Dedicated to my Guru Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda
And to Sri Pothana Mahadev who has gifted the greatet Epic to the Telugu people. All Telugu people must be devoted and thankful to his efforts. And I believe to this day all telugu movie writers and kavi's are taking their knolewdge from his writings.
And Pothana Mahadev himself is thankful to Goddess Saraswathi Devi
ఓం నమో స త్రాయ హస్మాయే పరబ్రహ్మయ హమ్
Pothana says
"అమ్మ సరస్వతి! నేను శిరస్సుపిన పూట్ట పెరిగిన అదికవి వాల్మికిగా పుట్టలెధు. పడవలో ప్రభవించిన వాయసుదను కధు. క్యావిక్యులేటిలకూడైనాకాళిదాశుడాను కానమ్మ! ఆయనా తగుదు నమ్మా అని పురాణాన్నీ తెలిగించటానికి పూనుకున్నానూ. ఎం చేయ్యాలో, ఏమీ తోచటం లేదు. ఇటువంటి సమయంలో ఎటువంటి మార్గం అవసరమో ఆది నీవే నాకు అనుగ్రహించు నా చేయి పట్టుకొని నాడపించు, ముమ్మటికి నిన్న్యె నమ్ముకునాను తల్లి!
నివెయ్ నాకు ఆదరం. నాకు తెలుసు తల్లి ! నీ కారూన్ అపార పారవరం"
Lastly thankful to the person who has translated this kavyam into common telugu language Sri Jyandhala Papayya Sasthri Garu and Sri VijayKumar reddy who has dedicated to publishing of this Book.
The day when there was Full Moon with a moon eclipse along with the blessings of his (Pothana) fore fathers, bathed in the banks of River Gowthami. After bathing came out and sat on white colored sand bed meditating on Lord Siva with half-naked eye Pothana has started this kavya.
....to be continued
1. Brahma Purana
2. Padma Purana
3. Vishnu Purana
4. Shiva Purana
5. Vamana Purana
6. Markandeya Purana
7. Varaha Purana
8. Agni Purana
9. Kurma Purana
10. Bhagavad Maha Purana
11. Linga Purana
12. Narada Purana
13. Skanda Purana
14. Garuda Purana
15. Matsya Purana
16. Vayu Purana
17. Bhavishya Purana
18. Brahmanda Purana(incomplete)1. BRAHMA PURANA
Preliminaries
There was a forest known as Naimisharanya. The sages (maharshis) arranged for a sacrifice
(yajna) in this forest and the ceremony went on for twelve years. Naimisharanya forest was a
wonderful place to arrange sacrifices in. The climate was pleasant. There were trees full of
climate was pleasant. There were trees full of flowers and fruit. There was no shortage of food in
the forest, and animals, birds and sages lived thee happily.
Many sages came to attend the sacrifice that had been arranged in Naimisharanya. With them
was Romaharshana (alternatively Lomaharshana), Veda Vyasa's disciple. Veda Vyasa had
instructed this disciple of his in the knowledge of the Puranas. The assembled sages worshipped
the learned Romaharshana and said, "Please tell us the stories of the Puranas. Who created the
universe, who is its preserver and who will destroy it? Please instruct us in all these mysteries".
Romaharshana replied, "Many years ago, Daksha and the other sages had asked Brahma these
very questions. I have learnt about Brahma's replies from my guru) teacher) Veda Vyasa. I will
relate to you what I know".
In the beginning, there was water everywhere and the Brahman slept on this water in the form of
Vishnu. Since water is called nara and since ayana means a bed, Vishnu is known as Narayana.
In the water there emerged a golden egg. Brahma was born inside this egg. Since he created
himself, he is called Svayambhu, born (bhu) by himself (svayam). For one whole year, Brahma
lived inside the egg. He then split the egg into two and created heaven and the earth from the two
parts of the egg. Skies, directions, time, language and senses were created in both heaven and
earth. From the powers of his mind, Brahma gave birth to seven great sages. Their names were
Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vashishtha. Brahma also created the god
Rudra and the sage Sanatkumara.
More Creation
To continue with the process of creation, Brahma gave birth to a man and a woman from his own
body. The man was named Svayambhuva Manu and the woman was named Shatarupa. Humans
are descended from Manu. That is the reason they are known as manava. Manu and Shatarupa
had three sons named Vira, Priyavrata and Uttanapada.
Uttanapada's son was the great Dhruva. Dhruva performed very difficult meditation (tapasya) for
three thousand divine years. Brahma was so pleased at this that he granted Dhruva an eternal
place in the sky, near the constellation that is known as saptarshi or the seven sages. This is the
constellation Ursa Majoris and Dhruva is the pole Star.
In Dhruva's line there was a king named Prachinavarhi. Prachinavarhi had ten sons, known as the
Prachetas. These Prachetas were supposed to look after the world and rule over it, but they were
not interested in such mundane matters. They went off instead to perform tapasya under theocean. The tapasya went on for ten thousand years. The upshot was that the earth had no ruler
and began to suffer. People started to die and thick forests sprouted everywhere. So thick were
the forests that even the winds could not blow.
News of this catastrophe reached the Prachetas. They were furious with the trees and created
wind (vayu) and fire (agni) from their mouths. The wind dried up the trees and the fire burnt
them, so that, very soon, there were very few trees left on earth.
Everyone was alarmed at the effects of the Prachetas anger. The moon-god Soma (or Chandra)
came to the Prachetas with a beautiful woman and said, "Prachetas, please control your anger.
You need someone to rule over the world so that you can concentrate on your tapasya. This
woman is named Marisha. Her son will rule over the world".
The Prachetas agreed to this proposal and Daksha was born. The word praja means subject and
the word pati means master. Since Daksha ruled over the world and its subjects, Daksha came to
be known as Prajapati.
The sages interrupted Romaharshana. They said, "Sage, we are completely confused. We have
heard that Daksha was born from Brahma's toe. And yet you have told us that Daksha was the
son of the Prachetas. How is this possible?"
Romaharshana replied, "There is no reason for bewilderment. Many Dakshas have been born to
rule over the world. One was born from Brahma's toe, yet another was the son of the Prachetas."
Daksha's Offspring
Daksha's wife was named Asikli and Asikli gave birth to five thousand sons. They were known
as the Haryashvas. The Haryashvas were destined to rule over the world. But the sage Narada
went to the Haryashvas and said, "How can you rule over the world if you don't even know what
the world looks like? Are you familiar with its geography and its limits? First find out about
these things, before you contemplate ruling over the world."
The Haryashvas went off to explore the world and never returned.
Daksha and Asikli then had another thousand sons who were named the Shavalashvas. Narada
told them what he had told the Haryashvas and the Shavalashvas also went off to explore the
world and never returned.
Daksha and Asikli were distressed that their children should disappear in this manner. Daksha
blamed Narada for the instigation and proposed to kill him. But Brahma intervened and
persuaded Daksha to control his anger. This Daksha agreed to do, provided that his conditions
were met. "Brahma must marry my daughter Priya," he said. "And Narada must be born as
Priya's son."
These conditions were accepted. In fact, Daksha and Asikli had sixty daughters. (Elsewhere, the
Brahma Purana mentions fifty daughters.) Ten of these daughters were married to the god Dharma and thirteen to the sage Kashyapa. Twenty-seven daughters were married to Soma or
Chandra. The remaining daughters were married to the sages Arishtanemi, Vahuputra, Angirasa
and Krishashva.
The ten daughters who were married to the god Dharma were named Arundhati, Vasu, Yami,
Lamba, Bhanu, Marutvati, Sankalpa, Muhurta. Sadhya and Vishva. Arundhati's children were the
objects (vishaya) of the world. Vasu's children were the eight gods known as the Vasus. Their
names were Apa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhara, Salila, Anala, Pratyusha and Prabhasa. Anala's son was
Kumara. Because Kumara was brought up by goddesses known as the Krittikas, he came to be
called Kartikeya. Prabhasa's son was Vishvakarma. Vishvakarma was skilled in architecture and
the making of jewelry. He became the architect of the gods.
Sadhya's children were the gods known as Sadhyadevas and Vishva's children were the gods
known as Vishvadervas. The twenty-seven daughters of Daksha who were married to Soma are
known as the nakshatras (stars).
As you have already been told, Kashyapa married thirteen of Daksha's daughters. Their names
were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Khasa, Surabhi, Vinata. Tamra, Krodhavasha, Ila, Kadru
and Muni.
Aditi's sons were the twelve gods known as the adityas. Their names were Vishnu, Shakra.
Aryama, Dhata, Vidhata, Tvashta, Pusha, Vivasvana, Savita, MitraVaruna, Amsha and Bhaga.
Diti's sons were the daityas (demons). They were named Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, and
amongst their descendants were several other powerful daityas liked Bali and Banasura. Diti also
had a daughter named Simhika who was married to a danava (demon) named Viprachitti. Their
offspring's were terrible demons like Vatapi, Namuchi, Ilvala, Maricha and the nivatakavachas.
The hundred sons of Danu came to be known as danavas. The danavas were thus cousins to the
daityas and also to the adityas. In the danava line were born demons like the poulamas and
kalakeyas.
Arishta's sons were the gandharvas (singers of heaven). Surasa gave birth to the snakes (sarpa).
Khasa's children were the yakshas (demi-gods who were the companions of Kubera, the god of
wealth) and the rakshasas (demons). Surabhi's descendants were cows and buffaloes.
Vinata had two sons named Aruna and Garuda. Garuda became the king of the birds. Tamra has
six daughters. From these daughters were born owls, eagles, vultures, crows, water-fowl, horses,
camels and donkeys.
Krodhavasha had fourteen thousand children known as nagas (snakes). Ila gave birth to trees,
creepers, shrubs and bushes. Kadru's sons were also known as nagas or snakes. Among the more
important of Kadru's sons were Ananta, Vasuki, Takshaka and Nahusha.
Muni gave birth to the apsaras (dancers of heaven). Diti's children (daityas) and Auditi's children
(adityas) continually fought amongst themselves. On one particular occasion, the gods succeed in killing many of the demons. Thirsting for revenge, Diti began to pray to her husband, Kashyapa
that she might given birth to a son who would kill Indra, the king of the gods.
Kashyapa found it difficult to refuse his wife outright. "All right", he said. "You have to bear the
son in your womb for a hundred years. And throughout this period, you will have indeed kill
Indira. But if you do not observe these instructions to the letter, your desire will not be satisfied."
Diti resolved to do as her husband had bidden her. But Indra had got to know about Diti's resolve
and was waiting for an opportunity to save himself. There was an occasion when, tired after her
prayers. Diti went to sleep without first washing her feet. This was an unclean act and it gave
Indra the required opportunity. He adopted a miniscule form and entered Diti's womb. With his
weapon vajra, he sliced up the baby inside the womb into seven parts. The baby naturally began
to cry at the pain.
Indra kept on saying, "ma ruda," that is, "don't cry." But the bay, or rather its seven parts, would
not listen. Indra thereupon sliced up each of the seven parts into seven more sections, so that
there were forty-nine sections in all. When these forty-nine sections were born, they came to
known as the Maruts, from the words that Indra had addressed them. Since Diti had not been
able to adhere to the conditions her husband had set, the Maruts did not kill Indra. They instead
became Indra's followers or companions, and were treated as gods.
Prithu
In Dhruva's line there was a king named Anga, Anga was religious and followed the righteous
path. But unfortunately, Anga's son Vena inherited none of the good qualities of his father.
Vena's mother was Sunitha and she happened to be the daughter of Mrityu. Mrityu was notorious
for his evil ways and deeds. Vena spent a lot of time with his maternal grandfather and picked up
these evil characteristics.
Vena gave up the religion that was laid down in the Vedas and stopped all yajnas. He instructed
his subjects that he alone was to be worshiped.
The sages led by Marichi came to Vena to try and persuade him to mend his ways. But Vena was
in no mood to listen. He insisted that there was no one equal to him in the whole universe.
The sages realized that Vena was a lost cause. They physically caught hold of Vena and began to
knead his right thigh. From this kneading thee emerged a horrible looking creature. It was a
dwarf and its complexion, was extremely dark. The sage Atri was so aghast at the dwarf's
appearance that he blurted out, "nishida", which means "sit". From this, the dwarf came to be
known as nishada. The race of nishadas became hunters and fishermen, and lived in the Vindhya
mountains. From them were also descended uncivilized races like Tusharas and Tunduras.
The evil that was in Vena's body and mind came out with the emergence of the nishada.When the sages began to knead Vena's right arm, Prithu emerged. He shone like a flaming fire
and his energy lit up the four directions. He held a bow in his hand and he was clad in beautiful
armour. As soon as Prithu was born, Vena died.
All the rivers and the oceans arrived with their waters and their jewels to anoint Prithu as the
king. The gods and the sages also came for the coronation. Brahma himself crowned Prithu the
king of the earth. He also took the opportunity to apportion out the lordships of other parts of the
universe. Soma was appointed lord over creepers, herbs, starts (nakshatras), planets (grahas),
sacrifices, meditation (tapasya) and over the first of the four classes (brahmanas). Varuna
became lord of the oceans, Kubera of all the kings, Vishnu of the adityas, Agni of vasus, Daksha
of all Prahlada of daityas and danavas, Yama of the pritris (ancestors), Shiva of yakshas,
rakshasas and pishachas (ghosts), and Himalaya of the mountains.
The ocean (samudra) was made the lord of all rivers. Chitraratha of gandharvas, Vasuki of nagas,
Takshaka of sarpas, Garuda of birds, the tiger of deer, Airavata of elephants, Ucchaihshrava of
horses, the bull of cows and the ashvattha tree (a banyan) of all trees. Brahma also appointed
four overlords (dikapalas) for the four directions. To the east there was Sudhanva, to the south
Shankhapada, to the west Ketumana and to the north Hiranyaroma.
Prithu was a king who ruled the earth well. During his reign, the earth was laden with foodgrains.
The cows were full of milk and the subjects were happy. To glorify King Prithu, the sages
performed a sacrifice and from this sacrifice there emerged two races known as the sutas and the
magadhas should sing praises in honor of Prithu.
"But what praise will we sing?" asked the sutas and the magadhas. "Prithu is still young. He has
not done much that can be praised".
"That may be true," replied the sages. "But he will do wonderous deeds in the future. Sing
praises of those wonderful deeds. We will tell you about them."
Having learnt of these future deeds from the sages, the sutas and the magadhas began to compose
songs and chant praises in honor of Prithu. These stories were related throughout the earth. Some
of Prithu's subjects heard these stories and came to see Prithu. "King," they said. "We have heard
of your great deeds. But we find it difficult to make a living. Please indicate to us our habitations
on earth. And tell us where we may be able to get the food we need for subsistence."
King Prithu picked up his bow and arrow. He decided to kill the earth, since the earth was not
yielding foodgrains to his subjects. The earth adopted the form of a cow and began to flee. But
wherever the earth went, Prithu followed with his bow and arrow. He followed the earth to the
heaven and to the underworld.
Finally, in desperation, the earth started to pray to Prithu. "King," she said, "please control your
anger. I am a woman. Killing me will only mean a sin for you. Besides, what purpose will killing
me serve? Your subjects will then be without a place to live in. There must be some other way of
ensuring that your subjects can make a living.The earth then herself offered a solution and King Prithu did her bidding. With his bow, he
leveled out the earth. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and
animal husbandry. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and
animal husbandry. The mountains were gathered together in select places, instead of being
littered over whole earth. Earlier, Prithu's subjects had lived off fruits and roots. Now Prithu
milked the earth (in her form of a cow) and obtained the seeds of foodgrains on which people
could live. Because of Prithu's deeds, the earth came to be known as prithivi.
Manvantaras
A manvantara is an era. There are four smaller eras (yugas) and their names are Satya or Krita
Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. Each cycle of Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga,
Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga is called a mahayuga. A mahayuga comprises of 12,000 years of
the gods, or equivalently, 4320,000 years for human. 71 mahayugas constitute a manvantara and
14 manvantaras constitute a cycle (kalpa). One kalpa is one of Brahma's days and the universe is
destroyed at the end of a Kalpa.
Each manvantara is ruled over by a Manu. In the present kalpa, six manvantaras have already
passed and the names of the six Manus who ruled were Svayambhuva, Svarochisha, Uttama,
Tamasa, Raivata and Chakshusha. The name of the seventh Manu, who rules over the seventh
manvantara of the present kalpa, is Vaivasvata.
The titles of the seven great sages (saptarshi) as well as the tile of Indra change from manvantara
to manvantara. The gods also change.
In the present vaivasvata manvantara, the seven great sages are Atri, Vashishtha, Kashyapa,
Goutama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra and Jamadagni. The gods now are the sadhyas, the rudras,
the vishwadevas, the vasus, the maruts, the adityas and the two ashvinis.
There will be seven Manus in the future before the universe is destroyed. Five of these Manus
will be known as Savarni Manus. The remaining two will be called Bhoutya and Rouchya.
The Sun and the Solar Dynasty
You have probably forgotten by now that Kashyapa and Aditi had a son named Vivasvana. This
was the sun god, also known as Surya or Martanda.
Surya was married to Samjna, Vishvakarma's daughter. They had two sons. The fist son was
Vaivasvata Manu and the second son was Yama or Shradhadeva, the god of death. Yama had a
twin sister named Yamuna. The sun's energy was so strong that Samjna could not bear to look at
her husband. Through her powers, she created an image from her own body that looked exactly
like her. This image was called Chhaya (shadow).Samjna told Chhaya, "I cannot bear the energy of my husband, I am going off to my father's
house. Stay here, pretend to be Samjna and look after my children. Under no circumstances tell
anyone, certainly not my husband, that your are not Samjna."
"I will do as you have asked me to," replied Chhaya. "But the moment someone curses me or
pulls me by the hair, I shall be forced to reveal the truth."
Samjna went to her father Vishvakarma kept asking her to return to her husband. But this Samjna
refused to do. Instead, she went to the land known as Uttara Kuru and started to live there as a
mare.
Meanwhile, Surya, who had not realized that Samjna had been replaced by Chhaya, had two sons
through Chhaya. They were named Savarni Manu and Shani (Saturn). As soon as her own
children were born, Chhaya no longer displayed as much of love for Samjna's children as she
used to do. Vaivasvata Manu was a quiet sort of person and he ignored the implied neglect. But
Yama was not the tolerant. Besides, he was also younger. He raised his leg to kick Chhaya. At
this, Chhaya cursed Yama that his legs would fall off.
Yama went and complained to Surya. " I have not really kicked her," he said. "I only threatened
to. And does a mother ever curse her children?"
"I can't undo the curse, " replied Surya. "At best, I can reduce its severity. Your legs will not
actually fall off. Some of the flesh from your legs will fall off onto the earth and create worms.
Thereby, you will be freed of your curse."
But nevertheless, Surya felt that there was some truth in Yama's asking whether a mother would
ever curse her children. He taxed Chhaya with the truth, but Chhaya would not reveal anything
Surya then grasped her by the hair and threatened to curse her. Since her conditions were now
violated, Chhaya blurted out the truth.
In an extremely angry mood, Surya dashed off to Vishvakarma's house. Vishvakarma tried to
cool him down. "it is all because of your exercises energy that this has happened, exclaimed
Vishvakarma. "If you permit, I will shave off some of the extra energy. Then Samjna will be able
to look at you."
Surya agreed to this proposition. With the shaved off energy, Vishvakarma manufactured
Vishnu's chakra (a weapon like a bladed discus).
Surya found out that Samjna was in Uttara Kuru in the form of a mare. He joined her there in the
form of a horse. As horse, they had two sons named Nasatya and Dasra. Since ashva means
horse, the sons were also known as the two Ashvinish and became the physicians of the gods.
Surya and Samjna then gave up their equine forms and lived happily ever after.
Vaivasvata Manu's ChildrenVaivasvata Manu has no children and he arranged for a sacrifice so that he might have a son.
Nine sons were born as a result of this sacrifice. Their names were Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta,
Sharyati, Narishyanta, Pramashu, Rishta, Karusha and Prishadhra. Manu also made an offering
to the two gods Mitra and Varuna. As a result of this offering, a daughter named Ila was born.
Budha was the son of Chandra, and Budha and Ila had a son named Pururva. Subsequently,
thanks to a boon conferred on her by Mitra and Varuna. Ila became a man named Sudyumna.
Sudyumna's sons were Utkala, Gaya and Vinatashva. Utkala ruled in Orissa, Gaya in the region
that is also called Gaya, and Vinatashva in the west.
Sudyumna was not entitled to rule since he had earlier been a woman. He lived in the city known
as Pratishthana. Pururava inherited this later on.
When Vaivasvata Manu died, his ten sons divided up the earth amongst themselves, Ikshvaku
ruled in the central regions. He had a hundred sons, the eldest of whom was named Vikukshi.
Vikukshi came to be known as Shashada. Thereby hangs a tale.
Ikshvaku wanted to organize a sacrifice and he sent his son Vikukshi to the forest to fetch some
meat for the sacrifice. While hunting for game, Vikukshi felt very hungry and ate up some of the
meat. This was a sacrilege and the sage Vashishtha advised Ikshvaku to banish Vikukshi from
his kingdom. Because the meat that he had eaten had been the meat of a rabbit (shashaka),
Vikukshi came to be known as Shashada.
But after Ikshvaku died, Vikukshi returned to his father's kingdom and began to rule there. This
was the kingdom of Ayodhya. One of Vikukshi's sons was Kakutshta, and Rama of Ramayana
fame was born in this line.
Kubalashva
Kubalashva was one of the kings descended from Kakutstha. Kubalashva's father was named
Vrihadashva. After Vrihadashva had ruled for many years, he desired to retire to the forest. He
therefore prepared to hand over the kingdom to his son Kubalashva. But learning of King
Vrihadashva's resolve, a sage named Utanka came to meet the king.
"Don't go to the forest right now", Utanka told the king. My hermitage (ashrama) is on the shores
of the ocean and is surrounded by sand in all directions. A strong rakshasa named Dhundhu lives
under the sand. He is so strong that even the gods have been unable to kill him. Once every year,
Dhundhu exhales his breath and this raises a tremendous cloud of sand and dust. For an entire
week the sun remains shrouded in dust and for the whole week, there are earthquakes as a result
of Dhundhu's exhalation. This is disturbing my mediation (tapasya) and you can't very well go
away to the forest without first doing something about Dhundhu. Only you are capable of killing
him. I have accumulated a lot of power as a result of my tapasya and I will give this to you if you
kill Dhundhu."Vrihadashva told Utanka that there was no need for Vrihadashva himself to kill Dhundhu. He
would go to the forest as he had decided. His son Kubalashva was perfectly capable of killing
Dhundhu and would accompany Utanka.
Kubalashva and his hundred sons went to the shores of the ocean where all the sand was.
Kubalashva asked his sons to start digging so that they might find Dhundhu. Dhundhu attacked
Kubalashva's sons and killed all of them but three. The three who escaped were named
Dridashva, Chandrashva and Kapilashva. But Dhundhu himself was killed by Kubalashva. As a
result of this great feat, Kubalashva came to be known as Dhundhumara. The sage Utanka
blessed Kubalashva and by the sage's blessings, Kubalashva's dead sons went straight to heaven.
Trishanku
From Dridashva was descended a king named Trayaruni. Trayaruni was a righteous king and
followed all the religious dictates. But Trayarun's son Satyavrata was quite the opposite and
refused to follow the righteous path. King Trayaruni's chief priest was the great sage Vashishtha.
Vashishtha advised the king that his evil son should be banished from the kingdom. Trayaruni
accepted the sage's advice. Consequently, Satyavrata started to live with outcasts (chandalas)
outside the kingdom.
After some time, Trayaruni relinquished his kingship and went away to the forest. The kingdom
had no king and degenerated into anarchy. The absence of a king is also frowned upon by the
gods and for twelve years there was a terrible drought.
Vishvamitra was another great sage. While all this was going on, Vishvamitra was not present in
the kingdom. He had gone away to perform tapasya on the shores of the ocean, having left his
wife and children in a hermitage (ashrama) that was in the kingdom. But because there was such
a long spell of drought, there was also famine in the kingdom. People started to starve.
Vishvamitra's wife decided to sell her son so that she might have some food to eat. She tied a
rope round the son's neck and took him to the market-place. There, she sold him in exchange for
a thousand cows. Since a rope had been tied around the son's neck (gala), he came to be known
as Galava.
But Satyavrata discovered what terrible straits Vishvamitra's family was in. He freed Galava and
started to take care of Vishvamitra's wife and children.
Satyavrata had not been terribly fond of Vashishtha. He blamed the sage for his banishment.
When thee was famine everywhere, Satyavrata stole Vashishtha's cow. He killed the cow and
served the meat to Vishvamitra's sons, apart from eating it himself.
Vashishtha was in a terrible rage when he got to know about this incident. He cursed Satyavrata.
"You have committed three sins (shanku)," Vashishtha told Satyavrata. "Firstly, you have
angered your father Trayaruni. Secondly, you have stolen and killed a cow. Thirdly, you have
eaten beef, a forbidden meat. Because of these three sins, you will henceforth be known as
Trishanku and be eternally cursed." (The word tri means three.)Satyavrata had however taken care of Vishvamitra's family when the sage was away on his
meditation. After Vishvamitra returned, he was very happy to learn about what Trishanku had
done and offered to grant him a boon. Trishanku desired the boon that he might be allowed to go
to heaven in his own physical body. Thanks to Vishvamitra's immense powers, even this
virtually impossible task was accomplished. Trishanku became king in Trayaruni's kingdom and
Vishvamitra acted as his chief priest.
Sagara
Trishanku's son was Harishchandra and from Harishchandra was descended a king named Bahu.
Bahu devoted too much time to pleasurable pursuits. The upshot of this was that the defence of
the kingdom was not properly taken care of. Enemy kings seized this opportunity to attack
Bahu's kingdom. They drove Bahu out and Bahu went off to the forest with his wife Yadavi,
The enemy kings who dislodged Bahu were led by the Haihaya and Talajangha kings. They were
aided by the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas and Pahlavas.
King Bahu died in the forest. His wife Yadavi desired to die on her husband's funeral pyre. But
since Yadavi was pregnant at the time, the sage Ourva persuaded her that such an act would be a
sin. He brought Yadavi to his own hermitage and began to take care of her.
Bahu had also a second wife and she had once tried to poison Yadavi. The poison (gara) had
however done Yadavi no harm and emerged when the baby was born. Since the baby was born
together with poison, he came to known as Sagara.
The sage Ourva took care of Sagara's education. He imparted to Sagara the knowledge of all the
shastras and also the usage of weapons. Amongst other things, Sagara acquired the skill of using
a divine weapon known as agneyastra.
