KOHINOOR

The Koh-i-Noor is a 106 carats diamond which was once the largest diamond in the world. Previously, it has belonged to various rulers in India; today it lies in the hands of the British royal family and is part of the Crown Jewels.

Legend says that the diamond is 5000 years old and was referred to in Sanskrit writings as the Syamantaka jewel.

But the first document that attests the existence of the Koh-I-Noor dates back to 1526 when the Indian conqueror Babur had it in his possession.

He mentioned that the diamond was owned by the Raja of Gwalior in the 13th century.

The diamond belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers who fought bitter battles throughout history.

The Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Peaccock Throne, the Mughal throne of India. It is said that Shah Jahan, the ruler who commanded the building of the throne and that of the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his son and he could only ever see the Taj Mahal again through the reflection of the diamond.

Later, Shah’s son, Aurangazeb brought the Koh-I-Noor to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. It was robbed from there by Nadir Shah who took the diamond to Persia in 1739, but the diamond found its way back to Punjab in 1813 after the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, Shuja Shah Durrani took it to India and made a deal to surrender the diamond in exchange for help in winning back the Afghan throne.

The Brits came across the gem when they conquered Punjab in 1849, and Queen Victoria got it in 1851. The stone was then at 186 carats as before this point, the diamond was not cut.

Along with over 2000 other diamonds, the Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Crown. For a more elaborate history of the diamond, head to our history section.

Since getting into British hands, the Koh-I-Noor was used by Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra (wife of King Edward VII), Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The diamond is wore only be female members of the British Royal Family.

As of today, the Koh-I-Noor is on display in the Tower of London with the Crown Jewels

YOGA: INITIATED IN ANCIENT INDIA

Yoga is a commonly known
generic term for the physical, mental, and
spiritual practices or disciplines which
originated in ancient India with a view to
attain a state of permanent peace.
Specifically, yoga is one of the six āstika
("orthodox") schools of Hindu philosophy .
One of the most detailed and thorough
expositions on the subject is the Yoga
Sūtras of Patañjali, which defines yoga as
"the stilling of the changing states of the
mind" Yoga has also been
popularly defined as "union with the
divine" in other contexts and traditions.
Various traditions of yoga are found in
Buddhism , Hinduism , Jainism and Sikhism .
Post-classical traditions consider
Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga. Pre–philosophical speculations and
diverse ascetic practices of first millennium
BCE were systematized into a formal
philosophy in early centuries CE by the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[9] By the turn of
the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged
as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct
from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and marks the
development of asanas into the full body
postures now in popular usage and,
along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with
the word yoga today.
Hindu monks, beginning with Swami
Vivekananda , brought yoga to the West in
the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga .
Many studies have tried to determine the
effectiveness of yoga as a complementary
intervention for cancer, schizophrenia,
asthma and heart patients. In a national
survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the
United States reported musculo–skeletal
and mental health improvements.

posted from Bloggeroid

TOP 10 RICHEST TEMPLE IN THE WORLD

Top 10 Richest Temples of World• Padmanabhaswamy • Viashno Devi Mandir Temple • Somnath Temple• Tirumala Tirupati Balaji • Guruvayurappan Temple Venkateswara Swami • Meenakshi Temple Temple • Kashi Vishwanath Temple• Shirdi Sai Baba Temple• Puri jagannath Temple• Siddhivinayak Temple

                                           
Padmanabhaswamy Temple• Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple is situated in Thiruvananthapuarm, Kerala. Recently, a treasure of 1 lac crore was seized. This temple has positioned itself at the peak.
Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Venkateswara Swami Temple• This temple seconds Padmanabhaswamy temple on the list having 50,000 of devotees who visit to worship everyday. This temple is located in Andhra Pradesh and it posses a treasure of worth 50,000 crore.
Shirdi Sai Baba Temple• Sai Baba Temple is located in the state of Maharashtra, and it stands third on the richest temples listings of India. The property value of this magnificent temple is worth crores of rupees.
Puri jagannath Temple• It is one of the most popular and richest temples of India situated in Puri, Orissa.. These devotees give charities in terms of money and precious valuables, which is used for temple’s maintenance and other social work.
Siddhivinayak Temple• Siddhivinayak temple is another richest temple situated in Maharashtra. This temple has firmly positioned itself in the top 10 richest temples. This temple has hundreds of crore of treasures.
Viashno Devi Mandir (Temple)• Viashno devi temple is located near Katra Jammu & Kashmir. Thus, this temple is considered as one of the richest temples among the others in the country.
Somnath Temple• Somnath temple is located in Saurastra, Gujarat. Having such a huge number of worshipers, this temple is positioned at seventh position on the list of top 10 richest temple of India.
Guruvayurappan Temple• This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and it is situated in Guruvayur Kerala.
Meenakshi Temple• This temple has admirable and attractive architectural style. It is located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu and it is considered as one of the richest temple in India.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple• This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it is situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. This temple is proudly a one among the richest temples in the country, and it attracts huge numbers of devotees and tourists.

