Lord Bhikshatana

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     When Shiva chopped off Brahma's fifth head, Brahma died. But because of his great power and because of all his good deeds, Brahma managed to come back to life. Yet, Brahma is, in a sense, a brahmin, and Shiva had killed him. Killing a brahmin is considered the worst sin of all, and so Shiva had to repent for his sin and become a beggar. Because he had committed the sin of brahmahatya, the skull of Brahma's fifth head was stuck to Shiva's nail and he couldn't get it off. His sin took the form of a scary woman who followed him everywhere. To repent for his sin and to get rid of the creepy woman, he had to wander the earth as a naked beggar and used Brahma's skull as his food bowl. This form of Shiva is known as Bhikshatana and he is followed by scary ghosts and goblins.
     He wandered everywhere in the universe, all over the earth, through the heavens and the underworld, but the only food that would properly satisfy him were blood and flesh. People who served him food became hypnotized the moment they saw him. They followed him everywhere, he comes upon a yagna being conducted by Brahma where he fills the place with skulls because they wouldn't feed him. So, Brahma promised Shiva that all yagnas can only happen when a prayer is said to Shiva.
     Seeing Shiva suffering in this manner, Goddess Shakti decided to help him by giving him some food. She appeared to him to Annapurna, the goddess of food. She served him well, but made him promise that she will only bless humanity with food if he enlightens them with true knowledge. In the Vishwanath temple in Kashi, you see statues of Bhikshatana receiving food from Annapurna.
     While he was wandering the world, he went to the Deodar forest, also known as the Daruka forest. In the forest, the sages were doing yagnas and gained lots of power. They became very arrogant and thought that they were equal to the gods. Shiva knew about this and decided to teach them a lesson.
     So, Bhikshatana entered the forest as a naked and scary beggar with reddish-black skin. Lord Vishnu also accompanied him as a beautiful woman named Mohini, who unlike Bhikshatana, had white skin. Bhikshatana begged for food at the houses of the sages, when their wives appeared, just like everyone else, they became hypnotized and crazy. The sons of the sages saw Bhikshatana's beautiful wife Mohini and completely fell in love with her. The sages were shocked and disgusted them they saw their families following Bhikshatana. They became so angry that they cursed him, but nothing happened to him. Then Bhikshatana counter-cursed the sages to also become beggars like him.
     The sages then conducted a yagna and created a lion, an elephant, a tiger, a snake, and a dwarf. They attacked Bhikshatana, who defeated them all. Finally, he stood on top of the dwarf and began to dance. He ended his dance by lifting his left leg over his right leg. This form of Lord Shiva is known as Nataraja, the lord of dance. The sages were shocked that their curse didn't do anything. They prayed to Brahma and asked them why. Brahma appeared and told them that Bhikshatana was actually and incarnation of Shiva.
     The only two women who didn't become hypnotized were Arundhati, the wife of Vashishta, and Anasuya, the wife of the sage Atri. They instantly recognised Bhikshatana and Mohini and told the sages that they were Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu themselves. They also explained that Shiva was appearing like this because they had become arrogant and to teach them that knowledge was not the only thing that is important in life and that love is also extremely important for the continuation of living creatures. Bhikshatana then returned to the forest in his supreme form. the sages apologised and Bhikshatana taught the sages that they must become beggars like Bhikshatana, since that is what will help them upon the path to moksha. Arundhati and Anasuya told Bhikshatana that if he wanted to get rid of his sin and satisfy his hunger, then he must go to Lord Vishnu.
     Bhikshatana then leaves the forest and continues to wander all across the universe until he reaches Vaikuntha, the heavenly home of Vishnu. Vishnu's messenger, Vishwaksena, was guarding the door and when he saw Bhikshatana , he couldn't recognise that he was Shiva. Hence, he didn't allow Bhikshatana to enter. Bhikshatana told one of his attendants, Kalavega, to fight Vishwaksena, but Vishwaksena killed Kalavega. In anger, Bhikshatana attacked Vishwaksena and killed him, keeping his corpse on his trident, which was now struck to his left hand. This meant that his sin had increased further. This form of Shiva is known as Kankala-murti, the one with the skeleton.
     Kankala-murti entered Vaikuntha and begged for food. So, Vishnu offered him some of his own blood as well as some flesh from Bhikshatana's own forehead. Vishnu then told Bhikshatana to go to the city of Varanasi and pray to Lord Shiva.
     So, Bhikshatana followed Vishnu's advice, since he was very desperate to get rid of that scary woman and to stop being Bhikshatana. When he reached Varanasi, he prayed until Lord Shiva appeared before him. He told Bhikshatana that he will be free from his sin if he goes to Kashi. So, Bhikshatana eventually reached Kashi, and the moment he entered the holy city, the scary woman returned to the underworld. Bhikshatana meditated until the skull fell off from his right hand and the trident fell from his left hand. Vishwaksena corpse vanished and we was revived and returned to Vaikuntha. The place where the skull fell off is called Kapala-mochana, the liberation of the skull. Shiva then bathes in a holy pond and his scary appearance vanishes. Shiva, completely free from his sin, returned to Mt. Kailash to meditate and continue his peaceful life.

The Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and the Goddess Siddhidhatri

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     After the death of Madhu and Kaitabha, the Earth had land as well as water, but they needed energy from the sun to help provide life. So, the goddesses Tara and Kushmanda entered the sun. Kushmanda made the sun very bright and radiant and Tara made the sun radiate with energy and heat. Shakti then took the form of Goddess Shodashi. Goddess Shodashi planted a bamboo tree within the earth and poured water on it from her magical water pot. In this way, all plants on earth began to grow.
     After this, Brahma Vishnu and Rudra, a form of Shiva, didn't know what to do. Suddenly, a magical chariot appeared. The three of them got on the chariot and it flew them to a magical island. They saw a beautiful city and decided to go in there. The moment they entered the city, They turned into women. The reached the main palace where they learned that the island was called Manidvipa, and the ruler was Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, the queen of the universe. She was taken care of by many Yoginis who supplied her every need. She sat on the left thigh of Lord Sadashiva, the cosmic form of Lord Shiva.
     Bhuvaneshwari gave her shaktis in marriage to them. She gave Saraswathi to Brahma, Lakshmi to Vishnu, and Uma or Kali to Rudra. Bhuvaneshwari then created 14 planetary systems in the universe, each one different from the next. Goddess Shakti then took the form of Goddess Siddhidhatri and told them that their power comes from their wives, and that she will also create divine powers for them to use. Hence, she created the 8 main Siddhis, which are special powers one can gain through meditation. They are called Anima, Mahima, Garima, Laghima, Prapti, Prakamya, Ishitva, and Vishitva.
     Anima can make you shrink to the size of an atom, Mahima can make you grow infinitely big, Garima can make you heavy, Prapti can make you teleport to wherever you want, Prakamya can make you know whatever anyone wants, Ishitva allows you to control nature, and Vishitva allows you to control elemental forces. There are 15 secondary siddhis which can allow you to do many things, ranging from shapeshifting and telepathy, to teleportation and seeing the future. Throughout many stories, you see sages, demons, and yogis use these abilities. Goddess Shakti then created the goddess Kamalatmika, who spread prosperity among humanity.
     Once the universe was set in motion, Brahma called all the gods, his mind-born sons and daughters, and some brahmins to conduct the first yagna. Lord Shiva attended the yagna in the form of Bhikshatana, the god of ascetics. He was scary looking, with a corpse stuck on his trident, and he used a skull as a food bowl. He came outside the yagna arena and begged for food. But the brahmins didn't let him in, not wanting to waste their time with a creepy beggar when they had a yagna to conduct. So, Bhikshatana threw his skull bowl into the yagna arena and the brahmins threw it out. But another skull appeared and another, until the whole yagna arena was full of scary skulls, which were de-purifying the atmosphere of the area.
     So, Brahma went to Shiva and promised him that no yagna can be completed without a prayer to Lord Shiva. Hence Lord Shiva is known as Kapaleshwara, the Lord of skulls. After the yagna, Brahma returned to Brahmaloka and Vishnu returned to the milk ocean in Vaikuntha. Shiva felt very hot and so decided to live on Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, where he would be cool and comfortable. This is also why in todays world, people pour cold water and milk products on the lingam, which is a special form of worshipping Shiva.