When he grew up, Sagara attacked the Haihaya kings and defeated them through the use of
agneyastra. He then defeated the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas and Pahlavas and was
about to kill them all. But these enemy kings fled to the sage Vashishtha for refuge and
Vashishtha persuaded Sagara not to kill his enemies. Instead, the heads of the Shakas were half
shaven off. The Yavanas and Kambojas had their heads completely shaven. The Pahlavas were
instructed that they would have to keep beards. These enemy kings also lost all right to follow
the religion laid down in the Vedas. Amongst the other kings who Sagara defeated were the
Konasarpas, the Mahishakas, the Darvas, the Cholas and the Keralas.
King Sagara had two wives. The first was named Keshini and she was the daughter of the king of
Vidarbha. The Brahma Purana does not tell us the name of the second wife but from the
Mahabharataa we know that it was Sumati. Keshini and Sumati had no sons. They therefore
began to pray to Ourva so that they might have sons.
Ourva was pleased at these prayers and said, " Both of you will have sons. But one of you will
have a single son and the other will have sixty thousand sons. Tell me, who wants what."Keshini asked for a single son and Sumati asked for sixty thousand sons. In due course, Keshini
gave birth to a son named Panchajana. Sumati gave birth to a gourd. Inside the gourd there was a
lump of meat. The gourd was placed inside a pot full of clarified butter (ghrita). And from the
lump of meat were born sixty thousand sons.
King Sagara proceeded to conquer the entire earth. As a recognition of this conquest, he initiated
an ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). In this ceremony, the sacrificial horse is left free to
wander all over the earth. The sixty thousand sons accompanied the horse as its guards. The
horse eventually reached the shores of the ocean that lies towards the south-east. While Sagara's
sons were resting, the horse was stolen. The sons started to look for the horse and began to dig
up the sands in their search. In this process, they came upon the sage Kapila. Kapila had been
meditating and his meditation was disturbed by the terrible din that Sagara's sons made. He
gazed at them in fury and all but four of the sons were burnt to ashes. The four sons who were
saved were named Varhiketu, Suketu, Dharmaketu and Panchajana.
The Brahma Purana is slightly confused here. Was Panchajana Keshini's son or Sumati's son?
There is some inconsistency with the account given in the Mahabharataa. In the Mahabharataa, it
is Keshini who gave birth to sixty thousand sons and it is Sumati who had a single son named
Asamanja. Also in the Mahabharataa, all sixty thousand sons were burnt to ashes.
The Brahma Purana also tells us that the sacrificial horse was obtained by Sagara from the ocean.
This is the reason why the ocean is referred to as sagara.
To come back to the account given in the Brahma Purana. Panchajana's son was Amshumana
and Amshumana's son was Dilipa. Dilipa had a son named Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha brought down
the river Ganga from heaven to earth and thus redeemed his ancestors who had been burnt to
ashes by Kapila. It was because of this that the river Ganga came to be known as Bhagirathi.
From Bhagiratha was descended Raghu. Raghu's son was Aja, Aja's son Dasharatha and
Dasharatha's son Rama.
The Moon and the Lunar Dynasty
There was a sage named Atri. Atri performed very difficult tapasya. So difficult was the tapasya
that Atri's energy was thrown up into the sky. The sky could not bear this energy and hurled it
down onto the earth. This energy then gave birth to Soma or Chandra, the moon god. Brahma
took Chandra up into his chariot and drove the chariot around the earth twenty-one times. From
whatever energy was left after Chandra has been created, the herbs were born.
Chandra also performed very difficult tapasya. One padma year consists of 10,000,000,000,000
normal years. For one hundred such padma years, Chandra mediated. After the meditation was
over, Brahma appointed Chandra lord over seeds, herbs, brahmanas and the oceans. Chandra also
performed a rajasuya yajna (royal sacrifice) as a celebration of his lordship. This gave him a lot
pomp, glory, wealth and respect.But all this merely served to turn Chandra's head. The guru (teacher) of the gods was the sage
Brihaspati. Brihaspati had a wife named Tara and Chandra abducted Tara. Despite the gods and
the sages asking Chandra to return Tara, the moon god would not listen. A terrible war then
raged over Tara, the gods fighting for Chandra. Shukracharya, the guru of the demons, fought on
Chandra's side and Shiva fought on Brihaspati's side. This war (Samgram) came to be known as
tarakamaya samgram, since it was fought over Tara.
Finally Brahma intervened and a truce was called. But Chandra and Tara had by then had a son,
and Brihaspati refused to accept this son as his own. This son was Budha. As you already known,
Budha married Ila and they had a son named Pururava.
The Brahma Purana now describes several kings belonging to the lunar dynasty.
Yayati
In the lunar dynasty, there was born a powerful king named Nahusha. He married Viraja and
they had six sons named Yati, Yajati, Samyati, Ayati, Yati, and Suyati. Yati became a hermit. So
although Yayati was not the eldest, he was crowned king after Nahusha.
Yayati had two wives. The first was Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya. And the second was
Sharmishtha, daughter of Vrishaparva, the king of the danavas. Devayani had two sons named
Yadu and Turvasu and Sharmishtha had three sons named Druhya, Anu and Puru. Yayati
conquered the whole earth and ruled over it. When he became old, he divided the earth amongst
his five sons. Yadu was given the lands to the east, Puru the lands in the center, Turvasu the
lands to the south and south-east, Druhya those to the north and Anu those to the west.
Yayati gave up his weapons and decided to travel throughout the world. He called Yadu to him
and said, "I wish to explore the world and my old age is a hindrance. Please accept my old age
and give me your youth in return."
Yadu refused. "I will not," he said. "One cannot eat well when one is old, nor can one pleasure
the comforts of the world. Old age is not pleasant. Ask one of my brothers instead." Yadu's
refusal angered Yayati. He cursed Yadu that he or his descendants would never be kings. Yayati
next requested Druhya, Turvasu and Anu, but they too refused and were similarly cursed by their
father. But Puru agreed to his father's request and gladly accepted the old age. He was blessed by
his father.
After many years had passed, Yayati got tired of the world and returned Puru's youth to him. He
accepted back his old age and retired to the forest to mediate.
From Puru was descended King Bharataa after whom the land came to be known as
Bharataavarsha. Also in this line was King Kuru, after whom all the descendants came to be
known as Kauravas. The sacred place named Kurukshetra owes its name to King Kuru.
From Turvasu were descended the kings of Pandya, Kerala, Kola and Chola. From Druhya were
descended the kings of Gandhara. The horses of the Gandhara kingdom are famous.Yadu had five sons, Sahasrada, Payoda, Kroshtu, Nila and Anjika. Sahasrada's descendants were
the Haihayas, amongst whom the most famous was Kartyavirya Arjuna. Arjuna pleased the sage
Dattatreya and became invincible. He also had a thousand arms. Arjuna's greatest deeds were his
defeat and imprisonment of Ravana, king of Lanks. Kroshtu's descendants were Vrishni and
Andhaka and in the Vrishni line was born Krishna.
Geography
Having heard accounts of the solar and lunar dynasties, the sages requested Romaharshana. "Tell
us a little about the geography of the world. What does the earth look like? What are its limits?"
Romaharshana obligedand said-- The earth is divided into seven regions (dvipas). Their names
are Jambudvipa, Plakshadvipa, Shalmaladvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa and
Pushkaradvipa. These regions are surrounded by seven oceans and their names are Lavana,
Ikshu, Sura, Sarpi, Dadhi, Dugdha and Jala.
Jambudvipa is in the center and right in the middle of Jambudvipa is Mount Sumeru. To the
south of Sumeru are the mountains Himavana, Hemakuta and Nishadha and to the north of
Sumeru are the mountains Nila, Shveta and Sringi. Jambudvipa itself is divided into several
regions (varshas). For example, Sumeru is in the middle of Ilavritavarsha. Braratavarsha is to the
south of Sumeru. To the east of Sumeru is Bhadrashvarsha and to the west is Ketumalavarsha.
Harivarsha lies to the south and Ramyakavarsha to the north. Still further north is
Hiranmayavarsha and beyond that, Uttara Kuruvarsha.
Brahma's city is on the peak of Sumeru. It is there that the river Ganga descends from heaven
and gets divided into four tributaries. Sita flows eastwards, Chakshu westwards, Bhadra
Northwards and Alakananda southwards into Bharataavarsha.
There are seven major mountain range sin Bharataavarsha and their names are Mahendra, Malya,
Sahya, Shuktimana, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra. Bharataavarsha itself is divided into nine
regions (dvipas). The names of eight of these regions are Indradvipa, Soumya, Gandharva and
Varuna. The ninth region is completely surrounded by the ocean in all directions. To the east of
Bharataavarsha live the Kiratas and to the west the Yavanas.
Below the earth lie the seven regions of the underworld (Patala). Their names are Atala, Vitala,
Nitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rasatala and Patala. The daityas, danavas and the snakes (sarpa) live
there. The underworld is a wonderful place, more beautiful than heaven itself. The sage Narada
once went on a trip to the underworld and was bowled over by its beauty. It is full of palaces and
jewels. The sun rises there, but does not radiate too much of heat. The moon also rises, but its
beams are not at all chilly. The forests are populated by beautiful trees and the ponds are thick
with lotus flowers, the songs of cuckoo birds are heard everywhere. Below the underworld sleeps
a great snake, known as Shesha or Ananta. It has a thousand hoods, all covered with jewels. In
fact, this snake is really Vishnu in one of this various forms.
Also part of the world are hells (naraka), presided over by Yama, the god of death. Those are full
of weapons, fire and poisons and sinners are sent there to be punished. Sins that are punished by dispatch to one of the several hells are lying, murder, killing cows, destroying cities, drinking,
killing brahmanas, theft, selling wines or hair, criticizing the Vedas, insulting elders, making
weapons, selling salt, destroying forests needlessly, killing sheep or deer, cheating and studying
under one's own son. Each sinner receives a punishment that is in proportion to the severity of
his sin. Of course, if one performs penance (prayashchitta) for one's sins, one need not go to
naraka. The best form of penance is praying to Krishna.
The earth (Prithivi or bhuloka) extends upto those arts of the sky that can be lit up by the rays of
the sun and the moon. The expanse from there to the solar circle is known as bhuvarloka and
holy sages live there. Above the solar circle is the lunar circle and beyond it, in succession, come
the regions of Mercury (Budha), Venus (Shukra), Mars (Mangala), Jupiter (Brihaspati), Saturn
(Shani), the Great Bear constellation (saptarshi) and the Pole Star (Dhruva). The region from the
solar circle to Dhruvaloka is known as heaven (Svarloka or svarga). Beyond Dhruvaloka is
Maharloka and further away, Janaloka are Tapaloka and Satyaloka. At the end of a kalpa, all the
three lokas (regions) of bhuloka, bhuvarloka and svarloka are destroyed. But the four lokas of
Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka are not destroyed.
Konaraka
There is an ocean to the south of Bharataavarsha. One the shores of this great ocean there is a
land named Ondra or Utkala (present Orissa). Utkala is populated by religious people and the
brahmanas who live there are learned in the Vedas. They are very good priests, learned in the
Puranas and the shastras and skilled in the art of sacrifices. In the land of Utkala, there is an
image of the sun (Surya) known as Konaditya. The word aditya also means the sun, as does the
word arka. Thus, Konaditya is the same as Konarka, a corruption of the latter word being
Konaraka. The image of Konaditys is so wonderful that even if one gazes at the image, all one's
sins are forgiven.
All around the temple there is sand. But nevertheless, many trees grow around the temple. The
best time to worship the sun there is at the time of sunrise. One has to face the east and draw a
lotus flower on the ground with red sandalwood. The lotus flower must have exactly eight petals.
A copper vessel has to be placed at the center of the flower and filled with paddy, sesamum
water, red sandalwood, red flowers and sacred grass. One prays to Surya to descend on the lotus
flower that has thus been drawn. If one worships Konaditya according to these prescribed rites,
the sins of seven preceding generations are forgiven.
The twelve adityas are nothing but different forms of Surya. Their names are Indra. Dhata,
Parjanya, Tvashta, Pusha Aryama, Bhaga Vivasvana, Vishnu, Amshumana, Varuna, and Mitra.
As Indra, Surya destroys the enemies of the gods. As Dhata, he creates living beings. As
Parjanya, he showers down rain. As Tvashta, he lives in the trees and herbs. As Pusha, he makes
foodgrains grow. As Aryama, he is in the wind. As Bhaga, he is in the body of all living beings.
As Vivasvana, he is in fire and helps to cook food. As Vishnu, he destroys the enemies of the
gods. As Amshumana, he is again in the wind. As Varuna, Surya is in the waters and as Mitra, he
is in the moon and in the oceans.In each month of the year, it is a different aditya who shines. Indra shines in the month of
Ashvina, Dhata in Kartika, Parjanya in Shravana, Tvashta in Falguna, Pusha in Pousha, Aryama
in Vaishakha, Bhaga in Magha, Vivasvana in Jyaishtha, Vishnu in Chaitra, Amshumana in
Ashada, Varuna, in Bhadra and Mitra in Agrahayana. Vishnu has twelve hundred rays, Aryama
one thousand and three hundred. Vivasvana seventy-two, Amshumana fifteen, Parjanya seventytwo, Varuna one thousand and three hundred, Tvashta one thousand and one hundred, Indra two
thousand and two hundred, Dhata eleven hundred, Mitra one thousand and Pusha nine hundred.
Apart from the names of the twelve adityas, Surya has twelve other names as well. These are
Aditya, Savita, Surya, Mihira, Arka, Prabhakara, Martanda, Bhaskara, Bhanu, Chitrabhanu,
Divakara and Ravi.
Brahma once recounted to the sages the one hundred and eight sacred names of Surya. The
Brahma Purana lists these names and we reproduce them in nine groups of twelve names each.
(1) Surya, Archana, Bhagavana, Tvashta, Pusha, Arka, Savita, Ravi, Gabhastimana, Aja, Kala,
Mrityu.
(2) Dhata, Prabhakara, Prithivi, Jala, Teja, Akasha, Vayu, Parayana, Soma, Brihaspati, Shukra,
Budha.
(3) Angaraka, Indra, Vivasvana, Diptamshu, Shuchi, Shouri, Shanaishvara, Brahma, Vishnu,
Rudra, Skanda, Vaishravana.
(4) Yama, Vaidyutam, Jathara, Agni, Aindhana, Tejohpati, Dharmadhvaja, Vedakarta, Vedanga,
Vedavahana, Krita, Treta.
(5) Dvapara, Kali, Sarvasurashraya, Kala, Kashtha, Muhurta, Kshapa, Yama, Kshana,
Samvatsara, Ashvattha, Kalachakra.
(6) Vibhavasu, Shashvata, Purusha, Yogi, Vyaktavyakta, Sanatana, Kaladhyaksha,
Prajadhyaksha, Vishvakarama, Tamonuda, Varuna, Sagara.
(7) Amsha, Jimuta, Jivana, Ariha, Bhutashraya, Bhutapati, Sarvalokanamaskrita, Shrashta,
Samvartaka, Vahni, Sarvadi, Alolupa.
(8) Ananta, Kapila, Bhanu, Kamada, Sarvotamukha, Jaya, Vishala, Varada, Sarvabhutasevita,
Mana, Suparna, Bhutadi.
(9) Shighraga, Pranadharana, Dhanvantari, Dhumakety, Adideva, Aditinandana, Dvadashatma,
Ravi, Daksha, Pita, Mata, Pitamaha.
Indradyumna and Purushaottama Kshetra
In Satya Yuga there was a king named Indradyumna. He was a very powerful king as Indra
himself. He was handsome, honest and truthful, learned in the shastras and the Vedas, and skilled
in the use of weapons. His radiance put the sun to shame. Indradyumna was devoted to Vishnu.
2. Padma Purana
3. Vishnu Purana
4. Shiva Purana
5. Vamana Purana
6. Markandeya Purana
7. Varaha Purana
8. Agni Purana
9. Kurma Purana
10. Bhagavad Maha Purana
11. Linga Purana
12. Narada Purana
13. Skanda Purana
14. Garuda Purana
15. Matsya Purana
16. Vayu Purana
17. Bhavishya Purana
18. Brahmanda Purana(incomplete)1. BRAHMA PURANA
Preliminaries
There was a forest known as Naimisharanya. The sages (maharshis) arranged for a sacrifice
(yajna) in this forest and the ceremony went on for twelve years. Naimisharanya forest was a
wonderful place to arrange sacrifices in. The climate was pleasant. There were trees full of
climate was pleasant. There were trees full of flowers and fruit. There was no shortage of food in
the forest, and animals, birds and sages lived thee happily.
Many sages came to attend the sacrifice that had been arranged in Naimisharanya. With them
was Romaharshana (alternatively Lomaharshana), Veda Vyasa's disciple. Veda Vyasa had
instructed this disciple of his in the knowledge of the Puranas. The assembled sages worshipped
the learned Romaharshana and said, "Please tell us the stories of the Puranas. Who created the
universe, who is its preserver and who will destroy it? Please instruct us in all these mysteries".
Romaharshana replied, "Many years ago, Daksha and the other sages had asked Brahma these
very questions. I have learnt about Brahma's replies from my guru) teacher) Veda Vyasa. I will
relate to you what I know".
In the beginning, there was water everywhere and the Brahman slept on this water in the form of
Vishnu. Since water is called nara and since ayana means a bed, Vishnu is known as Narayana.
In the water there emerged a golden egg. Brahma was born inside this egg. Since he created
himself, he is called Svayambhu, born (bhu) by himself (svayam). For one whole year, Brahma
lived inside the egg. He then split the egg into two and created heaven and the earth from the two
parts of the egg. Skies, directions, time, language and senses were created in both heaven and
earth. From the powers of his mind, Brahma gave birth to seven great sages. Their names were
Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vashishtha. Brahma also created the god
Rudra and the sage Sanatkumara.
More Creation
To continue with the process of creation, Brahma gave birth to a man and a woman from his own
body. The man was named Svayambhuva Manu and the woman was named Shatarupa. Humans
are descended from Manu. That is the reason they are known as manava. Manu and Shatarupa
had three sons named Vira, Priyavrata and Uttanapada.
Uttanapada's son was the great Dhruva. Dhruva performed very difficult meditation (tapasya) for
three thousand divine years. Brahma was so pleased at this that he granted Dhruva an eternal
place in the sky, near the constellation that is known as saptarshi or the seven sages. This is the
constellation Ursa Majoris and Dhruva is the pole Star.
In Dhruva's line there was a king named Prachinavarhi. Prachinavarhi had ten sons, known as the
Prachetas. These Prachetas were supposed to look after the world and rule over it, but they were
not interested in such mundane matters. They went off instead to perform tapasya under theocean. The tapasya went on for ten thousand years. The upshot was that the earth had no ruler
and began to suffer. People started to die and thick forests sprouted everywhere. So thick were
the forests that even the winds could not blow.
News of this catastrophe reached the Prachetas. They were furious with the trees and created
wind (vayu) and fire (agni) from their mouths. The wind dried up the trees and the fire burnt
them, so that, very soon, there were very few trees left on earth.
Everyone was alarmed at the effects of the Prachetas anger. The moon-god Soma (or Chandra)
came to the Prachetas with a beautiful woman and said, "Prachetas, please control your anger.
You need someone to rule over the world so that you can concentrate on your tapasya. This
woman is named Marisha. Her son will rule over the world".
The Prachetas agreed to this proposal and Daksha was born. The word praja means subject and
the word pati means master. Since Daksha ruled over the world and its subjects, Daksha came to
be known as Prajapati.
The sages interrupted Romaharshana. They said, "Sage, we are completely confused. We have
heard that Daksha was born from Brahma's toe. And yet you have told us that Daksha was the
son of the Prachetas. How is this possible?"
Romaharshana replied, "There is no reason for bewilderment. Many Dakshas have been born to
rule over the world. One was born from Brahma's toe, yet another was the son of the Prachetas."
Daksha's Offspring
Daksha's wife was named Asikli and Asikli gave birth to five thousand sons. They were known
as the Haryashvas. The Haryashvas were destined to rule over the world. But the sage Narada
went to the Haryashvas and said, "How can you rule over the world if you don't even know what
the world looks like? Are you familiar with its geography and its limits? First find out about
these things, before you contemplate ruling over the world."
The Haryashvas went off to explore the world and never returned.
Daksha and Asikli then had another thousand sons who were named the Shavalashvas. Narada
told them what he had told the Haryashvas and the Shavalashvas also went off to explore the
world and never returned.
Daksha and Asikli were distressed that their children should disappear in this manner. Daksha
blamed Narada for the instigation and proposed to kill him. But Brahma intervened and
persuaded Daksha to control his anger. This Daksha agreed to do, provided that his conditions
were met. "Brahma must marry my daughter Priya," he said. "And Narada must be born as
Priya's son."
These conditions were accepted. In fact, Daksha and Asikli had sixty daughters. (Elsewhere, the
Brahma Purana mentions fifty daughters.) Ten of these daughters were married to the god Dharma and thirteen to the sage Kashyapa. Twenty-seven daughters were married to Soma or
Chandra. The remaining daughters were married to the sages Arishtanemi, Vahuputra, Angirasa
and Krishashva.
The ten daughters who were married to the god Dharma were named Arundhati, Vasu, Yami,
Lamba, Bhanu, Marutvati, Sankalpa, Muhurta. Sadhya and Vishva. Arundhati's children were the
objects (vishaya) of the world. Vasu's children were the eight gods known as the Vasus. Their
names were Apa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhara, Salila, Anala, Pratyusha and Prabhasa. Anala's son was
Kumara. Because Kumara was brought up by goddesses known as the Krittikas, he came to be
called Kartikeya. Prabhasa's son was Vishvakarma. Vishvakarma was skilled in architecture and
the making of jewelry. He became the architect of the gods.
Sadhya's children were the gods known as Sadhyadevas and Vishva's children were the gods
known as Vishvadervas. The twenty-seven daughters of Daksha who were married to Soma are
known as the nakshatras (stars).
As you have already been told, Kashyapa married thirteen of Daksha's daughters. Their names
were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Khasa, Surabhi, Vinata. Tamra, Krodhavasha, Ila, Kadru
and Muni.
Aditi's sons were the twelve gods known as the adityas. Their names were Vishnu, Shakra.
Aryama, Dhata, Vidhata, Tvashta, Pusha, Vivasvana, Savita, MitraVaruna, Amsha and Bhaga.
Diti's sons were the daityas (demons). They were named Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, and
amongst their descendants were several other powerful daityas liked Bali and Banasura. Diti also
had a daughter named Simhika who was married to a danava (demon) named Viprachitti. Their
offspring's were terrible demons like Vatapi, Namuchi, Ilvala, Maricha and the nivatakavachas.
The hundred sons of Danu came to be known as danavas. The danavas were thus cousins to the
daityas and also to the adityas. In the danava line were born demons like the poulamas and
kalakeyas.
Arishta's sons were the gandharvas (singers of heaven). Surasa gave birth to the snakes (sarpa).
Khasa's children were the yakshas (demi-gods who were the companions of Kubera, the god of
wealth) and the rakshasas (demons). Surabhi's descendants were cows and buffaloes.
Vinata had two sons named Aruna and Garuda. Garuda became the king of the birds. Tamra has
six daughters. From these daughters were born owls, eagles, vultures, crows, water-fowl, horses,
camels and donkeys.
Krodhavasha had fourteen thousand children known as nagas (snakes). Ila gave birth to trees,
creepers, shrubs and bushes. Kadru's sons were also known as nagas or snakes. Among the more
important of Kadru's sons were Ananta, Vasuki, Takshaka and Nahusha.
Muni gave birth to the apsaras (dancers of heaven). Diti's children (daityas) and Auditi's children
(adityas) continually fought amongst themselves. On one particular occasion, the gods succeed in killing many of the demons. Thirsting for revenge, Diti began to pray to her husband, Kashyapa
that she might given birth to a son who would kill Indra, the king of the gods.
Kashyapa found it difficult to refuse his wife outright. "All right", he said. "You have to bear the
son in your womb for a hundred years. And throughout this period, you will have indeed kill
Indira. But if you do not observe these instructions to the letter, your desire will not be satisfied."
Diti resolved to do as her husband had bidden her. But Indra had got to know about Diti's resolve
and was waiting for an opportunity to save himself. There was an occasion when, tired after her
prayers. Diti went to sleep without first washing her feet. This was an unclean act and it gave
Indra the required opportunity. He adopted a miniscule form and entered Diti's womb. With his
weapon vajra, he sliced up the baby inside the womb into seven parts. The baby naturally began
to cry at the pain.
Indra kept on saying, "ma ruda," that is, "don't cry." But the bay, or rather its seven parts, would
not listen. Indra thereupon sliced up each of the seven parts into seven more sections, so that
there were forty-nine sections in all. When these forty-nine sections were born, they came to
known as the Maruts, from the words that Indra had addressed them. Since Diti had not been
able to adhere to the conditions her husband had set, the Maruts did not kill Indra. They instead
became Indra's followers or companions, and were treated as gods.
Prithu
In Dhruva's line there was a king named Anga, Anga was religious and followed the righteous
path. But unfortunately, Anga's son Vena inherited none of the good qualities of his father.
Vena's mother was Sunitha and she happened to be the daughter of Mrityu. Mrityu was notorious
for his evil ways and deeds. Vena spent a lot of time with his maternal grandfather and picked up
these evil characteristics.
Vena gave up the religion that was laid down in the Vedas and stopped all yajnas. He instructed
his subjects that he alone was to be worshiped.
The sages led by Marichi came to Vena to try and persuade him to mend his ways. But Vena was
in no mood to listen. He insisted that there was no one equal to him in the whole universe.
The sages realized that Vena was a lost cause. They physically caught hold of Vena and began to
knead his right thigh. From this kneading thee emerged a horrible looking creature. It was a
dwarf and its complexion, was extremely dark. The sage Atri was so aghast at the dwarf's
appearance that he blurted out, "nishida", which means "sit". From this, the dwarf came to be
known as nishada. The race of nishadas became hunters and fishermen, and lived in the Vindhya
mountains. From them were also descended uncivilized races like Tusharas and Tunduras.
The evil that was in Vena's body and mind came out with the emergence of the nishada.When the sages began to knead Vena's right arm, Prithu emerged. He shone like a flaming fire
and his energy lit up the four directions. He held a bow in his hand and he was clad in beautiful
armour. As soon as Prithu was born, Vena died.
All the rivers and the oceans arrived with their waters and their jewels to anoint Prithu as the
king. The gods and the sages also came for the coronation. Brahma himself crowned Prithu the
king of the earth. He also took the opportunity to apportion out the lordships of other parts of the
universe. Soma was appointed lord over creepers, herbs, starts (nakshatras), planets (grahas),
sacrifices, meditation (tapasya) and over the first of the four classes (brahmanas). Varuna
became lord of the oceans, Kubera of all the kings, Vishnu of the adityas, Agni of vasus, Daksha
of all Prahlada of daityas and danavas, Yama of the pritris (ancestors), Shiva of yakshas,
rakshasas and pishachas (ghosts), and Himalaya of the mountains.
