Showing posts with label narasimha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label narasimha. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2019
Abaya Hastha Swayambu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Agaram Village, Hosur Rayakotta Road
Friday, November 22, 2019
Suvarnamukhi Anjaneya Temple Bannerghatta Bengaluru -
Suvarnamukhi Anjaneya Temple
1.5kms from Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple behind the mountain, inside the Bannerghatta forest is the famous Suvarnamukhi Kalyani. The water in this Kalyani is believed to have curative powers. Locals will tell you that a dip here will cure you of several diseases.
This is the place where Emperor Janamejaya took bathe and prayed after which he was released from sarpa dosha or the curse of the snake. He also got a golden body after he had bathed in this pod. Hence, it is called Suvarnamukhi. He then consecrated the idol of Champakadhama Swamy (Sri Champakadhama Swamy Devalaya)
The Pushkarini, Kalyani or pond is emptied once an year so that the rock at the bottom, which is engraved with the image of Anjaneya, maybe worshipped. After worship, water is once again let into the pond.
You can start your trek to the overhanging hill either from the Champakadhama Swamy Temple or from Kalkare, a small village. The path will lead you to Suvarnamukhi Hill.
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Hindu God Lord Vishnu and Dasa avatar (10 Avatars)
Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu: 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu ...
Who is Lord Vishnu?
Vishnu is a Hindu god, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Narayana and Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, he is conceived as “the Preserver or the Protector” within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
Vishnu is one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon and, along with Brahma and Shiva, is considered a member of the holy trinity (trimurti) of Hinduism. He is the most important god of Vaishnavism, the largest Hindu sect. Indeed, to illustrate Vishnu’s superior status, Brahma is, in some accounts, considered to have been born from a lotus flower which grew from Vishnu’s naval. A complex character, Vishnu is the Preserver and guardian of men (Narayana), he protects the order of things (dharma) and, when necessary, he appears on earth in various incarnations or avatars to fight demons and fierce creatures and so maintain cosmic harmony.
Vishnu represents Sattvaguna and is the centripetal force as it were, responsible for sustenance, protection and maintenance of the created universe.
Etymologically speaking, the word ‘Vishnu’ means ‘one who pervades, one who has entered into everything.’ So he is the transcendent as well the immanent reality of the universe. He is the inner cause and power by which things exist.
The First Avatar: Matsya (The Fish)
Matsya is said to be the avatar that rescued the first man, as well as other creatures of the earth, from a great flood. Matsya is sometimes depicted as a great fish or as a human torso connected to the tail of a fish.
Matsya is said to have forewarned man about the coming flood and ordered him to preserve all the grains and living creatures in a boat. This story is similar to many deluge myths found in other cultures.
The Second Avatar: Kurma (The Tortoise)
Kurma (or Koorma) is the tortoise incarnation that relates to the myth of churning the ocean to obtain treasures dissolved in the ocean of milk. In this myth, Vishnu took the form of a tortoise upon which to support the churning stick on his back.
The Kurma avatar of Vishnu is usually seen in a mixed human-animal form.
The Third Avatar: Varaha (The Boar)
Varaha is the boar that raised the earth from the bottom of the sea after the demon Hiranyaksha dragged it to the bottom of the sea. After a battle of 1,000 years, Varaha raised the earth out of the water with his tusks.
Varaha is depicted as either a full boar form or as a boar head on a human body.
The Fourth Avatar: Narasimha (The Man-Lion)
As the legend goes, the demon Hiranyakashipiu obtained a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed or harmed by any means. Now arrogant in his security, Hiranyakshipiu began to cause trouble both in heaven and on earth.
However, his son Prahlada was devoted to Vishnu. One day, when the demon challenged Prahlada, Vishnu emerged in the form of a man-lion known as Narasimha to slay the demon.
The Fifth Avatar: Vamana (The Dwarf)
In the Rig Veda, Vamana (the dwarf) appears when the demon king Bali ruled the universe and the gods lost their power. One day, Vamana visited the court of Bali and begged for as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing at the dwarf, Bali granted the wish.
The dwarf then assumed the form of a giant. He took the whole earth with the first step and the entire middle world with the second step. With the third step, Vamana sent Bali down to rule the underworld.
The Sixth Avatar: Parasurama (The Angry Man)
In his form as Parasurama, Vishnu appears as a priest (Brahman) who comes to the world to kill bad kings and protect humanity from danger. He appears in the form of a man carrying an ax, sometimes referred to as Rama with an ax.
In the original story, Parasurama appeared to restore Hindu social order which had become corrupted by the arrogant Kshatriya caste.
The Seventh Avatar: Lord Rama (The Perfect Man)
Lord Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu and a major deity of Hinduism. He is considered supreme in some traditions. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic "Ramayana" and is known as King of Ayodhya, the city believed to be Rama's birthplace.
According to the Ramayana, Rama’s father was King Dasaratha and his mother was Queen Kausalya. Rama was born at the end of the Second Age, sent by the gods to do battle with the multi-headed demon Ravana.
Rama is often depicted with blue skin, standing with a bow and arrow.
