Album Mythology from Designldg

"You are Om"

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:44:32 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

A few hours ago it was very hot in Varanasi (Benaras) so I went for a walk in the old Kashi where buildings are high providing shadows and in a narrow street leading to river Ganga I saw those statues of Lord Ganesha.
There is no editing on this picture.

Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar.
Ganesha is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.
Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors.

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (ॐ, also called Om).
The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound.
The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association.
Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
"(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this)."

Color by COLOURlovers

Maharajah of Huescapur

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:50:40 +0000

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This a portrait of the legendary Maharajah of Huescapur in Uttar Aragonshal a northern princely state of India.
He was famous for his many royal decrees referring to anything that could be off-limits.

The word Mahārāja (also spelled maharajah) is Sanskrit for "great king" or "high king" (a karmadharaya from mahānt "great" and rājan "king"; due to the distinct Indoeuropean origin of the two words, the Latin cognates are very similar: "magnus rex").
Due to Sanskrit's major influence on the vocabulary of most languages in India, the term 'maharaja' is common to many modern languages, such as Bengali, Hindi, Gujrati, etc.
Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). The female equivalent title Maharani (or Maharanee) denotes either the wife of a Mahārāja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right.
The term Maharaj denotes separate noble and religious offices, although the fact that in Hindi the suffix 'a' in Maharaja is silent makes the two titles near homophones.

On the eve of independence in 1947, India (including present day Pakistan) contained more than 600 princely states, each with its own ruler, often styled Raja or Thakur (if the ruler were Hindu) or Nawab (if he was Muslim); there was a host of less current titles as well.

Juan-Pablo from Huesca in Aragon (Spain) appears here under the features of this imaginary Maharajah, Huescapur and Uttar Aragonshal don't exist, those places are coming from my mind...

Queen of Sheba

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:07:57 +0000

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The Queen of Sheba, (Hebrew מלכת שבא Malkat Shva, Arabic ملكة سبأ Malikat saba), referred to in the Hebrew scriputures (Old Testament), Bible books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, the New Testament, the Qur'an, and Ethiopian history, was the ruler of Sheba, an ancient kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament).
The actual location of the historical kingdom is disputed between Ethiopia and Yemen.

Known to the Ethiopian people as Makeda (Mākidā which, in Ethiopic languages, means "pillow"), she has been called a variety of names by different peoples in different times. In Islamic tradition she was Bilqis.
To King Solomon of Israel she was the Queen of Sheba. She supposedly lived in the 10th century BC.

In the Old Testament genealogy of the nations (Genesis 10:7), Sheba, along with Dedan, is listed as one of the descendants of Noah's son Ham (as son of Raamah, son of Cush, son of Ham).
The name Cush given this civilization comes from the Old Testament where Cush was one of the sons of Ham who settled in Africa after leaving the Ark when waters of The Great Flood receded.
In the Bible and archaically, a large region covering present-day Ethiopia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, and Somalia were known as Cush.

King Solomon has seduced the Queen, and sired a son by her, who could have become Menelik I, the first Emperor of Ethiopia.
The tradition that the biblical Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem in ancient Israel is supported by the 1st century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who identified Solomon’s visitor as a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia.

Aurelie's husband is Jacques who is under Jesus features in the image called INRI.
Here she appears as a very happy the Queen of Sheba.

INRI

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:59:10 +0000

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INRI is an acronym of the Latin phrase IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDÆORVM, which translates to English as: "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews".
It appears in the New Testament of the Christian Bible in the Gospel John (19:19)

Many crucifixes and other depictions of the crucifixion include a stylized plaque or parchment, called a titulus or title, bearing the letters INRI, occasionally carved directly into the cross, and usually just above the figure of Jesus.
In the Gospel of John (19:19–20) the inscription is explained:
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. (King James Version)

Some Eastern Orthodox Churches use the Greek letters INBI based on the Greek text of the inscription on the cross, Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων.
Some other change the title to ὁ Bασιλεὺς τοῦ κόσμου (the King of the World), not implying that this was really what was written, but that it is what should have been written. Also some other Eastern Orthodox Churches (such as the Romanian Orthodox Church) use the version INRI.

In Hebrew, the phrase is commonly rendered ישוע הנצרי ומלך היהודים (Yeshua` HaNotsri U'Melech HaYehudim/ IPA: [jeːʃuːɑʕ hɑnːɑʦeri meleχ hɑjːəhuðiːm]).
This is most probably in order that the acronym constitute the tetragrammaton (יהוה).
It is possible that the titulus was written in Aramaic, the local vernacular, rather than Hebrew.

