The Story Behind Birth of Lord Hanuman

 Shree Hanuman is also called Anjaneya due to being Mata Anjani's son. 

Picture Courtesy- Pinterest

Mata Anjani, the mother of Pawan's son Shri Bajrangbali Hanuman, was a nymph in the palace of Devraj Indra in heaven in her former birth. Her name was Punjikasthala. She was very pretty to look at and very playful by nature.  Once, Punjikasthala due to her fickle nature distracted one sage who was on meditation (By thinking that Sage is a monkey, she threw fruits on the sage). 

Due to distraction from meditation, the sage cursed Punjikasthala that "She would take the form of Monkey, whenever she will be in love with anyone".

Hearing such a curse, Punjikasthala felt self-aggrandized, and he requested for the curse to be recovered. The sage then showed mercy that "Your Monkey form will also be stunning. Even after being a monkey form, you will find someone with true love, and you will give birth to a magnificent son."

Then Punjikasthala went to heaven and told everything about the curse to Devraj Indra. After listening to the entire scene, Indra Dev said to Punjikasthala, "Now you have to settle down on the earth, there you will fall in love with a prince, then you will give birth to the incarnation of Lord Shiva, and after this, you will be free from the curse."

After that Punjikasthala started living on earth in the name of Anjani. Once in a forest, she was attracted to a young man, but as soon as that young man saw Anjani's eyes, Anjani's face turned into a monkey face (Due to curse). Anjani started hiding her monkey face from that youth.  But when Anjani saw again towards that young man, he too was in a monkey form. The young man, while introducing himself, said that "I am the Monkey King Keshari, and whenever I want I could change myself into a human form." Then the two fell in love with each other and got married.

Birth Place of Lord Hanuman

For a few years, when the two did not have any children, Anjani went to Sage Mathang to express her pain. Then the sage Mathang advised her to "Go to Narayana Hills on Swami Tirtha and meditate on Lord Vayu for 12 years." Then Lord Vayu was pleased and gave a boon that "You will receive a knowledgeable and Mighty son." And then Mata Anjani started meditating on Lord Shiva. Pleased with her attention, Lord Shiva asked her to make a wish. Mata Anjani then prayed to Lord Shiva that "Your avatar needs to be born from my womb, only then I can overcome this curse."

Lord Shiva blessed Mata Anjani and took birth as Lord Hanuman from her womb.

A Video clip of The Birthplace of Lord Hanuman

Shiv Lingam - The real meaning of Shiv Lingam!

The meaning of the Sanskrit word Lingam is Symbol. In the same way, Sivalingam signifies the symbol of lord shiva.

Picture courtesy- Stroimminsk. by

Although Hindus worship female sexual organ (e.g In Kamakhya Temple) the meaning of Shiv Lingam and Yoni is always wrongly presented by invaders (Especially western scholars). Just as every word has different meanings in other languages, similarly Shiva Lingam came to be misinterpreted after the 11th century onwards. Those people who mistook the real meaning of the Sanskrit word Lingam and then they spread its misinterpretation among Hindus and also among all over the world. Even today also a lot of women don't even touch Shiva Lingam by misunderstanding it as a Sexual organ of Lord Shiva.

Meaning of Shiv Lingam!

Shiva Lingam is not just a simple symbol. You can see the smallest form of nature in the form of Shiva Lingam, it represents the atomic structure. As per sage Veda Vyasa (The writer of Mahabharat), Lord Shiva is greater than anything greatest and also Lord Shiva is smaller than subatomic particles like Protons, Neutrons and Electrons. Shiva Lingam represents the entire cosmos and the cosmos is in the shape of the ellipsoid. And that ellipsoid represents neither the beginning nor the end.

Picture courtesy- Temple Science

Even Swami Vivekananda had described Shiva Lingam as a symbol of eternal Brahma. As per the scientist, Niels Bohr,s scientific research shows that " The molecules are made up of atoms that consist of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons which performs an important role in the structure of Shiva Lingam.

