Hatakeswara is a form of the Lord Shiva worshipped by the cult of Lingayat or Veera Pashupatha. There is a temple dedicated to Hatakeswara in Srisailam and many more across the Deccan region of India [1]
According to the Skanda Purana the Suryavanshi King Dashratha, who was the ruler of Ayodhya had performed a long penance to Lord Vishnu for obtaining heirs. He began his penance by visiting many pilgrim spots in the region of Kartikeyapura starting with Hatakeswara. The site was selected by him because his father Aja had also performed penance at the same spot earlier to appease the goddess and obtained certain Siddhis. After finishing his pilgrimage Dashratha created a massive temple for Lord Vishnu at Hatakeswara and installed an idol of the Lord in it. [2] [3]
In the hundred and second chapter of the text, there is also a mention of Lord Rama visiting Vibhishana to bid him goodbye before leaving the earth after Lakshmana had already attained Samadhi. On his way back, the Pushpaka Vimana refused to move ahead till Lord Rama got out of it and visited the shrine consecrated by his father. After taking bath in the pond in front of the temple, Rama installed a Shiva Linga in memory of his brother Lakshmana and also another one in memory of his wife Sita. Thereafter, he spent a few days at the pilgrim spot of his ancestors and then headed back to Ayodhya. [4] [5]
Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, and regional literature like the Tamil Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham, and the Mangal Kavya of Bengal. Hindu myths are also found in widely translated popular texts such as the fables of the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha, as well as in Southeast Asian texts.
Kurma, is the second avatar of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. Originating in Vedic literature such as the Yajurveda as being synonymous with the Saptarishi called Kashyapa, Kurma is most commonly associated in post-Vedic literature such as the Puranas. He prominently appears in the legend of the churning of the Ocean of Milk, referred to as the Samudra Manthana. Along with being synonymous with Akupara, the World-Turtle supporting the Earth, Kurma is listed as the second of the Dashavatara, which are the ten principal incarnations of Vishnu.
Varaha is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
Vamana ,, also known as Trivikrama, Urukrama, Upendra, Dadhivamana, and Balibandhana was a avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu. He was the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha.
Valmiki is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic Ramayana, dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as Ādi Kavi, the first poet, author of Ramayana, the first epic poem.
Purana is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Adi Shakti. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.
Shatrughna is a prince of Ayodhya, King of Madhupura and Vidisha, and a brother of Prince Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is also known as Ripudaman. He is the twin of Lakshmana. He is a loyalist of Bharata, just like Lakshmana is to Rama. According to the Valmiki Ramayana, Shatrughna is one aspect of the manifestation of Vishnu (Rama). Shatrughna also appears as the 412th name of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata.
In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa also known as Durvasas, is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial avatar of Shiva, known for his short temper. Wherever he goes, he is received with great reverence by humans and devas alike.
The Vayu Purana is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. Vayu Purana is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the oldest in the Puranic genre. Vayu and Vayaviya Puranas do share a very large overlap in their structure and contents, possibly because they once were the same, but with continuous revisions over the centuries, the original text became two different texts, and the Vayaviya text came also to be known as the Brahmanda Purana.
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mukyapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Murugan. While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas. The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to the war-god Skanda.
The Padma Purana is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brahma appeared, and includes large sections dedicated to Vishnu, as well as significant sections on Shiva and Shakti.
Adhyatma Ramayana is a 13th- to 15th-century Sanskrit text that allegorically interprets the story of Hindu epic Ramayana in the Advaita Vedanta framework. It is embedded in the latter portion of Brahmānda Purana, and the author is considered to be Veda Vyasa. The Hindu tradition also attributes the text to the Bhakti movement saint Ramananda.
Ramanathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva located on Rameswaram island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is also one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where three of the most revered Nayanars, Appar, Sundarar and Tirugnana Sambandar, have glorified the temple with their songs. The temple was expanded during the 12th century by the Pandya Dynasty, and its principal shrine’s sanctum was renovated by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan, monarchs of the Jaffna kingdom. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. It was built by King Muthuramalinga Sethupathiy. The temple, located in Rameswaram, is considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas. Mythological accounts depict the presiding deity, the Lingam of Ramanathaswamy (Shiva), as having been established and worshiped by Rama, before he crossed his bridge to the present-day island of Sri Lanka.
The Dashavatara are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word Dashavatara derives from daśa, meaning "ten", and avatāra, roughly equivalent to "incarnation".
Vishnu, also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Rama, Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra, is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.
The Sapta Puri are the seven holy pilgrimage centres in India. These are the seven holy pilgrimage sites in Hinduism, which bless the pilgrims with moksha.
Samba was a son of the Hindu god Krishna and his second consort, Jambavati. His foolish prank brought an end to the Yadu dynasty.
Jambavati is chronologically the second Ashtabharya of the Hindu god Krishna. She is the only daughter of the bear-king Jambavan. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen Syamantaka jewel.
In Hindu scriptures, Kalmashapada, also known as Saudasa (सौदास), Mitrasaha (मित्रसह), Amitrasaha and Kalmashanghri (Kalmasanghri), was a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who was cursed to be a rakshasa (demon) by the sage Vashishtha. He is described as an ancestor of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Many texts narrate how Kalmashapada was cursed to die if he had intercourse with his queen, so he obtained a son from Vashishtha by niyoga, an ancient tradition whereby a husband can nominate another man to impregnate his wife. Kalmashapada's story is narrated in various works including the classic epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the Puranas.