As the name suggests, MINIATURE PAINTINGS are colorful handmade paintings very small in size. One of the outstanding features of these paintings is the intricate brushwork which contributes to their unique identity.

The colors used in the paintings are derived from various natural sources like vegetables, indigo, precious stones, gold and silver. While artists all around the world convey their respective theme through their paintings, the most common theme used in the miniature..

..paintings of India comprises of the Ragas or a pattern of musical notes, and religious and mythological stories. Miniature paintings are made on a very small scale especially for books or albums. These are executed on materials, such as paper and cloth.

The Palas of Bengal are considered the pioneers of miniature painting in India. The tradition of miniature paintings was further taken forward by the artists of various Rajasthani schools of painting, including the Kishangarh, Bundi Jaipur, Mewar and Marwar.

Natural stone colours are used in a paper-based “wasli” for the creation of these paintings. The miniature paintings have developed into several distinct schools of miniature like Mughal, Rajasthan, Deccan, Kangra, Malwa, Pahadi, etc.

🌺ॐ जयंती मंगला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी
दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तु‍ते।🌺

Navratri is one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals in India, with devotees to the Goddess Durga honoring her nine forms over the nine days.

During this period, devotees observe a fast, perform a worship ritual called puja and celebrate the nine displays of Durga’s feminine power to the world.

Each day is marked with a different color and worshippers dress in the colors which correspond to each day.

The 10th day after the nine nights is celebrated as Vijayadashmi, the celebration of good over evil. It is also called Dussehra or Vijayadashami.

Here is a list of the colors with the dates and their significance :

Day 1 signifies the color yellow and the tithi is named Ghatasthapana or Pratipada. The Shailputri– the daughter of the Mountain King Himavat– form of Durga is worshipped on this day.Yellow signifies joy and cheerfulness.
Day 2 signifies the color green and the tithi is Dwitiya.

On this day Brahmacharini, the unmarried form of the goddess Durga, is adored and worshipped. Green denotes various aspects of nature and its nourishing qualities.
Day 3 signifies the color grey and the tithi is Tritiya or Chaturthi.

Recently a Query was raised by someone on some platform that why can't Bhagwan Shiv be spotted by satellite, if Hindus claimed him to be on Kailash Parbat.

The reply was beautifully explained by an American, F. Shant, PhD from St. Louis University, 30+ years Practicing..

..Practical Hindu Spirituality.He said,"Human eyes and recording equipment can't record what dogs and cats see at night.Then came infrared cameras.We realized shortcomings of our eyes. Microscope started seeing cells. Scientists went on to build bigger & bigger microscopes,...

..electron microscopes made us realize that smallest part of independent existence, has many parts. Then came CAT scans, PET scans, MRIs, we started seeing what nobody knew existed.

When scientists thought we knew everything, came dark matter.

Never seen or heard of earlier but now believed to occupy about 75% of the space. Again we came to know that we don't know anything.
As a trained scientist I can share the real secret of why.
For seeing God Shiva on that mountain we need different eyes.

Once we have those then he can be seen not just on Kailash but everywhere and anywhere, because that mountain is not the only place he is, he is everywhere.

Did you know?

Terminalia Elliptica or The ‘Indian Laurel’ is the State tree of Goa.Few other names of it are Mati,Asna,Saj or Crocodile Bark Tree

One of Nature's Many Miracles of Terminalia Elliptica,also called Terminalia Tormentosa is that it stores potable water in its bark.

The fruit is ovoid, 3 cm long, with five wings not extending beyond the fruit apex. Its leaves are useful as they are fed to silkworms (Antheraea paphia) which are the producers of the tassar silk, which is quite prominent as far as its commercial use is concerned.

What’s important is that the stem of the Indian Laurel has a water storing capability for the dry season which is often tapped and used as a source of potable water in summer by forest folk. This water is also thought to have medicinal properties and is a cure for stomach pain.

It is interesting to note that they used to cut the barks of Matti tree and avail about one or two liters of water emerging from it just like a pipe running out of it. This is the reason that this Matti tree is sometimes known as the ‘Water Making Matti Tree.’

