Favorite questions and answers from first quarter of 2019

Question

In the spirit of encouraging efforts of writing good questions and answers, I would like to see if we, the community are interested in continuing the idea of Favorite questions and answer from last quarter introduced in previous quarter.

Please link to your favorite questions and answers which were either asked or answered from January 1^st 2019 through March 31^th 2019.

You can search all questions and answers created in past 3 months and following are some useful SEDE queries useful to effectively filter posts:

• Questions with best score created within 3 month range
• Questions with most View created within 3 month range
• Questions with best answer created within 3 month range

However you can share your favorite questions and answers that you really enjoyed or found very useful and worth appreciating. You can also share Q/A posted by yourself that you think deserves appreciation.

^{Note: If you don't like this idea, you may downvote the question. If this idea is well received, we will continue at every quarter to keep the enthusiasm and to appreciate deserving efforts! :)}

Answer 1

We received ~1k questions in this 92 days period which is a good sign.

Among those many questions, I personally liked the following questions. I'm adding a few questions (based on the topic they are asked and the research shown) which are not repeated in other answers here. (Note that these are not the only ones. There are many other questions I liked and voted but these are only a few)

• What scriptures describe these four types of living beings?

  This question from @KeshavSrinivasan asks from a less known stotra based on four fold manifestation of Vishu mentioned in Paancharatra agamas. Also adds what is found already from their side with a relevant Srimad Bhagavatam verse.

• Where is this verse from in the Vedas about the Manusmriti?

  I didn't know there is such a verse in the Vedas about Manu and Manu smriti given that there is 'not good' opinion on Manu Smriti/Manu Samhita. I only knew it from this Q&A pair. @Pandya was quick enough to locate the verse in Yajurveda and write an answer. I liked that answer too.

• Is Draupadi the daughter of Nala and Damayanti in her previous life?

  There is a popular folklore that Draupadi's previous birth is Nalayani (daughter of Nala). But the scriptural reference for this story is not known. User hanugm found a mention from Andhra Mahabharatam which is very close to original Vyasa Mahabharata and also an authentic retelling of Mahabharata. That deserves a mention.

• Meaning of Bhartrihari verse on Brahma and a swan's ability to separate milk from the water

  This question is about Barthruhari subhashita about Brahma and a swan. While writing up their question, user clearly says what exactly is their question and gives some assumption about metaphors which helps the users and answerer understand the question better.

• What is the meaning of the "...........vidmahe....Dhimahi....prachodayat" formula?

  This (gayatri) mantra is used regularly in worship. This question from @SK asks the meaning of mantra and also the format. A detailed answer explaining the formation and meaning would be great.

• What is the name of Vishnu incarnation who performed the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Kalyanam?

  I liked this question because I found more about Madhurai Meenakshi and Lord Kallazhagar. The Chittarai festival involving Madhurai Meenakshi and Lord Kallazhagar is famous in Tamil Nadu. In my opinion, more questions should be asked about such temples, festivals and stories which took place in the beginning of Kali Yuga (after Pauranic times). These are popular in lore but not present in puranas etc.,. Many others will also know about the significance of these temples and history behind those temples. While users are mainly asking about scriptures etc., these questions bring balance and diversity to our site.

• Which Hindu episode does this Khmer relief from Beng Mealea show?

  @Jowehler posted a nice question previous year about identifying Vishnu Avatars carved in a Harihara idol. This time they asked about identifying an incident carved on the walls of Beng Mealea. I found the carving interesting and the question curious.

Answer 2

My favourite answer in this quarter is posted for Does Sita mention that she is pativrata? the way of explaining is appreciable.

The question List of female vedic seers and answer inspires me to learn Hinduism more. Thank you @RakeshJoshi for asking :-)

And my favourite questions are:

• Who is this god in the picture. It's a great find. I have seen many pictures of Lord Shiva but never saw that. It was very surprising and interesting.
• Why is Nrisimha not a fierce form of God is a different perspective which I didn't think about.

Answer 3

I'm sure I missed many great Q&A due to absorption in other matters, but still...

The answer to Does Sita mention that she is a pativrata? made me happy, not only because it recounts some beautiful verses and explains thoroughly how these relate to the questioner's doubt, but also explains that we know Sita Devi's virtue from her own word: we believe her. This educates us on how to hear and read stories as well as on the meaning of this one.

Answer 4

My favourite questions from the first quarter of 2019 are:

1) Is setting a goal useless if Bhagavad Gita says to work without expecting the rewards?

2) Is “Tamas” always something negative?

3) Who is the Rama in the Harekrishna Mahamantra?

4) Did Adi Shankaracharya accept equality of 5 major gods in his works?

5) Why is Nrisimha not a fierce form of God?

6) How come Shukadeva did not undergo Upanayanam?

On the other hand, my favourite answers from the first quarter of 2019 would be:

1) User Sarvabhouma's answer to "Does Sita mention that she is a pativrata?"

2) User Ambi's answer to "Who are the pseudo-advaitins referred to by Shringeri Acharya? Does Adi Shankara state characteristics of true advaitins?"

Answer 5

My favourite question would be Does ISKCON identify itself as a Hindu organization? And favourite answer is the accepted answer post under this question: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/33518/647