Bhagwan Shri Rama (Continued)

Shri Rama Temples

There are several holy sites in Ayodhya where lord Rama was born and later ruled as king. The fort of Ramkot is said to be Rama’s birthplace attracting devotees during Ram Navami from all over. The ‘Treta ke Thakur’ temple marks the place where Rama conducted the sacrifice, ‘Ashwamedha Yajnya’ which led him to learn more about his sons Luv and Kush. The Hanuman Garhi is the Hanuman temple where Hanuman is said to have lived and protected the birthplace of Ram.

The town of Vaduvur, Tamil Nadu attracts worshippers to the Sri Kothandaramaswamy temple and is known as Ayodhya of the south. Legend has it that Shri Rama lived here during his exile and when before leaving he gifted to the local sages a sketch of his divine form so that Rama’s statue based on this is worshipped here. The temple town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu is a holy pilgrimage site and has the famous Ramaswamy temple depicting not only paintings of Ramayana but also offering prayers to Hanuman.Other temples such as the Chaturbhuja Ramaswami temple, the Darbhasayana Seturama temple in Tamil Nadu, the Bhadrachalam Ram temple in Adhra Pradesh, Thiruvangad temple in Kerala, the Kondandaramaswami temple in Karnatak are all popular in south india. Several other deities as well as sages who propagated various Hindu schools of thought have a place of honour in these towns.

The holy city of Varanasi in the north offers temples and prayer sthan for devotees of all deities. Here the Tulsi Manas temple dedicated to lord Rama has the epic Ramayana as composed by saint Tulsidas inscribed on the temple walls. This is the location where the saint is said to have lived and written the ‘Ramayana’. In this epic most of the years of exile of Ram, Sita and Lakshman spent in the ‘Dandakaranya forest’, in Panchavati now in the western state of Maharashtra, India are described. The grand ‘Kalaram temple’ in Panchavati is so named because the idol is made out of black stone. 

Prayers

Rama Raksha mantram: Translated by P.R.Ramachander http://stotraratna.sathyasaibababrotherhood.org/ra11.htm

Atadh Dhyanam

Dhyayed Ajanu bahum drutha sara danusham badha padmasanastham,

Peetham vaso avasanam nava kamala dala spardhi nethram, prasannam,

Vamangaruda  Sita mukha kamala milalochanam neeradhabham,

Danalangara deeptham datha muru jada mandalam ramachandram.

Iti Dhyanam

Charitham Raghu nadasya shatha koti pravistharam,

Yekaikamaksharam pumsam maha pathaka nasanam.      

Dhyathwa neelolpala shyamam Ramam Rajeevalochanam,

Janaki Lakshmano petham jada makuta manditham,

Sasi thoona dhanur bahu panim nakthancharaanthakam,

Swa leelaya jagathrathum avirbhoottham ajam vibhum,

Rama raksham padeth pragna papagneem sarva kamadham.                                              

Siro may Raghava pathu, phalam dasarathathmaja,

Kousalyeyo drusou pathu , viswamithra priya sruthi.                                                             

Granam pathu makhathrath, Mukham soumithri vathsala,

Jihwam Vidhyanidhi pathu, kandam Bharathavanditha,                                                            

Skandou divyayudha pathu, bhujowbhagnea sakarmukha.                                                       

Karou Sithapathi pathu , Hrudayam Jamadagnyajith.                                                            

Madhyam padu Khara dwamsi, Nabhim Jambhavadasrya,

Sugreevesa kateem pathu, sakthithini Hanumath prabhu.                                                     

Ooru Raghoothama pathuraksha kulavinasa kruth,

Januni Sethu kruth padu , Janghe dasamukhandaka,                                                             

Padou Vibheeshanasreedha, pathu Ramokhilam vapu.  

Yetham Rama balopethaam rakshaam ya sukruthee padeth.

Sa chirayu sukhee puthree vijayee vinayee bhaveth

Patala bhoothala vyoma charina Chathmacharina,

Na drushtumapi shakthasthe rakshitham Ramanamabhi

Ramethi, Ramabhadrethi Ramachandrethi yaa smaran,

Naro na lipyathe Papair bukthim mukthincha vindathi.

