According to the Indian epics, Bhringi was an ancient sage and ardent devotee of Shiva. Every devotee of Shiva also bowed down to Parvati but Bhringi defied the norm. Every day after his prayers, he would circumambulate Shiva but not Parvati. Noticing this, one day, Parvati sat close to Shiva. Adamant, Bhringi transformed himself into a snake (some versions mention it as a rat) and went in between them.
Shiva and Parvati are two halves of the same whole. Wanting to make Bhringi aware of this, Shiva took half of Parvati’s form into his own as Ardhanarishwara. Unrelenting, Bhringi turned himself into a beetle (some versions mention it as a black bee). He bore his way through, encircling only Shiva’s head! Enraged, Parvati cursed him,
“O Bhringi, you are too adamant. We tried to explain to you that we are two halves of the whole but you refused to understand. May you lose all parts of your body received from your mother.”
Thus, Bhringi lost all his flesh and blood. According to traditional beliefs, a human receives bones and nerves from the father and the flesh and blood from the mother. While modern genetics says otherwise, this belief highlights the importance of the contribution from both parents in the physical characteristics of the child.
As just a skeletal frame within, Bhringi collapsed to the ground. Shiva, feeling sorry for his devotee, gave him a third leg that he could support his body, similar to a tripod. Bhringi realised his folly and bowed down to both Shiva and Parvati, realizing that they both were indeed two halves of the same truth.
Read the second part of our latest title, ‘Mahadeva – Stories from the Shiva Purana‘ to learn more about the divine union of Shiva and Shakti, now available on the ACK Comics app.
According to the Bhagavata Purana, Aditya, the sun god, went around Mount Sumeru sending his rays to the Loka-Aloka range, illuminating half the earth while the other half remained dark.
Illustration: Aditya Prabhu
Once, Priyavrata, the son-in-law of Vishwakarma decided to illuminate the dark regions so that there would be perpetual daylight. Getting onto his chariot, he began to follow the sun-god. After seven rounds, Brahma stopped him and said,
“Stop, Priyavrata. This isn’t your assigned duty in the universe.”
Since Priyavrata has already gone around Sumeru, there were grooves formed on the ground by his chariot wheels. These grooves formed the seven oceans which then gave rise to the seven dvipas or islands.
Illustration: Aditya Prabhu
Jambu
Plaksha
Salmali
Kusa
Krauncha
Saka
Pushkara
Each one was twice as large as the preceding one. Most of them were named after a sacred tree of the same name, that was said to grow there.
Angampora is a Sri Lankan martial art that is a mix of hand-to-hand fighting techniques and the use of indigenous weapons such as knives and swords. Did you know that Ravana is said to have been a master in all forms of this martial art and is the most feared Angam warrior of all time?
One of Angampora’s unique features is paralysing opponents by attacking certain pressure points on their bodies. There are several medical writings credited to Ravana the scholar, that make references to these points and healing through them. To this day, Angam gurus light a lamp in his honour before training commences.
Vishnu is often depicted holding a mace in his lower right hand. This divine weapon is known as the Kaumodaki gada.
Origin
The name Kaumodaki is derived from the word ‘Kumuda‘ meaning ‘water lily’. The mace has always been associated with Vishnu. In the Mahabharata, Varuna, the god of the sky, is said to have given this mace to Krishna, before the burning of the Khandava forest.
Power and design
Its body is sometimes depicted with etchings of flutes and peacock feathers on it. The Kaumodaki has a thunder-like roar and the ability to kill all the Daityas, a clan of Asura along with the Danavas. The mace represents the power of knowledge, time and intellect.
Other information
The mace is sometimes personified as a goddess called Gadadevi or Gadanari. In this form, the mace is held by the goddess with Vishnu blessing her.
Ganesha is revered all over the country not only during Ganesh Chaturthi but before every puja or ritual of worship. But did you know that, according to the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha took eight avatars or incarnations to save the world from demons who personified a dosha or shortcoming in human nature? These doshas are also present in gods and it is through them that the demons were born. Ganesha has an elephant head and trunk in every avatar but he trades his mouse-y vahana Mooshik for other animals in some of his incarnations. Let’s get to know the stories behind each avatar.