In the same way, Shiva Lingam consists of three parts the bottom part remains underground represents Lord Brahma (Electron with a negative electric charge) the creator, the middle part remains on the pedestal represents Lord Vishnu (Proton with a positive electric charge) the preserver and the top part which we generally worship represents Lord Shiva (Neutrons without any electric charge) the Destroyer. The whole three parts together represent Shakti.

Laxmi Purana (Manabasa Gurubara) - The Story of Curse by Goddess Laxmi to her Husband Lord Jagannath

Manabasa Gurubara is a festival celebrated by all Odia Hindus across the globe in the Month of November/ December (Margasira month in Odia Calendar).

Picture courtesy-youtube.pk

What is Manabasa Gurubar (Thursday) :

Goddess Laxmi is the presiding goddess In this festival. Because Goddess Lakshmi loves a clean house so all women make their houses clean then decorate the house with Jhoti Chita (Designs made with rice paste). Reading the "Laxmi Purana" is a mandatory part of the "Manabasa Gurubara".It is believed that the most well-decorated house by "Jhoti Chita" will be visited by Goddess Lakshmi during these Thursdays of Margasira month and that house can get money and prosperity.

Images of Jhoti Chita (Picture courtesy-youtube.pk)

Story of Laxmi Purana -

Laxmi Purana was written by poet Balrama Das in 15th-century. Laxmi Purana is a story of a woman’s self-respect and will. It also equality tells about social harmony related to the caste system. 

As per Laxmi Purana, during One Thursday in the month of Margashira once the Goddess Laxmi was out visiting her kingdom. As she roamed around the city in the morning, she saw that most households are dirty, with their residents still in bed. She saw that even the women in rich houses were too lazy to clean their homes.
Then Goddess Laxmi visited a Low caste poor Chandal woman named Shriya. Shriya had cleaned her poor hut, drawn Jhoti-Chita on her front door and has performed Laxmi Puja with fruits, flowers and humble offerings. By seeing this Goddess Laxmi was so pleased that she entered into the little hut and accepted Prasad that the poor women had offered her. The Chandal woman Shriya was surprised, seeing the goddess Laxmi inside her poor house, then  Goddess Laxmi blessed her with unlimited wealth, health and success.

While Maa Laxmi was accepting the prasad offered by Shriya, Lord Balabhadra, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath(Godess Laxmi’s husband) became aware of the incident. When Maa Laxmi returned to the Puri Jagannath Temple, Lord Balabhadra was outraged. He told Lord Jagannath, “Laxmi has entered inside the hut of a Chandal and also She has eaten their food. Laxmi has become impure. So, She cannot stay in this holy temple anymore.”
Lord Jagannath has opposed his brother. He tried to convince him, promising that he will tell Laxmi not to visit the houses of persons of lower-caste in future. However, Lord Balabhadra was adamant. Finally, Lord Jagannath was convinced by his brother. Lord Jagannath said to Godess Laxmi, You can no longer stay in this holy temple. You have to go away.”

Godess Laxmi was insulted, angry and hurt, then she removed all her jewellery and left the Temple. Going away, Godess Laxmi said to Lord Jagannath, “No man should ever insult his wife like this, so I curse you that you will starve. You will suffer and unless I command so, you cannot eat again”.
After leaving Lord Jagannath’s Temple, a furious Godess Laxmi summons Lord Vishwakarma and ordered him to build her a new palace, which Vishwakarma immediately followed.

On the next day, when Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra woke up, they were astounded. Not even a speck of grain or a single broom was to be found in the once lavish, rich Temple. There was no food, no wealth and even no expensive clothes on their bodies. Transfixed, the brothers ventured out in hunger. They begged on the streets, but seeing their condition, the people of the city drove them away by saying “Laxmi-drohi has no place in the city”.

Finally, the destitute brothers, suffering from days of hunger and thirst, unknowingly arrived at the very same palace that Laxmi had built. The servents of Godess Laxmi asked Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, “ whether they will accept food from a Chandal woman’s home.” Both Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, unable to bear the hunger anymore, and said, “Yes, we will. please provide us with grains and wood with some utensils. We will cook our food.” The servents gave the things to them. Then Godess Laxmi prayed “Hey Agni Dev (The Lord of Fire)  if the Lord and his brother get to eat now, no man will respect their wife on this universe. If people were to be taught to value their women and practise balance, these brothers must be taught a lesson”. Then as a consequence, despite repeated attempts, Both Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra could not even light the fire to cook.

