#excerpts from puranas

[murli-kii-dhun]

🪷Radhe Radhe🪷

Hi, I'm Dhun

I have always been interested in learning about my religion, Sanatan Dharma (hinduism). Recently I started reading Vishnu Puran, I will follow that with Shrimad Bhagvat Gita, Markandeya Puran and Shiv Puran. Typing this out... the journey ahead of me is long.

I have created this blog to share anything related to religion. Be it my thoughts and feelings or facts and stories that I learn on this journey.

I pray to Ganpati Bappa to give me his blessings for this new endeavour.

[mountain-sage]

The Conquest of Hell (Naraka) The Puranas say that Lord Narayana has killed the demon [of misery], Naraka Asura.

This demon is none other than the one who lives as "I am this body, the source of misery"

One who seeks Naraka Asura's [i.e., the ego's] source, and thus annihilates him, is truly Lord Narayana Himself.

The Deepavali-bath, which is taken by all people on the fourteenth moon in remembrance of the conquest of Naraka, signifies the bath of Jnana, which is taken after destroying the ego Naraka Asura, by searching for his source.

The above two verses were summarised in the following verse by Sri Bhagavan:

He who kills Narakasura (the ego) with the Wheel [i.e.weapon] of Jnana, by enquiring,"Where is the source of Narakasura who rules over Narakaloka, this wretched body, as l'?", is Lord Narayana; and that day [of the ego's destruction] is the auspicious day of the fourteenth moon.

Deepavali signifies the great Self-Effulgence which shines after destroying the reflected light [i.e. the egol, Narakasura, who was ruling this filthy body, which is the form of hell, as '!'.

Deepavali signified the shining of Self after the destruction, through enquiry, of the greatest sinner, Naraka [the egol, who took the abode of this filthy body, which is the form of hell, as !'. He is Narakasura (a demon) who feels attached in the thought that he is the body. That attachment to the body itself is a Naraka (hell). The life of a person who has that attachment, even if he be a Maharajah, is hellish.

Destroying the attachment to the body, and the self shining by itself as Self is Deepavali. He is the king of hell who says that he is the body which is hell itself. He is Narayana who ascertains who Naraka is, and destroys him with His vision of wisdom, Jnana Drishti.

That is the auspicious day of Narakachathurdasi. The false belief that this hell-like house called body is me, is Naraka himself. To destroy that false belief and let the self shine as Self, is Deepavali.

Excerpt from the book 'Guru Vachaka Kovai'

Ramana Maharishi

[blessed1neha]

What are the benefits of reading the Mahabharata?

I’ve been reading the English transalation of the Critical Edition by Bibek Debroy. Here is an excerpt from it:

‘Vaishampayana said, “I shall recount the entire history, that which was composed by the great-souled maharshi Vyasa, whose powers are infinite and who is worshipped in all the worlds. This contains 100,000 sacred shlokas, composed by Satyavati’s son, Vyasa, of infinite powers. The learned man who recites it to others and also those who hear its recital attain the world of Brahma and become the equals of the gods. This is equal to the Vedas. It is sacred and supreme. It is the best of all that can be heard. It is a purana worshipped by the rishis. It contains all the useful instructions on artha and kama. This immensely sacred history makes the mind desire to attain salvation. The learned man who recites Krishna’s Veda to those who are noble, generous, truthful and faithful, will attain great fortune. Even sins like the killing of embryos in wombs are destroyed. On hearing it, the most evil is freed from the most evil of sins. This history, called jaya, should be heard by those who wish to attain victory. On hearing it, a king can bring the entire world under his subjugation and defeat all his enemies. This is the best way to obtain a son and the great path to ensure welfare. It should be heard several times by heirs apparent and their wives. ‘“Vyasa, of infinite intelligence, has said that it is the sacred arthashastra and the supreme dharmashastra. It has been said that it is also the great mokshashastra. It is recited in the present time and it will be recited in the future. He who hears it obtains sons, descendants and servants who perform desired acts. He who hears it is immediately freed from all sins committed in body, mind and speech. He who hears the history of Bharata, without finding fault, is freed from all fear of disease, not to speak of fear in the next world. Krishna Dvaipayana, in a desire to bring welfare to the world, composed this to bring wealth, fame, long life, pure deeds and attainment of heaven, spreading in the world the fame of the great-souled Pandavas and other Kshatriyas of immense energy. It is said that this Bharata is the treasury of jewels, like the ocean who is the lord and the great snow-clad mountain. The learned man who recites it to Brahmanas during sacred parvas is cleansed of his sins and becoming victorious over heaven attains union with the eternal brahman. He who causes even a single line from it to be read to Brahmanas at his shraddha makes his shraddha becomes inexhaustible and his ancestors are satisfied with the offerings that are made to them. The sins committed ignorantly by men every day are destroyed on hearing the account of the Mahabharata. It is said that the Mahabharata is the history of the births of the Bharata lineage. He who knows the etymology of this name is freed from all sin. The sage Krishna Dvaipayana arose regularly for three years and composed this wonderful history known as the Mahabharata. O bull among the Bharatas! Whatever is found here on dharma, artha, kama and moksha, may be found elsewhere. But whatever is not in it, cannot be found anywhere else.”’

