Lord Shiva Feeds a Stone Elephant

Sham S. Misri

Madurai (southern Tamil Nadu, India) was once ruled by a Pandian King by the name of Abidhega Pandian. He was a great devotee of Shiva and one day Lord Shiva decided to grace him. Shiva came as a miracle performer who appears simultaneously in a number of places. He was changing older people to look younger; he turned iron into gold and cured much illness. He becomes a well talked miracle performer.

News about him spread all over and reached to the knowledge of the king. The king was eager to see this miracle performer and send his guard to bring the miracle performer before him. But the miracle performer refused to follow the guards, instead sends news that whoever wants to see him must come to him since there is nothing for him to gain from the King.

As the King started to hear more about this miracle performer, the more was the urgency of the King to see this performer. One day, the King decided to go to the temple. Upon seeing him, all his subjects stood up and bowed in respect .The miracle performer was there too. He did not stand up and gave his respect like the others. The king was somewhat curious as to who this person is, he started to inquire about the miracle performer. The miracle performer of course replied, saying that since he has travelled to many places, every poor people are his relatives. He has mastered the arts of all arts and that he doesn’t feel he is going to benefit anything from the King. The King was taken aback by the man’s reply. He felt that this man is rather rude and haughty and that he should be taught a lesson. He found a farmer nearby with some sugar-cane. He then challenges the miracle performer that if the performer is that powerful as his claim, then he should be able to feed the stone elephant with the sugar-cane. Hearing this, the miracle performer, took the sugar-cane with ease, and looked at the stone elephant gracefully. Suddenly to everyone’s astonishment the elephant trumpeted loudly and stretched out its trunk and took the sugar-cane from the miracle performer’s hand. After eating the sugar-cane, the elephant changed back to stone. The King immediately lay prostrate at the man’s feet. He realised that a person who had such powers could not be an ordinary man but the Lord himself. The miracle performer smiled and Lord Shiva appeared in front of the King. The king was given a boon to be blessed with good children and then The Lord disappeared.

Daksha’s yagna:

Sham S. Misri

The Trinity quarrels continued into feud with Daksha, Brahma’s son. Prajapati Daksh is one of Lord Brahma’s Manas Putra. He was angered and began disliking Lord Shiva, when the latter had cut off Lord Brahma’s fifth head. He later married Prasuti, daughter of Svayambhu Manu, and had many daughters, who married many devas and other rishis.

Prajapati Daksha’s youngest daughter, Sati was Goddess Adi Shakti’s incarnation. She was very dear to him. But when he found out that she was in love with Shiva, he tried his best to keep her away from him. He once imprisoned her in the Daksh Rekha also.

Two of his daughters Revati and Rohini were married to Chandrama (the Moon Lord). But, Chandrama favoured Rohini over Revati which eventually made her sad. When Daksh found out about it, he cursed Chandrama. Then Mahadeva revived Chandrama from this curse of his by placing him on his head.

In order to keep Sati away from Shiva, Prajapati Daksh arranged her marriage with Satbish, a very ugly looking man. To make Satbish handsome, he was advised by Lord Brahma to look for a sculptor named Jatta (who was in fact Lord Shiva himself). Jatta made a handsome sculpture of Satbish, thus making him handsome. But, then Daksha asked Jatta to make him another sculpture, that of Shiva as a Dwarpals, which was made by Jatta. But soon, Satbish understood that Sati was only meant to marry Shiva and thus refused to marry her.

Feeling insulted, he arranged for Sati’s swayamwara. At the swayamwara, Sati chose Shiva by putting the garland around the neck of his statue. Even though Daksha refused the marriage, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma forced him to accept it. He was greatly upset by his daughter marrying Shiva.

Daksha had always hated Shiva. He did not leave a single chance to insult him. One day Daksha organized a grand yajna to which all the gods were invited, with the exception of Sati and Shiva. Wanting to visit her parents, relatives and childhood friends, Sati sought to rationalize this omission. She reasoned within herself that her parents had neglected to make a formal invitation to them only because, as family, such formality was unnecessary; certainly, she needed no invitation to visit her own mother and would go anyway. Shiva sought to dissuade her, but she was resolved upon going; he then provided her with an escort, Nandi and bid her provoke no incident.

Daksha holds a horse sacrifice without Shiva. This revenge was to miscarry. While all the gods troop off to the sacrifice, Sati pleads the father. Daksha repeats the strictures of the early assembly, upon which, in vindication Sati enters the sacrificial fire and gets consumed by flames. Sati, Shiva’s love was gone and he was devastated. An enraged Shiva tore a hair and created the fiercest warrior, Veerabhadra. His body was tall to reach the high heavens; he was as dark as the clouds; he had a thousand arms; three burning eyes, fiery hair and he wore a garland of skulls and carried terrible weapons. Mother Devi created Bhardrakali and provided Shakti energy. Thus Veerabhadra and Bhardrakali were born of the wrath of Shiva and Shakti and personified their anger.

Mahadeva created from his mouth a terrible sound, Being whose very sight could make one’s hair stand on its end. The blazing flames that emanated from his body rendered him exceedingly awful to behold. His arms were many in number and in each was a weapon that struck the beholder with fear. . “I am known by the name of Veerabhadra’’ and I have sprung from the wrath of Rudra. This lady, who is my companion, and who is called Bhardrakali, has sprung from the wrath of the goddess.”

Veerabhadra was ordered to destroy Daksha’s horse sacrifice. Veerabhadra awaits instructions and this, according to Vaayu Purana:  “Lead my army against Daksha and destroy his sacrifice; fear not the Brahmanas, for thou art a portion of my very self”. ‘Spoil the sacrifice of Daksha’. Then the mighty Veerabhadra, having heard the pleasure of his lord, bowed down his head to the feet of Shiva; and starting like a lion loosed from bonds, despoiled the sacrifice of Daksha, knowing that this had been created by the displeasure of Devi. She too in her wrath, as the fearful goddess Rudrakali, accompanied him, with all her train, to witness his deeds.

As directed by Shiva, this ‘fire of fate’ scattered all the gods and cut off Daksha’s head.  Vishnu had a few roles to play here. According to Skanda Purana, when Veerabhadra confronted Vishnu, the former swallows his chakra. That was a lesson for Vishnu to conduct himself wisely.  The gods send Vishnu to plead for Daksha’s life to complete the yagna favouring them. Next the defeated Gods sent Brahma to Kailasa. There Brahma prays to Shiva and asks for pardon. The all-merciful Shiva replaces Daksha’s burnt head with a goat’s head. Shiva is invited to the yagna. There Daksha shows reverence and all the gods salute Shiva. Thereafter Daksha becomes a great Shiva Bhakta. Shiva Tattva here is Lord Shiva representing the Higher Self; Sati as Shakti representing the Heart and Daksha representing the ego. Symbolism of losing your head is related to destroying ego.

Shiva stormed into Daksha’s home and gave himself to insane grief. He retrieved Sati’s body from the embers and clasped her so lovingly. But a lifeless Sati in his arms makes Him emotionally violent and the rhythm of Tandava, encompassing the world seven times with Sati in his arms, makes the universe suffer. Vishnu had to put a stop to this, lest the frenzy of mourning has no meaning to his preserving status. He cuts up Sati’s body, the Shiva-lila that marks the 51 powerful Shakti Peethas.

