It is twice the area of Kusha dweepa. It has seven prominent mountain ranges–Kraunch, Pavan, Devavrit, Devishtha, Devanand, Govind and Pundareek. There are also six prominent rivers flowing in this island–Gauri, Kumudwati, Ratri, Manojava, Khyati and Pundarika. Kraunch dweepa is surrounded by an ocean of charified butter (ghee) on all…
Telling about the origin of this stotra, Sutji said–‘Lord Shiva had created this stotra praising the glory of Lord Nrisinha and invoking him to protect the world from the wrath of Matrikas. The stotra goes as follows — Namastestu Jagannath Narsinha Vapurdhar; Daiteshwar Endra Sanharinakha Bhukti Virajit. Nakh Mandal Sambhinna…
Prithvi requested Lord Varaha to describe about the mistakes committed during shradha rituals and how they could be prevented– Lord Varaha replied—It is a grave sin to partake of a meal meant for the soul of the deceased person. Anybody who has committed this sin should atone for his sin…
Lord Varaha told Prithvi about the greatness of Gokarna tirth- “Long long ago there lived a vaishya named Vasukarn at Mathura. Sushila, his wife was deeply religious but inspite of that she was issueless. One day, she had gone to take her bath in river Saraswati where she found many…
Lord Varaha told Prithvi- “There is a region inhabited by mlecchas, situated at the distance of some 30 yojans. This region is surrounded by Himalaya mountain in its central as well as southern parts. Lohargal tirth is situated near this region and is well protected by nature which makes it…
Describing the holiness of Kokamukh tirth, lord Varaha narrated a tale to Prithvi-“Once a fisherman was trying to catch a large fish in a lake situated at Kokamukh. Suddenly a hawk which was flying in the sky, descended down and after picking the fish in its beak tried to fly…
Once, Sage Shaunak asked Sutji about the reasons behind man’s sorrow. Sutji told him that man’s ego and his attachments to this mortal world were the two most important causes for his sorrow and until he gets rid of them he will continue to suffer. Sutji said-‘ The ‘tree of…
This appendix to the Mahabharata is said to be authored by Vyasa, as indicated in the Adi Parva (2.83-84) of the Mahabharata. The Harivamsa consists of glorifications of Vishnu and has about ten thousand verses. It is a rich source for the myths about the childhood of Krishna, as well…
In the Epics kings could be as great as gods. One such king was Haritasva, king of Ayodhya. He was greatly accomplished in the arts. He surpassed the sage Narada and the goddess Sarasvati in music. He pleased Brahma with his music and put Vishnu to sleep. Once Siva was…
Giving the reasons that lead to the great battle of Mahabharata, Lord Brahma told sage Vyasa that Sri Krishna had planned this great battle and executed it to perfection to relieve the earth from the burden of tyrants. While giving the names of lineal ascendants of Kauravas and Pandavas, he…
This austerity commences on the eighth day of the bright half of the Hindu month-bhadrapad. The rituals consist of taking a ‘sankalpa’ on the preceding day (saptami) and worshipping lord Sri Hari on the next day with appropriate rituals. Offerings are made to the sacrificial fire, which usually consist of…
This austerity commences on the third day of the bright half of the Hindu month-falgun and lasts for a year whereby a devotee observes fast on the third day (bright half) of every month that follows. According to the tradition a devotee can either worship ‘Shiva-Parvati’ or ‘Sri Hari- Lakshmi…
Lord Buddha is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The austerity begins on the eleventh day of the bright half of the Hindu month-Shravana. On this day lord Vishnu is worshipped with appropriate rituals and by making offerings of various articles like flowers, fruits, incense, etc. The following…
Varaha dwadashi is celebrated on the twelfth day of the bright half of the Hindu month-magh. This was the day on which Prithvi had been rescued by lord Varaha- the incarnation of lord Vishnu. An idol of lord Varaha is installed on a pot filled with water and worshipped with…
Matsya-dwadashi is celebrated on the twelfth day of Hindu month-Margashirsh. On this auspicious day a devotee should worship lord Matsya- the incarnation of lord Vishnu with appropriate rituals and give charity to brahmins. Prithvi was the first one to observe this particular austerity while she was being abducted to rasatala…
Sage Mahatapa then told king Mahapal about the manifestation of Dharma and the significance of trayodashi- ‘Dharma manifested himself from the right part of almighty God and appeared like a bullock. The almighty God instructed him to protect the mankind from all evils and sins. All the four feet of…
King Hariscandra of Ayodhya was very famous for his commitment to truth and for keeping his promises. Victim of a great magician’s magical powers, Hariscandra represents all righteous persons who have suffered wrongly. Hariscandra lost his kingdom, his wife, and his only son, for the sake of keeping his word….
