India
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SAMUDRAMANTHAN
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The Assault on Shanidev
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Trishanku
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Revati
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Indian Myth of Creation of World
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SURYA – THE SUN
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Akashganga - The Milky Way
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KRITTIKA – THE PLEIADES
01
SAMUDRAMANTHAN – A Story about Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon
As compiled by: Leena Damle
A very popular story in Indian mythology about how the Dev (gods) and Danav (demons) churned the ocean to extract Amrit (nectar).
The Dev and Danav used to fight very often. Once, the Danav defeated the Dev, and most of their soldiers died. The Danav often chanted the Sanjeevani Mantra (a mantra that brings the dead back to life when it is chanted) to bring their dead soldiers to life. However, the Dev were disappointed. They all went to Brahmadev, the creator of the universe, for help, and he advised them to approach Lord Vishnu. So, the Dev, accompanied by Lord Shiva finally went to Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu said “You will have to obtain Amrit (nectar) to triumph over the Danav. When it is swallowed, amrit is a liquid that makes a man immortal. To pull it out of the ocean called Kshirsagar, you will have to churn the ocean with help from the Danav. Therefore, you should first approach your enemies, the Danav, and become friends with them. You need to do this for you own good. When the Danav are ready to help you, all of you should start churning Kshirsagar. To do this, you will need a churner and a churn-rope. Use Mount Mandar as a churner and Vasuki, the great snake, as a churn-rope. I will hold Mandar on my back in the form of a tortoise so that it remains suspended in Kshirsagar. Before starting the churning, put some grass, creepers and medicinal herbs the Kshirsagar. Remember, you will have to do whatever the Danav ask for until you get your reward.”
The Dev did exactly as they were told. The Dev and the Danav started churning the ocean. When nothing happened, after a lot of effort, Lord Vishnu once again came to the Dev’s rescue. Due to his help, many marine creatures like snakes, tortoises, and crocodiles, started surfacing, but then they were followed by a poison called Halahal. Seeing the poison, the Dev and Danav became scared. They praised Lord Shiva and urged him to destroy the poison. Their praise pleased Lord Shiva, and he took pity on them, he drank all of the poison and saved all earthlings from its ill effects. However, his throat became blue from the poison and ever since then, Lord Shiva is also called Neelkanth (Neel – blue; Kanth – throat).
The Dev and Danav continued churning Kshirsagar and 14 precious objects (called “14 jewels”) surfaced, one after the other. They were:
1) Chandra (moon), which was put by Lord Shiva put over his head,
2) Parijaat (a tree with delicate, scented flowers), which the Dev recived,
3) Airavat (white elephant), which became Lord Indra’s vehicle,
4) Kamdhenu (cow), which fulfills all, wishes of her owner, and which the Dev recived,
5) Sura (alcoholic drink), which the Danav recived,
6) Kalpavriksha (tree), which fulfills all od the wishes of a person standing under it, and which the Dev recived,
7) Rambha (beautiful dancer), which the Dev recived,
8) Uchhaishrava (horse), which the Dev recived,
9) Laxmi (goddess of wealth), who married Lord Indra,
10) Panchajanya (conch-shell) ,which became Lord Indra,’s musical instrument,
11) Mace and Bow, which became Lord Indra’s weapons,
12) Kaustubha (jewel), which the Dev recived,
13) Dhanvantari (doctor and founder of medical science), a god himself, and
14) Amrit (nectar).
When Dhanvantari came out of the water holding Amrit in a pot, the Dev and Danav started quarreling over it. They went to Lord Vishnu to resolve the issue,. Promising help, he appeared before them in the guise of a very beautiful and attractive young woman named Mohini. She assured the Dev and Danav that she would distribute Amrit equally between them and requested that they sit in two separate lines.
Rahu, one of the Danav, sat in between Suryadev (the sun god) and Chandradev (the moon god) in the guise of a god. When Rahu started drinking Amrit, Suryadev and Chandradev recognized him immediately and informed Lord Vishnu. Without losing any time, Lord Vishnu cut off Rahu’s head with his Sudarshan Chakra, a rotating wheel with a sharp edge. However, Lord Vishnu could not stop Rahu’s head from becoming immortal since Amrit had already entered it, and only his dead body fell to the floor. Lord Vishnu granted Rahu’s head the status of a planet.
Therefore the Sun and the Moon became Rahu’s enemies forever, and Rahu tries to swallow them from time to time. This is why solar and lunar eclipses take place.
