Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Mohini Avtar Story
Many different legends tell of her various exploits and marriages, including union with Shiva. These tales relate, among other things, the birth of the god Shasta and the destruction of Bhasmasura, the ash-demon. Mohini’s main modus operandi is to trick or beguile those she encounters. She is worshipped throughout Indian culture, but mainly in Western India, where temples are devoted to her depicted as Mahalasa, the consort of Khandoba, a regional avatar of Shiva.The Nevasa is mainly famous for the Mohiniraj Mandir,the avatar of Lord Vishnu who beheaded Rahu and Ketu while distribution of nectar. It Is also famous for sasurvadi of Lord Khandoba ,The second wife of Lord Khandoba is from Newasa bk name Mahalasa so khandoba is called Mhalasakant Every year a big Ustav of Shri Mohiniraja get celebrated in the month of Magaha pornima in remembrance of Lord Vishnu's Mohini Avatar after Samudra manthan. The elegantly designed Mohiniraj Temple in Ahmednagar is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The new structure of this temple was constructed in 1773 at a cost of about Rs. 5 Lakhs by Gangadhar Yashwant Chandrachude. The 75 feet tall temple is decorated all over with ornamental work. The shrine houses an image of Mohiniraj better known as Lord Vishnu. Also, in the Sabhamandan (Meeting Room) several images of other gods and goddesses such as Ganesh, Shiv – Parvati, Shani and Hanuman Ji.
The earliest reference to a Mohini-type goddess appears in the Samudra manthan episode of the 5th century BCE Hindu epic Mahabharata.[5] The Amrita, or nectar of immortality, is produced by the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The Devas (demi-gods) and the Asuras (demons) fight over its possession.[6] The Asuras contrive to keep the Amrita for themselves, angering the Devas. Vishnu, wise to their plan, assumes the form of an "enchanting damsel". She uses her allure to trick the Asuras into giving her the Amrita, and then distributes it amongst the Devas. Rahu, an Asura, disguises himself as a god and tries to drink some Amrita himself. Surya (the sun-god) and Chandra (the moon-god) quickly inform Vishnu, and he uses the Sudarshana Chakra (the divine discus) to decapitate Rahu, leaving the head immortal.[7] The decapitated body becomes Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are both regarded as celestial bodies that assume one's destiny. The other major Hindu epic Ramayana (4th century BCE) narrates the Mohini story briefly in the Bala Kanda chapter.[8] This same tale is also recounted in the Vishnu Purana four centuries later.[9]
In the original text, Mohini is referred to as simply an enchanting, female form of Vishnu. In later versions, Mohini is described as the maya (illusion) of Vishnu. Later still, the name of the avatar becomes Mohini from the original phrase describing his deliberate false appearance (mayam ashito mohinim).[10] Once the Mohini legend became popular, it was retold, revised, and expanded in several texts. The tales of Mohini-Vishnu also increased among devotional circles in various regions.[11][12] The same expanded Mahabharata version of the story is also recounted in the Bhagavata Purana in the 10th century CE.[13][14][15] Here, Mohini becomes a formal avatar of Vishnu.[16]
This legend is also retold in the Padma Purana[16] and Brahmanda Purana. In the Brahmanda Purana, however, Vishnu-Mohini simply, after mediation upon the Great Goddess Maheshvari, acquires her form to trick the thieving asuras
Mohini also has an active history in the destruction of demons throughout Hindu texts. In the Vishnu Purana, Mohini defeats Bhasmasura, the "ash-demon".[17] Bhasmasura invokes the god Shiva by performing severe penances. Shiva, pleased with Bhasmasura, grants him the power to turn anyone into ashes by touching their head. The demon decides to try the power on Shiva himself. Shiva runs terrified. Vishnu, witnessing the unfortunate turn of events, transforms into Mohini and charms Bhasmasura. Bhasmasura is so taken by Mohini that he asks her to marry him. Mohini agrees, but only on the condition that Bhasmasura follows her move for move in a dance. In the course of the dance, she places her hand on her head. Bhasmasura mimics the action, and in turn, reduces himself to ashes.[18] The legend of Bhasmasura is retold in the Buddhist text Satara Dewala Devi Puvata, with a slight variation. In this tale, Vishnu assumes his female form (the name "Mohini" is not used) and charms Bhasmasura. The female Vishnu asks Bhasmasura to promise never to leave her by taking his hand on his head as per the usual practice to swear on one's head. On doing so, Bhasmasura is reduced to ashes.[19]
In a similar legend related to birth of Ayyappa, the demon Surpanaka earns the power to turn anyone into ashes by his austerities. The tale mirrors all other aspects of the Buddhist version of the Bhasmasura tale, where he is forced by Mohini to severe fidelity by keeping his hand on his head and is burnt.[20]
The prelude of the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana, the demon Nontok is charmed and killed by Mohini-Vishnu. Nontok misuses a divine weapon given to him by Shiva. The four-armed Mohini-Vishnu enchants Nontok and then attacks him. In his last moments, the demon accuses Vishnu of foul play saying that Vishnu first seduced him and then attacked him. Vishnu decrees that in his next birth, Nontok will be born as the ten-armed demon Ravana and Vishnu will be a mortal man called Rama. He will then fight him and defeat him.[21]
In a lesser-known tale in the Ganesha Purana (900—1400CE) the wise asura king Virochana is rewarded a magical crown by the sun-god Surya. The crown shields him against all harm. Vishnu as Mohini then enchants Virochana and steals his crown. The demon, thus unprotected, is killed by Vishnu.[22]
Another legend about the demon Araka associates Mohini with Krishna rather than the god himself. The demon Araka had become virtually invincible because he had never laid eyes on a woman (extreme chastity). Krishna takes the form of the beautiful Mohini and marries him. After three days of marriage, Araka's bonds of chastity are broken, and Krishna kills him in battle.[23] Transgender Hijras consider Krishna-Mohini as a transsexual, rather than a true female
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Rudra Avtaar Story
Rudra (Devanagari: रुद्र) is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm,[1] and the hunt. The name has been translated as "the roarer".[2][3][4]
The theonym Shiva originates as an epithet of Rudra, the adjective shiva ("kind") being used euphemistically of the god who in the Rigveda also carries the epithet ghora ("terrible").[3] Usage of the epithet came to exceed the original theonym and by the post-Vedic period (in the Sanskrit Epics), and the name Rudra has been taken as a synonym for the god Shiva and the two names are used interchangeably.
The etymology of the theonym Rudra is somewhat uncertain.[5] It is usually derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl."[5][6] According to this etymology, the name Rudra has been translated as "the roarer".[7] An alternative etymology suggested by Prof. Pischel derives Rudra as "the red one, the brilliant one" from a lost root rud-, "to be red"[4] or "to be ruddy" or respectively, according to Grassman, "to shine".[5]
A Rigvedic verse "rukh draavayathi, iti rudraha" where 'rukh' means
sorrow/misery, 'draavayathi' means to drive out or eliminate and 'iti'
means that which or he who, implies 'Rudra' to be the eliminator of evil
and usherer of peace.
Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, i.e. of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the wild one" or "the fierce god".[8]
R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name
as "the terrible" in his glossary for the Shiva Sahasranama.[9] The commentator Sāyaṇa suggests six possible derivations for rudra.[10] However, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations.[11]
In the Rigveda Rudra's role as a frightening god is apparent in references to him as ghora ("terrible"), or simply as asau devam ("that god").[13] He is "fierce like a formidable wild beast" (RV 2.33.11).[24]
Chakravarti sums up the perception of Rudra by saying: "Rudra is thus
regarded with a kind of cringing fear, as a deity whose wrath is to be
deprecated and whose favor curried."[25]
RV 1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as "mighty Rudra, the god with braided hair."[26]
In RV 7.46,
Rudra is described as armed with a bow and fast-flying arrows. As
quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar, the hymn says Rudra discharges "brilliant
shafts which run about the heaven and the earth" (RV 7.46.3), which may
be a reference to the destructive power of lightning.[27]
Rudra was believed to cause diseases, and when people recovered from
them or were free of them, that too was attributed to the agency of
Rudra.[28]
He is asked not to afflict children with disease (RV 7.46.2) and to
keep villages free of illness (RV 1.114.1). He is said to have healing
remedies (RV 1.43.4), as the best physician of physicians (RV 2.33.4),
and as possessed of a thousand medicines (RV 7.46.3). This is described
in Shiva's alternative name Vaidyanatha (Lord of Remedies).
