DOCSLIB.ORG

Two Shakti Pithas of Kandhamal District

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Two Shakti Pithas of Kandhamal District Orissa Review September - 2009 Two Shakti Pithas of Kandhamal District Raghunatha Rath Shakti cult or Mother Goddess worship had been level are known as Rastra Devi. They are being traced in the Indus valley civilization. Hence we Hinduized in name and process of worship also believe that from the ancient period Mother and Bramhin priests are engaged by the state. Goddess is being worshipped in India. Suktas The deities Pattakhanda and Baral Devi were dedicated in the Vedas to as much as forty of Kandhamal district have a tribal root, in course female deities. It is widely of time they have developed to accepted by scholars that the the status of regional fame being root of Shakti worship is laying patronized by local chiefs and in Devi Sukta of Rig Veda. So worshipped by both tribals and there is no doubt about non-tribals which helped the ancientness of mother chiefs to subdue the tribal Goddess worship in India. subjects and to gain control over In Adibasi community them. In the following paras we most of deities belongs to will come to know about both the female line. They worship deities in detail. Earth Goddess, River Goddess Pattakhanda Goddess, and Mountain Goddess etc. All the sources The word Pattakhanda literally of nature are worshiped as means "chief sword or main Goddesses in tribal societies. sword". Pattakhanda worship Likewise at the end of each indicates worship of weapons. village in Odisha we can Weapons are regarded as Goddess Durga, which is witness a place dedicated to Goddess Pattakhanda Mother Goddess, known by prevalent in the Hindu society of different names. They are believed to be the Odisha since remote past. guardian deities of the village and eradicate all The deity of Pattakhanda installed at evils. But some of them are regarded as deities of Balliguda, Mahasingi and elsewhere is regional or state level, being patronized by the represented by a piece of crude stone, having no chief of the state. Deities gained the status of state shape of any living being. A sword is being placed 154 Orissa Review September - 2009 near the deity known as Pattakhanda. It may be But other tribal systems are still prevailing there. presumed that the sword had been presented by Even the non-brahmin priests are not changed till any local chief many years ago. Placing of a sword now. A beautiful temple have been built for the indicate that the deity was regarded as war deity deity, golden and silver ornaments are used to in remote past and gradually people regarded her decorate Her. Nuakhai, Kandul Bhaja Parab as guardian deity of the village as well as the and Dasahara festival are being observed in region. Nonbramhin, mostly Kshatriya caste Pattakhanda Pitha at Balliguda. Dasahara is priests are employed for worship of the deities of observed with much pump and gaity. A mud figure Pattkhanda. Except Balliguda in other places a of Mahisa Mardini Durga is being made in the curved pole is posted named as chhatkhamba campus of Pattakhanda temple and worshiped where the sacrificed animal is being tied. It remind by bramhin priests in Hindu manner of worship us the worship of Khambeswari by the tribal for four days i.e. from the 7th to 10th day of bright Kandhas in the bygone days. fortnight in the month of Aswin every year. People of Balliguda region regards Kandul Bhaja Puja is observed in a day Mahasingi as the first seat of Goddess in the month of Phalguna as decided by the Pattakhanda, where she was worshipped by temple committee. Arhar is locally known as Kshatriyas belonging to Nala dynasty. They were kandul. Till observation of kandulbhaja parab called Raja of the area. When their family people of this region strictly do not eat kandul. expanded they were sent to rule in different muthas and they also established a pitha of Bonda tribals of Mudulipada area also Pattakhanda at each mutha headquarters. In this observe Pattakhanda worship on the first way Pattakhanda worship extended from a village Monday in the month of Magha. A sword known cult to a regional status. as Pattakhanda kept in a hole of a banyan tree is brought down and worshipped by the disari, the According to belief the original seat of priest and sacrificed a goat. The blood of