In the Rigveda there were references to Father Manu, implying that he was either a creator or a progenitor of the human race. In the Satapatha Brahmana Manu was known as the first human, father of the race, first to kindle the sacrificial fire, and creator of the social order….
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…
The maid of Queen Kaikeyi was reborn from a previous lifetime as a gandharvi (heavenly musician). Manthara’s sins from that lifetime produced her condition as a hunchback in her birth as the queen’s maid and advisor. Manthara planted the idea in Kaikeyi’s mind to ask Dasaratha to send Sri Rama…
The Skanda Purana says that Mangala (Mars) was born of the sweat of (Siva, which was produced on his forehead when he heard the news that his wife Sati had committed suicide at Daksha’s sacrifice (Dakshayaga). The planet Mars is worshipped as a deity.
In her previous birth, Mandodari had been a celestial damsel (apsara) named Madhura. Madhura went to Kailasa to worship Siva, having observed a special vow, the Somavara vrata. When Madhura reached Kailasa, Parvati, Siva’s wife, was not there. Madhura worshipped and praised Siva. But they were attracted to each…
Mandakarni did austerities (tapas) in a pond for ten thousand years. Indra became fearful that Mandakarni’s tapas would be used to gain a boon that would upset the order of heaven, so he sent five celestial maidens (apsaras) to distract him. The five apsaras did distract Mandakarni. He built…
