Bharathiya Nau Sena

Do you know the Motto of Indian Navy ?
It is the Sanskrit word 'Sham Varuna'.
"Sham Varuna ("May the Lord of the Oceans be auspicious unto us")




Of the five elements - Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Ether the element Water has Varuna as its presiding diety.
By saying Sham Varuna - we pray that The presiding diety of water, Varuna, be calm and satisfied.

The prayer is taken from 'Taitreya Upanishad' in which each chapter commences with a invocation of all the five elements and praying them to be calm and peaceful so that the humans could go about their work without any inhibition or hindrance.

 

OM SHANNO MITRA SHAM VARUNA SHANNO BHADATWARYAMA SHANNA INDRA BRIHASPATIH SHANNO VISHNU RURUKRAMAH NAMO BRAHMANE NAMASTE VAYO TWOMEVA PRATYAKSHAM BRAHMASI TWAMEVA PRATYAKSHAM BRAHMA VADISHYAMI RITAM VADISHYAMI SATYAM VADISHAMI TANMAMAVATU TAD VAKTARAMAVATU AVATUMAM AVATU BAKTARAM OM SANTIH! SANTIH! SANTIH! (Taittiriya Upanishad)

May the Sun God (Mitra), the God of the ocean (Varuna) and the God of the manes (Aryama) be auspicious to us.
May Indra (King of the Deities) and Brihaspati (Preceptor of the Deities) be auspicious to us.
May Vishnu (Preserver of the Universe) be auspicious to us.
Salutations to Brahman, salutation to Vayu (the God of wind).

 

Trivia

The Motto of Indian Air Force has been taken from eleventh chapter of the Gita, where Lord Krishna shows his supreme Divine form reaching the sky with glory, evoking fear and loss of self-control in the mind of Arjuna.

The Indian Air Force, similarly, aims to overwhelm the adversaries with application of aerospace power in defence of the nation. " Lord, seeing your form “Touching the Sky With Glory”, effulgent, multi-coloured, having its mouth wide open and possessing large flaming eyes, I, with my innermost self frightened, have lost self-control and find no peace"

Gemstones. Nature's gift!

The bright orange is the crocoite - this orange color is due to the toxic chromium..



Rhodochrosite - vivid pink-rose color that seems to be transmitted out of the crystal as if lit from within



The hues and tones of extravagance - Violet! Amethyst





Cross section of the 1600 pd pocket amethyst...



Azurite and Malachite - Deep blue "azure", meaning blue in Arabic word for blue. The blue color is due to the presence of copper. The next one is Malachite, which is its close colorful cousin! The stone of the heavens..




The inscription below the Mayan mural image gives information about Jade - " Objects fashioned rom jade were valued by the mayans for their inherent beauty and sacred qualities. By wearing jade in ears, as beads, the maya elites symbolized theiri associtation with water, vegetation and life"



Gypsum..



Beads and crystal figures..

Dale Chihuly's Glass art

Chihuly's Lime green icicle tower arises stunningly from the ground! This lime green icicle tower measures more than 40 ft high, contains 2342 individual glass pieces mounted on a steel armature in the centre. It took one week to assemble this at MFA's family courtyard! — at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.



Each colored blown glass is put together full scale in his studio, photographed, taken apart and reassembled on location..



His works are a part of museums, botanical gardens, historic chapel in Jerusalem, and a winery in the Napa valley..amongst others. Chihuly uses blown glass as a vehicle for sculpture, focusing on color and form.. He has studied glass in Venice and a Master of Fine Arts of the Rhode Island School of Design.



In 1976, while Chihuly was in England, he was involved in a head-on car accident during which he flew through the windshield. His face was severely cut by glass and he was blinded in his left eye... Nothing can stop a person's creativity, right?



Chihuly’s most recent installations have focused on the idea of the garden glass! Looks like large eels planted in greenery!



This stunning display hangs from the ceiling! Awesome ..

 

Navagraha Temple Tour - In and around chennai

Navagrahams with their consort @ Rama Natheswarar temple, (Guru)



"Nalvar" - The four great saints of Shaivism, aka "Samayak kuravarkaL"- Appar, Manickavasakar, Sundarar and Sambandar.

1. Sambandar
2. Appar - Hands together in greeting holding a shovel in his arms.
3. Sundarar - Sundarar with hand crutch and lotus flower.
4. Manickavasakar holds the vedas and Japa mala-prayer beads.




Dhakshna moorthy - Majestic posture meditating



Chatur Dhandavam - Natarajar - Out of the 108 Thandavams of Shiva - 7 are considered important and unique- They are Anandha Thandavam, Gowri Thandavam, Sandhya Thandavam, Oordhuva Thandavam, Kalika Thandavam, Samhara Thandavam, Thirupura Thandavam. This posture is "Sandhya Thandavam also called as Chatur Thandavam"!