The Mahabharata version makes clear the Trinity rivalry, making a lesser issue with Brahma than Vishnu’s race for supremacy. In Daksha’s sacrificial hall, Siva inspires fear with his arrow offerings. He hurled the Pinaka, his blazing lightning Thrishula. This destroys the sacrifice which was held in honour of Vishnu and he is struck in the breasts but it is hurled back in equal vigour. Battle flared and as per myths Indra was trampled underfoot, Saraswati’s nose was cut, Mitra’s eyes were put out, Pushan’s teeth knocked off, Chandra was beaten, Agni’s hands were cut off and the whole universe quaked. This was all halted when Brahma intervened. Daksha then declares Shiva’s supremacy.

A battle between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu

 

Sham S. Misri

An anecdote

Nandikeshwar ji narrates:

"Once while travelling lord Brahma reached the abode of Lord Vishnu. He saw lord Vishnu resting on Shesh-Nag and being attended by Garuda and other attendants. When Brahmaji saw that Vishnu did not get up to receive him, he became very angry. A verbal dual erupted between them. It became so severe that a battle was fought between them, which continued for very long time. All the deities arrived from the heaven to watch the battle. They became very worried when they saw no sign of battle coming to an end. They decided to go to lord Shiva, to seek his help.

Anaal-Stambh (The Pillar of Fire)

"Though Lord Shiva knew everything, but still pretending ignorance, he asked about the well beings of the world. The deities told him about the battle, fought between Brahmaji and Vishnuji."

"Lord Shiva then sent his one hundred Ganas to pacify both of them. He too went there accompanied by mother Parvati, boarded on a chariot. When Lord Shiva reached there, he saw that Brahmaji and Vishnuji were about to use their deadly weapons. Fearing the destruction, which these deadly weapons might have caused, Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of pillar of fire between them. Brahmaji and Vishnuji had already released their weapons. Both the weapons fell into that pillar of fire and got destroyed. 

"Brahmaji and Vishnuji were very surprised to see the pillar of fire, which was so enormous in size that it reached the sky and penetrated down the earth. Vishnuji transformed himself into a boar and went to the 'Patal' (nether world) to find the base of that 'Pillar of fire'. But he was unsuccessful in his attempt and came back.

Similarly Brahmaji transformed himself into a swan and flew up in the sky to find its limit. While going through the aerial route he met withered ‘Ketaki’ flowers, which had still some freshness and fragrance left in it."Lord Shiva smiled at the futile attempts of Shrí Brahmaji and Vishnuji.

Khasas

Sham S. Misri

The Brahmanas and the Rajputs call themselves Khasas, a name which they share with many communities in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Among several castes are the Bajgis, or professional musicians, and the Koltas. They are descendants of the aborigines, the survivors of the race belonging to the pre-historic Koll culture.
Their different cultural activities have been recorded in ancient literary works, and particularly the Mahabharata. They throw considerable light on the early stages of the social evolution of man, particularly in India.
The most interesting features of the life of these communities are their polyandrous customs and their history. Culturally, the Khasas appear to be Aryans and they call themselves Rajputs. Inter-marriage between the Brahmans and these Rajputs is very frequent; thus both of them constitute one group. Most of the gods worshiped by these communities are of Hindu origin. Their principal deity, however, is Mahasu.
Lord Mahasu is the chief deity of this area. It has the 9th century stone temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Mahashu Devata Temple by the people of Hanol and nearby villages. The ancient temple of Mahasu Devata is included in the Archaeological Survey of India list of ancient temple in Dehradun circle, Uttarakhand.

  Hanol is a small village about 15kms ahead of Tuni, located on the bank of Tons river.
  Mahasu devata temple
Mahasu, with his three brothers, lived in Kashmir. At the start of Kalyuga, demons wandered over Uttrakhand devouring people and devastating villages. Tribal’s saw the demons, were spreading terror throughout Jaunsar-Bawar.  The greatest demon was Kirmir or (Kirbir Dana,)
As in the epic story of the Pandavas, the demon was eating up the members of the family of a Brahman whose name was Una Bhat (also spelled Huna Bhat). The demon had devoured some of the seven sons of this pious-hearted Brahmin Huna Bhatt. Now the Demon had cast an evil eye on his beautiful wife. He desired to have ‘Kirtaka’ the .wife of the Brahmin. She prayed to Lord Shiva to protect her chastity. It is said that Lord Shiva blinded the demon so that she could run away to her husband.
By now, they were left with three sons and one daughter. They fled to the forests on the banks of the Yamuna, planning to take revenge on the demon. One night the Mahasu brothers appeared to Una Bhat in a dream and advised him to proceed to Kashmir and invoke their aid. Una Bhat immediately set out for Kashmir.

Reaching Kashmir, Una Bhat started doing Devi worship. On doing so the shakti emerged from the ground with flames around and told Huna Bhatt to plough every Sunday a part of his field. He was told that on the seventh Sunday the Mahasu brothers with their ministers and the army would come out and rid the people from the clutches of demon.
Mahasu Devta appears in quadruple form as the four brothers. The legend tells when Krishna disappeared at the end of DwaparYuga the pandavas followed him. They cross the River Tons. Yudhishtra was fascinated by the beauty of place and asked Vishwakarma to build a temple here and stay with Draupadi for nine days. The place subsequently came to known as Hanol, after the name of Huna Bhatt 270
After some time, Huna Bhatt was told by Mahasu to go back to his home (Jaunsar-Bawar) and perform certain rituals and worship Devi. One of the four Mahasus even gave Una Bhat a handful of rice, an earthen vessel and his own staff. He told him that when he was hungry, he had only to strike the staff on the earth to find the rice ready cooked in the vessel.
Keeping the instructions in mind, on the way, Una Bhat threw some rice into the Tons River, rendering the demon Kirbir harmless.
On the first Sunday after his arrival in Jaunsar-Bawar, Una Bhat yoked a heifer to a plough. He had it driven by an unmarried boy, who had never driven the plough before. As he had been told, the plough turned golden and the share silver. Five furrows were ploughed, in each of which a stone image appeared. These represented the four Mahasus and their mother Deolari. The first to appear was Basak, with his thigh transfixed by a plough share. Then came Pibasaka with a wound in his ear; then Baitha with an injured eye. Chalda alone appeared hale and hearty. The first three remained in temples dedicated to them, while Chalda had to be taken in procession from one Khut to another. Deolari, the mother, appeared in the fifth furrow and a temple for her image was erected in a field.
Countless army sprang out like mushrooms from the field. Huna Bhatt did as directed and the whole army of the demon was killed by Mahasu brothers. The demon Kirmir was taken by Chalda Devata in a narrow valley of Mount Khanda. The marks of his sword on the rock can be seen today.
Una Bhat worshipped the Mahasus and ordered his youngest son, to serve them. The second son was directed to strike a gong and became a Rajput, while the third son became a musician. The two Mahasus’, Basak and Pibaska, left for Garhwal, while Baitha and Chalda remained behind. The temple at Henol is dedicated to Baitha, while Chalda is always on the move.
One temple of Mahasu in one of the villages had a wooden structure, as temples all over India must have been before stone came to be used twenty five hundred years ago. A number of symbols, images and musical instruments were placed all round the wall. In the centre of the room was Mahasu, surrounded by a crowd of images.
In most of the areas, apart from Mahasu, the favourite deities are the Pandava brothers, the heroes of the Mahabharata. Time seems to have stood still in these parts of the Himalayas after the Pandavas climbed to Heaven by Satopanth, a snow peak near Mana, the last village on the Indo-Tibetan border.
Many important spots in these areas have associations with one or the other of the five sons of Pandu. Some of the Khasa villages have temples dedicated to the Pandavas. Bhima is the most popular of the Pandava deities of this region, all of whom are very touchy and ready to take offence at the slightest lapse or misdeed.
The main feature of the social and religious festivals of these areas is the Pandava Dance, in which most of the people in these villages join. The persons who act as the five Pandavas are held in high esteem, and the Bajgis, the musician, play a very important part on such occasions. Bhima, as the hero of the festivals, has to perform prodigies of dance heroics on such occasions.
The communities of Jaunsar-Bawar and the adjoining areas worship the Pandavas. Father Pandu lived in the Himalayas with his wives, Kunti and Madri. When Kunti urged that all the five brothers should take Draupadi as their common wife an openly unusual affair in Aryavarta she may have been following the custom of the Himalaya regions where she had lived with her husband.
The Khasas of Jaunsar-Bawar appear to be an ancient community connected with Indian tradition and history. The Mahabharata groups them with other apparently non- Aryan tribes living in mountains.
Long ago there was a lake called Shailoda  in the Himalayas, west of Kailasa from which flowed the river Sailodaka. The river ultimately joined the Western Ocean. The river was also known as Chakshushi. The Purana also states that the tributaries of the Ganga flowed through the countries of Kukuras, Raundhras, Barbaras, Yavanas, Khasas,  and Angalokyas, all of them being practically Melechchhas. The Markandeya-I Purana also refers to the Khasas as mountain dwellers. Manu also states that several communities, including the Khasas, became degraded from the status of the Kshatriyas to that of the Shudras, because of their omission to perform the sacred rites and not consulting the Brahmans.
An interesting verse which throws considerable light on the Khasas says:

