Do you play Computer
games ? – have you tried - Commandos 2: Men of Courage, a real-time tactics video game. It is a
sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and the second installment of the
Commandos series, and is the only strategy game of the series to be designed
not only for Microsoft Windows, but also for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game
sees players taking control of a squad of commandos, along with various allied
units, as they sneak behind enemy lines to accomplish various missions in World
War II, between 1941 and 1944, that will help them to thwart the war efforts of
the Germans and the Japanese
In
the Holy Ramanaya, in Bala Kandam, Sri
Rāma, along with Lakshmaṇa, led by Viṡwāmitra travelled in the
northeasterly direction and reached the place of (Janaka's) Yajña (in Mithilā). The
Kingdom of the Videhas (also known as Mithila and Tirabhuki) was an
ancient kingdom in Vedic India which rose to prominence under King Janaka. The
ancient kingdom's territory is presently located in Mithila region of Northern
and eastern Bihar of India and the eastern Terai of Nepal. The native language in Mithila is Maithili,
and its speakers are referred to as Maithils.
Nepal,
officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in
South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of
the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile
plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest
mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is
the capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic country with Nepali as
the official language. The Hindu kingdom
has lot of Hindu temples – mainly Mukthinath and Pashupathinath. Those pursuing to
have darshan at the holy divyadesam ‘Salagramam’ – (mukthinath) at Nepal,
mostly would land at its capital Kathmandu ..
Rivers
are holy and on the banks of rivers many civilizations prospered. The Bagmati River runs through the Kathmandu
Valley of Nepal and separates Kathmandu from Patan. It is considered holy by
both Hindus and Buddhists. A number of Hindu temples are located on its banks.
According to
Gopalraj Aalok Vamsavali, the oldest ever chronicle in Nepal, this temple was
built by Prachanda Deva, a Licchavi King, who according to the stone
inscription erected by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD,
happened to be the ruler 39 generations before Manadeva (464-505 AD). The
Pashupatinath Temple is a famous and
sacred Hindu temple complex that is located on the banks of the Bagmati River,
approximately 5 km north-east of Kathmandu in the eastern part of Kathmandu
Valley, the capital of Nepal. The temple serves as the seat of Pashupatinath. This "extensive Hindu temple
precinct" is a "sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and
inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati
river" and is included as one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO's
designation of Kathmandu Valley as visit here. The temple is one of the 275
Tamil Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent. Kotirudra
Samhita, Chapter 11 on the Shivalingas of the North, in Shiva Purana mentions
this Shivalinga as the bestower of all wishes.
The area of
Pashupatinath encompasses 0.64 hectares of land including 518 temples and
monuments. Main pagoda style temple is
located in the fortified courtyard within the complex guarded by Semi-Military
Nepal Police and Military Force Nepal Army and has a police outpost along with
living quarter within. In front of the western door, there is a huge statue
Nandi bull, in bronze. Along with many temples and shrines of both Vaishnav and
saiva tradition. The temple courtyard has 4 entrances in the cardinal
directions.
The earliest
evidence of the temple’s existence dates back to 400 A.D. The current main
temple of Pashupatinath complex was built in the end of the 17th century to
replace the previous one, destroyed by termites. There are numerous legends,
connected with the construction of the temple. Pashupatinah is a place where century-old
Hindu rituals are practiced in their astonishing initial form, giving a chance
to the visitors to feel the unique spirit of Hindu traditions of life, death and
reincarnation.
Would post more
details on this temple in another post – as many of us would have witnessed, on
the banks of holy Ganga mata at Haridwar and many other places at dusk –
‘famous ganga aarthi’ takes place.
During our visit to Nepal, we were lucky to have darshan of the
elaborate ‘aarthi’ on the banks of the river adjacent to Sri Pasupathinath
temple.
The buildings and
street layout of the temple were used in
the video game Commandos 2: Men of Courage in one stage of the game,
"Target: Burma". Although the game was set in Burma, there were
references to Gurkhas, soldiers of Nepali nationality. Here are some photos of
the aarthi and the lights lit in unison.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
5th Apr
2020.
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