HiNDU GOD: Lord Rama

Showing posts with label Lord Rama. Show all posts

August 18, 2015

Unknown facts from Ramayana and Lord Hanumana

Ramayana and Lord Hanumana

When it comes to Ramayana and Lord Rama, Lord Hanumana is always remembered. He was a great devotee of Rama, a great scholar and one who was capable of winning all three worlds. But, he set the example to the world and a great lesson in humbleness. These facts are about Ramayana, but Lord Hanumana is an integral part of this.

Lord Rama' s departure from earth

Ram wouldn't leave earth as Hanuman wouldn't allow Yama (God of Death) to enter Ayodhya to claim Ram. To divert Hanuman's attention Ram dropped his ring through a crack in the floor and asked Hanuman to fetch it back for him. Going down Hanuman reached the land of serpents and asked the King for Ram's ring. The king showed Hanuman a vault filled with rings all of which were Ram's. He told a shocked Hanuman that when in the cycle of time a Ram needs to depart, he drops a ring down the crack so that a Hanuman can be diverted from his guard.

Why Laxman was younger to Rama but Balrama was elder to Shri Krishna

Laxman complained that he always had to follow Ram's instructions even though when he thought they were unjust as he the younger brother and thus duty bound. Ram promised his that in the next life, he, Lakshman would be the elder brother, but also told him that he would still follow his instructions. They were reborn as Balrama and Krishna. And yet Balrama (elder & Shesha Naga) followed Krishna not because of seniority but because Krishna was always right.

Rama and Laxman
Jambavanta wish to fight Lord Rama was fulfilled in next incarnation of Lord Rama

Pleased with his help during the battle with Ravana, Lord Rama granted Jambavanta a wish. Jambavantha then expressed his wish to fight Lord Rama in a duel. Lord Rama said he would definitely fight him but not as Rama. Later in Dwapara yuga, Krishna fought Jambavanta in a duel and defeated him. Jambavantha then realized that it was Lord Rama who in Krishna's form defeated him.

Lord Krishna and Jambavant
How Devi Sita satisfied Lord Hanumana's hunger

Lord Hanumana once visited Sita in sage Valmiki's cottage and expressed his desire to eat the food cooked by Sita. Sita cooked many delicacies and started serving Hanumana. But Hanumana's hunger was insatiable and the entire rations of the cottage were coming to an end. Sita then asked to Lord Rama who suggested her she serve a morsel with a Tulsi Leaf. Sita did the same and Hanumana's hunger was finally satisfied.

Why Lord Hanumana's body is covered with vermilion (Sindoor)

Once Lord Hanumana saw Sita applying sindoor (Vermilion) to her hair. He asked her what purpose it served to which Sita replied that it was for the well being and long life of Lord Rama. Then Hanuman smeared his entire body with sindoor for the long life of Lord Rama.

Lord Hanumana with sindoorWhy Lord Rama was separated from Sita - Due to Parvati's curse

After Ravana and his brothers received boons from Lord Brahma, Ravana planned on invading the kingdom of Amaravati, the capital of the heavenly kingdom of Indra. Knowing Ravana's strength and capability, Indra consults Narada for help.

Narada tells Indra that Ravana is powerful because his family worships Lord Shiva and that the worship in turn gives them such tremendous power. Narada then suggests Indra that he disrupt Kaikesi's (Ravan's Mother) worship of a Linga which is made of sand. Indra disrupts the prayer by destroying the Linga. Knowing this Ravana then promises Kaikesi that he will perform penance and bring Lord Shiva's Aatma Linga for her to worship.

Goddess Parvathi comes to know about Ravana's penance and fears that Lord Shiva might leave Kailasa and go to earth forever. Narada then suggests Goddess Parvathi that she seek Lord Vishnu's help in this matter. Lord Shiva impressed by Ravana's penance grants him a wish. Lord Vishnu then uses his magic to trick Ravana into asking Goddess Parvathi's hand from lord Shiva instead of the Aatma Linga. Shiva grants Ravana's wish. Goddess Parvathi then curses Lord Vishnu that he will also be seperated from his spouse the next time he is born as a human.

This curse laid the path for Sita's abduction and the Ramayana.

September 23, 2014

List of Hindu Deities

Hindu Deities

List of Hindu Deities

A brief list of Hindu Gods And Goddesses

Kabandha Meets Lord Rama

In the forest, Rama and Laxmana saw a ferocious demon. His name was Kabandha .

The hungry demon caught hold of them and was about to eat them, when the brothers fired arrows and cut off his arms

As Kabandha lay bleeding he asked them about their identity. When Rama and Laxmana introduced themselves, Kabandha bowed in reverence and told them his story . He said that Brahma had cursed him to change into a demon for his misdeeds and only if Rama killed could he get back his earlier form. Kabandha then begged Rama to end his life. As his body burnt to ashes a beautiful figure emerged from it. After changing into a gandharva, Kabandha advised Rama to seek Sugreeva's help and recover Sita .

Jatayu helps lord Rama

Jatayu helps Lord Rama

As Rama discovered the deceit of Mareecha, he grew anxious about Sita and Laxmana. Running through the dense forest, he called out their names. After some time, he saw Laxmana, and told him about Mareecha's deceit. How, by imitating Rama's voice, he had got Laxmana to come out, leaving Sita behind. Anxious that something terrible might have happened to Sita, the brothers rushed home. On reaching they found the door ajar and the fruits scattered. Sita was nowwhere in sight. They began a frantic search through the forests. Suddenly, they chanced upon the injured Jatayu. Writhing in pain, the bird just managed to tell them about Sita's abduction and pointed to the direction in which Ravana had gone. With folded wings, he bid goodbye and breathed his last.

Jatayu fights Ravana

When Ravana was taking Sita away to Lanka in his flying chariot, Jatayu, the wise old bird, was resting in the forest. Hearing Sita's helpless screams, Jatayu flew to Ravana's chariot.

Jatayu was a great devotee of Rama. He could not keep quiet at the plight of Sita, although the wise bird knew that he was no match for the mighty Ravana. But he was not afraid of Ravana's strength even though he knew that he would get killed by obstructing the path of Ravana. Jatayu decided to save Sita from the clutches of Ravana at any cost. He stopped Ravana and ordered him to leave Sita, but Ravana threatened to kill him he interfered. Chanting Rama's name, Jatayu attacked Ravana with his sharp claws and hooked beak.

His sharp nails and the beak tore flesh from the body of Ravana. Ravana took out his diamond-studded arrow and fired at Jatayu's wings. As the arrow hit, the frail wing tore off and fell, but the brave bird continued fighting. With his other wing he bruised Ravana's face and tried to pull Sita from the chariot. The fight went on for quite some time. Soon, Jatayu was bleeding from the wounds all over his body.

Finally, Ravana took out one huge arrow and shot Jatayu's other wing as well. As it hit, the bird fell on the ground, bruised and battered.

Jatayu wanted to meet Rama in his last moments before he died and tell him about Sita. So, even while he was dying, he went on repeating the name of Rama .

Indra Grants Rama a Wish

During the terrible war between Rama and Ravana, Indra appeared before Rama and said the gods were happy with Rama and he would grant any wish that Rama wanted. Rama said he was unhappy to see the destruction brought on Sugreeva's army and added that he wanted all the monkeys to be brought back to life. He also begged for the place of their dwelling to be always filled with trees and fruits.

Indra agreed and sent his blessings on the battlefield where all the monkeys lay dead. One by one these monkeys regained their lives. The other monkeys were awestruck to see this miracle. Then Indra and the other gods asked Rama to return to Ayodhya and accept its kingship. So Rama, Laxmana, and Sita bid a tearful goodbye and left for Ayodhya.

May 30, 2013

Lord Rama

Hindu God Lord Rama is the 7th incarnation of Hindu God lord Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayana (Ramayan) epic. The Ramayan is the very soul of India. It is a complete guide to God-realization, the path to which lies in righteousness. The ideals of man are beautifully portrayed in it. Everyone should emulate those ideals and grow into ideal human beings and ideal citizens.

Hindu God Lord Rama took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana (Ravan). Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma, who had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas or demons. One of the gods had to take on a human form in order to be able to defeat Ravana.

Hind God Lord Rama was born as the first son of Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya. Rama's mother was Kausilya. Lord Rama had three brothers : Bharata (Bharat) born from the second wife Kaikeyi, and Lakshmana (Lakshman) and Shatrughna born from the third wife Sumitra.

One day Saint Vishwamitra visited Ayodhya and asked Dashratha to send Lord Rama and Lakshmana with him because the Yakshini (demon) Tarka - with her two sons Mareech and Subahu - were terrifying him and the other saints at his ashram. They were not letting them worship and meditate. Lord Rama went with Lakshmana and Vishwamitra to kill Tarka. On the way to Saint Vishwamitra's ashram there was a dense forest. When they entered the forest Tarka came to kill them but Lord Rama killed her and her son Subahu with a weapon given to him by Vishwamitra. Lord Rama also shot an arrow at Mareech and threw him 100 yojan far away.