The ocean (samudra) was made the lord of all rivers. Chitraratha of gandharvas, Vasuki of nagas,
Takshaka of sarpas, Garuda of birds, the tiger of deer, Airavata of elephants, Ucchaihshrava of
horses, the bull of cows and the ashvattha tree (a banyan) of all trees. Brahma also appointed
four overlords (dikapalas) for the four directions. To the east there was Sudhanva, to the south
Shankhapada, to the west Ketumana and to the north Hiranyaroma.
Prithu was a king who ruled the earth well. During his reign, the earth was laden with foodgrains.
The cows were full of milk and the subjects were happy. To glorify King Prithu, the sages
performed a sacrifice and from this sacrifice there emerged two races known as the sutas and the
magadhas should sing praises in honor of Prithu.
"But what praise will we sing?" asked the sutas and the magadhas. "Prithu is still young. He has
not done much that can be praised".
"That may be true," replied the sages. "But he will do wonderous deeds in the future. Sing
praises of those wonderful deeds. We will tell you about them."
Having learnt of these future deeds from the sages, the sutas and the magadhas began to compose
songs and chant praises in honor of Prithu. These stories were related throughout the earth. Some
of Prithu's subjects heard these stories and came to see Prithu. "King," they said. "We have heard
of your great deeds. But we find it difficult to make a living. Please indicate to us our habitations
on earth. And tell us where we may be able to get the food we need for subsistence."
King Prithu picked up his bow and arrow. He decided to kill the earth, since the earth was not
yielding foodgrains to his subjects. The earth adopted the form of a cow and began to flee. But
wherever the earth went, Prithu followed with his bow and arrow. He followed the earth to the
heaven and to the underworld.
Finally, in desperation, the earth started to pray to Prithu. "King," she said, "please control your
anger. I am a woman. Killing me will only mean a sin for you. Besides, what purpose will killing
me serve? Your subjects will then be without a place to live in. There must be some other way of
ensuring that your subjects can make a living.The earth then herself offered a solution and King Prithu did her bidding. With his bow, he
leveled out the earth. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and
animal husbandry. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and
animal husbandry. The mountains were gathered together in select places, instead of being
littered over whole earth. Earlier, Prithu's subjects had lived off fruits and roots. Now Prithu
milked the earth (in her form of a cow) and obtained the seeds of foodgrains on which people
could live. Because of Prithu's deeds, the earth came to be known as prithivi.
Manvantaras
A manvantara is an era. There are four smaller eras (yugas) and their names are Satya or Krita
Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. Each cycle of Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga,
Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga is called a mahayuga. A mahayuga comprises of 12,000 years of
the gods, or equivalently, 4320,000 years for human. 71 mahayugas constitute a manvantara and
14 manvantaras constitute a cycle (kalpa). One kalpa is one of Brahma's days and the universe is
destroyed at the end of a Kalpa.
Each manvantara is ruled over by a Manu. In the present kalpa, six manvantaras have already
passed and the names of the six Manus who ruled were Svayambhuva, Svarochisha, Uttama,
Tamasa, Raivata and Chakshusha. The name of the seventh Manu, who rules over the seventh
manvantara of the present kalpa, is Vaivasvata.
The titles of the seven great sages (saptarshi) as well as the tile of Indra change from manvantara
to manvantara. The gods also change.
In the present vaivasvata manvantara, the seven great sages are Atri, Vashishtha, Kashyapa,
Goutama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra and Jamadagni. The gods now are the sadhyas, the rudras,
the vishwadevas, the vasus, the maruts, the adityas and the two ashvinis.
There will be seven Manus in the future before the universe is destroyed. Five of these Manus
will be known as Savarni Manus. The remaining two will be called Bhoutya and Rouchya.
The Sun and the Solar Dynasty
You have probably forgotten by now that Kashyapa and Aditi had a son named Vivasvana. This
was the sun god, also known as Surya or Martanda.
Surya was married to Samjna, Vishvakarma's daughter. They had two sons. The fist son was
Vaivasvata Manu and the second son was Yama or Shradhadeva, the god of death. Yama had a
twin sister named Yamuna. The sun's energy was so strong that Samjna could not bear to look at
her husband. Through her powers, she created an image from her own body that looked exactly
like her. This image was called Chhaya (shadow).Samjna told Chhaya, "I cannot bear the energy of my husband, I am going off to my father's
house. Stay here, pretend to be Samjna and look after my children. Under no circumstances tell
anyone, certainly not my husband, that your are not Samjna."
"I will do as you have asked me to," replied Chhaya. "But the moment someone curses me or
pulls me by the hair, I shall be forced to reveal the truth."
Samjna went to her father Vishvakarma kept asking her to return to her husband. But this Samjna
refused to do. Instead, she went to the land known as Uttara Kuru and started to live there as a
mare.
Meanwhile, Surya, who had not realized that Samjna had been replaced by Chhaya, had two sons
through Chhaya. They were named Savarni Manu and Shani (Saturn). As soon as her own
children were born, Chhaya no longer displayed as much of love for Samjna's children as she
used to do. Vaivasvata Manu was a quiet sort of person and he ignored the implied neglect. But
Yama was not the tolerant. Besides, he was also younger. He raised his leg to kick Chhaya. At
this, Chhaya cursed Yama that his legs would fall off.
Yama went and complained to Surya. " I have not really kicked her," he said. "I only threatened
to. And does a mother ever curse her children?"
"I can't undo the curse, " replied Surya. "At best, I can reduce its severity. Your legs will not
actually fall off. Some of the flesh from your legs will fall off onto the earth and create worms.
Thereby, you will be freed of your curse."
But nevertheless, Surya felt that there was some truth in Yama's asking whether a mother would
ever curse her children. He taxed Chhaya with the truth, but Chhaya would not reveal anything
Surya then grasped her by the hair and threatened to curse her. Since her conditions were now
violated, Chhaya blurted out the truth.
In an extremely angry mood, Surya dashed off to Vishvakarma's house. Vishvakarma tried to
cool him down. "it is all because of your exercises energy that this has happened, exclaimed
Vishvakarma. "If you permit, I will shave off some of the extra energy. Then Samjna will be able
to look at you."
Surya agreed to this proposition. With the shaved off energy, Vishvakarma manufactured
Vishnu's chakra (a weapon like a bladed discus).
Surya found out that Samjna was in Uttara Kuru in the form of a mare. He joined her there in the
form of a horse. As horse, they had two sons named Nasatya and Dasra. Since ashva means
horse, the sons were also known as the two Ashvinish and became the physicians of the gods.
Surya and Samjna then gave up their equine forms and lived happily ever after.
Vaivasvata Manu's ChildrenVaivasvata Manu has no children and he arranged for a sacrifice so that he might have a son.
Nine sons were born as a result of this sacrifice. Their names were Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta,
Sharyati, Narishyanta, Pramashu, Rishta, Karusha and Prishadhra. Manu also made an offering
to the two gods Mitra and Varuna. As a result of this offering, a daughter named Ila was born.
Budha was the son of Chandra, and Budha and Ila had a son named Pururva. Subsequently,
thanks to a boon conferred on her by Mitra and Varuna. Ila became a man named Sudyumna.
Sudyumna's sons were Utkala, Gaya and Vinatashva. Utkala ruled in Orissa, Gaya in the region
that is also called Gaya, and Vinatashva in the west.
Sudyumna was not entitled to rule since he had earlier been a woman. He lived in the city known
as Pratishthana. Pururava inherited this later on.
When Vaivasvata Manu died, his ten sons divided up the earth amongst themselves, Ikshvaku
ruled in the central regions. He had a hundred sons, the eldest of whom was named Vikukshi.
Vikukshi came to be known as Shashada. Thereby hangs a tale.
Ikshvaku wanted to organize a sacrifice and he sent his son Vikukshi to the forest to fetch some
meat for the sacrifice. While hunting for game, Vikukshi felt very hungry and ate up some of the
meat. This was a sacrilege and the sage Vashishtha advised Ikshvaku to banish Vikukshi from
his kingdom. Because the meat that he had eaten had been the meat of a rabbit (shashaka),
Vikukshi came to be known as Shashada.
But after Ikshvaku died, Vikukshi returned to his father's kingdom and began to rule there. This
was the kingdom of Ayodhya. One of Vikukshi's sons was Kakutshta, and Rama of Ramayana
fame was born in this line.
Kubalashva
Kubalashva was one of the kings descended from Kakutstha. Kubalashva's father was named
Vrihadashva. After Vrihadashva had ruled for many years, he desired to retire to the forest. He
therefore prepared to hand over the kingdom to his son Kubalashva. But learning of King
Vrihadashva's resolve, a sage named Utanka came to meet the king.
"Don't go to the forest right now", Utanka told the king. My hermitage (ashrama) is on the shores
of the ocean and is surrounded by sand in all directions. A strong rakshasa named Dhundhu lives
under the sand. He is so strong that even the gods have been unable to kill him. Once every year,
Dhundhu exhales his breath and this raises a tremendous cloud of sand and dust. For an entire
week the sun remains shrouded in dust and for the whole week, there are earthquakes as a result
of Dhundhu's exhalation. This is disturbing my mediation (tapasya) and you can't very well go
away to the forest without first doing something about Dhundhu. Only you are capable of killing
him. I have accumulated a lot of power as a result of my tapasya and I will give this to you if you
kill Dhundhu."Vrihadashva told Utanka that there was no need for Vrihadashva himself to kill Dhundhu. He
would go to the forest as he had decided. His son Kubalashva was perfectly capable of killing
Dhundhu and would accompany Utanka.
Kubalashva and his hundred sons went to the shores of the ocean where all the sand was.
Kubalashva asked his sons to start digging so that they might find Dhundhu. Dhundhu attacked
Kubalashva's sons and killed all of them but three. The three who escaped were named
Dridashva, Chandrashva and Kapilashva. But Dhundhu himself was killed by Kubalashva. As a
result of this great feat, Kubalashva came to be known as Dhundhumara. The sage Utanka
blessed Kubalashva and by the sage's blessings, Kubalashva's dead sons went straight to heaven.
Trishanku
From Dridashva was descended a king named Trayaruni. Trayaruni was a righteous king and
followed all the religious dictates. But Trayarun's son Satyavrata was quite the opposite and
refused to follow the righteous path. King Trayaruni's chief priest was the great sage Vashishtha.
Vashishtha advised the king that his evil son should be banished from the kingdom. Trayaruni
accepted the sage's advice. Consequently, Satyavrata started to live with outcasts (chandalas)
outside the kingdom.
After some time, Trayaruni relinquished his kingship and went away to the forest. The kingdom
had no king and degenerated into anarchy. The absence of a king is also frowned upon by the
gods and for twelve years there was a terrible drought.
Vishvamitra was another great sage. While all this was going on, Vishvamitra was not present in
the kingdom. He had gone away to perform tapasya on the shores of the ocean, having left his
wife and children in a hermitage (ashrama) that was in the kingdom. But because there was such
a long spell of drought, there was also famine in the kingdom. People started to starve.
Vishvamitra's wife decided to sell her son so that she might have some food to eat. She tied a
rope round the son's neck and took him to the market-place. There, she sold him in exchange for
a thousand cows. Since a rope had been tied around the son's neck (gala), he came to be known
as Galava.
But Satyavrata discovered what terrible straits Vishvamitra's family was in. He freed Galava and
started to take care of Vishvamitra's wife and children.
Satyavrata had not been terribly fond of Vashishtha. He blamed the sage for his banishment.
When thee was famine everywhere, Satyavrata stole Vashishtha's cow. He killed the cow and
served the meat to Vishvamitra's sons, apart from eating it himself.
Vashishtha was in a terrible rage when he got to know about this incident. He cursed Satyavrata.
"You have committed three sins (shanku)," Vashishtha told Satyavrata. "Firstly, you have
angered your father Trayaruni. Secondly, you have stolen and killed a cow. Thirdly, you have
eaten beef, a forbidden meat. Because of these three sins, you will henceforth be known as
Trishanku and be eternally cursed." (The word tri means three.)Satyavrata had however taken care of Vishvamitra's family when the sage was away on his
meditation. After Vishvamitra returned, he was very happy to learn about what Trishanku had
done and offered to grant him a boon. Trishanku desired the boon that he might be allowed to go
to heaven in his own physical body. Thanks to Vishvamitra's immense powers, even this
virtually impossible task was accomplished. Trishanku became king in Trayaruni's kingdom and
Vishvamitra acted as his chief priest.
Sagara
Trishanku's son was Harishchandra and from Harishchandra was descended a king named Bahu.
Bahu devoted too much time to pleasurable pursuits. The upshot of this was that the defence of
the kingdom was not properly taken care of. Enemy kings seized this opportunity to attack
Bahu's kingdom. They drove Bahu out and Bahu went off to the forest with his wife Yadavi,
The enemy kings who dislodged Bahu were led by the Haihaya and Talajangha kings. They were
aided by the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas and Pahlavas.
King Bahu died in the forest. His wife Yadavi desired to die on her husband's funeral pyre. But
since Yadavi was pregnant at the time, the sage Ourva persuaded her that such an act would be a
sin. He brought Yadavi to his own hermitage and began to take care of her.
Bahu had also a second wife and she had once tried to poison Yadavi. The poison (gara) had
however done Yadavi no harm and emerged when the baby was born. Since the baby was born
together with poison, he came to known as Sagara.
The sage Ourva took care of Sagara's education. He imparted to Sagara the knowledge of all the
shastras and also the usage of weapons. Amongst other things, Sagara acquired the skill of using
a divine weapon known as agneyastra.
When he grew up, Sagara attacked the Haihaya kings and defeated them through the use of
agneyastra. He then defeated the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas and Pahlavas and was
about to kill them all. But these enemy kings fled to the sage Vashishtha for refuge and
Vashishtha persuaded Sagara not to kill his enemies. Instead, the heads of the Shakas were half
shaven off. The Yavanas and Kambojas had their heads completely shaven. The Pahlavas were
instructed that they would have to keep beards. These enemy kings also lost all right to follow
the religion laid down in the Vedas. Amongst the other kings who Sagara defeated were the
Konasarpas, the Mahishakas, the Darvas, the Cholas and the Keralas.
King Sagara had two wives. The first was named Keshini and she was the daughter of the king of
Vidarbha. The Brahma Purana does not tell us the name of the second wife but from the
Mahabharataa we know that it was Sumati. Keshini and Sumati had no sons. They therefore
began to pray to Ourva so that they might have sons.
Ourva was pleased at these prayers and said, " Both of you will have sons. But one of you will
have a single son and the other will have sixty thousand sons. Tell me, who wants what."Keshini asked for a single son and Sumati asked for sixty thousand sons. In due course, Keshini
gave birth to a son named Panchajana. Sumati gave birth to a gourd. Inside the gourd there was a
lump of meat. The gourd was placed inside a pot full of clarified butter (ghrita). And from the
lump of meat were born sixty thousand sons.
King Sagara proceeded to conquer the entire earth. As a recognition of this conquest, he initiated
an ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). In this ceremony, the sacrificial horse is left free to
wander all over the earth. The sixty thousand sons accompanied the horse as its guards. The
horse eventually reached the shores of the ocean that lies towards the south-east. While Sagara's
sons were resting, the horse was stolen. The sons started to look for the horse and began to dig
up the sands in their search. In this process, they came upon the sage Kapila. Kapila had been
meditating and his meditation was disturbed by the terrible din that Sagara's sons made. He
gazed at them in fury and all but four of the sons were burnt to ashes. The four sons who were
saved were named Varhiketu, Suketu, Dharmaketu and Panchajana.
The Brahma Purana is slightly confused here. Was Panchajana Keshini's son or Sumati's son?
There is some inconsistency with the account given in the Mahabharataa. In the Mahabharataa, it
is Keshini who gave birth to sixty thousand sons and it is Sumati who had a single son named
Asamanja. Also in the Mahabharataa, all sixty thousand sons were burnt to ashes.
The Brahma Purana also tells us that the sacrificial horse was obtained by Sagara from the ocean.
This is the reason why the ocean is referred to as sagara.
To come back to the account given in the Brahma Purana. Panchajana's son was Amshumana
and Amshumana's son was Dilipa. Dilipa had a son named Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha brought down
the river Ganga from heaven to earth and thus redeemed his ancestors who had been burnt to
ashes by Kapila. It was because of this that the river Ganga came to be known as Bhagirathi.
From Bhagiratha was descended Raghu. Raghu's son was Aja, Aja's son Dasharatha and
Dasharatha's son Rama.
The Moon and the Lunar Dynasty
There was a sage named Atri. Atri performed very difficult tapasya. So difficult was the tapasya
that Atri's energy was thrown up into the sky. The sky could not bear this energy and hurled it
down onto the earth. This energy then gave birth to Soma or Chandra, the moon god. Brahma
took Chandra up into his chariot and drove the chariot around the earth twenty-one times. From
whatever energy was left after Chandra has been created, the herbs were born.
Chandra also performed very difficult tapasya. One padma year consists of 10,000,000,000,000
normal years. For one hundred such padma years, Chandra mediated. After the meditation was
over, Brahma appointed Chandra lord over seeds, herbs, brahmanas and the oceans. Chandra also
performed a rajasuya yajna (royal sacrifice) as a celebration of his lordship. This gave him a lot
pomp, glory, wealth and respect.But all this merely served to turn Chandra's head. The guru (teacher) of the gods was the sage
Brihaspati. Brihaspati had a wife named Tara and Chandra abducted Tara. Despite the gods and
the sages asking Chandra to return Tara, the moon god would not listen. A terrible war then
raged over Tara, the gods fighting for Chandra. Shukracharya, the guru of the demons, fought on
Chandra's side and Shiva fought on Brihaspati's side. This war (Samgram) came to be known as
tarakamaya samgram, since it was fought over Tara.
Finally Brahma intervened and a truce was called. But Chandra and Tara had by then had a son,
and Brihaspati refused to accept this son as his own. This son was Budha. As you already known,
Budha married Ila and they had a son named Pururava.
The Brahma Purana now describes several kings belonging to the lunar dynasty.
Yayati
In the lunar dynasty, there was born a powerful king named Nahusha. He married Viraja and
they had six sons named Yati, Yajati, Samyati, Ayati, Yati, and Suyati. Yati became a hermit. So
although Yayati was not the eldest, he was crowned king after Nahusha.
Yayati had two wives. The first was Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya. And the second was
Sharmishtha, daughter of Vrishaparva, the king of the danavas. Devayani had two sons named
Yadu and Turvasu and Sharmishtha had three sons named Druhya, Anu and Puru. Yayati
conquered the whole earth and ruled over it. When he became old, he divided the earth amongst
his five sons. Yadu was given the lands to the east, Puru the lands in the center, Turvasu the
lands to the south and south-east, Druhya those to the north and Anu those to the west.
Yayati gave up his weapons and decided to travel throughout the world. He called Yadu to him
and said, "I wish to explore the world and my old age is a hindrance. Please accept my old age
and give me your youth in return."
Yadu refused. "I will not," he said. "One cannot eat well when one is old, nor can one pleasure
the comforts of the world. Old age is not pleasant. Ask one of my brothers instead." Yadu's
refusal angered Yayati. He cursed Yadu that he or his descendants would never be kings. Yayati
next requested Druhya, Turvasu and Anu, but they too refused and were similarly cursed by their
father. But Puru agreed to his father's request and gladly accepted the old age. He was blessed by
his father.
After many years had passed, Yayati got tired of the world and returned Puru's youth to him. He
accepted back his old age and retired to the forest to mediate.
From Puru was descended King Bharataa after whom the land came to be known as
Bharataavarsha. Also in this line was King Kuru, after whom all the descendants came to be
known as Kauravas. The sacred place named Kurukshetra owes its name to King Kuru.
From Turvasu were descended the kings of Pandya, Kerala, Kola and Chola. From Druhya were
descended the kings of Gandhara. The horses of the Gandhara kingdom are famous.Yadu had five sons, Sahasrada, Payoda, Kroshtu, Nila and Anjika. Sahasrada's descendants were
the Haihayas, amongst whom the most famous was Kartyavirya Arjuna. Arjuna pleased the sage
Dattatreya and became invincible. He also had a thousand arms. Arjuna's greatest deeds were his
defeat and imprisonment of Ravana, king of Lanks. Kroshtu's descendants were Vrishni and
Andhaka and in the Vrishni line was born Krishna.
Geography
Having heard accounts of the solar and lunar dynasties, the sages requested Romaharshana. "Tell
us a little about the geography of the world. What does the earth look like? What are its limits?"
Romaharshana obligedand said-- The earth is divided into seven regions (dvipas). Their names
are Jambudvipa, Plakshadvipa, Shalmaladvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa and
Pushkaradvipa. These regions are surrounded by seven oceans and their names are Lavana,
Ikshu, Sura, Sarpi, Dadhi, Dugdha and Jala.
Jambudvipa is in the center and right in the middle of Jambudvipa is Mount Sumeru. To the
south of Sumeru are the mountains Himavana, Hemakuta and Nishadha and to the north of
Sumeru are the mountains Nila, Shveta and Sringi. Jambudvipa itself is divided into several
regions (varshas). For example, Sumeru is in the middle of Ilavritavarsha. Braratavarsha is to the
south of Sumeru. To the east of Sumeru is Bhadrashvarsha and to the west is Ketumalavarsha.
Harivarsha lies to the south and Ramyakavarsha to the north. Still further north is
Hiranmayavarsha and beyond that, Uttara Kuruvarsha.
Brahma's city is on the peak of Sumeru. It is there that the river Ganga descends from heaven
and gets divided into four tributaries. Sita flows eastwards, Chakshu westwards, Bhadra
Northwards and Alakananda southwards into Bharataavarsha.
There are seven major mountain range sin Bharataavarsha and their names are Mahendra, Malya,
Sahya, Shuktimana, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra. Bharataavarsha itself is divided into nine
regions (dvipas). The names of eight of these regions are Indradvipa, Soumya, Gandharva and
Varuna. The ninth region is completely surrounded by the ocean in all directions. To the east of
Bharataavarsha live the Kiratas and to the west the Yavanas.
Below the earth lie the seven regions of the underworld (Patala). Their names are Atala, Vitala,
Nitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rasatala and Patala. The daityas, danavas and the snakes (sarpa) live
there. The underworld is a wonderful place, more beautiful than heaven itself. The sage Narada
once went on a trip to the underworld and was bowled over by its beauty. It is full of palaces and
jewels. The sun rises there, but does not radiate too much of heat. The moon also rises, but its
beams are not at all chilly. The forests are populated by beautiful trees and the ponds are thick
with lotus flowers, the songs of cuckoo birds are heard everywhere. Below the underworld sleeps
a great snake, known as Shesha or Ananta. It has a thousand hoods, all covered with jewels. In
fact, this snake is really Vishnu in one of this various forms.
Also part of the world are hells (naraka), presided over by Yama, the god of death. Those are full
of weapons, fire and poisons and sinners are sent there to be punished. Sins that are punished by dispatch to one of the several hells are lying, murder, killing cows, destroying cities, drinking,
killing brahmanas, theft, selling wines or hair, criticizing the Vedas, insulting elders, making
weapons, selling salt, destroying forests needlessly, killing sheep or deer, cheating and studying
under one's own son. Each sinner receives a punishment that is in proportion to the severity of
his sin. Of course, if one performs penance (prayashchitta) for one's sins, one need not go to
naraka. The best form of penance is praying to Krishna.
The earth (Prithivi or bhuloka) extends upto those arts of the sky that can be lit up by the rays of
the sun and the moon. The expanse from there to the solar circle is known as bhuvarloka and
holy sages live there. Above the solar circle is the lunar circle and beyond it, in succession, come
the regions of Mercury (Budha), Venus (Shukra), Mars (Mangala), Jupiter (Brihaspati), Saturn
(Shani), the Great Bear constellation (saptarshi) and the Pole Star (Dhruva). The region from the
solar circle to Dhruvaloka is known as heaven (Svarloka or svarga). Beyond Dhruvaloka is
Maharloka and further away, Janaloka are Tapaloka and Satyaloka. At the end of a kalpa, all the
three lokas (regions) of bhuloka, bhuvarloka and svarloka are destroyed. But the four lokas of
Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka are not destroyed.
Konaraka
There is an ocean to the south of Bharataavarsha. One the shores of this great ocean there is a
land named Ondra or Utkala (present Orissa). Utkala is populated by religious people and the
brahmanas who live there are learned in the Vedas. They are very good priests, learned in the
Puranas and the shastras and skilled in the art of sacrifices. In the land of Utkala, there is an
image of the sun (Surya) known as Konaditya. The word aditya also means the sun, as does the
word arka. Thus, Konaditya is the same as Konarka, a corruption of the latter word being
Konaraka. The image of Konaditys is so wonderful that even if one gazes at the image, all one's
sins are forgiven.
All around the temple there is sand. But nevertheless, many trees grow around the temple. The
best time to worship the sun there is at the time of sunrise. One has to face the east and draw a
lotus flower on the ground with red sandalwood. The lotus flower must have exactly eight petals.
A copper vessel has to be placed at the center of the flower and filled with paddy, sesamum
water, red sandalwood, red flowers and sacred grass. One prays to Surya to descend on the lotus
flower that has thus been drawn. If one worships Konaditya according to these prescribed rites,
the sins of seven preceding generations are forgiven.
The twelve adityas are nothing but different forms of Surya. Their names are Indra. Dhata,
Parjanya, Tvashta, Pusha Aryama, Bhaga Vivasvana, Vishnu, Amshumana, Varuna, and Mitra.
As Indra, Surya destroys the enemies of the gods. As Dhata, he creates living beings. As
Parjanya, he showers down rain. As Tvashta, he lives in the trees and herbs. As Pusha, he makes
foodgrains grow. As Aryama, he is in the wind. As Bhaga, he is in the body of all living beings.
As Vivasvana, he is in fire and helps to cook food. As Vishnu, he destroys the enemies of the
gods. As Amshumana, he is again in the wind. As Varuna, Surya is in the waters and as Mitra, he
is in the moon and in the oceans.In each month of the year, it is a different aditya who shines. Indra shines in the month of
Ashvina, Dhata in Kartika, Parjanya in Shravana, Tvashta in Falguna, Pusha in Pousha, Aryama
in Vaishakha, Bhaga in Magha, Vivasvana in Jyaishtha, Vishnu in Chaitra, Amshumana in
Ashada, Varuna, in Bhadra and Mitra in Agrahayana. Vishnu has twelve hundred rays, Aryama
one thousand and three hundred. Vivasvana seventy-two, Amshumana fifteen, Parjanya seventytwo, Varuna one thousand and three hundred, Tvashta one thousand and one hundred, Indra two
thousand and two hundred, Dhata eleven hundred, Mitra one thousand and Pusha nine hundred.
