texts:
The Supreme Lord, Vishnu is said to recline on an ocean of milk. This is mentioned in Bhagavatam 8.5.24:

śrī-śuka uvāca
ity ābhāṣya surān vedhāḥ
saha devair arindama |
ajitasya padaṁ sākṣāj
agāma tamasaḥ param ||
Śrī Śuka said: O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, subduer of all enemies, after Lord Brahmā finished speaking to the demigods, he took them with him to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is beyond this material world. The Lord's abode is on an island called Śvetadvīpa, which is situated in the ocean of milk.

In the Bhagavatam, the churning of the milk ocean by the Devas and the Daityas is also described in great detail. Here is one of these verses:

kṣīrodadhāv amara-dānava-yūthapānām
unmathnatām amṛta-labdhaya ādi-devaḥ |
pṛṣṭhena kacchapa-vapur vidadhāra gotraṁ
nidrākṣaṇo 'dri-parivarta-kaṣāṇa-kaṇḍūḥ ||
The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the ocean of milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.

It is written in the Bhagavatam 5.20.18 that the Dvipa (island) known as Kushadvipa, which is a part of the Bhumandala (the Earth) is surrounded by an ocean of milk:

tathā ghṛtodād bahiḥ krauñcadvīpo dvi-guṇaḥ sva-mānena
kṣīrodena parita upakḷpto vṛto yathā kuśadvīpo ghṛtodena
yasmin krauñco nāma parvata-rājo dvīpa-nāma-nirvartaka āste
Outside the ocean of clarified butter is another island, known as Krauñcadvīpa, which has a width of 1,600,000 yojanas [12,800,000 miles], twice the width of the ocean of clarified butter. As Kuśadvīpa is surrounded by an ocean of clarified butter, Krauñcadvīpa is surrounded by an ocean of milk as broad as the island itself. On Krauñcadvīpa there is a great mountain known as Krauñca, from which the island takes its name.

Now my question is that are all these three oceans of milk (the one on which Vishnu lies, the one that was churned by the Devas and Daityas, the one that surrounds Kusadvipa) the same ocean?


texts:
Veganism is refraining from consuming dairy products.

There are spiritual benefits of vegetarianism, meaning it gives lots of punya.

But does following veganism give punya?


texts: Stature of humans throughout the four Yugas

texts: In the Puranas, there are at least two stories that describe the difference between the human stature in Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga - the story of Muchukunda and Revati and Kakudmi . In these stories the central characters from Treta Yuga observe that in the Dwapara yuga humans have decrease in stature and their metal and spiritual process are markedly declined. But, contrary to these stories in the Vamana Avatar of Vishnu, which is said to reflect the evolution of life from animals to various stages of human development, the human form is that of a midget. Is there a contradiction between these stories?


texts: On the mandukya upanishad and the state of deep sleep

texts:
The question is how do we know that turiyam persists in the deep sleep state?

The Mandukya Upanishad suggests that we inhabit 3 identifiable sources of consciousness that is namely and a 4th one simply called Turiyam meaning the fourth which persists in all of these 3 variable states OR is the only persistence within these three:

Waking state
Dream state
Deep sleep state

Vedanta seems to hold the position that that which changes is not the ultimate reality and it makes intuitive sense to me. I also understand how consciousness or the watcher is present in the dream state and the waking state.

I always have an issue with the deep sleep part. Let us assume consciousness is not the permanent reality and an  epiphenomenon of the brain just for the sake of argument. Then during deep sleep, this consciousness is "turned off" simply; and it is the memory of lost time that enables us to account for that lost time in deep sleep, after we have entered the waking consciousness. Similarly for general anesthesia when drugs simply stop all brain activity associated with experiencing anything. Why should anyone assume then that turiyam persists in the deep sleep when one cannot comment anything about deep sleep? Sounds like an assumption to me. Saying that consciousness is present in the deep sleep state but simply has nothing to illuminate can also be said as there is a deep sleep experience yet the consciousness itself doesn't exist at that point. Does it make logical sense?


texts: Why Revantha the youngest Son of Sun god went to Vishnu's abode?

texts: Why "Revantha" the youngest son of Sun god went to Vishnu's abode?


texts: How did Nahusha marry Viraja, daughter of the Pitris?

texts:
Most people are only familiar with the lunar dynasty king Yayati, who was cursed with old age by Sukracharya (guru of the Asuras) and regained his youth by giving his old age to his youngest son Puru.  Puru, along with Yayati's eldest son Yadu, started two of the most famous royal families, the Pauravas and the Yadavas.   Less famous, however, is Yayati's father Nahusha.  Nahusha was such a good king on Earth that when Indra temporarily abandoned his post, the gods chose Nahusha to serve as the new king of the three worlds.  But Nahusha was soon corrupted by his power, so the sage Agastya cursed him to become a large snake.  Nahusha was only freed from the curse when he had a conversation with the Pandava Yudishthira about the proper way he should have lived his life, as described in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata.

But my question is about Nahusha's wife.  I gather from several sources that his wife was Viraja, a mind-born daughter of the Pitris, or ghosts of departed ancestors.

Here is what the Harivamsa says, for instance:

  the ancestors of Kardama Prajapati are the descendants of Pulaha Prajapati, and these are the fatherly gods collectively termed as Susvadhas ... [T]he brainchild of this group of manes is lady Viraja who is the mother of king Yayati and the wife of King Nahusha.

A later chapter of the Harivamsa says the same thing:

  King Nahusha begot six sons through a damsel of fatherly gods, known as lady Viraja, or lady Suswadha, to wit, these six Indra-like sons are: Yati, Yayati, Samyati, Ayati, Bhava, and Suyati

And it's also mentioned in this excerpt from the Anushanga Pada of the Vayu Purana:

  Ayjapas were the Pitris of Kardama, the Prajapati, who was born of Pulaha.  They were born of him again....  Groups of Vaishyas who are desirous of benefit, revere these in Shraddha. Their mental daughter is famous by the name of Viraja.  The chaste lady was the wife of Nahusha and the mother of Yayati.

So my question is, what is the story of how a human king Nahusha married a daughter of the Pitris?  The group of Pitris that Viraja was born from is apparently only worshipped by Vaishyas, not Kshatriyas, so I don't know how Nahusha would have encountered these Pitris or their daughter.  Are there any scriptures that discuss this.

By the way, as I discuss in this answer, there is a story in the Padma Purana where instead of Viraja, Nahusha's wife is said to be Shiva and Parvati's daughter Ashokasundari.  But given all the scriptural evidence I've given above, that story might be an interpolation.


texts:
I know it may sound foolish but I am little confused. It has been extensively said that Krishna was Parmatma. However Parmatma never takes birth nor does he die. Yet we know that Krishna took birth and he died a violent death.

In my opinion if Krishna was only a Parmatma then he should not have born and neither he should have died. But it seems to me that he was like any human being who has both the Jivatma and the Paramatma components inside him. His Jivatma died and reached to the his own abode of Parmatma to never return again.

My question is :

Was Krishna both Jivatma and Paramatma?

If you say that Krishna was only Pramatma then how can he take birth and die?


texts: What are the sastras or Vedas or Upanishads of taxashila or Nalanda University destroyed by foreigners?

texts:
I have heard most of the people saying some Greek, Persians etc invaded India and burnt Vedas Upanishads etc or the knowledge present in the form of books.
Why and who destroyed them?
And, what happened after that?
If they're burnt, then what are these which we are reading in the names of Vedas, sastras etc?


texts:
I came across many websites and some myths saying that Number 13 and Number 8 are unlucky numbers for everyone.

Numbers 13 and 8 are considered an unlucky in some countries. People try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labelled thirteen such as buildings door number, buildings 13th floor, vehicles number, etc,.

Number 13 and Number 8 really unlucky according to hinduism?


texts:
Kuldevi is considered to be important in day to day worship.

Also, heard about Kul-Bhairav, shankar and ganesh specific to the particular Kul along with Kuldevi.

What is significance of the specific bhairav for the Kul. Not able to figure importance of different bhairav, shankar and ganesh for the Kul.


texts: Which gods do Vaishnavites believe are only positions attained by Jivas due to Karmaphala?

texts: Indra drank Amrita and so he cannot die. How can this be reconciled with "Indra" just being a position? If an Indra or a Brahma dies, would another jiva immediately take that palce?  What stops two Jivas attaining one of these positions at the same time?


texts: Did Vishnu or Varuna measure out the Earth?

texts:
The Rigveda mentions in several places that Vishnu measured out the Earth:

  Rigveda 1.154.1–3

  1 "I will declare the mighty deeds of Viṣṇu, of him who measured out the earthly regions,
  Who propped the highest place of congregation, thrice setting down his footstep, widely striding."

  2 "For this his mighty deed is Viṣṇu lauded, like some wild beast, dread, prowling, mountain-roaming;
  He within whose three wide-extended paces all living creatures have their habitation."

  3 "Let the hymn lift itself as strength to Viṣṇu, the Bull far-striding, dwelling on the mountains,
  Him who alone with triple step hath measured this common dwelling-place, long, far extended."

In fact, the measuring out of the Earth by Vishnu with three steps is a motif that occurs in many, many places in the Yajurveda, and the Samaveda, and also in many other places in the Rigveda itself.

Well, these Rigvedic verses indicate that it was Varuna, not Vishnu, who measured out the Earth:

  Rigveda 5.85.5

  "I will declare this mighty deed of magic, of glorious Varuṇa the Lord Immortal,
  Who standing in the firmament hath meted the earth out with the Sun as with a measure."

and

  Rigveda 8.42.1

  "Lord of all wealth, the Asura propped the heavens, and measured out the broad earth's wide expanses.
  He, King supreme, approached all living creatures. All these are Varuṇa's holy operations."

So who measured out the Earth? Was it Vishnu with his three steps, or was it Varuna? (I was reading one of Keshav Srinivasan's questions: "Who is addressed as "the step of Vishnu" in the Yajur Veda?" He said that the three steps of Vishnu refer to an avatar of Vishnu--Vamana the dwarf--who "made the Earth safe for humanity" by defeating the demon Mahabali by taking three steps. Does this have something to do with the answer to my question?) Or did Vishnu assign the task of measuring out the Earth to Varuna? This seems unlikely, since the Vedas say that Vishnu himself took three steps to measure out the Earth. Or was Varuna the one who measured out the Earth, and all references to Vishnu references to Vamana?

Also, as a side question: why does Rigveda 8.42.1 refer to Varuna as an asura?


texts: Does the Katha Upanishad verse 2.3.1 contradict the immortality verses about Devatās?

texts:
ūrdhvamūlo'vākśākha eṣo'śvatthaḥ sanātanaḥ |
tadeva śukraṃ tadbrahma tadevāmṛtamucyate |
tasmiṃllokāḥ śritāḥ sarve tadu nātyeti kaścana | etadvaitat || 1 ||
Root up and branches down is this ancient asvattha tree, that (its source) is pure. That is Brahman and that alone is called immortal. On that, do all worlds depend and none passes beyond that. This verily is that.(Katha Upanishad 2.3.1)

That which is the root of this tree of Samsâra is indeed pure, bright, i.e., resplendent, the intelligence of âtman; that indeed is Brahman, being greater than all; that indeed is described as immortal in nature, being true; any other than that is a mere matter of speech, modification, name and falsehood and therefore subject to death. Commentary by adi Shankara.

