BharatiyaStories

  #Know your dharma Why do Indian women wear bangles? Women love jewellery. Eastern civilizations also have a variety of colourful jewellery made out of beads, glass, ivory and semi-precious gems in addition to precious metals. One of the quintessential ornaments that most women possess are the bangles. One of the everyday jewellery items that Indian women love to wear is bangle. They are either lose around their wrists or made like bracelets depending on the trends and fashions. Bangles assume particular significance during wedding and auspicious occasions and are symbolic too. So what are the cultural reasons behind Indian women wearing bangles? The tradition of wearing of bangles in India is very ancient. The jewellery worn by Sita during her marriage includes bangles and wrist ornaments. A sculpture excavated in MohenjaDaro shows a  woman with her hand on her hip wearing bangles.  Bangles are considered auspicious in most parts of India. Depending on the reg...

  #Significance of the names of Rama and his brothers (Extracted and edited from esanskriti with permission) Dasaratha, was a great king of Ayodhya, whose happiness lay in his kingdom. His valour was marred by lack of male offspring to continue his lineage. Dasaratha did the Putrakameshti yagam to beget male progeny. At the end of the sacrifice a divine being emerged. He gave Dasaratha a pot of sweet porridge instructing him to divide it amongst his wives. Virtues of each Queen Dasaratha divided the sweet porridge into two portions, giving half of it to Kaushalya, his first wife. Kaushalya also known as Hrilekha was the one who possessed and spread divine virtues. She had her share of the dessert as soon as she received it, wishing for a son who would eventually become the king of the world. Dasaratha halved the remaining dessert yet again. This time he gave one half to Sumitra, his second wife. Sumitra was also known as Srilekha, one endowed with opulence and who shared th...

  #Know your dharma Why do we ring the bell   (Source: Sanatana Dharma Knowledge, Science and Wisdom) Why do we ring the bell in a temple? Is it to wake up the Lord? But the Lord never sleeps.  Is it to let the Lord know we have come?  He does not need to be told, as He is all knowing.  Is it a form of seeking permission to enter  his precinct? It is a homecoming and therefore entry needs no permission.  The Lord  welcomes us at all times. Then why do we ring the bell? The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the  sound Om, the universal name of the Lord. There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness. Even while doing the ritualistic aarati, we ring the bell. It is sometimes accompanied by the  auspicious sounds of the conch and other musical instruments. An added significance of  ringing the bell, conch and other ins...

  # Know your Dharma # Significance of the Kalasha   In most of our festivals or pujas, we see a kalasha or a vessel filled with water that is used for some ceremonies and rituals. Have you wondered, what is that kalasha/? What does it contain? And what is it’s significance/importance in our pujas? Let’s begin with what a kalasha is? Let us look at what some of our scriptures say about it. Here are some shlokas that are associated with the Kalasha pooja. 1.   कला   कला   हि   देवानां   दानवानां   कला   कला :  । संगृह्य   निर्मितो   यस्मात्कलशस्तेन   कथ्यते   ॥१॥ Meaning (By collecting) each  Kala  (Divine Part) of the  Devas  (Gods), and (by collecting) each  Kala  (Good Part) of the  Danavas , What is built by assembling them, (that aggregation of Divine Parts) is  called Kalasha , 2. कलशस्य   मुखे   विष्णुः   कण्ठे   रुद्रः   समाश्रितः ...