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Rakshasas were believed to have been created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself. Brahma shouted "Rakshama!" (Sanskrit for "Protect me!") and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas (named after Brahma's cry for help).

Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh.

 

Rakshasas were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures, with two fangs protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They are shown as being mean, growling like beasts, and as insatiable man-eaters that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking blood with their palms or from a human skull (similar to representations of vampires in later Western mythology). Generally they could fly, vanish, and had Maya (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi.

In Hindu epics

In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or another warlord.

Aside from its treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epics tell the stories of certain members of the "race" who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains.

In the Ramayana

 

The Battle of Lanka pitted an army of Rakshasas under Ravana against an army of Vanaras, under Rama and Sugriva.

Ravana the king of Lanka with ten heads, was the commander of Rakshasas.

Maruti slew Jambumali the commander, with one stroke of an iron rod

Ravana was the King of Lanka. He was the commander of the Rakshasas. He was the immortal enemy of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata (Book III: Vana Parva, Section 271 ff.), the Sage Markandeya recounts the story of how Ravana kidnapped Rama's wife Sita and whisked her off to his stronghold Lanka. Rama, aided by the monkey King Sugriva and his army of monkeys, laid siege to Lanka, slew Ravana, and rescued Sita.

Vibhishana was Ravana's younger brother. He was beautiful, pious and assiduous in his religious observances. When Brahma granted him a boon, he asked never to swerve from the path of righteousness and to always be illumined by divine knowledge (Book III, Vana Parva: Section 273.) Vibhishana joined Rama in his campaign against Ravana and helped Rama's army to cross the ocean into Lanka (Section 281). When invisible Rakshasas infiltrated Rama's camp, Vibhishana caused them to become visible; this enabled Rama's monkey soldiers to destroy them (Section 283). After Rama's final victory over Ravana, the loyal Vibhishana was made king of Lanka and remaining Rakshasas (Section 289).

Kumbhakarna was another brother of Ravana; he was sometimes referred to as a Rakshasa because of his frightening appearance and size. Like Rakshasas, he had an enormous appetite and ate large quantities of food and meat. A fearsome warrior and master of illusion, he slept through most of the Battle of Lanka (having long before requested and received a gift of long-lasting sleep from Brahma). When Ravana awakened him with alarming news about the conflict, he arose and took the field. Upon marching out of the city, Kumbhakarna was immediately swarmed by Rama's monkeys; he just laughed and wreaked great mayhem amidst them. When the monkey king Sugriva attacked, Kumbhakarna grabbed him and started to drag him off. At that point Rama and his brother Lakshmana used arrows and a secret Brahmastra ("Brahma's weapon") to kill Kumbhakarna, dropping him "like a huge tree cleft in twain by a thunderbolt." (Ramayana, Book III: Vana Parva, Section 285.)

Other Rakshasas that are featured in the Ramayana include Kabandha, Tataka (sometimes called Taraka), Shurpanakha, Maricha, Subahu, Khara, Prahasta, Akshayakumara, Atikaya, and Indrajit - the most powerful son of Ravana.

In the Mahabharata

The Pandava hero Bhima was the nemesis of forest-dwelling Rakshasas who dined on human travellers and terrorized human settlements.

Bhima killed Hidimba, a cannibal Rakshasa. The Mahabharata (Book I: Adi Parva, Section 154) describes him as a cruel cannibal with sharp, long teeth and prodigious strength. When Hidimba saw the Pandavas sleeping in his forest, he decided to eat them. He sent his sister Hidimbi to reconnoiter the situation, and the young woman fell in love with the handsome Bhima, whom she warned of danger. Infuriated, Hidimba declared he was ready to kill not only the Pandavas but also his sister, but he was thwarted by the heroism of Bhima, who defeated and killed him in a duel.

Hidimbi - the sister of Hidimba

Ghatotkacha, a Rakshasa who fought on the side of the Pandavas, was the son of Bhima and the Rakshasa Hidimbi, who had fallen in love with the hero and warned him of danger from her brother. Bhima killed the evil Rakshasa Hidimba. Their son's name refers to his round bald head; ghata means 'pot' and utkacha means 'head' in Sanskrit. Ghatotkacha is considered a loyal and humble figure. He and his followers were available to his father Bhima at any time; all Bhima had to do was to think of him and he would appear. Like his father, Ghatotkacha primarily fought with the mace. His wife was Ahilawati and his son was Barbarika.

In the Mahabharata, Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc in the Kaurava army. In particular, after the death of Jayadratha, when the battle continued on past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night). After performing many heroic deeds on the battlefield and fighting numerous duels with other great warriors (including the Rakshasa Alamvusha, the elephant-riding King Bhagadatta, and Aswatthaman, the son of Drona), Ghatotkacha encountered the human hero Karna. At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader Duryodhana had appealed to his best fighter, Karna, to kill Ghatotkacha, as the entire Kaurava army was near annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, Shakti, granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy Arjuna, the best Pandava fighter. Unable to refuse Duryodhana, Karna used the Shakti against Ghatotkacha, killing him. This is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor Krishna smiled, as he considered the Pandava prince Arjuna to be saved from certain death, as Karna had used the Shakta divine weapon. A temple in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, honors Ghatotkacha; it is located near the Hidimba Devi Temple.

Bakasura was a cannibalistic forest-dwelling Rakshasa who terrorized the nearby human population by forcing them to take turns making him regular deliveries of food, including human victims. The Pandavas travelled into the area and took up residence with a local Brahmin family. Their turn came when they had to make a delivery to Bakasura, and they debated who among them should be sacrificed. The rugged Bhima volunteered to take care of the matter. Bhima went into the forest with the food delivery (consuming it on the way to annoy Bakasura). He engaged Bakasura in a ferocious wrestling match, and broke his back. The human townspeople were amazed and grateful. The local Rakshasas begged for mercy, which Bhima granted them on the condition that they give up cannibalism. The Rakshasas agreed and soon acquired a reputation for being peaceful towards humans. (Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 159-166.)

Kirmira, the brother of Bakasura, was a cannibal and master illusionist. He haunted the wood of Kamyaka, dining on human travellers. Like his brother before him, Kirmira also made the mistake of fighting the Pandav hero Bhima, who killed him with his bare hands (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 11).

Jatasura was a cunning Rakshasa who, disguised as a Brahmin, attempted to steal the Pandavas' weapons and to ravish Draupadi, wife of Arjuna. Bhima arrived in time to intervene, and killed Jatasur in a duel. (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 156). Jatasur's son was Alamvush, who fought on the side of the Kauravas at Kurukshetra.

Karna Attacks Ghatotkacha

Rakshasa heroes fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra war.

Alambusha was a Rakshasa skilled at fighting with both conventional weapons and the powers of illusion. According to the Mahabharata, he fought on the side of the Kauravas. Arjuna defeated him in a duel (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 167), as did Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Book VI: Bhishma Parva, Section 101–102). But Alamvusha in turn killed Iravan, Arjuna's son by a Naga princess Ulupi, when the Rakshasa used his powers of illusion to take on the form of Garuda. Alamvusha was also defeated by Bhima (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 107). He was slain by Bhima's son, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 108).

 

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Shiva is present everywhere! As Adi Shankaracharya said, "Forgive me Oh, Shiva! My three great sins! I came on a pilgrimage to Kashi forgetting that, you are omnipresent. In thinking about you, I forgot that You are beyond thought. In praying to you, I forgot that You are beyond words." To sustain law and balance of nature Lord Shiva took many avatars in various yugas. In Shiv Mahapuran, there is a mention of these avatars. 

 

1.Piplaad Avatar

As per the legends, Shiva was born as Piplaad to sage Dhatichi. The sage left his son even before he was born. Upset without his father Piplaad asked the devas why my father left me. They told him that the unfortunate circumstances were formed because of the planetary position of ‘Shani.’ On learning this, Piplaad cursed Shani and Shani started falling down its celestial abode.

Piplaad forgave Shani on the condition that it will not trouble anyone before 16 years of age. It is believed that praying to this form of Lord Shiva helps people to get rid of Shani Dosha. According to Shiv Puran, Lord Brahma had named this avatar of Lord Shiva.

2.Nandi

Enter any Shiva temple in the country and you will first witness a statue of the quietly formidable Nandi, Lord Shiva's mount and the divine gatekeeper. Lord Shiva represents all beings on Earth. This avatar of Lord Shiva is an indication towards it. There are some temples which are exclusively built for Nandi

As a primary Hindu God, Nandi is traced in lineage back to ancient dairy farmers that depended on cows for their main livelihood. As their foremost source of sustenance, Nandi was worshiped as keeper of the herds. In this form he was said to be bull-faced with a body much like his hallowed Shiva, but with 4 hands. Two hands holding axe and antelope, and the other two joined in homage. In this human form he is known as Nandikeshwara.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Veerbhadra Avatar

Sati was the youngest daughter of Daksha, the king of all men. When Sati grew up she married Shiva,much to the displeasure of her father. One day Daksha made arrangements for a great yagna, and invited all the gods omitting only Shiva. Sati's urge to go to her home due to the affection towards her parents overpowered the social etiquette for not going to an uninvited ceremony. Daksha insulted her and Shiva infront of others. Unable to bear further trauma she ran into the sacrificial fire.

When Shiva came to know about this and with deep sorrow and anger, plucked a lock of hair and thrashed on the ground. Lord Veerabhadraand Rudrakali were born. Virabhadra's believed to be the destroyer of Ajnana, his tall body reached the high heavens, he was dark as the clouds, three burning eyes, and fiery hair; he wore a garland of skulls and carried terrible weapons. To provide him the power, arrived Bhadrakali, a wrathful incarnation on Devi.

On the direction of Shiva, Virabhadra appeared in the midst of Daksha's assembly like a storm and broke the sacrificial vessels, polluted the offerings, insulted the priests and finally cut off Daksha's head, trampled on Indra, broke the staff of Yama, scattered the gods on every side; then he returned to Kailash.

 

4. Bhairava 

Bhairava, sometimes known as Kaala Bhairava, Kal Bhairab, Annadhaani Bhairava, Bhairon or Bhairadya, is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation. The origin of Bhairava can be traced to the conversation between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu recounted in “Shiv Maha-Puran” where Lord Vishnu asks Lord Brahma who is the supreme creator of the Universe. Arrogantly, Brahma tells Vishnu to worship him because he (Brahma) is the supreme creator. This angered Shiva who then incarnated in the form of Bhairava to punish Brahma.

Bhairava beheaded one of Brahma's five heads and since then Brahma has only four heads. When depicted as Kala Bhairava, Bhairava is shown carrying the severed head of Brahma. Cutting off Brahma's fifth head made him guilty of the crime of killing a Brahmin(Brahmahatyapap), and as a result, he had to carry around the disembodied skull for twelve years and roam as Bhikshatana, a mendicant, until he had been absolved of the sin.

 

In the form of the frightful Bhairava, Shiva is said to be guarding each of these Shaktipeeths. Each Shaktipeeth temple is accompanied by a temple dedicated to Bhairava.

