The five Jain temples made of marble are at Dilwara near Mount Abu in Rajasthan. They use the marble stones from Makrana as did the Taj Mahal. They were built between the 11th and 15th century by different rulers. They are the best specimens of the Maru-Gurjara branch of North Indian Nagara temple architecture attributed to the Solanki rulers of Gujarat. Profusely carved pillars, ceilings and flying arches in large, open pillared halls, are characteristics of this style. Ranakpur, also in Rajasthan has similiar architecture and intricacy.

Source: “The International Jaina Style,” Julia A B Hegewald

Picture Credit: Luna Vasahi

In Lenyadri, Ganesha is worshipped as Girijatmaj. Ganesha is Swayambhu in a cave. The name of the idol ‘Girijatmaj’ comes as ‘Girija’ meaning Devi Parvati and ‘Aatmaj’ meaning Son. It is said that in this particular cave Devi Parvati performed tapascharya for twelve long years for the gain of a son. After this long tapascharya, Lord Ganesh himself came before her. Leni means caves in Marathi. The temple faces the southern direction and is rock cut within the cave. It closely resembles a Buddhist Vihara.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Shree Lenyadri Ganpati Devsthan Trust, https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

PicureCredit: https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

The assembly hall is called Jagmohan. The Sun Temple is the pinnacle of Hindu Orissan architecture and is unique in terms of its sculptural innovations and the quality of its carvings. According to textual evidence, it is believed that Narasimha I (who reigned between 1238 and 1264) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty commissioned the temple. The Sun Temple may have been built to celebrate Narasimha’s military victory over Muslim forces in Bengal. The main structure, vimana, of the temple collapsed in the 19th century. It reached a height of 227 feet (69 m). The entrance hall retains its pyramidal roof structure, but it cannot be entered because the entire building was filled with stone and sand in the 19th century to ensure it did not also collapse.

Source: www.britannica.com/place/Konark

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

Pandharpur, west of Solapur in Maharashtra, is one of the major pilgrimage sites. Vithoba or Vithala or Panduranga is worshipped in Pandharpur. Vithoba is a form of Krishna. His consort is Rukmini. Pandharpur Vari is the yatra of Varkaris the followers of saints of Maharashtra, notably, Jnaneesvar and Tukaram. Every year, they reach Pandharpur on the Ekadashi of the Ashadha month carrying Palkhis. The main Palkhis start from Alandi and Dehu and meet in Pune. Palkhis of several other saints also join the pilgrimage. They reach Pandharpur on the Ashadha Shukla 10th. The Varis have been a continuous tradition for several centuries and had united the masses.

Source: Immortal India Volume 1 by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Nirath, in comparison, is an unknown Sun Temple. It is on the banks of Sutlej just before Rampur in Himachal Pradesh. The Sun temple is quaint and about a 1000 years old. The temple is believed to be one of the five established by Parashurama himself. The deity is Surya. There is also a combined image of Shiva-Vishnu carrying Trishul as well as Sankha-Cakra.

Source: Temples of Himachal Pradesh, Eicher

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

Baghor is within 100 kms of Ganga and very close to Prayagraj. In 1982, a team of archaeologists found a heap of discarded stones on a circular rubble platform. In the middle of the rubble was a bright stone with concentric triangles, but broken. They found most of the broken pieces near the rubble itself. When the workers saw the unusual stone they dropped the tools and stopped digging. “This is our Devi!” they said. The excavating team did not take them seriously. But the local people too immediately recognised the rubble and the stone as their Devi. One was upset that the digging team had broken the stone. When they told him that they had actually dug this out and it is ancient, he immediately fell on the ground and did a pranam to the stone.

The site watchman took the team to his house. He had built a small shrine for Devi near his house which looked exactly like the one they had discovered. A sandstone rubble; a bright stone with concentric triangular pattern in the middle. Then the team also saw a temple called Kerai ki Devi which had a similar form of worship. As they looked around, they saw more and more of similar forms of worship in the area.

The team then recognised the significance of what they had found. They had known that the Baghor site is very ancient. It belonged to a period between two other layers which had been dated. This gave a time period of 9000 BC to 8000 BC to the Devi shrine. A practice of worship that was prevalent 11,000 years ago and which continues till date.

The picture that you see here, with the answer, is the present day shrine, which looks remarkably similar to what was unearthed.

Source: Archaeology and World Religion-Routledge (2001) DK Chakrabarti.

Interview with Prof Jagannath Pal, Ex Allahabad University

Antiquity. An Upper Paleolithic Shrine in India? J.M. Kenoyer, J.D. Clark, J.N.Pal, G.R. Sharma

Picture Credit: J.M. Kenoyer

The Braj region (around Mathura-Vrindavan) is the venue for Lathmaar Holi. Krishna, who was from Nandgoan, planned to spoil Radha’s rosy complexion by smearing Gulal ( colours) on her face. He traveled to Barsana to achieve this mischievous feat, but this act makes the Gopis furious. They chased him and his accomplices back to Nandgaon with lathis.

