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Showing posts from August 30, 2019


Balachandra Form Of Ganesha – Story Of Bhalchandra Ganesh

Balachandra is a unique form of Ganesha in which He wears the moon on His forehead. Balachandra means the boy with the moon. Bala means ‘child’ and Chandra means ‘moon’. The story of Ganesha as Bhalchandra is found in the Brahmanda Purana. Legend has it that Chandra, the moon god, was cursed by Darbhi to lose his brightness. It is believed that this Darbhi was a great saint who used to bring the four oceans to Kurukshetra to take bath. Chandra was in a great dilemma and did not know how to escape from the curse. Seeing Chandra losing his luster, Ganesha took pity on him and took him up and wore him on his forehead as a tilak. This saved Chandra and he got back his luster. The form of Ganapati in which he has the moon on the forehead is known as Balachandra. A popular temple with murti of Balachandra is found on the banks of Godavari River in Maharashtra. The temple of Bhalchandra is around 40 km from Parbhani.

Bahiram – About Hindu God Bahiram

Bahiram is closely associated with Hindu God Shiva and is widely worshipped in the Amravati region in Maharashtra . One belief is that Bahiram is a corrupt form of Bhairav. The deity is also believed to be the guardian deity of the betel leaf gardens. Bahiram is also associated with the Khandoba worship in Maharashtra. The most popular temple dedicated to Bahiram is located near Karanja-Bahiram around 20 km from Achalpur. The temple is located atop a hill, locally known as, Bahiram hill, and is around 3 km from Karanja-Bahiram. The murti (idol) worshipped in the temple is Swayambhu, appeared on its own. The murti is 6 feet high and 8 feet to 10 feet in width. Bahiram is the kuladevata, or family deity, of many families in Maharashtra . Barias of Maharashtra annually go on pilgrimage to temples dedicated to Bahiram. The main offerings to the deity include sindhoor, butter, coconut, lowers, red lead and parched rice. Prayers are offered to Bahiram by couples for

Story of Adishesha Wearing Earth As Crown - Adishesha Snake Story

Adishesha is the king of Nagas or serpents and his story is found in the Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana and Devi Bhagavatam. Adishesha was the son of Sage Kashyapa and Kadru. He was not happy with his mother attempting to deceive Vinata, another wife of Sage Kashyapa. So he left his mother and brothers and performed intense austerities in Pushkara, Gandhamadana Mountain and Badari for several years. At the end of the austerities, Lord Brahma appeared before him and asked him to move to netherworld and support the earth on his hoods. Thus Adishesha dwells in the netherworld wearing the whole earth as a crown.

Gokarna in Hinduism – Importance of Gokarna in Hindu Religion

Gokarna, a place of Hindu pilgrimage, is mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavad Purana and the Padma Purana. The place is of great importance in Hinduism due to the sanctity of the place and the presence of Mahabaleshwar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Gokarna, means ear’s of cow, and the place is named after a pious saint with ears of a cow who performed intense penance here to get his wicked brother attain moksha. (You can read the story here) There is a popular belief that Lord Shiva emerged here from the ear of a cow here. The place is located at the ear-shaped confluence of two small rivers, Gangavali and Aghanashini. Another popular legend is that of demon king Ravana who was deceived by Lord Ganesha into giving him the Atmalinga. It is now worshipped in the Mahabaleshwar Temple. The area was under the rule of Kadambas, Sodhe and Vijayanagara empires. The area gave refuge to Hindus who fled from Gomantak (present day Goa) to escape forcible conversions by the Portug

Born During Rahu Kalam – Is birth during Rahu Kalam Bad in Hindu Religion

Many people in Hindu religion conclude that born during Rahu Kalam is bad. But reality is that birth during no time is bad. So the answer to the question – Is birth during Rahu Kalam Bad is No. If one goes through the Hindu scriptures it is clearly stated that all living and nonliving beings are nothing but the Supreme Truth (called by names like Vishnu, Devi, Shiva, Ganesha etc). So as per Hinduism there is neither birth nor death. One form transforms into another form. What is time? Time is nothing but a human creation. So anything that is based on it is not true. Birth of a being takes place long before it comes out of the womb. So it is near impossible to find the so called birth time of a baby. Now a question arises why do we see Rahu Kalam in calendar? This has been part of some cultures for a long time. So it is being followed by some people. It must be noted here that there are millions of Hindus who do not look into Rahu Kalam. Again in some regions Rahukala

Pratyumgira Devi Temple at Trivandrum – Brahmapuram Sree Mahalakshmi Pratyangira Devi Temple

Pratyumgira Devi Temple located at Trivandrum in Kerala is unique as it is one the rare temples in India where Goddess Lakshmi and Pratyangira Devi are the presiding deities. Another unique aspect of the temple is that Mahalakshmi and Ganapati are worshipped in the same sanctum sanctorum. Darshan of Mahalakshmi and Ganapati together is considered highly meritorious. Devotees offer prayers here for prosperity, marriage, healthy children, education, employment and good health. Pratyumgira Devi is a fierce manifestation of Mother Goddess Shakti and she protects her children from all negative forces. Special prayers are offered to Goddess Pratyumgira Devi on Tuesdays and Amavasya days. The main offering to the Goddess is Prathyumgira Homam. It is believed to eradicate bad luck, evil eyes and other nefarious activities of enemies. The main festival in the shrine is observed in Malayalam Kumbham month. Subsidiary deities worshipped in the temple include Budhi-Siddhi Ga