Dwadasa Jyotir Lingams

Somnath - Saurasthra(Gujrat) - The first among the 12 Aadi Jyotirlings of India. It has a strategic location on the western coast of India. The shore temple of Somnath is believed to have been built in 4 phases-in gold by Lord Soma, in silver by Ravi, in wood by lord Krishna and in stone by King Bhimadeva



Mallikarjuna Swamy in Srisailam, AP - Situated on Shri Shaila mountain by the banks of Patal Ganga, it is known as Kailash of the South.



3. Mahakaleshwer at Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) - Mahakala, the destroyer form of lord shiva, who killed the eemies of King Chandrasena; The main attraction of this temple is Bhasmabhishekam (Ash)



Mamleshwar / Onkareshwar - Dweep,(Madhya Pradesh) - Once sage Naradar during his visit to the Vindyas, sang the praise of mount Meru to Mount Vindhya. On hearing this, Mount Vindhya prayed to Lord Shiva to gain in importance. Lord Shiva blessed him & appeared here as Omkareshwarar & Amaleshwarar and gave the boon of grwoing, but without hindering Shiva devotees.




Kedarnath is highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas, located in the Rudra Himalaya range. This temple, over a thousand years old is built of massive stone slabs over a large rectangular platform. Ascending through the large gray steps leading to the holy sanctums we find inscriptions in Pali on the steps. The present temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya.The inner walls of the temple sanctum are adorned with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology.




6.Bheemshankar - Dakinya , Maharashtra - Once a demon called Bhima lived with his mother Karkati in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahaydris. It is said that Bhima was so cruel that every one was scared of him. Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. It is believed that the sweat that poured forth from Lord Shiva’s body after the battle formed the Bhimarathi River



7.Vishweshwar / Vishavanath Kashi (Uttar Pradesh)

Goddess Parvati's mother felt ashamed that her son-in-law had no decent dwelling. To please Parvati Devi, Shiva asked Nikumbha to provide him with a dwelling place at Kashi.On the request of Nikumbha, Aunikumbha a brahmin made Divodas construct a temple for the Lord here. The pleased Lord granted boons to all his devotees!



8.Trayambakeshwar- Gautami Tat (Maharashtra) - The Lord Shiva at Trimbakeshwar is worshipped by recitations of Rudra, Rudri, Laghu Rudra, Maha Rudra or Ati Rudra puja. Rudrashakam is a religious fruit which is said to be found in lord Shiva's neck in the form of Rudra garland.

 

9. Vaidhyanath Parli,Deoghar(Jharkhand)

The demon lord from of the Ramayan, the devout Ravana meditated hard to invoke Lord Shiva, and requested him to come over to Sri Lanka, in order that his capital may become invincible. It is said that he attempted to lift the holy mountain, Lord Shiva's abode, Mount Kailash and take it with him to his capital; however Shiva crushed him with his leg thumb, and Ravana prayed to him and sought his mercy, after which Shiva gave him one of the twelve Jyotirlingams with the condition that if it was placed on the ground it would take root immediately.

 

 

10.Naageshwer- Darukavan (Maharashtra) - There once lived a rakshasa called Daruka, who was extremely cruel and tortured the good ones. But yet he was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. A Shiva devotee, Supriya who was a merchant reached the Darukavanam, where Daruka lived with his wife Daruki, while sailing with his goods.The enraged Daruka began to torture Supriya. Supriya however was staunch is his faith in the Lord and was unmoved by any torture. Lord Shiva was pleased and appeared and killed the demon Daruka..

 

 

Ghushmeshwar / Grishneshwar Shivalaya (Rajasthan)

 

 

 

12.Rameshwaram - Setubandh,TamilNadu - It was Lord Rama who installed this Linga here, made of sand and worshipped it

 

Temple Lecture - Part 2 on Tiruvannamalai temple

The second part of Tiruvannamalai temple lecture by Chithra Madhavan traced the evolution of the gopurams and architecture of the temple.

The significance of a Gopuram is brought in our scriptures and there is a saying that “Gopura darshanam kodi punniyam” – When we don’t have the time to enter into a temple, and pass through a temple we just glance and offer a moment of worship to the gopuram! Just like god’s grace is high, our gopurams are also very high, and symbolically they are the feet of God..

 

