An out of print ACKThis ACK is based on Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of Rivers of Stories) by poet Somadeva (11th century). See more detail about Somadeva in earlier post dated 3rd August 2008.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
ACK-043: Kannappa
An out of print ACKOne hunter who never learnt any holy scriptures and whose discipline was just to kill - hunt, who became an excellent example of devotion. Simple but unparallaled was his love. It may be difficult even for great scholars to put in words that love which even when one tries to visualise takes them to the peaks of the mountains of devotion.
Kannappa Nayanar or Kannappan was one of the 63 Nayanmars (Tamil Poet-Saints) or holy Saivite saints, the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva. The Periya Puranam (Lives of the Saints) compiled by Sekkizhar and also the Tiruthhthondar Thogai by the poet-saint Sundarar enlists the 63 Nayanars. The actual story of Kannappa Nayanar is supposed to have taken place at a Hill Temple in Sri Kalahasti, near Tirupathi, in present day state Andra Pradesh, India. Srikalahasti is also dedicated to the Rahu who is one among the nine grahams or celestial bodies in Indian Astrology. The bad effects of Rahu can be reduced a lot if visit Srikalahasti and offer prayers to Lord Shiva presiding there.
The story goes that there was a forest place called Uduppur. It was an isolated area populated by fierce villagers. Nagan and Tatthai had a great desire for a child but as they were old had to go to a shrine of Lord Murugan to receive his blessings before they were able to conceive. A son was soon born to them who they named Thinnan (meaning strong), because he was so powerful and heavy that even his father could hardly hold him up.
When the boy reached 16 years of age, he took over the position of leader of the hunters. During a pig hunt, Thinnan and some companions had to go deep into the forest. It was there that the youth saw the hill of Lord Siva. Kindled by an unexplainable emotion he went towards the hill.
The culmination of austerities he did in previous births came to him and he proceeded towards the Lord. He saw Him and drank through his eyes the wonderful sight; It flowed over his heart; He lost all control and ran towards the Lingam to embrace and kiss the Diety.
Thinnan started performing service by bringing water from the river Swarnamukhi in his mouth and bathing the image of the Lord by emptying the water he carried in his mouth onto the Lingam. He would chew meat to ascertain its suitability before offering the choicest bits to his deity.
One day, Lord Shiva tested the unshakable devotion of Thinnan. With his divine power, He created a tremor and the roof-tops of the temple began to fall. All the sages ran away from the scene except for Thinnan who covered the linga with his body to prevent it from any damage. Hence he was named thereafter as Dheeran.
When he left for hunting, a sage came who was shocked at the sight of strewn bones and flesh in front of the Lord. After prostrating many times the sage cleaned the altar and performed his own puja before returning to his hermitage.
This continued for many days. One day God explained the love of his huntsman devotee to his wife Parvati, "Don't think he is a scoundrel. His form is full of my love, his mind thinks of me only and his deeds are delightful for me. The water he spits on me is more sacred than Ganga, the flowers he offers taking from his head are holier than that are offered by Devas. It is all because of His love.”
It was the seventh day of Thinnans worship. When he arrived at the Lingam he was shocked to see that one eye of the Diety was bleeding. While worrying about his inability to find a solution, he remembered an old saying flesh for flesh. So, immediately Thinnan plucked out one of his own eyes with a sharp arrow and placed it onto the bleeding eye of the Lords. Thinnan jumped up and down in excitement when the bleeding from the Dietys eye stopped.
But as it stopped in the right eye, it started from the left. After a moment Thinnan told himself, "I know the medicine. I have one more eye. That should cure this".
But when he was about to pluck out his remaining eye, he realised the difficulty of placing the eye in position once he took out his remaining eye. So he held his foot on the Dietys eye as a mark, and raised the arrow to take his remaining eye out. The Lord Himself was not able to bear this great action, and appeared and holding the devotee's hands to stop him from plucking the remaining eye, called out:
"Oh halt Kann Appa, Kann Appa. Since you gave your own eyes for me, you will be called Kannappan (the person who gave eyes to the Lord) hereafter."
And with that contact the devotee's sight was fully restored and the Lord pleased with his devotion granted him eternal bliss.
Although a hunter and meat-eater, Kannappar had such great devotion to Siva that he offered him his eyes. And in Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 164, Sri Bhagavan gives the meaning of this story.
164
Kannappa, ripe in love, scooped out
And in the Lord's face planted his eyes.
But till he plucked and planted them
He too retained a trace of price
In those bright, beautiful orbs of his.
Attachment to the body dies
Hard, very hard indeed.
165
Why did the three-eyed Lord ordain
That Kanappa should pluck and plant
Those eyes of which he was so proud?
It was to save him from the death,
The deadly folly of deeming he
Was flesh inert. Such is the might
Of Siva.
