Maha Lakshmi

DharmaQuiz Session 292: 8-Aug-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1846: Devi Lakshmi is praised in Vedas as "padma maalini". What does Padmamaalini mean? #VaraMahaLakshmi  Ans: The one who wears a garland of lotus flowers.

#DharmaQuiz 1847: Goddess Lakshmi is often referred as Hiranyavarnaa and Adityavarnaa.
What does the Aditya Varnaa mean? Ans: Resplendent like the sun.

#DharmaQuiz 1848: This Ashta Lakshmi temple is 10 KM outside a big South Indian metro.
Which city? Ans: Hyderabad. 12 KM from Nampally.

DQ: 1848

#DharmaQuiz 1849: This Bharat Ratna was famous for singing one of the most famous Lakshmi songs. In which language? Ans: Kannada

DQ 1849

Here is the rendering: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tdYY6lUw9g

#DharmaQuiz 1850: Today is #VaraMahaLakshmi vrata. First performed by Parvati. Who told her to do this puja? Ans: Lord Shiva.

Read more about the Vedic Shri Sukta praising Goddess Lakshmi here, with meaning:
http://www.puja.net/wordpress/sri-suktam-rig-veda-mantra-for-lakshmi/

Answers to session 292:

1. @pramod_klr : 5
2. @KaushikRg : 5
3. ‏@surnell : 5
4. @RakeshChouhan : 5

1. @chetankshet : 4
2. @GayathriSrinath : 4
3. @tradetoday99 : 4
4. @gboxam : 4
5. @vish_was_is : 4
6. @MangoAdmi : 4

1. @bezubaan : 3

1. ‏@kakdwip : 2
2. @omprakashcaims : 2

1. @ashokagarwal : 1
2. @SaffronShirt : 1
3. @skdeshpande : 1
4. @Vamsee9002 : 1
5. @chand_andas : 1
6. @atul_speaks : 1
7. @praveenk333 : 1
8. @sapana_almelkar : 1
9. @Dm12Sanyal : 1
10. @anamika_99 : 1
11. @nandaakumar : 1
12. ‏@sankarbe : 1
13. @Viswajgd : 1
14. @Ramgopaljgd : 1
15. @hegde_anirudh : 1
16. @sumanthagowda : 1
17. @ngc1729 : 1
18. @peeyushmalhotra : 1
19. @gkamath07 : 1
20. @nrkoranne : 1
21. @ReMeeer : 1

Pictures: holidayiq.com and ytimg.com

DharmaQuiz Session 240: 8-Nov-2013

Theme: Sun worship among Hindus

1. #DharmaQuiz 1586: Today is Chhath pooja mainly celebrated in Bihar. What do women give to Surya Bhagawan on this day?. Ans: They give Arghya to rising and setting sun. Along with water, wheat, sugarcane, bananas, milk and coconut too offered. Thanks to ‏@man8shree for details.
2. #DharmaQuiz 1587: Worshiping Solar deities is an ancient Indian custom. Which Aditya or Sun is the great Gayatri mantra dedicated to?. Ans: Savitr (Tat Savitur varenyam). @cgmagia explains futher - "Savitr" one of aditya offspring of Vedic deity Aditi. His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes impeller, rouser, vivifier.
3. #DharmaQuiz 1588: The 7th day after Sun starts his northern ascent (Uttarayana), Hindus celebrate a festival dedicated to Sun. Name it. Ans: Ratha Saptami.
4. #DharmaQuiz 1589: This is a temple dedicated to Surya or Sun God. Also a UNESCO World heritage site. Where is it? Ans: Konark, Puri, Odisha. @amitagra21 explains further that this is not a temple anymore, but is only the remnants of a grand temple destroyed by "Kalapahar".

   

   DQ 1589 ; From Wiki

5. #DharmaQuiz 1590:  Name this community found in North India, Pakistan & Afghan, who were historically Sun-worshipers. Ans: Gujjars -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurjar - Answers with Suryavamshi or Suryavanshi also accepted.

Top scorers of session 240:

1. @GuruCharan99 : 5
2. @bhaviknz : 5
3. @vipulgupta1976 : 5
4. @man8shree : 5

Congrats to all the following: 

1. @paivijay : 4   
2. ‏@sharathinindia : 4
3. @cgmagia : 4
4. ‏@arunz : 4
5. @n_dolli : 4

1. @Simuntweets : 3
2. @wakeupindia777 : 3
3. @tradetoday99 : 3

1. @MeSavitha : 2
2. @AgentSaffron : 2
3. @rohitsamvada : 2

1. ‏@nkgrock : 1
2. @RaghuVamshee : 1
3. @Mamdhata : 1
4. ‏@_shomy : 1
5. @dheepakg : 1
6. @trolleswar : 1
7. ‏@sillyslaphappy : 1
8. @usrnamecntblnk : 1
9. @sparkbird : 1
10. @gugujyoti : 1
11. @indiapremi : 1
12. @kalika3107 : 1
13. @lodyaashi : 1
14. @DreameMerchant : 1
15. ‏@ShatajitBasu : 1
16. @rajeshrajput1 : 1
17. @pappu_pedia : 1
18. @chetankshet : 1
19. @pramod_klr : 1
20. @hthakur1990 : 1
21. @pramoo : 1
22. ‏@chaitanyasoul : 1
23. @amitagra21 : 1
24. @chaitanyasoul : 1
25. @aackthu : 1
26. @errajalok : 1
27. @Livenletlive33 : 1
28. @shikha_shrivas : 1
29. @BhartPutra : 1

See you next week.