 

5. Ashwatthama

According to Mahabharat, the son Dronacharya, Ashwatthama is an ansh Lord Shiva’s Kaal, krodh (anger) and Yam (death). During Samudra Manthan , Halahaal the fuming posion capable of burning universe appeared and all Dev Danav Manav Yaksha Gandharva fled. All of them along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Bramha came to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva consumed Halahaal and held it in his throat. However unable to bear its consequences it started burning him. 

The Vish purush sprung out of him folded his palms, Lord Shiva asked him that although Lord Vishnu and me didn’t let you kill the people yet in Dwapar Yuga but during Mahabharat war, with my blessings, you will be able to kill oppressive kshatriyas. You will be born as Bhardwaja’s grandson and be raised as Brahman but attracted towards Kshatriyahood. This Vish purush was born as Ashwatthama to Drona and Kripi

 

6. Sharabha avatar

Sharabha is a creature that is part lion and part bird. According to Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is an eight-legged beast, mightier than a lion and elephant and which can kill the lion. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eight-legged deer. Shiv puran narrates that god Shiva assumed the Avatar of Sharabha to tame Narasimha - the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by Vaishnava sect - into a normal pleasant form representing harmony. This form is popularly known as Sarabeshwara (Lord Sarabha) or Sharabeshwaramurti.

 

The iconography of Sharabeshwaramurti (Shiva as Sarabha) is specifically defined in texts such as Khamikagama and Sritattvanidhi. In Khamikagama, Sharabha is described in the form of a bird with golden colour, with two uplifted wings, two red eyes, four legs in the form of a lion touching the ground, four legs with claws upwards, and with an animal tail. The top part of the body is shown as human but with the face of a lion with an ornamented crown; side tusks are also depicted giving an overall frightening sight. It also shows the Narasimha beneath Sharabha’s legs as a human with anjali (hands folded prayer)

 

In the Sritattvanidhi, the depiction prescribed for Sharabeshwaramurti is of thirty arms; arms on the right are to hold thunderbolt, mushti, abhaya, chakra (discus), sakti, staff, goad, sword, Khatvanga, axe, akshamala, a bone, bow, musala, and fire; and the left hands to display noose, varada, mace, arrow, flag, and another type of sword, a snake, a lotus flower, skull-cup, pustaka, plough, and mrudanga with one hand encircling Durga in a hug. This form is extolled to usher good luck, cure all diseases and destroy all enemies.

7. Grihapati Avatar

Once upon a time, there used to live a brahmin named Vishwanar who was a great devotee of lord Shiva. Shuchismati was his devoted wife. Shuchismati expressed her desire of having a son just like lord Shiva. Vishwanar went to Kashi to please Lord Shiva by his penance. He worshipped Vishveshwar linga with supreme devotion. Lord Shiva became very pleased by his devotion and he appeared before Vishwanar from the Shivalinga. When Vishwanar expressed his desire, lord Shiva agreed to take birth as his Son.

 

In due course of time, Shuchismati gave birth to a beautiful child. Lord Brahma named the child as Grihapati. When Grihapati attained the age of six, he was proficient in all the Vedas and other sacred texts. When Grihapati attained the age of nine, Narada came and informed Vishwanar that death of Grihapati was imminent because of the evil effects of the planetary combinations. Grihapati then consoled his parents and proceeded towards Kashi to do penance so that the 'death' could be conquered.

 

Grihapati commenced his penance at Kashi. Indra arrived there and requested him to demand anything he wished but Grihapati refused. Indra became furious and tried to attack him with his Vajra. Grihapati was very terrified. Right then Lord Shiva appeared and Indra had to retreat from the scene. Lord Shiva blessed Grihapati by saying “even Kaalvajra would not be able to kill you.” Grihapati became very pleased. The Shivalinga which he worshipped, later on became famous as 'Agnishwar linga’. Lord Shiva made Grihapati the lord of all the directions.

 

8. Durvasa

Lord Shiva had taken this avatar on the earth to maintain the discipline of the universe. Durvasa was a great sage known for his short temper. Wherever he went, he was received with great reverence from humans and devas alike. Once Atri, the manasputra of lord Brahma, went to do penance at the bank of the river Nivindhya which flew by the foothills of Trayakshakul mountain as per the instructions of Lord Brahma himself. He commenced a tremendous penance.

Hanuman 

Lord Shiva was so infatuated by the appearance of lord Vishnu in his form of Mohini during Amrit Manthan episode that his semen was released on the ground. This semen was established by the Saptarishis in the womb of Anjani, with the permission of lord Shiva himself. In this way was born the mighty Hanuman.

 

10. Rishabh Avatar

After the churning of the ocean had been accomplished, numerous things had emerged out from the ocean. A tremendous battle was fought between the deities and the demons to have control over the vessel containing Nectar. To distract the attention of the demons from the nectar, lord Vishnu created numerous enchanting beauties. When the demons saw them, they forcibly carried these enchanting beauties to their abode – Patal Lok. After that they again returned to take control of the Nectar.

By that time, Vishnu had made the deities drink all the nectar. When the demons came to know about this, they became very furious and attacked the deities. Ultimately the demons got defeated. To save their lives the demon ran towards their abode. Lord Vishnu chased the demons and killed them. However, he got infatuated by those enchanting beauties. During his stay in the Patal Lok, many sons were born to Lord Vishnu, who were very wicked and cruel. These sons of lord Vishnu started tormenting the inhabitants of all the three worlds.

All the deities and the sages went to lord Shiva to take his help. Lord Shiva went to the Patal Lok in the form of a Ox (Vrishabh). He killed all the sons of lord Vishnu with his sharp horns. Seeing the death of his sons, lord Vishnu came forward to fight him. He attacked lord Shiva, but lord Shiva couldn’t be conquered. Ultimately lord Vishnu was able to recognise him and returned back to Vishnuloka.

 

Yatinath Avatar

There used to live a bheel named Aahuk on the Arbudachal mountain. His wife was Aahuka and both of them were supreme devotee of lord Shiva. Once, lord Shiva wanting to test their devotion, appeared before them disguised a hermit Yatinath. Aahuk honoured his guest and treated him very well. Lord Shiva then requested him to give shelter for the whole night. Aahuk expressed his inability as he had a very small hut, in which only two people could be accommodate at a time.

But his wife intervened and requested Aahuk to sleep outside the hut with his arms, as it would be inappropriate on their part to miss this chance of proving their hospitality. The hermit, who in reality was lord Shiva and Aahuk's wife slept inside the hut, while Aahuk himself slept outside. Unfortunately Aahuk was killed by a wild animal while he was asleep. In the morning when lord Shiva found that Aahuk had died, his heart was filled with grief.

 

But Aahuka consoled him and decided to give up her life by jumping into the burning pyre. Right then lord Shiva appeared in his real form and blessed her by saying “In his next birth your husband would take birth in a royal family. He would become Nala and you would be born as Damayanti. I would myself appear in the form of a swan and help both of you to unite.” After saying this, lord Shiva established himself as immovable Shivalinga, which later on became famous as Achaleshwar linga.

12. Krishna Darshan Avatar

Once there was a King Nabhag who, during his childhood, left his home for 'gurukula’ to get education. In his absence his brothers got the wealth of the kingdom distributed among themselves. When Nabhag returned home after the completion of his education, he demanded his share of wealth. His brothers told him that they had forgotten to fix his share as he was absent at the time of distribution. They advised him to go and meet their father.

 

Nabhag went to his father and made the same request. His father advised him to go to sage Angiras who was trying to accomplish a yagya, but was not being able to accomplish it because of his attachment. Nabhag did the same. He went to the place where sage Angiras was performing his yagya. He preached sage Angiras on the virtues of Religiousness. As a result the sage became free from all sorts of attachments and the yagya was successfully accomplished.

Sage Angiras was very pleased by Nabhag's knowledge of religion. He gave all the remaining wealth of the yagya to Nabhag. Just then lord Shiva arrived there in his incarnation of Krishna Darshan and tried to prevent sage Angiras from donating the wealth to Nabhag, instead he staked his own claim. Nabhag told lord Shiva that, since the wealth was given to him by sage Angiras himself, it naturally belonged to him.

Lord Shiva then sent Nabhag to his father Shradhadev to know about his opinion. Nabhag went to Shradha deva who revealed to him that the person who was staking his claims on the wealth was none other then lord Shiva. He also told him that whatever remained after the accomplishment of the yagya belongs to lord Shiva only. He went back to lord Shiva and worshipped him. Lord Shiva blessed him which helped Nabhag to attain salvation.

 

Bhikshuvarya Avatar

There was a king named Satyarath who ruled over Vidarbha. Once he was attacked by a neighbouring king and got killed in that battle. His wife somehow managed to save her life by hiding in a forest. The queen was pregnant at that time. At the shore of a pond she gave birth to a child. She was feeling thirsty, so she went into the pond to quench her thirst. Unfortunately she was killed by a crocodile who used to live in that pond.

The hungry child started crying- A beggar woman arrived there with her one year old child. Though her heart was filled with compassion seeing the hungry child cry but still she was hesitating to take him in her lap. Right then lord Shiva appeared as a beggar and advised her to bring up the orphan child.

 

14. Sureshwar Avatar

Upamanyu – the son of sage Vyaghrapaad, was brought up in his maternal uncle's home since his childhood. One day Upanyu he was crying for milk when his mother told him that if he wanted milk then he should worship lord Shiva as he only was capable of making the milk available. Upamanyu proceeded towards the Himalaya and started doing penance to please lord Shiva. His penance generated so much of heat that all the three worlds started burning.

To test his devotion, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati appeared before him disguised as Indra and Indrani respectively. Both of them told Upamanyu to stop doing penance. They said “We Indra and Indrani are extremely pleased by your devotion. Stop worshipping Shiva. We will fulfill all your desires.” Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati did not stop at this. They even cursed Shiva. Upamanyu became very furious and got up to attack the abuser – Indra.

Shiva and Parvati were satisfied by his total dedication and devotion. They revealed their real identity and blessed him. Shiva promised Upamanyu that he would be present in the vicinity of his hermitage along with Parvati forever. Upamanyu returned back to his home and narrated the whole story to his mother who was very pleased. Lord Shiva got the name 'Sureshwar' because he appeared in the guise of Indra.

 

Keerat Avatar

Once, Arjuna was performing a tremendous penance to please lord Shiva. Duryodhan had sent a demon named Mooka to kill Arjuna. Mooka had disguised himself as a boar. Arjuna was engrossed in his meditation, when suddenly his concentration got disturbed by a loud noise. He opened his eyes and saw Mooka being chased by a Kirat. In fact it was none other than Shiva who had appeared in the guise of Kirat. Both Arjuna and Lord Shiva struck the boar with their respective arrows at the same time.

A disagreement broke between Arjuna and Kirat (Shiva’s avatar) over who killed the boar. Arjuna challenged Shiva for a dual. Shiva was very much impressed by his valour. He revealed his real identity. Arjuna was very ashamed that he fought with Shiva but Lord Shiva consoled him and gave his weapon Pashupat to Arjuna

 

16. Sunatnartak

Lord Shiva had taken this form to ask the hand of Parvati from her father, Himalaya

 

Brahmachari

After sacrificing herself in Daksha’s yagya, when Sati took rebirth in Himalayas house and worshipped lord Shiva for years to make him her husband again. To take Parvati’s test, Lord Shiva had taken this form.