The verse RV 6.49.10 calls Rudra as "The Father of the Universe" (bhuvanasya pitaraṃ).
bhuvanasya pitaraṃ ghīrbhirābhī rudraṃ divā vardhayā rudramaktau
bṛhantaṃ ṛṣvamajaraṃ suṣumnaṃ ṛdhagh ghuvema kavineṣitāsaḥ (RV 6.49.10)
bṛhantaṃ ṛṣvamajaraṃ suṣumnaṃ ṛdhagh ghuvema kavineṣitāsaḥ (RV 6.49.10)
Rudra by day, Rudra at night we honour with these our songs, the Universe's Father.
Him great and lofty, blissful, undecaying let us call specially as the Sage impels us[29]
Him great and lofty, blissful, undecaying let us call specially as the Sage impels us[29]
The verse RV 2.33.9 calls Rudra as "The Lord or Sovereign of the Universe" (īśānādasya bhuvanasya).
sthirebhiraṅghaiḥ pururūpa ughro babhruḥ śukrebhiḥ pipiśehiraṇyaiḥ
īśānādasya bhuvanasya bhūrerna vā u yoṣad rudrādasuryam (RV 2.33.9)
īśānādasya bhuvanasya bhūrerna vā u yoṣad rudrādasuryam (RV 2.33.9)
With firm limbs, multiform, the strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations:
The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty.[30]
The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty.[30]
However, Yajur Veda – Taittiriya Aranyaka[31] (1-10-1)[32] quotes Rudra and Brihaspati as Sons of Bhumi and Heaven[33]). This directly conflicts with the claim of Rudra being Supreme.
The adjective shivam in the sense of "propitious" or "kind" is applied to the name Rudra in RV 10.92.9.[12] According to Gavin Flood, Shiva used as a name or title (Sanskrit śiva, "the kindly/auspicious one") occurs only in the late Vedic Katha Aranyaka,[13] whereas Axel Michaels asserts that Rudra was called Shiva for the first time in the Śvetāśvatara Upanishad.[14]
Rudra is called "the archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)[15] and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.[16] This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.[17] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill"[15] and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness".[17] The names Dhanvin ("bowman")[18] and Bāṇahasta ("archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")[18][19] also refer to archery.
In other contexts the word rudra can simply mean "the number eleven".[20] The word "rudraksha" (Sanskrit: rudrākşa = rudra and akşa
"eye"), or "eye of Rudra", is used as a name both for the berry of the
Rudraksha tree, and a name for a string of the prayer beads made from
those seeds.[20]
Sunday, 3 February 2013
KALKI and the Prophecies of NOSTRADAMUS
Nostradamus
had predicted the future of human history in a total of 942 quatrains
which he organized into Centuries
- groups of 100 quatrains (one Century only had 42 quatrains). A
quatrain is simply a poem with 4 lines. The rhymed quatrains of
Nostradamus were written mainly in French with a bit of Italian, Greek,
and Latin thrown in. He intentionally obscured the quatrains through the
use of symbolism and metaphor, as well as by making changes to proper
names by swapping, adding or removing letters. There are hundreds of
intrepretations and transalations of his original work.
He has predicted the end of
the World as 3927 AD and this will occur as:
In the words of Nostradamus "The
Lord will come back for the final judgement as the the Just Judge, the
damned shall be tossed into the hellfire and the chosen ones will follow
him to heaven". The act of the Lord at the final
judgement (as predicted by Nostradamus) is similar to that of Kalki in
the Hindu Mythology and hence the concept
of Kalki is that of the Final Judge.
In CHAPTER
VI Part V of the book The
Prophecies of Nostradamus
the end of the world is described
as
VIII. 28 The
Final Judgment .The images loaded with gold and silverCOMMENT: At the Final Judgment, the damned shall be tossed into the hellfire and emerge from it as a beastly figure. On the other hand, the names of the saints are engraved by the Fingers of God into the Marble Book of Life V.79 The Second Advent of the Lord as the Judge.
Upon the descendance of the Great Judge He shall raise up the lowly, and humble the proud No more shall be born any deceiver on earth VI.18 Lord shall reign in Heaven with His Chosen Ones.
