Sage Durvaasa Curses Indra

Sage Durvaasa Curses Indra

Sham S. Misri

The famous short-tempered sage Durvaasa is a partial incarnation of Shankar. One day, he was wandering on the earth when all of a sudden, he happened to see an extremely divine beauty. She was wearing a garland of beautiful flowers. The sage requested the beauty to give him that garland. She presented the garland respectfully to the sage. The sage adorned the garland on his head and began to wander again. Right at that moment, he saw Indra riding on elephant and going somewhere in the procession of the gods. Unconsciously, sage Durvaasa put that garland around the neck of Indra but Indra removed it and put it on Elephant’s head. The elephant pulled the garland with his trunk and smashed it on the ground. This whole sequence of events angered Durvaasa who cursed Indra. "O Indra! You are so drunk with your extravagances that you dared to insult my humble gift. Hence, all your splendour shall be destroyed. You will lose all your wealth."

Indra at once descended from the elephant and began to request sage Durvaasa. Durvaasa said- "Indra! Forgiveness has no place in my personality. So, all your repenting is meaningless." Saying this, sage Durvaasa departed from the scene and Indra left for Amravati.

Very soon, the curse began to show its influence. With the loss of Indra’s luxuries, all the prosperity on the earth too began to decrease. Hermits too began to give up Yagya. All the human beings began to be guided by greed and gave up pious virtues.

And at a place where pious virtues have no room, Lakshmi too doesn’t stay there. She made her abode in the awful depth of the sea. Very soon, the demons launched an attack on the gods and drove them out of heaven. Indra along with other gods approached Brahma and told him the whole story. Brahma suggested them to take refuge at Lord Vishnu. He assured them that Lord Vishnu would definitely protect them. Brahma even accompanied the gods to Lord Vishnu. There, they together prayed Lord Vishnu and intimated Him about their suffering.

Pleased by their prayers, Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said- "I will definitely help you regain your splendour. Presently, do what I say. You reunite with the demons and convince them to carry out the churning of the sea. Then bring all kinds of herbs and put them in the sea. With the help of the demons, and using Mandaraachal as churner and Vaasuki, the Naag, as the rope to carry out the churning of the sea. Thus, you will recover ambrosia drinking which, all of you will become immortal and regain your strength."

Following the advice of Lord Vishnu, the gods reconciled with the demons and convinced them to carry out the churning of the sea. They together procured all kinds of herbs and put them in the sea. Then they began the churning using Mandaraachal Mountain. As soon as the churning began, Mandaraachal began to sink. Lord Vishnu took life of Kachchhap (the great tortoise) and bore the weight of the mighty mountain on His back. During the churning, Kamadhenu, the wishful cow was the first to emerge. It was presented to the sages as an aid for their Yagya. It was followed by the damsel, Vaaruni, Kalpavriksha (the wishful tree) after which, beautiful elves appeared. The Moon followed the elves and was taken up by Shiva on His forehead. During the churning, huge quantity of poison had also emerged. It was drunk by Lord Shiva and some parts of it were taken up by the serpents. In the end, Dhanvantari himself emerged from the sea carrying the urn of ambrosia.

It was during the churning itself that Lakshmi appeared once again from the sea holding lotuses in her hands. All the sages prayed her. Then taking bath with divine water, goddess Lakshmi took her seat in the heart of Lord Vishnu.

When the demons saw that Lakshmi had chosen Lord Vishnu’s heart as her abode, they got perplexed. They at once snatched the urn from Dhanvantari and ran away. Then a row broke out among them over the drinking of ambrosia. Each of the demons wanted to drink ambrosia in maximum quantity. Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu also arrived there in the guise of an extremely pretty woman Mohini and took possession of the urn. Mohini had pleased the demons with her sweet smile while distributing ambrosia among the gods.

Thus, the gods came to drink ambrosia. When at last, the demons realised that they had been cheated they immediately attacked the gods. But since the gods had regained their strength, they soon defeated the demons without much ado. Afterwards, the gods prayed Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven to rule it. The world regained its majesty. After regaining his splendour, comforts and luxuries of the heaven, Indra prayed goddess Lakshmi with devotion and respect.

Pleased by the prayers of Indra, Lakshmi asked him to seek a boon. Indra said- "O goddess! If you are pleased with me, kindly bless me with a boon that first you will never desert this world and also that you will never desert those who worship you with this prayer." Lakshmi granted these boons.

Thus, Lakshmi had appeared as the daughter of Bhrigu and his wife Khyaati. Then second time, she emerged from beneath the sea during its churning. Thus, whenever Lord Vishnu takes an incarnation, Lakshmi accompanies Him. When God appears in divine form, she too takes a divine appearance. When God appears in human form, Lakshmi appears in human form also.

