Everyone in this world is involved in ‘cat-fight’ and wants to out do each other; even though people try their best ,not all are successful. This is the rule of nature so one should not be depressed by failures nor shoul be overjoyed at success
similar to the lesson of Bhagvad-gita which says that “One’s duty is paramount and should have faith and continue it without coveting for the ‘fruits’ since for actions done fruits will be obtained accordingly”

कमल  ब्रह्म  शेते  हरः  शेते  हिमालय  |

 क्षीराब्धौ  च  हरिः  शेते  मन्ये  मत्कुनाशंकाया  ||

Brahma sleeps on a lotus, Shiva in the Himalayas; Vishnu on a serpent bed in the ocean; all these do so because of fer of bed bugs 

चितां  प्रज्वलितं  दृष्ट्वा  वैद्यो  विस्मयामागातः  |

 नहं  गतः  न  में  भरता  कस्येदम  हस्तलाघवं  ||

(The one above is a remark on doctors with a hint of irony and humor)

A doctor is taken aback seeing a dead body on a pyre and remarks ” I did not do it nor did my brother get him there, then whose did this “??  

On Poverty- Plight of the poor people in a humorous and in an ironical sense:

भो  दरिद्र्यम  नमस्तुभ्यम  सिद्धो &हम  तत्प्रसादतः  |

 पश्याम्य हम  जगत  सर्वं  न  मम  पश्यति  कश्चन  ||

O Poverty! tribute to you; its by your esteemed grace that I have obtained master in sorcery since I see the whole world and nobody takes a note of me.

Read more : Here

and Here

रत्नाकराधौतापदम  हिमालयकिरीटिनीम  |

ब्रह्मराजर्शिरारात्नाध्यम  वंदे  भारतमातरम   ||

She , whose  feet are washed by the oceans, who has a crown of Himalayas; who is bedeecked with the jewellery of great seers and Kings (Intellectuals,brave and righteous)  (My) obeisance to that Mother India

Forgiveness and forebearance mesmerise the whole world; what’s not achieved by forgivenes?
So it should be the habit of the strong and able to forgive since the weak when does some wrong relies on forgiveness from others.

[rockyou id=131421833&w=426&h=320]

निर्मल भाषित शोभित लिंगम जन्मज दुखः विनाशक लिंगम

तत् प्रनमामि सदा शिव लिंगम||

देवमुनी प्रवर्चित लिंगम काम दहनं  करूणाकर लिंगम|

रावण दर्प विनाशक लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदा शिव लिंगम||

सर्व सुगंध सुलेपिता लिंगम बुद्धि विवार्धना कारण लिंगम|

 सिद्ध सुरासुर वन्दिता लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदा शिव लिंगम||

कनका महामणि भूषित लिंगम फणिपति वेशिता शोभित लिंगम|

तत् प्रणमामि सदाशिव लिंगम||

कुमकुम चंदना लेपिता लिंगम पंकज हरा सुशोबिता लिंगम|

संचिता पाप विनाशक लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदाशिव लिंगम||

देवागानार्चिता सविता लिंगम भावैर भक्ति भिरेवाचा लिंगम|

दिनकर कोटि प्रभाकर लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदाशिव लिंगम||

अष्ट दलोपरी वेशिता लिंगम सर्व समुद्भव कारण लिंगम|

अष्टदरिद्र विनाशक लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदाशिव लिंगम||

सुरगुरु सुरवर पूजित लिंगम सुरावन पुष्प सदार्चित लिंगम |

परात्परं परमात्मक  लिंगम तत् प्रणमामि सदाशिव लिंगम||

Transliteration:

Prayers to that Sada Shiva Linga, which is adored by Brahma, Vishnu and other Gods, which is praised by pure and holy speeches and which destroys the cycle of births and deaths.

I bow before that Sada Shiva Linga, which is the destroyer of desires, which the Devas and the sages worship, which is infinitely compassionate and which subdued the pride of Raavana.

My prostrations to that Sada Shiva Linga, which is lavishly smeared with variegated perfumes and scents, which elevates the power of thought and enkindles the light of discrimination, and before which the Siddhas and Suras and Asuras prostrate.

humble prayers tothat Sada Shiva Linga, the destroyer of Dakshas sacrifice, which is decorated with various ornaments, studded with different gems and rubies and which glows with the garland of the serpent Lord coiled around it.

O’ Sada Shiva Linga, which is smeared with saffron and sandal paste, which is decorated with lotus garlands and which wipes out all accumulated sins, accept my prayers

Sada Shiva Linga which is worshipped by the multitude of Gods with genuine thoughts full of faith and devotion and whose splendor is like that of a million suns, accept my prostrations.

My humble offerings to that Sada Shiva Linga, destroyer of all poverty and misery in its eight aspects, which is the cause of all creation and which stands on the eight petalled Lotus.

Sada Shiva Linga which is the Transcendent Being and the Supreme Self, worshipped by all Suras and their preceptor (Brhaspathi), with innumerable flowers from the celestial gardens, I bow with reverence before thee.

Lord Shiva represents the aspect of the Supreme Being that continuously dissolves to recreate the cyclic process of creation, preservation, dissolution and recreation of the universe.

Owing to His cosmic activity of dissolution and recreation, the world’s destruction has been erroneously associated with Lord Shiva, in the sense that he will destoy with weapons, not so, he will destroy but with his ‘Indifference’.

The creation sustains itself by a delicate balance between the opposing forces of good and evil.

Shiva is the Lord of mercy and compassion. He protects devotees from evil forces such as lust, greed, and anger. He grants boons, bestows grace and awakens wisdom in His devotees.

He is called ‘Bholenath’ because of his unbiased nature .

Chankaya says that its better to die than suffer in humiliation for if you die once you’re to suffer momentarily but by living in humiliation you’ll suffer for ever.
This quote discloses a very important aspect of his own life. chankya before being known as chankya or Kautilya was known through his original name ‘Vishnu-gupt’ and he suffered great humiliation from the ruler of Magadha- Dhanananda the despot ruler and last of Nanda dynasty to rule, it is on then onwards he decides to avenge his humiliation and restore a righteous rule in Bharat-varsha through Chandra-gupt Maurya. For Chanakya the mission becomes more of a personal one rather than a social one.

Isn’t it interesting to see that the one who wrote that ‘death is better than life in humiliation’ had to live a large part of his life remembering that humiliation!!

“Maataa Shatroo Pitaa Vairi Yen Balo Na Paathitaa Na Shobhate Sabhaa Madhye Hansa Madhye kako Yathaa.”

Mother and Father who do not encourage their child’s education are his enemies indeed ; an illiterate among educated one is the same as,in a group of Swans the Crow is neither wanted nor admired.

“Na Gyanen Sadrusham Pavitram Iha Vidyate.”

Nothing is more sacred than the education (knowledge).

“Na Chora Haaryam Na Cha Raja Haaryam,
Na Bhraturbhajyam Na Cha Bhaarakaari
Vyaye Krute Vardhta Eva Nityam,
Vidyaa Dhanam Sarva Dhanam Pradhaanam.”

Knowledge is such that a thief can not steal, king or government can not snatch, siblings can not ask for a share,Its never a burden(you don’t have to carry it as a burden) and it only increases after spending it; therefore the wealth of knowledge is the foremost of all other wealthy possessions.

“Vidya naam narasya roopam-adhikam prachchanna gupta dhanam
Vidya bhogakari yasha sukhakari Vidya guruNam guru:
Vidya bandhujano videshagamane Vidya para daivataa
Vidya rajashu Poojitaa na tu dhanam Vidya vihina pashu.”

Education beautifies man-A hidden treasure of wealth,Cause of fame, happiness and fulfillment of all worldly desires,Master of all masters;Appreciated among the family members as well as in foreign countries, a cause of highest bliss;Honored by the King where wealth is not honored
A person without education is an animal indeed.

“Saahitya Sangeet Kalaa Vihina sakshat pashu puchchhavishaan heena trunam Na Khadanapi jevaman stadbhagyadheyam paramam naranam.”

A person who is not having( even little) knowledge of literature, music and art is like an animal without horns and tail, It is the highest fortune of the animals that he lives without eating grass.

“Vidyaa Vivaadaaya Dhanam Madaaya Shakti Pareshaam Paripeedanaay Khalsya Sadhorviparitametad Gnyaayaay Daanaaya Cha Rakshanaaya.”

In case of a wicked, Knowledge is for arguments, wealth is for ego and power or strength is for causing distress and subduing others; Whereas it is reverse in case of the noble, where knowledge is for educating others, wealth is for donating and power is for protecting others.

“Prathame naarjitaa Vidyaa dvitiye Narjitam Dhanam Tritiye Narjitam Poonyam Chaturthe Kim Karishyasi.”

If you have no education in first twenty five years, No wealth in second( twenty five years )and,if you don’t do any noble work in the next twenty five years then what you will do in the remaining twenty five years?

“Vidyaa Vinayena Shobhate.”

Education (Knowledge) combined with humility is appreciated.

Knowledge is like an unfathomable ocean, even if we gain a drop of it,we shouldn’t conclude of knowing everything and boast about one’s power of knowledge, the above shubashita conveys the same meaning.

Na-asti vidya sama chakshu, na-asti satya sama tapa:
Na-asti raag sama dukham, na-asti tyaga sama sukham

No vision as as powerful as the vision of knowledge; abiding by truth is the foremost of all other austerities; There’s no pain than the pain caused by desire, Happiness gained by sacrifice (of desires) is the ultimate one.
In my college days I had this funny habit of looking onto a college prospectus and finding a quote which usually is made on ‘learning’, ‘knowledge’ etc on the logo; I’m quoting some of them below:

Vidya sarvatra vandite. alternatively; Vidya sarvatra poojite which means knowledge is worshipped everywhere.

Amrutam tu vidya-Knowledge is eternal.

“Sa Vidyaa Yaa Vimuktaye.”

Education is that which uplifts the Soul.

This quote talks more about virtues of having a good character, but I have listed it because,its through Knowledge only that we’re able to build a good character for ourselves
videsheshu dhanam vidyaa
vyasaneshu dhanam matihi
parloke dhanam dharmaha
sheelam sarvatra vaidhanam

In foreign land, your education is your wealth.
In bad times, your wisdom is your wealth.
In heaven (other world where the soul goes after death), your dharma (duty, sprituality) is your wealth.
Your character is your wealth everywhere.

(courtesy: Kanan)
for the above quote.

Another shubhashita,which has a profound meaning:

Vidya vinayam dadhati, vinayam yaati patrataam
Patrataam dhanamapnoti dhanat dharmam tata: sukham

with knowledge you get humility, humility makes you worthy and worth helps you get wealth;wealth when invested in charity and utilized for doing good/righteous deeds will lead to salvation(you’ll obtain eternal bliss)

A wonderful message!

Here it goes:

Adha: pashyasi kim baale patitah tam bhuvi

Re re murkha na jaanasi gatam taruNya mauktikam

Chanakya asks an old lady: What have you dropped down on the earth,that you’re searching so intently like a young girl? the old lady answers: O’ fool I’m searching for a pearl named ‘youthfulness’ that I dropped here years ago (not knowing its value)

Simhadekam,bakadekam shikshecchatvari kukkuTaat,
Vaayastpaccha shiksheccha shaT-shunastrNi garbhadat
One lesson is to be learnt from lion,one from crane,five lessons from crow,six from dog and three lessons from donkey,these are described in next six verses.

Prabhutam karyam,alpam va yannaraH karturmicchati
sarvarambeNa tatkaryam simhad ekam prachakshate.

Whether the prey is small or a big one (in size) the lion has a same approach towards them by attacking its prey with full force and killing its prey to effect.
This lesson from lion teaches us to be unbiased towards the different kinds of work we do in our daily life and that we should give 100% to each task we undertake no matter whether its small or a big one.

IndriyaNi cha sa(n)yamya bakavat pandito naraH deshakalambalam gyatva sarvakaryaNi sadhyet.

What the wise men have learnt from a crane is have senses under control. A Crane is known to stay perfrctly still in water till it spots and gets hold of fishes which swim towards it since it is standing so still and at the same time Crane(always) has full knowledge of the happenings in its surroundings.One hint of presence of its predators (like crocodiles) the crane makes no haste in taking off into the sky. this lesson of Crane teaches us to be in control of ourselves as well as of whats happening around us-It applies to individuals and business undertakings as well.

Pratyutthanam cha yuddhaam cha sanvibhagam cha bandhushu swaymatramya bhutam cha shikshecchatvari KukkuTat.

Waking up early (every-day) and having immense fighting spirit,giving due share of meals to its peers and also fighting with a lot of courage for its own share of food or defending itself from enemies,thus a Hen teaches us four vital lessons which are to be learnt by an individual and business undertakings.

