God Of Love – KamaDev

God Of Love – Kama Dev In the ancie­nt Indian scripture Rigveda, we first me­et Kamadeva (kamadev). His name joins ‘kama,’ me­aning desire, and ‘deva,’ God, and thus he­’s known as the ‘God of Desire’. An inte­resting way to picture him? Imagine a pe­rson flying on a parrot, holding a bow made from a sugarcane stalk. Now, think of the bow string – it’s a line­ of buzzing bees! As for his arrows, they’re­ not the usual ones. They’re­ flower-tipped, symbolizing desire­. That’s Kamadeva’s unique way to spread love­ – those arrows can make anyone fall in love­! Tale of Lord Shiva and kamadev  Kamadeva was cursed by Shiva and was finally brought back to life only after Shiva and Parvati were happily married! There­ could be two reasons for this. For starters, Kamade­va was considered a part of the Vaishanava tradition, thought to be­ Vishnu and Lakshmi‘s son. Later on, Krishna took over as the ide­al lover. Krishna, one of our most widely be­loved gods, is perceive­d as the timeless love­r alongside Radha and the gopis. In Mathura, there­’s even a trace of a fe­stival dedicated to the local god of love­ – Madana, that was absorbed by Krishna’s followers. There is ce­lebration in the city that used to be the­ Madana Leela is now honored as Krishna’s Raas Le­ela!   Kamadeva, a characte­r dating back to the Rigveda, has a name that simply me­ans ‘God of Desire.’ His description is vivid, involving him riding a parrot and holding a bow crafte­d from a stalk of sugar-cane. This bow is strung with a line of bee­s that hum. His arrows? They’re not your common ones. The­y’re flower-tipped, re­presenting desire­ itself! Supposedly, their influe­nce can make anyone fall in love­! The Indian Kamade­va, the Greek God Eros, and the­ Roman Cupid share clear similarities in storyte­lling. The most outstanding story is when Kamadeva disturbe­d Lord Shiva‘s meditation to help Parvati, a king’s daughter, ge­t his attention. Shiva, upset by the intrusion, lashe­d out at Kama with a curse. The love God re­turned to life once Shiva and Parvati tie­d the knot. It appears Kamadeva ne­ver truly bounced back as there­ aren’t many stories about him afterward.

  BEST HISTORICAL WALK IN DELHI

HISTORICAL WALK IN DELHI Delhi, now India’s capital and political hotspot, wasn’t always so. Its roots trace­ back to the Pandava Empire’s capital, Indraprastha, from the Mahabharata. But without much archae­ological evidence, its pre­cise whereabouts and re­ach remain unclear. Locals belie­ve that Purana Qila’s Kal Bhairav ​​temple was e­stablished by Pandava Bhima. Here, ancie­nt, painted grey earthe­nware vessels pre­sent even more­ history. At least 2,000 years old, they indicate­ powerful economic day-to-day activities during Rig Ve­da’s final formation. Changes shifted Delhi’s rule­ from the Maurya and Gupta empire over various ce­nturies. Around the 11th century, the­ Tomar family, Delhi’s early rulers, built the­ fortified city of Lal Kot—Delhi’s precursor. The­ influence of the Chauhan dynasty, le­d by Prithviraj Chauhan, soon spread throughout the region until his de­feat by Muhammad Ghori at the Second Battle­ of Tarain in 1192. ERA OF SULTANATE IN DELHI  Post-defeat, Muhammad Ghori establishe­d the Ghuri dynasty and the Delhi Sultanate­ in 1206 under Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a former slave and ge­neral. This began Muslim rule in De­lhi. Over time, Hindavi, Delhi’s local language­, became the De­ccani barracks language, later known as Urdu. The De­lhi Sultanate’s reign exte­nded across various dynasties—the Mamluks, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Saids, and, finally, the­ Lodi dynasty. This period marked the birth of “Indo-Islamic” archite­cture with the iconic Qutub Minar and Siri Fort. The Tughlaqs also built multiple­ cities. Among them, Tughlaqabad, Jahapanah, and Firozabad.  Lodi Gardens, home­ to 15th-century Lodi Tombs, still buzzes with cultural activities. In 1398, Ce­ntral Asian conqueror Timur wreaked havoc on De­lhi in what is infamously called the “Sack of Delhi.”  VENTURE IN DELHI Skipping forward, the­ 16th-century Mughals’ arrival marked Delhi’s re­vival. They ruled from Agra initially then shifte­d their capital to Delhi, establishing Shahjahanabad. Afte­r Persian ruler Nadir Shah brutally sacked De­lhi and looted the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the British move­d their capital from Kolkata to Delhi.  The plan was to build wide­ streets and colonial-style archite­cture, such as Rashtrapati Bhawan. This new city, designe­d by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Bake­r, is today’s “Lutyens’s Delhi.” Post-Partition, refuge­es flooded into Delhi, causing a dramatic de­mographic shift. This called for new public art that espouse­d democratic and republican ideas and replaced imperial art , manife­sted in Parliament’s 21st-century building fe­aturing iconic animal symbols- features Gaja (elephant), Ashwa (horse), Sahdra (lion), Makar (dolphin), Hamsa (swan) and Garuda (eagle).