"Your glory is being sung by crowds of women of the city of Kartikya situated on the Himalayas; the town is resonant with the singing of the Kinnars, living inside the big caves and from where King Sharma : Gupta returned frustrated and humiliated after having been surrendered by Queen Dhruvaswamini to the king of the Khasas." 

The Khasas also played an important role in the annals of Kashmir, as mentioned in the Rajatarangini. Mr. R. S. Pandit, in his translation of that work, wrote that the Khasas of Kashmir are a hill-tribe inhabiting the region to the south and the west of the Pir Panjal range.

A tribute to Prof. Ram Nath Koul

A tribute to Prof. Ram Nath Koul

Sham S. Misri

I knew Prof Koul for the last more than five decades. It has been since my education days in S.P.College that I had an honour of being his student for four years till I completed my graduation. As a student I was introduced to Prof Koul by my father (Late Pt. Janki Nath Misri), who was also an educationist and knew each other well.

Prof Koul was one of the most interesting and honest people I’ve ever known. His being there in the college at that point of time was pure heart-swelling pride for me. In my inner heart I had a feeling that there is someone to look after in the college. I now realize he had an increasingly hectic pace of life. My young mind was fertile ground for him to plant ideas and dreams, which I lapped up with the eagerness of a beginner. He wanted me to follow his footsteps as well the footsteps of my father-‘to be a teacher’. He wanted me to go in for higher education, complete my masters’ course and take up teaching profession, being the noble one he would always say.

All of us have had a teacher who has made a profound difference in our lives—someone who changed our lives, made us think more deeply, set our feet on the right path. For me, it was perhaps Prof Koul. He had become a huge success as a teacher. His teaching was full of creative writing.

I remember, Prof Koul often told students as a class to be in the open ground during autumn season and have a class in the shade of a tree. It used to be a sort of a solitary place in the SP College grounds. He was teaching both prose and poetry.

That day it was a poetry class. The topic most of the students including me appeared like dry.  It was something:

“La Belle Dame sans Merci”

It was a ballad by John Keats.

‘I see a lily on thy brow,
            With anguish moist and fever-dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
            Fast withereth too.’

And how Prof Koul explained the words still echo in my mind…

“La Belle Dame sans Merci” has its Romantic precursors. That day professor was experiencing in his love life … just to make the ballad interesting and the whole class gripping.

We all thought, ‘He’s such a genius, what’s he doing just teaching us?’ Everybody thought he was destined for bigger and better things. And when he became a State phenomenon, we felt it was justice. After his retirement he had joined D.A.V. College Jawahar Nagar, Kashmir, where I too had joined as a lecturer and had god days to spend.

Many of his former students became writers, and many kept in touch with him. I had an occasion to see him a couple of years back at Delhi. I wished him well. His instant reaction was –Had you been my student?  Very humbly, I said, “yes sir.”  Professor was weak and frail but with all his wits in high order. At that age he was working hard, he told me that he had edited some book…

The great professor, author, writer, and luminary is no more. My heart prays for the departed soul to lie in peace. His final abode is Vaikuntha.

Sham S. Misri

Kumbh-descent of Goddess

Kumbh-descent of Goddess

Sham S. Misri

Legend has it that in the mythological times, during a waging war between the demigods and demons for the possession of elixir of eternal life, a few drops of it had fallen on to four places that are today known as Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. It is believed that these drops gave mystical powers to these places. It is to make oneself gain on those powers that Kumbh Mela has been celebrated in each of the four places since long. The normal Kumbh Mela is held every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is held every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad (Prayag) while the Purna (complete) Kumbh Mela takes place every twelve years, at four places Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik, based on planetary movements. The Maha Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Prayag after 144 years (after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas').

Sri Narada Muni

Sham S. Misri

Sri Narada Muni is the mystical sage of the demigods. He is regarded as the ultimate nomad who roams the three lokas of Swargaloka (heaven), Mrityuloka (earth, literally: "place of death") and Patalloka (nether-world). He does this to find out about the life and welfare of people. Narada Muni is a lifelong celibate and is mentioned throughout the Vedic literatures. He is often depicted travelling freely through outer space, plucking a stringed musical instrument (the Veena), and preaching the glories of Lord Vishnu. Narada Muni moves from planet to planet and in all three realms of the universe—upper, middle and lower. His dear companion, Parvata Muni, often accompanies him. He is somewhat of a cosmic instigator—constantly coming and going, setting things in motion and sometimes creating mischief—but always for the higher purpose of demonstrating Vedic philosophical truths.

There are at least two instances in the Puranas wherein Narada Muni becomes a woman. In one narration, Narada asks Vishnu to show him His maya (illusion). Vishnu complies and instructs Narada to fetch Him some water from a nearby river. Narada does so, but falls into the water and emerges as a female. Narada then meets a man, falls in love, gets married, has many children, builds a home and establishes a prosperous farm on the riverbank. She becomes very happy and satisfied for many years. One day, however, there is an enormous flood, and Narad’s husband, children, home and farm are all washed away in the raging waters. Narada laments piteously until finally the turbulent waters capture Narada herself. Terrified, she screams for help again and again. A hand grasps Narada and pulls her from the river. It is Vishnu—He has shown Narada His maya!

