texts: Who propounded the method of doing Puja using akshatas?

texts:
Nowadays everyone does a Puja with an overwhelming use of akshatas.Akshatas are the substitute for everything starting from the dhyana/avahana mantras to tamboolam(betel leaves) in case you don't have them.

  Akshatas:Whole rice grain mixed with a pinch of turmeric(some use
  kumkumam in place of turmeric) and a little bit of
  ghee/oil/water(optional).

A typical shodasaupachara Puja of Lord Ganesha is like this:

Here,when we say Mahaganpatim dhyami avahyami, it is understood that we need to sprinkle few akshatas on the idol of Ganesha to install life in the idol which is to remain there till the completion of the Puja.So aksathas replace the use of dhyana/avahana mantras .

Also,when we say asanam samarpayami we also sprinkle akshatas instead of offering an actual asanam(a seat for the Lord).Any of the the 16 upacharas that we don't have in real,we are to offer akshatas in place of each of them.

My question-Who propounded this method of Puja?Was it Adi Shankaracharya?


texts:
Almost every vegetarian food is valid in at least one fast. Meaning, if one food is not allowed in a particular fast then the same food will be allowed in some other fast. For example,

In Hanuman's fast salty food is forbidden But we can eat salt in
Navratra's fast.
Normal rice is forbidden in Navratra's fast but we can eat it in
Hanuman's fast and in some others also.
And almost everything is eatable in Satya Narayana's fast except
onion and garlic.

By above examples I came to know that if one God rejects one food then some other God accepts the same food.

Onion (and may be garlic also) is the food which is not allowed in any of the fasts.

Why do all Gods reject onion?
Why is onion rejected in every fast?


texts: I read that gayatri mantra should be learned from a sage or yogi OR Brahman. I want to start learning gayatri mantra. What is the procedure to follow for this and whom should I contact?


texts: What Scriptures describe Rasaleela of Rudra (Shiva) with Krishna?

texts:
Some blogs on internet say Lord Shiva (in human form "Rudra") participated in divine dance (Rasaleela) with Krishna at Vrindavan.

Did Bhagavatam or any Purana mention Shiva (Rudra) dancing with Krishna?


texts: vedic texts about the art of dancing or art in general

texts: Are there any vedic texts that describe/teach the art of dancing? If not is there a vedic text that describe the dance of lord Nataraj?


texts: Did the divine architect Vishwakarma cause the Earth to submerge?

texts:
Vishwakarma, AKA Tvashta, is the architect of the gods.  He built, among other things, Indra's city of Amaravati, Krishna's city of Dwaraka, and Ravana's city of Lanka.  His daughter Sanjana married Surya the sun god, as I discuss here, and his son Trisiras temporarily served as the guru of the gods, as I discuss here and here.  And he's responsible for the creation of Vritrasura, a famous demon that Indra is known for defeating.
But I'm interested in another story involving Vishwakarma.  This excerpt from the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda describes the benefits that various kings have derived from performing the Rajasuya Yagna, and here is what it says about Vishwakarma:

With this great anointing of Indra Kashyapa anointed Vishvakarman Bhauvana.  Therefore Vishvakarman Bhauvana went round the Earth completely, conquering on every side, and offered the horse in sacrifice.  The earth sang, they tell:
'No man whatsoever ought to give me,
O Vishvakarman Bhauvana, thou hast been fain to give me;
I shall plunge into the middle of the water;
Vain was this thy compact with Kashyapa.'

(Bhauvana means son of the Earth.)  This chapter of the Shatapatha Brahmana of the Yajur Veda says the same thing:

Visvakarman Bhauvana once performed this sacrifice, and having performed it he overpassed all beings, and became everything here; and verily he who, knowing this, performs the Sarvamedha, or who even knows this, overpasses all beings, and becomes everything here.
It was Kasyapa who officiated in his sacrifice, and it was concerning this that the Earth also sang the stanza;--'No mortal must give me away; thou wast foolish, Visvakarman Bhauvana: she (the earth) will sink into the midst of the water; vain is this thy promise unto Kasyapa.'

So it seems that Vishwakarma, as part of a Sarvamedha Yagna, gave away all his possessions, which included the Earth itself, to the sage Kashyapa who had conducted the Yagna.  But Bhumidevi the goddess of the Earth told him that no one was allowed to give her away, so she said she would submerge herself into the water so that Vishwakarma wouldn't fulfill his promise to Kashyapa.
My question is, what ultimately happened?  Did the Earth get submerged, and if so how did emerge from the water?  Was this similar to the occasion that Vishnu's incarnation Varaha retrieved the Earth from the water?
Are there any other scriptures that discuss this story?


texts: Are there any pandemics (like covid-19) in scriptures other than the one by Visuchi

texts:
Yoga Vasistha contains the story of Visuchika and the details of pandemic caused by her.
Visuchika killed many humans for several years by entering through nostrils of human in form of very small needle. And all other details given are similar to that of a pandemic.
Does scriptures mention any other pandemics other than the one caused by Visuchi?


texts:
I'm reading this famous anecdote about KalidAsa, the great Indian poet. However it is written in Sanskrit and so, I have certains gaps in my interpretation.

Here's how I've interpreted the story in English to the best of my abilities:

  Once there was a poet in the King's court. His name was KalidAsA:. He,
  by his skill, was the best among all the poets (no one else was
  better?). He was the most respected in the King's court. He alone,
  among the poets, is recognized as the Chakravarti**(Indian word for
  chief/king/leader).** Another arrogant poet, who, in the absence of other poets,
  scolded the king (this is where I'm confused. I'm pretty
  sure I've misinterpreted this line. Why would another poet who is arrogant be narrating a story about KalidAsa to the king?). Somehow, the king listened to the
  story with joy: Once there was a king who invited all the poets (I'm
  not sure what the 'ka khA ga ghA' signifies) and having solved a puzzle,
  he told them "whoever can solve this puzzle, he alone, will be deemed
  Chakravarti." All the poets abandoned what they were doing and became
  engaged in solving the puzzle. Many solved the puzzle. The next day,
  having come to King's court with dull faces, they couldn't stand there
  firmly**(once again, this doesn't make sense. Why would they be embarrassed if many solved it?)** (Unsure what the last paragraph says even though it is the
  punchline of the story...)

I've translated the text line by line, to the best of my abilities.

Questions

I'm having trouble understanding this anecdote. What exactly is going on here?
Where have I misinterpreted based on the text. I've translated line for line, so hopefully it is easy to pinpoint exactly which sentence I misunderstood.
If I've slightly misinterpreted a sentence(tense/plurality/etc), but still captured the overall essence, please still correct me. It'll help me get better at reading Sanskrit texts and serve as a source for others to better decode Sanskrit texts.


texts: What was the age of Sita at the time of marriage?

texts: I've read the claims that she was a child at the time of marriage. Is that really true? What scriptures tell about the marriage age of Sita?


texts:
Is thinking that the body is the self a form of mental illness/disorder ?

If a Psychopath(alex) killed people but in his mind he thought that he actually helped the victims from some mysterious serial killers ,he even will  confuse when  police puts him under arrest  because he still thinks that the serial killers still exist around there to kill more people while according to police  actually it was him and no other people involved doing the acts....

His dementia made him not remembering the acts ,he even is  still searching for his glasses Even though he wears it all the time....

His schizophrenia made him seeing different reality he saw the victims as serial killers while according to police there were no victims to be saved at all they only existed in his mind

These kind of people can't differentiate between reality and dream and  you may say that they are crazy but they may actually think you are the one who are crazy here

If you still don't get the question please YouTube or Google  "fractured" or "shutter island" movie

What the most confusing thing to me is that mind itself can do karma too besides the body, and in that previous case his mind did good karma by saving people from serial murderers but according to the police's mind he did bad karma ,what is right here ?

It doesn't stop there... if the police said "sir ,you just hallucinated you never saved people instead you killed them the Psychopath will just say "alright ,maybe you are right but I think I still hallucinate even now so maybe you are unreal too let me finish you too..  after all you are just my hallucination aren't you ?"  So I don't think the police could ever convince him that he was guilty his argument was basically "I exist in my own reality ,there is no objective reality everything are subjective reality I can do everything because in my subjective world  whatever I do is right" what do you think about that paradox ?

This reminds me about quantum paradox that still makes scientists confused  basically at atomic level everything will have different state just because you observe it for example in a double slit experiment a photon will behave like particle but when you observe it they will instead behave like wave.. and only when you observe it they change their nature.. if you don't trust me you can Google it by yourself , it's mind-blowing isn't it ?

Now using advaita ,do "you" even have body and mind at all ? Do "you" have past karmaphala or any karmaphala at all ? Or can "you" state that "you" own everything including every karmaphala , every body and every mind ?

I think there is strong relation between psychology , science and advaita maybe you can correct me here too

I know we can't avoid doing karma but we can do karma without getting affected by the karmaphala(fruit) according to Sri Krishna

  Block quote
  "The Atma-jnani is not bound by the results of Karma; it is only those who indulge in Karma without the awareness of the Atma, (their real Self, unaffected by what they do or feel or think) that do get bound. Like the person who has learnt swimming, the Jnani can safely wade into the sea of worldly activity. If you do not know swimming, but yet enter the sea, the waters will swallow you up and death is sure." Source : geetha vahini chapter 4 written by sathya sai baba (geetha and Baba's commentary)

  Block quote

And don't bother to answer this if you don't know advaita at all I just don't want you becoming more confused like me

Hence my question


texts: What Hinduism says about the judgment day?

texts:
Are there any references to judgement day in Hinduism?
Judgement Day, as per Abrahmanic religion refer to the day when the earth is destroyed. Everyone will be resurrected to be judged about what they did on earth.

Is there anything like this in Hindu scripture?


texts: What is the "Golden Age" of 10,000 years in Kaliyuga?

texts:
What is the Golden Age of 10,000 years in Kali Yuga as per Brahma-vaivarta Purana's description? What does it mean?

When does it start and what will happen during this period?


texts: What is the birth-place of Sri Chaitanyadeva?

texts: There are "birth-place" temples of Sri Chaitanyadeva at Navadvip and Mayapur,one at the east side and another at the west side of the Ganges.Which place seems authentic? I am interested in knowing the reason.


texts: Who is the seer/rishi of the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya?

texts:
It is said that every mantra that is available to us on our planet was brought to us by some seer. The seer of the mantra is called the rishi of that mantra. It means the one who saw.

So I want to know who is the seer/rishi of the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya?


texts:
I am quite fascinate and confused by karma philosophy.

But then I don't understand how it exactly works

A hurts B in some way (A has done bad karma)

C hurts A (A's karma has bore fruit)

but in the process C has incurred bad karma ?? Is it ?

If yes, then how does one reconcile the fact that C's response, even though C was unknowing about it, was a fruitition of bad karma done by A in some past.

If no, then that means there're two types of karma , one original you have done which will reap some fruit , secondly a karma which is a fruit of someone else's karma.

I hope you got my query . thanks :)


texts: Why there is Untouchability in Hindu religion?

texts:
I have sees from my childhood my mother always force us to do following activities

After Nature Call you have to  take bath  up to waist or change the cloth for later cleaning.
I somebody dies in your vansh and any baby born you have to change the janeu.
If a girl is in Mensuration period, then she will sleeping on mat which should not be touched by anybody. She will alienated for three days.
No low caste people should be allowed to cook your food or do your household activities.
In india Thread ceremony has been differently performed in different places and it is very difficult to find the same pandit from your state to do the thread
change for you during Mitrika( During Child birth) and Chhutrika( If somebody dies in your vansh).

Please tell me how many of the above are justified or not.

I have seen many relatives who are matric fail, but still gives boastful statement of they are brahmin. Don't you think they should be demoted from brahmin to some other caste? Those who can't protect Vedant knowledge or pass through the correct knowledge to next generation should not be regarded as brahmin. Their brahmin license should be canceled.
Some authority should be there who should  keep track all the varna management

Please suggest a correct procedure for my question.


texts:
Was Sai Baba a Hindu lord or a Muslim?

If he was a Hindu, then why did he distribute non-vegetarian food as prasada to people?


texts: Why did the Vaisheshika school believe 100 quadrillion is the largest number?

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 Vaisheshika school, according to which atoms are the cause of the Universe. As I discuss here, the second oldest work of the Vaisheshika school is Prashastapada's Padartha Dharma Sangraha. Now in this excerpt of the Padartha Dharma Sangraha, Prashastapada discusses the nature of numbers:

  Number forms the basis of such usages as "one" and the rest.  It inheres in one and in many substances.  The number inhering in one substance has its eternal and transient manifestations as those of the color etc. of the atom of water and the rest.  The number inhering in many substances begins with "Two" and ends with "Parardha" (100,000,000,000,000,000).

I'm interested in the part in bold.  The fact that a Parardha equals 100,000,000,000,000,000, i.e. 100 quadrillion, is a parenthetical note given by the translator, but it's confirmed in this chapter of the Vishnu Purana:

  A Parárddha, Maitreya, is that number which occurs in the eighteenth place of figures, enumerated according to the rule of decimal notation.

But my question is, why did the Vaisheshika school believe that 100 quadrillion is the largest number?  The fact that they believed this seems fairly clear.  Here's what this excerpt from Sridhara's Nyaya Kandali, a commentary on Prashastapada's work, says:

  The number inherent in more than one substance includes all numbers from two to the highest conceivable number. "Parardha" is that at which all limitations of number ceases.

But what is the reason for this belief?  Now as I said, the Vaisheshika school believed in atomism, so is it possible that they thought that 100 quadrillion was the number of atoms in the Universe, and thus the biggest number?  Do any Vaisheshika works shed light on this?


texts: What's the science behind Kundli Matching for marriages?

texts:
In Hinduism, it is almost like tradition to match Kundli for marriages. What is exact science behind the Kundli matching?

How people are able to predict match without even meeting people based on time of birth & place?


texts: Why is Sai Baba worshipped on Thursdays in particular.


texts: What is the difference between atma gayan and the knowledge of the Upanishads?

texts: What is the difference between Atma gayan(the knowledge of Self) and the the knowledge of upanishad.


texts: What is a definition of being a Hindu and can one be a Hindu without being a particular caste?

texts:
To illustrate being a Christian means, I have faith that Jesus is the son of God is our saviour, put my faith in Lord the Father, Lord the Christ and the Holy Ghost. Rest all are historic developments.

in a similar fashion, what makes one a Hindu? And if somebody becomes a Hindu can he be practise without being labeled to any particular Caste or Varna?


texts: Why does Thirumazhisai Alwar say the Pandava Thoothar statue of Krishna is older than him?

texts:
The Alwars (also spelled Azhwars) are a group of 12 ancient Vaishnava saints who lived in Tamil Nadu and are famous for their devotional poetry in praise of Vishnu. The collection of their 4000 poems, known as the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam, is considered by many to be the "Dravida Veda", or South Indian Veda. The Alwars are crucially important figures in the history of Vaishnavism; it's the beliefs and principles embodied in the Alwars' poems that ultimately gave rise to the Sri Vaishnava sect (of which I'm a member).

One of the Alwars was known as Thirumazhisai Alwar.  He was the son of the sage Bhargava, but he was raised by tribal people and became a famous Shaivite poet, before ultimately converting to Vaishnavism.  But my question is about when Thirumazhisai Alwar lived.  As I discuss in this question, traditional Sri Vaishnava accounts say that Thirumazhisai Alwar, along with the first three Alwars, were all born in 4203 BC, almost a thousand years before the birth of Krishna!

Yet in this verse from his poem "Thiruchanda Virutham", Thirumazhisai Alwar says this:

  Ninrathu Enthai Ooragathu Irundathu Enthai Paadagathu
  Anru Vekkanaik Kidandhathu Ennilaatha Munnelaam
  Anru Naan Pirandilen Pirandapin Marandilen
  Ninrathum Irundhathum Kidandhathum En Nenjule

  Before I was born, He was standing in Ooragam, was sitting in Paadagam and was lying down in Tiruvekka. At that time I was not born with wisdom; When once I was born with this wisdom, I never forgot. Therefore, the Lord left all those places and has taken permanent abode in my heart.

For those who don't know, Ooragam refers to the Ulagalantha Perumal Vamana temple in Kanchipuram, and Tiruvekka refers to the Yatothkari Perumal Vishnu temple in Kanchipuram, where Vishnu stopped Saraswati from destroying Brahma's Yagna.

But I'm interested in Paadagam, which refers to the Pandava Thoothar temple, again in Kanchipuram.  Pandava Thoothar means "messenger of the Pandavas", and it's a gigantic statue of Krishna sitting and showing his Vishwarupa form in the court of Duryodhana, which I discuss here.  The story of the temple is that when Arjuna's great-grandson Janamejaya was listening to the Mahabharata, he heard the incident of Krishna showing his Vishwarupa form to the Kauravas, and he wanted to see the Vishwarupa for himself.  So he went to Kanchipuram and prayed to Vishnu, and Vishnu appeared before him in the same manner that he had appeared to the Kauravas.

So my question is, why does Thirumazhisai Alwar say that the Vishnu was sitting in Padagam before he was born, when Thirumazhisai is said to have been born nearly a thousand years before Krishna and the Pandava Thoothar statue only appeared in the time of Janamejaya?

In the rest of the verse, Thirumazhisai Alwar speaks of his symbolic birth once he attained Jnana, so is it possible that he's referring to that here too?  He could have lived a long life, and he may have only attained Jnana some time after Vishnu appeared before Janamejaya.  Another possibility is that he means that Vishnu has eternally resided in these places, even if he hadn't manifested in statue form yet.

Are there any commentaries which shed light on this?


texts: Who is lord Janardana?? why is he called the prime cause of the material universe and param brahma? is there any scriptural proof for that?

texts: in many places and even in some shaivaite puranas , he is called prabrahma and the cause of the trimurtis. but in internet or google there are a very less information about this. please provide me with proper scriptural proofs that he actually is the parambrahma.


texts: Is Hinduism a culture of living more than just a religion?

texts:
Nowadays most of the people are just considering Hinduism or Sanathana Dharma as a religion. But actually Hinduism touches almost every aspect of a human life. It clearly defines what to do in a particular stage of life. Human life is divided into mainly 4 Ashramas and clearly assigning duties to be done in particular stage:

Brahmacharya or the period of studentship
Grihastha or the stage of the householder
Vanaprastha or the stage of the forest-dweller or hermit
Sannyasa or the life of renunciation or asceticism

The cultural values have equal importance in Hinduism. Also it teaches how to live a perfect life through its vast collection of books like Vedas, Updanishaths, & Puranas.

Ayurveda & Yoga are some of the examples which deals with health. It also includes many scientific subjects. Vedic mathematics, Astrology, Vasthushasthra, & Geography are some examples. It also teachings about protecting nature. Also, Hinduism is hiding many scientific facts in most of its rituals and sacraments. Many discoveries of modern science were previously discovered by Rishis and Yogis. Religions don't handle all these subjects, they typically focus on worshiping Gods or following particular rituals according to the holy books.

Another thing to notice is that Hinduism does not have a founder. It does not have a single holy book, but it does have a lot of texts which are considered important and those texts discussing a variety of topics.

Christianity - Jesus  - Holy Bible
Islam        - Allah  - Holy Quran
Buddhism     - Buddha - Tripitaka
Hinduism     - ?      - ?

Hinduism does have the method of worshiping Gods, but we need to keep in mind that every culture naturally covers the religious aspects too.

Even though it includes religious aspects, can it be considered as only a religion? Can it be considered as religion like Christianity, Islam or Buddhism?   Or, is it a culture which was followed in particular region India and then spread across the world as a religion?


texts: What and how many forms of Spirit (आत्मा) are considered?

texts:
I was asking someone that why sometimes we call it soul and sometimes as spirit. I found that Spirit (आत्मा) same as the Soul (अन्तरात्मा). And he said jivatma and pretatma are forms of soul in which it exists. But he knows only two forms. So I like to know,

In How many forms can Spirit (आत्मा) exist?


texts:
Karna is my role model, I keep on reading about him but I am unable to find the moment of his death, I also read that Lord Krishna tested him when he was on deathbed, I would like to know what exactly happened?

Thanks in advance!!!


texts: What are the objections raised by Radhagovinda Nath against the teachings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura?

texts:
Principal Radhagovinda Nath, D.Lit was one of the most renowned Gaudiya Vaishnava scholars respected throughout Bengal. He, in his famous book "Gaudiya Vaishnava Darshana" (1953), raised a series of objections based on scriptures and evidence that goes against the preachings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

Sri Sundarananda Vidyavinoda was also a great Gaudiya scholar who wrote about the same in the 1940's.

I am interested to know the arguments of Sri Radhagovinda Nath. His works on the life and the teachings of Sri Chaitanydeva are phenomenal.One of his books is available online: https://archive.org/details/GauraTattva


texts:
Why India is only country favouring Hinduism?

If our god has created all universe and world, they must be recognise across the world and shows his supernatural power at very corner of other part where injustices happen.

Why ISIS growing his terrorist activities? Lord must stop it all.


texts: How does the janam kundli of 9 grahas, Surya graha, chandra graha, etc. look like?

texts: Do we have janam kundli of 9 grahas found in any scripture? What is the source?


texts:
What are the main differences between these yogic virtues:
Yama,
Niyama,
Asana,
Pranayama,
Pratyahara,
Dhyana,
Dharana,
Samadhi.


texts: Who is Arjuna, who had captured Ravana at Narmada river?

texts:
Once Ravana is going to river Narmada to challenge with Arjuna to measure his strength. But captured by Arjuna there?

Who is Arjuna here?

Why did Arjuna capture Ravana?

I eager to know the full story behind their war.

Finally how could Ravana able to save himself from Arjuna?


texts: How can one realize he has attained "MOKSHA" After becoming free several times, one can remember the accumulated experiences of hardships, depriving oneself of pleasure, abstinence through which one becomes free. if he does not attain, achieve anything that is the meaning of "Dharma"[HINDUISM}?. After going through several grievous and painful experiences wilfully what one achieves as a final release from material aspirations and ambitions, his mind conditioned, can that attainment be called "MOKSHA" in that state of life he is free from desire and does not want to die nor another birth again. I know attainment MOKHSA is very hard to achieve.


texts: What scriptures describe juice coming from Ganesha's cheeks covering Kailash?

texts:
The Sankalpa Suryodaya is a play by the 13th century Sri Vaishnava Acharya Vedanta Desikan.  At one point in the play, a king goes around the world in a Vimana looking for a good place to meditate. He visits various sacred places, but rejects most of them for various reasons. Here is the reason he gives for Mount Kailash:

  Though occupied by the lord who overthrew Manmatha, Mount Kailash is no fit place for uninterrupted meditation.  The juice flowing from the mountainlike cheeks of Vinayaka and bubbling like the dark waves of the Yamuna covers the whole place as with black paint.

The lord who overthrew Manmatha is Shiva.  But I'm interested in the part in bold.  My question is, what scriptures describe Ganesha covering Mount Kailash with juice coming from his cheeks?

Also, it says the juice covers the place "as with black paint".  So does scripture give that as the reason for the black appearance of the mountain?


texts: Is it the dharma of Rakshasas to be evil?

texts:
I remember Ravana being berated for being adharmic (fighting while rendering himself invisible, if i recall right)  and he says thats the way Rakshasas behave.

Is Rakshasa Dharma described anywhere?


texts: What are the Scriptural Recitals During Shukravara Chandramaulishwara Puja?

texts: What are Parayanams(Scriptural Recitals) of Chandramaulishwara Puja held every Friday at Shringeri Sharada Peetham? Apart from Rudra Prashna and Durga Suktam?


texts: How many times Yudhistir's coronation happened and when in the Mahabharata?

texts: It seems there is various versions of Yudhistir's coronation. One before the war. One after the war. Which of these is authentic and when did the coronation take place w.r.t war?


texts:
I was reading about the Temple Sleep or Nidra in Wikipedia. It was mentioned that the Ancient Hindu people used to carry the person suffering from sickness to the temple to be cured by hypnotic suggestion or "temple sleep.

It was basically a practice of staying during night at a temple for meditational self-observance and communication with the deities.

Hence hypnotism as a tool for health seems to have been practised in Hinduism.

Question :
What scriptures/literatures in Hinduism mention the details of Hypnotism?


texts: Does the name Lord Balaji come from Lord of 'Bal Lao Jee' (please bring hair), which later transformed to Balaji? I am trying to find the origin of this specific name of Lord Vishnu


texts: Why do we have kuladevatha, grama devatha, when ista devatha does the same job ?

texts:
AFAIK, based on one's own understanding and spiritual level, one may find love on one avatar who may be called ista devatha. Why do we have kula devatha/family god and grama devatha/village god worship when we know God is one and all His forms are equal?

Grama devatha usually will be shakti or a god in veera form and kuladevatha may be the ista devatha of father or forefathers or may had been chosen for a particular cause or a reason. Even in puja I see people worship all these three, why is this practice introduced?


texts: Are the one lakh+ slokas of the KulArnava Tantram really lost or are they still extant under some other titles?

texts:
I have the book KulArnava Tantram, which is a ShAkta Agama.

It is comprised of 17 chapters (each chapter is called an UllAsha here; so Saptadasha UllAsaha is the last chapter).

Each chapter is again comprised of around 115-140 slokas.

Assuming 120 slokas per chapter, the total number of slokas in the whole text is 2040.

But, the ending verse of each chapter is typically like the one given below:

  Iti Sri KulArnave NirvAna MokshadvAre MahArahasye SarvAgamottamottame
  SapAdlakshyagranthe Panchamakhande UrdhhAmnAya Tantre Jiva Stithi Kathanam NAma Prathama UllAsha.

This is how the 1st chapter ends. Similar verses, with slight modifications, are present at the end of each of the 17 chapters.

Now, SapAda Lakshya means one and one quarter lakh; so the total number slokas that the original text is supposed to contain is 1 lakh and 25,000. But, as said above, my book does not have more than around 2000 slokas.

Question-
 Are these slokas really lost or never discovered or extant under some other titles? Or is it the case of KulArnava being part of a larger Tantra scripture that is comprised of 1,25000 slokas?


texts: What exactly do we mean by the term 'deep meditation'?

texts:
When we say that a person is in deep meditation then what exactly do we mean:

Is the person still aware of what is going around him, like he can hear the various sounds be it anything?
He is not aware of anything apart from his breath?
He is not aware of anything at all?
None of the above, it is something else?


texts: Is it true that all goddesses (e.g. Ambe, Vaishnodevi and other goddesses) are actually body parts of Sati Devi?


texts: Which of the Yadavas survived the destruction of Yadavas at Prabhas?

texts:
Wiki page on Mausala Parva has this to say about the destruction of the Yadavas -

Soon everyone who is battling is dead, except Vabhru, Daruka and
Krishna. Balarama survives because he was not at the fracas, and not
inebriated.
Balarama and Vabhru die next. Krishna asks Daruka to go to Pandavas
... Vasudeva dies next while he is meditating.

Which means everyone died but that can't be correct as Krishna's great grandson "Vajra" was appointed King later on as pointed out in this answer:

But the great-grandson of Shri Krishna, Vajra, the son of Anirudha
(Anirudha was son of Pradyumna ) survived and was appointed as King by
Arjuna as described in Mahabharata.

So, who all actually survived that conflict?


texts: Which is the most authentic english translation of Manu Smriti?

texts: Which is the most authentic translation of Manu Smriti preferably literal word to word one?


texts: I know that God is all pervading according to Advaita Vedanta, but I want to know why the Vedas and Upanishads originated in India and why the puranas revolve around the Indian region.


texts:
How different (or similar) is the Vedic astrology from Lal kitab

Which one is preferred over the other and what are the key differences

I have referred the History of Lal Kitab and its Difference with Vedic Astrology but didn't quite understood it


texts: Bhagavata Maha Purana and Gayatri Mantra

texts:
Matsya Maha Purana chapter 53, slokha 20 says the following:

यत्राधिक्र्त्य गायत्रीम् वर्ण्यते धर्मविस्तर: | व्र्त्रासुरवधोपेतम् तत्भागवतमुछ्यते ||

Translation: The Purana that contains The Gayatri mantra at the beginning, and elaborates various forms of Dharmas, and contains the account of the slaying of VrtrAsura, is known as (Srimad) Bhagavatam.

Now my question is, does Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana (NOT the Devi Bhagavatam) contain The Gayatri Mantra at the beginning (or the beginning chapters)? The print version I have does not seem to begin with the Gayatri Mantra, but I may have overlooked something. Hence this question.
Thanks in advance for answers and notes.
Note: Kindly don't take this as a dispute of authenticity, or a debate involving Srimad Bhagavatam vs Sri Devi Bhagavatam. I am aware of that debate, and the goal here is not to have another one here.


texts: Does all yogas include chakras and kundalini awakening?

texts: Does all the yogic traditions like bhakti yoga, kriya yoga, karma yoga...etc involve the concepts of chakras, kundalini and siddhis based on the scriptures?


texts:
We all know Bhagwan Buddh was the incarnation of Great Lord Vishnu.

Vaishnav worship Lord Vishnu. Why did then Lord Vishnu created another Dharma? Why did not he rectified Hinduism?


texts: From where was the Earth raised - water or space?

texts:
Srimad Ramayana mentions about the creation of Earth as follows:

  सर्वम् सलिलम् एव आसीत् पृथिवी यत्र निर्मिता |
  ततः समभवद् ब्रह्मा स्वयम्भूर् दैवतैः सह || २-११०-३

  All was water only in the beginning from which element the earth was formed. After that, the self-existent Brahma with all the gods came into existence.

  स वराहः ततो भूत्वा प्रोज्जहार वसुंधराम् |
  असृजच् च जगत् सर्वम् सह पुत्रैः कृत आत्मभिः || २-११०-४

  Thereafter, that Brahma, assuming the form of boar, caused the earth to rise from water and with his sons of pure soul, created the entire world.

The question is not about who raised the Earth.

The question is about where from the Earth was raised.  Many scholars translated the word salilam (सलिलम्) as water, and commented that the Earth was raised from water.

However, water is also a part of Earth. Then how can the Earth be raised from  water?

By the way, the salilam (सलिलम्) has another meaning also, apart from water: waves, kind of wind.

So can we think that the Earth might have been brought out from the space, but not out of water?


texts:
Narada Muni is in all of the TV series based on Hinduism  shown as someone who can travel wherever he wants and is respected by all, even by the Rakshas, who clearly hate Narayana.

Assuming this depiction to be true: how can he travel wherever he wants and why is he respected by all? Apart from the fact that he is a sage and by default gets respected by all.


texts: Orthodox written form of Sanskrit character Kleem?

texts:
I'm preparing a Yantra with which one can do "inner" Tratak on Kleem during the Sadhana of Kleem. One needs to draw a triangle pointing downwards with Kleem inside of it. Now I'm not sure enough which one to draw since there are two choices:

 or  .

Which one is more orthodox? I believe the orthodox one can produce the original effect that it should have- the power of characters, when we meditate on it.
Please help me choose the right one. Many thanks.


texts: What was Adi Shankara's view on Puranas?

texts:
Puranas are the scriptures of Hinduism which are accepted by some people and rejected by some people. There are 18 Mahapuranas which are the most important. The basic theory that puranas are interpolated or not written by Sage Vyasa arises because many verses of Puranas contradict each other. Vishnu Purana says Lord Vishnu is supreme and other Devas are His subordinates and the same Shiva Mahapurana says that Lord Shiva is supreme and other devas are His subordinates (Same thing in Devi Purana etc).
Some Puranic stories also contradict other but to defend these puranas the theory is that the contradiction is arised due to Kalpa-Bheda. It could be true also.

Now I want to know what did Adi Shankara thought about Puranas? He mainly wrote a commentary on Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, did he mention anything about Puranas? Are Puranas authentic according to Shankara?


texts: Who were the seven rishis called Chitrashikhandins?

texts:
In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharat SECTION CCCXXXVII the following verse is mentioned:

  King Uparichara, otherwise called Vasu, became a disciple of Vrihaspati and soon became the foremost of his disciples. Admitted as such, he began to study at the feet of his preceptor that science which was composed by the seven Rishis who were (otherwise) known by the name of Chitrasikhandins.

My question is who were these rishis?


texts:
namo babhlushaya in Shri Rudram anuvaka 2-what does truly mean in sanskrit?is it saying he rides a bull?

what does babhlu mean?


texts: Does this statement about Smartas have scriptural authority?

texts:
A book by Agehananda Bharati contains a statement on Smartas:

  The Smarta-brahmins of the Tamil. Telugu. and Malayalam speaking
  areas of the Dravidian South of India are no doubt the highest caste by
  consensus and acclaim; ideologically, they are followers of Samkaracarya ■ they worship all Vedic gods on the ritualistic side, but Siva is their tutelary deity and the monistic Advaita philosophy provides their main
  ideological framework.