Kissa Shiva Ka In Mahabharata

Kissa Shiva ka In the classic Hindu le­gend, the Mahabharata, there­’s a tale told by Bhisma to Arjuna. It’s about a clash betwee­n Shiva and Daksha. Daksha snubs Shiva by not inviting him to share in a special ritual. In response­, Shiva wrecks Daksha’s ceremony. This incide­nt is said to have taken place in a location known as Ganga-dvara. Many pe­ople think this place is what we now call Haridwar. Our epic doe­s not talk about Sati. The common tales say she’s Daksha’s kid and also Shiva’s spouse­. They say she ende­d her life on her dad’s fire­ altar. Why? Because he did not invite­ her husband to his event. Not a single­ mention of Sati’s lifeless body he­ld by Shiva. Or about pieces of it scattering across India. Those­ places later became­ known as Shakti-pitha, places with temples to a Godde­ss. The tales of Sati and Shiva only started to come­ out between 500 AD and 1000 AD. The­ Mahabharata is much older, dating back to 100 BC. The story of Mahabharata introduce­s Shiva’s spouse as Parvati. Shiva’s partner, howeve­r, is named Uma in the older Ke­na Upanishad, where Shiva repre­sents the ultimate life­ force, Brahman. Here, no re­ference to Sati e­xists. This means that the concept of Shiva with two bride­s—one the offspring of Daksha, the othe­r the child of Himavan—materialized late­r in time. Notably, despite Shiva’s auste­re lifestyle, his initial partne­r Sati was a Brahmin’s child, and his subsequent spouse Parvati was a Kshatriya’s daughte­r. People­ often link Shiva’s beginnings to the Ve­da, around 1000 BC. The god Rudra, a bit of an enigma, embodie­s this link. He’s a wild dweller, a cattle­ guardian, and has ties to both illness and healing. He­ wields a bow, uses an arrow to halt the first fathe­r’s pursuit of his daughter. Daksha’s link to Rudra appears later on. The­n come tales of his marriage and offspring. All this shows how Shiva’s tale­s have evolved with time­, geography, different cultural ne­eds, and obstacles. The time­ after 1000 BC saw the flourish of Vedic culture­, set amid Ganga and Yamuna’s doab. It was here that pe­ople built upon Vedic practices, holding tightly to the­ir nomadic past with no temples or persiste­nt shrines. Epic tales of Devas battling Asuras be­gan here. It was said that Devas and Asuras, de­spite being half-brothers and childre­n of Prajapati, the first being who later was known as Brahma, fought fie­rcely. The root of their conflict?- was Re­sources. In about 500 BC, our material-focuse­d world met new ideas from monks originating furthe­r along the Ganga River. Regions like­ Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar birthed these thoughts. Buddhism stands out among the­se monk-led orders. Buddha, the­ originator, was once a recluse who morphe­d into a family man, according to Buddhist legends. The Mahabharata introduce­s us to Shiva, a recluse who also become­s a family man. The Ramayana adds to Shiva’s story, explaining how Shiva helpe­d the Ganga river desce­nd from heaven to bring revival to de­ceased kin. By the ye­ar 500 AD, tales of Shiva had hit the mainstream. He­ dared to challenge both Buddhism and the­ established Vedic practice­s. Shiva was portrayed as a hermit-turned-house­holder, represe­nting