#India Aryavarta

[taoofthedrakon]

Франсишку де Алмейда

Франсишку де Алмейда Франсишку де Алмейда Francisco de Almeidaпортугалски адмирал и изследователРоден50-те години на XV век Лисабон, ПортугалияПочинал1 март 1510 г.Нос Добра надеждаНационалност ПортугалияФрансишку де Алмейда в Общомедия Дон ​Франсишку де Алмейда (на португалски: Francisco de Almeida​), известен също като Великият Дон Франсишку, ​е ​португалски ​благородник, ​военен и…

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Hindustan, India, where do the names come from, why? Why does the world use them?

Well, let's look first at other countries like Japan (Nippon) - Land of the Rising Sun or where the Sun Rises. This is what Japan's always called itself.

Others, over time, language, translation led to, and made stick, Japan. It's like how Germany is actually Deutschland to themselves, technically. This is what's known as an Exonym, or name given/used by other people/country outside the one being referenced. This is led to creation of myths, stories, fairy tales, and more about cultures as well. Back to India.

Well, the original people behind the connection to the name are best known as the Indus Valley people/civilization.

But that's not what they were called amongst themselves. No. In fact, these people who originated and farmed the Sindh valley/Sindh river, were first given their eventual "Indus related" name but the Persians.

When the Persians first started interacting and trading with the people we know as Indus Valley, they referred to them as the people of the Sindh river or valley, however, in their native tongue, the S became an H.

So the Hindh valley, Hindh people. Eventually the greeks and romans would show up, and call them the Indos, or Indus people for the river (as translated into their tongues...remind me again how many river based names there are again in the world, even for.....just river itself) go figure. Because people usually fucking set up near rich fresh water sources cuz... we need it to live. That's why people set up along the Nile too. And...well, everywhere. Water kinda important.

The Indus valley people were not Hindu as we know it today. In fact, at one point, they practiced a religion older than the vedic, we just don't know what that is do to proto indo european influences and the impact they had in forming the vedic era pre Hindu.

Continuing. Now we reach the eventual evolution of Hindhu through the word and alteration of Sindh/Sindhu people - of that river/past it.

Stan. Well, in Sanskrit there is sthāna - or place. And in Persia, there is stan (a suffix you see in many Islamic countries as well given the evolution of the language), and the similarity in sanskrit and ancient persian is likely because of PIE influences in both of them so, outside countries started using interchangeably (and of course eventually so do the people within an empire when you're trading and referring to yourself and building alliances, agreements or going to war) you adopt those terms: Hindustan, or India. But Hindustan was never meant to be the land of the Hindu (in terms of religion) because it was a given name by the river, and we're talking about the vedic religion.

Now, I left one name out of here, because it is specifically NOT an exonym. It's the name India historically identifies with from within its own epics, including the most well known, Mahabharata (romanized/english) said closer to (god it's hard typing these sounds in freaking english): Mah-bharat.

Bharat is the key there. So, what's it mean?

Well, it's important to note the word first comes from Bhāratavarṣa - which comes from the Vedic people Bharatas - who are first mentioned in the Rig Veda.

They are the principle people who come from Aryavarta - land of the Aryans, which is why the word is still word in Indic languages, and even a used name. Like, it's a used name for real. You'll meet guys called Aryan.

Anyways, continuing. So, the oldest known name for Indian proper, and you might if you pay attention to Indian news see this making a comeback, is Bharat.

To many from the outside, it's come off heated, people are unsure why, and so on for the name change. But honestly? It's just what India was once called. It's no different than when Mumbai replaced in name Bombay. That name, Bombay was given by the Portuguese. Later (I can't recal the year, someone comment it) the Indian government decided to change the name and reclaim it to Mumbai. But someone asked me about this recently like why all the Bharat stuff and talk online in places.

For anyone who's seen it and wondered, I hope this helps.

It's a history of language, names, and other people sometimes making names stick and translation and evolution of words and culture and empires.

Closing with how did India come to stick? Latin. Then everyone who inherited the legacy, evolution of the language, and the love - all the romance languages that built on it. Eventually, by the 16th or was it 17th century, most of the world started calling it India when they

traded, colonized more, w.e.

