Tattva

Interesting facts about Hinduism and Bharat 

Angkor Wat

Maha Kumbh Mela

Takshashila and Nalanda

Indonesian currency

Brihadeswar

World’s Tallest Murugan Statue

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia, is the largest Hindu temple in the world. Built during the 12^th century, under the reign of King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat is one of the world’s grandest and most visited temples. The temple covers an area of about 200 acres and features exquisite examples of Khmer and Hindu art.

Maha Kumbh Mela

The Maha Kumbh Mela, which takes place every twelve years in Prayag during the months of January and February, brings together millions of devotees from around the world. The Kumbh is held at the confluence of the
Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. The major event of this festival is a ritual bath in the Ganga river. The Kumbh has a long history of over 12,000 years. Thirty million people came to the mela in 2001; it was the largest gathering of human beings in history. The mela was so huge that it was visible and photographed by a satellite in outer space.

Takshashila, the world’s oldest university, was established in India in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The brilliant economist and politician, Chanakya, was a professor at Takshashila and composed parts of his famous Arthashastra there. The University of Nalanda, established in the 4th century, was another great educational achievement of Ancient India. Nalanda had eight separate compounds, a nine-storied library, and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and classrooms. The university attracted thousands of pupils and scholars from India, Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, but has been influenced by Hindu culture enough to have Lord Ganesha depicted on its currency.

Brihadeswara 

The world’s first granite temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara (crown) of the temple is made from a single 80-ton piece of granite. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 CE and 1009 CE), during the reign of Rajaraja Chola. One of its many amazing features is a huge figure of Nandi carved out of a single stone; the statue of Nandi stands 13 feet tall and 18 feet long.

World’s Tallest Murugan Statue at Batu Caves, Malaysia

Murugan is a popular Hindu deity, and is worshipped primarily by South Indians in India and abroad. The tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world is located in Malaysia.  Here are some facts about the statue:

• · Height: 42.7 meters (about 140 feet)
• · Location: Sri Subramaniar
  Temple at the foot of
  Batu Caves, Malaysia
• · Cost: 2.5 million Malaysian Ringgit (approximately 670,000 U.S. Dollars)
• · Construction: 1,550 cubic meters (5,085 cubic feet) of concrete , 250 tons of steel bars, and 300 liters (79 gallons) of gold paint brought in from neighboring Thailand.
• · Duration/Manpower: Fifteen Indian sculptors worked on the project for three years. It was unveiled on January 29, 2006.  

Aparna Garg is an undergraduate student at Boston University, studying journalism. Her interests are karate and reading. You can reach her at aparna.garg@yahoo.com  

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at 3:05 pm and is filed under Did You Know?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.