Natya sastram

Natya Shastra, The Natya Shastra of Bharata is the main dramatic theory of the Sanskrit drama. The venerable sage, Bharata Muni wrote the Natya Shastra of Bharata. The Natya Shastra of Bharata outlines the rules of writing and performing music, dance and theatre. The Natya Shastra of Bharata originally dealt with the stagecraft. It subsequently cast its influence on literature, dance and music as well. The Natya Shastra of Bharata consists of 6000 verse stanzas and the whole text is written in Sanskrit. The Natya Shastra of Bharat is also known as the fifth Veda owing to its immense importance
According to the Natya Shastra by Sage Bharatha, Nritta, Nrithya and Natya are the three aspects of dance.
Nritta means pure and simple dance. This involves movements of the body and limbs, for a decorative effect, without conveying any meaning.
Nrithya lays emphasis of expressions, to convey the meaning of the rendering. Nrithya involves facial expressions, gestures and symbolic poses.
Natya includes drama through the use of spoken word, apart from Nritta and Nrithya.

samudrika sastra-the science of body language

Nadi jyotish

Did a seer from India recorded your Past, Present and Future 2000 year ago?
Can you believe that someone in India is storing records of your entire life cycle ie. your past, present and future, hard to believe but Yes, this is called Nadi Astrology. Nadi is an ancient astrology, which has been composed by great Maharishis (sages) of India in the past using their spiritual powers. The sages recorded these predictions for every individuals for the betterment of humanity and to safeguard dharma (righteousness). These sages predicted the characteristics, family history, as well as the careers of innumerable individuals contain in several thousand volumes, each containing around a hundred predictions. These Nadi prediction recordings, being the repository of wisdom of the Great Saint was one of the well preserved books for thousands of years by the many generations of rulers, until an auction during the British rule, when it finally became the proud possession of an influential family of Valluvar community at Vaitheeswarankoil in the Tanjore district of Tamilnadu.
The Rishis (sages), who dictated those Nadis, were gifted with such a remarkable foresight that they accurately foretold the entire future of all mankind. Many scholars in different parts of India have in their safekeeping several granthas. Initially, Nadi Astrology predictions was thought to be just writing on Astrology, but soon it became evident that the scriptures contained some unique predictions of specific natives, who will come seeking them, at a particular stage of their lifetime, as foretold by the Great Saint in these predictions.
This great work makes us realize the limitations of human sciences. That great compilation predicting the future of all human beings born or yet to be born, eclipses the achievements of all other sciences put together. These predictive texts also contain a chapter recommending certain Pilgrimages or prayers, worship and charities at specific shrines, to neutralize ones past sins.

History of Nadi Astrology

The source point of Nadi Astrology leaves can be traced back to approximately more then 2000 years. It is said that the Seven Maharishis (sages) Agasthya, Kausika, Vyasa, BoharBrigu, Vasishtha and Valmiki had predicted and then written life of each individual on leaves of a palm tree by their spiritual powers. These Nadi leaves were initially stored in the premises of Tanjore Saraswati Mahal of Tamilnadu State in India. The British rulers later showed interest in the Nadi leaves concerned with herbs and medicine, future prediction etc; but ironically left most of the Nadi prediction leaves to their loyal people. Some leaves get destroyed and some very auctioned during the British rule. Some Nadi leaves were anyhow possessed by the families of astrologers in Vaitheeswarankoil from Tanjore Saraswati Mahal Library. At about 13th century these leaves were rediscovered by the forefathers which were lying unclaimed in Vaitheeswarankoil and realized their tremendous value and created the copies of the predictions on the palm leafs and created them their exact duplicates. Then these Nadi leaves were passed down from generation to generation make predictions, astrologers earn their lively hood from them. It has become profession which was provided by their ancestors to them, the son got trained by his father and the father by his father to make Nadi predictions. The prediction written on the leaf is in ancient Tamil in form of poems, same as language used in ancient temple of Tamilnadu.

