Tag: purana
KALIPRIYA – A prostitute
The story of Kalipriya is brief but nonetheless important. It represents the point of view of the devotional groups and the abundant grace (prasada) that they promised. Kalipriya was absolved of her sins and received the merit (punya) to offset all her bad karma simply by performing a month-long…
KALINDI – A river and a goddess (devi)
SINFUL DEEDS
Sukeshi asked the sages about the sinful deeds, which leads to hell. The sages replied- “People who condemn Veda, deities, Brahmins etc. go to hell. Those who don’t believe in religious texts like Purana etc. or those who cause obstacles in the accomplishment of Yagya or those who prevent a…
. VAMANA PURANA INTRODUCTION
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…
KALI – The son of Kasyapa and his wife Muni
JARA, JARAS – A hunter who killed Krishna
JAMBU – A divine rose apple tree mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana
This tree bore fruit throughout the year, fruit the size of elephants. The branches of the Jambu tree reached to heaven. The juice of the fruit flowed as a river. According to the Bhagavata Purana the Jambu tree was watered by devas (gods) called Siddhacaranas. Near the tree lived the…
INDRADYUMNA – Son of King Sumati
HEMAKANTA – A prince
While Brahmanical ideology taught that killing a brahmin (brahmahatya) was the worst of sins and required loss of caste, Puranic mythology told of those who had killed a brahmin and escaped becoming outcaste (candala). This alternative view shifted the focus to devotion (bhakti) and its outward signs in gifts of…
HAMSA, HANSA – (1) An incarnation of Vishnu in Krita Yuga (the second age)
According to the Bhâgavata Purâna Hamsa was a prajâpati, a progenitor or creator. Hamsa taught yoga to sages like Sanaka and taught the way to liberation for the Sâdhyadevas, a class of divine witnesses of battles and celebrations in late mythology. Hamsa, like Vishnu, was also called the sacrifice…
17) THE PURANAS
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…
DESCRIPTION OF PURANAS AND UP-PURANAS
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,…
LORD VISHNU BLESSES GARUDA
Describing how Garuda pleased him with his deep devotion, Lord Vishnu said– ‘During ancient times Garuda once did an austere penance to please me. I appeared before him and expressed my willingness to fulfil anything that he wished for. Garuda wanted to liberate his mother, Vinta from the slavery of…
HOW GARUDA PURANA WAS PROPAGATED
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…
LORD VISHNU’S INCARNATIONS
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…
1) MAHESHWAR KHAND DAKSHA’S ANIMOSITY TOWARDS LORD SHIVA
Skanda Purana begins with the eulogy of Lord Shiva– Yasyagya Jagat Srishta Viranchih Palko Harih; Sanharta Kalrudrakhyo Namastasmai Pinakine. (Meaning)— Salutations to Lord Shankar who has entrusted the job of creation to Lord Brahma– Who has instructed Lord Vishnu to nurture the world and who himself acts as the supreme…
GANESA – Son of Siva; a god
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….
GANDAKI – A river of Puranic fame
THE AUSTERITIES OF VED VYASA
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…
1) MATSYA PURANA LOMAHARSHANA AND THE OTHER SAGES
There was a forest known as Naimisharanya. Many years ago, several sages organized a yajna (sacrifice) in the forest. After the sacrifice was over, the assembled sages told Lomaharshana.―You have recited to us many Puranas. These accounts are so sacred that we would like to hearthem once more. Please satisfy…
DEVAKULYA – Granddaughter of Sage Marici
Devakulya washed the feet of Vishnu, and she was reborn as the river goddess Ganga. This myth had to be reconciled with another origin myth about the Ganga: that the earthly Ganga came by the grace of Siva. The version featuring Devakulya in the Bhagavata Purana emphasized her merit for…
DALBHYA – A sage
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…
DAKSHA – A prajapati (creator or progenitor)
In the Rigveda (2:27:1) Daksha (ritual skill) was one of the six adityas, deities related so closely to Vedic sacrificial ritual that they may be called personifications of its logic and method. During the Vedic period the six expanded to twelve, with Daksha always among the most important. Ritual skill…
CITRANGADA – (1)The third wife of Arjuna
CITRALEKHA – Daughter of the demon Bana
CHAPTER – 4 TALE OF THE SAGE MARKANDEYA
Narada says: “O great sage! Why did Lord Vishnu appear as the son of Mrikandu? What did He do as his son? The Puranas say that during the Pralaya, Markandeya had witnessed the direct appearance of Lord Vishnu’s illusion. Kindly narrate these things in detail.” Sanatkumar says: “Listen O Devarshi!…
THE METHODS OF WORSHIPPING SHIVA
On the request of the sages, Suta retold the preaching which had been narrated by Brahma to Narada. Describing the method of Shiva worship he says- “A devotee should get up early in the morning and contemplate on Shiva, who gives benediction. After that, he should finish his daily routing…
33) VISHNU’S INCARNATIONS
Because of Bhrigu‘s curse, Vishnu had to be born several times on earth. These are known as avataras (incarnations). The Vayu Purana now catalogues Vishnu‘s ten incarnations. These are as follows. (1) Matsya or fish. (2) Narasimha or half-man and half-lion (3) Vamana or dwarf. (4) Dattatreya, the sage. (5)…
20) DAKSHA’S DESCENDANTS
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…
11) RUDRA
You will remember that Shiva had granted Brahma the boon that he would be born as Brahma‘s son. To ensure that this indeed happened Brahma began to perform very difficult tapasya (meditation). But despite all this meditation, nothing happened. This failure greatly angered Brahma and he started to cry. As…
8) KALPAS
There was a sage named Savarni. He told the wind-gold Vayu, ―We know that the present kalpa is called varaha kalpa. But how long is a kalpa? And what are the various other kalpas? Please tell us the answers to these questions.‖ Vayu said the following. There are 4,320,000,000 years…
1) LOMAHARSHANA AND THE OTHER SAGES
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…
VIDYESHWAR SAMHITA
SAGES ENQUIRE Viddyeshwar Samhita which is classified into twenty five chapters, has a narration in its first chapter which goes as follows- Once upon a time, the sages were performing a yagya at Prayag kshetra. Sage Suta came to know about this and arrived there. All the sages were very…
THE METHODS OF WORSHIPPING SHIVA
THE METHODS OF WORSHIPPING SHIVA On the request of the sages, Suta retold the preaching which had been narrated by Brahma to Narada. Describing the method of Shiva worship he says- “A devotee should get up early in the morning and contemplate on Shiva, who gives benediction. After that, he…
THE DHRUVA DYNASTY
Lord Vishnu, continuing with the tales of Garuda Purana told Shiva–‘Uttanpad had two wives- Suruchi and Suniti. From his former wife he begot a son named Uttam, while Suniti gave birth to Dhruva, who became immortal because of his unflinching devotion in me. Dhruva had a mighty son named ‘Shlishta’….
SANATKUMAR RECEIVES SHIVA-GYAN FROM NANDI
The sages thanked Vayudeva for giving the knowledge of Jnana Yoga. The next day, they took bath in river Saraswati and performed their worship and rituals. After that they proceeded towards Kashi. At Kashi after taking their bath in river Ganga they had a darshan of lord Vishwanath. They saw…
AUSPICIOUS DAYS FOR DOING SHIVA WORSHIP
The eighth day and the fourteenth day of both the fortnights of each Hindu month are considered to be the most auspicious for the worship of lord Shiva. Similarly the solstice day (Sankranti), when the sun is positioned north of equator and eclipse day are considered to be very auspicious….
6) CHAPTER SIX BRANCHES OF SAMAVEDA AND EIGHTEEN PURANAS
Sage Jaimini, a disciple of Veda Vyasa, effected branches of Samaveda. Sage Jaimini had a son, Sumantu. Sumantu in turn had a son, Sukarma. Both of them studied a branch of Samaveda each. Sukarma divided his branch of Samaveda into sub-branches and taught them to his two disciples- Kaushalya Hiranyanabh…