Digresssions on Hiranyanetra and Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyanetra
was very strong and powerful. He conquered the three worlds and drove
the gods out of heaven. He even took the earth down to the underworld.
In desperation, the gods prayed to Vishnu for deliverance.
Vishnu adopted the form of a boar
(varaha) and went down to the underworld in search of Hiranyanetra.
When he found the asura, he killed him with his sudarshana chakra. He
also killed several other asuras with his boar’s tusks. Then, he lifted
up the earth with his tusks and replaced it where it should be. So far
as Hiranyanetra’s kingdom was concerned, Vishnu crowned Andhaka king
there.
Hiranyanetra had a brother named
Hiranyakashipu. This brother prayed to Brahma and obtained a boon that
made him virtually impossible to kill. Armed with this boon,
Hiranyakashipu conquered the three worlds and drove the gods out of
heaven. The gods again started to pray to Vishnu for deliverance.
Vishnu adopted the form of a lion and
entered Hiranyakashipu’s captial. The lion had a huge mane and sharp
teeth and claws. The lion killed several asuras and this news was
brought to Hiranyakashipu. He decided to kill the lion.
Hiranyakashipu had several sons, one
of whom was named Prahlada. Prahala alone thought that there was
something fishy about the lion and about the way it had suddenly
appeared. He thought that the lion might very well be Vishnu in
disguise. Prahlada therefore tried to dissuade his father from fighting
the lion. He first asked some of his soldiers to capture the lion, but
they were all killed. Hiranyakashipu then himself attacked the lion
with all sorts of weapons. But all the weapons wre exhausted and the
demon could do the lion no harm.
Finally, the lion grasped Hiranyakashipu and tore the asura’s heart out with its claws.
This was the narasimha (half-man, half-lion) incarnation of Vishu.
Having killed Hiranyakashipu, Vishnu crowned Prabhlada king.
Andhaka Again
Andhaka
had been crowned king in Hiranyanetra’s kingdom. Prahlada and
Andhaka’s other cousins went to him and said, You are blind. What are
you going to do with a kingdom? Give it to us. Our uncle made a
mistake in accepting a blind son from Shiva.
Andhaka was very hurt at these nasty
words. He went away to the forest and started to perform tapasya. He
prayed to Brahma. For millions of years he stood on one leg, with his
arms raised high, and prayed. No one since that day has been able to
duplicate Andhaka’s wonderful feat of meditation. He did not eat or
drink at all. He chopped off parts of his body and offered it to the
sacrificial fire. It came to such a pass that there was no more meat of
blood left in his body. It had all been offered to the fire. He was
just a skeleton. It was then that Brahma appeared before him and
offered a boon.
Prahlada and my other cousins have
taken over my kingdom, said Andhaka. Please grant me the boon that I
may be able to see. Please also grant me the boon that I may not be
killed by gods, demons, or humans, or even by the great Vishnu himself.
Brahma was in a fix. Earlier, many
demons had asked for similar boons, but they had generaly not mentioned
Vishnu. So that , when the need arose, Vishnu had been able to kill
them. But here was an asura who asking for the boon that even Vishnu
would not be able to kill him. This would make him virtually immortal.
Everything that you have asked for is
possible, replied Brahma. But all beings have to die. Indicate the
circumstances under which you will die and the boons will be granted.
Since I have to die, said Andhaka,
Let it be under the following conditions. If I ever wish to marry a
beautiful woman who is like a mother unto me, let that be the hour
appointed for my death.
This condition was better than
nothing at all and Brahma granted Andhaka the boons. Andhaka returned
to his kingdom. When Prahala and the other cousins learnt that Andhaka
had become so powerful because of the boons, they not only returned to
him his kingdom, but theirs as well. Remember that Andhaka could now
see.
The first thing that Andhaka did was
to invade heaven. He defeated Indra and the other gods and made they
pay taxes to the demons. Next he defeated the snakes (nagas), the
gandharvas, the rakshasas, the yakshas (companions of Kubera) and the
humans. Thus he began to rule over all the three worlds. For millions
of years Andhaka ruled in this fashion. The religion of the Vedas
suffered during this period, since Andhaka paid no attention to it.
