- Home
- About Us
- Hindu Temples
- Resources
The Hindu Temple -Its design and PurposeMore to come..
The Shiva Chalisa is a prayer for Lord Shiva - one of the Gods of Hindu trinity, the other two being Brahma and Vishnu. Shiva Chalisa praises the Lord and asks for his help in removing hardships and obstacles in devotee's life. It is said that devotees seeking blessings of Lord Shiva must recite Shiva Chalisa with devotion and sincerity. It is suggested that devotees should focus their mind on Lord Shiv or his image and then recite Shiv Chalisa.
Here, Lord Shiv Chalisa is presented along with English Translation for better understanding.
|
Jai Ganesh Girija Suvan |
Glory to Lord Ganesh, the Divine Son of Goddess Girija, the cause of all auspiciousness and intelligence. Ayodha Dass (the composer of these verses) humbly requests that every one be blessed with the boon of being fearless. |
|
Jai Girija Pati Dinadayala |
O Glorious Lord, consort of Parvati You are most merciful. You always bless the poor and pious devotees. Your beautiful form is adorned with the moon on Your forehead and on your ears are earrings of snakes' hood. |
|
Anga Gaur Shira Ganga Bahaye |
The holy Ganges flows from your matted hair. The saints and sages are attracted by Your splendid appearance. Around Your neck is a garland of skulls. White ash beautifies Your Divine form and clothing of lion's skin adorns Your body. |
|
Maina Matu Ki Havai Dulari |
O Lord, the beloved daughter of Maina on Your left adds to Your splendid appearance. O Wearer of the lion's skin, the trishul in Your hand destroys all enemies. |
|
Nandi Ganesh Sohain Tahan Kaise |
Nandi and Shri Ganesh along with Lord Shiva appear as beautiful as two lotuses in the middle of an ocean. Poets and philosophers cannot describe the wonderful appearance of Lord Kartikeya and the dark complexioned Ganas (attendants). |
|
Devan Jabahi Jaya Pukara |
O Lord, whenever the Deities humbly sought Your assistance, You kindly and graciously uprooted all their problems. You blessed the Deities with Your generous help when the demon Tarak outraged them and You destroyed him. |
|
Turata Shadanana Apa Pathayau |
O Lord, You sent Shadanan without delay and thus destroyed the evil ones Lava and Nimesh. You also destroyed the demon Jalandhara. Your renown is known throughout the world. |
|
Tripurasur Sana Yudha Machayi |
O Lord, Purari, You saved all Deities and mankind by defeating and destroying the demons Tripurasura. You blessed Your devotee Bhagirath and he was able to accomplish his vow after rigorous penance. |
|
Danin Mahan Tum Sama Kou Nahin |
O Gracious One, devotees always sings Your glory. Even the Vedas are unable to describe Your greatness. No one is as generous as You are. |
|
Pragate Udadhi Mantan Men Jvala |
Lord, when the ocean was churned and the deadly poison emerged, out of Your deep compassion for all, You drank the poison and saved the world from destruction. Your throat became blue, thus You are known as Nilakantha. |
|
Pujan Ramchandra Jab Kinha |
When Lord Rama worshipped You, He became victorious over the king of demons, Ravana. When Lord Rama wished to worship Thee with one thousand lotus flowers, the Divine Mother, to test the devotion of Shri Ram, hid all the flowers at Your request. |
|
Ek Kamal Prabhu Rakheu Joi |
O Lord, You kept on looking at Shri Ram, who wished to offer His lotus-like eyes to worship Thee. When You observed such intense devotion, You were delighted and blessed Him. You granted His heart's desire. |
|
Jai Jai Jai Anant Avinashi |
Glory be unto You O Gracious, Infinite, Immortal, All-pervading Lord. Evil thought torture me and I keep on travelling aimlessly in this world of mundane existence. No relief seems to be coming my way. |
|
Trahi-Trahi Main Nath Pukaro |
O Lord! I beseech Your help and seek your divine blessing at this very moment. Save and protect me. Destroy my enemies with Your Trishul. Release me from the torture of evil thoughts. |
|
Mata Pita Bhrata Sab Hoi |
O Lord, when I am in distress, neither my parents, brothers, sisters nor loved ones can relieve my suffering. I depend only on You. You are my hope. Eliminate the cause of this tremendous torture and bless me with Your compassion. |
|
Dhan Nirdhan Ko Deta Sadahin |
O Lord, You bless the downtrodden with prosperity and grant wisdom to the ignorant. Lord, due to my limited knowledge, I omitted to worship Thee. Please forgive me and shower Your grace upon me. |
|
Shankar Ho Sankat Ke Nishan |
O Lord Sankar, You are the destroyer of all miseries. You remove the cause of all obstacles and grant Your devotees eternal bliss. The saints and sages meditate upon Thy most beautiful form. Even celestial beings like Sharad and Narad bow in reverence to You. |