[artemis-de-la-lune]

excerpts from an article written by swathi s. nair, dated 28th november 2019.

tw: mentions of queerphobia, violence against lgbtqia+ in the last three excerpts.

back in 200 A.D, various temples across India had sex sculptures carved into their walls. sun temple is one such place in Konark, a city in the state of odisha. the sun temple of Konark is a holistic place with depictions of sexual acts that involve polygamy, lesbian relationships, polyandry, and more. all the fallen down sculptures and walls have been preserved in the nearby Konark Archeological Museum.

“Kamasutra, the book of love was taught to young students back in the days and this was one of the pictorial media of education for young students then.” says Suryamani Malla, tourist guide from department of tourism, who has extensively researched about the sun temple of Konark.

section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) states: “unnatural offenses- whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.”

this law was decriminalized on 6th september 2018. it was a huge step in the right direction, but for a country who has homosexual sex sculptures on the walls of the most sacred temples, this should have never been a ‘criminal offence’.

other than the Konark temple, the best preserved of all temples can be found in a small town named khajuraho in the central state of madhya pradesh. Khajuraho temples were built in the Chandela dynasty between 950 A.D and 1050 A.D. the sculptures portray homosexuality and are depicted right next to sculptures of divine beings smiling blissfully at their devotees. 

apart from all this, Hinduism is a religion that has traditionally considered sex an essential part of life. that could be one of the reasons why these carvings are casually scattered between others that portray activities such as prayer and war. the fact that they are set in plain view and not tucked away in the extreme corner tells that their creators meant for them to be seen by all. “if you take Kamasutra itself, there is an entire chapter that talks about homosexuality. where they talk and clearly categorize all kinds of homosexual desires. the author talks about these desires as perfectly normal and as a possibility. he did not portray it to be a moral issue or a social/religious taboo.” says jithin shankar, who is an assistant professor of History at NSS Hindu College, Kerala.

the reason why concept like homosexuality has become subjective is because people either address it to be right or wrong. the literature available tells you that having a sexual preference tis more of a grey area, hence multiple versions of the same thing. at some point in time, homosexuality collided with religion and that is when people started questioning the ethics and morality of this subject.

religion is just a discipline which tells people what to do and what not to do. there have been multiple cults throughout history before religion came into picture in this country. there have been various cults that worship sexual organs like Linga worship or Yoni worship during the Indus Valley Civilization. this gives it a spiritual entity.

many characters in Indian mythology literature like Mahabharata and Puranas talk about characters like Mohini and Shikhandi, who can be categorized as bisexual or gender variant and this shows how normal it was back then to include characters like this to the literature. “instead of getting inspired by the character, even the fact that people had the imagination to write down a character like her, is a big step. they had the literary freedom when it came to this” says Shankar. shankar points out that during that time and age, even the European literature did not think or talk about something like this. so, for a country like India to talk about this in their literature is a huge thing and it shouldn’t be looked down upon right now.

Shikhandi is another character that can be identified as gender variant in the Indian mythology. Mahabharata is believed to written around 6th and 7th century period, around the Gupta dynasty time and it talks about a character called Shikhandi who was born a woman but changes sex and becomes a eunuch.

even though many literature like Vishnu Purana term it as a negative thing, other literature like Ardhashastra, Kamasutra and Panchatantra talk about it like a normal thing. archaeology provides hard core support when it comes to that.

“sculptures around the temples like Khajuraho, or Sun temple in Konark prove to us that whatever written in these literature was not a made-up story. it was something Indians back then believed and accepted” says Shankar. these sculptures are no western influence for our country, and neither is homosexuality. decriminalization of section 377 is a big step, but the LGBTQIA+ community still faces a lot of bullying and exclusion from the Indian society, especially from politicians and religious groups.

religion has become the biggest weapon to make people in this country feel like an outsider. people are victims of lynching, mental torture and thousands of them have been thrown out of their homes by their own families for coming out as LGBTQIA+. this is a huge step back for our community.

if Indians thousands of years ago could accept homosexuality as something natural and common, then there is no reason to react in a negative way towards the LGBTQIA+ community in India today.

source: click here

note: i have merely shared some excerpts from the article, as it is. i also have paraphrased a few lines to make the sentences shorter without changing their original meaning. the sole credit for the entire article goes, obviously, to the author.

also, here's a reminder to stop being an a*****e and stop using your religion as an excuse to hide the fact that you're just a disgustingly bigoted human being.

[templepurohit]

