Shiva Incarnation as Mahesh and Vrishab

SHIVA'S INCARNATION AS MAHESH
Once, Bhairav who was entrusted with the job of a doorkeeper became so infatuated with Parvati's beauty that he tried to prevent her from going outside.
Parvati became furious and cursed him to be born as a mortal man on the earth. Bhairav became very sad but now the damage had been already done. Bhairav later on appeared in the form of a man named 'Vetal'.
Vetal prayed to lord Shiva who took his incarnation as Mahesh and goddess Parvati as Girija.

LORD VISHNU CREATES TURBULENCES

After the churning of the ocean had been accomplished, numerous things had emerged out from the ocean. Jewels, Moon, Lakshmi, Poison, Uchchaishrava horse, Airavat elephant, Vessel containing Nectar were some of the things which emerged out from the ocean after the churning.
A tremendous battle was fought between the deities and the demons to have control over the vessel containing Nectar. The demons had snatched that vessel from the deities.
By the divine inspiration of lord Shiva, Vishnu appeared in the form of Mohini the enchanting beauty. He successfully recovered that vessel from the control of the demons.
To distract the attention of the demons from the nectar, lord Vishnu created numerous enchanting beauties. When the demons saw them, they forcibly carried these enchanting beauties to their abode, the Nether world. After that they again returned to take control of the Nectar.
By that time, Vishnu had made the deities drink all the nectar. When the demons came to know about this, they became very furious and attacked the deities. A tremendous battle ensured between both the sides. Ultimately the demons got defeated. To save their lives the demon ran towards their abode. Lord Vishnu chased the demons and entered the Netherland. He killed all the demons.
Lord Vishnu then saw those enchanting beauties who had been abducted by the demons.
Women who where created by Lord Vishnu , were fascinated by Lord Vishnu and did a huge penance to Lord Vishnu to have him as their Husband.Then as its duty of the god to fullfil wish and grant boon to his worshippers.
He Granted to the requested boon of having him as a husband by forgetting everything about his responsibility towards the world and started living with them leaving all his duties aside.

SHIVA'S INCARNATION AS VRISHABH
During his stay in the Netherland, many sons were born to Lord Vishnu, who were very wicked and cruel. These sons of lord Vishnu started tormenting the inhabitants of all the three world. All the deities and the sages went to lord Shiva to take his help. They requested him to kill the cruel sons of Vishnu and reestablish him (lord Vishnu) in his own abode, which he had abandoned for the Nether world.
Lord Shiva went to the Netherworld in the form of an Ox (Vrishabh). He killed all the sons of lord Vishnu with his sharp horns. Seeing the death of his sons, lord Vishnu came forward to fight him. He attacked lord Shiva with his various weapons, but lord Shiva remained harmless.As Both the gods are equally strong and they are both non other the same as Shankar Narayan form both where fighting and that fight was never ending and no one is harmed.After many years of fight , Women who made Lord Vishnu forget everything due to the boon made Lord vishnu free from the boon, Ultimately lord Vishnu was able to recognise him.He eulogized lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva then requested him to return back to Vishnuloka, he accepted. Lord Vishnu left his 'Sudarshan chakra' in the Netherworld and went to his own abode, where Lord Shiva presented him a new Sudarshan chakra.

Share:

Shamba- Lord Shiva boon to Lord Krishna to end Yadhu dynasty and Dwapar yuga

 

Krishna's Tapasya
Krishna was the eight incarnation of Vishnu and he was born as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva.
Initially, Krishna did not have any sons. Desirous of obtaining a son, Krishna went to visit the sage Upamanyu. The sage's hermitage was beautiful. Wonderous were the trees and flowers and grew there. The constant chanting of the Vedas could be heard. Wild animals lost their ferocity as soon as they entered the hermitage. Lotus flowers bloomed in the ponds. Sages came from all over the country to meditate in the hermitage. The sacred river Ganga flowed past the hermitage.
Krishna greeted the sages and they worshipped him in return.
Upamanyu welcomed Krishna with various offerings and said, "Our meditation has been amply rewarded by your visit. The great Vishnu has himself come to grace us by your presence. But is there any particular reason as to why you have come to the hermitage?"
"I wish to meet Shiva," replied Krishna. "How does one get to met him?"
"Shiva appears if a devotee performs difficult tapasya," said Upamanyu. "It helps if the meditation is accompanied by great faith."
Hearing these words, Krishna began a difficult religious rite known as pashupata vrata. He donned clothes made out of the barks of trees, smeared ashes on his body and continuously chanted Shiva's name. After many years had passed, Shiva and Parvati appeared before Krishna.
"Krishna, why are you performing tapasya?" asked Shiva. "You are the great Vishnu himself. Any object that you desire is immediately attained. Why are you then engaged in this task of meditation?"
"I wish to have a son who is just like you," said Krishna. "Please let him also be devoted to you."
Shiva gladly granted the boon and the son who was born was Shamba (alternatively, Samba). He was the son of Krishna and Jambavati.
(Stories about Shamba are to be found in the Vishnu Purana, and also in Mahabharataa.)

Cause
Krishna wanted his son to be exactly like Shiva. Shiva's main function is to destroy creation. For his son to be like Shiva meant that the boy would be the cause of the destruction of his entire race. This was what Krishna precisely wanted because the Yadus could not be defeated by anybody. Immortality for humans is out of question therefore at the end of the Yuga the Yadus would destroy each other. Samba played an instrumental role in this.

Marriage of Samba

Duryodhana, the son of Dhrtarastra, had a marriageable daughter by the name of Laksmana. She was a very highly qualified girl of the Kuru dynasty, and many princes wanted to marry her. In such cases, the svayamvara ceremony is held so that the girl may select her husband according to her own choice. In Laksmana's svayamvara assembly, when the girl was to select her husband, Samba appeared. He was a son of Krsna's by Jambavati, one of the chief wives of Lord Krsna. This son Samba is so named because he was a very bad child, and he always lived close to his mother. The name Samba indicates a son who is very much his mother's pet. Amba means mother, and sa means with. So this special name was given to him because he always remained with his mother. He was also known as Jambavati-suta for the same reason. As previously explained, all the sons of Krsna were as qualified as their great father, Lord Krsna. Samba wanted the daughter of Duryodhana, Laksmana, although she was not inclined to have him. Therefore Samba kidnapped Laksmana by force from the svayamvara assembly.

Because Samba took Laksmana away from the assembly by force, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, namely, Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura, Ujahan and Arjuna, thought it an insult to their family tradition that the boy, Samba, could possibly have kidnapped their daughter. All of them knew that Laksmana was not at all inclined to select him as her husband and that she was not given the chance to select her own husband; instead she was forcibly taken away by this boy. Therefore, they decided that he must be punished. They unanimously declared that he was most impudent and that he had degraded the Kurus' family tradition. Therefore, all of them, under the counsel of the elderly members of the Kuru family, decided to arrest the boy but not kill him. They concluded that the girl could not be married to any boy other than Samba since she had already been touched by him. (According to the Vedic system, once being used by some boy, a girl cannot be married or given to any other boy. Nor would anyone agree to marry a girl who had already thus associated with another boy.) The elderly members of the family, such as Bhisma, wanted to arrest him. All the members of the Kuru dynasty, especially the great fighters, joined together just to teach him a lesson, and Karna was made the commander-in-chief for this small battle.

While the plan was being made to arrest Samba, the Kurus counseled amongst themselves that upon his arrest, the members of the Yadu dynasty would be very angry with them. There was every possibility of the Yadus' accepting the challenge and fighting with them. But they also thought, "If they came here to fight with us, what could they do? The members of the Yadu dynasty cannot equal the members of the Kuru dynasty because the kings of the Kuru dynasty are the emperors whereas the kings of the Yadu dynasty are able to enjoy their landed property." The Kurus thought, "If they come here to challenge us because their son was arrested, we will nevertheless accept the fight. All of us will teach them a lesson, so that automatically they will become subdued under pressure, as the senses are subdued by the mystic yoga process, pranayama." (In the mechanical system of mystic yoga, the airs within the body are controlled, and the senses are subdued and checked from being engaged in anything other than meditation upon Lord Visnu.)

After consultation and after receiving permission from the elder members of the Kuru dynasty, such as Bhisma and Dhrtarastra, six great warriors--Karna, Sala, Bhurisrava, Yajnaketu and Duryodhana, the father of the girl--all maha-rathis and guided by the great fighter Bhismadeva, attempted to arrest the boy Samba. There are different grades of fighters, including maha-rathi, eka-rathi and rathi, classified according to their fighting capacity. These maha-rathis could fight alone with many thousands of men. All of them combined together to arrest Samba. Samba was also a maha-rathi, but he was alone and had to fight with the six other maha-rathis. Still he was not deterred when he saw all the great fighters of the Kuru dynasty coming up behind him to arrest him.

Alone, he turned towards them and took his nice bow, posing exactly as a lion stands adamant in the face of other animals. Karna was leading the party, and he challenged Samba, "Why are you fleeing? Just stand, and we shall teach you a lesson!" When challenged by another ksatriya to stand and fight, a ksatriya cannot go away; he must fight. Therefore, as soon as Samba accepted the challenge and stood alone before them, he was overpowered by showers of arrows thrown by all the great warriors. As a lion is never afraid of being chased by many wolves and jackals, similarly, Samba, the glorious son of the Yadu dynasty, endowed with inconceivable potencies as the son of Lord Krsna, became very angry at the warriors of the Kuru dynasty for improperly using arrows against him. He fought them with great talent. First of all, he struck each of the six charioteers with six separate arrows. Another four arrows he used to kill the charioteers' horses, four on each chariot. One arrow was used to kill the driver and one arrow was used for Karna as well as the other celebrated fighters. While Samba was so diligently fighting alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the inconceivable potency of the boy. Even in the midst of fighting, they admitted frankly that this boy Samba was wonderful. But the fighting was conducted in the ksatriya spirit, so all together, although it was improper, they obliged Samba to get down from his chariot, now broken to pieces. Of the six warriors, four took care to kill Samba's four horses, and one of them managed to cut the string of Samba's bow so that he could no longer fight with them. In this way, with great difficulty and after a severe fight, Samba was left bereft of his chariot, and they were able to arrest him. Thus, the warriors of the Kuru dynasty accepted their great victory and took their daughter, Laksmana, away from him. Thereafter, they entered the city of Hastinapura in great triumph.

The great sage Narada immediately carried the news to the Yadu dynasty that Samba was arrested and told them the whole story. The members of the Yadu dynasty became very angry at Samba's being arrested, and improperly so by six warriors. Now, with the permission of the head of the Yadu dynasty's king, Ugrasena, they prepared to attack the capital city of the Kuru dynasty.

Although Lord Balarama knew very well that by slight provocation people are prepared to fight with one another in the age of Kali, He did not like the idea that the two great dynasties, the Kuru dynasty and the Yadu dynasty, would fight amongst themselves, even though they were influenced by Kali-yuga. "Instead of fighting with them," He wisely thought, "let Me go there and see the situation, and let Me try to see if the fight can be settled by mutual understanding." Balarama's idea was that if the Kuru dynasty could be induced to release Samba along with his wife, Laksmana, then the fight could be avoided. He therefore immediately arranged for a nice chariot to go to Hastinapura, accompanied by learned priests and brahmanas, as well as by some of the elderly members of the Yadu dynasty. He was confident that the members of the Kuru dynasty would agree to this marriage and avoid fighting amongst themselves. As Lord Balarama proceeded towards Hastinapura in His chariot, accompanied by the learned brahmanas and the elderly members of the Yadu dynasty, He looked like the moon shining in the clear sky amongst the glittering stars. When Lord Balarama reached the precincts of the city of Hastinapura, He did not enter, but stationed Himself in a camp outside the city in a small garden house. Then He asked Uddhava to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty and inquire from them whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or to make a settlement. Uddhava went to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty, and he met all the important members, including Bhismadeva, Dhrtarastra, Dronacarya, Bali, Duryodhana and Bahlika. After offering them due respects, he informed them that Lord Balarama had already arrived at the garden, outside the city door.

