Krishna and his siblings Balarama & Subhadra are portrayed with huge eyes at the Jaganath Temple at Puri. This kind of portrayal is not seen in other temples. Is there any story behind this? Deities at Jaganath Temple, Puri:

As I've heard before, there was a story which said that lord Brahma had five heads so is that true? They say that the fifth one was chopped off by lord Shiva so whats the story behind chopping off the fifth head?

It seems like the site will soon be entering the public beta phase. Given the nature of the subject, many questions will undoubtedly get different answers, views and opinions. But to keep the site as authentic as possible, certain guidelines should be followed while answering questions about Hind...

Lord Brahma is said to be the creator of Earth. but what about other planets? who created them? I have heard once that for every planet there is a creator such as Brahma. I have also seen this incident in Shri Krishna when Lord Brahma feels that no one is more powerful than him. Then as a lesson ...

According to Shiva purana, "Brahma desired Sarasvati and went to her, asking her to stay with him. She, being his daughter, was furious at this and said, 'Your mouth speaks inauspiciously and so you will always speak in a contrary way.' From that day, Brahma's fifth head always spoke evilly ...

According to my understanding, a Sage is a person who has broken all the earthly bonds and intensely devoted to God. Such persons distance themselves from all kinds of material and physical pleasures. But legend has it that great sages like Agasthya and Vashishta were married. How is it acceptab...

Most hindu festivals are pinned to a lunar day or tithi like Rama-navami, hera-pancami etc. The 7-day week runs out-of-sync with the lunar tithis, it would be very confusing to try to follow both at the same time. Yet many astrological sites also assign deities and planets to the 7-day week days...

There is a growing Nandi in Yaganti. I visted there twice and I observed the difference in size of Nandi. From Siaphotography It’s not just a belief but a fact that the Nandi idol facing Shiva has been growing in its size over the years. This has been confirmed by the Archeological Survey of...

None of the persons I have read about from the Vedic scriptures have surnames. Instead they have patronymics and matronymics e.g. "bhārata", "pārtha", "vēyāsakī", "raghunandana", "jāhnavī" etc. One Indian friend of mine said that his surname "Chander" was created by manipulating the proper name, ...

There are many temples in India (or other countries) related to Hindu religion. And many has their own significance of being established at that place. For example like: A God kept the step here. Some devotee was born here/used to worship in this temple. Strange/unique occurences in this pla...

In Devasams(srardham) or annual memorial ritual performed to the deceased, rice is fed to crows. I was told by elders at home that the crows represent our pitrus. What is the reason behind crows acting as a link to our pitrus and not any other bird or animal?

According to Inidian culuture, Guests(Adithis) are treated as equal to the God. Is this originated from Hinduism? If so in which text/scripts this quote is mentioned?

Would asking for a book recommendation be on-topic? For example, I would want to know the best English translation for Yajur Veda which are written by Indian authors and not Western authors.

Throughout the Hindu scriptures, there have been instances of Kings offering Horses as sacrifice to the Gods in the Ashwamedha Yagna. What is the significance of this ritual? Why only horses were chosen and not any other animal? How did this ritual originate?

As we are now in Public Beta, its time to discuss on Who should the moderators be? one of the most important point from The 7 Essential Meta Questions of Every Beta. Before moving on with nomination information/rules I would like the users to read Moderator Pro Tempore. Coming to the informatio...

The only question left to be discussed from The 7 Essential Meta Questions of Every Beta is that how do we promote our site? As the site has entered Private Beta, I wish more and more users join the website which will not only help our site graduate but will also help out by asking fascinating q...

Jain's are supposed to believe in nonviolence, but I don't understand how that is possible. Surely, in certain circumstances you may need to use force / violence but I can't find where to look for information like this. I've been brought up by parents who don't believe in violence, but is it ag...