For life eternal, one shall not find either idols or Judaism With Him, His chosen people shall reign on high Grace bestowed upon the ones who desire the Lord |
Dasavtar The 10 Incarnations or avataar of Lord Vishnu
Matsya
the fish
In the earliest yuga
(era) of Sata-yuga, a king named Manu was performing severe penance
for thousands of years. One day as he was performing ablutions with
river water, a small fish came into his hands and just as he was about
to throw the fish back into the river, the fish requested the king to
save its life. Heeding its request, the king put the fish into a jar
of water but the fish started growing and the jar was not big enough
for it. Then the king threw it into the river, but it soon it outgrew
the river and the king then threw it into Ganges and then into the
ocean. The king realised that it was Lord Vishnu himself and then the
lord made an appearance and made a special request to the king. It
predicted that the world would come to an end by a huge flood in seven
days and requested the king to build a huge boat and take the seven
sages(hermits), seeds of all plants, one animal of each type and told
him that he would appear as a fish to propel the boat to Mount Himavan
for surviving the flood to the next yuga(eon). True to his word, after
seven days the Lord appeared and the king tied the boat to the fish by
using the royal serpent Vasuki and the fish took all of them to Mt
Himavan and kept them there till the flood was over and in the new
era, the king started procreation a for the new era.
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Kurma
the Tortoise
Further to Pralaya-
deluge at the beginning of the present Kalpa the Gods (devas) lost
their immortality due to a
curse by the short-tempered sage Durvasa.The
sage had once presented a garland of flowers to Indra,king of gods,
who carelessly gave it away to his elephant which trampled it.
The Devas approached Vishnu for help. Vishnu then asked them to churn
the ocean of milk after adding medicines into the ocean. Mt Mandara
could be used a the churning stick he said. He requested them to ask
them help of Asuras in lifting the mountain in exchange for offer of
the share of nectar of immortality that would ensue from the churning.
Both the devas and the asuras churned the ocean using the serpent
Vasuki as the rope. At the start, playing a Machiavellian trick,
Indra, king of the gods asked the asuras for the head end of vasuki.
But asuras suspecting foul play, took the head end, only to be
deceived as the poison from Vasuki was slowly weakening them. But as
churning was proceeding the mountain was sinking and then Lord Vishnu
took the form of the tortoise KURMA and kept the mountain afloat. As
soon as the bowl of amrita, the nectar of immortality was out, the
asuras grabbed it. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of an apsara, a
beautiful maiden, and seduced the asuras into letting her distribute
the nectar and also to abide by her order of distribution. As soon as
the devas were served the maiden disappeared thus totally deceiving
the asuras and making them totally weak.
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Varaha
the Boar
A demon Hiranyaksha,
had prayed for Lord Brahma and got awarded a boon that no beast nor
man nor god could kill him. But somehow from the list of beasts the
name of boar was missing. This proved to be his lacunae. He then
started a campaign of plunder across the worlds. He pushed the world
to the Pataal loka, or the under of the sea. He stole the Vedas, the
holy scriptures from the Lord Brahma, while he was asleep and
performed huge atrocities.To retrieve the Vedas and to save the world
the Lord Vishnu assumed the role of a boar and brought out the earth
from the under of the ocean, using its two tusks. It then killed
Hiranyaksha and retrieved the Vedas from the asura and brought it back
to the safe custody of the Lord Brahma.
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Narashima
giant lion-man
In NARASIMHA
Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as a semi-man,semi-lion in this
world. The king of demons(asuras), Hiranyakasyapu, wanted to become
immortal and wanted to remain young forever. To this end, he meditated
for Lord Brahma and because of his severe penance, the gods were
frightened and asked Brahma to pacify the king. Brahma was impressed
by his austerity and granted him a wish. Hiranyakasyapu wished that he
be killed neither by a man or beast, nor
in daylight or at night and neither inside or outside a building.
Having obtained the wish he considered himself the supreme God and
forbade all worship of gods by anyone. But his son Prahlada, was an
ardent devotee of Vishnu. This enraged Hiranyakasyapu very much. He
ordered numerous ways to kill Prahlada including asking his sister
Holika to sit with Prahlada in the fire. But every time Prahlada
escaped unhurt. Enraged, once he asked Prahlad to show him the Lord
Vishnu. Prahlad said, "He is everywhere". Further enraged,
Hiranyakasyapu knocked down a pillar, and asked if Lord was present
there. Lord Vishnu then emerged as a half lion, half man from the
pillar, and carried him under the arch of the doorway
(neither indoors nor outdoors), and the time
was evening (in the twilight), neither night nor day. He then killed
Hiranyakasyapu with his claws by keeping him on his thighs (neither
on earth nor in the sky) thus saving the life of his
devotee Prahlada.
