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    Samode Palace near Jaipur

    Samode Palace near Jaipur

    Char Bangla Temple, Azimganj, West Bengal

    Char Bangla Temple, Azimganj, West Bengal

    Was BNR House in Garden Reach Kolkata Wajid Ali Shah’s Sultan Mahal?

    Was BNR House in Garden Reach Kolkata Wajid Ali Shah’s Sultan Mahal?

    Sarai Nur Mahal in Punjab

    Sarai Nur Mahal in Punjab

    The Moorish Mosque in Kapurthala, Punjab

    The Moorish Mosque in Kapurthala, Punjab

    Tomb of Haji Jamal in Nakodar, Punjab

    Tomb of Haji Jamal in Nakodar, Punjab

    The Tomb of Ustad Muhammad Mumin Hussain in Nakodar, Punjab

    The Tomb of Ustad Muhammad Mumin Hussain in Nakodar, Punjab

    The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Hathikh ana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

    The Gajantak incarnation of Lord Shiva on the Outer Walls of Kalinjar Fort

    Amravati Ashram in Chitrakoot

    Mrigdhara in Kalinjar Fort, Bundelkhand

    Mrigdhara in Kalinjar Fort, Bundelkhand

    Kal Bhairava in Sati Ansuyya ghat in Chitrakoot

    Kal Bhairava in Sati Ansuyya ghat in Chitrakoot

    Kal Bhairava in Kalinjar Fort

    Kal Bhairava in Kalinjar Fort

    Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha

    Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha

    Dandeshwar group of Temples near Almora

    Dandeshwar group of Temples near Almora

    Moti Bagh Mosque, Agra

    Moti Bagh Mosque, Agra

    The art of khatamband or decorative ceilings of Kashmir

    The art of khatamband or decorative ceilings of Kashmir

    Rozabal in Srinagar, Kashmir

    Rozabal in Srinagar, Kashmir

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      Samode Palace near Jaipur

      Samode Palace near Jaipur

      Char Bangla Temple, Azimganj, West Bengal

      Char Bangla Temple, Azimganj, West Bengal

      Was BNR House in Garden Reach Kolkata Wajid Ali Shah’s Sultan Mahal?

      Was BNR House in Garden Reach Kolkata Wajid Ali Shah’s Sultan Mahal?

      Sarai Nur Mahal in Punjab

      Sarai Nur Mahal in Punjab

      The Moorish Mosque in Kapurthala, Punjab

      The Moorish Mosque in Kapurthala, Punjab

      Tomb of Haji Jamal in Nakodar, Punjab

      Tomb of Haji Jamal in Nakodar, Punjab

      The Tomb of Ustad Muhammad Mumin Hussain in Nakodar, Punjab

      The Tomb of Ustad Muhammad Mumin Hussain in Nakodar, Punjab

      The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Hathikh ana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Hathikhana or Khan e Dauran’s estate in Agra

      The Gajantak incarnation of Lord Shiva on the Outer Walls of Kalinjar Fort

      Amravati Ashram in Chitrakoot

      Mrigdhara in Kalinjar Fort, Bundelkhand

      Mrigdhara in Kalinjar Fort, Bundelkhand

      Kal Bhairava in Sati Ansuyya ghat in Chitrakoot

      Kal Bhairava in Sati Ansuyya ghat in Chitrakoot

      Kal Bhairava in Kalinjar Fort

      Kal Bhairava in Kalinjar Fort

      Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha

      Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha

      Dandeshwar group of Temples near Almora

      Dandeshwar group of Temples near Almora

      Moti Bagh Mosque, Agra

      Moti Bagh Mosque, Agra

      The art of khatamband or decorative ceilings of Kashmir

      The art of khatamband or decorative ceilings of Kashmir

      Rozabal in Srinagar, Kashmir

      Rozabal in Srinagar, Kashmir

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      The Gajantak incarnation of Lord Shiva on the Outer Walls of Kalinjar Fort

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      https://youtu.be/bC-0C7KMPUo

      The fort of Kalinga in the south-western corner of district Banda in UP is on the border of Madhya Pradesh.This fort has a long and ancient history and has been apart from a city tell an important place of pilgrimage. The fort is located on a plateau which has a vertical scarp of around 40 feet all round thus making it almost impregnable

      Beyond that is a 30 foot wall there are various entrances to it built into its wall
      as it was built in the rocky hills it also had many rock shelters in the sky up below the rampart in which ascetics left as borne by the many scriptures and has a number of religious places. I have already made a video of the very famous temple Neelkanth and mrigdhara both of which are famous. Today I am going to showcase The rock cut sculpture amazing in its design and scope and some thing that has not been viewed by many people.We set of with Samir Kher of Deep Dive India and Sanatkada Heritage to see this spectacular piece of art.Samir warned is it was a difficult walk along the ramparts and that we would need to go outside the fort gates to see one of it’s outer walls.The walk was indeed tough but spectacular.Going out of the Panna and to tje toad going down to the village.But instead of going down to the village we climbed towards a n area called Mandukya Bhairava. Bhairava as we all know is one of the incarnations of Lord Shiva and that’s whom we were going to see.But what or who was Mandukya? That’s the name by which the Shiva sculpture is described in the inscriptions all around it on the rockface by pilgrims & devotees.It’s a name used for a frog, but though there’s a deep reservoir there called Bhairav jhirka it’s too deep for frogs to survive.I emailed Mr. Vijay Kumar whose detailed article in the Indian journal of Archaeology on the inscriptions of Kalinjar told me about the name. He replied that a “A plant called nirgundi also known as meudi grows in abundance in that area.I think this place is named after this weed.”Finally we had taken the turn and above me were again steep steps and the image we had come to see.
      I am talking of a huge sculpture called into the wall of Lord Shiva as the Gajantaka or Gajasursamharamurti which is an aggressive / destructive form of Shiva as a martial lord who killed an elephant demon. The story occurs in a couple of Puranas as well as some other sources. The killing was so violent that he skinned him and danced within his hide—which is why in some examples he dances on the elephant’s head and lifts the hind legs up.

      When a demon (Rakshasa) assumed the form of an elephant and terrorized Brahmins who were worshipping the linga, Shiva emerged from this linga, slew the demon, and removed the elephant skin, thereafter wearing the hide on his upper body.This icon waa popular in Pallava and Chola art, which portrayed him dancing vigorously in the flayed elephant hide of Gajasura.What makes the image in Kalinjar very special us that it’s 5th century Gupta Era. the sculpture of Elephanta of circa A.D. 550

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.