Shiva is the God of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a remarkable lover of his spouse. He is the destroyer, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change, both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification. Shiva’s first wife was goddess Sati. After the death of Sati, Shiva lost all interest in the world. He withdrew to his mountain top, Mount Kailash, and took residence in a cave where he immersed himself in intense meditation. Before the death of his beloved Sati, Shiva had given the boon of invulnerability to a demon named Taraka. When Shiva gave up the world and the heavens, Taraka realized that this was the perfect time to attack. Soon the demon had taken over both on heaven and earth and chaos reigned supreme everywhere. The Gods tried to do all in their power but in vain, ultimately they turned to Shiva at this dire hour. But Shiva was uninterested. According to one legend, even if Shiva wanted to do something he would not have been able to. When Sati died, Shiva also lost all his powers. The reason given for this in one of the stories of the sacred Hindu texts is that Sati is a reincarnation of Shakti and Shakti means power. So when Sati died Shiva lost his Shakti. He was powerless. Shakti represents the Energy, the force without which Shiva is incomplete. Origin of Goddess Parvati In their desperation, the Gods then turned to the goddess Shakti, imploring her to be of help. Shakti agreed to help and took the form of the goddess Parvati. Parvati was born to Himavan, the king of the mountains. Parvati means mountain as the Sanskrit word for “Parvati” is “Parvat”. An excerpt from Valmiki Ramayna describes the birth of Parvati ( Uma) and her marriage to Shiva. तस्याम् गंग इयम् अभवत् ज्येष्ठा हिमवतः सुता | उमा नाम द्वितीया अभूत् कन्या तस्य एव राघव || १-३५-१६ “From Mena, this Ganga is emerged as an elder daughter to Himavanta, and a second daughter, by her name she is Uma, is also begotten by Himavanta, oh, Raghava… [1-35-16] उग्रेण तपसा युक्ताम् ददौ शैलवरः सुताम् | रुद्राय अप्रतिरूपाय उमाम् लोक नमस्कृताम् || १-३५-२१ “And that Uma who is unified with her rigorous sacrament thus became a reverential to all the worlds, and that best one among mountains, Himavanta, gave such a daughter to Rudra, an unequalled one in His aspect… [1-35-21] Parvati’s Love for Shiva Even as a young girl Parvati was in love with Lord Shiva. As she grew older, Parvati blossomed into a stunning woman filled with grace and beauty. While she captured the hearts of many kings and princes, she only had eyes for Shiva. There is a story which mentions that in an effort to win his love and affection she decided to visit the cave where he was meditating and started cleaning and decorating it. However, he remained unmoved by her love and dedication. She also tried bringing fruits for him but he remained steadfast in his meditation. Not once did he open his eyes or acknowledge the presence of Parvati. It is said that Parvati then turned to the Goddesses of Love and Longing, Priti and Rati the consorts of Kama, the God of love and passion. They turned the cave that Shiva meditated in, into a garden of pleasure, filled with flowers, trees, birds and bees. Once the cave was packed with enchantments and wonders, they called upon Lord Kama. Upon his arrival Kama wasted no time in shooting Shiva with the arrow of desire. The arrow had no effect on Shiva, he was however intensely angered at being disturbed. Enraged, Shiva opened his third eye and reduced Kama to ashes. With the destruction of Kama, Parvati lamented to the others Gods that love has been lost to the world. She reassured them however that when Shiva accepts Parvati as his wife, Kama will be reborn. Parvati had tried everything in her power to make Shiva notice her, but nothing worked. Finally she decided to do what Sati had done to win over Shiva. Parvati left all the riches and comfort of her father’s palace and went to live in the forest as an ascetic. It is said that in her trials, Parvati surpassed even the greatest ascetics. What she went through was even greater than what Sati, Shiva’s first consort, had endured. She went through the most rigorous self-mortifications from walking in the winter snow without clothing to sitting under the hot summer sun for days, to standing on one foot motionless for long hours to eating nothing for days and surviving on the sun’s nourishment. In fact her asceticism was so intense that it is said to have been equal to that of the great Shiva. Following in his footsteps, Parvati soon had utter control over her body and her mind. Parvati’s Tapasya generated great amounts of energy and heat. This heat and energy finally reached Shiva who was shaken out of his meditation. When he was finally back in the world, Shiva wondered what or who it was that had wrenched him out of his intense tapasya. He then heard the story of how Parvati in order to have Shiva as her husband went through much rigorous self-mortification and achieved a state of asceticism almost akin to that of himself. So impressed was he by her self-sacrifice that he immediately agreed to make Parvati his consort. The excerpts ( 61-64) from the Prabhasa Khanda of the Skanda Purana gives a conversation between Shiva and Parvati, where Shiva tells Parvati : In this Varaha Kalpa, O goddess, you became Parvati obtained by Himavan through his penance, when the Chakshusha Manvantara has passed off. O beautiful lady, due to the anger of Daksha you had to be separated from me for the duration of a day of Brahma. Your span of life is the period of his six months. Marriage of Shiva and Parvati Shiva and Parvati were married in great pomp and celebration. The gods rejoiced to have Shiva back and married at the same time and the heavens blessed their union. After they were married Shiva and Parvati went back to Mount Kailash and made it their abode. It is said that once back at Mount Kailash, Shiva and Parvati proceeded to have such passionate love making that the Gods feared for the future of the world and were forced to go to Nandi and beg him to intervene! From this union, Lord Kama was reborn just as Parvati had foretold. Ever since then, Parvati and Shiva lived together in conjugal harmony, known to all as the perfect couple. Therefore, many know that Shiva and Parvati have the perfect marriage. The relationship of Shiva and Parvati has been depicted in many forms. Parvati is said to be the balancing factor in Shiva’s life only second to the intense meditation that he practices. When Shiva is angered and takes the form of Natraja, all the Gods worry that Shiva will destroy the entire cosmos, but it is Parvati who calms down the angry Lord by matching his fierce and destructive Tandava dance with her own slow, graceful steps thus complimenting him at his best and at his worst. Shiva’s personality is replete with dichotomies. On the one hand, Shiva is an ascetic who disappears from the mortal world, into Mount Kailash and meditates there. On the other hand, he is a fierce and angry God whose temper knows no bounds. He will destroy everything in his path. Through all this, Parvati brings him back to balance by pulling him towards the role of a householder. Shiv Parvati Mantra Swayamvar Parvati Mantra “Om Hreem Yoginim Yogini Yogeswari Yoga Bhayankari Sakala SthavaraJangamasya Mukha Hridayam Mama Vasam akarsha Akarshaya Namaha “ Meaning: In the first line, we praise Goddess Parvathi and in the second line, we request her to attract towards us. “Mama Vasam Akarsha” – means ‘attract towards me’. Benefits of Swayamvar Parvati Mantra Avoid Delay in marriage : Swayamvar Parvati is the most powerful mantra in removing all known & unknown obstacle in marriages. (Legend : Swayamvar parvati mantra being provided by great Sage Durvasa and recited by PARVATI to marry SHIVA. That is why it is called Swayamvara Parvati Mantra). Help in Love Marriage : “Swayamvara parvati”, best of Vashikaran Mantra, helps to Love and Marry and removes all obstacles in love & marriage provided that fate is in one’s favour. Happy Married Life : One must try this Swayamvar Parvati mantra if there is absence of happiness between husband and wife. Swayamvar parvati Mantra will help in improving positive vibration and also in increasing love between couples. Infertility (Problem in conceiving a baby) : Swayamvar parvati helps to induce positive vibration and helps in improving the love life between couples and helps a woman to conceive when fate is her favour. Avoid Divorce : By matching the wavelength and improving the understanding between people, Swayamvar parvati mantra helps in avoiding split between the couple. Swayamvar Parvati Mantra Procedure Take sankalpa (Sankalpa – Spiritual resolve/Vow) : An oath should be taken infront of Goddess with one’s name, relevant details (Parents name, Gothra, Nakshatra) and brief Goddess about one’s problem and inform Her that one does the japa 1008 times a day for 108 days with a request to remove the problems and help him/her to marry early/conceive or improve understanding. Time Taken for the Dhyana : 2 hours a day. Offerings : As usual, Deepam, Dhoop, Pushpam (Flowers), Phalam (Fruits), Naivedyam (Food) & Thamboolam (Betel leaves & nut) Aarti & Namaskarams (namaste) should be offered daily at the end of recitation of the Mantra. https://ift.tt/3sXKtTh