Once Andhaka went to a visit tot he
Mount Mandara. The place was so beautiful that he made up his mind to
live there. Three of Andhaka’s generals were named Duryodhana, Vighasa
and hasti.
These three were exploring the
environment of Mount Mandara when they came upon a cave. An ascetic was
meditating inside the cave. He was dressed in the skin of a tiger,
wore a garland of skulls, his hair was matted and he wore a crescent
moon on his forehead. There was a beautiful woman near the ascetic.
She was more beautiful than any other woman in the three worlds. The
three generals concluded that this was the right wife for Andhaka.
When the generals came back to
Andhaka and reported on what they had seen, the asura king said, What
are you waiting for? Go to the ascestic and ask him for the woman.
Duryodhana, Vighasa and Hasti went
back to the ascetic. You are only an ascetic, they said. You don’t
deserve such a pretty wife. Our master is the lord of everything and he
is immensely rich. He is also handsome because of a boon received
from Brahma. Give us this woman so that our master Andhaka may marry
her.
Ask your master to come and take the
woman himself, replied Shiva, for the ascetic, as you have already
guessed, was none other than Shiva. And the beautiful woman was
Parvati.
As soon as he heard this, Andhaka
grasped his sword and came to fight with Shiva. The door to the cave
was guarded by Nandi, and Andhaka first had to fight with him. Nandi
easily defeated the asura and also defeated the asura soldiers who had
accompanied their king. But Andhaka returned and again a fight raged
with Nandi for five hundred years. Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and the other
gods also came to help in the fight with the demons.
The general Vighasa was a very strong
warrior. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed up all the gods,
including Vishnu. So far, Shiva himself had not played any part in the
fighting. But hearing what Vighasa had done, he ascended his bull and
came out to fight. He killed Vighasa and rescued the gods from the
asura’s stomach. The asuras had a preceptor named Shukracharya who knew
the art of bringing back dead beings to life. So Shukracharya moved
around the battlefield, brining back to life any demons that were
killed. This was not helping the cause of the gods at all. Shiva’s
companions (gangas) captured Shukracharya and brought him to Shiva.
Shiva promptly swallowed up Shukracharya.
Soon all the demons were taken care
of, with the exception of Andhaka. He continued to fight. Vishnu’s
mace could do him no harm and he only laughed at Indra’s arrows. Some
of the arrows did pierce the asura’s body. But whenever drops of blood
from his body onto the ground, asuras who were exactly like him in
appearance were created from this blood. As a result, the battlefield
was soon populated with thousands and thousands of Andhakas.
Shiva created a goddess known as Devi
from his own body. Devi was appointed the task of drinking up the
blood of the asuras before it could spill onto the ground. Thus aided
by Devi, Shiva started to tackle the demons and soon there was only the
original Andhaka left. Shiva flung a trident at him. The trident
struck Andhaka on the chest and the asura king fell down dead.
When the war was over, Shukracharya prayed to Shiva and was released from Shiva’s stomach.
Ruru
There
was another demon who wanted to marry Parvati as well. His name was
Ruru. He happened to see Parvati and decided that this was the woman
who would be his wife. He began to to perform tapasya so that his
desire might be satisfied.
Brahma appeared before him and asked, Ruru, why are you performing such difficult tapasya? Can I offer you a boon?
That is a boon that not even I can grant you, said Brahma.
Brahma departed and Ruru continued
with his meditation. This meditation was going on in a mountain named
Malaya. And such was the power of Ruru’s meditation that the mountain
started to burn. The fires were so strong that even Shiva and Parvati
had to run away from the mountain.
Lord, why are we running away? asked Parvati. Why don’t you do something about the fire?
I can’t, answered Shiva. This fire
is on account of Ruru’s tapasya and he is performing this tapasya so as
to marry you. It is up to you to do something about Ruru.
Parvati decided that she would.
