He gave the primary importance to Ganapathya, tne Worship of Lord Ganesh.
The Composition Ganesha Pancharatnam is very potent and is well-known.
Where did Shankaracharya compose this?
Aaiyrathu Enn Vinayakar
Legend has it that he composed it in Aaiyirathu Enn Vinayaka Temple, Thoothukudi/Tuticorin District before proceeding to Trichendur for composing the Subramanya Bhujangam.
As a rule, all begin their routines, domestic or otherwise offering the first prayer to Lord Vinayaka.People pray for removal of obstacles in wedding efforts, progress in education, for early settlements in litigation pending in courts, frequent repairs in vehicles leading to accidents.People pray to Aayirathu Enn Vinayaka before starting any enterprise for auspicious results.
During the fourth century, a king Somara Vallaban brought 1008 Brahmins from the Narmada River region to conduct a Yajna.Yet their number was short by one.Lord Vinayaka appeared there in the guise of a Brahmin and helped completing the Yajna in order.Hence, the Vinayaka is named Aayirathu Enn Vinayaka – 1008th Vinayaka.It is said that Vinayaka stayed in the Arumugamangalam village itself offered to him as Dakshina.
How to Reach Arumugamangalam.
Eral is 50 km Tirunelveli new bus stand. The devotee has to catch another bus from Eral to Arumugamangalam. Auto and mini bus facilities are available.
Nearest Railway Station
Tuticorin
Nearest Airport
Madurai
Accommodation at Sri Aayirathu Enn Vinayaka Temple, Arumugamangalam
Tuticorin:
Hotel Geetha International: +91-461-234 6174, 874, 974
Hotel Alwyn: +91-461-232 8780/ 81/ 82/ 83 – mobile-98437 29210
Hotel Sukham: +91-0461-232 8172/272/372/472/572
Hotel Joni International: +91-461-232 8350/51/52/53, 232 8960
Hotel Palson: +91-461-232 0839, 232 5179, 232 7052, 232 7053
Chitra Lodge: +91-461-232 8877, 232 8977, 232 9077
Hotel Visaka: +91-461-232 9601, 02, 03
Hotel Palsornam: +91-461-232 4616.
I posted an article on this with the intention of posting some more on the subject.
Somehow I never got around dong it.
Reason was I wanted to get to know further details on Shakti worship and Tantra Shastra.
Though I am reasonably with the Tantra Shastra I had reservations.
Now , as it happens when I think of writing some thing, the reference books keep coming to me, with out my seeking them.
I have now two excellent references.
So the post.
Shati Peethas Locations
Apart from worshiping God as an Impersonal principle, Hinduism treats them as Personal Gods with Human Attributes.
Thus one would find Upanishads,Purusha Suktha efining or describing th Brahman as the Ultimate Reality,we also have Narayana Suktam,Sri Suktam,Vishnu Suktam,Durga Suktam, Rudra and Chamaka, not to speak of the innumerable Slokas.
In the case of Shaki or Devi Worship, the worship has gone into greater lengths and as a personal God, her Body parts are reported to have been scattered over a wide area, after the Self immolation of the Sati Devi at the Daksha Yaga.
There are various and differing versions as to the number of parts that have fallen.
Further explaining the importance of these four Pithas, the “Brihat Samhita” also gives the location of these Pithas as (In Sanskrit) “Rushikulya* Tatae Devi, Tarakashya Mahagiri, Tashya Srunga Stitha Tara Vasishta Rajitapara” (Rushikulya is a holy river flowing on the foot hill of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine”-The Astashakti and Kalika Purana.
Apart from this there are Fifty two Shakti Peethas spread over India,Bangladesh,Sri Lanka,Tibet and Pakistan.
According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 52 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 52 maha-peethas, speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 52 peethas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below.One of the few in South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.
There is also a version which states that there are 64, 108.
