standing on the shore of the ocean of milk. There is a planet within this universe called Śvetadvīpa, and on that planet there is an ocean of milk. It is understood from various Vedic literatures that just as there is the ocean of salt water within this planet, there are various kinds of oceans in other planets. Somewhere there is an ocean of milk, somewhere there is an ocean of oil, and somewhere there is an ocean of liquor and many other types of oceans. Puruṣa-sūkta is the standard prayer which the demigods recite to appease the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. Because He is lying on the ocean of milk, He is called Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through whom all the incarnations within this universe appear.
After all the demigods offered the Puruṣa-sūkta prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they apparently heard no response. Then Lord Brahmā personally sat in meditation, and there was a message- transmission from Lord Viṣṇu to Brahmā. Brahmā then broadcast the message to the demigods. That is the system of receiving Vedic knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is received first by Brahmā from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the medium of the heart. As stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tene brahma hṛdā: the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was transmitted to Lord Brahmā through the heart. Here also, in the same way, only Brahmā could understand the message transmitted by Lord Viṣṇu, and he broadcast it to the demigods for their immediate action. The message was: the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth very soon along with His supreme powerful potencies, and as long as He remains on the earth planet to execute His mission of annihilating the demons and establishing the devotees, the demigods should also remain there to assist Him. They should all immediately take birth in the family of the Yadu dynasty, wherein the Lord will also appear in due course of time.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Kṛṣṇa, personally appeared as the son of Vasudeva. Before He appeared, all the demigods, along with their wives, appeared in different pious families in the world just to assist the Lord in executing His mission. The exact word used here is tatpriyārtham, which means the demigods should appear on the earth in order to please the Lord. In other words, any living entity who lives only to satisfy the Lord is a demigod. The demigods were further informed that the plenary portion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Ananta, who is maintaining the universal planets by extending His millions of hoods, would also appear on earth before Lord Kṛṣṇa's appearance. They were also informed that the external potency of Viṣṇu (māyā), with whom all the conditioned souls are enamored, would also appear just to execute the purpose of the Supreme Lord.
After instructing and pacifying all the demigods, as well as Bhūmi, with sweet words, Lord Brahmā, the father of all prajāpatis, or progenitors of universal population, departed for his own abode, the highest material planet, called Brahmaloka.
The leader of the dynasty, King Śūrasena, was ruling over the country known as Mathurā (the district of Mathurā), as well as the district known as Śūrasena. On account of the rule of King Śūrasena, Mathurā became the capital city of all the kings of the Yadus. Mathurā was also made the capital of the kings of the Yadu dynasty because the Yadus were a very pious family and knew that Mathurā is the place where Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa lives eternally, just as He also lives in Dvārakā.
Once upon a time, Vasudeva, the son of Śūrasena, just after marrying Devakī, was going home on his chariot with his newly wedded wife. The father of Devakī, known as Devaka, had contributed a sufficient dowry because he was very affectionate toward his daughter. He had contributed hundreds of chariots completely decorated with gold equipment. At that time, Kaṁsa, the son of Ugrasena, in order to please his sister, Devakī, had voluntarily taken the reins of the horses of Vasudeva's chariot and was driving. According to the custom of the Vedic civilization, when a girl is married, the brother takes the sister and brother-in-law to their home. Because the newly married girl may feel too much separation from her father's family, the brother goes with her until she reaches her father-in- law's house. The full dowry contributed by Devaka was as follows: 400 elephants fully decorated with golden garlands, 15,000 decorated horses, and 1800 chariots. He also arranged for two hundred beautiful girls to follow his daughter. The kṣatriya system of marriage, still current in India, dictates that when a kṣatriya is married, a few dozen of the bride's young girlfriends (in addition to the bride) go to the house of the king. The followers of the queen are called maidservants, but actually they act as friends of the queen. This practice is prevalent from time immemorial, traceable at least to the time before the advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa 5,000 years ago. So Vasudeva brought home another two hundred beautiful girls along with his wife.
While the bride and bridegroom were passing along on the chariot, there were different kinds of musical instruments playing to indicate the auspicious moment. There were conchshells, bugles, drums and kettledrums; combined together, they were vibrating a nice concert. The procession was passing very pleasingly, and Kaṁsa was driving the chariot, when suddenly there was a miraculous sound vibrated from the sky which especially announced to Kaṁsa: "Kaṁsa: you are such a fool. You are driving the chariot of your sister and your brother-in-law, but you do not know that the eighth child of this sister will kill you."
Kaṁsa was the son of Ugrasena, of the Bhoja dynasty. It is said that Kaṁsa was the most demonic of all the Bhoja dynasty kings. Immediately after hearing the prophecy from the sky, he caught hold of Devakī's hair and was just about to kill her with his sword. Vasudeva was astonished at Kaṁsa's behavior, and in order to pacify the cruel, shameless brother-in- law, he began to speak as follows, with great reason and evidence. He said, "My dear brother-in-law Kaṁsa, you are the most famous king of the Bhoja dynasty, and people know that you are the greatest warrior and a valiant king. How is it that you are so infuriated that you are prepared to kill a woman who is your own sister at this auspicious time of her marriage? Why should you be so much afraid of death? Death is already born along with your birth. From the very day you took your birth, you began to die. Suppose you are twenty-five years old; that means you have already died twenty-five years. Every moment, every second, you are dying. Why then should you be so much afraid of death? Final death is inevitable. You may die either today or in a hundred years; you cannot avoid death. Why should you be so much afraid? Actually, death means annihilation of the present body. As soon as the present body stops functioning and mixes with the five elements of material nature, the living entity within the body accepts another body, according to his present action and reaction. It is just as when a man walks on the street; he puts forward his foot, and when he is confident that his foot is situated on sound ground, he lifts the other foot. In this way, one after another, the body changes and the soul transmigrates. See how the plantworms change from one twig to another so carefully! Similarly, the living entity changes his body as soon as the higher authorities decide on his next body. As long as a living entity is conditioned within this material world, he must take material bodies one after another. His next particular body is offered by the laws of nature, according to the actions and reactions of this life.
"This body is exactly like one of the bodies which we always see in dreams. During our dream of sleep, we create so many bodies according to mental creation. We have seen gold and we have also seen a mountain, so in a dream we can see a golden mountain by combining the two ideas. Sometimes in dreams, we see that we have a body which is flying in the sky, and at that time we completely forget our present body. Similarly, these bodies are changing. When you have one body, you forget the past body. During a dream, we may make contact with so many new kinds of bodies, but when we are awake we forget them all. And actually these material bodies are the creations of our mental activities. But at the present moment we do not recollect our past bodies.
"The nature of the mind is flickering. Sometimes it accepts something, and immediately it rejects the same thing. Accepting and rejecting is the process of the mind in contact with the five objects of sense gratification: form, taste, smell, sound, and touch. In its speculative way, the mind comes in touch with the objects of sense gratification, and when the living entity desires a particular type of body, he gets it. Therefore, the body is an offering by the laws of material nature. The living entity accepts a body and comes out again into the material world to enjoy or suffer according to the construction of the body. Unless we have a particular type of body, we cannot enjoy or suffer according to our mental proclivities inherited from the previous life. The particular type of body is actually offered to us according to our mental condition at the time of death.
"The luminous planets like the sun, moon or the stars reflect themselves in different types of reservoirs, like water, oil or ghee. The reflection moves according to the movement of the reservoir. The reflection of the moon is on the water, and the moving water makes the moon also appear to be moving, but actually the moon is not moving. Similarly, by mental concoction, the living entity attains different kinds of bodies, although actually he has no connection with such bodies. But on account of illusion, being enchanted by the influence of māyā, the living entity thinks that he belongs to a particular type of body. That is the way of conditioned life. Suppose a living entity is now in a human form of body. He thinks that he belongs to the human community, or a particular country or particular place. He identifies himself in that way and unnecessarily prepares for another body which is not required by him. Such desires and mental concoctions are the cause of different types of body. The covering influence of material nature is so strong that the living entity is satisfied in whatever body he gets, and he identifies with that body with great pleasure. Therefore, I beg to request you not to be overwhelmed by the dictation of your mind and body."
Vasudeva thus requested Kaṁsa not to be envious of his newly married sister. One should not be envious of anyone, because envy is the cause of
fear both in this world and in the next when one is before Yamarāja (the lord of punishment after death). Vasudeva appealed to Kaṁsa on behalf of Devakī, stating that she was his younger sister. He also appealed at an auspicious moment, at the time of marriage. A younger sister or brother are supposed to be protected as one's children. "The position is overall so delicate," Vasudeva reasoned, "that if you kill her, it will go against your high reputation."
Vasudeva tried to pacify Kaṁsa by good instruction as well as by philosophical discrimination, but Kaṁsa was not to be pacified because his association was demoniac. Because of his demoniac associations, he was always a demon, although born in a very high royal family. A demon never cares for any good instruction. He is just like a determined thief: one can give him moral instruction, but it will not be effective. Similarly, those who are demoniac or atheistic by nature can hardly assimilate any good instruction, however authorized it may be. That is the difference between demigod and demon. Those who can accept good instruction and try to live their lives in that way are called demigods, and those who are unable to take such good instruction are called demons. Failing in his attempt to pacify Kaṁsa, Vasudeva wondered how he would protect his wife Devakī. When there is imminent danger, an intelligent person should try to avoid the dangerous position as far as possible. But if, in spite of endeavoring by all intelligence, one fails to avoid the dangerous position, there is no fault on his part. One should try his best to execute his duties, but if the attempt fails, he is not at fault.
Vasudeva thought of his wife as follows: "For the present let me save the life of Devakī, then later on, if there are children, I shall see how to save them." He further thought, "If in the future I get a child who can kill Kaṁsa--just as Kaṁsa is thinking--then both Devakī and the child will be saved because the law of Providence is inconceivable. But now, some way or other, let me save the life of Devakī."
There is no certainty how a living entity contacts a certain type of body, just as there is no certainty how the blazing fire comes in contact with a certain type of wood in the forest. When there is a forest fire, it is experienced that the blazing fire sometimes leaps over one tree and catches another by the influence of the wind. Similarly, a living entity may be very careful and fearful in the matter of executing his duties, but it is still very difficult for him to know what type of body he is going to get in the next life. Mahārāja Bharata was very faithfully executing the duties of self-realization, but by chance he contacted temporary affection for a deer, and he had to accept his next life in the body of a deer.
Vasudeva, after deliberating on how to save his wife, began to speak to Kaṁsa with great respect, although Kaṁsa was the most sinful man. Sometimes it happens that a most virtuous person like Vasudeva has to flatter a person like Kaṁsa, a most vicious person. That is the way of all diplomatic transactions. Although Vasudeva was deeply aggrieved, he presented himself outwardly as cheerful. He addressed the shameless Kaṁsa in that way because he was so atrocious. Vasudeva said to Kaṁsa, "My dear brother-in-law, please consider that you have no danger from your sister. You are awaiting some danger because you have heard a prophetic voice in the sky. But the danger is to come from the sons of your sister, who are not present now. And who knows? There may or may not be sons in the future. Considering all this, you are safe for the present. Nor is there cause of fear from your sister. If there are any sons born of her, I promise that I shall present all of them to you for necessary action."
Kaṁsa knew the value of Vasudeva's word of honor, and he was convinced by his argument. For the time being, he desisted from the heinous killing of his sister. Thus Vasudeva was pleased and praised the decision of Kaṁsa. In this way, he returned to his home.
After due course of time, Vasudeva and Devakī gave birth to eight male children, as well as one daughter. When the first son was born, Vasudeva kept his word of honor and immediately brought the child before Kaṁsa. It is said that Vasudeva was very much elevated and famous for his word of honor, and he wanted to maintain this fame. Although it was very painful for Vasudeva to hand over the newly born child, Kaṁsa was very glad to receive him. But he became a little compassionate with the behavior of Vasudeva. This event is very exemplary. For a great soul like Vasudeva, there is nothing considered to be painful in the course of discharging one's duty. A learned person like Vasudeva carries out his duties without hesitation. On the other hand, a demon like Kaṁsa never hesitates in committing any abominable action. It is said, therefore, that a saintly person can tolerate all kinds of miserable conditions of life, a learned man can discharge his duties without awaiting favorable circumstances, a heinous person like Kaṁsa can act in any sinful way, and a devotee can sacrifice everything to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Kaṁsa became satisfied by the action of Vasudeva. He was surprised to see Vasudeva keeping his promise, and being compassionate upon him and pleased, he began to speak as follows: "My dear Vasudeva, you need not present this child to me. I am not in danger from this child. I have heard that the eighth child born of you and Devakī will kill me. Why should I accept this child unnecessarily? You can take him back."
When Vasudeva was returning home with his first-born child, although he was pleased by the behavior of Kaṁsa, he could not believe in him because he knew that Kaṁsa was uncontrolled. An atheistic person cannot be firm in his word of honor. One who cannot control the senses cannot be steady in his determination. The great politician, Cāṇakya Paṇḍit, said, "Never put your trust in a diplomat or in a woman." Those who are addicted to unrestricted sense gratification can never be truthful, nor can they be trusted with any faith.
At that time the great sage Nārada came to Kaṁsa. He was informed of Kaṁsa's becoming compassionate to Vasudeva and returning his first- born child. Nārada was very anxious to accelerate the descent of Lord Kṛṣṇa as soon as possible. He therefore informed Kaṁsa that personalities like Nanda Mahārāja and all the cowherd men and girls and the wives of the cowherd men in Vṛndāvana, and, on the other side, Vasudeva, his father Śūrasena and all his relatives born in the family of Vṛṣṇi of the Yadu Dynasty, were preparing for the appearance of the Lord. Nārada warned Kaṁsa to be careful of the friends and well-wishers and all the demigods taking birth in those families. Kaṁsa and his friends and advisors were all demons. Demons are always afraid of demigods. After being thus informed by Nārada about the appearance of the demigods in different families, Kaṁsa at once became alert. He understood that since the demigods had already appeared, Lord Viṣṇu must be coming soon. He at once arrested both his brother-in-law Vasudeva and Devakī and put them behind prison bars.
Within the prison, shackled in iron chains, Vasudeva and Devakī gave birth to a male child year after year, and Kaṁsa, thinking each of the babies to be the incarnation of Viṣṇu, killed them one after another. He was particularly afraid of the eighth child, but after the visit of Nārada, he came to the conclusion that any child might be Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it was better to kill all the babies who took birth of Devakī and Vasudeva.
This action of Kaṁsa is not very difficult to understand. There are many instances in the history of the world of persons in the royal order who have killed father, brother, or a whole family and friends for the satisfaction of their ambitions. There is nothing astonishing about this, for the demoniac can kill anyone for their nefarious ambitions.
Kaṁsa was made aware of his previous birth by the grace of Nārada. He learned that in his previous birth he was a demon of the name Kālanemi and that he was killed by Viṣṇu. Having taken his birth in the Bhoja family, he decided to become the deadly enemy of the Yadu dynasty; Kṛṣṇa was going to take birth in that family, and Kaṁsa was very much afraid that he would be killed by Kṛṣṇa, just as he was killed in his last birth.
He first of all imprisoned his father Ugrasena because he was the chief king among the Yadu, Bhoja, and Andhaka dynasties, and he also occupied the kingdom of Śūrasena, Vasudeva's father. He declared himself the king of all such places.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the First Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, "Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa."
- The Krsna book
by Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad
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Sri Sri Londonisvara mandir, London 🇬🇧
3rd September, 2018
Only this I have found, that God made man upright, virtuous, true, and he hath entangled himself with an infinity of questions.