the Pattakhanda is Jarasinga in Bolangir district. From sacrificed animal is mixed with the seeds to be Jarasinga the deity was brought by the first Raja planted next year and distributed among all. We of Mahasingi to his capital. In the past Balliguda could not find any link between the Pattakhanda was not having a prominent status. So British of Mudulipada and Balliguda. But a legendary link authorities built a bridge on the river near could be observed with Pattakhanda of Jarasinga Mahasingi and a Restshed to camp there. The of Bolangir district and Mahasingi. The legend bridge still exists. When Forest Range Office, runs as follows. Taluk Office and Police Office were set up in the last quarter of 19th century at Balliguda by British About 25 generations back there lived Government, then outsiders migrated to Balliguda adivasi chiefs named Nagbura and Kanabura, and settled permanently. Those plain-lander who were worshipping Goddess Pattakhanda. people started worshipping the tribal Goddess They both committed innumerable offences, which Pattakhanda. Since then the Goddess was enraged the Goddess. Due to the anger of the regarded by both tribals and nontribals. The Goddess for twelve years, the animals and the Goddess is being offered Prasad two times a day human being could not became pregnant, the and Arati (Light offering) is being done daily at crops failed, trees did not yield fruit and the evening, which was introduced by caste Hindus. streams also dried up. 155 Orissa Review September - 2009 People fett that such calamities occurred Baraldevi is worshipped in each village due to the anger of Goddess Pattakhanda. Hence of Kandhamal subdivision. All the matters of the all of them prayed the Goddess and begged Goddess is being administrated by a committee apology. The Goddess appeared in dream and represented by sirdars of the muthas around the told them that the chief priests have done unclean seat of the deity. things. Hence I am not satisfied with their worship. Baraldevi is also worshiped at So you have to search for another priest. Then G.Udayagiri, K.Nuagam and Mahasingi of the people prayed Her to know the name of the Balliguda Sub-Division and Bandhagada, Menia, Priest. Gochhapada etc. of Kandhamal Sub-Division. In reply the Goddess told them in dream Goddess Badarauli devi, who is worshiped at that they should tie two pieces of black yarn and Baramul in Nayagarh district, is perhaps a yellow yarn to two arrows and shoot them high changed version of Baraldevi who have into the air. Where these two arrows would fall connection with Sri Jagannath temple. Before there would be a man and he was to be brought cutting of timber for making of chariot of Lord and make their King. Then Nagbura and Jagannath the Goddess Badarauli is being Kanabura shooted the arrows and ran after the worshipped with the offerings of seven sarees, arrows. The arrows went and struck the ground Mahaprasad, sandle wood and flower garlands near a spring in Jorasingi, at which place a man sent from the Sri Jagannath temple. Hence the named Madan Singi was bathing. Then the importance of Goddess Baraldevi, which is a cult Kandhas bodily carried him to Mahasingi and of tribal society needs more research. kept him with royal honour. Then the Kandhas At the main seat of Baraldevi at assigned him with some hard work in order to Balaskumpa, Durgapuja is observed from the test him and miraculously Madan Singh came out second day to tenth day in the bright fortnight of successful. Then the Kandhas installed him as the month of Aswin, which is locally known as their king and the chief preist of Goddess Navami Jatra. On the beginning day of the Pattakhanda. There-after all their miseries festival the Sword, Gun, Tangi and Knife which vanished and they lively peacefully. were presented by the then Raja of Baudh are Goddess Baraladevi placed near the shrine and offered puja by the Dehury, the priest and a goat is being sacrificed. Goddess Baraldevi is the presiding deity On Navami the main Puja is celebrated. On this of village Balaskumpa, which is situated at a day people of the area are used to gather at distance of 15 kms from Phulbani, the Balaskumpa and offer their worship to the headquarters town of Kandhamal district. A Goddess. Instead of the main buffalo other temple has been built for the deity now. Before buffaloes of the persons mentally desired are tied construction of the temple there was a thatched in front of the temple on poles fixed there. The hut meant for the deity. The Deity is in the form of pole where the main buffalo is being tied is known three to four small stones buried in the ground as chhatkhamba. When a old chhatkhamba is and decorated with vermilion. In front of the temple destroyed a new one is inserted. To insert a new a pole is posted, where the sacrificed animal was post some rites are observed which has tied before sacrifice. Since 1999 animal sacrifice resemblance with Navakalevar of Lord has been stopped. Jagannath. 