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#KnowYourHistory - 001

#AsalBharat - How Sanatan Dharma brings out heroes even Avengers may not match up with -

 Today is the day when in 1923, a braveheart took birth in the home of Dr. Amarnath Sharma, an officer in the Armed Medical Corps of the then British Indian Army. He was not extremely studious, but was brilliant at sports and other physical activities.
He followed into the footsteps of his illustrious family, and joined the British Indian Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, right into the middle of World War II. Later on, he would gain name by fighting against all odds at Badgam in November 1947, getting martyred when he was only 24.
This was Major Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. But did you know that the medal was designed by his own brother's mother in law? -
Yes, call it a twist of irony, or sheer coincidence, but the Param Vir Chakra was actually designed by the mother in law of Major Somnath Sharma's brother, whose name was Savitri Bai Khanolkar. Even more interesting is the fact she was not a Bharatiya by birth either -
Born on 20 July 1913 as Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros, Savitribai Khanolkar was a Swiss artist, who spent her early childhood in Geneva. Though living in Europe, Eve was extremely interested in the beauty of nature, and was equally interested towards Sanatana Dharma.
Her interest towards Hinduism took a whole new turn, when she met Vikram Ramji Khanolkar, a young cadet on a break from his training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst -
Though there was a stark difference of 8 years in their age, the two slowly fell in love with each other. Eve was so much attracted towards Vikram and his beliefs, that she rebelled against her hesitating father, and arrived at India a couple of years later.
Vikram and Eve married each other in 1932, and Savitri willingly converted to Hinduism, adopting the name Savitribai for herself, based on the determined woman who compelled even Yamraj to revert his decision and restore the life of her husband Satyavan.
Savitri Bai Khanolkar Savitri Bai identified so closely with Hindu traditions and ideals, that her integration into Indian society was smooth and effortless -
She was a vegetarian, learnt to speak fluent Marathi, Sanskrit and Hindi and learnt Indian music, dance and painting. She always claimed that she had been "born in Europe by mistake" as she was Indian soul, and woe unto him who dared to call her a "foreigner"!
She was so fascinated with Indian culture that she read extensively from Hindu scriptures and had a deep knowledge of India's ancient history and legends.
It was this knowledge that led Major General Hira Lal Atal, the creator of the Param Vir Chakra, to ask for Savitri Bai's help in designing a medal that would truly symbolize the highest bravery -
Savitribai thought of the sage Dadhichi – a vedic rishi who made the ultimate sacrifice to the Gods. He gave up his body so that the Gods could fashion a deadly weapon – a Vajra, or thunderbolt, from his spine. This was why the Param Vir Chakra has the Vajra emblazoned on it.
This was how the Param Vir Chakra became India's highest gallantry award since independence. Little did she realize that the first recipient would be her own daughter's brother in law, that too posthumously -
The Param Vir Chakra is not awarded in the style of other gallantry awards in the world. It is only given to the rarest of the rare in terms of gallantry, i.e. in order to win it, you have to defy every known notion of realism and practicality in terms of bravery -
This is why out of the 21 brave souls who won the Param Vir Chakra, only 7 had the blessings of proudly getting the medal pinned on their chest. Their stories are such that even fans of Avengers or action heroes like Arnold, Rambo etc. be like

"WHAT THE HELL DID WE JUST MISS?"
This is only the beginning, for we deserve to know more. It is the beauty of Sanatana Dharma, that even people who have no close association with the religion are compelled to be attracted towards its charming world, as Savitribai Khanolkar was.

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India must reclaim the term “Jambūdwīpa”.


The word “Jambūdwīpa” is attested not just in India, but in the whole Asian literature. This is how Asian civilizations like India, China, Japan etc. have seen the world, as a sacred geography centered on the Mēru mountain (Sumēru). These ideas spread through Buddhism.


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Due to thriving and well connected trade routes, as well as mastery in astronomical observations and calculus, Asian civilizations had been *far ahead* of Europe in the field of geography. But simplistic European (Greek) divisions of geography are being imposed to this day.