The leaders of the Kuru dynasty, especially Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana, were very joyful because they knew very well that Lord Balarama was a great well-wisher of their family. There were no bounds to their joy on hearing the news, and so immediately they welcomed Uddhava. In order to properly receive Lord Balarama, they all took auspicious paraphernalia for His reception in their hands and went to see Him outside the city door. According to their respective positions, they welcomed Lord Balarama by giving Him in charity nice cows and arghya (an assortment of articles such as aratrika water, sweet preparations of honey, butter, etc., and flowers, and garlands scented with pulp). Because all of them knew the exalted position of Lord Balarama as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they bowed their heads before the Lord with great respect. They all exchanged words of reception by asking one another of their welfare, and when such formality was finished, Lord Balarama, in a great voice and very patiently, submitted before them the following words for their consideration. "My dear friends, this time I have come to you as a messenger with the order of the all-powerful King Ugrasena. Please, therefore, hear the order with attention and great care. Without wasting a single moment, please try to carry out the order. King Ugrasena knows very well that you warriors of the Kuru dynasty improperly fought with the pious Samba, who was alone, and that with great difficulty and tactics you have arrested him. We have all heard this news, but we are not very agitated because we are most intimately related to each other. I do not think we should disturb our good relationship; we should continue our friendship without any unnecessary fighting. Please, therefore, immediately release Samba and bring him, along with his wife, Laksmana, before Me."

When Lord Balarama spoke in a commanding tone full of heroic assertion, supremacy and chivalry, His statements were not appreciated by the leaders of the Kuru dynasty. Rather, all of them became agitated, and with great anger they said: "Hello! These words are very astonishing but quite befitting the age of Kali; otherwise how could Balarama speak so vituperatively? The language and tone used by Balarama are simply abusive, and due to the influence of this age, it appears that the shoes befitting the feet want to rise to the top of the head where the helmet is worn. We are connected with the Yadu dynasty by marriage, and because of this they have been given the chance to come live with us, dine with us, and sleep with us; now they are taking advantage of these privileges. They had practically no position before we gave them a portion of our kingdom to rule, and now they are trying to command us. We have allowed the Yadu dynasty to use the royal insignias like the whisk, fan, conchshell, white umbrella, crown, royal throne, sitting place, bedstead and everything befitting the royal order. They should not have used such royal paraphernalia in our presence, but we did not check them due to our family relationships. Now they have the audacity to order us to do things. Well, this is enough of their impudence! We cannot allow them to do any more of these things, nor shall we allow them to use these royal insignias. It would be best to take all these things away; it is improper to feed a snake with milk, since such merciful activities simply increase his venom. The Yadu dynasty is now trying to go against those who have fed them so nicely. Their flourishing condition is due to our gifts and merciful behavior, and still they are so shameless that they are trying to order us. How regrettable are all these activities! No one in the world can enjoy anything if the members of the Kuru dynasty like Bhisma, Dronacarya and Arjuna do not allow them to. Exactly as a lamb cannot enjoy life in the presence of a lion, without our desire it is not even possible for the demigods in heaven, headed by King Indra, to find enjoyment in life, what to speak of ordinary human beings!" Actually the members of the Kuru dynasty were very puffed up due to their opulence, kingdom, aristocracy, family tradition, great warriors, family members and vast expansive empire. They did not even observe common formalities of civilized society, and in the presence of Lord Balarama they uttered insulting words about the Yadu dynasty. Speaking in this unmannerly way, they returned to their city of Hastinapura.

Although Lord Balarama patiently heard their insulting words and simply observed their uncivil behavior, from His appearance it was clear that He was burning with anger and was thinking of retaliating with great vengeance. His bodily features became so agitated that it was difficult for anyone to look at Him. He laughed very loudly and said: "It is true that if a man becomes too puffed up because of his family, opulence, beauty and material advancement, he no longer wants a peaceful life but becomes belligerent toward all others. It is useless to give such a person good instruction for gentle behavior and peaceful life, but on the contrary, one should search out the ways and means to punish him." Generally, due to material opulence a man becomes exactly like an animal. To give an animal peaceful instructions is useless, and the only means is argumentum baculum. In other words, the only means to keep animals in order is a stick. "Just see how impudent the members of the Kuru dynasty are! I wanted to make a peaceful settlement despite the anger of all the other members of the Yadu dynasty, including Lord Krsna Himself. They were preparing to attack the whole kingdom of the Kuru dynasty, but I pacified them and took the trouble to come here to settle the affair without any fighting. Still these rascals behave like this! It is clear that they do not want a peaceful settlement, but that they are factually warmongers. With great pride they have repeatedly insulted Me by calling the Yadu dynasty ill names.

