Monthly Archives: June 2007

A local pantheon of mallaNNa

Posted on June 24, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

A train of thought culminated in me remembering the peculiar case of the equestrian deity mallaNNa found in Ailoni. There is a smaller temple of mallaNNa in that village. Here he is depicted with his two wives with four arms … Continue reading →

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The big and small of theropods

Posted on June 19, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The recent bonanza of theropod finds have brought to fore an old issue that we and others have been thinking about for a while: the evolutionary trends in body size in course of theropod evolution. Prior to the application of … Continue reading →

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With the other pakSha

Posted on June 18, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The third hero advanced with a large force to defend his turf. His men watched with mixed feelings– some where excited, others were confused, yet others were sad because their own people were dying. We were roaming like a khaDga … Continue reading →

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The asura

Posted on June 17, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

R was telling me how she was reviving her saMskR^ita by reading the harivaMsha that I had given. R being like the proverbial hidden Rustam of the Iranians, can show a sharp eye. She was struck by a name of … Continue reading →

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The orbits of beauty

Posted on June 17, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
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shAstA in the drAviDa country

Posted on June 16, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

Unlike khaNDobA, mallaNNa or mallAri of the upper peninsular India and Maharashtra, in the drAviDa country the homologous equestrian deity does not get identified with mArtANDa-bhairava. Instead he remains pretty distinct and is known as shAstA (dramiDa: chAttAn) or Arya … Continue reading →

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Zeros of the Zeta function and such metaphysical wanderings

Posted on June 15, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

The spectrum formed by the first 200 zeros on the critical line of the Riemann zeta function: The Re(s)=.5 while the lines of the spectrum above are the values of Im(s) producing the zeros. These values were obtained from Odlyzko’s … Continue reading →

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Endless diversity of cyclical waves

Posted on June 14, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
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mArtANDa bhairava: mallAri

Posted on June 14, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

After visiting the shrine of the fiery ulka, accompanied by his two shaktI-s, we were filled with the urge to pay a visit to the shrine atop the massif of Jejuri. It houses khaNDobA, a pastoral deity, an evolute of … Continue reading →

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Problems in avian evolution

Posted on June 10, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

Since the Mesozoic, dinosaurs have become one of the most visible components of the terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, the dinosaurs alive today only represent a small sliver of their diversity during their heydays in the Mesozoic. Nevertheless, these modern dinosaurs, the … Continue reading →

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The kea – the foremost of the dinosaurs

Posted on June 5, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

Once I asked the yakShiNI bhujaMga-mekhalA which was the greatest of the dinosaurs. The wonderful yakShiNI answered that she felt that it was parrot known as the kea (Nestor notabilis). The kea is one of the most extraordinary birds. Its … Continue reading →

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skanda prINanaM of the sAmavedic tradition

Posted on June 3, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

We had earlier see how the R^igvedic hymns have been adapted for the worship of kumAra as specified in the Kashmirian kaumAra ritual of the kaTha yajurvedin-s. The devI-bhAgavataM states that the worship of ShaShThi is connected with the kauthuma school of … Continue reading →

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A neo-vedic composition?

Posted on June 2, 2007 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

R was giving me ride when we observed some sight that greatly reminded us of a shared juvenile experience, that filled us with much fuzzy nostalgia. At that moment R asked me if anybody could compose vedic mantra-s again or … Continue reading →

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