32
votes
Accepted
Do Yajurveda 40.9, Yajurveda 32.3 and Bhagavadgita 7.20 reject idol worship?
Don't believe blindly what you see on internet. Hinduism or सनातन धर्म (Sanātana Dharma) can't be false as name itself says it is eternal and has "Dharma" in it. Hinduism is confusing for some people ...
- 31.1k
9
votes
Are idols only imagination or someone had really seen God(s)
It is not required that some one must see a God first before drawing his image.
When, Gods are essentially formless, how they will look, when they assume a form, are mentioned in the Dhyana Shlokas (...
- 111k
9
votes
Accepted
Does Tirupati Balaji's idol have real hair?
No, Tirupati Venkateshwara doesn't have real hair. These are only rumours spreading over the internet.
Former chief priest of Tirumala, Ramana Deekshitulu confirmed that there is no real hair. Lord ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Accepted
What is Lord Vishnu's favourite food?
There is nothing like not favourite item to the Lord. Every item is a favourite to Him. The most important thing the Lord sees in us is devotion while accepting an offering. In Bhagavad Gita, He says ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between worshiping an idol or image and worshiping God?
My question is, What is difference between Worshiping God and Idol?
There is no difference at all. Worshiping God in an idol is one of the many methods of worshiping him.
There are many methods of ...
- 111k
6
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Do Yajurveda 40.9, Yajurveda 32.3 and Bhagavadgita 7.20 reject idol worship?
Your question shows your confusion and not that Hinduism is a confused and corrupt religion. While I did not like the tone of your question (fake Hinduism),
I decided to answer to clear your confusion....
- 36.2k
6
votes
Is it allowed to hug/touch the main idol at a temple?
This answer is for Shiva Lingas and Shaiva temples.
It is allowed to touch Shiva Lingas in temples and mostly it depends on Sthala Puranas. For example, in Shiva Mahapurana Lord Shiva says by ...
- 31.1k
6
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Which goddess (Ishta devi/Kula devi) sits legs folded & holding shiva linga?
It is Istha Kameswari Devi having four hands, in two hands having lotus flower and in other two hands one have shiva linga and other one have japa Mala. It is a form of devi Parvati. The very special ...
- 91
6
votes
Accepted
Do photographs or paintings of Gods undergo prana pratishthana?
Yes, without Prana-pratishtha being done, if Puja is done, whether on idols, images or Yantras, such Pujas do not succeed as Lord Shiva says:
Sakala-kritya tat-prAnAn samuddipyAndriyAni cha |
...
- 111k
5
votes
What is Lord Vishnu's favourite food?
Lord Vishnu loves food items that are yellow in colour.
Yellow lentils,jaggery, yellow ladoo are considered the favourite foods of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu likes amla gooseberries too.
Devotees ...
- 3,087
5
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What is the proper method of disposing deity idols which are broken?
An idol which is broken should not be worshipped. It should be given to a flowing river or to any water body.
Quoting from Chapter 14 of Mahanirvana Tantram:
[Lord Sadashiva says] The wise man ...
- 111k
5
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Which scripture mentions Vishwakarma made the idols at Jagannatha?
Puri Jaganatha Kshetram is known as Purushottama Kshetra. Its mentions are found in many puranas. Skanda Purana being the longest Purana has references to many Kshetras. It has story of Jagannath too.
...
- 25.7k
4
votes
Is it necessary to worship of idols (ie. Lord Shiva's or Hanuman"s Idol) ? Can one worship of The God without idols?
Is it necessary to worship of idols ? Can one worship of The God without idols ?
Let me start my answer by firstly explaining why idol worship of gods came into existence. Its said in Shreemad ...
- 31.9k
4
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Influence of the classical Upanishads on the belief of the maiority of contemporary Hindus
It is a western academic view that the classical Upanishads do not support Bhakti marga and thus these Upanishads do not play any role in the life of most Hindus who live according to the Puranas. The ...
