Q&A

Question Which previous karma made Karna’s life full of sorrow despite his benevolent nature? Answer The other two answers cite this webpage, which claims to be telling a story from the Srimad Bhagavatam, but you can read the Srimad Bhagavatam here; I don't see any such story. As far as I'm aware, the only place in Hindu scripture where the story of Dambhodbhava is told is in the Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata, and it doesn't mention anything about Dambhodbhava reincarnating as Karna....

Question How can one know which path among karma, bhakti and jnana is suitable for him? Answer The answer is simple. Just ask yourself: How attached am I to this material life? How much material desire do I have? Do I like the life experience here? Depending upon your answers and how you feel about them, you can easily decide which path is suitable for you. Because the scripture says the following:...

Question How do I find the right Guru? Answer As per the scriptures, a right guru must be fulfilling two important qualities: Srotriya : He must be well versed in all the sashtras, i.e. Vedas, Puranas, Philosophies, etc. (master in theory) Brahmanistha: He must himself have realized God and stays fixed in Him. (master in practice) So the scriptures say as below: tad vijñānārthaṃ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyam brahma-niṣṭham [Mund....

Question Is our destiny predetermined? If yes, then why do our actions affect our karma? Answer This is a very good question because most of us often wonder about it many times. So I am explaining it with an example. It will be a bit lengthy, so please read it with patience. Also make sure to read this answer to get an idea about the three types of karma. Are our destinies predetermined?...

Question How is betting against one’s wife and selling one’s life partner justifed in Hinduism? Answer Raja Harishchandra was renowned for his justice and being religious. He had two unique qualities,first- he kept his word and never went back on what he uttered as a promise and second he never uttered a lie in his life. The Story of Raja Harishchandra once Vishwamitra(a great sage) approached Harishchandra and informed him of a promise made by the king during the sage's dream to donate his entire kingdom....

Question Are there any references to Halley’s Comet in the Hindu scriptures? Answer Certainly there is no direct reference to it because in ancient times Halley's comet was not known by that name. But there is mention of a big comet that was seen in the sky during the Mahabharata war: धूमकेतुर महाघॊरः पुष्यम आक्रम्य तिष्ठति [MB - 6.3.12] -A fierce comet rises, afflicting the constellation Pusya. Because Mahabhrata mentions the position of starts and planets in the sky during certain events, researchers are able to find out the dates of the event by analyzing the planetary positions....

Question Is the Anukramani index of sages and deities of the Rig Veda available online? Answer It took a lot of work, but through careful searching of the Oxford's Rig Veda translation through Google Books, I was able to compile most of the Anukramani's sage and deity information, except for some hymns in books 8 and 9 as I'll describe below. So without further ado, here's the list of seers and deities for each Book of the Rig Veda, in PDF format:...

Question What is the story of Sharaba? Answer If you want to learn about the incarnations of Shiva, you can read the Shatarudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana, which mentions numerous incarnations including the following: Vrishabha the bull, whom I discuss in this answer; Virabhadra, the demon created by Shiva to kill Daksha after the death of Shiva's first wife Shakti; Kalabhairava, the demon created by Shiva to cut off Brahma's fifth head; and Sharabha who is the focus of your question....

Question Why did Adi Shankara promote idol worship? Answer Adi Shankaracharya came down to uplift humankind through different ways and one such way is idol worship. Unlike the yogic/tantric/karma paths, one can enjoy the fruits of this idol worship soon. For a layman, to worship God who is; formless, nameless, and without any predominant character is very difficult. So, noble forms of Almighty with various names and forms are adopted for idol worship....

Question Who were Ahiravan and Mahiravan? Answer Airavana and Mairavan were friends of Ravana. These rule the netherworld. Ravana sends for his messengers to get their help in defeating Rama and Lakshmana in the battle. In the battle, Lord Rama defeats Ravana, destroys his chariot, crown. He gives Ravana a second chance. After thinking Ravana sends for the help of these two rakshasas who were experts in occult. They worship Kamakshi devi in Patala....

Question Did Lord Krishna have children? Answer Yes, Lord Krishna had many children. As per Shrimad Bhagavatam the number was at least 161,080. Regarding His sons and grandsons, the scripture says their numbers were in millions: My dear King, the sons and grandsons of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s children numbered in the tens of millions. Sixteen thousand mothers gave rise to this dynasty. [SB - 10.61.19] Shri Krishna had 16,108 wives and He had 10 children from each....

Question Madhurya bhava towards goddesses such as Radha, Parvati, etc., Answer The purpose of devotional practices is to feel closer to one's deity or God. Closeness towards God will only increase if one thinks of God as a personal relative rather than the all powerful all knowing God. Hence, devotee saints suggest to practice devotion in the sentiments of a friend, parent, lover, etc. As the devotion towards God increases, the bhava or sentiments automatically appear or one can practice them as per his eligibility and liking:...

Question Any good books about Shiva? Answer Since you want to learn more about Shiva, there are many places you can start. I don't know your level of background, but if you know nothing at all you may want to start by reading the comic book series Amar Chitra Katha, which tells lots of stories of Shiva. Here are a few relevant Amar Chitra Katha comics, in no particular order:...

Question How wearing a gem(ratna) distract bad woes/trouble? Answer Scriptures do not describe how they do it, but they do describe that wearing certain gems give benefits like destruction of sin, protection from snakes, etc. For example, consider the following verse of the Garduda Purana: teṣu rakṣoviṣavyālavyādhighnānyaghahāni ca prādurbhavanti ratnāni tathaiva viguṇāni ca [GP - 1.68.8] Meaning Among the gems some protect against poisons, snakes, diseases and expiate sins. And some others also contain demerits....

Question Why doesn’t Shiva worship anybody where as Vishnu worships him in all his incarnations? Answer Though the god is one, when we see in terms of Generation, Operation, Destruction these are taken care by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Since Vishnu is responsible for execution, it is He who descends to take care of the creation. This may be killing the demons or establishing dharma or to spread knowledge or to fulfill desire of a devotee....