By Nirooshitha Sethuram &
Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Lord Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is well known because his incredible story was passed through the generations of oral tradition and written down by the Sage Valmiki.  One of the oldest, largest and most ancient epics in world literature, The Ramayana (RAWM-AAW-yuh-NAW), it has been adapted or translated into approximately 300 other languages.  It is presented in ballets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Philippines.  I grew up with Ramavataram, by Kavi Kambar, in the Tamil language.  The compelling details of Lord Ram’s story is presented in seven kandas or parts.  Let us begin!

One day in Vaikuntha, Lord Vishnu was in his “Anatha Sayana,” blissful sleep on Adishesha, his five-headed cobra which personifies the energy that becomes the universe.  Feeling someone holding both of his legs very tight, he woke to see Goddess Lakshmi, his consort.  He asked why she was holding his legs so tightly.  She replied that it is to keep him from leaving Vaikuntha, as it has become a ritual of him leaving so often to take different incarnations to save the universe, always leaving her alone in Vaikuntha.

With his usual smile, Lord Vishnu said it is his duty to go on such journeys to protect Brahma’s creation.  He continued, “My next incarnation is to show how a man should live in the world.  If you want, I will take you with me.”  In joy, Shree Lakshmi says, “I will show the universe how a woman should live!”

Adishesha hissed, saying, “O Lord, when you were going on these journeys, the only satisfaction I had was in keeping my Goddess safe.  But now you both are leaving me here alone.  What have I done to deserve this type of punishment?”  As Lord Vishnu began to reply, “Okay, I…” he was interrupted.  Panchajanya, the conch in his left hand, and Sudarshana Chakra, the spinning disk-like weapon in his right hand, softly said, “What about us, then?”  Smiling again, the Lord said, “Alright, I will take all three of you with me to be my brothers.”  All were happy.

Lord Vishnu added, “I need to give the opportunity for my dear gate keepers, Jaya and Vijaya, to return to me as well.  This will be their second, out of the three births they need to take because of the curse by the four sons of Lord Brahma.”

Dasharatha was the crown prince of beautiful capital city Ayodhya of the kingdom of Kosala. He was the son of King Aja, of the Kosala kingdom.  Married to Princess Indumati of Vidarbha, they named their son Nemi, but he was widely known as Dasharatha, the one with a chariot that moves in all ten (das) directions, as the name describes.

Dasharatha was a supreme archer, able to hit his target by merely hearing the sound of movement.  On a dark rainy evening, hunting near the banks of the Saryu river, he heard the sound of a deer drinking water.  Without hesitation, he shot his arrow in the direction of the sound.  The arrow found its target, but Dasharatha was shocked to hear a human cry.  Devastated, he ran to find a young boy lying on the river bank with an arrow in his chest.

The boy, in unbearable pain, said that he was Shravan Kumara, who lived in a nearby hut, taking care of his blind parents.  He had been collecting water from the river in a pitcher, which created a sound like a deer drinking water.  He asked the prince to take the water to his parents and tell them what had happened.  Then he asked Dasharatha to pull the arrow out of his chest, to liberate him from the miserable pain and to let him die.  With great regret, Dasharatha pulled the arrow from Shravan’s heart.  Shravan died.

Dasharatha, with a very heavy heart, took the water pitcher to Shravan’s blind parents.  The old couple, eagerly waiting for their son, learned what had happened and that their son is no more.  The devastated couple cursed Dasharatha, “Just as we are dying due to the unbearable separation from our dear son, you will also have the same fate!”  This made Dasharatha miserable for a long time but, as time passed, he lost that painful memory.

In time, succeeding his father Aja, Dasharatha ascended the throne of Ayodhya.  He was such a great warrior such that he even helped Indra, the King of Devas (Gods), to fight Asuras (Demons).  A mighty king, he was considerate to all his citizens, ruling the country justly, leaving no room for criticism.

Dasharatha married Kausalya, a princess of Kosala.  Though they were happily married, Kaushalya was unable to bear any children for the Ikshvaku dynasty.  Dasharatha then married Kaikeyi, from the Kekeya kingdom, promising her father Ashwapati that his grandson will be the heir to the throne.  Again with no luck having children, he then married Sumitra from the Magadha kingdom.

Out of the three wives, Dasharatha was very fond of Kaikeyi; it is said that he loved her the most.  This may have been due to the support she gave him during wars.  Kaikeyi accompanied her husband in most of his battles.  She had the heart of a warrior and performed better in battle than most men could.  On one occasion, Dasharatha was injured badly in a war in the Dandaka forest.  Kaikeyi saved him by driving his chariot away from the war, then mending his wounds and taking care of him until he regained his strength.  Praising her devotion and strength, Dasharatha promised to fulfill two wishes for her.  As Kaikeyi didn’t have anything to request, she said that she will use the boons when she needed them.

Time passed, but they had no children.  Dasharatha was anxious to produce an heir to the throne, so he performed the Putra-Kameshti Yaj~na (a fire ceremony for the purpose of having a son).  Lord Agni, God of fire, was delighted by the sacrifice.  He appeared from the fire and gave Dasaratha a pot of “payasam” (rice porridge), to be consumed by his wives so that they would bear children.

The righteous King Dasharatha first gave the payasam to his eldest queen, Kausalya; she ate half of it.  Then he passed it to Sumitra, who ate a quarter of it.  Then he gave the rest to Kaikeyi, but she ate only half of the remainder and gave the rest to Sumitra, who finished it.  As promised by Lord Agni, all three of them were blessed with children — four boys: Rama to Kausalya, Bharata to Kaikeyi, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrugna to Sumitra as she ate from the payasam twice.  Dasharatha was in eternal joy.  Rama is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Bharata the Sudarshana Chakra, Lakshmana is the incarnation of Adishesha and Shatrugna the Panchajanya conch.

The four children grew day by day.  Kaikeyi was so fond of Rama, sometimes she would take care of Rama’s needs before taking care of herself or her own son Bharata.  Everyone saw Kaikeyi with Rama even more than with his own mother, Kausalya.  Dasharatha was very happy about this, as he was worried about the promise he made to Kaikeyi’s father when he married her.

Rama and Lakshmana were inseparable, as were Bharata and Shatrugna.  The pairs did everything together:  eating, playing and studying together.   They were well educated, both in the Vedic lore as well as a king’s martial arts.  Sage Vasishtha, Dasharatha’s kula (clan) Guru taught them everything they needed in life and to rule the kingdom well, when their time would come, after their father.  Soon they grew into young men.

To be continued…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Lord Vishnu incarnated as Parashurama in order to exterminate the evil kings who had derailed from their path of justice and righteousness.  These kshatriyas (warriors) had become a great burden to Bhumata (Mother Earth) and her children.

The great king Gadhi had a beautiful daughter, Satyavati.  Richika, son of Bhrigu (one of the seven Rishis), wanted to marry Satyavati, so asked for her hand from King Gadhi.  Richika was an ascetic, so King Gadhi was not interested in marrying his daughter to him.  The king decided to demand something extraordinary from Richika, to bring an extraordinary gift for his daughter — one thousand white horses who each had one green ear.

Being the son of a great rishi, Richika went to God Varuna for help and was thus able to bring these unique horses.  King Gadhi was very pleased by Richika’s determination and gave his daughter in marriage to him.  The king gave blessings to both of them to live happily.

While Satyavati adjusted well to an ascetic life due to this blessing, she did not have any children.  Meanwhile, at her home kingdom, her father had no heir to the throne.  She pleaded with Richika to help her and her mother with getting children.   Richika agreed to help both of them.  With the help of his father, Rishi Bhrigu, Richika prepared two portions of sacred rice and milk.  The portion for Satyavati was so she would have a son who would become a great sage; the portion for her mother was for her to have a mighty kshatriya son to rule the kingdom.

Unfortunately, not trusting her son-in-law, Satyavati’s mother switched the containers.  In time, both mother and daughter found they were expecting children.  Looking at both women, Richika knew that something was not right, asked his wife about his concern.  Coming to know what had happened, he said to his wife that her mother has committed a grave blunder.  Satyavati’s brother will be a great sage instead of a warrior, and Satyavati’s son, though being a sage, will be an ill-tempered warrior, far from the sage Satyavati was expecting to have.  Seeing her distress, unable to turn everything around, Richika made amends, such that her grandson would be of such ill-tempered nature.

