What are some unknown stories about Goddess Lakshmi?

 1. Mata Bhargavi

Mata Bhargavi is Saksad Mahalaksmi herself who became the eldest daughter of sage Bhrigu and his wife devi Khyati.

• Mata Lakshmi in the form of Mata Bhargavi performed rigorous penance for thousands of years to get Lord Vishnu as her husband.

On hearing about the great form, the Cosmic Form (of Nārāyaṇa), Lakṣmī born from the Khyāti of Bhṛgu, O king, became surprised and thought thus:

‘By what means shall this Lord Nārāyaṇa be my husband? Is it through Vrata, penance, Dāna or some restraints? Can it be through attending upon the old people or by propitiating Devatās?’ O Yudhiṣṭhira, Satī (Śiva’s consort) knew that the girl was thinking thus and she said: “It is through austerities that Śaṅkara was obtained by me as my husband. So also Prajāpati (Brahmā) was obtained by Gāyatrī. Desired husbands were obtained like that by other women too. O lady of good Vratas, it is only through penance that the husband should be obtained by you. Hence perform penance, great and fierce, which will give you all that you desire.”

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

9-15. O conqueror of the cities of enemies, Lakṣmī went to the outer limit of the oceans and performed an elaborate penance extremely difficult (for others) to perform, for a long duration. She stationed herself steadily like a lamp-post for a period of one thousand divine years.

~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194

• After one thousand divine years of penance by Mata Bhargavi, Lord Narayana appeared before Mata Bhargavi and also showed his divine cosmic form and asked Mata Bhargavi to ask for a boon, on which Mata Bhargavi expressed her desire to marry him and asked him to adopt householder stage life.

Śrī said:

O Nārāyaṇa, O supporter of the universe, O Lord of the universe, O great Brahman, O ultimate great resort! Be pleased with me for my devotion. Save me perfectly. Employ me in the perfect creation. You are my lover. Manage everything so that I can be your beloved. The stage of householder is the root cause of Dharma, Artha and Kāma. It has been approved by Devas. Adopt that meritorious Āśrama (stage of life) and employ me in the rites for welfare.

~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194

• Marriage of mata Bhargavi with Lord Narayana

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

44-52. Neither Brahmā nor Parameśvara is capable of describing the good features of the marriage of Nārāyaṇa, the Yajña and the Tapas of that Lord and his perfect conduct. O Yudhiṣṭhira, yet I shall recount in a general way. Listen with careful attention. Brahmā and the Seven Sages were engaged in holding the Sruk and Sruva there. They performed the Homa in the sacrificial fires, O king. The entire earth along with the oceans was the altar.
The oceans gave jewels to the Brahmarṣis, O excellent king. Dhanada (Kubera) too gave the monetary gift as desired by all the Brāhmaṇas.
Viśvakarmā built houses of wonderful varieties fully embedded with all jewels and showed them to the glorious Lord of Devas. Then, O great king, Śatakratu asked the various Brāhmaṇas assembled there to choose whatever they desired. They were the Brāhmaṇas including Śaunakas etc., Bāṣkalas, Chāgalas and Ātreyas with Kāpiṣṭhala as their leader.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

53-61. O tiger among kings, in answer to your question as to who were the priests offering sacrificial oblations in the sacrifice, I shall describe it. Listen to it with concentration. Those with Sanatkumāra as their chief were the Sadasyas (members of the sacrificial assembly). Atri, Aṅgiras and Marīci officiated as Udgātṛs. Dharma and Vasiṣṭha did the job of Hotṛs (reciters of the Vedic Mantras). Sage Sanaka was the Brahmā (Presiding priest in the sacrifice). Śatakratu (Indra) gave them thirty-six thousand villages. The Lord did everything and so Lakṣmī was united with her husband. Even as Brahmā was performing the Homa, his forehead was visible to the Suras seated all round. The region where such view was possible is called Lalāṭadeśa and that spot became the meritorious spot of Śrīpati and was resorted to by Devas and sages. It is full of miracles, divine and efficacious.

~Skanda Mahapuran, Book 5, Reva-khanda, chapter 194

• Children of mata Bhargavi and Lord Narayana

Suta said :

1 . Khyati bore to Bhrgu the holy lords Dhata and Vidhata living throughout the Manvantara. They were masters of happiness and misery and grant auspicious and inauspicious results to living beings.