156 Orissa Review September - 2009 After sacrifice of the main buffalo Purunakatak in the name of Bhairabi. Then the arranged by the temple committee, other buffalos Raja entered his Kingdom and installed the deity are sacrificed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • GCSE Hinduism Shakti Definition: Shakti : Idea of God As a Female
    GCSE Hinduism Shakti Definition: Shakti : idea of God as a female power. Some renowned forms of God as Mother, are Parvati, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati Key Points Parvati: 1) Female Shakti 2) Consort of Lord Shiva. 3) Power to other devis come from her 4) Mother to Kartika & Ganesh Idea of God(shiva) and his manifesting power(parvati) are inseparable Durga 1) Role of the destroyer of evil 2) Sent to kill buffalo-demon, Maheshasura, 3) Carrying many different divine weapons to fight Maheshasura 4) She battled against the demon for 9 days and nights. 5) On the 10 th day the devil was killed – Dusserah 6) Durga puja is the festival celebrated mainly in eastern part of India. 7) She is seated on a tiger – suppression of ego. Lakshmi 1) Consort of Vishnu 2) Goddess of Beauty, Prosperity(wealth) and benevolence(love) 3) Wears a red/pink sari 4) Holds a lotus in 2 hands, and money flowing from other 2 hands 5) Money flowing represents offerings to devotees 6) Particularly worshipped at Diwali - Laksmi Pujan Saraswati 1) Consort of Brahma 2) Personification of Knowledge & aesthetics a. Expressed via art, music & dance 3) Holds a Veena (instrument like a sitar) 4) Wears a white Sari – symbol of purity 5) Holds scriptures in one hand for knowledge & rosary(mala) in another – for austerity Kali 1) Female role of destroyer (like female Shiva) so has scary appearance 2) Has black skin & hair 3) Necklace of skulls 4) Scary appearance shows God is both creator and destroyer, as if god creates everything, then only He can destroy it.
    [Show full text]
  • Essays and Addresses on the Śākta Tantra-Śāstra
    ŚAKTI AND ŚĀKTA ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES ON THE ŚĀKTA TANTRAŚĀSTRA BY SIR JOHN WOODROFFE THIRD EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED Celephaïs Press Ulthar - Sarkomand - Inquanok – Leeds 2009 First published London: Luzac & co., 1918. Second edition, revised and englarged, London: Luzac and Madras: Ganesh & co., 1919. Third edition, further revised and enlarged, Ganesh / Luzac, 1929; many reprints. This electronic edition issued by Celephaïs Press, somewhere beyond the Tanarian Hills, and mani(n)fested in the waking world in Leeds, England in the year 2009 of the common error. This work is in the public domain. Release 0.95—06.02.2009 May need furthur proof reading. Please report errors to [email protected] citing release number or revision date. PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. HIS edition has been revised and corrected throughout, T and additions have been made to some of the original Chapters. Appendix I of the last edition has been made a new Chapter (VII) in the book, and the former Appendix II has now been attached to Chapter IV. The book has moreover been very considerably enlarged by the addition of eleven new Chapters. New also are the Appendices. The first contains two lectures given by me in French, in 1917, before the Societé Artistique et Literaire Francaise de Calcutta, of which Society Lady Woodroffe was one of the Founders and President. The second represents the sub- stance (published in the French Journal “Le Lotus bleu”) of two lectures I gave in Paris, in the year 1921, before the French Theosophical Society (October 5) and at the Musée Guimet (October 6) at the instance of L’Association Fran- caise des amis de L’Orient.
