Andhak went to Shukracharya and narrated the woeful tale of demons’ defeat. He also requested Shukracharya to help the demons win the battle. Shukracharya was dejected but he assured the demons that he would make alive, all the dead demons with the help of SanJivani Vidya and really all the…
Prahlada says- “Blinded by lust, Danda forcibly breached the modesty of unrelenting Araja and returned to his palace. Araja was saddened by the inability to protect her chastity and started wailing. When Shukracharya returned to his hermitage, he found Araja lying down at the entrance. He asked her about what…
In the meantime, both daughters of Yaksha and the demon arrived at Srikanth Mahadeva temple and engaged themselves in the worship of lord Mahadeva. One day, sage Galav arrived at the temple and was astonished to find two young ladies at such a deserted place. While taking bath, he heard…
This is one of the richest Hindu myths. It is a creation myth and also a trickster myth, and it is nested in the Vishnu myth cycle as an avatara (incarnation) myth. It has versions that are pan-Indian and versions that are sectarian (those used to prove the supremacy and…
Continuing with his story, King Danda says- “Chitrangada stayed for a long period at Saptagodavar. She used to spend time by engaging in the worship of Lord Hatkeshwar waiting for the day she would meet her husband. Vishwakarma had become a monkey due to the curse of that sage and…
Lord Shiva was so deeply attached to Uma that for 1000 years, he was possessed by only her thoughts. He forgot about his duties and as a result, there was anarchy all over the world. His obsession with Uma had also decreased his radiance. He decided to do penance with…
Swallowing of Lord Shiva’s sperm had subdued Agni’s radiance. The deities advised him to take Lord Brahma’s help. While he was on his way to Brahma loka, he came across a river named Kutila and requested her to hold Shiva’s sperm. She agreed and requested him to release it in…
Shumbh and Nishumbh were sons of Danu. They wanted to avenge Mahishasura’s death and sent many demons like to bring Goddess Chandika after enslaving her. First of all, Sugreev was sent followed by Dhumralochan but both of them were killed by the Goddess. When Shumbh and Nishumbh heard of their…
After reaching Mandar Mountain, Lord Shiva instructed Vishwakarma to construct a home. Vishwakarma constructed a spacious home for Shiva, which was spread in the area of 64 Yojans. The home was decorated with Swastika symbols and its walls were made of gold. One day, Lord Shiva jokingly referred to…
The gods and the demons fought with each other all the time. Brihaspati was the preceptor of the gods and Shukracharya was the preceptor of the demons. Shukracharya knew a wonderful art known as mritasanjivani. This was the knowledge of bringing back dead people to life. Since Shukracharya knew this…
Mena gave birth to three daughters and a son. The eldest daughter- Ragini was red complexioned and had red eyes. Kutila was fair complexioned and had beautiful eyes like that of lotus petals. The youngest daughter- Kali was dark complexioned and had beautiful eyes like the petals of blue lotus….
The sages then asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Sthanu Tirtha and the importance of Sthanu Vata. They also expressed their desire to know about the reservoir named Sanihitya and how Indra had filled it up with mud. Sage Lomaharshan replied- “Once, Sanatkumar upon being asked by Balkhilya and other…
The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Kamyakvan Tirtha. Lomaharshan replied- “Once upon a time, the sages of Naimisharanya came to Kurukshetra to take bath in river Saraswati. But, since they were large in number, the banks of river Saraswati could not accommodate all of them. In their helplessness,…
The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Vashishthapava Tirtha and about the reason why sage Vashishtha was carried along by the powerful current of Saraswati river. Lomaharshan said- “There was great rivalry between sage Vashishtha and sage Vishwamitra. In course of time, it turned into a bitter enemity. Vashishtha…
Sage Mankanak was the Manasputra of Kashyapa. He had seven sons, who were famously known as Marud Ganas. They are the one who hold all the movable and immovable objects of this world. Once, sage Mankanak injured his finger by the sharp edge of Kusha grass while he was trying…
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…
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 course of time, Tapti gave birth to a son, who possessed all the signs of royalty. After growing up, he mastered all the four Vedas and other scriptures within a very short period. At the raw age of 24, he became a scholar. When he attained marriageable age, he…
Revealing the reasons for Goddess Durga’s re-incarnation, sage Pulastya says- “Goddess Durga is also known as Kaushiki as she had manifested from the cell (Koshika) of Uma’s (Parvati’s) body. After the manifestation, she went to Vindhya Mountain with the objective of killing the demons Shumbh and Nishumbh. She was accompanied…
Narada asked sage Pulastya as to how Goddess Durga kill Mahishasura. Sage Pulastya replied- “After the killing of Chikshur, Mahishasura sent Namar to fight Goddess Durga. Namar proceeded towards the Vindhya Mountain accompanied by a huge battalion. After reaching there, he shot a volley of arrows towards the Vindhya Mountain….