The bark is fire resistant, flaky and brownish black in colour and represents crocodile skin that is why the name‘Crocodile bark tree’. The bark is used medicinally against diarrhoea. Oxalic acid can be extracted from it.

Did you know?

There were more then 1000 kinds of super powerful weapons used during the Mahabharata times alone.

Hindu Itihasa is full of the stories of war and battle between good and evil, Devtas and Asuras, and how God in different forms protects Good over evil.

And there are various kinds of Divine and powerful weapons used in these battles, which were technologically so advanced that modern science is unable to fathom it yet.
Today, we are going to talk about some of those deadly weapons which were used during those historic times.

VASAVI SHAKTI belonged to Indra and had the power and certainty to kill anyone that it was used against. It was loaned to Karn to use it for one time and he preserved it so that he could kill Arjun.

However, by some tactical maneuvering, Karn was forced to use it against Ghatokacha instead. Thus, it was one of the only few weapons that threaten Arjuna.

VAJRASTRA is Indra’s most powerful weapon and is made from the spine of Sage Dadhichi.

In the story, Indra used the weapon to kill demon Vritra. Vajra is so powerful that the gods used it as an adjective to glorify power, for instance, in Gita, Bhagwan Krishn claims that he is Vajra.

Not only is it powerful, but it is also indestructible too.

अयोध्या में प्रभु श्रीराम जन्मभूमि पर भव्य मंदिर का शिलान्यास करने के साथ ही प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी ने वहां परिजात का पौधा लगाया। पौधारोपण के महत्व को उन्होंने बड़ी ही सहजता से सबको बता दिया। हमारे शास्त्रों में भी एक पेड़ लगाना और उसकी देखभाल करना सौ गायों का दान देने...

...के समान माना गया है। उस पर परिजात जैसा अति लाभदायक पौधा तो गुणों की खान है। हमारे शास्त्रों में परिजात को अत्यंत शुभ और पवित्र वृक्ष की श्रेणी में रखा गया है। इस वृक्ष की विशेषता है कि इसमें काफी मात्रा में फूल खिलते हैं। ये फूल सूर्यास्त के बाद खिलना शुरू होते हैं तथा

सूर्य के आगमन के साथ ही सारे फूल जमीन पर झर जाते हैं। अगले दिन यह फिर फूलों से सज जाता है। परिजात की उत्पत्ति के विषय में एक कथा है कि इसका जन्म समुद्र मंथन से हुआ था जिसे इंद्र ने स्वर्ग ले जाकर अपनी वाटिका में रोप दिया था।

मां लक्ष्मी को प्रसन्न करने के लिए भी परिजात के फूलों का प्रयोग किया जाता है। पुराणों में बताते हैं कि इसके वृक्ष को छूने भर से थकान मिनटों में गायब हो जाती है तथा शरीर पुन: स्फूर्ति प्राप्त कर लेता है। इस दैवीय वृक्ष से भगवान श्रीकृष्ण तथा रुक्मिणी की प्रेम कहानी भी जुड़ी है।

पारिजात एक खूबसूरत और सुगंधित पुष्प होता है जिसे हारसिंगार भी कहा जाता है और इसे आप अपने घर की बालकोनी में भी बड़े आराम से लगा सकते हैं।इसे कूरी,सिहारु,सेओली,प्राजक्ता, शेफालिका,शेफाली,शिउली और अंग्रेजी में ट्री ऑफ सैडनेस (Tree of sadness), मस्क फ्लॉवर (Musk flower),..

🌺एक संक्षिप्त,सुन्दर एवं सार्थक कथा🌺

बहुत पुरानी बात है,किसी कल्प में पृथ्वी के एक नगर में एक जुआरी रहता था।वो स्वभाव से ही नास्तिक था तथा वेदों व शास्त्रों की निंदा करता था।एक दिन उसने जुए में बहुत सारा धन जीत लिया था।

धन के मद में चूर वो उस रात पान, फूल,सुगंध लेकर नगर की सबसे महंगी और खूबसूरत वैश्या के पास जा रहा था। एक उजाड़ मार्ग पे उसे ठोकर लगी, उसका सिर एक पत्थर से टकरा गया और वो मूर्च्छित हो गया।