Then Lord Balabhadra said to Lord Jagannath "Let’s go to the palace of that Chandal woman for some food. Let’s ignore the caste We need to survive.” Then again Both Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra begged to the attendants of Goddess Laxmi to give them food. Goddess Laxmi ordered the servants to invite the brothers in and offer them a meal. Godess Laxmi then entered into the kitchen herself and cooked the dishes that Lord Jagannath loved. She kept sending the dishes as the servants served the brothers. In the end, Lord Jagannath realised that the food tasted like Laxmi’s cooking. The brothers eventually realised that they have walked into Laxmi’s palace. Lord Balabradra then told his brother, “We committed a grave sin by hurting Laxmi. Please go, hold the hands of your wife and plead her for forgiveness.”

Lord Jagannath did as told. Godess Laxmi then told, “You drove me away calling me a Chandal woman. Now you ate the food offered by a Chandal woman, at the Chandal woman’s house.” Lord Jagannath could not bear it anymore. He held Laxmi’s hands and begged her to forgive him. Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra pleaded with Laxmi to come back to the Temple and forgive them.

Popular Movie Jai Jagannath Based on Laxmi Puran (Hindi)

Directed by Sabyasachi Mohapatra, released in 15 Different languages.

A popular video Of Complete Laxmi Purana  sung in by the famous Odia singers Namita Agarwal and Gita Dash

7 Signs of God, that God is with you!

When God is with us, He gives many signs, although some people recognize that sign and some people do not recognize it. Sometimes we pass the test of God unconsciously when we do not even know that God is with us. First of all, we do not choose God, God always chooses us.

Picture courtesy- Pinimg.com

Signs that God is with you!

1. You will feel strange to hear this, but you will get failure in whatever big or small work you do in your life. You will not get success in that work, although you were working very hard on it. And it will happen to you again and again.

2. When these things will happen to you, your faith will be completely gone. Slowly You will lose all your confidence and belief which is inside you.

3. When you will get failure even after hard work, you will see darkness everywhere, Because everyone will question your ability and your hard work, it will feel like this is the end of your life.

These first three signs are actually the beginning of your test. God first taught us how to lose. Because you will not win God until you are defeated badly.

4. When you lose all hope, a search originates in your mind through which you find yourself. When you try to find the reason for all the failures and then in that search here you join yourself. Because of which your character and behaviour will change. You will become quite silent, you will reduce the response to everything.

5. Now you will always like to be in self-control. You will not have any problem with the success or failure of the work. Nobody's words will matter. Because you will appreciate internal happiness and peace more rather than the emotions of the outside world.

6. Now you will get the biggest shock of your life, it can come in any form to break you. You will feel for some time that there is no God. Because God will test you that whatever you have learned, you will not leave it after this shock.

7. And if you are still stable even after the biggest sock,  God will give you something that you never expected in your entire life. That's the moment of miracle.
At this point, it will be proved that God was there with you always.

What Srimad Bhagavad Gita says on food ! Chapter-17

Here Lord Krishna describes which food is good for our health on chapter 17 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Food has a direct effect on our intelligence.

Picture courtesy-Wikimedia Commons

śrībhagavānuvācha |

trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā |

sāttvikī rājasī chaiva tāmasī cheti tāṃ śṛṇu ‖ 17.2 ‖

There are three types of reverence of a human being, reverence is that which originates from the self. That is the accumulated rites of deeds performed for infinite births. Such reverence is called Swabhabaja, these are three types Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic. Your actions become your values and go with you.

āhārastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ |

yaGYastapastathā dānaṃ teśhāṃ bhedamimaṃ śṛṇu ‖ 17.7 ‖

You choose your life according to your own nature. You can figure out the nature of a human according to their hymns and food. There are three types of worship, penance and charity. Even the food that each person eats is of three types according to nature. Such as Sattvik, Rajasik and Tamasic.

āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ |

rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ‖ 17.8 ‖

Satvik food that extends life, purifies life and imparts strength and satiety. This type of food is heart-healthy and gives peace to your mind. Satvik food is made for the use of the human body and not for tasty food. Satvik food is very vegetarian food, which connects us to spirituality.

kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuśhṇatīkśhṇarūkśhavidāhinaḥ |

āhārā rājasasyeśhṭā duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ‖ 17.9 ‖

When vegetarian food is cooked with bitter, highly sour, salty, chilli, sugar i.e. more spices etc. it is known as Rajasic food. Eating Rajasic food seems tasty, but such food produces ill health and depression.

yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuśhitaṃ cha yat |

uchChiśhṭamapi chāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ‖ 17.10 ‖

The food which is undercooked, foul-smelling and rancid is Tamasic food. The carnivore is also included in the Tamasic diet because man's body is not made for meat, because it takes a long time to digest this food. Tamasic food and stale food aggravate diseases. That is, it should be eaten within three hours of cooking. Tamasic food also upsets your mind. If Rajasic food is home to the sick, then you can understand how much harm the body will suffer from tamasic food.

Shiva Dhanush (Bow) it's Origin and Why Ravana could not lift !

It is said that Ravana once lifted Mount Kailash, so the question often comes in people's mind that when Ravana could lift Mount Kailash, how could he not lift Shiva's bow!

Picture courtesy alternathistory

Origin Of Shiv Dhanush!

Lord Shiva's bow was very powerful and miraculous. The name of this bow was Pinak. Clouds burst and the mountains used to move with the bow of the bow which Shiva had made. It was as if an earthquake had occurred. This bow was very powerful. 

It is said that Lord Vishwakarma made three divine Bow from the bones of Maharishi Dadhichi and those are Pinak, Sarang and Gandiv. And the thunderbolt of Indra was also made from the bones of Maharishi Dadhichi. Among those three Pinak was the bow of Lord Shiva. To kill the devils' Lord Shiva himself gave this Pinak Dhanush (Siva Bow) to Lord Parshuram. Lord Parshuram used that Bow many times to kill the devil. Lord Parshuram later gave Shiva Dhanush to Devaraja, the ancestor of King Janaka. Shiva-Dhanush was safe with King Janak as his heritage. 

Sita Mata used to meditate on Lord Shiva and instinctively lifted the bow without force. Nobody had the ability to lift this giant bow. But Lord Rama picked it up and climbed it and broke it in one stroke.

A chaupaee  ( चौपाई ) comes in Ram Charitmanas :

|| उठहु राम भंजहु भव चापा, मेटहु तात जनक परितापा ||

||Uthhu Ram Bhanju bhava chap, Methu Tat Janak Paritap ||

Means - Seeing Vishwamitra Janakji extremely upset and disappointed, he says to Shri Ramji, O son Shri Ram, get up and "Proud Sagar Rupi" by breaking this bow, take Janak's agony. "

There is a word in this chaupaee ( चौपाई ), 'Arrogant', that to lift this bow, it was not the need of love but of love and illiteracy. It was the elusive and divine bow. He needed divine qualities to raise him. No egotist could pick him up.

Ravana was arrogant. He could have raised Mount Kailash but was not even move the bow. One went to Dhanush with the boast of an egoistic and powerful man. As Ravana used his bow to power, that bow became heavier and heavier. All the kings there were defeated by their power and arrogance.

When Shri Ram's turn came, he thought that it is not an ordinary bow but a bow of Lord Shiva. Then Lord Ram bow down in front of the Dhanush with meditating on Lord Shiva, Then he circled the fire and gave it full respect. The heaviness of the bow has automatically disappeared in front of Lord Shriram's modesty and tenderness, and he lovingly raised the bow and climbed his bow and broke the Bow itself. 

Indian (Bhartiya) Story Around Solar and Lunar Eclipses

While we know that both the Sun and the lunar eclipse are astronomical phenomena (even the Indian scientist Aryabhatta gave the correct scientific description for the eclipse in the fifth century), there are many popular stories about eclipses in many countries around the world.

The Story of The Sun, the Moon, and the demon Rahu and Ketu :

The story of eclipses in Hindu mythology dates back to the Samudra Manthan, as described in the Bhagwat Purana and Vishnu Purana. A sizable portion of the 35th chapter of the Bhagavata Purana is devoted to narrating a fable as to why Rahu and Ketu are responsible for all the solar and lunar eclipses.

Initially, at some stage, the gods and the demons were engaged in a great war over a very long period. Lord Visnu persuaded both the gods and demons for a temporary peace so that the ocean in its entirety could be churned and both devas and the asuras could benefit from what the sea. The great mountains did the work of churning. The gods, led by Indra, grabbed the tail of Vasuki (the king of snakes), while the Vali-led demons hold Vasuki's mouth (Who was used as a rope to churn the sea). As a result of this churn, the oldest extract was the terrible poison, Hawala. Lord Shiva consumed it voluntarily, but he held it in his throat, the reason why Shiva is also known as Nilakantha. Then out came Surabhi, Kaustubha, Parijata, Laksmi, the Moon, Varuni (the goddess of wine).

And finally emerged Dhanvantari (the originator of medicine) with a pot of Amrita. The demons ran away with nectar (Amritam). Lord Vishnu then transformed himself into Mohini (a beautiful woman), working in the interest of the gods. Astonished by her beauty, the demons offered the Amrit to Mohini and asked her to distribute the nectar amongst themselves as she was found to be an appropriate person. Then Mohini (Lord Vishnu) started distributing Amrit to the gods only. One of the demons named Swarbhanu disguised himself as a Gods and sat between the Sun and the Moon for a drink of the elixir. When Mohini (Lord Vishnu) came closer to Demon Swarbhanu to give him Amrit  The sun and the Moon revealed that Sharvabhanu is actually a demon. But By this time, however, Swarbhanu had drunk a drop of Amrit. Then Lord Vishnu immediately chopped off Demon Swarbhanu's head with his Sudarshan Chakra.

Since the demon Swarbhanu had already swallowed a drop of the nectar, his head and body became immortal. But both body and head were separated. The head, known as a separate entity called Rahu, and the detached body came to be known as Ketu.

Since then Rahu has not forgiven the Sun and the Moon. And this is the reason why, as has been depicted in the style of Pauranik description, every once in a while Rahu swallows the Sun or the Moon and being trunkless he cannot hold either the Sun or the Moon for long, and they come out safely after a while  and we witness the solar and the lunar eclipses. Since then, Rahu (Head) has become accepted as the eighth planet and Ketu (Body) is known as Dhumketu.

A solar eclipse finds mention in the Mahabharata, where Lord Krishna skillfully uses his knowledge of eclipse predictions to save the life of Arjuna, the great warrior. The accuracy with which eclipses have been predicted is incredible. In the Indian almanacs, the time at which an eclipse begins, at which it peaks, and when its ends have all been given. This entire period of an eclipse is called the parvakala.

Do and don't do during Solar or Lunar eclipses:

1. Worshipping or touching gods is strictly prohibited during this period. Even temple doors usually stay closed during eclipses. After the eclipse ends, the idols are supposed to be washed with Ganga water to purify them.

2. The rules dictate that no food should be cooked during the eclipse. Some people in India leave tulsi on cooked food items and cover them to keep them safe.

3. Sleeping, sexual intercourse, and makeup are also prohibited during the eclipse.

4.Pregnant women are considered to be especially susceptible to the evil forces during eclipses.

5. After the eclipse is over, Sprinkling of Ganga water or taking a dip in the Ganga is also supposed to wash away the evil done by the eclipse.

Birth of Ravana

Ravana was a king of Lanka (Currently Sri Lanka) and the chief antagonist in the epic Valmiki Ramayana. Ravana was born to great sage Vishrava (Vesamuni son of Pulastya ), and his wife, the Demon princess Kaikesi in the Treta Yuga.

In the present time, The local people of Bisrakh village claim their village to be the birthplace of the devil king Ravana. Bisrakh is a village that is located around 10 km away from Greater Noida, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The birthdate Of Ravana is estimated between 5224 BCE and 5104 BCE  (Around 7200-7100 years ago).

