TEMPLES OF RAJASTHAN

The earliest dated temple in Rajasthan is the Shitaleshwara Temple at Chandrabhaga, near Jhalrapatan (Distriact Jhalawar), founded in 689. Of this temple only the sanctum and the vestibule, with a very late roof have survived. The hypostyle mandapa in front of the vestibule appears to be later by at kleast a century. The sanctum has prominent niche-shrines on the cardinal offsets. The podium-mouldings are bold and simple, the kalasha moulding being repla ced on the cardinals by a band decorated with lotus-scrolls and on some projectioins by ornate square rafter ebds. The wall has a plain surface, punctuated with heavy square pilasters, the latter decorated with a vase-and-foilage motif at the base and capital, a median band of scrolls, a lotus-band of kirttimukhas and geese and brackets of a plain, curved profile. The wall is surmounted by a eave-cornice. The sanctum door-frame was originally of four ornamented bands. Ganga and Yamuna are represented in the sculptural tradition of the Gupta period on its lower part. The vestibule is an oblong compartment with a row of 4 tall pillars and pilasters, showing vase-and-foilage at the square base, ornate octagonal shaft surmounted by vase-and-foilage capital and brackets of plain curved profile.
The surviving remains of the ruined Shiva Temple at Kans (District Kota), dated by an ins cription in 738, indicate that the temple was similar to the Shitaleshwara Temple on plan and design.
The Harshat-mata Temple at Abaneri (District Jaipur ruined temple of which onbly the sanctum, shorn of its superstructure, has survived standing on 3 stepped terraces,while
remains of its pillared mandapa and porch. The by an ambulatory is pancha-ratha on plan sculptured niche on each buttress of the
show Vasudeva-Vishnu, Pradyumna and Balarama-Sankarshana, respectively, on the south, west and north, indicating that the original temple was dedicated to Vishnu. In the sanctum is now enshrined an image of four-armed Harasiddhi, locally called Harshat-mata. The fa ces of the sanctum shell and the uppermost terrace are decorated with niches, containing religious and secular sculptures, each surmounted by a large pediment. The sculptures include romantic themes of dance, music, garden-sport and love, depicted with rich luxuriousness and a sense of gay abandon. The socle mouldings are bold and simple and the sculptures show volume and grace, reminis cent of the Gupta tradition. The decorative motifs, illustrated by the pediment composed of bold chaitya-dormers, pilasters surmounted by quarter lotus brackets, lumas and wavy vegetal patterns of palmettes, indicate that this temple is assignable to the 8th century.
A temple of a comparable design and date but without an ambulatory has been uncovered at Mandor (District Jodhpur). It is, however, badly dilapidated and only the podium mouldings of its sanctum proper and two terraces have survived. This temple appears to have undergone many subsequent re constructions.
The significant group of temples of Osian (District Jodhpur) belongs to two series, one early and the other late. The earlier series is represented by nearly a dozen and the later by half a dozen temples.
The earlier Osian temples are characterised by certain decorative and architectural peculiarities. They stands on a high terrace with bold mouldings, usually surmounted by a band, decorated with a wavy vegetal design. The terrace is punctuated with sculptured niches which are crowned by pediments and certain images of Ganesha, Kubera and other Brahmanical gods and goddesses. The socle mouldings are bold and simple. The temples are normally pancha-ratha on plan and in elevation and sculptured niches on all the 5 projections of the wakll, but a temples leave the projections flanking the cardinal offsets niches are surmounted by pediments and are larget on the latter display images of family-deities Trivikrama, Varaha, Vishnu or Harihara on
The Regents are invariably represented deities like Ganesha, Surya, Chandra, Revanta, Brahma, and Parvati on the auxiliary offsets. Temple 6 and the north-west Temple, however, show respectively, ascetics and apsaras (nymphs) on the auxiliary offsets.
The wall is surmounted by a frieze of chain, above which occurs usually broad recess, decorated with Krishna-lila scenes on temples 1 to 4 and with diapers of half-diamonds on the remaining temples. The shikhara, covered with a bold mesh of chaitya-dormers, is invariably pancha-ratha in design and of 5 to 7 storeys. The central offset extends to the neck which is surmounted by an amalaka and pot-finial. The earlier temples are, as a rule, without an ambulatory and consist on plan of a sanctum, an open hall and a porch. The outer bays of the mandapa are provided with balustrades punctuated with projecting elephant's heads, as on the Gadarmal Temple at Badoh (p.23). In many cases the mandapa is of the nava-ranga variety with occasional lateral transepts. The so-called Sun Temple and the oldest temple of the Sachiyamata group have each a pair of tall pillars at the entrance to the porc h. At least three temples are of the panchayatana type, viz., Harihara Temples 1 and 2 and the so-called Sun Temple, the last-mentioned also showing traces of an enclosing cloister.
The sanctum doorway has 4 or 5 bands, one of which is decorated with an interlacing design of adoring nagas, whose tails are held in the hands of a Garuda figure presented as the tutelary image. The vestibule has a porch resting on 2 pillars and 2 pilasters, the latter usually decorated with elegant figures of apsaras, sometimes surmounted by representations of Vasudeva-Vishnu and Balarama-Sankarashana, both riding on Garuda. The pilars of the vestibule and mandapa are heavily decorated with designs of vase-and-foilage, kirttimukhas, scrolls, and a square ribbed cushion, surmounted by either double roll or palmette brackets. The enclosing dwarf pillars are less elaborately ornamented and usually carry double-roll brackets. The ceilings of the vestibule and the hall are highly decorated, the former with an elaborate design of nagapasha entwining vidyadharas (divine angels).
Among the earlier Osian temples, Harihara Temple No.l3and the Jaina Temple of Mahavira are of exceptioinal design. The former is unique among the Osian temples in that its hall- ceiling and roof are of a vaulted design and its platform is quite plain. Its sanctum is rectangular on plan and lperhaps had a wagon-vault superstructure.

TEMPLES OF THE PRATIHARA AGE

The surviving temples of central India and Rajasthan dating from the 8th and 9th centuries have certain common features, which distinguish them from the preceding and following theistic buildings. As these regions were largely under the sway of the Gurjara-Pratihara during the 8th and 9th centuries, we may call this style Pratihara. Since the Pratiharas ruled over an extensive empire from Kanauj, the style spread over vast tracts of north India, including the present States of Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab as far as the Himalayas and had its reverberations further east and west. It is but natural that a style so extensive as this should show regional variations and local idioms.

The Pratihara temples of central India are characterised by a low socle, a simple and relatively stunted spire, a wall decorated with a single band of sculptured niches crowned byh tall pediments and an unpretentious plan, general consiting of only the sanctum and vestibule which in a few cases is preceded by a porch.

The Pratihara temples of Rajasthan, represented by the group at Osian (p.28), have a more elaborate plan and a slightly different design and decorative scheme. As these temples play a vital role in the development of the regional style, their discussion has been reserved for the following chapter on the temples in Rajasthan.

The group of temples at Naresar, near Gwalior, forming the earliest examples of the central Indian Pratihara style show a square sanctum with a curvilinear tri-ratha spire of a stunted shape and a constricted vestibule with a simple gabled roof. Their doorway is of the overdoor design usually with three simple bands decorated with scrolls, pilasters and serpents whose tails are held in the hands of Garuda represented centrally on the lintel. The lintel shows short pediments, surmounted by a frieze of chain-and-bell design which continues round the shrine. The jangha (wall) is plain except for sculptured niches on the central offsets depicting deities like Ganesha, Karttikeya, Lakulisha, Surya and Parvati. The site also has an interesting rectangular shrine showing 2 major offsets on the longer rear side with usual sculptured niches and a wagon-vault roof. The group of temples of Batesara, District Morena and the Mahadeva Temple at Amrol, both situated not far from Gwalior, are similar on plan, the latter being slightly larger and more elaborate in ornamentation. The Amrol temple has on each projection of its wall a sculptured niche crowned by a short but bold pediment. Its doorway is more ornate, the pilasters being embellished with graceful figures of nymphs and loving couples. These temples anticipate the Teli-ka-Mandir at Gwalior and are datable roughly to the 8th century.

The ruined Shiva Temple at Majhua, District Shivapuri, M.P., is comparable in plan and date with the Amrol temple but shows divergence in details of design and ornamentatioin. This temple replaces the torus moulding of the podium on the central offset by ornate square rafter ends, a feature characteristic of central India from earlier times. The wall shows a prominent niche qhich is confined to the central projection, the remaining projections being plain. A broad recess separates the wall from the spire which repeats the bhumi-amalakas on the flanks of the central offset, as seen on the roughly contemporary temple at Pashtar in Saurashtra and Temple No.IV at Barakar, Disttrict Burdwan, West Bengal.

A small shrine at Telahi, not far from Mahua, is slightly later in date with an advanced plan showing a pancha-ratha sanctum with a porch in front. The jangha (wall) shows pilasters of an early Pratihara order on the offsets flanking the central one and dikpala figures in niches crowned byh pediments in the corner offsets. The recesses of the jangha are also decorated with tall thin pediments.

The Teli-ka-Mandir at Gwalior is the grandest temple of the Pratihara 8th centuryu, but is exceptional in design. It consists on plan of a rectangular sanctum and vestibule, the former surmounted by a lofty (24.40m high) wagon-vault superstructure. The podium mouldings are simple and bold, but include a recessed frieze of sculptures, representing gods and goddesses in niches surmounted by richly carved scrolls. The wall at cardinal offsets displays elaborate niches-shrines surmounted by a large pediment or shikhara- motif. The wall also shows smaller replicas of the same design on the corner buttresses. The shikhara portioin is composed of 2 storeys, indicated by lateral amalakas, which are crowned by a wagon-vault roof of 2 components. On the shorter sides, the central offset of the shikhara shows a progressively widening series of chaitya-dormers, surmounted by an enormous sun-window, crowned by an ornate arch. On the longer sides, however, the oblong superstructure is decorated with a monotonous design of double rows of niches. The temple is entered through a grand flight of steps leading to an elaborate doorway of 5 bands, in the lower part are carved elegant figures of river-goddesses, flanked by attendants and Shiva dwarapalas. The doorway of the sanctum proper differs only in introducing Shakta dwarapalas in the place of Shakti. The decorative and plastic the me and style together with the palaeography of its short inscriptions suggest c.750 as the date of this temple which appears to have been founded by King Yashovarman of Kanauj.

In decorative and architectural features the ruined Shiva Temple at Indor (District Guna, M.P.) bears striking affinity to the Teli-ka-Mandir temple at Gwalior, with which it is not only co-eval but may even share common authorship. This temple however, is circular on plan' and has a sanctum of 12 offsets. Rising above the bold podium mouldings, the wall consists of ornate offsets alternating with plain angular wall surface, the whole surmounted by the shikhara. The major offsets are decorated with niches which are surmounted by tall pediments and contain images of Ganesha, Karttikeya, Uma and the 8 Regents of quarters, which represent fine specimens of the Pratihara art.

The above temples are followed by the Jarai Math at Barwasagar (District Jhansi), and Gadarmal Temple at Badoh (Disttrict Vidisha). Both have a rectangular sanctum and niche-shrines on the main offsets as at Teli-ka-Mandir, but unlike the latter, their sanctum is pancha-ratha on plan and in elevation, roofed by a partly preserved massive shikhara. Both have elaborately ornamented pillars and entrance door-frame of 5 bands, but while the Jarai Math is an unpretentious structure comprising only a sanctum and a vestibule, the Gadarman Temple adds to these a mandapa with transepts and a porch enclosed by a high balustrade punctuated with projecting elephant heads. The Gadarmal Temple stands on an ample, ornate platform surrounded by seven subsidiary shrines and has lavishly decorated mandapa pillars and is a little more evolved on plan and in design than the foregoing Pratihara temples.

The Chaturmukha Mahadeva Temple at Nachna, in District Panna, fa mous for its diamond fields, carries over its sanctum a developed northern shikhara, of pancha-ratha design. The temple preserves only a square tri-ratha sanctum with a plain interior and a richly decorated exterior. The interior, lighted by a doorway in the east and trellis-windows on the remaining 3 sides, enshrines a powerfully rendered chaturmukha Shiva-linga, noted for the sublime expressioin on its 4 faces. Externally the trellis-windows on the cardinal offsets are surmounted by a pair of niches, depicting Vidyadharas (divine attendants)_ with their consorts, crowned by pediments of chaitya-dormers. Each corner buttress of the wall shows a niche carrying an image of the Regent of the cardinal point, sur mounted by an elaborate pediment. Of 5 storeys, the shikhara is covered with a developed mesh of chaitya-dormers. All its buttresses project beyond the shoulder of the spire, which is surmounted by a heavy amalaka. While the windows and doorways of the temple are carved with friezes depicting dwarfs, scrolls, river-goddesses and the over-door design in the Gupta tradition, its mouldings and shikhara design, the treatment of the 'Regents, and decorative architectural motifs like the pediment, heart-shaped flowers, garland-loops and square rafter ends carved with conventional lion heads are in the developed Pratihara style of the 9th century.

The small but well-proportioned Sun Templeat Mankheda (District Tikamgarh, M.P.) is a gem among the Pratihara temples, roughly assignable to the same date as the above-noted temples. Essentially similar to the Jarai Math in design and ornamentation, the temple consists of a square pancha-ratha sanctum with a shikhara, a vestibule with an ornate roof surmounted by a lion figure and a simple porch. The shikhara is well-preserved and has excellent proportion. Its central offset projects beyond the neck which is surmounted by a heavy amalaka.
The Kutakeshvara Temple at Pathari (District Vidisha) consisting of a Kadamba type of tri-ratha pyramidical shikhara of horizontal tiers, a constricted vestibule and a porch of single bay is as simple as the rock-cut Chaturbhuja Temple at Gwalior, comprising a sanctum with a pancha-ratha shikhara and similar vestibule and porch. Both are assignable to the 9th century, the latter being securely dated to 875 by an inscription pertaining to the reign of Pratihara Mihira Bhoja.
Of the Jaina temples at Deogarh (District Jhansi) Nos. 12 and 15 are best preserved and are referable to the 9th century. Temple 15 is a triple-shrined structure with the roof of each component shrine lost and the pllain wall relieved by shallow sculptured niches surmounted by pediments. The structure consists of 3 tiny sancta (with the usual niche-shrines of the central offsets on their outer face) sharing a common assembly hall which is entered through a porch and a doorway. The 4 pillars and 12 pilasters of the mandapa and the door-frame bear typical Pratihara ornaments. Temple 12 comprises only a sanctum with an ambulatory and a vestibule. Its sanctum is pancha-ratha on plan and carries a heavy shikhara. Its outer decor is distinctive and shows on the wall latticed windows alternating with pilasters, the former inset with shallow niches sur mounted by thin and tall pediments. The niches contain relief figures of 24 labelled Jaina Yakshis around the wall which shows door-frame designs on the three cardinal projections.
The Mahadevi Temple at Gyaraspur (District Vidisha) is partly rock-cut and partly structural. It is a mature example of the Pratihara style, consisting on plan of a porch, hall, vestibule and sanctum with an ambulatory. Each of its shorter sides show 3 such windows, 2 projecting from the mandapa and 1 from the sanctum proper. The sanctum is tri-ratha on plan with a pancha-ratha shikhara of 9 turrets which is strikingly similar in design to that of the Shiva Temple at Kerakot in Kutch (p.35). The buttresses of the shikhara extend to the neck which is surmounted by a pair of amalakas and a pot-finial. The roofs of the porch and the hall are pyramidical composed of horizontal tiers. The temple has 2 ornate doorways of 5 bands. The hall doorway shows a figure of Chakreshvari as the tutelary image,.while the sanctum door-frame is carved with a row of standing Jinas on the lintel. This temple shows on the wall faces iconographically developed images of Jaina Yakshas and Yakshis some of which are labelled in the characters of the late 9th century. The mature decorative motifs and architectural features combined with the developed iconography would also indicate late 9th century as the date of this temple.
The Pratihara temples of central India are thus seen to have a simple plan and design, displaying some characteristic ornaments of the style, including tall p[ediments, a frieze of garland-loops on the top of the wall, a band of nagas on the door-frame and rich carvings of vase-and-foilage, s crolls, krittimukhas and a square, ribbed cushion-cap[ital to be found largely on the pillars.
The tiny shrine of Shiva at Jagatsukh (near Manali in District Kulu of Himachal Pradesh) dates from the early 8th century and is among the earliest specimens of the Pratihara style, with its simple tri-ratha sanctum, resembling that of the Naresar group of temples, roofed by a shikhara showing even bolder chaitya-dormers. The earliest temples at Jageshwar and Gopeshwar and the Shiva temple at Lakhamandal, all situated in the Himalayan hills, are also assignable to the 8th century. Most of these temples comprise tri-ratha or pancha-ratha sanctum roofed by a short, heavy-shouldered shikhara and preceded by a porch, adding sometimes a mandapa in beetween. Gopeshwar and Jageshwar also have rectangular shrines with wagon-vault superstructure, resembling that of the Teli-ka-Mandir, Gwalior (p,21). To the early 9th century may be attributed the Basheshwar Mahadeva Temple at Bajaura (District Kulu), which shows an advanced plan and architectural design with a four-faced opening and has elongated statutory of the regional art style. Dating from the 8th century are the woodedn temples of Shakti Devi at Chhatrarhi and of Lakshana Devi at Brahmaur in the Chamba region, both enshrining as cult-images bronze figures of Devi, known for their slender and elongated forms. These are the earliest surviving wooden shrines showing a rich repertoire of the Pratihara ornaments and decorative motifs with some influence of the Gandhara style and the arts of Nepal and Kashmir. The rock-cut temple complex at Masrur (District Kangra), dating from the later half of the 9th century, is also a notable Pratihara monument of considerable artistic and architectural significance.

LETTER TO A STUDENT

It is true that being a student of a rural school you have to face many inconveniences. But you must remember that you have many advantages too. In towns and cities, the havoc created by television, cinema, hotels and blaring loudspeakers much disturbs the studies of students. On the other hand, the uncontaminated atmosphere and tranquil surroundings of the villages make them ideal for studies with good concentration. Though the students in cities have various facilitires, the possibility of their falling prey to harmful distractions is high. You must be knowing how parents and teachers have to constantly keep vigil and protect them from lurking dangers. Now, coming to your problem--you have written, 'I am now in the tenth standard; the lessons have commenced, but I am unable to understand many of them'. Another student also has written to me that his teachers do not teach properly. That is his misfortune. At least you are lucky that you have good teachers. Well, here are a few suggestions that will, I hope, help you to understand the lessons better and pass the exams successfully. 1. First and foremost--as soon as you wake up, have a wash and offer 'pranams' to God and to your parents. Your daily routine should begin with this. Never doubt the truth that it is the blessings of God and elders that brings success to your endeavours. You may ask, 'When the right endeavoursthemselves can bring the desired results, what is the necessity of blessings?' But you must know that those blessings will endow you with the right state of mind to undertake your work. You might not realize this until you grow older. But for now, you just believe in these words of wise people. There is another interesting point: you do not have to ask them for their blessings. When you bow down to God and elders with sincere devotion, the thought--'May he be blessed!' --arises spontaneously in their hearts. This is the law. 2. Let me now tell you about the significance of having a time-table. You know pretty well how prayer, classes and games are all accommodated in your school hours within regular periods and so many lessons are covered. The secret behind this is the time-table. Yet, students these days return home from school and instead of revising the lessons, while away their time in only playing, watching the television, reading novels and roaming about. When the exams approach near, they try to study all the texts together, get tensed up and feel miserable. This is not how students and studies ought to be. Those who neglect their studies do not deserve to be called students. However, there are some students, who, either with the guidance of their parents and teachers or by themselves, being disciplined and sincere, study regularly according to a time-table and proceed with the lessons easily. You too must learn this tact. Find our how much of time you are left with, apart from your school hours. Sundays and half of Saturdays are yours, as also the let-off hours. If you can intelligently utilize every minute of the time thus given to you, not only will you be able to revise all the lessons but you will truly build up a great personality. It is impossible to make good use of time without a time-table. How should you draw a time-table? First of all, fix up the hours of going to bed and walking up. If these timings change, your time-table will be in vain. Being young, it is best for you to go to bed at ten in the night and wake up at five in the morning. A sound sleep at night is most essential for your mind to be calm, steady and fresh throughout the day. If you utilise the seventeen hours of the day efficiently you can do wonders and if you give sufficient work to your body and mind, you can be sure of enjoying undisturbed sleep during the night. Between the hours when you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night, you must have time for your prayers, studies and all other activities. For this you must prepare a suitable time-table yourself. Or you may take the help of your teachers in this regard. 3. After your bath you should allot some time--ten minutes of half an hour, as much as you are capable of--for chanting of 'stotras', prayers and meditation. This is very helpful in developing a balanced and healthy mind. You must also pray to God like this before going to bed: 'O Lord, with your grace, I have been able to utilise this day worthily. Yet there might have been some shortcomings. Bless me with strength and discrimination to overcome my faults and lead me forward.' Pray from the bottom of your heart and God will certainly answer your prayers. What more? You can witness your mind growing stronger day by day. 4. I have mentioned about bath--please do not ever neglect this. As sweat forms and evaporates during the course of the day, the salts contained in it dry up and get deposited on the skin. Dust gets added to this. If you do not care to wash and clean your body and hair properly, the mind will get restless and slowly loses its vigour. This will damage both your ability to study and to remember whatever is studied. It is better to cultivate the habit of taking bath in the morning and again in the evening. Bathing in cold water is best; if this is not possible, use luke-warm water, but, never hot water. If you want to get used to cold water: firstly, the body and mind will remain active and fresh. Secondly, this is very helpful for the observance of 'brahmacharya.' 5. Now, coming to the point of time-table: I would like to make a small suggestion here. You must make it a point to read before-hand all the lessons which are taught each day in the school. If you do so, you will be able to grasp the subject well when the teacher explains it. You will come to understand the portions that you had not understood when you read the lesson by yourself. With your doubts now cleared, you can revise these lessons at home in the evenings. So, prepare before going to school and revise after returning home. Please make an experiment with this for just three months. You will be surprised with the results. If you can continue the practice right through the year with a little grit and determination, neither will the lessons bore you, nor will the exams seem strenous. But, you must know that if you vow to stick on to this practice strictly, you cannot afford to waste time in roaming about, watching television for hours and chatting with friends. You will have to be like one observing a vow, until the annual exams are over. Indeed, education is a vow to be fulfilled. So, please know that you are under a pledge. The truth is this--teachers are bound to the oath of imparting knowledge and students, of receiving it and making it their own through deep study. Nothing can be achieved without a strong will-power. 6. One more word regarding the time-table. You should draw up special time-tables from time to time, apart from the regular one, to utilise the extra time in hand, during special holidays like festivals, Christmas, etc. 7. It is better if others at home are informed about your time-table, so that they will not disturb you with other jobs during your study-hours. When you once sit down to study, you should get immersed in it for at least an hour without getting up or peeping out of the window. This might be difficult at first, but if you persist with your efforts, both your body and mind will gradually come fully under your control. At the end of an hour, leave your seat, stroll about in the open air, drink a glass of water and come back to your studies. Drinking water now and then improves the flow of blood, thereby activating the mind. 8. You are likely to come across difficult words while reading. So always keep a dictionary with you. If you learn the correct usage of every word, your command over the language will grow, making your study increasingly fruitful. If the meanings of the words are well understood, the contents will be understood more clearly; then, enthusiasm to read and assimilate more and more will be naturally created. In this way, repeatedly revise your lessons--read and understand, understand and read. This is the secret to master the lessons. There are many students who want to know the technique of improving their memory. This is best done by understanding the lessons clearly, reading them repeatedly and also practising them in writing. I shall let you know some more ideas by and by. 9. I hope you do have a table and chair. If not, you should at least have a small desk. Make sure that there is appropriate distance between your eyes and the desk. Keeping your face close to the book will strain eyes and mind quickly and your studies will suffer. 10. Next, please see that you use good pens and pencils. It is advisable to have two good pens with you. Never let others use them. The style of holding a pen varies from person to person. So you can guess the consequence of lending your pens to others. You will have to practice writing with a new pen for a few days before you can use it comfortably. It is possible to maintain a good handwriting even while writing with speed, only with a good pen. The examiners will expect your papers to be neat and legibly written. If your answers are neat, they will gladly award more marks, whereas if your writings are clumsy, you might lose even the marks that are rightly due to you. Therefore pay attention to your writing. Good handwriting demands five important things: 1. The letters must be well-formed. 2. There should not be any blots and scratches. 3. There must be no spelling mistakes. 4. Lines must be straight. 5. Sentences must be grammatically correct. You should know that both reading and writing constitute your study. Accuracy in writing is as important as discreet reading. Since you have to answer all the questions within a fixed time, should you not practise fast writing? You must practise a little writing every day without fail. 11. I have to say a couple of words about practising writing. Make it a habit to practise copy-writing. I still remember our teacher making us practise copy-writing everyday when I was a student. I remember that well, because he used to put his cane to good use during the process! There were beatings each time-- when the letters were not neat, when there were mistakes. When the lines were not straight, when the letters were uneven in size, when the spacing between words was not proper, when letters were found tumbling over each other; and other instances were when the copy-writing was not tidy or when copy-writing was not done at all--that called for additional beating! So there would be beatings and beatings for one fault or the other. Thus did we learn our lessons! Of course we were then angry with the teacher for flourishing his cane on us, but now I remember him with gratitude. You do not have to practise copy-writing by writing the same line over and over again like primary school children. Daily write a couple of paragraphs from your textbooks in each of the languages you have to study. You yourself try to judge if the letters are neat and the lines are straight and check for mistakes with the help of the text. You will realise how careful one has to be even to copy what is given, correctly. That is about copy-writing. You also have to develop the ability of writing about a topic on your own. You can take the help of your text-book for this. Read through a whole lesson carefully and reflect upon the contents. Then close the book and write it in your own words. Now compare and contrast what you have written with the text. Also check if the letters are well written, the lines are straight and how many times you have blundered and struck off what was written. Note down the time you took to write the whole thing. The next time when you write something try to avoid all the mistakes committed earlier. With this sort of practice, you will be able to write both neatly andcorrectly in the exams. 12. Studying to fare well in the exams is as important as studying to gain
knowledge. One may be intelligent and may have knowledge. But what beauty is there if he fails in the exams? For success in the exams, you should pay equal attention to all the subjects. You have written that mathematics and science do not interest you much. But you should evoke interest and study them for the sake of the exams at least. You will have to take more interest in subjects that you find difficult. You should, with extra efforts, try to assimilate those portions with the help of your teachers or intelligent classmates. Is not education equal to a penance? You must strive hard.
It is true that you will have to memorize certain portions. But never attempt to learn by-heart whole lessons. Some students very 'bravely' try to pass exams by mugging-up notes--that too not their own! Do not ever attempt to do this. If you indeed understand each and every word of the lessons, they will remain rooted in your memory better than with attempt at mugging-up.
13. There is yet another way of retaining the lessons in memory. On sundays and other holidays you should gather three or four of your classmates for group study; and after that, hold group discussions and exchange thoughts. Thereby each more of you will be sharing what he knows with the others and the topics discussed will get registered in your minds. Hearing is always very effective. You might have seen many men and women who would have gathered a lot of information just by listening to discourses and 'harikatha puranas'. Therefore cultivate the habit of discussing the lessons with your classmates. What you read you may not remember, but whatever you hear from others will generally get imprinted in the mind. And again, studying and discussing in a group arouses enthusiasm. Then the mind becomes energetic and your studies will prove more fruitful. But beware of wasting time in idle talk. Because when friends gather.... you know what happens!
14. I have yet to tell you a very important point. Always sit in one of the benches in the front during the classes. Keep your eyes and ears fixed wholly on the teacher and listen attentively to what he says. Pleased with your sincerity he too will bestow more attention on you. Be polite and faithful with regard to all your teachers. Whatever be the comments passed by other students against teachers, never get influenced or perturbed. However stern a teacher might be, if you behave respectfully, he will be kind and considerate towards you.
There are some students who say--'Knowing the personal life of certain teachers, we do not feel like respecting them.' But let me tell you one thing--never try to know about the personal lives of such teachers. Do not hear what other students speak about such matters. Look upon all your teachers with the feeling that in their hearts resides the same Eternal Teacher--Sachidananda Guru. Though you may find this difficult to understand, believe in these words of wisdom and act accordingly. This feeling will definitely help you and do immense good to you.
15. Some students approach me during the months of February and March and ask me how they can develop concentration. They say that they want to control the mind and some say they want to practise meditation. Is it not wonderful?! But what they actually want to know is whether there is some technique whereby the whole lot of lessons, neglected through-out the year, can be miraculously taken into the brain at one stroke! But, alas, there is no such miracle in the world. The secret of good memory-power is, repeated reading and understanding, recollecting and re-reading what is forgotten. Bhagavadgita says that concentration is achieved by perseverance and practice. What is perseverance? It is to attempt again and again, day after day. The mind will naturally become concentrated if you study systematically every day. The power produced by practice is immense.
Yet another important requisite in developing concentration is to develop a liking for your studies. You must love your lessons. Your mind will get concentrated in whatever you truly love. This is a natural law. You should therefore cultivate a liking for your lessons. This will help you to concentrate on them during your studies.
16. These are some of the things directly related to your studies. There are certain other things that need your attention. Firstly, food. Eating the proper quantity of nutritious food at the proper hours keeps your mind calm and fresh. Over-eating induces sleep, eating less causes exhaustion. Irregular intake of food robs the mind of its calmness.
17. Now, about exercise for the body. Let those who play do so. But you either practise 'Yogasanas' or do free-hand exercises. It is sufficient if within three-fourths of an hour every limb of your body is exercised. Never overdo exercises nor discontinue their practice. Always remember this counsel regarding exercises.
18. ou can avoid many diseases by always drinking boiled and cooled water. Diseases are a major obstacle in the path of your progress. They cripple the enthusiasm of the mind and the body. So beware!
19. Now, this is another very important point that you have to note--enthusiasm Be ever filled with zeal Ceaseless enthusiasm! It is this that make4s us victorious in all walks of life. You should become a spring of unceasing enthusiasm. Your elders should have created this enthusiasm in you by encouraging you. But when most of the elders are weighed down by their own problems and expect encouragement themselves, how will they provide you with enthusiasm? Therefore you will have to bring it out from within yourself.
You can resort to another plan for this. Order yourself thus: 'In the coming exams I shall score more marks than my friends and pass creditably'. This will undoubtedly build up determination in you.
In effect, you should be enthusiastic like a bouncing ball and not be like soaked flattened-rice! Be cheerful always. If you wear a long face with a frown, it will put out even the little enthusiasm that you have. If you try to wear a beaming countenance,by and by your enthusiasm will multiply and make you the very image of infinite energy, vitality and zest. As a result, your studies will become enjoyable and successful. Please see that the fountain of your enthusiasm springs higher and higher with each successive day.
Another word about zeal--if the mind is free from sleepiness, it remains wide-awake and active. Thereby it would naturally remain enthusiastic. This enthusiasm will in turn fight away drowsiness and keep your mind alert. From this observation do you not realise that, as a result of guarding your enthusiasm, your mind will always remain lively?
You might have seen many students drink coffee or tea from time to time in order to stay awake. But gradually the coffee or tea will get 'suited' to your constitution and that itselfr will induce sleep! So, the best way of maintaining enthusiasm is to develop the ambition of scoring high marks and cultivate a healthy competitive spirit.
20. Do you know of an enemy in your path? It is fear: 'Examination-fear!' This attacks most of the students. Under its stress, those who are weak become victims of fever and suffer from vomiting and loose- motions. The word 'Examination fever' has been specially coined for this 'disease.' The basic reason for this is nothing but fear of the exams. Even the students who have studied well and prepared well become nervous at the time of exams. Then what to speak of other students? So, to get out of this fear, tell yourself--'What will I gain by feeling afraid? I will only fall sick. Should I get panicky for the sake of falling sick? Never! I shall study well and face the exams boldly.'
Here lies the solution to examination fear. What is it? Studying right from the beginning of the year systematically. A regular, disciplined student need not fear the exams. Yet, fear is inherent in man. So, with all your studies you may experience fear. There are possibilities of fear gripping the mind, when you see other lazy students of your class panic-- 'Oh! the exams are fast approaching, my revision is not yet over. What shall I do!' But know for sure that if you shelter this fear, it will deprive your mind and body of their strength. The only result can be this-- you will seem to forget all that you have studied while writing the exam. It is this fear that makes you write confused answers.
Therefore, it is important to root out the fear-complex lurking in your mind, by combining self-confidence with disciplined study.
21. Now, you have heard a new word: self-confidence! What does it mean? It means faith in your own strength, faith in your studies. The strong conviction that you would write the exams well, with a calm mind--this is self-confidence. If you can develop this, fear vanishes and enthusiasm springs up.
22. So, you have come to know many things now. If you understand them all, you can be sure of success. There is one final advice-- you should keep reading this letter now and then. You must assimilate what all has been written here, before commencing your study. You should also check now and then whether you are regular in following these suggestions without fail.
May the Lord bless you to swuccessfully pass your next exams with flying colours!
With love and best wishes,
---Swami Purushottamananda.

EARLY CHALUKYAN TEMPLES (C.500-750)

While the Gupta temples were being built in central and north India, a brisk building activity was being pursued in a part of the Deccan with principal centres at the early Chalukyan sites of Aihole, Badami, Mahakuteshwara and LPattadakal, in district Bijapur of Karnataka State. (Situated only a few miles apart from one another, these are usually overlooked byh an ordinary visitor because of their location in an unfrequented interior part of the State. But those who seek to know will find a visit to these places highly rewarding). This move,ment started about the 5th century and laster till the 8th and initiated several significant temple-forms which later developed into the highly ornate temples of Belur and Halehid. The earliest temple of this region is the Ladh Khan at Aihole, distance of 13km from Pattadakal,. Here we notice that a Gupta form had already been conceived. Of the scores of temples which adorn Aihole, 4 are of outstanding importance for the development of northern temple style, viz., the Durga, Huchchimalligudi, Huchchappayyagudi (Temple No.9) and Temple No.24, all dating from 6th-7th centuries. The shikhara appearing over these temples is of the early experimental variety, representing a prototype of the characteristic north Indian type. The Durga Temple is a peripteral structure with an apsidal sanctum and mandapa, comprising nave and aisles, enclosed by a pillared verandah, with a portico approached by 2 lateral flights of steps, the whole raised on a high mioulded socle. The mandapa is lighted by elegantly carved, perforated trellises which alternate with niches containing images of deities. The mandapa has a flat roof of 2 tiers, that over the nave being higher. The apsidal sanctum is surmounted by a heavy shikhara, lately placed, of 3 rathas and more than 2 storeys indicated by bhumi-amalakas. The Huchchimalligudi Temple is a rectangular structure consisting of a square sanctum, enclosed by a covered processional passage, a vestibule, a pillared hall and a projecting porch. The sanctum is roofed by a curvilinear shikhara. The facade is plain but for a frieze of vase pattern on the parapet of the porch. This is the earliest temple to introduce a vestibule between the sanctum and the mandapa. The Huchgchappayyagudi Temple at the same site is a version without ambulatory of the foregoing and shows a more ornate door-frame and superior sculptures found on the cardinal niches of the sanctum. The only temple at Aihole to show a well-presented shikhara, complete with neck, amalasaraka and pitcher finial, is Temple No.24 which closely resembles the Huchchappayyagudi, with a similar but heavier shikhara.
Mahakuteshwara, situated near Badami, has a group of temples of which one known as Sangameshwara, comprising a sanctum and a portico, is of some importance. The sanctum displays a sculptured niche in each cardinal offset and carries a stumpy and massive shikhara, partially resembling the early temples of Aihole.
The temple art blossomed further at the last and latest, Chalukyan centre of Pattadakal, 29km from Badami, which shows temples of both northern and southern styles. As temples of northern style incorporate some features of the southern and vice-versa, it appears that the architectural conventions had not yet crystallised. Among the temples of the northern style, those of the Kadasiddheshwar and Jambulinga are the simplest, comprising only a sanctum and a mandapa. The sanctum of each has a sculptures niche on the bhadra-projections and is crowned by a squat and ponderous shikhara. Each carries a prominent sukamasa-antifix over the constr5icted vestibule and has a latticed window on the lateral sides of the mandapa.
The Kashivishwanath Temple is similar on plan to the foregoing, with the difference that its shikhara shows an advance and is of the pancha-ratha variety, divided into 5 storeys, and its mandapa carries a flat roof of 2 tiers, the higher one raised over the nave-pillars.
The Galaganath is a temple with a conspicuous projectioin on the 3 sides of the sanctum ambulatory. The vestibule has survived, but the mandapa has disappeared. This is the only temple at Pattadakal which stands on a moulded platform, decorated with a short parapet design. The shikhara storey is slightly taller and more proportionate and it is complete with a globular amalasaraka and a short finial. It bears a marked resemblance to the Alampur group of temples in the outline and proportion of the shikhara and in the design of the ambulatory.
The temple of Papanath at the same site is a long low structure with porch, hall, vestibule and sanctum, the last surmounted by a stunted northern type of shikhara, too small in proportion to the total dimensions of the building, while the vestibule is proportionately larger, almost assuming the dimensions of a court. The main decoratioin on the wall is a central band of proje cting niches, representing a repeated shrine-motif, which though quite pleasing in itself, shows a poverty of idea. The unbalanced and inorganic plan and design of the temple indicate that it still belongs to a formative and experimental stage.
More significant than the above is the group of temples at Alampur in District Mahabubnagar, adjoining Hyderabad and situated on the bank of the river Tungabhadra. This place has 9 temples, popularly known as the Nava-Brahma temples, of which 8 belong to the northern style and one (of Tarka-Brahma) to the southern style. The temples of the northern style, locally called the Vishva-Brahma, Vira-Brahma, Arka-Brahma, Kumara-Brahma, Bala-Brahma, Padma-Brahma, Garuda-Brahma and Svarga-Brahma, mark the culmination of the Chalikyan architecture and are comparable to the early Pratihara temples of north India in essential features of plan, compositioin and embellishment. Their layout is more logical and organic than that of the Papanath Temple at Pattadakal over which they mark a distinct improvement. The incongruities of the Papanath Temple, illustrated by the strings of shrine-models of the southern order (adorning its first floor parapet), are not found at Alampur. The principle decoration of the wall, composed of niches and latticed windows, attains here a lyrical elegance and the modelling of sculptures is more sensitive and less weighty. The heavy mouldings of the podium and the ponderous cornice mouldings, separating the wall from the shikhara noticed at Papanath, are here subdued and become more architectonic. The shikhara is more balanced and shows a better curvature, though it is still tri-ratha in design. The vestibule forms an integral adjunct of the sanctum. In front of the vestibule stretches the central pillared nave of the mandapa with a higher roof, resembling a clerestory, resting on 4 to 8 pillars and a pair of pilasters. The nave is surrounded by aisles with a sloping roof. A pillared portico is added in front of the mandapa only in two cases. Two doorways are usually provided in the interior. In most cases the door-frame shows an extended overdoor design and the tutelary image depicts Garuda, holding the tail ends of adoring nagas who form a canopy over the heads of Ganga and Yamuna, appearing on the lower parts of the jambs. The mandapa pillars carry ornate brackets, usually ornamented with the typical foliage of the Pratihara age. The pillars, however, differ in details; the central nave pillars of the Vishva-Brahma Temple show the Pallava type of sejant lion motif at the base. The sanctum proper is tri-ratha corresponding to the similar design of the shikhara and exhibits a sculptured niche on each bhadra projection.
Thus in respect of general plan and design and many typical architectural and decorative motifs such as ornamental, square rafter ends, composition of niches and the niche-shrines of the sanctum transepts and the garland loop pattern surmounting the jangha (wall), these temples come close to the temples of early Pratihara age.
The Svarge_Brahma Temple has an inscription of Chalukya Vijayaditya (696-733) of the Badami family and the Kumara-Brahma mentions a Vallabha, the well-known viruda of the early Chalukya kings, in characters of the 7th-8th centuries. These temples, therefore, appear to have been erected under the patron-age of the early Chalukya rulers of Badami during the 7th-8th centuries.

CHATRASAAL

FATHE SINGH , JORAVAR SINGH

BIRBAL SAHANI

GURUTEJ BAHADUR

RAMSINGH KUKAA

NANDANAAR

ANANTA LAKSHMANA KANHAARE

TELUGU FAMOUS PERSONALITIES

Abburi Varada Raajesvara raavu, (1923-1993)
[Abburi Varada Rajeswara Rao]
Prominent poet, critic and educator. On the editorial staff of several literary magazines. Taught for some time at Univ. Wisconsin, Madison.


Harikathaa Pitaamaha,

Ajjaada Aadibhatla Naaraayana Daasu (1864-1945)

[Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu]
The foremost modern exponent of the literary and performing arts genre "harikatha." Great musician and scholar of Telugu, Sanskrit and Persian. Principal of Maharaja Music College, Viziyanagaram.


(1922-)
[Ajanta -Penumarti Viswanatha Sastry]
Eminent poet and editor. Made a very big impact on modern Telugu poetry even though he wrote only a few verses in all his life in a highly individualistic tone.


(1889-1942)
[Akkiraju Unakantam]
Eminent scholar of Telugu, Sanskrit, English, etc. Writer. Influenced early Telugu literary criticism.


padakavitaa pitaamaha, harikeertanaacaarya,
(1424?-1503)
Tallapaka Annamacharya
One of the greatest composers of South Indian classical tradition. World-class. Wrote more than 32000 compositions known as 'padam' as well as other major works. More than 14000 have been discovered to date on copper plate and stone inscriptions. He was the head of an astonishingly brilliant lineage. Seems to have influenced some other great composers of that time, e.g., Purandara Dasa.



( 1925-1998)
[Arudra -Bhagavatula Siva Sankara Sastry one*, ]
Major modern poet, critic, movie lyricist and literary historian. His "tvamEvaahaM" and the encyclopedic work on Telugu literature "samagraaMdhra saahityaM" are very influential.



( 1933-)
[Bapu -Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana one*, two*, ..]
Eminent painter, cartoonist, movie director, writer, journalist. World class artist. Uniquely personalized style blending to perfection the classical Telugu lines and modern techniques. Had an enormous impact on contemporary Telugu arts, movies, etc.



(1874-1905)
[Bhandaru Achchamamba]
Writer and early pioneer of women's issues. Published a well known biographical work on prominent national and international women, "abalaa satcaritra ratnamaala" (1901).



Caaso ( 1915-1993)
[Chaganti Somayajulu]
Eminent writer of short stories and poetry. Although he wrote sparingly, many of his short stories have been translated into other languages. His indirect contributions include his influence on his friends such as Sri Sri and Narayana Babu. He was a long time president of Progressive Writers Association, arasaM.



(1870-1950)
[Chellapilla Venkata Sastry]
Brilliant and highly influential poet in the classical genre. Prolific literary genius. Trained a large number of famous writers. The second of the great duo tirupati vEnkaTa kavulu. Honoured as the first poet laureate of Andhra.

(1890-1952)
[Chilukuri Narayana Rao]
Well-known lexicographer, historian and scholar. Published "aandhra Bhaashaa caritraM" (1937) and a revised version of Sankaranarayana's English-Telugu Dictionary, etc.



Sinaare -1931
C. Narayana Reddy
Well-known poet, educator, critic, administrator, and song writer for the movies. For his epic poem viSvaMbhara in modern style the highest literary award in India j~naanapeetha, was given to him in 1987. He also produced several other major works, e.g., karpUra vasaMta raayalu.



Arthur Cotton (1803-1899)
Perhaps the most beloved western personality in Telugu history. Knighted. One of the finest civil engineers of 19th cent. Built the anicut on Godavari at Dhavaleswaram among other things. His irrigation works and plans transformed the economy of the coastal districts and very strongly influenced its current domineering position.



Charles Philip Brown (1798-1884)
Brilliant scholar of Telugu. Although he was not an Indian, he was intimately connected with Telugu literature for nearly sixty years and immensely contributed to its progress.


(1897-1925)
[Damerla Rama Rao]
Brilliant artist. Became well-known within a very short life span. Founded the Andhra School of Art at Rajamundry. There is an art gallery named after him at Rajamundry today.

(1872-1919)
[Divakarla Tirupati Sastry]
One of the greatest classical poets in the modern era. Excelled in several genres. The first of the famous duo "Tirupati Venkata kavulu."



( 1902-1975)
Gora -Goparaju Ramachandra Rao
Highly influential thinker and social reformer. Dedicated his life to developing atheistic thought in Andhra and beyond. Authored several works. Founded the Atheist Center, Vijayawada. His son lavaNaM is also a well-known atheist and thinker.



navayuga vaitaaLikudu,
(1862-1915)
Gurajada Appa Rao,
Perhaps the greatest modern writer in Telugu. Commands tremendous respect. Uncompromising intellectual and a social reformer in his own way. More than any one else's, his works defined the beginning of modern Telugu drama, poetry and short story. The Kanyasulkam drama and much of his poetry are world class. His contributions lay not only in the techniques but also in the refreshing, original and modern outlook and a deep humanistic spirit that he instilled in Telugu literature.



Visva daata, Desoddhaaraka,
(1868-1937)
[Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao]
Great philanthropist, scholar, editor, journalist and entrepreneur


(1833-1897)
[Mandapaka Parvatriswara Sastry]
Brilliant scholar of Sanskrit and Telugu. Authored 23 Satakas, several maalikas, and kaavyas. Well known for his travelogue yaatraa caritra.


(1930-)
Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna
Brilliant musician in the South Indian classical style. Perhaps the finest from Andhra in his generation. Composer, vocalist, and music scholar.



(1879-1945)
[Mutnuri Krishna Rao]
Great editor and journalist. His Krishna Patrika was instrumental in shaping the Telugu Literary scene for four decades beginning 1907.

(1933-)
Nataraja Ramakrishna
Very influential dancer, scholar and writer on Telugu dance forms. Single handedly revived the forgotten art form "aaMdhra naaTyaM." Although he was born in Bali, his service to Telugu, his ancestral language and its culture is very meritorious.



(1882-1955)
[Oleti Parvatisam]
Pioneering modern writer. The second of the famous duo "vEMkata paarvateeSvara kavulu." Authored major kavyas, children's literature and novels. Produced several translations.

Naada Brahma,
Kaakarla Tyaaga Raaju (1767-1847)
Perhaps the most famous of all the South Indian composers. Part of the great trio of Carnatic music. Great writer. Devotee of Lord Rama. He has a very large lineage of brilliant pupils (Sishya parampara). Greatly praised and revered as a saint. Hailed as "on whose art no human hand can improve!"


(1927)
Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma
Famous exponent of the kUcipUDi style dance drama. Well-known for his portrayal of female roles, e.g., satya bhaama in bhaamaa kalaapaM. Influenced several other artists.


Telugu caitanyOdyama saarathi,
(1848-1919)
[Kandukuri Viresalingam]
One of the most brilliant and profoundly influential writers in Telugu. One of the greatest social reformers of 19th century India.



(1932-)
Vecheru Narayana Rao,
Eminent literary critic and educator. Krishnadevaraya Professor of Languages and Cultures of Asia, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison. Produced several well-known translations of medieval Telugu poetry in English. Collaborated with many western scholars. His seminal work "telugulO kavitaa viplavaala svarUpaM" is highly influential.


(1930)
Vempati China Satyam
Eminent dancer, scholar and dance composer in the kUcipUDi style. Founded the Kuchipudi Art Academy, Madras and a trained several top performers.

kavi samraa,
(1890-1976)
[Visvanatha Satyanarayana]
The greatest classical style writer in modern times. A literary institution all by himself. His work and personality invoked just about every superlative (positive as well as negative) from various critics. Prolific writer and critic. Eminent educator. Significantly contributed to many diverse literary genres . Received India's highest literary award j~naanapeeTha for his raamaayaNa kalpa vRkshaM. His novels such as Veyi paDagalu are equally famous.

SAMARDHA RAMADASA SWAMI

Shivaji's preceptor and guide, Ramadas imparted to him the message that till we fulfil the required duty towards the motherland. he provide succour and guidance to thousands.

SamarthaRamadas
Samartha Ramadas The night was calm and serene. That night there was a religious discourse by Tukaram. People from all the surrounding villages had gathered to hear the discourse. Shivaji Maharaja was also present. People would forget themselves when listening to the discourses of Tukaram. It would be so enchanting.

At last Tukaram sang the mangala. Shivaji Maharaja got up from his seat, moved a step or two and bowed down at the feet of Tukaram. "Blessed I am by the nectar of your words. I realized that this kingdom and my rule over it are all insignificant compared to Sankeertana (glorification) of Lord Vittala. Maharaja, release me from the barren responsibility of this sword and armor. I too would like to spend the rest of my life in the Sankeertana of Vittala. Teach me the Nama-Sankeertana."

Sant Tukaram, saint among saints, was neither happy nor surprised at the words Of Shivaji Maharaja. On the other hand he was very much hurt. "How could it be? What would happen if Shivaji were to abandon his sword and adorn his hands with Tamboora!"-Tukaram thought. Patting Shivaji on the back, he said, "Up, up! Only Samartha Ramadas can be your worthy Guru. He will tell you what your next course of action is to be. See him, and follow his advice. He is your real guide and Guru."

Who is this Samartha?
Known everywhere as Samartha Ramadas, Narayana was born in the village Jamb, on the bank of river Godavari in Aurnangabad district. The Shanbhog of that village was Sooryaji Pant Thosar. His wife was Ranoobai. Sooryaji Pant worshipped the Sun God. Gangadhara. Pant was the eldest son of Sooryaji Pant. Narayana was born next to him.

Narayana took birth on Sri Ramanavami, that is, the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the year 1530 of Shalivahana Era (1608 A.D.). It was this Narayana who later became the famous Samartha Ramadas.

"I Will Think Over it, Ma"
Narayana was growing as the darling son of his parents in Jamb. Unlike his brother Gangadhara, Narayana was very mischievous. There was no end to his pranks.

Disgusted with his mischievous son, his mother once said, "How long can you go on like this, Narayana?"

"What else can I do, mother?"

"Narayana, have you ever given thought to your future?"

"That is all right Ma, I will now think over it."

'"What do you do next, my son?"

"Let me think over it, mother."

"Think over what?" She asked him again.

"Think over this world. About the future of this universe."

Ranoobai laughed at her son's words. "He is always mischievous she thought and kept quiet. Narayana would get over his mischievous tendency when he is married, some said. In those days, it was customary to perform marriage of boys by the age of 8 or 10. Why not find a suitable bride forNarayana? - Thought his parents. But Narayana declared, "I shall not marry". Narayana would run away from the spot, whenever people raised the topic of his marriage and hide himself somewhere.

One day he was hiding in the temple of Lord Anianeya, outside the village. He did not know how long he was hiding. His thoughts were enveloped in LordAnjaneya. Life-long celibate Hanuman was the devout servant of Sri Rama.

Hanumanta - unsurpassed in intellect. Anjaneya, who had traced Seeta, wife of Sri Rama. Mighty Maruti! The very idol of Maruti inspired Narayana. "I must also lead a life of celibacy, life-long Brahmacharya. I must also become strong and sturdy, like Hanumanta," he thought. Born on Rama- navami, Narayana saw from his mind's eye the purpose of his life, by the darshah of Maruti

An Ideal
From that day onwards Narayana was a changed man. All these days he was talkative. He suddenly became mum. He appeared to be thinking over something always.

Brother Gangadhara got married. Father Sooryaji Pant died. Mother Ranoobai began worrying about the future of her son Narayana: "My son seems to have lost even his power of speech. He has become dumb. What should be done now?"

"All will be right, if you celebrate his marriage" - well wishes told her.

People had suggested such a remedy earlier when Narayana was very boisterous. Now he had become very sober and silent.

Now also people suggested the same remedy.

Ranoobai also agreed to this. But her son would kick a row if anybody raised the subject of his marriage.

One day, Ranoobai asked her son. "My son, will you heed my words or not?"

Narayana did not break his silence.

I am pleading, as your mother. Please fulfil my one request."

Narayana looked up as if to know what his mother had to say.

"You get married. Please fulfil at least this one wish of your mother," she appealed.

It was difficult for Narayana to say ‘no’ to his mother. Though his mind was saying ‘no’ his tongue refused to say so to his mother who was the very embodiment of love and affection.

"All right, mother," he said.

Ranoobai felt immensely happy, as if the very heaven was within her reach. She sent word to her elder brother Bhanaji, who resided in the neighboring village Asangaon.

'Will you marry your daughter to my son Narayana?" She asked him. Bhanaji was ready for the alliance. Preparations for the marriage began fast.

Changed Narayana
The muhurta (auspicious time fixed) was fast approaching. The bride and the bridegroom were standing face to face. Only a yellow cloth screen (Antahpata) was separating them. The priest was uttering the 'Mangalashtaka' in a loud pitch. Narayana became suddenly alert when he heard the last few words of 'Mangala shtaka': "Sumuhurte Saavadhaana."

The word 'Saavadhaana' made him doubly alert. "I must not be caught in the web of marriage. The very purpose of my life will be lost by it. I must run away before the
screen (Antahpata) is remove," he thought.

Priests were chanting 'Mangalashtaka' verses. People who had gathered in large numbers to bless the couple were getting ready to throw mangalakshata on their heads. In the meanwhile Narayana had disappeared from the scene.

The cry, 'Where has Narayana gone, where is he?" echoed in the marriage pandal.

Sumuhurte Saavadhaana
Panchavati is a sacred place. In the Tretayuga, Prabhu Sri Ramachandra and Seetadevi had spent their days in these parts and sanctified them.

From the marriage pandal, Narayana went straight to Panchavati on the bank of the river, Godavari. The purpose of his life and the path to attain it became clear to him in
this sacred place, Nasik.

He spent twelve years of his life at auspicious Panchavati in meditation and penance. Here, he would leave his bed two hours before dawn, have a dip in the Sangama and perform Sand- ayavandana, Meditation and Japa.

Standing in knee-deep water for five to six hours a day from the minute of sunrise till midnoon, he would deeply engage his mind over God. Fish would sometimes bite his legs, he would not mind them. After meditation he would visit some houses and beg for food. He would divide the day's collection into three parts. He would set apart one portion to the cows, another to the fish and third for himself. The rest of the day he would spend in reading religious books, and in 'hearing religious discourses and devotional songs.

The rigorous routine of austerity of this thirteen-year-old boy would surprise everyone. These intense Tapas made his body shine like gold and his mind became
razor-sharp.

Has not his personal God, Prabhu Sri Ramachandra said that one's mother and one's country were superior even to heaven? "Janani Janma-bhoomischa swargadapi gareeyasi." His love for his mother and motherland Bharata-varsha overflowed his mind. Narayana felt: I am Ramadasa, servant of Rama. I shall obey every word of Sri Rama and follow his footprints." Thus Narayana became Ramadasa.



Where is Narayana? What happened To him?
Ramadas wanted to go round the whole country and study the conditions of the people. What is the meaning of going round the whole country? Should he visit every nook and corner of it? No, it is enough if one visits the holy places, which represent the entire country and its people.

An interesting thing happened in Paithan. That was the reason, people say, why Ramadas was begun to be called "Samartha Ramadas."

By then well known for his impressive discourses and Keertans, (singing of hymns, one day Ramadas was walking on the banks of Godavari. He was carrying a bow in one hand and some Brahmins saw it.

One of them asked, 'Do you know the use of the bow?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Then aim at the bird there," said some of them, pointing to a bird flying high in the sky.

One shot of Ramadas brought the bird down to the earth.

"You are a sadhu, you say. Should you kill an innocent bird? What a sinful act you have committed!" the Brahmins commented.

"You asked me to kill it!"

"Can you commit a sin because some one asks you to do so?"

"Yes, true, one should not," said Ramadas.

"You must repent for the sin of killing the bird. Otherwise you will have to suffer for it," warned the Brahmins.

Ramadas accepted to repent, and performed some sacrifice. Then he-asked the Brahmins, "Am I now free from the sin?"

Brahmins said, "You are free."

"Then how is it that the bird is still dead?"

"But how can a dead bird come back to life?"

"If the bird cannot come to life, then how am I to be sure that I got rid of the sin?" Ramadas asked them.

Ramadas took the bird in his hands, prayed with great devotion to Lord Sri Ramachandra. The bird began breathing. Lo, it fluttered and flew away! From that day onwards people began to address Ramadas as Samartha Ramadas. Thus goes the story.

Then Ramadas traveled to Kashi in the North. On the way he would take rest in villages and fill his stomach by begging for food. Ramadas keenly observed the prevailing conditions, customs and manners of people, during his journey throughout the length and breadth of the country.

In one of his poems, Ramadas has given the following picturesque description of the conditions that existed then in the country.

"Subjected to foreign. Invasions, the villages are deserted, lands are left uncultivated. Even in places where people managed to live, they appeared to be living as if faced with an impending deluge. High prices of day to day necessities of life have made their lite most miserable. Many have put an end to their lite by taking poison. People are disgusted with life.

He was heartbroken by the sight. "Is there no salvation for these people?" He implored God.

In this frame of mind Ramadas entered the temple of Lord Vishwanatha at Kashi (Banaras). Kashi is a holy place, a great pilgrimage center. People flock there in
thousands from all parts of Bharat.

One day Ramadas was taking rest outside the temple after the darshan of Lord Vishwanatha. His imposing personality attracted the attention of the devotees visiting the temple. He entered into conversation with them. An important aspect of life he came to realize from these talks.

Visit To Holy Places
As you know, the temple of Kashi Vishwanatha is built on the banks of the river Ganga. Steps are built to facilitate bathing. But nowhere was there to be seen a statue of Hanuman.

People requested Ramadas: "Maharaj, the statue of Maruti has to be installed at the Ghat if it is to be called really Hanuman Ghat."

Ramadas thought: "Yes, this place cannot be called Hanuman Ghat without Hanumanta." He succeeded in installing an idol of Anjaneya there.

Waves of thought rose in the mind of Ramadas. "What is this? Who am I? What should be the will of God that I should be brought here from such a far-off place and
ordered to build the temple? There must be some purpose. What can it be?" Ramadas began to ponder over it. Then the purpose of his life, the message of God, became clear to him like crystal.

"It is true that Bharatavarsha is greater than heaven. But that is of no use without freedom-like the Hanuman Ghat without Hanuman. Hanuman is well known for his
strength and valor, ‘Buddhimataam Varishthah'- the wisest among the wise.

"He was also a tower of strength. He possessed unsurpassed intellect. It was his effort, which enabled Ramachandra to get back his wife Seeta. To worship Hanumanta means worshipping strength and valor. This goal of freedom should have a firm foundation in the minds of the people of Bharata. Then alone could they have independence, the Seeta of freedom.

"It is true that Bharateeyas are as intelligent as Hanuman. If they can make up their mind, there could be none to equal them both in strength and intellect. They could cross the seas and Climb Mountains.

The idol of Hanuman must be installed in the minds of the people, like installing the statue of Hanuman in Hanuman Ghat."

Hanuman At Hanuman Ghat
Ramadas had a clearer picture of his life's mission at the holy Kashi.

Ramadas visited many places in North India. Then he turned his mind towards South. He went up to the holy Rameswara and then to Tirupati, and came to Pampakshetra on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. He had the darshan of Lord Virupaksha. Hardly a few decades had passed since the Vijayanagar Empire had been razed to the ground. In his restless efforts to climb the heights of spiritual glory, sage Vidyaranya had realized the importance of preserving Dharma. He had striven hard, day and night, for the establishment of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Likewise the pontiff of Sri Vyasaraya mutt provided necessary advice and guidance to Krishandevaraya of Vijayanagar in building the empire.

While the nation and the character of its people are in grave danger, spiritual aspirations and efforts at personal salvation by the heads of religious institutions and individuals should be kept aside for the time being. The first and foremost concern of all citizens should be to resolve the challenges confronting the nation.

Shivaji was at the time faced with similar situation.

When Vijayanagar was on the verge of an attack by enemies, spiritual activities alone could not be sufficient to defend the country. Strength of arms and ammunition and the determination to drive out the enemy were needed. Mere love of one's motherland is not enough, might of the muscles is necessary. It should be acquired by hard effort, and nurtured and developed. Irrespective of whether one is a family man or a monk or a soldier, every one should be prepared to die indefending the motherland. Ramadas saw this need.

Ramadas came to Pandharapur, the abode of Lord Vittala. When Pundalika, a great devotee of God Vittala, wasengaged in the nursing of his aged parents, God himself came to give darshan to his devotee and test him. But to Pundalika, the darshan of God Vittala was not of as much importance as his service to his parents.

"My first duty is to my parents. Without fulfilling it I have no time to welcome you," he told Vittala. "Till then please be waiting on the bricks," he added, throwing two bricks. This is the story of Vittala of the famous Pandharapura. One can see even to this day God Vittala standing on the two bricks with arms akimbo.

Ramadas derived a lesson even from this legend. It is the first and foremost duty of every person to attend to the needs of his parents and not to forget them with the
excuse that worship of God should come first.

One's motherland is one's true mother. Swadharma, duty, is one's father. It is not right to go to the Himalayas and perform penance in search of God forgetting one's duty to one's mother and motherland. One should first discharge one's duty to the land of one's birth; then one could turn his thoughts towards otherworldly things or heaven.

These were the thoughts that coursed through the mind of Ramadas. From his pilgrimage all over the country Ramadas realised that the nation was in grave danger.

Vow To Protect Motherland
Ramadas sent word to Shivaji Maharaja as soon as he returned to Maharashtra.

Prostrating at the feet of Ramadas, Shivaji begged of him: "I seek your advice. Show me a path to salvation. You are my Guru. You alone must save me."

Ramadas felt immensely happy when he saw Shivaji. In him he saw the person who could fulfil the high ideals he had set forth.

"Shivaji is not an ordinary person. He has all the qualities of becoming the man of the age," Ramadas thought.

"Shivaba, I have heard you have taken an oath before Rohideswara to free the country from the foreign bondage. From my recent tour I have fully realised the danger the country is facing. The people should be freed and their glorious heritage should be restored. Then alone could this great land be smiling with plenty and happiness. Why think of God and other world now? You have to do much to free your people from the fear of foreigners. God is waiting to help such people. Do not forget the oath you took before Rohideswara. Service to your people is service to God."

Shivaji Maharaja heard his Guru with rapt attention and devotion.

The Right Disciple
Shivaji Maharaja worshipped the feet of Ramadas. In return Ramadas gave to Shivaji a coconut, a fistful of mud and two fistfuls of sandstone.

The coconut signifies suspiciousness, according to Hindu belief. The mud symbolizes one's motherland. And the sandstone is the sign of strength of defense, an impenetrable fort. To be doubly ready to defend one's country and countrymen is what is meant. That was the message of Ramadas.

"Maharaj, be like a strong fort to your people. May you be successful in your endeavour to defend the country and drive away the enemies." With these words Ramadas blessed Shivaji Maharaja.

Ramadas discussed the ways and means of helping and co-operating with Shivaji Maharaja in his struggle to free the country. Ramadas gave a gist of the principles of his teachings to Shivaji when they parted. These words are included in the 'Dasabodha' which Ramadas wrote later.

Those words are:

"Put down mercilessly those who carry tales and also those who rebel against you.

Leave no work half-done. He is unfortunate who shows disregard for the task entrusted to him. What is the use of a coward? One who cannot face danger is not a soldier. Courage is the stepping- stone to success. Go ahead with your task in the name of God."

Shivaji Maharaja returned to his pi with these words of advice.


"Be a Strong Fort"
Ramadas began to think of the next course of action. He decided to move to the banks of Krishna from Godavari. Adil Shah was the principal enemy of freedom that Shivaji was contemplating to restore. Therefore Ramadas thought that his stay on the banks of Krishna which was in the occupation of Adil Shah would be an ideal place to be of assistance to Shivaji. Before settling there, Ramadas wished to have the darshan of his mother at Jamb village.

Ramadas came to Jamb, stood in front of his house, and shouted, "Jaya Jaya Raghuveera Samarth!"

Brother Gangadhara's wife came out with alms (Bhiksha). She could not recognize Ramadas.

Laughing, Ramadas said, "Sister-in-law, I am not a beggar, I am your Narayana."

She lifted her head and saw Ramadas. She then recognized him. She ran into the house to convey the information to her mother-in-law. Ranoobai, mother of Ramadas, was overjoyed to hear that her son who had run away from the marriage pandal had returned.

Ramadas entered the house. He fell at the feet of his mother. She was taken aback to see her son in the saffron robe, long beard and long hair.

She could say nothing at first as she was dumb-founded. But then she uttered, Narayana, my Narayana!"

"Yes, ma, I am your Narayana."

"True, you are my Narayana. But what is this? Which devil has taken hold of you?" She asked.

Ramadas laughed heartily at his mother's remark. "Mother, it is true a devil has taken hold of me. But you do not know what sort of devil it is!"

"The divine force that is in Vaikunta descended to earth. Born to Kousalya, it finished Tataki "Ramadas went on singing in his melodious voice. "The force that has taken hold of me is Prabhu Sri Ramachandra," he said jocularly.

Tears of joy rolled down the eyes of his mother on hearing these words. Ramadas narrated his wanderings in detail.

Finally he said: 'I went round* the country and saw decadence of morality and virtue (Dharmaglani) in men."

"What? Have men abandoned Dharma?" she said aghast. "Oh, very bad; very very bad," she muttered.

"Good will come out of this evil, mother; good will certainly come out of it," Ramadas consoled his mother, speaking as if in a dream.

"Am I Your Narayana?"
After spending a few days with his mother, Ramadas went down South to select his field of activities. On the way he installed idols of Anjaneya at Taakali, Maahulli,
Mahableswar, Vai, Karad and many other places.

He had gymnasiums (Vyayamashalas) built in front of those temples. It was to present the ideal qualities of courage and character before the people. He composed inspiring stotras in simple Marathi for their daily chanting.

Bheemaroopee Mahaarudraa Vajra
Hanuman Maruti!

Vanaaree Anjaneesutaa Raamaduta Prabhanjana!!

By chanting these verses daily, one can acquire unsurpassed strength and intellect.

Ramadas thought of settling in Chaphal village on the banks of the river Mand situated amidst sylvan surroundings. He requested the villagers for a piece of land to build a temple of Prabhu Ramachandra.

Their rough answer was: "Go away and build the temple in the burial-ground on the outskirts of the village."

"Very good", said Ramadas. He made up his mind to build a beautiful temple in the burial-ground itself. For one who was dreaming of creating a heaven out of ruins,
building a temple in a burial-ground would hardly present a problem!

The work of construction began and in a few days the temple was ready. In the depths of Krishna River he searched for the stone image of Prabhu Ramachandra and installed it in the temple.

Near by at Pratapgadh Shivaji Maharaja had his palace. This news reached him, He went to Chaphal, met Ramadas and offered his deepest respect. He provided Ramadas all the assistance needed for the construction of the temple

The Temple Of Sri Rama
Shivaji was growing strong day by day. The area under his control was extending. It gave Ramadas great joy.

Ramadas learnt that Afzal Khan, trusted lieutenant of King Adil Shah, was marching southwards with the challenge that he would bring back Shivaji either dead or alive. He also learnt that Afzal Khan, on the way, had destroyed many holy places like Tulajapur and Pandharapur. Afzal Khan was about to attack Shivaji with a strong force. Like death personified, Afzal Khan waited at the gates, eager to finish off Shivaji.

It worried Ramadas greatly. Day in and day out he thought over it. How would Shivaji safely escape from this mortal danger? He prayed to goddess Tulaja Bhavani.

"None but you could save my Shivaji from the savage enemy. I should have the fortune to see Shivaji safe after routing the enemy." That was the incessant prayer Ramadas fervently offered to goddess Tulaja Bhavani.

Afzal Khan had come to kill Shivaji but it was he who was killed by Shivaji. With the death of Afzal Khan the throne of Adil Shah began to shake. Shivaji's might, name and fame spread far and wide.

Ramadas were immensely happy at the turn of events. He blessed Shivaji with all his heart.

In humility Shivaji told Ramadas that the vast kingdom he had acquired was on account of the guidance, good wishes and the blessings of godly men like him. "I place all this at your feet" he offered.

Overjoyed by these words, Ramadas said: "Shivaraya, what use is this wealth and kingdom to me? Do not think your task is over with this. It has to be further extended. Ananda-Vana-Bhuvana (Heaven on Earth) is to be established. Success is surely yours. May God Almighty ever stand by you."

Shivaji prostrated before Ramadas.

Same Shivaji
The death of Afzal Khan was a decisive turning point in the life of Shivaji Maharaja. All these days his enemies had thought that Shivaji was a nuisance, a rebel and
guerrilla. With the strength of arms he built up, the area under his power began expanding.

In 1674 Shivaprabhu ascended the throne at Rajagadh. Samartha Ramadas was present on the occasion. Shivaji Maharaja got built a special room for Ramadas at
Rajagadh.

It stands there even to this day.

The coronation of Shivaji Maharaja was not an achievement of any one individual. It was a proud day for every Indian. There was no end to the joy and merry-making of
people that day. And there was no limit to the joy and happiness of Ramadas.

He named this kingdom of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja asAnanda-Vana-Bhuvana.

Ananda-Vana- Bhuvana
The death of Afzal Khan was a decisive turning point in the life of Shivaji Maharaja. All these days his enemies had thought that Shivaji was a nuisance, a rebel and
guerrilla. With the strength of arms he built up, the area under his power began expanding.

In 1674 Shivaprabhu ascended the throne at Rajagadh. Samartha Ramadas was present on the occasion. Shivaji Maharaja got built a special room for Ramadas at
Rajagadh.

It stands there even to this day.

The coronation of Shivaji Maharaja was not an achievement of any one individual. It was a proud day for every Indian. There was no end to the joy and merry-making of
people that day. And there was no limit to the joy and happiness of Ramadas.

He named this kingdom of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja asAnanda-Vana-Bhuvana.

The Writing Of 'Dasabodha'
Shivaji requested Ramadas to settle at Sajjangadh instead of Chaphal. Sajjangadh is a beautiful place at the foot of the Sahyadri Mountains. "Gadh" means a fort on a hill.

"What am I to do at the fort Ramadas asked Shivaji.

"It is a place with beautiful natural surroundings. It is best suited for your meditation and penance. I will see that the temple at Chaphal is kept undisturbed. My humble prayer is that you settle at Sajjangadh," Shivaji said.

"Yes, as you please" Ramadas answered.

As desired by his disciple, Rama came and settles at Sajjangadh.

At Sajjangadh Ramadas finished book 'Dasabodha.'

In 'Dasabodha' Ramadas has recorded his reflections on worldly life and on spiritual life. He has shown the way to a peaceful life. He has classified his teachings in
fourheadings: (1) Harikatha, (2) Politics, (3) Eternal Vigilance, and (4) Intelligent Living.

"First a person should learn to lead a life of righteousness, discharge one's duties to one's self and to one's neighbors and then think of the other world, that is, the spiritual side of life. There is no place for a lazy man. One who strives to establish Dharma is alone a godly person." This Ramadas preached in 'Dasabodha'.

The Light That Went Out
In 1680 A.D. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja died. It was an irreparable and unbearable loss to Ramadas. The entire Sajjangadh was drowned in sorrow. Ramadas could not bear the loss of Shivaji and he was very much dejected.

That was not all. Many more unpleasant events were waiting for Ramadas.

Sambajiraje Bhonsle ascended the throne after Shivaji. Though bold and chivalrous like his father Shivaji, Sambaji was vain and stubborn. He was after pleasure and pomp. He did not trust his officers and treat them well. Often, for no fault of theirs they were severely punished.

Ramadas could not stand such ill treatment by Sambaji. He wrote a long letter to him advising him in the matter.

The gist of it is as follows:

"Material happiness should be looked upon as worthless. We should live in such a way as to be praised and remembered in this world and welcomed in the other. We
should be ever vigilant in our thoughts, words and deeds. We should never think low. One should sit alone and think deeply. One should be less severe and more liberal in judging others. One should take one's officers into confidence. Always think of Shivaji Maharaja and his great deeds. Think of his form, think of his valor. Think of his bravery, his tact, and his administrative capacity. How noble were his words, his conduct! What warmth of personality! He should be an inspiration in every walk of your life. It should be your constant endeavor to better him if possible in every respect. Then alone will you be worthy of praise. What else can I write?"

These words of advice of Ramadas opened the eyes of Sambaji. He tried his best and thenceforward did his utmost to mend his ways.

The health of Ramadas worsened day by day, as days passed by. His one desire had remained unfulfilled, namely the installation of the idol of Sri Rama at Sajjangadh. The beautiful image of Sri Ramachandra from Thanjavoor was brought and installed at Sajjangadh.

All his wishes were completed after this event. His mind remained concentrated always on Prabhu Sri Ramachandra.

"God ever dwells in the minds of his devotees, observing their thoughts, words and deeds. He blesses all with happiness, wealth and emancipation. Sri Rama will never let down his devotees."

With this song on his lips, Ramad breathed his last.

Ramadas died on the ninth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Magha in the year 1682 A.D. (1604 of Shalivahana Saka.) There is tombstone of Ramadas at
Sajjangadh built by Sambaji. His devotees observe the day of his death as "Dasanavami " even to this day.

The religious discourses and Keertans of Ramadas inspired and thrilled the people. Their life was purified in the sacred Ganga of the Lord's Name. Ramadas etched these words in their hearts

"Do not search for Moksha for getting your country. Lead a pure life. First you owe a duty to your family and to your motherland. Then alone should you turn your thoughts
towards Moksha or Salvation."

INDIAN ARCITECTURAL TERMS

ENTRANCE OF THE HOYASALESWARA TEMPLE, HALEBID

ADHISHTANA: Basement of a vimana, a mandapa, or similar structure, forming a distinct architectural feature supporting walls and pilasters or pillars, and consisting ofdistinct moulded tiers.

ALPA NASIKA:Projected front end of an apsidal shrine resembling a KUDU
arch over pilasters,originally functioning as a small opening or fenestrated window,usually in kutas,koshithas and panjaras.

CARVING ON THE WALL AT MAHABALIPURAM SHORE TEMPLE
ALPA VIMANA: Small, one-storeyed vimana. The parts are adhishthana, bhitti or padaprastara, griva, sikhara and stupi. It is usually without a hara.

AMALAKA,AMALASARA,AMALASILA:Ribbed, lenticular or globoid part resembling the amalaka(Indian gooseberry fruit) crowning the top of the northern-style sikhara as its characteristic; also adopted as the top of the Kadamba-Chalukya forms, sometimes as an alternative to the griva sikhara component of the southern vimana form.

