This appendix to the Mahabharata is said to be authored by Vyasa, as indicated in the Adi Parva (2.83-84) of the Mahabharata. The Harivamsa consists of glo­rifications of Vishnu and has about ten thousand verses. It is a rich source for the myths about the childhood of Krishna, as well as for myths about the Vamana (dwarf) and Narasimha (man-lion) incarnations of Vishnu.

In the Epics kings could be as great as gods. One such king was Haritasva, king of Ayodhya. He was greatly accomplished in the arts. He surpassed the sage Narada and the goddess Sarasvati in music. He pleased Brahma with his music and put Vishnu to sleep. Once Siva was competing with Haritasva and played a particular raga, a musical piece, called sankarabharana, dedicated to Lord Siva. Haritasva pointed out that instead of the santa rasa, the emotion of peace, it should be played in raudra rasa, the emotion of … Continue reading →

King Hariscandra of Ayodhya was very famous for his commitment to truth and for keeping his promises. Victim of a great magician’s magical powers, Hariscan- dra represents all righteous persons who have suffered wrongly. Hariscandra lost his kingdom, his wife, and his only son, for the sake of keeping his word. For fur­ther details about the magician’s wrath, see the entry on Visivamitra. There was also another story about his father, Trisianku (three sins), who could not get into heaven but had a heaven made for himself between heaven and … Continue reading →

In the Padma Purana Harimitra had an asrama (hermitage) on the banks of the river Yamuna. A sinner named Vikundala became associated with Harimitra and followed his practice of a ritual bath in the Yamuna. It just happened that he took a bath twice in the Yamuna during the Hindu month of Magha. Vikundala was liberated from all his sins with the first bath, and with the second he was eligible to go to heaven. Vikundala’s good karma came from right association with a righteous brahmin and from following rituals … Continue reading →

Haridhama was a great sage devoted to Krishna who wanted nothing more than to be reborn near his lord. Consequently, he was reborn as Rangaveni, a female cowherd (gopika or gopi) in Gokula, the cow-tending colony. Thus, Rangaveni was near Krishna, which was the reward for his chanting the Krishna mantra so many times. The myth taught a devotion (bhakti) so great that one would become like a woman, longing for Krishna’s love.

Coming from the same root as the epithet Hara for (Siva (hri, to remove), Hari also means “the remover.” There are many minor figures with this name, as well as a number of groups (some of the demon king Ravana’s attendants, a group of devas, and others). Eventually, however, it became an epithet synony­mous with Vishnu, the remover of the sorrows of the world. Hari has been heard around the world in its vocative form, Hare, chanted by Hare Krishnas as the opening word of the great Hare Krishna mantra … Continue reading →

Hara (the remover) was an epithet first associated with Rudra and the Maruts, both gods of storm. It had the connotation of death, the destruction that removes all things. By the Epic period Hara referred to Siva, the destroyer. There was a manifestation of the godhead as Harihara, the right half as Hara, or (Siva, and the left half as Hari or Vishnu. Found in a number of temples, Hari- hara has the matted hair of Siva and all of Siva’s ornaments and weapons on the right, and the crown … Continue reading →

Hanuman expanded the notion of the divine, perhaps more than any other being in Hindu mythology. He appeared as an agent governed by dharma like any human, yet while in an animal form he was divine. The myths of his birth from the elements of the gods, usually of Siva and Vayu (the wind god), proved his divinity. There were four different myths of his divine birth, ranging from the union of Siva and Vishnu to one about his mother, Anjana, eating a divine pud­ding that made her pregnant. Hanuman’s … Continue reading →

According to the Bhâgavata Purâna Hamsa was a prajâpati, a progenitor or creator. Hamsa taught yoga to sages like Sanaka and taught the way to liberation for the Sâdhyadevas, a class of divine witnesses of battles and celebrations in late mythology. Hamsa, like Vishnu, was also called the sacrifice (yâjña). The teachings of Hamsa were known as the Hamsa Gîtâ, a sacred book no longer extant. Hamsa did not become important enough to be included in lists of incarnations of Vishnu and became one of the many incarnations to be … Continue reading →

Some accounts stated that halahala had been churned up from the Milky Ocean and absorbed by the nagas (serpents) and became their venom. Other accounts said that halahala was the poison vomited up by Vasuki, king of the nagas, dur­ing the time of the churning of the Milky Ocean. In order to prevent it from falling to earth and destroying everything, Siva drank it. Parvati had to act quickly and pressed his neck to prevent the poison from going inside Siva’s body. The poison was absorbed in Siva’s neck, which … Continue reading →