Author: hinduscriptures

INTRODUCTION Markandeya was the son of Rishi Mrikandu, and was born with very good features. Similar to his father, he used to worship Lord Shiva at the Ashram and perform pujas and abhishekhams to the Shiva Lingam. According to legend, when he was nearing to lose his life by Lord Yama, he was safeguarded by Lord Shiva, and he has become a Chiranjeevi in this earth. He appears in the form of a boy, and looks like a full moon, and contains great spiritual powers. He had shared his spiritual knowledge with various rishis and discussed spiritual matters with them.…

INTRODUCTION Gopal (20th century) was born in a village at Mumbai and he was an ardent devotee of Sri Sainath from his younger age itself. He used to visit Shirdi on every year during the Guru Purnima festival, and have the darshan of Sairam. He was very good at studies, and his father had worked in a private company and his mother was a house wife. He was the only son for his parents. He has completed his law degree and become a professional lawyer. He used to contribute a share of his income for the welfare of poor and…

INTRODUCTION Gokulakrishnan was a staunch devotee of Guru Raghavendra swamy and he was born in the year 1971 in a Brahmin family at Triplicane. From his childhood itself, he was a devotee of Guru Raghavendra, and would frequently visit the Triplicane Raghavendra Mutt on thursdays. He has completed his schooling in a school at Triplicane and later on he has finished his B.Com and M.Com degree also through the grace of Raghavendra. He was not good at studies but somehow he had managed to complete his education. Since Gokulakrishnan was not healthy, he had struggled a lot towards working in…

INTRODUCTION In Hinduism, why do we have lot of gods, goddesses, saints and worshipful river goddesses? The main thing is to concentrate our attention on devotional matters, and not on other unnecessary activities, and people are worshipping their favourite gods and goddesses based on their dedication. In general, all the deities are considered as holy and whoever we worships, it reaches one formless supreme power, and through that only, lot of divine deities were formed. Saints are created in order to reduce the sufferings of the people, and people would have some kind of relief, and they would think that…

INTRODUCTION Gnayiru Sun god temple also known as Sri Pushparatheswarar temple is situated at the Gnayiru village and it is considered as one of the sacred navagraha temples located at Chennai and dedicated to Lord Surya Bhagawan and the main deity is Lord Shiva, who is known as Lord Pushparatheswarar. For visiting this temple, bus facility is available from Red hills Bus Terminus and there are no big hotels or lodging facilities near the temple. Those who come from distant places, can have their food, and stay in a lodge at Redhills, and visit this temple either through bus or…

INTRODUCTION Gauri Ma (1857–1938) was a great disciple of Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi and she was the founder of the Saradeswari Ashram, Kolkata. Her birth name was Mridani. Gauri Ma was not interested in worldly affairs, and hence she has become a saint, and she was fondly called by Ramakrishna as Gauri Ma. Gauri Ma was born in Sibpur, Howrah. She developed interest towards spirituality from her younger age itself. She considered herself as the devotee of Lord Krishna, and began to worship him with full of devotion in mind. She used to perform puja to Lord Krishna in the temples and at the Ashram. After some time, she undertook pilgrimage to various…

INTRODUCTION Ganesh was an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan and he lived in Palakkad Kerala. He was an intelligent boy and secured good marks in his school exams. He was also interested in spiritual matters, and regularly visits temples in his nearby area. Once in a year, during the Krishna Jayanti festival, he used to visit Guruvayur along with his sister and parents and would worship the great Lord Sri Guruvayurappan. During the first year of his college studies, one day, suddenly he got fainted in the college floor, and remained in an unconscious state for a few hours. The…

INTRODUCTION Gandharvas are the celestial musicians and they are mentioned in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism texts. Gandharvas are male demi gods and the consorts of the celestial dancers also called as the Apsaras. They contain feathers and contain an attractive face and a handsome look, and they possess good musical skills. Mostly Gandharvas used to sing in the court of the great god Sri Indradev at Swarkalok. Gandharvas also acted as a mediator between the gods and humans. According to ancient texts, gandharva marriages would be mostly conducted by the kings during their visit to a different place, and it would be performed without any rituals and…

INTRODUCTION Family deity and Guardian deity are the most important deities whom we have to worship in our everyday life. Family deity also called as Kula Deivam belongs to a person’s ancestral god or goddess and we must personally visit and worship our Kula Deivam’s temple and seek his/her blessings at least once in a year. Those who don’t know their Kula Deivam can worship Mata Angala Parameswari at Melmalayanur located at Tamilnadu. And Malayanur Parameswari can be worshipped by everyone as their Ishta Devata. She is the mother goddess, who shows sympathy on us, and reduces our sufferings and…

INTRODUCTION According to Hinduism, Divine weapons forms part of each and every deity. Almost all the Hindu deities holds some weapons in their hands, in order to remove the evil forces from the universe and to safeguard their devotees, and to maintain peace and prosperity in the universe. By possessing the divine weapons, the gods and the demi gods are considered as more powerful and similar to worshipping the gods and goddesses Hindus would worship their divine weapons also. Let us see the details of divine weapons and their use: Astra Deity Effect Brahmaastra Brahma Would destroy the entire universe…

INTRODUCTION Daya Mata (1914 –2010) was the president of the organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. The organization was founded in order to teach Yoga concepts, meditation, developing good behaviour, realization of the god from our soul, Dedication to god, and to spread humanity and kindness among the entire world. Her birth name was Rachel. She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA to a holy Christian family. And her parents and her ancestors were the devotees of the great Lord Jesus Christ. They have served in a famous church at USA, and dedicated their entire attention on spreading the Christ message among the people. Daya Mata,…

INTRODUCTION Daya bai (18th century AD) was born in a pious Hindu family at a village in Rajasthan. After hearing the stories of Lord Krishna from her mother, she was devoted to Lord Krishna at her childhood itself. She used to chant the names of Lord Krishna, and visit the nearby temples and perform bhajans and praise his glories and gave lectures on Bhagavatham and Bhagavat Gita. Due to her sincere devotion on the god, she didn’t marry, and dedicated her entire life towards worshipping Krishna. After attaining teenage, she heard about Swami Charandas and become his disciple. Swami Charan…

INTRODUCTION Lord Krishna is the supreme god, and he is the avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was born during the Dwapara Yuga, and done lot of mischievous activities and performed many miracles. He used to steal butter in the neighbour’s house, replace the things in their house, but pretends himself to be an innocent boy. The people in Gokulam have done lot of good karmas, since they witnessed the beautiful playful activities of child Krishna. Whatever act he performs, no one would get angry on him, and instead of that, they would get more affection on him, due to his…

INTRODUCTION The relationship between a bhakta and the bhagavan is that of a mother and a child. In this picture itself, we can see that Lord Narasimha is gently holding Bhakt prahalad in his hands. God expects only a true devotion from his devotees, and he didn’t expect any rich contribution from them. Bhagavan Krishna tells, “I will be satisfied, even if a true devotee offers me a tulsi leaf, and I would immensely grant boons and fulfil his wishes”. We can take the example of great devotees like Bhakt Prahalad, Narad, Dhruva and Markandeya. All these devotees were entirely…

INTRODUCTION Baba Hariram (1867–1947) was a great saint and lived in Sindh Province of Pakistan. He was a great guru and a spiritual leader, who was a sincere devotee of Lord Srirama, and used to frequently chant the Rama Mantra “JAI SRIRAM”, and also insists others to do so. He was fondly called as Baba, due to his vast knowledge in all the subjects and based on his spiritual teachings. He was the disciple of Baba Kriparam, who also an ardent devotee of Lord Srirama. His follower was Sri Bhagat Wadhuram, an illiterate man who had changed into ‘Baba’ through the grace of Lord Rama. Devotees of…

INTRODUCTION Raghavendra Swamy Mutt is situated at Ayanavaram and it was built during the year 1982, and the temple is located nearby Ayanavaram Bus Terminus. Lot of devotees would visit this Mutt during Thursdays, and other auspicious festival days and lot of miracles were happened in the life of the devotees of Raghavendra after visiting this holy Mutt. The temple is situated in a large area, and a shrine of Lord Vinayaka is also located inside the temple complex. Annual Aradhana festival would be celebrated in a grand manner in this temple, and free food is offered for three days…

INTRODUCTION Prince Asamanja was the son of King Sagara and Queen Sumati. As per ancient texts, it is believed that he was cruelly acted with the young boys in his region, and used to throw them in the Divine River Sarayu  and made them to get drowned in the river. Due to his activities, his father Sagara had exiled him from his palace, and Sagara’s another son Amshuman had become the king of Ayodhya. Amshuman was a great person and a noble scholar, who was liked by the people of Ayodhya for his kindness and gentleness over them, and he ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya in a well versed…

INTRODUCTION Aryamba(8th century AD) was the holy mother of Sri Adisankara, and she was born in a Brahmin family, and at her younger age she got married with a pious Brahmin scholar Shivaguru, and had one son, who was later famously known as Jagadguru Sri Adisankaracharya. Sankara’s father was died at his childhood, and he was brought up by his mother in a proper manner. At his younger age itself, he has performed miracles like changing the course of the river for the sake of his mother, and removing the illness of a Shiva Devotee, and making the impure persons…

INTRODUCTION Apsaras are considered as celestial dancers who reside in the Indra Loka. They are specialized in diversified fields of arts like sculpting, dancing, and painting and are treated as the most respectable women in the Swarka Loka. The most famous among the Apsaras are Urvasi, Menaka, Rambha and Tilottama. Apsaras are very beautiful and excellent in dancing, and they are controlled by Lord Indra Bhagawan. Some Apsaras are married to Gandharvas, who are good at music and singing songs. Generally Apsaras would dance in the Indra Lok, in order to please their master Lord Indra. They would sometimes be sent by Lord Indra to…

INTRODUCTION Anna Nagar Ayyappan Temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappan in Chennai. In the year 1979, the temple construction was started and the kumbabishekam and consecration of the idol were performed in the year 1984 by the temple management. In this temple separate shrines for Lord Ganesha, Muruga, Mata Durga, Navagraha and Sri Anjenaya were also found. In the year 2005, gold coating work of dwajasthambam was made. The temple is situated near the Anna Tower also known as Visveswarayya Tower. There is an auditorium, for conducting various spiritual programmes, musical concerts and religious discourses. Pujas  are performed by Kerala namboodiris. Mahaganapathy homam and the Mritunjaya homam, are the most popular…