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…
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…
Maitreya says- “O Lord! How did God divide Vedas in the form of Veda Vyasa during different yugas?” Parashar says- During each Dwapar Yuga, in every Kalpa, Lord Vishnu takes incarnation as Veda Vyasa and effects the division of Vedas for the benefit of human beings. During every Dwapar Yuga of…
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…
Earth’s total height is 70,000 Yojans. In her depth, are situated seven nether worlds with a depth of 10,000 Yojans each respectively. Names of these seven nether worlds are Atal, Vital, Nital, Gamastiman, Mahatal, Sutal and Patal. These nether worlds have beautiful palaces, and have lands which are white, black,…
Most Puranas only mention Vishnu’s incarnations (avataras). The Kurma Purana is one of the great ones which mentions Shiva’s incarnations. In each Kali Yuga, Shiva has had an incarnation. The names of these incarnations are as follows. (1) Shveta. (2) Sutara. (3) Madana. (4) Suhotra. (5) Kankana. (6) Lokakshi. (7)…
Maitreya says- “Lord, if only the seven Ganas are entrusted with the job of causing cold and summer, drought and rain, what is the purpose then of the Sun’s existence? “ Parashar says- It is true that Surya is one of the seven Ganas. Yet being the chief among them,…
The Sun travels speedily across the sky like an arrow. He determines the night and the day. With the rising and setting of the Sun, one can have knowledge of the directions. Sun lights up all the places in the entire world except Brahmaloka. Sun’s rays that reach Brahmaloka return…
It is hoped that you have not forgotten that Svayambhuva Manu had a son named Priyavrata. Priyavrata had ten sons. Their names were Agnidhra, Agnivahu, Vapushmana, Dyutimana, Medha, Medhatithi, Bhavya, Savana, Putra and Jyotishmana. Medha, Agnivahu and Putra had no desire to rule. They were not interested in material…
Plakshdweep- Plakshdweep has an expansion of 2,00,000 Yojans. Its ruler Meghatithi had seven sons- Shanthaya, Shishir, Sukhodaya, Anand, Shiva, Kshemak and Dhruva. Those seven princes later on came to rule Plakshdweep. Hence, Plakshdweep had seven divisions named after these seven princes. Seven mountains mark the boundaries of Plakshdweep. These are …
The landmass that is present between Himalayas and the ocean is known as Bharata. It has an expansion of 9,000 Yojans. It is populated by the descendants of Bharata. It has seven native mountains- Mahendra, Malay, Sahaya, Shuktiman, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra. Bharatavarsha has nine divisions named Indradweep, Kaseru, Tamraparn,…
You probably remember that there are four yugas or eras – Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. Lomaharshana next told the sages about the characteristics of these four eras. Kali Yuga is the worst of the four eras. People are sinful and…
When the great sages crowned Prithu as the king of the entire earth, Brahma had also divided the kingdoms. Thus, Brahma appointed Chandrama as the ruler of all the Nakshatras, planets, Brahmins, vegetation, Yagya, penance etc. He also appointed Kubera as the ruler of the kings, Varuna as the ruler…
Krishna was the eight incarnation of Vishnu and he was born as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Initially, Krishna did not have any sons. Desirous of obtaining a son, Krishna went to visit the sage Upamanyu. The sage’s hermitage was beautiful. Wonderous were the trees and flowers and grew…
When the demons saw that their all efforts failed to faze Prahlada and that he was preaching the demon children they informed Hiranyakashipu about all these happenings. Hiranyakashipu at once called his cook and ordered him to poison Prahlada through food. But the poisonous food also could not hurt Prahlada….
