The Indian Dharma

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In the previous episode, we’ve witnessed a few instances as to how Bhagawan is ruthless with those who try to abuse and malign Bhaagawathas. We’ve witnessed instances from Bhagawan Narasimha’s incarnation, and subsequently even from Bhagawan Rama’s and Bhagawan Krishna’s incarnations too. We’ve seen how Hiranya Kashibu, Ravana and Bhishmachaarya himself suffer in the hands of Bhagawan when they allegedly took over Bhaagawathas such as Prahlaada, Hanuman and Arjuna respectively. Thus, the message that we repeatedly emphasize at this point is that it is always better to stay away from abusing others. Even if we’re compelled to be assertive, it is always better to control our tongue and not to let our anger take over. Once we let our anger take over, we should immediately realize from within that we’re in great danger. Of course, it is easier said than done, but we need to put the effort from our side as well. 

Moving on thus, we’ll again digress into the “Dveepas” discussion. We’ve already witnessed that Aagneetra was gifted the “Jambu-Dveepa”, which we’re living currently in. Further, to recollect, this Jambu Dveepa was split into nine different sections, and it was further handed over to Naabi. This Naabi had a son by name Rishabha Deva, who in turn had a son by name Jada Bharata. Moving on further, we’ve to witness the story of this Jada-Bharata, as we continue with Sage Paraashara’s accord. As Sage Maitreya is also posing the question to Sage Paraashara requesting him to narrate Jada Bharata’s story, Sage Paraashara commences the detailed accord. There was once a king by the name Rahuguna. Sage Paraashara is going to describe the events that conspired between King Rahuguna and Jada Bharata. But before that, we’ve to see who this Jada Bharata was, and what made him go to King Rahuguna. Jada Bharata was a sage – A great sage in fact! He was sitting on the banks of River Chakranadhi, and was in immense penance. As he was doing penance, there was suddenly a moment wherein there was a slight disturbance in the waters of the river. He immediately opened his eyes to see what was happening. It should be remembered that he was in deep penance, but somehow he got disturbed by the sudden disturbance that was going on around him. The moment we get disturbed and open our eyes, our focus on the penance would go away and we would start looking at what is happening around us. Now what was the disturbance? It was in the form of a deer which was at its advanced stage of pregnancy. That female deer had come to the river bank to drink some water. 

As the deer was peacefully drinking water, there was a lion from the other side which was roaring itself to glory! It had also apparently come to the same river bank to drink some water. However, upon seeing this deer, the lion got tempted! It had it’s food right up there! Thus the roar increased in volume and the deer saw a huge danger approaching in the form of this lion! Out of fear for life, the deer started to run. However, since the deer was carrying and since it was in its last month, it couldn’t run fast. As the deer jumped up in fear, the baby deer that was in it’s womb fell down on the ground. The deer had given birth! Upon giving birth to the baby deer, the mother deer ran away out of fear. The lion comes chasing the deer from the back. Upon seeing the baby deer on the ground, unable to move an inch, Bharata was concerned for it’s life. He immediately ran down to the baby deer in his hands and brought it to his home. 

Now what is he going to do with this baby deer? Is he going to grow it up? What is going to happen to his penance? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of important point on why shouldn’t we abuse any Bhaagawatha (Bhagawan’s ardent devotee). In due course, we had witnessed the various ways through which we end up abusing others. Most importantly, it is through our tongue. The words that we employ to scold or vent our frustration over others matter a lot, as we many a time tend to go “overboard” with some abusive languages. If there are good and pleasant words in the dictionary, we shouldn’t employ abusive words against anybody. We should always remember this point as we  move forward. Apart from the verbal way of abusing others, we also have the physical abuse, which, more often than not, as part of a civilized society, we automatically refrain from. However, the bigger danger lies wherein the abuse is contained in our mind. Our abusive thoughts against others are perhaps more powerful than even physical and verbal abuse. It is because our verbal and physical actions can somewhat be controlled, but our thoughts are perhaps the most difficult to control! Thus, we should be extremely careful here as to not to get into the “abuse mode” even with  our thoughts. This is the important message that we’ve to learn when it comes to Bhagawan Narasimha’s incarnation. In fact, Bhagawan Himself proclaims thus, “If a person abuses me directly and after so many times of abusing, if he comes with a lotus flower, seeking surrender to me, I have no problem in forgiving him completely! However, if the same person abuses a Bhaagawatha even a single time and comes to me for forgiveness, I would never tolerate him anymore. Even if he asks for forgiveness a thousand times, I’m never going to forgive him for his life, and he has to undergo the punishment that he deserves!” 

If such are the words from Bhagawan Himself, we’ve to be all the more careful here. This is why we reiterate the point time and again that it is better not to hurl abuses at anybody, no matter whether he / she is a devotee or not. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Hence let us do the needful, starting today atleast. We can witness Bhagawan’s words coming into action, not only in the Narasimha Avatara, but also during the Avataras of Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna. We’ve seen this during our earlier Ramayana project as well. When Valmiki Maharishi is asking the sixteen questions to Sage Naarada at the start of the Ramayana story itself, he asks thus: 

“Kasya bibhayti devaascha jaata roshascha samyuge!!” 