Another translation
“This is that eternal Ashvattha Tree with roots above
and branches below. That indeed is the pure. That is
Brahman. That alone is the immortal.
[by SWAMI Krishnan Anda]

This verses clearly say only Brahman is immortal(or called immortal).
And commentary makes it even more clear, it only Brahman is immortal rest is subjected to death.
But it contradicts this verse :

When mortal man presents to thee Immortal God, Agni, his fuel or his sacrificial gift, Then thou art his Adhvaryu, Hotar, messenger, callest the Gods and orderest the sacrifice. (Rig Veda Verse 10.91.11)

This entire answer tells us that devatās are immortal.
Not just that it also contradicts the eternality of soul :

BG 2.20: The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

MY QUESTION : The verse from Katha Upanishad is saying that only Brahman is immortal, but the verse I have presented also say that devatās are immortal and soul is immortal. The immortality of the devatās contradicts the verse
from Katha Upanishad(2.3.1).
What is the explanation for this contradiction.

One can say that the verse from Katha Upanishad is saying that Brahman is called immortal but still in many verses Agni is called immortal.


texts: Do subtle and causal bodies have sense organs like ears, eyes, etc..?

texts:
As per my understanding, after death if I go to hell then my subtle and causal bodies will suffer and not my Atma.

Death causes the cessation of gross body or the Annamaya kosha and the Pranamaya Kosha. However  Manomaya Kosha, Vignanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha remain along with the Atma.

My questions are :

Do subtle and causal bodies have sense organs like ear, eyes, nose etc..?

If subtle and causal bodies do not have them how do these bodies suffer in hell?
(In order to suffer one must have gross six sense media which is lost after death.)


texts: Was the nath sampradaya ( whose head his Yogi adityanath now) was created against brahmanism?

texts:
I remember reading it somewhere.
Any backstory?


texts: Do any scriptures apart from the Brahmavaivarta Purana forbid sannyasa?

texts:
The Brahmavaivarta Purana, Krishna-Janma-Khanda 185.180 states:

  asvamedham gavalambham sannyasam palapaitrkam
  devarena sutopattim kalau panca vivarjayet

  Five things are forbidden in the age of Kali – horse-sacrifice, cow-sacrifice, acceptance of sannyasa, offering flesh to the forefathers and begetting a child in the womb of the wife of one’s elder brother.

As you can see the above verse forbids accepting sannyasa in Kali-Yuga. I want to know whether any other scripture apart from the Brahmavaivarta Purana forbids sannyasa?


texts: How real world get translated into dreams

texts:
In our dream we keep hearing sounds which are coming from outside environment , those sounds seamlessly blend into dream.

Ex: if the alarm goes off, in dreams it blends and we dog barking continuously. Some kind of dangers also peek in and warn us - like getting hit by car, drowning etc

How is possible?
Do dreams travel in waves?
Are warnings based on Karma?

Some of our fore fathers are warning?


texts: What are the vedic references for swarga?

texts: I am looking for some direct references in moola vedas that talk of swarga or heaven


texts: Why was Lord Rama born on the 9th tithi and Lord krishna on the 8th tithi?

texts:
Is there any relation between each choosing those 2 dates.

Thanks. Any help is appreciated.


texts: Is there any English or Hindi translation of Charanavyuha of Shaunaka available?

texts: Charanavyuha (चरणव्यूह) is a work of Shaunaka provides the information about Vedas and Shakhas. It's available on Sanskrit at Wikisource and available with Sanskrit commentary on Internet Archive. I want to study it but I've not find its English or Hindi translation. Is it translated into English or Indian Language or Is there an English or Hindi translation of Charanavyuha available?


texts: How could Pandavas marry Draupadi, who is their stepmother's rebirth?

texts:
I got a doubt from this question: Who were the previous Indras that incarnated as the Pandavas?

  The Pandavas were all SONS of gods: Yudhishthira was the son of Yama god of death, Bhima was the son of Vayu the wind god, Arjuna was the son of Indra king of the gods, and Nakula and Sahadeva were sons of the twin Ashwini Kumaras. But these weren't the only gods they were INCARNATIONS of.

Given that, how can the Pandavas be incarnations of the Devas themselves when they were in fact their sons?

Also, it is said that Draupadi is incarnation of wives of Dharma, Vayu, Indra and Aswini Kumaras. The wives of Dharma, Vayu, Indra and Aswini Kumaras are however stepmothers to the Pandavas (who are the sons of the Devas). In that case how could they marry their stepmothers' incarnation?

I am not asking about Draupadi's swayamvara (i.e., how she got married), but about her as well as Pandavas' incarnations. Please clear my doubts.


texts: Does Hinduism have any significance of herbs like brahmi and ashwagandha?

texts:
Brahmi and ashwagandha are Ayurvedic herbs which are generally is used for increasing vitality, memory and immunity etc.

The effectiveness of these herbs was proven in various clinical studies.

I was wondering if there was any evidence in the Hinduism religion which supports the effectiveness of these herbs.


texts: How can heaven-hell concept and rebirth concept both be true?

texts:
In the heaven-hell concept, pious go to Swarga (heaven) and sinners go to Naraka (hell). However, if one has good/bad karma, the rebirth concept says that he/she will enjoy/suffer in their next births.

How can both these theories be true when they contradict each other?


texts:
Wikipedia mentions that Rik-Veda has 432 000 syllables and refers to Satapatha Brahmana as the source of this information.
Satapatha Brahmana 10:4:2:23 states the following:

"He arranged the Rik-verses into twelve thousand of Brihatîs, for of that extent are the verses created by Prajapati. At the thirtieth arrangement they came to an end in the Paṅktis; and because it was at the thirtieth arrangement that they came to an end, there are thirty nights in the month; and because it was in the Paṅktis, therefore Prajapati is 'pankta' (fivefold). There are one hundred-and-eight hundred Paṅktis."

12000 (Brihatis) x 36 (syllables) = 432000

10800 (Panktis) x 40 (syllables) = 432000

My questions: Does Rik-Veda consist of Brihati meters with 36 syllables, or of Pankti meters with 40 syllables?

If it consists of both, then the total amount of syllables would be 864000.

According to my understanding Rik-Veda has many different meters, like Trishtubh, Gayatri, Jagati etc.

Who can explain to me the Satapatha Brahmana text?

What is the meaning of the thirtieth arrangement where the Brihatis came to an end in the Panktis?

(I am writing Rik with ka instead of ga, because my Guru'ji says ka is more original, only later it developed into ga. R stands for infinite dynamism of the absolute Being and ka stands for its point value.)


texts: Does Hinduism have a notion of proportionate punishment?

texts:
Some of the punishments prescribed in Manusmriti etc. sound like cruel jokes:

A Shudra who insults a twice born man with gross invectives shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (Manu VIII. 270.)
If he mentions the names and castes of the (twice born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red hot into his mouth. (Manu VIII. 271.)
If a Shudra arrogantly presumes to preach religion to Brahmins, the king shall have poured burning oil in his mouth and ears. Manu VIII. 272.)
A Shudra who has an intercourse with a woman of the higher caste guarded or unguarded shall be punished n the following manner; if she was unguarded, he loses the offending part; if she was guarded then he should be put to death and his property confiscated. (Manu VIII. 374.)

Note that in the last item, the consent of the woman is not an issue.
Does the notion of the punishment being proportionate to the crime exist in Hinduism?


texts:
While reading the Kathasaritsagara I came across the mention of Kartikeya's sons Shakha and Vishakha:

And the gods, together with the Rishis, went to the six-mouthed Kārttikeya for protection, and he, defending the god, remained surrounded by them. When Indra heard that, he was troubled, considering that his kingdom was taken from him, and being jealous he went and made war upon Kārttikeya. But from the body of Kārttikeya, when struck by the thunderbolt of Indra, there sprang two sons called Śākha and Viśākha, both of incomparable might.
Then Śiva came to his offspring Kārttikeya, who exceeded Indra in might, and forbade him and his two sons to fight, and rebuked him in the following words: “Thou wast born in order that thou mightest slay Tāraka and protect the realm of Indra, therefore do thy own duty.”
Then Indra was delighted, and immediately bowed before him, and commenced the ceremony of consecrating by ablutions Kārttikeya as general of his forces.

This is the first time I have heard of Kartikeya's sons so want to know if there are any other scriptures that mention them and if so what is their detailed story?


texts: Is Manda another name for Saturn (Shani)?

texts:
According to wiki, Manda is name of the wife of Saturn. But in some texts, Manda is used as another name of Saturn.

Which is true among both?


texts: What scriptures mention chanting Runa Vimochana Narasimha Stotram relieves debts?

texts:
There is a belief that if anybody chants the Runa Vimochana Narasimha Stotram he can be relieved from his debts. Is that belief mentioned in any scriptures?

EDIT: Here is the Stotram:

  ॥ श्रीनरसिंहऋणमोचनस्तोत्र ॥

  श्रीगणेशाय नमः ।  ॐ देवानां कार्यसिध्यर्थं सभास्तम्भसमुद्भवम्
  । श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि ऋणमुक्तये ॥ १॥

  लक्ष्म्यालिङ्गितवामाङ्गं भक्तानामभयप्रदम् । श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं
  नमामि ऋणमुक्तये ॥ २॥

  प्रह्लादवरदं श्रीशं दैतेश्वरविदारणम् । श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि
  ऋणमुक्तये ॥ ३॥

  स्मरणात्सर्वपापघ्नं कद्रुजं विषनाशनम् । श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि
  ऋणमुक्तये ॥ ४॥

  अन्त्रमालाधरं शङ्खचक्राब्जायुधधारिणम् ।  श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि
  ऋणमुक्तये ॥ ५॥

  सिंहनादेन महता दिग्दन्तिभयदायकम् । श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि
  ऋणमुक्तये ॥ ६॥

  कोटिसूर्यप्रतीकाशमभिचारिकनाशनम् ।  श्रीनृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि
  ऋणमुक्तये ॥ ७॥

  वेदान्तवेद्यं यज्ञेशं ब्रह्मरुद्रादिसंस्तुतम् ।  श्रीनृसिंहं
  महावीरं नमामि ऋणमुक्तये ॐ ॥ ८॥

  इदं यो पठते नित्यं ऋणमोचकसंज्ञकम् । अनृणीजायते सद्यो धनं
  शीघ्रमवाप्नुयात् ॥ ९॥

  ॥ इति श्रीनृसिंहपुराणे ऋणमोचनस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Source : Sanskritdocuments.org

In Youtube you can hear from the below link--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTymjIp4Qoo


texts: Authentication of Mahabharata character names

texts: Blessings, everyone.  There are so many versions of the Mahabharata with variations on the spellings of character names I.E. Bheeshma, Bhism, Bishma, Bhishma. Is there a reliable location of one list with the most authentic spellings--Closest to the oldest Sankrit translations?   Thank you for your kind consideration.


texts:
When Ram pulled apart the Shiv Dhanush, a conversation took place between Parshuram and Laxman, I had a concern that, if a battle have had happened, who could have won the individual battle?
As they both claimed to be the strongest.


texts:
In 5th Sarga of Bala Kanda of Ramayana, I have stumbled upon the following sloka (4th).

  तदिदं वर्तयिष्यावः सर्वं निखिलमादितः | धर्मकामार्थसहितं
  श्रोतव्यमनसूयया || १-५-४

  Being such a legend, we two wish to relate this Ramayana entirely and
  completely from the beginning, which is endowed with the values and
  means of probity, prosperity, and pleasure seeking... and this be
  listened without any caviling.

Sage Valmiki was mentioning about the Ramayana is about only 3 Purusharthas, ie.,  probity, prosperity, and pleasure seeking only - धर्मकामार्थसहितं, but not about Moksha.

Was Moksha (liberation) not considered as one of the Purusharthas in Ramayana period?


texts: Why is Sundara Kanda more glorified than other Kandas of Ramayana?

texts:
In most of the hindu homes as well as temples, it is a customary practice to have sessions of Sundara Kanda on either day of week (preferably Tuesday).

My question is

What makes Sundara Kanda more special to be enchanted over other sections of Ramayana? I have never heard that session of Bala Kanda or Lanka Kanda etc.


texts: Is Non Dual Vedanta's Brahman aware of itself?

texts: Is Non Dual Vedanta's Brahman aware of itself, if so isn't it he same as Trika Shavism, and can there really be any difference in Non Dual philosophies e.g. Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism?


texts: What should one choose according to scriptures between thoughtless mind and mind filled with the thoughts of God?

texts: What do scriptures recommend? What should one choose? A thoughtless (who does not think, without thoughts or nearly thoughtless) mind or mind filled with the thoughts of 'God'?


texts:
Can a person commit suicide if they are suffering a lot or too weak to live?

Is it moral?

What does Hinduism say?


texts:
I have been told that Atman doesn't perform the action of the senses.
Yet we hear, speak, taste and see things.
Also I have been told that the Atman is our true self and is only the witness.

So my question is : Who performs the actions of the senses(e.g hearing, speaking, tasting, seeing,smelling etc)?


texts:
Many temples have a pointed top. Other structures have a decreasing diameter as the height increases (near the top).

Is there any significance behind this?

For those interested, this question discusses the use of flags on temple tops.


texts: Who is Vijayavalli, wife of the Sudarshana Chakra?

texts:
I just performed a Griha Pravesam, the Hindu house warming ceremony, and I noticed an interesting Mantra that the priest chanted.  The Mantra, which I assume was from the Pancharatra Agamas, was addressed to Sudarshana, referred to as Chakrathalwar by Sri Vaishnavas, the god of Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra. What I found interesting is that the Mantra addressed him as "Vijayavalli Sametha Sudarshana", meaning "Sudarshana accompanied by Vijayavalli".

This construction is usually used in the context of husband and wife.  And indeed Wikipedia says that Vijayavalli is Sudarshana's wife.  So my question is, who is Vijayavalli? Whose daughter is she, and how did Sudarshana marry her? And given that Rama's brother Bharata and Parashurama's enemy Kartavirya Arjuna were incarnations of Sudarshana, were their wives incarnations of Vijayavalli?

Do any Pancharatra Agamas or Puranas shed light on this?


texts: Is it possible to live like in Krita Yuga [Satya Yuga] for an individual, despite being in Kali Yuga?

texts:
Being inspired by this very extensive answer: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/9205/22667
to a question about Yugas,
I would like to know if, applying all the human efforts and energies to sadhana and following the duties or renouncing to the fruits of our actions, as adviced in Bhagavad Geeta [Niskara Karma, renunciation of actions or Karma Yoga that is renunciation of fruits from the performed actions] one person can build a own inner peace of mind, which allow the practicioner of yoga to feel like in Satya Yuga, while living in Kali Yuga.

When you quote a Shastra, do provide
• Evaluable link [e.g. BORI, Sanskrit Documents]
• IAST (romanized) transliteration
• Verbatim translations from Sanskrit to English [see greenmes.org to know what I mean]
Thank you
Sanātanī.
I wish to add that Yog as experience is also evaluable as an answer, for me in this case.

Editing for Stack Exchange requirements:
Some Smrtris passages, Mahabharata and Hindu daily life experiences of people are My pre-requisites. I am ok with the answers streams.


texts: Is the etymology of the name Yudhishthira correct?

texts:
As we know, the eldest of the Pandavas is Yudhishthira (IAST : Yudhiṣṭhira and Devanagari: युधिष्ठिर). It is said that he got his name due to his steadiness in war. This is also a famous one. From related Wikipedia article:

  The word Yudhishthira means "the one who is steady in the war", from the words, yuddha (युद्ध) meaning 'war', and sthira (स्थिर) meaning 'steady'.

The article doesn't provide any citations for the claim.

He is known for his steadiness in a miserable situation like Yaksha prashna where all of his brothers were lying dead in front of him. Yet he answered all the questions correctly and brought back his brothers back to life.

But there is an incident during the Kurukshetra where Yudhishthira lost his cool head and thought of retiring to woods. This happened after the ninth day war. Yudhishthira says the following to Krishna.

  'Behold, O Krishna, the high-souled Bhishma of fierce prowess. He crusheth my troops like an elephant crushing a forest of reeds. ....... When this is the case, O Krishna, I am, through the weakness of my understanding, plunged in an ocean of grief having got Bhishma (as a foe) in battle. I will retire into the woods, O invincible one. My exile there would be for my benefit. Battle, O Krishna, I no longer desire. Bhishma slayeth us always. As an insect, by rushing into a blazing fire meeteth only with death, even so do I rush upon Bhishma. In putting forth prowess, O thou of Vrishni's race, for the sake of my kingdom, I am, alas, led to destruction. My brave brothers have all been exceedingly afflicted with arrows. In consequence of the affection they bear to myself their (eldest) brother they had to go into the woods, deprived of kingdom. For myself alone, O slayer of Madhu, hath Krishna been sunk into such distress. I regard life to be of high value. Indeed, even life now seemeth to be difficult of being saved. (If I can save that life), its latter remnant will I pass in the practice of excellent virtue. [Mahabharata Bhishma Parva Chapter 18]

These are the words of Yudhishthira during the Kurukshetra battle. If the etymology of his name correct, then he should be steady in the war.

The Sambhava Parva of Adi Parva doesn't give the reason he is named such. It simply says that he is named as Yudhishthira.

  O king, after all the children were born the Rishis dwelling on the mountain of a hundred peaks uttering blessings on them and affectionately performing the first rites of birth, bestowed appellations on them. The eldest of Kunti's children was called Yudhishthira, the second Bhimasena, and the third Arjuna, and of Madri's sons, the first-born of the twins was called Nakula and the next Sahadeva. And those foremost sons born at an interval of one year after one another, looked like an embodied period of five years.

So, my question is whether the etymology of the name Yudhishthira the same as given in the Wikipedia article or is there any other reason?

Is the etymology of this name mentioned in the Mahabharata like that of Ajata shatru?


texts: How to please Lord Shiva to get grace?  Please enumerate simple & practical ways by which he becomes pleased & showers grace.


texts: What is the reason of this two Shivas under Kali?

texts:
In some images we see two Shivas under Goddess Kali and in some images She stand  on a single Shiva.

What is the scriptural reference of the two Shivas ?


texts:
The yoginis are a group that consistsof 64 goddesses.

  Some The Sixty-four Yogini as depicted in the complete Hirapur shrine are:
  •Bahurupa

  •Tara

  •Narmada

  •Yamuna

  •Shanti

  •Varuni

  •Kshemankari

  •Aindri

  •Varahi

  •Ranveera

  •Vanara-Mukhi

  •Vaishnavi

  •Kalaratri

  •Vaidyaroopa

  •Charchika

  •Betali

  •Chinnamastika

  •Vrishabahana

  •Jwala Kamini

  •Ghatavara

  •Karakali

  •Saraswati

  •Birupa

  •Kauveri

  •Bhaluka

  •Narasimhi

  •Biraja

  •Vikatanna

  •Mahalakshmi

  •Kaumari

  •Maha Maya

  •Rati

  •Karkari

  •Sarpashya

  •Yakshini

  •Vinayaki

  •Vindya Balini

  •Veera Kumari

  •Maheshwari

  •Ambika

  •Kamiyani

  •Ghatabari

  •Stutee

  •Kali

  •Uma

  •Narayani

  •Samudraa

  •Brahmani

  •Jwala Mukhi

  •Agneyei

  •Aditi

  •Chandrakanti

  •Vayubega

  •Chamunda

  •Murati

  •Ganga

  •Dhumavati

  •Gandhari

  •Sarva Mangala

  •Ajita

  •Surya Putri

  •Vayu Veena

  •Aghora

  •Bhadrakali

Link:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogini

Some of the Devis(the ones in italics) in this group are easily recognisable. But who are the rest of them?Do they have individual stories?

Note:I do not one stories of them collectively(e.g. I am not looking for a story about all the yoginis, instead, I am looking for a story about each and everyone of them)


texts: Why are all the avatars of Vishnu born in North India?

texts: Ayodhya, Indraprastha, Kailasha parvatha, all these religious birth places are mostly in the North. Why weren't none of the the avatars born in other parts of Bharathavarsh?


texts: What is the significance of weapons? Why do gods carry multiple weapons?

texts:
Every Hindu God carries multiple weapons like Trishul, Chakra, Gada, Pharsha, Danda, Sword or Bow. The same god in different Murthis (statue) carries different weapons.

If one weapon is powerful enough to kill the demon, why do gods carry  multiple weapons?

I have heard that darshan of these weapons is equally important as each of them bless us with protection, peace, wealth, knowledge, health etc. If it's true I want to know the significance of prominent weapons and the way to worship them.


texts: What is the Birth date of Gautama Buddha according to PuRAnas and ItihAsas?

texts:
I have found a book The age of Shankara by T. S. NArAyaNa wherein in the introduction the author writes how Christian orientalists deliberately have been shifting birth dates of the great Indian personalities like Adi Sankara, Gautam Buddha etc to suit their Christian chronology. In one passage he writes

  But if take for granted that the MahABArata war took place 37 years before the commencement of KalIyuga, which appear to me the most correct view and which is admittedly the opinion of all the Hindu writers from the ancient times, Gautama Buddha must be places before 2000 B.C. This view is fully supported by all the authentic PurANas  and ItIhAsas, which are beginning to be recognised as contributing genuine historical information about Ancient India and according to which the Buddha is to be placed not later than 1800 B.C.

I wanted the proper reference from PurANas and ItihAsas which checkmark the above claims of the author. Where are they?


texts:
Lord Dhanvantari appears in the churning of the ocean by the demigods and demons. Srimad Bhagavatam Purana describes his appearance as follows:

  SB 8.8.33 — He was dressed in yellow garments and wore brightly polished earrings made of pearls. The tips of his hair were anointed with oil, and his chest was very broad. His body had all good features, he was stout and strong like a lion, and he was decorated with bangles. In his hand he carried a jug filled to the top with nectar.
  SB 8.8.34 — This person was Dhanvantari, a plenary portion of a plenary portion of Lord Viṣṇu. He was very conversant with the science of medicine, and as one of the demigods he was permitted to take a share in sacrifices.
  SB 8.8.35 — Upon seeing Dhanvantari carrying the jug of nectar, the demons, desiring the jug and its contents, immediately snatched it away by force.

