Once, on being asked by sage Bhardwaj and few others about the grandeur of Ayodhya, Sutji replied–‘Ayodhya, a sacrosanct city is based on the bank of river Saryu. It is the very city where the famous king Ikshavaku ruled once upon a time. The term Ayodhya means unconquerable and consists…
Continuing with his tales, Sutji said–‘ Once, king Ambarish asked Narada about the reason why Lord Vishnu had special liking for the Hindu month-Vaishakh. Narada’s answer was that Vaishakh had been given special privilege by Lord Brahma himself and is believed to fulfill all the wishes of a man. No…
Continuing with the description of the significance of various months, Sutji said– ‘Once, while Lord Vishnu was engrossed in his ‘yoganidra’ at Shwetdweepa, Lord Brahma arrived there and requested him to describe the importance of Margashirsh. Lord Vishnu had told him that a devotee aspiring for unification with him, must…
Once, on being asked by some sages about the significance of the Hindu month- Kartik, Sutji narrated the following tale– ‘Once, Narada had asked Lord Brahma the same question. At that time Lord Brahma had revealed to Narada that ‘Kartik’ was supreme among all the months just as Lord Vishnu…
Kartikeya asked Lord Shiva–‘How did this sacrosanct place originate? Who is the presiding deity of this place?’ Lord Shiva replied–‘Badrikashram is an eternal city and Lord Narayan is its presiding deity. A mere sight of Badrikashram is enough to free a man from all the bondage of life. There are…
Once, Sage Shaunak asked Sutji about the means, which enabled human beings to attain salvation in Kali yuga. Sutji recounted a tale — ‘Once, Kartikeya had posed the same question to Lord Shiva. Emphasizing on the importance of pilgrimages, Lord Shiva had told him that in Kali yuga anybody could…
Dwelling on length about the auspicious days on which Rath Yatra should be taken out, sage Jaimini told the assembled sages–‘The combination of ‘Teej’ falling in the month of Vaishakh (bright half) and Rohini nakshatra, is considered to be extremely auspicious. A king should get constructed three chariots on the…
King Indradyumna was anxious to get performed the rituals of consecration as soon as possible, so he asked Narada–‘I am not aware of the proper rituals that are employed in the consecration of an idol. I need your help in this regard.’ Narada then made a list of articles required…
After the rituals of final yagya ended, Narada advised Indradyumna to perform the rituals of ‘Purnahuti’ to mark the end of Yagya ceremony. Narada then went on to say–‘ A tree is considered to be the partial incarnation (Ansha avatar) of Lord Vishnu for each of his hair that falls…
Sages, who had been listening to the tale narrated by Jaimini with rapt attention till then asked– ‘What did Indradyumna next do after the idol of Lord Nrisimha had been installed?’ Sage Jaimini replied–‘After the idol of Lord Nrisimha had been installed, Indradyumna began making preparations for Ashwamedha yagya. He…
Narada told Indradyumna–‘Now, we should install an idol of Lord Nrisimha near Neelkanth’s temple for this is the very place where you will be performing one thousand Ashwamedh Yagyas in the days to come. So, your first priority should be to get constructed a magnificent temple of Lord Nrisimha. I…
After reaching the temple of Neelkanth-Mahadev, all of them worshipped Mahadev and Durga. They then visited the temple of Lord Nrisimha, situated under a sandalwood tree at the foothills of Neelachal mountain.King Indradyumna was anxiously waiting for the moment he would have a divine glimpse of lord Jagannath. He requested…
Continuing with the tale of Indradyumna, sage Jaimini told all the sages–‘Next morning, Indradyumna and his entourage crossed Mahanadi on boats and reached Ekamrachhetra where they worshipped lord Purushottam. After that they worshipped on their onwards journey and reached Kotishwar Mahalaya where they worshipped lord Tribhuneshwar with appropriate rituals. Lord…
Indradyumna had been waiting for this moment for a long time- the moment when he would get a chance to go on a pilgrimage to Purushottam kshetra. Revealing his great plan to Vidyapati, he said–‘ Now, the time has finally come for me to go on a pilgrimage to Purushottam…
Vishvavasu told Vidyapati–‘ I have heard this prophesy of Indradyumna’s possible arrival at Purushottam kshetra in the near future. Not only that, I have also heard that Indradyumna would become so impressed with Purushottam kshetra that he would settle down there for good after renouncing everything.’ Vishvavasu then requested Vidyapati…
Dwelling in length upon the majesty of Purushottam kshetra, goddess Lakshmi said– Purushottam kshetra resembles a conch in shape and is graced by the presence of lord Shiva. Towards its north is situated a temple of lord Neelkanth. A famous Shivalinga named Kapal mochan is also situated in the vicinity….
Lord Brahma soon after reaching Purushottam kshetra sat down and started meditating. He was so engrossed in his meditation that he remained in that state for a very long time. This resulted into total chaos as Yamaraj found that his power of causing death had no effect on people living…
The Sages asked—‘O revered sage! We would like to know more about Purushottam Kshetra, where there is a majestic wooden idol of Lord Vishnu.’ Sage Jaimini replied–The sacrosanct place of Purushottam Kshetra is graced by the presence of Lord Jagannath. During ancient times, Lord Varaha had rescued Prithvi from the…
Describing how Vayudeva had once assured Anjana that he would take birth as her son, Sutji told the sages—Anjana, being issue less even after a long married life, decided to do penance in order to beget a son. Sage Matang advised her to go to Akashganga teerth where her wishes…
All the sages then requested Sutji to tell about some other places of pilgrimage situated on Venketachal mountain. Sutji replied—There are about one hundred and eight holy places situated on Venketachal mountain. Among all these holy places, six are considered to be capable of bestowing salvation– -Swami pushkarini, Akash ganga,…
Sutji narrated a tale to all the assembled sages–During ancient times, a brahmin named Ramkrishna did an austere penance at Venketachal mountain. He remained immobile during the entire course of his penance resulting into the development of mole hills all over his body. Indra was scarred by Ramkrishna’s penance and…
Once, Sutji narrated the tale of king Parikshit to all the assembled sages—Parikshit ruled over Hastinapur. One day he went into a forest on a hunting spree. He saw a deer and managed to injure it with his arrow. But the injured deer disappeared from his sight. Parikshit chased the…
Continuing with the tale, Lord Varaha said– One day, while Padmavati and her companions were playing in the garden, they saw an equestrian approaching them. He held a bow and arrows in both his hands. The stranger asked all the girls whether they had seen a wolf. Apparently the stranger…
Lord Varaha then narrated the tale of Padmavati’s manifestation to Prithvi. He also revealed to her that Padmavati was the reincarnation of Vedavati and had manifested so that she could become his (Vishnu) consort.Lord Varaha said—Once upon a time there lived an emperor named Akash. One day he ordered his…
On their way, Prithvi requested Lord Varaha to reveal the sacred mantra, chanting of which makes him pleased. Lord Varaha said–‘The secret mantra that pleases me to no limits is —Om Naham Shrivarahay Dharanyu Uddharnay Swaha. This mantra is capable of liberating a man and also brings all sort of…
Sutji then narrated the tale of Lord Varaha to the sages, which he had heard from Sage Vyasa— Once, while Narada was wandering about, he reached Meru mountain where he saw the abode of Lord Brahma. He also saw a giant sized entity, just next to Brahma’s abode. The person…