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…
Describing about the qualities of an ideal brahmin, Sage Pulastya said— Once, Narada had asked Lord Brahma as to who was worthy of receiving Vishnu’s blessings. Lord Brahma had told Narada that Lord Vishnu showered his blessings on those who engaged themselves in the service of brahmins. 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…
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…
Vichitravirya had two sons. The eldest was Dhritarashtra, born blind. Hence Bhishma crowned the second son, Pandu, as the king. Pandu was a very capable king and ruled the land well. Vichitravirya had a son by name Vidura through a chamber maid. Vidura was an able statesman and a scholar….
Asikni must be ranked among the most fertile of all wives in Hindu myth. The myths only gave her this one dimension. Daksha, an alternative creator to Kasyapa, found that he could not create all of the species from his own mind. So he married Asikni and immediately begat five…
Arjuna’s story was one of the best known in Hindu mythology, yet it is fully intelligible only if one is familiar with the many other stories related to it. It is nested in or overlaps with the story of the great Bharata war, the story of Krishna, the…
“I asked him as to who he was. Vishnu replied that he was the fulfiller of all of his desires. But I replied to him that I only was the creator, nurturer and the supreme soul of this world. Vishnu became angry and said that undoubtedly I (Brahma) was the…
The prince Dhruva greeted the sages and continued on his journey. At last, he reached a beautiful forest Madhuvan on the bank of the river Yamuna. It was the same forest, which was later occupied by a demon Madhu. Shatrughana, the youngest brother of Lord Rama had killed the demon…
When Parvati reached her home, she became very sad as she was unable to bear the sorrow of Shiva’s separation. Sage Narada arrived there. Her father Himalaya narrated the whole story to him Sage Narada then gave the five lettered mantra – “OM NAMAH SHIVAY’ to her and he also…
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…
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…
The sages asked Suta as to how should a devotee meditate on Lord Triyambak following the path of Yoga. Suta then retold the tale which Mandishwar had once narrated to Sanatkumar– The first type of Yoga is called Mantra Yoga. In this type of yoga a devotee tries to attain…
Before commencing the rituals of initiation, the Guru should purify the place where the rites are supposed to be performed. He should make an attar and draw an eight-petalled lotus at its center. He should then establish the various embodiments of Shiva like Aghor, Pranav, Vamadeva, on each of the…
Describing about the greatness of Shadakshar mantra that consists of six letters, Suta said– The sacred mantra — OM NAMAH SHIVAY holds a supreme place among all the mantras. During the Meghavahan kalpa of the first Treta Yuga, there lived a brahmin named Dhoondhmook. He became a licentious person due…
On being asked by the sages about the sacred mantra– the chanting of which enabled a man to attain salvation Suta replied — Lord Vishnu gives salvation to those people who endeavour to seek Brahm– the Almighty God. A man whose mind is preoccupied with the thought of Lord Vishnu…
The Sages asked Suta as to how Dhruva became successful in attaining immortality and supreme status among all the stars. Suta narrated the following tale— There lived a king named Uttanpad, who had two queens–Suniti and Suruchi. The eldest queen Suniti had a son named Dhruva. One day while Dhruva…
On being enquired by Lord Brahma about his various incarnations, Lord Shiva said — “I shall incarnate as Shwet-Mahamuni during first Dwapar Yuga of Vaivaswat manvantar. My abode shell is at Chhogal peak of Himalaya mountain. I shall have four disciples who will be proficient in the Vedas.” “I will…
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 MAJESTY OF PRANAV PANCHAKSHAR The root sounds Akar, Ukar, Makar, Bindu and Nad, which are free from the delusions and which originates from the mother nature are called Pranav. It is of two types:-a)Gross, b) Subtle. (Pranav Mantra OM AND OM NAMAH SHIVAY! It symbolizess the unified power of…
RITUALS OF THE WORSHIP OF SHIVA—SACRED PILGRIMAGES On the request of the sages, Suta describes about the methods of worshipping Shivalinga. He says– “One should construct a Shivalinga either of mud, rock or metal and establish it in such a place where it can be worshipped daily without any hindrance.”…
While doing a mental worship of Shiva, a devotee should worship lord Ganesha by following the ‘Nyas’ mode of worship. After that he should worship various deities related with lord Shiva like Nandi etc. Then he should bring the form of lord Shiva into his imagination and worship him mentally…
