Tales From Ancient India and Mythological Stories

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Bhima Takes Revenge

After Gandhari had blessed Duryodhana with the boon that no one could harm him with a mace, Duryodhana went and hid in a lake of water fearing that the Pandavas would come to kill him. When the Pandavas saw him, they challenged him to come out of hiding. Yudhisthira asked him which of the Pandavas he would like to fight with and with what weapon. Duryodhana chose the mace and opted to fight with Bhima.

Although Bhima was stronger, Duryodhana was more skilled at handling a mace. The duel went on and on. Finally, Krishna touched his thigh and gave a signal to Bhima promptly hit Duryodhana hard on his thighs. Duryodhana fell to the ground and the Pandavas left him there to die a painful death.

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Bhimeshwar

Bhima was the son of demon Kumbhakarna. When he came to know that Rama had killed his father, he wanted to take revenge. He performed tapasya for one year and pleased Brahma who gave him many boons. He captured heaven and earth. He banned all kinds of worship on earth. Those who tried to worship gods were imprisoned. He also imprisoned Shiva's devotee Sudakkshina. All the gods went to Shiva and asked him to kill Bhima. One day, Sudhakshina made a Shivalinga in the prison and started worshipping it. When Bhima came to know about this he went to the prison and struck the Shivalinga with a sword. Out came Shiva himself and burnt Bhima with one blow of his breath. The shivalinga was called Bhimeshwar and is still worshipped.

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Bhishma

 

One day, King Shantanu of Hastinapur went hunting. Suddenly, he smelt a sweet fragrance which was coming from a beautiful woman named Satyawati.

Shantanu fell in love with Satyawati and asked her fisherman father for permission to marry her. The fisherman agreed on the condition that if Satyawati had a son, he would become the next king. This made Shantanu sad because he already had a son, Devavrata. Shantanu went back without Satyawati. When Devavrata saw that his father was sad, he went to the fisherman. Devavrata promised him that Satyawati's son would become the next king instead of him. At this the clever fisherman said, "What if your sons try to become king." To satisfy him Devavrata took a vishma pratigya (strict pledge), never to get married and have children. He then took Satyawati to the palace. Because of this strict promise, he became famous as Bhishma.

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Bhisma Falls

    

During the Mahabharata war there was fierce fighting for nine days. On the tenth day, Arjuna and Bhishma came face-to-face. Arjuna showered arrows on Bhishma, which pierced every inch of his body. Bhisma fell on the ground, his body supported by arrows. Bhisma lay on a bed of arrows with his head hanging head. The dying Bhisma told Arjuna, that he was thirsty. Arjuna shot an arrow to the ground and a fountain of water gushed out of it that reached Bhisma's mouth. Bhishma blessed Arjuna. He called Duryodhana and warned him for the last time to come to a settlement with the Pandavas. Karna also came to pay homage to Bhisma and begged pardon for his past misconduct.  The fall of Bhisma marked the beginning of the defeat of the Kauravas.

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Bholu and the Giant

As Vikram carried Beta, he told him another story.

In the kingdom of king Kiripal lived a big giant who used to eat people. All the people were terrified. The king announced that whoever could kill the giant would get the princess's hand in marriage as a reward. Many people tried to win the reward but were killed by the demon. One day, an ordinary village boy, Bholu killed the Giant. The king did not want to marry his daughter to him. So, he declared that Bholu would be given a test before he got the reward. But Bholu refused to take any reward. The princes insisted that she would marry Bholu.

Betal asked Vikram, "Why did they act in that way?" Vikram replied, "Bholu declined the reward because he had killed the giant for the welfare of people. The princess declared to marry Bholu to keep her father's word." Betal heard this and flew away.

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Birth of Draupadi

King Drupada and Acharya Drona were enemies. One day, Drupada asked two sages, to perform a yajna that could give Drupada a son who could kill Drona. When the yajna was over, the sages offered the prasada to Drupada's wife. At that moment, the queen had something in her mouth so she asked the sages to wait. They got angry and Yaja put the prasada in the yajna fire. Suddenly from the fire emerged a young warrior. In anger, Upayaja also put prasada in the fire. Suddenly, a beautiful woman came out of the fire. A voice was heard from the sky, "this woman has taken birth to become the cause of destruction of those who are evil." The woman came to be known as Draupadi after her father Drupada and the warrior was called Dhristadhyumna.