"Even the King of heaven, Indra, abides by the order of the Yadu dynasty; and you consider King Ugrasena, who is the head of the Bhojas, Vrsnis, Andhakas and Yadavas, to be the leader of a small phalanx! Your conclusion is wonderful! You do not care for King Ugrasena, whose order is obeyed even by King Indra. Consider the exalted position of the Yadu dynasty. They have forcibly used both the assembly house and the parijata tree of the heavenly planet, and still you think that they cannot order you. Don't you even think that Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can sit on the exalted royal throne and command everyone? All right! If your thinking is like that, then you deserve to be taught a very good lesson. You have thought it wise that the royal insignias like the whisk, fan, white umbrella, royal throne and other princely paraphernalia not be used by the Yadu dynasty. Does this mean that even Lord Krsna, the Lord of the whole creation and the husband of the goddess of fortune, cannot use this royal paraphernalia? The dust of Krsna's lotus feet is worshiped by all the great demigods. The Ganges water is inundating the whole world, and since it is emanating from His lotus feet, its banks have turned into great places of pilgrimage. The principal deities of all planets engage in His service and consider themselves most fortunate to take the dust of the lotus feet of Krsna on their helmets. Great demigods like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, and even the goddess of fortune and I are simply plenary parts of His spiritual identity, and still you think that He is not fit to use the royal insignia or even sit on the royal throne? Alas, how regrettable it is that these fools consider us, the members of the Yadu dynasty, to be like shoes and themselves like helmets. It is clear now that these leaders of the Kuru dynasty have become mad over their worldly possessions and opulence. Every statement they made was full of crazy proposals. I should immediately take them to task and bring them to their senses. If I do not take steps against them, it will be improper on My part. Therefore, on this very day, I shall rid the whole world of any trace of the Kuru dynasty. I shall finish them off immediately!" While talking like this, Lord Balarama seemed so furious that He looked as if He could burn the whole cosmic creation to ashes. He stood up steadily, and taking His plow in His hand, began striking the earth with it. In this way the whole city of Hastinapura was separated from the earth. Lord Balarama then began to drag the city toward the flowing water of the river Ganges. Because of this, there was a great tremor throughout Hastinapura, as if there had been an earthquake, and it seemed that the whole city would be dismantled.

When all the members of the Kuru dynasty saw that their city was about to fall into the water of the Ganges and when they heard their citizens howling in great anxiety, they immediately came to their senses and understood what was happening. Thus without waiting another second they brought forward their daughter Laksmana. They also brought Samba, who had forcibly tried to take her away, keeping him in the forefront with Laksmana at his back. All the members of the Kuru dynasty appeared before Lord Balarama with folded hands just to beg the pardon of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now using good sense, they said: "O Lord Balarama, You are the reservoir of all pleasures. You are the maintainer and support of the entire cosmic situation. Unfortunately we were all unaware of Your inconceivable potencies. Dear Lord, please consider us most foolish. Our intelligence was bewildered and not in order. Therefore we have come before You to beg Your pardon. Please excuse us. You are the original creator, sustainer and annihilator of the whole cosmic manifestation, and still Your position is always transcendental. O all-powerful Lord, great sages speak about You. You are the original puppeteer, and everything in the world is just like Your toy. O unlimited one, You have a hold on everything, and like child's play You hold all the planetary systems on Your head. When the time for dissolution comes, You close up the whole cosmic manifestation within Yourself. At that time nothing remains but Yourself lying in the Causal Ocean as Maha-Visnu. Our dear Lord, You have appeared on this earth in Your transcendental body just for the maintenance of the cosmic situation. You are above all anger, envy and enmity. Whatever You do, even in the form of chastisement, is auspicious for the whole material existence. We are offering our respectful obeisances unto You because You are the imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all opulences and potencies. O creator of innumerable universes, let us fall down and offer You our respectful obeisances, again and again. We are now completely surrendered unto You. Please, therefore, be merciful upon us and give us Your protection." When the prominent members of the Kuru dynasty, beginning with grandfather Bhismadeva down to Arjuna and Duryodhana, had offered their respectful prayers in that way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Balarama, immediately became softened and assured them that there was no cause for fear and that they need not worry.

For the most part it was the practice of the ksatriya kings to inaugurate some kind of fighting between the parties of the bride and bridegroom before the marriage. When Samba forcibly took away Laksmana, the elder members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength, however, they fought with him, and without any respect for the regulations of fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Samba from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarama came personally to settle the matter, and as a powerful ksatriya, He ordered them to free Samba immediately. The Kauravas became superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged Lord Balarama's power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Samba, and the whole matter was settled. Duryodhana, being affectionate towards his daughter Laksmana, had her married to Samba in great pomp. For her dowry, he first gave 1,200 elephants, each of which were at least sixty years old; then he gave 10,000 nice horses, 6,000 chariots, which were dazzling just like the sunshine, and 1,000 maidservants who were decorated with golden ornaments. Lord Balarama, the most prominent member of the Yadu dynasty, acted as guardian of the bridegroom, Samba, and very pleasingly accepted the dowry. Balarama was very satisfied after His great reception from the side of the Kurus, and accompanied by the newly married couple, He started towards His capital city of Dvaraka.

Lord Balarama triumphantly reached Dvaraka, where He met with many citizens who were all His devotees and friends. When they all assembled, Lord Balarama narrated the whole story of the marriage, and they were astonished to hear how Balarama had made the city of Hastinapura tremble. It is confirmed by Sukadeva Gosvami that the site of Hastinapura is now known as New Delhi, and the river flowing through the city was called the Yamuna, although in those days it was known as the Ganges. From authorities like Jiva Gosvami it is also confirmed that the Ganges and Yamuna are the same river flowing in different courses. The part of the Ganges which flows through Hastinapura to the area of Vrndavana is called the Yamuna because it is sanctified by the transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna. The part of Hastinapura which slopes towards the Yamuna becomes inundated during the rainy season and reminds everyone of Lord Balarama's threatening to cast the city into the Ganges.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixty-eighth Chapter of Krsna, "The Marriage of Samba."

Curse of the sages

Once, Samba was dressed up by the Yadavas as a pregnant woman and presented to the Sages as a prank. Samba had held a mace/pestle under his clothes to make him look pregnant[Many versions say that Samba gave birth to the iron pestle, according to the curse]. The Yadava pranksters told the Sages that this was a young woman who was expecting a child and she was eager to know if she would give birth to a son or a daughter. The sages who could see through the hoax felt extremely angry at this insulting behaviour of the young men and pronounced a curse on them, "O fools, she will deliver a pestle and that will be the ruin of your whole clan!" The pranksters were frightened, they ran away and reported the matter to Ugrasena. Ugrasena ashamed of the children's behaviour ordered the servants to powder the mace and throw it into the sea. One small piece remained which was later found by the hunter Jara who became the cause of Krishna's departure from the world. However, curses of sages often run their courses and end. Therefore from the powder of the mace grew tall bamboo which surrounded the entire Dwaraka region. It was with these iron bamboos that the Yadus destroyed each other in Mausala Parva of Mahabharata.