ANARPITA HARA: String of miniature shrines (hara) on the edge of each vimana tala, distinct from the body of the upper tala or storey, with intervening space (opposite of arpita).

ELEPHANT SCULPTURE AT SHORE TEMPLE
ANTARA BHITTI:Inner wall of multiple-walled garbha-griha, or sanctum, or storey.

ARPITA HARA: Hara or string of miniature shrines on the edge of each vimanatala that is applique to the body (harmya) of the upper tala or storey without any intervening space (opposite of anarpita).

ARTHA-MANDAPA: Pillared hall immediately in front of the principal shrine or distal half of a mandapa with two seriate pillars, as in rock-cut cave-temples.

ASTHA PARIVARA: Lay-out of central shrine with eight surrounding sub-shrines (including the Nandi shrine) in the cardinal and cornor directions.

AYTANA: Shrine; vimana

COMPOUND WALL STRUCTURE AT SHORE TEMPLE
AYATASRA VIMANA: Vimana, oblong on plan and covered by a wagon-top roof.

BAHYA BHITTI: Outermost wall of a multiple-walled sanctum or storey (opposite of antara bhitti).

BHADRA: Central relieved or projected part from each side of the body of the vimana or prasada as distinct from the corner projection (karna).

BHADRA SALA: Oblong, wagon-topped miniature shrine of ayatasra type in the centre of each side of the hara over the storeys of the vimana.

BHITTI: Wall.

ROOF STRUCTURE AT HOYALESWARA TEMPLE,HALEBID
BHITTI TORANA: Ornamental festoon on the wass, usually a makara torane supported by two pilasters (see torana, makara torana).

BHUMI: Stage in the curvilinear superstructure (sikhara) or anda of a northern-style temple, often marked off at the corners by compressed amalakas--the karnamalakas or bhumiamalakas.

BHUTA: Goblin.

CHATURMUKHA: Shrine or vimana opening on all four sides.

CHITRA POTIKA: Corbels with embossed carving or painting of creepers, flowers, etc.

DEVAKOSHTHA: Niche on walls of shrines and mandapas containing sculpture of deity; often crowned by torana or shrine motif, kuta sala, panjara, or kudu, or udgama.

GALA-GRIVA: Neck; usually the clerestory raising up the roof (sikhara) with light and air-openings (nasikas) on its sides in the vimana types. The neck is below the amalaka in prasada types, but without nasikas.

GARBHA-GRIHA: Shrine-cell, or sanctum sanctorum, or cella.

SCULPTURE AT MAHABALIPURAM

GOPURA:Main gateway; the storeyed structure over the entrance or entrances through the enclosing walls to the premises of a temple, palace, or city.

HARA:String of miniature shrines over each terrace (tala) of the storeyed vimana consisting of kutas, koshthas, or salas and panjaras, interconnected by cloister-lengths or balustradessimulating cloisters (harantara).

HARANTARA: See hara.

KADALIKA KARANA: Successive inward offsetting or corbelling-in of the roofing slabs or brick courses over walls to reduce the space to be roofed over to an ultimate small opening on top that can be covered by a slab overlapping like a banana bunch.

KADAMBA-CHALUKYA: Variant primarily of the rekha-nagara-style prasada, or temple, in which the superstructural tiers comprise kapata (cornice) and kantha (neck) and are capped by a circular griva or gala (neck), and an amalasara, often without the sukanasika.
WALL CARVING AT SHORE TEMPLE,MAHABALIPURAM

KALASA (LASUNA): Wide-mouthed vase; lowermost member of the pillar capital, so-called after its shape. Also the vase-shaped finial over the amalaka of northern temples.

KALYANA-MANDAPA: Mandapa or hall in which the ceremonial wedding of god and goddess in the form of utsava murtis or processional bronze icons is celebrated annually in south Indian temples.

KAPOTA:Dove, pigeon; overhanging cornice, usually flexed, projecting beyond the principal beam to throw off water from the terrace beyond the beam and joist-end or the recesses of the adhishthana like the kumuda and padma.

KARNAKUTA: Miniature sama-chaturasra (square) shrine at the corner of each storey of the vimana over the prastara, with a single stupi. It is rarely vritta (circular) or ashtasra (octagonal) on plan.

KARNA SALA: Miniature ayatasra (oblong) shrine with barrel-vault roof placed at the corner of each tala of a structure, usual in gopuras.
WALL CARVING AT SHORE TEMPLE

KATTU: Intervening octagonal or polygonal portion between the bottom and top squares of a pillar.

KILIVASAL: Kerala term used for the nasika (see nasika, and sukanasika).

KOSHTHA: Same as a sala.

KSHUDRA NASIKA: Short nasika; projected front end of a miniature apsidal (one or two-storeyed) shrine with arch over pilasters functioning as a small opening, usually found in the harantara.


KUDU: 'Nest'; an arched or horse-shaped opening projected out of a flexed cornice (kapota), originally perhaps intended for entry of roosting birds (kapota) but in later examples filled with human figures mithuna, etc., surmounted by a finial. The arch is usually a makara torana.

KUDYA-STAMBHA: Pilaster shown as relief on wall surface.

KUMBHA: Member of the pillar capital coming above the kalasa, and tadi, and bulbous in form. Originally a flattened carinate vase with a short, narrow mouth.

KUTA: Shrine of square plan (sama-chaturasra) with four-sided converging roof and single finial, or circular or octagonal with domical roof and single finial, or stupi.
CARVING ON THE ROCK PILLARS AT HALEBID

LALATA BIMBA: 'Crest figure', chief decorative motif or figure on the frontal of any entrance or door-lintel, sometimes extending to the overdoor.

MAHA-MANDAPA: Pillared hall immediately in front of the ardha-mandapa, or antarala, or the proximal half of a mandapa with two seriate pillars, closed or open, in cave-temples.

MAHA NASIKA: Projected nose-like part from the sides of the griva and sikhara showing the frontal aspects of apsidal vimanas and having pillars with surmounting arched toranas.

MAKARA TORANA: Entrance decoration with a festoon--straight or arched, spanning the tops of two columns, the festoon or torana being a decorative garland or scroll issuing from mouths of makaras(crocodiles), placed over the capitals of the supporting stambhas. Such makara toranas are found over the devakoshtas or mandapa entrances, or walls (bhitti torana).

CARVING ON ROCK AT MAHABALIPURAM

MALASTHANA: Apex of pillar or pilaster shaft below capital with looped garland (mala) hanging from the padma bandha.

MANDAPA, MANDAPAM: Open or closed pillared or astylar hall.

MUKHA-MANDAPA: First or frontal mandapa of a series at the entrance of a temple, often synonymous with maha-mandapa in earlier temples.

NASIKA: 'Nose'; projected arched opening (window). See alpanasika, kshudranasika, mahanasika and sukanasika. In Kerala temples it is called kilivasal, or parrot-beak entrances.

NATYA-MANDAPA: Dance-hall. See nritta-mandapa.
WINDOWS AT HOYALESWARA TEMPLE

NAVARANGA: Mandapa with four pillars surrounding a central bay, twelve more on the periphery in alignment with the central pillars, enclosing eight more bays, surrounding the central one and making nine bays in all; characteristic of Chalukyan temples and their derivatives.

NIDA: Miniature apsidal shrine; same as panjara.

NIRANDHARA: Devoid of a closed circuit or ambulatory round the cella, the wall of the cella being single and thick (as opposed to sandhara).

NRITTA-MANDAPA: See natya-mandapa.

OMA: Basal pitha of pillar or pilaster.

PADA: Pillar (stambha).


PADMA: Lotus; capital-member (doucene) below the phalaka (abacus), shaped like a lotus with petals.

PADMA BANDHA: Broad fillet, ringing the top of the shaft of a pillar, marked by decorative bands between rows of lotus petals, separating the shaft from the capital.

PALI:Capital member, same as padma ,but without scalloped petals.

PANJARA:Miniature apsidal shrine ; same as 'nida'.

PARIVARA DEVATAS:Also called 'avarana devatas,or subsidary deities in shrines called 'parivaralayas or parivara'.

PATTA:Plain or decorated band occupying the median face of the corbel,as if binding the rolls of 'taranga' mouldings of the corbel.

PATTIKA:Projected top slab of the platform or 'adhishtana 'in line with the vertical norm or 'manasutra'--a major moulding of considerable thickness.

PHALAKA:Abacus;wide plank on top of the terminal 'saduram'or moulded capital of pillar supporting the corbel,or 'potika'.

PIDADEUL:Structure with stepped or tiered superstructure over the sanctum as in kadamba-chalukya temples. The term is used in orissa (kalinga)architecture for the 'mandapa' in front of the main 'prasada',called 'jagmohan',or smller individual shrines with such superstructure.

PITHA:Pedastal,base.

POTIKA:Corbel-bracket over pillar.see taranga potika,makara potika,chitra potika.

PRANALA:Spout projected like a garagoyle to discharge water.

PRASADA:Northern-style temple ,as distinct from the 'vimana'from of the south.

prastara:eNTABLATURE,CONSISTING OF MOULDINGS OVER WALLS AND PILLARS ,VIZ. THE UTTIRA[BEAM] VAJANA, VALABHI, KAPOTA, ALINGA, AND ANTARI.

RANGA MANDAPA:Equivalent of 'navaranga',corresponding to the 'maha-mandapa'of southern 'vimana'temples.

RATHA:Chariot;monolithic 'vimana'

REKHA-PRASADA:Typical northern -style sanctuary from with curvilinear superstructure ,or 'anda',emphasized by the 'bhadra' projections on the sides ,and by 'rekhas'crowned by a neck and 'amalaka' with 'kalasa' on top.

SABHA-MANDAPA:Mandapa with shrine of nataraja in the southern temples ,generally facing south.


SADURAM:Squre basal,intermediate or terminal section of a pillar seperated by octgonal,polygonal or circular intermediary parts.

SALA SHRINE:Vimana of ayatasra type with barrel-vault roof and a series of stupis on its ridge.

SALA SIKHARA:Sikhara peculair to sala shrine ,barrel-vault,wagon-top or inverted ,keel-shaped.

SANDHARA:Structure with a closed or covered circuit passage or ambulatory round the cella or the sanctum as in a double -walled structure.

SNAPANA-MANDAPA:Mandapa in which the abhisheka or ceremonial bathing of processional idols of bronze is performed during festivals.

SIKHARA:Roof of the 'vimana'over the 'griva',domical or four-sided with a single final,vaulted with many finials on the ridge,or apsidal with many finials over the horizontal part.The entire superstructure is of northern 'prasadas'.

STAMBHA:Pillar(pada)

STAMBHA TORANA:Entrance decoration or free-standing decorated entrance wothout doors and with a festoon spanning the tops of two columns,the festoon primarily being a garland of leaves and flowers ,later on taking the form on one or more curved and decorated cross-bars,or a floral and foiler festoon arch issuing out of makara-heads,placed on top of the supporting columns.

STUPI,STUPICA:Final,morphologically the 'ushnisha',taking in later times the form of a 'purna ghata' or purna kumbha',forming the topmost or ultimate member of the 'vimana,gopura'or any other structure.


SUKANASIKA:Integral forward projection of the tiers of the superstructure below the 'griva'and 'amalaka' level in northern 'prasadas'coming over the 'antarala'and forming its roof;has a 'nasika'front,enclosing bas-relief sculptures inside the arch.In adaptions in the southern 'vimana'types,as in the chalukyan and its derivatives,the forward projection,primarily of the front 'nasika'or 'maha nasika'or the dormer of the 'griva sikhara'region alone,in smaller simple ;vimana'types and along with the forward projection of the 'talas'in storeyed types,the whole coming over the terrace of the lower 'antarala or ardha mandapa'.

TADI:Saucer-shaped capital-member above the 'kalasa'and below the 'kumbha'

TALA:Storey of the 'vimana or gopura'.

TARANGA:Wave;wavy roll -ornament of the corbel resembling the 'reed'moulding or 'reeding' of european classical architecture.

TARANGA POTIKA:Corbel-bracket with roll-or taranga moulding.

TORANA:Free -standing ornamental foiler and festoon forming entrance supported by two upright columns and often interlaced vertically.copies in wood and stone with greater elaboration and carving.,or taking the form of 'makara torana'mounted on two pillars. it precedes the main gateways of cities,palaces and temples.it is oftan erected temporarily on festive occations on roads leading to cities,palaces,temples.when according the doorway as a 'dvarasobha',it is called a 'griha dvara torana',or the face-of-a-wall 'torana',where it often frames a niche or 'devakoshtha'or suggests an opening 'ghanadvara'.When free-standing,it is designated 'stambha torana.'

TRKUTA,TRIKUTACHALA TORANA STAMBHA:Pillar or pilaster supporting 'torana';three 'vimanas'connected by a common 'adhishtana'in a line or placed round a common 'mandapa'', as in chalukyan types.

UDGAMA:Fenestrated pattern of coalescent kudu-like arches and half-arches, typical of northern- style temples and found in the facade arches of buddhists cave - temples, used in northern temples as crest over devakoshthas also in place of the miniature shrine tops of such figure niches on walls of shrines and mandapas

UPANA:Lower most part or footing of sub - base below the basement or adhishtana , projecting beyond the vercical norm and surmounted by the jagati. it formslowermost visible part of the vimana, the uppermost limit of the same being the stupi.

UPA- PITHA :Additional moulded platform or sub- base below the basement or adhishtana with mouldings repeating those of the adhishtana or often reduced in number, or simpler.

UTSAVA-MANDAPA:mandaa in which the processional deities of bronze are kept during celebrations.

VEDIKA:railing.


VIMANA;Shrine from upana to stupi [base to finial], the whole shrine consisting of adhishthana [basement], pada [pillars] or bhitti [walls], prastara [entablature], griva[neck or clerestory], sikhara[head or roof], and stupi [finial] in the case of simple vimanas [ekatala], with talas [storeys] interveningbetween the lowermost prastara below and the griva, sikhara, and stupi above in storeyed vimanas.

Vyala mala, Vyala vari:Decorative friezes with vyalas usually as a part of the adhishtana and on top of the entablature of each tala, marking the ends of cross-joists in original timber work.

AUDI SANKARACHARYA

One of the greatest philosophers and savants of Bharat. Though he lived for only thirty-two years, his achievement was unparalleled. He propounded the vedantic tenet that Brahman the Supreme and man are of one essence and that all people should strive to cultivate this vision of oneness. He established four spiritual centres in the four corners of the country, thus' upholding the underlying unity of the holy land of Bharat.


Shankaracharya

Amala-kamalaadhivasini

maanaso vaimalyadaayini manoine i

sundara-gaatri susheele

tava charanaambhoruham

narnaami sadaa ii

(O Goddess, You live in the lotus of purity,

You make the mind pure, and You are known by the inner mind.

You are beautiful as well as virtuous. I offer my salutation at Your lotus feet at all times.)

This hymn on Goddess Saraswati, so well known and familiar in our country, was composed by Sri Shankaracharya. "it is not possible to describe His form in any specific way. But great is His Glory."

This statement is made about God. It occurs in Vedas. The same thing may be said of sages, seers and philosophers-the most glorious personages who were responsible for the growth and development of our national culture. They did not want to fill the pages of Indian history with physical and material information such as dates, place, birth, period of life, etc. This is the characteristic of our culture. Their vital spirit is still present all around us. Their works alone testify to their spiritual, intellectual and creative powers. These great men will appear to us as God-men, when we understand their works. Their actions appear as superhuman. As they are beyond our ability to understand, we tend to think of them as miracles. But these extraordinary men are far above those miracles also. Leaving aside these miracles, if we just take their life story, even that would be wonderful and interesting. The lives of such persons with their pristine purity . reveal the very heart of Indian culture. Sri Adi Shankaracharya belongs to the galaxy of such men. The history of Indian culture, in fact, is the stream of lives of such great souls. In order to recover from the crises-the religious, moral, that crop up ideological or political in the society from time to time, the country anxiously awaits the help of inspiring and glorious personalities. It may be said that Sri Shankaracharya's birth took place in the same way, as a result of India's spiritual longing for redressal of its all-round suffering. It is the opinion of scholars that he belonged to the period between 788 and 820 A.D.

God's Grace

It is stated that Sri Shankaracharya was born of God's Grace to his parents. Kalati is a beautiful village Kerala. Even today this fine village may be seen on the bank of river Poornaa. There lived a couple It name Shivaguru and Aryamba. Theirs was an orthodox Namboodri brahim family. Though rich, they led simple life Both the husband a wife were well educated. More than that, they were devoted to God. They were worried only about not having any children even after long time. They made vows an appeals to all gods. At last, suggested by close friends, they we to Trichtir for rendering devotional service to God Vrishaachaleshwara. The divinely graceful idol of the God attracted them. They spent many days there with a feeling that serving Him is the only way known to them One night Vrishaachaleshwara appeal in their dream. It was a wonder experience.. God posed a question to them.. I am pleased with your steadfast devotion. I shall- grant your prayer. But there is one question, Does it suffice if you are given only one son of short life who will be a great teacher of the whole world, or do you want many children of long life but dull wits?"

Would the God who is not easily accessible put an easy question? The couple who had such boundless faith in God found completely a different way out. They left everything to His decision only. Then the Lord said, "Your son, born as an aspect of Shiva, will become an universal teacher." So, saying, He disappeared. Shivaguru and Aryamba felt very happy and stayed there for several more days offering their worship and service to god Ishwara. Afterwards they returned home.

A son was born to Aryamba by the full Grace of Ishwara. The baby was named Shankara. Calculating according to solar calendar, the auspicious day has been said to be the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Vaishakha. The devotees celebrate - "Shankara Jayanti On that- day every year.

Shankara, being a divine incamation grew up right from his childhood as a prodigy in every respect. It is said that at the age of eight he had understood the four Vedas. By the time he was twelve years of age, he had understood all branches ofknowledge. And by sixteen he had written commen- taries on those Vedanta which are considered to be his major works. Sharp as his intellect was, so was his heart very broad. Even at a young age Shankara, had become proficient in Prakrit Magadhi and Sanskrit languages. At The first year of his age he had learnt both Malayali, his mother tongue, and Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas. During his second year he was able to read and write in these languages. During his third year he was able to read and explain epics and mythology. Thus is it stated in some books written about him. Considered from an ordinary standpoint, one might feel that much of this may be an exaggeration. But instances of child prodigies endowed with a divine gift of brilliance are not uncommon.

At Gurukula

At the age of five Shankara's Upanayana was performed. By that time his father Shivaguru was dead. Only the mother had to bear the responsibility of bringing up the child pupil. Shankara was sent to the nearby Gurukula on the banks of river Poornaa. Under the guidance of Guru he studied the Vedas and its branches and also all other subjects. His brilliance brought credit to the entire Gurukula. From an incident that happened during his stay at the Gurukula one can understand his deep concern for the poor and distressed persons.

There is a convention that the pupils in a Gurukula should get their food by begging. Accordingly the boy Shankara went round to beg. He stood at the door of a house and shouted, "Mother, please give alms. He repeated the appeal twice. There was no reply. He repeated it several times. Then a woman came out and stood with a sad face. There was nothing in the house to offer to this boy. Hence that piteous look. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Shankara understood the situation. "Mother, I shall be content with whatever you give me. Thereby may there be no scarcity in your house," he said. But how to give anything when there was nothing? What is there to give? At last she remembered the gooseberries grown in the backyard. She brought some gooseberries and gave them to Shankara. Shankara then prayed to Shreedevi, the Goddess of Wealth, to show her mercy on this humble and virtuous woman. Then, as Written in the books, there was a shower of golden gooseberries in the house. This means that as a, result of Shankara's prayer to the Goddess, that family became rich and Prosperous.

Shankara stayed in the Gurukula for eight years. By then he made such a thorough study of all the subjects that he had them at his finger-Ups. More than any other subject, he was greatly interested in the Vedanta, the most advanced part of the Vedas, which is said to be the very came of spiritual truth. This is the highest and the culminating point of all knowledge. "By knowing which everything will be known, and that is what the Vedanta aims at," say the learned. Even at such a tender age Shankara was attracted towards that goal. This shows the greatness of his personality.
For The Sake Of Mother

Many instances that reveal the divine spirit of great men are available at every stage of their lives. It was so in the case of Shankara also. After completing his education in the Gurukula, it was the time when Shankara was at home rendering service to his mother and also teaching some pupils. Aryamba had fallen ill. But still she insisted on having her daily bath in the river Poornaa. Though the river-bed was in front of her house, it had dried up because of summer, and the slender flow of water was far away. Aryamba had to cross the vast sand-bed to reach the water. One day she managed to finish her bath and was returning home. While crossing that sand-bed, not being able to withstand the sun and strain, she fainted and fell down on the way. Shankara got the news and rushed to the spot. He attended to her. When she recovered a little, he brought her home.

The summer might be unbearable and the water might be flowing at a distance across a broad bed of sand. But Aryamba would never agree to change her routine. So the next day, would she not go again to the river for bath? this worried Shankara. He folded his hands in salutation to the river goddess, Poornaa Devi. He prayed to her to flow in full, extending her waters up to their house, in order to facilitate his mother's ritualistic bath. Maybe in answer to his prayer, or maybe by a seasonal phenomenon or due to both, there was a continuous downpour of rain throughout the night. The next morning river Poornaa was found flowing fully over the breadth of her sands in all her grace and majesty. This is as good a miracle as having brought the distant river very near.Whether spirituality has or has not the power to awaken the static power latent in Nature and make it dynamic is a matter for thought. All the people of Kalati joined the ailing Aryamba in praising and blessing Shankara. Mother's Longing And Anxiety

Who is not astonished at the routine of an eight year old boy being engaged in Vedic studies, contemplation on Vedantic thoughts and teaching the same to others? In addition to this he had to attend on his aged mother.

As days were passing like this, one day two Brahmin’s who were both old in years and in wisdom came to Shankara's house. Aryamba and Shankara received them with respect and treated them hospitably. The guests found the atmosphere of the house extraordinary. They were enchanted by Shankara's brilliance, modesty and godly qualities. They felt that only to work for the welfare of the world God must have endowed this boy at such a tender age with all those abilities and achievements. While departing, those old men told Shankara's mother: "May your son live long. May he become a stalwart in establishing the Vedic tradition firmly and gloriously in Bharat which is now passing through a crisis, and may he thereby accomplish the welfare of the world."

The mother's heart was also yearning for the same. She prayed to Ishwara to grant her son a long life and to make the blessings of those Magis come true. But how is it that God Ishwara Himself appearing in the dream told, "Your son may have a short life but he will be the teacher of the world"? Then what does the blessing of these old Magis mean? Aryamba was puzzled. But she consoled herself saying, "May it be as He wills it."

The son seems to have understood her anxiety. He tried to comfort her by saying, "Mother, don't you see that incidents of everyday life point only to the transitory nature of life? If we make use of all the time at our disposal in the service of God, is there a better fortune than that?"
Shankara,The Ascetic

There is not the slightest doubt about an unseen hand shaping the life of Shankara. As if to confirm this, there happened an incident.

One day Shankara was bathing in the river Poornaa. A crocodile caught his leg and began to pull him into the river. However strong one might be one can't fight with a crocodile in water and succeed. What could the plight of boy Shankara be then? He felt that his life had come to an end. He loudly called out to his mother. She came running. He told her, "Death isapproaching, mother, as I have been caught by a crocodile. I am unable to free myself from its grip. I see only one way out. I must take sannyasa before I die. Please permit me to take 'instant sannyasa'. (Taking sannyasa in essence means to give up one life' and get a new one. So by the decision to take sannyasa he would get over the death caused by the crocodile. Either way he would attain an exalted state. If he survived he would have a new life. If he should die, even then he would have a new life after casting away his body.) The son’s plight and his pathetic appeal moved the heart of the mother. She wasconfused. If he could live at least by becoming a monk, may it be so. She only wanted him to live. So, with a firm faith in Ishwara she gave her consent saying, "My child, may it be according to His will."

Probably it was the will of God that Shankara should be freed from worldly life. The crocodile left Shankara unhurt and swam away in the water! Shankara. Crossed over the sorrow and misery of worldly life. By mere resolution of the mind, he became a Sannyasi and attained a new life.

Mother was grieved about his becoming an ascetic. A few days after this incident, the boy-monk told her about his life’s mission.

He requested her to permit her to leave Kalati.

He was her only son. And was a gift of God to her.

But when she realised that he was born only to render service both to God and to humanity, she blessed him and bade him farewell saying, "Attain great fame, my dear son."

Shankara requested the elders and his dear friends of neighborhood to have good care about his mother and then he got ready to leave Mother could not control her grief "Shankara," she said, "will I see yet again once at least before I die? Shankara, having understood mother., heart, assured her, "Mother, remember me at the time death. I will come to you wherever I may be. I am praying to God to grant me the ‘good fortune of serving my mother during her last days." This was a reply of one who had supreme faith in God. To divert his mother's attention towards God, he installed at home an idol of Sri Krishna. Leaving his mother to his gracious care, Shankara left Kalati. 'O, Mother Parvati, Give Me Alms'

After visiting many pilgrim centres of this holy land of Bharat, Sri Shankara came to Kashi. His object was to have darshan of God Vishweshwara on the banks of sacred Ganges. His march of religious conquest was to start in Kashi.

Shankara in Kashi felt that his first and foremost duty was to have darshan of Sri Annapurna, the presiding deity of the city of Kashi, that she should give him the first alms. But the alms that Shankara begged of her was unusual:

Jnaana-vairaagya-siddhyartham

bhikshaam dehi cha Parvati

"O Mother Parvati, give me alms such as will enable me to attain wisdom and austerity." The humility and the intense feeling with which he was appealing to the mother of the universe, the radiance which far exceeded the tender age of that handsome boy-monk surprisedeverybody. If some thronged around him to listen to the ecstatic songs dominated by a note of devotion which Shankara sang in his divine voice, many others came to listen to his enlightening discourses on Vedanta. Still many more experienced peace in his company under a spiritual influence. In this way, before long the boy-ascetic won a place in the hearts of the people.

During Shankara's stay in the city of Kashi an incident happened as ill to test his inner development.

The day was about to dawn. Shankara was on his way to the river for bathing. A man whom people called pariah (of a low caste) came across the road. Shankara, it seems, shouted at him, "0, untouchable, keep away." The answer the other man gave was startling. "To which are you referring as untouchable, this body or the Self? Is not this body also made of dust in the same way as your body? Does the Self ever get polluted? And how can the Self which is present everywhere keep itself at a distance? Is there any difference between you and me the way it has pervaded?" It is a situation in which any one might get confounded. But Shankara’s reaction was entirely different. Throwing away all his pride, he fell prostrating at the feet of that man. "This is not an ordinary man. One who has ‘described the nature of the Self in such a simple and lucid language is really not ordinary: He is no other than God Himself. Is not this inner enlight-enment a form of Vishweshwara’s Grace?" he said to himself and felt happy. Shankara even after experiencing the Advaita doctrine was caught for a moment in the illusion of high and low. He offered his salutation to that God in human form who had dispelled his illusion.

One Vishnu Sharma at Kashi prayed with great devotion. "I wish to be freed from the bondage of worldly life, please show me the way, Sir." He became the first disciple of Shankara. It is this person who later became known as ‘Padmapadacharya’. Commentaries

Shankara, a scholar of tremendous capacity, had one important task to do. The Upanishads, BhagavadGita and Brahmasutras are sacred scriptures of the Hindus; but it is not easy to understand them. Shankaracharya decided to write commentaries on these texts. He wrote first on the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. They became very popular. He was to write the commentary on BrahmaSutras. Hindus believe that Bhagavan Vyasa is still alive in Badari, the pilgrim centre. This centre is located at the foot of the Himalayas, at an altitude of 12,000 feet. Travelling was not easy in those days, about 1200 years ago. ButShankaracharya went to Badari itself to write his commentary on the BrahmaSutras.

Dedicating himself to the service of Ishwara and Bhagavan Vyasa, he launched upon his work. The writing of commentary went on smoothly. It is said that Vyasa himself gave darshan to Shankara and blessed him. As it happened, according to his expectation Shankara continued his work with a new vigour. This doubled his life-span as it were. Mainly this new vigour-call it longevity - was needed for the fulfil- ment of Shankara’s project. The heavy task of spreading the meaning of these great texts was also waiting. Shankara’s mission in life would not be completed without doing this. So in order to carry out this responsibility, a new vigour in the form of God’s Grace and Guru’s blessings was needed. Shankara, having got this, devoted the rest of his life to carry out his mission. This, as may be called, was the period of Shankara’s conquests.

As the first step of his conquests Shankara came to the city of Ruddha. There he was to encounter one Kumarila Bhatta in argument and win over him. Kumarila said, "If you want to debate on Vedanta you should go to MandanaMishra; and if you win over him in an argument, then surely you can expect victory for Vedanta everywhere."

Mandana Mishra was an outstanding scholar. Even the most learned men would feel nervous to argue with him. He lived in a town called Mahishmati. Shankaracharya went there. Mandana Mishra agreed for a debate.

What is the stake?

The loser should become the winner’s disciple.

Both were stupendous scholars. Who should be the judge competent to decide as to who had won and who had lost?

The wife of Mandana Mishra was Ubhaya Bharat. She too had astounding scholarship. She was regarded as the incarnation of Saraswati (the Goddess of learning). She was made the judge.

The debate with thundering argument and counter-argument on for several days.

Mandana Mishra at last accepted his defeat. As per the agreement he became a sannyasi and disciple ofShankaracharya.

This victory of Shankara was of tremendous consequence, we should say. It was the triumph of Shankara Charya's teaching. Besides, he got a brilliant person like Mandana Mishra as his disciple. It was this disciple who rendered memorable service to Vedanta and became known as 'Sureshwaracharya.'

After this event Shankara went to the sacred Srishalila. His intention was mainly to defeat Ugra Bhairava who was notorious in Tantric field such as witchcraft and black magic. That Kaapaalika could not win over Shankara's pious and spiritual Vedic doctrines. He with his black art even attempted to kill Shankara, but fell himself a prey to it. From Srishaila Shankara went to Gokarna, another famous pilgrim-centre. And then he proceeded along the Sahyadri range to the Mookambika Temple at the foot of Sahyadri hills.
A Matchless Guru For A Matchless Disciple

Now Shankara's main aim was to search for a Guru. His intense desire was to have as his Guru only a person who had realised Brahman. If this is the expectation of a disciple, is not that Guru most fortunate? . Shankara went towards North. He came to the banks of river Narmada after passing through many hermitages. There he found the hermitage of a Mahayogi. And this was Govinda Bhagavatpada. Seeing him in a state of deep samadhi, Shankara's heart was filled Iwith satisfaction. His expectation had been fulfilled. What did Govinda Guru see when he woke to his conscious state? A boy-ascetic with a bright and radiant face, standing there with folded hands. The inner spiritual development was writ large on his face. After prostrating before the Guru, Shankara introduced himself. He requested that he may be accepted as a disciple. Govinda Yogi felt happy at the very first meeting as h e had found the very type of person - the fittest disciple – for whom he had been waiting. Let alone teaching the pupil the mysterious secrets of the Vedanta, was it not a great pleasure for the Guru to find there a disciple who had not only digested the very philosophy of Vedanta but looked every inch the embodiment of that philosophy? Taking initiation from the Guru in a regular way to ascetic life, Shankara carried on his studies with all devotion.

For the boy Shankara who had obtained a marvellous success in comprehending the Advaita philosophy, "The spiritual Yoga" was very necessary. A person who at his will could forget himself and the world and enter the indescribable state of supreme peace! Such was the Guru. And the disciple was one who was qualified to attain that state. This was a preparatory step of Shankara in getting dynamic power which would facilitate the great work he was to do in future. Understanding the truth is different from experiencing it. Govinda Bhagavatpada enabled Shankara to attain this state of glorious experience. The wise who have attained this state call it the experience of the Infinite. This experience gave rich nourishment to Shankara's personality. The entire world appeared to be full of Brahman to him. After this the only thing that remained to be done was to communicate the bliss he had known and experienced to one and all through Vedanta. This work was assigned also to him by his Guru Govinda Bhagavatpada. He was asked to write, in the light of truth he had realised, commentaries on the three basic texts, namely the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasutras which are the spiritual treasure troves of Bharat. The Guru blessed him saying, "Whatever you wish, it shall be fulfilled by the power you have acquired from yogic practices." The next period of Shankara's life was devoted to the propagation of Vedanta.
'Hastamalaka'

Here he was to get one more great disciple. Prabhakara was a brahmin. He had a son who was a dumb boy. He appeared to be dull. But Shankara felt that he was a yogi. Instead of asking the parents who had brought the boy ‘Why is the boy like this? since when?’ he asked the boy straightaway : "Who are you, my boy?" What else could be so sacred a place as the one where the divine master was standing for the yogi to break his silence? One who was dumb poke in answer, "I am the eternal self and not dead matter." This was the simplest form of expressing the nature of the self. By the grace of the master, the dull and the silent son of that couple revealed himself to be a great and wise sage. The master felt happy and taking him as disciple, named him 'Hastamalaka'.
The Four Regional Monasteries

The next important event in Shankara’s life was his coming to Shringeri. This place is situated on the bank of river Tunga in Karnataka. It is the loveliest of spots. Long, long ago, great sages like Vibhan- daka, Rishyashringa and such others had carried on their penance there. Since then it had been a very sacred place.Enchanted with the tranquillity of that place, Shankara established his first Vedanta JnanaPeetha. He installed there the idol of Sri Sharada, the Goddess of Learning, and placed Sureshwara as the Head of that Sharada Peetha.

In Acharya Shankara’s view the entire Bharat was a holy land. Its welfare and unification was to be based on Dharma only. In connection with this unification, Acharya’s plan was to establish four centres in four corners of Bharat for spreading Vedanta and for guiding persons practising Vedanta. The founding of Sharada Peetha was the first step in this project. This was meant to provide guidance for South India. He established the Govardhana Peetha in Jagannath for the East, the Kalika Peetha in Dwaraka for the West, and the Jyotih Peetha in Badarikashrama for the North. These Peethas are called ‘Amnaya Peethas.’
The Disciples

How at Shringeri during his stay Shankara showered his blessings on a disciple called Giri is very interesting. The co- students used to look down upon Girl thinking that Vedanta for him was a hard nut to crack. Once Shankara at the time of his lecture said, "Let us wait for Giri." The other pupils said, "Why should we wait for him, Sir? A wall is much better than that dullard."

Shankara felt pained when such a student as was devoted to the service of his master was jeered at. "What do you know about his nature and spiritual achievements? His ability will reveal itself shortly," said the Master. "Isn’t it enough if Master knows my merit? Should it be made known to others also? Let me not have such conceit" - so Giri used to feel within himself and was serving his master silently. On that day as usual he came late and did obeisance to Acharya. Acharya said with a smile, "Look Giri, We want you to give a discourse on the Self and its nature. We have been waiting for you."

It was the master’s command as well as blessing. The so-called dullard Giri, in a very modest way and full of devotion expressed in his eyes, presented the very gist of Vedanta in Trotaka Vritta, a highly complicated metrical form, but very enlighteningly as if he was making with all reverence as offering to the Master. The other students felt ashamed of their folly. They apologised to both Acharya and Giri. Shankara, thus revealing the literary ability latent in Giri, called him "Trotakacharya" to make this incident remembered for a long time.

Among the disciples of Shankara the most prominent are four Padmapada, Sureshwara, Hastamalaka and Trotaka. Shankara nominated them as the chiefs of the four Vedanta centres he had established: Sureshwara for shringeri the South zone center, Padmapada for Kalika Peetha of a, Trotaka for Jyotih’ peetha Dwarak of Badari, and Hastamalaka for Govardhana Peetha of Jagannath. He told that at their lives should be dedicated to re-organise ancient Hindu Dharma.
Service To Mother

Meanwhile Shankara felt that the end of his old mother Aryamba was nearing. Accordingly he returned to Kalati. When Shankara came to know that she was to die shortly, he offered ‘Shiva Bhujanga Stotra’ and ‘Vishnu Stotra’ which have a power to save the soul, and prayed that she might die peacefully and attain heavenly abode.

Shankara’s mother died. Her body was to be cremated. But none of Shankara’s relatives came forward to help. A monk cannot perform the funeral rites of anyone, not even of his parents. Still Shankara- charya felt, is it not a sacred duty to perform the funeral rites of the dead when required to? Shankara had to carry" the body himself with great difficulty to the burning place and light up the pyre. By doing this last service to his mother, he felt gratified.

Shankaracharya paid a visit to Sharada Nilaya in Kashmir known as Sarvajna Peetha (the seat of the all knowing). Those who are not all-knowing are not entitled to sit on it; no one could claim to be an expert in any religion or philosophy without sitting on it. Shankara did not wish to show himself off as Sarvajna. He felt that Sri Sharada Nilaya with Sarvajna Peetha was by itself a place worthy of visit by all devotees. Besides, Kashmir is the crown of Bharat. So he resolved to g 0 there, lest the ancient Hindu religion should perish there.

There are four gates in four directions for entering Sharada Nilaya. Eminent scholars and philosophers had entered it from various directions and had established their scholarly merit But no one so far had adorned this chair of Sarvajna. And also till their no one had even attempted to enter the temple through the Southern gate May be this gate was waiting for Acharya Shankara. only who was from the South! Scholars of many group and communities were waiting for him in ‘ the premises of Sir Sharada Nilaya All were filled with a feeling of reverence to see him who was learned in both Jnana and Vijnana Yet the scholars in religious philosophies of Jaina, Bouddha, Samkhya, Yoga, Nays and Vaisheshika confronted him at the time of his entry to the temple, Shankara defeated all of them in philosophical debate and then entered the temple through the Southern gate.

