While describing various means by which a sinner can atone for his sins, sage Yagyavalkya said- ‘ A man is certain to meet downfall and degradation in the following three conditions- if he goes against the instructions given in the scriptures, indulges in prohibited activities and runs after sensual pleasures….
Vishrupa became the second Acharya (teacher) of the gods. He also saw over indulgence of Indra in luscious objects. Vishwarup’s mother belonged to demon clan, so he had some inclination for the demons also. Stealthily, he supplied parts of offerings of the oblations to the demons. Very soon, Indra too…
The Ramayana is one of the two great Epics of Hindu mythological literature. The other is the Mahabharata. The Ramayana was said to have been authored by the sage Valmiki. The Ramayana dealt with the story of Sri Rama and Sita. The Ramayana is divided into two sections, the first…
Parikshit had a miraculous birth. At the very end of the war told of in the Mahabharata, one of the last surviving Kauravas launched the magical weapon of Brahma (a Brahmashira) to exterminate all of the Pandavas, but Arjuna had an equal weapon that he launched to defeat it. However,…
Parasara was born to Saktri and his wife Adrisyanti. Parasara’s father Saktri was eaten by a rakshasa (night-wandering demon) before he was born. So Parasara grew up with an immense hatred for Rakshasas. So this great sage of the sacrificial lore performed a mighty sacrifice (yaga) that began destroying all…
Narayana was one of the four sons of the god (deva) Dharma. Dharma-deva had been born from the breast of Brahma. Dharma-deva married the ten daughters of Daksha. His four sons were Nara, Narayana, Hari, and Krishna. Nara and Narayana became great Rishis (sages) practicing severe penances. They stayed in…
Hiranyaksha in the form of a boar had abducted the earth, Bhumi, and taken her to Patala, one of the netherworlds. On the way his tusks touched Bhumi, and she became pregnant with Naraka. Vishnu came in the form of a boar, Varaha, and killed Hiranyaksha. Vishnu rescued Bhumi and…
Describing about the twelve Jyotirlingas, Suta told the sages:- “There are twelve Jyotirlingas which are as Follows : 1) Somnath in Saurashtra, 2) MallikArjuna in Sri Shail, 3) Mahakal in Ujjain, 4) Amareshwar in Omkar, 5) Kedar in the Himalaya, 6)Bhimashankar at the bank of Bhima river. 7) Vishwanath in…
The king Parikshit requested Shukdev, “O preacher, so far you have related about the way how to overcome attachment for wordily things. Inadvertently, the lliving beings commit some kinds of sins or crimes. O great soul, now kindly tell me the way by which humans can get rid themselves of…
Hearing the tale of Prachetas’ devotion and receiving God’s grace by them, a curiosity arose in the mind of the king Parikshit about self-knowledge and Grihastha Dharma (duties of a married person). He asked Sukhdev, “O Brahmin, Priyvrat was a supreme devotee and self-indulgent. Why did he then live in…
Nara was one of the four sons of the god (deva) Dharma. Dharma-deva had been born from the breast of Brahma. Dharma-deva married the ten daughters of Dak- sha. His four sons were Nara, Narayana, Hari, and Krishna. Nara and Narayana became great ascetics, practicing severe penances. They stayed in…
Even before his birth, Nausha has been proclaimed as the one to kill the demon (asura) that attempted to violate Parvati’s “wish-born” daughter, Asiokasundari. In the Epics and Puranas Parvati had been taken to the most beautiful garden in heaven by Siva in the midst of their love play (lila)….
INDRA DOES PENANCE TO ATONE FOR HIS SINS Pulastya says after being defeated by the demons Indra went to Brahma loka and narrated his woeful tale to him. Sage Kashyapa- his father was also present there. Lord Brahma told Indra that he was reaping the fruits of his evil deeds….
There are many different calculations about just how long a manvantara is—but all agree that it is in the millions of human years. A smaller figure sets the number of years at only 4,320,000, while a larger calculation came to 306,720,000 human years. Each day in the life of Brahma,…
On the celestial mountain were the nine heavenly cities of Brahma, Indra, Agni, Yama, Niritti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, and isana. The abode of Siva, Kailasa, was also placed on Mahameru in Saiva texts. According to the Mahabharata, Mahameru was the king of mountains.
Mahadeva means the great god. It is one of the many titles or epithets of Siva.