The Latin transliteration of Indos, Indica - India.

But the term was used sort of before.

Herodotus in his writings mentions the Indus people, and then calls on of them, "An Indian."

But, yeah, it was never a name for/from those the land themselves.

[atisundaridarshanparadise]

Lawrence Dundas, Knight Tervel Maxuelle Kamenov Elohim"

Patreon.com/GodElohimArchangel Ati Sundari Darshyan Paradaiza

[talonabraxas]

St. George with the Swastika Gustav Adolf Closs (1937)

The Swastika – A Pure Spiritual Symbol

As rightly said by H. P. Blavatsky, the swastika or svastika is “the most sacred and mystic symbol in India.” It is a pure spiritual symbol which can be found on the historical remains and records of almost every nation, originating initially in India, the ancient Mother of our modern civilisation. It was also an important and much cherished symbol of the early Christians, who called it the “crux dissimulata” and often accompanied it with the inscription “Vitalis Vitalia” – “Life of Life.” They used the swastika for centuries, long before the crucifix form of the Cross was ever invented.

The symbol of the cross with the crucified Jesus on it did not exist until 700 A.D. or later, just as the doctrine of vicarious atonement and salvation through the blood of Jesus did not exist in its present form until the beginning of the Middle Ages.

It must be repeatedly emphasised that the swastika was never thought of in any way by anyone as being an evil or “dark” symbol until Hitler misappropriated it as the symbol of Nazism. Tragically the image of the swastika continues to strike fear and horror into the hearts of many, due to their not knowing its true spiritual origins and meaning. Despite its modern negative connotations, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists all over the world retain their right to the use of the swastika as a spiritual symbol.

It’s true and unspeakably tragic that millions of Jews were “slaughtered under the sign of the swastika,” as a visitor to the site unnecessarily reminded us, but why should millions of Indians and followers of Indian religions be denied the right to use the symbol which is theirs by right? Should Hitler still be allowed to triumph over the minds of men, even in death?

He also misappropriated and misrepresented the word “Aryan” – using it to mean a so-called “perfect race” of blonde haired, blue eyed, fair skinned people – whereas in its actual and historical sense, which is the sense in which the term is used in Theosophy, the word “Aryan” means “Indian.” Ancient India was called Aryavarta and the Aryans were the inhabitants of this land. The swastika symbolises and represents:

(1) Auspiciousness, since the true and literal meaning of the Sanskrit word “Swastika” is “All is well.”

(2) The continual motion and revolution of the invisible forces of the universe and the cycles of time, represented by the four arms of the cross being bent at right angles to signify motion and rotation.

(3) The Seal of the Heart or Heart’s Seal of Buddhism. It can be seen engraved on the chest of Buddha in many statues of him around the world.

(4) Fohat, cosmic electricity.

“Applied to the Microcosm, Man, it shows him to be a link between heaven and Earth: the right hand being raised at the end of a horizontal arm, the left pointing to the Earth. . . . It is at one and the same time an Alchemical, Cosmogonical, Anthropological, and Magical sign, with seven keys to its inner meaning. It is not too much to say that the compound symbolism of this universal and most suggestive of signs contains the key to the seven great mysteries of Kosmos. . . . It is the Alpha and the Omega of universal creative Force, evolving from pure Spirit and ending in gross Matter. It is also the key to the cycle of Science, divine and human; and he who comprehends its full meaning is for ever liberated from the toils of Mahamaya, the great Illusion and Deceiver. . . . So ancient is the symbol and so sacred, that there is hardly an excavation made on the sites of old cities without its being found.” – H. P. Blavatsky, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2

There is a need for articles such as this, in order to let people know the true origins and nature of things. The swastika is undoubtedly still very taboo in the Western world but spiritually educated people can help to bring about something of a reclaiming of what is originally, initially, and inherently a pure spiritual symbol and what is still such for followers of Eastern religion.