In the Padma Purana there is a description of Narada's transformation into the beautiful cowherd maiden, Naradi. Narada Muni asks Lord Krishna to show him His divine loving affairs, and Krishna complies by turning him into the gopi Naradi and sporting with him for an entire year.

Ardhanarishwara

Sham S. Misri

Lord Krishna praises Shiva's form of Ardhanarishwara while experiencing separation from His beloved Radha, as follows: "Just see! Lord Shiva lives happily with half of his body united with Parvati, whereas I am far from united with Radha—I don't even know where she is."

[Ref:In Jayadeva Goswami's twelfth-century text, the Sri Gita Govinda (3.11)]

In Vedic narratives Sri Arjuna manifests all three genders—male, female, and hermaphrodite. He is most popularly known in his male form as the heroic warrior of the Mahabharata, the disciple of Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita and the husband of Draupadi. He is very, very dear to Lord Krishna. It is said that when Krishna first met Arjuna tears came to His eyes and He embraced Arjuna wholeheartedly—this was because Arjuna reminded Krishna of His intimate cowherd friend in Vraja of the same name. Krishna and Arjuna became instant companions and spent many years together in deep friendship. In the Mahabharata (Sauptika Parva, XII), Krishna states, "I have no dearer friend on earth than Arjuna, and there is nothing that I cannot give to him including my wives and children." In the Drona Parva of the same text, Krishna reiterates, "O Daruka, I shall not be able to cast my eyes, even for a single moment, on the earth bereft of Arjuna…Know that Arjuna is half of my body." Once, when Krishna had to leave Hastinapura for Dwarika, He quickly hurried to the apartments of Arjuna and spent the entire night with him in happy slumber, even at the risk of upsetting His temperamental wife, Satyabhama.

As inseparable friends, Arjuna and Krishna are said to be non-different from the two Vedic sages of the Himalayas, Nara and Narayana. Nara-Narayana is the twin-brother incarnation of the preserver-god Vishnu on earth, working for the preservation of dharma or righteousness. In the concept of Nara-Narayana, the human soul 'Nara' is the eternal companion of the Divine 'Narayana'. The epic, Mahabharata identifies Lord Krishna with Narayana and Arjuna - the chief hero of the epic - with Nara. The legend of Nara-Narayana is also told in the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Hindus believe that the pair dwells at Badrinath, where their most important temple stands. According to the Monier-Williams dictionary, 'Nara' is "the primeval Man or eternal Spirit pervading the universe (always associated with 'Narayana', "son of the primeval man"; both are considered either as gods or sages and accordingly called. In epic poetry, they are the sons, of Dharma by Murti or Ahimsa and emanations of Vishnu, Arjuna being identified with Nara, and Krishna with Narayana.- Mahabharata, Harivamsa and Purana".

Sri Harihara is a form in which the two male deities of Vishnu and Shiva are fused together, similar to the Ardhanarisvara form.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is described in post-medieval Bengali texts as the combination of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna. He is also secretly alluded to throughout the Puranas and other Vedic texts as the incarnation for this age of Kali (the Kali Yuga)—the golden avatara, who descends to expand the chanting of the holy names of God. In the Chaitanya Charitamrita (of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami), two more confidential reasons are given for Lord Krishna's descent as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: He wanted to taste the ecstatic love experienced by Sri Radha for Him, and He wanted to propagate this confidential knowledge to anyone eager to receive it. Thus, while appearing in a male form, Lord Caitanya's inner mood and emotions were that of a female, His divine consort Sri Radha, i.e., in the mood of Radharani.

Vedic texts, especially the Bhagavata Purana, describe Sri Krishna as the fountainhead and original source of Vishnu and all incarnations. Because Sri Krishna is 'adi-purusa'—the supreme and original male—all other beings are regarded as female in relation to Him. In the Padma Purana it is said that during the advent of Lord Rama, the sages of Dandakaranya Forest became so attracted to the Lord they developed conjugal affection for Him. Since Rama could accept only one wife, Sita, He blessed the sages to become cowherd maidens in Krishna's pastimes, thus fulfilling their desires.

Sri Krishna's pastimes are very playful and sportive; narratives from the Puranas as well as post-medieval texts often portray Krishna and His friends (both male and female) cross dressing for fun and delivering messages in disguise. Krishna has many male attendants who meticulously dress and care for Him and His intimate friends arrange rendezvous for Him to meet with the gopis. These intimate friends are said to have nearly the same emotions for Krishna that the gopis do and are always completely overwhelmed by Krishna's beauty and the love they feel for Him. Krishna is most famous for His loving pastimes with the gopis and His rasa-lila dances with them (rasa means 'emotion' or 'performance' and lila is a concept from Hinduism, which roughly translates to "play [lila] of the dance [rasa]," or more broadly as "Dance of Divine Love"). His chief consort is Sri Radha, the original source of all Shaktis and Goddess of the spiritual energy. Radha is Krishna's life and soul; in His incarnation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He combines with her to experience the ecstatic love she feels for Him. Krishna's natural complexion is bluish but when He combines with Radha He takes on a golden complexion and is thus known as Lord Gauranga. In another popular pastime, the svayam Bhagavan Sri Krishna disguises Himself as the beautiful maiden, Syamali, just to pacify the jealous anger of Radha.

Kama incarnates as Pradyumna

Sham S. Misri

There was a demon whose name was Sambara. He came to learn  from Narada that Pradyumna, the baby boy of Krishna and Rukmini, would kill him. The demon kidnapped the baby and threw him into the ocean where a big fish swallowed him. Fishermen caught the fish and sold it to the cooks of Sambara. When the belly of the fish was cut open, a beautiful baby was discovered. The boy was placed to the care of Mayavati. She raised the boy and as he grew, she expressed great sexual attraction to him rather than motherly affection. The boy asked his mother in wonder: “My dear mother how is it that you express feelings that are not befitting of a mother?” Mayavati explained to Pradyumna that he was not her son but god Kama who was born as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini, and was kidnapped by demon Sambara. Hearing this, Pradyumna, filled with anger challenged Sambara to fight. In the fight he killed the demon  along with Mayavati. He then went back to Dwarika. When he arrived there, all were impressed by his beauty and his resemblance to Krishna, but they did not recognize him as he was mere a baby when he was kidnapped. It was his mother Rukmini who recognized him because of the strong motherly feelings that she started to sense for him.

Lord Krishna praises Shiva's form of Ardhanarishwara

Sham S. Misri

Lord Krishna praises Shiva's form of Ardhanarishwara while experiencing separation from His beloved Radha, as follows: "Just see! Lord Shiva lives happily with half of his body united with Parvati, whereas I am far from united with Radha—I don't even know where she is."

[Ref:In Jayadeva Goswami's twelfth-century text, the Sri Gita Govinda (3.11)]

Horses also weep!

Horses also weep!

