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Pallavaneswarar Temple
Pallavaneswarar Temple (பல்லவனேஸ்வரர் கோயில்):ta:பூம்புகார் பல்லவனேசுவரர் கோயில் is a Hindu temple located in the town of Poombuhar, Mayiladuthurai district, an archaeological site in Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is dedicated to Shiva. It is situated on the birthplace of Saivite saint Pattinathar. The presiding deity is Shiva. He is called as Pallavaneswarar. His consort is known as Soundaryanayaki. Significance It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu#Sthalams, Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval ''Tevaram'' poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanars, Nayanar Tirugnanasambandar. A Pallava king is believed to have attained salvation in this place. Structure In front of the Gopuram, rajagopura, temple tank is found. At the left of the sanctum sanctorum shrines of goddess and Palliyarai are found. Nandi (mythology), Nandi and balipeeta a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tirugnanasambandar
Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th century CE. He was a child prodigy who lived just 16 years. According to the Tamil Shaiva tradition, he composed an of 16,000 hymns in complex meters, of which 383 (384) hymns with 4,181 stanzas have survived. These narrate an intense loving devotion (''bhakti'') to the Hindu god Shiva. The surviving compositions of Sambandar are preserved in the first three volumes of the ''Tirumurai'', and provide a part of the philosophical foundation of Shaiva Siddhanta. He is one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars, Tamil Shaiva bhakti saints who lived between the sixth and the tenth centuries CE. He was a contemporary of Appar, another Shaiva poet-saint.''Encyclopaedia of Jainism, Volume 1, page 5468'' Life Information about Sambandar c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumbhabhishekham
''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a Hindu temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity. It is part of the consecration ceremony of Hindu temples. ''Kumbha'' means the Head and denotes the ''Shikhara'' or Crown of the Temple (usually in the ''gopuram'') and '' abhisekam'' or ''prokshanam'' is ritual bathing. Kumbhabhishekam is widely celebrated as a festival in South India. On the appointed day and at an auspicious time, the ''Kumbha'' is bathed with the charged and sanctified holy waters in the sacrificial pot and, by a mystic process, these pranic powers trickle down a silver wire and enter the deity installed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The deity, which was until then only a granite sculptured stone image, is believed to transform into a vibrant and vivid living representation of the deva with innate beatitude, grace and grandeur, conferring divine blessings on all devotees. Ashtabandhan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and dharma, representing the power of good over evil. Durga is believed to unleash her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons. She is widely worshipped by the followers of the goddess-centric sect, Shaktism, and has importance in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The most important texts of Shaktism, Devi Mahatmya, and Devi Bhagavata Purana, revere Devi (the Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brah ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheistic or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lingodbhava
Lingōdbhava ''(also called Lingobhava, the "emergence of the Linga")'' is an iconic representation of Hindu god Shiva, commonly seen in the South Indian Hindu temples. The icon depicts the legend of the origin of the linga, Shiva's iconic representation that is often in his worship. The tale of Lingodbhava is found in various ''puranas'', augments the synthesis of the old cults of pillar and worship. The earliest literary evidence of the iconic representation is found in the 7th century works of Shaiva saints Appar and Thirugnana Sambandar. The other indicative mention is found in the 1st century ''Tirukkural''. The pillar of fire is usually referred as Jyothirlinga. The iconographic representation of Lingobhava is commonly seen in all South Indian Shiva temples represented as Shiva emerging out of the pillar of fire with smaller images of Vishnu in the form of a boar in the bottom and Brahma in the form of gander at the top. Legend Once, while the deities Vishnu and Brahma conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dakshinamurti
Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. This form represents Shiva as a teacher of yoga, music and wisdom, and giving exposition on the ''shastras''. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation. According to Hindu scriptures, if a person doesn't have a guru, they can consider and worship Dakshinamurthy as their guru. Eventually they will be blessed with a self-realised human guru, if they are worthy. Meaning Dakshinamurti literally means 'one who is facing south ()' in Sanskrit. According to another school of thought 'Dakshinya' means Karuna in Sanskrit or kindness (benevolence). So this manifestation of Shiva is a benevolent teacher who accords wisdom to seekers of salvation. In most of the Siva temples, the stone image of Dakshinamurthy is installed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kosta (architectural Feature)
Kosta :ta:கோஷ்டம் (இந்துக் கோயில்) is the outer wall found around the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples. In this kosta, deities are set up as per Agama (Hinduism) tradition. In Shiva temples, sculptures such as Nartana Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Lingodbhava, Brahma Vishnu Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ... are set up. The komugi through which abisega water which comes out from the sanctum sanctorum is also found here. During the period of kings, in granite temples so many other sculptures are found. The kosta found in the Siva temple is known as Shiva kosta and Shivalaya kosta. "சிவாலய கோஷ்டத்தில் தெற்கு நோக்கி அமர்ந்துள ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kartikeya
Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha and a god whose legends have many versions in Hinduism. Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, worshipped as Mahasena and Kumara in North India and is predominantly worshipped in the state of Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia as Murugan. Murugan is widely regarded as the "God of the Tamil people". It has been postulated that the Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretised with the Vedic deity of Subrahmanya following the Sangam era. Both Muruga and Subrahmanya refer to Kartikeya. The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly; he is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl, called Paravani, bearing a vel and so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago. Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prakara
A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. As per Hindu religious practices, devotees start to come around the outer prakarams to the inner most before entering the sanctum. Most of the historic South Indian cities like Madurai, Srirangam, Sirkali, Thiruvarur and Chidambaram were built around large temples in the center of the city. The streets of the city act as extension of the prakarams of the temple. Ramanathaswamy Temple has outer set of corridors is reputed to be the longest prakaram in the world. Temple architecture In the Hindu temple, the prakaram is the temple compound around the sanctum. Typically a Hindu temple prayer hall is generally built in front of the temple's sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha). Usually large Hindu temples have one or more prakarams. The Prakaram ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nandi (mythology)
Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. According to Saivite siddhantic tradition, he is considered as the chief guru of eight disciples of Nandinatha Sampradaya, namely, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Sanatkumara, Tirumular, Vyagrapada, Patanjali, and Sivayoga Muni, who were sent in eight different directions, to spread the wisdom. The Cham Hindus of Vietnam believes that when they die, the Nandi will come and take their soul to the holy land of India from Vietnam. The Sanskrit word nandi ( sa, नन्दि) has the meaning of happy, joy, and satisfaction, the properties of divine guardian of Shiva- Nandi. It is recently documented, that the application of the name Nandi to the bull (Sanskrit: ''Vṛṣabha''), is in fact a development of r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