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The Slaying of Madhu and Kaitabha

(I sketched and colored a picture of Jaganmohini specially for this story.)

     During the creation of the universe, Mahakali, the bloodthirsty goddess of time, entered Lord Vishnu's consciousness, and put him in a deep state of yoga-nidra, which is sleep meditation. While he slept, some matter floated out from his ears and turned into two demons named Madhu and Kaitabha. They decided to become very powerful by praying to Goddess Yogamaya. Soon, Goddess Yogamaya appeared before them. They asked her to grant them a boon, by which they can die only when they wish to die. She granted it and vanished.
     Thinking themselves to be very powerful, they went to attack Lord Brahma. They chased Brahma away from his lotus flower and stole the Vedas from him. They hid the Vedas in an ocean, Rasatala-Loka, which is a planetary system in the underworld. Brahma didn't know how to fight and he couldn't call Lord Vishnu for help. So, he prayed to Goddess Mahamaya to help him. The moment she appeared, Lord Vishnu woke up from his Yoga-nidra. Lord Vishnu knew about everything and agreed to fight Madhu and Kaitabha. Madhu and Kaitabha took turns to fight him. The battle lasted for 5 hundred years. Vishnu knew it would be impossible to kill them since they were protected by Yogamaya's boon.
     He asked Madhu and Kaitabha for some time to rest. He explained that they were fresh since they had taken time to fight him, while he was fighting them constantly. So they allowed him to rest for a while. In the time given to him, He prayed to goddess Yogamaya for some help. She told him that she would distract the demons so that they would lose interest in the battle.
     So, Lord Vishnu arrived to continue fight again. Then, Goddess Shakti appeared as Jaganmohini, a beautiful woman. Madhu and Kaitabha forgot about fighting Vishnu and instead, became entranced by Jaganmohini. Vishnu praised them for the fact that they had given up fighting, and so offered them a boon. They then claimed that since they had spared his life, Vishnu should ask them for a boon. Vishnu had them right where he wanted them. He asked for them to die at his hands. Madhu and Kaitabha were shocked. They looked all around them and could only see water and the sky everywhere. So, they told Vishnu that he should kill them in a place where there is no water or sky.
     So, Vishnu became a giant horse incarnation named Lord Hayagriva. He then lifted them out of the water and chopped their body into many pieces. He then went to Rasatala-Loka,  jumped into the ocean, retrieved the Vedas, and returned them to Brahma. He thanked Goddess Jaganmohini for her help and Madhu and Kaitabha's body parts became the seismic plates of the earth, giving land to live on. Since they were killed by the Lord, they attained Moksha, and were reborn as Jaya and Vijaya, the fearsome doorkeepers of Vishnu.
     Because of this story, Goddess Shakti is also known as Kaitabhi, which means "the slayer of Kaitabha". Lord Vishnu, as well as his incarnation Lord Krishna, are both known as Madhusudan, which means "the slayer of the demon Madhu".

Lord Brahma's Fifth Head

     Brahma had created a goddess named Shatarupa. She and Swayambhuva Manu together gave birth to all living creatures. She was the very personification of the universe. She was, in a sense, Brahma's daughter. But, She was so beautiful the Brahma fell in love with his own daughter. He was so entranced by her beauty that he desired only her for himself.
     When she circumambulated her father to pay her respects, Brahma sprouted four heads so that he could see her in every direction. She became very shy and so flew upwards. Brahma then created a fifth head above him so that he could see her upwards as well. When she turned into a cow, he turned into a bull, when she turned into a doe, he became a stag. when she turned into a swan, he turned into a gander. He kept turning into the male counterpart of her female form. He could realize she was energy and matter itself. The great goddess Shakti.
     She ran and complained to Lord Shiva, who became disgusted hearing this. He scolded Brahma for desired his own daughter. Four of Brahma's heads agreed and apologized, but the fifth head and spoke angrily back to Shiva. In anger, Shiva became the terrifying Bhairava, and with his nail, chopped off the fifth head of Brahma. This was how Brahma got four heads. Bhairava kept the skull on his finger and used it as a drinking and food bowl. This is why Shiva is also known as Kapalika, the skull-bearer.
     Shatarupa would eventually be known as Saraswathi, the goddess of knowledge, sound, and music. She was hesitant when Brahma asked her to be his wife, but he convinced her, saying that their union was vital for creation.

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Brahma, Vishnu, and the Pillar of Light

(My little brother Neel made this using the animating platform Scratch 3)

     One day, Vishnu and Brahma went for a stroll on the earth. While they were on earth, they had a bit of an argument over who was more powerful. Vishnu said that since he appeared before Brahma, and since he was the protector, he was more powerful. Brahma claimed that he was the one who created everything in the universe. Hence he was more powerful. Their argument turned into a fight. with the universe trembling and lightning flashing everywhere.
     Suddenly, an infinite pillar made of fire and light appeared before them and a voice told them that before any of them existed there existed Shiva and Shakti, Mahakaal and Mahakali. The voice then challenged them to try and find the end of the pillar. They accepted the challenge. Brahma turned into a swan and flew up the pillar while Vishnu turned into a boar and went down the pillar. Vishnu went deeper and deeper into the ground, until he even went past the underworld. Vishnu was amazed at this and seemed to understand more about the pillar. Whichever god it represented was infinitely powerful and the pillar represented its infinite form. Vishnu turned into a turtle and returned to their starting point.
     Brahma was extremely determined to prove that he was the most powerful. As he flew up, he met a bird with a flower in its mouth. He asked the bird if he knew if the pillar had an end. The bird said no. Brahma then asked the bird if he could have the flower as proof of their encounter. Brahma took the flower and returned to their starting point.
     He met Vishnu their who admitted that he didn't find the end of the pillar. Brahma lied and showed him the flower, claiming that he had found it at the end of the pillar. He demanded that he be known as the most powerful and the supreme creator.
     The pillar was Lingodbhava, a form of Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva heard Brahma's lie, he emerged from the pillar as the terrifying Bhairava. He then cursed Brahma that even though he was the creator, he would never be worshipped on the earth. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together became the kings of the material and spiritual universes.
     The pillar of light cooled down and became Mt. Arunachala. The 64 places that the pillar could be seen from became holy shrines known as jyotirlinga. True to Shiva's curse, to this day, Brahma isn't worshipped anywhere. Throughout all of India, there is only ONE temple dedicated to him in Pushkar, but only because it's the place where he killed a demon with his lotus flower.

