In the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, as Vaishampayana Muni begins to narrate the story of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Raja Janamejaya requests him to explain the benefits of listening to, or reading, the Mahabharata. Vaishampayana then narrates the great benefits of Mahabharata Katha-Shravana highlighting how it rids the listener of major sins and... Continue Reading →
Ramayana: Destroying the Moolabala of Ravana
Valmiki Ramayana is no doubt the most popular version of the Ramayana and is considered as one of the Itihasas in our land. Many sampradayas, though, refer to the existence of a 'Moola Ramayana' or the original Ramayana that predates Valmiki Ramayana. Sri Madhwacharya, in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, has explained that he has used... Continue Reading →
The purpose of creation
I was going through an extremely interesting article on the problem of evil according to Hindu view. In that article there is a section that explains two sutras of the Brahmasutras from an Advaitic and Vishistadvaitic point of view. The particular sutras I am referring to are part of the “na-prayojanatva-adhikaranam”. According to Sri Shankaracharya and Sri... Continue Reading →
Jwara and Sri Krishna’s Remedy
The Vishnu Parva of the Harivamsha Purana and the 10th Skanda of Srimadbhagavata narrate a very interesting incident from the pastimes of Sri Krishna. Usha, who was the daughter of Banasura, once had a dream of uniting with Aniruddha, the grandson of Sri Krishna (son of Pradyumna). Aniruddha was an extremely handsome man, and Usha... Continue Reading →
Pranasutra 