Regarding the different stages of liberation, Suta told the sages that there were five stages of liberation capable of freeing a man from the sorrows of this world. 1) Sarupya (Similitude with the Almighty), 2) Salokya, 3) Sannidhya (living in the proximity of the almighty), 4) Sayujya (getting united with…
With the desire of giving liberation to the living creatures of this world, lord Shiva had kept some portion of land on his Trishul after separating it from the rest of Brahma’s creation. The name of this sacred place is Manikarnika. The Shivalinga by the name of Avinukta was established…
There used to live a poor Bheel named Gurudruha. He was very poor. One day finding no food available in his house, he went to the forest to hunt an animal. Unfortunately he did not find any animal which he could hunt. Being hungry, he sat down on the bank…
Once Parvati asked lord Shiva as to which were the austerities when on being performed by a devotee, helps him to attain both worldly accomplishments as well as liberation. Lord Shiva told her about ten austerities connected with his worship and their methods. He said- “On the eighth day of…
Describing about the numerous devotees of Shiva who were famous for their devotion towards lord Shiva, Suta named a few of them like Durvasa, Vishwamitra, Dadhichi, Gautam, Kanad, Bhargav, Brihaspati, Vaishampayam, Parashar, Vyasa, Upamanyu, Yagyavalkya, Jaimini and Garg etc. He also narrated a tale connected with King Sudyumna. Once Sudyumna…
There used to live a brahmin by the name of Sudharma, who belonged to the lineage of sage Bhardwaj. He was a great devotee of lord Shiva. Sudeha was his wife. Sudharma had no son. Sudeha desires for a son. She expressed her desire to Sudharma but he did not…
After Hanuman brought the new that Sita had been held captive by Ravana at Lanka, Sri Rama proceeded towards Lanka with a huge army. After receiving the seashore he faced the problems of crossing over the sea. Sri Rama made a Parthiva linga of Shiva and worshipped it. Lord Shiva…
During ancient times, there lived a demon named Daruk. The name of his wife was Daruka. They used to torment the people living in that area. The residents of that area went to sage ‘Aursh’ and narrated about their miseries and requested him to end this menace. ‘Aursh’ assured them…
The demon king- Ravana did a tremendous penance to please lord Shiva and to get a boon from him. Even after his severe penance when lord Shiva did still not appear, he started offering his heads one by one to lord Shiva. This way he already severed his nine heads…
During the ancient time there lived a famous sage named Gautami. The name of his wife was Ahilya. Once it did not rain for one hundred years as the result of which the whole area was affected by drought. Sage Gautami did a tremendous penance to please Varuna appeared before…
Bhima – the demon, was the son of Kumbhakarna and Karkati. After Kumbhakarna was killed by Sri Rama. Karkati and Bhima went to live at Sahya mountain. When Bhima grew up he asked Karkati about his father. Karkati told him that his father had been killed by Rama. Bhima swore…
Two incarnations of Lord Vishnu by the names of Nara and Vishnu did penance at Badrikasharama. Both of them used to worship the idol of Shiva daily. Lord Shiva used to arrive in his subtle form and accept their offerings without being noticed by them. One day Lord Shiva appeared…
Once, Narada had gone to meet Vindhya mountain. Vindhya was very arrogant in his behaviour. Narada told him that Sumeru mountain was even greater than him and so his false pride had no basis. Vindhya became very dejected and disheartened. He went to Amgreshwar and started worshipping Shiva after making…
There used to live a brahmin at Avantikapuri. He was a great devotee of lord Shiva and used to worship daily. This brahmin had four sons whose names were Devapriya, Medhapriya, Sukrit and Dharmabahu. By the blessings of lord Shiva the brahmin enjoyed a very happy and contented life. After…
Once, under the influence of Sage Narada, Kartikeya had gone to the Kraunch Mountain to do penance. Shiva and Parvati could not bear the pain of his separation for long. Both of them went to the Kraunch mountain to see him. When Kartikeya saw them coming he moved to some…
The moon had twenty seven wives, one of whom was Rohini. The moon loved Rohini very much, which made the rest of his wives very jealous and angry. They went to their father – Daksha and complained about Moon’s behaviour. Daksha went to Moon and advised him to give proper…
Long long ago there lived a brahmin by the name of Dadhichi. His wife to a low caste, though his son – Sudarshan was very learned. The name of his wife was Tukula. She had her husband under total control and influence. Sudarshan had four sons. One day Dadhichi planned…
The sages curiously asked Suta about the purpose with which Parvati had decided to appear in the form of a Vagina. Suta narrated the following tale: “Long long ago, some sages used to do penance in a Shiva temple situated near Daruk forest. One day they went to collect woods…
Describing about Mahabal Shivalinga, Suta said to the sages- “Mahabal Shivalinga is situated at Gokarna area. A devotee who has a darshan of Mahabal Shivalinga on the eighth or fourteenth day of ‘Ardranakshatra falling on Monday, becomes free from all of his sins and attains to the Shivaloka.” Having a…
Once upon a time, there lived a brahmin at a place called ‘Karni’ situated at the bank of river ‘Reva’. When the brahmin became old, he went to Kashi after leaving behind his wife to live with his sons. After sometime the brahmin died. When the brahmins sons came to…
Sage Atri and his wife Anusuya were doing penance in the forest called Kamad, situated near the Chitrakut mountain. Once it did not rain for many days. As a result people living in that area faced a severe drought. Anusuya requested her husband to help out the people from their…
After describing about the twelve Jyotirlinga, Suta mentioned about the various Upalingas originating from them. The Upalinga named Someshwar is situated at a place where the earth meets the ocean. This Upalinga is also known as ‘Antakesh’. The Upalinga originating from MallikArjuna is famous by the name of ‘Rudreshwar’. Similarly…
The deities went to lord Vishnu, after being tormented by the demons. They requested him to annihilate the demons. After assuring them, Lord Vishnu went to Kailash mountain to do his penance. But even his tremendous penance was not enough to please Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu then worshipped lord Shiva…