Amma's Kitchen

Venkateshwara is another form of Lord Vishnu who is the most popular deity among GSBs in Kerala. He is also known as Venkatachalapathi or Venkataramana or Tirumal devar or Varadaraja or Srinivasa or Balaji or Bithala. He has a dark complexion and four hands. In his two upper hands he holds a discus (a symbol of power) and a conchs hell (a symbol of existence). With his lower hands extended downward he asks devotees to have faith and surrender to him for protection. The supreme temple of Venkateswara is at Tirupati and every GSB wants to visit this temple at least once in life. The temple town of Tirupati is situated at the foot of Tirumala hills in the Chandragiri Taluka of the Chittor district in Andhra Pradesh. The sacred spot on the hill about 2,800 feet above sea level is known as Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara. The hill forms part of the Eastern Ghats and is also known as Venkatachala and Seshachala. It is said that the Eastern Ghats on this side along with their curves,

OM Sri Guruve namah OM Sri Ganapataye namah OM Shivaya namah OM sthiraya namah OM sthanave namah OM prabhave namah OM bhimaya namah OM pravaraya namah OM varadaya namah OM varaya namah OM sarvatmane namah OM sarva vikhyataya namah OM sarvasmai namah 10 OM sarvakaraya namah OM bhavaya namah OM jatine namah OM charmine namah OM sikhandine namah OM sarvangaya namah OM sarva bhavanaya namah OM haraya namah OM harinakshaya namah OM sarva bhuta haraya namah 20 OM prabhave namah OM pravritaye namah OM nivrittaye namah OM niyataya namah OM sasvataya namah OM dhruvaya namah OM smasana vasine namah OM bhagavate namah OM khacaraya namah OM gocharaya namah 30 OM ardanaya namah OM abhivadyaya namah OM mahakarmane namah OM tapasvine namah OM bhuta bhavanaya namah OM unmattavesha prachannaya namah OM sarva loka praja pataye namah OM maharupaya namah OM mahakayaya namah OM vrisharupaya namah 40 Immobile Pillar Overlord Terrible Foremost Bestower of boons Superior Self of all beings The Core of a

Listen lalitha sahasranamam by Singer(s): B.Ramana, Vijayalakshmi Sarma Lyrics

Nava- that also means 'new'-denotes 'nine' the number to which sages attach special significance. Hence, we have Nava-ratri(9nights),Nava_patrika(9 levels/herbs/plants),Nava-graha(9 planets), and Nava-Durga (9 appelletions). Here're the 9 maifestations of goddess Durga. Each goddes has a different form and a special sifnificance. Nava Durga, if worshipped with religious fervor, it is believed,lift the divine spirit in us and fill us with renewed happiness. what's the significance of Navaratri? During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of god in the form of the universal mother, commenly referred to as "durga", which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi"(goddess) or "shakti"(energy or power). It is this energy, which helps god to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine

Ganesha Chaturthi, the great Ganesha festival, also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chavithi' is celebrated by Hindus around the world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and the grandest and most elaborate of them, especially in the western India state of Maharashtra, lasts for 10 days, ending on the day of 'Ananta Chaturdashi'. The Grand Celebration A life-like clay model of Lord Ganesha is made 2-3 months prior to the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The size of this idol may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet. On the day of the festival, it is placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents for people to view and pay their homage. The priest, usually clad in red silk dhoti and shawl, then invokes life into the idol amidst the chanting of mantras. This ritual is called 'pranapratishhtha'. After this the 'shhodashopachara' (16 ways

Lord Ganesh is the elephant-headed God, with one tusk. The legend of how he got his elephant head and one tusk is a fascinating one. One day Parvati, Shiva’s beloved wife, instructed Shiva’s attendant Nandi not to let anyone in while she was taking a bath. A little later Shiva arrived wishing to enter. Nandi was in a dilemma as how to stop his master. Shiva entered Parvati was not ready to receive him. She was upset and wondered why Nandi had not obeyed her command. She complained to Shiva but Shiva did not take the matter too seriously. He was amused to hear that Parvati had asked Nandi to stop him from entering his own home. Parvati was annoyed. She shared her feelings with her friends. They teased Parvati by saying that she had no attendant of her own. They all considered Shiva their true master. One of Parvati’s friends came up with the idea to create a person who would owe his first allegiance to Parvati and not to Shiva. So Parvati gathered the saffron paste (used at the time of