By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore Once the festival season begins, they come with a bang and these festivals are celebrated all over the country with devotion. The methods adopted may look different but the inner motto is to remember the divinity. This actually happened…
Ugadi heralds New Year Vilambi
March 17, 2018By Prof.A.V. Narasimha Murthy Yugadi, also pronounced as Ugadi, is a Sanskrit form of the Kannada word ugadi. It means the beginning of the yuga and it should not be taken literally because yuga symbolically represents the year or time which is eternal and waits for no man. That is why the popularity of the…
Shivaratri, a Night Dedicated to Shiva
February 11, 2018By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, Former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore Shivaratri is celebrated all over India and in our city too. It is referred to as ‘Shivaratri’ perhaps because devotees worship Shiva throughout the night. This is particularly true with regard to most Shiva temples. According to mythology, Shiva performed…
The origins of Republic
January 28, 2018By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy Indians celebrated Republic Day, popularly known as Ganarajyotsava with all solemnity and patriotism that it deserved. Years ago, I was in Delhi for some official work with Union Public Service Commission and I got a pass to witness the great spectacle of Ganarajyotsava from a vantage point and that is…
Glorious Suttur Jathre
January 13, 2018By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore The Kannada word Jathre (Jathra) is derived from the Sanskrit word Yatra and it is generally associated with a God, Goddess or a Saint or Jagadguru of a Mutt. In our country, Jathres are held at important Holy places…
Tradition of South Indian Coinage
January 7, 2018By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore South India, comprising Karnataka, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, has a distinctive system of coinage from ancient times which continued till recently when the Britishers introduced almost a common system of coinage for the entire country with some exceptions…
Salutations to Saint Kanakadasa
December 24, 2017By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore South India in general and Karnataka in particular abounds in contemporary or near contemporary saints who are still a religious force. Recently (6.11.2017) the birth anniversary of Saint Kanakadasa was celebrated with religious fervour in many parts of Karnataka…
Birth of Kannada Sahitya Parishat
November 18, 2017Kannada Sahitya Parishat has a history of its own and has passed through various stages to come to its own as we see it today. An organisation called Sampadabhyudaya Samaja organised a conference in 1914 and its annual conference discussed the issues relating to the development of Kannada. In that conference it was decided that…
Vidhana Soudha hits the diamond
November 5, 2017By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore For most of the traditional people Diamond Jubilee does not seem to be a familiar concept but we are all familiar with Shashti Poorthi which literally means attaining the age of sixty. Individuals who attain sixty years celebrate this…
Significance of Naraka Chaturdashi
October 21, 2017By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore Deepavali translated as festival of lights is a three-day celebration. The first day is Naraka Chaturdashi, the second day is New Moon Day (Lakshmi Puja) and the third day is Balipadyami. All our festivals generally have a mythological background…
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