    [Show full text]
  • Development and Cultural Change Among the Kandh Tribals of Kandhamal
    Orissa Review Development and Cultural Change Among the Kandh Tribals of Kandhamal Raghunath Rath Development means — to advance from a lower while the Greeks seemed to have created the term to a higher state or grow. It is a continuous with fraternities and in Irish history the term means process. Due to this process cro-magnon man families or communities having the same surname reached to the present stage as we see now. But (Bagchi : 1992) here development means that development of a human society from bad to lead a better life. The In Vedic period — A section of meaning of development is now divided into Dravidians who escaped defeat and did not developed, developing and undeveloped surrender to the Aryans, continued to maintain categories. The so called developed societies look their independent existence in the remote hills and other two categories inferior to them. Likewise forests. They are believed to be the forerunners we the so called elite group of our society feels of the various tribes in India. (Verma 2002 : 6). superior than the downtrodden mass. They were called as Sudras in Rig Veda and later renamed as Jana in Buddhist, purimic and secular Now development measured according literature of early medieval period, just to designate to GDP growth rate at national level. But there is many communities whom we often refer to as the no indicator to measure the development at tribe (Bagchi : 1992). ground level. Tribals and rural mass at lower level of our society are enjoying the fruit of So many definitions are also found to development in lesser degree in comparison to denote the term tribe.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Methods of Food Gathering of the Hill-Dwelling Kutia Kandha Tribe in Kandhamal District of Odisha
    www.ijcrt.org © 2018 IJCRT | Volume 6, Issue 1 January 2018 | ISSN: 2320-2882 INDIGENOUS METHODS OF FOOD GATHERING OF THE HILL-DWELLING KUTIA KANDHA TRIBE IN KANDHAMAL DISTRICT OF ODISHA Mr. Mukunda Mallick, Ph.D Research Scholar, Dept. Economics, KIIT School of Social Sciences, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha,India Abstract: Food gathering has been an important economic activity of tribals since prehistoric time. The examples of food gathering among the tribals can be seen in every part of the country. Food gathering is an economic reality for tribals belonging to different cultural types. Hill-dwelling Kutia Kandha (PVTG) tribe of Kandhamal district, in addition to their conventional foods, rice, finger millet and a few popular pulses, they use many types of naturally occurring unusual additional food items such as carnals of mango, wild bean, tamarind, younglings of bamboo and wild mushrooms etc. Detail methods of processing of these items are unique and bitter tasting chemicals (alkaloids) of these food items are removed by repeated boiling and discarding the boiled water. Key words: Food gathering, Kutia Kandha tribe, Kandhamal, odisha Introduction: Food gathering has been an important economic activity of tribals since prehistoric time. In fact hunting and food gathering represents early stage of economic of mankind because in the beginning, man was not able to produce anything .The examples of food gathering among the tribals can be seen in every part of the country. Food gathering is an economic reality for tribals belonging to different cultural types. The word Kandha means “mountaineer” derived from the Telugu word „Ko‟ or „ku‟ signifying a hill or mountain and their hill as „Kui Country‟ (Kuidina).The Kandha are believed to be from the Proto-Australoid ethnic.
    [Show full text]
  • Devi: the Great Goddess (Smithsonian Institute)
    Devi: The Great Goddess Detail of "Bhadrakali Appears to Rishi Chyavana." Folio 59 from the Tantric Devi series. India, Punjab Hills, Basohli, ca 1660-70. Opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and beetle-wing cases on paper. Purchase, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution F1997.8 Welcome to Devi: The Great Goddess. This web site has been developed in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name. The exhibition is on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery from March 29, 1999 through September 6, 1999. Like the exhibition, this web site looks at the six aspects of the Indian goddess Devi. The site offers additional information on the contemporary and historical worship of Devi, activities for children