Q&A

Question Is Bhagavad Gita text Shruti or Smriti? Answer According to Prasthanatrayi concept of Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita is considered as Smriti Prashthana. As presented in forward by T.M.P Mahadevan in English translation of BrahmaSutra Bhasya of Adi Shankaracharya by Swami Gambhirananda: .......The Bhagavad-Gita comes next only to the Upanishads. It is given a status which is almost equal to that of the Upanishads. As embodying the teachings of Sri Krishna and as constituting the cream of the Epic Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-Gita occupies a unique place in the Vedantic tradition....

Question Is Lord Shiva dark in complexion? Answer Lord Shiva's Complexion was described in Chapter Four (Cancula's Salvation) of Shiva Purana Mahatyam in Shiva Puranam. You can see that from here.(Page 18) She saw the three-eyed Mahadeva, the eternal, being served devotedly by Brahma,Vishnu and other gods. He had the brilliance of ten million suns and was reverently served by Ganesha, Bhrngi, Nandisa, Virabhadreshwara and others. His neck had a blue hue ; he had five faces, three eyes , the cresent moon as crest-ornament and his left hand was apportioned to Gauri , who had the brilliance of lighting....

Question Feminist’s claim that the Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata were written by male writers Answer tl;dr It's true that the scriptures indeed prescribe principles, ideologies and ways of life which are pro-male. But it's based on physical & mental attributes associated with male-female body & mind. In other context, during Anushasana Parva, Bhishma also described women in highest regard: Respect, kind treatment, and everything else that is agreeable, should all be given unto the maiden whose hand is taken in marriage....

Question What is the Pashupatastra? Did Arjuna use it in the Kurukshetra war? Answer 1) What is Pashupatastra ? Pashupatastra is the personal favourite weapon of Lord Shiva. Just like weapons of Lord Brahma, = Brahmastra, Brahmashirastra, etc... weapons of Lord Vishnu, = Narayanastra, Vaishnavastra, etc.. similarly weapons of Lord Shiva, = Pashupatastra, Maheswarastra, Raudrastra, etc... Literally, Pasupatastra = Weapon of Pasupati So, there can be two category. One is special Pasupatastra (which Arjuna received) which is very powerful....

Question What is the proper way to say ‘good bye’ in Hinduism? Answer In our culture we never say Good bye , we say come back again , I am Gujarati we used to say come back again, In Gujarati we says "chaalo aavjo(ચલો અવોજો)" means come back again. And "Tack care is there every time". but we never say Good Bye & we also says Pranam & take Permission for go outside, from our elders and they give us blesses....

Question Why do Hindus believe in doing ‘Sraddha ’ (annual death anniversary) of ancestors, even though they believe in the concept of rebirth? Answer First, there is no guarantee that one will take birth right after one dies. There is usually an undefined time lapse between births because the next upadhi may not yet be ready. Secondly, The offerings you offer to ancestors reach them in a form suitable to their current upadhi....

Question What are the Yagnas Sri Krishna was referring to in Srimad Bhagavad Gita? Answer Typically when someone says "Yagnya" (or "Yajna"), we visualize following or something similar: To avoid such impression, many translators use the word "sacrifice", which is also famous in various Sanskrit dictionaries. But, then we imagine following: In this case, Shri Krishna is not talking about such limited scoped aspects. Because, in today's time, it will be easily rejected by the most populace, as such activities don't render anything....

Question Was Rishabha, the first tirthankar of Jainism, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva? Answer Rishabhadeva was an avatara of Vishnu as is described in Srimad Bhagavatam (5th Canto, 3rd Chapter): SB 5.3.17 — The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: O great sages, I am certainly very pleased with your prayers. You are all truthful. You have prayed for the benediction of a son like Me for King Nābhi, but this is very difficult to obtain....

Question Gandhari’s curse to Shri Krishna Answer Just being curious, I tried to find out the dates of the happenings. It is very difficult and needs a leap of faith to take all the dates as accurate. With different means to mention the time (A.D, BCE, B.C etc) tying all together was bit difficult. In one view I see these points which just amazes me (not quoting this as an answer, but may be it can be)....

Question Complete English translations of Puranas Answer Note: Skip to bottom of this answer to download complete Purana as single PDF file. All these puranas are scanned and non text searchable. Index here shows Skanda Purana consists 23 Volumes.Of 23 Volumes,20 volumes were found from West Bengal Dspace. Skanda Purana Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 Volume 5 Volume 6 Volume 7 Volume 8 Volume 9 Volume 10 Volume 11 Volume 12 Volume 13 Volume 14 Volume 15 Volume 16 Volume 17 Volume 18 Volume 19 Volume 20 I will update links for other Volumes after getting legitimate links....

Question When and what time does the Navratri fast end? Answer Navaratri basically represents a celebration of the Goddess Durga, with nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights Navratri is “Nine Nights festival”. The commencement of spring and autumn are considered to be an important junction of atmospheric and solar influences, and this is the reason why these two periods are taken as sacred prospects for the worship of the Divine Durga Maa....

Question Are there any references to Gravity in Hindu Scriptures? Answer Due to the dominance of Vedanta school in present time, Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) is often seen only in the light of Vedanta. If we go with respect to doctrines, Vedanta is only a small part of philosophies of Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is mainly represented by six philosophies like Vedanta, Mimamsa, Nyaya etc.. Among the six school of philosophy, Vaishesika is one of them....

Question Righteousness among Rakhshasas Answer While a layman uses the words Asura,Daitya ,Rakshasa synonymously but there are differences between them. Atleast ,as far as a Daitya and a Rakshasa are concerned there is quite a good amount of differences between the two. Manu Smriti, the oldest Dharma Shastra, describe everything in creation as manifestations of the 3 gunas(Triguna) viz-Sattva,Rajas and Tamas. Each of these 3 groups are further divided into three more sub-groups viz-Sattva1,Sattva2 and Sattva3 where Sattva3 is the lowest form of Sattva and Sattva1 the highest....

Question Is it wise to kill an insect just because it is bothering you Answer Damaging crops and infrastructure eventually leads to damage to humans. Worry about the karma you are creating by not helping a human in need. The amount of karma from killing an insect, even thousands, is inconsequential compared to the karma for harming one human, much less killing one. As Swami Vivekananda has pointed out, we are surrounded by life, just the act of taking a breath of air kills thousands of bacteria....

Question How Sattva Guna Lord Vishnu killed Demons or evil people in his incarnations? Answer Lord Vishnu is associated with Sattva Guna... Relating 3 modes of nature with 3 Gods is insulting. Where BrahmA and Shiva are associated with Rajas and Tamas respectively. BrahmA is not only a homonym with Brahman but also quite near and also he is the creator of the universe. Shiva/Sadashiva/Rudra/MahAdev is equally respected among devotees. Now someone (may be a Vishnu worshiper) has ignorantly associated Triguna to Trideva and secured Sattva for Vishnu....