The Purana of the lotus
One of the eighteen major Puranas; its name refers to the lotus on which Brahma is said to have arisen.
A large Vaishnava-leaning Purana that carries many vows, festivals and pilgrimage chapters. Festival articles here cite it by name when a custom is traced to it.
Charanamrit, or Padodaka, is the sacred water and Panchamrit that has washed the deity's feet during Abhishekam. Received with both hands, it is held to cleanse sin and remove spiritual ailments.
Diwali is a five-day season at the Kartika new moon (October-November). This sets out the days, the Padma Purana and al-Biruni, and which stories are later.
Ekadashi is the sacred eleventh lunar day of Vishnu, kept with fasting, prayer and restraint of the senses. Its origin, fasting levels and Parana explained.
Gita Jayanti marks the Gita's speaking on Margashirsha Ekadashi. This article sets out the day, what the texts say, and what is later tradition.
The Bhakti Movement was a pan-Indian devotional renaissance spanning the 6th to 18th centuries, democratizing spirituality and giving voice to divine love in the mother tongues of ordinary people.
Applied between the eyebrows at the Ajna Chakra, Tilak made from sandalwood, kumkum, or sacred ash marks devotion, tradition, and inward attention.