Questions tagged [interpretation]
The interpretation tag has no usage guidance.
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Does the story of Shunahshepa show that the devas are infallible?
Varuna asked the king Harishchandra to sacrifice his own son, and Harishchandra agreed to this request. Now it would only be rational to agree to such a request if the devas are infallible and ...
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Origin of the interpretive tradition that Puranas describe multiple cycles?
I have often heard it said here that whenever there are two or more contradictory versions of a narrative found in the Puranas, that these versions should be seen as describing events in different ...
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Why did Ramunajacharya say that Devas were corporeal?
According to Ramanuja:
Pragâpati with fuel in their hands, staying with him as pupils for thirty-two years, &c. (Kh. Up. VIII, 7 ff.), clearly shows that the devas possess bodies and sense-organs....
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What is the meaning of this verse from the Satapatha Brahmana?
You have taken birth from my various limbs and have arisen from my very heart. You are my own self in the form of my son. May you live through a hundred autumns.
Satapatha Brahmana (14.9.8.4).
I ...
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What is the phrase in these verses from Bhāgavata Purāṇa referring to?
Following is the translation of verses (3.20.49-51) from Bhāgavata Purāṇa by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb
One day Brahmā, the self-born, the first living creature, felt as ...
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Interpretation of Stories that depict Shiva and Vishnu as bodily?
How are we to interpret stories in scripture that seem to depict Shiva and Vishnu as corporeal, bodily beings?
We know that Shiva and Vishnu are eternal, immaterial, and omnipresent. So what does it ...
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Meaning of these verses from Nyaya Sutras?
(4.1.19)
Ishvara is the cause, since we see sometimes human action lacks fruits (results).
(4.1.20)
This is not so since, as a matter of fact, no fruit is accomplished without human action.
(4.1....
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Is Lord Shiva KarpuraGauram or Nilalohita?
Out of the texts which I have read till now.. I have found two descriptions of Lord Shiva... Some say he is blue from front and red from behind(Nilalohita) and the others say that he is white like a ...
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Is there any tradition of anagogical interpretation in Hinduism?
The word “anagogical” is used by Christians to describe one of the four senses of interpreting biblical scripture, historical, allegorical, moral, and anagogical. The anagogical sense was about ...
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Esoteric meaning of an extract from the meeting of Arjuna and Shiva
There is a story in the Mahabharata of Shiva meeting Arjuna as a kirāta when he awards him his divine arrow. Kunchan Nambiar of Kerala has interpreted the story in the form of an ōṭṭantuḷḷal, a kind ...
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What is meant by 'scarifying whole earth for oneself'?
It is always rational to sacrifice a smaller group for the sake of a larger group if both groups are irreconcilable. The same idea is present in the scriptures.
For the sake of a family a member may ...
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What is the correct meaning of the verse that establishes Caitanya's divinity?
The verse I am talking about is this.
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
The above verse from Srimad Bhagavatam (11.5.32) was cited by ...
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Is Asura Krishna mentioned in the Rigveda the same as Lord Sri Krishna?
I saw this particular verses from the Rigveda which says that an Asura named "Krishna" had a great enmity with Indra. I want to confirm that is this the same Sri Krishna or is it someone ...
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What does the gunas of puranas signify?
There are 18 maha puranas in Sanathan Dharma. They can be classified based on their gunas. The following is the classification with some caveats
Bhagavata, Vishnu, Garuda, Matsya, Kurma and Vayu are ...
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Interpretation of Rigveda verse 1.164.31 according to Advaita Vedanta
While looking up for verses on the Rigveda Samhita, I stumbled upon the verse 1.164.31 on a blog which says this:
अप॑श्यं गो॒पामनि॑पद्यमान॒मा च॒ परा॑ च प॒थिभि॒श्चर॑न्तम् । स स॒ध्रीची॒: स विषू॑ची॒र्वसा...
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Are there any possible senses(meanings) for the word Varna wrt humans other than the ones given?
I recently asked a question requesting Sanskrit verses containing the word Varna in different contexts.
I provided the five senses:
Varna assigned by Krishna for each individual based on guna and ...
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Meaning of chitraguptha and its corresponding entity in Jiva
Chitragupta, according to widely known belief, is a god who stays near Yama and records all the karma of an individual.
The actual meaning of Yama, according to a dictionary is
The one who decides ...
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What is the interpretation of Nirukta-1:20?
Nirukta-1:20
sākṣāt kṛta dharmāṇa ṛṣayo babhūvuḥ
te avarebhyo asākṣāt kṛta dharmabhya upadeśena mantrānt samprāduḥ
Upadeśāya glāyanto.avare bilma grahanāya imam grantham samāmnāsiṣur vedaṃsa va veda ...
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Which school of thought is correct. And they belief is the truth? [closed]
We know that vedas can be interpreted in many way. That's way there are different schools of thought in Hinduism. All of these schools understand vedas.in there own.
And they controdict each other a ...
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Is the story of Shunahshepa an allegory?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunahshepa
mentions some scriptures it occurs in and some interpretations.
(1) does his name mean "dog penis"? why was he given that name?
(2) is there ...
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Commentaries for Shiva taking linga form from Shiva Maha Purana
Puranas of Sanatha dharma allows different types of interpretations. Some are historical, some are metaphorical, some are symbolical, some are allegorical, some are scientific facts including ...
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Is there any statement from scriptures that has been proved false in all possible interpretations?
Although there are some questions on our site regarding this line, I found no question that is asking directly for such a statement.
Is there any statement from scriptures of Sanathan dharma that has ...
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Is there any modern interpretation for Indra's curse to women and other entities?
Scriptures say that Indra killed Vishwroopa. It causes a Brahmahatya sin to Indra. Some entities then shared the guilt of Indra.
The following passage from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam contains detailed list of ...
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Is there scriptural support for Madhwa's "atat tvam asi"?
The book
"A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature", Volume 1
By B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma
says in the footnote of page 373 that
Madhwa, in his Chandogya Bhashya cites a post-...
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Have Madhwa's methods of scripture-interpretation been criticized by later commentators?
Madhwa's methods have been characterized as
"often Sri Madhva's arguments rely on nuances and ingenious usage of grammar, often lending unusual meanings to very familiar and straightforward words."...
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Why do we see Lord Shiva under the feet of Mother Kali?
Shiva doesn't exist without Shakthi. Shiva and shakthi are one. I recently visited a temple of Mother Kali. I was purplexed to see lord shiva in a smiling face is under the feet of angry Mother Kali. ...
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