Satyavati gave birth to a son, Jamadagni, who became a great rishi.  Once grown, Jamadagni was married to Renuka, known for her chastity and devotion to her husband.  Such was her faith that she was able to fetch water every day from the river for her husband’s puja in a leaky pot of unbaked clay she made each day, with the pot held together only by the strength of her devotion.

Rishi Jamadagni’s Ashram was on the banks of the Narmada River, where he educated whomever sought knowledge.  Due to the family’s poor financial situation, Jamadagni meditated and received a sacred cow, “Kamadhenu,” from Brahma, capable of fulfilling the needs of any number of people in Jamadagni’s Ashram.

Renuka gave birth to five sons (some stories say seven): Vasu, Viswa Vasu, Brihudyanu, Brutwakanwa and Rambhadra (also known as Rama).  Rama was the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, an ill-tempered warrior sage known as Parashurama.  For good or bad, due to His grandmother and great-grandmother’s mistake, though being a rishi’s son, Parashurama had an inordinate love for weapons and had Kshatriya (warrior) traits in him.

Parashurama always carried an axe, which he had received from Lord Shiva after pleasing him with His meditation, thus the name “Parashu” (axe) + Rama = Parashurama.  He was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of warfare and other skills.  Parashurama would not tolerate any harm done to Shiva’s name or Shiva’s devotees.

As usual one day, Renuka went to the riverbank to make her clay pot and bring water to the Ashram.  While at the river, in the water she saw the image of a gandharva (heavenly being) in a chariot, passing by in the sky above.  She thought, “What a handsome man!” and lifted her head up to look at him.  Filled with desire for only a moment, losing her chastity, the unbaked pot she held dissolved in the river.  She tried making the pot over and over again, but failed.  Afraid to return to her husband, she waited at the riverbank, uncertain of what to do next.

It was getting unusually late and Jamadagni grew impatient.  Through the power of his meditation, Jamadagni came to know what had happened at the riverbank.  Unusually enraged, he ordered his first four sons to behead their mother.  Horrified, they refused and the enraged rishi turned them into stones.  He waited for his youngest son, Parashurama to return from an errand and gave him the same order.

Without any questions, not knowing what had happened, Parashurama, the ever-obedient son, went to the river bank.  He worshiped Renuka Devi and beheaded her.  He returned to the Ashram with unbearable grief.  Pleased with Parashurama, Jamadagni offered to give anything Parashurama wanted.

Parashurama asked for two boons, by one he wanted His father to forgive His mother, purify her of her sin and bring her back to life with no memory of this event.  The other boon was to bring back His brothers to life and flesh, again with no memory of this event.  Impressed by the affection and devotion of his son, Jamadagni granted both His requests.  Then, Parashurama went to the forest to do a severe penance for killing His mother.  He returned to the Ashram after years of penance.

The kshatriya king of the local kingdom was Kartavirya Arjuna.  He was an evil ruler, harming all the people and the earth for selfish reasons.  Kartavirya Arjuna was born as a deformed child with no legs.  He worshipped a God known as Dattatreya, embodiment of Lord Vishnu himself, born to Sage Atri as his son.  For Kartavirya Arjuna’s obeisance, Dattatreya had granted him a flying golden chariot that could travel wherever he wished, as well as one thousand arms.

With these boons, Kartavirya Arjuna became immeasurably powerful, conducting many military conquests with ease.  He also was fond of hunting with his entourage, ranging in the forests of his kingdoms.  Kartavirya Arjuna’s violence was unbearable.  All the sages, people and even Devas approached Lord Vishnu, requesting him to help them.  Understanding the agony everyone was going through, Lord Vishnu said that he will be taking incarnation to protect them all.  This is why Lord Vishnu incarnated as Parashurama.

When Kartavirya Arjuna was on one of his usual hunting trips, he accidentally came upon the hermitage of Jamadagni.  Parashurama was away in the forest at the time.  As with any visitor, Jamadagni greeted the king and offered food to him and his entourage, as Jamadagni had Kamadhenu to feed any number of people.

Amazed by the amount of food offered to him and his entourage, coming to know that it is from Kamadhenu, Kartavirya Arjuna decided that Kamadhenu should belong to him.  As Jamadagni refused to give Kamadhenu to him, Kartavirya Arjuna ordered his soldiers to forcefully take the cow and its calf with them to the palace, devastating the Ashram.

Parashurama found His mother and father in dismay on His  return from the forest.  Enraged, he went to the palace requesting the cow and the calf back.  When Kartavirya Arjuna refused, Parashurama challenged him to a battle.  Kartavirya Arjuna came out to fight, with his one thousand arms firing five hundred arrows at the same time.  Parashurama defended himself with ease, cut all of Kartaviryaa Arjuna’s one thousand arms and killed the mighty king with His invincible and terrible axe.  Retrieving the cow and the calf, he returned to the Ashram.  Hearing what had happened, Jamadagni ordered his son to undertake a pilgrimage to holy places to get rid of His sin of killing a king.

While Parashurama was away on the pilgrimage, Kartavirya Arjuna’s sons came to Jamadagni’s hermitage to avenge their father’s death.  Jamadagni was meditating in the Ashram; they beheaded him.  The virtuous Renuka Devi’s cry reached the ears of Parashurama, who returned to the Ashram at once.

Coming to know what had happened, took the vow to punish any kshatriya king who was deviating from the path of justice and righteousness.  He started with the sons of Kartavirya Arjuna, slaying any king who he found guilty.  Soon, kshatriyas across the land learned to fear Parashurama and His great axe.  So great was their fear of Parashurama, that they sent their women and children into hiding, disguised as brahmins.

Parashurama travelled around the earth twenty-one times and exterminated twenty-one evil king dynasties, as His mother in agony had pounded her chest 21 times after her husband was killed.  At last, Parashurama’s great anger was appeased.  He had accomplished the mission that he was born for.

He then donated all the kingdoms that he conquered.  Most of the kingdoms were without a ruler.  Some of the kshatriya children, who escaped by going into hiding, continued the line of kings, so a new ruling class emerged.  These new rulers remembered the lesson that Parashurama’s dance of destruction had taught them.  They were a great deal better than their predecessors and ruled justly.

Parashurama is chiranjivi (immortal), still living among us.  Parashurama’s story continues all through the rest of Lord Vishnu’s avatars.  He will be the martial arts Guru to Kalki, the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, yet to come.

There is another interesting episode in Parashurama’s story that isn’t part of any other of Vishnu’s avatars.  While there are many versions of the story of Lord Ganesha’s broken tusk, this is the version with Parashurama.

Once Parashurama went to see Lord Shiva in Kailasa.  Lord Ganesha stood in His  way, having been ordered by His  mother Parvati to prevent anybody disturbing them.  As Parashurama doesn’t tolerate anyone coming in between him and Lord Shiva, he threatened Ganesha and challenged him to a fight.  Lord Ganesha agreed and a fierce fight started between Lord Ganesha and Parashurama.

They fought for a long time without clear victory in sight for either one of them.  Finally, Parashurama, with a lot of anger, took His axe, the Parashu given to him by Lord Shiva himself, and threw it towards Lord Ganesha.  Lord Ganesha saw the axe coming, while knowing that His father had given the axe to Parashurama.  He didn’t want to disrespect His father’s gift, so He allowed the axe to strike him.  It struck one of Lord Ganesha’s tusks, breaking it with a thundering sound.

Seeing this, Parashurama stopped fighting.  Hearing the sound, Mother Parvati came rushing out.  Seeing what had happened, She was enraged, ready to punish Parashurama for what He had done.  Lord Ganesha pleaded with His Mother to forgive Parshurama and somehow succeeded in calming her down.  Parashurama was so pleased with Ganesha that He gave Him His axe and blessed Him.

Om Namah Shivaya

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

From the time of the Churning of the Ocean of the Milk, the Devas and Asuras have been in turmoil, because the Asuras had to forego the Amrita due to their attempt to steal all of it.  Victory alternated from one to the other.  The defeated party then declared war at a favorable time later.  The continuous hatred between the Devas (gods) and the Asuras (demons) affected all three worlds, due to the suffering and death of war as well as the fear of war.