2. Their eldest sister, the chaste goddess Sri, the purifier of worlds, attained the auspicious lord Narayana as her husband, and gave birth to two sons: Bala (Strength) and Utsaha (Energy).

~Vayu purana, Book 1, chapter 28

2. Mata Lakshmi became the daughter of king punyanidhi.

King punyanidhi who used to rule over the Madurai region had visited Rameshwaram along with his wife vindhyavali. After worshipping lord Rama linganatha Swamy, the king performed a special yajña here to please lord Vishnu for the prosperity of his kingdom. Lord Vishnu, who was pleased with his yajña sent his consort Lakshmi devi in the guise of an eight years girl to test him.

9-11. While King Puṇyanidhi continued his stay thus, once Lakṣmī had a playful quarrel with Hari. In order to test the devotion of the king, she stipulated certain conditions with Hari. Lakṣmī, the goddess with lotus for her abode, was sent by Viṣṇu from Vaikuṇṭha. In the guise of a girl of eight years, she went to the Gandhamādana mountain. Goddess Lakṣmī came to Dhanuṣkoṭi and stood there waiting.

The king upon seeing the girl, enquired and after coming to know that the girl was an orphan adopted her as his daughter and named her as Gunanidhi. mata Lakshmi agreed to live with them but on some condition.

19-20. I shall stay in your house, O father, looking at you, always. If anyone holds me by the hand and violently pulls at me, O king, you shall chastise him. In that case, I shall stay in your place as your daughter for a long time, O father, O storehouse of good qualities.”

21-24. On being told thus, the king, the storehouse of good qualities, said to the girl:

“I shall do everything mentioned by you, O splendid girl. I have no daughter. I have a son, the support of the family. I shall give you whatever appeals to you. Come to my house, O girl. Live in my Antaḥpura as the daughter of my wife. O uncensured (praiseworthy) girl, live here as you please.”

The girl was being looked after nicely by the king and his wife. One day, Lord Vishnu in order to search for mata Lakshmi, came to the king’s place disguised in the form of an old brāhmaṇa wearing a Rudraksha Mala and holding a kamandalu (pot) with the water from the Ganga river and an umbrella in the other hand. He secretly entered the garden where Gunanidhi, the king’s adopted daughter was plucking flowers and held her hands. This matter was reported by the guards to the king who had the Brahmana chained and imprisoned. At night, Lord Vishnu appeared in the dream of the king and revealed that the old brāhmaṇa was lord Vishnu himself and the king's adopted daughter was Lakshmi devi.

47-53. The great king went to his beautiful mansion. During his sleep the king saw that Brāhmaṇa in his dream. He was adorned with a conch, discus, iron club, lotus and garland of sylvan flowers. His chest was embellished with the Kaustubha jewel. He was Hari clad in yellow garments. He was brilliant with the complexion resembling a black cloud. He was seated on Garuḍa. He had beautiful teeth and splendid smiles. His ear-rings resembling Makara, shone well. He was attended upon by Viṣvaksena and other servants. He lay on the couch (of the body) of Śeṣa. He was eulogized by Nārada and other sages; (further) he saw his own daughter standing in a full-blown lotus. In her hand there was a lotus flower. Her hair was black, curly and glossy. She had her abode in the broad chest of Viṣṇu.

The king who was shocked woke up and went to meet the imprisoned brāhmaṇa who appeared as lord Vishnu along with his adopted daughter Gunanidhi, who was adorned as Lakshmi devi. The king who was already shocked felt embarrassed and asked the Lord forgiveness.

Forgive my offence, O slayer of Madhu, I have offended you with these fetters and nooses. O lord, this has been committed by me without knowing your real form and nature. Hence my offence should be forgiven, O slayer of Madhu.

After eulogizing Mahāviṣṇu thus, O Brāhmaṇas, King Puṇyanidhi joyously eulogized Lakṣmī, the mother of all living beings:

Lord Vishnu pardoned him saying that they are pleased with his devotion.

Viṣṇu said:

80-86. O king, you need not entertain any fear as a result of keeping me in bondage. I have revealed unto you the fact that I am completely subject to the control of the devotees. You have performed a Yajña causing great delight unto me. Hence you are my devotee. Being bound down with the noose of devotion, I have become subject to your control. O suppressor of enemies, I always forgive the faults of my devotees.

Lord Vishnu decided that He and Lakshmi devi would reside in the same place and accept worship as Sri Setu Mādhava.

98-106a. “O excellent king, I shall stay here by the name Setumādhava in the manner in which I have been fettered by you. This Setu has been built by me. I shall bè here for its protection from the multitudes of Bhūtas and Rākṣasas and for subduing all sorts of fears. Brahmā too lives here day and night for protecting the Setu. Śaṅkara named Rāmanātha permanently stays here on the Setu. Indra and other guardians of the worlds too stay here with great joy. Hence, I will also stay here under the name Setumādhava for the purpose of protecting the Setu and to suppressing all troubles, for the purpose of fulfilling the desires of everyone and quelling all sins. Those men who serve me here where I have been fettered by you, will attain Sāyujya with me, O king, and realize all their desires.

This story mentioned in Skanda Puran, Brahma khanda, setu-mahatmya, chapter 50

The visit to Rameshwaram is incomplete Without a holy dip in the holy Setumādhava tirtham and the darshan of Lord Setumādhava. This beautiful temple is located in the complex of the famous Ramanathan Swamy temple in Rameshwaram, between the west second corridor of the temple.

Jay Shri LakshmiNarayana 🙏

What are some mindblowing and unknown facts about Ranveer Singh?

 One Bollywood actor, who has all that it takes to make it top the number one spot is none other than Ranveer Singh. He is different. Yes, the 'Ram-Leela' star did manage to impress all with his debut performance in 'Band Baaja Baaraat' opposite Anushka Sharma in 2010. In the span of seven years, he has not only managed to grab the best of projects but has also impressed his fans with the quirkiness, which he exhibits in abundance.

Now Let's take a look at some of the lesser known facts about RANVEER SINGH.

• Ranveer Once Thought of Changing His Name as it Sounded Similar to Ranbir

Ranveer Singh’s full name is Ranveer Singh Bhavnani. However, he decided to drop his surname “Bhavnani” because he thought the whole thing ‘Ranveer Singh Bhavnani’ is not just too long but also unmemorable. Next, when he started out as an actor, he even thought of changing his name ‘Ranveer’ as it sounds similar to ‘Ranbir’.

• Ranveer Singh is Sonam Kapoor’s Cousin

We know Ranveer Singh’s bromance with Arjun Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor’s relation with Sonam Kapoor. However, the fact is both Arjun and Ranveer are Sonam’s cousins – Arjun from her paternal side and Ranveer from her maternal side.

• Ranveer Didn’t Do Any Ads or Music Videos before Starting his Career in Bollywood

This is what he said in an interview-

“My ambition was always to bag a lead role in a film and hence I refrained from doing any ads, TV serials, music videos as I felt that a fresh face always works much better. It was a gamble and I took that gamble telling myself that I will give it my all to bag a lead role.”

• Ranveer Singh Started His Career as a Copywriter

Straight out of college, Ranveer Singh unlike other actors was not into modeling. His first job was that of a copywriter with the renowned advertising agency – O&M.

• Ranveer Rejected 3 Movies before Making a Debut in Band Baaja Baarat

There were rumors that Ranveer’s debut movie Band Baaja Baaraat was funded by his businessman-father which Ranveer denied. Interestingly, Ranveer had rejected 3 Movies before making his Debut in Band Baaja Baarat.

• Ranveer Singh and Ahana Deol were College Sweethearts

When in college, Ranbir and Ahana were lovebirds. It was a puppy love without continued throughout the college life until they decided to mutually end it. Later, after entering Bollywood he was linked with Anushka Sharma and Ahana started seeing Aditya Roy Kapur. Ranveer and Ahana are still good friends. He even attended her wedding with rumored gf Deepika Padukone.

• Besides Acting, Ranveer Singh is also a Pro at Rapping

Remember the ‘Do the Rex’ rap? Well, it was done by Ranveer. He also did a rap for Ching’s Secret Ad. Interestingly, Ranveer Singh also rapped few lines in his film Ladies Vs Ricky Behl, post which we saw him rapping even during his public appearances.

Source - 10 Interesting Facts about Ranveer Singh We Bet You Didn’t Know

What are some unknown facts about the actor Vijay Raaz?

 Vijay Raaz’s debut film was Bhopal Express but his breakthrough was the character of “Dubeji”, in Monsoon Wedding.