I am interested in finding how when did churning of the ocean happen. So I am wondering
1. Which chapters in various puranas talk about Dhanvantari incarnation?
2. What are some other sources of information available to read on Lord Dhanvantari?


texts: How many akshouhinis were killed by Arjuna?

texts:
This is something that confuses me, since according to Duryodhana, Arjuna killed 7 akshouhinis:

  Duryodhana said, 'O preceptor! Behold the great destruction of those whose heads have been sprinkled. 27 I placed my grandfather, the brave Bhishma, at the forefront of the battle. Having slain him, the avaricious Shikhandi satisfied his old desire. With all the Panchalas, I am now afflicting the vanguard of the army. There is the other invincible one, your disciple Savyasachi. He has destroyed seven akshouhinis.

But according to Krishna, when Karna was commander Kaurava, there were 5 akshouhinis in his power:

  Next, Karna became the commander of Duryodhana's forces. He was surrounded by
  the five akshouhinis that still remained in the battle.

This confuses me since 5 + 7 = 12, in addition to that day Bhima and Satyaki killed many soldiers and warriors, like other days, Abhimanyu and Ghatotkacha killed at least 00.5 akshouhinis on day 13 and 14 respectively.

Along with that, what did Dhrishtadyumna, Yudhishthira, Nakula, Sahadeva, the Kekaya brothers, Virata, etc. on the other days? They were obviously killing Kaurava.

But of course, I do not know exactly how many soldiers killed the others, like other days where Arjuna causes great destruction. So my question is, how much akshouhinis did Arjuna really kill?


texts: What texts are non-brahmins allowed to read?

texts: It is said that non-brahmins are not allowed to recite the vedas. However, are they allowed to read any of the spiritual texts or scriptures? What about the upanishads, the puranas, etc.?


texts:
Our Baby boy was born early at 25 weeks. He passed away at 32 weeks.

This happened in the US, and we cremated his body. I was advised by some people that babies/children's bodies usually is buried since they are not yet attached to their bodies unlike adults etc. But I did not want to leave a burial mark in a place where I am temporary visitor, so decided to cremate him.

Now, my question is what to do with the ashes/remains  (chithabhasmam) that the crematorium gave me.

I am unsure what rituals we have to do for baby' ashes. Do we do the Scattering (nimajjan) in some flowing water in the US itself? Crematorium folks said that I could do it discreetly as there are many people that do scattering in the US.
Or, is it more proper to take it back to India and do any rituals? Or, whichever way is okay as far as we are at peace with it?

I am being told conflicting opinion about this by different people, and that is why I thought of checking this here in this wonderful forum. I had also checked in reddit r/Hinduism and I was directed here.

Should there be any particular archanas that we need to do in the temple here after the scattering?

Forgive my ignorance about this.. and, Thanks a lot in advance.


texts: Do demons (Asuras, Rakshasas, Pisachas, Nagas, etc) reveal false religions to humans according to Hindu scriptures?

texts:
According to the Puranas, Vishnu as Buddha revealed a false religion, which we know today as Buddhism, to deceive the Daityas who were using the Vedas to acquire power.

Similarly, do Hindu scriptures talk about the opposite: demons revealing false religions to delude and mislead humans?


texts: How does Shri Adi Shankaracharya or any Advaiti establish anumana as pramana, as the whole world is Mithyatmaka and is Maya?

texts:
I know that Charuvakas only accept Pratyaksha.

Dvaithis and Vishishtadvaithis accept Pratyaksha, Anumana and Agama(Shabdha). But I was kind of surprised to know that Advaithis accept all the six pramanas. This is quite surprising as we consider world as maya, and everything in world is maya.

How can we take even Anumana as a pramana. Why are we not taking only pratyaksha as the right pramana like Charuvakas? All the other pramanas are built upon on Anumana.

This question is especially asked in the light of David Hume's Problem of Induction, which is a well known and accepted problem in philosophy world-wide. How does an Advaiti deal with the Problem of Induction as it was already raised by the Charuvakas, and Advaitis must have had some answer to it.

How does Shri Adi  Shankaracharya or any Advaiti establish anumana as pramana?


texts:
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/115370/12/12_chapter%204.pdf
Page 126 says that Shankara refuted the vijnanavada view that cognitions are self luminous.where does he do this in his works and what are the gist of shankara’s arguments against the vijnanavadin position mentioned here?
What does it mean for a cognition to be self luminous?


texts: Can someone recommend me some Vishnu bhajans in Hindi, Sanskrit or Bengali?

texts:
I would like to listen to some Vishnu bhajans in Hindi, Sanskrit or Bengali. Though I have searched on the web countless times for Vishnu bhajans, I have found only 3:

Shreeman Narayana Narayana Hari Hari
Jai Jagadish Hari
Shree Vishnu Amritwani

It would be very good if someone could provide me with more bhajans especially in Bengali (because I haven't found a single Vishnu bhajan in that language).


texts: How do Dvaitins and Vishistadvaitins interpret this passage of Mahabharata?

texts:
Below is the passage from Shanti Parva of Mahabharat in the chapter 320. It describes how Suka (the son of Veda Vyas) attained moksha. When Suka through his power of Yoga goes in position of attaining moksha, Vyas is grieving for his son and following him through the path of subtle Yoga.

   Adopting the subtle path of high Yoga, Vyasa of austere penances, reached within the twinkling of the eye that spot whence Suka first undertook his journey. Proceeding along the same way, Vyasa beheld the mountain summit rent in twain and through which Suka has passed. Encountering the Island-born ascetic, the Rishis began to represent to him the achievements of his son. Vyasa, however, began to indulge in lamentations, loudly calling upon his son by name and causing the three worlds to resound with the noise he made. Meanwhile, the righteous-souled Suka, who had entered the elements, had become their soul and acquired omnipresence, answered his sire by uttering the monosyllable Bho in the form of an echo. At this, the entire universe of mobile and immobile creatures, uttering the monosyllable Bho, echoed the answer of Suka. From that time to this, when sounds are uttered in mountain-caves or on mountain-breasts, the latter, as if in answer to Suka still echo them (with the monosyllable Bho). Having cast off all the attributes of sound, etc., and showing his Yoga-prowess in the manner of his disappearance, Suka in this way attained to the highest station.

As one can read in the above passage it clearly says,
'the righteous-souled Suka, who had entered the elements, had become their soul and acquired omnipresence'. Becoming the self of anything and gaining omnipresence everywhere is not possible for Jeeva in Dvaita and Vishistadvaita philosophy.

Also I think it is not logical to say that it is referring Antaryami of Vishnu (which Vishistadvaitins commonly  do) for explaining omnipresence as it clearly says his soul after entering elements gained omnipresence and not only that entire universe echoed his voice when he replied to Vyasa which also clearly shows he became self of all after becoming one with Brahman/after attaining moksha.

For the Advaita philosophy, this passage is just like the explanation of Advaita philosophy. As it clearly shows soul is Brahman as it became self of all when it comes out from veil of Maya/attains moksha. For me this passage is also the explanation of this Shruti verse of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which I discuss here ie. it says "....
Even the gods cannot prevail against him, for he becomes their self..."

As, some have pointed it out, it is not Advaita philosophy (In case) then well, It's then Advait philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism where in ShivvyApti whole universe becomes one's own body because of merging into Shiva. As Spanda Karika says this

  Just as all knowability, etc., in respect of the body occurs when it is pervaded by that spanda principle, even so when the yogi is established in his essential Self, he will have omniscience, omnipresence etc. everywhere. verse 7.(3)

Also, as you can see in this answer these dualistic & semi dualistic philosophies don't believe in omnipresence of AtmA. So,

Have any commentators/propounders of Dvaita and Vishistadvaita philosophy interpreted/commented on  these verses of Mahabharat ? How can these things be interpreted by Dvaitins and Vishistadvaitins ?


texts: What is the significance of Murthi pooja (idol worship)?

texts:
Hindus believe in Murthi pooja or idol worship. What is the reason behind this?

Since my childhood, I believed that God does exist in an idol but I don't have the exact clarification or history behind it.


texts: What is the current status of the four varnas created by God?

texts: We all know that four varnas — Brahmana, Vysya, Kshatriya and Sudra — were created by God, and each varna’s people would mutually help each other, through the jobs assigned to them. But as of now in Kaliyuga, it seems that these varnas are mutilated. Are there any specifics for these mutilations of varnas?


texts: Which scripture claims to be essence of all Aranyakas?

texts:
Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text parts – the Samhitas, the Aranyakas, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads.

Now,

Essence of all Samhitas  --> compiled as Devata Kanda Sutras
Essence of all Brahmanas --> compiled as Purva Mimansa Sutras by  Vyasa's students Jaimini
Essence of all Upanishads --> compiled as Brahma Sutras (Vedanta sutras) by Vedvyasa

Now, my question is that, which scripture claims to be essence of all Aaranyakas ?


texts: Why Lord Vishnu is called "Kamala Nayanam"?

texts:
Shanta Karam Bhujaga Shayanam,

  Padmanabham Suresham.

  Vishvadharam Gagana Sadrusham,

  Megha Varnam Shubhangam.

  Lakshmi Kantam Kamala Nayanam,

  Yogibhir Dhyana Gamyam.

  Vande Vishnum Bhava Bhaya Haram,

  Sarva Lokaia Kanatham.

According to this shloka, Lord Vishnu is referred Kamala Nayan. Is there any story behind this?


texts: What is Nilavanti or Neelavanti granth? What is so special about it?

texts:
I recently read about Nilavanti { Neelavanti } book just a description of it. Says it was a rare book not printed just written on a metal plate that too lost these days.
It had recipes for alchemy, medicines for terminal diseases, and ways to interpret the language of birds, animals and other interesting stuff such as walking on water and air, gold harvesting,
But Nothing much was available just these descriptions.
Is it just rumor or really a book of tantra or magic?
Had Swami Vivekanada read this book?


texts: Did Prahlada think that the worldly people are 'fools and rascals'?

texts:
In His hymn to Sri Nrisimhadeva, Prahlada says:

O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them. (7/9/43)
My dear Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.(7/9/44).

Did Prahlada really think that the wordly people were 'fools and rascals' as referred to in the translations above?  Such a mind-set contradicts the features of a true devotee as mentioned in the Gita :

12.13 He who is not hateful towards any creature, who is friendly and compassionate, who has no idea of 'mine' and the idea of egoism, who is the same under sorrow and happiness, who is forgiving;

Any reference in Bhagavatam or any other scriptures?
Reference : https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/7/9?d=1


texts: What is the significance of deity forms of navrathri?

texts:
I know that Navrathri is 9 days occasion on which Goddess shows different deity forms each day. But I am not sure what is the significance of these nine deity forms and why Goddess decided to take these avatars?

