Markandeya says- ‘When the newly married couple Dama and Sumana returned to the capital, King Narishyant was extremely pleased. King Narishyant after knowing about the brave deeds of his son was very proud of him. As he had become old, he appointed Dama as his successor and he went in…
Markandeya says- ‘A ferocious battle ensued between Aveekshits army and the other kings. Both sides fought bravely and Aveekshit managed to kill many of the kings but was outnumbered and got severely wounded. Aveekshit was finally made captive. Aveekshit and Sudati Vaishalini were brought to the king of Vishal. The…
The king Parikshit expressed his desire to hear about the life of Balarama. Shukdev said:, “O king, there was once a monkey named Dwivid. He was the friend of Bhaumasur. When Dwivid heard about Bhaumasur’s killing by Sri Krishna, he began to cause large scale destruction in the kingdom. His…
Markandeya says- ‘Shubhvrata- the daughter of Veeryachandra had decided to marry Karandham. A son was born to them who was named as Aveekshit. The astrologers had predicted a very bright future for him. Aveekshit learnt lessons in handling all kinds of weapons from the son of Kanva. In a very…
Markandeya says- ‘Shumbh became angry at the death of his brother- Nishumbh. He furiously told the goddess- ‘O wicked lady! Do not be proud of your strength borrowed from others.’ Goddess Bhagvati replied- ‘O wicked demon! I am the only power of this whole universe. I am the origin of…
The most valiant demon Durgam had acquired all the four Vedas from lord Brahma after pleasing him. Lord Brahma had also given a boon of invincibility to him. Durgam became very arrogant and started tormenting the whole world. As the consequence it did not rain for one hundred years and…
Kubja krishna Story after arrival in Mathura After the departure of Akrura, Nand Baba too set out for Mathura along with the Gopas. On the way itself, they caught up with Krishna and Balarama. All of them then reached Mathura together. There they stayed in a garden. After sometime, with…
In the Rigveda Vritra was a monster whose name meant the one who “held back,” “restrained,” or “enveloped.” Killing Vritra was Indra’s crowning moment. Vritra enveloped a celestial mountain and held back its waters, but Indra’s action released the waters, bring the fertilizing rains and prosperity to the Aryans, even…
Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! How does Sri Hari live in the form of a tortoise?’ Markandeya replied- ‘Sri Hari in the form of a tortoise sits facing east. States situated in the central portion of his body are Vedi, Madra, Mandavya, Shalva, Khasa, Saraswat, Matsya etc. States which are…
Markandeya says- ‘Nirmashti, the wife of Duhsah was the daughter of Yama. Altogether sixteen children were born to Duhsah and Nirmashti. Out of them eight were sons and the remaining eight were daughters. The name of the sons were- Dantakrishti, Tathokti, Parivarta, Angadhruka, Shakuni, Ganda, Pranrati, Garbhaha and Sasyaha while…
Markandeya says- Brahma created one thousand couples from his mouth in the beginning of creation. These couples were radiant and possessed virtuous qualities (Satvik). Once again, Brahma created one thousand couples from his chest but this time they possessed the quality of Rajas. This phenomenon was repeated for the second…
Urvashi’s story is unusual. She was an apsara, but instead of being born or created in heaven she was born from the thigh of a mortal. She resulted from a conflict between Indra and her father, the sage Narayana. It happened in this way. Narayana and Nara, sons of Dharma…
The story of Tara illustrates the Puranic mentality of defaming its heroes and heroines, since some accounts make her a willing participant in adultery and others exonerate her and present her as one of the pancakanaya, five perfect women. Tara was married to the great sage Brihaspati and was unusually…
Dattatreya says- O king! With the attainment of knowledge, people come to conjugate with the Supreme Almighty and which results into dispersion of their ignorance. To attain Moksha, it is necessary for a man to shun attachment first of all. Only after that, he will become free from sorrows. When…
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….
Madalasa says- Shradha can be performed on any day during the dark lunar phase in the Hindu month of Ashwin i.e. from the first day to the Amavasya. Performing of Shradha on any of these days brings the following benefits- Performing Shradha on the first day or Pratipada brings monetary…
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…
The grandfather of this kalpa, Kasyapa-prajapati, founded the kingdom of serpents with his wife Kadru. Takshaka was one of her seven greatest children, the septa-nagas. Takshaka and her most righteous children were cursed to be reborn on earth and to be burned alive as their punishment for not obeying their…
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…
Sita was born from the earth when it was ploughed. Thus the earth, Bhu Devi, was her mother. Sita was brought up by King Janaka as his daughter. According to many Puranas, Sita was the incarnation of Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu. Rama wed Sita after winning the marriage contest—lifting and…
Satyavati was the mother of the great sage Vyasa. However, her story is quite interesting, as well as complicated because of all the nested elements. She was born of a fish who had been cursed, given to a king but returned because of her smell, named three times, and…
After returning to his father’s kingdom, Ritudhwaj narrated the whole incident to his parents of how he regained Madalasa. Then they began to live happily. After many years, King Shatrujit crowned Ritudhwaj as the king. After King Ritudhwaj’s accession to the throne, Madalasa gave birth to her first son. Ritudhwaj…
Ritudhwaj stayed in the palace of Ashwatar. Nagraj did his best to keep Ritudhwaj happy and forget the sorrow of his wife’s separation. During his stay, Ashwatar tried many times to coax Ritudhwaj into revealing his heartiest desire. But every time Ritudhwaj intelligently avoided the topic. Once, King Ashwatar, in…
When prince Ritudhwaj reached the capital, everyone expressed his pleasure with surprise. Ritudhwaj met everyone happily and went to the palace of his parents. Though the king and the queen blessed him but sad expression on their face surprised the prince. Upon enquiry, the king related the entire incident and…
