QUES ANSW DIVINE 69 Dear friends,
These are informationposted by members compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and stored in mycomputer. At this date I have no information of the members posted. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former AGM Telecom Trivandrum dated 10-12-2021 Q1 Everybody knows of Khajurahotemples. Whether worshipping is donethere? How many are now available?What are its credentials? A1 Khajuraho is a village in MadhyaPradesh to a cluster ofeighty-four temples, at least twenty-five of which are major works of art,built between the tenth and twelfth centuries by the Chandella kings in an area of 21 squarekilometers. (4km x 5km area ) They are listed as world heritage monumentsThe temples were 'rediscovered' in the nineteenth century (1838 by a CaptainBurt, to be precise) byBritish engineers and scholars - which only means that this was the first theyknew about. Many of the temples were still in worship andthe shrines as a whole were never abandoned, contrary to the popular belief. Eventhat great Victorian puritan Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, found the templesdeeply distressing and gave his blessing to a band of pious vandals who wantedto chip the walls of the temples clean from these ' indecent andembarrassing" affronts to their ignorant notions about Indian culture. It took the intervention of no less thanRabrindranth Tagore who wrote an appalled letter to Gandhi, explaining that this was a national treasure andcould not be so cavalierly demolished because some people were uncomfortable thattheir ancestors were sexual beings. Accordingto the popular folk beliefs, evil spirits dislike temples coming up and addingto the net value of good karma. They would attack and try to destroy thesetemples. However they are very fastidious and rather easily shocked, so whenthey see such erotic carvings on the outside they are repelled by theimpoliteness and grossness and flee from such uncouthness! Extremely decorous templesall over India have a little niche tucked away where some pretty vigorous andunusual copulation is depicted. Whether this is the Kailashatemple at Ellora or tiny ancient temples in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, you can seethese representations. In about 1990 however, a very sharp art historian called Dr. ShobitaPunja, realized something about Khajuraho that has altered forever ourperceptions of it. She made the connection between certain passages of the Shiva Purana,describing the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and realized that the entireKhajuraho temples complex could be regarded as a permanent recreation of thatdivine marriage Some of thesupposedly erotic sculptures are actually illustrations of scenes depicted inthe Purana. When the divine bridegroom appears people forget what ever they aredoing in their eagerness to look at him, a metaphor for the desire of the soulto view God. In that rush they cease their make-up, and even forget to covertheir nakedness properly, so eager are they to avail of this rareopportunity to view God. There isalso a rather quaint ritual followed every year by the Matangeshwar temple atKhajuraho. Every year they recreate the divine wedding. One monthbefore Maha-Shivaratri the head priest actually goes round to surroundingvillages (nowadays on a motorcycle) asking devotees to attend the marriage of the Lord. Theyeven carry the customary tokens and symbolic gifts that are handed out wheninvitations are given on the occasion of normal weddings. The village of Khajuraho in fact thinks ofitself as the family of Himmavat, Parvati's father and makes preparations for the wedding in traditional style. This includesthe counting out of 110,021 grains of sacred rice to be showered on the marriedcouple after the marriage. Q2 What are the attributes ofModhera temple? A2 Abouta hundred kilometers from Ahmedabad,the capital city of Gujarat state, is what is one of the most beautifullittle temples ever built by an India that counts beautiful temples in thethousands. This is theSurya temple at Modhera, the Temple of the Sun, beloved god of theSolanki rulers who caused it to be constructed in the eleventh century. Thetemple itself is so constructed that the rays of the rising sun fall on theImage of the god and the temple, the effect magnified by being reflectedsimultaneously in the water The whole complex is set in a ratherwell maintained garden, which is almost a park. The temple is too small to have been much in public use. It is a privateroyal shrine, a comfortable horse ride away from the palace Road-Modhera, 102km from Ahmedabad Q3 What are the attributes of Somanatha temple? A3 The shrine of Somanatha is situated in Prabhasa Patanor Devapattana, on the southern coast of Saurashtra. Somanatha is the shrine of God Shiva, popularlystyled Mahadeva, the Great God He was worshipped five thousand years ago in theIndus Valley, not in the form of a phallus but as Pashupati, the lord ofthe animal world. He is depicted as a nude deity on aseal found at Mohenjo-daro, with horns and three faces. He is carved as seatedon a stool with his heels pressed closely together in yogic pose. Surroundinghim are a number of animals-two deer or antelopes, a rhinoceros, an elephant, atiger and a buffalo. The humped bull Nandi-too, was a sacred animal.1 The shrine of Somanatha in Prabhasais