#10 Avtars of Lord Vishnu

[sriramjanmbhumi]

Lord Vishnu Avtars: Mythology and Opinions according to different Purans and Epic:

🚩🚩🚩जय श्री राम🚩🚩🚩

#भगवान्_विष्णु_के_अवतार

Despite counting 22 and 24 avatars in the #BhagavataMahapuran, the majority is with the 10 avatars which have been Described in Mahabharata.

Many Puranas like #Padmapuran (Uttarakhand-257.40,41), #Lingapurana (2.48.31,32), #Varahapuran (4.2), #Matsyapuran (2.85.6,7) have been mentioned the Same 10 Avtars of Lord Vishnu as it is been told in #Mahabharata.

The description of #Agnipuran (chapters-2 to 16) is also exactly the same sequence.

The following verses of this context (with nominal textual distinctions) are often universal: -

मत्स्यः कूर्मो वराहश्च नरसिंहोऽथ वामनः।

रामो रामश्च कृष्णश्च बुद्धः कल्किश्च ते दश॥

Thus, Almost in Every Epic And Mythology, 10 Avatars of Lord #Vishnu is Recognised.

#Ram #Ramayana #RamMandir #Ayodhya #SriRamJanmBhumi #MythologyofLordVishnuAvtars

[dharmyaatra]

भगवान विष्णु का कल्कि अवतार तब जन्म लेगा जब इस विश्व में पाप अत्यधिक बढ़ जायेगा तथा सनातन मूल्यों का बुरी तरह विघटन होने लगेगा। तब भगवान विष्णु कल्कि रुपी अवतार में जन्म लेकर इस पृथ्वी पर पुनः सतयुग की शुरुआत करेंगे। आज हम कल्कि अवतार के बारे में 10 रोचक तथ्यों के बारे में जानेंगे।

[culturalholidaysindia]

Top 8 Religious Festivals in India That Every Tourist Should Know

India is a country filled with many religions and religion play an important role in the lives of Indians. Most of the Indians consider themselves a part of a religion and different types of rituals and worship is a part of their daily life. This religious fervor has given rise to many religious festivals in India which are celebrated with loads of fervor in India. 

Here are 8 best religious festivals of India that every tourist should know before heading to any place of India. 

1. Ganesh Chaturthi

Celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular religious festivals in India. Mostly celebrated by Hindus, the festival symbolizes wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune. The festival is celebrated in India for 10 days mostly in northern parts of India like Mumbai, Maharashtra, etc. 

When to Celebrate: Mostly in September

2. Navratri

Navratri is also one of the leading religious festivals in India. The name of these festivals tells everything. Nava means “Nine” and Ratri means “Nights”.  So the festival is 9 nights and 10 days festivals celebrated to pay respect to the universal mother of Shakti (Power). 

When to Celebrate: September to October

3. Mahashivratri

Mahashivratri is one of the major Hindi festivals in India celebrated with loads of fervor, especially by youngsters dancing and singing in the streets of their local towns. Usually, at this festival, people worship Lord Shiva. The festival is celebrated usually in the months of February to March. 

When to Celebrate: February

4. Dussehra

One of the widely celebrated religious festivals in India, Dussehra also known as Vijayadashmi is celebrated as the day of victory of good over evil. The festival is associated with Lord Rama and it is believed that Lord Rama killed Ravan on this day who captured his wife Sita. 

When to Celebrate: October

5. Janmashtami

Janmashtami is celebrated as the birth of Lord Krishna, who is viewed as the eight Avtar of Lord Vishnu. Celebrated the nation over with much fervor, the festival is listed as one of the best religious festivals of India. On this day, devotees usually worship Lord Krishna and pray for their wellness.  

When to Celebrate: August 

6. Diwali

Diwali is the most marvelous religious festival in India of the Hindu community. Diwali is the festival of lights that is celebrated with loads of fervor in almost every part of the nation. The festival is set apart by individuals adorning their homes with candles, earthen lights, and lights, blasting crackers, and sharing blessings and sweets with family, friends, and loved once. 

When to Celebrate: November

7. Eid-ul-Fitr

Eid-ul-Fitr, also known as Eid, is a major religious festival of Muslims. The festival is celebrated at the end of Ramadan month and people usually pray is mosques, greets everyone with a sweet hug, and feast relatives and dear ones at home. 

When to Celebrate: May

8. Gangaur

Gangaur is a brilliant celebration, during which the womenfolk of Rajasthan worship their Goddess Parvati (wife of Lord Shiva). The festival is a symbol of a good harvest, coming od spring season, and marital fidelity and believed to brings happiness in the life of married couples. Unmarried ladies additionally praise this celebration and petition God for a decent life accomplice.

When to Celebrate: March 

So these are the 8 best religious festivals in India which are celebrated with loads of fervor and enjoy in the whole nation. If you have ever celebrated some of these festivals before while traveling in India then share your experience with us in the comment section below.

[royalrohit]

After visiting Aihole and Bijapur, we started our journey towards Pattadakal, which was just 10 kms from Aihole. Ever since I read ‘Temples of South India’ book I was very curious and excited about these UNESCO World Heritage Sites and added it to my bucket list. Since we are travelling on our own it was quite easy for us to cover Bijapur-Aihole-Pattadakal-Badami stretch.

Boothnath temple on the green waters of the Agastya lake…

Temples build by Western Chalukyas invoke a sense of peace and tranquility by their systematic and symmetrical approach.. 

