Vandana Shiva

Weekend getaways around Chennai 1.Mahabalipuram It is one of the World Heritage Site with ancient archaeological wonders, also known as “Mahabs”. This town has a rich history during Pallava’s century and served as a a bustling seaport.this place has been named the demon king Mahabali who was renowned for his generosity.One can capture the picturesque scenic surroundings of its historical monuments, sculptures , culture and tradition. The striking feature is the beautiful Shore Temple…

pluralism and inherent diversity that typifies the Hindu culture and tradition. At a glance, Hinduism’s ideas of oneness seem to be contradictory with the existence of the plethora of gods and goddesses. The sheer magnitude of the number of gods, from Shiva to Krishna, Lakshmi to Rama, can potentially cause a student of Hinduism to be at a loss for understanding how it is possible for the innumerable branches of the religion to merge in the one Reality. The explanation provided in the reading…

Shiva Response The sculpture of Shiva from the Chola Dynasty in the 10th Century, expresses the cultures desire to freeze an icon, and have a physical density of substance important to state of mind of the people. This icon shows a physical relationship to the people and the land that it comes from. There is a dialogue between the old and the new when looking at this object and recognizing the setting that it finds itself in. When looking at specific aspects of this Icon the viewer immediately…

There are over 4,000 religions in the world today. How can there possibly be that many different versions of creation? Because of the possibility of parallel myths. The ability of writing allowed people to note exactly how the stories were told, but, before that, there was no standard way to convey every word precisely and accurately. This essay will look to The Thoughts of Brahma, Brahma is Lonely, The King, the Hawk, and the Pigeon, as well as Gautama and the Elephant. Analysis of these short…

Vishnu, Shiva, the Highest Gods of Hinduism). Shiva is known as the destroyer, insofar as he destroys all evil. Without his destruction, there is no creation. “In other words follow Lord Shiva if you want to achieve self-realization through a path of constructive destruction and radical transformation of your personality. The worship of Shiva is ideal for those who are willing to follow the path of renunciation or lead radical lives through courageous decisions” (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, the…

Kudal Manikkam Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated for the Ramayana legend King Bharatha. It is a rear temples found in the gods own country to dedicate temples for Lord Rama’s brothers. This was a famous temple for the Kerala rulers like the Kayamkulam, Chera and the Travancore. This temple was maintained by them since the ancient and medieval times. The origin of this temple is unknown, but it is a masterpiece for temple architecture, temple ponds and murals. This temple is maintained…

symbolized the unbounded. The unbounded is known to be the connection with the first Hindu god, Brahma, in the triumvirate. The Hindu Triumvirate consists of the three Hindu gods. It consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is the god of creation, Vishnu is the god of protection and Shiva is the god of destruction and renewal. The connection to the unbound is very important in Hindu temple architecture so later on when temples became freestanding with thick temple walls, the architecture…

Rock’s Rugged Whisper What took me to Arcot, the city of Nawabs, was the photograph of a Rock Cut temple at Vellore Museum. Though not at par with Ajanta and Elephanta Caves it was a beautiful sight and reminded me of Bagh Caves. Flanked by a carpet of green grass it seemed to represent the romance of ancient nomadic-spiritual life. Finding it was going to be difficult. First, the caption hardly gave any idea about its exact location and second, I didn’t understand Tamil. The problem…

parts of India. In North India, there is the legend of an eternal demon named Mahishasura who randomly started to kill people in order to win the three lokas (realms). Some of the gods approached the god Shiva and asked for a way to get rid of Mahishasura because of the chaos he produced. Shiva united with two of the other gods, Brahma and Vishnu, to create a female warrior and goddess named Durga. Mahishasura saw the goddess and fell in love. He originally asked Durga for her hand in marriage,…

One of the classical depictions of the Hindu God Shiva shows his dancing. Nataraja is considered to be the ultimate depiction of the dance, Nataraja meaning “Lord of the Dance”. Here we see Shiva with his left leg on top of his right, and his hands holding fire and a drum. His other set of appendages are in a very distinct form. Fire encircles him in a ring while he stands on a man. This is commonly attributed to overcoming darkness/negativity and ignorance. This beautiful illustration of…