On the day of Kartik Poornima this month, I had the good fortune of being at Somnath, the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas and after the elating darshan of Lord Somnath or Somashekhar, I wanted to tell you all the story of this great place. Legend has it that the Lingam of Somnath has been […]
Tag: Lord Shiva
Amaraneedhi was a rich merchant belonging to the town of Pazhayarai which was the ancient day capital of the Chola kingdom. It still exists with the same name in Tanjore District of Tamilnadu, India. Amaraneedhi traded in gold, gems, jewellery and silks. He was a very honest trader and also an ardent Shiva devotee. Though […]
India has succeeded in the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in the first attempt just a few days ago and it occurred to me that I should write the mythological story of Mars. In our Puranas, it is said that once when Lord Shiva was in deep meditation, a drop of sweat from the brow of […]
Once upon a time, Sage Narada visited Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash. “Narayana Narayana!” he came in chanting as was his usual style. Lord Shiva welcomed him with a smile. He knew that Narada had come there with a sure purpose. Narada’s visit was never ordinary. “Come Narada”, welcomed the Lord. “How are things? And […]
This is the story of one of the three women Nayanmars out of the sixty three Nayanmars (saints who were devotees of Lord Shiva) In the present day town of Karaikkal near Pondicherry, near about 6th century BC, there was a merchant by name Dhanadattan who lived with his wife Dhanalakshmi Ammal. They had […]
This is the story of Appoodhi Adigal who is one of the sixty three saivite saints (Nayanmars). Appoodhi was a Brahman living in Thingaloor, which is situated near Tiruvaiyaru of Tanjore District. He was a great philanthropist as he believed that service to mankind was service to God. He built many buildings, roads etc. and […]
This is the story of one of the sixty-three Nayanars (Saivite saints) Kannappa Nayanar. Kannappa Nayanar was born Thinnan , in a place called Uduppur near the present day Srikalahasti to the Chieftain of the hunting tribe, Nagan. Thinnan was born after lot of penance by his parents and so was the apple of their […]
The Pandavas along with their wife Draupadi, were in exile in the forest after the cunning game of dice played by their cousin Duryodhana. The terrible war seemed inevitable and they had to gather forces, armies and weapons for that. Duryodhana, on his side had four stalwarts namely Bhishma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya and Ashwatthama who had complete […]