Jagajaithrakamanthrena Ramanamnabhirakshitham,

Ya kande dharayethasya karastha sava sidhaya. 

Vajra panjara namedham yo Rama kavacham smareth,

Aavyahathagna sarvathra labhathe jaya Mangalam.

Aadishtavan yada swapne Ramaraksham imama hara,

Thadha likhithavan pratha prabudho budhakousika.                                                

Aarama kalpa vrukshanam, virama sakalapadam,

Abhiramassthrilokanam , Rama sriman na prabhu.

Tharunou roopa sampannou , sukumarou Maha balou,

Pundareeka visalakshou Cheerakrushna jinambarou,

Phala moolasinou danthou thapasou brahmachrinou,

Puthrou dasarathasyathou bratharou Ramalakshmanou,

Saranya sarva  sathwanam sreshtou sarva danushmatham,

Raksha kula nihanthou traayetham no raghothamou.                                          

Aatha sajja danusha vishu sprusa,

Vakshaya suga nishanga sanginou,

Rakshanaya mama Ramalakshmanaavagratha,

Padhi sadaiva gachathaam.                                                                                 

Sanadha Kavachee Gadgi chapa bana dharo yuva,

Gachan manoradhosmakam Rama pathu sa Lakshmana.                                    

Ramo Dasaradhi sooroLakshmanucharo balee,

Kakustha purusha poorna Kousalyayo Raghothama,

Vedantha vedhyo yagnesa purana purushothama,

Janaki vallabha sreeman  aprameya parakrama,

Ithyethani japan nithyam thad bhaktha sradhayanvitha,

Aswamedhadhikam punyam samprapnothi na samsaya.                          

Ramam doorvadala shyamam padmaksham peetha vasasam,

Sthuvanthi namabhir divyai  na they samsarino nara.                                   

Ramam Lakshmana poorvajam Raghuvaram Seethapathim Sundaram,

Kakustham karunarnavam Guna nidhim vipra priyam dharmikam,

Rajendram sathya sandham Dasaratha thanayamShyamalamSanthamoorthim,

Vande LOkabhiramam. Raghukula thilakam Raghavam Ravanarim.                           

Ramaya ramabhadraya ramachandraya Vedhase,

Raghu nadhaya nadhaya Seethaya pathae nama.                                                    

Sri Rama Rama Raghu nandana Rama Rama,

Sri Rama Rama Bharathagraja Rama Rama,

Sri Rama Rama rana karkasa Rama Rama Rama,

Sri Ramachandra saranam bhava Rama Rama.      

Sri Ramachandra charanou manasa smarami,

Sri Ramachandra charanou vachasa grunami,

Sri Ramachandra charanou sirasa namami,

Sri Ramachandra charanou saranam prapadhye.     

Matha Ramo, math pitha Ramachandra,

Swami Ramo, math sakha Ramachandra,

Sarvaswam may Ramachandro dayalu,

Na anyam naiva jane na jane.                                                                            

Dakshine Lakshmano, yasye vame cha Janakathmaja,

Puratho Maruthir yasya tham vande Raghunandanam.                                         

Lokabhiramam rana ranga dheeram rajheeva nethram Raghuvamsa nadham,

Karunya roopamkarunakaram tham Sri Ramachandram Saranam prapadhye.       

Mano javam, maruda thulya vegam,

Jithendriyam buddhi matham varishtam,

Vatha atmajam vanara yudha mukhyam,

Sree Rama dootham sharanam prapadhye

Koojantham Rama Ramethi maduram madsuraksharam,

Aaroohya kavitha shakhaam vande Valmiki kokilam.                                              

Apadam apa hantharam datharam dana sarva sampadam,

Lokabhiramam Sriramam bhooyo bhooyo namamyaham.                                        

Bharjanam bhava bheejanamarjanam sukhasampadam,

Tharjanam yama dhoothanam rama ramethi garjanam.                                              

Ramo rajamani sada vijayathe ramam ramesam bhaje,

Ramenabhihatha nisachara chamoo Ramaya thasmai nama,

Ramannasthi parayanam paratharam Ramasya dasosmyaham,

Rame chitha laya sada bhavthu may bho Rama mamudhara.                                      

