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Showing posts from December 30, 2015


Story of Khana or Khona – a Woman with Gift of Prophecy

Story of Khana (Khona) is popular in Bengal and eastern parts of India. She is believed to have lived during the 5 th century AD. People repeat her prophecies and sayings even today. Her sayings are related to agriculture, climate, rain etc. Legend has it that Khana was the daughter-in-law of Varahamihira, who was a great astronomer and mathematician. He was a key member of the royal court of Vikramaditya. One day, Varahamihira returned home worried. On enquiry, Khana found that the King wanted to know the number of stars in the sky and Varahamihira was unable to answer it. Khana easily solved the problem and Varahamihira went back to the court with the answer. The king then wanted to know the method used to find the answer. Varahamihira admitted to the king that Khana, his daughter-in-law, worked out solution to the problem. Vikramaditya then offered Khana a prestigious place in the royal court. But Khana thought her father-in-law could feel humiliated, she cut

Origin of Salagrama – Legend of Shaligrama – the black stone symbol of Lord Vishnu

Salagrama, or Shaligrama , are black stones with stripes in the form of symbols associated with Lord Vishnu. Salagrama is considered to be an embodiment of Lord Vishnu. The significance of Salagrama is mentioned in the Puranas and the Mahabharata. There is also a legend behind the origin of Salagrama. Legend has it that Lord Brahma was saddened when he realized that so many people had strayed from the path of Dharma and had become sinners. Brahma sat in meditation thinking about the unfortunate situation and soon a bead of sweat rolled down from his cheek (Ganda) to form a female child. She was named Gandaki. Gandaki decided to do penance to restore Dharma. Her intense penance was disliked by Devas (Indra and others) as they realized that she would replace them. The Devas offered her different boons but she did not accept any of the boons. Finally, she agreed to stop the penance, if she was allowed to mother all the Devas. The Devas said such a boon was beyond th

Shani Bhagavan and the Story of How Ganesha Got the Elephant Head

There are numerous legends in Puranas regarding how Ganesha got the elephant head. One story suggests that Ganesha got the elephant head due to Shani Bhagavan. Legend has it that Parvati longed for getting a child and informed Shiva about her desire. Shiva asked Goddess Parvati to undertake a penance for one year. She did and then a child was born to Goddess Parvati. Shani Bhagavan The child was so glorious that the boy was far more superior to the Tejas of all the demigods (Devas) that assembled to witness the boy. The Navgrahas including Shani Bhagavan came to visit the divine child. Shani Bhagavan did not look at the baby. There is a popular belief that Shani drishti (look) will cause hardships. Shani also did not want the baby to look at him. Goddess Parvati was not happy with the behaviour of Shani. She wanted Shani to bless the newborn baby. Unwillingly Shani looked at the baby and immediately the head of the baby separated and flew to Goloka. Goddess

Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple at Kavi Kamboi in Gujarat – Shivling Here Disappears In Sea during High Tide and Appears during Low Tide

Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple is located at Kavi Kamboi Village in Gujarat. The Shivling in the temple is located so close to the sea that one can only perform worship here during low tide. The shrine is more than 150 years old and is situated near the Gulf of Cambay. The temple does not have any particular architecture that is noteworthy. During high tide, the four feet Shivling is completely submerged. After this as the tide starts to get low we can see the Shivling appearing back. Mother Nature constantly performs Jal Abhishek on Shiva here. The ideal time to visit the Shrine is morning hours when there is low tide. As the day progress the temple slowly gets submerged in water.