Yuvanashva was a king who had a hundred wives but no children. In the Vishnu and Bhagavatam Puranas Yuvanashva went into the forest to seek help from ascetics. Yuvanashva found a group of brahmins who promised him sons if he did a special ritual sacrifice, the Indradaivata yaga. It…
Dwelling on length about the appropriate way of performing ‘Upanayan sanskar’ (Sacred thread ceremony) rituals, Lord Vishnu said–‘A Brahmin child should get consecrated with the sacred thread in his eighth year while a Kshatriya child’s consecration should be performed when he has attained the age of eleven. ‘Upanayan sanskar’ of…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O great sage! Now tell me something about Swarochish Manavantar?’ Markandeya replied- ‘Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin at the bank of river Varuna. One day, a guest arrived at his place. The Brahmin treated his guest with due respect. After formal introduction, the Brahmin…
Madalasa says- O son! Now, I will tell you the do’s and don’ts for healthy living. Stale cereals, oil and fats stored over a prolonged period of time, items prepared from wheat and barley and food items which is not prepared from pure ghee or milk should not be consumed….
In the Epics Sukra was the son or grandson of Bhrigu, the powerful magician who almost killed Agni. Sukra was also known as Kavya. Sukra became the greatest master of magic of his age, but he served the asuras. The devas (gods) sent sage Kaca to learn how he had…
If the mention of the word Siva (auspicious) in the Vedas is considered to refer to Lord Siva, Siva spans all periods of Hindu mythology. No matter when he enters Hindu mythology, Siva is among the two or three most important gods— either as one of the later Hindu Triad,…
Describing the proper way of performing Shraddh rituals, sage Yagyavalkya told the assembled sages–‘A performer of Shraddh rituals should invite able Brahmins and offer them seats of Kusha grass. First of all an invocation is made to ‘Vishvedeva’ by chanting a mantra in his praise, an action which is followed…
Swayambhu Manu had two sons- Priyavrata and Utanpad. Utanpad had two wives- Suruchi and Suniti. Suruchi had a son- Uttam while Suniti had also a son- Dhruva. King Utanpad loved Suruchi more than he loved Suniti. One day the king was sitting on the throne. Prince Uttam was playing in…
In the Vedic period Om became the holiest invocation (mantra) in Hindu mythology and religion. Om was a contraction of the vowels a and u and the anusvara m. In this one sound were encapsulated the conceptions about sound (Vac), about its effectiveness in the Vedic fire rituals, and about…
Pulastya says- “After satisfying Bharadwaj’s curiosity about his different abodes, Lord Vamana left for Kurukshetra where Bali was busy performing his Yagya. As soon as Lord Vamana reached Kurukshetra, the whole earth started shaking violently and high tides rose in the ocean. Being frightened of Lord Vishnu, Agni did not…
During the Vedic period priests intoned verses, some spontaneous but most carefully crafted according to the strict rules that made Sanskrit so precise and difficult to use. These mantras became formulas, which were memorized to make sure that no error was made in pronunciation, grammar, phrasing, accent, pitch, and…
Kunti was the aunt of Shri Krishna, mother of the five Pandavas and a sixth son Karna, and wife of King Pandu. Kunti was a heroine of the Mahabharata. As a child Kunti was given to a royal cousin, King Kuntibhoja, who was childless. She was given responsibility over…
In the Mahabharata war Karna had a divine birth. His mother, Kunti, was the daughter of King Shurasena. As a girl Kunti was in charge of arrangement in the palace for religious rituals. During a period of four months when the sage Durvasa performed rituals for the king, Kunti…
The gods and the demons fought with each other all the time. Brihaspati was the preceptor of the gods and Shukracharya was the preceptor of the demons. Shukracharya knew a wonderful art known as mritasanjivani. This was the knowledge of bringing back dead people to life. Since Shukracharya knew this…
The sages requested Lomaharshan to reveal about river Saraswati’s origin, which flowed in Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan said- “Saraswati originates from Pakad tree (Indian fig tree). She enters Dwaitvan after passing through numerous mountains. While describing about her majesty, sage Markandeya felt that Saraswati was the source from, which everything originated-…
Kakshivatasuta was one of two daughters of the brahmin Kakshivan. Kakshi- vatasuta (also known as Ghosha) contracted leprosy. She had mastered hymn writing and composed a mantra that praised the physicians of the gods, the Asvins. They responded to her praise and cured her. She then was able to marry….