Gudha-maithunacharitvam kaalE kaalE sangraham apramattam-vishvasam pancha shikshEccha vaayasaat.

Making love inconspicuously,abstaining from eating lavishly,saving (food) for adverse times and not wasting time wandering or acting foolishly( a crow is never found loitering unnecessarily) and never having trust in someone completely rather blindly. These are the five lessons to be learnt and practiced by everyone.
There are many stories in Panchatantra narrating the intelligence of crows also Vishnu-Puran narrates the story of ‘Kag-bushunDi’ a crow which is an ardent devotee of Shri Rama , and the intelligence of crow is well acknowledged by lord Vishnu himself.
Some-time back a documentary was shown on earth’s most intelligent creatures by National geographic in which crow occupies a prominent place.
Also read: This article

Bahyavashi,swalpsantushTaH sanidro laghuchetanaH , Swamibhaktashcha shoorashcha ShaDEtE shwanato guNaHa.

Eating to content when food is available and ability to go hungry when in scarcity or non availability, being fiercely loyal to its master and courageous alike. Being able to sleep anywhere and being alert even in sleep are the six qualities of a dog to be adopted by human beings.

Sushranto-Api vahed bharam shito-ushNa na cha pashya ti SantushTcharitE nityam triNi shikshEccha gardabhat.

Carrying (unbearable) burden even when tired, working hard indifferent of seasons(surroundings) and being contented with whatever provided are the three things to be learnt from a Donkey.

Ya etana vashati guNana aacharishyati manavaH
KaryavastHatasu ajeyaH sa bhavishyati

Anybody learning the above six verses and applying it in their lives,such human beings will emerge victorious in all undertakings.

Thus completes Chanakya’s take on lessons from animals.

This is a riddle which says….
It lives on top of a tree but isn’t an eagle (pakshiraja-king of birds), has three eyes but is not lord Shiva,the holder of trident;wears fibres as clothes but is not a sage/sanyasi, holds water in it but is neither a pot nor a cloud.

What is it?? Read the answer here

After you’ve clicked for the answer, you’ll know that this riddle attempts to tell the importance of this thing.

Yasyasti vittam sa naraH kulinaH
Sa panditaH Sa shrutavanguNjnaH (1)
Sa evam vaktaH San guNajna;
Sarve guNaha kanchanmashratye (2)

[ Neeti Shataka-artha paddhati]
A wealthy person is considered as to belonging toa civilized family; Is eloquent; is all nobility personified and good looking , such is the illusion of wealth for everything is controlled by it.

The wealthy people in this world rule this society, whatever they say is true and however cruel are considered as noble. Don’t we see the illusion of wealth? Its applied universally; the oil producing countries are richest because of their oil resources they literally rule the world-even though they are embodiment of cruelty for the cruelty on human beings is very well known and violation of human rights is just a casual thing.No other country dare even lift a finger to them obviously for the reason of getting access to oil.

For centuries together we see that its a clash of ‘economic status’ among individuals and among societies as such. A wealthy society is considered as civilized where as a society which has intellectuals but is not very wealthy is not so civilized Wealth is more valued than intellectuals. Such is the illusion of wealth.

Kuchaileenam dantmalopadhariNim Bahyashinam nishThurabhashiNim cha
suryodaye chastmeetE shayanam Vimuchchati Shreeyardi ChakrapaNiHi

One who wears unclean clothes, has his mouth unclean/doesn’t keep his teeth clean.Speaks harshly,abusively,sleeps at Sunrise and/or at Sunset respectively;Lakshmi,the goddess of wealth will leave him regardless of who he is(She will leave him,even if he is her husband-Vishnu-ChakrapaNi,holder of Chakra/disc)
This quote tells that Lakshmi the goddess of wealth is unbiased of gender,caste,creed etc and will bless according to their ‘Karma’. Even if her husband-Vishnu is at fault,she will not spare him.

Udyoginam purushasimham upayiti LakshmiH
Daivam pradhanam ithi kaapurushaah vadanti,
Daivam vihaya kuru paurusham atmasaktya
Yatney kritey yadi na sidhyanti kotra doshaha.

Lakshmi,the goddess of wealth blesses only those who are courageous and industrious,those who strive forward and believe in action and not those who solely depend on things to happen by themselves or by assuming that things will happen as they’re predestined by fate,which alone they say that Fate is more important than Actions.

It is only the daring and the adventurous that succeed in life.Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth goes to such person and favors him with, wealth and prosperity.Only the weak-minded people take cover on ” fate”and take an excuse for not starting a work.The writer of the Shubhashita here asks a question generally raised by the weakminded: “What is the guarantee that the work started, if at all, will win ?”. The writer says that even if it does not succeed,what is the fault here?It is better to try and lose,rather than not to try at all.

The problem with ‘when I was your age’ is that its a sermon disguised as nostalgia and unfortunately that doesn’t work, for kids instantly come to know that its another preachy stuff coming from a distance. The last thing they want to hear is ‘how their parents,grandparents walked long distances to get to school, shared things like toys,rooms-sometimes they didn’t even have a separate one,how they didn’t have a thing like ‘pocket money’ blah,blah…..
Todays kids find it heartening to hear that their parents too made the same mistakes as they do,parents were the same irresponsible ones just like they’re. This cuts the adult world down to size.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t share about how we spent our childhoods and the hardships faced( as compared to present situations) but they need not be in such a manner that kids of today feel guilty rather than feeling privileged .
Isn’t parenting ‘that extra effort’ that we’ve to make?! We should be skillful enough to narrate the tale of our childhood like its a story with a beginning and an end…..you’ll know whether you’re successful or not- the kids will tell you to narrate it, again and again……

The great river Ganga is a Man made river unlike a natural one, here’s the story , Read on…..

        After Dilip his son king Bhagirath worshiped Lord Brahma for many years. When Brahmaji pleased, king requested him to release the holy river from his Kamandal and let it flow on the Earth so that it could offer nirvana to his ancestors. Brahma told him that he could release Ganga but it will descend on the Earth with such a velocity that Earth can not tolerate it. So Lord Shiva should be requested to receive Ganga on his head to save the Earth from destruction. King did the same and Lord Shiva pleased after many years of worship and agreed to stand the force of Ganga coming from heaven. Brahma released Gangaji but it disappeared in the hair locks of Shiva. King  had to worship Lord Shiva again to release Ganga from his hair locks. When ultimately Ganga was released it followed the chariot of king Bhagirath. In the way it destroyed the worship place of king Janhu who drank the whole river due to anger. Bhagirath requested him and after being pleased he released Ganga who followed the king Bhagirath to meet the ocean in Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar. In the way it accepted the ashes of sons of king Sagar thus allowing peace to the departed souls.

        In India, at least, even in this 21st century there are episodes of drought, hunger and death, where people die of hunger due to lack of rains and irrigation facilities. This natural disaster is not new, it has been there since times immemorial. During the reign of king Sagar also episodes of these disasters used to happen off & on and thousands of men, women, children and cattle were victims every time. King decided that the country must have a regular source of irrigation which could provide food even in absence of natural rain. The greatest source of water in Eastern India is the great Himalaya. Hundreds of capable men were sent there to search water. Journey in forest  and hills of Himalaya was extremely difficult and dangerous those days.  Most of the men could not make their way back  home. those who returned reported that there are hundreds of streams on the mountain but to bring them to our land is impossible. King Sagar was already dead while this search was going on. His grandson Anshuman occupied the throne. He and after him his son Dilip tried in this direction but did not succeed.

        The natural episodes kept on happening with intervals of few years. When Bhagirath became the king he decided to try again for a permanent source of irrigation because it was the only solution to save the people from this disaster. Some of the workers reported that an extremely large Glacier about 50miles*50miles is hidden between the peaks of Himalayas and a small stream of water is coming out from it. The water was perfectly clear, pure and tasty. King Bhagirath himself went to the Glacier and was extremely delighted to see it. He decided this water must reach my land. This stream disappeared after moving several miles in the mountain. This stream has to be carried down the hill. But the amount of water was not sufficient to be carried to his state. The engineers decided to join several streams flowing down the mountain nearly seven of them to make one river by breaking the path in the mountain, they named this river Bhagirathi and joined it with original Ganga.

        Meanwhile a large canal was being digged in the state of Bhagirath to receive the water from Ganga. An outlet for  this huge water has to be made and so the canal was connected to river Yamuna in Prayag the present Allahabad and was a huge river to accommodate the water of the canal.

        King Janhu appeared in winter when most of the small streams got frozen and water was insufficient to reach the kingdom of Bhagirath. New efforts had to be made to increase the water supplies in the canal. Several years later engineers reported that a large river Alaknanda is flowing in the east which if joined with the Ganga  will have sufficient water in the canal for the whole year-winter, summer and rains. It took several years to break the mountains-the hair locks of Lord Shiva-to join Alaknanda with Ganga. This water of “Tripathga”–Ganga, Bhagirathi and Alaknanda was allowed to flow in the canal already prepared to pass through the kingdom of Bhagirath and ultimately joined Yamuna to reach the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar. The Yamuna is named Ganga after Prayag although at Sangam the amount of water in Yamuna is several hundred times more than the amount of water in Ganga, the man made canal, this is just to respect the colossal endeavor  and sacrifice of thousands of men in bringing Ganga from Gomukh, the place where it appears from the glacier, to Prayag.

The ancient mythology is very well explained when a look at the wonderful Glacier compels one to call it-Brahma Kamandal, the hilly mountain peaks gives an appearance of hair locks of Lord Shiva and the disappearance of Ganga in winter due to freezing of streams-King Janhu says it.

These are some amazing facts from Valmiki Ramayana in random order:

Dhundu a rakshas mentioned in Ramayana was a volcano

In ancient days ‘Patala’ was a name given to parts of South-america since it was cut off from the real world, also it has a time difference of about 12 hrs from the Asian countries; navigation was not possible easily nor was air travel possible hence it was virtually cut off from real civilized world. It was abode of Asuras.

In Kishkindha kaand Valmiki, through Sugriv mentions of a trident which is described as: trishiraaH kaa.ncanaH ketuH taalaH tasya mahaatmanaH | sthaapitaH parvatasya agre viraajati sa vedikaH || 4-40-53

A golden pylon resembling a palm tree with three branches as its heads is established on the peak of that mountain as the insignia of that great-souled Ananta, and it will be lustrous with a golden podium.

Also mentioned are the places like Yava dwipa- Java Island, Suvarna dwipa- Sumatra, Antartica- as the land of yama; Vanaras were sent to every part of the world in search of Sita.

Pragjyotishpur-todays Assam and beyond (parts of China) where Narakasura reigned (he was later killed by Krishna)

Hanuman ‘LEAPT’ the sea and not fly as shown in TV serials; he had the ability to leap great distances also he used to run with great speed.

The Vanaras (men and women) had a custom of marrying more than one spouse (as evident in Vali-Sugriv-tara episode)

River Ganga is ‘man-made’ (Will post later )

Bay of Bengal was a land once and it was dug up by 60,000 sons of Sagar hence the name ‘Saagar’ for the sea; The southern part of India is tapered because of such digging; King Sagar was a great philantrophist

The Videha kings (Janaka) were also Ikshvakus ,they were direct descendent of Vikukshi but since only the first son is entitled with the family name they weren’t refered as Ikshvaku; other prominent Ikshvakus were Andhra Ikshvaku and Vishala (today’s Vaishali provence) Ikshvaku

• Ahalya was not in the form of a stone but was meditating, when Ram and Lakshman along with rishi Vishwamitra visit Gautam ashram; Ahlaya host sall three of them also it is Ram and Lakshman who touch her feet to get blessing and Ahalya reciprocates.
• Shabari doesn’t give tasted fruits to Ram , she to hosts Rama and Lakshman and attains salvation  there after.
• Bramharishi Valmiki also known as Ratnakara Pratechasa since he was the tenth child of Pracheta is the original author (ofcourse) but his epic or mahakavya has been edited and re-edited several times. One such editor was Rksha bhargava- a bhrigu vanshi.
• Ramayana (of Valmiki) got a major ‘face-lift’ during the Gupta period (Of Samudra Gupta time) when this epic was edited heavily ,things such as Rama’s shiva worship was deleted since guptas were not Shiva’s worshipers also the breaking of Shiva’s bow was very popularized and even it was portrayed that rishi Agastya never worshipped Shiva, deleting of Rameshwaram episodes etc.
• Ramayana was only for the elite masses; this is one of the main reasons for regional devotes to write Ramayana in several languages which gave it a religious look and thus its social-political and economic impact was reduced to such an extent that today Ramayana is viewed as only a religious text  