This is the sixteenth question that Valmiki Bhagawan is asking Sage Naarada. This means, who is that one person in this world for whose anger, the whole world will start trembling with fear. We’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Rama was extremely patient and smiling when Ravana was hitting Him with a barrage of arrows and other weapons. However, when Ravana started targeting Hanuman, who is a “Parama Bhaagawatha”, Bhagawan Rama’s anger knew no bounds. This is where the world started witnessing Bhagawan Rama’s extreme fury for the first time perhaps. We shall find a similar connection during the Krishna-Avatara too. When Bhishmaachaarya was hurling a barrage of arrows on Bhaagwan Krishna, during the Mahabharata war, He was extremely patient and allowed all the arrows to hit Him. However, when Bhishmaachaarya started targeting Arjuna and when Arjuna was almost at the verge of getting defeated, Bhagawan Krishna’s anger knew no bounds. He immediately stepped down from the chariot and walked towards Bhishmaachaarya with His “Chakra” in His hands, ready to chop off his head. This instance too proves how Bhagawan is extremely compassionate towards His ardent devotees and never lets anybody hurl any sort of abuses on them. 

Thus, the message is loud and clear yet again. I’m emphasizing this important point repeatedly over and over again, just for all of us to understand the seriousness of it. So for today, let us again think over it and mend our ways in such a manner that we do not end up abusing anybody, both in terms of words as well as in terms of thoughts. We shall wait till the next episode to continue with this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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We’re amidst an important and an interesting discussion as to what are the significances of Bhagawan’s “Avataras” or “Incarnations”. As we’ve been seeing that although Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna are referred to as the “Poorna Avataras” of Bhagawan Vishnu, it doesn’t mean that other “Avataras” are insignificant. In these lines, we’ve been witnessing in yesterday’s episode, the significance of one such “Avatara” that we’ve already witnessed before – The Narasimha Avatara. We’ve clearly witnessed how Bhagawan honours the word of an ardent devotee, and this is the message that we can obtain through this incarnation. More specifically, if one ends up abusing and hurting Bhagawan directly, nothing much comes out as an outcome from Bhagawan. He is so compassionate to forgive that person for all the abuses that he had made. However, if that abuse is directed towards Bhagawan’s ardent devotee, this is where Bhagawan can never tolerate it even for a single minute. This is exactly what Hiranya Kashibu did to Prahlaada, Bhagawan’s ardent devotee, and the rest – We know what happened! Thus, Bhagawan Narasimha’s incarnation conveys this important message and this is where, we had witnessed a beautiful reference from Shri Vishnu Sahasra Naama too, to substantiate this point. The “Shabdha” called “Vidheyaaatma”, can be inferred in two meanings – One is, Bhagawan is someone who can easily be brought under control. Second is, “Avidheyaatma”, wherein Bhagawan is someone who is beyond all controls! Now the question comes as to who can control Bhagawan? An ardent devotee can! With his / her innocent and fervent prayers, Bhagawan automatically comes under control of the devotee. However, Bhagawan can never be controlled for all those who try and insult and abuse Bhagawan’s ardent devotees. 

This is why we often keep saying that it is better to avoid venting out our frustration towards others. We would never know who is a devotee and who is not. If even by mistake, our venting is going to be on an ardent devotee of Bhagawan (Bhaagawatha), we’re done for our life! Hence, it is better to be safe than sorry! At this juncture, we need to understand something very important here – Where does all this abusing and venting of frustration begin? In many cases, it begins with finding faults with others unnecessarily. As a human being born in this world, and as a spiritual practitioner, it is always advisable to avoid poking our nose into other’s matters. The moment we start doing that, we start building expectations from the other person. If our expectations are not met at any point, we start fuming with anger and the next step would be to vent out all our anger on that person. This is something that we should strive to avoid as much as possible. As far as possible, it is always better to mind our own business and move on with our life. 

We’ve to understand one important thing here – We’ve come here to this world to strive and attain “Moksha”. This is the sole purpose with which we’re taking birth. However, as life progresses, we totally forget this purpose and move into something else, which is totally unnecessary. What bothers us if others do or do not attain “Moksha”? At some points, we’ve to be a bit individualistic and selfish. Of course, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t help others or we should shy away from pulling out people from dangers, etc. We should do all that, without a doubt. However, when it comes to attaining “Moksha”, this is an individual-oriented assignment that Bhagawan has given us and we should strive hard for it with all our efforts. One such effort that we’ve to put in, is to try and refrain ourselves from going behind others’ businesses. We should try and develop complete focus on what we’re supposed to do, and once we start walking this path, we would automatically stop interfering in others’ matters. Once this stops, fuming and anger would stop. Once anger stops, abusing will stop automatically as well. Thus, this is the “formula for success” here. 

Moreover, we’ve to also know the different ways and means by which we end up abusing others. One is obviously through our words. This is what we’ve been discussing all this while. However, there are other ways through which we abuse people and other living beings. For instance, we can abuse someone through or actions – Might be with our hands, legs, or some weapons, etc. Of course, given today’s civilized society, none of us are going to take the stick or gun or whatever weapon in our hands and hurt others. This might be applicable only for a few groups of barbarians that are roaming around, but fortunately by Bhaagwan’s grace, we’re not part of those barbarian groups. So we do not need to worry on that front. But the main problem with all of us is to control our tongue! This is where, most of the time we go wrong. Of course, we can still refrain ourselves by controlling our tongue too, but there is still a bigger problem – The mind! Even though many times we might not end up abusing others directly through words, we might have so many thoughts running in our minds against others, isn’t it? This is the biggest problem! If we take an honest statistical analysis of our mind’s thoughts, we would be shocked to understand that almost 80% of our thoughts would be abusive of others in some way or the other. This is where we need to really control our mind’s thought process. This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna explains in the Bhagawad Gita too: 

“Manayevahi manushyaanaam kaaranam bandha mokshayoh!!”

