The Sanskrit word Vihana means 'vehicle' or 'carrier', denoting an animal or creature that serves as a vehicle or mount for a deity. The vahana accompanies, pulls the chariot of, or serves as the seat or mount of the transcendental personality he serves. A vahana is sometimes depicted on banners and emblems to identify the cult or affiliation of the devotee.

The costumes or Vesas of Lord Jagannath symbolize various cultural and religious practices and events that are synthesized in the 12th century Jagannatha shrine. Every day from early morning to night, the Deities on the Ratnavedi wear different dresses made of cotton and silk fabrics, gold ornaments studded with precious stones, flowers of different varieties, tulsi leaves, and other opulent paraphernalia. Sandal paste, camphor and sometimes musks are used in the daily and periodic rituals. The sevaks of temple who dress the Deities with clothing and flowers each day are known as Puspalaks or Singharis.

The seven-sages are engaged in tapas. As the tapas progresses, Shiva and Shakti come to know about it and think what to do. They take the form of eagles. Shakti circles the windy sky and flies down on to the trident stuck on the ground at the dhooni. Pierced by the trident, the eagle dies on it. After completing twelve years of tapas, the seven-rishis wake up in the thirteenth year and they bewail their karma, for what has happened is inauspicious.

The period was around 1504 AD. Raja Krishna Dev Raya of Vidya Nagar (Vijaya Nagar) had invited the greatest exponents of his time to deliberate on Hindu scriptures and the related six systems of philospohy. Acharya Hanumant was representing Vishithadvaita of Ramanuja; Acharya Vyastirtha was seated to represent Dvaita of Madhva, of Nimbarka sect was present Keshavabhatta, and Sri Vidyatirtha was to represent Mayavada of Shankara. The fifth seat of Vaishnava sect was vacant, and hence the 25 year-old bright Vallabha was invited to put forward his views.

sri-pradvipaka uvaca kauravendra ekada gargacaryah kalinda-nandinim snatum gargacalad vraja-mandalam cajagama. tatraikante marul-lilaijal-lalita-lata-taru-pallava-pushpa-gandha-matta-milinda-punje kalindi-kula-kalita-nikunje sri-rama-krishna-dhyana-tat-param gargacaryam pranamya nagendra-kanyah sma iti jati-smara gopa-kanyah srimad-balabhadra-prapty-artham sevanam papracchus tasam paramam bhaktim vikshya paddhati-patala-stotra-kavaca-sahasra-namani gopi-yuthaya sa pradadau. kim bhuyas tvam tad-grahanam kartum icchasi vadatat.

The flourishing temple styles in North India - both the Khajuraho and the Orissi versions - were brought to a rude end with the Muslim invasion. When the Muslims consolidated their hold over North India, temple-building activity virtually stopped. Entire families of skilled craftsmen were now presented with two choices - the first of which was to work for their new masters and abandon the idea of building a temple as an offering to God. This resulted in the fusion of Persian and Indian building styles and was to result in an entirely new idiom.

The tribal Bheels have a Mahabharata version of their own, episodes of which are narrated or sung during their festivals, usually accompanied by music and sometimes with dance - a captivating version that never fails to thrill. This article tries to understand an episode from it, on its own and in relation to Vyasa’s epic.

As North Americans become more 'green conscious' in a world of global warming bad news, architects and designers have begun to consider incorporating spiritual aspects of Vedic architecture. Much like the imported practices of yoga and ayurveda, the introduction of vaastu into popular culture will give devotees one more way to introduce Vedic concepts to the western world. In recent news, SFGate.com reports that vaastu design is gaining interest.

The rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them and asked them why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be pleased by it. Not being able to answer the question, the  rishis approached Sage Bhrigu. To reach a solution after a direct ascertainment of reality, Sage Bhrigu first went to Satyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahma.