Acharya went to ascend Sarvajna Peetha. Sri Sharada, the presiding deity of all learning, herself set a test for him. Shankara passed this test also. After this the Goddess Herself blessed him, proclaiming his omniscience. So say the ‘Shankara Vijayas’.

We can take this to be an allegory of all the struggles Shankara had to face in his life. Ascending the seat of Sarvajna situated in Kashmir of the North is a symbol. The meaning of it is that Shankara reached the peak of spirituality. We can get an idea of his greatness from the fact that a person of just thirty had ascended the throne of all knowledge.
The Path That Shankara Showed

By that time the Acharya had probably gone round the whole of Bharat two times. He had travelled from Rameshwara and Kanyakumari of the South to Kashmir of the North, from Jagannath of the East to Dwaraka of the West, and had visited many places of pilgrimage. He got many temples renovated and inspired many to a righteous living.

Sri Shankaracharya showed I example how a man should live. The life should shine forth with pious qualities like knowledge, devotion and asceticism. He preached the way Advaita. That means everything in the world is Brahman and all are one. The world is constantly changing. These changes are neither important nor real. The reality that lies behind all these things and activities Brahman. One should develop an eye to see God everywhere and in everything. People who have that vie, take the whole world for the mother- land, and treat all human beings as their brothers.

Shankara wrote philosophical book to help the people understand Hindi Dharma. Alongside he wrote man, hymns that nourish devotional feelings in people. The hymn ‘ Bhaja Gowindam composed by him has been a very popular song all over Bharat . "If you want to get rid of the miseries of life and fear- of death, pray to Govinda."
The Guiding Light

It cannot be said definitely where the Acharya spent his last days. It is common and natural for people everywhere to take pride in saying that such and such a Mahatma was born in their own town or visited their town and sanctified that place by walking on it, or that he entered eternal peace in their place.

People claim the signs of Shankara’s Mahasamadhi in the holy towns of Kanchi, Trichur and Kedar. There is nothing surprising in this. The Acharya was in all such sacred places and he had gone beyond them. If the samadhi of the Southern Acharya is in Kedar of the North, it only signifies that his personality had extended over the whole of Bharat.

Acharya Shankara, at the early age of 32, cut asunder all bonds of relation with the ‘world and attained the state of Brahman. Ordinary people will have to spend 32 years even for being able ask "What is the meaning of life?" But the Acharya during his brief life-time had brought about a great religious renaissance all over Bharat. By his memorable works on religion and philosophy he had pointed out the unique feature of our ancient religion. He found fulfilment of his life by consolidating the history of Bharat from the point of view of culture. He gave a concrete form to the truth that the whole of India was one by establishing spiritual centres in various zones.

May the divine life of such great men be a guiding light to us.

NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE

Nethaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 at Cuttack, in Orissa. He was the sixth son of Janakinath and Prabhavati Bose.
Subhash was an excellent student and after school joined the Presidency College, Calcutta, where he studied philosophy, a subject he was interest in.
As a young boy Subhash felt neglected among his 8 siblings. At his English school he suffered under the discrimination faced by Indians which made him even sadder.

nethaji Subhash chandra boseNethaji wanted to work for the poor but his father, had other ideas. He sent Subhash to England to appear for the Indian Civil Service. In July 1920, barely eight months later Subhash Chandra Bose appeared in the Civil Service Examination and passed it with distinction. But he didn't want to be a member of the bureaucracy and resigned from the service and returned to India.

Back home, he participated in the freedom movement along with 'Deshbandhu' C.R. Das. He was thrown into jail but that only made him more determined. Subhash joined the congress and rose to its Presidentship in 1938 a post he held for 2 years.

In 1939, when the Second World War started Gandhiji and other leaders were against doing anything anti-Britain. But Subhash thought differently. He knew, for instance, that the fall of the Roman Empire had led to the freedom of its colonies. He decided to seek foreign help for his cause of freeing India.

He was arrested and kept in his house under detention. On January 17, 1941, while everyone was asleep, Bose slipped out of his house into a waiting car. Disguised as a Muslim religious teacher, Bose managed to reach Peshawar two days later.

Bose went to Italy, Germany and even Russia to seek help but without much use. Subash decided to organize Indians on his own. He landed in Singapore and grouped Indians there into the Indian National Army or the Azad Hind Fauj and declared himself the temporary leader of the free Indian government. Japan, Germany and Italy recognizied Subhash's government and the whole of India rejoiced.

The INA marched to Andaman and Nicobar islands, liberating and renaming them as Shaheed and Swaraj islands. On March 18, 1944, it crossed the Burmese border and reached Manipur where free India's banner was raised with the shouts of 'Jai Hind' and 'Netaji Zindabad'. But heavy rain prevented any further movement and the units had to fall back. Even then Netaji was determined. On August 17, 1945, he issued a Special Order to the INA which said that "Delhi is still our goal".

He then wanted to go to Russia to seek Soviet help to fight the British. But the ill-fated plane in which he was flying, crashed in Taipei on August 18, 1945, resulting in his death.

Some people believe that Subhash Chandra Bose didn't die, that he faked his own crash to escape the British who wanted to arrest him. There were even reports of Bose living in Russia and other foreign countries, even some claims of having seen him as a sadhu… but none were ever proved and today his death in the plane crash is the accepted version.

Events in Nethaji's Life

* 1897: Born to Sri Janaki Nath Basu and Pravabati Devi in Cuttack, Orissa
* 1913: Stood second in the School leaving examination and took admission in Presidency college, Calcutta.
* 1915: Passed Intermediate examination in first division.
* 1916: Charged for misbehaving with British Professor, rusticated from Prsidency college.
* 1917: Got admitted in Scottish Church college in Philosphy Honours.
* 1919: Got first class in Philosophy Honours and left for England for ICS examination.
* 1920: Passed the then ICS examnation in London with highest marks in English.
* 1921: He got the prestigious tripos degree of Cambridge University.
* Resigned from his ICS job and came back to mother land in the same year. Formed South Calcutta Sevak Samity. Was arrested in the end of 1921 for anti British movement.
* 1922: Released from jail on August 1. Joined Swarajya dal under the leadership of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan in Gaya congress.
* 1923: Elected President of All India Youth Congress; elected Secretary of Bengal State Congress and Editor of the paper 'Forward', founded by Deshabandhu.
* 1924: Swarajya Dal won Calcutta Municipality election. Deshabandhu elected Mayor of Calcutta and Subhas Chandra became CEO. Arrested again in October by the British Government.
* 1924-27: Spent nearly three years in the Burma jail; released in May.
* 1925: Deshabandhu passed away.
* 1927: Elected General Secretary of All India Congress Committee.
* 1928: Formed the Volunteer organization in the Calcutta summit of Indian Congress and elected as the General Officer in Command.
* 1929: Addressed the Lahore summit of Indian Congress and proposed for a parallel Government in India.
* 1930: Jailed in January again; elected Mayor of Calcutta Corporation from jail.
* 1931: Elected President of INTUC in Calcutta meeting.
* 1933: Left for Europe.
* 1933-36: Met reputed personalities like Mussolini in Italy, Felder in Germany, D. Valera in Ireland and Roma Rolland in France.
* 1936: Returned to India in April; arrested in Bombay.
* 1936-37: Released in March and started for Europe; published 'Indian Struggle'.
* 1938: Elected President of Indian Congress. d President of Indian Congress; made the historic speech in Haripura convention; formed National Planning Commission. Rabindra Nath Tagore falicited Subhas Cahndra in Santiniketan.
* 1939: Reelected President of Indian Congress; resigned and formed the new organization Forward Block; Rabindra Nath laid the Foundation stone of Mahajati Sadan.
* 1940: Arrested and started fasting in the jail; released from the jail.
* 1941: Left home and absconded; reached Kabul and then left for Moscow; met Hitler in Berlin.
* 1942: Left home and made the historic speech on air from Germany; formed Indian Legion and expanded its activities.
* 1943: Started for Japan by submarine; reached Tokyo and delivered the speech on air in Tokyo; convened the meeting of South East Asian Indian Independence League.
* Formed the Azad Hind Government on October 21; visited Andaman islands in December.
* 1944: The Azad Hind Fauz approached the Arakan front; war breaks out near Imphal and Azad Hind took control of Kohima-Imphal; rejected the peace proposal of British Govrnment through a speech on air; reached Tokyo to discuss with Japanese Government; addressed a massive public meeting in Kualalampur.
* 1945: Delivered the speech on air from Sonan Radio; started for Bangkok.
* Laid foundation stone for Martyrs' statues at Sonan; Hirosima and Nagasaki destroyed by atom bomb by the Americans; Japan surrenders; Subhas left Saigon to implement his future plans.Netaji Subhas could not be traced after that. Some people believe that he died in a plane crash, others refuse to accept that even today.

Comments of Nethaji Subash Chandra bose

Netaji was a 'dare-all leader' By Satya Prakash Malaviya in "The Pioneer"

Subhash Chandra Bose is one of the few heroes of history who left the deepest impress on the minds of the people of India within a short span of his charismatic life. He was born on January 23,1897 at Cuttack in Orissa.

Subhash Bose passed the Indian Civil Service examination obtaining fourth position but resigned in April, 1921. He was the first Indian to resign from the Indian Civil Service.

The Under Secretary of State for India sent for him. Subhash told him, "I do not think one can be loyal to the British Raj and yet serve India honestly, heart and soul."

He returned to India on July 16th, 1921, and met Mahatma Gandhi on the same day at Bombay. He wrote, "I remember clearly the scene of that afternoon...


"Facing the door sat the Mahatma...(he) received me with his typical hearty smile and soon put me at ease and the conversation started at once. I wanted to know about his plan which would finally lead to overthrowing foreign rule. And so I heaped question upon question and the Mahatma replied with patience."

However, Subhash left Gandhi, disappointed because he thought it impossible to change the British.

Subhash was an indefatigable fighter for democracy within Congress. Mahatma Gandhi loved Subhash and Subhash had the highest respect for him. Gandhi called him "dare all leader". It is said that the sobriquet Netaji was given by Gandhi.


Subsequently at a mass rally held on July 9, 1943 at Singapore the title Netaji was affectionately conferred on Subhash by public acclamation. Both Gandhi and Subhash had one thing in common: their chief concern was to transform ideas into facts.


Gandhi believed in the doctrine of nonviolence to attain freedom, but Bose believed in revolutionary means for the goal of Swaraj.


Political testament of Subhash is remarkable. He wrote, "To my countrymen I say forget not that the grossest crime is to compromise with injustice and wrong.

"Remember the eternal law you must give life, if you want to get it. And remember that the highest virtue is to battle against inequity, no matter what the cost may be. The individual must die so that the nation may live. Today I must die, so that India may live and may win freedom and glory."

He was completely dedicated to the cause of India's independence. He had one desire alone to find ways and means to fight for liberation of the motherland.

On January 17, 1941, Subhash escaped from his Eight Road House in Calcutta and left India.

For about a year nothing was heard of him. There was also a news flash towards the close of 1941 that Subhash had died in air crash. On March 25, 1942 all doubts about Subhash were set at rest when he made a Broadcast from Radio Berlin. He spoke, "This is Subhash Chandra Bose, who is still alive speaking to you over the Azad Hind Radio...

"Ever since I left India last year, British propaganda agencies have from time to time given contradictory reports about my whereabouts... The latest report about my death is perhaps an instance of wishful thinking. I can imagine that the British Government would, at this critical hour in India's history, like to see me dead since they are now trying their level best to win India over to their side for the purpose of their imperialistic war".

In August 1942 Gandhi gave a call for Britishers to "Quit India" and for Indians to "Do or Die." Subhash Bose gave his full support to this call through his Radio Broadcast from Germany on August 31, 1942 in which he said, "In the last days of our campaign there will be much suffering and sorrow, much persecution and slaughter... But that is the price of liberty and it has to be paid. It is but natural that in its last hours the British lion will bite hard, but it is after all the bite of a dying lion, and we shall survive it."

In a broadcast from Bangkok on October 2, 1943, on the occasion of 75th birth anniversary of Gandhi, Bose described him as the greatest leader of Indians and his services to the cause of India's freedom as unique and unparalleled and added that his name will be written in letters of gold in our national history for all time.

Subhash was the first to address Mahatma Gandhi as Father of Nation. (NB: The "Mahatma" had not yet "died" a coward's death at Partition talks! At that particular moment in time the "Mahatma" was like the Cardinal who had not yet shot dead his mother or raped his kitchen maid.)


In a Broadcast from Azad Hind Radio on July 6, 1944 he said, "India's last war of Independence has begun... Troops of the Azad Hind Fauz are now fighting bravely on the soil of India... Father of our nation! In this holy war of India's liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes".

The deeds of INA are heroic and a saga of supreme sacrifice. On August 22,1945 Tokyo Radio announced that Subhash Chandra Bose had died in an air-crash in Formosa on August 18,1945 en route to Japan. He was then forty-eight years only. No Indian believed the shocking news.


Today we must remember the following tribute of Gandhi to Bose: "The greatest and the lasting act of Netaji was that he abolished all distinctions of caste and class. He was Indian first and last. What is more, he fired all under him with the same zeal so that they forgot in his presence all distinctions and acted as one man."

The nation refuses to believe that their true Idol of Patriotism, Subhash Bose, is dead.

GUPTA AND LATE GUPTA TEMPLES (C. 400-700 A.D)

The Gupta age was marked by an unprecedented intelle ctual ferment and creative upsurge in all branches of arts and letters. Hitherto, temples were largely made of timber or other perish able material. The potentiality of dressed stone was for the first time appreciated during the Gupta period which ushered in an age of temple construction that was characterized by a more reasoned application of structural principles. Under the impact of the bhakti cult or worship of the personal god, which had taken deep root and permeated all the sects and sections of society, temples were built in fair number for the installatioin and worship of popular deities like Vasudeva and Balarama, Varaha and Narsimha, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda and Bhddha throughout northern and central India and the Deccan of which a handful have survived. The ritual of the worship required basically a sanctum for the deity and a shelter for the worshipper, which were logically provided in the Gupta shrine.

Thus a firm foundation of Indian temple architecture was laid in the Gupta period when the basic, characteristic elements of the Indian temple—consiisting of a square sanctum and a pillared porch—emerged. The examples of the evolved Gupta temple also show a covered processional path for circumambulation which formed a part of the worship-ritual. The earlier examples in stone masonry are distinguished by a flat slab-roof, usually monolithic, while the later temples, constructed of either brick or stone, developed a shikara. The gradual evolution of the style is tra ceable through development of the plan and the ornamentation on the pillars and door-frame, the latter introducing new decorative motifs like goblins (ganas), couples (mithumnas), flyuing angels (vidyadharas), door-keepers (d varapalas) and a significant figure relief in the c entre of the lintel, emblematic of the deity to whom the shrine is dedicated.

The earliest group of Gupta temples, dating from 5th century and showing a single-celled sanctum with a shallow portico resting on 4 pillars in front, is represented by Temple 17 at Sanchi (the site of the famous Buddhist Stupa of the 2nd century B.C.), the Gupta Temple at Tigawa (District Jabalpur), and the temples at ran (District Sagar), A notable feature of these temples is the wider intercolumnination of the pillars in the middle than on the sides. As suggested by the flat roof, square or rectangular form the plain treatment of the walls and modestness of size, these temples must obviously have been derived from rock-cut proto-types of which early Gupta examples occur at Udaigiri near Sanchi. In fact Cave-shrine 1 at Udaigiri with a partly rock-cut sanctum and a structural porch of 4 pillars is of the early Gupta type, supporting the aforementioned inference.

Temple 17 at Sanchi is a classic example of lucid diction, perfect articulatiion and restrained decoratioin. It is considered to be the oldest structural Gupta temple because of its smaller dimensions, simplicity of constructioin and absence of vase-and-foliage member in its pillars which show a fluted bell-capital, the latter being an early feature. The temple at Tigawa has a more-and-foliage member united with the capital, a characteristic then on of the Gupta order. At Sanchi and Tigawa the pillars are crowned by brackets carved with figures of seated lions, a practice discontinued subsequently. The Vishnu Temple at Eran shows an evolved plan of definite architectural significance in that its sanctum has a central offset on the cardinal faces (except at the front). Its door-frame and porch pillars, however, were lately added, probably in the early Pratihara period (8th-9th centuries). The ruined Shiva Temple at Sakor (District Damoh) appears to be the latest temple of this type; it is distinguished by a closed mandapa and an ornamental doorway resembling in design that of the Shiva Temple at Bhumara (District Satna) belonging to the next group.

The second group of temples, characterised by the addition of a roofed ambulatoryround the sanctum and otherwise following the plan of the preceding group, is represented by the Parvati Temple at Na chna (District Panna in M.P.), and a ruined brick temple at Baigram (District Dinajpur, Bangladesh). The wall and the roof of the once-covered passage of the Nachna Temple have now disappeared leaving a an open promenade, where the ambulatory is lighted by trellises. The Nachna Temple is also notable for carrying a swuare, flat-roofed cell as an upper chamber placed above the sanctum. The plain facade of the Nachna Temple was originally relieved by a few sculptured niches and a continuous relief imitating rock-formations and grottos, containing figures of birds and animals. The Bhumara Temple is significant for introducing two smaller shrines on the flanks of the entrance steps. Its dado, door-frames, pillars and beams display exquisitely carved s crolls, dwarfs and kirttimukhas.

The next group of Gupta temples, distinguished by the presence of a spire over the square sanctum, is represented, among others, by the Dasha vatara Temple at Deogarh (District Lalitpur), constr5ucted of stone, and the brick-built Gupta temple at Bhitargaon (Distri ct Kanpur), both dating from c.6th century. These temples showing a rudimentary shikhara, which became the most characteristic feature of the north Indian style of temple-architecture, are highly significant. The Deogarh temple stands on a wide platform, approached by fights of steps on the 4 sides, and is of the panchaytatana (quincunx) t;ype having a subsidiar;y shrine in each corner. The platform is decorated with sculptured panels between pilasters representing edifying scenes from the legends of Rama and Krishna. The plain walls on the 3 sides of the tri-ratha sanctum are relived with recessed panels, each carved with a superb figure-composition within a framework of pilasters and architraves, depicting Vishnu as Sheshashayi, Gajendramoksha and the penance of Nara and Narayana. Its shikhara which is but partly preserved was probably pyramidical in elevation and was mainly em bellished with the chaitya-dormer motif. The Deogarh temple is one of the earliest to draw on the stories of Rama and Krishna which have inspired Indian artists in all ages. Only a few panels, mostly detached from the platform, have survived, of which 1o depict Rama's stories and 2_Krishna's. One of the Ramayana panels shows Ahilya, who was turned into stone by a curse, regaining her human form by the touch of the sacred feet of Rama. Another panel depicts Lakshmana cutting off the nose of Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana, for her audacity to propose amours. A third panel shows Hanuman bodily bringing the hill containing the herb that cured Lakshmana of the mortal wound inflicted by Meghanada, the son of Ravana. Of the two Krishna-lila friezes, one depicts Krishna as a miracle-child upturning the cart, while the other shows Krishna and Balarama being fondled as infants by Nanda and Yashoda, the latter wearing Abhira dress, resem bling the dress now worn by the ruralwomenfolk of Delhi and Haryana regions.

The temple at Bhaitargaon, constructed of brick and terracotta, is a stupendous pyramidical edifice (ht.21m) of diminishing tiers, raised on a high terrace. It is tri-ratha on plan with a prominent centrzal offset on each of the 3 sides and consists of a sanctum and ante-room (4.57m and 2.14m square internally), connected by an oblong passage. While the sanctum and the a nte-room had corbelled ceilings representing domical vaults, the passage and the entrance steps were covered by a wagon-vault roof. The mouldings of the podium are bold. The jangha (wall) is embellished with large sculptures niches, framed between ornamental pilasters and surmounted by a recessed row of terracotta bands between 2 prominent cornices. The terrocotta sculptures and friezes depict both secular and religious themes, suchg as divinties like Ganesha, Adi-Varaha, Mahishasura-mardini and river-goddesses, myths and stories representing the abduction of Sita and the penance of Nara and Narayana; and the divine ministrels and the dwarfs. Human and animal figures, fabulous birds and beasts and scrolls and other decorative designs further enrich the repertoire of decoration. The shikhara, though incompletely preserved, is a stepped pyramid, embellished with superimposed tiers of chaitya-niches containing a variety of heads or busts or full figures, generally human.
The original brick-built Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya(Districtt Gaya), though heavily encumbered with later restoration, is roughly co-eval with the Bhitargaon Temple and resembles the latter in essential features of plan and design including the valuated ceilings of the compartments and the tall lancet window in the upper storey. Its square sanctum carries a lofty (55 m high) pancha-ratha shikhara of a straight-edged pyramidicaldesign, demarcated
into 7 storeys by bhumi-amalakas and embellished with bold chaitya-dormers and niches framed by pilasters.
The Mahabodhi temple enshrining an image of Buddha in the earth-touching attitude marks the site of the holy tree jnder which Siddhartha Gautama saw the light and became 'Buddha' or the 'Enlightened One'. The legends associated with this supreme event are graphically narrated in Buddhist literature and are favourite themesof sculpture and painting in India and the Buddhist countries of South-East Asia. After six years of exertioin in quest of knowledge the Bodhisattva (Budha-to-be) undertook rigorous penance and carried fasting to such an excess the he was reduced to a skeleton--a scene realistically depicted in Gandhara sculpture. Realising the futility of mortification as the path for attaining knowledge, he resumed food whereupon the five companions who had attended on him during the past six years deserted him in disdain and went away to the Deer-forest (Samath).
On the eve of the full moon day of Vaishakha the Bodhisattva saw five dreams auguring his Enlightenment. Shortly after day-break he took his seat under the holy tree. It so happened that Sujata, the daughter of the local chieftain, also rose early that day to make an offering to the holy tree of rice-milk which she had cooked after eleborate preparation for the fulfilment of her desire to have a son when she got married. She sent her maid to clean the area round the holy tree and when her maid reported that the tree-divinityhad appeared in person, Sujata hurried to the spot and offered the golden vessel containing the rice-milk to the divinity who was no other than the Bodhisattva. Thereupon the Bodhisattva went to the river Niranjana, had a bath and ate the rice-milk which was to sustain him for the following seven weeks. The scenes of Sujata's offering and the bath in the Niranjana are depicted in beautiful reliefs on the great stupa of Borobudur in Java.
In the evening the Bodhisattva marched to the holy tree and was offered for seat a handufl of grass by god Indra disguised as Brahmin Svastika, who is represented on one ofthe earliest sculptures atBodh Gaya.
As the Bodhisattva sat in meditation under the holy tree (one of the polular ways of representing the Master) with a firmdetermination not to leave the adamantine seat till he had attained supreme wisdom, there arose a storm of conflict in his mind which is popularly represented in plastic and graphic arts as the scene of temptation. The legends say that Mara, the god of desire, sent his charming daughters totempt the Bodhisattva and when their blandishments failed,he sent his demon army to hurl all conceivable weapons and missiles which also proved futile. Mara, however, did not own defeat until the Bodhisattva called the earth to bear witness to his triumph by touching the ground with his right hand, which is another favourite method of representing the Master, as illustrated by the main image in the Mahabodhi Temple.
The most developed among the temples of the post-Gupta period is the brick-built Lakshmana temple at Sirpur (District Raipur, M.A.), which belongs roughly to the beginning of the 7th century and consists of a square sanctum roofed by a slightly curvilinear massive shikhara, resembling that of the Parashurameshvara temple at Bhubaneswar (p.68) in outline, constridted vestibule and a pillared mandapa enclosed by a brick wall, embellished with niches framed by pilasters and approached by 2 lateral flights of steps, the whole resting on a high platform. The sanctum is pancharatha on plan and in elevation and shows a cardinal projection on 3 sides decorated with a beautifully carved sham door and a vertical row of 3 elaboratechaitya dormers over the shikhara. The rest of the faces of the temple are tastefully ornamented with bold designs of niches and pilasters, miniature shikharas and chaitya-dormers arranged in vertical bands which cast pleasing shadows and are intersected by horizontal bands of cornices decorated with small chaitya-niches. The recess dividing the jangha(wall) from the spire is marked with bold dipers. Althoughthe crowning ornaments of the shikhara are lost, heavy bhumi-amalakas indicating its division into 4 storeys are present on the corner buttresses. With its developed socle mouldings and its stout but slightlyincurved shikhara, this temple marks a transition between the Gupta and the early medieval temples, anti cipating several features of the latter.
We may also notice briefly the Gupta Temples of aberrant types. Among these the temple of Mani-naga (now called Maniyar Math) at Rajgir near Nalanda is a cylindrical brick-structure with shallow offsets at the 4 cardinal points. It is decorated with niches,originally containing stucco sculptures of Ganesha, Vishnu, Nataraja, worship of Shivalinga, nagas and an exquisite naga figure.
The temple known as Stupa Sita III at Nalanda, where the world-famous University was sited, consists of a series of 7 successive accumulations, of which the fifth one dating from the 6th century is a panchayatana with its 4 stupa-like corner towers and faces elaborately decorated with niches containing fine Buddhist stucco images. The temple is a solid rectangular structure and its lofty sanctum is approached by a grand flight of steps with its parapet walls embellished with majestic figures of lions.
Mukundara (District Kota, Rajasthan) has a flat-roofed, sand-stone temple possessing an ambulatory and resting on well-finished but stunted pillars with distinctive brackets. Standing on a low platform approached by 2 lateral flights of steps, this temple is notable as much for its ave-like simplicity of construction as for its retrained ornamentation with typical Gupta decorative motifs.
The stone temple of Mundeshvari (old Mandaleshvara) at Ramgarh (District Rohtas, Bihar) is an octagonal shrine (12.20m in diameter) of 8 principal offsets with 4 doorways in the cardinal directions and 4 niches in the corners, each flanked by a pair of smaller niches. The door-frames and niches are adorned with figures and ornaments of the developed Gupta style. The ceiling and the roof of the temple are lost, but traces of a mandapa have survived in front. The temple is securely dated in 636 by an inscription.
We come across yet another type of Gupta Temple which, though distinctive, is not very popular. This type is marked by a rectangular shrine with an apsidal rear-end and a wagon-vault roof showing a gable-end of the chaitya-dormer design. It is represented by only two examples, one at Ter, District Sholapur (Maharashtra) and the other, the Kapoteshvara Temple at Chezarla in District Krishna (Andhra Pradesh). Both are brick-structures, about 9.5m long, and are obviously the structural models of rock-cut chaitya-halls.
A few terraced brick-temples of the Gupta period have also survived. These are high solid structures and in each case the shrine is placed on the uppermost terrace, approached by a flight of steps. The earliest and best preserved specimen is the excavated temple at Pawaya, near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. showing 3 terraces of which the upper 2 are decorated with a continuous row of ornate pilasters surmounted by a frieze of chaitya-dormers. Terraced brick-temples,decorated with terracotta sculptured tiles continued to be built till the early medieval period. Large temples of this type have been exposed to view at the sites of Ahichchhaira (Ramnager) in Bareilly District and Paharpur (Bangladesh), the latter being remarka ble for its cruciform plan and enormous dimensions.
The later Gupta period appears to hve been an age of experimentatioin in north India. During the 7th-8th centuries, various temple forms were tried and we find a fair number with a flat roof, others with an undeveloped curvilinear shikhara and a few with a pyramidical roof of receding tiers. Small, flat-roofed shrines comprising in tri-ratha sanctum and a portico with 2 pillars in front are found in central India, continuing the tradition of the early Gupta Temple form. More than a dozen of them have been recently discovered at the sites of Ramgarh, Chhapara and Badoh in District Vidisha, near Sanchi, in addition to a few from the Lalitpur area of District Jhansi. These are unpretentious temples with a simple podium, a wall of large slabs, and a flat monolithic slab-roof each for the sanctum and the portico, the latter being slightly lower. Most of them are smaller than the earliest Gupta Temples at Sanchi and Tigawa and are generally simpler in construction, though they have a more ornate door-frame and pillars, and display sculptured niches crowned by a pediment on each of the 3 cardinal offsets. The pillars of the porch include vase-and-foliage member at the base, a lotus-band and kirttimukhas and again a vase-and-foliage capital, surmounted by brackets either of plain, curved profile or embellished with the foliage characteristically found in the Pratihara age, representing a quarter lotus.
A variant of this type also occurs at Ramgarh and Chhapara, displaying a decoration of only pilasters on the wall. Similar shrines of a slightly later date exist at Kundalpur (District Damoh in M.P.). The most ornate example of this variety is the Shiva Temple at Mahua (District Shivapuri in M.A.), which combines the decor of pilasters with sculptured niches on the cardinal offsets. This temple is also notable for bearing an inscribed record assignable to the 7th century.
An aberrant variety found at Makanganj, District Mandsaur in M.A., shows the cardinal offset only on the rear and the wall decorated with a single niche, surmounted by pediment and inset with an inscribed slab engraved in the same script as the inscription on the Mahua Temple. Another temple at Makanganj, with a swuare tri-ratha sanctum and a severe plain wall, is remarkable for its roof which is an incompletely preserved stepped pyramid composed of members decorated with bold chaitya-dormers inset with grotesque human heads.
The small experimental temples, just noticed, wre a sort of lithic primers and their importance lies in the fact that theyu constitute links between the Gupta and the Pratihara styles.

EARLIEST STRUCTURAL TEMPLES

Evidence of the earliest known structural temples has been recovered through excavations; these are, however, too fragmentary to give a complete idea as to their form. A circular brick-and-timber shrine of the Maurya period(c. 3rd century B.C.) was excavated at Bairat (District Jaipur, in Rajasthan). The shrine measured 8.23 m. in diameter and was made of llime-plastered panels of brickwork, alternating with 26 octagonal pillars of wood. It was entered from the east through a small portico, supported on 2 wooden pillars and was surrounded by a 7-foot-wide ambulatory with an opening on the east. The whole structure was subsequently enclosed within a rectangular compound (21 m x 13.5 m), containing an open ground for the assembly in front of the entrance.

A second example of a Maurya temple uncovered by excavations_Temple 40 at Sanchi_has likewise a consistent plan. It was a stone temple on an ap[sidal plan, enclosed by an ambulatory and raised on a high, rectangular (26.5m x 24m) socle, approached by two flights of steps from diagonally opposite sides. The superstructure, possibly of timber, has disappeared. In the following century the socle was enlarged and the temple converted into a rectangular hypostyle mandapa measuring 41.75m x 27.75m, with 5 rows of 10 pillars, approached by lateral flights of steps at one end.

Temple 18 at Sanchi also was an apsidal stone temple probably with a timber superstructure, originally dating from the 2nd century B.C. The present ramins of the apsidal temple with its stately pillars and pilasters date from about the 7th century A.D.though the temple remained in use use till the medieval period.

Two other temples of a comparable date existed, one dedicated to Sankarshana and Vasudeva at Nagari (ancient Madhyamika) in Udaipur district, Rajasthan and the other, also a hagavata (Vaishnava) shrine, at Besnagar near Sanchi in central India. Both of them were elliptical on plan and were possibly made of timber, but their remains are too s crappy to yield an idea of their elevation and design. In front of the Besnagar shrine stands the famous stone pillar recording that this Garuda-standare was set up by the Greek ambassador Heliodorus who proudly called himself a Bhagavata (Vaishnava).

Examples next in date of the apsidal plan come from Nagarjunakonda (District Guntur), a site excavated on a vast scale to salvage its antiquities. Recently a few more apsidal shrines, sacred to the Buddhist as well as the Shaiva sect, have been unravelled in addition to temples with large hypostyle mandapas dedicated to the worship of Shiva and Karttikeya. They are all of the Ikshvaku period (2nd-3rd centuries A.D.).

DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD WINNERS

1908 LO JANMINCHI 1994 LO MARNINCHINA" DEVIKA RANI" BHARATEEYA CHITRA SEEMANU 60 YELLA PATU PRABHAVITAM CHESARU.1969 LO MODATAGA DADA PHALKE AWARD PONDARU.

1901 LO JANMINCHI 1981 LO MARANINCHINA" B.N.CURKAR "NEW THETRES SAMSTHA DWARA ENNO KALA KHANDALU NIRMINCHI ENTO MANDINI CINEMA RANGANIKI PARICHAYAM CHESI BHARATHA DESAMLO CINEMA ABHIVRUDHI CHESINANDUKU 1971 LO DADAPHALKE AWARD PONDARU.




1906 LO JANMINCHI 1972 LO MARANINCHINA "PRUDHVI RAJ KAPOOR" HINDI CHITRA SEEMALO VELIGINA AANIMUTYAM.VEERI VARASULU HINDI CHITRA SEEMANU YELARU.TOLI TALKIE "ALAM ARA"LO NATINCHI AAPY 50 YEELA PATU CINE RANGANIKI CHESINA SEVALAKU GANU 1972 LO DADA PHALKE AWARD PONDARU.




SYGAL VANTI MAHA GAYAKUNNI SASINCHINA MAHA SANGEETHA DARSAKUDU "PANKAJ MALLIK".NATUDI,SANGEETHA DARSAKUDIGA 25 YELLUHINDI CHITRA SEEMANU SUSAMPANNAM CHESINANDUKU 1973 LO DADAPHALKE AWARD PONDARU.




TOLI GLOUMOR STAR "RUBI MAYER SULOCHANA"1925 LO TOLI MOOKIETONATANA PRARAMBHINCHI 1947 VARAKU TALKIE,MOOKIE KALIPI 47 CINEMALALO NATINCHARU.APPATLO AAME NELA JEETAM GOVERNOR KANNA 5000/-EKKUVUNDEDI.OKATINNARA DASABDAM CHITRA SEEMANELINA EEMAY 1974 LO DADA PHALKE AWARD PONDARU.



1908 LO JANMINCHI1977 LO MARANINCHINA B.N.REDDY CINEMA ANEDISAMAJANIKI UPAYOGA PADALI ANI CHEPPI AACHARINCHI TELUGU CINE RANGAMLO ADBHUTHA KALAKHANDALU TEESI 1975 LO DADA PHALKEAWARD PONDARU.


1893 LO JANMINCHI 1978 LO MARANINCHINA "DHEEREN GANGULY"MANUSHYULLONI VIBHINNA MANASTHATWALANU SERIOUS GATEESUKONI VATINI VYANGYANGA TERA KEKKINCHI INDIAN CHAPLINANIPINCHUKONI 1976 LO DADAPHALKE AWARD PONDARU.



1916 LO JANMINCHI 1992 LO MARANINCHINA "KANAN DEVI"RENDU DASABDALAKU PYGA HINDI,BENGALICHITRALLO"SINGING STAR"BENGAL KOKILA"OKA VELUGU VELIGINA EEME 1976 LO DADA PHALKE AWARD PONDARU.




1897 LO JANMINCHI 1980 LO MARANINCHINA "NITHIN BOSE"SRUJANATMAKATA KALGINA CINEMATOGRAPHER DARSAKUDYTEENTA GOPPA CHITRALU TEEYAGALADO NIRUPINCHI 6 DASABDALA PATUCINEE SEVALAKU 1977 LO DADA PHALKE AWARD PONDARU.



1904 lo janminchi 1981 lo maraninchina "R.c.Boral"50 yella patu cinee sangeetha darsakuduga shygal,kanan bala vanti maha gayakulache padinchiprekshakulanu ranjimpa chesaru.veeru 1978 lo dada phalke award pondaru.



1897 lo janminchi 1989 lo maraninchina"sohrab modi"28 chitralu teesi natudiga,nirmathaga,darsakudiga,studio adhnetaga b&w cinemala kalamlo bharateeya cinema ranganni charitraka chitralato chakachakitham chesina veeri prathibhaku ganu kendraprabhutvam 1979 lo dada phalke award to satkarinchindi.



1909 lo janminchi 2000 lo maraninchina "pydi jaya raj"telugu vadayi undi hindi chitra seemalo pravesinchi dadapuga 156 chitrallo natinchi hindi chitra seemanu yelina veeriki1981 lo dada saheb phalke award vatchindi.





1919 lo janminchina "noushad ali" aanatiki,eenatiki marachipoleni adbhutamyna sangeetannitchi bharatha ratna latha mangeshkar,md.raffi vanti gayakulache padinchi65 yella patu konni vandala patalu chste anni super hitle.veeriki 1982 lo dada phalkeaward vatchindi.



1908 lo janminchi 2004 lo maraninchina "L.v.Prasad"cinee talkies lo gate keeper nundiasst,ga ,natudiga,darsakudiga,nirmathaga,studio adhinetaga edigi telugu chitra seemalokuru vrudhudiga peru ganchina veeriki kendra prabhutvam 1983 lo dada phalke award itchi satkarincharu.


1904 lo janminchi 1991 lo maraninchina maha nati "Durga Ghote"prudhvi raj kapoor,pahadi,shygal vanti maha natula sarasana natinchi meppincharu. * pedda anda gatte kakunna tana asamana natana prathibha to hindi,gujarathi,bengali bhashalalo 300 vandala chitralaku pyga natinchi meppinchina eemeki 1993 lo dada phalke awardpradhanam jarigindi.




