The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
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...
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteLovely click....
ReplyDeleteLovely capture. I think I have seen this bird but then I was out with Chhavi and I was not having the camera! Beautiful.
ReplyDelete@Usha: I thought of you at once! It was sitting on the tree op my house and then it flew to the guava tree.. you would have a wonderful view!
ReplyDelete@Silence Sings: tjanks
@Mridula: apparently it is a common bird.... so says my aunt who is a zoologist... she says that she has seen it often outside our house in thane.. though i have never noticed it before!
wonderful capture!!
ReplyDeleteHi Anuradha, I found your blog while searching for an image of a golden oriole in India to complement Sarojini Naidu's beautiful poem. The bird above captured so beautifully on film seemed the right fit!
ReplyDeletePlease take a look at how it's been used [your name and a link to your blog has been given after the poem] and let me know if it is okay to use it this way.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=219469238169567
Thank you so much.
We're a new page on facebook and would love to feature your blogs there from time to time.
Meenakshi