After the successful reign of Prahlad, his son Virochana became the king of Asuras. Virochana’s son Mahabali (Bali) often played on the lap of his grandfather, Prahlad.  Bali became a great leader who brought peace to his land.  Like Prahlad, Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.  Bali learned the Vedas from his grandfather and later from his Guru, Sukracharyara, the Great Guru of the Asuras.

The Asuras became bold and courageous with Bali as their king.  Many heroes and scholars, who had previously taken shelter elsewhere, now rallied together under the Bali’s leadership.  Bali appointed scholars and wise men as officers in his administration.  Sukracharyara, the renowned wise ascetic, continued as their Guru, also serving as chief priest and chief adviser to the king.

Bali set out on an adventure of world conquests with his ministers and generals at the head of his army.  Who could have opposed the invincible warrior-king?  A few kings accepted his over-lordship, surrendering without fighting.  A few did so after their defeat.  A few more courted his friendship.  Having conquered the whole world, Bali became the emperor.

Not content with his emperorship of Patalaloka (the Nether World) and Earth, due to some of the Asura’s influence, Bali became greedy and wanted to rule Heaven too.  In order to take the place of Indra (the King of Heaven), being guided by his Guru Sukracharyara, Bali performed the Vishwajit sacrifice on the bank of the Narmada River, a yaj~na for the purpose of becoming the king of three worlds.

Bali then set out to conquer Amravati, the capital of Heaven, in his divine chariot which he had obtained from Agni, the fire God.  Bali was also wearing the lotus flower garland presented by his grandfather and carrying the conch gifted by his Guru.  Lord Indra knew He was not going to be able to stop Bali, due to the guidance of His Guru Brihaspati, He abandoned Heaven and went into exile.  Bali ascended the throne of heaven and became the lord of the three worlds.

Indra’s mother Aditi was saddened by His defeat and, with the help of her husband Sage Kashyapa, made a vow to seek help from Lord Vishnu.  Pleased by Aditi’s devotion, Lord Vishnu appeared and asked what she wanted.  Aditi said that she wanted her son Indra to be reinstated as the King of Heaven.  Lord Vishnu said, “Even though Bali is a great king and a great leader, your worship shall not prove fruitless.  Since Bali has become greedy and has shortened your son’s rule, I will be born as a son to you to protect Indra and the Devas.”

A few months later, Lord Vishnu was born to Aditi as His sixth incarnation.  As Kashyapa and Aditi stood amazed, Lord Vishnu changed His form to a very short-statured brahmin (priest).  Named Vamana, clad in a loincloth, with matted hair, He carried a wooden umbrella in one hand and a kamandala (a small water-pot) in other one.

Though Bali was ruling all three worlds, his desire continued to grow.  To become even more powerful, he performed the Great Yaj~na, as guided by his Guru Sukracharyara.  For the yaj~na to be successful, the person performing it must give whatever anyone asks from him.  Last in the line of people waiting to receive gifts stood the short brahmin, Vamana.  Everyone watched him, as He was illuminating the whole place with His gracefulness, even though He was a dwarf.

When Vamana came forward, Bali and his wife followed tradition by washing His feet.  Bali then asked, “O holy brahmin, what can I do for you?  Ask from me whatever you desire.  Do not hesitate; ask for whatever you want!  Cows, elephants, horses, chariots, villages, anything?”

Vamana shook His head and said, “All I need is the amount of land that is three paces long as measured by my stride.”  Bali was very disappointed with Vamana’s humble demand and said, “I am ready to grant you a whole continent, but all you wish is three paces of land?”  Bali laughed, “You shall have as much as you want.”

At that moment, Shukracharya felt something was wrong.  He stopped Bali as he took the holy water kamandala in his hand, to grant the request.  Pulling Bali aside, Shukracharya said, “Stop!  There is some scheme or plot behind this midget brahmin.  He is not the person He looks to be!”  Bali replied, “Nothing can be done now, I have given my word.  How can Bali, the grandson of Prahlad, refuse to fulfill a promise, like a common cheat?”

Shukracharya was convinced that this little Vamana was none other than Lord Vishnu himself, the sustainer of the three worlds, but in disguise to help Indra and the Devas.  He warned Bali, but it only made Bali happier, knowing that his Lord had come to ask something from him.  Since he couldn’t persuade Bali from his own destruction, Shukracharya changed himself into an insect and went inside the kamandala to blocked the spout so that Bali couldn’t pour the water to fulfill the request.

Lord Vishnu saw the situation.  He took a stem of holy grass and poked open the spout of the kamandala with it.  That injured one of the eyes of Shukracharya so that water flowed out from it.  Taking that water in his hand, Bali announced, “Holiest of all brahmins, Vamana, with this water I grant your wish.”

To everybody’s surprise, except Shukracharya, Vamana began to grow and grow.  Bali and everyone were astounded when Vamana began to measure the three paces with His feet.  With the first stride He covered the entire Earth & Patalaloka.  With His second stride, He covered Heaven.

Then Vamana asked Bali, “You promised me three paces of land.  I have covered all that was yours in two.  Where should I place my third stride?”  Now, confirmed that Vamana was none other than Lord Vishnu, Bali said, “O Lord, I am humbled by Your presence.  Please place your third step on my head and get rid of my greed!”  Lord Vishnu smiled and placed His third step on Bali’s head.  With the immense pressure of Lord Vishnu’s foot, Bali was pushed down to Patalaloka.

Indra was reinstated to Heaven’s throne, which made Aditi happy.  The Devas were very happy for getting their kingdom back.  As Bali had been His true devotee, Lord Vishnu blessed him and gave him the right to rule Patalaloka as long as he wanted to.

Then He told Bali to ask for anything he wished for.  Bali asked Lord Vishnu to be present in front of him day and night, so that he can worship him constantly.  Lord Vishnu said, “Your wish is granted, you will see me all the time!” and vanished.  To keep His promise, Lord Vishnu became Bali’s doorkeeper, standing in front of Bali all the time, though Bali had no clue.

Goddess Lakshmi and all of the Devas missed Lord Vishnu, who was not in Vaikuntha.   earning what had happened, She disguised herself as an ordinary woman and visited Bali in Patalaloka.  She said to Bali, “Your Majesty! My husband has gone to fulfill some errands and is not at home.  I need protection.  I heard that your kingdom is the safest place, please give me protection too!”   Moved by Her words, Bali said, “Lady!  You are like a sister to me.  Please come and stay in my palace, stay here as long as you wish!”

She thanked Bali and started living in the palace in Patalaloka.  Since the Goddess of wealth was in Patalaloka, it became a very prosperous place and everyone living there was very happy; Bali’s kingdom was flourishing.

One day Bali heard his sister saying her prayers.  Bali asked, “What are you praying for?”  She said, “I am praying for a long and healthy life for you, my brother.”  Bali was so happy and said, “Ask me for whatever you want, I will give it to you, my sister!”  She smiled and said, “Brother, I want my husband back.”  With a puzzled look Bali asked, “Your husband…?”  She then pointed towards the gatekeeper and said, “That is my husband….” Bali was unable to wrap his head around what was going on, but was intent on keeping his word, so he said, “Yes, you may have Him back…”

Before Bali realized what was going on, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi appeared.  Bali was shocked to learn that, all these days, it was Lord Vishnu as his gatekeeper and that his so-called sister was Goddess Lakshmi.  He fell to their feet and apologized.  “I was keeping my word!”  Lord Vishnu said and continued, “It was your honesty and which brought me here.  As promised, I was in front of your eyes day and night.”

Bali then sought forgiveness from Goddess Lakshmi for unknowingly keeping Lord Vishnu away from Her for a long time.  Goddess Lakshmi said, “Bali, it is not your fault, this is always His behavior.  He is always in front of His devotees, day and night, even if they don’t realize it!”  Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi returned to Vaikuntha. Bali wisely ruled Patalaloka as long as he wanted and attained moksha at His Lord’s feet.