The Eighth Avatar: Lord Krishna (The Divine Statesman)
Lord Krishna (the divine statesman) is the eighth avatar of Vishnu and is one of the most widely revered deities in Hinduism. He was a cowherd (sometimes depicted as a charioteer or statesman) who shrewdly changed rules.
According to legend, the famous poem, the Bhagavad Gita, is spoken by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield.
Krishna is depicted in a variety of forms because there are so many stories surrounding him. The most common story describes Krishna as a divine lover who plays the flute; he is also described in his child form. In paintings, Krishna often has blue skin and wears a crown of peacock feathers with a yellow loincloth.
The Ninth Avatar: Balarama (Krishna's Elder Brother)
Balarama is said to be the elder brother of Krishna. It is believed that he engaged in many adventures alongside his brother. Balarama is rarely worshiped independently, but stories always focus on his prodigious strength.
In visual representations, he is usually shown with pale skin in contrast to Krishna's blue skin.
In a number of versions of the mythology, Lord Buddha is thought to be the ninth incarnation. However, this was an addition that came after the dasavatara was already established.
The Tenth Avatar: Kalki (The Mighty Warrior)
Kalki (meaning “eternity” or "mighty warrior") is the last incarnation of Vishnu. He is not expected to appear until the end of Kali Yuga, the current time period. Kalki will come, it is believed, to rid the world of oppression by unrighteous rulers. It is said that he will appear riding a white horse and carrying a fiery sword.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Lord Vishnu represents the aspect of the Supreme Reality that preserves and sustains the universe
Lord Vishnu
Lord Vishnu represents the aspect of the Supreme Reality that preserves and sustains the universe. Although there are variations in images and pictures of Lord Vishnu, He is generally symbolized by a human body with four arms. In His hands He carries a conch (shankha), a mace (gada), and discus (chakra). He wears a crown, two earrings, a garland (mala) of flowers, and a gem around the neck. He has a blue body and wears yellow clothes. The Lord is shown standing on a thousand-headed snake (named Shesha Nag), and the snake stands with its hoods open over the head of the Lord.
The four arms indicate Lord's omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms signify the lord's activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify His activity in the spiritual world. The right side of the body represents the creative activities of the mind and the intellect. The left side symbolizes the activities of the heart; that is, love, kindness, and compassion.
A conch in the upper left hand indicates that the Lord communicates with His devotees with love and understanding. When blowing His conch, He reminds his devotes to live in this world with kindness and compassion towards all living beings. A chakra in His upper right hand conveys the idea that the Lord uses this weapon to protect His devotees from evil. The mace denotes energy and a mace in the Lord's left lower hand signifies that He sustains the manifest world by the energy that He holds in Himself. His front right hand is depicted bestowing grace on His devotees.
The snake denotes the mind and the thousand heads of the snake signify innumerable desires and passions of an individual. Just as a snake destroys its victim by its venom, an uncontrolled mind destroys the world by the venom of its possessiveness. The Lord has controlled all desires, and this is symbolized by showing Him seated on the two coils of the snake. When a sincere devotee of the Lord controls his desires, the Lord fulfills the devotee's genuine desires and helps him on his path.
The blue sky in the background of the Lord suggests that He pervades the entire universe. The blue color symbolizes infinity. The blue body of the Lord signifies that He has infinite attributes. He is nameless, formless, and immeasurable. The color yellow is associated with earthly existence and the yellow clothes of the Lord signify that He incarnates Himself on this earth to uphold righteousness and destroy evil and unrighteousness.
A flower garland around the Lord's neck is a symbol of the devotee's adoration for the Lord. A gem decorating His neck signifies that the Lord fulfills all genuine desires of His devotees and provides for their needs. The crown is a symbol of the Lord's supreme power and authority. The two earrings signify the dual nature of creation, such as knowledge and ignorance, happiness and unhappiness, and pleasure and pain.
The worship of Lord Vishnu is very popular among Hindus, especially among the followers of the Vaishnava tradition (Vaishnavism). He is the second member of the Hindu Trinity, with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the other two. Lord Vishnu is also known by other names, such as Vasudeva and Narayana. The following ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are described in Hindu mythology and are popular among Hindus. These incarnations reveal the help rendered by God during various stages of human evolution. As shown below, the first two incarnations are in the animal form, the third one is half-human and half-animal, and the fourth and the subsequent ones are all in human form. These incarnations relate to human evolution from aquatic life to human life, and are consistent with the modern theory of evolution suggested by science:
Matsya (fish)---saves Sage Manu from floods and recovers the Vedas from demons.
Kurma (tortoise)---sustains the earth on his back.
Varaha (boar)---brings the earth back from the bottom of the ocean where it was dragged down by a demon, known as Hiranyaksha; Varaha kills the demon.
Narasimha (man-lion)---kills the demon King Hiranyakashipu, who was planning to kill his own son, a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Vamana (dwarf)---the first human incarnation of the Lord, kills the demon King Mahabhali, who had deprived the gods of their possessions.
Parasurama (the warrior with an axe)---saves Brahmins from the tyranny of the arrogant Kshatriyas.
Rama---kills Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Sri Krishna---the most popular incarnation; Krishna's contributions throughout his life include the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
Buddha---Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and accept his teachings, but do not directly worship him.
Kalkin (a man on a white horse)---this incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evil in the world.
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