ಧರಣಿ ಮಂಡಲ ಮಧ್ಯದೊಳಗೆ
ಮೆರೆಯುತಿಹ ಕರ್ನಾಟ ದೇಶದೊಲಿರುವ
ಕಾಳಿಂಗನೆಂಬ ಗೊಲ್ಲನ ಪರಿಯನೆಂತು ಪೇಳ್ವೆನು
ಎಳೆಯ ಮಾವಿನ ಮರದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಕೊಳಲ್ನುದುತ ಗೊಲ್ಲ ಗೌಡನು
ಬಳಸಿ ನಿಂದ ತುರುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಿಗೆ ಕರೆದನು ಹರುಷದಿ
ಗಂಗೆ ಬಾರೆ ಗುರಿ ಬಾರೆ ತುಂಗಭದ್ರೆ ತಾಯಿ ಬಾರೆ
ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿ ನಿನು ಬಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಗೊಲ್ಲನು ಕರೆದನು
ಗೋಲ್ ಕರೆದ ದನಿಯ ಕೇಳಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಸುಗಳು ಬಂದು ನಿಂದು
ಚೆಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಸಿ ಹಾಲು ಕರೆಯಲು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಿತು ಬಿನಡ ಇಗೆ
ಸತ್ಯವೇ ಭಗವಂತನೆಂಬ ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿಯ ಕಥೆಯಿದು
ಹಬ್ಬಿದ ಮಳೆ ಮಧ್ಯದೊಳಗೆ ಅರ್ಭುತ ನೆನ್ದೆಂಬ ವ್ಯಾಘ್ರನು
ಅಬ್ಬರಿಸಿ ಹಸಿಹಸಿದು ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಕಿಬ್ಬಿಯೊಳು ತಾನಿದ್ದನು
ಮೊರೆದು ರೋಷದಿ ಗುದುಗುತ ಹುಲಿ ಭೋರಿಡುತ
ಚ್ಚನ್ಗನೆ ಜಿಗಿದು ನೆಗೆಯಲು ಚೆದರಿ ಹೋದವು ಹಸುಗಳು
ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿ ಎಂಬ ಹಸುವು ತನ್ನ ಕಂದನ ನೆನೆದುಕೊಂಡು
ಮುನ್ನ ಹಾಲನು ಕೊಡುವೆನೆನುತ ಚೆಂದದಿ ತ ಬರುತಿರೆ
ಇಂದೆನಗೆ ಆಹಾರ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು ಎಂದು ಬೇಗನೆ ದುಷ್ಟ ವ್ಯಾಘ್ರನು
ಬಂದು ಬಳಸಇ ಅದ್ದಗತ್ತ್ ಇನ ಇನ್ದನ ಹುಲಿ ರಯನು
ಮೇಲೆ ಬಿದ್ದು ನಿನ್ನನಿಗಳೇ ಬಿಳಹೊಯ್ವೇನು ನಿನ್ನ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯ
ಸಿಲಿಬಿದುವೇನು ಎನುತ ಕೋಪದಿ ಖುಲ ವ್ಯಾಘ್ರನು ಕಉಗಳು
ಒಂದು ಬಿನ್ನಹ ಹುಲಿಯೇ ಕೇಳು ಹಸಿದ ಹಸಿದ ಹಸಿದ ಹಸಿದ ದೊಡ್ಡಿಯೊಳಗೆ
ಹಸಿದ ವೇಳೆಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೋ ದವೆಯ ವಶವ ಮಾಡದೇ ಬಿಡಲು ನಿನು
ನುಸುಳಿ ಹೋಗುವೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬರುವೆಯ ಹುಸಿಯ ನುಡಿಯುವೆನೆಂದಿತು
ಸತ್ಯವೇ ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯಿ ತಂದೆ ಸತ್ಯವೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಬಂಧು ಬಳಗ
ಸತ್ಯ ವಾಕ್ಯಕೆ ತಪ್ಪಿ ನಡೆದರೆ ಮೆಚ್ಚನಾ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮನು
ಸತ್ಯವೇ ಭಗವಂತನೆಂಬ ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿಯ ಕಥೆಯಿದು
ಕೊಂಡು ತಿನ್ನುವೆನೆಂಬ ಹುಲಿಗೆ ಚೆಂದದಿಂದ ಭಾಷೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು
ಕಂಡ ನಿನ್ನನು ನೋಡಿ ಪೋಗುವೆ ನೆಂದು ಬಂದೆನು ದೊಡ್ಡಿಗೆ
ಅರ ಮೊಲೆಯನು ಕುಡಿಯಲಮ್ಮ ಅರ ಬಳಿಯಲಿ ಮಲಗಲಮ್ಮ
ಅರ ಸೇರಿ ಬದುಕಲಮ್ಮ ಆರು ನನಗೆ ಹಿತವರು
ನಕ್ಕಗಳಿರ ಎನ್ನ ತಯೋದ ಹುತ್ತುಗಲಿರ
ಕಂಡ ನಿಮ್ಮವನೆಂದು ಕಾಣಿರಿ ತಬ್ಬಲಿಯನಿ ಕರುವನು
ಮುಂದೆ ಬಂದರೆ ಹಾಯಬೇಡಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬಂದರೆ ಒಡೆಯಬೇಡಿ
ಕಂಡ ನಿಮ್ಮವನೆಂದು ಕಾಣಿರಿ ತಬ್ಬಲಿಯನಿ ಕರುವನು
ತಬ್ಬಲಿಯು ನಿನದೆ ಮಗನೆ ಹೆಬ್ಬುಲಿಯ ಬಾಯನ್ನು ಹೋಗುವೆನು
ಇಬ್ಬರ ರಿನ ತಿರಿತೆಂದು ತಬ್ಬಿಕೊಂಡಿತು ಕಂದನ
ಸತ್ಯವೇ ಭಗವಂತನೆಂಬ ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿಯ ಕಥೆಯಿದು
ಗೋವು ಕರುವನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬಂದು ಸಾವಕಾಶವ ಮಾಡದಂತೆ
ಗವಿಯ ಬಾಗಿಲ ಸೇರಿನಿಂತು ತವಕದಲಿ ಹುಲಿಗೆಂದಿತು
ಖಂಡವಿದೆಕೋ ಮಾಂಸವಿದೆಕೋ ಗುಂಡಿಗೆಯ ಬಿಸಿರಕ್ತವಿದೆಕೋ
ಚನ್ದವ್ಯಘ್ರನೆ ನಿನಿದೆಲ್ಲವ ನುಂಡು ಸಂತಸದಿಂದಿರು
ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿಯ ಮತ ಕೇಳಿ ಕನ್ನನಿರನು ಸುರಿಸ್ಇ ನೊಂದು
ಕನ್ನೆಯಿವ ಳನು ಕೊಂಡು ತಿಂದರೆ ಮೆಚ್ಚನಾ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮನು
ಎನ್ನ ಒದಹುತ್ತಕ್ಕ ನಿನು ನಿನ್ನ ಕೊಂಡು ಏನ ಪಡೆವೆನು
ಎನ್ನುತ ಹುಲಿ ಹರಿ ನೆಗೆದು ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಾಣವ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿತು
ಸತ್ಯವೇ ಭಗವಂತನೆಂಬ ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿಯ ಕಥೆಯಿದು

