Agni story on how to Pray & Build Temples and Idols The Agni Purana next has several chapters on how to pray and on how to build temples and idols. The techniques of praying to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya and the other gods and goddesses are described, including the special mantras…
Agni told Vashishtha the story of the fish incarnation. Many years ago, the whole world was destroyed. The destruction in fact extended to all the three lokas (worlds) of bhuloka, bhuvarloka and svarloka. Bhuloka is the earth, svarloka or svarga is heaven and bhuvarloka is a region between the earth…
Once, goddess Parvati expressed her desire to know about all the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Lord Mahadeva replied– Lord Brahma had created numerous Prajapatis like Bhrigu, Marichi, Atri, Daksha, Kardam, Pulastya, Pulaha, Angira and Kratu. Marichi was the father of Kashyapa. Sage Kashyapa had four wives–Aditi, Diti, Kadru and Vinta.Aditi…
According to Suta, all the Puranas are nothing but the mediums through which Sri Hari manifests himself—Brahma Purana is said to be the forhead of Sri Hari, Padma Purana is said to be the ‘heart’ of Sri Hari, Vishnu Purana is said to be the ‘right arm’ of Sri Hari. Shiva…
Once, sages requested Suta to describe about the most prominent places of pilgrimage situated in Bharatavarsha. Suta commenced his narration by describing the origin of creation and then switched over to the geographical characteristics of Bharatavarsha. Suta said—‘There are seven prominent mountain ranges in Bharatavarsha–Mahendra, Malay, Sahya, Shaktiman, Rikshavan, Vindhya…
The term avatara is usually associated with divine incarnations, especially the ten incarnations of Vishnu. But there were lists with as many as twenty-six incarnations. The ten avatars, dashavatara (dasha, “ten,” and avatara, “incarnations”), were Matsya the fish, Kurma the turtle, Varaha the boar, Narasimha the lion-man, Vamana the brahmacari…
It is one and half mile away from the temple. Ttis is very deep and we can find number of fishes. Hence it is being called matsyateertha. This is the place where the Avabratha of sri subrahmanya swami takes, the devotees do not fall to take bath here.
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…
India is a holu place where there are follow-ers of different religions. Still there is unity amongthem. Our Culture is rich one. One can very wellunderstand the attitude of Indians through thesereligions. Even foreigners are also amazed to lookat this fantastic culture. Karnataka is 8th largest state in the nation….
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…
Vyasa is more properly referred to as Veda Vyasa since the name was a common one, meaning “arranger,” or editor. Veda Vyasa was said to have edited the four Vedas and authored the Puranas and the Mahabharata. Accomplishing all that would require a human who lived several thousand years,…
Markandeya says- ‘Bhadrashva Varsh is situated towards the east of the great mountain Devakut. Five more mountains are situated within its area- Kauranj, Shwetaparna, Neela, Shaiwal and Parnashalagra. Bhadrashva consists of thousands of Janpadas. Numerous rivers like Sita, Shankhavali, Bhadra and Chakravarta flows there. People living in Bhadrashva Varsh are…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! How does Sri Hari live in the form of a tortoise?’ Markandeya replied- ‘Sri Hari in the form of a tortoise sits facing east. States situated in the central portion of his body are Vedi, Madra, Mandavya, Shalva, Khasa, Saraswat, Matsya etc. States which are…
Vishnu rose from a minor role as a solar deity in the Rigveda to one of the Hindu Triad with Brahma and Siva to the Absolute of the universe in Vaishnavism. Vishnu’s willingness to incarnate in time of need to restore righteousness (dharma) was the inspiring theme that made…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! Please describe about Bharatavarsha.’ Markandeya replied- ‘Bharatavarsha is surrounded by oceans on all its three sides. People living towards the east of Bharatavarsha are known as Kirat while people living towards the west are called Yavan. The central part of Bharatavarsha is inhabited by all…
Vaivasvata Manu is the “first man” of the current manvantara (age or era). In the Rigveda there were references to Father Manu, implying that he was either a creator or a progenitor of the human race, but this reference seemed to refer to the sun god Surya….
