Ram Lalla at Ayodhya

The two emotions; full of mercy in the eyes and lovely smile in the lips.

Have you seen this temple ?

Raghunathji temple is one of the important temples of Lord Rama in India. It is located in Jammu city in Jammu and Kashmir state of India. It is one of the biggest temple complexes in North India. This temple has hundreds and hundreds of idols of Hindu deities. If you know the name of any Hindu God, Goddess, saint or mythological king, you would definitely find the corresponding idol in this temple. I am not sure if there is any other Hindu temple in India or outside India having such a large number of idols of various deities.

The construction of this huge temple of Raghunathji was started by the former of Jammu and Kashmir kingdom, Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1835 AD. It was completed by his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1860 AD. Raghunathji temple is the most important temple of Jammu city - the city of temples. It is located at the central location in the city.

The main shrine of the temple has big idols of Lord Rama, his brother Lakshman and his wife Sita. The idol of Lord Rama is in black color. Lord Rama is named as Raghunathji in this temple. There is a small roundabout (prakara) surrounding the main shrine of Raghunathji. The wall of this small corridor has the bas relief images of Ragu, Ketu, Saneeswar, Agni and the representation of four directions.

The outer corridor of the main temple has multiple sub temples. Facing the main shrine of Lord Rama there are shrines of Hanuman and the authors of Ramayan - Valmiki and Tulsidas. Behind the shrine of Rama, the shrine of Vaishno Devi is located.

Apart from the main shrine of Raghunathji and the other shrines described above, there are eight sub temples located within this huge temple complex.

The eight temples are:
1) Krishna Parivar - This temple has the idols of Lord Krishna in various forms as well as the family and relatives of Lord Krishna
2) Brahma
3) Vishnu
4) Satyanarayan
5) Siva - This temple has idols related to Siva and his family
6) Dharmaraja
7) Surya

8) Badrinarayan

All the sub temples has a lot of idols of Gods, Goddesses, saints, kings and small deities. Mythological characters such as Drona, Krupa, Ashwattama, Manu, various kings and saints, different forms of Siva and Vishnu, Kartikeya, Dattareya, Gayatri, Indra, Yama, vanaras such as Vali, Sugreev, Yama, incarnations (avatars) of Vishnu, Ramayan characters such as Dasrath, Lakshman, Bharat, Vibeeshan, the representations of months, stars, etc. etc. It is very difficult to list down the list of deities present in this temple.

The temple has full of pindis - a kind of symbol representing the 33 crore devtas (small deities) of Hinduism across the entire structure.

The temple has the third corridor. This outermost prakara has few more sub temples.
1) Ganesha temple - this temple has big idol of Ganesha; four small Ganesh idols are also present in this temple
2) Matsya - the incarnation of Vishnu as fish
3) Kachchab - the incarnation of Vishnu as tortoise
4) Varaha - the incarnation of Vishnu as boar
5) Narasimha - the incarnation of Vishnu as lion
6) Vamana - the incarnation of Vishnu as dwarf
7) Bharat - the brother of Lord Rama
8) Shatrugna - the youngest brother of Lord Rama
9) Radha and Krishna
10) Lakshmi and Narayan
11) Mahalakshmi - this temple also has the idols of Parvati, Chamundi, Saraswati, Kali and Vaishno Devi
12) Sesha Naryan and Vishnu temple '
13) Shiv Linga and Surya - This temple also has the idols of  Amarnath, Badrinath, Ganesha and Parvati
14) Virat - the idol with multiple arms and faces
15) Hanuman temple facing the main shrine of Rama
16) Gayatri
17) Very big Shiv Linga
18) Dattareya
19) a small Shiv Linga
20) another small Shiv Linga

21) Karaneswar Spastik Linga - The temple has the idols of Parvati and Ganesh and Sivakami-Natraj. Nandi idol is located facing the shrine; the highlight of the main Shiv Linga idol is that it was presented from German. This idol is a reflecting stone with the light glowing inside.

Raghnuathji temple of Jammu is a temple which is worth visiting not only in the city but in the entire country. If you happen to go to J&K, ensure that your travel itinerary has this temple.

Fast Facts:
Site Name: Raghunathji Temple

Site Type: Hindu temple, pilgrimage, holy shrine

Location:  Jammu city, Jammu and Kashmir state, India

Highlights: The huge temple having the idols of almost all the Hindu deities

Nearest Railway Station: Jammu - well connected from the cities/towns all over India

Nearest Airport: Jammu

How to reach: Train, road or air

Hotel: A lot of hotels are available in Jammu; 
Restaurants: Good restaurants are available in Jammu

Sent by Mr. Balayogi

[andavan] maps of 108 divya desam in google maps with comments.

This very interesting link was sent by Mr. Seshadri Srinivasan. I am sure all those who are interested will enjoy this  LINK below.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=100721200960607481466.00043d9afbe3f59246002

108 Divya Desam / 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams Temples

108 Divya Desam Virtual Tour/ Gopura Darashanam on Google Maps. Accurate as far as possible. 108 Divya desam temples have been praised by one or more of 12 Azhwar saints in the 4000 divya prabhandam. 106 on Earth, 107 – Thiru Paarkadal (Milky Way), 108 – Paramabhadam (Heaven, Vaikundam).
TO VIEW TEMPLE- Choose Satellite mode in the map/ select the temple from the name list or balloons on the left hand side, or the on the map on the right hand side. The selected temple balloon will be highlighted/ centred & a window with description/links will open on the map. Zoom in on that temple by scrolling zoom scale to + sign ( towards human icon). Center view by holding click and moving the map. The Actual temple can be viewed from above. Have virtual tour/ pooja from your desktop by chanting the pasuram for that diva desam.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divya_Desams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divya_Prabandha
Click on View in google earth link to download kml file. Play and view virtual tour.

 Anonymous said...

thanks a lot sir....very useful link

September 8, 2011 5:48 PM

Vinayaka chathurthi

Zoom and read if the letters appear small

The symbolic attributes of Sri Ganesh are as follows:

¨ Huge head suggesting vast wisdom.

¨ Broad back suggesting ability to carry the burden of the nation on the back.

¨ Pillar-like legs depicting the steadfast, firm support to the edifice of the nation.

¨ Four hands carrying various instruments: one carrying books depicting knowledge and wisdom; another equipped with all sorts of weapons, conventional, as well as non-conventional- Nuclear (Shastra/Astra); the third with Modak (Prasad) distributing happiness (‘Mod’ means pleasure) and prosperity; and the fourth raised as a way of assurance and  blessings to the Praja– citizenry.

¨ Small eyes symbolize a critical eye for observing smallest details.

¨ Small mouth suggests very conservative with words.

¨ Big ears, ever ready to listen to everyone.

¨ Tusks that bear heavy loads of responsibilities.

¨ Trunk that can lift even a minute object as a small needle in a haystack, suggesting attention to the minutest distress of the society.

¨ A Pot belly suggesting swallowing any wrong doings of the subjects and ever forgiving.

¨ A mouse under his toes, which has a habit of nibbling and destroying things, representing anti-social elements- criminals, hoarders, corrupt, etc. that try to destroy the fabric of the society.

Thus, the form of Sri Ganesh really has great significance behind it.


Sent by Mr. Bhaskaran

Science Of Gayathri Mantra

WONDERFUL VIDEO WATCH IT AND THEN FOLLOW THIS

The 24 Letters of Gayathri Mantra and Significance of Each Letter
The following table gives the 24 letters of the Gayathri spell and its relation to the power.

1. 'tat' - tapini – fruitfulness
2 'sa' - saphaltaa – valor
3 'vi' - vishwa – perseverance
4 'tur' - tushti – welfare
5 'va' - varad – yoga
6 're' - revatee – love
7 'ni' - sookshm – wealth
8 'yam' -gyaan – luster
9 'bhar' - bharga – protection
10 'go' -gomatee – wisdom
11 'de' - devikaa – subjugation
12 'va' - varahi – allegiance
13 'sya' - sinhanee – determination
14 'dhi' - dhyaan – life
15 'ma' - maryaadaa – time
16 'hi' - sphutaa – penance
17 'dhi' - medhaa – forecast
18 'yo' - yogamaayaa – alertness
19 'yo ' - yoginee – production
20 'nah' - dhanin – protection
21 'pra' - prabhaav – idealism
22 'cho ' - ooshmaa – adventure
23 'da' - drishya – discrimination
24 'at' - niranjan - service.
he 24 powers of Gayatri mentioned above awaken certain qualities, and along with this awakening one starts getting success and prosperity 


Sent by Mr. Bhaskaran Sivaraman

 AKILA VENKAT said...

OH MY GOD! This was such a wealthy information! Thank you sir!

