SHIVA MAHIMA INTRODUCTION Lord Shiva can be praised for his good qualities like simplicity, adjustability and generosity. He is very generous of given sufficient wealth to his devotees, and also would add lot of Punya to their life account. Even some of the non-worshippers of god, and even some people who belong to other religions showed their sincere faith on Lord Shiva, due to his good features. During the time of Lord Shiva’s marriage with Sati, the first avatar of Ma Shakti Devi, large number of celestial people were present at the place of marriage, in order to witness the…
Author: hinduscriptures
Holi INTRODUCTION Holi is a popular ancient Hindu festival, also known as the “Festival of Love”, the “Festival of Colours” and the “Festival of Spring”. The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna. It also signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it celebrates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha Narayana over Hiranyakashipu. It originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora. Holi celebrates the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love and for many, it is a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken…
Maha Shivaratri INTRODUCTION Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu calendar, there is a Shivaratri – “night of Shiva” – on the day before new moon. But once a year, in late winter and before the arrival of Summer (February/March), this night is called “Maha Shivaratri” – “the Great Night of Shiva”. This day falls in the month of Phalguna as per the North Indian Hindu calendar and in Magha as per the South Indian Hindu calendar (see Amanta and Purnimanta systems).…
KOLANJIAPPAR TEMPLE, VIRUDACHALAM INTRODUCTION Kolanjiappar temple is situated in a village in Virudhachalam in Tamil Nadu, and here Lord Murugan is being worshipped as the chief deity. This temple was visited by the holy saint Sundarar and due to that, it had attained good name and fame. This temple is kept open for the public view from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm, and daily pujas and annual festivals are being celebrated here marvellously. Panguni, Vaikasi and Aadi month Utsavams are considered as famous festivals in this temple. As per ancient legend, Sundarar, one of the famous Nayanmar saint, came to the present day Virudhachalam, which was previously…
ARULMIGU SRI KASI VINAYAGAR TEMPLE, KODAMBAKKAM, CHENNAI INTRODUCTION Whenever we recite the word Kasi, we would recite the name of Lord Kasiviswanathar and Ma Kasi Visalakshi also. There is a wonderful temple for Lord Vinayaga, who is popularly known as Sri Kasi Vinayagar Temple, and it is situated in Palayakaran Cross Street, Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600024. Those who are unable to visit Lord Viswanathar in Kasi Temple can visit and worship Lord Vinayaka in this temple, who is in the form of Lord Kasi Vinayaka. As per ancient legend, when Lord Shiva and Parvati dwelled in Varanasi as Kasi…
SPIRITUALITY GIVES GREAT VITALITY TO US INTRODUCTION Spirituality gives great vitality to us. Spirituality gives good spiritual energy for running our life successfully, peacefully, happily and enthusiastically. Spirituality means adopting various spiritual ways of worshipping the god, like breaking of coconuts in the temples, worshipping the deities in the temples, and performing meditation etc. Whenever, before we begin a new task, coconuts would be broken to the deities in the temples, and especially to Lord Vinayaka. Lord Vinayaka being considered as the first god, it is our main duty to offer our first respect to him, and hence by the…
Designation – Author of Amazing Ayodhya Social Media – @neenarai twitter, @theneenarai insta, NEENARAI youtube, Neenarai8 facebook. Speaker’s profile – Neena Rai is an author based out of New Delhi. She is passionate about decoding ancient scriptural knowledge and sharing it with the world. Her latest book is Amazing Ayodhya where she reveals ancient details about the revered city. She also has a youtube channel where she shares interesting and esoteric information.
