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According to Hindu religious beliefs, Virabhadra or Veerabhadra is a super being created by the wrath of Rudra (Shiva), when he stepped in to destroy the Yagna (fire sacrifice) of Daksha, after his daughter Dakshayani (Sati) - consort of Shiva, self-immolated in yagna fire. Along with him was created, his consort or wife Bhadrakali, from the wrath of Devi.[1][2]
Vīrabhadra is described as a warrior who eventually blinded Bhaga and broke, among many other countless gods, Pushan's teeth. Other gods fled the battlefield unable to sustain his power. A temple dedicated to him, is situated in the town of Veerbhadra, near Rishikesh in Uttarakhand and in Pasumbalur, near Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu.
Vīrabhadra also known as Veerabhadra. The origin of Virabhadra is related to the mythological story of Dakshayaga. Lord Shiva created him by thrashing his matted lock in his deep anger and sorrow due to the self-immolation of Sati Devi. The history of Daksha yaga and Sati Devi's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the Sanskrit literature. It led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas and there by strengthening Shaktism. Enormous mythological stories in puranas took the Daksha yaga as the reason for its origin. It is an important incident in Shaivism resulting in the emergence of Shree Parvati in the place of Sati Devi and making Shiva a grihastashrami (family person). Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam (Hindi: कोट्टीयुर वैशाख महोत्सव) a 27 day yagnja ceremony, conducted in the serene hilly jungle location in North Kerala (Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam) is a huge religious pilgrimage attracting thousands of pilgrims. It is a festival commemorating the Daksha yaga and self-immolation of Sati devi. The Daksha yaga is said to have located in this place, Sati Devi is said to have committed suicide here. The rites and rituals of the temple were classified by Shri Sankaracharya.[3]
Sati was the youngest daughter of Daksha, the king of all men. When Sati grew up she set her heart on Shiva, worshipping him. In the Swayamvara of Sati, Daksha invited all gods and princes except Shiva. Sati cast her garland into air, calling upon Shiva to receive the garland; and behold he stood in midst of the court with the garland about his neck. Daksha had no choice but to get Sati married with Shiva.[4]
One day Daksha made arrangements for a great horse sacrifice, and invited all the gods omitting only Shiva. Sati's urge to go to her home due to the affection towards her parents overpowered the social etiquette for not going to an uninvited ceremony. Daksha insulted her in front of others. Unable to bear further trauma she ran into the sacrificial fire. The site where Sati had died later on became famous as "Jwalamukhi devi".[5]
Then Shiva came to know about this and with deep sorrow and anger, plucked a lock of hair and thrashed on the ground. Lord Veerabhadra, and Rudrakali was born. Virabhadra's believed to be the destroyer of Ajnana, his tall body reached the high heavens, he was dark as the clouds, three burning eyes, and fiery hair; he wore a garland of skulls and carried terrible weapons. To provide him the power, arrived Bhadrakali, a wrathful incarnation on Devi.
Maheshwara replied, 'Spoil the sacrifice of Daksha'. Then the mighty Virabhadra, 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. —Vayu Purana, [2]
Shiva directed Virabhadra: "Lead my army against Daksha and destroy his sacrifice; fear not the Brahmanas, for thou art a portion of my very self". On this direction of Shiva, Virabhadra appeared with Shiva's ganas in the midst of Daksha's assembly like a storm and broke the sacrificial vessels, polluted the offerings, insulted the priests and finally cut off Daksha's head, trampled on Indra, broke the staff of Yama, scattered the gods on every side; then he returned to Kailash.
After the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice, the defeated gods sought Shiva and departed to their places. After that, Daksha became a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
Vīrabhadra is prominently worshiped today in South India. Most temples of Lord Shiva will have a statue of Vīrabhadra. He is one of the primary deity of Veerashaiva Lingayat, Pancha-acharyas mainly from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
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Nandagiri and Kotla Narsimhulapalle are the twin villages lying side by side about 30 km to the north of Karimnagar. These villages can be reached from Karimnagar via Ramadugu and from Jagityala via Gangadhara by bus. There are various testimonials to state the historical and religious importance of this place. It is said that King Satakarni (241 BC), the son of King Sreemukha of Satavahana dynasty, while going on Jaithra Yathra (victory lap) from Paithan (Prathistanapuram, present Aurangabad in Maharashtra state), made a halt at Nandagiri village and very much enjoyed the natural beauty of the place and constructed a Gagana Mandiram (Sky palace) on the top of the hillock. Its ruins are visible even now. Later on, it is said that the 17th king in the Satavahana Dynasty, King Hala (who wrote Gatha Saptha Shathi in Pyshachika language) and his wife resided at Nandagiri. Even though the Satavahana kings practiced Jainism and Buddhism, they also patronized Vedic religions. They constructed temples as per the Advaitha culture on the advice of vedic scholars. It is said that the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Narasimhulapalle village dates back to the times of Sreemukha of the Satavahana Dynasty (321 BC). Later on the rulers of Vemulawada Chalukyas (Western Chalukyas, 755-968 AD) patronized this temple and the Stepped Pyramid type of the Aalaya Gopuram reflects the temple architecture of the Western Chalukyas. The Veerabhadra, Mallikarjuna and Nanchareesvara (Somanatha) temples of Narasimhulapalle village reflect the Kakatiya temple architecture. Therefore, they can be said to belong to the 12th¬ century. As Nandagiri once existed in an ancient mud fort, it is known as Nandagiri-Kotla, and Narsimhulapalle is also called Kotla-Narsimhulapalle. Before the Mauryas came to power, the Nandas who ruled over Magadha are stated to have set up a military camp on the banks of river Godavari known as Nava Nanda Dera, which is now known as Nanded. The Nandas, who had their sway over the region, are believed to have founded this Nandagiri with a mud fort around it and the traces of its moat and walls can be noticed here and there in the twin villages of Nandagiri-Kotla and Kotla-Narsimhulapalle, which once existed within the Kota or Fort. There are ruins of the fort on the top of the hillock. Two or three stone inscriptions (Shila Shasanas) are found here. It is mentioned in the Karimnagar Mandala Charithra, a Telugu book published by Thygaraja Lalitha Kala Parishath, Karimnagar, that these stone inscriptions were investigated by Late Sri Suravaram Pratapa Reddy and poet Doopati Venkata Ramana Charyulu and published in the Telugu daily newspaper Golkonda Patrika. Unfortunately, copies of these papers are not available to ascertain the history of the place. The Department of AP State Archeology and Museums, Hyderabad, also did not make any mention about these inscriptions in the book on Inscriptions of Karimnagar District, published in the year 1974. It is necessary to bring to light the historical importance of the place as the Archeology and Endowment departments have unfortunately not taken any appropriate action in restoring and renovation of the temple or the fortress on the hillock. Categories: Hindu temples in Karimnagar district
Yoga, Asana, Hinduism, Buddhism, Tāḍāsana