The #Vedic#PurushSukta is dedicated to the Cosmic Being from whom Creation manifests & serves as the source of Puranic accounts of Lord #Vishnu as the #Cosmic Purush. I have earlier mentioned His 3 Purush #Avatars so sharing some details in this thread, do read till the end 1/5
According to #Devi#Bhagwat there exist countless #Brahma, Vishnu & #Shiva forms to cater to the billions of Universes...3/5
The 3rd form is #Kshirodakshayi Vishnu whom we identify as the Lord Vishnu who lies on #sheshnag in the #KsheerSagar (Ocean of Milk) and is the one who is approached by the gods in the time of need. Satvata #Tantra mentions that He also resides within the heart of each being..4/5
So these are the 3 main forms that Lord #Vishnu takes to look after this material existence in different capacities. Truly as they say - #Hari Anant Hari Katha Ananta - the Lord is limitless and so are His stories!
🕉 We all know about #Ganesh & #Kartikeya, the sons of #Shiva & #Parvati, but have you heard of their daughter #AshokSundari?
According to the #PadmaPuran, Shiva once took Parvati to #Nandanavana, the celestial garden in #Swarga & showed her the wish-fulfiling #Kalpavriksha..
#Parvati jad a sudden inspirarion to wish for a daughter so her thoughts took shape & a lovely girl with lotus-like eyes appeared from rhe tree. Her body seemed to be made of gold, her long, curly hair was tied in a braid & Parvati named her Ashok (No sadness) Sundari (Beauty)..
One day, when #Ashokasundari was walking in the Nandanavana she was spotted by an Asura named Huṇḍa who tried to abduct & molest her, but the girl managed to escape & cursed him to die at the hands of her future husband! This is a union written in the stars as Parvati had....
We all know #NonVegetarian food & #alcohol are generally prohibited for spiritual seekers. Part of the reason comes from the trifurcation of food into #Satvik, #Rajsik & #Tamsik categories but there's also two very specific instances due to which these are forbidden for Brahmins:
The first is related to #Agastya Muni who is one of the most celebrated sages of ancient #India. Two demon brothers Ilavala & Vatapi used to invite poor priests to their home for a meal enticing them with freshly cooked lamb, but would end up eating the Brahmin instead..2/5
#Agastya Muni very cleverly tricked them in their own game and since then banned the consumption of #meat by the priestly class to stop them getting influenced by temptation. (Full story in my book #RamayanRevealed)..3/5
A lot of propaganda is spread about the hereditary nature of #castesystem in #Hinduism where professions were supposed to be fixed for families, but do you know none of the #Vedic scriptures mention it as a birth-based phenomenon? Read on for some interesting details....
In the verse 9.112 of #Rigveda on various #professions, the young rishi says:
Various are our acts, (various) the #occupations of men; The carpenter desires timber, the physician disease,
The brāhmaṇa a worshipper who effuses Soma;
Flow, Indu for #Indra....
He continues..
I am a #singer; my father a #physician,
My mother throws #corn upon the grinding stones;
Having various occupations, desiring riches,
We remain (in the world) like cattle (in the stall);
Flow, Indu, for #Indra..
It took #India 75 years to revive an ancient tradition with the ceremonial sceptre of #Cholas called the #Sengol planned to be used once again as India inaugurates its #newparliament on the 28th of May. Read more about the ancient Indian coronation traditions in the thread..
According to #AitareyaBrahmana when a new king assumed power he was sprinkled with the purifying waters of holy rivers while he knelt next to the throne. This tradition was followed from the time of #Manu right upto #Bharat the son of Dushyant & Shakuntala & hero of my 3rd book
The crown was placed on the head of the king who was also handed over the #RajDanda in many parts of the country as in the #Tamil tradition. According to #ShuklaYajurveda the priest blessed the newly crowned king with the following words...