Locally known as Bhramari Devi. In Jalpaiguri near a small village Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota (combination of three flows) mentioned in Puranas
First relating to Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, it mentions 64 Shakthi Peetha of Goddess Parvati in the Bharat or Greater India including present day India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines, is the Shakthi Peetha Stotram, written by Adi Shankara, the 9th-century Hindu philosopher.[10]
According to the manuscriptMahapithapurana (c. 1690 – 1720 CE), there are 52 such places. Among them, 23 are located in the Bengal region, 14 of these are located in what is now West Bengal, India, 1 in Baster (Chhattisgarh), while 7 are in what is now Bangladesh.
Rishi Markandeya composed the ‘Devi Saptashati’ or the seven hundred hymns extolling the virtues of the Divine Goddess at the shaktipeetha in Nashik. The idol is also leaning a little to the left to listen to the sages composition. The Saptashati or the “Durga Stuti” forms an integral part in the vedic form of Shakti worship.
Preserving the mortal relics of famous and respected individuals was a common practice in ancient India – seen in the Buddhiststupas which preserve the relics of Gautama Buddha. It is believed by some[citation needed] that these 64 peethas preserve the remains of some ancient female sage from whom the legend of Kali could have emerged and then merged with the Purusha – Prakriti (Shiva Shakti) model of Hindu thought.
Despite the politicians having divided India, none can severe the Religious bond between India and Pakistan. One of the 52 Shakti Peetas is in Hinglaj, Balochistan province about 250 km north of Karachi. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ekTB3SCBng The Teertha. An important stop during the pilgrimage is the mud volcano called ‘Chandrakup’ (Bengali:…
One of the Shakti Peetas is Shakti Sugandha, where the Devi’s Nose had fallen. This is one of the rare Temples where the Shadow of The Temple Falls on the River Sunanada . Shiva is worshiped here as Triyambak, Generally the Shadow of the temple is not expected to fall…
Lecture on Sri Lalita Sahasranama. This sahasranama is used in various modes of worship of the Divine Mother such as parayana (recitations), archana, and homa. A different but less popular version[2] of the Lalita Sahasranama can also be found in the purva bhaga of the Narada Purana. The names are organized as hymns, or stotras,…
Explanation from The six Systems of Indian philosophy, Vedas and interpreting the ancient texts in modern scientific terms including Quantum.To join WhatsApp+919480591538
There was a question in Quora as to ‘Why There is Injustice in the world,
Every day, almost 25,000 people starve to death—and only after long, horrible agony. This is not limited to physical pain, but includes psychological and mental anguish of parents often having their children die in their arms. Starvation is so awful death can be longed for.
If possible, I’d prefer if you don’t resort to rebirth theory, some alternative explanation will be appreciated.
News has just come in that the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi case,Santhan,Perarivalan and other’s Death sentence has been overturned by the Supreme Court.
For them it is justice, and to the most who believe that they deserve the sentence the Death Sentence.
The other side says that Rajiv deserved to be killed for sending the IPKF to Sri Lanka.
LTTE became a killing machine because of ill-treatment of Tamils,
Tamils were ill-treated because, from the Sinhalese point of view, were usurping Sinhalese’s Rights and Lands.
Tamils counter that Sri Lanka was Tamils’ and it was developed by them!
The list is endless.
The point I am trying to make is that Justice or Injustice are relative terms and have no absolute term of reference.
It depends on the ever-changing circumstances and the individuals’ perceptions of them.
So is suffering.
For the poor absence of Money is the cause of suffering.
For the Rich the presence of it , is the cause of suffering.
At the individual level what caused me suffering once ,no longer causes it .
As also Pleasure.
So these judgments a are variable and are not themselves the cause of Suffering.
As such things by themselves do not cause any suffering.
It is our reaction to and our capacity to handle them is the cause of sufferings.
Sufferings are,
1.Mental
2.Emotional and
3 .Physical.
Mental sufferings are those that occur in our mind because of our inability to cope up with things that happen which are beyond our scope.
Emotional sufferings are because of our inability to control our desires and attachments,
We take things to be permanent and yearns for them.
Like Love, Relationships.
All things come to an end in death ,if not earlier.
So sufferings per se are not real and are our making.
People may ask,
Take for example ,the Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka or the Holocaust inflicted by Hitler upon the Jews.
As said earlier the reason lies in the perspective of the people.