Vac means “word” and “song,” as well as being the name of an early Vedic goddess. Vac refers to both speech and speech-consciousness. Vac enters into the seers (rishis). A Rig Vedic hymn to Vac stated that all actions and powers were grounded in speech. It was the primordial energy…
Tantra has had many meanings: a class of literature (the Tantras), practices that are non-Vedic (tantrika), one of the religious sects of Hinduism. There is no single word in Sanskrit for Tantrism as a religious perspective, even though its additions to the Hindu tradition make it quite distinctive. Tantrism can…
Satyavati was the mother of the great sage Vyasa. However, her story is quite interesting, as well as complicated because of all the nested elements. She was born of a fish who had been cursed, given to a king but returned because of her smell, named three times, and…
The Sapta-Nagas were Ananta, Takshaka, Karka, Padma, Mahapadma, Sank- haka, and Gulika. Iconographically, they all wear the sacred thread of a brahmin, have an extended hood, and may have multiple heads.SAPTA-RISHIS The collective name of the seven most important sages There were seven Sages (sapta-rishis) at the beginning of the…
Matsya avatar story in english King Parikshit asked: ‘O Gurudev, Lord is omnipotent. Why did He then take Matsyavatar like an ordinary being bound by karma? I want to hear the tale of God’s Matsyavatar.’ Shukdev said: ‘O Parikshit, God is one. Still for the preservation of His devotees, He…
Pulastya says- “After the departure of Prahlada on his pilgrimage, Bali desirous of performing a Yagya went to Kurukshetra. Shukracharya had invited the descendants of sage Bhargava to supervise the proceedings of Ashwamedha Yagya but his decision was not approved by the descendants of some other sages like Atri, Gautam,…
There are many versions of the myth of Matsya in the Puranas, with many interesting paradoxes and twists in the story line. Even the names of principle characters change. But the essentials of the myth speak of an avatara of Vishnu coming down to earth at the end of…
Lomaharshana completed his recital of the Matsya Purana. This text is exceedingly sacred. A person who reads even one chapter of the text goes to heaven and all his sins are forgiven. The sages thanked Lomaharshana and departed.
Veda Vyasa in Mahabharata Veda Vyasa had appeared in Dwapar Yuga. He was the son of Maharshi Parashar and Satyawati then known as Matsyagandha. Vyasa was a partial incarnation of the God. Veda Vyasa effected a division of Vedas, created Puranas conceptualized history (Mahabharataa-which was actually jotted down by none…
Kali (strife) was the personification of evil (adharma), as well as the worst throw in a game of Indian dice. He could also be called the god of sin and of bad luck. Kali was born as the fifteenth of sixteen sons of Kasyapa and his wife Muni. In an…
In the Pancavimsa Brahmana the story is told that four devas began a sacrifice (yajna) with the agreement that the offering (havirbhaga) would be shared equally. They were Agni, Indra, Vayu, and Yajna. But Yajna stole the offering and drove the others away with a divine bow given by…
Matsya-dwadashi is celebrated on the twelfth day of Hindu month-Margashirsh. On this auspicious day a devotee should worship lord Matsya- the incarnation of lord Vishnu with appropriate rituals and give charity to brahmins. Prithvi was the first one to observe this particular austerity while she was being abducted to rasatala…
Once, when lord Vishnu awakened from his yoga nidra, he found that the Vedas had submerged in the ocean as the result of Pralaya (deluge). He incarnated as matsya (fish) to retrieve the Vedas from the ocean-bed. As soon as lord Matsya entered into the ocean, He attained such an…
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…
Lomaharshana now gave the sages a list of the eighteen mahapuranas. In the beginning, there was only one Purana. The sage Vedavyasa divided this original Purana into eighteen mahapuranas. The mahapuranas have four lakh shlokas all together and their names are as follows. (i) The Brahma Purana: This was originally…
Once, while describing the origin of Puranas, Sutji told the sages who had assembled at Naimisharanya–‘Lord Shiva had first revealed the contents of Skanda Purana to Parvati at Kailash Mountain. Lord Brahma and few other deities were also present there at the time when Shiva was narrating the tale. Subsequently,…
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…
Ganessa’s mythology came to be nested within that of Ssiva and Parvati. The theriomorphic past, where animals are gods, has been sufficiently sanskritized and brahmanized for Ganessa, with all his associations as Ganapati, leader of the dwarf demons of Ssiva, to become pan-Indian, losing ancient tribal and regional origins….
Narrating about the life of Sage Veda Vyasa, Suta said to the sages- “Once while sage Parashar was on his pilgrimage, he arrived at the bank of Yamuna. Satyavati, who emitted the smell of fish, helped him cross the river. Sage Parashar was very pleased with her. He transformed the…
There used to be a king named Vaivasvata Manu. He was the son of the sun-god Vivasvana. When it was time for Manu to retire to the forest, he handed over the kingdom to his son Ikshvaku. Manu then went to the foothills of Mount Malaya and started to perform…
There was a forest known as Naimisharanya. Many years ago, several sages organized a yajna (sacrifice) in the forest. After the sacrifice was over, the assembled sages told Lomaharshana.―You have recited to us many Puranas. These accounts are so sacred that we would like to hearthem once more. Please satisfy…
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)…
The sages requested Lomaharshana, ―Please tell us how the sacred Vedas came to be divided.‖ Lomaharshana recounted the following story. When dvapara yuga arrived, Brahma noticed that people were becoming evil and were no longer paying sufficient attention to the Vedas. They were gradually deviating from the righteous path. Brahama…
Vasudev, the son of Shoorsen was married to Devaki, the daughter of Devak. On that occasion of their marriage, Devaki’s cousin Kansa was driving their chariot. At that time, a celestial voice declared that the eighth son of Devaki would kill Kansa. Kansa in the excitement was ready to kill…
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…
Sage Jaimini, a disciple of Veda Vyasa, effected branches of Samaveda. Sage Jaimini had a son, Sumantu. Sumantu in turn had a son, Sukarma. Both of them studied a branch of Samaveda each. Sukarma divided his branch of Samaveda into sub-branches and taught them to his two disciples- Kaushalya Hiranyanabh…