QUES ANSW DIVINE 2 -2022-5 Dearfriends,
Theseare information posted by members compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s andstored in my computer. At this date I have no information of the membersposted. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, dated 05-02-2022 Q1 : In the Ramayana, who was the brother of Bali? A 1: Sugreeva Q2 : In the Mahabharata, which part of the human body did Ekalavya give Dronacharya as guru-dakshina? A2 : His thumb Q3: InHindu mythology, who was the mother of Karna? A3: Kunti Q4: In Hindu mythology, whom Swaha married to? A4 : Agni Q5 What is the difference between Ramayanaand Mahabharata in story telling? A5 As for Mahabharatait is very well known for its umpteennumbers of interwoven stories. But in Ramayana there is onlyone and even that appears in the verybeginning. In Ramayana, that is adi kavya, Valmiki does not narrate anyside stories but for just one and that is the story of Ahalya. The incident of lifting of the curse on Ahalya by SriRama. Even this appears at the very outset of Ramayana Sage Vishwamitrawho is leading the young Rama andLakshmana speaks to them about Ahalyas story and his (Ramas) part in lifting the curse offAhalya who had been cursed into a stoneby her husband. This is the onlyupa-katha in Ramayana. And Valmiki narrates even that at the very outset of Ramayana Q6: Inthe Ramayana, whom did Dasaratha accidently shot and hence was cursed? A6 : Sravan Kumar Q7 What is Sivarathri? Why milk is not usedin his abhishekam? A7 Shivratriis the time when Shiva takes a rest. Shiva rests for one 'prahar' (three hours) of the night. This 'prahar' is referred to as the Shivratri. When Lord Shiva takes rest, thefunction of 'Shivtatva' (Shiva Principle) ceases, i.e. Lord Shiva goes into ameditative state. Shiva's meditative state is the time when He is engrossed in His own spiritual practice. Since Lord Shiva is the deity of dissolution, substances such asmilk, vermilion and turmeric are notused in His worship. Q8 While circumbulating in Siva temple whyshalunka is not crossed? A8 When circum-ambulating one should begin fromthe left side and continue till thechannel of the shalunka from where the water offered during the ritualistic bathing (abhishek) flows. Withoutcrossing it one should complete acircum-ambulation by moving in the reverse direction up to the other side of the channel. The flow of a shalunka is not crossedas it is the flow of energy whichadversely affects the formation of semen and the five internal vital energies (pran vayu). Q9 What is the Story Of King Chitrabhanu told in the Santiparva of Mahabharata observing Sivarathri Vraatha? A9 In theShanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma,refers to the observance of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The storygoes as follows - Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty,who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, itbeing the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sageAshtavakra came on a visit to the court of the king. The sageasked the king the purpose of his observing the past. King Chitrabhanuexplained that he had the gift of remembering the incidents of his previous birth. The kingsaid to the sage that in his previous he was a hunter in Varanasi and his name was Suswara. His onlylivelihood was to kill and sell birds and animals. One day while roaming through forests insearch of animals he was overtaken bythe darkness of night. Unable to return home, he climbed a tree for shelter. It happened to be a Bael tree. He had shota deer that day but had no time to takeit home. So he bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree.As hunger and thirst tormented him, he was kept awake throughout the night. Heshed profuse tears when he thought of his poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously waiting forhis return. To pass away the time that night he engaged himself inplucking the Bael leaves and dropping them down onto theground. The next dayhe returned home and sold the deer and then bought some food for himself andhis family. Themoment he was about to break his fast a stranger came to him, begging for food. Heserved the food first to stranger and then had his own. At the time of his death, he saw two messengers ofLord Shiva. They were sent down toconduct his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. He learnt then for the first time of the great merit he had earned by the unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night ofShivaratri. Themessengers told him that there was aLingam at the bottom of the tree. The leaves I dropped fell on the Lingam. Histears, which had shed out of pure sorrow for his family, fell onto the Lingam and washed it andhe had fasted all day and all night. Thus,he unconsciously worshiped the Lord. As the conclusion of the tale theKing said that he lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long ages and now he hasreborn as Chitrabhanu. He, whoutters the names of Shiva during Shivratri, with perfect devotion andconcentration, is freed from all sins. He reaches the abode of Shiva and lives there happily. He is liberated from the wheel of births anddeaths. Many pilgrims dock to the places where there are Shiva temples -- 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/327145271.77203.1644045973078%40mail.yahoo.com.