Bhagawan Krishna clearly explains here that the mind is the sole reason for one’s sorrows and unwanted attachments in this world. If one learns to control the mind, he / she can do wonders in this world. In fact, the entire concept of “Detachment” which Bhagawan Krishna often repeats in the Bhagawad Gita as well as His conversation with Uddhava, is totally based on mind-control. Thus, the message here is that, if we’re able to control our mind, most of the abusive thoughts, words, actions, etc. can automatically be brought under control. Of course, this is easier said than done, but having said that, we’ve to start putting effort through some way or the other, isn’t it? We cannot just simply sit and claim that our minds can’t be controlled and we would keep doing all the rubbish that we’re doing. We’ve to start our efforts at some point in time, isn’t it? 

So let us use this opportunity to commence our “Saadhana”, in bringing our mind under control. For today, let us first understand these points deeply and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important message with regards to Sage Paraashara’s introductory accord on Bhagawan’s important “Avataras” or “Incarnations”. We had witnessed in due course, the importance of Bhagawan’s “Poorna-Avataras”, which are nothing but the “Rama-Avatara” and the “Krishna-Avatara”. In these two “Avataras”, Bhagawan had all the time in the world (A full human being’s life span) to illustrate all the important aspects of “Dharma” as prescribed in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Just because reading and comprehending these aspects directly from the texts are going to be extremely next to impossible for ordinary people like us, Bhagawan Vishnu took it upon Himself to incarnate and “enact” all these principles through His life, so that these would be some key “visual aids” for us to understand easily. Thus, the incarnations of Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna are considered to be “Poorna-Avataras” as they encompass all the important aspects of “Dharma” in them. 

Having said and emphasized thus in our previous episode, we would immediately have a question in our mind – “Oh! If that is the case, why are other incarnations not being talked about very prominently? Are there no messages of “Dharma” that we can learn from other incarnations like Bhagawan Narasimha, Bhagawan Vamana, etc.?” The answer is very simple here – Every incarnation of Bhagawan serves a definitive purpose and if viewed in this sense, there is no difference between the other incarnations of Bhagawan and the “Poorna-Avataras”. To illustrate this point further, let us consider the incarnation of Bhagawan that we had discussed in our previous episodes in detail – The Narasimha Avatara. What is the message behind Bhagawan Narasimha’s incarnation? In fact, the Narasimha Avatara finds special mention in the Shri Vishnu Sahasranaama itself. Bhishmaachaarya explains Bhagawan Narasimha’s significance in the following divine names: 

“Vijitaatma vidheyaatma satkeertihi chinna samshayaha!” 

Here, we are witnessing four important divine names of Bhagawan Vishnu that correspond to Bhagawan Narasimha, which also convey the important message and purpose behind this incarnation. Especially if we look at the second term, “Vidheyaatma”, we can view this in terms of two names – The first one is what we’re currently seeing – “Vidheyaatma” and the second is “Avidheyaatma”, wherein we add another syllable “A” in front of the divine name. This is the beauty of the Sanskrit language here – We can have certain syllables “sticking” on to words, which might not be prominently pronounced, but these syllables give various flavours of meanings to these words. This is one classical example here. If we look at this divine name as “Vidheyaatma”, it means that “Bhagawan can be made to come to terms!” Whereas, if we look at this same divine name as “Avidheyaatma”, it means that “Bhagawan can never be made to come to terms by anyone and that, He is beyond control!” 

We might immediately ask: – Which one of it is true? Both these meanings are true in case of Bhagawan here. How? If we see Bhagawan as “Avidheyaatma”, of course, Bhagawan being the leader of all the 14 “Lokhas”, who can control Him? He’s the one who is controlling all of us, isn’t it? However, if we see Bhagawan as “Vidheyaatma”, there is only one person who can control Bhagawan – The ardent devotee! An ardent devotee can pull Bhagawan towards him or her with his / her innocent prayers and longing for His presence. Bhagawan can never resist the fervent calls of an ardent devotee, and we had witnessed this in the form of little Dhruva and little Prahlaada. This is where Bhagawan can be controlled! Thus we’re witnessing here that both these names are true, isn’t it? 

