SHIVA MAHAPURANA: INTRODUCTION First of all, Sage Shaunak expressed his desire to Suta about knowing the means, which could help a man in this era of Kali to attainment lord Shiva, by cleansing all the impurities of his mind and rectifying his inherent demonic tendencies. Suta then described about Shiva…
Describing about the superiority of Lord Vishnu among the trinity Gods’ Sage Vashishtha narrated the following tale–During ancient times, Swayambhuva manu had once gone to Mandarachal mountain to perform a yagya. Many scholars and learned men had come to attend that yagya. Very soon, they got into a debate as…
Parvati was listening to the divine tales of Sri Krishna with rapt attention. Lord Mahadeva told Parvati– ‘Paundrak was the king of Kashi. He did an austere penance for twelve years to please me. When I appeared before him, he requested me to make his appearance look like Sri Krishna….
Lord Mahadeva continued with the tale of Sri Rama and told Parvati –Dasharath wanted to appoint Sri Rama as his successor but Kaikeyi did not like this idea. She wanted Bharata to be made the king of Ayodhya and Sri Rama to be sent into exile for 14 years. Once,…
Continuing with the tale of Sri Rama, Lord Mahadeva told Parvati–Dasharath requested Vashishtha to perform the Jatkarm Sanskar of Sri Rama. In course of time Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata–an incarnation of Panchajanya conch. Similarly, Sumitra gave birth to two sons– Lakshman and Shatrughan. Lakshman was the incarnation of Sheshnag…
On being asked by Yudhisthira about the grandeur of holy places like Kashipuri, Kapardishwar and Gaya. Narada said — Just as Lord Mahadeva is supreme among all the deities, in the same manner Kashipuri holds a significant status among all the places of pilgrimage. Hence an individual should make it…
Sage Chyavan, who had been listening to the narration of Kunjal, was amazed by his profound knowledge. He asked Kunjal—O great soul! Who are you? From where did you acquire such divine knowledge.’ Kunjal, who remembered everything about his previous birth said– In my previous birth, I was the youngest…
Once, Yayati requested Matali to describe the various sinful and virtuous deeds, which a man normally commits in his life. Matali replied—‘One who criticizes the vedas and follows the religion of other’s after abandoning his own or torments virtuous people is a grave sinner. Similarly, not respecting one’s parents, not…
Once, while describing about the importance of Rudraksha to the sages, Vyasa said— One who wears a Rudraksha rosary is supreme among all human beings. The mere sight of such a holy man absolves people of their sin. A Rudraksha bead bears features of a Linga and yoni on its…
Describing how a brahmin should earn his livelihood, Lord Brahma said to Narada–Alms, which a brahmin gets without making any demand for it, is called Vritta. ‘Unchhavritti’ is even better than Vritti and it means collecting foodgrain which are scattered in places like fields, granary, market-place etc. A brahmin should…
Bhisma expressed his desire to know about the manifestation of goddess Lakshmi. Pulastya replied– Once, after being defeated by the demons, the deities went to Lord Vishnu and sought his help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to collect all the medicinal herbs, and put them in the Ksheersagar, so that after…
Bhagavati (feminine form of “lord”) is another name for Devi, or Shakti; when it elevated the goddess to the role of the Supreme, it became a term used by her sect, the Saktas. In the Devi Bhagavata Purana the mother of the universe, Devi, taught Vishnu about the eternal reality…
Sage Vishwamitra arrived at the spot where the child had manifested. On the repeated insistence of the child, Vishwamitra performed his purification rites and named him ‘Guha’. The divine child blessed Vishwamitra and bestowed divine knowledge to him. He also blessed him to become famous as ‘Brahmarshi’. Agnideva arrived there…
WORSHIPPING THE IDOL OF SHIVA It has been mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of Viddyeshwar Samhita that all the desires of a man are completely fulfilled, if he worship even in earthen idol of Shiva. For making an idol of Shiva, clay should be acquired from the base of river,…
The first woman; one of the five perfect women The story of Ahalya has as many dimensions as it has versions. She appeared in the epic Ramayana but was also projected back to the beginning of the creation of this age (yuga). One account stated that Brahma created her as…
At his earliest appearance in the Rigveda, Agni was a complex deity. He was the fire of the sacred sacrifices that were the heart of Vedic religion as well as the central rituals of a semi nomadic warrior culture. Agni was addressed as the deva who ruled earth, a…
A rishi (sage) who conquered the Vindhya mountains Agasti was mentioned in a hymn in the Rigveda dedicated to Mitra, a solar deity. That hymn said that two of the adityas, Mitra (comradeship) and Varuna (binder, “all-seeing”), placed their semen in a pot and set it before Urvasi, an unusually…
The sons born to Kasyapa-prajapati (a grandfather or procreator) and Aditi (mother of the gods) are called the adityas. In the hymns of the Rigveda, Aditi only had seven or eight children. But by the time of the Brahmanas there are twelve adityas: Dhata, Mitra, Aryaman, Rudra, Varuna, Surya, Bhaga,…
There are few interesting myths to tell about Aditi, but her status and roles change so remarkably that she illustrates the fluidity of Hindu myths. Her name literally means eternity (free, boundless, infinity), so philosophically she is a personification of time. Aditi slowly evolved as the prototype of…
The deities after being defeated by Veerdbharda went to Brahmaloka and narrated everything about the destruction of Daksha’s yagya and also how his head was severed by Veerbharda. Brahma became very sad. To bring Daksha back to life and to accomplish the still unfinished yagya, he went to lord Vishnu…
The devotees of Lord Mahabaleshwar were really fortunate to witness the rare and splendid Ashtabandha Mahotsava of the Lord in the Month of May 1983. The Shastras ordian that these celebrations must as a rule be held once in twelve years ever since Ravan the demon King of Lanka wangled…
It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Rama came to know from Vasistha that Ravana was a Brahmin. To be relieved from the sin Lord Brahma kept his Kamandal (holy jug) upon the peak of the mountain and who went away the Satyaloka (heaven). It is be famed as HOLY…
Kashi, Pushpagiri, Kanchi, Nivitaha,A Ompuri, Shrishaila Shri Virupaksha, Seth Kedar Gokarn are famous Salvatory Sun lands. These are famous as Sun lands. There are very famous Salvatory Sun Lands. So Gokarn is combined by trigonal vixtrigonal-land purificatary land and the Sunland. Since a long-period trigonal forms of salvatory recombined here. Therefore there…
Narada requests lord Brahma to shed light on the birth of Maina and also too she was married with Himalaya. Brahma said- “After relinquishing her body, Sati, the daughter of Daksha attained to the abode of Shiva. In her next birth she was born to Maina, the wife of Himalaya…
Sandhya was very ashamed of herself. For the atonement of her sin she decided to do penance. She went to Chandrabhaga mountain and commenced her tremendous penance. Lord Brahma then instructed Vashishtha to go to her in disguise and help in getting her initiated. He went to Chandrabhaga mountain in…
Lineage of Kroshtu grew as follows- Kroshtu, Dhwajnivan, Swati, Rushanku, Chitrarath, Rashibindu. Rashibindu had one lakh queens and ten lakh sons among whom Prithusharva, Prithukarma, Prithukirti, Prithuyasha, Prithujay and Prithushan were prominent. In their lineage later on occurred a king named Jyamadh. He was so dedicated to his wife Shaivya…
THE WORSHIP OF PARTHIVA LINGA Suta then explains the greatness of worshipping a Parthiva Linga-: “Parthiva Linga is the most supreme among all the Shivalingas. All the aspirtions of he deities as well as men are fulfilled by the worship of Parthiv linga. During the era of Satya, jewel was…
Parashar said: “As the time passed, Yaduvanshis grew stronger and more influential. Now no longer did they like the welcoming and treating of the great sages by Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna knew about their disliking, but secretly He was pleased by this change in Yaduvanshi’s behaviour, for He knew that…
At the time of childbirth, it is the father’s responsibility to carry out certain customs and consecrations for the child. First of all, Jatakarma Sanskara is carried out by which the newly born baby is included in the family. During this custom, a Brahmin couple is fed. It is also…
The movement of Sun is rapid when it is positioned south of equator (Dakshainayan), on the other hand its movement is slow when positioned north os equator (Uttarayan).The time is indicated by the various positions of Sun while it is on its course of movement in the horizon. While the…
Shilad requested Indra to shed light on the special characteristics of each of the four eras. Indra replied—Lord Brahma created the four eras (yugas)–Satya, Treta, Dwapar and Kali. These eras keep on occuring in a cyclic order where the former is followed by the latter. Satva guna (Pure) prevails during…
At the time, when this incident of mystical Shivalinga had occurred and after which Lord Brahmand Vishnu had stopped quarelling, Lord Shiva appeared before them and said— “I am very pleased with both of you, Both of – “O Vishnu! You are the creator, Lord Shiva. This made Lord Shiva…
Life on earth is like an infinite ocean in which birth appears like a bubble and death marks the bursting of that bubble after which it exists no more. Atmosphere of a household is said to be defiled when a birth or death occurs in it. There are different sanctifying…
A married man knows the importance of following a righteous discourse. Married life is like a penance in which a couple gives birth and raises next generation. A married man is expected to get up early in the morning and contemplate on religious things. It helps him to follow righteous…
Since birth till death, human life passes through different stages. For the purpose of simplicity in following these stages, our sages have made provisions for four stages or ashramas in life namely Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanprastha and Sanyas. Upanayana Sanskara (thread ceremony) marks the beginning of education for the children born…
Maitreya says – “Lord! How should one worship Lord Vishnu? Kindly describe it to me. Parashar says- King Sagar had asked the same thing from sage Aurv. I am narrating what sage Aurv had preached him. Only those who fulfil their responsibilities and discharge their duties as per their class can…
Maitreya says- “O Gurudev! Now I wish to hear the description of all the Manvantaras and the Manus who ruled those Manvantaras.” Parashar says- “First Manu was self-begotten. After him five more Manus occurred namely Swarochish, Uttam, Tamas, Raivat and Chakshush. All these Manus had occurred during the previous ages. The…
The sacred thread (upavita) ceremony is very important and must always be performed at eight year of age. Brahma had created the cotton tree so that sacred threads might be made out of cotton. But on occasions it is permissible to make sacred threads out of grass. A guru…
The king said-“O Brahmin. I was going to see sage Kapila and have the preaching regarding excellent human virtues. But now, hearing your words, I feel that I need not go any further. You are an ocean of knowledge. Kindly preach me about human virtues.” JadaBharata said- “O king! For…
Maitreya says- “Lord! Now I wish to hear various tales from the life of King Bharata. He was born in a pious land and always contemplated on God. Even then why he failed to attain salvation? What did he do in his next birth as a Brahmin?” Parashar says- King…
It is hoped that you have not forgotten that Svayambhuva Manu had a son named Priyavrata. Priyavrata had ten sons. Their names were Agnidhra, Agnivahu, Vapushmana, Dyutimana, Medha, Medhatithi, Bhavya, Savana, Putra and Jyotishmana. Medha, Agnivahu and Putra had no desire to rule. They were not interested in material…
The landmass that is present between Himalayas and the ocean is known as Bharata. It has an expansion of 9,000 Yojans. It is populated by the descendants of Bharata. It has seven native mountains- Mahendra, Malay, Sahaya, Shuktiman, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra. Bharatavarsha has nine divisions named Indradweep, Kaseru, Tamraparn,…
A linga is an image of Shiva. There are several wonderful lingas in the wonderful city of Varanasi. There is a gigantic linga named Omkara. Amongst other famous lingas located in the city are Krittivaseshvara, Madhyadeshvara, Vishveshvara and Kaparddishvara. The Kurma Purana recites the glories of these lingas….
Parashar says- By the boon of Brahma, Hiranyakashipu had acquired tremendous power and came to control all the three worlds. He had driven the gods out of heaven and used to receive the oblations offered to Surya, Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Chandrama, Kubera, Yamaraj etc. Because of his fear, all those…
Parashar says- ” With the help of Dhruva, his wife gave birth to two sons- Sishti and Bhavya. Sishti had five sons- Ripu, Ripunjay, Vipra, Vikal and Vrikteja. Ripu had a brilliant son Chakshush. Chakshush had a son Manu. Manu had sons- Puru, Kuru, Shatadyumna, Tapasvi, Satyavan, Suchi, Agnishtome, Atiratra,…
There used to be a king named Durjaya. He was learned in the shastras and a good king. His wife was a beautiful and good woman. One day, King Durjaya went to the banks of the river Kalindi. There he met the apsara Urvashi and fell in love with her….
Budha was the son of the moon-god Chandra. Budha married Ila and they had a son named Pururava. Pururava married the apsara Urvashi and they had six sons. One of these sons was Ayu and amongst Ayu’s descendants was a king named Yayati. Yayati had two wives. The…
The sun-god, Vivasvana, was the son of Kashyapa and Aditi. He had four wives, Samjna, Rajni, Prabha and Chhaya. Samjna’s son was Vaivasvata Manu. Rajni’s children were Yama, yamuna and Revanta. Savarni, Shani, Tapati and Vishti were Chhaya’s children and Prabha’s son was Prabhata. (The names do not…
Daksha was Brahma’s son and had a daughter named Sati. Sati was married to Shiva. Daksha was thus Shiva’s father-in-law. Once Daksha came to visit his son-in-law. But although Shiva worshipped him with all due respect, Daksha felt that he had been slighted. Subsequently, when Sati went to visit…
Brahma first created five sons through his mental powers. Their names were Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Kratu and Sanatakumara These five sons became sages and did not have any offspring. Brahma therefore had to create some more beings so that the population of the universe might increase. But prior to that,…