Arthatatvam

  Once upon a time, the Nagas (serpents), lived on the banks of river Vitasta in Sati Desha (current Kashmir). The Nagas were the children of Sage Kashyapa and Kadru. They were living happily until a demon named Jalodbhava started troubling them. Jalododbhava had a boon that he cannot be defeated by anyone as long as he remains in water. The helpless Nagas informed their King Nila about this. King Nila contemplated for a while and then approached his father, Kashyapa for help. Then both of them went to Brahma loka and asked Brahma for help. He redirected them to Vaikunta. Lord Vishnu told he would help them but he would need the support of other gods. On Kashyapa's request, all the other gods along with Lord Vishnu and Brahma went to Sati Desha. Kashyapa asked all the gods to surround the Vitasta river and asked Vishnu to drain the river. Vishnu then commanded Adishesha to break one side of the Himalayan mountain. Soon, Jalodbhava came out of the water. Then a fierce battle took pl...

  Once upon a time, Sage Vishwamitra and Vasishtha were having a debate. Vishwamitra said that Dyana (meditation) was more powerful than Japa  (continuous chanting of the Lord's name) . Vasishtha disagreed and said Japa was more powerful. Soon, they reached an impasse. So, they approached Lord Vishnu for a solution. Vishnu asked Adishesha (King of serpents) to settle the debate between them. Adishesha agreed and said he could not think as he was carrying the earth on his head. He asked one of them to carry it while he did some thinking. Both, the sages agreed. Vishwamitra carried the earth on his head first and started meditating. No sooner had he lifted the earth, he could not bear it's weight. Immediately, Vasishtha volunteered and placed the earth on his head and started chanting "Hariye Namah" (japa of Lord Vishnu). Vasishtha could easily carry the weight of the earth. Adishesha then intervened and said as you can see, Japa is more powerful than meditation. Hence,...

  Once upon a time, Lord Shiva was explaining the Vedas to Goddess Parvati. This went on for many years and eventually Parvati's attention got a little diverted. This irritated Shiva and he cursed her to be born as a fisherwoman. He immediately repented after doing this. But, once a curse is uttered, it cannot be revoked. Hence, Parvati was born as a baby on earth and found lying under a tree by the Chief of Paravaras (A clan of fishermen). He adopted her and bought her up. She was a quick learner and learnt all the skills of fishermen. Soon, she was admired by all. Meanwhile, Lord Shiva was repenting in his abode. Nandi (his attendant) consoled him and came up with a plan. Shiva agreed. Nandi took the form of a shark and began to torment the village of the fishermen. Then, the Chief of the Paravaras told he would offer his daughter, Parvati to the person who captures the shark. Many fishermen tried to capture the shark, but to no avail. Then, finally when the Chief of Paravaras as...

  Once upon a time, King Kaushika and his army went on a hunt. They soon became tired and hungry. So, they searched for food and water everywhere. They then came across Sage Vasishta's hermitage and asked him for food and water. Sage Vasishta and his wife Arundhati, offered them a sumptuous meal. King Kaushika was puzzled. He wondered how a poor Sage like Vasishta could offer him and his huge army such a sumptuous meal. He asked the Sage how he was able to do so. Vasishta told Kaushika that he could do this with the help of his cow, Kamadhenu (wish-fulfilling cow) which he had got as a gift from Lord Indra. King Kaushika then thought such an animal would be more useful to a king that a Sage. He asked Vasishta if he could give his cow. Vasishta said the cow was like a daughter to him and hence could not part with it. Kaushika pleaded several times but the Sage did not relent. This angered Kaushika and he asked his army to take possession of the cow forcefully! Vasishta asked Kamadhe...

  Once upon a time, Sage Atri and his wife Anasuya, decided to have children. For this, Sage Atri did severe penance meditating on Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together are called Trimurti). In order to test the chastity of Anasuya, the three goddesses (Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati), asked their husbands (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) to disguise themselves as three sages and approach Anasuya. They obeyed their wives. They asked Anasuya to feed them food with her hands. Anasuya with her divine vision got to know these sages were none other than Trimurti in disguise. She transformed the three sages into infants and fed them food with her hands. In order to play a trick on them, she did not change them back to their original form. The three goddesses then approached Anasuya and asked her to transform their husbands to their original form. She obeyed their command and then they blessed her with three sons. Lord Brahma was born as Soma, Lord Vishnu as Dattatreya and Lord Shiva as D...

  When Hanuman was crossing the ocean to rescue Sita, he came across a demoness named Simhika. Simhika had the power to assume any form. As soon as she saw Hanuman, she increased her size and looked at Hanuman as a great meal. Thinking thus, she caught hold of the shadow of Hanuman. Hanuman suddenly felt as if somebody was pulling him but did not know who. After looking everywhere, he finally saw Simhika with a horrible face! Hanuman increased his size, Simhika opened her mouth wide open. Then Hanuman reduced the size of his body and fell into her mouth. He then tore her internal organs with his nails and flew with a speed equal to that of thought. Simhika fell into the water dead and Hanuman continued on his journey to rescue Sita.

  In his early life, Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, was a hunter! One day, on his hunting expedition, he saw the Seven Great Sages. He asked them for wealth. The Sages told him that he was committing a sin and asked him to ask his family if they are ready to partake in his sin. Valmiki then went home and asked his wife and son if they are ready to partake in his sin. Both of them replied they would not. Valmiki was shocked to hear this reply from his family and returned to the Sages. He fell at their feet and asked for redemption. The Sages took pity on him and asked him to sit in one place and recite "Ma-Ra" till they return. Valmiki obeyed their command and did this for many years! Soon, an anthill covered him completely. At that time, the Sages returned and asked him to come out. The anthill burst open and he came out. Since he came out of a Valmik (anthill), he got the name "Valmiki". Soon, he had many followers with whom he shared his knowledge. Once, Narada ...