Our museum has been featured/listed on museumsofindia.org – An online resource for mapping the museums of India by Sahapedia. Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India.
Many museums that are across India are listed on the museumsofindia.org site. From Thanjavur (Tamilnadu) , only our private museum ‘Rajah Serfoji II Memorial Hall’ in our Palace at Sadar Mahal,Thanjavur has been listed/featured on their list.
Taking independent charge as a social media manager of our museum, it is one of my biggest initiative to promote our museum and my hometown for spreading awareness to the world on its history, heritage, antiques and culture.
I would like to thank the team for listing our museum and for their prompt response and guidance.
Click the below link to view about our museum on museumsofindia.org site. ๐๐๐
Voters in Tamilnadu, get our book Contributions Of Thanjavur Maratha Kings- 2nd Edition for 50% discounted price after casting your vote. Send the picture of your finger marked with ink after casting vote, with your name and contact details to tanjorerajahserfoji2museum@gmail.com
Offer valid for two days (18th and 19th April 2019).
We salute our responsible citizens who had did their duty, waiting in queues under hot sun and voted.
We have received 40+ orders in two days from our voters for the 50 percent discounted price of our book ‘Contributions of Thanjavur Maratha Kings- 2nd edition’ for them.
We will be shortlisting based on authentication and would be replying them shortly.
Hatsoff once again to the citizens who had inked ๐.
Being a responsible citizen of India, it is my duty to vote. Vote for our country’s development and betterment by choosing the right candidate and Government. Never allow your vote to get wasted or let someone to cast your vote (kalla votu) for his or her personal choice or benefit. Citizens get opportunity to show their anger, frustration or to change the government by casting vote to the candidates of their choice or by not voting to those who were unfit to look after their responsibilities when they were in power and the opportunity to choose the right government or candidate comes once in five years to the citizens, use that opportunity wisely . Analysis, study and know well about the candidate or political party to whom you are gonna vote. Just remember, voting for the wrong candidate or wasting your vote by not voting can make you to suffer for the next five years. Don’t vote based on ideology, caste or religion, vote for the work they did and for the progress they made to develop our country and for the betterment/well being of our citizens. Don’t sell your vote, vote with dignity and pride, Being a citizen- it is our privilege. Encourage secularism and secular voters, vote for the right person based on their work. Our work is not upto choosing the right candidate or leader,We should also ensure that the officials or ministries/departments under them are not corrupted, ignorant, lethargic and are working well based on citizen’s convenience and treating them equally rather than illtreating, discriminating them based on their caste, social/economic status, religion or minority etc.
P.S: My views on politics or on upcoming election are not against or favourable to any political parties.
Article published in a magazine saying about Vedanayagam Sashtriyar who was a poet in king Serfoji ll’s court.
King Serfoji ll use to give many wealth as a gift of appreciation to artists who perform in his court (darbar).
Once when King Serfoji ll was distributing acres of land to the artists as a gift, Vedanayagam Sashtriyar was beside him.King Serfoji asked Vedanayagam that.. Everyone are taking many lands as a gift from me, then why don’t you take anything..say what you want??
Vedanayagam Sashtriyar replied.. Maharaja just give me one dictionary for my daughter and one violin for my son that is enough.
While people getting free, lands they will become lazy and will do less hardwork. I don’t expect this from my side, for this reason he refused to take lands and wealthy gifts from King Serfoji ll.
According to philosophy, what we have as an income,that should be maintained like that without decreasing and should be well satisfied with that and what we don’t have, we should not worry about that. What we have with us, with that we have to lead our life with the blessings of god.
Vedanayagam Sastriar (1774 -1864) of Thanjavur was a poet, lyricist. He served as a court poet in palace of King Serfoji II. He was a famous poet and writer with 133 books and over 500 lyrics to his credit. He had also translated Bible to Tamil.
King serfoji ll was a patron of arts and literature and many scholars, artists were flourished during his reign.
On 187th death anniversary of my ancestor- King Serfoji II, i present a very interesting article on my blog, on his pilgrimage to temples in Tamilnadu.
Thanjavur Royal Pagdi. This is my Pagdi (also told as headgear or turban) made by Pune based Pagdi maker, Sailesh Yadav.
In 1801, King Serfoji II went on a two-month pilgrimage, covering more than one hundred temples situated along the Cauvery river. The king performed the ritual consecration of 108 shiva lingas in a colonnade of the 11th century Brihadeshwara temple after the pilgrimage.
As a tribute to this pilgrimage, a court poet called Siva wrote a poem in Marathi titled “Sri Maharaj Sarabhendratirthavali” (sequence of king Sarabhendra’s sacred places).
In Sharabhendratirthavali, poet Siva traces King Serfoji’s journeys to the sacred places of Cholanadu (Tamilnadu) , travelling from Thanjavur along the banks of and criss-crossing Cauvery and other rivers up and down the coast. He weaves into this account narratives of the features of each pilgrimage and shrines, its local legends and glories, and detailed descriptions of the king’s activities there.
