Saturday, September 18, 2021

Anant Chaturdashi

 In parts of Nepal, Bihar and Eastern U.P., the festival is closely linked to kshirsagar (Ocean of Milk) and Lord Vishnu's Anant Roopa

  1. Fourteen tilaks (small vertical strips) of vermilion are made on a wooden plank. 
  2. Fourteen puri (fried wheat bread) and 14 pua (deep fried sweet wheat bread) are placed on the vermilion strips. 
  3. A bowl containing panchamrit (made of milk, curd, jaggery, honey and ghee) symbolizing kshirsagar is placed on this wooden plank. 
  4. A thread with 14 knots, symbolizing Lord Anant is wrapped on a cucumber and is swirled five times in this "Ocean of Milk". 
  5. Later, this Anant thread is tied on the right arm above the elbow by men. Women tie this on their left arm. This Anant thread is removed after 14 days.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ananta+chaturdashi

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Kali

 According to a lesser known Madhva version of the legend, during the churning of the ocean of milk, a great poison known as halahala was produced, which Vayu, the god of wind, rubbed in his hands to reduce its potency. Then a small portion was given to god Shiva, turning his throat blue. The rest was collected in a golden vessel and digested by Vayu. (One source states he drank the Kalakuta poison of Vasuki nāga. Still others more commonly state that Shiva drank alone.) A little portion of poison that wasn't swallowed by Shiva became the body of Kali. From this poison also came, "cruel objects like snakes, wolves, and tigers."

Later, when the asura Rahu was decapitated by Vishnu's Mohini Avatar, the demon's allies attacked her and all except Kali were killed. Having the power to possess the bodies of immortal and mortal beings, he entered the hearts of man and escaped . Because Kali was "invisible, unimaginable, and present in all" the only way to correct the chaos born from the miswritten texts was to completely renew the sacred scriptures entirely. Thus Vishnu descended to earth as Vedavyasa, the compiler of the sacred scriptures Vedas and the writer of the Puranas.

https://freeglobaluniversity.blogspot.com/search/label/Veda


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(demon)

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