Daily Deities #6: Nikumbila/Narasimhi/Pratyangira

    I was in a bad mood recently. I was feeling very angry at myself for no reason. I was walking around and thinking to myself and so I did some research on Hindu goddesses, specifically the scary, angry ones. Whenever I look at the angry goddesses, there's always some form of good, powerful symbolism behind them and it makes me feel good. I stumbled upon one in particular who I found very interesting and so I wanted to share what I learned with you.

    I have watched and read the Ramayan on multiple occasions and I'd always heard that Ravan's son, Meghnad/Indrajit had gotten all his strength and magical power from a goddess named Nikumbila. I'd heard of how he performed Tantric rites in order to please her. I just never looked up this goddess to learn if she was an actual Hindu goddess. I sort of just assumed she was some kind of Rakshasa goddess who only appears in the Ramayan because I'd never heard her name anywhere else. Now, I had also heard of another goddess, Pratyangira, who was a form of Goddess Durga with a lion's head. I knew that she was one of the Matrikas, who are 7-8 forms of Goddess Durga who help the goddess fight in battle. The Matrikas each represent the energy and power of a god or an avatar of Vishnu (except for Chamunda, who has no male counterpart). Pratyangira is also called Narasimhi because she is the female energy of Narasimha, Vishnu's lion-man hybrid avatar. Narasimha is one of Vishnu's most powerful incarnations. His anger nearly destroyed the universe. So, if Narasimha is so powerful, just imagine how powerful Pratyangira is since she's the physical representation of his entire power.

    It wasn't until recently that I learned that Nikumbila was just another name for Pratyangira and it surprised me. She also goes by a couple of other names. In Vaishnavism, she is considered the wife of Narasimha. Narasimha literally means "human-lion" (Nara-simha). Narasimhi is the feminine version (name-wise). While she is often associated with Goddess Kali, she is also considered a form of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu. Hence, she is also called Simhamukha Lakshmi ( lion-headed Lakshmi). In South India, she is known as Atharvani Bhadrakali, identifying her as the goddess of the Atharva Veda (which also makes her the goddess of magic and spells, since the Atharva Veda has magic spells in it). Prati means reverse, while Angiras means attacking. Hence, Pratyangira is the goddess who can reverse and protect oneself from black magic. She is the goddess of both offensive and defensive power.

    Her lion head on a human body is a representation of the balance between good and evil. She also rides a lion and sometimes has blue skin and fur with a wide-open mouth and lots of teeth. Her eyes are often red with anger and in her four hands, she carries a trident, a damaru (basically a hand-drum), a cobra snake as a noose (badass!), and a skull.

    Pratyangira has a couple stories. She is often present whenever Durga or Shiva summons the Matrikas to help them fight in battle, and she also helps Goddess Lalitha when fighting Bhandasura. One story states that some sages were performing a yagna to the Ashta-Lakshmis (the eight forms of Lakshmi). While doing so, they were attacked by a powerful demon. To protect them, Lakshmi transforms into Pratyangira and kills the demon.

    Another story states that when Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu, he was still so angry, that his anger and power were burning the universe and threatening to destroy it completely. In fear, the gods all ran to Lord Shiva for help. So Shiva sent his incarnation Veerbhadra to stop him. Veerbhadra tried to explain to Narasimha, but when words and reason failed, the two started fighting. Shiva felt that things were getting out of hand and so he incarnated as Sharabha. Sharabha was a bird-lion monster who began to fight Narasimha, but neither could defeat the other. So, Pratyangira Devi burst forth from Sarabha's wings and nullified Narasimha's power in a second. JUST. LIKE. THAT. No fight or anything! If Narasimha is so powerful, just imagine how powerful SHE is.

    Remember that as we segway into how her devotee became so powerful thanks to her. In the Ramayan, Pratyangira made a cameo appearance under the name Nikumbila. Nikumbila is actually Ravan's Kuldevi (family goddess). