One day, king Parikshit went on a hunting excursion. Till noon, he could not find a game. He was feeling restless because of hunger, thirst and fatigue. Searching water and shelter the king reached the hermitage of the sage Shamik. Shamik was in deep meditation so he did not welcome…
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…
In the Krishna myth cycle Kaliya was a great serpent, born of the progenitor Kasyapa by his wife Kadru, mother of the serpent kingdom. Kaliya lived in the Kalindi River (also called the Yamuna) and was well known because of his association with Krishna. Kaliya had a thousand hoods…
Kalindi was the daughter of Surya, the sun god. She was blessed to become a sacred river, also known as the Yamuna. It flowed from the Kalinda mountain and entered the Ganga at Prayaga, a very sacred confluence. At the birth of Krishna, his father Vasudeva had to switch the…
During ancient times, there lived two demons- Rambh and Karambh who would torment people. As both were sonless, they decided to do severe penance by keeping their bodies submerged in Panchmad River with a desire of having sons. Indra becoming fearful, took the guise of a crocodile and killed Karambh…
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…
Lord Shiva had committed a grave sin of Brahmahatya. All his efforts of separating Brahma’s skull from his left palm went in vain. In the meantime, an entity named Brahmahatya appeared before him and entered into his body. Lord Shankar decided to go to Badrikashrama to atone for his sins….
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…
Jahnu gave his kingdom to his son and retired to a quiet spot to do austerities (tapas). However, cosmic events disturbed his meditations. King Bhagiratha had been successful in his austerities to get Siva’s help in bringing the sacred river Ganga to earth. And when it came, it flooded…
Prithvi requested Lord Varaha to describe about the mistakes committed during shradha rituals and how they could be prevented– Lord Varaha replied—It is a grave sin to partake of a meal meant for the soul of the deceased person. Anybody who has committed this sin should atone for his sin…
‘Ashaucha’ means impurity, so it is the period during which the son of the deceased is considered to be impure. The period begins from the day on which the death has occurred and continues for the following ten days. Varaha ‘Pinda-dan’ means offering certain kind of food to the deceased…
Lord Varaha told Prithvi about the greatness of Gokarna tirth- “Long long ago there lived a vaishya named Vasukarn at Mathura. Sushila, his wife was deeply religious but inspite of that she was issueless. One day, she had gone to take her bath in river Saraswati where she found many…
Describing the holiness of Kokamukh tirth, lord Varaha narrated a tale to Prithvi-“Once a fisherman was trying to catch a large fish in a lake situated at Kokamukh. Suddenly a hawk which was flying in the sky, descended down and after picking the fish in its beak tried to fly…
In the Padma Purana Harimitra had an asrama (hermitage) on the banks of the river Yamuna. A sinner named Vikundala became associated with Harimitra and followed his practice of a ritual bath in the Yamuna. It just happened that he took a bath twice in the Yamuna during the Hindu…
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…
The blessings given by ‘Pitras’ fructified instantaneously as a beautiful ‘Apsara’ manifested herself from the river flowing nearby and said–‘O great sage! I am Pramlocha. I would consider it as my good fortune if you give your consent to marry my daughter- Manini. Pushkar- son of Varun is her father….
Once, while narrating how Gaya, a prominent place of pilgrimage in eastern part of India got its name, Lord Brahma told sage Vyasa–‘During ancient times there lived a mighty demon named Gaya. He used to torment the deities, who ultimately went to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu…
Prahlad, being an ardent devotee of Vishnu himself, understood quite well, the desperation with which a devotee seeks his Lord. So he told them– ‘By the grace of Almighty Vishnu, I am revealing to you the name of that sacred place which has remained a secret till now. Kushasthal Puri…
On being asked by Parvati about the emergence of river Saraswati at Prabhas Kshetra, Lord Shiva narrated the following tale to her-‘The holy Sarswati flowing in Prabhas kshetra constitutes of five different streams – Harini, Vajrini, Nyanku, Kapila and Saraswati. Lord Vishnu once instructed Saraswati to carry ‘Badwanal’ (Submarine fire)…
Describing the reason why this sacrosanct place was named Prabhas, Lord Shiva told Parvati– ‘I dwell in the entire area stretching between the ocean in the south and river Kaureshwari. Being situated at the western coast, this entire area is radiated by Surya’s light for a relatively longer period of…
Markandeya said–‘Manu ruled over Ayodhya during Swayambhuva manvantar. One day, while he was going to sleep, he heard a peculiar sound, as if numerous small bells were ringing. He was perplexed and could not ascertain the cause of that sound so he asked sage Vashishtha about this. Sage Vashishtha made…
Explaining the reason why Narmada had to descend down to earth, Sutji narrated a tale to the assembled sages– ‘Once, Sage Markandeya was taking rest at the bank of river Narmada where Yudhisthira accompanied by Draupadi arrived there. Yudhisthira curiously asked Markandeya about the reason he had chosen the bank…
The sages requested Lomaharshana. ―Please tell us the history of the solar line.‖ Lomaharshana complied. Aditi and the sage Kashyapa had borne the sun-god, Vivasvana or Surya, as a son. Surya had three wives, Samjna, Rajni and Prabha. Rajna had a son named Revata and Prabha had a son named…
Once, on being asked by sage Bhardwaj and few others about the grandeur of Ayodhya, Sutji replied–‘Ayodhya, a sacrosanct city is based on the bank of river Saryu. It is the very city where the famous king Ikshavaku ruled once upon a time. The term Ayodhya means unconquerable and consists…
