An alvar or pavement barren is a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse vegetation. This environment suffers from poor drainage, so these areas flood in the spring and become very dry and hot in the summer. This challenging habitat supports a community of rare plants and animals, including species more commonly found on prairie grasslands. Lichen and mosses are common species. Trees and bushes are absent or severely stunted. Alvars can be found in southern Sweden, northwest Estonia and around the Great La ...

Including:

• Alvar - Alvar locations

Read more here: » Alvar: Encyclopedia - Alvar

Including:

• Alvars - Imperishable legacy
• Alvars - The Vedas in Tamil
• Alvars - Tiruppaavai
• Alvars - The remaining Azhvars
• Alvars - Renaissance of Bhakti
• Alvars - External link

Read more here: » Alvars: Encyclopedia - Alvars

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898 - May 11, 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. He was a Scandinavian modernist designer, noted for his humanistic approach to modernism. His work includes architecture, furniture, and glassware. He was one of the first and most influential architects of the Scandinavian modern movement, and a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Major works include the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland, and the campus of Helsinki University of Technology. Aalto's glasswa ...

Including:

• Alvar Aalto - Life and works
• Alvar Aalto - Significant buildings
• Alvar Aalto - Furniture and glassware

Read more here: » Alvar Aalto: Encyclopedia - Alvar Aalto

The Tevaram and the Tiruvachakam which are the hymns of the Saiva saints of South India, the Divya-Prabandham of the Alvar saints of South India, the songs of Kabir, the Abhangas of Tukaram and the Ramayana of Tulasi Das - all of which are the outpourings of great realised souls - are wonderful scriptures. They contain the essence of the Vedas.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Literature: Other Scriptures in the Hindu Literature

Andal, pronounced 'aanDaaL' is one of the twelve Alvars of Vaishnavism, and is the second most important of them. Her spiritual significance to Hinduism, however, is second to none. Her name is often transliterated as "Antal." Andal - Monumental example of pure love. To Andal, the divine gift to Periaazhvaar in the form of a daughter is attributed the Tiruppaavai, the most beautiful string of 30 verses giving expression to the purest love of God -- equivalent to the love of the cowherdesses (Gopis) of Brind ...

Including:

• Andal - Monumental example of pure love
• Andal - Miraculous birth
• Andal - I am going to be his wife
• Andal - ChooDik-koDutha Naachiyaar
• Andal - Beatitude
• Andal - Tiruppaavai
• Andal - Avatar of Goddess Earth
• Andal - Sources

Read more here: » Andal: Encyclopedia - Andal

The rare Ram's-Head Lady's-Slipper, Cypripedium arietinum, is an orchid that is native to the alvars around the Great Lakes in North America. The plant grows to 10-40 cm (4-16 in), and the flowers may reach 1-2 cm (0.5-0.75 in). It flowers from May to June, producing brownish-green flowers with a pink and white lip. The Ram's-Head Lady's-Slipper is difficult to cultivate ...

Including:

• Ram's-head Lady's-slipper - Conservation

Read more here: » Ram's-head Lady's-slipper: Encyclopedia - Ram's-head Lady's-slipper

Alvar Hanso is the enigmatic leader of The Hanso Foundation. Little is known about him, but it is known that he was/is a Danish weapons conveyer. His face was only shown in a brief moment in an orientation movie. The Hanso Foundation - Brief Biography. According to The Hanso Foundation website, Driven by a need for privacy and a deep-seated sense of humility, Alvar Hanso has released few details of his personal life to the public. He first made his mark during the Second World ...

See also:

The Hanso Foundation, The Hanso Foundation - Website, The Hanso Foundation - Alvar Hanso, The Hanso Foundation - Brief Biography, The Hanso Foundation - Quotes, The Hanso Foundation - Trivia

Read more here: » The Hanso Foundation: Encyclopedia II - The Hanso Foundation - Alvar Hanso

The website, www.thehansofoundation.org, is owned by ABC, the creators of Lost, as evidenced by the terms of use link. [2] The domain was registered by ABC on July 18, 2005. Most of the links on the site lead to a page stating "ACCESS DENIED", but a hidden link on the "Active Projects" page leads to a page containing the orientation film seen in the episode "Orientation." ...