18. Yaksheshwar

After defeating the demons and driking ‘Amrit’ the deities very arrogant. Lord Shiva was very concerned about their arrogant nature. He went to them in the guise of a Yaksha. He asked as to what was it that had made them so arrogant. The deities replied that their arrogance stemmed from victory over the demons. Lord Shiva who was disguised as Yaksha replied- “Your pride is based on false notion, because you did not achieve victory due to somebody's grace and blessing.”

Lord Shiva then asked them to cut the grass if they considered themselves so mighty. He then kept a grass leaf in front of them. Each of the deities tried to cut that grass with their respective weapons but remained unsuccessful in their attempts. Suddenly a heavenly voice was heard which said that the Yaksha was none other than Lord Shiva himself. The deities realized their mistakes and apologized to lord Shiva.

19. Avdhut avatar

With this avatar, Lord Shiva had crushed the ego of Lord Indra.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

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The role of the Rakshas gana 

 

 

 

 

[Preety_India]

The role of the Rakshas gana. 

 

This person will not be humble or sweet. This person is going to be powerful like Kali. Able to bring major changes. 

The Deva gana will bring a transformation in the Loka through persecution and invoking goodness. 

Meanwhile Rakshasa similar to Kali or Kalki avatar will bring the end of Kaliyug. 

They will bring the Satya Yug with their powerful force. They love and protect the prince or the swan.

But to protect the prince, they need to get their hands dirty in the mud. 

So they are the ones who do the dirty job for the prince by learning strategies and tactics to destroy evil. 

And they can be considered bad or their reputation soiled because of their not so subtle and intense violent representations, yet they are needed to destroy evil, to do the dirty work, to take out suffering, to put someone out of their misery, to protect the good, and to deal with the dirt and the bad/evil and the garbage. So you could enjoy your carpet in the clouds. 

In some ways they are the gatekeepers of the kingdom and the gutter cleaners and morgue keepers.

Although they are demonized because they don't appear as loving and charming as a lotus or a Swan, they are very useful in maintaining the order of the universe by fighting evil with intimidation. You could compare them to the exorcists of the world. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

The Trimurti Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति  three forms  is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities, typically Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. 

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Preety_India

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Dashavatar: The Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu

 

 

 

 

Vishnu is the preserver of the universe. In order to restore cosmic order, he descended on earth in ten different forms or Dashavatar. In each of his lifetimes, he eradicated evil and revived dharma. The Dashavatar of Vishnu in different yugas are:

Matsya (fish) – Satya yuga

Kurma (tortoise) – Satya yuga

Varaha (boar) – Satya yuga

Narasimha (half human, half lion) – Satya yuga

Vamana (the dwarf brahman) – Treta yuga

Parshurama (the warrior) – Treta yuga

Rama (the prince) – Treta yuga

Krishna (the cowherd) – Dawapara yuga

Buddha (the Enlightened One) – Dawapara yuga

Kalki (the horserider) is yet to appear – Kali Yuga

 

 

 

 

Matsya (fish) – Satya yuga

Matsya is the first of the Dashavatar. It is depicted as a giant fish or as half human torso connected to the rear half of a fish. In this avatar, Vishnu had warned the first man, Vaivasvata Manu, of a great flood which would end the three worlds. He asked Vaivasvata to bring one of every plant and animal species to the shore and on the day of the great flood he safely took all of them to a new world in a boat and saved them.

 

Kurma (tortoise) – Satya yuga

Depicted as a giant tortoise or a mixed form of human and tortoise, the Kurma avatar of Vishnu, took form during the great Deva-Asura (God-Demon) war. In order to obtain Amrit– the nectar of immortality, the gods and demons started Samundra Manthan– churning the Ocean of milk. During the churning, mount Mandara started to sink. Vishnu appeared in the form of a giant tortoise and took the weight of the mountain on his back. Eventually, he also delivered justice by disguising himself as Mohini and taking the nectar from the demons and giving it to the Gods who obeyed his commands.

 

Varaha (boar) – Satya yuga

When the demon, Hiranyaksha dragged the earth to the bottom of the ocean in the form of pralaya– destruction that takes place after the end of each age, Vishnu took the form of a boar and appeared to save her. Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu emerged victorious in a 1000-year-long fight with Hiranyaksha. Later, he went deep down to the ocean and using his tusks raised mother earth back to the surface. He is usually depicted as a full boar or a human with a boar head.

Narasimha (half human, half lion) – Satya yuga

Hiranyakashipu wanted to take revenge of his elder brother Hiranyaksha’s death. After severe penance, Brahma appeared before him. He asked Brahma, “Let not death come to me either by man or beast, by day or by night, with a weapon either living or inanimate, indoors or outdoors, on earth or in the sky.” Brahma granted his wish and soon Hiranyakashipu started creating havoc in heaven and on earth. One day, he decided to kill Prahlada, his own son and the greatest devotee of Vishnu. To protect his devotee, Vishnu took the form of Narasimha– A human with the head and claws of a lion. Narasimha outwitted the boon and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk, under the arch of the doorway, with his claws, while he lay of his thighs.

Vamana (the dwarf Brahman) – Treta yuga

Bali, Prahlad’s grandson, had taken over the position of Indra, the god of heaven, by performing a sacrifice. The mother of the gods called upon Vishnu for help. In order to help her, Vishnu appeared in the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahman. Bali welcomed Vamana and promised to give him whatever he wanted. Vamana asked for three paces of land measured by his stride. Bali agreed and didn’t retract even after being warned and cursed by his guru. Vamana turned into a giant and covered the earth with his first stride and heaven with the second. He cursed Bali as he covered all that was Bali’s in two strides and there was nothing left to take in the third stride. Bali asked Vamana to step over him and cover the third stride. Pleased with this righteous virtue, Vamana made Bali the king of Patala, the netherworld.

Parshurama (the warrior) – Treta yuga

King Kartavirya Arjuna once visited saint Jamadagni, father of Parashurama– the warrior avatar of Vishnu, at his ashram. The saint fed the king and his army with the help of his cow Kamadhenu. The king was pleased by the cow’s yield and took the cow to his palace, against the saint’s will. When Parashurama got to know about this, he destroyed the king’s army and killed the king. To avenge their father’s death, the sons of the king killed Jamadagni, Parashurama’s father. Parashurama vowed to kill the Kshatriya race twenty-one times, as his mother had beaten her breast those many times in vain. Parashurama kept his vow and filled 5 lakes with their blood. He is considered to be one of the seven immortals mentioned in the scriptures.

Rama (the Prince) – Treta yuga

Pictured as the ideal man and the perfect human, Rama’s story in the form of Ramayana is known to many. To keep his father’s honour, Prince Rama gave up his throne and served fourteen years of exile in the forest along with his wife, Sita, and younger brother, Lakshman. Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducted Sita. As the legend goes, Rama along with this army of Vanaras killed the demon Ravana and saved Sita.

Krishna (the cowherd) – Dawapara yuga

Vishnu incarnated as Krishna, a cowherd, to destroy his uncle and demon king, Kamsa. He also played an essential role in the battle of Kurukshetra between the cousin clans Pandavas and Kauravas for the throne of Hastinapura. Through the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna laid some of the philosophies as guidelines for life. These guidelines are still recited in the Bhagavad Gita, the Divine Song.

 

Buddha (the Enlightened One) – Dawapara yuga

Born as Prince Siddhartha, Buddha became renowned to the world when he became a monk and attained enlightenment. Sacrificing the luxuries of princely life, detaching himself from worldly pleasures and practising deep meditation, he spread the message of peace. Vishnu came to earth in this form to make humans see the importance of self-realization and liberation.

Kalki (the horserider) is yet to appear – Kali Yuga

Puranas predict the tenth form of Vishnu to be Kalki, the destroyer of darkness. He shall appear at the end of Kali yuga, the current era. Riding a white horse with a blazing sword in hand, he will announce the dawn of Satya yuga.

 

According to the 'Yuga System' of Hinduism, Ramayana occurred in Treta Yuga while Mahabharata took place in Dwapara Yuga, several years after the Treta Yuga.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 

Maha Vishnu 

As per the Srimad Bhagvatam 

 

 

Mahavishnu is a principal deity in Hinduism, known as the Absolute protector of the universe beyond human comprehension and all attributes. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaisnavism, the Satvata-tantra describes three different forms, or aspects, of Mahavishnu(Karanarnavasayi Vishnu,, Garbhodaksayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. The term Mahavishnu refers to that Absolute truth Brahm(a) or Brahman (impersonal invisible aspect) then as Paramatma (Aspect beyond the understanding of human soul) and finally as Sarvatma(incarnating for bringing perfection). So bhakti (loving devotion) goes to Sarvatman(Krishna or Rama avatars or incarnations of Vishnu, Narayana bringing both peace and perfection of the living beings). In this way, bhakti surpasses even yoga, which is aimed at the Supersoul, Paramatman. Mahavishnu is the Supersoul of all living beings (jivaatmas) in all material universes. Karanodaksayi Vishnu is understood to be Sankarsana(form) of the Catur-vyuha of Narayana. It is also often used interchangeably with Vishnu to indicate reverence, as the prefix "Maha" in vishnu indicates the greatness and the vastness of Narayan. So all the Gods including Purusha form like Shiva, Brahma are considered as the Part of Maha Vishnu Expansion. 

 

 

 

 

Mahavishnu is said to lie in the Causal Ocean or the Karanodak. He puts the seed of this material universe in Mahamaya by glancing at her. Mahamaya remains the ever obedient material energy of the Supreme Lord. All the natural elements including sky, fire, water, air and land are created along with mind, intelligence and false ego.

After this, Mahavishnu enters each of the many universes so created (seeds emerging from the pores of His skin) as Garbhodaksayi Vishnu, who lays down in each and every of these individual material universes (Brahmandas). It can be interpreted that Garbodakshayi Vishnu is the collective soul of all souls in a particular material universe and that Mahavishnu is the collective soul of all souls in all of the material universes.

From Garbhodaksayi Vishnu then emerges Brahma who is the secondary creator (due to his need to meditate to create planets in the material universe) of the planetary systems within particularly this material universe (Brahmanda).

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The word ‘dharma’ means duty. In the srimad Bhagavatam, dharma is described as a ‘bull’ who stands on four ‘legs’—austerity, cleanliness, truthfulness, and kindness. These principles are common to all aspects of human life, including that which is not directly associated with a ‘religion’. Indeed, ‘religion’ in the Vedic context is simply one’s duties associated with one’s role. The roles, however, are hierarchical and a person is simultaneously in multiple roles. The duties associated with the highest role—in relation to God—are called ‘religion’. Other duties, which are lower in the hierarchy, include one’s social duties such as ‘father’, ‘employee’, ‘student’, etc. The four legs of dutifulness are associated with both lower and higher duties. This post discusses the meanings of these four ‘legs’ of dutifulness.

