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Velakali
Velakali is a traditional martial dance of Nair community of Kerala, India that is performed during Temple Festivals of Kerala, temple festivals. Brightly dressed dancers wielding swords and shields depict a fight sequence between the Pandavas and Kauravas during the course of the dance. Myth behind Velakali There are several legends associated with the origin and history of Velakali. One such legend talks of the sage Narada witnessing Lord Krishna and his friends staging a mock battle on the banks of the Kalindi River, Kalindi using the stalks and leaves of the Nymphaeaceae, water lily as swords and shields. Narada then requested the sage Villumangalam to capture the martial vigour of the mock fight in a ritualistic performance for Krishna. Villumangalam in turn requested the ruler of Ambalapuzha to teach young men to perform the dance and so the ruler asked his army chieftains Mathoor Panicker and Velloor Kurup to ready a troupe of Velakali performers. Since the dancers wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patayani
Padayani, also known Padeni (from the Malayalam word for military formations), is a traditional folk dance and a ritual art from the central portion of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. A ceremonial dance involving masks, it is an ancient ritual performed in Bhagavati temples. The dance is performed in honor of Bhadrakaali. Meaning, a 'row of warriors', Padayani is an art form that blends all music, dance, theatre, satire, facial masks, and paintings. It is part of worship of Bhadrakali and is staged in temples dedicated to the goddess from mid-December to mid-May. Padayani is unique to central Travancore, comprising the Pathanamthitta district, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam district, Kottayam districts of Kerala. It is also performed in adjoining regions of Kollam, Alappuzha districts. Padayani is regarded as a remnant of the Dravidian forms of worship that existed before the advent of Brahmanism. Padayani is like Theyyam in north Kerala. The percussi ... [...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] |
Maddalam
The maddalam or madhalam (Malayalam: മദ്ദളം) is a drum made out of the wood of the jackfruit tree. It has two sides for playing, made out of leather, and has different kind of sounds on each side. The maddalam is a heavy instrument which is hung around the waist of the person playing, and the player stands all the while to perform. The maddalam is a vital instrument in traditional Kerala percussion ensembles like Panchavadyam, Keli and Kathakali orchestra. Except for the central projection, the Maddalam resembles a Mridangam in shape. Etymology The name Madhalam is derived from the word ''Mardhalam'' which means 'one which receives pressure'. In Sanskrit the instrument is called as Mardhalam. Using style In ancient times Madhalam was played by suspending it from the neck of the player and later in the 1920s Madhalam maestro Venkichan Swamy changed the style to the way it was suspended from the waist of the player. See also * Pandi Melam * Panchari melam * Tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panchavadyam
Panchavadyam (Malayalam: പഞ്ചവാദ്യം), literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, kombu, is a wind instrument. Much like any chenda melam, panchavadyam is characterised by a pyramid-like rhythmic structure with a constantly increasing tempo coupled with a proportional decrease in the number of beats in cycles. However, in contrast to a chenda melam, panchavadyam uses different instruments (though ilathalam and kompu are common to both), is not related very closely to any temple ritual and, most importantly, permits much personal improvisation while filling up the rhythmic beats on the timila, maddalam and idakka. Panchavadyam bases itself on the seven-beat thripuda (also spelt thripuda) thaalam ( taal) but amusingly sticks to the pattern of the eight-beat chemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vazhappally Arattu Velakali
Vazhappally is a suburb of Changanasserry Municipality, Kottayam District, in central Kerala. The famous Vazhappally Shiva Temple is situated in Vazhappally. Vazhappally is a part of Changanacherry Taluk in Kottayam District. It is located in the city of Changanacherry and Vazhappally Panchayath. The ancient Vazhappally gramam (village) was shifted to the Changanassery Municipality, so small portions of the village were reunited in the Municipal Town of Changanassery, while the rest were reconstructed in the Vazhappally Gram Panchayat. The origin of the name Vazhappally is "Vazhkai Pally" () means let the temple win. There are various theories as to the origin of the word 'Pally'. Pally is a word in the Pali language.SN Sadasivan - A Social History of India പുറം 9/ref> History The temple was very popular in the second Chera dynasty. After the fall of the Cheras, the place came under several rulers, the Thekkumkur and Travancore kings were prominent, witnessed many brut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandava, Pāṇḍavas. It also contains Hindu philosophy, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the ''Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha (sage), Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an Ramopakhyana, abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyasa, Vy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata War
The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war is used as the context for the dialogues of the ''Bhagavad Gita. Background The ''Mahābhārata'' is an account of the life and deeds of several generations of a ruling dynasty called the Kuru clan. Central to the epic is an account of a war that took place between two rival families belonging to this clan. Kurukshetra (literally "Region of the Kurus"), also known as Dharmakshetra (the "Region of Dharma"), was the battleground on which the Kurukshetra War was fought. The first ''Mahābhārata'' says that this site was chosen because a sin committed on land was forgiven because of the land's sanctity. The events of the war make up more than a quarter of the ''Mahabharata''. These chapters are considered among the oldest in the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Travancore
Central Division or Central Travancore, also known as Kollam District or Quilon Division was one of three (or four) administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore in what is now Kerala. It was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equivalent to a District Collector in British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ... and consisted of 8 taluks — Karthikapally, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta, Ambalappuzha, Chengannur, Kunnathur, Karunagappalli, Adoor, Mavelikkara, Quilon and Kottarakara. The headquarters was the town of Kollam. The Edava Varkala Lake forms the southern border of Central Travancore, while Changanassery in southern Kottayam marks the northern border of Kollam district. North Travancore (present-day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf Hiltebeitel
Alfred John Hiltebeitel (April 10, 1942 - March 12, 2023) was Columbian Professor of Religion, History, and Human Sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., US. His academic specialism was in ancient Sanskrit epics such as the '' Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', together with Indian religious tradition and folklore. Background Hiltebeitel was awarded a B.A. degree from Haverford College, where he majored in religion and minored in English (1959-1963). He attended the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he obtained an M.A. (1966) and a Ph.D. (1973) in the history of religions. His doctoral thesis is entitled ''Gods, Heroes, and Krsna: A Study of the Mahabharata in relation to Indian and Indo-European Symbolisms''. Hiltebeitel was an editorial assistant for Seabury Press in New York City during 1963–1964, and between 1967-1968 he held a similar post with the '' History of Religions Journal''. He was appointed an assistant professor in religion at Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bheema
Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the wind god, which bestowed upon him superhuman strength from birth. His rivalry with the Kauravas, especially Duryodhana, defined much of his life, with this tension ultimately erupting in the Kurukshetra War, where Bhima killed all hundred Kaurava brothers. Bhima's life was filled with extraordinary episodes that showcased his strength and bravery. From childhood, where he was poisoned, to his victories over formidable foes like Bakasura, Hidimba, and Jarasandha, Bhima's adventures are integral to the ''Mahabharata''’s storyline. His raw, earthy nature is reflected in the brutal slaying of his enemies, his immense appetite and his marriage with Hidimbi, a rakshasi (a demoness), who bore him a son, Ghatotkacha, a powerful warrior wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
