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Makara Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a leap year), this occasion marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (''dhanu'') to Capricorn ('' makara''). As this transition coincides with the sun's movement from south to north, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, and is observed to mark a new beginning. Across India, the occasion is celebrated with numerous multi-day festivals. The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names including ''Sankranthi or Peddha Panduga'' in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ''Khichari'' in Bhojpuri region, '' Magh Bihu'' in Assam, ''Maghi Saaji'' in Himachal Pradesh, '' Makaravilakku'' in Kerala, Makara sankranti in Karnataka, ''Maghi Sangrand'' in Punjab, ''Pongal'' in Tamil Nadu, ''Maghi Sangrand'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Basis Of The Hindu Calendar
The Hindu calendar is based on a geocentric model of the Solar System.Burgess 1935, p. 285 (XII. 32) A geocentric model describes the Solar System as seen by an observer on the surface of the Earth. The Hindu calendar defines nine measures of time ( IAST:):Burgess 1935, p. 310 (XIV. 1) # brāhma māna # divya māna # pitraya māna # prājāpatya māna # guror māna # saura māna # sāvana māna # candra māna # nākṣatra māna Of these, only the last four are in active use and are explained here. Candra māna The ''candra māna'' () of the Hindu calendar is defined based on the movement of the Moon around the Earth. The new moon () and full moon () are important markers in this calendar. The ''candra māna'' of the Hindu calendar defines the following Synodic Period, synodic calendar elements: Pakṣa A ''pakṣa'' () is the time taken by the Moon to move from a new moon to a full moon and vice versa. The Lunar phase#Waxing and waning, waxing phase of the moon is kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makara
Makara () is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, and of the god of the ocean, Varuna. Makara are considered guardians of gateways and thresholds, protecting throne rooms as well as entryways to temples; it is the most commonly recurring creature in Hindu and Buddhist temple iconography, and also frequently appears as a gargoyle or as a spout attached to a natural spring. Makara-shaped earrings called ''Makarakundalas'' are sometimes worn by Hindu deities, for example Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, and Chandi. Makara is also the insignia of the love god Kamadeva, who has no dedicated temples and is also known as ''Makaradhvaja'', "one whose flag depicts a makara". Etymology ''Makara'' is a Sanskrit word which means "sea-animal, crocodile". Several German scientists argued that makara is based on the dugong instead, based on rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vishnu is known as ''The Preserver'' within the Trimurti, the triple deity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' () (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the Hindu cosmology, universe. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the supreme being is with qualities (Saguna Brahman, Saguna), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songkran (Thailand)
Thai New Year Ach Vidyagama (George Bradley McFarland), Phra. (1944). "สงกรานต์", ''Thai-English Dictionary''. CA, United States: Stanford University Press. 1,058 pp. Glen Lewis. (2007). "Thai tourism take 1: a land of diversity and refinement", ''Virtual Thailand The Media and Cultural Politics in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore (Rethinking Southeast Asia)''. NY, United States: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F Informa plc.). 241 pp. . "April 'Songkran Splendours' (Thai New Year, nationalwide)" or Songkran (, ), also known as Songkran Festival, Songkran Splendours, is the Thai New Year's national holiday. Songkran is on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to seven days, 9–16 April, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday. In 2019, the holiday was observed from 9–16 April as 13 April fell on a Saturday. In 2024, Songkran was extended to span nearl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories of India by area, fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the List of states and union territories of India by population, ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. The Gujarati people, Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language, Gujarati language, Gujarati, is the state's official language. The state List of Indus Valley civilisation sites#List of Indus Valley sites discovered, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uttarayana
The term Uttarāyaṇa (commonly Uttarayanam) is derived from two different Sanskrit words – "uttaram" (North) and "ayanam" (movement) – thus indicating the northward movement of the Sun. In the Gregorian calendar, this pertains to the "actual movement of the sun with respect to the earth." Also known as the six month period that occurs between the winter solstice and summer solstice (approximately 20 December - 20 June). According to the Indian solar calendar, it refers to the movement of the Sun through the zodiac. This difference is because the solstices continually precess at a rate of 50 arcseconds per year due to the precession of the equinoxes, i.e. this difference is the difference between the sidereal and tropical zodiacs. The Surya Siddhanta bridges this difference by juxtaposing the four solstitial and equinoctial points with four of the twelve boundaries of the rashis. The complement of Uttarayana is Dakshinayana (the southward movement of the Sun). It is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Reorganisation Act, and renamed ''Karnataka'' in 1973. The state is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the List of states and union territories of India by population, eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 List of districts in India, districts. With 15,257,000 residents, the state capital Bengaluru is the largest city of Karnataka. The economy of Karnataka is among the most productive in the country with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and a per capita GSDP of for the financial year 2023– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 Kingdom of Cochin, Cochin, Malabar District, Malabar, South Canara, and Travancore. Spread over , Kerala is the 14th List of states and union territories of India by area, smallest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Laccadive Sea, Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 Census of India, 2011 census, Kerala is the List of states of India by population, 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 List of districts of Kerala, 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 f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makaravilakku
Makaravilakku is a fire lit by the Travancore Devaswom Board secretly on the Makara Jyothi day for 3 times at ponnambalamedu with the help of Forest department, KSEB, Kerala police and other agencies of Government of Kerala. It can be seen from Sabarimala beneath the celestial star Sirius. Ponnambalamedu is at a height of 1170m and sabarimala is at a height of 544m above mean sea level. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of the deity Ayyappan) procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. An estimated half a million devotees flow to Sabarimala every year to view the fire. Raman Nair, who headed the Devaswom Board under the Congress government said “It’s the police and officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board who would jointly light the fire at Ponnambalamedu on the orders of the state government” This lighting of the flame at the summit of the hill marks the finale of the pilgrimage season at Sabarimala which lasts ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan Region, mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring List of mountain peaks of Himachal Pradesh, several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab (India), Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as ''Dev Bhoomi'', meaning 'Land of Gods' and ''Veer Bhoomi'' which means 'Land of the Brave'. The pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, northeastern India by area and the largest in terms of population, with more than 31 million inhabitants. The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese language, Assamese and Bodo language, Bodo are two of the official languages for the entire state and Meitei language, Meitei (Manipuri language, Manipuri) is recognised as an additional official language in three districts of Barak Valley and Hojai district. in Hojai district and for the Barak valley region, alongside Bengali language, Bengali, which is also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhojpuri Region
Bhojpur is a ethnolinguistic and cultural area in the Indian subcontinent where the Bhojpuri language is spoken as a mother tongue. The Bhojpuri region encompasses parts of the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, and the Madhesh Province, Madhesh, Gandaki Province, Gandaki and Lumbini Province, Lumbini provinces of Nepal. History Pre-history and Antiquity The earliest known evidence of Human settlement in the region are the Cave painting of Kaimur district, Kaimur . The first Neolithic settlement found in this region is in Chirand of Saran district, Saran, which dates back 2500-1500 B.C. and is contemporary to the Indus Valley Civilisation, Harrapans. Historically, the region was part of Malla Kingdom, Malla and Kāsī (kingdom), Kashi Mahajanapadas. Varanasi, known as the center of the Bhojpuri cultural region is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Etymology The Bhojpuri region received its name after the town of Bhojpur district, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