[sanathanadharmasblog]

GANESHA & HIS 32 FORMS SERIES

Ganesha is known by many names and has many different forms. Thirty-two forms of Ganesha are mentioned frequently in devotional literature related to Ganesha. The Ganesha-centric scripture Mudgala Purana is the first to list them.

Detailed descriptions of these 32 forms are included in the Shivanidhi portion of the 19th-century Kannada Sritattvanidhi. This was enabled by the great Mysore king, Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyaar III at the end of the 18thcentury. This book was first printed by Oriental research institute, University of Mysore. There are also sculptural representations of these thirty-two forms in the temples at Nanjangud and Chaamaraajanagar (both in Mysore district, Karnataka), done about the same time as the paintings were done. Each of the thirty-two illustrations is accompanied by a short Sanskrit meditation verse (dhyaanashloka), written in Kannada script. The meditation verses list the attributes of each form. The text says that these meditation forms are from the Mudgala Purana. The first sixteen of the forms of Ganesha are more popularly worshipped under the name Shodasha-Ganapati and the later ones are known as Ekavimsathi.

(Excerpts from the Book: Ganesha & His 32 Forms)

[tomasorban]

The Unity Keys Of Emmanuel - Ananda Bosman (excerpt)

You shall discover that there is another parallel dimensional spectrum… above your spectrum… different spectrums of dimensional frequencies. Once you have discovered these dimension’s you shall learn how to change the molecular structures [hadronic configurations] of the vehicles [hadronic space-time machines of hypergeometrical propulsion] you will be travelling in… You shall be able to take control of the molecules that will be surrounding you in a form of a shape. Via electrical signals [hadronic plasmArc flow reactors] you will be able to change their structure [iso-electron magnecules already, and hypermagnecules in future hadronic mechanics], so that they will change in shining the rays, and that way change frequency… “When you realise that you are just in one colour of the solar system, in one spectrum of it, then you shall learn to discover other areas. For the law is: “as above so below… the key to getting to the other spectrums in this solar system is by changing your molecules… even going into a more universal dimension, and being able to see the… spectrums outside of themselves, all at once… Once you are out of the… spectrums, you shall realise you are in an even larger colour spectrum, and that the solar system itself is just one colour in a far greater macroscopic colour spectrum…. That the galaxy is but one colour in a colour spectrum, and so on it is reflected from the macrocosm into the microcosm, and so on into eternity.

You shall discover that in your body, your molecules never end. How ever greatly you advance with material technology, you shall never find an end to substance in the microscopic scale [indeed, the hadronic hyperdense medium is hyperlocal, infinite, hypertemporal], and indeed in the macrocosmic, you shall never find an end to the Omniverse [also now implied by hadronic mechanics]… So you realise that your progression is infinite… And it is eternal, it shall be ever lasting… You shall be going from a centre point in consciousness to all areas: where you will be able to project yourselves into all things [via the hadronic hyperdense media in the hadronic horizon of all atoms, hyperelated], and feel it, and remain in that state, consciously, all the time [hypertime hyperconducting materia]. Being able to feel all matter… to be able to feel all things at the same time, not just on Earth, but through the universe, and by doing so knowing all of the universe [Mahat-Tattva, as described in the Purana]… and feel that at the same time in your feeling, and influence it by your thought constructively. “It is not only these multi-dimensions of colour spectrums and octaves in different scales in those octaves! You shall find, there are many areas which you cannot comprehend of now.

[rheaitis]

Padma Purana, ch 74 (Arjuna’s Wish and Its Fulfilment) [excerpts]

Then, having bathed in this lake, and having gone to the bank of the eastern lake, and having bathed in its water, accomplish your desire (i.e. desired object).” 