Birth Story Of Ravana

According to Valmiki Ramayana, There used to be a Demon named Shukesh. He had three demon sons named Malyavan, Mali, and Somali.

All three did severe penance of Lord Brahma and received the gift of being strong. After receiving a boon (वरदान) from Lord Brahma, the three brothers started harassing everyone. They also captured Lord Vishwakarma and forced him to build a beautiful palace for them. Then Lord Vishwakarma felt compelled to talk to these demons about the city of Lanka built by him.

In this way, the three demon brothers started living with their family in the city of Lanka. Of the three brothers, Malyavan had 7 sons, Somali had 10 sons and a daughter and Mali had 4 sons. The 21 sons of three brothers started doing much destruction around the world. They also started torturing the gods and sages. Seeing this, all the gods went to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva said that "these three demons cannot be killed by my hands, you go to Lord Shri Hari Vishnu". Now all the gods reached Lord Vishnu to ask for help. Lord Vishnu assured the sages and gods that he will soon destroy those demons.

After this, there was a war with Lord Vishnu. There was only Sumali left in that war and he left Lanka and went to Hades (paataal lok) with his daughter Kaikesi. Now Kubera (Son of Sage Vishrava and his first wife Ilaavida) established his kingdom in Lanka.

To save his Demon Dynasty, Sumali asked his daughter Kaikasi to go to Sage Vishrava (son of Pulastya and father of  Kubera)  and asked her to marry Sage Vishrava. Because Sumali thought "If the next generation will come from a sage, that child will be more powerful". Then Kaikasi immediately went to the sage Vishrava with her own marriage proposal. Sage Vishrava also agreed to marry her but he told Kaikasi "When you came, that was a wrong time, as per astrology it is an indication of a Demon will take birth, but our last child will be a Saint". Then Kaikesi said, "I don't think a sage-like you would make a demon". 

Sage Vishrava agreed to the wedding after hearing this. After that in the same way, Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Surpanakha and Vibhishana were born from Kaikai and Vishrava. In this way, Ravana and his Siblings were both Brahmin and Demon.

Gayatri Mantra - Benefits ,Origin, Pronunciation and Meaning

Gayatri Mantra is one of the most influencing mantras of Rigveda. This is the 10th mantras of 62nd sukta of 3rd Mandal of Rigveda.

Gayatri Mantra has exactly 24 Beejaksharas (Root Sounds Within it). These 24 sounds are split into 3 

lines with 8 sounds each. The power of a mantra lies in the arrangement of sounds in it.

Gayatri Mantra dispels negative mindsets that drain your energy repeatedly and moves us from darkness to Light. Gayatri Mantra is very beneficial for students (If they chant it every day). 

Origin of Gayatri Mantra 

The Origin of Gayatri Mantra has traced back to sage Vishwamitra's enlightenment. The first Chapter of Ramayana is called as Bala Kanda, it holds the life story of Sage Vishwamitra. Sargas 51 to 65 of Bala Kanda describe the life of Sage Vishwamitra and the struggles he had to face on his path of Enlightenment. It is narrated by King Janaka's (Father of Goddess Sita) minister Shatananda to Lord Ram.

Sage Vishwamitra was once a proud and valiant king of the Kusha Dynasty. As he was patrolling the country with an Akshauhini Sena (An Army of 21870 elephants, 21870 chariots, 65610 cavalry, and 109350-foot soldiers ) he came across Sage Vasishth's Aashram.

After enjoyed the hospitality of Vasishta, Vishwamitra was impressed with the divine cow named Shabala. That cow was the chief provider of sustenance in Vashishtha's Ashram.

Then Vishwamitra asked Sage Vasishta to trade that cow for enormous riches, But Sage Vasishta refused to do so. In his humiliation and in a rage to defeat Sage Vasishtha, he (Vishwamitra ) decided to become a Sage.

In his misguided journey towards enlightenment, Vishwamitra went through many obstacles. Vishwamitra repeatedly lost the energy he gathered and he tried many times to become a Brahma Rushi (Sage).