Vijay Raaz got both the above mentioned films by the recommendation of Naseeeudin Shah.

Raaz and Nawazuddin Siddiqui were roommates during their struggling days and often survived on Parle-G biscuits.

He has done many plays in the National School of Drama. His first play was Pagal Ghar in which he played the role of an inspector.

His good voice quality has lend him several ad commercials and films.

Raaz was arrested at Abu Dhabi Airport in 2005 when drugs was found in one of his bags. He claimed that he was unaware about how it landed in his luggage and was released as there was no solid evidence against him.

He was also accused of molesting a crew member during the shooting of Vidya Balan starrer, Sherni. He had to leave the film midway. Recently he has been acquitted from all the charges that were levied against him.

He got his first lead role in the film Raghu Romeo. Raaz also made his directorial debut with the film Kya Delhi Kya Lahore.

He played the role of a transgender in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Other than the above Vijay Raaz has given some notable performances in films like Jungle, Run, Welcome, Delhi Belly, Dhamaal, Dedh Ishqiya, Shakti: The Power, Lootcase, Gully Boy and Stree.

Image(s) Courtesy: Google

What are some interesting and unknown facts about Indian cricketers?

 Only 5 Indian players have scored more than 500 runs in the T20 world cup and 4 of them played in the inaugral T20 world cup. Virat Kohli is the only player to score more than 500 runs in the T20 world cup who didn't play in the 2007 World Cup. The other 4 players are- Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.

Harbhajan Singh has one of the worst bowling records in a T20 world cup. In the 2010 T20 world cup he played 5 matches and took a total of 0 wickets even after bowling 4 overs in each of the match.

Also interestingly, Yuvraj Singh has taken more wickets than Harbhajan Singh in the T20s. Harbhajan took 25 wickets in 28 innings, Yuvraj Singh took 28 wickets in 58 innings.

It has been around 17–18 years since Anil Kumble retired from ODI and test cricket and still he is the highest wicket taker from India in One Day and Test Cricket. Even in the World cricket Muralidharan remains the highest wicket taker even after one and a half decade and currently no player is even close to their record.

Dinesh Karthik has a pathetic record in the T20 worldcup. He has played in 3 T20 worlcups playing 8 matches and yet he has

Less than 100 runs (71 to be precise)

Average less than 10 (8.875)

Strike rate less than 100 (97.26)

0 sixes and not even one score of 20

What are some facts about Hyderabad that are unknown to Indians?

 Ok this is basically a collection of trivia, which only Hyderabadi's are aware of.

First things first the city was developed by Quli Qutub Shah, and was patterned after the Iranian city of Isfahan. While Secunderabad gets it's name from Sikandar Jah, the 3rd Asaf Jahi Nizam, and was founded as a British cantonment, in 1806.

A.S.Rao Nagar is named after the founder of ECIL, it is now the fastest growing suburbs in Hyderabad.

The Nizam had a cavalry of African guards, who were given quarters to stay, that area is now called A.C.Guards.

Albert Abid was a Jewish valet of the Nizam, who owned a shop, the surrounding area was named Abids after him, and is now one of Hyderabad's major commercial centers. The GPO is also located here, as well as some of Hyderabad's leading schools too.

Afzalgunj gets it's name from the 5th Nizam Afzal Ud Daulah, who gifted the land to grain merchants here. Now a bustling market place, it is home to State Central Library which has around 17,000 manuscripts dating back to ancient, medieval times. The famous Salarjung museum is also close by.

Aghapura, houses the HQ of the MIM party and is named after Agha Muhammed Dawood the disciple of the Sufi Saint, Abul Ulai.

Alwal gets it's name from the Alwars who settled down here, most of them were devoteess of Lord Venkateswara. The place is famous for it's large Venkateswara Temple, noted director Shyam Benegal is a resident of this area.

Amberpet lying adjacent to Osmania University gets it's name from Hazrat Amber Baba, a famous Sufi saint, whose dargah to date draws a lot of devotees.

Ameerpet gets it's name from Amir Ali, a jagirdar of the Nizam who was gifted the land here. The Nizamia Observatory here was the 3rd such to be setup in India. It is right now famed for it's computer training centers, shopping complexes and shops.

Barkas in the Old City area gets it's name from the fact that it housed military barracks of the Nizam. This place was where the Arab soldiers and bodyguards of the Nizam used to stay, even now their descendants the Chaush, make up a bulk of the population here.