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Vamana
the dwarf
BALI, the grandson of
Prahlada was a very valorous and mighty asura. By his penance and
might, he conquered the whole world. Indra and other gods fearing that
he and the asuras would conquer all the three worlds, went to Lord
Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu was then born as a dwarf Vamana in the
household of a brahman priest. He went to Bali on growing up and asked
for alms. Bali was delighted to offer him anything he requested even
though his royal guru warned him that it was Lord Vishnu. Vamana then
requested for the amount of land that could come under his three feet.
Bali gracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in size and covered the
earth and heaven in two stride. And due to lack of space, he put his
third leg on Bali himself and crushed Bali to the nether or the Patala
loka (underground world), thus helping the Gods out.
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Parasurama
Rama with the axe
In PARASURAMA Avatar,
Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as a brahman priest in this world. He
was brought in this world to avenge all kshatriyas who had become
arrogant and were suppressing the brahmans in the world. He
was born with unusual physical power, and became better fighter than
any Kshatriya.He
was born to Jamadagni and Renuka, and belonged to the Brighu clan.
Parashurama was always carrying an axe presented to him by Lord Shiva
of whom he was an ardent devotee. Kartavirya a powerful king, once
went to Jamadagni's home when he was out, and after a meal, stole the
Kamadhenu cow, which was supposed to give endless quantity of milk.
Jamadgni was enraged and he went and killed the king and brought
Kamadhenu back. On hearing this the son of the king came back and
killed Jamdagni. Parasurama was enraged at this and went and avenged
the death of his father by killing all kshatriyas in 21 battles. His
life is story of the supremacy of brahmans over the kshatriyas.
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Sri Rama
It is the most important
Avatar of Vishnu. Rama represents the peak of the historic
incarnations, and by him it is defined the ideal character of Indian
people.He is Vishnu descended upon earth to conquer all the Indian
peninsula, included Sri Lanka, under the Bharata rule. Lord Rama is
one of the most adored gods in India. He is always holding a bow and
arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evils.His story forms the
epic Ramayana. He is perfect in every aspect; the perfect man, the
perfect husband, the perfect brother, the perfect king, etc. and the
obedient son. Commonly he is pictured in a family style, with his wife
Sita, and brother Lakshman.
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Sri
Krishna
In KRISHNA
Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as KRISHNA , the central
character in the epic MAHABHARATA. In this biggest epic of Indian
mythology a myriad of topics are covered, including war, love,
brotherhood, politics etc. It is essentially the story of two warring
groups of cousin brothers, the PANDAVAs and the KAURAVAs. As a part of
the Mahabahrata, during the war KRISHNA, gives a long discourse to his
disciple ARJUNA, collectively termed as Bhagvad-Gita.
Krishna, during his child-hood was responsible for the killing of
Kansa. Krishna is also considered to be an ultimate playboy who was
resonsible for charming all gopikas (cowherdesses) around him. Unlike
Ramayana, Mahabharata deals with more down to earth issues like
politics, human nature, human weaknesses, and does not attempt to
idealise the characters as in RAMAYANA. His
death marks the beginning of Kali yuga.
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Buddha With the departure of Lord Krishna (Krishna Avatar), the Kali yuga set in. In this age, the true devotion to Vedas was replaced by empty rituals. To enlighten the world, Lord Vishnu descended the earth as Buddha, the enlightened one.
He was born as the crown prince
of the Kapilavastu to King Suddhodana and Maya. He was named
Siddhartha, meaning "All thing fulfilled". But his mother
died soon after his birth and was broughtup by Prajapati, the sister
of Maya. Buddha was saddened by death of living creatures, and vices
like poverty. He wasn't happy with any answers that were provided to
him and he decided to find out the meaning and the absolute truth and
he left his wife and child to a hermit's life in the forest and became
the enlightened one.
His
preachings spawned off the religion of Buddhism now popular across the
whole world. Buddha
advocated the Middle Path, in which he offered a balanced, harmonious
way of life, steering between two extremes of self-indulgence and
total abstinence. Buddhism rests upon four Noble Truths:
To prevent suffering one
has to conquer craving and desire and this conquest leads to the
attainment of nirvana or complete enlightenment.
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Kalki is
believed as the next Avatar of Vishnu.
It is believed that He
will appear, riding his white horse and drawing a flaming sword, at
the end of the Kali Yuga, the dark age through which we are now
passing. His task will be to exterminate the evil and restore the
Dharma. Thus will begin a new cycle, starting with the new Satya Yuga.
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