Finally, after many attempts, he was blessed with the knowledge of Brahma (Which pacified the need for revenge within him). Then Vishwamitra realized and offered the Gayatri Mantra to the entire world.

Meaning of Gayatri Mantra

The words in Gayatri Mantra, mention the brilliance of the God Sun, savitr, who is masculine is the source of life and It also denotes Devi Gayatri, the Mother Goddess, who is the embodiment of feminine energy, which gave birth to the cosmos. It also has a yantra, which holds three sounds corresponding to the three Goddesses, Kali, Laxmi, and Saraswati.

Few meanings of sounds from Gayatri Mantra- Om Is the sound of Divine. Bhu represents the Bhu Loka (Earth), Bhuvah means the Antariksha Loka (Space), Suvaha means Swarga Loka (The Higher plane of Existence). The word Loka means which we see. Dheemahi means we meditate upon. And so on. In simple language, the meaning of Gayatri Mantra is 

|| ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

"We Meditate upon the highest brilliance of the source of life, Which may propel our minds from the material world to subtler planes of Existence".

It is also true that chanting mantras in the wrong way over a long period of time will cause harm. However, that doesn't mean we have to restrict ourselves from learning or chanting the Mantra.

Om, Its Meaning and Importance

 ॐ / Om (AUM) this is the sound of the divine, that reverberates within the human body, and in the same way, across all creation.

OM is everything that exists. Om is the sound which is everything that manifests. We know that the most obvious signal of life within the body (any living being) is the breath.

The Sanskrit name for this is Prana Vayu (Prana means life).

Some say these are the sounds of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.
There is something which is created, and the creator is within the created (In simple language, the source of creation is within every single thing that is created). This life force exhibit itself, as the aspects of creation, maintenance and destruction within the human body.

The sounds attached with these are aa, uu and mmm. These three sounds aa, uu and mmm referred to as the basic sounds or the Universal sounds. These sounds are manifest inside the human body, just below the navel, at the chest and then above the throat. It starts from just beneath the navel and ends at the tip of the noes. These three sounds when uttered together, form the sound OM.

OM in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita

Lord Krishna says this many times in Bhagavad Gita.Such as,
In 7th chapter (Vijnana Yoga) he says, ||...Aham pranavah sarva vedeshu...||, that means I am Prana among all knowledge.
In the 9th chapter (Raja-Vidya-Raja-Guhya Yoga) he says, ||...Aham Vedyam pavitram Ommkarah...||, that means I am the pure sound of OM that is to be realized.
In the 10th chapter (Vibhuti-Vistara Yoga) he says, ||...Giramasmyekamaksharam...||, that means I'm the single undestroyable sound, which is Omkara.

OM in Different Culture

Many cultures have tried to express Om in their own nomenclature. Om is chanted as Amen in Christianity and Ameen in Islam.

Benefits of Chanting OM

Om calms the mind, It brings a lot of peace. It helps to control the anger by building up the tolerance level. Chanting Om also helps to bring in positive vibrations in our body. The vibration that occurs when chanting OM is very good for the spine. The sound produced while chanting Om is also said to be beneficial for the thyroid gland. By Chanting Om helps to stay youthful for longer. It detoxifies the body, clears out all the harmful toxins and keeps it fresh and clean.
Chanting Om also beneficial for depression, it helps us to have a stress-free mind and it relaxes us in and out.

Why Lord Shiva is Called as Dhabaleswara here !

Dhabaleswara temple is one of the most reputed temples in India & famous for Lord Mahadev (Shiva). The name Dhabaleswar, Dhabala means White and Eeshwar means, God. This temple is situated in the middle of the Mahanadi river. Bada Osha is one of the important festivals in Odisha that mainly celebrated in this temple. In the local Odia language, ' Bada' means 'big', and 'Osha' means 'Brata' or 'fasting'.

The Lord Dhabaleshwar temple is located on an island of the river Mahanadi. Odisha’s first ever foot hang bridge about 245 feet long is connecting the exotic island with mancheswar which is the major way to reach the temple. It is situated at a distance of 35 km from the city of Cuttack and 15 km from Bhubaneswar.