Sham S. Misri

• ·         U Drona's horses shed tears when he is about to die [Mahabharata 7 T 92.20)
• ·         When the Buddha departs, his horse Kanthaka weeps [Buddha Charita 6.33-35; 8.3-4, 17);
• ·         Achilles' horses weep for the death of Patroclus;
• ·         Briinnhilde's horse Grani hangs his head and weeps over the dead Siegfried.

Silkworm Breeding in India

Silkworm Breeding in India

Sham S. Misri

I should like to express, at the outset my sense of happiness with the fact that after rich experience I have been able to write some ideas about the breeding of silkworms, which I feel may be of some help to a beginner. I am sure the book will be of great practical value.

I should like to take this opportunity to drive home the point that we have to develop a scientific base for development of sericulture in India.

The impact of Mendel’s laws of Inheritance on today’s sericulture is so great that it is difficult to comprehend it fully. The most important implication of Mendel’s work is that we can tailor breeds to our needs through genetic manipulation of factors controlling yield and quality.

The western countries were quick to take advantage of Mendel’s work for improving live stocks. In our country, however, silkworm breeding research has been undertaken and is progressing well.

Breeding in most countries has passed through two distinct stages. During the first phase of work, the breeding methodology was mainly based on selection. Because of the large variability that was available the success achieved was quite very impressive.

However, as time passed, it became evident that more sophisticated breeding methods were devised to continue further the process of further genetic improvement. A characteristic feature of this phase was to resort to hybridization. In breeding one has to consider what crosses might be made. Of course, keeping a wide genetic base in a breeding programme is universally accepted. This will ensure introduction of new material to be put into crosses with adapted genotypes. However, there is nothing sacred about using fixed varieties as parents and it is certainly desirable if one has a very superior stock in F-1 or any succeeding generations to cross this stock with lines or varieties having complementary characteristics. This assumes that the superior stock or line carries superior genes and thus provides a greater probability of fixing at least some of these genes in the resulting variety.

 

National Anthem of India

SS Misri


"Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritised Bengali, It was composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was falsely propagated by colonial authorities that the song was written and first sung to praise and felicitate King George V and Queen Mary on their visit to India in 1911. The rumours gave way when Tagore wrote a letter to the Emperor, stating the mentor and creator of Bharata (India) mentioned in the song is not King George V but God himself. "Jana Gana Mana" was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on 24 January 1950.
The National Anthem of India is played or sung on various occasions. Directions have been issued from time to time about the correct versions of the Anthem, the occasions on which these are to be played or sung, and about the need for paying respect to the anthem by show of proper decorum on such occasions. The official duration of the National Anthem of India is 52 seconds.
English translation:

THE NATIONAL ANTHEMThe song is the National Anthem of India. India Independence Day is on August 15th.

The original poem written by Rabindranath Tagore was translated into Hindi-Urdu by Abid Ali. The original Hindi version of the song Jana Gana Mana, translated by Ali and based on the poem by Tagore, was a little different. It was "Subh Sukh Chain Ki Barkha Barse, Bharat Bhaag Hai Jaaga....".

A formal version of the national anthem takes fifty-two seconds. A shortened version consisting of the first and last lines (and taking about 20 seconds to play) is also staged occasionally. When the National Anthem version of the song is sung, it is often performed in the orchestral/vocal adaptation made by the English composer Herbert Murrill at the request of Nehru. An earlier poem by Tagore (Amar Sonar Bangla) was later selected as the national anthem of Bangladesh.

Controversy shadowed Jana Gana Mana from the day of its first rendition in 1911 at the Congress session in Calcutta. King George V was scheduled to arrive in the city on 30 December and a section of the Anglo-Indian English press in Calcutta thought – and duly reported – that Tagore's hymn was homage to the emperor.

The poet claims in a letter written in 1939: "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such limitless stupidity."  In another letter to Pulin Behari Sen, Tagore later wrote, "A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhaata (i.e. God of Destiny) of India who has from age after age held resolute the reins of India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."

In Kerala, students belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination were expelled by school authorities for their refusal to sing the national anthem on religious grounds, although they stood up respectfully when the anthem was sung. The Kerala High Court concluded that there was nothing in it which could offend anyone's religious susceptibilities, and upheld their expulsion. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court and ruled that the High Court had misdirected itself because the question is not whether a particular religious belief or practice appeals to our reason or sentiment but whether the belief is genuinely and conscientiously held as part of the profession or practice of a religion. "Our personal views and reactions are irrelevant" The Supreme Court affirmed the principle that it is not for a secular judge to sit in judgment on the correctness of a religious belief.

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-

Dravida-Utkala-Banga

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga

Uchchhala-jaladhi-taranga

Tava Subha name jage,

Tava Subha asisa mage,

Gahe tava jaya-gatha.

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he

Jaya jaya, jaya, jaya he.

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,

Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.

Thy name rouses the hearts of the Punjab, Sind,

Gujarat and Maratha, of Dravid, Orissa and Bengal.

It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,

mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganges

and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.

They pray for Thy blessings and sing Thy praise

The saving of all people waits in Thy hand,

Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.

Victory, Victory, Victory to Thee.

“I solemnly pledge to work with dedication to preserve and strengthen the freedom and integrity of the nation.”

“I further affirm that I shall never resort to violence and that all differences and disputes relating to religion, language, region or other political or economic grievances should be settled by peaceful and constitutional means.”

Interesting to read

1. Sham S Misri

   Butterflies taste with their feet.

2.    Ostriches lay the biggest eggs of any bird. One of their eggs could support your weight if you stood on it. The contents of an ostrich egg are equivalent to 24 chicken eggs!

3.    Secret message: Take a potato and cut it into half. Using the cut end, write a message on the bath room mirror. Let the message be-‘You are owner of a treasure.’ The message is invisible. But when someone takes a shower next, the message will show up on the mirror because of the steam!

4. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

5. In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.

6. On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

7. On average people fear spiders more than they do death.

8. Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.

9. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

10. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

11. Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

12. It's possible to lead a cow upstairs ... but not downstairs.

13. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

14. It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow.

15. The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

16. A snail can sleep for three years.

17. No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH."

18. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. SCARY!

19. A dentist invented the electric chair.

20. All polar bears are left-handed.

21. In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

22. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

23. The world’s largest flightless bird is the ostrich. An ostrich egg is equal in volume to two dozen chicken eggs.

24. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

25. "Go," is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

26. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

27. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
28. Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
29. Crocodiles attack big animals that come to pond to drink water etc. When a crocodile attacks a Zebra for prey, the Zebra attacks the eye of the crocodile. The result is that the crocodile leaves the zebra without attacking him.
30. There is a tradition that in Ethiopia women force the men to slash them on their naked body. More number of slash marks on the women’s gives her more respect in the society.
31.  Human body has 63,000 Billion cells
32. Human body is composed of large number of chemical elements. Of the 109 natural occurring chemical elements human’s body has 78 of them with at least two atoms of each element per cell. The human body has on an average 63000 billion cell. Twenty-eight of these elements are essential i.e. which have been found to have some function in the metabolism processes in human body. These 28 elements are classified as Major, Secondary and Trace elements. Major elelments like carbon, Hydrogen, oxygen and Nitrogen constitute 95% by weight of human body, whose organic compounds serve as a main source of energy. Among the remaining 5% of the 7 secondary elements like Calcium,Magnesium,Sulpohur,Phosphorus,Potassium,Sodium and Chlorine constitute 70-80% of the human body by weight. While the rest 17 elements are known as trace elements which are required in very small amounts(ppm). In human body these mineral elements have a function of providing strength, rigidity and stability to skeletal system and have catalytic function and are component of body fluid.

