by Anita Nair
But, on Bhagirath’s plea, Shiva stood in the path of her torrential waters and bore the brunt of her might on his head. He tied her down with his matted locks until her anger had passed and she had broken into seven more gentle rivers. These became the seven holy rivers, known as the sapta-sindhuva. Thus Ganga reached the earth.
Bhagirath led Ganga across the earth and to the sea and then on to the underworld, where Sagara’s sons dwelled in eternal torment. Her waters spread over their ashes. The souls of the sixty thousand brothers were purified and they were finally allowed entry to the other world.
Since Bhagirath brought her down to the earth, Ganga is sometimes also known as Bhagirathi.
He Who Strikes with the Axe
Vishnu’s Sixth Avatar—Parasurama
Jamad-Agni was born to Richika, a brahmin. From his mother, who was a kshatriya and of the warrior clan by birth, Jamad-Agni inherited a natural aptitude for the skills of warfare and mastered it. And from his father, Jamad-Agni learned all the holy lore. When he was an adult, he made the forest his home just as his father had.
In time Jamad-Agni decided to marry, and he chose Renuka who was a princess. Renuka took to life in the hermitage as though she had been born to it and they lived very happily. Soon five children were born to them and there was nothing more Renuka desired.
One day when Renuka went to the river to fetch water, she saw King Chitraratha and his wife sitting side by side, caressing each other and whispering endearments. Renuka watched them with envy, wondering why it was that her husband never looked at her just as Chitraratha had gazed at his wife. Stifling a sigh, Renuka returned to the hermitage but Jamad-Agni perceived the change in her. He was so angry with her for having doubted his love that he called out to his children, ‘My sons, come here.’
One by one, all five sons came to stand by their father. ‘Your mother is no longer who she was when she woke up this morning. She has fallen from grace and I do not want her here or alive. I order you to kill her.’
The sons looked at their father in shock. What was wrong with him? Rumanwat, Sushena, Vasu and Viswavasu, the four elder sons, shook their heads, ‘We refuse to do any such thing. How can you ask us to murder our mother?’ they cried.
Jamad-Agni stared at them furiously. ‘How dare you disobey me? Since you stand there shaking your heads like idiots, that’s what you will be. I curse you to turn into idiots.’
‘What about you?’ he asked, turning to the fifth son.
The fifth son was an avatar of Vishnu.
Now at that time, the world was being tyrannized by the kshatriyas and every day thousands were killed, maimed or punished for no fault of theirs. Kartavirya, their king, had obtained the boon of a thousand arms, a golden chariot that went wherever he willed it to go, invincibility and death at the hands of a man known to the whole world. He was so powerful that he once went to Lanka and took its king Ravana as his prisoner. However, he let the asura king go once Ravana acknowledged his greatness. With this knowledge his arrogance grew hundredfold and he did as he pleased. His clan too became nastier than ever. In grief, the people of the world turned to Vishnu and pleaded, ‘There is no more goodness left on this earth. Save us from death at the hands of these merciless rulers!’
So a son was born to Jamad-Agni, and even as a young lad, he performed such severe austerities that Shiva appeared before him and taught him the use of arms. As his personal weapon, Shiva gave him an axe which once raised would rest only when it had destroyed his opponent. Henceforth, the fifth son of Jamad-Agni was known as Parasurama or Rama with the axe.
When Parasurama heard his father’s orders, without speaking a word he raised his axe and chopped his mother’s head off from her neck. Jamad-Agni beamed at his son and said, ‘I am pleased with you. Ask me a boon and I shall give it to you.’ Parasurama bent his head and said, ‘In that case, Father, please restore my mother to life and my brothers back to their senses.’
Jamad-Agni did as Parasurama asked him to.
Some time later when Parasurama, his brothers and their father were away, Kartavirya visited the hermitage. Renuka welcomed the king and entertained him as well as she could. But the king repaid the hospitality by taking away the sacrificial calf. When Parasurama returned, he found his mother in tears. ‘Your father is going to blame me for this. As it is, he finds fault with everything I do! What shall I do? I told the king what he was doing was wrong, but he wouldn’t listen to me.’
