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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...
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Gwalior Part 2 : The Fort - Man Mandir Palace

Gwalior . The name, it is said in legends, comes from the sage Gwalipa, who lived here in the 8 th century. 
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The Kangra Fort

The steep walls of the fort tower over us, and we strain our necks to get a better view. The car winds its way steadily upwards, and we walk into the imposing gates. Our stop at the Kangra Fort is meant to be a short one, tired as we are. As it turns out, the fort and its stories have us enthralled, and we lose track of time!  The Kangra Fort, as seen from the road, with a temple on the hill behind
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When stories come alive - An Encounter with a Hanuman Langur

Bheema, it is said , once came across an old monkey, lying with his tail across the path. Not wanting to step over the tail, Bheema asked the monkey to move. The monkey replied that he was too tired, and could Bheema himself move the tail, since he was so strong? Bheema, always confident and proud of his strength, bent to lift the tail, but was surprised that he couldn’t even shift it an inch! After trying multiple times, he finally gave up, acknowledging that his strength was no match for the monkey. Pleased, the monkey revealed his true form. He was Hanuman, the older son of Vayu, the wind, and thus Bheema’s elder brother. He then blessed Bheema, promising to stay by his side in the great war which was to come.
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Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangapatna

In a time long, long back , even before temples were built, certain sites were considered sacred. Among such sites are the islands on the Kaveri, which were marked out as abodes of Lord Vishnu. It is said, that when the Kaveri flowed down from Agasthya’s kamandalu , free and unbound, she asked a boon from Lord Vishnu, that she be considered more sacred than the Ganga. And Vishnu agreed. He replied, “The Ganga flows from my feet. You, Kaveri, are my garland! And it is thus she flows, around these islands demarcated for Him, like a garland, sanctifying the land, and those of us who visit, with her mere presence. The first among these islands is Srirangapatna, near Mysore.
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Achalgarh - of a Fort and Temple, Bulls and Demons....

A bull which drove away invaders , three buffaloes said to be demons, a lake once said to have been filled with ghee and a temple once covered in lime to protect it – we couldn’t help but smile as we listened to these stories about Achalgarh. We had a day free at Mount Abu and were in the mood to explore, so we headed out for the tourist circuit, trusting our driver to take us to some interesting places.  Achalgarh turned out to be the first on his list, and as we headed along roads with farms interspersed between the mountains, with scarcely a person to be seen anywhere, I wondered about the place we were going to. I had heard a bit about Achalgarh before we started, and knew that it had once been the capital of the area. The name indicated the presence of a fort, but our driver told me that there was no fort there. “ Bas, mandir hai, Madam ” he said. ”There is only a temple there.” I felt my enthusiasm droop at the idea of visiting yet another temple, but we had al...
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Tirupati Part 3 - The Museum - a surprise!

On my (almost) dozen visits to Tirumala, I have passed by the museum countless number of times. It happens to be located very near the hotel where we go to eat, and I always wondered if it was worth a visit. This time, we had plenty of time on our hands, and since it was pouring, we thought it would be a good idea to visit the museum. For one thing, we would be indoors and sheltered from the rain, and if it wasn’t all that interesting, we could sit down and rest our weary legs. As it turned out, we spent almost 3 hours at the museum, we didn’t even sit for a minute, our legs were wearier then ever by the time we came out, and yes, the rain had stopped too! Unfortunately , cameras aren’t allowed inside the museum, a fact I knew already, and thoughtfully left it behind in the room. So no pics, just my descriptions! The pic of the museum provided is from the net, not my own. Overall , if I were to describe the museum, there is nothing I can pinpoint as unique. It is full of artifa...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 6 - The Temple today

This is the final instalment of the story of Lord Venkateswara. Please read the earlier portions before reading further... Part 1 - The Lord descends on Earth Part 2 - The Lord finds a mother... and also a wife... Part 3 - The story of Padmavati Part 4 - A marriage is fixed.. and the finance too...   Part 5 - The marriage.. and after.... It is believed that the lord remained in the temple in person for a long time in the early part of Kali Yuga. It was only when the age progressed, and the real dark nature of the age started progressing that he decided to transform himself into the statue which is seen today. It is believed that He has shown himself to some of his dearest devotees since then. It is also believed that Padmavati remains in her hometown at Tiruchanur, while she remains symbolically in the heart of the Lord on the hill. Hence, it is customary to visit her at Tiruchanur after visiting the lord. Also, since it is believed that Mahalakshmi remains in Kol...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 5 - The Marriage.. and after...

