1.
Badrinath Temple
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Badrinath or Badrinarayan Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu which is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India. The temple and town form one of the four Char Dham, the temple is also one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Badrinath—holy shrines for Vaishnavites. It is open for six months every year, because of weather conditions in the Himalayan region. The temple is located in Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of Alaknanda River at an elevation of 3,133 m above the sea level. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centres of India, the image of the presiding deity worshipped in the temple is a 1 m tall, black stone statue of Vishnu in the form of Badrinarayan. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, Mata Murti Ka Mela, which commemorates the descent of river Ganges on mother earth, is the most prominent festival celebrated in the Badrinath Temple. Although Badrinath is located in North India, the head priest, the temple was included in the Uttar Pradesh state government Act No. 16,1939, which came to be known as Shri Badarinath. The committee nominated by the state government administers both the temples and has seventeen members on its board, the temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana. It is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, an early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD, the temple is located in Garhwal hill tracks along the banks of the Alaknanda River in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, a state in North India. The hill tracks are located 3,133 m above the sea level. The Nar Parbat mountain is located opposite to the temple, while the Narayana Parbat is located behind the Neelakanta peak, the temple has three structures, the Garbhagriha, the Darshan Mandap, and Sabha Mandap. The conical-shaped roof of the sanctum, the garbhagriha, is approximately 15 m tall with a cupola on top. The facade is built of stone and has arched windows, a broad stairway leads up to the main entrance, a tall, arched gateway. Just inside is a mandap, a large, pillared hall that leads to the sanctum, the walls and pillars of the hall are covered with intricate carvings. The main shrine houses the 1 m Shaligram image of Badrinarayan, the image of Badrinarayan holds a Shankha and a Chakra in two of its arms in a lifted posture and two arms are rested on its lap in a Yogamudra posture. The sanctum also houses images of the god of wealth—Kubera, sage Narada, Uddhava, Nar, there are fifteen more images that are also worshipped around the temple. These include that of Lakshmi, Garuda, and Navadurga, the manifestation of Durga in nine different forms, the temple also has shrines of Lakshmi Narasimhar and for saints Adi Shankara, Vedanta Desika and Ramanujacharya
2.
Subramaniam Badrinath
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Subramaniam Badrinath is an Indian cricketer. He is a middle order batsman. Badrinath has represented India in One Day International matches, in first class cricket, he captains Vidarbha now and captained Tamil Nadu and in the Indian Premier League, he is a former Chennai Super Kings player. He has also represented the Indian Board Presidents XI on several occasions and he was also a member of the 30 man provisional squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Badrinath has been a prolific scorer in first class cricket, in 2008, Badrinath signed for the Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings. He studied in Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan school located in K. K. Nagar and he made his Test debut on 6 February 2010, scoring 56 in the first innings at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. He gained the selectors attention during the 2011 IPL season, playing an important role in the teams success, due to that, and his performance in the domestic season, he received a spot in the Indian squad for their tour of the West Indies. Following the retirement of V. V. S. Laxman, with an average of 60.74 in first class cricket, he was noted by the selectors and given a chance to fill the void created by the departure of Laxman. Unfortunately he was unsold in IPL2014 players auction and he is currently not playing any matches for India or any IPL team Cricinfo Player Profile, Badrinath Subramaniam Badrinath from RoyalChallengers
3.
Badrinath (film)
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Badrinath is a 2011 Telugu action film directed by V. V. Vinayak and produced by Allu Aravind. The film stars his son Allu Arjun in leading role along with Tamannaah Bhatia and it was released on 10 June 2011 simultaneously in Telugu and Malayalam. The Tamil version will have additional scenes of actor Santhanam and expected to release in July, the movie was released in 1,400 screens worldwide. It ran for 50 days in 187 theatres. and the film proved to be a big success, the movie has been dubbed in Hindi as Sangharsh Aur Vijay. Bheeshma Narayan is a guru who prepares an army for the protection of all the ancient Hindu temples from terrorists. Of all the valiant and talented warriors in this army, Badrinath is one who is groomed by Bheeshma Narayan. Once, a group of terrorists attacked Amarnath Temple and killed some devotees, Badri fought and killed those criminals, saving both the temple and the devotees. Meanwhile, Alakananda, who is an agnostic due to certain circumstances, along with her family is visiting Badrinath Temple. Her grandfather explains to Badri that she is in danger as Sarkar, on the request of her grandfather, Badri helps Alaknanda to gradually believe in Gods existence. Eventually Alakananda falls deeply in love with Badri, unbeknownst to him, Sarkar and his men follow Alaknanda to Badrinath, and try to kidnap her. Although Badri manages to save her, he is heavily injured, meanwhile, Bheeshma Narayan is shocked upon seeing Alakanandas affectionate behaviour towards Badri when he lay injured. Badri promises Alakananda that he would bring her back to Badrinath Temple for success in her love, unaware that he is the object of her love in the first place. As per the promise, Badri goes to Bellary to free Alakananda from the clutches of Sarkar, who is planning to fix the marriage and he fights with all the goons and escorts her to Badrinath. Sarkar vows revenge on Badri as Sarkars son is severely hurt in the process by Badri, subsequently, Sarkar leads his goons to Badrinath and destroys Bheeshma Narayans ashram. Feeling that Badri is the traitor and loves Alakananda, Bheeshma Narayan orders Badri to vacate Badrinath Temple. Meanwhile, Alakananda is being taken away by Sarkars men, after seeing Alakanandas pure love for Badri, Bheeshma Narayan is moved and orders Badri to bring her back and marry her. Following his gurus orders, Badri saves Alakananda and finally marries her, in the end, Bheeshma Narayan asks them to hand over one of their children so that he can make him his successor to which they agree happily. S. Narayana Krishna Bhagavan Raghu Babu Venu Madhav Geetha Singh Most of the scenes were shot in Badrinath, Badrinath got mixed to positive reviews
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
6.
Uttarakhand
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Uttarakhand, officially the State of Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Devbhumi due to many Hindu temples, Uttarakhand is known for its natural beauty of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India, being created from the Himalayan, the state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The interim capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city in the region, the High Court of the state is in Nainital. Archaeological evidence supports the existence of humans in the region since prehistoric times, the region formed a part of the Kuru and the Panchal kingdoms during the Vedic age of Ancient India. Among the first major dynasties of Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised a form of Shaivism. Ashokan edicts at Kalsi show the presence of Buddhism in this region. During the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Kumaon Kingdom, in 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli. The natives of the state are generally called Uttarakhandi, or more specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni by their region of origin, according to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,116,752, making it the 19th most populous state in India. Uttarakhands name is derived from the Sanskrit words uttara meaning north, the name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of Kedarkhand and Manaskhand. Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the stretch of the Indian Himalayas. Chosen for its allegedly less separatist connotations, the name change generated enormous controversy among many activists for a separate state who saw it as a political act, the name Uttarakhand remained popular in the region, even while Uttaranchal was promulgated through official usage. In August 2006, Union Cabinet of India assented to the demands of the Uttaranchal state assembly, legislation to that effect was passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Cabinet brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament. The bill was passed by Parliament and signed into law by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in December 2006, and since January 1,2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand. Ancient rock paintings, rock shelters, paleolithic stone tools, there are also archaeological remains which show the existence of early Vedic practices in the area. The Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Gurjara-Pratihara, Katyuris, Raikas, Palas, Chands, Parmars or Panwars, at that time, present-day Uttarakhand also served as a habitat for Rishis and Sadhus. It is believed that the sage Vyasa scripted the Hindu epic Mahabharata in the state, among the first major dynasties of Garhwal and Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism and traded salt with Western Tibet. It is evident from the Ashokan edict at Kalsi in Western Garhwal that Buddhism made inroads in this region, folk shamanic practices deviating from Hindu orthodoxy also persisted here
7.