|
Namo Namo Jai Namah Shivaya |
O Lord, prostration to You. Even Brahma is unable to describe Thy greatness. Whosoever recites these verses with faith and devotion receives Your infinite blessings. |
|
Riniyan Jo Koi Ho Adhikari |
Devotees who chant these verses with intense love become prosperous by the grace of Lord Shiva. Even the childless wishing to have children, have their desires fulfilled after partaking of Shiva-prasad with faith and devotion. |
|
Pandit Trayodashi Ko Lavai |
On Trayodashi (13th day of the dark and bright fortnights) one should invite a pandit and devotedly make offerings to Lord Shiva. Those who fast and pray to Lord Shiva on Trayodashi are always healthy and prosperous. |
|
Dhupa Dipa Naivedya Charhavai |
Whosoever offers incense, prasad and performs arti to Lord Shiva, with love and devotion, enjoys material happiness and spiritual bliss in this world and hereafter ascends to the abode of Lord Shiva. The poet prays that Lord Shiva removed the suffering of all and grants them eternal bliss. |
|
Nitya Nema kari Pratahi |
O Universal Lord, every morning as a rule I recite this Chalisa with devotion. Please bless me so that I may be able to accomplish my material and spiritual desires. Om Shivaya Namaa |
To hear it recited please turn on your speakers and click here
Ganesh Puja
Ganeshji is a must for Diwali pooja as he is to be worshiped in all pujas before any other god or goddess. Traditionally on Diwali night, Ganesh shares the altar with Lakshmi. Shree Ganesh is the god of good beginnings and the fabled remover of obstacles. In the Hindu pantheon, the two are unrelated, Ganesh being the son of Shiva and Parvati. However, when placed side by side, Lakshmi Ganesh hold out promise of a year of fulfillment, free from wants.
During the Ganesh puja, the idol of goddess Lakshmi is placed on the left and Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed god is kept on the right. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity and also personifies beauty, grace, and charm. She is normally depicted seated on a lotus with gold coins. Lord Ganesh has many functions in the Hindu pantheon. He is the Lord of Wisdom and the remover of obstacles.
Hindus believe that he must be kept happy to ensure smooth passage on the road to accomplishments. For this reason, he is worshiped together with Lakshmi during Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Then, Lakshmi is worshiped for wealth and prosperity, while Ganesh is worshiped first to ensure that any obstacles to obtaining wealth and prosperity are removed.
Shri Laxmi-Ganesh Puja takes place on Diwali by placing their idol on a platform, making various offerings of sandal paste, saffron paste, perfume(itr), haldi, kumkum, abeer, gulal, garland of cotton beads, flowers, especially the marigold flowers and leaves of Bel (wood apple tree). Incense stick and dhoop is lit and offering of sweets, coconut, fruits, and tambul are made. At the end of pooja, aarti dedicated to Lord Ganesh is sung by the devotees.
Click here to see a Ganesh Puja being performed with all shlokas and steps clearly displayed.
Diwali and Lakshmi Puja
Diwali is the festival of Laxmi, the Goddess of prosperity and wealth. It is believed that Goddess Laxmi visit everyone during Diwali and brings peace and prosperity to all. On the night of Diwali "Lakshmi-Pujan" is performed in the evenings. A traditional Pujan is performed after sunset in all the homes.
Five pieces of ghee diyas (lamps) are lit in front of the deities, naivedya of traditional sweets is offered to the Goddess and devotional songs are sung in praise of Goddess Laxmi. After Deepawali Puja people light diyas (lamps) in their homes to usher in light and clear the darkness from the world.
In villages cattle are adorned and worshipped by farmers as they form the main source of their income. In south, cows are offered special veneration as they are supposed to be the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and therefore they are adorned and worshipped on this day.
Step By Step Diwali Pujan:
|
Lakshmi Puja
Lakshmi was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and took refuge in the ocean of milk when the gods were sent into exile. Lakshmi was reborn during the Churning of the Ocean. As soon as the gods saw Lakshmi, they all fell in love with her beauty. Shiva claimed Lakshmi as his wife, but since he had already taken the Moon, her hand was given to Vishnu, whom Lakshmi herself preferred.
Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. While Laxmi is generally worshiped to achieve success, she does not reside long with anyone who is lazy or desire her only as wealth.