Bagalkot District of Karnataka is blessed with some amazing historical sites of Ancient Indian like Badami, Pattadakal. These places were the most important centers of Chalukyan Empire. These three places are located in the close vicinity of each other and with a bit of planning can be covered in a single day.

Places to Visit in Badami:

Badami can be best experienced simply, by a walk through the ruins. All the major attractions of Badami are located around the Agasthya Lake and sandwiched between two high mountain cliffs on its North and South. It is about 1km walk from the bus stand.

The fort on the Northern hill-top is visible from the main road itself.

Archaeological Museum of Badami:

There is a stone statue of Nandi, Lord Shiva’s bull, at the entrance of the museum. The museum mainly comprises of pre-historic stone implements and sculptures, inscriptions etc. datable from 6th to 16th century AD.

Walking further, we reached to a beautiful lake called Agasthya Lake. This lake is surrounded by the Badami Caves, Red sandstone hills, Bhootnath Temple, small houses of Badami and the beautiful flight of steps (the ghats). The water in this lake is believed to have some healing power too. The sandstone steps (ghats) from three side of the lake make it more beautiful.

There we are…posing for a pic

 The Beautiful Agasthya Tirtha Lake

Badami in Hindu Mythology:

Legend says that there were two demon siblings in the ancient times, one is Vatapi and another one is Ilvala. The older brother Ilvala converted Vatapi in red meat and offered that to the poor souls living in the area. Unaware of the tricks, people ate that meat happily. Then, Ilvala re-converted that meat back into Vatapi who then emerges by tearing through the person’s body causing death. One day they did the same trick to the great saint Agasthya. But, the saint was able to digest the meat, thus causing death of Vatapi. This put an end to the misery of local people. These two hills in Badami to its north and south are supposed to represent the demons Ilvala and Vatapi.

The lake between these hills was named as Agasthya Lake or Agasthya Tirtha in honour of the great saint.

Bhootnath Temple :

This temple is located at the Eastern side of the lake and is believed to be built in 5th century. These temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inside the temple, there are lot of carvings on the wall.

Behind the temple, there are some excellent carvings of the Hindu gods on the rock.

`These carvings are chiseled in a single rock and have the images of Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha, Varah Avtar of Lord Vishnu, Narsingh Avtar of Lord Vishnu, etc.

Badami Fort and Adjacent Area: Again walking along the Agasthya Tank, we moved towards the northern hill through an access road adjacent to the museum. This hill has an amazing package to unfold for its visitors. Top of the hills are almost flat, full of shrubs and thorns, many walkable trails and houses, small water reservoir, some small temples with excellent carvings and Badami Fort. After visiting the Northern Side of the lake, we moved towards the Southern Hill, that houses the famous cave temples.As one walks along the lake,the road leads to an 18th century mosque.

Badami Caves:

Badami is famous for its four cave temples  all cut out of a monolithic (single) rock of sand stone on the precipice of a hill. First three of these temples are dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses and the last one is basically dedicated to JainTirthankars.

monolithic (single) rock of sand stone on the precipice of a hill.

The four cave temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then.

Cave Temple 1 : Moving inside, a long flight of steps took us to the first cave. This cave is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This cave temple dates back to the 5th century CE and was built by Chalukyan King Pulkesin-I. There is a carving of the cosmic dance of Nataraja depicted with eighteen arms. With these 18 arms, Lord Shiva can make 81 dance poses or mudra of Natya Shastra.

There are also sculptures of Hindu gods and godesses.

  Cave Temple 2 : The second cave temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his avatars (incarnations).

The best carving in this cave is the image of Lord Vishnu in his Varaha avatar (Varaha the pig-faced, human-bodied Lord, half human-half animal). In this avatar, he rescued the Goddess Bhudevi (The Earth) from the demon Hiranyaksha.

On the ceiling of this cave, there are carvings of Vishnu on Garuda and several other scenes from the puranas.

On the ceiling of this cave, there are carvings of Vishnu on Garuda and several other scenes from the puranas…

Cave Temple 3 :  The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the best and the biggest, and it has splendid giant figures of Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha.  An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in 578AD. There are some paintings on the ceiling and the style indicates maturity but has lost its original dazzling colour.

Lord Vishnu statue.. All the statues in this cave are engraved in a vigorous style.

Cave Temple 4 : The fourth cave is Jaina which lies a little east of cave III. The sanctum is adorned by the image of Mahavira.

Tips from my perspective:

It is approx. 420 kms away from Hyderabad and 500 kms away from Bengaluru.

Timings: Daily except Fridays through the year from 10:00 Hrs to 17:00 hrs.

Ticket Price: INR 5 for Indians and INR 100 for foreigners.

Badami Cave temples: ‘A fine balance of versatility and restrain’

[sibandel-blog1]

Dasavatharam (2008)

Dasavatharam (2008)

Dhasavathaaram (Dus Avtar - in Hindi meaning 10 reincarnations of Lord Vishnu) has Padmashree Kamal Haasan donning 10 different roles ranging from a 12th Century priest to a genius Bio-Scientist and the President of United States. The story starts with an incident taking place in 12th century during the rule of the Chozha dynasty when Hindus were divided into Saivites and Vaishnavites...

Try five more:

Kanah D'ha (2010)

Cornered (1945)

Photo

Moonlight and Pretzels (1933)

The Hunting Season (1935)