Andal, the One-of-a-Kind Azhwar!

Someone who is engrossed in bhakti with the omnipresent one is termed as Azhwar in Tamil. Among the 11 male azhwars, she is the only one who is female.

Background: Andal, also known as "Godai" or "Mother Earth's Gift," was discovered by a pious brahmin named Vishnucittar, who lived in Villiputtur, a town near Madurai, while doing his daily chores of procuring flowers for the Lord's devotion at the local temple.

"Godai" grew up in a loving and devotional home. Godha grew up listening to Krishna's stories and participating in all of her father's pastimes, such as collecting flowers, Tulasi, and weaving magnificent garlands for Vatapathrasayee, the Lord of Villiputtur.

Her head was full of Krishna-related thoughts from the beginning of her developing stage, and she was completely enamored with him.

She made up her mind to marry Vatapathrasayee even as a youngster, refusing to think of any other human being in the same way. She envisioned what it would be like to be His spouse, playing the role of His beloved and enjoying His presence, such was her love for the Lord.

Did you know about Mahameghavahana Kharavela?

We all know that Odisha was once called ‘Kalinga’ but most people are not aware about Aira Maharaja Mahameghavahana Kharavela was one of the greatest kings of ancient India.

He was the first great historical sovereign of ancient Kalinga who belonged to the soil and styled himself as Chetaraja-Vamsa Vardhana, and Kalingadhipati.
In history, it says that he owned many propitious signs on his body and was gifted with many qualities.

At the age of 15,Kharavela became the Yuvaraja, or Crown Prince,to understand the burden of royal responsibilities. By that time he was already skilled in five main subjects,namely,Lekha or Writing, Rupa or Coinage, Ganana or Arithmetic, Vyavahara or Law, and Vidhi or procedure.

Kharavela worked as the Crown Prince for nine years and later after completion of the 24 years of his life, he was crowned as the king of Kalinga. He then began his marvellous rule as the king belonging to the third generation of his royal dynasty.

He worked for the stability of his capital city Kalinganagari as the capital was earlier damaged by a severe storm that required repair and construction. In the first year, he repaired the gates, fortifications, and the structures of the fort of Kalinganagari.

पाटण की रानी #रुदाबाई जिसने सुल्तान बेघारा के सीने को फाड़ कर 👉#दिल निकाल लिया था, और कर्णावती शहर के बिच में टांग दिया था, ओर
👉धड से #सर अलग करके पाटन राज्य के बीचोबीच टांग दिया था।

गुजरात से कर्णावती के राजा थे, #राणा_वीर_सिंह_वाघेला (#सोलंकी), ईस राज्य ने कई (1/9)l

तुर्क हमले झेले थे, पर कामयाबी किसी को नहीं मिली। सुल्तान बेघारा ने सन् 1497 पाटण राज्य पर हमला किया राणा वीर सिंह वाघेला के पराक्रम के सामने सुल्तान बेघारा की 40000 से अधिक संख्या की फ़ौज 2 घंटे से ज्यादा टिक नहीं पाई, सुल्तान बेघारा जान बचाकर भागा।

असल मे कहते है (2/9)

सुलतान बेघारा की नजर रानी रुदाबाई पे थी, रानी बहुत सुंदर थी, वो रानी को युद्ध मे जीतकर अपने हरम में रखना चाहता था। सुलतान ने कुछ वक्त बाद फिर हमला किया।

राज्य का एक साहूकार इस बार सुलतान बेघारा से जा मिला, और राज्य की सारी गुप्त सूचनाएं सुलतान को दे दी। इस बार युद्ध मे (3/9)

राणा वीर सिंह वाघेला को सुलतान ने छल से हरा दिया जिससे राणा वीर सिंह उस युद्ध मे वीरगति को प्राप्त हुए।

सुलतान बेघारा रानी रुदाबाई को अपनी वासना का शिकार बनाने हेतु राणा जी के महल की ओर 10000 से अधिक लश्कर लेकर पंहुचा। रानी रूदा बाई के पास शाह ने अपने दूत के जरिये (4/9)

निकाह प्रस्ताव रखा।

रानी रुदाबाई ने महल के ऊपर छावणी बनाई थी जिसमे 2500 धर्धारी वीरांगनाये थी, जो रानी रूदा बाई का इशारा पाते ही लश्कर पर हमला करने को तैयार थी, सुलतान बेघारा को महल द्वार के अन्दर आने का न्यौता दिया गया।

सुल्तान बेघारा वासना मे अंधा होकर वैसा ही किया (5/9)

🌺आचमन क्या है और इसे तीन बार ही क्यों किया जाता है ?🌺

पूजा, यज्ञ आदि आरंभ करने से पूर्व शुद्धि के लिए मंत्र पढ़ते हुए जल पीना ही आचमन कहलाता है। इससे मन और हृदय की शुद्धि होती है।

धर्मग्रंथों में तीन बार आचमन करने के संबंध में कहा गया है।

प्रथमं यत् पिवति तेन ऋग्वेद प्रीणाति। यद् द्वितीयं तेन यजुर्वेदं प्रीणाति यद् तृतीयं तेन सामवेदं प्रीणाति॥

अर्थात् तीन बार आचमन करने से तीनों वेद यानी-ऋग्वेद,यजुर्वेद,सामवेद प्रसन्न होकर सभी मनोकामनाएं पूर्ण करते हैं।
मनु महाराज के मतानुसार
त्रिराचामेदपः पूर्वम्।
-मनुस्मृति2/60

अर्थात् सबसे पहले तीन बार आचमन करना चाहिए। इससे कंठशोषण दूर होकर, कफ़ निवृत्ति के कारण श्वसन क्रिया में व मंत्रोच्चारण में शुद्धता आती है। इसीलिए प्रत्येक धार्मिक कृत्य के शुरू में और संध्योपासन के मध्य बीच-बीच में अनेक बार तीन की संख्या में आचमन का विधान बनाया गया है।

इसके अलावा यह भी माना जाता है कि इससे कायिक, मानसिक और वाचिक तीनों प्रकार के पापों की निवृत्ति होकर न दिखने वाले फल की प्राप्ति होती है।

अंगूठे के मूल में ब्रह्मतीर्थ, कनिष्ठा के मूल प्रजापत्यतीर्थ, अंगुलियों के अग्रभाग में देवतीर्थ, तर्जनी और अंगूठे के बीच पितृतीर्थ और

हाथ के मध्य भाग में सौम्यतीर्थ होता है, जो देवकर्म में प्रशस्त माना गया है। आचमन हमेशा ब्रह्मतीर्थ से करना चाहिए। आचमन करने से पहले अंगुलियां मिलाकर एकाग्रचित्त यानी एकसाथ करके पवित्र जल से बिना शब्द किए 3 बार आचमन करने से महान फल मिलता है। आचमन हमेशा 3 बार करना चाहिए।

As per Shaktism, Adi Parashakti appeared as Divine Pure Eternal Consciousness i.e. Shoonya Bindu, the divine zero feminine energy, which then expresses itself as Prakriti (Universal Nature). Hence Adi Parashakti is Parama Prakriti.
@LostTemple7 @IndiaTales7

Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari, the goddess of power, is considered as her Saguna Svarupa (Manifested form) i.e. Lalita Tripura Sundari is the truest material form of the Goddess, possessing the three qualities (satva, rajas and tamas).

However, the Goddess Adi Parashakti is also considered to be the truly supreme spirit without form (Param Atman). She is the Great Goddess, and therefore the source of all other goddesses. She is supreme and regarded as the “Absolute Truth” in Shaktism.

Maharana Kumbha : The Unsung Rajput Warrior
(A Thread)

Born in the glorious line of Sisodiya Rajputs. He ascended the throne in 1433 and immediately started military operations.

