Krishna:Death by many CURSE:Adapted from The Mahabharatha-1

CURSE OF GANDHARI

Kurukshetra was silent. The battle had come to an end and the war ground was strewn with bodies of royal and commoners alike. The Pandavas were not rejoicing their win. Rather they were devasted at the destruction that a single war had caused. Stunned and speechless, they scanned the ground for people in need of help.

“Duryodhanaaaaaaaaaaa….”, shrieked a voice from far far away, “Dhur… Dhuryodhanaaaa. My son, open your eyes. Speak… Speak to me my first born… Speak to me… A hundred did we bear, all fine and proud. Was it for such a foolish end. Dhuryodhana…. speak out.. SPEAK OUT…” Gandhari, was bent over the bloody mess of  her son’s body, tears pouring down, slurring her speech. Her husband, the blind king Dritharashtra stood by, looking helpless.

The Pandavas along with Krishna hurried over to Gandhari and the King, to offer their respects, apologies and condolences. Gandhari, however, totally ignored them and aided by Sanjaya, came up to Krishna.”You”, she shouted,”You, the young king of Dwaraka. You, who I worshipped everyday, as Vishnu himself and You, who I know to be an avatar of the supreme godhead. Are’nt you ashamed of your doings? Should’nt you have averted this war with your divine will and power? Is this what you do to your own creation? I have requested you, each and every day in the past troubled times to avert this disaster. Is this how you answer my prayers? Ask yor mother, Devaki, the pain of losing a child. She had seven of her children being killed at birth and now I have seen a hundred sons of mine being butchered to death” Gandhari, was shaking, her anger. She was shocked to hear that Krishna was laughing gently at her. 

Her fury vent itself out, “Do you smile after all this? What a nerve you have. Listen to this, oh mocking God. If my years of Vishnu Bhakthi have been true, and if my PathiBhakthi since my marriage has been unshaken and strong, then, may you die in 36 years from today. May Dwaraka be flooded and may every one of your Yadava kin perish by killing each other, just as you made the kins of Kuru kill one another. Since the Yadavas cannot be killed by any other race, they will die at each other’s hands. May the Yadavas die out…. may the Yadavas die out….”

Ganesh and Ravan the Demon

Here I come with my second story of lord Ganesh

Ganesh and Ravan the Demon

As we all are aware about the demon Ravan from Ramayana. He was defeated by lord Ram. The story is, once Ravan took under very difficult tapas. As a repercussion Lord Shiva appeared to him. Ravan asked for a boon that his kingdom and he itself could not be damage or destroyed. As a present Shiva gave him a Shiv Lingam which is called as symbol of lord Shiva and asked him to bring this back to his kingdom and place it in the temple with requisite rituals.

After placing the Shiv Lingam in his temple he would become unconquerable. But there was a condition; whatever happens he had responsibility of not laying down the Lingam on the floor.

Overjoyed, Ravan welcome the Lingam. The Deva were afraid of the power that Ravan could obtain. They requested Lord Ganesh before any action. Then Varun Dev, Lord of water entered into the abdomen of Ravan causing in some trouble which forced him to stop on his way. Ravan was disturbed with the pain but at the same time he was careful of not laying down the Lingam. He saw a young Brahman coming on the same way he called him and asked to hold the Lingam for a movement.

As soon as Ravan deposited the Lingam to the young Brahman; the Brahman shouted for help for 3 times getting no reply he put the Lingam on the ground. When Ravan came back and saw the Lingam on the ground he was very angry and dismissed the boy who just appeared to be Lord Ganesh in reality. Ravan had the power of Lingam so Lord Ganesh could easily quench the devil, kicking to the sky. Ravan realized his limitation and power of Lord Ganesh.

The place where Shiv Lingam was deposit is called Gokarna, and is located in Karnataka western coast; it is a worshiping place till nowadays.

Female Avatar of Lord Ganesh

Unknown Stories of Lord Ganesha

Through this secession I would like to tell you some unknown stories of lord Ganesh which will let you know some more things about him and his various avatars. Daily a new story of him so stay tuned daily..