Apart from the names of the twelve adityas, Surya has twelve other names as well. These are
Aditya, Savita, Surya, Mihira, Arka, Prabhakara, Martanda, Bhaskara, Bhanu, Chitrabhanu,
Divakara and Ravi.
Brahma once recounted to the sages the one hundred and eight sacred names of Surya. The
Brahma Purana lists these names and we reproduce them in nine groups of twelve names each.
(1) Surya, Archana, Bhagavana, Tvashta, Pusha, Arka, Savita, Ravi, Gabhastimana, Aja, Kala,
Mrityu.
(2) Dhata, Prabhakara, Prithivi, Jala, Teja, Akasha, Vayu, Parayana, Soma, Brihaspati, Shukra,
Budha.
(3) Angaraka, Indra, Vivasvana, Diptamshu, Shuchi, Shouri, Shanaishvara, Brahma, Vishnu,
Rudra, Skanda, Vaishravana.
(4) Yama, Vaidyutam, Jathara, Agni, Aindhana, Tejohpati, Dharmadhvaja, Vedakarta, Vedanga,
Vedavahana, Krita, Treta.
(5) Dvapara, Kali, Sarvasurashraya, Kala, Kashtha, Muhurta, Kshapa, Yama, Kshana,
Samvatsara, Ashvattha, Kalachakra.
(6) Vibhavasu, Shashvata, Purusha, Yogi, Vyaktavyakta, Sanatana, Kaladhyaksha,
Prajadhyaksha, Vishvakarama, Tamonuda, Varuna, Sagara.
(7) Amsha, Jimuta, Jivana, Ariha, Bhutashraya, Bhutapati, Sarvalokanamaskrita, Shrashta,
Samvartaka, Vahni, Sarvadi, Alolupa.
(8) Ananta, Kapila, Bhanu, Kamada, Sarvotamukha, Jaya, Vishala, Varada, Sarvabhutasevita,
Mana, Suparna, Bhutadi.
(9) Shighraga, Pranadharana, Dhanvantari, Dhumakety, Adideva, Aditinandana, Dvadashatma,
Ravi, Daksha, Pita, Mata, Pitamaha.
Indradyumna and Purushaottama Kshetra
In Satya Yuga there was a king named Indradyumna. He was a very powerful king as Indra
himself. He was handsome, honest and truthful, learned in the shastras and the Vedas, and skilled
in the use of weapons. His radiance put the sun to shame. Indradyumna was devoted to Vishnu.
He once decided that he would worship Vishnu. A tirtha is a sacred place of pilgrimage.
Indradyumna scanned all the existing tirthas and cities. But none of them satisfied him. None of
them, he felt, was appropriate as a place for worshipping Vishnu.
Indradyumna's own capital was the city of Avanti, in the kingdom of Malva. Avanti was a
beautiful and wealthy city, surrounded on all sides by moats and other fortifications. Traders
from many countries came there with all sorts or commodities for trading. The roads of the city
were lined with shopes. The houses were painted white. The king's stables were full of horses
and elephants. All citizens of Avanti were pleasant of appearance and happy. Sacrifices were
held fairly often. Many were the temples, groves and ponds in Avanti. Any tree that grew on
earth could be found there.
There was a temple to Shiva in the city. This was known as the temple of Mahakala. The image
there was so sacred that worshipping Shiva in the temple of Mahakala was tantamount to
performing one thousand ashvamedha yajnas.
The river Shipra flowed past Avanti. On the banks of the river there was a temple of Vishnu
known as Govindasvami. Another temple to Vishnu was named Vikramasvami. But
Indradyumna was not satisfied with these temples. He wanted to build another temple to Vishnu.
He left Avanti to look for a proper place. His soldiers and subjects accompanied their king, so
that it looked as if the entire city of Avanti was on the march. After traveling for many days, they
arrived on the shores of the southern ocean, the ocean that is known as lavana samudra.
There were so many waves in the ocean that the ocean itself seemed to be dancing. Marine
animals lived in the ocean and the waters were also the source of all sorts of jewels.
Indradyumna began to live on the shores of the ocean. He discovered a place near the ocean that
was thick with flower and fruit trees. Many types of birds gathered there to eat the fruit. This was
the place known as Purushaottama kshetra (place), the city of Puri of modern times.
Purshottama kshetra was a very important tirtha. But all knowledge of this tirtha had been hidden
until Indradyumna arrived on the scene. There was a reason for this. Many years ago, there used
to be an image of Vishnu there, where people used to pray. So sacred was the image that all the
sins of the worshippers were immediately forgiven. The result was that Yama could not punish
any of the sinners. They simply prayed to Vishnu's image and escaped. Yama therefore prayed to
Vishnu for a solution. Vishnu hid the image under the sand so that no one knew that it existed.
Indradyumna liked Purushaottama Kshetra. The river Mahanadi or Chitropala flowed not very
far away. The people who lived around the place were religious. He decided that this was the
right place for building a temple to Vishnu. On an auspicious day, the foundation stone was laid.
Indradyumna then got in touch with the kings of Kalkinga, Utakala and Koshala. He requested
their help in fetching stones for the building of the temple. The kings sent their architects to the
Vindhya mountains. The stones were gathered from these mountains and brought to
Purushaottama Kshetra in boats and chariots. Messengers were also sent to several other kings
for aid. They came with their armies and with a lot of wealth.Indradyumna told the assembled kings, "I wish to accomplish two difficult tasks. The first is to
perform an ashvamedha yajna here. And the second is to build a temple to Vishnu. Both of these
are difficult jobs, particularly the second. But if you help me, I am confident that both jobs can
be done."
The kings agreed to help. They offered jewels, wealth, gold, clothes, food grains and other
objects. The place where the yajna was to be held was made entirely out of gold. In fact, all the
objects used in the yajna were made out of gold. Brahmanas from all over Jambudvipa came to
witness the sacrifice. They were donated elephants, horses and cows as alms. Never has there
been any other sacrifice to rival the one that Indradyumna performed. After the sacrifice was
over and the temple built, there remained the more important question of the image. How was
this to be made? Indradyumna began to pray to Vishnu for guidance.
Vishnu appeared before Indradyumna in a dream and said, "Why are you so miserable? When
the sun rises, go to the shores of the ocean. There you will find a tree. Half of the tree is in the
water and the remaining half in the sand. Chop down this tree. It s wood will give you the
material for the image.
In the morning, Indradyumna went to the seashore and found the tree. It was just as Vishnu had
described it to be. With an axe, he chopped down the tree. As he was about to slice the trunk in
two, two brahmanas appeared before him. Although Indradyumna did not know it, these two
brahmanas were Vishnu and Vishvakarma in disguise.
"King. What have you done?" exclaimed the brahmanas. "You have cut down the only tree that
was on the shores of the ocean."
"Forgive me," replied Indradyumna. "I wished to make an image of Vishnu. Vishnu has
instructed me in a dream that this is the tree from which the image should be made."
"That is an excellent idea," said the brahmana who was Vishnu in disguise. "There is nothing so
holy as praying to Vishnu. Meet my companion. He is as skilled as the great Vishvakarma
himself. If you want, he will build the image for you."
King Indradyumna agreed. And instructed by Vishnu, Vishvakarma started to build the image.
Or, to be more accurate, there were three different images. The first one was that of Baladeva or
Balarama. This was completely white in colour, except for the eyes, which were red. The image
was dressed in blue and a snake held its hood over Balarama's head. A club and a mace were in
Balarama's hands. The second image was Krishna's. This was blue in colour, with eyes like lotus
flowers. The image was dressed in yellow and had a chakra in its hand. The third image was that
of Krishna's sister Subhadra. This image was golden in colour and was dressed in wonderful
clothes.
When Indradyumna discovered that the images were made in a matter of minutes, he was
thunderstruck. He realised that the two brahmanas cold not be mere mortals. He fell at their feet
and said, "Please tell me who you are. You cannot be humans."Vishnu and Vishvakarma then revealed their true selves and Indradyumna was thrilled. Vishnu
blessed the king and told him that he would rule for ten thousand and nine hundred years. And
even after Indradyumna died, a place would be reserved for him in heaven. On an auspicious
day, the three images were instated in the temple.
Markandeya
Many years ago, a great destruction (Pralaya) took place. The earth was shrouded in darkness
and nothing could be seen. There was neither sun nor moon. Lightning and thunder crushed
mountains and trees. There were showers of meteors. Lakes and rivers dried up. The entire earth
burnt with fire and the flames of the fire reached down to the underworld. All living beings
perished in this fire, including the gods and the demons.
There was a sage named Markandeya. While all this was going on, Markandeya was busy
meditating. Such was the power of Markandeya's tapasya that the fire dared not touch him. But it
is also true that Markandeya was scared of the fire that raged all around him. He suffered from
hunger and thirst and forgot all about his tapasya. His lips and throat dried up from fear.
Markandeya discovered that there was a banyan tree that was untouched by all these ravages. He
retired to the shade of the banyan tree and started to pray to Vishnu.
Clouds gathered in the sky. They were thick and dark clouds and they spread all over the earth. It
started to rain and it poured and poured. Water was everywhere and the earth was flooded. The
water put out the fire. It rained continuously for twelve years. The oceans flooded the shores and
the mountains were pulverised. Vishnu slept on the water.
Markandeya did not know what to do. There was water everywhere and he floated on it. But he
continued to pray to Vishnu.
Vishnu spoke to Markandeya. "Do not be frightened, Markandeya," he said. "You are devoted to
me and I shall protect you."
Markandeya did not realise that it was Vishnu who was speaking. "Who dares to address me
thus?" he demanded. "Am I a child that I should be so addressed? I am the great Markandeya,
blessed by Brahma himself."
But try as he might, Markandeya cold not see anyone anywhere. Where had the voice come from
then? Had it all been an illusion? Not knowing what to do, he started to pray again to Vishnu.
Suddenly he saw the banyan tree floating on the water. A golden bed was spread on the branches
of the tree and on the bed there slept a small boy. Markandeya was exceedingly surprised to see
the small boy floating in the middle of this deluge. He was so confused by his illusions that he
did not realise that this boy was none other than Vishnu.
The boy spoke to Markandeya. "You are tired," said the boy. "You are looking for a refuge.
Enter my body and rest for some time."Markandeya was so confused that, before he could react, he entered the boy's body through the
mouth. Inside the boy's stomach Markandeya discovered all the worlds, the seven regions and
the seven oceans. The mountains and the kingdoms were all there. So were all living beings.
Markandeya did not know what to make of all this. He started to pray to Vishnu. No sooner than
he had started, he came out of the boy's mouth. Vishnu now appeared before him and blessed
him. The sage spent a thousand years with Vishnu. Vishnu then asked, "I wish to grant you a
boon. What is your desire?"
"I want to build a temple to Shiva in Purushaottama Kshetra," replied Markandeya. "This will
prove to everyone that Vishnu and Shiva are really one and the same."
Vishnu granted the boon and Markandeya built a temple to Shiva known as Bhuvaneshvara
(Lord of the World).
King Shveta
In Satya Yuga there used to be a king named Shveta. He was such a good king that during his
reign people lived for ten thousand years. No one dies as a child. Longevity was high and there
was no infant mortality.
But there was a sage named Kapalagoutama. Unfortunately, the sage's son died as an infant. The
sage brought the dead body to Shveta and the king resolved that if he could not bring the sage's
son back to life within a week, he would immolate himself in a fire. Having thus taken an oath,
king Shveta worshipped Shiva with one thousand and one hundred blue lotus flowers. Shiva
appeared before the king and granted the boon that the infant son might be brought back to life.
King Shveta ruled for a thousand years. He also built a temple to Vishnu in Purushaottama
kshetra. The temple that had been built by Indradyumna was known as the temple of Jagannatha.
Shveta's temple was not very far from this and was known as the temple of Shvetamadhava. The
image in this temple was as white as the moon.
Bali
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 the
three worlds.
In desperation, the gods approached Vishnu. "Please do something about Bali", they requested.
"You always help us out when we are in trouble".
"There is no difference between Bali and the gods so far as I am concerned," replied Vishnu
"Bali is devoted to me. I cannot therefore fight with him. But I will think of a way so that his
kingdom might be taken away from him and given to you."Vishnu decided to be born as Aditi's son. The son was a dwarf. This was the Vamana avatara
(dwarf incarnation) of Vishnu.
Bali proposed to organise a horse sacrifice. Many sages came to the sacrifice and Shukracharya
was the chief priest. The dwarf also arrived to witness the yajna.
Shukracharya realised that the dwarf was none other than Vishnu. He told Bali, "I suspect that
this dwarf is Vishnu in disguise. He must have come here to ask you for something. Please do
not grant him anything without first consulting me."
"Certainly not," replied Bali. "It is good fortune indeed that the great Vishnu has come to my
house. What is there to consult about? I shall grant Vishnu whatever he wants."
Bali went to the dwarf to ascertain what the dwarf wanted. Vishnu expressed the wish that he
might be given as much of land as might be covered in three of the dwarf's steps. This boon Bali
readily granted. But no sooner than the boon had been granted, the dwarf adopted a gigantic
form. He placed one foot on Bali's yajna and the second on Brahmaloka.
"Where will I place my third step?" demanded Vishnu. There is no more space left in the entire
universe. Find me a place for my third step."
Bali smiled and said, "Place it on my back."
Vishnu was charmed at Bali's generosity. He granted Bali the boon that Bali would hold the title
of Indra in a future manvantara. He then appointed Bali king of the underworld. But Indra's
kingdom of heaven, which Bali had conquered, was returned to Indra.
Brahma had all this while been in Brahmaloka. When Vishnu placed his second foot on
Brahmaloka, Brahma felt that he should welcome his water-pot (kamandalu) to wash the foot.
The water spilled over from the foot and fell on the mountains. There the water divided into four.
Vishnu accepted the flow that went northwards. The flow that went westwards returned to
Brahma's kamandalu. The flow that went eastwards was gathered up by the gods and the sages.
But the flow that went southwards got entangled in Shiva's matted hair. This water was the river
Ganga.
Goutama
Part of the water of the Ganga that got stuck in Shiva's hair was brought down to earth by
Bhagiratha. The remaining part was brought down by the sage Goutama.
Parvati was married to Shiva, but Shiva seemed to be fonder of Ganga than of Parvati. Parvati
resolved that a way had to be found to remove Ganga from Shiva's hair. She tried persuasion, but
Shiva refused to listen.
At this time, there was a terrible drought on earth which went on for fourteen years. The only
place that was not affected by the drought was the sage Gouthama's hermitage. Other people also gathered in the hermitage to save themselves from the drought and Goutama welcomed them all.
Ganesha thought that he might be able to devise a way to free his mother of the Ganga problem.
He went and began to live in Gouthama's hermitage.
Ganesha cultivated the acquaintance of the other sages and become quite friendly with them.
One of Parvati's companions was Jaya. Ganesha told Jaya that she was to adopt the form of a
cow and eat up the grain in Goutama's fields. And the moment she was struck, she was to lie
down on the ground and pretend to be dead.
Goutama noticed that a cow was eating up his grain. He tried to drive away the cow by striking it
with a blade of grass. As soon as he did this, the cow uttered a Srill bellow and fell down on the
ground. Ganesha and the other sages came running to see what had happened. They discovered
that, to all intents and purposes, a cow had been struck down dead by sage Goutama. They
therefore refused to stay in an ashrama where such a sin had been committed.
Goutama tried to restrain them. "Please do not go away and forsake me," he said. "Tell me how I
may performed penance."
"You will have to bring down Ganga from Shiva's hair," replied Ganesh. "When that water
touches the dead body of the cow, your sin will be forgiven."
"You will have to bring down Ganga from Shiva's hair," replied Ganesha. "When that water
touches the dead body of the cow, your sin will be forgiven."
Ganesha was so friendly with the other sages that they all accepted his solution. Goutama also
agreed to do the needful. Accordingly, Goutama went to Mount Kailasa and began to pray to
Shiva. Shiva was pleased at Goutama's tapasya and offered to grant a boon. Goutama naturally
wanted the boon that Ganga might be brought down to earth. Shiva agreed. It was thus that
Ganga was brought down to earth by the sage Goutama. Ganga has four tributaries in heaven,
seven on earth and four in the underworld. Since it was Goutama who brought Ganga down to
earth, the river is also known as Goutami Ganga.
The Doves
In a mountain known as Brahmagiri there used to live a hunter who was very cruel. He not only
killed birds and animals, but brahmanas and sages as well.
The hunter once went on a hunt. He killed many animals and birds and some he put in his cages.
He had penetrated so far inside the forest that he was far from home. It became night and also
started to rain. Hungry and thirsty, the hunter lost his way. He climbed up a tree and decided to
spend the night there. But his mind kept going back to his wife and children at home.
For many years a dove and its family had lived happily on that tree. Both the male and female
had gone out to look for food. But although the make dove had returned to the nest, the female
dove had not. In fact, the female had been captured by the hunter and was now inside a cage. The
male did not know this. He mourned for his wife.These words of mourning were heard by the female dove inside the cage and she made her
presence felt. The male dove came down and discovered his wife inside the cage. "The hunter is
sleeping now, " he said. "Now is the time for me to free you."
"No," replied the female dove. "You know how it is with living beings. One living being lives on
another. I can find not fault with the hunter, he is merely collecting his food. He is like a guest to
us. And it is our duty to offer up our bodies for the sake of a guest."
"You are quite right," said the male dove. "I lost my sense of propriety. We have to serve our
guest. But how do we serve our guest? We have nothing that we can call our own."
"At the moment the hunter is suffering most from the cold," replied the female dove. "We have
to light a fire to warm him up. Go and find a fire and bring plenty of dead leaves and branches so
that the fire may burn."
The male dove found a flaming branch. He also brought many dry leaves and branches so that
the fire could burn. The rain had stopped and the fire warmed up the hunter.
"Now," said the female dove, "free me so that I may immolate myself in the fire. My roasted
flesh will serve as food for the hunter."
"Never," replied the male dove. "It is my right to serve the guest first".
Saying this, the male dove hurled himself into the fire. The hunter had heard the entire
conversation and marveled that two doves could be so altruistic. The female dove now requested
the hunter to free her from the cage. And as soon as he did this, the female dove also hurled
herself into the fire.
This selfless deed of the two doves was so wonderful that a space vehicle (Vimana) came down
to take the two doves straight to heaven. The cruel hunter was also impressed and repented his
past misdeeds. He told the doves, "You are indeed blessed. Before you go to heaven, please tell
me how I may perform penance for my sins."
"Go to Goutami Ganga and bathe there for fifteen days," replied the doves. "Your sins will also
be forgiven."
The hunter did as he had been asked to. The place where the doves immolated themselves
became a holy tirtha known as kapotatirtha, since the word kapota means dove.
Garuda and Maninaga
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 do him no harm. Armed with this boon, Maninaga started to wander around freely and did not run away even when faced with Garuda. Garuda found this to be exceedingly
strange. Although he could not kill Maninaga, he captured him and kept him imprisoned in his
own house.
Shiva had a companion named Nandi. Nandi told Shiva, "Lord, what has happened to Maninaga?
We have not seen him for some time. I hope that Garuda has not done him some harm."
Shiva of curse knew what had happened. He advised Nandi to pray to Vishnu. Nandi was to
please Vishnu and then ask for the boon that Maninaga might be freed from Garuda's
imprisonment. Nandi did this and Vishnu asked Garuda to release Maninaga.
"Lord," Garuda told Vishnu, "this is very unfair. Other masters treat their servants really well.
They give their servants gifts. See how Shiva has sent Nandi himself to rescue Shiva's devotee
Maninaga. You never give me any gifts. Moreover, when I obtain something on my own, you
ask me to relinquish it. Is this proper on your part? It is on me that you ride when you go out to
fight the demons. They get defeated because of my prowess. And yet it tickles your ego no end
to think that you have defeated them yourself."
Vishnu smiled and replied, "Garuda, you are quite right. You have become thin and learn from
bearing my weight. It is quite true that I can defeat the demons only because of your prowess.
You have a lot of strength. Why don't you bear the weight of my little finger and demonstrate
your strength?"
Vishnu placed his little finger on Garuda's head. So heavy was the finger that Garuda was
crushed against the ground.
"Please forgive me, said" Garuda. "I have been very stupid. I am an ignorant ass and you are the
lord of everything. I have been completely flattened by the weight of your little finger. Please tell
me how I may regain my old self."
Vishnu asked Nandi to take Garuda to Shiva. Shiva would find a way of restoring Garuda's old
appearance. Maninaga was released and Nandi took Garuda to Shiva. Shiva asked Garuda to
bathe in Goutami Ganga. This would make his appearance normal again.
Garuda did this. Not only was his old appearance restored, he became stronger and swifter than
he used to be. The place where Garuda bathed is a tirtha known as Garudatirtha.
Vishvamitra and Indra
Many years ago, there was a terrible drought. There was no food to be had. The sage
Vishvamitra had come to the banks of the river Goutami Ganga with his disciples. Vishvamitra's
wife, children and disciples were all hungry. The sage therefore sent his disciples out to look for
food. They searched everywhere, but could find no food. The only object that they could find
was the body of a dead dog. They brought this to Vishvamitra."We have no choice," Vishvamitra told his disciples. "Clean the meat carefully with water. Then
offer it to the gods, the sages and the ancestors. This is what we have to live on."
Offering the meat of a dog to the gods was unheard of. Indra adopted the form of a hawk and
stole the vessel in which the meat was kept. But Vishvamitra got to know about this and got
ready to curse Indra. Indra was naturally scared of Vishvamitra's curse. He changed the dog-meat
into amrita (a heavenly drink) and brought the vessel back.
"I don't want amrita," Vishvamitra told Indra. "Bring the dog-meat back. I don't want to have
amrita when the whole world is starving for food. There is no food available and I do not see any
sin in eating dog-meat. Nor should there be a sin in offering it to the gods."
Indra was the god of rains. He realised that the only way to persuade Vishvamitra against eating
the dog-meat was to make it rain so that there would be an end to the drought. Instructed by
Indra, the clouds poured down rain. Vishvamitra and his disciples now consented to partake of
the amrita.
The place where all this happened has come to be known as Vishvamitratirtha.
Shveta
There used to be a brahmana named Shveta. He was a friend of the sage Goutama and had a
hermitage on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. Shveta was also devoted to Shiva. In due course,
Shiveta died and Yama's messengers arrived to take Shveta to Yama. But they could not even
enter Shiveta's house.
Finding that Yama's messengers ere not returning, Yama's companion Chitraka told Yama,
"What do you think has happened? Why aren't the messengers returning?
Yama now sent his companion Mrityu (literally death) to find out what was going on. Mrityu
went to Shveta's house and found Yama's messengers standing outside the house. They explained
that they were unable to enter the house because Shiva himself was guarding Shveta's body. One
of Shiva's companions asked Mrityu. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
"I have come to take Shveta to Yama," replied Mrityu. "His time on earth is up."
Mrityu flung a noose to grasp Shveta's body. But Shiva's companion struck Mrityu with a rod
and killed him. When the news of this was taken to Yama, he was furious. With all his
companions he attacked Shveta's house. Nandi, Ganesha, Kartikeya and several of Shiva's
companions came to fight on Shiva's side, and a battle royal raged. All the gods arrived to
mediate and end the strife. Things had a got a bit out of hand and Yama himself had been killed
by Kartikeya.
The problem seemed to defy solution. Yama was, after all, performing his duty. But Shiva
insisted that his devotees would never be taken to Yama, but would instead go straight to heaven.
Shiva's condition was finally agreed to. Nandi brought water from the Goutami Ganga and sprinkled it on Yama and the others who had died in the fighting. They were all immediately
brought back to life.
Kubera
Kubera was the eldest son of the sage Vishrava. Vishrava had two wives. The fist wife give birth
to Kubera. The second wife was a rakshasa (demon) woman and gave birth to Ravana,
Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana. Kubera used to rule in Lanka and his relations with his cousins
were extremely good. But Ravana's mother did not like idea of her sons mixing so much with
Kubera.
She called her sons and said, "What are you up to? Why do you cause me so much of pain? You
are demons and Kubera is a god. Is it proper that you should be so friendly with him? The
relation between gods and demons is one of enmity. Consider Kubera's pomp and glory. Have
you got anything like that to show for yourselves? Do something so as to improve your own
statures." Thus instructed by their mother, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana went off to the
forest to perform tapasya. They pleased Brahma with their prayers and desired the boon that they
might win over the kingdom of Lanka. Ravana also obtained the boon that he would become
very strong.
Thus fortified with the boons, the demons attacked Kubera and defeated him. They drove Kubera
out of Lanka. Kubera possessed a beautiful Vimana named pushpaka. This was also appropriated
by Ravana. Ravana also made it known that whoever gave Kubera refuge would be killed by
him. This meant that no one dared give refuge to Kubera.
Kubera sought the advice of his grandfather Pulastya. Pulastya told him to go to the banks of the
Goutami Ganga and pray to Shiva there. Shiva appeared before Kubera and blessed him with the
boon that Kubera would become the god of all wealth.
Harishchandra
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.
"Go to the banks of the Goutami Ganga," advised the sages. "Pray to the god Varuna there. We
are sure that Varuna will grant you a son."
Harishchandra pleased Varuna with his prayers and asked for a son.
"You will have a son," said Varuna. "But there is a condition attached. You will have to
subsequently organise a yajna in my honor and you will have to sacrifice your son at this yajna.
Tell me if this condition is acceptable to you.""Yes indeed," replied Harishchandra.
In due course, Harishchandra had a son who was named Rohita.
Varuna came to Harishchandra and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
"My son is still too young," replied Harishchandra. "Let him at least attain ten days of age. Till
then, the baby is in any case impure and is not fit to be sacrificed."
After ten days Varuna came again and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?
"Please let him grow his teeth," replied Harishchandra. "Animals are sacrificed at yajnas. And no
one becomes an animal until he actually has teeth."
Varuna waited till the teeth grew and returned when Rohita was seven years of age. "What about
the yajna in my honor?" he asked.
"These are only milk teeth," replied Harishchandra. "These do not characterise an animal. Please
wait until his proper teeth have grown."
Varuna returned when the proper teeth grew and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
"He is the son of kshatriya (the second of the four classes, a warrior class)," replied
Harishchandra. "But his training in the art of fighting has not even begun. He cannot be called a
kshatriya until he knows how to fight. Till that day he is an incomplete man. Do you really want
such an incomplete man as a sacrifice?"
After some years had passed, Rohita became skilled in the art of fighting and was appointed the
heir-apparent (yuvaraja) to the kingdom. He was then sixteen years of age.