Now, let us come back to this discussion on the Narasimha Avatara and the message it conveys to all of us. The important point here is that Bhagawan never tolerates an insult or an injury to His ardent devotee. Little Prahlaada, being Bhagawan’s ardent devotee, as we all know by now, was subjected to immense torture, repeated insult and injury by Hiranya Kashibu, and this prompted Bhagawan Vishnu to teach him a lesson. When Little Prahlaada pointed out to the pillar innocently, saying that Bhagawan Narayana is inside this, Bhagawan immediately responded to the child’s ultimatum! Thus, the important message from the Narasimha Avatara is that we can even get away by abusing and insulting Bhagawan Himself! But, we can never get away from Bhagawan’s fury when we end up insulting a “Bhaagawatha” or an ardent devotee. This is why we often keep repeating this point time and again – Never ever insult or abuse any living being in this world. We reiterate this point because we would never know who are ardent devotees and who are not. Even if by mistake, we vent out our anger and frustration on a “Bhaagawatha” (The “Bhaagawatha” might be any living being here – It might be even animals or plants), Bhagawan is never going to tolerate us, and all our spiritual practices and efforts that we’re putting are going to go into the drain. 

This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna too illustrates in the Bhagawad Gita – He says that “Kaama” (Desire) and “Krodha” (Anger) are children of an evil mother called “Rajo Guna”, and this combination in a human being is enough to ruin him / her completely! Thus, the point here is that, every incarnation of Bhagawan serves a definite purpose and just because we consider two incarnations as “Poorna-Avataras”, it doesn’t mean that other incarnations are insignificant in nature. So for today, let us understand this point clearly, and let us wait till the next episode to continue with Sage Paraashara’s accord further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Paraashara’s accord on Bhagawan’s important “Avataras” or “Incarnations” in this world. In this, we’ve already witnessed a couple of them, and now Sage Paraashara is at the verge of giving some detailed accords to the other important incarnations of Bhagawan. In the meanwhile, he had given us a small narration as to which are the “Poorna-Avataras” of Bhagawan Vishnu. The two important “Poorna-Avataras” are the “Rama-Avatara” and “Krishna-Avatara”. Now the important question comes here – Why are these two referred to as the “Poorna-Avataras”? What did Bhagawan do differently in these two Avataras, as compared to the other “Avataras”? In fact, we’ve witnessed a glimpse of the answer in yesterday’s episode itself, but it is worth expanding the answer further for our readers’ understanding. 

In both these “Avataras”, like we’ve witnessed yesterday, Bhagawan was born as a normal human being and illustrated all the important aspects of “Dharma” that are described in the Vedas and Upanishads. It is to be noted by readers that both Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna did not invent any “Dharma” for the first time. All these important points are already present in our rice and vast Sanaatana Dharma literature, in the form of Vedas and the Vedantas. However, for common people like us in the future generations, it would be next to impossible to read, understand and comprehend these important points. We’ve to first of all understand that all these scriptural texts are either in Sanskrit or Tamil languages. Given today’s situation, many of us do not know the Sanskrit language itself. Even if some of us know it, Sanskrit is a bit of a complicated language and it’s usages and grammar makes it difficult for us to understand and comprehend our Vedic and Vedantic literature. Thus, language is the first barrier for all of us. More than the language part, if we look at the conceptual section of the Vedas and Vedantas, there are innumerable points which we might not be able to understand and comprehend, just because we might have not experienced certain things in our life. 

We might witness the same level of difficulty in understanding certain concepts in science and technology too in today’s world, just because of the fact that we do not have any prior knowledge or understanding of the subject. Thus, if we’ve to explain science and technology to a person who has zero knowledge in both, how do we explain? We’ve to show some examples, illustrations, experiments, pictorial representations, graphical representations, diagrams, etc. isn’t it? Now let us apply the same logic to our Veda and Vedanta texts. There are innumerable concepts and logics that are well-explained in the texts, but lack proper illustrations. It is to give the specific illustrations required to justify the points that the Vedas and Vedanta convey, Bhagawan Himself has taken over the responsibility to incarnate in this world, and to set Himself as the role model. Thus we would see that in both these “Avataraas”, Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna had “walked the path” of “Dharma” as prescribed in the Vedas and the “Vedantas”. This is why we have this popular sloka to illustrate this point: 

“Ithihaasa puraanaabhyaam vedam shoupabrahmayeth!

Vibheh kalpashruthaa vedaha maamayam praharshati!!”

The sloka clearly explains the point that if one goes into reading and understanding the Vedas, without going through the “Ithihaasas” and the “Puraanas”, the “Veda Mata” (Mother of all Vedas) starts getting jittery and scared! Why is the “Veda Mata” getting scared here? She gets scared because what if this person misunderstands the concepts in the Vedas and wrongly interprets them because of his lack of understanding. This is why, the knowledge of the “Ithihasas” and “Puraanas” are important for a spiritual seeker, before entering into the subject of Vedas and Upanishads. As all of us know by this time, the “Ithihasas” are the two important texts of “Shrimad Ramayana” and “Mahabharata”, illustrating all the life incidents of Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna respectively. Thus, since Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna have taken the onus upon themselves to illustrate to the world, all the key aspects of “Dharma” as narrated in the Vedas and Upanishads, these two “Avataras” are referred to as the “Poorna-Avataras” by Sage Paraashara. 