The Banglapedia is an online version of the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. In it, we find an interesting summary of literature written about the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. While Gaudiya Vaisnavas will certainly take exception to some aspects of the summary, and particularly the absence of certain key facts and authors, we present it for the consideration of the devotees. Like today's popular Wikipedias, readers can encourage the Banglapedia editors to revise the content, advocating for a more accurate representation of Lord Caitanya's literary legacy.

The Sulbasutras deal with geometrical constructions, a large majority of them for the purpose of carrying out Vedic rituals at precisely constructed altars and similar such ends, that are popularly believed to date to the millennium before Christ or the end of the Vedic age. Of these, Baudhayana’s Sulbasutra is believed to date to the 8th century B.C. Later, other authors including Apastamba, Manava, Katyayana, Satyasadha Hiranyakesin, Vadhula, Varaha and Kathaka composed sulbasutras as well, although the chronological order in which these texts were composed remains unknown as yet.

In past issues of the Sun, we have enjoyed a number of Feature stories about terracotta artworks found in the temples of West Bengal. These amazing sculptural works memorialize Sri Krsna's pastimes in an extensive array of beautifully detailed panels. Links to some of these previous Features are included at the end of today's article.

Following the descriptions found in Kesavacarya's Krama-dipika, I will now write about the rules for initiation. Without first becoming initiated no one is qualified to engage in Deity worship. In the Agama-sastra it is said: "A person born in a brahmana family who has not yet accepted initiation is not qualified to perform the duties of a brahamna. Such a person must accept initiation.

In the Vedic sacrificial ritual, when a sacrifice is performed for the benefit of a sacrificer, the dimension of the sacrificial altar is derived from the dimension of the sacrificer. The ritual requires that the altar be constructed of layers of bricks, from which the deity is invoked through the power of hymns. Having been invoked, the deity flies to the site of the sacrifice in his ratha, or "chariot," partakes of the sacrifice offered from the altar, and then departs.

The Guru refused to initiate the learned disciple six times, but the disciple was not discouraged and came back for the seventh time! The gracious Guru, seeing the sincerity and earnest of Ramanuja, now gave him the Mantra, warning - "Do not disclose the Mantra to anyone, else you shall suffer the agonies of Hell. And what will happen to those who hear the Mantra, Sir," asked Ramanuja innocently.

Rta, the great order of the cosmos, is born afresh in each Rta, season. In traditional societies, humans do not merely observe the cycle of seasons, equinoxes, solstices; they participate in, and recreate the pulse of rhythm in their daily life. Each season is welcomed with celebrations and festivities, songs, dances and myriad creative expressions.

Vedic culture has always emphasized the harmonious relation between man and the forces of nature. The importance of each season has been beautifully narrated by the great poet Kalidasa in Ritu Samharam, an epic (albeit short) poem written by him on the turning of the seasons. This medley or "Garland of Seasons" is divided into six main chapters, each vividly describing the seasons of India: Summer, Spring, Monsoons, Autumn, Frost and Winters.

Very little is known about Bidyapati. Native tradition represents him as the son of one Bhabananda Rai, a Brahman of Barnator in Jessore. His real name was Basanta Rai, and he is mentioned by this name in one of the poems of the Pada-kalpataru (no. 1317). The date of his birth is said to be A.D. 1433, and of his death 1481. These dates are probably correct, as his language exhibits a stage of development corresponding to the beginning and middle of the fifteenth century.

Sri Jayadev is famous amongst the poets of India for his book entitled Geeta Govinda, which contains devotional songs reflecting the glories of Lord Krishna. Moreover this book, since its inception, has been attracting classical singers as well as dancers all over the country for it's splendors, styles and picturesque descriptions in Sanskrit. The lyrics of the book have attracted numerous devotees of India, especially the Vaishnavites, to such an extent that they commit the verses to heart, chanting while offering prayers to the Almighty.

"A visitor to the Indian city of Thanjavur finds two great cultural monuments. The first is the Temple of Brihadisvara, one of the most magnificent temples in India. The temple was founded almost one thousand years ago by King Rajrajesvara of the Chola dynasty (985-1016).The second is a library, called The Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Sarasvati Mahal Library.