September 3, 2011 7:44 PM

Muralidhara Swamigal - Naama Sangeerthaname Dharmam

1. http://www.mediafire.com/?jcv90jii6c03wij Volume - 1  
2. http://www.mediafire.com/?nwxapc66rnz69rk Volume - 2

K Ravisankar said...

Sir, Wonderful piece. But the orator is Muralidhara swamigal and not Jakki vasudev.

June 14, 2011 9:28 PM

Anonymous said...

Sir. The sppech is given by sri murakidhara swamigal. so change the photograph.

June 16, 2011 4:37 PM

hvaidya said...

Is he (who is in the photo), the right person?

June 16, 2011 8:54 PM

K Ravisankar said...

Yes.. He is. There are many such wonderful pravachanams by him. He is also the most preferred in small screen morning hours.

June 21, 2011 8:15 AM

Jaggi Vasudev - Aasaikku adippadai

1. http://www.mediafire.com/?d5am1ssqall6eeb Part - 01  
2. http://www.mediafire.com/?w3488uygb6o12ee Part - 02  
3. http://www.mediafire.com/?cfiz361z3dzt2k9 Part - 03  
4. http://www.mediafire.com/?6t8tgf0s7912tch Part - 04 
5. http://www.mediafire.com/?dax6thg3ht75151 Part - 05  
6. http://www.mediafire.com/?onccmck7yo6067p Part - 06  
7. http://www.mediafire.com/?26qufiuodxih59h Part - 07  
8. http://www.mediafire.com/?m58qucbcg97yplr Part - 08

Raja Rajeswari stavam

One of our reader Mr. Harisankar has sent this mail.

"I made this video this week. Check this out and let me know if you like it. It is raja rajeshwari stavam which i picked up. Pictures are mine collected over years."  

Not only I liked it, I felt like sharing with you all. Please send your appreciations to Mr. Harisankar by your comments.

BHASKARAN19 said...
Superb Rendering, Divinely voice, and excellent pictures collections - Credits to Mr Harisankar and to you as well for posting this in your blog (Sthosthras are rare in your Blog) and when it comes it comes with bang.

Warm regards
bhaskaran

April 15, 2011 10:08 AM

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir Sri Vaithinathan Hariharan Kudos to Harishankar. Three cheers to Him. It is very difficult to submit yourself to Thayar. Only a few are fortunate enough and Mr.harishankar is really fortunate. Possessint such a visual and viewing daily only reinforces one's attachment and affection towards Thayar. I reqeust Sir to let me know whether I can download the video so taht I can view at least once in a day. Sorry for the inconvenience. My LOVE for Thayar is prompting me to make the request and also the readiness found in the Sir to make me happy furthers me to make such a request. Thank You, Sir With warm regards ravi

April 17, 2011 11:17 AM

Harisankar said...

Glad that you like it. I have some trouble with youtube. The video is actually HQ but comming out as only 240p. Hmm. Will fix it. By the way I have made a video out of chembai song 'Madurai Arasaali Meenaksii...' the song goes like that and is one of the 4 that I like. Will post it and let you guys know. The pictures are part of my collection made over the past 8yrs. I am on the look out for rare old photos that people have in their pooja rooms in ancestral village homes, temples etc (the ganga avatar photo is an example). Contributions are welcome. Other stuff that I made are vishnu sahasranamam, vishnu stuti, mahishasura mardhini, lalitha sahasranamam. My limited internet connection restricts me for now.

April 19, 2011 1:02 AM

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir Sri Vaithinathan Hariharan As a continuation to my writing on the work of Sri Harishankar I place this before the Sir. “Tripura Rahasyam”, a book which cannot be estimated for its value is being published by Ramana Ashramam. I got this book several years back when I was blessed enough to reach the Ashramam. The original name of the book is "Hariyadhana Samharitha". The Samharitha is of 12,000 slokas and it is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is Devi Mahatmiyam with 6687 slokams. Part 2 is Gnana Kandam with 2163 slokams. Par 3 is Sariya or Chariya Kandam with the remaining slokams. Part 1 and Part 2 are available, in Tamil translation as well. Unfortunately Part 3 deals with the ways and Sadanas to achieve Oneness is not available either in Tamil or in Sanskrit. It was given by Shiva to Vishnu and Vishnu as Dattrateya gave it to Parasurama. Parasurama gave it to Haridhayana and when Haridhayana was worshiping Goddess Meenakshi at Madurai, he was prompted by Naradha Munivar to make public of what is being given to him and Haridhayana was also bestowed with the ability to give it to the world. I humbly request the Sir to search for the Third part and inform me that whether I am really lucky to read that part. Once again I regret the inconvenience caused and in fact inconveniencing the Sir has become a habit of me. Thank You Sir With warm regards, ravi

Ranjani said...

