Wisdom of the Seers

Answer:  My first advice - Never ever refer to the “Shiva Trilogy” series by Amish Tripathi. They are mere works of fiction and present distorted facts on Lord Shiva. Period! My second advice - Leelas or stories of Lord Shiva are endless. That’s why in the ‘Shiva Mahimna’ stotra, it is written that - ‘If the ocean is made the inkpot, the branch of the mythical Parijata tree made the pen and Goddess Saraswati (The Goddess of Knowledge) embarks to write the glory of Lord (Shiva), it still will be impossible to comprehend the greatness of the Lord fully’. Still the following books can be referred to know about Lord Shiva in detail. 1. Shiva Purana 2. Linga Purana 3. Skanda Purana 4. Shivank (in Hindi, Published by Gita Press) 5. Shiva Upasanank (in Hindi, Published by Gita Press) 6. Siva Number (Kalyan Kalpataru, October 1990, Published by Gita Press) 7. Lord Siva and His Worship (Swami Sivananda Saraswati) 8. Shiva Stotra Ratnakara (Hymns on Lord Shiva, Published by Gita Press) My last a

Of late many people especially the celebrities have raised their voice strongly against the age-old tradition of Kanyadaan ritual which is performed during a Hindu marriage ceremony. Even they have decided not to include it as a part of their marriage ceremonial procedures. The reason behind this is - Daan means gift or giving away; so when Kanyadaan ritual is performed, it literally means gifting or giving away a daughter which is objectionable as a daughter or a woman is not a commodity to be gifted or given away. Now let us analyse this issue from different angles. There are three main points to be discussed in this issue - 1) How marriage is viewed in Hinduism, what are the different forms of marriages under it and what is the role of Kanyadaan in them 2) Whether a daughter or a woman is treated like a commodity during the Kanyadaan ritual? 3) Whether to include or not, the Kanyadaan ritual as a part of a Hindu marriage ceremony? First let us discuss on the importance of marriage,

According to a text named "Shilpa Saarani", there should be sculptures on the walls of a temple to satisfy 14 different types of species so that no species should be deprived from getting material pleasure arising out of seeing these statues or sculptures. On the walls of a temple, 1. There should be Deva Murties (sculptures of Gods) for the pleasure of Devas. 2. There should be Vikata Murties (Vikata - horrific) for the pleasure of Asuras (Demons). 3. There should be Yaksha Murties (sculptures of Yakshas) for the pleasure of Yakshas. 4. There should be Nritya Murties (sculptures of different poses of dance) for the pleasure of Gandharvas. 5. There should be Kinnari Murties (sculptures of Kinnaris) for the pleasure of Kinnaras. 6. There should be Naga Bandha (sculptures of bonding of serpents) for the pleasure of the serpents. 7. There should be Pashu Bandha (sculptures of bonding of animals) for the pleasure of the animals. 8. There should be Pakshee Bandha (Sculptures of bo