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…
Lord Rama Story in English Brahma came out of Vishnu’s navel. Brahma’s son was Marichi’s son Kashyapa, Kashyapa son Surya, Surya’s son Vaivasvata Manu, Manu’s son Ikshvaku, Ikskhvakku’s son Kakutstha, Kakutstha’s son Raghu, Raghu’s son Aja, Aja’s son Dasharatha, Dasaratha’s sons were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Since Rama was…
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…
Vamana Avatar of Vishnu in English Prahlada’s grandson was Bali and Bali became very powerful. When he was the king of the asuras, there was a war between the devas and the asuras. The gods were defeated and were driven off from svarga. As always, the gods fled to Vishnu…
Narasimha Avatar story in English Hiranyaksha had a brother named Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was furious to learn that his brother had been killed and the resolved to kill Vishnu. But this could not be done unless h e himself became powerful land invincible. Hiranyakashipu, therefore, began to pray to Brahma through…
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…
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….
Continuing with the divine tales of Sri Krishna, Lord Mahadeva told Parvati–Sri Krishna had 16 thousand queens among whom Satyabhama, Kalindi, Mitravinda, etc. were prominent. King Sattajit had a priceless diamond named–Syamantak, which he had presented to his younger brother–Prasena. Sri Krishna was fascinated by that diamond and demanded it…
Jarasandh was the father-in-law of Kansa. When he learnt about Kansa’ death he surrounded Mathura with a huge army. Sri Krishna was well aware of Jarasandh’s might and bravery. He was also convinced that it would not be easy to defeat Jarasandh. So, he remembered Daruk–his eternal charioteer and sought…
Parvati requested Lord Mahadeva to narrate the divine tales of Vasudeva Krishna. Lord Mahadeva replied–Vasudev was the descendant of yadu. His father was Devameedha. He was married to Devaki–the daughter of Ugrasena.Ugrasena also had a mighty son named Kansa. Kansa was extremely affectionate towards his sister Devaki. After her marriage,…
Describing the coronation of Sri Rama Lord Mahadeva told Parvati–People of Ayodhya rejoiced at the return of Sri Rama. An auspicious day was chosen for his coronation and Sri Rama became the king of Ayodhya amidst the chantings of Vedic mantras. Sri Rama ruled over Ayodhya for one thousand years…
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 various incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Lord Mahadeva told Parvati — Prahlada had a son named Virochan.The most benevolent king–‘Mahabahu-Bali’ was Virochan’s son. Bali had defeated the deities and ruled over all the three worlds. Sage Kashyapa commenced the most austere penance–Payovrata to help the deities regain their lost…
Describing about the grandeur of Vaikunth, Lord Shiva told Parvati–A person who has total devotion in Vishnu attains to Vaikunth after his death. Vaikuntha is the abode of Vishnu and constitutes of numerous Janapadas. The magnificence of Vaikunth is beyond description and it houses many grand palaces fully decorated with …
The sages enquired from Suta about the holiest city situated on the banks of river Yamuna. Suta narrated the tale which Sage Saubhari had once told Yudhisthira—Once, Narada and Parvat were travelling through an aerial route, while they were flying over Khandav forest, they were lured by the beautiful sight…
Once, on being asked by the sages about the greatness of Badrikasharama, Suta narrated the same tale, which Lord Shiva had once told sage Narada — Lord Mahadeva had told Narada that altogether there were one lakh and twenty-five thousand mountains and Badrikashrama was supreme among them. Lord Mahadeva said—…
Sage Valmiki was present in Ayodhya to attend the Ashwamedha Yagya. Sri Rama asked him about the identity of the two children–Lav and Kush. Valmiki said — Sita was pregnant at the time you had abandoned her. I gave her refuge in my hermitage where she gave birth to twins–…
Sri Rama requested sage Agastya to tell about the means by which he could become liberated from the sins of killing brahmins. Sage Agastya advised him to perform Ashwamedha Yagya. He also described the rituals of performing Ashwamedha Yagya— “Get a horse of white colour and after worshipping it on…
Once, Sages requested Suta to describe about Sri Rama’s return from Lanka. Suta narrated the same tale, which Sheshnag had once told Vatsyayan. Sheshnag said–After the killing of demon king Ravana, Sri Rama appointed Vibhishan as the king of Lanka. He then decided to return to Ayodhya on Pushpak-Vimana, which…
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 Narada continued with the description of various holy places and said— “A pilgrim must visit Dharma Tirth, which is named after the lord of death–Dharma. Once upon a time Dharmaraj had performed an austere penance at that place this is the reason why it became famous as Dharma Tirth….