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Pregnant with twins, Diti was the wife of the sage Kashyapa.  The twins were incarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, whom we met in a recent blog on Varaha, Vishnu’s incarnation as a boar.  As the gatekeepers in Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya had been cursed to live human lives in which they would hate Vishnu.

Diti foresaw that her children were going to hate God, so she carried them in her womb for a hundred years.  Then she found that her grandson would be a divine soul.  Knowing this, she gave birth, naming the boys Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu.

Hiranyaksha was killed by Vishnu as Varaha, the boar.  Hiranyakashipu was outraged at the death of his brother; so he started harassing all devotees of Lord Vishnu, thinking it to be the best way to get revenge.  He wanted the revenge so badly that he practiced severe austerities, appealing to Lord Brahma for a boon that Lord Vishnu will not be able to kill him.

While Hiranyakashipu was away doing his austerities, the Devas (Gods) saw a good opportunity.  Led by Indra, they attacked Hiranyakashipu’s kingdom.  Victorious, Indra captured Hiranyakashipu’s kingdom and pregnant queen, Leelavati, taking her to the heavens.

Sage Narada knew Leelavati was sinless, so he advised Indra against taking another person’s wife.  Sage Narada took Leelavati into his care, saving her from Indra.  While in Narada’s care, the fetus in her womb was affected by the transcendental teachings of the sage.  Hearing the praise of Lord Vishnu, by the name of “Narayana,” a Divine mantra imprinted in the child at such an early age — “Om Namo Narayanaya.”

When the beautiful boy was born, Hiranyakashipu’s son, he was named Prahlad.  Prahlad grew to become a devotee of Lord Vishnu, all due to sage Narada’s prenatal training.

Meanwhile, Hiranyakashipu’s penance was beginning to shake the heavens.  The Devas went to Lord Brahma seeking help.  Happy with Hiranyakashipu’s great austerities, while also thinking that he could help the Devas, Lord Brahma appeared to Hiranyakashipu.

Hiranyakashipu requested immortality, which was refused by Lord Brahma, as it was something no one can grant.  Then Hiranyakashipu, learning from his brother’s mistake, requested a cunning boon:  that no human, animal nor God should be able to kill him, with or without a weapon.  He added that he should die, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither during the day nor during the night, neither on the ground nor in the sky.  Unable to refuse, Lord Brahma gave the boon exactly as asked.

Hiranyakashipu returned to his kingdom with this huge power.  He especially continuied to harass anyone devoted to Lord Vishnu.  His successes made Hiranyakashipu more egoistic, proud, self-centered and conceited.  After chasing Indra and the Devas out, he established his kingdom in the heavens and made himself the Lord of the three worlds, forcing people to worship him as God.

Since Lord Vishnu’s devotees recite the mantra, “Om Namo Narayanaya,” all the time, Hiranyakashipu banned it.  Instead he ordered them to say his praise, “Om Namo Hiranyaya.”   Anyone disobeying the order was executed.

The Devas, along with the devotees, prayed to Lord Vishnu for him to incarnate and rescue them.  They heard a divine voice, promising that Lord Vishnu will put an end to their suffering and slay Hiranyakashipu, but only when Hiranyakashipu tries to persecute his son Prahlad.  Hearing this the Devas & all beings of the three words felt peace in their hearts.

From Narada’s Ashram, Hiranyakashipu brought his wife & son back to his own kingdom.  He sent Prahlad to Sukracharya, the Guru of the demons.  The teachers taught Prahlad all the knowledge and, most of all, the praise of Hiranyakashipu, accepting him as God and chanting the mantra, “Om Namo Hiranyaya!”  As Prahlad’s mind & heart was already filled with the mantra “Om Namo Narayanaya,” no other praise was able to get into it.

This made Sukracharya and the teachers very worried, so they took him to Hiranyakashipu, saying they taught him everything except his praise, “Om Namo Hiranyaya!”  Hearing this, Hiranyakashipu was enraged that, of all people, his own son was not accepting him as God.

Controlling himself to his best, Hiranyakashipu asked Prahlad, “What will give someone everlasting happiness?” Prahlad answered, “Dear Father, whoever renounces the world and its attachments, understanding that it’s all Maayaa’s doing, and surrenders at Lord Vishnu’s feet, will be in eternal bliss.”  Prahlad gave full respect to his father but refused to praise his father as God.

Hiranyakashipu glared at the teachers and ordered them to take his son back to the Guru’s Ashram, and to guard him closely so that the devotees of Lord Vishnu will not influence him.  He warned them not let Prahlad out of their sight and to teach Prahlad his father’s mantra.

The teachers asked Prahlad about who had given him teachings about Lord Vishnu.  Prahlad answered, “Whom but Vishnu himself gave the knowledge.”  The teachers tried punishing Prahlad, to make him accept Hiranyakashipu as almighty, but Prahlad simply refused.  Time passed, and the teachers gave up, so they taught him the four goals of life.

The other students were attracted by Prahlad’s divine nature and started following him.  This made the Guru’s situation even worse.  Unable to handle the situation, the teachers took Prahlad back to his father.

Prahlad gave his pranams (bows) to his father.  Hiranyakashipu took Prahlad onto his lap with affection, patting his head.  He asked, “What have you learnt from your Guru all these years?”  Prahlad answered, “Dear Father, I learned that the most worthwhile occupation for anyone is the worship of Lord Vishnu.”

Hiranyakashipu looked at Guru Sukracharya with anger, but the Guru immediately clarified that this was never taught by anyone at the Ashram.  In fact, he said that they were afraid that Prahlad’s behavior was influencing the other students.  Hiranyakashipu furiously asked Prahlad who taught him all this nonsense?  Prahlad answered humbly, “Vishnu himself reveals these teachings to those who are devoted to him.”

Blinded by anger, Hiranyakashipu threw Prahlad from his lap onto the floor and ordered his guards to kill Prahlad.  However, Prahlad just sat silently and meditated on Lord Vishnu, so none of the weapons had any effect on him.

His guards then threw Prahlad beneath an elephant’s feet.  They cast him into the midst of huge fearful snakes.  They hurled him from a hilltop.  They gave him poison.
They starved him.  They exposed him to severe cold, winds, fire and water.  They threw heavy stones to crush him.  But throughout these trials, Prahlad was simply absorbed in thoughts of Lord Vishnu and thus remained unharmed.  Unable to kill Prahlad, the guards brought him back to Hiranyakashipu.

Hiranyakashipu became furious and didn’t know what to do next.  He asked Prahlad, “The Lord you worship, Vishnu, where is he?  Can you show me where he is so that I can kill him and prove to you that I am the most powerful person in the three worlds?”  Prahlad answered, “He is everywhere!”

Hiranyakashipu’s temper was out of control, “Tell me one place where he is.  Is he in this pillar in front of you?  If I don’t find him, I will kill you with my own hands.”  Praying to Lord Vishnu, Prahlad replied without any hesitation, “Yes!”  Hiranyakashipu took up his sword, got up from his royal throne and, with great anger, struck his fist against the pillar.

His blow broke the pillar into thousands of pieces, and out came a ferocious half-man, half-lion creature, never seen before.  This creature had angry eyes like molten gold, a shining mane on the fearful lion-like face, deadly teeth and razor-sharp claws.

Hiranyakashipu used all sorts of weapons, with no effect on the creature in any way.  At twilight (neither day nor night, according to the boon he received), with one blow, the creature brought Hiranyakashipu down.  Then the creature picked up Hiranyakashipu and took him to the entrance of the palace (neither inside nor outside), placed him on his thighs (neither on the ground nor in the sky) and began to rip Hiranyakashipu’s torso with its claw-like nails (with and without a weapon).  Hiranyakashipu perished, by which Vijaya completed his first birth on earth.

All the Devas and the sages at the palace prayed to Lord Brahma to protect them.  Lord Brahma appeared, saying, “This is Narasimha.  Lord Vishnu himself has taken this form to save the little boy Prahlad, his devotee.”  Nara means man, simha means lion.

They asked Lord Brahma to calm Lord Vishnu down, but Brahma said only Prahlad could do so, as he was the one for whom Lord Vishnu had taken the fearful Narasimha avatar.  He told Prahlad to go to Narasimha.

