You already know what a manvantara is. The titles of the seven great sages (saptarshi), the names of the gods and the title of Indra change from the manvantara to another. In the present kalpa (cycle), six manvantaras have passed. The first Manu was Svayambhuva. The second Manu was…
It is hoped that you have not forgotten that Svayambhuva Manu had a son named Priyavrata. Priyavrata had ten sons. Their names were Agnidhra, Agnivahu, Vapushmana, Dyutimana, Medha, Medhatithi, Bhavya, Savana, Putra and Jyotishmana. Medha, Agnivahu and Putra had no desire to rule. They were not interested in material…
The landmass that is present between Himalayas and the ocean is known as Bharata. It has an expansion of 9,000 Yojans. It is populated by the descendants of Bharata. It has seven native mountains- Mahendra, Malay, Sahaya, Shuktiman, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra. Bharatavarsha has nine divisions named Indradweep, Kaseru, Tamraparn,…
GUNANIDHI – THE BRAHMINS’ SON Narada asked lord Brahma, when did lord Shiva make Kailash as his abode and what was the reason of friendship between Shivaji and Kubera. Brahma narrated the following story- – There used to live a brahmin by the name Yagyadutt in Kampilyanagar, who was proficient…
With the desire of creating the world, Brahma produced different kinds of human beings from his different organs. Thus, from his mouth, Brahmins appeared. Kshatriyas appeared from his chest, Vaishyas from his thighs and from his feet, Shudras appeared. Thus, physical body is the greatest means for human beings in…
At the end of the previous Kalpa, when Brahma awakened from his long slumber, he saw all the worlds devoid of everything. With a desire to save the earth from the depth of unfathomable inundation, He took the appearance of Varaha. Entering the water, He reached Patala loka. Seeing Him,…
Daksha was Brahma’s son and had a daughter named Sati. Sati was married to Shiva. Daksha was thus Shiva’s father-in-law. Once Daksha came to visit his son-in-law. But although Shiva worshipped him with all due respect, Daksha felt that he had been slighted. Subsequently, when Sati went to visit…
Shiva was married to Daksha’s daughter Sati. Sati died and was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya and his wife Mena (alternatively, Menaka). Parvati was married to Shiva. In fact, Himalaya and Mena prayed so that they might have the goddess as their daughter. Pleased with their prayers,…
Brahma first created five sons through his mental powers. Their names were Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Kratu and Sanatakumara These five sons became sages and did not have any offspring. Brahma therefore had to create some more beings so that the population of the universe might increase. But prior to that,…
Romaharshana said to the sages who had assembled in naimisharanya, “Many years ago, the great Veda Vyasa had recited the adi Purana to sages. The sages had been delighted to learn the wisdom that was in the great Brahma Purana. Whatever Veda Vyasa had told those sages, I have now…
There are four varnas (classes). Their names are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. The duties of a brahmana are to donate alms, perform tapasya, worship the gods, perform yajnas and study the Vedas. To earn a living, brahmanas are authorized to teach and act as priests at sacrifices. The duties…
Vishnu said that before creation began, there was only water in the universe and Vishnu slept on these waters. When it was time for creation to begin, Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s body. And Shiva emerged from Vishnu’s anger. Lakshmi too was created from Vishnu’s body and took her place by…
Describing the various types of austerities, Lord Vishnu named a few of them– Yama (Restraining Passion)- This particular austerity comprises of ten virtues- Celibacy, Forgiveness, Meditation, Truthfulness, Honesty, Non-violence, Not stealing, Gentleness and Self control. Niyama (Daily Routine)- This austerity stresses the importance of purity: both of the body as…
Years ago, there was a war between the gods and the demons and the gods lost. The gods came to Brahma for advice and Brahma asked them to pray to Shiva. When Shiva appeared before them, the gods said, “The demons have defeated us. Please kill them and save us.”…
There was a city named Pratishthana. A king named Shurasena ruled in that city. Shurasena did not have any sons. After a lot of effort, a son was born to him. But the son happened to be a snake. The king and the queen were mortified at this turn of…
In the Ikshvaku dynasty there ruled a king named Harishchandra. Harishchandra had no son. One day two sages named Narada and Parvata came to visit Harishchandra and told him that he would go to hell if he did not have a son. “How can I obtain a son?” asked Harishchandra….
There was a sage named Atri. Atri performed very difficult tapasya. So difficult was the tapasya that Atri’s energy was thrown up into the sky. The sky could not bear this energy and hurled it down onto the earth. This energy then gave birth to Soma or Chandra, the moon…
A manvantara is an era. There are four smaller eras (yugas) and their names are Satya or Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. Each cycle of Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga is called a mahayuga. A mahayuga comprises of 12,000 years of the…
In Dhruva’s line there was a king named Anga, Anga was religious and followed the righteous path. But unfortunately, Anga’s son Vena inherited none of the good qualities of his father. Vena’s mother was Sunitha and she happened to be the daughter of Mrityu. Mrityu was notorious for his evil…
Markandeya says- ‘The king stopped fighting at the request of Narada. Nabhag married the Vaishya girl. After the marriage, the king ordered Nabhag to follow a Vaishya’s occupation. Nabhag got engaged in activities like animal husbandry and agriculture. With the passage of time, a son was born and who was…
Markandeya says- ‘Nabhag was the son of King Dishta. One day, he saw a beautiful woman who was the daughter of a Vaishya. He was very enchanted by her beauty and wanted to marry her. He went to the Vaishya and expressed his desire. The Vaishya was terrified at the…
Yuvanashva was a king who had a hundred wives but no children. In the Vishnu and Bhagavatam Puranas Yuvanashva went into the forest to seek help from ascetics. Yuvanashva found a group of brahmins who promised him sons if he did a special ritual sacrifice, the Indradaivata yaga. It…
Dwelling on length about the appropriate way of performing ‘Upanayan sanskar’ (Sacred thread ceremony) rituals, Lord Vishnu said–‘A Brahmin child should get consecrated with the sacred thread in his eighth year while a Kshatriya child’s consecration should be performed when he has attained the age of eleven. ‘Upanayan sanskar’ of…
Veda means “knowledge,” but specifically refers to the eternal wisdom of the four collections of hymns, sacrificial rituals, andVayu, the wind, shown riding his vahana, the antelope other sacred texts that are called the Vedas. Along with the four collections (the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads), two…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! Please describe about Bharatavarsha.’ Markandeya replied- ‘Bharatavarsha is surrounded by oceans on all its three sides. People living towards the east of Bharatavarsha are known as Kirat while people living towards the west are called Yavan. The central part of Bharatavarsha is inhabited by all…
Markandeya says that the total area of Jambudweep comprises of one lakh Yojan while the area of Plakshdweep is twice the area of Jambudweep i.e. two lakh Yojans. Similarly, Shalmali is twice the area of Plaksh while Kusha is twice the area of Shalmali. The area of Kraunchdweep is twice…
Markandeya says- ‘Now I am going to tell you about Rudrasarga. One of the eight sons of Brahma started wailing after being created from his (Brahma) body. Brahma asked him as to why he was crying. The crying child requested Brahma to give him a name. Brahma named him as…
Varna means “color”; it refers to a ideal system of four classes or groupings of society—the so-called caste system. Both these idealized classes and the current jati (birth) system of several thousand endogamous groups are translated by the word caste, which probably came into English from Portuguese. Surprisingly, the real…
In Vedic mythology Ushas was the goddess of dawn and the herald of all that was connected with the advent of the sun, Surya, supreme ruler of the heavens. She announced Surya, who brought along with her, light to make the pastures fertile, horses, chariots, wealth, and plenitude. The mighty…
Markandeya says- ‘Brahma on seeing that inspite of all his creations the population was not increasing, he decided to create his Manasputras. These Manasputras were created merely by his wish. Their names were Bhrigu, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angira, Marichi, Daksha, Atri and Vashishta. After this, he first created the ferocious…
Kraustuki then asked Markandeya about the origin of the deities. Markandeya replied- ‘With the objective of creating the deities, demons, ancestors and human beings, Brahma abandoned the part of his physical body in the ocean. The demons originated from the thighs of his abandoned body. Lord Brahma blessed the demons…
Dattatreya says- A person who is unable to see the path of the deities, or the heavenly bodies like- Dhruva, Shukra (Venus), Soma (Moon), or his own shadow or Goddess Arundhati, must understand that his death is near. For those people to whom, the Sun appears without radiance but fire…
Madalasa says- O son! Now, I will tell you the do’s and don’ts for healthy living. Stale cereals, oil and fats stored over a prolonged period of time, items prepared from wheat and barley and food items which is not prepared from pure ghee or milk should not be consumed….