Kudos to the scientists of ISRO and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam whose brainchild is ‘Chandrayaan’

Following is the verse from rigveda in praise of moon:

त्वं सोमा प्रचिकितो मनीषा |

त्वं रजिस्था मनु नेषि पन्थाम ||

(rik-ved 1-91)

O’ Moon enlightem us through the right path (so that) we should be able to know you through our intellect/buddhi.

तदहं संप्रवक्ष्यामि लोकानां हितकाम्यया | 

येना विज्ञ्यान्मत्रेण सर्वज्ञ्नत्व प्रपद्यते  ||

So I shall tell you the words of wisdom for the betterment of of the whole world; This is one knowledge which will help the reader know about worldly matters.

 (chanakya neeti 1.3)

मुर्ख्शिश्योपदेशें  दुश्त्स्त्रिभार्नेना  च |
दुःखितै: सम्प्रयोगें  पण्दितोप्यावासीदाति ||

(chapt 1:4)

 No matter how learned and intelligent you are you will see your down fall IF you have:

a fool,manipulator as your student; an unscrupulous lady as your wife; being in a company of sadists; all the mentioned people should be avoided.

दुष्ठ  भार्या  शटं  मित्रं  भ्रुत्योस्चोत्तारादायाकः  |
ससर्पे  च  गृहे  वासो  मृत्य्रेवा  न  संशयः  || (१ :५ )

Death is a certain outcome if you have a dishonest, ill-tempered wife or if you have a friend scheming against you; or a servant who talks behind your back or you have a house infested by snake.

आपदर्थे  धनं  रक्षेद  दारण  रक्षेद धनैरपि  |
आत्मानम्  सततं  रक्षेद  दारैरपि  धैरापी  || (१ :६ )

 Save money for difficult times but whenyour beloved’s life is in danger the money should be given away. If your life is at stake every thing else (wife,money) should not be given importanceOne should save money for difficult times but when goddess Lakshmi seems to leave you , you’ll see that even stored money getting out of your hand hence one should spend unnecessarily.

 आपदर्थे  धनं  रक्शेच्च्म्तमं  कुता  आपद :  |
कदच्चिचालिता  लक्ष्मी :  सज्चितोपी  विनश्यति  || (१ :७ )

यस्मिन  देशो  न  सम्मनों  न  वृत्तिनर  च  बंधवा : |
न  च  विद्याग्म : कास्चित  तं  देशम  परिवर्ज्येत  || (१ :८ )

 धनिक : श्रोत्रियो  रजा , नदी , वैद्यास्तु  पंच्जम : |
पच्जा  यात्रा  न  विद्यते  न  तत्र  दिवसं  वसेत  || (१ :९ )

 When settling in a new city , you should look for a wealthy (with whom you can do business) learned (whose advise can be seeked) a good King (who does justice and maintains law n order) a river (as a source of water) and a doctor ( for obvious reasons)Chanakya provides some must haves on your list before choosing a new place for living.

लोकयात्रा  भयम  लज्जा  दक्ष्शिण्यं  त्याग्शिलाता  |
पंच्ज  यत्र  न  विद्यते  न  कुर्यात  तत्र  सम्स्थितिम  || (१ :१ ० )

In this verse chanakya list some more features that a person should look for in the people of a city where one is settling in a new palcePeople should have some skills which you can learn from them.

1 A city’s people should be willing to travel since travelling brings them experience and knowledge of whats happening elsewhere

2 Law and order should prevail i.e people should be afraid of rules

3 People should be nobel,decent and liberal

जानियत  प्रेषने  भ्रुत्यान  बान्धवान  व्य्सनाँगामे  |
मित्रं  चापत्तिकलेशु  भार्याम  विभावाक्षये  || (१ :१ १ )

A servant’s character is known by the remuneration he charges for doing work;your relative’s true colors are seen during your hard times; your friends are tested when you are in calamity and a wife’s test is when you are powerless (socially, mentally,physically) 

 यो  ध्रुवाणि  परित्यज्य  अन्ध्रुवं  परिवेशते  |
ध्रुवाणि  तस्य  नश्यन्ति  अन्ध्रुवं  नाष्ठ्मेवा  च  || (१ :१ ३ )

वरयेत  कुलाजाम  प्रज्ञो  विरुपामी  कन्याकम  |
रूपवातिम  न  नीचस्य  विवाह : सदृशे  कुले  || (१ :१ ४ )

Wise men marry women of good character even if they are not beautiful but it should not be the other way round.

नाखिनां  च  नदीनाम  च  श्रुद्गिनाम  शास्त्रपणिनाम  |

विश्वासों  नैव  कर्तव्य : स्त्रीषु  राजकुलेशु  च  || (१ :१ ५)

Never trust the following: Animals with claws and horns for they may strike you unexpectedly; a river for it may flood; an armed person and a woman of royal birth for she may be manipulative.

विषादप्यामृतम  गृह्यम मेध्यदापी  काच्ज्नम     |
नीचाद्प्युत्तामा  विद्या  स्त्रीरत्नं  दुष्कुलादापी  || (१ :१ ६ )

 One should learn to accept the good part from a bad thing; If you find nectar among poison extract it, pick gold from trash (if any)similarly learn a good thing even from a wicked person; A women of good character should be accepted evn if her family is not good.

स्त्रिणां  द्विगुण  आहारो  बुद्धिस्तासां  चतुर्गुणा  |
सहसम  षड्गुणं  चैव  कामोष्ठ्गुणा  उच्यते  || (१ :१ ७ )

Women have twice the hunger, their intelligence is quadrapled 

Courage is six times while desires are eight times more then men.

