Sunday Story(Updated on pg 26)

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#141

When Maharishi Bhrigu ji entered the place where Lord Sri Vishnu was sleeping with goddess lakshmi at his feet, Maharishi Bhrigu ji became full of anger because he thought that lord Vishnu was not really sleeping but only pretending to sleep just to insult him. This was the time, when the Maharishi Bhrigu ji with his right leg kicked the chest of lord Sri Vishnu. When he was hit lord Vishnu opened his eyes and stood up.

Lord Vishnu was astonished to see Maharishi Bhrigu ji standing there. So he bended down his head folded his hands, and said to Maharishi Bhrigu ji, "My Lord, My chest is the strongest thing in the world, like a mountain, but your feet are so soft. May be you got hurt while kicking me. So please forgive me for that."

While listening to the words of Lord Vishnu Maharishi Bhrigu ji declared him the greatest. But goddess Lakshmi, wife of Lord Vishnu, perceived it an insult of her husband. She gave a curse to Maharishi Bhrigu ji that he and his community (Brahmins) to which he represent will be parted away from wealth.

After apologizing from goddess too, she suggested him to write Bhrigu Samhita which would contain predictions of past, present & future of people the Granth would enable to Brahmins to earn their livelihood through the reading done.

Her abode in the heart of Lord Vishnu when the Sage had kicked Him on His chest was deeply offended and completely inconsolable. She said - "I cannot re-enter Your heart which has been desecrated by the arrogant foot of that Sage and You actually touched his feet with Your hands. I am going down to the earth.If you want Me to come back, come seek Me and fetch Me from there." So Goddess Lakshmi left Vaikuntha in anger and with Her departure all the abundance, wealth and splendour of Vaikuntha disappeared."

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#142

Part 4: Attack of Demons

[Note: there are many demons of the same name, but they appeared in different time like Mahishasur at tarakasur time was his senapati. This Mahishasur was killed by Kartikey.

There are various manus in the mavantar, but all are different.

So here, the king of demons was Bali, he is not the grandson of Prahlad. Because at this time Vishnuji has taken his 2nd avatar i.e kurma. At time of that Bali, he has taken Vaman Avatar ]

With the power of Sanjeevani mantra, the demons became invincible. Any demon that died could be brought to life instantly. Battles raged between the gods and demons and with Shukracharya on their side, they were achieving great success.

In battles, Devas were defeated and Asuras (demons) led by king Bali gained control of the universe.

Lord Indra was greatly ashamed that he failed in this task and approached Lord Vishnu to give him a solution.

Lord Vishnu tell them to first approach the Mahalakshmi and ask her for forgiveness. He tell them to sit in her feet and then ask .

All deities went in search of Mahalakshmi and they found her in Kolhapur. They all sit at her feet side and Indra said:-

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#143

[ This story of Mahalakshmi stotra is given in Marathi. When I learned about this I had put it here along with other stories. ]

Now, Let me tell you something about the Kolhapur Temple.

The Shri Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur is one of the Shakti peetha located in Maharashtra. The various puranas of ancient India, have listed 108 Shaktipeethas where Shakti (the goddess of power) is manifested.

This is one of the six sites of Shakti, where one can get both fulfillment of desires as well as salvation from them. It is therefore considered of even greater significance than Uttar Kashi, the place where one prays for salvation. Shri Mahalakshmi is the consort of Shri Vishnu and it is said that both reside in the Karveer area eternally.

The idol of the goddess is made of gemstone. It weighs about 40 kilos. A stone lion stands behind the statue. The goddess has four limbs. The head has a crown and the Sheshnag (the mythical serpent of Shri Vishnu)is on it.

It is said that both Shri Lakshmi and Shri Vishnu reside in the Karveer area eternally and shall not leave even at the time of Mahaprayakala. This region is therefore also referred to as a avimuktakshetra.

Karveer region is eternally blessed and is believed to be held by Mother Jagdambe in her right hand, and so this region is protected from all destruction.

Lord Vishnu himself adores this region more than Vaikiuntha or the Kshirsagar since it is the home of his consort Lakshmi. The greatness of this region has therefore attracted many sages and devotees, the blessings and affections showered by this region on its devotees are immeasurable.

It is believed that Prabhu Shri Dattatreya still comes here every noon to seek alms.

The Shri Mahalakshmi Temple is situated in the city Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Kolhapur is an important and significant city lying in the ancient Karveer region which is a treasure trove of ancient religious monuments in Western Maharashtra.

The platform of the Goddess is made of stone. The statue of the Goddess has four arms. In the lower right hand she holds the matulinga, (a fruit similar to and ordinary lemon but much larger in size). In the upper right hand she holds large mace, kaumodaks, its head touching the ground. In the upper left hand she holds the shield or khetaka, and while in the the lower one she holds a bowl, panpatra.

On the crown of the Goddess are a cobra-hood and a Shiva-ling with a Yoni around it. Standing behind is the Goddess' vahana-a lion.

Almost all the idols of the God face the north or the east directions, whereas here the Idol faces the west.

The small window on the western wall which is open. Once a year, the rays of the Sun during sunset falls on the face of the image through this window. This period lasts for three days, each time, the 21st, of the months of March and September. This period is considered extremely auspicious, the Devotees throng the temple on all the three evenings the temple for a glimpse of the beautiful image bathing in the golden rays of the setting sun.

Some other story: This place turned into a holy site after Mahalaxmi destroyed the demon Kolhasura. The spot where he died turned into a place of pilgrimage or thirtha. People from all over India come here to seek blessings from Goddess Mahalaxmi.