02
The Assault on Shanidev – Saturn
As complied by: Leena Damle
Ancient Hindu literature says that the planets, the Moon, and the Sun affect the lives of people on Earth. Shanidev (Saturn) is described as a cruel, ghastly-looking, giant planet.
Dasharatha, the father of Lord Rama, was a very powerful king. On one occasion, some astrologers told Dasharatha, “Shanidev is now positioned at the end of
the constellation Krittika (Pleiades). Very soon, he will pass through the triangle formed by the stars of the constellation Taurus. This passage, known as Rohini-Shakata-Bheda, will harm all living creatures on the Earth. Therefore, Oh King, you must do something to save the Earth from Saturn’s ill influence. Before Saturn crosses the boundary of the triangle, you must attack him”.
Dasharatha was baffled. He was not sure how an earthling could attack Saturn, who was located so far away. All of the sages and astrologers were alsopuzzled, and they approached the great sage Vasishtha for a solution. Vasishtha told Dasharatha “Oh King, it is your duty to protect all living beings on the Earth, and you can to do it. Your chariot can take you through water, ground and space.”
These motivating words inspired Dasharatha, and he decided to attack Shanidev.
On a proper Muhurta (astrologically auspicious day and time), Dasharatha worshipped the sun god and left Ayodhya (his capital place) to conquer Shanidev. He guided his chariot towards Suryamandal (the orbit of the Sun), stopped there, and started attacking Shanidev with his astras*, which he had acquired through tapasya (penance).
The attack was so fierce that it even shook the cruel and mighty planet Shanidev. In a fearful voice, he said to Dasharatha, “You are really the most powerful king in the universe. Please do not waste your power by attacking me; it is better that you save it for some other just purpose. I am ready to fulfill a wish of yours; I shall grant to you whatever you want.”
Dasharatha replied, “I don’t intend to harm you. My only request is that you not cross the triangle of Taurus (Rohini-Shakata-Bheda) until rivers, oceans, mountains, jungles, animals and people exist on Earth, and until the Sun and the Moon shine in our sky. Also, there should be no famine on Earth.”
Saturn readily accepted Dasharatha’s requests and asked if he had any more wishes.
Dasharatha told Saturn that he wanted to see and experience Shanidev’s true nature. Shanidev said, “Oh King, no God or demon or human has ever seen me or can ever see me in future. However, I will give you special vision that allows you to see me.” Immediately afterwards, some strange rays entered Dasharatha’s eyes, and he felt as if his eyes were burning. He could immediately see Shanidev standing in front of him. He was a giant, horrific-looking, skeleton-like figure. No flesh was on his body; he was just skin and bones. His eyes were red hot. The sight scared Dasharatha so much that he started shaking with fear. He asked Shanidev to forgive his past mistakes and to revert to his normal appearance.
Dasharatha’s honesty and respect pleased Shanidev, so he asked Dasharatha to make another wish. Dasharatha asked for the welfare of all people, animals, birds, gods, and demons on Earth, and he urged Shanidev not to trouble any of them from then on.
Shanidev replied “I will do as you wish.”
After successfully completing his mission, King Dasharatha returned to his capital Ayodhya. This was how he protected Earth from Shanidev’s ill influence.
*In Hindu mythology, astras (sometimes translated as “missiles”) are magical arrows or spears that only strong heroes can use.
Commentary : Hindu mythology says that it is disastrous for Saturn or Mars to crossing the triangle of Taurus. Indian astronomers have deeply studied this event, called Rohini-Shakata-Bheda. Rohini is the star Aldebaran in the triangle of Taurus.
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03
Trishanku – The Crux (Southern Cross)
As compiled by: Leena Damle
Trayyarun was the king of Ayodhya, the capital of Lord Rama’s empire. He was Rama’s ancestor. He had a son named Satyavrata, who was not well-behaved. Trayyarun was totally fed up with his son’s behavior. Every effort that he made to improve Satyavrata’s behavior was in vain.
One day, Satyavrata abducted a bride in the midst of her marriage ceremony. The abduction was too much for the people to bear, and they became furious. The king was furious too. So Trayyarun, along with the royal priest Vasishtha, ordered Satyavrata to leave the kingdom. Satyavrata had to obey them. At the same time, a great famine hit the land and lasted for nine years.