I heard a story that Goddess Parvati was angry on lord Shiva for cutting head of lord Ganesha. From this anger, these nine avatars were emerged. But I am not sure to which extent it is true?


texts:
Manu is supposedly the progenitor of mankind. Even the English word "man" is derived from his name. There are 14 Manus in each day of Brahma. The current Manu is Vaivasvata, and he is currently supposed to be alive, but we don't see him on the earth. Manus are also not mentioned among demigods, kimpurushas, gandharvas, definitely not among yakshas and rakshasas.

My educated guess is that he must be living in the bhuvarloka planetary system.

Could you please give any references from scriptures?


texts: Does Krishna say in the Bhagavad Gita that he alone can grant liberation?

texts:
He does say that he is sufficient:

  Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: "Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me."

If he says anywhere that he is necessary - that would make Bhagavad Gita a sectarian document.


texts: What was the reason of birth of chaitanya mahaprabhu?

texts: What was the reason of birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu being an avatar of god he was not able to create huge impact on the world instead almost negligible people in the world today know him whereas common leaders of other dharmas are worldwide famous.Just born to be enlightened.This creates a doubt whether he was really an avatar of God.Neither his teachings exits nor his complete story and why was he born???


texts: I am not sure what the "english" term is, but in Tamil there is often the term "drishti doosham." If you have no one to ward off drishti, how would one go about doing it by oneself? I have read the following ways. But is this source creditable and is there a more accurate way to do this? Again, this is all in relation to doing by one's own self.


texts:
So based on how Sanjay Rath defines, a Graha is something that causes Grahana. Or in other words, they eclipse (Not in a necessarily negative way) the houses they sit on and force the Jataka to do karma of certain types. The horoscope, as a whole, is essentially the celestial map of Prarabdha.
The Grahas positions in anyone's chart describes what karma a person ought to do in this life.

My question is, "Is it possible to influence these Grahas by the virtue of their house position or sign position, willingly in natal or divisional charts?" In simple words, can a siddha reposition the Grahas in his own or someone else's horoscope? If yes, then what is the method he needs to follow?


texts: Who would be most responsible for realigning my perception so that I can be more grateful?

texts: Would it be Ganesh?  Who would be more interested in keeping people happy, or who helps us find answers?  Feeling grateful for many of my hardships and want to learn more about these forces.


texts:
Many scripts talk about re-creation at the end of pralaya, and pralaya at the end of kalpa.
In this section for example, it is said that

And when those terrible times will be over, the creation will begin anew.

which is saying after Kaliyuga, re-creation starts.
A kalpa is thousand Yuga cycles, which says, not end of every Kaliyuga ends in pralaya.
If so, how the texts say end of Kaliyuga resets the creation? If it is reset at end of kalpa then current Kaliyuga will not end in Pralaya?


texts: Can I worship Krishna to fullfill my material desires?

texts:
I wanted to know that can I worship the supreme lord (Krishna) to fulfill my material desire?
I know that those who want moksha worship him, but is worshiping him for material desires also possible?

I don't want moksha, I am 16 years old. I was just curious to know about my religion, so I read Gita. Now I found out that I am not fit for moksha, but I want to fulfill my material goals and desires. I am now curious to know that Krishna being the supreme lord, will he grant the material desires of people?


texts: I have heard that Lord maheswar is very merciful. He grants boon easily. I want to see him please let me know how can i see him. I just want his devotion. Is there any siddhi to please him.Please dont answer like be honest serve other to please  him. Tell any way of you know. Because there are several people who who have got boon in the Ramayan and Mahabharat so why i should not.


texts: Can wooden carving of shankha,chakra and thirunamam flanked by Garuda and Hanuman, as shown in the image below, be placed on the entrance of pooja room at home? Will it cause any adverse effects?


texts:
What exactly is namasmarana?

In namasmarana is there any importance to just chant a name of god (mind may or may not be on it) ?
If namasmarana is chanting the name with remembering god in mind- then - how exactly to remember god while chanting his name? God is nirakar - hence i can not have his photo in mymind. Because that will be the smaran of fake photograph.

So how exactly to do smaran of god.

Eg. If a person is doing namasmaran for 5000 times, then he will definitely require around 2 hours.

In these 2 hours of period is it just important to take his name with mouth or what is exact procedure to remember him?


texts: Whats the chanting benefits difference between shuddha pandashi, saubhagya panchdashi, laghu shodashi and mahashodashi?

texts: What are the difference in terms of chanting benefits between main version of panchdashi ? Shuddha, saubhagya (bala embedded), laghu shodashi, maha shodashi. ( i suppose there are ghuya n para also but extremely rare)


texts: What are some arguments given by Adi Shankaracharya against Buddhism?

texts:
What are some arguments given by Adi Shankaracharya against Buddhist monks? I'm interested in the core of the arguments he used against Buddhists. Is there any advantage to Advaita against Buddhism which he exploits it to win against Buddhists?
Edit:
I want arguments against the emptiness doctrine(Sunyavada) of Nagarjuna.


texts: Did Lava and Kusha found cities in Pakistan?

texts:
Wikipedia article on Kusha says:

  Kusha or Kusa (Sanskrit: कुश) and his twin brother Lava were the children of Lord Rama and Sita. Their story is recounted in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Hindu traditions claim he founded the city of Kasur in ancient times, though historical record shows the city was actually founded in 1525 by Pashtun migrants from what is now Afghanistan. His brother Lava is traditionally believed to have founded Lavapuri (current day city of Lahore).

Is there scriptural support for these claims?


texts:
How Hanumanji being a monkey learned the Vedas?

Sudras are not supposed to read the vedas...in that case how he got the sacred thread and had access to the vedas? In fact from that perspective, almost all prominent Vanara kings during Satya Yuga seemed to have access to Vedas.
Are we supposed to conclude that rules pertaining to Vedas and sacred thread came into being much later?
For that matter Ravana too was a brahmin, and also belonged to Rakshas.


texts:
According to Kaivalya Upanishad:

  He(Supreme Brahman) alone is all that was,  and all that will be,  the
  Eternal.  Knowing Him,  one transcends death.  There is no other way
  to freedom.

We know Supreme Being is God. As stated below from Kaivalya Upanishad.

  He is God,  He is The Absolute,  He is Heaven,  He is Eternal,  the
  Supreme,  the Self-luminous,  He alone is All,  He is Breath,  He is
  Time and Fire,  He is the Moon.

If God alone is all that was,and all that will be , then isn't every being a God?
Isn't every act an act of God ? Isn't every speech an speech of God?


texts:
What does the Bhagavad Gita mean when it says caste is based on Gunas? Does it mean trained, external behavior, or genetic predisposition?

For reference, this verse says,

  4.13 - The [social] system of four castes was generated by Me according to division of Gunas and
  Karma. Though I am the generator, know Me as a non-agent and immutable.

What does the word guna mean in this verse? Does guna mean external, trained behavior that people see, or does it mean genetic, inherent, natural predisposition? It is well known that different people have different natures. Does guna here mean nature or nurture (trained, controlled behavior)?

Also, what does the word karma mean in that verse? Does it mean a particular job (karma) the person happens to be doing? If so, does this mean that if I change jobs, my caste changes? But what if my displayed behavior doesn't match my job, which takes precedence, guna or karma to determine my caste? Or does it mean the law of karma?

What do ancient Vedic commentators say?


texts: Which Hindu scripture talks about weapons and mythical objects? Please guide me with links to apt books

texts: I want to know about mythical bows and weapons like Brahmastra, etc. So please tell which scripture talks about divine weapons, etc.


texts: Which epic happens in Kali yuga, like Ramayana happened in Treta yuga and Mahabharata happened in Dwapara yuga?

texts: The epics Ramayana and Mahabharata happened in Treta yuga and Dwapara yuga respectively. Likewise, is there any epic which will take place in Kali yuga?


texts: Some elders say that chandan should not be applied on God statues. If the statue is in stone form chandan is applied on the forehead,at the two end of the eyes, ears nowadays. Any scriptural evidence that chandan should not be applied in these cases?


texts: What is the life cycle of a soul (atma) in Hinduism?

texts:
I am confused about the life cycle in Hinduism.

What is the starting point of a soul?

Yes, a soul exchanges bodies, but when does a soul take birth and how will fate be written to it (as it has no karma [no previous life actions recorded]). After the death of a body, the soul has three choices. One is heaven (if he/she did good), one is hell (if he/she did bad, he/she will be punished and given a second chance), and the last one is moksha (he had seven chances at life, and within these seven chances he has to do good and if he does he will go to heaven; if he does very well he will get moksha!; but if he doesn't, what happens?). Is this right?

Can someone explain the life of a soul (atma) in Hinduism?


texts: Is there any guidance in Hindu scriptures which describe how to know what is presently in the collective subconsciousness of the human community?

texts:
I am not talking about reading news to know the current consciousness/awareness, but about the collective subsconscious mind of our planet, is it possible to tap into and find out what are the matters the collective human or planet-wide subconsciousness presently has imprinted in it.
By Hindu scriptures, I mean vedic, vedantic, ithihasic or puranic scriptures or in vedangic (Patanjali's yoga sutras or VyAsa's brahma sutras or in Yoga vAshishta or Kapila's sAnkhya treatise etc.)


texts: Was there a fight between Lord Hanuman and Lord Parasuram?

texts:
I am eager to know that when did Lord Hanuman meet Lord Parasuram for the first time and is there a story which says there was a big fight between Lord Hanuman and Lord Parasuram? If so then when and why did they fight with each other?

Please tell me the full story.


texts: Are Lord Shiva and Lord Shankar two different deities?

texts:
According to TimesofIndia,

  There is a subtle difference between the Supreme Soul Shiva and Shankar the deity. The Supreme has been worshipped in the oval or egg-shaped form of the Shivalingam.

Even Speaking tree states they are different

This did confuse me. I was thinking them as one. Can someone please shed light on this topic? (maybe from scriptures)

If they are different deity forms, please explain the difference between them.


texts: Did Shankaracharya mention Saraswati as Para Brahman?

texts: Did Adi Shankaracharya (directly) mention anywhere in his writings, Saraswati as Para-Brahman?


texts: Exact References of number of wives of krishna in mahabharat?

texts:
Please give exact shloka number(and its translation) in Mahabharat(not puranas) , where number of wives of krishna is mentioned, Esp. the 16000 wives in narakasura episode and other wives?

I will infinitely appreciate, if somebody additionally gives shloka number (and its translation) references from BORI edition of mahabharat ?


texts: What is the difference between worshiping an idol or image and worshiping God?

texts:
Idol:- An image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.

God:- The creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

My question was, What is difference between Worshiping God and Idol?


texts: What does Hinduism state regarding the concept 'God lives in us'?

texts: Almost every religion has a belief in this qoute that God lives in us and we are an image (in Islam human is stated to be the Khalifa; junior, of God). What does Hinduism state about this belief?


texts: I have not learned about Hindu culture but it hurts me when some people say that the tilak worn by Hindu women and men is a curse of Lord Shiva to people who laughed at him when Ganga menstruated on his forehead! Is this true?


texts:
Nowadays people evolved more and more. These people when they perform punya karya like dhaana they gain punya,but people who don't have bhakthi on god ,too perform punya karya for gaining punya for their generation or themselves. This is a type of selfishness while worshipping god .Do they actually gain punya or not?