Hindu Mythology: Creation of the Vedic Universe 2.0 Part #2

     With the five elements at hand, Brahma set to work creating the universe. He held out his hands and calmed the harsh winds and the waves of the ocean. He then tore his lotus into three parts. With each parts he made the heavens, the earth, and the sky between them. Bellow them, was the underworld, where demons, spirits, monsters, serpents and Nagas (snake-people) lived.
     Indra killed a demon named Puloman and married his daughter Shachi, who is a form of Shakti. She became his queen and she and Indra ruled the heavens. Brahma also created Surya, the sun god; Chandra, the moon god; and the Nakshatra, who were the stars and constellations.
     Brahma then created the seven sages: Vashishta, Mareech, Atri, Angira, Pulaha, Gratu, and Pulastya. They were tasked with creating mantras, and spreading religion, devotion, knowledge, and good virtues amongst humanity. All seven sages then departed to their abodes. Then from his heart, Brahma created a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Brahma named the man Kama and the woman Sandhya. Kamadeva was tasked him with spreading love and desire amongst all living creatures. Kamadeva is literally the Vedic Cupid. Sandhya was tasked with spreading the knowledge of yagnas and prayers on the earth. She then departed to the home of Brahma rishi. Kamadeva flew off on his parrot vehicle. Brahma then created Vasant, the god of spring. He was tasked with accompanying Kamadeva and spreading the beauty of nature in the form of spring.
     In the previous lifetime of Brahma, there was a Gandharva named Upabarhana, who was respected for his good looks. Unfortunately, his beauty and power made him arrogant. Once the demigods were having a festival and Upabarhana came there with tons of women and foolishly sang random songs while the demigods sang prayers and bhajans (religious songs). The Prajapatis (sons of Brahma), got up and cursed him to be born in a low-caste family and have no good looks in his next life. Hence, in his next life, he was born as the son of a maidservant.
     Him and his mother once served some great devotees and their knowledge and devotion entranced him. After his mother died, he meditated until Vishnu appeared before him. Vishnu gave him a vina and told him to preach devotion wherever he went in the next universe. Henceforth, in the next universe, he was re-created by Brahma as the famous Narada Muni. He became a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and was tasked with travelling the three worlds and spreading religion. Narada had no concerns for the physical world and encouraged living creatures to not get married and not to have children. Since this was the opposite of what Brahma wanted, Brahma became angry at Narada. He cursed him to never stop wandering and that he would live until Lord Narayana goes back to sleep. Narada Muni became very restless and so enjoys going around, causing jealous, quarrels, anger, and all kinds of trouble. You will see more of Narada Muni's mischievousness throughout many stories.
     Then Brahma created a man and a woman. The man was named Swayambhuva Manu and the woman was named Shatarupa. Brahma told them to get married and give birth to all living things. So they got married and gave birth to all humans, then they turned into all different kinds of animal couples and gave birth to all animals on the earth.
     In watching the universe he had created, Brahma had forgotten to create the chief Prajapati Daksha. Daksha's soul was about to burst from Brahma's toe. In pain, Daksha's soul cried out to Brahma. So Brahma finally created Daksha, who then left in a huff, unhappy that he wasn't created first. Daksha married Prasuti, or Veerni, daughter of Swayambhuva Manu, also known as Prajapati Veeran.
     Brahma then created the four Kumaras and asked them to expand the population, but they were sages, and didn't listen to their father. This made Brahma angry and he arched his eyebrows in anger. from the arch came Rudra, the roaring god of storms and hunting. He is known as a form of Lord Shiva. He was born in an Ardhanareshwar for. He split himself into male and female forms. From the male form came eleven beings, both gentle and fierce. They were the eleven Rudras. From the female form came eleven beings who married the Rudras. They were the Rudranis. The Rudras, also known as the Vamadevas, began to create things such as lightning, storms, thunder, rain, rainbows, and medicines (which is kind of weird), all of which are immortal, not mortal, like Brahma wanted. So, the Rudras stopped their creation spree.
     Remember when Prajapati shamefully chased after Ushas and how the gods planned to punish him? Well, they sent Rudra to go and hunt after Prajapati, who was still in the form of a stag. So, Rudra took his bow and arrow and chased Prajapati all over the earth. Finally, Rudra managed to shoot him with an arrow and send him flying into the sky. Prajapati became the constellation Capricorn and Ushas was free to return to the sky, but she never came until night time was finished so that she would be far away from Prajapati.
     Then, after creating all living creatures, Brahma tasked Yama Raj, the ruler of the dead, to also keep track of the deeds of all living and unborn creatures. the task proved too much for Yama Raj and he began to make wrong decisions about dead souls. So, Brahma meditated for 11 thousand years, hoping to find some answers. When he opened his eyes, he saw a god holding a pen and an ink pot. Brahma named him Chitragupta. He was tasked with helping Yama Raj by keeping record of all good and bad deeds of all living and unborn creatures.

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Hindu Mythology: Creation of the Vedic Universe 2.0 Part #1

