The myth of Kamsa is told in a series of nested myths that are an excellent study of karma as a process over many lifetimes. But its primary location is within the Krishna myth cycle, where Kamsa plays a role in Krishna’s nativity and his first great battle with…
Narada asked sage Pulastya as to how Goddess Durga kill Mahishasura. Sage Pulastya replied- “After the killing of Chikshur, Mahishasura sent Namar to fight Goddess Durga. Namar proceeded towards the Vindhya Mountain accompanied by a huge battalion. After reaching there, he shot a volley of arrows towards the Vindhya Mountain….
Sage Narada was curious to know how the demon King Andhak behaved with the deities. He asked Pulastya in this regard. Pulastya replied- “After ascending the throne, Andhak did a severe penance to please Lord Shiva and received a boon according to which he could neither be killed by 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…
Fearing Lord Shiva’s wrath, Lord Vishnu went to Hrishikesh and remained aloof for quite some time. Shiva’s anger generated so much heat that it was enough to melt the eight Vasus. As a result, a river named Sita started flowing from there. After being attacked by Lord Shiva, the deities…
Pulastya says- “This way, both Shiva and Sati lived above the clouds till the end of rainy season. When autumn season arrived, both decided on returning to Mandar Mountain. Daksha had organised a grand Yagya in which he had invited all the prominent deities and sages except his own son-in-law,…
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…
Describing the reason behind the manifestation of ‘Trishakti’ (Three goddesses manifesting from the bodies of Brahma Vishnu and Shiva), Lord Varaha A told Prithvi— There lived a mighty demon named ‘Andhak’ who used to torment the deities. After being driven out of the heaven all the deities sought lord Brahma’s…
There used to be a king named Ashvapati who ruled in the kingdom of Madra. Ashvapati had no sons. He therefore began to pray to the goddess Savitri so that he might have a son. He performed thousands and thousands of yajnas. Eventually the goddess appeared before the king and…
Jambuka’s ascetic practices threatened the very foundations of Rama’s perfect rule as king (ramarajya). Jambuka was a Sudra who had adopted spiritual exercises (tapas) that he was not entitled to practice. Rama had returned from twelve years of exile, and his rule in Ayodhya seemed to fulfill dharma (righteousness)…
Once, Sage Agastya narrated the following tale to King Bhadrashva— One day, Narada went to Lord Vishnu and asked about the means by which a devotee could realize him. Lord Vishnu replied–Those who worship me by chanting the mantras of either ‘Purushasukta’ or ‘Vaidik Samhita’ can certainly realize me. Those…
Narada asked Yamaraj about the reason why joy was so elusive to human beings. He also wanted to know about the reasons for man’s sorrows. Yamaraj replied—Man’s destiny is defined by his own actions. He has to taste the fruits of his actions. He has to taste the fruits of…
Prithvi requested lord Varaha to define the meaning of ‘Pitra’ yagya (rituals pertaining to last rite) and its significance. Lord Varaha replied- “Sage Nimi was the first person to perform the the rituals of pitra-yagya after the death of his son Atreya. Sage Atreya is famous for his penance which…
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…
Lord Vishnu, in his incarnation of Varaha (a boar), had liberated Prithvi (Mother Earth) from the clutches of Hiranyaksha, the mighty demon who had abducted her to Rasatal. After being rescued, Prithvi heaved a sigh of relief and looked at her saviour, who was smiling. She curiously asked lord Varaha-…
Lomaharshana now gave the sages a list of the eighteen mahapuranas. In the beginning, there was only one Purana. The sage Vedavyasa divided this original Purana into eighteen mahapuranas. The mahapuranas have four lakh shlokas all together and their names are as follows. (i) The Brahma Purana: This was originally…
In the beginning, there was nothing in the universe. There was only darkness and the divine essence (brahman). It is impossible to describe the brahman, it has no traits that can be described. When the time came for creation to start, the brahman removed the darkness and divided itself…
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,…