 

The First Leg of Austerity

Austerity—in the simplest sense—means ‘hard work’. It is the act of self-abnegation to achieve some goal. All of us understand that to get something, we must work. Austerity is the trouble that the mind and body have to undertake to achieve the goal. Now, typically, the body and the mind are not accustomed to austerity because the senses and the mind desire pleasure. Hard work can mean denying that pleasure in the short-term to achieve something that will yield pleasure in the long run.

Owing to the innate need for pleasure in the senses and the mind, a person may be driven by short-term thinking: “let me do what I need to do right now for my happiness, and I will think about the long-term problems later on”. When a person is dominated by short-term thinking, he or she becomes controlled by the urges of the body and the mind, and doesn’t realize that he or she is different from them.

To force the body and the mind to prepare for the long-term happiness, one may have to sacrifice the short-term happiness. This sacrifice ultimately depends on the realization that the soul is eternal, and even though some short-term sacrifices may be made, the eternity of the soul implies that there would be sufficient time later on enjoy the fruits of this sacrifice. When a person doesn’t believe in the eternity of the soul, he or she feels that their life will be wasted in sacrifice because after death there is no pleasure. Prioritizing the long-term happiness therefore appears to be risky: you might spend the majority of your life sacrificing your happiness, and since death will be the end of all pleasure, you gain nothing in the end. Hence, austerity is possible only when one is convinced of the soul’s eternity.

Austerity also requires will power, or what we call free will. The urges of the body and the mind can be overpowered but you must exercise the force of will power to achieve that mastery. Since the body and the mind are material, and always changing, the bodily and mental tendency is always to think of the short-term pleasure: “I will enjoy this now, and when things change, then I will enjoy something else later”. Some people hence interpret the “live in the present” exhortation to naively mean the focus on the short-term and immediate pleasures. To think for the longer-term, one has to master the art of will power (long-term thinking) over the urges of the body and mind (short-term thinking).

By exercising that will power, one realizes that he or she is different from the body and mind, and while the body and the mind keep changing, the ability to exert that will force remains unchanged. Thus, most people with weak will power claim to be helpless against the material forces, and since they are unable to control their body and mind, there must be no soul or free will in this world. This is a symptom that they haven’t developed their will power and don’t exercise it, and hence they succumb to the short-term pleasure urges. We might also note that the realization of free will is not uniform across everyone. Quite specifically, one has to use the will power to realize that you have it. The more we use the will power—to prioritize the long-term happiness over the short-term urges—the more we understand how the soul is different from the body and the mind. As a result, not everyone has free will; if you don’t use it, you lose it. But the potential for using it and finding it always exists.

Austerity is the act of using the will power to discover that you have will power, so that you can use it even more in the future, until you have complete mastery over the body and the mind.

Why is this a ‘leg’ of dharma? The fact is that when we face our duties and responsibilities, we are often compelled to think of the long-term vs. the short-term. Should I do the bare minimum to get past the day, inflict the minimum amount of pain on the body and the mind? Or should I take my role seriously for the long-term, and understand that sacrifices in the short-run will yield results in the long-run?

Most people prioritize the short-term over the long-term. They want quick results for their effort, and if those results are seen to be distant or non-existent, they become demotivated and stop working. Due to lack of effort, the results—which could have been achieved in the long-run through austerity in the short-run—are not seen over the long run. A person who prioritizes the short-term happiness goes through a vicious cycle of seeking their short-term pleasure, but as time passes even the short term happiness in the future depends on the sacrifices for the long-term made in the past. Since the delay between hard work and subsequent gratification seems large, the motivation to make that effort is generally weak, which means that the short-term happiness is again prioritized. By always prioritizing the short-term pleasure a person loses the will power to take pain in the short-term, and hence even the short-term pleasures disappear over time (because they depended on past sacrifices).

To practice dharma or duty, one must begin thinking about the long-term over the short-term. Pain in the short-term must be accepted if it means long-term happiness. Austerity therefore doesn’t mean eternal suffering. It means temporary sacrifice for eternal happiness. The practice of austerity naturally increases the soul’s will power, and hence the detachment from the mind and body. Hence, in Vedic texts, tapasya or austerity is a dominant means for self-realization. However, every step of our life involves the short vs. long term thinking question, and hence the question is perennial.

The Second Leg of Cleanliness

The word ‘clean’ is normally identified with hygiene and sanitation—e.g. taking bath, wearing clean clothes, washing your food before consumption, etc. But ‘clean’ also means systematic and organized. For example, you might say that “the room looks clean” not because it has been swept and mopped but also because the things in the room seem to be organized and orderly. Cleanliness appears in our lives through systematic and organized working. Some people do their work systematically—step by step, following a clear process, designed to achieve a result, even if it means delayed gratification, because the results of following that systematic approach are predictable and certain.

It’s noteworthy that cleanliness depends on a longer-term thinking because to do things systematically, you have to invest time, energy, and effort into creating that system, bringing that discipline in your activities, and ensuring that you don’t break the regulations of process and procedure in order to ‘quickly’ achieve results. If a person prioritizes the short-term urges, he would be tempted to quickly get to the finish line to achieve fast gratification, and hence shortcuts would be taken. The result of these shortcuts is that outcomes become fault-ridden, unpredictable, and patchy.

Of course, when you work unsystematically and produce an unclean outcome, you have to expend further effort in cleaning it up. If the urge for getting to a clean state is very high, then under that urge a systematic way of cleaning and fixing the situation would be avoided. So, you employ an unclean process to clean up things, and the result is further clumsiness, clutter, and disorganization. Now, you are caught in the vicious cycle of uncleanliness: you did not do the work systematically the first time, and you are now under the pressure to clean it up, but the pressure motivates you to pursue short-term outcomes and quick-fix solutions, which then leads to more uncleanliness in the effort to clean up the mess created by previous uncleanliness. As a result, the mess is never cleaned up. It becomes more and more convoluted and complex, and over time all your energy is spent in clean-up operations.

With an unsystematic way of working, you appear to make rapid progress in the initial stages, but over time you become paralyzed by the disorganization—most of the time is spent just apply patches to the leaking bucket that was haphazardly put together under an urgency to produce something like a bucket. The pressure to clean up things remains high, so the systematic process is never followed, and all the energy spent in cleaning creates more clutter. To clean up, you not only have to institute processes and procedures, but these in turn rest upon prioritizing the long-term over the short-term. Hence, if there is no patience—based on the longer-term benefits of working systematically—then processes will be broken, and the net result is stagnation as more energy is continually invested to clean up.

As this stagnation becomes a way of life, people become demotivated with their work, and give up the desire to clean up. They keep applying patches to give the appearance of progress, but internally they lose the conviction that they are doing something meaningful. Over time, they must become more cynical about the prospect of progress, and this cynicism is depicted today in cartoons such as Dilbert where the entire workplace is permeated by the need for short-term results, overlooking a systematic way of working, producing unsatisfactory results, and an endless cycle of patchwork.

Cleanliness is a ‘leg’ of dharma because it means that you might crawl like a tortoise initially but you outpace the hare who runs fast in the beginning but is stagnated thereafter. The moral of the hare and tortoise story is that the benefits of systematic progress outstrip those of discrete and discontinuous activities, if only you can believe in the benefits of the long-term over the short-term.

The Third Leg of Kindness

Kindness is the opposite of selfishness, and to be kind means to be unselfish and cooperative. Kindness depends on humility, which comes from self-confidence. Conversely, selfishness is the symptom of inner weakness, which prompts a person to remain selfish and fear their self-preservation. Under that fear of survival, a person forgets that all relationships are based on trust, and that trust is quickly broken by selfish actions. When the trust is broken, other people stop cooperating and you become even lonelier in life, and your inner weakness and fear is exacerbated, prompting a vicious cycle in which weakness leads to selfishness, which then leads to breach of trust, which then leads to more fear.

Kindness is a symptom of internal emotional self-confidence. When a person works hard (is not afraid of austerity) and works systematically (is not afraid of discipline) he or she naturally develops confidence, and with that confidence comes kindness. With kindness emerge strong relationships based on mutual trust, and with that trust, you can rely on others to reciprocate your kindness.

The emotionally weak cannot be kind because they are always worried about self-preservation. Kindness to them appears too risky, because by being kind they fear being cheated by others. That fear of being cheated prompts people to be selfish. But if you are always selfish, then you must expect selfishness in return. If you are prone to manipulate other people, then you must expect manipulation from others. Emotional weakness hence leads to selfishness, which turns into subversive manipulation of others, but over time people realize your nature and become uncooperative. The kind person brings out kindness in others, but the selfish person causes others to become selfish. The irony is that selfishness is the symptom of weakness, and if you are already weak, you need the support of strong relationships. If you break the trust via selfishness, then you also break the relationship and you are now left even lonelier. However, most weak people don’t realize that their selfishness is the cause of their loneliness, and that weakness to selfishness to loneliness constitutes a vicious cycle.

When a person is confident, he or she becomes less egoistic. They are able to treat criticisms objectively as areas of improvement, rather than as an affront on their individuality. Confidence therefore brings humility, whereas weakness breeds egoism. Those who are egoistic are not confident. They are in fact weak to the point of being unable to handle criticism, make improvements, become more confident as a result of those improvements, and become humble as a result of confidence. They remain stuck in their weakness, acting selfishly out of their fear, which manifests externally as ego, but eats a person from within because that ego hinders a person’s self-correction leading to improvement.

In the material world, no relationship is perfect. However, long-lasting relationships require a person to be receptive to change—making the necessary corrections. If a person has flaws, but remains adamant about those flaws, he or she imposes the adverse outcomes of their flaws on others. The person on the receiving end of those flaws suffers only to the point where their own kindness can take them. Beyond that point, they stop tolerating the flaws, by moving out of the relationship, or fighting it, because they are unable to bear the burden of the other person’s flaws being inflicted upon them.

Kindness means that I am willing to fix my problems and make the life of others—living or working with me—less painful. We must realize that a flawed person is a burden on other people, and they may bear that burden only if they are kind toward you. Kindness means not just giving something valuable to others. It also means that taking out the pain of your own personality problems which make other’s life difficult. Correcting one’s flaws is the preliminary form of kindness. Once this kindness is perfected, then people want to trust and seek your help. That’s when you can expand your kindness toward generosity—i.e. offering your time, energy, and abilities to further their goals. Therefore, charity is a much advanced form of kindness, but the preliminary form of kindness is self-correction.

Sometimes people perform charity—e.g. offering others money and time—but don’t want to fix their personality problems. Their charity is yet another masquerade for their ego: they pretend to help others in order to demonstrate their superiority over the needy. That quest for superiority is a symptom of their own inner weakness. Such ‘charity’ superficially appears to be kind, but it is not actually kind, and cannot be considered one’s duty. The preliminary duty one has is fixing one’s personality problems. Without fixing those problems, charity and kindness are another form of show business.

The Fourth Leg of Truthfulness

Once you have become kind, you can offer help to others. But what kind of help is that going to be? Should that help expand their short-term thinking, support the practice of unsystematic and patchy work, and spread superficial charity in order to appear to be kind to others? Or should it be the dissemination of truth—however harsh and painful—that reinforces long-term over short-term thinking, exhorts the person to work in a systematic and disciplined manner, and points out personality flaws so that they can be corrected? By truth we mean the latter rather than the former.