Some Saivite traditions believe that Kannappa was the reincarnation of the Pandava - Arjuna. Arjuna worshipped Siva for seeking the Pasupatha Astra (a divine weapon) and failed to recognize Shiva when He appeared before Arjuna in the form of a hunter. Thus, due to this reason, Arjuna had to be born as the hunter and adore the Lord before attaining final liberation. This belief is not adopted by all Hindus though.
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Monday, November 3, 2008
ACK-041 & 042:Valmiki's Ramayana; The Bridegroom's Ring
According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Valmiki is the name of a famous maharishi (the great sage) who wrote the Ramayana. The Ramayana is one of the two most famous Hindu epics, the other is the Mahabharata.About Valmiki
Early Life
Maharishi Valmiki was born as Ratnakara to sage Prachetasa. At a very young age, Ratnakara went into the forest and got lost. A hunter, who was passing by, saw Ratnakara and took him under his own care. Under the love and care of his foster parents, Ratnakara forgot his original parents. Under his father's guidance, Ratnakara turned out to be an excellent hunter. As he approached marriageable age, Ratnakara was married to a beautiful girl from hunter's family.
Turning into a Robber
As his family grew larger, Ratnakara found it next to impossible to feed them. As a result, he took to robbery and began looting people passing from one village to another.
Meeting with Narada and Transformation
One day, the great sage Narada, while passing through the jungle, was attacked by Ratnakara. As Narada played his Veena and sang praises of the Lord, he saw a transformation coming over Ratnakara. Then, he asked Ratnakara whether the family, for whom he was robbing others, will partake in his sins also. Ratnakara went to ask the same question to his family and on being refused by all his family members, he went back to sage Narada. Narada taught him the sacred name of 'Rama' and asked him to sit in meditation, chanting the name of Rama, till the time Narada came back.
Ratnakara followed the instructions and kept sitting in a meditative posture for years, during which his body got completely covered by an anthill. At last, Narada came to see him and removed all the anthills from his body. Then, he told Ratnakara that his tapasya (meditation) paid off and the God was pleased with him. Ratnakara was bestowed with the honor of a Brahmarshi and given the name of Valmiki, since he was reborn from the Valmika (the ant-hill).
Receiving Lord Rama
One day, Valmiki had the fortuity of receiving Lord Rama's wife Sita (later gave birth to her twins Lav & Kusha in his ashram), later Lord Rama and his brother Lakshman at his ashram. On Valmiki's suggestion, Lord Rama built his hut on Chitrakuta hill, near the ashram.
Writing Ramayana
Narada visited Maharishi Valmiki in his ashram once and there, he narrated the story of Lord Rama. Thereafter he received a vision from Brahma in which the Lord instructed him to write Ramayana in slokas, which the sage readily followed.
Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is an epic poem of India which narrates the journey of Virtue to annihilate vice. Sri Rama is the Hero and aayana His journey. In India, there is believe that Sri Rama lived in Treta Yug, millennia BC.
Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is composed of verses called Sloka, in Sanskrit language, which is an ancient language from India and a complex meter called Anustup. These verses are grouped into individual chapters called Sargas, wherein a specific event or intent is told. These chapters or sargas are grouped into books called Kaandas where Kaanda means the inter-node stem of sugar cane, or also a particular phase of the story or an event in the course of story telling.
Srimad Valmiki Ramayana contains 24,000 verses or [sloka] arranged into numerous cantos [sarga], which are contained in six Kaandas or Books, and they are:
Bala Kanda ( Book of Youth) [77 chapters]
Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) [119 chapters]
Aranya Kanda (Book of Forest ) [75 chapters]
Kishkindha Kanda (The Empire of Holy Monkeys) [67 chapters]
Sundara Kanda ( Book of Beauty ) [68 chapters]
Yuddha Kanda ( Book of War ) [131 chapters]
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*In future try to provide better version of this ACK.
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An out of print ACK
Saturday, October 25, 2008
ACK-040: Rani of Jhansi
Posting an ACK after a long time. I fully appreciate the efforts of Prabhat in keeping this project alive at a time when there seemed few takers for these glorious sagas of our historical achievements and cultural roots. And I have also realised my folly in underestimating the impact it could have on the minds of not only the present younger generation but also the generations to come. This is much more than a mere blog and it should be taken as a mission and be accomplished with zeal, as Prabhat is already continuing to do with the help of many known and unknown contributors. I only hope other contributors and full members shall consider the thoughts and come forward to support the cause.
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Presenting now the story of one of the bravest soul of Indian history, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Here is what ACK says about this great daughter of India, who died young fighting the imperialistic british monarchy.Rani (Queen) Laxmibai of Jhansi is today a symbol of the first organized Indian resistance to British rule. She was born (c. 1828) in a conservative priestly family, but she got an unconventional education including trained in martial arts like the boys of her age. Married to the King of Jhansi, a small principality in central India, she became the ruler when her husband died prematurely. She governed well and earned the respect of her people.