‘Don’t worry, Mother,’ Parasurama said. ‘I shall settle this with the king.’
So Parasurama went looking for Kartavirya. ‘Your tenure has come to an end,’ Parasurama hollered. ‘Never again will you oppress harmless folks. Never again will you rule the world with fear.’
With his axe, Parasurama cut off all the thousand arms of Kartavirya and then killed him.
Parasurama’s anger could turn the world to ashes and he now retired to a forest to meditate and calm his agitated mind. While he was in the forest, Kartavirya’s sons came to the hermitage and killed Jamad-Agni to avenge their father’s death.
Now Parasurama’s anger could no longer be checked and he took an oath to cleanse the world of these demon-like kshatriyas. Twenty-one times he went around the world killing all the kshatriyas and he filled five large lakes with their blood.
Then, content that his work had been done, he went to the western coast of the land and flung his axe into the ocean. From the waters there emerged a thin strip of land which Varuna gave him as a gift, and that was how Kerala was formed.
How Indra Prevented Drought
Ahi was a demon who hated the gods more than anything in the whole world. He constantly sought ways to trouble them and, in return, was always being punished by them. But with every defeat, his anger grew and he swore to destroy the gods and all life on the earth as well.
Sometimes he took the form of a mammoth serpent and troubled the world by drinking deep of all the waters that were available. So he was also known as Vritra or the serpent of drought. When that happened, Indra would have to come to the rescue by sending rain and filling the lakes and rivers with water again.
Once, when all the gods were away attending a celestial sacrifice, Ahi decided to teach them a lesson for not inviting him. He swallowed all the cosmic waters and then coiled around a mountain range.
When the gods returned to find the cosmic waters gone, they instantly knew who the culprit was.
They turned to Indra in desperation to help them retrieve the cosmic waters and Indra set forth to look for the serpent of drought. Indra rode on his white elephant, Airavata; in his right hand he carried a thunderbolt and in his left hand arrows, a great hook and a net to entangle his foe.
Soon Indra spotted a giant serpent coiled around a mountain range and he knew he had found the enemy. Indra shot a few arrows but the arrows struck the serpent’s armour-like scales and fell bent and broken. Then he tried to entangle the serpent but the serpent was much too big.
Indra retreated for a while to think. He knew that he had only one weapon left and it would have to be used carefully. For with each use, the power of the weapon would weaken. Where could Ahi have hidden the cosmic waters? He looked carefully and saw that Ahi had sheltered both its head and tail. Is that where the waters are hidden, Indra wondered. If so, where should he strike?
Suddenly Indra knew that Ahi intended to trick him. So with a smile, Indra hurled his thunderbolt at the stomach of the serpent. The thunderbolt was a deadly weapon and it split the serpent’s stomach, releasing the waters and generating life. From then on, Indra was worshipped every time drought struck the land.
Why Indra Is Also Known as Sahasraksha
Ahalya was the most beautiful woman on earth. She was created by Brahma and given in marriage to Sage Gautama.
One day, Indra saw Ahalya. ‘Who is she?’ he wondered. ‘I have never seen a woman so beautiful.’
Indra found out that she was Gautama’s wife. But he was so smitten by her beauty that
he did not care. He realized that Ahalya loved her husband and would never look at another man. So Indra asked the moon to help him deceive Ahalya.
One night, the moon turned itself into a cock and crowed at midnight. Gautama heard the cock’s crow and assumed that it was time to wake up. He left his room, went outside and began to prepare for his morning prayers. While he was gone, Indra took the form of the sage and went to Ahalya’s bed.
When Gautama discovered what had happened, he was so enraged that he expelled Ahalya from the hermitage. He said that she would no longer be the most beautiful woman on earth. Instead, she would become invisible.
Ahalya fell at his feet and begged his forgiveness. She said she too had been deceived by Indra.
The sage relented at her sorrow. He said that she would not become invisible, but she would be turned into a rock. When Vishnu, in his avatar as Rama, stepped on her, she would be free.
Gautama then turned to Indra and it was on him that he unleashed his fury. He cursed Indra that a thousand marks would appear on his skin. Everywhere he went, when people saw those marks, they would know what a cheat he was.
Stricken by remorse, Indra too begged forgiveness. Gautama, who was a very kind man, relented. The marks were turned into eyes and that was how Indra came to be known as Sahasraksha or the thousand-eyed one.
But the story didn’t end there.
Around the time Ahalya was freed from her curse and was reconciled with her husband, Ravana, the lord of Lanka, went into Indra’s kingdom and waged a fierce battle. Ravana’s son Meghanada had been granted the boon of making himself invisible when he chose to. Invoking this boon, he fought against Indra and defeated him. Meghanada took Indra back to Lanka as his prisoner. As a result of this victory, Meghanada came to be known as Indrajit, or the one who defeated Indra.
Brahma and the other gods approached Ravana and asked them to release Indra. Ravana laughed, ‘Why should I let him go? He is a prisoner of war. As long as he is here, everyone will know that no one can vanquish me.’
‘Everyone knows that no one can defeat you,’ Brahma pleaded. ‘Please let him go.’
Indrajit went to his father’s side and whispered something in his ear. Ravana listened to him and then slapped his thigh and laughed. Turning to the gods he said, ‘I will let Indra go on one condition. Grant my son the boon of immortality and you can have Indra back.’
The gods looked at one another, perplexed and troubled. Indrajit had already proved what a great warrior he was. To make him immortal would make him invincible.
Brahma said, ‘I cannot grant you this boon for all perpetuity. Instead, I shall grant Indrajit immortality on the battlefield.’
The father and son looked at each other and smiled. No one would dare come near Indrajit except when surrounded by an army. It was the best they could get, they knew. And so Indra was released.
On the way back, Indra sat humiliated and downcast in the chariot. Brahma looked at him and said, ‘Do not look so sad. This humiliation is your punishment for having cheated the sage Gautama. I hope this will teach you never to desire another man’s wife.’
From then on, Indra concentrated all his powers on helping the world.
How the Kingdom of Anga Was Saved
Once, the kingdom of Anga was affected by a severe drought. Crops withered because there was no rain and people died for lack of food. No matter what the king Romapada did, the rains wouldn’t come. Finally he beseeched the holy men in his kingdom, ‘There must be something we can do to make the rains fall. My subjects’ suffering gets harder for me to bear each day.’
The holy men thought for a while and said, ‘There is a young sage called Rishyasringa. Invite him to our kingdom. He brings rain and plenty with him wherever he goes.’
Rishyasringa was the son of Vibhandaka. Since his mother was a doe, he was born with a little horn on his forehead. He had been brought up in the forest by his father and had seen no other human being yet even though he was a young man.
The king knew that if he invited the young sage, his father would prevent him from leaving the forest. So Rishyasringa would have to be tricked into coming to the kingdom. He discussed this with his courtiers and they decided to send the most beautiful dancer in their kingdom, Lalita, to the forest.
The dancer made a beautiful garden on a boat and, in its middle, had a small hermitage built. Then the boat sailed down the river till it got close to Vibhandaka’s hermitage.
Trying not to let her fear show, the dancer went to the hermitage. Fortunately, the older sage was away. Rishyasringa was bewitched by this young and beautiful woman. He thought she was a young sage like him. ‘Who are you?’ he asked, and then, unable to stop himself, he touched her hair and skin and said, ‘Your skin is so smooth and your hair is so black. Father’s skin is all wrinkled and his hair is grey.’
The dancer smiled and said, ‘In my hermitage, there are others like me. We eat the most delicious of fruits and our songs will fill you with great happiness. Wouldn’t you like to visit our hermitage?’
Rishyasringa was captivated by her description and allowed himself to be lured into the boat. He was soon lost in a world of pleasure and didn’t realize that they had set sail. When the boat reached the kingdom of Anga, Rishyasringa was received with great respect. The moment he set foot in the land, the rains came and every lake and well, pond and river filled with water. Delighted, the king offered his daughter Shanta to Rishyasringa as his wife. Rishyasringa was enchanted by Shanta’s beauty and agreed. He married the princess and stayed on there. Thus he saved the kingdom from further misery.
