INTRO

Namaskaram
First of all would like to thank Sapthavarnacreations- Golu awards contest team for this opportunity
The theme of our Golu is 'Shanmatha Stapaka Sankara Sankara'.
Sanatana Dharma is an age-old system that believes in leading life as prescribed by the Vedas. Hinduism, whose foundation is based on Sanatana Dharma, has evolved through the ages with different traditions and practices. When we talk about Hinduism, we cannot forget the contributions of Adi Sankaracharya to this religion. Adi Sankaracharya was the one who streamlined the sampradayas and practice of worship in the Hindu religion. Adi Sankaracharya insisted on the importance of unity in sampradayas and saved Hinduism from disintegration.
Adi Sankaracharya streamlined the worship in Hinduism into six major streams with a prime focus on six major deities. These six streams of worship are referred to as 'Shan' matham, Shan means SIX and matham means religion. The six streams have been displayed in our Golu. Here is the description of the theme from the top to bottom order of our Golu padi.
Ganapathyam (the worship of Lord Ganesha) - is displayed in the second step (from top) in our Golu through Gowri Ganesh Doll and Musical Ganesh Dolls.
Shaivam (the worship of Lord Shiva) is portrayed in the third step (from the top) through the doll Kailasa set. Along with the Kailasa set are the dolls of the saints Manickavasagar and Thirugnanasambandar (in the left) and Sundara moorthy Naayanar and Thirunavukkarasar (in the right). These four are collectively named SAIVA SAMAYA KURAVARGAL (Meaning the contributors to the Saivism) since they have penned the divine Tamil hymns Thevaram and Thiruvasagam in praise of Lord Shiva.
Kaumaram (the worship of Lord Kumara) is portrayed in the fourth step (from the top) in the form of Palani malai murugar.
Shaktham (the worship of Goddess Shakthi) is portrayed in the fourth step through Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathy and Bala tripurasundari dolls and in the fifth step( from the top) through the doll set of Meenakshi Kalyanam.
Vaishnavam (the worship of Lord Vishnu) is portrayed through the dolls Vaikundam set placed in the rightmost area of the fifth step.
Sauram (the worship of the Sun God), in the leftmost area in the fifth step, through the doll of Sun God in a chariot pulled by seven horses.
In the fourth step, we have placed a doll of Kanchi Sankaracharya, the 68th pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, established by Adi Sankaracharya.
Holiness Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi or Kanchi Sankaracharya, fondly referred to as Mahaperiyava by his countless number of devotees is believed to be a re-incarnation of Adi Sankaracharya himself.
This explains the concept of our Golu, Shanmatha Stapaka, Shankara Shankara.
Unlike the traditional golu step, we have placed a semi circular Golu step in our house, to represent the Meru Chakra, the place where the divine Mother or