NARAYANIYAM INTRODUCTION Narayaniyam is a holy Sanskrit text, which consists of beautiful poems from the Bhagavata Purana. It was written by Narayana Bhattathiri, during 16th century AD, who was one of the famous poets in Kerala. The Bhagavata Purana is a sacred text, and it tells us about the significance of Lord Krishna, his wonderful Leelas, miracles performed by him and about his childhood plays etc. The divine text, Narayaniyam is still read by lot of Hindus, especially by the Malayalee Hindus, and they consider it as the Mahaprasad of Lord Krishna. This text would be recited by large number of devotees in the Guruvayur Krishna Temple, and…
Author: hinduscriptures
NAALAYIRA DIVYA PRABHANDHAM INTRODUCTION The Nalayira Divya Prabhandham is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvar saints, and it was compiled in an appropriate manner by the Vaishnavite Saint Sri Nathamuni, during the 10th century AD. This work was written in the form of poems, which was sung by the 12 Alvar saints, and these divine songs are still sung by the Vishnu devotees even today, and especially during the Tamil month of Margazhi, songs from Nalayira Divya Prabhandham would be played in the temples through loud speakers, and also would be chanted by the Temple priests. In the Srirangam temple, the chanting…
LORD VAIDYA – SON OF LORD VARUNA INTRODUCTION Vaidya is the son of the great ocean god Lord Varuna. Vaidya is mentioned in the Vedas and in the holy texts of Hinduism. He is residing in the Varuna Loka along with his father Lord Varuna. He is safeguarding the Varuna Loka, through his supreme powers, and along with his father Varuna and Lord Indra, he is giving us rain, and making the earth to prosper. In ancient times, kings and farmers used to worship him, in order to get sufficient rain. Though Vaidya is not a much known god, by…
LORD NANDAKA INTRODUCTION Nandaka is the holy sword of Lord Vishnu, and he is the king among the swords. Lord Vishnu can be seen in some pictures holding the divine sword Nandaka in his arms. The sword is considered as the companion of Lord Vishnu, contains shining appearance, and glitters like the Dhuruva Star. The great Vaishnavite saints Annamacharya and Pey Azhwar are believed to be the incarnations of Lord Nandaka. The Nandaka sword contains great powers, since he forms part of Lord Vishnu. Through the Nandaka sword, Lord Vishnu had killed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. Lord Rama used this Nandaka sword during the time of his…
KAUMODAKI INTRODUCTION Kaumodaki is the gada (mace) of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu can be seen in the pictures holding the Kaumodaki in one of his four hands. The gada is also considered as one of the powerful weapons of Lord Vishnu. “Kaumodaki” is mentioned in Mahabharata, where Lord Krishna used this weapon during the times of battles with the demons, and he gave it to Bheema in order to protect him from his enemies. Bheema used this holy mace during the Kurukshetra battle, and for some time he also gave it to his son Gatotkacha. Gada can be seen in the ancient sculptures of Lord Vishnu. The gada is…
GUPTESHWAR MAHADEV TEMPLE, MADHYA PRADESH INTRODUCTION Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple is a famous temple situated in the city of Burhanpur at Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that during Amavasya and Full moon day, the great Mahabharata warrior, Ashwatthama would come to this temple, worships Lord Shiva and also would perform puja to the Shiva Lingam. He used to offer rose flowers, and apply sacred ash and Kumkum to the Shiva Lingam. As per the curse given to Ashwatthama by Lord Krishna, he is still living in this world, and suffers from lot of health related issues, and in order to reduce…
GANESHA PURANA INTRODUCTION The Ganesha Purana is a Sanskrit text that describes the features of Lord Ganesha, who is also known as Vinayaka, Ganapathy and by various other names. It is an important Purana, and it includes the miracles performed by Lord Ganesha. This famous text was written by Vyasa, who is also known as Veda Vyasa, and he lived during the previous Dwapara Yuga. The Ganesha Purana is considered as a very holy text by the Ganapatyas, who consider Lord Ganapathy as their main god, and they believes Lord Ganesha controls the entire universe through his extraordinary powers. The text is considered as very…
DEVI MAHATMYA INTRODUCTION The Devi Mahatmya is a Hindu Holy text which describes Mata Durga Devi, also called as Shakti Devi and Parvati Devi, as the supreme deity and the controller of the universe. It is an ancient text written in Sanskrit, and it is written by the great sage Sri V edavyasa. Devi Mahatmyam is also known as the Durga Mahima, and the text contains the greatness of Devi Durga and it is considered as one of the most famous texts of Hinduism. The Devi Mahatmya describes the battle between Durga Mata with the demon Mahishasura, and about her victory in the battle. It is also mentioned in the text,…
SAGE ASITA INTRODUCTION Asita was one of the famous disciples of Sri Veda Vyasa. He was born in the Dwapara Yuga in the present day Varanasi, to a pious Hindu family. (https://www.dr4health.com) At his young age, he spent his life by playing gambling, and enjoyed all sorts of material comforts in his life. In course of time, he lost interest in worldly affairs, and become a disciple of Sri Vyasa Bhagavan, an AMSHA of Lord Vishnu, and concentrated his entire attention on worshipping Lord Vishnu and served his Guru in a pleasing manner. He learned Vedas and the Hindu Holy…
TRIKKAKARA TEMPLE INTRODUCTION Trikkakara is one of the famous temples of Lord Vamana, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is situated in Trikkakara, Kochi in Kerala. Onam festival is grandly celebrated at this temple during August – September for about a week. The temple is an ancient temple, and this temple is believed to have been built before several lakhs of years. During the Onam festival, grand feast is served to all the devotees at the temple premises. Onam festival is celebrated by the devotees belonging to other religions also, since they believe the legend associated with the festival, and they also have faith with Lord…