While they were conversing, they saw a lion fighting with an elephant.
Parvati slew the lion and skinned it. She wore the lion’s pelt as
clothing. Her hair became smeared with the lion’s blood. Her
appearance became terrible.
With a thunderous roar, Parvati went
to where Ruru was. Ruru, she said. I have come. I am Parvati. I am
the one you have been praying for. Now stop meditating.
Rubbish, replied the demon. Parvati
is beautiful. Her face is like the moon, her hue is golden, and her
arms are like lotus stems. Just look at yourself. Your looks are
terrible. You can’t be Parvati. You are lying. Go away, I don’t want
you.
Saying this, Ruru struck Parvati with
a mace. Parvati was angry at this and she hit Ruru with her fits. The
two fought, with Ruru flinging boulders and trees at the goddess.
Parvati used her nails and her teeth to get at the demon. Ruru created
several other asuras from his body. In retaliation, Parvati created
many goddesses known as shaktis from her body. The shaktis began to eat
up the demons.
Ruru fled. But Parvati pursued him
to the ends of the earth. He fled to heaven. Parvati followed him
there. He fled to the underworld, but Parvati pursued him there as
well. Finally, Ruru could flee no more. Parvati caught hold of him and
tore off his head with her nails. She then drank the demon’s blood.
Parvati also skinned the demon.
Thus it was that Ruru was killed. On
her return to Shiva, Parvati gave him the lion’s pelt that she had so
far been wearing and Shiva donned it. For her own clothing, Parvati put
on Ruru’s skin.
A False Parvati
Shiva had once gone on a visit to a
city named Shonitapura. He was accompanied by many gandharvas and
apsaras. Parvati was left behind in Kailasa and Shiva felt lonely
without her.
He called Nandi and said, Go to Kailasa and ask Parvati to come here.
Nandi went to kailasa and told
Parvati that Shiva wanted her. Parvati said that this would take a
little time, since she wanted to get ready first. Nadi went back and
reported to Shiva what Parvati had said. Shiva waited for a little
while, but Parvati did not come. He therefore sent Nandi again to
Kailasa with the injuction that he should not come back without Parvati.
The apasaras meanwhile decided that
they would play a trick on Shiva. One of them would disguise herself and
pretend to be Parvati. An apsara named Chitralekha agreed to do this.
Another apsara named Urvashi diguised herself as Nandi. Other apsara
disguised themselves as companions of Parvati. So good were their
disguises that it was impossible to detect them as being false.
The false Nandi then brought the
false Parvati to Shiva and said, Parvati has come. Her companions, the
other goddesses, have also come.
Shiva was delighted. He was not able
to detect that this was a false Parvati. While they were having great
fun, the real Parvati, the real Nandi and the real goddesses turned up
and there was utter confusion. No one could tell the real ones from the
false ones. Finally the mess was sorted out when the apsaras adopted
their real forms.
Neither Shiva nor Parvati were angry at this practical joke.
Another False Parvati
This
is an incident from the time when Parvati went away to do tapasya so as
to become fair. Before going away to meditate, she called Nandi to her
and said, My husband does not know the difference between real Parvatis
and false ones. Keep careful guard at the gate and do not let any
false Parvatis enter.
There was an asura named Adi. He
performed tapasya and wanted a boon from Brahma which would make him
immortal. Brahma refused to grant him this, but granted him the boon
that Adi would be very strong. Happy with this boon, Adi wandered
around the Himalayas and discovered Nadi standing guard at the gate to
Shiva’s palace.
What are you doing here? the asura asked Nandi.
Nandi reported the conversation that had taken place with Parvati.
The demon went away. But he soon
returned, this time disguised as Parvati. Lest Nandi not let him pass,
he slimed through the gate disguised as a snake. And once inside the
palace, he resumed his form of Parvati. He then went to meet Shiva.
Shiva did not realize that this was a false Parvati and he came forward
to embrace Adi. But no sooner had Shiva embraced him, than the asura
adopted his own form and tried to kill Shiva. The two fought and Shiva
killed Adi. But before dying, the asura played another trick.