and families, and a list of resources on South Asian arts and cultures. You may also want to view another Sackler web site: Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion, an on-line guide for educators explores Hindu worship and provides lesson plans and activities for children. This exhibition is made possible by generous grants from Enron/Enron Oil & Gas International, the Rockefeller Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Hughes Network Systems, and the ILA Foundation, Chicago. Related programs are made possible by Victoria P. and Roger W. Sant, the Smithsonian Educational Outreach Fund, and the Hazen Polsky Foundation. http://www.asia.si.edu/devi/index.htm (1 of 2) [7/1/2000 10:06:15 AM] Devi: The Great Goddess | Devi Homepage | Text Only | | Who is Devi | Aspects of Devi | Interpreting Devi | Tantric Devi | For Kids | Resources | | Sackler Homepage | Acknowledgements | The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief Industrial Profile of Kandhamal District 2019-20
    Government of India Ministry of MSME Brief Industrial Profile of Kandhamal District 2019-20 Carried out by MSME-Development Institute, Cuttack (Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India,) As per the guidelines issued by o/o DC(MSME),NewDelhi Vikash Sadan, College Square, Cuttack-753003 Phone-0671-2950011 Fax: 0671-2950011 E-mail: [email protected] Web- www.msmedicuttack.gov.in F O R E W O R D Every year Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Institute, Cuttack under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India has been undertaking the Industrial Potentiality Survey for the districts in the State of Odisha and brings out the Survey Report as per the guidelines issued by the office of Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of MSME, Government of India, New Delhi. Under its Annual Action Plan 2019-20, all the districts of Odisha have been taken up for the survey. This Industrial Potentiality Survey Report of Kandhamal district covers various parameters like socio-economic indicators, present industrial structure of the district and availability of industrial clusters, problems and prospects in the district for industrial development with special emphasis on scope for setting up of potential MSMEs. The report provides useful information and a detailed idea of the industrial potentialities of the district. I hope this Industrial Potentiality Survey Report would be an effective tool to the existing and prospective entrepreneurs, financial institutions and promotional agencies while planning for development of MSME sector in the district. I would like to place on record my appreciation for Sri B. K. Moharana, Asst.
    [Show full text]
  • Odisha Information Commission Block B-1, Toshali Bhawan, Satyanagar
    Odisha Information Commission Block B-1, Toshali Bhawan, Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar-751007 * * * Weekly Cause List from 27/09/2021 to 01/10/2021 Cause list dated 27/09/2021 (Monday) Shri Balakrishna Mohapatra, SIC Court-I (11 A.M.) Sl. Case No. Name of the Name of the Opposite party/ Remarks No Complainant/Appellant Respondent 1 S.A. 846/18 Satyakam Jena Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha, Bhubaneswar City Distribution Division-1, Power House Chhak, Bhubaneswar 2 S.A.-3187/17 Ramesh Chandra Sahoo Office of the C.D.M.O., Khurda, Khurda district 3 S.A.-2865/17 Tunuram Agrawal Office of the General Manager, Upper Indravati Hydro Electrical Project, Kalahandi district 4 S.A.-2699/15 Keshab Behera Office of the Panchayat Samiti, Khariar, Nawapara district 5 S.A.-2808/15 Keshab Behera Office of the Block Development Officer, Khariar Block, Nawapara 6 S.A.-2045/17 Ramesh Chandra Sahoo Office of the Chief District Medical Officer, Khurda, Khurda district 7 C.C.-322/17 Dibakar Pradhan Office of the Chief District Medical Officer, Balasore district 8 C.C.-102/18 Nabin Behera Office of the C.S.O., Boudh, Boudh district 9 S.A.-804/16 Surasen Sahoo Office of the Chief District Medical Officer, Nayagarh district 10 S.A.-2518/16 Sirish Chandra Naik Office of the Block Development Officer, Jashipur Block, Mayurbhanj 11 S.A.-1249/17 Deepak Kumar Mishra Office of the Drugs Inspector, Ganjam-1, Range, Berhampur, Ganjam district 12 S.A.-637/18 M. Kota Durga Rao Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd., Odisha State Police Housing & Welfare Coroporation Building, Vani Vihar Chowk, Bhubaneswar 13 S.A.-1348/18 Manini Behera Office of the Executive Engineer, GED-1, Bhubaneswar 14 S.A.