As Pilate was loath to crucify Jesus without justification, he used the standing Roman treaty with the Jews which allowed them limited self-government.
When the Jewish priests complained that Jesus was interfering with that self-rule by claiming to be the Son of God, Pilate challenged him to deny that he was the "King of the Jews".
Jesus did not deny the accusation.
Pilate's reluctance to crucify Jesus, according to Christian texts, stands in contrast to his willingness to crucify countless thousands of other Jews and Samaritans during his rule.
Some believe that the justification for his crucifixion was his claim to an illegitimate title.
However, John 19:21–22 KJV, alludes that Pilate rejected the charge that Jesus was crucified because he falsely claimed to be king and instead stated that Jesus was crucified because he was the King of the Jews.
Thus, some Christians as early as the second century report that Pilate was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jacques who is a stone-cutter accepted to be Jesus in front of my camera.
I know him since he was a child and because of his long hair and his stature I thought he could do this very well.
Jacques belongs to "The Compagnons du Tour de France" which is a French organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages, but still active today.
Their traditional technical education techniques includes taking a tour, the Tour de France from the name, around France and being the apprentice of several competent masters.
Tour de France simply refers to the fact that they are taking a tour around France.
Aspiring compagnons must first complete a two year course, which gives them the Certificat d'Aptitude Professionelle, the basic French trade qualification.
They then go on a tour of France, staying in several towns/cities over the next three to five years, working under compagnons, to learn the trade.
On admission, each new Compagnon is given his Compagnon name, which is made up from the region or town that he comes from in France and a personal attribute.
They are also presented with a ceremonial walking staff and also a sash. This shares some similarities with Freemasonry, which may well have had much the same origins.
Compagnons are also given secret words - the secrecy and the Compagnon name comes from the later medieval times, when the strengthening group of Compagnons (Compagnonnage), who were building the churches and chateaux of France was persecuted by the king and the Catholic Church, as they refused to live under the rules of either...

Shah jahan

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:43:16 +0000

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Shahbuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan. Persian: شاه ‌جهان), January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) was the ruler of the Mughal Empire in the Indian Subcontinent from 1628 until 1658.

Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, built as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (birth name Arjumand Bano Begum).

For Shah Jahan I am using my friend Martial from Paris to whom I showed Taj Mahal last December.
This image is a part of a diptych, the other one is Mumtāz Mahal.
Inspiration is coming from french painter Girodet (XIX) and there is also a little touch of 70's with those badges because of that brazilian singer Salomè De Bahia who sang "Taj Mahal" when I was a kid.

"Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal

Te te teterete, te te terete, te te terete te te
Te te teterete, te te terete, te te terete te te.

Foi uma linda estória de amor oh oh que até hoje eu já ouvi contar
Do amor do príncipe San German, pela princesa num Mahal
Do amor do príncipe San German pela princesa num Mahal

Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal, Taja Mahal

O monumento em homenagem ao amor construído em 1040 no ano égira para a sua amada num Mahal

Te te teterete, te te terete, te te terete te te..."

Jorge Ben sings Taj Mahal: www.youtube.com/watch?v=voxJlOJrDuI&mode=related&...

Mumtāz Mahal

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:50:13 +0000

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Mumtāz Mahal (Persian: ممتاز محل; pronunciation /mumtɑːz mɛhɛl/; meaning "beloved ornament of the palace") is the common nickname of Arjumand Banu Begum, who was born in April, 1593 in Agra, India.
Her father was the Persian noble Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of Nur Jehan who subsequently became the wife of the emperor Jahangir, and she was religiously a Muslim.
She was married at the age of 19, on May 10, 1612, to Prince Khurram, who would later ascend the Peacock Throne as Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I.
She was his second wife, and became his favorite.
She died on June 17, 1631 in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of her fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum.
Her body was buried in the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Last December I went with my friend Hélène from Paris who is an architect to Agra in order to show her Taj Mahal so I thought she would become Mumtāz in this image to retain the memory of that day.
This image is a part of a diptych, the other one is Shah Jahan.

Do amor do príncipe San German pela princesa num Mahal
(Salomè De Bahia - "Taj Mahal" ).
Jorge ben sings Taj Mahal: www.youtube.com/watch?v=voxJlOJrDuI&mode=related&...

Lord Shiva

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:54:34 +0000

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Gangādhara (Sanskrit गङ्गाधर).
This is my cousin Ulysse who used to tie up his very long hair like Lord Shiva.
I wanted to make a few snaps of him like a modern urban Shiva but when he came at home I was surprised to see him with short hair.