Sri Rama Rama ramethi reme rame manorame,

Sahasra nama thathulyam rama nama varanane                                                         

Ithi shri Budha KOushika virachitham shri  Rama Raksha stotram sampoornam

 Shri Sita Ramchandrahar  panamasthu

 -------------

Bhagwan Shri Rama: Avatar of Lord Vishnu

Sri Rama is considered to be the perfect avatar of Lord Vishnu also known as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ (the perfect human) who sets an example for all humans regarding how to follow their ‘Dharma’ with his unblemished character, virtue, righteousness, strength, wisdom and values. The story of how Lord Rama killed the evil demon Ravana, rescued his wife Sita who is considered an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, and ruled for thousands of years in the ‘Treta Yuga’ forms the epic ‘Ramayana’.

Rama was the eldest son of King Dashratha in Ayodhya born after sacrificial prayers and stories abound of how he brought joy and happiness as a child to all the royal family and beyond becoming everyone’s favourite. The valour of Shri Ram is depicted in his assistance as a young prince to Sage Vishwamitra in killing the demons Mareecha and Subahu and their mother Taatika who were poisoning the life of the sages. He won over the pious pure beautiful princess Sita’s hand in marriage by winning the kings competition testing their strength on Shiva’s bow and his charming courteous manners won hearts too. Despite being the rightful heir to the kingdom of Ayodhya, Rama obediently, willingly and cheerfully gave up the throne accepting instead a fourteen year exile to keep his father’s word as given to Dashratha’s other wife Kaikeyi. Rama made this sacrifice with utmost humility and accepted his future as did Sita who voluntarily decided to accompany him and is also considered a role model in her ways and virtues. 

In exile, when Sita was abducted by the demon Ravana ruling Lanka, Rama with the help of his brother Lakshmana and his most faithful devotee Hanuman went after him and after a long battle defeated and killed Ravana displaying his fearlessness, nobility and divinity throughout the journey. He returned from exile to rule justly and fairly for thousands of years and this golden period of his rule, ‘Ram Rajya’ is said to be most prosperous and fulfilling for his people who lived happily and honestly under his reign. Lord Rama thus fulfilled his duty for which he had incarnated on earth His strength of character was tested when questions were raised by his subjects about the virtue of his rescued wife Sita upon which he prioritised his people so that Sita was separated from her husband and raised their two sons on her own. The divine story of Ramayan provides inspiration and lessons to Hindus till date and devotees ardently worship Ram and Sita as the incarnations of Vishnu and Lakshmi together as SiyaRam along with Lord Rama’s faithful brother, Lakshman and greatest devotee, Hanuman. Ram and Lakshman are often depicted with their bows, Ram with Sita by his side are both showering blessings on devotees with their hands and Hanuman is bowed in prayer to the God Avatar. 

Festivals

Ram Navami is the festival celebrating birth of Sri Ram usually occurring in March/April. The festivities include a chariot procession depicting the life of Lord Rama celebrating with fanfare the golden rule of Rama. The nine day period prior to Ram Navami is celebrated as ‘Chaitra Navaratri’ marking the beginning of the spring festival. Devotees also celebrate the wedding of Rama and Sita marking the festive occasion.

Gudi Padwa

The first day of the Chaitra Navaratri is celebrated as ‘Gudi Padwa’ also known as ‘Ugadi’ considered to be a very auspicious day and considered the beginning of the New Year in some Indian regions. On this day worshippers set up a ‘Gudi’ made up of a stick dressed up in a saree covered with a pot which is a homemade symbol to keep out evil and bring good fortune into the home as some people believe this day marks the end of Lord Rama’s exile while others consider it to flag the time of the creation of the universe.  

Dussera and Diwali

The largest celebration of the killing of the ten headed demon Ravana at the hands of Lord Rama to mark victory of good over evil is on Dussera day at the end of ‘Sharad Navaratri’ which marks beginning of autumn and occurs in the latter part of the year around October. Dussera is also celebrated as ‘Vijaya Dashmi’ when Rama also used his divine power and also strength bestowed by the Shakti Devi to defeat and destroy Ravana. During the nine nights of Navaratri until Dussera day, community theatre enacts the various aspects of Rama’s life journey depicting his many qualities to remind and inspire people with his heroic tales. This is known as ‘Ramlila’. Lord Rama is said to have returned to his kingdom for his crowning ceremony in about three weeks or so after Dussera day. All his subjects welcomed him decorating and lighting up their homes with lights to celebrate his return and his victory and this celebration forms part of the Diwali festival that is the festival of lights.

