Sanatkumar says: O Narada! I am now narrating about another fast. It is Haripanchak fast and is rare in all the worlds. It destroys all the sorrows of the devotee, fulfills his all desires and helps him attain the four goals of life. It is observed for five days in…
Narada says: “O Sanatkumar! A king Sumit had performed this flagging fast for the first time. Kindly narrate to me the tale of his life.” Sanatkumar says: During Satya Yuga, a Somavanshi king Sumit was ruling the entire earth. He was very religious in nature and a great devotee of…
Sanatkumar says: “O Narada! Now I am narrating about the flagging fast in order to please Lord Vishnu. He who performs this fast is even worshipped by Brahma and other deities. This fast accords virtues equal to those of donating one thousand carats of gold to a Brahmin or those…
Sanatkumar says: ” O great among the sages! Now I am narrating about an excellent fast, which destroys all the sins. Observing fast on full Moon day is considered excellent among all the fasts. It leads to fulfillment of all the desires and protects the devotee from influence of harsh…
The sages say: “O fortunate one! You have obliged us narrating the tale of sacred Ganges. Now we desire to hear what Narada asked Sanatkumar.” Suta says: “O great sages! Now I narrate what Narada asked Sanatkumar, listen to it carefully.” Narada says: “I am blessed hearing the pious tale…
Narada says:”O Muni! What did king Bhagirath do on Himalayas? How did he please Ganges to descend on the earth?” Sanatkumar says: O Narada! Renouncing all his royal comforts, Bhagirath went to the snow- capped, lofty peaks of the Himalayas. There he saw dense forest and herds of deer and…
Dharmaraj says: “O king! Those who commit severe sin on earth are bound to suffer equally severe torturing in hell. I am now describing about such sins and the tortures vouchsafed for them in the hells. Tapan, Balukakumbh, Maharaurav, Raurav, Kumbhipak, Pramardan, Lalabhaksha, Vasakup and Vaitarni are some of the…
Dharmaraj says: “O king! Those who build temples with earth stay in the abode of Vishnu for three kalpas. Then they attain Brahmaloka. One receives double virtues if he builds a temple with wood. Building a temple with bricks and stones gives four-fold virtue while with the precious stones one…
Narada says: “O brother! You narrated a wonderful tale. Now, kindly relate to me, how did the Ganges originate?” Sanatkumar says: O Narada! Pleased with the severe penance of Aditi, Lord Vishnu appeared before her and asked her to seek a boon. Feeling elated with exhilaration, Aditi fell flat at…
Narada says: “O brother! Kindly narrate the tale of the Ganges’ origin from the feet of lord Vishnu.” Sanatkumar says: Long ago, in the beginning of creation, one sage Kashyapa had two wives Diti and Aditi. They both were the daughters of Daksha. Aditi was the mother of the gods…
Narada says: “O great brother! Why did sage Vashishta curse Saudas and how did he recover from this curse by the virtue of the Ganges waters?” Sanatkumar says: “O Narada! Saudas was a virtuous king. He ruled over his subjects religiously. He was very fond of hunting. So, one day,…
Suta says- “The glorious description of devotion for Lord Vishnu caused extreme joy for Narada.” Narada says: “O great sage Sanat! Now kindly tell me about such a place of pilgrimage which is even holier than the holiest places of pilgrimage.” Sanatkumar says: O Narada! Confluence of Ganga and…
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!…
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…
Brahma rose to importance in the late Vedic period of the Aranyakas and Upanishads, after the first Hindu triad declined—that of Surya, Indra, and Agni. Brahma’s temple at Pushkara was the beginning point for pilgrimages from the time of the two great epics. However, it turned out to be the…
Bhumi (the earth) was a Puranic addition to the Hindu pantheon. There are a number of versions of her birth, and her children had so many different gods and demons as fathers that another myth had to provide a curse from Parvati to explain this flaw in her character….
There were five Bharatas in Hindu mythology: (1) the brother of Rama, (2) a partial incarnation of Vishnu who ruled for 27,000 years and whose land was called Bharata, (3) a king of Hima who reigned for 100,000 years and, according to one tale in the Bhagavata Purana, was…
Bharadvaja was the son of Maharishi Atri. He lived thousands of years, years that he used for the study of the Vedas. He was a disciple of the great Valmiki. Many Vedic hymns are credited to Bharadvaja’s authorship. When Rama was beginning his exile, he went to Bharadvaja’s asrama…
Most Hindu mythologies are built upon a logic of devotion (bhakti), connecting worship (puja), purity (shuddhi; sauca), morality (dharma), responsibility (karma), and austerities (tapas). Bhakti can be more than just “being religious,” since it can lead to liberation (moksha) from life’s addictions and even from the cycle of rebirth (samsara)….