In the Padma Purana Harimitra had an asrama (hermitage) on the banks of the river Yamuna. A sinner named Vikundala became associated with Harimitra and followed his practice of a ritual bath in the Yamuna. It just happened that he took a bath twice in the Yamuna during the Hindu…
Haridhama was a great sage devoted to Krishna who wanted nothing more than to be reborn near his lord. Consequently, he was reborn as Rangaveni, a female cowherd (gopika or gopi) in Gokula, the cow-tending colony. Thus, Rangaveni was near Krishna, which was the reward for his chanting the Krishna…
Coming from the same root as the epithet Hara for (Siva (hri, to remove), Hari also means “the remover.” There are many minor figures with this name, as well as a number of groups (some of the demon king Ravana’s attendants, a group of devas, and others). Eventually, however,…
Hara (the remover) was an epithet first associated with Rudra and the Maruts, both gods of storm. It had the connotation of death, the destruction that removes all things. By the Epic period Hara referred to Siva, the destroyer. There was a manifestation of the godhead as Harihara, the right…
Lord Brahma then went on to describe the famous tale of Ramayana the mere listening to which absolves a man from all his sins. He began by giving the details of Sri Ram’s lineage and said–‘I (Lord Brahma) manifested from the Lotus originating from the navel of Lord Vishnu. Sage…
Ghosha was mentioned in the Rigveda several times. She was born from a fine lineage of sages. Her grandfather was the maharishi Drigata and her father was Kakshivan. As a child she contracted leprosy, and consequently no one would marry her. Consequently, she studied and practiced great austerities and…
In the Ramayana the tale is told that soon after the Pandava brothers began their forest exile, a rakshasa chief sent his sister, Hidumbhi, to capture them for his dinner. However, Hidumbhi fell in love with Bhima, the strongest and most physical of the brothers. The rakshasa chief came…
King Prajapal asked Mahatapa about the reason why goddess Gauri- the epithet of power, had to take incaranation. Sage Mahatapa replied – “Goddess Gauri manifested from lord Narayan and was offered to Rudra as his consort by lord Brahma. Lord Brahma then instructed Brahma to begin creation but Rudra being…
During Treta Yuga, there lived a king named Prajapal. Once while he was on his hunting spree, he entered into a dense forest. He was delighted to see a dear who started running for its life after hearing the noise. Prajapal let his horse loose in the direction of the…
Prithvi was anxious to know about the effect sage Brihaspati’s discources had on King Vasu as well as sage Raimya. She asked lord Varaha- “What did both king Vasu and sage Raimya do after listening to the preachings of sage Brihaspati?” Lord Varaha replied- “King Vasu was so impressed by…
Fortified with Brahma‘s boon, Taraka started to rule the demons. After some years had passed and after Taraka had raised a strong army, he decided to attack heaven. A huge army of demons was accordingly raised. There were thousands of elephants, horses and chariots in the army. Apart from Taraka,…
Describing the incident which enabled King Priyavrata to attain to heavenly abode Lord Varaha told Prithvi- “Swayambhuva Manu lived during the first kalpa. He had two sons- Priyavrata and Uttanpad. Priyavrata was extremely virtuous by nature. In course of time, he relinquished his throne and after distributing his kingdom among…
There was a danava named Maya. Just as Vishvakarma was the architect of the gods, Maya was the architect of the demons. When the demons were defeated by the gods, Maya started to perfrom very difficult tapasya so that the gods might be defeated. Maya‘s meditation inspired two other…