Is it factual about their practices and does the statement about their status have any scriptural basis?


texts:
We know that satyabhama is the  second important wife of Krishna.

I found only this, saying about past life of her and only one paragraph says about her past life.

Where  can I read more about the past life of Satyabhama from authentic texts?


texts: Why do we not have the technology used by Ravana, or others in EPICs?

texts:
My questions are about all the supernatural weapons and things used.

If everything was oral tradition, I agree and respect that as well. Why isn't that available like Vedas and other things? You can forget about the events from Ramayan for a moment too as that was nearly 2.1 million years back, but what about Mahabharat which has technologies from few thousand years ago.

Some positive points, the remains of Idols found across India, Indonesia(Krishna Arjun), Thailand, Afghanistan, etc. The plastic surgery, cataract, etc. mentioned in the book Shusrut Samhita, etc.

However, regarding techonologies, please share your thoughts!

Is there any recorded knowledge for how to invoke or use Brahmastra or other DIVINE weapons used in Ramayana or Mahabharata or any other scripture, if not, why wasn't that all recorded or known or passed on?
I agree with Vimana Shastra, where it's written on how to make spacecrafts using what materials and what a pilot should do. But why isn't there a single human being making use of that book and creating something or understanding those things?
Why does no one have any knowledge regarding those weapons, or levitating in skies with human body, etc.? How to prove that Yudhistihir's Chariot was actually levitating one feet above the ground at all times until the Mahabharat War?


texts: Which scripture wrote the "Ganapathi Moola Mantra"?

texts:
For removal of Drishti the remover should wash his/her hands and legs before entering the home and we believe Mantra can prevent Dhristi Doshas.

The following Mantra to prevent Dristi Doshas/ Evil eye:

Ganapathi Moola Mantra:

  Aum shreem hreem kleem glaum gum ganapathaye

  Vara-varadha sarva janam-mey vasamaanaya swaha

My question: Which scripture wrote/named "Ganapathi Moola Mantra"? (the one we used to remove obstacles) and what is the meaning of Ganapathi Moola Mantra?


texts: Krishna keeping Karna's mind under illusion to prevent him from using the Shakti weapon

texts:
Karna possessed the deadly Vasavi Shakti weapon during the Kurukshetra war. He could kill Arjuna at anytime during the war.

But, did Krishna keep Karna's mind under illusion, so that he did not use that weapon?


texts: What is the basis of this image of Goddess Kali?

texts:
The dhyana-mantra of Dakshina-Kali quoted in Tantra-saara says that She is holding Kharga in Her upper left hand, chinna-munda in lower left hand, abhaya-mudra in upper right hand and vara mudra in lower right hand.(Reference:Sastramulak Bharatiya Saktisadhana, Upendrakumar Das, RMIC ,Vol.1, chapter 11, page 468-470). In Bengal, we do see Her images almost always tallies with this description.

But in other parts of India, especially Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, we find a different image.I have enclosed such an image. Ravi Varma also did paint an image with such features.

There must be some dhyana-mantra corresponding to this particular form. In which scripture do we find that dhyana-mantra?


texts: Thousand Pillars Mantap in Ranganatha temple, Sri Rangam

texts: In Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple there is a 1000 pillared mantap. It is said that a Chola king built this overnight as per the order of the God. In total how many pillars are there and any scripture reference supporting that it has been built overnight? Please cascade.


texts: Is anything available in hinduism history about the incident of karbala?

texts:
I have seen many Hindus who call themselves as hussaini brahmins who worship Imam hussain and his 72 companions.

So is the incident of Karbala present in any historical books of Hindus?

The thing is that I recently met a person who was working on this topic (Hinduism and Karbala). He gave me an article which was based on a Holy book of Hindus which was based on life history of lord Shiva and His wife Parvathi.

The lines were somewhat like this:

  Never forget Parvathi, after a long time from now there will be a pious boon of god who will be known by the name mahamat [prophet mohammed p.b.u.h.] who will have a beautiful daughter who will never commit any sin in her life [fatimah(s.a.)] but at last the disbelievers of mahamat kill her son very far away from his home without food water and shelter very brutally but after this humanity will open the eyes of everyone and that sacrifice shall be remembered till the end


texts:
Can somebody give me some information on the Goddess Nila?

I read about Her in this question: What scriptures describe Krishna's lover Nappinnai?

Vishnu's other wives, Lakshmi and BhumiDevi are goddesses of Wealth and Earth respectively.

What is Goddess Nila the Goddess of?


texts:
It is learnt that there are ten types of Mantravada  doshas{ill effects of black magic } from ten directions, called Marana, Uchatana, Mohana, Vidhveshana, Manthra, Tanthra, Vishachoorna, Prayoga, Abhichara and Kruthrima.

Sudarshana Homam is considered an ideal remedy for this.

What is Sudarshana Homam?

What are the various benefits of Sudarshana Homam?


texts: Which Acharyas believe in the two-Kapilas theory and which don't?

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 Samkhya school, which believed that there were two kinds of entities in the Universe, Purushas or souls and Prakriti or matter/energy, and that Prakriti takes on a variety of forms in the presence of Purushas.  And they rejected the existence of a supreme being.

In any case, the Samkhya school was founded by someone named Kapila.  This name is highly significant, because Hindu scripture speaks of a Rishi named Kapila, who was an incarnation of Vishnu and the son of Brahma's son Kardama and his wife Devahuti. This Kapila taught his mother Devahuti about philosophy, and he burnt the sons of king Sagara to ashes, which ultimately led to the descent of the Ganga river as I discuss here.  Yet when we examine the teachings of Kapila to his mother Devahuti, in the third Skandha of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we see that they're very different from the doctrines of the Samkhya school; not only does Kapila acknowledge the existence of a supreme being, he also teaches his mother about the importance of Bhakti Yoga or devotional service to Vishnu.

Now I wrote this fictional dialogue to try to reconcile how the Samkhya school could reject the existence of a supreme being despite being founded by an incarnation of Vishnu.  But others reconcile things in a different way, namely by arguing that there are two Kapilas, one Kapila who was an incarnation of Vishnu and burnt the sons of Sagaras to ashes, and another Kapila who founded the atheistic Samkhya school.  There's evidence on both sides:

One piece of evidence for the one-Kapila theory is this verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which says that Vishnu's incarnation Kapila had a shishya named Asuri:

  The fifth incarnation, named Lord Kapila, is foremost among perfected beings. He gave an exposition of the creative elements and metaphysics to Āsuri Brāhmaṇa, for in course of time this knowledge had been lost.

This is significant because verse 70 of Ishwara Krishna's Samkhya Karika, the defining text of the Samkhya school, says that Kapila the founder of the Samkhya school had a shishya named Asuri:

  This sacred and supreme (Knowledge), the sage (Kapila) gave to Āsuri out of compassion. Āsuri (gave it) to Pañcaśikha, who elaborated the doctrine.

One piece of evidence for the two-Kapilas theory this chapter, which lists Kapila founder of the Samkhya school as one of the fire gods descended from the sage Angiras:

  That divine spirit whose course is marked with black and white stains, who is the supporter of fire, and who, though free from sin, is the accomplisher of desired karma, whom the wise regard as a great Rishi, is the fire Kapila, the propounder of the Yoga system called Sankhya.

Vishnu's incarnation Kapila, on the other hand, is not a descendant of Brahma's son Angiras, rather he's the son of Brahma's son Kardama.

But my question is, which Acharyas believe in the two-Kapilas theory, and which Acharyas believe in the one-Kapila?  So far I've found two supporters of the two-Kapilas theory: the Advaita philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, who in this section of his Brahma Sutra Bhashya that the two Kapilas are different; and the Gaudiya Vaishnava commentator Baladeva Vidyabhushana, who says in this section of his Govinda Bhashya that Kapila the founder of the Samkhya school is the descendant of Angiras I mentioned above, rather than Vishnu's incarnation Kapila.

But are there any Acharyas who are neither Advaitins nor Gaudiya Vaishnavas who support the two-Kapilas theory?  What about Acharyas who support the one-Kapila theory?


texts: Can you subtract sin with enough virtue? Scriptural quotes/activities/instruction to wipe out any and all sin!

texts:
I'm well aware that everyone's driven by the 3 modes of material nature! Reading of ways to get rid of sin is very different from LIVING and DOING the ways to get rid of sin. For instance, if I'm a power-hungry, leperous cheater, there's very little probability that I am of the nature of someone that recites "Hare Krishna" every day. But there have been some interesting instances!

Practical observance:

Kamsa killed 7 children, lived like a King nonetheless until his days became numbered.
Ravana kidnapped Ram's wife, lived like a King nonetheless, an ardent devotee of Shiva, lots of boons, would only die to an avatar of Vishnu.
Kauravas being blessed in many areas but eventually dying a painful death! Being blessed in some areas nonetheless! Duryodhana being blessed by his mother to be untouchable except around the groin (Basically everyone is undone by Krishna).
Corrupt but god-fearing politicians who live a comfy life with 0 worries.

Need scriptural evidence from Puranas/Vedas/Upanishads where it is said that you can indeed subtract sin from virtue or evidence where there are singular statements that they say doing a certain activity would rid you of your sins or give you moksha. (There are probably countless of them, but feel free to quote the most famous ones)

Example:

  "And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me
  alone at once attains My nature." - Krishna

Motive:

By Garuda Purana's measure, everyone in Kali Yuga is doomed (Read the consequences of every-day action). At the same time, there are places, like in the Gita: "And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature." Need to live practically!


texts: Will there be a day when lord brahma stops creating us?

texts:
All of us are aware that brahma is the creator of every living being. But,

Was there or will there be a situation when he will be taking a break from this?
Doesn't he have any vacations?
How long will he be creating?


texts: Which scriptures mention Dhyana Mantras of the sixty-four Yoginis?

texts: In different places of India, there are temples of sixty-four Yoginis. Can anyone provide names of the scriptures where the detailed dhyana-mantras of these Yoginis and their functions are found? I think there are many scriptures as the Joginis differ from temple to temple.


texts:
On the 15th day of the Mahabharata war, the illustrious Dronacharya laid aside his bow and other weapons, after Bhima had spoken the following words.

  He for whom thou hast taken up weapons, and for whom thou livest, he{Ashwatthama}, deprived of life, lieth today on the field of battle, unknown to thee and behind thy back. King Yudhishthira the just hath told thee this. It behoveth thee not to doubt this fact.' Thus addressed by Bhima, Drona laid aside his bow{and other weapons}.

And after Dronacharya had laid aside his weapons, Dhrishtadyumna slayed the unarmed Dronacharya.

  Disregarding, however, the cries of Arjuna, as also these of all the kings, Dhrishtadyumna slew Dronacharya, that bull among men, on the terrace of his car.