Thus, from this point onwards, Sage Paraashara is also going to give a special focus on these two “Poorna-Avataras” in his own style, in all the upcoming “Amsas”. So for today, let us understand the significance of the two “Poorna-Avataras” of Bhagawan Vishnu. Of course, readers must also note here that just because we’re focusing on these two “Avataras”, we shouldn’t como to a conclusion that other incarnations of Bhagawan are not so important or insignificant. Every incarnation has its purpose behind it and we should always remember this in our minds as we move on further. We shall wait till the next episode to start witnessing Sage Paraashara’s further accords on the “Poorna-Avataras” and the narratives that lead up to them. Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the second “Amsa” of “Shri Vishnu Puraana”, and Sage Paraashara explains an important point before moving any forward. He explains the difference between us taking birth in this world, and Bhagawan taking birth in this world. Although the equation might seem the same outwardly, there is a gross difference in it. We take innumerable number of births in this world due to our “Karma” that we’ve accumulated over several births. However, when Bhagawan takes birth, it is not because of any “Karma”. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself declares in the Bhagawad Gita that no “Karma” can even come close to Him or touch Him at any cost! Then we might have a question here – If “Karma” doesn’t touch Bhagawan, why should He take birth repeatedly? This is where, Bhagawan Krishna explains further in the Bhagawad Gita that He takes birth in this world voluntarily and with the ultimate desire of establishing “Dharma” in this world by destroying the “Adharma” that raises its head every now and then. Since, Bhagawan is taking birth in this world voluntarily and not because of “Karma”, we refer Bhagawan’s birth as an “Avatara” or “Incarnation”. We simply do not refer to this phenomenon by merely saying that Bhagawan is taking birth. We instead refer to this as a divine incarnation. 

When we witness various incarnations of Bhagawan, we normally tend to associate this with the ten important “Avataras”, or, popularly known as the “Dasha-Avataras”. But is that all? Has Bhagawan incarnated in this world only ten times so far in the past four Yugas? (In fact, it should be nine, as Bhagawan Kalki is yet to incarnate!) The answer is “No”! Bhagawan Vishnu has incarnated an enormous number of times in this world. However, for our limited understanding and comprehension, we refer Bhaagwan’s incarnations as a set of ten “Avataras”. For instance, during our Ramayana project, we’ve witnessed a brief about Sage Kapilaachaarya. In that context, we’ve witnessed that Sage Kapilaachaarya is also an incarnation of Bhagawan Vishnu Himself. Thus, in similar lines, we have hundreds of Bhagawan’s divine incarnations in this world at different times. It is only for our comprehensive capability that we are condensing it into ten “Avataras”. Of the ten, the most prominent and important “Avataras” are those of Bhagawan Rama and Bhagawan Krishna. In these two “Avataras”, Bhagawan had not only established the “Dharma” in this world, but also, has served as a clear role model for all of us to lead our lives peacefully and in the spiritual path. Other “Avataras” were also prominent ones only, but many of those were instantaneous and momentous in nature. For instance, if we recall our discussion on the Narasimha Avatara, Bhagawan Narasimha appeared only at the last moment to kill Hiranya Kashibu. Similarly, Bhagawan Varaaha appeared only at the last moment to kill Hiranyaaksha. Bhagawan Vaamana appeared only for a few years, to neutralize King Mahabali. Whereas, if we look at Bhagawan Rama and Krishna, both these Avataras were “Poorna-Avataras”, wherein Bhagawan lived as a normal human being in this world for an entire lifespan. This enabled Bhagawan to illustrate all the important qualities and behavioral aspects that a human being should take care, while leading a life in this world. 

With this note, Sage Kapilaachaarya is going to continue the discussion on the various “Avataras” of Bhagawan Vishnu. In fact, we’ve already witnessed in due course of our previous episodes, the first two important “Avataras” of “Varaaha” and “Narasimha”. Bhagawan Vishnu incarnated as Bhagawan Aadi Varaaha to protect the world from the wretched Raakshasa by name Hiranyaaksha. We’ve witnessed this in detail earlier and readers can recollect this by going through our earlier episodes. Similarly, we’ve discussed Bhagawan Vishnu’s incarnation as Bhagawan Narasimha (Half-human and half-lion) to protect little Prahlaada from the wretched hands of the Raakshasa, Hiranya Kashibu. We’ve witnessed a detailed accord on this too in our earlier episodes. So for today, let us understand these introductory points made by Sage Paraashara and we shall wait till the next episode to continue with this discussion further. Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Paraashara’s accord on the calculations pertaining to the “Nakshatras” and the “Raashis”. We had seen how the twenty-seven “Nakshatras” account themselves into the twelve “Raashis”, wherein the calculation would be 2.25 “Nakshatras” constituting one “Raashi”. The parameter for calculation here is the “Paadam”, wherein each “Nakshatra” is divided into four “Paadams” of .25 parts. Each “Paadam” is about 0.25’th of the entire Nakshatra. Thus, we would see that each Raashi would account for 2.25 “Nakshatras”, which constitute to around nine “Paadams” each. Thus we have 2.25*12 = 27 “Nakshatras”.  This is the simple arithmetic behind how the “Nakshatras” fit themselves inside the twelve ‘Raashis”. This is a very important foundation concept in Astrological science, and all the planetary movements are calculated as per this arithmetic only. Sage Paraashara further explains how Bhagawan Soorya traverses through each of these twelve “Raashis”. The time period for Bhagawan Soorya for traversing from one “Raashi” to the other is 30 days, or a month. Thus, when Bhagawan Soorya traverses through all the twelve “Raashis” and comes back to the “Mesha Raashi”, we complete one full year. We should note that Bhagawan Soorya starts from “Mesha Raashi”, which is the starting period of the “Uttharaayana”, which we’ve discussed earlier. Similarly when Bhagawan Soorya traverses into the “Thulaa Raashi”, we enter into the “Dakshinaayana” and when he again comes back into the “Mesha Raashi”, we enter the “Uttharaayana” period. This is how the cycle of Bhagawan Soorya’s movement keep happening. 

