Wandering Jijñāsu

This post provides insights into the popular mantras and stutis dedicated to Bhagavān Viṣṇu and His Avatāras , as described in the Vedas and various scriptures. 1. ॐ नमो नारायणाय (Aṣṭākṣara-nārāyaṇa-mantra) This  mantra  appears in  नारायणोपनिषत् Meaning - I bow to N ārāyaṇa It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IospxT7xl-I 2. ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय (Dvādaśākṣara-mantra) This mantra is told by  Nārada while initiating Dhruva in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 4.8.54 Meaning - I bow to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa(Vasudeva's son)  It can be listened here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKSGqeJ8U4Y 3.  श्री कृष्ण शरणम ममः ( Aṣṭākṣara-mantra) Meaning - Śrī Kṛṣṇa is my refuge It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDPcjSDwUfs 4. राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण राधे राधे राधे श्याम राधे श्याम श्याम श्याम राधे राधे (Yugala-mahāmantra ) It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IulVov5Ns1I 5. हरे ...

This post provides insights into the popular mantras and stutis dedicated to  Bhagavatī  as described in the Vedas and various scriptures. 1.  देवी सूक्त( Devī-sūkta) or  अम्भ्राणी सूक्त( Aṃbhṛnī-sūkta) or  वाक्  सूक्त (V āk- sūkta) This s ūkta appears in  10.125 of Ṛgveda;  Ṛṣi: Vāgāmbhṛṇī , Devatā: Vāgāmbhṛṇī , Metre:  Virāṭtrisṭup It can be read here with the english translation:   https://shlokam.org/devisuktam/ It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cf30UbYnlg 2.  श्री सूक्त( Śrī-sūkta) It's part of Khilāni of  Ṛgveda;  Ṛṣi:  Ā nanda, Kardama, Ciklīta, Jātaveda , Devatā:  Śrī & Agni It can be read here with the  hindi  translation:  https://archive.org/details/kupdf.net_panchdev-atharvashirsha-sangrah-gita-press-sanskrit-hindi/page/n27/mode/2up It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT2yD-tXgdQ 3.  सरस्वती सूक्त(Sarasvatī-sūkta) This...

This post provides insights into the popular mantras and stutis dedicated to  Bhagavān  Sūrya  as described in the Vedas and various scriptures. 1. सूर्य सूक्त(Sūrya-sūkta ) a.  This sūkta appears in 1.50 of Ṛgveda; Ṛṣi: Praskaṇva-kāṇva , Devatā:  Sūrya It can be read here with the english translation:  https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/rig-veda-english-translation/d/doc829500.html It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoFmYOugdtQ b.  This sūkta appears in 1.115 of Ṛgveda; Ṛṣi: Kutsa- Ā ṅgirasa , Devatā:  Sūrya It can be read here with the hindi translation:  https://archive.org/details/VedicSuktaSangrahGitapress/page/n83/mode/2up It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlpT_QvKWdo c . It appears in Śukla-Yajur-Veda;    Ṛṣi:  Vibhrāḍ ,  Devatā:  Sūrya It can be read here with the hindi translation:  https://archive.org/details/kupdf.net_panchdev-ath...

This post provides insights into the popular mantras and stutis dedicated to Bhagavān Gaṇapati  as described in the Vedas and various scriptures. 1. वैदिक गणेश-स्तवन(Vaidika gaṇeśa-stavana ) It can be read here with the hindi translation:  https://archive.org/details/kupdf.net_panchdev-atharvashirsha-sangrah-gita-press-sanskrit-hindi/page/n23/mode/2up 2. ब्रह्मणस्पति सूक्त(Brahmaṇaspati-sūkta) This  sūkta   appears in 1.40 of Ṛgveda; Ṛṣi: Kaṇva-ghora ,  Devatā:  Bṛhaspati It can be read here with the hindi translation:  https://archive.org/details/VedicSuktaSangrahGitapress/page/n9/mode/2up 3.  ॐ  गं गणपतये नमः( Ṣaḍākṣarī- mahāmantra ) Meaning: I bow down to Bhagavān  Gaṇapati It can be listened here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naruxgq6oMU 4. गणेश गायत्री मंत्र( Gaṇeśa- Gāyatrī-mantra) ॐ एकदन्ताय विद्धमहे, वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि, तन्नो दन्ति प्रचोदयात् Meaning - We know Ekadanta (the one with a single tusk), and we m...