     In the beginning, before time and space, there was nothing. Then came Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the lord of time and destruction and is known as Kaal Bhairava, or Mahakaal. Shakti is the eternal female energy. There is no universe without her for if there is no energy and light, then there cannot be any universe.
     Shiva cannot exist without Shakti, because without her, Shiva is cold. silent, and purposeless. In the same way, Shakti cannot exist without Shiva, for if she is not calm, then she becomes wild and scary. Once Shiva and Shakti came into being, they created happiness, sadness, life, death, beginning, ending, light, darkness, movement, strength, stars, space, planets, and the atmosphere.
     Goddess Shakti then took the form of Goddess Kushmanda, whose body is made of pure light. Kushmanda has 10 hands, 3 eyes, and rides a tiger. She created the cosmic egg of gold. The golden egg floated on the cosmic ocean for nine months before hatching. Out of the egg came two things: Brahman and Lord Prajapati.
     Lord Prajapati has no gender, and stood there, unmoving, quiet, for almost a year until he finally spoke. His words formed both the ground and the top of the sky. He became lonely and so turned himself into a man and a woman, who got married and gave birth to the first gods and demons. Time was created and Prajapati became the god of time. Prajapati wanted to separate the good from the bad, and so he hid the demons deep in the ground.
     From her left eye, Kushmanda created a goddess with black skin and multiple heads, arms, legs, and fangs. This goddess had messed up hair and cackled like a witch. Kushmanda named her Mahakali, the goddess of time and the wife of Mahakaal. She represented the fiery aspect of the goddess.
     From her right eye, Kushmanda created a shy, beautiful goddess with many hands and with skin whiter than the moon. She had a calm smile and wore a milky white dress. Kushmanda named her Mahasaraswathi. Mahasaraswathi represented the sound aspect of the goddess.
     Finally from her third eye, Kushmanda created a lady with many hands and skin made of gold. She was so bright that she seemed to glow like lava and wore a pretty pink dress underneath her battle armor. Kushmanda named her Mahalakshmi. Mahalakshmi represented the love aspect of the goddess.
     From the body of Mahakali came another goddess who also had black skin and was wild in appearance. She had four hands and stuck her tongue out, but not because she was making fun of someone, but because she was thirsty for blood. This goddess was named Kali.
     From the body of Mahasaraswathi came another goddess who also had four hands and white skin, white ornaments and white dress. Kushmanda probably should have considered naming her "Miss White Goddess", but she eventually settled on the name Saraswathi.
     From the name of Mahalakshmi also came a four handed beautiful goddess with a pink dress and gold jewellery. She had four arms and held lotus flowers. Kushmanda had the perfect name in mind. You guessed it, Lakshmi.
     After creating the basic outline of the universe, Shakti merged with Shiva to form Ardhanareshwar, the combined form of Shiva and Shakti. With the help of newly created Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and Kali, they created the Goddess Chandi. She was the combined form of the Tridevi. Goddess Chandi, or Chandika, was tasked with protecting the world from evil demons.
     We now turn our attention from away from Shiva and Shakti and focus on the cosmic ocean that envelops the universe. On the ocean lay a giant thousand-headed serpent named Ananta Sheshnag. On his coils slept Lord Vishnu a form of Brahman. Suddenly, a sound could be everywhere, getting louder and louder. It was Om, the divine symbol. Hearing the divine symbol, Lord Vishnu woke up from his sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, a lotus flower sprouted from his navel. It grew and grew until it finally bloomed, bringing Lord Brahma into being. Brahma, like Vishnu and Shiva was also a form of Brahman. He and Vishnu couldn't help but wonder where they had come from. Who were they? What was their purpose?
     In hopes of finding answers to their questions, Brahma and Vishnu meditated for many years. Then, Shiva and Shakti appeared in the form of Ardhanareshwar. Ardhanareshwar told them that they were tasked with creating and protecting the universe. Brahma was meant to be the creator and Vishnu was meant to be the sustainer.
     So, Shiva and Shakti used the remains of Kushmanda's egg to created Dyaus, the sky god; Prithvi, the earth goddess; Vayu, the wind god; and Varuna, the water god.
     Dyaus and Prithvi had four children. They had two twin sons named Agni and Indra. The older twin, Indra, was the god of lightning, rain, and thunder. the younger twin, Agni was the powerful god of fire. With the birth of Agni came light, and Lord Prajapati separated it into day and night. Dyaus, Prithvi, Vayu, Varuna, and Agni together became the Pancha Tattva, the five basic elements of creation.
     Dyaus and Prithvi also had two daughters named Ushas and Ratri. Ushas was the goddess of the dawn, and Ratri was the goddess of night. Lord Prajapati fell in love with Ushas, the goddess of the dawn, and he wanted her all to himself. When she turned into a doe, he turned into a stag and chased after her. She ran away from him, as fast as possible, but Prajapati was too powerful and soon caught her. She then gave birth to all cattle. The gods were shocked and disgusted at what Prajapati had done and waited for the right moment to punish him for his cruel behaviour.
     Lord Varuna, the god of water, was the king of the demigods until Indra proved himself to be much more powerful by separating Dyaus and Prithvi apart for life to grow. He then took his place as the next and current king of the demigods.

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