Mythological Stories

Legend of Sankata Chaturthi

2012-01-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Once Indra was returning from sage Bhrushundi’s ashram..While passingover the kingdom of king Shursen Indra found that his vimaan(plane) had stoppedworking and it landed in Shursen’s kingdom. He found that this happened becauseone person(who has done many sins in his life) saw his vimaan in the sky. With his sinful look the planelanded on the ground. This news spread like a fire in the city. All the effortsto restart the plane were failed. Indra told the secret to restart the plane toKing .He said that yesterday was the Chaturthi tithi and if a any person whokept fast yesterday gave his virtue then the plane would start. King orderedhis soldiers to search for such person who kept fast on chaturthi date. Butthere he found no one in the city. At the same time the soldiers of the kingnoticed that the attendant of Lord Ganesha was taking away the dead body of awoman who died on that day. With surprise soldiers asked the attendant of LordGanesha that the lady was a sinner and why they are taking her to GaneshLok. He replied that yesterday the womanremained hungry through out the (though unintentionally) and ate very late night. So accidentlyshe kept the fast of Chaturthi tithi.But she died today. So she was going toGanesh Lokam due to her virtues acquired on chaturthi tithi.

All of a sudden strong wind started to blew which reachedfrom the dead body of the woman till thevimaan of Indra and the vimaan had started. So the wind became virtuous evenwith the touch of that woman.

Such is an importanceof sankata chaturthi which is dedicatedto Lord Ganesha who is the ruler deity of Chaturthi tithi.

Sankata Chaturthi

2012-01-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

In the month of Magh as per lunar calendar, the 4thtithi(date) of the dark half(Krishna paksha)is celebrated as “Sankata Chauth”. The ruler deity of the chaturthi(fourth)date is Lord Ganesha. So, Sankata Chauth festival is very auspicious to worshipLord Ganesha. This fast is for removal of obstacles in the life. Its importancewas told by Lord Krishna to Yudhisthir.

Procedure

1)Wake up before sunrise and after bathing “sankalp” has tobe done in front of Lord Ganesha’s idol.

2) Observe nirjala fast(without water) from the sunrise tillthe appearance of moon in the evening, ,If the health doesnot permit then fruits and milk can be consumed. But nocereals has to be taken.

3) Pooja of LordGanesha has to be performed by offering 21 Durvas(a kind of grass).

4) As a prasadam, Laddu has to be offered.

5) Offer water to the moon(argya) 3 times.If moon is notvisible then its image can be drawn on the outer wall.

On this day Lord Ganesha blessed planet Mars(mangal). So ifthe horoscope has some malefic influence of Mars called Mangal dosham, thenthis day is the best day in a year to get rid of that ill effect by worshipingLord Ganesha

Trijata- The Sita's saviour

2011-12-19T10:33:00.001-08:00

'Trijata' was one of the demoness in King Ravana’s court. Shewas appointed to have an eye on Sita and convinced her to marry King. Due toher past lives good deeds,Trijata, was devotee of Lord Rama despite born in demoncommunity. Instead of threatening Sita, she was the only one there in AshokVatika where Sita was kept who treated Sita like her daughter. She even freedSita from the fear by disclosing the secret that Ravana could not marry her dueto involvement of previous curses to him. One night she had a dream in which shesaw that Lord Rama defeated Ravana. After the dream she even tried her best to persuadeKing to set Sita free from his captivity.She was sure the Ravanas act ofkeeping Sita in his kingdom would bring destruction to the whole family.Trijata clearly understood the powers of Sita at once. Even during the war shekept the hopes of Sita alive when Ravana spread the rumors about his victory.She morally supported Sita all the way during the war. Trijata's role can never be underestimated. Actually Trijata was a niece of Ravana,the daughter of Vibhishan.

Nav Bhakti

2011-12-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

The word 'Bhakti' means devotion towards god.According to hindu classics there are 9 forms of bhakti called "Navdha Bhakti". These 9 forms are as follows-
1) Shravan- listening the glory of Lord.is called "shravan"
2) Kirtan- singing bahajans called "Kirtan"
3) Smaran-remebering the god through mantras and japam called "smaran"
4) Pada Sewa-worship of lord's feet is called "Paad Sewa"
5) Archana-offering to god is called "archana"
6) Vandana-bowing before Lord and paying obeisance is called "vandana"
7) Dasya bhakti-when a devotee always consider himself as lord's servant
8) Sakhya-devotee considere god as his friend
9) Samarpan-is a complete surrender.

Ek Shloki Ramayana

2011-12-11T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ramayana , the hindu epic,consist of 24000 shlokas in 7 books.Reading a Ramayanahas a power to wash off all the sins of a human. But in modern era where timeis always in scarcity, the benefits of reading a whole Ramayana can be obtainby reading "Ek shloki Ramayana" in which the context of whole epic isreduced into one shloka(verse).

Mantra as follows

आदि राम तपोवनादिगमनं, हत्वामृगं कांचनम्।

वैदीहीहरणं जटायुमरणं, सुग्रीवसंभाषणम्।।

बालीनिर्दलनं समुद्रतरणं, लंकापुरीदाहनम्।

पश्चाद् रावण कुम्भकर्णहननम्, एतद्धिरामायणम्।।

Meaning

Once Rama went to forest,

He chased the deer,

Sita was kidnapped,

Jatayu was killed, There were talks with Sugreeva,

Bali was killed,

The sea was crossed,

Lanka was burnt,

And later Ravana and Kumbhakarna,

were also killed.

This in short is the story of Ramayanam

Procedure

-consistency is required

-after the morning bath ,start chanting the mantra in frontof idol of Lord Rama

-atleast recitation of 108 times is necessary everyday

-try to recite at thesame time and at the same place everyday.

Varuni Drink

2011-11-30T18:30:00.001-08:00

During the churning of ocean a divine drink called"Varuni" was also produced. This was the honey based drink. Once Lord Balram when drank it hadexhilarating experience and had a moment of bliss . It became the favoritebeverage of Lord Balram. Some text even considered as 'medium of transcedentwisdom'. Even today it is offered as prasadam to Lord Balram.

Following are the ingredients while preparing 'Varuni'drink.

1)Milk

2)Yogurt

3)Cream

4)Honey

5)White Sugar

6)Rose water

The Story of Garlic

2011-11-27T00:09:00.001-08:00

During the war between demons and gods for the divine nectar, one of the demon manage to steal the pot of nectar(amrit). At this crunch time when gods were on the verge of defeat, Lord Vishnu appeared and killed that demon with his divine weapon "Sudrashan Chakra" which cuts his head . But that demon had drank nector and by the time he was killed the nectar had reached till his throat. As the blood drops from his body fell on his ground , at the same place a strange plant grew up, which was a garlic plant. This plant acquired two strange properties. Due to effect of nectar , garlic has a lot of medicinal value and it is considered as very good from health's point of view. On the other hand , due to demonic influence , it has a very negative effect on our psychological health and thought process. This is the reason the use of garlic is prohibited during pooja ceremony due to its negative effect(Taamsik energy) on contrary to pooja which has positive effect(saatwik energy). Still it is believe that a person who ate garlic/onion in previous 6 months before his death does not get salvation!!

Previous Birth of Ravana

2011-11-23T20:42:00.001-08:00

Lord Brahma created 4 sons from the power of his mind. Theywere called as "Sankadi". Once they decided to met Lord Vishnu at hisabode. The abode of Lord Vishnu had 7 gates. The successfully cleared the sixgates, but when the came across the last 7th gate, they were stopped by the twogate keepers, Jaya and Vijaya. They did not allowed them to enter the abode ofLord Vishnu. After a long debate the ,four saints, Sankadis were upset andcursed Jaya and Vijaya for their arrogance that the two would be reborn asdemon on earth for hundred births. Jaya and Vijaya prayed Lord Vishnu forintervention to have mercy. But it was too late . On seeing Lord Vishnu, the 4saints agreed to mitigate the curse. So instead of 100 births, they reduced thecurse for three births. In the first birth Jaya and Vijaya were born asHiranyaksha and Hirankshyapa. In the second birth they born as Ravana andKumbhakarana and in the final birth as Dantavakra and Shishupal. In all thebirths they were liberated by Lord Vishnu.

Akshay Navami

2011-11-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

In the Kaartik month,shukla Paksha and Ashtmi tithi is considere best for charity.Many legends are associated with this day. It is believe that on this day
1) Surya Dev(the Sun God) worshiped goddess Durga to acquire its properties because of which he is lighting the whole world.
2) Bharat met Lord Rama after 14 years.
3) It is considered auspicious to eat food under the Amla tree.this ritual is associated with good health.
4) Satya yug also began on this day.
5) The amla fruit is considered as divine fruit of Lord Vishnu.This is the ripening time of this fruit.
6) Amla tree is manifistation of goddess Lakshmi.

The Legend behind Gop Ashtami

2011-11-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Gop Ashtami is celebrated on Kaartik month, Shukla Astami tithi. This is very important festival dedicated to Lod Krishna. According to legend when Indra, the chief of gods accepted defeat from the hands of lord Krishna, his pride was shattered,he along with his divine cow 'Surbhi' came to Lord Krishna to worship him. He understood the divine powers of Krishna. Even the Nanda, the foster father of Krishna witnessed this miracle. To bless his son , he allowed him to become the independent cowherd. Previously Lord Krishna only looked after calves. For the first time on this day he came to Vrindavan with a cow.He also got the title of "Govinda(king of cows)" today.
This day is celebrated in Vrindavan and Mathura with utmost faith.It is believe that in cow all the deties dwell. So cow worship on this day is very auspicious.Cowsheds are decorated and special food is offered to cow.Offerings in the form of kind or food is to be given to cowherds also which is a custom.

Govardhan Parvat and Lord Rama

2011-10-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Govardhan Parvat(hill) is one of the most sacred manifestation of Lord Krishna worshipped by his followers. This sacred hill has a close linkage with Lord Rama also due to involvement of boon given by him to this hill. It is believe that when Lord Rama ordered to built bridge across ocean to Lanka, Hanuman too went to Himalaya mountain ranges to fetch some rocks necessary for building bridge. Hanuman was flying back to Rama after taking one hill,called Govardhan then he came to know that he was too late as the bridge was already built during that time and no more rocks or mountains were needed. This was very disappointing for the Govardhan Hill as he was too eager to have glimpse and divine touch of holy feet of lord Rama. When Lord Rama came to know about this incident, he blessed Govardhan hill that, in Dwapar Yug, he himself would hold Govardhan in his hand and people will worship him.The blessings given by Lord Rama proved true in Dwapar Yug when he himself incrnated as Lord Krishna and held Govardhan on his little finger for 7 days and nights.

Curse of Sage Bhrigu

2011-10-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

During the fight between gods and demons, at one stage gods overpowered demons. Sensing the massive defeat ,the demons reached the ashram of Sage Bhrigu who was not present at that time. His wife greeted the demons as they were came for the help and she promised to provide shelter to demons. On the other hand, Indra who was chief of gods came to know about the hideout of demons. Indra reached the ashram and threatened demons to surrender before him. But wife of Sage Bhrigu stood in between them and drove Indra away. Indra rushed to Lord Vishnu for the help. To assist Indra he went to ashram where the demons were hidden. Again, the wife of Sage Bhrigu came to rescue demons. Finally, Lord Vishnu killed her with his Sudarshan Chakra in order to ensure win for gods. At this point Sage Bhrigu returned to ashram and shocked to see the dead body of his wife. When he came to know that it was Lord Vishnu who was responsible for the death of his wife, he cursed Lord Vishnu that he too would have to suffer the pain of separation from his wife on earth like him . Lord Vishnu accepted the curse with dignity. Due to curse he was born as Lord Rama(an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and had to suffer the grief of separation from his wife Sita.

16 Shringaar

2011-10-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

'Adornament' means something which add beauty. Indian classics depicts 16 steps of adornament for a married woman. This ritual is generally performed on the wedding day or some festival ,but it is very significant as married woman is a representative of goddess Lakshmi for her husband who in turn is a symbolic representative of Lord Vishnu. The following 16 ornaments are used
1) Bindi
2) Sindoor
3) Teeka
4) Kajal
5) Nose Ring
6) Necklace
7) Earings
8) Mehndi
9) Bangles
10) Armlets
11) Ring
12) Choti
13) Kamarband(waistband)
14) Payal/Toe ring
15) Itra
16) Red Saree

The beauty of Karwa Chauth: Its Rituals

2011-10-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Every woman is a part of ‘ Shakti’, the goddess.Fasting(Vrat) is a kind of tapasya(deep meditation) through which the hidden powersare invoked. The Karwa Chauth vrat is one of the method of invoking the innerpowers of woman. There are many rituals associated with this vrat. Followingare the key rituals and some important points which should be kept in mind –

1)The first Karwa Chauth should never be missed.

2)Never wakeup any other person

3)Not to use knife in kitchen.

4)Don’t put thread in the needle for sewing.

5)Donot make any agreement with annoyed person.

6)In a pre dawn meal(called sargi), 7 kinds of food has tobe eaten.

7)A shape of crescent is drawn with Haldi(turmeric) on thewall (munder) and water is offered at the start of vrat.

8) Sargi(pre dawn meal) has to be prepared by mother in law.

9)The ‘sargi’ has to be consumed before sun rise.

10)The Evening pooja before the sun set is very significant

11)A thali(plate) consisting of sweets called “Baya” isprepared to be given to Mother in law.

12)Prepare a corner with the help of rangoli for poojacalled “Chowk”

13)Place the deity in the centre of the chowk

14)Then the ‘shakti’ is invoked by mantras in the deity.

15)Place Karwa(a small pitcher of clay) filled with waterwith the ‘Thaali’

16)All the women sit around the image and exchange the‘thaali’ seven times.

17)Then comes thesensitive time when an old lady re narrates the story of Karwa chauth, whichhas to be listened very carefully.

18) The’Thaali(baya)’ is offered to mother in law to seekblessings. This process is called “mansana”

19) In a house where a daughter in law give ‘Baya’ to motherin law , it is prohibited for a spouse(of daughter in law),her children or othermale children of younger age to eat the things given in ‘Baya’.

20)After the pooja, at the moon rise first ardhya(wateroffering) has to be given to moon through the sieve. It is important to notethat the fast has to be broken only after offering water to the moon. (As allChaturthi fast is linked with moon as per blessings of Lord Ganesha)

21) Parikrama(turn full circle standing at one place) has tobe done while breaking the fast.

22)The woman has to touch the feet of the husband andhusband inturns blessed her by offering water in karwa to drink.

23) It is custom to cook unbroken pulse(sabut daal) and it is auspicious to prepare any thing which requires Kadai(a kind of utencil) after the fast. Its a mark of "barkat"

This marks the completion of fast.

Legend Of Karwa Chauth

2011-10-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Karwa Chauth is the most important festival for a Hindumarried woman. This festival falls on 4^th day of Krishna Paksha ofKaartik month. For the longevity of her husband a tough fast is observed bywomen. To begin the fast one has to wake up early inthe morning and after bathing the food has to be consumed before the sun rise.This food is called as “sargi”(pre dawn meal). No food and water is consumedthrough out the day. The fast is broken only after offering water to thereflection of moon. There are many rituals and legends associated with thisfasting. Every ritual has a special meaning. One must know it before keepingfast.This fast is dedicated to Savitri who was a sati ( totaldevotee to her husband). The legend associated with this fast is as follows-

Savitri was a beautiful daughter of a powerful king. All theefforts of the parents of choosing a bridegroom for Savitri went in vain. Oneday while roaming in forest Savitri fell in love with a poor youngman,Satyavan. Despite opposition she chose Satyavan as her husband. She even ignored the warning of an astrologerthat Satyavan had a very short life span and he would going to die within oneyear of marriage. Still Savitri was adamant on her decision.. They got married.Exactly after one year , Satyavan fainted in forest and died.Savitri saw Yamraj,the god of death came to take away the soul of Satyavan to his kingdom. Savitriwas determined and followed Yamraj to his kingdom. This was against the law ofnature. So Yamraj granted three wishes to Savitri. As a first wish she askedthe restoration of the lost kingdom of her father in law. In lieu of secondwish she asked for the eyes for herblind parents in law. The two wishes were too easy for Yamraj to fulfill. Butthe real dilemma occurred when Savitri demanded third wish. She demanded tobecome mother of a virtuous sons. Since Savitri was a sati , so without ahusband it was not possible as she can not marry second time. Yamraj was in afix. Yamaraj had to spare the life of Satyavaan in order to keep his words.This was the power of true devotion of awife towards her husband.

The Wealth of Goddess Lakshmi

2011-10-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

The goddess Lakshmi is worshipped as deity of wealth and fortune. Here the word wealth does not represent only money. For a sick man the wealth is his health.Simliarly for a dying man the wealth is his life. The word wealth changes its meaning regarding the context. She is the possessor of 16 types of wealth as follows
1) Money
2) Intelligence
3) Health
4) Children
5) Grains
6) Beauty
7) Knowledge
8) Courage
9) Happiness
10) Long life
12) Fame
13) Spiritual Joy
14) patience
15) Victory
16) Strength

This is the reason why goddess Lakshmi is worshipped as 8 forms called Ashta Lakshmi to get all the above 16 wealth by HER.