With this, Sage Paraashara had concluded the discussion on the different “Nakshatras” and “Raashis” and how Bhagawan Soorya’s movement influences the entire planetary and the stellar systems. This important discussion marks the end of the first “Amsa” of Shri Vishnu Puraana as well. Now, as we move on with the second “Amsa”, Sage Paraashara is going to continue with his accords on various “Avataras” of Bhagawan Vishnu. In the first “Amsa” itself, we’ve witnessed the Varaaha Avataara and Shri Narasimha Avatara of Bhagawan Vishnu. The Varaaha Avatara was to protect the world from the treacherous Raakshasa by name “Hiranyaksha”, while the Narasimha Avatara was to protect one of Bhagawan’s ardent devotees – Prahlaada. We’ve seen the details of these two important “Avataras”. However, as Sage Paraashara moves on further, he highlights an important point here as to why is Bhagawan incarnating every now and then? Further down the line, Sage Paraashara addresses another important question here – What is the difference between Bhagawan taking birth in this world, and we taking birth in this world? We shall address both these questions as we move further into the second “Amsa”. This is an important discussion and readers are to pay full attention while reading through. 

Now let us start with the second question here – What is the difference between Bhagawan taking birth and we taking birth? In fact, in the Bhagawad Gita too, Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains this to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! Both of us have taken enormous births in this world and all of these are true. In fact, in this birth, we are born as the “Nara-Narayana-combination” to destroy “Adharma”!” These are Bhagawan Krishna’s words. Similarly if we look into the Vedas, the same concept is being explained clearly in the “Purusha-Suktha” of the Yajur Veda. There is a phrase that says, “Bahudaa Vijaatate”. This means that Bhagawan takes enormous births in this world. Thus, from these two instances, it is clear and evident that Bhagawan takes innumerable births in this world. Now let us look into our phenomenon here – We also take innumerable births in this world, one after the other. Now, what is the difference between we taking birth and Bhagawan taking birth? Bhagawan takes birth in this world due to His immense desire to establish and re-establish the “Dharma” in this world. Whereas, we take birth because of our “Karma”. In other words, Bhagawan volunteers Himself to take birth in this world, because He wants to establish “Dharma” everytime. Whereas, we are “pushed” into the world to take birth because of our good and bad “Karma”. This is the main difference here. This is why we see that Bahgawan is taking incanations every now and then to destroy the Raaskshasas and establish the “Dharma” in this world, in the form of Bhagawan Rama, Krishna, Varaaha, Narasimha, etc. Each and every time Bhagawan incarnates, the agenda is the same. 

Moreover, we’ve to also note that there is no comparison between Bhagawan taking birth and we taking birth. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself declares in the Bhagawad Gita that He is beyond any sort of “Karma”. In other words, Bhagawan’s incarnation doesn’t take any sort of “Karma” into account. This is the reason we refer Bhagawan’s birth in this world as an “Incarnation”, and not a normal birth. If it is a normal birth and a re-birth, it is on account of our “Karma”. Thus, we should always remember that Bhagawan never “takes birth”, but He “incarnates” in this world. With this idea, we shall address the second question now – In fact, we’ve already addressed it as part of the first question itself, but we shall now extend that discussion a bit further. Are there only ten incarnations of Bhagawan, which we refer to as the “Dasha-Avataras”? The answer is “No”! There are hundreds and thousands of incarnations that Bhagawan keeps making in different forms and at different time periods. We have this concept called “Dasha-Avataras” just for our understanding, as the human brain is not that much matured to encapsulate each and every “Avatara” of Bhagawan Vishnu! 

So for today, let us understand these important points with regards to Bhagawan’s incarnations and the purposes behind the same. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion forward with another set of interesting points! Stay tuned! 🙂 

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed the important purpose behind performing the “Sandhyavandana”, as narrated by Sage Paraashara. He had mentioned how the chariot from Bhagawan Soorya goes from one end to the other and how the Raakshasas by name “Mandegas’ ‘ keep attacking the chariot and prevent it from moving forward. It is with the “Argya-Pradhaana” that we do as part of the “Sandhyavandana” that keeps the Mandegas at bay everytime. We might easily ask a question here as to why do we repeatedly keep doing the “Sandhyavandanam” thrice every day. The problem with these Mandegas is that they’ve obtained a boon from Bhagawan Brahma that everytime they are attacked and defeated, they would again raise their head up once every six to twelve hours. Since this is a constant affair and a battle that keeps going on everytime, we need to keep performing our “Sandhyavandanam” every day to keep the Mandegas at bay, so that Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot is enabled to move forward smoothly without any hurdles. This is an important reason as to why we should perform our “Nitya-Karma” everyday without fail. 

