Gorgeous, glowing rays of light…This was what true beauty and goodness looked like– a spectral, luminescent gathering of beings so pure it hurt to look directly at them, like the most glorious eclipse, or maybe Heaven itself. ~Lauren Kate
Category: Landscapes
Navagraha Puja
The Navagrahas are the “nine celestial bodies”, which include the nine astronomical bodies and the mythical Hindu deities. These are the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, and the ascending (Rahu) and descending (Ketu) lunar nodes (which appear as Shadow Planets during the solar and lunar esclipse respectively).
800 Posts: Counting Blessings
Rudraashtakam (Shiva Stuti)Namaa miisha mishaana-nirvaana rupamvibhum vyaapakam brahma-veda-svaroopamnijam nirgunam nirvikalpam nirihamchidaakaasha maakaasha-vaasam bhaje hamniraakaara monkaara-moolam turiiyamgiraa gnaana gotiita miisham giriishamkaraalam mahaa-kaala-kaalam krpaalamgunaagaara samsara paaram nato ham(REF:)Shambho Sadaa Shiva!Shambho Sadaa Shiva!Shambho Sadaa Shiva!Shambho Sadaa Shiva!tushaa raadri-sankaasha-gauram gabhirammanobhuta-koti prabha sri sariramsphuran mauli-kallolini-charu-gangalasad-bhaala-balendu kanthe bhujangaachalatkundalam bhru sunetram visalamprasannaa-nanam nila-kantham dayaalammrgadhisa charmaambaram mundamaalampriyam sankaram sarvanaatham bhajaami(REF)(INTERLUDE)pracandam prakrstam pragalbham pareshamakhandam…
Guardians of the Sky
This lovely ceiling adorns both the Shatrugneshwara and Lakshmaneshwara temples in Avani, Karnataka. In the center is a sculpture of Uma-Mahesvara (Shiva-Parvati) flanked by ashtadikpalakas (guardians of the eight directions).
In Peace
The Ramalingeshwara temple in Avani, Kolar (Karnataka) is a dravida style set of shrines of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Built in the 10th-century by the Nolamba dynasty, the temple was partially renovated and restored in the Chola dynasty. It is also known as the “Gaya of the south”. Legend has it that Avani was…
White Elephant
In Buddhist Mythology, Māyā and King Suddhodhana did not have children for twenty years into their marriage. According to legend, one full moon night, sleeping in the palace, the queen had a vivid dream. She felt herself being carried away by four devas (spirits) to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. After bathing her in the…
Bibi Ka Maqbara
The Bibi Ka Maqbara (Mother’s Tomb) located in Aurangabad, India was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s son Azam Shah for his mother Dilras Banu Begum (known as Rabia-ud-Daurani). Known as Dakkani Taj Mahal (Taj of the Deccan). The monument was designed and erected by Ata-ullah and Hanspat Rai; Ata-ullah was the son of Ustad Ahmad…
Domed
The sound of laughter is like the vaulted dome of a temple of happiness. ~Milan Kundera
Gopuram Darshanam
The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free. ~Swami Vivekananda
Snapshots of my World 