Sutji, while giving the names of some prominent places of pilgrimage told the assembled sages– ‘The banks of Ganga are considered to be the holiest among all the places of pilgrimage. The holy Ganga, which originates from the Himalayas in the north, ultimately gets merged with the ocean in the…
Sharmishtha was the daughter of Vrishaparva, the king of the danavas. Sharmishtha and Devayani were great friends, until Indra played some mischief. The two friends had gone to bathe in a pond and had left their clothes on the bank. Indra adopted the form of a breeze and mixed…
Pururava was a very strong king who ruled the earth well. He performed one hundred ashvamedha yajnas. The three goals of human life are dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), and kama (that which is desired). These three goals wished to see which of them Pururava revered the most. They therefore adopted…
While describing the chariots of all the nine planets, Lord Vishnu told Rudra–‘ The chariot of Surya deva (Sun) has an unbelievable expanse stretching up to nine thousand yojans. The axle of the chariot is one crore and fifty seven lakh yojans long and wheels are fixed at both its…
Prahlad, being an ardent devotee of Vishnu himself, understood quite well, the desperation with which a devotee seeks his Lord. So he told them– ‘By the grace of Almighty Vishnu, I am revealing to you the name of that sacred place which has remained a secret till now. Kushasthal Puri…
Once, few sages asked Sutji about the means by which Lord Vishnu could be realized in Kali yuga- the era dominated by sin and decaying moral values. Sutji started by describing how Lord Vishnu on seeing the prevalence of sin in Dwapar yuga had to take incarnation as Krishna to…
On being asked by Parvati about the emergence of river Saraswati at Prabhas Kshetra, Lord Shiva narrated the following tale to her-‘The holy Sarswati flowing in Prabhas kshetra constitutes of five different streams – Harini, Vajrini, Nyanku, Kapila and Saraswati. Lord Vishnu once instructed Saraswati to carry ‘Badwanal’ (Submarine fire)…
Once, while describing the origin of Puranas, Sutji told the sages who had assembled at Naimisharanya–‘Lord Shiva had first revealed the contents of Skanda Purana to Parvati at Kailash Mountain. Lord Brahma and few other deities were also present there at the time when Shiva was narrating the tale. Subsequently,…
Sutji once narrated the following tale to the assembled sages- In ancient times there lived a mighty king named Trishanku. He belonged to Suryavanshi dynasty. One day, he asked Sage Vashishtha whether there was any such Yagya by performing which, he would be entitled to go to heaven with his…
Lord Shiva requested Vishnu to shed light on different topics like Sarga (world), Pratisarga, Vansh (dynasties), Manvantar (fourteenth part of Brahma’s day) and Vanshanucharit (genealogy). Lord Vishnu replied–‘O Rudra! Lord Vasudeva in his incarnation of Nara-Narayan performs his responsibilities of the creator, protector as well as the annihilator. Each particle…
―I will now tell you about Daksha and Sati,‖ Lomaharshana told the sages. Daksha had a daughter named Sati who was married to Shiva. Daksha did not like his son-in-law at all. When he organized a yajna, he did not invite Shiva to attend the ceremony. But Sati went to…
Vaisvasvata Manu‘s eldest son was Ila. When Vaivasvata Manu became old, he retired to the forest. Ila was appointed the ruler in his place. Ila set out on a voyage of conquest and travelled throughout the world. There was a forest named Sharavana, frequented by Shiva and Parvati. Shiva had…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Sage Lomesh eulogizes the virtues of Shivaratri in the following words–‘The fourteenth day of the dark half of a month is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva and is famously known as ‘Shivaratri’. It destroys all the sins committed by a man. Sage Lomesh then narrated a tale, which…