The Mahabharata is an epic of enormous proportions—a hundred thousand verses, making it arguably the largest such poem in existence. It has traditionally been said to have been dictated by the sage Vyasa to his divine scribe, Ganesa, who wrote it all down using his single tusk as the…
There is scholarly agreement that there was worship of the male generative organ in the Indus Valley civilization. Both archaeological remains and explicit references to “worshippers of the phallus” in the Rigveda support such an interpretation. However one interprets Siva’s origin—as from the Indus Valley, from tribal religion, within the…
In the Mahabharata Likhita and Sanlcha were brothers, with their asramas (hermitages) next to each other on the banks of the Bahuda River. One day Likhita was hungry and went over to his brother’s asrama and began eating his vegetables. Jsankha discovered the theft and took Likhita before the king….
Pulastya says- “When the Ganas saw Andhak’s army approaching the Mandar Mountain, they made a loud roar, which reverberated through the land and sky. Hearing this roar, Lord Ganesha became apprehensive and went to Mandar Mountain to ask Lord Shiva about the origin of that tremendous roar. Lord Shiva told…
Pulastya says- “When Lord Shiva became aware of Andhak’s imminent attack, he requested Nandi to summon all the Ganas who were more than 700 crores in number. Some of the prominent Ganas like Pashupat, Kalmukh, Mahavrati, Digambar, Maini, Mahapashupat and Vrishabhdhwaj arrived at Mandar Mountain to help Lord Shiva at…
In the meantime, both daughters of Yaksha and the demon arrived at Srikanth Mahadeva temple and engaged themselves in the worship of lord Mahadeva. One day, sage Galav arrived at the temple and was astonished to find two young ladies at such a deserted place. While taking bath, he heard…
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…
Swallowing of Lord Shiva’s sperm had subdued Agni’s radiance. The deities advised him to take Lord Brahma’s help. While he was on his way to Brahma loka, he came across a river named Kutila and requested her to hold Shiva’s sperm. She agreed and requested him to release it in…
Maitreya then related the description of the Manu’s daughters. Manu and Shatarupa had three daughters- Akuti, Devhuti and Prasuti. Akuti was married to a Prajapati named Ruchi. They begot two children a son and a daughter. The son later on came to be known as Yagya Avatar of Lord Narayana,…
Describing the majesty of Prithudak Tirtha, Mahadeva told the deities- “All of you must pay a visit to this sacrosanct place of pilgrimage situated near Sanihitya reservoir. The day on which Moon, Sun and Jupiter unitedly come under Mrigshira Nakshatra is called Akshay Tritiya. You must go to that sacred…
After creating all the movable and immovable living things, Lord Brahma created a beautiful lady. He was so infatuated by her beauty that he expressed his desire to procreate with her help. As a result of this grave sin committed by Lord Brahma, one of his four heads got detached…
Sanatkumar says- “The sacred places of pilgrimage named Shukra Tirtha and Soma Tirtha are situated towards north and south of Sthanu Vata respectively. Daksha Tirtha is situated towards its south and Skand Tirtha towards its west. The sacrosanct Sthanu Tirtha is situated just in between all these four places of…
Lomaharshana completed his recital of the Matsya Purana. This text is exceedingly sacred. A person who reads even one chapter of the text goes to heaven and all his sins are forgiven. The sages thanked Lomaharshana and departed.