Shiva is considered to be the supreme God in Shaivism, a denomination of Hinduism.
Many Hindus are free to accept various manifestations of the divine as their chosen deity for worship, and those who prefer Shiva are called Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent one of the three primary aspects of the Divine in Hinduism, known collectively as the Trimurti.
In the Trimurti system, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the transformer or destroyer.
While most Hindus will regard these deities as distinct, many will also say that they are aspects or manifestations of a single, transcendent God.

The Sanskrit word śiva (Devanagari शिव) is an adjective meaning kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious.
Varanasi is the city of Lord Shiva and during his month (July-August) many pilgrims wearing orange colour come bear foot from all over the country in order to worship river Ganga.
An other name of Lord Shiva is Gangādhara (Sanskrit गङ्गाधर) which means "He who holds the river Ganga".
Some of the puranas also refer to him as the "Lord of Ganga", one of the major rivers of the country, who is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair.

Lord Vishnu

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:00:41 +0000

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Vishnu (IAST viṣṇu, Devanagari विष्णु). This is my close and dear friend Guddu whome I decided to give Lord Vishnu's part.

Vishnu (IAST viṣṇu, Devanagari विष्णु), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions of Hinduism.

The Vishnu Sahasranama describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of and beyond the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within.

In the Trimurti, Vishnu is responsible for the maintenance or 'preservation' of the universe, with the other roles of creation and destruction being under the care of Brahma and Shiva, respectively.

According the iconography, the color of his skin has to be new-cloud-like-blue because the blue color indicates his all-pervasive nature, blue being the color of the infinite sky as well as the infinite ocean on which he resides...Here the blue colour is having blue-green shades.
It says also that around his neck, he wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel, and a garland of flowers (vanamaalaa)
and a crown should adorn his head: The crown symbolizes his supreme authority.
He is to shown wearing two earrings: The earrings represent inherent opposites in creation - knowledge and ignorance; happiness and unhappiness; pleasure and pain.

Baby Krishna

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:48:07 +0000

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Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, kṛṣṇa in IAST ) is a deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism.

For Baby Krishna I used a picture of Tejasvi ( which means "brilliant") who is the son of our workshop manager in Varanasi.
You can see how he really looks like in my "People" set, the photo title is "Mischievous smile".

Lord Krishna's birthday, Srijayanti or Krishnashtami also known as Janmashtami is one of the most popular festival in India and while we were celebrating it last summer I realised that there were many similarities between Krishna and Jesus.

Jesus and Krishna were called both a God and the Son of God.
Both were sent from heaven to earth in the form of a man.
Both were called Savior, and the second person of the Trinity.
Both had an adoptive human father who was a carpenter.
Krishna and Jesus were of royal descent.
Both were visited at birth by wise men and shepherds, guided by a star.
Angels in both cases issued a warning that the local dictator planned to kill the baby and had issued a decree for his assassination. The parents fled. Mary and Joseph stayed in Muturea; Krishna's parents stayed in Mathura.
Both claimed: "I am the Resurrection."
Both performed many miracles, including the healing of disease. One of the first miracles that both performed was to make a leper whole.
Both selected disciples to spread his teachings.
Both celebrated a last supper. Both forgave his enemies.
Both descended into Hell, and were resurrected. Many people witnessed their ascensions into heaven.
In addition to the above points of correspondence, there may be one more similarity: they may have both been crucified.

The festival which is in August looks like Christmas eve, people make also a crib with baby Krishna.

Angel

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:57:37 +0000

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An angel (from Greek: ἄγγελος, angel, "angel"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is a supernatural being found in many religions.
In Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, angels, as attendants or guardians to man, typically act as messengers from God.

The Biblical name for angel, מלאך ("mal'ach"), obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as "angel of the Lord," or "angel of God".
In the Hebrew Bible, angels often appear to people in the shape of humans of extraordinary beauty, and often are not immediately recognized as angels.
In Christian iconography, the use of wings is a convention used to denote the figure as a spirit.
Angels are commonly depicted with halos.

While angels and demons alike are generally regarded as invisible to human sight, they are frequently depicted as human-like creatures with wings, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence, but can take on human form.

The Sanskrit word Deva is usually translated as "god", which certainly gives a polytheistic appearance to Hinduism.
Many Hindus say that this is a poor practice, because the best word for God in Sanskrit is Ishvara (the Supreme Lord).
The Devas may be better translated as angels or demigods.
They are celestial beings with supernatural powers, but also weaknesses.
They grant material benefits to humans upon praying and sacrificing to them, though they don't carry the message of Ishvara to the humans as in Abrahamic religions (a category of such beings also exist, called "devaduta" or "duta").
Examples of Devas are Indra and Surya.

Today was Carla's First Communion, I took this picture in front of the church where she had her first reception of the sacrament of the Eucharist and I decided to give her the features of an angel.

Hathor

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:15:14 +0000

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Here my friend Carmen Arbués Miró is under the features of Goddess Hathor.
Carmen is a talented and famous make-up artist in Europe.
She is mostly working for the film industry and she accepted to collaborate on some of my fashion shows and fashion pictures.
Recently she has published an amazing book with some of her work “De un mondo a otro” www.artefacto.tv/index.php?page=creations&hl=en

In Egyptian mythology, Hathor (greec:Athyr) was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow.
Hathor was an ancient goddess, worshipped as a cow-deity and she appears as a woman holding a solar disk between her horns.

Hathor was the goddess of Joy, and so she was deeply loved by the general population, and truly revered by women, who aspired to embody her multifaceted role as wife, mother, and lover.
In this capacity, she gained the titles of Lady of the House of Jubilation, and The One Who Fills the Sanctuary with Joy.
The worship of Hathor was so popular that more festivals were dedicated to her honour than any other Egyptian deity, and more children were named after this goddess than any other.
Even Hathor's priesthood was unusual, in that both men and women became her priests.

Hathor was worshipped in Canaan in the 11th century BC, which at that time was ruled by Egypt, at her holy city of Hazor, which the Old Testament claims was destroyed by Joshua (Joshua 11:13, 21).
The Sinai Tablets show that the Hebrew workers in the mines of Sinai about 1500 BC worshipped Hathor, whom they identified with the goddess Astarte.
Some theories state that the golden calf mentioned in the Bible was meant to be a statue of the goddess Hathor (Exodus 32:4-32:6.).
The Greeks also loved Hathor and equated her with their own goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.
Some ancient texts refer to a serpent of light residing in the heavens.
This is believed to have been inspired by the Milky Way.

Rumina

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:18:17 +0000

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Nadine (from Paris) becomes Rumina for the purpose of this new set on which I am working on about "Gods & Goddesses from any religion, characters from any mythology".
There was a time when we used to share an office and in evenings we used to roar with laughter in order to forget tension from work.
I must clarify that the abundance of laughter inspired the choice of this Goddess only (!).

In Roman mythology, Rumina, also known as Diva Rumina, was a goddess who protected breastfeeding mothers, and possibly nursing infants.
Her domain extended to protecting animal mothers, not just human ones.
As one of the "di indigetes", Rumina lacked the elaborate mythology and personality of later Roman deities, and was instead a more abstract, numinous entity.
Rumina's temple was near the Ficus Ruminales, the fig tree at the foot of the Palatine Hill where Romulus and Remus were raised by a she-wolf.
Milk, rather than the typical wine, was offered as a sacrifice at this temple.
In AD 58, the tree started to die, which was interpreted as a bad omen.

Juno

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:21:59 +0000

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Laxmi

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:51:58 +0000

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Lakshmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी lakṣmī) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, light, wisdom, the lotus flower and fortune, and secondarily of luck, beauty, courage and fertility.

She is also kind to children and gives presents.
Due to Her Motherly feelings and being the consort of Narayan (Supreme Being), She is believed as the Mother of the Universe.
She is the consort of Vishnu and married his incarnations Rama (in her incarnation as Sita), Krishna (as Rukmini) and Venkateshwara (as Alamelu).
In Vaishnava traditions, She is believed to be the Mother Goddess and the Shakti of Narayan.

Physically, goddess Lakshmi is described as a fair lady, with four arms, seated on a lotus, dressed in fine garments and precious jewels.
Her expression is always calm and loving.
The most striking feature of the iconography of Lakshmi is her persistent association with the lotus.
The meaning of the lotus in relation to Shri-Lakshmi refers to purity and spiritual power.
Rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water, completely uncontaminated by the mud, the lotus represents spiritual perfection and authority.

Hindus worship Lakshmi the most on Diwali, the festival of lights.
According to tradition people would put small candles outside their homes on Diwali and hope Lakshmi will come to bless them.

Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish to acquire or to preserve wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the people are hardworking.

Aadrika is an other name of goddess Lakshmi, this is why I am giving the features of this goddess to my niece Aadrika.