Alarka says- ‘Tell me about the duties of the different classes and stages of life.’ Madalasa says- ‘Donation, study and Yagya, these three are the religion of a Brahmin. Performing Yagya for others, teaching and accepting donation are the three vocations of Brahmin. Donation, study and Yagya are also the…
The story of Taladhwaja was retold to solve a variety of problems—above all, how a sage could remain an ascetic when he had changed genders to marry a king. The solution in the Devi Purana was a kind of popular use of Advaita philosophy in a myth: using a popular…
Surya was a primary deity of the Aryans at the time of the earliest hymns of the Rigveda. The solar cult saw the sun as the most obvious symbol of life, consciousness, and divinity. For some time within each of the first three periods of Hindu mythology, Surya was…
Subrahmanya means literally “favorable to priests,” often used as an invocation to the devas (gods) in Vedic soma sacrifices. Subrahmanya was also the designation for one of three assistants to the Vedic Udgatri priest. However, this beautiful Sanskrit compound was simply appropriated in the Puranas to name Siva’s most frightening…
This entry will focus on Soma as the plant and Vedic drink. For more information about Soma as a deva and as the moon, see the entry on Candra. In the Vedic period Candra, the moon, and Soma, the entheogenic (religious experience-inducing) plant, were connected by associations (bandhus) in the…
Sisupala was the third rebirth of Jaya for his failure to carry out his duty (dharma) as a doorkeeper (dwarapalaka) of Lord Vishnu at Vaikuntha. He was cursed because of that failure, and he played a role in three incarnations of Vishnu. His twin brother Vijaya shared in the original…
The Savitri is also called the Gayatri. It is recited each morning and evening by millions of Hindus. The Savitri is addressed to Savitri (the generator) who in the earliest Vedic lore may have been one of the attributes of the great sun god, Surya. The Savitri was also personified…
Sarasvati is a goddess of primary importance. She is accepted by Hindus as the goddess of learning, the arts, and scholarship. However, Sarasvati’s nature is far more complex and her mythology more interesting than is widely known. Sarasvati, whose name means “flowing” and “watery,” has been associated with an ancient…
The Sapta-Nagas were Ananta, Takshaka, Karka, Padma, Mahapadma, Sank- haka, and Gulika. Iconographically, they all wear the sacred thread of a brahmin, have an extended hood, and may have multiple heads.SAPTA-RISHIS The collective name of the seven most important sages There were seven Sages (sapta-rishis) at the beginning of the…
The collective name of the seven divine mothers—seven (saptan) mothers (matris or matrikas)—has been associated with Siva both in mythology and iconography. The Brahmanical view in the Mahabharata depicted them as destructive female energies responsible for ill fortune and disease and especially attracted to harming children. The mothers were assimilated…
Brahmin says- O son! Tell me, what should I do now? Sumati says- Now, you should become a Vanprasthi and lead a life of a Bhikshu by having control over your senses. You will attain that rare Yoga, which helps a man to unite with the almighty after freeing…
Jaimini says- O great birds, how does a living being take birth? How does it grow in the womb bearing all the pain? How does it grow after taking birth? What happens to the soul after death? How does it experience the fruits of his Karmas? The greatest surprise is…
Swayambhu Manu had two sons- Priyavrata and Utanpad. Utanpad had two wives- Suruchi and Suniti. Suruchi had a son- Uttam while Suniti had also a son- Dhruva. King Utanpad loved Suruchi more than he loved Suniti. One day the king was sitting on the throne. Prince Uttam was playing in…
Sukhdev says, “Parikshit, now I narrate about Chandra dynasty. Many great and pious kings like Pururava had occurred in this dynasty. Chandrama was the son of Atri, the son of Brahma. Budh was the son of Chandrama while Pururava was the son of Budh. Ila was the mother of Pururava….
Sukhdev says, ” Once Shraddha Dev Manu sneezed violently. From his nostrils, a son was born. He was named Ikshvaku. Ikshvaku had one hundred sons. Vikukshi, Nimi and Dandak were the eldest three of them. Vikukshi 1.)Vikukshi :- Once, Ikshvaku sent his eldest son Vikukshi to collect tubers for the…
After being thrown out from his kingdom by Vishwamitra, Harishchandra reached the holy town of Varanasi, which was an abode of Lord Mahadeva. There Harishchandra saw Vishwamitra standing before him. Vishwamitra said- ‘A month has been completed now. Now, give me my Dakshaina.’ Harishchandra said- ‘There is still half an…
Renuka’s story has many troubling elements. She was a princess (and thus a ksatriya) married to the brahmin Jamdagni. She gave birth to an avatara (incarnation) of Vishnu, Parasu-Rama, whom her husband commanded to kill her. She was brought back to life. In one version she was raped by King…