I am mentioning the opening Śloka of all the major Purāṇas. Each Purāṇa begins with a Maṅgalācaraṇa, a benedictory verse. Interestingly, the verse 'नारायणं नमस्कृत्य' appears in 13 major Purāṇas. I have not included all the verses of the Maṅgalācaraṇa but have focused on the 1st verse and, in cases where 'नारायणं नमस्कृत्य' is the 1st verse, I have also mentioned the 2nd verse. Viṣṇu Purāṇa नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम् ।  देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम उदीरयेत ॥1॥ After bowing to the divine Ṛṣi(s) Nārāyaņa and Nara, the Supreme Person (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), and Goddess Saraswati (the Goddess of speech), one should then recite this Purāṇa(which enables one to conquer the cycle of birth and death as well as all the aberrations of the mind). Garuḍa  Purāṇa( Maṅgalācaraṇa of 6 Verses ) नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम् ।  देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम उदीरयेत ॥1॥ Same Meaning as explained above ॐ अजमजरमनन्तं ज्ञानरूपं महान्तं शिवममलमनादिं भूतदेहादिहीनम् ।  सकलकरणहीनं स...

I have tried to include temples dedicated exclusively to one Avatāra and those where daily worship takes place, as there are many cave temples with idols where worship does not occur. There is no consensus on the list of the 10 Avatāras. Among Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, and Buddha, two are typically included. When Kṛṣṇa is excluded from the list, he is considered the source of all Avatāras. Here are the temples dedicated to the Daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu. The list is not exhaustive. Matsya Shri Vedanarayana Swami Temple -  Nagalapuram, Tirupati(A.P.) Matsya Narayana Temple - Bengaluru(Karnataka) Shri Vaikuntanathan Perumal Temple -  Thoothukudi(Tamil Nadu) - It's a Divya-desham Arulmigu Shri Rajagopala Swami Temple -  Mannarkovil, Tirunelveli(Tamil Nadu)  - Vibhishana is believed to have worshipped Matsya at this location while returning to Lanka after Rama's coronation. Perumeenpuram Vishnu Temple -  Kakkur, Kozhikode(Kerala) Shri Malsya Avatara Temple - Meenangadi, Waya...

I am trying to give a brief summary of Tulsidāsa Jī's work. He wrote in both Avadhī and Braja languages with equal command. Avadhī Texts Rāma-Carita-Mānasa:  The largest work of Tulsidāsa Jī, written between 1574 and 1576 AD, consists of a total of 11,902 verses (10,855 in Avadhī and 47 in Sáṃskṛta). Tulsidāsa Jī used 8 different canda in the Avadhī verses and 10 different canda in the Sáṃskṛta verses. Rāma-kathā in Mānasa is divided into 7 Kāṇḍa ⇒ Balā-Kāṇḍa(361), Ayodhyā-Kāṇḍa(326), Araṇya-Kāṇḍa(46), Kiṣkindhā-Kāṇḍa(30), Sundara-Kāṇḍa(60), Laṅkā-Kāṇḍa(121), and Uttara-Kāṇḍa(130) Tulsidāsa Jī did not provide numbers for Caupāī verses but did provide numbers for Dohā/Soraṭhā verses. These Caupāī are situated between Dohā/Soraṭhā verses, and the total number of Dohā/Soraṭhā verses is mentioned in parentheses. It can be read here with its Hindi अनुवाद -  https://www.ramcharit.in/ram-charit-manas-%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80-%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9A%...