[shut-up-rabert]

Do you think the Aryan Invasion Theory is true? I watching Mahabharata (star plus) and they kept using Aryavarta which reminded me of the Aryan race that Hilter used and so I did a little research and obviously he had no idea what he was talking about but what I found on the theory was a bit unsettling. I always believed that Hinduism/Sanskrit/Vedas originated in India (Indus Valley) but this theory seems to have genetic research to support it and it set off my whole belief system and gave me an identity crisis for some reason

Well, I am not really big on this theory because it has zilch proof to it as far as I have seen, only theories.

A simplified take on the same is the Indian Express article on Rakhigarhi excavation.

Other than that, there was this lengthy India Today article on the same excavation that gave me a headache because it won’t go to the fucking point, but I suppose it is in favour of the theory? I don’t know man, it’s fucking long and I did not read it all, just understood that IVC people from 4500 were native and that apparently we have outsider DNA.

There is no proof of any migration other than those based on change in genetic make up, a more plausible theory of which I explain later.

The interesting thing is, that the said Aryan invasion Theory first pinned us to be central asians from 1500BC and now we are Iranian farmers. It completely ignores the fact that Indians have little genes in common with Europeans who we supposedly come from moreso with South Indians (and I mean much more, we have almost the same gene combination except a few), and seems as if the India today article, based on the same premise of “Aryans had this one gene (r1 to be more specific) common with Iranians that Indus people did not have” fails to realise that people from the northwest of Indian subcontinent can have common genes with the bordering land for other reasons aswell because no shit sherlock, people fuck💀

I mean, how else do you explain the much higher genetic connection to south indians?

Another factor they use for the theory is the simultaneous developement of modern day Hinduism and Zorastrianism, but that too can be chalked upto influence rather than migration, given that Hinduism is actually older by a little margin (oldest living religion) and for the theory to be true, the migration should have gone westward instead.

Heck, the influence thing can easily exclude the theory altogther, because Iran is close to what are now the areas of IVC, and them slowly influencing the culture during or after IVC when they became more civil, (in 4000BC) or us doing the same, or even intermixing of the two will make more sense than AIT.

The migration of these Aryans cannot be proven otherwise aswell because there lies no proof for same. Literally none. The archeologist in the India today article and few others uphold it yet are unable to prove it beyond circumstantial evidence that makes more sense when turned against the theory rather than its favour, like the Iranian thing I mentioned. It might also very well be a migration to eastwards in Hind from the western part, because the Vedas were written before the supposed “Vedic Aryan invaders” happened and they are clearly neither Monotheistic nor Tribal, and align more with the Indic religions, so I digress they came from Central Asia or Iran.

Plus, the Vedas were written by the "aryans" on banks of saraswati, and the saraswati dried up centuries before they "destroyed IVC and took over". Another interesting thing is that Saraswati flew through the IVC sooooo.... yeah, maybe it all can be summed up to people fucking🫠

The thing is, we are locals, this culture was very much developed here on this land. Vedas, Sanskrit, Sanatan, there is a reason you do not see traces of them elsewhere, and I am certain this theory is BS because of the little I have read, because it has nothing to prove for itself.

But other than that, this particular subject was never of my interest because of how lengthy it was, and I fucking sucked at history, so may I suggest asking others who do think of this topic as often. I only know @tiananmen-square-orgy to be my nerdy mutual on this topic, and if finnie cannot help you I'll try geting you connected to a friend who is not on tumblr yet can help becuase of his extensive knowledge.

[kemetic-dreams]

Bhārat", the name for India in several Indian languages, is mainly derived from the name of the Vedic tribe of Bharatas who are mentioned in the Rigveda as one of the principal kingdoms of the Aryavarta.

The English term is from Greek Ἰνδική / Indikē (cf. Megasthenes' work Indica) or Indía (Ἰνδία), via Latin transliteration India.

The name derives ultimately from Sanskrit Sindhu (सिन्धु), which was the name of the Indus River as well as the lower Indus basin (modern Sindh, in Pakistan).