To make it clearly; Do selfishness while worshipping actually gain punya or not?


texts: If one simply needs to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead,then why many people dedicate their lives in the studying of the Vedas?

texts:
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.2.3)

Our relationship with the Supreme Lord is never advanced by simple study of the Vedas. There are many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs fully engaged in studying the Vedas, Vedānta-sūtra and Upaniṣads, but unfortunately they cannot grasp the real essence of knowledge.

Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15)

vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: “By all the Vedas, I am to be known.”

Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3

yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati
By knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee.


texts: Did Krishna ever prayed to another God like Brahma or Shiva?

texts:
It is known that Ram prayed to Shiva and Goddess Durga to conquer Ravana.

My question is : did Krishna also ever prayed to another God like Brahma or Shiva?


texts: Which body can become smallest of the small after attaining anima siddi?

texts:
Anima is one of the eight siddhis and is generally defined as

  Aṇimā: reducing one's body to the size of an atom

To which body, the anima siddhi occurs?

I mean whether the physical body of the person who attained anima siddhi can become smallest of the small or it refers to some other body of the human such as sushma sareera (subtle body) etc,,


texts: Is there any such shloka present in adi parva of Mahabharata?

texts:
भवान् वा विधिवत् पाणिं गृह्णातु दुहितुर्मम। यस्य वा मन्यसे वार तस्य कृष्णामुपादिश।।

I got this shloka from an online website where it's mentioned that it's 50th shloka from 32nd adhyay of Adi parva.

I did check the Adi Parva's 32nd adhyay but it has only 25 shlokas.

Can anybody confirm if this Shloka is fake or which portion of vyasa Mahabharata does it come from?


texts: Why is cat's mourn considered as a bad omen? Does it indicate the death or something not so good?


texts: Was Lord Shiva first messenger of Islam?

texts:
Some Muslim leaders say Lord Shiva was the  first messenger of Islam

Is it true or just a rumor being spread  amongst the people?


texts: Any Books to understand philosophy of Vedas?

texts: Are there any books to understand Philosophy of Vedic Samhitas? We have many introduction books for Vedanta but not Vedas. Any suggestions??


texts: Who was Parashara and what are the works attributed to him?

texts:
I am asking about the original Parashara - not the Srivaishnavite teacher Parasara Bhattar.

Which works are attributed to him?


texts: Have any acharyas commented on taking a dip in sacred but infected rivers?

texts:
Background

According to this article, an Australian woman became very ill after she took a dip in the sacred Ganges river at Varanasi.

  My love affair with Varanasi continued and I studied yoga at an ashram by the river, which set me on a whole new life path. I became the cliche – India really did change my life.

  As for my foray into the river  - well, I would like to say that my faith in the spirit of Mother Ganga conquered the microorganisms, but the truth is I became violently ill. Tests revealed giardiasis, amoebas and a liver infection.

  Perhaps the Indian devotees have stronger faith, or at least stronger stomachs?  Maybe they get sick too? The manager of my hotel sagely suggested I had been blessed by Sitala, the Goddess of disease and would emerge from my illness stronger than ever.

Questions

Have any gurus or acharyas commented on the practice of taking plunge in sacred rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, etc. when the waters are known to be infected?

Do they recommend taking a dip in the waters despite the risk devotees may contract various diseases?

Does the puṇya devotees gain by taking bath in such a river outweigh the side-effects?


texts: Different souls part of same Supreme soul?

texts:
It is said that all different souls are basically part of that one supreme soul and finally all merge into it. When a person is awakened he basically sees himself in everyone, hence doesn't criticize anyone be it the most cruel man on this planet.

My question: If we are part of same soul then does the karma of each individual soul be it bad or good affects the other souls around us in any way? Does it have any ripple effect? Any source that explains this phenomenon in details? Any scriptural references would be great.


texts: Why are women restricted from entering temples during menstruation?

texts:
Women are restricted from entering temples or any other holy places during their menstruation. Why so?

This is the normal biological function of every female of every mammalian species. If talking about the abdominal/leg pain or the hormonal changes or may be weakness, why restrict? Rather why not give an option to them?

Nobody ever prohibited a woman from going to office or workplace during her periods. Then why not temples?


texts: What scripture has the story of the death of Yama and the creation of the night?

texts:
I have read a story in blog of Yama dying and entering the afterlife where he becomes the lord of the dead and Yami mourning over him.

The gods try to pacify her but she says "Yama died today!"

So to help her cope with her grief the gods create the Night (for previously there was only day in the beginning). Another variation of this story says the Gods created the Night and made Yami its deity.

Does anybody know if this story has a scriptural basis?


texts:
In a temple (Shri Raam Temple, Jaysingpur, Dist. Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India, to be exact), I have seen the bell having a piece of "deere horn"
 (सींग in hindi) tied inside to strike and ring it.
What might be the reason?
Is there any ancient reference for this?


texts: On what basis the sixteen Tithis are divided into five groups and why are the groups so called?

texts:
It is well known, that a Hindu day has five limbs (the panchAngas) among which the Tithi is one. The panchAngas form the basis for calculations in Jyotisha.
From Wikipedia :

In Vedic timekeeping, a tithi (also spelled thithi) is a lunar day, or
the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the
Sun to increase by 12°. In other words, a thithi is a time-duration
between the consecutive epochs that correspond to when the
longitudinal-angle between sun and moon is an integer multiple of 12°.
Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from
approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours.

We have sixteen Tithis, from pratipada to amAvasyA.
Now, these Tithis are also divided into five groups as follows:
NandA Tithis
Pratipada, Shashthi and EkAdashi.
BhadrA Tithis
DwitiyA, Saptami and DwAdasi.
RiktA Tithis
Chaturthi, Navami and Chaturdashi.
JayA Tithis
TritiyA, Ashtami and Trayodashi.
PurnA Tithis
Panchami, AmAvasyA and PurnimA.

On what basis the above classifications/divisions are made?

What are the reasons behind calling one group RiktA and another group PurnA  and so on for every other groups?


texts:
Shakti is the father of Parashara and son of Vashishtha. Vashistha is well-known sage, Guru of Sri Rama, seer (द्रष्टा) of Vedic hymns and is among one of Shaptarshi. Parasara is also well-known sage during Dwapara Yuga. I have heard his story from Mahabharata.

I don't know much about Shakti. What I know is just that he is one of the link in Advaita Guru Parampara connecting Vashishta and Parashara.

So, I want to know about sage Shakti (शक्ति). Is there any story or information about him described in Brahmanas or may be in Puranas? and are there any popular works attributed to him?


texts: What scriptures describe sage Vamadeva attaining Moksha?

texts:
As I discuss in this question, by far the most popular school of Hindu philosophy is the Vedanta school. But there are five other Astika or orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy: Purva Mimamsa, Samkhya, Yoga, Vaisheshika, and Nyaya. My question is about the Samkhya school, founded by the sage Kapila. In Adhyaya 1 Sutra 157 of the Samkhya Sutras, one of the defining texts of the Samkhya school, Kapila refutes the Advaita notion that there's only one Atma by noting that people have attained Moksha in the past and yet Samsara continues, implying that there must be more than one Atma:

vāmadevādimukta nādvaitam
Vamadeva, as well as others, has been released; (hence) Non-duality (is) not (a fact).

Here is how Aniruddha interprets this Sutra in his commentary on the Samkhya Sutras:

The author declares that, for the following reason also, the Selves are many.  In the Puranas, etc., it is heard, "Vamadeva has been released," "Shuka has been released," etc. If the Self were one and one only, since on the release of one, there would be the release of all, the mention of diversity (as in the case of separate and successive releases) would be contradicted.

I'm interested in the part in bold.  Vyasa's son Shuka attaining Moksha is described in this chapter of the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata (although there's some contretemps regarding that).  But my question is, what scriptures describe the sage Vamadeva attaining Moksha?
Now as I discuss here, the Aitareya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads discuss Vamadeva attaining Jnana.  And one who has attained Jnana is considered a Jivanmukta according to Advaitins.  But the Samkhya school didn't accept the notion of Jivanmuktas, so I assume there must be some scripture which describes Vamadeva actually dying and attaining Moksha.


texts: In Bengal, we have the tradition put forward by Acharyas that Chandipath is not to be chanted at night. Unfortunately I have no sources or references to quote. Could anyone please tell me whether its valid, or is it just one of those unexplained regional traditions put forward by interpolation or modification? Thank you.


texts: Does Vishnu participate in Shiva Tandava and how is Sandya Tandava is different from Pralaya Tandava?

texts:
It is said Shiva dances twice a day at dawn and dusk but concept of day for humans is much different from god's, so how to correlate Shiva's dawn-dusk with that of humans?

It is believed that all gods will join the tandava/dance in different forms like playing instruments, singing stotras on Shiva! Does Vishnu participate in it? It is said that Vishnu will be in yoga nidra/sleep for half an year, so how would he participate in it?

Also, how is sandya tandava is different from pralaya tandava?


texts: Why is monday considered an important day in Shaivism?

texts: Monday is usually thought of as a holy day dedicated to Shiva. Why is it so? Is there any significane of monday according to our Shastras?


texts: Did Swami Vivekananda believe in astrology?

texts:
What were Swami Vivekananda's views on astrology?

Did he believe in it?

What were his reasons for believing in it or not believing in it?


texts: Is there any support in the vedas for the theory that all 3 gods are the same?

texts: Great acharyas like Ramanujacharya have stated that Lord Narayana is the supreme being and other gods like Brahma and Shiva occupy subordinate positions. Yet many common people believe that all 3 gods in the trinity are the same. Do the vedas support such a position?


texts: Which sects of Hinduism do not agree with the concept of saguna brahman?

texts:
Among all the sects of Sanathan Dharma, is there any sect that agrees with nirguna brahman, but does not agree with the idea of Saguna brahman?
If yes, what is the name(s) of the sect?


texts: How does Swami Vivekananda intepret the Brahma Sutras' criticism of the Yoga school?

texts:
Brahma Sutras criticises the Yoga school in Adhyaya 2, Pada 1, Sutras 1&2:

On the other hand, Swami Vivekananda advocated both schools.

So how does he interpret the Vyasa's criticism of the Yoga school? Is this issue addressed by Swamiji in the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda?

Does Swamiji use Vijnanabhiksu's argument that Yoga speaks about Brahman being only the efficient cause of the universe in the Vyavaharika level whereas Vedanta  talks about Brahman being both the efficient cause and the material cause of the universe in the Paramarthika level?

For those of you who do not who Vijnanabhiksu is, he was a sixteenth century Vaishnavite scholar who was famous for integrating Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta into a philosophy called the Avibhagadvaita; and also for writing commentaries on the Brahma Sutras and Isvara Gita.


texts: Most of the Hindu temples are maintained by Priests. What are the qualifications that one need to become a priest? What are the duties of the priests towards the temple and god (if any)?


texts:
A married couple of male & female with their children is consider a social unit.
A single social unit staying independently -- is called "Nuclear family" and when multiple such units stays together depending on each other -- is called "Joint family".