Please read the earlier parts of the story before proceeding further: Part 1 - The Lord descends on Earth Part 2 - The Lord finds a mother... and also a wife... Part 3 - The story of Padmavati Part 4 - A marriage is fixed.. and the finance too... The financial aspect having been settled , preparations for the wedding commenced in full swing. These days, just a simple marriage in an Indian family has an attendance running into hundreds, and in a big marriage, into thousands. Imagine, then, the attendance at the lord’s marriage – all the 33 crore gods of Indian mythology, not to mention the sages and Demi Gods… the list must have been endless….. And it was the lord’s mount, Garuda, who was deputed to dispatch the invitations personally to each and every one of them!!!!!! The lord was dressed in gorgeous garments by the gods themselves, and they all proceeded towards Narayanapuram, where they were welcomed by the king and queen, who were thrilled by the sight! All their qualms a...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 4 - A marriage is fixed.. and the finance too.....

Please read the first 3 parts before reading further.. Part 1 - The Lord descends on Earth Part 2 - The lord finds a mother.. and also a wife... Part 3 - The story of Padmavati Let's continue the story after Sinivasa and Padmavati met at the lake....While Srinivasa and Padmavati pined for each other, their parents worried about what was ailing their children. At last, after much questioning, Srinivasa told Vakula Devi about the incident and told her that he wished to marry Padmavati. Forestalling her worry that the marriage would be impossible, he also told her Padmavati’s real identity, as well as his. He then asked her to go to Akasa raja and ask for Padmavati’s hand in marriage to her son. Vakula Devi was only too delighted to go to the king on such a blessed errand. Once Vakula Devi had left, Srinivasa wondered what kind of a reception she would have at the palace. He decided to make things easier for her, and decided to take matters into his own hand. Disguising him...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 3 - The story of Padmavati

Please read the earlier parts before going further - Part 1 - The Lord descnds on Earth Part 2 - The Lord finds a mother... and his wife too... Vedavati was a great devotee of Vishnu who wished to marry the lord himself. She performed great penances with this aim. However, once, the demon king Ravana was passing by, and was enamoured by her beauty. He tried to convince her to marry him, but she refused. When he tried to force her, she invoked Agni (Fire) by the powers of her penance, and fell into it, cursing Ravana that his downfall would be brought about by a woman, and she would be responsible for her death. Years later , Ravana planned to abduct Sita while Rama and Lakshmana were away. Coming to know of the plan, Agni took his place in the Lakshmana rekha – the line drawn by Lakshmana to protect Sita. When Sita crossed the line to give alms to Ravana disguised as a sage, Agni subtly interchanged Vedavati for Sita, and sent Sita to his wife for her safety. It was thus Ved...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 2- The Lord finds a mother.. and a wife too......

Please read the first part of the story before going further - Part 1 - The Lord descends on Earth A lady named Vakula Devi attended to Varaha Swamy at his shrine. The arrival of the lord incited her maternal instincts, and she cared for him and nursed him back to good health. It was she who gave him the name – Srinivasa – the name by which He is now well known in this age. Deviating from the main story , let’s go back in time to learn about Vakula Devi, and how she earned the honour to act as the mother of the lord. During the Dwapara Yuga, when the lord incarnated as Krishna, he was born to Devaki, and was fostered by Yashoda. While Yashoda enjoyed every bit of Krishna’s childhood, her only regret was that she was unable to see her beloved son getting married. The lord promised her that he would fulfill her desire in the Kali Yuga, when he would take the form of Srinivasa. Yashoda had thus taken birth as Vakula Devi and was awaiting the marriage of her son. Coming back to our ...
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The Legend of Sri Venkateswara Part 1 - The Lord descends on Earth

One of the most interesting things about temples is their connection to mythology (of course, if you are interested in mythology!). Much as we may be skeptical towards stories from Indian mythology, there is a certain attraction about them, which is hard to resist (at least for me :-) ). Samhith too is following in my footsteps, asking a hundred (sometimes more :-( ) questions about the stories related to every temple we have been to. He was especially fascinated by the story of Tirupati, and made me relate it again and again till he had every detail fixed in his mind. He was so enthusiastic about it, I wondered if other kids would have similar interests too, and whether their parents would be able to satisfy their curiosity….. this story is for all of you out there….. Moms, dads, grandparents, kids (those of you who can read this…)…… The story begins at a conclave of sages, who had come together to perform a special yagna. They were interrupted by sage Narada, who is famous fo...
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The Legends that surround Kumbhalgarh

History or Legend? Sometimes it is difficult to choose the right word. Here, I chose to use the word ‘Legend’, as I have not been able to verify the authenticity of the stories I heard from an old man living in the Kumbhalgarh Fort. He told us that he was a native of Kumbhalgarh, and had also worked for the Archaeological department in the fort, lending a touch of credibility to the story he told us. I must admit, that though we have fallen into the habit of taking in stories with a pinch of salt, there was an air of truth about this man. A Miniature of Rana Kumbha from Chittorgarh To begin with the origin of the fort , it is indeed a fact that the original fort here was ruled by the Jain king Samprati, who built around 300 Jain temples inside the fort. After him, the fort remained unused, and fell to ruins, except the temples, which survived to tell their story. Rana Kumbha came here to build a fort so that he could defend Mewar against the Mughals who were regularly attacking C...
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