[sivavakkiyar]

for example my memory is that the manusmriti—-and the BJP & RSS really do try to make less and less explicit advocations of, increasingly often denunciations of the manusmriti—-has the classic Sanskritic definition of ‘India as a land’ (I mean the geographical borders), and refers to it as Aryavarta, not Bharat. Bharat is one specific group mentioned in the Vedas, which is the oldest etymology, but doesn’t refer to anything like the land or the ‘nation’, but to a particular clan (and so naming it all after them is..?)

[chaitanyavijnanam]

శ్రీ లలితా చైతన్య విజ్ఞానము - 578 - 1 / Sri Lalitha Chaitanya Vijnanam - 578 - 1

🌹. శ్రీ లలితా చైతన్య విజ్ఞానము - 578 - 1 / Sri Lalitha Chaitanya Vijnanam - 578 - 1 🌹 🌻. లలితా సహస్ర నామముల తత్వ విచారణ 🌻 ✍️. సద్గురు శ్రీ కంభంపాటి పార్వతీ కుమార్ సేకరణ : ప్రసాద్ భరద్వాజ 🍁. మూల మంత్రము : ఓం ఐం హ్రీం శ్రీం శ్రీమాత్రే నమః 🍁 🍀 117. మహాకైలాస నిలయా, మృణాల మృదుదోర్లతా । మహనీయా, దయామూర్తీ, ర్మహాసామ్రాజ్యశాలినీ ॥ 117 ॥ 🍀 🌻 578. 'మహాకైలాస నిలయా' - 1 🌻

మహాకైలాసము నందుండునది శ్రీమాత అని అర్ధము. కైలాసము ఉత్తరము నందుండెడి శిఖరము. ఆర్యావర్తమునకు ఉత్తరమున, బ్రహ్మ మానస సరోవరమునకు కూడ ఉత్తరమున కైలాస శిఖర మున్నది. “శ్రీ చక్ర మేరువు" వలె లేక 'పిరమిడ్' వలే యేర్పడు శిఖరమును కైలాస మందురు. అచ్చట తత్త్వమొక్కటే యుండును. ఆ తత్త్వము యొక్క లాస్యముగ ఉత్తరము నుండి దిగువకు క్రమ పద్ధతిలో రూప మేర్పడును. ఇట్లు ఒకే తత్త్వము నుండి అనేకత్త్వ మేర్పడుటకు సూచనగ శ్రీచక్ర మేరువు నుండి శ్రీ చక్ర మేర్పడును.

సశేషం...

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹

🌹 Sri Lalitha Chaitanya Vijnanam - 578 - 1 🌹 Contemplation of 1000 Names of Sri Lalitha Devi ✍️ Prasad Bharadwaj 🌻 117. Mahakailasa nilaya mrunala mrududorlata mahaniya dayamurti rmahasamrajya shalini ॥117 ॥ 🌻 🌻 578. 'Mahakailasa Nilaya' - 1 🌻

The term "Mahakailasa Nilaya" means that Sri Mata resides in the great Kailasa. Kailasa is a peak located in the northern direction. It lies north of Aryavarta (ancient India) and even north of Brahma's Manasa Sarovara. Kailasa is a pyramid-shaped peak, resembling the structure of the "Sri Chakra Meru." It symbolizes the principle of oneness. This principle gradually manifests into form, descending from the north in an orderly manner. Similarly, from the singular principle, the multiplicity of creation emerges, as seen in the Sri Chakra evolving from the Sri Chakra Meru.

Continues...

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹

[bookbins]

Raavan Enemy Of Aryavrata

Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta, the third book in Amish Tripathi’s Ram Chandra Series, delves into the life of one of India’s most notorious and misunderstood figures, Raavan. This gripping narrative explores Raavan’s early life, his rise to power, and the inner turmoil that shaped him into the feared ruler of Lanka. Through vivid storytelling, Amish paints Raavan as a brilliant yet flawed character driven by ambition, vengeance, and love, offering a fresh and nuanced portrayal of the infamous antagonist.

[twnenglish]

India: Our Nation; Our Culture

India, we know, isn't born today but India as an area of Southern Asia has been mentioned even within the traditional Hebrew texts. India as a whole was never under the rule of 1 empire and thus the rulers of the Northern and Southern regions were mostly fragmented. India has been conquered by different nations and rulers for many years and each new ruler and empire brought their name to India.

Today, India is that the seventh-largest country and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories. it had been British rule that began within the 18th century that brought India together and ruled all of India. Though, despite the colonial rule, parts of India were still under the Portuguese and thus the Dutch or Princely States. And a touch like with different rulers’ different cultures appearing within the country, India wasn't always called India. India has had a variety of names through varied eras.

India also features a Chinese and Japanese name that's “Tianzhu”. During their travels, they found an area bordered by the Sindhu River. The Persian rule changed the name of Sindhu to Hindu and “Tianzhu” could also be a translation of Hindu.

Olden texts ask India as Nabhivarsha. Nabhi was the son of the one that ruled the entire Earth. As Nabhi ruled India, it came to be mentioned as Nabhivarsha. The Northern region of India is known as Aryavarta. A name that's still employed by the Persians is Hind or Hindustan. India is officially called Bharat or the Republic of India. This name came after the Ruler Bharata. And finally, the name hottest and thus the official name of the country is INDIA. We can see there are many names of our country. Not only names, like this, but India is also additionally a country with many mixtures of cultures. Indian culture, often considered as a mix of several cultures, has been influenced by a history that's several millennia old, beginning with the Indus Valley Civilization. Many elements of Indian culture, like Indian religions, mathematics, philosophy, cuisine, languages, dance, and music have had a profound impact across the Indo-culture, Greater India, and thus the planet.

To Read This Full ARTICLE, Click Here

[induzorganic]

Anand Mani Tripathi's Induz Organic brings back India's organic food culture

Aryavarta Organics works with a network of certified organic farmers and farms to procure fresh and seasonal produce

Research says that how the food on our table is grown has a huge impact on our mental and emotional health. It also impacts the environment and most of us are blissfully ignorant of it. Truth is, most organic foods have more beneficial nutrients including antioxidants compared to the produce from modern farming techniques. This goodness of organic food is what Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd. aims to bring to people’s tables in India.

“Organic foods have immense benefits. Buying organically grown food items that are free of harmful chemicals is a logical choice. Add to it the benefits of more nutrition, taste, and sustainability and you have a surefire winner. Organic foods are also extremely beneficial for people with allergies. Such people report that their symptoms lessen or even disappear altogether when their diet comprises only organic foods. No wonder that the future is going to be organic,” says Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi, Founder and CEO, Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd., the Jaipur, Rajasthan, based company that is fast growing in popularity owing to the wonderful quality of its organic food products.

Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd. has launched Induz Organic as a retail brand for creating an effective and efficient bridge between Indian marginal farmers and food buyers across the world who seek high-quality organic produce. Currently, the Induz Organic brand offers Organic Cereals, Organic Spices, Organic Herbs, Organic Beans & Pulses, Organic Sweeteners, Organic Oil and Oil Seeds, Organic Feed and a number of other Organic Products under its umbrella.

“We strive to create, produce and deliver to you products which are organic and natural. Our emphasis is on chemical pesticide free growth and processing. We promote use of on-farm resources (biofertilizers), smart farming techniques and we strongly believe in promoting agripreneurship among farmers. We are proud to create sustainable rural employment and farmer empowerment and we offer them just wages. For our buyers, we maintain hygienic and safe storage facilities to be able to deliver fresh and healthy products to them. We take pride in being able to bring the ancient indian culture back in fashion for betterment of all living entities,” shares Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi.

Aryavarta Organics works with a network of certified organic farmers and farms to procure fresh and seasonal produce. The Aryavarta Organic owned, and farmers’ agriculture farms, both focus on organic philosophy and practice organic farming for the promotion and development of organic food. The entire product development process, right from growing to processing to labeling is certified by an internationally accredited certifying agency RSOCA as per NOP and NPOP regulations.

“We are also registered with APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) Government of India, as producers and suppliers of Organic Food Products. We place extra emphasis on ensuring that the purity, quality, product packaging and labeling is of the highest international standards,” further elaborates Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi.