Chamoli district
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Chamoli district is the second largest district of Uttarakhand state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is Gopeshwar, Chamoli hosts a variety of destinations of pilgrim and tourists interest. Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, Valley of Flowers and Auli, Chamoli also happened to be a birthplace of Chipko movement. Chamoli proved itself the most spectacular in its assets, be it scenery, valley aspects, water-edges, floristic varieties. The district is inhabited by Bhotiya ethnic group who adhere to Hinduism. The region covered by the district of Chamoli forms part of the Pauri Garhwal district of the Kumaon till 1960, historical background Chamoli, the district of “Garhwal’’ the land of forts. Today’s Garhwal was known as kedar-khand in the past, in puranas kedar-khand was said to be abode of God. It seems from the facts vedas puranas, Ramayna and Mahabharat that these Hindu scriptures are scripted in kedar-khand and it is believed that God Ganesha first script of vedas in Vayas gufa situated in the last village Mana only four km. from Badrinath. According to Rigveda after Inundation Sapt-Rishis saved their lives in the same village Mana, besides there the roots of vedic literature seems to be originated from Garhwal because the Garhwali language has a lot of words common with Sanskrit. According to Aadi-Puran, vedvyasa scripted the story of Mahabhrat in Vyas Gufa near Badrinath, Pandukeshwar, a small village situated on the Rishikesh Badrinath high-way from where Badrinath is just 25 km away is regarded as Tapsthali of king Pandu. In Kedar-khand Puran this land is regarded the land of lord Shiva, the authentic script about the history of Garhwal is found only 6th AD onward. Some of the oldest examples of these are the trishul in Gopeshwar, the Narvaman rock script in siroli the chand pur Gari rock script by king Kankpal authenticates the history and culture of Garhwal. Some historians and scientists believe that land is origin of Arya race. It is believed that about 300 BC, Khasa invaded Garhwal through Kashmir Nepal, a conflict grew due to this invasion a conflict took place between these outsiders and natives. The natives for their protection built small forts called Garhi, later on, Khasa defeated the native totally and captured the forts. After Khasa, Kshatiya invaded this land and defeated Khasa accomplished their regime and they confined Garhwal of hundreds of Garhi in to fifty-two Garhi only. In Bharat varsh other these are Dwarika, Puri and Sringeri and he also reinstated idol of lord Badrinath in Badrinath, before this the idol of Badrinath was hidden in Narad-Kund by the fear of Budhas. After this ethicist of vaidic cult started to pilgrim Badrinath, according to Pt. Harikrishna Raturi, king Bhanu pratap was the first ruler of Panwar dynasty in garhwal who founded chanpur-Garhi as his capital
8.
Garhwali language
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Garhwali language is a Central Pahari language belonging to the Northern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages. It is primarily spoken by the Garhwali people who are from the north-western Garhwal Division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas, the Central Pahari languages include Garhwali and Kumauni. Garhwali, like Kumauni, has many dialects spoken in different places in Uttarakhand. The script used for Garhwali is Devanagari, Garhwali is also spoken by Garhwali migrants to other parts of India including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi, however, due to a number of reasons, Garhwali is one of the languages which is shrinking very rapidly. UNESCOs Atlas of the Worlds Languages in Danger designates Garhwali as a language which is in the unsafe category, almost all people who can speak and understand Garhwali can also speak and understand Hindi, one of the most commonly spoken languages of India. In the middle period of the course of development of Indo-Aryan languages, of these, the Khas Prakrit is believed to be the source of Garhwali. The early form of Garhwali can be traced to the 10th century which is found in numismatics, royal seals, inscriptional writings on copper plates and temple stones containing royal orders, one such early example is the temple grant inscription of King Jagatpal at Dev Prayag. Most of the Garhwali literature is preserved in form, handed down verbally from generation to generation. Till the 17th century, Garhwal was always a sovereign nation under the Garhwali Kings, Garhwal Kingdom acceded to the Union of India as a part of Uttar Pradesh in 1949. Srinagariya – classical Garhwali spoken in erstwhile royal capital, Srinagar, tihriyali /Gangapariya – spoken in Tehri Garhwal. Badhani - spoken in Chamoli Garhwal, dessaulya Lohabbya Majh-Kumaiya - spoken at the border of Garhwal and Kumaon. Nagpuriya - spoken in Rudraprayag district, rathi - spoken in Rath area of Pauri Garhwal. Salani - spoken in Talla Salan, Malla Salan and Ganga Salan parganas of Pauri, ranwalti - spoken in Ranwain, the Yamuna valley of Uttarkashi. Bangani - spoken in Bangaan area of Uttarkashi, parvati – reportedly not mutually intelligible with other dialects. Jaunpuri - spoken in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts, gangadi Chaundkoti चौंदकोटी- spoken in Pauri. Standard Garhwalis & more of its dialects have an accusative case सणि while South Garhwalis dialects have different word ते for accusative case, but in Standard Garhwali or High Garhwali ते is used as oblique case. These are primarily the Munda, Bhil, Naag, Yaksha, the other non-Aryan tribes from the Northwest, such as Kunind, Kirat, Shak, Hun, Gurjar, Pisach, Darad also contributed to its vocabulary and influenced the language
9.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
10.
Dwarka
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Dwarka is a municipality of Devbhoomi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in northwestern India. It is located on the shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti River. In 2011, it had a population of 38,873, Dwarka is one of the foremost Chardhams, four sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites, and is one of the Sapta Puri, the seven most ancient religious cities in the country. Dwarka is often identified with the Dwarka Kingdom, the ancient kingdom of Krishna, the citys Dwarkadhish Temple dedicated to Krishna was originally built around 2,500 years ago, but was destroyed by Mahmud Begada rulers and subsequently rebuilt in the 16th century. The temple is also the location of Dwaraka maţha, also called Sharada Matha/Peeth and western peeth, as an important pilgrimage center for Hindus, Dwarka has several notable temples, including Rukmini Devi Temple, Gomti Ghat, and Bet Dwarka. There is also a lighthouse at the end point of Dwarka. Dwarkas economy relies heavily on pilgrims and tourism but is supplemented by the production of millets, ghee, oilseeds, and salt, Janmashtami is the main festival that is celebrated during August and September. Sharda Peeth Vidya Sabha is an educational society sponsored by the Sharda Peeth, Dwarka was selected as a heritage city by the Indian governments Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana initiative. Dwarka is believed to have been the first capital of Gujarat, the citys name literally means the gateway to heaven in Sanskrit, as Dwar means gate and ka references Brahma. Dwarka has also referred to throughout its history as Mokshapuri, Dwarkamati. It is mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata, according to legend, Krishna settled here after he defeated and killed his uncle Kansa at Mathura. This mythological account of Krishnas migration to Dwarka from Mathura is closely associated with the culture of Gujarat, Krishna is also said to have reclaimed 12 yojanas or 96 square kilometres of land from the sea to create Dwarka. It has been argued that Dwarka was established as the capital in Saurashtra by the Aryans during the Puranaic period, the Yadavas, who had migrated from Mathura, established their kingdom here when the city was known as Kaushathali. It was during this period that the city underwent rebuilding and was named Dwarka, a friendly population of Ahirs also prompted Krishna to settle at Dwarka when he decided, after fighting Jarasandha, the King of Magadh, to retreat from Mathura. The kingdom, also known as the Ahir or Yadav Empire, was established by Krishna and it is said that Krishna conducted the administration of his kingdom from Dwarka while residing with his family in Bet Dwarka. Archaeological investigations at Dwarka, both on shore and offshore in the Arabian Sea, have performed by the Archaeological Survey of India. The first investigations carried out on land in 1963 revealed many artifacts, excavations done at two sites on the seaward side of Dwarka brought to light submerged settlements, a large stone-built jetty, and triangular stone anchors with three holes. The settlements are in the form of exterior and interior walls, from the typological classification of the anchors it is inferred that Dwarka had flourished as a port during the period of the Middle kingdoms of India
11.
