Badi Teej, or Kajli Teej, is observed in the Bhadrapad month and is an important observance in Rajasthan and other parts of North India . In 2023, the date of Badi Teej is September 2. The preparation and rituals begin on August 31, 2023. It is observed by married and unmarried women on the third day of the waning phase of moon in Bhadrapad month. Fasting on the Badi Teej is from sunrise to sighting of the moon. Married women fast on the day for the welfare of their husbands and for a peaceful and happy life. Unmarried women observe Badi Teej fasting for getting a good husband. One day prior to Teej, there is the Sinjara or Singhara (mehendi ceremony) and women get gifts and they go on a shopping spree on the day. On the Badi Teej day, women fast from morning to sighting of moon. The prayers are dedicated to the Neem tree, referred as Neem Mata. In some regions the prayers and fasting is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. This is one among the three

Niranam Shiva Temple, popularly known as Thrikkapaleeswaram Dakshinamurthy temple, is located at Niranam on Thiruvalla – Mavelikkara road in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. The ancient temple is one among the 108 Shiva temples in Kerala. The darshanam of Niranam Thrikkapaleeswaram temple is towards east. The Sankalpam here is that of Shiva as Kapaleshwar – Shiva holding the skull as the begging bowl. The shrine is also famous as a Dakshinamurthy Temple. The Upa Devatas worshipped in the temple are Ganapathy, Sri Krishna, Sastha, Vrishabha and Saptamatrikas. The main festival worshipped in the temple is Mahashivratri. Oil is donated here to defeat enemies. Oil is also donated to the temple for early cure when cattle or livestock fall sick. The temple is famous for the worship of Saptamatrikas . It is believed that murtis of the seven divine mothers here are the most beautiful ones in Kerala. The Rishabha murti (Nandi)  here is also famous for its beauty. Rishabha has separate

Abhinavagupta has classified thirty-six tattvas or levels of manifested universe admitted in the Advaita Shaiva school of Kashmir under four andas: Sadashiva tattva; Ishvara tattva and the Shuddhavidya tattva constituting the Shaktyanda; mayashakti and five kanchukas namely, kala, vidya, raga, kala, and niyati, constituting mayanda; Purusha, Prakriti, buddhi, ahamkara, and manas, five powers of sense perception called jnanendriyas, five powers of action called karmendriyas, and five primary subtle elements called tanmatras constituting the prakrityanda; five gross material elements called mahabhutas that are the product of five tanmatras constituting prithvyanda. The total number of tattvas constituting the manifest world is thirty-four. The remaining two tattvas out of a total number of thirty-six tattvas, Shiva-tattva and Shakti-tattva are held to be eternally existent as such, as these stay above the world creation. Parama Shiva, the supreme Being exists on the top as the transc

The Advaita school of spiritual philosophy was founded in Kashmir by sage Vasugupta in the last quarter of the eight century CE. Vasugupta taught Kallata ( 855 CE), his disciple, the spiritual philosophy contained in the Shiva Sutra. Kallata grasped the purport of the spiritual thought conveyed in the Shiva Sutra, which were reproduced by him in his own way in the work Spanda Karika. In this way, he gave rise to a distinct phase in the development of the Advaita Shaiva thought, called Spanda. Kallata wrote a vritti, gloss, on these karikas, which together with the commentary is known as Spanda Sarvasva. Three commentaries on the karakas are available: Vivriti by Ramakantha (925 CE), Pradipa by Utpala Bhatta (10th Century CE), and Nirnaya by Kshemaraja. Kshemaraja also wrote a bigger work, Spanda Nirnaya, which he summarised in Spanda Sandoha. Vasugupta’s disciple Siddha Somananda (850 CE) gave a new turn to the development of the Advaita Shaiva spiritual philosophy by writing Shi

Vettikkavala Sree Mahadevar temple, also known as Vettikavala Mahakshetrangal, is located at Vettikkavala near Kottarakkara in Kollam district, Kerala. There are two temples here – Melottu kshetram with Shiva as main deity and Thazhe kshetram with Vishnu Bhagavan as the main deity. Shiva is worshipped in a vatta sreekovil (circular sanctum sanctorum) and Vishnu is worshipped in a square sanctum (chatura sreekovil). The darshanam of Vettikkavala temple is towards east. The Upa Devatas worshipped in the temple are Ganapathy, Nagam, Kazhuvudayan, Vasoorimala, Bhoothathan, Kochu Moorti and Vathukkal Njali Kunju. There are two flag posts or kodimaram in the Vishnu temple. As per local legend, the Shivling was accidentally discovered by a woman belonging to the hunter community. She was digging for native bulbs when she hit a Shivling under a Vetti maram (tree). Blood appeared on the Shivling and the temple was constructed on the spot. The 10-day annual festival ends with arattu on T

The story of Jada Bharata and its symbolic meaning is found in the Srimad Bhagavad Purana. Despite shaking off all attachments of the kingdom, sons, wealth, and so on, and retiring to the forest to meditate on Bhagavan Vasudeva, King Bharata had strayed from his path due to his attachment to a deer. He was born as a deer. The deer was not the last birth of Bharata. He again was born as the son of a Brahmana. The boy, by the grace of Bhagavan, remembered his previous two births. He recalled how he had failed to get liberation from samsara (the cycle of birth and death) in his previous human birth due to attachment. He was afraid that if he fell prey to attachment in this birth too, he would have a similar fate. To avoid attachment, he pretended to be a dull and stupid fellow to the outside world. Along with that, he firmly clasped Bhagavan’s lotus feet with his mind. Because other took him for a dull-witted person, he came to be known as ‘Jadabharata’ (Jada in Sanskrit means dull or

