LING PURANA: IMPORTANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS

Reading Ling Purana provides bhog and moksha to the reader and listeners. It is about Shiva's sermon to Brahma when Shiva entered the Agni Ling and preached about Dharma sidhhi through the stories of Agni Kalp.

THREAD ON SHAKTI PEETHAS

Previously we read that Daksh insulted the divine Garland given to him by Durvasa and as a result he behaved negatively towards Shiva and Sati.

It was due to this negativity that Sati jumped into the fire.

This angered Shiva. His anger had a terrible impact all around. Virbhadra, Bhadrakali embarked on a destruction spree. Brahma and Vishnu had to intervene and had to stop the destruction.

But then Shiva carried the burnt body of Sati on his shoulders and

started roaming over the entire universe.
It was to stop the further destruction that Vishnu aimed his arrow towards Sati's body in such a way that it fell down into pieces. Wherever the pieces fell, it became a Shakti Peeth. Below are written the place the piece fell and

the name that shakti acquired.

Varanasi - Gauri.

Naimisharanya - Lingdharini.

Prayag - Lalita.

Gandhmaadan - Kamuki.

South Mansarovar - Kumuda.

North Mansarovar - Vishwakama.

Gomant - Gomti.

Mandrachal - Kaamchaarini.

Chaitrarath - Madotkata.

Hastinapur - Jayanti.

Kanyakubj - Gauri.

Malyachal - Rambha.

Ekamra Peeth - Kirtimati.

Vishvapeeth - Vishveshwari.

pushkar - Parhuta.

Kedar - Sanmarg dayini.

Himvat prushth - Manda.

Gokarn- Bhadrakarnika.

Sthaneshwar - Bhavani.

Bilvak - Bilvpatrika.

Shrishail - Madhavi.

Rig Ved 1.40.6

For the purification, beautification and cleansing of our chitta(चित्त) and to make our inner self full of prem(Love), to make Stuti bhaavmay(भावमय) and rasmay(रसमय) stuti is a Prayer that takes us to Parmatma. Since Parmatma is omnipresent,

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our prayers are definitely heard. Parmatma is Chaitanya, present everywhere. In terms of Kaal or time he is always there. In terms of Desh or place he is everywhere and in terms of vastu or thing he is chaitanya. So if our prayers go to him, they are definitely heard.

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तमिद्वो॑चेमा वि॒दथे॑षु शं॒भुवं॒ मंत्रं॑ देवा अने॒हसं॑ ।
इ॒मां च॒ वाचं॑ प्रति॒हर्य॑थाव नरो॒ विश्वेद्वा॒मा वो॑ अश्नवत् ॥

Translation:

देवाः '- Oh the leader devtas!

तम इत् - This.

शंभुवम - Wishing for happiness.

अनेहसम् - Without any flaws.

मन्त्रम् - Of mantras.

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विदथेषु - In yagya.

वोचेन - Us.

नरः - Oh leaders!

इमाम् - This.

वाचन - Of speech.

च - If.

प्रतिहर्यथ - If you wish.

विश्वा इत् - All.

वामा - Beautiful words.

वः - Yours.

अश्नवत् - To get.

Explanation: Oh the leader devtas! We are offering mantras for

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happiness and destruction of difficulties. Oh leaders! If you wish for these mantras respectfully, then these Beautiful mantras are devoted to you.

Deep meaning:For the purification, beautification and cleansing of our chitta(चित्त) and to make our inner

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Rig Ved 1.40.2

Here marudgans are requested to help the yajmans at the time of war. Our actual war is with ignorance. We will become truly powerful and able bodied only after defeating ignorance. The yajmans request marudgans to make them effective rather than

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make them lacking in something. Let their nature and effectiveness be divine. Let their Praan and Pragya { knowledge} become capable. Mind will be enriched only when it is satisfied. Unsatisfied and sad mind cannot carry out the work of Paramarth.

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Only quiet and reclusive mind can think of Paramarth. Those who are unattached can only experience constant mind(स्थिर बुद्धि). The one with determined insight only can know their true self. This is what we wish Parmatma to grant us.

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त्वामिद्धि स॑हसस्पुत्र॒ मर्त्य॑ उपब्रू॒ते धने॑ हि॒ते ।
सु॒वीर्यं॑ मरुत॒ आ स्वश्व्यं॒ दधी॑त॒ यो व॑ आच॒के ॥

Translation:

सहस्त्रपुत्र - Oh the protector of many Waters!

मर्त्य: - Human.

हिते - Formidable for enemies.

धने - For wealth.

त्वाम - Yours.

इत - This.

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उप ब्रूते - Near.

हि - Is there.

मरुतः - Marudgan.

यः - Which.

व: - Yours.

आचके - To praise.

स्वश्यव्यम - With beautiful horses.

सुवीर्यम - With best valour.

आ दधित - To wear on all sides.

Explanation: Oh the doers of all courageous works! The men call out to you

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HOW TO DIMINISH THE ILL EFFECTS OF SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS OF SHANI IN YOUR HOROSCOPE / शनि देव की साढ़े साती का निवारण

The son of Raja Ajj was Dashrath ji from Raghukul. He was very friendly with Indradev. It was their routine to play together in the evenings at Alkapuri.

Indradev was informed that Shani or Shanaischar dev was going to pierce the Rohini Nakshatra. This was a great cause of worry for Indra.
He related this worry to Dashrath and elaborated that this deed will see the end of mankind if Shani dev is successful in his misdeed.

This would stop the rain. If there will be no rain there would be famine everywhere. People will die of hunger and thirst.

