18
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 ...
14
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. ...
13
votes
Can the Devi Bhagavatam and Srimad Bhagavatam co-exist?
Hmm, So, This answer can be a bit controversial but so is the question. As there is already an argument given from Vaishnava point of view. I am giving point of view from Shaiva-Shakta point of view. ...
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
Why is the Bhagavata Purana 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, ...
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 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 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 ...
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 is the Bhagavata Purana 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
Where does the Devi Bhagavata Mahapurana state that it is the best among the 18 main Puranas?
Yes,the Devi Bhagavata itself states that it is the best among the 18 main Puranas.It is so stated in the first chapter of the Purana.
The following is a screenshot of the page that contains the ...
10
votes
Reference to Ganesha's statement from Mahabharata ("The day I was born I made my first mistake")
TL;DR: No such words were spoken by Gaṇeśa in the Mahābhārata i.e., you cannot find a reference to the original Sanskrit verse for the quote you mention in the question.
The entire conversation ...
10
votes
Where in Mahabharata is panini the grammarian mentioned?
There is no mention of Pāṇini in Bibek Debroy's translation based on the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata.
Also, according to Subhash Kak's essay The Mahabharata and the Sindhu-Sarasvati Tradition,...
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 ...
10
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...
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
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 ...
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 ...
8
votes
Accepted
Was Rishi Vyasa the great grandson of Rishi Vashishtha?
There is a verse Attributed to Great Sage Vyasa which goes like this
vyAsam vasishta-naptAram Sakteh pautram akalmasham
parAsarAtmajam vande Suka-tAtam tapo-nidhim.
Which means
vyAsa is the Great-...
8
votes
Why is it believed Brahma Sutras were written by Rishi Ved Vyasa?
The possible explanation of your question is provided by author of the book Vedanta-Darshan (Brahma Sutra) Harikrishna Das Goyandaka by Gita Press.
In his introduction of the book , the author is ...
7
votes
Is Veda Vyasa still alive? If yes, where is he? How can one recognize him?
Yes, certainly Shree Ved-Vyasa is still alive. He being Chiranjeevi (immortal) is still alive.
The answer is clearly given about him in Shreemad Bhagvat Purana - Skandha 8 - Chapter 13 - Shloka 15-16....
7
votes
Who wrote or composed (put together) the Puranas?
According to Matysa Purana, Lord Brahma composed Puranas for the first time. Chapter 3 Primary Creation of Matsya Purana says
Before the creation of all the 'sästras, Brahmä composed the Puränas,
...
7
votes
Who divided Vedas?
It's because there is more than one Vyasa. Most people only know "Vyasa" as the name of the sage Krishnadvaipayana Vedavyasa, the son of Parashara and Satyavati who, in the most recent Dwapara Yuga, ...
7
votes
Was Rishi Vyasa the great grandson of Rishi Vashishtha?
This is mentioned in several Puranas and also in Mahabharat. I give reference from Mahabharat here:
The Adi Parva of Mahabharat mentions Shakti as son of Vasistha during the fight of Vishwamitra and ...
7
votes
Accepted
Where does Vyasa say this shlokha in the Mahabharata?
The verse can be found in Shanti Parva chapter 110 and verse 26:
यस्मिन्यथा वर्तते यो मनुष्य: स्तस्मिंस्तथा वर्तितव्यं स धर्मः ।
मायाचारो मायया वर्तितव्य; साध्वाचार साधुना प्रत्युदय ।।
yasmin ...
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