According to AnushAsana Parva and Manusmruti, a woman should be always protected by father during tender age, husband after marriage and children during old age.
Hence whether a family is "nuclear" or "joint" is decided based on where the man is staying. He may stay with his father &/or brother.

What do dharma shAstra talk about whether a married man should stay with and for how long?
As that decision will eventually lead to nuclear or joint family.

Note: Gita is neutral on this topic. It usually says that a person seeking liberation would be away from the crowd, physically or mentally. However, that's a special case & hence answers from Gita may not fit here.


texts: What separates the Avatar from Atman and Paramatman

texts: As the Avatar is seen or has been seen in his physical or ethereal body, both without and within. What separates him from Atman and Paramatman ?


texts: Rama's family values as interpreted by devotees

texts:
Rama is considered the perfect husband. He is also well known for the strong brotherly bond with lakshmana.

However, by the end of Ramayana, Rama is shown to abandon both sita and lakshmana for various reasons. So,

Why is Rama still strongly associated with family bonds?
Is there a specific reason?


texts: Which forms of God are considered Supreme?

texts:
What forms of God are considered to be the Supreme Being? Lord Krishna says about demigods that who worship demigods will get material desires, but to get moksha one must worship me only.

Are Ganesha, Mother Parvathi, Mother Lakshmi, Karthikeya are also supreme beings?

Some people say the five forms of god are considered Supreme. Some say that Lord Krishna is supreme. Some say that Lord Siva is supreme. I believe that both Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu (including his avatars) are supreme.

Which one is right and on what basis one can say that a Lord is supreme?


texts: Is Navagraha Stotra (Japakusuma-sankasham...) an independent work of Maharshi Vyasa or part of any scriptures?

texts:
The Navagraha Stotra is said to have written by Maharshi Vyasa.  The Stotra link is given below:

Navagrahastotra (with meanings)

Is it part of any scripture or just an independent work?


texts: Where is Ramanujacharya's Jeeva Samadhi located? Is it located in Tamilnadu or anywhere else in India?


texts: Can the "supreme authority" of Veda be proved from Veda itself?

texts:
We know that the Vedas are considered as both Apaurusheya and the most authoritative among all Hindu Shastras.

But do the Vedas themselves speak about their authoritative nature?

AFAIK, such authoritative nature of the Vedas can only be proved by taking help of other Hindu Shastras like the Smritis and the Puranas. But i may be wrong.

For example.  this answer  mentions that both the Vyasa Smriti and the Devi Bhagavatam say that the Vedas are the supreme authority as far as Hindu Scriptures are concerned.

But, can the same be proved from Vedas themselves?

NOTE- Please answer with only Veda Samhita Mantras as references.


texts: Which 299 animals were sacrificed in the Ashwamedha besides the Horse?

texts:
According to SECTION LXXXVIII of the Ashwamedha Parva of Mahabharat besides the horse, there were two ninety-nine other animals (including birds and aquatics!) that were also sacrificed in the ritual:

  Following the injunctions of the scriptures, the priests possessed of great learning then duly tied to the stakes both animals and birds, assigning each to its particular deity. Bulls, possessed of such qualifications as are mentioned in the scriptures, and aquatic animals were properly tied to the stakes after the rites relating to the sacrificial fire had been performed. In that sacrifice of the high-souled son of Kunti, three hundred animals were tied to the stakes setup, including that foremost of steeds.

My question is - Do any scriptures mention which animals, birds and aquatics were sacrificed along with the horse & if their sacrifice was also a part of the standard ritual?


texts: Please somebody tell that what was the surname or title of the Pandavas? Was it Chakraborty because they were also called "Chakraborty Samrat"?


texts: How many types of varna are there in Hinduism?

texts:
I'm not asking about the types: brahmin, kshatriya, vaisya, and sudra.

I'm asking about the types of varnas itself such as astrological varna, birth-based varna, etc.,

How many such types of varnas are there in Hinduism?


texts: What is the significance of the Titles of Spiritual Teachers?

texts:
I came across some Titles of Spiritual Teachers(Guru):

Abhaya
Acharya
Avdhoota
Bharathi
Maharaj
Maharshi
Paramahamsa
Sant
Shankaracharya
Saraswati
Yogi

My questions are:

Is it a complete list of Titles Of Spiritual Teachers? If no, can anyone please provide?
Which one is the highest among them?
Who gives this Title to whom?
What is the significance of the Title?
What is the difference among them??briefly
What is difference among Sadguru,Paramguru and Jagatguru?

Reference Wikipedia


texts: Is Arjuna an avatar of Indra or reincarnation of Rishi Nara?

texts: In Adi Parva, it describes Arjuna as portion of Indra but in the same Mahabharat, it describes Krishna and Arjuna as Nara and Narayana. Is Arjuna a portion of Indra or reincarnation of Rishi Nara?


texts: Which Mahavishnu/Vishnu got tired during material creation?

texts:
The significance of the Puranas and Upapuranas and their stories is known to any Indian worldwide.

The eternal story in which Mahavishnu (one of the three Parmatama expansions) gets extremely tired while material creation. And thus He gave us Amla, (gooseberry) which is a medicine for jiva's  overexertion, is also very important in Indian ancient cultural practices nationwide.

Question: which Mahavishnu does this, Kaaranodsayi Mahavishnu or Garbhodsayi Mahavishnu??


texts:
I would like to know how to destroy ego, fear and negative thoughts? I am not asking this question from a personality development perspective, instead in Hinduism there are some mantras, rituals related to destroying of several evils. What are those?

Do we have to meditate like the saints for longer time to destroy all of those or are there any other ways?


texts: Arishadvarga (See here) includes Krodha and Matsarya. Further these aspects of human mind are mentioned in Ramayana and later scriptures. What references are being made to these ( krodha and Matsarya) in the Rig, yajur and sama vedas?


texts: What is the full story of a falcon stealing the soma from heaven in vedas?

texts:
I have come across the story of a falcon taking the soma and bringing it to mankind.

So what is the actual story from where the falcon taken it and to whom he delivered it?

Please give vedic verses for story and thenafter from other brahmanas, aranyakas etc.


texts: Source for Lokaśaraṇaṃ Vyākaraṇam ( लोकशरणं व्याकरणम् )

texts:
While listening to  Pāṇiníya Aṣṭādhyāyī ( पाणिनीय अष्टाध्यायी ) lectures, the quote Lokaśaraṇaṃ Vyākaraṇam ( लोकशरणं व्याकरणम् ) was attributed to Patañjali ( पतञ्जलि ) but I haven't been able to find it in Patañjali's Mahābhāṣyam ( पतञ्जलि महाभाष्यम् ) commentary on the Aṣṭādhyāyī ( अष्टाध्यायी ) .
Please help me find the same.


texts: Why does Sri Ramakrishna say that Saguna Brahman is real despite being an Advaitin?

texts:
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is known to have taught Advaita Vedanta to His devotees. However, in one of well-known quotes, He says both Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman:

  It's enough to have faith in one aspect of God. You have faith in God without form. That is very good. But never get into your head that your faith alone is true and every other is false. Know for certain that God without form is real (i.e. Nirguna Brahman) and that God with form is also real (i.e. Saguna Brahman). Then hold fast to whichever faith appeals to you.

Why does Sri Ramakrishna say Saguna Brahman to be real despite being an Advaitin?


texts:
Need answers to the following questions in order to clear my doubts:

Who was the writer of Raavana Kaviyam?
What was the reason to write it?
To which state does the author belong to?


texts:
Often some people say Tulasi is not offered to Shiva. But is there Scriptural reference to it?

I remember reading in Shiva Purana that "Tulasi is used in worship of all Gods except Ganesha". So even in Shiva Purana it was stated as "except for Ganesha".

So we can infer that Tulasi can be offered to Shiva. But what is some references for whether or not to offer Tulasi to Shiva?


texts: The Rākṣasa-Yakṣa are twin races that could be considered paired races. Are all the races paired? Does a scripture validate this?

texts:
(Viṣṇu forms for each race above the race name.)
Rākṣasa-Yakṣa have a mostly sweet pairing because they are complimentary at their birth and do not leave each other's side. That made me wonder if the other races are paired up as well. So I looked at my diagram of the tree of life in Hinduism and tried pairing up the races based on how well they fit the idea of "soul mates," and how intertwined their destinies are.
Here are the pairs I can make out:
Vaiṣṇava-Parvata
Mānava-Pāśupata
Dākṣāyaṇi-Prācetasa
Sāvarṇi-Sārameya
Nāga-Pakṣin
Ṛṣi-[Unnamed Race]
Flora-Fauna
Dānava-Graha
Apsaras-Gandharva
Gaṇa-Kṛttikan
Pauloma-Kālakañja
Daitya-Nivātakavaca
N/A as future-Piśāca
Yamadūta-Aśvinīkumāra
Vāyu-Vānara
Kinnara-(can't see this one, but since only one Kinnara seems to be named, I guess that is expected)
Anyway, those pairs were easy to make out. They were so easy it makes me think there is an underlining cause of the races being in pairs. Is there any scripture that explains this phenomenon of paired races? Is this just a natural property of races? The scripture that supports this could easily be mistaken to be talking about romantic love, as the concept of paired races is similar to romantic love, especially the destined life partner kind.


texts: What are the Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita Agamas of Vaishnavism?

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As I discuss in this answer, Hindu scripture is made up of two categories, Shruti or that which is heard from the gods, and Smriti or that which is composed by humans authors and passed down from teacher to student via oral tradition. It's well-known that Smriti encompasses many different categories of texts, like the Puranas, Itihasas (the Ramayana and Mahabharata), Dharma Shastras, etc. What's not as well-known, however, is that Shruti also has two categories - Nigamas aka the Vedas which primarily focus on performing Yagnas (fire-rituals), and Agamas which focus on worshipping the gods through idol worship and other means.

Now the vast majority of mainstream Vaishnavas follow a set of Agamic texts known as the Pancharatra Agamas, which I discuss in this answer.  And as I discuss here, there's a small minority of Vishnu-worshippers that follow another set of Agamas called the Vaikhanasa templs.  For instance, the most popular Vishnu temple in the world, the Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple, is run by Vaikhanasa priests.

I assumed that these were the only types of Vaishnava Agamas, but this essay by Swami Sivananda says otherwise:

  The Vaishnava Agamas are of four kinds: the Vaikhanasa, Pancharatra, Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita.

Lots of other websites make the same claim.  So my question is, what are the Pratishthasara Agamas and the Vijnanalalita Agamas?  Are there any Vishnu temples that follow them?  Are there Vaishnava sects that follow them?  It would have to be some pretty tiny sects, given that the overwhelming majority of Vaishnavas follow Pancharatra Agamas.

Also, what are the origins of these Agamas?  As I discuss in this question, the Pancharatra Agamas are said to originate from a Shakha or recession of the Shukla Yajur Veda, and the Vaikhanas are said to originate from a Shakha of the Krishna Yajur Vedas.  Do the Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita Agamas also originate from Vedic Shakhas?  (See my answer here for more information on Vedic Shakhas.)