UNJAVRITI INTRODUCTION In ancient times, Unjavriti would be taken by certain sects of Brahmin saints and scholars as a method of observing simplicity in their life. The great saint Sri Thyagaraja, a divine composer of Carnatic Music used to take Unjavriti, and he used to sing devotional songs on Lord Rama by playing the tambura. Unjavriti Brahmins would visit the nearby streets and used to sing melodious songs in front of the houses, in order to inform their presence. Generally, in most of the houses, the women members would make an affectionate smile at them, and provide sufficient food grains…
SANT AATMABODHANAND INTRODUCTION Sant Aatmabodhanand is an ardent devotee of Mata Ganga Devi, and similar to Swami Sanand, he is also interested in cleaning the Holy Ganges River by removing the dirt and pollution from it, and also he wants the hydro-electric projects to be stopped, in order to ensure free flow of the Ganges River. According to him, the Holy River Ganga is our divine mother, and by bathing in the sacred river Ganges, our sins would be washed away. He tried his level best for the protection and conservation of the sacred River Ganga. Sant Aatmabodhanand has observed…
SANT KALIKANANDA INTRODUCTION Kalikananda Abadhut (1910–1978) was a famous saint and a writer. He was born in Kolkata in an orthodox Bengali family. After his wife’s death, he became a saint, and stayed at Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple in Ujjain. His personal travel experiences were published in the form of a book, which contains the details about his pilgrimage to Hinglaj. Based on his travel experiences to the holy temples, a film is also realised during the year 1959. His other famous work was Uddharanpurer Gat, and Abadhuta also practised Yoga and Meditation, and he established the Rudrachandi Math in Chinsurah and lived there till his death. He was an ardent devotee of Lord…
SWAMI MADHAVDAS JI MAHARAJ INTRODUCTION Swami Madhavdas Ji Maharaj was a philanthropist and he was the Saint of the Prem Prakash Mandal. He was born in the year 1914 in a village at Hyderabad, Sindh Province at Pakistan to a pious Sindhi family. His parents were ardent devotees of Lord Krishna and Sri Jhulelal Ji Maharaj, a famous Sindhi Guru, and an avatar of Lord Varuna Bhagavan. His parents used to take him to the Krishna Temples, and make him to hear the divine discourses on Bhagavatham and Bhagavat Gita. From his young age itself, he was not interested in…
SWAMI AVDHESHANAND GIRI JI MAHARAJ INTRODUCTION Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj is a spiritual saint, writer and religious speaker, and his native place is Bulandshahr. He is the pontiff of the Mahamandaleshwar, a spiritual organization, and, he has initiated several saints into the bhakti path. Swami Avdheshanand Giri is the president of Hindu Dharm Acharya Sabha, and he was born into a holy Brahmin family in Khurja, Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh. He left his home, and become a saint at his teenage, and he met Swami Avadhoot Prakash Maharaj, and learnt Vedas, Shastras, Hindu philosophy and yoga from him. After performing deep meditation in the Himalayas, he…
SWAMI BASANT RAM JI MAHARAJ INTRODUCTION Swami Basantram was a famous saint of the Prem Prakash Mandal. He was born in the year 1903 in a village in Sind Province, Pakistan to a pious Sindhi family, and from his childhood itself he was a very religious minded person. While studying in the school itself, he would chant the Hare Krishna Mantra repeatedly, and also he would ask his school friends to chant the mantra. During his school annual holidays, he worked in the agricultural fields of his father, and at that time, he used to provide food crops to the…
SAGE AYODHA-DAUMYA INTRODUCTION Ayodha-Daumya was a great sage who lived during the Dwapara Yuga. His main disciple was Aruni, who was a great sage, a learned scholar, and he contains very good qualities. Rishi Daumya was mentioned in Holy Vedas, and he is described as a powerful rishi. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, and performed severe penance on him, and obtained great powers through that. He had many disciples and he shared his spiritual knowledge with them. During the Kurukshetra war, he met Pandavas and Lord Krishna, and discussed with them. He also asked his disciples…
MATA RADHA INTRODUCTION Radha also called as Radhika, Radharani, and Radhe, is a popular goddess and worshipped along with Lord Krishna throughout the world. She is regarded as the consort of Lord Krishna. Radharani is an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi. She is the head of the milkmaids. And her birthday is celebrated as Radhastami. She kept selfless love and surrendered at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Several vaishnavite saints were praised her glory and considered her as the supreme goddess. People in india, generally will keep names for their male child as Radhakrishnan and female child as Radha. Radha is worshipped mostly by the north indians.…
SANT SUDAN INTRODUCTION Sudan (1700–1753) was the chief poet in the court of King Suraj Mal, the righteous ruler in Rajasthan. He was born in Mathur caste, lived in Mathura and he was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna. He reduced the mental tension of Maharaja by praising him, through his popular poems, and one of his famous texts is Sri Krishna Charitra. In this text, he mentioned about the life history of Krishna, the need for his avatar, his relationship with Gopikas, respecting the elders, helping the Pandavas, and about Bhagavat Gita. Sant Sudan lived a simple life, ignored the riches, and concentrated his attention on…
LAKSHMY MA INTRODUCTION Lakshmy (1820–1904), also called as Kunju Thankachi, was a female poet, music composer and Malayalam writer, and she was considered as one of the famous women poets in Kerala during her period. She was the daughter of Irayimman Thampi, who was also a famous writer and served as a musician at the court of Swathi Thirunal Maharaja. She was the author of various devotional poems which was written in praise of Lord Guruvayurappan, a form of Lord Krishna. She was very kind, pious and a chaste woman, and she was an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, and it is…