Origin of Govardhan:
In the western coast of India, in the island of Salmali, lived Dronachala, the king of the mountains. Once a sage by the name of Pulastya Muni, came to him to take his son Giriraja with him to Kashi Varanasi). After offering some initial resistance, Giriraja, somehow agreed to go with him only on condition that he should not put him down on the earth in between. If he does so, he would stay there forever.
When they were flying over the Vraja bhumi, Giriraja increased his
lord rama (27)
(These prayers are from the 47th chapter of the Harivamsa Purana which narrates the story of Lord Ramacandra’s visit to the holy place of Ahobalam to see the Deity of Nrisimha, where Lord Nrisimha appeared and saved His devotee Prahlada.)
ahobalam narasimham gatva ramah pratapavan
namaskutya sri nrisimham astaushit kamala patim
The glorious Rama once visited Ahobala where He saw the Deity of Lord Nrisimha. He
offered His obeisances to Lord Kamalapati (husband of the Goddess of Fortune) and
pray
The Ramayana is one of the two main itihasa - historical epics – of India, along with the Mahabharata. It describes the activities of Krsna’s incarnation Lord Rama, including the kidnapping of His consort Sita by Ravana, King of Lanka, and the subsequent military campaign to release her. Since a substantial amount of the history takes place in Lanka the actual real identity of Lanka is important to Vaisnavas and devotees of Lord Rama in general. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of years the isla
The story of Rama is divided into four parts:
1. Early life of Rama
2. Rama’s exile
3. Abduction of Sita (Rama’s wife) and
4. Slaying of Ravana, the abductor of Sita, and Rama’s coronation.
Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, an ancient kingdom that was located in present day Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya was its capital. Dasharatha was loved by one and all. His subjects were happy and his kingdom was prosperous. Even though Dasharatha had everything that he desired, he was very sad at heart; he ha
Today, in observance of Sri Rama-navami, we shall read a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”
TEXT 24
yasma adad udadhir udha-bhayanga-vepo
margam sapady ari-puram haravad didhaksoh
dure suhrn-mathita-rosa-susona-drstya
tatapyamana-makaroraga-nakra-cakrah
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead Ramacandra, being aggrieved for His distant intimate friend [Sita], glanced over the city of the enemy Ravana with red-hot eyes like those of Hara [who wanted
‘Lord Rama (BG 4.10)’ by Radhanath Swami, in Mumbai
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ‘rjuna
(BG 4.9)
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
PURPORT
The Lord’s descent from His transcendental abode is already explained in the 6th verse. One who can understand the truth of the appearance of
[The following history from the Valmiki Ramaya is full of import for anyone who wants to be a guru, GBC, temple president or leader in ISKCON or any spiritual institution.]
The incident of Lord Rama and the Dog
From Valmiki’s Ramayana Uttara Khandha between chapters 59-60
Part one
Thereafter in the bright morning Sri Rama, of lotus-like eye having performed forenoon rites, took his seat in the Royal Council-chamber along with the Brahmanas, who were masters of the Vedas the priest Vasistha and
Rishabh Verma: Reflections on the essence of the Valmiki Ramayana
The Vedic scriptures describe many different types of charity or dana. Of these, Srila Ramanujacharya identifies two types of charity as the highest – charity of self-knowledge (Jnana dana) and charity of fearlessness (Abhaya Dana). These forms of charity are not only recognized by Bhakti Yogis, but also by Buddhists. Both schools agree that Abhaya Dana is superior to Jnana dana because it removes the fear of repeated birth and d
Hanuman Janam-Utsav is a Hindu religious festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Sri Hanuman. On this auspicious day, devotees of Lord Hanuman celebrate him and seek his protection and blessings.
Lord Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Rama and is widely known for his unflinching devotion to Sri Rama. Hanuman is the symbol of strength and energy.
Hanuman is also endowed with many other wonderful qualities, all of which he uses to serve Lord Rama.
It is stated in the scriptures that whe
By Srila Vyasadeva
SB 9.10: The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra
This Tenth Chapter describes how Lord Ramacandra appeared in the dynasty of Maharaja Khatvanga. It also describes the Lord’s activities, telling how He killed Ravana and returned to Ayodhya, the capital of His kingdom.
The son of Maharaja Khatvanga was Dirghabahu, and his son was Raghu. The son of Raghu was Aja, the son of Aja was Dasaratha, and the son of Dasaratha was Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
From Back to Godhead
Just to attract us to His service, God appeared on earth more than one million years ago as Lord Ramacandra the most benevolent ruler and valiant hero the world has ever known.
The incarnations of Godhead are as numerous as the waves of the sea, yet Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source of them all. Just as from one original candle we may light many other candles equal in potency, so Krsna expands Himself in many incarnations, each as powerful as
Festival days such as Rama-navami are a prime opportunity for spiritual advancement and purification. Srila Prabhupada stated in a Rama-navami lecture in Hawaii on the 27th March, 1969:
“There is no difference between His form, His name, His pastimes, and Himself. He’s absolute. Therefore either you chant the holy name of Rama or you see the statue of Rama or you talk of His pastimes, transcendental pastimes, everything, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ramachandra
Appeared on this earth in the lineage of Raghukula, in Ayodhya
As the son of King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya
Elder to the princes Bharat, Lakshmana and Shatrughna
He is ever seen in the company of Mahalaksmi as Sita
His eternal servitor Hanuman, and loving brother Lakshmana
Both brothers wielded a bow and arrows and other weapons
As shatriyas, it was their bounden duty to protect their citizens
Lord Ram is maryada purushottam, the most per
Shabari’s Caves at Hampi Dhama
Kishkinda Ksetra
Shabari was a tribal lady and had unflinching devotion for Lord Rama. She took the shelter of great sage Matanga Rsi as her spiritual master. During the last days of sage Matanga, Shabari served him with great attention and care. Pleased by her service, Matanga Rsi blessed her that one day certainly Lord Rama along with His bother Laxmana will come to meet her. Having undeterred faith in the words of her spiritual master, every day, Shabari col
A lecture by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
“…kala-niyamena tisthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu
krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.39]
ramante yogino ‘nante
satyanande cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau
param brahmabhidhiyate
[Cc. Madhya 9.29]
Ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan [Bs. 5.39].” Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, Vamana, Parasurama, Balarama, Buddh
We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”
TEXT 23
asmat-prasada-sumukhah kalaya kalesa
iksvaku-vamsa avatirya guror nidese
tisthan vanam sa-dayitanuja avivesa
yasmin virudhya dasa-kandhara artim arcchat
TRANSLATION
Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions, appeared in the family of Maharaja Iksvaku as the Lord of His internal potency, Sita. Under th
The glories of Pancavati-tirtha at Nashik are enumerated in Valmiki’s Ramayana in the Aranya-kanda and in Sri Garga Samhita, “Twice as sacred as the mud of the Ganga is the dust of Citrakuta. Ten times more sacred than that is the dust of Pancavati-tirtha”. Lord Balarama and Lord Nityananda came to this place and visited all of the Tirthas. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu during His South Indian tour also came here to Panchavati, Nashik and He went along the river Godavari back eastwards. Lord Caitanya
On the 21st of this month we will celebrate the birthday of Ram. This is my latest poetical rendering. It is in his honour.
Ram possesses all the qualities of a superhero
Royal traits of ultimate prince, monarch or pharaoh
Reverent to all, eager to help and listen
With a service attitude acting on what’s given
His build is admirable, countenance grave
A task he’ll tackle meant only for the brave
He never moves suddenly at a reckless whim
No wonder his father, the emperor, adores him
Ram is a h
This short video is a talk given by Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp) called “The Power of the Ramayana,” given at the 2nd World Ramayana Conference held in Jabalpur, India, in January 26-29, 2020. He was a special invited guest for the conference, and his talk explains from the Valmiki Ramayana the different ways it helps uplift humanity from the ordinary miseries of life, up to and including liberation or freedom from material existence altogether. At 17:53 in the video, it shows Dr. Akhil
Ravana’s strength – and his main problem – originated not in his conspicuous multiple heads but in his less conspicuous heart.
The Ramayana culminates in a massive war between the vicious Ravana and the virtuous Rama, the Supreme descended in human form. The confrontation between them is triggered by Ravana’s abduction of Rama’s wife, Sita. But its seeds were sowed much earlier, by the demon’s atrocities that had extended for a long time.
Ravana is traditionally seen as the embodiment o