somanath temple,gujarat

Khajuraho Temple,Madhya Pradesh

sun temple,konark,orissa

saraswati mahal library-thanjavur,tamilnadu

The Sarasvati Mahal Library has a rich collection of Tamil manuscripts. Second part in the series.
WELL-PRESERVED: Manuscripts of Sangam age.
The Tamil manuscript section of the Sarasvati Mahal Library, Thanjavur, comprises more than 3,000 manuscripts. Several of these deal with medical practices based on observations of the hospital Raja Serfoji established. Many others are those with rare commentaries of ancient Tamil works on religion and philosophy.
A rare treasure that shows the privileged status women enjoyed is the commentary on Saint Nammazhwar's Thiruvaimozhi written by Koneri Dasi, a Devadasi presumably from Kumbakonam.
Religion and philosophy are well represented with several versions of famous epics and myths as well as works on the main schools of Hindu philosophy. Several of these have rare commentaries and are the only ones of their kind. Ancient Tamil poetry and grammar of the Sangam Age are also well represented.
On astrology
Among the most fascinating of the works on astrology are the several versions of the Pakshi Sastram. The treatise tells us we should begin a task to see it bear fruit. If you are hesitant to carry a thick palm leaf bundle with you as a ready reckoner, never fear, there is an ancient edition that fits neatly in your palm!
The logic is fairly elementary. Based on natal asterism (birth star, e.g. Pooram or Vishakam), the individual is assigned to one among the five birds — the Owl, Crow, Peacock, Cock and Vulture (bird of prey). Each bird has, depending on the phase of the moon, different time slots when the person belonging to the bird group is, sleeping/eating or fully awake. Using this, a person must ensure when his opponent is sleeping and catch him unawares.
A rare work on astrology that is much more complex is the Jain work, "Jinendramalai." This work offers extensive tips on making predictions not only for humans but also for animals.
While manuscripts with commentaries for the ancient classics are aplenty, the later period literature is confined largely to the Maratha rule. Sarabhedra Bhoopala Kuravanji is of particular interest, for this genre of music-drama is among the few if not the only one written on a human. The Kuravanji gives us a fascinating glimpse of life in the king's times. Another drama with a strong music emphasis is the Vellai Pillayar Kuram of circa 1650.
The hero of this story it the deity of the Vellai Pillayar temple in Thanjavur and the gypsy in a song lists the various fruits and trees she has seen on the way and mentions even a tomato! Proudly describing the prosperity she sings, "Groves of sugarcane vie for space with banana groves,
INSIDE THE LIBRARY: Access to rare documents.
The waters of the Kaveri lash the banks in the Chola country, Coconut trees bend down with the weight of their fruits,
The teeming fish in the large ponds have no space to swim!"
In the final song, she praises the different castes of the town, the peace that prevails and hopes that name of the hero will live through music and the great acts he has done.
Not all plays extol good times. An 1876 famine is the inspiration for the `Thathu Varushathu Kummi.' Treatises on dance are represented by Bharatasastram.
Healing
Medical treatises include those for Siddha systems, comprising 18 volumes. Snake bites and scorpion bites as well as more complex diseases are treated. A remarkable set among the 1697 manuscripts is one that is written based on the actual treatment of patients in the Dhanvanthri Mahal or hospital established by Raja Serfoji.
The hospital seems to have been one of his primary interests. His case notes, especially on optical surgeries and diagnoses, are on display at the museum attached to the library.
Medications were not restricted to humans. Cows and horses were also taken care of. There is a mention of the remedy after a description of the symptoms. One of the preparations for cows is a mixture of the leaves of cotton plant and a particular variety of freshwater fish.

Dwaraka -under water

Dwarka (Dvarka, Dwaraka, or Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality located in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat state in India). Dwarka also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area. According to Hindu legend the god Krishna built a city which was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels. Now archaeologists and Indian Navy divers are investigating underwater ruins at Dwarka on India’s western coast, said to be Krishna’s city. The new efforts, it is hoped, will settle the debate currently raging over the age and authenticity of the site near the Samudranaraya temple. Divers have collected blocks and samples which will now be dated. Traditional Hindu scholars referencing ancient Hindu scriptures believe the location to be very ancient, originally built many thousands of years ago. Such notions are, of course, vehemently rejected by establishment scientists though they are willing to concede that there is evidence indicating an age of as much as 3500 years. Of course the date when the city was destroyed would be long after the date of its inception, so a definitive maximum date has not been established. The new study is expected to resolve some of the issues. Archaeologists will now use the carbon dating technique to determine the exact age of the ruins. The earlier excavations, that first began about 40 years ago, had only revealed stones, beads, glass and terracotta pieces.


“The operations resulted in retrieval of wooden block from a submerged circular structure. The blocks were joined so well with the help of wooden dowels and nails that they remained in situ despite heavy surfs and strong currents for a long period,” said

Alok Tripathi, Superindenting Archaeologist of the Underwater Archaeology Wing of the Archaeological Survey of India who is also an expert diver. The samples of the excavation have been brought to the capital and shall soon be given for lab testing. Though there had been previous excavations, each cited different dates and were based on the interpretations of scholars as there was no material evidence to back those claims.
Another Submerged Wall That Have Been Found The first excavation in Dwarka, carried out by the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune and the Department of Archaeology, Government of Gujarat in 1963, had revealed artefacts that were 2000 years old. Several other excavations followed, all revealing different artefacts and to different time periods. Two years ago, the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India undertook the systematic study of Dwarka and after thorough analysis of previous researches, started excavation work in January with the clear objective “to know the antiquity of the site based on scientific study of the material evidence.” The holistic nature of the excavations can be judged by the fact that for the first time “excavations were conducted simultaneously on land, near famous Dwarkadhish temple, and also offshore so that finds from all the excavations can be analysed, correlated and studied scientifically,” Tripathi said. Dwarka is among several coastal Indian sites now under investigation which show evidence of advanced development before sea levels reached their current height and thus provide significant evidence of pre-diluvian civilization—the existence of which is denied by conventional archaeology. (Taken from many sources)

Rameswaram temple

rameswaram temple

rameswaram temple

Lepakshi Temple

leepakshi temple

leepakshi temple painting

leepakshi temple

Gomatheswara statue

Gomatheswara statue of the tenth century AD stands tall in the world at sravanbelgola in karnataka