Leprosy suffering

Samba was very handsome and he looked quite alike Krishna. He would use his looks to fool his own step-mothers and play pranks on them in Krishna's absence. Krishna bore this in patience not wanting to hurt his son. One fine day the prince famous for his notoriety teased Sage Narada about his looks. Narad Muni was not very nice looking and felt infuriated and insulted by Samba's insolence. But being a mischievous muni himself, he decided to teach Samba a lesson. He lured the arrogant prince to the private bathing pool where his step-mothers bathed. Many of the queens saw him there and complained to Krishna about this. Narad too added fuel to the fire. Krishna was mortified to know that his son had become a peeping-tom and cursed Samba to be affected with leprosy. Samba pleaded his innocence and entreated that he had been misled by Narad. This was found to be true and Krishna repented his haste. But a curse cannot be revoked. Krishna advised Samba to pray to Suryadev. Samba prayed for 12 years and was instructed by Surya to go and bathe at the sea near Konark. The holy waters cured him of this disease and a delighted Samba decided to erect a temple of Surya on that spot

Share:

Kannappa Nayanar - Devotee of Shiva

Tinnanar, known as Kannappar, was born of Nagan, the king of the Vyadhas (hunters), in
Uduppur, in South India. King Nagan was a great Bhakta of Lord Subrahmanya. From his boyhood,
Tinnanar was well trained in the skill of a hunter and archery and in his prime age, he had to assume
the reins of government which his old father bestowed on him. One day, Tinnanar went out for a
hunt with some of his followers. While wandering in the forest they came across a hog, escaping
from a net. They, at once chased the hog for a long time, up and down the hills. After a long time,
Tinnanar killed the hog and as they were much tired due to the long chasing, they at once arranged
to cook the flesh of the animal and it was removed to another place in the Kalahasti Hill which was
nearby. While walking towards the hill one of the followers of Tinnanar suggested to him to pay a
visit to Kudumi Thevar, the presiding deity of the hills, and they proceeded to have Darsana of the
Lord on the hill.
 Its is also believed that he is the rebirth of the Arjuna - 3 rd brother of the pandavas , he took rebirth to get rid of sin commited in process of getting pashupatha astra from Lord Shiva

While climbing up the hill Tinnanar felt as if some great burden which was on him uptill
now, was gradually diminishing and he decided now to go to the temple nearby, have Darsana of the
Lord there and then to take their meals. As soon as he came near the temple, to his great joy he saw a
Siva Linga. At the very sight of Isvara, he was transformed to an embodiment of love and devotion
and extreme joy. Like a mother who met her child that was missing for long, Tinnanar was merged
in deep feeling of divine ecstasy and Prem. Ha! What a boundless and inexpressible and illimitable
joy and exhilaration he had at the very sight of Lord Siva! He began to cry, weep and shed tears of
joy and love towards the Lord. He forgot everything about his meals and his followers and even his
own body.
He felt very much for the loneliness of the Lord on the hills without being protected against
the animals and others that might do harm to Him, and he decided to keep watch over the temple
throughout the night against any danger from animals or evil-doers. On seeing that the Lord was
hungry, he at once ran out to prepare meals for the Lord out of the meat he had got by killing the
hog. He carefully took the flesh, tasted it and thus selected the pieces which were palatable and
roasted them. The remaining portion he threw away as bad. Then he proceeded towards the river to
fetch water for the Abhisheka and. he got the water in his mouth. On the way, he plucked some
flowers and kept them in the locks of his hair. With these preparations he entered the temple,
removed the old flowers that were lying on the Lord by shoe, did Abhisheka with the water in his
mouth and decorated Him with the flowers he had on his locks of hair. Then he offered the Prasad of
meat to the Lord. Finishing all these, with bow and arrow in his hand he kept a keen watch over the
temple by standing in front of the temple throughout the night. Early in the morning, he went out for
hunt to bring Prasad for the Lord.
When Tinnanar left for hunting, the temple priest, Sivakasariar, an earnest and sincere
devotee of Lord Sankara, came to the temple and to his great surprise and disappointment, saw
bones and flesh all round the Lord and the decorations have been spoiled. But he could not identify
the man who has done such an act, and meddled with the sanctity of the place. So uttering the
necessary Mantras, he cleaned the place and performed his usual Puja for the Lord and recited the
prayers. After the Puja he closed the temple and went out.
Tinnanar now returned with the Prasad of meat and flesh and as before, he removed the old
decorations done by the priest, decorated in his own way as usual, and offered Prasad. At night, he
kept vigil and keen watch over the temple. Early in the morning, he went out to bring Prasad. Thus
he was with the Lord serving Him for five days and in spite of the entreaties of his parents to come
home, he persisted in remaining with the Lord and Lord alone.
Sivakasariar, who was vexed with the incident being repeated day by day, complained to the
Lord and requested Him to put an end to these mishappenings. Lord Siva appeared in the priest’s
dream and narrated to him what was happening in the temple during the absence of the priest and
told him also that what all actions Tinnanar was doing was only out of pure, unsophisticated love
that he bore towards the Lord. Further, the Lord said: “I welcome, and rather I am immensely
pleased with the mouthful of water by which he is doing my Abhisheka. This has greater value to
Me than by the Tirthas of the Ganga. Whatever action that is performed out of pure and deep love
and faith, I merit it with greater value than those rituals and austerities done by the Vedic
injunctions”. Then Lord Gangadhar asked the priest to come to the temple next day and hide
himself behind the Mufti and witness what Tinnanar does.
Tinnanar, after bringing the Prasad, arranged in his own usual way for the Abhisheka and
decoration of the Lord. Now Lord Siva willed that the priest, Sivakasariar should see and feel the
degree of devotion and faith that Tinnanar was having for Him. So, while Tinnanar was doing the
Puja and offering the Prasad of meat, to his great astonishment, he saw the Lord shedding tears of
blood, in the right eye. He got perplexed and was at a loss to know what to do. He ran hither and
thither to bring some leaves for stopping the bleeding but found they were of no use. He wept
bitterly, cursed himself for being unable to stop the bleeding from the eye. At last, a plan came to
him. He at once plucked out his right eye with his arrow and fixed it on the right eye of the Lord. To
his great joy and ecstasy, he saw the bleeding stopped. While he was dancing in divine ecstasy for
having cured the bleeding, all on a sudden, he perceived that the left eye also was bleeding. Though
he was overtaken by surprise and sorrow, the previous plan came to him and he decided to pierce his
left eye with his arrow with the intention of plucking it out and fixing it on the left eye of the Lord.
But when his both eyes were gone, how could he see the bleeding on the left eye of the Lord so as to
stop it by fixing his own eye? Hence, in order to identify the left eye of the Lord, he first fixed it up
with the shoe on his right foot, and began to pierce his own left eye with the arrow in his hand. But
Isvara will not be so cruel as to see His Bhaktas suffer so much. On the spot, the Lord appeared and
addressed Tinnanar as ‘Kannappa’ and stopped him from plucking out the left eye. He was much
pleased with the filial devotion and staunch faith that Kannappar had for Him and kept him by His
right side.
The above story of Kannappar is illustrative of the highest degree of devotion and faith that
was evinced by the Bhakta towards Lord Siva, even though he was a hunter by caste and never
cared for the rituals and austerities by which the Lord should be worshipped. It was only mere love
and intense devotion to the Lord that bestowed on him the greatest boon from the Lord, i.e.,
Self-realisation. It is only a matter of six days that he performed the Puja ceremonies to the Lord in
his own way, but the amount of devotion and love he had to the Lord, was boundless.
May the blessings of Kannappar be upon you all! May you all attain the highest goal of
human life by following the example of Kannappa Nayanar, the great South Indian Bhakta of Lord
Siva!