The recovery of earth by Varaha

The recovery of earth by Brahma

Sham S. Misri

With a desire to console the earth from vast flood, at the end of the long period of time, Brahma woke up from his long slumber. He saw the world lacking everything. Then, Brahma took the appearance of Varaha. Entering the water, Brahma reached Paataaloka. Seeing Brahma, the earth prayed Him with respect. Hearing her prayers, the Lord roared with frightening sound. Then, He supported the earth on His great incisors and came out from the dreadful depth. When He was rising, His breath produced big sprays of water, which drenched sinless sages while the force of His breath frightened common creatures. When the Lord emerged from the water, all the sages prayed Him with reverence and respect.

Very soon, the Lord installed the earth at a position far above the unending stretches of water. Then, Lord divided it into many divisions and created all the four worlds. Then Lord Vishnu in the guise of Brahma carried out the process of creation.

As soon as Brahma thought of creation, Tamoguni (full of darkness) creatures were the first to appear. Absence of knowledge and presence of evils like attachment, anger etc. were the main virtues of these creatures. These creatures include lower organisms, trees, shrubs, creepers, plants and grasses. These together constitute the primitive world. Their creation was followed by the appearance of animals. Still unsatisfied with His creation, Lord created the next world, which has a somewhat elevated position. The living beings that were produced in this world had internal and external knowledge, power of reflection and loved physical comforts. Though this creation pleased the Lord, He was still unsatisfied. So He created the next world, which was situated at a somewhat lower position. This new world had excess of all the three virtues. Human beings populate this world and because of excess of vices, they are full of sorrow but at the same time, highly active, have internal and external knowledge and are able to attain their goals.

The first few creations had resulted from the thoughts of the Lord. For the creation of the gods, the demons, human beings and water, the Lord decided to use His body. Thus, the demons were the first to emerge from His thighs. The Lord then shed His dark body, which formed the night. Then from His mouth, the Lord produced the gods who had Sattvic virtues. The Lord then shed His Sattvic body as well from which the day came into being. It is also the reason why the gods acquire more strength in day and the demons are stronger during nights. Then the Lord acquired yet another body and behaved like Pitraganas to produce Pitraganas before shedding that body too, which gave rise to the dusk- the twilight between the day and the night. Thereafter, the Lord acquired a new body with Rajas virtue from which the human beings were produced. When the Lord shed that Rajas body it formed dawn- the twilight between the night and the day. It also explains why the human beings are stronger at dawn and Pitraganas at dusk.

Then the Lord assumed yet another body with Rajas virtues and produced desire from it. The desire gave birth to lust. Staying in the darkness then, the Lord created the world, which is full of desire and lust. In that world, many ugly looking human beings, who had long beard and moustache appeared and ran towards Him. Among those who said, ‘Protect him’ came to be known as demons and those who said, ‘We will eat him’ came to be known as Yakshas. Then the angry Lord produced aggressive carnivores. Thereafter, the singing Lord produced Gandharvas. Thus, by turns, the Lord produced birds, sheep, goat, cow, horse, elephant, donkey, deer, camel, pony from His age, chest, mouth, belly and feet respectively. From the innumerable body hair of the Lord, fruits, flowers and herbs were produced. From His east-facing head, Lord produced Gayatri mantra, Rigveda, and Yagyas. From His south-facing head, He produced Yajurveda. From west-facing head, He produced Samaveda and from His north-facing head, He produced Atharvaveda.

Indra Tests a Woman

Indra Tests a Woman

(A Hindu Philosophy)

Sham S. Misri

Once Indra met a very beautiful lady. He had descended from the heaven in the disguise of an old Brahmin. . Then said Indra: O dark-haired lady, you talk of your husband as if you had known him from your birth; whereas you met him for first time in your life last night. And till now you were strangers that have met by chance.

Then said that lady: Brahman, you are speaking only to entice me. Know, that a woman recognises in an instant, with unerring wisdom, if only she be fortunate enough to see him, the man proper to be her husband: for this depends not upon the shallow and casual experiences of this life, but the store of memories of a former birth. And this was my case: for since I saw my husband, I am other than I was, altered for infinity by a moment of illumination and the nectar of mutual recognition.

The Creator planted in the core of all things animate and inanimate aversions and attractions to be their destiny, not to be controlled or disobeyed. 