Who is as the wise man? and who hath known the resolution of the word?
Ecclesiastes 7:29
Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked. (The yoga sutras of Patanjali
"Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’"
- Luke 18:9-14, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
Detail from a window in St Gregory's parish church in Tredington.
Chennai - SEPTEMBER 15: Kathakali performer in the virtuous pachcha (green) role in Chennai on September 15, 2012 in South India. Kathakali is the ancient classical dance form of Kerala.
On the death of Roger Anderton in 1640, Birchley was inherited by eldest son James (1617-73). Almost immediately the family was caught up in the events of the English Civil War, paying a heavy price for their Catholicism and Royalist sympathies after the triumph of the Puritan and Parliamentarian parties.
James was married to Anne Blount, daughter of Sir Walter Blount of Sodington in Worcestershire. A poem written in celebration of the marriage, now in the Bodleian Library at ref. MSS Eng. Poet. C 61, refers to him as
“Son to the virtuous brother of learned James,
Great James whose glorious never dying praise
Shall ne'er have end until the end of days”.
The poem indicates that the bridegroom was a student at the time of the marriage, possibly still in his early or mid teens. On the outbreak of war he enlisted as a captain in a regiment of horse raised in late 1642 or early 1643 by Sir Thomas Tyldesley. Following his military career is difficult as at least three other James Andertons -all Lancashire Catholics related to a greater or lesser degree to the family at Birchley- were also active in support of the Royalist cause. However, Parliamentarian sources identify an “Anderton of Burchly” -almost certainly James- as one of the leaders of a Royalist assault on Bolton on 16 February 1643. (Per “A punctuall Relation of Passages in Lancashire this weeke, February 14 1642/3”, in Vol 2, “Tracts Relating to Military Proceedings in Lancashire During the Great Civil War...” (Cheetham Soc, 1844): “The chiefe mannagers of this exploit of theirs was Anderton of Lostock, Anderton of Burchly, and Sir Gilbard Garrard, with some others of note, being all recusants”. See also “Lancashire's Valley of Achor” in Thomason Tracts, British Library ref. E.91 (1).) On 23 March 1644 James was one of the signatories with Sir Thomas Tyldesley to a petition to Prince Rupert, urging him to come to the assistance of “your very heroic kinswoman, the Countess of Derby”, whose home at Lathom Hall was then under siege (Part 3, Stanley Papers, in Chetham Soc Vol LXVI, 1853). He then occurs in Parliamentarian accounts of a skirmish at Aughton Moor, near Ormskirk, where he was apparently taken prisoner:
“... the renowned Major Generall of Lancas. Sir John Meldrum having notice of the Enemies marching toward Ormskirk, made haste after them, overtook them on Tuesday the twentieth of August [1644], in the Evening, upon a Moore neer unto Ormskirk, where they stood in Battalia, and upon the first charge of our Musketteers, which were under the command of Colonell Booth, they all fled, whereupon our Horse bravely fell upon them and totally routed them, in the pursuite of whom, they took about eight hundred Horse (some Letters report a thousand) and three hundred prisoners but by reason of the night comming so fast upon them they could not improve the Victory, as otherwise they might have done; but the Lord Byron, and the Lord Mollenaux were forced to leave their Horses in the flight, and to hide themselves in a Corn-field. Some of the speciall prisoners then taken were Colonell Sir James Prestwich, Leiutenant Colonell Cottingham, Captain James Anderton, with five or six Captaines more, six or seven Leiutenants, four Cornets, one Quarter-master, eight or ten Gentlemen of worth and quality, two Priests or malignant Ministers, and as I said before, above two hundred and fifty common Souldiers.” (From “The Burning Bush Not Consumed, or The Fourth Part of the Parliamentarie Chronicle”, John Vicars, 1646. A more contemporary but substantially similar account is in “A Perfect Diurnall” (No. 57, 26 Aug-2 Sep 1644, in Vol 2, “Tracts Relating to Military Proceedings in Lancashire During the Great Civil War...”, Cheetham Soc, 1844.)
Whether James fought under Sir Thomas Tyldesley at the strategically more significant Battles of Marston Moor and Wigan Lane -where, in 1651, Sir Thomas met his end- does not seem to be recorded. Captain Thurston Anderton, one of his younger brothers, was fatally wounded at the First Battle of Newbury on 20 September 1643 and died at Oxford (“A Catalogue of Those Catholicks That Died and Suffered for Theire Loyalty” in “A Reply to The Answer of The Catholique Apology”, 1668).
In 1649 James sought to compound for -that is, to pay a fine in exchange for the return of- certain properties confiscated under the Parliamentary Ordinances of 1643, claiming entitlement to do so under the terms of the Royalist surrender in 1646, but no order was made on his petition. In December 1649 tenancies forming part of “the estate of Mr. James Anderton of Birchley, a papist delinquent” were put up for auction, the intemperate Mayor of Wigan Joseph Rigby threatening to “cut his head from his shoulders” if any man dared bid against him. Certain properties were afterwards restored to the Andertons on payment of fines in varying amounts (“The Royalist Composition Papers, Being The Proceedings of the Committee for Compounding, AD 1643-1660”, Vols I and V in, respectively, Rec Soc Lancs and Ches Vols 24 and 72).
After 1651 a need to raise additional funds prompted the Commonwealth to sell off not just the tenancies and certain ancillary rights and benefits vested in the sequestered estates but the estates themselves. Three Acts were passed for this purpose, the last of which -1652 c.23- applied to Birchley by virtue of a Commons resolution on 28 October 1652 “That James Anderton, of Birchley in the County of Lancaster, be inserted into this Bill”. In this connection the estate was re-surveyed and a report made on 16 July 1653. An order of the Committee on Compounding dated 28 September 1653 identifies “Thomas Wharton Esq” as purchaser of “a capital messuage called Birchley-hall, and messuages and lands in the parishes of Wigan, Childwall, Prescott, and Standish, in the occupation of Roger Bradshaw, Richard Mather, James Baxter (or Barton), and Tho. Marsh, or their assigns, late parcel of the property of James Anderton, Esq”. (Cf. a document of 1 October 1657 at Wigan Archives, ref. D/D An/Bundle 27/128, where James is said to have demised to Theophilus Howarth of Manchester, Thomas Wharton of Gray's Inn, Joseph Rigbie of Aspull and James Sorocold of Ashton, by indenture of 8 July 1654, “the messuage called the Hall of Birchley, with lands in Birchley and Billinge and divers other messuages and lands in Billinge and Rainford”.) As a fellow-member of Gray's Inn -James had been admitted to the Inn on 15 May 1635, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather- it seems likely that Mr Wharton was sympathetic to the Andertons and allowed them to continue living at Birchley Hall.
James was able to re-gain ownership of Birchley in 1662, possibly assisted by a share in the “threescore thousand pounds” allocated by an Act of that year for the relief of “such truly Loyal and Indigent Officers who have had real Command of Souldiers according to theire several Commissions and who have never deserted His Majestie nor His blessed Fathers service during the late times of Rebellion and Usurpation and who have not a sufficient livelihood of theire own nor have since His Majesties returne obtained any Reward Office or Imployment sufficient for a livelyhood by such wayes meanes and proportions as shall be hereafter appointed...”. A “Captain Anderton” appears at col. 129 of the published list of claimants under the Act, now preserved at National Archives ref. SP 29/68. A document of 10 May 1662, “Thomas Wharton and others to James Anderton - Recovery of Birchley”, is at Lancashire Archives ref. DDGE(M) 1143. In 1664 James was found liable to pay tax on 16 hearths at Birchley (National Archives ref. E179/250/11). His death on 16 December 1673 is recorded in “Crosby Records...” (T E Gibson, ed; Longmans Green & Co, 1880).
Image: left: Colonel Sir Thomas Tyldesley (1596-1651); right: The Tyldelsey Monument, Wigan Lane, on 1 March 2015 and (below) as depicted by Thomas Whitehouse c.1829. (For an account of the changes made over time to the inscription on the monument, see Peter J Tyldesley's “The Tyldesley Monument”, from Past Forward 63, 2013.)
The enthroned and bearded personification of Honor receives the victor's laurel crown from Virtue and Victory. Majesty and Respect sit like handmaidens at Honor's feet, and the most lauded rulers of history, each identified by name, flank his throne; below are ten virtuous women, plucked from mythology, the Bible and more recent apocryphal histories. The central scribe peruses the list of Honor's celebrants, whilst in the foreground an unruly mob of historical and literary protagonists beseige Honor's pavilion.
This tapestry was part of a seven-piece set presenting an allegorical guide to the qualities which a successful ruler should espouse. The set was made for Cardinal Erard de la Marck (1472–1538), Prince-Bishop of Liège, and loyal envoy and financial backer of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Inscription: Names of characters, in Latin, at center, top: VICTUS (probably a misreading at cartoon or weaving stage for VIRTUS- Virtue); MAIESTAS (Majesty); REVER[N]TIA (Respect); VICTORIA (Victory).
Top tier of rulers, inscribed left to right: GODEEREDUS BUHONIUS (Godfrey of Bouillon); S. LODOVICUS (Louis IX of France); CAROL MAGN (Charlemagne); CONSTANTINUS (Emperor Constantine); DAVID (King David); OCTAVIUS (Emperor Augustus); ABRAM (Abraham); ALEXANDER MAGN (Alexander the Great).
Second tier of virtuous females: FLORE[N]TIA ROMITIA (Florence of Rome); PENELOPE (Penelope); SOMRAMIS (Semiramis); HELENA (Empress Helena); HESTER (Esther); DEBORA (the prophet Deborah); SABA (Queen of Sheba); ASIA (the continent Asia, at this time iconographically associated with the spread of Fame).
Mounting the steps to enter Honor’s pavilion are, at the left, SERTORIUS (General Sertorius) and MARCELLA (Consul Marcellus), crowned by DIGNITE (Dignity) and TRIU[M]PH (Triumph); at the right, PHOCAS (Phocias) and PHUS (unidentifiable) welcome two additional unnamed protagonists.
At upper corners: NATURA (Nature); SCRIPTRAS (Scripture).
Amongst the foreground proragonists are: IORAM (Joram), IULIANUS APOSTATA (Julian the Apostate), JEROBOAM (Jereboam), HELENA (Helen of Troy) and PARIS (Paris), TARQUIN (Sextus Tarquinius), MELISA (probably an error due to reweaving of MEDUSA), IEZEBEL (Jezebel), NERO (Emperor Nero), MARCUS ANTONI (Mark Anthony), HOLOFERNES (Holofernes) and SARDANAPALUS (King Sardanapalus)
Three inscriptions in cartouches along the uppermost register of the border: “QUISQUIS UT AD CLARUM STUDIOSUS SCANDAT HONOREM / NATURA ASSIDUIS PROVOCAT ALMA TUBIS” (“Generous nature urges with constant trumpets / Anyone to ascend zealously to glorious Honor”); “CANDIDA QUOS MISIT VIRTUS HONOR ARCE RECEPTANS / LAUREAT AMBITIO QUOS TULIT INDE FUGAT” (“Those whom shining Virtue sent, Honor receives and crowns in the citadel. Those whom Ambition inspired, he makes flee from there”); “SEDULO DOCTA IUBET MODULIS SCRIPTURA DISERTIS / NE QUIS HONORIPAROS TARDET INITRE LARES” (“Scholarly Scriptura ordains with skillful means measures that no one should delay to enter the house of Honor”).
La personificazione in trono e barbuto di Honor riceve la corona d'alloro del vincitore da Virtue and Victory. Maestà e rispetto siedono come ancelle ai piedi di Onore, ei più lodati regnanti della storia, ciascuno identificato dal nome, fiancheggiano il suo trono; sotto ci sono dieci donne virtuose, strappate alla mitologia, alla Bibbia e alle più recenti storie apocrife. Lo scriba centrale esamina la lista dei celebranti di Honor, mentre in primo piano una folla indisciplinata di protagonisti storici e letterari blocca il padiglione di Honor.
Questo arazzo faceva parte di un set di sette pezzi che presentava una guida allegorica alle qualità che un governante di successo dovrebbe sposare. Il set è stato fatto per il cardinale Erard de la Marck (1472-1538), principe-vescovo di Liegi, e inviato leale e finanziatore del Sacro Romano Imperatore Carlo V.
Firme, iscrizioni e segni
Iscrizione: Nomi di personaggi, in latino, al centro, in alto: VICTUS (probabilmente una lettura errata del cartone animato o del palcoscenico per VIRTUS- Virtù); MAIESTAS (Maestà); REVER [N] TIA (Rispetto); VICTORIA (vittoria).
Top livello di sovrani, inscritto da sinistra a destra: GODEEREDUS BUHONIUS (Godfrey of Bouillon); S. LODOVICUS (Luigi IX di Francia); CAROL MAGN (Carlo Magno); COSTANTINO (imperatore Costantino); DAVID (King David); Ottaviano (imperatore Augusto); ABRAM (Abraham); ALEXANDER MAGN (Alessandro Magno).
Secondo livello di femmine virtuose: FLORE [N] TIA ROMITIA (Firenze di Roma); PENELOPE (Penelope); SOMRAMIS (Semiramis); HELENA (Imperatrice Elena); HESTER (Esther); DEBORA (il profeta Deborah); SABA (Regina di Saba); ASIA (il continente asiatico, in questo momento iconograficamente associato alla diffusione di Fame).
I passi per entrare nel padiglione di Honor sono, a sinistra, SERTORIUS (generale Sertorius) e MARCELLA (console Marcello), incoronati da DIGNITE (Dignity) e TRIU [M] PH (Triumph); a destra, PHOCAS (Phocias) e PHUS (non identificabili) danno il benvenuto a due altri protagonisti senza nome.
Agli angoli superiori: NATURA (natura); SCRIPTRAS (Scrittura).
Tra i proragonisti in primo piano ci sono: IORAM (Joram), IULIANUS APOSTATA (Julian the Apostate), JEROBOAM (Jereboam), HELENA (Helen of Troy) e PARIS (Parigi), TARQUIN (Sextus Tarquinius), MELISA (probabilmente un errore dovuto al riavvolgimento di MEDUSA), IEZEBEL (Jezebel), NERO (Imperatore Nerone), MARCUS ANTONI (Mark Anthony), HOLOFERNES (Oloferne) e SARDANAPALUS (Re Sardanapalus)
Tre iscrizioni in cartiglio lungo il registro superiore del confine: "QUISQUIS UT AD CLARUM STUDIOSUS SCANDAT HONOREM / NATURA ASSIDUIS PROVOCAT ALMA TUBIS" ("La natura generosa spinge con trombe costanti / Chiunque ascenda zelantemente al glorioso Onore"); "CANDIDA QUOS MISIT VIRTUS HONOR ARCE RECEPTANS / LAUREAT AMBITIO QUOS TULIT INDE FUGAT" ("Coloro che brillano di virtù, Honor riceve e incorona nella cittadella, quelli che l'ambizione ha ispirato, fugge da lì"); "SEDULO DOCTA IUBET MODULIS SCRIPTURA DISERTIS / NE QUIS HONORIPAROS TARDET INITRE LARES" ("La Scriptura ordinata con mezzi abili misura che nessuno dovrebbe ritardare per entrare nella casa d'onore")
Chrone is a mostly virtuous soul, roaming NOD, looking for people to warn and protect. Chrone’s courageous, in that he actually longs to protect others because he is afraid. He is selfish, in that he ultimately longs to live in a world where no one gets hurt, including himself.
Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke née Mary Sidney (27 October 1561 – 25 September 1621), was one of the first English women to achieve a major reputation for her literary works, translations and literary patronage.
Born at Tickenhill, Bewdley, in 1561, she was one of the three daughters of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Sidney née Dudley. Her mother was the daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and President of the King's Council under Edward VI executed for treason after the failure to make Jane Grey Queen of England, and was the eldest sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Mary Dudley is known to have written poetry. A year after her daughter Mary's birth, Mary Sidney (née Dudley) nursed Queen Elizabeth I through smallpox and was herself severely disfigured. Though her husband, Sir Henry Sidney, never repudiated her, she often lived separately from her family.
After the death of her sister, Ambrosia, at Ludlow Castle in 1576, fifteen year old Mary Sidney, as the only surviving Sidney daughter, was summoned to London by the Queen to be one of her noble attendants. In 1577, the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley arranged his niece's marriage to close ally, Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, then in his mid forties. At seventeen, Mary became the mistress of Wilton House near Salisbury and Baynard's Castle in London. Mary had four children, the first of whom, William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580–1630), is possibly the young man described in Shakespeare's Sonnets. The other surviving child, Philip, became the 4th Earl of Pembroke on his brother's death in 1630. Mary Sidney's sons are the "Incomparable Pair", to whom William Shakespeare's First Folio is dedicated. At different times, both were patrons of the King's Men, Shakespeare's acting troupe.
Mary Sidney was highly educated by tutors, who included a female Italian teacher. Like her learned aunt Jane Grey, she was educated in the Reformed humanist tradition. In the 16th century, noblewomen required a good understanding of theological issues and were taught to read original texts. Mary was also schooled in poetry, music, French, the Classics, possibly in Hebrew and rhetoric, in needlework and practical medicine. She later translated Petrarch's "Triumph of Death" and many other European works. She had a keen interest in chemistry and set up a chemistry laboratory at Wilton House, run by Walter Raleigh's half-brother. She turned Wilton into a "paradise for poets", known as "The Wilton Circle" which included Edmund Spenser, Michael Drayton, Sir John Davies and Samuel Daniel, a salon-type literary group sustained by the Countess's hospitality. Her aim was to banish barbarism (an aim she shared with John Florio), by strengthening and classicising the English language and also by practising "true religion", which, in her view, combined Calvinism, devotion to Christ and acts of charity. She propagated Italian culture and literature. She was herself a Calvinist theologian. Her public persona (at least) was pious, virtuous and learned. She was celebrated for her singing of the psalms, her warmth, charm and beauty. In private, she was witty and, some reported, flirtatious. She ran safehouses for French reformed refugees.
Mary Sidney was younger sister and disciple to the poet, courtier and soldier Sir Philip Sidney who was for some time, the heir of both Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, brothers to Guildford Dudley, husband of the Lady Jane Grey, who were regarded as Reformed martyrs, not just by the Dudley family, but by the reformed Protestant party. Philip Sidney was being prepared to be leader of the Protestant party at Court and supported the founding of a Protestant "empire" which would include the New World (North America) to counterbalance the threat of Catholic and Spanish domination. Mary Sidney financially supported the explorations of Frobisher. Her son William Herbert was a funder and supporter of New World explorations: there is a river in the US named after Pembroke.
After the death of her sister Ambrosia, the Countess appears to have been devoted to her brother Sir Philip Sidney. Mary was a natural cultural catalyst. She had a gift of inspiring creativity in all those around her, including her circle, relatives and servants. Philip wrote much of his "Arcadia" in her presence. Philip Sidney was engaged in preparing a new English version of the Book of Psalms (because the translations under Edward VI were deficient). He had completed 43 of the 150 Psalms at the time of his death during a military campaign against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586.
Mary Sidney took on the task of amplifying and editing his "Arcadia" which was published as The Countesse of Pembroke's Arcadia, one of the most widely read books for the next 300 years. She also finished Philip's translation of the Psalms (which are sung unaccompanied in Calvinist worship), composing Psalms 44-150 on her own poetry, using the 1560 Geneva Bible and commentaries by John Calvin and Theodore Beza. As a competent theologian, she was unafraid to disagree with Calvin on minor points. A copy of the completed book was presented to Elizabeth I of England in 1599. This work is usually referred to as "The Sidney Psalms" or "The Sidneian Psalms" and is regarded as an important influence on the development of English poetry in the late 16th and early 17th century. John Donne wrote a poem in celebration of them. The Psalms were drawn from previous English translations rather than original Hebrew texts and are therefore properly called "metaphrases" rather than translations. Like Philip's, Mary Sidney's versions use a wide variety of poetic forms and display a vivid imagination and vigorous phrasing.
Mary's husband died in 1600. Thereafter she played a large part in managing Wilton and the other Pembroke estates, on behalf of her son, William, who entirely took over her role of literary patronage. After James I visited her at Wilton in 1603 and was entertained by Shakespeare's company "The King's Men", Mary moved out of Wilton and rented a house in London. Though it is certain that the King's Men attended Wilton, whether William Shakespeare was with them is uncertain. However, it is reported that there was at Wilton at one time, a letter in which the Mary Sidney urges her son to attend Wilton, as "we have the man Shakespeare with us".[1] From 1609 to 1615 she lived at Crosby Hall, now a private residence relocated to Chelsea, London, but then located in the City of London. She may have secretly married her doctor, Sir Matthew Lister and she famously travelled to Spa on the Continent, where she relaxed by shooting pistols and played cards. She employed Italian architects to build a Bedfordshire country home with fine vistas, Houghton Hall, now in ruins, near Milton Keynes), which John Bunyan refers to in his works as the "House Beautiful".
She died of smallpox at her house in Aldersgate Street, London near the French Protestant Church and in the same street in which John Wesley was later converted in 1621, shortly after King James I visited her at Houghton Hall. After a grand funeral which celebrated her widely recognised literary achievements in St Paul's Cathedral, her body was buried next to that of the Earl, under the steps leading to the choirstalls in Salisbury Cathedral.
inspired by www.facebook.com/pages/VirtuousAbbey/243834525651422
thanks to keith seckel for the link
The third Wesleyan Methodist Church, built in Ballarat's Neil Street, was completed in 1892 and superseded the 1867 church, which in turn had superseded the 1861 church. Larger and grander than either the Victorian Georgian first Methodist Church or the 1867 Gothic Methodist Church, the 1892 church is larger than the other two combined. It shows how, by the last decade of the Nineteenth Century, the Wesleyan Methodist congregation had grown in size substantially and how much wealth from Ballarat's gold rush had been invested into the community. Perched on the corner of Macarthur and Neil Streets, it commands attention from passers by.
Like its 1867 predecessor the third Wesleyan Methodist Church has been built in Victorian Academic Gothic style. Built of red brick with a tiled roof, the church has clear architectural elements associated with the Gothic style including flying buttresses that define structural bays, a steeply pitched roof, a parapeted gable, grand stained glass windows with detailed bar tracery and ornate pinnacles. On the Macarthur Street facade it also features a Great War (1914 - 1918) roll of honour of brass set in marble. The plaque reads "To the glory of God in honour of the men of this church who gave their lives in the Great War. 1914 - 1918", and is followed by a list of names.
The 1892 church contains a very fine Fincham and Hobday organ which cost £1,145.00. It was presented by G. B. Fentum on the 24th of October 1890 to the Neil Street Wesleyan Methodist Church. This was one of the firm’s largest church organs of the period.
Gothic architecture was perceived by the pious Victorians as an expression of religious, and therefore, moral values. Its revival was thus seen as virtuous and equated with moral revival. For this reason an ecclesiastical character was predominant.
Croquet by Bullitt, this bike came along on the Virtuous Tweed Ride. We later stumbled upon it outside the NW Lucky Lab.
Church of St. Michael and All Angels Diseworth Derbyshireh built of local stone, in the centre of the village which has been inhabited since Roman times . It stands at St Clements Gate at the meeting of Lady Gate , Grimes Gate and Hall Gate, names which recall its Viking past .
Originally appropriated to nearby Langley Priory of Benedictine nuns who employed some of the villagers, In late 15c Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, purchased a considerable part of the village to found what became Christ's College, Cambridge.
The Priory dedicated to God and the Blessed Virgin described as small and in good repair, was dissolved n June 1536 . At that time there were 6 nuns as well as the prioress, who was very old and impotent. All the nuns desired to continue in religion, and all were virtuous, though one was over 80 and another was feeble-minded. There was a priest attached to the nunnery, and the lay servants consisted of 10 men and 4 women.
The church consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch and a western tower with dwarf spire, containing a clock, and 6 bells dating from 1626 to 1803:
The present building dates from the 13c, although it is known that a church existed here centuries earlier. It replaced a Saxon single cell church remains of which can been seen in the north wall of the nave.. The 2 blocked windows in the chancel are of Saxo-Norman type. Herringbone work can also be seen inside the building at the base of the old external nave wall in the south aisle chapel.
A large Anglo Saxon font also survives.
The added south aisle is not tied in to the main building but is simply butted up against the existing walls, with buttresses for stability. The original pent roof line can be seen in the east and west walls. On the parapet of the south wall and near the top of the west wall are 4 heads, much defaced by weathering. The east and south west windows in this aisle are early 13c. The taller early 14c window on the south wall, which cuts through the original roof line and into the added masonry, gives the date by which the roof was raised and pitched. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/74G74W The south doorway is 13c and much weathered.
The tower and spire may date from the 1300s. The tower has four triple-chamfered bell openings, their tracery and cusping now removed. The spire has tall broaches and one tier of lucarnes (dormers). The external west door under the tower was blocked and a new window created when the tower and spire were restored in 1896.
The building was originally thatched until the roof was leaded in c 1699, however the increased weight led to distortion of the chancel arch so the brick buttress on the north wall was built. Some of the sheets of 1699 lead have markings of shoe outlines, made with a sharp tool. Much of the stone coping from the parapet of the north wall is missing.
The church is entered through the north porch which was built in 1661. However, the outer heavily weathered arch is in the same style as that of the 13c north and south doors, and may be made from reused stone
the church was restored in 1840, and in 1885 the chancel was restored and fitted with oak and the floor relaid at a cost of £130: there are 150 sittings, 50 at that time being free
In the 19c the living was a vicarage, funded from 106 acres of glebe, with residence, in the alternate gift of the Haberdashers’ Company and Christ’s Hospital, The land belonged mostly to the Master and Fellows of Christ’s College, Cambridge and the owners of Langley Priory after its 16c dissolution, beginning with the Grays, the Cheslyns and ;ater the Shakepears. The college sold their interest in Diseworth in 1920
Two monuments to tragedy stand out - that of Anne Cheslyn who drowned herself in the Priory lake in 1823 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/03L204 ; and Trooper George Harris killed in action at Dewetsdorp, Orange River Colony in 1901 whose monument was erected "by Emily Lock in gratitude to his mother" www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/0HgCw7
The Lock family have 2 monuments of interest , one to young vicar Rev Herbert Lock 1902 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1RmX1r whose hope to erect a church in memory of his younger brother Joseph www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/775hP6 was thwarted by his own early death. - www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/470vh2 2 windows inscribed the St Joseph Benefaction being given instead. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/N5pPK0 It may well be that Trooper Harris's mother nursed Rev Herbert Lock in his final year thus earning Emily Lock's gratitude (?) .
Picture with thanks - copyright www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=691fab...
Lakshmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी, lakṣmī, ˈləkʃmi) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is the wife and active energy of Vishnu. Her four hands represent the four goals of human life considered proper in Hindu way of life – dharma, kāma, artha, and moksha. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments. In Buddhist sects of Tibet, Nepal and southeast Asia, goddess Vasudhara mirrors the characteristics and attributes of Hindu goddess Lakshmi, with minor iconographic differences.
Lakshmi is also called Sri or Thirumagal because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine qualities, or Gunas, and also because she is the source of strength even to Vishnu. When Vishnu incarnated on the Earth as the avatars Rama and Krishna, Lakshmi took incarnation as his consort. Sita (Rama's wife), Radha (Krishna's lover), Rukmini is considered forms of Lakshmi. In ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. The marriage and relationship between Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband, states Patricia Monaghan, is "the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings".
Archeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for goddess Lakshmi, in Scytho-Parthian kingdom and throughout India, by 1st millennium BC.Lakshmi's iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples of southeast Asia, estimated to be from second half of 1st millennium AD.
In modern times, Lakshmi is worshipped as the goddess of wealth. She is also worshipped as the consort of Vishnu in many temples. The festivals of Diwali and Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima) are celebrated in her honour.
ETYMOLOGY
Lakshmi (Lakṣmī) is one of many Hindu deities whose meaning and significance evolved in ancient Sanskrit texts.
Lakshmi is mentioned once in Rig Veda, but the context suggests that the word does not mean "goddess of wealth and fortune", rather it means "kindred mark or sign of auspicious fortune".
भद्रैषां लक्ष्मीर्निहिताधि वाचि
bhadrauṣāṁ lakṣmīrnihitādhi vāci
"an auspicious fortune is attached to their words"
—Rig Veda, x.71.2, Translated by John Muir
In Atharva Veda, composed about 1000 BC, Lakshmi evolves into a complex concept with plural manifestations. Book 7, Chapter 115 of Atherva Veda describes the plurality, asserts that a hundred Lakshmis are born with the body of a mortal at birth, some good, punya (virtuous) and auspicious, while others bad, paapi (evil) and unfortunate. The good are welcomed, while the bad urged to leave. The concept and spirit of Lakshmi, her association with fortune and the good, is significant enough that Atharva Veda mentions it in multiple books, for example in Book 12, Chapter 5 as punya Lakshmi. In chapters of Atharva Veda, Lakshmi connotes the good, an auspicious sign, good luck, good fortune, prosperity, success and happiness.
In later mythology, Lakshmi is referred to as the goddess of fortune and beauty, identified with Śrī and regarded as the wife of Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa). For example, in Shatapatha Brahmana, variously estimated to be composed between 800 BC and 300 BC, Śrī (Lakshmi) is part of one of many theories, in ancient India, about the creation of universe. In Book 9 of Shatapatha Brahmana, Śrī emerges from Prajāpati, after his intense meditation on creation of life and nature of universe. Śrī is described as the beautiful, resplendent and trembling woman at her birth with immense energy and powers. The gods were bewitched, desire her and immediately become covetous of her. The gods approach Prajāpati and request permission to kill her and then take her powers, talents and gifts. Prajāpati refuses, tells the gods that males should not kill females, and that they can seek her gifts without violence. The gods then approach Lakshmi, deity Agni gets food, Soma gets kingly authority, Varuna gets imperial authority, Mitra acquires martial energy, Indra gets force, Brihaspati gets priestly authority, Savitri acquires dominion, Pushan gets splendor, Sarasvati takes nourishment and Tvashtri gets forms. The hymns of Shatapatha Brahmana thus describe Śrī as a goddess born with and personifying a diverse range of talents and powers.
According to another legend, she emerges during the creation of universe, floating over the water on the expanded petals of a lotus flower; she is also variously regarded as wife of Sūrya, as wife of Prajāpati, as wife of Dharma and mother of Kāma, as sister or mother of Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ, as wife of Dattatreya, as one of the nine Śaktis of Viṣṇu, as a manifestation of Prakṛti, as identified with Dākshāyaṇī in Bharataśrama, and with Sītā, wife of Rāma, and with other women.
In the Epics of Hinduism, such as in the Mahabharata, Laksmi personifies wealth, riches, beauty, happiness, loveliness, grace, charm and splendour. In another Hindu legend about the creation of universe, described in the Ramayana, Lakshmi springs with other precious things from the foam of the ocean of milk when churned by the gods and demons for the recovery of the Amṛta. She appeared with a lotus in her hand, whence she is also called Padmā.
