There is yet another story about Hanuman’s birth. Punjikasthala liked to roam the skies. While wandering in the heavens, she once saw a monkey sage engrossed in deep meditation. The sage sat cross-legged for his prayers. This posture appeared very funny to Punjikasthala and instead of respecting the sage’s dedication she started laughing loudly. The […]
Anjana was asked by sage Agastya to perform meditation on hill Venkatadri situated on the banks of Akash Ganga. This place in Vrishabhachal was the most suitable place for her to get her desire fulfilled. The sage said to Anjana, “Lord Shiv is going to be born to you. He will be as mighty as
After some time, Punjikasthala and Adrika took birth as the twin daughters of a vanar king named Kunj. Kesari, another famous king of the vanar race, married both Anjana and Adrika when they grew up. Kesari was highly religious. He often used to sit deep in meditation at the southern seashore. One day, sage Agastya
Another story related to the birth of Hanuman goes like this. Punjikasthala was a heavenly creature. Once, she visited a planet named Svah (a planet beyond the pole star) as a tourist. She was very beautiful and Lord Indra fell in love with her. But Punjikasthala declined Indra’s marriage proposal. She ridiculed him and said,
Anjana was Hanuman’s mother. There are many stories related to how Anjana gave birth to Hanuman. Anjana, in her previous birth, was an apsara named Punjikasthala. A sage once cursed Punjikasthala to be born on earth as a female monkey, “You will be freed from the curse only after giving birth to an incarnation of
Narad and Parvat were waiting anxiously when Princess Shrimati entered the court with a beautiful flower garland. When Shrimati came near the sages, she was amused to see the monkey’s face of Narad. She could not hold back her laughter and started laughing aloud. Narad felt insulted. Narad instantly realised that he had been tricked.
King Ambarish was wondering who between Narad and Parvat would be more suitable for his daughter. Narad saw this and said, “O mighty King, I am a suitable groom for your daughter, as I am older than Parvat.” But Parvat protested when he heard Narad’s statement. He said, “I proposed first, so I am more
Legend has it that Lord Hanuman was an incarnation of Lord Shiv. There are several stories related to the birth of Hanuman. Once, a king named Ambarish ruled Ayodhya. He was a kind and famous ruler. A lot of sages visited his kingdom. One day, two sages, Narad and Parvat, visited Ambarish’s kingdom. Narad and
Ganesha is known by several names in Indian mythology. Some have been described in the above stories. There are 32 other names by which Ganesha is known, not only in India but also in other parts of the world. In Nepal, Ganesha is known as ‘Heramb Ganesha’. This form of Ganesha has five heads and
Once, a woodcutter made an idol of goddess Lakshmi. He placed the idol under a tree and started worshipping it. He kept fresh flowers and fruits in front of the idol on the day of Diwali. One day, the woodcutter gifted a similar idol to the king. The king was very pleased to see the
Shiva was very fond of Kashi, a place that he used to visit frequently. Kashi was ruled by King Divodas who was very kind and pious. Once, King Divodas persuaded Brahma to keep all the gods away from Kashi, as it was a perfect kingdom with no unhappy citizen. Shiva was very upset to know
Legend has it that Ganesha took the form of Shami Vighnesh when Lord Indra’s evil thoughts gave rise to three demons, named Mahapap, Sankat and Shatru. These demons performed a tremendous penance to please Shiva. They were blessed by Shiva to become victorious rulers. After attaining the power, the demons went berserk and started troubling
Tarakasur, armed with Brahma’s boons, was tormenting the gods and the sages. The sages were unable to undertake any pious or religious rituals or do meditation. Sage Narad went to Karttikey (Baal Skand) and told him of the situation regarding the evil doings of Tarakasur. Karttikey was mad with fury. He took his parents’ blessings
Once, Parvati wanted to know the reason of the sheer grace on Shiva’s face whenever he was in meditation. “Tell me who you pray to, my Lord,” she asked Shiva. Shiva said it was due to Ganesha’s Mantra. On being asked whether she could achieve it too, Shiva said to Parvati, “Yes, but you will
Angarak went to the banks of River Narmada and started deep penance. Lord Ganesha was very pleased with his devotion and strict, disciplined worship. He appeared before Angarak in a dance posture (Nritya Ganesha). He also gave him a blessing that all his wishes would come true. After some time, Angarak built Ganesha’s shrine and