Once, Sage Vyasa requested Sanatkumar to reveal why Ujjainipuri was known by various names like Kanakshringa, Kushasthali Avanti and Padmavati. Sanatkumar replied– ‘Once, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva arrived at Ujjainipuri in search of Lord Vishnu, who had disappeared from his abode. To their pleasant surprise they found Lord Vishnu…
Once, Sage Vyasa narrated the following tale to all the assembled sages– ‘Once, while wandering about, sage Narada arrived at Vindhyachal mountain. He was received with great honour and respect by Vindhyachal mountain. But, when the time arrived for Narada to take his leave, he took a deep sigh, which…
Once, on being asked by Narada about the proper methods of performing Shodash upachar rituals, Lord Brahma said –‘In normal circumstances, when Lord Vishnu is worshipped by employing the rituals of Shodashopachar it is considered as ‘Tapa’. But, when the same rituals of shodashopachar are employed to worship Lord Vishnu…
Once, on being asked by Narada about the importance of Chaturmasya, Lord Brahma said–‘Chaturmasya is the period of four months during which Lord Vishnu is believed to take rest in Ksheer-Sagar. So quite naturally, all the oceans, rivers and ponds are believed to attain divinity due to the presence of…
On being asked by the sages as to how did he come to know about the contents of Garuda Purana, Sutji told them–‘Once, I had gone to Badrikashram, where I met Sage Vyasa. I requested him to enlighten me on various spiritual matters to which he agreed saying that he…
Sutji once reached Naimisharanya in course of his pilgrimage. There he found numerous sages engaged in austerities and penance. All of them were delighted to find Sutji in their midst and considered it as a God sent opportunity to get their doubts related with religious topics cleared. Sage Shaunak was…
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, on being asked by some sages about the significance of the Hindu month- Kartik, Sutji narrated the following tale– ‘Once, Narada had asked Lord Brahma the same question. At that time Lord Brahma had revealed to Narada that ‘Kartik’ was supreme among all the months just as Lord Vishnu…
Kartikeya asked Lord Shiva–‘How did this sacrosanct place originate? Who is the presiding deity of this place?’ Lord Shiva replied–‘Badrikashram is an eternal city and Lord Narayan is its presiding deity. A mere sight of Badrikashram is enough to free a man from all the bondage of life. There are…
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…
After the rituals of final yagya ended, Narada advised Indradyumna to perform the rituals of ‘Purnahuti’ to mark the end of Yagya ceremony. Narada then went on to say–‘ A tree is considered to be the partial incarnation (Ansha avatar) of Lord Vishnu for each of his hair that falls…
Sages, who had been listening to the tale narrated by Jaimini with rapt attention till then asked– ‘What did Indradyumna next do after the idol of Lord Nrisimha had been installed?’ Sage Jaimini replied–‘After the idol of Lord Nrisimha had been installed, Indradyumna began making preparations for Ashwamedha yagya. He…
Narada told Indradyumna–‘Now, we should install an idol of Lord Nrisimha near Neelkanth’s temple for this is the very place where you will be performing one thousand Ashwamedh Yagyas in the days to come. So, your first priority should be to get constructed a magnificent temple of Lord Nrisimha. I…
After reaching the temple of Neelkanth-Mahadev, all of them worshipped Mahadev and Durga. They then visited the temple of Lord Nrisimha, situated under a sandalwood tree at the foothills of Neelachal mountain.King Indradyumna was anxiously waiting for the moment he would have a divine glimpse of lord Jagannath. He requested…
Continuing with the tale of Indradyumna, sage Jaimini told all the sages–‘Next morning, Indradyumna and his entourage crossed Mahanadi on boats and reached Ekamrachhetra where they worshipped lord Purushottam. After that they worshipped on their onwards journey and reached Kotishwar Mahalaya where they worshipped lord Tribhuneshwar with appropriate rituals. Lord…
Indradyumna had been waiting for this moment for a long time- the moment when he would get a chance to go on a pilgrimage to Purushottam kshetra. Revealing his great plan to Vidyapati, he said–‘ Now, the time has finally come for me to go on a pilgrimage to Purushottam…