Hanuman Jayanti

The birth anniversary of Hanuman (the most ardent devotee of Lord Rama who played a central part in the epic Ramayana with his divine powers and ape like lineage) is celebrated also in the Chaitra month around March/April. Hanuman is considered to be very powerful and prayers to Hanuman the son of wind God are said to provide worshippers the same strength and courage. He is also known and worshipped as ‘Maruti’, ‘Bajrangbali’, ‘Mahavir’, ‘Anjaneyu’ and some other names describing him as a saviour of people when they are in trouble.  

Bhagwan Shri Krishna (Continued)

Shri Krishna Temples 

The beautiful ancient temple at Dwarka is considered to be one of the four most holy pilgrimage sites of India the other three being Badrinath, Puri and Rameshwaram Lord Krishna is worshipped here as ‘Dwarkadheesh’ (king of Dwarka) and this temple is predated by the original temple which was said to be built in the same place as where King Krishna lived. Archaeological studies have discovered the artefacts giving clues to the magnificent Dwarka Kingdom where years ago Sri Krishna ruled and which submerged in the ocean afterwards. The main deity made of black stone depicts Krishna carry the Sudarshan Chakra, a conch, a mace and a lotus in his four arms.

The Krishna temple at Guruvayur in Kerala is the most popular in south India where some ‘tantrik’ forms of worship are also followed to please the deity. This is known as the ‘Dwarka of Dakshin’. The temple in Udipi, Karnataka is known as ‘Krishna Math’ where Krishna is said to answer the prayers of all pious devotees regardless of their identity. In Tamil Nadu, the Rajagopalaswamy temple celebrates its annual fair and festivities known as ‘Panguni Thiruvizha’ also dedicated to Sri Krishna.

Krishna grew up in Vrindavan near Mathura and hence a host of beautiful temples are in this region. The Madan Mohan/Madan Gopala temple is situated on the banks of the Yamuna River is one of the four said to be built during the reign of King Akbar. The Bankey Bihari Temple is said to have been built by Swami Haridas referring to Krishna as ‘Van ke Vihari’. The ‘Prem Mandir’ also provides information about ‘Sanatan Dharma’ for devotees. The ancient Radha Raman temple is known for the beautifully carved architecture and self manifested deity, the Govinda Dev Temple for its seven-story structure, with an altar of marble, silver and gold. The Jugal Kishore temple, Gokulananda Mandir, Radha Damodara temple and the Krishna Balaram Mandir by ISKCON are all worth a visit to name but a few.

The Hare Krishna ISKCON movement based on the Bhakti Marg promoted by ‘Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ promotes the teachings in the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ by Sri Krishna addressed to Arjuna during the Mahabharata war in Kurukshetra. This organization founded by ‘Srila Prabhupada’ is internationally renowned and has contributed enormously to the growth of Krishna consciousness all over the world. 

Bhagwan Shri Krishna: Avatar of Lord Vishnu

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevãya 

 Krishna is considered to be the eighth Avatar of Lord Vishnu who incarnated on earth in the ‘Dwapara Yuga’ thus depicted as wearing yellow garments, with a dark skin and a peacock feather in his crown, playing the flute or herding cows or as the supreme God holding his weapon the ‘Sudarshana Chakra’. Krishna rid the kingdom of Mathura of his evil uncle Kamsa in his youth and thereafter joined the ‘Pandavas’ to rid the evil Kauravas and their leader ‘Duryodhana’ in the epic Mahabharata. 

Kamsa was a powerful evil king who was prophesised to die at the hands of his sister Devki and Vasudev’s eighth son. He therefore imprisoned them and successfully killed their first six children. The seventh, ‘Balaram’ who is considered to be also an avatar of Vishnu escaped however because he was transferred from his mothers womb as the story goes. Vasudev was helped by divine powers to protect his eighth son ‘Krishna’ by carrying him across the flooded Yamuna River to exchange with the daughter of cowherd ‘Nand’ in ‘Brindavan’ village. Krishna thus grew up as the son of Nand and Yashoda.