At the time, British authority was well established in India, and had started taking over the independent principalities like Jhansi using legal loopholes. The Rani petitioned against such an attempt to the authorities in India as well as Britain, to no avail. About the same time a small rebellion among the Indian soldiers of the British army was developing into a full war for independence as many aggrieved Indian princes declared their determination to drive out the British. Laxmibai decided to cast her lot with the forces fighting the British.
In the battles that follow, she inspired her people and personally led the forces. When the enemy, partly through treason, gained footing in her fort, the Rani donned a man's attire and escaped to friendly camps. She succeeded in winning over the ruler of Gwalior and getting refuge in that fort. When the British turned their attention to the Gwalior fort, she again fought bravely but eventually fell in combat. Today, across many parts of India the memory of her last stand is celebrated with the iconic image of her on a horse, sword unsheathed, poised for attack.
Illustrator: Hema Joshi
Friday, October 17, 2008
ACK-038 & 039:The Ancestors of Rama; The Celestial Necklace
Rama's Ancestry
The Sun Dynasty or Solar Dynasty or Suryavansha is one of the most prominent dynasties in the history of Hinduism, along with the "Chandravansha" or Lunar Dynasty.
"Suryavanshi" means a person belonging to this dynasty. This clan was the eldest and the most prosperous in ancient
The full lineage from Brahma is given in the Ramayana by Valmiki, other important sources are the Mahabharat, the Ramayana , the Bhagwat Purana & the Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa
The List of Monarchs
The following is the list, in chronological order, of the monarchs of the solar dynasty. Most of them were rulers of Ayodhya and therefore, Kings of Kosala.
According to Bhagwat Purana, Brahma created sage 10 sages using his mental powers -Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaka, Kratu, Vasishtha, Prachetas or Daksha, Bhrigu, Nārada., one of whom was Marichi.
Kashyapa, the son of Marichi and Kala, is regarded as the father of humanity. His sons from Aditi, the sky goddess, and the daughter of Daksha Prajapati are called Adityas (Sons of Aditi), they were, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhūti, Mitra, Pūṣan, Śakra, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, and Vivasvat or Vivasvan.
Vivasvan or Vaivasvata (one of the sons of Lord Sun) - the Sun God, progenitor of the clan. His parents were the sage Kashyapa, father of all beings, and Aditi, Aditi's 12 sons, the Adityas, are the sun deities, and both Vivaswan and Aditya mean sun. Therefore another name for Vivaswan is Surya or the Sun, hence the name, Suryavansha. Vivaswan's sons include Shrraaddev and Shanishchar. The river Tapi was named after Vivaswan's sister Tapti.
- Manu or Vaivasvata Manu - the King of all mankind and the first human being. (According to Hindu belief there are 14 Manvantaras; in each, Manu rules. Vaivasvata Manu was the seventh Manu. Manu is referred to as a Rajan (King) in the Shatapatha Brahmana scripture. He founded the town of Ayodhya. He had nine sons, Vena, Dhrishnu, Narishyan, Nabhaga, Ikshvaku, Karusha, Saryati, Prishadhru, Nabhagarishta and one daughter, Ila, who was married to Budha of the Lunar Dynasty). He left the kingdom to the eldest male of the next generation, Ikshvaku, who was actually the son of Manu's brother Shraaddev.
- Ikshvaku - the first prominent monarch of this dynasty, giving the dynasty its another name the Ikshvaku dynasty. He had one hundred sons. Fifty of them ruled Uttarapath (Northern India) and fifty ruled Dakshinapath (
- Vikukshi - He is said to have eaten the meat of a rabbit at the time of Shraddha and was known as Shasad. (Some records claim him to be grandson of Ikshvaku.) His son was Kakuthsa or Puranjay.
- Kakutstha or Puranjaya - He was a brave king and fought in the Devasur Sangram. His original name was Puranjaya. But after he annihilated Asuras (demons) while sitting on the hump (Kukud) of a bull, he was known as Kakuthstha, which means seated on the hump. His dynasty was also known as Kakuthstha after him.
- Anena or Anaranya
- Prithu
- Vishvagashva
- Ardra or Chandra
- Yuvanashva I
- Shravast - He founded the town of
- Vrihadashva
- Kuvalashva - He killed a Rakshasa named Dhundh. It is said that Dhundhar region and the Dhund river are named after Dhund. Eighteen of Kuvalashva's sons died in the battle with Dhund. Thereafter, Kuvalashva was called "Dhundhumara".
