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About Tiruvannamalai Temple

2008-12-22T02:31:00.001-08:00

Tiruvannamalai is one of the famous temple in world. Tiruvannamalai is one of the Panchabhoota Stalams signifying the 5 elements of wind (Kalahasti), water (Tiruvanaikka), fire (Tiruvannamalai), earth (Kanchipuram) and space (Chidambaram).

Kartikai Deepam festival here is of great significance. Manikkavacakar composed his Tiruvempavai here.The Paatala Linga shrine is connected with the spritual savant Ramana Maharishi. Arunagiri Nathar began composing his Tiruppukazh here at this temple.

Legend here goes that Shiva assumed the form of a huge column of fire, whose origins Bhramma and Vishnu failed to trace. drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every full moon. The hill here is considered to be a manifestation of Shiva.

The 11 tiered East Rajagopuram towers to a height of 217 feet, while the fortified walls pierced with 4 gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast temple complex. The Pei Gopuram, Tirumanjana Gopuram and Ammanaiamman gopuram are the other three.

The 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank were built by Krishna Deva Rayarar of Vijayanagar. Each of the prakarams has a huge Nandi and several towers such as the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and Kili Gopuram.

Screaming mummy

2008-11-23T02:12:00.000-08:00

A new analysis of the "screaming mummy", an Egyptian mummy who died wearing a pained facial expression, has suggested that he could be Prince Pentewere, suspected of plotting the murder of his father, Pharaoh Ramses III.

According to a report in National Geographic News, recent examinations of the mummy, found in 1886 and now located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, have helped archaeologists piece together a story of attempted murder, suicide, and conspiracy.

Called both "Unknown Man E" and the "Screaming Mummy" because of his open jaw and agonized expression, the mummy has baffled researchers since it was first uncovered. Several archaeologists have proposed theories about the mummy’’s cause of death, saying he might have been buried alive or poisoned, or that he was a murdered Hittite prince during the reign of Tutankhamen.

Archaeologists now agree, however, that mummies are commonly found with their jaws open as a result of their heads falling back after death. The Screaming Mummy was unlikely to have been a Hittite prince because that man probably would not have been mummified, according to those examining the corpse.

"They"re not going to mummify this guy if they murdered him," said Bob Brier, an archaeologist at the University of Long Island in New York, who examined the body this year. "They"re going to get rid of the body," he added. The theory about poison, on the other hand, has not been totally ruled out.

Papyrus documents indicate a trial that took place in the 12th century B.C. for a wife of Pharaoh Ramses III. She was charged with conspiracy to murder the pharoah and put her son Pentewere in his place.

The mummy of "Unknown Man E" suggests an ignoble death, much like Pentewere would have received if this story were true, according to the archaeological team. "We found this mummy is covered in sheepskin and the sheepskin," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt’’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. "In the mind of the ancient Egyptian, this was not something royal," he added.

"To cover with sheepskin means he was not clean, he did something bad in his life," Hawass said. Pentewere could have been sentenced to death by poison, after the murderous plans were revealed, according to Hawass and Brier.

The screaming mummy was found without a grave marking, which would have prevented him from reaching the afterlife, which may have been a possible additional punishment for being part of a murder plot. Hawass said he plans to conduct DNA testing to confirm the mummy’’s connection to Ramses III

Ex. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi History

2008-10-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

She was India’s first and to date only female Prime Minister. She is also the only Indian Prime Minister to date to be defeated in her own district in a general election.

Born in the politically influential Nehru dynasty, she grew up in an intensely political atmosphere. Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was a prominent Indian nationalist leader.

Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Returning to India from Oxford in 1941, she became involved in the Indian Independence movement.

In the 1950s, she served her father unofficially as a personal assistant during his tenure as India’s first Prime Minister.

After her father’s death in 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha by the President of India and became a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

The then Congress Party President K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making Indira Gandhi the Prime Minister after the sudden demise of Shastri. Gandhi soon showed an ability to win elections and outmaneuver opponents through populism.

She introduced more left-wing economic policies and promoted agricultural productivity. A decisive victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan was followed by a period of instability that led her to impose a state of emergency in 1975; she paid for the authoritarian excesses of the period with three years in opposition.

Returned to office in 1980, she became increasingly involved in an escalating conflict with separatists in Punjab that eventually led to her assassination by her bodyguards in 1984. Indira gandhi universary today

Unbelievable news; but surprise

2008-09-19T20:30:00.001-07:00

‘Beware before consuming eggs’, you may be served with eggs of hen that might be bearing baby snake inside the shell. In a bizarre incident, a hen today laid eggs with a snake inside the shell at Samthu village under Angarghat police station area here.

A villager Kishore Jagdish Kumar bought an egg from his co-villager Bahadur Ram to prepare some recipe. He broke the eggs in a frying pan and was shocked to see a reptile of about 4 to 5 inches coming out of the shell.

Kumar informed Bahadur Ram, who domesticates hens on a small scale. He carefully monitored his hen and took out the egg. Soon after breaking the shell, he too was taken aback to see a little snake of about 2 to 3 inches inside it.

On getting the information, a team of veterinary doctors led by the animal husbandry officer of Ujiyarpur block Dr Ajay Kumar went to the spot to look into the matter.

The team took away the hen, its eggs and the baby snake for further research. Dr Kumar said the incidence of finding baby snake inside the shell of an egg of a hen was ‘’unbelievable’’ and ‘’strange’’.
Mukhiya of Rewari panchayat under Ujiyarpur block Arvind Pandey, meanwhile, said that people were frightened of consuming eggs in the village. The sale of eggs also declined in the village since the incident occurred, he informed.

one of the largest temples in India

2008-06-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tiruvannamalai the home of Annamalayaar or Arunachaleswarar and Unnamulaiyaal is one of the largest temples in India.

There is an air of deep mysticism around the temple, the hill and its environs and the town itself has been known for its long association with Yogis, Siddhas, the well known spiritual savant Ramana Maharishi and several others.

The origin of this temple dates way back in time, although much of the temple structure as seen today, is a result of building activity over the last one thousand years. Seventh century Tamil poetry glorifies this temple.

All of the four Saivite Saints Appar, Sambandar, Manikkavacakar and Sundarar have sung the glory of this temple and it was at this temple that Arunagirinathar began composing his immortal work Tiruppugazh. Muthuswamy Deekshitar’s kriti Arunachalanatham pays tribute to the presiding deity of Tiruvannamalai.

The ancient and vast Arunachaleswarar Temple as it stands today is the result of several centuries of building, alteration and extension. A Nandi faces the main shrine in each of its five prakarams.

The outermost prakaram houses the thousand pillared hall and the Shiva Ganga tank and is pierced on four sides with colossal Gopurams. The fourth prakaram includes the Bhramma Tirtham, and its eastern gateway Vallala Gopuram holds a statue of King Ballala.

The third prakaram which dates back to the 12th century AD has several Linga Shrines, and the Kili Gopura Entrance. In the East side of the prakaram stands the Flag Staff while the Northern side is home to the massive shrine of Unnamulai Amman. The 3rd prakaram surrounds the roofed 2nd prakaram which houses the pantheon of deities associated with Shiva, which in turn surrounds the shrine of Annamalaiyar.

An elaborate protocol of worship services marks each day at the Tiruvannamalai temple where about a hundred and fifty people are attached to the temple including priests, musicians, singers, carpenters, potters, washermen, palanquin bearers, garland makers, administrators, guards etc.

The day begins with the ceremonial arrival of Ganga to the shrine, from a tank in the Southern part of the town on an elephant through the Southern, Tirumanjana Gopuram. This water cleanses the entrance to the second prakaram, and then the next ritual involving the waking up of Shiva and Parvati in the bedchamber. The Shiva-Meru returns to the Annamalaiyaar shrine while the image of Parvati returns to the Unnamulaiamman shrine.

Six other pujas are offered at the temple, the first one at 6 am, and the last one at night where the Shiva Meru and the image of Parvati are processionally brought into the bed chamber. Each service is accompanied by chants of invocation, dedication and praise. In the south west corner of the prakaram, the sacrificial fire ritual takes place, ending with the consecration of vessels of water which are used in the ablution of Annamalaiyaar and Unnamulai Amman.

Several festivals dot the Tiruvannamalai temple town's calendar. IEach occurrence of the full moon is a celebration in itself, as hundreds of thousands throng to circumambulate the Annamalai Hill, considered to be a reperesentationof Annamalaiyar himself.

The festivals of the temple are remarkably intertwined with the life of the locals, marking the so called subtle transcendence between the human and the divine states. In addition to the various festivals, Tiruvannamalai celebrates four annual Bhrammotsavams (10 day festivals) the most famous of which is the Kartikai Bhrammotsavam (in the Tamil month of November or December.

The Arudra Darisanam in the month of Margazhi (Dec 15 through Jan 15) is a celebration of the cosmic dance of Shiva. The Tai Poosam festival which occurs in the month of Tai (Jan 15 through Feb 15) is also of great significance.

The Tiruvoodal festival, enacting a mock quarrel between Annamalaiyaar and Unnamulai Amman is enacted in the presence of Sundaramoorthy Nayanaar in the Tiruvoodal Street, a street that has been earmarked for this annual event. During this quarrel, Parvati enters the temple alone by herself, leaving Shiva outside, and Shiva (Annamalaiyaar) circumambulates the Annamalai hill (himself), and during his trip, grants liberation to the rishi Bhringi. His jewels get stolen in the West side of the town and he then recovers stolen jewellery in the eastern side of the town, and then returns to the temple the folowing morning.

In the month of Maasi, (Feb 15 through March 15) Shiva is crowned as the King in the absence of a royal heir to King Ballala of the Hoysala dynasty (an early 14th century ruler) whose statue adorns the Vallala Gopuram.

Interestingly Ballala's death is announced as an element of the festival tradition during the Tai Poosam celebration season. Associated with these events, Annamalaiyaar visits Pallikondapattu, one of the villages to the east of Tiruvannamalai, where the King's palace is said to have stood.

The Parivettai (Royal Hunt) festival is a part of the two Bhrammotsavams celebrated during the winter and summer solstices. This festival represents a royal hunt on the borders of the town.

The celebration of Kartikai Deepam marks the conclusion of the ten day Bhrammotsavam in the month of Kartikai (Scorpio , Nov 15 through December 15). Each of these festival days is marked by the procession of the Pancha Murthys (Somaskandar (Annamalayar), Unnamulaiyaal, Ganapati, Subramanyar and Chandikeswarar) in gaily decorated mounts. Most noteworthy among these are the Rishabha Vahana Utsavam celebrated on the fifth evening of the festival and the Rathotsavam, celebrated on the seventh day of the festival.

Kartikai Deepam is preceeded by the Bharani Deepam celebration when a lamp is lit in the main shrine of the temple following a fire sacrifice before the shrine of Surya. A small bowl of ghee lighted at this fire is used to light five other lamps representing the five aspects of Shiva.

Preparations begin for the Kartikai Deepam which is to be celebrated in the afternoon. A group of fishermen carry a portion of this fire inside a container of baked earth to the summit of the mountain where a large copper utensil filled with offerings of ghee and pieces of cloth has been placed.

Crowds begin to throng the temple complex, and a discernible order prevails among the crowd as the tens of thousands gathered begin their patient wait for the auspicious moment when the Deepam celebration would reach its peak.

In the meanwhile, preparations go on for the afternoon’s climax. Four of the five decorated Pancha Murthys are are brought out from the main shrine of the temple and housed in Vimanams in the 3rd prakaram of the temple, facing the flag staff and the Annamalai Hill. The last to arrive is Annamalaiyar who comes out of the second prakaram, dancing with his consort.

The crowd waits to catch a glimpse of the deepam which is then brought out of the inner shrine towards the Utsavar Annamalayaar. The anticipation of the lakhs gathered there can only be experienced, not described in words. The deepam is brought out in a gait by the bearers and a deeparadanai is offered to the Utsavar, and at this very instant, the lamp on the hill is lighted as the crowd breaks into a frenzied devout cheer, yet retaining the order that was there when it was just beginning to assemble.

The human mass gathered within and around the precincts of the temple, along with the residents of the town and neighboring towns catch sight of the flame atop the Annamalai hill, cherishing the age old belief that it is a representation of Shiva himself, who appeared in the form of a flame whose origins could not be deciphered by the other two of the Trinity namely Bhramma and Vishnu. Keeping with tradition, the inner sanctum doors close, with the arrival of the deepam outside, and it is believed Annamalaiyaar is to be worshipped only as the beacon until the next morning when the shrine is reopened.

Access and Accomodation: Tiruvannamali (located in the erstwhile North Arcot district of Tamilnadu) has several hotels and ashrams and it attracts visitors from all over the world Ramanashramam and Seshadri Swami ashram being examples. Each occurrence of a full moon attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The Kartikai Deepam celebration also attracts lakhs (hundreds of thousands) to the extent that all incoming traffic is halted at the boundary of the town on the day of the festival.
The government of Tamilnadu runs special bus and train services during the occasion. By car, it is a four to five hour drive from Chennai, and there are several 'point to point' non-stop bus services. Tiruvannamalai is located on the railway line linking Villuppuram and Katpadi, and is therefore connected conveniently by rail to centers such as Tirupati and Thanjavur. Tirukkoilur with the Trivikrama temple and the Veeratteswarar temple, Saathanur Dam, and Vellore with its Jalakanteswarar Fort Temple are some of the nearby attractions.