Thus, we have nine different paths through which Bhagawan Soorya traverses, which in turn corresponds to three “Nakshatras” (Stars) each. Thus, we have 27 “Nakshatras” in total. Now let us witness the arithmetic behind the “Raashis”. Many of us might know that there are 12 different “Raashis”, starting from “Mesha” to Meena”. We have “Mesha”, “Rishaba”, “Mithuna”, “Kataka”, “Simha”, “Kanya”, “Thula”, “Vrichika”, “Dhanush”, “Makhara”, Kumbha” and “Meena”. For each of these twelve Raashis, we’ve to calculate two and a quarter Nakshatras. Thus, if we multiply 2.25 and 12, we would get 27. Thus, each Raashi corresponds to around 2.25 Nakshatras. This is why we have 27 Nakshatras associated with the 12 Raashis. The way in which the Nakshatras are divided into 2.25 parts each, as per the Raashi, is referred to as “Paadam”. Each Nakshatra would have four “Paadams”, split into .25 each. Thus, we say that each Raashi would have 2.25 “Paadams”. For example, if we’ve to calculate the “Nakshatras” for Mesha Raashi, we say that the Nakshatras of Ashwini, Bharani and the quarter portion of Kaarthika would come under this Raashi. Thus we see that each Raashi has 2.25 Nakshatras associated with it. If for  instance, someone is born on the day when the Ashwini or Bharani or Kaarthika (first quarter) falls, that person would be into the Mesha Raashi. Thus, we’ve to understand that the fundamental concept behind all of these calculations is the movement of Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot into each of these Raashis and Nakshatras. We can infer that Bhagawan Soorya stays in one Raashi for a month. Thus, we have twelve Raashis, and the movement of Bhagawan Soorya through the 12 Raashis constitute twelve different months of the year. All these arithmetics are quite simple for us to understand if we read through what Sage Paraashara is explaining here in the Vishnu Puraana. 

This is exactly what our modern day astronomical sciences confirm too. For all those readers who have time, should definitely possess a book of Vishnu Puraana, read it through and learn it in detail. Of course, due to various limitations I’m unable to go into minute details of what Sage Paraashara has explained, but there is an extremely detailed accord on the calculations of Nakshatras, Raashis, etc. according to Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot movement. Thus, all the Nakshatras have the “Dhruva” Nakshatra as their hub and they keep revolving around it. With this discussion, along with the mention of the “Nava-Grahas” and their significance, we come officially to the end of the first “Amsa”. We might be thinking that we have completed the first “Amsa” before itself, but there is this extended discussion as part of the first “Amsa”, which we had covered now with this discussion of Astrology. 

So for today, let us understand and recollect all these important points that Sage Paraashara has narrated in detail, and let us wait till the next episode to commence our discussion on the second “Amsa”. Stay tuned! 🙂 

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We’re amidst a very important and informative discussion with regards to Sage Paraashara’s detailed accord on how Bhagawan Soorya’s movement impacts various aspects of time in the world. We’ve seen in due course of yesterday’s episode as to how the sun’s forward or northward movement (also referred to as “Uttharaayana”) gives longer day times and shorter night times. Similarly, the “Dakshinaayana” or the southward movement of the sun gives us shorter days and longer nights. The “Uttharaayana” period is normally the first six months of the English calender year (Roughly from mid-January to mid-July) and the “Dakshinaayana” period takes over from mid-July till the mid of January next year. This is an important point for all of us to note and understand with respect to the sun’s movement. In due course, we’ve also witnessed nine important paths for Bhagawan Soorya to traverse through. In this, we’ve seen that the northern paths (three in number) are the paths that take us to the “Archiraadhi Maarga” or “Moksha”. Whereas, the southern paths (Again, three in number), are those that take us towards the “Naraka Lokha” or the “Yama Patna” wherein Yama-Dharma-Raja resides. 

Moving on thus, Sage Paraashara talks about an important point – he talks about the “Sandhya-Kaala” and the auspicious timings for performing the “Sandhyavandanam”. This is again something that we’ve to make note of very keenly here. Normally, we already know that the merging time between the night and the day is called the “Sandhya-Kaala” and this happens twice a day – Once in the morning and the other in the evening. This is what we refer to in English as “Dawn” and “Dusk”. The “Dawn” period is the sunrise time, and the “Dusk” is referred to as the sunset time. Here, Sage Paraashara talks about a group of “Raakshasas” by name “Mandegas”. These Mandegas are the ones who oppose the movement of Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot. These Raakshasas gain immense power during the sunrise and sunset times. Thus, the Mandegas come with a huge army and try stopping Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot from moving forward. It is at this time, all the Brahmins should perform the “Sandhyavandanam”. The main purpose of performing the “Argya-Pradhaanam” with water, (as part of the “Sandhyavandanam”) is that, the water that Brahmins use for this, goes and attacks these “Mandegas” like Indra’s “Vajraayudha” (A fierce weapon that Indra uses for fighting) and defeats them. This would thus enable the free movement of Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot in the forward direction. Thus, we’ve to understand here that the important purpose of performing the “Sandhyavandanam” every morning and evening is to defeat the “Mandegas” and kill them, which would enable the free movement of Bhagawan Soorya’s chariot. 

