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Njan Gandharvan
''Njan Gandharvan'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language romantic fantasy film written and directed by P. Padmarajan. It stars Nitish Bharadwaj and Suparna Anand in lead roles. The film is an esoteric fantasy about a girl and her passion for a Gandharva, who keeps appearing from a wooden statue that she found on a beach but is invisible to others. During the time of its release, it was a box office failure, with purists taking offense to the aesthetically shot intimate scenes. Later, the film has developed a cult following for various reasons, ranging from its aesthetics to its storytelling. The challenges faced during the production of the movie and director Padmarajan's untimely death just after the release contributed heavily to the 'Gandharva curse', a superstition that films made about Gandharvas brings bad luck to the ones involved. Plot On a study tour, Bhama, a final-year degree student, finds a wooden sculpture on the beach. She finds it beautiful and decides t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Padmarajan
Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan (23 May 1945 – 23 January 1991) was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and K. G. George, in the 1980s. Padmarajan was known for his detailed screenwriting and expressive direction style and made some of the landmark motion pictures in Malayalam cinema. He won the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award in 1972 for his novel ''Nakshathrangale Kaval''. He made his directorial debut in 1979 with '' Peruvazhiyambalam'' which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. He won his second National Award in 1986 with '' Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam''. Padmarajan had won six Kerala State Film Awards which includes two awards for Best Story in 1978, 1979 and two awards for Best Screenplay in 1984 and 1986. He has written screenplay for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 218–219. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in Creation myth, creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Rigvedic deities, Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinduja Menon
Vinduja Menon is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema. Her most popular role is the one from the 1994 film '' Pavithram''. She played as Mohanlal's sister in that movie. She took formal classical dance lessons from her mother and at present made her career as a dance teacher. Background Vinduja made her movie debut as a child in the movie, '' Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil'', released in 1985. She is a former Kalathilakam from Kerala School Kalolsavam in 1991, and the first artiste from Thiruvananthapuram to receive this honor. She studied at NSS College for Women in Karamana and did masters in Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram. She is conferred doctorate from Madurai Kamaraj University. She started her career as a drama artist. Personal life Her father is K.P. Vishwanathan Menon, a Government officer, and her mother is Kalamandalam Vimala Menon, founder of Kerala Natya Academy, a prestigious dance institution. She has a brother, Vinod Ku ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philomina
Philomina (1926 – 2 January 2006) was an Indian actress, who worked in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. She acted in more than 750 films in her career. She played mostly character and comedy roles, besides that of mother and grandmother. She started acting on the stage. This experience stood her in good stead when she was offered her first film role. The character of Anappara Achamma in the 1991 film ''Godfather (1991 film), Godfather'', portrayed by her is acknowledged to be one of the most powerful roles ever in Malayalam cinema. Early life Philomina entered the film industry with eight years of experience in professional drama, she worked with the drama troupe of P. J. Antony. She used to say it was her initial experience with an actor like Antony that helped shape her film career. Her parents were perturbed when she had to travel to Chennai for the first shoot. It was Moidu Padiyathu who convinced her parents. Her first movie, ''Kuttikkuppayam'' (1964), prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginity
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof, vary. Heterosexuals may or may not consider loss of virginity to occur only through penile–vaginal penetration, while people of other sexual orientations often include oral sex, anal sex, or manual sex in their definitions of virginity loss. The term "virgin" encompasses a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern, and ethical concepts. Religious rituals for regaining virginity exist in many cultures. Some men and women who practice celibacy after losing their virginity consider themselves born-again virgins. There are cultural and religious traditions that place special value and significance on this state, predominantly towards unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honour, and worth. Like c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalpa (aeon)
A ''kalpa'' is a long period of time (aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe. Etymology ''Kalpa'' () in this context, means "a long period of time (aeon) related to the lifetime of the universe (creation)." It is derived from कॢप् (kḷp) + -अ (-a, nominalizing suffix) (). Hinduism In Hinduism, a ''kalpa'' is a unit of time equal to 4.32 billion years. It corresponds to one day in the life of Brahma, the creator god, and represents the active, creative phase of the cosmic cycle. Each ''kalpa'' is made up of 1,000 '' Yuga Cycles'', vast ages that repeat in a set pattern. A ''kalpa'' is further divided into 14 ''manvantaras''. Each ''manvantara'' lasts for 71 ''Yuga Cycles'', or 306.72 million years. Before the first ''manvantara'' and after each one are transitional periods known as ''sandhyas'', each as long as a ''Satya Yuga''—1.728 million years. At the end of each ''kalpa'', the universe enter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naraka (Hinduism)
Naraka (), also called Yamaloka, is the Hindu equivalent of Hell, where sinners are tormented after death. It is also the abode of Yama, the god of Death. It is described as located in the south of the universe and beneath the earth. The number and names of hells, as well as the type of sinners sent to a particular hell, varies from text to text; however, many scriptures describe 28 hells. After death, messengers of Yama called ''Yamadutas'' bring all beings to the court of Yama, where he weighs the virtues and the vices of the being and passes a judgement, sending the virtuous to Svarga (heaven) and the sinners to one of the hells. The stay in Svarga or Naraka is generally described as temporary. After the quantum of punishment is over, the souls are reborn as lower or higher beings as per their merits (the exception being Hindu philosopher Madhvacharya, who believes in eternal damnation of the Tamo-yogyas in Andhantamas). In Cambodia, Naraka is part of hinduism and is also a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. [3 volumes] Indra is the most frequently mentioned deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers based on his status as a god of order, and as the one who killed the great evil, an Asura (Hinduism), asura named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rain and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in various mythological events. He is depicted as a powerful hero. According to the ''Vishnu Purana'', Indra is the title borne by the king of the gods, which changes every Manvantara – a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology. Each Manvantara has its own Indra and the In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 218–219. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in Creation myth, creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Rigvedic deities, Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gandharvas
A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are regarded to be the celestial demigods who serve as the musicians of the devas. It is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music. In Buddhism, this term also refers to a being in the intermediate state (between death and rebirth). In Hinduism In Hinduism, the gandharvas () are a class of minor deities who serve as divine musicians in Hindu mythology. The term gandharva is present in Vedic sources (including in the Rigveda) as a singular deity. According to Oberlies, "In mandala I, IX and X the gandharva is presented as a celestial being (dwelling near the Sun / in the heavenly waters) which watches over the Soma (apparently) for the benefit of the gods and the sacrificers." The gandharva also "receives the Soma from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumburu
Tumburu () is the foremost among the gandharvas, the celestial musicians of Hindu mythology. Accounts depict him performing in the courts of the deities Kubera and Indra, and as singing the praises of Vishnu. He is said to lead the gandharvas in their singing. Legend Origin Tumburu is described as the son of Sage Kashyapa, and his wife, Pradha. Along with the other three gandharva sons of Kashyapa, Bahu, Haha, and Huhu, he is renowned for his sweet and pleasant speech. Tumburu is often described as the best among the gandharvas in his musical talent. A "mighty singer and musician", he sings in presence of the devas. Besides Narada and Gopa, he is also regarded as the king of songs. Rivalry with Narada The ''Bhagavata Purana'' considers Narada to be the teacher of Tumburu. The scripture mentions that Tumburu accompanied him on a visit to the court of Yudhishthira. Narada and Tumburu are said to sing the glories of Vishnu. The ''Adbhuta Ramayana'' mentions that Tumburu w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudraksha
A ''rudraksha'' (IAST: ') refers to the dried Pyrena, stones or seeds of the genus ''Elaeocarpus'' specifically, ''Elaeocarpus ganitrus''. These stones serve as prayer beads for Hinduism, Hindus (especially Shaivism, Shaivas) and Buddhism, Buddhists. When they are ripe, ''rudraksha'' stones are covered by a blue outer fruit so they are sometimes called "blueberry beads". The stones are associated with the Hindu deity Shiva and are commonly worn for protection and for chanting mantras such as Om Namah Shivaya (; ). They are primarily sourced from India, Indonesia, and Nepal for jewellery and japamala, malas (garlands) and valued similarly to semi-precious stones. ''Rudraksha'' can have up to twenty one "faces" (, ) or locules – naturally ingrained longitudinal lines which divide the stone into segments. Each face represents a particular deity. Etymology ''Rudraksha'' is a Sanskrit compound word consisting of "''Rudra''"() referring to Shiva and "'"() meaning "eye". Sanskri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
