Yaksha Prashnam Questions 103 - 105

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-101-102.html

Which is the fragrant flower in a garland?

Jathi, star jasmine is the best flower to be used in a garland as Lord Vishnu is fond of this variety of jasmine.

Which is the best penance (tapas)?

The best tapas is to learn Vedas and Upanishad and then ponder over their meaning. For example the Udagashanti Manthram has the word “Evishta” in it. Evishta in Sanskrit means the youngest person. Who is referred by the word “Evishta”? The word refers to “Lord Vishnu” and in particular to Lord Oppiliappan of Thiruvinnagara Divya Desam. This is because the Lord’s father in law Markandeya Maharishi is always present alongside the Lord thus making Lord Oppiliappan the youngest person in comparison. Peyazhwar also refers to Lord Oppiliappan as “illankumaran Vinnagar”. Therefore, upon hearing the word “Evishta” a person with good tapas will meditate upon the form of Lord Oppiliappan.

Name one more best tapas.

Following the rules and regulations prescribed by shastras for ones clan is best tapas.

Who is the deity worshipped by Munikulam? By “munikulam” the Yakshan is referring to people with satvik tendencies. People with satvik tendencies worship the deity with satvik qualities.

Once, a congregation of rishis gathered on the banks of river Saraswati. They were planning to perform a yagnam. They had some disagreement about to whom they should make the offerings. Brigu Maharishi suggested that they must offer to the most satvik Devathai. He left on a quest to find out the most satvik Devathai. He first went to Lord Brahma’s Sathya Lokam. Brigu Maharishi was the mind born son of Lord Brahma but he was very disappointed when Lord Brahma did not even notice his arrival. From there Brighu Maharishi left for Kailasham where he was told that Lord Shiva is with Parvati Devi and hence he cannot obtain darshan. Brighu Maharishi rushed past Lord Shiva’s guards but upon entering their private chambers Lord Shiva started to chase him with his trident as the rishi had disobeyed the rules and regulations of Kailasham. From there the rishi went to Paarkadal. He recognized Sesha Sayee Bagawan as the Supreme Being. He wanted to show everyone the satvik nature of Bagawan. As a test, the rishi kicked Perumaal’s chest with his left feet. Perumaal’s chest is the abode of goddess Mahalakshmi. In spite of the rishi’s behaviour, both Perumal and Thayar received the rishi with due honours. Perumal massaged the rishi’s feet afraid that the rishi’s foot might have been injured when he kicked Perumal.

The rishi returned to the bank of Saraswati River and proved to his colleagues that Lord Vishnu is the most satvik as well as the Supreme Being.

Lord Vishnu is also known as Mukunthan. The syllable “Mu” shows that he can grant us Moksham and the syllable “ku” shows that He can also bless us to lead a very comfortable life on this world itself.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-106-110.html

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Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.