Varuna appeared again and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
This time the entire conversation took place in front of the prince and Rohita intervened before
Harishchandra could say anything. "Father," he said, "I have already resolved to perform a yajna
in Vishnu's honor. Grant me the permission to complete that first. After that, do what you will."
Rohita went off to the forest. Meanwhile, Varuna had had enough and he afflicted Harishchandra
with a painful stomach ailment. News of his father's illness was taken to Rohita in the forest. In
the forest, Rohita met a sage named Ajigarta. The sage was very poor and, together with his wife
and three sons, was starving.
"Will you sell one of your three sons to me?" asked Rohita. "The boy is needed for a sacrifice."
"I shall not sell my eldest son," said the sage. "My wife will not permit the youngest one to be
sold. You can have the one in the middle. His name is Shunahshepa. The price will be one
thousand cows, one thousand golden coins, one thousand pieces of clothing and a lot of wealth."Rohita paid the price and brought Shunahshepa home to Harishchandra.
"We can't do this," said Harishchandra. "It is the duty of kings to protect the brahmanas. How
can we sacrifice the son of a brahmana? It is better to die instead. Go and return Shunahshepa to
his father."
Just then a divine voice was heard from heaven. The voice said, "There is no need for anyone to
die. Take Shunahshepa to the banks of the Goutami Ganga and perform the yajna to Varuna
there. Goutami Ganga is such a sacred river that no human sacrifices are needed if a yajna is
performed there.
This is what Harishchandra did not Varuna was satisfied. As for Shunahshepa, he was adopted
by the sage Vishvamitra as a son.
Vriddhagoutama
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 the sages in
studying the Vedas and Shastras under a teacher. But Vriddhagoutama knew some incantations
(mantras) which he always chanted. He also worshipped the god Agni.
When he grew a bit older, Vriddhagoutama went out to tour the world. He traveled to many
places and met many people. Since he was deformed, he never got married. Who would want to
marry a person so ugly as he?
In the course of his travels, Vriddhagoutama arrived at a mountain named Shitagiri. He
discovered a beautiful cave in the mountain and thought that this might be a good place to live
in. So he entered the cave and was very surprised to find an old woman inside. The old woman
had obviously been living inside the cave for many years. Her body was thin and wasted from
the rigours of severe tapasya.
Vriddhagoutama was about to touch the feet of such a venerable old woman, but the woman
restrained him. "Please don't touch my feet," said the woman. "You are my guru. Does a guru
ever bow before his disciple?"
Vriddagoutama was surprised at these words. This was the first time in his life that he had met
the old woman. "How can I be your guru?", he asked. "You are much older than me. Besides, I
have never learnt anything and you are clearly a respected ascetic. Your words are a complete
mystery to me."
"Let me tell you my story," said the old woman. "Otherwise, you will not understand."
There used to be a handsome and brave prince named Ritadhvaja. He was the son of King
Arshtishena. Ritadhvaja went on a hunt to the forest and arrived at that very cave. There he
happened to meet an apsara named Sushyama. The two fell in love with each other and got married. But eventually, Ritadhvaja had to return home and Sushyama gave birth to a daughter
there. Sushyama left her daughter in the cave itself with the instruction that she was not to leave
the cave. The first man to enter the cave would become her husband. It was this daughter who
had now become the old woman. Ritadhvaja had reigned for eighty thousand years. After that,
ritadhvaja's son had reigned for ten thousand years. All this while, Sushyama's daughter had
lived in the cave, that is, for ninety thousand years all together.
"Now you see that you are to be my husband," said the old woman. "Is a husband not a guru?"
"What you say is quite impossible," replied Vriddhagoutama. "You are much older than me. I am
only a thousand years old and you more than ninety thousand. How can we marry? I am like a
child next to you."
"If you do not marry me, I will kill myself," said the old woman.
"But I am ugly," protested Vriddhagoutama. "I will promise you this much. If I every become
handsome and learned, I will indeed marry you."
"I have pleased the goddess Sarasvati, who presides over all learning, through my tapasya," said
the old woman. "She will make you learned. I have also pleased the god Varuna and he will
make you handsome."
Vriddhagoutama became handsome and learned and married the old woman. They lived happily
in the cave.
One day, various sages came to visit the couple. Amongst them there were sages like Vashishtha
and Vamadeva. But there were also young sages who ere not all that sensible. The younger sages
started to laugh at the sight of the young and handsome Vriddhagoutama and his aged wife.
"Who is this man?" they asked the old woman. "Is he your son or your grandson?"
The sages went away, but the couple felt ashamed. They asked the sage Agastya what they might
do. Agastya told them to go and bathe in the river Goutami Ganga. The river is so sacred that all
one's heart's desires are thereby granted. The couple did this and prayed to Vishnu and Shiva.
Wonder of wonders, the old woman became young and pretty. The place on the banks of the
river where these wonderful things happened is a tirtha named Vriddhasangama.
Pippalada
Many years ago, there used to be a sage named Dadhici. His wife was Lopamudra. Dadhichi's
hermitage was right next to the holy river Ganga. Lopamudra's sister Gabhastini also used to live
in the hermitage. Such was the sage Dadhichi's powers that daityas and danavas dared not set
foot inside the hermitage.The gods once fought with the demons and managed to defeat them. After the war was over, they
came to pay their respects to Dadhichi. Dadhichi welcomed his guests and wanted to know how
they were faring.
"Thanks to your blessings, we are fine," replied the gods. "We have just defeated the demons in a
war. In fact, we have a slight problem. We no longer need our weapons now that the demons
have run away. We don't know of a safe place where we can store all these weapons. We were
wondering if we might keep the weapons in your ashrama. This is one of the safest places that
can be found."
Dadhichi consented to this proposal. The gods left their weapons in the hermitage and went back
to heaven.
When Lopamudra heard what Dadhichi had done, she was not at all pleased. "You have done
something that is mot improper," she told her husband. "one should never accept responsibility
for someone else's property, especially if one is an ascetic and has not material possessions of
one's own. Moreover, you have agreed to store the weapons of the gods. Dose this not mean that
those who are the god's enemies will look upon you too as an enemy? And what are you going to
do if something should happen to the weapons? Will the gods not blame you then?"
"Your points are well taken," said Dadhichi. "But I had not thought of them and I have given the
gods my word. I can't very well go back on my word now."
A hundred years passed. The gods did not return to collect their weapons. The weapons began to
lose their luster, Dadhichi did not know how the energy of the weapons might be preserved. He
washed them with holy water and the energy of the weapons got dissolve in the water. Dadhichi
then drank up the water. As for the weapons themselves, they faded away once their energy was
gone.
Finally the gods came to claim their weapons. "Can we have our weapons back? They asked.
"Our enemies have become powerful again. We need our weapons."
"That may be," said Dadhichi. "But the weapons are no longer there. I have swallowed up their
energy. Let me tell you what can be done. I will use the powers of meditation (yoga) to give up
my life. Then excellent weapons can be made out of my bones.
The gods were reluctant, but thee was no other solution. Dadhichi died and the gods requested
Vishvakarma to make weapons for them out of Dadhichi's bones. Vishvakarma complied and the
weapon name vajra that he made was truly remarkable.
Lopamudra was away when this incident took place. She returned and found that her husband
had died. She was afflicted with sorrow and wished to immolate herself in a fire. But she
happened to be pregnant at the time, so that this could not immediately be done. Once the baby
was born, she killed herself after having handed over the baby to a pippala (fig) tree for rearing.Since the pippala tree brought up the boy, he came to be known as Pippalada. Chandra was the
lord over all trees. The trees asked Chandra for some amrita for Pippalada and Chandra obliged.
The amrita gave Pippalada a lot of strength.
When Pippalada grew up, he wanted to know who his parents were and the trees told him the
story. Pippalada blamed the gods for his parents death and decided to seek revenge. The trees
brought Pippalada to Chandra.
"You are still too young," said Chandra. "First you must become learned and well-versed in the
use of weapons. Go to the forest of dandakaranya. The river Goutami Ganga flows through that
forest. Pray to Shiva there and I am sure that your wishes will be fulfilled."
Pippalada pleased Shiva through his prayers.
"What boon do you desire?" asked Shiva.
I want the boon that I may be able to destroy the gods," replied Pippalada.
"I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead," said Shiva. "The day you can see my third eye,
your wish will be granted."
"I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead," said Shiva. "the day you can see my third eye,
your wish will be granted."
Try as he might, Pippalada could not see Shiva's third eye. Pippalada therefore performed even
more difficult tapasya for even more years. Eventually he managed to see Shiva's third eye. From
Shiva's third eye was born a demon that looked like a mare.
"What is your desire?" asked the demon of Pippalada.
"Kill my enemies, the gods," was the reply.
The demon immediately attacked Pippalada.
"What are you doing?" asked Pippalada. "Why are you trying to kill me? I asked you to kill the
gods."
"But your body has bee created by the gods," replied the demon. "I will therefore kill you also."
Pippalada ran to Shiva for deliverance. Shiva earmarked a region inside the forest for Pippalada.
There the demon was not permitted to enter. Pippalada lived there, protected from the ravages of
the demon. Meanwhile, the gods requested Shiva to save them as well. Shiva persuaded
Pippalada to control his anger. He convinced Pippalada that nothing was to be gained by killing
the gods. That would not bring his parents back.Pippalada agreed. But he wished to see his parents once. Accordingly, Vimana descended from
heaven on which Dadhichi and Lopamudra were seated. They blessed Pippalada and asked him
to marry and have children.
As for the demon, it became a river and merged with the holy Ganga.
Nageshvara
There was a city named Pratishthana. A king named Shurasena ruled in that city. Shurasena did
not have any sons. After a lot of effort, a son was born to him. But the son happened to be a
snake. The king and the queen were mortified at this turn of events. But they brought up their son
in great secrecy. Not even the king's ministers and priests knew that the prince was a snake.
When the prince grew slightly, he began to talk like a human, even though he was a snake. King
Shurasena arranged for the prince's education. After the snake had become learned in the
knowledge of the Vedas, he told his father, "Father, it is time for me to get married. If I do not
have a son, I am certain to go to naraka."
King Shurasena was very surprised to hear this. "How is that possible?" he asked. "Which
princess will consent to marry a snake?"
"I don't know," replied the prince. "But I do know that I have to get married. Other wise, I will
commit suicide. There are many forms of marriage that are permissible. Perhaps a princess can
be kidnapped and married to me."
Shurasena called his ministers and told them, "My son Nageshvara has now come of age. He has
also been made the heir-apparent to the kingdom. There is no one equal to him in bravery on
earth, in heaven or in the underworld. I am getting old. Please arrange for Nageshvara to get
married. I shall then relinquish my kingdom and retire to the forest."
The king did not of course tell his ministers that Nageshvara was a snake.
Shurasena had an aged minister. This minister reported that there was a king named Vijaya who
ruled in the eastern part of the country. King Vijaya had eight sons and one daughter. The
daughter's name was Bhogavati and she was very beautiful. She would be the right match for
Nageshvara.
The aged minister was sent as a messenger to Vijaya and the king agreed to the match. There
was a custom amongst kshatriyas that the bride did not always have to be married to the
bridegroom in person. She could also be married to the bridegroom's sword or some other
weapon. The minister explained to King Vijaya that there were some private reasons which made
it impossible for Nageshvara to come in person for the marriage. Bhogavati should be married
off to Nageshvara's sword. Vijaya consented to this and the marriage ceremony was performed.
The entire retinue then returned to the city of Pratishthana.But what was to be done now that the marriage was over? Nageshvara's mother sent a made to
Bhogavati. The maid was to tell Bhogavati that her husband was actually a snake and then
observe her reaction.
The maid told Bhogavati, "Your husband is a god, but he has the form of a snake."
"That is my good fortune," replied Bhoavati. "Normally, women are married to men. I must have
performed many good deeds in my earlier life to have been married to a god."
Bhogavati was then brought to Nageshvara and at the sight of Bhogavati, Nageshvara
remembered his earlier life. He used to be a snake (naga) in his earlier life and was a companion
of Shiva's. His wife in the earlier life was Bhogavati.
There had bee an occasion when Shiva had laughed at a joke of parvati's and Nageshvara had
also laughed. This had annoyed Shiva and he had cursed Nageshvara that he would be born on
earth as the son of a human, but in the form of a snake. When he went and bathed in Goutami
Ganga, the period of the curse would be over. When Nageshvara recounted these incidents to
Bhogavati, she also remembered her earlier life. The two went and bathed in the scared river and
Nageshvara obtained a handsome and divine form. Nageshavara ruled after Shurasena's death.
And when Nageshvara and Bhogavati died, they went back to Kailasa to live with Shiva.
On the banks of the Goutami Ganga, Nageshvara and Bhogavati built a temple to Shiva. This is a
famous tirtha known as Nagatirtha.
Brahma's Head
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."
Shiva went to fight with the demons. He drove the demons off from Mount Sumeru and out of
heaven. He pursued them to the ends of the earth. All this exertion made Shiva sweat. And
wherever the drops of sweat fell down on the ground, terrible ogresses named matris were
created. The matris also started to kill the demons and pursued them down to the underworld.
While the matris were killing the demons in the underworld, Brahma and the other dos waited on
the banks of the river Goutami Ganga. This place came to be known as Pratishthana.
When the matris had killed all the demons, they returned to earth and began to live on the banks
of the Goutami Ganga. This tirtha has come to be known as matritirtha.
Brahma used to have five heads. The fifth head was in the shape of a donkey's head. When the
demons were running away to the underworld, this donkey's head addressed the demons and said, "why are you running away? Come back and fight with the gods. I shall aid you in your
fight."
The gods were alarmed at this paradoxical situation. Brahma was helping them in their flight
with the demons and Brahma's fifth head was trying to help the demons. They went to Vishnu
and said, "Please cut off Brahma's fifth head. It is causing too much of confusion."
"I can do what you want," replied Vishnu, "but there is a problem. When the cut-off head falls on
earth, it will destroy the earth. I think you should pray to Shiva to find a way out."
The gods prayed to Shiva and Shiva agreed to cut off the head. But what was to be done with the
severed head? The earth refused to bear it and so did the ocean. Finally it was decided that Shiva
himself would bear the head.
The place where Shiva cut off Brahma's fifth head is known as rudratirtha. Ever since that day,
Brahma has had four heads and is known as Chaturmukha (chatur connotes four and mukha
connotes face). There is a temple to Brahma on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. This is a holy
place known as brahmatirtha. A killer of brahmanas is pardoned his sin if he visits this temple.
The Owl and the Dove
A dove used to live on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. The dove's name was Anuhrada and its
wife's name was Heti. Anuhrada was Yama's grandson.
Not very far away, there lived an owl named Uluka. The owl's wife was called Uluki. The owls
were descended from the god Agni.
The doves and the owls were enemies. They fought amongst themselves continually. The doves
had received all sorts of weapons from Yama and the owls had received all sorts of weapons
from Agni. These divine weapons threatened to burn up everything. But Yama and Agni
intervened. They persuaded the owls and the doves to forget their enmity and live together as
friends. The place where the doves lived came to be known as a tirtha named yamyatirtha. And
the place where the owls lived came to be known as Agnitirtha.
The Hunter
There was a sage named Veda. He used to pray to Shiva every day. The prayers lasted till the
afternoon and after the prayers were over, Veda used to go to the nearby villages to beg alms.
A hunter named Bhilla used to come to the forest every afternoon to hunt. After the hunt was
over, he used to come to Shiva's linga (image) and offer to Shiva whatever it was that he had
hunted. In the process of doing this, he often moved Veda's offerings out of the way. Strange
though it might seem, Shiva was stirred by Bhilla's offerings and eagerly used to wait for it every
day. Bhilla and Veda never met. But Veda noticed that every day his offerings lay scattered and
a little bit of meat lay by the side. Since this always happened when Veda had gone out to beg for alms, Veda did not know who was responsible. One day, he decided to wait in hiding so as to
catch the culprit red-handed.
While Veda waited, Bhilla arrived and offered what he had brought to Shiva. Veda was amazed
to discover that Shiva himself appeared before Bhilla and asked, "Why are you late today? I have
been waiting for you. Did you get very tired?"
Bhilla went away after making his offerings. But Veda came up to Shiva and said, "What is all
this? This is a cruel and evil hunter, and yet, you appear before him. I have been performing
tapasya for so many years and you never appear before me. I am disgusted at this partiality. I will
break your linga with this stone."
"Do it if you must," replied Shiva. "But please wait till tomorrow."
Next day, when Veda came to present his offerings, he found traces of blood on top of the linga.
He carefully washed away the traces of blood and completed his prayers.
After some time, Bhilla also came to present his offerings and discovered traces of blood on top
of the linga. He thought that he was in some way responsible for this and blamed himself for
some unknown transgression. He picked up a sharp arrow and began to pierce his body
repeatedly with this arrow as punishment.
Shiva appeared before both of them and said, "Now you see the difference between Veda and
Bhilla. Veda has given me his offerings, but Bhilla has given me his whole soul. That is the
difference between ritual and true devotion."
The place where Bhilla used to pray to Shiva is a famous tirtha known as bhillatirtha.
Goutama and Manikundala
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 to trade and make profits."
"But my father has a lot of wealth," replied Manikundala. "What is the need to obtain more
wealth?"
"You don't have the proper perspective," said Goutama. "A successful person is one who does
not thrive on what is left to him by his father. He makes his own fortune."
Manikundala was convinced by Gountama's logic. He did not realise that his so-called friend was
out to defraud him.
The two friends set out on their journey, Manikundala providing all the capital.In the course of their travels Goutama remarked, "Have you noticed how those who follow the
path of dharma (righteousness) always suffer? They are neither wealthy nor happy. There seems
to be no point in being righteous."
"Please don't say that," protested manikundala. "Happiness lies in following the path of dharma.
Poverty and misery are inevitable, they are of no account at all."
The two friends argued over this, but could not decide who was right. They resolved to have a
bet. They would ask the opinions of others. And whoever lost the bet would surrender all his
wealth to the winner. They asked many people for their opinions. Naturally most people said that
it was the evil who thrived and prospered. And it was the righteous who suffered. The upshot of
this was that Manikundala surrendered all his wealth to Goutama. But Manikundala continued to
praise dharma.
"You are an utter ass," said Goutama. "Haven't you lost all your wealth to me? Yet you continue
to praise dharma."
"The wealth is of no account at all," replied Manikundala. "Dharma is on my side and your
apparent victory is only an illusion. Dharma will triumph in the end."
The two friends decided to have another bet. This time it was agreed that whoever lost the bet
would have his two arms chopped off. They again asked several people and most people said that
is was adharma (evil) which triumphed. So Manikundala lost his two arms.
"How does it feel now?" asked Goutama.
"The same as ever," replied Manikundala. "What is important is dharma. And dharma is on my
side."
Goutama lost his temper at this. He threatened to cut off Manikundala's head if Manikundala
persisted in his praise of dharma. But Manikundala was unperturbed. The friends decided to have
another bet. This time it was agreed that whoever lost would forfeit his life. Manikundala lost yet
again. And Goutama gouged out Manikundala's eyes and left him for dead.
Manikundala lay on the banks of the Goutami Ganga and pondered about the fate that had
befallen him. It became night.
There was an image of Vishnu on the banks of the river and the rakshasa Vibhishana used to
come there every night to pray to Vishnu. Vibhishana's son discovered Manikundala lying there
and found out from him the entire story. He recounted the story to his father.
"Many years ago, I had joined Rama in his fight with Ravana," Vibhishana told his son.
"Ragvana's son Meghanada shot a venomous arrow at Rama's brother Lakshmana. Lakshmana
fell unconscious. The monkey Hanuman then went to the Himalayas and brought a mountain
named Grandhamadana to Lanka. On that mountain there was a wonderful herb named
vishalyakarani which cures all illnesses. When Hanuman returned the mountain to the Himalayas, a bit of the vishalyakarani fell down at this spot. Near Vishnu's image. Let us try and
find it. We should be able to cure Manikundala."
Father and son hunted for the herb. The vishalyakarani had become a huge tree. They lopped off
a branch and placed it on Manikundala's chest. Manikundala immediately regained his eyes and
arms. After curing Manikundala, Vibhishana and his retinue returned to Lanka.
Manikundala began to travel. He eventually came to a city named Mahapura where a king named
Maharaja ruled. Maharaja had no sons, only a daughter. The daughter was blind. Maharaja had
announced that whoever cured his daughter would become his son-in-law and rule after him.
Manikundala cured the princess with his knowledge of the vishalyakarani. He then married the
princess and became king of Mahapura after Maharaja.
Many years later, Goutama was brought before Manikundala by the soldiers. He had been
arrested on the charge of committing a crime. Goutama had lost all his wealth by then and was
no more than a beggar. Manikundala pardoned his friend and shared with him whatever he had.
Such are the virtues of following the path of dharma. There are many tirthas along the banks of
the Goutami Ganga where these wonderful incidents took place.
Kandu
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 the
winter he meditated dressed in wet clothing.
Indra got sacred as a result of all this tapasya. He thought that the sage Kandu might want to
become Indra the king of the gods. He therefore called an apsara named disturb Kandu's
tapasya."
Pramalocha went to the hermitage and began to sing there in a beautiful voice. This disturbed
Kandu and he discovered a beautiful woman wandering around in his ashrama.
"Who are you?" Kandu asked the woman.
"I have come here to pluck flowers," replied Pramalocha. "I am your servant. I will do whatever
you wish me to."
Kandu had fallen in love with Pramalocha and he married her. He forgot all about his tapasya
and Indra heaved a sigh of relief. Years passed. Pramalocha wished to return to heaven, but
Kandu would not let her.
After years and years had passed, Kandu came out of his hut, looking rather distracted. It was
then evening and Kandu was obviously going somewhere."Where are you going?" Pramalocha asked.
"What a stupid question!" exclaimed Kandu. "Can't you see that it is now evening? I have got to
go and observe the evening rites. The day has passed."
"What day?", asked Pramalocha. "Several days have passed and several evenings have come and
gone."
"No, you came here this morning," said Kandu. "I brought you to my hut and it is now evening, I
don't understand what you are trying to say. Explain yourself."
"It is true that I came here in the morning," answered Pramalocha. "But that was a morning
which dawned many years ago. Hundreds of years have passed since that day."
"How many years?" asked Kandu. "When did you come here?'
"Sixteen hundred years, six months and three days ago," replied Pramalocha.
"Are you sure?" asked Kandu. "It seems like a single day to me."
"I am sure," said Pramalocha. "I dare not lie to you."
"You have dislodged me from my tapasya," responded Kandu. "But I will not curse you, since
you have been my wife. Go back to heaven. I have to atone for my sins."
The sage Kandu went to Purshottama kshetra and performed penance for his sins. He was
blessed by Vishnu.
Kandu and Pramalocha had a daughter named Marisha.
The Brahma Purana also describes several other tirthas. Most of these are on the banks of the
river Goutami Ganga. This is now identified as the river Godavari.
After describing these several tirthas, the text describes incidents in Krishna's life. These we will
skip, since they are described in much greater detail in the other Puranas.
VarnA Ashrama
There are four varnas (classes). Their names are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra.
The duties of a brahmana are to donate alms, perform tapasya, worship the gods, perform yajnas
and study the Vedas. To earn a living, brahmanas are authorized to teach and act as priests at
sacrifices. The duties of kshatriya are to beat arms and protect the earth, donate alms and perform
sacrifices. A kshatriya is also permitted to study the shastras. The duties of a vaishya are
agriculture, animal husbandry and trade. That apart, vaishyas should donate alms, perform sacrifices and study the shastras. The duties of a shudra are to serve brahmanas. Shudras can also
be shopkeepers and artisans.
In times of emergency, a brahmana is allowed to adopt the livelihoods of kshatriyas or vaishyas
to earn a living. In similar fashion, a kshatriya is permitted to adopt the livelihoods of vaishyas or
shudras and a vaishya is permitted to adopt the livelihoods of shudras.
There are four ashramas (stages of life) as well. The first of these is known as brahmacharya
(celibate studenthood). During this period, the individual spends his days with his guru and
studies the Vedas well. He has to serve his guru in proper fashion and live on alms. The next
ashrama is that of Grihastha (householder stage). The individual now gets married and has
children. He serves the gods, the sages, the ancestors and guests. It is householders who provide
alms for sages and hermits. That is the reason why the householder stage is so very important.
The third ashrama is known as vanaprastha (forest-dwelling stage). The individual now retires to
the forest and withdraws his mind from the earthly life. He can leave his wife in the care of his
sons or take her with him. He lives on roots, fruits and leaves and makes a bed for himself under
the trees. He is not permitted to shave or cut his hair and his clothes have to be made out of bark
or skins. The final ashrama is that of sannyasa (hermithood). A hermit gives up all association
with the world and lives alone. He grows completely detached. He lives alone. He gets his food
through begging. He is not permitted to spend more than one night in a village, or more than five
nights at a time in a city.
The Chandala and the Brahmarakshasa
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 chandala would fast
during the day. At night he would go to Vishnu's temple and sing praises of Vishnu. He never
failed to observe this ritual.
The river Kshipra (Shipra) flowed by the city of Avanti. On one particular night, on ekadashi
tithi, the chandala went to the banks of the river to collect some flowers for worshipping Vishnu.
On the banks of the river there was a tree and on that tree there lived a brahmarakshasa (demon).
As soon as the demon saw the chandala, it wished to devour him.
"Please not tonight," said the chandala. "I have to worship Vishnu throughout the night. Let me
go now."
"Not on you life," replied the demon. "I have not eaten for ten days and I am famished. I can't let
you go."
"Please, " said the chandala, "let me go. I promise that I will come back once the prayers are
over. You will then be free to do with me as you will."
The demon let the chandala go. The chandala went to the temple. He worshipped Vishnu and
spent the night in singing Vishnu's praises. Next day, he returned to the demon."I am indeed surprised," said the demon. "You are very truthful. You can't be a chandala. You
must be a brahmana. Answer my questions. What did you do all night?"
"I stood outside Vishnu's temple and sang his praise," replied the chandala.
"For how long have you been doing this?" asked the demon.
"For twenty years," was the chandala's reply.
"You have acquired a lot of punya (store of merit) through this," said the demon. "Please grant
me one night's punya, I am sinner."
"No," replied the chandala. "I will not part with my punya. I have given you my body, eat me if
you will. But the punya is mine own."
"Very well then,' said the demon. "Give me two hours' worth of punya. I am a sinner."
"I have told you I will not give you any of my punya," replied the chandala. "But what is your
sin?"
The brahmarakshasa related his story. His name was Somasharma and he was the son of
Devasharma. Devasharma was a righteous brahmana. But Somasharma fell into evil ways. A
brahmana is not authorised to act as a priest in a sacrifice before he has had his sacred-thread
ceremony (upanayana). But Somasharma became a priest at a yajna even though his upanayana
had not been held. As a result of this sin, when he died, he became a demon. The chandala was
stirred to pity at this sad story and parted with some of his punya. The demon was delighted and
expressed his gratitude. He went to a tirtha and performed penance. Thus it was that the demon
was freed.
What about the chandala? He returned home and then left for a tour of all the sacred places of
pilgrimage. At one such tirtha. He remembered the story of his earlier life.
He used to be a hermit well-versed in the Vedas and the shastras. He used to beg alms for a
living. Once he had obtained some alms. But some thieves were then in the process of stealing
cows, and the hooves of the cows raised a cloud of dust. The dust fell onto the food and the
hermit threw away the alms in disgust. Since he had thrown away alms, he was born as a
chandala. After performing penance for this sin, the chandala was pardoned.
Yoga
The word yoga means union. Yoga is thus a form of meditation that unites the human soul
(atman) with the divine soul (Paramatman), or equivalently, with the divine essence (Brahman).
A practitioner of yoga has to study the Puranas, the Vedas and history He has to exercise
restraint regarding the sort of food he eats. The best forms of food are yoghurt fruits, roots and milk. Yoga should be practiced in a place that is pleasant. It should not be too hot or too cold
there. Nor should there be any noise to distract the practitioner.
Yoga has to be performed in a proper posture (asana). The practitioner concentrates the entire
focus of his mind on the tip of his nose. He contemplates the form of brahmana. This can only be
successful if one is detached and controls one's senses completely.
If yoga is performed properly, there comes the knowledge that the same Paramatman is in all
living beings. To think that living beings are distinct from one another is only to fall prey to one's
illusions. All the elements have the same Paramatman in them.
Epilogue
Romaharshana said to the sages who had assembled in naimisharanya, "Many years ago, the
great Veda Vyasa had recited the adi Purana to sages. The sages had been delighted to learn the
wisdom that was in the great Brahma Purana. Whatever Veda Vyasa had told those sages, I have
now recited before you. Everyone should listen to a recital of this Purana, be he a householder or
a hermit."
A brahmana who listens to a recital of the Brahma Purana becomes learned, a kshatriya becomes
victorious, a vaishya becomes rich and a shudra achieves happiness. One who listens to the
recital faithfully attains all his wishes. The fruits of listening to such a recital are superior to
visiting the most holy of tirthas or performing the most difficult of yajnas.
Romaharshana blessed the sages and returned to his own hermitage, with the express injunction
that the secrets of the Purana should never be divulged to atheists who did not believe in God.
Home
2. PADMA PURANA
Indradyumna scanned all the existing tirthas and cities. But none of them satisfied him. None of
them, he felt, was appropriate as a place for worshipping Vishnu.
Indradyumna's own capital was the city of Avanti, in the kingdom of Malva. Avanti was a
beautiful and wealthy city, surrounded on all sides by moats and other fortifications. Traders
from many countries came there with all sorts or commodities for trading. The roads of the city
were lined with shopes. The houses were painted white. The king's stables were full of horses
and elephants. All citizens of Avanti were pleasant of appearance and happy. Sacrifices were
held fairly often. Many were the temples, groves and ponds in Avanti. Any tree that grew on
earth could be found there.
There was a temple to Shiva in the city. This was known as the temple of Mahakala. The image
there was so sacred that worshipping Shiva in the temple of Mahakala was tantamount to
performing one thousand ashvamedha yajnas.
The river Shipra flowed past Avanti. On the banks of the river there was a temple of Vishnu
known as Govindasvami. Another temple to Vishnu was named Vikramasvami. But
Indradyumna was not satisfied with these temples. He wanted to build another temple to Vishnu.
He left Avanti to look for a proper place. His soldiers and subjects accompanied their king, so
that it looked as if the entire city of Avanti was on the march. After traveling for many days, they
arrived on the shores of the southern ocean, the ocean that is known as lavana samudra.
There were so many waves in the ocean that the ocean itself seemed to be dancing. Marine
animals lived in the ocean and the waters were also the source of all sorts of jewels.
Indradyumna began to live on the shores of the ocean. He discovered a place near the ocean that
was thick with flower and fruit trees. Many types of birds gathered there to eat the fruit. This was
the place known as Purushaottama kshetra (place), the city of Puri of modern times.
Purshottama kshetra was a very important tirtha. But all knowledge of this tirtha had been hidden
until Indradyumna arrived on the scene. There was a reason for this. Many years ago, there used
to be an image of Vishnu there, where people used to pray. So sacred was the image that all the
sins of the worshippers were immediately forgiven. The result was that Yama could not punish
any of the sinners. They simply prayed to Vishnu's image and escaped. Yama therefore prayed to
Vishnu for a solution. Vishnu hid the image under the sand so that no one knew that it existed.
Indradyumna liked Purushaottama Kshetra. The river Mahanadi or Chitropala flowed not very
far away. The people who lived around the place were religious. He decided that this was the
right place for building a temple to Vishnu. On an auspicious day, the foundation stone was laid.
Indradyumna then got in touch with the kings of Kalkinga, Utakala and Koshala. He requested
their help in fetching stones for the building of the temple. The kings sent their architects to the
Vindhya mountains. The stones were gathered from these mountains and brought to
Purushaottama Kshetra in boats and chariots. Messengers were also sent to several other kings
for aid. They came with their armies and with a lot of wealth.Indradyumna told the assembled kings, "I wish to accomplish two difficult tasks. The first is to
perform an ashvamedha yajna here. And the second is to build a temple to Vishnu. Both of these
are difficult jobs, particularly the second. But if you help me, I am confident that both jobs can
be done."
The kings agreed to help. They offered jewels, wealth, gold, clothes, food grains and other
objects. The place where the yajna was to be held was made entirely out of gold. In fact, all the
objects used in the yajna were made out of gold. Brahmanas from all over Jambudvipa came to
witness the sacrifice. They were donated elephants, horses and cows as alms. Never has there
been any other sacrifice to rival the one that Indradyumna performed. After the sacrifice was
over and the temple built, there remained the more important question of the image. How was
this to be made? Indradyumna began to pray to Vishnu for guidance.
Vishnu appeared before Indradyumna in a dream and said, "Why are you so miserable? When
the sun rises, go to the shores of the ocean. There you will find a tree. Half of the tree is in the
water and the remaining half in the sand. Chop down this tree. It s wood will give you the
material for the image.
In the morning, Indradyumna went to the seashore and found the tree. It was just as Vishnu had
described it to be. With an axe, he chopped down the tree. As he was about to slice the trunk in
two, two brahmanas appeared before him. Although Indradyumna did not know it, these two
brahmanas were Vishnu and Vishvakarma in disguise.
"King. What have you done?" exclaimed the brahmanas. "You have cut down the only tree that
was on the shores of the ocean."
"Forgive me," replied Indradyumna. "I wished to make an image of Vishnu. Vishnu has
instructed me in a dream that this is the tree from which the image should be made."
"That is an excellent idea," said the brahmana who was Vishnu in disguise. "There is nothing so
holy as praying to Vishnu. Meet my companion. He is as skilled as the great Vishvakarma
himself. If you want, he will build the image for you."
King Indradyumna agreed. And instructed by Vishnu, Vishvakarma started to build the image.
Or, to be more accurate, there were three different images. The first one was that of Baladeva or
Balarama. This was completely white in colour, except for the eyes, which were red. The image
was dressed in blue and a snake held its hood over Balarama's head. A club and a mace were in
Balarama's hands. The second image was Krishna's. This was blue in colour, with eyes like lotus
flowers. The image was dressed in yellow and had a chakra in its hand. The third image was that
of Krishna's sister Subhadra. This image was golden in colour and was dressed in wonderful
clothes.
When Indradyumna discovered that the images were made in a matter of minutes, he was
thunderstruck. He realised that the two brahmanas cold not be mere mortals. He fell at their feet
and said, "Please tell me who you are. You cannot be humans."Vishnu and Vishvakarma then revealed their true selves and Indradyumna was thrilled. Vishnu
blessed the king and told him that he would rule for ten thousand and nine hundred years. And
even after Indradyumna died, a place would be reserved for him in heaven. On an auspicious
day, the three images were instated in the temple.
Markandeya
Many years ago, a great destruction (Pralaya) took place. The earth was shrouded in darkness
and nothing could be seen. There was neither sun nor moon. Lightning and thunder crushed
mountains and trees. There were showers of meteors. Lakes and rivers dried up. The entire earth
burnt with fire and the flames of the fire reached down to the underworld. All living beings
perished in this fire, including the gods and the demons.
There was a sage named Markandeya. While all this was going on, Markandeya was busy
meditating. Such was the power of Markandeya's tapasya that the fire dared not touch him. But it
is also true that Markandeya was scared of the fire that raged all around him. He suffered from
hunger and thirst and forgot all about his tapasya. His lips and throat dried up from fear.
Markandeya discovered that there was a banyan tree that was untouched by all these ravages. He
retired to the shade of the banyan tree and started to pray to Vishnu.
Clouds gathered in the sky. They were thick and dark clouds and they spread all over the earth. It
started to rain and it poured and poured. Water was everywhere and the earth was flooded. The
water put out the fire. It rained continuously for twelve years. The oceans flooded the shores and
the mountains were pulverised. Vishnu slept on the water.
Markandeya did not know what to do. There was water everywhere and he floated on it. But he
continued to pray to Vishnu.
Vishnu spoke to Markandeya. "Do not be frightened, Markandeya," he said. "You are devoted to
me and I shall protect you."
Markandeya did not realise that it was Vishnu who was speaking. "Who dares to address me
thus?" he demanded. "Am I a child that I should be so addressed? I am the great Markandeya,
blessed by Brahma himself."
But try as he might, Markandeya cold not see anyone anywhere. Where had the voice come from
then? Had it all been an illusion? Not knowing what to do, he started to pray again to Vishnu.
Suddenly he saw the banyan tree floating on the water. A golden bed was spread on the branches
of the tree and on the bed there slept a small boy. Markandeya was exceedingly surprised to see
the small boy floating in the middle of this deluge. He was so confused by his illusions that he
did not realise that this boy was none other than Vishnu.
The boy spoke to Markandeya. "You are tired," said the boy. "You are looking for a refuge.
Enter my body and rest for some time."Markandeya was so confused that, before he could react, he entered the boy's body through the
mouth. Inside the boy's stomach Markandeya discovered all the worlds, the seven regions and
the seven oceans. The mountains and the kingdoms were all there. So were all living beings.
Markandeya did not know what to make of all this. He started to pray to Vishnu. No sooner than
he had started, he came out of the boy's mouth. Vishnu now appeared before him and blessed
him. The sage spent a thousand years with Vishnu. Vishnu then asked, "I wish to grant you a
boon. What is your desire?"
"I want to build a temple to Shiva in Purushaottama Kshetra," replied Markandeya. "This will
prove to everyone that Vishnu and Shiva are really one and the same."
Vishnu granted the boon and Markandeya built a temple to Shiva known as Bhuvaneshvara
(Lord of the World).
King Shveta
In Satya Yuga there used to be a king named Shveta. He was such a good king that during his
reign people lived for ten thousand years. No one dies as a child. Longevity was high and there
was no infant mortality.
But there was a sage named Kapalagoutama. Unfortunately, the sage's son died as an infant. The
sage brought the dead body to Shveta and the king resolved that if he could not bring the sage's
son back to life within a week, he would immolate himself in a fire. Having thus taken an oath,
king Shveta worshipped Shiva with one thousand and one hundred blue lotus flowers. Shiva
appeared before the king and granted the boon that the infant son might be brought back to life.
King Shveta ruled for a thousand years. He also built a temple to Vishnu in Purushaottama
kshetra. The temple that had been built by Indradyumna was known as the temple of Jagannatha.
Shveta's temple was not very far from this and was known as the temple of Shvetamadhava. The
image in this temple was as white as the moon.
Bali
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 the
three worlds.
In desperation, the gods approached Vishnu. "Please do something about Bali", they requested.
"You always help us out when we are in trouble".
"There is no difference between Bali and the gods so far as I am concerned," replied Vishnu
"Bali is devoted to me. I cannot therefore fight with him. But I will think of a way so that his
kingdom might be taken away from him and given to you."Vishnu decided to be born as Aditi's son. The son was a dwarf. This was the Vamana avatara
(dwarf incarnation) of Vishnu.
Bali proposed to organise a horse sacrifice. Many sages came to the sacrifice and Shukracharya
was the chief priest. The dwarf also arrived to witness the yajna.
Shukracharya realised that the dwarf was none other than Vishnu. He told Bali, "I suspect that
this dwarf is Vishnu in disguise. He must have come here to ask you for something. Please do
not grant him anything without first consulting me."
"Certainly not," replied Bali. "It is good fortune indeed that the great Vishnu has come to my
house. What is there to consult about? I shall grant Vishnu whatever he wants."
Bali went to the dwarf to ascertain what the dwarf wanted. Vishnu expressed the wish that he
might be given as much of land as might be covered in three of the dwarf's steps. This boon Bali
readily granted. But no sooner than the boon had been granted, the dwarf adopted a gigantic
form. He placed one foot on Bali's yajna and the second on Brahmaloka.
"Where will I place my third step?" demanded Vishnu. There is no more space left in the entire
universe. Find me a place for my third step."
Bali smiled and said, "Place it on my back."
Vishnu was charmed at Bali's generosity. He granted Bali the boon that Bali would hold the title
of Indra in a future manvantara. He then appointed Bali king of the underworld. But Indra's
kingdom of heaven, which Bali had conquered, was returned to Indra.
Brahma had all this while been in Brahmaloka. When Vishnu placed his second foot on
Brahmaloka, Brahma felt that he should welcome his water-pot (kamandalu) to wash the foot.
The water spilled over from the foot and fell on the mountains. There the water divided into four.
Vishnu accepted the flow that went northwards. The flow that went westwards returned to
Brahma's kamandalu. The flow that went eastwards was gathered up by the gods and the sages.
But the flow that went southwards got entangled in Shiva's matted hair. This water was the river
Ganga.
Goutama
Part of the water of the Ganga that got stuck in Shiva's hair was brought down to earth by
Bhagiratha. The remaining part was brought down by the sage Goutama.
Parvati was married to Shiva, but Shiva seemed to be fonder of Ganga than of Parvati. Parvati
resolved that a way had to be found to remove Ganga from Shiva's hair. She tried persuasion, but
Shiva refused to listen.
At this time, there was a terrible drought on earth which went on for fourteen years. The only
place that was not affected by the drought was the sage Gouthama's hermitage. Other people also gathered in the hermitage to save themselves from the drought and Goutama welcomed them all.
Ganesha thought that he might be able to devise a way to free his mother of the Ganga problem.
He went and began to live in Gouthama's hermitage.
Ganesha cultivated the acquaintance of the other sages and become quite friendly with them.
One of Parvati's companions was Jaya. Ganesha told Jaya that she was to adopt the form of a
cow and eat up the grain in Goutama's fields. And the moment she was struck, she was to lie
down on the ground and pretend to be dead.
Goutama noticed that a cow was eating up his grain. He tried to drive away the cow by striking it
with a blade of grass. As soon as he did this, the cow uttered a Srill bellow and fell down on the
ground. Ganesha and the other sages came running to see what had happened. They discovered
that, to all intents and purposes, a cow had been struck down dead by sage Goutama. They
therefore refused to stay in an ashrama where such a sin had been committed.
Goutama tried to restrain them. "Please do not go away and forsake me," he said. "Tell me how I
may performed penance."
"You will have to bring down Ganga from Shiva's hair," replied Ganesh. "When that water
touches the dead body of the cow, your sin will be forgiven."
"You will have to bring down Ganga from Shiva's hair," replied Ganesha. "When that water
touches the dead body of the cow, your sin will be forgiven."
Ganesha was so friendly with the other sages that they all accepted his solution. Goutama also
agreed to do the needful. Accordingly, Goutama went to Mount Kailasa and began to pray to
Shiva. Shiva was pleased at Goutama's tapasya and offered to grant a boon. Goutama naturally
wanted the boon that Ganga might be brought down to earth. Shiva agreed. It was thus that
Ganga was brought down to earth by the sage Goutama. Ganga has four tributaries in heaven,
seven on earth and four in the underworld. Since it was Goutama who brought Ganga down to
earth, the river is also known as Goutami Ganga.
The Doves
In a mountain known as Brahmagiri there used to live a hunter who was very cruel. He not only
killed birds and animals, but brahmanas and sages as well.
The hunter once went on a hunt. He killed many animals and birds and some he put in his cages.
He had penetrated so far inside the forest that he was far from home. It became night and also
started to rain. Hungry and thirsty, the hunter lost his way. He climbed up a tree and decided to
spend the night there. But his mind kept going back to his wife and children at home.
For many years a dove and its family had lived happily on that tree. Both the male and female
had gone out to look for food. But although the make dove had returned to the nest, the female
dove had not. In fact, the female had been captured by the hunter and was now inside a cage. The
male did not know this. He mourned for his wife.These words of mourning were heard by the female dove inside the cage and she made her
presence felt. The male dove came down and discovered his wife inside the cage. "The hunter is
sleeping now, " he said. "Now is the time for me to free you."
"No," replied the female dove. "You know how it is with living beings. One living being lives on
another. I can find not fault with the hunter, he is merely collecting his food. He is like a guest to
us. And it is our duty to offer up our bodies for the sake of a guest."
"You are quite right," said the male dove. "I lost my sense of propriety. We have to serve our
guest. But how do we serve our guest? We have nothing that we can call our own."
"At the moment the hunter is suffering most from the cold," replied the female dove. "We have
to light a fire to warm him up. Go and find a fire and bring plenty of dead leaves and branches so
that the fire may burn."
The male dove found a flaming branch. He also brought many dry leaves and branches so that
the fire could burn. The rain had stopped and the fire warmed up the hunter.
"Now," said the female dove, "free me so that I may immolate myself in the fire. My roasted
flesh will serve as food for the hunter."
"Never," replied the male dove. "It is my right to serve the guest first".
Saying this, the male dove hurled himself into the fire. The hunter had heard the entire
conversation and marveled that two doves could be so altruistic. The female dove now requested
the hunter to free her from the cage. And as soon as he did this, the female dove also hurled
herself into the fire.
This selfless deed of the two doves was so wonderful that a space vehicle (Vimana) came down
to take the two doves straight to heaven. The cruel hunter was also impressed and repented his
past misdeeds. He told the doves, "You are indeed blessed. Before you go to heaven, please tell
me how I may perform penance for my sins."
"Go to Goutami Ganga and bathe there for fifteen days," replied the doves. "Your sins will also
be forgiven."
The hunter did as he had been asked to. The place where the doves immolated themselves
became a holy tirtha known as kapotatirtha, since the word kapota means dove.
Garuda and Maninaga
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 do him no harm. Armed with this boon, Maninaga started to wander around freely and did not run away even when faced with Garuda. Garuda found this to be exceedingly
strange. Although he could not kill Maninaga, he captured him and kept him imprisoned in his
own house.
Shiva had a companion named Nandi. Nandi told Shiva, "Lord, what has happened to Maninaga?
We have not seen him for some time. I hope that Garuda has not done him some harm."
Shiva of curse knew what had happened. He advised Nandi to pray to Vishnu. Nandi was to
please Vishnu and then ask for the boon that Maninaga might be freed from Garuda's
imprisonment. Nandi did this and Vishnu asked Garuda to release Maninaga.
"Lord," Garuda told Vishnu, "this is very unfair. Other masters treat their servants really well.
They give their servants gifts. See how Shiva has sent Nandi himself to rescue Shiva's devotee
Maninaga. You never give me any gifts. Moreover, when I obtain something on my own, you
ask me to relinquish it. Is this proper on your part? It is on me that you ride when you go out to
fight the demons. They get defeated because of my prowess. And yet it tickles your ego no end
to think that you have defeated them yourself."
Vishnu smiled and replied, "Garuda, you are quite right. You have become thin and learn from
bearing my weight. It is quite true that I can defeat the demons only because of your prowess.
You have a lot of strength. Why don't you bear the weight of my little finger and demonstrate
your strength?"
Vishnu placed his little finger on Garuda's head. So heavy was the finger that Garuda was
crushed against the ground.
"Please forgive me, said" Garuda. "I have been very stupid. I am an ignorant ass and you are the
lord of everything. I have been completely flattened by the weight of your little finger. Please tell
me how I may regain my old self."
Vishnu asked Nandi to take Garuda to Shiva. Shiva would find a way of restoring Garuda's old
appearance. Maninaga was released and Nandi took Garuda to Shiva. Shiva asked Garuda to
bathe in Goutami Ganga. This would make his appearance normal again.
Garuda did this. Not only was his old appearance restored, he became stronger and swifter than
he used to be. The place where Garuda bathed is a tirtha known as Garudatirtha.
Vishvamitra and Indra
Many years ago, there was a terrible drought. There was no food to be had. The sage
Vishvamitra had come to the banks of the river Goutami Ganga with his disciples. Vishvamitra's
wife, children and disciples were all hungry. The sage therefore sent his disciples out to look for
food. They searched everywhere, but could find no food. The only object that they could find
was the body of a dead dog. They brought this to Vishvamitra."We have no choice," Vishvamitra told his disciples. "Clean the meat carefully with water. Then
offer it to the gods, the sages and the ancestors. This is what we have to live on."
Offering the meat of a dog to the gods was unheard of. Indra adopted the form of a hawk and
stole the vessel in which the meat was kept. But Vishvamitra got to know about this and got
ready to curse Indra. Indra was naturally scared of Vishvamitra's curse. He changed the dog-meat
into amrita (a heavenly drink) and brought the vessel back.
"I don't want amrita," Vishvamitra told Indra. "Bring the dog-meat back. I don't want to have
amrita when the whole world is starving for food. There is no food available and I do not see any
sin in eating dog-meat. Nor should there be a sin in offering it to the gods."
Indra was the god of rains. He realised that the only way to persuade Vishvamitra against eating
the dog-meat was to make it rain so that there would be an end to the drought. Instructed by
Indra, the clouds poured down rain. Vishvamitra and his disciples now consented to partake of
the amrita.
The place where all this happened has come to be known as Vishvamitratirtha.
Shveta
There used to be a brahmana named Shveta. He was a friend of the sage Goutama and had a
hermitage on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. Shveta was also devoted to Shiva. In due course,
Shiveta died and Yama's messengers arrived to take Shveta to Yama. But they could not even
enter Shiveta's house.
Finding that Yama's messengers ere not returning, Yama's companion Chitraka told Yama,
"What do you think has happened? Why aren't the messengers returning?
Yama now sent his companion Mrityu (literally death) to find out what was going on. Mrityu
went to Shveta's house and found Yama's messengers standing outside the house. They explained
that they were unable to enter the house because Shiva himself was guarding Shveta's body. One
of Shiva's companions asked Mrityu. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
"I have come to take Shveta to Yama," replied Mrityu. "His time on earth is up."
Mrityu flung a noose to grasp Shveta's body. But Shiva's companion struck Mrityu with a rod
and killed him. When the news of this was taken to Yama, he was furious. With all his
companions he attacked Shveta's house. Nandi, Ganesha, Kartikeya and several of Shiva's
companions came to fight on Shiva's side, and a battle royal raged. All the gods arrived to
mediate and end the strife. Things had a got a bit out of hand and Yama himself had been killed
by Kartikeya.
The problem seemed to defy solution. Yama was, after all, performing his duty. But Shiva
insisted that his devotees would never be taken to Yama, but would instead go straight to heaven.
Shiva's condition was finally agreed to. Nandi brought water from the Goutami Ganga and sprinkled it on Yama and the others who had died in the fighting. They were all immediately
brought back to life.
Kubera
Kubera was the eldest son of the sage Vishrava. Vishrava had two wives. The fist wife give birth
to Kubera. The second wife was a rakshasa (demon) woman and gave birth to Ravana,
Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana. Kubera used to rule in Lanka and his relations with his cousins
were extremely good. But Ravana's mother did not like idea of her sons mixing so much with
Kubera.
She called her sons and said, "What are you up to? Why do you cause me so much of pain? You
are demons and Kubera is a god. Is it proper that you should be so friendly with him? The
relation between gods and demons is one of enmity. Consider Kubera's pomp and glory. Have
you got anything like that to show for yourselves? Do something so as to improve your own
statures." Thus instructed by their mother, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana went off to the
forest to perform tapasya. They pleased Brahma with their prayers and desired the boon that they
might win over the kingdom of Lanka. Ravana also obtained the boon that he would become
very strong.
Thus fortified with the boons, the demons attacked Kubera and defeated him. They drove Kubera
out of Lanka. Kubera possessed a beautiful Vimana named pushpaka. This was also appropriated
by Ravana. Ravana also made it known that whoever gave Kubera refuge would be killed by
him. This meant that no one dared give refuge to Kubera.
Kubera sought the advice of his grandfather Pulastya. Pulastya told him to go to the banks of the
Goutami Ganga and pray to Shiva there. Shiva appeared before Kubera and blessed him with the
boon that Kubera would become the god of all wealth.
Harishchandra
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.
"Go to the banks of the Goutami Ganga," advised the sages. "Pray to the god Varuna there. We
are sure that Varuna will grant you a son."
Harishchandra pleased Varuna with his prayers and asked for a son.
"You will have a son," said Varuna. "But there is a condition attached. You will have to
subsequently organise a yajna in my honor and you will have to sacrifice your son at this yajna.
Tell me if this condition is acceptable to you.""Yes indeed," replied Harishchandra.
In due course, Harishchandra had a son who was named Rohita.
Varuna came to Harishchandra and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
"My son is still too young," replied Harishchandra. "Let him at least attain ten days of age. Till
then, the baby is in any case impure and is not fit to be sacrificed."
After ten days Varuna came again and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?
"Please let him grow his teeth," replied Harishchandra. "Animals are sacrificed at yajnas. And no
one becomes an animal until he actually has teeth."
Varuna waited till the teeth grew and returned when Rohita was seven years of age. "What about
the yajna in my honor?" he asked.
"These are only milk teeth," replied Harishchandra. "These do not characterise an animal. Please
wait until his proper teeth have grown."
Varuna returned when the proper teeth grew and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
"He is the son of kshatriya (the second of the four classes, a warrior class)," replied
Harishchandra. "But his training in the art of fighting has not even begun. He cannot be called a
kshatriya until he knows how to fight. Till that day he is an incomplete man. Do you really want
such an incomplete man as a sacrifice?"
After some years had passed, Rohita became skilled in the art of fighting and was appointed the
heir-apparent (yuvaraja) to the kingdom. He was then sixteen years of age.
Varuna appeared again and asked, "What about the yajna in my honor?"
This time the entire conversation took place in front of the prince and Rohita intervened before
Harishchandra could say anything. "Father," he said, "I have already resolved to perform a yajna
in Vishnu's honor. Grant me the permission to complete that first. After that, do what you will."
Rohita went off to the forest. Meanwhile, Varuna had had enough and he afflicted Harishchandra
with a painful stomach ailment. News of his father's illness was taken to Rohita in the forest. In
the forest, Rohita met a sage named Ajigarta. The sage was very poor and, together with his wife
and three sons, was starving.
"Will you sell one of your three sons to me?" asked Rohita. "The boy is needed for a sacrifice."
"I shall not sell my eldest son," said the sage. "My wife will not permit the youngest one to be
sold. You can have the one in the middle. His name is Shunahshepa. The price will be one
thousand cows, one thousand golden coins, one thousand pieces of clothing and a lot of wealth."Rohita paid the price and brought Shunahshepa home to Harishchandra.
"We can't do this," said Harishchandra. "It is the duty of kings to protect the brahmanas. How
can we sacrifice the son of a brahmana? It is better to die instead. Go and return Shunahshepa to
his father."
Just then a divine voice was heard from heaven. The voice said, "There is no need for anyone to
die. Take Shunahshepa to the banks of the Goutami Ganga and perform the yajna to Varuna
there. Goutami Ganga is such a sacred river that no human sacrifices are needed if a yajna is
performed there.
This is what Harishchandra did not Varuna was satisfied. As for Shunahshepa, he was adopted
by the sage Vishvamitra as a son.
Vriddhagoutama
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 the sages in
studying the Vedas and Shastras under a teacher. But Vriddhagoutama knew some incantations
(mantras) which he always chanted. He also worshipped the god Agni.
When he grew a bit older, Vriddhagoutama went out to tour the world. He traveled to many
places and met many people. Since he was deformed, he never got married. Who would want to
marry a person so ugly as he?
In the course of his travels, Vriddhagoutama arrived at a mountain named Shitagiri. He
discovered a beautiful cave in the mountain and thought that this might be a good place to live
in. So he entered the cave and was very surprised to find an old woman inside. The old woman
had obviously been living inside the cave for many years. Her body was thin and wasted from
the rigours of severe tapasya.
Vriddhagoutama was about to touch the feet of such a venerable old woman, but the woman
restrained him. "Please don't touch my feet," said the woman. "You are my guru. Does a guru
ever bow before his disciple?"
Vriddagoutama was surprised at these words. This was the first time in his life that he had met
the old woman. "How can I be your guru?", he asked. "You are much older than me. Besides, I
have never learnt anything and you are clearly a respected ascetic. Your words are a complete
mystery to me."
"Let me tell you my story," said the old woman. "Otherwise, you will not understand."
There used to be a handsome and brave prince named Ritadhvaja. He was the son of King
Arshtishena. Ritadhvaja went on a hunt to the forest and arrived at that very cave. There he
happened to meet an apsara named Sushyama. The two fell in love with each other and got married. But eventually, Ritadhvaja had to return home and Sushyama gave birth to a daughter
there. Sushyama left her daughter in the cave itself with the instruction that she was not to leave
the cave. The first man to enter the cave would become her husband. It was this daughter who
had now become the old woman. Ritadhvaja had reigned for eighty thousand years. After that,
ritadhvaja's son had reigned for ten thousand years. All this while, Sushyama's daughter had
lived in the cave, that is, for ninety thousand years all together.
"Now you see that you are to be my husband," said the old woman. "Is a husband not a guru?"
"What you say is quite impossible," replied Vriddhagoutama. "You are much older than me. I am
only a thousand years old and you more than ninety thousand. How can we marry? I am like a
child next to you."
"If you do not marry me, I will kill myself," said the old woman.
"But I am ugly," protested Vriddhagoutama. "I will promise you this much. If I every become
handsome and learned, I will indeed marry you."
"I have pleased the goddess Sarasvati, who presides over all learning, through my tapasya," said
the old woman. "She will make you learned. I have also pleased the god Varuna and he will
make you handsome."
Vriddhagoutama became handsome and learned and married the old woman. They lived happily
in the cave.
One day, various sages came to visit the couple. Amongst them there were sages like Vashishtha
and Vamadeva. But there were also young sages who ere not all that sensible. The younger sages
started to laugh at the sight of the young and handsome Vriddhagoutama and his aged wife.
"Who is this man?" they asked the old woman. "Is he your son or your grandson?"
The sages went away, but the couple felt ashamed. They asked the sage Agastya what they might
do. Agastya told them to go and bathe in the river Goutami Ganga. The river is so sacred that all
one's heart's desires are thereby granted. The couple did this and prayed to Vishnu and Shiva.
Wonder of wonders, the old woman became young and pretty. The place on the banks of the
river where these wonderful things happened is a tirtha named Vriddhasangama.
Pippalada
Many years ago, there used to be a sage named Dadhici. His wife was Lopamudra. Dadhichi's
hermitage was right next to the holy river Ganga. Lopamudra's sister Gabhastini also used to live
in the hermitage. Such was the sage Dadhichi's powers that daityas and danavas dared not set
foot inside the hermitage.The gods once fought with the demons and managed to defeat them. After the war was over, they
came to pay their respects to Dadhichi. Dadhichi welcomed his guests and wanted to know how
they were faring.
"Thanks to your blessings, we are fine," replied the gods. "We have just defeated the demons in a
war. In fact, we have a slight problem. We no longer need our weapons now that the demons
have run away. We don't know of a safe place where we can store all these weapons. We were
wondering if we might keep the weapons in your ashrama. This is one of the safest places that
can be found."
Dadhichi consented to this proposal. The gods left their weapons in the hermitage and went back
to heaven.
When Lopamudra heard what Dadhichi had done, she was not at all pleased. "You have done
something that is mot improper," she told her husband. "one should never accept responsibility
for someone else's property, especially if one is an ascetic and has not material possessions of
one's own. Moreover, you have agreed to store the weapons of the gods. Dose this not mean that
those who are the god's enemies will look upon you too as an enemy? And what are you going to
do if something should happen to the weapons? Will the gods not blame you then?"
"Your points are well taken," said Dadhichi. "But I had not thought of them and I have given the
gods my word. I can't very well go back on my word now."
A hundred years passed. The gods did not return to collect their weapons. The weapons began to
lose their luster, Dadhichi did not know how the energy of the weapons might be preserved. He
washed them with holy water and the energy of the weapons got dissolve in the water. Dadhichi
then drank up the water. As for the weapons themselves, they faded away once their energy was
gone.
Finally the gods came to claim their weapons. "Can we have our weapons back? They asked.
"Our enemies have become powerful again. We need our weapons."
"That may be," said Dadhichi. "But the weapons are no longer there. I have swallowed up their
energy. Let me tell you what can be done. I will use the powers of meditation (yoga) to give up
my life. Then excellent weapons can be made out of my bones.
The gods were reluctant, but thee was no other solution. Dadhichi died and the gods requested
Vishvakarma to make weapons for them out of Dadhichi's bones. Vishvakarma complied and the
weapon name vajra that he made was truly remarkable.
Lopamudra was away when this incident took place. She returned and found that her husband
had died. She was afflicted with sorrow and wished to immolate herself in a fire. But she
happened to be pregnant at the time, so that this could not immediately be done. Once the baby
was born, she killed herself after having handed over the baby to a pippala (fig) tree for rearing.Since the pippala tree brought up the boy, he came to be known as Pippalada. Chandra was the
lord over all trees. The trees asked Chandra for some amrita for Pippalada and Chandra obliged.
The amrita gave Pippalada a lot of strength.
When Pippalada grew up, he wanted to know who his parents were and the trees told him the
story. Pippalada blamed the gods for his parents death and decided to seek revenge. The trees
brought Pippalada to Chandra.
"You are still too young," said Chandra. "First you must become learned and well-versed in the
use of weapons. Go to the forest of dandakaranya. The river Goutami Ganga flows through that
forest. Pray to Shiva there and I am sure that your wishes will be fulfilled."
Pippalada pleased Shiva through his prayers.
"What boon do you desire?" asked Shiva.
I want the boon that I may be able to destroy the gods," replied Pippalada.
"I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead," said Shiva. "The day you can see my third eye,
your wish will be granted."
"I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead," said Shiva. "the day you can see my third eye,
your wish will be granted."
Try as he might, Pippalada could not see Shiva's third eye. Pippalada therefore performed even
more difficult tapasya for even more years. Eventually he managed to see Shiva's third eye. From
Shiva's third eye was born a demon that looked like a mare.
"What is your desire?" asked the demon of Pippalada.
"Kill my enemies, the gods," was the reply.
The demon immediately attacked Pippalada.
"What are you doing?" asked Pippalada. "Why are you trying to kill me? I asked you to kill the
gods."
"But your body has bee created by the gods," replied the demon. "I will therefore kill you also."
Pippalada ran to Shiva for deliverance. Shiva earmarked a region inside the forest for Pippalada.
There the demon was not permitted to enter. Pippalada lived there, protected from the ravages of
the demon. Meanwhile, the gods requested Shiva to save them as well. Shiva persuaded
Pippalada to control his anger. He convinced Pippalada that nothing was to be gained by killing
the gods. That would not bring his parents back.Pippalada agreed. But he wished to see his parents once. Accordingly, Vimana descended from
heaven on which Dadhichi and Lopamudra were seated. They blessed Pippalada and asked him
to marry and have children.
As for the demon, it became a river and merged with the holy Ganga.
Nageshvara
There was a city named Pratishthana. A king named Shurasena ruled in that city. Shurasena did
not have any sons. After a lot of effort, a son was born to him. But the son happened to be a
snake. The king and the queen were mortified at this turn of events. But they brought up their son
in great secrecy. Not even the king's ministers and priests knew that the prince was a snake.
When the prince grew slightly, he began to talk like a human, even though he was a snake. King
Shurasena arranged for the prince's education. After the snake had become learned in the
knowledge of the Vedas, he told his father, "Father, it is time for me to get married. If I do not
have a son, I am certain to go to naraka."
King Shurasena was very surprised to hear this. "How is that possible?" he asked. "Which
princess will consent to marry a snake?"
"I don't know," replied the prince. "But I do know that I have to get married. Other wise, I will
commit suicide. There are many forms of marriage that are permissible. Perhaps a princess can
be kidnapped and married to me."
Shurasena called his ministers and told them, "My son Nageshvara has now come of age. He has
also been made the heir-apparent to the kingdom. There is no one equal to him in bravery on
earth, in heaven or in the underworld. I am getting old. Please arrange for Nageshvara to get
married. I shall then relinquish my kingdom and retire to the forest."
The king did not of course tell his ministers that Nageshvara was a snake.
Shurasena had an aged minister. This minister reported that there was a king named Vijaya who
ruled in the eastern part of the country. King Vijaya had eight sons and one daughter. The
daughter's name was Bhogavati and she was very beautiful. She would be the right match for
Nageshvara.
The aged minister was sent as a messenger to Vijaya and the king agreed to the match. There
was a custom amongst kshatriyas that the bride did not always have to be married to the
bridegroom in person. She could also be married to the bridegroom's sword or some other
weapon. The minister explained to King Vijaya that there were some private reasons which made
it impossible for Nageshvara to come in person for the marriage. Bhogavati should be married
off to Nageshvara's sword. Vijaya consented to this and the marriage ceremony was performed.
The entire retinue then returned to the city of Pratishthana.But what was to be done now that the marriage was over? Nageshvara's mother sent a made to
Bhogavati. The maid was to tell Bhogavati that her husband was actually a snake and then
observe her reaction.
The maid told Bhogavati, "Your husband is a god, but he has the form of a snake."
"That is my good fortune," replied Bhoavati. "Normally, women are married to men. I must have
performed many good deeds in my earlier life to have been married to a god."
Bhogavati was then brought to Nageshvara and at the sight of Bhogavati, Nageshvara
remembered his earlier life. He used to be a snake (naga) in his earlier life and was a companion
of Shiva's. His wife in the earlier life was Bhogavati.
There had bee an occasion when Shiva had laughed at a joke of parvati's and Nageshvara had
also laughed. This had annoyed Shiva and he had cursed Nageshvara that he would be born on
earth as the son of a human, but in the form of a snake. When he went and bathed in Goutami
Ganga, the period of the curse would be over. When Nageshvara recounted these incidents to
Bhogavati, she also remembered her earlier life. The two went and bathed in the scared river and
Nageshvara obtained a handsome and divine form. Nageshavara ruled after Shurasena's death.
And when Nageshvara and Bhogavati died, they went back to Kailasa to live with Shiva.
On the banks of the Goutami Ganga, Nageshvara and Bhogavati built a temple to Shiva. This is a
famous tirtha known as Nagatirtha.
Brahma's Head
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."
Shiva went to fight with the demons. He drove the demons off from Mount Sumeru and out of
heaven. He pursued them to the ends of the earth. All this exertion made Shiva sweat. And
wherever the drops of sweat fell down on the ground, terrible ogresses named matris were
created. The matris also started to kill the demons and pursued them down to the underworld.
While the matris were killing the demons in the underworld, Brahma and the other dos waited on
the banks of the river Goutami Ganga. This place came to be known as Pratishthana.
When the matris had killed all the demons, they returned to earth and began to live on the banks
of the Goutami Ganga. This tirtha has come to be known as matritirtha.
Brahma used to have five heads. The fifth head was in the shape of a donkey's head. When the
demons were running away to the underworld, this donkey's head addressed the demons and said, "why are you running away? Come back and fight with the gods. I shall aid you in your
fight."
The gods were alarmed at this paradoxical situation. Brahma was helping them in their flight
with the demons and Brahma's fifth head was trying to help the demons. They went to Vishnu
and said, "Please cut off Brahma's fifth head. It is causing too much of confusion."
"I can do what you want," replied Vishnu, "but there is a problem. When the cut-off head falls on
earth, it will destroy the earth. I think you should pray to Shiva to find a way out."
The gods prayed to Shiva and Shiva agreed to cut off the head. But what was to be done with the
severed head? The earth refused to bear it and so did the ocean. Finally it was decided that Shiva
himself would bear the head.
The place where Shiva cut off Brahma's fifth head is known as rudratirtha. Ever since that day,
Brahma has had four heads and is known as Chaturmukha (chatur connotes four and mukha
connotes face). There is a temple to Brahma on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. This is a holy
place known as brahmatirtha. A killer of brahmanas is pardoned his sin if he visits this temple.
The Owl and the Dove
A dove used to live on the banks of the Goutami Ganga. The dove's name was Anuhrada and its
wife's name was Heti. Anuhrada was Yama's grandson.
Not very far away, there lived an owl named Uluka. The owl's wife was called Uluki. The owls
were descended from the god Agni.
The doves and the owls were enemies. They fought amongst themselves continually. The doves
had received all sorts of weapons from Yama and the owls had received all sorts of weapons
from Agni. These divine weapons threatened to burn up everything. But Yama and Agni
intervened. They persuaded the owls and the doves to forget their enmity and live together as
friends. The place where the doves lived came to be known as a tirtha named yamyatirtha. And
the place where the owls lived came to be known as Agnitirtha.
The Hunter
There was a sage named Veda. He used to pray to Shiva every day. The prayers lasted till the
afternoon and after the prayers were over, Veda used to go to the nearby villages to beg alms.
A hunter named Bhilla used to come to the forest every afternoon to hunt. After the hunt was
over, he used to come to Shiva's linga (image) and offer to Shiva whatever it was that he had
hunted. In the process of doing this, he often moved Veda's offerings out of the way. Strange
though it might seem, Shiva was stirred by Bhilla's offerings and eagerly used to wait for it every
day. Bhilla and Veda never met. But Veda noticed that every day his offerings lay scattered and
a little bit of meat lay by the side. Since this always happened when Veda had gone out to beg for alms, Veda did not know who was responsible. One day, he decided to wait in hiding so as to
catch the culprit red-handed.
While Veda waited, Bhilla arrived and offered what he had brought to Shiva. Veda was amazed
to discover that Shiva himself appeared before Bhilla and asked, "Why are you late today? I have
been waiting for you. Did you get very tired?"
Bhilla went away after making his offerings. But Veda came up to Shiva and said, "What is all
this? This is a cruel and evil hunter, and yet, you appear before him. I have been performing
tapasya for so many years and you never appear before me. I am disgusted at this partiality. I will
break your linga with this stone."
"Do it if you must," replied Shiva. "But please wait till tomorrow."
Next day, when Veda came to present his offerings, he found traces of blood on top of the linga.
He carefully washed away the traces of blood and completed his prayers.
After some time, Bhilla also came to present his offerings and discovered traces of blood on top
of the linga. He thought that he was in some way responsible for this and blamed himself for
some unknown transgression. He picked up a sharp arrow and began to pierce his body
repeatedly with this arrow as punishment.
Shiva appeared before both of them and said, "Now you see the difference between Veda and
Bhilla. Veda has given me his offerings, but Bhilla has given me his whole soul. That is the
difference between ritual and true devotion."
The place where Bhilla used to pray to Shiva is a famous tirtha known as bhillatirtha.
Goutama and Manikundala
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 to trade and make profits."
"But my father has a lot of wealth," replied Manikundala. "What is the need to obtain more
wealth?"
"You don't have the proper perspective," said Goutama. "A successful person is one who does
not thrive on what is left to him by his father. He makes his own fortune."
Manikundala was convinced by Gountama's logic. He did not realise that his so-called friend was
out to defraud him.
The two friends set out on their journey, Manikundala providing all the capital.In the course of their travels Goutama remarked, "Have you noticed how those who follow the
path of dharma (righteousness) always suffer? They are neither wealthy nor happy. There seems
to be no point in being righteous."
"Please don't say that," protested manikundala. "Happiness lies in following the path of dharma.
Poverty and misery are inevitable, they are of no account at all."
The two friends argued over this, but could not decide who was right. They resolved to have a
bet. They would ask the opinions of others. And whoever lost the bet would surrender all his
wealth to the winner. They asked many people for their opinions. Naturally most people said that
it was the evil who thrived and prospered. And it was the righteous who suffered. The upshot of
this was that Manikundala surrendered all his wealth to Goutama. But Manikundala continued to
praise dharma.
"You are an utter ass," said Goutama. "Haven't you lost all your wealth to me? Yet you continue
to praise dharma."
"The wealth is of no account at all," replied Manikundala. "Dharma is on my side and your
apparent victory is only an illusion. Dharma will triumph in the end."
The two friends decided to have another bet. This time it was agreed that whoever lost the bet
would have his two arms chopped off. They again asked several people and most people said that
is was adharma (evil) which triumphed. So Manikundala lost his two arms.
"How does it feel now?" asked Goutama.
"The same as ever," replied Manikundala. "What is important is dharma. And dharma is on my
side."
Goutama lost his temper at this. He threatened to cut off Manikundala's head if Manikundala
persisted in his praise of dharma. But Manikundala was unperturbed. The friends decided to have
another bet. This time it was agreed that whoever lost would forfeit his life. Manikundala lost yet
again. And Goutama gouged out Manikundala's eyes and left him for dead.
Manikundala lay on the banks of the Goutami Ganga and pondered about the fate that had
befallen him. It became night.
There was an image of Vishnu on the banks of the river and the rakshasa Vibhishana used to
come there every night to pray to Vishnu. Vibhishana's son discovered Manikundala lying there
and found out from him the entire story. He recounted the story to his father.
"Many years ago, I had joined Rama in his fight with Ravana," Vibhishana told his son.
"Ragvana's son Meghanada shot a venomous arrow at Rama's brother Lakshmana. Lakshmana
fell unconscious. The monkey Hanuman then went to the Himalayas and brought a mountain
named Grandhamadana to Lanka. On that mountain there was a wonderful herb named
vishalyakarani which cures all illnesses. When Hanuman returned the mountain to the Himalayas, a bit of the vishalyakarani fell down at this spot. Near Vishnu's image. Let us try and
find it. We should be able to cure Manikundala."
Father and son hunted for the herb. The vishalyakarani had become a huge tree. They lopped off
a branch and placed it on Manikundala's chest. Manikundala immediately regained his eyes and
arms. After curing Manikundala, Vibhishana and his retinue returned to Lanka.
Manikundala began to travel. He eventually came to a city named Mahapura where a king named
Maharaja ruled. Maharaja had no sons, only a daughter. The daughter was blind. Maharaja had
announced that whoever cured his daughter would become his son-in-law and rule after him.
Manikundala cured the princess with his knowledge of the vishalyakarani. He then married the
princess and became king of Mahapura after Maharaja.
Many years later, Goutama was brought before Manikundala by the soldiers. He had been
arrested on the charge of committing a crime. Goutama had lost all his wealth by then and was
no more than a beggar. Manikundala pardoned his friend and shared with him whatever he had.
Such are the virtues of following the path of dharma. There are many tirthas along the banks of
the Goutami Ganga where these wonderful incidents took place.
Kandu
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 the
winter he meditated dressed in wet clothing.
Indra got sacred as a result of all this tapasya. He thought that the sage Kandu might want to
become Indra the king of the gods. He therefore called an apsara named disturb Kandu's
tapasya."
Pramalocha went to the hermitage and began to sing there in a beautiful voice. This disturbed
Kandu and he discovered a beautiful woman wandering around in his ashrama.
"Who are you?" Kandu asked the woman.
"I have come here to pluck flowers," replied Pramalocha. "I am your servant. I will do whatever
you wish me to."
Kandu had fallen in love with Pramalocha and he married her. He forgot all about his tapasya
and Indra heaved a sigh of relief. Years passed. Pramalocha wished to return to heaven, but
Kandu would not let her.
After years and years had passed, Kandu came out of his hut, looking rather distracted. It was
then evening and Kandu was obviously going somewhere."Where are you going?" Pramalocha asked.
"What a stupid question!" exclaimed Kandu. "Can't you see that it is now evening? I have got to
go and observe the evening rites. The day has passed."
"What day?", asked Pramalocha. "Several days have passed and several evenings have come and
gone."
"No, you came here this morning," said Kandu. "I brought you to my hut and it is now evening, I
don't understand what you are trying to say. Explain yourself."
"It is true that I came here in the morning," answered Pramalocha. "But that was a morning
which dawned many years ago. Hundreds of years have passed since that day."
"How many years?" asked Kandu. "When did you come here?'
"Sixteen hundred years, six months and three days ago," replied Pramalocha.
"Are you sure?" asked Kandu. "It seems like a single day to me."
"I am sure," said Pramalocha. "I dare not lie to you."
"You have dislodged me from my tapasya," responded Kandu. "But I will not curse you, since
you have been my wife. Go back to heaven. I have to atone for my sins."
The sage Kandu went to Purshottama kshetra and performed penance for his sins. He was
blessed by Vishnu.
Kandu and Pramalocha had a daughter named Marisha.
The Brahma Purana also describes several other tirthas. Most of these are on the banks of the
river Goutami Ganga. This is now identified as the river Godavari.
After describing these several tirthas, the text describes incidents in Krishna's life. These we will
skip, since they are described in much greater detail in the other Puranas.
VarnA Ashrama
There are four varnas (classes). Their names are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra.
The duties of a brahmana are to donate alms, perform tapasya, worship the gods, perform yajnas
and study the Vedas. To earn a living, brahmanas are authorized to teach and act as priests at
sacrifices. The duties of kshatriya are to beat arms and protect the earth, donate alms and perform
sacrifices. A kshatriya is also permitted to study the shastras. The duties of a vaishya are
agriculture, animal husbandry and trade. That apart, vaishyas should donate alms, perform sacrifices and study the shastras. The duties of a shudra are to serve brahmanas. Shudras can also
be shopkeepers and artisans.
In times of emergency, a brahmana is allowed to adopt the livelihoods of kshatriyas or vaishyas
to earn a living. In similar fashion, a kshatriya is permitted to adopt the livelihoods of vaishyas or
shudras and a vaishya is permitted to adopt the livelihoods of shudras.
There are four ashramas (stages of life) as well. The first of these is known as brahmacharya
(celibate studenthood). During this period, the individual spends his days with his guru and
studies the Vedas well. He has to serve his guru in proper fashion and live on alms. The next
ashrama is that of Grihastha (householder stage). The individual now gets married and has
children. He serves the gods, the sages, the ancestors and guests. It is householders who provide
alms for sages and hermits. That is the reason why the householder stage is so very important.
The third ashrama is known as vanaprastha (forest-dwelling stage). The individual now retires to
the forest and withdraws his mind from the earthly life. He can leave his wife in the care of his
sons or take her with him. He lives on roots, fruits and leaves and makes a bed for himself under
the trees. He is not permitted to shave or cut his hair and his clothes have to be made out of bark
or skins. The final ashrama is that of sannyasa (hermithood). A hermit gives up all association
with the world and lives alone. He grows completely detached. He lives alone. He gets his food
through begging. He is not permitted to spend more than one night in a village, or more than five
nights at a time in a city.
The Chandala and the Brahmarakshasa
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 chandala would fast
during the day. At night he would go to Vishnu's temple and sing praises of Vishnu. He never
failed to observe this ritual.
The river Kshipra (Shipra) flowed by the city of Avanti. On one particular night, on ekadashi
tithi, the chandala went to the banks of the river to collect some flowers for worshipping Vishnu.
On the banks of the river there was a tree and on that tree there lived a brahmarakshasa (demon).
As soon as the demon saw the chandala, it wished to devour him.
"Please not tonight," said the chandala. "I have to worship Vishnu throughout the night. Let me
go now."
"Not on you life," replied the demon. "I have not eaten for ten days and I am famished. I can't let
you go."
"Please, " said the chandala, "let me go. I promise that I will come back once the prayers are
over. You will then be free to do with me as you will."
The demon let the chandala go. The chandala went to the temple. He worshipped Vishnu and
spent the night in singing Vishnu's praises. Next day, he returned to the demon."I am indeed surprised," said the demon. "You are very truthful. You can't be a chandala. You
must be a brahmana. Answer my questions. What did you do all night?"
"I stood outside Vishnu's temple and sang his praise," replied the chandala.
"For how long have you been doing this?" asked the demon.
"For twenty years," was the chandala's reply.
"You have acquired a lot of punya (store of merit) through this," said the demon. "Please grant
me one night's punya, I am sinner."
"No," replied the chandala. "I will not part with my punya. I have given you my body, eat me if
you will. But the punya is mine own."
"Very well then,' said the demon. "Give me two hours' worth of punya. I am a sinner."
"I have told you I will not give you any of my punya," replied the chandala. "But what is your
sin?"
