Hanuman ji Temple at Bhatli, Bargarh, Odisha

The Five-faced Monkey God or Panchamukhi Hanuman is a form of Lord Hanuman, the Hindu God, who is believed to have been present even today as He is immortal. 

Lord Hanuman assumed this form to kill Ahi-Ravana, a powerful demon black-magician and practitioner of the dark arts during the Ramayana war. Ahi-Ravana had taken Lord Rama and Lakshmana in his captivity. There was no clue and the only way to kill him was to extinguish five lamps burning in different directions, all at the same time. Hanuman assumed His Panchamukha form and accomplished the task, thus killing the rakshasa, and freeing Rama and Lakshmana.

The five faces of Panchamukha Hanuman are those of Sri Hayagriva, Sri Narasimha, Sri Garuda, Sri Varaha and Hanuman Himself.

The statue in the picture is of Hanuman ji at the outskirt of Bhatli in the Bargarh District of Odisha, India. (Photo by Himanshu)

The details of Panchamukhi Hanuman are:-

1. East facing Hanuman to grant humanity isthta siddhi.

2. South facing Narasimha to grant humanity abhista siddhi.

3. West facing Garuda to grant humanity sakalla sowbhagya

4. North facing Varaha to grant humanity dhana prapthi, and

5. Hayagriva on top to grant humanity sarva vidya jaya prapthi.

This form of Hanuman is very popular, and is also known as Panchamukhi Anjaneya and Panchamukhi Anjaneya. (Anjaneya, which means "son of Anjana", is another name of Hanuman).

Durga Maa at Patnagarh for Baishno Mela 2010

Baishno Mela 2010 was organised by Jay Mata Di Group, Patnagarh and Central Jay Mata Di Group. This idol of Sherawali Maa had been worshiped there in a massive grand Festival for long three days with daily Prabachan by Shree Satyanarayanan Pandey ji who is also the President of Jay Mata Di Group, India, Hawan by learned Pandits from Banaras lead by Anil Sharma of Jay Mata Di Group and Bhajan by Jay Mata Di Group members from all over India. Maa Sherawali was being decorated by different celebration outfits in this function. Dhyanu and Amit from Kolkata were in charge of Maa's Shringar.

Durgaa Maa with Hanuman ji at Patnagarh (by Himanshu)

Durga Maa at Patnagarh with Harishankar and Patneshwari Temple in background ( Photo by  Himanshu)

Durga Maa at Patnagarh for Baishno Mela 2010 ( Photo by Himanshu)

Durga Maa at Patnagarh on Baishno Mela 2010 ( Photo by Himanshu Guru)

Mata Sherawali

Jay Mata Di.........

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is the life saving divine blessings from Lord Shiva.

Human being is the most powerful creation of God. There are 84 lakh yonis where a soul (atma) is made to take birth. But there are only some fortunate souls who get the opportunity to take birth as human beings. Why obtaining a life as a human being is important is - in this yoni one can save himself from the circle of birth and finally get mokshya through his work (Karma). Mokshya is a state where the atma gets assembled with the Paramatma, the God which is the ultimate destination of every soul.

Human being enjoys the fruit of his last work done. Hence, if his Karma is good he gets good result and vice versa. In this way his death time is also pre-decided. But he can change or extend it with the blessings of God. Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra is the blessings to conquer death. If this pious Mantra is chanted or recited or even listened or worshipped according to the rules he can defeat death. However the most important point here is that he must have devotion and belief in the God and Mantra.

Maha means big or more result providing. Mrityu means death. Mrityunjaya means to win over the death. Hence Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra means the chanting by which one can win over death.

Reciting the Mantra for either 108 times or its multiple is the process to achieve the target of avoiding death.

त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।

उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥

Aum

Tryambhakam Yajamahe, 

Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam, 

Urvarukamiva Bandhanan, 

Mrityor Mokshiya Maamritat

Its meaning is - Om (Pranab) I worship the three-eyed God (that is Lord Shiva)(Tryambhakam Yajamahe), to extend fragrance and completeness of life (Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam), and also to make me free from the shackles of life (Urvarukamiva Bandhanan) to liberate me and bestow me immortality(Mrityor Mokshiya Maamritat).

Aum is 'Pranab'. The rule is to recite it in the beginning with the mantra. This mantra is from Rig Veda and has amazing effects in all the four yugas, named Satya, Tretaya, Dwapara and Kali.

Duty of the three major Gods has been devided. Brahma creates the world, Vishnu brings up it and Shiva destructs. In other words Generation, Operation and Destruction (hence the term GOD) is the three sole works of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar respectively. Hence it is obvious that the Lord who is there to provide death can save us from the jaws of death.

Shree Krishna

Sarbadharman Parityajya mamekam Sharanam Braza
Aham twam sarba papebhyo Rakshyayisyami Maa suchah.....

This famous chant of the pious Geeta, where the precious words of Lord Shree Krishna depicted to Arjuna in the battlefiend of Kurukshetra to fight the great war of Mahabharata has been written but actually to address the universe says that if someone surrenders to Him completely even without fearing to perform the practices of all the Dharmas or the rules and regulations He rescues that person from all these vices and it is not a confusion to think about (means it is confirm).

S

Happy Chaitra Navratri 2011

Happy Chaitra Navratri 2011 from Jay Mata Di Group, Balangir, Odisha, India.

Thank you.........

Jwala Devi Maa - The Miracle - The Goddess in the form of flames

Jay Mata Di. Jay Jwala Maa. 

