QUES ANSW DIVINE 2-2022-20 Dear friends,
These are information compiledas QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. They are posted by learnt members. Some QA are based on concepts. These concepts vary between people. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, dated 20-02-2022 Q1 What is the legend behindorigin of shaligram and Tulasi? A1According to the Puranas once a fierce battle broke out between Lord Shiva andthe demon Jallundhara.They both appeared equally matched with no one ready to lose, and hence thebattle continued for a long time. In fact it was not like an ordinary battlebetween the gods and the demons, but it was a match between the chastities oftwo chaste women Parvatiand Vrinda, wife of Jallundhara. LordShiva knew it well, that unless the chastity of Vrinda, the wife ofJallundhara, was spoiled, Jallundhara could not be killed. But it was againstthe nature of gods, they could not spoil the chastity of a chaste woman, Hencedespite knowing everything, the gods were helpless, but for Jallundhara, nothing was a taboo. So thinking, that spoiling the chastityof Parvati, he could defeat Lord Shiva, Jallundhara reached Parvati in theguise of Lord Shiva. But Parvati, who is herselfthe supreme ruler of illusion (MAYA) knew by her virtues the craftiness ofJallundhara. She at onceended his guise and signalled Lord Krishna (Vishnu) that it was now just tospoil the chastity of Jallundhara's wife, Vrinda, and it will not be a sin . So, Lord Krishna approached Vrinda inthe guise of Jallundhana. Vrinda could not understandthe craftiness, and because of intimate presence her chastity got spoiled. Later on when Vrinda came toknow the reality, she got infuriated and cursed Lord Krishna - O Lord,despite being a learned God you have behaved like a stupid. So go and turn intoshapeless black stone. Thusby the curse of a chaste woman Lord Krishna turned into a black stone. Butlater on Vrinda felt guilty that at the surge of excitement she had cursed noneother than her own tutelary deity. Thusbegging pardon of God, she sought a boon that from that moment onward, God will be worshipped in thesame stone form. Saying Tathastu, God accepted her curse and turnedinto a black stone, and came to be known as Shaligrama. AsShaligram, idol of God is found in innumerable numbers on the bed of the river Gandaki (Gandaka) theseShaligramas are same in size to an areca nut and also round in shape. Having cursed by Vrinda,Lord Vishnu cursed her back that as she had cursed him to become a black stone,So I curse you to become a plant. In plant form also you willbe known as Tulsi and without your worship, mine worship will not be complete.Since then formal worship of Shaligrama began, and Tulsi leaves arespecifically offered on it to complete the worship. Q2 What is the importance ofTeertham/ Charanamritham given in the temples? A2 When the idols of deities are given bath, thewater remained after it is collected. This water is known as Charanamrita. Charanamritacollected from the bath of Shaligrama has far more significance thanCharananmrita of any other deity. Idol of a deity is given a bath amidst thechanting of Vedic hymns. Hence the Charanamrita collected after the bath contains fulleffects of these hymns. Besides, it also touches the idol and basilleaves, Thus taking their virtues as well. Hence it has the power to destroythe three Doshas. At the same time it has the virtue to take away untimelydeath also. But to takemaximum benefit, Charanamrita must be taken with the following hymn. Akalamrityu haranam sarvavyadhi vinashanam| deva poodakam tirtham jathare dharyamaham|| Meaning: To prevent untimely death and cure all types of disease, I put theCharanamrita that is like a pilgrimage place in my belly. Thus virtues of theplaces of Pilgrimage ar also present in God's Charanamrita. Hence, takingCharanamrita one gets the charity of performing pilgrimage and bathing in holyrivers also. Q3 Do reasoning for all incarnations to be told? A3 God takesincarnation for very special; reason only. That is, it has some specialpurpose. When all the incarnations (Avataras) and forms have special purpose oftheir own, it is not necessary then to clarify all of these reasons. It can beunderstood with one-or two examples alone, such as Narashima Avatara. Q4 Do vaishanvites worshipVinayaga? A4 In Ganesh Purana is written : Shaivestvadiyairutvaishnavaishch, shaktaishchsavrairapi sarvakarye | shubhashubhe laukikavaidikecha, tvamarchaniyah prathamamprayatnata || Meaning : After killing ofTripura Lord Shiva said ; O Ganapati, people of all the sects - Shaiva,Vaishnava and Shakta will worship you first in their all worldly or non-worldly, auspicious andinauspicious deeds. Vaishnavite call him Thubikkai alwar Q5 What arethe nava dwaras in the body? Why do bathis required in the morning? A5 The body which consists ofNine Openings, Two Nose, Two ears, Two eyes, One Mouth, One Anus and One Penis.Penis and Anus are very untidy and impure, and filth (Mala) andUrine(Moothram) keeps on coming out fromthem. So our body becomes pure by taking bath in the morning. -- 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/1456052245.192864.1645342584915%40mail.yahoo.com.