Sutji told Sage Shaunak that the ultimate aim of a man’s life was to attain salvation. A man can not attain salvation until and unless he has seen through the trappings of the worldly illusions. Sutji said–‘Practice of Yoga helps a man to live in this world with a sense…
“A devotee should carefully make a beautiful earthen idol without any sign of crack. The most auspicious time for the installation of an earthen idol is said to be during ‘Shravana nakshatra’. An invocation is made to the deity to dwell within the idol after which ablution of the…
Hiranyakasiipu was a worthy opponent of Lord Vishnu, born repeatedly, which necessitated multiple incarnations of Vishnu to conquer this powerful asura and restore dharma (righteousness) to earth. A demon of this magnitude would have quite a lineage and an appropriate source of his tremendous powers. There was a time…
Prithvi requested lord Varaha to describe the proper methods of installing various types of idols. Lord Varaha replied that a devotee desirous of making a wooden idol must select the wood of ‘Bassia latifolia’ for his purpose. The wood should be purified and then given shape as per the appearance…
Lord Buddha is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The austerity begins on the eleventh day of the bright half of the Hindu month-Shravana. On this day lord Vishnu is worshipped with appropriate rituals and by making offerings of various articles like flowers, fruits, incense, etc. The following…
Haridhama was a great sage devoted to Krishna who wanted nothing more than to be reborn near his lord. Consequently, he was reborn as Rangaveni, a female cowherd (gopika or gopi) in Gokula, the cow-tending colony. Thus, Rangaveni was near Krishna, which was the reward for his chanting the Krishna…
Coming from the same root as the epithet Hara for (Siva (hri, to remove), Hari also means “the remover.” There are many minor figures with this name, as well as a number of groups (some of the demon king Ravana’s attendants, a group of devas, and others). Eventually, however,…
Describing the incident which enabled King Priyavrata to attain to heavenly abode Lord Varaha told Prithvi- “Swayambhuva Manu lived during the first kalpa. He had two sons- Priyavrata and Uttanpad. Priyavrata was extremely virtuous by nature. In course of time, he relinquished his throne and after distributing his kingdom among…
―But what about mritasanyjivani?‖ asked the sages. ―You haven‘t told us how Shukracharya came to acquire this wonderful knowledge.‖ Lomaharshana told them the following story. The gods and the demons fought all the time and the demons were sometimes worsted in these encounters. Shukracharya consoled the demons. ―Do not worry,‖…
Describing how Garuda pleased him with his deep devotion, Lord Vishnu said– ‘During ancient times Garuda once did an austere penance to please me. I appeared before him and expressed my willingness to fulfil anything that he wished for. Garuda wanted to liberate his mother, Vinta from the slavery of…
Yoga means such actions, which after pacifying all the human tendencies helps a man to unite with Shiva. Following are the five divisions of yoga- 1) Mantra Yoga, 2) Sparsh Yoga (union of touch), 3) Bhava Yoga (union by devotion), 4) Abhava yoga (Union without being emotionally attached), 5) Mahayoga…