Skanda Sashti is observed on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of the Tamil month of Aippasi (October – November). This day is dedicated to the second son of Lord Shiva – Lord Subramanya, also known as Kartikeya, Kumaresa, Guha, Murugan, Shanmukha and Velayudhan, who on this day, is believed to have annihilated the […]
Believed as the root cause of creation, sustenance and annihilation, Durga is the principal form of the Mother Goddess in Hinduism. The name ‘Durga’ in Sanskrit means ‘invincible’. The syllable ‘du’ is synonymous with the 4 devils namely poverty, sufferings, famine and evil habits. The ‘r’ refers to diseases and the ‘ga’ is the destroyer of sins, injustice, irreligion, […]
Shiva is a God who is unlike any other God and Lord Shiva stories are extremely popular. Shiva is considered to be the most unique of all Hindu gods and also the God of all. A great ascetic, Shiva is the only godhead who is forever in deep meditation, totally absorbed in contemplation in His […]
Lord Shankaranarayana is a combined deity form of Shiva (Shankara) on the right with Nandi, and Vishnu (Narayana) on the left with Garuda. Shankaranarayana is also called Harihara – Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva). Lord Shankaranarayana is thus worshipped by both Vaishnavites and Shaivities as a form of the Supreme God, as well as being […]
When the Kauravas were losing the battle, Duryodhana approached Bhishma one night and accused him for not fighting the battle to his full caliber because of his love for the Pandavas. Bhishma, greatly enraged, immediately picked up five golden arrows and chanted mantras declaring, “Tomorrow I will kill the Pandavas with these five golden arrows.” […]
The Svargarohana parva or the Book of Ascent to heaven, is the final Parva of the 18 books of Mahabharata. This Parva does not have any sub parvas and consists of five chapters only, making it the second shortest Parva of the 18 parvas. The summary of the Svargarohana Parva is: This Parva describes the […]
The Mahaprasthanika Parva, or the Book of the Great Journey is the 17th of the 18 books of Mahabharata. It is not divided into upa parvas and consists of 3 chapters making it one of the shortest of all Parvas of Mahabharata. The summary of the parva is: When Arjuna returned after his meeting with […]
The Mausala Parva or the Book of Clubs, is the 16th of the 18 books of the Mahabharata. It does not consist of any upa parvas and is one of the three shortest parvas of the 18 parvas. It consists of 9 chapters. The summary of the Mausala Parva is: This Parva describes the events […]
The Ashramavasika Parva is the book of Hermitage. It is the 15th of the eighteen books of Mahabharata. It consists of 3 upa parvas and 92 chapters. This Parva describes the years of prosperous rule in Hastinapura under the kingship of Yudhishthira. The detailed summary of the sub-parvas are: Asramavasa Parva This Parva describes the […]
The Ashvamedhika Parva, or the Book of Horse Sacrifice, is the 14th book of the 18 books of Mahabharata. It consists of 2 sub parvas and almost 92 chapters. It is based on the famous horse sacrifice ceremony performed by Yudhishthira. It contains almost 4000 verses. The two sub-parvas are Aswamedhika Parva and Anugita Parva. […]
Anushassana Parva is the thirteenth book of the Mahabharata. It is the book of Instructions. It continues the theme set in Shanti Parva and the dialogue between Yudhishthira and Bhishma goes up to a new level. This Parva consists of 2 upa parvas and about 168 chapters. The summaries of the sub parvas are: Danadharma […]
The Shanti Parva is the twelfth book of the 18 books of Mahabharata. It is the book of Peace and consists of 3 upa parvas and 366 chapters. It is the longest book of the 18 books of Mahabharata. The book shows the crowning of Yudhishthira as king and the duties that he was supposed […]
