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Showing posts from April 17, 2018


Goddess Raktadantika

Goddess Raktadantika is a fierce form of Mother Goddess Shakti. Raktadantika means one who has blood on her teeths. Rakta means blood and danta means teeth. She appeared to kill demon Veprachiti. Her story is mentioned in the Durga Sapthshati. Goddess Raktadantika is part of nine goddess list found in certain puranas. The nine goddesses are Maha Lakshmi, Maha Saraswati, Chamunda Devi, Yogamaya, Rktadantika, Shakumbari, Brahmari, Durga Devi and Chandika. Story of Goddess Raktadantika Veprachiti demon created havoc in the universe. There was death everywhere he went. Cries of children, men and women filled the air. No warriors among humans and demigods could stop the demon. Finally, Mother Goddess Durga appeared on the battlefield. She annihilated the demon army. She then pulled the demon towards her mouth and crushed him between her teeth. The demon could not escape from her powerful jaws. Not a single drop of blood from the demon fell on the ground. She then gulpe

Why Til is not Offered to Lord Shiva? | Is Sesame Oil Used in Worship of Shiva?

Til, sesame, is not offered to Lord Shiva in some regions and by some Hindu communities. Similarly Sesame oil is not used in the worship of Shiva in some regions in India. There are numerous such items that are not offered to Lord Shiva the list includes water from shankh (conch), tulsi leaves, turmeric, flowers like kaner, ketaki, kevada and lotus, akshat (uncooked rice), and kumkum. Why Til is not Offered to Lord Shiva? The reason for not offering Til is that it is believed to have appeared from the body dirt of Lord Vishnu. This is the reason why sesame is not offered to Shiva. Sesame oil, sesame seeds, food and sweet prepared using sesame are not offered to Shiva by many Hindu communities especially north, west and eastern parts of India. It must be noted here that such beliefs are not part Hinduism. It is purely regional and community based. Not all Hindus follow such rules. For example, turmeric is not used by some Hindu communities because Shiva represents v