[Assam] Angkor Wat as big as Los Angeles? HPI, August 18, 2007

Sat Aug 18 19:58:57 PDT 2007

Hindu Press International <hpi.list at hindu.org> wrote: From: Hindu Press International <hpi.list at hindu.org>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:08:19 -1000
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: HPI, August 18, 2007

Hindu Press International August 18, 2007                 August 18, 2007 

   Sacred Nallur Kantha Swamy festival attracts thousands of devotees 
   Sewa International USA Provides Flood Relief 
   Angkor Wat as Big as Los Angeles 
   Hinduism Today Seeks History Researcher 
   Christians Work for a Common Code of Conduct for Conversions  

    1. Sacred Nallur Kantha Swamy festival attracts thousands of devotees www.asiantribune.com
 JAFFNA, SRI LANKA, August 19, 2007: The annual festival of Nallur Kantha Swamy temple here commenced yesterday with Kodi Etram - the ceremony of flag hoisting to mark the beginning of the festival in the temple. Nallur Kantha Swamy Temple is said to be one of the few temples in the Peninsula that all the festivals, rites and observances as found in the Tamil Saiva traditions are practiced and reflected with regularity, splendor and pageantry. The temple festival will be held for the next 25 days. Unlike earlier annual festivals, according to the temple authorities, this year the festival is to be held with subdued version of the pageantry. The day puja (adoration of Deities with rituals) is to be held with the temple Deity taken into procession within the inner court of the temple.

It is said to be one of the impressive temples dedicated to Lord Murugan.The annual festival of the famous Nallur Kandasamy Temple in the Jaffna peninsula is expected   to draw tens of thousands of pilgrims from across Sri Lanka and also a few hundreds of Tamil expatriate from Western countries.

Normally fifty temple priests conduct different activities on each of the 25 days of the festival, beginning with the flag raising through a series of very elaborate chariot processions to the final theertham "water cutting" ceremony to immerse the Deities and mark the festival's end. 

Historians say that the history of the Nallur temple is closely intertwined with the history of Jaffna. Prof.Gunrarasa of Jaffna University in his book on the Temple says that the Temple was originally constructed in a place called Kurukal Valavu in A.D 948. The temple was destroyed in AD 1450 during the invasion of the Sinhalese King Shenpakaperumal (Sapumal Kumaraya). Sapumal Kumaraya defeated King Arya Chakkaravarthi, destroyed his palace and the original Nallur temple. But upon becoming Buvaneka Bahu the 6th, he sought to make amends by building a new temple in 1467 at a nearby location, says Shanmugapriya in Nallur Kanthaswamy: A Spiritual Experience.  S. Pathmanathan in his Hindu Temples of Sri Lanka states the temple established by Buvaneka Bahu continued to flourish even after he had lost authority over Yalppanam (Jaffna) and the Tamil Kings who were restored to power around 1467 extended royal patronage until they were displaced from power around 1620 by the
 Portuguese. Philip de Oliveyra who took control of Yalppanam in 1619 ordered the large Nallur temple razed down in 1621.

Thereafter, according to C.S. Navaratnam in A Short History of Hinduism in Ceylon, for nearly 170 years there were no temples for worship for the Hindus in that locality. When the Dutch in their latter period became more liberal, some pious people applied for permission to build a temple and permission was granted in 1773. The temple was again reconstructed in 1734 during the time of Dutch rule by Irakunatha Mappanar Mudaliyar in the piece of land that belonged to the old Kantha Swamy Temple. Today Nallur Kantha Swamy Temple is the bes  t administered temple in the Island and in its popularity it is only second to Kataragama.

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  2. Sewa International USA Provides Flood Relief www.sewausa.org
 USA, August 18, 2007: (HPI note: Following is a press release provided by Gautam Desai.) Sewa International USA released US$20,000 for relief and rehabilitation of flood victims in India. Many states in India are reeling from the aftermaths of a devastating flood. The floods have wrecked so much havoc and destruction that United Nations has called it the worst in the living memory. Many states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have witnessed severe flash floods resulting in considerable loss of life and property. Millions of people have been affected by this calamity and thousands have been rendered homeless.  The task of rushing the emergency supplies like food, fresh water and basic medical supplies to the needy and rehabilitating the affected people is gigantic. 

To support the immediate relief work of our partner organizations, Sewa International USA has released $20,000. Sewa International USA is actively marshaling all its resources to provide whatever timely assistance it can in the coming days. For more information, click URL above.

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  3. Angkor Wat as Big as Los Angeles news.bbc.co.uk
 CAMBODIA, August 16, 2007: The great medieval temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was once at the center of a sprawling urban settlement, according to a new, detailed map of the area. Using Nasa satellites, an international team have discovered at least 74 new temples and complex irrigation systems. The map, published in the journal PNAS, extends the known settlement by 1000 sq km, about the size of Los Angeles. Analysis also lends weight to the theory that Angkor's residents were architects of the city's demise.