Sumati says- O father! Now listen to the tale of a Brahmin named Alarka. Long ago, there lived a king named Shatrujit who had a meritorious son, Ritudhwaj. Prince Ritudhwaj had many friends with whom he used to play with. In course of time, two sons of Ashwatar, the king…
Rishyasringa received his strange name, “deer-horned,” because his mother was a doe. It happened this way: the sage Vibhandaka had been living a strict celibate life at his asrama (hermitage) deep in the forest. One day he saw the beautiful apsara (celestial damsel) named Urvasi. He lost his seed…
Yamadoot says- As a result of accepting money from a degraded person, a Brahmin takes birth as an ass. A Brahmin who carries out Yagya for a degraded person takes birth as worm after undergoing severe sufferings in different types of hell. A person takes birth as an ass or…
Thus asked by the gentleman, Yamadoots replied politely- ‘O king! You once deliberately prevented your wife Pivari from conceiving because you were more attracted to your second wife- Sushobhana. It is because of that action that you have been brought here to undergo severe torture.’ The religious minded king…
Sukhdev says: ‘Parikshit, after many days, entrusting other Gopal’s with the onus of guarding Gokul, Nand went to Mathura to pay annual taxes in Kansa’s court. Vasudev too learned about his arrival and went to see him. Nand felt overjoyed to see Vasudev and embraced him affectionately. Vasudev asked Nand:…
Devaki’s seventh baby was transferred before birth into the womb of Rohini. The baby was born as Baldevji. At his birth, Brahmins blessed Nand. But laughingly Nand said: “O holy Brahmins, this baby is not mine. It is born to my friend’s wife.” Brahmins said then: “Okay Baba, we will…
Kansa had known that during the battle between the gods and demons he was the demon Kalanemi, and he was killed by Lord Vishnu. So fearing Lord Vishnu rallying with Yaduvansh, Kansa cultivated high degree of hostility towards them. He captured even his father Ugrasen and put him in the…
Hearing the tales of Royal dynasties from Sukhdev, king Parikshit requested “Guruvar, you have just narrated the surprising tale of Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi (dynasties). Now I wish to hear the tales of Lord Krishna’s life in detail. It was because of God’s grace that my ancestors could successfully win 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…
In Treta Yuga, there was a king named Harishchandra. Once he was hunting in the Mahabahu forest when suddenly, he heard loud cries of a woman- ‘Save me! Save me!’ It was followed by the cries of many women. Hearing those cries, King Harishchandra shouted loudly- ‘Don’t be afraid’ and…
Markandeya says – ‘In the lineage of the avian King Garuda, there were two brothers- Kank and Kandhar. One day, Kank visited Kailash Parbat where a demon Vidrayudrup, who was a slave of Kubera, was enjoying privacy with his wife and drinking wine. Seeing Kank, the demon showed his displeasure…
At that moment the ever-wandering, indifferent-natured sage Shukadeva also arrived there. He was self indulgent and free from the bondages of ashramas (phases of life). He was then only sixteen years old but appeared quite radiant and graceful. Shukadeva was an honorable figure even for the sages who had gathered…
One day Sudyumna had gone on a hunting excursion. Riding the horse with his ministers, Sudyumna reached a forest at the foothills of Meru Mountain. The forest was the nuptial abode of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati. As soon as Sudyumna and his companions entered the forests, they all, even…
Previous Births of Gaja and Grah Killed by the God, the crocodile at once acquired a divine appearance. He was a good-natured Gandharva (demigod) named Huhu, in his previous birth. By the curse of Mahatma Deval, he had to take birth in crocodile form. But now, by the grace of…
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 Rama myth cycle is especially complex because there are so many literary and oral versions, each language of India having its own variations, as well as expressions in art, dance, drama, and film or video. Since Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu, his story is nested within the Vishnu…
Prajapati was first a Vedic god (deva) of real importance, only to be reduced over the centuries to the function of a group (rank) of gods. Prajapati literally means the lord of creatures, of living beings. During the period of the Brahmanas he was the supreme being and father of…
Prahlada was the son of the asura Hiranyakashipu. His father became emperor of the demons and attempted to have everyone worship him. However, his own son, Prahlada, refused and continued to worship Vishnu. Prahlada would have been killed if Vishnu had not incarnated in just the right way, as the…
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,…
The story of “Ax Rama” (the literal meaning of Parasu-Rama) contains a chilling warning to the kings and rulers of India. Brahmins could revolt against them if their rule was unjust or cruel. The story proving the need for an incarnation of Vishnu began with the curse of a sage….
Pandu was born of the sage Vyasa and Ambalika. The child was named Pandu because of his pale skin. It was a substitutionary parentage—one in which a king used a sage to have a child by his queen. (For more details see the entries on Dhritarashthra and Vyasa.) One day…
Literally, panca-kanya means the five “girls” or “daughters,” but it is used in Hindu mythology to refer to five heroines. The list does vary, especially as some of the heroines were defamed by the mythmakers of the Puranic period. The five ideal women are role models for all Hindus. They…
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…
Mohini appeared at the churning of the Milky Ocean, again for the birth of a river and a divine monkey, and then for the incarnation of a sage. In order to prevent the asuras (demons) from obtaining their share of the divine nectar of immortality (amrita) that was…
In her previous birth, Mandodari had been a celestial damsel (apsara) named Madhura. Madhura went to Kailasa to worship Siva, having observed a special vow, the Somavara vrata. When Madhura reached Kailasa, Parvati, Siva’s wife, was not there. Madhura worshipped and praised Siva. But they were attracted to each…