Chayal Rajputs
Nilakkal (), also spelled Nilackal, or formerly Chayal, is a remote ghat region located in the Goodrical range of Ranni forest division in Pathanamthitta District in the Indian state of Kerala.Nearest Railway Station Is Thiruvalla,Located At A Distance Of 71 km. The place is noted mainly as an ''edathavalam'' or halting-place for the Ayyappa devotees during Sabarimala pilgrimage. Administratively, it falls under the Perunad grama panchayath in Ranni tehsil. Sabarimala, the famous Hindu pilgrim centre in southern India is located at a distance of in the north-east hilly region of Nilakkal. Etymology According to some historical records, the name ''Nilakkal'' is associated with ''Nilavaaya'', considered to be the presiding deity of old Shasta temple (present Sabarimala) at the forest interiors. While some other records has it that the name ''Nilakkal'' came from "Nilakkal thavalam". The place's alternate name ''Chayal'' denotes a place sloping towards Pamba river. But in anot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nilakkal Sree Mahadeva Temple
Nilakkal Mahadeva Temple is a Hindu temple located in Nilakkal, in the eastern side of Pathanamthitta district in the Indian state of Kerala. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Ayappa worshipped Shivling here It is one of the important "idathavalam" or halting place for the Sabarimala pilgrims. The shrine is administrated by Travancore Devaswom Board. During Sabarimala pilgrimage, many devotees visit the temple and probably on these days Nilakkal will be crowded with devotees. Location It is located just 1 km from the main highway leading to Sabarimala temple. The shrine is surrounded by thick forests and rubber plantations. Worship Lord Shiva is the principal deity. The pratishta is believed to be in two moods, Ugramoorthy (fierce) and Mangala pradayakan (auspicious). A common belief is that Lord Shiva is showering his blessings to his son Lord Ayyappa to fight against all evil spirits while throwing all anger to the evils. As in many Shiva shrines, a number of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pathanamthitta (Lok Sabha Constituency)
Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency is a Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala state in southern India. It is a newly formed constituency in the Central Travancore region of Kerala for the election of a member of the Lok Sabha. The district, which was previously fragmented into different parliamentary constituencies, was unified into a single Parliamentary constituency as per the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly. Constituenciesc Order, 2008. Assembly Segments Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments: * Members of Parliament Election results In the first election held in this district on 16 May 2009, United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Anto Antony Punnathaniyil of the Indian National Congress was elected by 408,232 votes over K. Ananthagopan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) 297,026; B. Radhakrishna Menon of the Bharatiya Janata Party 56,294; K. K. Nair of the Bahujan Samaj Party 22,424; and Mani C. Kap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shasta (deity)
Shasta ( IAST Śāstā) is a Hindu deity of Dravidian origin, usually associated with Shiva and Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, Shasta is considered to be another name of Ayyappan, described as the offspring of Shiva and Mohini. His principal function is to act as a kuladevata of a given clan, as well as act as a guardian of a village's boundaries. In South India, he is identified with the Ayyanar in Tamil Nadu and the Ayyappan in Kerala. Significance ''Shasta'' is a generic term that means "Teacher, Guide, Lord, Ruler" in Sanskrit. In South India, a number of deities are associated with Shasta. The Tamil song ''Shasta Varavu'' states that there are eight important incarnations and forms of Shasta. This is also present in the agamic work ''Dyana Ratnavali''. The ''Ashta-Shasta'' (eight Shastas) are ''Aadhi Maha Shasta'', ''Dharma Shasta'' (Ayyappan), ''Gnana Shasta'', ''Kalyana Varadha Shasta'', ''Sammohana Shasta'', ''Santhana Prapti Shasta'', ''Veda Shasta'' and ''Veera Sh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Indus River, Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic peoples, Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sabarimala