उस स्थान पर शिवलिंग था। मूर्छित होने पर उसके हाथ के फूल,सुगंध शिवलिंग पर अनजाने तरीके से अर्पित हो गए।वहीं पर उस जुआरी की मौत हो गई। मौत के बाद यमराज के दूत आये और उसे पाश में जकड़ कर यमपुर ले गए।

वहां चित्रगुप्त ने उसके कर्मों का लेखा-जोखा देखकर कहा कि इसने तो पाप ही पाप किए हैं,लेकिन मरते समय इसने जुए के पैसे से वेश्या के लिए खरीदे पुष्प,गंध अनजाने रूप से ‘शिवार्पण’ कर दिए।ये ही एकमात्र इसका पुण्य है। चित्रगुप्त की बात सुनकर यमराज ने उससे पूछा कि हे पापी,तू ही बता कि...

...पहले पाप का फल भोगेगा या पुण्य का।
जुआरी बोला की पाप के तो बहुत फल भोगने पड़ेंगे, पहले पुण्य का ही फल भोग लूं। तो उस एक पुण्य के बदले उसे दो घड़ी के लिए इन्द्र बनाया गया।
यमराज स्वर्ग पहुंचे और उन्होने दो घड़ी के लिए अपने पद से इन्द्र को त्यागपत्र देने को कहा।

क्या यह आधुनिक तकनीकों वाला युग नींव खोदे बिना एक गगनचुंबी इमारत के निर्माण की कल्पना कर सकता है ?

यह तमिलनाडु का बृहदेश्वर मंदिर है, यह बिना नींव का मंदिर है । इसे इंटरलॉकिंग विधि का उपयोग करके बनाया गया है इसके निर्माण में पत्थरों के बीच कोई सीमेंट,..

..प्लास्टर या किसी भी तरह के चिपकने वाले पदार्थों का प्रयोग नहीं किया गया है इसके बावजूद पिछले 1000 वर्षों में 6 बड़े भूकंपो को झेलकर भी आज अपने मूल स्वरूप में है ।

216 फीट ऊंचा यह मंदिर उस समय दुनिया का सबसे ऊंचा मंदिर था।

इसके निर्माण के कई वर्षों बाद बनी पीसा की मीनार खराब इंजीनियरिंग की वजह से समय के साथ झुक रही है लेकिन बृहदेश्वर मंदिर पीसा की मीनार से भी प्राचीन होने के बाद भी अपने अक्ष पर एक भी अंश का झुकाव नहीं रखता।

इस मंदिर के निर्माण के लिए 1.3 लाख टन ग्रेनाइट का उपयोग किया गया था जिसे 60 किलोमीटर दूर से 3000 हाथियों द्वारा ले जाया गया था। इस मंदिर का निर्माण पृथ्वी को खोदे बिना किया गया था यानी यह मंदिर बिना नींव का मंदिर है ।

मंदिर टॉवर के शीर्ष पर स्थित शिखर का वजन 81 टन है आज के समय में इतनी ऊंचाई पर 81 टन वजनी पत्थर को उठाने के लिए आधुनिक मशीनें फेल हो जाएंगी ।

Do you know?

The Akbar-Birbal tales that you have been hearing since childhood are fake.

This could come as a surprise to all of u.But the stories of Akbar-Birbal that we have grown up listening are all fake. You have been fed lies.We have excellent contemporary records from..

..the period of Akbar.We can look upon 'Akbarnama' and 'Ain I Akbari'as official court histories of Akbar.The works of Badayuni and Sirhindi were contemporary narratives that were not very favourably disposed to Akbar.Besides, we have official farmans,regional histories, Jain..

..narratives, Vanshavalis and inscriptions from all over India.Not even one of these sources tells us a single story of Akbar and Birbal. Sure, there was a courtier of Akbar by the name of Birbal. But he was not known at all for his wit.

The first occurance of any hint of Birbal's 'wit' is from an 18th century biographical narrative named 'Ma'athir Al Umara'. It is seperated by more than 200 years from Birbal and was written by a person of Deccani origin who had access to the tales of Vijayanagara emperor..