Aryavarta Organics’ Project and Field officers are constantly involved with R&D in the fields, so as to help the farmers ensure quality and quantity production through Crop Rotation, Green Manures, Farm yard manures, Vermicompost, Biological & natural inputs such as herbal growth promoters and highly selective indigenous seeds varieties to suit different agro climatic zones in India.

“The production of our foods adheres to global standards. All our products are 100% Chemical Free. There is 0% Adulteration and no Artificial Colors are used whatsoever in any of our products. We make efforts to retain the original natural aroma and taste of every product. Needless to say, our whole process is extremely good for the environment and our planet too. When you buy one of our products, you are guaranteed to get Purity and Natural Goodness,” says Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi with obvious pride.

With so much of passion for everything organic, we wonder what got him into all this in the first place and Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi shares with us the inspiration behind the ambitious project that Aryavarta Organics is.

“The seeds of Aryavarta Organic Foods were sown in Ancient India when it was known as Aryavarta or Bharatvarsha. We named our brand Induz with a firm belief in the great ancient Indian culture, scripts and philosophies. The company was founded in 2018 on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the same day when the Universe was created by God Brahma and our civilization is believed to have started. Now, you can see how important our ancient culture is to us as an organisation," says Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi.

Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi is a result oriented professional with more than 12 years of experience in organic agriculture field, cultivation, procurement, corporate/ institutional sales/ channel sales, operations and channel management. He has worked with eminent companies in the Organic Industry as Morarka Organic Foods Limited, Sanjeevani Organics and Natureland Organic Foods Pvt. Ltd. at leadership positions.

Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi has a proven track record of increasing revenues, establishing channel networks, developing new business models, streamlining workflows, cutting costs and creating a teamwork environment to enhance profitability. He has demonstrated profound abilities of generating business and leading the workforce towards accomplishing business goals.

He completed his schooling from Maharshi Patanjali Vidya Mandir, Prayag and Graduation from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He earned his MBA in Marketing from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune. His core competency lies in Brand Building based on Market Research. He also specialises in crafting winning Marketing Strategies, Procurement of Commodities, Business Development, Pricing, Costing and Budgeting of Commodities, Channel Enhancements and Team Mentoring.

He is a voracious reader and loves reading books, as well as cooking, playing Badminton, and writing poetries. Mr. Anand is very philosophical in approach and equally talented in arts and fine arts, he has won many prizes and certificates in Quiz Completions, Acting Competitions, Face Painting as well as in Sports at both the College and University Levels.

He recently addressed OFIC 2019 Summit as a Guest Speaker that was held in Mumbai and organised by TEFLA and ICCOA. He has been nominated for Parivartan Sustainability Leadership Awards in 2014. His organisation has been nominated recently as the Best Startup Organisation in Field of Organic by Rajasthan Udyog Ratna Shree.

Most recently, on 12th February 2020 in Mumbai, he was awarded as the "Most Influential Food Industry Professional" by Asia Food Congress and Awards, endorsed by the World Federation of Marketing Professionals, CMO Global and World Sustainability.

These days he devotes all his time to his own company, Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd., which is represented in the market by its brand INDUZ ORGANIC. He has done a lot of research on the culture and traditions of ancient India and its history and he sincerely believes that our lives will be revolutionised just by practicing and valuing them.

“My present goal is to bring a paradigm shift in people's food habits and turn them towards Organic Food. And then, in a few years from now, we will also bring Ayurveda and try to replace Allopathy. And finally, I'd like to see our education system change to the ancient Gurukul system which teaches happiness and tranquility. So, I have my goals set. Now, I just need to work hard and achieve them,” concludes a smiling Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi.

Needless to say, Mr. Anand Mani Tripathi is an idealist who wishes to see everyone turn to organic foods for the betterment of mankind and this planet. Through his company and its products, he aims to convince the world that not only Organic but the Indian culture, its traditions and belief systems are all very scientific, logical and that India is the leader of human civilisation. We can’t help but wish him the very best in his ambitious endeavour.

Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd

Induz Organic

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[misalpav]

what does op even mean by "maybe bc I'm south Indian"??? I'm a Telugu woman, and just do the bare minimum research of south Indian temples too and you'll see how vastly different they can be. Hampi's Vijaya Vitthala temple, Tirupati's Venkateshwara Swami temple, Warangal's 1000 Pillars temple, Srirangam's Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple, etc. are all examples of how even south India's temples can vary even if they are in similar Dravidian styles bc of influences from different people/dynasties and new technologies (even gopurams can look vastly different. in fact, look at some Dravidian style temples in Kerala) so no, you cannot generalize every temple of south India as similar to another bc that's exactly a part of the beauty of the concept of temples in a culture like Sanatana Dharma in such a large region like India and the larger Aryavarta.

This temple is built in Ayodhya meaning yes it will have Awadhi/Nagara style architecture, just like many temples of Telangana are found in late Chalukyan/early Kakatiya styles and Tamilian ones in Chola styles, and it's clearly not out of the blue if you look at other Nagara style temples. As @rhysaka already mentioned, Khajuraho another beautiful temple in the Nagara style and another one I think is a little more similar to Ram Mandir is Puri Jagannath temple which was built using the architectural style of a subclass of Nagara style. They didn't choose against the styles of Badrinath and Tirupati - they chose something that's a better homage to the region they're in.

Like every art, people do have the right to dislike architecture so I won't attack that - you have a right to your opinion - but what I will say is there was no reason to make this North vs. South. Considering how they've grown in such different ways over time, obviously the architectural influences are going to change immensely. Also, the flare up recently in respect to preserving regional customs and languages (while providing more credit and exposure to non-Bollywood media/film) was something I've supported BUT I draw my line when you begin to attack north India's different history/traditions, because the goal here is equality of the languages, cultures, and customs. I didn't think it would ever come to this "South better than North" or vice versa thing and its absolutely ridiculous.

I'm not going to lie, I'm also slightly ticked by the mention of American temples not because I think they're necessarily better or comparable in brilliance to India's, but as a diaspora, we are trying and if you can't encourage us to keep our cultures alive in every way we can at least don't diss us for it? Not long ago, we couldn't say we had any temple remotely as big as the ones in India but now the second largest Hindu temple in the world is a BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Jersey and we've even managed to diversify the architecture inspired by different styles, so if you look at Pennsylvania's Venkateshwara Swami Temple, Malibu's Hindu Temple, or Dallas's Karyasiddhi Hanuman temple, they may not be the biggest or prettiest temples ever but there are Dravidian style gopurams. As a minority in the US, we've worked on putting together the money for these temples to exist and run and they've formed communities of Desis that helps us whenever we miss home.

maybe it's because i'm south indian, and the temples down there are spectacular, even excluding the horrific nature of the creation of this temple (which should NEVER be excluded or forgotten about) i cannot accept the new ram mandir. it looks so weird. who designed this. i'm pretty religious, and any place where god lies must be treated well and given respect, but this place looks so bland. no pizzazz. it looks like the temples built in america.

[ginazmemeoir]

ok so i realized i haven’t made a mythology post in a loooooooooooooooooong time, so here you go with a comparative analysis of the representation of Shurpanakha in modern Indian literature.

Now, Shurpanakha (lit. She who is as sharp as nails) was the sister of the Emperor of Lanka, Ravan. Originally born as the beautiful Meenakshi (lit. She with eyes shaped like fish), there have been many speculations as to why her named was thus changed. For this analysis, I will be comparing her character in four books : Asura by Ananda Neelkanthan, Lanka’s Princess by Kavita Kane, Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Raavan : Enemy of Aryavarta by Amish Tripathi.

We will first be approaching Asura, which was the first one released. The book is controversial enough on its own for portraying the villains of the epic Ramayana as the actual good guys (this is actually the author’s writing style). Now, the Shurpanakha here is shown as Meenakshi : the book describes how she flirted with Rama, but was instead raped by both Rama and Lakshamana. The metaphor of  “having one’s nose cut” has been taken both literally and figuratively, as Lakshamana then proposes to disfigure Shurpanakha by cutting off her nose and ears. This Shurpanakha, is polar to the one we know - innocent and “pure”, and thus much less believable.