Holi is celebrated most intensely in the Braj region and it usually lasts for eight days. The Krishna-Radha episode is recreated at both Nandgaon and Barsana by the local dwellers. First, the women of Barsana pretend to beat up the men of Nandgaon with lathis. The next day it is the turn of the women of Nandgaon follow-up the ritual with Barsana men. Both Holi celebrations are held at the temple complexes amidst a riot of colours and cheerful festive music.

Source: Outlook Traveller, Lasya Nadimpally

Picture Credit: Avishek Das, Flickr

In Bengal, Assam and Orissa, the festival holds great significance for Krishna Bhakts. Purnima, the full moon day of the month, is also believed to be the birthday of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In Bengal, this festival leans more toward religion and philosophy. Early in the morning on Dol Purnima day, people dress up in white or saffron-colored clothing and wear flowers and/or garlands. Then they sing and dance to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments such as the Veena, Dubri, Ektara, and so on. Holi here is also known as the Dol Jatra or Swing Festival. The idols are placed in a beautifully decorated palanquin and are taken around the main streets of the village or city where the celebration takes place. As the procession unfolds, the men keep spraying colored water, Gulal powder, and the fragrant Abeer at all passers-by.

Source: dollsofindia.com and various.

Picture Credit: NewsTrack

Mukkuruni Vinayagar within Madurai Meenakshi temple in Tamil Nadu receives this offering on Vinayaka Chaturthi each year. Once Ganpati was looking for physical work and was asked to transport some material in a cart. At the end of the work when he was asked to specify his wages for the work, Ganpati asked for 30 kgs of rice (Mukkuruni in Tamil). To mark this legend, a single modak is made with 30 kgs of rice and 30 kgs of jaggery and other material, eventually weighing about 72 kg. The cooking takes 24 hours.

Source: Bhoga Naivedyam by Sujata Shukla Rajan

PicureCredit: Indian Express

Nataraja is the most aesthetic form of Shiva, blending force and grace. According to Hindu belief, all life is a part of the great rhythmic process of creation and destruction. Shiva’s dance symbolizes the eternal life-death rhythm going on in an endless cycle.

Shiva is the presiding deity of Bharatanatya, the art and science of dancing. He has danced all the hundred and eight kinds of dances the Bharatanatya talks about.

The most adorned temple for Nataraja is in Chidambaram. Beautiful deities of Nataraja are also seen near Kancheepuram. Several temples in Tamil Nadu have a shrine dedicated to Nataraja.

This bronze sculpture is in Chennai Egmore museum. It is set against an artificial backdrop of the cosmos.

Picture Credit: SR Ramanujam

Kite flying is a very popular mode of celebration in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Both Ahmedabad and Jaipur now host an international kite festival during Sankranti.

Source:

Picture Credit: First Sky Parenting

Ghaffar Khan, also called Baadshah Khan or Bacha Khan, was a leader of Pashtuns who live mostly in what was the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. A great pacifist like Gandhi, he is sometimes referred as the Frontier Gandhi. He raised the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) or Red Shirts, a 100,000 strong organization wedded to non violence and strict discipline. Gandhi called it a miracle as the Pashtuns were considered to have a code of revenge of violence.

Along with Gandhi, he was the most inveterate opponent of partition. Unlike Gandhi, he survived partition by 40 years. He spent the post partition years working for the rights of Pashtuns and was viewed with suspicion by the Pakistan government. He boycotted the 1947 referendum in the province since it did not provide an option of independence or joining Afghanistan. He was twice nominated for the Nobel price for peace and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1987.

One of his biographers J Bright wrote that he was so wedded to non violence that Gandhi should be called the ‘Indian Khan’ and not the other way round.

Source: The Print, thefrontiergandhimovie.com.

Picture: The Wikimedia image shows Ghafar Khan with Gandhi and Kasturba.

Ganesh Tok is a popular tourist place in Gangtok. It offers excellent views of the city and is at a height of about 6500 feet.

Source:

PicureCredit: Kailas98, Creative Commons

The great Maratha general Malhar Rao Holkar established a kingdom in Malwa. He married his son Khande Rao to a simple girl, Ahilyabai Shinde. She was 8 when married in 1733, but Malhar Rao gave her the education of a prince. Both he and his son were away fighting wars and Ahilyabai managed the state.

After the death of her husband, father in law and son, Ahilyabai took up direct reign in 1767. She ruled till her death in 1795. Ahilyabai was a financial genius and made Holkar state very prosperous and a major mercantile centre.

She also had a pan India perspective. She funded the regeneration of almost all the major Hindu pilgrimage centres – the 12 Jyotirlingas, 4 Dhams, five Kedars & seven Puris. She built the current Kashi Vishwanath temple at Benaras and her murti is now installed in the renovated complex.

Picture Credit: The Wikimedia image is by Ashish Bhatnagar.