Category Archives: Hindu Mythology

There is a lot of confusion as to whether Jambhavan was a monkey (kapi) or a bear (riksha). Valmiki’s Ramayana presented some stories of Jambhavan as a bear and other stories of him as a monkey. In one version Brahma sent the celestial damsels (apsaras) to be reborn around Rama and help him defeat the demon king Ravana and one was born as Jambhavan. Other versions stated that Jambhavan was reborn at each of Vishnu’s incarnations, not just during his incarnation as Rama. It was in the Krishna incarnation that, … Continue reading →

Jamadagni was born by a miraculous birth in which his caste was determined not be birth but by a magical portion of rice pudding. His father, the sage Ricika, a wonderous and powerful magician (siddha) gave his two wives different por­tions to determine the qualities of his future sons. Satyavati switched her por­tion with the second wife and her son, Jamadagni was born with the qualities of a warrior (kstriya) but the caste of his brahmin father. Jamadagni studied hard and mastered all the Vedas. Then he went to King … Continue reading →

This myth presents two competing spiritual paths: one of austerities (tapas) and another of spirituality located in a householder’s life. Jajali had developed into a great ascetic. One day as he was doing a standing meditation, a pair of birds built their nest in his matted hair. So began a period when the mother bird laid her eggs, these hatched, and the young birds were raised. Still Jajali remained motionless. Finally they flew away and did not come back. Only then did Jajali go to the sea and bathe. He … Continue reading →

Jahnu gave his kingdom to his son and retired to a quiet spot to do austerities (tapas). However, cosmic events disturbed his meditations. King Bhagiratha had been successful in his austerities to get Siva’s help in bringing the sacred river Ganga to earth. And when it came, it flooded Jahnu’s hermitage (asrama). Jahnu used some of his powers (siddhis) and drank up the Ganga. Bhagiratha had to come to Jahnu and persuade him to allow the Ganga to flow again. So Jahnu pushed Ganga-devi out of his ear.

This is a Puranic myth about dharma—a father who failed to keep his dharma and sons who kept theirs. Jada was a brahmin who became an unscrupulous businessman. But he was robbed and killed and reborn a pisaca, a hunger ghost. His sons were quite moral and did their duty toward their father. They decided to go to Kasi (Benares) to perform proper rituals for the spirit of their father. As they recited the third chapter of Bhagavad Gita, their father’s angry spirit was redeemed from its state, and Jada … Continue reading →

There are three terms (isa, isana, isvara) that all come from the root, is (to have power). All can be translated as “lord,” or “the one who possesses power.” Theseterms were applied to many of the devas in the Vedic period—Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Soma, and Savitri. In late Vedic texts Rudra, linked to Siva, was called isana, master, or “the ruling one.” Purusha was also called the isvara of immor­tality and the immortal and imperishable isa (in the Svetasvatara Upanishad). In later periods these terms came to be used exclusively … Continue reading →

There are a number of references in the Rigveda to Indrani but her story was not told. She was chosen by Indra as his wife from among many other goddesses because she was said to be the most voluptuous. But in the Puranas Indrani became Saci, daughter of Puloma, a demon. She was also called by the patronymic Paulomi. As Indra was reduced, so too was his wife—from a goddess richly endowed to a demoness.

In the Bhagavata Purana Indradyumna was a saintly king who was engaged in deep meditation. One day he was visited by the sage Agastya. Indradyumna did not notice the arrival of Agastya, who took the king’s neglect for an insult. Agastya was enraged and cursed Indradyumna to become a mighty tusker, the elephant Gajendra. The grief-stricken Indradyumna asked Agastya to liberate him from the curse. Agastya said that he would be redeemed from the curse by Vishnu’s touch. Indradyumna, now as Gajendra, lived as an elephant for many years. One … Continue reading →

Indra’s mythology underwent more change than that of perhaps any other god in the Hindu pantheon. Indra appeared in the oldest hymns of the Rigveda as the god par excellence of the warriors (ksatriyas). This stratum of hymns was so ancient that Indra and Varuna were referred to as asuras, the older word for the “shining” gods. He was older than the adityas but was later added as the fourth aditya. He battled an ancient monster called Vritra, who later became a serpent whose body encircled the celestial waters and, … Continue reading →

The myth of Ila is about the plasticity of gender, with Ila moving back and forth between male and female in the same lifetime. Ila’s father, Vaivasvata-Manu, was the son of Kasiyapa-prajapati and Aditi, the first parents in this myth. Her sons were all celestials and divine (adityas) yet she was a mortal—this is one of the inconsistencies of Puranic myths. Ila’s parents, Vaivasvata Manu and Sraddha (trust), did not have children for a long time, so they asked Sage Agastya to perform a yajna (sacrifice) to Mitra and Varuna … Continue reading →