At the Universal Level there is no such thing as Good or Evil.
They are all Illusions pertaining to this Temporal World.
They do not affect the Self, the Atman.
It is beyond these.
Look at you self.
You have suffered.
Have you been suffering all through your Life?
People think only of sufferings and never recollect their Happier times.
Worse still is that they do not realize they are Happy when they are Happy.
So Happiness or suffering is the attitude of the Mind.
Some years back I had an occasion to ask of a Mason, whose job was over in one of the construction sites I was handling.
He just a job.
He whistling and I knew he had no money.
I asked him as to how he can be happy under the circumstances.
He replied,
‘Sir, I am 40, I do not bother about these things.I am happy now. I know my job.I know some body will give me a job to-morrow the day after.Why should I suffer now thinking about it?’
What an attitude!
Now as to the physical suffering part, there is no concrete answer apart from the faith in Fate and Karma Theory.
No other Theory can explain these other than the Karma Theory.
It is the best explanation not only for suffering but also the Evolution of world.
Quantum is veering round to this view.
Please read my posts filed under Astrophysics, Science.Indian Philosophy and Hinduism.
Related articles
Meaning: 4.1: Neither am I bound by Merits nor Sins, neither by Worldly Joys nor by Sorrows, 4.2: Neither am I bound by Sacred Hymns nor by Sacred Places, neither by Sacred Scriptures nor by Sacrifies, 4.3: I am Neither Enjoyment (Experience), nor an object to be Enjoyed (Experienced), nor the Enjoyer (Experiencer), 4.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva, The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.
The author is reported to be a great researcher and her books have been acclaimed by some Indian Scholars.
The Hindus An Alternative History, Krishna Fondling Breast.
My points.
1.The Lady in question seems to have Catherine Mayo Mentality.
The difference is that she has been clever enough to have her accepted as an author of some credibility by writing an Anthology of Rig Veda.
This, some have declared as very good, as if we have no other Books on Rig Veda.
There is nothing earth-shaking about this Book.
But to gain international Fame, most Indian authors do it, to sell their present or future Books abroad,though their grasp of the Subject is questionable.
This applies to the encomiums on this author.
Some foreign joker went to the extent of Psychoanalyzing the Hindus’ reaction by saying,
“a kind of lightning rod for the censure that these scholars receive from freelance critics and ‘watch-dog’ organizations that claim to represent the sentiments of Hindus.[13]”
2.Look at some among her Portfolio.
Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva;
The effort seems to portray Hinduism as a sort of Cheap erotic fiction.
As Karunanidhi did Tholkappiyam into an Erotic Book!
Penguin Books Board Minutes on The Hindus an alternative History
3.Insulting is know the insensitive interview in TIME with this author.
Excerpt.
”
According to her book, whenRamrajya[an idyllic vision of state propounded by Mahatma Gandhi] comes to India, then Christians and Muslims will be driven out of India. We all know that Gandhiji’s vision was about unity; he dreamed of a state where there would be no discrimination based on religion or wealth. Her book will incite hatred among communities. Furthermore, Doniger says [in the book] that when Sanskrit scriptures were written, Indian society favored open sexuality. The jacket of her book shows Lord Krishna sitting on the buttocks of nude women. She equates theshivlingam,worshipped all over India by millions, with sex and calls it an erect penis. She calls Gandhiji strange and says he used to sleep with young girls.
So, it is primarily the juxtaposition of sex and Hinduism in the book that bothers you?
The entire book is objectionable, but yes, that is one of our main objections. She is insulting our gods and goddesses and religious leaders and texts and even our freedom fighters. I don’t have any objection to sex and neither does our religion, as long as it’s within the parameters of religion.
Why does it matter so much to you about what someone writes about Hinduism?
If someone makes a cartoon of the prophet Mohammad, Muslims are outraged around the world. So why should anyone write anything against Hinduism and get away with it? It matters because this book is hurting the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. I am a Hindu. When I read the book, I felt hurt. It hurt my sentiments.’
Who is to be concerned if Hinduism is denigrated?
4.Excerpts from the Book, as available now.