See also:

The Hanso Foundation, The Hanso Foundation - Website, The Hanso Foundation - Alvar Hanso, The Hanso Foundation - Brief Biography, The Hanso Foundation - Quotes, The Hanso Foundation - Trivia

Read more here: » The Hanso Foundation: Encyclopedia II - The Hanso Foundation - Website

The prominent Nayanars who were considered as the foremost among the 63 are Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar also known as Thirugnana Sambanthar, and Manikkavasagar. They are the four Grandmasters of the Shaivite Bhakti canon. Similarly, the Alvars, who were twelve in number, exhibited greatest devotion to Vishnu. ...

See also:

Nayanars, Nayanars - Simple but divinely intoxicated, Nayanars - Role model of Devotion, Nayanars - Four Samayacharyas, Nayanars - Bhakti Renaissance, Nayanars - Related Links

Read more here: » Nayanars: Encyclopedia II - Nayanars - Four Samayacharyas

Thanks to Alvars, a set of twelve people who with their devotional hymns spread the sect to the common people, Vaishnavism flourished in south India. Some of the prominent azhvars are Poigaiyazhvar, Peyazhvar, Periyazhvar, Nammazhvar and Andal. Vaishnavism grew in later years due to the influence of sages like Ramanujar, Surdas, Tulsidas, Tyagaraja, etc. With the entry of other religions into the Indian subcontinent, Hindus united and the discriminations of Vaishnavism and Saivism became intellectual ...

See also:

Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - Schools of Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - The Major Schools, Vaishnavism - The Supreme Godhead, Vaishnavism - History of Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - Vaishna Upanishads, Vaishnavism - See Also

Read more here: » Vaishnavism: Encyclopedia II - Vaishnavism - History of Vaishnavism

Alvar: (Tamil) "One who rules the Lord through bhakti." A group of renowned saints of the Vaishnava religion (7th9th century), devotional mystics whose lives and teachings catalyzed to a resurgence of Vaishnavism in Tamil Nadu. Their devotional poems are embodied in the Nalayiram Divya Prabandham, containing about 4,000 hymns. Among the 12 most famous Alvars are Poykai, Pudam, Tirumalisai, Nammalvar, Kulashekhara, Andal, Tiruppan and Tirumangai. A term not to be confused with Nalvar, naming the four Samayacharya Saivite saints: Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavasagar, who were their contemporaries. See: Nalvar, Nayanar.

(See also: Alvar, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

1898 - January to March. January 16 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002) January 21 - Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930) January 23 - Sergei Eisenstein, Russian film director (d. 1948) January 23 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (d. 1948) February 3 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976) February 10 - Bertolt Brecht, German writer (d. 1956) February 14 - Fritz Zwicky, Swiss physicist and astronomer (d. 1974)

Thanks to Alvars, a set of twelve people who with their devotional hymns spread the sect to the common people, Vaishnavism flourished in south India. Some of the prominent azhvars are Poigaiyazhvar, Peyazhvar, Periyazhvar, Nammazhvar and Andal. Vaishnavism grew in later years due to the influence of sages like Ramanujar, Surdas, Tulsidas, Tyagaraja, etc. With the entry of other religions into the Indian subcontinent, Hindus united and the discriminations of Vaishnavism and Saivism became intellectual ...

See also:

Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - Schools of Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - The Major Schools, Vaishnavism - The Supreme Godhead, Vaishnavism - History of Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism - Vaishnava Upanishads

Read more here: » Vaishnavism: Encyclopedia II - Vaishnavism - History of Vaishnavism

Alvar Aalto was commissioned by the City of Helsinki to design a concert and congress building, the first constructed part of a great central city plan. The earliest sketches show features of what were to be the main features of the design. The principal set of blueprints are dated 10th May 1967. Contemporary to the designing of the Essen Opera house, the design for Finlandia Hall shows some of the same features: asymmetricity, acoustical wall structures and the contrast between the marble balconies and cobalt blue walls in the concer ...

See also:

Finlandia Hall, Finlandia Hall - Design and Building, Finlandia Hall - Completion, Finlandia Hall - Facilities

Read more here: » Finlandia Hall: Encyclopedia II - Finlandia Hall - Design and Building

The city was known to the Romans as Scalabis. Its modern name is said to be derived from Santa Iria whose uncorrupted body was washed up here after her murder in Tomar. The city was conquered by D. Alfonso Henriques from the Moors in 1147. From here the young first king of Portugal, advanced on the future capital, Lisbon. Pedro Alvares Cabral, discoverer of Brazil, is buried in the Igreja da Graça. ...