The sacred flame is the idol in Jwala Devi Temple

       To the astonishment of all, here we are presenting a miracle about our   Goddess Jwala Maa. Maa means mother. The miracle is nine eternal flames without any fuel, exist and receive worship from devotees in Jwala Devi temple in India. This shrine is located in the lower Himalayas in Jwalamukhi town of the KangraHimachal Pradesh (state) of India, about 55 kilometers from the larger town of Dharamsala. These set of flames burning off natural gas is the physical manifestation of Jwala Ji or JwalaMaa. The temple is one of the  51 'Shakti Pithas' of Hindu Mythology. In the early times, people tried to explore the fact behind these burning flames, but nothing substantial was made out. These flames are burning due to some natural jets of combustible gas.In this temple, there is no idol because the Goddess is considered to be residing in the form of flames. The nine ceaseless flames are named as Mahakali, Annapurna, Chandi, Hinglaj, Vindhya Vasini, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Ambika and Anji Devi respectively.

The story behind it's being Shaktipith

(Shakti Pith - a recognised place where Power exists)

       After destroying the 'Yagna' of Dakshya , Lord Shiva placed the burnt dead body of Sati (His wife) on his shoulders and started wandering about in a state of madness in the space ('antarikshya' in Hindi and Sanskrit).To save the world from the destructive wrath of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu started cutting the limbs of the dead Goddess one by one. The places where they fell became sacred centers for the worship of Shakti or Power.The tongue of Sati fell at the place where the temple of Jwalamukhi is situated. The flames that come out of the openings in the earth's surface are regarded as the manifestations of the fallen tongue of  Mata Sati and are worshipped as "Jwalamukhi Devi" (Goddess, who emits flames from her mouth).

Legend of Dhyanu Bhagat and Mughal Emperor Akbar

Royal entrance of Jwala Devi Temple

       Dhyanu Bhagat was a supreme devotee of JwalaMaa during the reign of Akbar, the Mughal Emperor in  the then India. Knowing  about   Devotion of Dhyanu, Akbar called for him and asked  to qualify in a hard test to prove the supreme power of Dhyanu'sJwalaMaa. He cut the head of a horse and wanted Dhyanu to join it and make alive again the animal with the power of the Goddess. To the surprise of all, the same horse was found alive after some days. Impressed by this incident, he wanted to know more about the Goddess and came to know about the eternal flames. In a fit of anger, he tried to douse the flames with a stream of water which is very much present today also in the name of "Akbar kaa nahar" or the spring of Akbar. However,the great power of the Goddess, still kept the flames burning. Now realizing the power of Jwala Devi, Akbar came with his army to this temple. He brought a Gold umbrella (Chatra) for the Goddess, but on offering, the umbrella turned into an unknown metal suggesting that the Goddess didn't accept his offering.  The said umbrella has  also been  kept in the temple library to be watched by the visitors. God,

Writer's view

Writer Himanshu Guru and his wife

     I have personally visited this place. One may not believe the mythology depicted above, but definitely it is a miracle of nature and it says about the practical presence of God either in the form of God or Nature. Hence realising the existence of this supreme power the best creation of the creator, that is human being should walk in the right path for establishment of peace and brotherhood throughout the world.

Manikaran, the hot spring in Himachal Pradesh, India - by Himanshu

Manikaran,Himachal Pradesh, India

      Manikaran is famous mainly for its hot springs, Gurdwara and the temples. It is located in the Parvati Valley between the rivers Beas and Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India, 45 kms away from Kullu. Devotees believe the sulphur hot spring as a miracle of God and people call  it astonishment of science. This hot water is believed to cure skin deseases  or even ease the swelling caused by gout. Many visitors specially the Hindus and sikhs, visit here for offering prayer at Gurdwara  Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji and the famous Ram Temple and Shiva temple among others.

Rice is boiled in hot water from the hot spring

ONE CAN SEE OVER HERE

One can see here an amusing experience of cooking rice or dal in the boiling hot waters. The local residents also use this hot water through pipes at their places without the cost of heating the water or using any fuel for that. Here in the market one can get religious idols, offerings, etc. and of course a wide range of medicinal plants in the nearby mountains.Here due to the climate, local vegetables and pulses like rajmah and urad are of rare quality and taste different from those available in other regions.

Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati

THE MYTHOLOGICAL STORY BEHIND ITS EVOLUTION

Once Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati were roaming in the space and enchanted by a beautiful green place which was surrounded by the mountains, decided to spend some time there. The span of that time was believed to be 11 hundred years according to human calculation. During their stay here, Mata Parvati lost her Mani( the most precious jewellery/gem stone) in the waters of a stream. Upset over the loss, she asked Lord Shiva to retrieve it. Lord Shiva commanded his attendants to find out the mani for  Mata Parvati, however, when they failed, he was extremely angry. He opened his third eye, a tremendously inauspicious event which led to disturbances in the universe. An appeal was made before the serpent God, Sheshnag, to pacify Lord Shiva. Sheshnag hissed thereby giving rise to a flow of boiling water. The water spread over the entire area resulting in the emergence of precious stones of the type Goddess Parvati had lost. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were happy at the outcome. The name Manikaran is derived from this legend. The water is still hot and is considered extremely auspicious.

Writer Himanshu and  his wife

 WRITER'S VIEW

I have practically visited this place. You can get complete peace and satisfaction in this religious  and naturally gifted atmosphere if you believe. One can also have the funny experience of a new type of cooking in Manikaran. Moreover it is an amazing place to visit.