Vedanam 2023

  The great war of Kurukshetra was over. The Pandavas had won the kingdom which was rightfully theirs. Although the war was over, there was one Pandav who suffered from inner turmoil. Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma could not feel any sense of victory or peace after the war. The death of an entire clan which composed of his cousins, great kings and Gurus, left him with immense grief. The noble-hearted Yudhisthira kept blaming himself. “It is because of my greed, my Rajya-lobha , that all these people had to die. This should not have been allowed to happen.” Krishna tried to console Yudhisthira with words of wisdom. “The Kaurava clan was destroyed because of the Adharma that they were reaping in their souls. Have you forgotten the incident when they humiliated my sister Draupadi in front of the entire court? Do you not know the injustice they meted out to you? For the major sin of disrespecting Draupadi, they had to be killed. They carried within them, the germs of their own dest...

In this blog we will read about a unique temple of Lord Shiva - Kurumanakkudi Kannayiram Udayar temple which is situated in Mayiladuthrai district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Kannayiranathar and His consort is Devi Murugu Valar Kothai Naayaki.  The word 'Kannayiram' means a thousand eyes. (Kannu - eyes, ayiram - thousand). There is a legend associated with this name. Deva Indra was attracted to Ahalya, the wife of Rishi Gautama. Once, during the Rishi's absence, he took on the disguise of the Rishi, visited his home and tricked Ahalya into believing that he was her husband. When Rishi Gautama returned home and saw Indra and Ahalya, he became furious. He cursed Ahalya to turn into a stone. He prophesied that she would be relieved of her curse when Lord Rama's feet would touch her. He also cursed Lord Indra that his body would be disfigured. A thousand spots appeared on Indra's body as a result of the curse. Lord Brahma advised Indra to worship Lor...

  The Bhagavatham gives us a brief glimpse into the days after the great war of Kurukshetra. As Duryodhana was lying on the ground, his thigh broken by Bheema, Ashwattama, the son of Dronacharya, came to meet him. On seeing his friend’s broken condition, Ashwattama’s fury knew no bounds. He took an oath before Duryodhana that he would avenge the war by destroying the Pandavas. That night, Ashwattama sneaked into the camp of the Pandavas. Although he did not find the Pandav brothers, he found their children and Draupadi’s brothers all sleeping. In a fit of anger, Ashwattama committed a terrible deed – he killed all the children of the Pandavas as well as the brothers of Draupadi. After setting fire to the camp, he walked away. It is said that even Duryodhana himself was shocked when Ashwattama told him about this heinous act and severely reprimanded him. In the morning, the news reached the Pandavas. Draupadi’s grief cannot be expressed here in words, having lost all of her ...

In this blog, we will read about a Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu which stands as a unifying factor for two major sects of Hinduism - Vaishnavism and Shaivism. The temple is called by several names - Nathan kovil, Thiru Nandipura Vinnagaram and Jagannatha Perumal Kovil. It is situated at the outskirts of Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu worshipped as Jagannatha and His consort is Devi Shenbagavalli.  Legend has it that once Nandi, the sacred bull of Lord Shiva visited Vaikuntham, the abode of Maha Vishnu to meet the Lord. In his excitement, Nandi failed to give proper respect to the Dwarpalaas (gatekeepers) of Vaikuntham. This angered the gatekeepers and they cursed Nandi that he would suffer from oppressive heat all over his body. Lord Shiva advised Nandi to go to the forest named Shenbagaranyam (the place where presently the temple is located) and to meditate on Maha Vishnu to get His help. Accordingly, Nandi sought the Lord's grace. Pleased with his devoti...

  In the previous chapter, we read about the conversation between Rishi Narada and Rishi Vyasa. We read about how Narada suggested to Vyasa that the only way the latter could attain peace is by singing the glories of Lord Narayana. As Vyasa reflected on this, a brief silence followed that was interrupted only by the gentle ripples that the river Sarawati made in her flow and by the strings of the Veena that Narada plucked every now and then. “Let me tell you how Narayana saved me from the bondage of Karma.” Narada said all of a sudden. “You may not be aware of the circumstances of my previous birth.” “Previous birth!?” Vyasa exclaimed in amazement. “But you are the son of Brahma. How could you be subject to a mortal birth??” “By the previous birth, I mean the previous Kalpa. ” Narada said and he recounted the story as stated below. A woman used to work in an Ashram. Once a group of sages visited the Ashram and planned to stay there for few months. The woman sent her five-...

  One evening, Shri Vyasa was sitting beside the river Saraswati on whose banks, lay the hermitage of the Rishi. He was lost in thought, a strange sadness gripping his heart. The twangs of the strings of a divine Veena broke the silence. Along with the sweet notes of the strings, Vyasa heard the chant of ‘Narayana! Narayana!’ To his immense delight, he saw it was Rishi Narada coming to meet him. He welcomed the Rishi and after giving him a seat of honour, sat by Narada’s feet. “I hope all is well with you.” Narada said smiling at Vyasa. “I am sure that you are happy, now that you have composed the great epic Mahabharata which is an immense store-house of knowledge. It is a great achievement and the whole world will benefit by it. Indeed you must be in a very delighted state of mind.” As if the all-knowing Narada did not know about the agitation in Vyasa’s mind! And yet he said this with the intention to get Vyasa to talk about the same. Sure enough, when Vyasa did not reply...

  The Bhagavatha Purana begins with a conversation between Ughrashravas, the son of Rishi Romaharshana who was a disciple of the great sage Vyasa, and Rishi Shaunaka, the leader of a group of Rishis who lived in the mystical forest named Naimisharanya. When Ughrashravas approached the Rishis at Naimisharanya, he was warmly welcomed by all of them. Their leader, Rishi Shaunaka spoke to him. “Our hermitage is honoured by your visit. It is well-known that your father, the great Rishi Romaharshana who was a disciple of Rishi Vyasa has learnt all the puraanas from his Guru. We are eagerly waiting to hear wonderful stories of devotion from you. Please recount the same to us.” Ughrashravas said. “The third quarter of Time, Dvapara Yuga has passed away and Kali-yuga has set in. With the advent of Kali, Adharma, injustice and many other sins have made earth their home. Naimisharanya is the only place which cannot be touched by Kali, and hence I came here. Please let me know what I can d...