Parashar says- By the boon of Brahma, Hiranyakashipu had acquired tremendous power and came to control all the three worlds. He had driven the gods out of heaven and used to receive the oblations offered to Surya, Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Chandrama, Kubera, Yamaraj etc. Because of his fear, all those…
Parashar says- ” With the help of Dhruva, his wife gave birth to two sons- Sishti and Bhavya. Sishti had five sons- Ripu, Ripunjay, Vipra, Vikal and Vrikteja. Ripu had a brilliant son Chakshush. Chakshush had a son Manu. Manu had sons- Puru, Kuru, Shatadyumna, Tapasvi, Satyavan, Suchi, Agnishtome, Atiratra,…
Budha was the son of the moon-god Chandra. Budha married Ila and they had a son named Pururava. Pururava married the apsara Urvashi and they had six sons. One of these sons was Ayu and amongst Ayu’s descendants was a king named Yayati. Yayati had two wives. The…
At the end of the previous Kalpa, when Brahma awakened from his long slumber, he saw all the worlds devoid of everything. With a desire to save the earth from the depth of unfathomable inundation, He took the appearance of Varaha. Entering the water, He reached Patala loka. Seeing Him,…
Bali had a hundred sons, the eldest among whom was Vana. Vana was devoted to Shiva. He was also extremely powerful. He defeated Indra and conquered the three worlds. Indra and the other gods went to Shiva. “Your devotee, Vana is oppressing us,” they told Shiva. “Please take care…
With Andhaka thus taken care of, Prahlada’s son Virochana became the king of the demons. He ruled his kingdom well. There was a sage named Sanatakumara who once went to visit Virochana. Virochana was delighted to see the sage and Sanatakumara instructed Virochana on the true nature of the…
While Shiva was gone, he left his companion Nandi to look after his household. He also gave Vishnu the overall responsibility of ensuring that all was well with Parvati and the gods and the sages. Realising that Shiva was away, Andhaka thought that this was the opportune moment for…
Many years ago, there was a terrible drought on earth. There was no food to be had and famine prevailed. There were several sages who lived in the forest, and they too, suffered from a lack of food. Goutama was a very powerful sage and he had a hermitage…
After Hiranyakashipu died, Hiranyaksha became the king of the demons. Hiranyaksha promptly began to oppress the world. He defeated the gods and drove them out of heaven. He also took the earth down to the underworld. The gods again went to Brahma in search of a solution and…
Hiranyakashipu pleased Brahma through his prayers. As a result of the boon that he received from Brahma, he became invisible and started to oppress the world. He drove the gods out of heaven. The gods and the sages went to Brahma to persuade him to do something about Hiranyakashipu. “I…
Daksha was Brahma’s son and had a daughter named Sati. Sati was married to Shiva. Daksha was thus Shiva’s father-in-law. Once Daksha came to visit his son-in-law. But although Shiva worshipped him with all due respect, Daksha felt that he had been slighted. Subsequently, when Sati went to visit…
It is hoped that you have not forgotten that Svayambhuva Manu and his wife Shatarupa had a son named Uttanapada. Uttanapada’s brother was Priyavarta. Dhruva was Uttanapada’s son. Dhruva was so devoted to Vishnu that Vishnu earmarked for him a place in the heaven known as Dhruvaloka. (Dhruva became the…
Shiva was married to Daksha’s daughter Sati. Sati died and was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya and his wife Mena (alternatively, Menaka). Parvati was married to Shiva. In fact, Himalaya and Mena prayed so that they might have the goddess as their daughter. Pleased with their prayers,…
Brahma returned to his seat on the lotus flower. Suddenly, two demons named Madhu and Kaitabha appeared. They were exceedingly strong and threatened to destroy everything that Brahma would create. Brahma therefore requested Vishnu to kill these two demons. Vishnu created two beings from his own body and these…
The gods and the sages told Vishnu, “We are getting a bit confused. You have told us that Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s body. And yet you have also told us how Brahma was born inside a golden egg. Which of these is the correct account? Then again, you have told…
A Varaha is a boar and the boar incarnation is usually catalogued as the third of Vishnu’s ten incarnations. When the universe was submerged in water after the destruction that came at the end of padma kalpa, Vishnu slept on the waters. Thus he slept for a thousand mahayugas….
The smallest unit of time is a nimesha. Fifteen nimeshas make one kashtha, thirty kashthas are one kala and thirty kalas constitute one muhurta. There are thirty muhurtas in a span of day and night (ahoratra). Thirty such ahoratras make up a month. There are two pakshas (fortnight) in every…
A chandala is an outcast. On the outskirts of the city named Avanti lived a chandala. There was a temple of Vishnu in Avanti and the chandala was devoted to Vishnu. He was also a good singer. Ekadashi tithi is the eleventh lunar day. Every month, on ekadashi tithi, the…
Vishnu next narrated to the gods and the sages the history of creation. In the beginning, the Brahman was everywhere. The Brahman had no form, but nor was it without form. It had no beginning and no end. It had no traits, but nor was it without traits. The…
Vishnu said that before creation began, there was only water in the universe and Vishnu slept on these waters. When it was time for creation to begin, Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s body. And Shiva emerged from Vishnu’s anger. Lakshmi too was created from Vishnu’s body and took her place by…
There was a sage named Kandu. He had a hermitage on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. The ashrama was a beautiful place and Kandu performed very difficult tapasya there. In the summer Kandu meditated in the hot sun, in the monsoon he meditated on the wet ground, and in…
Describing the various types of austerities, Lord Vishnu named a few of them– Yama (Restraining Passion)- This particular austerity comprises of ten virtues- Celibacy, Forgiveness, Meditation, Truthfulness, Honesty, Non-violence, Not stealing, Gentleness and Self control. Niyama (Daily Routine)- This austerity stresses the importance of purity: both of the body as…
There was a city named Bhouvana. In that city there lived a brahmana named Goutama. The brahmana had a vaishya (trader and agriculture caste) friend named Manikundala. Goutama’s mother gave him a lot of ill advice. As a result of this, Goutama told Manikundala, “Let us go to other countries…
Many years ago, there was a king named Indradyumna. He ruled the world well and, when he died, was reborn as a brahmana, (The brahmanas constitute the first of the four classes, their primary duties are to study the Vedas and perform sacrifices.) As a brahmana, Indradyumna observed…
(The samudra manthana story is given in great detail in the Ramayana and the Mahabharataa. As for Lakshmi, some of the Puranas state that she was born as the daughter of Khyati and the sage Bhrigu. She was then married to Vishnu. But the demons defeated the gods and Indra….
THE MAJESTY OF PRANAV PANCHAKSHAR The root sounds Akar, Ukar, Makar, Bindu and Nad, which are free from the delusions and which originates from the mother nature are called Pranav. It is of two types:-a)Gross, b) Subtle. (Pranav Mantra OM AND OM NAMAH SHIVAY! It symbolizess the unified power of…
Years ago, there was a war between the gods and the demons and the gods lost. The gods came to Brahma for advice and Brahma asked them to pray to Shiva. When Shiva appeared before them, the gods said, “The demons have defeated us. Please kill them and save us.”…
‘THE IMPORTANCE OF AGNI-YAGYA’ The sages then asked Suta about the Agniyagya, Brahma yagya, and Guru Puja in order of importance. Suta said- “Performing ‘havan’ by offering matter and materials into the sacred fire, is called Agni yagya. This ritual is especially meant for the brahmachari (celibates). Performing havana during…
The sage Goutama had a son named Vriddhagoutama. Vriddhagoutama was also a sage. But he was very ugly. Besides, he had no nose; had never had one since he had been born. He was so ashamed of this deformity that he could not bear to join the other children of…
In the Ikshvaku dynasty there ruled a king named Harishchandra. Harishchandra had no son. One day two sages named Narada and Parvata came to visit Harishchandra and told him that he would go to hell if he did not have a son. “How can I obtain a son?” asked Harishchandra….
Thereafter, the Agni Purana has many chapters on literature and grammar. It describes the different types of chhanda (metres) that are used in poetry. Next it discusses the alphabet. There are sixty-four letters (varna) in the alphabet, of which twenty-one are vowels (svara varna). There are three tones (svara) in…
You have already been told about the great snake (naga) Ananta. Ananta had a son named Maninaga. Garuda was the enemy of the snakes and the snakes were all afraid of Garuda. Maninaga began to pray to Shiva. Having pleased Shiva, he obtained the boon that Garuda would be able to…
There was a king of the daityas named Bali. He was powerful and invincible. He was also righteous and truthful. The gods cold not bear to see Bali’s prosperity and began to plot how Bali might be foiled. So well did Bali rule that disease, drought and evil disappeared throughout…
Hearing the news of Kritya’s failure to kill Prahlada, killing of teachers and their subsequent revival as effected by Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu called his son and asked if all those miracles were natural or he knew some magical tricks. Prahlada said- “O father, neither I know any magic nor is the…