The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 10 to 15 million devotees visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to a Hindu ''Brahmachari'' (Celibate) deity Ayyappan also known as ''Dharma Shasta'', who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions. The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m (4,134 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. Whil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative centre, with possible additional towns, and usually a number of villages. The terms in India have replaced earlier terms, such as '' pargana'' ('' pergunnah'') and '' thana''. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a newer unit called mandal (circle) has come to replace the system of tehsils. It is generally smaller than a tehsil, and is meant for facilitating local self-government in the panchayat system. In West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, community development blocks are the empowered grassroots administrative unit, replacing tehsils. As an entity of local government, the tehsil office ( panchayat samiti) exercises certain fiscal and administrative power over the villages and municipalities within its jurisdiction. It is the ultimate e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ranni, Kerala
Ranni or Ranny is a town in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India, and the 16th largest ''taluk'' (administrative division) in Kerala, located on both sides of the Pamba River.It Is Located 30 km From Thiruvalla Railway Station & NH 183 in Thiruvalla.Buses Ply Every 5 minutes From Thiruvalla To Ranni & Vice Versa Etymology The name ''Ranni'' is derived from a word in Malayalam which means "Queen", or ''Rani''. The town is known as "The Queen of the Eastern Hill Lands" (മലനാടിന്റെ റാണി). History The history of Ranni can be traced back 5000 years to the early settlement of Adi Dravidans around Sabarimala and Nilakkal. The temple at Sabarimala dates back 2000 years. The deity's sitting posture and resemblance of the prayer 'Sharanam vili' to "Buddham Sharanam / Sangam Sharanam" points to the area's Buddhist past. The word 'Ayya' is a Buddhist Pali word that means Lord/God. An ancient trade route used to pass through Nilackal between Kera ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ayyappa
Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion to Ayyappan has been prevalent earlier in South India, his popularity rose only in the late 20th century. According to Hindu theology, he is the son of Harihara (Vishnu in the form of Mohini, and Shiva).Constance Jones and Ryan James (2014), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, , page 58 Ayyappan is also referred to as Ayyappa, Sastavu, Hariharasudhan, Manikandan, Shasta or Dharma Shasta and Sabarinath. The iconography of Ayyappan depicts him as a handsome celibate ( Brahmachari) deity doing yoga and as an epitome of Dharma, who wears a bell around his neck. In the Hindu tradition popular in the Western Ghats of India, he was born with the powers of Shiva and Vishnu to confront and defeat the shape-shifting evil Buffalo demones ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kerala State
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Thiruvithamkoor. Spread over , Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The Chera dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala. The Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north formed the other kingdoms in the early years of the Common Era (CE). The region had been a prominent spice exporter ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538. The Hindu pilgrim centre Sabarimala is situated in the Pathanamthitta district; as the main transport hub to Sabarimala, the town is known as the 'Pilgrim Capital of Kerala'. Pathanamthitta District, the thirteenth revenue district of the State of Kerala, was formed with effect from 1 November 1982, with headquarters at Pathanamthitta. Forest covers more than half of the total area of the District. Pathanamthitta District ranks the 7th in area in the State. The district has its borders with Allepey, Kottayam, Kollam and Idukki districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Nearest City Is Thiruvalla,Located At A Distance Of 30 km .Thiruvalla Railway Station Is 30 km via Thiruvalla-Kumbazha Highway.Buses Ply Every 4 Minutes From Thiruvalla To Pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ranni Forest Division
The Ranni Forest Division in Kerala, India, was constituted on 7 July 1958, comprising the Ranni, Vadasserikkara, and Goodrical ranges, with its headquarters at Ranni. It covers the parts of Konni reserve forest and the reserves of Ranni, Goodrical, Rajampara, Karimkulam, Kumaramperoor, Valiyakavu, and Schettakkal. It covers an area of . Types of forests and composition Reserve forests covering and vested forests covering are the major types of forests in this division. The Ranni Forest Division, with its natural beauty and richness in flora and fauna, is a storehouse of many varieties of plants and animals. The forests in the Ranni range can be classified into the following categories. *West coast tropical evergreen forests *West coast semi-evergreen forests *Southern moist mixed deciduous forests *Southern sub tropical wet hill forests *Southern montane wet temperate forests *Reed breakes *Grass lands *Manmade forests Divisions of Ranni forest Goodrical range The G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |