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By Author Unknown | Published 11/19/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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The Sundara Kanda, the fifth book in the Ramayana, focuses mainly on the adventures of Sri Hanuman, and the story is as follows: Hanuman meets Rama during the latter's 14-year exile in the forest. With his brother Lakshmana, Rama is searching for his wife Sita, who had been abducted by Ravana. Their search brings them to the vicinity of the mountain Rishyamukha, where Sugriva, along with his followers and friends, are in hiding from his elder brother Vali, with whom he had quarrelled over a mistake.
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Printer VersionBy Author Unknown | Published 11/17/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Ramavataram, popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam is a Tamil epic written by the poet Kamban during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana, the original epic Ramayana in Sanskrit, the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya. However, Ramavatharam is different from the Sanksrit original in many aspects - both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the story line.
By Sri Vyasa Muni | Published 11/15/2009
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Excerpts from the Garuda Purana, a dialogue between Lord Visnu and Garuda, His transcendental carrier. While describing the significance of various consecrations (samskaras), Lord Vishnu told Shiva that the union of man's sperm and woman's ovum results into the birth of a child. This union along with the whole process of the foetus getting transformed into a baby is a lengthy affair during which it imbibes numerous impurities. Samskaras (consecrations) purify one from all these impurities.
By Sri Vyasa Muni | Published 11/13/2009
Category: Hindu Scriptures
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Among the eighteen major Puranas, the Narada Purana is perhaps the most significant, having been given by none other than the sage Narada. naradoktam puraanam tu naaradiyam prachachhate, "Narada Purana is what emerged from the lips of Maharshi Narada". Initially, it was a collection of about twenty-five thousand stanzas, but the currently available version of Narada Purana contains only twenty-two thousand stanzas.
By Pradip Bhattacharya | Published 11/11/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Despite the casual tossing away of Puranic accounts by Indologists prejudiced by western historicism, the fact remains that these texts provide a remarkably detailed account of dynasties of rulers, along with a picture of social conditions that need to be included in any marshalling of facts relating to ancient India.
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The Festival of Jagannath Mishra is an observance of the Jata karma samskara for baby Nimai (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu). Following the fast for Gaura Purnima, which is broken upon the rising of the moon, the next day is held for feasting. On Jagannath Mishra festival day, the devotees meditate upon the Jata karman ceremony. The festival is also known as Anandotsava amongst the Gaudiya Matha devotees.
By Padmanabha Mahapatra | Published 11/4/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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The ten incarnations of the Adi Sakti or the divine primeval force are known as Dasa Mahavidya. Tara Mahavidya is placed second in the order. The Daksa-yajna legend conceived in the Mahabharata is of major importance in regard to the origin of Dasa-Mahavidya. According to the versions of Matsya and Padma Purana, Sati, one of the daughters of Daksa, happened to be the spouse of Lord Sadasiva.
By Frank Reynolds | Published 11/4/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Airavata is the white elephant who carries Lord Indra. According to the Ramayana, Airavata's mother was Iravati, the daughter of Kadru and granddaughter of Kasyapa. According to the Matangalila, Airavata was born when Lord Brahma sang sacred hymns over the halves of the egg shell from which Garuda hatched. He was followed at birth by seven more male and eight female elephants.
Tracing a symbolic furrow at the end of the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony (Preah Nongkoal), Prince Norodom Yuvaneath (King Norodom Sihanouk's son), dressed in the traditional robes of the royal court, commemorated an auspicious beginning of the new rice planting season based on an ancient Brahman custom around a procession of three royal oxen, who walk around the ‘Royal Rice Fields’ three times.
By Sankaran Nair | Published 10/17/2009
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The king's coronation, mundane ceremony, royal wedding, first ploughing ceremony etc. were among the important events at which the Thai Brahman priests officiated. The Ploughing Ceremony, the first of the traditional agrarian festivals, is basically of Brahman origin. The Royal Brahman astrologers set the auspicious day and time for the Ploughing Ceremony held in the sixth lunar month, usually mid-May.
By Satyabrata Das | Published 10/17/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Our ancient literature was essentially pan-Indian in character. As such, all Indian languages descend from only two sources: the Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian. Obviously, both Oriya and Assamese share their common origin from the Indo-Aryan stream. Further, as Dr. Grierson argues, Oriya, Bengali and Assamese are the three languages that have emerged from one common source: the Magadhan element, called Magadhi Apabhramsa. As Grierson asserts:
By Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi | Published 10/17/2009
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I worship Lord Hari, whose feet are endowed with the 19 great opulences of, on the left foot, the halfmoon, water-pot, triangle, bow, sky, cow's hoofprint, fish, conch, and on the right foot, the eight-pointed star, svastika, wheel, parasol, barleycorn, elephant-goad, flag, thunderbolt, jambu fruit, urdhva-rekha, and lotus.
By Rahul Acharya | Published 10/17/2009
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The expression "Mahari" is a derivative of two Oriya words, 'Mahan' and 'Nari', meaning 'divine damsels'. They were a professional group, a class of sevayats of Lord Jagannath. The Mahari's consisted of different categories of sevikas, being assigned different sevas as follows:
By Author Unknown | Published 10/15/2009
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Describing how a brahmin should earn his livelihood, Lord Brahma said to Narad: "Alms, which a brahmin gets without making any demand for it is called Vritta. 'Unchhavritti' is even better than Vritti, and it means collecting food grains which are scattered in places like fields, granaries, the market-place, etc.
By Author Unknown | Published 10/15/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Hamsa (or hansa) is the Sanskrit term for a transcendentally situated swan or goose. Considered by scholars to be either the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) or the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), the Hamsa is best known and loved as the vahana (sacred carrier) of Lord Brahma and the Goddess Saraswati.
By Harish Hebbar | Published 10/15/2009
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There are a number of other Brahmins in current day Tulu nadu, distinguished by their own different spoken languages and forms of worship. They migrated in later centuries by land and sea. These include Chitpavana, Karadi, Konkanastha and Sarasvatha Brahmins. Marathi Brahmins, Chitpavana and Karadi Brahmins, who are Advaita followers, migrated to Tulu nadu from Ratnagiri and Karad in Maharashtra.
Let us now go into an historical introspection of the Patuas and their creations. The oldest information regarding Patuas dates back to 200 B.C., when Patanjali had mentioned the Chitrakara tribe in his writing. We get more detailed information in the Jataka stories of the Buddhist religion and Kalpasutra, the holy book of the Jains.
Folk art is an indivisible part of folk culture. The study of folk culture in the subcontinents of India dates back to the 19th century. Some eminent personalities or connoisseurs began to study folk culture absolutely to quench their personal interest.
By Sampradaya Sun | Published 10/15/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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Prithvi is one of several Sanskrit names for the Earth Mother, more commonly known as Mother Bhumi Devi. Prithvi is the personification of the Earth, and is therefore also known as Prithivi Tattwa, the essence of the element earth. Prithvi is also called Dhra, Dharti, or Dhrithri, meaning 'that which holds everything'.
By Harish Hebbar | Published 10/15/2009
Category: Articles on Hinduism
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The ancient Tulu nadu extended from Gokarna in the north, all along coastal Karnataka down to Kasargod in the south. This included both coastal Uttara Kannada district as well as all of Dakshina Kannada district. Over many centuries, the principal language of Tulu nadu was Tulu, which today is spoken only south of the River Kalyanpur in Udupi and in the Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka. This is the heartland of Tulu nadu today.