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Does anyone have original reference and source for this quote?

"Shrutis are authorities only in the matter of things we cannot decide by our instruments. They tell us what is beyond knowledge, not for worldly matters."


texts: What is significance of purple lotus in hands of Goddess Parvati?

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Although I'm not a Hindu, I once had a beautiful dream about a Hindu lady who presented me with a purple lotus. The dream was AMAZING, but I didn't really understand it, but I remember seeing her eyes and experiencing an intense feeling of love.

I recently bought a statue and researched it, the statue turned out to be Goddess Parvati, and when I saw her image, I realized it was the women in my dream!

What is the significance of a purple Lotus flower and Goddess Parvati?

I'd love to learn more!


texts: Is it possible that we can see future if we have mastered dhyan & samadhi?

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As I have deep faith in our hindu culture & I am quite very interested in Yoga,Pranayam,dhyan,samadhi & tratak kind of stuff.

I came to know if we have mastered in Dhyan & samadhi , we can be free from all pain & will feel infinite joy & happiness or even In deepest stage of samadhi we can see future also.

Does anyone experienced person know proper methods & way to be mastered in Dhyan & Samadhi?


texts: Are all poojas performed for god or can they be done for good/bad spirits also?

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Are all the poojas done to god? Are there any poojas done seeking the help of evil spirits for any favour? I have heard of 'sathru samhara pooja.'
Is doing 'koodothram'(black magic) against hindu tradition?


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In the Pasupata Sutram are quoted  five doctrinal elements, one of them is Duhkkhanta:

Pasupati is the only cause and He grants us His grace directlyin the
share of duhkkhanta

What is the precise meaning of the word Duhkkhanta?


texts: Gayatri mantra is famous all over. 'om bhur bhuvaha svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya......'  Who is invoked in the famous gayatri mantra? I mean which god or goddess is invoked.


texts: During what daily/mundane activities is the Yajnopavitam to be removed?

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First of all this is not a duplicate of this question
I am not asking about permanent removal of the sacred thread, but in what daily activities is this to be removed ?
Is it to be removed prior to ablutions, bathing, sleeping, procreation etc ?
Also from the accepted answer in the aforementioned linked question

He should, daily, study the Vedas and put on his sacred thread. He should speak the truth and control his passion. [Such conduct] leads to the attainment of emancipation.

Usana Smriti

So I assume the sacred thread is not worn all times.


texts: Jataveda and Kravyada forms of Agni, the vedic God of fire

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Agni is the vedic God of fire and sacrifice. Agni is prominent in the hymns of the Vedas and particularly the Brahmanas.In the Rig Veda there are over 200 hymns that praise Agni.

Agni is identified with energy and action,and it  is the first emanation and the sacred spark hidden within all beings.

The test by fire{Agni Pariksha}, has been mentioned in the Scriptures, which highlights the connection of Agni and sacredness, during  the Vedic period.

It is learnt that Agni has two important forms viz Jataveda and Kravyada.

Briefly explain the Jataveda and Kravyada forms of Agni.


texts: Why didn't Lord Rama and Lord Krishna stop untouchability?

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Scriptures confirm that the  untouchability was practiced during Dwapara Yuga.
Lord Rama and Lord Krishna were incarnations of God incarnated to destroy adharma on the earth in Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga respectively.
Lord would be aware of untouchability in that Yuga and its continuation  in Kali Yuga.
It is not mentioned that they opposed untouchability and/or tried to stop it.

QUESTION :

Why didn't Lord Rama and Lord Krishna try to stop or eradicate untouchability ?
Is there any specific reason for not eradicating it ?


texts: Why Vishnu/Rama are called asuras in Vedas?

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I was looking at "asura" article on wikipedia, and found out that certain vedic deities are called asuras. But in Yajurveda Vishnu is equated to Varuna. At same time in Rigveda Varuna is refered to as asura. ALso, in Rigveda, in one place Rama is mentioned with asuratvam (force of asura).
Thus both Vishnu and Rama are called asuras.
Any ideas why is that all so?

http://lordrama.co.in/shri-rama-and-vedas.html


texts: Ritwijas and Purohitas becoming Kshatriya

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While describing the duties of the Brahmanas, Bhishma says

They amongst them that become Ritwikas, Purohitas, counsellors, envoys, and messengers, become, O king, equal to Kshatriyas.

Ganguly's footnote says

A Ritwij is a priest employed on a special occasion. A Purohita is one who always acts as a priest.

What is the actual meaning here? Most of the learned brahmanas are either Ritwijas or Purohitas today.  Even if I ignore today's world, the  sacrifices in Olden days also need Ritwijas?


texts: What is the difference between Nirvikalpa Samadi and Moksha?

texts: When the jivatman unites with Paratman, Ananda of spirit is experienced is this Moksha or Nirvikalpa Samadi what is the difference ?


texts: Lord Shree Rama ruled his kingdom for 11000 years?

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How is it possible to rule a kingdom for so many years?

Or was it like his kingdom followed his dynasty for so many years?

Ravana lived more than Lord Shree Ram as per this link. How is this possible?

What I assume is Ram Rajya was there for 11000 years, he created such a robust living style that it was continued for 11000 years.


texts: Nadamunigal’s contribution to Thiruvaimozhi

texts: Nadamunigal was instrumental  in bringing the Thiruvaimozhi composed by Namalwar when no one recited during that time itself. What was the methodology adopted by Nadhamuni to make people recite Thiruvaimozhi?


texts: The question is about the timeline of the Mahabharata war in which Krishna summons Vishwakarma...?

texts: The question I have is about the timeline in which Krishna summons Vishwakarma to make the city of Indraprastha for the Pandavas; so, did this occur after the Mahabharata war? Or did that take place before the war?


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I would like to know whether moksha is guaranteed for everyone i.e. everyone at some point is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

To be clear, if not in this birth, he will be re-born and he can try it the next time. So this process continues on.

Now, my question is how long does this process go on? Does it go on till the end of the yuga or a yuga cycle (i.e 1 cycle of 4 yugas) or one kalpa or one Bramha year or the life time of Bramha or as long as he realizes and get moksha no matter how many Bramhas are created?

Is moksha guaranteed for everyone at some point?


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In Bengal, there are many temples of 'Panchananda'. I do not know whether any temple of this deity exists outside of Bengal.

What is the difference between Panchanana(Shiva) and Panchananda?

Panchananda is also called Panchanana but His complexion is deep Red and the Form is fierce.

What is the scriptural source of this deity and How is He different from Panchanana (Shiva) as per the scriptures?


texts: Do the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita forbid the consumption of any food?

texts: Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita are two major ancient Hindu texts on health related subjects, include many chapters on the role of diet and personal needs of an individual.The two texts give a list of food considered healthy and unhealthy. Do these texts forbid consumption of any food?


texts: What did lord Krishna describe about Kali Yug?

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How did lord Krishna describe about Kali Yug?

According to lord Krishna, What is Kali yug? and what will happen during Kali yug?


texts: In the Vedas, is there a teaching which supports life after death or resurrection?

texts: I knew that Vedic religion is different somehow from Hinduism. Was Vedas or Vedic religion teaching somewhat of life after death or resurrection, either alone or beside reincarnation?


texts: What is significance of a samadhi place?

texts: What is the significance of a Samadhi place of a Saint? Is there any special power or energy around that place?


texts: Is there any connection between Hanuman of Ramayana and the monkey King who journeyed to the west?

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Is there any truth in saying they are the same.Even though both stories are completely different?
Monkey king was an important part of a Chinese folk story. He was a demi God and he was an immortal.
This is the story
Monkey King is based on a true story of a famous monk, Xuan Zang of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (602-664). ... He was, according to the story, born out of a rock, fertilized by the grace of Heaven and Earth. Being extremely intelligent, he has learned all the magic tricks and gongfu from an immortal Taoist master.


texts:
In my understanding, nature is the supreme power to be worshiped.

Is there any scriptural basis for nature being the Supreme God or Goddess?


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Wikipedia's many articles on Upanishads (e.g Brahma Upanishad, etc. many minor Upanishads) says:

  In the Telugu anthology of 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon, narrated by Rama to Hanuman, this Upanishad is listed at number...

So, I just want to know Is the concept of Muktika canon originated from any Telugu anthology? or Which Telugu anthology constitutes this?


texts: What is the correct duration of every yuga?

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There are different duration for the major 4 yuga (Sat, Tretaa, Dvaapara, Kali) found in internet. With recent (one of the) study it is believed that Ramayana happend 7k years back and Mahabharata 5k years back.

Most of the internet sites suggest lacs(100k) of years for various yugas, but that's not convincing with above study and also sidelines the theory of human evolution, ice age etc.

Any logical clarification on that?


texts: Why is food smelt by a cow impure when cow's dung and urine is used for purification rites?

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Manu-smṛti 5.123:

    पक्षिजग्धं गवा घ्रातमवधूतमवक्षुतम् ।
    दूषितं केशकीटैश्च मृत्प्रक्षेपेण शुध्यति ॥ १२३ ॥

    pakṣijagdhaṃ gavā ghrātamavadhūtamavakṣutam |
    dūṣitaṃ keśakīṭaiśca mṛtprakṣepeṇa śudhyati || 123 ||

    What has been eaten by a bird, what has been smelt by a cow, blown upon, or sneezed at, or defiled by hair and insects, becomes pure by scattering earth.—(123).

The same is repeated in other smṛtis:

  Viṣṇu (23.38) — ‘Food nibbled at by a bird, smelt at by a cow, sneezed on, or defiled by hair, or by insects or worms, is purified by earth scattered over it.’

  Yājñavalkya (1.189) — ‘Food smelt by the cow, or defiled by hair, flies or insects, should have water and ashes or earth sprinkled over it, for purifying it.’

So, why is food smelt by a cow considered impure? Is there a logical explanation for this because it is rather counterintuitive given that cow dung and cow urine is prescribed as a purification method for other minor offenses. E.g., Manu 11.212 says:

  gomūtraṃ gomayaṃ kṣīraṃ dadhi sarpiḥ kuśodakam |
  ekarātropavāsaśca kṛcchraṃ sāntapanaṃ smṛtam || 212 ||

  Taking cow’s urine, cow-dung, milk, curds, clarified butter, kuśa-water, and fasting for one day,—has been declared to be ‘Sāntapana Kṛcchra’— (212)

Also, Yājñavalkya Smṛti 1.194 says:

  CXCIV. — The mouth of a goat and of a horse is
  pure but not of a cow nor impure excretions of man.
  The roads are purified by the rays of the moon and
  sun and by the wind. — 194

Why is horse's and goat's mouth pure but not the cow's?

P.S. I'm aware of a Puranic legend that Surabhi, the mother of all cows was once cursed (for uttering a lie) that whatever it touches with its mouth becomes impure. But I'm not interested in that sort of explanation.


texts: Abhinava Gupta's bhashyam for Srimad Bhagavad Gita?

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Does any one know if there really is a Bhashyam for Srimad Bhagavad Gita by Sri Abhinava Gupta? If yes, how can I get a copy? Is it available in print? or is there an online copy?

Many thanks in advance for any pointers.