This doesn’t make any sense. “Asia” is a gigantic geographical mass. That mass of Asia is absurdly and quixotically cut from Europe, whose divisions are entirely based on “convention” (that is no geological or geographical sense). See the random borders between Eurasia.
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Chapter 19 of #India2030 by @devdip tells us what the new idea of Nationalism in the 2020s will be — an integral union of the nation with the self
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Chapter 18 of #India2030 by @sandipanthedeb examines how ideologies and technologies will intrude into and redefine Friendships
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Folks. Ever heard of a temple with a Shiva Lingam so tall that it is worshipped on two floors?
And a Shaktipeeth where the Goddess so furious that Adi Sankaracharya changed her pose to face away from devotees?

No? A thread on the Draksharamam Bhimeswara Manikyamba Temple


Draksharamam is a quaint little town located in the Godavari Delta, in the East Godavari district of Andhra. This otherwise sleepy little place hosts a temple with a history as old as our civilisation itself. Shiva worshipped as Bheemeswara and Parvati worshipped as Manikyamba.


Legend has it that the Daksha Yagnya took place here, where Sati immolated herself after being insulted by her father, and the rampage by Lord Virabhadra ensued on the orders of an enraged Shiva.
Thus the name for the town as Draksharamam.


Another version for the name is the numerous grape plantations which proliferated in the area during ancient times. So the word "Draksha" (Sanskrit and Telugu for grapes) was used to christen the town.

Draksharama is a part of the legendary Pancha Rama Kshetras. These are the five holy places where the Shiva Lingam worn by the demon Tarakasura was broken and installed in temples by Lord Karthikeya. Only after the ShivLing broke, could Karthikeya slay Tarakasura.
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Kangana's malady: An acute case of a right wing afflicted
===============================
I really feel sad for this lady. But it exposes a critical problem of a right wing mind. Of a life lived comparing.
Since she is in arts field. Let's take music which has distinct classes of

music e.g. Western classic or Hindustani/Carnatic Classical. A virtuoso in any one of these music forms will not seek to denigrate or compare one art against another. Actually, a good classical artiste won't even denigrate folk music. It is equally as hard to compose a great

bhakti poetry as it is to compose a spiritual shloka. One can find something mystical in both.
Art is really about losing oneself - An exploration melting into knowledge and finally into empathy and union. As you grow in an art form, you lose your identity even as humility grows.

You start seeing beauty all around. A great saint in one religion sees greatness in another religion too. Such a person is indeed a virtuoso.
The problem with a right wing mind is that it needs control and a sense of power. They resemble the angry executives who populate our

corporate office hiding their incompetence behind arrogance and anger. That's the cowardice that Mohua Moitra talks about. They compare, compete, denigrate others (Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise) and then create their own competition field (Padma Award) and in the worst case may be
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The centre of all architectural development was the temple and temple or Mandir was the earthly home of God, and like the launching pad for the devotee’s consciousness to soar toward the Divine and the spiritual world.


The murti or deity of the Divine would be placed in the temple sanctum, around which all temple activity would revolve.

Such buildings were often elaborately decorated with stone, wood, plaster, etc. and carved or cut to depict the stories from the Puranas or other sacred texts


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The first ever world map was sketched thousands of years ago by Indian saint
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सुदर्शनं प्रवक्ष्यामि द्वीपं तु कुरुनन्दन। परिमण्डलो महाराज द्वीपोऽसौ चक्रसंस्थितः॥
यथा हि पुरुषः पश्येदादर्शे मुखमात्मनः। एवं सुदर्शनद्वीपो दृश्यते चन्द्रमण्डले॥ द्विरंशे पिप्पलस्तत्र द्विरंशे च शशो महान्।

—वेद व्यास, भीष्म पर्व, महाभारत


Meaning:-

हे कुरुनन्दन ! सुदर्शन नामक यह द्वीप चक्र की भाँति गोलाकार स्थित है, जैसे पुरुष दर्पण में अपना मुख देखता है, उसी प्रकार यह द्वीप चन्द्रमण्डल में दिखायी देता है। इसके दो अंशो मे पीपल और दो अंशो मे विशाल शश (खरगोश) दिखायी देता है।


Meaning: "Just like a man sees his face in the mirror, so does the Earth appears in the Universe. In the first part you see leaves of the Peepal Tree, and in the next part you see a Rabbit."

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