Raghava Rama or Ramachandra was the king of Kosala Kingdom, with the capital Ayodhya. He was one among the 16 great kings who ruled Ancient India, as per the various sources of Sanskrit literature. Rama's influence gone as far as Kishkindha, a kingdom of forest dwellers (Vanaras) in South Central part of Indina Peninsula, and Lanka, a mythological city, believed by some to be somewhere in modern Sri Lanka, although no archeological proofs have been found to support such a claim. In both these kingdoms Raghava Rama overthrown the existing rulers and established new rulers who were allied to him. In Kishkindha, king Rama overthrew the existing king Bali or Vali, and established his brother Sugriva. Similarly in the Rakshasa kingdom of Lanka, he overthrew the hostile king Ravana and established his brother Vibhishana in the throne. Thus Rama's imperial expansions backed by diplomacy went to the extreme south of Indian sub-continent.
In Hindu mythology, Raghu was a valorous king of the Ikshavaku dynasty. The name in sanskrit translates to the fast one, deriving from Raghu's chariot driving abilities. So celebrated were the expliots of Raghu, that his dynasty itself came to be known as the Raghuvamsha or the Raghukula after him. The history of his dynasty is elaborated upon by Kalidasa in his Raghuvamsha. The lineage described in the Raghuvamsha goes thus: Dileepa was the father of Raghu, who was the father of Aja, who was the father of Dasaratha, who was the father of Rama.
The warrior Raghu leads a military expedition to Transoxiana. He defeats and subjugates local peoples along the way (presumably on his march through Central Asia) until he reaches the Vankshu, as the ancient Indians called the Oxus River. There, Raghu's army battles the Hepthalites, or White Huns, whom the Indians called Hunas and Mlecchas (barbarians). The Hepthalites are defeated, and the Raghuvamsha boasts of "The exploits of Raghu, whose valor expressed itself amongst the husbands of the Huna women, became manifest in the scarlet color of their cheeks."
In Hindu mythology, Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses. He is depicted in art as a dragon with no body riding a chariot drawn by eight black horses. Rahu is one of the navagrahas (nine planets) in Vedic astrology. The rahu kala is considered inauspicious.
According to legend, during the Samudra manthan, the asura Rahu drank some of the divine nectar. But before the nectar could pass his throat, Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu) cut off his head. The head, however, remained immortal. It is believed that this immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.
Astronomically, Rahu and Ketu denotes the two points of intersection of the paths of the Sun and the Moon as they move on the celestial sphere. Therefore, Rahu and Ketu are respectively called the north and the south lunar nodes. The fact that Eclipses occur when Sun and Moon are at one of these points gives rise to the myth of the swallowing of the Sun.
From Nanda Bhavan in Gokul, our parikrama party proceeded to Raval, the appearance place of Srimati Radhika. Srila Guru Maharaja has mentioned that in different kalpas (eras) Srimati Radhika's appearance pastime varies. Sometimes she appears in Vrsabhanu kund in Varsana. In some kalpas, She appears in a thousand lotus flower floating on Yamuna here in Raval. Here the devotees took lunch prasadam and then went back to Vrndavan via Lohavan (the video coverage of which I already posted in previous episode on Dauji).
From Brahmanda Ghat, our parikrama party proceeded to Nanda Bhavan, the birthplace of Sri Krishna and His twin sister, Ekanamsa (Yogamaya). Here you can have darshan of the relics of what used to be a palace of Nanda Maharaj. The 84 pillars of the palace still stand in memory of the Lord's sweet and lovely childhood pastimes from butter stealing to demon killings. Before reaching Nanda Bhavan, we first visited the place where Nalakuvera and Manigriva were delivered by the grinding mortar where Damodar Krsna was bound. The remains of the grinding mortar is still present in this place.
en español 
en inglés 
en francés - en alemán