It is also pertinent to mention here, that Dhrishtadyumna had been obtained by king Drupada{Dhrishtadyumna’s father}, at a great sacrifice, from the Bearer of sacrificial libations, for the destruction of Drona.

The invincible Dronacharya, then attained to the Supreme region of Brahman.

What were the actions of the illustrious Dronacharya, immediately  before quitting his material body?


texts: Regarding Lord Hanuman's special powers namely Anima & Garima, Goswami Tulsidas in his Hanuman Chalisa says 'Ashta Siddhi Nava Nidhi ke Daata; Asa bara deena Janaki Maata' (verse 30) meaning Hanuman got these powers from Seeta Maata whereas in Valmiki Ramayan (VR) it is said that He got these powers from Surya Bhagavan. Which is correct ?


texts: What is the difference in serving devotees of God and serving God?

texts: According to us, everything is form of God, but without knowing this concept also people could be serving people. There are many people in the world who does not worship Gods or do not know about such concepts as they have no opportunity. Even though many of them could be serving devotees who actually worship God. How do this scenario is handled in Sanathana Dharma? What difference does this make? Which is considered best, serving devotee or directly serving God?


texts: What scripture says "the soul is neither God nor man"?

texts:
The Rahasyatraya Sara is a work by the Sri Vaishnava Acharya Vedanta Desikan, concerning the meaning of the Rahasya Traya or three secrets of the Sri Vaishnava sect (of which I'm a member). (One of these secrets is the Dvaya mantra used to surrender to Vishnu, which I discuss here.) In this excerpt from the Rahasyatraya Sara, Vedanta Desikan discusses how the Jiva benefits from having a guru:

  His gurus reveal to the Jiva the intimate relation existing between him and Narayana, the Lord of Lakshmi, who rules with his scepter the earth surrounded by the turbulent ocean and the world of Vaikunta without even the least exception.  Do not the shastras say "The soul is neither God nor man, neither beast nor tree.  Its essential nature is knowledge and bliss and it is entirely dependent on the Supreme Being and exists solely for his purposes (Sesha)" and again "The souls are indeed servants by nature of the supreme Supreme Being"?

The second quote is from verse 11 of the Mantra Raja Pada Stotram, a hymn to Narasimha from a Pancharatra text called the Ahirbudhnya Samhita.  (See my answer here for more information on the Pancharatra texts.)

But my question is, what scripture does the first quote come from, the one which says "The soul is neither God nor man..."?  It seems like an interesting quote, so I'd like to see the passage it's from.

Are there any commentaries on Vedanta Desikan's work who address this?


texts: How is being loyal to one's wife same as celibacy?

texts:
As you can see below, the Linga Purana says that a married man who is loyal to his wife is same as a celibate (brahmachari).

svadāre vidhivatkṛtvā nivṛttiścānyataḥ sadā /
manasā karmaṇā vācā brahmacaryamiti smṛtam // LiP_1,8.18 //
The householders should have sexual intercourse with their legally wedded wives alone. For them to keep themselves away from other women, mentally, physically and by speech, would amount to the observing of brahmacarya.

And the very next verse says:

medhyā svanārī sambhogaṃ kṛtvā snānaṃ samācaret /
evaṃ gṛhastho yuktātmā brahmacārī na saṃśayaḥ // LiP_1,8.19 //
A householder, after enjoying an  intercourse with his own wife, should take a bath. Such a type of the yogi householder is surely considered to be a Brahmacāri.

How is it justified that a married person is called a brahmachari? Do any scriptures explain more on this topic? Have any Gurus commented on this?


texts: What school of philosophy believes in an infinite number of Tattvas?

texts:
The most prominent thinker associated with the Advaita Vedanta school is Adi Shankaracharaya, but he wasn't the founder of Advaita; Adi Shankaracharaya's guru Govinda and Govinda's guru Gaudapada were also Advaitins.  As I discuss in this question, Gaudapada is famous for his Karika or commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, which you can read here.

In chapter 2 of the Mandukya Karika, Gaudapada says that although Brahman is the ultimate reality, people of different philosophical schools conceive reality as a variety of different things due to their Avidya.  In particular, he says this:

  pañcaviṃśaka ityeke ṣaḍviśa iti cāpare |
  ekatriṃśaka ityāhurananta iti cāpare ||

  Some say that the Reality consists of twenty-five categories, others twenty-six, while there are others who conceive It as consisting of thirty-one categories and lastly people are not wanting who think such categories to be infinite.

Let me explain what Gaudapada is saying (as described in Anandagiri's Tika or subcommentary).  Kapila's Samkhya school believes in 25 Tattvas or elements: 24 evolutes of Prakriti (matter/energy) along with Purushas or souls.  Patanjali's Yoga school believes in 26 Tattvas because it adds Ishwara or the supreme being to the Samkhya worldview.  The Pashupata sect of Shaivism believes in 31 Tattvas, because it adds 6 evolutes of Prakriti to the Samkhya worldview, most prominently Kala or time.  And although Gaudapada doesn't mention it, followers of the Shaiva and Shakta Agamas believe in 36 Tattvas, because they add five more Tattvas to the Pashupata worldview, most prominently various types of Mala or impurity.

But I'm interested in the part in bold.  My question is, what school of philosophy believes in an infinite number of Tattvas?

And does this school believe in an infinite number of evolutes of Prakriti, or does it believe in finitely many evolutes of Prakriti and infinitely many non-Prakriti elements, similar to Purusha and Ishwara?  Do any commentaries on Gaudapada's Karika shed light on this?  As I noted above Anandagiri's Tika discusses other parts of the verse but not the infinite Tattvas part.


texts: Are different poetic metres used in the Mahabharata?  In particular, are the Bhagavad Gita and Vishnu Sahasranama in the same metre as the rest of the Mahabharata?


texts: Different explanations of chitta & manas. Which one is true as per vedanta?

texts:
In Patanjali's 'Chittavarttinirodhah', the term chitta was taken as manas and meant mind and the whole tread was devoted to understanding the human mind.
Most recent works use manas and chitta interchangeably.
Vivekananda used manas as mind and chitta to mean mind stuff.
I find mostly people saying that antahkarana being formed of manas, buddhi and ahankara but shri Sankara's take on antahkarana is that it is formed of chitta, manas, buddhi and ahankara.
Any body - please explain to me the difference between manas and chitta. The mind stuff is difficult to comprehend.


texts: Who was the first Sri Vaishnava Acharya to quote from the Srimad Bhagavatam?

texts:
Among the eighteen Mahapuranas, perhaps the most popular one among Vaishnavas today is the Bhagavata Purana, AKA the Srimad Bhagavatam.  Yet Ramanujacharya, the most prominent member of the Sri Vaishnava sect (of which I'm a member) doesn't quote from it at all in his writings.

Various explanations of this have been proposed, e.g. that the Bhagavatam was viewed as having Advaita overtones until the time of Madhvacharya, or that the Bhagavatam was a devotional text and thus not suited for Ramunjacharya's philosophical arguments with his opponents.  Still, a lot of Western Indologists use this fact to argue that the Srimad Bhagavatam was a later work composed after the time of Ramanujacharya, and that all the passages in Hindu scripture (e.g. in other Puranas and the Mahabharata) which refer to the Bhagavatam are later interpolations.

But my purpose here isn't to adjudicate this dispute, other then to say that as a Sri Vaishnava I personally accept the Srimad Bhagavatam as an authentic work composed by Vyasa. My question is, who was the first Sri Vaishnava Acharya who actually quoted from the Srimad Bhagavatam in his works?

Note that I'm not looking for allusions to stories that happen to be in the Srimad Bhagavatam.  I'm looking for direct quotes from the text of the Bhagavatam.  And I'm specifically interested in Sri Vaishnava Acharyas, since the Bhagavatam now plays such a prominent role in the Sri Vaishnava sect.


texts: How did Lord Shiva get his Damaru and leather for His Damaru?

texts:
Since Shiva was the first living entity in the universe followed by Bhagwaan Vishnu and  Brahma, according to many puranas, I have several questions about Shiva Bhagwaan and even after searching many times, i could not find answers to my questions.  My questions are

When and how did Shiva attain his damaroo?
Where did He get the leather for his damaru?

I have found answers for all weapons of Vishnu. Can someone provide an answer?


texts: What texts/books deal with Hindu demonology?

texts: I have studied Western demonology over the past two years. I would like to study it now from a Hindu perspective. So can anybody recommend me books/texts regarding it?


texts: How does Hinduism identify a concocted teaching from true teachings of God

texts:
Assuming hinduism has this concept of revelation of God which is the prime truth, so how does Hinduism distinguish between false claims of God's teaching from the true claims of God's teachings.

e.g: A well known saint would try to introduce false teachings and is accepted only because he is known as a saint and behaves like  it. What instrument would be used to accept or reject this saints teachings assuming there are evil elements (Rakshashas) who come in various disguise to misguide mankind.

In short how are Hindu beliefs validated?


texts:
I read recently in Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto 1 - Chapter 3 - Verse 1) about the creation of the sixteen principles of material action.
I am curious to know more about these but can't find any reference to any text about these sixteen principles.
Could somebody please refer me to a scripture which talks about these 16 principles?


texts: Who said this "suta putra" quote about Karna and what does it mean?

texts:
This theme for Karna was used in Star Plus Mahabharata which is in Sanskrit. Can anyone tell the meaning of the Sanskrit shloka. Also primarily, I want to know where the verse is actually from & who said that?

  Suto va sut putro vayo
  Vakova bhavamyaham..
  Daiva yettam kule janm
  Madayettam tu paurusham
  Paurusham paurusham..


texts:
According to this YouTUBE video, Lord Krishna appears to Devaki and Vasudeva in Evil Kansa's prison.

Lord Krishna visits Devaki and Vasudeva in Evil Kansa's Prison

Lord Krishna tells Devaki how to get salvation, but Devaki says she doesn't wish for salvation. Instead, she wishes to have mother-son relationship with Lord Krishna (who is really incarnation of Lord Vishnu).

According to Scriptures, why would anyone want to forgo salvation? This is new to me.


texts: Is reading Srila Prabhupada's books the same as carrying out the process of Sravanam?

texts:
Srila Prabhupada stresses the importance of Sravanam in several places. From http://www.prabhupada.org.uk/sp25.htm -

  The bhakti-yoga process is practised by the devotees in different methods like hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshipping, praying, rendering service in love, becoming friendly, and offering all that one may possess. All nine methods are bona fide methods, and either all of them, some of them or even one of them can bring about the desired result for the sincere devotee. But out of all the nine different methods, the first one, namely hearing, is the most important function in the process of bhakti-yoga. Without hearing sufficiently and properly, no one can make any progress by any of the methods of practice.
  SB 2.2.36

I want to know if reading Srila Prabhupada's books is also carrying out Sravanam. Are there any rules such as one has to read loudly and hear the vibration, or will mental sound suffice?


texts: Has each member of the family of Siva - Siva,Parvati,Ganesa,Kartikeya been called Brahman?

texts: For Siva we have numerous examples.  For Kartikeya we have a reference from Mahabharata.  How about Ganesa and Parvati?


texts: Lalitha Devi, Gayatri, Durga and Raja Rajeshwari, are they different forms of Parvathi?

texts: There is Lalitha Sahasranama. Then there is Gayantri Mantra chanted everyday. Then there is Durga widely worshipped in Bengal and other areas. Raja Rajeshwari is widely worshipped mostly i southern parts if India. Do they all represent different forms of Parvathi?


texts:
Nowadays, I am asking questions about contradictions in Vedas. Please answer this and my previous questions.