1921 lo janminchi 1992 lo maraninchina"Satyajit Ray" ante oka kala moothy,maha maneeshi,maha rarsakudu.teesindi art films ayina ray cinema release avutundnte goppagoppa natulu natinchina commertiol cinemalu kuda vayida vesukone varu. darsakudigaveeri cinemalaku antati prajadarana undedi.veeri"pather panchali"ki * dakkina awardla jabitha prapancha chalana chitra seemalone "nabhooto nabhavishyath".bharatha ratna"to patu eeyana pondani awardlu levu.

1901 lo janminchi 1990 lo maraninchina "v.santha ram."abhyudaya,samajika samasyalu,sthree vada samasyalu teesukoni shumaru 80 chitralanu nirminchi 55 chitralaku darsakatvam vahinchi 22 chitrallo natinchina santha ram endarino chitra seemaku parichayam chesaru.santaram chitralloni patralanni aasavaduluga,chaithanya vanthamy untayi.bharateeya cinemaki abhyudaya,samajika nirdesanam chesina veeriki kendra prabhutvam 1986 lo dada phalke to gouravinchindi.



1912 lo janminchina "B.Nagi Reddy"dakshina bharatha desamlo vinodanni,vyaparannijodisthukalatmakanga,jana ranjakanga taralu marina viluvalu marani aani mutyalu ana tagina cinemalu teesina "vijaya samsthanu" sthapinchi endaro natee,natulanu,sanketikanipunulanu telugu teraku andinchina nagi reddy gariki 1987 lo dada phalke award kendra prabhutvam pradanam chesindi.


Indian show man "Raj kapoor"1924 lo janminchi 1988 lo maranincharu.cinee kutumbamlo janminchina raj kapoor swayam sakthi to cine natudiga edigi tana 53 yella cine jeevithamlo 59 cinemalalo natinchi 15 chitralaku jateeya awards,7 chitralaku film fare awards andukunnaru.1971 lo padmabhusha pondina raj kapoor 10 chitralu nirminchi darsakatvam vahincharu.dhanam,keerthi,yavattu prapanchamantha abhimanulanukaligi,vanijya paranga vijaya vantha myna chitralu nirminchina veeriki 1987 lo bharathaprabhutvam dada phalke award prakatinchindi. .



Maha natudu "Ashok kumar"1911 lo janminchi 2001 lo maraninchru.natudiga,nirmathaga,darsakudiga,gayakudiga bahu mukhanga raninchina ashok kumar devika rani,kanan devi,nimmi,kamini koushal,nutan,nirupa roy,madhu bala,meena kumari,sharmila thagore vanti andala taralato natinchi enno awardlu pondi 1988 lodada phalke award pondaru.



Prapancha cinee seemake gana kokila bharatha ratna
"Latha Mangeshkar"1929 lo janminchi industry lo ye okkari anda lekunda himalaya sikharalaku edigina eemeshumaru 20 bhashallo 50 velaku pyga patalu padi ginnis recordki ekkina latha mangeshkar padina patalanni rasa gulikale.1989 lo eeme prathibhaku gurtimpuga kendram dada phalke awardto satkarinchindi.




Telugu cinee parisramalo naditche nata sarvasvam
Akkineni Nageswara rao.1924 lo janminchi 260ki pyga cinemalalo natinchi "padma bhushan" to patu enno awardlu pondina akkineni1991 lo "dada phalke" award pondaru.




Marathi cine ranga vythalikudu "P.R. Pendarkar"1898 lo janminchi 1994 lo maranincharu.swayam krushito kooliga prarambhinchi studio yajamani ayyi enno animutyalana dagina cinemalu nirminchina veerini kendra prabhutvam 1992 lodada phalke awardto sanmaninchindi.


Jana padalalone nijamyna sangeetha sahityalu udbhavistayani ,janam kosam tana galanni vippi 1000 ki pyga geethalu rasi ,700ki pyga patalu padi cinee sangeetha prapanchanni olaladinchina "Bhupen Hajarika"kendra prabhutvam 1992 lo dada phalkeaward prakatinchindi.



Hindi cinee geetalaku urdu sobaguladdina "Majrooh sultan puri" 1919 lo janminchi 2000 lo maranincharu. tana cinee jeevithamlo 400 ku pyga chitrallo 4000 pyga patalu rasi hindi cine sangeetanni ola ladinchina veeriki kendra prabhutvam 1993 lo dadaphalke award itchi satkarinchindi.



Mahonnatha nata sikharam "Dilip Kumar" 1922 lo janmincharu. Bharatiya cinima ranganni yelina mugguri lo Rajakapur ,Ashok kumar taruvati varu Dilip kumar .Dilip tana taram lo pramukha hero landari to kalasi natincharu enno super hit cinimalalo natinchana viriki 1994 lo kendra prabhutwam dada phalke award prakatinchindi .



Kannada maha nata kantheeravudu "Raja Kumar" 1929 lo janminhi 2005 lo marani ncharu natudiga, gayakudiga kannada prajala aradhya dyvamgang nirmataga 200ki pyga chitralalo natinchina viriki "padma bhushn'to patu 1996 lo dada phalke award vanchindi .




1928 lo janminchana "Sivaji Ganashan' oka Prudhvi Raj kapur ,oka S.V.R. ,oka N.T.R.taruvatv tamila cine jagattunu yeelina oka Sivaji Ganashan.1950 lo parashakti cinema lo hero ga pari chayam ayee tamil,telugu ,lalo 250 ki pyga chitralalo natinchi unnatha sikharalu andu konna viriki "padma bhushan" to patu 1997 lodada phalke award vachindi.


Desa bhaktha cine kavi "pradeep"1915 lo janminchi 1998 lo maranincharu sumaru 700 ki pyga rasina cinima patalu entha peru techayo oke oka desa bhakthi geetam "ye mere vathan ke logo gara ankh me bharlo panee "antha peru tanchindi .1963 lo veera javan la smrutyrdham lata mangeshkar aala pinchaga nehru to patu andaru kanta tadi pettaru ippatiki desa pandagala lo vinipestundi .1997 lo viriki dada phalke award vanchindi.

vyapara dhrukpadhamto samajika chitralu nirminchina "b.r.chopra"1914 lo ippatipkisthan loni lahore lo janminchi desa vibhajana samayam lo bharata desam vatchicinema patla makkuva penchukoni cine journalist ga career prarambhinchi 1951 lo "afsana" cinema dwara vijayam sadhincharu.aa taruvata nayadour cinema nehru che prasamsalu pondindi.aa kramamlo
"dhool kaphool,Kanoon,vakhth,nikha,sadhana,burning train,insaf ka taraj,karma,teri kasam,pathi our patni"vijaya vantamyna chitralu nirmincharu.chopra cinemalanni oka ettu doora darsan kosam teesina "maha bharath,ramayanalu"oka ettu.t.v.ki gloumor veeti valle vatchindi.ila tana 50 yella cine jeevitamlo 30 cinamalu,3 tele films,12 t.v seriels teesaru.1998 lo veeriki dada phalke award 2001 lo padma bhushan award itchi kendra prabhutvam gouravinchindi.

Prekshakula hrudayalanu kadalinchina darsaka "hrushee kesh mukharjee"1922 lo janminchi ento mandi maha mahulaki dakkani dada phalke award vari kanna munde 2000 sa/ lo pondaru.deeniki anni vidhala arhulu mukharjee."anu radha,abhiyan,musaphir,anari * aashiq,aanand,sab se bada sukh,satya kam,jhoot bole kavva kate,namak haram,guddi,bavarchi,chupke chupke,asli nakli,"ee vidhanga mottam 42 chitralaku darsakatvam vahinchaga 30 chitralaku pyga rajatotsavalu jarupukonnayi.


Ganamrutha varshini "aasha bhonsle"1933 lojanmincharu.peddaga chaduvu lekundane bharata desam garvincha tagga gayanee maniga ,bhasha kani bhashaanglamlo pop geethalu padi,viswa vikhyatha hindusthani"sarod"vadya sangeethakaruniche tana varasuraleeme ani prasamsalu andukunnaru.aasha bhonsle goppagayaniga velugondataniki noushad,o.p.nayyer,r.d.burmen. karanam.oka sandarbhamlo o.p.nayyer "vanda samvatsaralakoka latha pudithe rendu vandala samvatsaralakokaaasha pudutundani prakatinchentaga prakhyathi ganchindi.asha tana career lo 20000ku pyga 14 bhashalo aanati nundi ee nati varaku apratihitanga padutoone undi.aame andukunna awards enneno.2001 lo dada phalke award pondaru.


Aluperugani cine yathrikudu "yash chopra"1932 lo janminchi 70 yellaku pybadina vayasu lonu cinemalu teestunnaru.bolly wood hits anatagina enno cinemalu nirmincharu.deewar,lamhe,kabhi kabhi,thrishul,sil sila,noori,chandini,dhar,shole record ni adhigaminchina dil vale dulhani le jayenge,dil to pagal hy,mohabbate modalyna hits roopondnchi cine parisrama garvincha tagga nirmatha ga gurtinchi kendra prabhutvam2001 lo dada phalke award to gouravinchindi.





For his amazing talent and with more than 50 years of career the government presented the award for the evergreen hero in 2003.







Mrinal Sen got the award for the year 2004. He made films in both Hindi and Bengali.








Aadoori Gopal Krishnan is famous for directing art films in Malayalam. He got the award for the year 2005.







Shyam Benegal is a famous Hindi art film director. He got the Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2006.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTH INDIAN TEMPLE

The north Indian temple is characterised by a distinctive plan and elevation. Originally, the temple comprised a square sanctum and a square or rectangular pillared porch, both covered by a flat roof. Soon after, a covered ambulatory was added round the sanctum and the pillared porch was gradually enlarged to assume the form of a hall, oftern preceded by an entrance porch. The ambulatory, however, remained an optional member, as shrines without an ambulatory continued to be as common as those with one. In course of time a vestibule was added between the sanctum and the hall and the latter tended to develop lateral transepts for ventilation. For the same reason the ambulatory of the sanctum also developed, in due course, a rear as well as 2 lateral transepts. Notwithstanding these elaborations, the sanctum continued to be square or rectangular on plan with one or more offsets on each side. The central offset was always given a greater prominence and was frequently ornamented with a sculptured niche. These offsets were carried upwards along the facade from the base to the top of the superstructure and imparted a pronoun ced emphasis on the vertical lines of the elevation. From about the beginning of the 7th century, the sanctum was roofed by a tall, curvilinear spire (Shikhara) which constituted the most striking cognizance of the northern temple. The spire was initially of 3 vertical proje ctions which gradually increased to 5 and occasionally to 7. All such projections are co vered with a me3sh of Chaitya-dormers and the corner ones display in addition a series of small amalakas at the angles to demarcate the divisiohn of the spire into compressed storeys. The spire terminates in a neck-like constriction(griva)which is surmounted by a large ribbed, cir cular member called amalasaraka, crowned by a kalasha, the pitcherfinial.

In the elevation of temple , the platform is an optional member, but every temple customarily has a socle consisting of moulded courses. The socle supports the wall which may be plain or embellished with figure-sculptures on one or all the offsets. Evolved temples show more than one band of sculptures, which also occur in the recesses between the offsets. The carved frieze on the wall is surmounted by an eave-corni ce or a series of it that separates the wall from the spire, the mandapa(hall) carries a lower pyramidical roof of horizontal tiers.

The main compartments of the temple are axially articulated and have their independent ceilings. Since the construction is based on the trabeate principle, the ceilings are supported either on walls and pilasters or an pillars with their architraves. The vaulted or domical ceilings are built on the principle of corbelling, sometimes aided by inter-locking flanges. On the stone temples, well-dressed and finely-jointed ashlars were used for the face-stoneks and rough-dressed or coarse stones for the hearting. The stone courses are laid dry one upon the other and kept in position by their weight and balance, sometimes with the aid of iron clamps and dowels. In the internal construction of tall spires, the weight was reduced by building a series of superposed hollow chambers, held together by the device of tying opposite walls by beams at frequent intervals.

Thre entrance porch and the mandapa transepts on the developed temples of central and western India are in variably enclosed by an ornamental balustrade whioch is canopied by overhanging eaves. These, together with the frequent clustering in the spire by its submultiples, constiytute minor traits of the style. But the common and basic characteristics of all medieval northern Indian temples are the cruciform plan, the continuation of the main projections and offsets of the plan on the entire elevation and the curvilinear spire, the last constituting its most conspicuous feature.

Temples with these distinctive characteristics are ubiquitous throughout north India and are found as far south as the Tungabhadra valley. As a natural consequen ce of the distribution of the style over such extensi ve territories, regional variations came into being. Despite a basic homogeneity in essential aspects, the various regioinal styles followed their own course of evolution and developed local peculiarities and idioms according to the indigenous genius conditioned by their art traditions and political and cultural environs. The regional tenden cies appeared in the 7th century, became established by the 9th and the 10th centuries and attained full development during the 11th century. After the 7th century, the evolutioin of the northern temples had largely a regional pattern, often influen ced by powerful dynasties.

JATINDRANATH MUKHARJI

Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee (7 December 1879–10 September 1915) was a Bengali Indian revolutionary philosopher against British rule. He was the principal leader of the Yugantar party that was the central association of revolutionaries in Bengal, and was responsible for the planned German Plot during World War I.

Early life
Jatin was born in Kayagram, a village in the Kushtia subdivision of Nadia district in what is now Bangladesh. His parents were Umeshchandra Mukherjee and Sharatshashi; he grew up in his ancestral home at Sadhuhati, P.S. Rishkhali Jhenaidah till his father's death when Jatin was five years old. His mother settled in her parents' home in Kayagram with him and his elder sister Benodebala. As he grew older, Jatin gained a reputation for physical bravery and great strength; charitable and cheerful by temperament, he was fond of enacting mythological plays and playing the roles of god-loving characters like Prahlad, Dhruva, Hanuman, Râja Harish Chandra.[1] The name by which he came to be known ("Bagha Jatin, pronounced "Jotin", — Tiger Jatin) derived from an incident in which he killed a tiger with a Darjeeling dagger. The then leading surgeon of Kolkata, Dr Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari who operated upon Jatin, "took upon himself the responsibility for curing that fatally wounded patient (...) coming twice to his house daily to dress his wounds personally..."

After passing the Entrance examination in 1895, Jatin joined the Calcutta Central College (now Khudiram Bose College), for his First Arts. Soon he started visiting Swami Vivekananda, whose social thought, and especially his vision of a politically independent India, had a great influence on Jatin. As a mission from the monk, he raised a batch of volunteers to serve the miserable compatriots during famines, epidemics and floods, and running clubs for "man-making" in the context of a nation under foreign domination. He often joined Sister Nivedita, the Swami's Irish disciple, in this venture. In 1899, while working as the Barrister Kennedy's secretary at Muzaffarpur, Jatin realised how urgent it was to have an Indian National Army and to react against the British squandering Indian budget to safeguard their interests in China and elsewhere. In this context one can better appraise why Jatin's exemplary heroism inspired Dr Sarbadhikari's organisation of the Bengal Regiment sent to the Mesopotamian battle-field in 1916.[2]

In 1900, Jatin married Indubala Banerjee of Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia; they had four children: Atindra (1903–1906), Ashalata (1907–1976), Tejendra (1909–1989), and Birendra (1913–1991).

Revolutionary activities

According to J.E. Armstrong, Superintendent of Police, Jatin "owed his preeminent position in revolutionary circles not only to his quality of leadership, but in great measure to his reputation of being a Brahmachari with no thought beyond the revolutionary cause."[3] Several similar sources mention Jatin as being among the founders of the Anushilan Samiti in 1900, and as a pioneer in creating its branches in the districts. According to Daly's Report: "A secret meeting was held in Calcutta about the year 1900 [...] The meeting resolved to start secret societies with the object of assassinating officials and supporters of Government [...] One of the first to flourish was at Kushtea, in the Nadia district. This was organised by one Jotindra Nath Mukherjee, a clerk in the Financial Department in the Bengal Secretariat".[4] Nixon reported further : "The earliest known attempts in Bengal to promote societies for political or semi-political ends are associated with the names of the late P. Mitter, Barrister-at-Law, Miss Saralabala Ghosal and a Japanese named Okakura. These activities commenced in Calcutta somewhere about the year 1900, and are said to have spread to many of the districts of Bengal and to have flourished particularly at Kushtia, where Jatindra Nath Mukharji was leader."[5] Bhavabhushan Mitra's written notes precise his presence along with Jatindra Nath during the first meeting. A branch of this organisation (Anushilan Samiti), was to be inaugurated in Dacca. In 1903, on meeting Sri Aurobindo at Yogendra Vidyabhushan's place, Jatin decided to collaborate with him and is said to have added to his programme the clause of winning over the Indian soldiers of the British regiments in favour of an insurrection. W. Sealy in his report on "Connections with Bihar and Orissa" notes that Jatin Mukherjee "worked directly under the orders of Sri Aurobindo."[6]

Jatin, together with Barindra Ghosh, set up a terrorist bomb factory near Deoghar, while Barin did the same at Maniktala in Calcutta; the aim, aside from the general production of terror, was the elimination of certain Indian and British officers serving the Crown. In 1908 Jatin was not one of over thirty revolutionaries accused in the Alipore bomb case following the Muzaffarpur bombing.
During the Alipore Bomb Case, Jatin took over the leadership of the Yugantar Party, and revitalised the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and several places in U.P.[7]. Through Justice Sarada Charan Mitra, Jatin leased from Sir Daniel Hamilton lands in the Sundarbans to shelter revolutionaries not yet arrested. They were engaged in night schools for adults, homeopathic dispensaries, workshops to encourage small scale cottage industries, experiments in agriculture. Since 1906, with the help of Sir Daniel, Jatin sent meritorious students abroad for higher studies as well as for learning military craft..[8]

The Howrah-Sibpur conspiracy case

On 24 January 1910, as part of a Yugantar campaign against those who had been responsible for the arrests and trials in the Alipore bomb case, Samsul Alam, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, was shot and killed by Biren Dutta Gupta on the stairs of the Calcutta High Court building. Jatin was arrested in connection with this murder, but was released and immediately re-arrested along with forty-six others in connection with the Howrah-Sibpur conspiracy case, popularly known as the Howrah Gang Case.

This case involved charges of waging war against the Crown and tampering with the loyalty of Indian soldiers, such as those belonging to the Jat Regiment posted in Fort William, and soldiers in Upper Indian Cantonments .[9] While held in Howrah jail, awaiting trial, Jatin made contact with many fellow prisoners, prominent revolutionaries belonging to various groups operating in different parts of Bengal, who were all accused in the case. He was also informed by his emissaries abroad that very soon Germany was to declare war against England. He counted heavily on this war to organise an armed uprising among the Indian soldiers in various regiments.[10]


A New Perspective

Jatin was acquitted in 1911 and released. Immediately, he suspended terrorism. This lull proved Jatin's full command of violence as an antidote, contrary to the Chauri Chaura fiasco after him. During the German Crown Prince's visit to Calcutta, Jatin met him and received a promise about arms supply.[14] Having lost his government job, he started a contract business constructing the Jessore–Jhenaidah railway line. This provided with a valid pretext and an ample scope to move about on horse-back to consolidate not only the district units in Bengal, but also revitalise those in other provinces. Jatin with his family went on a pilgrimage, and at Haridwar visited Bholananda Giri who, approving fully Jatin's patriotic scheme, had given him spiritual instruction in 1906. He went on to Brindavan where he met Swami Niralamba (who, before becoming a sanyasi, had been Jatindra Nath Banerjee), a renowned revolutionary who continued preaching in North India Sri Aurobindo's doctrine of a revolution.

Niralamba gave Jatin complementary information about and links to the units set up by him in Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab, revolutionary activities in these regions being led by Rash Behari Bose and Lala Hardayal. On return from his pilgrimage, Jatin started reorganising Yugantar. During the flooding of the Damodar mainly in the districts of Burdwan and Midnapore, relief work brought together the leaders of various of these groups, and they chose to work under Jatin and Rasbehari Bose as leaders in Bengal and northern India respectively.

There were also attempts to organise expatriate Indian revolutionaries in Europe (Virendranath Chattopadhyay) and the United States (Taraknath Das, G.D. Kumar, Surendramohan Bose); later, a Yugantar Ashram was set up by Har Dayal in San Francisco, California, and the Sikh community also became involved. When World War I broke out, European-based Indian revolutionaries met in Berlin in order to form the Indian Independence Party, and gained the support of the German government.

During World War I

In September 1914, an International Pro-India Committee was formed at Zurich. Later it was merged into a bigger body, the Berlin Committee, led by Chatto, alias Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, which had as members prominent Indian revolutionaries abroad, including the leaders of the Ghadar Party. Many members of the Gadhar party arrived in India, and joined the revolutionaries in an uprising inside India during World War I, with the help of arms, ammunition, and funds promised by the German government. Advised by Berlin, Ambassador Bernstorff arranged with Von Papen, his Military attaché, to send cargo consignments from California to the coast of the Bay of Bengal, via Far East. [15]

These efforts were directly connected with the Yugantar, under Jatin's leadership, in its planning and organising an armed revolt. Rash Behari Bose assumed the task of carrying out the plan in Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab. This international chain work conceived by Jatin came to be known as the German Plot, the Indo-German Conspiracy, or the Zimmermann Plan. Yugantar started to collect funds by organising a series of dacoities (armed robberies) known as "Taxicab dacoities" and "Boat dacoities".

As the police activities to prevent any uprising increased, eminent members of Yugantar suggested that Jatin should move to a safer place. Balasore on the Orissa coast was selected as a suitable place, as it was very near the spot where German arms were to be landed for the Indian rising. To facilitate transmission of information to Jatin, a business house under the name "Universal Emporium" was set up, as a branch of Harry & Sons in Calcutta, which had been created in order to keep contacts with revolutionaries abroad. Jatin therefore moved to a hideout outside Kaptipada village in the native state of Mayurbhanj, more than thirty miles away from Balasore.

While Jatin stayed in Orissa, he sent Naren to Batavia, following instructions from Chatto, in order to make a deal with the German authorities concerning financial aid and the supply of arms.


Jatin's death

As soon as the information reached the British authorities, they alerted the police, particularly in the delta region of the Ganges, and sealed off all the sea approaches on the eastern coast from the Noakhali–Chittagong side to Orissa. Harry & Sons was raided and searched, and the police found a clue which led them to Kaptipada village, where Jatin was staying with Manoranjan Sengupta and Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri; a unit of the Police Intelligence Department was dispatched to Balasore. Jatin was kept informed and was advised to leave his hiding place, but his insistence on taking Niren and Jatish with him delayed his departure by a few hours, by which time a large force of police, headed by top European officers from Calcutta and Balasore, reinforced by the army unit from Chandbali in Mayurbhanj State, had reached the neighbourhood. Jatin and his companions walked through the forests and hills of Mayurbhanj, and after two days reached Balasore Railway Station.

The police had announced a reward for the capture of five fleeing "bandits", so the local villagers were also in pursuit. With occasional skirmishes, the revolutionaries, running through jungles and marshy land in torrential rain, finally took up position on September 9 1915 in an improvised trench in undergrowth on a hillock at Chashakhand in Balasore. Chittapriya and his companions asked Jatin to leave and go to safety while they guarded the rear. Jatin refused to leave them, however.

The contingent of Government forces approached them in a pincers movement. A gunfight ensued, lasting seventy-five minutes, between the five revolutionaries armed with Mauser pistols and a large number of police and army armed with modern rifles. It ended with an unrecorded number of casualties on the Government side; on the revolutionary side, Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri died, Jatin and Jatish were seriously wounded, and Manoranjan Sengupta and Niren were captured after their ammunition ran out. Bagha Jatin died, killed by police bullets, in Balasore hospital on 10 September, 1915. And India had to wait for another thirty years to have her democracy,

BIRSA MUNDA

Birsa Munda (1875 – June 9 1900) was a Munda leader in the late 19th century political independence movement during the British Raj in India.

Introduction

Birsa Munda is named with great respect as one of the freedom fighters in the Indian struggle for independence against British colonism. His achievements in the freedom struggle become even greater considering he accomplished this before his 25th year. Birsa's devotion to his people was such that he was alomost revered as God by his followers. By the time he was in his 20s, his activities in the tribal areas of Jharkhand state (earlier Bihar) had already begun to worry the British establishment to a considerable extent. He was finally caught by the British on 3 February 1900 when only 25 years of age. He died soon afterwards in mysterious circumstances on 9 June 1900 in Ranchi Jail.

Early Childhood

Birsa was born in the year 1875 on a Thursday. and he was named after the day of his birth according to the then prevelant Munda custom. The folk songs reflect popular confusion and refer to both Ulihatu and Chalkad as his birth-place. Ulihatu was the birth-place of Sugana Munda, father of Birsa. The claim of Ulihatu rests on Birsa’s elder brother Komta Munda living in the village and on his house which still exists albiet in a dilapidated condition.

Birsa’s father, mother and younger brother, Pasna Munda, left Ulihatu and proceeded to Kurumbda near Birbanki in search of employment as labourers or crop-sharers (sajhadar) or ryots. At Kurmbda Birsa’s elder brother, Komta, and his sister, Daskir, were born . From there the family moved to Bamba where Birsa’s elder sister Champa was born followed by himself.

Birsa was born in a house built of bamboo strips without a mud plaster or even a secure roof; a crop-sharer or ryot could not boast of a better house. Folk songs relating to his birth seek to embroider the event with the Biblical parallels : a comet or a flag-star moved across the sky from Chalkad to Ulihatu; a flag flew on a mountain top. At school when a teacher once saw Birsa’s palm, he observed on it the mark of the cross and predicated that he would recover the kingdom one day.

Soon after Birsa’s birth, his family left Bamba. A quarrel between the Mundas and their ryots in which his father was involved as a witness was the immediate reason for proceeding to Chalkad, Sugana’s mother’s village, where they were granted refuge by Bir Singh , the Munda of the village. Birsa’s birth ceremony was performed at Chalkad.

Sugana Munda’s elder brother, Bara Kan Paulus, had been converted to Christianity at Ulihatu long before Birsa was born. Sugana and his younger brother became Christians at Bambna; Sugana rose to be a pracharak (catechist) of the German mission. On conversion he adopted the Christian name of Masihdad and Birsa of Daud Munda, also called Daud Birsa. Birsa’s family stayed at Chalked till the uprising (ulgulan).

After Childhood

Birsa’s early years were spent with his parents at Chalkad. His early life could not have been very different from that of an average Munda child. Folklore refers to his rolling and playing in sand and dust with his friends, and his growing up strong and handsome in looks; he grazed sheep in the forest of Bohonda. When the grew up, he shared an interest in playing the flute, in which he became adept, and so movingly did he play that all living beings came out to listen to him. He went round with the tuila, the one-stringed instrument made from the pumpkin, in the hand and the flute strung to his waist. Exciting moments of his childhood were spent on the akhara ( the village dancing ground). One of his contemporaries who went out with him, however, heard him speak of strange things.

Driven by poverty Birsa was taken to Ayubhatu, his maternal uncle’s village. Komta Munda, his eldest brother, who was ten years of age, went to Kundi Bartoli, entered the service of a Munda, married and lived there for eight years, and then joined his father and younger brother at Chalkad. At Ayubhatu Birsa lived for two years. He went to school at Salga, run by one Jaipal Nag. He accompanied his mother’s younger sister, Joni, who was fond of him, when she was married, to Khatanga, her new home. He came in contact with a pracharak who visited a few families in the village which had been converted to Christianity and attacked the old Munda order.

He remained so preoccupied with himself or his studies that he left the sheep and goat in his charge to graze in the fields covered with crops to the dismay of their owners. He was found no good for the job and was beaten by the owner of field. He left the village and went to his brother at Kundi Bartoli, and stayed with him for some time. From there he probably went to the German mission at Burju where he passed the lower primary examination.

The Formative Period (1886-1894)

Birsa’s long stay at Chaibasa from 1886 to 1890 constituted a formative period of his life. The influence of Christianity shaped his own religion. This period was marked by the German and Roman Catholic Christain agitation. Chiabasa was not far for the centre of the Sardars’ activities. Birsa was amidst them’ Eliazer of Kasmar, Gidun of Piring. Yohanna of Chapari, Mika of Dabgama, Tenga of Katingkel and Bhutka of Rugri were his own men. One day while delivering a sermon in the Chaibasa mission attended by Birsa, Dr Nottrott expatiated on the theme of the Kingdom of Heaven, and assured them that if they remained Christians and followed his instructions, he could get back all lands they had lost. Birsa took it to heart. But he received a rude shock when the brak with the missionaries came in 1886-7 and the latter started calling the Sardars cheats. He criticized Dr Nottrott and the missionaries in trenchant terms. They refused to have him in their school any longer, and he was expelled. This was a turning point in his life; he exclaimed saheb, saheb ek topi hai (all whites, the British and the missionaries, wear the same cap) it was also likely that the Sardars might have influenced Sugana Munda in withdrawing his son from the school. The sardar agitation in which Birsa was thus caught up put the stamp of its anti-missionary and anti-Government character on his mind.

Soon after leaving Chaibasa in 1890 Birsa and his family gave up their membership of the German mission in line with the Sardar’s movement against it. He apostatized to the Roman Catholics and remained with them for a little while before lapsing into hearthenism. This also followed the pattern of the Sardar agitation which turned to the Roman Catholic mission, seeking support for their claims, and the, disappointed, returned to the old faith. For a year he also served in the house of Munda at Kander, where his eldest sister Daskir lived.

It was probably in 1890 that he went to Bandgaon and came in contact with Anand Panre. Anand Panre, a munshi to Jagmohan Singh. The zamindar of Bandgaon, was a Swansi. He was well versed into rudimentary form of Vaishnavism that prevailed in the area and with the Hindu epic-lores, and enjoyed some reputation and influence. Birsa occasionally accompanied him Gorbera and Patpur, but spent most of his time at Bandgaon with him or his brother Sukhnath Panre. He stayed with the Panres for three years. He also met a Vaishnav monk who visited the baraik at Bamani and preached there for two months. He adopted the sacred thread, worshipped the tulsi plants. Wore the sandal mark , familiarized himself with the Hindu concept of epochs and prohibited cowslaughter. At Patpur, his disciples claim, he had the vision (darsan) of Mahaprabhu Vishnu Bhagwan. Which marked the consummation of the Vaishnav influence on their master.

He left Corbera in the wake of the mounting Sardar agitation. During these years he did not keep himself only to the Panres. He participated in the agitation stemming form popular disaffection at the restrictions imposed upon the traditional rights of the Mundas in the protected forest, under the leadership of Gidiun of Piring in the Porhat area. During 1893-4 all waste lands in villages, the ownership of which was vested in the Government, were constituted into protected forests under the Indian Forest Act VII of 1882. In Singhbhum as in Palamau and Manbhum the forest settlement operations were launched and measures were taken to determine the rights of the forest-dwelling communities. Villages in forests were marked off in blocks of convenient size consisting not only of village sites but also cultivable and waste lands sufficient of the needs of villages.

Outside the blocks lay the protected forest areas in which rights were regulated, even curtailed. These orders were sometimes not understood by local officers who acted as if all right of forest-swelling communities had been curtailed. Petitions were submitted by Jeta Maniki of Gudri, Rasha Maniki, Moni Maniki of Durkarpir claiming the resumption of what they called were their old ancestral right to free fuel. grazing etc. Birsa led a number of ryots of Sirgida to Chaibasa with a petition for the remission of forest dues. Men form six other villages had preceded him. Nothing came of it. The Chotanagpur Protected Forests Rules framed under the Indian Forest Act came into force in July 1894. Viewing Birsa’s involvement in the Sardar agitation with concern, Anand Panre advised him not to let him emotion overpowers him; but he would not turn a deaf ear to the inner voice. His three years’ apprenticeship under the Panres came to an end in 1893-4.

In 1894, Birsa had grown up into a strong and handsome young man, shrewd and intelligent. He was tall for a Munda, 5 feet 4 inches, and could perform the feat of repairing the Dombari tank at Gorbera damaged by rains. His real appearance was extraordinary pleasant : his features were regular, his eyes bright and full of intelligence and his complexion much lighter than most of his people.

During the period he had a spell of experience typical of a young man of his age and looks. While on a sojourn in the neighbourhood of village Sankara in Singhbhum, he found suitable companion, presented her parents with jewels and explained to her his idea of marriage. Later, on his return form jail he did not find her faithful to him and left her. Another woman who served him at Chalkad was the sister of Mathias Munda. On his release form prison, the daughter of Mathura Muda of Koensar who was kept by Kali Munda, and the wife of Jaga Munda of Jiuri insisted on becoming wives of Birsa. He rebuked them and referred the wife of Jaga Munda to her husband. Another rather well-known woman who stayed with Birsa was Sali of Burudih.

Birsa stressed monogamy at a later stage in his life. Birsa rose form the lowest ranks of the peasants, the ryots, who unlike their namesakes elsewhere enjoyed far fewer rights in the Mundari khuntkatti system, while all privileges were monopolized by the members of the founding lineage the ryots were no better than crop-sharers. Birsa’s own experience as a young boy, driven form place to place in search of employment, given him an insight into the agrarian question and forest matters; he was no passive spectator but an active participant in the movement going on in the neighbourhood.

The Making of a Prophet

Birsa’s claim to be a messenger of God and the founder of a new religion sounded preposterous to the mission. There were also within his sect converts form Christianity, mostly Sardars. His simple system of offering was directed against the church which levied a tax. And the concept of on God appealed to his people who found his religion and economical religion saving them the expense of sacrifices. A strict code of conduct was laid down : theft, lying and murder were anathema ; begging was prohibited.

Slowly, the messenger of God began to be identified with God himself. The people approached him as tier Singbonga or the Sun God, the good spirit who watches over them and can do no ill. He was looked upon as an incarnation of Khasra Kora who had destroyed the Asurs. They said the Sun (which they worship) was above the Birsa was below ; later on , it was given out that the he was Bhagwan himself. Later Birsaites formed themselves into a sect worshipping him as such.

The stories of Birsa as a healer, a miracle-worker, and a preacher spread, out of all proportion to the facts. The Mundas, Oraons, and Kharias flocked to Chalkad to see the new prophet and to be cured of there ills. Both the Oraon and Munda population up to Barwari and Chechari in Palamau became convinced Birsaities. Contemporary and later folk songs commemorate the tremendous impact of Birsa on his people, their jay and expectations at his advent. The name of Dharti Aba was on everybody’s lips. A folk songs in Sadani showed that the first impact cut across the lines of caste Hindus and Muslims also flocked to the new Sun of religion. All roads led to Chalked.

Birsa Munda and his Movement

The British colonial system intensified the transformation of the tribal agrarian system into feudal state. As the tribals with their primitive technology could not generate a surplus, non-tribal peasantry were invited by the chiefs in Chotanagpur to settle on and cultivate the land. This led to the alienation of the lands held by the tribals. The new class of Thikadars were of a more rapacious kind and eager to make most of their possessions.

In 1856 the number of the Jagirdars stood at about 600, and they held from a portion of village to 150 villages. By 1874, the authority of the old Munda or Oraon chiefs had been almost entirely effaced by that of the farmers, introduced by the superior landlord. In some villages the aborigines had completely lost their proprietary rights, and had been reduced to the position of farm labourers.

To the twin challenges of agrarian breakdown and culture change Birsa along with the Munda responded through a series of revolts and uprising under his leadership. The movement seek to assert rights of the Mundas as the real proprietors of the soil, and the expulsion of middlemen and the Britishers. He was treacherously caught on 3 February 1900 and died in mysterious conditions on 9 June 1900 in Ranchi Jail.

LALA HARIDAYAL

Lala Har Dyal (1884-1939)

L. Har Dayal was born in a Mathur family on October 14, 1884 in Delhi. His mother was a pious lady. His father Shri Gauri Dayal Mathur was a scholar of Persian and Urdu.

L. Har Dayal was actuated by zeal for public welfare from his very boyhood. As a student he led a band of workers from Lahore to help the earthquake victims of Kangra in the beginning of the century.

L. Har Dayal was blessed with a photographic memory.

He was always first in his class. In one year he did M.A. in English and broke past records. He passed M.A. in History next year. He was awarded State Scholarship in 1905 besides two other scholarships for higher studies in England.

In England Shyamji Krishna Verma, a great Indian sociologist and revolutionary, influenced L. Har Dayal, Vir Savarkar and Bhai Parmanand, brave sons of India. The arrests of S. Ajit Singh and L. Lajpat Rai moved him so much that he returned his scholarship money and discontinued his studies.


(link to photos)

He was known for his high character, simplicity, nobility and intellectuality. Due to the high spirit of renunciation, self denial and altruism L. Har Dayal was held in high esteem by all. He was a sincere man who had the courage to live according to his convictions.

He kept two objects before him - knowledge and service. Being a polyglot he knew so many languages that one can't even imagine. He intended to devote himseld for the uplift of morals and civic education of his people. He established "World Fellowship of Faiths" in London.
L. Har Dayal, Bhai Jwala Singh and others instituted six Guru Gobind Singh Scholarships for higher education at Berkeley in U.S.A.

In 1911, he joined Stanford University (U.S.A.) as a lecturer in Indian Philosophy. He was awarded Doctorate for his thesis "Bodhisatva Doctrine" in 1932.