Born out of ant-hills (Valmiki)

Sham S.Misri

There is an interesting story about Valmiki. The Uttara Khanda tells the story of Valmiki's early life, a highway robber named Valya Koli who used to rob people after killing them. Once, the robber tried to rob the divine sage Narada for the benefit of his family. Narada asked him if his family would share the sin he was incurring due to the robbery. The robber replied positively, but Narada told him to confirm this with his family. The robber asked his family, but none agreed to bear the burden of sin. Dejected, the robber finally understood the truth of life and asked for Narad’s forgiveness. Narada taught the robber to worship God. The robber meditated for many years, so much so that ant-hills grew around his body. Finally, a divine voice declared his penance successful, bestowing him with the name Valmiki, "one born out of ant-hills."

Kumbh-descent of Goddess

Kumbh-descent of Goddess

Sham S. Misri

Legend has it that in the mythological times, during a waging war between the demigods and demons for the possession of elixir of eternal life, a few drops of it had fallen on to four places that are today known as Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. It is believed that these drops gave mystical powers to these places. It is to make oneself gain on those powers that Kumbh Mela has been celebrated in each of the four places since long. The normal Kumbh Mela is held every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is held every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad (Prayag) while the Purna (complete) Kumbh Mela takes place every twelve years, at four places Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik, based on planetary movements. The Maha Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Prayag after 144 years (after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas').

Kama incarnates as Pradyumna

Sham S. Misri

There was a demon whose name was Sambara. He came to learn  from Narada that Pradyumna, the baby boy of Krishna and Rukmini, would kill him. The demon kidnapped the baby and threw him into the ocean where a big fish swallowed him. Fishermen caught the fish and sold it to the cooks of Sambara. When the belly of the fish was cut open, a beautiful baby was discovered. The boy was placed to the care of Mayavati. She raised the boy and as he grew, she expressed great sexual attraction to him rather than motherly affection. The boy asked his mother in wonder: “My dear mother how is it that you express feelings that are not befitting of a mother?” Mayavati explained to Pradyumna that he was not her son but god Kama who was born as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini, and was kidnapped by demon Sambara. Hearing this, Pradyumna, filled with anger challenged Sambara to fight. In the fight he killed the demon  along with Mayavati. He then went back to Dwarika. When he arrived there, all were impressed by his beauty and his resemblance to Krishna, but they did not recognize him as he was mere a baby when he was kidnapped. It was his mother Rukmini who recognized him because of the strong motherly feelings that she started to sense for him.

GANESA

 Sham S. Misri

Ganesa is usually regarded as the elder son of Siva and Parvati. Ganesa is the Indian god of Wisdom. All sacrifices and religious ceremonies, all serious compositions in writing, and all worldly affairs of importance are begun by pious Hindus with an invocation to Ganesa. He is the governor or leader, and gana, a company (of deities). Instances of opening business auspiciously by an exclamation to him might be multiplied with ease. Few books are begun without the words, 'Salutation to Ganesa;' and he is first invoked by Brahmans who conduct the trial or perform the ceremony of the homa or sacrifice to fire.

Hindus represent him as highly revered on the coast of Coromandel, where, "the Indians would not on any account build a house without having placed on the ground an image of this deity, which they sprinkle with oil and adorn every day with flowers. They set up his image in all their temples, in the streets, in the high roads, and in the open plains at the foot of some tree, so that persons of all ranks may invoke him before they undertake any business, and travellers worship him before they proceed on a journey." What is true of the Coromandel Coast is true of most parts of India so far as the worship of this deity is concerned.

"Ganesa is the Hindu god of Prudence and Policy. He is the reputed eldest son of Siva and Parvati (the 'Padma Purāna' alone declares that he was the actual child of these deities), and is represented with an elephant's head—an emblem of sagacity—and is frequently attended by, or is riding upon, a rat. He has generally four hands, but sometimes six, or eight, or only two."

He is always described as being very fat; and pictures or images of him are seen over the doors of most shopkeepers. It is not easy to see why Ganesa.

In India, Shiva is recognized as the god who controls the forces of destruction. Parvati, his wife, is a powerful goddess, and Nandi, is Shiva's loyal servant.

One day, Parvati was preparing to take a bath so she ordered Nandi to stand guard outside her house. She instructed him not to let anyone enter without her permission.

Later Nandi saw Shiva approaching the house. "How can I stop my master from entering his home?” he wondered.

Nandi allowed Shiva to enter. Parvati came from her bath and was upset by her husband. Shiva laughed when he saw how his presence had scared her, but Parvati was not amused.

"All my servants are Shiva's servants first," she thought. "I need someone who will obey me above all others."

Next day, Parvati was alone in the house. Parvati created someone who would be devoted only to her. Pulling ointments and creams from the surface of her body she built a statue of a young boy. Then, with her divine powers, she gave the statue life and created a son.

