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This Purana
consists of the following 11 sections:
Narrates the tale
of rescuing of the earth from Rasatal by Varaha incarnation of Lord
Vishnu. Its contents in brief are as follows:-
Mangala charan:
Praying of Narayana by Prithvi (earth). Tale of the creation. Origin of
Rudra, Sanatkumar, Marich etc. Tale of Priyavrata. Tale of Dashavatar
(ten incarnations). Tale of Dharma-Vyadha. Tale of Suprateek and
sighting of Viratroop (colossal appearance). Tale of Gaurmukha. Karma
related to Shraddha. Tale of Prajagana. Origin of Agni (fire). Tale
relating greatness of the days. Gauri. Destruction of Daksha Yagya.
Wedding of HarParvati, Ganesha, Naga, Kartikeya, Aditya, killing of
Andhakasura. Matrigana, Katyayani. Kumer, Dharma, Rudra etc. and their
origin. Tale of Aruni. Tales of the days falling in different months.
Agastya Geeta. Tale of Shubhvrata. Tale of Dhanyavrat. Dialogue between
Narad and Vishnu. Methods for expiation. Tale of Agastya. Geographical
description of Jambhudweep, Kushadweep, Kraunchdweep etc. Tale of
Andhakasura’s vrata etc. Origin of Vaishnava etc.Killing of Mahishasura.
Ritual of Kapalik vrata. Dialogue between Prithvi and Sanatkumar.
Dialogue between Narayana and Prithvi.
In this section I
will introduce some terminology that will be used in most of this
paper. Many of these terms may be unfamiliar to the reader, but they
are based on sound reasoning (versus historical miscommunications).
Tale
differentiating between sorrow and happiness. Tale describing twelve
kinds of crime. Expiation to destroy the sins. Methods of Vishnu worship
in the evening. Description of Sanatan Dharma. Description of illusion.
Description of the karma for salvation. History of Gridhra and
Shringali. Dialogue between Chandal and Brahmarakshasas. Greatness of
Kokamukh. Greatness of Badrikashrama. Greatness of Mathurakshetra.
Greatness of Shalgram. Tale of Shalankayank. Greatness of
Stutswamitirth. Greatness of Lohargalam, Panchar kslutra, Vishran tirth
and Devavana. Worship of Lord Vishnu at the confluence of
Yamuna-Saraswati. Greatness of Krishna-Ganga. Tale of Samb. Greatness of
Dwadashi vrat in Rama Tirth. Rituals of installing different kinds of
idols. Description of the origin of Shraddh. Methods of removing
impurities. Medhatithi Pitrasambad. Kinds of Pindsankalpa. Ritual of
Madhupark. Kinds of Madhupark donation.
Description of the
appearance of Yama. Description of the court of Yama. Description of the
fate met by sinners. Description of hell. Description of the appearance
of Yamadoot. Description of Chitragupt’s effect. Directions by
Chitragupt for expiation. Indications by Chitragupt of the fruits of
auspicious-inauspicious karmas. Description of Pativrat. Dialogue
between Yama and Narad. Greatness of Prabodhini. Description of the
greatness of Gokarneshwar. Granting of boon by Nandikeshwar. Description
of greatness of Jaleshwar. Description of the greatness of Shringeshwar.
This section
contains 6 sections as follows:
Lord Vishnu, in his
incarnation of Varah( a boar),had liberated Prithvi(Mother Earth) from
the clutches of Hiranyaksha- the mighty demon who had abducted her to
rasatal.After being rescued,Prithvi heaved a sigh of relief and looked
at her saviour,who was smiling.She curiously asked lord Varah- "How does
the process of creation begin in the beginning of each Kalpa? What is
dissolution? How do you nurture the whole creation? In what order do all
the four Yugas occur and how are they calculated?Why do you take
incarnation in each yuga? All these things puzzle me a lot and I request
you to enlighten me on all these subjects."
Lord Vishnu burst into laughter and the whole universe,including the
deities became visible to Prithvi through his opened mouth.Prithvi
became so frightened by this amazing sight that she started to tremble
in fear.Lord Vishnu then transformed his appearance and revealed his
divine form to Prithvi so that she could become free from her
fright.When Prithvi saw the divine form of lord Vishnu,who was in his
meditative sleep taking rest on Sheshnag,all her fear vanished.She was
extremely pleased to see the divine appearance of lord Vishnu and
thanked her good fortune.Prithvi,filled with extreme devotion eulogized
lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased by her eulogy and said-"The answers to
the questions you have asked are not easy to understand,but still I
Shall try to satisfy your curiosity.The supreme Almighty is eternal.In
the biginning of creation,Ego(ahamkar) as well as the five basic
elements- space,water,earth,air and fire manifest themselves from the
supreme Almighty.Subsequently,the great element-mahattatva,nature and
collective conciousness manifest themselves.The collective conciousness
then combines with each of the three basic qualities-satva(pure),rajas
and tamas(dark) and exits in three different states.It's combination
with the dark quality results into the manifestation of Mahadbrahm which
is also called prakriti or nature by the enlightened
ones.Kshetragya(soul) is considered to be more superior than the
Prakriti.This way the different permutations and combinations of all the
three gunas with collective intelligence result into the creation of
different "tanmatras"(subtle form of matters).From the tanmatras are
created the "Indrias" or sense organs.This is the way how the Universe
comes into existence.I then create all the living creatures with the
help of five basic elements."
"In the beginning
there was nothing but empty space.Subsequently,various natural elements
like "shabda"(sound),"akash"(ether),"vayu"(air),"teja"(light) and
jal(water) came into being respectively - each of the latter manifesting
from the former.Then,I Created you(earth)to provide base to all the
living creatures.The combination of earth and water resulted into an
"Egg"(anda).As the egg grew in size,I manifested myself as Narayan
within it.During each kalpa a lotus manifests itself from my navel upon
which is seated lord Brahma.I then request lord Brahma to commence
creation.Inspite of all his efforts, lord Brahma does not succeed in
commencing his creation.As a result he becomes furious and from his fury
manifests a divine child who starts to wail incessantly.The divine child
is none other than Rudra who is requested by lord Brahma to begin
creation but the child being incapable of doing that decides to acquire
power by doing penance and enters into deep water."
"Lord Brahma then created Prajapati from his great toe of his right foot
and Prajapati's consort from the great toe of his left foot.The
manifestation of Prajapati and his consort marks the beginning of
copulative creation and thus Swayambhuva Manu is born.In course of time
population increases.This is the way how creation takes place in each
kalpa."
Mother Earth requested lord Varah to shade some more light on the
creational process as her curiosity had still not been totally
satisfied.Lord Varaha replied- "At the end of the last kalpa,when the
whole universe was engulfed in darkness,Narayan went into his
yogic-sleep.After waking up he found the world devoid of any
creature.Narayan,being the supreme Almighty-the creator,the nurturer as
well as the annihilator,decided to commence creation.The term Narayan
means one who has his abode in the water- naar means water and ayan
means abode.First of all five types of "avidya"(false knoledge)
manifested from Narayan- tamas(darkness),
moha(attachment),mahamoha(absolute attachment),tamisra(jealousy) and
andhatamisra(anger).After the manifestation of these five "avidyas",came
into existence immovable things like mountains,trees etc.These being the
primary creations came to be known as "mukhya sarga"(main
creation).Continuing with his creations,lord Brahma created species that
were superior to the earlier creation-animals.This particular creation
was called "Tiryaksrota"(quadruped).This way Brahma did his
creation.Brahma's sixth creation was called Satvik sarga which consisted
of the deities who were all virtuous by nature.The creation of human
beings was seventh in order and was known as"Arvaaksrota sarga.Even
human beings were of three types -those who were predominantly virtuous
possessed satva guna had radiant personality and never experienced
sorrow but those who possessed rajas and tamas gunas experienced
sorrows."
"Brahma's eighth creation was called "Anugrah sarg" in which he created
the sages and the hermits for the benediction of the world.The nineth
creation of Lord Brahma was called "Kaumar sarg"(creation of adolescent
beings).So,these are the nine main types of creation through which
Brahma creates.First of all Rudra and other deities manifested
themselves and then came into being eternal adlescents like
Sanak,Sanandan, etc.Subsequently,all the ten manasputras of Brahma
manifested themselves-Marichi,Angira,
Atri,Pulah,Kratu,Pulasya,Pracheta,Bhrigu,Narad and Vashishth."
"Lord Brahma's
first creation-Rudra had manifested himself as Ardha narishwar(half male
and half female). At the request of Brahma,Rudra dismembered his female
part resulting into the creation of two distinct forms- one male and the
other female.Later on,ten more Rudras manifested from the male form and
all of them collectively came to be known as 'Eleven Rudras'."
Describing the
incident which enabled King Priyavrata to attain to heavenly abode Lord
Varah told Prithvi-
"Swayambhuva Manu lived during the first kalpa.He had two
sons-Priyavrata and Uttanpad.Priyavrata was extremely virtuous by
nature.In course of time,he relinquished his throne and after
distributing his kingdom among his sons went to Badrikashram to do
penance.Once sage Narad paid a visit to his hermitage. Priyavrata
received his esteemed guest with all the respect which made Narad
extremely pleased.Priyavrata then requested Narad to narrate about some
interesting incident which had occured in his life.
Narad narrated about an interesting incident which had happened while he
was on his way to meet Priyavrata- "I experienced an amazing incident
yesterday while I was passing by a lake in Shwetdweepa.I saw a divinely
beautiful woman who was standing alone at the bank of that lake.I was
surprised to find such a beautiful woman at such a lonely place.For a
moment I became so infatuated by her beauty that I lost all control over
my senses.My lust had made me devoid of all my knowledge and
learning.Now,I became very worried and ashamed of my conduct-but the
damage had already been made.I immediately realized that she was not an
ordinary woman.To my surprise,I saw a form of a divine person visible
clearly within her body.Within nextfew moments two other male forms
revealed themselves.Suddenly,all three of them disappeared leaving
behind just that divine lady.I was dumbstruck by this amazing incident.I
asked her as to who she was.The divine lady disclosed to me that she was
none other than goddess Savitri - the mother of all the Vedas and since
I was unable to recognize her therefore all the knowledge had vanished
from my memory.She also revealed to me that the three divine men which
had manifested themselves within her body were in fact the three Vedas-
Rigveda,Samveda and Yajurveda.After revealing these amazing facts to me
goddess Savitri assured me that by taking a bath in that lake I would
not only regain my memory of the Vedas but also of all my previous
births.I eulogized goddess Savitri and thanked her for the blessings
showered on me.I then bathed in that lake and to my pleasant surprise I
now remembered everything of my past births as had been prophesised by
goddess Savitri."
Priyavrat was very
surprised and requested Narad to describe some interesting incident
related with his past birth.Narad narrated the following incident to
him- "In satyayuga,I was born in a brahmin family and was named Saraswat
by my parents.I was very studious and grew up to become a renowned
scholar.The almighty God had blessed me with immense riches and I never
experienced scarcity of any kind in my life.But,very soon I got bored of
my monotonous and routined life. It had become clear to me that there
was more to life than just worrying about the gains and losses.So,I
decided to do penance to attain salvation.I distributed all my wealth
among my sons and went to the bank of river Saraswati,where I first
performed the rituals of shraddh in the name of my ancestors and then
performed yagyas.I also donated lot of wealth to poor people.Being
satisfied,I then went to Pushkar teerth and did penance at the bank of
river Saraswat by continuously chanting the sacred mantra"om namo
narayan" and brahm paar stotra.Ultimately,lord Narayan became pleased
and appeared before me.Lord Sri Hari asked me of my wish and I express
my desire to get united with his divine form.But,lord Narayan told me
that the world needed me and so this desire of mine could not be
fulfilled.He blessed me and gave me my name- Narad because I had
'donated' water(naar) to my ancestors during the course of performing
shraddh rituals.Although my wish of uniting with the divine form of Sri
Hari had remain unfulfilled but still there was a consolation as I had
been fortunate enough to see his divine form with my mortal eyes.
Thereafter,I devoted my life to the worship of Sri Hari.After my death,I
attained to brahmaloka- I had been adequately rewarded for my devotion
toward lord Sri Hari.Later on,I manifested as one of the ten manasputras
of lord Brahma when he commenced his creation.It was only because of the
blessings of Sri Harithat I came to be regarded as 'lok guru' by the
masses.So Priyavrat,if you are desire of attaining salvation then you
should follow my example and devote your life in the name of Lord
Srihari."
Prithvi,who was listening to the tales narrated by Lord Varah with rapt
attention asked him whether it was possible for anybody to see Lord
Narayan with his/her mortal eyes.Lord Varah replied -"Lord Narayan has
taken ten incarnations in various forms such as
matsya(fish),kachchap(tortoise),varah(boar),narsimh(half human and half
lion),vaman(dwarf),parshuram,Ram,Krishna,Buddha and kalki.The last
incarnation-Kalki is yet to take place.A man can realize Lord Narayan by
having total devotion in any one of the ten incarnations. Even the
deities are incapable of this divine experience-what to say about
humans.Lord Brahma is the manifestation of all the three qualities of
Sri Hari and actually it is He(Sri Hari) who creates in the form of Lord
Brahma-it is He who manifests himself in various natural forms like
earth,water,fire,air and sky-it is He who manifests himself in various
abstract qualities like consciousness- He is omnipresent and the whole
universe is pervaded by him."
Prithvi was anxious to know whether Narad's sermons had any effect on
Priyavrat and asked Lord Varah regarding this.Lord Varah replied-
Priyavrat was so impressed by Narad's discourses that he relinquished
his throne and went to do penance after equally distributing his kingdom
among his sons.Ultimately,he did manage to attain to the abode of lord
Sri Hari by the virtue of his total devotion.
Prithvi asked lord
Varah about the famous incident which described Ashvashira's unification
with lord Narayan.Lord Varah then narrated the following tale- "During
ancient times,there used to live a virtuous king named Ashvashira.He had
performed an ashwamedh yagya in which he had donated large amount of
wealth.Once,sage Kapil arrived at his palace acoompanied by sage
Jaigishavya.King Ashvashira received both his distinguished guests with
due honour.After the formalities were over,he asked both his guests
about the means by which lord Narayan could be pleased and also about
the rituals pertaining to the worship of lord Narayan."
Both the sages being enlightened souls realized that Ashvashira was
asking this question out of his ignorance so,they decided to enlighten
him on the omnipresent nature of Narayan and said-'What do you mean by
pleasing Narayan? Can't you see two Narayans standing in front of you?'
But,Ashvashira was unamused and unconvinced so he replied-'I don't deny
that both of you possess supernatural powers and also that all your sins
have destroyed on account of the virtues attained by doing penance.But,I
don't believe your claim to be Narayan.Lord Narayan is the almighty God
and the supreme deity.He holds a conch,a chakra and a mace in his
hands.He wears pitambar and has Garuda as his mount.His glory is
indescribable and incomparable.'
As Asvashira had raised valid points,sage Kapil transformed his
appearance with the help of his divine powers.Similarly,sage Jaigishavya
transformed his appearance and became Garuda.But,Ashvashira still
remained unconvinced and said-'How can I accept you to be Narayan as
there is no sign of lotus manifesting from your navel in which lord
Brahma has his abode.'
Sage Kapil then slightly transformed his appearance and created an
illusion whereby a lotus flower emanating from his navel became visible
to Ashvashira.Sage Jaigishavya sat on that lotus flower in the guise of
lord Brahma.Not only that,they also created an illusion due to which all
types of living creatures inside the palace premise.
Now,Ashvashira was really confused and requested both the sages to break
the magic spell.Both the sages decided not to test the limit of
Ashvashira's patience and so,they trasformed their respective guises
into their original appearances.Both of them said- 'Narayan is one but
can manifest himself in countless forms.The whole universe is HIS
creation and HE is present in every single creature.It is impossible for
a mortal being to bear the radiance of almighty Narayan and it is only
when HE appears in his more gentle form that the enlightened person is
able to see him.Therefore,you should engage yourself in the service of
mankind,considering each human being to be the medium through which lord
Narayan manifests himself.
