Kapila, the historical founder of the Samkhya school of philosophy (dars’ana), lived long enough before the Epics and Puranas only to have his name be coopted and given a set of myths. In the Puranas Kapila became a master yogi as well as a master magician. He was said to…
In the Rigveda Kanva was part of Kasiyapa’s family. His father was Medhatithi. Kanva became a teacher with many disciples at his ashrama (hermitage) on the Malini River in the Himalayas. He was credited with writing as many as fifty chapters of the first section (mandala) and the entire tenth…
Kandu appeared in the Vishnu Purana as the archetype of sages who lose their focus. He was called chief of the devajnas (ones who know the divine). His powerful austerities (tapas) caused Indra to worry that Kandu would become more powerful than himself, the king of the gods. So Indra…
Kamadhenu was born of Kasyapa and his wife Krodhavasa. Kamadhenu (desire- fulfilling milk cow) gave milk to the devas (gods), at any time and in any quantity they wanted. She was also known as Surabhi (the fragrant) and Nandini (delight). The family of cattle came from Kamadhenu. (Another source…
There are two versions of Kama’s birth. According to the Mahabharata, Kama is the son of Dharma, who was born from the right breast of Brahma. Dharma had three sons: Kama, Sama, and Harsha. All were very handsome like their father. According to Kalika Purana, Kama was born from the…
Veda Vyasa in Mahabharata Veda Vyasa had appeared in Dwapar Yuga. He was the son of Maharshi Parashar and Satyawati then known as Matsyagandha. Vyasa was a partial incarnation of the God. Veda Vyasa effected a division of Vedas, created Puranas conceptualized history (Mahabharataa-which was actually jotted down by none…
The story of Kakshivan is quite fragmentary, with some pieces quite ancient mixed with pieces from later mythology. Kakshivan was born according to a custom by which a priest would be requested to give the king a child by his childless queen. King Kalinga was without an heir. He…
King Kakshasena, praised as an examplar in the Mahabharata, was the son of King Parikshit and grandson of King Avikshit. Kakshasena achieved an honored place in Hindu mythology because of his generous support of the priesthood. The lists of such donors included great kings of the epic period: Shibi, Pratardana,…
There are two versions of the origin of Kaitabha and his brother Madhu. The version in the Puranas said that Madhu and his brother Kaitabha were born from the earwax of Vishnu. Vishnu was ending his cosmic sleep reclined upon the serpent Sasha (also called Ananta) floating on the…
Jarasandha, mighty king of Magadha, was born by double magic, first from a brahmin and second from a giant demoness (rakshasi). His parents had been childless. They enlisted the sage Kakshivan (some texts say Candakaushika) to help. As the sage meditated, a mango fell in his lap. He gave…
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…
Hanuman expanded the notion of the divine, perhaps more than any other being in Hindu mythology. He appeared as an agent governed by dharma like any human, yet while in an animal form he was divine. The myths of his birth from the elements of the gods, usually of Siva…
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…
This class of gods appeared first in the Vedic period. They were sky beings, associated with the preparation of soma. The Atharvaveda said that there were 6,333 gandharvas. They liked mortal women and sported with them, using their powers to shape-shift and fool all but the most disciplined of…
In the Mahabharata, Gandhari had the quite traditional roles of daughter, wife, and mother. Even though her sons, the hundred Kauravas, proved to be on the wrong side of righteousness, she was an example of one who practiced sva- dharma, meeting the requirements of her caste and of the…
Most Hindus see Ganapati as an alternative name for Ganessa, the elephantheaded son of Siva. Ganapati, literally “father of the ganas (groups),” was a title or concept that first appeared in the Rigveda. During the Vedic period ganas were the metrical groups, each of which had three syllables. The…
Draupadi was the princess of Pancala (thus her name Pancali) who held a contest to choose her own husband (svayamvara). Arjuna competed in disguise because he and his brothers had been exiled from their kingdom of Ayodhya. Arjuna, son of Indra and Kunti, won the contest and took her away…
The myths about Dirghatamas’s parentage varied widely; he was described as a son of Kasi-raja (according to the Mahabharata), of Uchathya (in the Rigveda), and of Utathya by Mamata (in the Puranas). But this brahmin came to be seen as having fathered a line of kings, so he inherited much…
(1) A deva (god) In the Vedas, Dharma was a metaphor, a personification of duty. In later periods, however, Dharma was presented as a minor deva. Dharma was said to be born from the right nipple of Brahma, the creator. In the Mahabharata Dharma was given three sons: Sama,…
This is an example of a myth about a priestly curse that explains the bad fortune of a king and a kingdom. Such a myth served as an advertisement of the powers (siddhis) of brahmins and their ability to bless or curse. This late story in the Vamana Purana referred…
Women magicians were not given much of a role in nonsectarian Hindu mythology. The magicians known for their country and mentioned in the Mahabharataas the Kshudrakas were one exception. They came to the aid of Duryodhana and the Kauravas. Bhishma even had the Kshudrakas attack Arjuna. In another incarnation…
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…
Bhima (the terrible) was the product of his mother’s union with Vayu, the wind god. (For more details see Kunti.) Bhima had a terrible temper but was courageous and a great warrior. He was the Pandava brother with the most strength and appetite. He would eat half of the…
Daksha‘s descendants have already been mentioned in the section on creation. The Vayu Purana now gives an account which is, in certain respects, contradictory to the earlier account. Daksha married Asikli, the daughter of Virana, Daksha and Asikli had a thousand sons named the Haryashva. But the sage Narada persuaded…
King Adhisima Krishna (alternatively, Asima Krishna) ruled the earth well. During his reign, several sages organized a yajna (sacrifice) on the banks of the sacred river Drishadvati. The river flowed through the region that was known as Kurukshetra. The sacrifice went on for a very long time and the sage…