The Origin of the Kshetra: In the beginning i.e., long before creation when this world was all water. Chaturmukha Brahma was performing ever penance with the object of effecting creation. The Rudra came out of his forehead and appeared before him. Brahma requested him that as he was most competent…
When Parvati reached her home, she became very sad as she was unable to bear the sorrow of Shiva’s separation. Sage Narada arrived there. Her father Himalaya narrated the whole story to him Sage Narada then gave the five lettered mantra – “OM NAMAH SHIVAY’ to her and he also…
Himalaya and Maina commenced their penance with the objective of getting Uma as their daughter. Maina did a tremendous penance which lasted for twenty-seven years. Goddess Uma became very pleased by her penance. She appeared before her and asked her to demand anything she wished for. Maina expressed her desire…
Ikshvaku was born from the nostril of Manu as a result of sudden sneezing. Ikshvaku had hundred sons among whom Vikukshi, Nimi and Danda were prominent. Once Ikshvaku organised a Shradha. For the purpose of feeding Brahmins, he ordered his son Vikukshi to bring fresh meat of wild animals. Taking…
When Nandi informed Shiva about Sati’s death, he became very furious. He angrily pulled out a lock of hair and dashed it against the mountain, which got divided into two parts. From one part manifested the valiant Veerbharda and from the other part Mahakali. Veerbhadra and Mahakali were instructed by…
When Sati reached, where Daksha was performing his yagya, she met her mother and sisters. They met her with all the respect and honor. But Daksha did not even caste a glance at her. Imitating him many other people did the same. But Sati not bothering about the disrespect shown…
Daksha presented invaluable things to his daughter- Sati as dowry. Similarly the brahmins were presented with large quantities of wealth. Lord Brahma was enchanted by the divine beauty of Sati. With a desire to see her face, he put logs of wood which were wet, into the yagni kunda and…
Kama tried his best to bring lord Shiva under his influence. All the living creatures were spell bound by his powers except lord Shiva and Ganesha. Kama returned back to Brahma ad told him about his unsuccessful attempts. Brahma sighed heavily. From his sighes were created the ferocious ganas. These…
Sandhya was very ashamed of herself. For the atonement of her sin she decided to do penance. She went to Chandrabhaga mountain and commenced her tremendous penance. Lord Brahma then instructed Vashishtha to go to her in disguise and help in getting her initiated. He went to Chandrabhaga mountain in…
In the Sati Khand of Rudra-Samhita, Narada enquires lord Brahma about the reason, why lord Shiva married Sati, inspite of being a ‘yogi’. He also requested Brahma to tell, how Sati became the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and in her next birth as Uma the daughter of Himalaya. How did…
Narada asked lord Brahma, when did lord Shiva make Kailash as his abode and what was the reason of friendship between Shivaji and Kubera. Brahma narrated the following story- – There used to live a brahmin by the name Yagyadutt in Kampilyanagar, who was proficient in the performance of Somyagya….
Brahma revealed to Narada how the process of creation commenced- “After Lord Shiva vanished from our sight, I transformed myself into the appearance of a swan and Vishnu transformed his appearance into that of a boar with the purpose of commencing the process of creation. First of all, I created…
On Narada’s request Brahma said- “During the period of MahaPralaya (Final annihilation) nothing exist, except Shiva. The power which Shiva manifested from his own self came to be known as Ambika. This Ambika is understood to be the cause of the whole world as well as the Nature. Lord Shiva…
Peet kalpa was followed by Pradhritta kalpa. Black was the predominant colour of this kalpa. Initially, the whole earth was submerged in the water and Lord Brahma desirous of commencing his creations wished for a son. As a result, a divine child manifested whose complexion was dark. Not only that…
ahush had six sons- Yati, Yayati, Sanyati, Ayati, Viyati and Kriti. Yayati had two wives, Devyani, the daughter of Shukracharya and Sharmishtha, the daughter of Vrishparva. Devyani gave birth to Yadu and Turvasu whereas Sharmishtha gave birth to Druhayu, Anu and Puru. Because of a curse of Shukracharya old age…
Pururava’s son Ayu had been married to Rahu’s daughter. They had five sons- Nahush, Kshatravriddh, Rambh, Vraji and Aneyna. Suhotra was the son of Kshatravriddh. He had three sons- Kashya, Kash and Gritsamad. Shaunak was the son of Gritsamad whereas Kasheya was the son of Kashya. Lineage of Kasheya grew…
