| Temples & Legends Of
Tamilnadu |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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INTRODUCTION |
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| The worship of
idols, or Archavatara, is as old as the Vedas and Agamas running into the remotest past.
When Arjuna remonstrated with Krishna that he would not break his fast without his Siva.
pu , and when he could not perform his puja that day, his idols having been left behind,
his craving for a concrete form for his Siva puja was satisfied by Sri Krishna sitting
down and folding his legs and arms in suc a way as to resemble a Siva linga.Ekalavya
proceeded to make an image of Drona. For his Acharya worship and Aradhana to attain
proficiency in the art he wanted to learn, archery. Excavations in many places like Mohenjo Daro, etc. reveal innumerable proofs
of idol worship aeons and aeons ago. Panini (6th century B.C.) refers to idols and
temples. Patanjali (2nd century B.C.) refers to such worship. It was quite common in
the time of Yaska. Temples are mentioned in the Ramayana. Archa form is in a general
manner the image of man. In the Agamas the idols or Vigrahams are described thus: "An
object of stone. |
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