The name Buddha today is associated with the founder of Buddhism. It means ‘awakened one’ and was used as a title by a number of religious groups in India. Gradually, it got associated with Buddhism. Buddha was born Siddhartha. He was born in the Sakya republic of Kapilavastu in present day northern Bihar. Therefore he was called Sakyamuni (the sage of the Sakya). He belonged to a kshatriya clan of the Gautama gotra and got called Gautama (Sanskrit) or Gotama (Pali). The Buddha referred to himself as Tathagata (the one who has thus gone) while the earliest Buddhist texts referred to him as Bhagavat (Lord). Vardhamana was the original name of Mahavira, who is credited with popularizing Jainism.

The picture is from Ayuthaya in Thailand.

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

Ganesha was the family deity of Peshwas. They devoted a good deal of money and attention on the construction and renovation of Ganesha temples around Pune region. These temples pre date the Peshwa region and the avataras date back to far remote times. But the form in which these temples are seen today is a result of Peshwa patronage. The Sarasbaug Ganapati temple in Pune is considered as the family temple of Peshwas.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

PicureCredit: Pakshya Creative Commons

Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Maneckshaw was the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army at the time of the Bangladesh war in 1971. He is reported to have offered to resign when the then PM Indira Gandhi asked him to be ready for attack in March 1971 when Pakistan started its infamous repression in East Pakistan. He said he needed time to prepare and would deliver victory if he could choose his timing. The PM agreed and an Indian army achieved one of the most comprehensive victories in history.

He became the first Field Marshall of the Army and was lovingly called Sam Bahadur (Sam the Brave). His great contemporary, Homi Bhabha was an equally outspoken and resourceful leader of India’s atomic & space programs . Two Parsis were pivotal in nurturing two institutions that all Indians bar none, are proud of. The image of the stamp honouring Homi Bhabha is under open govt data license – India.

Gingee is in Tamil Nadu. It is about 160 kms from Chennai. As a part of Dakshin Digvijaya, Shivaji took over the fort which was held by the sons of former Wazir of Bijapur. During his stay at Ginjee, Shivaji built up the defenses of this fort making it one of the strongest in India. This was to serve the Marathas in good stead in the years to come.

Shivaji’s second son Rajaram would flee the Mughal siege of Raigad and Panhala and reach Ginjee in 1689. Gingee came under siege by Mughals. The Maratha chiefs Santaji and Dhanaji would force Mughals to lift the siege by 1693. From Gingee, they terrorised Mughal army in the region but turned into rivals soon after. They fought each other near Gingee in 1696. Santaji fell out of favour with Rajaram and had to flee to Maharastra where he was killed. This setback invited another Mughal siege of Ginjee, which eventually fell. The fort would change hands often and finally came under British.

Picture Credit: Karty Jazz, Wikimedia Commons

Iranis are Zoroastrians who also came from Persia but in the 19th century, escaping renewed religious persecution. They initially spoke a Persian dialect but gradually got assimilated with the Parsis, who had come a millenium earlier. Many adopted the generic surname Irani. They were good businessmen. The café culture owes much to them.

Kayani & Co was the first Iranian café to open in 1913. Located in the Dhobi Talao area where the Iranians first settled, Kayani incorporated the influence of the Goan Christian community amongst whom they lived. Thus Kayani had brun, pao and mawa cakes. These became staple fare in all Iranian cafes. Being reasonably priced and convenient, the menu became a hit. At its peak there were 300 Irani cafes in Mumbai. As the community dwindles, only about 25 cafes survive.

Source: Indian Express

The image from parsikhabar.net is of Sassanian Boulangerie, another famous Irani café.

Manikaran Sahib is on the banks of the Parvati river. It is famous for its hot springs. Guru Nanak ji visited this region in the 16th century. When his followers were hungry, Guru Nanak ji asked the villagers for support. While the villagers donated cooking ingredients, there was no fire. Guru Nanak ji lifted a stone and a hot water spring appeared. It was hot enough to cook the food. A Gurudwara has been built in this spot. Even today food is cooked in the hot springs. The hot springs are also believed to have curative powers and many pilgrims brave the heat to benefit from the medicinal properties.

Manikaran is also sacred for Hindus. They believe the jewels of Parvati were stolen by a serpent while she was bathing in the water of the Parvati river. The name Manikaran is a derivate of Mani (jewel) and Karan(ear). Manikaran also houses a famous Ram temple whose deity is believed to have been brought from Ayodhya. The deity was later on shifted to Kullu.

The Parvati valley where Manikaran is located is also famous for Malana village, whose residents are believed to be the soldiers left behind from Alexandar’s army. Kasol is a nearby backpacking destination.

Source: Sikhwiki.org

Picture Credit: Adarsh Kuruvath Flickr

As per Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra gifted the region of modern-day Gurugram to Dronacharya. It was a token of the King’s gratitude to the respected teacher for taking on the task of training the Kuru princes in the art of warfare. Dronacharya opened his school in the village, eventually settling here. Thus, the place was called ‘guru ka gaon’ meaning the teacher’s village. Over time, the name got shortened to Gurgaon, and in 2016, it was officially renamed Gurugram by the Haryana government.

Source: https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/mythologies/how-gurgaon-got-its-name/

Picture Credit: The Quint

After falling out with the Congress, Bose formed the Forward Bloc and explored how to exploit WWII. In 1940, the British put him under house arrest at Elgin Road, Kolkata. He escaped, disguised as Mohammed Ziauddin, traveling inspector of an insurance company. He made his way to Afghanistan, thence to Germany in April 1941 and finally Singapore. There he setup the provisional government of free India in Oct 1943 and took charge of the Indian National Army (INA) made up of soldiers defecting from the British Indian Army.