Share:

LORD VARAHA ENLIGHTENS PRITHVI - PRITHVI'S QUERIES

Lord Vishnu, in his incarnation of Varaha (a boar), had liberated Prithvi (Mother Earth) from the clutches of Hiranyaksha, the mighty demon who had abducted her to Rasatal. After being rescued, Prithvi heaved a sigh of relief and looked at her saviour, who was smiling. She curiously asked lord Varaha- "How does the process of creation begin in the beginning of each Kalpa? What is dissolution? How do you nurture the whole creation? In what order do all the four yugas occur and how are they calculated? Why do you take incarnation in each yuga? All these things puzzle me a lot and I request you to enlighten me on all these subjects."
Lord Vishnu burst into laughter and the whole universe, including the deities became visible to Prithvi through his opened mouth. Prithvi became so frightened by this amazing sight that she started to tremble in fear. Lord Vishnu then transformed his appearance and revealed his divine
form to Prithvi so that she could become free from her fright. When Prithvi saw the divine form of lord Vishnu, who was in his meditative sleep taking rest on Sheshnag, all her fear vanished. She was extremely pleased to see the divine appearance of lord Vishnu and thanked her good fortune. Prithvi, filled with extreme devotion eulogized lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased by her eulogy and said-"The answers to the questions you have asked are not easy to understand, but still I shall try to satisfy your curiosity. The supreme Almighty is eternal. In the beginning of creation, Ego (ahamkar) as well as the five basic elements- space, water, earth, air and fire manifest themselves from the supreme Almighty. Subsequently, the great element-mahattatva, nature and collective conciousness manifest themselves. The collective conciousness then combines with each of the three basic qualities- satva (pure), rajas and tamas (dark) and exits in three different states. Its combination with the dark quality results into the manifestation of Mahadbrahm which is also called prakriti or nature by the enlightened ones. Kshetragya (soul) is considered to be more superior than the Prakriti. This way the different permutations and combinations of all the three gunas with collective intelligence result into the creation of different "tanmatras"(subtle form of matters). From the tanmatras are created the "Indriyas" or sense organs. This is the way how the Universe comes into existence. I then create all the living creatures with the help of five basic elements."
"In the beginning there was nothing but empty space. Subsequently, various natural elements like shabda (sound), akash (ether), vayu (air), teja (light) and jal (water) came into being respectively - each of the latter manifesting from the former. Then, I created you (earth) to provide base to all the living creatures. The combination of earth and water resulted into an egg (anda). As the egg grew in size, I manifested myself as Narayan within it. During each kalpa a lotus manifests itself from my navel upon which is seated lord Brahma. I then request lord Brahma to commence creation. Inspite of all his efforts, lord Brahma does not succeed in commencing his creation. As a result he becomes furious and from his fury manifests a divine child who starts to wail incessantly. The divine child is none other than Rudra who is requested by lord Brahma to begin creation but the child being incapable of doing that decides to acquire power by doing penance and enters into deep water."
"Lord Brahma then created Prajapati from his great toe of his right foot and Prajapati's consort from the great toe of his left foot. The manifestation of Prajapati and his consort marks the beginning of copulative creation and thus Swayambhuva Manu is born. In the course of time the population increased. This is the way how creation takes place in each kalpa."
Mother Earth requested lord Varaha to shade some more light on the creational process as her curiosity had still not been totally satisfied. Lord Varaha replied- "At the end of the last kalpa, when the whole universe was engulfed in darkness, Narayan went into his yogic-sleep. After waking up he found the world devoid of any creature. Narayan, being the supreme Almighty- the creator, the nurturer as well as the annihilator, decided to commence creation. The term Narayan means one who has his abode in the water- nar means water and ayan means abode. First of all five types of avidya (false knoledge) manifested from Narayan- tamas (darkness), moha (attachment), mahamoha (absolute attachment), tamisra (jealousy) and andhatamisra (anger). After the manifestation of these five avidyas, came into existence immovable things like mountains, trees etc. These being the primary creations came to be known as mukhya sarga
(main creation). Continuing with his creations, lord Brahma created species that were superior to the earlier creation-animals. This particular creation was called Tiryaksrota (quadruped). This way Brahma did his creation. Brahma's sixth creation was called Satvik sarga which consisted of the deities who were all virtuous by nature. The creation of human beings was seventh in order and was known as Arvaksrota sarga. Even human beings were of three types- those who were predominantly virtuous possessed satva guna had radiant personality and never experienced sorrow but those who possessed rajas and tamas gunas experienced sorrows."
"Brahma's eighth creation was called "Anugrah sarg" in which he created the sages and the hermits for the benediction of the world. The nineth creation of Lord Brahma was called Kaumar sarg (creation of adolescent beings). So, these are the nine main types of creation through which Brahma creates. First of all Rudra and other deities manifested themselves and then came into being eternal adlescents like Sanak, Sanandan, etc. Subsequently, all the ten manasputras of Brahma manifested themselves- Marichi, Angira, Atri, Pulah, Kratu, Pulasya, Pracheta, Bhrigu, Narada and Vashishtha."
"Lord Brahma's first creation-Rudra had manifested himself as Ardha narishwar (half male and half female). At the request of Brahma, Rudra dismembered his female part resulting into the creation of two distinct forms- one male and the other female. Later on, ten more Rudras manifested from the male form and all of them collectively came to be known as 'Eleven Rudras'."