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…
Sage Pulastya says- “Dharma, the possessor of divine body and who manifested from the heart of Lord Brahma married Murti, the daughter of Daksha. Four sons were born to them- Hari, Krishna, Nara and Narayan. Hari and Krishna engaged themselves in the practice of Yoga whil Nar and Narayan went…
Pulastya says- “After being enlightened by the sages on various subjects, Sukeshi returned to his capital. He taught the demons all that he had learnt. As a result, all the demons became very virtuous. The newly attained virtuosity and religiousness made the demons invincible and powerful. Sukeshi’s capital was situated…
The gods and the demons always fought with one another. In the process, many demons and gods were killed. This was no problem for the demons. Their teacher, Shukracharya, knew the art of mritasanjivani and immediately brought the dead demons back to life. But the gods who were killed stayed…
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…
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…
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…
Once, Lord Shiva while describing about the incident when he had a divine glimpse of Lord Narayan, told Sage Agastya — ‘Purusha’ is none other than Lord Narayan himself and Prakriti is the medium through which he manifests his powers. I have been fortunate to have a divine glimpse…
There used to be a king named Ashvapati who ruled in the kingdom of Madra. Ashvapati had no sons. He therefore began to pray to the goddess Savitri so that he might have a son. He performed thousands and thousands of yajnas. Eventually the goddess appeared before the king and…
Diti had a son named Hiranyakashipu. This demon meditated for eleven thousand years under the water. Throught this period, he did not eat or talk at all. These meditations pleased Brahma and Brahma offered to grant Hiranyakasipu a boon. ―What boon do you wish for?‖ he asked. ―If you are…
Prithvi requested lord Varaha to define the meaning of ‘Pitra’ yagya (rituals pertaining to last rite) and its significance. Lord Varaha replied- “Sage Nimi was the first person to perform the the rituals of pitra-yagya after the death of his son Atreya. Sage Atreya is famous for his penance which…
Kartikeya or Skanda was born after some days. The boys shone with the radiance of a thousand suns and had six (shada) faces (anana). He was therefore also known as Shadanana. The gods armed Kartikeya with diverse weapons and appointed him their general. They requested him to kill the…
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 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…
Lord Shiva told Prithvi- “Gonishkraman tirth is situated in the Himalayas. Sage Aurva had his hermitage at this sacred place which was incidentally burnt to ashes by lord Shiva. Aurva cursed Shiva as the result of which Shiva started wandering throughout the world in a restless manner.” “Once, lord Shiva…
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…
Giving the reasons that lead to the great battle of Mahabharata, Lord Brahma told sage Vyasa that Sri Krishna had planned this great battle and executed it to perfection to relieve the earth from the burden of tyrants. While giving the names of lineal ascendants of Kauravas and Pandavas, he…
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…
This particular austerity is observed in the Hindu month of Kartik. The rituals commence by worshipping various organs of lord Narayan amidst the chanting of different mantras which are as follows- om sahastra shirse namah – head 2. om Purushay namah – arms om vishwa rupine namah – throat…
Describing the importance of purnima sage Mahatapa said- “Daksha Prajapati had cursed Chandrama, his son-in-law for maltreating his daughters. As the fallout of that curse Chandrama started waning day by day and eventually became invisible on amavasya. All the deities became worried and went to seek lord Vishnu’s help. Lord …
Sage Mahatapa then went on to describe the incident that led to the manifestation of lord Rudra and the significance of chaturdashi- ‘In the beginning of creation, when lord Brahma failed in his repeated attempts to create, he became frustrated. Frustration turned into fury and from his fury manifested a…
Those of the gods who had survived the battle and were still free started to pray to Brahma. ―What can I do for you?‖ asked Brahma. Why are all of you looking so despondent?‖ ―You are the one who is responsible for our misfortune,‖ replied the gods. ―You have granted…
Lord Brahma then went on to describe the famous tale of Ramayana the mere listening to which absolves a man from all his sins. He began by giving the details of Sri Ram’s lineage and said–‘I (Lord Brahma) manifested from the Lotus originating from the navel of Lord Vishnu. Sage…
King Prajapal then requested Mahatapa to shed light on the origin of the serpents and the significance of ‘panchami’. Sage Mahatapa replied- The serpents came from the lineage of Kadru-Kashyapa’s wife. Sage Kashyapa had numerous progeny from Kadru-Vasuki, Anant, Kambal, Karkotak, Padma, Mahapadma, Shankh, Kulik, etc. When all these serpents…
King Prajapal asked Mahatapa about the reason why goddess Gauri- the epithet of power, had to take incaranation. Sage Mahatapa replied – “Goddess Gauri manifested from lord Narayan and was offered to Rudra as his consort by lord Brahma. Lord Brahma then instructed Brahma to begin creation but Rudra being…
During Treta Yuga, there lived a king named Prajapal. Once while he was on his hunting spree, he entered into a dense forest. He was delighted to see a dear who started running for its life after hearing the noise. Prajapal let his horse loose in the direction of the…
Once, sage Vyasa went to Brahmaloka to get his doubts cleared on certain spiritual matters from Lord Brahma. While dwelling on a wide range of religious topics such as importance of austerities and various incarnations Lord Vishnu took to protect righteousness, Lord Brahma narrated a tale of a Brahmin woman…
Once sage Markandeya arrived at Naimisharanya to see sage Gaurmukh. Sage Gaurmukh was delighted to find such an enlightened soul at his hermitage. After the formalities were over, Gaurmukh requested him to shed light on the venerability of ancestors and the significance of shradha rituals. Sage Markandeya replied- “Lord Brahma,…
Fortified with Brahma‘s boon, Taraka started to rule the demons. After some years had passed and after Taraka had raised a strong army, he decided to attack heaven. A huge army of demons was accordingly raised. There were thousands of elephants, horses and chariots in the army. Apart from Taraka,…
Prithvi asked lord Varaha about the famous incident which described Ashvashira’s unification with lord Narayan. Lord Varaha then narrated the following tale- “During ancient times, there used to live a virtuous king named Ashvashira. He had performed an Ashwamedha Yagya in which he had donated large amount of wealth. Once,…