MA GODAVARI NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION According to Shiva Purana, sage Gautama, who is the son of Lord Brahma, had performed severe meditation on Lord Varuna on the Mountain Brahmagiri since there was severe drought in that area. Lord Varuna, the great ocean god, and the reliever of sins of the people, had appeared before Gautama and asked him to pray to Lord Shiva to fulfil his wishes. Due to that, the great rishi Gautama started doing severe penance on Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appears before him, and sends Ganga into the earth and she has transformed into the holy River Godavari…
SRI RAMANUJACHARYA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Ramanuja (1017 AD–1137 AD) was one of the most important influential spiritual masters of the Vaishnavism tradition. According to traditional belief, he has been regarded as an AMSA of Lord Adhishesha. He founded the Bhakti movement on Lord Vishnu. He is also known as Sri Ramanujacharya, Udaiyavar, Yatiraja, Bhashyakarar, Godagrajar, Thiruppavai Jeeyar, Emberumanar and Lakshmana Muni. Ramanuja’s guru was Yadava Prakasa. Ramanuja is the famous chief supporter of Vishishtadvaita. Ramanuja wrote several spiritual texts in Sanskrit, such as Bhasyas on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. According to Sri Ramanuja, devotion to a personal God acts as a means to spiritual liberation. Ramanuja was born to pious Tamil Iyengar parents in the village of Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. Ramanuja…
SRI ADISHANKARA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Sri Adi Shankaracharya, was a great saint who advocated Advaita Vedanta in India. He wrote commentaries on Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita. He explained the difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, stating that Hinduism tells “Atman (Soul, Self) exists”, while Buddhism tells that there is “no Soul, no Self”. Shankara travelled across India to advocate his philosophy through discourses. He is reputed to have founded four Mutts. He is also known as Adi Shankaracharya. The birthplace of Adi Shankara is at Kalady, Kerala. It is believed that Shankara was born during the period 509–477 BC. He was born to Nambudiri Brahmin parents, and they have named him as Shankara.…
Speaker – Prof. Dr. Shashibala Designation – Dean, Bhavan’s KM Munshi Centre for Indology
MA NARMADA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Narmada River is the holiest river and she can be considered equivalent with Ma River Ganga. River Narmada, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari and Cauvery are the holiest rivers, and they are specially created in this earth for doing goodness to their devotees. They are formed through the grace of the Trimurty, in order to cleanse our sins and to make us to live a sin free life. According to legend, it is believed that Mata Ganga itself takes a holy bath in the great river Narmada in order to make herself, pure and holy. Once while Lord…
MA THULASI NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Tulasi is considered as a best sacred plant in Hinduism. Hindus regard it as the manifestation of the goddess Tulasi. She is the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. The offering of tulasi leaves is compulsory in the worship of Lord Vishnu. Many Hindus have the habit of planting tulasi plants in their home. Tulasi Devi is also known by various names such as Vrinda, Vaishnavi and Haripriya. Tulasi was married to Jalandhara, a powerful demon. Jalandhara had done lot of bad deeds and gave disturbance to the entire universe. Finally, he was killed by Lord Shiva. After that, Lord Vishnu appeared…
SRI GOMATHA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Kamadhenu also known as Surabhi is a divine goddess known in Hinduism as Gomatha. Kamadhenu is the heavenly cow. She gives good health, wealth, happiness and all sorts of benefits in our life. Kamadhenu is not worshipped as a deity, and there are no temples dedicated to her. But she is worshipped as the divine cow and Hindu’s would do pujas to the cows especially on Fridays, Festival days and on Mattu Pongal festival day. According to various Hindu texts, it is stated that she emerged at the time of churning of the divine ocean, whereas some references state that…
MA KALI DEVI NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Kali also called as Kali Devi is one among the Mahavidyas, and considered as a great goddess in Hinduism. She is worshipped for getting relieved from black magic and prolonged illness, to get great spiritual powers, and to obtain more mental and physical strength. Kali was formed in order to destroy the evil forces. She is the incarnation of Ma Shakti, and she is worshipped widely in Saivism sect. She is a great protector and offers moksha to us. She is also called as Bhadra Kali, and her consort is Lord Veerabhadra, an avatar of Lord Shiva, and created by Lord Shiva,…
SRI SANKARANARAYANAR NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Sankara Narayana is a form of Lord Shiva and Vishnu, and there is a famous temple in Sankarankovil, where the famous Sankara Narayanan temple is located. In order to make the devotees of Vishnu and Shiva to realize that both of these gods are one and the same, Lord Shiva and Vishnu were appeared in this place as Sankaranarayanar. It was built by the great Pandiyan king Sri Ukkira Pandiyan during the 9th century AD. The main deity of the temple is Swamy Sankara Narayanan, consisting of the appearance of both Vishnu and Shiva. The deities found in the temple…
SRI VENKATESWARA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Lord Venkateswara also known by various names as Srinivasa, Balaji, Venkatachalapati and Govinda is a divine form of Lord Vishnu. Lord Venkateswara is the main deity of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple situated in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Lakhs of devotees are visiting daily to the Tirumala Temple to have a glimpse of their dear god, and to get his blessings. In Tirumala, TTD Devasthanams are conducting lot of social welfare schemes for the benefit of the devotees and to the poor people, like providing free food to the devotees, education to children, veda patasala, hospitals, go-samrakshana etc. The TTD is investing the money received from the devotees in…
TEMPLES OF LORD VINAYAKA INTRODUCTION We can find the temples of Lord Vinayaka in every nook and corner of India, and especially in South India. Though the temples may vary in their size, like small or big, but the deity present in all those temples contain good spiritual powers, enough to remove the troubles and turmoil of the devotees. Vinayaka worship was there since ancient times, and the exact period of worship cannot be determined by us, since as per the Holy Vinayaka Purana, Lord Vinayaka was worshipped even before several millions of years ago, and still he is eagerly…
SRI BALARAMA NAMAVALI INTRODUCTION Balarama is a powerful god and he is the elder brother of Lord Krishna. He is also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra, Haladhara and Halayudha. Lord Balarama is considered to be an aspect of Lord Vishnu, and he is also regarded as an Avatar of the divine serpent bed of Lord Vishnu, Sri Adisesha. Balarama was the son of Vasudeva, and he was born on the Raksha Bandhan festival day, and his weapon is the plough. As per Hindu traditions, Balarama has been considered as a farmer’s deity. He is always seen with Lord Krishna, and he supports Krishna at his level best. Balarama associated with Krishna in order to protect…