As per this story in the Puranas, Ashwatthama, son of Dronacharya, wanted to possess the Sudarshana Chakra of Sri Krishna and add it to his array of weapons. Ashwatthama was one of the greatest archers and he had learned the art of archery from his father, Dronacharya, and uncle, Kripacharya. He had the capacity to use several rare weapons and arrows. He also had in his possession the powerful Brahmastra. But Ashwatthama was never satisfied with what he had. He always knew that the Sudarshana Chakra of Sri Krishna was more powerful than all the weapons and arrows he possessed. The desire to acquire Sudarshana Chakra increased day by day and finally Ashwatthama decided to ask for it. He went to Sri Krishna and told him that he is ready to give to him all the secret weapons and arrows that is in his possession. He told he is even ready to give away his Brahmastra provided Sri Krishna gave his Sudarshana Chakra to him. Sri Krishna smiled and agreed to the suggestion of

There are several temples dedicated to Ravana in India . Ravan is one of the biggest demons in Hindu Scriptures. Although he is the chief of demons in the Ramayan, Ravana is worshipped for his intense devotion to Shiva and his scholarly trait. Known temples dedicated to Ravana are found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It must be noted that there will be numerous other temples dedicated to Ravan which is yet to be recorded. Dashanan Temple at Chinnamastika Temple in Kanpur Dashanan Temple is a small shrine dedicated to Ravana on the premises of Chinnamastika Temple in Kanpur . The shrine is only opened during the Dasara Festival. A 5ft murti of Ravana is found in the temple. 45ft Ravana Murti at Khonpura   Village  in Madhya Pradesh The huge murti of Ravan is worshipped on the open ground of the Khonpura   Village . The murti is more than 200 years old. You can read about this murti here. Mandore in Rajasthan - R

Each day of a week in Hinduism has got a colour associated with it. This is closely related to the deity worshipped on each day. White is the colour of Monday or Somvar; Red is the color of Tuesday or Mangalvar; Green is the color on Wednesday of Budhvar; Yellow is on Thursday/Guruvar; light blue on Friday/Shukravar; black on Saturday or Shanivar; Sunday it is orange. Monday is associated with Shiva and Chandra (the moon god) and the color chosen is white. Other preferred colours are pale shades of blue, green and pink. Tuesday is associated with Mars. Bright red is the color associated wit the day. Jet Black and bright shades of orange or pink are also worn by some people. Wednesday is associated with Mercury. Green or Pear Green is the most important hue on the day. Other colors suggested are mild tones of blue, gray and brown. Thursday is associated with Jupiter. Apart from yellow, the other colors preferred are Orange and golden. Friday is r

Aviyoga Tritiya Vratam is dedicated to Goddess Parvati (Gauri) and Hindu God Shiva. The Vrata is performed for peace, wealth, prosperity and happiness by women and men.  The Aviyoga Tritiya Vrat is observed on the third day of the Shukla Paksha of Margashirsha (December – January). It is also observed for a year starting from Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Tritiya to Kartik Shukla Paksha Tritiya. The important rituals performed on the Aviyoga Tritiya Vratam include worship of Shiva and Parvati, pujas and feeding the poor. When the Vrata is performed for 12 months; 12 different forms of Goddess Shakti and various forms of Shiva are worshipped. In the Margashirsha month Shiva and Gauri are worshipped In Paush month Parvati and Girisha In Magh mahina Bhavani and Bhava In Phalguna month Uma and Mahadeva In Chaitra month Lalita and Shankara In Vaishakh month Lolanetra and Sthanu In Jyeshta month Ekvira and Vireshwar In Ashada month S

Pani Grahan in Hindu marriage refers to the taking hold of the bride’s hand by the bridegroom. In marriage rites, though differences exist in minute details from region to region and sect to sect, certain rites are considered to be essential for the validity of the marriage and are common to all. In Hindu marriage, four rites are of prime importance Kanyadana – giving the bride to the bridegroom by the bride’s father Vivaha home – offering of oblations into the sacred fire, the fire god being the witness to the marriage. Pani Grahan – in which the bride’s right hand is grasped by the bridegroom Sapta padi – the rite of seven steps in which the bridegroom leads the bride seven steps towards the north amidst the utterance of mantras. How Is Pani Grahan Performed? In Pani Grahan, the bride groom stands facing west, while the bride sits in front of him with her face to the east. He now grasps her right hand while reciting a Vedic mantra. This grasping of the hand is

The annual Pandharpur Yatra carrying Dnyaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi, near Pune, to Pandharpur Vithoba Temple is attended by millions of devotees. In 2023, the date of Sri Dnyaneshwar Palkhi Sohala Prasthan from Alandi is on June 11. Ashadi Ekadasi is on June 29, 2023. The schedule of Palki in Pune is given below. Considered to be one of the world’s largest pilgrimages, the varkaris (Pilgrims) from Alandi follow the palanquin carrying the silver images of the Padukas (Sandals) of Saint Dnyaneshwar. The pilgrimage known as Waari in Marathi ends on the Ashadi Ekadasi. Sant Dnyaneshwar, also known as Jnanadev or Jnaneshwar revolutionized Marathi bhakti literature and at the age of fifteen wrote Jnaneswari – a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita which has been a household text in Maharashtrian homes for centuries. Lord Vithoba is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is worshipped mainly in Maharashtra and in some parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The most important shrine

There is only one answer to the question – when did murti puja or idol worship begin in Hinduism? No one exactly knows. We only have theories about the beginning of idol worship – some theories credited to left leaning intellectuals and some theories propagated by right leaning intellectuals. The color of the theories depends on the political belief of the intellectuals. A believer should not be bothered about theories. For academic interest the theories are: It is believed that there was no idol worship during the Vedic period. But idols have been discovered from the Indus Valley archeological sites. There were also cultures and human settlements outside the Vedic religion and it is believed that they had worshipped murtis. It is generally believed that murti puja became very prominent in Hinduism during the puranic period. There is no proper proof to any of the above conclusions. Another interesting theory is that the first murtis were perhaps Shivling which were shi

Pani Dasyu is a rich person who does not care to make offerings to the gods or give fees to the priests. The person is mentioned in some hymns of Rig Veda. Pani Dasyu – s are spoken of as niggardly and as wolves, full of bestial vanity. Some of the western scholars agree with this interpretation, while the traditional commentators interpret the word as barter. Some other hymns of Rig Veda make mythological references to the pani-s as demons withholding the waters of heaven. Frequently, pani-s are mentioned as opponents of Divodasa Atithigva, one of the leading princes of the Vedic age and as the thieves who stole the cattle of the Aryans. In one hymn pani-s are referred to as dasyu-s, apparently meaning of hostile speech. There are divergent views about the exact significance of the words pani and dasyu. In classical Sanskrit, the word pani denotes the market, the root pan conveys the sense of bartering, bargaining, or betting and the word pana, the sense of p

The nine planets considered in Hindu predictive astrology has been attributed various properties and papa samaya is one among them. ‘Samaya’ means time or occasion; papa means ‘evil or sin’. Papa samaya indicates when a given navagraha or planet is prone to give malefic results to the person because of a graham samyoga (specific combination) or a sthana (place) in which it is situated at that time. Varahamihira in his text Brhajjataka (2-5) describes the nature of these planets. The classification is extensive, and for the final calculation of the strength of the planet about its ability to give a benefic result, all these factors are to be taken into consideration. Papa samaya for a planet arises because of one or more of these reasons: By the nature of the planet itself.   The sun, waning moon (after the tenth day in the dark half, for five days), Mars and Saturn are classified as papa grahas (sinful planets). The yutatva (combination) of other planets with the