Arthatatvam

  At the end of Kali Yuga (current yuga), in order to restore Dharma on earth, Lord Vishnu will be born as Lord Kalki. He would be born as the son of Vishnuyasha and Sumati in a village called Shambala. He would be born on the twelfth day during the forthnight of the waxing moon. Lord Kalki would study under Lord Parashurama (sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu). Lord Kalki would meditate on Lord Shiva and get a white horse named Devadatta (incarnation of Garuda), a sword and a parrot named Shuka who knows the past, present and future from him. He would also get gifts such as armor, knowledge and power from other Devas, Sages and Righteous Kings. He would marry princess Padmavati (incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi) and princess Ramaa. Padmavati would be the daughter of King  Vrihadrath and Queen Kaumudi of Simhala. She would be born in the island of the Lion. Princess Ramaa would be born as the daughter of  King Shashidhwaja and Queen Sushanta. Lord Kalki would fight many battl...

  There once lived an Asura named Kaumasura. He used to trouble all the Devas. When the Devas were wondering of a way to defeat him, they heard an Ashariri (a bodyless voice). The Ashariri told them not to worry and said Kaumasura will soon be defeated. Kaumasura also got to know of this. He soon began to meditate on Lord Shiva. Goddess Saraswati was worried that Lord Shiva will grant Kaumasura immortality. So, she took away the power of speech from Kaumasura. Kaumasura could not chant "Om Namah Shivaya" anymore and because his power of speech was taken away, he came to me known as Mookasura (mute demon). He thought the Devas had done this. In a fit of rage he attacked the Devas and the Devas were helpless. Adishakti watched this and wanted to help the Devas. All the Devas transferred their powers to Adishakti and she took a fierce form to fight Mookasura. Soon, a battle took place between the two and Adishakti defeated Mookasura. Mookasura asked for forgiveness and Adishakti...

  Once upon a time, there was an asura named Aruna. He meditated on Lord Brahma for many years. Brahma pleased with his devotion, appeared before him and granted a boon. Aruna asked for a boon that he may not be killed by any god, demon, man/women, four legged/two legged creature or any weapon. Lord Brahma granted him this boon. With this boon, Aruna became invincible and defeated everyone! The Devas then approached Lord Brahma and said he had made Aruna immortal! Then Lord Brahma and the Devas approached Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. They discussed how to put an end to the tyranny of Aruna. They realized Aruna had acquired the blessings of Goddess Gayatri. So, they asked Guru Brihaspati to disguise as a Sage and approach Aruna and make him stop the recitation of Gayatri. Brihaspati agreed and approached Aruna and told him that both of them were equal since both were chanting the Gayatri mantra. This angered Aruna and he stopped the recitation of Gayatri mantra. Meanwhile, all the ot...

  Once upon a time, there lived a tribal chief of the Kuravar tribe named Nambi Rajan. He and his wife prayed to Lord Murugan for a daughter. Soon, their prayers were answered when a daughter was born to them. They named her Valli. Like her parents, Valli was also a staunch devotee of Lord Murugan. One day, Nambi Rajan asked Valli to take care of his field to protect it from pests. Valli agreed and took care of it. At that time, Lord Murugan wanted to test her devotion towards him. So, he disguised himself as a handsome tribal hunter who had lost his way when he was on a hunting expedition and proposed her. Valli was infuriated and asked him to leave the field immediately. At that moment, Nambi Rajan came to the field with honey and fruits for Valli. Lord Murugan seeing this, turned himself into a tree. After Nambi Rajan left, he disguised himself as an old man, approached her again and asked for food and water. She provided him food and water. He proposed her again and this angere...

  There was an asura (demon) named Bhasmasura. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once, while propitiating Lord Shiva, when he was about to offer his head as a sacrifice, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him the boon he wanted. Bhasmasura said that  anyone whose head he touched with his hand should burn up and immediately turn into ashes (bhasma).  Shiva granted him the boon. Bhasmasura wanted to test this newfound power of his and reached for Shiva. Shiva got to know the intention of Bhasmasura and broke into a run and prayed to Lord Vishnu to protect him. Vishnu said he would help him. Lord Vishnu dressed himself as a brahmachari (celibate) and approached Bhasmasura. He asked Bhasmasura whom he was he chasing. Bhasmasura narrated his story. Then Vishnu told that Shiva might have duped him and hence started running. Bhasmasura got angry. Vishnu told him to test the power with his own head. Bhasmasura fell for it and as soon as he placed his own palm on his hea...

  There was a musician god named Krauncha. Once, in the court of Indra, he accidentally stepped his foot on Sage Vamadeva. This angered the Sage and he cursed Krauncha to be born as a rat. Krauncha immediately turned into a huge mouse and started damaging everything on his path. The mouse soon reached Sage Parashara's ashram and started destroying it. Lord Ganesha was living at Parashara's ashram at that time and wanted to teach Krauncha a lesson. He trapped Krauncha with a rope and brought him to his feet. Krauncha then asked for Lord Ganesha's forgiveness. Ganesha immediately forgave him and hence, Krauncha in the form of mouse became the vehicle of Lord Ganesha.

  There was a King named Ambarisha. He was a huge devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once, after performing a fast for three days, when he was about to break his fast on the auspicious day of Dwadashi (Twelfth day of the fortnight), Sage Durvasa came to visit him. Since, Sage Durvasa was a guest, only after feeding him the King could break his fast. Durvasa told he would take a bath in holy Yamuna river and then bless him. The King agreed. Hours passed by, but Sage Durvasa did not return. The King was worried as it was almost noon and if he did not break the fast before noon, he would incur demerit. But, if he did break the fast, he would incur the wrath of the Sage. Since, he was in a dilemma, one of his advisors told him that he could drink a sip of water. It would not offend the Sage as the King would have food only after serving the Sage. The King agreed. As soon as the King drank a sip of water, Sage Durvasa saw this and was furious! He plucked a lock of his hair which turned into a disc...