It is said that truth is harsh, and truthfulness is therefore painful. It is easier to appeal to a person’s short-term gratification, support their wrongdoing in order to achieve that pleasure, and pretend to have a relationship that exchanges short-term gratification as motivation for their work. It is much harder to tell the truth that enlightens a person about their real long-term happiness, which then leads to a systematic and organized practice with predictable results, while challenging a person to fix their personality problems as the primary purpose of having a relationship with the others.

Indeed, when one begins telling the truth, he or she also faces criticisms. To continue speaking the truth, one must have the requisite kindness, which in turn depends on the previous two legs of religion. Most people are deterred by that truth-speaking—because it makes life uncomfortable—and seek refuge in self-preservation. Such self-preservation sometimes goes in the name of not ‘offending’ or ‘hurting’ other’s emotions and feelings, but it is primarily motivated by keeping oneself happy. By avoiding to speak the truth, one breaks the kindness and austerity legs of dharma. He or she might maintain good relations with others, find his support reciprocated, besides popularity. But he or she has failed to perform the expected duty in exchange for pleasantness, happiness, and peace. Leo Tolstoy writes in his book War and Peace: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”

When truthfulness is spoken as a leg of dharma the implication is that harshness may be involved. That harshness is, paradoxically, kindness, because only by speaking the truth can illusion be mitigated. It requires austerity because by speaking the truth, one might get into trouble and therefore one must be prepared to sacrifice short-term interests for a long-term fulfillment. And harshness is often necessary to drive out laziness in life to enforce a discipline by which life’s goals can be achieved systematically. The quest for truth is therefore not easy. It involves not only questions about what reality is and how we know it, but also the ability to accept the truth even when it becomes unpleasant to one’s life.

Truthfulness requires detachment. Those who rely on deception might seem successful, prosperous, and loved by others, and our desire for these things often prevents us from speaking the truth. The acquisition of truth also depends on detachment because then you can see things as they are rather than as you might want them to be. Truthfulness and detachment are therefore always connected to each other as jnana and vairagya because without detachment our ‘knowledge’ is biased.

The Progression in the Legs of Dharma

 

 

 

 

Since we can count the four legs of dharma, we can also ask: In which order should we count? The Vedic texts describe that the four legs of dharma are dominant in the four ages or yuga. The time called Satya-yuga dominates in austerity—i.e. voluntarily inflicting suffering on the body and mind to detach the soul from the material world as well as develop the power of will that separates the soul from the body. The time called Treta-yuga dominates in cleanliness—it involves the strict performance of elaborate rituals (processes and procedures) without mistakes. The time called Dvapara-yuga dominates in kindness by performing charity and fixing one’s personality flaws because intense austerity and elaborate rituals are very hard to achieve for most people. Finally, in the age called Kali-yuga truthfulness is the dominant form of religiosity because charity, complex rituals, and austerity are very hard to perform.

Of course, the relative predominance of one of the legs of religion doesn’t mean the non-existence of the others. But the fact is that when the body and mind are weak, they cannot tolerate severe austerities. When people are unable to perform complex tasks in a systematic manner, then the performance of yajna would be filled with many violations and mistakes. When most people are very poor and struggling to survive, charity is very hard and limited to a few rich people.

In the present age of Kali-yuga even truthfulness declines, and speaking the truth leads to quarrels. To avoid those quarrels, most people want to keep quiet, or offer false support to the misguided. At the bare minimum, therefore, truthfulness in this age means self-criticism through honest introspection. You may not offer honest guidance to others, but at least you must be honest with yourself. You may not be able to teach others the truth, but at least you must learn the truth yourself. Bringing oneself out of delusion, false hopes, and misapprehensions about one’s real state in life is our duty.

We can be assisted in this duty by other teachers, but the fact is that a teacher who offers the truth plainly may be disliked and challenged—making his or her task much more difficult—forcing them to recoil from their kindness, austerity, and cleanliness, because these are not easy anyway. The net result of such delusion partially impacts the teacher; but it greatly impacts the students themselves.

Dharma therefore doesn’t mean ‘religion’ in all cases. It does, however, mean ‘religion’ when the person is involved in the highest duties (which override all other duties). As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita 18.66: “Abandon all varieties of dharma and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear”, the lower dharma or duties can be discarded in favor of the higher dharma. As a result, austerity, cleanliness, kindness, and truthfulness can also be discarded if it pleases the lord. But that rejection is generally rare and perilous, and it must be taken only under the guidance of a teacher who knows how to override the lower dharma with the higher dharma.

As a general principle, one must aspire to maintain all the four legs of dharma. But if all four cannot be maintained then one must aspire to at least practice truthfulness. But if even truthfulness toward others becomes impossible for a person, then at the bare minimum honesty with oneself is essential. The worst form of adharma is self-deception, which leads to the deception of others, and over time to unkindness, uncleanliness, and succumbing to the pleasure of the body and the mind over all else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

Different between Vishnu and Mahavishnu. 

Vishnu is only shown as one entity having pale blue complexion and with 4 arms.He holds a  lotus, Kaumondaki Gada , a conch and a Sudharshan Chakra where as the Maha Vishnu
Roop of Shree Hari shows his vastness. Padmanabha Swamy temple has this form of Shree Hari. The sleeping or Anantha Shayanam form of Shree Hari is very rare to be found across the Hindu temples in India. Having darshan of this form of Vishnu is considered to be good.

 

In the Maha Vishnu Roop, he is considered to be on the coils of the Snake Adi Shesha(represents
the cosmic energy)over the "Ksheera Sagar"(represents the Milky way Galaxies)with
his consort Devi Sri Lakshmi by his side. Devi Lakshmi represents the divine "Shree Shakthi of Vishnu and is also considered to be the goddess of weath, fortune and prosperity that is required to flow across the universe.

Shree Hari is also seen to be in his Anatha Shayanam Posture i.e in his eternal yogic sleep or
yoga nidra. He is basically considered to be governing the entire universe in this position.  From his navel we can see a lotus emerging on which Brahma Dev is present. His left hand is seen to have been over the Shiva Linga and the right hand blesses the three worlds. The Maha Vishnu Roop of Shree Hari shows the presence of the Tri-Dev, the main pillars of the hinduism:

The Creator(Brahma)
The Preserver(Vishnu) &
The Destroyer(Lord Shiva or Mahesh)

That are sandwiched in one form! The Maha Vishnu Roop doesn't project that one god is superior over the other, but it shows the balance of the trinities present in the entire cosmic universe.
 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 

The end of Kaliyug and the beginning of new Kalpa 

 

 

 

No, the world won't actually get destroyed at the end of the Kali Yuga. Rather, what's going to occur is that when the evil and decadence of the Kali Yuga reaches its zenith, Vishnu will have an incarnation (avatara) as Kalki the horse rider, to kill all the evil people and restore Dharma on earth, commencing a new Satya Yuga. Here is how the Srimad Bhagavatam describes it:

Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmana of Sambhala village, the great soul Visnuyasa.Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vasudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure. When Lord Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth. When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness. When the moon, the sun and Brihaspati are together in the constellation Karkata , and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Pusya — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Krita  will begin.

So even if some people are killed, the world will still go on after the end of the Kali Yuga. The Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga keep repeating in a cycle. Now one cycle of all four Yugas is called a Mahayuga or Chatur Yuga, and 1000 Mahayugas make up one Kalpa. A Kalpa constitutes just one day for Brahma the creator god. After the day is over, Brahma goes to sleep, and then the Pralaya, or night of Brahma, commences. The Pralaya, of equal length to a Kalpa, is the time period when the entire three worlds (the physical universe along with Devaloka and Asuraloka) are destroyed by fire emanating from the mouth of Vishnu's serpent Adiseshan. Here is how it's described in the Srimad Bhagavatam:

At the end of the day, under the insignificant portion of the mode of darkness, the powerful manifestation of the universe merges in the darkness of night. By the influence of eternal time, the innumerable living entities remain merged in that dissolution, and everything is silent. When the night of Brahma ensues, all the three worlds are out of sight, and the sun and the moon are without glare, just as in the due course of an ordinary night.

The devastation takes place due to the fire emanating from the mouth of [Ananta], and thus great sages like Bhirgu  and other inhabitants of Maharloka transport themselves to Janaloka, being distressed by the warmth of the blazing fire which rages through the three worlds below. At the beginning of the devastation all the seas overflow, and hurricane winds blow very violently. Thus the waves of the seas become ferocious, and in no time at all the three worlds are full of water. The Supreme Lord [Vishnu] lies down in the water on the seat of Ananta, with His eyes closed, and the inhabitants of Janaloka offer unto the Lord their glorious prayers with folded hands.

And by the way, all this annihilation is overseen by Shiva god of destruction, who engages in his cosmic Tandava dance in order to direct all this destruction.

After the Pralaya is over, Brahma wakes up and commences the creation of the three worlds again, and thus a new Kalpa begins. Now a Kalpa is already an incredibly long period of time, but it's just one day in the life of Brahma. Now imagine how long a hundred years is in the life of Brahma! That is how long Brahma lives for, and it's called Mahakalpa. And after the Mahakalpa is over, Brahma dies, and then there is a period of even greater destruction, the Mahapralaya, which lasts as long as Mahakalpa. And then Brahma is reborn, marking the start of a new Mahakalpa. And the cycle begins again!

 

 

In Hinduism (cf. Hindu time cycles), a Kalpa is equal to 4.32 billion years, a "day of Brahma" or one thousand mahayugas, measuring the duration of the world. Each kalpa is divided into 14 manvantara periods, each lasting 71 yuga cycles (306,720,000 years). ... Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma.

 

 

There are 14 Manvantaras in each Kalpa, with about 71 Mahayugas in each Manvantara. We are living in the Vaivasvata Manvantara, which is the seventh Manvantara of the Shwetavaraha Kalpa. And we're living in the 28th Mahayuga of the Vaivasvata Manvantara

 

A Kalpa is one day in the life of Brahma. A Mahakalpa is 100 years in the life of Brahma. (Brahma lives for 100 years before he dies and is reborn.) Our present Kalpa, the Shwetavaraha Kalpa, is taking place in the 51st year of Brahma's life. That is why, in he beginning of every Hindu ritual, we say "adya Brahmanaha, dwitiya Parardhe", which indicates that we're living in the second half of Brahma's life

 

Age of Brahma is 100 years. Each year of Brahma has 360 days and same number of nights. Thus, total age of Brahma is 360 * 100 * 8.64 billion = 311,040 billion human years. i.e. 311.04 trillion years.

 

A mahakalpa basically means 1 full lifetime of Brahma after which he is reborn. 

 

The Yuga Time Period

Kritha Yuga 17,28,000 human years

Tretha Yuga 12,96,000 human years

Dwapara Yuga 8,64,000 human years

Kali Yuga 4,32,000 human years (As on today we are approximately over 5000 years into Kali Yuga)

 

All the four yugas combined together is called a Maha Yuga. One Maha Yuga comprises of 43,20,000 years. 1000 maha yugas are equivalent to the day time of the Brahma. Brahma’s night is also of the same time.