..Sri Krishnadevaraya and his witty minister Tenali Ramakrishna.

The stories of Krishnadevaya and Tenali Ramakrishna were famous throughout the Deccan and South. The Deccani Urdu poets had access to these tales.

🌺Vastu Shastra: The ancient Science of Home and Prosperity building.🌺

Vastu Shastra, the ancient system of building construction incorporates traditional Hindu beliefs. The designs of Vastu Shastra aims to integrate architecture with the environment, the relative functions...

...of various parts of the buildings and antique theories operating symmetrical patterns (yantra) and maneuvering placements.

Basically,Vastu Shastra is the literal part of Vastu Vidya–the wider knowledge about building construction & design scheme models from earliest history.

It is not something that deals with permanent procedures and plans but instead defines a theory of various designs, the pool of thoughts and perceptions, with different types of layout, figures, and sketches.

These ideas are mostly the collections of the internal decor,building outlook, gardening, and house plan.
The term Vastu is composed of two Sanskrit words ‘Vastu’ and ‘Shastra’where Vastu means house, habitation, building on land or ground and Shastra means teaching or doctrine.

Hence, Vastu Shastra is the doctrine of designing houses.
Vastu Shastra is an old scientific theory that is over 5000 years old. The texts on Vastu Shastra can be found back in 1500-1000 BCE.

Do they really deserve it?

I never understood what one thing these film stars do that they get 50-100 crores for each film.
In a country where top scientists,doctors,engineers, professors etc get 10-20 lac rupees per year,there a film actor earns 10-100 crore rupees per year.

Is that even good for the country? Market economics? Or its just a pure media brainwashing.
What is their contribution in the development of country? After all,what does an Actor do that he earns so much in just a year that it might take 100 yrs for top scientists of the country?

Providing 2 hrs of entertainment to public is worth more than the hi-tech gadget in your hand that you can't do without? Ok so a phone maker mints millions. But do you even know who designed it? Who found how to make mini cameras in your phone to make all those videos you love?

Do you even know his or her name???
Today, the three areas which have fascinated the new generation of the country are cinema, cricket and politics.
The earning and prestige of the people belonging to these three fields is beyond all limits.

These three areas are the ideals of modern youth, while their credibility is currently under question.
So it is useless for the country and the society.
Drugs and prostitution in Bollywood, match fixing in cricket, like hooliganism and corruption in politics.

AARTI AND ITS SPIRITUAL, SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

Aarti is a means for a man to realize the God. Its a medium of calling out to God. The hymns in an Aarti that are chanted in praise of the Deities are an eternal and divine prayer which wins us the grace of God.

Aarti is a Hindu pooja ritual which means an auspicious light that is offered to the deities in order to get blessed with the divine consciousness and grace of the Gods.

How it's done?

A lighted lamp is held in the right hand and we wave the flame in a clockwise circling...

...direction to illuminate the entire form of God. During the Aarti, loud chants of the hymns are sung in the praise of the God. At the completion, we press our hands onto the flame and gently touch our eyes and head.

Aarti plate is usually of silver,bronze or copper.A lamp made of kneaded flour, mud or metal is filled with oil or ghee. Cotton wicks must be placed in the lamp and lighted. The plate must also contain flowers,incense and akshat(rice).

The Deities are pleased with praises and worship of the person who offers Aarti &in turn bestow him with their Divine Grace.
Most of the Aartis r composed by our great ancient sages &evolved devotees,so these Aartis contain the divine energy&blessings of the spiritually evolved.

Do you know?

A Gouri Naik from Ganesh Nagar, Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka,acquired the title of 'Lady Bhagirath' as she single handedly dug two 60ft deep wells,only b'coz she wanted to take care of her plants and trees.

And they say @GretaThunberg is an Environmentalist.

Gouri is a 51-year old woman who displayed to her village and to the world that she is much younger in spirit. She managed to single-handedly dig a 60 ft deep well in just 3 months with absolutely no help or support from anybody.

While the rest of us constantly complain of sore backs and headaches after spending 8 hrs before a computer screen,Gouri spent 3 mths digging for about 5-6 hrs each day.

Gouri belongs to a remote village where people cannot afford to pay for manpower. But she refused to give in to the play of destiny by becoming the manpower she sought, herself. Despite being a daily wage labourer and a mother, it is quite surprising to note that Gouri...

...managed to grow around 150 Areca trees, 15 Coconut trees, and a few Banana trees around her home and to create a regular supply of water for these coconut and areca plants, the idea of building a well came into her mind.

10 Kms away from Kathmandu at the base of Shivapuri Hill lies South Asia's sculpture wonder, the Budhanilkantha temple, the Abode of Bhagwan Vishnu. The temple houses the world's largest and most beautiful stone-carved idol of Bhagwan Vishnu.

This idol is made with a single block of black basalt stone of unknown origin.Sculpture is 5m long & lies in a resting position in a 13m long pond also called the 'cosmic sea. Vishnu idol in the lake is believed to have been built during the reign of 7th century King Vishnugupta.

It was rediscovered later during reign of Malla Dynasty.Water in lake is believed to have originated from Gosainkund,a lake formed as a result of Bhagwan Shiva's Trident striking with mountain.Local legend describes existence of mirror-like image of Bhagwan Shiv under the statue.

Why Nathuram did what he did?

Here's an excerpt of his final address to the court before he was sentenced.

Just go through it.
#LongThread

Nathuram Godse assassinated Gandhi on 30January1948. The trial began on 27May1948 and concluded on 10Feb1949. He was sentenced to death.

This statement is the last made by Godse before the Court on 5May1949,Punjab High Court,Peterhoff,Simla, India.

Born in a devotional Brahmin family,I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion,Hindu history & culture.I had, therefore,been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole

As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegiance to any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone.

I openly joined RSS wing of anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession.

I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangis participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other. I have read the speeches and writings of Ravana,Chanakiya,

🌺श्री कृष्ण और स्यांतक मणी की कहानी🌺

एक बार भगवान श्रीकृष्ण बलरामजी के साथ हस्तिनापुर गए। उनके हस्तिनापुर चले जाने के बाद अक्रूर और कृतवर्मा ने शतधन्वा को स्यमंतक मणि छीनने के लिए उकसाया। शतधन्वा बड़े दुष्ट और पापी स्वभाव का मनुष्य था।

अक्रूर और कृतवर्मा के बहकाने पर उसने लोभवश सोए हुए सत्राजित को मौत के घाट उतार दिया और मणि लेकर वहाँ से चला गया। शतधन्वा द्वारा अपने पिता के मारे जाने का समाचार सुनकर सत्यभामा शोकातुर होकर रोने लगी।

फिर भगवान श्रीकृष्ण का स्मरण कर उसने यह प्रतिज्ञा की कि जब तक श्रीकृष्ण शतधन्वा का वध नहीं कर देंगे, वह अपने पिता का दाह-संस्कार नहीं होने देगी। इसके बाद उसने हस्तिनापुर जाकर श्रीकृष्ण को सारी घटना से अवगत कराया।वे उसी समय सत्यभामा और बलरामजी के साथ हस्तिनापुर से द्वारिका लौट आए।

द्वारिका पहुँचकर उन्होंने शतधन्वा को बंदी बनाने का आदेश दे दिया। जब शतधन्वा को ज्ञात हुआ कि श्रीकृष्ण ने उसे बंदी बनाने का आदेश दे दिया है तो वह भयभीत होकर कृतवर्मा और अक्रूर के पास गया और उनसे सहायता की प्रार्थना की। किंतु उन्होंने सहायता करने से इंकार कर दिया।

तब उसने स्यमंतक मणि अक्रूर को सौंप दी और अश्व पर सवार होकर द्वारिका से भाग निकला।
श्रीकृष्ण व बलराम को उसके भागने की सूचना मिली।अतः उसका वध करने के लिए वे रथ पर सवार होकर उसका पीछा करने लगे।उन्हें पीछे आते देख शतधन्वा भयभीत होकर अश्व से कूद गया व पैदल ही वन की ओर दौड़ने लगा।