Bhai Parmanand who was then in U.S.A., introduced L. Har Dayal to the Panjabee immigrants in America, who had an urge to free their country from the British domination. The leadership of L. Har Dayal gave strength to the movement. Consequently the Hindustan Ghadar Party was founded in Yugantar Ashram at San Francisco in Nov., 1913 with Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna as president, L. Har Dayal as secretary and Pt Kanshi Ram as treasurer. It was secularism married to revolutionary movement based on the principles of Liberty-Equality, Fraternity and Justice. It had its Punjab base mainly. The tremendous energies of L. Har Dayal found an appropriate outlet in the activities of the Ghadar Party. He had the marvellous spiritual power to turn ordinary men into heroes and martyrs by the thousand. Whoever came in his contact was bewitched and magnetised by his wonderful ability and erudition.

Sir Michael O' Dwyer admits, "The Gadar movement was by far the most serious attempt to subvert British rule in India". The Rowlatt Report confirms the above view.

The British Government considered L. Har Dayal as the fountain-head of revolutionary movement and pressed the United States Government to deport him. L. Har Dayal was arrested on March 23, 1914 but he reached Switzerland Via Turkey. Before leaving America he issued a strongly worded statement to the press to bring out the subservience of the United States administration to the British Government.

At the outbreak of First World War, Indian Independence Committee was founded in Berlin in the middle of 1915 with L. Har Dayal and Sh. B.N. Chattopadhayay as its leading figures..

He died in Philadelphia on March 4, 1939 while on a Lecture tour of America.

SHYAMJI KRISHNA VARMA

Great revolutions begin in the best heads and run steadily down to the populace. A fierce and fearless revolutionary cast in this grand mould was Pandit Shyamaji Krishna Verma (1857-1930) who served the cause of India's freedom from outside the country. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he also hailed from Gujarat. Like Gandhi fighting for the cause of rights of Indians in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, Shyamaji Krishna Verma too played an important role during the most crucial period of India's struggle for freedom mainly operating from Europe from 1899 to 1930. It was he who founded the famous INDIA HOUSE in London in 1904 which became the nerve centre and nucleus for India's revolutionaries like Veer Savarkar, Madame Cama, Sardar Singh Rana, V V S Iyer, Lala Hardayal and Virendranath Chattopadhaya and Madhanlal Dhingra. Madhanlal Dhingra became the first Indian martyr on the British soil. He murdered Sir Curzon Vyllie on 1 July 1909 and was hanged in the Pentoville jail on 17 May 1909. Shyamji Krishna Verma was the political guru of Veer Savarkar, V V S Iyer and many other freedom fighters in this period.

Shyamji Krishna Verma was born on 4 October, 1857 at Mandvi village of Kutch district in Gujarat. He lost his mother during his early childhood. He had his primary education in the village school at Mandvi and high School education at Bhuj. He was an extraordinarily brilliant student. He acquired a deep knowledge of Sanskrit for which he was awarded the title of 'Pandit'. He was married to Bhanumati, the daughter of a rich merchant, Seth Chhabildas Lalubhai of Bombay in 1875.

Pandit Shyamaji Krishna Verma
(1857-1930)
Shyamji Krishna Varma was greatly influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) and became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj. He later joined the Oxford University and was appointed assistant professor of Sanskrit at Balliol College in Oxford. Subsequently, he entered Temple's Inn and was the first Indian Bar-at law. He returned to India in January, 1888 and served for a short time as Diwan of Ratlam. He started practice at Ajmer and made his name as an advocate. He became a member of the Municipality of Ajmer city, served as Diwan of Ajmer and later as Diwan of Junagarh.

In 1899, he returned to England and became the unquestioned leader of all the young men and revolutionaries who were then fighting for our national freedom in England. He started the publication of a monthly journal called 'INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST' which became a vehicle of revolutionary ideas. In February 1905, he established the Indian Home Rule Society to raise his voice against British domination in India. He established 'India House' in London to help Indians visiting England. Freedom fighters like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh, Lala Hardayal, Biren Chattopadhyaya and V V S Iyer were some of the direct beneficiaries who lived in 'India House' at that time. Shyamji Krishna Verma raised strong protests against the British rule in India by publishing pamphlets, writing books and delivering speeches.

What inspired Shyamaji Krishna Verma to establish India House in London is by itself an inspiring story. He was already an admirer of Herbert Spencer and came under the spell of his inspiring words: 'Resistance to aggression is not only justifiable but also imperative.' This became Krishna Verma's Jap-Mantra (Motto). In September 1904, standing before the grave of Herbert Spencer at his first death anniversary, he announced a few scholarships to outstanding students but on one condition that they would not accept any service under the government, which was exploiting and suppressing Indians. To facilitate his activities, the India House was formally founded on a freehold land at High Gate in February 1905. A galaxy of luminaries was present on the occasion Dadabhai Naoroji, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Madame Cama.

Shyamaji Krishna Verma instituted several scholarships and fellowships to attract Indian students to study in England staying in India House. Many of them did not take long to join the institution and work wholeheartedly for the coming revolution. The most outstanding amongst them was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who arrived in the middle of 1906. Weekly meetings of Abhinav Bharat Mandal were held on Sundays. The tone of Shyamaji Krishna Verma's speeches became more and more inspiring, even inciting. Those less interested in revolution slowly dropped out.

Though an ardent patriot, Shyamaji Krishna Verma was not happy with the Congress right from 1899. Even while in England, he did not join the British Committee of the Indian National Congress. When the Boers launched their struggle for freedom from British rule in 1899, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (not yet a Mahatma), practising as a barrister in Natal in South Africa, came forward to organise a pro-British Volunteer Corps. The Boers were pained by this gesture. Shyamaji Krishna Verma publicly declared: 'I am ashamed as an Indian and as a Gujarati that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi should have chosen to support the British imperialists against the Boers fighting for their liberty and freedom.'

It is amazing to note a revolutionary like Shyamji Krishna Verma should have given the name of Indian Sociologist to his nationalistic journal a one-penny pamphlet he started to expound and propagate his political ideals. The cover page of this Avant Garde journal carried the banner words: 'An Organ of Freedom and of Political Social and Religious Reform.' In addition it also contained the slogan: 'Resistance to Aggression is not simply justifiable but imperative.' Long before the UNESCO Preamble wrote the immortal words that 'War starts in the minds of men', Shyamji Krishna Verma proved through his journal that 'revolutions also start in the minds of men', and came out with his one-penny pamphlet.

In the July 1907 issue of Indian Sociologist, Shyamaji Krishna Verma wrote: 'Our advocacy of the rights of the Indian people has created for us a large number of enemies among Englishmen in general and Anglo-Indians in particular. Lately, there have appeared numerous articles in the leading English Journals and Magazines adversely criticising our propaganda and showering choice epithets on us for no other reason than that we hold strong views on the hypocritical and bloodthirsty rule of England in India.'

The pamphlet continued its publication, with many obstacles on its way in its way till the middle of 1914. The paper, in English and French, continued till it stopped regular publication due mostly to the First Great war. But some occasional publication had been there even when he shifted to Geneva. But due mainly to the infirmity of age, the publication was finally stopped in 1923.

On account of his political activities, he was forced to leave England in 1910. He went to Paris, where he continued his activities supporting India's liberation. Due to the outbreak of the first World War, he could not stay in Paris and had to go to Geneva in Switzerland, where he spent the rest of his life. He died in Geneva on 31 March, 1930.

The Government of India issued a postage stamp on Shyamaji Krishna Verma in 1998 - fifty-one years after independence!! His only fault was that he did not belong, like Sanjay Gandhi, to the Nehru family! In 2003, seventy-three years after Shayamaji Krishna Verma's death in Geneva in 1930, Chief Minister Narendra Modi covered himself with glory by bringing back to Gujarat the urns containing the ashes of Shyamaji Krishna Verma and his wife Bhanumati. The sacred ashes were taken in a 'VeeranjalYatra' and the State government directed the administration of 17 districts through which the Yatra was to pass to render all assistance to the public participating in the yatra. The procession ended in the coastal town of Mandvi in Kutch District where Shyamaji Krishna Verma was born in 1857.

Narendra Modi's efforts to honour a freedom fighter like Shyamji Krishna Verma was decried in a section of the press citing Shyamji Krishna Verma's opposition to Gandhiji during the days of the Boer War. All the pseudo-secular mercenaries in the Congress Party and other parties would like to disown our pre-Gandhian Congress leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghosh and Madan Mohan Malviya because they were unapologetically Hindu. Shyamaji Krishna Verma had raised the voice of India for Independence in the last decade of the 19th century, more than 25 years before the arrival of Gandhiji on the Indian scene.

In fact, even the idea of Satyagraha came from him much before Gandhiji developed it into political action. He wrote in 1905: 'It is not necessary for Indians to resort to arms for compelling England to relinquish its hold on India... If the brown man struck work for a week, the Empire would collapse like a house of cards... If anyone refused to buy or sell any commodity, or to have any transaction with any class of people, he commits no crime known to the law. It is, therefore, plain that Indians can obtain emancipation by simply refusing to help their foreign master without incurring the evils of a violent revolution.'

Thus there is no doubt that it was Shyamji who first advocated non-violent means of getting rid of the British and using withdrawal of cooperation with the colonial administration as the most effective weapon for this purpose. Gandhiji built on this and evolved Satyagraha as a tool to oust the British much later.

VASUDEV BALWANT PHADKE

Vasudeo Balwant Phadke (1845-11-04–1883-02-17) was an Indian revolutionary and is widely regarded as the "father of the armed struggle" of India's independence. Moved by the plight of the farmer community in Maharastra, Vasudev formed a revolutionary group, known as Ramoshi, which waged a struggle to overthrow the British Raj. Vasudev came into the limelight when he got complete control over the city of Pune for a few days by catching the British soldiers off guard during one of his surprise attacks.

Early years

Vasudev was born on 1845-11-04 in Shirdhon village in Raigad district, Maharashtra. He dropped out of high school and took up several different jobs. Eventually he worked as a clerk with military accounts department in Pune for 15 years. During this period he began attending lectures by Govind Ranade which mainly focused on how the British Raj policies hurt the Indian economy. Vasudev was deeply hurt by how this was leading to widespread suffering in the society. In 1870, he joined a public agitation in Pune that was aimed at addressing people's grievances. Vasudev then founded an institution, the Aikya Vardhini Sabha, to educate the youth.

Revolt with the help of the Ramoshi's

In 1875, after the then Gaikwad ruler of Baroda was deposed by the British, Phadke launched protest speeches against the government. Severe famine coupled with the evident apathy of the British administration propelled him to tour the Deccan region, urging people to strive for a free republic. Unable to get support from the educated classes, he gathered a band of people from the Ramoshi caste. People from the Kolis, Bhils and Dhangars were also included later. He taught himself to shoot, ride and fence. He organised around 300 men into an insurgent group that aimed at liberating India from British rule. Vasudev intended to build an army of own but lacking funds they decided to break into government treasuries. The first raid was done in a village called Dhamari in Shirur taluka in Pune district. The income tax which was collected for British Raj was kept in the house of local business man Mr. Balchand Fojmal Sankla. They attacked the house and took the money for the benefit of famine stricken villagers. There they collected about four hundred rupees but this led to his being branded as a dacoit. To save himself Vasudev had to flee from village to village, sheltered by his sympathisers and well-wishers, mostly the lower class of the society. Impressed by his zeal and determination, the villagers of Nanagaum offered him protection and cover in the local forest. The general plot would be to cut off all the communications of British forces and then raid the treasury. The main purpose of these raids was to feed famine-affected farmer communities. Vasudev performed many such raids in areas near Shirur and Khed talukas in Pune.

Meanwhile, Vasudev continued his raids and increased his follower-base. The monetary situation of the movement improved. But then Vasudev had a realization the people around him were more interested in his loot, or wealth, than in the ideals that he wanted to fight for. Vasudev decided it was time for him to find a new place. He decided to move to south, and headed for Shri Shaila Mallikarjun shrine. After overcoming the moral defeat, Vasudev again recruited about 500 Rohilas to form strong army to start a fresh fight against the British Raj.

Capture and death

Vasudev's plans to organize several simultaneously attacks against the British Raj nation wide were met with very limited success. He once had a direct engagement with the British army in the village of Ghanur, whereafter the government offered a bounty for his capture. Not to be outdone, Phadke in turned offered a bounty for the capture of the Governor of Bombay, announced a reward for the killing of each European, and issued other threats to the government. He then fled to Hyderabad State to recruit Rohilla and Arabs into his organisation. A British Major, Henry William Daniell and Abdul Haque, Police Commissioner to the Nizam of Hyderabad, pursued the fleeing Vasudev day and night. The British move to offer a bounty for his capture met with success: someone betrayed Phadke, and he was captured after a fierce fight at Devar, Navadgi near Hyderabad on 20 July, 1879. From here he was taken to Pune for trial. His own diary provided evidence to have him sentenced for life. Vasudev was transported to jail at Aden, but escaped from the prison by taking the door off from its hinges on 13 February, 1883. But his escape was too short lived: he was recaptured and put back in prison. Vasudev then went on a hunger strike to death. On 17 February, 1883 Vasudev breathed his last breath as a result of his protest hunger strike.

Legacy

Phadke's exploits are sometimes held to have inspired Bankim Chandra Chatterjee to write the patriotic novel Anand Math. In 1984, the Indian Postal Service issued a 50 paise stamp in honour of the revolutionary. A chowk in South Mumbai near Metro Cinema is named in his honour.Saga of Indian Revolutionaries

In the post-1857 period the first man to strike a blow for swaraj was Vasudev Balwant Phadke – a revolutionary. The Indian struggle for independence was dominated first by constitutionalists who believed in petitions and public debates and later by peaceful agitationalists like Tilak and Gandhiji. But, whenever there was a lull in mainstream political activities, the revolutionaries would take over. As the swadeshi movement in protest against the partition of Bengal gradually lost its tempo, the younger activists who had taken part in the agitation, formed revolutionary groups that threw up martyrs like Susheel Sen and Khudiram Bose. After Tilak's deportation to Mandalay in 1908 there was a spurt in revolutionary activities which resulted in the so-called Nasik Conspiracy in India and the assassination of Curzon Wylie in London. An unending series of revolutionary activities in Bengal, Punjab, United Provinces (UP) and Maharashtra led to the appointment of the Rowlatt Committee. The Rowlatt Committee submitted a detailed report on revolutionary activities right from the killing of Rand by the Chaphekar brothers in 1897 to the bomb attack on Viceroy Lord Hardinge in 1912. It was to counteract revolutionary activities that the Rowlatt Committee conceived the two Rowlatt bills which triggered off country-wide protests and culminated in the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. After Jallianwala Bagh the struggle for freedom grew more defiant and even those who had admiration for the western democratic institutions and methods no longer trusted the British sense of justice and fair play.
Gandhiji's emergence as the undisputed leader of the Indian masses had as its backdrop the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy which was the direct outcome of the agitation launched by Gandhiji against the Rowlatt bills. Thus paradoxically, the revolutionaries and Gandhiji who represented two extremes of the Indian struggle were in a way interconnected, notwithstanding the fact that Gandhiji abhorred violence.
After Jallianwala Bagh, many young men burning with patriotic fervour including Chandrasekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh, joined Gandhiji's non-violent, non-cooperation movement. It was only when Gandhiji abruptly called off the non-cooperation movement in 1922 that some of his followers took the path of violence.
Between 1922 and 1924, Alluri Sitaram Raju led the tribals of the Rampa sub-division, in the Telugu region of South India, in an uprising against the British. On 23 September, 1922 he and his men destroyed an army contingent at Damanapalli Ghat. The British mounted a massive operation to crush the uprising but it took them more than a year to subdue the tribals and capture Raju whom they immediately shot dead.
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JHANSI LAKSHMI BAI

Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmi Bai

Jhansi Rani, Jhansi TourismRani Lakshmi Bai, the fiery Queen of Jhansi, also known as the Rani of Jhansi, one of the great nationalist heroine of the first war of India freedom, a symbol of resistance to the British rule in India was born on 19th November 1835 at Kashi (Presently known as Varanasi). Her father Moropanth was a Brahmin and her mother Bhagirathibai was a cultured, intelligent and God fearing lady. Mannikarnika (Manu) was the name of Rani Lakshmi Bai in her childhood. Manu lost her mother at the age of four. The Complete responsibility of the young girl fell on the father. She completed her education and also learned horse riding, Sword fighting and shooting on a target with a gun.

She was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao, the Maharaja of Jhansi in 1842, and became the Rani of Jhansi. After the marriage She was given the name Lakshmi Bai. The Marriage ceremony was perform in Ganesh Mandir, the temple of Lord Ganesha situated in the city of Jhansi. Rani Lakshmi Bai gave birth to a son in 1851, but unfortunately this child died when he was about four months old. After this tragedy, Damodar Rao was adopted as son. Later on Maharaja Gangadhar Rao also died on 21st November 1853. After the death of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao, Rani Lakshmi Bai was left alone. At this time she was eighteen years old. Rani Lakshmi Bai did not lost her courage, She always remembered her responsibility.
Jhansi Travel Vacations
At that time Lord Dalhousie was the Governor -General of India. Though little Damodar Rao, adopted son of late Maharaja Gangadhar Rao and Rani Lakshmi Bai was Maharaja's heir and successor as per the Hindu tradition, but the British rulers rejected Rani's claim that Damodar Rao was their legal heir. Loard Dalhousie decided to annexe the state of Jhansi as Maharaja Gangadhar Rao had left no legal heir. This misfortune of Jhansi was used by the Britishers to expand there Empire.

In March 1854 the British ruler announced 60,000 ( Sixty Thousand) annual pension for Rani and also ordered to leave the Jhansi fort. Jhansi was in humiliating condition but it was like a silent volcano before eruption.



Rani Jhansi was determined not to give up Jhansi. She was a symbol of patriotism and self respect. Britishers were making every effort to destroy the freedom of country whereas Rani was determined to get rid of Britishers.
Jhansi Travel Guide
Rani Lakshmi Bai strengthened the defense of Jhansi and she assembled a volunteer army of rebellions. Women were also given Military training. Rani was accompanied by her brave warriors, some of them were Gulam Gaus Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Lala Bhau Bakshi, Moti Bai, Sunder-Mundar, Kashi Bai, Deewan Raghunath singh and Deewan Jawahar Singh. Along with all these warriors the local population of Jhansi irrespective of their religion or caste were always determined to fight and give their lives with pleasure for the cause of Independent and their beloved Rani.

The Britishers attacked Jhansi in March 1858. Rani Jhansi with her faithful warriors decided not to surrender. The fighting continued for about two weeks. Shelling on Jhansi was very fierce. In the Jhansi army women were also carrying ammunition and were supplying food to the soldiers. Rani Lakshmi Bai was very active. She herself was inspecting the defense of the city. However, after this great war, Jhansi fell to the British forces.

On that black day, the British army entered the Jhansi City. Rani Lakshmi Bai, still full of courage and deathless patriotism dressed as a man, took up arms, her son Damodar Rao was strapped tightly to her back. She was holding the reins of her horse in her mouth. In the fierce fighting she was using the sword with both her hands. When the situation was not in control, Rani of Jhansi with some of her warriors departed from Jhansi.

Rani Lakshmi Bai reched Kalpi. Many other rebellions force joined her. Tatia Tope from Kalpi was also one of them, from Kalpi Rani departed to the Gwalior. Again a fierce battle took place. Rani Jhansi fought with deathless patriotism and martyrdom. However on the second day of fighting, the great heroine of the first struggle for India freedom, at the age of 22 years, lost her life. That unfortunate day was 18th June of 1858.

NAMMALWAR

Nammalwar - Alwar Thirunagari
It was Sri Rangathaswamy of Sri Rangam who fondly referred to "Sadagopan" as Nammalwar (meaning, my devotee).

After this era, a gap of more than 600 years fell in the path of Vaishnava Bhakthi while religions like Jainism, Saivism etc seemed to grow.

In the ninth century, when the Divya Prabhandam, composed by all the Alwars was lost to human memeory, through yogic contact with Nammazhwar, Sriman Nadhamunigal resuscitated all the paasurams(verses) and systematized their singing at the Vishnu Temples. The great Ramanuja fostered this practice universally. He wrote 'Sri Bhashya' keeping the Sri-Sukthis of Nammalwar in mind. Manavala maamunigal and Vedanta desikar, by their compositions and discourses, gave the pride of place - Thiruvaimozhi occupies in Sri Vaishnavam.

Nammalwar's Works:

Nammalwar gave the Tamil version of the Vedas in the following works:—

1. Nammalwar THIRU-VIRUTTAM

This constitutes the essence of Rig Veda. Thiru means “Sri”. It is a poem of 100 stanzas each a quadrate. Viruttam is a style of poetry. Viruttam literally means an event. The event of 'falling in love with the Supreme being' is narrated poetically. 'Bridal Mysticism' is symbolized in a mellifluent way.

2. THIRU-ASIRIYAM

This constitutes the essence of yajurveda. It is a poem in seven sections or seven poems of unequal length. The breathless flow of the continuity of expression of the sun-lit beauty of the lord takes the reader to ethereal heights. In all, it has 71 lines.

3. PERIYA THIRUVANDADI

This constitutes the essence of Atharvana Veda. It is a poem of 87 lyrical stanzas. The style is at once simple and direct, moving and inspiring and transports one to see god face to face.

4. THIRUVAIMOZHI (literally means Divine words)

This is the magnum opus of Nammalwar—the treasure of Vaishnavism. it consists of 1102 four lined verses or passurams. These appear in groups of eleven. One group, which is an exception has thirteen paasurams. Each group is known as a Thiruvaimozhi. Ten such groups is called a pathu (meaning ten in Tamil). Thiruvaimozhi therefore has 10 pathus that is 100 thiruvaimozhis and 1102 paasurams. The melody produces by chorus singing of these paasurams by devotees is a feast to the ears.

NANA SAHEB

NANA SAHEB

The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the rule of the British East India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with animal fat to Indian soldiers, introduction of British system of education and a number of social reforms had infuriated a very wide section of the Indian people, who rose in revolt at a number of places all over India. The East India Company was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown as a result of this uprising.
Nana Sahib

Of the very large number of freedom fighters, who led the struggle, four are being commemorated through the present series, which is a part of the larger series on India's Struggle for Freedom.

A Maratha, one of the leaders of the First War of Independence, Nana Saheb was born in 1824 to Narayan Bhatt and Ganga Bai. In 1827 his parents went to the court of the last Peshwa Baji Rao, who adopted Nana Saheb, thus making him heir-presumptive to the throne.

Nana Saheb was well educated. He studied Sanskrit and was known for his deep religious nature. On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in 1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the British rulers. When the First War of Independence broke out, he assumed leadership of the mutineers in Kanpur. After seizing Kanpur, which had a small British garrison, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa and called for the total extermination of the British power in India.

Kanpur was recaptured by the British under General Havelock and the last serious engagement (16 July, 1857) resulted in a total rout of Nana's forces. Nana rode away to an unknown destination in Nepal in 1859 and probably perished in the jungle.

108 TEMPLES OF NAMMALWAR

Introduction: This special edition of Templenet features the 108 temples and celestial Abodes of Vishnu revered in the tamil hymns of the Alwars, of the 1st millennium CE.

nammalwar.jpg (22525 bytes)The Alwars: Sri Vaishnavism is one of the pre-eminent traditions of Hinduism. An unbroken lineage of teachers, (the Acharyas) and a wealth of literature in Tamil and in Sanskrit and the Vishishtadvaita philosophy form the backbone of the Sri Vaishnava religion. Twelve saint (poet) devotees - the great Alwars lived their lives dedicated to expressing their devotion to MahaVishnu - considered to be the supreme manifestation of Divinity in the Vaishnava system of beliefs.. These saints composed verses in chaste tamil, and revitalized the religious spirit of the region, sparking off a renewal of devotional worship in what is generally referred to as the Bhakti movement. The first of the twelve, Peyalwar, Bhootattalwar and Poikaialwar lived in the first half of the first millennium CE.

The Paasurams: Srivilliputtur in southern Tamilnadu, is home to Perialwar, and his foster daughter Andal; the works of Andal are very well known to the tamil world. The Tiruppaavai hymns written by Andal (a manifestation of the mother Goddess) are chanted in congregations throughout Tamilnadu during the cold month of Margazhi, in the cool pre-dawn hours, in temples as well as in the streets that surround temples. The 30 hymns constituting Tiruppavai have been recorded by several artists, and the national radio station All India Radio (used to) broadcast(s) a hymn each day throughout the month of Margazhi. Also composed by Andal is 'Vaaranam Aayiram' (Kanaakkanden Tozhi), describing Andal's dream of her marriage to Narayanan (Vishnu). This work is chanted during Sri Vaishnava weddings. A popular version of Vaaranam Aayiram sung by S. Janaki hit the charts in 1990.

Amalanaadipiraan, a decad of 10 verses composed by Tiruppaanaalwar of Uraiyur, describing his ecstasy upon seeing the image of Ranganathar at Tiruvarangam, is held in great reverence. Tondaradippodialwar has composed several verses in praise of Ranganathar at Srirangam. The most prolific poets of the Alwars were Nammalwar and Tirumangaialwar (8th - 9thcentury CE). The collection of Nammalwar's works is referred to as Tiruvaimozhi.

The compilation of these verses is the revered Naalayira Divya Prabandam. Credit for this compilation goes to Nadamuni (923 - 1023 CE), who upon hearing Nammalwar's verse 'Aaraavamude' being chanted at Kumbhakonam, researched into and compiled the works of all of the Alwars. The lineage of spiritual leaders of the Sri Vaishnava way of life, held these works in the highest regard, considering them equivalent to the Vedas. The Alwar paasurams therefore have been chanted in temples for centuries together (in a manner similar to that of chanting the Vedas in sanskrit).

The tradition of Arayar Sevai involving the expressive recitation (enactment) of the paasurams originated during the period of Nadamuni, at Srirangam. This tradition exists even today at Srirangam, and at Srivilliputtur and Alwar Tirunagari (and at Melkote in Karnataka). The descendants of the family of Nadamuni are the torchbearers of this tradition.

Divya Desams: The verses of the Alwars, speak of the glory of Vishnu, of instances from the puranams. of the devotion of the Alwars and of the glory of the temples (and locales) enshrining Vishnu (which they had visited). The entire decad of verses commencing with Amalanaadipiraan praises Ranganathar at Srirangam. Some of these verses only refer to (or address) temples in which Vishnu is enshrined as in the case of Nammalwar's hymns referring to the deity enshrined in Srivaikuntham in two verses in a decad of verses dedicated to Tiruppulinkudi. Pillaipperumaal Iyengar's work Tirupati Andadi captures 108 of the shrines, mentioned in the works of the Alwars. These shrines are hailed as Divya Desams, hallowed by the hymns of the saints.

History of patronage: These shrines have been held in reverence for centuries. In Tamilnadu where 84 of these shrines are situated, the Pallava rulers (as in Mahabalipuram, Nandipuravinnagaram), and the Chola emperors (10th through the 13th centuries) provided for the construction (in stone), expansion and upkeep of these shrines through generous endowments. The Pandyas who followed continued this tradition. It was under the rule of the Vijayanagar emperors that shrines such as Srirangam, Tirukkachhi and Tirupati received the greatest extent of royal patronage. The Nayaka rulers of Madurai continued this glorious tradition after the Vijayanagar rulers.

The shrines: 47 of the 108 Divya Desams have been addressed only by Tirumangaialwar and 18 only by Nammalwar. While 2 are addressed only by Tirumazhisaialwar, 1 by Kulasekharalwar and 1 by Perialwar, the remaining 39 are addressed by hymns composed by more than one of the saints. In combination with the other saints, Tirumangaialwar has addressed 83 of the 108 Divya Desams and Nammalwar 35. While 247 verses are addressed to Srirangam - 202 are addressed to Tirupati, 128 to Azhagar Koyil and only 7 to Kanchipuram (Tirukkachhi Attigiri). The celestial abodes Tirupparkadal (The Milky Ocean) and Paramapadam (Vaikuntham) get 51 and 36 verses each.

padma2.jpg (68746 bytes)Geographic distribution: 40 of the shrines are located in the fertile Chola kingdom and 22 are in Tondainaadu - around Kanchipuram and Chennai. 2 are in Nadu Naadu (Tiruvahindrapuram and Tirukkovilur) and 18 are in Pandyanaadu. 13 of the shrines are in Malainaadu, of which 11 are in Kerala and 2 are in Kanyakumari district; therefore the total number of Divya Desams in Tamilnadu is 84. 11 Divyadesams are in Vada Naadu, or the northern lands - of which two, Tirupati and Ahobilam are in Andhra Pradesh. 7 of these 11 are in Uttar Pradesh (such as Mathura, Ayodhya , Badrinath etc.). , 1 in Nepal and 1 in Gujarat. Two of the Divyadesams - Ksheerasaagaram and Vaikuntham are celestial abodes.

badri1.jpg (64731 bytes)Thus, 106 temples have been addressed by the Tamil Alwars, who were pillars of the Sri Vaishnava tradition that was to evolve in Tamilnadu. The contrast in the nature of these temples is stunning, given the diversity in the Indian subcontinent. Even a virtual visit to these 106 shrines across the nation, is quite an experience, and is illustrative of this contrast, given the difference in the nature of temples in the various regions such as the Kaveri basin, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, the Tirunelveli region, the Gangetic plains and the Himalayas.

State of these temples: Some of the Divya Desam shrines are grand monuments such as thetirupati.jpg (23215 bytes) Ranganathar Temple at Srirangam, Naachiyaar temple at Srivilliputtur, the Padmanabhaswamy temple at Tiruvanandapuram and the Varadaraja Perumaal temple at Kanchipuram, visited by thousands. Badrinath, the northernmost of the Divyadesams is a shrine venerated throughout India. Tirupati (Tirumala) is the most visited of these 108 Divya Desams, and is held in great regard by pilgrims all over the country. Tiruvallikkeni a well visited shrine and a prominent landmarks in the modern city of Chennai, attracts thousands of devotees during the Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival in the month of Margazhi.

Some of the Divya Desams in Tamilnadu, stand as grand monuments gracefully located away from the beaten track (Tirukkovilur, Sri Vaikuntham for example). Three of the Divya Desams are sub shrines in the prakarams of other Divya Desams. The Tiruoorakam (Ulagalanda Perumaal Koyil) houses the Divyadesams Oorakam, Neerakam, Kaarakam and Kaarvaanam. Two of the Divyadesams are subshrines in other temples. Nilattingal Tundam is a shrine to Vishnu in the inner prakaram of the grand Ekambreswarar temple at Kanchipuram, while Kalvanoor is a shrine to Vishnu in the Kamakshiamman temple at Kanchipuram.Tiruchitrakootam, is located within the grand Nataraja temple complex at Chidambaram.

Iconography: While in Saivite shrines, it is the Shivalingam or the non-anthropomorphic form that is enshrined in the innermost sanctum, it is the iconic form of Vishnu that is center of reverence in the 106 Divya Desams. Vishnu is represented usually in one of three postures - reclining (Sayanam or kidanda kolam) as in Kumbhakonam, seated posture (irunda kolam) as in Tirupperai, or standing (ninra kolam) as in Tirupati (Tirumala).

Worship protocol: While in all of the Divya Desams in Tamilnadu (with the exception of Nilattingal Tundam, Kalvanoor, Tiruvaattaru and Tiruvanpatisaaram) the Vaishnava Agamic (Pancharatra or Vaikanasa) protocol of worship is followed, the Kerala Tantram is followed in the Divyadesams in Malainadu. Worship services at Badrinath follow a protocol established during the period of Adi Sankaracharya.

Festivals: Most of the Divya Desams in Tamilnadu follow an elaborate tradition of festivals. The Margazhi festival, involving the recital of the Alwar hymns - and the climax of the festival on the day of Vaikuntha Ekadasi are traditions which have sustained for several centuries, enriching the cultural life of the tamil region. The annual festival at the Kallazhagar temple in the month of Chittirai, coinciding with the Bhramotsavam at the Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple imparts a festive look to the entire region, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the state.

The Saivite Nayanmars lived roughly during the same period as the Alwars. While Karaikkal Ammaiyaar and Tirumoolar lived in the first half of the first millennium CE (the first of the Alwars are said to belong to the same period), Appar and Sambandar the foremost of the Tevaram saints lived in the 7th century. (Tirumangaialwar belonged to the 9th century while ) Sundaramurthy Nayanar lived in the 9th century CE. The Tevaram hymns were rescued from obscurity and set to music by Nambiandar Nambi during the rule of Rajaraja Chola I, roughly during the same period in which the Alwar Paasurams were compiled by Nadamuni. 275 Shiva temples in the Indian subcontinent have been glorified with at least a decad of 10 Tevaram verses (patikam) each of the Nayanmars (275 Tevara Paadal Petra Stalams) , while 249 (others) have been addressed (referred to) by the Tevaram (249 Tevara Vaipputtalams). Please visit the Abodes of Shiva for more information on the Nayanmars, the Tevaram hymns and these shrines.

Templenet is proud to feature the 108 shrines and celestial Abodes of Vishnu revered by the tamil hymns of the Alwar saints. Please send feedback on this special feature to kanniks@templenet.com.

Welcome to a virtual tour of the 108 Divya Desams arranged by region.





Nammalwar

Life History:

Nammalwar was born in a clan "Vellalar tribe" on the 43rd day of kali yuga on Friday, under the star “Vishakha”, during the sukla pakshi, chathur dashi, in kataka lagna, in the month of vrushabha (May-June), in vasantha ruthu, in the year of Pramadhi, in Thiru kurugoor (near Thirunelveli) in the Pandaya dynasty of Tamil Nadu, to kariyar and Udayanangayar.

The child was extraordinary. For several days, it lived with eyes closed in perfect health, without food (neither breast fed milk nor any other). For days together, it never spoke. Distressed at this, the parents place the child at the shrine of Aadinathar, the deity of Kurugoor, surrendering into Him the entire burden of upbringing the child.

As the child was totally different from the general human nature, he was named Maran. He was also called “Sadagopan” as, unlike other children, he did not allow earthly ignorance to envelope him.

For sixteen long years, Maran sat motionless under the tamarind tree in Adinathar temple without food or drink, eyes closed, in padmasana ( one of the meditative posture), in utter silence. He was verily a SUN in human form with an aura encompassing the universe. He is believed to be the Avatara of Vishwak-Sena, chief of the hosts of Sriman Narayana in Vaikuntam.

Madhurakavi Alwar:

During that period, an elderly Brahmin scholar named Madhurakavi was on his pilgrimage to north Indian shrines. At Ayodhya, the pilgrim saw an extraordinary sweet glowing light as a star on the southern sky. Keen on knowing the source whence it emanated he traveled southward. Even when he reached Srirangam, (near Trichy in Tamil Nadu) the light was visible in far south. He continued his quest till he reached kurugoor, where the light merged with the person in Nammalwar, seated blissfully under the tamarind tree.

Getting Nammalwar to speak:

NammalwarWith great difficulty, Madhura kavi succeeded in drawing out Nammalwar from his deep samadhi. He learnt from Nammalwar the secrets of all the shastras by becoming his disciple. Thenceforward, he remained at his lotus feet, recording the divine poem swelling out of the heart of Nammalwar in great ecstasy of Krishna Bhakti, sometimes rapidly and other times slowly, depending on the intensity of intuition and inspiration. At the very thought of the birth and beauty of Sri Krishna, the Alwar used to go into deep trance for months together.

Nammalwar is the seer of Dravidian Vedas. He sang four immortal poems as the Tamil version of the of the four Vedas – Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharvanda.

Nammalwar stayed on earth in flesh and blood only for a brief thirty-five years. His return back to Vaikuntam through the Archaradhi gathi has also been sung by him in the penultimate portion of Thiruvaimozhi.

KANNI-NU CHIRUTHAMBU:

Madhurakavi composed "kanni-nun chiruthambu"—a short prabandha of just eleven poems, in praise of Nammalwar, which in tradition occupies a very central place. Madhurakavi spread the music of the poems of Nammalwar far and wie. During those days, it is said that everyone-be he an oarsman, or trader, a chieftain or a Brahmin, reached the transcendent state by merely singing these verses.

The "Sataari" placed on the heads of all the devotees in Vishnu temples is supposed to be Nammalwar himself. All other Alwars are his limbs as brought out in the following invocatory verse:

“Bhootam Saraschya, mahadaavya Bhattanatha
Sri Bhakti sara kulashekhara yogi vahaan
Bhakataangri-renu parakala yateendra mishran,
Srimath paraangusa munim pranatosmi Nityam."

Nammalwar - Alwar Thirunagari
It was Sri Rangathaswamy of Sri Rangam who fondly referred to "Sadagopan" as Nammalwar (meaning, my devotee).

After this era, a gap of more than 600 years fell in the path of Vaishnava Bhakthi while religions like Jainism, Saivism etc seemed to grow.

In the ninth century, when the Divya Prabhandam, composed by all the Alwars was lost to human memeory, through yogic contact with Nammazhwar, Sriman Nadhamunigal resuscitated all the paasurams(verses) and systematized their singing at the Vishnu Temples. The great Ramanuja fostered this practice universally. He wrote 'Sri Bhashya' keeping the Sri-Sukthis of Nammalwar in mind. Manavala maamunigal and Vedanta desikar, by their compositions and discourses, gave the pride of place - Thiruvaimozhi occupies in Sri Vaishnavam.

Nammalwar's Works:

Nammalwar gave the Tamil version of the Vedas in the following works:—

1. Nammalwar THIRU-VIRUTTAM

This constitutes the essence of Rig Veda. Thiru means “Sri”. It is a poem of 100 stanzas each a quadrate. Viruttam is a style of poetry. Viruttam literally means an event. The event of 'falling in love with the Supreme being' is narrated poetically. 'Bridal Mysticism' is symbolized in a mellifluent way.

