Giving alms is extremely important as means for achieving punya. Alms always have to be donated when one goes to visit a temple or a place of pilgrimage. The giver must always face the east and the receiver must always face the north when alms are being given. Such donations…
Agni story on how to Pray & Build Temples and Idols The Agni Purana next has several chapters on how to pray and on how to build temples and idols. The techniques of praying to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya and the other gods and goddesses are described, including the special mantras…
At his earliest appearance in the Rigveda, Agni was a complex deity. He was the fire of the sacred sacrifices that were the heart of Vedic religion as well as the central rituals of a semi nomadic warrior culture. Agni was addressed as the deva who ruled earth, a…
APPROPRIATE PLACE AND TIME FOR WORSHIPPING SHIVA In the Vidyeshwar Samhita of Shiva Purana, describing about the importance of place and time for worship of Shiva says- “Worshipping Shiva at a pure place in a house gives appropriate fruits, while worship done in a cowshed gives virtue, which are ten-times…
There is an ocean to the south of Bharataavarsha. One the shores of this great ocean there is a land named Ondra or Utkala (present Orissa). Utkala is populated by religious people and the brahmanas who live there are learned in the Vedas. They are very good priests, learned in…
Visvakarman (omnificent) may originally have been an epithet for any powerful god, but it was used in the Rigveda most often for Indra and Surya. There are two Rigvedic hymns to Visvakarman praising him as the all-seeing god, the one who names the gods, and that one beyond the comprehension…
Surya was a primary deity of the Aryans at the time of the earliest hymns of the Rigveda. The solar cult saw the sun as the most obvious symbol of life, consciousness, and divinity. For some time within each of the first three periods of Hindu mythology, Surya was…
Samjna was the daughter of Vishwakarma, the divine architect. When she became the wife of Surya, she could not stand his heat, so she practiced austerities (tapas) in order to create a substitute. Finally, after having three children—Manu (the first man), Yama (god of death), and Yami (goddess of the…
In the meantime, both daughters of Yaksha and the demon arrived at Srikanth Mahadeva temple and engaged themselves in the worship of lord Mahadeva. One day, sage Galav arrived at the temple and was astonished to find two young ladies at such a deserted place. While taking bath, he heard…
The earth has seven great islands- Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Kronch, Shakh and Pushkar. These are surrounded by oceans having saline water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and sweet water respectively. Jambudweep is situated at the center. Situated at the center of Jambudweep is golden Sumeru Mountain (Himalayas), which…
The sages requested Lomaharshana, ―Please tell us how the sacred Vedas came to be divided.‖ Lomaharshana recounted the following story. When dvapara yuga arrived, Brahma noticed that people were becoming evil and were no longer paying sufficient attention to the Vedas. They were gradually deviating from the righteous path. Brahama…