33. That is lot of DNA: It would take about 9.5 years to read out aloud ,without stopping, all the DNA information present in one person.The instructions in the DNA are called genes.
34. Winston Churchill

35.               Winston Churchill confesses in his autobiography that when the mathematics question paper was placed before him during matriculation exam, he could not make the head or tail of it and kept gazing at the window thinking what to write without realizing that the nib of his fountain pen which inadvertently rested on the answer sheet had ended up leaving a big ugly ink spot on the paper.

36.               33. Albert Einstein

37. Albert Einstein failed the entrance test for admission to college. Albert Einstein
38. Albert Einstein was a great scientist who created the theory of relativity. He won a Nobel Prize in physics. He did not speak until he was three years old. He was the worst behaved kid in the class. As an adult, he scribbled down his ideas and hid them in a desk drawer when his supervisors passed.
39. His idea? Everything is full of energy.
40. His conclusion! E=mc square.

41.               34. Rabindra Nath Tagore Nobel Laureate never performed well in his academic grades. Tagore never took an examination in his life.

42.               35. Say Cheese, President Washington. George Washington did not smile very much, because by the time he was 5, he had lost all his teeth. He had dentures made out of wood, ivory and even of cow’s teeth.

43. 36. Don’t be afraid of failures

44. There was a man
45. Born in a log cabin (carpenter house)
46. . Whose mother died when he was 7?
47. . Who could get formal education in an ordinary school only for 1 year?
48. . Who failed in business at age 21?
49. . Who was defeated in legislative elections when 22?
50. . Failed again in business when 24.
51. . Lost the girl friend at the age 26.
52. . Had nervous break down at age 27.
53. . Lost congressional elections at 34.
54. . Lost senatorial elections at 45.
55. . Failed to become vice-president at 47.

56. . Lost senatorial election at 49.                 

57. But struggled & struggled, with courage,

58. To become ultimately the President of United States at age 52.

59. This man was ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ­the 16TH President of America! !

60. 37. Someone once said: ­
61. What goes around comes around.
62. Work like you don't need the money.
63. Love like you've never been hurt.
64. Dance like nobody's watching. Sing like nobody's listening. Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

65. 38. Soach Kral-
66. An illiterate Kashmiri sofi poet. His father was also a poet but his work has not been well documented. Soach Kral lived at Pulwama. His poems are in the form of a dialogue.

67. 39. Guru Nanak-
68. Guru Nanak was the son of a Pathwari. He was given the job of a storekeeper in a ration shop. One day while distributing ration he counted one, two three---- and at thirteen (Tera) he did not stop but was saying tera, tera and while saying this he
69. Finished his store. Guru Nanak was suspended from the job.

70. 40. the earliest symbol in human history is the zigzag, which was used by Neanderthals around 40,000 B.C.
71. 41. The average snowflake is made up of 180 Billion molecules of water and falls at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour.

72. 38. A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days, but a year is only 225 Earth days. Venus spins on its axis very slowly, but orbits the sun more quickly than the Earth.
73. 39. You can jump higher on the moon. The moon’s gravity is much weaker than Earth’s. That means you could weigh about a sixth of your earth weight there. If you weigh 18 Kgs on earth you would weigh only 3 Kgs on moon.

74. 40. After a tree dies all the carbon dioxide it absorbed when alive is released back into the atmosphere. The same amount of carbon dioxide is released whether the tree burns or not.

75. 41. Aphids are born pregnant and can give birth just 10 days after they are born themselves.
76. 42. Eels lay their eggs in oceans. The baby eels then move to freshwater rivers. A female eel can lay up to four million eggs in a year.

77. 43. The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly straight up, down, and backwards.

78. 44. Ants never sleep.

79. 45. Crocodiles that live in salt water cry. They do it to get rid of excess salt in their bodies, not because they are sad.

80. 46. The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. Its heart alone weighs     700 Kgs (1500 lbs).

81. 47. A bee’s buzz is made by its wings, which flap 250 times a second.

82. 48. A blue whale’s whistle can be heard more than 100 Km (62 miles) away under water.

83. 49. Whales and dolphins put half their brains to sleep at a time so that they don’t drown.
84. Whales use earths magnetic poles to navigate. Earth’s magnetic field is produced by electric currents generated by metals found naturally in earths outer core. The point where the magnetic field lines leave earth’s surface pointing straight up is called magnetic  south pole; the point where the magnetic field lines point straight down is the Magnetic North Pole.

85. 50. A dog can make about 100 different facial expressions, most of them involving its ears.

86. 51. Cow have four stomachs, which they use to process grass and vegetation.

87. 52. Human body sheds tens of thousands of skin flakes every minute. Over a life time a body loses 20 Kgs of skin flakes.

88. 53. The human heart beats about 100,000 times and pumps 2000 gallons of blood through 100,000 miles of  organic tubing …in one day.
89. 54. In a resting position, a healthy person inhales and exhales about 16 times a minute.

90. 53. Human brain loses 100,000 brain cells every day.

91. 54. Your brain weighs about 2 % of your total body weight, but uses 20 % of your blood supply. From the age of 20, the brain loses 1 gram a year as brain cells die and are not replaced.
92. 55. Eyes stay the same size from age eight (8), but noses and ears never stop growing.

93. 56. Human skin cell fall off at a rate of 40,000 per minute. Dead human skin cells make up about 70% of household dust.

94. 57. There are 100 trillion cells in human body. A billion of them die every 20 seconds.

95. 58. The largest human cell is the female ovum (egg). The smallest is the male sperm.

96. 59. Everyone has a unique tongue print.

97. 60. We make one liter of saliva in our mouths every day.

98. 61. Tiny bacteria form 3 % of the body weight.

99. 62. Blood travels 19,000 Kms everyday. That is half way around the world.

100. 63. After the age of 60 you would lose about half your taste buds.
101. 64. The stomach continually produces new layers of mucous to protect the lining and stop the stomach from digesting itself.

102. 65. There are about 1000 trillion bacteria in our body.
103. There are more muscles in a caterpillar than there are in a human body.

104. 66. The average person eats 30 tonnes of food in a life time- that’s the weight of 80 horses.

105. 67. The average human head has 100,000 hairs growing on it. A fingernail would grow 28 metres long if never cut. The middle nail grows fastest, the thumb slowest.

106. 68. A cough releases air at a speed up to 100km/h.

107. 69. A single sneeze might contain 100,000 viruses.

108. 70. Standing upright burns about 140 calories in an hour.

109. 71. In an average lifetime, you will walk the equivalent of five times around the equator.

110. 72. In your lifetime you will drink nearly 70,000 litres of water.

111. 73. In your lifetime a human passes 45,000 litres of urine.