Puri
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Puri is a city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal,60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city and it is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Puri is known by several names since the ancient times, and was known as Shrikhetra. Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Hindu and Muslim rulers, Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were under the British Raj from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in India today the heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of Khurda still perform the duties of the temple. The temple town has many Hindu religious maths or monasteries, the economy of Puri town is dependent on the religious importance of the Jagannath Temple to the extent of nearly 80 percent. Sand art and applique art are some of the important crafts of the city, Puri has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. Puri, located on the east coast of India on the Bay of Bengal, is in the centre of the Puri district. It is delimited by the Bay of Bengal on the southeast and it is within the 67 kilometres coastal stretch of sandy beaches that extends between Chilika Lake and the south of Puri city. However, the jurisdiction of the Puri Municipality extends over an area of 16.3268 square kilometres spread over 30 wards. Puri is in the delta of the Mahanadi River on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. In the ancient days it was near to Sisupalgarh, then the land was drained by a tributary of the Bhargavi River, a branch of the Mahanadi River. This branch underwent a meandering course creating many arteries altering the estuary and these sand hills could be cut through by the streams. Because of the hills, the Bhargavi River, flowing to the south of Puri. This shift also resulted in the creation of two lagoons, known as Sar and Samang, on the eastern and northern parts of Puri respectively, Sar lagoon has a length of 5 miles in an east-west direction and a width of 2 miles in north-south direction. The estuary of the Bhargavi River has a depth of just 5 feet. According to a 15th-century Odia writer Saraladasa, the bed of the stream that flowed at the base of the Blue Mountain or Neelachal was filled up
12.
Rameswaram
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Rameswaram, is a town and a second grade municipality in the Ramanathapuram district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilometres from Mannar Island and it is situated in the Gulf of Mannar, at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge, Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from Chennai and Madurai. Together with Varanasi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus and it is said that this is the place from where the Hindu god Rama built a bridge across the sea to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from her abductor Ravana. The Ramanathaswamy Temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is located at the centre of the town and is associated with Rama. The temple, along with the town, is considered a pilgrimage site for both Shaivas and Vaishnavas. Rameswaram is the closest point from which to reach Sri Lanka from India, Rameswaram is administered by a municipality established in 1994. The town covers an area of 53 km2 and had a population of 44,856 as of 2011, tourism and fishery employ the majority of workforce in Rameswaram. Rameswara means Lord of Rama in Sanskrit, an epithet of Shiva, to worship Shiva, Rama wanted to have a lingam and directed his monkey lieutenant Hanuman to bring it from Himalayas. Since it took longer to bring the lingam, Sita built a lingam, made of just Sands of the shores and this account is not supported by the original Ramayana authored by Valmiki, nor in the Tamil version of the Ramayana authored by Tamil poet, Kambar. Support for this account is found in some of the versions of the Ramayana. According to another version, as quoted in Adhyatma Ramayana, Rama installed the lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka, the history of Rameswaram is centred around the island being a transit point to reach Sri Lanka and the presence of Ramanathaswamy Temple. Tevaram, the 7th–8th century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent Nayanars namely Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar, the Chola king Rajendra Chola I had a control of the town for a short period. The Jaffna kingdom had close connections with the island and claimed the title Setukavalan meaning custodians of the Rameswaram, Hinduism was their state religion and they made generous contribution to the temple. Setu was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty and he erected a mosque by name Alia al-Din Khaldji in honour of victory of Islam. During the early 15th century, the present day Ramanathapuram, Kamuthi, in 1520 CE, the town came under the rule of Vijayanagara Empire. The Sethupathis, the breakaway from Madurai Nayaks, ruled Ramanathapuram, the most notable of them are the contributions of Muthu Kumara Ragunatha and Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathi, who transformed the temple to an architectural ensemble. The region was captured several times by Chanda Sahib, Arcot Nawab
13.
Nagar panchayat
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A nagar panchayat or Notified Area Council or City Council in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban. The 74th Amendment made provisions relating to local government. The three-tier structure is municipal corporation, municipal council and nagar panchayat, each nagar panchayat has a committee consisting of a chairman/mayor along with ward members. There are at least ten elected members and three nominated members. NAC members of the nagar panchayat are elected from the wards of the nagar panchayat on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years, there are seats reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and women. The councillors or ward members chosen by election from electoral wards in the nagar panchayat. The Chairman is the head of the Notified Area Committee, the Executive Officer is the official in charge of the Notified Area Council. Executive Officers monitor the implementation of all the related to planning and development of the Notified Area Council with the coordination of the NAC Chairman. Essential services and facilities to the urban area, street lighting and providing roads in wards and main roads of town. Programme for adult literacy and run city libraries, water supply to every ward of urban area. Drainage system to clear the solid and liquid wastes from town, nagar panchayats derive income from taxes including those on water, pilgrimage, markets and transport services. They also receive a grant from the state government, in proportion to the land revenue and money for works. Municipal governance in India List of municipal corporations of India
14.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
15.
Char Dham
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The char dham is defined by the Pandavas in Mahabharata as Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and yamunotri to get rid of their sins. Char Dham as defined in modern days are the names of four sites in India that are widely revered by Hindus. It comprises Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram and it is considered highly sacred by Hindus to visit Char Dham during ones lifetime. The Char Dham defined by Adi Shankaracharya consists of four Vaishnavite pilgrimages, at that time that place was filled with Berry trees. In Sanskrit language they are called Badri, so the place was named Badrika-Van i. e. the forest of Berry, the particular spot where the Nar-Narayan did Thapasya, a large Berry tree formed covering Him to save Him from rain and sun. Local believe Mata Lakshmi became the Berry tree to save Lord Narayan, post Thapasya, Narayan said, people will always take Her Name before His Name, hence Hindus always refer Lakshmi-Narayan. It was therefore called Badri-Nath i. e. the Lord of Berry forest and this all happened in the Sathya/Sath-Yuga. So Badrinath came to be known as the first Dham, the second place, Rameshwaram got its importance in the Tretha-Yuga when Lord Rama built a Shiva-Lingam here and worshiped it to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. The Name Rameshwaram means Ramas Lord, Rama Hmself is an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The third Dhaam Dwarka got its importance in the Dwapara Yuga when Lord Krishna, The Supreme Lord, made Dwarka His residence instead of Mathura, the Four Shankaracharya Peeth at the Chaar Dham school of Hinduism, created at least four Hindu monastic institutions. The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, in Hindu Puranas Hari and Har are referred as eternal friends. It is said wherever there resides Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva also resides nearby, Chaar Dhaams are also not exception of this. So the Kedarnath is considered as the pair of Badrinath, Rangnath Swami is considered the pair of Rameshwaram, somnath is considered as the pair of Dwarka. Puri located at the east, is located in the state of Odisha, Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, the main deity is Shri Krishna, celebrated as Lord Jagannatha. It is the shrine in India, where goddess, Subhadra, sister of Lord Krishna is worshipped along with her brothers, Lord Jagannatha. The main temple here is about 1000 years old and constructed by Raja Choda Ganga Deva, Puri is the site of the Govardhana Matha, one of the four cardinal institutions or Mathas established by Adi Shankaracharya. Brahma, Vishnu & Maheswara three are together in every place
16.
Jujube
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Ziziphus jujuba, commonly called jujube, red date, Chinese date, Korean date, or Indian date is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family. It is used primarily as a tree that also bears fruit. It is a deciduous tree or shrub reaching a height of 5–12 metres. The leaves are shiny-green, ovate-acute, 2–7 centimetres long and 1–3 centimetres wide, the flowers are small,5 mm wide, with five inconspicuous yellowish-green petals. There is a hard seed similar to an olive pit. This plant has been introduced in Madagascar and grows as a species in the western part of the island. This plant is known as the hinap or finab in the part of Bulgaria where it grows wild but is also a garden shrub. The fruit is picked in the autumn, the trees grow wild in the eastern Caribbean, and are reported to exist in Jamaica and Trinidad as well. In Antigua and Barbuda, the fruit is called dumps or dums and it is also known as pomme surete on the French islands of the Caribbean. This fruit, more known as Indian jujube elsewhere, is different from the jujube fruit that is cultivated in various parts of southern California. The species has a curious history, due to a combination of botanical naming regulations. It was first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus as Rhamnus zizyphus, for the species name he used a different name, as tautonyms are not permitted in botanical naming. This combination was made by Hermann Karsten in 1882, in 2006, a proposal was made to suppress the name Ziziphus zizyphus in favor of Ziziphus jujuba, and this proposal was accepted in 2011. Ziziphus jujuba is thus the correct name for this species. Jujube fruit is known by a variety of names, in Zimbabwe, it is known as masawu. Jujube was domesticated in south Asia by 9000 BCE, over 400 cultivars have been selected. The tree tolerates a range of temperatures and rainfall, though it requires hot summers. Unlike most of the species in the genus, it tolerates fairly cold winters
17.
