Binsar - Part 10 - A 'swift' meeting

Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...

Binsar - Part 10 - A 'swift' meeting

We were on our way to Bageshwar when suddenly we stopped behind a line of vehicles, only to find that the road was being repaired and that we would have to wait till the road roller and the other vehicles moved away! At first we spent some time looking here and there but were soon thirsty. Our store of water having just got over, we decided to see if we could find some water anywhere. Walking towards the place where the road was being laid, we found a small cluster of shops and asked for water. Unfortunately, no bottled water was available, but the people pointed us towards a tap which they said had drinking water. Samhith was too thirsty for me to protest, so we went ahead, and drank straight from the tap, a new experience for Samhith. He was surprised that the water was so cool and sweet, that he declared that the water was far better than the bottled ones, and I heartily agreed with him!

As we walked back towards the car, we saw a number of swifts flying to and fro, and paused to take a closer look. We had seen plenty of swifts from the moment we arrived in the mountains, but they were too fast for me to even get a good look at them! Having plenty of time on our hands, we decided to linger and take a closer look. While I tried to capture one swift sitting on a shelf inside a shop, Samhith was a bit more curious, and went inside a small tea shop and started looking around. When I called him out, he refused, and instead asked me to come in and see something!

The ‘something’ turned out to be a swift sitting on a nest over a bulb-holder! I was too thrilled for words and began clicking immediately……

I was so thrilled by the sight of the swift sitting on the nest, but soon it left again, and imagine my surprise when I saw swiftlets inside, opening their mouths wide in anticipation of the food their mother would bring when she returned!

By this time Samhith had wandered off, and he again called out to me excitedly, for he had seen another nest – in fact, the whole place was full of swifts nests! And on one of them sat a swift comfortably, not even frightened off by excited and curious people like us! Samhith too was surprised that the bird did not fly away like the others, and I explained to him that she was probably sitting on her eggs, waiting for them to hatch!

We were so engrossed in the swifts that we did not even realize that the road was no longer blocked! One of the villagers called out to us, saying that our vehicle was moving, and we abandoned the swifts and returned to the car!

When the car had stopped, we had been irritated at the unexpected delay, and bored. Never did we expect that it would bring us such a wonderful experience! Time did fly ‘swiftly’ indeed!

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

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