The day after Kartik amavasya is Bali Pratipada also known in the south as Bali Padyami or the ascent of King Bali . It is called Padwa in Maharashtra. King Bali of patala loka come out of Pathala Loka and rule Bhuloka as per the boon given by Lord...
Lord Shiva and Parvati lived at the top of the Himalayas. Sometimes they stayed on Mount Kailash and sometimes they stayed on another mountain named Mandara. One day Parvati said to her consort, “My Lord, everybody has a house. Can we not also have...
We hear so much being talked about Spiritualism today and it has happily become fashionable to be projecting a spiritual profile. To most of us it is an image worth possessing because we expect to be perceived more seriously and with more reverence...
TENTULI: (Tamarind) Tamarindus indica Family: Caesalpinaceae Sanskrit name: Chincha Hindi name: Imli That, wood which we cut for firewood did all hang . . . with cods of green fruit called Tamerin it hath a very sour taste and by the Apothecaries is...
JAAMKOLI: (Black Plum). Cyzygium cumini) Family: Myrtaceae Sanskrit name: Jambu Hindi name: Jamun In the Continent of the Jamun Trees, where the land of India lies . . . ~Indian ritual invocation. The ripening fruit of the jamun tree signals the...
DALCHINI: (Cinnamon) Cinnamomum zeylanicum Famify: Lauraceae Sanskrit name: Tvak Hindi name: Dalchini Spikeward and saffron, calamus and cinnamon . . . Awake, a north wind, and come thou south; come blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may...
DHATURA: (tHORN aPPLE) (Datura alba) Family: Solanaceae Sanskrit name: Dhatura Hindi name: Dhatura If food be mixed with the fruit of the thorn apple, it intoxicates. ~ Ancient Indian Text (fifth century A.D.) The Indian thorn apple, or datura as it...
Dharamaa (Dharmapada) was the son of medieval Orissa’s great temple architect, Bisu Maharana. As he had access to the manuscripts describing details of temple construction, he was fascinated by the since his childhood. By the time he turned...
Magha Shukla Purnima is celebrated as Agira purnima, popularly known and referred to as Agni Utsav (in the panjikas too). Mostly a harvest ritual, it is celebrated by farmers in Orissa by burning a fire in the evening, similar to the Lohri festival...
After safely reaching Ayodhya, Lord Rama settled down to a happy life of kingship and matrimony. Hanuman continued to be a constant and devoted companion with an unrestricted access to Rama. Life went on normally. Many delightful episodes from this...