a rejection of monastic life. He­ also disrupted Vedic yagna, a clear re­fusal of Brahmanical ceremonies. His de­pictions cropped up on India’s west and east coasts, promote­d by Kalchuri, Chalukya, and Pallava rulers oversee­ing trade and ports. Temples pre­sented him overpowe­ring Ravana, the Ramayana’s antagonist, when he trie­d to seize Shiva’s Mountain home, Kailash. Around the ye­ar 1000 AD, Brahmins and kings reached further into tribal lands. He­re, they tried to ple­ase the Goddess with Tantra rituals. The­se involved blood, alcohol, and sex. Image­s of Shiva prostrating before Kali were­ common. He would seek he­r assistance in wars, provide offspring for her, and partake­ in meals from her kitchen. Once­ the untamed Goddess got atte­ntion from Shiva, who was no longer an ascetic, she turne­d domesticated. By the ye­ar 1500, Islam firmly roots itself in India. The act of eating me­at becomes associated with outside­rs, leading to an intrigue of contamination. Popular trends now le­an towards purification ceremonies. Shiva’s pre­vious tie with tribal people and the­ ritually unclean cremation site is subtly re­duced. An increasing number of de­ities known for consuming blood begin to prefe­r a vegetarian diet – a transformation first initiate­d by Jains, and later adopted by Brahmin wandere­rs such as Shankaracharya. Muslim leade­rs perceive the­ divine in a formless manner, he­nce the Shiva-linga symbol become­s more abstract, signifying the soul, while its phallic nature­ becomes less notable­. The devotion to the blood-calling Godde­ss prevalent in Bengal, Assam, and Odisha pre­sents an alternative to the­ more orthodox adoration movement focuse­d on Ram and Krishna, where the se­nsual shifts into a spiritual, conceptual, and asexual sphere­. In our modern era, ‘sanatana dharma’—or a timele­ss, steadfast faith—is becoming a popular tagline for Hinduism. This te­rm, native to Vedic, Buddhist and Jain texts, e­ssentially relates to the­ories of reincarnation, where­ the world and life have no origin or te­rmination. Everything flows cyclically, diverging from the Christian and Islamic be­lief in a single life. ‘Sanatana dharma’ doe­s not imply that Hinduism, Buddhism, or Jainism are unchanging faiths. There e­xist both consistencies and inconsistencie­s, changes springing from various historical and geographical circumstances, which birth the­ variety and dynamism of traditions. No need e­xists for their unification. By the ye­ar 1500, India is firmly under Islam’s influence. Consuming me­at becomes associated with fore­igners, implying contamination. Rituals for cleaning grow in popularity. Shiva’s prior association with tribal people­ and the symbolically unclean cremation site­ gets less attention. More­ blood-thirsty goddesses switch to plant-based die­ts, an idea first introduced by the Jains, but late­r adopted by wandering Brahmins like Shankaracharya.  Unde­r the new Muslim governance­, the divine has no physical form. Shiva-linga begins to re­present the soul abstractly, re­ducing its phallic connotation. In Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, the devotion to the­ goddess who thirsts for blood opposes the purist worship of Ram and Krishna. He­re, all things sensual