Indian sculpture&painting

CHENNA KESAVA TEMPLE


The large temple in Belur is one of the most remarkable monuments from Hoysala times and region. It was commissioned by the Hoysala king himself to celebrate an important military victory in 1117 AD. This is exceptional, since nearly all other Hoysala temples were commissioned by rich officials or rich civilians. The king obviously wanted an extraordinary temple because it has been built in an architectural style foreign to the region. Moreover the monument is exceptionally large and its decoration very lavish. Many of the decorations were added later in the 12th century by the grandson and successor of the founder.
The Cennakesava-temple stands in a compound with several smaller temples and a pond.
Plan
The monument consists of a shrine, an open hall and a platform. The shrine (vimana, mulaprasada) is larger than usual, its pedestal measures about 10 by 10 meters while a more usual size is 5 by 5 meters. Its architectural style is Nãgara (North Indian) but this is rather difficult to see because its tower is lost. The hall (mandapa) is of the open type, originally it only had a parapet. Later on the space between parapet and roof has been closed-off with magnificent screens, together with the further embellishment of the temple. The platform (jagati) is an essential part of the over-all design of the monument. It forms a unity with the rest of the elevation because it carefully follows the outlines of the shrine and the hall. Its three flights of steps add dignity to the entrances of the hall and it provides a walkway around the shrine (pradakshinapatha). Circumambulation of the shrine is an important form of worship.
The shrine
The design of the shrine was exceptional for the times and the region. It is Nãgara with a stellate plan. Both these aspects deserve separate notice.
Stellate plans were new for southern Karnataka in 1117 AD but not uncommon in the north of Karnataka and in northern India. The kind of star found here differs from the northern examples because it is a 16-pointed interrupted star. Basically, the plan is a square. Including the projections that form the corners, each side of this square has five projections (bhadras, rathas). Of these, the intermediate projections are rotated through 22.5 degrees. The difference with a full star is the central projections that are not rotated but just orthogonal instead . In northern India, the most common form of stellate plan is also interrupted but 32-pointed. In that case the rotation of the projections is in steps of 11.25 degrees.
The Nãgara design of the shrine was also new to the region. The most striking element of this design is missing today because the tower of the shrine is gone. It had a curvilinear outline and consisted of a central vertical band and four columns of miniature Nãgara Ñikharas per side. This kind of tower is called Bumija and is also found on some of the miniature shrines flanking the entrances of this temple. The Nãgara design of the large shrine is still visible in the articulation of its walls: each projection is articulated as a pillar. This gives the walls a very different character compared to shrines with a Dravida (South Indian) design, the design common to all regions of southern India including southern Karnataka.
Also new is the decoration of the walls of the shrine with a row of large images. In earlier temples in southern India the walls were provided with niches, and only inside the niches there are large images of gods. The wall-images of the Cennakesava-temple are one of the large sculptural attractions of the monument. Their number is about 80, each projection and each recess of the shrine has one. It is on the southern side that the most striking depictions are found, among them Shiva dancing on a demon (Andhakasura), a horribly emaciated dancing Kali, a seated Ganesha, a pair consisting of a boy with umbrella and a king (Vamana avatara of Vishnu), Ravana shaking mount Kailasa (Ravana Anugraha murti), Durga slaying the buffalo demon (Mahisasuramardini), a straight-standing Brahma, a boar saving the goddess earth (Varaha avatara of Vishnu). The most impressive and most venerated wall-images are on the two faces of the south-western corner of the shrine: Vishnu slaying king Hiranayakasipu (Narasimha avatara) and Shiva slaying the elephant demon . On the western and northern sides the images are less impressive and show less variation. Here two times a naked Shiva (Bhairava), Surya, another Varaha and another Andhakasura are the most remarkable.
In ornate Hoysala temples depiction of numerous gods and attendants in a horizontal row of large images is usual, here in Belur this is found for the first time. Though the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, all gods of the Hindu pantheon are represented. The sculptural style of the wall-images is not yet the typical Hoysala style of later times. Comparison with other regions show that it is close to the style of similar wall-images of contemporary temples in the extreme north of Karnataka and in adjacent Maharashtra.
The hall
Also the hall of the temple is very large and very ornate. Originally it was an open hall without full walls, it had a parapet-wall and a roof only resting on pillars. Its plan is not a square but a stepped diamond, which is usual in this kind of open halls. The parapet-wall is very high in this case, more than two meters, and is topped with a slanting seat-back. This seat-back is decorated with panels showing mythological scenes. Below it are numerous horizontal bands with lavish sculptural decorations and depictions, some of them extremely delicate.
Above the seat-back elaborate screens are found, added later in the 12th century and making the interior of the hall dark and mysterious. Additions from the same times are the world-famous bracket-figures (mandanakai) found at the top of the pillars between the screens. These sculptures, about 40 in number, are so delicate that it seems nearly impossible that they are made of stone. Evidently the sculptors of these miniatures also considered them as a tour de force and sometimes provided them with boasting texts. Many of this bracket-figures are signed by their artist.
The hall has three majestic entrances, each with two flights of steps, one up to the platform and one up to the floor level of the hall. These flights of steps are flanked by miniature shrines. The doorways are elaborate and especially their lintels are masterpieces of delicate sculpture. They show avataras of Vishnu in the centre of an arch of foliage (torana). The arches spring from the mouths of two water monsters (makaras).

chenna kesava temple,karnataka

MADURAI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE

Meenakshi Temple of madurai,Tamilnadu is the abode for sculptural excellence.This massive temple with magnificent pillars,thousand pillar mandapams, beaming temple towers ,well built temple tanks ,all speak volumes of perfected sculptural art of india.This temple has saptha swara pillars made of rock,which reverberates with seven musical notes

meenakshi temple

meenakshi temple

meenakshi temple



meenakshi temple

meenakshi temple

mantra

What is mantra?It is nothing,but a collection of sanctified sounds uttered for a specific purpose and fulfilment.It does have a meaning and it should be said in a proper cadence ,rhythm,intonation and pitch with purity of heart



powers of the mind are enormous.The concentrated mind is still more powerful .As the concentrated rays of sun ,when focused ,gain the power to burn a paper.The concentrated power of the mantra can do good and evil.

Some of the letters in sanskrit are considered to be the root sounds of great energy.By ceaselessly repeating them,we can generate electrifying results ,thereby mantras have fulfillment.Some such sounds are 'IYM; ;KLEEM;'SOW;'HREEM;'SREEM;

In the scriptures pertaining to mantras,the utility and power of these sounds are well explained.IYM'- IS THE SOUND ,WHICH CAN MAKE US RICH.KLEEM' -is the other powerful sound ,which can make us irresistibly attractive .T he entire vedic lore is a treasure house of these sacred syllables and sounds


Seeking the wellbeing of the entire universe,indians had been accustomed to reciting sacred hymns and mantras .Today in the modern medical world ,the power of the mantra is best utilized as sound therapy