This myth is nested within several other myths within the Mahabharata. There was a devout worshipper of (Siva who has been promised a son but could not produce one himself. His daughter, Princess Citrangada, succeeded in bearing a son by the hero Arjuna, who is given this reason for…
This little story has great popular appeal. One even finds it alluded to or even added as a scene within modern Indian films or video serials. According to the Bhagavata Purana Chitralekha had an unusual ability to draw portraits. She drew one from an account of a dream that Usha,…
This nested myth within a myth begins with a king and queen being granted a child; they then gain the blessing of becoming gandharvas (celestial musicians), but the story ends with the king cursed to become a demon. According to the Bhagavata Purana King Citraketu and his queen had…
These were the seven beings who did not have to experience death. Hanuman was one among the ciranjivis. The other six chiranjivis were Asvatthama, Mahabali (Bali), Vyasa, Vibhishana, Kripa, and Parasu-Rama. Accordingly, they are all still alive in this creation and perhaps will be in all others.
After the churning of the ocean had been accomplished, numerous things had emerged out from the ocean. Jewels, Moon, Lakshmi, Poison, Uchchaishrava horse, Airavat elephant, Vessel containing Nectar were some of the things which emerged out from the ocean after the churning. A tremendous battle was fought between the deities…
The brahmin, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra castes originated from the body of Brahma, according to the Rigveda. The later purusha (cosmic man) myth posited their origin from the self-sacrifice of the “first man,” god creating by self-division. By the late Vedic period four castes, instead of three, and a…