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Birth of Krishna

                                      

Kansa had imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva. Devaki prayed to Vishnu. He promised to be born as her child. Accordingly, Devaki gave birth to her eighth child, incarnation of Lord Vishnu, on a stormy night on the eighth day of the month of Shravana.

Miraculously, the iron chains round Vasudeva opened. The guards fell asleep and a voice said, "Take your child to the safe arms of Nanda in Gokul."

Vasudeva placed the baby in a casket and stealthily crept out of the prison. Amidst heavy rains, Vasudeva crossed the river Yamuna carrying the new born on his head.

Seshnaga, the king of snakes, placed himself behind Vasudeva and spread his hood covering them like an umbrella. Vasudeva crossed the river safely and reached the gates of Gokul.

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Birth of Saraswati

             

At the beginning of creation there was chaos all over. Brahma did not know how to bring order. While thinking over the problem he heard a voice say that knowledge could help him achieve order. So from Brahma's mouth emerged the magnificent figure of Saraswati- the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Dressed in white, she rode on a swan, with books in one hand and the veena, a musical instrument, in the other.

By way of sense, thought, understanding, and communication she helped Brahma see how to change chaos into creation. When she played the veena, he heard the soothing music amidst the roar of commotion. Chaos started taking shape; the sun, the moon, and the stars were born. The oceans filled and seasons changed. The joyous Brahma then named Saraswati, Vagdevi, the goddess of speech and sound. Thus Brahma became the creator of the world with Saraswati as his source of wisdom.

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BRAHMA

Brahma is the creator of the universe. He is depicted as sitting on a lotus with four heads and four arms. The hands hold the lotus, a string of beads used to keep track of time, a water pot to create life, and the four Vedas respectively. The four heads represents the sacred knowledge of the four vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva.

His vehicle is the swan, which is known for its ability to judge between good and evil. Brahma is considered to have been self-born from the lotus, which grew in the navel of Visnu at the beginning of creation.

His companion is Saraswati, who is the goddess of learning and knowledge. She provides Brahma with the necessary knowledge for creating the universe.

         

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Brahma and Gayatri

Gayatri is a vedic hymn, which when recited takes away all our guilt and fear.

One day, Brahma was performing a crucial Yajna, which in order to be complete required his wife, Saraswati's presence, but she was nowhere to be found, Furious with her absence, Brahma asked the priest to go and fetch any woman for him to marry.

The priest went out and found a beautiful shepherdess. She was none other than the same holy hymn of Gayatri, which had transformed itself into a woman to help Brahma. Brahma married her and she became his second companion.

Gayatri is depicted as seated on a pink lotus. She has five heads, the first four representing the Vedas, while the last one represents Lord Brahma himself

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Brahma tests Krishna

   

Brahma was amazed to see little Krishna perform wonderful feats. He thought of a plan to test him.

One day, while Krishna was out with his friends tending the cattle, he found them all disappearing one by one. Seeing the field getting empty this way, Krishna was surprised. He immediately understood that this was the doing of Lord Brahma. But he did not want to return without his friends and cattle as it would make their parents anxious. To convince Brahma of his ability, Krishna started expanding into various forms. As he was god himself, Krishna could take on any from he desired. In a while the entire field was again crowded with all his friends.  The calves too appeared, some mooing and some grazing the fields. It looked exactly the same as before.

Brahma was startled. He realised Krishna's immense powers and showered flowers from the heavens above. 

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Brahmarishi Vashistha

Vashistha, was the most legendary of all the eminent sages of India. Having conquered all his anger he became matchless in sacrifice and scriptures. He was the royal priest of the Surya dynasty to which Rama was born. When Ravana captured him for not teaching him the Vedas, the sage cursed him saying that someone from this dynasty would kill him.  Vashistha's cow was the divine Kamdhenu, which became the cause for Vashistha and Vishwamitra's rivalry when the latter tried to take it away. Even Vishwamitra had to bow down before this great ascetic's authority. Vashistha was born thrice and in all the births Arundhati became his wife. He later became a 'saptarishi,' one of the seven revered sages who transformed into the constellation of seven stars called Ursa Major.