Female Avatar of Lord Ganesh     

    

The female form of Ganesh emerged in the 16th century when a separate sect of religion called tantric came in existence. The sect was popularized because they were worshiping the female avatar of lord Ganesh. The tantric believed that female avatar is source of generative power where as the male is responsible for implanting life.

The Purans mention Malini the elephant headed colleague of goddess Parvati. She was the nursemaid of Lord Ganesh. Therefore female avatar of Ganesh is nothing but an exaggerated description of Malini.

The birth of female form of Lord Ganesh Vinayaki is mentioned in the Matsaya Puran. You have learnt the story of the demon Andhaka who wanted to marry goddess Parvati. He also tried to take her by Lord Shiva who injured him by his trishul. Andhaka have a boon that when the blood trill from his body and touched ground every drop would turn into new Andhaka.

Parvati called all the deities and asked them to fight with the demon in their female form. So Indrani, Vaishnavi and Brahmani came forward to fight Andhaka and absorb the blood before it touched the ground. It was finally Lord Ganesha’s female form Vinayaki who drank the whole blood of Andhaka and helped the deities to destroy Andhaka.

Why do we celebrate Dussehra

                              Ya devi sarva bhutesu, shanti rupena sansitha
                             Ya devi sarva bhutesu, shakti rupena sansthita
                             Ya devi sarva bhutesu, matra rupena sansthita
                       Namastasyai, namastasyai, namastasyai, namo namaha!

Meaning:-          

                 The goddess who is omnipresent as the personification of universal mother
                         The goddess who is omnipresent as the embodiment of power
                         The goddess who is omnipresent as the symbol of peace
                             I bow to her, I bow to her, I bow to her again & again.

Dussehra also known as Vijayadashmi which means ‘Vijay’ means victory and ‘Dashmi’ means the tenth day. It is said that on this day Lord Ram killed the demon-king Ravan and rescued his wife Sita. In other word it is a triumph of good over evil.The legendary triumph is reenacted to the day. In the northern parts of India, huge effigies of Ravana, his giant brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghnath are placed in vast open grounds. Fireworks and crackers are placed inside the effigies.

The program starts before 10 days of the day. The whole act is enacted telling the whole story of Ramayana. The actor dress as Lord Ram along with his wife Sita and brother Laxman. They enact the climax after the battle climax of war with Ravan the actor playing lord Ram shoots a flaming arrow towards the effigies of Ravana and the crowd burst into cheers with the lightning up of the fire.

As India is a country with many religions the Dussehra is also celebrated in different manner in Kolkata. Kolkata celebrate Dussehra as their main festival as Durga Pooja. This day is mark as the end of Durga Pooja nine days celebration popularly named as Navratri. Vijayadashmi is dedicated to Mother Goddess Shakti, who incarnated in the form of Goddess Durga, a combined manifestation of the divine energies of the Holy Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and all the other devatas, when they summoned her to kill the mighty demon known as Mahishasura and freed the world from his terror.

On this day the idol of Goddess Durga is immersed into the water after nine days of festival. It is belived that people at the eastern part of India adopt Durga as their daughter and thus she visits her parent house every year during last four days of Navratri. She comes with her son lord Ganesh and Kartikey, along with daughter Laxmi and Saraswati. She finally left for her husband house on Vijayadashmi.

Although the motive to celebrate it remains the same, triumph of good over evil. 

Ayyappaa

Pilgrims from around the country brave the dense forests, steep hills and inclement weather to seek the blessings of Ayyappa on the 14h day of January, known as Makar Sankranti or Pongal, when the Lord himself is said to descend in the form of light, known as “Makara Vilaku”.

So the question over here is who was Ayyappa & who were his parents?

Ayyappan is the Hindu god of growth, particularly popular in Kerala. Ayyappan is also referred to as Ayyappa, Sastavu, Hariharaputra, Manikandan, Shasta or Dharma Shasta.

But who are his parents a probable unknown story which would be revealed in this blog.

Ayyappa =

Ayya (Shiva) +

Appa( Lord Vishnu )

So as we all know that there was a female form of Vishnu named Mohini which occurred during “Samdra Manthan” after Vishnu deceived the demons in his female form, Shiva wanted to see the bewildering Mohini again. When Vishnu agreed and revealed his Mohini form, Shiva got lured by Mohini, while the abandoned wife Parvati looked on. Shiva is overcome by Kama (love and desire). His 'unfailing' seed escaped and fell on the ground. From these seeds of Shiva, Ayyappa was born.

