As This festival of #MakarSankranti2023 marks the transition of the sun into the zodiac sign of Makara(capricorn) and beginning of uttarayana period.

This is also a harvest festival. As a gratitude towards the Sun god, we worship him on these days!

A thread on artwork! This monumental black stone relief, discovered in 1833 in the mud of the Ganges River delta, depicts Surya, the Hindu solar deity.

In each hand, he holds fully opened lotus blossoms, flowers that bloom in the light of the sun.

philamuseum.org/collection/obj…

Pitru runam means we are indebted to our ancestors for giving us birth , education ,samskAras, without them we would never come to this world. The shraddha and tarpana rituals are utmost important because its our dharma & pleasing pitru devatas will bless with health and wealth But there may be situations where we cannot perform shraddha or tarpana rituals in that case chatur mukha brahma gave us stotra to give us the fruits of shraddha/tarpana rituals

Pitra Dosh– In contrast to the misconception of it being the curse from forefathers, Pitra Dosh is actually a karmic debt of the ancestors. It is reflected in the Kundli in a form of malefic planetary combinations and is to be paid by the person having Pitra dosha in his Kundli. To put it simply, Pitra dosh is formed in a person’s horoscope, when his/her ancestors have committed some sin or mistake. So, in exchange for that, the native is held accountable to pay for the wrongdoings of their forefather’s past deeds by going through various punishments.

Alakshmi —The Goddess of Misfortune and Strife

Alakshmi or Jayestha is the elder sister of Goddess Lakshmi. She represents everything that is opposite of Lakshmi. She is the Goddess of misfortune, strife, poverty, 'durbhagya' , inauspiciousness and extreme ugliness. Where did Alakshmi come from :

Alakshmi is said to have emerged with Ma Lakshmi during the churning of the ocean of milk or 'samudra manthan'. While Lakshmi emerged with the 'amrit' or nectar, Alakshmi emerged with the 'halahal' or poison.

Maa Tara

As we know maa Tara was wife of king Vali and mother of Angad she is also one of "Panchkanya ". She was daughter of Sushena, a physician in the country of Kishkindha. Today we will try to understand her story Later, due to some family issues between her husband Vali and his brother Sugriva, Vali was killed by Rama. The issue was the separation of Ruma from her husband, Sugriva.

“Lakshmi” is derived from the Sanskrit elemental form “lakS,” meaning to observe/perceive. This is also synonymous with “laksya,” meaning aim, goal, or objective. Hence Lakshmi represents the goal or objective of one’s life, which includes worldly as well as spiritual prosperity.

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Lakshmi is also a goddess of purity and divinity. so the wealth or money you will get by worshipping Maa Lakshmi is going to be pure too. You can't have blessings of her when you cheat or loot someone

It may be Rahu dev but not Lakshmi devi

Tomorrow is Guru Pushya nakshatra. This is highly auspicious for starting any spiritual or religious activities.

Puja performed on this day may give more benefits, and it may enhance the fortune.
Guru Pushya Yoga is considered very auspicious for. If you want to worship Shri Yantra and looking for an great day to purchase it and start doing Upasna then it could be a good day to start of

In Vishnu sahasranama stotram
Lord Shri Hari is called "Bhootaatmaa"

Which means He is the Aatman (soul) of all the beings ("bhoota"): The very ‘Be’ in the living beings. Just as the same universal space manifests in all rooms as the room-space, so the Infinite Life manifesting through any given vehicle is called the Aatman of the vehicle.

Makardhwaj

according to few version of Ramayana was the son of Lord Hanuman. The legend goes that one night Ram & Laksman were kidnapped by Ahiravana and were taken to the patal loka Lord Hanuman followed their trails which ended in the gates of Netherworld. The gate was guarded by a creature that looks almost same as Lord Hanuman, but with reptilian attributes. On being asked the creature introduce himself as Makradhwaj the son of Lord Hanuman.

In Hindu tradition, Ashta dikpalas are the eight deities that guard the eight quarters of the world. The eight deities protect the eight cardinal directions with the help of elephants. Eight elephants and their wives assist the Dikpalas – the protectors of the quarters INDRA = The king of the gods, is the guardian of the East. Indra is among the most important deties in the Vedas. He is usually shown holding his Vajra and with his elephant, Airavata. The East is considered an auspicious direction, due to the rising of the sun.

Story of Kandu Maharishi

Kandu

There was a sage named Kandu. He had a hermitage on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. The ashrama was a beautiful place and Kandu performed very difficult tapasya there. In the summer Kandu meditated in the hot sun, in the monsoon he meditated on the wet ground, and in the winter he meditated dressed in wet clothing.