"Guard this door and let no one enter without my permission," said Parvati.

"As you wish," the boy responded.

Shiva returned home but was blocked by the strange boy. "How dare you keep me from my own home? said Shiva. But the boy only repeated that no one was to enter without his mother's permission.

Shiva could not believe that this boy would stop a god from entering his own house. He sent Nandi to teach the boy a lesson.

Nandi took a small group of Ganas, Shiva's army, and went to the house. When Nandi tried to remove the boy from his post the boy threw him to the ground. Nandi became angry and attacked with his men, but the boy fought them all with such strength that Nandi had no choice but to retreat.

"I have never witnessed such a thing," he told Shiva, "We could not defeat the boy. He was too strong and too fast."

All the Gods in the Heavens had heard of Shiva's conflict with the boy. The gods and their armies assembled to assist Shiva.

Brahma, the god of creation, spoke of peaceful solution. "He is just a boy," he said. "Let me talk to him." But when Brahma tried to talk, the boy chased him off.

When Shiva saw how the boy treated Brahma he became extremely upset.

He stood up and addressed the troops. "Man your weapons! The boy has given us no choice but to fight!"

And so the battle continued with the boy successfully defending his mother's house.

Parvati was furious.

 "Why, Shiva?" She cried, "Why would you go to such lengths rather than simply ask permission to enter? Why would you bring so many great warriors to get rid of one small boy?"

Parvati focused all her anger to create two powerful warrior goddesses and ordered them to go help her son.

The goddesses created from Parvati's anger were very powerful. Using their magic they swallowed up the weapons of the soldiers. Most of the men ran away so that only the strongest warriors and gods remained to continue fighting.

Shiva became even more determined to defeat the boy. He turned to Lord Vishnu, the protect of the world, and said, "We must work together to defeat his child. I have a plan."

So carried by his loyal servant Garuda, Vishnu flew down from the sky and engaged the boy in fierce combat.

Seeing his chance, Shiva crept up behind the boy with his golden trident raised...

Shiva threw his weapon and removed the boy's head.

The Heavens rejoiced at Shiva's victory, but Parvati was enraged. The waters of the oceans boiled. The mountains quaked and there were fires and disasters throughout the heavens and Earth.

The gods pleaded with Parvati to stop the destruction and asked how they could make up for her son's death.

"Shiva must bring my son back to life and honor him as a god," she replied.

Shiva agreed to Parvati's conditions.

Since the boy's head could not be found, Shiva sent Nandi and his men to bring back the head of the first animal they saw. Nandi obeyed and a short journey returned with the head of a magnificent white elephant.

Shiva was pleased. He placed the head on the boy's body, gave it his blessings and brought the boy back to life.

In honor of the boy's bravery and courage, Shiva named him Ganesha, leader of the Ganas. Shiva announced to the Heavens and Earth that Ganesha was to be known as the Lord of Beginnings, the Protector of all that is new.

Prahlad

Sham S. Misri

The Puranas tell us that Prahlad was a saintly boy. He was known for his piety and Bhakti to Vishnu. Stories in Bhagavat Purana state that Prahlad loved to worship his lord, Vishnu. The majority of stories in the Puranas are based on the activities of Prahlad as a young boy.

There was once a demon king by the name of Hiranyakashyap who won over the kingdom of earth. Prahlad was born to an evil king Hiranyakashyap and his mother’s name was Kayadu. The king had been granted a boon that he could not be killed by man or animal, day or night, inside or outside.

Hiranyakashyap was so selfish that he commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an passionate devotee of Lord Vishnu (Narayana) and refused to worship his father.

In the olden days, giant demons were called daityas. Hiranyakashyap was the king of the daityas and wanted to conquer the world and be worshipped by everyone.

Despite several warnings from his father Hiranyakashyap, Prahlad continued to worship Vishnu instead of him. Hiranyakashyap did not like this but Prahlad was unmoved in his devotion. So, Hiranyakashyap decided to kill Prahlad. He tried several tricks.

He tried to get snakes to crush Prahlad, but Prahlad prayed to Vishnu and was saved.

Then Hiranyakashyap tried to throw Prahlad from a cliff, but Prahlad escaped. Again he trampled the boy with elephants, but he lived.

Hiranyakashyap tried several ways to kill his son Prahlad but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. Finally, he asked his sister, Holika, a she-demon, to kill Prahlad. Hiranyakashyap knew that Holika had a boon, whereby, fire could not destroy her. She had to enter a burning fire with Prahlad in her lap. For, she could enter the fire unharmed.  She decided to take Prahlad in her lap and sit on a burning pyre.