Above this sanctum, there is a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva and his mount, Nandi, the bull. The courtyard houses shrines of various other deities like Navagrahas (9 planets of the solar system), Mahishasuramardini (This is another form of the Goddess Durga), Lord Vitthal and his consort Rakhmai, Godess Tulja Bhavani and so on. The courtyard has a magnificent tank called Manikarnika Kund and near it is a shrine dedicated to Vishweshwar Mahadev.

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#144

After then Goddess bless them that she would come as a daughter of Sagar, when they all will perform Samundra-Manthan. There all wealth and prosperity will come along with her.

Lord Vishnu explained to Lord Indra that there was a way that this could be tackled but he would have to befriend the demons and their Guru. He continued to clarify that he would have to go to Shukracharya and say that he indeed had the power to bring back anyone from death's clunches but if something were happen to him, who would be there to bring him back to life? Only he alone had the Siddhi from Lord Shiva to acquire the special Mantra. This would definitely astonish Shukracharya. The solution to this would be obtaining the Amrit (nectar of immortality) from the bottom of the ocean.

Devas formed an alliance with asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality and to share it among them. However, Lord Vishnu told Devas that he would arrange that they alone obtain the nectar.

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#145

Till here, I have told you the stories behind the Samundra-manthan, Next Sunday we will move forward to the story. Till then Happy Navraatri and Happy Dashera.

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#146

Vishnu then calls on Pakshi Raj (Garud) and asks him to get the Mandaara Mountains (something like the south cliff of Navarone!). So Garud goes along with enormous python Vasuki, and Sudarshan Chakra. Once they come to the Mandaara Mountain, Vasuki wraps itself onto the mountain to air-lift it after Vishnu's Sudarshan chakra gets done with the mountain-cutting. Pakshi Raj and Vasuki bring the mountain and deposit at the beach where the 2 sides (Daanavs and Devathas) are waiting to churn.

Vishnu then calls upon Narada to solve a minor problem. During the process of churning, or later, fire comes out of Vasuki's mouth and hence care has to be raken while holding Vasuki, that Devathas do not hold the front part of snake. Narada assures Vishnu that he will take care of the problem.

So in all, The churning of the Ocean was an elaborate process. Mount Mandarachala was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, became the churning rope.

At first, both Asurs and Devtas wanted to hold the tail side of Vasuki, as holding a head side, Vasuki will emit huge fumes. Devtas doesn't want to hold that side, since there size is already small and holding them will make there numbers more small. As Shukracharya will make demons alive, but what will happen to devtas. So both were started fighting with other. Seeing there fighting Narad muni came, he told, who is greater- asurs or devtas, Asurs replied -we are greater than devtas , So in body which is greater - head or tail. Asurs repiled- head. So if you are greater then you must hold head side. So by this concept there issue is solved.

The demons (asuras) demanded to hold the head of the snake, while the demigods (devas), agreed to hold its tail. As a result the demons were poisoned by fumes emitted by Vasuki. Despite this, the demigods and demons pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean.

Shukracharya is enraged. He knows about the fire. So he curses himself for not being present at the place and curses Daanavs for being so foolishly duped after being falsely called 'Shresht'. Buttering from Narada has caused it. But now Daanavs has accepted it and no changes. Hence, Shukracharya gets one of his men to watch the proceedings and see that amruth gets shared equally, with no malpractices from Devathas.

When they began churning, the mount began sinking into the ocean. Daanavs threaten a walk-out because mission is impossible. Indra says problems are expected whenever something great like amruth is required. He and Devathas call Vishnu to solve the problem.

Taking the form of a turtle (Kurma), Vishnu bears the entire weight of the mountain and the churning continues.

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#147

Kurma Jayanti, or the day when the incarnation happened, is observed on Purnima or full moon day in the month of Vaisakha.

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#148

Halahala (Also called 'kalakuta')

During the Samudra Manthan by the gods and demons, one of the product emerged from the churning was a dangerous poison (Halahala). This terrified the gods and demons because the poison was so toxic that it might have destroyed all of creation. On the advice of Vishnu, the gods approached Shiva for help and protection. Out of compassion for living beings, Shiva swallowed the poison.

Then Goddess Parvati , wife of Shiva pressed his neck so that the poison does not reach his stomach. Thus, it stayed in his throat neither going up nor down and Shiva remained uninjured. The poison was so strong and effective the color of Shiva's neck was changed to blue. For this reason, Lord Shiva is also called Neelakantha (the blue-necked one) where 'Neela' means blue and 'Kantha' means neck or throat.

When the heat from the poison finally became unbearable for Lord Shiva, he used his trishul to dig for water, thus forming the Gosaikunda lake.

{

Gosaikunda, also spelled Gosainkunda and Gosain Kunda is an alpine freshwater oligotrophic lake in Nepal's Langtang National Park, Its holy waters are considered of particular significance during Gangadashahara and the sacred thread festival Janai Purnimawhen thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India visit the area.

}

Edited by Sweet24 - 12 years ago

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Sweet24

@Sweet24

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

#149

Drinking poison gives us a message that "In every human body contains Poison and Amrit (immorality), it can be in tongue, thoughts or in mind. Only it depends on us,how we use it. Poison can't be destroyed, it can only be stopped. By stopping poison in neck, Shivji conveys that the poison should not enter in your tongue nor should be allowed to enter in your heart, it should stopped in neck only."

The place where he drank the poison:

Neelkanth Mahadev Temple