The sages then asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Sthanu Tirtha and the importance of Sthanu Vata. They also expressed their desire to know about the reservoir named Sanihitya and how Indra had filled it up with mud. Sage Lomaharshan replied- “Once, Sanatkumar upon being asked by Balkhilya and other…
The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Kamyakvan Tirtha. Lomaharshan replied- “Once upon a time, the sages of Naimisharanya came to Kurukshetra to take bath in river Saraswati. But, since they were large in number, the banks of river Saraswati could not accommodate all of them. In their helplessness,…
The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Vashishthapava Tirtha and about the reason why sage Vashishtha was carried along by the powerful current of Saraswati river. Lomaharshan said- “There was great rivalry between sage Vashishtha and sage Vishwamitra. In course of time, it turned into a bitter enemity. Vashishtha…
Describing about the greatness of Aushanas, the most sacred place of pilgrimage, Lomaharshan narrates the following tale- “During Treta Yuga, Lord Rama had killed many demons while he was in exile. Once, while he was living in Dandak forest, he had severed the head of a wicked demon with his…
The sages requested Lomaharshan to describe about the geographical condition of Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan replied- “There are 7 different forest ranges in Kurukshetra. They are- “Kamyakvan, Aditivan, Vyasavan, Phalkivan, Suryavan, Madhuvan and Sheetvan. Nine rivers flow across Kurukshetra- Saraswati, Vaitarni, Ashga, Mandakini Ganga, Madhustrava, Vasu, Kaushiki, Kaggar and Hiranyavati. Kurukshetra is…
The sages requested Lomaharshan to reveal about river Saraswati’s origin, which flowed in Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan said- “Saraswati originates from Pakad tree (Indian fig tree). She enters Dwaitvan after passing through numerous mountains. While describing about her majesty, sage Markandeya felt that Saraswati was the source from, which everything originated-…
Lomaharshan says- “The shaking and trembling of earth surprised Bali and he enquired about this strange happening to Shukracharya. He was also surprised by the fact that Agni was not accepting the offerings. Shukracharya, after contemplating for a while on this matter, came to know about Vamana’s incarnation. He…
Bali felt sorry for hurting Prahlada’s feelings. He said- “Dear grandfather! My intelligence has been overshadowed by my arrogant attitude. You have done the right thing by cursing me. I am not scared of losing all my prosperity and splendour but your anger is unbearable for me.” Now even Prahlada…
Lomaharshan says- “When Bali saw the demons becoming devoid of radiance and power, he enquired about the reasons from his grandfather, Prahlada. He wondered whether it was a bad omen. Prahlada went into a deep trance and saw the whole earth shaking violently. He also saw high tides rising in…
1. By the inspiration of God and because of imbalance in pious virtues, creation of Mahattatva (the soul) was the first (Mahattatva the soul). 2. From Mahattatva (the soul) originates Ahankar (the ego) which generates five primitive elements (the earth, the fire, the air, the water and the ether), sense…
There are different methods of donating alms. One of the most sacred is known as tulapurusha. In this, a pair of scales is used. The person who is donating the alms ascends on one side of the scales and gold is placed on the other side until the scales are…
Travelling through various pilgrimage places, Vidura reached Prabhas region where he got the news of total destruction of the Kaurvas. The news deeply moved him. In search of solace, he continued to wander from one place of pilgrimage to another place. During his wandering, when he reached the banks of…
One day, king Parikshit went on a hunting excursion. Till noon, he could not find a game. He was feeling restless because of hunger, thirst and fatigue. Searching water and shelter the king reached the hermitage of the sage Shamik. Shamik was in deep meditation so he did not welcome…
Lord Brahma told the deities that he was aware of their plight. He was of the opinion that the mighty Bali could be defeated only by the Almighty himself and nobody else. Lord Brahma said- “You must go to a place called Amrit, which is situated towards the north of…
Lomaharshan told the sages- “Bali was the descendant of Virochan and the son of Hiranyakashipu. After his father’s death, he defeated the deities and drove them out from their abodes. Very soon, all the three worlds were under his control. He was a virtuous king and so were his subjects….
Sukeshi was the son of demon King Vidyutkeshi. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Being pleased by his devotion, Lord Shiva had blessed him with invincibility and gifted him a city, which was situated in the sky. Sukeshi was a virtuous and just king. Once, he had gone…
Lord Shiva had committed a grave sin of Brahmahatya. All his efforts of separating Brahma’s skull from his left palm went in vain. In the meantime, an entity named Brahmahatya appeared before him and entered into his body. Lord Shankar decided to go to Badrikashrama to atone for his sins….
Narada asks sage Pulastya about Vamana incarnation: Vamana Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas written by sage Vyasa. It contains tales pertaining to Lord Vishnu in his Vamana (dwarf) incarnation. Sage Pulastya while giving answers to Narada’s enquiry narrates the tale of Vamana Purana. All the Puranas give glimpses…
This island is twice the area of Shak dweepa. There are seven prominent mountain ranges in this island which are known as ‘Kula Parvatas’— Kumud, Unnat, Drona, Kank, Isha, Mahish and Mandar. There are seven prominent rivers flowing through the various parts of this island– Pratoya, Shiva, Chitra, Chandra, Vidyullta,…
All the sages listened with rapt attention to the description Lord Shiva made of the Almighty Narayan. But, they had few more queries in store, so they asked Lord Shiva– “O Lord of Uma! Please tell us about the expanse of the Earth- the situation of mountains and the prominent…
Once, Janmejay asked Sage Vaishampayan about Yamrajpuri and its location. He also wanted to know as to what should a man do so that he does not have to go there. Sage Vaishampayan narrated the tale of Nachiketa, one of the few blessed persons to have visited Yamarajpuri with his…