Adi Shankara
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Adi Shankara was a philosopher and theologian from India who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism and his works in Sanskrit discuss the unity of the ātman and Nirguna Brahman brahman without attributes. He wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon in support of his thesis and his works elaborate on ideas found in the Upanishads. Shankaras publications criticised the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā school of Hinduism and he also explained the key difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, stating that Hinduism asserts Atman exists, while Buddhism asserts that there is no Soul, no Self. Shankara travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers and he established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mīmāṃsā school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. He is reputed to have founded four mathas, which helped in the development, revival. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order and he is also known as Adi Shankaracharya, Shankara Bhagavatpada, sometimes spelled as Sankaracharya, Śaṅkarācārya, Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda and Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya. There are at least fourteen different known biographies of Adi Shankaras life, many of these are called the Śankara Vijaya, while some are called Guruvijaya, Sankarabhyudaya and Shankaracaryacarita. Of these, the Brhat-Sankara-Vijaya by Citsukha is the oldest hagiography but only available in excerpts, other significant biographies are the Mādhavīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ, the Cidvilāsīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ, and the Keraļīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ. Some biographies are probably forgeries by those who sought to create a basis for their rituals or theories. Adi Shankara died in the thirty third year of his life, the Sringeri records state that Shankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of VikramAditya, but it is unclear as to which king this name refers. This conforms to the chronology calculated based off the Hindu Puranas, 44–12 BCE, the commentator Anandagiri believed he was born at Chidambaram in 44 BCE and died in 12 BCE. 6th century CE, Telang placed him in this century, sir R. G. Bhandarkar believed he was born in 680 CE. 788–820 CE, This was proposed by early 20th scholars and was accepted by scholars such as Max Müller, Macdonnel, Pathok, Deussen and Radhakrishna. The date 788–820 is also among those considered acceptable by Swami Tapasyananda, sometime between 700-750 CE, late 20th-century scholarship has questioned the 788-820 CE dates, placing Adi Shankaras life of 32 years in the first half of the 8th century. The popularly accepted dating places Adi Shankara to be a scholar from the first half of the 8th century CE and his father died while Shankara was very young. Shankaras upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to the death of his father, Shankaras hagiography describe him as someone who was attracted to the life of Sannyasa from early childhood. A story, found in all hagiographies, describe Shankara at age eight going to a river with his mother, Sivataraka, to bathe, Shankara called out to his mother to give him permission to become a Sannyasin or else the crocodile will kill him
18.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
19.
Vaishnavism
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Vaishnavism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism, its followers are called Vaishnavas, the tradition is notable for its avatar doctrine, wherein Vishnu is revered in one of many distinct incarnations. Of these, ten avatars of Vishnu are the most studied, Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Vāsudeva, Hari, Vithoba, Kesava, Madhava, Govinda and Jagannath are among the popular names used for the same supreme. The tradition has traceable roots to the 1st millennium BCE, as Bhagavatism, later developments led by Ramananda created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia. The Vaishnava tradition has many sampradayas ranging from the medieval era Dvaita school of Madhvacharya to Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja, new Vaishnavism movements have been founded in the modern era such as the ISKCON of Prabhupada. The tradition is known for the devotion to an avatar of Vishnu. Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra texts, Krishnaism becomes associated with bhakti yoga in the medieval period. Although Vishnu was a Vedic solar deity, he is mentioned less often compared to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities, other scholars state that there are other Vedic deities, such as water deity Nara, who together form the historical roots of Vaishnavism. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, the evidence inconsistent, according to Dalal, the origins may be in Vedic deity Bhaga, who gave rise to Bhagavatism. According to Preciado-Solís, the Vedic deities Nara and Narayana form one of the Vedic roots of Vaishnavism, according to Dandekar, Vaishnavism may have emerged from merger of several ancient theistic traditions, where the various deities were integrated as different avatars of the same god. In Dandekar theory, Vaishnavism emerged at the end of the Vedic period, closely before the urbanisation of northern India. This earliest phase was established the time of Pāṇini who, in his Astadhyayi and this was followed by a merger with the cult of Gopala-Krsna of the cowherd community of the Abhıras at the 4th century CE. The character of Gopala Krishna is often considered to be non-Vedic, according to Dandekar, such mergers consolidated the position of Krishnaism between the heterodox sramana movement and the orthodox Vedic religion. The Greater Krsnaism, states Dandekar, then merged with the Rigvedic Vishnu, syncretism of various traditions and Vedism resulted in Vaishnavism. At this stage that Vishnu of the Rig Veda was assimilated into non-Vedic Krishnaism, the appearance of Krishna as one of the Avatars of Vishnu dates to the period of the Sanskrit epics in the early centuries CE. The Bhagavad Gita was incorporated into the Mahabharata as a key text for Krishnaism, finally, the Narayana-cult was also included, which further brahmanized Vaishnavism. The Nara-Narayana cult may have originated in Badari, a ridge of the Hindu Kush. Purusa Narayana may have later turned into Arjuna and Krsna
20.
Nilkantha (mountain)
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Nilkantha is a major peak of the Garhwal division of the Himalayas, in the Uttarakhand region of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Frank Smythe described the peak as second only to Siniolchu in Himalayan beauty, the Satopanth Glacier lies on the northwest side of Nilkantha, below a 2,500 m face of the peak. The Panpatia Glacier lies to the southwest, and feeds the Khirao Ganga, further away, to the west of the peak, lies the well-known Gangotri Glacier and its associated peaks. Across the Alaknanda valley lie the Kamet and Nanda Devi groups, nīlakaṇtha is one the Hindu deity, Shivas many epithets. In Hindu mythology, there was no mountain on the spot where Nilkantha stands today. There was a route between Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Purahita or the worshiper of the two temples worshiped them in one day, with its steep ridges and faces, Nilkantha resisted seven climbing attempts, beginning with Frank Smythe in 1937. The peak was purportedly first climbed on 13 June 1961, by a led by Col. Narinder Kumar, with Shri O. P. Sharma and Sherpas Lakpa Giyalbu. They placed their camp on the Satopanth Glacier and ascended via the north face. The generally accepted first ascent was made on 3 June 1974 by Sonam Pulzor, Kanhiya Lal, Dilip Singh, the expedition was led by S. P. Chamoli. After unsuccessfully attempting the west ridge, they reached the summit via the north face, the second ascent of Nilkantha was only in 1993 by an international team under Col. H. S. No fewer than 32 climbers made the summit between 31 May and 2 June, in 2000, five British climbers led by Martin Moran made the third ascent and the first ascent over the west ridge. In November 2001, the Slovenian climbers Marko Prezelj and Matic Jost repeated this route. In 2007, the Himalayan Club Calcutta claimed an ascent via the west ridge as well, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation has not yet formally rejected the claim. The leader of the 2007 Himalayan Club Kolkata Section AVM Apurva Bhattacharya had made detailed technical representation on their ascent up to the Summit ridge of Nilkanth. An Internal Authentication committee was set us by IMF to study the contention of the 2007 team, on detailed analysis, the authentication committee concluded that the 2007 team had indeed reached the summit ridge of Nilkanth and deemed this expedition to be successful. Communication to this end was made by IMF to the Expedition leader vide letter dated 6 August 2014
21.
Shaligram
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Shila, or Shaligram refers to a fossilized shell used in South Asia as an iconic symbol and reminder of the God Vishnu as the Universal Principle by some Hindus. Shaligrams are usually collected from river-beds or banks such as the Gandaki river in Nepal and they are considered easy to carry and popular in certain traditions of Vaishnavism, as an aniconic representation of the divine. They are typically in the form of spherical, black-coloured Ammonoid fossils, although Hinduism has many anthropomorphic murtis of gods, aniconism is equally represented with such abstract symbols of God such as the Saligrama and Shiva lingam. Historically, the use of Shaligrama Shilas in worship can be traced to the time of Adi Shankara through the latters works, the largest and heaviest Shaligrama can be seen at the Jagannath Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, at Puri in Orissa. The main ISKCON temple in Scotland, called Karuna Bhavan is famous for housing the largest number of Shaligram Shilas outside of India, a Shaligrama – which has the marks of a shankha, Chakra, gada and padma arranged in a particular order – is worshiped as Keshava. With the change in the order of the four symbols, the name of the Shaligrama stone is also different, the various orders and names are given for the twenty four permutations. These are well known names, which are the different names by which Lord Vishnu is known in the Hindu pantheon, the various versions of the Saligrama Shilas or stones vis-a-vis the order of the four symbols are, Shiva linga Dzi bead Ammonite fossils www. shalagram
22.
