Category Archives: Hindu Mythology

Yama took the form of a samnyasin and was the indirect cause for the death of Rama and Lakshmana. After Rama had killed Ravana in the Lanka war, the main reason for the incarnation of Vishnu as Rama was fulfilled. There needed to be a cause for Vishnu to return to Vaikuntha (his heavenly abode). Brahma asked Yama to go to see Rama. Yama went to see Rama in the guise of a samnyasin called Atibala and said that he had a secret to tell Rama. During their meeting with … Continue reading →

Asvatthama became the commander-in-chief of the Kauravas when their great army had been reduced to three—plus the dying Duryodhana. Those three entered the camp of the Pandavas and slaughtered many heroes and their chil­dren. Five young sons of the Pandavas were beheaded and taken back to Duryo- dhana. Draupadi, wife of the Pandava brothers, wanted revenge, but she allowed her husbands a way out of slaying a brahmin. They only had to bring back the jewel Asvatthama wore. Bhima, Arjuna, and Krishna pursued Asvatthama and brought back his jewel to … Continue reading →

A wild stallion was released by a warrior king to roam freely. The king or his general would follow the horse with an army and defeat in a battle any kingdom that the horse crossed that would not pay tribute and recognize the king’s sov­ereignty. There was a chance for great honor, but only a “world conqueror” (cakravartin) could complete such random warfare. At the end of the year the horse would be brought back to the king’s capital, where priests would sacrifice it in one of the most elaborate … Continue reading →

The term asura is so ancient that it has a separate mythology among the Aryans’ cousins in ancient Persia. In the Avesta, the word ahura (asura, Sanskrit) was a positive term that meant the gods. But the ahura were mainly gods of agrarian values, and the greatest ahura was Varuna, the god of the justice in the sense of cosmic order (rita) that a farmer could depend upon to reap what he had sowed. The original meaning of the word asura was “spiritual, divine.” Even in the Rigveda there was … Continue reading →

Asikni must be ranked among the most fertile of all wives in Hindu myth. The myths only gave her this one dimension. Daksha, an alternative creator to Kasyapa, found that he could not create all of the species from his own mind. So he married Asikni and immediately begat five thousand Haryashvas, creatures who were to populate the earth naturally. But the old sage Narada, the deva-rishi (divine sage) with the golden words, shamed the Haryashvas with their igno­rance. He told them that they must first know the extent of … Continue reading →

See TAPAS. See also discussions in chapter 1 of “The Upanishadic Period,” “Theomachy,” and “Renunciation, Sacrifice, and Magic.”

Aruna’s story must begin with an account of how he became the charioteer of the sun god, Surya. Aruna’s father was the famous KasSyapa-prajapati (grandfather of all creatures). Two of KasSyapa’s wives, Vinata and Kadru, pleased him so much that he granted each a boon. Kadru asked for a thousand naga (snake) sons, and Vinata wanted only two sons, more powerful than those of Kadru. So Kasyapa granted their wishes and went to the forest to practice austerities (tapas). After some time Kadru gave birth to a thousand eggs and … Continue reading →