Share:

Tales of Lord Krishna Eight Marriages

 

Lord Krishna -Rukmini Devi

Bhismak was the king of Vidarbh. He had five sons and a daughter Rukmani. Rukmi, the eldest son of Bhismak, had fixed his sister's engagement with Shishupal, the prince of Chaidi. Narada did not like this development. He went to Kundanpur, the capital of Vidarbh and said in the court of Bhismak: O King, I am coming from Dwarka." Bhismak said! "O great Sage, I have never heard about any city named Dwarka". Thus, in the court of Bhismak, Narada narrated about the life of Lord Krishna and the grandeur of Dwarka. Bhismak heard the tale with full attention. His daughter Rukmani too enjoyed the tale.
But Rukmi had a strong opposition against Lord Krishna. Ignoring the wish of his father, he was not ready to get his sister married to Lord Krishna. On the appointed day, Shishupal appeared there, in a procession, to get married with Rukmani.
But Rukmani was determined to marry Lord Krishna. She sent a love letter to Krishna through a loyal Brahmin and declared a fast unto death. Lord Krishna read her letter, which said: "O Trilokinath, since the moment, these ears have heard about your virtues, actions, character and plays, my soul experiences divine peace. O Achyut, my mind is dedicated in your feet. O great among the men, this Rukmani has dedicated herself in your feet. Now it is up to you to see that no jackal could take away the lion's share." The Brahmin, the carrier of the letter, returned to Kundanpur with an assurance from Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna too called the charioteer and set out at once for Kundanpur. There in Kundanpur, Rukmani after getting the assurance from the Brahmin was thus waiting for Lord' Krishna‘s arrival.
Preparations for Rukmani's marriage with Shishupal were on with full swing in Kundanpur. All the houses, streets and lanes were cleaned and sprinkled with scented water. All the men and women folk donned new clothes and ornaments. King Bhismak worshipped his ancestors and gods and welcomed the Brahmins liberally. Extremely beautiful princess Rukmani was given ceremonial bath and donned with auspicious clothes and bracelets.
The king of Chedi, Damaghosh got the auspicious rites for the marriage of his son Shishupal, performed by Brahmins. All the Baratis (people in marriage procession) were given grand reception. Many great kings like Shalv, Jarasandh, Dantvaktra, Vidurath and Paundrak were present in the marriage procession. They had come with their armies with an intention of fighting Krishna and Balarama. After Krishna's departure, Balarama too set out for Kundanpur with chaturangini (with four wings) army, for he had known about their opponents' preparedness.
Rukmani was eagerly awaiting Lord Krishna‘s arrival. She had received the news that Dwarakanath (Krishna) had resolved to take her away. She was feeling overwhelmed in her heart. Seeing Lord Krishna arrived intently in the marriage ceremonies of his daughter, king Bhismak welcomed him. Seeing him, even the common people of Vidarbh prayed "May our princess Rukmani get Sri Krishna as her husband. At the same time, Rukmani emerged from her palace to go to the temple of Ambikadevi, soldiers were guarding her. In the temple, Rukmani
prayed peacefully: "O Mother Ambika I greet you and Ganapati, who is sitting in your lap. I seek your blessing that may my wish be fulfilled and may I receive Sri Krishna as my husband."
On her way back, Rukmani was walking very slowly for she was awaiting Lord's arrival, which was due in any moment. Just then, Lord Krishna appeared before her. Before she could ride her chariot Lord lifted her from amidst the crowd. And in the presence of hundreds of kings, Krishna and Balarama eloped away with Rukmani.

KRISHNA DEFEATS RUKMI AND MARRIES RUKMANI
Hearing the news that Krishna has eloped with Rukmani, Rukmi and all other kings present there boiled with anger. Accompanied by their huge armies, they decided to give them a chase. Thus chased my them, Yadnvanishis stopped and encountered the kings boldly. With a true ambition to win, brave Yadav soldiers defeated the enemies. All the kings like Jarasandh fled for their lives. Rukmi had resolved that without getting Rukmani released from Krishna's captivity, he would not show his face in Kundanpur. He chased Lord Krishna for long. But Dwarakanath defeated him and got his head shaved. Thus defeating all the kings, Lord Krishna brought Rukmani to Dwarka. There they got married formally. All the people of Dwarka celebrated festivities for many days. People presented them with lot of precious gifts. All the people were in great joy to see Lakshmi as Rukmani with her husband Lord Krishna.