112. 74. A jiffy is a unit of time equal to 1/100 of a second.

113. 75. When gas condenses into a liquid it takes nearly 1300 times lesser space.

114. 76. The first ever e-mail was sent by American Ray Tomlinson in 1971. The message was sent from one computer to another right next to it.

115. 77. English scientist Sir Isaac Newton’s dog Diamond knocked over a candle and started a fire that destroyed 20 years’ worth of his work.

78.   Sea water freezes at minus 2 degrees centigrade because the salt in it lowers iits freezing point.

116. The city of Troy is modern Turkey. Carthegians were from North Africa present day Tunisia. Babylonia is modern day Iraq. The early writing system called cuneiform was developed in Mesopotamia (part of modern day Iraq), around 3100 BC.
117. King Pepi II became 2nd king of Egypt in 2275 BC at the age of six. He ruled for 94 years until his death aged 100.
118. The world’s busiest airport is Atlanta in the USA. More than 88 million people pass through its door every year.

119. A black hole is a place in space that forms when a really huge star collapses. Everything around the black hole is sucked into it. The force of gravity in a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape from it-not even light. Black holes turn a person into spaghetti, which means that the gravity would stretch a person until it is pulled apart.

120. A barn owl can see fifty times better than a human in the dark.

121. Owls can turn their heads 280 degrees.

122. Owls in cold places have feathers all over their feet to keep warm.

123. 86. In the Carboniferous coal forests (354 to 290 million years        ago)   there lived dragon flies as large as parrots, Centipedes as big as crocodiles and scorpions the size of cats. 

124. 87. Owls have two toes pointing to the front and two toes pointing to the back. This helps them catch their prey.

125. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is so big, that if it were a hollow ball, more than 1000 planets,  the size of earth could easily fit inside it. Jupiter is 400 million miles from the sun.

89. It takes 78 muscles to pedal a bike and only 12 to smile.

126. The Fireworks were invented more than2000 years ago in china. Originally, fireworks were used to scare people and wild animals. In 1200, the firework industry developed rapidly, which helped Chinese military frighten their enemies. Marco Polo took fireworks to Europe, and Europeans were just entranced by the gunpowder. Afterwards, Italian fireworks makers became interested in the development of fireworks. They learned to mix other chemicals and powdered metals to produce gold or silver explosions instead of just white and yellow.

90. Charles Chaplin looks alike

127. Charles Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look alike contest in Mount Carlo, Monaco. He was placed third.

128. While visiting London, Chaplin, then the most famous man in the world, received 73,000 letters in two days.

129. Trivia: Chaplin’s trademark Tramp costume was inspired by the poverty of his early years. When his English mother first saw him wearing this, she cried, “Charlie, I have to get a new suit!”

130. About One gallons of sea water gives one cup of salt.
131.  Tsunamies are large rapidly moving walls of water.
132. Pascal said:"if Cleopatra's nose had been shorter, it would have changed the face of the world". It doesn't only mean that she had legendary big nose, she was also very ambitious.
133. Butane is a gas found in oil wells. Butane is very unusual. It boils at the temperature at which water freezes i.e 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It is hard to believe that something could boil at such a low temperature. When liquid boils it changes into a gas. The temperature in oil wells is generally above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
134. Butane can be changed into liquid by condensation. To condense Butane         temperature should be below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
135. Like Clockwork: Lowri Dearsley from Manchester, England, thought it was a timely coincidence when her second daughter, Evie was born at 7:43 PM in December 2007 because her eldest daughter , Ella, had arrived at 7:43AM in October 2005.
136. Then in January 2011, baby Harrison entered the world-at 7:43 AM. To mark the million to one chance, Lowri and her partner, Matt, both had 7:43 tattooed on their arms. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 139; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com 

137.         Brave heart: An Italian surgeon completed an operation to remove a brain tumour even though he himself developed a heart problem requiring emergency surgery partway through the procedure. Claudio Vitale refused to abandon his patient and finished the surgery before getting treatment himself.

138. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com  )

139. 97.Unlucky 13: A 13 year old boy was struck by lightening on Friday 13th at 13:13 in the afternoon. The boy, who was attending an air show in eastern England , only suffered minor burns and has since made a full recovery. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com  )

140. 98.Back from Dead: Relatives of a Brazilian  bricklayer got the shock of their lives when the man turned up at his own funeral. Ademir Jorge Gonclaves had been mistakenly identified as the victim of a car crash. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

141. 99. Kick start: Surgeons were operating on three day old Sam Esquibel to operate and remove what they thought was a small brain tumor when a tiny foot popped out of his head. It is thought to have been rare case of fetus in fetu, where a baby starts to grow inside the body of its twin. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

142. 100. A human head is said to remain conscious for a short time after decapitation. People executed by guillotine during the French revolution were asked to blink afterward and continued to do so for up to 30 seconds.
143. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

144. 101. Cockroaches can live without their heads for more than a week. They eventually die of starvation and dehydration. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

145. 102. There are about half a million people over 100 years old in the world, but only one in two billion will reach the age of 116. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)
146. 103. Although more people are afraid of spiders than of dying, you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

147. 104. When a beekeeper from the Spanish Pyrenees dies, his bees are all splashed with a drop of black ink. (Source-Ripley’s Believe it or not! Special edition, 2013, Page 135; Published by Scholastic Inc. email: publishing @ripleys.com)

148. 105. Interesting facts:

149.         Pee and Poop

1.    Birds do not pee at all. Their pee mixes with their poop, sometimes turning it white.

2.    Ancient Romans brushed their teeth with pee and also used it as mouth wash. They thought pee kept teeth firm in their sockets and white.

3.    Average pee time for girls is 80 seconds; and for boys it is 45 seconds.

4.    When bears hibernate during the winter, they never get up to go pee in the forests. Their body simply reuses the fluids. That is what I call "Holding it".

150. It is said that Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)was a famous astronomer from Denmark who was very polite. It was customary not to get up from the dinner table to pee until the meal was finished.Some people believe that Tycho "held it" too long at the dinner  table one night, and his bladder burst. Pee is poisonous, and Tycho died of pee poisoning days later.

151. Inside our body there are very strong muscles. They keep the digested food moving along.The muscles squeeze in a wave like motion so that poop is always moving through the system.All along the journey of food the digestive system has taken vitamins and water from the food, what is left over is what scientists call "poop." About 1/3 of food one eats becomes poop.About 1/4 of the poop
152. can be bacteria! It eats at the poop as it goes through the intestines, and the bacteria leaves behind chemicals that make poop stink. The more bacteria in the poop, the more it stinks. Some 'bile' from the gall bladder helps break down fats which gives the poop a nice brownish -green colour, and the body is ready for a very special poop delivery. Sometimes the body fails to deliver the poop. What is wrong? The  special delivery may never arrive if there is not enough water in the body system. If the body id dehydrated, the poop will dry out and slow down in the guts. Some people call it a plugged drain, a logjam, or clogged plumbing.It si like dry plaster is inside thed body; it will move slowly, and when it comes out, it will be hard and painful. If the poop does not come out, try to jumping up and down, eating some prunes and drrinking a lot of water to break up that plaster.
153. If the food you ate is not agreeing with you, something weird  happens;Your body tries to get it out of you as soon as possible! Instead of water being taken 'from' the poop, water is 'added' to it to make it run through your guts fast, like water through a pipe.When it comes out the other end , we call it DIARRHEA!

