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Showing posts from July 28, 2017


Kanyakubja – Story of the city of hunchbacked maidens

Kanyakubja means the city of hunchbacked maidens. The story of this sad city is associated with a curse of Vayu. Kushanabh was the king of Mahodayapur. He married Ghritachi, an apsara or heavenly damsel. They had several daughters. They were as beautiful as their heavenly maiden mother. The beautiful maidens were proud of their beauty. And this pride led to their downfall. Vayu, the Hindu God of wind, approached the maidens for marriage. But they refused the proposal by saying that He was not of their standards. An angry Vayu cursed them to become hunchbacks or Kubja. From then onwards the capital city of King Kushanabh came to be known as Kanyakubja. 

Ambalpady Temple – Ambalpady Sri Mahakali Temple in Udupi – Karnataka

Ambalpady Sri Mahakali Temple is located at Ambalpady near Udupi in Karnataka. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mahakali and Lord Janardhana (Lord Vishnu). The temple is located around 3 km from Udupi town. Legend has it that Goddess Mahakali appeared here to protect the devotees from Adharma. Lord Vishnu descended to help Goddess Mahakali to defeat Adharma and he now resides in the temple along with Mother Goddess. The shrine is also known as Ambalpady Mahakali Janardhana Temple. The sacred temple pond is known as Janardhana Pushkarni. The temple compound has separate shrines for Lord Janardhana and Goddess Mahakali. A devotee should first offer prayers to Goddess Mahakali. The murti of Goddess Mahakali worshipped is carved out of wood and is 6 feet tall. There is also an original stone murti of Motehr Goddess in the sanctum sanctorum. The subsidiary deities worshipped in the temple are Lord Ayyappa, Mukhyaprana Anjaneeya and Navgrahas. The Janardhana Temple i