Q&A

Question Why is “Chandra” added in the name of Lord Rama? Answer There is no such story. But there are two reasons: Lord Rama was the first child after a long wait, in King Dashratha's family, so he was very dear and close to King's heart so they called "Chand sa beta" in Hindi or "Chandra" in Sanskrit. Lord Rama was born on "Chaitra" Month of Indian calendar in suda 9(or Ramanavmi), which is the ninth day of the bright-half of the Indian month Chaitra....

Question Why did Lord Hanuman forget that he has special powers? Answer I found an actual scriptural account of the story the other two answers describe, from the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana. As a child, Hanuman acquired lots of boons from various gods, as I describe in this answer. And he started using his new-found powers to cause a lot of mischief: Because of the boons he received and the strength which he gained from them, Hanuman was replete with his own speed, like the ocean....

Question What happens after death? Answer Because no one has actually seen what happens after death, there are multiple beliefs regarding this. But the yogis through their eyes of knowledge know the movement of the beings before and after their death: utkrāmantaḿ sthitaḿ vāpi bhuñjānaḿ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ [BG - 15.10] Meaning Not the people of lower intelligence, but one with the eye of knowledge sees how a being leaves the body, stays in the body and experiences different bodies due to nature....

Question Who made Lord Hanuman immortal? Answer Hanuman's immortality is a combination of multiple boons. First of all, as described in the Kishkindha Kanda of the Ramayana, when Hanuman was a child, he saw the sun and thought it was a fruit, so he flew toward it in an attempt to eat it. When Indra saw Hanuman coming, he threw his Vajra (thunderbolt) to strike him down, in the process injuring Hanuman's left cheekbone....

Question Who gave weapons to Shri Krishna and Balarama and how? Answer The story is described in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata. A king named Shwetaki had once conducted a Yagna (fire-ritual) for twelve years, and having consumed all the ghee (clarified butter) that was offered into the fire, Agni the fire god felt lethargic. So he consulted Brahma, who told him to consume the Khandava forest: O exalted one, thou hast eaten, for twelve years, a continuous stream of sacrificial butter poured into thy mouth!...

Question Why is the idol of Lord Ganesha immersed in water (visarjana)? Answer Every year Clay statues of Lord Ganesha are immersed into the water bodies or in sea. Gradually the clay dissolves into water. Ganesha's image disappears. This ritual is designed by our ancestors to draw attention to the 'ephemeral nature of life and worldly things'. Showing that nothing in this mortal world lasts forever. It celebrates the fact of life of Creation(Idol construction),Perpetuation and finally Visarjan or immersion(Destruction) in water bodies with fun and fair, as celebration pointing to the fact and Showing that death is imperative/essential for creation of new that's why people say "...

Question Do Vedas say Earth is static? Answer First of all, we can not believe translations to Sanskrit language as such. Even sanskrit experts have difficulties in defining the meaning of some words. And here is my explanation for your specific question. Let me answer this using your quotes itself. The very first quote is against the earth static view. Oh Man ! He who made the trembling earth static is Indra....

Question Who are the seven immortals (Chiranjeevi)? Answer As mentioned here Chiranjivins (Sanskrit nominative sing. ciranjivi, चिरंजीवी): The word is a combination of "chiram" (long) and jivi (lived). Aswathama Balir Vyaso Hanumanash cha Vibhishana Krupacharya cha Parashuramam Saptatah Chirjeevanam Which means that Aswathama, King Mahabali, Veda Vyasa, Hanuman Ji, Vibhishana , Krupacharya and Lord Parashuram are death-defying or imperishable personalities. Markandeya, a great rishi and Jambavan are also considered as Chiranjivins....

Question What does Hinduism state regarding the concept ‘God lives in us’? Answer Using Advaita Vedanta to answer your question, God(Nirguna Brahman) has no form, gender or qualities. Brahman cannot be called He or She but only It or That. Hence humans are not an 'image' of God. God didn't create the cosmos but became the cosmos. Hence everything in this world is Brahman, from a rock to a bacteria to a human....

Question Was Ravana actually a villain? Or was he a devotee of Lord Vishnu? Answer Was Ravana actually a villain? Yes, he was. If by villain we mean someone who trades the path of unrighteousness then Ravana was nothing less than a villain: जप जोग बिरागा तप मख भागा श्रवन सुनइ दससीसा। आपुनु उठि धावइ रहै न पावइ धरि सब घालइ खीसा।। अस भ्रष्ट अचारा भा संसारा धर्म सुनिअ नहि काना।...

Question Why is the concept of Divine judgement not given much importance in Hinduism? Answer "But this concept is conspicuously absent in Hinduism" Nothing is farther from the truth. The Garuda Purana describes in great detail how Yama the god of death judges each soul based on Chitragupta's listing of the person's good deeds and bad deeds: The sinful man cries when he hears the mingled wails of "Oh, Oh," and having heard his cry, those who walk about in the city of Yama....

Question Can women be priestesses? Answer Right from the Vedic times till this date, women are not prohibited from learning vedas. There have been many women purohits (priests who have expertise in rituals outside of temples) in the past and present. However we rarely encounter women pujaris (temple priests) because of the following physiological and sociological reasons: Puja should be done only with Sattva dominant body and mind During the menstruation period, there is "...

Question Are there any temples for Matsya, Kurma, and Varaha avatars? Answer Yes, there are temples for all three. Matsya Most temples to Matsya are in South India. First of all, there is the Vedanarayana Swami Temple in Nagalapuram, a village in Andhra Pradesh. Matsya is called Vedanarayana because he rescued the Vedas after the demon Hayagrivasura stole them from Brahma. You can see Matsya on the exterior of the temple (taken from here):...

Question Why did Krishna steal the Gopikas clothes from the tree when they were bathing in the little river? Answer It was just a pastime of Lord Shri Krishna to test and teach the gopis a lesson. The gopis loved Shri Krishna very much and desiring to obtain Him as their husband they performed Kātyāyanī (one from of maa Durga) vrat for a month. On the final day of the vrat finishing their puja, the gopis went to Yamuna for bathing:...

Question What happened to the Vanara Sena after the Ramayana? Answer This excerpt from the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana describes the fate of various Vanaras. When Rama was told by Yama the god of death that his time on Earth was over, he prepared to depart the Earth by going into the Sarayu river. And when Sugriva heard about this, he put Vali's son Angada in charge of the Vanara kingdom of Kishkindha and then he and a bunch of other Vanaras went to Ayodhya to join Rama in departing the Earth:...