Lord Varaha then narrated the tale of Padmavati’s manifestation to Prithvi. He also revealed to her that Padmavati was the reincarnation of Vedavati and had manifested so that she could become his (Vishnu) consort.Lord Varaha said—Once upon a time there lived an emperor named Akash. One day he ordered his…
Sutji then narrated the tale of Lord Varaha to the sages, which he had heard from Sage Vyasa— Once, while Narada was wandering about, he reached Meru mountain where he saw the abode of Lord Brahma. He also saw a giant sized entity, just next to Brahma’s abode. The person…
Daksha married Panchanjani. Daksha and Panchajani had one thousand sons. These were known as the Haryakshas. Daksha asked his sons to create more living beings. But the sage Narada came and told the Haryakshas, ―You can‘t possibly create living beings unless you know where they are going to live. Have…
In the beginning, there was nothing in the universe. There was only darkness and the divine essence (brahman). It is impossible to describe the brahman, it has no traits that can be described. When the time came for creation to start, the brahman removed the darkness and divided itself into…
Lord Shiva assured the deities, who were also present there that Tarakasur’s days were numbered. The deities’s army then proceeded towards the battlefield. On their way, the deities heard a heavenly voice–‘You can defeat the demons only if you fight under the leadership of Kartikeya.’ Now all the deities requested …
When Sati reached her father’s place, she saw a grand yagya being performed. A large number of people had been invited–the deities, the sages and the hermits. Sati became sad because Daksha had invited everybody except her husband. She knew quite well that it was a deliberate decision on part…
Ganessa’s mythology came to be nested within that of Ssiva and Parvati. The theriomorphic past, where animals are gods, has been sufficiently sanskritized and brahmanized for Ganessa, with all his associations as Ganapati, leader of the dwarf demons of Ssiva, to become pan-Indian, losing ancient tribal and regional origins….
Narrating about the life of Sage Veda Vyasa, Suta said to the sages- “Once while sage Parashar was on his pilgrimage, he arrived at the bank of Yamuna. Satyavati, who emitted the smell of fish, helped him cross the river. Sage Parashar was very pleased with her. He transformed the…
Narada requested lord Brahma to narrate how lord Shiva annihilated the demons. Lord Brahma narrated the tale of Tripurasur. “After the killing of Tarakasur, three of his sons started doing their penance. The eldest among them was Tarkasha, younger to him was Viddyunmali and Kamalaksha was the youngest. I (Brahma)…
Bhima – the demon, was the son of Kumbhakarna and Karkati. After Kumbhakarna was killed by Sri Rama. Karkati and Bhima went to live at Sahya mountain. When Bhima grew up he asked Karkati about his father. Karkati told him that his father had been killed by Rama. Bhima swore…
Once, Narada had gone to meet Vindhya mountain. Vindhya was very arrogant in his behaviour. Narada told him that Sumeru mountain was even greater than him and so his false pride had no basis. Vindhya became very dejected and disheartened. He went to Amgreshwar and started worshipping Shiva after making…
Once, under the influence of Sage Narada, Kartikeya had gone to the Kraunch Mountain to do penance. Shiva and Parvati could not bear the pain of his separation for long. Both of them went to the Kraunch mountain to see him. When Kartikeya saw them coming he moved to some…
The lunar dynasty was in danger of dying out. Dhritarashthra’s life story is an illustration of just how weak dharma (truth, righteousness, religion) had become on earth. Dhritarashthra was the king under whose rule the great Mahabharata war would be fought. Evil could not be reversed as the great royal…
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…
Sanatkumar says: “O Narada! A fast on Ekadashi (eleventh day) in both the phases of a month pleases Sri Hari and fulfills all the desires. On the eleventh day of each phase, one should not dine. Those who dine on the eleventh day commit severe sins. Salvation from sins like…
Sanatkumar says:”Now I am narrating about an excellent fast for the benefit of the world. Listen to it carefully O Narada! This fast must be observed in the months of Ashadh, Shravan, Bhadrapad or Ashwin. On any day during the brighter phase of these months, the devotees must drink Panchgavya…