Then having heard the words, when Arjuna plunged into the water of the lake, which was tinged with the pollen dropped from white lotuses, lotuses opening on moonrise, (other) lotuses and red and blue lotuses, and which was agree- ably perfumed with honey-drops, which was shaken by the notes of corpulent swans, whose four banks were decked with jewels, which had ripples due to gentle breezes, she vanished just there. The charmingly smiling one got up and on seeing around, was confused. 

He instantly saw himself (to be turned into) a wonderful, excellent lady, who had a slim, fair, charming body like the rays of pure gold, whose age was that of a sparkling youth, whose face resembled the autumnal moon, whose hair was very dark, curly, glossy and shining with jewels, whose curls of hair on the plate (-like forehead) were brightened up due to the rays from the mark of red lead, who had vanquished Cupid’s bow due to the knittings of the creeper-like eyebrows being manifest, whose wagtail-like eyes were dark like clouds and sportive, whose round cheeks were sparkling due to the bright lustre of the jewelled ear-rings, whose wonderful creeper-like arms were delicate like lotus-stalks, whose sprout-like hands took away all the beauty of autumnal lotuses, who had put on a waist-band made of gold and arranged cleverly, whose hips were shining with jingling girdles, whose beautiful place of hips was covered with a shining garment, whose lotus-like feet were very charming due to the jingling jewelled anklets, who possessed the skill in the various arts of love being manifested, who was endowed with all {good) characteristics, who was adorned with all ornaments. 

 Due to the illusion of (i.e. created by) the lover of the cowherdesses he forgot whatever belonged to his former body; and after that, being very much astonished, stood there, not knowing what to do.

[... interlude with goddesses including Radhika]

She saw Krishna whose hair was very glossy, dark, curly and fragrantly perfumed; on whose head was tied the best tail of a peacock intoxicated with madness; on whose left side was the ear-ornament of flowers resorted to by bees; who was shining with the mirrors of his cheeks, bright with the bee-like hair; who was shining with the beauty of the large forehead having a beautiful mark; whose nose was lovely like the sesamum-flower and the eagle’s beak ; whose lips were charming and like the bimba fruits; who inflamed passion of love with his gentle smile; who looked lovely due to the necklace resembling a wild flower; whose both large and charming shoulders were shining with the garland (of the flowers) of the divine tree, resorted to by thousands of intoxicated female bees; who was adorned with the Kaustubha on the region of the chest shining with a pearl necklace; who had the mark of Srivatsa, who was attractive on account of his hands hanging up to the knees; who was very handsome on account of having his waist like that of a lion and with a deep navel; who was lovely due to not long and very round knees like a good tree; who was adorned with excel- lent ornaments like bracelets, armlets, and anklets; whose hips were covered with a portion of his yellow garment ; who had vanquished a crore of Cupids in beauty by means of his loveliness; who enchanted (others) by means of charming songs proceeding from his flute; who made the three worlds plunge into the ocean of happiness; who had the arrogance of Cupid in every part of his body; who was tired due to his interest in dancing.

There were deities appointed at respective places, observing his internal feelings, having fixed their eyes on his face, who were in due order and with respect carrying separately a chowrie, a fan, a flower, a perfume, sandal, and tambula, a mirror, a drinking vessel, a spitting pot, and also other objects of sport, so also frankincense and an amulet.

Arjunlya, having seen in confusion on the left side of the pleasing goddess Radhika, propitiating and offering a tambula to him of a bright smile, was overcome with the passion of love. 

Then Krishna, who knew everything, knowing her to be like that, seized her hand, and he the lord, the great master of magical art secretly sported with her in the entire pleasure-forest. 

Then putting his sport-like arm on her shoulder and coming to Sarada, said to her: “Bathe quickly this slim-bodied lady of a gentle smile, fatigued due to sport, in this western lake.” Then that goddess Sarada (took her) to the western lake, (and) said to her, “Take bath”. 

The fatigued one did like that. She who got to the interior of the water, again turned into Arjuna and got up at the place where the lord of gods and the chief of the beautiful Vaikuntha stood. Seeing Arjuna dejected and broken-minded, Krishna kindly touched him with his hand and put him (back) to his nature.

(https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.100006/2015.100006.The-Padma-purana-Part-6_djvu.txt)

for @parlegee

[parbhjotsingh09]

#TruthBehindTheClaims

Excerpts from Shiv Purana will cover the following.

Who is the father of Lord Shiva (Shri Shiv / Shankar Ji)?

Who is the mother of Lord Shiva (Shri Shiv / Shankar Ji)

[murli-kii-dhun]

Source : Page 5, Vishnu Purana; Translated by Bibek Debroy; First published in Penguin Books by Penguin Random House India 2022

[geetaram]

#TruthBehindTheClaims

Excerpts from Shiv Purana will cover the following.

Who is the father of Lord Shiva (Shri Shiv / Shankar Ji)?

Who is the mother of Lord Shiva (Shri Shiv / Shankar Ji)?

[blessed1neha]

Who were parent and siblings of Ravana

The parents of Rāvaṇa were Viśravas (Brahmin) and Kaikasī (Rakshas). Viśravas is the son of Pulastya Brahma, one of the mind born son of the creator Brahma.

What were the names of Ravana's brothers and sisters?

The lineage of Viśravas is explained in detail in Chapter 8 of Upodghata Pada of Brahmanda Purana.