traditionally as old as creation; it is certainly pre-historic. Prabhasa was a traditionally sacred place even in thedays of Dharmaraj, the son of pandu. The Mahabharata refers to it again andagain. It was well known as a holy placesituated as it was-where theriver Sarasvati flowed into the sea. It was also connected with Soma,the Moon God Q4 What is the story about Chandra related to Prabhasa? A4 Everybody knows about the extremeattachment for Soma withRohini. Soma's fascination forRohini was irresistible; he went always to Rohini. The other wivesapproached Daksha, who now threatened to curse him since his earlierwarning was ignored by Soma to be with other wives too equally. His threats, however, were no heeded. The neglected wives again complained to their father. Dakshathereupon cursed him, saying, 'Thou shalt wane.' As a result Soma, the Moon God,began to shrink day by day. To escape the curse he performed sacrifices,but they were of no avail. He continued to wane; the herbs became tasteless;vegetation failed to grow. Ultimately the gods prevailed upon Daksha toretract his curse. He did it on certain conditions. Soma should behave well with all his wives andtake a bath in the sea at the Prabhasa Tirthawhere the river Sarasvati joins it and worship Mahadeva there; If he did so, he would, during one half of themonth, wane every day, but during the other half, wax every day. Dakshafinally told Soma not to disregard women and the Brahmanas. Since then, Prabhasa has been the foremost of all Tirthas On the West Coast, Prabhasa was themost sacred of all places in the days of the Bharata war. Even therishis-the sages-collected there. It was the favoured spot of two gods;Indra and Surya. It had the quality of removing all sins; a sea-bath at Prabhasa led oneto heaven. The Pandavas came to this sacred spot andperformed austerities. So did Shri Krishna and Balarama; Arjuna also came herefrom Gokarna on his way to Dwarka Janamejaya Parikshita, the emperor, alsovisited it. Long before Shri Krishna led the Yadavas to Saurashtra, Prabhasawas recognised as a sacred place, attracting pilgrims from all over thecountry. Q5 DO there is a version that Lord Ganeshhad manifestation even before the trinty? A5 Accordingto the Upanishads and Puranas, He is said to have had several manifestations, some even before the Trinityof Gods, Siva, Vishnu and Brahma, at the early time of the creationof the Universe Q6 Do Vinayaka worshipped with Tulasileaves? A6 He is not offered Thulasi for prayer at any time except onGanesha Chathurthi day. Modhakam is a sweet of specialimportance for this Pooja. Q7 What is deepa jyothi worship and itsprinciple? A7 One ofthe important form of worship is prayer to a lamp, to the flame or Jyothi,instead of a Vigraha or a picture, worshipping it as a form of the Deity oftheir choice [Ishta Devatha]. It is widely believed that God accepts the prayersthrough this Deepa Pooja very easily and very soon Q8 What is the importance of recitingAditya hridayam? A8 InRamayana, sage Agasthyarpreached ‘Adhithya Hruthayam’ to Sri Rama to get Him the necessarymental and physical strength to fight against Ravana. Similarly recitingAdhithya Hruthayam, Adhithya Ashtakam and Navagraha Slokam will give us the neededstrength Q9 Do performing sapthapathi is the moment of completion of marriagefor all legal purposes ? A9 YES. What is The Saptapathi rites involves taking seven steps walking aroundthe fire. According to Hindu Law codes [Yalgnavakya Smrithi], completion of theseventh step is the moment of completion of marriage for all legal purposes.For each step they say a manthra Q 10 What was the necessitiy ofKoormavathara? A10 Using the mountain Mandara and thesnake Vasuki, the devas set about the job. But the mountain Mandara needed a base to standupon. Lord Vishnu himself agreed to come down in the form of amighty tortoise and become the base. the ocean gave forth fourteen preciousgifts to mankind. Q11Who was the last emerged from Palazhi during Manthan? A11 Goddess Lakshmi wasthe last to emerge. Seated on a lotus, she looked so beautiful that everybodyimmediately sang her praise. TheOcean of Milk, ksheerasagara, from which she emerged gave her a garlandof imperishable flowers. LordIndra, the King of Kings, sung Goddess Lakshmi’s praise and it is believed by devout Hindusthat whoever sings these verses has always Lakshmi on her side.Lakshmi, on emerging from the ocean married, Lord Vishnu. Q12 What is dig gaj? A12 According to Indian mythology, the wholeearth is held up in the four directions by four elephants called the Dik-gaj, where dik meansdirection and gaj, elephant. Q13 DO there is any versionthat Vishnu created Lekshmi? A13 Yes. Another story goes thatVishnu created Lakshmi from his left side. Subsequently, it is believed thatLakshmi was born as Lord Rama’s wife, Sita. Q14 Why do Lekshmi is called chanchal? Is there any myth behind her calledas Chanchal? A14 Graduallyas wealth began to take the forms of gold and crisp bank notes, Lakshmisymbolized them also. That wealth keeps moving from one person to another, isone reason why Lakshmi is also called the fickle one. The myth is- One day asage is said to have visited the Vishnu couple riding on his beautifulstallion. So enamoured was Lakshmi of the stallion that she did not even hear when her husband calledher. Immediatelythe otherwise patient husband grew red with rage and cursed his wife. He saidshe would not be static but would always keep moving and so her name Ramaa. That is also why wealth never stays with oneman, it keeps changing hands. And yet Lakshmi staysforever with Lord Vishnu, which means that Lakshmi will stay with good men whoperform good deeds, keep their environs clean and so on. Q 15 What are all the legendstold about Deepavali? A15 There are various alleged origins attributedto this festival. Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmiwith Lord Vishnu. In Bengal the festival is dedicated to worship of Kali. Italso commemorates that blessed day on which the triumphant Lord Rama returnedto Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna killedNarakasura. The Divali festival, it is surmised dates back to that period whenperhaps history was not even written, and in its progress through centuries itlighted the path of thousands to attain the ultimate good in complete ecstacy Q16 What is the importance ofLekshmi pooja during deepavali? A16 The Third Day of thisfestival of Divali is the most important day of Lakshmi Puja which is entirelydevoted to the propotiation of Goddess Lakshmi. On this very day sun enters its second course and passes Libra which isrepresented by the balance of scale. Hence, this desigs of Libra is believed tohave suggested tha balancing of account books and their closing. Despite thefact that this day falls on Amavasya day it is regarded as the most auspicious. Lakshmi Pooja is celebrated in northern parts of Indiawith great enthusiasm. Lakshmi Kubera Pooja is performed in many states. The belief beingthat when goddess Lakshmi visited Kubera on this day, he managed to please her,so that she stayed in a pot of puffed rice covered with a sugar candy forseveral days. Thus he remained the richest celestial persona. To mimicthis custom, small pots (in odd numbers) were filled with puffed rice, coin andcovered with sugar candy are placed for the pooja along with the sparklinglamps. Later these pots are distributed to the visitors. It is believed thatkeeping this pot will bring good fortune Q17 It is told Ramayana story appear inMahabharata too. Where do it appears? A17Ramayana story is briefly told in the VarnaParva of the Maha-bharata, but it is given in full length as the grand subjectof the Ramayana. “from the quarter which shereceived from Kausalya she gave birth to Lakshmana, who became theever-faithful friend of Rama, and from the quarter she received from Kaikeyishe gave birth to Satrughna, who became the ever-faithful friend of Bharata.” This account is silent as to the superior divinity ofRama, and according to it all four brothers must have been equals asmanifestations of the deity Q18 Whathappened after Srirama re united with his brothers? A18 Re-united with his three brothers, he was solemnlycrowned and began a glorious reign, Lakshmana being associated with him in thegovernment. Q19What is Uttarakanda Ramayana? The sixth section of the Ramayana here concludes; theremainder of the story is told in the Uttara-kanda, a subsequent addition. Q20What are the different versions of Uttarakandam? A20Oneversion- Sita was sent to forest. Lava was born to her atkanvashrama. Kusa was made by sage kanva. When they were about fifteen yearsold they wandered accidentally to Ayodhya and were recognised by their father,who acknowledged them, and recalled Sita to attest her innocence. Anotherversion- Sita returned, and in a public assembly declaredher purity, and called upon the earth to verify her words. It did so. Theground opened and received “the daughter of the furrow,” and Rama lost hisbeloved and only wife. Unable toendure life without her, he resolved to follow, and the gods favoured hisdetermination Time appeared to him in the form of an ascetic andtold him that he must stay on earth or ascend to heaven and rule over the gods. Lakshmana with devoted fraternal affection endeavouredto save his brother from what he deemed the baleful visit of Time. He incurred a sentence of deathfor his interference, and was conveyed bodily to Indra’s heaven. Rama with greatstate and ceremony went to the river Sarayu, and walking into the water was hailed by Brahma’s voice of welcome from heaven, andentered “into the glory of Vishnu.” The conclusion of the story as told in the version ofthe Ramayana used by Mr. Wheeler differs materially. Athird version- The conclusion of the story as told in the version ofthe Ramayana used by Mr. Wheeler differs materially. It representsthat Sita remained in exile until her sons were fifteen or sixteen years ofage. Rama had resolved upon performing the Aswa-medha sacrifice; the horse wasturned loose, and Satru-ghna followed it with an army. Kusa and Lava took thehorse and defeated and wounded Satru-ghna. Rama then sent Lakshmana to recoverthe horse, but he was defeated and left for dead. Next Bharata was sent withHanuman, but they were also defeated. Rama then sent out himself to repair hisreverses. When the father and sons came into each other’s presence, naturespoke out, and Rama acknowledged his sons. Sita also, after receiving anadmonition from Valmiki, agreed to forgive her husband. They returned toAyodhya. Rama performedthe Aswa-medha, and they passed the remainder of their lives in peace and joy -- 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/1478608822.324176.1639098176175%40mail.yahoo.com.