"The large-scale city engineered its own downfall by disrupting its local environment by expanding continuously into the surrounding forests," said Damian Evans of the University of Sydney and one of the authors of the paper and map. Working with researchers from Australia, Cambodia and France, the map was produced from ground surveys, airborne photography, and ground-sensing radar from Nasa's AIRSAR flying laboratory. "The radar can sense   differences in plant growth and moisture content that result from topographical variations of less than a meter," Mr Evans said.  The data allowed the researchers to peer through the vegetation that now shrouds the World Heritage site.

It suggests that the medieval settlement surrounding Angkor, the one-time capital of the Khmer empire which flourished between the ninth and 14th centuries, was at least three times larger than previously thought. The team believes it could have covered 3,000 sq km (1,150 sq miles), the largest pre-industrial complex of its kind. Its nearest rival is Tikal, a Mayan city in Guatemala, which covers between 100 and 150 sq km (40-60 sq miles). The detailed survey also allowed the researchers to map at least 74 new temples as well as more than 1,000 manmade ponds. 

They also discovered that the city's water supply probably relied on a single complex channel that extended 20 to 25km out from Angkor city.  The researchers say that the system, until now thought to be purely decorative and ceremonial, was probably used to support farming, in particular intensive rice agriculture. In all, the newly mapped terrain could have supported half a million people, the researchers believe.

The new analysis of the irrigation system also sheds light on the civilization's collapse in the 14th century. "We saw signs that embankments had been breached and of ad hoc repairs to bridges and dams, suggesting that the system became unmanageable over time," Mr Evans told the AFP news agency. In addition, deforestation, over population, topsoil erosion could have contributed to the population's sudden disappearance. "Angkor was extensive enough, and the agricultural exploitation intensive enough, to have created a number of very serious environmental problems," he said. 

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  4. Hinduism Today Seeks History Researcher hinduismtoday.com
 KAUAI, HAWAII, August 18, 2007: Hinduism Today is planning a second and third installment of its lesson on Hindu history for sixth grade published in the April, 2007 issue (see URL above). The second lesson will cover the history of Hinduism from 300ce to 1800 ce, and the third from 1800 ce to the present.

We are seeking a qualified researcher to develop the basic material for the lessons. The researcher would do a preliminary analysis of the time periods and propose the different religious personalities, events, trends, (philosophical, practical, ritual) that occur in the time frame, against a light backdrop of political developments of the time--enough to give context to what is happening in the religion.

Then, following an approved outline, the researcher would provide in-depth material on the selected subjects. This assignment does not involve writing the final lesson text, only providing well-researched presentations of the variou  s topics, which will then be adapted for presentation at the sixth grade by another writer.  The resulting lessons will be published as Educational Insight sections in Hinduism Today.

Compensation for this assignment is possible, and would depend upon the qualifications of the researcher and the successful completion of the assignment to the satisfaction of Hinduism Today's editors. The project likely will require eight weeks of full-time work. Those interested may write ar at hindu.org with their cv, example of their research work and compensation expectations.

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  5. Christians Work for a Common Code of Conduct for Conversions www.indeonline.com
 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, August 17, 2007: Evangelical groups have joined efforts spearheaded by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and mainstream Protestant churches to create a common code of conduct for religious conversions that would preserve the right of Christians to spread their religion while avoiding conflict among different faiths. The World Council of Churches, which joined the Vatican last year in launching talks on a code, said Wednesday that the process was formally joined by the World Evangelical Alliance at a meeting earlier this month in France. The code aims to ease tensions with Muslims, Hindus and other religious groups that fear losing adherents and resort to punishments as extreme as imprisonment and even death for converts from their faith and foreign missionaries.

The Taliban kidnapping of 23 South Korean Christians in Afghanistan last month underscored tensions. Two of the 23 have been killed. The accusations against the South Koreans   include wanting to meet with former converts from Islam. But their church has denied they were trying to spread Christianity.  The hardline Islamic militants freed two women on Monday.

WCC said the code of conduct should serve as an "advocacy tool in discussions with governments considering anti-conversion laws (and) help to advance the cause of religious freedom." The rules should also address concerns in other religions about Christians seeking converts, and inspire those faiths to "consider their own codes of conduct," it added.

Evangelization also has caused concern among the branches of Christianity because of the vigor with which Pentecostal and evangelical congregations have led the drive for conversions around the world, outstripping the growth of older churches. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Brazil in May was partly a response to the exodus of millions of Catholics to Protestant evangelical churches.

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