The cultural role of the temple

-
The cultural role of the Temple
In the Hindu tradition the temple was also meant for other purposes besides fulfilling the spiritual need of the society. It was also s place for secular learning, for spiritual discourse, for the celebration of special festivals and for patronizing music and arts. Whether a person was a painter, sculptor, dancer or a musician, he could come express his or her art in the Temple as worship to the lord. The Temples were also places where people could come together socially or to share experiences of s spiritual nature. They also served the purpose of the total culture and social awakening and upliftment of the people, just like community centres of today.
The Temple represents the physical body and the garbha grha(sanctum sanctorum) is its heart, wherein we experience the presence of the lord.
In south India temples especially, the whole complex is huge on the outside, but the actual place where the Lord's idol is kept is very small. Inside the garbha grha it is always dark, and when you go near the altar, the priest will offer a camphor light by which you can see the form of the lord.
So far I have explained the need for, and the significance if the Temple. This field is vast. But knowing even this much will bring meaning and beauty to our worship.
Tanjavur temple

By
Ishwarya. B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dollu kunitha- Karnataka famous dance

-
Image
DOLLU KUNITHA An electric folk dance form, dollu refers to the drum and kunitha means dance in Kannada. Originally this was a very popular entertainment for village folks, in the days when television didn't exist. Every hamlet or village had a Dolly kunitha;most have one even today. A team consists of twelve -fourteen dancer's with one central singer - cum - director who has one metal instrument that he uses to set rhythm. Over the years, Dolly kunitha has became a revered folk dance in Karnataka. Every official function, any big occasion, a Dollu team is called. When u visit the Sharavathy u must experience a Dollu performance; it's a must. When u see pictures it might seen like any other dance, but the energy it generates is electric. The beat of the drum, the calls of the dancers, the rhetoric it generates and the setting against which it is performed mostly in a large grounds by the side of the village or a harvested paddy field so that the gathering may sit aro...
Read more

ELEMENTS OF KERALA CULTURE:

-
Image
CUISINE: The food of Kerala consist of a wide variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian food. The food consist of fish ,meat, poultry and rice preparations. Kerala food is loaded with many spices. Coconut is grown abundant in kerala.  Hence they use coconut oil and milk in thickening flavours. Kerala food consist of many rice preparations like idly , dosa etc..Chillies ,curry leaves,mustard seeds,turmeric powder are frequently used. CLOTHING: Women  of kerala wear saree and blouse. During festivals  they wear set sarees called KASAVU.  Men wear MUNDU, which is a long piece of garment wrapped  around their waist  . Mundu ,an integral part of kerala culture is similar to a lungi and a dhoti. Younger generations mostly wear western clothing and they hesitate to wear traditional clothes. ARCHITECTURE: The architecture of kerala is unique and quite contrast to the dravidian style of architecture commonly found in other parts of south. The structure ...
Read more

Sandalwood of Karnataka

-
Image
                       SANDALWOOD     Binomial name: santalum album                                  The sandalwood forest region of Karnataka, the city of Mysore is popular for its production of fragrant sandalwood products and is commonly referred as the sandalwood city of Karnataka. Mysore sandalwood is popular for its quality and fragrance.            The twigs and the bark of the semi parasitic sandalwood tree are used to make cosmetics, perfumes, incense stick, essential oil and powered talc.      The tree have many herbal and medicinal values. The sandalwood has been a great boon to the traders over the years.  It reaches its full maturity after 80 years. In India, sandalwood is primarily distributed in Deccan plateau. Due to its high value and in...
Read more