Indra got scared as a result of all this tapasya. He thought that the sage Kandu might want to become Indra, the king of the gods

#Mahashivratri Thread on how to observe the fast.
It has also been said that Shuklayjurveda is very dear to Bhagwan Shiva.

वेदः शिवः शिवो वेदः ll

That is why the sages have been told in the scriptures to perform Rudrabhishek with Shuklayjurvediya Rudrashtadhyayi. यजुर्मयो हृदयं देवो यजुर्भिः शतरुद्रियै:।
पूजनीयो महारुद्रो सन्ततिश्रेयमिच्छता।।

Special benefits are obtained by performing Rudrabhishek according to the method described in ShuklaJurvedi Rudrashtadhyayi.

Meaning of Uma:

Consort of Bhagvan Shiva is mostly known by her name 'Parvati'. But in Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas we find the name of 'Uma' being used.

A thread: Right from the 5th Anuvaka of Sri Rudram which starts with 'नमः सोमाय च' or 'Salutations to Bhagvan who is with Uma' to the Taittariya Aranyaka of the Yajurveda which states:

अम्बिकापतये उमापतये पशुपतये नमो नमः ॥ १॥
[YajurVeda T.A. 10.22.1]

Some Reference of ahiṃsā paramo dharma in Mahabharata! A small thread

1) Adi Parva of Mahabharata: Sauti Muni talking about Rishi Sahasrapat tells Rishi Ruru about the characteristics of a brahmana. अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः सर्वप्राणभृतां समृतः
तस्मात पराणभृतः सर्वान न हिंस्याथ बराह्मणः कव चित

Verily the highest virtue of man is sparing the life of others. Therefore a Brahmana should never take the life of any creature.

10 Epic Role of Rishi Vashishta in Ramayana :

A thread :

1. Dashratha does not have a son who can take charge of his vast kingdom. Rishi Vasishtha advises him to worship Goddess Kamakshi in Kanchi in present-day Tamil Nadu state. She blesses him to have 4 sons. He then performs a putresti (putra-kameshti) yagnya under the guidance of Rishi Rishyasringa [Ref: Brahmanda Purana 4.40.88-142; Skanda Purana 2.8.7.1].

Basic Questions and Answers about Hinduism Series:

How did the Vedas in Hinduism come into existence?

The Vedas are Śruti, which means "that which is heard" (1/7 Read on) Hindus believe that from time immemorial, sages known as Dhrishtas (literally "seers") have, during a state of Tapasya (deep meditation), heard sacred verses directly from the gods.

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God does not normally interfere in worldly affairs.

Resorting to Prakrti, Nature, which is My own Power, I send forth, again and again, this multitude of beings that are without any freedom, owing to Nature's sway over them. - Gita 9.8 These activities do not in any way bind Me, because I remain detached like one unconcerned in their midst. - Gita 9.9

Under My direction and control, Nature brings out this mighty universe of living and non-living beings. Thus does the wheel of this world revolve. - Gita 9.10

A thread on Brahma's Manasputras:

First, Brahma created 4 mind-born eternal boys who refused to procreate. They were Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara.

Then he created 7 mind-born sons, namely Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angiras, Marichi, Atri and Vashishtha. They are known as Saptarishis. These Brahmarishis are also known as Prajapatis.

This original list of 7 is found in Mahabharata (Santi Parva: Apaddharmanusasana Parva, Section 166).

Story of Gangasati:

Gangasati was a medieval saint poet of bhakti tradition of western India who composed several devotional songs in the Gujarati language.

She was born in Sarvaiya (kshatriya clan) Rajput family in Saurashtra district Bhavnagar in 12th to 14th century.

https://twitter.com/Go_Movie_Mango/status/1446497438752071683

She married Kahalsang Gohil or Kalubha Gohil of Samdhiala villagenear present-day Bhavnagar. He was a follower of Nijiya tradition of Bhakti Movement.

Hindu scriptures provide the 9 steps of Bhakti known as Navdha Bhakti.

Today is Day 2 of #navratri 2021 and we are going to discuss what is Kirtanam!

कीर्तन - Kirtan (Telling/Discussing) with joy and enthusiasm of God's qualities, character. 1/10

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Kīrtana (कीर्तन, “glorifying”) refers to one of the three rites mentioned in the Śivapurāṇa 1.3.

"Śravaṇa is the first rite. The intelligent scholar must listen to the oral explanation of the preceptor and then practice the other rites.—Kīrtana and Manana(deliberation)”.