Ayyappa is also known as 'Hariharan Puthran' or 'Hariharaputra,' which literally means the son of both 'Hari' or Vishnu and 'Haran' or Shiva.

Another reason for Ayyappa was born is also mention in the Puran saying the story that when Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasur, and his sister, Mahishi set out to avenge her brother's death.

Mahishi had a boon from Lord Brahma that only a child born of Lord Vishnu and Shiva could slay her, so She was indestructible.

To save the world from annihilation, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Mohini, and wed Shiva, and thus Lord Ayyappa was born.

So were u aware about them do comment and like the post and stay tune for more...

Good & Bad Omens

A superstition is a belief in something that is not justified by reason or evidence. It means to believe in something blindly without verification. Indian beliefs and superstitions are passed down from generation to generation. Most of these beliefs sprung up to provide protection from evil spirits, but some were based on scientific reasoning.

Though Indian society is fast progressing, there are many people who are still superstitious and have a strong faith in these local beliefs. Superstitions are seen as important in India, because they often predict future occurrences, which can be either good or bad.

So there are two types of Omens one which are Good and one which are considered Bad…

LET’S LOOK AT GOOD OMENs first

When someone, who is going on a trip, sees a married lady with flowers on her head, and kumkum on her forehead, it is believed that the trip will be successful.

If you see an elephant on your way to your destination, your purpose of going will be fruitful. It is believed that Lord Ganesh, the elephant God of Indian mythology, removes all the obstacles on the way.

If you hear a lizard making a noise on the ceiling or on the wall, while a discussion is going on, it is a good omen, letting you know that the other person speaks the truth.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO BAD OMENs !!!

If you are going somewhere and see a cat, especially black, it is considered to be a very bad omen.
Continuous hiccups are considered a sign that someone close to you is remembering you in a negative way.

If a female's right hand is itchy, it is not good. It is an indication that she is going to get some bad news On the other hand, if it is the left hand that itches, then it is good. However, if a male's left hand is itchy, then it is not good. It shows that he is going to cry soon. He is lucky if his right hand is itchy.

In some parts of the country, it is believed that Monday is not an auspicious day for shaving or cutting hair.

Thursdays and Saturdays are not good for washing hair.

Tuesday is believed to be a bad day to reach anybody's home from a journey.

Saturday is considered bad for purchasing metal or leather, as it brings bad luck in terms of financial prosperity.

So we saw that there are two types of believes one which are bad and one which are good in next blog I would be speaking about astrology so stay tuned and if you know any such believe which others don't do write it down In comment box...

Lord Rama Death

No text, being human creation, is free from flaws – it is the human mind that should be conscientious enough to accept their good elements and discard the bad ones.

Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Lord Rama is referred within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man or Lord of Self-Control or Lord of Virtue. His life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life and time. A lot of people are not aware of how Sri Rama died. The answer to this question is extremely fascinating as it holds several mysterious and enthralling stories.

So it is said that Lord Ram ruled Ayodhya for 11,000 years after ruling so many years Time came to meet Rama in form of sage. He asked Rama that no one should enter the Room and if someone does he would take his life. Rama asked Laxman to be the guard on the door. Time said Rama that his time has came and he should return to vaikunta. Even as this conversation is going on, another sage, Durvasa Maharishi - known for his hot temper - appears outside the room and demands an immediate audience with Shri Rama.

Lakshmana tries to explain the situation to Durvasa Maharishi, but he displays his proverbial temper and threatens to curse Lakshmana if he is not allowed inside. Lakshmana is flummoxed. Disobey his brother or suffer a curse? Somehow, Lakshmana realises that this situation was the hint to him to take a final way out. Indeed, he steps into the Sarayu river and takes the form of Ananta Sesha, the many-headed serpent.

Rama, meanwhile, is already preparing to conclude the Rama avatar of Maha Vishnu. Learning of Lakshmana's story, he too walks down to Sarayu river, accompanied by (invisible) devas, since he is the personification of Maha Vishnu.

This is how Rama Avatar of Lord Vishnu ends…