17
votes
Accepted
Do we have any record of events in any previous Kaliyuga?
There are multiple incarnations of Vishnu which took place during previous Kali Yugas:
Pramati: Just as Vishnu'e incarnation Kalki will come at the end of the present Kali Yuga and kill all the evil ...
16
votes
Accepted
Why Nãrãyana (Vishnu) had to pray Rudra (Shiva) to obtain supreme powers? (excerpt from Mahãbhãrata)
It's because Narayana is the soul of Rudra or one may also call Rudra is the soul of Narayana. Both are true. It is explained by Krishna himself in this chapter of Shanti Parva (in the Nãrãyaniya ...
15
votes
Why did Vyasa depict different Supreme Gods in different Puranas?
Shiva Purana says that Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra (Trimurti) rivaled one another and they propitiated the Supreme Lord (their father) and they got a boon of creating others at outset of various Kalpas. ...
15
votes
Ashvatthaman's immortality?
First let me recount the story of Ashwatthama's curse, which is told in the Sauptika Parva of the Mahabharata. After the Mahabharata war, Ashwattama, in order to avenge the death of Duryodhana at the ...
14
votes
Accepted
Who all were the different Ved-Vyas?
As I discuss in this answer, how the Vedas originated is that from time immemorial, sages known as Dhristas have heard sacred verses directly from the gods during a state of Tapasya (deep meditation). ...
14
votes
Accepted
Is there a list of the 8800 difficult verses of the Mahabharat?
Yes, it is known exactly what these verses are - they are known by the illustrious name Jaya, meaning victory. The Jaya is the core part of the Mahabharata, an 8800 verse poem within the larger epic ...
13
votes
Accepted
Original Ramayana and Mahabharata
Let me discuss each of the three names separately:
Ramayana: As described in this chapter of the Bala Kanda of the Ramayana, after Valmiki composed his famous epic poem (a story I discuss here), he ...
13
votes
Accepted
In which scripture originally 'ahiṃsā sarvathā sarvadā sarvabhutānāḥ manabhīdroha' sentence was written?
Vyasa Bhashya of Patanjali Yoga Sutras has this verse. Vyasa Muni starts commentary on Sutra 30 of Sadhana Padha with this sentence.
अहिंसासयास्तेयब्रह्मचर्यापरिग्रहा यमाः ॥ ३० ॥ (Sutra)
तत्राहिंसा ...
12
votes
Accepted
Were Kauravas and Pandavas the biological decendants of Vyasa?
The Kauravas are biological descendants of Vyasa, but the Pandavas are not, as I'll explain below. But first, some background.
Shantanu, king of Hastinapura many generations before the Pandavas ...
12
votes
Accepted
Why did Vedvyasa mention his shishya Jaimini's opinion/saying in Brahma Sutra?
It's because Vyasa and Jaimini were working together. Vyasa and two of his disciples, Jaimini and Kasakritsna, together composed a unified work called the Mimamsa Shastra, designed to analyze the ...
12
votes
Accepted
How Maharshi Vyasa knew all the story of Mahabharata?
We believe the Great epic Mahabharatha was written by the great sage Veda Vyasa. He was the grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He had great powers of meditation and hence lived a very long ...
12
votes
Accepted
What scriptures describe Vyasa's son Shuka creating a duplicate of himself?
Chapter 334, Shanti Parva of Mahabharata and 19th Chapter, book 1 of Devi Bhagavatam say Lord Shiva created "Chaya Shuka" on seeing grief of Vyasa Maharshi.
Shanti Parva says
As Vyasa was ...
12
votes
Accepted
When and why did Lord Shiva punish Vedavyasa?
The story of Nandi punishing Vyasa is mentioned in this chapter (Kashi Khanda chapter 95) of Skandha Purana. What that chapter describes is, Vyasa sees Saunaka and other sages wearing Tripundras and ...
11
votes
Why did Vyasa seek the help of Lord Ganesha?
As per Mahabharata, it was Brahma who suggested Vyasa to take help of Ganehsa. Veda Vyasa had conceived the whole poem in His mind but he was in anxiety regarding how to propagate it to his disciples. ...
