Kumbhakarna appeared in the Ramayana in a line of rebirths that started in Brahma’s court in heaven (svarga). In that lifetime he had been Vijaya, one of a pair of twin doorkeepers who were cursed for not properly performing their duties. He was reborn as Hiranyakasiipu and killed by…
Kucela was a fellow student with Krishna of the sage Sandipani. They were close friends as students, but lost contact in the following years. Kucela could not provide for his large family, and all were on the verge of starvation. One day his wife sent Kucela to visit Krishna…
The myth of Kubja is embedded within that of Tilottama, an apsara. Kubja either gained liberation from her performance of auspicious rituals, especially the one known as the Magha bath, or was transformed into a beautiful woman by the embrace of Sri Krishna. Kubja was the rebirth of the…
Kubera has been interpreted to be a deva and, as such, the god of wealth. There were several versions of his parentage. In the Atharvaveda Kubera was chief of the spirits of darkness and son of Vaishravana. In the Mahabharata Kubera was son of the grandfather (prajapati) Pulastya, by his…
This is one of the richest Hindu myths. It is a creation myth and also a trickster myth, and it is nested in the Vishnu myth cycle as an avatara (incarnation) myth. It has versions that are pan-Indian and versions that are sectarian (those used to prove the supremacy and…
Six of the wives of the seven sages, known as the maharishis, were suspected of committing adultery with Agni and were cursed to become the Krittikas, star sisters of the Pleiades. Astrological symbolism resides in this myth, giving an idea of what was observable at that time in the heavens….