Really very good rendering. Very much impressed. If the lyrics are available it would be good. Very good voice and well rendered with full devotion. Thanks

April 21, 2011 11:25 PM

Suki Sivam - Aanandha adhirvugal

Download 01 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 02 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 03 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 04 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 05 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 06 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3
Download 07 Anantha Athirvugal.mp3

Ohm and Gaayathri manthra

How many of us know ( even though being uttered by many everyday) the meaning of Gaayathri Manthra. Mr. Balayogi has sent this interesting article.

The importance of GAYATRI MANTRA thoroughly analysed here.   Someone has gone all the way to study and make the following presentation.

I have pleasure in sharing this with you all.

Yet another Scientific explanation of Gayatri Mantra….

GAYATRI MANTRA & Its Scientific Meaning

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

Om bhur bhuvah swah 

Tat savitur varenyam 

Bhargo devasya dheemahi 

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat 

The literal meaning of the mantra is:

O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty, You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific importance too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 mile s per second.

 

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

(A). OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH: 

Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om , which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy 

(B).

TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM:

Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:- 

(C). BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI: 

Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under: 

(D). DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT: 

Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om , (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our(nah) intellect dhiyo.

So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:-
1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement of galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity.

2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM , the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., Amen and Ameen.

Saras said...
Absolutely brilliant! What a treasure of Information. Thank you for sharing this magnificent presentation which speaks volumes of the knowledge of our Rishi Munis who formed these mantras.

April 15, 2010 11:38 AM

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir Sri Vaithinathan Hariharan DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT. Enlighten me. Throw light into me.The Sir has presented this at the right moment. Today, 7th April 2011, has to say taht the meaning of "Enlighten Me" is yet to be accepted. It is being chanted as though it is something to be mugged up and reproduced. Enlighten me, as for as the know how accomplished by this mind is that "make me sleep". Do not permit me to go to the waking state, that is identifiying with the body. There starts all evils. Duality enters. Once ramana Maharshi said 'WHY DO YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT BODY PAIN, THE BODY IDENTIFICATION IS ITSELF A PAIN" .Do not conclude that Ramana Maharshi was capable of leaving the body conscience. Every day one ahs in so many occasions forget the body concept. You jump in joy forgetting the body when something most lovable happpens on a day. You cry forgetting the body when you lose something you never want to lose. When a hero of your favour fights and wins in a movie or a novel or a drama, you lose the body concept. The pity is that the loss of body conscience is not felt as the duration is nearly zero. Ramana Maharshi said "Do not brood over MAYA, the non-existant as your thoughts will only deceive you". There cannot be any reformation or change os any system without the permission of the Supreme. The Supreme knows when to interfere and how to. The permission was granted to Mahatma Gandhi and he did it. Wait. Let the CMS, PMS. MLAs, MPs past and current and would be continue their dancing. But the most important thing is the polpulation is to make a call. If the majority of the population is as bad as the mentors, the Supreme will laugh and allow to decay. Presently Satya sai Baba is suffering from acute illness. What is the message. A born is to die. The body which was called born has to vanish. This is the body conscience concept. How many of us still remember our Grand parents or great grand parents. The animal instint, 'survival of the fittest' is in everybody. Refusing to acecept is no problem. They are not enlightened, it can be said. The Rishis of the past have not said or wriiten anything with the thinking that there will be followers. They gave what they felt and were happy. It is for us to FEEL in the same way the Rishis felt. Ramana Maharshi in the courtyard of the British said that eh never preached and never wanted followers.He was fully aware that Institunalising his concept will only pave for profit makers. the building with a straong, suitable and precise foundation will be strong. Here the foundation itself is murky and loose sanded. The why do you complain about the cracks in the builidng. It is also not to good to crirticise those who or which clan that had the opportunity to be very close to the "enlighten" concept . Do not waste your energy on something which is not there.This is enlightenement. Thank You Sir with warm regards ravi

April 7, 2011 10:40 PM

Harisankar said...
longest comment i have seen as a it engineer. ;-)

June 7, 2011 12:36 AM