Ashvashira was
satisfied by the explanation given by both the sages but there was still
one question bothering him a lot so, he asked- 'Who is most likely to
attain salvation-a knowledgeable person or a person who indulges in
rightful deeds?' Sage Kapil narrated the following tale-'Once,sage
Raimya and king Vasu had asked the same question to sage Vrihaspati.At
that time Vrihaspati had replied that anybody who performed his duties
with a sense of detachment is sure to attain salvation and to prove his
point he had narrated the following tale-'During ancient times,there
lived a brahmin named Sanyaman.He was the descendant of sage Atri.One
day,while he was going to take his bath he met Nishthoor-a fowler,who
used to catch birds and animals for his livings.'
Sanyaman reprimanded Nishthoor for his evil deeds and said- Why do you
trap innocent birds and animals? Nishthoor replied-'The almighty God is
present in each living creature.One who is desirous of attaining
salvation must under no circumstances allow his ego to dominate him.The
'doer' is not the man but the supreme Almighty present in him.Keeping
this fact in his mind a man should perform his duties with nonchallance
and a sense of detachment.If I earn my livelyhood by catching birds and
animals then it is the will of almighty.' To prove his point,the fowler
spread his iron-net and kept dry blocks of wood underneath it and then
requested Sanyaman to ignite those blocks.Sanyaman was surprised but
burnt the wodden-logs as per the fowler's instruction.In a short time
all the wodden-blocks became ablaze and the flames startes coming out
from the thousand of small holes of the iron-net.The fowler then told
Sanyaman that although the flames coming from each hole appeared to have
distinct sources,yet the fact was that the flames manifested from the
single source-wodden blocks that were burning beneath the iron-net.
The fowler said-"It was impossible to extinguish the fire untill and
unless the source of the fire was extinguished.Each hole of the iron-net
can be compared with an individual and the almighty God with the source
of fire.A man does what God wills and he can never experience sorrow
provided he constantly remembers the Almighty even while he is
performing his daily chores." Sanyaman was very much impressed by the
fowler's wisdom. Having finished his tale,sage Vrihaspati told
Ramya-"Now it must be evident to you that salvation is within the reach
of any individual.It does not make much difference whether the seeker of
salvation is a householder or a hermit aspiring for knowledge."
Continuing with the story of Ashvashira,lord Varah told Prithvi-"King
Ashvashira was so impressed by Kapil's preachings that he went to
Naimisharanya and spent his rest of his life in the service of lord
Narayan.Once,while he was performing yagya,suddenly lord Vishnu
manifested himself from the altar in the form of a brilliant effulgence
and the identity of Ashvashira merged with it.This way,Ashvashira got
united with lord Vishnu by the virtue of his deep devotion.
Prithvi was anxious
to know about the effect sage Vrihaspati's discources had on King Vasu
as well as sage Raimya.She asked lord Varah-"What did both king Vasu and
sage Raimya do after listening to the preachings of sage Vrihaspati?"
Lord Varah replied-"King Vasu was so impressed by Vrihaspati's
discources that he decided to spend the rest of his life in the service
of lord Narayan.He appointed Viwasman-his eldest son as his successor
and left for Pushkar teerth.He engaged himself in austere penance by
chanting pundarikaksha stotra.One day,while Vasu was chanting
pundarikaksha stotra,he experienced an amazing incident-an entity whose
complexion was blue, manifested from his body and stood with folded
hands.In his bewilderment,king Vasu requested the stranger to introduce
himself.
The entity narrated the following tale to him -
"O King,you were the ruler of Janasthan in your second previous
birth.Once,while you had gone deep into the forest on a hunting
spree,you were delighted to find a deer which in fact was none other but
myself.In fact,I had disguised myself as a deer and was wandering in the
forest.Being oblivious of this fact you had killed that dear.Later
on,when you realized your mistake,you cursed yourself for having killed
an innocent brahmin.To get absolved of this sin,you had observed a fast
on Ekadashi and had donated a cow to please lord Narayan.But,inspite of
all these austerities you did not attain liberation because at the time
of your death you had chanted your wife's name whose name was Narayani
instead of Narayan.This blunder of your's had stopped you from attaining
to Vishnu loka for one complete kalpa.But,my revengeful soul continued
to torture your soul till it was driven out by lord Narayan's escorts.It
was only then that you were able to attain to Vishnu loka."
"In your next birth you were born as the king of Kashmir.I did not spare
you even in that birth and possessed your body.You performed numerous
yagyas to get rid of me but all your efforts went in vain as you had not
chanted the holy name of lord Vishnu in any of the rituals that you had
performed.But,now I was forced to abandon your body since you have been
constantly chanting the sacrosanct pundarikaksha stotra.I have also
become absolved of all my sin by the virtue of listening to the
pundarikaksha stotra."
King Vasu expressed his gratitude to the entity for shedding light on
his previous births.Suddenly,a divine aircraft descended from the heaven
and king Vasu left for Vishnuloka mounted on it.Meanwhile,sage Raimya
got the news of Vasu's ascension to heaven to Vishnuloka,he wanted to
emulate the feat of his friend.He reached Gaya and performed shraddh in
the name of his ancestors.He then engaged himself in an austere
penance.Sanat kumar-one of the manasputras became very pleased by
Raimya's penance and appeared before him.He complimented Raimya for
liberating his ancestors by performing shraddh at Gaya.He then described
the virtues of performing shraddh at Gaya and narrated the following
tale –
"There lived a king
named Vishal who had no son.One day,he invited few brahmins to his
palace and asked them how he could beget a son.All the brahmins revealed
to him that he did not have son because of the curse of his
ancestors."You have not performed their shraddh so, they are angry with
you and you can never beget a son unless you performed shraddh rituals
at Gaya.Vishal went to Gaya as per the instruction of the brahmins.He
performed the shraddh rituals and offered pinda-daan in the name of his
ancestors.While he was still performing the rituals,he was amazed to see
three men descending from the sky-one of them was of fair complexion
while the remaining two were of wheatish and dark complexion
respectively.Vishal curiously asked them as to who they were.The
fair-complexioned person replied-
'I am your father-'sit'.The person with wheatish complexion is my father
and the third person amongst us is my grandfather.My father had
committed grave sins while he was alive and killing a brahmin was one
the gravest sin he had committed.My grandfather was even worst than my
father and his dark complexion is nothing as compared to his grave
sins.He had killed numerous innocent sages for no fault of theirs.All
three of us have come to express our gratitude as we have become
liberated from our sins by the virtue of the shraddh rituals you have
performed.The water which you had offered to us while performing the
rituals have given us the ability to communicate with you,even though we
are spirits.'
After finishing his tale, Sanat kumar told sage Raimya that Gaya was
supreme among all the places of pilgrimage and the virtues of performing
shraddh overthere is incomparable.Sage Raimya dedicated rest of his life
to the worship of lord Gadadhar.At last,lord Gadadhar appeared before
him.Sage Raimya requested the lord to give him a place in his abode
which was dwelled by sages like Sanak and Sanandan.Lord Gadadhar blessed
him by saying-'So be it.'This way,sage Raimya attained enlightenment
with the blessings of the merciful lord Gadadhar and ultimately attained
to the divine abode of lord Vishnu.
Once, when lord Vishnu awakened
from his yoga nidra, he found that the Vedas had submerged in the ocean
as the result of pralaya (deluge).He incarnated as matsya(fish) to
retrieve the Vedas from the ocean-bed.As soon as lord Matsya entered
into the ocean,HE attained such an enormous size that the deities became
frightened.
All the deities then eulogized lord Matsya and requested him to regain
his original form- "O Narayan-the imperceivable lord. You manifest
yourself in each and every particle of this Universe.You are omnipresent
and exist even during the time of deluge when nothing else exist. O
Lord! we are scared of your present form."
On seeing the deities frightened, lord Matsya retrieved the Vedas from
the seabed and transformed his appearance from the huge fish to that of
lord Vishnu.The deities were filled with joy to see the divine
appearance of lord Vishnu.
During satya
yuga,there lived a king named Suprateek.Although he had two queens,yet
none of them bore any son to him.One day,Suprateek went to meet sage
Durvasa,who had his hermitage at the foothills of chitrakut mountain and
engaged himself in the sevice of Durvasa.The sage blessed the king and
prophesised that he would become a proud father of a mighty son named
Durjay.Durvasa's prophesy came true and Suprateek's eldest
queen-Vidyutprabha gave birth to a son.The child was named Durjay.In
course of time Durjay grew up to become a worthy successor of
Suprateek.Suprateek decided to spend rest of his life in the service of
God,so he went to Chitrakut mountain to do penance.
Mean while,Durjay being an ambitious king expanded his kingdom by
subjugating all the neighbouring states.He conquered numerous mighty
kingdoms and vanquished almost all the prominent warrior castes like-
gandharvas,kinnars,demons and even the deities.Indra-the lord of the
deities was defeated by Durjay and was forced to retreat towards east of
Sumeru mountain alongwith the lokpals-various lords protecting different
regions of the Universe.The whole world went into turmoil as the fallout
of lokpal's power being snatched by Durjay.While Durjay was returning to
his capital along with his victorious army,he met two asuras-Vidyut and
Suvidyut, who had diguised themselves as sages.Both the impersonators
requested Durjay to make some alternative arrangements so that the world
could function smoothly.In reality,both of them harboured wishes of
having the powers of lokpal's so they offered their services in this
regard.Durjay,being unaware of their real identity agreed to appoint
them as lokpal's and then proceeded towards his capital.While he was
passing by the mandarachal mountain,he saw two beautiful women.Durjay
was surprised to find them at such a deserted place.As he stood their
wondering about their identity,he saw two hermits approaching him.Both
the hermits asked Durjay-"Who are you? What is the purpose of your
arrival?
Durjay introduced himself and told them that he was on his way to
conquer the whole world.Now it was the turn of both the sages to
introduce themselves-"We are the sons of Swayambhuva Manu-Hetu and
Prachetu.We had successfully defeated the deities and driven them out
from their abode-Sumeru mountain.All the deities went to seek the help
of lord Vishnu and were successful in getting his assurance.Lord Vishnu
then attacked us and vanquished our army but he spared our lives.Then
onwards we became ardent devotees of the merciful lord Vishnu.
Hetu,then pointing towards one of the women said-"She is my
daughter-Sukeshi.The other woman you see is my brother- Prachetu's
daughter and her name is Mishrakeshi.Please accept both these beautiful
as your wives."Durjay readily agreed to marry both of them as they were
really very beautiful.He then returned to his capital.
Everything was
going quite smoothly for Durjay,when on one fateful day he met his
downfall because of his extreme greed.The incident happened as
follows-Once,Durjay had gone into the forest on a hunting spree,where he
met a sage named Gaurmukh.Gaurmukh had been blessed by lord Vishnu with
a divine diamond named Chintamani which was capable of fulfilling all
desires.Gaurmukh gave a royal treatment to Durjay with the help of
wish-fulfilling diamond.He created an illusionary palace and offered
variety delicacies to him as well as his whole army.
Durjay wanted to have chintamani diamond at any cost and therefore sent
his minister-Virochan to persuade Gaurmukh to part with that
diamond.Gaurmukh became furious after coming to know about the evil
intention of Durjay and told Virochan to ask Durjay to leave at
once.But,Gaurmukh knew quite well that the greedy Durjay would not give
up so easily and would definitely try to acquire chintamani by force.So,
he requested chintamani diamond to create a huge army.
Meanwhile,Durjay ordered his chief-commander,named Neel to bring
chintamani at any cost.Neel proceeded with a large number of soldiers.A
fierce battle took place between both the armies in which Neel was
killed and his army got vanquished.Finally,Durjay himself came forward
to fight but even he was defeated. In the meantime,Hetu and Prachetu got
the news that their son-in-law was in trouble.Both of them proceeded
with a huge army to help their so-in-law.But,they were no match for the
might of their adversary and both of them eventually dieed in the
ensuing battle.
Meanwhile,sage Gaurmukh found Durjay standing at the entrance of his
hermitage with a small number of surviving soldiers.He sought the help
of lord Vishnu,who appeared within no time.Gaurmukh requested him to
punish Durjay for his evil intention.Lord Vishnu severed Durjay's head
with his sudarshan chakra.The place where Durjay was killed later on
became famous as Naimisharanya.Sage Gaurmukh continued to live at
Naimisharanya without any problem.
This section
contains 9 sections as follows:
Once,sage
Markandeya arrived at Naimisharanya to see sage Gaurmukh.Sage Gaurmukh
was delighted to find such an enlightened soul at his hermitage.After
the formalities were over, Gaurmukh requested him to shed light on the
venerability of ancestors and the significance of shraddh rituals.
Sage Markandeya replied-"Lord Brahma,after having created the sapta
rishis instructed them to worship him(Lord Brahma) but they became so
arrogant that they started to worship themselves.Lord Brahma felt
insulted and so he cursed them of becoming bereft of all the
knowledge.In course of time,the sapta rishis had numerous sons.After the
death of the sapta rishis,all the sons performed shraddh so that their
souls could rest in peace.The sapta rishis were also famously known as
'Vaimanik'because they had manifested from the mind of Brahma."
Sage Gaurmukh was listening to Markandeya's utterances with rapt
attention.He asked about the most appropriate time for performing
shraddh and also about the number of 'ganas' each of the pitras were
supposed to have.Sage Markandeya replied-"Pitras living in the heaven
are known as 'somap pitras' are believed to be the most privileged ones
among all the pitras.They enjoy the most delicious
beverage-somaras.Their life-span extends for the full period of kalpa
and they worship 'marutas'.Sage Marich belongs to this category of
pitras."
Pitras belonging to the category of 'vairaj' are revered even by the
marutganas.Sanak comes under this categoty of pitras.Each of these
pitras have seven ganas.Similarly,pitras known as 'bhaswar' have their
abode in the world called 'santanak'.These pitras are revered even by
the deities as all of them are 'brahma vadis'(one who has realized
Brahma).They remanifest themselves after every hundred yugas. People
belonging to any caste can worship the revered 'pitras' with an
appropriately modified rituals and obviously with the permission of the
brahmin.Some of the prominent pitras are 'Vasu','Kashyap','Marichi'
'Sanak' etc.
Describing the auspicious time
for performing the rituals of shraddh,Markandeya told Gurumukh-"A person
desirous of performing the rituals of 'kamya shraddh' can do so on any
of the following days-a) at the commencement of uttarayan or
dakshinayan. b)at the time when vyatipat yoga takes place. c) at the
time when vishu yoga occurs. d) during both solar and lunar eclipses. e)
if troubled by the evil influences of a constellation or a planet. f) if
troubled by nightmares. g)at the time when the Sun changes it's position
from one zodiac to another.
The various nakshatras like Anuradha,Vishakha and Shwati are considered
to be very auspicious for performing shraddh- especially, if the day
happens to be amavasya.Shraddh performed on such a day pacifies the
ancestor's soul for eight years.Similarly the combination of amavasya
with either 'pushya nakshatra' or 'punarvasu nakshatra' is believed to
pacify the ancstor's soul for twelve years.Some other days which are
considered to be very auspicious for performing shraddh are-the third
day of the bright half of the hindu month Vaishakh,the nineth day of the
bright half of the hindu month Kartik,the thirteenth day of the dark
half of the hindu month Bhadrapad and amavasya falling in the hindu
month of Magh.A man desirous of performing shraddh can do so on any of
the above mentioned days.He should take bath in a holy river and offer
'tarpan'(libation) to his ancestors.