As the flames engulfed them Prahlad called aloud for Lord Vishnu's help. To everybody's surprise, the fire slowly consumed Holika and she burned to death. Prahlad emerged safe and sound. This event is celebrated as the Hindu festival of Holi.

Thus, Holi derives its name from Holika. It is celebrated as a festival of victory of good over evil. Holi is also celebrated as the triumph of a devotee.

Even today, people enact the scene of 'Holika's burning to ashes' every year to mark the victory of good over evil.

In several states of India, especially in the north, effigies of Holika are burnt in the huge bonfires that are lit. There is even a practice of hurling cow dung into the fire and shouting obscenities at it as if at Holika. Then everywhere one hears shouts of 'Holi-hai! Holi-hai!’

The tradition of burning 'Holika' is religiously followed in Gujarat and Orissa also. Here, people render their gratitude to Agni, the god of fire by offering gram and stalks from the harvest with all humility.

Further, on the last day of Holi, people take a little fire from the bonfire to their homes. It is believed that by following this custom their homes will be rendered pure and their bodies will be free from disease.

At several places there is also a tradition of cleaning homes, removing all dirty articles from around the house and burning them. Disease-breeding bacteria are thereby destroyed and the sanitary condition of the locality is improved.

After bearing cruelty from Hiranyakashyap, Prahlad is eventually saved by Narsimha, the half-man, half-lion avatar, who kills the king at the entrance to his home at dusk.

There is an underground pillar known as "Prahlad khamba" in Dharahra village, in the Purnea District of Bihar, India. It is said to be the pillar from which Narsimha manifested to kill Hiranyakashyap. Adjacent to the pillar is a large temple devoted to Lord Narsimha. Allegedly, attempts to excavate or move the "Prahlad khamba" have failed. In Maharashtra, an underground temple near the banks of the river "Krishna" in Sangli district, hosts a beautiful stone carved sculpture of "Narsimha and Laxmi".

Books by the Author(s)

Lal Ded Of Kashmir Saint Poetess: A Catalogue of Lal Vakhs

Kashmir Shaivism and Modern Science

Kashmir - A Concise History: Mahabharata Epoch 3067 BCE to Modi Era 2016 A.D

The Aryan Invasion Theory - A Subterfuge: A Scientific Look

Tibet: Earthly Paradise

Kali Maa: The Dawn of Woman and Beyond

Maa Ganga: Mythology, Mystery and Science

The Ten Departures of Kashmiri Pandits

Tales from Kashmir, Part-1

Tales from Kashmir, Part-2

Tales from Kashmir, Part-3

Tales from Kashmir, Part-4

Tales from Kashmir, Part-5

The Wandering Pandit

Wonderful Stories for Children, Book-1

A Peep Into America's Past

Silkworm Breeding Made Easy

Collected Poems of Pt. Krishen Joo Razdan, By J. N. Misri, Vol. 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6[Edited and Published]

Travels Through America And Canada

When I Met Her

The Ultimate Fishing Rod

Kashmir: The Book of Anecdotes

Tour to 5 Countries in Europe

Cleopatra-Harmachis-Part-1-Love-Lord

Cleopatra and Harmachis - Part-2: The Finding of Treasure

Shravana’s Death

Sham S. Misri

King Dasharatha was the noble and courageous king. He was a descendant of the Surya dynasty. He ruled over the kingdom of Kosala from the  city of Ajodhya. He had three queens: Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi, Dasharatha was blessed with fame, glory, peace, and prosperity. But he had one great sorrow; he did not have any children.

One day, King Dasharatha went hunting in the forest. He and his men roamed the forest when suddenly they heard a gurgling sound in the distance. Thinking it to be a animal drinking water, the king shot his arrow in that direction.

When Dasharatha came to the spot he found a youth lying seriously wounded by the arrow. He was Shravana Kumar, the only son of an old and blind couple. He had come to fetch water to quench the thirst of his parents resting in the forest. Shravana carried his old parents on his shoulders, in a palanquin, where ever he went.

Even while dying, Shravana could only think of his helpless parents. He held Dasaratha's hands and asked him to take the pitcher of water to his parents. Unsuspectingly the old couple drank the water, but an extremely sorrowful Dasharatha could not withhold the truth. He told Shravana's parents how he had unknowingly killed their son.

Shocked by the news, the grieving parents cursed Dasharatha with putrasoka, which meant that he would go through the same agony of child loss.

Years later, this curse led to the exile of Rama, and Dasharatha suffered the pain of separation from his favourite son.