38-40: Viśravas married Devavarṇinī, the daughter of Brihaspati, Puṣpotkaṭā and Vākā, the daughters of Mālyavān, Kaikasī, the daughter of Mālin. Listen to his children begot of these. Devavarṇinī gave birth to Vaiśravaṇa the eldest son.

44-46: On seeing him, his father said "This is Kubera(the ugly bodied one)". He was Kubera on account of his deformed body. He was thus marked by his name. Since he was the son of Viśravas and also due to his resemblance, he would be known by the name Vaiśravaṇa.

47. Kaikasī gave birth to Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa and śūrpaṇakhā, a daughter. Vibhīṣaṇa is the fourth among her children.

55-56. Mahodara, Prahasta, Mahāpārśva and Khara were the sons of Puṣpotkaṭā. She had a daughter (named) Kumbhinasī. Also Triśiras Dūṣaṇa and Vidyujjihva the Rākṣasā are remembered as the sons of Vākā. There was a daughter named Anupālikā.

57. Thus these ten Rākṣasās, the descendants of Pulastya, were of very cruel activities. They were of very terrible pursuits ever since their birth. All of these were unassailable even to the devas.

Hence from the above excerpt of Brahmanda Purana, it is clear that Rāvaṇa had thirteen siblings(10 brothers and 3 sisters). They were:

Kubera

Kumbhakarṇa

śūrpaṇakhā

Vibhīṣaṇa

Mahodara

Prahasta

Mahāpārśva

Khara

Kumbhinasī

Triśiras

Dūṣaṇa

Vidyujjihva

Anupālikā

From verse 57, we know that only ten of these are of cruel activity and other four are not. But it is not mentioned who are those cruel descendants.

In addition to the other answers, it is also important to trace the lineage of Kaikasi to understand Ravana's adharmic actions.

A Pishacha (wicked ghostly cannibal) named Aj had a daughter named Jantudhanaa. She married Rakshasa (fierce cannibalistic younger son of Kashyapa and Khashaa) and had a daughter named Yatudhana. In turn, Yatudhana gave birth to Heti, Praheti and 8 others [Ref: Brahmanda Purana Upodghaata paada 7.43-90]. All her descendants are called Yatudhana-Rakshasas.

Heti’s descendants were Malyavan, Sumali and Mali. Kaikasi (daughter of Yatudhana-Rakshasa Sumali) married Vishrava (son of the pious Rishi Pulastya). Their children were Ravana, Kumbhakarana, Surphanka and Vibhishana [Ref: Ramayana 7.4-5, 7.9]. They and their descendants were the Kaikasi-Rakshasas or simply Rakshasas.

Thus, Ravana was a son of a Brahmin father and a Yatudhana-Rakshasa (hybrid descendant of a Pishacha and a Rakshasa) mother.

Source: 'Essence of the Fifth Veda' by Gaurang Damani page 14.

[strings2book]

Before Going through the book first of all "TAKE A BOW" for author's 5 years hardship to study then 3 years brainstorming struggle to transfer his thoughts into a book. The book has 9 chapters deeply studied magnificently analysed. First one is "compendium of excerpts from the secret of the Vedas & the Vedic paradigm". It focuses on the briefs that are extracted from Vedas & the examples which are used to justify the point of views. Second one is talked about the origin of Rig Veda which is a quite informative where you can able to know different kinds of arguments about the origin of it in a quite detailed manner. Third one is about the vedas & other mythological knowledgeable books like Upanishads, Shaastras, puranas, itihasas & sutras. Here author described about everything briefly but not skipped anything. The next one & one of the most important one is "Know the Vedas" where it just makes me understand about Vedas in very less number of pages. Moving forward there are chapters which are based on the translations of video talks of "Brahmasri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma" which are based on "Ganapathi Vaibhavam", "Vishnu Sahasranamam", "Sri Rudra Bhashyam", "Gajendra Moksham" those are giving a real depth of learning. To know more about it grab the book & give it a try. 🙂Cover of the book is not good at all.Just a simple om & that's it. I feel it can be more aesthetic & more classy. 🙂Writing style of the book is quite impressive & the hard work author done before writing the book can be easily marked. 🙂Use of multiple languages in an absolute crispy way where every reader can relate to it & the way author helped to understand the Tamil words is just eased the reading experience. 🙂The uses of examples from Vedas, talking points of all other spiritual books gives an enhancement to your journey through the book. 🙂The highlighted bold italic texts & subtitles & images just simplified it's complexity 🙂The research author did is limited to the first chap only what I felt. Bcz moving forward others are quite genuine but simple chapters & the translated ones are just the explanation of those videos. 🙂 A nice handout about Vedas. 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑:-🌟🌟🌟🌠 (at ITER) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaaF0R6Jeyd/?utm_medium=tumblr

[templepurohit]