Curse of Yudhishtir

2011-08-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

In Mahabharat's war, it was on 17th day when the battle between Karna and Arjun broke. The intensity and importance of the fight could be judged from the fact that even Gods witnessed it from the heaven. Eventually, Karna was killed by the Arjun and a wave of grief spread in Kauravas camp after this shocking news. After this important victory Pandavas found that their mother, Kunti was very upset despite her son Arjun scored victory over Karna. She expressed her desire to her sons to perform the last rites of Karna. But their sons,Pandavas declined. Then Kunti revealed the secret that actually Karna was her son which was born before her marriage.Surya blessed her a son when she was unmarried. On hearing this, Yudhishtir, perhaps lost his patience for the first time in his life. He cursed the women race that they would never able to keep a secret.

100 births old curse

2011-08-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

In the epic Mahabharata,Bhism Pitamah was the prominent charater. He was a very desciplined warrior. In the war when he was about to die, he was lying on the bed of arrows. The whole life series was running in his mind at the time of death. He reminded that since many births he hadn't committed a single mistake then why he had suffering at the time of death. He requested Lord Krishna to answer his question. Then Lord Krishna with his divine powers took Bhishma Pitamah 100 births back. In a retrogression journey he found that he was a king 100 births back and committed one sin while he was going to forest for hunting. He found a snake lying in on his way. He tried to save his life and lifted with sword and threw in the bushes. But, the snake lost its life being struck in thorns. Before dying he cursed the king that he too would die like this.

Lord krishna , brought Bhishma Pitamah back to current time frame and further explained that in subsequent births due to his good deeds the curse of snake didnt prevailed but it kept following him since last 100 births and this was his last birth so as per law of karma at the time of death he was lying on the bed of arrows just like the snake lied on thorns 100 births back.

Sri Sunder Narayan Temple

2011-07-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of the oldest temple in the Nashik. It is situated at the edge of the Ahilya Bai Holkar bridge. It is the only temple in the world where Lord Vishnu is present along with goddess Tulsi and goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Tulsi was Vrinda, the queen of demon Jallandhar in the previous birth. The demon had a boon that he will remain immortal till his wife remain chaste(Pavitra). It was necessary to kill the demon to save the earth from his havoc. So, Lord Vishnu appeared in front of Vrinda in disguise form of her husband Jallandhar. By mistake she could not able to reveal the identity of Lord Vishnu. Thinking him as her husband , she touched him. So her promise to remain pure was broken. When she realized her mistake she cursed Lord Vishnu to turned into a black stone called Shaligram. After this curse the complexion of Lord Vishnu turned into black. Lord Vishnu rushed to the bank of Godavri river and took a holy bath. Instantaneously, he regain his divine complexion.

My guide told me the unique feature of this east facing temple. On 21st March when day and night are equal, the first ray of the rising sun fall on the feet of deity

The Kapileshwar temple

2011-07-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is the only temple in the world where Nandi ji is not present in the sanctum sanctorum. It is located at the bank of river Godavri at Ram kund in Nashik(Maharashtra).My guide told me an intresting legend behind it. Once Lord Shiva punished Brahma for his mistake and cut his 5th head. But at the same time , a sin incurred to Lord Shiva for killing the 5th head of Brahma(Brahm hatya dosh). This perplexed Lord Shiva . He tried every method to get rid of this sin. Despite wandering every place on bhu-lok(the earth), there was no respite. Then nandi ji suggested one escape route. He took Lord Shiva to the bank of Godavri. He guided him to a secret spot. This was the point where the 3 rivers, Godavri,Aruna and Varuna met. Here Lord Shiva took a holy dip. He was librated from the sin after this bath. Since Nandi ji guided him so Lord Shiva treated him as a Guru (not as a follower)at this place. This is the reason that there is no idol of Nandi ji here.

Exactly at this point Lord Shiva took bath at the confluence of Godavri river,Aruna river and Varuna River

At the backdrop, its Kapileshwar temple where Lord Shiva treated Nandiji as his Guru

Signification of Shravan month

2011-07-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

The hindu calendar is based upon the movement of moon across the zodiac. The 12 months are-
1) Chaitra
2) Vaishakh
3) Jyeshtha
4) Ashaad
5) Shravna
6) Bhadrapad
7) Ashwin
8) Kaartik
9) Margshisha
10) Paussh
11) Magh
12) Phalgun
The month number 5 i.e. Shravana is very significant to the Shivaites due to the legend associated with this month. To please the goddess of wealth Mahalakshmi, the gods and demon decided to churn ocean. It was pre decided that what ever things emit from the ocean would be share between Gods and demons. During this process, 14 divine items were emerged from the ocean. Of the fourteen items, one item was the most deadly poison called Halahal. No body was the taker of the Halahal poison. This created panic among Gods and demons. At this crunch time Lord Shiva appeared to save the earth from destruction. He accepted the pot of poison and drank in such a manner that the poison could not able to surpass his throat. The effect of the poison was so strong that the whole throat turned blue. Since then lord Shiva named as NeelKanth(means blue throat) . To mitigate the effect of poison, gods rushed to offer ganga jal(water of holy river ,ganga). The whole event was held in the month of Shravana. Since then this month of Shravana is totally dedicated to lord Shiva. Though the whole shravana month is auspicious for worshipping Lord Shiva, but the Mondays falling in this month has special significance as the ruling deity of Monday is Lord Shiva. The golden rule is that Jap(recitationof mantra) done in particular place or in particular time has special significance as its effects increases many times. So, this was the Mahatmayam(significance) of Shravan maas(month)……

The Right Choice

2011-07-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

On the eve of Mahabharata war, there was too much anxiety in the both camps of Kauravasa and Pandavas. No body wanted to loose this battle. On the other hand Lord Krishna, the ruler of Dwarka was playing neutral role. But he had mighty army. Arjuna as a representative from Pandava side and Duryodhan from the Kauravas side went to Lord Krishna for the support for their side. Duryodhan wanted to gain upperhand and reached there before Arjun in the palace of Lord Krishna. At that time Lord Krishna was sleeping. Duryodhan hurriedly occupied a seat near the head of Krishna and Arjun decided to sit near the feet of Krishna. When Krishna woke up he saw Arjun first and then Duryodhan. On knowing the reason of their visit Krishna offered two choices to both camps. First was to choose the his mighty army which was capable of destroying any enemy and the second was his own services only as a mentor. Since Kirshna saw Arjun first so he asked Arjun to chose his option first. This made Duryodhan worried because he wanted the army of krishna dearly. On listening this Arjun fell in the feet of Krishna and asked his services in the battle. This was an absolute shocker for Duryodhan and he was overwhelmed with joy that he got the army of krishna which he thought that this would tilt the result of the battle in his own favour. He was sure shot about Kauravas victory after getting the army of krishna. But at the end of 18 day war the result was opposite. Pandavas prevails over Kauravas. Krishna played perfect role as a friend,mentor,philospher and a manager. He guided pandavas from time to time and kept the moral of his side up and high.

The same rule applies to modern day management policy.

A leader of any organisation or a family should have
1)motivational skills(Arjun who looses all his courage at the crunch time, it was krishna who motivates him)
2)controlling skills(Krishna controlled more than 1.5 million army personnel in the war)
3)Good leadership qualities( though with less resourced than Kauravas, still Pandavas won because of good leadership qualities of Krishna and his skills of utilising his limited resources effectively and efficiently)
4) Excellent strategy( Krishna knews that if Arjun fought with Karan then Arjun would surly lost. So he placed Ghatotkach against Karan. This was the turning point of the war as all the powers of Karan was wasted in killing the Ghatotkach and Arjun's strenght was safeguarded.

The Holy Pond - Kushavrat

2011-07-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

The word 'Sarovar' means a pond or a water body. The water is one of the most important subtle element in hinduism. Bathing in a pond in a pilgrimage is one of the important ritual which includes tarpan(offering water to the departed souls) also. In Triambak town, there is such holy pond where bathing is considered as one the dream of hindu due to its holiness. This is "Kushavrat sarovar" or "Kushavrat teerth". As per legend after the boon given by Lord Shiva to Sage Gautam, the river Godavri appeared at Brahmgiri hills(in Triambak town near Nashik) for the first time. But after a short while it again disappears as she was not willing to stay on earth.. Sage Gautam couldn’t able to bath in it, which was necessary for removing his sin accrued to him because of killing of a cow accidentally. Now it was a great cause of concern for Sage Gautam to prevent river Godavri from disappearing. He took 4 blades of kusha-grass and energized it with his divine power and threw at the 4 corners. This worked like a trap for river Godavari. Since then it is believe that this pond where sage Gautam placed 4 kusha (a kind of grass) at the four corners is the source of river Godavri. After that this pond was named as “Kushavrat” means surrounded by kusha(a grass)

The Legend of Triambakeshwar

2011-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sage Gautam was a very pious sage. He attained many divine powers with his meditation. Once there was a drought in his region called as Brahmgiri hills(Triambak) . He worshipped Lord Varun(the god of water). Pleased with the prayers of sage Gautam, Lord Varun blessed the area with plenty of water. The created jealousy among other sages. The deliberately send a cow at the hermitage of sage Gautam. While sage Gautam was trying to drive the cow away from his ashram, she died. It was considered as one of the greatest sin to kill a cow. The sage felt guilty for the sin which was done unintentionally. The only option was left to get rid of the sin was to perform the parikrama(circumambulation) of Brahmgiri hill for 101 times and bring the river Ganga here and worship the shivling . Sage Gautam performed this tough ritual. Later Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati appeared and granted the boon of appearing the river Ganga in this region. River Ganga appeared instantly on the order of Lord Shiva, but she requested Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati to stay along with here. Lord accepted the demand and decided to reside in the form of Triambakeshwar. From then the river got its name Godavri(Gautami-ganga). On seeing this divine occasion all other gods appear and promised to visit here once in twelve years when the planet Jupiter transits through the Leo sign. Since then when this planetary combination repeats ,the huge “Kumbh-mela” (festival) is held at the bank of Godavri. It is believe that to keep their promise all the gods present at the spot during that period and bathing in river Godavri considered as auspicious.

The first Glimpse of the Jyotirlingam ,Triambakeshwar

Dwar, the entrance

The main sanctum in the backdrop

This moment which will go along with me when i would leave the earth

The super eight

2011-05-22T08:59:00.001-07:00

In Kailyuga,(the 4^th stage of time concept as per Hinduism), the maximum life span of a human is believe to be 120 years. But there are some souls who because of boon or curse roam on the earth having abnormal life span. The term used for the long life is “Chiranjeev” means a person who lives eternal life. The 8 persons who attain this title are

1) Sage Markandeya

2) King Bali

3) Vibhishan

4) Parshuram

5) Hanuman

6) Sage Vyas

7) Kripacharya

8) Ashwathama

Still it is believe that the above 8 are present on earth whose current age varies from thousands to millions of years! So while exploring India , if you come across the region dedicated to any one of above all, make sure they are there itself to listen your prayers!!!

The curse of Vedvati

2011-05-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

King Kushadhwaj was a powerful king and he was true devotee of Lord Vishnu. His wife gave birth to a daughter. At the time of birth the little girl was chanting the vedic mantras(prayer). This was a good omen for an extraordinary child. As a result her parents named her as “Vedvati”. Like her father she was also a true devotee of Lord Vishnu. She performed very tough tapasya(meditation) to please Lord Vishnu. As she grow older and older , she became adamant that she would marry to only Lord Vishnu. All the efforts of her parents of guiding her to marry some other king on earth went in vain. After the death of her parents , she preferred to stay in the forest and did meditation just to have a glimpse of lord Vishnu. Once the King Ravana, the ruler of Lanka visited her hermitage. He was stunned by the beauty of Vedvati and proposed her to marry him. But Vedvati rejected his offer. The angry King Ravana insulted her and destroyed her tapasya. She cursed Ravana that in her next birth she would become the cause of his death .She could not bear the insult , so she immolated herself . The vedvati reborn as Sita in the next birth. Due to all her merits which she acquired in previous birth she married to Rama(an incarnation of lord Vishnu). Later , Sita(vedvati , in previous birth) became the cause of destruction of the vast empire of King Ravana!

The 3 sins of Ashwathama

2011-04-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ashwathama, the son of Dronacharya was a great warrior. During the Mahabharata war he joined the Kaurava's camp. On the 13^th day of war he committed the first crime by involving in a killing of Abhimanyu by unfair means. Later,he lost all his senses when his friend Duryodhan was killed . He decided to took revenge and attacked at the Pandavas camp at night which was against the rules of war and killed the sons of Draupadi.It was his second sin. This created havoc in the Pandavas camp and they chased Ashwathama. A fierce battle broke between Ashwathama and Arjun. Despite restrictions Ashwathama invoke the “Brahmastra”, a divine weapon to kill Arjun. But sage Vyas intervened and advised Ashwathama to stop the use of the weapon to save earth. But Ashwatham didn’t knew the trick of withdrawing the weapon. To take revenge he directed the weapon towards the womb of the daughter in law of Arjun,Uttra who was carrying Abhimanyu’s son,Parikshit. He wanted to destroy the lineage of Arjun. Later Uttra delivered stillborn child. Here Lord Krishna cursed Ashwathama that he will roam like a ghost till the end of Kaliyuga and his body will suffer from the uncurable wounds. Lord Krishna also took away the divine jewel from Ashwathama which he used to wear on his forehead as this jewel had all the powers. Still it is belive that the Ashwathama is roaming with a wound on his forehead and many people has witnessed a strange man with wounds and blood oozing from his forehead.Surly, the current age of Ashwathama would be 5000 years+ today!

The Great Army

2011-04-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

It is believe that during the mahabharata war which was fought at kurukshetra region nearly 18 akshoni unit of armymen were gathered and fought a battle of their life time. Now , I am sharing the exact constituent of the unit "akshoni". The word “Akshohini” denotes a group of warrior who were the masters in the various forms of art of war. The total 18 akshohini consisted 1968300 soldiers,1180980 horses.393660 horses ,393660 charioteers. Perhaps this was the reason Arjun felt weak at the onset of the war on seeing the huge army! One thing is sure that more than 3 million people were killed in a short span of 18 days. Following is the sub division of akshohini.

The Pandavas fought with 7 akshohini of armymen whereas Kauravas had 11 akshohini. It was the mismanagement of kauravas that led to their downfall.During the span of 18 days Kauravas were led by Bhishma for 10 days and then by Dronacharya,karna and shalya for the rest of the days. this simply rattles their plans.

The Legend of Mallikarjun

2010-10-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mallikarjun Temple is one of the sacred jyotirlingam of Lord Shiva situated at Srisailam in the dense forest of Nallamali . According to puraans, once Lord Kartikaya , the son of lord Shiva was annoyed with parents because he had to suffer defeat from the hands of his younger brother Lord Ganesha. Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati were sad about this event. Despite their best efforts Lord Kartikya went away from home. When the news about their son came , they went to met him at the Kraunch Mountain, where Lord Kartikaya was residing at that moment. On hearing the news of the arrival of his parents , Lord kartikaya decided to ran away from there. At last Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati assumed the form of jyotirlingam and decided to stay near to his son at the mountain of Srisailam. Still it is believe that on amavasya day Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati visits their son’s abode to met their son. The form of divine energies present here are known as “MallikaArjun”. The word “Mallika” is another name of goddess Parvati where as “Arjun” is another name of lord shiva. This sacred place is situated at the banks of river Krishna( Patal Ganga). This place is so sacred abode of lord Shiva that it is also known as “Dakshin-Kailash”. It is believe that this place provide salvation and liberation from the cycle of life and death. There is one more legend prevailing in the region. As per this, there was a princess named “Chandravati” who was very religious and doing tapasya in the forest. One day she observed that one cow among the cattle is not giving the milk. She followed that cow and noticed that the cow poured all her milk in a distant place over a shivlinga . On that night Lord Shiva appeared in her dream and told her that the lingam where cow poured her milk is the manifestation of Lord Shiva himself. After that darshan of Lord Shiva princess Chandravati built a temple as “Mallikarjun Swamy”

Jewel of Narmada

2010-10-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

According to puraans(the classics), there are five most sacred rivers in India which are Ganga, Yamuna, kaveri, Godavri and Narmada. These rivers are powerful from spiritual point of view .Amongst all it is Narmada which is considered as most sacred .It is believe that one has to bath one day in Ganga or 7 days in Yamuna, but mere sight of Narmada is enough to clean the sins. Even river Ganaga, to cleanse herself comes to Narmada annually . In Kaliyugam there is life span of Ganga and Yamuna, but Narmada flows forever. This river is also known as “Shankri” which means the daughter of Lord Shiva. As per legend , each stone on the river bed of Narmada is symbolically Lord Shiva. It is often said about it that “Narmada ke har pathar upar Shankar”. They are called “Bana-lingam” which is considered very auspicious for worship. These Banalimgas carried different auspicious marks like lotus,conch,dhwaj etc. Each mark represent respective deity. They contain such divine powers that don’t loose its power under any circumstances. Its worship results in manifold positive effects. Mere thinking about this jewel of Narmada river can ward off many evils. Some classics even says that these sacred stones are already worshipped by Gods before reaching the river bed.

कुम्भ स्नान - एक दुर्लभ तीर्थ

2010-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

भौतिक ज़रूरतें तो धन से पूरी हो जाती हैं पर आत्मा कि ज़रुरत तो तीरथ ही पूरी करतें हैं। शायद मेरी आत्मा कुछ विशेष ही तलाश कर रही थी। बृहस्पति जब कुम्भ राशि में प्रवेश करता है तब समझ जाना चाहिए कि हरद्वार में अमृत बरसने वाला है। परन्तु उसी समय जब सूर्य मेष राशि में प्रवेश करता है तो वो ग्रह स्थिति सब से सर्वोत्तम होती है। इसी लिए उस दिन पवित्र गंगा के स्नान को " प्रमुख शाही स्नान " का नाम दिया गया है। बस इसी बात ने मुझे झकझोर कर रख दिया। शायद यह मौका मेरे जीवन का पहला और अंतिम है इस लिए में इसे किस्सी भी सूरत में खोना नहीं चाहता था। १४ अप्रैल २०१० को वो क्षण आ ही गया जिस का मुझे बेसब्री से इंतज़ार था। प्रात काल कि शुभ वेला में में, मैं अपनी पत्नी सहित अपने लक्ष्य को पाने हरिद्वार प्रस्थान कर गया। मेरा हौंसला बहुत ही बुलंद था। मैं किसी भी विपरीत स्थिति से साक्षात्कार करने के लिए तैयार था। स्टेशन पर उतरते ही यह स्पष्ट हो गया था कि लक्ष्य को पाना बेहद ही कठिन होगा। चारो तरफ पुलिस गिद कि तरह नज़रे जमाये खड़ी रही थी। जदोजेहद के बाद हम राम भवन धरमशाल पहुंचे। इस के बाद यही निर्णय किया कि किसी नजदीक के घाट पर स्नान कर कुम्भ स्नान आरम्भ करते हैं । हमने अति शीघ्र भाटिया घाट पर प्रथम स्नान किया। सर्वप्रथम अपने इष्ट को प्रणाम कर सभी सगे सम्भंधियों के नाम कि डूबकी लगाई। अंततः अपने पूर्वजों का तर्पण किया। ऐसी मान्यता है कि तीर्थों पर यदि अपने पूर्वजों को याद किया जाए तो वेह विशेष रूप से प्रसन्न होते हैं. अब बस एक ही इच्छा शेष थी कि ब्रह्म कुण्ड तक कैसे पहुँच जाए। ब्रह्म कुण्ड , हरिद्वार के सब से पवित्रतम क्षेत्र है। "हर कि पौड़ी " नामक घाट पर स्थित यह कुण्ड भगवान् विष्णु के चरण अपने अन्दर समेटे हुए है। चौकसी और नाकेबंदी इतनी ज़बरदस्त थी कि शाही स्नान के दौरान वहां पर केवल साधुओं के अलावा परिंदा भी पर नहीं मर सकता था। एक घंटा आराम करने के बाद हमने बड़ा भारी जोखिम उठाते हुए ब्रह्म कुण्ड कि और जाने का निश्चय किया। शाम ५ बजे गुमनाम गलियों को चीरते हुए उत्तर दिशा कि और बढ चले। ब्रह्म कुण्ड से मात्र १०० मीटर पहले पुलिस ने सारी जनता को रोक दिया। लाखो लोग उस लक्ष्मण रेखा के पार जाने जाने के लिए कई घंटो से बेताब थी। सौभाग्यवश हमे लाइन में सबसे आगे लगने का मौका मिल गया. अगले २.५ घंटो तक हम एक सूत भी नहीं हिल पाए. पुलिस अपना काम मुस्तेदी से कर रही थी. मैंने एक विचित्र चीज दखी। सिर्फ एक पुलिस वाला सिपाही ऐसा था जो अपने स्वाभाव के विरुद्ध बड़े ही शांत भाव से ओर बड़ी ही विनम्र भाषा में लोगो से बैठने के लिए निवेदन कर रहा था।उस का नाम था "तरुण नायक". उस कि आँखों में एक अलग सी ही चमक थी. उस ने भीड़ से वादा किया कि वो स्वयं सब को ब्रह्म कुण्ड तक ले जाएगा जब पुलिस कि नाके बंदी १ घंटे के बाद हट जायेगी. मैं लगातार उस पुलिस सिपाही पर नज़र लगा कर बैठा था।लगभग शाम के ७,३० बज चुके थे. "निर्मल अखारे" के साधुओ ने अंतिम स्नान किया. हम सब उत्साहित थे कि अब हमारी बारी आने ही वाली थी। तभी अचानक एक घोषणा हुई कि जिस द्वार पर हम खड़े थे उसे सील कर दिया गया है और वो अब नहीं खुलेगा। यह सुनते ही जनता आक्रोश से भर गयी। मैं सहस के साथ तरुण जी के पास गया और हाथ जोर कर उन्हें उन का वादा याद दिलाया। वो सिपाही अपने अफसरों कि परवाह न करते हुए मेरा हाथ पकड़ कर विपरीत दिशा मैं चलने लगा। मैं साए कि तरह उस के साथ चलने लगा। लाखो कि संख्या में लोगो कि बीच में एक अजीब शक्ति मुझे खींचे चली जा रही थी। उस शक्ति ने मुझे कुण्ड से सिर्फ २० फुट कि दूरी पर पहुंचा दिया। अपनी मंजिल इतनी नजदीक पा कर पूरे शरीर पर सिरहन दौड़ पड़ी । सब कुछ एक दुर्लभ स्वप्न सा लग रहा था। हम बिजली सी तेजी दिखाते हुए कुण्ड की तरफ दौड़ पड़े। अनगिनित लोग वहां पहले से ही मजूद थे। अगले ही पल में ब्रह्म कुण्ड में था। मेरी आत्मा गद गद हो गई गंगा का स्पर्श पाते ही. एक पल तो ऐसा लगा मनो पूर्वजन्म के पुण्य कर्म संचित हो कर मेरे सामने ही खड़े हो। मुझे यकीं हो गया की गंगा सच मुच आज अमृत समेटे हुए बह रही है। मैंने विशेष मंत्रो द्वारा स्नान पूर्ण किया। तत्पश्चात कुण्ड से जल रुपी अमृत मैने एक पात्र में संकलित किया। आज भी जब में उस सिपाही के बारे में याद करता हूँ तो आँखें नाम हो जाती है क्योंकि निश्चित रूप से वो वही पूर्ण आत्मा थी जिसने मुझे यात्रा आरम्भ होने से पहले हरिद्वार में मिलने का वादा किया था.

Curse to god

2010-04-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Once Sage Mandavya was meditating in aashram. One day , a thief who stole the valuables from the king tried to hide himself in his aashram to escape the punishment. The soldiers of the king reached the aashram in search of thief and found the valuables of king which was hidden by the thief in the aashram.The soldiers suspected sage to be thief. They produced the sage in court. The king sentenced him severe punishment. This hurts the sage too much. After the completion of punishment, he decided to visit Yamlokam, the abode of Dharmraj(Yam), the god of death. Sage questions him about the reason for his sufferings on earth. Dharmraj ordered his accountant,Chitragupt to clarify the doubts of the sage. Chitragupta is the assistant of Dharmraj, who keep the account of all the good and bad deeds of every creature on earth. He explained the one sin of sage Mandavya which he done in his childhood. As per Chitragupta, the sage used to tease the insects by piercing the needles. But this explanation was not satisfactory answer for sage. He argued with Dharmraj that the child mind is innocent and lacks discretion and there should be no punishment for that. Sage was filled with anger for such rules of God as he thought it to be unjustified. The sage Mandavya cursed Dharmraj for making such rules that he too has to be reborn as a human on earth. Also he stated that from now , if a sin committed by a child by mistake then it will not be qualify for punishment. Vice versa if a sin committed towards child then it will be liable for punishment.After that curse Dharmraj born as Vidur.He became minister in the court of Dhritraashtra.

Panch Teerath

2010-03-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

Kashi, is the amongst the oldest city of the world. It is the abode of 330 million gods and goddesses.As per mytholology, this city stands on the trident(trishul) of Lord Shiva. Just to meet Lord Shiva, the river Ganga changes its direction of flow for this city only. The spiritual life of kashi present around the ghaats(banks) of river Ganga. There are nearly 84 ghaats in varanasi. But to begin the spiritual journey, 5 ghaats are considered as most sacred.It is a ritual to bath in these ghaat first. This ritual is called “Panch-teerath” yaatra.

Assi Ghaat is the southern most bank of the river Ganga from where this yaatra commences. The order of yaatra is as follows

1) Assi ghaat

2) Dashashwamedh ghaat

3) Adi-keshav ghaat

4) Panch ganga ghaat

5) Manikarnika ghaat

But in modern days, adi-keshav ghaat is replaced by Kedar ghaat in yaatra. Bathing in these 5 ghaats bring salvation. This journey is conducted in a boat. Only after bathing in these sacred ghaat, one should visit the Lord Kaashi Vishwanath temple, the most sacred jyotirlinga form of Lord Shiva. Even amongst the above 5, the Dashashwamedh ghaat, Panch ganga ghaat and Manikarnika ghaat are the most sacred one constituting the “tri-teerath” yaatra.

This picture was clicked when I was doing Panch-teerath yaatra

काशी यात्रा का महत्व

2010-03-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

काशी भगवान् शिव की नगरी है।इस का उल्लेख पुरानो में वर्णित है। यह सप्त पवित्रतम क्षेत्रों में से एक है जो कि मोक्षदायक है। ऐसी मान्यता है कि प्रलय काल के दौरान सिर्फ काशी ही ऐसा क्षेत्र है जो उस के प्रभाव से बच पाया था। काशी रहस्य के अनुसार भगवान् शिव ने कहा था कि यह मेरा सब से प्रिये निवास स्थान है। यहाँ का हर कण शिवमय है। उन्हों ने इस स्थान का नाम आनंदवन दिया था। यह क्षेत्र भगवान् शिव को बहुत ही प्रमोददायक है। शिव् पुराण के अनुसार इश्वार कि शक्तियां किसी भी क्षण और किसी भी स्थिति में इस स्थान कि नहीं त्यागती। इसी लिए काशी को अविमुक्त भी कहा गया है। काशी ही एक ऐसा क्षेत्र है जहाँ पर यम का भय नहीं होता। काशी में मृत्यु विशेष रूप से मोक्ष्दाय्नी है । शिव पुराण में स्पष्ट रूप से लिखा है कि काशी में मृत्यु के लिए न तो ज्ञान क़ी अपेक्षा है और न ही भक्ति क, न कर्म की आवश्यकता है और न ही दान की,न संस्कृति की अपेक्षा है और न ही धर्म की, यहाँ तक की पूजन की भी अपेक्षा नहीं है। ठीक इसी तरह यदि इस पावन और पवित्र नगरी में यदि पाप हो जाए तो वे अत्यंत कठिन यम की यातना भोगनी पड़ती है। गंगा नदी के तट पर स्थित इस शहर की पवित्रता इस बात से स्पष्ट हो जाती है कि केवल यहीं पर गंगा नदी जो कि हिमालय से उत्तर दिशा से दक्षिण कि तरफ (अपने से ) बहती है, अपना मार्ग बदल कर दक्षिण दिशा से काशी में प्रवेश करती है और उत्तर दिशा कि तरफ से बहार निकल जाती है। इस विचित्र मार्ग परिवर्तन इस बात का प्रतिक है कि जिस प्रकार शिवलिंग में जल हमेशा उत्तर दिशा कि तरफ ही गिरता है उसी तरह इस शिवमय नगरी में गंगा अपना मार्ग परिवर्तन कर के उत्तर कि तरफ से नगर से बाहर निकल जाती है.अपनी यात्रा के दौरान गंगा काशी में दो नदियों से संगम करती है-वरुणा और अस्सी। इसी कारण काशी अब वाराणसी नाम से भी प्रसिद्धहै। शायद यही कारण है कि काशी यात्रा ने मेरी ज़िंदगी बदल दी है.

The legend of Paarijaat tree

2010-02-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

One day Sage Narad visited Lord Krishna’s palace and presented divine flower from “Paarijaat” tree to him which he got from heaven. Lord Krishna gifted it to his wife Rukmani.When this news reached Satyabhama,the second wife of lord Krishna, she felt disappointed and demanded the Paarijaat tree for herself. This tree had a great divine powers which was planted in the garden of Indra at Amravati in heaven.Since this divine tree was in custody of Indra, so it was not easy for Lord Krishna to bring it to earth from the heaven. Indra knew the divine powers of Paarijat tree, so he refused to gave the tree to Lord Krishna.As a result fierce battle took place between Indra and Lord Krishna. On intervention of gods, Indra decided to gave the tree to Lord Krishna. But he cursed the tree that it will never bear any fruit.He brought it back to his kingdom. In order to please his both wives he planted the tree in such a manner that its flowers fell on Rukmani’s garden and the tree planted in Satyabhama’s garden. In this way Lord Krishna manage to overcome the great dilemma.Even today this tree bears no fruits and it is used during the pooja of Lord Krishna. There is another legend associated with this tree that once there was a princes called Paarijat, who wanted to marry Surya dev, the sun god.But he refused to marry her.This broke her heart and she committed suicide. From her ashes a tree emerge called “Paarijaat”. The unique feature about this tree that flowers blossoms only during the night time in the season. At the time of sunrise when the first ray of sun falls on the tree, it sheds its flower as a replica of her shedding her tears of sepration from the sun god.

Panch Mahayagya

2010-02-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

There are 5 sacrifices or the duties which has to be performed by a brahmin everyday. These rituals are called "Panch Mahayagya" which means 5 great sacrifices. These rituals are very essential for spiritual development in life.These 5 rituals are as follows
1)Dev-yagya
2)Pitra-yagya
3)Bhuta-yagya
4)Manushya-yagya
5)Brahma-yagya.
The Devyagya means prayer to God.This can also be done by making offerings to fire called homa. The Pitra-yagya is offerings to forefathers to get their blessings. They are so important that there effects can be seen in the life in the form of “Pitra-dosham”, if it is not done under certain conditions. One should never forget to perform the “Tarpan” ceremony for the ancestors at teeraths(pilgrims). This ceremony signifies offering water to the departed souls of ancestors.Offerings made to animals and birds and plants constitute Bhoota-yagya. In Manushya yagya, offerings are made to guests. It is believe that guest is considered at par with God. As per saying if guest leave the house disappointedly, then he will walk away with all the punyas of the host leaving behind his sins. So,utmost care has to be taken in entertaining the guest. The brahma yagya can be performed by following the path shown by our sages and our scriptures. One should study our scriptures.

Gateway to Heaven

2009-12-27T20:22:00.001-08:00

When I was exploring the ShriRangam temple at Trichy during my trip, I found a strange door in the temple complex. Then I came to know about its spiritual importance. This door is called “Vaikunth Dwaar”. The word “Vaikunth” means the abode of Lord Vishnu and “Dwaar” means the “gate”. This door is opened only once a year. This mega event happen on the 11^th tithi(date) of hindu caalender in the month of Maargshish. It is believe that one who passes through this divine gate on this day,will attain salvation.This great event has a special significane in 3 temples-Shrirangam,Bhadrachalam and Tirupati. Fasting obsereved on this day is considered as so auspicious that it is believe that one who keep fast on this day will accrue all the punyas equivalent to remaining 23 ekadashi. Reciting Vishnu-sahastranama is best mantra on this day.

