RISHI MADHUCHANDA INTRODUCTION Rishi Madhuchandha was mentioned in Ramayana and Mahabharata, and also in Rigveda. He is the son of the great sage Sri Vishvamitra. Madhuchanda contains good knowledge in Vedas, Shastras, and he was an expert in all kinds of arts, and was educated under his father Vishvamitra. Madhuchanda also contributed some portions of text in the Rigveda, and in that, he had mentioned the greatness of Lord Agni Bhagavan. Since rituals are done only by fire, he considered the fire god, as the most important and worshipful deity. Similar to his father Rishi Vishvamitra, he had performed meditation on Lord Brahma, and…
Author: hinduscriptures
KANDA SHASTI KAVASAM INTRODUCTION Kanda Shasti Kavacham is a devotional song written in Tamil by Sri Devaraya Swamigal during the 19th century AD. The song praises Lord Muruga, and mentions his divine qualities. This song was composed by Sri Devaraya Swamigal in a Murugan temple near Erode. The song contains more than 200 lines, and it is known as the Kavacham, which means the protective shield. The following are the contents of the Kavacham. Fall at the footsteps of Lord Muruga, in order to seek his protection from dangers. If we call Muruga wholeheartedly, the Lord would immediately come to rescue us from our problems. Let Lord Muruga take…
KANAKADHARA STOTRAM INTRODUCTION Kanakadhara Stotram is a Sloka written in Sanskrit by Sri AdiSankara. As per legend, when AdiSankara recited this sloka, Mata Lakshmi showered gold coins. This beautiful mantra was written by Adi Sankara, a Shiva devotee, and the Advaita philosopher. Adisankara had become a saint at his young age itself. Once, when Adisankara was on his way for searching his food, he went to the house of a poor and pious Brahmin lady. Since she doesn’t find anything to offer in her house, she offered only a small gooseberry to Sankara. Sankara was very much pleased with her kindness and he immediately sang in praise of Mata Lakshmi, and that…
HEMA INTRODUCTION Hema served as a celestial dancer in the court of Lord Indra, and her details were mentioned in Ramayana. She was married with Maya, and they had two sons, Mayavi and Dundubhi, and a daughter Mandodari, consort of Ravana. After giving birth to them, she returned to heaven. Apsaras Hema lives in the Indra Loka since from the first Satya Yuga, she contains great powers, and her close friend was Swayamprabha who was also a celestial dancer. Lord Indra had gifted a magical cave to Hema, and due to the request of Hema, Swayamprabha looked after that…
DHRISHTAKETU IN MAHABHARATA INTRODUCTION Dhrishtaketu was the son of Shishupala, the ruler of Chedi Kingdom, and he was a relative of Lord Krishna. Dhrishtaketu was a friend of the Pandavas, and his sister Karenumati was married to Nakula, son of Mata Madri. Dhrishtaketu, along with his family fought in the Kurukshetra War on the side of the Pandavas. Dhrishtaketu, was considered to be a righteous ruler, who ruled the chedi kingdom in a well-versed manner. He laid only a lower amount of tax, and solved the problems of his people immediately. During his rule, no one was suffered from poverty, hungry and diseases.…
DEVIKA IN MAHABHARATA INTRODUCTION Devika is mentioned in the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of the great King, Govasena, the ruler of the Sivi Kingdom, and she is believed to be the wife of Yudhishthira, and their son’s name was Yaudheya. Devika was a very pious, holy and a chaste woman, and she is mentioned as a “GEM” among the women in the great epic Mahabharata. She lived along with Yudhishthira in the Hastinapura and in Indraprastha. But during the time of exile, Yudhishthira doesn’t want her to accompany with him, and hence he asked her to stay in her father’s…
CHANDRABHAGHA IN RAMAYANA INTRODUCTION Chandrabhagha was the consort of Janaka’s younger brother Kushadhwaja. Her two daughters were married to Bharata and Shatrughna. Chandrabhaga was mentioned in Ramayana as a pious, holy, chaste and a good natured and beautiful lady. She dutifully served her husband Kushadhwaja, and also she welcomed the guests like sages, kings and the common people to her palace in a cordial manner, and used to attend them properly. Chandrabhagha also maintained warm relationship with Janaka, Dasaratha and with Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna. During the time of Rama’s exile, she consoled Kausalya and Sumitra, the queens of Dasaratha, and…