Continuing with his narration, Sage Vashishtha said— A man desirous of going on a pilgrimage should first of all visit Jambumarg, because it is revered even by the deities and the sages. By visiting this holy place a man acquires virtue equivalent to the accomplishment of an Ashwamedha Yagya and…
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…
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, while describing about the importance of a teacher, Lord Vishnu had narrated the following tale to king Vena— Sage Chyavan came from the lineage of Bhargav. Once, he arrived at Omkareshwar with the objective of acquiring knowledge. Since he was tired, he decided to take rest under the shade…
Once, king Yayati went into a forest for hunting. He saw a stag, which had four horns and chased it. The deer led him deep into the forest and then disappeared. Yayati was tired and thirsty. He saw a lake and decided to quench his thirst. First of all he…
King Yayati was the son of Nahush and a descendant of Soma–dynasty. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and had contributed a lot in the propagation of Vaishnava–dharma. Yayati had sent many emissaries in all directions to propagate Vaishnava–dharma. During Yayati’s reign his subject were prosperous and were…
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 about the importance of five virtuous deeds, Pulastya said to Bhisma—“The five supreme virtuous deeds are–obedience to parents, faithfulness towards husband, equanimity, not having enmity towards friends and devotion towards Lord Vishnu. By pleasing his father, one pleases all the deities. Mother is superior even to all the places…
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…
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…
After killing the demons king Ravana, Sri Rama returned to Ayodhya. Many sages had arrived there to bless him on the occasion of his crowning ceremony. Sage Vashishtha was one of them.As Sri Rama was conversing with the sages a brahmin arrived there with the corpse of his son and…
Bhisma requested Sage Pulastya to explain how different entities like the deities, demons and serpents came into being. Pulastya replied—Having failed in his repeated attempts of increasing population by the means of ‘sankalpa’ Daksha Prajapati was left with no option but to take the help of copulative creation. He begot…
On being asked by Bhishma about the origin of the four prominent castes, Sage Pulastya said— Lord Brahma created the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas from his mouth and chest respectively. Similarly, Vaishyas and Shudras manifested from Lord Brahma’s thigh and feet respectively.Lord Brahma had created his ‘manasputras’ with the objective…
This temple is situated in Jogi-Mallavaram, a hamlet to the south of Tiruchanur. It is inhabited by the weaver community which plies a busy trade. There are eleven inscriptions incised on the walls of this temple. The earliest of them is dated in the 23rd year of the reign of…
Tiruchanur, popularly known as Chirtanur, is a village situated three miles to the south of Tirupati. This village was known as liruchchogiitur and Tiruchchukanur in earlier times and one late inscription calls it Srisukagrama. Tiruchchoginur is now represented by the small hamlet of JogiMallavaram, situated about a furlong to the…
This is a small temple situated about two miles to the north of Tirupati town on the eastern bank of the Kapila-tirtham tank which is also known as Alvar-tirtham. There is a pillared verandah on the eastern, southern and western banks of the tank. The Kapilesvara temple is situated above…
As stated before, the two shrines of Krishna or Parthasarathi and Govindaraja are enclosed by four walls and appear like a single shrine. This enclosure contains, in the case of each shrine, a pillared varandah running on the south, west and north and a Mukhamantapa in the east. Within this…
has already been made that the Vaishnava traditions ascribe its building to the great teacher, Ramanuja, about 1130A.D. This date falls within the period of Chola rule. The Chola capitals onthe pillars of the verandah round the main shrine and its mukhamantapa indicate this date: These pillars are similar to…
A large number of inscriptions found in this temple and in the Sri Venkatesvara temple at Tirumala help us to trace the history of this temple. The earliest record, dated in the 19th year of the reign of the Chola king, Rajaraja HI, corresponding to 1235 AD., is incised on…
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…
It is very difficult to determine the date of this temple. There is no direct evidence to help us in this con- nection and any attempt must therefore be based upon inference. Inscriptions found in the temple only refer to its renovation and rebuilding and the addition of later structures…
The main shrine which contains the image of Sri Venkateswara is a complex of structures. It starts with the Garbhagriha at the western end and ends with the Tirumamani- mantapa at the eastern end. Part of this area, ending with the northern and southern wings of the Mukkoti-pradakshinam inside, is enclosed by a…
The shrine of Natasha is in the north east corner of the courtyard built-in a pillared verandah touching the eastern wall of the prakara. There are five pillars on each side and two in the front of this shrine. The pillars on the sides are plain but those in the…
Passing through the entrance of this gopura, one enters the outer courtyard of the temple. Immediately adjacent to and touching the gopura is a small mantapa with two wings, one on each side, and a path-way in the centre. Each wing has two rows of four pillars each. The pillars…
This story is found in the Brahmandapurana and runs as f0llows:- In the Kali age there was a Chola King. One day, he went out for hunt and wandered about killing many animals near the Seshachala. Halting at a place for a little rest, he found a handsome young woman…
The Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord) is one of the most loved scriptures of India. It is pan-Indian, even though its central character, Arjuna, discovered that the driver of his war chariot, Krishna, was the supreme lord of the universe, Lord Vishnu. If this claim were taken literally and…
Bali was present at so many times and places that the mythmakers had to employ one of their greatest discoveries, the various periods of the Manus (manvantaras), a repeating of the cosmic ages each with its own “first man” (Manu). Thus the stories of Bali and his deva (god) opponents…