So Brahma’s one full day is equivalent to 864,00,00,000 human years. Brahma’s one second is equivalent to 1,00,000 human years on earth. Brahma lives like this for 100 years (in human years 864,00,00,00 x 365 days x 100 years), and the entire life time of brahma is equivalent to one breath of Sri Maha Vishnu.

It is said that when Sri Maha Vishnu exhilirates, the entire world is created, and when he annihilates the entire world is destroyed. The timespan between his exhiliration and annihilation is equivalent to 100 years for Brahma.

 

 

Picture of Mahavishnu resting. 

 

The Vishnu Purana states that at the end of the daytime period of Brahma, a dreadful drought will occur that will last 100 years, and all the waters will dry up. The Sun will change into seven Suns, and the three worlds (Bhurloka or Earth, Bhuvarloka or the lowest heaven, and Svargloka or the next higher heaven) and the underworlds will be burned bare of life. The inhabitants of Bhuvarloka and Svargloka flee to the next higher heaven, Mahaloka, to escape the heat; and then to the next higher heaven, Janaloka.

Then mighty clouds will form and the three worlds will be completely flooded with water. Lord Vishnu reposes on the waters in meditative rest for another whole kalpa (4.32 billion years) before renewing the creation.

 

 

 

Picture of Vishnu resting 

 

The destruction that takes place at the end of a daytime of Brahma is referred to as 'naimittika', which is incidental or occasional. The characteristic of this destruction is that the three worlds continue to exist but are made uninhabitable. The souls of individuals also continue to exist to be reincarnated in the next daytime of Brahma.

 

This is how Brahma is depicted 

 

 

There are 3 gunas or qualities called -Satva, Rajas and Tamas. Entire creation is made up of them only. There are 4 yugas making a cycle, namely Satya Yuga, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyug. Satya Yuga is dominated by Satva guna that is truth(satya), meditation(tapas), purity(shauch) and worship(bhakti). In treta (3 feets), truth is given up my people because of increased Rajas and left with 3 qualities of Satva. In Dwapar, meditation is also given up by people, leaving dharma standing on 2 qualities and hence called Dwapar(2 feets).

Finally, in kaliyug, purity is also lost under the effect of Tamas, leaving only Bhakti. By the end of Kaliyug, bhakti also vanishes and there is no discipline but chaos. Than Lord Vishnu appears in the form of Kalki and reestablishes the four qualities of Satya yuga, and once again Satya yuga is established. Only adharmis, mlecchas are destroyed, not the universe.

We are currently about 5100 past years within Kaliyuga of 28th chaturyug, 7th manavantar of Varah Kalpa. Prajapati Brahma ji is now about 50 years old and he has remaining more 50x360 approx. kalpas of his life, that is about 18000 more kalpas, where each kalpa has 1000 chaturyugs. 1 chaturyuga = 43,20,000 earth years.

The Chaturyuga ages, i.e. Satya, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyug see a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span, emotional and physical strength.

Satya Yuga:- Virtue reigns supreme. Human stature was 21 cubits. Average human lifespan was 100,000 years.

Treta Yuga: – There was 3 quarter virtue & 1 quarter sin. Normal human stature was 14 cubits. Average human lifespan was 10,000 years.

Dwapar Yuga: – There was 1 half virtue & 1 half sin. Normal human stature was 7 cubits. Average human lifespan was 1,000 years.

Kali Yuga: – There is 1 quarter virtue & 3 quarter sin. Normal human stature is 3.5 cubits. Average human lifespan will be 100 years. Towards the end of the Yuga this will come down to 20 years.

In the present days we live in a Kali Yuga, which began at 3102 BCE with the end of the Mahabharata war. This date is also considered by many Hindus to be the day that Krishna left Earth

 

There's for sure death and decay at the end of Kaliyuga- which is full of faults, passions, miseries and confusions. This Tamoguna, Rajas once vanished, Sattva gunas can attain peaks giving rise to beings bounded by righteousness- Satyuga begins with the end of the Kali age.

 

It is the Lord Rudra (shiva) who will destroy everything to ashes with his trikagni(eternal fire from his third-eye). the destruction dance(tandav) of shiva the meaning of shiva Tandav Stotram. Shiva dances and causes destruction. The dance called tandav, the dance of destruction. 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiva in tandav dance pose. The dance of destruction. 

 

Kali yuga ends when the deepest, darkest negativity and other impressions of the mind are ended and purity reigns! The end of Kali will bring forth the beginning of the Golden Age! When the ego has been annihilated the Golden Age of the inner consciousness will prevail. So will the world be destroyed? Will the earth be destroyed? It is the Ahamkara (ego consciousness) that will be destroyed.

At the end of the kaliyuga kalki will appear the adharma will be destroyed. 

The end of Mahakalpa and the Death of Brahma and Mahapralaya. 

Brahma lives 100 years. These are not human or earth years. His total age of 100 years is called Mahakalpa. At the end of his age, Brahma dies and so does the Mahakalpa. A new Brahma is born and thus a new Mahakalpa of 100 years begins. 

Whenever Brahma is born, new creation begins. New creation also begins at the end of each Kalpa when the new Kalpa begins.. 

The period of time after the death of Brahma is of complete silence and nothingness. This is called Mahapralaya. 

As per the Shiva Puranas, the definition of Mahapralaya. 

Mahapralaya - Destruction of the world occurring after every period of 4,320,000,000 years. 2 Total destruction of the universe (of mortals, saints, gods, and Brahma himself); happening after every hundred years of Brahma. 

 

Mahapralaya  refers to the “great dissolution”, as explained in the Sivapurana - at the time of great dissolution (mahapralaya) when all the mobile and immobile objects of the world are dissolved everything gets enveloped in darkness, without the sun, planets and stars. There is no moon. The day and the night are not demarcated. There is no fire, no wind, no earth and no water. There is no unmanifest primordial being. The whole firmament is one complete void, devoid of all Tejas elements. There is no Dharma or Adharma, no sound, no touch. Smell and colour are not manifest. There is no taste. The face of the quarters is not demarcated. Thus when there is pitch darkness that cannot be pierced with a needle and what is mentioned in the Vedas as ‘the existent and the Brahman’ is alone present”.

 

Mahapralaya —The great deluge with darkness pervading all round.

Mahakali 

 

we can find Kali represented in different forms depending on how (and sometimes where) she was being worshipped. The most common way to see Kali in Hindu iconography is what we call the classic form. In this form, Kali is depicted with blue or black skin and is generally naked, emphasizing her sexuality as well as her power. Her hair is generally disheveled, her eyes red, and her tongue sticks out, suggesting a state of rage and fury befitting a goddess of violence. That terrifying demeanor is emphasized by a necklace of decapitated heads, a skirt made of severed human arms, and earrings made of dead children.

 

 

 

Kali in this form has four arms, generally shown holding specific items. In her left hands, she usually holds a severed human head and a sword. This has been said to represent the role of divine knowledge in destroying human ego. Her other hands are usually shown in various mudras (the symbolic gestures of Hindu iconography), generally representing fearlessness and blessing. The idea is that this terrifying goddess is actually here as a protector, and that she'll be the guard of and save those who worship her.

Mahakali

If you think classic Kali is intimidating, just wait until you see her Mahakali form. As Mahakali, the goddess is conflated with the ultimate spiritual force of feminine power. This is her cosmic form, guarding over the cosmic order and restoring it when it's out of balance. She's the embodiment of Brahman, the ultimate truth of the Universe that unites all material and spiritual laws.

 

 

 

Thus, much power deserves an equally impressive figure, and so Mahakali has not four but ten arms. She's also generally depicted with ten heads and ten legs as well. All ten hands hold an instrument that represents divine power, specifically those associated with another deity. What this represents is that Mahakali holds the power of all these deities, and furthermore that the gods only have their powers through Mahakali.

 

The Mahakaal

Mahakali is another form of Lord Shiva who is the consort of Goddess Mahakali.. 

 

 

The dance of Shiva and kali or of Mahakaal and Mahakali. 

 

 

 

At Mahapralaya, when Mahakaal performs Sanghar tandava along with Mahakali - The kaal and trinity also get merged in Mahakaal, and again creations happen with a new Yuga cycle.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

The beginning 

 

Vishnu 

 

 

 

According to Vishnu Purana, Lord Shiva was born on the brink of Vishnu's forehead and Brahma Dev appeared in the navel of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that the birth of Lord Shiva is due to being the forehead of Lord Vishnu, Shiva always lives in yoga posture. 

Shiva represents time. Eternal 

Vishnu represents space. All pervading 

Brahma represents matter. 

It is written in Bhagwat Gita that Lord Vishnu wasn't born or created. He was forever existing
and will forever exist.
It is said that Sriman Narayan who stays in Vaikuntha expands as Shri Maha Vishnu (also
called Maha Karana Vishnu) for the purpose of Creation, Preservation and Destruction.
Sri Maha Vishnu is sleeping in far away Vaikuntha planets that are beyond these material worlds and as he exhales, trillions of material universes are being created. Something like this:

 

 

 

 

All the bubbles you see are tiny universes. Maha Vishnu enters each bubble as Garbha Vishnu (womb Vishnu) in that material world. From the naval of
Garbha Vishnu appears Brahma and from the forehead of Garbha Vishnu appears Shiva.
He also creates other gods like Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Parvati etc. We are in one of the bubble represented above
which is also called the material universe. After Kaliyuga ends, Sri Maha Vishnu inhales and all
the material universe (bubbles) submerges back into Sri Maha Vishnu.
So this is how cycles of creations continue. They go on forever until eternity. This is called as
Samsara. Everything outside Vaikuntha is stuck in the repeated cycle of Birth and Death.

Coming out of these material universes, outside this Maha Vishnu cycle and entering Vaikuntha gives us Moksha.
This is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam "mahapuran" and also in Srila Prabhupada's book called "The science of self-realization"

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 The Rakshas gana looks similar in energy to Shiva. The Deva gana is energetically similar to Vishnu. The Manav gana is similar to Brahma. 

This Brahma is a  material deity whereas Shiva and Vishnu appear less material and more spiritual, combining forces of good and evil. 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

The Kalki Avatar 

Bhagvad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam 

 

 

There are approximately twenty-five incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Kalki is supposed to be the last and final incarnation of the Vishnu Avatars. There are numerous mysterious prophecies and predictions that date back to the times of Puranas that talk about the birth of Kalki...how true can they be? Is there a messiah ready to be born or has he already taken birth? Is he there to bring the world to an end and make the new-age man pay for his ruthlessness?

 

Just before the beginning of the current age in which we are living (known as the Kali Yuga or Iron Age), sage Markandeya recorded a conversation he had with the God. In a passage in the Mahabharata text, it is recorded that Vishnu spoke of a time during the darkest period of the Kali Age when human values would deteriorate and falsehood would triumph over truth. Vishnu told how he would take a human birth in order to intervene and set the world on a new course.

