Hindu Almanac / Panchangam (Panchankam??)

Hindu Almanac / Indian Panchangam (Panchankam??)

Online Panchang and Hindu Calendar for the world

Sivanandashram Rishikesh's Spiritual Calender for all sacred Hindu festivals & auspicious days

Hindu Fasts & Festivals By Swami Sivananda Saraswathi

Tamil Calendar - Festivals, Holidays & Panchangam

For those who do not know Tamil, here are a few leaves from the Hindu Almanac (Panchangam) ; Tamil Version.

My late grandmother Mambakkam Patti often used to say that we should see Panchankam daily, as our first duty, as soon as we rise from bed....And also a glance at your palms. She had a valid reason....She was perhaps correct.

Our orthodox Hindus have 'n' number of religious functions & festivals throughout the year....non stop.... without a break. Every calendar month has at least one religious function to celebrate if not more than one. Every Poornima / Pournami/ Full Moon Day is a special festival day of the month for the devout Hindu. Buddha Poornima, Guru Poornima, Kaarthic Poornima,( Kaarthigai), Sraavana Poornima ( Aavani Avittam, Raksha Bandhan), Chitra Pournami ( Chitragupta Jayanthi) & so on & so forth. Then again, there are other festivals like Deepawali, Holi, Varalakshmi Vratha, Sathyanarayana Vratha, Karadaiya Nonmbu, Shankara Jayanthi, Chitragupta Jayanthi, Karva Chauth, Kanu, Shankaranthi, Bhogee, Thiruvaadarai, Panguni Uttaram, Akshaya Thritheeya, Navarathri, Dassera, Hindu New Year. Then again there are Amaavasya, Ekadashi, Solar & Lunar Eclipses..... Then again there are Shraaddham, Mahaalaya Pitru Paksham.....the list of religious observations for staunch devout orthox Hindus, is never ending without neither a beginning nor an end....exactly like the Anaadi Anantha Almighty who has created them.

How then can we keep track of all these festivals without missing any of them, if we are not regular with our Panchankam Reading everyday, as our very first duty as soon as we get up from bed, like my dear granny often used to emphasise during her lifetime???
It's surprising & very heartening to note that many of the orthodox Hindus still follow these rules, wherever they are on this planet, whether in the West, or Asia Pacific or extreme Far East. They do deserve our mighty salutes for preserving our culture & heritage for the succeeding future generations.

Freedom from Worldly Bondage, Though For A Short Period, Is Our Occassional Birth Right, Yes Or No? 😆

Freedom from Worldly Bondage, Though For A Short Period, Is Our Occassional Birth Right, Yes Or No? 😆
 

 Raju & Rajee were here at Terrace Garden, for a short stay of three days, after a long time, to spend a couple of days with Amma. They left just yesterday. The three days period, was a gala time of celebration for me at least, if not equally for others. I didn't enter the kitchen even for a second, during this short period. Yummy Food for all of us, was arriving on time, from Amma's place. My only job was just to hog, and digest the food & waste my time in the best possible way. 😆

Even the minor responsibility of making tea & coffee, during these three days, was smartly delegated to Shekhar & Pappu, who were messing up the whole place, and made one hell of the kitchen. 😆
I just didn't know, what was happening around me, whether Psunami or Fire Fighting or Floods or Earthquakes or Bulldozing. It was a time of total Masthee for me. A time of total freedom, though temporary, 😆 from the terrible bondage of this Samsaaram. Was going on wondering, what was actual Nirvaanaa then, that Buddha preached? 😆

All the precious time, during this period, was most productively utilized, in Blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, Pinteresting & Google + ing. 😆 What an ultra productive use of time & resources !!!, as we know that Time & Tide wait for none, Not even for an exceptional Great Soul like me. 😆
During this silent period of my life, there were no constant phone calls from Amma, which is the normal routine of the terribly bored old lady, asking me for my non stop running commentary about my Aduppangarai activities. 😆

To be on the safer side, I asked Rohan, to suggest a hiding place for me in the Universe, where Amma can never trace me, however hard she breaks her skull. 😆 


'That shouldn't be an issue Amma', said Rohan promptly, 'You have Google's second page to hide. It's uninhabited. Even Google will not enter that zone'. 😆

Eureka !!! My eyes started sparkling. 😆 . But the very next second, all the glow vanished, when there was a phone call from Raju, that he was leaving for Marthahalli urgently.
हाय किस्मत , तेरी रीत निराली . Back to the same old boring Karma Yoga, The Life Divine. My Father in Heaven !!, Give me my daily bread, and along with that, permanent Nirvaanaa too. I don't want this temporary Nirvaanaa. 😆

Oh Hell !!! What should I cook today, for lunch? It's already 11 o'clock now. Time for Amma's afternoon nap. Her lunch time is already over. Today, is not Nirjala Ekaadashee. Hurry up. Leave the computer screen, and do some productive work, and be of some use in the world. There's no place here for you தண்ட சோரே . 😆 
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