In 1437 he defeated Sultan of Malwa and routed his entire army.
This was the most disgraceful defeat of khilji.

For a brief period of time he had some conflicts with Rao Jodha and captured Marwar. Completely placing it under his control.

However 7 yrs later Rao Jodha recovered from the loss of Marwar and made peace with Maharana.

#Thread 1/n...
The Indigenous People of Erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is a graphical representation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir made by Arsalan Khan and Rajja Sourav Singh Sarmal.

@LostTemple7
@desi_thug1
@VertigoWarrior

2/n..
A brief description of each by me to help in better understanding (Clockwise from top)

The Hunza : The Hunza or the Burusho people inhabit the Hunza Valley and neighboring Valleys in the extreme North of the state. They speak the

3/n..
Burushaski language which as a language has not been identified with any language Group. The Hunzai now mostly follow different schools of Islam.

The Baltis : The Baltis are the inhabitants of the Baltistan and are of Tibetan origin with Dardic admix.

4/n..
Their language is Balti, which is a part of the Tibetan language Group. Infact it has the greatest similarity to old Tibetan. The Baltis follow Islam.

The Ladakhis : The Ladakhis are the inhabitants of the Ladakh region and are of Tibetan descent.

5/n...
The Ladakhi language is from the Tibetan family. Ladakhis are Buddhists as well as Muslim.

The Kargilis : The Kargilis or the Purigpas as they are called inhabit the Western part of Ladakh at the crossroads with Baltistan and Kashmir. Their language Purigi is a dialect of

Over-reaction - thy name is Media
Omicron, a novel coronavirus subtype first discovered in South Africa, has sparked worldwide worry. It sent stock markets throughout the world on a roller-coaster trip, prompted fresh air travel bans, and raised other issues. 1/n @ShefVaidya

However, when we go through all of these procedures, we begin to worry that we are "over-reacting" rather than responding to the circumstance. 2/n @UshaNirmala

Let us begin by reading what the WHO has to say about this new variety. The first heading was "Transmissibility." "Whether Omicron is more transmissible," it explained, "is not yet evident." 3/n

It went on to say, "Disease severity." "Effectiveness of vaccines: WHO is working with technical partners to evaluate the possible impact of this variation on our existing countermeasures," said the WHO. In other words, we know essentially little about the key parameters. 4/n

Later on, it was also reported that this new variation is quick to spread yet less deadly than previous forms. The effect on those who have been properly vaccinated is essentially non-existent.5/n @ShriguruPawanji

Did you know?

The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans at 4 degrees, which is less in comparison to the 9 degree tilt of the Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple. Yet, this Leaning Temple of Varanasi has been lost in anonymity and not known in the world as widely as Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Forget the world, it's not even known in India. This is called the Peak of Hypocrisy.

Ratneshwar temple near Manikarnika Ghat, is also called Kashi Karvat. It means a temple in Kashi, which leans ( karvat) to one side.

The story behind its tilted nature is quite interesting.

There is a legend surrounding the origin of this temple, which states that it was built by a certain servant of Raja Man Singh for his mother, named Ratna Bai. Once the temple was built, the man proudly declared that he had paid the debt to his mother.

Much to his shock, as soon as these words escaped his lips, the temple started tilting backwards (north-west) to show that the debt to one’s mother can never be paid. The sanctum sanctorum of this shrine remains under Ganga water for most of the year.

Reportedly,Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple has a higher tilt than Italy’s famous Leaning Tower of Pisa built in1173. As the story behind the tilted nature of this Italian monument goes,the ground to its one side had started sinking under the weight of the stones after its construction.

🇮🇳 lost heroes

In Punjab, among those who are aware of the history of revolutionary movement against the British Empire, the names of 3 Maharashtrian men are taken with special respect.

Savarkar, Rajguru & the generally little-known martyr, Vishnu Ganesh Pingale.

1/

Actually, Pingale was one of those who had inspired Bhagat Singh, as Bhagat Singhji's diaries show.