Describing the types of
brahmin,considered to be elligible to preside over the rituals of
shraddh, Markandeya told sage Gaurmukh-"The following types of brahmin
are elligible to perform shraddh-'trinachiket' 'trimadhu' 'trisuparna'
and the brahmins who are well versed in all the Vedas.The shraddh
rituals can be performed by any of the following relatives of the
deceased, apart from his son-maternal nephew, grandson(daughter's
son),father-in-law,son-in-law,maternal uncle,etc.
Similarly,the following types of brahmin should never be invited at the
shraddh at the shraddh ceremony-a deceitful or a wicked brahmin,a
brahmin who is a habitual backbiter or who is accused of theft,a brahmin
who has married a shudra woman and a brahmin who earns his livelihood by
working as a priest.
Invitation should
be given to the all the brahmins one day in advance.If uivited brahmins
arrive to attend the shraddh ceremonythey should be treated with due
respect.The brahmin who is supposed to perform the rituals should wash
the feet of other brahmins to show his respect towards them.He should
then help them perform 'achaman'(rinsing of mouth).Finally,the invited
brahmins should be fed after the rituals have been completed.
As far as the
number of invited brahmins to the shraddh ceremony of the ancestors is
concerned,the scriptures have strictly put it to odd
numbers-one,three,five,etc.Similarly,the number of invited brahmins for
the shraddh of the deities is concerned the number has been put to even
number-two,four,etc. But,if the person finds it difficult to invite the
above number of brahmins then he can invite only one brahmin for both
the types of shraddh.While performing the shraddh of maternal
grandfather it is mandatory to perform the shraddh of Vaishyadeva
simultaneously.In the shraddh ceremony related with the deities the
brahmins should always have their food facing east.On the contrary,in
the shraddh ceremony of the ancestors the brahmins should have their
food facing north.
A person performing
the shraddh rituals should have his seat made of 'kusha' grass.After
taking his seat,he should invoke the deities and make offerings of
'ardhya' to them.While offering 'ardhya' to the deities water and barley
are commonly used alongwith other articles like
sandalwood,incense,etc.During the entire course of shraddh rituals
'yagyopavit'(sacred thread) should be worn in an inverse position-across
the right shoulder and not across the left shoulder as it is normally
worn.While performing the shraddh of ancestors offerings of articles
like sesame seeds,water and kusha grass are normally made.
It is customary to
scatter sesame seeds near the place where brahmins are having food in
the shraddh ceremony.The performer of the shraddh rituals should imagine
that the food partaken by them are actually satiating the ancestors.The
chanting of 'Rakshodhna mantra' is a must.
One important
characteristic of the rituals connected with pinda daan is the offerings
made to manes in the form of sesame seeds and water.Another important
aspect is that 'pinda' is offered on the 'kusha' grass which are kept
facing south-first in the name of one's dead father and then in the name
of one's grandfather and other ancestors.
The performance of Balivaishva
deva rituals mark the end of shraddh ceremony after which the person
should sit down along with all the invited guests to have his
food.Ancestors become satisfied if shraddh is performed in their names
and all the desires of such a man are fulfilled.Three things have great
importance in shraddh rituals-black sesame seeds,the auspicious muhurta
named 'Kutup' and grandson(daughter's son).Donating silver is considered
to be extremely auspicious.A person performing the shraddh rituals
should not venture out of his house till the completion of the entire
ceremony.
This section
contains 16 sections as follows:
During
tretayuga,there lived a king named Prajapal.Once,while he was on his
hunting spree,he entered into a dense forest.He was delighted to see a
dear who started running for it's life after hearing the noise. Prajapal
let his horse loose in the direction of the running dear.Sage Mahatapa
had his hermitage in that forest.While chasing that dear,Prajapal
arrived at the hermitage of Mahatapa.Being curious,he entered the
hermitage and saw sage Mahatapa.The sage treated his guest with all the
respect and offered him fruits to eat.After the formalities were
over,Prajapal requested Mahatapa to describe the appropriate way of
contemplating on the various forms of lord Narayan which gave salvation
to a man. Sage Mahatapa replied-"The Vedas proclaim that all the deities
owe their existence to lord Vishnu-Agni,Ashwini
kumar,Gauri,Gajanan,Sheshnag,Kartikeya,Aditya Ganas,Durga,all the 64
matrikas,Kuber, Vayu, Yama, Rudra,Chandrama,Pitra Ganas,etc.have
originated from lord Sri Hari.All the deities,although appearing to to
have distinct identity,are in fact inseparable from lord Vishnu."
"When Agni
manifested himself from Brahma's anger,he requested him(Brahma) to
assign an auspicious day to him for his worship.Lord Brahma said-'Since
you have manifested first of all the deities,therefore the first
day(pratipada) will be reserved for your worship.One who performs havan
on pratipada would be blessed."
King Prajapal requested Mahatapa
to describe how both the Ashwini kumars manifested themselves.Sage
Mahatapa narrated the following tale-'Marichi was Lord Brahma's son
while Kashyap was Marichi's son.All the twelve Adityas are the sons of
sage Kashyap.One of the Adityas-Martand,was marrird to Vishwakarma's
daughter whose name was Sangya.Martand had two children from her and
their names were-Yama and Yami.Being unable to bear the extreme radiance
of Martand,Sangya created her shadow identity and after instructing her
to serve her husband(Martand) in best possible ways,she herself went to
live at Uttarkuru.Later on,when Martand came to know about the
reality,he went to Uttarkuru and found Sangya in the form of a mare.He
then changed his own form and became a horse.Both of them stayed there
for a long time.In course of time,Sangya gave birth to two sons who
became famous as Ashwini kumars.'
Martand instructed both his sons to please lord Brahma with their
devotion.Both of them engaged themselves in austere penance.Finally,lord
Brahma appeared and blessed both of them by saying-'Your good-looks and
knowledge of ayurveda will be unmatched in the world.'It was
'dwitiya'(second day) when lord Brahma had blessed both the Ashwini
kumars.This is the reason why this particular day is the reason why this
particular day is deeply attached with the worship of Ashwini kumars.'
King Prajapal asked
Mahatapa about the reason why goddess Gauri-the epithet of power,had to
take incaranation.Sage Mahatapa replied -"Goddess Gauri manifested from
lord Narayan and was offered to Rudra as his consort by lord Brahma.Lord
Brahma then instructed Brahma to begin creation but Rudra being free
from all kinds of worldly attachment refused to oblige lord Brahma and
engaged himself in austere penance.Goddess Gauri then merged her
identity with Brahma,who later on created his seven 'manas-putras'. In
course of time,Gauri was born as the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and
hence came to be known as 'Dakshayani'.
Once, Daksha
Prajapati organised a grand yagya in which all the seven manasputras
were assigned specific responsibilities.Meanwhile,Rudra came out from
his meditation and was extremely furious to see the earth occupied by
countless creatures.He thought-'Brahma had requested me to create then
who is responsible for all these creation? Who has dared to transgress
my authority ?' As Rudra stood wondering,suddenly he heard the sound of
the mantras being chanted at the yagya performed by Daksha.Now, Rudra's
fury crossed all limits resulting into the emergence of numerous spirits
and ghosts from his ears.He then went to the oblation-site accompanied
by the ghosts and started destroying it.Lord Vishnu tried to protest as
a result of which a fierce battle was fought between both of them.It was
only on lord Brahma's intervention that both of them stopped
fighting.Lord Brahma said-'From now onwards Rudra would become famous as
'Har' while Vishnu would be known as 'Hari'.He then directed the deities
to eulogize Rudra and give his due share of the yagya being performed by
Daksha Prajapati.'
Rudra became pleased
by deities's eulogy and blessed them.This way,Daksha Prajapati was able
to accomplish his yagya with the blessings of Rudra.In course of
time,Rudra married Gauri-the daughter of Daksha Prajapati.Once,Gauri
went to her father's place to attend a yagya ceremony against the wish
of her husband.On seeing her,Daksha Prajapati started cursing
Rudra.Gauri was so enraged by her father's attitude that she gave up her
life by jumping into the sacrificial fire meant for the yagya.Later
on,she took rebirth as Parvati-the daughter of Himalaya.Parvati did an
austere penance to get Shiva as her husband.Ultimately her desire was
fulfilled and she became the consort of lord Shiva.
The tithi of tritiya
is very deeply attached with the worship of goddess Parvati because all
the important events of her life(birth,marriage,etc.)took place on this
day.This is the reason why tritiya is attributed to the worship of
goddess Parvati.A woman who observe a fast on this day enjoys a blissful
married life.One important ritual related with the austerity of tritiya
is avoiding the usage of salt on this day.
King Prajapal then
asked sage Mahatapa about the manifestation of lord Ganapati and about
the significance of chaturthi in terms of Ganapati's worship.Mahatapa
narrated the following tale- "Once,all the deities went to seek Shiva's
help in sorting out a peculiar problem they were faced with- while they
experienced all sorts of hurdles and problems in their work resulting
into repeated failures in their work,the demons on the contrary
accomplished all their work successfully without any problem. When lord
Shiva learnt about their problem,he burst into laughter.Hardly had he
stopped laughing than a radiant adolescent manifested himself from his
opened mouth.The child was so divinely charming that Parvati,who was
sitting beside Shiva looked at him without dropping her eyelids.When
Shiva found her staring at the child he became jealous.Jealousy
transformed into anger and Shiva cursed the child-'From now onwards your
face will resemble an elephant and your belly will become large as a
pot.In the name of yagyopavit you would have nothing but a snake hanging
across your shoulder.'
The child was none other than Ganesh.Lord Shiva's anger did not subside
even after having cursed Ganesh. He was still trembling in anger and was
sweating profusely.Numerous Ganeshas manifested themselves from those
sweat-drops and each of them had a head of an elephant as well as a
large belly.Suddenly, lord Brahma appeared and requested lord Shiva by
saying-'You should make this divine child,who has manifested from your
mouth,the lord of all these Vinayakas.Thus,lord Shiva made Ganesh the
lord of all the Vinayakas and blessed him-'You will be the first deity
to get worshipped in any ritual.'
Chaturthi has deep association with the worship of lord Ganesh,as it was
on this very day that he had manifested himself.Having prasad,prepared
from sesame seeds and worshipping lord Ganesh on this day is believed to
bring great auspiciousness.A devotee who worships lord Ganesh on
chaturthi never experiences any kind of obstacle in his work.
King Prajapal then requested
Mahatapa to shed light on the origin of the serpents and the
significance of 'panchami'.Sage Mahatapa replied-The serpents came from
the lineage of Kadru-Kashyap's wife.Sage Kashyap had numerous progeny
from
Kadru-Vasuki,Anant,Kambal,Karkotak,Padma,Mahapadma,Shankh,Kulik,etc.
When all these serpents started tormenting human-beings,lord Brahma
cursed them that they would be annihilated during swayambhuva manvantar
due to the curse of their own mother.
The serpents became terrified and promised to mend their ways.They then
requested lord Brahma to give them a place to live in.Lord Brahma
instructed them to go to three different netherworlds-Sutal,Vital and
Patal.He also warned them that during Vaivaswat manvantar Janmejay would
perform a grand yagya with the objective of destroying the wicked
serpents but the virtuous among them would manage to survive.This
particular incident had occured on panchami and hence it became the
destroyer of all sins.A devotee who worships 'Nag'(serpent) on this day
and offers milk will never be troubled by them.
Describing Kartikeya's
manifestation and how his worship got associated with the auspicious day
of shashthi,sage Mahatapa told king Prajapal-Once,a fierce battle was
between the deities and demons in which the deities got defeated.The
reason behind their defeat was the absence was the absence of an able
commander who could lead them.The deities went to seek the help of lord
Brahma.Being unable to solve their problem,lord Brahma took the deities
to lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva invoked 'Shakti' present within his body and thus manifested
lord Kartikeya.He was named after the six 'Kritikas' who had nurtured
him by feeding their breast milk.Lord shiva then made Kartikeya the
commander of the deities on the auspicious day of shashthi.Under his
able leadership,the deities finally managed to defeat the demons.
A devotee who worships lord Kartikeya on shashthi enjoys prosperity and
gets all his desire fulfilled. A childless couple must worship on this
auspicious day to get blessed with a son.
King Prajapal asked
Mahatapa-"The thought of divine radiance taking the form of human
radiance bewilders me.Please clear my doubts."
Sage Mahatapa replied -"When the almighty God willed to manifest himself
in other tangible forms,an effulgence emanated from his being resulting
into the creation of 'Surya'(The Sun).The whole world became illumined
with Surya's radiance and all the deities dwelling within the body of
Almighty God expressed their gratitude.Initially,unbearable heat
emanated from 'Surya',causing great uncomfort to the deities but later
on Almighty God reduced it to bearable limit at the request of the
deities.Surya had manifested himself on the auspicious day of 'saptami'
hence this particular day became deeply associated with the worship of
Surya.
Continuing with his
narration,sage Mahatapa said -"During ancient times,there lived a mighty
demon named 'Andhakasur'.Andhakasur had become arrogant because of a
boon of immortality received from lord Brahma. Being tormented by
Andhakasur,all the deities went to seek lord Brahma's help.Lord Brahma
took the deities to lord Shiva who agreed to kill the wicked
demon-Andhakasur.
The battle commenced and a fierce dual fight broke out between Lord
Shiva and Andhakasur.Shiva attacked Andhakasur with his trident.Stream
of blood oozed out from the wound,but to Shiva's utter amazement each
drop of blood falling on the ground resulted in into the creation of
numerous Andhakasuras.In a short time the battle field was overcrowded
with countless Andhakasuras.Now,Shiva's anger crossed all limits and he
thundered loudly.Flames emanated from the mouth of enraged Shiva
resulting into the manifestation of goddess 'Yogishwari'.Similarly,seven
more goddesses manifested themselves from different deities- Vaishnavi
from lord Vishnu,Brahmi from lord Brahma,Kaumari from Kartikeya,Mahendri
from Indra,Yami from Yama,Varahi from lord Varah and Maheshwari from
lord Narayan.All these eight goddesses came to be known as 'Matrikas'
and lord assigned them the auspicious day for their worship.A devotee
who worships these eight matrikas on ashtami are blessed.The use of
'bael'(wood-apple)fruit on this day has great significance.
King Prajapal requested sage
Mahatapa to narrate about the manifestation of goddess Durga and the
significance of her worship on navami.Sage Mahatapa replied-The mighty
demon-Vetrasur had driven out deities from the heaven.All the deities
went to lord Brahma and sought his help.As lord Brahma was wondering
about his further course of action,suddenly goddess Durga appeared from
nowhere.She held various weapons in each of her eight arms and was
mounted on a ferocious lion.Lord Brahma was relieved as he was confident
that Goddess Durga would certainly kill Vretasur.Finally,goddess Durga
indeed killed the dreaded demon without much difficulty.Later on,all the
deities requested her to make himalaya mountain as her abode to which
she agreed.This particular place,in course of time became famous as
Nandadevi.One who worships goddess Durga on the auspicious day of navami
gets her blessings.
Having finished the
tale of goddess Durga,sage Mahatapa revealed how all the six directions
came into existence-"Six divine women manifested themselves from both
the ears of lord Brahma during the initial phase of creation.The name of
these six divine women were
Purva(east),Dakshina(south),Paschima(west),Uttara(north),
Urdhva(upwards) and Adhara(downwards).In course of time all of them got
married to six different Lokpals. Lord Brahma assigned the auspicious
day of dashami for their worship.One who worships all these six
goddesses on the auspicious day of dashami is blessed and one who
observes fast on this day gets absolved of all his sins.
Continuing with the
tales of the manifestation of various deities,sage Mahatapa said-"In the
process of doing his creation,lord Brahma bellowed as a result of which
Kubera manifested himself.Lord Brahma assigned kubera the lordship of
all the wealth and prosperity.It was 'ekadashi' when Kubera had
manifested himself,so this particular day has deep association with his
worship.One who observes a fast on the auspicious day of ekadashi never
lives in poverty."
Describing how lord
Vishnu manifested,sage Mahatapa told Prajapal -"Narayan -the almighty
God incarnated as lord Vishnu to nurture all the living creatures
inhabiting the world.Eventually,lord Vishnu entrusted the job of world's
welfare to goddess Yoganidra and himself went into his meditative
sleep.While he was still in his meditative sleep,a lotus flower emanated
from his navel.Lord Brahma was seated on that lotus flower.
The almighty God was
delighted to see himself in the incarnation of Vishnu.He blessed Vishnu
by saying- 'May you destroy all kind of ignorance with the help of your
sword.Hold this chakra I am giving you,to sever the evil influences of
'kaal-chakra'(wheel of time).May all the sins be destroyed by your
mace.May the deity-Vayu adorn your hand in the form of a conch and
vaijyanti mala in your neck.May the Sun and Moon adorn your person in
the form of shrivatsa and kaustubh diamonds.May Garuda be your mount and
goddess Laxmi your consort.May people desirous of salvation worship you
on the auspicious day of dwadashi.One who worship you on this day will
definitely attain to the heaven.'
Sage Mahatapa then
told king Mahapal about the manifestation of Dharma and the significance
of trayodashi-'Dharma manifested himself from the right part of almighty
God and appeared like a bullock. The almighty God instructed him to
protect the mankind from all evils and sins.All the four feet of Dharma
signified four various virtues-truth,purity,penance and charity.In
satyayuga,Dharma was four footed-all the four virtues were prevalent
during that era.In treta yuga,the feet reduced to three.The subsequent
eras of dwapar and kaliyuga saw the further decline in virtuosity in
which Dharma had two feet and one foot respectively.'
'Once,a fierce battle was fought between the deities and demons.The bone
of contention was a woman for whom both the side made claims.Dharma
intervened and solved the contentious issue to the satisfaction of both
the warring sides.Lord Brahma was very impressed by the deftness with
which Dharma had handled such a tough situation and blessed him by
saying-I am assigning the auspicious day of tryodashi to you.One who
observes a fast and worship you on this day will be liberated from all
his sins.'
Sage Mahatapa then
went on to describe the incident that led to the manifestation of lord
Rudra and the significance of chaturdashi-'In the beginning of
creation,when lord Brahma failed in his repeated attempts to create,he
became frustrated.Frustration turned into fury and from his fury
manifested a divine entity who cried incessantly.Lord Brahma tried to
stop him from crying and said-tvam ma rud(don't cry).This is how lord
Rudra got his name.Lord Brahma then requested Rudra to commence creation
but since Rudra lacked the power needed for doing creation therefore he
refused and went to do penance.Later on, lord Brahma created his
manasputras and other living creatures.Daksha Prajapati was one of these
manasputras.Once,he had organised a grand yagya in which all the deities
and even the demons had been invited.'
Meanwhile,Rudra's
penance was disturbed by the constant chanting of the mantras at the
yagya performed by Daksha Prajapati.Rudra was infuriated resulting into
the emanation of flames from his mouth.Eventually these fire-balls got
transformed into ferocious spirits and ghosts.Rudra then reached the
place where the yagya was being performed and with the help of all the
spirits and ghosts started destoying the oblation site.It was only after
lord Brahma's intervention that Rudra calmed down.All the deities then
eulogized Rudra and sought his blessings. One who worships lord Rudra on
the auspicious day of chaturdashi becomes absolved of all his sins.
Describing the
importance of amavasya,sage Mahatapa told Prajapal-"Once,while lord
Brahma was just about to commence the process of creation,suddenly
'tanmatras'(subtle forms of matter) revealed themselves from his
mind.All of them being extremely virtuous were eager to go up in the sky
to do penance byt lord Brahma requested them to become the
'pitras'(ancestors)of the human beings.All the tanmatras then requested
Brahma to make arrangement for their sustenance.Lord Brahma blessed them
by saying-'I assign to you the auspicious day of amavasya.Anybody who
performs the rituals of 'tarpan'(libation) on this day would become
absolved of his sins.You would sustain yourselves on various things like
water,sesame seeds, and kusha grass which are offered by human beings to
their ancestors on this day.’
Describing the
importance of purnima sage Mahatapa said-"Daksha Prajapati had cursed
Chandrama,his son-in-law for maltreating his daughters.As the fallout of
that curse Chandrama started waning day by day and eventually became
invisible on amavasya.All the deities became worried and went to seek
lord Vishnu's help.Lord Vishnu advised them to get the ocean
churned.While the ocean was being churned,Chandrama once again
manifested himself from the ocean.Lord Brahma then assigned the
auspicious day of purnima to him and blessed him.A devotee should
observe a fast on purnima and worship Chandrama for the attainment of
kowledge,prosperity aswell as salvation.
This section
contains 10 sections as follows:
Matsya-dwadashi is
celebrated on the twelfth day of hindu month-Margashirsh.On this
auspicious day a devotee should worship lord Matsya -the incarnation of
lord Vishnu with appropriate rituals and give charity to
brahmins.Prithvi was the first one to observe this particular austerity
while she was being abducted to rasatala by a mighty demon named
Hiranyaksha.A devotee who observes a fast on this day and worships lord
Matsya with appropriate rituals attains to Brahma loka and remains their
for eternity. Such a person attain's a divine body when creation
recommences after the period of deluge.An issue-less woman is blessed
with a virtuous son if she observes a fast on this day.Matsya-dwadashi
is capable of absolving a man even of the gravest of his sin.
This particular
austerity is dedicated to the worship of lord Kurma-the incarnation of
lord Vishnu.It is celebrated on the twelfth day of the bright half of
the hindu month 'pausha'.The austerity which commences on the tenth day
itself when a devotee is supposed to purify himself by taking a holy
bath.On the following day he observes a fast and worships lord Kurma
with appropriate rituals.He breaks his fast on dwadashi which marks the
conclusion of the austerity.A devotee who observes a fast on this
auspicious day becomes absolved of all his sins and attains salvation.
Varah dwadashi is
celebrated on the twelfth day of the bright half of the hindu
month-magh.This was the day on which Prithvi had been rescued by lord
Varah-the incarnation of lord Vishnu.An idol of lord Varah is installed
on a pot filled with water and worshipped with appropriate rituals
amidst the continuous chanting of the mantra-'om varahay
namah'.Offerings of various articles are made while worshipping lord
Varah-sandal- wood,incense, naivedya,etc.After the accomplishment of the
rituals brahmins are fed and charity given to them.One who observes a
fast on this day enjoys a good health and prosperity.Such a man becomes
absolved of all his sins and attains to heaven after his death.
This austerity is
observed on the twelfth day of the bright half of the hindu
month-phalgun.A devotee should observe fast on this day and worship lord
Nrisimha with appropriate rituals.This particular austerity is capable
of absolving a man from all his sins.
Vaman dwadashi is
celebrated on the twelfth day of the bright half of the hindu
month-chaitra.A devotee should observe a fast and worship lord Vaman by
saying the following prayer-O Lord!Vaman-the dwarfish incarnation of the
almighty Vishnu,who took incarnation on the auspicious day of dwadashi
in the month of chaitra-I seek your blessings."One who observes a fast
on this day is blessed and protected from all kinds of danger.
This austerity is
related with the worship of lord Parshuram who is also famous as
Jamdagnya.It is cele- brated on the twelfth day of the bright half of
the hindu month-vaishakh.Before commencing the rituals, a devotee should
purify himself by taking a bath and then worship an idol of lord
Parshuram kept on a pot filled with water.While worshipping he should
make offerings of various articles tothe deity-flowers,
sandalwood,ardhya,etc.It is mandatory to remain awake for the whole
night.On the following day,he should donate the idol to a brahmin.A
devotee who observes a fast on this day gets all his wishes fulfilled
and attains to Brahma loka.
A devotee should
commence this austerity by observing a fast on the eleventh day of the
bright half of the hindu month-bhadrapad and break it on the following
day-dwadashi.He should worship lord Kalki with appropriate rituals.As
per the norms of the rituals,the idol of lord Kalki is placed on a pot
which is filled with water.This idol is donated to a learned brahmin on
the following day-trayodashi.
This austerity is
related with the worship of lord Padmanabh-an epithet of lord Vishnu and
is observed on the twelfth day of the bright half of the hindu
month-ashwin.One important charecteristic of the ritual is that all the
organs of lord Padmanabh is worshipped.The idol is placed on a pot
filled with water and while worshipping offerings of various articles
are made-flowers,fruits,sandalwood,etc.On the following day the idol is
donated to a brahmin.One who observes a fast on this day enjoys a
prosperous life and attains to the abode of lord Padmanabh.
This particular austerity is observed in the hindu month of Kartik.The
rituals commence by worshipping various organs of lord Narayan amidst
the chanting of different mantras which are as follows-
?
om sahastra shirse namah - head
?
om purushay namah - arms
?
om vishwa rupine namah - throat
?
om gyanastray namah - weapons
?
om shri vatsaaya namah - chest
?
om jagad grasishnave namah - abdomen
?
om divya murtaye namah - waist
?
om sahastra paday namah - feet.
Similarly,srikrishna dwadashi is celebrated in the hindu month of
Ashadh,shukla- paksha.A devotee should worship lord Krishna on this day
and observe a fast.
Lord Buddha is believed to be the
incarnation of Lord Vishnu.The austerity begins on the eleventh day of
the bright half of the hindu month-shravan.On this day lord Vishnu is
worshipped with appropriate rituals and by making offerings of various
articles like flowers,fruits,incense,etc.The following mantras should be
chanted while worshipping the various organs of lord Vishnu -
?
om damodaray
namah - feet
?
om hrishikeshay
namah - waist
?
om sanatanay
namah - abdomen
?
om shri
vatsadharine namah - chest
?
om chakrapanaye
namah - arms
?
om haraye namah
- throat
?
om manju keshay
namah - head
?
om bhadray namah
- top-knot(shikha).
After the
accomplishment of the rituals, the idol should be donated to a brahmin.
This section
contains 10 sections as follows:
This particular
austerity on the first day of the hindu month-margashirsh.It is related
with the worship of lord Vishnu and the rituals have some special
characteristics-having one meal on the eleventh day of the
month(ekadashi),donating barley to brahmins,worshipping the idol of
goddess Prithvi on 'ekadashi', etc.The austerity concludes on dwadashi.
On ekadashi,goddess Prithvi is also worshipped alongwith lord
Vishnu.Both the idols are installed side by side and covered with white
clothes.After that some rice grains are scattered in front of both the
idols. As per the norms of the rituals,a devotee is required to remain
awake for the whole night.Next morning,he should invite twenty-four
brahmins and feed them.He should also donate a cow,apparels,ornaments,an
umbrella,woodden sandle and similar articles to them.A devotee who
observes a fast on this auspicious day enjoys prosperity.
This particular
austerity is a form of 'nakta-vrata',which means observing fast for the
whole day and breaking it in the night.The austerity commences on the
first day of the bright half of the hindu month-aghan and lasts for a
year.Rituals include worshipping Agnideva-an embodiment of lord
Vishnu,chanting of certain mantras praising the glory of the deity and
performing 'havan'.There are specific instructions on the type of food a
devotee should have during the course of this austerity-for four
months(chaitra to ashadh) he should have delicacies like 'kheer'
seasoned in pure ghee.From shravan to kartik he should have food-items
prepared from gram-flour. This way,the austerity lasts for one year
whereby a devotee observes fast on the first day of every month that
follows.The austerity concludes by worshipping an idol of lord Agni made
of gold.The idol is adorned with a piece of red-cloth and red-flowers
are offered to the deity while worshipping.After the rituals are
accomplished,the idol should be donated to a brahmin.The observance of
this particular austerity brings good fortune to a man and makes him
prosperous.
This austerity is
related with the worship of sri Krishna and Balaram.It commences on the
second day of the bright half of the hindu month-kartik and lasts for a
year whereby a devotee observes fast on the second day(bright half) of
every month that follows.While worshipping Balarama,a devotee should
chant-'om baldevay namah'and while worshipping sri Krishna he should
chant-'om keshavay namah'. Subsequently,'ardhya'is offered to both the
deities.A devotee should have food prepared from barley-flour in the
night but those devotees who have resolved to observe this austerity for
four months beginning from 'falgun' should live only on
'kheer'.Offerings of rice and sesame seeds are made in the sacrificial-
fire during the months of 'aghan' and 'kartik' respectively. The rituals
conclude by worshipping the deity 'Chandrama'at the end of the
year.Finally all the three idols (sri Krishna,Balram and Chandrama)
should be donated to brahmins.A devotee who observes this austerity is
bestowed with a charming personality.
This austerity
commences on the third day of the bright half of the hindu month-falgun
and lasts for a year whereby a devotee observes fast on the third
day(bright half) of every month that follows.According to the tradition
a devotee can either worship 'Shiva-Parvati' or 'Sri Hari-Laxmi on this
auspicious day. While worshipping,the devotee should chant the following
mantras-om gambhiray namah, om saubhagyay namah,om devdevay namah,om
trinetray namah,om vachaspataye namah,om rudray namah,etc.One important
feature of the rituals is making offerings of honey and ghee to the
sacrificial fire.During the course of the rituals,a devotee should have
food prepared from pure cereals preferably wheat. After the rituals are
accomplished at the end of the year,the idols should be donated to
brahmins.One who observes this austerity is blessed with good fortune in
his successive seven births.
As the name
implies,this austerity clears all the obstacles faced by a man.It
commences on the fourth day of the bright half of the hindu month-falgun
and lasts for four months whereby a devotee observes fast on the fourth
day(bright half) of every month that follows.One important
characteristic of this austerity is the importance and use of sesame
seeds in it's rituals.It is not only the chief constituent of the diet
but it is also offered in the sacrificial fire and donated to the
brahmins as well.After observing this austerity for four months,a
devotee should conclude it by worshipping lord Ganesh in the fifth month
and donating the Ganesh-idol to a brahmin alongwith five pots filled
with sesame seeds.While worshipping lord Ganesh,he should chant the
following mantras-om shooray namah, om dhiray namah,om gajananay
namah,om lambodaray namah,om ekdanshtray namah,etc.A devotee thus
becomes free from all kind of obstacles and all his wishes are
fulfilled.
This austerity
commences on the fifth day of the bright half of the hindu month-kartik
and lasts for a year whereby a devotee observes fast on the fifth
day(bright half) of the every month that follows.It is related with the
worship of lord Vishnu and Sheshnag.A devotee should abstain from hot
and spicy food during the course of this austerity.Lord Vishnu's idol is
purified by chanting mantras and by performing ablution with
milk.Offerings of sesame seeds and milk are made in the sacrificial
fire.After the accomplishment of the rituals at the year end,brahmins
are invited and fed.Finally,the idol of Sheshnag is donated to one of
them.A devotee who performs this austerity becomes free from all kinds
of turbulence in his life and experiences peace and tranquility.
This austerity is
related with the worship of lord Kartikeya and is observed in the bright
half of the hindu month-pausha.On the sixth day of this month,a devotee
is expected to live on nothing else but fruits.Lord Kartikeya is also
known by several other names-Shadanan,Senani,Kritikasut,Kumar,Skand,etc.
The austerity concludes by feeding the brahmins at the year end and
making donations to them.A devotee who observes this austerity gets all
his wishes fulfilled.
This austerity is
related with the worship of lord Surya Narayan who is also known by
several other names like
Aaditya,Bhaskar,Ravi,Bhanu,Diwakar,Prabhakar,etc.A devotee should
observe a fast on the seventh day of any month and worship lord
Suryanarayan.The fast should be broken on the next day-ashtami.A devotee
can continue this ritual for one year following the above mentioned
rituals. A devotee who observes the rituals of this austerity becomes
free from all kind of diseases and enjoys a healthy life.
This austerity
commences on the eighth day of the bright half of the hindu
month-bhadrapad.The rituals consist of taking a 'sankalp' on the
preceding day(saptami)and worshipping lord sri Hari on the next day with
appropriate rituals.Offerings are made to the sacrificial fire,which
usually consist of articles like barley,sesame seeds,ghee,etc.The
austerity concludes by feeding the invited brahmins and making donations
to them.This way,the austerity continues for a year whereby a devotee
observes fast on 'ashtami' of every month.A sonless person is blessed
with a son if he observes this austerity with total devotion .This
austerity,which is popularly known as 'Krishna ashtami'also helps a
devotee to become absolved of gravest of sin.
Shaurya and Sarva
Bhaum vrata is related with the worship of goddess Durga and is observed
on the nineth day of the bright half of the hindu month-ashvin.The
rituals commence by taking a 'sankalp' as well as observing a fast on
the preceding day(saptami).The fast is broken on the next day(ashtami)
by having fruits.Cereals are excluded from the diet.One important aspect
of this austerity is the worship of virgin girls along with goddess
Durga.One who observes the rituals of this austerity attains power
valour and strength. Sarva bhaum vrata is related with the worship of
all the ten directions,considered as goddesses.A fast is observed on the
tenth day of the bright half of the hindu month-kartik and lasts for a
year whereby a devotee observes fast on the tenth day(bright half) of
every month that follows.One important charecteristic of this fast is
that it is broken at the end of the day by having rice and curd.Making
sacrifices in the name of all the ten directions are the inseparable
part of this austerity.A devotee,who observes this austerity lasting for
a year remains invincible in whatever he does.
This section
contains 5 sections as follows:
As the name
implies,an idol of a cow made from powdered sesame seeds is donated to a
brahmin.The idol should weigh not less than sixteen 'prasthas'(one
prastha=four kudav,ancient units of weight measurment) Similarly,a
calf's idol made from powdered sesame seeds and weighing four
'prasthas'is donated to a brahmin.Apart from these idols ofcow and calf
a devotee should also donate'deer-skin'. While donating these things,he
should pray in the following way-'O Til dhenu!Bless me so that I enjoy
prosperity and never experience scarcity of any kind in my life.'The
brahmin receiving the donation should express his gratitude in the
following way-O goddess! I am receiving you in all humility.Bless and
nurture my whole family.'A person who donates 'Til Dhenu'get's all his
wishes fulfilled and attains to Vishnu loka after his death.
The method of
donating 'Jal Dhenu' is as follows-first of all small area of land is
purified by coating it with cow dung and place two small pots are placed
at the centre.These pots are filled with different things like
water,camphor,sandalwood,etc.The devotee should then imagine goddess Jal
Dhenu and her calf to be dwelling in those pots respectively.Both the
pots are adequately adorned with various articles like
sandalwood,flowers and then worshipped.After the completion of the
rituals both the idols are donated to brahmins.A person who donates Jal
Dhenu or a brahmin who accepts it attains to Vishnu loka after being
absolved of all his sins.
First of all,the
area is purified by coating it with cow-dung after which a black
deer-skin is spread on it alongwith 'kusha grass'.Two pots-one large and
the other a small one are placed side by side.These pots are filled with
sugarcane juice and symbolize 'Rasa-Dhenu' and the calf.Four sugarcanes
symbolizing the four legs of 'Rasa-Dhenu' are fixed at four
corners.After that,one small silver piece is placed at the base of each
of the sugarcanes symbolizing hoofs.Rasa-Dhenu is then adorned with
colourful cloths and flowers.Again,four small pots filled with sesame
seeds are kept at the four corners near Rasa-Dhenu.After the worship is
accomplished,Rasa-Dhenu is donated to a brahmin.A person who donates
Rasa-Dhenu is liberated from all his sins and all his ancestors as well
as the generations to come attain to the Heaven.
As it is amply
clear by the name,in this ritual some jaggery is taken and given the
shape of a cow and a calf.The land is purified by coating it with
cow-dung.After that,a black deer-skin is spread on that purified
area.Some kusha grass are then spread on the dear-skin and covered with
a piece of cloth.Now,both the idols of cow and it's calf are worshipped
with appropriate rituals after which they are donated to brahmins.A
devotee should also should also donate shoes,umbrella and if possible,a
gold ring to brahmins.Donating a Gud-Dhenu enables a man to attain to
such divine world where sages and hermits dwell.By doing thus,he also
liberates his ancestors and the future generations.
In this
ritual,idols of a cow and a calf are made from sugar.After being
worshipped they should be donated to a brahmin.A devotee should live
only on sugar for a day.Donating a Sharkara-Dhenu liberates a man from
all his sins. Similarly,donating Madhu-Dhenu(made from
honey),Kheer-Dhenu(made from rice and
milk),Dadhi-Dhenu(curd),Navneet-Dhenu(made from
butter),Lavan-Dhenu(salt) and Karpas-Dhenu(cotton) are all believed to
bestow incomparable virtues to a devotee.
This section
contains 18 sections as follows:
Describing the
holiness of Kokamukh-teerth,lord Varah narrated a tale to
Prithvi-"Once,a fisherman was trying to catch a large fish in a lake
situated at Kokamukh.Suddenly,a hawk which was flying in the sky,
descended down and after picking the fish in it's beak tried to fly
away.But,as the fish was a large one, the hawk could not hold it for too
long.As a result,the hawk fell on the ground being unable to bear the
weight of the fish.But amazingly,the hawk turned into a handsome prince
as soon as it touched the ground."
"In the meantime,the fisherman's wife arrived there carrying some
meat-pieces in her hand.A kite,which was flying in the sky tried to
snatch those meat-pieces.Seeing this,the fisherman killed that kite with
one shot of his arrow.In course of time,the kite took rebirth as a
princess of Chandrapur.She was extremely beautiful but hated
men.Similarly,the fish was reborn as a prince.As the destiny would have
liked it,both of them got married.There was a dramatic change in the
attitude of the princess after the marriage as she no longer hated
men.On the contrary,she loved her husband so much that she dreaded the
thought of separation for even a moment."
"One day,the prince had a severe headache which showed no sign of
subsiding.The princess became very worried and summoned the royal
physician.The physician left no stone unturned to cure his royal
physician but without any success.Somehow,the prince remembered
everything about his previous birth and had a firm belief that he would
be cured of his illness once he reached Kokamukh-the sacrosanct place of
pilgrimage. So he decided to go there accompanied by the princess."
"Both of them reached a place at Kokamukh where they saw the
remains(skeleton)of a fish lying on the ground.The prince revealed to
his wife that he was a fish in his previous birth and that the skeleton
was his.Then he went on to describe the cause of his headache which
according to him was due to the injury sustained in his past birth when
he had been badly mauled by a hawk.The princess was aware of her past
birth as a kite,so she revealed how she had been killed by a fisherman
in her previous birth.She also told her husband -'Dying at Kokamukh in
my previous birth prove to be a blessing to me as I was reborn as a
princess.Had it not been so,I would certainly have not born as a
princess." "Both of them worshipped lord vishnu and as a result the
prince was cured of his severe headache.Such is the greatness of
Kokamukh-the reliever of all pains and miseries."
Narrating about the
sanctity of Mayapuri,lord Varah told Prithvi- "There lived a brahmin
named Somsharma at Mayapuri.He was a great devotee of mine(lord sri
Hari)and had an impossible desire of witnessing my divine powers by his
mortal eyes.I tried to make him understand about the futility of his
desire but to no avail. Finally I was left with no option but to fulfil
his wish.One day Somsharma had gone to take his bath in the holy
Ganges.Hardly had he taken a dip than he found himself experiencing the
pangs of birth in the womb of a nishad woman.Evidently,lord sri Hari had
began giving a glimpse of his divine powers to Somsharma.It was a
terrible experience for him and he vowed to lead a chaste life as soon
as he came out of the womb."
"Unfortunately,he forgot everything about his vow once he took rebirth
as a girl.In course of time,the girl grew up and married a young
nishad.She had many children from him.One day,the nishad girl who in
reality was Somsharma,went to take a bath in the holy Ganges.As soon as
she entered into the river,she got transformed into a hermit.She was
filled with extreme bewilderment but this was not the end,as there were
more surprises to come."
"The hermit(previously nishad and originally Somsharma)came out of thr
river and looked all around in amazement.He then sat down to meditate
and very soon he was engrossed in his meditation.In the evening,some
sages arrived and said-'Sir! how come you are sitting here?You had gone
to take a bath.We became anxious and started searching for you when you
did not return till evening." "The hermit was bewildered by the turn of
events as he was aware of every incident that had occured.He was also
well aware that he had spent fifty years as nishad-woman but according
to the statements of hermits he had been absent only for few hours.The
hermit was totally confused about his real identity.I(lord Varah) felt
pity on his miserable condition and decided to lift my magic spell.I
asked him whether his wish of witnessing my divine powers had been
fulfilled or not.The hermit eulogized me and agreed that it was
impossible for any mortal to understand the ways of Aimighty.I then
blessed him and transformed him into Somsharma once again."
Such is the grandeur of Mayapuri-the sacrosanct place where lord sri
Hari has manifested his divine powers.A devotee who goes on a pilgrimage
to Mayapuri never gets entangeled in the worldly illusions.
Describing how
Kubjaamrak teerth derived it's name,lord Varah told Prithvi-"In
satyayuga,at the time when the earth was still submerged in water,I had
killed two mighty demons named Madhu and Kaitabh.After killing both the
demons I looked all around and found sage Raimya engrossed in his
penance.Sage Raimya was a great devotee of mine.
I was extremely impressed and watched him hiding myself behind a mango
tree.The mango tree could not bear the weight of my hands and became
curved.This is how Kubjaamrak teerth derived it's name.Very soon,sage
Raimya found out that I was hiding behind that mango tree.He eulogized
me and requested me to to grant a special status to Kubjaamrak teerth
among all the holy places.I blessed him and thus Kubjaamrak teerth
became one of the holiest places.There are several other holy places
situated in the vicinity of Kubjaamrak
teerth-Manas-teerth,Maya-teerth,Sarvakamik- teerth,Purnamukh
teerth,Agni-teerth,Shukra-terth,Manasar teerth,Sapta
samudrak-teerth,etc.All these holy places including Kubjaamrak teerth
are capable of giving salvation to a man."
Continuing with his
tale,lord Varah told Prithvi-"There is a sacred place in the Himalayas
which is very inaccessible.It is famously known as Badrikashram and
holds an important place among all the holy places.One who makes a
pilgrimage to that place gets all his wishes fulfilled.There is a
reservoir at the mountain top called Brahma kund.One who observes fast
for three consecutive nights and takes a holy dip in that reservoir
attains virtues similar to "Agnishtom yagya".One who takes his last
birth in it's vicinity certainly attains to my abode.There are several
other holy places in the vicinity of Badrikashram like Agnisatya pad,
Indra loka,Satya loka,Chatuhsrota,Ved dhar,etc.Ved dhar is the same
place where the vedas had manifested from lord Brahma's mouth.
Mandar teerth is
named after a celestial tree called Mandar.This sacred place of
pilgrimage is situated at the foothills of vindhya mountain.There is a
large mandar tree overthere which has some unique qualities.This tree is
visible only on auspicious days of dwadashi and chaturdashi and becomes
invisible on the rest of the days.Some other holy places situated in the
vicinity of mandar teerth are Prapan,Modan,Baikunthkaran,etc.
There is another holy place called mandar but it is situated on the Meru
mountain.This holy place is also known as'Syamantpanchak'One important
characteristic of this holy place is that there are huge rocks
resembling a mace,a wheel,a plough and a conch.
Chandra deva had
once performed an austere penance to get absolved from the curse of his
Daksha Prajapati his father-in-law.During the course of his penance
Chandra deva made a shiva linga and worshipped it.Finally lord Shiva
appeared and agreed to dwell in that particular shiva linga as per the
request of Chandra deva. There is a reservoir situated to the south of
Someshwar temple which is believed to liberate a man from all his
sins.In course of time this place became famous as Someshwar linga.
Prithvi requested
lord Varah to shed light on the famous penance which sage Shalankayan
had performed.Lord Varah narrated the following tale-"Long long ago sage
Shalankayan did an austere penance to please me(lord Vishnu).There was a
'sal' tree nearby and the sage was ignorant of the fact that I dwell in
that sacred tree.When I appeared,he requested me to bless him with a
divine son who had qualities like lord Shiva.I revealed to him that his
son(Nandikeshwar)had already manifested and was presently staying at
'Vraja'(Mathura).I also revealed to him that although I was present in
the 'sal' tree but he was unware of this fact because of his
ignorance.In course of time,this very place became famous as 'Shalgram
teerth'.A devotee who makes a pilgrimage to this holy place is liberated
from all kinds of worldly bondages."
Lord Varah told
Prithvi-"This holy place is named after Ruru-the daughter of Devadutt
and an apsara named Pramlocha.Devadutt came from the lineage of sage
Bhrigu.Once,Devadutt did an austere penance to please lord Shiva.His
penance continued for ten thousand years.Indra became worried and sent a
beautiful apsara named Pramlocha to disturb his
penance.Unfortunately,Devadutt fell into the trap laid by Indra.He was
infatuated by Pramlocha's divine beauty and enjoyed an intimate life
with her for a long time.Finally,he realized his mistake and regretted
his foolishness.He decided to abandon Pramlocha and recommence his
penance.Ultimately,he was successful in pleasing lord Shiva and
attaining to shiva loka."
"Meanwhile,Pramlocha who was pregnant, gave birth to a girl child and
died.The baby girl was nurtured and brought up by a deer named Ruru
after whom she got her own name.In course of time Ruru after Ruru grew
up and decided to please lord Vishnu by her penance.She did an austere
penance for one hundred years by remaining still at a place.At last
I(lord Vishnu)became pleased by her total devotion and appeared before
her.She requested me to name that place on her.I blessed her and thus
that place became famous as Ruru kshetra."
Lord Shiva told
Prithvi-"Gonishkraman teerth is situated in the himalayas.Sage Aurva had
his hermitage at this sacred place which was incidentally burnt to ashes
by lord Shiva.Aurva cursed Shiva as the result of which Shiva started
wandering throughout the world in a restless manner."
"Once,lord Shiva visited the hermitage of sage Aurvanam accompanied by
his consort-Uma.The purpose of the visit was to seek Aurvanam's help in
curing his restlessness.Sage Aurvanam advised him to have a bath with
the milk of surabhi cow.I(lord Vishnu) then brought down seventy-seven
surabhi cows from the heaven and thus helped Shiva take bath with their
milk.At last,Shiva's reastlessness came to an end and this holy place
became famous as 'Gonishkraman' teerth."
Lord Varah then
went on to describe the greatness of Stootswami teerth and told
Prithvi-"I shall incarnate as Krishna at this place in the era of
dwapar.I shall take birth in the house of Vasudeva and Devaki.There is a
pond situated at about 5 kosas from Stootswami teerth.Anybody who take
holy dips in it's holy water for five days becomes absolved of all his
sins.
Lord Varah told
Prithvi-"There is a holy place called 'Panchsar' in Dwarka.Anybody who
stays there for six days and takes holy dips in 'Panchasar' enjoys all
the pleasures of life.Dwarka is situated at the sea-shore and the
crocodiles living there never trouble people taking their bath.These
crocodiles also have one unique characteristic-they never eat anything
that is offered to them by a sinner but unhesitatingly accept anything
from a virtuous person.There are several other holy places in and around
Dwarka-Panchpind,Hanskunda,Hansteerth,Chakrateerth,Raivatak,
Vishnu-sankaram,etc.Vishnu sankaram is the very place where I,in my
incarnation as Krishna would be killed by a hunter named Jara.
This holy place is
situated between Malay mountain and the ocean. Nearby,there is another
holy place called Sangaman where sri Ram while on his way to lanka had
confronted the ocean.There are also many other sacred places in the
vicinity like Shakrasar, Shurparak,etc.There are hermitages of sri Ram
and Parshuram at Shurparak.
Lord Varaha told
Prithvi-"There is a region inhabited by mlecchas,situated at the
distance of some 30 yojans.This region is surrounded by Himalaya
mountain in it's central as well as southern parts.Lohargal teerth is
situated near this region and is well protected by nature which makes it
very inaccessible. Once,demons tried to invade this holy place but all
of them were killed by me(sri Hari).I also protected Brahma and Rudra
from the wrath of the demons and named that place Lohargal.Lohargal is
the most sacred place of pilgrimage and spread in the area of 25
yojans.It is a self manifested place and has immense religious
significance.
Describing the
majesty of Mathura,lord Varaha told Prithvi- "Mathura is very dear to me
because this is the very place where I shall be taking incarnation as
Krishna.Mathura is the most sacro-sanct place and no other holy place
can be compared to it. There are many other holy places in and around
Mathura-Vishranti, Surya teerth,Koti teerth,Vayu teerth,etc.Each one of
them has it's own religious significance.A holy pond named
'Vatsa-krindan' lies in Mathura region.Anybody taking a holy dip in that
holy pond is certain to attain to the abode of 'Vayu'.In the vicinity
lies Vrindavan,the holiest place which would be witness to many of my
divine plays."
It is situated to
the north of Mathura and lord Bhadreshwar has his dwelling place
overthere.A person who makes a pilgrimage to Chakra teerth and observes
a fast for a day becomes absolved of heinous of sins.
Describing the
origin of 'Kapil Varah'(an idol of lord Varah made by sage Kapil)lord
Varah told Prithvi-"Sage Kapil was a great devotee of mine.He had made
my idol and worshipped it regularly. Later on,Indra acquired it and
started worshipping it.The demon king Ravan took it to lanka after
defeating Indra in a battle.In treta yuga I(sri Ram)defeated him and
made Vibhishan,his brother the king of Lanka.This way,the idol came
under the possession of Vibhishan but he agreed to part with it at my
request.This was how I brought that idol to Ayodhya.After reaching
Ayodhya,I presented it to Shatrughan as a reward for killing Lavanasur.
Later on,while Shatrughan was going to Mathura he carried that idol
along with him."
Lord
Varah,continuing with the description of various holy places told
Prithvi about the magnificence of Govardhan parvat- "Govardhan parvat is
situated near Mathura.It will have great religious importance because it
will witness a great feat of mine in dwapar yuga.I shall lift this
mountain to protect people from the incessant rain caused by Indra.There
are numerous holy places of great religious significance in the vicinity
of Govardhan mountain like Indra teerth,Yama teerth,Varun teerth and
Kuber teerth.There is also a famous fresh-water lake called 'Kadamb
khand'where people perform tarpan of their ancestors."
Lord Varah told
Prithvi about the greatness of Gokarna teerth- "Long long ago there
lived a vaishya named Vasukarn at Mathura. Sushila,his wife was deeply
religious but inspite of that she was issueless.One day,she had gone to
take her bath in river Saraswati where she found many women taking their
bath.The children of these women were playing nearby.Sushila became very
sad and being unable to control her emotions started crying."
"A sage saw her crying and asked her as to what made her so sad. Sushila
narrated her woeful tale to him.The sage took pity on her and advised
her to worship lord Gokarna.The sage said-'You will definitely be
blessed with a son.' Sushila went home and narrated the whole incident
to her husband.Both of them started worshipping lord Gokarna Mahadev
with total devotion.After ten years,a son was born to them. Vasukarn
named that child after lord Gokarna to express his gratitude to the
deity."
"In course of time,Gokarna grew up and got married but even after a long
time he did not have a progeny.So,his father married him to three more
women,one after another, but even this did not prove to be of any help
to Gokarna because he remained a sonless person.This made Gokarna very
sad and he engaged himself in various charitable activities thinking
that the virtues thus attained might bless him in begetting a son.He got
constructed many temples and ordered wells to be dug up for the benifit
of the travellers.Very soon,all his money was spent and he became
worried about the future of his family.So,he decided to go to distant
places to earn wealth." "Once,while on his journey he met a divine
parrot who possessed tremendous knowledge.Gokarna was very much
impressed by the parrot's knowledge.He asked the parrot from where had
it imbibed such divine knowledge.The parrot revealed to him that he was
Shukodar in it's previous birth and was a learned man.He had attained
the form of parrot due to the curse of sage Shukdev. But,sage Shukdev
had been kind enough to allow him to retain all the knowledge in his
next birth.The parrot also told Gokarna how it had been kept inside a
cage by a fowler and requested him to help it out from the captivity."
"Gokarna requested the fowler to give the learned parrot to him. The
fowler agreed but asked for all the virtues attained by Gokarna in
return.Gokarna happily agreed to donate all his virtues and proceeded
with that parrot.Now, Gokarna had become bereft of all his virtues he
had attained so far.Once,while he was on a voyage in connection with his
trade the ship was caught in a severe cyclone and the chances of
survival looked very bleak.All his fellow travellers had a misconception
that they had been struck by the misfortune only because of Gokarna's
sins.The parrot was saddened after hearing what people said about his
master.It decided to help him and flew away towards north.While flying
it found a vishnu temple where many divine women and other creatures had
gathered to worship.The descendants of Jatayu were also among them.The
parrot narrated the woeful tale of his master to all of them.All the
divine birds decided to help Gokarna."
"The divine birds
instructed the parrot to follow them and then flew towards the place
where Gokarna's ship was stranded.Finally, they were successful in
rescuing Gokarna and bringing him back to the same temple.Gokarna
worshipped lord Keshav and performed the rituals of tarpan in the name
of his ancestors.In the meantime,all the divine women also arrived there
to worship.They were pleased to meet Gokarna and gave him divine food to
eat.They also allowed him to stay there for as long as he wished."
"Meanwhile the ship managed to reach the sea shore.Gokarna's companions
met his parents and narrated the whole incident to him. Gokarna's
parents were filled with sorrow at the fate of their son.On the other
hand,Gokarna continued to live in that temple for a long period.He was
worried about his father as it had been a long time since he saw him.He
sent the parrot to bring his news.The parrot flew away to Mathura and
met his father-Vasukarn. Vasukarn thanked the parrot for saving his
son's life.The parrot then flew back on his return journey and gave the
good news to Gokarna."
"One day Gokarna found the divine ladies extremely sad.When asked,they
told him that the king of Ayodhya had destroyed the beautiful gardens of
Mathura and this was the reason for their sadness. Gokarna assured them
that he would convince the king to abandon his evil plan if he got a
chance to meet him.The divine women then provided Gokarna with a divine
aircraft boarded on which he reached Mathura.Gokarna met the king and
managed to convince him against destroying beautiful gardens.The king
was extrtemely impressed by his knowledge and presented great amount of
wealth to him.This way all the divine women became happy once again."
"Gokarna then went home and met his family members.His parents and his
wives were very pleased to see him.Gokarna then got constructed a
shukdev temple to honour his saviour-the learned parrot.It was only
because of that parrot that he could acquire such wisdom and
knowledge.To express his gratitude to the fowler he donated all the
virtues he had acquired by taking bath in the holy confluence(triveni)
because had it not been for the fowler he would never have got the
knowledgeable parrot.Gokarna lived happily for a long time."
This section
contains 5 sections as follows:
Prithvi requested
lord Varah to describe the proper methods of installing various types of
idols. Lord Varah replied that a devotee desirous of making a wooden
idol must select the wood of 'Bassia latifolia' for his purpose.The wood
should be purified and then given shape as per the appearance of the
deity.The idol is then installed in a temple amidst the performance of
appropriate .During installation ceremony various articles like
camphor,vermillion, sandalwood,incense,etc.are offered to the deity.The
swastika mark is a sign of auspiciousness so the devotee must keep this
in mind while giving shape to the idol.
This swastika mark must be carved out on the idol.Similarly,other signs
of lord Vishnu like 'srivatsa' and'kaushtubh' should also be carved out
on the idol.Lord Vishnu is then invoked and requested to dwell within
that idol by chanting mantras.After the deity has been invoked, the
'wood' no longer remains a lifeless structure but it becomes the
embodiment of the deity.The idol is then considered to be fit for
worship.While worshipping, a devotee should offer a bhoga of kheer to
the deity.Burning a ghee or sesame-oil lamp in front of the deity is
considered good.The devotee should then circumambulate around the temple
premise.While circumambulating, he should keep on chanting the sacred
mantra 'om namo narayanay'.The idol thus installed should be worshipped
daily without failure."
"A proficient
sculptor should be chosen to carve out the deity's shape from a pure and
spotless stone.First of all the sculptor should clearly draw the outline
of deity's appearance on the stone with a marker and then carefully
carve it out from the stone.The idol is then purified by sprinkling
'akshat' on the deity's idol.While worshipping a devotee should burn a
ghee lamp and invoke lord Vishnu to dwell in that idol by chanting the
sacred mantra-om namo narayanay.The installation of idol being
complete,he should observe a fast for the whole night.Next morning,after
finishing his daily chores he should put on white clothes and change his
old 'yagyopavit' with a new one.The idol thus made is considered fit to
be worshipped.Purva-bhadrapad is considered to be the best time for the
installation of a stone-idol.During the course of installation
ceremony,a devotee should live either on milk or cereal like barley.The
rituals of worship consist of numerous activities like lighting four
lamps in front of the deity,keeping four small pots each filled up with
articles like 'panchagavya',water,sandalwood and milk.The rituals of
worship are considered to be incomplete without the chantings of vedic
mantras."
"A devotee should
carefully make a beautiful earthen idol without any sign of crack.The
most auspicious time for the installation of an earthen idol is said to
be during 'shravan nakshatra'.An invocation is made to the deity to
dwell within the idol after which ablution of the idol is performed with
the help of various articles like holy
water,panchagavya,sandalwood,etc.The rituals of worship are similar to
that of woodden or stone-idol."
"The best time for the installation of copper idol is said to be during
'chitra' nakshatra.The idol should be installed facing north and should
be purified with the help of holy water, panchagavya,etc.Then the deity
is invoked to dwell within the idol.The invocation is made by chanting
sacred mantras.Now,the idol is fit to be worshipped.The rituals are same
as mentioned earlier."
"The most
auspicious time for the installation of bronze-idol is said to be during
jyeshtha nakshatra.The idol should be installed facing north.At the time
of installation the devotee must not forget to keep four small pots in
front of the deity,each filled with articles
like'panchgavya''water,sandalwood and honey.The rituals of invocation as
well as worship are same as mentioned earlier."
"The rituals for
the installation of silver or gold idols are similar to that of copper
or bronze idol. Prithvi requested lord Varah to reveal the name of
deities whom a devotee can worship at home.Lord Vishnu replied-"A
devotee can worship any deity at hom e but worship of two shiva lingas
is prohibited.Similarly,a devotee should never worship three shaligrams
or three durga idols or two surya idols.A devotee should also never
worship shaligrams adding up to odd numbers- 3,5,7,etc.But,there is no
harm in worshipping one shaligram.A devotee must never worship broken or
cracked idol because it does not bode well for the worshipper.A 'chakra'
mark on the shaligram is considered as very auspicious and it can be
worshipped even if the idol is broken or cracked.The virtues attained by
worshipping twelve shaligrams are similar to that of worshipping twelve
crore shiva lingas.Partaking of 'charnamrit' that has been offered to
shaligram absolves a man from all his sins.But,a devotee should never
partake any 'prasad' that has been offered to shiva linga. Anybody who
either buys or sells a shaligram is certain to go to hell."
This section
contains 4 sections as follows:
Prithvi requested
lord Varaha to define the meaning of 'Pitra' yagya(rituals pertaining to
last rite) and it's significance. Lord Varaha replied-"Sage Nimi was the
first person to perform the the rituals of pitra-yagya after the death
of his son Aatreya.Sage Aatreya is famous for his penance which he did
for ten thousand years.When Aatreya died,his father-Nimi was filled with
grief.Nimi tried his best to overcome his sorrow but to no avail.He
mourned his son's death for three consecutive nights.He thought that
perhaps the performance of 'shraddh' rituals would be the best means to
get rid of his sorrow.So,he decided to perform the 'shraddh' rituals on
the twelfth day of 'magh'.On that day,he invited many brahmins and fed
them with the same delicacies which Aatreya would have liked to eat.He
performed all the rituals well within a day which would otherwise have
taken a week to perform.He also performed the rituals of 'pinda daan' by
donating cereals,vegetables and fruits.While performing the rituals of
pinda-daan,he took some kusha grass in his hands and after pointing it
towards south chanted Aatreya's name and gotra.In the night,Nimi sat on
the seat of deer skin underneath which kusha grass had been spread.He
then tried to concentrate on the tip of the nose.But,inspite of all his
efforts there was no sign of mental peace he was so desperately seeking
and thought of his dead son continued to torment him."
"Nimi was troubled by a guilt that perhaps he had set a bad precedent by
performing the rituals of pinda daan because nobody in the past had ever
performed the rituals.He was worried as to what would the coming
generation think of him.He was so much troubled by the thought that he
could not sleep for the whole night.Next morning he got up,still
worried.He remained in a disturbed state of mind for many days.At
last,when it became too much for him to handle,he decided to end his
life.In the meantime,sage Narad arrived there and assured him that there
was nothing to be worried about as whatever he had done was most
appropriate.Narad also convinced him that even his(Nimi's)dead father
would vouch for this fact."
"Nimi remembered his father who had died long ago.His father revealed to
him that the rituals which he had performed were in fact the rituals of
'pitra-yagya'.Describing the importance of pitra-yagya Nemi's father
told him- 'The name pitra-yagya' was given by none other than lord
Brahma himself who was the first one to perform the rituals.Later
on,lord Brahma had described the rituals to Narad and this is why Narad
was convinced that you had committed no wrong.Nemi's father then
described as to what should be done with regard to the person who lay
dying- 'When the death approaches a person looses his consciousness and
becomes extremely fearful.At that time,a brahmin should constantly study
the scriptures so that he could die in peace.Donating a cow helps to
pacify the soul of a dead person.If sacred mantras are whishpered in the
ears of a dying person he dies peacefully.When the death seems
imminent,a morsel of 'Madhupark'(mixture of curd,water,honey and
clarified butter) should be kept in the mouth of the dying person.While
doing this one should pray to the almighty to liberate the dead man's
soul.' 'The dead body should then be carried and kept under a tree where
it is purified by smearing ghee,oil,perfumes,etc.It is then carried to
creamation ground and kept at the bank of a river-feet pointing towards
south.After this,the dead body should be bathed by remembering all the
sacred places of pilgrimage.It should then be kept on the pyre-feet
pointing south.The pyre should be lit and the following prayer should be
said-O Agnideva!I pray to you to burn all the sins committed by this
person so that he attains to heaven.Now,circumambulation around the pyre
is made and the pyre is lit towards the head side.'
'After consigning
the dead body to flames,the rituals of 'tarpan' and 'pinda-daan' are
performed.All the people assembled there should purify themselves before
returning home.The period starting from the time the dead body is
consigned to flames till the next ten days is called 'Ashaucha'.It is
applicable to all the relatives coming from the same gotra of the
deceased.'
'Ashaucha' means
impurity,so it is the period during which the son of the deceased is
considered to be impure.The period begins from the day on which the
death has occured and continues for the following ten days.'Pinda-daan'
means offering certain kind of food to the deceased in the belief that
it would satiate his soul.
Lord Varah,while describing about the rituals which are supposed to be
performed during the period of ashaucha and also the rituals of making
pinda daan,told Prithvi-"The observer of shraddh rituals should take his
bath in a river on the third day from the day on which death has
occured.After taking his bath,he should offer three 'pindas'(consisting
of cereal flour) as well as three palmful of water into the river in the
name of the deceased.On the fourth,fifth,sixth and seventh days,he
should make offerings of one pinda and one palmful of water in the name
of the deceased. He should never make offerings of the Pindas at the
same place on the contrary he should select diferent spots for this
purpose."
"On the tenth day he should get his hair tonsured and change his
clothes. His relatives (same-gotra) should take their bath after
applying an ointment prepared from sesame seeds, amla and oil on their
bodies. 'Ekodishta Shraddh' is performed on the eleventh day. For this
ritual to be performed, the concerned person should first purify himself
and then offer Pinda to the deceased person as well as other manes. The
rituals of Ekodishta Shraddh are same for all the four castes. The
brahmins should be invited and fed on the thirteenth day. While feeding
the brahmins a religious vow (Sankalpa) is taken in the name of the
deceased person."
"For the purpose of offering 'pinda', an 'altar' should be made at
river-bank or any other suitable place. The rituals can be performed
either facing south or east. Offering 64 (Pindas) is considered to be
ideal. Pinda daan can also be made under a peepal tree but the place
should be well protected from the reach of animals like dogs, cock,
pigs, etc. It is believed that if these animals visit the place where
'Pinda daan' is being made then it becomes difficult for the soul to
attain liberation. The rituals of Pinda daan should be performed at a
pure place otherwise there is a fear of soul going to hell. The name and
the gotra of the deceased person should be pronounced while performing
the rituals. After the rituals are complete all the assembled persons
may sit down to have their meal."
Donating things like an umbrella, clothes, cereals, ornaments to the
brahmins are believed to be auspicious.
Prithvi requested
Lord Varaha to describe about the mistakes committed during shraddh
rituals and how they could be prevented--
Lord Varah replied---It is a grave sin to partake of a meal meant for
the soul of the deceased person. Anybody who has committed this sin
should atone for his sin by observing a fast for full day and a night.
He also has to perform many other rituals like taking bath in a river
flowing eastward, performing tarpan, making offerings of sesame seeds
into the fire, Shanti path, Mangal path etc. Partaking of 'Pancha-gavya'
(a mixture of cow's milk, cow's urine,cow-dung, curd and charified
butter) or 'Madhupark' is also believed to purify such a person."
"Similarly, showing disrespect to the invited brahmins is also
considered to be a grave sin. Donating articles to unworthy brahmins is
also considered to be an inappropriate act. The performer of Shraddh
should refrain from all these acts."
While describing
the method of preparing Madhupark, Lord Varaha told Prithvi--"Madhupark"
manifested from the right half of my body at the time when the process
of creation began. This is the reason why it is so pure. Anybody who
makes offering of Madhupark in the course of my worship,attains to my
abode. For the preparation of Madhupark honey, curd and ghee are mixed
in equal proportion. While preparing it sacred mantras in my praise
should be constantly chanted. Giving some Madhupark to a dying man
liberates his soul."
This section
contains 4 sections as follows:
Once, Janmejay
asked Sage Vaishampayan about Yamrajpuri and it's location. He also
wanted to know as to what should a man do so that he does not have to go
there.
Sage Vaishampayan narrated the tale of Nachiketa, one of the few blessed
persons to have visited yamarajpuri with his mortal body--"Long Long
ago, there lived a Sage named Uddyalak. He had a son named Nachiketa.
One day, while Uddyalak was performing a'Yagya', Nachiketa arrived there
and disturbed him by repeatedly asking-'To whom will you give me?' Sage
Uddyalak, in a fit of rage cursed Nachiketa to go to hell. But after he
cooled down, he regretted for having cursed his dear son. Nachiketa
being an obedient son was ready to go to hell. His father tried his best
to convince him against doing this but to no avail. Nachiketa assured
his father that he would return safely after visiting Yampuri."
"Thus, Nachiketa went to Yampuri and met Yamaraj---the lord of death. He
stayed there for some days and witnessed all the events taking place
over there. Ultimately he sought yamaraj's permission to return. When he
returned home, his father was extremely delighted to find his son alive.
Very soon, the place was thronged by many people and everybody was
curious to know about his experiences during his stay in the hell.
Nachiketa replied--Sinners like liars, greedy people, jealous people,
caluminators, treacherers etc, go to hell. Similarly, one who kills a
child or a woman, or kills a brahmin, or one who criticizes the Vedas,
or lends money on interest, or one who abandons his parents or faithful
wife, or one who ciritizes his guru, or one who sells liquor, or a
brahmin who sells Vedas, goes to hell and tastes the fruits of his sinul
actions."
"Yamapuri is made of gold and spread in the area of one thousand yojan.
It is well fortified and it is impossible for anybody to tresspass its
territory. I saw sinners experiencing unbearable torture over there. I
also saw couple of rivers flowing there--Pushpodaka, at the bank of
which there are trees in abundance and Vaivaswati, which flows through
the central part of Yamapuri. Vaivaswati contains divine water which
never dries up. Yamapuri has two entrances---one through which only
virtuous souls like sages and hermits are allowed to enter and the
second through which sinners enter Yamapuri. The former entrance is such
that even heat loses its quality in its vicinity. The latter entrance is
situated in the south and has a large iron gate. I also saw three large
ditches called 'Audoombar', 'Avirchiman' and 'Uchchavach' which are
meant for the sinners. Sinners are also forced to pass through the
flames that continuously keep on errupting to the west of Yamapuri.
"I saw a grand
assembly hall where truthful and virtuous people live. It is graced by
the presence of sages like Manu, Vyas, Atri, Gautam, Angira, Bhrigu and
others. There, I saw a goddess who is worshipped by Yamaraj. The goddess
controls all the functions of the world. I also saw the ferocious Kala.
He possesses extreme anger and is very powerful. Time does not have any
influence on him as the result of which he enjoys eternal youth. I also
saw various types of demons and giants in the hell."
I saw many messengers of Yamaraj punishing the sinners. Some were
beating the sinners with sticks in their hands while some sinners were
being forced to enter fire. I saw all the sinner wailing and repenting
for their sinful deeds. Many sinners were kept at a very dark place
where there was no light. Those who had committed graver sins were put
in boiling oil. I saw many sinners being given all sorts of severe
punishment. I saw a place where iron nails were spread all around. This
was the place where people who breached the modesty of women were given
punishment."
"I saw ten different hells--Tapta, Mahatapt, Raurav, etc; Each of the
latter is more ferocious than the former. The sinners are sent to all
these hells on the basis of the gravity of their sins. Yamaraj himself
instructs chitragupta on the punishment to be given to these sinners."
Karma Vipak means
the fruits one reaps according to his or her Karma. While continuing
with the description of various aspects of hell, Nachiketa told the
assembled sages--At yamapuri, Chitragupta goes through the record of all
the deeds, committed by a man when he was alive and brings into the
notice of Yamaraj.
Yamaraj then decides upon the punishment to be given to the concerned
soul. The punishment can be varied like if the soul was virtuous then it
would be sent to heaven, or the soul may even be made to take birth as a
tree, or an animal or any other creature. Sinners like those who had
remained disinclined towards any kind of virtuous deed, or those who had
abandoned there faithful wives, were sent to the hell named Raurav. The
souls of virtuous people were sent to the heaven. Those who had extreme
attachment to women took rebirth as human beings. People who had
attained martyrdom while fighting a battle were sent to Indrapuri. Those
who had engaged themselves in virtuous deeds throughout their lives were
rewarded for their good deeds."
First of all,the
area is purified by coating it with cow-dung after which a black
deer-skin is spread on it alongwith 'kusha grass'.Two pots-one large and
the other a small one are placed side by side.These pots are filled with
sugarcane juice and symbolize 'Rasa-Dhenu' and the calf.Four sugarcanes
symbolizing the four legs of 'Rasa-Dhenu' are fixed at four
corners.After that,one small silver piece is placed at the base of each
of the sugarcanes symbolizing hoofs.Rasa-Dhenu is then adorned with
colourful cloths and flowers.Again,four small pots filled with sesame
seeds are kept at the four corners near Rasa-Dhenu.After the worship is
accomplished,Rasa-Dhenu is donated to a brahmin.A person who donates
Rasa-Dhenu is liberated from all his sins and all his ancestors as well
as the generations to come attain to the Heaven.
Narad asked Yamaraj
about the reason why joy was so elusive to human beings. He also wanted
to know about the reasons for man's sorrows.
Yamaraj replied---Man's destiny is defined by his own actions. He has to
taste the fruits of his actions. He has to taste the fruits of his each
and every actions. So when a man finds himself amidst sorrows he must
realize that he is reaping the fruits of his past actions. If a man
commits virtuous deeds then joy is experienced but sinful deeds invite
sorrows and miseries. Desires force a man to take countless birth. A man
takes birth on the basis of his past Karmas. God does not interfere in
this matter. So, only foolish people curse God for their miseries.They
forget that their sorrows are of their own making. A man can liberate
himself from sins by engaging in virtuous deeds and abstaining from
sinful deeds. A man should perform his duties with a sense of
detachment,because attachment results into the transmigration of the
soul.
Lord Brahma has declared that 'Shishumar chakra' is the symbolic
expression of his own self. Anybody desirous of getting liberated from
his sins must make an image of this chakra and worship it. One who
visualises this chakra within his body, too, becomes liberated from his
sins. Mental worship of various planets (Jupiter, Venus, Mercury,
Saturn, Mars etc) Visualized at the various points of this chakra helps
a man to become liberated from all the sins. Similarly, practising
Pranayam for hundred times helps a man to become liberated from all the
sins.The most easiest way to become liberated from sins is by engaging
oneself in the servitude of a cow. This deed is as virtuous as making
pilgrimages to all the sacred places together. Observing fast on
Ekadashi also helps a man to become liberated from his sins." Having
finished his narrations, Nachiketa, looked at the sages, who were
listening with rapt attention. The sages thanked Nachiketa for
enlightening them on the sacred place called Yamapuri.
This section
contains 12 sections as follows:
The famous battle
of 'Tarakamaya' had ended. The deities after having defeated the demons
had once again regained the control of heaven. Lord Brahma being
satisfied with the postive outcome of the war was engrossed in his
meditation when Sanat Kumar arrived and asked--"O Lord! I am anxious to
know about the origin of three famous Shiva lingas--Uttar-Gokarn,
Dakshin-Gokarn and Shringeshwar. What made Lord Shiva to take the form
of a deer (Gokarn)? Please enlighten me on all these subjects."
Lord Brahma replied--The northern peak of Mandarachal mountain is
famously known as Munjawan. This place is divinely beautiful and the
stones and rocks over there glitter like diamonds. It has many rivers,
lakes and springs. The atmosphere overthere is so serene that even the
deities are tempted to have their abodes at that place. This sacred
place is graced by the presence of 'Sthanu Maheshwar'.
Nandi-- the lord of all the Ganas of Shiva, was a virtuous brahmin in
treta yuga. Once, he did an austere penance to realize lord Shiva. The
penance lasted for one thousand years. At last Lord Shiva became pleased
and appeared before him. Lord Shiva blessed Nandi with an appearance
similar to him(Shiva).
Lord Shiva said-- From today onwards you will be blessed with three eyes
just like me. You will be worshipped by the deities and demons alike.
You will be immortal and time and age will have no effect upon you. You
are being granted with the lordship of all my Ganas. It will be your
duty to stand guard at the entrance of my dwelling place.
Lord Shiva then informed Nandi that in a short time the deities would be
visiting him(Nandi). Due to some reason Lord Shiva had pledged not to
give deities an opportunity to see his physical form. So, after blessing
Nandi, Shiva disappeared and went to live in Sleshmatak forest in the
form of a deer. Nandi was unaware of this fact.
Meanwhile, after
being blessed by Shiva, Nandi had attained a divinely radiant form. When
the deities saw Nandi possessing three eyes instead of two, they
immediately understood that this could not have happened without the
blessing of Lord Shiva.
All the deities arrived at Munjawan peak and requested Nandi to reveal
Shiva's whereabouts. Nandi expressed his helplessness and told them that
he was not aware where Shiva went after blessing him. He requested the
deities to find out Shiva on their own. The deities searched for Shiva
in all the three worlds but could not find him. I (Lord Brahma) was also
present in the search-team of the deities.I sat down to meditate. In the
deep state of meditation, I came to know that Shiva was living in the
form of a deer in sleshmatak forest. I revealed this fact to the
deities. All the deities then went into the sleshmatak forest and
recognised Shiva living in the form of a deer. The deer (Shiva) had one
horn on its head. All the deities ran towards the deer with the desire
of catching hold of it. Indra held the topmost part of the horn with a
firm grip while I (Lord Brahma) held its middle portion. Similarly, Lord
Vishnu held the lower part. Very soon, the horn got uprooted because of
the force which was being applied on it. Lord Shiva vanished out of our
sight. We were left behind with three pieces of horn in our hands. We
cursed ourselves for our bad luck. Suddenly, we heard Shiva's voice
instructing us to install those pieces of horns at that very place and
worship them. The upper part of the horn become famous as Uttar Gokarn,
while it's middle portion became famous as Dakshin Gokarn. The part of
the horn, which Vishnu installed became famous as 'Shringeshwar'. All
these three places have incomparable religious significance and are
situated in Nepal. Sleshmatak forest is situated at the distance of 2
miles from the famous Pashupatinath temple." Sanatkumar thanked Lord
Brahma for enlightening him on these secret topics.
Once, Sage Agastya
narrated the following tale to King Bhadrashva--- One day, Narad went to
Lord Vishnu and asked about the means by which a devotee could realize
him. Lord Vishnu replied--Those who worship me by chanting the mantras
of either 'Purushsukta' or 'Vaidik Samhita' can certainly realize me.
Those who perform oblation according to the rituals of 'Pancharatra' can
also have my divine glimpse. But, the rituals of Pancharatra yagya can
be performed only by the brahmins. All the rest of the castes can
realize me by devotion, chanting my name and making pilgrimage to holy
places."Sage Agastya while giving discourse to king Bhadrashwa also
predicted that sinners would outnumber the virtuous ones in Kaliyuga and
said--"People would abandon their respective 'dharmas' and the caste
system would become extinct."
Once, Sage Agastya
had organised a grand yagya in which he had invited all the deities and
sages. Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva also went there. Agastya
was puzzled as to who was the most superior among all three of them. He
asked Lord Shiva in this regard. Lord Shiva replied--One who is
worshipped by performing oblation- One who is the source of this
universe and into whom it ultimately merges; is none other than Lord
Janardhan. So he should be worshipped first of all.
He is the only one who expresses himself in three forms--Brahma, Vishnu,
Mahesh.Rajoguna is predominant in lord Brahma along with some quantities
of Satvaguna and Tamoguna.Lord Brahma has manifested from the naval of
Lord Vishnu.Tamoguna is the dominant quality in me(Rudra)with little bit
of satva and rajo gunas.Narayan is the embodiment of pure satva guna.In
satya yuga,He is worshipped by the means of meditation.During Teta yuga,
HE is worshipped by the means of oblation.During Dwapar yuga, HE is
pleased by nothing but the rituals of Pancharatra. During Kali yuga,
people will worship HIM by various means. Lord Shiva's revelations had
completely satisfied Sage Agastya.
There were many
sages present at the yagya organised by Agastya. Some of them asked Lord
Shiva as to why he had created some scriptures which appeared so
confusing to human beings. Lord Shiva revealed to them that he had done
so to protect the brahmins from the curse of Sage Gautam. Then he
narrated the incident as it had happened ---
During ancient times, Sage Gautam did an austere penance in Dandakaranya
forest. Lord Brahma became pleased and gave him some divine seeds
capable of producing eternal crops. Gautam then went to Saptashring
mountain and made his hermitage there. He sowed the seeds and became
pleasantly surprised when he saw rice grains sprouting up withiin few
moments. He lived there happily with his disciples. In course of time,
the whole country was struck by famine except the place where Gautam had
his hermitage.
One day, few sages arrived at Gautam's hermitage. Gautam treated them
with all the respect. These sages enjoyed the hospitality of Gautam and
stayed at his hermitage till the famine phase was over. Then they
decided to go back to their respective native places. When they sought
Gautam's permission,he requested him to stay for few more days. The
sages then decided to use deceitful means for taking Gautam's
permission. They created a superficial cow with the help of their
illussionary powers and left it near the hermitage of Gautam.
Gautam was very pleased to see that cow. He eulogised it by sprinkling
water on it. Hardly had he finished his act than the cow died. All those
wicked sages arrived there and cursed Gautam for killing an innocent
cow. They told him that they could never live along with a person who
had killed a cow. Gautam then requested those impostors to tell about
the means by which he could become absolved from the heinous sin he had
committed. The sages told him that the cow would become alive once Ganga
water was sprinkled on its body.
Gautam once again did a tremendous penance to please Lord Shiva. When
lord Shiva appeared, he requested him to give a lock of his hair. Lord
Shiva agreed to give a lock of his hair to Gautam. Gautam then went to
the spot where the cow's body was lying. He sprinkled some water
emanating from the hair. The illussionary cow disappeared within a
moment and in its place was created a river. Right then, the sapta
rishis arrived there and blessed Gautam. Meanwhile, Gautam realized that
a wicked prank had been played on him by those wicked sages. He cursed
those wicked sages that they would become bereft of the knowledge of
Vedas and also that they would no longer be entitled to perform the
vedic rituals.
The Sapta rishis requested Gautam to have mercy on those unfortunate
brahmins. Gautam then declared that his curse will come true only in
Kaliyuga and those brahmins will not be affected by his curse in all the
remaining three yugas. The Sapta rishis came to me and informed me about
whatever had happened to those unfortunate brahmins. I created 'Shiva
Sanhita' from my breath which is similar to Vedas as far as the
importance of rituals are concerned. I did this for the benediction of
the brahmins. I know that brahmins would fall from grace during
Kaliyuga. People would give little respect to the Vedas and create their
own scriptures. Confusion would be prevalent and people would discover
false religions.
Once, Lord Shiva
while describing about the incident when he had a divine glimpse of Lord
Narayan, told Sage Agastya --
'Purusha' is none other than Lord Narayan himself and Prakriti is the
medium through which he manifests his powers. I have been fortunate to
have a divine glimpse of this Purush. Lord Brahma after having created
me, instructed me to create. But, I did not know how to create. So, I
decided to do penance and went into the ocean. In the ocean, I saw an
entity who was no more than the size of a thumb. He was purush himself
and I immediately recognized him. I started meditating on the form of
that almighty--Purush. Suddenly, eleven more entities emerged before me.
They were all very radiant and the water had become hot on account of
the heat emanating from their bodies. I asked them as to who they were
but they did not give any reply and went out of my sight. The next
moment, I saw an extremely handsome man. I asked him about his identity
and also about the eleven entities whom I had seen few moments ago.
Those entities were the eleven Aadityas and had gone to help Lord Brahma
in the process of creation. Then he said--I am Narayana--the omnipresent
lord. I am blessing you with 'divine vision' so that you can see my
divine appearance.'
When I fixed my glance at Narayan I was amazed to see the same
thumb-sized Narayana standing before me. But, now He was no longer
having the size of a thumb. On the contrary he had expanded his body to
such an extent that He appeared like a giant. I also saw Lord Brahma
sitting on a lotus flower emanating from his navel. I eulogized HIM with
complete devotion. HE blessed me and said--'You are eternal and nothing
is beyond your knowledge. You will be worshipped by the deities. I shall
take twelve incarnations in the coming eras and shall worship you in
each of my incarnation.'
Having said this, Lord Narayana disappeared. This was how I saw the
divine form of the 'Purush'--Lord Narayan.
All the sages
listened with rapt attention to the description Lord Shiva made of the
Almighty Narayan. But, they had few more queries in store, so they asked
Lord Shiva-- "O Lord of Uma! please tell us about the expanse of the
Earth- the situation of mountains and the prominent islands."
Lord Shiva replied--"Bhuloka is situated on the surface of the Earth,
while the earth itself is based on Almighty's chest. With the desire of
creating the three basic gunas---Sat, raj and Tama, the Almighty Narayan
created water first of all and went into 'yoganidra'. Then a lotus
flower manifested from HIS navel on which was seated Lord Brahma. Lord
Brahma then created his manasputras--Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and
Sanatkumar all of whom were enlightened souls. Then Lord Brahma created
sages like Daksha etc. Daksha's daughter Shatarupa was married to Manu
from whom she had two sons--Priyavrata and Uttanpad. Priyavrat had ten
sons--Aaghnighna, Agnibahu, Medh, Medhatithi, Dhruva, Jyotishman,
Dyutiman, Havya, Vayushman and Savan. He had divided the earth into
seven islands and presented them to each of his seven sons. Aaghnighna
became the king of Jambudweepa whereas Medhatithi, Jyotishman, Dyutiman,
Havya, Vayushman and Savan became the rulers of Shakadweepa, Kraunch
dweepa, Shalmalidweepa, Gomeddweepa, Plakshdweepa and Pushkar dweepa
respectively."
"Savan had two sons--Dhat and Mahaveeti, who were the rulers of 'Dhatki'
and 'Kaumud provinces respectively. Similarly Dyutiman had three
sons--Kush, Vaidyut and Jeemutvahan. Jyotishman had seven sons--Kushal,
Manugavya, Peevar, Andhra, Andhakarak, Muni and Dundubhi. Kush had seven
sons--Udbhid, Venuman, Rathapal, Manu, Dhriti, Prabhakar and Papil."
"Medhatithi too had seven sons--Nabhi, Shantmaya, Shishir, Mukhodam,
Nandshiva, Kshemak and Dhruv. Nabhi's wife was Merudevi, who had given
birth to Rishabh. Rishabh was the father of Bharat upon whom the area
lying south of Himalaya mountain is named."
"Sumati was the son of Bharat. Bharat, after appointing Sumati as his
successor went into the forest to do penance. The names of some
prominent kings coming from the lineage of Sumati were Tej, Satsut,
Indradyumna, Parmeshthi, Pratiharta, Nikhat, Unmeta, Abhav-Udgata,
Prastota, Vibhu, Prithu, Anant, Gaya, Naya, Virat, Mahavirya and
Sudhiman."
"Sudhiman had one hundred sons. This way the population continued to
grow. The four yugas--Satya yuga, Treta, dwapar and Kali occur in a
cyclic order. Each of the latter follows the former. A manvantar
comprises of 71 chaturyugas."
Dwelling upon the
prominent islands, Lord Shiva told the assembled sages---"Jambudweepa is
spread in the area of one lakh yojan and it consists of numerous
Janapadads. It is inhabited by 'siddhas' and 'charanas' and is blessed
with incomparable natural beauty."
'A total number of nine 'Varshas' lie within the territory of
Jambudweepa which itself is surrounded by various oceans on all sides.
Towards its east and west lie salt water oceans. Some prominent
mountains of Jambudweepa are the Himalaya, the sumeru, the Hemakut and
the Nishadh. Territory situated towards east of Sumeru mountain is
inhabited by the fair complexioned brahmins. Towards its south live
Vaishyas. Shudras live towards the south of Sumeru and the area lying
towards its north is inhabited by Kshatriyas."
It's area is
approximately twice as compared to Jambudweepa. It is inhabited by
virtuous people who are prosperous and who enjoy a long life. They are
free from the tortures of old age. This island is covered by oceans on
its two sides--Salt water ocean on one side and 'Ksheer Sagar' (Ocean of
Milk) on the other.
The mountain ranges lying in the northern part of this island is known
as Udayachal while 'Chandragiri is situated in the western part. There
are some other mountain ranges like Rajatgiri, Aambikey, etc situated on
this island. Altogether these mountain ranges total seven in number and
are known as 'Kula-Parvatas'. Some primonent rivers flowing through this
island are Sukumari, Kumari, Nanda, Venika, Dhenu, Ikshumati and
Gabhasti. There is a large tree named Shak in the central part of this
island. This is how this island derived it's name.
This island is
twice the area of Shak dweepa. There are seven prominent mountain ranges
in this island which are known as 'Kula Parvatas'--- Kumud, Unnat,
Drona, Kank, Isha, Mahish and Mandar. There are seven prominent rivers
flowing through the various parts of this island--Pratoya, Shiva,
Chitra, Chandra, Vidyullta, Varna and Mahati. This island has got its
name from Kusha grass which are found in abundance in its central part.
It is twice the
area of Kusha dweepa. It has seven prominent mountain ranges--Kraunch,
Paavan, Devavrit, Devishtha, Devaanand, Govind and Pundareek. There are
also six prominent rivers flowing in this island--Gauri, Kumudwati,
Ratri, Manojava, Khyati and Pundarika. Kraunch dweepa is surrounded by
an ocean of charified butter (ghee) on all its side.
"It is double the
area of Kraunch dweepa and covers the 'clarified-butter' ocean from all
sides. There are seven prominent mountains as well as seven rivers in
this island." This way Lord Shiva disappeared after having finished the
narration of all the prominent islands.
Describing the
reason behind the manifestation of 'TriShakti' (Three goddesses
manifesting from the bodies of Brahma Vishnu and Shiva), Lord Varah told
Prithvi--- There lived a mighty demon named 'Andhak' who used to torment
the deities. After being driven out of the heaven all the deities sought
lord Brahma's help. Lord Brahma took them to Lord Shiva and requested
him to find some solution to the miseries of the deities. Lord Brahma
then meditated on the form of Vishnu who appeared instantly.
The powers emanating from the eyes of all the three deities got combined
and resulted into the manifestation of goddess Parmeshwari.On the
request of the deities,goddess Parmeshwari created three more goddesses
from her body-Brahmi,Vishnupriya and Rudrani.Goddess Brahmi was of fair
complexion while Vishnupriya's complexion was wheatish.Goddess Rudrani
appeared extremely ferocious in her dark complexion.
Lord Brahma advised goddess Brahmi to do penance at Shwetgiri
mountain.Similarly,Vishnupriya went to Mandarachal mountain to do her
penance while Lord Shiva advised goddess Rudrani to go to Nilgiri
mountain. While Vishnupriya was doing her penance at Mandarachal
mountain, crores of goddesses manifested from her body prominent among
whom were Vidyutprabha,Chandrakanti,Suryakanti,Gambhira,Vijaya,Jaya,
Jayanti,Aparajita,etc.All these goddesses acted as the escorts of
goddess Vishnupriya who is also called Vaishnavi.
One day,sage Narad visited goddess Vaishnavi and was dumbstruck by her
divine beauty.He had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life.On
his return journey,Narad met Mahishasur-the mighty demon,who had been
blessed by Brahma.Mahishasur had conquered all the three worlds.Narad
praised the glory of Mahishasur but went on to add that his majesty was
incomplete untill he married Vaishnavi.
Narad said-"I have never seen such a beautiful woman in my life. She is
worshipped by all the sages,gandharvas,deities as well as other
celestial beings.Although,you are worthy of becoming her husband yet the
fact is that you can not have her as your wife untill you have conquered
the deities and the gandharvas." After sowing a seed of lust in
Mahishasur's mind,Narad went away. Mahishasur vowed to marry Vaishnavi
at any cost. Lord Varah continued with the tale and said-"After Narad
went away,Mahishasur summoned his ministers-Praghas,Vighas,Shanku-
karna,Vibhavasu,Vidyunmali,Sumali,Parjanya and Krura.When all the
ministers arrived,he requested them to find out means so that he could
marry Vaishnavi. Praghas-one of the ministers, was very intelligent.He
warned Mahishasur against going ahead with his evil designs and said-
'This illegal abduction could become the cause for your
destruction.'Vighas corroborated the statements of Praghas.
Finally,everyone agreed that it would be better if Vaishnavi was
persuaded to accept Mahishasur as her husband instead of forcefully
abducting her.
"So all of them,finally came upon two conclusions-first was to send a
messenger to persuade Vaishnavi into marrying Mahishasur and the second
was to defeat the deities in a battle.A demon named Vidutprabha was sent
to meet goddess Vaishnavi. Mahishasur then launched a fierce attack on
the deities and defeated them.The deities were forced to flee the
battle-field and seek refuge in brahma loka."
"Meanwhile,Vidutprabha
had already reached Mandarachal mountain. Without showing any rspect to
goddess Vaishnavi,he tried to impress her by narrating the amazing tale
of Mahishasur's birth- 'During ancient times,there lived a sage named
Suparshva.Once,he was doing penance and an ogress named Mahishmati
alongwith her companions, arrived at his hermitage.Mahishmati was very
much impressed by the grandeur of his hermitage and decided to occupy
it.She changed her appearance and became a buffalo.She then started
tormenting Suparshva,who was initially terrified but finally came to
know about her real identity.Suparshva cursed her-'You deserve to remain
as a buffalo for the rest of your life.'
"Now,Mahishmati became extremely terrified and begged for being
pardoned.Finally,Suparshva took pity on her and said-'You will get
liberated from my curse only after you give birth to a calf.'
Thus,Mahishmati started wandering all over the places in the form of a
buffalo.Once,while wandering, she reached the bank of river
Narmada,where sage Sindhudweep was doing his penance. A significant
incident had taken place just few minutes before her arrival-Sage
Sindhudweep,being unable to control himself,had ejaculated sperms after
infatuated by a beautiful ogress taking bath in river Narmada,which was
flowing nearby.The sperms fell on a rock and was eventually washed off
by the swift currents of Narmada."
"As Mahishmati was thirsty,she drank water from river Narmada. While
quenching her thirst,she also consumed the sperms as the result of which
she became pregnant.In course of time,she gave birth to Mahishasur,who
grew up to be a mighty demon king.The same Mahishasur wants to marry
you." After finishing his story, Vidutprabha waited for Vaishnavi's
response.
Goddess Vaishnavi burst into a loud laughter and all the the three
worlds became visible to the messenger,through her opened
mouth.Vidutprabha was scarred to the hilt as he realized that the woman
was extraordinary and divine.
Jaya-a dwarpalika of Vaishnavi,told him-'Our goddess has taken a vow of
celibacy,hence your master's wish will remain unfulfilled.' At
last,Vidutprabha went back empty handed.In the meantime,Narad arrived
there and informed goddess Vaishnavi about the deities's defeat at the
hands of Mahishasur and requested her to kill the demon.
Goddess Vaishnavi
ordered her escorts to get prepared for the battle. She then proceeded
with a huge army to fight against the demons.In the ensuing
battle,Mahishasur's army was severely humiliated.Most of the demons were
killed and the survivors fled from the battlefield. A demon named
Virupaksha informed Mahishasur of the death and destruction caused by
goddess Vaishnavi.Mahishasur was infuriated and came forward to fight
the goddess.Goddess Vaishnavi was aware of his might,so she manifested
her divine form in all her glory. Now,she possessed ten arms and held
lethal weapons like a sword, a bow,a shield,a mace,a trident,a
chakra,etc.in each of them.She then remembered lord Shiva,who appeared
within a moment.Goddess Vaishnavi requested him to be witness to the
fierce battle,which was going to take place.
A fierce battle commenced,which lasted for ten thousand divine
years.Mahishasur ran helter and skelter,changing his disguise
frequently,in order to protect his life but goddess Vaishnavi chased him
wherever he went.Ultimately,she killed him at 'Shata- shring' mountain
by severing his head.All the deities heaved a sigh of relief and praised
the glory of goddess Vaishnavi.
Similarly,goddess Rudrani,who had manifested from lord Shiva and had
gone to Nilgiri mountain to do her penance had killed a mighty demon
named 'Ruru'. Ruru was a very powerful demon king.He ruled over
Ratnapuri, which was situated in the middle of the ocean.He had become
invincible on account of a boon received from lord Brahma.After being
defeated by him,all the deities went to seek the help of goddess Rudrani.
Goddess Rudrani,who is also known as 'Chamunda' finally killed Ruru-the
dreaded demon."
Having completed the tale,lord Varah blessed Prithvi and went back to
his abode.
END OF
VARAH PURAN |
Varaha Purana (Original Sanskrit Text)