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Showing posts from May 22, 2019


Flowers Offered To Lord Muruga

Each god in Hindu pantheon has a favorite flower and leaves. Lord Muruga, also known as Skanda or Subrahmanya, is usually offered white or red oleander (Arali) flowers. Other favorite flowers of Muruga includes rose and Champa flowers (Shenbagam). Oleander is known as Arali in Tamil; Kaner in Hindi and Raktakarabi in Bengali. Please note that oleander flower and plant is considered poisonous and is believed to contain toxic compounds. Golden champa or yellow champa locally known as chambugam or chempaka is another favorite flower of Lord Muruga. Another important offering to Muruga is lemon. People make garlands out of lemon and offer it to Muruga.

Story - Sage Agastya Presenting Divine Weapons To Sri Ram In Ramayana

The divine weapons that were used by Bhagwan Sri Ram in the Ramayana were presented by Sage Agastya to Him. Sri Ram met Sage Agastya in the Dandaka forest and the meeting is mentioned in the Aranya Kanda of the Ramayana. Divine Bow Agastya gifted Sri Ram Vishnu’s Bow – the divine bow inlaid with gold and encrusted with gems was designed by Vishvakarma. The bow was also known as Brahmadatta as it was once given to Vishnu by Brahma. Quivers Two quivers which are inexhaustible was the next divine gift. They were given to Sage Agastya by Indra. The arrows in the quivers will never run out in a war. Sword Sage Agastya then gifted Sri Ram a divine sword with a silver scabbard. Vishnu used to fight asuras using this sword. Armor An armor that cannot be pierced by weapon was also given to Sri Ram. This was gifted to Sage Agastya by Indra. Chariot Sage Agastya also said that when Sri Ram needs a chariot, Matali, the charioteer of Indra, will bring the chariot of Ind

Story Of The Birth Of Narakasura

The story of the birth of Narakasura is associated with the exploits of Hiranyaksha, the demon who pulled Mother earth into the Patala or Netherworld and Vishnu appeared as Varaha Avatar or the boar incarnation to retrieve Mother Earth. Narakasura was a demon who overpowered the Devas and captured the three worlds. He had defeated Indra, stolen Aditi’s earrings and imprisoned 16,000 women. Narakasura became very powerful as a result of his accidental birth and subsequent boons from Vishnu. Legend has it that  Hiranyaksha  took the form of a wild pig to pull Bhu Devi (Mother Earth) to Patala. During this act the horns of  Hiranyaksha came into contact with Bhu Devi. From this spark appeared the demon Narakasura. Bhu Devi took the child to Vishnu and asked him to protect him. Vishnu blessed the child with Narayanastra and also gave him the boon that he will not be killed when the Narayanastra is with him. Later Narakasura did intense penance and propitiated Brahma and ga

Linga Pitha – Different Types – Shivling Rests On Linga Pitha

Linga pitha is a seat for establishing the Shivling. The Sanskrit word linga literally means a sign or symbol. In Hinduism, Linga symbolizes Shiva and is the most sacred and highly venerated object. The Shivling consists of a piece of short cylindrical rod called bana with a rounded top, inserted in the middle of a wider circular piece called the avudaiyar, having a pedestal or base called the pitha. It is also known as Gauri Patta or Yonipatta. Shivling represents Shiva and the pitha represents his consort Parvati. The pitha symbolizes the creative force and forms the lower part of the Shivling. It is also referred to as yoni or vulva by secular scholars. The main parts of the Pitha are Nala (a strip for the water to flow) Jaladhara (a place for water and liquid to get collected) Ghrtavari (water pot) Nimna (drip) Pattika (plate) Different Types of Linga Pitha Nagara pitha (square) also known as Brahma Bhaga Dravida pitha (octagonal) also known as Vishn

Sri Krishna One Face Five Bodies – Harihareshwar Temple Kudal – Maharashtra

A wonderful sculpture of Sri Krishna is found on the ceiling of Harihareshwar. Sri Krishna has only one face but five bodies in different positions. When we look at each body we will feel that the face is of that particular body. Harihareshwar Temple at Kudal is about 40km South of Solapur, on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border off the Bijapur highway. Nearest important town is Takali, about 10 km away. The temple of Harihareshwar (11th to 12th century AD) is of the Chalukyan Era. Currently it is a dilapidated condition. Some of the other important sculptures in the temple are Krishna with Gopis and Krishna with friends. There is also a heavy shivling in the Sangameshwar temple with 360 Shiva faces carved on the surface. Another temple in the vicinity is the 17th century Sangameshwar Temple.

Words Used In Tirupati Balaji Temple – Tirumala Temple Terms And Meaning

Tirupati Temple terms have a special significance in temple rituals and are regularly used in different places of the Tirupati Balaji temple. They may signify an action, a person, or a procedure. These are very special to the Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple and understanding them will definitely increase one’s knowledge about Lord Venkateswara. The words mentioned below are peculiar to Tirupati temple and are contextually used with respect to the temple. Many of these terms have been adapted from different languages, depending upon the rulers of the surrounding area. It can be seen that the temple terms are in Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and even Marathi. The language of Mahants, who administered the temple for 90 years have brought in several Hindi, Urdu and Marathi related words. Kainkaryam (Telugu) - ‘Kainkaryam’ denotes a holy service to Lord. Saabooth (Urdu) - Term used by Archakas or priests for ascertaining that everything is in place and correct in

Teachings From Sri Ramanuja Gita Bhashya - Controlling the Sense Objects

Sri Ramanujacharya’s commentary on the slokas 59 to 61 in the Chapter II of the Bhagavad Gita -  Controlling the sense objects - teachings from Sri Ramanuja Gita Bhashya. The sense objects are the food of the sense. The sense objects turn away from one who has withdrawn his senses from objects. But still one may hold the relish for them. Relish means hankering. This means that the hankering of the sense objects does not go away by abstinence alone. But even this hankering will go away when one sees that the essential nature of the self is superior to the sense objects and that the realization of this self gives greater happiness than the enjoyment of sense objects. When there is an attempt to subdue the sense objects and realize the self there will always be a conflict in the mind. With a desire to overcome this mutual dependence between the subduing of the senses and vision of the Self, one has to conquer the senses which are difficult to subdue on accoun