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2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Shveta Varahaswamy Temple, Mysore Palace

There are 12 temples inside the Mysore Palace complex. Some of these are ancient ones, which stood long before the palace was built, while others are relatively recent, having been built by the royal family in different periods. Among these, it is the Shveta Varahaswamy Temple which is the most prominent, since it is located right next to the present entrance to the palace.

Varaha over the main doorway





Varaha is the third avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the family deity of the Wodeyars. He appears in the form of a wild boar,bringing out the earth (Bhu-devi) from the ocean. The idol being made of white stone, He is called ‘Shveta (white) Varahaswamy. It is said that the idol was brought from Srimushnam in Tamilnadu, by Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar (1672-1704), and consecrated at a new temple in Srirangapatna, which was then their capital. In 1809, the deity was brought to Mysore and consecrated in this temple by Diwan Purnaiah as per the wishes of Krishna Raja Wodeyar III.




The temple is built in the typical Hoysala style of architecture with intricate work over the doorways and pillars. 




There is also a separate shrine for the goddess. 



One of the interesting things about this temple are the paintings representing the Ramayana and Bhagavata on the walls of the pillared hall. Unfortunately, cameras aren’t allowed inside the temple, so I have no photos of these. Instead, here is a depiction of the Dashavatar (the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu) over the doorway…

Narasimha... killing the demon Hiranyakasipu

Narasimha in a different pose... as Lakshmi Narasimha accompanied by smaller ircons of Dashavatars... the one on the left is Vamana. I cant identify the one on the right. Looks a bit like Garuda. 

Some of the Dashavatars/.. the central one is Rama. see the smaller icons of Matsya, Kurma and Varaha

I am sharing this post today with SkyWatch Friday. True, there isnt much of the sky in these pics, but standing in the palace complex, looking around, the temples with their majestic gopurams were the most visible on the skyline! For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch page. 

Comments

  1. Wow, Gorgeous! Indeed, extraordinary architecture...like your tour.
    Really, you have an Amazing Blog, Anu! I glad that found your blog and continually enjoying your new posts and/or a follower at your blog. but now I hope, you'll be a follower and commenter. Indeed, I have also very informative and interesting blog..Have a nice day..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much. I havent been able to see a lot of blogs recently, but when i start to catch up, I surely will read yours. hope to keep seeing u here.

      Delete
  2. Very beautiful photos for SWF!Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautifully covered. I have been wanting to do this for long now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rajesh! would love to read your impressions of the temple too.

      Delete
  4. Wonderful architectures. Nice shots.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete

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