Once he was in the jungle, Satyavrata contined to roam aimlessly, and he suffered a lot from the famine. Vishwamitra, another great sage, had his ashram (hermitage) in the same jungle. When Satyavrata reached the ashram for help, he discovered that Vishwamitra was away on a pilgrimage and that his wife and children were suffering heavily from the famine during the sage’s long absence. Taking pity on Vishwamitra’s family, Satyavrata helped them by giving meat every day.
One day, Satyavrata shot an arrow at Vasishtha’s favorite cow Kamadhenu, who had the magic power to fulfill her owner’s every wish. Vasishtha lost his temper and cursed Satyavrata so that three horns would grow on his head. With three ugly horns on Satyavrata’s head, people started calling him Trishanku (tri means three and shanku means cones). Depressed after the series of misfortunes, Trishanku now had only one wish left in his life : He wanted to die and go to Heaven, but he wanted to retain his human body in Heaven. He was aware that his wish was very unusual and that only the sage Vasishtha had the power to fulfill it. He went to Vasishtha again, and demanded that he do what he needed. Vasishtha, furious with Trishanku’s arrogance, replied “This is just not possible. No human can ever go to Heaven with his mortal body. I cannot fulfill your wish”.
(The constellation mentioned in the story “Trishanku” is the “Crux” (Southern Cross) shown in the above picture above.)
After that, Trishanku went to Vishwamitra’s ashram for help. Vishwamitra was shocked to see Satyavrata in such an ugly and dreadful state. He could not believe that the man standing before him was once Ayodhya’s Prince. Trishanku said to Vishwamitra, “Sage Vasishtha, our royal priest, is responsible for all of my miseries”. Vishwamitra, recalling Trishanku’s help to his family during the famine, decided to help him. Vishwamitra set aside his Tapasya (penance) and embarked on a pilgrimage with Trishanku. Trishanku and Vishwamitra first visited a Shiva temple, and then they took a holy bath in the nearby river. This brought back Trishanku’s original appearance, and he started looking handsome again.
Although Trishanku was very grateful to Vishwamitra for his help, he still insisted that he wanted to die and go to Heaven with his mortal body. Since this was only possible with Yadnya (sacred fire) rites, Vishwamitra started performing them. At the end of every Yadnya, gods usually visit the place of fire and accept Aahooti (offerings). But instead of this, the gods tried to persuade Vishwamitra to give up the idea of sending Trishanku to Heaven in his human form.
Vishwamitra did not agree to the gods’ request. Using his spiritual power gained from Tapasya, he lifted Trishanku to Heaven. As Trishanku was about to enter Heaven, Indra, the king of the gods, pushed him down with all his might. Trishanku started falling down, with his head down and his legs up. As he was about to touch Earth, Vishwamitra pushed him up again. This up and down journey continued for quite some time and Trishanku remained suspended in space. Vishwamitra knew that he could never win a battle with Indra, and he finally called Trishanku back to Earth.
Nevertheless, Vishwamitra was determined to send Trishanku to Heaven in his mortal form, he came up with another bright idea – creating a whole new universe so that he can put Trishanku in the new Heaven. The gods knew that Vishwamitra was quite capable of creating a new universe and thus interfering with the design of its creator, Brahmadev. Therefore, they became fearful and urged Vishwamitra not to go ahead with his plans. But Vishwamitra did not budge. Finally, Brahmadev and Indra promised Vishwamitra that they would fulfill his wish on two conditions : Vishwamitra should never send another human to Heaven in his mortal form, and he should give up the idea of creating a whole new universe. Vishwamitra accepted both the conditions. Brahmadev then took Trishanku to Heaven in his mortal body.
Indian literature often refers to Trishanku’s suspended state Trishanku or a confused state of mind.
04
Revati – Pisces
As compiled by: Leena Damle
Long long ago, there lived a Brahmarshi (great sage) whose name was Rutwak. For many years he had no son so he was very unhappy. After waiting a long time, his wife finally gave birth to a baby boy. At the time of the birth child’s, the Moon was passing through end of the constellation Revati, i.e. Pisces. According to Hindu astrology, this is a bad period to be born. Knowing this, Rutwak tried his best to provide his son with a very good education. Despite this, Rutwak’s son developed a very bad character, and he soon became a spoiled brat. He even went so far as to abduct the wife of some another sage’s son. His son’s behavior made Rutwak very unhappy, and he thought that it was better to be childless than to have such a son.
Rutwak approached the great sage Garga Muni and asked, “Despite doing good deeds all of my life, why am I cursed with such a son ?” Garga Muni told him, “It is not your fault. It is because the Moon was positioned in the constellation Revati when your child born; it was a very inauspicious time.” Enraged, Rutwak cursed Revati so that she descend to Earth. Revati fell over the mountain Kumudgiri, and when she hit the mountain, Revati manifested herself in the form of a lake. Suddenly a beautiful girl child appeared from the lake. Pramucha Muni, who had his Ashram
(hermitage) near the mountain, named the child Revati and gave her all of the care of a parent.
When Revati grew up, Pramucha Muni arranged her marriage with the mighty King Durgam. When Revati found out that her marriage was being arranged with Durgam, she insisted that the marriage take place when the Moon is positioned in constellation Revati. Pramucha Muni asked Revati, “Don’t you know that the Revati constellation had to descend to Earth because of sage Rutwak’s curse?” Young Revati replied, “You too are a powerful sage. With your power, you should put the constellation Revati back in her original place. I want this to happen because she is my beloved mother.” So, Pramucha Muni blessed Revati to occupy her original position in the path of the Moon. At that very moment, a bright figure emerged from the lake with a big bang and vanished in the skies. The lake also disappeared. Then King Durgam married Revati and took her to his kingdom. Their son Raivat became a very powerful and mighty king. He was later called Raivatak Manu and the era was named after him.
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05
Indian Myths of the Creation of the World
As compiled by: Leena Damle
Hinduism offers a variety of stories about the creation of universe. Some of them are described below.
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The world came into being when Purusha’s (Cosmic man) body was dismembered.
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One of the best-known Vedic creation myths relates to Purusha’s sacrifice. The gods cut up Purusha, took the part of him that was visible in their realm, and placed it upon a sacrificial fire. The sacrifices created the Vedic deities Indra (king of gods), Agni (god of fire) and Vayu (god of air) as well as the cardinal points of the universe, animals, humans and the four Varnas (orders).
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The world was created from a cosmic egg.
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The universe began from a dream of Brahma, the creator god.
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The world originated from the tears of Prajapati.
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The Puranas (religious texts) contain many stories that attribute the world’s creation to the supreme deities Shiva, Vishnu and the Goddess.
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The universe is often said to have been born from the sacred syllable Om or from an inert void in which there was neither being nor death, a single state from which the diversity of life emerged. This void gave birth to desire from which humans, gods, and demons emerged.
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The Chhandogya Upanishada (Chapter 3, Part 19, Verse 2) describes the origin of the universe. It was said that there was nothing at first but ‘Asat’ (nonexistance), some thing that humans cannot be experience. Then something materialized from the void, and an egg was formed. The egg stayed the same for a year, but after that it broke into two pieces, one of which was silvery and the other; golden. Earth formed from the silvery part of the egg, and that is why Earth is round like an egg. Hell (Sapta-Patal) occupies seven different layers under Earth. Heaven (Dyu-lok) formed from the golden part of the egg. Different parts of egg gave rise to different parts of Earth, like mountains, clouds, and rivers. Oceans formed from the fluid in the egg, and the Sun was created from the same egg.
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07
Akashganga : the Milky Way
As compiled by: Leena Damle
Himawana was the emperor of the mountains. His wife’s name was Mena. They had two ravishingly beautiful daughters; the elder one was called Ganga and the younger one, Uma. Thinking that Ganga would make a perfect wife for him, Indra, the king of the gods, approached Himawana for Ganga’s hand. Himawana readily agreed to the proposal and sent Ganga to heaven. Once there, Ganga glided in the shape of a river, spreading light everywhere and purifying everything she came across. Thereafter, her movement through galaxies came to be known as Akashganga or the Milky Way. Akash means firmament or heaven and hence Akashganga means heavenly river. The stars in the Milky Way are thought to be Ganga’s shining hair pins.
Akashganga was later brought back to the Earth by King Bhagirath, an ancestor of Lord Rama and great great grandson of King Sagar. King Sagar was once performing Ashwamedh Yajna (fire rite) with the help of his royal priest Vasishtha to please Lord Shiva. In the rituals of the Ashwamedh Yajna, a king sends a decorated horse to neighbouring countries with his trusted people and army. Whoever accepts the supremacy of the king performing the Ashwamedh Yajna allows the horse to pass through, while whoever does not wish to accept it captures the horse and fights with the king.