Ashta-Vinayaka

2009-12-16T12:20:00.000-08:00

In Maharashtra state there is a pilgrimage known as “Ashta-Vinayaka” which is considered as very sacred. It is believe that a person who undertake this journey get librated from the problems related to materialistic world.The word “Ashta” means "eight" and the word “ Vinayaka” is another name of lord Ganesh. This spiritual journey involves the journey to 8 temples of lord Ganesha that are spread around the radius of 120 km around Pune. The importance of these temples confirms from the fact that the idols of the Lord Ganesha are not man made.The idols are “Swayambhu” which means they appear on its own(self-begotten).All the idols appeared at different period of time. It is very auspicious to perform the yaatra in a specific order in accordance with the chronological order of appearance of idols.It is believe that after completion of the journey of 8 temples , one must visit the first temple of Moreshwar(the starting point) again which signifies the completion of journey.
Following is the order in which the journey should be performed.
1. The Moreshwar Temple, Moregaon
2. The Siddhivinayaka Temple, Siddhatek
3. The Balleshwar Temple, Pali
4. The Varadavinayaka Temple, Maha
5. The Chintamani Temple, Theur
6. The Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyandri
7. The Vighnahar Temple, Ozar
8. The Mahaganpati Temple, Rajnangaon

The Legend of Kumbh Mela

2009-12-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

“Kumb mela “ is a holy fair which is one of the greatest festival in the life of a hindu.There is a legend behind the occurance of this fair. As per legend once Gods and demons churned the cosmic ocean for the search of amrit(the divine nectar for immortality). At the end of churning, the pot (kumbh,in hindi) of amrit emerges from the ocean. At that moment the fight broke between Gods and demons for the possession of the pot. The battle for the possession of pot continued for 12 days which are equivalent to 12 human years. During that battle few drops of amrit fell on 4 places- Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. During the war, 3 planets Sun,Moon and Jupiter played significant role in protecting the pot from breaking. To commemorate this holy event Kumbh Mela is celebrated in every twelve years at the four sacred places where the drops from Kumbh were fallen. Since then it is believe that according to particular planetary position of Sun,Jupiter and moon respectively these places acquires special divine powers and bathing in these pilgrimage sites in the sacred river helps to ward off the sins. This fair,kumbh mela occurs four times every twelve years and rotates among four locations: Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. Each twelve-year cycle includes one Maha Kumbh Mela(GreatKumbhMela).
Following are the planetary combinations for each site for Kumbh festial.
1) At Prayag, the Maha Kumbh Mela is held in the month of Magha (January/February in the Gregorian calendar). when Jupiter is in Taurus and both the Sun and Moon are in Capricorn.
2)At Haridwar, the Kumbh Mela is held in the months of Phalgun and Chaitra, when the Sun passes to Aries, the Moon is in Sagittarius and Jupiter is in Aquarius.
3)In Ujjain, it is held in the month of Vaishakha, the Sun and Moon are in Aries and Jupiter is in Leo.
4) At Nasik, the Kumbh Mela takes place in the month of Shravana, when the Sun and Moon are in Cancer and Jupiter is in Scorpio.It takes nearly one year for Jupiter to transit through one zodiac sign.Thus,for each site Kumbh Mela comes in every 12 years.

The Praan Shakti

2009-11-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows how air is important for life. The air is known as “Vaayu” in hindi. The function of air is not restricted to inhalation or exhalation which is called breathing. In broader concept, our body is governed by the vital energy called “Praan” which is present in our body in different forms of air or vaayu. It is of 5 forms-
1) Praan Vayu(Present between throat and heart. It controls inhalation)
2) Upana Vayu(Present in pelvis.It controls exhalation.)
3) Saman Vayu(Present in naval region.It helps in digestion.)
4) Udana Vayu(Present between thraot and head.It control speech and anxiety)
5) Vyana Vayu(Present in whole body.It controls nerves, veins, muscles and joints). It is often called as aura.

There are other 5 subdivsion of the vaayu (air) in our body as follows
a)Naag-prana (It is responsible for sneezing)
b)Kurma-prana(it causes shivering)
c)Krikar-prana (It causes hunger)
d)Devdat- prana(It brings sleep)
e)Dhanjay- prana (It helps in preserving the body).

Parikrama

2009-10-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

In a famous story Lord Ganesha performed Parikrama around his parents which was considered equivalent to the journey around the universe. Parikrama means circumambulation or moving around in a circle. It is also known as Pradaskshina.The word “Pradakshina” means “towards right”. In religious context this journey is performed around temple,holy tree,holy hill and river. This is done in a clockwise direction. Only during inauspicious occasion like death ceremony,parikrama is performed anticlockwise .The circular journey around the deity can be understood with an example that in geometry we need a center to draw a circle and from the centre all the points on the circle are equidistant. It indicates we are equally close to God. Symbolically this ritual indicate touching the feet of deity. In another variation, at the end of the puja , it is a custom to do parikrama around ourselves three times. This is called “ Atma Pradakshinam”. This is to invoke the god in itself and to express the gratitude to HIM. We all are the part(ansh) of supreme soul. Generally odd number of parikrama is considerd auspicious. For Example , 1 parikrama around Lord Ganesha, Half parikrama around Shivlingam,3 parikrama around Lord Vishnu, 5 parikrama around Lord Kaartikay and 7 parikrama around peepal tree is considered auspicious. Many classics considered 21,27 or 108 numbers as auspicious to perform parkirama. While performing parikrama, an invisible link is established between a person and deity. The mantras pronounced during the circumambulation holds the key of transferring the energies from the god to a person. Always make sure that parikrama should be performed slowly while chanting mantras.

The Debt

2009-09-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

In Hindu religion , there are 3 kinds of debts(ऋण) which must be paid off before the life span finishes. The 3 debts are Dev rin(देव ऋण), Rishi rin (ऋषि ऋण) and Pitra rin(पितर ऋण).

1.Dev rin- It means debt towards God.This can be paid off by doing yagyas and holy sacrifices.

2.Rishi rin- It means debt towards our teachers.To pay off this debt one should share the knowledge for the benefits of the society.

3Pitra rin- We all are thankful to our parents for giving birth and all the comforts of life. This debt is paid off by continuing the lineage of the family.Also one should not forget our ancestors as their blessings are extremely important. They should be remembered on all the occasion. But this doesnot mean that we remember our ancestors at the cost of our living parents. The following story will narrate the theme of this article clearly.

The Story

A young man came returned home from the work. As he was taking rest for a while, his father called him and asked whether he is fine. The young man replied about his wellness. The father could not heard the reply. After some time he called his son again. But by that time his son was sleeping. But the father was too anxious. After 1 hour he called his daughter in law and repeated the same question loudly about his son. Due to this his son woke up and replied sharply in a irritating way. The next day again the son went to office early without meeting his father. It was difficult for the father to wait till night to met his son again. In the evening when the son returned he found his father a bit nervous.The son questioned him. The father replied that he just wanted to see him. The son showed his irritation about repeating the same question of father . The father replied “my son! When you were small and used to sit in my lap everyday and look at the birds. Each time you saw a bird you would said, ‘Hey Papa!Look there is a bird!’ and I would say, ‘Yes my son!’ and this repeats many times a day. I never get irritated even for a second then. Now I am too old and I miss you a lot when you are away from home. I just wanted to have a look of your face so that I got relieved.”

So, friends! the most fortunate person in this world is who lived under the blessings of parents. No need to go to teeraths and performe charity to ward off the ill effects of the horoscope. Mere serving the parents is powerful remedy which act as a Kawach(shield) against all the dangers. This is the exact method of paying off the debt of parents. They only need love and respect.

The Mystic Temple

2009-09-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Tamilnadu is the only state in India, where there is a special temple for each of the nava-grehs. These places are located in Thanjore district making a sacred place called Nav-greh sthalam. Amongst them , there is a place called “Vaitheeswaran Koil” which is dedicated to Lord Mars(Mangal). It is 24 km from Chidambaram. The term Vaitheeswaran means ‘Lord Doctor’ in Tamil. The presiding deity is Sri Vaidyanathaswamy, who is believed to be healer of all diseases. Legend has it that once Mangal(The mars) was suffering from leprosy due to curse and was cured by Lord Vaidhyanathaswamy. It is very auspicious to have a bath in holy tank in the temple to get rid off ill effects of Mangal and cure of all diseases. Since Mangal is associated with red colour, so as an offerings, it is custom to offer red flowers along with Toor dal(a kind of pulse). Intrestingly, it is custom to offer pepper and salt with jaggery to get rid from the diseases. Also , as per legend it is here,Lord Rama performed the last rites of the bird, Jatayu who died while saving Sita from the Raavan. Here the consort of lord Vaidyanathaswamy is “Thaiyalnaayaki”. She is seen having the "Sanjeevi Thailam", the medicinal oil for all illness. Other important deities of this temple are Lord Murugan, who is believed to have acquired trident here. The God of ayurved medicines, Lord Dhanvantri is worshipped here in this temple which make this temple unique. Even our divine 7 sages ,sapta-rishis also worshipped here. As a prasaad, ashes and sandalwood paste is given to the worshippers. It is believe that it contains special divine powers to cure many diseases.

Me performing the rituals in the holy tank

The Mystic Tank

The Corridor of Faith
The Abode of Lord Mangal

रामेश्वरम- एक दुर्लभ संगम

2009-07-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

जब श्री राम लंका मैं विजय प्राप्त कर अयोध्या लौट रहे थे , तब उन्होंने गंध्मान पर्वत पर कुछ समय बिताया था ।परन्तु उन का मन काफी विचलित था । कारण स्पष्ट था । उन्हें ब्रह्म हत्या का दोष था क्यों कि रावन एक ब्रह्मिण थाजिस का वध उन्हों ने किया था। अपने गुरुजनों से आज्ञा प्राप्त कर के श्री राम ने भगवान् शिव कि आराधना करनेका निर्णय किया । पूजा का एक विशेष मुहूर्त निकाला गया। श्री राम ने हनुमान जी को शिवलिंग लाने को कहा ।हनुमानजी बिना समय गवाए काशी की और चल पड़े । काफी समय बीत जाने के बाद जब हनुमान जी नही लौटेतब श्री राम चिंतित हो गए क्योंकि मुहूर्त का समय निकट था। तभी सीताजी ने अपने हाथ से एक शिवलिंग कानिर्माण किया गया और उस मैं प्राण प्रतिष्ठा की। इस शिवलिंग को रामलिंगम कहते हैं . इस प्रकार उस शुभ मुहूर्तमैं पूजा संपन्न हुई। कुछ देर बाद जब हनुमान जी शिवलिंग ले कर लौटे तो वोह बहुत निराश हुए की उन् का प्रयासविफल हुआ क्योंकि पूजा संपन्न हो चुकी थी । श्री राम जी हनुमान जी कि निराशा तुंरत भांप गए। उन् कि आज्ञा सेदूसरा शिवलिंग भी वहीँ स्थापित किया गया जिस का नाम विश्वलिंगम रखा गया और कहा कि आज के बाद सबसेपहले विश्वलिंगम , lकि पूजा होगी और उस के बाद रामलिंगम की । आज तक यह प्रथा जारी है । इस मन्दिर कीएक विशेषता और है कि यहाँ पर २२ तीर्थो का अनोखा संगम है। मन्दिर मैं प्रवेश से पहले समुद्र मैं स्नान करनाआवश्यक है जिसे "अग्नि तीरथ" कहते हैं । इस के पश्चात् मन्दिर मैं २२ कुएं हैं जिन मैं अलग अलग तीर्थो कापवित्र जल विद्यमान है। सभी कुओं मैं स्नान करने के पश्चात् ही इश्वर के दर्शन होते हैं। ऐसी अनोखी और पवित्रप्रथा संसार मैं किसी भी मन्दिर में नहीं है। निम्नलिखित २२ पवित्र तीर्थ मन्दिर मैं स्थित हैं--
1)लक्ष्मी तीर्थ

2)चक्र तीर्थ

3)शिव तीर्थ

4)शंख तीर्थ

5)यमुना तीर्थ

6)गंगा तीर्थ

7)गया तीर्थ

8)कोटि तीर्थ

9)सध्यम्रित तीर्थ

10 सर्व तीर्थ

11 चंद्र तीरथ

12) सूर्य तीर्थ

१३ब्रह्महत्यविमोचन

१४माधव तीर्थ

१५नल तीर्थ

१६ नील तीरथ

१७ गव्य

१८ गवाक्षा तीरथ

१९गंध्मान तीर्थ

२०सवित्रि तीर्थ

21 सरस्वती तीरथ

२२ गायत्री तीरथ

"अग्नि-तीर्थ"- जहाँ पर मैंने अपने पूर्वजो के लिए तर्पण किया

२२ तीर्थो का संपूर्ण स्नान-एक अद्वित्य अनुभव

The Curse of Sita

2009-07-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

After the death of King Dashrath, Lord Rama decided to perform the shraadh ceremony because it was necessary to gave solace to the departed soul. Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman went to Gaya(a place in Bihar). On reaching there Lord Rama and Lakshman went in search for material required to perform the ceremony. Sita was waiting at the bank of Phalgu river. After waiting for long time she noticed that the soul of King Dashrath appeared and asked for the pinda(offering given to souls).As the time was running out , Sita herself decided to perform the ceremony with all the possible means. After the ceremony the soul of King Dashrath blessed her and departed. There were 5 witnesses to this ceremony- the Phalgu river,the Akshay vatam(a sacred tree), a cow ,the Brahmin and the fire. Later when the Lord Rama returned, Sita told the whole incident. But Lord Rama didn’t believe. Then Sita asked the 5 witnesses. Among the 5 only Akshay vatam told the truth. This upset Sita and she cursed the other 4. She cursed Phalgu river that it would be dried on the top. She cursed cow that it would no longer be worshipped from the front and only its backside would be considered as auspicious. She cursed fire that whatever came in contact with it would be destroyed. Then she cursed Brahmins that they would never be satisfied. Lastly She blessed Akshay vatam that it would remain evergreen. Even today the Phalgu river looses its water when it enters Gaya, though the water is still present below the river bed

एक अनुभव

2009-07-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

ईश्वर के संकेत सचमुच विचित्र हैं । एक रात मुझे सपने में ईश्वर नटराज रूप में दिखे तभी से मेरे मन में एक अजीबजिज्ञासा जागृत हुई । खोज करने पर पता चला कि चिदम्बरम नामक स्थान में ईश्वर नटराज रूप में विद्यमान हैं . धीरे धीरे और खोज करने पर पता चला कि दक्षिण भारत में विभिन्न स्थानों में पञ्च-तत्त्व के रूप में भगवान् निवास करते हैं यह तत्त्व हैं आकाश रूप,वायु रूप,जल रूप,अग्नि रूप और पृथ्वी रूप। चिदम्बरम में नटराज रूप , ईश्वर के आकाश तत्व का ही रूप है . इस बात ने मुझे इतना प्रभावित किया कि मैंने निश्चय किया कि में एक दिनचिदम्बरम जरूर जाऊँगा । एक दिन सौभाग्य से मुझे मौका मिला एक अद्भुत तीरथ यात्रा करने का मौका मिला ।बड़ी बाधाओ को पार करने के बाद मैं चिदम्बरम पहुंचा । मंदिर के मुख्या द्वार पर पहुँच कर मेरे मन में बड़ी हलचलहुई. एक अजीब से घबराहट थी । ऐसा लग रहा था कि कोई यहाँ मेरा इंतज़ार कर रहा है। हम ने पूर्वी द्वार से मंदिरमैं प्रवेश किया । निगाहे कुछ ढूँढ रही थी । शायद अपनी सपने को साकार करने का समय आ गया था। कदमअचानक रूक गए आखों के ठीक सामने भगवान् नटराज मूर्ती रूप मैं विराजमान थे। आरती का समय था औरमूर्ती पूर्ण रूप में थी । सब कुछ अविश्वस्निये लग रहा था। तभी मैं गाइड के पास गया और कहा कि मैं चिदम्बरमरहस्यम देखना चाहता हूँ । वो हैरान हो गया कि मुझे कैसे पता है चिदम्बरम रहस्यम के बारे में ? मैं हिम्मत कर केमंदिर के गर्भ गृह तक गया और पंडितजी से रहस्यम के बारे में पुछा। पंडितजी ने बड़ी विचित्र मुस्कराहट के साथमुझे देखा और आगे आने को कहा और वेह बोले कि सामने वाली दीवार के बीच बने छेक में से देखो. पूरा अन्धकारथा । उन्हों ने एक काला पर्दा उठाया और दीपक के लौ से उसे प्रकाशित किया परन्तु घबराहट कि वजह से मुझे कुछस्पष्ट नहीं दिखाई दिया. मैं निराश हो गया । मैंने फिर से उनसे निवेदन किया कि मुझे दर्शन करा दें उन्हों ने बड़ीआशावादी नज़रों से मुझे देखा। उन्हों ने फिर से वही प्रक्रिया दोहराई । इस बार मैं सतर्क था । पर्दा उठते ही ईश्वरनिराकार रूप में स्पष्ट महसूस हो रहे थे । इतनी अंधेरे में भी उन पर स्वर्ण के बिलव पत्र अत्यंत शोभ्यमान प्रतीतहो रहे थे । पंडितजी ने बताया कि यही शक्ति का मूल स्तोत्र है। मैं बिलकुल स्थिर हो चुका था । ऐसा अनुभव कोबयान करने के लिए कोई भी शब्द किस्सी भी शब्दकोष मैं नहीं है। आज भी मैं उस पल को याद करता हूँ तो आँखोंसे आंसू सहसा बह जाते है और ज़बान भी लड़खडाने लगती है। इस अनुभव को वही समझ पायेगा जो प्रकृति केपञ्च तत्वों को गहरायी से जानता हो।

The Famous Five

2009-07-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

It is believe that the life originate from the 5 basic elements called “Panch-tatva”. The word “Panch” means five and the word “Tatva” means element. As per classics these 5 elements created by God in specific order. At first “Aakash(space) tatva” was created, whose main feature is sound. At the second step “Vaayu(air) tatve” was created having touch as its main feature. In third order, “Agni(fire) tatva” was created. At the fourth place “Jal (water) tatva” was created . Lastly “Prithvi(earth) tatva” created. In all the living being these 5 elements are present. As per hindu mythology, the supreme soul is also worshipped as manifestation of these 5 elements. There are 5 temples in south India where Lord is presents in 5 different elements. They are called as Panchbhoot sthalams.
Following are the 5 panchbhhot sthalams
1)The Ekambareshwar Temple(In kanchipuram).Here lord is present in Prithvi tatvam
2)The Srikaalhasti Temple(In Chitoor dist.). Here lord is present in Vaayu Tatvam
3)The Natraj temple (At Chidambram). Here lord is present in Aakash Tatvam
4)The Arunachaleshwar temple(At Tiruannamalai). Here lord is present in Agni Tatvam
5)The Jambukeshwar Temple(At Trichi). Here lord is present in Jal Tatvam
They are mukti giving sacred places. The ambience of each of temple is so divine that one would have unique experience that can not be expressed in words.