Once, Sage Shaunak asked Sutji about the means, which enabled human beings to attain salvation in Kali yuga. Sutji recounted a tale — ‘Once, Kartikeya had posed the same question to Lord Shiva. Emphasizing on the importance of pilgrimages, Lord Shiva had told him that in Kali yuga anybody could…
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…
The Sages asked—‘O revered sage! We would like to know more about Purushottam Kshetra, where there is a majestic wooden idol of Lord Vishnu.’ Sage Jaimini replied–The sacrosanct place of Purushottam Kshetra is graced by the presence of Lord Jagannath. During ancient times, Lord Varaha had rescued Prithvi from the…
Describing how Vayudeva had once assured Anjana that he would take birth as her son, Sutji told the sages—Anjana, being issue less even after a long married life, decided to do penance in order to beget a son. Sage Matang advised her to go to Akashganga teerth where her wishes…
Once, Sutji narrated the tale of king Parikshit to all the assembled sages—Parikshit ruled over Hastinapur. One day he went into a forest on a hunting spree. He saw a deer and managed to injure it with his arrow. But the injured deer disappeared from his sight. Parikshit chased the…
Although the gods and the demons were cousins, they did not like each other and fought amongst themselves all the time. Many daityas were killed by Vishnu and the other gods. Diti was disconsolate to see her children suffer thus. She resolved that she would meditate so as to obtain…
This myth was included in the Skanda Purana as an elaboration on the myth of the Churning of the Milky Ocean, in which Vishnu appeared as Mohini and tricked the asuras (demons) out of the nectar of immortality. The moral purpose of this myth is not clear. It does…
There used to be a king named Vaivasvata Manu. He was the son of the sun-god Vivasvana. When it was time for Manu to retire to the forest, he handed over the kingdom to his son Ikshvaku. Manu then went to the foothills of Mount Malaya and started to perform…
Once, emperor Sagar performed an Ashwamedha Yagya. Indra abducted the horse used in this Yagya and kept it in the hermitage of Sage Kapila. All the sixty thousand sons of Sagar went to search the horse and found it in Kapila’s hermitage. Hearing the commotion and noise, sage Kapila who…
During the ancient time there lived a famous sage named Gautami. The name of his wife was Ahilya. Once it did not rain for one hundred years as the result of which the whole area was affected by drought. Sage Gautami did a tremendous penance to please Varuna appeared before…
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 upon a time, there lived a brahmin at a place called ‘Karni’ situated at the bank of river ‘Reva’. When the brahmin became old, he went to Kashi after leaving behind his wife to live with his sons. After sometime the brahmin died. When the brahmins sons came to…
Sage Atri and his wife Anusuya were doing penance in the forest called Kamad, situated near the Chitrakut mountain. Once it did not rain for many days. As a result people living in that area faced a severe drought. Anusuya requested her husband to help out the people from their…
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…
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…
Dadhici had been made from the essence of the world by his father, the great ascetic Bhrigu. He too became an ascetic and engaged in severe tapas (austerities). Indra became afraid that his position of Indrahood (as king of the gods) was threatened by a yogi with such power (siddhi)….
In the Mahabharata while the Pandavas were walking in the forest after killing the demons Hidimbha and Baka, they heard a sound in the river nearby of somebody taking a bath. Arjuna went to see who was taking a bath at night. He saw the gandharva king Citraratha and his…
Candrangada’s story has another myth nested within it of a curious gender transformation. The Puranic mythmakers did not portray a supreme god or goddess remedying the situation in this case, as they so often did. In fact, neither sages nor the divine mother (Parvati) seemed able to reverse this permanent…
This is the first of the four asramas, or stages of life. The other three are householder (grihastha), forest dweller (vanaprastha), and renunciate (samnyasa). A brahmacari was one who stayed in the household of the teacher (guru, or acarya) and learned scriptures, rituals, and ascetic practices. It was a period…
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…
Describing about the Lord Shiva’s incarnation as Durvasa, Suta told the deities:- “once Atri – the manasputra of lord Brahma went to do penance at the bank of the river Nivindhya which flew by the foothills of Trayakshakul mountain as per the instructions of Lord Brahma himself. He commenced doing…
Bhagiratha’s story is part of the myth of the coming to earth of the Ganga (Ganges). These interlocking stories gave Bhagiratha a great royal lineage, with prior events in that lineage requiring him to do a thousand years of austerities (tapas) in order to ask Siva for a boon….
Parashar says- During the time when Prachetas were engaged in penance, the earth was unprotected. Hence, huge trees came to cover her everywhere on land. Their foliage was so dense they that cut off entire sky and the sun could not reach the surface of the earth. After their emergence…
Lord Shiva was now fully convinced about the inevitability of the battle. He first sent all his ganas under the leadership of Kartekiye and Ganesha. Later on Bhadrakali proceeded towards the battlefield with a huge army as per the own wish of lord Shiva himself. At last lord Shiva proceeded…
The earth has seven great islands- Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Kronch, Shakh and Pushkar. These are surrounded by oceans having saline water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and sweet water respectively. Jambudweep is situated at the center. Situated at the center of Jambudweep is golden Sumeru Mountain (Himalayas), which…