    [Show full text]
  • District Statistical Hand Book, Kandhamal, 2018
    GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA DISTRICT STATISTICAL HAND BOOK KANDHAMAL 2018 DIRECTORATE OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, ODISHA ARTHANITI ‘O’ PARISANKHYAN BHAWAN HEADS OF DEPARTMENT CAMPUS, BHUBANESWAR PIN-751001 Email : [email protected]/[email protected] Website : desorissa.nic.in [Price : Rs.25.00] ସଙ୍କର୍ଷଣ ସାହୁ, ଭା.ପ.ସସ ଅର୍ଥନୀତି ଓ ପରିସଂ孍ୟାନ ଭବନ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶକ Arthaniti ‘O’ Parisankhyan Bhawan ଅର୍େନୀତି ଓ ପରିସଂଖ୍ୟାନ HOD Campus, Unit-V Sankarsana Sahoo, ISS Bhubaneswar -751001, Odisha Director Phone : 0674 -2391295 Economics & Statistics e-mail : [email protected] Foreword I am very glad to know that the Publication Division of Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) has brought out District Statistical Hand Book-2018. This book contains key statistical data on various socio-economic aspects of the District and will help as a reference book for the Policy Planners, Administrators, Researchers and Academicians. The present issue has been enriched with inclusions like various health programmes, activities of the SHGs, programmes under ICDS and employment generated under MGNREGS in different blocks of the District. I would like to express my thanks to Sri P. M. Dwibedy, Joint Director, DE&S, Bhubaneswar for his valuable inputs and express my thanks to the officers and staff of Publication Division of DES for their efforts in bringing out this publication. I also express my thanks to the Deputy Director (P&S) and his staff of DPMU, Kandhamal for their tireless efforts in compilation of this valuable Hand Book for the District. Bhubaneswar (S. Sahoo) July, 2020 Sri Pabitra Mohan Dwibedy, Joint Director Directorate of Economics & Statistics Odisha, Bhubaneswar Preface The District Statistical Hand Book, Kandhamal’ 2018 is a step forward for evidence based planning with compilation of sub-district level information.
    [Show full text]
  • Kandhamal District
    Orissa Review (Census Special) KANDHAMAL DISTRICT Khonds rose in rebellion under Chakra Bisoyee, the Raja failed to enforce law and order in that territory and later the Kandhamals were brought The name of the district ‘Kandhamal’ is derived under the administration of the British in February from the name of its major inhabitants Kandhas. 1835. The Kandhamals were made a Sub- Being Dravidians, they were in this hilly tract of division of the district of Anugul in 1891 and in the country before the advent of the Aryans. They 1904 Phulabani was made the sub-divisional have been classified under the ancient Gondid race headquarters. of the Proto-Australoid group, which according to scholars like Risley, preceded the Aryans by The district Kandhamal is one of the many thousand years. centrally located districts of Orissa and lies between 19045' and 20030' North latitudes and The undivided district of Boudh 83045' and 84030' East longitudes. It is bounded Phulabani was created in the year, 1948 with two by Baudh district on the north, Rayagada, sub-divisions, Boudh and Kandhamal, having the Gajapati & Ganjam districts on the south, headquarters at Phulabani. These two sub- Nayagarh and Ganjam districts on the east and divisions formed two districts, namely, Boudh and Kalahandi & Balangir districts on the west. The Kandhamal vide Notification No.DRC-218/93/ district having an area of 8021 sq. kms. is situated 56413/R dated 22.12.1993 and Notification at a distance of 211 kms. from the state hqrs, No.44250-DRC.136/94 dated 13.10.1994 Bhubaneswar. respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Shakta and Shakti by Usha Chatterji
    Shakta and Shakti By Usha Chatterji Source: Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 2, No.4. (Autumn 1968) © World Wisdom, Inc. www.studiesincomparativereligion.com THE cult of the Mother Goddess is as old as humanity. It is believed that in antiquity the cult extended to all the countries and thrived in all the civilizations from the Nile and Euphrates to the Aegean Sea; "Looking to the east of the Euphrates we see the Dusk Divinity of India, the Adya-Shakti and Maha-Shakti, or Supreme Power of many names as Gagadamba, Mother of the World, which is the Play of Her who is named Lalita," (Sir John Woodroffe). In India, the Great Mother has been worshipped from the Himalayan mountains in the north to Cape Comorin in the extreme south; the word Cape Comorin is a corrupted form of Kanya Kumari or Kumari Devi, the Virgin Daughter, as the goddess is often called. The Vedas speak much of the goddesses. Their images are radiant with beauty, power and intelligence. From the Vedas themselves the Shakta Tantras, cult-books of the Goddess, derive their inspiration. In the Rig-Veda the goddess Sarasvati receives much homage: "Pure, Sarasvati, with all her bounties, rich in thoughts, inspires us towards truth, causes in us the required virtues, Sarasvati by her divinity awakens in us consciousness, illumines us in our thoughts." She is intelligence, science, arts, and all knowledge. The word shakti comes from the root "shak," "to be able, to have power". Any thing, any activity, has power; if the power be not visible, it is latent.