154. Poop has several names, like, night soil, voodoo butter, bowel movement,hazardous material,doody, doo-doo,caca, Lincoln logs, number two, answering nature's call,unhitching a load, dropping kids off at the pool.

155. Historical poop removal! Scottish were the first people who could go to the bathroom indoors. The earliest plumbing systems ever found are in Scotland. They are 10,000 years old, and yes they still smell a bit.
156. Modern poop removal! When astronautsnd   bust a grumpy into the outer space , the poop is dried and brought back  to Earth for scientific analysis. The astronauts have to store it carefully ; they would not want to see a dried log floating around in zero gravity.

157. Vultures enjoy eating rotting meat, but they worry about standing upon a dead animal and getting their feet infected. To solve the problem, they poop on their own feet before perching on a corpse. Apparently vulture poop can kill even the toughest germs!

158. Even more disgusting item! Eating your own poop is pretty nasty, but some animals do it; this is called 'coprophagy.' Beaver have a fairly high fiber diet, and they have  to digest their food twice.Here is how it works. The beaver eats its food (tree bark) and digests it. The beaver then poops it out. It looks like a gelatin /oatmeal mix. What next? The beaver then eats its poop and digests it a second time. When it comes out second time, it looks like a sawdust. Sawdust!

159. In historical times, getting rid of sewage was not always done very well, as this 600-year old poem shows us;
160. In days of old, when knights were bold
161. And toilets had not been invented,
162. They laid their load by the side of the road
163. And went away contented.  

Interesting Facts:

1.    China uses 45 billion chopsticks per year. Twenty five (25) million trees are chopped down to make the sticks!

2.    The Chinese first discovered tea. Actually it was Chinese Emperor who first tasted the brew in 2737 B.C. when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.

3.    There are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.

4.    An atomic clock is accurate to within one second in 1.7 million years.

5.    Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon with his left foot first.

6.    To make one kilo of honey, bees have to visit four million flowers, travelling a distance equal to four times around the earth.

7.    If a tree gives 100 Kgs of leaf, it requires one kilogram of chemical fertilizer.

8.    Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food from freezing.

9.    From 1940 to 1990 Austin's population grew at an average rate of 40 percent per decade, from 87,930 to 472,020. By 2000 the population was 656,562.

10. The Gazelle and the Llama never drink water.

11. A very thirsty camel can drink 135 liters of water in only 13 minutes.

12. Sea stars have no brains.

13. If you unwound some large spiders webs, the silk would stretch for nearly 480 kml.

14. If you eat too many carrots, your skin can turn orange

15. Strange but true! Termites produce more methane than all the cows in the entire world.

16. Elephants have wind! Did you know that a single elephant ‘farts’ enough methane everyday to run a small gas stove for 8 hours![Ref; So you really want to learn science independent school examinations board-W.R.Pickering, book-2, page 216]

WHAT=?

What are Wave Snakes?

A Wave snakes are long red tubes that help convert the motion of waves into electricity and form part of a commercial wave power station. It was developed by a British company and took 10 years to create. Currently, the pilot wave-power project has been launched off the coast of a Portuguese town called Agucadoura, and aims to power 1,000 families homes in its initial phase.

What is summer ploughing?

Ploughing one month in advance i.e. in the month of May for kharif crops is known as summer ploughing...

Ploughing one month in advance i.e. in the month of May for kharif crops is known as summer ploughing. There are the three usual harvests known as the kharif or autumn (June-September), the rabi or spring (October-March) and zaid or extra harvest (March-June). Summer ploughing helps to kill weeds, hibernating insects and diseasecausing organisms by exposing them to the summer heat. Summer ploughing of groundnut is always advantageous.

What is God Particle?

God Particle is the nick name given to Higgs boson particle believed to impart mass to an atom, and eventually to all matter in the universe.

What is Einstein’s Rule of 72?

Albert Einstein said compound interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time, not E=mc2.

                       

The compound interest and financial success Rule of 72 is the most important and simple rule of financial success. It takes two minutes and costs nothing to learn the Rule of 72. Gain financial success faster when you command the power of compound interest.                    

           

Compound interest is powerful financial success tools. Financial experts use the Rule of 72 to command compound interest and gain financial success. Some financial service providers use compound interest to enslave you and compound their own financial success. They don't want you to know the compound interest and financial success Rule of 72.

Einstein's "RULE of 72" provides us with an easy formula to figure how long it takes to DOUBLE YOUR MONEY! As a rule of thumb, at 10% interest money will double every 7.2 years. It doesn't matter if the investment can be a stock, a bond, a CD, and any other way of getting a return on your money. You don’t need a calculator and you can use this method to quickly calculate in your head how long it will take to double your money. All you need to do is dividing 72 by the annual rate of return. The result would be approximately the number of years required for your investment to double in size.

EXAMPLE:

If you have Rs.10, 000 in a savings account at a bank, earning you 3.0%, divide 3.0% into 72. It will take 24.0 years to double your money.

Einstein once said, "If people understood the Rule of 72 they would never put their money in banks!”

If you have Rs.10, 000 invested in a mutual fund that returns 10% divide 10% into 72. Your money will double in 7.2 years. A much better return!

Doubling your money is a VERY important part of wealth accumulation. If your money is in the bank at 4%, how many doubles do you have left in your lifetime?

If you are 35 years old, with money earning a measly 4% in a bank and doubling only every 18 years, you only have ONE DOUBLE by age 60. If you figure that inflation averages 3% you're just above breaking even, and if you figure the income taxes you paid on the 4% growth, you are loosing money.

If you're 35 and your money is growing at 12%, you will have SIX DOUBLES by age 60!

If you're 50 and your money is growing at 12%, you have 1.6 DOUBLES LEFT by age 60!

What does this mean? It means you need to start investing your money as soon as you can. Today is a good time to begin.

What is Munchausen Syndrome?

Munchausen syndrome is a type of factitious disorder, or mental illness, in which a person repeatedly acts as if he or she has a physical or mental disorder. It is also known as hospital addiction, and refers to those  professional patients , who wander from hospital to hospital feigning acute medical illness and giving false information about their medical background only to gain medical attention.

Where would you find pink snow?

When the gas nitrogen freezes, it looks like pink snow! There is frozen nitrogen at Neptune’s north and south poles.

What is an ampere?

An ampere is a unit of measurement of electric current. One ampere is equivalent to a current of about six million million million electrons per second, (6,000,000,000,000,000,000).

BYZANTINE EMPIRE- The Eastern Roman empire is called Byzantine empire and the Persia the Persian Empire.

Shedding tears actually speeds up the healing process:

[Trivia: According to researchers at Russia's Academy of Medical Sciences, shedding tears actually speeds up the healing process. Rats (with skin wounds) that were given eye irritants to induce crying healed more quickly and formed scar tissue up to twelve days sooner than those in a control group. Rats which had had their tear glands removed actually had their wounds reopen. (Healing chemicals are thought to be secreted through tear glands and carried through the bloodstream.)]