Alaknanda River
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The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganga, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. Three km below Mana the Alaknanda flows past the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Badrinath and it meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag after flowing for approximately 190 km through the Alaknanda valley. Its main tributaries are the Mandakini, Nandakini, and Pindar rivers, the Alaknanda system drains parts of Chamoli, Tehri, and Pauri districts. Following the merging at Devprayag, the river is known as the Ganges, the Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. The Alaknanda is also known for sports such as rafting. In mythology, the Goddess Ganga descended to earth at Gangotri, the Alaknanda is believed to have split off from the celestial Ganges when it descended from heaven. The origin of Alaknanda River is of special interest to the tourists who visit the important pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, the Ganges rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border. The five headstreams of the Ganges including the Bhagirathi, Mandakini, Alaknanda, Dhauliganga and Pindar, on the Satopanth Glacier six km up from Alaknandas origin at its snout, the triangular Lake Satopanth is found at a height of 4350 m. It and the glacier are named after the Hindu trinity Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, nanda Devi is the highest point in the Alaknanda basin. Badrinath, Badrinath, one of the destinations for Hindus in India is located near to the bank of the Alaknanda River. This place is surrounded by two ranges of Nar and Narayan and Neelkanth peak is located at the back side. Rafting Alaknanda River origin is of great interest for the tourists who visit the pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, rise of the Ganges in India is from the southern part of the Indian Himalaya, near the Tibet border. This river is among the best for river rafting in the due to its high rafting grade. Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at Panch Prayag or holy confluence of rivers, HYDEL PROJECTS ON ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN There are 23 other proposed projects in the ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN through which the power-potential of the Alaknanda and its tributaries can be harnessed. At each town with suffix prayag, Alaknanda meets another river,2013 North India floods Alaknanda River Britannica. com Prayags at GMVN
23.
Murti
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A Murti literally means any form, embodiment or solid object, and typically refers to an image, statue or idol of a deity or person in Indian culture. By the Prana Pratishtha ceremony, the idol becomes identical with the deity, murtis are also found in some nontheistic Jainism traditions, where they serve as symbols of revered persons inside Jain temples, and are worshipped in Murtipujaka rituals. A Murti is typically made by carving stone, wood working, medieval era texts describing their proper proportions, positions and gestures include the Puranas, Agamas and Samhitas. The expressions in a Murti vary in diverse Hindu traditions, ranging from Ugra symbolism to express destruction, fear and violence, as well as Saumya symbolism to express joy, knowledge, Saumya images are most common in Hindu temples. Other Murti forms found in Hinduism include the Linga, a Murti is an embodiment of the divine, the Ultimate Reality or Brahman to some Hindus. In religious context, they are found in Hindu temples or homes, in other occasions, it serves as the center of attention in annual festive processions and these are called Utsava Murti. Murti is sometimes referred to as murthi, or vigraha or pratima, Murti literally means any solid body or form with definite shape or limits produced from material elements. It contrasts with mind, thought and the immaterial in ancient Indian literature, the term also refers to any embodiment, manifestation, incarnation, personification, appearance, image, idol or statue of a deity. For example, the Maitrayaniya Upanishad uses the term to mean a form, non-Time is indivisible, Time is divisible, and the Maitri Upanishad then asserts that Year is the Murti of time. Robert Hume translates the discussion of Murti of time, in verse 6.14 of the Maitri Upanishad, as form. Most scholars, such as Jan Gonda, Max Muller, PV Kane and Stephanie Jamison, the Vedic Hinduism rituals were directed at nature and abstract deities called during yajna with hymns. However, there isnt universal consensus, with such as AC Das. This word may refer to Deva who is fixed or Deva who is foolish, one of the earliest firm textual evidence of Deva images, in the sense of Murti, is found in Jivikarthe Capanye by the Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini who lived about 4th century BCE. He mentions Acala and Cala, with former referring to images in a shrine, in ancient Sanskrit texts that follow Paninis work, numerous references are found to divine images with terms such as Devagrha, Devagara, Devakula, Devayatana and others. These texts, states Noel Salmond, strongly suggest that temples, recent archaeological evidence confirms that the knowledge and art of sculpture was established in India by the Maurya Empire period. The term Murti has been a generic term referring to an idol or statue of anyone, either a deity, of any human being. Pratima includes Murti as well as painting of any non-anthropomorphic object, in contrast, Bera or Bimba meant idol of god only, and Vigraha was synonymous with Bimba. A Murti in contemporary usage is any image or statue and it may be found inside or outside a temple or home, installed to be moved with a festive procession, or just be a landmark
24.
Mandapa
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Mandapa in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals. In the Hindu temple the mandapa is a structure through the. It is used for dancing and music and is part of the basic temple compound. The prayer hall was built in front of the temples sanctum sanctorum. A large temple would have many mandapas, if a temple has more than one mandapa, each one is allocated for a different function and given a name to reflect its use. For example, a dedicated to divine marriage is referred to as a kalyana mandapa. Often the hall was pillared and the pillars adorned with intricate carvings, in contemporary terms, it also represents a structure within which a Hindu wedding is performed. The Bride & Groom encircle a holy fire lit by the officiating priest in the center of the Mandapa, when a temple has more than one mandapa, they are given different names. It is used for conducting religious discourses, some times, the maha mandapa is also built along a transversal axis with a transept. At the exterior, the ends by a large window which brings light. Nandi Mandapam - In the Shiva temples, pavilion with a statue of the sacred bull Nandi, ranga Mandapa Meghanath Mandapa Namaskara Mandapa Open Mandapa In Indonesia, the mandap is known as a pendopo. Unusually, Indonesian pendopos are built mostly for Muslim communities, many mosques follow the pendopo design, with a layered roof to resemble Mount Meru. The Burmese term mandat, which has origins in Pali mandapa, is an open platform or pavilion from which people spray water to passers-by during the Buddhist festival Thingyan. A mandapa in Thai is a mondop and it features often in Thai temple art and architecture, either in the form of a Hor Trai or as an altar shrine such as the one in Wat Chiang Man in Chiang Mai. Pendopo Wedding mandap Zayat Photo of four-pillared Kakatiya mandapa Photo of relief in a mandapa Floor plan of North Indian temple with mandapa
25.
Garbhagriha
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Garbhagriha or Garbha gruha is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple. Literally the word means womb chamber, from the Sanskrit words garbha for womb, only priests are allowed to enter this chamber. Although the term is associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain. The Garbhagriha is located in a Hindu temple which is worshipped at by Hindus, in temples with a spire or vimana, this chamber is placed directly underneath it, and the two of them form the main vertical axis of the temple. These together may be understood to represent the axis of the world through Mount Meru, the garbha griham is usually also on the main horizontal axis of the temple which generally is an east–west axis. In those temples where there is also a cross-axis, the garbha gṛha is generally at their intersection, generally the garbhagriha is a windowless and sparsely lit chamber, intentionally created thus to focus the devotees mind on the tangible form of the divine within it. Entrance to the garbha grha may be restricted to priests who perform the services there, the inner garbhagriha or shrine became a separate structure, more elaborately adorned over time. More often garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium, in the centre is placed the image of the deity. But sometimes, for the temples of feminine deities, the garbagriha is rectangular, for example, in the temple of Varahi Deula in Chaurasi. The present structure of most of these temples is a vimana with a square garbhagriha and a surrounding circumambulatory path, an ardha-mandapa. George Michell, Monuments of India Temple architecture Parts of a North Indian Temple
26.
Bhagavata Purana
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The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of Hinduisms eighteen great Puranas. Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti to Krishna integrating themes from the Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankara. The Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses a range of topics including cosmology, genealogy, geography, mythology, legend, music, dance, yoga. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas and evil asuras and now rule the universe, the Bhagavata Purana is a revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu. The text presents a form of religion that competes with that of the Vedas, wherein bhakti ultimately leads to self-knowledge, liberation and bliss. However the Bhagavata Purana asserts that the nature and outer form of Krishna is identical to the Vedas. An oft-quoted verse is used by some Krishna sects to assert that the text itself is Krishna in literary form, the date of composition is probably between the eighth and the tenth century CE, but may be as early as the 6th century CE. Manuscripts survive in numerous inconsistent versions revised through the 18th century creating various recensions both in the languages and across different Indian languages. The text consists of twelve books totalling 332 chapters and between 16,000 and 18,000 verses depending on the recension, the tenth book, with about 4,000 verses, has been the most popular and widely studied. Bhagavata means devoted to, follower of Bhagavat – the sacred, an alternative interpretation of Bhagavata is devotees of the Adorable One. Bhagavata Purana therefore means Ancient Tales of Followers of the Lord, the Bhagavata is widely recognized as the best-known and most influential of the Puranas and, along with the Itihasa and other puranas, is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Veda. It is the source of popular stories of Krishnas childhood told for centuries on the Indian subcontinent. The Bhagavata declares itself the essence of all the Upanishads and derivative Smritis, One who has enjoyed the nectar of its rasa never has any desire for anything else. In northern and western India the Bhagavata Purana has influenced the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, the text complements the Pancharatra Agama texts of Vaishnavism. While the text focuses on Krishna Lord Narayana himself appears and explains how Brahma, the Bhagavata Purana is also significant in asserting that Yoga practice is a form of Bhakti. The Bhagavata Purana, in verse 2.9.32, modern scholarship dates its composition to between 500 CE to 1000 CE, but most likely between 800 and 1000 CE. A version of the text existed no later than 1030 CE, within this range, scholars such as R. C. Postmodern scholars have suggested alternate theories, the Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier material and undergoing later interpolations
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Vishnu
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Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being in its Vaishnavism tradition. Along with Brahma and Shiva, Vishnu forms a Hindu trinity, however and his avatars most notably include Krishna in the Mahabharata and Rama in the Ramayana. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasudeva, Vithoba and he is one of the five equivalent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu inconography, Vishnu is usually depicted as having a dark, or pale blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma in his left hand, Kaumodaki gada in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha in his upper left hand. A traditional depiction is Lord Vishnu reclining on the coils of Ananta, accompanied by his consort devi Lakshmi, yaska, the mid 1st-millennium BCE Vedanga scholar, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, one who enters everywhere. He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, that which is free from fetters, the medieval Indian scholar Medhātithi suggested that the word Vishnu has etymological roots in viś, meaning to pervade, thereby connoting that Vishnu is one who is everything and inside everything. Vishnu is a Vedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni, just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda, a 2nd millennium BCE Hindu text, are dedicated to Vishnu, and he finds minor mention in the other hymns. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of Rig Veda and he is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra and his distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu, in section 7.99 of the Rgveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In the Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr, in hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu are equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a friend of Indra. In the Yajurveda, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Narayana sukta, Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being, the first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words paramam padam, which literally mean highest post and may be understood as the supreme abode for all souls. This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam or Vaikuntha, Rig Veda 1.22.20 a also mentions the same paramam padam. In the Atharvaveda, the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, in post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the Trivikrama and it is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the three steps or three strides of Vishnu
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Nara-Narayana
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Nara-Narayana is a Hindu deity pair. Nara-Narayana is the avatar of the God Vishnu on earth. In the concept of Nara-Narayana, the human soul Nara is the companion of the Divine Narayana. The Hindu epic Mahabharata identifies the God Krishna with Narayana and Arjuna - the chief hero of the epic - with Nara, the legend of Nara-Narayana is also told in the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Hindus believe that the pair dwells at Badrinath, where their most important temple stands, the Nara-Narayana pair is frequently worshipped in temples of the Swaminarayan Faith. Nara means human, and Narayana refers to the name of the deity, in epic poetry, they are the sons of Dharma by Murti or Ahimsa and emanations of Vishnu, Arjuna being identified with Nara, and Krishna with Narayana. - Mahabharata, Harivamsa and Purana. Narayana is Vishnu while Nara is Shesha Nara-Narayana are depicted jointly or separately in images, when depicted separately, Nara is portrayed with two hands and wearing deer skin while Narayana is shown on the right in the usual form of Vishnu. Sometimes, both of them are depicted identical to each other and they are depicted four-armed holding a mace, a discus, a conch and a lotus, resembling Vishnu. Arjuna and Krishna are often referred to as Nara-Narayana in the Mahabharata and are considered part incarnations of Nara and Narayana respectively, in a previous life, the duo were born as the sages Nara and Narayana, and who performed great penances at the holy spot of Badrinath. Nara and Narayana were the Fourth Avatar of Lord Vishnu, the twins were sons of Dharma, the son of Brahma and his wife Murti or Ahimsa. They live at Badrika performing severe austerities and meditation for the welfare of the world and these two inseparable sages took avatars on earth for the welfare of mankind. Legend has it that once Lord Shiva tried to bring the fame of Nara and Narayana before the entire world. To do that, he hurled his own potent weapon Paashupathastra at the meditating rishis, the power of their meditation was so intense that the astra lost its power before them. Lord Shiva stated that this happened since the duo were jnanis of the first order constantly in the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the Bhagavata Purana tells the story of the birth of Urvashi from the sages Nara-Narayana. Once, sages Nara-Narayana were meditating in the shrine of Badrinath situated in the Himalayas. Their penances and austerities alarmed the gods, so Indra, the King of Devas, sent Kamadeva, Vasanta and apsaras to inspire them with passion, the sage Narayana took a flower and placed it on his thigh. Immediately there sprung from it a beautiful nymph whose charms far excelled those of the celestial nymphs, Narayana sent this nymph to Indra with them, and from her having been produced from the thigh of the sage, she was called Urvashi. In Badrinath Temples sanctorium, to the far side of the stone image of Badri-Vishala, are the images of Nara. Also, the Nara and Narayana peaks tower over Badrinath, in Vanaparvan, Krishna says to Arjuna, O invincible one, you are Nara and I am Hari Narayana, and we, the sages Nara-Narayana, have come to this world at the proper time
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Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
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Ganges in Hinduism
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In Hinduism, the river Ganga is considered sacred and is personified as a goddess Gaṅgā. It is worshipped by Hindus who believe bathing in the river causes the remission of sins. Pilgrims immerse the ashes of their kin in the Ganga, which is considered by them to bring the spirits closer to moksha, Moksha, however, is not an aim to strive for, as Hindus believe in the everlasting cycle of life and death. Several places sacred to Hindus lie along the banks of the Ganges, including Gangotri, Haridwar, Allahabad, during the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand, candlelit floats are released into waterways to honour Gautama Buddha and goddess Ganga for good fortune and washing away sins. Many religious people bathe in the Ganga as it is believed that it cleans the body as well as the mind from past and present lives, Bhagavata Purana depicts the birth of the narmad. According to Bhagavata Purana, Lord Vishnu in one of his incarnations, then in order to measure the universe, he extended his left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of his big toe. Through the hole, the water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganga River. Having washed the feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish saffron. Then, the river Ganga was released from Lord Shiva s hair to meet the needs of the according to Hindu mythology. In other legends, Himavan fathered Parvati and Ganga, several years later, a king named Sagara magically acquired sixty thousand sons. One day, King Sagara performed a ritual of worship for the good of the kingdom, One of the integral parts of the ritual was a horse, which was stolen by the jealous Indra. Sagara sent all his sons all over the earth to search for the horse and they found it in the nether-world next to a meditating sage Kapil tied by Lord Indra. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled insults at him, the sage opened his eyes for the first time in several years and looked at the sons of Sagara. With this glance, all sixty thousand were burnt to death, the souls of the sons of Sagara wandered as ghosts since their final rites had not been performed. For the moksha of all the sons of Sagar, Anshuman started to pray Brahma to bring Ganga to the earth till the end of his life, then his son Dilip did the same but did not succeed. When Bhagiratha, one of the descendants of Sagara, son of Dilip, learnt of this fate, he vowed to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse their souls, Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth. Brahma agreed and he ordered Ganga to go down to the Earth, Ganga felt that this was insulting and decided to sweep the whole Earth away as she fell from the heavens. Alarmed, Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva that he break up Gangas descent, Ganga arrogantly fell on Shivas head
