Gita Gyan Part 4

Other Devotee of Krishna

Vrinda - Asura Jalandhar's wife Vrinda was devotee of Vishnu, her devotion to Vishnu and love for her husband ensured that Jalandhar had an armor of immortality made of the power of her penance. Even Shiva could not kill him. So Vishnu had to disguise himself as Jalandhar and break Vrinda's chastity. He succeeds, and Jalandhar is killed. Vrinda curses Vishnu to be a stone (Shaligram)

Cities Mentioned in Mahabharat

Hastinapur - Meerut

Indraprasth - Delhi/NCR

Kurukshetra - Kurukshetra (Haryana)

Kampilya / South Panchal ruled by Drupad - Etawah South UP.

Ahichatra / North Panchal - Bareilly North Up and parts of Uttarakhand.

Anga - Jharkhand

Magadh - Bihar

Dwarka / Anarta - Dwarka and Gujarat (excluding Saurashtra which was a separate Kingdom)

Matsya (kingdom where Pandavas spent their agyatwas) - Jaipur, Alwar,Bharatpur.

Vrindavan and Mathura are as is

These are the major places in Mahabharat war.

Superior God

Hindu Trimurti Brahma Vishnu and Shiva are manifestations of different powers of the same God - Creation, Sustenance and Destruction. As such they don't fight with each other, rather complement each other as per several scriptures.

However Vishnu and Shiva have had fanatical devotees who in their intention to prove their chosen God as superior do have stories that are part of their puranas showing their God as superior and and other Gods trying and failing to prove their superiority. So you have vishnu puran with stories of Vishnu crushing Brahma's ego and defeating shiva and Shiva purana with Shiva doing the same for Brahma and Vishnu.

And there is Devi Purana which has Devi teaching every one a lesson .

But Brahma however loses out to vishnu shiva and devi all the time

Lokas as per Scriptures

Vaikunth is outer edge of the lokas and Kailash is in the centre point

Urdhva Loka or higher realms

Satyaloka/Brahmaloka - Brahma lives with Saraswati here

Tapoloka - Brahma's first mind born children four Sanat Kumars (Sanat, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana) live here

Janaloka - Saptarishi live here with their wives current as well as past

Maharloka - future Saptarishi, Brahmarishi and Maharishi who have done severe austerities live here (eg. Rishi Kanva, Rishi Richika, Rishi Markandeya, Rishi Vyasa etc)

Svarga loka - Indra lives here with his wife, brothers and step brothers and their wives (Adityas, Gandharvas, Maruts, Rudras and Vasus)

Bhuvar Loka - (solar system) Surya (sun), Buddha(mercury), Shukra(venus) Mangala(mars) Brihaspati (Jupiter) Arun (Uranus), Varun (Neptune) Shani(Saturn) Yama (Pluto) Soma(moon)

Madhya loka or Middle realm -

Bhu loka - (earth) Mortal humans and animals

Adho loka or lower realms-

Atala- Danavs ruled by Bala

Vitala - Bhoota Ganas ruled by Bhava

Sutala - Asuras ruled by Bali

Talatala - Maya Danava and his family (Bala is Maya's oldest son he rules Atala)

Mahatala - Takshak with Nagas

Rasatala - Daityas

Patala - Vasuki with Nagas

(Aforesaid has been compiled from write up by Preeti from Tamil Nadu)