“The jacket of her book shows Lord Krishna sitting on the buttocks of nude women. She equates theshivlingam,worshipped all over India by millions, with sex and calls it an erect penis. She calls Gandhiji strange and says he used to sleep with young girls…
He finds it objectionable that Doniger writes in the book that independence hero Mahatma Gandhi had a “habit of sleeping beside girls young enough to be called jailbait in the United States”; and that 19th Century Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda “set himself against all forms of caste distinction and advised people to eat beef”.’
“
Maps in front pages: Maps titled Indias Geographical Features and India from 600 CE to 1600 CE
COMMENT: In the first map, the Waziristan Hills area is marked erroneously as Kirthar Range. The Kirthar Range is at least 200 miles further south. In the third map, Janakpur, Nagarkot, Mandu and Haldighati are marked several hundred miles from their correct geographical location.
Pg. 67 – It is claimed that the entire Harappan culture had a population of 40,000!
COMMENT: This is estimated as the population of Mohenjo-Daro alone. The population of the entire culture is estimated around 500,000.
Pg 130 – The author claims that there are no Gods in the Vedas who are Shudras.
COMMENT: It is anachronistic to assign castes to Rigvedic deities, but nevertheless, Pushan, Vesmapati and others have been considered Shudra deities in later times.
Pg 450- It is claimed that Emperor Ala-ud-Din Khalji did not sack temples in Devagiri.
COMMENT: His contemporary Amir Khusro clearly mentions that the Emperor sacked numerous temples and raised mosques instead.
Pg 552 – The book claims that the Ramcharitmanas was written at Varanasi.
COMMENT: Both modern scholarship as well as tradition accept that the work (or at least most of it) was written in Ayodhya.
Pg 128 – The book likens the Vedic devotee worshipping different Vedic deities to a lying and a philandering boyfriend cheating on his girlfriend(s).
COMMENT: This is offensive and ignores that fact that in the Rigveda, the gods are said to be all united, born of one another, and from the same source.(India Today)
5.Why is it that writing on Islam, even a hint of Prophet’s Image.would hurt Religious sentiments ?
Satanic Verses by Rushdie was banned for much less and a booty was announced to kill the author.
6.The Da Vinci Code was initially banned for portraying History as found in Christianity.
7.Are these secularists prepared to publish a Book on Muhammad marrying a Widow with a child,
Or marrying a nine-year old,
or The practice of Thighing in Islam where children are raped as a practice?
Or Mary of Magdalene was the wife , to put it politely,of Jesus?
8.I have a good collection of Posts on the History of Islam, Christianity, American wiping out the Indians,Debauchery of the British Monarchy.
Any body there to publish them in the interest of Truth and History?
Christians make fun of Nude worship in Hinduism, which is practiced rarely in Tantric System.
It is a special spiritual discipline, calling forth enormous discipline and has very strong reasoning behind it.
But the Church is allowing now Nude worship because of the simple reason that Jesus was born Naked?
As if every one else is born fully clothed.
Read and enjoy.
Nude worship Chrch
A church inthe US state of Virginia has taken the bizarredecision to allow its congregation to attend services in the nude.
Pastor Allen Parker, the leader of White Tail Chapel in the town of Southampton, said he came to the decision to allow naked worship after concluding the clothing requirements of other churches were overly ‘pretentious’, and decided his own flock should be free to forgo such materialism if they desire.
He believes he is in good company too, claiming many of the most important moments in the Bible happened while the protagonists were nude, including Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Mr Parker is believed to have drawn at least some of his opinions on nudity from the book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve were originally described as ‘both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed’.
It was only after sinfully eating forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge that Adam and Even are said to have seen their nudity as shameful, at which point they sowed fig leaves into loincloths.
Although the church allows worshipers to attend services fully naked, many have decided they would rather continue to attend fully clothed, particuarly when in mid-winter, while others opt to just reveal their breasts or genitals.
The idea is that nudity is ‘the great equaliser’, reminding all those gathered in the church that they are simple human beings and that, beneath any personal wealth or glamorous outward appearance, they are all more of less the same beneath the clothing.
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