Hinduism Questions & Answers

Question The story behind Pashupatinath temple in Nepal Answer The Pasupatinath ShivaLinga is described in Koti Rudra Samhita of Shiva Purana in chapter 11 'Pasupatinath Linga': नयपालाख्यां तु प्रसिद्धायां महितले । लिङ्ग पशुपतिशाख्यं सर्वकामफलप्रदम् ।। शिरोभागस्वरुपेण शिवलिङ्गं तदस्ति हि । तत्कथां वर्णयिष्यामि केदारेश्वरवर्णने ।। A Linga named Pasupati became established in Nepal and it is able to fulfill all desires. The Linga as the form of the head and it's story will be narrated with the greatness of Kedareshwara....

Question How could Lord Krishna kill Bhishma even if he wanted to? Answer According to me, even if Bhishma couldn't be killed but still there were other ways of stopping him. If you know about the story of Samudra Manthan and what happened afterwards with Rahu, you can probably imagine what could Lord Krishna might have done. As per the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata the following describes what happened with Rahu after he drank Amrit:...

Question Why are non-Hindus not allowed inside temples? Answer Temples are sacred places and there are certain rules to be followed before entering temple. These rules are known as Pancha Shuddhi (5 kinds of purity). According to this 5 types of shuddhi is needed before going to temple: Sharira (bathe body) Ahara (Satvic food) Manas (mind) Vaak (Speech) Karma (deed) Not just a non-hindu, even hindus are not allowed inside temples if they does not posses one of this shuddhi....

Question How can I trust that Vedas are available in their authentic form (yathaswaroop) Answer The website you linked to actually has all four Vedas with swara indications: Rig Veda Shukla Yajur Veda Sama Veda Atharvana Veda By the way, you can trust these PDF files, but I would take the articles on this website with a grain of salt. They tend to interpret Hindu scripture in order to make it conform to modern sensibilities, in a way that in my view distorts their meaning....

Question War between Karna and Arjuna - Mahabharata Answer From the article "Karna and Arjuna" by Dr. Madhu Guptan and his comments under the article: On the basis of evidence from the Mahabharata Arjuna emerges as the greatest warrior. Arjuna humbles Karna many times before Mahabharata war like Draupadi Svayamvar, Virata war and in the killing of Jayadrath. Karna ,Gandharva's attack, in spite of all his boasting, is neither able to save Jayadrath from Arjuna nor Duhshasana from Bhima....

Question Where are Heaven and Hell? Answer This chapter of the Vishnu Purana describes the distances to the various Lokas above the Earth: The sphere of the earth (or Bhúr-loka), comprehending its oceans, mountains, and rivers, extends as far as it is illuminated by the rays of the sun and moon; and to the same extent, both in diameter and circumference, the sphere of the sky (Bhuvar-loka) spreads above it (as far upwards as to the planetary sphere, or Swar-loka)....

Question What is the Navavidha Bhakti? Answer Navavidha Bhakti Shrimad Bhagavatam 7.5:23-24 sri-prahrada uvaca sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam iti pumsarpita visnau bhaktis cen nava-laksana kriyeta bhagavaty addha tan manye 'dhitam uttamam Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) -- these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service....

Question What one should do while eating a food? Answer There is a popular mantra amongst some bhaktas, that could be of information to you sir. This is an advaitic perspective. Here is a link This is from Shrimad Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna. Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir Brahmagnau Brahmana Hutam Brahmaiva Tena Ghantavyam Brahmakarma Samadhina [Bhagavad Gita 4:24] The act of offering is Brahman. The offering itself is Brahman. The offering is done by Brahman in the sacred fire which is Brahman....

Question Is it true that cow has 33 crores god in it? Answer In Sanskrit there are two meaning of the word Koti Crore Type But, we are making mistakes and interpret as a Crore rather than to interpret Type. Note: “The question: Is it true that cow has 33 crores god in it?” is licensed by Stack Exchange Inc (https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/); user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA.

Question Why did Shiva not swallow the poison arising from Samudra Manthan? Answer According to stories given in Shiva Purana, there is one Lord Shiva who is the main GOD and then Lord Rudra, who is a manifestation of Lord Shiva born from eyebrows of Lord Bramha. The TV serials hardly show this. This Rudra form is actually the one who resides on Mount Kailash and is also the one who married Mata Parvati....

Question Why Nãrãyana (Vishnu) had to pray Rudra (Shiva) to obtain supreme powers? (excerpt from Mahãbhãrata) Answer It's because Narayana is the soul of Rudra or one may also call Rudra is the soul of Narayana. Both are true. It is explained by Krishna himself in this chapter of Shanti Parva (in the Nãrãyaniya section): He is the destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice and the tearer of Bhaga's eyes. O son of Pandu, Rudra should be known to have always Narayana for his Soul....

Question What does it mean to say that Vishnu worships those who worship him? Answer This is a recurring theme throughout the scriptures. Krishna says in the Uddhava Gita (Chapter 9): Neither Brahma, nor Shiva, nor Balarama, nor Lakshmi, nor My own form is so dear to Me as you. [addressing Uddhava, who Krishna says is the supreme devotee of the Lord] With a view to purifying Myself by the dust of his feet, I always follow the sage who cares for nothing, is calm, bears enmity to none, and is even-minded....

Question The origin and meaning of word Hindu? Answer Hindus didn't call themselves Hindu. It was the name given by Islamic invaders. To them everyone living beyond the river Sindhu were Hindus including Buddhists, Jains & animistic tribals. Sindhu becomes Hindu in Persian and Indus in English. And the land of these people beyond Sindhu became Hindustan. To the native, i.e ancestors of today's Hindus, their religion was just called Dharma....

Question Is Taj Mahal really a Shiva Temple in the past? Answer As far as I know the this Taj Mahal as Shiva temple theory was propagated by a self taught, self proclaimed historian P N Oak. I am not discarding his theory because he did not have proper training but his evidence and logic does seem to be pretty shaky. I will not go into specific details on this answer but Indologist Dr....

Question Are Rama and Krishna incarnations of Vishnu or Brahman? Answer Swami Prabhavananda's The Spiritual Heritage of India (1962) contains this (emphasis mine): In Rama and Sita, according to the Adhyatma Ramayana, we behold the embodiment of Brahman in his dual aspect, the unmanifest and the manifest [...] Ravana, even, hating Rama as he does, robbing him of Sita and fighting against him -- even Ravana worships them. Indeed, his very enemity is a form of worship....