Basheerbagh located in the heart of Hyderabad, Bashir-ud-DauIa Bahadur, a senior noble belonging to the Paigah aristocracy. The Paigah palace is located here too.

Begum Bazar gets it's name from Humda Begum, wife of Nizam Ali Khan Nizamul Mulk who gifted the land here to merchants for their trading activities. It has the 2nd largest fish market in Hyderabad, and the first Ganesh Puja pandal was set up here. Right now one of the major wholesale markets in the city.

Begumpet gets it's name from Basheer Ul-Unnisaa Begum, the daughter of the 6th Nizam who got this land as part of her wedding dowry, it is now one of the major commercial centers in Hyderabad, as well home to some IT firms too. Sir Ronald Ross discovered the cause of malaria, during his work at the Begumpet general hospital in 1897.

Bowenpally is one of the 3 villages that made up Secunderabad, the other two being Alwal and Tirumalgerry. It was named as Bhuvanapalli after Trailokya Bhuvaneswara,an ancient Chalukya ruler.

Chikkadapally gets it's name from the word Chikkad meaning mud, owing to the fact that mud often got deposited here from drain nalas. Has a very old Venkateswara Temple.

Darushifa gets it's name from the large hospital built here by Sultan Quli Qutub Shah, the word means Door to Health.

Dhoolpet was founded by migrants from Uttar Pradesh, who settled here during the Nizam's time. The area is famous for it's Ganesh Idols manufacture, as well as the illegal liquor joints here, a strange mix of crime and religion.

Dilsukh Ram Pershad a land owner near Malakpet subdivided his land into plots and one of them was Dilsukhnagar. Lying on the route to Vijayawada, it has become a bustling commercial hub, also home to many colleges, coaching institutes.

Domalguda, gets it's name from the fact that two wrestlers( Do Malla) lived here, the Ramakrishna Math is located here, and this lies next to Tank Bund.

Habsiguda is named after the Abysinnian guards of the Nizam who were locally referred to as Habsis, they settled here during that time.

Khairtabad is believed to be named after Khairun Nissa, the wife of Capt James Kirkpatrick, mentioned in the book White Mughals by William Dalyrmple. It is famous for the Khairatabad Ganesh, the largest one in Hyderabad during the Ganesh Puja.

Mehboob ki Mehndi, is the city's red light area. Located in old city, quite a notorious place, though closed down of late.

Gowliguda get's it's name from the fact that it was a village of Gowlis( milkmen), it used to have the hangars for the Nizam's private aircraft, now used as a bus repair workshop.

Agoranath Chattopadhyaya the father of Dr.Sarojini Naidu was the first principal of the Nizam College.

Fateh Maidan which houses the Old Cricket stadium, was used as a camping ground by the Mughal Army during their Siege of Golconda. After Golkonda fell to the Mughals, it was named as Fateh Maidan- Ground of Victory.

Bolarum was where Sardar Patel negotiated the terms of the Nizam's surrender with his general El Eldroos.has the Rashtrapati Nilayam, equivalent of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, serving as the official residence of the President, whenever he visits the South.

Hussain Sagar gets it's name from Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, a renowned Sufi saint of Golkonda in the 16th century, who also built it for the city's water needs.

The Andhra Pradesh Secretariat, is partially housed in the Saifabad Palace, built by 6th Nizam, Mahbub Ali Kha

Niloufer Hospital was built on the request of Princess Niloufer, daughter in law of the last Nizam, she wanted a medical center that would take care of women in their pregnancy and childbirth stage. Niloufer incidentally was one of the last princesses of the Ottoman dynasty. She had also worked as a nurse during WWII.

The Yellama temple in Balkampet is believed to be dedicated to Parashuram's mother Renuka( Yellama), who apparently hid here, to escape being killed by her son. It is one of the main temples for Bonalu.

Tarnaka literally means "Wired Checkpost", it gets it's name from the fact that the place had a Telegraph Office( Tar) here and Naka meaning Checkpost.

Koti gets it's name from the fact that it was primarily a residence for the Nizam's concubines. The mansion used to house the concubines was later converted into a residence for Sir James Kirkpatrick, the lover of Khairunissa who married her.

Moazzam Jahi market or MJ Market was named after the second son Moazzam Jah of the last Nizam. Famous shopping center.