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…
Sukhdev says, ” Once Shraddha Dev Manu sneezed violently. From his nostrils, a son was born. He was named Ikshvaku. Ikshvaku had one hundred sons. Vikukshi, Nimi and Dandak were the eldest three of them. Vikukshi 1.)Vikukshi :- Once, Ikshvaku sent his eldest son Vikukshi to collect tubers for the…
Ravana was born as the son of Visiravas. Dasanana is another name of Ravana, and it means one who has ten heads. Ravana’s character changed dramatically in the many retellings of his actions as the central antagonist of Rama in the Ramayana. At one extreme Ravana was the consummate expression…
Vamadeva requested Kartikeya to enlighten his mind with that knowledge, without which a Sanyasi can never attain liberation. Kartikeya then told him about the methods how a Sanyasi should get initiation from his guru. A disciple should worship his guru in any of the following months – Shravana, Ashwin, Kartik,…
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…
Rakshasas were often described as a subset of the asuras. Other subsets were yakshas and daityas. The word rakshasa came from the root raksh, meaning to guard. They may have originally been guardians, as one myth indicated that when Brahma created the waters, he created rakshasas to guard them. Individual…
Parvati, goddess of the mountain, Himalaya, primary wife of Siva, mother of at least two of Siva’s sons, is by far the most complicated of Hindu goddesses. She is given differing and often contradictory natures by the three main perspectives of later mythology—Saktas (those who worship the divine mother), Saivas…
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…
Nalakubera had a god, Kubera (god of wealth), as his father and his grandson was Visiravas—in his dark, or demonic, lineage. In a lineage that seemed to recognize more of Kubera’s divinity, Nalakubera’s grandfather (prajapati) was Pulastya (a progenitor). The demon Ravana was Nalakubera’s uncle. Ravana, the constant womanizer, raped…
Maya built palaces for both devas (gods) and asuras (demons). But in some accounts he was the architect for the asuras, while Visvakarman was the builder for the gods (devas). His daughter, Mandodari, married Ravana.
Pulastya says- “After worshipping Lord Trivikrama, Prahlada went to Lingabhedak Mountain and worshipped Lord Shankar. He also visited many more sacred places like Kedar Tirtha, Badrikashrama, Bhadrakarna and Vipasha. At last, he reached Irawati and worshipped that Almighty Lord with whose blessings, Pururava was able to regain his good looks.”…
Lakshmana was the younger half-brother of Rama by the third and youngest wife of King Dasiaratha of Ayodhya. But his affection for Rama was understood to have been the result of his previous lifetime—as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu’s serpent, the one who floated as his bed on the…
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…
The Krishna myth cycle has been integrated in such a way that most Hindus do not know its real complexity. Some of its elements are very ancient, showing that many myths have come together to form modern versions. First, there was the Krishna myth of a divine king, possibly…
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,…
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…
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…
The science of architecture owes its origin to eighteen great sages. Their names are Bhrigu, Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvakarma, Maya, Narada, Nagnajita, Vishalaksha, Puranadara, Brahma, Kartikeya, Nandishvara, Shounaka, Garga, Vasudeva, Aniruddha, Shukra, and Brihaspati The building of a house should never be begun in the month of Chaitra. A person…
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…
Kalanemi was a rakshasa (night-wandering demon) who was dispatched by the asura (demon) king Ravana to prevent Hanuman, the monkey god and loyal servant of Rama, from reaching the magic Drona mountain. Hanuman needed healing herbs for the wounded Lakshmana during the Rama-Ravana war. Kalanemi appeared as a brahmin in…
As time is a great imponderable, it is related to death. The two words, time and death, are the same in Sanskrit. Kala is popularly known as Yama. Born from the union of Surya (the sun god) and Samjna, daughter of Kassyapa-prajapati, Yama (Kala) was given the duty to retrieve…
There is a lot of confusion as to whether Jambhavan was a monkey (kapi) or a bear (riksha). Valmiki’s Ramayana presented some stories of Jambhavan as a bear and other stories of him as a monkey. In one version Brahma sent the celestial damsels (apsaras) to be reborn around…
Hiranyaksha was the elder twin of Hiranyakasiipu. Their stories are intertwined through four lifetimes: first as Jaya and Vijaya when they were Vishnu’s door-keepers, then their first rebirth as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasiipu, a second rebirth as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and finally their third rebirth as Sisiupala and Dantavaktra. Hiranyaksha…
“A devotee should carefully make a beautiful earthen idol without any sign of crack. The most auspicious time for the installation of an earthen idol is said to be during ‘Shravana nakshatra’. An invocation is made to the deity to dwell within the idol after which ablution of the…
Describing the origin of ‘Kapila Varaha’ (an idol of lord Varaha made by sage Kapila) lord Varaha told Prithvi- “Sage Kapila was a great devotee of mine. He had made my idol and worshipped it regularly. Later on, Indra acquired it and started worshipping it. The demon king Ravana took…
This particular austerity is a form of ‘nakta-vrata’, which means observing fast for the whole day and breaking it in the night. The austerity commences on the first day of the bright half of the Hindu month- aghan and lasts for a year. Rituals include worshipping Agnideva- an embodiment of…
Lord Buddha is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The austerity begins on the eleventh day of the bright half of the Hindu month-Shravana. On this day lord Vishnu is worshipped with appropriate rituals and by making offerings of various articles like flowers, fruits, incense, etc. The following…
Coming from the same root as the epithet Hara for (Siva (hri, to remove), Hari also means “the remover.” There are many minor figures with this name, as well as a number of groups (some of the demon king Ravana’s attendants, a group of devas, and others). Eventually, however,…
There are possibilities of numerous obstacles being faced by a man who practices yoga like laziness, disease, carelessness, lack of concentration, confusion and sorrow etc. While practicing yoga, one must try to keep himself free from such demerits. After becoming liberated from these flaws a man can easily attain six…
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…
Vaisvasvata Manu‘s eldest son was Ila. When Vaivasvata Manu became old, he retired to the forest. Ila was appointed the ruler in his place. Ila set out on a voyage of conquest and travelled throughout the world. There was a forest named Sharavana, frequented by Shiva and Parvati. Shiva had…
After Hanuman brought the new that Sita had been held captive by Ravana at Lanka, Sri Rama proceeded towards Lanka with a huge army. After receiving the seashore he faced the problems of crossing over the sea. Sri Rama made a Parthiva linga of Shiva and worshipped it. Lord Shiva…
The demon king- Ravana did a tremendous penance to please lord Shiva and to get a boon from him. Even after his severe penance when lord Shiva did still not appear, he started offering his heads one by one to lord Shiva. This way he already severed his nine heads…
Beneath the earth and water are situated the hells into which, the sinners are thrown. Raurav, Sukar, Rodha, Tal, Vishsan, Mahajwal, Taptakumbh, Lavan, Vilohit, Rudhiramabh, Vaitarni, Krimish, Krimibhojan, Asipatravana, Krishna, Lalabhaksha, Darun, Puyuvah, Pap, Vahnijwal, Adhahshira, Sandansh, Kalsutra, Tamas, Avichi, Swabhojan, Apratishthit and Aprachi are the main hells. These are…
Dattatreya had wonderful parents: the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya. Dattatreya was an incarnation of Vishnu according to some Puranas. Why did Lord Vishnu incarnate as Dattatreya? The Brahmanda Purana traced the story back to a hermit named Ani-Mandavya who meditated under a vow of silence. In pursuit of…
To be so great a figure as to have a god born as one’s son, one must have a distinguished lineage, excellent karma (based on what one had done in past lives), and a record of devotion and service to the gods. All of these elements were provided in the…
Lord Shiva was so infatuated by the appearance of lord Vishnu in his form of Mohini roopa that his semen was released on the ground. This semen was established by the Saptarishis in the womb of Anjani, with the permission of lord Shiva himself. In this way was born the…
Bali’s myth is nested within a number of interlocking myths. His part in the story of Rama and Sita is mostly negative, as Rama has to kill him. But this is because he has turned from the very practices that made him a great king. He had a divine…
Yama took the form of a samnyasin and was the indirect cause for the death of Rama and Lakshmana. After Rama had killed Ravana in the Lanka war, the main reason for the incarnation of Vishnu as Rama was fulfilled. There needed to be a cause for Vishnu to return…
Aruna’s story must begin with an account of how he became the charioteer of the sun god, Surya. Aruna’s father was the famous KasSyapa prajapati (grandfather of all creatures). Two of KasSyapa’s wives, Vinata and Kadru, pleased him so much that he granted each a boon. Kadru asked for…
Sati requested lord Shiva to enlighten her mind by giving discourses. Shiva revealed to her the importance of devotion in the Kali Yuga. He said that the value of knowledge (jnana) and asceticism (vairagya) would diminish to the extent of extinction in the era of Kali and only devotion would…
GREATNESS OF SHIVALINGA–PILLAR OF FIRE– OMKAR According to Suta, if a person is incapable of following the above mentioned three activities i.e. Shravana, Kirtan and Manan then he should worship the Shivalinga. Even by doing this he can attain liberation from all the bondages of the world. Describing about the…
Yayati’s eldest son Yadu had four sons- Sahastrajit, Kroshtu, Nala and Nahush. Sahastrajit had a son Shatajit who had three sons Haihaya, Hehaya and Venuhaya. Lineage of Haihaya grew as- Dharma, Dharmanetra, Kunti, Sahajit, Mahishman, Bhadrashrenya, Durdabh and Dhanak. Dhanak had four sons- Kritveerya, Kritagni, Kritdharma and Kritauja. Kritveerya had…
There used to be a king named Kritavirya and Kritavirya‘s son was known as Kartavirya Arjuna. Arjuna performed tapasya for thousands and thousands of years. Through this meditation, he pleased the sage Dattatreya and obtained four wonderful boons from the sage. The first boon gave Arjuna a thousand arms. 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…
The earth is made up of five elements (bhuta). These are earth, wind sky, water and energy. There are seven regions in the underworld (patala). These are known as atala, sutala, vitala, gabhastala, mahatala, shritala and patala. The ground in atala is dark in colour; in sutala it is pale;…
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….