King Sagar had sixty thousand sons from one wife and only one son, named Asamanja, from another. Indra wanted to punish the sixty thousand sons of King Sagar, because they were totally spoiled. So he abducted the Yajna horse and took it to sage Kapil who was performing tapasya (penance) in Patal Lok (a place deep down under the surface of the Earth) at that time. All sixty thousand sons of King Sagar searched for the horse in every direction and finally found it tied near sage Kapil in Patal Lok. Suspecting that sage Kapil had abducted the horse, Sagar’s sons started harassing him. Kapil got angry and cursed them. In a flash, they all burned down to ashes. Thus, Indra got rid of them.
Asamanja’s son and Sagar’s grandson Anshuman was a well behaved and learned person. He went to sage Kapil, praised him, and politely requested that he allows him to take his horse back. While agreeing to this request, Kapil suggested that Anshuman brings the river Ganga to the Earth to wash away the sins of his relatives, the sixty thousand sons of King Sagar. This was such a difficult task that no one even dared to make an attempt during the next couple of generations. Finally, Bhagirath, Anshuman’s grandson, decided to take up the challenge. He started to perform tapasya (penance). He had to face and overcome a number of obstacles to complete the task. In the end, Ganga agreed to his wish to come down to the Earth. But one more problem remained; no one could bear Ganga’s great impact if she were to come down to the Earth with her usual speed. So Bhagirath started worshipping Lord Shiva. After years of tapasya, Lord Shiva appeared before Bhagirath and consented to his wish to let Ganga fall on his head.
06
SURYA – THE SUN
As compiled by: Leena Damle
The sun is called Surya in Hindu mythology. Surya is generally portrayed as a red-colored warrior with three eyes and four arms. He rides a chariot drawn by seven horses. Two of his four hands hold water lilies; the third one encourages his worshipers, and the fourth one blesses them. Surya is supposed to be a benevolent deity who heals sick people.
When Surya married Sanjna, the daughter of Vishwakarma, she could not endure his intense light and heat. She fled into a forest and transformed herself into a mare to prevent Surya from recognizing her. But Surya soon discoverd Sanjna’s whereabouts. He went to the same forest in the guise of a horse and joined with Sanjna, the mare. Sanjna then gave birth to three children – Manu, the law maker; Yama, the Lord of Death, and Yamuna, the river.
Nevertheless, it was still difficult for Sanjna to bear the intensity of Surya’s light and heat, and she started to feel exhausted. Even performing her daily domestic chores became difficult. Sanjna’s father decided to help her and trimmed Surya’s body in such a way that his brilliance was reduced by an eighth. Thereafter, Sanjna could tolerate Sun’s proximity more easily.
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08
Krittika : The Pleiades
As compiled by: Leena Damle
The pleiades are called Krittika in Hindu literature. Although Krittika contains many several stars, only seven stars could be seen with the naked eye during the Vedic period, i.e. around 5,000 to 6,000 B.C. The names of the stars were Amba, Dula, Nitatni, Abhrayanti, Meghayanti, Varshayanti and Chupunika and they were regarded as the wives of the seven stars in Saptarshi (sapta means seven; rishi means sages) or Ursa Major. The seventh star, Chupunika, vanished after the Vedic period, and Krittika became a group of six stars thereafter.
The sun’s southward progression is called Dakshinayan. The rainy season starts when the beginning of the sun’s southward passage from the Tropic of Cancer is in the constellation Krittika. Since the seven stars in Krittika were named only during this period, they are related to rain or water in one way or the other. This indicates that the sages in the Vedic times must have studied astronomy very carefully.
Another name given to Krittika is Saloam (sa means with; loam means hair or medicinal plants). The rainy season sustains the lives of plants and trees. Krittika starts the rainy season on Earth and helps plants and trees to grow. On the basis of mathematics and astronomical events, one scholar in Pune (India) has calculated the original date to be 21,800 B.C.
A story associated with Krittika goes like this. While bathing in the river Ganges, the six stars of Krittika found a very beautiful and bright baby boy on the banks of the river. They immediately took him home and started looking after him. Later, the God of Fire and the river Ganges found out about the baby boy and became interested in him. They claimed that the baby boy was their son. To deal with the conflict, the stars, the God of Fire, and the river Ganges went together to Lord Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati. When Goddess Parvati saw the baby boy, she immediately felt that it was in fact, her baby, and she put him on her lap. Knowing that the baby was born from his semen, Lord Shiva declared that the baby was his. All had to agree with him. The boy was then named as Kartikeya, a name derived from Krittika.
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