He told Shiva, I have a brother who
is stronger than me. He will return here in the form of Parvati and
will kill you. This was a blatant lie. Adi had no brother.
The real Parvati returned after
finishing her tapasya. But Shiva thought that this was demon disguised
as Parvati. He created many beings from his body so as to kill Parvati.
But Parvati also created many beings from her own body and these
swallowed up Shiva’s beings. When this had gone on thousands of times.
Shiva realized that this must be the real Paravati.
Shiva and Parvati were united.
There were not more false Parvatis.
Yama’s Story
The
sage Sanathkumara was Brahma’s son, Sanathumara had gone to visit Yama,
the god of death. While they were conversing, a shining vimana brought
a man to Yama who immediately stood up to honour the guest.
Yama worshipped him and said, I am
honoured. I hope you had no problems on the way. The vimana will take
you to Brahma’s residence in Brahmaloka.
After this guest had left, another shining vimana brought another guest who was also worshipped in similar fashion by Yama.
Sanatkumara was mystified at this.
He asked Yama, Who are these two people? I have never heard of Yama
worshipping anyone in such glowing terms. These two must be holy men
indeed. They must have accumulated a lot of punya. Who are they? Tell
me their stories.
Yama obliged.
There was a city named Vaidisha. The
king who ruled there was named Dharapal. Nandi was cursed by Parvati
that he would have to spend twelve years on earth as a jackal. His
crime was that, when Parvati had gone to perform tapasya, Nandi had
permitted a false Parvati to enter Shiva’s palace. Nandi was born as a
jackal. The jackal went to the confluence of the rivers Vitasta and
Vetravati. There it set up a linga and prayed before it, going without
food and water. After the twelve years passed, the jackal died and
adopted a shining form. In this form, Nandi returned to Shivaloka.
King Dharapala had seen the jackal
fasting and praying. He also witnessed its strange death. The king’s
wonder knew no bounds. He erected a temple in that wonderful place. He
brought several brahmanas to the temple and made them recite the
Puranas there. When Dharapala died, it was decided that he would go to
Brahmaloka because of all this punya. This was the first guest who had
come before Yama. Such are the wonderful virtues of worshipping Shiva
and the Puranas.
What about the second guest? asked Sanatkumara.
The second quest used to be evil. He
had never donated anything in his life. But he once heard the Paranas
being recited and was completely converted. He arranged many recitals
of the Puranas on his own and donated gold to the reciters.
This punya was going to take him to
Brahmaloka. Such are the wonderful virtues of hearing and reading the
Puranas. Doing this is tantamount to worshipping Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva.
Shatanika and Shasranika
In the region named Jambudvipa, there
used to rule a king named Shatanika. He was the best among warriors.
But he was also very religious. He donated alms and treated his guests
well. Every day, the brahmanas received gold and clothes from
Shatanika. When Shatanika died, his son Sahasranika became king.
Sahasranika also ruled well and
righteously. But he did not donate as much of alms to the brahmanas as
his father used to. They took their complaint to the king and said, You
do not give as much of alms to us as your father used to. Many
brahmanas have already left your kingdom. So will the others, unless
you increase the alms you give us.
I have indeed heard that the donation
of alms to brahmanas brings punya, replied Sahasranika. I have also
heard that all this punya takes one to heaven after death, until the
time one has to be born again. Since my father accumulated all this
punya by donating alms to brahmanas, he must be in heaven. You are all
learned brahmanas. Why don’t you tell me where my father is right now?
The brahmanas could not reply. They
had no idea where Shatanika was. But later on, they met a learned sage
named Bhargava. Bhargava was so powerful that the brahmanas were sure
that he would be able to tell where Shatinika was. They begged Bhargava
to help them. Bharagava was not very interested in helping the
brahmanas. He was busy meditating and had no desire to waste his time
on idle pursuits like finding out where dead people now were. But the
brahmanas kept begging him and Bhargava eventually agreed.