 

Lord Vishnu’s statement in Mahabharata

“When evil is rampant upon this earth, I will take birth in the family of a virtuous man, and assume a human body to restore tranquility by the extermination of all evils. For the preservation of rectitude and morality, I will assume an inconceivable human form. In the Kali Age of sin I will assume an Avatar form that is dark in color. I will be born in a family in south India. This Avatar will possess great energy, great intelligence and great powers.”

Lord Vishnu’s statement in Mahabharata

“Material objects needed for this Avatar's mission will be at his disposal as soon as He will think of them. He will be victorious with the strength of virtue. He will restore order and peace in the world. This Avatar will inaugurate a new era of truth, and will be surrounded by spiritual people. The people of the earth will imitate this Avatar's conduct, and there will be prosperity and peace. Men will once more betake themselves to the practice of religious rites.”

Predictions and Prophecies regarding Kalki Avatara

The advent of this Avatar has been known of and predicted for thousands of years in various holy books and obscure texts including the Book of Revelations, Nostradamus in his book Centuries, The Ocean of Light (an ancient Persian manuscript of the revelations of Prophet Mohammed) and the Shuka Naadi Granthi - containing detailed prophecies of the Kalki Avatar written on hundreds of palm leaf manuscripts by Sage Shuka over 5000 years ago.

 

The time of great evil mentioned in the prophecies corresponds to the Twentieth Century with its World Wars, regimes of mad dictators and authoritarian rulers, nuclear weapons, famines, diseases, pollution, crime, violence, catastrophes, and worldwide decline of morality.

The Kalki Purana is an ancient Indian scripture which outlines the circumstances of the time and the place of birth of Lord Kalki. It also describes the predominant signs of the times which become so dire and needful that the Lord is compelled to assume a human incarnation. He does this at regular intervals throughout the evolution of humanity with the explicit purpose of uplifting the spiritual order. Only when a civilization is built upon a sound spiritual foundation can it exist and thrive in peace.

Much of what is presented in the Kalki Puranas about Lord Kalki is allegorical in nature and therefore open to various interpretations. Those commentaries which have been written appear to have rendered the original scriptural treatise in a literal context rather than the highly symbolic one that was intended. However, one can point out that the precise astrological arrangements predicted around his birth are so specific and purposeful that it would be difficult to ignore them

Take a look at some startling prophecies which were made by Nostradamus which clearly point towards Kalki Avatar. “CENTURY I.L - De l'aquatique triplisté naiftra, D'vn qui fera le jeudy pour fa fefte: Son bruit, loz, regne sa puiffance croistra, Par terre & mer aux Oriens tempefte.” Translation: Of the three water signs will be born a person whose holy day will be Thursday his name ,fame and rule will grow everywhere on land and sea and free the east from trouble.

This quatrain states that this person will be born from the three water signs of Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio, the three water signs – which can be the three water bodies of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal which meet at Kanya Kumari at the southern most point in India. This Quatrain also states that this person will celebrate Thursday as his holy day, in none of the major religions except Hinduism is this so.

Nostradamus’ second prophecy

“Religion du nom des mers vaincra,Contre la fecte fils Adaluncatif, Secte obftinee deploree craindra, Des deux bleffez par Aleph & Aleph”. Translation: The religion called by the sea will overcome the sect of the Adaluncatif the stubborn sect of the two wounded men alpha and alpha. The only religion which is named after water is Hindu religion named after the Sindhu river. The Indians will defeat the obstinate sects; 

Nostradamus’ third prophecy

“L'Oriental fortira de fon fiege, Paffer les monts Apennins, voir la Gaule: Tranfpercera le ciel les eaux & neige, Et vn chafcun frappera de fa gaule.” Translation: The Eastern man will come down from his throne and cross the Apennines into France through the sea and air and will strike the evil ones with his rod. This quatrain describes Kalki Avatar with his weapon crossing into France and destroying his enemies. Note that Nostradamus also sees the crossing through air.

When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law, shall nearly have ceased, and the close of the Koli age shall be nigh, a portion of that Divine Being who exists of his own spiritual nature, in the character of Brahma, and who is the Beginning and the End, and who comprehends all things shall descend upon the earth. He will be born as Kalki in the family of an eminent Brahmin, of Shambhala village, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties.

By his irresistible might, He will destroy all the barbarians and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then re-establish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Koli age, shall be awakened. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time, shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Kritya Age, the Age of Purity. (Vishnu Purana 4.24)

Kalki descended to earth (as a human) in the month of Baisakha on the 12th day after the full moon (Kalki Purana, I, Verses 11 and 15) Kalki is born to a man named Vishnujasha and a woman named Sumati in the Hindu month of Baisakha, which starts from 14th or 15th April and lasts till 14th or 15th May. So, Kalki will be born 12 days from the full moon day (after 14th/15th April), which can be anytime between 26th April to 15th May.

Vishnu Purana also says that he had three elder brothers. According to I[2] V.32, the King of the land where Kalki is born is named Vishakhjupa. The mission of Kalki’s life is to destroy Koli – the equivalent of the Anti-Christ (in whose name the present age is named). Koli signifies a person as well as the vices which are peculiar to this age. As per I[3], V.25 Kalki was given a white horse, which he rode during his conquests all over the world.

"You shall go to Sinhala, marry your beloved Padma and start your conjugal life…. You will then set out to conquer the world and defeat the Kings allied to Koli, defeat the Buddhists and hand over the rule to the pious kings named Devapi and Maru. (Kalki Purana, I, Verses 9 & 10) The wife of Kalki is named Padma who lives in Sinhala, which is commonly known as Sri Lanka.

Coming of Lord Kalki would be fraught with terror... mindful of existing chaos world over! In the realm of Kalki... the goal of life is straight and clear! Exhibiting almost same powers as Lord Krishna... the advent of is beset with preconditions! The annihilator of Kali Yuga would advent the world scene at opportune moment...not a second before! All is preordained predestined in the system of God. The coming of Bhagavan Kalki gets necessitated when adharma (lawlessness) bares its fangs with no reprieve in sight!

When is HE coming?

This is the biggest question of all times! But God never directly manifests on mother Earth. As per sacred Bhagavad-Gita so is never to be. In times of distress... a commoner dons the mettle of lord Kalki... the awaited Messiah of present times! All happens with grace of God. Nothing in cosmic system results out of nothing... everything to minutest action is preordained predestined!

Is Kali Yuga at its final stage?

The feat of Kalki would make the whole cosmic system go around... come full circle as stipulated in Hinduism sacred Scriptures! After a period of above 3600 years... the coming of an avatar of an era is mandated. Life comes full circle every 3500 to 5000 years! If we have clock ringing 12 o'clock in the day... we also have 12 o'clock in night... the metal age... the darkest hour!

Kali Yuga - the total period of which comprises 4, 32, 000 years as per sacred Scriptures of Hinduism is in its final stages! Even though only a few thousand years have passed since start of Kali Yuga... the advent of modern science has advanced the pace contrary to what is stipulated in sacred Scriptures. Something that would have taken thousand years to achieve in the past is now possible within a few hours... not days!

Kalki would provide a sigh of relief to the ailing mankind after tremors of World War III that would devastate mankind forever. Albert Einstein once said, the fourth world war would be fought with bamboos and sticks... his inference was totally correct! With the coming devastation when developments of science would come to a naught... it would not be centuries but many millennia before things return back to normal!

Who would not agree that Earth has undergone an extraordinary deterioration of its biosphere? Who could argue that living a pure life on earth becomes more difficult and challenging with each passing year? Who has not cried out about the social degeneration and political turmoil, financial chaos and pain and suffering caused by unending wars? Keeping aside every statement, counter statement and arguments regarding the predictions and prophecies about Kalki, I really wish that He is out there, somewhere…!

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[DrewNows]

Just wow!
Thank you so much. I discover these ancient gods/stories etc and they are slow to make any logical sense (On the intellectual level) but they pull me in, knowledge is power! The Breatharian Elitom El-Amin is in India at this time, I follow his content on YT so thought I’d share that. Hope he’s bringing/encouraging the high vibes over there, take care 

[Preety_India]

@DrewNows  aww. I'm glad Andrew . . You take care as well 

 

 

 

 

[Preety_India]

 The concept of the bull on four legs. 

The bull is a sacred animal in Hindu texts, the bull is called Nandi and is vehicle of Shiva. 

Also the Bull represents Dharma. 

But during each successive yuga, there's a progressive decline in Dharma. And so the bull appears on 1 leg during the Kaliyug. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Sat Yuga begins again, the bull is seen standing on all 4 legs once again. This shows restoration of Dharma once again.. 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

The concept of Brahman. 

The brahman is something you get to experience or understand during the time of Mahapralaya

 

 

[Preety_India]

 

So the whole Hindu cycle or the central context of Hinduism is all about the establishment of Dharma in the beginning of time, it's decline and destruction towards the end and the rebirth of Dharma in the form of a calf on all 4 legs.

So Hindus worship the cows and the bulls because the cow and the bull are considered sacred. 

Religious iconography showing the reverence to the cow in the Hindu religion. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

Sacred animals in Hinduism

 

 

Cows are considered the holiest of all creatures in Hinduism. The holy cow is considered the mother of all human beings and so her slaughter is also banned throughout India. She is seen as the gift to the mankind from the God. Hindu mythology tells us of two particularly sacred cows Kamdhenu and Surabhi who are said to have emerged from the ocean during Manthan (churning of ocean). Even lord Krishna spent his childhood grazing cattle.

 

Animals considered sacred in Hinduism, quick list 

• Cow
• Bull or Nandi. (Shiva's Nandi) 
• Elephant 
• Snake /serpent 
• Lion
• Tiger
• Dog
• Owl
• Horse
• Peacock
• Crow 

 

 

 

elephant.

 

 

Goddess Lakshmi being saluted by elephants. 

 

 

Ganesh or Ganesha, a prominent Hindu God, the son of God Shiva and wife Parvati. Ganesha was born with an elephant head. 

 

Ganesha stands for peace and prosperity. 

It is also believed that Lord Indra (the king of all Devtas) rides on a white elephant named Airawat.

 

 

Indian brides posing with elephants on their weddings. 

 

 

 

 

 

Decorated and Painted Elephants as a part of celebration. 

 

 

 

Elephant design on a dinner plate 

 

 

Elephant embroidery on bedsheet 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An elephant teapot. 

 

 

An elephant as an Indian house decor item.

 

 

 

Cows, the sacred animal.

 

 

Cow worship in India

 

A sculpture of a decorated cow. 

 

 

A decorated cow. Ready for worship. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A decorated bull on a beach in India. 

 

The bull is a Nandi. 

The Nandi is the vehicle of Shiva and his companion. 

Also the Bull represents Dharma on all 4 legs. 

Bulls are also considered to be holy beings. The most mention worthy of them is lord Shiva’s faithful gana (follower) and companion cum vehicle, Nandi. We always find its idol accompanying that of Shivaling in temples. Bulls are worshipped especially on harvest festivals like Sankranti and Onam or Pongal due their large influence on Indian agriculture.

