Sila, (also spelt as Shila or Sheela) refers to a Vaishnava (Hindu) murti in the form of a spherical, usually black-coloured stone found in the sacred river Gandaki. Ocimum tenuiflorum (also known as Ocimum sanctum, Tulsi, Tulasī (तुलसी in Sanskrit and Hindi, ( The Dakshinavarti Shankh, or Sri Lakshmi Shankh, is a sacred Hindu object otherwise known as the Conch shell with a reverse-turning spiral Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical In Hinduism, a murti ( Devanagari: मूर्ति typically refers to an image a deity in which the Divine Spirit is expressed ( murta) [1]
They are more often referred to as Shaligram Shilas, with Shila being the shortened version. The word Sila translates simply to 'stone' and Shaligram is a less well-known name of Vishnu. For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific The origin of the name is traced to a remote village in Nepal where Vishnu is known by the name of Shaligraman. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia.
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Worship
The Silas are worshipped as manifestations of Vishnu Himself, identifiable from other stones by special markings, believed to resemble Vishnu's paraphernalia such as mace, conch, lotus and disc (chakra). For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific A mace is a simple Weapon that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows A conch (pronounced in the USA as "konk" or "konch" ˈkɒŋk or /ˈkɒntʃ/ is one of a number of different Species Sudarshana Chakra ( Sanskrit: सुदर्शन चक्रम् is a spinning disc like weapon with very sharp edge which serves as an attribute of the Hindu Chakra ( Pali: chakka Tibetan: khorlo Malay: cakera is a Sanskrit term meaning Circle or Wheel Nrshrimadeva, Varahadeva and Vamanadeva are popular forms of worship. Narasimha ( IAST Narasiṃha Sanskrit नरसिंह (other spellings are Narasingh, Narasinga) is an Avatara of Vishnu In Hinduism, Varaha (वाराह is the third Avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. Vamana ( Devanagari: वामन IAST: Vāmana) is a personality described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth They are either black, red, or mixed in colour and are usually kept closed in a box and are only brought out for daily worship (puja). This article is about Hinduism. Puja or "pooja" may also refer to certain devotional practices performed by Balmikis Buddhists (see The Silas are usually hereditary and are passed down through many generations, never being purchased or sold.
According to Vaishnava belief, the worshipper of a Shaligram Sila must adhere to strict rules, such as not touching the shaligrama without bathing, never placing the shaligrama on the ground, eating only prasad, and not indulging in bad practices. Prasāda ( Sanskrit: प्रसाद marathi:प्रसाद prasād / prashad ( Hindi) Prasāda in (Kannada prasādam
Origins of worship
Tulasi, also known as Holy Basil is closely associated with the origins of Sila worship. Ocimum tenuiflorum (also known as Ocimum sanctum, Tulsi, Tulasī (तुलसी in Sanskrit and Hindi, ( According to the Puranas, Vishnu had reunited with Laxmi, His wife. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Lakshmi or Mahalakshmi (pronunciation; Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी lakṣmī) is the Hindu Goddess of Wealth Sarasvati, also wanted to be Lord Vishnu's consort. Saraswati (pronounced as; Sanskrit: sa सरस्वती sarasvatī; Malay: Saraswati Thai: สุรัสวดี is the Once in anger Sarasvati cursed Laxmi. Sarasvati's curse changed Lakshmi into a tulasi plant and forced her to live on earth forever. Vishnu, however, intervened and modified the curse, saying that Lakshmi would remain on earth as tulasi until the river Gandaki flowed from her body. In the meantime, He would wait by the riverside in the form of a stone to take her back to His abode. This stone was the shaligram shila, which thus remained on earth as a representative of Vishnu. The shila deities and the tulasi plant are thus always worshipped together as Vishnu and Lakshmi.
The largest and heaviest shaligrama can be seen at the Jagannath Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, at Puri in Orissa. The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath ( Krishna) and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. The main ISKCON temple in Scotland, called 'Karuna Bhavan' is famous for housing the largest number of Shaligram Silas outside of India. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( ISKCON) also known as 'the Hare Krishna ' movement is one of several Vaishnava groups Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country
See also
Footnotes
External links
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