Given that different Vedas give different numbers, how many Maruts are there really?

Twenty-One

  Atharva Veda 13.1.3 “Let Rohita, ye bounteous givers, hear you, thrice-seven Maruts who delight in sweetness!” Tr. Ralph T.H. Griffith

Forty-Nine

  Rig Veda 5.52.16-17 “…And the impetuous Rudra they, the Mighty Ones, declared their Sire. The mighty ones, the seven times seven, have singly given me hundred gifts…” Tr. Ralph T.H. Griffith

One hundred and eighty

  Rig Veda 8.85.8 “Thrice-sixty Maruts, waxing strong, were with thee, like piles of beaming light, worthy of worship…” Tr. Ralph T.H. Griffith


texts: How do the Sanskrit epics mark a turning point to Hinduism?

texts:
How do events in the epics relate to a gradual change in Hinduism, eg the game of dice, Yalsha's riddles, the war etc?
Does it mark the introduction of buddhism at all?


texts: Why do people close their eyes in temple during darshan?

texts: In Hinduism, People visits temples for God's darshan. One of the meaning of darshan is to see using your eyes. So in this case Why people close their eyes when they actually visit temple for their God's darshan?


texts: Is Nala and Damayanti story mentioned in Puranas?

texts: Is Nala and Damayanti story mentioned in Puranas like Skanda Purana and others?


texts:
Let's say I'm turiya, but I'm not in India, but some northern Europe country, and since I'm turiya, gods are supposed to come, since I'm turiya and they're pleased with my tapas, but will they still , because I'm not in India, or do they come to any place in the entire universe, or they're only programmed to appear to a location in India?
Also Will I lose my brahmanattva if I travel to location outside of India?


texts: After big prayer events in temple, we are given half a coconut, banana and a flower as a parting gift. What do I do with these?


texts: What is the first instance of a Swayamvar in Hinduism? I know of a few popular ones like Draupadi's Swayamvar, Amba's Swayamvar, and Sita's Swayamvar. But what is the first instance of a Swayamvar?


texts: What are the 360 forms/names of the Youth mentioned in Rig Veda I.155.6?

texts:
Rig Veda I.155 is dedicated to Indra/Vishnu.  Rig Veda I.155.6 says as follows:

  चतुर्भिः साकं नवतिं च नामभिश्चक्रं न वर्त्तं वयतीन्रवीविपत |
  बर्हच्छरीरो विमिमान रक्वभिर्युवाकुमारः परत्येत्याहवम ||

  caturbhiḥ sākaṃ navatiṃ ca nāmabhiścakraṃ na vṛttaṃ vyatīnravīvipat |
  bṛhaccharīro vimimāna ṛkvabhiryuvākumāraḥ pratyetyāhavam ||

  He, like a rounded wheel, hath in swift motion set his ninety racing
  steeds together with the four. Developed, vast in form, with those who
  sing forth praise, a youth, no more a child, he cometh to our call.

"With four times ninety names (caturbhiḥ sākaṃ navatiṃ ca nāmabhih), he (Vishnu/Indra) sets in motion moving forces like a turning wheel (cakra)."

This suggests that even in Vedic times Vishnu/Indra had 360 names or forms, one for each degree of the zodiac.

Further, it talks about a youth, who emerged on the call of the seers.

Can anyone furnish the details of those names and the youth in question? References from subsequent literature, ie, brAhmanas/Upanishads/EPICs, with references, to Veda will be accepted.


texts: Is perpetual virginity or remaining unmarried superior to marriage?

texts: In Hinduism, is perpetual virginity or remaining unmarried a higher state of life than marriage?


texts: What scriptures describe Vishnu marrying a rebirth of the golden Sita statue?

texts:
I'm currently visiting India, and I just went to my Mom's Kula Devata, the Veeraraghava Perumal Vishnu Temple in Thiruvallore.  Many things have happened in this location over the ages, including Vishnu reteaching the Vedas to Brahma after he forgot it due to his fifth head being cut off (which I discuss here).  My question is about another incident that happened here, the one that gave it the name "Veeraraghava."

The story as I understand it goes roughly as follows.  Rama decides to perform an Ashwamedha Yagna to free himself from the sin of killing a Brahmin (namely Ravana).  But you can't perform an Ashwamedha Yagna without your wife, and Sita had already departed the Earth.  Rama's advisors urge him to marry someone else, but he refuses because he has taken an Ekapatni Vrata (a vow to marry only one wife).  Instead, he places a golden statue of Sita next to him as he performs the Yagna.  But then he has a dream where Sita appears and tells him something like "Rama, how could you?  I am your wife and you are putting a golden statue next to you?  If so, you should marry that statue in a future birth!"  And indeed, in the Kali Yuga the golden statue is reborn as Vasumati, daughter of the king Dharmasena.  Then Vishnu comes again in the form of Rama and marries her.  In any case, to this day the statue of Vasumati in the temple is referred to as "Swarnasita", or golden Sita.

Now the story of Rama performing Yagnas next to a golden statue of Sita is well-known; it's described in this chapter of the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana.  But my question is, are there any scriptures that describe the golden statue being reborn as Dharmasena's daughter Vasumati?  Is the story of Vishnu marrying Vasumati even mentioned in any Hindu scripture?

By the way, Thiruvallur is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 sacred places of Vishnu which I discuss here.


texts: What do Hindu scriptures say about river worship?

texts:
I wish to know about river worship in Hinduism.

What do Hindu scriptures really say about river worship?


texts:
What is the source of the concept of Shadripu (six enemies) in Hindu philosophy, i.e., which Hindu religious text first described the Shadripu (षड्रिपु)?

From Wikipedia :

  Shadripu (Sanskrit: षड्रिपु meaning the six enemies)

  The shadripus have been listed as:

  Lust (Kama)
  Anger (Krodha)
  Greed (Lobha)
  Arrogance (Mada)
  Attachment (Moha)
  Jealousy (Matsarya)


texts: Who taught archery and other weapons skills to Lord Rama?

texts:
Vashishtha is considered as the family priest of the Raghu dynasty and teacher of Lord Rama and his brothers.
This is what Wikipedia says about him

In the Ramayana, he was the family priest of the Raghu dynasty and
teacher of Lord Rama and his brothers.

It seems like Vashishtha most notables work is in knowledge-work - for example, Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the Rigveda.
Since he is considered as the family priest too - his role mostly seems to be around teaching Vedic values and other subjects more related to academic education of literature and not much about war skills such as archery and other weapons.
Not sure if it was Vashishtha who taught Rama and his brothers the weapon skills.
Next, Vishvamitra - he too is mentioned as the preceptor of Rama and his brother Lakshmana. While there is a mention that Vishvamitra is the one who gives them the knowledge of the Devastras or celestial weaponry [bala and ati bala], - he came in Rama's life much later - and by that time - Rama was already well versed with his archery and other weapons skills.
In Mahabharata, There is absolutely no doubt who taught archery to Arjuna.
Do we have any such reference which clearly mentions Who taught archery to Lord Rama?


texts: In search of an important shloka from Anushasana Parva of Mahabharata

texts:
I am in search of an important shloka which is a part of Mahabharata (13th chapter, Anushasana Parva) after Vishnu Sahasranamam and the shloka is about praising rishis, munis, raja rishis, etc., to get wealth, health, success etc.

For reference, please see the link, http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13 and I need the shloka in English but not the translation.

The shloka starts with:

  Namo Vasishtaaya Maha vrataaya


texts:
Bhishma says

Those Brahmanas that never study the Vedas at hours not intended for study, and that practise penances with devotion, succeed in overcoming all difficulties.

Which hours/days/times are intended and not intended for study of Vedas?


texts: Why is Naga shown with 3, 5, 7, 9 heads?

texts:
Why in art and some religions, Naga is shown with different number of heads?

What is the significance of the Cambodian Naga?


texts: I am a great devotee of Lord Hanuman and want to be careful with my actions. I want to know, being a devotee of Lord Hanuman what things should I avoid which might displease him.


texts: I want to know the exact explanation of Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

texts:
Can any one give the exact explanation of this mantra? What is the logic behind chanting this Mantra?
How the mind of a person related to this and is it true that we can save the life of a dying person if we chant this mantra for him?


texts: What does Atharva Veda 14.1.20 say? Is it anyhow related to women?


texts: Can any one achieve anything in this world?

texts:
I've seen alot of times. The ability of human is praised.

Swami Vivekanand also said a quote.
"You Can Do Anything And Everything"

Ive also heard that in the atharvaved it's said somewhere...
"Whatever one wants to become, can become... With desires..." Something like that...

Is it true? Does human beings have this much power?


texts: Why many people say that supreme god is kabir?

texts: I know this might sound crazy but I wanna know how many of you know about sant rampal? I'm not promoting anything here just wanted to know the truth about this. He said kabir is supreme god. Can someone shower truth about this matter?


texts: What is the validity of the claim that Gaudiya Vaishnavism is superior to Advaita Vedanta?

texts:
According to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, when Sri Chaitanya was in Varanasi, he defeated Prakashananda Saraswati, the famous Vedantin. Showing this event, Vaishnavas claim that their philosophy is superior to Advaita Vedanta.
My question is, who is Prakashananda Saraswati? Was he an authority in Advaita Vedanta? Did he belong to the Guru Shishya lineage established by Shankaracharya?
If he is not, then by defeating a random guy, somebody cannot claim the superiority of their school.


texts: Does a wife who disobeys her husband be really torn to death by dogs? What is the context in which this verse is stated?

texts:
1.6.4  in agni purana says

  wife who does not obey her husband shall be torn to death by dogs. A woman who does not obey her husband or brahmanas may also have her nose, ears or arms chopped off. She will when be set astride a cow and banished from the kingdom.

Source


texts:
Jivatma – Soul
Atma– Self
Paramatma - God

Jivatma is the individual, and Atma and Paramatma are Universal.
What is difference between Aatma, Jeevatma and Paramatma?


texts: Are there Hindu scriptural references for "Simulation hypothesis" or the "theory of simulation"?

texts:
Simulation hypothesis is a theory which is available in both philosophy as well as science.

  There is a long philosophical and scientific history to the underlying thesis that reality is an illusion. This skeptical hypothesis can be traced back to antiquity; for example, to the "Butterfly Dream" of Zhuangzi, or the Indian philosophy of Maya.