Stories abound of his miracles and mischief even in young age displayed whilst growing up herding cows, stealing his favourite butter and teasing the local milkmaids (‘Gopis’). The powers and stories of Sri Krishna led to him being worshipped by various names such as Murlidhara (as mesmerizingly playing his flute), Govinda/Gopala (protector of cows), Keshava (the longhaired killer of the kesi demon-horse sent by Kamsa), Murari (he who killed the demon Mora), Madhusudan (destroyer of demonic Madhu), Bihari (for his playful episodes with the gopis which are popularly known as ‘ras leela’). Krishna is famously worshipped as the saviour of his people from the wrath of Indra who showered them with incessant rain whereupon Krishna held up the ‘Govardhan Hill’ for protection of all and came to be known as ‘Govardhan Giridhari’. As a young boy Krishna also demonstrated his supreme powers when he fought with the poisonous snake ‘Kaliya’ polluting river Yamuna and rid the villagers of their fear of Kaliya by his divine dance on Kaaliya’s head. 

Krishna’s playful love for the gopi Radha is immortalized as an example for loving relationships among couples ever since so that Krishna and Radha are worshipped together as avatars of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Krishna ruled over the Kingdom of Dwarka as leader of the Yadav dynasty. When the war of Mahabharata threatened, Krishna decided to help his cousins the Pandavas as ‘Parthasarthi’ (charioteer of prince Arjuna in the war at Kurukshetra). Lord Krishna answers prayers also as Hari (who rids us of our sins if we pray sincerely to the lord) and Mukunda (who can free mankind from all problems and all ties)

Festivals

Krishna Janmashtami is a celebration of Krishna’s birthday usually in the month of August or September (Shravana) with decoration of murtis of ‘Bal Krishna’ in a baby swing and depictions of motherly love of Yashoda for Krishna as well as his childhood life among Gopis and cows. As Krishna was very fond of butter and other dairy products, these are used to prepare sweets and delicacies as families gather together in households or communities to celebrate until midnight when Krishna was said to be born. At this time people wish each other and partake the food in the form of ‘Prasad’. This day is also known as Krishna Jayanti or Gokulashtami. Krishna’s love for stealing butter/ghee is celebrated also on this day through the custom of ‘Dahi Handi’. A huge human pyramid is formed by youngsters in the community in order to reach up to the pot of delicious butter hanging high up in the sky and when the pot breaks, all in the community rejoice in this recreation of Bal Krishna’s games. The narrations and enactment of Ras Leela in temples etc. is another way for devotees to celebrate marking Krishna’s love whilst playing the flute and dancing with Gopis. 

Lord Vishnu and Devi Lakshmi (Continued)

Festivals

Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated with greatest fanfare and devotion in the Hindu faith over a period of five days. On the first day of Dhanteras, thanks are offered for prosperity and wealth as well as good health remembering ‘Dhanvantari’ the physician of the Devas who emerged during the ‘Samudramanthan’ (churning of the ocean). The second day ‘Choti Diwali’ celebrates the victory of lord Krishna (as an avatar of Vishnu) over Narakasura (a demon). In south India this is the main day of Diwali celebrating the victory of good over evil. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on the third day of Lakshmi Puja and little diyas light up entire neighbourhoods to remove darkness of ignorance and evil and bring in instead a wealth of knowledge, health and prosperity. Goddess Kali is worshipped in some regions on this day for destroying the evil ‘Raktavija’. 

The fourth day is celebrated as ‘Annakoot’ where various different food delicacies are prepared as an offering to the Gods (shaped like the Govardhan hill which Krishna is supposed to have lifted to protect his fellow villagers) and then distributed among devotees. It is the day of ‘Padwa’ celebrating new beginnings especially renewing love between husband and wife. This day also celebrates the victory of Vishnu as an avatar Vamana over Bali, the kind of the Asuras. The last day is ‘Bhai Duj’ meant for strengthening the love between brothers and sisters.  Some regions start celebrating from one day prior on ‘Vasu Baras’ day devoting prominence to cow and its calf focussing on motherly love. The Diwali festival has some origins as a harvest festival from very ancient times and cattle are revered by farmers also being seen as close to Goddess Lakshmi. Diwali is considered to be most prominent among most Hindus.