The INA allied with the Japanese and fought the battles of Imphal and Kohima against the British Indian Army. They were defeated and their public trial by the British fired up the country. The Japanese had ceded Andaman to Bose’s government. Symbolically the first land to be freed, was the dreaded kaala paani. Bose could thus be regarded as the first leader of free India. He also chose ‘Jai Hind’ as the INA slogan and ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem – his great legacies.

The Wikimedia image shows the currency issued by the Azad Hind govt of Netaji.

Odisha celebrates its new year on April 14 or 15, following the solar calendar. Pana is made during the festival. It is a drink made with bel fruit pulp (wood apple) or sweet mango. Milk or yoghurt and coconut water are the other ingredients. Open the fridge and look for Pana now.

Picture Credit: Kamalakanta777, Wikimedia Commons

The British established a penal colony at Andaman, the Malay pronunciation of Hanuman. The Cellular jail where the British housed the most inconvenient prisoners was a living hell. Since Andaman was across the seas, a stint in Cellular jail was called ‘kaala paani’ (Black Waters) from which hardly any came back. The regimen at Cellular Jail was designed to humiliate prisoners. Prisoners had cross bar fetters keeping legs apart or an iron chain around the neck, for weeks. Many broke down or went mad.

The dreaded place also kept true love alive. Ullaskar Dutt went into prolonged delirium but visions of his fiancée Lila, daughter of the famous leader Bipin Lal, are said to have kept him alive. He was freed under pressure but when he returned, Lila had married and he was heartbroken. In old age, Lila was widowed and paralysed and Dutt married her at last and took care of her. A love story for the ages.

Situated near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, Vindhyachala overlooks the holy Ganga river. Shakti, also known as Mahisharuramardini, settled here after slaying Mahisha.

Vindhyachala is home to three main temples dedicated to different manifestations of Devi: Vindyavasini, Kalo Khoh, and Ashtabhuja. Pilgrims often embark on the Trikon Parikrama, a sacred journey, visiting these three Devi temples.

The Devi Mahatmya, an ancient text, references the Great Goddess who vanquished Mahisha and reveals her various appearances, including her eventual manifestation as the Goddess of Vindhya.

The region around the Vindhyachala temple has a rich history of Devi worship. Baghor, located approximately 100 kilometers away, bears evidence of Devi worship dating back 11,000 years. You can read about Baghor in IndiYatra’s Navaratri 2022 quiz. https://indiyatra.in/devi-a-quiz/

Source: Inditales.com
Vindyachalmandir.com

Picture Credit: Government of UP

Al Beruni came to India with the forces of Mahmud of Ghazni in 11th century. He wrote a famous book Tehkeek-e-Hind (Discovery of India). The Diwali description of Al Beruni is very close to how modern day Diwali is celebrated. He describes Diwali thus, “1st Karthika or new moon day, when the sun marches in Libra is called Diwali. Then people bathe, dress festively, make presents to each other of areca nuts & betel leaves; they ride to the temples to give alms and play merrily with each other till noon. In the night they light a great number of lamps in every place so that the air is perfectly clear. The cause of the festival is that Laxmi, the wife of Vasudeva once a year on this day liberates Bali, the son of Virochana, who is the prisoner in the seventh earth. Therefore the festival is called Balirajya i.e. the principality of Bali.” One of the days of Diwali festival is called Bali Pratipada.

Source: Some Notes on the History of Diwali Festival, P.K. Gode

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sangha is the monastic order of Buddha. “Sangham Sharnam Gatchami,” ( I take refuge in the Sangha), is a basic Buddhist chant. Sangha is one among the Triratnas (Three Jewels) of Buddhism, the other two being Buddha and Dhamma.

Mahabharata and Panini use the term Sangha to describe a republic. The rules of the monastic order of Buddha were modelled on the rules of the republics in his time. The Mahaparinibbana­suttanta, a Buddhist text, mentions that the rules for conducting the Buddhist sangha were based in principle on those commonly found in political sanghas or ganas.

Prof Jayaswal says, “The birth of the religious brotherhood of Buddha from the constitutional womb of an Indian republic is of interest to the world.” The key organizational virtue of Sangha was the full participation (like in a republic) of all the monks in the ritual and disciplinary acts of their group.

Source: KP Jayaswal, “Hindu Polity”;
C Rajendran, “Democratic Principles in the Polity of Ancient India”, SVU Oriental Journal, Golden Jubilee Volume.
Steve Muhlberger, “Democracy in Ancient India”

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons, “The Buddha preaches the Vessantara Jataka to the Sangha and his Family, Chedi Traiphop Traimongkhon Temple, Hatyai”

It is also known as Rama Navratri because the ninth day of this festival is also celebrated as Rama Navami, the day Shri Rama was born in Ayodhya in Treta Yuga.

In some parts like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan Vasanta Navratri is more popular than Sharada Navratri. The beginning of the Chaitra Navratri is also the new year day, Ugadi in Andhra and Karnataka, as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Navreh in Kashmir.

The picture is a celebration of Chaitra Navaratri in Mata Longa Wali Devi mandir in Amritsar, Punjab

Source: When Devi Comes home. Bibek Debroy and Anuradha Goyal.

Picture Credit: Outlook