Margashirsh
Agrahayana or Margashirsha, ( or ), is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, ''Agrahayana'' is also the eight month of the year, beginning on 16 November and ending on 15 December. Margashirsha means related to the Mrigashīrsha nakṣatra ( asterism), which has been known since Vedic times. In lunar religious calendars, Agrahayana or Margashirsha typically begins either on the new moon or the full moon, depending on the regional tradition, and generally corresponds to the ninth month of the year. In solar religious calendars, Agrahayana (or Margaḻi in Tamil traditions) begins with the Sun's entry into the zodiac sign Sagittarius (Dhanus Rashi) and is considered the ninth month of the year. Festivals Vaikunta Ekadashi, observed on the Ekadashi (11th lunar day) of Margashirsha month, is celebrated also as '' Mokshada Ekadashi''. Additionally, the 10th Canto, 22nd Chapter of Bhagavata Purana narrates a significant episode where the yo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manabasa Gurubara
Manabasa Gurubara () is a festival celebrated by Odia Hindus in the East Indian state of Odisha. It is also celebrated by Odias living in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, South Jharkhand and South West Bengal. This festival is held in honour of the goddess Lakshmi. Devotees believe that the goddess herself visits every household to remove pain and sorrow. It is held on every Thursday in the month of Margashirsha. Legend This festival is rooted in a legend of Lakshmi as narrated in the Odia social commentary text '' Lakshmi Purana''. According to the text, Lakshmi once left the shrine of the Jagannath Temple to visit the house of Shriya, an outcaste woman, pleased by the worship offered to her. When she returned, her consort, Jagannath, and brother-in-law Balarama, refused to allow her to enter the premises without performing a purification ceremony first. In response, Lakshmi left the temple and cursed her husband and brother-in-law to endure severe hardships without food, water, o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bhairava Ashtami
Bhairava Ashtami (), also known as Bhairavashtami, Bhairava Jayanti, Kala-Ashtami and Kala-Bhairava Jayanti is a Hindu holy day commemorating the manifestation of the deity Bhairava, a fearsome and wrathful manifestation of the god Shiva. It falls on the eighth lunar day (''ashtami'') in the fortnight of the waning moon (''Krishna paksha'') in the Hindu month of Kartika (per the South Indian ''Amavasyant'' calendar, every month ends with a new moon) or Margashirsha (per the North Indian ''Purnimant'' calendar, every month ends with a full moon). By both schemes, Bhairava Ashtami falls on the same day in November–December-January. The name ''Kalashtami'' is sometimes used to refer to this day, but might also refer to any ashtami in ''Krishna paksha'', all of which are days sacred to Bhairava. Legend Bhairava is a manifestation of Shiva's wrath. According to the Shiva Purana, the deities Brahma and Vishnu engaged in a debate regarding their superiority over the other. When B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mokshada Ekadashi
Mokshada Ekadashi () is a Hindu holy day, which falls on the 11th lunar day (ekadashi) of the fortnight of the waxing moon in the Hindu month of Margashirsha (Agrahayana), corresponding to November–December. Hindus, particularly Vaishnavas, observe a 24-hour fast in honour of the deity Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. Mokshada Ekadashi is an auspicious day dedicated to worship of Vishnu for liberation from sins, and to achieve moksha (liberation) after death. It is celebrated on the same day as Gita Jayanti, the day when Krishna gave the holy sermon of the ''Bhagavad Gita'' to Arjuna, as described in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. The 700-verse ''Bhagavad Gita'' told at the beginning of the climactic Mahabharata war between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas at Kurukshetra, deals with a variety of Hindu philosophical ideas. Legend The legend about Mokshada Ekadashi is narrated by the god Krishna to the Pandava King Yudhishthira in the Brahmanda Purana and the Padma Pura ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bhairava
Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 471. In the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, Bhairava represents the Supreme Reality, synonymous to Para Brahman. Generally in Hinduism, Bhairava is also called Dandapāni (" e who holds thedanda in ishand"), as he holds a rod or ''danda'' to punish sinners, and Svaśva, meaning, "he whose vehicle is a dog". In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is considered a fierce emanation of boddhisatva Mañjuśrī, and also called Heruka, Vajrabhairava, Mahākāla and Yamantaka. Bhairava is worshipped throughout India, Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Japan, as well as in Tibetan Buddhism. Etymology Bhairava originates from the word ''bhīru'', which means "fearsome". Bhairava means "terribly fearsome form". It is also kn ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Krishna Paksha
Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the ''purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, and begins with the ''amavasya'' (new moon). The lunar days are called ''tithis;'' each month has 30 ''tithi''s, which may vary from 20 – 27 hours. A paksha has 15 ''tithi''s, which are calculated by a 12 degree motion of the moon. The first fortnight between the new moon day and the full moon day is called the Gaura Paksha or Shukla Paksha (), the period of the brightening moon ( waxing moon), and the second fortnight of the month is called the Vadhya Paksha or Krishna Paksha (), the period of the fading moon ( waning moon).Hindu calendar The [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dhanu (month)
