CULTURAL QA 02-2021-14
Being a compilation there may be errors
Q1 Why is Garuda always shown on a higher position than Vishnu?
A1 Santosh Singh January 6-2021-Mahabharata(Hindu epic) · I have
studied the Critical Edition of Mahabharata
This all happened because of a boon by Lord Vishnu to Garuda, Vinata’sson :
Citation :
‘Then Vinata’s son encountered Vishnu in the sky. Narayana was pleasedwith him
at his act of self-denial and told the bird, “I am the god who grants boonsthat
don’t decay.” The bird said, “I always wish to remain above you.”He again told
Narayana, “Iwish to be immortal, free from the decay of age, without the
amrita.” Havingreceived these boons, Vinata’s son told Vishnu, “O illustrious
one! I wish togrant you a boon too.”
Krishna102 asked for the boonthat the powerful one should always be his
vehicle.103 The illustrious godNarayana placed the bird on his flagstaff and
said, “Thus you will always beabove me.” The bird agreed.
Reference : Adi Parva Section Five Astika Parva Chapter 29
Q2 What happens when water gets more dense?
2 Answers-Chandra Shekar,studied at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute Of Engineering
And Technology
Generally it will increase its viscosity , and dielectric strength.. Thengoes
without saying….. Its gets solid if I'm not wrong.
Subramani Thatha Gowder, B.Sc.Chemistry, University of Madras (1974)
When you cool water, it gets more dense. That is the water you have inthe
fridge. Otherwise water cannot be compressed to make it more dense.
Q3 What is the most Indian thing ever?
A3 Prátikshyà UpdatedJanuary 29-2021 Studied at The Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India(ICAI)
I was in Bengaluru International Airport’s washroom. I was comfortably peeing.
I saw asplash of water coming from the adjacent washroom.
Soon the maintenance staff knocked. Staff: What are you doing ?
Lady (next washroom): washing my feet because it’s my habit and I have towash
my feet after I pee.
Staff: This is not your home.
Lady: Whatever. I need to wash.
Ever since we were born we have washed our feet and hands after using
thewashroom. It ensures good hygiene and it’s Indian but this can create a mess
in public places specially when it’s corona around.
Now Airports have turned to Railway Station.
Q4 Why does Lord Jagannath have no hands?
A4 Abhay Sarvaiye July 22,2020 Former Senior Executive (2013–2019)
According to stories heard from do long, the poet tuldidas once visited puri
search lord Shreeramwhich his called jagannth.
After completing his darshan of Lord Jagannath, he was extremelydisappointed.
He was so sad that he walked away.
Tulsidas then reached a village called Malatipathpur. There he sat down under a
treeand started to cry. A boy passing by came up to him and asked him the
reasonfor his agony. The poet explained to the boy that his Raghunath,whom he
loved so dearly, had actually eluded him at Puri and that he was non-existent
in whathe saw at the temple.
The boy then explained Tulsidas that Raghunath as an offshoot of ParamBramha,
who can move without feet, see without eyes and listen withoutears,“Bina pada
chance”, “Bina aankh dekhe”, “Bina Kaan suney”. It was then that Tulsidas
realised his folly andrushed back to Puri to find his Raghunath.
This explains why Jagannath has no ears, no hands and no feet.
There is another story behind the idol not having ears, legs and hands
According to people of oldtimes, it is said that the temple was originally
presided over by a Vishnu statue with four hands holding the signatureshankha,
chakra, gada, padma , conch, wheel, mace and the lotus made of bluesapphire
Neelam, hence the name Neela Madhab. Jagannath is worshipped eventoday as Neela
Madhab.
This temple was attacked manytimes by the Mughal emperor, as also later on, by
Kalapahar, the 16th-centurymarauder. The idol was badlydamaged many times. The
king of Puri then took a decision toreplace it with something that can be
recreated time and again, no matter howmany times it gets destroyed. The new
statue is an example of tribal artpossibly borrowed from nearby villages. This
art form has a strong Buddhistinfluence, as the time of the king’s decision was
possibly around the 16thcentury.
The temple was originally builtin the 12th century, much after Ashoka’s Kalinga
conquest. Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra are Daru idols,or, made from Neem
wood. The possible reason why neem was used could be itsresistance to all kinds
of decay. The idols are religiously embalmedwith sandal paste. The medicinal
properties of sandal fortify the idols againstany fungal growth and also makes
for a soothing aroma around the Garavaglia.
Q5 Why did Lord Krishna disguise of Goddess Kali once?
A5 Shraddha Singh February11-2021 -Radha · Supreme mother radha
Nice question 😀 So I will tell you the story I know 😃
Once when all the Gopis , radharani and krishna were having fun near thebanks
of Yamuna , Ayan , jatila and kutila (Radharani's socalled 'husband’ , mother
in law and sister in law ) saw Radharani doing raaswith krishna .
They straight went to Radharani's parents and krishna’s parents . A gopi saw
that and warnedradhakrishna about this .
So quickly krishna turned himself into goddess Kali . Radharani
startedworshipping him . So when their parents came they saw Radharani doing
prayersand worship . So they went back . Krishna came back to hisoriginal form
and they both started raas again.
Q6 Is everything made onEarth made up of things from Earth?
A6 RobbyGottesman Updated April 21, 2019-Metallurgy · I've read a
dozen books onmetalworking history and practice
Nope! There’s actually a reallygood historical example of this. Before humans
knew how to extract ironfrom iron ore (which occurred around 1,200 BCE) a few
groups of people werealready using iron tools.Look at this example of iron
fastened to the end of a harpoon [1,2] :
How did they do this? King Tutwas buried with an iron dagger even though no one
knew how to smelt iron backwhen he was alive [3]:
So where did this iron come from?There’s no natural iron just sitting around on
the ground waiting for people touse it. smelting iron from iron ore is
immensely difficult. However, there’s a huge amount of iron in space!
These iron-rich meteorites would be found by ancient people and processedinto
useful tools. Nobody could heat a furnace to the requiredtemperature to cast
and forge iron, so these meteorites were “cold worked” (i.e. simplyhammered
into the required shape at room temperature). So there you go! Not everything
made by humans is from stuff in theEarth’s crust.
Edit: This answer has becomesomewhat popular, and a few people in the comments
have rightly criticized my lack of references and detail in how these
meteorites wereworked. I’ve taken thesesuggestions to heart and added a sources
section so you know I didn’tjust make this up. It’s actually pretty amazing!
Sources: ScienceDirect : On metaluse in arctic cultures (behind a paywall, but
the abstract is available)
The Use of Meteoric Iron: Ageneral overview of the finds of tools and artifacts
made of meteoric iron
Why did Tutankhamun have a daggermade from a meteorite?
Q7 What are some facts aboutthe goddess Saraswati?
A7 SahilGaikwad August 13, 2020
Goddess Saraswati
The name Saraswati came from "saras" (meaning "flow")and "wati" (meaning "she
who has ..."), i.e. "shewho has flow" or can mean sara meaning "essence" and
swa meaning"self". So,Saraswati is symbol of knowledge; its flow (or growth) is
like a river andknowledge is supremely alluring, like a beautiful woman. She is
depictedas beautiful fair Goddess with Four arms, wearing spotless white saree
andseated on white lotus.
Goddess Saraswati knowledge
In Hinduism Saraswati is thegoddess of knowledge, music, arts and science. She
is the consort of Brahma,also revered as His Shakti. Her figure is also popular
in the Jain religion ofwest and central India.
Saraswati known as Sraosha
Saraswati, known as Sraosha inZoroastrianism is the guardian of earth. Sraosha
(“obedience”) is also the wifeand messenger of Ahura Mazda, and her role as the
"Teacher of Daena",Daena being the hypostasis of both "Conscience" and
"Religion".She also guides the souls of the deceased to find their way to the
afterlife.
Her symbolic animal is the peacock
Her symbolic animal is thepeacock, whose crowing calls the pious to their
religious duties.
Goddess Saraswati Called as Durga also
She is also called Druga forfighting off Drug (Drug, the name for female demon
in ancient Veda, from theSanskrit root druh "to be hostile"). The name Druga is
made ofSanskrit dru or dur "with difficulty" and gā or jā("come", "go").
Saraswati is known as a guardian deity
Saraswati is known as a guardiandeity in Buddhism who upholds the teachings of
Gautama Buddha by offering protection and assistance to practitioners.
Different name of Goddess Saraswati
She is known in Burmese asThurathadi (သူရဿတီ, pronounced [θùja̰ðədì ] or
[θùɹa̰ðədì]) or Tipitaka Medaw (တိပိဋကမယ ;တော်, pronounced[tḭpḭtəka̰ mɛ̀dɔ̀]),
Chineseas Biàncáitiān (辯才天), in Thai asSurasawadee (สุรัสวดี) and in Japanese
as Benzaiten (弁才天/弁財天).
Goddess Saraswati other Names
Inthe East Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa: Saraswati is
consideredto be a daughter of Durga along with her sister Lakshmi and her
brothersGanesha and Karthikeya.
Saraswati is a river
Inthe Rigveda, Saraswati is a river as well as its personification as a
goddess.In the post-Vedic age, she began to lose her status as a river goddess
andbecame increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc. In
Hinduism,Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge,
creativity,education, enlightenment, music, the arts, eloquence and power.
Hindus worshipher not only for "academic knowledge", but for "divineknowledge"
essential to achieve moksha.
In some Puranas, she is Sister of Shiva
In some Puranas (like Skanda Purana) she is sister of Shiva (Shivanuja)and in
some Tantras with Ganesha. However across India she isworshipped as the wife of
Lord Brahma. In the Devi Mahatyam it mentions her asBrahmapatni. According to
some sects Saraswati was born from theleft body part of Vishnu when Vishnu was
in his eternal sleep.
Adi Shakti
According to Vedanta she is considered to be the feminine energy andknowledge
aspect (Shakti) of Brahma, as one of many aspects of AdiShakti.
Saraswati is in the trinity of Maha Kali
In the Devi Mahatmya, Saraswatiis in the trinity of Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and
Maha Saraswati. She is depicted as eight-armed. Wielding in herlotus-hands the
bell, trident, ploughshare, conch, pestle, discus, bow, and arrow,her lustre is
like that of a moon shining in the autumn sky. She is born fromthe body of
Gowri and is the sustaining base of the three worlds. ThatMahasaraswati I
worship here who destroyed Sumbha and other asuras.
Goddess Saraswati in Color White
The goddess Saraswati is oftendepicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure
white often seated on a whitelotus, which symbolizes that she is founded in the
experience of the AbsoluteTruth. Thus, she not only has the knowledge but also
the experience of theHighest Reality. She is mainly associated with the color
white, which signifiesthe purity of true knowledge.
Goddess Saraswati shown to have four arms
She is generally shown to havefour arms, which represent the four aspects of
human personality in learning:mind, intellect, alertness, and ego.
Alternatively, these four arms also represent the 4 Vedas, the primarysacred
books for Hindus. The Vedas, in turn, represent the 3 forms ofliterature:
Poetry — the Rigveda contains hymns, representing poetry Prose —Yajurveda
contains prose Music — Samaveda represents music.
Goddess Saraswati
The four hands also depict this thus — prose is represented by the bookin one
hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, music by the veena.The pot of sacred
water represents purity in all of these three, or their powerto purify human
thought.
Sacred Vedas
She is shown to hold the followingin her hands: A book, which is the sacred
Vedas, representing the universal,divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well
as her perfection of the sciencesand the scriptures. The vina, a musical
instrument that represents herperfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is
also associated with anurāga, the lovefor and rhythm of music which represents
all emotions and feelings expressed inspeech or music.
Saraswati hymn
The beautiful human form ofSaraswati comes to the fore in this English
translation of the Saraswati hymn:"May Goddess Saraswati, who is fair like the
jasmine-colored moon, andwhose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops, who
is adorned in radiantwhite attire, on whose beautiful arm rests the veena, and
whose throne is awhite lotus,who is surrounded and respected by the Gods,
protect me.May youfully remove my lethargy, sluggishness, and ignorance."
Hamsavahini
A hamsa or goose is often located next to her feet. The sacred bird, ifoffered
a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone.It thus
symbolizes discrimination between the good and the bad or the eternaland the
evanescent. Due to her association with the bird, Saraswati is alsoreferred to
as Hamsavahini, which means "she who has a hamsa as hervehicle".
Meaning of Peacock
She is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to herearly
history as a river goddess. Sometimes a peacock is shown beside thegoddess. The
peacock represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and byhaving a peacock
as her mount, the Goddess teaches not to be concerned withexternal appearance
and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.
Goddess Saraswati
In Hindu beliefs, great significance is attached to offering honey tothis
goddess, as honey is representative of perfect knowledge. Hymns dedicated to
her includeSaraswati Vandana Mantra.
Goddess Saraswati Avahan Rules
In Maharashtra and South India, Saraswati Puja starts with SaraswatiAvahan on
Maha Saptami and ends on Vijayadashami with Saraswati Udwasan orVisarjan.
Saraswati Puja Calendar: Saraswati Puja Avahan – Maha Saptami –Triratra vratam
starts in Andhra Pradesh Saraswati Puja (main puja) –Durgashtami Saraswati
Uttara Puja – Mahanavami Sarasawati Visarjan or Udwasan –Vijaya Dashami.
Saraswati Puja
In the eastern part ofIndia—Orissa, West Bengal, Bihār and Assam,—Saraswati
Puja is celebrated in theMagha month (January–February). It coincides with
Vasant Panchami or ShreePanchami i.e. the 5th day of the bright fortnight of
the lunar month of Magha.People place books near the Goddess' statue or picture
and worship the Goddess.Book reading is not allowed on this day.
Saraswati Puja During Navratri
In the southern states of India,Saraswati Puja is conducted during the
Navaratri. Navaratri literally means“Nine Nights”. But the actual celebrations
continue during the 10th day whichis considered as Vijaya Dashami or the
Victorious Tenth Day. Navaratri startswith the new moon day of the bright
fortnight of the Sharad Ritu (Sharad Seasonof the six seasons of India) during
September–October.
All the above QA are based onQuora digest to me on 18-2-2021. Quora answers
need not be 100% correct answers
Compiled and posted by R. Gopala krishnan on 18-2-2021
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