2. THIRU-ASIRIYAM

This constitutes the essence of yajurveda. It is a poem in seven sections or seven poems of unequal length. The breathless flow of the continuity of expression of the sun-lit beauty of the lord takes the reader to ethereal heights. In all, it has 71 lines.

3. PERIYA THIRUVANDADI

This constitutes the essence of Atharvana Veda. It is a poem of 87 lyrical stanzas. The style is at once simple and direct, moving and inspiring and transports one to see god face to face.

4. THIRUVAIMOZHI (literally means Divine words)

This is the magnum opus of Nammalwar—the treasure of Vaishnavism. it consists of 1102 four lined verses or passurams. These appear in groups of eleven. One group, which is an exception has thirteen paasurams. Each group is known as a Thiruvaimozhi. Ten such groups is called a pathu (meaning ten in Tamil). Thiruvaimozhi therefore has 10 pathus that is 100 thiruvaimozhis and 1102 paasurams. The melody produces by chorus singing of these paasurams by devotees is a feast to the ears.

SYMBOLYSM OF TEMPLE

A Hindu temple is a symbol or a rather a synthesis of various symbols. It is concived in terms of the human organism which is the most evolved living form. The names of the various limbs of the human body from the foot to the hair on the crown of the head are applied in architectural texts to different parts of the temple structure. Terms like feet, legs, thighs, neck and head denote the anatomical position and function of the structural parts corresponding to those of the human body, and are often used figuratively to emphasise the concept of organic unity in temple architecture.

Evidently, even the most perfect body seems lifeless without the resident soul. To the Hindu, thetemple is the abode of God who is the spirit immanent in the universe. The temple, therefore, is known by such terms as devalaya, shivalaya and devayatana. Hence, worship constituting the living use of the temple starts with the installation of life in the form of the deity in the sanctum.

The deity dwelling in the temple symbolises the king of kings and is consequently offered regal honour, consistent with the concept of God as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. Significantly enough, prasada means both a palace and a temple. The deity is provided with the royal paraphernalia of a throne, umbrella and fly-whisk and the worship of the deity is attended by regal pageantry, together with music, dance and lighting of lamps. Just as the royal palace has a throne-room, a private audience-hall and a public audience-hall, the temple has a sanctum, an inner hall and at times an outer hall. In course of time, the temple came to possess many subsidiary structures for the various temple rites and ceremonials. In Orissa a hall of dance and a hall of offerings were added in front of the outer hall, while in south India the enclosures of the larger temples teem with accessory structures like the thousand-pillared hall, the hall of wedding and the hall of festivities and thus resemble a fortified palace.

While dance, music and public ceremonials are conducted in the accessory structures, the worship proper is offered to the deity in the sanctum sactorum individually by each devotee, for the Hindu shirne is primarily a place for individual self-realisation and is not intended for mass prayer or congregational worship. The sanctum is customarily a dark chamber enclosed by massive walls. Its sombre interior is dimly lighted by flickering flames of a lamp. This suggests and simulates the mystery that envelopes the universe and the divine spirit that shines behind the veil of mystery and pervades and illumines the universe.

Just as the sanctum is a microcosm, so is the whole temple symbolic of the universe inhabited by gods, demi-gods, humanbeings and animals, which are figurally represented on the temple facades. The same idea is expressed by the representation on the temple walls of the eight Regents of the cardinal points Likewise an ambulation around the temple symbolically means a perambulation of the universe itself.

The architectural origins of the several parts of the temple are significant. The base is derived from the Vedic sacrifical altar, the plain cunbical cell of the sanctum from the prehistoric dolmen, and the spire from the simple tabernacle made of bent bamboos tied together to a point.

The sanctum with its massive walls and the dark interior represents a cave, while the superstructure with its peak-like spire-the shikhara-represents a mountain and is frequently designated as the mythical Meru, Mandara, or Kailasa.

The temple is a structure based on the rhythm of proportionate correlated measurements. It is atirtha(source of release) in a concrete, tangible form created by the himan mind.

Building a Hindu temple is comparable to the performance of a sacrifice. It is an offering or an act of pious dedication which brings merit to the builder and his family and vicariously to the devotee who visits the temple, and to his relations. The devotee is not a mere spectator; the perceives and worships and thus fulfils the two objectives he has in visiting a temple. The ornamentations and imagery on the walls and the total form of the temple are designed to aid the attainment of these objectives.

The temple is a monument of manifestation and all the constituents of the temple plan and elevation partake in it. Thus, the sanctum has usually one door in front and false doors in the form of niches on the central projections of the remaining three sides. Although, these are massi ve feigned (only symbolically present) doors, the luminous power of the deity or the consecrated symbol of the Supreme Principle is irradiated from within, and revealed in the cardinal niches in the form of the main aspects of the enshrined divinity or the other deities related to the presiding deity. The lesser aspects of the presiding deity find a place in the minorniches, projections and recesses of the walls. The rite of circumamulation is actually a communion with the deity while moving around the images carved on the walls. The sacred carvings on the walls, pillars,architraves and ceilings of the interior compartments, too, have a profound impact on the mind of the devotee. Thus attuned and prepared, the devotee approaches the sanctum and stops at the door which is the last members to show the carvings. The presence of the river goddesses on the door-frame purifies the devotee of all earthly taints; his mind and soul are now concentrated on the enshrined divinity whose tutelary symbol is carved on the lintel.

Significantly, the sanctum is called the house of the womb, germ or embryo, for it is here that regeneration is effected and the higher self of the devotee is reborn through initiation and self-realisation. A similar purpose is served by the superstructure, the function of which is to lead from a broad base to a single point where all lines converge. The high point of the finial is at the apex of the centre of the sanctum and is the final, conspicuous symbol of the Supreme Principle enshrined in the sanctum.

MOTILAL NEHRU

Motilal Nehru

Date of Birth : May 6, 1861
Date of Death : Feb 6, 1931
Place of Birth : Delhi



Motilal Nehru was an early Indian freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Congress. He was also the patriarch of India's most powerful political family. Motilal Nehru was born in Delhi, to a Kashmiri Brahmin family. By coincidence Rabindranath Tagore was also born on that day. He became one of the first generation of young Indians to receive Western-style college education. He attended Muir College at Agra, but failed to appear for the final year B.A examinations. He then enlisted as a lawyer in the English courts. Nehru became a barrister and settled in the city of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Many of Motilal's suits involved civil cases and soon he made a mark for himself in the legal profession of Allahabad. With the success of his practice, he bought a large family home in the Civil lanes of the city and aptly christened the house as Anand Bhavan or Abode of happiness. In 1909 he reached the pinnacle of his legal career by gaining the approval to appear in the Privy Council of Great Britain. His frequent visits to Europe, angered the Kashmiri Brahmin community as he refused to perform the traditional "prayachit" or reformation ceremony. In the 1910s, Nehru was a man of many elitist habits and attitudes, and a Westernized lifestyle, and one of the moderate, wealthy leaders of the Indian National Congress. With the ascent of Mahatma Gandhi in 1918, Nehru was one of the first to transform his life (and considering his age, wealth and long-time Anglicized habits, a quite remarkable achievement) to exclude western clothes and material goods, and adopt a more native Indian lifestyle. To meet the expenses of his large family and large family homes (he built Swaraj Bhavan later), Nehru had to occasionally return to his practice of law. Motilal Nehru twice served as President of the Congress Party. He was also arrested during the Non-Cooperation Movement. Although initially close to Gandhi, he openly criticized Gandhi's suspension of civil resistance in 1922 due to the murder of policemen by a nationalist mob in Chauri Chaura. Motital joined the Swaraj Party, which sought to enter the British-sponsored councils, if only in order to wreck the government. The party failed however, and Motilal returned to the Congress. The entry of Motilal's glamorous, highly-educated young son Jawaharlal Nehru into politics in 1916, created a celebrative atmosphere, giving birth to the most powerful and influential Indian political dynasties. When in 1929, Nehru handed over the Congress presidency to Jawaharlal (Jawaharlal was elected, with Gandhi's backing), it greatly pleased Motilal and Nehru family admirers to see the son take over from his father. Jawaharlal had opposed his father's favor for dominion status, and had himself not left the Congress Party when Motilal helped found the Swaraj Party. Motilal Nehru chaired the famous Nehru Commission in 1928, that was a counter to the all-British Simon Commission. Nehru's Report, the first constitution written by Indians only, conceived a dominion status for India within the Empire, akin to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It was endorsed by the Congress Party, but rejected by more radical Indians who sought complete independence, and by many Muslims who didn't feel their interests, concerns and rights were properly represented. Motilal Nehru's age and declining health kept him out of the historic events of 1929-1931, when the Congress adopted complete independence as its goal and when Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha. He was arrested in 1930, however, after his son was arrested, but was released shortly due to his failing health. He died on February 6, 1931. Nehru is largely remembered for being the patriarch of India's most powerful political family that has produced three Prime Ministers and still controls the Congress Party.

Family and descendants

Nehru has the following descandants, most of whom played an active role in the Politics of India:

Jawaharlal Nehru (Son of Motilal - late Prime Minister of India)

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (Daughter of Motilal)

Indira Gandhi (Daughter of Jawahar - late Prime Minister of India)

Feroze Gandhi (Husband of Indira)

Rajiv Gandhi (Son of Indira - late Prime Minister of India)

Sanjay Gandhi(Son of Indira)

Sonia Gandhi (Wife of Rajiv )

Rahul Gandhi (Son of Rajiv)

Priyanka Gandhi (Daughter of Rajiv)

Varun Gandhi (Son of Sanjay)

Maneka Gandhi (wife of Sanjay)

LAL BAHADUR SASTHRI

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Date of Birth : Oct 2, 1904
Date of Death : Jan 11, 1966
Place of Birth : Uttar Pradesh
Political party : Indian National Congress
Took Office : Jun 9, 1964
Left Office : Jan 11, 1966
Successor : Gulzarilal Nanda

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of independent India and a significant figure in the struggle for independence. Shashtriji was born in Mughalsarai, in Uttar Pradesh. To take part in the non-cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, he began studying at the nationalist, Kashi Vidyapeeth in Kashi, and upon completion, he was given the title Shastri, or Scholar, Doctor at Kashi Vidyapeeth in 1926. He spent almost nine years in jail in total, mostly after the start of the Satyagraha movement in 1940, he was imprisoned until 1946. Following India's independence, he was Home Minister under Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant of Uttar Pradesh. In 1951, he was appointed General Secretary of the Lok Sabha before re-gaining a ministerial post as Railways Minister. He resigned as Minister following a rail disaster near Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. He returned to the Cabinet following the General Elections, first as Minister for Transport, in 1961, he became Home Minister. After Jawaharlal Nehru's death in May 27, 1964, he became the prime minister. Shastri worked by his natural characteristics to obtain compromises between opposing viewpoints, but in his short tenure was ineffectual in dealing with the economic crisis and food shortage in the nation.
However, he commanded a great deal of respect in the Indian populace, and he used it to advantage in pushing the Green Revolution in India; which directly led to India becoming a food-surplus nation, although he did not live to see it. His administration began on a rocky turf. In 1965 Pakistan attacked India on the Kashmiri front and Lal Bahadur Shastri responded in kind by punching toward Lahore. In 1966 a cease-fire was issued as a result of international pressure. Lal Bahadur Shastri went to Tashkent to hold talks with Ayub Khan and an agreement was soon signed. Lal Bahadur passed away in Tashkent before returning home. All his lifetime, he was known for his honesty and humility. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna and a memorial "Vijay Ghat" was built for him in Delhi. The slogan 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' is attributed to Shastri. 'If one person gives up one meal in a day, some other person gets his only meal of the day.': made during the food crisis to encourage people to evenly distribute food.

Jayaprakash Narayan

Date of Birth : Oct 11, 1902
Date of Death : Oct 8, 1979
Place of Birth : Uttar Pradesh


Jayaprakash Narayan, widely known as JP, was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader. He was one of the few leaders of modern India who fought for its independence and took part in active politics for a long time after it became independent. He was born in Sitabdiara, village in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, and did his higher studies including his phd in politics and sociology in the United States. He adopted Marxism while studying at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin under Edward Ross; he was also deeply influenced by the writings of M. N. Roy. After returning to India, JP joined the Indian National Congress on the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1929; M. K. Gandhi would be his mentor in the Congress. During the Indian independence movement, he was arrested, jailed, and tortured several times by the British. He won particular fame during the Quit India movement. JP married Prabhavati Devi, a freedom fighter in her own right and a staunch disciple of Kasturba Gandhi in October 1920; she stayed in Sabarmati ashram while JP was abroad and became a devoted Gandhian; she often held opinions which were not in agreement with JP's views, but JP respected her independence. She was the older daughter of Brajkishore Prasad, one of the first Gandhians in Bihar and one who played a major role in Gandhi's campaign in Champaran. After being jailed in 1932 for civil disobedience against British rule, he was imprisoned in Nasik Jail, where he met Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, Achyut Patwardhan, Ashok Meta, Yusuf Desai and other national leaders. After his release, the Congress Socialist Party, a left-wing group within the Congress, was formed with Acharya Narendra Deva as President and JP as General secretary. During the Quit India movement of 1942, when senior Congress leaders were arrested in the early stages, JP, Lohia and Basawon Singh (Sinha) were at the forefront of the agitations. Leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Aruna Asaf Ali were described as "the political children of Gandhi but recent students of Karl Marx."
After independence and the death of Mahatma Gandhi; JP, Acharya Narendra Dev and Basawon Singh (Sinha) led the CSP out of Congress to become the opposition Socialist Party, which later took the name Praja Socialist Party. Initially a defender of physical force, JP was won over to Gandhi's position on nonviolence and advocated the use of satyagrahas to achieve the ideals of democratic socialism. Furthermore, he became deeply disillusioned with the practical experience of socialism in Nehru's India. Not long before his death, it was in fact erroneously announced by the Indian prime minister, causing a brief wave of national mourning, including the suspension of parliament and regular radio broadcasting, and closure of schools and shops. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna award in recognition of his social work. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965. JP is sometimes referred to with the honorific title Lok nayak or 'guide of the people'.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya

Date of Birth : Dec 25, 1861
Date of Death : 1946
Place of Birth : Allahabad


Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a national leader and a freedom fighter of India. Born to an educated orthodox Hindu family at Prayag (Allahabad) on December 25, 1861, Malviya is known for achievements such as founding a university (Banaras Hindu University) in Benaras, India. A postage stamp has been printed in India in his honor.

Mahavir Tyagi

Date of Birth : 1899
Date of Death : 1980
Place of Birth : Uttar Pradesh



Mahavir Tyagi was an Indian freedom fighter and famous parliamentarian from the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Tyagi was educated in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He joined the British Indian Army and was posted in Persia but resigned after the Amritsar Massacre of April 13, 1919. He was court martialled in Quetta (capital of Baluchistan, now in Pakistan) and externed from Baluchistan with all pay deposits forfeited. Returning to India, Tyagi became a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
In Uttar Pradesh politics he was known as a "Rafian", that is, an associate of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the famous Indian nationalist Muslim. Tyagi, who was active in the Kisan (peasant) movement, remained a life-long member of the Indian National Congress. He was imprisoned by the British several times. In 1921 he was tried at Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. Mahatma Gandhi wrote four articles on the trial in the journal Young India. Mahavir Tyagi was close to, and had been a jail companion of, the leading Indian nationalist, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru's father. In the 1920s Tyagi helped resolve, with the help of Maulana Mohammad Ali, a misunderstanding that had arisen between Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru. Tyagi became a legislator in the United Provinces (later known as Uttar Pradesh) before Indian independence. In this capacity, he was a member of a committee which heralded social and land reform in the tribal area of Jaunsar Bawar in Dehradun district of Uttar Pradesh (an area now forming part of Uttaranchal state). While he himself adhered to Gandhian non-violence, he had close contacts even among the "revolutionaries", that is those who were not opposed to using violent means to overthrow the imperial state. These included Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Prem Kishan Khanna and Vishnu Sharan Dublish. When riots broke out in the Indian subcontinent after its partition in 1947, Tyagi, taking inspiration from Gandhi, staked his own life to help save Muslims in his home state and to bring peace. Mahavir Tyagi was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. In this capacity he is known especially for his strong stand against unsafeguarded Preventive Detention laws and against suspension of fundamental rights in emergency situations.On India's becoming a Republic in 1950, Tyagi remained a member of the Provisional Parliament (1950-52),and the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, that is, the First, Second and Third Lok Sabha (1952-67). Tyagi was Minister for Revenue & Expenditure in the Nehru Council of Ministers (1951-53). In this capacity he introduced the First Voluntary Disclosure Scheme, known as the Tyagi Scheme, primarily, as he put it, to bring into the open incomes which had not been revealed to the alien government prior to independence. While in the Ministry of Finance, Tyagi earned a reputation as a strict economiser. Later Mahavir Tyagi became Minister for Defence Organisation (1953-57). General B M Kaul records in his "The Untold Story" that as Minister of Defence Organisation, Tyagi opposed policy proposals involving draconian measures in the tribal areas of India's North-East. Tyagi also gave instructions for recruitment of Muslims in large numbers in the Indian Army. The proportion of Muslims in the Army had fallen after Partition of India in 1947. Known for his independence, Tyagi opposed, even while he was a minister, the reorganisation of Indian states in 1956. He also opposed the decision to dismiss the Communist government led by E M S Namboodirapad in Kerala state at the end of the fifties, saying that this would establish a wrong precedent. Tyagi was Chairman of the Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee (1958-59) and in that capacity paved the way, along with the Law Commission, for the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Tyagi famously criticized Nehru's statement in the Indian Parliament in the prelude to the Sino-Indian War: Nehru commented that "Not a blade of grass grows in Aksai Chin", attempting to explain that Aksai Chin was a barren, inhospitable land and the nation had lost little by its occupation by China. Tyagi retorted, pointing to his bald head: "Nothing grows here ..should it be cut off or given away to somebody else?". A tense situation that had been developing in the House on the subject of the border conflict was averted as the House dissolved in laughter in which Nehru also joined. Tyagi continued to enjoy an affectionate relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru. He served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (1962-64). In April 1964, a month before Nehru's death, Tyagi rejoined the Government as Cabinet Minister in charge of Rehabilitation. In the General Elections of 1967 which saw a popular backlash against the Congress Party, Tyagi lost to an independent candidate backed by an anti-Congress combination of parties. In 1968 he became the Chairman of the Fifth Finance Commission.After the split in the Congress in 1969, Tyagi stayed with the Congress(O), the organisational wing of the party. In 1970 he was elected to the Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from Uttar Pradesh and led the Congress(O) in the House till he retired in 1976. Tyagi's being in the Congress(O) did not prevent him from being critical of the movement led by Jaya Prakash Narayan in 1974-75. He was equally critical of the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. Mahavir Tyagi passed away in New Delhi on May 22, 1980. A popular figure, he had friends across political parties and was widely admired for his integrity, outspokenness, ready wit and sense of humour.

His writings

Prior to independence, Mahavir Tyagi had written a booklet on proportional representation. His memoirs in Hindustani were published in the 1960s in two volumes : (i) Ve Kranti Ke Din and (ii) Meri Kaun Sunega. These volumes have now been combined in one and, along with some other unpublished articles by Tyagi, have been published under the title Azadi Ka Andolan: Hanste Huye Aansu (Kitab Ghar, 24 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi).

RAM MANOHAR LOHIA

Ram Manohar Lohia

Date of Birth : Mar 23, 1910
Date of Death : Oct 12, 1967
Place of Birth : Faizabad (UP)


Ram Manohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader. He was born on March 23, 1910 in a village named Akbarpur in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh, in India. Ram's father, Hira Lal, was a nationalist by spirit and a teacher by profession. His mother, Chanda, died when Ram was very young. Ram was introduced to the Indian Independence Movement at an early age by his father through the various protest assemblies Hari Lal took his son to. Ram made his first contribution to the freedom struggle by organizing a small hartal on the death of Lokmanya Tilak. Hari Lal, an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, took his son along on a meeting with the Mahatma. This meeting deeply influenced Lohia and sustained him during trying circumstances and helped seed his thoughts, actions and love for swaraj. Ram was so impressed by Gandhiji's spiritual power and radiant self-control that he pledged to follow the Mahatma's footsteps. He proved his allegiance to Gandhi, and more importantly to the movement as a whole, by joining a satyagraha march at the age of ten. Lohia met Jawaharlal Nehru in 1921. Over the years they developed a close friendship. Lohia, however, never hesitated to censure Nehru on his political beliefs and openly expressed disagreement with Nehru on many key issues.
Lohia organized a student protest in 1928 to protest the all-white Simon Commission which was to consider the possibility of granting India dominion status without requiring consultation of the Indian people. Lohia attended the Banaras Hindu University to complete his intermediate course work after standing first in his school's matric examinations. In 1929, Lohia completed his B.A. from Calcutta University. He decided to attend Berlin University, Germany over all prestigious educational institutes in Britain to convey his dim view of British philosophy. He soon learned German and received financial assistance based on his outstanding academic performance. While in Europe, Lohia attended the League of Nations assembly in Geneva. India was represented by the Maharaja of Bikaner, an ally of the British Raj. Lohia took exception to this and launched a protest there and there from the visitors gallery. He fired several letters to editors of newspapers and magazines to clarify the reasons for his protest. The whole incident made Lohia a recognized figure in India overnight. Lohia helped organize the Association of European Indians and became secretary of the club. The main focus of the organization was to preserve and expand Indian nationalism outside of India. Lohia wrote his Phd thesis paper on the topic of Salt Satyagraha, focusing on Gandhiji's socio-economic theory. Lohia joined the Indian National Congress as soon as he returned to India. Lohia was attracted to socialism and helped lay the foundation of Congress Socialist Party, founded 1934, by writing many impressive articles on the feasibility of a socialist India. Lohia formed a new branch in the Indian National Congress - the All India Congress Committee (a foreign affairs department). Nehru appointed Lohia as the first secretary of the committee. During the two years that he served he helped define what would be India's foreign policy. In the onset of the Second World War, Lohia saw an opportunity to collapse the British Raj in India. He made a series of caustic speeches urging Indians to boycott all government institutions. He was arrested on May 24, 1939, but released by authorities the very next day in fear of a youth uprising. Soon after his release, Lohia wrote an article called "Satyagraha Now" in Gandhiji's newspaper, Harijan, on June 1, 1940. Within six days of the publication of the article, he was arrested and sentenced to two years of jail. During his sentencing the Magistrate said, "He (Lohia) is a top-class scholar, civilized gentleman, has liberal ideology and high moral character." In a meeting of Congress Committee Gandhi said, "I cannot sit quiet as long as Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia is in prison. I do not yet know a person braver and simpler than him. He never propagated violence. Whatever he has done has increased his esteem and his honor." Lohia was mentally tortured and interrogated by his jailers. In December of 1941, all the arrested Congress leaders, including Lohia, were released in a desperate attempt by the government to stabilize India internally. He vigorously wrote articles to spread the message of toppling the British imperialist governments from countries in Asia and Africa. He also came up with a hypothetical blueprint for new Indian cities that could self-administer themselves so well that there would not be need for the police or army. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India movement in 1942. Prominent leaders, including Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad, were jailed. The "secondary cadre" stepped-up to the challenge to continue the struggle and to keep the flame for swaraj burning within the people's hearts. Leaders who were still free carried out their operations from underground. Lohia printed and distributed many posters, pamphlets and bulletins on the theme of "Do or Die" on his secret printing-press. Lohia, along with freedom fighter Usha Mehta, broadcast messages in Bombay from a secret radio station called Congress Radio for three months before detection, as a measure to give the disarrayed Indian population a sense of hope and spirit in absence of their leaders. He also edited Inquilab (Revolution), a Congress Party monthly along with Aruna Asaf Ali. Lohia then went to Calcutta to revive the movement there. He changed his name to hide from the police who were closing in on him. Lohia fled to Nepal's dense jungles to evade the British. There he met the Nepalese people and Koirala brothers (freedom fighters in Nepal), who remained Lohia's allies for the rest of their lives. Lohia was captured in May of 1944, in Bombay. Lohia was taken to a prison in Lahore, notorious throughout India for its tormenting environment. In the prison he underwent extreme torture. His health was destroyed but his courage remained. Even though he was not as fit his courage and will power strengthened through the ordeal. Under Gandhiji's pressure the Government released Lohia and his comrade Jayaprakash Narayan. A huge crowd waited to give the two a hero's welcome. Lohia decided to visit a friend in Goa to relax. Lohia was alarmed to learn that the Portuguese government had censured the people's freedom of speech and assembly. He decided to deliver a speech to oppose the policy but was arrested even before he could reach the meeting location. The Portuguese government relented and allowed the people the right to assemble. The Goan people weaved Lohia's tale of unselfish work for Goa in their folk songs. As India's tryst with freedom neared, Hindu-Muslim strife increased. Lohia strongly opposed partitioning India in his speeches and writings. He appealed to communities in riot torn regions to stay united, ignore the violence surrounding them and stick to Gandhiji's ideals of non-violence. Lohia comforted the Mahatama as a nation that once wielded the power of non-violence took refuge in killing their own brothers and sisters. Lohia remained beside Gandhiji as son would remain beside a father. Lohia was a socialist and wanted to unite all the socialists in the world to form a potent platform. He was the General Secretary of Praja Socialist Party. He established the World Development Council and eventually the World Government to maintain peace in the world. During his last few years, besides politics, he spent hours talking to thousands of young adults on topics ranging from Indian literature to politics and art. Lohia died on October 12, 1967 in New Delhi. He left behind no property or bank balance, just prudent contemplations.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Date of Birth : Apr 14, 1893
Date of Death : Dec 6, 1956
Place of Birth : Madhya Pradesh


Dr. Ambedkar was the main architect of the Indian Constitution. He was born in a very poor low caste family of Madhya Pradesh. In U.S.A., he did his M.A. in 1915 and Ph.D. in 1916. From 1918 to 1920, he worked as a Professor of Law. Dr. Ambedkar set up his legal practice at the Mumbai High Court. Ambedkar was the main inspiration behind the inclusion of special provision in the Constitution of India for the development of Schedule Caste people. Dr. Ambedkar was the Law Minister of India from 1947 to 1951. He took part in the Satyagraha of untouchables at Nasik in 1930 for opening the Hindu temples to them. Dr. Ambedkar was emancipator of the 'untouchables' and crusader for social justice. This liberator of the down trodden was affectionately called "Babasaheb". He was posthumously awarded 'Bharat Ratna' in the year 1990.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Date of Birth : Oct 2, 1869
Date of Death : Jan 30, 1948
Place of Birth : Gujarat

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was born into a Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, Gujarat, India in 1869. He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, the diwan (Chief Minister) of Porbandar, and Putlibai, Karamchand's fourth wife (his previous three wives had died in childbirth), a Hindu of the Pranami Vaishnava order. Growing up with a devout mother and surrounded by the Jain influences of Gujarat, Gandhi learned from an early age the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between members of various creeds and sects. He was born into the vaishya, or business, caste.

In May 1883, at the age of 13, Gandhi was married through his parents' arrangement to Kasturba Makhanji (also spelled "Kasturbai" or known as "Ba"), who was the same age as he. They had four sons: Harilal Gandhi, born in 1888; Manilal Gandhi, born in 1892; Ramdas Gandhi, born in 1897; and Devdas Gandhi, born in 1900. Gandhi was a mediocre student in his youth at Porbandar and later Rajkot. He barely passed the matriculation exam for the University of Bombay in 1887, where he joined Samaldas College. He was also unhappy at the college, because his family wanted him to become a barrister. He leapt at the opportunity to study in England, which he viewed as "a land of philosophers and poets, the very centre of civilization." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India, and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer and perfector of Satyagraha - the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience strongly founded upon ahimsa (total non-violence) - which led India to independence, and has inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Gandhi is commonly known and addressed in India and across the world as Mahatma Gandhi and as Bapu. Though his elders objected, Gandhi could not be prevented from leaving; and it is said that his mother, a devout woman, made him promise that he would keep away from wine, women, and meat during his stay abroad. Gandhi left behind his son Harilal, then a few months old. In London, Gandhi encountered theosophists, vegetarians, and others who were disenchanted not only with industrialism, but with the legacy of Enlightenment thought. They themselves represented the fringe elements of English society. Gandhi was powerfully attracted to them, as he was to the texts of the major religious traditions; and ironically it is in London that he was introduced to the Bhagavad Gita. Here, too, Gandhi showed determination and single-minded pursuit of his purpose, and accomplished his objective of finishing his degree from the Inner Temple.

He was called to the bar in 1891, and even enrolled in the High Court of London; but later that year he left for India. After one year of a none too successful law practice, Gandhi decided to accept an offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa, Dada Abdulla, to join him as a legal adviser. Unbeknown to him, this was to become an exceedingly lengthy stay, and altogether Gandhi was to stay in South Africa for over twenty years. The Indians who had been living in South Africa were without political rights, and were generally known by the derogatory name of 'coolies'. Gandhi himself came to an awareness of the frightening force and fury of European racism, and how far Indians were from being considered full human beings, when he thrown out of a first-class railway compartment car, though he held a first-class ticket, at Pietermaritzburg. From this political awakening Gandhi was to emerge as the leader of the Indian community, and it is in South Africa that he first coined the term satyagraha to signify his theory and practice of non-violent resistance. Gandhi was to describe himself preeminently as a votary or seeker of satya (truth), which could not be attained other than through ahimsa (non-violence, love) and brahmacharya (celibacy, striving towards God). Gandhi conceived of his own life as a series of experiments to forge the use of satyagraha in such a manner as to make the oppressor and the oppressed alike recognize their common bonding and humanity: as he recognized, freedom is only freedom when it is indivisible. In his book 'Satyagraha in South Africa' he was to detail the struggles of the Indians to claim their rights, and their resistance to oppressive legislation and executive measures, such as the imposition of a poll tax on them, or the declaration by the government that all non-Christian marriages were to be construed as invalid. In 1909, on a trip back to India, Gandhi authored a short treatise entitled 'Hind Swaraj' or Indian Home Rule, where he all but initiated the critique, not only of industrial civilization, but of modernity in all its aspects.

Gandhi returned to India in early 1915, and was never to leave the country again except for a short trip that took him to Europe in 1931. Though he was not completely unknown in India, Gandhi followed the advice of his political mentor, Gokhale, and took it upon himself to acquire a familiarity with Indian conditions. He traveled widely for one year. Over the next few years, he was to become involved in numerous local struggles, such as at Champaran in Bihar, where workers on indigo plantations complained of oppressive working conditions, and at Ahmedabad, where a dispute had broken out between management and workers at textile mills. His interventions earned Gandhi a considerable reputation, and his rapid ascendancy to the helm of nationalist politics is signified by his leadership of the opposition to repressive legislation (known as the "Rowlatt Acts") in 1919.

His saintliness was not uncommon, except in someone like him who immersed himself in politics, and by this time he had earned from no less a person than Rabindranath Tagore, India's most well-known writer, the title of Mahatma, or 'Great Soul'. When 'disturbances' broke out in the Punjab, leading to the massacre of a large crowd of unarmed Indians at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar and other atrocities, Gandhi wrote the report of the Punjab Congress Inquiry Committee. Over the next two years, Gandhi initiated the non-cooperation movement, which called upon Indians to withdraw from British institutions, to return honors conferred by the British, and to learn the art of self-reliance; though the British administration was at places paralyzed, the movement was suspended in February 1922 when a score of Indian policemen were brutally killed by a large crowd at Chauri Chaura, a small market town in the United Provinces.

Gandhi himself was arrested shortly thereafter, tried on charges of sedition, and sentenced to imprisonment for six years. At The Great Trial, as it is known to his biographers, Gandhi delivered a masterful indictment of British rule. Owing to his poor health, Gandhi was released from prison in 1925. Over the following years, he worked hard to preserve Hindu-Muslim relations, and in 1924 he observed, from his prison cell, a 21-day fast when Hindu-Muslim riots broke out at Kohat, a military barracks on the Northwest Frontier. This was to be of his many major public fasts, and in 1932 he was to commence the so-called Epic Fast unto death, since he thought of "separate electorates" for the oppressed class of what were then called untouchables (or Harijans in Gandhi's vocabulary, and dalits in today's language) as a retrograde measure meant to produce permanent divisions within Hindu society. Gandhi earned the hostility of Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchables, but few doubted that Gandhi was genuinely interested in removing the serious disabilities from which they suffered, just as no one doubt that Gandhi never accepted the argument that Hindus and Muslims constituted two separate elements in Indian society.

These were some of the concerns most prominent in Gandhi's mind, but he was also to initiate a constructive programme for social reform. Gandhi had ideas -- mostly sound -- on every subject, from hygiene and nutrition to education and labor, and he relentlessly pursued his ideas in one of the many newspapers which he founded. Indeed, were Gandhi known for nothing else in India, he would still be remembered as one of the principal figures in the history of Indian journalism. In early 1930, as the nationalist movement was revived, the Indian National Congress, the preeminent body of nationalist opinion, declared that it would now be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence (purna swaraj). Once the clarion call had been issued, it was perforce necessary to launch a movement of resistance against British rule. On March 2, Gandhi addressed a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, informing him that unless Indian demands were met, he would be compelled to break the "salt laws".

Predictably, his letter was received with bewildered amusement, and accordingly Gandhi set off, on the early morning of March 12, with a small group of followers towards Dandi on the sea. They arrived there on April 5th: Gandhi picked up a small lump of natural salt, and so gave the signal to hundreds of thousands of people to similarly defy the law, since the British exercised a monopoly on the production and sale of salt. This was the beginning of the civil disobedience movement: Gandhi himself was arrested, and thousands of others were also hauled into jail. It is to break this deadlock that Irwin agreed to hold talks with Gandhi, and subsequently the British agreed to hold a Round Table Conference in London to negotiate the possible terms of Indian independence. Gandhi went to London in 1931 and met some of his admirers in Europe, but the negotiations proved inconclusive. On his return to India, he was once again arrested. For the next few years, Gandhi would be engaged mainly in the constructive reform of Indian society.

He had vowed upon undertaking the salt march that he would not return to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, where he had made his home, if India did not attain its independence, and in the mid-1930s he established himself in a remote village, in the dead center of India, by the name of Segaon (known as Sevagram). It is to this obscure village, which was without electricity or running water, that India's political leaders made their way to engage in discussions with Gandhi about the future of the independence movement, and it is here that he received visitors such as Margaret Sanger, the well-known American proponent of birth-control. Gandhi also continued to travel throughout the country, taking him wherever his services were required. One such visit was to the Northwest Frontier, where he had in the imposing Pathan, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (known by the endearing term of "Frontier Gandhi", and at other times as Badshah Khan), a fervent disciple. At the outset of World War II, Gandhi and the Congress leadership assumed a position of neutrality: while clearly critical of fascism, they could not find it in themselves to support British imperialism. Gandhi was opposed by Subhas Chandra Bose, who had served as President of the Congress, and who took to the view that Britain's moment of weakness was India's moment of opportunity. When Bose ran for President of the Congress against Gandhi's wishes and triumphed against Gandhi's own candidate, he found that Gandhi still exercised influence over the Congress Working Committee, and that it was near impossible to run the Congress if the cooperation of Gandhi and his followers could not be procured. Bose tendered his resignation, and shortly thereafter was to make a dramatic escape from India to find support among the Japanese and the Nazis for his plans to liberate India. In 1942, Gandhi issued the last call for independence from British rule. On the grounds of what is now known as August Kranti Maidan, he delivered a stirring speech, asking every Indian to lay down their life, if necessary, in the cause of freedom.

He gave them this mantra: "Do or Die"; at the same time, he asked the British to 'Quit India'. The response of the British government was to place Gandhi under arrest, and virtually the entire Congress leadership was to find itself behind bars, not to be released until after the conclusion of the war. A few months after Gandhi and Kasturba had been placed in confinement in the Aga Khan's Palace in Pune, Kasturba passed away: this was a terrible blow to Gandhi, following closely on the heels of the death of his private secretary of many years, the gifted Mahadev Desai. In the period from 1942 to 1945, the Muslim League, which represented the interest of certain Muslims and by now advocated the creation of a separate homeland for Muslims, increasingly gained the attention of the British, and supported them in their war effort. The new government that came to power in Britain under Clement Atlee was committed to the independence of India, and negotiations for India's future began in earnest. Sensing that the political leaders were now craving for power, Gandhi largely distanced himself from the negotiations. He declared his opposition to the vivisection of India.

It is generally conceded, even by his detractors, that the last years of his life were in some respects his finest. He walked from village to village in riot-torn Noakhali, where Hindus were being killed in retaliation for the killing of Muslims in Bihar, and nursed the wounded and consoled the widowed; and in Calcutta he came to constitute, in the famous words of the last viceroy, Mountbatten, a "one-man boundary force" between Hindus and Muslims. The ferocious fighting in Calcutta came to a halt, almost entirely on account of Gandhi's efforts, and even his critics were wont to speak of the Gandhi's 'miracle of Calcutta'. When the moment of freedom came, on 15 August 1947, Gandhi was nowhere to be seen in the capital, though Nehru and the entire Constituent Assembly were to salute him as the architect of Indian independence, as the 'father of the nation'. The last few months of Gandhi's life were to be spent mainly in the capital city of Delhi. There he divided his time between the 'Bhangi colony', where the sweepers and the lowest of the low stayed, and Birla House, the residence of one of the wealthiest men in India and one of the benefactors of Gandhi's ashrams. Hindu and Sikh refugees had streamed into the capital from what had become Pakistan, and there was much resentment, which easily translated into violence, against Muslims. It was partly in an attempt to put an end to the killings in Delhi, and more generally to the bloodshed following the partition, which may have taken the lives of as many as 1 million people, besides causing the dislocation of no fewer than 11 million, that Gandhi was to commence the last fast unto death of his life. The fast was terminated when representatives of all the communities signed a statement that they were prepared to live in "perfect amity", and that the lives, property, and faith of the Muslims would be safeguarded.