Meanwhile Vibhandhaka returned to the hermitage and found his son missing. He set out in search of him. The king had anticipated this. So on the road to his kingdom, he had magnificent cattle and other marvellous things lined and he instructed his men to say, no matter who asked, that all of it was the young sage Rishyasringa’s possessions.
Vibhandaka was pleased to hear that his son was being taken care of with such attention and, by the time he reached the palace, his anger had lessened. When he saw Rishyasringa and his wife seated together on the throne in complete happiness, his anger evaporated totally. He blessed the couple and left.
Later, when they had enough of the pleasures of the palace, Rishyasringa and Shanta went back to the forest and lived there in peace and happiness.
Why Kala-Nemi Failed to Outwit Hanuman
Kala-Nemi was the uncle of Ravana, the king of Lanka. During the great battle with Rama and his monkey-army, Kala-Nemi made his nephew Ravana an offer. He would kill Hanuman if Ravana would reward him with half the kingdom. Ravana agreed.
Kala-Nemi waited for a suitable moment, and soon his opportunity arrived. An arrow caused Lakshmana a grievous injury and, to save his life, Hanuman went to the Gandha-Madana mountain in search of medicinal herbs.
Kala-Nemi followed him there and, disguised as a hermit, approached Hanuman. ‘Son of Vayu,’ he said, ‘you have blessed this mountain by setting foot on it. Please bless my hermitage too by coming there and sharing a meal with us.’
‘I will not touch food until Lakshmana is well. But I shall certainly come to your hermitage,’ Hanuman said.
Before entering the hermitage, to cleanse himself, Hanuman went to bathe in a nearby lake.
In the lake lived a wicked crocodile that killed any living creature that entered its waters. As soon as Hanuman placed his foot in the water, the crocodile seized it. But Hanuman dragged the creature out and killed it. From the dead body of the crocodile, a lovely apsara emerged. She folded her hands and bowed before Hanuman.
‘You have freed me,’ she said. ‘I was cursed by Daksha to be a crocodile till you would come here to save me. And now it is my turn to save you. Beware of the hermit who has invited you to his home. He is none other than Kala-Nemi, Ravana’s uncle.’
Hanuman smiled and went to the hermitage. Kala-Nemi rushed to greet him. ‘You have honoured this little hermitage,’ he said in a voice full of piety
.
Before he could say another word, Hanuman grabbed the hermit by his beard and raised him off the ground. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t find out who you are?’
Kala-Nemi struggled to escape but Hanuman held him in a vice-like grip. ‘Your presence on this mountain will make it impure,’ said the monkey-lord. ‘Go back to where you belong.’
Hanuman grabbed Kala-Nemi’s feet and whirled him around his head. Then he flung him as hard as he could throw.
Kala-Nemi went flying through the air and landed at the foot of Ravana’s throne, dead. And so ended Kala-Nemi’s hopes of owning half of Lanka.
How Bali Was Defeated
Kiskindhya was a kingdom in the southern part of India. It was ruled by Bali, the monkey-king, whose father was Indra, the king of gods. When Bali was very young, his father was so pleased by his conduct that he gave him a boon. Indra blessed his son that no matter who battled with Bali, the opponent’s powers would be reduced by half and the powers would shift to Bali during the time of the battle.
Soon no one could vanquish Bali and he became so very powerful that he defeated Ravana in a wrestling combat.
Once a demon, Dundupi, approached Bali and challenged him to a duel. Furious at the demon’s effrontery, Bali decided to teach him a lesson. He began to wrestle with Dundupi. But the demon managed to free himself from Bali’s clutches and flee. Bali, not about to let him go, chased the demon into a cave. He stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Sugriva, his younger brother, ‘I am going after the demon and when I get him in my hands, I will break every bone in his body. I want you to wait here till I come back. If milk flows out, you will know that I have succeeded. But if blood flows out, you must leave immediately and protect our families and kinsmen.’