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Showing posts from November 13, 2018


Goddess Danteshwari Mata - Story of Danteshwari Devi of Dantewada Temple

Goddess Danteshwari is a manifestation of Mother Goddess Shakti and is worshipped in the famous Danteshwari Temple at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. She is worshipped widely in Mandirs in the Bastar region in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Story of Danteshwari Devi Popular belief is that Goddess Danteshwari temple is located in the spot in which the tooth of Goddess Sati fell after her body was cut into pieces by Vishnu to bring back Shiva into the world. Shiva was roaming around the world with the body of Goddess Sati who committed self immolation due to the insults hurled at Shiva by her father Daksha prajapati. This was causing great imbalance in the universe and to protect the universe the body was cut into various pieces. Story of Danteshwari Mata and King Annamdeva Another legend has it that King Annamdeva was a staunch devotee of Mother Goddess Shakti. She helped in his battles. The Goddess had set the condition that the king should never look back and should mov

How Ganesha Got the Name Mayureshwar?

Mayureshwar is one among the numerous names of Ganesha. Legend has it that Ganesh got the name after an incident involving the peacock-faced son of Vinita and Ganesha. Vinita is the mother of Garuda and wife of Sage Kashyapa. Sage Kashyapa had two wives – Vinita and Kadru . The sons of Kadru were serpents and sons of Vinita were birds. Vinita and Kadru once made a bet. Kadru and her sons cheated in the bet and made Vinita and her sons slaves. Sage Kashyapa who came to know about this gave Vinita the boon of having a son in the form of a bird. When this son was in egg form, Ganesha broke the egg and a peacock (Mayur) appeared from it. The peacock and Ganesha had a fierce fight and Vinita intervened and stopped the fight. Peacock agreed to become the Vehicle of Ganesha but on the condition that he should also be known as Mayureshwar. Ganesha agreed and became Mayureshwar. Ganesha as Mayureshwar rode on the peacock to defeat demon Sindhu. Ganesha

Ayudha Purushas in Hinduism - Personification of Weapons Held By Hindu Gods

Ayudha Purushas in Hinduism are the personification of the weapons in the hands of Hindu Gods and Goddesses especially that of Vishnu and Shiva. Various weapons and emblems such as Vajra, Shakti, Danda, Khadga, Pasha, Ankusha, Gada, Trishula, Padma, Chakra and Dhvaya are personified either as male of female. Thus Shakti and Gada are personified as females. Vajra, Khadga and Danda are males. Chakra and Padma are eunuchs. The personification is merely based on the reference to gender in Sanskrit. Thus we have Gadadevi a popular deity in some regions. The personification of Trishula has to be a good looking black complexioned male with handsome brows. Shanka is represented as a white male figure with pretty eyes.

Gandharva Vivaha in Ancient Hinduism – Love Marriage in Hindu Religion

Gandharva Vivaha is one of the eight forms of marriage accepted by Hindu sociological texts. As per Gandharva Vivaha, the mutual love and consent of the male and female are the only condition required to conduct marriage. The marriage takes its name from Gandharvas – demigods in Hinduism. One of the qualities of Gandharvas was that they can remain invisible to people but at the same time visible to those whom they liked. Gandharva Vivaha thus means a marriage that remains secret unless it is disclosed by the parties concerned. Gandharva Vivaha only needs the permission of the boy and the girl. It can be performed even without any marriage ceremonies. Asvalayana Grahyasutra states that Gandharva Vivaha falls under the category of Adharmya Vivaha as it does not help the ancestors of the bride and the groom to attain Moksha. Gandharva Vivaha is based on the faith that the bride and the groom have on each other. In many cases Gandharva Vivaha is the result of strong phy

Vedic Wisdom Eating With Hands in Hinduism - Importance - Why Hindus Eat With Hands?

Why do we Hindus eat with our hands? Is there a Vedic wisdom behind it? It is believed that our hands and feet are said to be the conduits of the five elements – fire, air, ether, earth and water. The Ayurvedic texts teach that each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. The thumb is agni (fire) -- you might have seen children sucking their thumb, this is nature's way of aiding the digestion at an age when they are unable to chew; the forefinger is vayu (air), the middle finger is akash (ether - the tiny intercellular spaces in the human body), the ring finger is prithvi (earth) and the little finger is jal (water). Source - Virtues of eating with hands: A Kerala banana leaf experience published in Business Standard

Lemon in Glass of Water – Meaning and Symbolism of Lemon in Glass of Water in Hinduism

You might have come across lemon in a glass of water in shops and rarely in Hindu homes. The meaning and symbolism is not associated with any holy book in Hinduism. It is more related to Vastu Shastra. In some Hindu cultures it is a way to keep Alakshmi away. The practice of keeping lemon in glass of water is more related to culture in some regions. It has nothing to do with Hinduism. People do this to keep away evil eye and bad luck. It is basically done to usher in only prosperity. There is a belief that Alakshmi who brings in bad luck will be happy to see the lemon in glass and will not enter the premises and create bad luck. This is because Alakshmi like sour and pungent things. Such practices more associated with fear of bad luck, financial damage, negativity and evil eye. Some people consider such beliefs as superstitions. For some people it gives confidence and positivity. Read more about Alakshmi – the goddess of misfortune

Symbolism Of White Ash Used In Worship Of Shiva

All major rituals and puja items associated with Hindu gods and goddesses have deep symbolism. Here is a look at the symbolism of white ash used in worship of Shiva. When any object is consumed by fire, it becomes charred. If that black residue is burnt again, it becomes white ash. White ash continues to remain white even when burnt again. This shows that white is the ultimate and black is proximate to it.  Science tells us that diamond and coal are basically one. White and black are not colors. The primary colors get separated from the objects to which they are attached when subjected to the test of fire and ultimately they turn white. Similarly, in the mental and spiritual place, the Ultimate Reality is Shiva, who is white and proximate to Him is Parvati, who is dark.  When we test everything in the fire of Jnana, or true knowledge, the residue is Shiva.  Ash in the material plane corresponds to Shiva in the spiritual plane.  We smear our bodies wit