#3/thread on Angkor wat

Christianity and islam may be the largest religion of today’s world but Sanatan dharm has the largest religious monument in the world in the form of Angkor wat. It is situated in combodia and spread across over 400 acres / 1.6 km².

#Thread on Purūsharthå

The word Purūsharthå is mentioned in Suryopanishad which is a minor Upanishad allied to the Atharva Veda.

Here Purush in Purūsharthå doesn't refers to a man, but to an individual soul in its purest aspect, that is similar for both men and women.

Dharma , Artha,Kama,Moksha known to be four goals of an individual's life and codified as Purūsharthå, It is also mentioned in the sacred book of Dharma called Dharmashashtra.

These are important concepts to know if we really want to understand Hinduism.

Dharma: Dharma is universal. It simply means religion of righteousness, wholesomeness,& truth. It is very difficult to grasp the exact meaning of dharma as acting vigorously doesn't mean precisely the same for everyone and also operates within concrete circumstance.

Anything which is acquired in the absence of Dharma will occur towards the misery. Each personhas their own Dharma called 'Sva-Dharma’, which is deeply illustrated in Bhagvad Geeta .

As per mānusmriti ...

धृतिः क्षमा दमोऽस्तेयं शौचमिन्द्रियनिग्रहः ।
धीर्विद्या सत्यमक्रोधो दशकं धर्मलक्षणम् ॥ ६\९२ ॥

Meaning—
(1) Steadiness (2) Forgiveness, (3) Self-control, (4) Abstention from unrighteous appropriation, (5) Purity, (6) Control of the Sense-organs,

#Thread on Tantra

The word ’Tantra’ literally means ‘loom’ in Sanskrit. There are several differing explanations as to what this word means. According to one source, this name is supposed to be a pun, and in order to understand it, one has to first understand the word ‘sutra’.

The key texts of Hinduism are known as sutras, a word which also means ‘formula or thread’. Therefore, if a sutra is a single thread of thought, then Tantra would be the loom that produces these threads of thoughts into a whole system of thoughts.

As a comparison, another source suggests that Tantra is a combination of two words, ‘tattva’ and ‘mantra’, which mean the science of cosmic principles and the science of mystic sound and vibration respectively.

In other words, Tantra may be regarded to be “the application of cosmic sciences with a view to attain spiritual ascendancy.”

In the beginning of Satyuga, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Swacchandanatha, with his five mukha(mouth), namely Ishana, Tatpurusha, Sadyojata,

Vamadeva & Aghor. These mukhas represent his 5 energies, namely, Consciousness, Bliss, Will, Knowledge & Action. He manifested Tantras through his 5 mukhas (energies), some given by each of his mouth while others recited by him through two or more than two mouths simultaneously.

#Thread on controversial #khajuraho temple.

A temple which is famous for its erotic and sexual sculpture and has been targeted by left liberals on its meaning and importance. However, it may shock you, if I say sexual themes cover only less than 10% of the temple sculpture.

Its like judging and creating a buzz about the whole movie over one bed scene. Still i’ll explain the reason behind the erotic theme of the temple. But first lets discuss about khajuraho being more than that-

The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the Chandela dynasty. The building activity started almost immediately after the rise of their power, throughout their kingdom to be later known as Bundelkhand during 925-1050 AD

Most of the temples were built during the reigns of the Hindu kings Yashovarman and Dhanga.

There were 85 temples in khajuraho but now only 25 temples are there. Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of the 12th century.

This changed in the 13th century; after the army of Delhi Sultanate, under the command of the Muslim Sultan Qutb–ud-din Aibak, attacked & seized the Chandela kingdom. After that temples were controlled by various Muslim dynasties from the 13th century through the 18th century.

#Thread on kundalini- The hidden treasure!

In Hinduism, there are few topics which can fascinate even an atheist. Kundalini is one of them.

Kundalini is the latent Shakti sleeping near the Muladhara region (bottom of the spinal cords).