 आतुरे  व्यसने  प्राप्ते  दुर्भिक्ष्शे  शत्रु  –संकटे  |
राजद्वारे  श्मशाने  च  यस्तिष्ठती  सा  बंधवा : || (१ :१ २ )

Many critics argue that Chanakya was a misognyst and hence accuse him of downgrading women to the core; while they list a few couplets from Chanakya neeti one should not forget that Chanakya’s neetis are NOT religious tenets nor they are codes of conduct. The era which he wrote was known for polygamy,considering which such degradation of women would sound true. In those days women served as spies to the kings who were quite scrupulous so his bashing of such women should not be taken for women in general. To dismiss him as a misognyst one should not neglect to read about his life which tells us that he had great respect and compassion for women. 

Instances given such as, when Dhanananda was defeated ,the first thing Chanakya does is visit an old woman whose son was wrongly killed by the soldiers of Dhanananda,he also has dinner with her later when his proposal of marriage of Chandragupta(Chanakya wanted that as a political strategy to peacefully unify both the ruling clans inorder to strengthen unity of the country), to the daughter of Nandas is rejected by the bride,Chanakya does respect it thinking that its a girl right to deny her marraige against her will.

So just by reading certain couplets we cannot dismiss him as a misognyst ,rather readers should take a note of this verse from Chanakya neeti:

अधीतेदम यथाशास्त्रं नरो जानती सत्तम:

धर्मोपदेशविख्यातं कर्योकार्य शुभाशुभं

If a person studies these tenets with the same dedication as he studies other scriptures,he shall learn to recognize between good and evil; he shall know what is expected from him according to the scriptures and what not to do. He shall be a better judge of situations.

Chanakyaneeti’s particularly the social ethics deals with several aspects like parenting, child rearing, servants, friendship ,love , responsibilities of teachers,
education,wisedom and social responsibilities. In one of his tenets on parenting , Chanakya advises ” Rear up your son effectionately till he is five year old, then admonish him for next ten years.When he turns sixteen treat him as your friend.” Such are the ethics of Chanakya. The political ethics deal with the responsibilities and duties of the rulers and the ruled.It attempts to remind everybody their responsibilities and duties.

The opening verse of chanakya neeti is:

प्रणम्य शिरसा विष्णुमं   त्रिलोक्यधिपतिम प्रभु |
नानाशास्त्रोद्धातम वक्शे राजनीति समुच्च्यम||
(After) I bow in front of Lord Vishnu, the master of the three worlds and present this treatise on politics having taken excerpts from various shastras.

Chanakya also known as Kautilya was an ardent devotee of lord vishnu which is evident in his opening verse of Chanakya neeti. The opening verse also says that it is a compilation based on many other ancient scriptures which Chanakya had read/collected.

Today I’m making an effort to bring forth the chanakya neeti chapterwise,which I’ll be posting daily in devnagari font alon with its english transliteration.

Ek shloki Ramayana

Adau Raama tapovanadi gamanam,hatva mrigam kanchanam

Vaidehi haraNam jatayu maraNam; sugreeva sambhashaNam

Lankapuri dahanam, paschat RavaNa kumbhakarNa hananam

Etadva RamayaNam

Ramas entry into the forest and killing the golden deer,Sita gets kidnapped ; Rama’s friendship with Sugreeva and Lanka getting burned,later slying of RavaNa and KumbhakarNa-this sums up the RamayaNa!

Ek shloki Mahabharata

Adau shri Bharatakhya bhupati kulE bhaktottama: Pandava:

Toshamandasuta: shata: KapaTika durbhatara: Kaurava:

Bandhudweshakarahi kaurava kula bheje durgatim

Geeta tarayatisma KrishNa bhajakannetan mahabharatam

In the lineage of great king Bharata,there were born -the noble Pandavas,the best of devotees;

and their hundred cousins -the wicked Kauravas born to the blind king Dhritarashtra; Their hatred towards Pandavas brought about destruction to their whole clan in the war at Kurukshetra during which Shri KrishNa enlightens the whole world about Bhagvad geeta, This is Mahabharata.

But first, let me tell the difference between a Stotra and Dhyana shloka:

A stotra is a verse dedicated to a particular god by praising him/her whereas a Dhyana shloka describe the deity and help the devotee to bring the deity in his/her mind and proceed with meditation.

Some of the dhyana shlokas are listed below:

Dhyana Shloka for Ganapati:

SindhUrabham, trinetram, prathutarajataram hasta padmair dadaanam,
Dantam pashungusau swum hyoorukaravilsad beeja pUrabhiramam,
Balendu dhyota maulim gajapati vadanam dhanapurardra gandam,
Bhogheendrabhadha bhUsham, bhajata ganapatim, raktavastrangaragam.

Pray that Ganapathi, who is of the colour of saffron,
Who has three eyes, has a very big paunch and prettily holds,
In his four lotus like hands, tusk, rope, goad and lemon,
Who wears the rising crescent moon on his head,
Who has a face of an elephant and neck wet with exuberance,
And who wears ornaments of snakes, red cloths and red marks on his forehead.

Dhyana Shloka for Vishnu:

Shanthakaram Bhujaga sayanam Padmanabham suresham,
Viswadharam Gagana sadrusham Megha varnam shubangam
Lakshmi kantam kamala nayanam Yogi hridyana gamyam
Vande vishnum bava bhayaharam sarva lokaika natham

I bow before the God Vishnu, who is peace personified,sleeping on his folded arms;from whose naval, sprouts a lotus and is lord of gods. Who is very much the basis of this earth,whose color resembles the color of rain cloud. He is the one with auspacious arms,the eternal consort of Lakshmi is seen by yogis through thought and gets rid of all fears and worries of his devotees he being the lord of all worlds.

Dhyana shloka for Saraswati: As requested by a Reader

HamsarUdha harabhasitha harendu kundavadhata,
VanI mandasmithyuta mukhI maulibhandendu lekha,
Vidhya veenamrutha maya ghatakshasragadeepthahasta,
Shubrabjastha bhavadhabhimathaprapthaye bharathee syath.

Let our wishes be fulfilled by goddess Sarawathi,
Who rides on a swan, who is of the colour of,
Ash worn by Lord Shiva, chain of pearl,
Moon and the jasmine flower,
Who has a face lit by her slight smile,
Who wears the crescent on her head,
Who holds in her four hands, book,
Veena, pot of nectar and a chain of rudraksha, whose seat is a white lotus.

more follows……

(courtesy:cards.diwali.com)

The recitation of Shri Soktam is of benefit when recited on fridays and during the festival of Deepavali. 