Pingale was born on Jan 2, 1889 in Maharashtra & was hanged to death at Lahore on Nov 16, 1915.

2/

Along with Lala Hardayal, and Dr.  Khankhoje, he formed a revolutionary organization in the US, called the 'Ghadar Party'.

A man with great organisational skills, intelligence, & dynamism apart from his native Marathi, he had mastered Hindi, English, Urdu and Punjabi.

3/

While at school, dressed as a Sadhu, Pingale had traveled all over India. This art of disguise later became very useful to him as a revolutionary.

He earned a mechanical engineering degree while in the US.

4/

As the 1st World War raged,Pingale came to India with the aim of liberating the country through armed revolution

He traveled throughout the Punjab region & met various revolutionaries.
He further traveled to Calcutta, Benaras & other places inviting people to join the revolution

1/

#Thread on Shivkar Bapuji Talpade

How many of us have heard of this man?

Why did he die an unknown death despite being a genius?

Were we ever told about him in the school?

Check out this video for more

2/

Rishi Bharadwaj, one of the Saptarishis, dealt with “The Science of Aeronautics” in work called “Yantrasarvasva” in 8 chapters, 100 subject heads comprising of 500 Sutras and 3000 shlokas.

3/

Shivkar Bapuji Talpade got fascinated by the Vaimanika Shastra flew an unmanned aircraft successfully in 1885, 8 years before the Wright Brothers.

He named this aircraft as Marut Sakha. Marut = wind and Sakha = Friend. "The Friend of Winds".

4/

Around 3000 people witnessed this at Bombay Chowpatty and famous people like the Maharaja of Baroda was also present there.

His aircraft flew at a height of 1500 ft whereas the aircraft designed by Wright Brothers flew only to a height of 120 ft.

5/

The British were so disappointed with this that they stopped everyone from helping Talpade financially and had threatened to take the kingdom of Baroda if the Maharaja of Baroda did so.

🌺A STORY FROM SHIVA PURANA , WHERE A GAMBLER ATTAINS SHIVALOKA 🌺

There used to live a man by the name Yagyadutt in Kampilyanagar, who was proficient in the performance of Somyagya. He had a son named Gunanidhi.

Though he was a scholar but at the same time he was irreligious & kept bad company. He indulged in evil activities like gambling.

His father-Yagyadutt was unaware of his evil activities. Whenever he asked his wife about Gunanidhi's habits & conduct,his wife used to tell lies.

Thus Gunamidhi's condition became worst day by days.

Yagyadutt married Gunanidhi with a girl belonging to a well to do family. But his habits had not changed.His mother tried her best to make him understand,but it was of no use.

One day Yagydut saw a gambler wearing his ring.

He asked him about that ring. Gambler told him that his son Gunanidhi had lost it to him in gamble.He also informed him that he had also lost numerous ornaments&other properties in the gamble.

Yagydut became very angry & married with another woman after abandoning his wife&son.

When Gunanidhi came to know about his father's second marriage,he moved to another place,cursing his fate.He kept on walking till he became tired.He sat under a tree&started thinking about his further course of action.His heart was full of remorse&he repented for his past actions

Read #ThreadTweet to understand The #Constitution_Of_India and #Indira

Original Constitution was decorated by Ramayana & Mahabharata.

Artwork depicting ShriRam most apt choice for Constitution was adopted, then task of hand writing and exquisite art work by artists
@LostTemple7

under Nandalal Bose, Shantiniketan.

The Art work of Preamble was done by Ram Manohar Sinha.

The arduous task hand written document of 395 Articles & 12 Schedules by Calligraphist P B Narayan Raizada.

In the Original Constitution of India 'Secular and Socialist"
@iSinghApurva

was not,later was add during emergency by Indira.

»Constitution decoration
Part I: Decoration Mohenjodaro Zebu Bull Seal
Part II: Scene of Vedic Asram (Gurukul)
Part III: The Ramayana (Conquest of Lanka & recovery of Sita)
Part IV: The Mahabharata (SriKrishna Gita to Arjuna)...

