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In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


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Veñkateśa, Veñkateśvara

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Origin of Veñkateśa and Veñkateśvara[edit]

Veñkateśa and Veñkateśvara is the two most common names of the god of Tirumala-Tirupati. The hill on which the temple and the deity are situated was called Veṅgaḍa, a Tamil word, later Sanskritized to Veṅkaṭa. The lord of this hill came to be known as Veṅkaṭeśa or Veṅkaṭeśvara.

Myth Related to Veñkateśa and Veñkateśvara[edit]

According to the local legends, when the sage Bhṛgu who went to Vaikuṇṭha[1] humiliated Lord Viṣṇu, Lakṣmī[2] got angry, descended to the earth and settled down at Kolhāpur. Viṣṇu too came down in search of her. He was roaming around in the forest when he did not find her. Then Padmāvatī, the daughter of the king Ākāśarāja, was rescued by him from a fierce elephant. She fell in love with him.[3] They were duly married.

Significance of Tiruccānur[edit]

Viṣṇu as Veṅkaṭeśvara settled down on the hills whereas his new consort had to stay back at the foot of the hill. This place now houses her temple and the place itself is called Tiruccānur.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Vaikuṇṭha means the abode of Viṣṇu.
  2. ↑ Lakṣmī is the consort of Viṣṇu.
  3. ↑ Padmāvatī was actually reborn as Vedavati. She had performed severe austerities to marry Viṣṇu.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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