After Diwali, the celebration of Tulsi-Vivah (marriage of tulsi plant to Vishnu in another form) takes place. Kojagiri Poornima or Sharad Purnima is another festival worshipping Devi Lakshmi, with roots in the celebrations of the harvest season where the faithful stay up drinking milk whilst soaking in the healing powers of the full moon at night. During Ganeshotsav, Mahalakshmi Puja is performed in some households (also known as Gauri puja) where Devi Mahalakshmi is considered to come to visit her mother’s family as the host household and returns after three days to her husband. Gauri is another name for goddess Parvati. Fasting in prayer to the goddess is also known as ‘Mahalakshmi vrata’ or ‘Varalakshmi Vrata’

Temples

The Mahalakshmi temples in Mumbai, Kolhapur are very popular among worshippers as is the LakshmiNarayan temple in Delhi also known as the Birla Mandir. A very ancient Lakshmi Devi temple is located in a village in Hassan district of Karnataka state depicting the devotion of worshippers to Lakshmi over several ages.

Badrinath temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is one of the oldest most holy temples for devotees since puranic times, part of the four famous pilgrimage sites in north, east, south and west of India known as ‘Char Dham’ (Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameshwaram, Puri). The ‘chota char dham’ made up of four pilgrimage sites in the foothills of the Himalayas also includes Badrinath along with Kedarnath (dedicated to lord Shiva), Gangotri (worshipping Goddess river Ganga) and Yamunotri (worshipping Goddess river Yamuna)

Perumal

There are 108 temples (Divya Desam), dedicated to God Vishnu known as ‘Perumal’, which are especially revered among South Indians due to their prominence in Tamil literature as created by twelve saints considered to be the greatest devotees of Vishnu (Azhvars). 105 of these temples are in India, majority being in south India whilst one is in Nepal and two are considered to be outside of this world in the heavenly world. The more prominent temples of these are the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai, the Thiruvanthipuram temple in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu and the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.

Ranganathaswamy representing Lord Vishnu is said to have one of the eight self-manifested shrines located at Srirangam is one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the South.

Lord Vishnu as Padmanabh is worshipped at the temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The temple houses the idol of Vishnu in reclining position and Lakshmi is represented as Sridevi and Bhudevi. This temple is said to be the richest in India due to hidden treasures kept safe for centuries inside locked chambers of the temple. The other richest temple is at Tirupati worshipping Vishnu in the form of lord Venkateswara.

Venkateswara is a form of lord Vishnu worshipped mainly among south Indians. Vishnu is said to have visited the earth when he was separated from Devi Lakshmi. She went away to live in Kolhapur after she couldn’t bear the treatment of her husband by sage Bhrigu who had visited them and deliberately provoked and mistreated her lord to test the greatness of Vishnu. After Lakshmi’s departure Vishnu lived and meditated at the Venkata Hill as Srinivasa or Venkateswara and thus his idol came to be worshipped in this region. Srinivasa is said to have also married princess Padmavati as per Vishnu’s promise to her in a previous birth at this time. The Venkateswara temple at Tirupati is today the most popular temple in south India for devotees and pilgrims who gather daily in thousands to seek blessings from lord Balaji. Padmavati , the wife of Venkateswara is worshipped as ‘Alamelu Manga’ and her temple is nearby.

Lord Jagannath is said to be a form of Vishnu or Krishna worshipped in Orissa, India and the main deity of the temple in Puri which is one of the four most important pilgrimage sites of India (Char Dham). Alongside the principle deity are Balabhadra (or Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna and also considered a form of Lord Vishnu himself) and Devi Subhadra (the half sister of lord Krishna) who are also worshipped in the temple. Some people believe that the origins of Jagannath as a deity are not only in Hinduism but also some local tribal cultures while others believe him to be a form of Shiva as Bhairava. The Jagannath Ratha yatra (chariot festival) in Puri is very famous celebrated as a procession of the three deitites who reside in the nearby Gundicha temple and return after nine days.  Jagannath means ‘lord of the universe’. 

