'Indian fashion through the ages, Series- I, postage stamps' - by K J S Chatrath

I have many reasons for visiting Bengaluru in Karnataka, one of those being the desire to visit the philately wing at the General Post Office.

So last fortnight I was there, once again sitting in front of the philately desk. Also sitting was a youngish gentleman with his little 8-9 year old daughter. He introduced himself and told me that he was very happy to see old people like me taking interest in Indian postage stamps. He went on to add that he had come to get his daughter registered in the philately wing so that she gets new stamps as an when those are issued, after all, this is a nice way to know your country, is it not, he asked? I nodded in agreement and complimented him for inculcation such values in her daughter. He then went about the task of depositing Rs.5000/- towards registration and membership.

I on my part bought all the new stamps that I had not seen earlier. I would love to share those with my readers as, quite sadly letter writing and posting letters affixing postage stamps has quietly gone out of vogue. And what a loss!

Here is the first part of such sharing. Indian Postal Department deserves to be complimented for bringing out such lovely stamps.

Come, visit my India!

'Rameswara (Mausi Ma) Temple, Bhubaneswar' - by KJS Chatrath

 

In February 2017, I had the privilege of visiting Bhubaneswar again after a few years. I was able to spend some time visiting some of the may temples of Odisha, some of which I had visited for the first time in 1968. One such temple that I visted was Rameswara temple. I was straight away impressed by two things- a nice signboard in Odiya and English and secondly that  the environs were maintained neat and clean.

 
Now about the background of this temple. Legend goes that when Lord Rama was returning from Lanka after victory over Ravana, Goddess Sita wanted to worship Lord Shiva here. So Rama built a Linga for that purpose.

Traditionally during Ashokashtami, which falls one day before the Rama Naumi in the month of Chaitra,  Lord Lingaraja comes to this temple  in a colourful procession on a large chariot called Rukuna Rath and stays here for four days before returning in the chariot to Lingaraj Temple. In this procession, bronze images of three deities―Chandrasekhar (the representative of Lord Lingaraj), Rukmini and Basudeva are taken to Rameshwar Temple  

This temple is also known as Mausi Maa temple.  Rameswara Temple is just two kms away from Lingaraj temple. The temple houses a Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha made of chlorite. There is also an image of Goddess Durga that is worshipped within the sanctum. The Jagamohan (assembly hall) of the temple was built much later. While some historians say that the temple was built during the late Soma Vansh period that can be traced to the early part of the 12th century AD, others date it back to the 9th century AD.

(Text with inputs from the internet)

'Parsurameswara Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Part- III' - by KJS Chatrath

Lord Ganesha is surely one of the most loved Gods in the Hindu pantheon. 

 Paste of ghee and flowers indicates that the temple is still in use. 

You are invited to see the two earlier posts put up by me on this temple:

(i) 'Parsurameswara Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Part-I' ..by KJS Chatrath ; http://indianheritagephotos.blogspot.com/2018/09/parsurameswara-temple-bhubaneswar.html

(ii) 'Parsurameswara Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Part-II' ..by KJS Chatrath ; http://indianheritagephotos.blogspot.com/2018/09/parsurameswara-temple-bhubaneswar_26.html

'Parsurameswara Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Part-II' ..by KJS Chatrath

 

Lord Shiva in urdhvalinga (erect phallus) mudra

 

 Snake or giant lizard?

Monkey

'Parsurameswara Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Part-I' ..by KJS Chatrath

Parashurameswar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is believed  to be one of the oldest temples in Bhubaneswar and its  date of construction is estimated  to be around  650 A. D. The temple is a specimen of the architectural styles of Odia temples. The temple has sculptures of animals, amorous couples and floral designs. The outer walls have carvings of Lord Ganesh, Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and other Hindu Gods.The special attraction of this temple are the ‘One Thousand Lingas’ placed in the North West corner of the temple.

This temple is next to the famous Mukteshwara temple. The Saptamatrika frieze at the back showing seven mother goddesses is done in amazing detail considering that the temple dates back to the mid 7^th century.

Mother Goddess Chamunda

Odisha is the place one must visit before one dies!

Visit Odisha.

Come, visit my India!