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.

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.

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.

The Shivaratri fast is considered to be the most important fast for the devotees of Lord Shiva. Shiva Purana goes on to say that if a devotee observes Shivaratri Vrata with sincerity, pure devotion and love he is blessed with the divine grace of Lord Shiva. Every year devotees observe Maha Shivaratri fast with devotion and sincerity. Though many go on a diet of fruits and milk, some do not consume even a drop of water all through the day and night of the Shivaratri festival.

Be taken on an amazing tour to one of India's most sacred and ancient temples - the Tirupati/Tirumala Venkateswara temple - during the biggest festival of the year, the holy Brahmotsavam. See the nine days procession, with the temple deity being carried throughout the holy city on his various golden vahanas accompanied by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic devotees.

Hanuman was blessed with supreme intelligence, strength and divine powers. As a baby, Hanuman was quite naughty and used his powers to pester the saints living in the nearby forest. Once, when he was hungry, he even leapt to catch the sun thinking it was a fruit [a mango].

Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring. This aspect still plays a significant part in the festival in the form of the colored powders: Holi is a time when man and nature alike throw off the gloom of winter and rejoice in the colors and liveliness of spring. Holi also commemorates various events in Hindu mythology, but for most Hindus it provides a temporary opportunity for Hindus to disregard social norms, indulge in merrymaking and generally "let loose."

After dakshayAga, shakti took the form of the daughter of the mountain king himavAn called pArvatI. From the early childhood she was devoted to Lord shiva and started penance for getting married to the God shiva. Lord shiva was however staying as dakshiNAmUrthi (2) making the sages sanaka, sanandana, sanAtana, sanatkumAra realize the Ultimate Truth.

Hiranyakashipu was the king of the asuras (demons). Hiranyakashypu's brother had been slain by Vishnu for terrorising the gods and goddesses, so Hiranyakashypu wanted to destroy Vishnu and keep the other devas in heaven subdued. He told his soldiers to crush all those who worship Vishnu, but the devas protected the devotees of Vishnu...

Amongst India's innumerable festivals, Holi ranks as the most colourful. It celebrates the arrival of spring and death of demoness Holika; it is a celebration of joy and hope. Holi provides a refreshing respite from the mundane norms as people from all walks of life enjoy themselves. In a tight knit community, it also provided a good excuse for letting off some steam and settling old scores, without causing physical injury.

On this day, the great night of the Lord Shiva, devotees stay awake throughout the night offering prayers to Lord Shiva. They offer special food made from the fruits of the season, root vegetables and coconut to the Lord. Special celebrations are held in some of the major Shiva temples at Varanasi, Kalahasti (Andhra Pradesh) and Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu).

brahma muraari suraarchita lingam
nirmala bhashita shobhita lingam
janmaja dukha Vinaashaka lingam
tat pranamaami sadaa shiva lingam

I bow before that Sada Shiva Linga, which is adored by Brahma, Vishnu and other Gods, which is praised by pure and holy speeches and which destroys the cycle of births and deaths.

Kumbha Mela derives its name from the immortal “Pot of Nectar” described in ancient Vedic scriptures known as the Puranas. Kumbha in Sanskrit language means “pot or pitcher’. Mela means “festival”. Thus Kumbha Mela literally means festival of the pot. Or in this case a festival celebrating the appearance of the pot of nectar.

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupada Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja made his appearance on September 2nd 1929, in the village of Jagannatha-pura, not far from Jagannatha-puri Dhama, Orissa, India. Sri Braja-bandhu, as His Divine Grace was then known, grew up in the village of Gadai-giri, where he practiced devotional service to Krishna from his early childhood. His grandfather was a paramahamsa, whose only business was to chant Hare Krishna and cry before the Deity of Krishna, known locally as Gopal Jiu. He taught Braja-bandhu how to count by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra on his fingers.

King Bhagyachandra of Manipur was an ardent follower of Srila Narottama Das Thakur, an exponent of GaudiyaVaisnavism. He was initiated by Srila Ganga Narayana Chakravarti, a disciple of Srila Narottama Das Thakur, who visited Manipur to spread the Bhagavata Culture. Rajarshi Bhagyachandra ascended the throne in 1759, but in 1762 the Burmese, acting in concert with his envious maternal uncle, invaded Manipur, and the king, with his queen and a few attendants, fled to the neighbouring state of Ahom, now known as Assam.

The criterion of reality according to Madhva is that it should be unsuperimposed ('anaropitam') and given as an object of valid knowledge, as existing at some point of time and in some place. These two ideas are complementary and are implicit in Madhva' s definition of Reality ('tattvam') given by him as 'prameyam'. Reality in the ordinary sense of the term may consist in one or more of the three aspects of existence, consciousness and activity.

A devout Hindu believes that if he reads Ramayana (The story of Rama) daily, he would be nearing God. He also would like to meditate on the name 'Rama', so that all his sins are washed off. Nama Ramayana is the story of Rama written for this purpose. Apart from condensing the story, it helps the devotees to meditate on the different sterling aspects of Rama. Here is a translation in English to help the devotees to do just that.

Mahalakshmi, who is the consort of Vishnu is worshipped as goddess of wealth by the Hindus. In the beginning of creation she took form from the left side of Vishnu and was later born again from the sea of milk, when the devas churned it for getting nectar. She resides on the chest of Maha Vishnu as 'Sri Vatsa'. It was she who took birth as Seetha and Rukmani. This very simple prayer is very ancient and has been chanted by generations for solving all their problems.

Here is the translation of another garland of prayers to Sri Hanuman. Please note that this contains most of the slokas listed under Anjaneya stotra which is translated separately.