Lord Vishnu and Devi Lakshmi

Om Namo Narayanaya Namah (Om and salutations to Lord Vishnu)

Om Shri Mahalakshmiyei Namah (Om and salutations to Shri Lakshmi, the Great One)

Vishnu is the preserver of creation. When the Dharma of the world is disturbed, Vishnu incarnates as an ‘avatar’ to restore balance and rid the world of that evil. He is the only God of the trinity who never grants any boons to demons (asuras) or evil people.  Ten incarnations (Dashavatara) of lord Vishnu are most prominent. These are Matsya (fish to protect vedas), Kurma (turtle to help churn the ocean), Varaha (Boar to save the earth), Narasimha (half lion half human to save Prahlad), Vamana (dwarf that crushes king Bali’s ego), Parashurama (powerful sage with an axe), Lord Rama (to destroy demon Ravan and embody virtue, incarnated in the Treta Yuga), Balarama (Krishna’s elder brother), Lord Krishna (incarnated in the Dwapara Yuga to assist the Pandavas win the war in Mahabharata and gave wisdom to the people in the Bhagwad Gita), Kalki (the tenth Avatar of Vishnu which is yet to incarnate on earth in the currently on going Kali Yuga). Vishnu is known by thousand other names (‘Sahasranamah’) such as Narayan, Hari, Mukunda, Padmanabha, Madhusudhana, Janardhana, Pradyumna, Anirudha and many more.

Bhagwan Vishnu is said to be living in ‘vaikunth’ (heaven). His idol or image is often depicted as resting on the ocean (ksheer sagar), sitting upon a huge serpent (Sheshnag) holding his discuss (like a rising sun), a conch symbolizing five elements, a mace or bow representing primeval power and a lotus denoting causal power. The divine vehicle is the eagle (Garud). By his side is his wife, Goddess Lakshmi. 

Devi Lakshmi

is worshipped as the goddess of prosperity who brings riches and wealth to her devotees and protects them from material as well as spiritual misfortunes showering motherly love responding to the devotion (bhakti) of her worshippers.  

Lakshmi is said to have emerged from the ocean when the devas and asuras (demons) churned it to find amrit (immortalizing nectar).  She holds a lotus symbolizing purity, the amrit kalash (pot of nectar) representing her power to grant long immortal life, and a blessing along with a bilwa fruit (to give fruit to devotees as per their actions). In mythology the moon is said to be Lakshmi’s brother. When Lakshmi travels with Vishnu it is on his vehicle, the Garuda (eagle), otherwise her vehicle is the owl.  Due to her affinity to the lotus flower, she is also known by names such as Padmasundari, Padmapriya.

She is also worshipped as Mahalakshmi, Deepalakshmi. Mahalakshmi presides over the different aspects of wealth that humans can aspire to including gold, gems, valuables, grains but also fame, knowledge, strength, beauty, good health, long life and good offspring. Ashta Lakshmi is the form of the Devi with power to grant eight forms of wealth. Lakshmi is said to have incarnated as Vishnu’s wife whenever he took a human avatar to rid the world of evil. Together their avatars are known as RadheSham, SitaRam, LakshmiNarayan, Srinivas-Srilakshmi, Kannan-Padmavati. Mahalakshmi is worshipped in several other forms such as Ambabai, the patron goddess of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, or as Sridevi/Bhudevi in south India.

Stories

When the king of the Gods, Indra disrespected sage Durvasa by accepting a gift of fragrant flowers from the sage and then garlanding his elephant Airavat with it, he was cursed to lose all his powers and all the Devas suffered the same curse. Thus the demons destroyed Indra’s army and the Devas looked for help from Brahma and Vishnu. Upon Vishnu’s suggestion, they finally joined forces with the demons themselves to undertake the mammoth task of churning the ocean in order to find ‘amrit’ the elixir of immortality. It was agreed that the mountain ‘Mandar’ would be used as a churner and the serpent god ‘Vasuki’ would function as the rope. As the mountain keeps slipping into the ocean, Vishnu takes the avatar of a giant turtle to hold the mountain on its back while it is being used for the churning.