Ikshvaku’s son Nimi once decided to organise a Yagya that was to last for one thousand years. He also wanted the sage Vashishta to guide the Yagya. But Indra had already booked Vashishta for a period of five hundred years. So sage Vashishta expressed his inability to conduct any other…
King Sagar had two queens, Sumati, the daughter of Kashyapa and Keshini, the daughter of Vidarbha’s king. Keshini had a son Asmanjas whereas Sumati had sixty thousand sons. Anshuman was the son of Asmanjas. Asmanjas was very whimsical since his childhood. Even in his youth, he did not change his…
Once upon a time Gandharvas of collective name Mauneya defeated the Nagas and snatched all their wealth and powers. The Nagas prayed Lord Vishnu to rescue them. Lord Vishnu told them that he would appear in Mandhata’s son Purukutsa and kill the Gandharvas. Afterwards Narmada brought Purukutsa to Rasatal where…
THE WORSHIP OF PARTHIVA LINGA Suta then explains the greatness of worshipping a Parthiva Linga-: “Parthiva Linga is the most supreme among all the Shivalingas. All the aspirtions of he deities as well as men are fulfilled by the worship of Parthiv linga. During the era of Satya, jewel was…
Mayamoha was produced in a naked form. It reached the bank of Narmada and saw the demons observing penance there. The naked Mayamoha then approached them and said in a sweet voice- ” O demons! What is the purpose of your penance?” The demons said- “We are observing penance to achieve…
Oblation with flesh of fish, rabbit, mongoose, hog, deer, gram flour and cereals cause extreme satisfaction for the ancestors. But in modern Kali Yuga, all types of flesh are forbidden in oblation rituals. Only cereals, milk, honey, etc. are allowed. Offering of oblation in Gaya (a place of pilgrimage in…
Lord Maheshwar is beyond the reach if any kind of bondage. He is totally liberated entity. It is only by his blessings that the Nature-Prakriti, creates intelligence–buddhi. Similarly, intelligence creates ego-ahamkara and subtle forms of matter–tanmatra creates the greatest of matter by the blessings of Lord Shiva. No word can…
The sages were curious to know why Lord Shiva was also known as Pashupati (lord of animals). Suta retold the same tale which sage Shiladi had once narrated to Sanatkumar — Once, Sanatkumar went to the hermitage of Sage Shiladi and asked him as to why was Lord Shankar also…
Describing about the greatness of Shadakshar mantra that consists of six letters, Suta said– The sacred mantra — OM NAMAH SHIVAY holds a supreme place among all the mantras. During the Meghavahan kalpa of the first Treta Yuga, there lived a brahmin named Dhoondhmook. He became a licentious person due…
On being asked by the sages about the sacred mantra– the chanting of which enabled a man to attain salvation Suta replied — Lord Vishnu gives salvation to those people who endeavour to seek Brahm– the Almighty God. A man whose mind is preoccupied with the thought of Lord Vishnu…
Parashar said: “As the time passed, Yaduvanshis grew stronger and more influential. Now no longer did they like the welcoming and treating of the great sages by Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna knew about their disliking, but secretly He was pleased by this change in Yaduvanshi’s behaviour, for He knew that…
The sages were curious to know how Lord Shiva had bestowed the designation of Ganpatya and an ocean of milk to Upamanyu. They requested Suta to shed light on the two incidents. Suta narrated the following tale — Upamanyu was a brilliant child. There is an interesting story how he…
On being asked by the Sages how Andhak–the demon was appointed as the lord of Ganas by Lord Shiva, Suta narrated the following tale to them.–The mighty demon, Andhak was Hiranyaksh’s son. By the virtue of his austere penance he had received a boon of immortality from Lord Brahma. In…
The Sages asked Suta as to how did Maya–The demon acquire three well fortified forts from Lord Brahma and how was lord Shiva finally successful in destroying them. Suta replied– After Tarakasur’s death his three sons, Vidyunmali, Kamlaksha and Tarakaksha did tremendous penance to please Lord Brahma. When Lord Brahma…
The Sages asked Suta as to how Dhruva became successful in attaining immortality and supreme status among all the stars. Suta narrated the following tale— There lived a king named Uttanpad, who had two queens–Suniti and Suruchi. The eldest queen Suniti had a son named Dhruva. One day while Dhruva…
Describing about the decline in moral values during Kali Yuga, Indra told Shilad– In Kali Yuga, people will be under the total influence of the worldly illusions. Ignorance diseases, fear and hunger will be prevalent everywhere. Famine and drought would occur quite frequently as the fall out of inadequate rain….
