Saturday 29 October 2016

Gommateshwara statue

Gommateshwara Statue 
Gommateshwara Statue is a 57-foot (17 m) high monolithic statue located at Shravanbelagola in Karnataka. The statue is dedicated to the Jain god Bahubali. It was built in around 983 A.D. and is one of the largest free standing statues in the world. The construction of the statue was commissioned by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander, Chavundaraya. Neighboring areas have Jain temples known as basadis and several images of the Tirthankaras.
One can have a beautiful view of the surrounding areas from the top of the hill. An event known as Mahamastakabhisheka attracts devotees from all over the world. The Mahamastakabhisheka festival is held once in 12 years, when the Gommateshwara statue is anointed with milk, saffron, ghee, etc. to maintain its freshness.
 On August 5 2007, the Statue was voted as the first of Seven Wonders of India - 49% of the total votes went in favour of it. 

Sunday 9 October 2016

MYSURU DASARA



Mysuru Dasara is the Nadahabba (state festival) of the state of Karnataka in India. It is also called Navaratri (Nava ratri = nine nights) and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara. Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October. According to a legend, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura is the demon whose slaying by the Goddess gave the name Mysore. The city of Mysore has a long tradition of celebrating the Dasara festival with utter grandeur and pomp to mark this day and the festivities there are an elaborate affair, attracting a large audience including foreigners. The Dasara festival completed 400th anniversary in year 2010.

A lit up Mysore Palace, the epicenter of all Dasara festivities held in Mysore
The Dasara festivities began with the Vijayanagar kings as early as the 15th Century.A Persian ambassador, Abdur Razzaq  reported the Dasara observance (originally Mahanavami) in Vijayanagara during his mission to India in his book entitled Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain (The Rise of the Two auspicious constellations and the Confluence of the Two Oceans), a major work which contained an overview of the history of this part of the world from 1304 to 1470.
After the fall of the Vijayanagar kingdom, the Wodeyars of Mysore continued the Dasara Festival, initially by Raja Wodeyar I (1578-1617 CE) in the year 1610 at Srirangapatna. The Mysore Palace is illuminated on all the 10 days of Dasara. Chamundi Hill at Mysore. This would be followed by a special durbar (royal assembly). It was during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III in the year 1805, when the king started the tradition of having a special durbar in the Mysore Palace during Dasara; which was attended by members of the royal family, special invitees, officials and the masses. After the death of Srikanta Wadiyar in December 2013, this tradition has been continued by placing the “Pattada Katti” (royal sword) on the golden throne.The ninth day of Dasara called as Mahanavami is also an auspicious day on which the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession involving elephants, camels and horses.
Lighting at Mysore Palace
The main attraction of the ten-day Mysore Dasara festival is the Mysore Palace which is illuminated daily with nearly 100,000 light bulbs from 7 pm to 10 pm on all days of the festival. Nearly ₹10 million is spent towards maintenance of its illumination alone every year. Various cultural and religious programs highlighting the dance, music and culture of the State of Karnataka are performed in front of the illuminated Palace.
Procession
On Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore city. The main attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden mantapa (which is around 750 kilograms of gold) on the top of a decorated elephant. This idol is worshipped by the royal couple and other invitees before it is taken around in the procession. Colourful tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels form a part of the procession which starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantap where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their weapons during their one-year period of Agnatavasa (living life incognito). Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge victorious in the war. The Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light parade).
In Mysore, India, the Vijayadashami Elephant procession during Mysore Dasara is called Jumbo Savari (from the British during their control of Mysore State). The original name to this procession is Jumbi Savari ("going to the Shami (Banni) tree"). Now Goddess Chamundeshwari is taken in procession on an Elephant. But the "Jumbo" name is still intact.
After the Jamboo Savari, a torchlight parade takes place in the evening at the Bannimantap Parade Grounds.

Friday 15 April 2016

Goddess Bhuvaneshwari devi

Kannada goddess at Bhuvanagire, Siddapura tq. uttara kannada dist.


Kannada Goddess Bhuvaneshwaridevi

 
Bhuvaneshwari devi is the mother  Goddess for Kannada language and Kannadigas. Bhuvaneshwari temple is in Bhuvanagiri, Siddapura taluk of Uttara Kannada district which was constructed  during the age of Kadhambas, who were the original rulers of Karnataka state and Kannada language flourished to its peak during their period.
Another Bhuvaneshwari temple is in Hampi in Ballari.

Historian Chidananda Murthy said the idea of 'Kannada Bhuvaneshwari' is undoubtedly from Hampi. "It is not the question of which temple is older or which temple is famous. The idea of 'Kannada Bhuvaneshwari' is from Hampi. The Bhuvaneshwari statue is next to the idol of Virupaksha, the presiding deity of Vijayanagara empire. It is the belief the Bhuvaneshwari took the avatar to help revive a Kannada kingdom. She is believed to have helped Hari Raya and Bukka Raya with gold to establish the new kingdom. This was the idea that was adopted during the fight for the unification of Karnataka movement."

The controversy started at the fest in Udupi, where Dr Taltaje Vasanth Bhat, the retired head of the Kannada department of the Mumbai University, kicked off the debate during his speech by stating that the real 'Mother Kannada' was the one at Siddapura and not the one in Hampi. He pointed out to the Siddapura town panchayat's official website which records Bhuvanagiri's Bhuvaneshwari as the original 'Kannada Bhuvaneshwari.'

Meanwhile, Bangalore University's retired head of Kannada department, Dr Krishna P Bhat, has said that the Bhuvanagiri temple for Bhuvaneshwari dates back to the 17th century and for several years now, Kannada activists from Bengaluru have been making an annual pilgrimage to Bhuvanagiri.