Dashrath ji immediately sprung into action. He attacked Shani dev. When Shani dev tried to dissuade Dashrath from war,

Dashrath took out his divine weapon to strike with warning Shani of its consequences of his actions.

Shani dev replied that he was satisfied with the courage of Dashrath ji who faced him otherwise people generally ran away from him knowing that if Shani glanced at them directly,

they would burn to ashes(Due to the curse given by her Wife as per Ganesh puran). He asked Dashrath to ask for a boon.

Dashrath said that on your particular day if people apply oil on his body, they would be protected till next day.

Hinduism is a minority religion in Punjab.

During the Khalistan movement, the minority Hindus and Jains were subjected to several attacks. Hindu and Jain temples were frequently vandalized and desecrated. This thread documents a few instances.

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Durgiana Mandir is one of the oldest temples of Amritsar. According to the regional Hindu tradition, the temple was built on the spot where Lava and Kusha bound Hanuman. The temple annually attracts millions of Hindus from all over the country.

Amristsar has a very ancient Hindu history.

According to the regional Hindu tradition recorded in the "Survey of Amritsar", Amritsar got its name from Amrit immersed by Lava and Kusha in a pond.

Durgiana Mandir was rebuilt in 1921.

It was used to house the Murtis of Vishnu and Durga which were thrown out from the Parikrama of Harmandir Sahib in 1905.

Because of its presence in Amritsar, it became a frequent target of radicals during the Khalistan movement.

In 1982, in what was a completely unprovoked attack, the Dal Khalsa "activists" threw a severed cow head inside Durgiana temple.

Knowledge & Bharat : Part V

The Curriculum of Vedic Education :
According to the Ancient Indian theory of education, the training of the mind & the process of thinking, are essential for the acquisition of knowledge.

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Vedic Education System delivered outstanding results.  These were an outcome of the context in which it functioned.  Understanding them is critical in the revival of such a system in modern times. 
The Shanthi Mantra spells out the context of the Vedic Education System.

It says:

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

“Aum. May we both (the guru and disciples) together be protected. May we both be nourished and enriched. May we both bring our hands together and work

with great energy, strength and enthusiasm from the space of powerfulness. May our study and learning together illuminate both with a sharp, absolute light of higher intelligence. So be it.”

The students started the recitation of the Vedic hymns in early hours of morning.

The chanting of Mantras had been evolved into the form of a fine art. Special attention was paid to the correct pronunciation of words, Pada or even letters. The Vedic knowledge was imparted by the Guru or the teacher to the pupil through regulated and prescribed pronunciation,

Ever heard of a temple where the statue of the Goddess was found in a field in 1936 after spending almost a millenia under the soil?And is worshipped as the Tri-Sakthi-Swaroopini?
No?
I shall narrate the story of Nidadavole Kota Satthema temple in West Godavari district, Andhra

Nidadavole is a sleepy little town in the district of West Godavari, located a few kilometres from the Godavari. Among other things, it is famous for its Gramadevatha and Kshetrapalika, the Goddess Kota Satthema

In the tenth century, Nidadavole was known as Nirvadhyapuram, and was under the rule of the Eastern Chalukyas. They were nominal feudatories of the Kakatiyas of Warangal. The local Sthalapurana indicates that the original temple was built by one king called Virabhadra.

This Virabhadra has been identified as the husband and royal regent of the Kakatiya Empress, Rani Rudramadevi who ruled Central Deccan during the period. The original stone figure of the Goddess was built within a fort during his reign.

The goddess was worshipped as the Shakti of the Fort. Over time the name entered the vernacular parlance as Kota (the telugu word for Fort) and Satthema (a local vulgarisation of the word Shakti).

Don't act smart with Shankaracharya, you will get roasted...

This is a very interesting story from ShankarDigvijaya where Mandan Mishra tries to insult Shankaracharya but gets insulted in return.

The fun lies in the twisting of meanings of Sanskrit words by Shankaracharya.I will try my best to translate while preserving the real meaning.

Shankaracharya went to house of Mandan Mishra to debate with him, but he found the door locked so he took alternate way and went in

The conversation that followed went somewhat like this...

On seeing Shankaracharya

Mandan(angrily)- From where did you come, you bald fellow?

Shankar - I am bald till neck.

(He said कुतो मुण्ड्य Shankar took meaning as, 'How far are you shaven?' so he replied till neck. )

Mandan - I did not ask this, I asked your way

Shankar - Then what did the way reply?

(Mandan ment "I asked about your way" (From where did you come?) Shankar twisted meaning as 'I asked your way' so he said "What did the way reply?")

Mandan (frustrated) - It said, your mother is bald.

Shankar - But you asked it, it must be talking about your mother not mine.

Animal Sacrifice in Yajñas

Read this thread to know how animal sacrifice got started in Yajñas and what Rishis thought about it.

Once Upon a time, Great and Powerful Indra decided to do Yajña, there were large scale preparations, Rishis were chanting mantras, then Indra decided to SIay animals there

Rishis stopped him, Rishis clearly told him that There is NO mention of K!lling animals in Yajñas in shastras,

K!lling animals in Yajñas is against Dharma, hence please allow Brahmins to perform it according to shastras

Rishis said, Yajña must be done with seeds, this is what Dharma says.
But Imdra had a Big ego, he refused to follow Dharma

So they went to King Vasu and asked him, who is correct, King lied that you can do yajña with anything, because if this he was punished.

(Mahabharata AshwamedhikaParva adhyay 91)