Siva Samhita, chapter 5 (pic 2)

Two fingers above the rectum and two fingers below the linga , four fingers in width is a space like a bulbous root.

Between this space is the yoni having its face towards the back.That space is called the root;there dwells the Goddess Kundalini.

It surrounds all the nadis and has three coils and a half;and catching its tail in its own mouth,it rests in the hole of the Sushumna(nadi).

Significance-

Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.6 and Katha Upanishad  2.16 says:

यदा सर्वे प्रभिद्यन्ते हृदयस्येह ग्रन्थयः ।
अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्येतावद्ध्यनुशासनम् ॥

शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्य-
    स्तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतैका ।
तयोर्ध्वमायन्नमृतत्वमेति
    विष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रमणे भवन्ति ॥

When all the knots of Hridaya Granthi are cut down, mortal becomes an immortal & attains Brahman there. There are 101 Nadis which emerge from heart, one Nadi goes out piercing the head. Going up through that, one attains immortality; the others serve for departing in diiff. ways.

1/ Jassa Singh Ahluwalia & his role in the history of Shri Harmandir Sahib (A Thread)

2/ Jassa Singh was born in 1720/21 at a village called Ahlu in the Lahore District of Punjab.

3/ Jassa Singh was educated in Delhi, in Persian, Arabic & more, under the care & supervision of Mata Sundari Ji.

Mata Sundari Gurdwara in Delhi.

4/ In 1733, Jassa Singh's mama, Thag Singh (ਤਾਗ ਸਿੰਘ), requested Mata Sundari Ji's permission to take Jassa Singh back to Punjab.

5/ At first Mata Ji refused but eventually gave permission for Jassa Singh to go with his mama, giving Jassa Singh a blessing and weapons, informing him, it was now the right time to take up arms.

THE BATTLE OF TALIKOTA and the destruction of Vijaynagar (Hampi)
26 January 1565

A tale of valor, deception and decimation.

A grim reminder that if we fail to protect our heritage, it will eventually crumble under the onslaught of "forces of anarchy".
(Elaborate thread)

This decisive battle was fought between the Vijayanagara empire and the Deccan sultanates resulting in a rout of Vijayanagara and ending the last major medieval era Hindu kingdom in south India.(1)

The seeds of 1565 encounter were sown more than 250 years earlier when the forces of the Delhi Sultanate, during the time of Alauddin Khilji and later Md Bin Tughlaq swept through southern India in an expansion spree.(2)

By middle of the 14th century, facing rebellions, Tughlaq withdrew to Delhi, leaving behind 2 empires, Bahmani, which ruled the Deccan from Kalaburagi, and Vijayanagara, which ruled most south India with its capital at Vijayanagar.(3)

The Raichur Doab, between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, existed as a natural boundary between these two kingdoms, with wars often breaking out over control of this territory.(4)

We will likely never be able to establish with certainty the identity of the two Black men painted by Rembrandt. There are no documents found, linking the painting to individuals. But we can make a reasoned guess. #BlackHistoryMonth #day20 #rembrandt #identification

First there is the problem of the date. The inventory with a reference to 'two Moors in one painting' was drawn up in 1656 in what is now the @Rembrandthuis; however, the painting that hangs in the @Mauritshuis bears not only Rembrandt’s signature but also the year 1661.

Was the painting made in 1656 while Rembrandt was still living and working in Jodenbreestraat, and not signed and sold until 1661, when he had moved to the Jordaan district? The 1656 estate inventory suggests this.

On the other hand, it is of course possible that Rembrandt painted several pictures featuring two black men. Nevertheless, supposing that it is one and the same
painting, then we can assume that the two men
were in the studio in Jodenbreestraat to be portrayed in or before 1656.

Of course there still are dozens of candidates, since there was a small Black community in the area. However, it is striking, and exceptional, that two men are portrayed instead of one, as was customary in this genre.