ROOT OF THE WORLD
Lakshmi in Sanskrit is derived from the root word lakṣ (लक्ष्) and lakṣa (लक्ष), meaning "to perceive, observe, know, understand" and "goal, aim, objective" respectively. These roots give Lakshmi the symbolism – know and understand your goal. A related term is lakṣaṇa, which means "sign, target, aim, symbol, attribute, quality, lucky mark, auspicious opportunity".
SYMBOLISM AND ICONOGRAPHY
The image, icons and sculpture of Lakshmi is represented with symbolism. Her name is derived from Sanskrit root words for know the goal and understand the objective. Her four arms are symbolic of the four goals of human being that are considered good in Hinduism - dharma (pursuit of ethical, moral life), artha (pursuit of wealth, means of life), kama (pursuit of love, emotional fulfillment), and moksha (pursuit of self-knowledge, liberation).
In Lakshmi's iconography, she is either sitting or standing on lotus, and typically also carries lotus in one or two hands. Lotus carries symbolic meanings in Hinduism and other Indian traditions. It symbolically represents reality, consciousness and karma (work, deed) in Sahasrara context, and knowledge and self-realization in other contexts. Lotus, a flower that blossoms in clean or dirty water, also symbolizes purity and beauty regardless of the good or bad circumstances in which its grows. It is a reminder that good and prosperity can bloom and not be affected by evil in one's surrounding. Below, behind or on the sides, Lakshmi is sometimes shown with one or two elephants, and occasionally with an owl. Elephants symbolize work, activity and strength, as well as water, rain and fertility for abundant prosperity. The owl, called Pechaka in eastern regions of India, signifies the patient striving to observe, see and discover knowledge particularly when surrounded by darkness. Owl, a bird that becomes blind in daylight, is also a symbolic reminder to refrain from blindness and greed after knowledge and wealth has been acquired.
Wealth symbolically pours out from one of her hands in some representations, or she simply holds a jar of wealth in some representations. This symbolism has multiple meanings. Wealth manifested through Lakshmi means both material as well as spiritual wealth. Her face and open hands are in a mudra that signify compassion, giving or daana (charity).
Lakshmi typically wears a red dress embroidered with golden threads, symbolism for beauty and wealth. She, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is often represented with her husband Vishnu, the god who maintains human life filled with justice and peace. This symbolism implies wealth and prosperity is coupled with maintenance of life, justice and peace.
NAMES
Lakshmi has numerous names, and numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite her various names. She is very closely associated with the lotus, and her many epithets are connected to the flower, such as:
Padma: lotus dweller
Kamala: lotus dweller
Padmapriya: One who likes lotuses
Padmamaladhara devi: One who wears a garland of lotuses
Padmamukhi: One whose face is as beautiful as a lotus
Padmakshi: One whose eyes are as beautiful as a lotus
Padmahasta: One who holds a lotus
Padmasundari: One who is as beautiful as a lotus
Her other names include:
Vishnupriya: One who is the beloved of Vishnu
Ulkavahini: One who rides an owl
Her other names include: Ambika, Manushri, Mohini, Chakrika, Kamalika, Aishwarya, Lalima, Indira, Kalyani, Nandika, Nandini, Rujula, Vaishnavi, Samruddhi, Narayani, Bhargavi, Sridevi, Chanchala, Jalaja, Madhavi, Sujata, Shreya, Maheshwari, Madhu, Madhavi, Paramaa, Janamodini, Tripura, Tulasi, Ketaki, Malati, Vidhya, Trilochana, Tilottama, Subha, Chandika, Devi, Kriyalakshmi, Viroopa, Vani, Gayatri, Savitri, Apara or Aparajita, Aparna, Aruna, Akhila, Bala, Tara, Kuhu, Poornima, Aditi, Anumati, Avashyaa, Sita, Taruni, Jyotsna, Jyoti, Nimeshika, Atibha, Ishaani, Smriti and Sri. She is also referred to as Jaganmaatha ("Mother of the Universe") in Shri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam.
ANCIENT LITERATURE ON LAKSHMI
UPANISHADS
Shakta Upanishads are dedicated to the trinity of goddesses - Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati. Saubhagya Lakshmi Upanishad, estimated to be composed before 300 BC, describes the qualities, characteristics and powers of Lakshmi. In second part of the Upanishad, the emphasis shifts to the use of yoga and transcendence from material craving in order to achieve spiritual knowledge and self-realization, the true wealth. Saubhagya-Lakshmi Upanishad synonymously uses Sri to describe Lakshmi.
STOTRAMS AND SUTRAS
Numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite hymns dedicated to Lakshmi. She is a major goddess in the Puranas and Itihasa of Hinduism. In ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. For example,
Every woman is an embodiment of you.
You exist as little girls in their childhood,
As young women in their youth,
And as elderly women in their old age.
—Sri Kamala Stotram
Every woman is an emanation of you.
—Sri Daivakrta Laksmi Stotram
Ancient prayers dedicated to Lakshmi seek both material and spiritual wealth in prayers.
PURANAS
Lakshmi features prominently in the Puranas of Hinduism. Vishnu Purana, in particular, dedicates many sections to her and also refers to her as Śrī. J. A. B. van Buitenen translates passages describing Lakshmi in Vishnu Purana as, "Śrī, loyal to Vishnu, is the mother of the world. Vishnu is the meaning, Śrī is the speech. She is the conduct, he the behavior. Vishnu is knowledge, she the insight. He is dharma, she the virtuous action. She is the earth, he earth's upholder. She is contentment, he the satisfaction. She is wish, he is the desire. Śrī is the sky, Vishnu the Self of everything. He is the moon, she the beauty of moon. He is the ocean, she is the shore". This unified, complementing and integrated image of Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband, notes Patricia Monaghan, is "the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings".
SUBHASITA, GNOMIC AND DIDACTIC LITERATURE
Lakshmi, along with Parvati and Saraswati, are subjects of extensive Subhasita, gnomic and didactic literature of India. Composed in 1st millennium BC through the 16th century AD, these are short poems, proverbs, couplets or aphorisms in Sanskrit, written in precise meter. They sometimes take the form of dialogue between Lakshmi and Vishnu, or highlight the spiritual message in Vedas and ethical maxims from Hindu Epics through Lakshmi. An example Subhashita is Puranarthasamgraha, compiled by Vekataraya in South India, where Lakshmi and Vishnu discuss niti (right, moral conduct) and rajaniti (statesmanship, right governance) - covering in 30 chapters, ethical and moral questions about personal, social and political life.
MANIFESTATIONS AND ASPECTS
In eastern India, Lakshmi is seen as a form of one goddess Devi, the Supreme power; Devi is also called Durga or Shakti. Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati are typically conceptualized as distinct in most of India, but in states such as West Bengal and Odisha, they are regionally believed to be forms of Durga.
Lakshmi is seen in two forms, Bhudevi and Sridevi, both either side of Sri Venkateshwara or Vishnu. Bhudevi is the representation and totality of the material world or energy, called the aparam Prakriti, in which she is called Mother Earth. Sridevi is the spiritual world or energy, called the Prakriti. Lakshmi is the power of Vishnu.
Inside temples, Lakshmi is often shown together with Vishnu. In certain parts of India, Lakshmi plays a special role as the mediator between her husband Vishnu and his worldly devotees. When asking Vishnu for grace or forgiveness, the devotees often approach Him through the intermediary presence of Lakshmi. She is also the personification of the spiritual fulfillment. Lakshmi embodies the spiritual world, also known as Vaikunta, the abode of Lakshmi-Narayana or Vishnu, or what would be considered heaven in Vaishnavism. Lakshmi is the embodiment of God's superior spiritual feminine energy, Param Prakriti, which purifies, empowers and uplifts the individual.
SECONDARY MANIFESTATIONS
Ashta Lakshmi (Sanskrit: अष्टलक्ष्मी,Aṣṭalakṣmī, lit. "eight Lakshmis") is a group of eight secondary manifestations of Lakshmi. The Ashta Lakshmis preside over eight sources of wealth and thus represent the eight powers of Shri Lakshmi. Temples dedicated to Ashta Lakshmi are found in Tamil Nadu such as the Ashtalakshmi Kovil near Chennai, and in many other states of India.
The eight Ashta Lakshmis are as follows:
Ādi Lakṣmī:
The First manifestation of Lakshmi
Dhānya Lakṣmī:
Granary wealth
Veera Lakṣmī:
Wealth of courage
Gaja Lakṣmī:
Elephants spraying water, wealth of fertility, rains and food
Santāna Lakṣmī:
Wealth of continuity, progeny
Vijaya Lakṣmī:
Wealth of victory
Aishwarya Lakṣmī:
Wealth of knowledge and education
Dhana Lakṣmī:
Monetary wealth
Other secondary representations of the goddess include Lakshmi manifesting in three forms: Sri Devi, Bhoo devi, and Neela devi. This threefold goddess can be found, for example, in Sri Bhu Neela Sahita Temple near Dwaraka Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, and in the Adinath Swami Temple in Tamil Nadu. Sri Devi represents moveable assets (called Chanchala), and Bhoodevi represents immoveable assets (Achanchala).
Mahalakshmi is also shown presidings over eighteen forms of wealth; these include the eight great siddhis (ashta siddhis) of spiritual knowledge or Jnana (Sanskrit: ज्ञान, jñāna).
In Nepal, Mahalakshmi is shown with 16 hands, each holding a sacred emblem or expressing a sacred gesture, or mudra (lotus, pot, mudra of blessing, book, rosary, bell, shield, bow, arrow, sword, trident, mudra of admonition, noose, skull cap, and kettledrum. In this representation Mahalakshmi manifests as a kind, compassionate, tranquil deity sitting not on a lotus, but on a lion.
JAIN TEMPLES
Some Jain temples also depict Sri Lakshmi as a goddess of artha (wealth) and kama (pleasure). For example, she is exhibited with Vishnu in Parshvanatha Jain Temple at the Khajuraho Monuments of Madhya Pradesh, where she is shown pressed against Vishnu's chest, while Vishnu cups a breast in his palm. The presence of Vishnu-Lakshmi iconography in a Jain temple, built near the Hindu temples of Khajuraho, suggests the sharing and acceptance of Lakshmi across a spectrum of Indian religions. This commonality is reflected in the praise of Lakshmi found in the Jain text Kalpa Sūtra.
CREATION AND LEGENDS
Devas (gods) and asuras (demons) were both mortal at one time, in Hinduism. Amrit, the divine nectar that grants immortality, could only be obtained by churning the Kshirsagar (Ocean of Milk). The devas and asuras both sought immortality and decided to churn the Kshirsagar. The samudra manthan commenced with the devas on one side and the asuras on the other. Vishnu incarnated as Kurma, the tortoise, and a mountain was placed on the tortoise as a churning pole. Vasuki, the great venom-spewing serpent, was wrapped around the mountain and used to churn the ocean. A host of divine celestial objects came up during the churning. Along with them emerged the goddess Lakshmi. In some versions she is said to be the daughter of the sea god since she emerged from the sea.
In the Garuda Purana, Linga Purana and Padma Purana she is said to have been born as the daughter of the divine sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyaati and was named "Bhargavi". According to the Vishnu Purana, the universe was created when the Devas (good) and Asuras (evil) churn the cosmic ocean of milk (Ksheera Sagara). Lakshmi came out of the ocean bearing lotus, along with the divine cow Kamadhenu, Varuni,the tree Parijat, the Apsaras, the Chandra (the moon), and Dhanvantari with Amrita (nectar of immortality). When she appeared, she had a choice to go to Devas or the Asuras. She chose Devas side; and among thirty deities, she chose to be with Vishnu. Thereafter, in all three worlds, the lotus bearing goddess was celebrated.
CELEBRATION IN HINDU SOCIETY
Many Hindus worship Lakshmi on Diwali, the festival of lights. It is celebrated in autumn, typically October or November, every year. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.
Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes and offices. On Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas (lamps and candles) inside and outside their home, participate in family puja (prayers) typically to Lakshmi. After puja, fireworks follow, then a family feast including mithai (sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and close friends. Diwali also marks a major shopping period, since Lakshmi connotes auspiciousness, wealth and prosperity. This festival dedicated to Lakshmi is considered by Hindus as one of the most important and joyous festivals of the year.
Gaja Lakshmi Puja is another autumn festival celebrated on Sharad Purnima, in many parts of India, on the full-moon day in the month of Ashvin (September–October). The Sharad Purnima, also called Kojaagari Purnima or Kumar Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Asvin. It marks the end of monsoon. There is a traditional celebration of the moon and is also called the 'Kaumudi celebration', Kaumudi meaning moonlight. On Sharad Purnima night, goddess Lakshmi is thanked and worshipped for the harvests.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS
BENGAL
In Bengal, Lakshmi is worshiped on Kojagiri Purnima, in autumn when the moon is full, the brightest night of the year. She, riding on her mount-the great white owl, is believed to bless wealth and resources for content lives on this night. The owl symbolically represents penetrating sight in the darkness of night.
During the celebrations, lotus flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, betel leaves & nuts, fruits and various sweet preparations made from jaggery, rice and coconuts are used for her ritual worship.
Apart from the autumnal celebration, Lakshmi, along with Alakshmi (her shadow energy), is also worshipped during Diwali night in some Bengali communities. The goddess Kali of Kalighat in Kolkata is worshipped in Mahalakshmi form during Diwali. Some people observe Lakshmi Vrata/Puja (fasting and prayer). Women sing a string of poems called 'Panchali', narrating the glories of goddess Lakshmi.
ODISHA
Lakshmi is the goddess thanked after autumn harvests in the month of Mrigashīrsha. Women celebrate the festival Manabasa Gurubara or Lakshmi Puja. On each Thursday of the month, the houses are cleaned and the floors are decorated with floral designs drawn with rice powder mixed with water, called jhoti. Footprints are painted from the doorstep to the place of worship, to symbolize that Lakshmi has entered the house. The roofs are decorated with flower garlands and festoons woven out of paddy stalks.[citation needed] After a purification bath in the morning, the women of the region symbolically offer prayers to paddy considered a bounty from Lakshmi. Different rice cakes and Khiri (rice soup prepared with milk and sugar) are prepared in households and are offered to the deity and then eaten by all.
People in Odisha also worship Gaja Lakshmi on Sharad Purnima, also known as Kumar Purnima. Children wear new clothes and families celebrate the day with feasts. It is a festival of rejoicing for the girls; all of them sing and dance. The songs are of a special nature. They play a kind of game known as puchi and other country games.
HYMNS
Countless hymns, prayers, slokas, stotra, songs, and legends dedicated to Mahalakshmi are recited during the ritual worship of Lakshmi.
These include Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam, Sri Lakshmi Sahasaranama Stotra (by Sanathkumara), Sri Stuti (by Sri Vedantha Desikar), Sri Lakshmi Stuti (by Indra), Sri Kanakadhara Stotra (by Sri Aadhi Shankaracharya), Sri Chatussloki (by Sri Yamunacharya), Sri Lakshmi Sloka (by Bhagavan Sri Hari Swamiji) and Sri Sukta, which is contained in the Vedas. Sri Sukta contains the Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra (Om Shree Mahaalakshmyai ca vidmahe Vishnu patnyai ca dheemahi tanno Lakshmi prachodayat Om).