Lord Shiva revealed to the sages that a female sex organ was nothing but a symbolic expression of goddess Parvati where as a male sex organ symbolized his own self. He also cautioned them against making fun of hermits appearance. He said- “These hermits who appear absured by their looks…
Having realized their mistake, the sages returned to Daruk forest and engaged themselves in austere penance to please Shiva. They did a tremendous penance, which lasted for a year. Ultimately their wished were fulfilled as Lord Shiva appeared with ashes smeared all over his body. He had a begging-bowl in…
Once upon a time, the sages were busy doing their penance to please Lord Mahadeva. Lord Shiva decided to test patience and visited daruk forest in naked position. By the virtue of his divine power, he was successful in corrupting the conduct of the sage’s wives. Those women became so…
The Moon rides a chariot with three wheels. This chariot is hauled by ten horses. During its entire journey, the Moon passes through all the twenty-seven Nakshatras. These horses haul the Moon’s chariot for a complete Kalpa. With his rays, the Sun nourishes the Moon, which loses its strength because of…
The thirty-first kalpa was known as Peet Kalpa. The term ‘Peet’ means yellow and this Kalpa was named Peet because Lord Brahma had put on yellow apparels during this Kalpa. Once, while he was meditating on the form of Lord Shiva, a divine child manifested before him. The child had…
Lord Shiva showers his blessing on one and all without any discrimination, but virtuous people have special privilege in the sense that it is easier for them to realize Lord Shiva.Once, Parvati asked Lord Shiva as to how a devotee could realize him. Lord Shiva recalled an incident when Lord…
Yoga means union with God. The state of yoga is impossible to attain without the blessings of Lord Shiva. It needs a concentrated and focussed mind. There are some specific spots in the human body concentrating upon which, enables a man to attain the state of yoga-spot between the eyebrows,…
Sati, daughter of Daksha had married lord Shiva much against the wish of her father. Once, Daksha organized a grand yagya in which he did not invite his son-in-law. Sati went to attend the yagya ceremony inspite of Shiva’s forbiddance. After seeing her, Daksha calumniated Lord Shiva and made fun…
In the initial phase of his creation, Lord Brahma created immovable natural things like trees, mountains etc-then birds and animals. In the process of creation, he created various things and human being was his seventh creation. First of all Lord Brahma created his Manasputras- Sanak, Sanandan etc, who had…
Life on earth is like an infinite ocean in which birth appears like a bubble and death marks the bursting of that bubble after which it exists no more. Atmosphere of a household is said to be defiled when a birth or death occurs in it. There are different sanctifying…
Once upon a time king Surath after loosing his kingdom to his enemy fled to the forest. After wandering for some time he reached the hermitage of sage Medha. He started living there, as he had no place to go. The dejected king used to pass his time wondering about…
A married man knows the importance of following a righteous discourse. Married life is like a penance in which a couple gives birth and raises next generation. A married man is expected to get up early in the morning and contemplate on religious things. It helps him to follow righteous…
Since birth till death, human life passes through different stages. For the purpose of simplicity in following these stages, our sages have made provisions for four stages or ashramas in life namely Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanprastha and Sanyas. Upanayana Sanskara (thread ceremony) marks the beginning of education for the children born…
Maitreya says – “Lord! How should one worship Lord Vishnu? Kindly describe it to me. Parashar says- King Sagar had asked the same thing from sage Aurv. I am narrating what sage Aurv had preached him. Only those who fulfil their responsibilities and discharge their duties as per their class can…
A disciple of Veda Vyasa named Vaishampayan created twenty-seven branches of Yajurveda and taught them to his disciples. He had a disciple Yagyavalkya who was the son of Brahmarat. At that time, all the sages together constituted a rule that whoever did not join their group within seven days on…
Sage Parashar, the exponent of Vishnu Purana had narrated this treatise to Maitreya. Sage Suta inherited it from Maitreya. The text presented here is narrated by Suta. Suta says- One day, Maitreya greeted sage Parashar and said- “Gurudev, you have studied all the scriptures. I wish to hear the tale…
Many years ago, Brahma lost his head slightly. He began to imagine that he was superior to Shiva and Vishnu. He told all the sages, “I am the supreme godhead. There is no one else but me.” While Brahma was thus instructing the sages, Vishnu arrived and was enraged…
It is certain that you know the story of the Ramayana and you therefore also known that Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducted Sita, Rama’s wife. But you certainly do not know the story of the Sita who was an illusion (maya Sita). This story clearly illustrates that no…