 

 

Nandi statues throughout India, inside and outside a temples. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nandi statue inside a temple 

 

 

 

 

Nandi statue outside a temple 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiva's cobra. And Naga of Mahavishnu. Adishesha. 

The cobra is revered for its ferocity. It's the companion of Shiva. The five headed cobra, a mythical serpent is called Adishesha  and Mahavishnu sleeps in the arms of the serpent. 

 

 

Ancient sculpture showing Mahavishnu in the lap of the five headed serpent. 

 

 

 

 

The big cats, the lion and the tiger. 

 

Tiger or Lion serves as the carrier of Goddess Durga. We also find reference of Lord Vishnu taking the avatar of Lord Narsimha (Nar= man, Simha= lion) and slaying the tyrant and cruel king Hiranyakashyapu.

 

Goddess Ma Durga or simply Durga (Ma in Hindu means mother), goddess Durga is another form of kali. Seated on a lion. 

 

 

 

The mighty Bengal tiger.

Goddess Durga seated on a tiger. 

 

 

An Indian TV actress portraying the role of Goddess Durga in a local TV series. 

 

Gold Sculpture of Durga on a lion

 

 

Goddess Kali on a tiger. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A misunderstanding of the Hindu Puranas about monkeys. The monkeys are never actually mentioned in the original Sanskrit Puranas. It's called vanara. Ram took with himself an army of vanaras. Vanaras weren't exactly monkeys. They were Neanderthal men. 

This video clears this 

 

 

Owl

The wise owl is the vehicle of the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. On the night of Diwali, it is also worshipped along with the deity. It is believed it will make the goddess happy and will bless us with prosperity.

 

 

Lakshmi with an owl

 

 

Dogs

Hinduism worships Lord Shiva. He is considered to be the ultimate and the God of Gods. You will be amazed to know that Dogs are highly associated with one of the incarnations of Lord Shiva. You can see God Bhairava with a black dog. It is believed that dogs are an incarnation of Bhairava. 

 

 

 

Hinduism also shows the connection of Dogs with Lord Dattatreya. Dattatraya was an incarnation of the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar). This God was always followed by four dogs which symbolically represent the four Vedas. 

 

 

 

Lord Yama had taken the form of a dog to accompany Yudhistira during their final journey. He was testing the dharma of the Pandavas.

 

 

Indra Dev (the king of Devas) has a dog named Sarama. This dog is supposed to have helped the Devas bring back their stolen cows by demons.

 

Sarama is the mother of all dogs and is the daughter of Daksha (sister of Sati). The Bhagavata Purana regards Sarama as the mother of all beasts of prey. In some places of South people worship Sarama.

A dog is also noted in the Rigveda as the guardian of the house of Varuna and is named as Vastospati.

Peacock

 

Peacock apart from being the national bird of India, is also considered holy in our scriptures. It is the vehicle of Lord Kartikeya.  Its feathers also make for the decoration of crown of Lord Krishna.

 

Horse 

 

. The horse denotes the symbol of strength and leadership. It is the reason why we find its mention in the Ramayana where Lord Rama performs a yagya (Ashvamedha yagya)  where they sacrifice the horse to God for a prospering kingship and progress.  It is also the vehicle of Surya dev (Sun God).

 

Horse sculptures in an ancient temple in India. 

 

 

 

Crow 

There is not a place on earth (except the polar caps) that does not have crows as its inhabitants. Crows are part and parcel of our lives. In fact, many crows also fly around in the backyard of my house. Crows are highly intelligent animals, yet they are regarded in both western and eastern cultures as harbingers of doom.

One really does not know how this belief has been ingrained in the mind of man, yet it is very much there. One of the reasons for the crow to be regarded as connected with doom is the fact that crows have a dark plumage and make unnerving calls that can spread fear in the mind on a dark night. In addition, they are known to loiter around battlefields, feed on dead corpses and destroy crops as well.

Scientifically a crow comes as a part of the Corvus family of birds. There are almost 40 or so members of this genus.Recent research has found that Crows are among the world's most intelligent animals. whose EQ is rated pretty high.

In ancient times a crow was supposed to be blessed with a long life and now we know that they are a long living species. They were thought to be omens of the future and sometimes the harbinger of bad luck.

 

Goddess Dumavati riding a crow. 

 

Hinduism has a special place for animals and birds.. They are frequently mentioned in Hindu myths and legends and enjoy a place of their own in Hindu pantheon as vehicles of many gods and goddesses, as divinities and also as incarnations or aspects of Vishnu or Shiva

Hinduism recognizes a crow as a harbinger of some bad news. Ancient Hindu texts and tomes on Hindu philosophy bring forth the belief that their is a linkage between the dead and living crows. It has a special significance for people who have died. One of the connections with the dead is the day of ‘Bal Kaka’. This day is observed as the day when the dead will partake of food that is distributed to crows. In addition during the ‘Shraddha’ ceremony, which is the day when ritual feeding of the dead ancestors of a family is done, crows as well as cows are also fed.Believe it or not, Crows have been observed to come and eat food during “Shraddha”. There are many examples that testify to this unique ability of a crow to sense when a feast for a departed soul is undertaken..

The crow has a special significance in Hinduism, and the Mahabharata war was preceded by a bloody battle between crows and owls. This signaled the start of the epic battle. 

 

There are many legends associated with crows in Hinduism. It is stated In the Yoga Visistha, the sage Bhasundha took the form of a crow and was witness to a number of great events in the history of the earth. He survived living on a special tree on Mount Mer

In the month of January the festival for crows is celebrated . In Tamil Nadu during Kanum Pongal festival a lavish feast is spread. Coloured rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal are spread on a plantain leaf. Generally hordes of crows will descend and partake of this feast. Prayers are offered in the hope that brother-sister ties may remain strong like the bondage among the crows..

 

 

Shani deity riding a crow.. 

 

The God Shani, who is the most difficult god to please uses a crow as his Vahana( vehicle of Travel), The crow is thus part and parcel of Hindu mythology.

The crow is also an important part of tantric ritual. This ritual which is outside mainstream Hinduism is unique as the lower senses are gratified as per tantric ritual. it could involve the ritual using a  crow and Lord Kaal Bhairov as the deity.

 

The crow and Buddhism 

The crow is also part of Buddhist thought. The crows have a special significance for the Dalai Lama. Legend states that, when the first Dalai lama was born his home was attacked by robbers. The parents fled and in the process left the Dalai Lama behind. However, when they returned they found the Dalai Lama hale and hearty in the company of crows, which had cared for him. The crow has a special significance for Tibet Buddhism as the 1st, 7th, 8th, 12th and 14th Dalai Lama have been associated with the crow, which heralded their birth. The present Dalai Lama is in this category.

Generally in Buddhism a crow is thought of as incarnation of Mahakala or Shiva  whose name literally means the 'Great Black One. The crow represents the inevitability of events taking place. Mahakala is thought of as a protector of Buddhism. Thus the connotation of the crow in Buddhism is more with the good and inevitable than something bad or evil.

Buddhism reached China from India. As per Chinese philosophy the world at the beginning had 10 suns which were represented by 10 crows. These crows rose into the sky at the same time and a great catastrophe was expected. The gods sent their greatest archer Houyi, who shot down nine crows and spared the last..

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 

8 Divine Flowers Which Are Favorites Of Hindu Gods

 

 

“Flowers please the mind and grant prosperity. Hence, men with righteous deeds bestowed the name Sumana on them.”

―The Mahabharata book 13, Anusasana Parva Chapter 101, verses 19-21

According to this verse from the epic Mahabharata, when a pious man with a pure heart offers flowers to the deities, the deities become gratified and as a result bestow prosperity upon him.

Yes, flowers play a significant role in almost every religious ritual in Hinduism. Any religious ceremony, be it offering prayers or performing Aarti, is incomplete without flowers. Worshiping Hindu Gods and Goddesses with flower offerings is not only considered auspicious but has its own importance too. Although, any type of flower can be offered to any God yet, there are certain ones which happen to be the favorite flowers of Hindu Gods that can bring you good fortune if offered to Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

 

 

1. Dhatura
According to the Hindu religious text
Purana, when Lord Shiva drank the poison which was churned out of the ocean by and demons, Dhatura
appeared from the chest of Lord Shiva. Since then, Dhatura became Lord Shiva's favorite flower. Hence, Dhatura is offered to Lord Shiva
during Shiv Puja to get rid of the poison of ego, rivalry, envy, and hatred. While there are some
other Shiva flowers like Akand, Bael patra, ketaki   flower is never used in the worship of Shiva.

 

 

 

2. Red
Hibiscus

This enchanting and ravishing red colored flower is offered to Goddess
Kali. It is because the shape of the
flower represents Maa Kali's tongue and it's red color symbolizes Maa Kali's fierceness. Thus, in West Bengal Goddess Kali is adorned with a garland of 108 red Hibiscus flowers during Kali pooja.

 

 

 

3. Parijata
Parijata flower or Night-flowering coral Jasmine is a divine flower the
roots of which are in heaven. This
flower is believed to be the favorite of Vishnu, incarnations. According to the Hindu mythology, this tree came
out as a result of churning of the ocean by the Gods and demons. Lord Indra found this tree and
brought it to heaven where its beautiful and fragrant flowers spread beneath the tree and pleasured the Gods.

 

 

 

4. Lotus
The Goddess of weath and prosperity, Laxmi sits on a lotus flower and thus, this  flower becomes Goddess Laxmi's favorite flower. If you offer a Lotus flower to goddess Laxmi during Diwali or Laxmi pooja, it will make her gratified and in return, she will grant wealth and good fortune. In fact, if you keep a lotus seed mala or rosary in the temple of your home, it will please Goddess Laxmi.

 

 

5. Marigold
All red colored flowers are dear to
Lord Ganesha but the saffron yellow flower  named Marigold is Lord Ganesha's favorite flower. Especially Red Genda or red Marigold flowers are believed to please the Vinayaka greatly. This flower is special because it is the only flower of the Hindu deities that can be divided into its petals.

 

 

 

 

6. Palash
The Goddess of knowledge who 
wears a white saree and sits on a white Lotus, Devi  Saraswati is fond of Palash. Although all white colored flowers are liked by Devi Saraswati, Palash flowers are considered to be the essential component in Saraswati puja. In fact, the worship of Devi Saraswati is considered incomplete without Palash flowers.

 

 

 

7.Tulsi
Tulsi, a medicinal plant acts both as a  flower and an auspicious leaf  which is used in the worship of Lord Krishna. It is because Tulsi or Basil leaves are loved by Lord Krishna and thus, in most  temples Tulsi leaf is also offered as Prasada at Krishna's feet. Hence, Tulsi is also known as Krishna Tulsi. Other flowers like blue Lotus and coral flowers are also loved by Lord Krishna

 

 

 

8. Jasmine
Although Jasmine flowers are known
for its fragrance and used for its medicinal properties, these  flowers also hold a religious importance.
Jasmine is loved by Lord Hanuman and according to the ritual, five Chameli or Jasmine
flowers should be offered to please Lord Hanuman. Offering Jasmine oil along with sindoor or vermilion to Lord Hanuman also helps
in warding off evils from your life.

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Preety_India