The story of Ruru is found in the Kashidashi Mahabharat. He loved his wife so much that he gave half of his life to save his wife from death. Ruru was the grandson of Chyavan and son of Pramati. He married Pramadvara, daughter of heavenly damsel Menaka. They led a simple and happy life. One day Pramadvara was bitten by a snake and she died immediately. Ruru was inconsolable. He ran from the spot crying loudly. He reached the forests soon and kept crying loudly. All living beings in the forest were disturbed by the non-stop crying of Ruru. Devas arrived at the scene and told Ruru that all living beings have to die that is law of nature. His wife, Pramadvara, was never destined to live forever. It was her destiny that she had to die from snake bite. The words of Devas did not console Ruru. He kept crying loudly. The Devas then told Ruru that he can have his wife back, if he was willing to give half of his remaining lifespan to her. Ruru did not have any second tho...

Dagdhakshara means scorched alphabet implying thereby that certain so-considered letters never be used, generally at the beginning of a composition. As such daghaksharas are forbidden at the beginning of any literary work. In Sanskrit prosody called Pingala Shastra, there are some instructions for poets regarding the use of words. It is believed that the choice of letters, at the beginning of any poetic composition, specially a mahakavya (an epic) or a khanda kavya (near epic poem, or a long narrative in cantos or books), brings either a good or a bad effect on the composer of the poetic work. Out of the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet in Devanagari script, some are called shubha (auspicious or propitious) and some ashubha (inauspicious). The auspicious letters are fifteen, namely k, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j,  ḍ , d, dh, n, y, s, sh and k ṣ . The inauspicious letters are nineteen, namely  ṅ , jh, naa,  ṭ ,  ṭ h, ḍh,  ṇ , ta, tha, p, ph, b, bh, m, r, ...

Story from the life of Pandava brothers inspires us to make God as our main player. By allowing god to choose god as our main player we are ensuring our victory because his moves will never end in disasters. The great five Pandava brothers, when they were in exile, once complained to Sri Krishna about the endless sufferings they had to undergo, despite He, Sri Krishna, the Lord, being with them always. Sri Krishna smiled and explained, when you were playing the game of dice with the Kauravas, which you had accepted as part of your royal disposition, and when it was offered that either side could choose anyone whom they held accomplished to represent them as their main player who will decide the moves, while Kauravas chose their uncle Shakuni, you chose your own elder brother whose skills in dealing with this challenge were no equal to it. If you had chosen Me as your main player, the whole story would have been different. The moral is that we should choose God as our ma...

The rite of sprinkling water drops of sanctified water over and around before eating is Parisecana. The sprinkling of water around before eating in Hinduism combines and symbolically invokes the three powers of water, fire and Surya, the sun god. By being honored through this invocation, the three powers contribute towards the well-being and prosperity of the performer. The mantra for the evening meal is rtam tva satyena parisincami “Order, you are sprinkled around with truth”) and for the daytime is satyam tva rtena parisincami “Truth, you are sprinkled around with order”). (The word ‘Order’ – rta – stands for the eternal order that governs the Universe. These mantras are originally mentioned in Taittiriya Brahmana (11.11.1) in the context of performing the Agnihotra rites which begin in the evening and conclude the following morning. Drops of water received in the palm of the hand are sanctified by the recitation of these mantras and then sprinkled around the food in ...

The root of the foot path leading to the top of the Tirumala Tirupati hills, Alipiri, is the pedestal of the seven hills in Tirumala. A pilgrim takes the first step of the journey to the holy abode of Balaji from here. It is believed that Lord Venkateswara, in order to climb His holy hills took His first step here and left the imprints of His sacred feet at Alipiri. This spot is immortalized as 'Padala mandapam'. The spot is of great religious significance and importance to all Venkateswara devotees. In 1628 AD. Matla Kumara Anantharaja of Devachoda family built a mandapam at Alipiri renowned as padala mandapam. It is under the tamarind tree here that Tirumala Nambi taught the secrets of Ramayana to his disciple the divine Ramanuja. It is believed that the holy footprints of Lord Venkateswara appeared at this spot as narrated in Sri Venkatachala Itihasa Mala. Pilgrims coming by foot to Tirumala first worship these sacred foot prints of Lord Venkateswara. Tho...

Seeing puja, temples or prayer etc in dream is considered highly auspicious as per Hindu religion beliefs. It is also an indication that with attitude and behavior change you can win the favor of the gods. In Hindu religion there is an ancient scripture known as Swapna Shastra which gives interpretation and meaning of various dreams. Seeing pujas and prayers are highly meritorious. Seeing visiting temples and sacred places in dream is good. Dreaming of temples means you will see peace. There will be change of luck and there will be gains in property and financial matters. But seeing pujas and rituals involving blood and gore are considered bad. After seeing such dream it is good to visit temples and perform annadanam.  Here’s an expanded exploration of what these elements could signify in your dreams. 1. Puja in Dreams Puja, a form of worship in Hinduism and other related religions, involves rituals, offerings, and prayers to deities. Dreaming of puja can symbolize: Sp...

Drishadvati is a tributary of holy Saraswati River. It is mentioned in the Rig Veda, the most ancient text. The Nadistuti in Rig Veda makes a specific mention of this river along with Sindhu with its five tributaries in the east, and Saraswati, Ganga, Yamuna and Sarayu. Several scholars identify Saraswati as the present day Surasti in Punjab, which is a small river. Sursati falls into the present day Ghaggar, another small river which is also said to be the lost Saraswati River. Likewise, Drishadvati is identified as the present day Chitang or Rakshin Punjab, anther rivulet. It appears that in ancient times the present day Sursati-Ghaggar-Haka-Nara must have formed a considerable stream as Saraswati. The present day Chitang is a tributary of Ghaggar. Drishadvati was a big river in those days. Saraswati was also a substantially large river. Even Puranas include these in the list of major rivers. Later accounts, however, say that Saraswati had vanished in the desert at Vinasana...

The truth that we are the Atman is very simple. Swami Vivekananda says that the greatest truths are the simplest things in the world. But to realise this simple fact, we have to practise hard. What comes in the way of our understanding is ego, or the principle which separates us from one another. The ego is like the scum on the surface of water, to give the simile of Sri Ramakrishna. You see the clear water beneath, but very soon the scum covers it again. The sum and substance of Vedanta is to get rid of the ego that I am the body and mind and identify ourselves with the Atman which is beyond both. Identifying ourselves with our bodies brings in its train endless miseries. Recently, a son died prematurely in a family. The mother, who could not bear his loss, also died within two months. That is because of the tremendous attachment to their egos. Contrast this with Dr. Sri Shivakumara Swamiji (1 April 1907 – 21 January 2019) who was the head of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur d...

As per stories associated with Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, Vakula Matha, the foster mother of Lord Venkateswara on earth was the rebirth of Yashoda. Yashoda was the foster mother of Little Krishna in Dwapara Yuga. Yashoda who witnessed his childhood miracles was worried that she could not perform even a marriage to Krishna. She was not fortunate enough to see any of his marriages as well. To condone her anguish, Krishna gave her a boon, “Oh mother! I will be born as Srinivasa (Venkateswara) in the Kali Yuga. At that time, I will marry Padmavathi, daughter of Akasha Raju. You will have the privilege of performing that marriage.” Yashoda of Dvapara Yuga took rebirth in Kali Yuga as Vakula Matha. Vakula Matha took care of Srinivasa like his own mother. Srinivasa could relish her maternal affection once again. Once, Srinivasa went to the hillside for hunting. There, he saw Padmavathi chased by a herd of elephants. Protecting her from the attack of elephants, Srinivasa ...

Dushala was the only daughter of Queen Gandhari and King Dhritarashtra in the Mahabharata. She was the only sister of the 100 Kaurava brothers. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, loved and respected his only sister. She lost all her 100 brothers and husband in the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata. When Gandhari gave birth to a big lump of flesh, Sage Vyasa advised that it be cut into one hundred pieces and kept in 100 jars of ghee (clarified butter). The remaining piece was put into an additional jar making the count of jars to 101. 100 sons were born to Queen Gandhari and King Dhritarashtra from the 100 jars. The additional jar gave birth to a daughter who was named Dushala. When Dushala came of age, she was married to Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu Desha. The couple had a son named Suratha. Jayadratha was killed in the Mahabharata war by Arjuna. When the Kurukshetra war was over and Yudhisthira had been installed as king at Hastinapur, the Pandavas performed As...