See also:

Santarém Portugal, Santarém Portugal - Geography, Santarém Portugal - History, Santarém Portugal - Municipality

Read more here: » Santarém Portugal: Encyclopedia II - Santarém Portugal - History

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of the Russian Empire, Finland declared itself independent. During the Finnish Civil War Viipuri was in the hands of the Reds, until it was captured by the Whites on 29 April 1918. In the mid-war decades, the town, now officially known as Viipuri, was the second biggest city in Finland. In 1939 Viipuri had some 80,000 inhabitants, including sizable minorities of Russians, Germans and Swedes. During this time, Alvar Aalto built a masterpi ...

See also:

Vyborg, Vyborg - History, Vyborg - 20th-century vicissitudes, Vyborg - Economics, Vyborg - Sights

Read more here: » Vyborg: Encyclopedia II - Vyborg - 20th-century vicissitudes

Tamil literature - The Bhakti Cult. The spread of religions like Jainism and Buddhism resulted in a new religious movement that saw the revival of Shaivism and Vaishnavism. It is therefore known as the Bhakti movement. This also resulted in the creation of huge number of literary works,primarily by the Alvars and the Nayanmars, who sung the praise of Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Periya puranaam, Divya Prabhandham,Thiruppavai, Thiruvempaavai and Dhevaaram were all written during the Bhakti cult. See also South India's 75 Apostles of Bhakti. < ...

See also:

Tamil literature, Tamil literature - Ancient Literature, Tamil literature - Caṅkam literature, Tamil literature - Post-Sangam Period, Tamil literature - The Dark Age, Tamil literature - Medieval literature, Tamil literature - The Bhakti Cult, Tamil literature - The Epic Period, Tamil literature - The Modern Era

Read more here: » Tamil literature: Encyclopedia II - Tamil literature - Medieval literature

Sri N. Krishnamachari, a Vaishnavite scholar, at Steven Knapp's web site, quoting Vaishnavite scholars, states that there are six reasons for the greatness of Vishnu sahasranama: "1. Vishnu sahasranama is the essence of the Mahabharata; 2. Great sages such as Narada, the Alvars, and composers including Saint Tyagaraja have made repeated references to the "Thousand Names of Vishnu" in their devotional works; 3. The person who strung together the thousand names as part of the Mahabharata and preserved it for the ...

See also:

Vishnu sahasranama, Vishnu sahasranama - Etymology, Vishnu sahasranama - Interpretation, Vishnu sahasranama - Pronunciation and Merits of Recitation, Vishnu sahasranama - Prayer, Vishnu sahasranama - Shlokas, Vishnu sahasranama - Recitation and aggregation, Vishnu sahasranama - Tradition of recitation, Vishnu sahasranama - Inclusion of other deities, Vishnu sahasranama - Quotes about Vishnu Sahasranama, Vishnu sahasranama - Benefits of chanting Vishnu Sahasranama, Vishnu sahasranama - Books

Read more here: » Vishnu sahasranama: Encyclopedia II - Vishnu sahasranama - Quotes about Vishnu Sahasranama

The first phase of modern European activity in this region began with the oceanic crossings of Christopher Columbus (1492-1500), sponsored by Spain, whose original attempt was to find a new route to India and China, known as "the Indies". These were followed by other explorers such as John Cabot, sponsored by England, who came in search of the riches the Spanish had found, and also Pedro Alvares Cabral, who discovered Brazil for Portugal. Other settlers included Giovanni da Verrazano, sponsored by France, and, according to some, the German D ...

See also:

European colonization of the Americas, European colonization of the Americas - Early state-sponsored colonists, European colonization of the Americas - Religious immigration, European colonization of the Americas - Economic immigrants, European colonization of the Americas - Forced immigration

Read more here: » European colonization of the Americas: Encyclopedia II - European colonization of the Americas - Early state-sponsored colonists

List of compositions for harp - Concertos. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger 4 harp concertinos (1772) Harp Concerto (1773) Elias Parish Alvars Three concertos Two concertinos, one for solo harp, one for two harps François-Adrien Boieldieu Harp Concerto in C (1801) Henry Cowell Harp Concerto, L. 947 (1965) Jan Ladislav Dussek Harp Concerto in E flat, C. 53/265 (1789) ...

See also:

List of compositions for harp, List of compositions for harp - Solo Works, List of compositions for harp - Chamber works, List of compositions for harp - Concertante works, List of compositions for harp - Concertos, List of compositions for harp - Other concertante works, List of compositions for harp - Concertos with other solo instruments, List of compositions for harp - Reference

Read more here: » List of compositions for harp: Encyclopedia II - List of compositions for harp - Concertante works