Steps of Lakshmi Pooja
Spread a new cloth on a raised platform: Place a handful of grains in the center and, on this, place a kalash (pitcher) made of gold, silver, copper, or terracotta. Fill three-fourth of the kalash with water and place a betel nut, a flower, a coin, and some rice grains in it. Arrange five kinds of leaves or mango leaves in the kalash . Place a small dish on the kalash and fill it with rice grains. Draw a lotus withturmeric powder ( haldi ) over the rice grains and place the murti of goddess Lakshmi over it, along with coins.
Place the deity (murti) of Ganesha: In front of the kalash, on the right (South-West direction), place the murti of Ganesha. Also place ink and books related to your business or occupation on the platform. Light a lamp and begin the puja by offering haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the platform on which the kalash is placed. Then offer haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the water that is to be used for the puja. Invoke the river goddesses to be part of this water.
Invoke goddess: Lakshmi by reciting the mantras addressed to her. One can also recite the mantras mentioned in the Puranas or simply take some flowers in your hands, close your eyes, and think of goddess Lakshmi being showered with gold coins by two elephants standing on either side of Her and chant Her name. Then offer the flowers to the murti.
Place the murti of Lakshmi: Place the murti of Lakshmi in a plate and bathe it with water, panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee or clarified butter, honey, and sugar) and then with water containing some gold ornament or a pearl. Wipe the idol clean and place it back on the kalash. Alternately, you can just sprinkle water and panchamrit on the murti with a flower.
Offerings: Offer sandalwood paste, saffron paste, perfume ( itr ), haldi, kumkum, abeer, and gulal to the goddess. Offer a garland of cotton beads to the goddess. Offer flowers, especially the marigold flowers and leaves of Bel (wood apple tree). Light an incense stick and dhoop. Make an offering of sweets, coconut, fruits, and tambul (pan leaf). Make an offering of puffed rice and batasha. Pour some puffed rice, batasha, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds over the murti. Safe where you keep money and jewelry; Worship this safe as a symbol of Lord Kuber.
Aarti: Finally, perform the aarti for goddess Lakshmi. Always remember that She abhors loud noise. So the aarti should be accompanied only by a small bell. Do not clap hands, as is the practice when performing aarti for other gods. A peaceful and sublime atmosphere should prevail during the pujan. Do not light crackers while the puja is on or immediately after it.
Click here to see a Diwali Puja being performed with all shlokas and steps clearly displayed.
Karva Chauth Vrat Katha
"A long long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess by the name of Veeravati. When she was of the marriageable age, Veeravati was married to a king. On the occasion of the first Karva Chauth after her marriage, she went to her parents’ house."
"After sunrise, she observed a strict fast. However, the queen was too delicate and couldn’t stand the rigours of fasting. By evening, Veeravati was too weak, and fainted. Now, the queen had seven brothers who loved her dearly. They couldn’t stand the plight of their sister and decided to end her fast by deceiving her. They made a fire at the nearby hill and asked their sister to see the glow. They assured her that it was the moonlight and since the moon had risen, she could break her fast."
"However, the moment the gullible queen ate her dinner, she received the news that her husband, the king, was dead. The queen was heartbroken and rushed to her husband’s palace. On the way, she met Lord Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. Parvati informed her that the king had died because the queen had broken her fast by watching a false moon. However, when the queen asked her for forgiveness, the goddess granted her the boon that the king would be revived but would be ill."
"When the queen reached the palace, she found the king lying unconscious with hundreds of needles inserted in his body. Each day, the queen managed to remove one needle from the king’s body. Next year, on the day of Karva Chauth, only one needle remained embedded in the body of the unconscious king."
"The queen observed a strict fast that day and when she went to the market to buy the karva for the puja , her maid removed the remaining needle from the king’s body. The king regained consciousness, and mistook the maid for his queen. When the real queen returned to the palace, she was made to serve as a maid."
"However, Veeravati was true to her faith and religiously observed the Karva Chauth vrat . Once when the king was going to some other kingdom, he asked the real queen (now turned maid) if she wanted anything. The queen asked for a pair of identical dolls. The king obliged and the queen kept singing a song " Roli ki Goli ho gayi... Goli ki Roli ho gayi " (the queen has turned into a maid and the maid has turned into a queen)."
"On being asked by the king as to why did she keep repeating that song, Veeravati narrated the entire story. The king repented and restored the queen to her royal status. It was only the queen’s devotion and her faith that won her husband’s affection and the blessings of Goddess Parvati
Click here to see the full Vrat Katha and Bhajans and songs.