- Dridhashva
- Pramod
- Haryashva I
- Nikumbh
- Santashva
- Krishasva
- Prasenjit I - His daughter Renuka was married to sage Jamdgni. She was mother of Parashurama.
- Yuvanashva II - He was married to Gori, daughter of the Chandravanshi king Matinaar.
- Mandhata - He became a famous and Chakravarti (ideal universal ruler) king. He defeated most of the other kings of his time. He married Bindumati, a daughter of the Chandravanshi king.
- Purukutsa - He performed the Ashwamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice). He married Nagkanya "
- Traddasyu
- Sambhoot
- Anaranya II
- Trashdashva
- Haryashva II
- Vasuman
- Tridhanva
- Tryyaruna
- Satyavrata or Trishanku - His original name was Satyavrata, but he committed three (tri) sins, and hence got the name Trishanku. First, while he was a prince, he misbehaved and was temporarily exiled from the kingdom. Next, he killed the milch cow of his preceptor Vasishta. His third sin was that he used the unsanctified meat of his kill as food. Trishanku also had a desire to ascend to heaven in his mortal body. After Vashistha refused him this boon, since it is against nature to ascend into heaven as a mortal, the sage Vishwamitra, Vashistha's rival, created another heaven for him, called "Trishanku's Heaven", and located in mid-air. His sons were Dhundumara, and Harishchandra, who was borh of the princess of "Kaikaya" named "Satyaraksha".
- Harishchandra - He is known for his honesty, truth and devotion to duty or Dharma.
- Rohitashva - He was the son of Harishchandra. He founded town of
- Harit
- Chanchu
- Vijay
- Ruruk
- Vrika
- Bahu or Asit - He was attacked and defeated by another clan of Kshatriyas. After this, he left Ayodhya and went to the Himalaya mountains to live as an ascetic with his queens. At that time Yadavi queen was pregnant with Sagara.
- Sagara - He recaptured Ayodhya from the "Haihaya" and "Taljanghi" Kshtriyas. He then attempted to perform the horse sacrifice, Ashwamedha Yajna. However, the sacrificial horse was stolen by the god Indra on the south eastern shores of the ocean, which was at that time an empty bed with no water in it. At least sixty of Sagara's sons died attempting to recover the horse, also causing great destruction by their reckless search. Puranic legends say the number of his sons was 60 thousand.
- Asmanja - Sagara's surviving son was not made king due to his bad conduct.
- Anshuman - He was the grandson of Sagara, and his successor as king. He did penance in an attempt to bring the holy river Ganges to earth, that she might wash away the sins of his ancestors.
- Dileepa I - He also tried to bring
- Bhagiratha - Sagara's great-grandson, after strenuous penances, at last succeeded in bringing Ganga down from heaven. When she flowed over the remains of his ancestors, their souls were redeemed, and the ocean was refilled. Ganga also bears the name "Bhagirathi", in honour of his deed.
- Shrut
- Nabhag
- Ambarish - According to Buddhist legends, he went to Tapovana to be a renunciant but after a public outcry returned and ruled for some time.
- Sindhu Dweep
- Pratayu
- Shrutuparna
- Sarvakama
- Sudaas
- Saudas or Mitrasah - He performed the Ashwamedha Yajna, but as the rituals were concluding a Rakshasa tricked him into serving human meat to Brahmin,s including Rishi Vashishta. He was then cursed by the Brahmins. He wanted to curse them back, but his wife prevented him. He spent twelve years in exile in the forest.
- Sarvakama II
- Ananaranya III
- Nighna
- Raghu I
- Duliduh
- Khatwang Dileepa
- Raghu II or Dirghbahu - He was a famous king, who conquered most of
- Aja
- Dasaratha
- Rama - He is considered the seventh Avatar of the god Vishnu. He is worshiped by every Hindu. Rama's story before he became king of Ayodhya is recounted in the Ramayana. After he ascended the throne, he performed the Ashwamedha Yajna. Bharata, his younger brother, won the country of Gandhara and settled there, where his two sons, Taksha and Pushkal, founded the cities of Taksashila and Pushkalavati, now known as Taxila and Peshawar. Rama's third brother, Lakshmana, founded Lakshmanpur, now known as Lucknow, and his youngest brother Shatrughna, Lakshmana's twin, was given Madhura which is now known as Mathura.
Sumitra - He was the last king (118th) of Ayodhya from solar dynasty. In the fourth century BC, emperor Mahapadma Nanda of the Nanda Dynasty forced Sumitra to leave Ayodhya. He went to Rohtas with his sons. His son Kurma established his rule over Rohtas.
Above motioned Information based on Wikipedia, but modified with help some more authentic sources.
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It's an Ajnnabi's scan.
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An ACK based on JAIN STORY
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This one is contributed by Ajay, many many thanks to him.
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