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Showing posts from April 14, 2010


Goddess Kamakshi – About Hindu Goddess Kamakshi

Kamakshi is an incarnation of Goddess Shakti. She is defined as the supreme goddess of beauty and the embodiment of tranquility. She is the goddess who sits on the Shri Chakra. She is also known as Lalitambika and Tripurasundari in some regions of India . She is believed to have appeared to annihilate a demon that arose from the ashes of Hindu God Kama and therefore her name is Kamakshi. She is depicted as a beautiful woman seated on a lotus dressed in red color sari and is adorned with gold jewels, gems and pearls. She has four arms. She carries a noose and goad on the top left and top right hands, a lotus and a bow of sugarcane on her left and bottom right hands. Origin of Goddess Kamakshi Legend has it that the Goddess appeared when Kamadeva (Hindu god of love) was burnt to ashes by Lord Shiva’s third eye. Lord Chitra karma (god of art) collected the ashes and drew a picture of a man. Shiva glanced at the ash figure and it breathed life. Chitra Karma advised the

Download Upanishads – A New Translation by Swami Nikhilananda in PDF format in English for Free

The Upanishads - A New Translation by Swami Nikhilananda is an ideal choice for all those who want to understand the teachings of the Upanishads. Now the book can be downloaded for free in PDF format. The book contains the translations of Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasna, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishad. The language used in the translation is simple and the author tries to explain the teachings in a simple manner. You can download the book in pdf format here – Upanishads – A New Translation by Swami Nikhilananda You may also like to read Download Bhagavad Gita in English with explanations by Swami Chinmayananda for free

Auspicious events avoided during Adhika Masam - Dos and Donts in Adhika Masa

An Adhika Maas is a unique phenomenon associated with Hindu lunar calendars followed in North India, Gujarat, Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Some of Hindu communities avoid auspicious functions like Upanayana, Grah Pravesh or House warming etc during the Adhika Maas period. Here are the auspicious events avoided as per Vaishnava Panchangam followed in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The auspicious events that are avoided are Chaula, Upanayana, Samavartana, Vivaha, Nutana Griha Pravesha, Purchase of new items (House, Gold etc), Nutana Vrata Arambha, Vrata Udyapana, Shantis like Shashti Poorti Shanti, Tirtha Yatra, Moorti Pratishtapana etc. The auspicious events that can be performed in Adhika Masa are Garbhadana, Pumsavana, Simanta, Namakarana, Nishkramana (taking the new born to Temple ), Annaprashana etc. Vratas started before Adhikamasa can be continued in Adhikamasa.