Without any hesitation, knowing it is the ever-loving Lord Vishnu in this terrifying form, Prahlad went closer to Narasimha and fell at his feet.  Lord Vishnu calmed down instantly and showed his blissful form, blessing Prahlad with a hand on his head.  Like a bolt of lightning, Prahlad was given the ultimate knowledge and started singing the praise of Lord Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu asked Prahlad to name any boon, so he asked to purify his father’s sins and bless everyone in the three worlds.  Prahlad then participated in the rituals to liberate his father’s soul and became the king of Asuras (Demons).  With the blessings of his Guru Sukracharya and the other celestials, Prahlad ruled the Asura realm gracefully for a very long time.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo nama.h

To your inherent Divinity, again and again I bow.

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

“Vaikuntha” is the abode of Lord Vishnu.  Jaya and Vijaya are the two doorkeepers guarding the seven doors of this Divine Realm.  They love Lord Vishnu and feel honored to be serving him.  They take their job very seriously, making sure Lord Vishnu’s time is spent on matters that need the most attention and assistance.

Many come to pay respect & worship Lord Vishnu, so Jaya and Vijaya make sure no one wastes Lord Vishnu’s precious time, so that he can help the ones in real need.  No one is allowed through the seventh door of Vaikuntha without Jaya’s and Vijaya’s approval.

One day, as Jaya and Vijaya were standing on guard at the seventh door of Vaikuntha, they saw four children coming.  Jaya and Vijaya were mystified, as they have seldom seen children visiting the Vaikuntha in all their years guarding the doors.  It was very rare.  Jaya and Vijaya talked among themselves and decided that it will be a waste of Lord Vishnu’s time to see these children.  They didn’t want the children to bother Lord Vishnu.

The four children came to the doors of Vaikuntha, passing through the first six to arrive at the seventh, only to find two gatekeepers with four arms and red eyes stopping them.  The youngest said, “Open up!  We want to see the Lord.”  Jaya shook his head and said, “Children, please do not disturb the Lord.  He is not available at the moment.  You go and play somewhere else.”

Another child burst out, “You think we are children!  We are not children.”  Though Vijaya was a bit confused, now in some doubt, he resolutely shook his head as he’d decided earlier with Jaya.  He said as kindly as possible, “The Lord is very tired.  He is resting.  Please come some time later.”

The expression in the children’s faces went from bad to worse, so Jaya and Vijaya were a bit scared that the children might be some high sages in disguise.  The oldest of the children, said “Do you know who we are?”  Continuing without waiting for an answer, he said, “I am Sanaka; he is my younger brother Sanatana…” pointing to the one who was quietest of them.  “And these are Sanandana and Sanatkumara, my youngest brothers.” pointing to the ones who had spoken earlier.

Hearing this and realizing who these four children were, Jaya and Vijaya were very upset about refusing passage to them through the seventh door.  “You are the four Kumaras, the sons of Lord Brahma,” they said faintly, kneeling before the four children.  “We apologize for our behavior.  We mistook you for some mischievous children.”

The four were far from relenting.  Sanatana spoke, breaking his silence, “You close the door of the Lord to devotees like us.  We pray to him all the time.  Lord Vishnu is always available for us.  You said he is not available!”  Sanatkumara interrupted his brother, saying, “We curse you for this.”  Trembling, Jaya and Vijaya said, “Please do not curse us, we did this unintentionally, not knowing who you were!”

Hearing the raised voices outside the door, Lord Vishnu came to the door accompanied by His Consort, Goddess Lakshmi.  He saw His doorkeepers kneeling at the feet of the four children of Lord Brahma, with Sanatkumara completing his curse, “You will no longer be the doorkeepers for Vaikuntha.  You will be sent away from Lord Vishnu, for not letting His devotees see the Lord!”

The Lord looked at Jaya and Vijaya with empathy, while they were kneeling silently, not knowing what to do.  The four children of Lord Brahma bowed, worshipped Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi.  They said that they would lift the curse which they had cast it in haste.  But Lord Vishnu said that this curse is going to bring a greater good, not only to Jaya and Vijaya, but also to the three worlds.

Lord Vishnu turned to Jaya and Vijaya, finding them sobbing without control.  Vijaya looking at the Lord says, “We don’t mind any curse, but we cannot bear being separated from you.  Please, Lord do something!”  Lord Vishnu was touched by their great devotion and decided to give them two choices.  He said, “Either you can take seven births on earth as my devotees…”  Vijaya jumped in looking horrified, “Seven births? You mean, we can’t see you for seven births.  No, no, please Lord… No!”

Lord Vishnu continued “…Or take three births as my enemies.”  Jaya said in a whisper, “As your enemy?  Oh, My Lord!  How can we even think of not liking you, let alone being your enemies?” Lord Vishnu looked at them with a grace-filled smile.

Jaya and Vijaya looked at each other, then said, “We can’t part with you for seven births.  Se will take the option of being born three times, so that we can come back to you sooner.”  Lord Vishnu laughed and said, “Don’t you know that everyone thinks of their enemies more than their friends and dear ones?  So, you will be thinking more about me when you are born on the earth.  I will incarnate on the earth to give you moksha, my dear friends.”

Jaya and Vijaya were first born as the brothers Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, to sage Kaasyapa and his wife Diti.  Through his wisdom & knowledge Kaasyapa discovered that these brothers, who were conceived at an inauspicious time by Diti, were going to be evil.  Coming to know this terrible truth, Diti held them in her womb for a very long time until she came to know that Lord Vishnu would come to save the three worlds from her evil sons.

Meanwhile, the earth was not in a good state; the people on the earth were in turmoil all the time, fighting with each other, using devastating weapons that harmed Bhumata (Mother Earth) very much.  Bhumata prayed to Lord Vishnu to come and protect her and the good people on earth.  The great sages on the earth also realizing the damage that was being done, so they performed great yaj~nas (Vedic fire ceremonies), specifically to please Lord Vishnu.

Hiranyaksha, elder of the brothers, wanted to become the most powerful on earth, and performed severe austerities while praying to Lord Brahma.  Happy with Hiranyaksha’s devotion, Lord Brahma appeared before him and granted that he not be defeated or killed by any humans or devas (gods).  Powered by this boon, Hiranyaksha tormented everyone on earth, as well as the devas.

Finding that some devas were still powerful, he decided to weaken them by hiding the Bhumata, the source of their power, by using “the āhuti,” offerings and sacrifices by the earthlings.  He used unimaginable weapons of great power, making Bhumata slip from the axis.  With Bhumata off the axis, he hid her where no one could find her.

The devas, now disconnected from the earth, were greatly weakened.  Knowing this, Hiranyaksha challenged them all, defeating them one by one.  At one point, he came to Varuna (Lord of water), calling upon him for a fight.  Seething with anger, Varuna knew he could not defeat Hiranyaksha, so he said, “Son, I am very old and therefore will not be a good match for you.  You need to go and fight Lord Vishnu!”  When he heard Lord Vishnu’s name, Hiranyaksha felt strange.  However, as he did not remember who he was, he just nodded and decided that Lord Vishnu was the best person to defeat.

Hearing Bhumata’s distressed cry to be rescued, Lord Brahma decided to seek Lord Vishnu’s help to rescue her from Hiranyaksha.  He thought, “Lord Vishnu brought me into existence, so He would be the one to rescue Bhumata.”  As he started praying and meditating for the assistance of Lord Vishnu, a tiny Varaha (boar) emerged from the nostril of Lord Brahma, soon to grow to a size of a huge mountain.  Brahma at once was grateful to Lord Vishnu for taking this incarnation for the greater good.  The Varaha started its journey towards the depths of the worlds to find where Hiranyaksha was holding Bhumata hostage.

As he approached Hiranyaksha, Lord Vishnu smiled, realizing that Jaya’s first birth caused by the curse was coming to an end.  To Hiranyaksha’s astonishment, the huge Varaha dived and took Bhumata from where Hiranyaksha had hid her.  Hiranyaksha chased the Varaha, challenging it for a fight.  The Varaha ignored Hiranyaksha, running faster and faster with Bhumata to place Her back on Her axis.  Bhumata thanked Lord Vishnu, knowing that it was He in the form of the Varaha.

The Varaha turned towards Hiranyaksha and looked at him so furiously, that Hiranyaksha was momentarily was terrified.  The Varaha and Hiranyaksha fought each other, but this time Hiranyaksha had met his match.  The Varaha fought brutally, managing to go past all the defenses of Hiranyaksha.  Hiranyaksha was getting weak and was nowhere close to defeating the Varaha.

Hiranyaksha looked at the Varaha.  The Varaha seemed to be looking at him lovingly.  “Why would the boar look at me lovingly?” Hiranyaksha thought, but he charged at the Varaha again.  The Varaha easily deflected his attack and pushed him away.  With all his strength lost, Hiranyaksha, got the final blow from the Varaha.

As Hiranyaksha was taking his last few breaths, by the grace of Lord Vishnu, he remembered who he was and realized that Lord Vishnu has come in the form of a Varaha as he promised at the doors of Vaikuntha.  With his last breath, Hiranyaksha (Jaya) thanked Lord Vishnu for finishing his first birth on earth.

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

The Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) were engaging in war all the time.  Shukra was the Asura’s Guru, using His Divine Powers to revive the Asuras from death, but the Devas didn’t have this type of assistance.  On top of this, Indra, King of the Devas, had been cursed by Sage Durvasa; so Indra and the Devas were without their strength, radiance and wealth.

Indra, with the other Devas, approached Lord Vishnu for advice.  Lord Vishnu said the only way to regain what they had lost was to churn the ocean of milk, to drink of amrit (nectar of immortality).  This would make them immortal and restore their lost strength, radiance and wealth.

Because of their depleted powers, Vishnu also suggested they would need the help from their half-brothers, the Asuras, to achieve this.  Following His advice, Indra approached the Asuras for help.  After deliberations, the Asuric King Bali agreed to churn the ocean together with the Devas and share the results.

The churning of the ocean was not going to be an easy task, though the Devas and Asuras were working together.  They needed a huge churning rod and a very strong rope.  As Lord Vishnu advised, they sought the help of Mount Mandara as the churning rod, and the Snake God Vasuki to be the rope.  Both Mount Mandara and Vasuki obliged.

Bringing Mount Mandara to the ocean became a difficult task.  Together, the Devas and Asuras couldn’t bear the weight of the mountain.  They got tired and let it slip towards the earth.  Mount Mandara landed with a thundering sound, crashing and killing everything beneath it.  At once Lord Vishnu came to their rescue, flying on His vehicle Garuda (the eagle).  He placed Mount Mandara on Garuda, flew to the ocean and placed Mandara in the middle of it.

The churning of the ocean began.  As suggested by Lord Vishnu, the Devas took hold of Vasuki’s head.  The Asuras refused to hold the tail and demanded to hold the head.  They switched sides, which was all according to Lord Vishnu’s plan.  The Asuras, holding Vasuki’s head, got poisoned by the fumes coming out of Vasuki’s mouth, due to the strain of the churning.  Despite this, the Devas and Asuras pulled back and forth on the snake’s body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean.

As they began churning, Mount Mandara started sinking in the ocean of milk.  Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a turtle (kurma) and held Mount Mandara steady.  This is His Kurma Avatar (incarnation), to save both the Devas and Asuras.  He gave the Asuras strength and the Devas courage so they could continue the task at hand.

During the churning, Vasuki was in great pain.  The most deadly poison, known as halahala, started coming from His mouth, threatening the existence of the universe by engulfing and poisoning everything.  As instructed by Lord Vishnu, the Devas and Asuras prayed to Lord Shiva, who is the healer of sickness and remover of all poisons.

Lord Shiva came to the Devas and Asuras and saw the poison spreading in the ocean.  He gathered the whole of the poison with His hands and, while the Devas and Asuras watched in amazement, He swallowed the halahala poison in one gulp.  Goddess Parvati, standing by His side, was terrified at the thought of losing Him, so She squeezed His neck as He was swallowing the halahala, to make sure that the poison would not descend into His body.  Fortunately, Parvati’s act made the poison remain stuck forever in His throat, not going down.  Thus the color of Shiva’s neck is blue, giving Lord Shiva the name “Neelakanta,” which means Blue Throated One (Neela = Blue) + (Kanta = Throat).

Once the danger from the halahala passed, the Devas and Asuras began churning the ocean again.  As they continued to churn, several Divine Objects came out.

• Kamadhenu (the wish fulfilling cow) was given to the Rishis (Sages)
• Ucchaisrava (the white horse) was given to the Asura King Bali
• Airavata (the white elephant) was given to the Deva King Indira
• Kaustubhamani (a rare diamond) was placed on Lord Vishnu’s chest
• Kalpavrksha (the wish fulfilling tree) was sent to Deva Loka (Heaven)
• Sura, also known as Varuni (the goddess of wine) sent to the Asuras’ realm.

Nearing the completion, Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) appeared, Her radiance brighter than lightening, illuminating all four corners.  She was holding a garland in Her hand, looking for a suitable companion in this realm, one who deserved Her.  The Devas and Asuras competed with each other for her attention, but Her eye landed on Lord Vishnu, who was concentrating fully on the task at hand.

Lakshmi was a bit taken aback that Lord Vishnu didn’t notice Her.  Noticing this, Lord Vishnu appeared before Her and accepted Her garland.  Devi Lakshmi garlanded Him to accept Him as Her consort.  When they united as a couple the three worlds erupted into ecstasy.  After being blessed by the Divine Union, the Devas and Asuras continued their task of churning the ocean of milk.

Finally, Dhanvantari (the Divine Physician) appeared with the vessel of amrit in His skillful hands.  The Asuras strove to seize it to drink it all themselves, to fulfill the cunning plan they’d had from the beginning.  They overpowered the Devas, weakened by Durvasa’s curse, and grabbed the amrit.  Seeing the situation, Lord Vishnu turned Himself into the loveliest nymph, Mohini.  Moha means delusion.  Mohini charmed the Asuras who were totally distracted by Her, so She took the opportunity to steal the amrit and distribute it to the Devas.

After Indra and the Devas had the amrit and regained their strength, the three worlds once again became filled with radiance and power.

Om Namah Shivaya

By Nirooshita Sethuram &                   Swami Nirmalananda

Brahma is the name we call the One God, when He/She is creating, also known as Creator-God.  Brahma’s own day and night is comprised of a few billion years each.  When Brahma’s day is over, He goes to sleep and utter darkness prevails with the earth is submerged in water.  This is called the Pralaya (Deluge), which continues throughout Brahma’s night.  When Brahma wakes up in his morning, the worlds slowly come out of the water and life prevails all over again.

Hayagriva was a very powerful Asura (evil being), a horse-headed demon who was causing a lot of trouble to the Devas (heavenly beings) and others.  Knowing that the Vedas were the breath of the Devas, sages and all virtuous people, Hayagriva conspired to take away the Vedas during Brahma’s sleep.  With the Vedas in his possession, Hayagriva planned to hide himself in the deepest abyss of the ocean so that no one could find the Vedas.  Without the Vedas, Brahma would not be able to create the universe, thus the Asuras could rule the worlds.  With this thought, Hayagriva was waiting for the Brahma’s night to come.

A great sage was living at that time, Satyavrata, who was a king who had become a great Master.   He was doing deep practices, absolutely devoted to Lord Vishnu, sustaining himself only on water, performing severe austerities.

One day, as he was offering water to Lord Vishnu in the Kritamala River, Satyavrata reached into the river to take some water into his hand for this purpose, and a tiny fish came with the water into his hand.  As he was trying to let the fish back in the river, the fish requested Satyavrata to save him from all the big fish in the river.

Out of compassion, Satyavrata put the fish into his small water-pot (kamandala) and took it to his ashram.  The next morning, picking up his kamandala, he saw the tiny fish had grown to fill the size of the kamandala.  Hence, Satyavrata put the fish in a big tub.  The next day, the fish grew to fill the entire tub.  So the good sage put the fish and in a big well nearby.  Again, the next morning he saw the fish occupying the whole well, to his wonder.  He was really confused.  Out of pity, he carefully moved the fish to a big lake nearby.  To his consternation, he observed the fish growing, in a short time filling the entire lake.

Now realizing that the fish is none other than Lord Vishnu, who has come in the form of a fish, the king-sage said, “Oh Lord Vishnu, it is you who has come in this form.  Accept my respectful salutation!”  Lord Vishnu in the form of the fish replied, “Blessings Satyavrata. Brahma’s night is coming in seven days.  This means darkness and severe downpours, resulting in an unprecedented flood covering the three worlds in water, destroying all life.  I have come to warn you of this deluge.  Gather the seven rishis, all the life species, life forms and seeds.  At the time of the Pralaya, a spacious boat will approach you.  Board the boat with all you have gathered and it will sail down the Ganges.  When it reaches the ocean, I will be waiting for you.  Tie the boat to my nose and I will drag you and the occupants of the boat on the turbulent water until Brahma’s night comes to an end.”  Then the fish disappeared in the water, saying, “I now need to go save the Vedas!”  Following Lord Vishnu’s command, Satyavrata gathered the seven rishis, along with all the life forms and seeds.  They waited for the seventh day and the arrival of the boat.

As soon as darkness fell and Brahma closed his eyes, Hayagriva stole the Vedas from the Creator and found his hiding place in the deepest part of the ocean.  As the Pralaya was approaching and the whole world was going under water, he thought no one could find his place.  But no hiding place was good enough for Lord Vishnu!  He found Hayagriva in the deepest part of the ocean and fought with him to get the Vedas back.  After a fierce battle, Lord Vishnu killed Hayagriva and took possession of the Vedas.

By this time, Satyavrata had boarded the boat with the seven rishis and all the life species, life forms and seeds he had collected.  The boat was sailing down Ganges, with the water was rising as the worlds were going under water.  When the boat approached the ocean, Lord Vishnu, in the form of the golden fish of an extraordinary size was waiting to help them to ride out the deluge.  As instructed, Satyavrata tied the boat to the fish’s nose.  Lord Vishnu pulled the boat through the Pralaya, and imparted to Satyavrata the eternal truth contained in the “Matsya Purana,” as well as all things connected with the secret knowledge of the soul.

Time passed.  At the start of Brahma’s daybreak, the floods subsided.  By the grace of Lord Vishnu, Satyavrata was safe in his boat with all the precious things, as well as the knowledge and spiritual wisdom he gathered.  It is he who became Manu, the son of Vivasavan, in the next eon-age.

After saving the worlds and the boat with Satyavrata and his collection, Lord Vishnu returned the Vedas to the rightful owner Brahma, who had risen from his sleep.  Thanking Lord Vishnu, Brahma continued his work, creating life in the worlds, never to lose the Vedas again.

By Swami Nirmalananda

Yoga’s idea of Divinity is so generous!  To begin with, you are an individualized form of God, even though you may not yet know your Self so fully.  In fact, everyone and everything is an individualized form of the One.  Beyond that, when the universe is in need, God comes to help.  Not just once, but as many times as needed.  Wow!

Newly introduced to the mysteries of yoga, this idea clashed with what I had been taught — that God incarnated only once, thousands of years ago, and I missed the chance to meet him.  As a pre-teen, this made me angry.  I would have wanted to live 2,000 years ago!

As I got to know the teachings more fully, and as I observed and benefitted from my Guru, a Divine Human himself, my mind and heart expanded to embrace all forms of Divinity.  What a benevolent God, who will incarnate to help us as many times as needed.  I love it!

Dashavataras:  Ten Incarnations of Vishnu

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Whenever dharma, the inherent order of the universe, is endangered, God comes to rescue us.  Lord Vishnu is the one who serves as our Protector and Sustainer.  He promises to incarnate into this world to reinstate dharma, to protect and to destroy evil and reinstate righteousness.

Unfortunately, there have been many times that we needed such Divine intervention.  Of His numerous avatars (incarnations), ten are mainly for the purpose described above, so they are called the Dashavataras (das = 10).  According to the Puranas, nine of them have already taken come, with the tenth to come at the end of this age (called Kali Yuga).

The ten avatars are:

•  Matsya – the fish
• Kurma – the tortoise
• Varaha – the boar
• Narasimha – the part-human/part-lion
• Vamana – a dwarf human
• Parashurama – a human warrior with an axe
• Rama – a prince and king
• Balarama – the elder brother of Krishna
• Krishna – a prince and king, alongside his elder brother Balarama
• Kalki – on a white horse, with a powerful sword.

In some areas of India, Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) is honored instead of Balarama.

The orders in which these avatars came is similar to the theory of evolution:

• Matsya – a fish is the first class of vertebrates (or life form itself) in water, Silurian Period
• Kurma – amphibious, Devonian Period
• Varaha – a mammal, a wild land animal, Triassic Period
• Narasimha – part-human/part-animal, an uncivilized wild-natured human being
• Vamana – the dwarf human, one of the early humans
• Parashurama – the angry human, early humans living in forests and using weapons
• Rama – the perfect human, a human living in community, at the beginning of civil society
• Balarama – a human in a politically advanced society, but rife with corruption.
• Krishna – the divine statesman, in politically advanced societies but with corruption
• Kalki – the mighty warrior, in a time of advanced beings with great powers that will lead to the destruction of the world.

This blog is an introduction to a series telling the stories of each of these avatars. Some of these avatars have a lot of information available about them, while some have less.  Therefore the length of the stories will vary accordingly.  Swami Nirmalananda says, “They each bring important lessons, to help you in your process of spiritual upliftment, the discovery of the inner mystery of your inherent Divinity.”

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Indra, the King of Heaven was riding on His white elephant.  As He returned to Heaven, He was greeted by Durvasa, a great sage, who offered him a very special garland of flowers vibrating with the energy and presence of the Divine Goddess Parashakti herself.

Indra, being a king, was arrogant, so while He accepted the garland, He gave it to the elephant.  The elephant was irritated by the smell of the garland, threw it to the ground and trampled it.  Durvasa, known to be a hot-headed sage, was predictably enraged, as the garland held all beauty and auspiciousness in it.  It was to be treated as sacred prasad, a Divine Gift.  Sage Durvasa cursed Indra, “Your pride has made you egoistic about your position and wealth.  Goddess Lakshmi will now forsake you.”  Because of the sage’s curse, without Goddess Lakshmi’s blessings, Indra and all the gods lost their strength, energy and wealth.

With all His powers diminished, Indra with the other Devas ran to Lord Vishnu seeking His advice.  Lord Vishnu said the only way to get back what was lost was to churn the ocean, then made of milk, to bring forth “amrit” (the nectar of immortality).  Thus Indra and the Devas could drink the amrit, which would make them immortal again and help them regain their lost powers.  Because of their depleted powers, Vishnu explained they would need help from their half-brothers the Asuras (demons), even though they had always been in conflict with them, in order to achieve this.

Indra led the Devas in approaching the Asuras for help.  After deliberations, they all agreed to churn the ocean together and share the proceeds.  The churning of the ocean of milk was not going to be an easy task, though they were working together.  They needed a huge churning rod and a very strong rope.

They sought the help of Mount Mandara to be their churning rod and the great snake Vasuki, the snake god, to be their rope, which they wrapped 3½ times around the mountain.  The churning of the ocean began with the Devas holding Vasuki’s tail (as advised by Lord Vishnu) and the Asuras holding the head.  The Devas and Asuras pulled back and forth alternately, rotating the mountain and churning the ocean.

As they were churning, Mount Mandara started sinking in the ocean of milk.  To prevent this, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and held Mount Mandara up from underneath.  This is known to be “Kurma Avatar” (kurma=tortoise, avatar=incarnation), one of Lord Vishnu’s ten Avatars.

The first thing to manifest from the churning ocean was a deadly poison, known as “hala hala,” which threatened the very existence of all the worlds.  As instructed by Lord Vishnu, the Devas and Asuras prayed to Lord Shiva, who is healer of sickness and remover of all poisons.  Lord Shiva came to their aid, while the Devas and Asuras watched in amazement, by swallowing the hala hala poison in one gulp.