Part V: Buddha's life
Part VI: Mahavir's life
Part VII: The spread of Buddhism by Emperor Asoka in India and abroad
Part VIII: Gupta Dynasty's Art
Part IX: Maharaja Vikramaditya's Court
Part X: Depicting Nalanda University

Part XI: Orissan Sculptures
Part XII: Nataraja (Mahadev)

Part XIII: Mahabalipuram sculptures (Bhaghirath's penance & descent of Ganga)
Part XIV: Portrait of Akbar 😡 (must be replaced with Maharana Pratap)
Part XV: Portraits of Shivaji & Guru Govind Singh
Part XVI: Portraits of Lakshmi Bai & Tipu Sultan
Part XVII: Gandhi Dandi March

🌺Do you know the great King of Bahraich named Suheldev?
Here's his story.🌺

The Ghznavid invasions had crippled India like no other invasion ever before. Mahmud of Ghzni was perhaps one of the first invaders to actually dent the strong Indian defences after alexander the great.

But ultimately he couldn’t follow up with the empire as his kingdom stopped at the north western region of India.

His nephew, Salar Masud would go on to continue his dream of raiding and plundering India every single year.

As a young upstart, Salar showed ferocity just like his uncle while his martial fervour eclipsed even that of his warrior ancestors.

At a young age of 16 he led his army to capture various parts of northern India including Ajmer and Delhi by the help of the Ghaznavid Army.

His eastward expansion continued till he reached the region of Bahraich.

Throughout his journey, the bardic tales states that he plundered temples and monasteries, showing to the populace how weak their local rulers were.

But this king of Shravastavi was different.

Suheldev was the valiant son of Mordhwaj and a very just ruler.

He was the one who united all the northern kingdoms under one rule to oppose the oncoming assault.

शिवरात्रि पर महाकाल मंदिर का नजारा ही अलग होता है। देश के कोने-कोने से श्रद्धालु यहां आते हैं। महादेव की पूजा के साथ ही गौतम बुद्ध की भी उपासना करते हैं।
आइए जानते हैं क्‍या है इसके पीछे की कहानी?

महाकाल मंदिर में विराजते हैं शिव और बुद्ध। दार्जीलिंग की वादियों में ‘होली हिल’ के नाम से प्रसिद्ध स्‍थान पर स्‍थापित है महाकाल मंदिर। यहां हिंदू और बौद्ध धर्म के अनुयायी एक साथ पूजा-अर्चना करते हैं। दो धर्मों को जोड़ने वाला यह अद्भुत मंदिर है।

महाकाल मंदिर में शिव जी और गौतम बुद्ध के अलावा छोटे-छोटे और भी मंदिर हैं। इनमें गणेश जी, काली माता, मां भगवती और हनुमान जी की प्रतिमाएं स्‍थापित हैं। इसके अलावा यहां पर एक गुफा भी है जहां बौद्ध धर्म के अनुयायी प्रार्थना करते हैं।

महाकाल मंदिर में प्रवेश करते ही स्‍वर्ग जैसी अनुभूति होने लगती है। दार्जीलिंग की खूबसूरत वादियों के बीच बसे इस बेहतरीन मंदिर को देखकर लगता है प्रकृति इसपर पूरी तरह मेहरबान है।

यहां प्रवेश द्वार पर लगे घंटें और बौद्ध धर्म के प्रतीक फ्लैग संगीत, धर्म और सुंदरता का अनुपम उदाहरण है।

मंदिर के मध्‍य भाग में बसते हैं भोलेनाथ
महाकाल मंदिर हिंदू ऑर्किटेक्‍चर का बेहतरीन उदारण है। गोलाकार में निर्मित इस मंदिर के मध्‍य भाग में शिवलिंग है।

make a knot

Whatever action you take, it is motivated by a want and your comprehension of that goal.