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Brahma's Lesson

      

Brahma's creation - the gods, demons, and men - were for ever fighting.  Their aim was to take control of the entire creation. There was widespread chaos and famine in the three worlds every time they fought.

Brahma grew worried and decided to warm them. One day he boomed, 'da.' As the loud voice echoed throughout the universe, everyone ran to Brahma for help.

Brahma then asked what the sound meant to each of them.

The gods said 'da' sounded like the word 'damyanta,' meaning self-control .

The demons said the voice suggested 'dayadhvam' or merciful .

Brahma then told all that if each were to follow the three principles of 'self-control,' 'charity,' and 'mercy,' he would be happy.

It is believed that even today, when Brahma says 'da,' it thunders, and he is trying to remind us of the three principles.

       

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Brave Dhruva

        

King Uttanpada had two wives. His first wife, Sunity, was the daughter of a tribal chief. His second wife, Suruchi, was the daughter of a rich king. Sunity had a son named Dhruva and Suruchi's son was named Uttam. Dhruva was the elder of the two, so it was his right to become the next king.

But Suruchi was very selfish; she hated her stepson Dhruva and wanted her son Uttam to be the ruler. Uttanpada loved Suruchi more than Sunity because she was beautiful. Under her influence, he ordered Sunity and Dhruva to leave the palace.

Mother and son started living in a small hut near the forest. Sunity told Dhruva stories about God and Dhruva always thought about God.

One day, Dhruva went to the palace and saw Uttam sitting on his father's lap. But when Dhruva tried to do the same, Suruchi stopped him and said, "There is no place for you on your father's lap. Only my son can sit on his lap." Dhruva looked at his father hoping that he would stop Suruchi and take him on his lap. But his father did not say anything and ignored him.

Deeply hurt, Dhruva returned to his mother. Weeping bitterly he asked her why he had no place on his father's lap and why they had no place in the palace. Sunity had no answer to her son's questions. Dhruva said, "You told me that God is good, he helps those who pray to him. I will go and find God, he will certainly give me my place." Dhruva decided to go to the forest and pray until God appeared before him. In the forest, he met Narada Muni, who was worried that a five-year-old boy like him would face many difficulties in the forest. He warned Dhruva that wild animals could eat him up. But Dhruva was determined to find Lord Vishnu. Impressed by his determination, Narada taught him how to survive in the forest. He also taught him the mantra "Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya' by chanting which he could please Lord Vishnu.

For many months, Dhruva prayed in the forest, and faced many difficulties. He even stopped eating. With every breath, he chanted the mantra in praise of God. Finally, Lord Vishnu was pleased with his determination and appeared before him. He not only granted Dhruva a place on his father's lap, but also a permanent place in the sky after his death.

When Uttanpada heard that his son was living in the forest, he was sorry for his actions. Narada Muni told him that his son had performed difficult prayers in the forest and was blessed by Lord Vishnu himself. When Dhruva returned, Uttanpada was waiting for him at the gates of his kingdom. He took his son lovingly into his arms. He brought him and Sunity back to the palace. Uttanpada immediately made Dhruva the king, saying that the boy who could face such a young age, could easily rule the kingdom. Uttanpada himself went to live in an ashram.

Dhruva became a wise king and ruled for many years. He spread the message of peace and justice in his kingdom. When he died, he became a star in the sky. This star, called the pole Star or Dhruva Tara is still seen shining in the sky. It is the only star that has a permanent place and does not change its position in the sky. All the other stars and constellations move around it throughout the year. Travellers look up to the Dhruva Tara in the night to find their way. 

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Code of War

On the eve of the war of Kurukshetra. Krishna and the Pandavas made plans for the war. On the other side, Bhishma discussed his plans with Duryodhana.

On the day of the war, both the armies stood face to face in the field of Kurukshetra. Both sides finalised the six codes of the war and pledged to abide by it.

First, there would be no war at night, it would be suspended at sunset daily; second, the fight would be fair; third, no unarmed soldier would be attacked; fourth, no soldier who was accepted his defeat would be attacked; fifth, the soldiers who would be carrying the war-material would not be attacked; and finally, the camps where wounded soldiers would be kept would not be attacked. The commanders of both the sides encouraged their soldiers to fight till their last breath. The soldiers were told that a warrior either returns victorious or falls fighting.