Dhanu, Dhanus or Dhanurmasa (धनुर्मास) is a month in the Hindu calendar, Malayalam calendar and others. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius, and overlaps with approximately the second half of December and about the first half of January in the Gregorian calendar. Other names In Vedic texts, the Dhanus month is called Sahas (IAST: Sahas), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Dhanu overlaps with its lunar month Pausha, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Dhanu marks the winter season for the Indian subcontinent. It is preceded by the solar month of Vṛścika, and followed by the solar month of Makara. The Dhanus month is called ''Margazhi'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Dhanus, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Vṛścika to be 29 days, 7 hours, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ashtami
Ashtami (अष्टमी ''aṣṭamī'') is the eighth day ( Tithi) of Hindu lunar calendar. Festivals Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an avatar of Hindu deity Vishnu. Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadra in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra is ascendant. Rasa lila or dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna are a special feature in regions of Mathura, and Vrindavan, Nalbari and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur. Radhashtami Radhashtami or ''Radha Jayanti'' is the Hindu festival celebrating the appearance day of Goddess Radha, avatar of Lakshmi. The festival is celebrated annually on the eighth day of Bhadra month of bright moon. On this day, devotees keep fast, sing glories, dance and enact the divine pastimes of Goddess Radha. Trilochan Ashtami Trilochana Ashtami or Triloc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vaikunta Ekadashi
Vaikuntha Ekadashi () is a Hindu occasion and festival. It is primarily observed by Vaishnavas, who regard it to be a special ekadashi. It coincides with Mokshada Ekadashi or Putrada Ekadashi. It is observed on the 11th lunar day of the waxing lunar fortnight of the solar month of Dhanu.Most Hindu festivals are fixed using the lunar portion of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. This festival is an exception. It is fixed using a combination of the solar (month) and lunar (fortnight and day) portions of the Hindu calendar. This falls between 16 December and 13 January in the Gregorian calendar. Legend The origin of Vaikuntha Ekadashi is mentioned in a legend of the ''Padma Purana''. There was once an asura named Murāsura, who was a nightmare to the devas, owing to a boon he had received from Brahma. They sought the assistance of Vishnu, who fought against the asura in a battle, but was unable to defeat him. He travelled to a cave called Simhavati in the vicinity of Badarikashr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvati and Sarasvati, form the trinity of goddesses called the Tridevi. Lakshmi has been a central figure in Hindu tradition since pre-Buddhist times (1500 to 500 BCE) and remains one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Although she does not appear in the earliest Vedic literature, the personification of the term '' shri''—auspiciousness, glory, and high rank, often associated with kingship—eventually led to the development of Sri-Lakshmi as a goddess in later Vedic texts, particularly the ''Shri Suktam''. Her importance grew significantly during the late epic period (around 400 CE), when she became particularly associated with the preserver god Vishnu as his consort. In this role, Lakshmi is seen as the ide ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ekadashi
Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of the waxing (''Shukla Paksha, Shukla Pakṣa)'' and waning (''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa)'' lunar cycles in a Hindu calendar, Vedic calendar month. Ekadashi is popularly observed within Vaishnavism one of the major paths within Sanatana Dharma. Followers offer their worship to the god Vishnu by fasting or just symbolically; the idea was always to receive self-discipline and the benefits of fasting and it was connected to the way of life via Sanatana Dharma practices. In Hinduism, the primary purpose of fasting on Ekadashi is to gain control over the mind and bodily senses, and channel it towards spiritual progression. In addition, there are several health benefits to fasting. Ekadashi fasting spans for three days. Devotees take single meal in the afternoon a day before Ekadashi day(Dasami) to make sure there is no residual food in the stomach on next day. Devotees keep a strict fast with no food or water on Ekadashi day and break the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Katyayani
''Katyayani'' (कात्यायनी) is an aspect of Mahadevi and the slayer of the tyrannical demon Mahishasura. She is the sixth among the Navadurgas, the nine forms of Hindu goddess Durga who are worshipped during the festival of Navaratri. She is depicted with four, ten or eighteen hands. This is the second name given to the goddess Adi Parashakti in Amarakosha, the Sanskrit lexicon (Goddess Parvati names- Uma, Katyayani, Gauri, Kali, Haimavati, Ishwari). In Shaktism, she is associated with the fierce forms of Shakti or Durga, a warrior goddess, which also includes Bhadrakali and Chandika. She is traditionally associated with the colour red, as with Parvati, the primordial form of Shakti, a fact also mentioned in Patanjali's Mahabhashya on Pāṇini, written in 2nd century BCE. She is first mentioned in the Taittiriya Aranyaka part of the Yajurveda. The Skanda Purana mentions her being created out of the spontaneous anger of Gods, which eventually led to slaying ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |