Parashurama Avatar Story The kshatriyas were the second of the four classes. It was their job to wear arms and protect the world. And rule. The brahmanas were the first of the four classes. It was their job to pray, study the sacred texts and perform religious rites. But the…
Bhisma requested Sage Pulastya to describe how all the Marudganas came into existence. Pulastya replied— All the sons and grandsons of Diti had perished in the battle fought between the deities and demons. Diti—the mother of daityas (demons) wanted to take revenge, so she started doing a penance at the…
There was no doubt in everybody’s mind that war was inevitable. Many people felt that cousins ought not resort to war, fighting over land. Others were of the opinion that Duryodhana ought not have been so adamant. The fact that Lord Krishna had himself tried to mediate between the hostile…
The main entrance to the shrine, which faces the east, is surmounted by a big gopura built by MadaAnantaraja in 1624A D. The walls of this gopura are decorated with the series-pilaster, Kuta, pilaster, Kumbhapanjara, pilaster, Salakoshtha, pilaster, Kumbhapanjara, pilaster Salakoshtha, pilaster, kumbhapanjara pilaster, Kuta and pilaster. There are numerous…
The Puranas state unequivocally that the image of Sri Venka- tesvara is self-manifest and not prepared by any mortal. It is said to have lain in an anthill under a tamarind tree on the bank of the Svamipushkarini on Tirumala. We are also told that the image is of Vishnu…
Brahma had six manasa-putras—sons created from his mind. Atri was one of them. The other five sons of Brahma are Marici, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu. Another version of the manasaputras increased the number to seven, or the seven sages (sapta-rishis). Atri married Anasuya, and they had three sons, Soma…
Anasuya was the wife of the sage Atri. As with all major figures in later mythology, her lineage was completely spelled out: granddaughter of Svayambhuva- Manu (Manu of his Yuga) and his wife Satarupa; daughter of Kardama-prajapati (progenitor of his age) and Devahuti. Anasuya (charity) was famous for the…
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…
In the initial phase of his creation, Lord Brahma created immovable natural things like trees, mountains etc-then birds and animals. In the process of creation, he created various things and human being was his seventh creation. First of all Lord Brahma created his Manasputras- Sanak, Sanandan etc, who had…
You already know what a manvantara is. The titles of the seven great sages (saptarshi), the names of the gods and the title of Indra change from the manvantara to another. In the present kalpa (cycle), six manvantaras have passed. The first Manu was Svayambhuva. The second Manu was…
Thereafter, the Agni Purana has many chapters on literature and grammar. It describes the different types of chhanda (metres) that are used in poetry. Next it discusses the alphabet. There are sixty-four letters (varna) in the alphabet, of which twenty-one are vowels (svara varna). There are three tones (svara) in…
In the lunar dynasty, there was born a powerful king named Nahusha. He married Viraja and they had six sons named Yati, Yajati, Samyati, Ayati, Yati, and Suyati. Yati became a hermit. So although Yayati was not the eldest, he was crowned king after Nahusha. Yayati had two wives. The…
To remind the Lord about the moment of His departure, Brahma arrived in Dwaraka accompanied by all the gods. He prayed to Him: “O Lord, you have completed your duty of what we had once requested you. Now, You please return to your abode. Lord said: “On the seventh day…
Markandeya says- ‘Now I am going to tell you about Rudrasarga. One of the eight sons of Brahma started wailing after being created from his (Brahma) body. Brahma asked him as to why he was crying. The crying child requested Brahma to give him a name. Brahma named him as…
Dattatreya says- A person who is unable to see the path of the deities, or the heavenly bodies like- Dhruva, Shukra (Venus), Soma (Moon), or his own shadow or Goddess Arundhati, must understand that his death is near. For those people to whom, the Sun appears without radiance but fire…
Dattatreya says-During the process of conquering the soul, different kinds of allurements begins to divert the mind of the Yogis. It is imperative for the Yogi to keep his mind busy by observing fast, worshipping and contemplating in God. It is the duty of the Yogi to always contemplate on…
Dattatreya says- O king! With the attainment of knowledge, people come to conjugate with the Supreme Almighty and which results into dispersion of their ignorance. To attain Moksha, it is necessary for a man to shun attachment first of all. Only after that, he will become free from sorrows. When…
Alarka says- ‘O lord! With the arising of disenchantment in my heart, I have no miseries now. Only those people feel drowned in the ocean of miseries who are attached to worldly things. A man feels all kinds of sorrows due to his attachments towards the luxuries in which his…
KING ALARKA’S RING AND WISDOM After reaching youth-hood, Prince Alarka got married. By that time, his father King Ritudhwaj had also grown old. Hence before Grihastha, he crowned his son as the new king. At the time of crowning, queen Madalasa presented him a ring and said – ‘O son! This…
Sumati says- O father! After the demise of Kartaveerya, his ministers and priests decided to crown his son Arjuna as their new king. But Arjuna refused saying that he would not become the king unless and until he had attained the status of a Yogi. Sage Garg then advised Arjuna…
Brahmin says- O son! Tell me, what should I do now? Sumati says- Now, you should become a Vanprasthi and lead a life of a Bhikshu by having control over your senses. You will attain that rare Yoga, which helps a man to unite with the almighty after freeing…
Maitreya then related the description of the Manu’s daughters. Manu and Shatarupa had three daughters- Akuti, Devhuti and Prasuti. Akuti was married to a Prajapati named Ruchi. They begot two children a son and a daughter. The son later on came to be known as Yagya Avatar of Lord Narayana,…
In the Puranas, Gunasharman’s story is nested within an episode about his father Adityasharman. The father used his great spiritual powers (tapas) to create an apsara (heavenly damsel) for himself, whom he named Sulocana. When a son, Gunasharman, was born to them, Adityasharman became a deva (god) and went…
Sutji once reached Naimisharanya in course of his pilgrimage. There he found numerous sages engaged in austerities and penance. All of them were delighted to find Sutji in their midst and considered it as a God sent opportunity to get their doubts related with religious topics cleared. Sage Shaunak was…
Dattatreya had wonderful parents: the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya. Dattatreya was an incarnation of Vishnu according to some Puranas. Why did Lord Vishnu incarnate as Dattatreya? The Brahmanda Purana traced the story back to a hermit named Ani-Mandavya who meditated under a vow of silence. In pursuit of…
Sanatkumar says: “O Narada! A fast on Ekadashi (eleventh day) in both the phases of a month pleases Sri Hari and fulfills all the desires. On the eleventh day of each phase, one should not dine. Those who dine on the eleventh day commit severe sins. Salvation from sins like…
Yayati’s eldest son Yadu had four sons- Sahastrajit, Kroshtu, Nala and Nahush. Sahastrajit had a son Shatajit who had three sons Haihaya, Hehaya and Venuhaya. Lineage of Haihaya grew as- Dharma, Dharmanetra, Kunti, Sahajit, Mahishman, Bhadrashrenya, Durdabh and Dhanak. Dhanak had four sons- Kritveerya, Kritagni, Kritdharma and Kritauja. Kritveerya had…
Because of Bhrigu‘s curse, Vishnu had to be born several times on earth. These are known as avataras (incarnations). The Vayu Purana now catalogues Vishnu‘s ten incarnations. These are as follows. (1) Matsya or fish. (2) Narasimha or half-man and half-lion (3) Vamana or dwarf. (4) Dattatreya, the sage. (5)…
There used to be a king named Kritavirya and Kritavirya‘s son was known as Kartavirya Arjuna. Arjuna performed tapasya for thousands and thousands of years. Through this meditation, he pleased the sage Dattatreya and obtained four wonderful boons from the sage. The first boon gave Arjuna a thousand arms. The…
The king Parikshit asked, ” O Lord, kindly relate to me the knowledge (Vaishnavi Vidya) by the power of which Devraj Indra easily defeated the demons.” Shukdev says, ” Parikshit now I am telling you about the knowledge that was once taught to Indra by Vishwrup. So listen to it…