The Arunachaleshwar Temple(Lord in Fire Roop) in Tiruannamalai

The Temple of Srikaalhasti (Lord in Vayu Roop)

The Ekambreshwar Temple of Kanchipuram(Lord in Prithvi Roop)

The Jambukeshwar Temple of Trichy

The Natraj Temple(Lord in Aakash Roop)

The Aquatic Navagrehas

2009-06-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

As per the concept of Hinduism, we get all the happiness and sufferings in our lives because of our past life karmas. The nava-grehas or the nine planets in our horoscope are the key controller of our destiny. Even Lord Rama was not spared from the effects of navagrehas. Before proceeding for Lanka , Lord Rama needed the help of nature to overcome the powerful enemy, Ravana. The reason behind that was Ravana was himself acquired many divine powers. Once Goddess Durga appeared in the dream of Lord Rama and guided Lord Rama to perform navagreha pooja in order to overcome the adverse effects planets.So after consulting sages, Lord Rama decided to perform special pooja of nava-grehas. He placed nine stones pillars which symbolically represented the 9 planets and do praan-pratishtha(invoking divine powers). Only after performing the pooja Lord Rama proceed towards to Lanka. This confirms the importance of Navagrehas . So every human being on this earth is under the influence of 9 planets. During my teerath-yaatra to Tamil Nadu I got a chance to witness these magical navagrehas, which are still there. These pillars are half submerged in the sea. They are located in a place called Navapaashanam in Devipattinam . It is 14 km North-east of Ramnathpuram in Tamilnadu. This place is considered as very powerful place to perform the tarpan for our ancesters. The unique thing about Devipattinam is that it is the only place in the world where the Navagrahas are located inside the sea.

I performed the pooja in Navapaashanam

The Mauli-a bond of spirituality

2009-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

At the time of religious ceremony it is a custom that red thread is tied on the wrist. It is tied on the right wrist of a male and on the left wrist of female. This sacred thread is called “ Kalava” or “Mauli”. This is a kind of kawach(shield) for protection against evil-eye. It is tied by the priest or the person who is conducting pooja. At the time of tying, mantras are recited to invoke the spiritual power. Another aspect of its significance is that it is tied at the time of taking “Sankalp”(resolution) at the commencement of pooja. Symbolically it is a reminder of resolution. This thread is a bond between the soul and supreme soul. The logic of tying it on the right wrist of male is that the right side of human body is ruled by Surya-nadi(sun) which is masculine. Similarly the left hand side of human body is ruled by Chandra-nadi(moon) which is feminine. This is the reason why it is tied on the left wrist of female. Thus this thread provides connectivity between human and God

Shubh Navraatris

2009-03-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Navraatri means 9 nights. This is an auspicious period which is celebrated twice in a year i.e. in the month of Chaitra and in the month of Ashwin as per hindu calendar. This period is devoted to ‘Shakti-Pooja”. During the first 3 days of pooja is dedicated to Goddess “Mahakaali”. The next 3 days dedicated to Goddess “Mahalakshmi” and the last 3 days are dedicated to “Goddess Mahasaraswati”. This auspicious period coincides with the change of season. Fasting observe during these days is beneficial from physical aspect as well as spiritual aspect of life. During these 9 days Goddess Durga is worshipped in nine different forms which are as follows
1) Goddess Shailputri
2) Goddess Brahmacharini
3) Goddess Chandra Ghanta
4) Goddess Kushmanda
5) Goddess Skandmata
6) Goddess Katyayni
7) Goddess Kaalraatri
8) Goddess Mahagauri
9) Goddess Sidhidaatri

“Kalash(pot) Sthapna” is very important in the morning of first navratri.A metal pot filled with water and coconut at top of it is placed along with mango leaves(in odd numbers). It is a symbolic representation of Goddess. This process has to be performed strictly according to muhurat. As per ritual one should sow barley grains in a separate pot.After the completion of fast on ashtami tithi, it is important to worship small girl child which is symbolic to Goddess Durga. Recitation of Durga-Saptashati is considered as highly auspicious during navraatri

The Divine 52 Places

2009-03-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

As per classics there are 52 shaktipeeth present across India and neighboring countries. It is believe that pujas performed during “Vishesh Kaal” (special period) is considered very auspicious. They are as follows-

1. Goddess Hinglaj located in Pakistan.
2. Goddess Jwalamukhi(in Kangra Himachal Pradesh)
3. Goddess Sugandha (in Bangladesh)
4. Godess Kamakhya (in Assam )
5. Goddess Vrindavana (in UP)
6. Goddess Mahamaya(in Kashmir)
7. Goddess Lalita (in Alahabad ,UP).
8 Goddess Jayanti (in Bangladesh)
9. Goddess Phullara (in W Bengal)
10.Goddess Mahshmardini (in Pakistan)
11.Goddess Avanti (In Ujjain, MP)
12.Goddess Prabhas (Somnath, Gujrat)
13.Goddess Brahmri (Nasik, Maharashtra)
14.Goddess Vishweshwari (AndhraPradesh)
15.Goddess Gandakichandi (in Nepal)
16 Goddess Narayani(Tamil Nadu)
17.Goddess Gayatri(Ajmer, Rajasthan)
18 Goddess Tripurasundri (Tripura)
19 Goddess Mahadevi (Janakpur)
20 Goddess Jai Durga ()
21.Goddess. Trisnota (Jalpaiguri,in West Bengal)
22 Goddess Sarvani (Tamlinadu)
23 Goddess Kalika (In West Bengal)
24 Goddess Savitri (Kurukshetra, Haryana)
25 Goddess Narmada (in MP)
26 Goddess . Kalighat (Kolkotta)
27 Goddess Ratnavali(W Bengal)
28 Goddess VishwaLakshmi (varanasi, UP)
29.Goddess Ambika(Bharatpur, Rajasthan).
30.Goddess Girija( Orissa.)
31 Goddess Shri Sunadari(Andhra Pradesh).
32 Goddess Dakshinayani(In Tibet)
33 Goddess Bhawani(in Bangladesh)
34.Goddess Shivani (Chitrakoot, UP)
35.Goddess Nandini (In Bengal)
36.Goddess Jashoreswari (In Bangladesh)
37 Goddess Devagarbha (W Bengal)
38 Goddess Mangalchandika (W Bengal)
39 Goddess Kapalini(W Bengal)
40 Goddess Kalmadhava (in MP)
41 Goddess Mahashira (In Nepal)
42 Goddess Yogadaya (W Bengal)
43 Goddess Bahula (W Bengal)
44 Goddess Mahalaxmi (Indo-Bangla Border)
45 Goddess Vimla (Orissa)
46.Goddess Aparna (in Bangladesh)
47.Goddess Danteshwari(chattisgarh)
48 Goddess Mahishamardini (W Bengal)
49 Goddess Indrakshi(Srilanka)
50 Goddess Tripurmalini (Punjab)
51.Goddess Jai Durga(Bihar)
52.Goddess Varahi

However the above list varies a little bit according to different classics. But one should never miss an opportunity when you are in a town where a shaktipeeth is situated.

Naaryan Naarayan!

2009-03-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

There was a Brahmin whose name was Ajaamil. He was learned man. But due to bad company he get surrounded by bad people all the time. He lost all his divine powers as well as knowledge acquired by him. Now he became an evil person who always engaged in stealing money and spending it on drinking wine. He married to a maid. Later he had a son whose name was “ Naraayan”. The childhood of a boy had a deep impact on Ajaamil. Most of his time was spent on his son. As the time passes Ajaamil fell seriously ill. It was even difficult for him to move an inch from his bed. He could easily felt the approaching death. But the impact of his son on his memory was so deep that kept calling his name all the day. This repeated calls to son started working as a magic because the word “Naarayan” means “Lord Vishnu”. He regain all his lost knowledge. He was remorseful for his sin committed during young age. When “Yam Dut”, the messengers of “God of Death” came to took him to Yamlok, Lord Vishnu himself came to rescue to Ajaamil in divine form. In this way Ajaamil finally reaches the “Baikunth Dhaam”, the abode of Lord Vishnu after the death.

Ashtavakra

2009-02-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

There was a Sage named Uddalaka who was very learned. His disciple , Kahoda was his favorite due to his extreme devotion towards Guru. After some time he decided to marry his only daughter Sujata to Kahoda. As the time progress, she became pregnant. Usually she prefer to sit near her father and her husband while teaching. As a result the unborn child acquired all the knowledge . Once upon a time , Kahoda was reciting some mantras committed some errors. At this time , his unborn child began correcting the mistakes of his father from the womb. This was very insulting experience for Kahoda. He cursed his unborn son to be born as deformed. As a result of curse , when the child was born, his body was deformed at 8 points. Due to this deformity he got his name “Ashta-vakra”. The word “Ashta” means “eight” and the “Vakra” means “bend” in hindi.
After some time his father, Kahoda lost his life when he lost a debate contest in the kingdom of King Janak as per the rules of the contest. Now, ashtavakra got all his education from his grandfather. At the very young age , he got a chance to participate the debate contest in the court of king Janak. During the contest he defeated the best scholar, named Bandi(who was the killer of his father in last debate) in the court. Bandi revealed his original identity as the son of Varun, the god of water. He was so impressed by the intelligence of boy that he bring back Kahoda to life. On seeing his son, Kahoda openly admitted that his son is far more intelligent than himself. Ashtavakra was highly advance in the world of spirituality. His teachings are there in a book ‘Ashtavakra gita” which are so touching that It can change the outlook of any person towards life.

The Auspicious Grass

2009-01-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

During my recent visit to Haridwar , my ancestors came in my dream. So I decided to perform tarpan ceremony for them. The pandit asked me to get Kusha grass for it. He told me some of the most hidden and secret method of performing tarpan as well as importance of Kusha.
Kusha also known as Durva is a kind of grass which is very important for all the religious ceremonies. Hindu priests always keep the kusha grass in their houses which they use them for purification ceremonies . During pooja, kusha is used for sitting mat(asan). It is believe that this grass originates from the hairs of Lord Vishnu during the churning of ocean (samundra Manthan). As per another legend, once the pot of nector was placed upon Kusha grass which was guarded by Garuda(the divine eagle). At the same the snakes attacked to pot of nector but the eagle snatched the pot. But few drops of nector fell on Kusha grass. The snakes had only one option to lick the drops fallen on kusha grass. But the blades of grass were too sharp that their tongue were divided into 2 parts. Since then it is believe that the snakes possess twin tongues. Kusha is also used to ward off ill effects of many natural calamities. During eclipses Kusha grass is put on all the food articles to prevent them intoxicated. If a person is suffering from the bad effects of Rahu, then Durva grass is used as a remedy. Last rites and rituals of dead body is performed with the help of Kusha grass to provide solace to departing soul. It is believe that goddess Sita manage to protect herself from Ravana with the help of single blade of kusha grass which was energized with the powerful mantras. Medically it is proved that this grass has a lot of medicinal properties. Also praying Lord Ganesha with Durva is considered as highly auspicious(Note- one should not offer it to goddess Durga). TO know the legend behind it click http://hindustories.blogspot.com/2008/03/21-durvas.html

Shyam Varna

2009-01-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

Lord Krishna was an avatar(incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. He is also known as “Shyam varna” means dark complexioned. In some versions of classical text he is also described as having dark blue complexion. There are many legends behind this. Once lord Krishna was playing with his friends near the bank of Yamuna river. All of a sudden the ball fell into the river. Lord Krishna jumped into the river to get back the ball. But in the river there was an abode of a poisonous snake Kalia. Fierce battle took place between them. The snake fires all his deadly poison on Lord Krishna. Due to the poison his complexion changed to deep blue. Another aspect is Lord Vishnu resides in ksheer Sagar(cosmic ocean). So that water turns the complexion of the Lord into deep blue. The deep blue colour is a symbol of infinity and depth. The supreme soul can not be viewed with ordinary vision.

Basant Panchmi

2009-01-26T18:26:00.001-08:00

Basant Panchami is celebrated on 5th day of lunar calendar in the month of Magh shukal Paksh. “Basant “ means spring season. It marks the beginning of spring season. This day is dedicated to worship of goddess Saraswati. She is the shakti of Lord Brahma , the creator of universe. She is the deity of knowledge. It rules the speech. It is believe that in day consisting of 8 prahar(division of time), she resides on everyone’s speech at least one of the prahar. The word spoken during that period becomes truth. The vehicle of goddess Saraswati is swan. The swan has ability to distinguish water and milk in a mixture. It denotes the wisdom power. The four hands of goddess represent the 4 vedas. She is holding “veena”(a king of instrument) having 7 strings representing 7 chakras of consciousness. People wear yellow color on this day. This color is a symbol of spirituality. Its a ritual to prepare yellow sweet rice.This day is auspicious for learning. For the students the following mantra works as tonic-
Saraswati Mahabhage Vidye Kamalalochane !
Vishwaroope Vishaalaakshi Vidyam dehi namostute!!

Hope Goddess bless us with the spiritual knowledge which in necessary for all of us before quitting this world!

7 Gateways to Heaven

2009-01-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

In Kaliyuga, God has mentioned the seven most sacred placed where one can earn the “Punyas”. These places promise “moksha” to the devotees. These places are also called “Teerath sthal”. They are the gateway to divine kingdom. Some classics even says that during the period of “Chaturmaas” visiting these places brings more auspiciousness to the pilgrims. Following are the seven most sacred pilgrimage centre.
1)Kashi (Banaras)
2)Kanchipuram
3)Mayapuri (Haridwar)
4)Ayodhyapuri
5)Dwarkapuri (Gujrat)
6)Mathurapuri
7)Avantikapuri (Ujjaini)

Legend of Chamundaji

2009-01-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

In Satyayuga there were 2 demons Shumbh and Nishumbh who with their extreme devotions manage to acquire extreme powers from Lord Brahma. The terrified gods requested to Jagdamba Devi for the help. She created another female “Kaushiki” out of her body with an assignment of killing the demon brothers. On hearing about the beauty of kaushika devi they send their commander ‘Chanda” and “ Munda”. Fierece battle took place between devi and Chanda and munda. Kaushika devi produced a shakti called “Kalika” from her forehead who ultimately killed the brave commanders Chanda and munda. After that incident kalika shakti known as “Chamunda Devi”. The temple situated at the bank of baan ganga in Kangra district. Across the river, there is a cremation ground , to bring solace to departing soul. A very interesting legend is linked regarding dead bodies brought to cremation ground with the boon granted to chand-mund. As per classical description goddess appeared in two forms
1) Maatrikas
2) 64 yoginis.
This temple is one of the 52 shakti peeth.
Click here for pictures

The Fire Goddess- Jwalajee

2009-01-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

The temple of Jwalamukhi is situated in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. It is surrounded by Shivalik mountain ranges. It is amongst the 52 shakti Peeth. According to legend, it is the place where the tongue of goddess Sati fell. In this temple the goddess is present in the form of tiny flames that is emerging from the cracks of rocks. There are 9 flames burning through ages without any combustible substance. These 9 flames are representatives of 9 forms of goddess namely,
1) Mahakaali
2) Annapurna
3) Chandi
4) Hinglaj
5) Vindya vaasini
6) Mahalakshmi
7) Saraswati
8) Ambika
9) Anjana

In the garbhagreh, the main flame is of goddess Mahakaali(bestower of bhakti and mukti). According to history of the temple once emperor Akbar visited it and tried to extinguish the flame of the temple. All his attempts were failed. He admitted the power of goddess. As an offering he donated a golden chatra at the temple. But he becamae arrogant. All of a sudden that chatra of gold turned into a strange metal which is still a mystery for the modern science. During the entire day 5 kinds of aarti is performed.
1) Mangal Aarti
2) Panchupchar Arti
3) Bhog
4) Sandhya
5) Shayan
The last aarti is performed around 9:30 pm. This is unique in many ways. It is performed in separate room known as “Sejabhawan”, where the bed of goddess is decorated with the beautiful dresses and rarest jewelries.
For some breathtaking pictures of the temple click here

Bitter Enemy

2009-01-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

Sage Dronacharya and King Drupad were childhood friends. Once Drupad promised Dronacharya at the Gurukul that he will help him in the hour of need. After the completion of their education they were separated. Dronacharya was too poor to take care of his family properly. One day his son,Ashwathama was hungry. In this difficult time he remind the promise of his friend King Drupad. He went to his kingdom for the help. But Drupad made fun of Dronacharya. It was very insulting experience for a Brahmin. He started teaching Kauravas and Pandavas. As a guru-dakshina, he demanded king Drupad from his students. It was Arjun, who defeated Drupad and brought him to Dronacharya for revenge. But Dronacharya forgive King Drupad as he took his revenge via Arjun. Though Drupad went back to his kingdom, but a strong enemity was born in his mind towards Dronacharya. He arranged special Yagya. Lord Agni blessed Drupad with a boy and girl. The boy was Drishtdyum and the girl was Draupadi. In the Mahabharata war, Drishtadyum played important role in killing of Dronacharya. Later son of Dronacharya, Ashwathama took the revenge of his father’s death.