Krishna did not amend Arjuna's action when he did not lift the bow. Krishna clarifies his point of view.

@SanggitaT @Indigen_Apsara

Arjuna's heart swelled with passion with that realisation, and he picked up the bow.

This is quite useful in the workplace.

@Madhavi57993082

Never use spell check if you're mentoring someone. The focus should be on the process of thought.

You can get an MBA in the United States or anyplace else in the world, but all they teach you is how to spell check.

GITA is the best school to learn management.

@IndiGenBharat

ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணனின் சேர்த்தியே வணங்கிட உன்னதமானது.

#முமுக்ஷுப்படி என்னும் வைணவ வியாக்கியான க்ரந்தங்களில் 'ஆக இச்சேர்த்தி உத்தேச்யமாய் விட்டது' என்ற ஒரு சூர்ணை (குறிப்பு) உள்ளது. இதன் பொருள் தாயாருடன் எம்பெருமானின் சேர்க்கையே உன்னத நோக்கம் நிறைந்தது.
@ramapriya1989 @CVeeraraghavan

இதற்கு விளக்கம் தந்த பூர்வாசிரியர்கள், 'இவர்களை தனித்தனியே பிரித்து விரும்புகை உத்தேச்யமன்று என்றபடி, இருவரையும் பிரித்து விரும்பினால் ராவணன் சூர்ப்பனைகளுக்குப் போலே அநர்த்தமே பலிக்கும் இத்தனை. இருவரையும் பற்றினாலிரே ஸ்ரீ விபீஷணனைப் போலே வாழலாவது'+

- எம்பெருமானையும் தாயாரையும் பிரித்து வழிபடுதலோ விரும்புதலோ உசிதம் அன்று.

சூர்ப்பனகை ராமனையும், இராவணன் சீதையையும் பிரித்து விரும்பியதாலேயே அழிந்து போனார்கள். திவ்ய தம்பதிகள் இருவரையும் சேர்த்து விரும்பிய விபீஷண ஆழ்வானுக்கு நல் வாழ்வு கிடைத்தது.

சில விமர்சகர்கள் மேற்சொன்ன வியாக்கியான விளக்கத்தில் சந்தேகம் எழுப்பினார்கள். சூர்ப்பனகை மற்றும் ராவணனுடைய, தாயாரையும் பெருமானையும் பிரித்து விரும்புகை, அவர்களின் தகாத காம நோக்கத்தால் ஏற்பட்டவை. அதனால் அவர்கள் அழிந்து போனார்கள்.

தாயாரையோ எம்பிரானையோ எவரும் பிரத்யேகமாக எவரோ ஒருவரை மட்டும் விரும்பி வணங்கிடுதல் தவறோ?

தம்மை நாயகியாகக் கற்பித்துக் கொண்டு நாயிகா பாவனையில் எம்பிரானை வாழ்த்திப் பாடிய ஆழ்வார்களை உள்ளடக்கிய பக்திக் கூட்டம் எம்பிரானை மட்டும் நாயகனாக வரித்து வணங்கிடுவதில் தவறென்னவோ?

India is my name.

I am the India that has never named one of its sons Dushasan because he insulted a woman in the last five thousand years.

I am the India that never names its children Ravana, Kansha, or Karna since they have a history of misbehaving with women.

Even after the death of her hundred boys, a Gandhari does not become enraged with Draupadi but instead asks for forgiveness for her sons' rudeness.

In India, 91% of rapists are forced to leave their town, and they are pushed by none other than their own family members.

When a regular Indian father gets upset, he may kick his son, but he never slaps his daughter.

I am India, where a typical father spends his entire life's earnings on making his daughter's world a joyful one.

I am Lakshmi, and my daughters are Lakshmi as well.

I am India, where a father's heart beats for his sons and his soul beats for his daughters.

Modern ills resulting from the transition of rudeness in civilization may have extinguished the hue of joy associated with the birth of daughters, but the father is still the happiest when his daughter smiles.