The Shurpanakha in Forest of Enchantments is portayed as Kamarupini - she with a lustful form. Shurpanakha is shown as a free roaming forest spirit, who originally interacts with Sita frankly as a woman. Later she flirts with both the princes. When she realizes that they are toying with her by telling her to go to the other repeatedly, she rushes to kill Sita and is then disfigured by Lakshamana by having her nose and ears chopped off. This Shurpanakha, later, ridicules Sita in Lanka. Although she is scarcely mentioned, this Shurpanakha is much more relatable, however not entirely.

Amish in his book has portrayed Shurpanakha entirely as the monster the Ramayana depicts her as. This Shurpanakha however : IS A GREEK PRINCESS. That’s right, in this narrative Shurpanakha is the child Raavana’s father has with the Queen of Knossos along with Vibhishana. Both are originally Greek royalty. This Shurpanakha fits the physical appearance of the Ramayana : overtly sexualized and accentuated features. She is an active part of Ravana’s political ambitions, but craves power for herself too. An entirely different character, this Shurpanakha is intriguing, and relatable.

However, the Shurpanakha in Kane’s book, is human. Maybe because the book revolves entirely around her, Kane shows her transition : from Meenakshi to Shurpanakha. She is described as having a neglected, abusive childhood, wherein she learns to fend for herself at quite an early age with Ravana as her brother. The only two characters who she actually considers family are her brother Kumbhakarna and her maternal grandmother, the yaksha princess Taraka. As Meenakshi grows older, she finds herself more and more aloof from her family. She finds love and acceptance in her husband Vidyutjihva, the king of the Kalakeyas. She wilfully ignores all the rumours about her husband which actually turn out to be true : he was partly using her to gain access to his enemy Ravan, and he was also a notorious man whore. Shurpanakha refuses to believe all this, and gets insane after Ravan kills her husband. Kane here uses the version wherein Shurpanakha starts the war for her own revenge - and that’s what precisely happens. The narrative of the original Ramayana is followed with an additional element : Shurpanakha here sows a seed of doubt in Sita’s mind, stating that both her husband and her brother were attracted to her and were thus infuriated at themselves and at her. Shurpanakha is unable to let go of her revenge and then further reaches Ayodhya to ruin Sita’s life. It is only after she envisions her happily married life in Lakshamana and Urmila that she goes calm, and then commits suicide by drowning in the Lankan sea.

Overall, I prefer the representation given to Shurpanakha in Lanka’s Princess. Her character has completely been justified, and given the space that this complex character of one of the grandest epics of the world truly deserved.

P.S. - if you haven’t read any of these books : THEN GO READ THEM BITCH WHAT ARE YOU DOING??

tagging : @amandaanubis @wannabe-santiago @aadya-said-chal-be @psycho-mocha @kuuhakublank00 @dragonfairy1231

[raat-jaaga-paakhi]

I guess it’s somewhat well-known that the historical period smack in the middle of the pioneering Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) i.e. the “First Urbanisation” and the Mahajanapada period, the “Second Urbanisation” is a shadowed region, dubbed the “dark age” by many. The historicity of the Vedic period that claims to have filled in this blank is never fully clear and the Aryan Invasion/Migration that was wrongly hypothesised in colonial India to have wiped out the IVC and replaced it with an “Aryan” society, only makes it worse. 

I have been researching wildly since the dawn of May as my friends might have noticed (perhaps to distract myself from actually writing the stuff I want to), and in my...quest, I came across a book recommendation “The Greatest Farce of History” that passionately attempts to straighten out a few things. I gave a quick read and found it immensely compelling and in tune with my own beliefs (which was very gratifying). The author, in his ardent conviction, does repeat the same points quite often, but he gets his words across. It fits so well, it’s kind of frightening, and in light of his book, I read Romila Thapar ma’am’s works and I am now blown off. Basically, we know nothing, and the government’s disposition towards our history (and I am not only speaking of our current govt.) doesn’t help things as well. 

Just saying.