- 36.2k
4
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Influence of the classical Upanishads on the belief of the maiority of contemporary Hindus
Swami Vivekananda writes (Complete Works, Vol 4, pp 334-6 and available here under the heading Writings: Prose, sub-heading Reply to the Madras Address - http://cwsv.belurmath.org/volume_4/vol_4_frame....
- 23.8k
4
votes
Why Hindu gods are always depicted with multiple hands and heads but not legs?
Kubera (or Kuvera), the God of the riches, has three legs and eight teeth.
As already descirbed in Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1899:
kubera m. or in later Sanskṛt kuvera (...
- 432
4
votes
Where is the account of Ramanuja recovering the Melkote idol from the Delhi Sultan originally recorded?
It is described in this excerpt from the Yatiraja Vaibhavam, the oldest biography of Ramanujacharya composed by Ramanujacharya's shishya Vaduga Nambi:
Narayana appeared in the dream of Yatiraja and ...
- 97.3k
4
votes
Which other texts besides Padma Purāṇa describe a deity having scriptures as parts of their body?
Yes.
Another such beautiful description is explained in Tantrāvatārapaṭala of Kāmikāgama.
Śiva is described as having a form of 'the Āgama-śarīra', i.e., Āgamas as the embodiment of Mahādeva Śiva. ...
- 12.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Kamakshi Ambal having in her hands
As known elsewhere, her Āyudhas are Pāśa, Aṅkuśa, Puṣpabāṇa and Īkṣukoḍaṇda
What are their use?
Bhagwatī being Parabrahma is the possesor of Prakṛti, these Āyudhs are her Śakti-s which she use for the ...
- 2,337
3
votes
Accepted
What is Mindedness(chitt ekaagrata) based on Hinduism?
In Patanjali Yoga-Sutras the word Dharana is used to denote mindfulness or chitt ekagrata as desired by you - Mindedness with proper practice and Idol Worship Patanjali is defining this phenomena as. ...
- 31.9k
3
votes
Is it allowed to hug/touch the main idol at a temple?
You can touch and hug the main idol in many temples in North India. Two examples of which are:
Vittal Temple, Pandharpur
Here people are allowed to touch the main idol of Vithoba. Infact due to ...
- 2,358
3
votes
How to find defect in a Shiva linga or a Vigraham or a Shaligram
For the time being a partial answer.
For an idol (Vigraha), the defects are presence of holes in it, broken, lacking in limbs etc.
In the Mahanirvana Tantram's Chapter 14 Lord Sadashiva enumerates ...
- 111k
3
votes
Is destroying an idol of a god equivalent to killing an avatar of that god?
Image worship is based on the principle of love.
Master (to the teacher): “What is wrong with image worship? The
Vedanta says that Brahman manifests Itself where there is ‘Existence,
Light, and ...
- 36.2k
3
votes
Do idols/deities in the temple have soul and consciousness or only prana
Swami Sivananda in "All About Hinduism" Page 115-119 writes
Idol or Murthy (Vigraha), Sun, Fire, Water, Ganga, Saligram, Linga are
all symbols or Prateekas of God which help the aspirants ...
- 7,484
3
votes
If Hinduism has only 33 gods made of brahman, then who are the many Graam devtas that we have?
Brahman, Satchidananda, may be thought of as an infinite ocean of Existence, Consciousness and bliss. All the devatas are aspects of this infinite ocean.
The three main .. deities - the Trinity ...
- 36.2k
3
votes
Accepted
Eco-friendly Ganesha idol?
In the Uddhava Gita (Swami Madhavananda translator), Sri Krishna says (Chapter 22):
Images are of eight kinds--those made of stone, wood, gold, clay, sand, and jewels, as well as painted and mental ...
- 23.8k
2
votes
Why do images of Sudarshana have Yoga Narasimha on the other side?
Lord Narasimhas nails an incarnation of Sudarsana Chakra
Lord Nrsimha is so exalted that even His nails are glorified by the Vaishnava acharyas! In the Sudarsana-sata-nama stotra of the Sri Vaishnava ...
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