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Showing posts from November 13, 2014


How Sri Krishna got the name Damodara?

Damodara, or Damodar, is one of the popular names of Sri Krishna. The Kartik month (October – November) in traditional Hindu calendar is also known as Damodar month and is dedicated to Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna got the name Damodar when He as a child was tied to a grinding mortar by Yashoda, His foster mother at Vrindavan. Gopal Krishna, or the child Krishna , was very naughty and once fed up with his naughtiness, Mata Yashoda tied him to a grinding mortar. This divine act of Mata Yasoda tying Lord Krishna to the grinding stone and him moving it around got him the name Damodara. By readily agreeing to be bound by Mata Yashoda, Sri Krishna proved that the Supreme Being can be bound only by the true love of his devotee. Story of Sri Krishna moving the wooden grinding mortar ends when he pulls it through two trees that were standing close by in Vrindavan. The two trees were Nalakuvara and Manigriva who were cursed by Sage Narada to become trees. They got Moksha when Krish

Yajna Varaha Murthy Sthuthi in Telugu in pdf – Prayer Dedicated to Yajna Varaha Murti

Yajna Varaha Murti is a manifestation of Bhagvan Srihari Vishnu. The most important prayer dedicated to the deity is the Yajna Varaha Murthy Sthuthi. You can download the prayer in Telugu text in pdf in the link given below. The prayer should be chanted daily morning hours. It is also chanted on auspicious days dedicated to Varaha especially the appearance day as per respective Panchangs. Link – Yajna Varaha Murthy Sthuthi in Telugu in pdf

Marakootam on the way to Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple – Sannidanam

Marakootam is located on the way to Sannidanam – the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple . The way to Sannidanam splits here – from here there are two roads to Sannidanam – the Ayyappa Patha and the Chandranandan Road . The Chandranandan route begins at Marakootam. Sabari Peedam is located before Marakootam. Sharamkutti comes after Marakootam. When there is heavy rush of devotees at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple , the queue extends beyond Marakootam. Sometimes devotees are also stopped at Marakootam to clear the rush at Sannidanam.

Annapurna Temple at Varanasi - Goddess Annapurna Devi Temple in Varanasi

Dedicated to Ma Annapurna – one who blesses with food and prosperity –, Annapurna Devi Temple is located in the Vishwanath lane, adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath Temple , in Varanasi . Legend has it that Shiva asked Goddess Parvati to appear as Goddess Annapurna and reside in Kashi. She is the goddess who nourishes and feeds all living beings. The original temple was built in 1725 AD by Vajirao Peshwa. The murti worshipped in the temple was reestablished by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri Mutt in 1977 AD. The temple is managed by the Dashnami Shaiva Paramahansa Sannyasis and is controlled by the Annapurna Mutt. The main murti worshipped in the temple is west facing and is made of stone. The face and crown is made of silver. In the main sanctum sanctorum there are images of Ganesha, Sri Krishna, Sheshnag and Goddess Parvati. Shri Yantra is found in front of the main shrine. There are small temples dedicated to Yantreshwar Mahadev, Kuber, Surya, Ganesha, Satyanaraya

Digitization of Old Religious Books at the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Library in Tamil Nadu

The Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Library in Tamil Nadu has a collection of more than 2000 religious books. The books are now being digitized by the Srimad Andavan Arts and Science College at Tiruvanaikoil. The Hindu reports Situated inside the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple premises, the library has a collection of around 2,000 books on religion and culture written in Tamil, Grantham, Sanskrit, Telugu and English by well-versed scholars. Three Master of Computer Application students of the college have been roped in to scan the books and convert them into Portable Document Format (PDF). The students are paid a monthly stipend for being involved in the digitisation project which they carry out after college hours every day barring holidays.  The college management has granted Rs. 7 lakh to carry out the digitisation work as a service to society, says S. Lakshmi , college librarian. The old books in the library are a treasure and hence it was felt that they sho