TALE OF SYAMANTAK THE GEM AND ITS THEFT
Lord Krishna - Jambhavati
A person named Satrajit was a great devotee of Lord Suryanarayana. Pleased by his devotion, Suryadev presented him a gem called Syamantak. The gem had radiance equal to the Sun. Bearing that gem, Satrajit arrived in Lord's court. By the radiance of his gem, all the people and the courtiers mistook him for Suryadev and stood in his regard. But the Lord recognised him and asked his courtiers to be calm. Then to Satrajit, Lord Said: "Satrajit, your gem is really very
beautiful. Nana (maternal grandfather) Ugrasen is the king of this region. If you present this gem to him, it will be very good. But Satrajit refused to present that gem. One day, later on, Satrajits brother Prasenjit went hunting, wearing the gem in his neck. In the forest a lion killed him and snatched the gem. The lion was in turn killed by the bear king Jambvant. Jambvant took the gem to his cave and gave it to his children to play with. When Prasenjit did not return from hunting, Satrajit felt sorry and accused Krishna that He had killed his brother for the gem. When Lord Krishna heard that he was being blamed for the mishap, He himself went to the forests. There he found the dead body of Prasenjit, but there was no sign of gem around the cadaver. He found only footprints of a lion leaving from there. Following the footprints, He discovered the dead lion and the footprints of a great bear. Following the footprints, He reached in the cave where Jambvant's daughter Jambvati was playing with the gem.
As soon as Lord Krishna proceeded to take the gem, Jambvant arrived. A fierce duel resulted between them. They continued to fight for twenty-six days without truce. On the twenty-seventh day Jambvant requested Lord! "Please wait O Lord." Lord said: "Do you want to take rest?" "No", said Jambvant, "I have recognised you. You are none other than Lord Narayana Himself. Nobody else has the power to defeat me." Lord appeared before Jambvant as Sri Rama. Jambvant prayed and worshipped Him. He was feeling guilty that he dared to fight Lord. Lord said that He had arrived there for the gem only. Jambvant gave him the gem and also his daughter Jambvati. Lord Krishna returned the gem to Satrajit and married Jambvati formally

KRISHNA’S OTHER MARRIAGES

1.) Lord Krishna -Satyabhama
Lord Krishna ummoned Satrajit to His court and in the presence of the king Ugrasen, related the sequence of incidents that took place in the jungle. Satrajit felt ashamed. With a feeling of repentance he took the gem. He was getting afraid also that he made enemity with lord Krishna without reason. Hence to expiate his crime, Satrajit thought of presenting the gem Syamantak and his daughter Satyabhama to Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna accepted Satyabhama as his wife but returned the gem to Satrajit saying: "It is a gift of lord Suryadev. Keep it with you. You are required to deposit the gold that you get from it, in the royal treasure."
Akrura and Kritvarma were not pleased with the marriage of Satyabhama. So they got Satrajit killed by Shatadhanva. Shatadhanva killed Satrajit in his sleep and absconded with the gem. Lord Krishna was then away in Hastinapur. Satyabhama too reached there and informed Krishna about her father's assassination. With Balarama, Lord Krishna chased Shatadhanva. But even after killing him, they could not trace the gem. Shatadhanva had given the gem to Akrura to keep till his return. But after the death of Shatadhanva, frightened Akrura came to stay in Kashi. From the effect of the gem Akrura performed many grand Yagyas there. Lord Krishna summoned Akrura from Kashi. After welcoming and treating him in the court, Lord Krishna asked him about the gem. Akrura showed the gem in the court. But Lord returned the gem to Akrura.

2.)Lord Krishna and Kalindi

 Once Lord Krishna visited Indraprasth to see Pandavas. There riding a chariot with Arjuna, He came to the forests. On the bank of river Yamuna a pretty woman was observing penance. By the instinct of God, Arjuna drew near her and asked for her identity. She said: "I am Kalindi, the daughter of Suryadev. I am penancing here in order to get married with Lord Krishna." Lord Krishna got Kalindi boarded on the chariot and got married to her formally.
3.) Lord Krishna - Mitravinda
Mitrvinda was the sister of Vind Anuvind the king of Ujjain. She had a desire to get Lord Krishna as her husband. But her brother, Vind Anuvind was a follower of Duryodhan. So he stopped his sister Mitrvinda from getting married to Krishna. But Krishna eloped with Mitrvinda from the court and got married to her formally later on.
4.) Lord Krishna - Nagnajiti
Nagnajiti was the daughter of Nagnjit, the king of Kaushal. She was extremely beautiful lady. The king had resolved that he would marry his daughter only to him who would defeat his seven most formidable oxen. Many princes has tried their luck since then but failed. When Lord Krishna heard about that, He reached Kaushal with his army. The king of Kaushal welcomed and treated him well, and told him about his resolution. Lord Krishna then took seven guises and in no time defeated his seven formidable oxen. Gladly the king married his daughter Nagnajiti to Lord Krishna.

5.)Lord Krishna - Bhadra
"Parikshit, Lord Krishna‘s aunt (father's sister) Shrutkirti was married in the kingdom of Kaikauja. Bhadra was the daughter of Shrutkirti. Bhadra's brothers like Santardan etc. themselves had got their sister married to Lord Krishna.

6.)Lord Krishna  - Lakshana
 Lakshana was the daughter of the king of Madra. She was very beautiful and meritorious. Lord Krishna abducted her all alone from the Swayamvara organised for her marriage .Krishna competed in an archery competition. He competed with Arjuna and Duryodhana, each who threw the match because they knew Krishna's passion for her.. Later, Lord Krishna married to her formally.

Share: