Skip to main content

Featured Post

Odisha Part 10: Bhubaneshwar – the city of temples

Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...
Post a Comment

Featured on 'Pocket Cultures'

Navaratri is over, and it's time again to get back to our normal lives.... and what better way to start my other posts, than to announce that I have been featured on the site 'Pocket Cultures'!


As the name suggests, Pocket Cultures is all about cultures. The site has contributors from all over the world, writing about their own cultures, thus giving an interesting insight into places from people who live there! They divide their posts into 3 categories - Blogs of the World, where they feature blogs from different countries, Topics of the World, which consist of posts by collaborators about world cultures, and finally, People of the World, which also has  a section called 'My partner is a foreigner', about cross cultural encounters. Anyone can contribute to this section. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? So go right ahead and check it out!

Comments

  1. SoulSpaceOctober 20, 2010 at 7:28 AM

    sooper!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UshaOctober 20, 2010 at 8:22 AM

    This is excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NatashaOctober 20, 2010 at 8:59 AM

    Congratulations, Anu.

    Your blog has never let me comment, so I do hope this one publishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anuradha ShankarOctober 20, 2010 at 9:01 AM

    Thanks, Sowmya, Usha and Rayna! and Rayna, I dont know why thats happening... a couple of others have also mentioned it.... shall try to sort it out soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. IndraniOctober 20, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    Congrats Anu!
    Well done. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. AartiOctober 20, 2010 at 12:20 PM

    sooper cool, Anu... :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. subu.psOctober 21, 2010 at 12:27 PM

    Congrats anu!! You deserve it.
    Between thanks for your comment on my blog too. Well what is the name of the bike related book that u mentioned in the comment?

    ReplyDelete
  8. indicaspeciesOctober 22, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    Congratulations Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  9. flowergirlOctober 23, 2010 at 1:34 PM

    Wonderful Anu! I enjoyed the navaratri posts!

    ReplyDelete
  10. ArtiOctober 23, 2010 at 7:01 PM

    Well Done Anu!
    Your posts on Navratri were Informative and very interstesting too!!
    Congrats once again!!
    I have been facing some difficulty in posting a comment...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sankara Subramanian COctober 24, 2010 at 1:11 PM

    This is great news! Congratulations! It always feels good to be featured!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ladakh TouriamOctober 25, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    This is really very informative blog....Good work

    ReplyDelete
  13. BindhuOctober 25, 2010 at 11:16 PM

    Good show, Anu. Keep it up. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anuradha ShankarOctober 28, 2010 at 10:25 PM

    Thanks everyone! It feels great to be appreciated!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...
10 comments
Read more

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
9 comments
Read more

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.
7 comments
Read more