Shiva is the God of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a remarkable lover of his spouse. He is the destroyer, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change, both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification. Shiva’s first wife was goddess Sati. After the death of Sati, Shiva lost all interest in the world. He withdrew to his mountain top, Mount Kailash, and took residence in a cave where he immersed himself in intense meditation. Before the death of his beloved Sati, Shiva had given the boon of invulnerability to a demon named Taraka. When Shiva gave up the world and the heavens, Taraka realized that this was the perfect time to attack. Soon the demon had taken over both on heaven and earth and chaos reigned supreme everywhere. The Gods tried to do all in their power but in vain, ultimately they turned to Shiva at this dire hour. But Shiva was uninterested. According to one legend, even if Shiva wanted to do something he would not have been able to. When Sati died, Shiva also lost all his powers. The reason given for this in one of the stories of the sacred Hindu texts is that Sati is a reincarnation of Shakti and Shakti means power. So when Sati died Shiva lost his Shakti. He was powerless. Shakti represents the Energy, the force without which Shiva is incomplete. Origin of Goddess Parvati In their desperation, the Gods then turned to the goddess Shakti, imploring her to be of help. Shakti agreed to help and took the form of the goddess Parvati. Parvati was born to Himavan, the king of the mountains. Parvati means mountain as the Sanskrit word for “Parvati” is “Parvat”. An excerpt from Valmiki Ramayna describes the birth of Parvati ( Uma) and her marriage to Shiva. तस्याम् गंग इयम् अभवत् ज्येष्ठा हिमवतः सुता | उमा नाम द्वितीया अभूत् कन्या तस्य एव राघव || १-३५-१६ “From Mena, this Ganga is emerged as an elder daughter to Himavanta, and a second daughter, by her name she is Uma, is also begotten by Himavanta, oh, Raghava… [1-35-16] उग्रेण तपसा युक्ताम् ददौ शैलवरः सुताम् | रुद्राय अप्रतिरूपाय उमाम् लोक नमस्कृताम् || १-३५-२१ “And that Uma who is unified with her rigorous sacrament thus became a reverential to all the worlds, and that best one among mountains, Himavanta, gave such a daughter to Rudra, an unequalled one in His aspect… [1-35-21] Parvati’s Love for Shiva Even as a young girl Parvati was in love with Lord Shiva. As she grew older, Parvati blossomed into a stunning woman filled with grace and beauty. While she captured the hearts of many kings and princes, she only had eyes for Shiva. There is a story which mentions that in an effort to win his love and affection she decided to visit the cave where he was meditating and started cleaning and decorating it. However, he remained unmoved by her love and dedication. She also tried bringing fruits for him but he remained steadfast in his meditation. Not once did he open his eyes or acknowledge the presence of Parvati. It is said that Parvati then turned to the Goddesses of Love and Longing, Priti and Rati the consorts of Kama, the God of love and passion. They turned the cave that Shiva meditated in, into a garden of pleasure, filled with flowers, trees, birds and bees. Once the cave was packed with enchantments and wonders, they called upon Lord Kama. Upon his arrival Kama wasted no time in shooting Shiva with the arrow of desire. The arrow had no effect on Shiva, he was however intensely angered at being disturbed. Enraged, Shiva opened his third eye and reduced Kama to ashes. With the destruction of Kama, Parvati lamented to the others Gods that love has been lost to the world. She reassured them however that when Shiva accepts Parvati as his wife, Kama will be reborn. Parvati had tried everything in her power to make Shiva notice her, but nothing worked. Finally she decided to do what Sati had done to win over Shiva. Parvati left all the riches and comfort of her father’s palace and went to live in the forest as an ascetic. It is said that in her trials, Parvati surpassed even the greatest ascetics. What she went through was even greater than what Sati, Shiva’s first consort, had endured. She went through the most rigorous self-mortifications from walking in the winter snow without clothing to sitting under the hot summer sun for days, to standing on one foot motionless for long hours to eating nothing for days and surviving on the sun’s nourishment. In fact her asceticism was so intense that it is said to have been equal to that of the great Shiva. Following in his footsteps, Parvati soon had utter control over her body and her mind. Parvati’s Tapasya generated great amounts of energy and heat. This heat and energy finally reached Shiva who was shaken out of his meditation. When he was finally back in the world, Shiva wondered what or who it was that had wrenched him out of his intense tapasya. He then heard the story of how Parvati in order to have Shiva as her husband went through much rigorous self-mortification and achieved a state of asceticism almost akin to that of himself. So impressed was he by her self-sacrifice that he immediately agreed to make Parvati his consort. The excerpts ( 61-64) from the Prabhasa Khanda of the Skanda Purana gives a conversation between Shiva and Parvati, where Shiva tells Parvati : In this Varaha Kalpa, O goddess, you became Parvati obtained by Himavan through his penance, when the Chakshusha Manvantara has passed off. O beautiful lady, due to the anger of Daksha you had to be separated from me for the duration of a day of Brahma. Your span of life is the period of his six months. Marriage of Shiva and Parvati Shiva and Parvati were married in great pomp and celebration. The gods rejoiced to have Shiva back and married at the same time and the heavens blessed their union. After they were married Shiva and Parvati went back to Mount Kailash and made it their abode. It is said that once back at Mount Kailash, Shiva and Parvati proceeded to have such passionate love making that the Gods feared for the future of the world and were forced to go to Nandi and beg him to intervene! From this union, Lord Kama was reborn just as Parvati had foretold. Ever since then, Parvati and Shiva lived together in conjugal harmony, known to all as the perfect couple. Therefore, many know that Shiva and Parvati have the perfect marriage. The relationship of Shiva and Parvati has been depicted in many forms. Parvati is said to be the balancing factor in Shiva’s life only second to the intense meditation that he practices. When Shiva is angered and takes the form of Natraja, all the Gods worry that Shiva will destroy the entire cosmos, but it is Parvati who calms down the angry Lord by matching his fierce and destructive Tandava dance with her own slow, graceful steps thus complimenting him at his best and at his worst. Shiva’s personality is replete with dichotomies. On the one hand, Shiva is an ascetic who disappears from the mortal world, into Mount Kailash and meditates there. On the other hand, he is a fierce and angry God whose temper knows no bounds. He will destroy everything in his path. Through all this, Parvati brings him back to balance by pulling him towards the role of a householder. Shiv Parvati Mantra Swayamvar Parvati Mantra “Om Hreem Yoginim Yogini Yogeswari Yoga Bhayankari Sakala SthavaraJangamasya Mukha Hridayam Mama Vasam akarsha Akarshaya Namaha “ Meaning: In the first line, we praise Goddess Parvathi and in the second line, we request her to attract towards us. “Mama Vasam Akarsha” – means ‘attract towards me’. Benefits of Swayamvar Parvati Mantra Avoid Delay in marriage : Swayamvar Parvati is the most powerful mantra in removing all known & unknown obstacle in marriages. (Legend : Swayamvar parvati mantra being provided by great Sage Durvasa and recited by PARVATI to marry SHIVA. That is why it is called Swayamvara Parvati Mantra). Help in Love Marriage : “Swayamvara parvati”, best of Vashikaran Mantra, helps to Love and Marry and removes all obstacles in love & marriage provided that fate is in one’s favour. Happy Married Life : One must try this Swayamvar Parvati mantra if there is absence of happiness between husband and wife. Swayamvar parvati Mantra will help in improving positive vibration and also in increasing love between couples. Infertility (Problem in conceiving a baby) : Swayamvar parvati helps to induce positive vibration and helps in improving the love life between couples and helps a woman to conceive when fate is her favour. Avoid Divorce : By matching the wavelength and improving the understanding between people, Swayamvar parvati mantra helps in avoiding split between the couple. Swayamvar Parvati Mantra Procedure Take sankalpa (Sankalpa – Spiritual resolve/Vow) : An oath should be taken infront of Goddess with one’s name, relevant details (Parents name, Gothra, Nakshatra) and brief Goddess about one’s problem and inform Her that one does the japa 1008 times a day for 108 days with a request to remove the problems and help him/her to marry early/conceive or improve understanding. Time Taken for the Dhyana : 2 hours a day. Offerings : As usual, Deepam, Dhoop, Pushpam (Flowers), Phalam (Fruits), Naivedyam (Food) & Thamboolam (Betel leaves & nut) Aarti & Namaskarams (namaste) should be offered daily at the end of recitation of the Mantra. https://ift.tt/2FvEIXe

