Pookalam
   HOME
*



picture info

Pookalam
Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana and King Mahabali. According to Hindu legends, Onam is celebrated in Kerala in remembrance of the good governance under the rule of daitya king Mahabali, a mythical king who once ruled Kerala. The legend holds that jealous of Mahabali's popularity and his power, the devas and gods conspired to end his reign. They sent Vamana to earth in the form of a dwarf Brahmin who trampled Mahabali to patala (netherworld). Vamana asked Mahabali for three feet of land as his wish from the generous Mahabali. Since denying gifts to Brahmin is considered a sacrilege, Mahabali agreed to fulfill Vamana’s wish. In the first two feet Vamana measured the entirety of universe, leaving nowhere to place his third foot. Mahabali offered his own head to place h ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Vamana Teaching King Mahabali Wellcome V0050544
Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. Originating in the Vedas, Vamana is most commonly associated in the Hindu epics and Puranas with the legend of taking back the three worlds (collectively referred to as the ''Trailokya'') from the daitya-king Bali by taking three steps to restore the cosmic order. He is the youngest among the adityas, the sons of Aditi and the sage Kashyapa. Nomenclature and etymology 'Vāmana' (Sanskrit वामन) means 'dwarf', 'small' or 'small or short in stature'. It also means 'dwarfish bull', which is notable as Vishnu is directly associated with dwarfish animals (including bulls) in the Vedas (see below). Stated in Puranic literature to be born of the great sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, other names or epithets referring to Vamana include: ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Rangoli
Rangoli is an art form that originates from in the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and coloured rocks. It is an everyday practice in many Hindu households, however the colours are preferred during festivals and other important celebrations as it is time consuming. Rangolis are usually made during Diwali or Tihar, Onam, Pongal, and other Hindu festivals in the Indian subcontinent, and are most often made during Diwali. Designs are passed from one generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Rangoli have different names based on the state and culture. Rangoli hold a significant role in the everyday life of a Hindu household especially historically when the flooring of houses were untiled. They are usually made outside the threshold of the main entrance, in the early mornings after cleaning ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan to the southeast. The provincial capital, Denpasar, is the most populous city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second-largest, after Makassar, in Eastern Indonesia. The upland town of Ubud in Greater Denpasar is considered Bali's cultural centre. The province is Indonesia's main tourist destination, with a significant rise in tourism since the 1980s. Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy. Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia, with 86.9% of the population adhering to Balinese Hinduism. It is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. The Indonesian International Film Festival is held every year in Bal ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by J. V. G. Mills. Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society (1970).) was the hereditary Nair monarch and ruler of the Kingdom of Kozhikode (Calicut) in the South Malabar region of India. Calicut was one of the most important trading ports on the southwest coast of India. At the peak of their reign, they ruled over a region extending from Kozhikode Kollam (Kollam) to the borders of Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy).Varier, M. R. Raghava. "Documents of Investiture Ceremonies" in K. K. N. Kurup, Edit., "India's Naval Traditions". Northern Book Centre, New Delhi, 1997K. V. Krishna Iyer, ''Zamorins of Calicut: From the earliest times to AD 1806''. Calicut: Norman Printing Bureau, 1938. The Zamorins belonged to the Eradi caste of the Saman ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sreevallabha Temple
Sreevallabha Temple is a highly orthodox‘’Sreevallabha Mahakshethram’’, Nair, P.Unnikrishnan (2006). ‘’Sathradeepam’’, p. 13–18. Sathranirvahana Samithy, Thiruvalla. Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Sreevallabhan.http://srivallabhatemple.org/index.htm It is one of the oldest and biggest Temples of Kerala, and has been a major destination for devotees all over India for centuries. Located in Thiruvalla city, this ocean of orthodoxy is well known for its architectural grandeur and unique customs that can be found in no other temples. There are stone-wooden carvings and mural paintings inside the temple. Being one among 108 Divya Desams, Sreevallabha temple has been glorified by Alvars and many other ancient works. It is considered to be the vallabha kshethram mentioned in Garuda Purana and Matsya Purana. Kathakali is played daily in the temple as an offering, pushing it to the top in India in terms of places where Kathakali is staged in largest number of days p ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Thrikkakara Temple
Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple (also referred as Thirukatkarai Vamanamoorthy ) is one of the few Hindu temples in India dedicated to Vamana, Lord Vamana/Vishnu. It is situated in Thrikkakara, Kochi in the States of India, state of Kerala, India. Located around 10 km north-east of the city center between Thrissur-Ernakulam highway (National Highway 47 (India), NH 47), Seaport-Airport Road, Cochin University of Science and Technology and Model Engineering College, it is a centre of celebrations and a place of origin for the popular Onam festival. The temple is around two millennia old and is also listed as one of the 108 Divya Desams (divine places). The main temple festival is during the Onam season, which falls on the month of August or September and is the most important event of the religious calendar here. The Onasadya or the Onam feast is held in a grand manner in the temple with people of various religions participating in it. After East India Company and Marthandavar ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Maturaikkāñci
''Maduraikanchi'' (), is an ancient Tamil poem in the Sangam literature. It is a didactic poem and its title connotes the "poetic counsel addressed to the king of Madurai". Composed by Mankuti Marutanar – probably the chief court poet of the Pandya king Nedunjeliyan II, the ''Maduraikkāñci'' is the sixth poem in the ''Pattuppāṭṭu'' anthology. The poem is generally dated to the late classical period (2nd to 4th century CE). ''Maduraikkanci'' is the longest poem in the ''Pattuppāṭṭu'' collection with 782 lines of poetry. Many of the verses are in ''akaval'' meter and others in ''vanci'' meter. It is a detailed description of life and bustle in the ancient city of Madurai. The poem praises the king for all his accomplishments and strengths. Embedded indirectly within the poem is the poet's counsel to the king on justice, the impermanence of everything in life, and the proper rule of the kingdom. In addition to Madurai, the poem is another source of historic informa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long, more closely approximating the 365.2422-day 'tropical' or 'solar' year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The rule for leap years is: There were two reasons to establish the Gregorian calendar. First, the Julian calendar assumed incorrectly that the average solar year is exactly 365.25 days long, an overestimate of a little under one day per century, and thus has a leap year every four years without exception. The Gregorian reform shortened the average (calendar) year by 0.0075 days to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes.See Wikisource English translation of the (Latin) 1582 papal bull '' Inter gravissimas''. Second, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Malayalam Calendar
The Malayalam Calendar is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, the beginning of the Kollam Era. There are many theories regarding the origin of the era, but according to recent scholarship, it commemorated the foundation of Kollam after the liberation of the southern Chera kingdom (known as Venadu) from the Chola dynasty's rule by or with the assistance of the Chera emperor at Kodungallur. The origin of the Kollam Era has been dated to 825 CE, at the end of the three year-long great convention in Kollam held at the behest of the Venadu King Kulasekharan. Scholars from west and east were present in the convention, and the Thamizh Kanakku (Calendar) was adopted. Kollam was the capital of Venadu and an important port town of the Chera Kingdom in that period. Kollam Aandu was adapted in the entire Chera Kingdom (the current day states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala), the majority of which is now in Kerala. In Malay ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Shravana
Shravana is the 22nd ''nakshatra'' (Devanagari नक्षत्र) or ''lunar mansion'' as used in Hindu astronomy, Hindu calendar and Hindu astrology. It belongs to the constellation Makara (Devanagari: मकर), a legendary sea creature resembling a crocodile] or Capricorn (astrology), Capricorn. The name alludes to Shravan, a mythological character who attained repute due to his utmost devotion to his aged and blind parents. Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati and Lord Oppiliappan near Kumbakonam, who married Markandeya Rishi's daughter Bhuvalli, were born in this Nakshatra in the Bhadrapada maasa. Traditional Hindu given names are determined by which pada (quarter) of a nakshatra the Ascendant/Lagna was in at the time of birth. In the case of Shravana Nakshatra, the given name would begin with the following syllables: *Khi (Devanagari: खी) *Khu (Devanagari: खू) *Khe (Devanagari: खे) *Kho (Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also cal ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nakshatra
Nakshatra ( sa, नक्षत्रम्, translit=Nakṣatram) is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Indian Astronomy. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective sectors. The starting point for the nakshatras according to Vedas is "Krittika" (it has been argued because the Pleiades may have started the year at the time the Vedas were compiled, presumably at the vernal equinox), but, in more recent compilations, the start of the nakshatras list is the point on the ecliptic directly opposite to the star Spica called ''Chitrā'' in Sanskrit, which would be Ashwinī, a part of the modern constellation Aries, and these compilations therefore may have been compiled during the centuries when the sun was passing through the area of the constellation Aries at the time of the vernal equinox. This version may have been called ''Meshādi'' or the " start ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]