Sanatkumar says: O sage! Faith has the greatest significance. Achievement of everything and appeasement of Lord Vishnu depend upon the faith. Nothing is attainable without faith. Such as a human being faces inertia in the absence of life and is rendered motionless. Similarly, faith is like a spiritual light without…
Shaunak says: “Suta, how did Sanatkumar unfold the mystic character of the religion to Narada? When and where they had the meeting to hold this pious discussion? Kindly tell us in detail Suta says: “The great sage Sanatkumar, who was free from illusions, was the creation of Brahma’s imagination. He…
Once upon a time, about twenty-six thousand sages assembled in the holy ambience of Naimisharanya. All of them had renounced their desires and homely comforts and were worshipping Lord Vishnu for the benefit of the entire humanity. During their stay in Naimisharanya, those sages called a huge assembly to discuss…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In one version of his birth Andhaka was a daitya (demon), born of Diti and KasSyapa. He had a thousand arms, a thousand heads, and thus two thousand eyes, hands, and feet (in another version, two thousand arms, two thousand legs). And even though he could see, it was…
Ananta literally means “without end,” “infinite.” It was a descriptive term used of Vishnu and other gods. It was also used as a name of Vishnu’s serpent. Ananta was the giant serpent that floated upon the Milky Ocean and formed the bed for Vishnu as he slept during the involution…
When lord Shiva went away. Sandhya got up and went to the place where Medhatithi was performing his yagya. She made a mental resolution to have that brahmin as her husband, who in reality was Vashishtha and then entered into the sacrificial fire. The fire of the yagya burnt her…
During the ‘Varaha’ Kalpa of the Seventh ‘Manvantar’ lord Vishnu illuminated all the three world by his divine presence. This seventh Manvantara consisted of four yugas which repeated themselves in a cyclic way for twelve times. The first dwapar of this seventh manvantar saw the manifestation of lord Shiva for…
Once, Andhak brothers jokingly told him that, since his real parents were somebody else (Shiva and Parvati) therefore he was not fit to rule them. Though they had told this in good humour, yet Andhak was very much saddened by their remark. He relinquished his throne and went to a…
After being instructed by goddess Parvati, Lord Vishnu had gone to Tulsi in the guise of her husband- Shankhachuda, so that the breach of Tulsi chastity could help lord Shiva to kill Shankhachuda, who derived his power from Tulsi’s chastity and virtuosity. Initially Tulsi could not recognize lord Vishnu. She…
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…
Rahu went back to Jalandhar and narrated the whole story to him. Jalandhar then attacked Kailash mountain with his huge army. A fierce battle was fought between the Shiva-ganas and the demons. When Jalandhar realized that lord Shiva had begun to dominate the battle he created beautiful ‘Apsaras’ and ‘Gandharvas’…
The deities were very encouraged by the presence of Kartikeya amidst themselves. They were beaming with confidence and enthusiasm. The deities assembled at the seashore. Tarakasur arrived there with his huge army. The battle began. Tarakasur appeared to be invincible. His blow was so severe that Indra fell down unconscious….
Narada was curious to know about Tarakasur. He asked Brahma to narrate his tale. Brahma said- “Kashyapa-the son of Marichi, had thirteen wives Diti was the eldest among them. She was the mother of Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Both her sons were killed by lord Vishnu in his incarnations of Nrisimha…
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…
Once upon a time a Narada was performing a penance in the cave of Himalaya mountain. Indra becoming fearful sent Kamadev to obstruct his penance. But Kamadeva was unsuccessful in his attempt as the place where Narada was doing penance was the same place where Lord Shiva did penance. After…
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…
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…
Lineage of Vaivasvat Manu finds its origin at Brahma. Brahma was the first to appear from Lord Vishnu who is the primitive cause for the whole creation. From the right hand thumb of Brahma, Daksha Prajapati appeared. Daksha produced Aditi and Aditi produced Vivasvan. Manu was the son of Vivasvan….
The Sages requested Suta to reveal how Lord Shiva had killed the notorious demon– Jalandhar. Suta narrated the following tale— There was a demon named Jalandhar. He had manifested from the ocean. He had acquired divine power by the virtue of his austere penance. Jalandhar had defeated the deities and…
There ruled a king named Kshoopa whose friend was Sage Dadhichi. Once they got into argument over the superiority of their respective castes. King Kshoopa was of the opinion that a Kshetriya was superior to Brahmin. Very soon, the dispute took an ugly turn and a duel broke out between…
Shiva is both invisible as well as the root cause of all the delusions of the world. This is why Shiva is also known as Alinga (unknowable). Linga is nothing but the non-manifested (Auyakta) form of Shiva. This implies that the visible world is the medium through which Shiva manifests…
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)…
Maitreya says- “O sage, kindly narrate about the future Manvantaras that are to come.” Parashar says- Vishwakarma’s daughter Sangya was the wife of Surya. They had three children, Manu, Yama and Yamani. Sangya once felt unable to bear the radiance of Surya. So, appointing Chhaya (her shadow) in the service…
The gods and the demons did not like each other and fought several wars with each other. There were twelve such terrible wars. On one particular occasion, the demons were defeated by the gods. Extremely disheartened, they went to visit their preceptor, Shukracharya. (son of sage Bhrigu.) The demons told…
King Prithu had two sons- Antardhan and Vadi who were very religious minded themselves. Antardhan’s wife Shikhandi gave birth to Ivirdhan. Prachin Barhi was the son of Ivirdhan and his wife, Ghishna. Shukra, Gaya, Krishna, Vrij and Ajin were their other sons. Prachin Barhi was a great fosterer of his…