11
votes
Why did Vyasa depict different Supreme Gods in different Puranas?
One has to read Vyasa's entire teachings to get an answer to this question.
Hari and Isana are equivalent
Well-adored by the Rishis, by Brahma, and by all the deities, that
great God, the ...
11
votes
Why is Yajurveda classified as Krishna and Shukla?
The story of division of Yajurveda is mentioned in this chapter of Vishnu Purana. Once Vaiśampáyana accidentally killed his sister's child and so all his disciples to perform the expiatory penance but ...
11
votes
Why do Vedas have śākhās? Are all of them apauruṣeyā?
Q-2. why did he divide them further?
It's explained at Sakhas now Studied!:
Krsna Dvaipayana knew all the 1, 180 sakhas( recensions) of the Vedas revealed to the world by various sages. They were ...
10
votes
Has Veda Vyasa seen Lord Krishna?
Yes. Vyasa saw and met Sri Krishna many times but this wasn't how Vyasa wrote Mahabharata. One such meeting happened during Brahmastra episode of Arjuna and Aswathama. Indeed, Kauravas are biological ...
10
votes
Why Bhagavata purana is considered the foremost of all puranas?
There are several reasons why Srimad Bhagavatam is considered the foremost of all Puranas. Firstly what must be understand is the that Puranas mirror Sruti. They are called Puranas because they ...
10
votes
Accepted
English or Hindi translation of Vyasa Smriti
Since Hindi translation will work for you, you can download it from here.
The PDF not only has Vyasa Smriti but it has got 18 Smritis in all (Sanskrit verses+Hindi translation).
From the image given ...
9
votes
Who all were the different Ved-Vyas?
Though Keshav's answer gives names of previous Vyasas, Shiva Purana gives different names for some of the previous Vyasas.
Chapter 4&5 of Satarudrasamhita Section of Shiva Purana mentions that ...
9
votes
Why Bhagavata purana is considered the foremost of all puranas?
Garuda Purana Brahma (Moksha) Khanda praises the Bhagavata Purana to be the best Purana devoted to Vishnu. After that comes Vishnu Purana and then comes Garuda Purana.
It says:
In the Kali age, ...
9
votes
Why is there a huge difference regarding the liberation of Parikshit in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavatam?
The problem is not only with description of Parikshit but also with the narrator (of Bhagvatam) there. Because as per Mahabharata Suka had already attained Moksha long time before. This chapter of ...
9
votes
Accepted
Why did Brahma ask Vyasa to write Mahabarata?
Lord Brahma had not asked Maharshi Vyasa to write Mahabharata. Maharshi Vyasa by his penance analysed all Vedas and also composed Mahabharta. But he had a doubt that by what means he can present that ...
9
votes
Accepted
Did Parasara and Satyavati do any penance so that Vyasa might be born to them?
Parashara also got a boon from Lord Shiva that such a powerful son would be born to him. In this chapter of Anushasana Parva of Mahabharata, Parashara says:
पराशर उवाच।
प्रसाद्येह पुरा शर्वं मनसाऽचि...
8
votes
Why do the Vedas need to be recompiled every Dvāpara Yuga?
Good question. I think the answer is what you gave in the last part. Vedas must be relocated and upgraded after every 4,320,000 years. It might be that, for example many people translate Geeta ...
8
votes
Accepted
Who wrote or composed (put together) the Puranas?
I googled and I got this:
अष्टादशपुराणानां सारं व्यासेन कीर्तितम् |
परोपकार: पुण्याय पापाय परपीडनम् ||
हिंदी अनुवाद:
कीर्तिस्वरूप अठारह पुराणों के सार के रूप में महर्षि व्यास ने सिर्फ दो ...
8
votes
Accepted
What is the story of Badarayana Vyasa?
Badarayana and Veda Vyasa are one and the same.The reason why Vyasa came to be known by the Badarayana name is explained in the following passage:
In the Brahmasutra, on which there are ...
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