CULTURE
One of Lakshmi's names, Sri (also spelled Shri, pronounced as shree), is commonly used as an honorific prefix or suffix in cultural discourse and human relationships. Affixed to the names of distinguished persons, the honorifics "Shri" (also "Sri," "Shree") and "Shrimati" (also "Srimati," "Shreemati") imply beauty, wealth, prosperity, and auspiciousness.
ARCHAEOLOGY
A representation of the goddess as Gaja Lakshmi, or Lakshmi flanked by two elephants spraying her with water, is one of the most frequent found in archeological sites.[citation needed] An ancient sculpture of Gaja Lakshmi (from the Sonkh site at Mathura) dates to the pre-Kushan Empire era. The Atranjikhera site in modern Uttar Pradesh has yielded terracotta plaque with images of Lakshmi dating to the 2nd century BC. Other archeological sites with ancient Lakshmi terracotta figurines from the 1st millennium BC include Vaisali, Sravasti, Kausambi, Campa and Candraketugadh.
The goddess Lakshmi is frequently found in ancient coins of various Hindu kingdoms from Afghanistan throughout India. Gaja Lakshmi has been found on coins of Scytho-Parthian kings Azes II and Azilises; she also appears on Shunga Empire king Jyesthamitra era coins, both dating to the 1st millennium BC. Coins from the 1st through 4th century AD found in various locations in India such as Ayodhaya, Mathura, Ujjain, Sanchi, Bodh Gaya, Kanauj, all feature Lakshmi. Similarly, ancient Graeco-Indian gems and seals with images of Lakshmi have been found, estimated to be from the 1st millennium BC.
A 1400-year-old rare granite sculpture of Lakshmi has been recovered at the Waghama village along the Jehlum in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
A statuette of Lakshmi found in Pompeii, Italy, dates to before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
RELATED GODDESSES
JAPAN
Goddess Kishijoten of Japan corresponds to Lakshmi. Kishijoten is the goddess of beauty, fortune and prosperity. Kishijoten is considered the sister of the deity Bishamon (毘沙門, also known as Tamon or Bishamon-ten); Bishamon protects human life, fights evil and brings good fortune. In ancient and medieval Japan, Kishijoten was the goddess worshipped for luck and prosperity, particularly on behalf of children. Kishijoten was also the guardian goddess of Geishas. While Bishamon and Kishijoten are found in ancient Chinese and Japanese Buddhist literature, their roots have been traced to deities in Hinduism.
TIBET AND NEPAL
Goddess Vasudhara in Tibetan and Nepalese culture is closely analogous to goddess Lakshmi.
WIKIPEDIA
LETTER TO CHIEF OF BAHRAIN
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also sent a letter to Mundhir Taimi, Chief of Bahrain. This letter was carried by ‘Ala’ ibn Hadramira (may Allah be pleased with him). When it reached this Chief, he believed, and wrote back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying that he and many of his friends and followers had decided to join Islam. Some, however, had decided to stay outside. He also LETTER TO CHIEF OF BAHRAIN
said that there were some Jews and Magians living under him. What was he to do about them?
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wrote again to this Chief thus:
“I am glad at your acceptance of Islam. Your duty is to obey the delegates and messengers whom I should send to you. Whoever obeys them, obeys me. The messenger who took my letter to you praised you to me, and assured me of the sincerity of your belief. I have prayed to Allah for your people. Try, therefore, to teach them the ways and practices of Islam. Protect their property. Do not let anyone have more than four wives. The sins of the past are forgiven. As long as you are good and virtuous you will continue to rule over your people. As for Jews and Magians, they have only to pay a tax. Do not, therefore, make any other demands on them. As for the general population, those who do not have land enough to maintain them should have four dirhams each, and some cloth to wear.”
A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
Dangerous Liaisons
by Choderlos de Laclos
An article by Valerie Mamicheva
Choderlos de Laclos, an eighteenth-century French novelist, is best remembered for Les liaisons dangereuses, or Dangerous Liaisons. This epistolary novel tells of the unscrupulous libertinism practiced by the central characters, Valmont and Merteuil. Together they plot for pleasure and power, but their scheme turns against them.
Laclos was a reasonably successful army general in his time. Although at one stage he was imprisoned for his work on Les liaisons dangereuses, the novel was an enormous success (and a veritable scandal).
And, obviously, the main characters of "Dangerous liaisons" are vicomte de Valmont and madam de Merteuil. Exactly they braid all intrigues together and spoil the lives of so many people. That is what we see on the example of Cecile de Volanges and madam de Tourvel. The famous director Milos Foreman in his filming of "Dangerous Liaisons" remarked, that the main theme and idea of the novel is opening of the image and the goal of of the deeds of unamendabled lover Valmont, his growing up under influence of madam de Tourvel's love? That's why Milos Foreman renamed his film from "Dangerous Liaisons" to simply "Valmont". Exactly, in Valmont Choderlos de Laclos wanted to show vices of his century, Valmont is its reflection. But madam de Merteuil hasn't gone too far from Valmont. In the novel we are watching their correspondence. Why Choderlos de Laclos chose epistolary genre? Because only in a letter we can clearly consider and perceive some thoughts and feelings of a man. Even a style of writing a letter can can tell us much about him. For example, let us take madam de Merteuil – she writes in a exquisite and dainty style, using many epithets and specific words, in her "speech" we see utterances of the famous philosophers of her time, her own dictums. And more, this dainty schemer owns a flexible and sharp wit, sense of humour, and she is well educated and interested in all latest news about theatre and music. She is an interesting person to deal with. Madam de Merteuil can stand for herself, she can get every man she wants, she can be charming and attractive, virtuous and modest (remember her relationships with madam de Volanges). She early understood that a woman can conquer a man, subordinate him, if she wants so. But this woman is ought not only to be able to talk about a fashion and to have good manners – wise marquise consulted with philosophers, writers, moralists. She knows how to behave herself with men and she knows what she wants. She enjoys this "game of love" and a sharp intrigue she twisted between the lovers -- chevalier Danceny and Cecile de Volanges. It gives her pleasure and joy. Cecile is too young and naive to understand a cunning plan of de Merteuil. But Danceny revealed her bad nature at the end. Her accomplice is skilful in love vicomte de Valmont.
Valmont is a face of his age. It is worth of thinking, was Valmont the only representative of such "tending to love" in all Paris? Off course, no. But, maybe, Valmont isn't so insidious lecher as it seemed at first. Maybe, the matter is in marquise de Merteuil, who supplies this poisonous source in his soul and culls her vanity in it. That is what Valmont couldn't understand, he was only a toy in the hands of the cunning marquise, who calculated everything. Yet, marquise realized that Valmont's new love (madam de Tourvel) began to ennoble him and change him. And she insisted on his brake with madam de Tourvel because she is afraid to lose him. The intrigue with de Tourvel went too far, she considers. Not realizing – that, Valmont fights for his love he suggests an alternative to marquise, she chooses a war. And he loses, he dies, he has a talk with Danceny, to whom he opened what he understood quite recently – now he knows all essence of this maleficent woman. He died, but morally towered over her. He died free from burden of his sins.
And what do Valmont and de Merteil have common and and different? Both of them – mean souls, capable to fraud and treason, connoisseurs of a sharp intrigue and they are interested in its flexible uncoupling. To use surrounding people in your own purposes is the greatest pleasure. An intrigue for them is a whole art, ability to stay alive and to get wishing. Hundreds, or even thousands of people got victims of this art. They are accomplices in their sins, the plans they invent together. That is what united them. But their lives in society ended differently. For madam de berteuil – it was a great disgrace, departure in big hurry from France, she got ravaged and ashamed. Valmont – he dies in a duel with Danceny, but he dies with realization of his terrible way of life, he understands that he spoiled a lot of women's reputations, and he is sorry for that. He apologizes to Madam de Tourvel, his soul is saved from marquise's poison. His did exalted him.
One more heroine of "Dangerous liaisons" is Cecile de Volanges. She has just arrived from the monastery, she is young and inexperienced, trustful and lightheaded. She fell in love with Danceny. Having fallen into the trap made by Valmont and marquise de Mereuil she let them use herself how do they like. She is defenseless before their cunning and dainty cruelty. And the love to Danceny made her absolutely simple victim. De Merteuil wants to revenge her last lover and Cecile de Volanges is only one section in a chain of cunningly braided intrigues. They shamed her before the all society, before her own mother. Poor Cecile, at the end, went to a monastery. Her pure and noble soul couldn't solve this riddle. Her mother didn't find out the all truth about what had happened.
One more noble heart and virtuous soul is madam de Tourvel. For Valmont to spoil a woman with a high moral principles and pure soul is a real victory. But for madam de Tourvel it was a real pure and beautiful love which happens only once in a life. Valmont's letters she read for hundreds times and knew them by heart. But for him it is only a fine game, light amusement. Madam de Tourvel couldn't betray her moral principles, her husband and a religion. Valmont made her do it. Gradually, Valmont didn't mention himself to fall in love with madam de Tourvel. He didn't notice that his feelings began to change from shameful and dirty into gentle and romantic. He wanted to donate his love in the name of his reputation of the "first reprobate in Paris". The result of his mistake was madam de Tourvel's death. Though he was in time to analyze his mistake and not only this one, but others either. At the end, we can say, that "Dangerous Liaisons's goal was not only the reflection of the atmosphere of dainty libertinism and lie hidden with virtue but to suppress these vices and others on the example of Valmont and madam de Merteuil.
"Dangerous liaisons" is very moral, special philosophical-moral-ethical creation.
— Valerie Mamicheva
Lakshmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी, lakṣmī, ˈləkʃmi) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is the wife and active energy of Vishnu. Her four hands represent the four goals of human life considered proper in Hindu way of life – dharma, kāma, artha, and moksha. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments. In Buddhist sects of Tibet, Nepal and southeast Asia, goddess Vasudhara mirrors the characteristics and attributes of Hindu goddess Lakshmi, with minor iconographic differences.
Lakshmi is also called Sri or Thirumagal because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine qualities, or Gunas, and also because she is the source of strength even to Vishnu. When Vishnu incarnated on the Earth as the avatars Rama and Krishna, Lakshmi took incarnation as his consort. Sita (Rama's wife), Radha (Krishna's lover), Rukmini is considered forms of Lakshmi. In ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. The marriage and relationship between Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband, states Patricia Monaghan, is "the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings".
Archeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for goddess Lakshmi, in Scytho-Parthian kingdom and throughout India, by 1st millennium BC.Lakshmi's iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples of southeast Asia, estimated to be from second half of 1st millennium AD.
In modern times, Lakshmi is worshipped as the goddess of wealth. She is also worshipped as the consort of Vishnu in many temples. The festivals of Diwali and Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima) are celebrated in her honour.
ETYMOLOGY
Lakshmi (Lakṣmī) is one of many Hindu deities whose meaning and significance evolved in ancient Sanskrit texts.
Lakshmi is mentioned once in Rig Veda, but the context suggests that the word does not mean "goddess of wealth and fortune", rather it means "kindred mark or sign of auspicious fortune".
भद्रैषां लक्ष्मीर्निहिताधि वाचि
bhadrauṣāṁ lakṣmīrnihitādhi vāci
"an auspicious fortune is attached to their words"
—Rig Veda, x.71.2, Translated by John Muir
In Atharva Veda, composed about 1000 BC, Lakshmi evolves into a complex concept with plural manifestations. Book 7, Chapter 115 of Atherva Veda describes the plurality, asserts that a hundred Lakshmis are born with the body of a mortal at birth, some good, punya (virtuous) and auspicious, while others bad, paapi (evil) and unfortunate. The good are welcomed, while the bad urged to leave. The concept and spirit of Lakshmi, her association with fortune and the good, is significant enough that Atharva Veda mentions it in multiple books, for example in Book 12, Chapter 5 as punya Lakshmi. In chapters of Atharva Veda, Lakshmi connotes the good, an auspicious sign, good luck, good fortune, prosperity, success and happiness.
In later mythology, Lakshmi is referred to as the goddess of fortune and beauty, identified with Śrī and regarded as the wife of Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa). For example, in Shatapatha Brahmana, variously estimated to be composed between 800 BC and 300 BC, Śrī (Lakshmi) is part of one of many theories, in ancient India, about the creation of universe. In Book 9 of Shatapatha Brahmana, Śrī emerges from Prajāpati, after his intense meditation on creation of life and nature of universe. Śrī is described as the beautiful, resplendent and trembling woman at her birth with immense energy and powers. The gods were bewitched, desire her and immediately become covetous of her. The gods approach Prajāpati and request permission to kill her and then take her powers, talents and gifts. Prajāpati refuses, tells the gods that males should not kill females, and that they can seek her gifts without violence. The gods then approach Lakshmi, deity Agni gets food, Soma gets kingly authority, Varuna gets imperial authority, Mitra acquires martial energy, Indra gets force, Brihaspati gets priestly authority, Savitri acquires dominion, Pushan gets splendor, Sarasvati takes nourishment and Tvashtri gets forms. The hymns of Shatapatha Brahmana thus describe Śrī as a goddess born with and personifying a diverse range of talents and powers.
According to another legend, she emerges during the creation of universe, floating over the water on the expanded petals of a lotus flower; she is also variously regarded as wife of Sūrya, as wife of Prajāpati, as wife of Dharma and mother of Kāma, as sister or mother of Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ, as wife of Dattatreya, as one of the nine Śaktis of Viṣṇu, as a manifestation of Prakṛti, as identified with Dākshāyaṇī in Bharataśrama, and with Sītā, wife of Rāma, and with other women.
In the Epics of Hinduism, such as in the Mahabharata, Laksmi personifies wealth, riches, beauty, happiness, loveliness, grace, charm and splendour. In another Hindu legend about the creation of universe, described in the Ramayana, Lakshmi springs with other precious things from the foam of the ocean of milk when churned by the gods and demons for the recovery of the Amṛta. She appeared with a lotus in her hand, whence she is also called Padmā.
ROOT OF THE WORLD
Lakshmi in Sanskrit is derived from the root word lakṣ (लक्ष्) and lakṣa (लक्ष), meaning "to perceive, observe, know, understand" and "goal, aim, objective" respectively. These roots give Lakshmi the symbolism – know and understand your goal. A related term is lakṣaṇa, which means "sign, target, aim, symbol, attribute, quality, lucky mark, auspicious opportunity".
SYMBOLISM AND ICONOGRAPHY
The image, icons and sculpture of Lakshmi is represented with symbolism. Her name is derived from Sanskrit root words for know the goal and understand the objective. Her four arms are symbolic of the four goals of human being that are considered good in Hinduism - dharma (pursuit of ethical, moral life), artha (pursuit of wealth, means of life), kama (pursuit of love, emotional fulfillment), and moksha (pursuit of self-knowledge, liberation).
In Lakshmi's iconography, she is either sitting or standing on lotus, and typically also carries lotus in one or two hands. Lotus carries symbolic meanings in Hinduism and other Indian traditions. It symbolically represents reality, consciousness and karma (work, deed) in Sahasrara context, and knowledge and self-realization in other contexts. Lotus, a flower that blossoms in clean or dirty water, also symbolizes purity and beauty regardless of the good or bad circumstances in which its grows. It is a reminder that good and prosperity can bloom and not be affected by evil in one's surrounding. Below, behind or on the sides, Lakshmi is sometimes shown with one or two elephants, and occasionally with an owl. Elephants symbolize work, activity and strength, as well as water, rain and fertility for abundant prosperity. The owl, called Pechaka in eastern regions of India, signifies the patient striving to observe, see and discover knowledge particularly when surrounded by darkness. Owl, a bird that becomes blind in daylight, is also a symbolic reminder to refrain from blindness and greed after knowledge and wealth has been acquired.
Wealth symbolically pours out from one of her hands in some representations, or she simply holds a jar of wealth in some representations. This symbolism has multiple meanings. Wealth manifested through Lakshmi means both material as well as spiritual wealth. Her face and open hands are in a mudra that signify compassion, giving or daana (charity).
Lakshmi typically wears a red dress embroidered with golden threads, symbolism for beauty and wealth. She, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is often represented with her husband Vishnu, the god who maintains human life filled with justice and peace. This symbolism implies wealth and prosperity is coupled with maintenance of life, justice and peace.
NAMES
Lakshmi has numerous names, and numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite her various names. She is very closely associated with the lotus, and her many epithets are connected to the flower, such as:
Padma: lotus dweller
Kamala: lotus dweller
Padmapriya: One who likes lotuses
Padmamaladhara devi: One who wears a garland of lotuses
Padmamukhi: One whose face is as beautiful as a lotus
Padmakshi: One whose eyes are as beautiful as a lotus
Padmahasta: One who holds a lotus
Padmasundari: One who is as beautiful as a lotus
Her other names include:
Vishnupriya: One who is the beloved of Vishnu
Ulkavahini: One who rides an owl
Her other names include: Ambika, Manushri, Mohini, Chakrika, Kamalika, Aishwarya, Lalima, Indira, Kalyani, Nandika, Nandini, Rujula, Vaishnavi, Samruddhi, Narayani, Bhargavi, Sridevi, Chanchala, Jalaja, Madhavi, Sujata, Shreya, Maheshwari, Madhu, Madhavi, Paramaa, Janamodini, Tripura, Tulasi, Ketaki, Malati, Vidhya, Trilochana, Tilottama, Subha, Chandika, Devi, Kriyalakshmi, Viroopa, Vani, Gayatri, Savitri, Apara or Aparajita, Aparna, Aruna, Akhila, Bala, Tara, Kuhu, Poornima, Aditi, Anumati, Avashyaa, Sita, Taruni, Jyotsna, Jyoti, Nimeshika, Atibha, Ishaani, Smriti and Sri. She is also referred to as Jaganmaatha ("Mother of the Universe") in Shri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam.
ANCIENT LITERATURE ON LAKSHMI
UPANISHADS
Shakta Upanishads are dedicated to the trinity of goddesses - Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati. Saubhagya Lakshmi Upanishad, estimated to be composed before 300 BC, describes the qualities, characteristics and powers of Lakshmi. In second part of the Upanishad, the emphasis shifts to the use of yoga and transcendence from material craving in order to achieve spiritual knowledge and self-realization, the true wealth. Saubhagya-Lakshmi Upanishad synonymously uses Sri to describe Lakshmi.
STOTRAMS AND SUTRAS
Numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite hymns dedicated to Lakshmi. She is a major goddess in the Puranas and Itihasa of Hinduism. In ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. For example,
Every woman is an embodiment of you.
You exist as little girls in their childhood,
As young women in their youth,
And as elderly women in their old age.
—Sri Kamala Stotram
Every woman is an emanation of you.
—Sri Daivakrta Laksmi Stotram
Ancient prayers dedicated to Lakshmi seek both material and spiritual wealth in prayers.
PURANAS
Lakshmi features prominently in the Puranas of Hinduism. Vishnu Purana, in particular, dedicates many sections to her and also refers to her as Śrī. J. A. B. van Buitenen translates passages describing Lakshmi in Vishnu Purana as, "Śrī, loyal to Vishnu, is the mother of the world. Vishnu is the meaning, Śrī is the speech. She is the conduct, he the behavior. Vishnu is knowledge, she the insight. He is dharma, she the virtuous action. She is the earth, he earth's upholder. She is contentment, he the satisfaction. She is wish, he is the desire. Śrī is the sky, Vishnu the Self of everything. He is the moon, she the beauty of moon. He is the ocean, she is the shore". This unified, complementing and integrated image of Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband, notes Patricia Monaghan, is "the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings".
SUBHASITA, GNOMIC AND DIDACTIC LITERATURE
Lakshmi, along with Parvati and Saraswati, are subjects of extensive Subhasita, gnomic and didactic literature of India. Composed in 1st millennium BC through the 16th century AD, these are short poems, proverbs, couplets or aphorisms in Sanskrit, written in precise meter. They sometimes take the form of dialogue between Lakshmi and Vishnu, or highlight the spiritual message in Vedas and ethical maxims from Hindu Epics through Lakshmi. An example Subhashita is Puranarthasamgraha, compiled by Vekataraya in South India, where Lakshmi and Vishnu discuss niti (right, moral conduct) and rajaniti (statesmanship, right governance) - covering in 30 chapters, ethical and moral questions about personal, social and political life.
MANIFESTATIONS AND ASPECTS
In eastern India, Lakshmi is seen as a form of one goddess Devi, the Supreme power; Devi is also called Durga or Shakti. Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati are typically conceptualized as distinct in most of India, but in states such as West Bengal and Odisha, they are regionally believed to be forms of Durga.
Lakshmi is seen in two forms, Bhudevi and Sridevi, both either side of Sri Venkateshwara or Vishnu. Bhudevi is the representation and totality of the material world or energy, called the aparam Prakriti, in which she is called Mother Earth. Sridevi is the spiritual world or energy, called the Prakriti. Lakshmi is the power of Vishnu.
Inside temples, Lakshmi is often shown together with Vishnu. In certain parts of India, Lakshmi plays a special role as the mediator between her husband Vishnu and his worldly devotees. When asking Vishnu for grace or forgiveness, the devotees often approach Him through the intermediary presence of Lakshmi. She is also the personification of the spiritual fulfillment. Lakshmi embodies the spiritual world, also known as Vaikunta, the abode of Lakshmi-Narayana or Vishnu, or what would be considered heaven in Vaishnavism. Lakshmi is the embodiment of God's superior spiritual feminine energy, Param Prakriti, which purifies, empowers and uplifts the individual.
SECONDARY MANIFESTATIONS
Ashta Lakshmi (Sanskrit: अष्टलक्ष्मी,Aṣṭalakṣmī, lit. "eight Lakshmis") is a group of eight secondary manifestations of Lakshmi. The Ashta Lakshmis preside over eight sources of wealth and thus represent the eight powers of Shri Lakshmi. Temples dedicated to Ashta Lakshmi are found in Tamil Nadu such as the Ashtalakshmi Kovil near Chennai, and in many other states of India.
The eight Ashta Lakshmis are as follows:
Ādi Lakṣmī:
The First manifestation of Lakshmi
Dhānya Lakṣmī:
Granary wealth
Veera Lakṣmī:
Wealth of courage
Gaja Lakṣmī:
Elephants spraying water, wealth of fertility, rains and food
Santāna Lakṣmī:
Wealth of continuity, progeny
Vijaya Lakṣmī:
Wealth of victory
Aishwarya Lakṣmī:
Wealth of knowledge and education
Dhana Lakṣmī:
Monetary wealth
Other secondary representations of the goddess include Lakshmi manifesting in three forms: Sri Devi, Bhoo devi, and Neela devi. This threefold goddess can be found, for example, in Sri Bhu Neela Sahita Temple near Dwaraka Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, and in the Adinath Swami Temple in Tamil Nadu. Sri Devi represents moveable assets (called Chanchala), and Bhoodevi represents immoveable assets (Achanchala).
Mahalakshmi is also shown presidings over eighteen forms of wealth; these include the eight great siddhis (ashta siddhis) of spiritual knowledge or Jnana (Sanskrit: ज्ञान, jñāna).
In Nepal, Mahalakshmi is shown with 16 hands, each holding a sacred emblem or expressing a sacred gesture, or mudra (lotus, pot, mudra of blessing, book, rosary, bell, shield, bow, arrow, sword, trident, mudra of admonition, noose, skull cap, and kettledrum. In this representation Mahalakshmi manifests as a kind, compassionate, tranquil deity sitting not on a lotus, but on a lion.
JAIN TEMPLES
Some Jain temples also depict Sri Lakshmi as a goddess of artha (wealth) and kama (pleasure). For example, she is exhibited with Vishnu in Parshvanatha Jain Temple at the Khajuraho Monuments of Madhya Pradesh, where she is shown pressed against Vishnu's chest, while Vishnu cups a breast in his palm. The presence of Vishnu-Lakshmi iconography in a Jain temple, built near the Hindu temples of Khajuraho, suggests the sharing and acceptance of Lakshmi across a spectrum of Indian religions. This commonality is reflected in the praise of Lakshmi found in the Jain text Kalpa Sūtra.
CREATION AND LEGENDS
Devas (gods) and asuras (demons) were both mortal at one time, in Hinduism. Amrit, the divine nectar that grants immortality, could only be obtained by churning the Kshirsagar (Ocean of Milk). The devas and asuras both sought immortality and decided to churn the Kshirsagar. The samudra manthan commenced with the devas on one side and the asuras on the other. Vishnu incarnated as Kurma, the tortoise, and a mountain was placed on the tortoise as a churning pole. Vasuki, the great venom-spewing serpent, was wrapped around the mountain and used to churn the ocean. A host of divine celestial objects came up during the churning. Along with them emerged the goddess Lakshmi. In some versions she is said to be the daughter of the sea god since she emerged from the sea.
In the Garuda Purana, Linga Purana and Padma Purana she is said to have been born as the daughter of the divine sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyaati and was named "Bhargavi". According to the Vishnu Purana, the universe was created when the Devas (good) and Asuras (evil) churn the cosmic ocean of milk (Ksheera Sagara). Lakshmi came out of the ocean bearing lotus, along with the divine cow Kamadhenu, Varuni,the tree Parijat, the Apsaras, the Chandra (the moon), and Dhanvantari with Amrita (nectar of immortality). When she appeared, she had a choice to go to Devas or the Asuras. She chose Devas side; and among thirty deities, she chose to be with Vishnu. Thereafter, in all three worlds, the lotus bearing goddess was celebrated.
CELEBRATION IN HINDU SOCIETY
Many Hindus worship Lakshmi on Diwali, the festival of lights. It is celebrated in autumn, typically October or November, every year. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.
Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes and offices. On Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas (lamps and candles) inside and outside their home, participate in family puja (prayers) typically to Lakshmi. After puja, fireworks follow, then a family feast including mithai (sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and close friends. Diwali also marks a major shopping period, since Lakshmi connotes auspiciousness, wealth and prosperity. This festival dedicated to Lakshmi is considered by Hindus as one of the most important and joyous festivals of the year.
Gaja Lakshmi Puja is another autumn festival celebrated on Sharad Purnima, in many parts of India, on the full-moon day in the month of Ashvin (September–October). The Sharad Purnima, also called Kojaagari Purnima or Kumar Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Asvin. It marks the end of monsoon. There is a traditional celebration of the moon and is also called the 'Kaumudi celebration', Kaumudi meaning moonlight. On Sharad Purnima night, goddess Lakshmi is thanked and worshipped for the harvests.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS
BENGAL
In Bengal, Lakshmi is worshiped on Kojagiri Purnima, in autumn when the moon is full, the brightest night of the year. She, riding on her mount-the great white owl, is believed to bless wealth and resources for content lives on this night. The owl symbolically represents penetrating sight in the darkness of night.
During the celebrations, lotus flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, betel leaves & nuts, fruits and various sweet preparations made from jaggery, rice and coconuts are used for her ritual worship.
Apart from the autumnal celebration, Lakshmi, along with Alakshmi (her shadow energy), is also worshipped during Diwali night in some Bengali communities. The goddess Kali of Kalighat in Kolkata is worshipped in Mahalakshmi form during Diwali. Some people observe Lakshmi Vrata/Puja (fasting and prayer). Women sing a string of poems called 'Panchali', narrating the glories of goddess Lakshmi.
ODISHA
Lakshmi is the goddess thanked after autumn harvests in the month of Mrigashīrsha. Women celebrate the festival Manabasa Gurubara or Lakshmi Puja. On each Thursday of the month, the houses are cleaned and the floors are decorated with floral designs drawn with rice powder mixed with water, called jhoti. Footprints are painted from the doorstep to the place of worship, to symbolize that Lakshmi has entered the house. The roofs are decorated with flower garlands and festoons woven out of paddy stalks.[citation needed] After a purification bath in the morning, the women of the region symbolically offer prayers to paddy considered a bounty from Lakshmi. Different rice cakes and Khiri (rice soup prepared with milk and sugar) are prepared in households and are offered to the deity and then eaten by all.
People in Odisha also worship Gaja Lakshmi on Sharad Purnima, also known as Kumar Purnima. Children wear new clothes and families celebrate the day with feasts. It is a festival of rejoicing for the girls; all of them sing and dance. The songs are of a special nature. They play a kind of game known as puchi and other country games.
HYMNS
Countless hymns, prayers, slokas, stotra, songs, and legends dedicated to Mahalakshmi are recited during the ritual worship of Lakshmi.
These include Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam, Sri Lakshmi Sahasaranama Stotra (by Sanathkumara), Sri Stuti (by Sri Vedantha Desikar), Sri Lakshmi Stuti (by Indra), Sri Kanakadhara Stotra (by Sri Aadhi Shankaracharya), Sri Chatussloki (by Sri Yamunacharya), Sri Lakshmi Sloka (by Bhagavan Sri Hari Swamiji) and Sri Sukta, which is contained in the Vedas. Sri Sukta contains the Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra (Om Shree Mahaalakshmyai ca vidmahe Vishnu patnyai ca dheemahi tanno Lakshmi prachodayat Om).
CULTURE
One of Lakshmi's names, Sri (also spelled Shri, pronounced as shree), is commonly used as an honorific prefix or suffix in cultural discourse and human relationships. Affixed to the names of distinguished persons, the honorifics "Shri" (also "Sri," "Shree") and "Shrimati" (also "Srimati," "Shreemati") imply beauty, wealth, prosperity, and auspiciousness.
ARCHAEOLOGY
A representation of the goddess as Gaja Lakshmi, or Lakshmi flanked by two elephants spraying her with water, is one of the most frequent found in archeological sites.[citation needed] An ancient sculpture of Gaja Lakshmi (from the Sonkh site at Mathura) dates to the pre-Kushan Empire era. The Atranjikhera site in modern Uttar Pradesh has yielded terracotta plaque with images of Lakshmi dating to the 2nd century BC. Other archeological sites with ancient Lakshmi terracotta figurines from the 1st millennium BC include Vaisali, Sravasti, Kausambi, Campa and Candraketugadh.
The goddess Lakshmi is frequently found in ancient coins of various Hindu kingdoms from Afghanistan throughout India. Gaja Lakshmi has been found on coins of Scytho-Parthian kings Azes II and Azilises; she also appears on Shunga Empire king Jyesthamitra era coins, both dating to the 1st millennium BC. Coins from the 1st through 4th century AD found in various locations in India such as Ayodhaya, Mathura, Ujjain, Sanchi, Bodh Gaya, Kanauj, all feature Lakshmi. Similarly, ancient Graeco-Indian gems and seals with images of Lakshmi have been found, estimated to be from the 1st millennium BC.
A 1400-year-old rare granite sculpture of Lakshmi has been recovered at the Waghama village along the Jehlum in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
A statuette of Lakshmi found in Pompeii, Italy, dates to before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
RELATED GODDESSES
JAPAN
Goddess Kishijoten of Japan corresponds to Lakshmi. Kishijoten is the goddess of beauty, fortune and prosperity. Kishijoten is considered the sister of the deity Bishamon (毘沙門, also known as Tamon or Bishamon-ten); Bishamon protects human life, fights evil and brings good fortune. In ancient and medieval Japan, Kishijoten was the goddess worshipped for luck and prosperity, particularly on behalf of children. Kishijoten was also the guardian goddess of Geishas. While Bishamon and Kishijoten are found in ancient Chinese and Japanese Buddhist literature, their roots have been traced to deities in Hinduism.
TIBET AND NEPAL
Goddess Vasudhara in Tibetan and Nepalese culture is closely analogous to goddess Lakshmi.
WIKIPEDIA
Vishnu (/ˈvɪʃnuː/; Sanskrit: Viṣṇu) is a popular Hindu deity, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Lord Narayana and Lord Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand.
Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.
The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, preserver or protector and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.
ETYMOLOGY
The traditional explanation of the name Vishnu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle" (cognate with Latin vicus, English -wich "village," Slavic: vas -ves), or also (in the Rigveda) "to enter into, to pervade," glossing the name as "the All-Pervading One". Yaska, an early commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta, (etymological interpretation), defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, "one who enters everywhere". He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, "that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu".
Adi Shankara in his commentary on the Sahasranama states derivation from viś, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Vishnu"). Adi Shankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viś means 'enter into'." Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: "The root vis means to enter. The entire world of things and beings is pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra 'whatever that is there is the world of change.' Hence, it means that He is not limited by space, time or substance. Chinmayananda states that, that which pervades everything is Vishnu."
SACRET TEXTS - SHRUTI & SMRITI
Shruti is considered to be solely of divine origin. It is preserved as a whole, instead of verse by verse. It includes the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads with commentaries on them.
Smṛti refers to all the knowledge derived and inculcated after Shruti had been received. Smrti is not 'divine' in origin, but was 'remembered' by later Rishis (sages by insight, who were the scribes) by transcendental means and passed down through their followers. It includes the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana which are Sattva Puranas. These both declare Vishnu as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe.
SHRUTI
VAISHNAVA CANON
The Vaishnava canon presents Vishnu as the supreme being, rather than another name for the Sun God, who also bore the name Suryanarayana and is considered only as a form of Vishnu.
VEDAS
In the Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Aranyaka (10-13-1), Narayana suktam, Lord Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words "paramam padam", which literally mean "highest post" and may be understood as the "supreme abode for all souls". This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam, or Vaikuntha. Rig Veda 1:22:20a also mentions the same "paramam padam". This special status is not given to any deity in the Vedas apart from Lord Vishnu/Narayana.[citation needed] Narayana is one of the thousand names of Vishnu as mentioned in the Vishnu Sahasranama. It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of - and beyond - the past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. This illustrates the omnipresent characteristic of Vishnu. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called "Preserver of the universe".
Vishnu is the Supreme God who takes manifest forms or avatars across various ages or periods to save humanity from evil beings, demons or Asuras. According to the extant Hindu texts and traditions, Lord Vishnu is considered to be resident in the direction of the "Makara Rashi" (the "Shravana Nakshatra"), which is about coincident with the Capricorn constellation. In some of the extant Puranas, and Vaishnava traditions, Vishnu's eye is considered to be situated at the infinitely distant Southern Celestial Pole.
Following the defeat of Indra and his displacement as the Lord of Heaven or Swarga, Indra asks Lord Vishnu for help and thus Lord Vishnu takes his incarnations or avatars to Earth to save mankind, thus showing his position as Supreme God to all of creation.
In the Puranas, Indra frequently appears proud and haughty. These bad qualities are temporarily removed when Brahma and/or Shiva give boons to Asuras or Rakshasas such as Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu and Ravana, who are then able to defeat Indra in wars between Devas and Asuras. The received boons often made Asuras virtually indestructible.
Indra has no option but to seek help from Vishnu. Indra prays before Vishnu for protection and the Supreme Lord obliges him by taking avatars and generating himself on Earth in various forms, first as a water-dweller (Matsya, fish), then as an amphibious creature (Kurma avatar or Tortoise), then as a half-man-half-animal (Varaha the pig-faced, human-bodied Lord, and Narasimha the Lord with lion's face and claws and a human body). Later, Vishnu appears as human beings (Vamana the short-heighted person), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and finally as Kalki for performing his task of protecting his devotees from demons and anti-religious entities.
Vishnu's supremacy is attested by his victories over those very powerful entities. It is further attested by the accepted iconography and sculptures of Vishnu in reclining position as producing Brahma emerging from his navel. Brahma the creator is thus created in turn by Vishnu out of his own person. Instead Vishnu takes various avatars to slay or defeat those demons. But it is to be noted that Vishnu also provided boons to Akupresura, a bear faced demon who was destroyed by Lord Shiva.
Vishnu's actions lowered Indra's ranking among Hindu deities and led to the ascendancy of Vishnu.
Few temples are dedicated to the Sun or Suryanarayana, nor indeed Indra, nor does Indra figure largely in the Hindu religion.
Indra is almost completely absent from the deities considered as the chief or most important deity.
RIGVEDA
In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps in killing Vritra and with whom he drinks Soma. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 are dedicated to Vishnu. In 7.99, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra.
The Rig Veda describes Vishnu as younger brother to Indra as Vamana. In Vaishnava canon the 'Vishnu' who is younger brother to Indra is identified as Vamana, Avatar of Vishnu, hence referred to as Vishnu by Vaishnavites. Vishnu is the Supreme God who lives in the highest celestial region, contrasted against those who live in the atmospheric or terrestrial regions. Vishnu is content with mere prayer, unlike almost all of the other gods who receive sacrificial offerings such as Havis, which is given using clarified butter, or Soma. Later foreign translators have view that Vedas place Indra in a superior position to Vishnu's Avatar of Vamana but in fact Vamana helps Indra by restoring his Kingdom.
An alternate translation is provided by Wilson according to Sayana:
When Thy (younger brother) Viṣṇu (Vamana) by (his) strength stepped his three paces, then verily thy beloved horses bore thee. (Rigveda 8:12:27)
Wilson mentions Griffith's possible translation as a footnote. However the following verse from Rigveda renders the above translation by Wilson more probable.
Him whose three places that are filled with sweetness, imperishable, joy as it may list them, Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the earth, the heaven, and all living creatures. (Rig veda 1:154:4)
Wilson offers an alternate translation for Rigveda 10:113:2:
Viṣṇu offering the portion of Soma, glorifies by his own vigor that greatness of his. Indra, the lord of heaven, with the associated gods having slain Vritra, became deserving of honour. (Rigveda 10:113:2)
This verse sees Vishnu as one who is glorified by his own strength, while Indra became deserving of honor after having slain Vritra only in association with other gods.
However Vishnu's praise for other gods does not imply worship. Wilson translates:
Viṣṇu, the mighty giver of dwellings praises thee, and Mitra and Varuna; the company of Maruts imitates thee in exhilaration. (Rigveda 8:15:9) (page 280)
The following verses show categorically Vishnu as distinguished from other gods in Rigveda.
He who presents (offering) to Viṣṇu, the ancient, the creator, the recent, the self-born; he who celebrates the great birth of that mighty one; he verily possessed of abundance, attains (the station) that is to be sought (by all). (Rigveda 1:156:2) (page 98)
No being that is or that has been born, divine Viṣṇu, has attained the utmost limit of thy magnitude, by which thou hast upheld the vast and beautiful heaven, and sustained the eastern horizon of Earth.(Rigveda 7:99:2) (page 196)
The divine Viṣṇu, the best of the doers of good deeds, who came to the pious instituter of rite (Indra), to assist (at its celebration), knowing (the desires of the worshiper), and present at the three connected period (of worship), shows favor to the Arya, and admits the author of the ceremony to a share of the sacrifice. (Rigveda 1:156:5) (page 99)
Jan Gonda, the late Indologist, states that Vishnu, although remaining in the background of Indra's exploits, contributes by his presence, or is key to Indra's success. Vishnu is more than a mere companion, equal in rank or power to Indra, or sometime the one who made Indra's success possible.
Descriptions of Vishnu as younger to Indra are found in only the hymns to Indra, but in a kathenotheism religion like that of the Rigveda, each god, for a time, is supreme in the mind of the devotee.
In the Rig Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is the Sun God, who also bears the name 'Suryanarayana'. By contrast, the 'Vishnu' referred to in 'Vishnu Purana', 'Vishnu Sahasranamam' and 'Purusha Sooktham' is Lord Narayana, the Consort of Lakshmi. Vaishnavites make a further distinction by extolling the qualities of Vishnu by highlighting his differences from other deities such as Shiva,[citation needed] Brahma or Surya.
THREE STEPS
Hymn 7.100 refers to the celebrated 'three steps' of Vishnu (as Trivikrama) by which he strode over the universe and in three places planted his step. The 'Vishnu Suktam' (RV 1.154) says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to men and the third is in the heights of heaven (sky). This last place is described as Vishnu's supreme abode in RV 1.22.20:
The princes evermore behold / that loftiest place where Vishnu is / Laid as it were an eye in heaven.(trans. Griffith)
Griffith's "princes" are the sūri, either "inciters" or lords of a sacrifice, or priests charged with pressing the Soma. The verse is quoted as expressing Vishnu's supremacy by Vaishnavites.
Though such solar aspects have been associated with Vishnu by tradition as well as modern-scholarship, he was not just the representation of the sun, as he moves both vertically and horizontally.
In hymns 1.22.17, 1.154.3, 1.154.4 he strides across the earth with three steps, in 6.49.13, 7.100.3 strides across the earth three times and in 1.154.1, 1.155.5,7.29.7 he strides vertically, with the final step in the heavens. The same Veda also says he strode wide and created space in the cosmos for Indra to fight Vritra. By his stride he made dwelling for men possible, the three forming a symbolic representation of the dwelling's all-encompassing nature. This nature and benevolence to men were Vishnu's enduring attributes. As the triple-strider he is known as Trivikrama and as Urukrama, for the strides were wide.
BRAHMANAS
The Brahmanas are commentaries on the Vedas and form part of the Shruti literature. They are concerned with the detail of the proper performance of rituals. In the Rigveda, Shakala Shakha: Aitareya Brahmana Verse 1 declares: agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus, tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā - Agni is the lowest or youngest god and Vishnu is the greatest and the highest God.
The Brahmanas assert the supremacy of Lord Vishnu, addressing him as "Gajapati", the one whom all sacrifices are meant to please. Lord Vishnu accepts all sacrifices to the demigods and allots the respective fruits to the performer In one incident, a demonic person performs a sacrifice by abducting the Rishis (sages), who meditate by constantly chanting God's name. The sacrifice is meant to destroy Indra. But the rishis, who worship Indra as a demigod, alter one pronunciation of the Veda Mantra, reversing the purpose of the sacrifice. When the fruit of the sacrifice is given and the demon is on the verge of dying, he calls to Vishnu, whom he addresses as Supreme Godhead and "the father of all living entities including himself".
Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 mentions Vishnu as the Supreme God. But in the Vaishnava canon, in different ages, with Vishnu in different avatars, his relationship with the asuras or demons, was always adversarial. The asuras always caused harm, while the sages and devas or celestial beings, did penance and called to Vishnu for protection. Vishnu always obliged by taking an avatar to vanquish the asuras. In the Vaishnava canon, Vishnu never gave or granted any boons to the asuras, distinguishing him from the gods Shiva and Brahma, who did. He is the only God called upon to save good beings by defeating or killing the asuras.
Sayana writes that in Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 the declaration agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus,tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā does not indicate any hierarchy among gods. Even in Rigveda Samhita, avama and parama are not applied to denote rank and dignity, but only to mark place and locality.
In Rigveda 1:108:9,: yadindrāghnī avamasyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ madhyamasyāṃ paramasyāmuta sthaḥ | i.e., in the lowest place, the middle (place), and the highest (place). Agni, the fire, has, among the gods, the lowest place; for he resides with man on the earth; while the other gods are either in the air, or in the sky. Vishnu occupies the highest place. The words avama and parama are understood as 'First' and 'Last' respectively. To support this claim, Sayana adduces the mantra (1,4. As'val. Sr. S. 4, 2), agnir mukham prathamo devathanam samathanam uttamo vishnur asit, i.e., Agni was the first of the deities assembled, (and) Vishnu the last.
In the Kausitaki Brahmana (7.1) Agni is called Aaradhya (instead of avama), and Visnu parardha(instead of parama),i.e., belonging to the lower and higher halves (or forming the lower and higher halves). The Vishnu Purana gives tremendous importance to the worship of Vishnu and mentions that sacrifices are to begin only with both the lighting of fire or 'Agni', pouring of sacrificial offerings to Vishnu in 'Agni' so that those offerings reach and are accepted by Vishnu. Worship of Vishnu through Yajnas (or Homams) and other rituals, will not achieve the desired result if Agni's role is neglected.
Muller says "Although the gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers, and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."
However this notion is not completely correct as per the following verses, which shows Rigveda describe one or more gods as subject to other god(s).
Him whose high law not Varuna nor Indra, not Mitra, Aryaman, nor Rudra breaketh, Nor evil-hearted fiends, here for my welfare him I invoke, God Savitar, with worship. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
I invite to this place, with reverential salutations, for my good, that divine Savita, whose functions neither Indra, nor Varun.a, nor Mitra nor Aryaman nor Rudra nor the enemies (of the gods), impede. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
SMRITI
VISHNU SMRITI
The Vishnu Smṛti, is one of the later books of the Dharmashastra tradition of Hinduism and the only one that focuses on the bhakti tradition and the required daily puja to Vishnu, rather than the means of knowing dharma. It is also known for its handling of the controversial subject of the practice of sati (self-immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre). The text was composed by an individual or group. The author(s) created a collection of the commonly known legal maxims that were attributed to Vishnu into one book, as Indian oral culture began to be recorded more formally.
BHAGAVATA PURANA
Vishnu is the only Bhagavan as declared in the Bhagavata 1:2:11 in the verse: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, translated as "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance as Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavan."
VISHNU PURANA
In the Vishnu Purana (6:5:79) the personality named Parashara Rishi defines six bhagas:
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣannāḥ bhaga itīṇganā
Jiva Gosvami explains the verse in Gopala Champu (Pūrva 15:73) and Bhagavata Sandarbha 46:10:
jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejām.sy aśeṣataḥ
bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ
"The substantives of the word bhagavat (bhagavat-śabda-vācyāni) are unlimited (aśeṣataḥ) knowledge (jñāna), energies (śakti), strength (bala), opulence (aiśvarya), heroism (vīrya), splendor (tejas), without (vinā) objectionable (heyair) qualities (guṇādibhiḥ)."
SANGAM LITERATURE
Tamil Sangam literature (300BCE to 500CE) mentions mAyOn, or the dark one, as the supreme deity who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Paripadal 3 describes the glory of Thirumal in the most superlative terms.
Paripadal by kaduvan iLaveyinanAr:
"thIyinuL theRal nI poovinuL naaRRa nI kallinuL maNiyu nI sollinuL vaaymai aRaththinuL anbu nI maRaththinuL mainthu nI vEthaththu maRai nI boothaththu madhalu nI vencudar oLiyu nI thingaLuL aLiyu nI anaiththu nI anaiththinut poruLu nI"
The last line states that Lord Vishnu is the supreme deity who is the inner controller (Antaryamin) of the entire universe. This is one of the Lord's glories, which is first mentioned in Vedas and later propounded by Alwars in Prabhandams and Sri Vaishnavaite Acharyas in various commentaries
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and Vishnu, Lakshmi is mentioned in Tamil works of literature of the Sangam era, including the epic Silapadikaram (book 11, lines 35–40):
āyiram viritteḻu talaiyuṭai aruntiṟaṟ
pāyaṟ paḷḷip palartoḻu tētta viritiraik kāviri viyaṉperu turuttit tiruvamar mārpaṉ kiṭanta vaṇṇamum
On a magnificent cot having a thousand heads spread out, worshipped and praised by many, in an islet surrounded by Kaveri with bellowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who has Lakshmi sitting in his chest.
THEOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES
The actual number of Vishnu's auspicious qualities is countless, although his six most-important "divine glories" are:
Jnana (Omniscience); defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
Aishvarya (Sovereignty), derived from the word Ishvara which means unchallenged rule over all;
Shakti (Power or Energy), the capacity to make the impossible possible;
Bala (Strength), the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
Virya (Vigour), the power to retain immateriality as the Supreme Spirit or Being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations;
Tejas (Splendor), which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by spiritual effulgence.
Other important qualities attributed to Vishnu are Gambhirya (inestimatable grandeur), Audarya (generosity), and Karunya (compassion). Natya Shastra lists Vishnu as the presiding deity of the Sṛngara rasa.
The Rigveda says: Vishnu can travel in three strides. The first stride is the Earth. The second stride is the visible sky. The third stride cannot be seen by men and is the heaven where the gods and the righteous dead live. (This feature of three strides also appears in the story of his avatar Vamana/Trivikrama.) The Sanskrit for "to stride" is the root kram; its reduplicated perfect is chakram (guņa grade) or chakra (zero-grade), and in the Rigveda he is called by epithets such as vi-chakra-māņas = "he who has made 3 strides". The Sanskrit word chakra also means "wheel". That may have suggested the idea of Vishnu carrying a chakra.
FIVE FORMS
In Shree Vaishnavism, another school dating from around the 10th century AD, Vishnu assumes five forms:
In the Para Form, Para is the highest form of Vishnu found only in Sri Vaikunta also called Moksha, along with his consort Lakshmi, (and Bhumi Devi and Nila devi, avatars of Lakshmi) and surrounded by liberated souls like Ananta, Garuda, and a host of Muktas (liberated souls).
In the Vyuha form, Vishnu assumes four forms, which exercise different cosmic functions and controls activities of living beings.
In the Vibhava form, Vishnu assumes various manifestations, called Vibhavas, more popularly known as Avataras from time to time, to protect the virtuous, punish evil-doers and re-establish righteousness.
In the Antaryami; "Dwelling within" or "Suksma Vasudeva" form, Vishnu exists within the souls of all living beings and in every substance.
In the Arcavatara or Image manifestation, Vishnu is visible and therefore easily approachable by devotees since Para, Vyuha, Vibhava and Antaryami forms can only be imagined or meditated upon because they are beyond our reach. Such images can be
Revealed by Vishnu, for example, a self-manifested (Swayambhu) icon (murti), e.g. The Mahavishnu Temple at Tirunelli, The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, The Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple, etc.; or
Installed by Devas or celestial beings such as such as Guruvayur Temple installed by Vayu; or
Installed by humans, and consecrated according to Vaishnava Agama shastras or scriptures such as Lord Jagannatha of Jagannath Temple (Puri) at Puri.
RELATIONS WITH OTHER DEITIES
SHIVA
The three gods of the Trimurti clan are inseparable and in harmony in view of their common vision and universal good. They are perfectly ideal in all respects.
Both Asuras and Devas played supportive roles in this story by keeping company with Vishnu in his incarnated forms. Hanuman is a vanara who is completely dedicated to Rama. He gives Vishnu company and obeys his command, while playing an important part in Rama's life. He is regarded in Vaishnava canon because it is through blessings that Hanuman is born. Thus, Hanuman, Vishnu's constant companion, with his idol appearing temples of Rama, Krishna and Narasimha, i.e. all of Vishnu's avatars, is considered by Vaishnavas.
Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.
LAKSHMI
Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth (also known as Maya). The Samvit (the primary intelligence/dark matter) of the universe is Vishnu, while the other five attributes emerge from this samvit and hence Maya or dark energy of the universe is Lakshmee is his ahamata, activity, or Vishnu's Power. This power of God, Maya or Shakti, is personified and has multiple names: Shree, Lakshmi, Maya, Vishnumaya or Mahamaya. She is said to manifest as Kriyashakti, (Creative Activity) and Bhutishakti (Creation). This world requires Vishnu's creativity. He therefore needs Lakshmi to always be with Him. Her various avatars as Lord Vishnu's consorts are Varahavatar (Bhoodevi) or Bhoomi, Ramavatar Seeta, Krishnavatar Rukmini)
SARASWATI & GANGA
According to Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Lord Vishnu had three wives Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga. Due to their constant quarrelsome nature among them. Once Ganga tried to be close with Vishnu, this rebuked Saraswati but Lakshmi tried to pacify them but faced a curse rather. As per the curse, Lakshmi to appear as Tulasi. Sarawati cursed Ganga to run as a river in the world and Saraswati was cursed to run as a river in the netherworld. After this, Lord Vishnu transformed and became Brahma and Shiva to pacify Saraswati and Ganga.
GARUDA
Vishnu's mount (Vahana) is Garuda, the eagle. Vishnu is commonly depicted as riding on his shoulders.
ICONOGRAPHY
According to various Puranas, Vishnu is the ultimate omnipresent reality and is shapeless and omnipresent. However, a strict iconography governs his representation, whether in pictures, icons, or idols:
He has four arms and is male: The four arms indicate his all-powerful and all-pervasive nature. His physical existence is represented by the two arms in the front, while the two arms at the back represent his presence in the spiritual world. The Upanishad Gopal Uttartapani describes the four arms.
The Shreevatsa mark is on his chest, symbolizing his consort Lakshmi.
He wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel around his neck and a garland of vaijayanti flowers (Vanamala). Lakshmi dwells in this jewel, on Vishnu's chest.
A crown adorns his head: The crown symbolizes his supreme authority. This crown sometimes includes a peacock feather, borrowing from his Krishna-avatar.
He wears two earrings: The earrings represent inherent opposites in creation — knowledge and ignorance; happiness and unhappiness; pleasure and pain.
He rests on Ananta, the immortal and infinite snake.
Vishnu is always to be depicted holding four attributes:
A conch shell or Shankha, named Panchajanya, is held by the upper left hand. It represents Vishnu's power to create and maintain the universe. Panchajanya represents the five elements or Panchabhoota – water, fire, air, earth and sky or space. It also represents the five airs or Pranas that are within the body and mind. The conch symbolizes that Vishnu is the primeval Divine sound of creation and continuity. It also represented as Om. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna avatara states that of sound vibrations, 'He is Om'.
The Chakra, a sharp, spinning, discus-like weapon, named "Sudarshana", is held by the upper right hand. It symbolizes the purified spiritualized mind. The name Sudarshana is derived from two words – Su, which means good, superior, and Darshana, which means vision or sight; together. The Chakra represents destruction of ego in the awakening and realization of the soul's original nature and god, burning away spiritual ignorance and illusion, and developing higher spiritual vision and insight to realize god.
A mace or Gada, named "Kaumodaki", is held by the lower right hand. It symbolizes that Vishnu's divine power is the source of all spiritual, mental and physical strength. It also signifies Vishnu's power to destroy materialistic or demonic tendencies (Anarthas) that prevent people from reaching god. Vishnu's mace is the power of the Divine within us to spiritually purify and uplift us from our materialistic bonds.
A lotus flower or Padma is held by the lower left hand. It represents spiritual liberation, Divine perfection, purity and the unfolding of Spiritual consciousness within the individual. The lotus opening its petals in the light of the Sun is indicative of the expansion and awakening of our long dormant, original spiritual consciousness in the light of god. The lotus symbolizes that god is the power and source from which the universe and the individual soul emerges. It also represents Divine Truth or Satya, the originator of the rules of conduct or Dharma, and Divine Vedic knowledge or Jnana. The lotus also symbolizes that Vishnu is the embodiment of spiritual perfection and purity and that He is the wellspring of these qualities and that the individual soul must seek to awaken these intrinsic Divine qualities from Vishnu by surrendering to and linking with Him.
To this may be added, conventionally, the vanamaala flower garland, Vishnu's bow (Shaarnga/Kodand) and his sword Nandaka. A verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama stotram states;vanamālī gadhī shārngī shanki chakri cha nandaki / shrīmān nārāyaņo vişņo vāsudevo abhirakşatu//; translation: Protect us Oh Lord Narayana who wears the forest garland,who has the mace, conch, sword and the wheel. And who is called Vishnu and the Vasudeva.
In general, Vishnu's body is depicted in one of the following three ways:
Standing on a lotus flower, often with Lakshmi, his consort, beside him on a similar pedestal.
Reclining on the coiled-up thousand-hooded Shesha Naga, with Lakshmi seated at his feet; the assemblage rests on the "Kshira Sagar" (ocean of milk). In this representation, Brahma is depicted as sitting on a lotus that grows out of Vishnu's navel.
Riding on the back of his eagle mount, known as Garuda. Another name for Garuda is "Veda atma"; Soul of the Vedas. The flapping of his wings symbolizes the power of the Divine Truth of Vedic wisdom. Also the eagle represents the soul. Garuda carrying Vishnu symbolizes the soul or jiva atma carrying the Super soul or Param atma within it.
AVATARS
Ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu are the most prominent: Apart from the most prominent incarnations there are believed to more.
The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:
Matsya, the fish that kills Damanaka to save the vedas and also saves Manu from a great flood that submerges the entire Earth.
Kurma, the turtle that helps the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality.
Varaha, the boar that rescues the Earth and kills Hiranyaksha.
Narasimha, the half-lion half human, who defeats the demon Hiranyakashipu.
Vamana, the dwarf that grows into a giant to save the world from King Bali.
Parashurama, "Rama of the battle axe", a sage who appeared in the Treta Yuga. He killed Kartavirya Arjuna's army and clan and then killed all the kshatriyas 21 times.
Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed the Demon King Raavan.
Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who takes part in the Mahabharata epic. Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme Avatar of Vishnu (Supreme Personality of Godhead) in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy.
Buddha, the ninth avatar of Vishnu.
Kalki, the tenth Avatar of Vishnu and said to be the harbinger of the end Kali Yuga. This avatar of Vishnu is yet to come.
Some versions of the above list include Hayagreeva among the Dashavataras while some include Buddha as ninth avatar of Vishnu. Another 22 avatars are given in Chapter 3, Canto 1 of the Bhagavata Purana, although it states that "the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water".
BEYOND HINDUISM
SIKHISM
Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism mentions Vishnu, one verse goes:
The true Vaishnaav, the devotee of Vishnu, is the one with whom God is thoroughly pleased. He dwells apart from Maya. Performing good deeds, he does not seek rewards. Spotlessly pure is the religion of such a Vaishnaav; he has no desire for the fruits of his labors. He is absorbed in devotional worship and the singing of Kirtan, the songs of the Lords Glory. Within his mind and body, he meditates in remembrance on the Lord of the Universe. He is kind to all creatures. He holds fast to the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. O Nanak, such a Vaishnaav obtains the supreme status.
BUDDHISM
While some Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate Vishnu as the custodian deity of Sri Lanka and protector of Buddhism. Lord Vishnu is also known as upulvan, or uthpala varna, meaning "Blue Lotus coloured". Some postulates that Uthpala varna was a local deity who later merged with Vishnu while another belief is that Uthpala Varna was an early form of Vishnu before he became a supreme deity in Puranic Hinduism. According to Chronicles "Mahawamsa", "Chulawamsa" and folklore in Sri Lanka, Buddha himself handed over the custodianship to Vishnu. Others believe that Buddha entrusted this task to Sakra(Indra) and Sakra delegated this task of custodianship to god Vishnu. In contrary to vedic Hinduism, in assimilation of Hindu god Vishnu into Sinhalese Buddhism, Vishnu becomes a mortal being and a Bodhisattva aspiring Buddhahood. Additionally, Vishnu is considered as the god of home and hearth representing mercy, goodness, order and stability. Many Buddhist and Hindu shrines are dedicated to Vishnu in Sri Lanka. In addition to specific Vishnu "Kovils" or "devalayas", all Buddhist temples necessarily house shrine rooms (Devalayas) closer to the main Buddhist shrine dedicated to Vishnu. John Holt in his groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Vishnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. According to Holt the veneration of Vishnu in Sri Lanka is evidence of a remarkable ability, over many centuries, to reiterate and reinvent culture as other ethnicities have been absorbed into their own. Though the Vishnu cult in Ceylon was formally endorsed by Kandyan kings in early 1700s, Holt states that vishnu images and shrines are among conspicuous ruins in the medieval capital Polonnaruwa. In Buddhist mythology, when Vishnu failed to traverse the universe in three steps, he was given the title "Ardha Vishnu (Half-Vishnu)" and when Vishnu banished demons from the Vaishali (Vishala)in India, he became "Mulu Vishnu or Whole Vishnu". The extreme significance of god Vishnu in Sinhala society is reflected in recitals of the traditional "Offerings to dwarfs and crossing the door frame (bahirwayanta dola pideem saha uluwahu peneema)" that starts with Sri Vishnu invocation.In the recitals,mentioning of the aspiring Buddhahood of Vishnu which is of prime importance to Buddhists and wishes for him to live five thousand and more years highlight the central role of Vishnu in the psyche of Sri Lankan Buddhists.
OTHERS
James Freeman Clarke, Richard Leviton, James Cowles Prichard, and others have noted the similarities between Vishnu and Ancient Egyptian God Horus.
During an excavation in an abandoned village of Russia in the Volga region, archaeologist Alexander Kozhevin excavated an ancient idol of Vishnu. The idol dates from between the 7th and 10th centuries. In the interview Kozhevin, stated that, "We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research"
THOUSAND NAMES OF VISHNU
Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the Vishnu Sahasranama, (Vishnu's thousand names) from within the larger work Mahabharata. The character Bheeshma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising him (Vishnu) as the supreme god. These Sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama results in spiritual well-being and a greater awareness of God.
The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes).
According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are
Vasudeva
Sankarshana
Pradyumna
Anirudha
Keshava
Narayana
Madhava
Govinda
Vishnu
Madhusudana
Trivikrama
Vamana
Sridhara
Hrishikesha
Padmanabha
Damodara
Purushottama
Achyuta
Narasimha
Janardana
Hari
Krishna
Adhokshaja
Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)
WIKIPEDIA
The tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany is a monument located in Nantes, in the Cathedral of St. Peter. The project was commissioned by Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, who was the daughter of Francis and his second wife Margaret of Foix, who is also depicted beside Francis.
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The corner statues
These four statues are particularly interesting; in fact, they are arguably the best examples of Michel Colombe's genius. They are four full-length women, each standing at a corner of the tomb. Some specialists tend to say that they are rather awkwardly integrated into the whole, but this is not the most important thing in our opinion.
These four women represent the four cardinal virtues. It's worth noting in passing that the designers probably didn't have in mind the idea of associating these virtues with the two deceased (which doesn't mean they weren't virtuous, no doubt!), but rather that of conveying a moral message through art. These virtues concern us all, they point the way to a path that everyone should follow. The parallel with the Cenotaph of La Moricière, another important monument in the Cathedral, is interesting in this respect.
Let's take a look at these four virtues, starting with the head of Marguerite de Foix. The statue that stands there is that of Prudence.
Source of the text:
nantescathedrale.free.fr/tombeau.htm
Source of the photo:
laurentdetours on flickr