[cerebralknots]

THE SECRET DOCTRINE: THE EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE OF “THE FALL

”The allegory of “the Fall” is connected with the evolution of humanity, but there are seven keys to the complete understanding of the mystery of the Fall. Therefore, “the Fall” is a universal allegory that relates to cosmic and human evolution. There are two "Falls" in Theology: the rebellion of the Archangels and their "Fall," and the "Fall" of Adam and Eve; however, the general understanding of the rebellion and so-called original sin is founded on misconception. Both “Falls” are considered in The Esoteric Philosophy” as Karmic effects, and both belong to the law of Evolution. The “rebellion” of the angels refers to intellectual and spiritual evolution, whereas, the “fall” of Adam and Eve is symbolic of physical and psychic human evolution. The allegory of the “War in Heaven” is found in Hesiod in the conflict between the Titans and the gods, and in the Puranas as the war of the Asuras against the devas. Names may change, but their meaning is the same.The “War in Heaven” allegorizes the descent of spiritual consciousness and its differentiating intellection into individual mind beings who rebel against the spiritual inertia of that plane and willfully become more involved in matter in accord with cyclic law. In other words, it is the fall of spirit into matter. From the lower viewpoint, it is the succumbing of individual self-consciousness to the power of matter and its rebellion against the divine spiritual impulse. The fall of Adam and Eve allegorizes the later psychophysiological and physical changes that take place during the Third Root-Race when humanity differentiates into two sexes and is endowed with self-conscious mind.This study is based on the content of SD II, pp. 62-63.———————————

Excerpt:“Moreover there are two "Falls" in Theology: the rebellion of the Archangels and their "Fall," and the "Fall" of Adam and Eve. Thus the lower as well as the higher Hierarchies are charged with a supposed crime. The word "supposed" is the true and correct term, for in both cases it is founded on misconception....And here lies the germ of an error which has had such disastrous effects on the intelligence of civilized societies for over 1,800 years.” (SD II, pg. 62)

[travelnew]

GAJANTAK: Slayer of the Elephant Demon.

One of the Puranas describes the tale of Gajasurasamhara/ Gajantak / Gajaha as follows: When a demon (Rakshasa) assumed the form of an elephant and terrorized Brahmins who were worshipping Him, Shiva emerged & slew the demon, and removed the elephant skin, thereafter wearing the hide on his upper body. One can still see the curve of the elephant's skin behind Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva is depicted as being engrossed in his energetic dance. May be his leg is on the slain elephant demon's head and the other leg raised in mid air striking a dance pose. The jatamukuta or the crown is embedded with skulls.His face is fearsome with round rolling eyes and protruding fangs.

How we wish to see the sculpture in its full glory at the Ambarnath Shiv Mandir!

(Excerpts from Wikipedia, Ambarnath Shivalaya book by Dr KK).

Click the photos for them to enlarge and read the captions.

(I am not an expert; just curious who is joining the pieces of the crossword puzzle).