The brahmarakshasa related his story. His name was Somasharma and he was the son of
Devasharma. Devasharma was a righteous brahmana. But Somasharma fell into evil ways. A
brahmana is not authorised to act as a priest in a sacrifice before he has had his sacred-thread
ceremony (upanayana). But Somasharma became a priest at a yajna even though his upanayana
had not been held. As a result of this sin, when he died, he became a demon. The chandala was
stirred to pity at this sad story and parted with some of his punya. The demon was delighted and
expressed his gratitude. He went to a tirtha and performed penance. Thus it was that the demon
was freed.
What about the chandala? He returned home and then left for a tour of all the sacred places of
pilgrimage. At one such tirtha. He remembered the story of his earlier life.
He used to be a hermit well-versed in the Vedas and the shastras. He used to beg alms for a
living. Once he had obtained some alms. But some thieves were then in the process of stealing
cows, and the hooves of the cows raised a cloud of dust. The dust fell onto the food and the
hermit threw away the alms in disgust. Since he had thrown away alms, he was born as a
chandala. After performing penance for this sin, the chandala was pardoned.
Yoga
The word yoga means union. Yoga is thus a form of meditation that unites the human soul
(atman) with the divine soul (Paramatman), or equivalently, with the divine essence (Brahman).
A practitioner of yoga has to study the Puranas, the Vedas and history He has to exercise
restraint regarding the sort of food he eats. The best forms of food are yoghurt fruits, roots and milk. Yoga should be practiced in a place that is pleasant. It should not be too hot or too cold
there. Nor should there be any noise to distract the practitioner.
Yoga has to be performed in a proper posture (asana). The practitioner concentrates the entire
focus of his mind on the tip of his nose. He contemplates the form of brahmana. This can only be
successful if one is detached and controls one's senses completely.
If yoga is performed properly, there comes the knowledge that the same Paramatman is in all
living beings. To think that living beings are distinct from one another is only to fall prey to one's
illusions. All the elements have the same Paramatman in them.
Epilogue
Romaharshana said to the sages who had assembled in naimisharanya, "Many years ago, the
great Veda Vyasa had recited the adi Purana to sages. The sages had been delighted to learn the
wisdom that was in the great Brahma Purana. Whatever Veda Vyasa had told those sages, I have
now recited before you. Everyone should listen to a recital of this Purana, be he a householder or
a hermit."
A brahmana who listens to a recital of the Brahma Purana becomes learned, a kshatriya becomes
victorious, a vaishya becomes rich and a shudra achieves happiness. One who listens to the
recital faithfully attains all his wishes. The fruits of listening to such a recital are superior to
visiting the most holy of tirthas or performing the most difficult of yajnas.
Romaharshana blessed the sages and returned to his own hermitage, with the express injunction
that the secrets of the Purana should never be divulged to atheists who did not believe in God.
Home
2. PADMA PURANA
SRISHTI-KHAND
Having revealed the contents of all the Puranas to his son Ugrashrava, Sage Lomaharshan
instructed him to go to 'Naimisharanya' and spread it among the sages doing penance over there.
There is an interesting tale how this sacrosanct forest of Naimish derived its name --
Once, the sages sought Lord Vishnu's help in finding a suitable place, where they could perform
their religious activities unhindered. Lord Vishnu released his chakra and instructed them to
follow it. 'This chakra had many circumferences (Nemi) and all of you can commence your
penance at the place where one of them gets detached from the chakra' ---said Lord Vishnu.
The Sages followed the chakra as per the instruction of Lord Vishnu. Once of the circumferences
of chakra got detached and fell at a place called Gangavarta. In course of time this particular place was famous as 'Naimish' because the term 'Nemi' in Sanskrit means circumference. When
Ugrashrava who was popularly known as 'Suta' reached 'Naimisharnya' all the sages received
him with enlighten all the sages on the divine tales of Padma Purana.
Suta replied--- Padma Purana consists of five sections and fifty-five thousand shlokas. The
names of these sections are Srishti-Khand, Bhumi-Khand, Swarg Khand, Patal Khand and
Uttam-Khand. The tales of Padma Purana praise the glory of Lord Vishnu. These tales were
narrated to Lord Brahma by Lord Vishnu himself, who in turn propagated them in this world
through various sages.
THE BEGINNING OF CREATION
The Sages requested Suta to narrate about the incident when sage Pulastya had met Bhishma.
Suta replied--- Bhishma was doing penance at a place called Gangadwar. Being pleased by his
austere penance, Lord Brahma instructed Pulastya to go to Gangadwar and bless Bhishma.
After reaching there, Pulastya told Bhishma that Lord Brahma was pleased by his penance. 'Ask
any boon you wish for' said Pulastya. Bhishma thanked his good fortune of getting a chance to
meet Sage Pulastya. He requested Pulastya to reveal how Lord Brahma had created the world.
Pulastya replied--- During the initial phase of his creation, Lord Brahma created the Mahattatva
first of all. After that he created the three types of Ego from the Mahattatva---Satva, Rajas and
Tamas. These three types of Ego are the origins of all the five sense-organs, organs of action and
all the five basic elements--space, water, fire, air and earth.
An enormous egg came into existence with the permutation and combination of these five basic
elements. Within this egg exists the whole universe including the mountains, islands, oceans,
planets, deities, demons and the human beings. The layers of water, fire, air, space and darkness
envelop this enormous egg. These elements are once again covered by the 'Mahattatva', which in
turn is enveloped by the 'Prakriti' (nature). Lord Vishnu himself does creation in the form of Lord
Brahma and also takes various incarnations to protect the mankind. At the end of the Kalpa, it is
only He, who annihilates in the form of Rudra. After the end of Kalpa, he takes rest on the back
of Sheshnag for the full period of deluge.
BRAHMA'S LIFESPAN AND CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER OF THE 'ERAS'
Pulastya says---Lord Brahma, the embodiment of Lord Vishnu has a lifespan of one hundred
years. His lifespan is also called 'Par', and half of its period is known as 'Parardha'. One 'Kashtha'
consists of 15 Nimesha while a Kala consists of 30 'Kashthas'. A muhurta consists of 30 Kalas.
The periods of 30 muhurtas are equal to one day and Night of the human beings. A month of this
world is equivalent to 30 days and nights. Six months make an 'Ayan' and a year consists of two
'Ayans'. These two 'Ayans' are also known by two other names---Dakshainayan and Uttarayan.
Dakshainayan is the night of the deities where as Uttarayan is their day. Four yugas are equivalent to twelve thousand years of the deities, which occur in a cyclic order--
-Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali Yuga. The periods of these yugas are as
follows---
Satya Yuga- 4000 years. Treta Yuga - 3000 years. Dwapar Yuga- 2000 years. Kali Yuga- 1000
years. Total - 10,000 years.
Each yuga is followed by the hibernation periods of Sandhya and Sandhyansh, which are as
follows—Sandhya, Sandhyansh
Satya Yuga 400, 400. Treta Yuga 300, 300. Dwapar Yuga 200, 200. Kali Yuga 100, 100. Total
1000 years 1000 years.
Four yuga are collectively known as 'Chaturyuga'. A Brahma's day consists of one-thousand such
'Chaturyugas'. Altogether, fourteen Manu appear during this whole period of 1000 Chaturgas or
in other words a day of Lord Brahma. Each 'Manvantar' is named after a Manu and is equivalent
to little more than 71 Chaturyugas. It also has its own Indra, Saptarishis and other deities. This
way, a manvantar is also equivalent to 8,52,000 years of the deities or divine years. Going by the
standard of the years of this world a manvantar is equivalent to 30,67,20,000 years. On the basis
of the years of this world, a Brahma's day is equivalent to 30,67,20,000 x 14 = 4,29,40,80,000
years. This is the period after which a Brahma's day is over and a deluge takes place when all the
three worlds becomes devoid of life due to unbearable heat. Lord Brahma then takes rest for the
same period (4,29,40,80,000 years) which is his night.
After the night is over, Lord Brahma again commences his creation. So, this process continues
for the whole period of Brahma's life span, i.e. 100 years." Bhisma requested Sage Pulastya to
describe how Lord Brahma created life in the beginning of the present Kalpa.
Pulastya replied--- At the end of the previous kalpa when Lord Brahma awakened from his sleep,
he found the whole earth submerged in water. He meditated on Lord Vishnu, who took the
incarnation of Varaha and retrieved the earth and established it in its original position. Lord
Brahma then created all the four worlds--Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, Swargloka and Maharloka and
divided the earth into seven islands.
First of all, Lord Brahma created the 'Mahattatva'. After that he created the 'Tanmatras', Indriyas
(sense-organs), the immovable things like mountains, rivers, animals, deities, demons, human
beings etc.
THE FOUR PROMINENT CASTES
On being asked by Bhishma about the origin of the four prominent castes, Sage Pulastya said---
Lord Brahma created the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas from his mouth and chest respectively.
Similarly, Vaishyas and Shudras manifested from Lord Brahma's thigh and feet
respectively.Lord Brahma had created his 'manasputras' with the objective of increasing the
population and their names were Bhrigu, Pulah, Kratu, Angira, Marichi, Daksha, Atri and
Vashishtha. But all of them were free from worldly desires and extremely virtuous. Seeing his effort go in vain, Lord Brahma became furious, as a result of which Rudra manifested from his
forehead. Half of Rudra's body resembled like a male while the remaining half appeared like a
female. Lord Brahma instructed Rudra to detach the female form from his body and commence
copulative creation. Following his advice, Rudra detached the female part of his body and
created eleven male entities. Similarly he created various female entities from the female part of
his body.
This way, the first human pair- Manu and Shatarupa came into existence. In course of time four
children were born to them---Priyavrata, Uttanpad, Prasuti and Akuti. Prasuti was married to
Daksha Prajpati, while Akuti became the wife of Ruchi Prajapati. Prasuti gave birth to 24
daughters-- Shradha, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Pushti, Tushti, Medha, Kriya, Buddhi, Lajja, Vapu,
Shanti, Keerti, Khyati, Sati, Sambhuti, Smriti, Preeti, Kshama, Santati, Ansuya, Urja, Swaha and
Swadha. Out of them, the former thirteen were the wives of Dharma and the rest were married to
various sages like Bhrigu, Shiva, Marichi, Angira, myself (Pulastya), Pulaha, Kratu, Atri,
Vashishtha, Agni, etc. Shradha gave birth to 'Kam', Lakshmi to 'Darpa, Dhriti to Niyam, Tushti
to Santosh, Pushti to Lobha, Medha to Shrut, Kriya to Dand, Nay and Vinay, Buddhi to Bodh,
Lajja to Vinay, Vapu to Vyavasay, Shanti to Kshama, Siddhi to Sukh and Keerti gave birth to
Yash. All of them were the sons of Dharma.
Kam had a son named Harsh from his wife Nandi, Bhrigu's wife Khyati gave birth to a daughter
named Lakshmi--the consort of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rudra accepted Sati--the daughter of Daksha
Prajapati as his wife. Hinsa was the wife of Adharm and gave birth to Anrit and Nikriti. Anrit
had two sons---Maya and Narak, while Nikriti had two daughters--Maya and Vedana. Maya
married Maya while Vedana became the wife of Narak. Maya had a son named Mrityu--the lord
of death and Vedana gave birth to Dukh. Five children were born to Mrityu--Vyadhi, Jara, Shok,
Trishna and Krodha. All of them were celibates and had no progeny.
THE MANIFESTATION OF GODDESS LAKSHMI
Bhisma expressed his desire to know about the manifestation of goddess Lakshmi.
Pulastya replied-- Once, after being defeated by the demons, the deities went to Lord Vishnu and
sought his help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to collect all the medicinal herbs, and put them in
the Ksheersagar, so that after the churning of the ocean ambrosia could be retrieved.Lord Vishnu
also advised them to use the Mandar mountain as a Churner and the serpent--Sheshnag as a rope
for churning the ocean.The deities then reached an agreement with the demons according to
which both the groups were supposed to unitedly churn the ocean. The great Mandar mountain
was uprooted and placed on the back of the tortoise--the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. Sheshnag
coiled around that mountain and both the ends were held by the demons and the deities
respectively. The deities intelligently chose the tail-end, while the demons in their foolishness
chose the mouth-end. The venom spilled by Sheshnag destroyed the power and strength off the
demons. When the process of Churning began, the first thing to emerge from the sea-bed was
Kamdhenu--the holy cow. The deities claimed the ownership of this divine cow. Subsequently,
Varuni (intoxicating drink) emerged from the sea-bed, which was claimed by the ignorant
demons. During the process of ocean-churning, various kinds of things emerged out from the
ocean--Parijat, sixty crore apsaras, the moon and Kalkut (poison), which were distributed among the demons and the deities. Lord Mahadeva drank the Kalkut when he saw that there was no
taker for it.
The churning of ocean also resulted into the manifestation of ambrosia-pot, Uchchaishrava
(horse) and Airavat (elephant). Ultimately, goddess Lakshmi manifested herself, seated on a
lotus. The deities eulogised her by chanting the mantras of Sri Sukta. The deities were desirous
of having goddess Lakshmi on their side, so were the demons, but Lord Brahma instructed
Vishnu to accept her as his consort. The demons became furious and snatched the ambrosia-pot
from the hands of Sage Dhanvantari. Lord Vishnu then disguised himself as the most enchanting
woman and fooled the demons into giving back the ambrosia-pot. Lord Vishnu gave the pot to
the deities who became immortal after drinking ambrosia. A tremendous battle was fought
between the demons and the deities. But, the demons were defeated in this battle and fled to the
netherworld to protect their lives. The deities eulogised Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven.
SATI GIVES UP HER LIFE
On being enquired by Bhisma about the reason why Sati gave up her life, Sage Pulastya narrated
the following tale ---
Once, Daksha Prajapati had organised a grand yagya in which he had invited everybody except
Lord Shiva. This Yagya was presided over by four prominent sages---Vashishtha, Angika,
Brihaspati and Narada. Sati went to attend the yagya despite Lord Shiva's reluctance to send her.
After reaching there she asked Daksha about the reason why he had not invited Lord Shiva.
Daksha said---"Your husband is unworthy of being in the company of other deities, because of
his abhorrent appearance. He smears ashes on his body and wanders through the cremation
grounds. In the name of clothes, your husband puts on tiger's skin. A garland of skulls keep on
hanging down his neck. All species of serpents coil around his body. Do you think he is eligible
to sit in the company of the deities? Your husband had brought great shame on me and this is the
reason why I did not invite him."
Sati could no more listen to her husband's criticism and gave up her life by jumping into the
oblation-fire.When the news of Sati's death reached Lord Shiva, he became extremely furious
and sent his ganas to avenge her death. The Ganas went and created havoc at the oblationsite.After the death of Sati, Lord Shiva became a recluse and lost all interest in his life. His mind
was preoccupied by nothing else but the thoughts of her beloved.One day, Sage Narada informed
Lord Shiva about Sati's rebirth as the daughter of Himvan and Mena. Lord Shiva became
extremely pleased by this good news. Eventually, he reunited with her eternal consort Parvati.
instructed him to go to 'Naimisharanya' and spread it among the sages doing penance over there.
There is an interesting tale how this sacrosanct forest of Naimish derived its name --
Once, the sages sought Lord Vishnu's help in finding a suitable place, where they could perform
their religious activities unhindered. Lord Vishnu released his chakra and instructed them to
follow it. 'This chakra had many circumferences (Nemi) and all of you can commence your
penance at the place where one of them gets detached from the chakra' ---said Lord Vishnu.
The Sages followed the chakra as per the instruction of Lord Vishnu. Once of the circumferences
of chakra got detached and fell at a place called Gangavarta. In course of time this particular place was famous as 'Naimish' because the term 'Nemi' in Sanskrit means circumference. When
Ugrashrava who was popularly known as 'Suta' reached 'Naimisharnya' all the sages received
him with enlighten all the sages on the divine tales of Padma Purana.
Suta replied--- Padma Purana consists of five sections and fifty-five thousand shlokas. The
names of these sections are Srishti-Khand, Bhumi-Khand, Swarg Khand, Patal Khand and
Uttam-Khand. The tales of Padma Purana praise the glory of Lord Vishnu. These tales were
narrated to Lord Brahma by Lord Vishnu himself, who in turn propagated them in this world
through various sages.
THE BEGINNING OF CREATION
The Sages requested Suta to narrate about the incident when sage Pulastya had met Bhishma.
Suta replied--- Bhishma was doing penance at a place called Gangadwar. Being pleased by his
austere penance, Lord Brahma instructed Pulastya to go to Gangadwar and bless Bhishma.
After reaching there, Pulastya told Bhishma that Lord Brahma was pleased by his penance. 'Ask
any boon you wish for' said Pulastya. Bhishma thanked his good fortune of getting a chance to
meet Sage Pulastya. He requested Pulastya to reveal how Lord Brahma had created the world.
Pulastya replied--- During the initial phase of his creation, Lord Brahma created the Mahattatva
first of all. After that he created the three types of Ego from the Mahattatva---Satva, Rajas and
Tamas. These three types of Ego are the origins of all the five sense-organs, organs of action and
all the five basic elements--space, water, fire, air and earth.
An enormous egg came into existence with the permutation and combination of these five basic
elements. Within this egg exists the whole universe including the mountains, islands, oceans,
planets, deities, demons and the human beings. The layers of water, fire, air, space and darkness
envelop this enormous egg. These elements are once again covered by the 'Mahattatva', which in
turn is enveloped by the 'Prakriti' (nature). Lord Vishnu himself does creation in the form of Lord
Brahma and also takes various incarnations to protect the mankind. At the end of the Kalpa, it is
only He, who annihilates in the form of Rudra. After the end of Kalpa, he takes rest on the back
of Sheshnag for the full period of deluge.
BRAHMA'S LIFESPAN AND CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER OF THE 'ERAS'
Pulastya says---Lord Brahma, the embodiment of Lord Vishnu has a lifespan of one hundred
years. His lifespan is also called 'Par', and half of its period is known as 'Parardha'. One 'Kashtha'
consists of 15 Nimesha while a Kala consists of 30 'Kashthas'. A muhurta consists of 30 Kalas.
The periods of 30 muhurtas are equal to one day and Night of the human beings. A month of this
world is equivalent to 30 days and nights. Six months make an 'Ayan' and a year consists of two
'Ayans'. These two 'Ayans' are also known by two other names---Dakshainayan and Uttarayan.
Dakshainayan is the night of the deities where as Uttarayan is their day. Four yugas are equivalent to twelve thousand years of the deities, which occur in a cyclic order--
-Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali Yuga. The periods of these yugas are as
follows---
Satya Yuga- 4000 years. Treta Yuga - 3000 years. Dwapar Yuga- 2000 years. Kali Yuga- 1000
years. Total - 10,000 years.
Each yuga is followed by the hibernation periods of Sandhya and Sandhyansh, which are as
follows—Sandhya, Sandhyansh
Satya Yuga 400, 400. Treta Yuga 300, 300. Dwapar Yuga 200, 200. Kali Yuga 100, 100. Total
1000 years 1000 years.
Four yuga are collectively known as 'Chaturyuga'. A Brahma's day consists of one-thousand such
'Chaturyugas'. Altogether, fourteen Manu appear during this whole period of 1000 Chaturgas or
in other words a day of Lord Brahma. Each 'Manvantar' is named after a Manu and is equivalent
to little more than 71 Chaturyugas. It also has its own Indra, Saptarishis and other deities. This
way, a manvantar is also equivalent to 8,52,000 years of the deities or divine years. Going by the
standard of the years of this world a manvantar is equivalent to 30,67,20,000 years. On the basis
of the years of this world, a Brahma's day is equivalent to 30,67,20,000 x 14 = 4,29,40,80,000
years. This is the period after which a Brahma's day is over and a deluge takes place when all the
three worlds becomes devoid of life due to unbearable heat. Lord Brahma then takes rest for the
same period (4,29,40,80,000 years) which is his night.
After the night is over, Lord Brahma again commences his creation. So, this process continues
for the whole period of Brahma's life span, i.e. 100 years." Bhisma requested Sage Pulastya to
describe how Lord Brahma created life in the beginning of the present Kalpa.
Pulastya replied--- At the end of the previous kalpa when Lord Brahma awakened from his sleep,
he found the whole earth submerged in water. He meditated on Lord Vishnu, who took the
incarnation of Varaha and retrieved the earth and established it in its original position. Lord
Brahma then created all the four worlds--Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, Swargloka and Maharloka and
divided the earth into seven islands.
First of all, Lord Brahma created the 'Mahattatva'. After that he created the 'Tanmatras', Indriyas
(sense-organs), the immovable things like mountains, rivers, animals, deities, demons, human
beings etc.
THE FOUR PROMINENT CASTES
On being asked by Bhishma about the origin of the four prominent castes, Sage Pulastya said---
Lord Brahma created the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas from his mouth and chest respectively.
Similarly, Vaishyas and Shudras manifested from Lord Brahma's thigh and feet
respectively.Lord Brahma had created his 'manasputras' with the objective of increasing the
population and their names were Bhrigu, Pulah, Kratu, Angira, Marichi, Daksha, Atri and
Vashishtha. But all of them were free from worldly desires and extremely virtuous. Seeing his effort go in vain, Lord Brahma became furious, as a result of which Rudra manifested from his
forehead. Half of Rudra's body resembled like a male while the remaining half appeared like a
female. Lord Brahma instructed Rudra to detach the female form from his body and commence
copulative creation. Following his advice, Rudra detached the female part of his body and
created eleven male entities. Similarly he created various female entities from the female part of
his body.
This way, the first human pair- Manu and Shatarupa came into existence. In course of time four
children were born to them---Priyavrata, Uttanpad, Prasuti and Akuti. Prasuti was married to
Daksha Prajpati, while Akuti became the wife of Ruchi Prajapati. Prasuti gave birth to 24
daughters-- Shradha, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Pushti, Tushti, Medha, Kriya, Buddhi, Lajja, Vapu,
Shanti, Keerti, Khyati, Sati, Sambhuti, Smriti, Preeti, Kshama, Santati, Ansuya, Urja, Swaha and
Swadha. Out of them, the former thirteen were the wives of Dharma and the rest were married to
various sages like Bhrigu, Shiva, Marichi, Angira, myself (Pulastya), Pulaha, Kratu, Atri,
Vashishtha, Agni, etc. Shradha gave birth to 'Kam', Lakshmi to 'Darpa, Dhriti to Niyam, Tushti
to Santosh, Pushti to Lobha, Medha to Shrut, Kriya to Dand, Nay and Vinay, Buddhi to Bodh,
Lajja to Vinay, Vapu to Vyavasay, Shanti to Kshama, Siddhi to Sukh and Keerti gave birth to
Yash. All of them were the sons of Dharma.
Kam had a son named Harsh from his wife Nandi, Bhrigu's wife Khyati gave birth to a daughter
named Lakshmi--the consort of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rudra accepted Sati--the daughter of Daksha
Prajapati as his wife. Hinsa was the wife of Adharm and gave birth to Anrit and Nikriti. Anrit
had two sons---Maya and Narak, while Nikriti had two daughters--Maya and Vedana. Maya
married Maya while Vedana became the wife of Narak. Maya had a son named Mrityu--the lord
of death and Vedana gave birth to Dukh. Five children were born to Mrityu--Vyadhi, Jara, Shok,
Trishna and Krodha. All of them were celibates and had no progeny.
THE MANIFESTATION OF GODDESS LAKSHMI
Bhisma expressed his desire to know about the manifestation of goddess Lakshmi.
Pulastya replied-- Once, after being defeated by the demons, the deities went to Lord Vishnu and
sought his help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to collect all the medicinal herbs, and put them in
the Ksheersagar, so that after the churning of the ocean ambrosia could be retrieved.Lord Vishnu
also advised them to use the Mandar mountain as a Churner and the serpent--Sheshnag as a rope
for churning the ocean.The deities then reached an agreement with the demons according to
which both the groups were supposed to unitedly churn the ocean. The great Mandar mountain
was uprooted and placed on the back of the tortoise--the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. Sheshnag
coiled around that mountain and both the ends were held by the demons and the deities
respectively. The deities intelligently chose the tail-end, while the demons in their foolishness
chose the mouth-end. The venom spilled by Sheshnag destroyed the power and strength off the
demons. When the process of Churning began, the first thing to emerge from the sea-bed was
Kamdhenu--the holy cow. The deities claimed the ownership of this divine cow. Subsequently,
Varuni (intoxicating drink) emerged from the sea-bed, which was claimed by the ignorant
demons. During the process of ocean-churning, various kinds of things emerged out from the
ocean--Parijat, sixty crore apsaras, the moon and Kalkut (poison), which were distributed among the demons and the deities. Lord Mahadeva drank the Kalkut when he saw that there was no
taker for it.
The churning of ocean also resulted into the manifestation of ambrosia-pot, Uchchaishrava
(horse) and Airavat (elephant). Ultimately, goddess Lakshmi manifested herself, seated on a
lotus. The deities eulogised her by chanting the mantras of Sri Sukta. The deities were desirous
of having goddess Lakshmi on their side, so were the demons, but Lord Brahma instructed
Vishnu to accept her as his consort. The demons became furious and snatched the ambrosia-pot
from the hands of Sage Dhanvantari. Lord Vishnu then disguised himself as the most enchanting
woman and fooled the demons into giving back the ambrosia-pot. Lord Vishnu gave the pot to
the deities who became immortal after drinking ambrosia. A tremendous battle was fought
between the demons and the deities. But, the demons were defeated in this battle and fled to the
netherworld to protect their lives. The deities eulogised Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven.
SATI GIVES UP HER LIFE
On being enquired by Bhisma about the reason why Sati gave up her life, Sage Pulastya narrated
the following tale ---
Once, Daksha Prajapati had organised a grand yagya in which he had invited everybody except
Lord Shiva. This Yagya was presided over by four prominent sages---Vashishtha, Angika,
Brihaspati and Narada. Sati went to attend the yagya despite Lord Shiva's reluctance to send her.
After reaching there she asked Daksha about the reason why he had not invited Lord Shiva.
Daksha said---"Your husband is unworthy of being in the company of other deities, because of
his abhorrent appearance. He smears ashes on his body and wanders through the cremation
grounds. In the name of clothes, your husband puts on tiger's skin. A garland of skulls keep on
hanging down his neck. All species of serpents coil around his body. Do you think he is eligible
to sit in the company of the deities? Your husband had brought great shame on me and this is the
reason why I did not invite him."
Sati could no more listen to her husband's criticism and gave up her life by jumping into the
oblation-fire.When the news of Sati's death reached Lord Shiva, he became extremely furious
and sent his ganas to avenge her death. The Ganas went and created havoc at the oblationsite.After the death of Sati, Lord Shiva became a recluse and lost all interest in his life. His mind
was preoccupied by nothing else but the thoughts of her beloved.One day, Sage Narada informed
Lord Shiva about Sati's rebirth as the daughter of Himvan and Mena. Lord Shiva became
extremely pleased by this good news. Eventually, he reunited with her eternal consort Parvati.
