CULTURAL QA01-2021-16 Being a compilation there may be errors
Q1 Is there any specific reason TN and Kerala buses are notallowed in Majestic Bus Station in Bengaluru? A1 Goutham R January 15-2021-It is to decongest Kempegowda(Majestic) Bus stand. Not only TN and Kerala, even Mysore, Madikeri bound Karnataka buses arealso not allowed in Majestic bus station. Bengaluru has 3 major bus stations for inter-city travel. Kempegowda (Majestic) Bus stand.Shantinagar Bus stand.Mysore Road Satellite Bus stand. Ordinary buses from TN and Kerala will make use of Mysore road satellitebus stand, where as, deluxe buses from TN and Kerala will use Shantinagar Busstand. AP and Telangana ordinary buses will enter Majestic bus stand, whereas , deluxe buses will go to Shantinagar busstand. Goa and Maharashtra buses (all category) will go to Majestic only asthese buses are very less. Q2 How did Rishi Bhringi give birth with 3 legs? A2 Akshay Mallikarjun October 13 -2020 It is very interesting story-Story of Bhringi Rishi The story of Bhringi rishi is absolutely one of the most interesting onesin Hinduism. His devotion is ultimate and had been praised in severalscriptures.His story explains the importance of Shakthi(Parvati) and alsoteaches Shiva and Shakthi are the same and never ever separable. Bhringi was so immersed in God Shiva’s devotion in such a way that, wherehe only offered prayers to God and ignored the Goddess Parvati who is a partand parcel of Shiva himself. One day when Bhringi along with several sages visited mount Kailash topay their respects, All the sages paid their respects toboth Shiva and Parvati. But, Bhringi had only paid his respects to Shiva bycircumambulating (pradakshina) and bowing to him, leaving Goddess Parvatiaside. The same situation continued whenever the sage visited Kailash. Annoyed by his acts, GoddessParvati wished to teach him a lesson that, Shiva and Parvati are not different but one and the same. Next time when the rishi came to offer his prayers, Goddess Parvati saton the left lap of the God Shiva to avoid him to circumambulate only aroundShiva. Seeing this, Bhringi took theform of a bee(some say it as a bird) and circumambulated only around Shiva’shead and left the Kailash. Next time when he had visited both the god and goddess merged together asArdhanarishvara (The form representing Shiva’s half as Shakti). Goddess Parvati thought that hehas no chance but to do the pradakshina around them. However, Bhringi transformed into a small bee andmade a hole in between them and circumambulated only around Shiva. Angered by this incident and Bhringi’s steadfastness, lord shiva completely turned in to Goddess Parvati she said OBhringi, your acts might be welcomed by your father(Shiva) but not me. Ihave tried to explain to you in several ways that we both are same, but youignored it. If you think you only need your father, then why do you need Shakti inyou? Hence, I am going totake away that part from you. Thus, the rishi had lost hisblood and flesh and left with a bare skeletal form. Seeing Bhringi in such a difficult situation where he was unable tosupport himself, Shiva granted the third leg (some say even third hand too) to attain equilibrium and support himselfat the same time not to revoke the parvati’s sayings and to make understandthat they both are same. Bhringi then realized the factthat Shiva and Shakti are one and apologized to Goddess Parvati for hisactions. Seeing the merciful nature of the God Shiva for granting a third leg,Bhringi danced out of joy and praised both the god and goddess Q3 Which ancient Indian empire is highly underrated? A3 Paras Tyagi December 8-2020 The story of the battle at Tungabhadra, Karnataka, 14th Century AD : Not many are aware of this deadly battle fought with the unprecedentedvalour--the battle thatsaved India. India's heart had been getting pierced by the unceasing Arab swords,since the 7th century AD. The men died, women jumped into fire, Johar was at its peak in 13thcentury (Butchering by Khilji) and 14th century (Massacre by Tughlaq). Be it Mahmud of Ghazni or Mohammad Gauri, every invasion attempt couldhave been outmanoeuvred, had the Indians stood united. In the dawn of 14th century, the most powerful ruler, the Sultan of Delhieyed the plundering and rape of South India.But it was the Hoysala warriors which the Sultan had toface. The battle broke out. The Hoysalas knew their number was no match for theSultan. They asked other small rulers to unite. Dissent from the idea of unity was the norm. The men of Hoysala died and the Sultans established themselves. The Sultan's empire mushroomed like plague. Hoysala fell--except it didn't. Ballala, the king along with a clutch of men had managed to cheat death.He regrouped and attacked again. There was a small ruler Sangama, his sons displayed exemplary courage inthe wars against Sultan under the leadership of Ballala. One of them two sons would earn the designation of Mahamandaleshwara(King of North Hoysala, though tentatively). Harihara and Bukkarya, sons ofSangama, aimed at it. Harihara, being the eldest became the crown head. This disturbed Bukkaryaand that's where the battles are lost. For example : In future, the brothers of the greatest rajput rulersChandrasen and Maharana Prarap would fight alongside Akbar against their ownpeople. Tungabhadra was being defendedby King Ballala. But a wave of terror had been unleashed in Madurai by Sultan'smen. King Ballala had to leave for it. Tungabhadra stood unguarded, unmanned, unbounded. Harihara gathered all the men he could, united as many rulers as he couldto protect Tungabhadra as a battalion of Sultan readied themselves to slaughterHarihara's men in a seemingly easy battle. The only way to win the battlewas to do something that the Sultan's men would never see coming. Harihara donned the ‘element of surprise' and swore to carve the mark ofdeath upon his enemies' flesh. The invading sultan expected him to defend butfueled with the horrors of imagined genocide and johar, Harihara charged totheir camps and unleashed a relentless carnage--disseminating a message that‘It wasn't Arabs who were only entitled to fanaticism’. Harirhara won the initial bouts but the battle changed its course. He hadthought a major part of Sultan's force would have left for Madurai. But he hadmis-calculated and wasn't able to unite more rulers. Harihara was staring at a certain death as the Sultan's men brutallyoutnumbering them, laid the final onslaught. But Harihara's brother Bukarryahad made his choice--the choice to free the motherland from the pouncing rabidwolves. Neither his brother, nor the nation, the only thing Bukarrya betrayed was submission. United with the remainingrulers, Bukarrya arrived and crushed Sultan's men to the last soul. Harihara and Bukarrya snatched this victory from the jaws of death. Whythis victory at Tungabhadra was important? Because the two brothers Hukkaand Bukka, as the people affectionately called them, never looked back after this and established the greatest empirein the toughest times — the Vijayanagara empire. That saffron spread symbolising the Vijayanagara empire, the mostunderrated today, didn't last for a year or two but for the centuries andcenturies. Q4 What are some mind-blowing facts about Lord Murugan Temple,Palani? A4 Sunitha Parapatla· October 22-2020 The temple in Palani is one of the six abodes of God Murugan, in the formof Lord Dandayudhapani, which means He holds a danda or stick in his hand to punish the evil. While the story of how God Murugan or Kartikey came to reside in Palaniis a popular tale. As per Shiva Purana, one day Sage Narada visited thecelestial abode of Shiva mount Khailash to present to him a fruit, the gnana_palam (thefruit of knowledge). Shiva decided to award it to whichever of His two sons,who encircle the world thrice. Accepting the challenge, Murugan started his journeyaround the globe on his mount peacock. However, Ganesha, who surmised that the world was no more than hisparents Shiva and Shakthi combined, circumambulated them and won thefruit. Murugan was furiousand felt the need to get matured from boyhood and hence chose to remain as ahermit in Palani. The main idol of God Subramanya in Palani is a very powerful one and hashealing powers The idol of God is in the form of an young ascetic. Having renounced theworld, Lord Dandayudhapani stands with a staff in his right hand and with arudraksha bead necklace around his neck. Shunning away all worldly possessions,the only apparel he has chosen to retain is a lioncloth. The temple has been sanctified by the penance of numerous sages andsiddhas. In one of his immortal songs, the great Saint Arunagirināthar sang "MyLord, You sit on a Holy Hill which is superlative and exceeds even thespiritual glory of Kasi. But it is Saint Bogar who played a pivotal role in the narrativesassociated with the Palani Murugan idol. Bogar, one of Hinduism’s 18 greatestSiddhars, was a devotee of Murugan and founder of the Siddha alchemicalpractices. He's alsosaid to have created and sanctified the Palani Murugan idol himself. Unlike other deities in Hindu temples, which are commonly sculpted out ofgranite, the idol inPalani is made of an amalgam known as navapāsanam. In Sanskrit, the wordnava has two meanings. Nava means both 'new' and also 'nine'. Similarly, the word bhasana also hastwo meanings. Bhasanameans 'poison' and may also mean 'mineral'. According to ancient literature, Bogar made the idol with a clevermixture of nine poisonous metals. He then harnessed the poisonous nature of allthese metals, hardened it like granite and converted it into a beneficialamalgam with medicinal and curative values. The exact calculation by SageBogar is still unknown, but substances that touch the idol are believed toacquire healing powers. Abhishekam or the holy shower given to the Murugan idol normally usingliquids such as milk, Panchamritham (a sweet jam-like mixture made from freshand dried fruits, honey, jaggery, ghee, and other natural substances) amongothers, becomes a prasadam or offering with healing properties. And Sandalwood paste applied onthe idol and left overnight, is considered to act like a wonder drug for many incurable and complex diseases. All devotees on a pilgrimage toPalani can visit the shrine dedicated to Bogar in the southwestern corridor ofthe temple. Legend has it that itis connected to the subterranean tunnel cave in the heart of Palani Hills,where Bogar continues to meditate and maintain his vigil with eight idols ofLord Murugan. I have visited Palani few yearsback, and heard about God Murugan's idol story here. They say when Abhishekam is performed to Kartikeya's idol andwhen that was distributed as prasad to the devotees, the people used to go intoa trans or eternal bliss (spiritual awakening) and many people couldn't handlethe immense positive energy. So they have stopped distributing theAbhishekham as Naivedyam to the devotees and they dilute it and give them , fewsay that's not the case. Few even say because ofcontinuous Abhishekam, God Murugan's idol started to deteriorate and it's forbidden in Hinduism to do prayer for a brokenIdol, so the templeauthorities have replaced the Murugan idol. But after criticism from thedevotees, they again installed the original idol only and started to doAbhishekam. Q5 Why is the Shiva Linga placed in Mahakaleshwar Temple,Ujjain facing the south direction? A5 Priyanshu Upadhyay October 29-2020 Before it, let me narrate a storyfirst Once upon a time, 4 sons of god brahma became very arrogant of theirknowledge, they thought only they know the supreme truth. In that arrogance, they challenged mahadev for a debate and mahadevoffered them place to sit before starting the debate. They all sat facing towards east, while mahadev satfacing towards south Facing towards south is considered as bad because itbrings bad luck to life So sons of god brahma said to mahadev , “you don't know even the simplerule that one should not sit facing south” Mahadev smiled and replied, “ all the misfortuneturns in fortune by taking my name, i am beyond good and bad, you shouldn't beworried about me” Shivling of mahakaleshwar isknown as mahakaal, means lord of time and death. And since south direction represent death, shivling in mahakaleshwartemple facing towards the direction of death indicatingthat he is the slayer of death itself and giver of eternal liberation,and his devotees shouldn't be afraid of death. Q6 Why does India have a larger area than Pakistan? A6 Balaji Viswanathan Updated June 30, 2014 India was divided along religious lines in 1947 to create the new nation of Pakistan that was againsplit in 1971 to create Bangladesh. The Muslim population of India at the time ofpartition was around 20%. Thus, in a fair cut 20% of India should have gone tothe Muslims. That's what happened:Pakistan + Bangladesh = 20% of land area of India before the partition. Now, which parts should go to the Muslims? That can be answered by this1909 map. The dark red regions are the ones with an absolute Hindu majority.Does this map's outline remind you of anything? Yes. This is the current map of India that retained all the dark redregions from above. If you think the concept ofpartition as fair, then Pakistan could not have expected better than what theygot. Almost half the Muslims of British India chose to stay back in India, while the majority of Hindus in Pakistanwas forced to move to India. Thus, Pakistan got a 20 % landarea while taking only 10% of the population. In my humble view, the whole exercise ended up equally unfair to both theHindus and Muslims. About 14 million minorities were caught on the wrong sideof the border and were forced to migrate - 7 million of them were Muslims and 7million of them were Hindus. Millions of lives were lost for no reason. All the above QA are based onQuora digest to me on 21-1-2021. Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers Compiled and posted by R. Gopala krishnan on 22-1-2021 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1939963215.3305690.1611272421875%40mail.yahoo.com.
