Namaste Devotees ! I Rajiv Krishna Dasa welcome you to the world of Saligramas. Shaligrams are the divine gift of Lord Vishnu to the mankind, whose worship can
spiritually uplift and show us the way to philanthropy, austerity and Salvation. Lord Vishnu has been taking birth in several forms (incarnations) duing the time immemorial and is saving the mankind from the hardships and miseries. In Kalyuga, Shaligram Shilas which are His direct manifestation will continue to show the light of conciousness and spiritual liberation to the mankind.
The devotees who have been benefitted wants to accumulate atleast 108 Shilas because as per 'Garuda Purana' Lord Vishnu has mentioned that, “Where 108 Shilas are kept and worshipped, that place becomes 'Vaikuntha' and I personally come and stay there and bless the worshipper".....Read More
Shaligram.com has exquisite collection of extremely beautiful, Shilas...Read More
Big Shaligrams Shilas are worshipped in temples and in houses. Brings peace, protection ... Read More
As per Varaha Purana whoever touches a Dwarka Shila will become free of all sins...Read More
Goddess Laxmi Siddhi can be obtained by Sadhna/worshipping Heera Shankh.... Read More
Humans have seven Chakras in their body and emits radiations called Aura... Read More
The powerful Divya Dashavatara Sangraha are ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu... Read More
Besides the accounts found in several puranas (like Brahma-vaivarta, Agni, Padma, Garuda, Nrsimha, Skanda, Brahma and Brahmanda) there are works like Shalagram-mahatmya included in Gautamiya-tantra, Shalagram-pariksha in Magh-mahatmya section of the Padma purana, Puja-prayog, Haribhaktivilas of Gopal Bhatta, Shalagramarchana-chandrika, Puja-pankaja-bhaskara, Shalagram-mimamsa of Somanatha-vyasa, Shalagram-lakshana-panjika, Shalagram-parikshaa of Anup-simha, Shalagram-mula-lakshana-paddhati, Shalagram-sila-parikshana-paddhati and an entire section in the Vaishnavaidhi chapter of Sri-tattva-nidhi of Maharaj Krishnaraj Wodeyar III of Mysore.
Most puranas advocates that the worship of Salagramas as capable of producing material benefits like wealth, progeny, success, long life, cattle, celebrity, health and so on (“aputro labhate putram salagrama-pujanat”). This makes the worship a “kamya” ones; optional, or conditional to the desires and expectations one has. One who has no desires then need not worship.
Skanda-purana tells us that a smooth and shining salagrama is to be worshipped by one who wishes to accomplish a mantra (mantra-siddhi), a black one by one who wants celebrity (yasas), a pale coloured stone by one who desires freedom from sins (papa-hara), a yellow stone by one who desires progeny (santana), and a stone which is blue in colour by one who aspires for worldly prosperity (abhyudaya).Narasimha-purana indicates that a stone shaped like an umbrella will, when worshipped, cause sovereignty, a circular stone will bring great wealth.
The spots where salagrama-stones are found within the Nepal territory. Actually there are four spots in the river within Nepal jurisdiction, where the sacred stones are picked up. Until recent times, the spots were leased out to private enterprises, and the palace of the Maharaja reserved the right to appropriate what it considered as the most precious and valuable stones; other stones were given over to the lease-holders. While the texts prohibit the sale of these stones, they were indeed sold for extraordinarily high amounts, some of the stones costing more than five lakhs of Nepali Rupees.
Because of great demand for these sacred stones, and high prices they fetch, there has been a steady practice of making fake salagramas. Many monadic mendicants (bairagis - vairaghis) pick up round black pebbles, which are found in many rivers, but which do not contain the chakra-emblems, and make them in imitation holes (vadana), and tracing artificial chakra-marks in slate stone, they paste them up on these pebbles. This deceit is so skillfully perpetrated that it would be impossible to recognize the fake-salagrama straight away. Over years, however, the daily washing of these pebbles will wear away the tracery, when the deceit is detected.
The salagrama-stones are classified into three groups: i)jalaja (water-born) The stones of this group, owing to their contact with water and mountain, will be very smooth, and possess lustre. They are regarded as of superior merit. ii) Sthalaja (land-born) The stones of this group are in contact with only mountain, and therefore are rough, and lack lustre. They are of average merit. iii)Matha (cell-born) These stones are fossilized ammonites which are said to be ‘eaten out by insects’, (kitaka). These are of inferior value. They are gain in two subgroups: a) matha-proper, when the stones are eaten out hastily by insects, and without relish; these stones said to be devoid of juices. The Salagramas of this type have chakras, which are very rough. b) kesara, when stones are eaten out gently and slowly by the insects, which also enjoy the juices which are present in the stone. The chakras which are produced by the insects will be distinguished by numerous filaments (kesara).
Rudraksha