Vakratunda
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
Ganesha’s first incarnation was as Vakratunda meaning curved trunk. According to the legend, Lord Indra’s pramaada (heedlessness) gave birth to the demon Matsarasura. Matsara means jealousy and selfishness. After severe penance, Matsarasura received the boon of fearlessness from Shiva. He along with his two sons Sundarpriya and Vishaypriya, conquered the three worlds and created havoc everywhere. All the gods approached Shiva for help but bound by his own boon, Shiva could not do much. Finally, Lord Dattatreya came to the rescue. He gave all the gods the secret of the monosyllabic mantra, Gam, and asked them to call upon Lord Vakratunda. Seated on his vehicle, the lion, Vakratunda arrived and killed both sons of Matsara. Looking at the mighty god, the demon surrendered and asked for forgiveness. The Lord forgave him and restored the three worlds.
Ganesha, in his Vakratunda avatar, shows the world that however powerful or rich you are, wisdom lies in knowing and understanding your limits.
Ekadanta
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
The asura, Chyavana, had a son, Mada, who was fond of madira or alcohol. Mada was schooled by his uncle Shukracharya, Chyavana’s brother as well as the guru of the asuras. Madasura told Shukracharya that he wanted to rule the world. Pleased by his nephew’s ambition, Shukracharya gave him the Shakti Mantra ‘Hrim’. Madasura performed penance for a thousand years invoking the goddess and received special powers from her. Armed with these new powers, and high on alcohol and arrogance, Madasura started conquering the three worlds. The gods turned to the sage, Sanat Kumara, for help. Sanat Kumara asked them to invoke Ekadanta. Seated on Mooshika, Ekadanta came to wage war against the demon. However, Madasura lost his courage in front of the mighty god and surrendered, earning Ekadanta’s forgiveness. Ganesha in Ekadanta avatar shows us that intoxication can fill one with pride beyond control.
Mahodara
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
The story of Ganesha’s third avatar, Mahodara, has two versions. The first version talks of the main antagonist, Mohasura, who came to be known as Daitya Raj or the king of the asuras, because of his devotion to Surya, the sun god. In the second version, once when Shiva was in deep meditation and the gods needed him, they asked Parvati to help break his trance. Parvati took an alluring form and distracted Shiva. When Shiva came out of his meditative state, Parvati discarded her alluring form. This discarded energy took the form of Mohasura, the embodiment of delusion, who then went on a rampage against all three worlds.
Both stories conclude similarly. The terrified gods went to Surya for help. Surya advised them to pray to Mahodara. Pleased by the prayers, Mahodara arrives on Mooshika to wage war against Mohasura. At this point, Vishnu appears, advising Mohasura to surrender, as all would be forgiven. Mohasura pays heed to Lord Vishnu’s advice and surrenders himself to Mahodara, becoming his devotee forever.
Gajanana
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
Kubera, the treasurer of the heavens, once visited Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He looked at goddess Parvati with lustful eyes, which made the goddess angry. Kubera started shivering with fear. This fearful energy got manifested into Lobha. Lobhasura went on to study under Shukracharya, using the mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ to perform penance, and eventually gain enough power to conquer the three realms. Troubled, the gods approached sage Raibhya who told them to pray to Lord Gajanana. The sheer presence of Gajanana was enough to fill Lobhasura with guilt, who begs for forgiveness. This avatar shows the world that lust is self-indulgent and self-centred and unknowingly leads to the destruction of the soul.
Lambodara
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
During the episode of the celestial churning of the ocean, Vishnu took the form of the beautiful and charming Mohini to trick the asuras. However, he did not see Shiva becoming enchanted by this avatar of his. When he realises this, Vishnu immediately reverts to his original form. This made Shiva sad and angry and this anger manifested into a terrible demon named Krodhasura. Krodhasura became Shukracharya’s student, venerating the Sun god and performed penance, becoming powerful enough to – you guessed it – wreak havoc on the three worlds. To stop Krodhasura’s rampage, Ganesha took the form of Lambodara and appeared with a potbelly large enough to accommodate the anger of the demon Krodhasura! Lambodara manages to subdue Krodhasura and peace is restored.
Vikata
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
Kamasura was born of Vishnu and Vrinda, the wife of the demon Jalandhara. He embodied trickery, lust and the consequences of lust. Kamasura took refuge with Shukracharya, the guru of the asuras and was told to observe severe penance and meditate on Shiva. Kamasura then received a boon by which he conquered the three worlds and created trouble for all the gods. On the sage Mudgala’s advice, the gods begin to chant ‘Om’ in a place called Mayuresa Kshetra, thus summoning Ganesha in the avatar of Vikata, atop a peacock. In his Vikata avatar, Ganesha is able to easily defeat Kamasura. This avatar shows the world that desire has no end. Satisfaction and happiness are not the outcomes of any achievement but a state of being that comes from within.
Vighnaraja
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
Once, goddess Parvati was relaxing in the company of her friends in a forest when her burst of laughter manifested into a handsome boy. Surprised by her creation and swayed by her ego which resulted in attachment, she named him ‘Mama’ which in Sanskrit means ‘Mine’. She told him to always follow the right path and pray to Lord Ganesha. Mama decides to retire to the forests to meditate on Lord Ganesha but meets the demon Sambara on the way. Sambara lures him into the world of the asuras and slowly, the good-natured Mama becomes the demon Mamasura. He marries Mohini, the daughter of an asura chief, and starts his campaign to rule all three worlds. Defeated and thrown out of Swarklok, the gods turn to Ganesha for help. So he takes on the avatar of Vighnaraja – the remover of obstacles. Riding on the great serpent, Sheshnaag, Vighnaraja tames the demon of attachment and restores peace. Vignhnaraja was a symbol that showed the world that there is no pleasure in worldly attachments. The soul seeks truth and divinity, everything else is an illusion.
Dhumravarna
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
This was the last avatar of Ganesha’s. Once Brahma gave the right to rule over the ‘world of action’ to his grandson, the sun god Surya. Surya grew proud and thought to himself that since the entire world is governed by karma or action, he had become the lord of the whole world.
As this thought passed his mind, he happened to sneeze and from his sneeze manifested a demon. The demon went to Shukracharya who gave him the name Ahamkarasura, as he was born from the sun’s ego. Shukracharya also asked him to do penance and meditate on Ganesha. Terrified by Ahamkaura’s growing power, the gods look to Ganesha for help. Ganesha obliges, taking on the form of Dhumravarna, arriving on Mooshika and defeating the proud demon. This episode reminds us that ‘ahamkar’ or ego is the root cause of self-destruction.
Illustration: Ritoparna Hazra
When we immerse Ganesha’s likeness in the sea at the end of Ganesh Chaturthi, we also immerse all our negative traits, be it pride, arrogance, desire, delusion, greed, anger, jealousy or self-love. Ganesha’s potbelly is large enough to take away all our flaws and sufferings. May he grant us strength and fill our lives with happiness and love.
In the town of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, is a Shiva temple dedicated to Thaayumaanavar or ‘He who became the mother’. Here is the legend behind the temple
Ratnavathi, a young woman, was pregnant with her first child. As per the custom, her mother was to come and be with her till the baby was born. Between the two towns flowed the river Cauvery. On the day the mother was to arrive, there were heavy rains and the river began to flood.
Illustration: ACK Design Team
Ratnavathi prayed to Shiva, asking him to help her mother cross the river safely. As she waited anxiously, her mother appeared at the door. Ratnavathi was relieved to see her. Soon, she went into labour and gave birth to the baby. The rain continued and Ratnavathi was looked after by her mother. The days passed and, when the river water had finally abated, there was a knock on the door. To Ratnavathi’s surprise, a woman who looked just like her mother stood there. She said,
“I am so sorry, daughter. I was not able to cross the river and be with you on time.”
Ratnavathi turned to look at the woman who had been caring for her all along and, in a flash, realised she was Shiva himself. He had taken on the guise of her mother to come and look after her! Shiva then revealed his true form, blessed the two women and vanished.
From then on, he came to be known as ‘Thaayumaanavar’ or ‘He who became the mother’.
Read more stories of Shiva on the ACK Comics app, including our latest release, ‘Mahadeva – Stories from the Shiva Purana’
The Puranas are religious texts composed in Sanskrit, orally narrated for centuries before being written down from the 2nd century CE onwards. They are part of the sacred literature of the Hindu faith that also comprise of the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aryayankas, Upanishads, and the great epics.
The earliest form of Hindu worship was concentrated around the rite
of yagna or Vedic sacrifice. The gods of the Vedic age were linked to natural phenomena. such as Indra (god of thunder and rain), Vayu (god of wind), Agni (god of fire), Surya (sun god), Chandra (moon god), and so on. The Vedic myth of creation speaks of vast cosmic oceans energised into life by a combination of heat, light, air, and the power of thought or desire. Brahma, the Creator, was seen as a powerful creative force, who materialised the world and living things from his physical body or just with his mind.
Illustration: Sanjhiya Mayekar
Over the centuries, numerous ideas, local traditions and folklore across the land were assimilated into Hindu practice. Gradually, a religious feeling came to focus on supreme deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and the Devi, and the worship of their images in temples and homes. A large pantheon of gods come into being, an interlinked mythology of sorts, which was described in detail in the two epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and in the Puranas.
There are 18 mahapuranas (major puranas), and 18 upapuranas (minor puranas). They commonly contain stories of the origin of the specific purana, myths and legends of the key divinities, methods of worship, the stories of the pilgrimage places, and a listing of the genealogies of gods, sages and kings. The Puranas were also very useful for rulers who sought to link their dynasties to celestial or divine origin.
Each purana is said to have been narrated to groups of sages by a suta or storyteller, who claimed to have heard it from the ancient rishi Vyasa, who in turn claimed to have heard it directly from one of the gods.
Illustration: Sanjhiya Mayekar
Most of the major puranas focus on a central deity, for example, the Bhagavata Purana talks about the life and stories of Vishnu, while the principal deity of the Shiva Purana is Shiva. Within the Shiva Purana, different sections narrate stories that explain the nature and origin of Shiva, the legend of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, and the birth of their children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Also told are all the stories of the major shrines associated with Shivabhakti, or devotion to Shiva.
In puranic tales, the Vedic gods such as Indra, Vayu and Surya are all subservient to the triad of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Over the centuries, Brahma also lost his position as the supreme creator, as can be seen by the power tussles in many myths, between Brahma and either Shiva or Vishnu.
It is important to remember that mythology reflects the ideas of society at the time that the stories were composed. What we see in the Puranas is the journey of Hindu thought across the sub-continent, gathering ideas and absorbing practices from many communities in towns, villages and forests.
Everyone knows Bheema was the strongest of the Pandavas but did you know his immense strength was gifted to him?
Back when they were kids, Bheema’s cousin Duryodhana, who was jealous of him, poisoned his food in a bid to get rid of him. Unaware, Bheema ate the food and fell unconscious. Duryodhana then tied him up with a rope and threw him into the waters of the Ganga. Bheema sank down to the river bed and reached the kingdom of the Nagas.
Illustration: Subhash Tendle
Seeing the boy, the Nagas immediately attacked him. Thankfully for Bheema, their poison acted as an antidote, waking him up and giving him the energy to repel their attack. Flummoxed by the young Pandava beating back his armies, the Naga king, Vasuki, decided to end Bheema once and for all. Thankfully, Kunti’s grandfather, Aryaka, who served in Vasuki’s army, recognized his great grandson and stopped Vasuki from finishing him off. On learning Bheema’s parentage, Vasuki blessed him with the strength of a thousand elephants.
Read the full story in ‘The Pandava Princes’, now available on the ACK Comics app as well as all major e-tail platforms.
Kartik Purnima is not the Diwali of the mortals but of the gods. That’s why it’s also called Deva-Deepawali. Here’s the story of the origin of this festival.
The sons of Tarakasura undertook severe penance to please Brahma. When Brahma appeared before them, they asked for immortality. But as Brahma could not grant such a boon, the trio instead asked for divine kingdoms for each of them, heavenly cities that could be destroyed only by a single arrow. So the celestial architect, Maya, was called, and he built three cities made of iron, silver and gold for the brothers.
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar
The three brothers soon became consumed with pride with their near-indestructible strongholds and felt unstoppable. Slowly, they started causing havoc in the heavens. Finally, Shiva agreed to help the devas kill the asuras. With the Earth as his chariot, Mount Meru as the bow, the serpent king Vasuki as the bowstring, and Vishnu himself as the arrow, Shiva waited for the three space cities to align in a straight line. At the opportune moment, he let loose his arrow and Tripura was destroyed in a flash. Overjoyed, the devas declared the day as Deva-Deepawali, the Diwali of the gods!
On Kartik Purnima, we also celebrate the birthdays of Vishnu’s Matsya avatar, the personification of the tulsi plant, Vrinda, and Shiva’s warrior son, Kartikeya.