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Pandava
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In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri, who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, all five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a war against their cousins the Kauravas. The word Pandava is derived from their fathers name, Pandu, the other epithets of the Pandava group are, Panduputra - sons of Pandu Pandavakumara - young Pandavas Kaunteya - sons of Kunti Madreya - sons of Madri Yudhishthira, The eldest Pandava brother. His name means one who is steadfast even during war and his parents were Kunti and Dharma, god of virtue, justice and morality. Though he lacked the characteristic combat prowess of a Kshatriya, Yudhishthira was one of the most virtuous men, skilled in the duties of a king and he was a good king who, along with his brothers, founded the prosperous city of Indraprastha. In consequence of Krishnas machinations and also by his brothers conquest of the world and he performed two Ashwamedha sacrifices and one Rajasuya sacrifice. Yudhishthira learnt to control the dice from the Sage Brihadaswa and became good at playing chess and his other names are Ajatshatru and Dharmaraja. His name means of terrible might and his parents were Kunti and Vayu, the god of air and wind, who was known for his might. Bhima has the strength and prowess equal to ten thousand powerful bull elephants and was very athletic. He was aggressive and prone to anger, of all the brothers, he alone opposed Yudhishthira, although very loyal to him, for his questionable decisions opposing common sense in the name of dharma. Bhima was devoted to his family and was their natural protector and he was a master in wielding the mace. He was also an archer, having fought Drona and Ashwatthama. Bhima was also skilled in diverse areas of warfare, including wrestling, charioteering, riding elephants. Along with Arjuna, he went on expeditions to conquer the kingdoms to the east, during the Rajasuya Yagna, Bhima subjugated the kingdoms of the eastern direction completely. He slew Krishnas most dangerous enemy, Jarasandha, in a wrestling bout, during the war, Bhima was most famous for slaying one hundred Kauravas and Duryodhana himself. He was also skilled in chopping wood, cooking, culinary arts and his name means of stainless deeds. His parents were Kunti and Indra, king of the gods and he was very virtuous and avoided unjust acts
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Vyasa
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Vyasa, literally Compiler) is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyāsa, or Krishna Dvaipāyana and he is generally considered the author of the Mahabharata, as well as a character in it, and the scribe of both the Vedas and Puranas. Vyasa is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins, according to the Vishnu Purana, Veda Vyasa is a title applied to the compilers of the Vedas who are avatars of Vishnu,28 people with this title have appeared so far. The festival of Guru Purnima is dedicated to him and it is also known as Vyasa Purnima, for it is the day believed to be both his birthday and the day he divided the Vedas. Vyasa appears for the first time as the compiler of, and an important character in, the Mahabharata. It is said that he was the expansion of the god Vishnu who came in Dwaparayuga to make all the Vedic knowledge available in form which was available in spoken form at that time. He was the son of Satyavati, daughter of the fisherman Dusharaj, there are two different views regarding his birthplace. One of the views suggests that he was born in the Tanahun district in western Nepal, in Vyas municipality of Gandaki zone of Tanahun district, another view suggests that he was born on an island in the Yamuna River near Kalpi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Vyasa was dark-complexioned and hence may be called by the name Krishna, Dhritarashtra born of Ambika, and Pandu, born of Ambalika and Vidura born to a maid, were born from Vyasas powers. Vyasa is believed to have lived on the banks of Ganga in modern-day Uttarakhand, the place was also the abode of the sage Vashishta along with the Pandavas, the five brothers of the Mahabharata. According to the Mahabharatha, Maharishi Vyas and his disciples and the sage Viswamitra decided to settle down in a cool, in the quest for a peaceful abode, he came to the Dandaka forest and, pleased with serenity of the region, selected this place. Since Maharishi Vyasa spent considerable time in prayers, the place was then called Vasara, in his previous life, Vyasa was the Sage Apantaratamas, who was born when Lord Vishnu uttered the syllable Bhu. He was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, since birth, he already possessed the knowledge of the Vedas, the Dharmashastras and the Upanishads. At Vishnus behest, he was reborn as Vyasa, Sage Parashara was the father of Vyasa and the grandson of Sage Vashistha. Prior to Vyasas birth, Parashara had performed a penance to Lord Shiva. Shiva granted a boon that Parasharas son would be a Brahmarshi equal to Vashistha and she conceived and immediately gave birth to Vyasa. Vyasa turned into an adult and left, promising his mother that he would come to her when needed, Vyasa acquired his knowledge from the four Kumaras, Narada and Lord Brahma himself. Hence he was called Veda Vyasa, or Splitter of the Vedas, the word vyasa means split, differentiate, or describe
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Himalayas
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The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
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Nanda Devi
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Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India, and the highest located entirely within the country. It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world and it was considered the highest mountain in the world before computations in 1808 proved Dhaulagiri to be higher. It was also the highest mountain in India before 1971 when Sikkim and it is part of the Garhwal Himalayas, and is located in the state of Uttarakhand, between the Rishiganga valley on the west and the Goriganga valley on the east. The peak, whose name means Bliss-Giving Goddess, is regarded as the patron-goddess of the Uttarakhand Himalaya, the surrounding Nanda Devi National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Nanda Devi is a massif, forming a 2-kilometre-long high ridge. The western summit is higher, and the summit is called Sunanda Devi formerly known as Nanda Devi East is the lower one. The interior of this almost insurmountable ring is known as the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, Sunanda Devi lies on the eastern edge of the ring, at the border of Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts. Together the peaks may be referred to as the peaks of the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda and these goddesses have occurred together in ancient Sanskrit literature and are worshipped together as twins in the Kumaon, Garhwal and as well as elsewhere in India. The first published reference to Nanda Devi East as Sunanda Devi appears to be in a recent novel that has the Kumaon region as backdrop. In addition to being the 23rd highest independent peak in the world, Nanda Devi is also notable for its large, steep rise above local terrain. It rises over 3,300 metres above its immediate southwestern base on the Dakkhini Nanda Devi Glacier in about 4.2 kilometres and this makes it among the steepest peaks in the world at this scale, closely comparable, for example, to the local profile of K2. Nanda Devi is also impressive when considering terrain that is a bit further away, for example, it rises over 6,500 metres above the valley of the Goriganga in only 50 km. On the northern side of the lies the Uttari Nanda Devi Glacier. To the southwest, one finds the Dakkhini Nanda Devi Glacier, all of these glaciers are located within the Sanctuary, and drain west into the Rishiganga. To the east lies the Pachu Glacier, and to the southeast lie the Nandaghunti and Lawan Glaciers, feeding the Lawan Gad, to the south is the Pindari Glacier, draining into the Pindar River. For a list of peaks of the Sanctuary and its environs. The ascent of Nanda Devi necessitated fifty years of exploration in search of a passage into the Sanctuary. Hugh Ruttledge attempted to reach the three times in the 1930s and failed each time
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Census
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A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population, the term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses, other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic censuses. United Nations recommendations also cover census topics to be collected, official definitions, classifications, the word is of Latin origin, during the Roman Republic, the census was a list that kept track of all adult males fit for military service. Current administrative data systems allow for other approaches to enumeration with the level of detail but raise concerns about privacy. A census can be contrasted with sampling in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population, typically main population estimates are updated by such intercensal estimates. Modern census data are used for research, business marketing, and planning. Census counts are necessary to adjust samples to be representative of a population by weighting them as is common in opinion polling, similarly, stratification requires knowledge of the relative sizes of different population strata which can be derived from census enumerations. In some countries, the census provides the official used to apportion the number of elected representatives to regions. In many cases, a carefully chosen random sample can provide accurate information than attempts to get a population census. A census is often construed as the opposite of a sample as its intent is to count everyone in a rather than a fraction. However, population censuses rely on a frame to count the population. This is the way to be sure that everyone has been included as otherwise those not responding would not be followed up on. The fundamental premise of a census is that the population is not known, the use of a sampling frame is counterintuitive as it suggests that the population size is already known. However, a census is also used to collect data on the individuals in the nation. This process of sampling marks the difference between historical census, which was a house to house process or the product of a decree. The sampling frame used by census is almost always an address register, thus it is not known if there is anyone resident or how many people there are in each household. Depending on the mode of enumeration, a form is sent to the householder, as a preliminary to the dispatch of forms, census workers will check any address problems on the ground. While it may seem straightforward to use the postal service file for this purpose, a particular problem is what are termed communal establishments which category includes student residences, religious orders, homes for the elderly, people in prisons etc