    [Show full text]
  • Department of History, Sambalpur University Evaluative Report for the Period 2010-11 to 2014-15
    Sambalpur University/ NAAC/RAR/Vol. II/History 150 Department of History, Sambalpur University Evaluative Report for the period 2010-11 to 2014-15 1. Name of the Department : P.G. Department of History 2. Year of establishment : 1969 3. Is the Department part of a School/Faculty of the University?: Yes 4. Names of the programmes offered (UG, PG, M.Phil., Ph.D., Integrated Masters, Integrated Ph.D., D.Sc., D.Litt., etc) : PG, M.Phil., Ph.D. 5. Interdisciplinary programmes and Department involved: The Department offers archaeology as a special paper in PG level, besides it also conducts regular excavations/exploration programmes in different parts of western Odisha. A good number of M. Phil. and Ph.D. Dissertations have been done in this discipline. Archaeology is an inter-disciplinary subject for addressing various academic/research requirements. The Department has been collaborating frequently with the School of Physics, Department of Chemistry and the department of Earth Sciences of the Sambalpur University, besides institute of Physics Bhubaneswar, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany Lucknow and Department of Archaeology Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune. 6. Courses in collaboration with other Universities, industries, foreign institutions, etc.: Nil 7. Details of programmes discontinued, if any, with reasons: Nil 8. Examination system: Annual/Semester/Trimester/Choice Based Credit System: Semester System Sambalpur University/ NAAC/RAR/Vol. II/History 151 9. Participation of the Department in the courses offered by other Departments: Inter-disciplinary course is offered by every Departments of the University in which students of the Department are participated in other Departments and Vice-versa.
    [Show full text]
  • Hindu Gods and Goddesses Great Gods Hindus Believe That There Are Three Great Gods (Māhadevas)
    Hindu Gods and Goddesses Great Gods Hindus believe that there are three great gods (Māhadevas). These are considered the Trimurti – the three aspects of the universal supreme God. Vishnu Brahma Shiv a Great Gods The Tridevi are Goddesses who are equally important. Saraswati Lakshm Shakti i Brahma Brahma is the god (deva) of creation. He has four arms and four faces, looking in the four directions. Each of his four heads is believed to be responsible for one of the four Vedas (sacred Hindu texts). Brahma is not worshipped as much as the other gods, as it is believed his role as creator is over. His wife is Saraswati – the goddess of Knowledge. Saraswati Saraswati is the goddess (devi) of knowledge and the arts. Her swan personifies pure knowledge. She is sometimes depicted with a peacock which is said to represent the arts. She taught Brahma (her husband) the ability to sense, think, comprehend and communicate. Saraswati rejected material things in favour of pure wisdom. Vishnu Vishnu is the god responsible for preserving and protecting the universe. His role is to return to Earth during troubled times to restore the balance between good and evil. His incarnations (human forms of Vishnu) include Rama and Krishna. His last incarnation is said to be Siddartha Gautama – otherwise known as ‘Buddha’ (the founder of Buddhism). His wife is Lakshmi. Lakshmi Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and purity. She is depicted with four arms and standing on a lotus flower. Hindus believe that if she is worshipped sincerely, and not in greed, she will bless them with fortune and success.
    [Show full text]