1.  The East raja gopuram of Tiruvannamalai is a 11 storeyed structure is the tallest of the 4 gopurams. It was built in the reign of Krishna Deva Raya, but actually completed during the Sevappa Nayak’s rule. The base wall of the gopuram stands at 41 meters in rock solid Granite, but the upper portion is brick and mortar. Bilingual inscriptions in Sanskrit and Tamizh by a Srinivasa Dikshithar, a famous scholar are found in the gopuram – “ Thimmaya Chinna Seva built this gopuram of Sonachala”
2. This east gopuram was built in 16th century and on both sides of the inner walls, one can find the sculptures of natya karanas from base to top, as you walk through – The sculptors obviously knew both natya shasthra and Shilpa shasthra to bring out the to bring out the perfect mudras, and portraying the dance dress and jewellery of those times.
3. The outer West gopuram is called the “Pei Gopuram” and inner gopuram in the west is called “The Vallala Maharaja Gopuram” and was built by the devoted maharaja himself. This is the oldest of all gopurams and don’t miss his sculpture on the walls as you pass through this gopuram. Since he was heirless, he prayed to the Lord and it’s said that the Lord himself would be his son. Ture to His word, the Lord performed the death rites for this King, and even today after 600 years, the Utsava murti is taken to nearby village to perform the annual sraddam (on every Masi Makam).
4. Arunagirinathar attempted to fall off the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and Lord Muruga appeared before him and saved his life..
5.  The Kili Gopuram was built by Veera Rajendra Chola – Grandson of Raja Raja Chola – During his very short rule of 8 years, he built this gopuram, started a vedic college at Thiru Mukkudal, and encouraged scholars like Chidananda Bhattara to write bashyam’s on Shankaracharya’s bashyams.
6.  The South Gopuram is not tall as the east, and is called as the “Thirumanjana Gopuram” since the sacred abhishekam water is brought thro this gopuram to the Lord.
7. The north gopuram is called the Ammani Amman Gopuram

 

The Sthala Vruksham or the sacred tree of this Kshethram is “Mahiza Maram” – and its auspicious to have a darshan of Annamalaiyar and then sit under this medicinal tree!

 

 

Temple Lecture - Part 1 - Tiruvannamalai temple.

Divine moments unfold when there is a confluence of history and music – especially when the topic is about Tiruvannamalai temple.

Dr. Chitra Madhavan’s yet another informative lecture was on "The Annamalaiyar" temple, one of the Pancha Bhootha Sthalams. The hill itself is considered as a “Tejas” lingam or Agni Lingam, an iconic representation of Lord Shiva himself.

For all of us, the mere thought of Arunchala brings spiritual memories of Ramanashram, Giri valam and the SPB’s non stop music of “Hara Hara Shivane Aruchalene Annamalaiye Potri”, the 8 lingams on the Girivalam path, Vrupaksha caves, Pathala lingam temple where Ramana Maharishi meditated, and most importantly the Karthigai Deepam festival.

 

Chitra Madhavan’s lecture today focused on some amazing facts and history which I never knew before:

 

The two most outstanding traditions in Tiruvannamalai temple are :

 

1.  Lingothbhava form of representation – (In all the western walls of the sanctum of most of Shiva temples, you can see a form of Shiva standing inside the Linga) – Have you noticed the fact that in this form, you can never see the head (tip of the crown) or the feet of the Lord? – This form of Shiva is the one where Brahma and Vishnu set out to find out the Lord. Vishnu takes the form of Varaha and goes down the earth to finds the source, but cannot find him and conceding his defeat, while Brahma takes the form of Hamsam to find him up above. Half way through, he catches the Ketaki flower (Thazamboo) falling off from Lord Shiva’s tresses, and lies that had found the pinnacle. That’s why Shiva ordained Brahma never to have main temples on earth in his worship!
2. Shiva as “Ardhanadeeshwara” concept- the half-female, half-male form of Shiva

Other amazing facts :

1. The date of the origin of the temple is still a mystery. The dates are usually found by the inscriptions or referred from the hymns of the saints who have sung about the temple. From the inscriptions in the main sanctum or the core of the temple, Aditya Chola I contributed to this temple way back in 9th century; Appar, who is the oldest of the Samaya Kuravar has sung in 7th century itself, so its assumed that it existed even before that.
2. The inscriptions in this temple reveal the entire history of Tamil Nadu – The Cholas, Rashrakutas, Hoysalas, Pandiyas have been associated with this great temple. Aditya Chola I’s son Paranthaga Chola’s Kerala princess donated an everlasting lamp to this temple, this town was the capital city of Hoysalas
3. Each of the 4 gopurams, mandapams, prakarams were constructed by different kings in different time periods - the unparallel architecture contributions came from the Vijayanagara Kingdom. The lofty Raja Gopuram stands at 217 ft and a 1000 pillared hall is also notable
4. Manickavasagar composed Thiruvempavai (a part of Thiruvasagam) in this temple town during the month of Margazhi. The musical marvel, Thirupugazh was composed by Arunagiri Nathar, who was miraculously saved from the death by the Lord Murugan, and transformed him into a saint
5. The side walls on the Rajagopuram built by Krishnadeva raya has splendid engraving of divinity alongwith the royal emblem of Vijayanagara, the Varaha

 

Geetha Raja, an eminent Carnatic musician sang melodiously:

 

1. “Arunachala Nadham Smrami”, Dikshithar’s Panchalinga Kshetra Kritis in Sharadha ragam
2. MSS sang Papanasam Sivam’s song “Parathpara Parameshwara” – Vachaspathi Ragam in Tiruvannamalai, which was a master piece
3. Purandadasar’s Krithi “Shiva Darshana Nama”