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Biraja Temple
The Biraja Temple, or ''Birija Kshetra'' (Odia:ବିରଜା ମନ୍ଦିର, Birajā Kṣetra), is a historic Hindu temple located in Jajpur (about north of Bhubaneswar), Odisha, India. The present temple was built during the 13th century. The principal idol is Devi Durga, who is worshiped as Viraja (Girija), and the temple gave Jajpur the nicknames "Viraja Kshetra" and "Biraja Peetha". The Durga idol has two hands (''dwibhuja''), spearing the chest of Mahishasura with one hand and pulling his tail with the other. One of her feet is on a lion, and the other is on Mahishasura's chest. Mahishasura is depicted as a water buffalo. The idol's crown features Ganesha, a crescent moon and a lingam. The temple covers a large area, and has several shrines to Shiva and other deities. According to the ''Skanda Purana'' it cleanses pilgrims, and it is called the ''Viraja'' or the ''Biraja kshetra''. Jajpur is believed to have about one crore of Shiva lingams. In Tantra The ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is equal to one hundred thousand, and is written as 1,00,000). It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is often used in Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan English. Money Large amounts of money in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan are often written in terms of ''Koti'' or ''crore''. For example (one hundred and fifty million) is written as "fifteen ''crore'' rupees", "15 crore" or "". In the abbreviated form, usage such as "15 cr" (for "15 ''crore'' rupees") is common. Trillions (in the short scale) of money are often written or spoken of in terms of ''lakh crore''. For example, ''one trillion rupees'' is equivalent to: * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahalaya
Mahalaya is the last day of offering tribute to our departed forefathers, i. e pitripaksha and the beginning of the devipaksha. At the time of the cataclysm, when the earth became a great cause-sea, Lord Vishnu laid Anantanag on that sea and fell into a deep sleep. At this time, two demons named Madhu and Kaitabh came out of Vishnu's earlobe and tried to kill Brahma in Vishnu's navel. In order to awaken Vishnu, Brahma began to praise His eyesight. When God Shri Vishnu was awakened, He fought a great war with Madhu and Kaitabh for five thousand years .But only at last of the 5000 yrs Goddess Durga or Goddess Aadishakti helped God Vishnu to finish the two demons Madhu and Kaitabha and finally God Vishnu killed those two demons. Mahalaya is at the crossroads between the opposite side and the goddess side . In the month of Bhadra, Krishna Pratipada begins and the time till the next new moon is called the opposite side. According to the Puranas, under the direction of Brahma, the pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durga Puja
Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasur. It is celebrated all over the world by the Hindu Bengali community but it is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (eastern parts) and the country of Bangladesh. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar month of Ashwin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar. Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance. The Puja (Hinduism), puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations (known as ''pandals''). The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaitarani River
The Baitarani (also spelled Vaitarani) is one of six major rivers of Odisha, India. Venerated in popular epics and legends, the Baitarani River is a source of water for agricultural irrigation. The coastal plain of Odisha has the name of "Hexadeltaic region" or the "Gift of Six Rivers". These deltas divide the coastal plain into three regions from north to south. The Baitarani, the Mahanadi and the Brahmani rivers form the Middle Coastal Plain, with evidence of past "back bays" and present lakes. Sources The Baitarani originates from the Gonasika/Guptaganga (Cow Nose Shaped) hills, and starts flowing over a stone looking like the nostril of a cow. Afterwards for about half a kilometre the river flows underground and is not visible from outside. The Baitarani is known here by the name Guptaganga or the Gupta Baitarani, in Gonasika of Keonjhar district in Odisha state of India at an elevation of above sea level. The uppermost part of the river, about in length, flows in a no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devnagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī'' script, used in the northern Indian subcontinent. It was developed and in regular use by the 7th century CE. The Devanagari script, composed of 47 primary characters, including 14 vowels and 33 consonants, is the fourth most widely adopted writing system in the world, being used for over 120 languages.Devanagari (Nagari) , Script Features and Description, (2013), United States The |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shankaracharya, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar and teacher (''acharya''), whose works present a harmonizing reading of the ''sastras'', with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time. The title of Shankracharya, used by heads of the amnaya monasteries is derived from his name. Due to his later fame, over 300 texts are attributed to his name, including commentaries (''Bhāṣya''), introductory topical expositions (''Prakaraṇa grantha'') and poetry (''Stotra''). However most of these are likely to be by admirers or pretenders or scholars with an eponymous name.W Halbfass (1983), Studies in Kumarila and Sankara, Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, Monographic 9, Reinbeck Works known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utkala Kingdom
Utkala Kingdom was located in the northern and eastern portion of the modern-day Indian state of Odisha.This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, with the names ''Utkala'', ''Utpala'', and ''Okkal''. It is mentioned in India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Early Sanskrit Literature The early Sanskrit medieval literature says "उत्कृष्ट कलायाः देशः यः सः उत्कलः" (), meaning the land having an "excellent opulence of artists". The Puranic division of ''Utkala desa'' was bounded on the north by the river Kapisa, on the south by the river Mahanadi, on the east by the Bay of Bengal and to the west by Mekala hills. References in Mahabharata The Dasarnas, the Mekalas (a kingdom to the west of Utkala) and the Utkalas were mentioned as kingdoms of Bharata Varsha (Ancient India) (6:9). Utkalas were mentioned as taking part in the Kurukshetra War siding with the Kauravas. Many Mekalas, Utkalas, Kalingas, Nishadas, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as ''Sri Jagannatha Dhama'' after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple (Puri), Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Puri is known by several names since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Sri Kshetra" and the Jagannath temple is known as "Badadeula". Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Muslim rulers, from the 7th century AD till the early 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the temple. Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were part of British India from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in India today, the heirs of the House of Gajapati still perform the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vimala Temple
The Vimala Temple or Bimala Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Vimala or Bimala (ବିମଳା), located within the Jagannath Temple complex in Puri in the Indian state of Odisha. It is generally regarded as a Shakti Pitha, among the holiest temples dedicated to the Hindu Goddess. The temple is located in the south-west corner of the inner enclosure of the Jagannath temple complex and on the western corner of the tower of Jagannath, next to the sacred pond '' Rohini kunda''. The temple faces east and is built of sandstone and laterite. It is built in the ''Deula'' style with four components; vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), nata- mandapa (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings). The temple was renovated around 2005 and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, Bhubaneswar Circle. Though a small shrine in the temple complex, the Vimala temple is important to the Goddess-oriented Shakta and Tantric worshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the universe. She is thought of as creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, and is sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy. Shakti is sometimes personified as the creator goddess, and is known as "Adi Shakti" or "Adi Parashakti" ("inconceivableprimordial energy"). In Shaktism, Adi Parashakti is worshipped as the Supreme Being. On every plane of creation, energy manifests itself into all forms of matter; these are all thought to be infinite forms of Parashakti. She is described as ''anaadi'' (with no beginning, no ending) and ''nitya'' (forever). Origins One of the oldest representations of the goddess in India is in a triangular form. The Baghor stone, found in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