As we’re discussing this, we might have a question in our minds thus – “Oh! I would have performed the “Sandhyavandanam” yesterday evening too, and I would have hence killed the “Mandegas” then and there, isn’t it? If that is the case, why should I perform the “Sandhyavandanam” henceforth from today morning? They’re already killed, isn’t it?” Here is an important answer – If we, the common people have this smart a thought process, won’t the Mandegas have a smarter thought process too? They immediately went to Bhagawan Brahma and asked for a boon – “Every evening when we get killed by the Sandhyavandanam, we should again take re-birth next morning within twelve hours!” This is why, the “Mandegas” never get killed permanently. Even if we kill them today morning, they would be alive again by evening. Similarly, if we kill them by evening, they would again be up and running by the next morning. This is why we’ve to keep performing the “Sandhyavandanam” every day, without failure. It is only with our “Argya-Pradhaanam”, the “Mandegas” keep getting defeated every time and this would enable Bhagawan Soorya to chug along. 

This is the reason why we say that the morning quota of the “Sandhyavandanam” should be performed before the sunrise time, that is, before Bhagawan Soorya makes his appearance for the day. Similarly, the afternoon quota should be performed when Bhagawan Soorya is at the middle of his path. The evening quota should be performed when Bhagawan Soorya is still appearing during the dusk time. We should not wait till the sun sets completely. 

So for today, let us understand these important points and let us realize the significance of performing the “Sandhyavandana”. We shall wait till the next episode to continue with this important and interesting discussion of Sage Paraashara! Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed how time calculations were performed during the period of our ancient Maharishis and how accurately they’ve documented these details for our reference today. In those lines, we had witnessed Sage Paraashara’s accord as to how time zones are calculated across different countries and different Dveepas. This is what we refer to in today’s terminologies called the “Longitudes”. We’ve seen in the previous episode that the time zones are based out these longitudinal patterns across the world and every degree of longitude represents around four minutes of time difference from one degree to the other. This is why we have differences in time in various countries around the world and we’ve witnessed details of these. 

Thus, Sage Paraashara reiterates the important point that it takes 48 minutes to traverse twelve degrees in longitude and this time period is called one “Muhurtha”. This is where we get the arithmetic that one degree of longitude comprises four minutes of time. As this point is being highlighted, Sage Paraashara now talks about the “Uttharaayana” and “Dakshinaayana”. We’ve already witnessed the definitions of these two terminologies in yesterday’s episode, that is, when the sun moves towards the northern side (or forward movement), we refer this as the “Uttharaayana” and when the sun moves towards the southern side (Or backward movement), we refer this as the “Dakshinaayana”. In other words, the calculation is that, if Bhagawan Soorya enters into the “Makhara Raashi”, it means that he’s traversing through the “Uttharaayana” phase. This normally begins somewhere close to the middle of January every year. This day is normally celebrated as the “Makara Shankaraanthi” all over the country even today. Similarly, when the sun enters into the “Kataka Raashi”, it means that the movement is going to backwards or southwards from now on. This period is called “Dakshinaayana” and this normally starts around the month of July. 

Now, having understood this much, we shall see the exact paths through which the sun traverses. We’ve seen that the sun moves in two directions – North and south. Sage Paraashara expands this concept a bit more and explains the paths that Soorya Bhagawan takes. He says that there are three types of paths – The northern one, the middle one and the southern one. Here comes another complication – We’ve to now split these three paths into three sub-paths for each of them. Thus, we would have 9 paths in total – Three paths in the northern section, three in the middle and three in the south. The three paths in the northern direction are referred to as the “Naaga Veethi”. The paths that diverge into the southern direction are collectively referred to as the “Aja Veethi”. Below this “Aja Veethi” is something called “Yaamya Maarga” or the “Dhoomaathi Maarga”. The reason why I’m stressing on this is that, this is the path that we’ve to take to reach the “Yama-Patna”, or the place where Yama-Dharma-Raja resides! The path that diverges out of the “Naaga Veethi”, is the path called “Archiraadhi Maarga”. This is the path through which we’ve to attain “Moksha”. 

Thus we’ve to understand these nine different paths here, and for these paths, we’ve to understand the various “Nakshatras” (Stars) that are associated with each of them. Thus, for the nine paths of Bhagawan Soorya, we have 27 Nakshatras in total, which surmounts to about three Nakshatras per path. I shall give an illustration here – The first “Aja Veethi” or the northern path has three sub-paths isn’t it? So for the first path in the “Aja Veethi” are the associated Nakshatras of “Ashwini”, “Bharani” and “Kaarthika”. Thus, for every path, we associate them with three “Nakshatras” each, which makes it up to 27 different Nakshatras. Readers who might know Astrology might be able to understand this very clearly. 

Now coming to the next important point here – Sage Paraashara is now talking about the duration of the day and night. It would be amazing for us to note here that the duration of the day and night are almost equal during the “Chaitra” month (Mid-January to mid-february). In other words, the day and night would be around 12 hours each, in a 24-hour-day schedule. This same pattern can be observed in the month of “Aipasi” (Mid-November to mid-December). However, during the other months, there would be gross differences. For instance, during the “Uttharaayana” time, the time duration of the day would be more than that of the night. In similar lines, during the “Dakshinaayana” time, the time duration of the night would be more than that of the day. We can see this very clearly – As the Uttharaayana starts, the day time would start getting more, and there is this point, roughly around 21’st of June every year (Considered to be the longest day of the year) till which the day time is longer. After that, the day time would start reducing slowly until December-January. 

So for today, let us understand these important points and let’s wait for the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