AMRTHAGATESWARAR-ABIRAMI TEMPLE-THIRUKADAIYUR INTRODUCTION Amirthagateswarar Abhirami Temple is an ancient Shiva temple, and in this temple Lord Shiva is called as Amirthagateswarar, since he saved his devotee Markandeya from the clutches of the death god Lord Yama, and made him to become a Chiranjeevi. In this temple, Mata Parvati is worshipped as Abhirami. It is located in Thirukkadaiyur, Tamil Nadu. In the Shaivite Tamil text Tevaram, the songs sung by the Nayanmar saints at this temple are mentioned. The temple contains shrines of various other gods and goddesses, apart from the main shrines of Amirthaghateswarar and Abhirami. The temple timings are 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and…
AGNIPUREESWARAR TEMPLE, THIRUPUGALUR INTRODUCTION Agnipureeswarar Temple is situated in Thirupugalur village, in Tamil Nadu, and this is a famous Shiva temple, and it is believed that this temple was built by a Chola king during the 10th century AD. Here Lord Shiva is known as Agnipureeswarar and Mata Parvathi is worshipped as Karundar Kuzhali. The famous Nayanmar saint Appar visited this temple, and after singing bhakti songs on Lord Shiva, he has attained salvation at this temple. The temple is open for public from 6 am to 12 pm and from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Main Festival would be celebrated during the Tamil month Vaikasi (May -…
ADHIRATHA IN MAHABHARATA INTRODUCTION According to Mahabharata, Adhiratha and Radha were the foster parents of Karna, and Adhiratha was the royal charioteer of Bhishma. He was a great devotee of Lord Krishna, but during the Kurukshetra war, he fought along with the Kauravas. His wife Radha was a chaste and pious lady, who brought up Karna in a proper manner. Apart from Karna, they also had their own son, whose name was Shon, and he was killed by the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. Adhiratha though he was a charioteer, he was a learned scholar, and a master in all kinds of arts. He is…
ADITYA HRUDAYAM INTRODUCTION Adityahrudayam is a Hindu devotional mantra dedicated to Lord Surya, the god of Sunday, and the importance of reciting this Sloka was mentioned in Ramayana. As per the advice of the great sage Agastya, this mantra was recited by Lord Rama during the Lanka war. Due to that, he won in the war, and killed Ravana. In this sloka, the greatness of the Sun god is mentioned, and also about his good qualities, his supreme powers and his knowledge are also mentioned. Lord Surya gives light to all the living beings in the entire universe. He is the one who does his work in a selflessness…
YAMA DHARMARAJA TEMPLE AT THANJAVUR INTRODUCTION Lord Yama is the god of death, and only a few temples are dedicated to him. Among those temples, there is a famous temple for Lord Yama, and it is situated at Thiruchitrambalam in Thanjavur district. The chief deity of the temple is Lord Yama, and apart from his deity, deities of various demi gods and goddesses like Veeranar, Chitragupta, Ayyanar, Rakkachi and Karuppu Sami are also present in the temple. According to ancient legend, once Lord Manmatha, the love god, was burnt into ashes by Lord Shiva near the present place of this temple. Then, as per the…
VISHNU PURANA INTRODUCTION The Vishnu Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, and it is considered as a holy text of Hinduism. It contains the details of Lord Vishnu, his avatars and about his famous devotees like Narada, Prahalada, Thumburu and Dhruva. According to Vishnu Purana, Lord Vishnu is considered as the main god and all the other gods and goddesses are considered as demi gods and demi goddesses, and they obeys his orders and acts as per his instructions, and through his supreme powers he is controlling the entire universe. This famous Vishnu Purana was written by Sri Vedavyasa, who is also an AMSHA…