In addition to worship of deities, King Serfoji’s rites at each pilgrimage included bathing and other water-rituals, including ancestral offerings.
All the kings of Thanjavur, including the Marathas, who arrived in 1674, and the Telugu Nayaks before them, styled themselves as ‘monarch of the Chola realm’ and the association of the Chola region with the sacred river Cauvery is an old and persistent one. But no ruler of Thanjavur before King Serfoji had undertaken a pilgrimage covering the Cholanadu heartland in its entirety.
The set of 108 siva lingas installed by King Serfoji II from 1801 to 1803 situated in the colonnade of the temple were brought by him from different temples in cities surrounding Thanjavur. King Serfoji IIโs decision to include such a vast number of lingas in conjunction with the main stone linga in the garbha grha shows the obsession with the Brihadisvara site as the premier religious center of Thanjavur.
Reference: Article on King Serfoji II’s biography by Indira Peterson.
Paying homage to my great great grandfather- King Serfoji II at Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum, Pune.The king who preserved Tamil culture, heritage and also was the patron of Tamil literature, scholars and art forms. The King who developed and built Sarasvati Mahal library with rare collections of antiques and manuscripts. His instructions and orders of documenting the past before his era, to his employed scholars,writers and Pandits had made his future and upcoming generations to use those as a reference and sources. The only king to whom i bow and keep my forehead on his feet after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Note: View those photographs on my instagram and facebook profile for better or good pixel quality.
Shiva temple in Ashram.
Inside Ashram.
View from Temple.View from temple.Mercury shivalingam inside temple.Worshipping the mercury Shivalingam on the auspicious day of Mahashivaratri.With my Atya Raje, Guruma Shivangini and Kaka Raje, Yogiraj Siddhanath.
With my nephew.
Mercury Shivalingam.
Book written by my Atya Raje Guruma Shivangini, on her life journey titled ‘A master stroke by Divine- Destiny’. This is a very interesting picture depiction book narrates her life journey and experience from Thanjavur Sadar Mahal Palace to Gwalior Sardar Shitole family to Guruma.The book is available at Ashram.๐
Click the below link to watch Indian Classical Performances performed on the auspicious day of MahaShivaratri at the Ashram๐
Images of Antique Portraits of my Ancestor, King Serfoji II at my Atya Raje’s Residence published in my book ‘Contributions of Thanjavur Maratha Kings-2nd edition’๐
King Serfoji l, the ruler of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728 A.D married a princess from the Pandharpur area and brought her to Thanjavur.The princess missed worshipping Panduranga on a regular basis and also the abhangs that were performed for the Lord there. In order to satisfy her, the King built a tiny replica of the original shrine, on the banks of the Kaveri (Cauvery), thereby making it the local equivalent of the Chandrabhaga River at Pandharpur. Bhajans were regularly performed there, as were abhangs. Panduranga temple was established around 300 years ago in TamilNadu (Thiruvaiyaru).
Saint Tukaram is best known for his Abhang. His poetry was devoted to Vitthal or Vithoba, an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu. Vithoba temple at Dehu in Maharashtra is the home town of Saint Tukaram Maharaj who is one of the greatest exponents of the bhakti in marathi culture.
Mural of Vithoba at Maratha Darbar hall, Thanjavur. ๐
The Parvati hill is an observation point that offers a panoramic view of Pune.
The Parvati temple on the hill is considered to be one of the most scenic locations in Pune. It is the oldest heritage structure built during the rule of the Peshwa dynasty. The hill has 103 steps leading to the top of the hill where the Parvati Deviโs temple is situated. The holy ashes (angara) of the Devi temple was believed to be able to cure Kashibai, Bajirao (I) Peshwaโs wifeโs injuries. Since then, Peshwa was the regular visitor of this temple.
They later built the bigger temple โ Devdeveshwara โ made entirely of blackstone. It was completed under Balaji Baji Rao, in 1749. Other temples are dedicated to Vitthal and Rukmini, Vishnu and Kartikeya.
Peshwa museum, Samadhi of Nana Sahib Peshwa exist there.
My Photography ๐
Note: See those below photographs in good quality/pixel on my instagram and facebook profile.
Samadhi of Nana Saheb Peshwa
About Nana Saheb Peshwa
Entrance to Nana Saheb’s samadhi.
Peshwa museum
Teapot used during Peshwa’s period.
Peshwa museumStone sculpture
Entrance to Peshwa Museum
View from Parvati hill
103 steps to Parvati hill
Old type machine for preparing Shev and kurdaya, displayed at Peshwa Museum.
Weapons used during Peshwa’s reign.
Women I admire a lot, Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore and Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi.
Mural of Shahaji Maharajah (my ancestor), father of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Cholasimhasanathipathi Venkoji Maharaj (alias King Ekoji).
Wall paintings and folkart of Peshwa Period (18th century).
Peshwa museum.
The old version of 10 Rupees note. It was a fresh print. I m so proud that in some part of Pune, still such notes are commonly used.