A few days later, a bomb exploded in Birla House where Gandhi was holding his evening prayers, but it caused no injuries. However, his assassin, a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin by the name of Nathuram Godse, was not so easily deterred. Gandhi, quite characteristically, refused additional security, and no one could defy his wish to be allowed to move around unhindered. In the early evening hours of 30 January 1948, Gandhi met with India's Deputy Prime Minister and his close associate in the freedom struggle, Vallabhai Patel, and then proceeded to his prayers. That evening, as Gandhi's time-piece, which hung from one of the folds of his dhoti (loin-cloth), was to reveal to him, he was uncharacteristically late to his prayers, and he fretted about his inability to be punctual. At 10 minutes past 5 o'clock, with one hand each on the shoulders of Abha and Manu, who were known as his 'walking sticks', Gandhi commenced his walk towards the garden where the prayer meeting was held. As he was about to mount the steps of the podium, Gandhi folded his hands and greeted his audience with a namaskar; at that moment, a young man came up to him and roughly pushed aside Manu. Nathuram Godse bent down in the gesture of an obeisance, took a revolver out of his pocket, and shot Gandhi three times in his chest. Bloodstains appeared over Gandhi's white woolen shawl; his hands still folded in a greeting, Gandhi blessed his assassin: He Ram! He Ram! As Gandhi fell, his faithful time-piece struck the ground, and the hands of the watch came to a standstill. They showed, as they had done before, the precise time: 5:12 P.M.

Dadabhai Naoroji

Date of Birth : Sep 4, 1825
Date of Death : Jun 30, 1917
Place of Birth : India


Dadabhai Naoroji was a Parsi intellectual and educator, and an early Indian political leader. He was a Member of Parliament in the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP. The son of Maneckbai and Naoroji Palanji Dordi, a poor Athornan Parsi family, Naoroji was educated at Elphinstone College and later became a teacher. By 1855 he was Professor of Mathematics and Natural philosophy. He moved to England in 1855, first working in business, later becoming professor of Gujarati at University College London. In 1867 Naoroji helped establish the East India Association. In 1874 he became Prime Minister of Baroda and was also a member of the Legislative Council of Bombay (1885-88). He also founded the Indian National Association from Calcutta a few years before the founding of the Indian National Congress in Bombay, with the same objectives and practices. The two groups later merged into the INC, and Naoroji was elected President of the Congress in 1886. Naoroji moved to Britain once again and continued his political involvement. Elected for the Liberal Party in Central Finsbury in July 1892, he was the first British Indian MP.
He refused to take the oath on the Bible as he was not a Christian, but was allowed to take the oath of office in the name of God on his small book of Avesta. In Parliament he spoke on Irish Home Rule and the condition of the Indian people. In his political campaign and duties as an MP, he was assisted by Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the future Muslim nationalist and founder of Pakistan. In 1906, Naoroji was again elected president of the Indian National Congress. Naoroji was a staunch moderate within the Congress, during the phase when opinion in the party was split between the moderates and extremists.

By the time of his death in 1917, Naoroji was known as the 'Grand Old Man of India', a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi. He was married to Gulbai from the age of eleven.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Date of Birth : Oct 31, 1875
Date of Death : Dec 15, 1950
Place of Birth : Gujarat



Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born at his maternal uncle's house in Nadiad, Gujarat. His actual date of birth was never officially recorded - Patel entered October 31st as his date of birth on his matriculation examination papers. He was the fourth son of Jhaverbhai and Ladba Patel, and lived in the village of Karamsad, in the Kheda district. Somabhai, Narsibhai and Vithalbhai Patel (also a future political leader) were his elder brothers. He had a younger brother, Kashibhai, and a sister, Dahiba. Patel helped his father in the fields, and bimonthly kept a day-long fast, abstaining from food and water - a cultural observance that enabled him to develop physical tougheness. He entered school late - parental attention was focused on the eldest brothers, thus leading to a degree of neglect of Patel's education. Patel travelled to attend schools in Nadiad, Petlad and Borsad, living self-sufficiently with other boys. He took his matriculation at the late age of 22; at this point, he was generally regarded by his elder relatives as an unambitious man destined for a commonplace job. But Patel himself harbored a plan - he would pass the Pleader's examination and become a lawyer. He would then set aside funds, travel to England, then train to become a barrister.
During the many years it took him to save money, Vallabhbhai - now a pleader - earned a reputation as a fierce and skilled lawyer. He had also cultivated a stoic character - he lanced a painful boil without hesitation, even as the barber supposed to do it trembled. Patel spent years away from his family, pursuing his goals assiduously. Later, Patel fetched Jhaverba from her parent's home - Patel was married to Jhaverba at a young age. As per Indian custom at the time, the girl would remain at her mother's house until her husband began earning - and set up his household. His wife bore him a daughter, Manibehn, in 1904, and later a son, Dahyabhai, in 1906. Patel also cared for a personal friend suffering from Bubonic plague when it swept the state. After Patel himself came down with the disease, he immediately sent away his family to safety, left his home, and moved into an isolated house in Nadiad (by other accounts, Patel spent this time in a dilapidated temple); there, he recovered slowly. Patel took on the financial burdens of his homestead in Karamsad even while saving for England and supporting a young family. He made way for his brother Vithalbhai Patel to travel to England in place of him, on his own saved money and opportunity. The episode occurred as the tickets and pass Patel had applied for arrived in the name of "V. J. Patel," and arrived at Vithalbhai's home, who bore the same initials. Patel did not hesitate to make way for his elder brother's ambition before his own, and funded his trip as well. In 1909, Patel's wife Jhaverba was hospitalized in Bombay to undergo a major surgical operation for cancer. Her health suddenly worsened, and despite successful emergency surgery, she died. Patel was given a note informing him of his wife's demise as he was cross-examining a witness in court. As per others who witnessed, Patel read the note, pocketed it and continued to intensely cross-examine the witness, and won the case. He broke the news to others only after the proceedings had ended. Patel himself decided against marrying again. He raised his children with the help of his family, and sent them to English-medium schools in Mumbai (then Bombay). At the age of 36, he journeyed to England and enrolled at the Middle Temple Inn in London. Finishing a 36-month course in 30 months, Patel topped his class despite having no previous college background. Patel settled in the city of Ahmedabad, and became one of the city's most successful barristers. Wearing European-style clothes and urbane mannerisms, he also became a skilled bridge player at the Gujarat Club. His close friends would include his neighbours Dr. Balwantray and Nandubehn Kanuga, who would remain dear to him, and a young lawyer, Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar. He had also made a pact with his brother Vithalbhai to support his entry into politics in Bombay, while Patel himself would remain in Ahmedabad and provide for the family. According to some of Patel's friends, he nurtured ambitions to expand his practise and accumulate great wealth, and to provide his children with modern education.

Vallabhbhai Patel was a major political and social leader of India and its struggle for independence, and is credited for achieving the political integration of independent India. In India and across the world, he is known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, where Sardar stands for Chief in many languages of India. Patel organized the peasants of Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli in Gujarat in non-violent civil disobedience against the oppressive policies imposed by the British Raj - becoming one of the most influential leaders in Gujarat. He rose to the leadership of the Indian National Congress and at the forefront of rebellions and political events - organizing the party for elections in 1934 and 1937, and leading Indians into the Quit India movement. He was imprisoned by the British government on numerous occasions, especially from 1931 to 1934, and from 1942 to 1945. Becoming the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India, Patel organized relief and rehabilitation efforts in the riot-struck Punjab and Delhi, and led efforts to restore security. Patel took charge of the task to forge a united India from a plethora of semi-independent princely states, colonial provinces and possessions. Patel employed an iron fist in a velvet glove diplomacy - frank political negotiations backed with the option (and the use) of military action to weld a nation that could emancipate its people without the prospect of divisions or civil conflict. His leadership obtained the peaceful and swift integration of all 565 princely states into the Republic of India. Patel's initiatives spread democracy extensively across India, and re-organized the states to help transform India into a modern federal republic. His admirers call him the Iron Man of India. He is also remembered as the "patron saint" of India's civil servants for his defence of them against political attack, and for being one of the earliest and key defenders of property rights and free enterprise in independent India.

On 29 March 1949, a plane carrying Patel and the Maharaja of Patiala lost radio contact, and Patel's life was feared for all over the nation. The plane had made an emergency landing in the desert of Rajasthan upon an engine failure, and Patel and all passengers were safe, and traced by nearby villagers. When Patel returned to Delhi, members of Parliament and thousands of Congressmen gave him a raucous welcome. In Parliament, MPs gave a thunderous ovation to Patel - stopping proceedings for half an hour. Till his last few days, he was constantly at work in Delhi. Patel's health worsened after 2 November 1950, and he was flown to Bombay to recuperate. After suffering a massive heart attack - his second - he died in Bombay on December 15th, 1950. In an unprecedented gesture, more than 1,500 officers of India's civil and police services congregated at Patel's residence in Delhi on the day after his death to mourn him - they pledged "complete loyalty and unremmitting zeal" in India's service. His cremation in Sonapur, Bombay, was attended by large crowds, Nehru, Rajagopalachari, President Prasad and many Congressmen and freedom fighters.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Date of Birth : Jul 23, 1856
Date of Death : 1920
Place of Birth : Maharashtra



Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. Tilak sparked the fire for complete independence in Indian consciousness, and is considered the father of Hindu nationalism as well. Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it! This famous quote of his is very popular and well-remembered in India even today.
Reverently addressed as Lokmanya (meaning "Beloved of the people" or "Revered by the world"), Tilak was a scholar of Indian history, Sanskrit, Hinduism, mathematics and astronomy. He was born on July 23, 1856, in a village near Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, into a middle class Chitpavan Brahmin family. Tilak was an avid student with a special aptitude for mathematics. He was among India's first generation of youth to receive a modern, college education. After graduation, Tilak began teaching mathematics in a private school in Pune and later became a journalist. He became a strong critic of the Western education system, feeling it demeaning to Indian students and disrespectful to India's heritage. He organized the Deccan Education Society to improve the quality of education for India's youth. Tilak founded the Marathi daily Kesari (The Lion) which fast became a popular reading for the common people of India. Tilak strongly criticized the government for its brutalism in suppression of free expression, especially in face of protests against the division of Bengal in 1905, and for denigrating India's culture, its people and heritage. He demanded the British immediately give the right to self-government to India's people. Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in the 1890s, but soon fell into opposition of its liberal-moderate attitude towards the fight for self-government. Tilak opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and was supported by fellow Indian nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. In 1907, the Congress Party split into the Garam Dal (literally, "Hot Faction"), led by Tilak, Pal and Lajpat Rai, and the Naram Dal (literally, "Soft Faction") led by Gokhale during its convention at Surat in Gujarat. When arrested on charges of sedition in 1906, Tilak asked a young Mohammad Ali Jinnah to represent him. But the British judge convicted him and he was imprisoned from 1908 to 1914 in Mandalay, Burma. Upon his release, Tilak re-united with his fellow nationalists and re-united the Indian National Congress in 1916. He also helped found the All India Home Rule League in 1916-18 with Annie Besant and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Tilak proposed various social reforms, such as a minimum age for marriage, and was especially keen to see a prohibition placed on the sale of alcohol. His thoughts on education and Indian political life have remained highly influential - he was the first Congress leader to suggest that Hindi, written in the devanagari script, should be accepted as the sole national language of India, a policy that was later strongly endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi. However, English, which Tilak wished to remove completely from the Indian mind, remains an important means of communication in India. But the usage of Hindi (and other Indian languages) has been reinforced and widely encouraged since the days of the British Raj, and Tilak's legacy is often credited with this resurgence. Another of the major contributions relates to the propagation of Sarvajanik (public) Ganesh festival, over 10-11 days from Bhadrapada Shukla (Ganesh) Chaturthi to (Anant) Chaturdashi (in Aug/Sept span), which contributed for people to get together and celebrate the festival and provided a good platform for leaders to inspire masses. His call for boycott of foreign goods also served to inspire patriotism among Indian masses. Tilak was a critic of Mahatma Gandhi's strategy of non-violent, civil disobedience. Although once considered an extremist revolutionary, in his later years Tilak had considerably mellowed. He favored political dialogue and discussions as a more effective way to obtain political freedom for India, and did not support leaving the British Empire. However, Tilak is considered in many ways to have created the nationalist movement in India, by expanding the struggle for political freedoms and self-government to the common people of India. His writings on Indian culture, history and Hinduism spread a sense of heritage and pride amongst millions of Indians for India's ancient civilization and glory as a nation.

Tilak was considered the political and spiritual leader of India by many, and Gandhi is considered his successor. When Tilak died in 1920, Gandhi paid his respects at his cremation in Bombay, along with 200,000 people. Gandhi called Tilak "The Maker of Modern India".

Tilak is also today considered the father of Hindu Nationalism. He was the idol of Indian revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who penned the political doctrine of Hindutva.

His writings

- Tilak authored the well-regarded The Orion, or, Researches into the antiquities of the Vedas (1893) in which he used astronomy to establish that the Vedic people were present in India at least as early as the 4th millennium BC.

- Later, in 1903, he wrote the much more speculative Arctic Home in the Vedas. In it he argued that the Vedas could only have been composed in the Arctics, and the Aryan bards brought them south after the onset of the last Ice age.

- Tilak also authored 'Geetarahasya' - the analysis of 'Karmayoga' in the Bhagavadgita, which is known to be gist of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

Other collections of his writings include:

- The Hindu philosophy of life, ethics and religion (published in 1887).

- Vedic chronology and vedanga jyotisha.

- Letters of Lokamanya Tilak, edited by M. D. Vidwans.

- Selected documents of Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1880-1920, edited by Ravindra Kumar.

- Trial of Tilak.

Mahadev Desai

Date of Birth : Jan 1, 1892
Date of Death : Aug 15, 1942
Place of Birth : Gujarat


Mahadev Desai was an Indian freedom fighter, a nationalist writer and most famously known for being the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahadev Desai was born on January 1st, 1892 at Saras, a village in Olpad Taluka of Surat district of the Indian state of Gujarat, where his father Haribhai Desai was a school teacher. The family originally hailed from Dihen in the same district. He lost his mother Jamnaben when he was only seven years old. Gujarat was also the birthplace and home of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the most prominent leaders in the Indian Independence Movement. Desai was a young lawyer in Ahmedabad when he decided to join Gandhi along with Narhari Parikh, Mohanlal Pandya and Ravi Shankar Vyas, and became his most devoted secretary for over 25 years, from 1917 to 1942. The four were the earliest supporters of Gandhi. Mahadev Desai was arrested with Gandhi during all the nationalist revolts. The chief period of interest is the time Gandhi was incarcerated in the Yeravda Jail near Pune, Maharashtra from 1931 to 1934. Desai wrote most of his important works on Gandhi during this period. When arrested during the Quit India movement and sent to the Aga Khan Palace for imprisonment, he died on August 15th, 1942. Gandhi was devastated by Desai's death at a young age. Both Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi had seen him as their son, and his death was mourned by Gandhi's supporters across the country. He wrote several books on the non-violent struggles led by Gandhi in India, and a diary called 'Day to Day with Gandhi' in 9 volumes. His son Narayan Desai is also a non-violent activist.

His Writings

A Righteous Struggle

With Gandhi in Ceylon, 1928.

The Story of Bardoli, 1929

Swadeshi-True and False, 1929.

Unworthy of Wardha, 1929.

Eclipse of Faith, 1929.

NARAHAR VISHNU GADGIL

Narahar Vishnu Gadgil was an Indian freedom fighter and one of its chief political leaders in Maharashtra. Upon Indian independence, Gadgil became the Minister for Public Works in the first Indian Cabinet led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Gadgil's Ministry undertook the project of building a military-calibre road from Pathankot to Srinagar via Jammu in Kashmir, during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947. He is the author of the book 'Government from Inside.'

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Date of Birth : May 9, 1866
Date of Death : 1915
Place of Birth : Maharashtra

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866, in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and he became one of the most learned men in India, a leader of social and political reformists and one of the earliest, founding leaders of the Indian Independence Movement. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and the Servants of India Society. The latter was committed to only social reform, but the Congress Party in Gokhale's time was the main vehicle for Indian political representation. Gokhale was a great, early Indian champion for public education. Being one of the first generations of Indians to receive college education, Gokhale was respected widely in the nascent Indian intellecutal community and acoss India, whose people looked up to him as the least elitist of educated Indians. Coming from a background of poverty, Gokhale was a real man of the people, a hero to young Indians discovering the new age and the prospects of the coming 20th century; he worked amongst common Indians to encourage education, sanitation and public development. He actively spoke against ignorance, casteism and untouchability in Indian society. Gokhale was also reputed for working for trust and friendship between Hindu and Muslim communities. It should be remembered that Gokhale was a pioneer in this work, never done before in Indian history by Indians. Along with distinguished colleagues like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dadabhai Naoroji, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Annie Besant, Gokhale fought for decades to obtain greater political representation and power over public affairs for common Indians. He was moderate in his views and attitudes, and sought to petition the British authorities, cultivate a process of dialogue and discussion which would yield greater British respect for Indian rights. In 1906, he and Tilak were the respective leaders of the moderates and extremists (now known by the more politically correct term,'aggressive nationalists') in the Congress. Tilak advocated civil agitation and direct revolution to overthrow the British Empire, and the Congress Party split into two wings. The two sides would patch up in 1916. Gokhale did not support explicit Indian independence, for such an idea was not even understood or expressed until after the World War I.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale's biggest contribution to India was as a teacher, nurturer of a whole new generation of leaders conscious to their responsibilities to a wider nation. Gokhale was famously a mentor to a young barrister who had been blooded in the work of revolution in South Africa a few years earlier. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi received great warmth and hospitality from Gokhale, including personal guidance, knowledge and understanding of India, the issues of common Indians and Indian politics. By 1920, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would become known as Mahatma Gandhi, and ad the leader of nationalist Indians and the largest non-violent revolution in the history of the world. However, Gokhale himself died in 1915. In his autobiography, Gandhi calls Gokhale his mentor and guide, while Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan, in 1912 wanted to become the "Muslim Gokhale," "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity."

Vithalbhai Patel

Date of Birth : 1871
Date of Death : 1935
Place of Birth : Gujarat



Vithalbhai Patel was an Indian legislator and political leader, and co-founder of the Swaraj Party. Born in Nadiad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, Vithalbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was the third of five Patel brothers, four years elder to Vallabhbhai Patel, raised in the village of Karamsad. Vithalbhai educated himself in Nadiad and in Bombay, and worked as a pleader (a junior lawyer) in the courts of Godhra and Borsad. At a very young age, he was married to a girl from another village, Diwaliba. His younger brother Vallabhbhai Patel had similarly studied by himself and worked as a pleader. Studying in England was a dream to both men, although they did not know this. Vallabhbhai had saved enough money and ordered his passport and travel tickets, when the postman delivered them to Vithalbhai, on account that it was addressed to a Mr. V.J. Patel, Pleader. Vithalbhai insisted on traveling on those documents actually meant for Vallabhbhai, pointing out that it would be socially criticized that an older brother followed the lead of the younger. Respecting his brother despite the obvious cruelty of fate on his own hard work, Vallabhbhai allowed him to proceed to England, and even paid for his stay. Vithalbhai entered the Middle Temple Inn in London, and completed the 36-month course in 30, emerging at the top of his class. Returning to Gujarat in 1913, Vithalbhai became an important barrister in the courts of Bombay and Ahmedabad. However, his wife died in 1915, and he remained a widower. Patel entered politics before his more renowned brother, winning a seat on the Bombay Legislative Council, a body with no real functions. Although failing to achieve anything concrete in terms of the fight for national independence, self-government or public welfare, Patel grew popular and respected by his oratorical and witty mastery and belittling of the Raj's officials, winning many a battle of wit, which bore little overall significance. He rose to the presidency of the Imperial Legislative Council, a collage of pro-British elected and appointed Indians and Englishmen designated to rubber-stamp the Viceroy's decisions.

Although never truly accepting the philosophy and leadership of Mohandas Gandhi, Patel joined the Congress and the struggle for freedom. He had no regional base of support, yet he was an influential leader who expanded the struggle through fiery speeches and articles published. When Gandhi aborted the struggle in 1922 following the Chauri Chaura Incident, Patel left the Congress to form the Swaraj Party with Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru, which would seek to foil the Raj by sabotaging the government after gaining entry in the councils. The party only succeeded in dividing the Congress and finally itself, but Patel and others were important voices who rebelled against the leadership of Gandhi when the nation anguished over the abortion of the Non-Cooperation Movement. Vithalbhai Patel rejoined the Congress in 1930 upon the declaration of Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence), yet later gave it up after the end of the Salt Satyagraha. He became a fierce critic of Gandhi and a strong ally of Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose and Patel travelled across Europe, gathering funds and political support - among others, they met Eamon DeValera, President of Ireland. However, Patel fell seriously ill, and died in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar

Date of Birth : -
Date of Death : -
Place of Birth : Gujarat


Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar was an Indian freedom fighter and the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. Mavlankar hailed from Marathi background but lived and worked in Ahmedabad, capital of Gujarat. He was a colleague and close friend of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Mavlankar joined the Indian Independence Movement with the Non-Cooperation Movement. Although he temporarily joined the Swaraj Party in the 1920s, he returned to Mahatma Gandhi and the Salt Satyagraha in 1930. In 1952, after the first general elections in independent India, G.V. Mavlankar was elected the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He would serve many years in the Parliament of India.

Kulapati K.M. Munshi

Date of Birth : Dec 30, 1887
Date of Death : 1971
Place of Birth : Broach


Versatile", "a philosopher in action", "a man of great ideas and great courage", "a multi-faceted genius"-these are the ways in which friends and admirers described Dr. Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, the founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.The versatility of Munshiji is seen in his roles as lawyer, creative writer, constitution-maker, freedom fighter, administrator, organization-builder and champion of Indian culture. Dr. Munshi looked upon himself as a "sea shell thrown up by the mighty flood of Indian renaissance." He founded the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan along with a few friends late in 1938. Born in Broach on December 30, 1887, Munshiji came under the influence of Sri Aurobindo while studying at Baroda College. A prize winner at the B.A. and LL.B. examinations, he enrolled himself initially as a Pleader and later as an Advocate in the Bombay Bar. He first joined Dr. Besant's All India Home Rule League in 1916 and later the Indian National Congress. He married Lilavati Sheth in 1926 (who was one of his literary critics) after the death of his first wife, Atilakshmi Pathak, whom he married when he was just 13.
He was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council in 1927. He took part in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and was imprisoned for 6 months. In 1932 he was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. He was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1937 and appointed the Home Minister in the first Congress Government. He served as India's Agent-General in Hyderabad when the Nizam was trying to keep his State independent of the Indian Union. He became a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1948. He was Food and Agriculture Minister of the Government of India in 1950. He was Governor of Uttar Pradesh during 1952-57. He resigned from the Congress and became the Vice President of the newly formed "Swatantra Party" standing for free enterprise. Till his death in 1971 he devoted all his energies to the building up of the Bhavan as the premier cultural organization of the country.

Senapati Bapat

Date of Birth : Nov 12, 1880
Date of Death : Nov 28, 1967
Place of Birth : Maharashtra


Senapati Bapat was born in Ahmednagar, a district of Maharashtra, on November 12, 1880. He was fearless as a child. Having once almost drowned in a nearby stream, he didn't think twice of venturing into the stream again. He brought this same dedication and fearlessness to the aide of his motherland.

Bapat was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, because he lost a scholarship he had received from the British Government, for expressing anti-British views at a meeting of the Independent Labor Party. Despite the loss of the scholarship he continued his studies abroad, and came home with preliminary knowledge of how to build bombs. Armed with this knowledge he planned to join other revolutionaries to use it against the British Government, not in an attempt to kill innocent victims, but to draw attention to the cause of freedom. On August 15, 1947 when India was declared free, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian flag in Delhi for the first time. Senapati Bapat was given the same honor in Pune. After independence Senapati Bapat took an active part in political life. He passed away on November 28, 1967 at the age of 87

Mahadeo Govind Ranade

Date of Birth : -
Date of Death : Jan 16, 1901
Place of Birth : -


At the age of six, Ranade was sent to a Marathi school in Kolhapur, and in 1851, when he was nine, he was transferred to an English school. Ranade completed his schooling at the Elphinstone Institute, Bombay. His academic performance was so good that within a year he was admitted into the prestigious Elphinstone College, Bombay.
Ranade was a scholar. He spent hours reading with utmost concentration, not stopping to relax or socialize.Ranade was among the 21 students who appeared in the Matriculation Examination held in Bombay in 1859. He achieved distinctions in all his degree courses, commencing with B.A. Honors in 1862, M.A. in 1864 and LL.B. and LL.B. Honors in 1864 and 1865 respectively. Almost throughout his academic career he was a scholarship-holder. Ranade became a proponent of the Vidhava-vivaha Uttejaka Mandali (Society for the Encouragement of Widow-remarriage) founded in 1845 by English and Sanskrit scholar, Vishnushastri Pandit. Ranade was also actively involved with the Prathna Samaj, which was similar to the Brahmo Samaj movement in Bengal. Ranade gave the Samaj his best in forwarding social reforms like inter-dining and inter- marriage, widow re-marriage, upliftment of women and the depressed classes. Ranade helped found the Indian National Social Conference to function like the social wing of the Indian National Congress. The Conference aimed at educating women, prevent child marriage and oppose the dowry system. In 1881 he was given the position of Special Sub-Judge in Poona which gave him the opportunity to come closer to the poor farmers and assist in settling land related disputes. While in the Legislative Council, Ranade wrote the "Rise and Fall of the Maratha Power" with Chatrapati Shivaji as the key figure. The same year he published an "Introduction to the Satara Rajas" and "The Peshwa Diaries." Ranade studied the economies of Switzerland, France, Italy and Belgium and made comparisons with the Indian economy. He felt the fragile state of the economy was because of the over-dependence on agriculture -an occupation that suffered from drawbacks like floods, droughts, famines, heavy taxation and inadequate irrigation facilities and relief measures during famines. Ranade stressed on the development of indigenous small industries. He forwarded the idea for the establishment of agricultural banks by the Government, to give loans directly to the peasants. From 1893 to 1900, Ranade served on the bench of the Bombay High Court where he took several steps to the liberalize the Hindu Law with regard to women's rights. Ranade died on January 16, 1901 of now common ailment angina pectoris.

Subhas Chandra Bose

Date of Birth : Jan 23, 1897
Date of Death : Aug 18, 1945
Place of Birth : Orissa

Subhash Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945?), also known as Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian Independence Movement against the British Raj. Subhas Chandra Bose was born to an affluent family in Cuttack, Orissa. His father, Janakinath Bose, was a public prosecutor who believed in orthodox nationalism, and later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. His mother was Prabhavati Bose, a remarkable example of Indian womanhood. Bose was educated at Cambridge University. In 1920, Bose took the Indian Civil Service entrance examination and was placed second. However, he resigned from the prestigious Indian Civil Service in April 1921 despite his high ranking in the merit list, and went on to become an active member of India's independence movement. He joined the Indian National Congress, and was particularly active in its youth wing. Subhas Chandra Bose felt that young militant groups could be molded into a military arm of the freedom movement and used to further the cause. Gandhiji opposed this ideology because it directly conflicted with his policy of ahimsa (non-violence). The British Government in India perceived Subhas as a potential source of danger and had him arrested without any charge on October 25, 1924. He was sent to Alipore Jail, Calcutta and in January 25, 1925 transferred to Mandalay, Burma. He was released from Mandalay in May, 1927 due to his ill health. Upon return to Calcutta, Subhas was elected President of the Bengal Congress Committee on October 27, 1927.
Subhas was one of the few politicians who sought and worked towards Hindu-Muslim unity on the basis of respect of each community's rights. Subhas, being a man of ideals, believed in independence from the social evil of religious discord. In January 1930 Subhas was arrested while leading a procession condemning imprisonment of revolutionaries. He was offered bail on condition that he signs a bond to refrain from all political activities, which he refused. As a result he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment. On his release from jail, Subhas was sworn in as Mayor of the Calcutta Corporation. In 1931 the split between Gandhiji and Subhas crystallized. Although the two never saw eye to eye on their view of freedom and the movement itself, Subhas felt that Gandhiji had done a great disservice to the movement by agreeing to take part in the Second Round Table Conference. Subhas viewed freedom as an absolute necessity, unlike the freedom which Gandhiji was "negotiating" with the British. Subhas was arrested again while returning from Bombay to Calcutta, and imprisoned in several jails outside West Bengal in fear of an uprising. His health once again deteriorated and the medical facilities diagnosed him with tuberculosis. It was recommended that he be sent to Switzerland for treatment. Realizing that his avenues abroad were greater with the restrictions of the British, Subhas set sail for Europe on February 23, 1933. Subhas stayed in various parts of Europe from March 1993 to March 1936 making contacts with Indian revolutionaries and European socialists supporting India's Struggle for Independence. Subhas met Mussolini in Italy and made Vienna his headquarters. Subhas was opposed to the racial theory of Nazism but appreciated its organizational strength and discipline. On March 27, 1936 he sailed for Bombay and but was escorted to jail immediately after disembarking. After lying low for a year, he was able to work actively. He attended the All India Congress Committee Session in Calcutta, the first one he attended after a lapse of nearly six years. Time had healed the tensions between Subhas and Gandhiji, and Gandhiji supported Subhas in his efforts to become the President of the next Congress session, 1938. He went to England for a month in 1938 and rallied for the Indian freedom cause amongst Indian students and British labor leaders sympathetic toward India's cause. It was a bold move since he was constantly under British surveillance. Upon his return to India in February 1938, Subhas was elected President of the Indian National Congress. An excerpt from his Presidential address read, "I have no doubt in my mind that our chief national problems relating to the eradication of poverty, illiteracy and disease and the scientific production and distribution can be tackled only along socialistic lines... ." Subhas emphasized that political freedom alone would not be sufficient, as the ills of the British reign would continue to haunt post-Independent India. He stressed the need to solve linguistic and religious prejudices and to achieve a high literacy rate amongst Indians. Gandhiji found Subhas's ideologies far too leftist and strongly disagreed with Subhas's criticism of village industries and stress on competing with the rest of the world in the Industrial age. Opposition from Sardar Vallabhai Patel, lack of support from Gandhiji and Nehru's indecision marked Subhas's year as the President of the Congress. One of Subhas' major contributions was setting up of a National Planning Committee, for the development of an economic program running parallel to the national movement. Differences between Gandhiji and Subhas led to a crisis when Gandhiji opposed Subhas' idea that the Bengal Government (a coalition between the Krishak Praja Party & Muslim League) be ousted and the Congress take charge in coalition with the Krishak party. The idea was criticized by Gandhiji and Nehru, which resulted in the strengthening of the Muslim League in Bengal and ultimately partition of India. It is obvious today that had Subhas been able to carry out his plans, Bengal would be a different entity on the atlas. Despite opposition from the Congress brass, Subhas was a favorite amongst the majority as he was re-elected for a second term in March 1939. Gandhiji considered Subhas's victory as his personal defeat and went on a fast to rally the members of the Working Committee to resign. Subhas resigned and Dr. Rajendra Prasad assumed the Presidency of the Congress. In May 1939, Subhas formed the Forward Bloc within the Congress as an umbrella organization of the left forces within the Congress. Gandhiji and his supporters accused Subhas of breach of Congress party discipline and drafted a resolution removing Subhas from the Congress Working Committee and restrained him from holding any office for three years. On September 3, 1939 Subhas was informed that war had broken out between Britain and Germany. Subhas discussed the idea of an underground struggle against the British with members of the Forward Bloc. Subhas pressurized the Congress leaders to get a Declaration of War Aims from the Viceroy; he declined. Subhas was elected President of the West Bengal Provincial Congress. In December the Congress Working Committee subverted the Provincial Committee's authority and appointed its own ad hoc committee. The Forward Bloc progressively became militant and by April 1940 most of its senior members were arrested. Subhas was convinced that the only way he could bring about India's Independence was by leaving the country and fighting from foreign territories. He had made contact with radical Punjab and Pathan activists who had contacts in Afghanistan and Russia to organize a militia. Subhas knew that Britain was in a vulnerable position following the surrender of France in June 1940. He announced the launch of Siraj-ud-daula Day on July 3, in memory of the last king of Bengal who was defeated by Clive. His plan was to hold a procession and to unify Hindu and Muslim nationalists. The Government interceded and imprisoned Subhas on July 2, 1940 in Presidency Jail, Calcutta. Netaji believed that foreign assistance was a must to free India from British rule. In 1939, when the Second World War broke out, Subhas sought assistance from Germany, Italy, and Japan as they were enemies of Britain and thus would be natural allies. In 1941, he evaded a house-arrest in Calcutta by disguising himself as a Maulavi and going to Kabul, Afghanistan. Later, he procured an Italian passport and fled to Berlin, Germany. There he met Hitler and discussed his plans and sought his assistance to free India. He also sought assistance from Mussolini. From time to time, he aired his speeches on the Azad Hind Radio from Berlin to communicate his intentions to fellow Indians and to prove that he was still alive. After the defeat of Germany, Netaji realized that he could not continue his struggle from Germany anymore. Ultimately, Netaji reached Japan in June, 1943. He established the Indian National Army (INA) with some 30,000 Indian soldiers. He also set up a radio network in South East Asia in order to appeal to the people, both in India and outside, for support. The INA declared war against Britain and America. However, the INA had to retreat from the Indo-Burmese border after a heavy defeat of the Japanese troops there. The British defense was impenetrable. Though the "Delhi Chalo" mission failed, Netaji proved to the world that his determination was strong and his attitude was positive in his dream to free India from the clutches of the British.

On August 16, 1945 Netaji boarded a plane from Singapore to Bangkok. Netaji was scheduled to fly in a Type 97-2 bomber 'Sally' from Bangkok to Saigon. The plane made a stopover in Taipei and crashed within minutes of take-off from Taipei. Netaji's body was cremated in Taipei on August 20, 1945 and his ashes were flown to Tokyo on September 5, 1945 where they rest in the Renkoji Temple. To this day, many believe that Netaji escaped from the air crash and went into hiding.

Netaji wanted unconditional and complete freedom. He dreamed of a classless society with no caste barriers, social inequalities or religious intolerance. He believed in equal distribution of wealth and destruction of communalism. His slogan "Jai Hind" still acts as a great binding force today

Bipin Chandra Pal

Date of Birth : Nov 7, 1858
Date of Death : -
Place of Birth : Sylhet (Bangladesh)

Bipin Chandra Pal was born on November 7, 1858 in Sylhet, (now in Bangladesh), in a wealthy Hindu Kayastha family. His father was Ramchandra Pal. He was a teacher, journalist, orator, writer and librarian who started the journal Bande Mataram.
He was one of the trilogy of the three Extremist patriots of the Indian National Congress who had fought and gave his life during Indian independence movement in the first half of the twentieth century. The other two were Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Together they were known as Lal-Bal-Pal. They had advocated extremist means to get their message across to the British, like boycotting British manufactured goods, burning Western clothes made in the mills of Manchester and strikes and lock outs of British owned businesses and industrial concerns. He came under the influence of eminent Bengali leaders of his time such as Keshab Chandra Sen and Pandit Sivanath Sastri, and joined the Brahmo Samaj. He was imprisoned for six months on the grounds of his refusal to give evidence against Sri Aurobindo in the Bande Mataram sedition case.

Chittaranjan Das

Date of Birth : Nov 25, 1870
Date of Death : Jun 16, 1925
Place of Birth : India


Chittaranjan Das (C.R.Das) (popularly called Deshbandhu) was a Bengali lawyer and a major figure in the Indian independence movement.

Educated in England, his public career began in 1909 when he successfully defended Aurobindo Ghosh on charges of involvement in the previous year's Alipore bomb case.

He was a leading figure in Bengal during the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1919-1922, and initiated the ban on British clothes, setting an example by burning his own European clothes and taking up "desi" Khadi clothes. With Motilal Nehru, he founded the Swaraj Party to express his non-moderate opinions.

He brought out a newspaper called Forward and later changed its name to Liberty to fight the British Raj. When the Calcutta Corporation was formed, he became its first Mayor. He presided over the Gaya session of the Indian National Congress. Throughout his political life, he was plagued with ill health but despite that, he showed valor, courage and determinism in rising up to the British.

He was a believer of non-violence and constitutional methods for the realisation of national independence, and advocated communal harmony and championed the cause of national education. His legacy was carried forward by his disciples, and notably by Subhash Chandra Bose.

He is generally referred to by the honorific Desh Bandhu meaning "comrade of the nation."

Shashi Tharoor

Date of Birth : 1956
Place of Birth : London



Shri Shashi Tharoor, is a well-known Indian English writer, scholar and international civil servant. He was born in London in 1956 to father, a newspaper executive and mother a housewife, with their roots in Palakkad, a town in Kerala, India. Tharoor mostly grew