Goddess Parvati, standing by His side, was terrified at the thought that it might poison Shiva, so She squeezed His neck to prevent the poison from going into His stomach.  The poison remained stuck forever in His throat, staining it a dark blue.  This gave Lord Shiva the name “Neelakantha,” which means Blue Throated (neela=blue, kantha=throat).

Not knowing what would happen to Shiva, they all stood vigil with Him through the night.  This was the first Shivaratri or Night of Shiva, which is still celebrated on the dark of the moon in February or early March.

Once the danger had passed, the Devas and Asuras began churning the ocean again.  As they continued to churn, several objects came out:

Kamadhenu — the wish-fulfilling cow

Ucchaisrava — the white horse

Airavata — the white elephant

Kaustubhamani — a rare diamond

Kalpavriksha — the wish-fulfilling tree

Sura or Varuni — the goddess of wine

And Lakshmi — the goddess of wealth

The Devas and Asuras divided the objects among themselves.  Lakshmi was gifted to Vishnu who had been supporting them all along as the tortoise.

Finally, Dhanvantari (the Divine Physician) appeared with the vessel of amrit in His skillful hands.

The Asuras overpowered the Devas in order to drink it all themselves.  Looking at the situation, Lord Vishnu turned into the loveliest of the nymphs of the Heaven, called Mohini.  Mohini distracted the Asuras, then stole the amrit and gave it to the Devas.

As Mohini was distributing the amrit to the Devas, one of the Asuras, called Svarbhanu, sneaked in to sit among the Devas and get some amrit.  The moment Chandra (Moon) and Surya (Sun), who were sitting beside him, saw that he was an Asura, they informed Mohini.  Lord Vishnu took on His real form and threw out the Sudarshan Chakra (a spinning disc-like energetic weapon).  The Asura’s neck was separated from his body, but he did not die as he had drunk one drop of the amrit.  His head was called “Rahu” and his torso “Ketu.”  Now, Rahu and Ketu periodically swallow the moon and sun to have their revenge, causing the eclipses to happen.  Rahu and Ketu are part of the nine planets of Vedic astrology.

After Indra and the Devas drank the amrit, they regained their strength.  The three worlds became filled with radiance and power.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo nama.h

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Ganga was born as the eldest daughter of Himavan, the king of the Himalayas.  She was not only beautiful, but also had the power of purifying anything she touched.  This quality made her a favorite among all, especially the Devas (Gods).  Led by Lord Brahma, they came to Himavan requesting him to let Ganga go with them to the heavenly realm.

Photo via sanatansociety.com

King Himavan was saddened by this request, but for the greater good of the three worlds he agreed to part with his first-born.  He blessed his daughter to go with them and told her to serve them dutifully.  In her absence, it became impossible for the people to live peacefully on the earth.  The Asuras (demons), who hid in the ocean during the day, came out at night and started harassing everyone.  Not knowing what to do, the people decided to hide in caves.

Lord Brahma and the Devas felt sympathy towards the people of earth and decided to help them to find and conquer their mysterious tormenters.  They went to Lord Vishnu, the sustainer of the three worlds, to ask for guidance.  Lord Vishnu told them the only way to defeat the Asuras was to dry up the ocean they hid in.  He then said that Sage Agastya was the only one capable of doing that job.

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Hearing this from the Divine Protector, the Devas led by Lord Brahma went to see Sage Agastya.  The great sage agreed to help the Devas by drinking up the ocean.  This exposed the Asuras, helping the Devas vanquish the Asuras.  The Devas pleaded with Agastya to fill up the ocean with the water again, but the sage couldn’t do it as he had already digested it.

Devastated, the Devas ran back to Lord Vishnu seeking help to solve the new problem.  Vishnu told them that only the descendants of King Sagara could cause the ocean to be filled up again, so they needed to be patient as Sagara had no children yet.

King Sagara was yearning for heirs, so he decided to perform intense tapas (yogic austerities) dedicated to Lord Shiva, to win the boon of having children.  Lord Shiva responded, appearing to King Sagara and his two wives.  Shiva was pleased by their devotion and granted the boon.  By this boon, Keshini gave birth to one son and Sumati gave birth to the 60,000 sons.  While Sumati’s 60,000 sons grew up conscious of their royal status, Keshini’s son Asamanja was a wicked prince.  However, Asamanja was the only son who had a son, Amsuman.  He was opposite of his father, strong and brave like his uncles, also kind and loving.

King Sagara decided to perform the great Ashwamedha Yaj~na to earn the blessings of gods, making him a mighty king.  In an Ashwamedha Yaj~na, a horse was set free with an army following it.  As the horse goes where it likes, if no one opposes it and imprisons it, it then returns to the yaj~na location.  If the horse is imprisoned, the king must free it by peace or by force.

Indra, the king of Devas, suspected his own position would be threatened by Sagara’s Ashwamedha Yaj~na, so Indra stole the horse and tied it to a tree at Sage Kapila’s ashram.  When the horse didn’t return, King Sagara ordered his 60,000 sons to find it.  After a long search, they found the horse in Sage Kapila’s ashram and accused Sage Kapila of stealing the horse.

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Angered by their audacity, the powerful sage opened his third eye and burned all of them to ashes, cursing their souls to be stuck in the world with no liberation and no heaven.  When his 60,000 uncles didn’t return, Amsuman went in search of them and the horse.  Finding the horse at Sage Kapila’s ashram, unlike his uncles, Amsuman greeted the sage with great respect and inquired of his uncles.  Discovering what had happened, grieving, he asked the sage for a way to liberate his uncles’ souls and send them to heaven.  The sage replied that the only way would be to bring Ganga to earth and make her touch the ashes, thus purifying their souls.  Kapila allowed Amsuman to take the horse back with him because Amsuman was patient and righteous.  Amsuman told King Sagara, his grandfather, about his uncles’ ill fate and the remedy given by Sage Kapila himself.

For many years, King Sagara, Amsuman and his son Dilipa tried but failed to bring Ganga to earth.  Day and night, the thought of the fate of the 60,000 princes tormented all of them.  Dilipa’s son, Bhagiratha made a vow at his father’s deathbed that he wouldn’t ascend the throne until he brought Ganga to earth.

Bhagiratha did severe tapas and meditation for several years, dedicating them to Lord Brahma.  Pleased by Bhagiratha’s efforts, Lord Brahma appeared before him and granted him the boon to bring Ganga back to earth.  He also said that Bhagiratha would need the assistance of Lord Shiva to soften her fall onto the earth, as no one else would be able to bear the force of her descent from the heaven.

Photo via vijayagalagali.blogspot.com

Hearing this, Bhagiratha performed many more years of tapas and meditation, dedicated to Lord Shiva.  Lord Shiva appeared and agreed to receive Ganga on her descent to earth.  But Shiva warned Bhagiratha that Ganga should be conducted properly on earth, because she is so used to flowing anywhere at her own will.

After all Bhagiratha’s great efforts, at last Ganga started to descend to earth.  Being willful and powerful, she decided that she would come down in a torrent and sweep away everything in her path.  Shiva foresaw her intention and imprisoned her in his matted hair, only letting her flow onto earth after Bhagiratha’s plea.

As Ganga started flowing as a river on earth, Bhagiratha steered her to Sage Kapila’s ashram.  As Ganga was sanctified again by Lord Shiva’s hair, on the way to Sage Kapila’s ashram, she washed away all the sins of the people whom she touched.

Photo via indianetzone.com

But, along her way, she capriciously flooded sage Jahnu’s ashram, only to be swallowed up by the great angry sage.  Again, Bhagiratha had to pacify a great sage to release her.  Jahnu poured her out through his ear, so she is called Jahnavi, the daughter of Jahnu.

After being released, Ganga flowed over the ashes of the sons of Sagara, purifying them and releasing them to go to heaven.  Then she reached the ocean bed, filling the ocean up again.  Since she was brought back to the earth by Bhagiratha’s great penance Ganga is also known as Bhagirathi.

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Her earthly body as a river still flows today, with her purifying everyone who comes to her.  When Brahma granted the boon that brought her back to earth, she resisted because she would collect so many sins and impurities from the millions of people who would bathe in her.  Shiva promised her that she would be freed from the weight of those burdens any time a great being stepped in her waters.