The Reason Behind why Lord Shiva is called Dhabaleshwar Here!

As per mythological information, Initially, there was an old temple of Lord Shiva. Once a villager promised to Load Shiva that if he will get a bull calf he will donate it to that temple, soon his wish fulfilled with a black bull calf. But after got that black bull calf, he broke his promise due to greed. After a few days, a thief stole that black bull calf from the village and hid in the temple to escape the wrath of the villagers. The thief fervently prayed to the presiding deity Lord Shiva to save himself. Lord Shiva appeared as a Sage in front of the villagers and asked for the reason for their anger, on being appraised of the situation, the Sage (Lord Shiva) told the villagers that the calf inside a temple isn’t a black bull calf but a white bull calf. Then the Sage brought the calf outside to dispel their doubts. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go. 

After the villagers were satisfied with his explanation, the Sage vanished, Meanwhile, the thief realized the presence of the lord and accepted his mistake, and vowed to serve the rest of his life in service of Lord Shiva.

The act of turning a black calf to white caused Lord Shiva to be also known as Dhabaleswara. 

Present Day Temple History

Though the temple architecture seems to be of recent origin, the artifacts show the creations of the 10th century AD.  The present-day temple was constructed by King Bir Kishore of Khurda around 1232 AD.

It is said that once  King Bir Kishore set out on a hunt. During the course of the hunt, he discovered the original temple which was in a derelict state and the king ordered the renovation of the temple.

Bada Osha

Here 'Bada Osha' is considered the most auspicious of festivals. The rituals of this Osha started from the beginning of Kartika Sukla Pratipada. i.e. the next day of Diwali Amavasya. Both men and women do fasts in this festival together. In other festivals, only one person used to fast, but it's joint fasting.

This Osha (Fasting) is observed during Kartika Month (end of October or in November). According to the Odia calendar, this festival is observed on the Kartika Sukla Chaturdasi (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Kartika Month). The day-long fast culminates in prayers and offerings to Lord Shiva and the prasad offered on this day is called  Gaja Pitha. This pitha is mainly white in color.

Nagarjuna Besa Of Shree Jagannath

Nagarjuna Besa One of the Important Besa among all 32 Besas of Shree Jagannath. Nagarjuna Besa is also called as Bira Besa & Parashuram Besa.

In the local Odia language, 'Besa' or 'Vesha' means 'Costume' or 'Dress' or 'Makeup'. There are two types of Besas observed for the deities in the Jagannath temple of Puri, Daily Besas and Besas during festive occasions. During the celebration of different festivals, the deities put on different types of ceremonial costumes according to the custom of the festival. Nagarjuna Besa is not a daily Besa but is observed during the festive occasion in the Kartika month.

When does Nagarjuna Besa happen!

This Besa is occasionally done in the month of Kartika (Oct-Nov) when Panchuka (last five days of Kartika month) observed as six days instead of five.

In detail, if there will be two Dwadashi tithis (2 Days), it is considered as one tithi (Day). First  Dwadashi morning considers as Suddha tithi (Day) and Second Dwadashi morning is mala tithi. Nagarjuna Besa happens on Dwadashi mala tithi.

Speciality of Nagarjuna Besa

The lords are dressed like warriors in Nagarjuna Besa. As per custom, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balabhadra are decorated with golden hands, Legs bids, and several weapons (16 different weapons made up of Gold)  including arrows, bows, Chakra (wheel), Hala (plough),  and Musala (mace) during Nagarjuna Besa. 

Why does Nagarjuna Besa happen?

As per mythological information, this Besa of Shree Jagannath, Shree Balabhadra, and Maa Subhadra is celebrated in commemoration of the killing of Sahashrarjuna by Parsuram or the battle between Arjuna and his son Nagarjuna.

When was the last time Nagarjuna Besa happened in the recent past?

The lords are dressed like warriors. In the recent past, this Besa was done on 16.11.1994. The previous four dates were 26.11.1993, 3.11.1968, 16.11.1967, and 26.11.1966.