Later Lord Rama went with Saint Vishwamitr to Mithila where the wise King Janak ruled. King Janak had organized a svayamvaraa (an acient custom wherein the bride chose her husband of her own accord from amongst a number of suitors). It was announced that whosoever will bend the bow of Lord Shiva will marry King Janak's daughter Sita. Sita was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. But none of the suitors was able to lift Lord Shiva's bow, except Rama. Lord Rama lifted the bow with his one hand and bended it so hard that it even broke.

So Lord Rama got married to Sita, and his brothers got happily married to Sita's sisters. After returning and living happily in Ayodhya the old King Dashrath decided that it was time to give his kingdom to his beloved son Rama. There Kaikeyi, the third and youngest wife of the King, claimed the throne for her son Bharat. A long time before the young Queen had saved the King's life and he had promised to fulfill her two wishes. Manthara, the crooked and evil-minded maid-servant of Kaikeyi influenced the queen to claim her wishes now in favor of her son and to request Dashrath to banish Lord Rama from the kingdom for fourteen years, and to install Bharat on the throne instead. The King was shocked, his heart was broken, but he knew that truth is the highest Dharm, and that he had to fulfill his promise to his wife. So Lord Rama went to exile happily, knowing that to obey and serve his father was the highest duty of a son.

After Lord Rama left to the forest, Dashrath died from the pangs of separation from his beloved son Rama. Bharat went to the forest to meet his brother Rama and to request him to come back to Ayodhya. When hindu god lord Rama refused to return, in honor of the promise to his father, Bharat took Ram's "khadau" (wooden sandals) and placed them symbolically on Ayodhya's throne. Until his brother returned from the exile Bharat served the kingdom as a true and honest caretaker of Lord Rama.

Once Surpnakha, the sister of Ravana, passed by the place where Lord Rama was living. She saw Lord Rama and became impressed by his beauty. She transformed herself into a beautiful lady and went to God Rama and asked him to marry her. When God Ram refused and told her he is already married to Goddess Sita, she became angry. Coming back to her original form she ran towards Sita to kill her. When Lakshman saw that he cut her nose and one ear. Surpnakha then send her brother Khardushan with fourteen thousand rakshasas to avenge her. But all were killed by Lord Rama.

Surpnakha now sought vengeance through her older brother Ravana, but only got his interest by pointing out that the beautiful Goddess Sita would be a fitting wife for him. Ravana lured God Rama and Lakshman away from Goddess Sita by sending an enchanted deer of extreme beauty and then took Sita to his kingdom of Lanka.

On the way, Jatayu, a vulture bird and old friend of God Ram's father Dashrath, fought Ravan but was fatally wounded. He lived only long enough to tell God Ram what had happened upon his return.

In Lanka, Ravana tried to threathen Goddess Sita into marrying him, but was rejected again and again. Meanwhile, God Rama made an alliance with the monkey King Sugreeva, who had been exiled from his kingdom by his brother Bali. Lord Rama helped Sugreeva to regain his kingdom and in return Sugreeva raised an army of monkeys and bears, led by hindu God Lord Hanuman. When they reached the sea, God Hanuman flew across. On the way he had many adventures, which can be found on the Lord Hanuman page.

In Lanka, Lord Hanuman promised Goddess Sita that help would come soon. When he was then captured by the rakshasas, Ravana ordered them to set fire to God Hanuman's tail, wrapping it with oily rags. But Lord Hanuman increased the length of his tail so much that there seemed no end to it. He escaped and used his burning tail to set fire to all of Lanka.

Meanwhile, Lord Ram's army had build a huge bridge between Lanka and the mainland. They crossed the ocean and attacked Ravana's army.

During the battle, Lakshmana was heavily wounded, but he was cured by a magic herb which Lord Hanumana flew all the way to the Himalayas to obtain. Not finding the herb at first, Lord Hanumana brought the entire mountain just to be sure.

Finally, all rakshasa generals were killed and the battle become a single combat between Ravana and Lord Rama. Finally, Hindu God Lord Rama killed Ravana with a special weapon given to him by saint Agastya.

This was a moment of great rejoicing. God Rama and Goddess Sita were finally crowned King and Queen of Ayodhya, though people were doubting that Sita had preserved her virtue while being Ravana's captive, which is another story in itself.