The sun god himself led the way and,
following the sun god, Bhargava went all the way to Yama’s abode. It
was a long distance away.
The sun god led Bhargava straight to
where the twenty-eight crores of narakas (hells) were. The wailings of
sinners who were being tortured could be heard. Before they could go
any further, their way was barred by a brahmana.
Bhargava, said the brahmana, You owe
me a coin for services rendered. You have not paid this and I am dead.
Pay me the coin and only then can you proceed further.
I am not carrying any coins on me,
replied Bhargava. When I return home, I will collect a coin and bring
it back to you. Now let me move forward.
Nonsense, said the brahmana. This is
hell. Here payments are strictly on a cash basis. There is no
question of paying up later. Pay or you shall not proceed. If you do
not have any coins, why then , pay me one-sixth of all the punya that
you have earned through your mediations.
Bhargava paid what was asked for and
edged forward. He was successively stopped by a cowherd, a washerman, a
tailor, a priest and a builder. To each of them Bhargava owed some
money and they would not let him go until the debts were cleared. In
each case, Bhargava parted with one-sixth of his punya so that he was
left with none at all.
When these accounts were settled, the
sun god led Bhargava to the hell where Shatanika was. Bhargava was
bewildered to find such a righteous king as Shatanika in a hell. The
king was hung upside down in a pot and was being boiled in oil.
Bhargava asked Shatanika, What is all
this? Why are you in hell? You had accumulated a lot of punya through
your righteous deeds.
Not really, replied the king. I did
donate a lot of alms, especially to brahmanas. But all the money for
the alms came from taxing my subjects severely. So it brought no punya
at all. Go and tell my son that punya is best acquired by associating
with righteous people. And most important of all, tell him to pray to
Shiva in the month of Chaitra and on chaturdashi tithi (fourteenth day
of the lunar fortnight).
When Bhargava returned, he related
what he had been told to Sahasranika. Sahasranika did not stop donating
alms. But the money for such alms no longer came out of the royal
treasury. The king worked as a labourer and used this money for the
donation of alms. He also observed the vrata that his father had asked
him to observe in honour of Shiva.
Parashurama
There was a king named Gadhi. His daughter was name Satyavati. Satyavati was married to the sage Richika.
Richika arranged for a spectacular
sacrifice. Some rice pudding was obtained from the yajna and Richika
gave it to his wife Satyavati. He said, Split this rice pudding into
two halves. Eat half yourself and give the remaining half to your
mother. Here, let me divide it. This is your half and that is your
mother’s. We are brahmanas. So we will have a son who will display the
traits of a brahmana. Your father is a kshatriya and your mother will
have a son who will behave like a kshatriya.
Saying this, Richika went off to
meditate in the forest. But mother and daughter managed to mix up their
halves. In the course of his meditations, Richika realized that
Satyavati was going to give birth to a brahmana son who would display
kshatriya traits. Through his powers, he managed to postpone this
birth by a generation. So Satyavati gave birth to Jamadagni. It was
Jamadagni’s son Parashurama who exhibited all the kshatriya like
characteristics.
Gadhi’s son was Vishvamitra.
Vishvamitra was born a kshatriya. But because of the mixing up of the
rice pudding, Vishvamitra turned out to be brahmana-like.
There was a king of the Haihaya
dynasty named Arjuna. He had a thousand arms. He had also obtained the
boon that flaming fire itself would be perpetually present on the tip
of his arrow. Whenever he shot an arrow, the fire from the tip of the
arrow burnt up the target. In this fashion, Arjuna used to burn up
villages, cities and forests. He once burnt up the hermitages of sages.
And one of the sages cursed Arjuna that he would killed by
Parashurama.
Parashurama learnt the art of
fighting from Shiva himself. While Parashurama was away learning how to
fight, Arjuna arrived in Jamadagni’s hermitage. Jamadagni had a
wonderful cow (dhenu), known as a kamadhenu because it produced whatever
objects one asked (Kama) from it. Using this kamadhenu, Jamadagni
treated Arjuna and his entrie retinue to a royal feast.
Arjuna asked Jamadangi to give him
this cow, but the sage refused. Arjuna then asked his soldiers to
forcibly take away the cow. But just as this was going on, Parashurama
arrived. He killed Arjuna, slicing off Arjuna’s thousand arms in the
process.
Having disposed of Arjuna, Parashurama went off to meditate and pay another visit to Shiva.
Taking advantage of Parashurama’s
absence, Arjuna’s sons invaded Jamadagni’s hermitage. They killed
Jamadagni. When Parashurama returned, he exacted vengeance for this
evil deed. He killed Arjuna’s sons. Since Arjuna and his sons happened
to be kshatriyas, Parashurama also killed all the kshatriyas in the
world. He did this not once, but twenty-one times over. Why twenty-one
times? The reason was that there were twenty-one weapon-marks on the
dead Jamadagni’s body.
But killing was a crime and
Parashurama had committed a sin. As penance, Parashurama donated cows
and performed a lot of tapasya. He also arranged an ashvamedha yajna.
All this did not prove to be atonement enough. To complete the penance,
Parashurama sought the advice of the sage Kashyapa.
Kashyapa told him to perform the
donation that is known as tulapurusha. A tula (or tuladanda) is a pair
of scales. The person (purusha) who is performing the donation is
placed on one side of the weighing scale. On the other side are placed
objects like honey , clarified butter, molasses, clothing and gold. The
weight of the objects being donated has to be equal to the weight of the
person performing the donation. This is known as tulapurusha.
Parashurama performed tulapurusha and was freed from his sin.
Hells
There are several hells. Each hell is earmarked for a specific type of sinner.
A killer of brahmanas, a false
witness, a liar and a drinker of wine is sent to the hell named rourava.
Shukara is for thieves and killers of cattle. Killers of kshatriyas
and vaishyas are also sent there. Those who commit infanticide are sent
to taptalouha. A person who insults his teacher or criticizes the
Vedas goes to taptakhala. Those who insult gods, brahmanas or kings are
sent to krimibhaksha. Lalabhaksha is reserved for those who eat
without offering food to the gods. A brahmana who eats what he should
not goes to vishasana.
Sellers of wine are to be found in
rudhirandha and killers of bees in vaitarani. Cheats are sent to
krishna and destroyers of trees to asipatravana. A hunter of deer goes
to vahnijvala, Agnimaya is for arsonists and sandamsha for those who
fail to complete a vrata. If you accept your son as a teacher, you are
sure to go to shvabhojana.
The punishment is strictly in
proportion to the crime committed. But penance diminishes the severity
of the sin. The best form of penance is prayer to Shiva. Even if one
merely remembers Shiva, that is enough.
Geography
The
earth is divided into seven regions (dvipas), The names of these
regions are Jambudvipa, Plakshadvipa, Shalmalidvipa, Kushadvipa,
Krounchadvipa, Pushkaradvipa and Shakadvipa. These seven regions are
surrounded by seven seas. The names of the seas are Lavana, Ikshu,
Sarpi, Dadhi, Dugdha, Jala, and Rasa.
Mount Sumeru is right in the middle
of Jambudvipa. To the north of Sumeru are the mountains Nila and
Shvetabhangi and to the south of Sumeru are the mountains Himavana.
Hemakuta and Nishada. These mountains are full of all sorts of jewels.
Jambudvipa is divided into many parts
(varshas). Right in the centre, where Mount Sumeru is located, is
Ilavritavarsha. To the south of Sumeru are Bharatavarsha,
Kimpurushavarsha and Harivarsha. To the north of Sumeru is
Ramyakavarasha. Next to this is Hiranmayavarsha and further north is
Uttarakuruvarsha.
The four major mountains in
Ilavritavarsha are Mandara, Gandhamadana, Vipula and Suparshva. They
are respectively to the east, south, west, and north of Sumeru.
Bhadrashvavarsha is to the east of Sumeru and Ketumalavarsha is to the
west. On the top of Mount Sumeru is Brahma’s famous city. The holy
river Ganga flows through the sky and divides into four. The names of
these tributaries are Sita, Alakanada, Chakshu and Bhadra. Sita flows
to the east of Sumeru, Nanda or Alakananda to the south. Chakshu to the
west and Bhadra to the north.
Bharatavarsha is bounded by mountain
ranges on the north and the sea on the south. Bharatavarsha is divided
into nine parts. The names of eight of these parts are Indradyumna,
Kaseru, Tamraparna, Soumy, Gabhastimana, Nagadvipa, Gandharva and
Varuna. The ninth part is an island surrounded by the ocean. On the
eastern side of Bharatavarsha live the kiratas, on the western the
yavanas, on the southern the andhras and ont he northern the turaskas.
The seven major mountains in
Bharatavarasha are named Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Shuktimana, Riksha,
Vindhya and Pariyatra From each of these mountains several rivers flow.
Bharatavarsha is a sacred place.
Only those who have accumulated punya over a thousand human lives get to
be born in Bharatavarsha. Shiva is always present here to offer
salvation to the residents.
Astronomy
How far do the boundaries of bhuloka
(earth) extend? These boundaries extend to the furthest points that can
be lit up by the rays of the sun and the moon. Above the region of the
sun is that of the moon. This is successively followed by the regions
of Budha (Mercy), Shukra (Venus), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati (Jupiter),
Shani (Saturn) and the nakshatras (stars). Next comes saptarshiloka,
the circle of the seven great sages (the constellation Ursa majoris),
These regions beyond the earth are known as bhuvarloka. Beyond it is
svarloka or svarga (heaven). Bhuloka, bhuvarloka and svarloka are
destroyed in the destruction that comes at the end of a kalpa.
Regions which are further beyond are
not destroyed at the end of a kalpa. The first of these regions is
dhruvaloka, the circle of the Pole Star. Next come maharloka, janaloka,
tapaloka and satyaloka. Including the earth, there are thus seven
regions (lokas) that have been mentioned.
Under the earth is the underworld
(patala). This is also divided into seven regions. Their names are
patala, sutala, vitala, nitala, mahatala, agryasutala and rasatala.
Manvantaras
Each
manvantara is ruled over by a Manu and there are fourteen manvantaras
in any kalpa. The gods (devas), the seven great sages (saptarshis), and
the Indra, change from one manvantara to another.
The first Manu was Svayambhuva. The
names of the gods then were yama and the names of the seven sages were
Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vashishtha.
The second Manu was Svarochisha. The
names of the gods then were tushita and the names of the seven sages
were Agnidhra, Agnivaha, Medha, Medhatithi, Vasu, Jyotisvana and
Dyutimana.
The third Manu was Outtama. The
names of the gods then were rishabha and the names of the seven sages
were the urjjas. (The individual names of the sages are not given).
The fourth Manu was Tamasa. The
names of the gods then were satya and the names of the seven sages were
Gargya, Prithu, Agni, Janya, Dhata, Kapinka and Kapivana.
The fifth manu was Raivata. The
names of the gods then were raibhya and the names of the seven sages
were Vedavahu, Jaya, Muni, Vedashira, Hiranyaroma, Parjanya and
Urddhavahu.
The sixth Manu was Chakshusha.
There were five types of gods in the sixth manvantara and their names
were adya, prasuta, ribhu, prithugra and lekha. The names of the seven
sages were Bhrigu, Naha, Vivasvana, Sudharma, Viraja, Atinama, and
Asashishnu.
The seventh manvantara is the
manvanatara that is now going on. The seventh Manu is Vaivasvata. The
names of the seven sages are Atri, Vashishtha, Bhavya, Kashyapa,
Goutama, Bharadvaja and Vishvamitra.
The remaining seven manvantaras will come in the future.
The eight Manu will be Savarni. The
Shiva Purana gets extemely confused here and it is not possible to make
out clearly who the gods will be in the future manvantaras. But the
names of the seven sages of the eighth manvantara are Viravana,
Avanivana, Sumantra, Dhritimana, Vasu, Varishnu and Arya.
The nine Manu will be Rohita. The
names of the seven sages will be Medhatithi, Vasu, Bhargava, Angira,
Savana, Havya and Poulaha.
The tenth Manu will be Merusavarni.
The names of the gods then will be dvishimanta and the names of the
seven sages will be Havishmana. Pulaha, Sukriti, Ayomukti, Vashishtha,
Prayati and Nabhara.
The eleventh Manu will be
Brahmasavarni. The names of the seven sages will be Havishmana,
Kashyapa, Vapushmana, Varuna, Atreya, Anagha and Angira.
The twelfth Manu will be
Dharmasvarni. The names of the sages will be Dyuti, Atreye, Angira,
Tapasvai, Kashyapa, Taposhana and Taporati.
The thirteenth Manu will be Rouchya.
The names of the seven sages will be Kashyapa, Magadha, Ativahya,
Angirasa, Atreya, Vashishtha and Ajita.
The fourteenth and last Manu will be Bhoutya. The names of the seven sages are not mentioned.
What about the gods of the seventh
manvantara, the era that is now current? The gods now are forty-nine
vayus, eleven rudras, two ashvinis, twelve adityas and eight vasus.
Vaivasvata Manu
The sages wished to know from Romaharshana the details of Vaivasvata Manu’s birth.
The sage Kashyapa’s son was Vivasvana
or the sun. The sun was married to Tvashta’s (same as Vishvakarma)
daughter Samjna. Vivasvana and Samjana had three children, Vaivasvata,
Yama and Yamuna.
Samjna could not however stand the
strong energy of her husband, the sun. From her own body she created
Chhaya, a woman who looked just like her. Samjna and Chhaya could not
be distinguished from each other.
Samjna told Chhaya, Stay here and
retend to be Samjna. Look after my three children, Vaivasvata, Yama and
Yamuna. I am going off to my father’s house. Don’t tell anyone that
you are not Samjna.
I will do your bidding, replied Chhaya, But the moment someone grasps me by the hair, I will dvulge the truth.
Samjna went to Tvashta’s house. When
she had spent quite some time there, her father got suspicious and
wanted to know why she was not returning to her husband. Samjna
therefore adopted the form of a mare and began to live in the kingdom
that is known as Uttarakuru.
Meanwhile, the sun and Chhaya had a
son named Savarni. It was clear that Chhaya doted on Savarni. In
comparison, Yama felt neglected. Yama was still very young and in a fit
of rage, he kicked Chhaya. Chhaya cursed Yama. Yama was very
surprised at this, since no mother curses her own son. He went and
reported it to the sun. The sun deduced that Chhaya could not be Yama’s
mother. He grasped Chhaya by the hair and the truth came out.
The sun then went to Tvashta in
search of Samjna. It was discovered that Samjna had done all this
because she could not bear the energy of her husband. Tvashta chiselled
off some of the sun’s energy so that his radiance become muted.
Learning that Samjna had adopted the
form of a mare, the sun adopted the form of a horse. He went and met
his wife. As horse and mare, they had two children. These were the
twin gods known as the Ashvinis. They were also called Nasatya and
Dasra.
Vaivasvata Manu performed a yajna so
as to have a son. From the sacrifice, a daughter Ila was born.
Chandra’s son Budha married Iia and they had a son named Pururava. This
was the origin of the lunar dynasty which started with Pururva.
Later on, Vaivasvata Manu had nine
sons. Their names were Ikshvaku, Shivi, Nabhaga, Dhrishnu, Sharyati,
Narishyanta, Isha, Karusha and Priyavrata. These sons were the
originators of the solar dynasty.
Epilogue
The assembled sages were gratified at
Romaharshana having recited for them the Shiva Purana. They worshipped
Romaharshana. But, warned Romaharshana, never divulge what I have told
you, to those who are disrespectful or to those who do not believe in
god.
Repeatly, Shiva himself appears in order to bless his devotees. A person
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