ARYABHAT: THE FIRST ASTRONOMER AND FOUNDER OF ZERO

Education
It is fairly certain that, at some point, he went to Kusumapura for advanced studies and lived there for some time. Both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, as well as Bhāskara I (CE 629), identify Kusumapura as Pāṭaliputra, modern Patna. A verse mentions that Aryabhata was the head of an institution (kulapati) at Kusumapura, and, because the university of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time and had an astronomical observatory, it is speculated that Aryabhata might have been the head of the Nalanda university as well. Aryabhata is also reputed to have set up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar.

Other hypotheses
Some archeological evidence suggests that Aryabhata could have originated from the present day Kodungallur which was the historical capital city of Thiruvanchikkulam of ancient Kerala. For instance, one hypothesis was that aśmaka (Sanskrit for "stone") may be the region in Kerala that is now known as Koṭuṅṅallūr, based on the belief that it was earlier known as Koṭum-Kal-l-ūr ("city of hard stones"); however, old records show that the city was actually Koṭum-kol-ūr ("city of strict governance"). Similarly, the fact that several commentaries on the Aryabhatiya have come from Kerala were used to suggest that it was Aryabhata's main place of life and activity; however, many commentaries have come from outside Kerala.
Aryabhata mentions "Lanka" on several occasions in the Aryabhatiya, but his "Lanka" is an abstraction, standing for a point on the equator at the same longitude as his Ujjayini.


The greatest astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhatt, was born in 476 AD. His work in astronomy is an asset to the scholars. He gave an accurate figure for pi () 3.1416. He finished his book “Aryabhattiya” in 499 AD in which he gives the exact year of the beginning of kaliyug. He writes,

“When the three yugas (satyug, tretayug and dwaparyug) have elapsed and 60 x 60 (3,600) years of kaliyug have already passed, I am now 23 years old.” It means that in the 3,601st year of Kali era he was 23 years old. Aryabhatt was born in 476 AD. Thus, the beginning of kaliyug comes to 3,601 - (476 + 23) = 3102 BC.

Lord Krishn ascended to His Divine abode at the end of dwaparyug and immediately kaliyug started in 3102 BC. When Bhagwan Krishn left the earth planet and ascended to His Divine abode a catastrophic rain, storm and sea deluge, that lasted for seven days, totally drowned and destroyed Dwarika town. This catastrophe was also recorded in Babylonia’s ancient town Ur (which was mythologized in the West as Noah’s flood) and the ancient Mayan records. The dates of both are the same.

(For a complete list of kings of Hastinapur from Yudhishthir to Vikramaditya and their exact reigning periods and for detailed physical, geographical, inscriptional and scriptural information about the date of Mahabharat war and the beginning of kaliyug, read pages 477–506 of “The True History and the Religion of India” which documents 17 positive evidences.)