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Badri Narayanan temple
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Badri Narayanan temple is a Hindu temple in the Madurai District in the entrance of Alagar Koil in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is built in the style of the Badrinath temple, Lord Balaji is in seated position in this temple. An idol of the Adi Shankaracharya — an important Hindu saint in 8th century AD — is placed alongside of the temple, the principal idol represents Vishnu in a meditative posture and is flanked by Nara-Narayana. There is a date tree in the back of the temples shrine. Some of the other images include Lakshmi, Garuda, Anjineya, as per the legend, Lord Kallalagar visits the temple in the eve of the Chittirai festival, one of the famous festivals in Tamil Nadu. The Kallalagar starts his journey from the Alagar Koil crossing the Badri Narayanan Shrine, during this time, he visits Vandiyur, near the Vaigai River, on the eastern outskirts of Madurai. It is believed that he realizes that he is too late for his sisters wedding, so refuses to cross the river, daily pujas and monthly bhajans are held on temple premises
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Vasudhara Falls
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Vasudhara Falls is a waterfall situated near Badrinath, in Uttarakhand, India. Total distance from Badrinath to Vasudhara is 9 km, the first 3 kilometers of badrinath to mana village is drivable road. Next 6 km is walkable trek from Mana village to Vasudhara waterfall, the log inheight of this waterfall is 400 ft Mana Village and Vasudhara Fall are usually accessible to tourists during the same season of year when Badrinath temple is open to general public. Badrinath, is accessible by vehicles from Rishikesh. Rishikesh is the nearest railway station in this region, Mana village is believed to be a temporary stay point of legendary Pandavas, during their exile. The foot trek starts from Mana village, after passing Saraswati Mandir, the trek becomes tough as walkway being very steep. Sometimes, Trekking feels like rolling over the stone pebbled path, the views of vasudhara river valley during this inclined trek are very scenic. The trekking from Mana to Vasudhara takes two hours, there are no food or water utilities along the route, So please carry your own water bottle and light food snacks in a back-pack. Sports shoes are advisable to wear during this tough stony mountain trek, Vasudhara waterfall is a good sight, set in the background is a tall mountain cliff, from where the water fells. Having a bath under the water is very refreshing and adventurous. The nearby mountains are Chaukhamba, Nilkantha and Balakun etc, Satopanth glacier rolls down towards the bottom of Vasudhara. Laxmi van is in the way to Satopanth Tal or satopanth glacier from vasudhara, camping utilities and cooking equipments are required to stay in this forest during night. Its better to consult trekking tour organizers, If you are planning to go that far, Satopanth lake is 25 km away from badrinath. To go up to Vasudhara Fall only - start your trek before Noon, If you are planning to trek ahead of vasudhara fall, which is Laxmi Van Forest, start trekking in morning. Trekking route to vasudhara is stony with some grass and shrubs in the sides, at this height, even on a bright sunny day, weather is mildly cool and breezy too. Sometime misty and foggy patch of cloud may appear in your way, a light jacket is advised for late evening hours. Researchers find that water from Alakananda River, is of medicinal value, after storing for 2 years, its medicinal properties are proved scientifically. Traditionally, this water is kept stored by Hindus at their homes
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
39.
Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
40.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
41.
Dwarkadhish Temple
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The main shrine of the 5-storied building, supported by 72 pillars, is known as Jagat Mandir or Nija Mandir, archaeological findings suggest it to be 2,200 -2,000 years old. Temple was enlarged in the 15th- 16th century, the Dwarkadhish Temple is a Pushtimarg temple, hence it follows the guidelines and rituals created by Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji. According to tradition, the temple was believed to have been built by Krishnas grandson, Vajranabha. The temple became part of the Char Dham pilgrimage considered sacred by Hindus in India, after Adi Shankaracharya, the other three being comprising Shringeri, Badrkashram and Puri. Even today a memorial within the temple is dedicated to his visit, dwarakadheesh is the 108th Divya Desam of Vishnu on the subcontinent, glorified in the Divya Prabandha sacred texts. As per Hindu legend, Dwarka was built on a piece of land by Krishna that was reclaimed from the sea, sage Dhurvasa once visited Krishna and his wife Rukmini. The sage wished that the pair took him to their palace, the pair readily agreed and started walking with the sage to their palace. After some distance, Rukmini got tired and she requested some water from Krishna, Krishna dug a mythical hole that brought in river Ganga to the place. Sage Dhurvasa was furious and cursed Rukmini to remain in the place, the temple where Rukminis shrine is found, is believed to the place where she stood. The town of Dwarka in Gujarat has a history that dates back centuries, situated on the banks of river Gomti, the town is described in legend as the capital of Lord Krishna. Coastal erosion was probably the cause of the destruction of what was an ancient port, Hindus believe that the original temple was constructed by Vajranabh, the great grand son of Krishna, over the residential palace of Krishna. The current temple in Chalukya style is constructed in 15-16th century, the temple covers area of 27 metre by 21 metre with east-west length of 29 metre and north-south width of 23 metres. The tallest peak of the temple is 51.8 m high, the flag atop the temple shows the sun and moon, which is believed to indicate that Krishna would be there till Sun and moon exist on earth. The flag is changed from 5 times a day, but the remains the same. The temple has a structure built on seventy-two pillars. The temple spire is 78. 3m high, *The temple is constructed of limestone which is still in pristine condition. The temple shows intricate sculptural detailing done by successions of dynasties that ruled the region, the structure was not expanded much by these works. There are two entrances to the temple, the main entrance is called Moksha Dwara
42.
Jagannath Temple, Puri
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The Jagannath Temple of Puri is a sacred Vaishnava temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath and located on the eastern coast of India, at Puri in the state of Odisha. The major construction of Jagannath temple was initiated by king chodagangadeva, and was completed by his grandson Anangabhimadeva in the late 12th century. The temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival, since medieval times, it is also associated with intense religious fervour. Even though the icons of most Hindu deities that are worshiped are made out of stone or metal, every twelve or nineteen years these wooden figures are ceremoniously replaced by using sacred trees, that have to be carved as an exact replica. The temple is sacred to all Hindus and especially the Vaishnava traditions and saints Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja also established the Emar Matha near this temple. The Govardhan Mutt which is the seat of one of the four Shankaracharyas is also located here. It is also of significance to the followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism whose founder, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, was attracted to the deity, Jagannath. The Gods Jagannath, Balabhadra and the Goddess Subhadra constitute the main trinity of deities worshiped at the temple, the temple iconography depicts these three Gods sitting on the bejewelled platform or the Ratnabedi in the inner sanctum. The Sudarshan Chakra, deities of Madanmohan, Sridevi and Vishwadhatri are also placed on the Ratnavedi, the temple icons of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan Chakra are made from sacred Neem logs known as Daru. Depending on the season the deities are adorned in different garbs, workship of these deities pre-date the temple structure and may have originated in an ancient tribal shrine. According to the recently discovered copper plates from the Ganga dynasty, the Jaga mohan and the Vimana portions of the temple were built during his reign. However, it was only in the year 1174 CE that the Oriya ruler Ananga Bhima Deva rebuilt the temple to give a shape in which it stands today, Jagannath worship in the temple continued until 1558, when Odisha was attacked by the Afghan general Kalapahad. Subsequently, when Ramachandra Deb established an independent kingdom at Khurda in Orissa, the temple was consecrated, having heard about the deity, King Indradyumna sent a Brahmin priest, Vidyapati to locate the deity, who was worshipped secretly in a dense forest by Viswavasu. Vidyapati tried his best but could not locate the place, but at last he managed to marry Viswavasus daughter Lalita. At repeated request of Vidyapti, Viswavasu took his son-in-law blind folded to a cave where Lord Neela Madhaba was worshipped and he dropped mustard seeds on the ground on the way. The seeds germinated after a few days, which enabled him to out the cave later on. On hearing from him, King Indradyumna proceeded immediately to Odra desha on a pilgrimage to see, the Deity was hidden in sand. The king was determined not to return without having a darshan of the deity and observed fast unto death at Mount Neela, afterwards the king performed a horse sacrifice and built a magnificent temple for Vishnu
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Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "Badrinath", Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 229
Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "
Badrinath travel guide from Wikivoyage