Venkitangu Sree Shankaranarayana temple, also known as Venkitangu Valiyambalam, is located at Venkitangu in Thrissur district, Kerala. The main deity worshipped in the temple is Shankaranarayana. The murti is nearly 5 feet tall including the peedam. The darshanam of   Venkitangu Sree Shankaranarayana is towards west. The Upa Devatas worshipped in the temple are Ganapathi, Vyasa Rishi and Goddess Saraswati. It is said that during ancient times the temple was a Mahakshetram. The walls of gopuram and anappalla mathil are the only remnants of the Mahakshetram. A 4 acre temple pond known as Melukulam is part of the temple. As per local history, the temple used to conduct a festival with kodiyettam or flag hoisting performed on Medam 10. As per history, the temple was a Veda Pathashala. Kokasandesham belonging to 14 th century CE mentions Venkitangu Sree Shankaranarayana temple. The shrine is also mentioned in Chatakasandesham. In olden days, the temple was managed by Kanippayyu

Vettathu Kavu Bhagavathy temple is located at Vettam, around 12 km from Tirur town, in Kerala. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mookambika and darshanam is towards east. The Prathishta of Vettathu Bhagavathy is Valkannadi. The upa devatas worshipped in the temple are Shiva - Parvathi, Ganapathi, Ayyappa inside the temple complex and Brahmarakshas and Nagaprathishta outside. Thalappoli is held on the first Saturday and Sunday after Meenam 10 (last week of March). As per history the Bhagavathi worshipped here was the Kulabharadevata of Vettathu kings. Legend has it that the then Vettathu king – an ardent devotee of Goddess Mookambika pleaded when she appeared before him, to come to his land – Vettom. Devi consented and it is believed that she resides in the Vettam palace. From then onward the king offered ablutions and was worshiping Devi regularly. The palace ground where the offerings were made to the Devi was considered to be the original sanctum - Sree Moolasthanam - of the

Vezhapra Sree Bhagavathi temple is located at Vezhapra in Ramankary in Alappuzha district, Kerala. The shrine is dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali. The darshanam of Vezhapra temple is towards east. The prathishta of Vezhapra Bhagavathi is Kannadi Shila. The Upa Devatas worshipped in the temple are Ganapathy, Vasoorimala and Shiva. The 10-day festival in the temple concludes with arattu on Bharani nakshatra in Meenam month (March – April). Karyakkatu Madom earlier had karanmashanthi in the temple.

Vaisravana temple is located at Triprangode in Malappuram district, Kerala. This is one of the rarest of rare Kubera temple in Kerala. Kuber is the treasurer of the Devas and the king of Yakshas in Hinduism. The temple is believed to be more than 2000 years old.  Triprangode Kubera Temple Timing There is only one puja in the temple - The darshan time is from 5:30 AM to 9:30 AM. Triprangode Vaisravana Temple Contact Details - 9048095975, 9961005461 The darshanam of Vaisravana temple is towards west. Upa Devata worshipped in the temple is Ganapathi. There are two Ganapathis in a single sreekovil or sanctum sanctorum. The annual festival in the temple begins on Medam 15 (April 28 or April 29) and ends on the seventh day.  The belief is that worshipping at this temple will help in solving all problems associated with money and one will be blessed with treasure and wealth. The main offering in the temple is Panayapara. This performed in the Namaskara Mandapam of the temple. The ritual invo

Thiruvachira Sree Krishna temple is located at Meenchanda in Kozhikode in Kerala. The shrine is dedicated to Sri Krishna bhagavan in Parthasarathy sankalpam. The darshanam of the Thiruvachira temple is towards east. The Upa Devatas worshipped in the temple are Ganapathy, Ayyappan, and Bhagavathi. The important annual festival in the temple is held on Guruvayur Ekadashi day. Another important festival here is Gokulashtami. There is a Chira or temple pond which is spread across 5 acres of land in front of the temple. This temple pond gives the temple a unique look and is famous as Thiruvachira. The pond is famous for its protected fishes. As per history, the temple first belonged to Brahmins. Later it came under the control of Beypore Kovilakam. The ownership once again changed and the shrine was managed by Samoothiri Kovilakam. The temple which was left without any proper maintenance was taken over Sri Krishna Paripalana Committee. The committee fought and won a legal battle for the cu

Be humble and have love and compassion for your fellow human beings. By living a simple life and remembering God’s name at all times, you will achieve ultimate salvation Remain always calm and composed, through happy and sad moments in life. Remain in a state of bliss by continuously chanting the name of Bhagavan. Bhagavan is everywhere, even inside your heart. It is just that we are not looking properly. Humility is the greatest offering. Silence helps one to realize Bhagavan. Avoid unwanted talks. Such rubbish talks lead one to problems. Simple and honest life opens the doors to self realization. Siddh Paramhans Shri Guru Govind Maharaj - a Digambar saint, who lived during the 19 th century

Tithi in Panchang – Hindu Calendar on Thursday, 26 August 2021 – It is Krishna Paksha Chaturthi tithi or the fourth day during the waning or dark phase of moon in Hindu calendar and Panchang in most regions. It is Krishna Paksha Chaturthi tithi or the fourth day during the waning or dark phase of moon till 5:16 PM on August 26. Then onward it is Krishna Paksha Panchami tithi or the fifth day during the waning or dark phase of moon till 6:32 PM on August 27. (Time applicable in all north, south and eastern parts of India. All time based on India Standard Time.  Good – Auspicious time on August 26, 2021 as per Hindu Calendar – Good and auspicious time on the entire day.  Nakshatra  – Revati nakshatra till 11:46 PM on August 26 . Then onward it is Ashwini or Aswathy nakshatra on the entire day on August 27 and till 1:46 AM on August 28 . (Time applicable in north, south and eastern parts of India).  In western parts of India (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, north Karnataka and s