THE GREAT KALIDAS

kalidas is considered to be one
of the greatest Indian literary
personalities of all time, and his
works form the cornerstone of
Indian mythology. Little is known
about his personal life , but legends abound. He
is known to be familiar with Greek Astronomy,
and has used a few Greek terms in his work.
According to one such popular legend, Kalidas
wasn't always so wise and learned. In fact,
there was a time he was considered to be one
of the stupidest people in the kingdom!
One sunny day, Kalidas was sitting on a branch
of a tree, trying to saw it off. But the dimwitted
man was sitting on the wrong end of the branch,
so when he finally sawed through the branch,
down he tumbled! This act of sheer stupidity
was observed by some shrewd pundits minister
passing by.
Now these pundits wanted to play a trick on the
arrogant princess, to teach her a lesson. She
was determined to marry someone who would
defeat her in a debate about the scriptures. The
princess had heaped considerable abuse on
them over a period of time, and they were
determined to extract their revenge. So, when
they chanced upon Kalidas, they decided to
present him to the queen as a suitable match
for her.
In order to conceal his stupidity, the pundits
asked Kalidas to pretend that he was a great
sage, who was observing a vow of silence.
Kalidas readily agreed, and they presented him
to the queen, saying that Kalidas would only
communicate by way of gestures. When the
queen asked Kalidas a few questions to test his
intelligence, Kalidas gesticulated wildly and the
astute pundits 'interpreted' these gestures as
extremely witty answers and retorts. The
princess was suitably impressed, and the couple
was married without much delay.
Kalidas's stupidity could be concealed for only
so long, and the night of the wedding Kalidas
blurted out something inane. The princess
realized that she had married a prize fool.
Furious, she threw him out of her palace, and
her life.
The dejected Kalidas wandered around, till he
came to the bank of the river. He contemplated
taking his life when he suddenly saw some
women washing clothes on the edge of the river
bank. He observed that the stones which the
women were pounding with clothes, were
smooth and rounded, while the other stones
were rough and ragged. This observation hit him
like a thunderbolt, and it dawned upon him that
if stones could be worn through and change
their shape by being pounded upon by clothes,
then why couldn't his thick brains change, by
being pounded upon by knowledge!
Kalidas thus grew determined to become the
wisest and most learned man in the country,
and to achieve this end he started indulging in
intellectual pastimes, reading, meditating and
praying to his goddess Kali to grant him divine
knowledge. His wish was fulfilled.
Kalidas's contribution to Indian literature is
tremendous. Though his writings were in
Sanskrit, they have been translated into
numerous languages. While numerous writings
have been attributed to him, only seven works
are proved to be genuinely his.
1. Malavikaagnimitra (Malavikaa and Agnimitra)
2. Vikramorvashiiya (The story of Urvashi and
Pururavas)
3. Abhigyanashakuntala (Shakuntala)
Of these plays, Kalidas is best known for the
play Shakuntala, which has gone on to receive
worldwide attention. Shakuntala was first
translated into English, then into German, and
then into several other western languages. The
other four works were poems.

posted from Bloggeroid

CHANAKYA: Teacher, Philosopher, Royal Advisor

India in it's history of 5000 years has given to the world some of the best personalities ever born.People of any country can never match the charismatic persona that are provided by this land of diversities.One such character was Chanakya.It is almost impossible to believe that his theories found an important place in the following years with no amendments and are relevant even today as their original form.
Chanakya(c.350-283 B.C.) was an adviser and prime minister of the great Mauryan king Chandragupta Maurya(c. 340-293 BC).This was perhaps the toughest couple of power in the history of world.Infact,Chanakya was the main source of rise of power of Chandragupta Maurya.His other names were Vishnugupta and Kautilya as referred in his political saga Arthashastra.Some considered him Pioneer economist,others said him Indian Machiavelli,but truly he was the architect of the first Indian empire.

Chanakya was born with a complete set of teeth(an identification of kings) but due to his cast of Brahmin his teeth were broken,but rule was in his destiny,although he achieved it through Chandragupta Maurya.At a very early age little Chanakya started studying Vedas.He was proficient in religion,politics and economics. Chanakya had his education at a famous school in a city well known in those days as Takshashila (corrupted later into 'Taxila').

The Nanda king disrespected him and threw him out of his court,thus making a feel of revenge in the heart of Chanakya who met later a young Chandragupta and eventually formed a team with him and after some time dethroned the Nandas and made Amatya Rakshasa(a very intelligent minister of Nandas)the Prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya.

The great book 'Artha-shastra' written by Chanakya is world famous. Even European politicians, sociologists and economists study this book with interest. t begins with a narration of how to bring up royal princes and how their education should be. How to choose ambassadors and how to use spies is then explained. How to protect a king against dangers and risks is also dealt with. Law and order, the duties of the police, how to control the wealthy citizens and motivate them to make gifts for charitable purposes, methods of preventing wars, duties of the astrologer, the priest and others, tricks to be employed to eliminate enemy kings, ways of inducing sleep in human beings and animals-these and numerous other subjects are discussed by Chanakya in the treatise. The wide range and variety of the subjects is itself surprising.
Some of the quotes of his Niti shastra are
"A person should not be too honest.
Straight trees are cut first
And Honest people are screwed first."

"Even if a snake is not poisonous,
It should pretend to be venomous."


"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never
share your secrets with anybody. !
It will destroy you."

"There is some self-interest
behind every friendship.
There is no Friendship without
self-interests.This is a bitter truth."

"Before you start some work, always ask
yourself three questions - Why am I doing it,
What the results might be and Will I be
successful. Only when you think deeply
And find satisfactory answers
to these questions, go ahead."

"As soon as the fear approaches
near, attack and destroy it."

"Once you start a working on something,
Don't be afraid of failure and
Don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."


"The fragrance of flowers spreads
Only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person
spreads in all direction."


"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."


"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years.
For the next five years, scold them.
By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend.
Your grown up children are your best friends."


"Books are as useful to a stupid person
As a mirror is useful to a blind person."


"Education is the best friend.
An educated person is respected everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

GOLDEN ERA

The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta, the dynasty is a model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.

                 The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era.