Hiraņya varnám hariņīm suvarna-rajata-srajám
Chandrám hiranmayīm lakshmīm jatavedo ma avaha|(1)
 Tám ma ávaha játavedo lakśhmīm anapa gáminīm
Yasyám hiraņyam vindeyam gám aśvam puruśhán aham|| (2)

(1-2) Invoke for me O Agni, the Goddess Lakshmi, who shines like gold, yellow in hue, wearing gold and silver garlands, blooming like the moon, the embodiment of wealth. O Agni! Invoke for me that unfailing Lakshmi, blessed by whom, I shall win wealth, cattle, horses and men.

  Aśhwa-pūrvám ratha-madhyám hasti náda prabódhiním
          Śhriyam devím upahvaye śhrír ma devír jushatám| (3) 
Kám sósmitám hiranya prákárám árdrám jvalantím triptám tarpayantím
        Padme sthitám padma-varnám támihópahvaye śhriyam|| (4)

I invoke Shri (Lakshmi, who has a line of horses in her front, a series of chariots in the middle, who is being awakened by the trumpeting of elephants, who is divinely resplendent. May that divine Lakshmi grace me. I hereby invoke that Shri (Lakshmi) who is the embodiment of absolute bliss; who is of pleasant smile on her face; whose lustre is that of burnished gold; who is wet as it were, (just from the milky ocean) who is blazing with splendour, and is the embodiment of the fulfillment of all wishes; who satisfies the desire of her votaries; who is seated on the lotus and is beautiful like the lotus.
 

  Chandrám prabhásám yaśhasá jvalantím śhriyam lóke deva justám udárám
 Tám padminim-ím saranam aham prapadye’ alakshmír me naśyatám tvám vrne| (5)
  Ǎditya varno tapasó dhijátó vanaspatis tava vrikshó’ tha bilvah
 Tasya phalani tapsá nudantu mayántaráyás cha báhya alakshmíh|| (6)

I resort to that Lakshmi for shelter in this world, who is beautiful like the moon, who shines bright, who is blazing with renown, which is adored (even) by the gods, which is highly magnanimous, and grand like the lotus. May my misfortunes perish. I surrender myself to You, O resplendent like the Sun! By your power and glory, plants like the bael tree have grown up. may the fruits thereof destroy through the grace of all inauspiciousness rising from the inner organs and ignorance as well from the outer senses.

 Upaitu mám deva-sakah kírtis cha maniná saha
 Prádūr bhūtó’ smi rashtre’ smin kírtim riddhim dadátu me| (7)
  Kshut pipásá-amalám jyesthám alakshmím náshayámy aham
 Abhūtim asamriddhim cha sarván nirnuda me grihat|| (8)
O Lakshmi! I am born in this country with the heritage of wealth. May the friends of Lord Siva (Kubera, Lord of wealth and Fame), come to me. May these (having take their abode with me), bestow on me fame and prosperity. I shall destroy the elder sister to Lakshmi, the embodiment of inauspiciousness and such evil as hunger, thirst and the like. O Lakshmi! Drive out from my abode all misfortunes and poverty.

 Gandha dvárám durá dharşhám nitya-pushtám karíshiním
 Iśhvarígm sarva bhūtánám tám ihó pahvaye śhriyam| (9) 
Manasah kámam ákūtím vácah satyam ashímahi
 Paśhūnágm rūpam annasya mayi śríh shrayatám yaśhah|| (10)  
I invoke Lakshmi (Shri), whose (main) avenue of perception is the odoriferous sense (i.e., one who abides mainly in cows); who is incapable of defeat or threat from anyone; who is ever healthy (with such virtuous qualities as truth); whose grace is seen abundantly in the refuse of cows (the cows being sacred); and who is supreme over all created beings. O Lakshmi! May we obtain and enjoy the fulfillment of our desires and our volitions, the veracity of our speech, the wealth of cattle, the abundance of varieties of food to eat! May prosperity and fame reside in me. 

Kardamená praja-bhūtá mayi sambhava kardama
 Śriyam vásaya me kule mátaram padma-máliním| (11)
  Ǎpah srijantu snigdháni chiklíta vasa me grihe
 Nicha devím mátaram śhriyam vásaya me kule|| (12)
(11-12) Lakshmi! You have progeny in Kardama. (Hence) O Kardama, may you reside in me. Make Mother Shri with garlands of lotuses to have Her abode in my (ancestral) line. may the (holy) waters create friendship (they being of adhesive nature). O Chiklita (progeny of Shri)! Reside at my home; and arrange to make Divine Mother Shri stay in my lineage!
 

 Ardám pushkariním pushtim pingalám padma máliním
 Chandrám hiran-mayím lakshmím játavedó ma ávaha| (13)
  Ǎrdhám yah kariním yashtim suvarnám hema-máliním
 Sūryám hiran-mayím lakshmím játavedó ma ávaha|| (14)

Invoke for me, O Agni, Lakshmi who shines like gold, is brilliant like the sun, who is powerfully fragrant, who wields the rod of suzerainty, who is the form of supreme rulership, who is radiant with ornaments and is the goddess of wealth. Invoke for me O Agni, the Goddess Lakshmi who shines like gold, blooms like the moon, who is fresh with anointment (of fragrant scent), who is adorned with the lotuses (lifted up by celestial elephants in the act of worship), who is the presiding deity of nourishment, who is yellow in colour, and who wears garlands of lotuses.

 Tám ma ávaha játevedó lakshmím anapa gáminím yasyám
 Hiranyam prabhūtam gávó dásyó aśván vindeyam purushan aham|| (15)  
Invoke for me O Agni, that Goddess Lakshmi, who is ever unfailing, being blesses by whom I shall win wealth in plenty, cattle, servants, horses and men.

 Ǒm mahá-devyai cha vidmahe, vishnu-patnai cha dhímahi
 Tanno Lakshmíh prachódayát || (16)
We Prostrate ourselves before the Great Goddess and meditate on the consort of Vishnu; may that Lakshmi direct us (to the Great Goal).

Om Let Peace prevail

Listen on youtube:  

arvvag deva asya visarjanenatha ko veda yathababhuva ?

This interesting lines from Rik-veda 10.129.6 ask a question: Gods themselves were created after the universe was; who knows when this Universe was??

There are more verses in Rik-veda talking about ‘big-bang theory’. How this universe was created from a ‘Shoonya’/ non existant to existence.

what amazing revelations do our scriptures have!

-Sincerely,

Wanderingmind