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Showing posts from June 7, 2020


Bhuvaraha Form Of Lord Vishnu - Information About Bhu Varaha Swamy

Bhuvaraha is one of the three different forms of Varaha Avatar of Bhagvan Vishnu that one will come across in paintings, murtis and sculptures. Bhu Varaha Swamy is also known as Adivaraha and Nrivaraha. Below is some important informations about Bhuvaraha form of Lord Vishnu. The murti of Bhuvaraha has the face of a boar and the body of a man. The divine murti has four arms. What the arm carries varies from scripture to scripture. The color of the murti should be like the darkness of twilight. As per Silparatna, his hands hold gada and padma and carry Bhoomidevi on the tusk. One of his feet rest on Adisesha and the other on a tortoise. The Silparatna also suggests that instead of the Varaha being half man and half boar, it may be worked out wholly as a boar with a thick snout, broad shoulder blades, long tusks and a big body cover with up-turned bristles. It must be noted that in all Bhuvaraha murtis, Goddess Bhoomidevi is represented as a goddess in human form. Apart

Mallika - Jasmine Flower In Hinduism

Mallika, jasmine flower (chameli - mulla or malligai), several species of which are native to India, is a fragrant flower and is used in the worship of gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Garlands made of jasmine flowers are offered to deities in temples and also in Hindu homes as part of daily worship. After the deities are garlanded, devotees visiting the temples are given these flowers as prasada (offering) by Hindu temple priests. According to Hindu scriptures, the jasmine is considered to be one of the five arrows of Manmatha, the God of love, which he shoots from his bow made of sugarcane, the other four being lotus, ashoka flower, mango flower and blue lotus. Many renowned Sanskrit poets and dramatists have praised the flower in their works. Kalidasa mentioned the flower in his poem Raghuvamsha, in which he describes the newly blossomed, sweet smelling jasmine. Dandin has also mentioned this flower in his Sanskrit Kavyadarsha. The practice of Hindu women decorating t

Janardan Swami – Guru Of Sant Eknath

Janardan Swami, Guru of Sant Eknath of Maharashtra, was born in a Deshpande family on the sixth day of the dark fortnight of the month Phalgun in Saka Era 1426 (1504 AD). Dattatreya was their family deity. With his scholarship and devotion to Dattatreya, Janardan Swami earned wide recognition. According to the Marathi poet, Mahipati, he was a treasure house of knowledge. Janardan Swami was initiated into spiritual life by Sage Nrsimha Saraswati. Legend has it that Dattatreya used to manifest himself in him. His scholarship attracted even the Muslim chief of Daulatabad, who gave him an important post in his royal court. Once a week, Janardan Swami devoted a whole day to silence, meditation, and communion with the Divine. He authored many works but, unfortunately, only few of those works survive today. Sant Eknath heard of about Janardan Swami and decided to study under him. Janardan Swami accepted him as his disciple after testing him. Sant Eknath served his prec

Mahavakyas In Upanishad And Four Mutts Found by Adi Shankaracharya

Mahavakyas are the four ‘great sayings’ of the Upanishads. We should not expect to find an original red-lined version of the Upanishads with these four verses highlighted and raised to a special philosophical status. For one thing, we know that the early tradition was an oral tradition, handed down from teacher to student. Furthermore, it is not known with much certainty why or when these four verses, out of the many thousands of verses of the Upanishads, were designated mahavakyas. The verses in question, at least according to the Advaitic tradition, are: aham brahmasmi, tat tvam asi, ayam atma brahma, and prajnanam brahma. What we do know is that they were chosen by Acharya Adi Shankara to represent mantras attached to the four mathas, spiritual centres, in the four corners of India, each of the four taken from one of the four Vedas. Thus, we find that: Aham brahmasmi; I am Brahman of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajur Veda, is connected with the Shringeri Sharada