The nine-day festival of Navratri in Hindu religion is held in honor of the nine manifestations of Goddess Durga. Navratri literally means ‘nine nights’ and is celebrated differently in different parts of India by Hindus. But in all places the victory of good over evil is celebrated and Goddess Shakti is propitiated. Such adoration to Mother Goddess is unique to Hinduism. The festival also marks the arrival of winter season, a period when Nature undergoes several changes. Why Is Navratri Celebrated? It is believed that Bhagavan Sri Ram invoked Goddess Durga before his battle against Ravana in the Ramayana. The tradition of observing Sharadiya Navratri (September - October) started from then onwards. Navratri begins on the first day of the bright half of Ashvin or Ashwayuja (September-October). Navratri ends on the ninth day of Ashvin. The tenth day is celebrated as Dasara or Vijaya Dashami. In Hinduism, Navratri celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over Mah

Dhanus means bow and Dhanur Veda contains lessons in using the bow and arrow. Tips and tricks associated with archery are mainly mentioned in this text. It is believed that the first teacher of Dhanur Veda was Shiva. Dhanur Veda Samhita is held to be the authentic text in Hindu tradition that deals with various weapons and also regarding the formation of army in war. The popular belief is that Dhanur Veda is part of Yajur Veda. It contains 10 chapters. The book also details about the use of chariot, elephant, horse and soldiers in a war. Thus the text is also known as Chatushpada. As per Dhanur Veda weapons are of four types – Yantra muktha – one that uses machines Panimuktha – this deal with use of clubs, mace (gada) etc; Muktasandaritham deals with the use of spear and other such pointed handheld weapons; Amuktham details about weapons that should never be dropped from the hand in a war like sword etc. Dhanur Veda also details about how an army should be arran

Snake worship, or Nag Aradhana (prayers at Naga Temples), is very popular in Kerala. Earlier important houses in an area had a special grove dedicated to Serpents. Even today many homes in Kerala maintain Sarpakavu (grove). The origin of snake worship in Kerala is associated with Parasurama, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The story also explains why Kerala has numerous naga temples including the famous the world famous Mannarasala Temple. Sarppakavu, or the abode of Snakes in Hindu homes, reminds of the importance of living in harmony with nature. It is believed that after killing 21 generations of Adharmic Kshatriyas, Parashuram threw his axe into the sea. Sea withdrew to space where the axe fell and the land thus formed is Kerala. Parashuram invited people to settle in the new land but they could not stay at the place due to salinity in water and snakes. Parashuram then prayed to Shiva to find a solution. Shiva asked him to propitiate Snake Vasuki and Nagaraja Ananta

Unlike Sri Krishna who always supported Pandavas, Balaram, the elder brother of Krishna , supported both Pandavas and Kauravas. But once Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, insulted the Yadavas – the clan of Balarama. The Kauravas on that day realized the true power of Balarama as he showed them his giant form and what he is capable of doing. Balarama’s daughter Vatsala loved Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna. But Balaram fixed her marriage with Duryodhana’s son Lakshman. Sri Krishna with the help of Ghatotkacha, son of Bhima, got Vatsala and Abhimanyu married. Duryodhana considered this an insult and decided to break an already fixed alliance between his daughter, Lakshmani, and Samba, son of Sri Krishna. Samba was not ready to accept this and he sneaked into Hastinapura, the capital of Kauravas, and tried to usurp with Lakshmani. But he was caught and put in prison. Balarama who came to know about this incident went alone to Hastinapura and asked Duryodhana to release

Kaleshwar is one among the numerous names of Hindu God Shiva. In the form of Kaleshwar, Shiva is Lord of arts – dance and music. It must be noted that Kaleshwara is different from Mahakala - the one with the power to annihilate all living and nonliving. As per Hindu tradition, inspired by the beauty of Goddess Parvati, Shiva created music and dance. The musical notes that made all the living beings dance, poured out from the mouth of Shiva. This was captured and taught by Rishis to their students; these students taught it to the next generation, finally it was written down for posterity. The dance expressions were created by Shiva to express various emotions clearly. All these were part of the divine love making of Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The most famous dancing form of Shiva is that of Nataraja . When Mahadev Shiva dances, he takes on the form of Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer. In Hinduism, Nataraja represents the endless re-incarnation of the cosmic energy that rev

Quotes and teachings from the famous Vivekachudamani text of Adi Shankaracharya.  V ivekachudamani is an important literary work that delves into the Advaita philosophy. The resting of the mind steadfastly on its Goal (viz. Brahman) after having detached itself from manifold sense-objects by continually observing their defects, is called Shama or calmness. (Verse 22) Clouds are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and Liberation too is caused by that alone. (Verse 172) The dull-witted man thinks he is only the body; the book-learned man identifies himself with the mixture of body and soul. But the sage, possessed of realization through discrimination, looks upon the eternal Atman as his Self and thinks, “I am Brahman (the Self of all)”. (Verse 160) The pain of something like a weight on the head can be removed by others, but the pain of things like hunger can be put an end to by no-one but on

Kanakadhara Stotram is a popular prayer dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi and it was composed by Adi Shankaracharya. This is the complete prayer in pdf in English with complete translation. Meaning of each stanza is also given in English. It is said that Jagadguru Adi Shankara created this prayer on seeing the financial difficulties of a poor woman. Chanting this prayers helps in attaining peace and prosperity. Link – Kanakadhara Stotram pdf Some Information Regarding Kanakadhara Stotram Kanakadhara stotram was recited at age of 8 by Adi Shankaracharya. Kanakadhara Stotram means ‘the hymn that will make gold flow." Some people believe that the stotra was first recited on Akshaya Tritiya day. Adi Sankara's Kanakadhara stotram consists of twenty shlokas in Sanskrit. It starts with salutations of Goddess Lakshmi, then he praises her as the embodiment of all the wealth and adoring the chest of Lord Vishnu and prays her to have a glance at the poor. Related Story