At science side it can be called as Simulated reality. This Qn intends to know the philosophical side of it.
For uninitiated, this concept has been made popular (not discovered) by a very famous scientist & businessman Elon Musk recently. See the first 2 minutes of this interview. To explain in brief:

  45 years ago, Pong took the world by storm. The high-tech video game
  was bouncing a white ball between two white paddles. It was that
  simple and that technologically primitive.   45 years later, in 2017,
  we have high-tech video games. On 4K screens with intense graphics,
  video games are becoming more and more lifelike.   Now, imagine how
  much video games and tech will evolve over the next 10,000 years (when
  looking at 45 years of progress).   Based on history, we will
  eventually create a video game that is so lifelike, it is mistaken for
  reality.   And that video game will be invented. And we will have
  successfully created a simulation that another group of “things” (I am
  hesitant to say people) live in.

  So why do we assume we are the first?   Based on our own progress, we
  have to assume that someone else did it first. The chances we are
  the first are one in a billion. This means another group of “things”
  created a simulation that we call our lives.

If this is believed to be true, then I writing this post & you reading it, is also a simulation!

On philosophical side, let's not marginalise ourselves as merely a game. However, we can surely theorise ourselves as "simulated ones".
Do we have scriptural references for this phenomenon?

Note: This concept has been explored in scientific way in the movies like Matrix & source code And philosophically in Inception.

There are some Self-similarity patterns which describe it the best. For example, below patterns are similar to the Qn. A simulation inside a simulation inside a simulation inside a simulation ...

Or a tree with a branch, which is a tree with a branch, which is a tree with a branch, ...


texts: What are the main differences between Valmiki Ramayana and Ram Charit Manas

texts:
Valmiki Ramayana and Tulsidasa's Ram Charit Manas are 2 books containing the story of life of Lord Rama and other sub stories. While Valmiki Ramayana is considered to be the original source of Lord Rama's story, Ram Charit Manas is said to be written by Tulsidas, as heard from Lord Hanuman directly.

So, I wanted to know what are the major differences in main/sub stories between the 2 books. Also, if there are any stories, may be related or not related to Lord Rama, which are not covered in Valmiki's Ramayana, then please let me know the same.


texts: What is the meaning of Shuchi in Sanskrit, in the context of Hinduism?

texts:
We use 2 words when it comes to cleanliness in Hinduism. They are "Shuchi" and "Shubratha". "Shubratha" can be described as neatness / cleanliness if you consider its usage in other Indian languages. Then what does "Shuchi" mean? I don't think it also means cleanliness.

I can give you a reference for the usage of "Shuchi" in phalashruthi of Sri Sukham as below:

  Yah Shucih Prayato Bhuutvaa Juhu-Yaad-Aajyam-Anvaham ।
  Suuktam Pancadasharcam Ca Shriikaamah Satatam Japet ॥16॥


texts: Where does Vaduga Nambi call two other shishyas of Ramanujacharya double-minded?

texts:
The famous Sri Vaishnava Acharya Ramanujacharya had 74 disciples, known as the Simhasanadhipatis, but three of his closest disciples were Kurathalwan, Mudhaliandan, and Vaduga Nambi.  Kurathalwan is the one who got his eyes plucked out by the Shaivite Chola king as I discuss here.  Mudhaliandan was Ramanujacharya's sister's son and the temple administrator of Sri Rangam (as well as my ancestor).  Vaduga Nambi was an atheist whom Ramanujacharya converted to Sri Vaishnavism in Karnataka, and he got the rare blessing of preparing Ramanujacharya's milk on a daily basis.
Now the 13th century Sri Vaishnava Acharya Pillai Lokacharya makes an interesting statement about these three disciples in verse 411 of his Sri Vachana Bhushanam:

Vaduga Nambi Azhvanaiyum Andanaiyum Irukaraiyarenbar
Vaduga Nambi says that Alvan and Andan are double-minded men.

Here's what the translator says:

Alwan and Andan (Kurathalwan and Mudhaliandan), disciples of Ramanuja, would sometimes seek out the Lord and at other times seek their Acharya.

So it seems that Vaduga Nambi said that Kurathalwan and Mudhaliandan are double-minded because they would sometimes seek refuge in the lotus feet of Vishnu and other times seek refuge in the lotus feet of Ramanujacharya, whereas Vaduga Nambi exclusively sought refuge in the lotus feet of Ramanujacharya.  That was the depth of Vaduga Nambi's Acharya Bhakti; there's a famous incident where the Ranganatha statue passed by Vaduga Nambi's house, but Vaduga Nambi didn't even go outside to see it because he was busy boiling milk for Ramanujacharya.
But my question is, where does Vaduga Nambi say this?  Does he say this in one of his works?  I know of two works by Vaduga Nambi: the Yatiraja Vaibhavam, a poem summarizing Ramanujacharya's life, and the Ramanuja Ashtotthara Satanamam, a hymn listing 108 names of Ramanujacharya.  The Yatiraja Vaibhavam is available in English here, but I can't seem to find the Ramanuja Ashtotthara Satanamam.
Or could it have been a statement Vaduga Nambi said out loud to someone, and was passed down by oral tradition?  Many sayings of Sri Vaishnava Acharyas have been passed down by oral tradition.


texts: Why lord Ram used Brahmastra to kill Hanuman but failed?

texts: What is the story and why lord Ram want to kill Hanuman and finally used Brahmastra but failed? How could the Brahmastra failed?


texts: Where do the Gowdas and Shettys belong in the Chaturvarna System?

texts: Gowdas and Shettys are prominent and also dominant communities in the state of Karnataka. Where do these communities belong in the Chaturvarna System?


texts:
Is Earth Jambudvipa or Bhu-mandala?
There are seven dvipas in BhUloka. One of the dvipas  is Jambudvipa. Jambudvipa has 9 varshas. One of the varshas in Jambudvipa is Bharatavarsha:

Text 5: Bhū-maṇḍala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven
islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of
the island known as Jambūdvīpa, which is situated in the middle of the
whorl, is one million yojanas. Jambūdvīpa is round like the leaf of a
lotus flower.
Text 6: In Jambūdvīpa there are nine varshas, each with a length of
9,000 yojanas. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of
these divisions and separate them nicely.

Bharata Varsha is clearly India from this verse:

5.16.9 - Similarly, south of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and extending from east to west are three great mountains named (from north to south) Niṣadha, Hemakūṭa and Himālaya. Each of them is 10,000 yojanas high. They mark the boundaries of the three varṣas named Hari-varṣa, Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and Bhārata-varṣa [India].

So is Jambudvipa Earth? Or is this geography purely mythological, like Atlantis?


texts: As per hinduism, does life span of human depends on his respiratory breaths?

texts: According to hinduism life span of every individual human depends on his respiratory breaths?


texts: This wiki article says that Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh is believed to be the birthplace of Ravana. Are any scriptural references available for this?


texts: Can someone explain the philosophy of avibhagadvaita?

texts: How is it different from advaita and vishistadvaita, and how does it reconcile yoga and Sankhya with vedanta?


texts: Can we get Parasara Bhattar's 171 Namavalis extracted from Vishnu sahasranamam?

texts:
We know that Vishnu Sahasranamam comprises of 1000 names of Maha Vishnu. Out of these 1000 names, Parasara bhattar had picked 171 namavalis which is very useful, for example - 'Om Bhuve Namaha' can help to get wealth and 'Om Sarvapraharanayudhaya Namaha' can help get rid of difficulties of all sorts.

Does anyone have the 171 namavalis? If they put the namavali with meaning it will be useful for the members in this community to chant daily.


texts: What is meaning of "vaarchnam" in siddha kunjika stotram?

texts:
In the Shri Siddha Kunjika stotram, there is a following verse:

  na sūktaṃ nāpi vā dhyānaṃ na nyāso na vārcanaṃ |2|


texts: How much importance should be given to Siddhis according to Hindu scriptures?

texts:
Hanuman could fly, there are numerous descriptions of people with a lot of rare Siddhis. In the book Autobiography of A Yogi, there are accounts of people who could levitate, summon materials from ethereal realms, can exist at multiples places at once etc.

How much importance should be given to these Siddhis according to Hindu scriptures?


texts: Is the story of Kapalikas (skull-bearers) killing Krishna, Narasimha etc. found in sacred scripture?

texts:
From New World Encyclopedia -

A mythological origin for the Kapalikas is given in the Goraksa-siddhanta-samgraha, which tells of an occassion upon which the 24 avatars of Vishnu became intoxicated with wine. Varaha and Narasimha, among other powerful avatars began destroying the earth, frightening its inhabitants; Krishna, meanwhile, was filled with adulterous emotions, while Parasurama destroyed a number of Kshatriyas. Shiva became angered by the actions of the gods and assumed the form of 24 Kapalikas in order to battle the avatars. Each Kapalika cut off the head of one avatar, stripped it of its flesh and carried the skull around with them from that point on. With their pride of the avatars dispelled, their heads were returned.

Is this story mentioned in any Purana, Vaishnav Samhita, Shaiva Agama or other scripture that is considered of divine origin by a lot of sects?


texts:
How did different people with different philosophies and ideologies attain the same enlightenment or did they not? Buddha attained enlightenment and so did Adi Shankaracharya, but their philosophies are different (not to mention ramanujacharya, nagarjuna and many others). Or is it the case that we can never really know who attains enlightenment? Well I know that there is similarity between Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta but at the core they are very different. How did they attain the same enlightenment knowing the real truth in two different ways? At least one of them is wrong.
Well some say the truth can be interpreted in different ways but if advaita says self exists and buddhism denies it there is a big problem you can't make them compatible with one another.
I have already asked this question here https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/41369/nature-of-enlightenment/41383?noredirect=1#comment67347_41383 and got pretty decent answers, i just wanted to know advaitins view.


texts: Are there any Vedic/Hinduism scriptures which talk about intelligence completely?

texts: Has anyone come across any such texts/book which talk about on how to improve intelligence? Tried reading Shiva Swarodaya, it was awesome. Wanted to know if there are any other similar texts.


texts:
I believe that Shiv has called HAR and vishnu named HARI.

What is meaning of HAR and HARI


texts: If there is a contradiction between Pratyaksha Pramana and Sabda Pramana, which one is more authoritative according to Advaita and Dvaita Vedanta?

texts: According to this answer if there is a contradiction between Pratyaksha and Sruti(Like scriptures say fire is cold but we perceive fire is hot), only Pratyaksha is more authoritative according to Vishitadvaita Vedanta. I would like to know the same for Dvaita and Advaita Vedanta respectively.


texts:
A Republic is a country where the ruler is democratically elected by the people of the country. Democracy is the opposite of dictatorship or monarchy.

Today's India is such a democratic republic.

But in ancient past Indian kings were not always selected by people. Mostly a king's son will become the king and then his son and so on.

Now this webpage claims the Vedas , the most ancient among Hindu scriptures, support the idea of democracy. It quotes a Rig Veda mantra in support of the claim which is given below. But i fail to understand how the mantra explicitly supports the idea of democracy.

  Today India is the largest democratic nation in terms of population.
  But history and ancient literature suggest that demcoracy and republic
  ideas were implemented ever since the ‘Age of Vedas‘ and even before.
  The present westminister style of democracy in India was inherited
  from the British but the principle of democracy in Vedas existed as a
  core value in Ancient India.

  ...........................................

  Ramayana has the first instance where a king tells his people to
  disagree with him if needed and was open to suggestions in
  administration.

  ...........................................

  Evidence of a Democratic system of government in India is originally
  found in Rig Veda, which mentions a thriving republican form of
  Government in India. These are the slokas from Rig Veda which were to
  be sung in unison at the beginning of the republican assembly

sáM sam íd yuvase vRSann ágne víshvAny aryá Á
iLás padé sám idhyase sá no vásUny Á bhara ||
sáM gachadhvaM sáM vadadhvaM sáM vo mánAMsi jAnatAm
devÁ bhAgáM yáthA pÚrve saMjAnAnÁ upÁsate ||
samAnó mántraH sámitiH samAnÍ samAnám mánaH sahá cittám eSAm
samAnám mántram abhí mantraye vaH samAnéna vo havíSA juhomi ||
samAnÍ va ÁkUtiH samAnÁ hRdayAni vaH
samAnám astu vo máno yáthA vaH súsahÁsati || [Rig Veda 10.191.1-4]

  Translation :THOU, mighty Agni, gatherest up all that is precious for
  thy friend. Bring us all treasures as thou art enkindled in libation’s
  place. Assemble, speak together: let your minds be all of one accord,
  As ancient Gods unanimous sit down to their appointed share. The place
  is common, common the assembly, common the mind, so be their thought
  united. A common purpose do I lay before you, and worship with your
  general oblation. One and the same be your resolve, and be your minds
  of one accord. United be the thoughts of all that all may happily
  agree.

Do the Vedas support democracy? If yes, please quote the relevant mantras from the Veda Samhitas.


texts: Scriptural basis for Draupadi's decision of denying Karna

texts:
From the following excerpt of the Mahabharata, it is clear that Draupadi rejected Karna based on his tribe.

  "And (some amongst) those kings in exerting with swelling lips each
  according to his strength, education, skill, and energy,--to string
  that bow, were tossed on the ground and lay perfectly motionless for
  some time. Their strength spent and their crowns and garlands loosened
  from their persons, they began to pant for breath and their ambition
  of winning that fair maiden was cooled. Tossed by that tough bow, and
  their garlands and bracelets and other ornaments disordered, they
  began to utter exclamations of woe. And that assemblage of monarchs,
  their hope of obtaining Krishna gone, looked sad and woeful. And
  beholding the plight of those monarchs, Karna that foremost of all
  wielders of the bow went to where the bow was, and quickly raising it
  strung it and placed the arrows on the string. And beholding the son
  of Surya--Karna of the Suta tribe--like unto fire, or Soma, or Surya
  himself, resolved to shoot the mark, those foremost of bowmen--the
  sons of Pandu--regarded the mark as already shot and brought down upon
  the ground. But seeing Karna, Draupadi loudly said, 'I will not select
  a Suta for my lord.' Then Karna, laughing in vexation and casting
  glance at the Sun, threw aside the bow already drawn to a circle.

It is the wish of Draupadi to not select anyone she don't want to marry. But my doubt is that *why she rejected Karna based on his tribe? Are there any supporting slokas from scriptures supporting Draupadi's decision of denying Karna based on his tribe*?


texts: How can Sage Kashyap marry daughters of Daksha, even they are parallel cousins?

texts:
I found a really interesting discussion named Father of Indra, which I never thought about the birth of Indra and Sun god. Credits to the user.

Here my question is, according to sanatana dharma it is known fact that a person is not supposed to marry his sister. But it contradicts when we relate this with the story of Sage Kashyap marrying 13 daughters of prajapati Dakhsa.

Kashyap, son of Marichi who is one of the mind-born son of Lord Brahma. And Prajapati Daksha, son of Lord Brahma. As the relation between Marichi and Daksha is a kind of brother relation, so Kashyap can be considered as son of Daksha and eventually Daksha's daughters should be Kashyap's sisters.

Though Marichi might be a mind-born son, somehow they both relate as brothers. Then, how does it related with Kashyap's marriage.

So, how different is the births of Marichi and Daksha?


texts: Which Vedic ashrama is compulsory for all Sanatanis?

texts: We know of four Vedic ashramas: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha & Sannyasa. Of these, only the 2nd one (Grihastha) seems to be meant for all varnas. The first, the third, and the fourth ones doN't seem to be meant for Shudras while Brahmanas seem to be expected to follow all the four ashramas. Nevertheless, Adi Shankara and Vivekananda skipped the 2nd and the 3rd ashramas to embrace Sannyasa. Thus, the question that crosses every sensible person's mind is: Are the Vedic ashramas all voluntary, hence farcical?


texts: What happened to Yashoda after Krishna ji left Gokul?

texts: What happened to Yashodha ji and Nand baba after Krishna ji left Gokul?


texts:
If we google this question we get Sage Vyasa as answer and that what I have learned growing up. But Shri Krishna gave this knowledge to Arjuna only, and there so on one else there who was writing that down. Sanjay was only relaying the information to Dritharashtra. Sage Vyasa was not anywhere near Kurukshetra then how would he knew exact words of Lord Krishna and wrote that down?

Like in Ramayana, Sage Valmiki had boon of seeing everything that was going to happen and he wrote it down and this was also mentioned in Ramayana.

Also when was it written, after it all happened or before (like in Ramayana)?


texts: What is the exact way of doing fast on Shivratri?

texts:
When i asked people about fast on Shivratri, I did not get satisfactory answers. Different people believe different ways.
I want to know the proper way of fasting on shivrari.

Is that true that you can get your desired life partner if you do it in a proper way?


texts: What Tilak or Namam does Lord Brahma have on His forehead?

texts:
Tripundra or "three horizontals lines" is the Tilak worn by Lord Shiva and His devotees. Urdhva Pundra is tilak worn by Lord Vishnu and His devotees.

But there are images of Brahma with both tilaks.

There are many ambiguous images or representations of Lord Brahma.

What's the actual Tilak worn by Lord Brahma?
Did Trimurti really wear any Tilak or devotees of Shiva and Vishnu started this concept of Tilak?


texts: According to Sri Vaishnavism, what happens to someone who worships someone other than Lord Vishnu as Brahman?

texts:
Bhagavad Gita says one who worships someone other than Lord Krishna is actually indirectly worshipping Him because He resides as the Indweller (Antaryami).

In the Kaushitaki Upanishad also, there is a story called "Indra's instruction to Pratardana", where Indra tells Pratardana to meditate on Indra as the supreme Brahman.

So if Pratardana can get moksha by meditating on Indra as the supreme Brahman, why can't others?

What does Sri Vaishnavism have to say about meditating on Devatas (and not Vishnu) as the supreme Brahman to attain Moksha?


texts: Krishna cursed Ashwatthama with terrible leprosy that would haunt him for 3,000 years. Krishna further stated that Ashwatthama would not be helped by anyone or provided food or shelter.


texts: In which scripture originally 'ahiṃsā sarvathā sarvadā sarvabhutānāḥ manabhīdroha' sentence was written?

texts:
अहिंसा सर्वथा सर्वदा सर्वभुतानाः मनभीद्रोह।
ahiṃsā sarvathā sarvadā sarvabhutānāḥ manabhīdroha।

I read somewhere that it was written by Maharshi Veda Vyasa but the name of scripture in which he wrote it was not mentioned.


texts: Lord Subrahmanya is  known as Kumaran, Kandan, Murugan, Velan etc. How these names have come?


texts:
I was watching a Norwegian documentary on religious and non-religious young people in Norway. There were two young Hindu girls who were describing what it is like to be a Hindu. I was surprised to learn that Hindus yell and scream at their gods when they are not happy with them. It is not just an issue of word choice, but they went into details about this saying things like 'the gods don't take it personally because we are like friends and family.'
I once heard something similar but exceptional in Judaism when the Jews interrogate their god, but didn't find much talk about this Hindu version online.
Do Hindus yell at their gods? Or are these young people diverting from the traditional practice?
Thank you!


texts: What is the varṇa (class) of Actors or Actresses?

texts:
Actors or Actresses are usually found to poke their unscrupulous nose into the matters they lack substantial understanding of, mere to perpetuate their celebrity status whilst having negligible consideration of the welfare of society. As it is said,

He who plunges into action without considering the problem, thinking that he is reforming the world—it is he who is creating greater confusion and misery.

Looking at their occupations & role in corrupting the society, it seems Smṛitī would rather check their privileges otherwise they enjoy it in the modern Kali world. So, I was wondering what's their varṇa according to the scriptures, if at all they have?


texts: What are the foods to be avoided on Chaturdashi?

texts: Is there anything in scriptures which tells about which foods to be avoided on caturdaśī Tithi?


texts: What happens to the soul that attained liberation? Is it ever reborn again?

texts:
For example, let us assume a soul that attained liberation at the end of 99 Brahma Years. Now, what happens to soul at the end of a Brahma day? What happens to that soul at the end of 100 years of Brahma which is Mahapralaya?

If the answer is that “No, soul will not be reborn again”, then we all should be liberated isn’t it? What I meant is that neither soul is created or destroyed. So now we have infinite souls and infinite life cycles. But the number of souls that are in material world goes on decreasing as we can safely assume that at least few souls are liberated in 100 Brahma years. So I think there should come a point at which all souls are liberated. What happens then?

If the answer is Yes, I have no more questions.

Thanks a lot


texts:
Which Geeta verse means

  "The world isn't bad because of bad people's deed. It's bad because inaction of good people."

The better version could be: In troubled times, those who have ability to do something also has responsibility to do something.


texts: How do non-advaitins interpret these passages of bhagavatam?

texts:
Here are advaitic verses which I found from bhagavatam

  SB 12.13.12 sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ yad brahmātmaikatva-lakṣaṇam vastv
  advitīyaṁ tan-niṣṭhaṁ kaivalyaika-prayojanam

  12.5.11-12 ahaṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma  brahmāhaṁ paramaṁ padam evaṁ samīkṣya cātmānam  ātmany ādhāya niṣkale daśantaṁ takṣakaṁ pāde
   lelihānaṁ viṣānanaiḥ na drakṣyasi śarīraṁ ca  viśvaṁ ca pṛthag
  ātmanaḥ

These verses occur at the end of Bhagavatam and are advaitic in nature.

Apart from these there are some more here.

How do non-advaitins interpret these verses?


texts:
This question may seem silly. I want to know the reason why using a left hand during our daily life and in rituals. I have even seen some people who say not to accept anything with left hand. Some also say while you are wearing something new like a shirt or shoe, insert your right limb first. There are some parents who force their left handed children to change to right. Lord Hanuman enters Lanka with his left foot first as an enemy. I'm aware of that story. Arjuna was an ambidextrous person (see this question for more) .
But no one prevented him being a left handed and none punished him. More over many of us admire him due to this quality.

Can anyone say why people prevent their children to be left-handed?

Please post answers with valid reason but not with generalized reasons.  There is a similar question with accepted answer but it does not cite scriptural references.