Sunday, December 15, 2013

Abheyagiri sights, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, Sankha, Padhma, Guardian Spirits.




'Padma Guardian Spirit''?

'Shanka guardian spirit'?
The above two statues are now installed on either side of the entrance to the Abheyagiri Dagoba.

'Sri Ram asked Agastya--'Who was Ravana -- the tormentor of deities? I am anxious to know about the origin of his whole clan."
Sage Agastya replied--Vishrava was the grandson of Lord Brahma. His father was sage Pulastya. Vishrava had two wives--Mandakini and Kaikasi. Mandakani's son was Kubera while Kaikasi was the mother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishan. Kubera ruled over Lanka. One day, Kubera, came to see his parents boarded on his aircraft--Pushpak Viman. After he returned to Lanka, Ravana, who was very much impressed by Kubera's royal appearances asked Kaikasi--"Who was this fellow? From where did he acquire such an amazing aircraft."
Kaikasi revealed to Ravana that the guest was none other than his step-brother Kubera. She said--"Kubera is the son of your step mother--Mandakini. He has made his mother proud by his conduct but I am ashamed of you, because of your inconsequential existence. You are no better than a worm."
Ravan decided to prove his mother wrong by acquiring insurmountable power and authority. Ravana went to the forest and performed an austere penance for ten thousand years by standing on one foot. He fixed his gaze at the sun and never for a moment did he remove his gaze from it. Kumbhakarna and Vibhishan also engaged themselves in austere penance. At last, Lord Brahma became pleased and blessed Ravana with a vast kingdom. Ravan then started tormenting his step-brother Kumbhakarna. He snatched Kubera's Pushpak Viman and drove him out of Lanka. Ravan then turned his attention towards the deities and drove them out of heaven. The deities went to seek the help of Lord Brahma who in turn took them to Lord Shiva. Even Lord Shiva was clueless about the means by which the indomitable Ravana could be subdued. Ultimately all of them including Lord Shiva went to Lord Vishnu and sought his help'...

'In the context of Hindu mythology, Nidhi, that is, a treasure, constituted of nine treasures (nawanidhi) belonging to Kubera (also spelt as Kuvera), the god of wealth. According to the tradition, each nidhi is personified as having a guardian spirit, and some tantrikas worship them. The nature and characteristics of nidhis have remained largely unexplained and have not been fully understood. According toAmarakosha, the nine nidhis are:
- mahapadma "great lotus flower"
- padma "lotus flower"
- shankha "conch"
- makara "crocodile"
- kachchhapa "tortoise"
- mukunda "a particular precious stone"
- kunda "jasmine"
- nila "sapphire"
- kharva "dwarf"





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