SURASUNDARI – DAUGHTER OF LORD VARUNA INTRODUCTION Surasundari is the daughter of Lord Varuna and Mata Varuni. Lord Varuna is the god of ocean, whereas Varuni is the goddess of wine. The importance of Surasundari is mentioned in Vedas and Puranas, and she is considered as the controller of the River Goddesses like Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada and Godavari. Surasundari contains great powers, similar to her parents, and she is believed to be the devotee of Lord Vishnu. Surasundari discharges her duties in an effective manner, and acts as a friend and guide to the holy rivers. Though she is not considered as…
SRI VARUNA BHAGAVAN TEMPLE, COIMBATORE INTRODUCTION There is a Varuna Bhagavan temple located at Serayampalayam Road, Neelambur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641062. This is one of the very few temples dedicated to the great ocean god Lord Varuna. This temple is believed to have been built during the 20th century AD, and it was built when the people located in this area, faced severe drought and suffered from famine. Though this is a small temple, devotees would gather in large numbers on Sundays, and on festival days. Varuna Bhagavan is considered as an aspect of Lord Vishnu. Hence by worshipping him, we…
SKANDA PURANA INTRODUCTION The Skanda Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas, and it contains the details of Lord Skanda, who is the son of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati. The text is considered as very holy by the Kaumara sects of people, who worship Lord Muruga as their chief god. This text describes his war with the demons such as Surapadman, and about his wonderful miracles performed in the life of his devotees, and it also mentions about his brother Vinayaka, and about his parents Shiva and Parvati. Lord Skanda is also called as Muruga, Kumara, Vadivela, Senthil Andava and by various other names, is…
SHIVA PURANA INTRODUCTION The Shiva Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas, and it is considered as an important Sanskrit text in Hinduism, which was written by the great sage Sri Veda Vyasa, with the help of his disciple Romaharshana, and it tells about the importance of Lord Shiva and about Mata Parvati. By reading Shiva Purana, we would know about the greatness of Lord Shiva, his powers, defeating and destroying of demons by him, and about his miracles performed to his devotees. The Shiva Purana invokes the “SHIVA BHAKTI” in the minds of the readers, and through that they can develop strong faith on Lord Shiva. According to Shiva…
SHARANGA INTRODUCTION Sharanga is the celestial bow of Lord Vishnu, and his other weapons are the Sudarshana Chakra, Mace Kaumodaki and Sword Nandaka. Sharanga is also known as Kodanda, and this Kodanda was used by Lord Rama and Lord Krishna during their fights with the demons, and for some time this bow was also kept by Lord Parasurama. This divine bow was made by the divine architect Sri Viswakarma, and he also made the Pinaka, the bow of Lord Shiva. During Sita’s Swayamvar, Lord Rama lifts the Pinaka and through his supreme powers, he broke it. Sage Parashurama tested the powers of Lord Rama, and after knowing about his skills, he gave Sharanga…
PUNNAINALLUR MARIAMMAN TEMPLE INTRODUCTION Punnai Nallur Mariamman temple is a famous Amman temple located at the outskirts of Thanjavur. Mariamman is a form of Mata Parvati Devi, who relieves the diseases of the devotees, especially diseases like small pox, measles and from deadly virus fevers. Those who suffer from black magic problems and enemy related problems are getting solutions for their problems, after visiting the holy shrine of Punnainallur Mariamman. The idol of Amman is very powerful, and by seeing the face of the Amman, we would get boldness, wisdom and courage. During the year 1680, when the then king of Maharashtra, Sri Venkoji Maharaja of…
PERIYA PURANAM INTRODUCTION The Periya Puranam is the famous Shaivite text, and it also known as Tiruttontarpuranam, is the Purana of the Holy Nayanmar saints, and it describes the life history of the sixty-three Nayanmars, who are the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva. It was written during the 12th century by Sekkizhar. The Periya Puranam is one of the famous Shaivite works. Sekkizhar wrote the Periya Puranam after getting the divine blessings of Lord Shiva, and he served as a poet and minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola, and the king was also a staunch devotee of Lord Siva, and he used to worship Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram, and he also renovated…