The churning bears various gifts which are shared by the gods and the demons such as the celestial cow ‘Kamadhenu’ given to the sages, the wish fulfilling tree ‘Kalpavriksha’ planted in heaven, the elephant ‘Airavat’ accepted by Indra and the white horse Uchaisrava to Bali, king of demons. The precious jewel Kaustubh is accepted by lord Vishnu. The deadly poison ‘halahal’ which came out first was swallowed by lord Shiva to save the universe from destruction and stored in his throat which resulted in him being called ‘Neelkanth’. The goddess of wine, Sura was given to Indra, The goddess of fortune Lakshmi emerged from the ocean too and chose to marry Vishnu. She emerged extremely beautiful and mesmerized all the gods and demons, finally garlanding lord Vishnu and thus choosing to be lord Vishnu’s companion.

Dhanvantri, physician for the gods emerged with the pot of ‘amrit’ which had been previously agreed to share equally between Devas and Asuras. But the Asuras immediately snatched the pot and refused to share it. Lord Vishnu then took the form of an enchanting maiden, ‘Mohini’ and cast the spell of her beauty upon all the demons so that they willingly gave away the amrit to Mohini. Lord Vishnu in the form of Mohini distributed all the amrit amongst the Gods and gave none to the demons. Their powers thus restored, the Gods regained their kingdom from the demons.

Another story is of Lakshmi born to the sage Bhrigu and Khyaati married Vishnu and made the Ksheersagara (ocean) her home as per the Vishnu Purana. Sometimes she is depicted in two forms as Bhudevi (mother earth) and Sridevi (goddess of wealth and knowledge) with lord Vishnu.

Brahma Deva and Saraswati Devi (Continued)

TEMPLES

Of the very few temples that exist with Brahma as the main deity, the main temple is at Pushkar, Rajasthan considered to be about two thousand years old. It revers Brahma and Gayatri Devi and during the festival of ‘Kartik Poornima’, a large number of worshippers gather at this temple to pray to Brahma. 

The temple of Lord Brahma in Carambolim, Goa  also known as Brmhakarmali houses a very ancient idol sculpted in stone with a beard on the front facing head resembling sages and the human progeny.  This is said to be dated from the 11^th century. Uttamar Kovil near Srirangam, Tamil Nadu is another famous temple.  In Khedbrahma, Gujarat is a temple of Brahma considered to be founded in the 11th or 12th century situated in a location steeped in religious history and significance.

A most famous temple of goddess Saraswati is located in Basara, Andhra Pradesh. In the Puranic ages it is said that Sage Vyasa settled on banks of river Godawari and made the idol of Saraswati out of sand as well as two other goddesses Lakshmi and Shakti. This gave him the inspiration to write some say the Mahabharata, while others say the Purana itself. Children go to this temple to get their books and tools for gaining knowledge blessed by Devi Saraswati as the goddess of learning.

The Saraswati temples in in Srungeri, Karnataka and Kuthanur, Tamil Nadu are also ancient popular temples. The Sharadamba Temple at Shrungeri  was founded by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Later the Vijayanagara rulers and Sri Vidyaranya  replaced the original sandalwood murti with a gold idol of Sri Shardamba in the 14th century. In Koothanur, the poet Ottakoothar is credited with having built the temple for the goddess thanking her for giving him the gift of poetry which impressed the King Vikrama Chola. Temples of Maha Saraswati at Kaleswaram in Andhra Pradesh and Prouda Saraswati at Saradavanam in Kashmir also revere the Goddess as the main deity.

FESTIVALS

The festival of 'Vasant Panchami' celebrates Saraswati's birthday. There is a belief that Goddess Saraswati appeared on this day and to celebrate her brithday, her devotees perform her pooja usually occurring sometime in January/February. Celebrations are with yellow flowers, sweet and food in this period. The kit festival also occurs around this time in some regions. 

This is also the time when Saraswati puja is celebrated in eastern India such as in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam. After Saraswati Puja on morning of 6th date, Magh Shukla Panchami, Saraswati is worshipped. In the evening the Goddess is greeted and then immersed in the water.

In most other parts of south and west India, Saraswati puja is celebrated on Vijayadashmi along with Dussera celebrations at the end of Sharad Navrati which comes around October time.  Students keep their books and artists keep their instruments symbolically representing their pursuit of knowledge or musical art, in the puja to be blessed by Devi Saraswati.