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Pune’s Lord of Knowledge
Sthala Puranas of Bharat Alandi, a town 25 kilometres from Pune, in the Pune District of Maharashtra, is a revered pilgrimage site for a number of reasons, but foremost is the fact of it being the home of the 13th-century Maharashtran saint, Sant Jnaneshwar (Jnanadev). In fact, Jnanadev spent most of his short life (1275-1296…
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Mumba Devi reclaims Bombay
Sthala Puranas of Bharat In the mid-1990s, many state governments officially re-Indianized their citie’s names. In 1995, the capital of Maharashtra officially switched from Bombay to Mumbai, thereby re-invoking a goddess considered by the Koli1 to be the area’s protectress. (The name “Mumbai” comes from a mix of mumba and ai, both of which mean…
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Darshan through train window
16 March 2000, Lucknow It was on the train line between New Delhi and Calcutta, sometime in the middle of the night. The Rajdhani Express pulled into the station at Lucknow, and chanting rose from the platform: “Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha!” the voices called out. “Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha!” Devotees were there, yearning for at least a…
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Holi, the Festival of Colours, Joy and Renewal
Holi was Krishna and the gopi’s celebration of Love. This teasing, affectionate panorama of feeling and colour has been captured
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Bhajans are to awaken the real light within
Question: Amma, you seem to be giving more importance to bhakti (devotion) than to any other path. Why is this so? Amma: When you say bhakti, do you mean just repeating a mantra and singing devotional songs? That alone is not bhakti. True devotion is discriminating between the eternal and the ephemeral. It is to…
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Dadhichi saves the Gods in Ahmadabad
Sthala Puranas of Bharat In Ahmadabad1, on the banks of the Sabarmati River is a place called Dudheshwara. This is said to have been the ashram of a great rishi [sage] by the name of Dadhichi [also Dadhyancha2]. Different versions of Dadhichi’s story are mentioned in a number of sacred texts, among them Rg Veda,…
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The nose of Brahma’s pot
Legends of Kumbhakonam Sthala Puranas of Bharat Kumbhakonam and the surrounding villages are linked together through via a wondrous story regarding this particular cycle of creation. During the cosmic deluge of pralaya, Brahma prepared himself for the next cycle of creation. He put all the seeds from which creation would sprout in amrita [the elixir…
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Why did you leave us?
February 2000, Mumbai On the last day of Amma’s programs in Mumbai, during the Indian Tour 2000, thousands of people flocked to see Amma in Devi bhava. Regal and resplendent, Amma was overflowing with bliss throughout the bhava darshan. At the end of the Devi bhava at about 5 a.m., when Amma was showering flowers…
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Legends of Kanya Kumari
Sthala Puranas of Bharat The southern tip of India marks the confluence of three sacred bodies of water: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Here one can watch the sun rise in the east, traverse the heavens and then finally set in the west—all over the water. For thousands of…
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The Reclining God of Tiruvanantapuram
Sthala Puranas of Bharat The word “Trivandrum” is meaningless. It is one of the many nonsensical names to befall Indian cities during the British colonization. The Kerala capital’s real name is Tiruvanantapuram: The Revered Endless City1. The city is referred to as “endless” not because it is without geographical borders, but in reference to Ananta…