Ashta Lakshmi

2009-01-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

There are 8 roops of godess lakshmi as per hindu mythology. Each form is ruler deity of different form of wealth. They are as follows
1) Adi Lakshmi: This depict the form of Lakshmi that resides with Lord Vishnu in the Vaikuntha
2)Dhanya Lakshmi: The word “Dhanya” means grains. Food is prime importance for each individual.This form of lakshmi bless good food for good health.
3)Dhairya Lakshmi: This form of mother Lakshmi grants the boon of courage and strength.
4)Gaja Lakshmi: During the churning of ocean, this form of godess lakshmi emerges. She came out of the ocean sitting on a full-bloomed lotus and also having lotus flowers in both hands with two elephants by her sides, holding a beautiful vessels filled with milk and pouring it over godess Lakshmi.

5) Santan Lakshmi: In the family life, the children are the greatest asset. Those who worship this particular form of Sri Lakshmi are bestowed with the grace of mother Lakshmi and have wealth in the form of desirable children with good health & long life.
6)Vijay Lakshmi: “Vijay” means victory. Vijay is to get success in all undertakings and all different facets of life.
7)Dhana Lakshmi: “Dhana” means wealth. This form of lakshmi rules all the wealth and riches
8)Vidya Lakshmi: “Vidya” means education. To achieve the ultimate goal of life the inner knowledge is important . It is vidya lakshmi that grant all the knowledge.
So, Ashtalakshmi strota is recited to worship the 8 forms of godess Lakshmi.

Curse of a Father

2008-12-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Samba was a son of lord Krishna and Jambvanti. He was very handsome but arrogant.
He was becoming mischievous day by day. Every other day numerous complaints reached Lord Krishna . One day Lord Krishna lost his patience and cursed Samba. Due to the curse Samba suffered from leprosy at the very next moment. This shocked her mother. She requested Lord Krishna to take back the curse. But it was against the nature. Only one alternative was left. Lord Krishna ordered Samba to pray to Lord Surya in order to get rid off the curse. Samba, without wasting a minute rushed to sacred place Kashi. Here he prepare a pond(Kunda) and worshipped Lord Surya with utmost devotion. After some time Lord Surya pleased with his prayers and he blessed him . In this way Samba manage to get librated from the curse of his father. It is believe that a person who take bath in that pond(kunda) on Sunday and worship lord Surya, he get liberated from diseases.

Rule is Rule

2008-12-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

The five Pandavas were marride to Draupadi. To maintain the relegious conduct it was decided that Draupadi will spend one year with each of the Pandavas. Also it was decided that no brother would disturb the Draupadi and other brother with her during that year. In case of breach of this rule, then there was a penelty for exile. One day a brahmin came to Arjun for his help because some one had stolen his cow. Since Arjun was a kshatriya, so it was his duty to help the brahmin. But there was a problem because his arrow and bows were in the room of his elder brother Yudhishthir and Draupadi. As per rule he could not disturb his brother. He was in a state of dilemma. But he decide to help brahmin at any cost. So he rushed towards Yudhisthir room. And after getting his bow and arrows he rushed to catch the thief. With his courage he manage get back the cow of brahmin. Since he had broken the rule, so he went to Yudhisthir for confession. Elder brother Yudhisthir knew the breach of rule by Arjun, but he pardon him for his mistake because the rule was broken for a noble cause. But the Arjuna was so strong that he could not take his words back. At once he left the kingdom for a one year exile.

Secret Code

2008-12-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

There was a king of Magadha called Brihadratha. He had two wives but no children. Once a sage gave him a special fruit to give it to his wife so that the king would be bless with a son. But the king gave half of the fruit to each queen. Strangely in time they gave birth to half a child each. One half was the left side and the other half the right. In the city there was a demoness called Jara. With her magic powers she united the two halves of the child. King and queen were happy and named the child “Jarasandh” . Later the Jarasandh became very powerful and acquired a boon that no weapon could cause his death. Jarasandh was father in law of Kansa. Since Lord Krishna had killed Kansa, so Jarasandh had an inimical feeling towards Lord Krishna. To kill Jarasandh was too difficult due to protection of boon. Once Lord Krishna decided to visit his court along with Bheema and Arjun. Here Lord Krishna played a trick and asked Bheema to challenge Jarasandh for a fight. As a result a very intense fight was fought between Bheema and Jarasandh for 14 days. All the efforts for Bheema went in vain because every time he crushes the body of Jarasandh, his pieces were reunited. Only Lord Krishna knew the secret of Jarasandh. Immediately Lord Krishna picked the blade grass, tore it into 2 parts and threw in opposite direction. He did it just to signal Bheema. This secret signal Bheema well understood. Bhima tore apart Jarasandha in two pieces lengthwise and threw away the pieces in opposite directions i.e. right piece of body on the left side and the left piece of body on the right side. In this way the mighty Jarasandh was killed due to trick of Lord Krishna.

Jai Shri Krishna!

2008-12-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

As Per Vishnu Puraan, Lord Krishna was born in the linage of Chandravanshi Kings. Here is the linage of Chandra Vansh.

1. Brahma
2. Daksha
3. Vivasvat
4. Manu
5. Chandra
6. Pururava
7. Aayu
8. Nahush
9. Yayati
10. Yadu
11. Kroshtu
12. Dhwajinivan
13. Swati
14. Rushanku
15. Chitrarath
16. Shashabindu
17. Pruthusravas
18. Prithutam
19. Ushanas
20. Shitpu
21. Rukmakavach
22. Paravrushta
23. Jayamadh
24. Vidarbh
25. Krath
26. Kunti
27. Dharishti
28. Nidhrtti
29. Dasharha
30. Vyoma
31. Jimut
32. Vikrati
33. Bhimrath
34. Navrath
35. Dashrath
36. Shakuni
37. Karambhi
38. Devrat
39. Devkshetra
40. Madhu
41. Kumarvansh
42. Anu
43. Anshu
44. Satvat
45. Vrishni
46. Yudhjita
47. Anamitra
48. Vrishni
49. Chitrarath
50. Vidurath
51. Shoor
52. Sharman
53. Pratikshatra
54. Bhoj
55. Hridika
56. Devmudh
57. Shoor
58. Vasudev
59. KRISHNA
60. Pradyumna
61. Aniruddha
62. Vajranabha
63. Pratibahu
64. Subahu
65. Shantasen
66. Shatasen

One Eye

2008-12-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

During the period of exile Once Lord Rama and Sita were staying at Chitrakoot. While they were resting a crow attacked Sita. The attack of crow was so furious that he injured Sita with his beak. Her blood fell on Rama. He woke up hurriedly. The crow was none other than Jayant, the son of Indra. To take revenge Lord Rama decided to use the mighty weapon called “Brahma Astra”. He invoke his weapon with the help of mantras in a blade of grass and fired it to the crow. The weapon pursued the crow who tried his best to escape. The crow could not able to get the shelter in any of the three loka and he returned to Lord Rama for the forgiveness. But as per rule the Brahma Astra could not be taken back. So the crow decided to give his right eye ball as a penalty for his sin. Since then the crow is said to have only one eye-ball . The crow uses one eye ball by rolling it from one eye socket to other to look.

The Janak

2008-12-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

King Nimi died due to curse of Sage Vashishtha. In order to prevent the kingdom from disorder the sages churn the body of king Nimi and produced a son named Janak. Since his father was bodyless, he was also known as “Videh” which means without body. From here the lineage known as “Videh Janaks”. The lineage continued as follows.
1) Janak
2) Udavasu
3) Nandivardhana
4) Suketu
5) Devavrat
6) Brihadukath
7) Mahavirya
8) Sudhriti
9) Dristaketu
10) Haryasva
11) Manu
12) Pratik
13) Kritiratha
14) Devamidha
15) Vibhut
16) Mahadhriti
17) Kirtirata
18) Mahorama
19) Swarnorama
20) Hrisvaroma
21) Seeradhwaja - Father of Sita.
22) Bhaanumaan
23) Shatadyumn
24) Shuchi
25) Oorjnaamaa
26) Kriti
27) Anjan
28) Kurujit
29) Arishtnemi
30) Shrutaayu
31) Supaarshwa
32) Srinjaya
33) Kshemaavee
34) Anenaa
35) Bhaumarath
36) Satyarath
37) Upagu
38) Upagupt
39) Swaagat
40) Swaanand
41) Suvarchaa
42) Supaarshwa
43) Subhaash
44) Sushrut
45) Jaya
46) Vijaya
47) Rit
48) Sunaya
49) Veetahavya
50) Dhriti
51) Bahulaashwa
52) Kriti

64 Kalas

2008-11-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

It is believe that lord Krishna possess 64 kinds of arts called "Chausath Kalas". They are as follows
(1) Geet vidya -- art of singing.
(2) Vadya vidya -- art of playing on musical instruments.
(3) Nritya vidya-- art of dancing.
(4) Natya vidya-- art of theatricals.
(5) alekhya vidya-- art of painting.
(6) viseshakacchedya vidya -- art of painting the face and body with color
(7) tandula-kusuma-bali-vikara -- art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers.
(8) pushpastarana -- art of making a covering of flowers for a bed.
(9) dasana-vasananga-raga -- art of applying preparations for cleansing the teeth, cloths and painting the body.
(10) mani-bhumika-karma -- art of making the groundwork of jewels.
(11) sayya-racana -- art of covering the bed.
(12) udaka-vadya -- art of playing on music in water.
(13) udaka-ghata -- art of splashing with water.
(14) citra-yoga -- art of practically applying an admixture of colors.
(15) malya-grathana-vikalpa -- art of designing a preparation of wreaths.
(16) sekharapida-yojana -- art of practically setting the coronet on the head.
(17) nepathya-yoga -- art of practically dressing in the tiring room.
(18) karnapatra-bhanga -- art of decorating the tragus of the ear.
(19) sugandha-yukti -- art of practical application of aromatics.
(20) bhushana-yojana -- art of applying or setting ornaments.
(21) aindra-jala -- art of jugglery.
(22) kaucumara -- a kind of art.
(23) hasta-laghava -- art of sleight of hand.
(24) citra-sakapupa-bhakshya-vikara-kriya -- art of preparing varieties of delicious food.
(25) panaka-rasa-ragasava-yojana -- art of practically preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color.
(26) suci-vaya-karma -- art of needleworks and weaving.
(27) sutra-krida -- art of playing with thread.
(28) vina-damuraka-vadya -- art of playing on lute and small drum.
(29) prahelika -- art of making and solving riddles.
(30) durvacaka-yoga -- art of practicing language difficult to be answered by others.
(31) pustaka-vacana -- art of reciting books.
(32) natikakhyayika-darsana -- art of enacting short plays and anecdotes.
(33) kavya-samasya-purana -- art of solving enigmatic verses.
(34) pattika-vetra-bana-vikalpa -- art of designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows.
(35) tarku-karma -- art of spinning by spindle.
(36) takshana -- art of carpentry.
(37) vastu-vidya -- art of engineering.
(38) raupya-ratna-pariksha -- art of testing silver and jewels.
(39) dhatu-vada -- art of metallurgy.
(40) mani-raga jnana -- art of tinging jewels.
(41) akara jnana -- art of mineralogy.
(42) vrikshayur-veda-yoga -- art of practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs.
(43) mesha-kukkuta-lavaka-yuddha-vidhi -- art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds.
(44) suka-sarika-prapalana (pralapana)? -- art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female cockatoos.
(45) utsadana -- art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes.
(46) kesa-marjana-kausala -- art of combing hair.
(47) akshara-mushtika-kathana -- art of talking with letters and fingers.
(48) mlecchita-kutarka-vikalpa -- art of fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry.
(49) desa-bhasha-jnana -- art of knowing provincial dialects.
(50)nirmiti-jnana -- art of knowing prediction by heavenly voice
(51) yantra-matrika -- art of mechanics.
(52) dharana-matrika -- art of the use of amulets.
(53) samvacya -- art of conversation.
(54) manasi kavya-kriya -- art of composing verse mentally.
(55) kriya-vikalpa -- art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy.
(56) chalitaka-yoga -- art of practicing as a builder of shrines called after him.
(57) abhidhana-kosha-cchando-jnana -- art of the use of lexicography and meters.
(58) vastra-gopana -- art of concealment of cloths.
(59) dyuta-visesha -- art of knowing specific gambling.
(60) akarsha-krida -- art of playing with dice or magnet.
(61) balaka-kridanaka -- art of using children's toys.
(62) vainayiki vidya -- art of enforcing discipline.
(63) vaijayiki vidya -- art of gaining victory.
(64) vaitaliki vidya -- art of awakening master with music at dawn.

The Great Transformation

2008-11-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Once there was a burglar named Ratnakar. He used to rob the person of his belongings and with this wealth he looked after his family. This process continued for a long time. One day he was hiding in the forest to rob the passengers. At the same time sage Narad was passing through that forest in which Ratnakar was hiding. As soon as Ratnakar saw him, he threatened him to stop. But sage Nard said that he had nothing to offer him. But Ratnakar was adamant. Sage Narad said to Ratnkar “why do you kill people who are innocent? One has to face the consequences for his own deeds. No one shares the punishment of god for the sins of others.” Sage Narad asked Ratnakar to go back to his home and asked his family members whether they will share his sufferings for the sins he committed for them. This shocked the Ratnakar. He get back to his home and asked the same question to each family members. He said to his family members , “ Is anybody ready to share my sins?" . But every member decline at once. Ratnakar was disappointed. Ratnakar went back to the forest to met sage Narad and asked for forgiveness. Sage Narad asked him to chant the name of God Rama. But for Ratnakar even pronouncing it was difficult. Sage Narad asked him to pronounce it backwards that is 'Mara'. Ratnakar started to chant 'Mara, Mara' sitting there. He continued with this chant for many years.He performed the tapasya with such a devotion that he didn’t moved a single inch from it’s place. The termites made his body their home.Lord Brahma pleased with his devotion blessed him and gave him the name Valmiki because of the termites, which are called Valmik in Sanskrit. So it was the great transformation of a burglar into a sage who wrote the Ramayana.

The Blink of Eyes

2008-11-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

Once King Nimi of surya vansh boansh decided to organise a Yagya .He invited the sage Vasishth to perform the Yagya. But sage Vasishth expressed his inability to participate Yagya as he had already promised Indra for the same. He requested the king to wait till he was free from Indra’s obligations. But King Nimi was in no mood to wait for sage Vashishtha. He started Yagya with sage Gautam . At the completion of Yagya for Indra, sage Vasishth hurried back to the earth to conduct Yagya for King Nimi. But here he found that a Yagya was already in progression. This made the sage angry. He cursed Nimi, who was sleeping at that time, to lose his body at once. On the other hand, at end of Yagya when the gods appeared to accept their due share from the offerings, the other sages prayed to them to grant boon to Nimi. King Nimi expressed his desire to live bodiless because he wanted to get liberated from the bondage of birth and death and it was not possible for his soul to re-enter his body because his body was destroyed.The gods thus, grant the eyelids as the dwelling place for the soul of king Nimi. So the wink of eyelids remind the existence of king Nimi. Since then blinking of eyes came into practice because of Nimi’s stay there. Also as per hindu system of time measurement, the time interval between the blink of eyes is called " Nimesh" which is derive from the King Nimi.

King Shibi

2008-11-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

King Shibi was famous for his kindness. Once Indra and Dharmraaj decided to test him. Indra took the form of a pigeon and Dharmraaj took the form of a hawk. One day king Shibi was sitting in his court. All of a sudden that the pigeon came flying and fell into Shibi's lap for protection. The pigeon was badly injured. In the meantime the hawk also came following him. He saw the pigeon hiding in king's lap and asked Shibi to returned back the pigeon. But Shibi declined to return it to hawk as it was duty of the king to protect anyone who seek help. He decided to sacrifice his own body as a prey to hawk. A weighing scale was brought and the pigeon sat in one pan of the balance. Shibi cut off his arms and put it on the other pan. But the pigeon's weight outweighed Shibi's flesh. So king Shibi cut off legs and put it on the pan to balance the pigeon's weight. But once again, the pigeon outweighed the flesh. Ultimately, king Shibi ordered that his bleeding body be put on the pan. As soon as this was done, Indra and Dharmaraj too appeared in their original forms. Gods blessed the King Shibi and he ruled for many year

The great Architect

2008-10-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

The following day after Diwali is devoted to Lord Vishwakarma. All kind of workers of all kind worship Lord Vishwakarma on this day . He is the divine architect of the universe according to Hindu mythology. He is also known as “Architect of Gods”. As per Vedas he is supreme master of Sthapatya Veda( The science of architecture & mechanics ). He constructed the holy city of Dwarka, the palace for Pandavas at Khandavprastha, lanka of Ravana and many other equipments for Gods. He was the son of Yogsidha(sister of Devguru Brihaspati) and Prabhas(the 8th vasu).His daughter was sanjna who was married to Surya. As per classics, his daughter could not able to bear the heat of sun, so Lord Vishwakarma curtail 1/8 part of sun’s radiance. With that curtailed part he prepare the weapons of gods. As per another legend, once King Indradyumna requested lord Vishwakarma to carve a deity from a log. He took the responsibility. On a condition that he would not be disturbed while he was carving the deity and start working in closed room . But King was too anxious. He opened the door and found the deity half-finished as the deity had no arms and legs. As per promise Vishwakarma disappears at once. Still at Jagannath puri, the incomplete deity of created by Lord Vishwakarma is installed at the temple.

Costly Exchange

2008-10-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

As per Hinduism the 5 subtle elements are called “Panch Tatva”. Agni or fire is one amongst them. It the fire which carries all the sacrifices made at havan or yagya to Gods. Agni is considered as god. All the auspicious ceremonies are performed with the presence of fire as a deity. Agni appears before us in three forms, as the sun, the lightning in the sky and the fire on earth. Agni is also the link between man and god because he receives all divine oblations. Agni is the eldest son of Brahma. His wife is Swaha and has three sons, Pavak, Pavmaa and Suchi and through them as forty-six grandsons. Thus Agni has Forty-nine members as his descendants. As per classics Agni is reddish in color, has three flaming heads, three legs and seven arms. A garland of fruits adorns his neck and his vehicle is the ram. Once Agni had indigestion due to over eating of yagya material regularly. This created panic amongst the sages because no yagya could have been performed without fire. To regain the strength fire god has only one option to burn the Khandav forest. But it was the home of king of snakes, Takshak. On the other hand Indra,the God of rains was friend of Takshak. So all the attempts of agni to burn the forest went in vain due to Indra who causes rains during all the attempts made by agni. So Agni decided to met Arjun and lord Krishna for the help. In return Agni promise to gave Arjun a bow called “Gandiv” and a box containing everlasting arrows.Agni strated his work. In few minutes the whole forest engulfed in fire. Luckily Takshak was away but his family was at home. Indra sent rains to rescue the family of Takshak. Fierce battle took place between Arjun and Indra. At the end Arjun emerges winner. Somehow the family of Takshak managed to escape, but he swore revenge. So it was takshak who killed the grandson of Arjun, Parikshit later. In this way Agni regain it’s lost power at the cost of loss of Parikshit,the grandson of Arjun.

Curse to Karana

2008-10-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Karana,the son of Surya was up bring by the charioteer, Adirath. He could not afford the education of his child. Even Dronacharya rejected him to teach. This hurts Karna a lot. He wanted to learn the archery to prove his talent of Kshatriya. In search of teacher he reached the ashram of Lord Parshuram. He misrepresented the fact that he was not a Brahmin. Sage Parshuram accepted Karna as his student. One day when his learning was completed he went to forest with his teacher. Sage Parshuram wanted to rest a while. He rested with his head in Karna’s lap. When Sage was in deep sleep, a poisonous insect bite Karana. He didn’t uttered a word and bore the acute pain. He didn’t wanted to disturb his Guru. From his deep wound warm blood fell on Sage Parshuram which caused him to woke up.He was shocked to see his student’s determination because it was not possible for any Brahmin to bear such pain. On asking Karana revealed the secret that he was not a Brahmin. Sage cursed him that all his education will disappear in the hour of its utmost need. So in the battle of Mahabharata, this curse proved to be cause of death of Karana when all of a sudden he forgot all his skills and lost his life to Arjuna. Otherwise he was superior to Arjuna in all respect.

Mark of Lord Rama

2008-10-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

When the construction of the bridge was going on at Rameshwaram by lord Rama to attack the kingdom of Ravana, a little squirrel was also there in the team work. All of a sudden lord Rama noticed the squirrel running here and there. He saw that the squirrel rolled on the sand and then ran at the construction site to shake off the sand from its back. The squirrel was doing the same work without stopping with chanting the lord Rama’s name all the time. When asked, the little squirrel replied that she was helping to build the bridge to save Sita. On hearing such touching words Lord Rama took the squirrel in his hand and patted her back with his fingers. With his fingers Lord Rama drew 3 lines on her back. Since then the squirrel has the mark of three stripes on its back.

Wrong test

2008-10-01T10:09:00.001-07:00

Kunti was daughter of Shursen,who was grandfather of lord Krishna. Vasudeva was her brother. Her father gave kunti to his childless brother Kuntibhoja. She had a great time at the house of kuntibhoja. Once Sage Durvaasa visited the palace of Kuntibhoja. He was deeply impressed by the services of Kunti. Before leaving the palace Sage Durvaasa asked her to demand any boon from him. She replied that grant her something which could be helpful to her in the future. Sage Durvaasa grant Kunti a special mantra. But this was not the end of story. After getting this mantra she remained in the state of anxiety for many days regarding the working of mantra. One day she decided to test the mantra. The rule for the mantra was that a person who recites that mantra with a particular image of god in mind, the same God will appear. In the early morning she woke up and recite the mantra while looking towards rising sun. The result was shocking. God Surya appears immediately before her. The radiance of sun was unbearable for Kunti. She requested him to return. But this was against the rules of nature because Sun god could not returned without blessing her. He blessed her a son and returned back to surya lok. But Kunti was unmarried at that time. so due to fear of defamation, she abandoned the child in a basket in a river. This was the turning point in the life of kunti. Later the same abandoned child was famous as “Karna”, who in terms of power and skill he was better than Arjun

Big Mistake

2008-09-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

King Pandu was the king of Hastinapur. He was known to be the father of five Pandavas. Biologically he was not their father. It was due to involvement of curse of Sage Kindam. Once he was roaming in forest for hunting. He was the greatest archer of all time. He had a skill of using “Shabda vedhi” arrow,with the help of which he could hit any remote unseen target just on the basis of sound . The same skill proved deadly for him.He mistook Sage Kindam and his wife as deer and fired an arrow. As a result the couple died instantly. But before dying, Sage kindam cursed King Pandava that whenever he attempt to achieve fatherhood he will die instantly. This was a great shock for him. He spent fifteen years of life in celibacy. But one day he could not control his desires. He forgot the curse of Sage Kindam. When he touched his wife he died instantly.

Jai Shri Ram

2008-09-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Lord Rama belonged to Surya vansh. It is also known as “Raghu vansh” At first Lord Brahma created Sage Marichi from his mind. Sage Kashyap was the son sage Marichi. Later Surya become the son of Sage Kashyap. After that the lineage continues as follows-
1)Manu
2)Ikshwaaku
3)Vikukshi
4)Ripunjaya
5)Kakutsth
6)Anenaa
7)Prithu
8)Vishwagashwa
9) Adri
10) Bhadraashwa
11) Yuvanaashwa
12) Shraavast
13) Brihdashwa
14) Kuvalayaashwa
15) Dridhaashwa
16) Nikumbhak
17) Sankataashwa
18) Prasenjit
19) Ravanaashwa
20) Maandhaataa
21) Purukuts
22) Trinshdashrav
23) Anranya
24) Prishdashwa
25) Haryashrawa
26) Vasumaan
27) Tridhanvaa
28) Trayyaaruni
29) Trishanku
30) Harishchandra
31) Rohit
32) Haareet
33) Chanchubhoop
34) Vijaya
35) Ruk
36) Sagar
37) Asmanjas.
38)Anshumaan
39) Dileep
40) Bhageerath
41) Shrutsen
42) Naabhaag
43) Ambareesh
44) Sindhudweep
45) Ayutaashwa
46) Rituparn
47) Sarvkaam
48) Kalmaashpaad
49) Sudaas
50) Ashmak
51) Harivarma
52) Dasharath I
53) Dileep I
54) Vishwasaha
55) Khatwaang,
56) Deerghbaahu
57) Sudarshan
58) Dileep II
59) Raghu
60) Aja
61) Dasharath II
62) Lord Rama
63) Kush
64) Atithi
65) Nishadh
66) Nal
67) Nabh
68) Pundareek
69) Kshemdhanvaa
70) Devaaneek
71) Aheenag
72) Kuru
73) Paariyaatra
74) Balasthal
75) Ukth
76) Vajranaabhi
77) Shankhnaabhi
78) Vyuthnaabhi
79) Vishwapaal
80) Swarn-naabhi
81) Pushpsen
82) Dhruvsandhi
83) Apvarmaa
84) Sheeghragantaa
85) Marupaal
86) Prasushrut
87) Susandhi
88) Amarshan
89) Mahaashwa
90) Brihadwal
91) Brihadaishaan
92) Murukshep
93) Vatspaal
94) Vatsvyooh
95) Prativyom
96) Devakar
97)Sahadev
98) Brihadashwa
99) Bhaanuratn
100) Suprateek
101) Marudev
102) Sunakshatra
103) Kesheenar
104) Antaliksh
105) Suvarnaang
106)Amitrajit
107) Brihad-raaj
108) Dharm-raaj
109) Kritanjaya
110) Rananjaya
111) Sanjaya
112) Shaakyavardhan
113) Krodhdaan
114) Atulvikram
115) Prasenjit
116) Shoodrak
117) Surath.

Revenge

2008-09-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

Bhishma was step brother of King Vichitravira of the kingdom Hastinapur. He was assigned the duty of selecting bride for his brother. At the same time there was “Swayamvar” ceremony was going on at the Kaashi. The king of Kaashi had 3 daughters-Amba,Ambica and Ambalika. Bhishma went to Kaashi. He abducted the 3 sisters to Hastinapur to marry his brother.But amongst the three sisters, Amba already liked the king Salva. So she refused to marry King Vichitravira.As a result Bhishma send her back to King Salva. But King Salva refused at once to marry Amba. This was a highly embarrassing moment for her. She returned back to Bhishma for justice and demanded to accept her as his wife. But Bheeshma had already taken the oath for remaining bachelor for the whole life. Amba could not bear this insult. She cursed him that in the next birth she would be the cause of his death.She was re-born as Shikhandi the son of Drupada. In the battle of Kurukshetra, Shikhandi was mode of Bhishma's death otherwise Bhishma was invincible. So, insult of a woman proved costly to Bhishma.

Curse to Lord Krishna

2008-09-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

After the end of Mahabharata war Lord Krishna visited Mother Gandhari to offer his condolence. On seeing him she burst into anger and cursed lord Krishna that just as the Kaurava dynasty had ended fighting with each other, similarly the Yaduvansh would end fighting and killing each other. Lord Krishna happily accepted the curse. The time progresses. Once upon a time sons of lord Krishna were playing around and they dressed Samba as a pregnant woman, and brought him before Sage Durvasa. In joke they asked the sage to predict what kind of child Samba would give birth to. Sage Durvasa was famous for his short temperament. It was like an insult for him as the children of lord Krishna were making fun of him. The sage cursed them that he would give birth to an iron rod that would become the device to end the yadu-vansh. As per curse, the next day Samba delivered an iron rod . All the boys were terrified. They went to Lord Krishna for the help. As per his advise they crush the iron rod into powder and threw it into the water.
Still one small piece of iron left. They also threw it into the water. But the destiny was powerful. The powdered form of the iron disappeared from the shore but it grew into arrow like grass called “Naagar Motha”(a kind of pointed grass grows in water). The last part of iron was eaten by the fish. One fisherman caught the fish and removed that iron part from its stomach. A hunter found that iron piece and used it on top of the arrow. Once all yadavas went near the shore. During the playtime all of a sudden debate broke amongst them. They started fighting with each other. It was so intensified that they uprooted the “Naagar Motha” grass from the shore and started firing upon each other. In this way all the yadus were killed. Lord Krishna was in a shocked state. He sat under a tree. At that moment a hunter came. He misunderstood Lord Krishna for a deer and shot an arrow into His foot. Lord Krishna died at once . The death of lord Krishna marked the beginning of Kali-yuga. In this way the curse of Sage Durvasa proved correct. The hunter which killed Lord Krishna was Bali in previous birth who was killed by lord Rama in the same fashion.

Pride Shattered

2008-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Vindhya mountain was so arrogant that he kept growing his size to such a huge extent that he blocked the path of sun too. All gods approached sage Agastya for the help. He agreed to help gods. Sage Agastya began his journey from north towards south to met mount Vindhya. Sage Agastya requested mount Vindhya to bend a little bit to provide passage for him to cross. He also requested not to regain its size unless returned. Mount Vindhya accepted the request of the sage. He reduces his height to minimal. Sage Agastya crossed the passage with ease but he never returned back. Still Vindhya is lying like that even today. In this way the pride of mount Vindhya was shattered by sage Agastya.

Defeat of love

2008-09-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

Shukracharya was preceptor to the demons. He had a secret knowledge of “Mrit-sanjivni” which had a power to bring life to dead. Sage Brihaspati who was dev-guru had a son whose name was Kach. Once he send his son to Shukrachrya to learn this secret knowledge. Shukracharya accepted Kach as his student. But other demon didn’t liked it. As the time progresses once Kach fell in love with the daughter of Shukracharya, Devyani. This irritates the demos. In the absence of Shukracharya, demons killed Kach.This news upset Devyani a lot. On the request of his daughter, Sage Shukracharya brought back life to Kach with the help of “mrit-sanjivni” knowledge. From there the love between Kach and Devyani grew day by day. One day while Kach was alone in forest, the demons killed him for the second time. He burnt his body and mixed his ashes in the drinks of Shukracharya. When Devyaani came to knew about this she was shocked. She requested her father for the second time. The agony of his daughter was unbearable for Shukracharya. Again he used his powers to bring life back to Kach.As a result Kacha came back to life and came out from inside the stomach of shukracharya. From this day wine is forbidden for those engaged in the pursuit of wisdom. Now this was Kach’s turn to bring life back to his Guru. He did the same. Devyani was happy to found both of them alive. But a new problem erupts. Kacha disagreed to marry Devyani on the grounds that since he was reborn from the stomach of Shukrachraya so he could not marry his daughter Devyani. This was a bitter shock for her. She cursed Kach that from now he would never be able to use this knowledge. Even Kach counter curse Devyani that no Brahmin will going to marry her.

Catch-22

2008-08-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

Jayadrath was king of Sindh . He was married to Dushaala, the sister of Duryodhan. In the battle of Mahabharata he killed Abhimanyu,the son of Arjun. After this Arjun promised to took revenge from Jayadrath before the sunset otherwise decided to immolate himself. In the battle field Kauravas prepared special arrangements to kept Jayadrath out of reach of Arjun. It was race against time for Arjun. On the other hand it was a win-win situation for Kauravas because Jayadrath had a boon that a person who would cut his head and let it fall on the ground, his own head would be crushed into thousands pieces. So the death of Arjuna was inevitable at that moment. Despite the best effort Arjun could not able to locate the Jayadrath. Evening was approaching fast. Kauravas were waiting for this moment anxiously. The sky became dark. Now Arjun had to die as per his vow. Now Jayadrath came out from the hidden place. Arjun was about to kill himself. Immediately, Lord Krishna shouted and said to Arjuna to look at the sky as the sun reappears. Previously it was illusion created by lord Krishna himself by providing cloud cover to the sun. Now with his divine power the cloud cover was removed. Immediately Arena fire an arrow to Jayadrath in such a unique manner that his chopped head fell in the lap of his father who was meditating at that time. He opened his eyes and stood in a moment. As a result the head of Jayadrath fell on the ground and the head of his father smashed into thousands pieces. In this was Arjuna able to came out of catch-22 situation

Descent of Gangaji

2008-08-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

In Solar dynasty there was a powerful king whose name was Sagar. He had 2 wives Sumati and Keshini. From Sumati he had 60,000 sons and from Keshini he had a son Asamanjas.Once he had performed Ashwamegha yagya to prove his power. This was a major threat to Indra. He decided to play a trick. He stole the horse of Sagar and tied it in the ashram of sage Kapil who was in meditation at that time. When the sons of Sagar came to knew about the horse they attacked the ashram of sage Kapil. But Sage burnt them into ashes from his divine power. This was a setback for the king Sagar. His grandson Anshuman visited Sage Kapil. The sage returned back the horse and said to Anshuman that for the salvation of the lives of his ancestors it is necessary to bring the Ganga river to the earth from the heaven. Despite all his tapasya Anshuman could not able to please lord. Even his son, king Dilip failed. Now, the son of kind Dilip, Bhagirath was determined to bring Ganga to earth. With his determination Lord Brahma pleased and agreed to send river of devlok, Ganga, to earth. But there was a catch because the flow of Gang was so intense that it was not possible for the earth to bear the pressure of the current of Ganga. Finally Bhagirath requested lord Shiva for the help. He agreed to accept the descending Ganga on his head. Bhagirath led Ganga to the ashram of sage Kapil. On reaching there all the souls of the forefathers of Bhagirath got salvation. From that day the river got it’s name “Bhagirathi”.

Dangerous Food

2008-08-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

There were two demons whose names were Vatapi and Ilwal. They had spiritual powers. They had a strange modus oprendi to kill Brahmins. They used to invite one brahmin every day and Vatapi used to convert himself into ram. Ilval performs the duty to serve the flesh of ram to invitee. On entering the stomach Vatapi changed it’s form and came out of the stomach of invitee. This was their usual practice to kill Brahmins everyday. One day the demon brothers decided to target sage Agastya. They invited him. But sage knew all the tricks of demons. So while eating, when Vatapi enters the stomach of sage, the sage used all his yogic powers to kill the Vatapi in his stomach. On knowing the death of Vatapi, the other demon Ilwal tried to escape but Sage Agastya killed him too with his divine powers. From that day onwards it is prohibited for Brahmins to eat meat.

Akshya Paatra

2008-08-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

When the Pandavas were spending the troublesome years in exile then they had face scarcity of food. At that time the sun god bless them a divine vessel “Akshya Paatra”. The akshya means “which never diminishes” and paatra means “vessel”. The feature of that paatra was that as long as Draupadi,the wife of Pandavas does not take food it had capacity to feed infinite number of guests. After getting that paatra it was routine for Draupadi to consume food last after giving food to all members. Once Duryodhan who was a bitter enemy of Pandavas send Sage Durvasa to test the Pandavas. Sage was famous for it’s hot temper. Sage along with ten thousands companion visited the place where Pandavas . They asked Pandavas to prepare the food for them. All the sages went to river to took bath before meal. It was the evening time and Draupadi had already consumed the food. So situation of dilemma for Pandavas emerge because they had nothing to offer to eat to sage and its companions. Draupadi prayed to Lord Krishna for the help. Lord Krishna appeared there in his divine form. He asked Draupadi to brought the “akshay paatra”. With surprise feeling Draupadi brought that vessel. Lord Krishna pointed one grain of rice that was stuck in the vessel. He picked that grain and ate immediately. Still Draupadi could not understand the theme. At the same moment sage Durvasa came back there after the bath. Shockingly all the sages decline to ate food because their stomach was paining as if they had overeaten. So, eating of grain by Lord Krishna had filled the belly of all the sages. In this way he protected the Pandavas from the possible curse of sage Durvasa

New heavan

2008-08-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

According to Indian mythology, Trishanku was a powerful king in the Suryavansh. He had a desire to go to heaven with his mortal body. For this Sage Vashishtha was the best choice. But Sage Vashishtha rejected his request. Then he visited the ashram of Sage Vashistha’s sons to request them to perform special yagya for him so that he could fulfill his desire. Vashishth's sons also refused to do such a Yagya because their father had already rejected the offer. In anger, they gave curse to king to become a "Chaandaal"
Consequently the king became “Chaandaal”. In a last attempt he went to Sage Vishwamitra. Sage assured the king that he would help him to fulfill his dream. He started the yagya. As a result King Trishanku stared to rise towards heaven. This was shocking for Gods. When King reaches at the threshold of heaven, Indra interrupted. He kicked Trishanku. Consequently Trishanku began to come down. On seeing this Vishwamitra with his divine power stopped Trishanku in the mid air suspended. He promised to create a new heaven for Trishanku. Sage provided a space above the earth in southern sky. Still it is believe that many star and heavenly body are revolving around Trishanku near south pole.

Namkeen Samundra

2008-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

In a fierce battle between gods and demon, the demons started loosing strength. Due to fear of death many demons hide themselves in sea. This frustrates gods. For the victory it was necessary to kill them. They went to Sage Agastya for the help They requested him that if he withheld the sea in his stomach with his divine powers, then the defence of demons would be weakend. As per commitment sage Agastya drank the entire sea and withheld it inside his body until all the demons were killed by the gods. But a new problem errupted for the life of water animals. To maintain the balance of nature sage Agastya released the sea that was trapped inside his body. But by that time various body fluids of sage Agastya were mixed in it. From that day the sea becomes salted.

Hisaab Barabar

2008-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Once sage Chyavan was meditating in the forest. He spend many years motionless there so that anthills were formed around him covering his whole body except eyes. Once beautiful princess Sukanya visited there. She could not able to realize the eyes of sage. In curiosity she put straw there. The sage in agony was about to curse. In order to save the kingdom from the curse of sage Sukanya decided to marry the sage. It was a mismatch marriage. Once the twin gods Ashwini Kumar was passing by the ashram of sage Chyavan and saw his wife Sukanya. They proposed Sukanya. But she refused . On forcing she put a condition to Ashwini kumars that they should make his husband as beautiful as them. The Ashwini kumars took Sage Chyavan to a divine pond. After the bath sage Chyavan turned into a beautiful young man as Ashwini kumars. So it was time for Sukanya to choose his husband among three. With her divine power she recognize her husband. Ashwini kumars accepted the judgment.. But sage Chyavan promise to repay the debt to Ashwini kumars. The Ashwini kumars returned to heaven. Once at indralok, the divine nectar Som was distributed to Gods. But Indra refuse to Ashwini kumars. At this hour of need the requested Sage Chyavan for the help. Fierce battle broke between Indra and sage Chyavan. Later sage Chyavan created a monster called “Mada” from his divine power. Indra could not able to resist to fury of monster and conceded. After the defeat he permitted Ashwini kumars and Sage Chyavan to drink the nectar. In this way Sage Chyavan repaid the debt own to Ashwini kumars. From here onwards Sage Chyavan possess the great knowledge of healing.Hisaa

Birth of Coconut

2008-08-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

It was the utmost desire of Sage Viswamitra to defeat his rival Sage Vashishtha. But he never succeeded. But he never become dejected. He keep on adding divine powers acquired by him after tapasya. At one time he become so powerful that he started creating many species. This was a threat to Lord Brahma. While Sage Vishwamitra was involved in creation of human species, Lord Brahma rushed towards him to stop. But he already created the head of human. So, the question arises what to do with the created portion. Lord Brahma named that head as “Sriphal” or coconut and blessed that without the sriphal no yagya would be complete. Even today when the covering of coconut is peel off then impression of two human eyes are still visible.

Raj Rishi ya Brahma Rishi

2008-08-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Once King Vishwarath visited the ashram of Sage Vashistha along with his army.He was very hungry at that time. Sage Vashistha offered food to king as well as his army. After having delicious food king was surprised. Sage told the secret that he able to fed the mass with the help of Kamdhenu Cow. It was a divine cow which fulfils all the desires. After knowing this king expresses his desires to acquire the cow by any means. But Sage Vashistha with his divine powers manage to defeat the king as well as his army easily. The king was shaken by the defeat. He decided to perform tapasya in the forest to took revenge. Pleased by his penance, God blessed him with a divine weapon. But Vashishta even overcome that divine weapon So Vishwarath anger act as a barrier to get maximum benefit from the penance. King realize his mistake. He went for tapasya again to please lord Brahma. Lord Brahma pleased with his tapasya and bless him divine powers and said that from today he would be known as Vishwamitra. But king was not satisfied. He asked Lord Brahma to confer a new title to his name so that he could prove his superiority over Sage Vashishtha. Surprisingly he blessed with the title of “Raj Rishi”instead of “Brahma Rishi(the highest title)”. In this way the human weakness of Sage Vishwamitra broke his dream of becoming “Brahma Rishi”. From that day rivalry between two Sages began.

Kalanemi-II

2008-08-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

He was a demon king, son of Virochana, the grandson of Hiranyakashyap. He had 6 sons.
They were also known as the shad(six)-garbhas. Surprisingly they didn’t followed the rules of demons rather they were keen follower of lord Vishnu.After performing tapasya for many years, they were granted the boon. They asked for the blessings that they should not be killed by demigod, disease, Yaksa, Gandharvasi. But when Hiranyakshyap came to know about this, he was very angry at his grandsons. He cursed them that their father will take birth as Kansa and he will kill all of you as they will be born as the sons of Devki. Because of this curse, the grandsons of Hiranyakashyap had to take birth from the womb of Devki and be killed by Kansa, although he was previously their father.

Kalanemi-I

2008-08-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Kalanemi was a uncle of king Ravana of Lanka. Ravana did not wanted that Lord Hanuman to bring the divine herb for lakshman. So he ordered Kalanemi to kill lord Hanuman and promised Kalanemi to give him half of his kingdom for his job. Kalanemi was powerful and he had a sidhi to change himself into any form. He visited to Gandhamandata mountain where Lord Hanuman was expected to came for medicinal herbs.Kalanemi change himself in the sage to deceive Lord Hanuman. After few time Lord Hanuman visited there and met him. Kalanemi offered him to visit his ashram. But Hanuman refused and went to a nearby pond to bath. The moment he stepped in the pond, a crocodile appears and started to drag the leg of Hanuman in water. But Hanuman was too powerful and he killed that crocodile.From the dead body of crocodile emerges a apsara who was cursed by king Daksha to live as a crocodile till she get liberated from Hanuman.Before disappearing she exposed the ill plans of Kalanemi who was waiting for Hanuman to kill. Hanuman went back to ashram there and hold dragged him with his leg and with utmost force he threw him in the air. The intensity of force was so high that he fell at the feet of Ravana in Lanka. In this was the hope of getting half of Lanka was dashed away

Nav Nidhis

2008-07-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

In Hindu mythology , Lord kuber is considered as God of wealth, who is guardian of North direction. He was the son of Sage Visharwa and brother of king Ravana. He is also known as “Hiranya-garbha” meaning belly of jewel. He is known to be owner of nine kinds of wealth called as “ Nav Nidhis”. The literal meaning of nidhi is treasure. Each nidhi is personified as having a guardian spirit, and some tantrikas worship them. Following are the 9 treasure of kuber-
1)Mahapadma (great lotus flower)
2)Padma (lotus flower)
3)Shankha (conch)
4)Makara (Crocodile)
5)Kachchhapa (tortoise)
6)Mukunda (a precious stone)
7)Kunda (jasmine)
8)Nila (sapphire)
9)Kharva (dwarf)

Ashta Sidhi

2008-07-28T10:47:00.001-07:00

While reciting “Hanuman chalisaa” , we come across the word “Ashta-sidhi”. It is believe that lord Hanuman is a possessor of 8 kinds of sidhis. Literal meaning of the word “sidhi” is “precision”. In Hinduism this word is used for depicting the meaning “ Attainment of heighest peak in spirituality”. It refers to spiritual paranormal powers. It is of 8 kinds as follows-
1)Anima: Paranormal power to reduce one's body even to infinitely small.
2)Mahima: power to expand one's body to an infinitely large.
3)Garima: power to become infinitely heavy.
4)Laghima: power of becoming weightless.
5)Prapti: ability to move anywhere without restriction.
6)Prakamya: power to know the desires of other.
7)Isitva: powers of having complete lordship;
8)Vasitva: the power to conquer all.

All the above superpowers are possessed by Lord Hanuman. Even in astrology when a person is under the malefic influence of Shani or its Sade-saati, the recitation of “Hanuman chalisa” works as a best remedy. The reason is simple. Being a possessor of 8 sidhis he is the God who is capable of warding off all evils.

Manu

2008-07-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

It is believe that each day of lord Brahama consist of 4,320,000,000 years. This period can be further subdivided into 14 units called manvantar consisting 306,720,000 years each. Each manvantar is ruled by “Manu”. So there are 14 Manus correspond to each day of lord Brahma. The order of Manu is as follows

Swayambhoo
Swarochisha
Uttama
Tamas
Raivat
Chakshush
Vaivaswat
Savarni
Daksha Savarni
Brahma Savarni
Dharma Savarni
Rudra Savarni
Daiva Savarni
Indra Savarni

As per classics 50 days of Lord Brahma has been passed. Currently 7^th Manu ,that is Vaivaswat is running

Tale of JadaBharat

2008-06-25T09:58:00.001-07:00

King Bharat(not to get confuse with Bharat who was son of Dushyanta and Shakuntla) was a pious man. Once he was meditating at the bank of river he saw a doe. She was in the final stage of pregnancy. While she was drinking water, a lion roared behind her. That roar frightened the doe so much that she jumped across the river to save her life. In an effort of jumping, she delivered a premature fawn. King Bharat rescued the new born fawn and brought it to his hermitage. He began to look after the fawn. He was so engaged in bringing up the fawn that he lost focus on his prayers. With the progress of time his attatchment grew. One day that deer ran away in the jungle. This separation proved fatal for king Bharat. Even at the time of death he had thoughts of deer in his mind. Due to this Bharat took his next birth in the form of deer. Even in this birth he still remember his past life.this story don not end here. Again he born as a Brahmin in the next birth. Despite being so knowledgeable he showed little interest towards holy scriptures. He used to wander here and there. He had a indifferent kind of behaviour towards others. After the demise of his father, his brothers made him work hard in the fields but gave little to eat. Because of his dullness, he was known as Jadabharat.

Fall from Heaven

2008-06-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Vritasur was a demon who was killed by Indra. After killing him, Indra remained disturbed . He concealed himself under a lake. It was the need of an hour to elect the new king. All sages approached King Nahusha, who was one of the powerful king in Chandra vansh. He was the grandson of king Pururva. Nahusha was a kind king. With his great tapasya he had a boon that he would absorb the power of any creature.Unanimously Nahusha was selected as the new king of Indralok. But the luxuries of indralok made him arrogant. Soon he lost control over his senses.One day he proposes Sachi, the wife of indra. She was terrified and went to devguru Brihaspati for the help.He suggested plan to Sachi. She came to Nahush with her agreement to become his wife. Nahusha fell into the trap. She put a condition to Nahusha. She said that he should visit to her palace on a paalkee(a vehichle) that should be carried by great sages. Nahusha was very happy as this condition was easy to fulfill for him. The next days he ordered great seven rishis (sapta rishis) to come to bear the paalkee. No one could go against the order. A royal paalkee was brought and King Nahush mounted on it. It was very difficult for the sages to carry out this task. King was in a hurry to reach the palace of Sachi. He said to rishis “Sarp,sarp” and he kicked sage Agastya . In sanskrit “Sarp” has two meanings i.e. “run fast” and second is “snake”. This was enough for Sage Agastya to get irritated. He curse him to be a snake. Nahusha asked for forgiveness. Sage replied that he would be free from this curse in the era of Dwapar yuga when one of the Pandavas during the years of exile will answer your questions. So, Indra regain his kingdom

Blind Love

2008-06-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

King Pururva was grandson of Moon. He was one of the most handsome king in that era. Once he fell in love with the apsara Urvashi. She was the nymph in the court of Indra. Due to involvement of curse she was expelled from the Indralok. She had to pass certain period of time on earth. So she decided to visit King Pururva. Urvashi agreed to marry him but on two conditions. First was that the king should look after her favourite two lambs. Secondly the king should never be seen without clothes. The king agreed on strange conditions. They started living happily. This happiness was intolerable to Indra. He ordered Gandharvas to bring back the Urvashi to heaven. They were awarded of the conditions of Urvashi. One day they got opportunity to steal the lambs from the palace. At the same time Pururva was changing his clothes. On listening the news of lambs being stolen he rushed after the gandharva.This was the moment for which the Gandharvas were waiting. They immediately flashed the thunder light. The idea was to show King who was not wearing full clothes to Urvashi. In this way two conditions were breached. Urvashi disappeared from the palace. Pururva made all the efforts to search for Urvashi but all went in vain. One day he found Urvashi at the bank of river. She consoles him by informing that she was bearing his son. She promise to visit once in a year for 5 year and gave his son as successor of his kingdom.Pururva got 6 sons as Ayu, Satyayu, Rath, Vijay and Jai. At the end of five years when the time of separation came the king again filled with grief. Urvashi was stunned with the true love of the king. She told Pururva to approach Gandharvas for the boon in order to make her live on earth. This gives confidence to King Pururva. He worshipped Gandharvas with great devotion. His devotion was so strong that nature has to accept defeat. He was granted place in Gandharvalok with Urvashi for ever.

Ashta Vasus

2008-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hindus believe in the concept of creation,preservation and destruction.This is nerver ending process.There are 32 gods which are assisting this process.They are classified into 4 groups.

a)Prajapati(Creator)

b)12 adityas(Pretservator)

c)11 rudras(destroyer)

d)8 vasus(Sphere of the activity)

Vasus are attendants to Indra,the chief of gods. They are 8 in numbers.They are personifications of natural phenomenon. They represent the basic variables that define every creation. They are elemental gods representing aspects of nature, representing cosmic natural phenomenon.According to some classics they were the children of Aditi and Sage Kashyap. Their names are as follows

1)Apa(water)

2)Dhara(earth)

3)Anila(wind)

4)Anala(fire)

5)Antriksha(atmosphere)

6)Dyaus(sky)

7)Chandrama(Moon)

8)Nakshatra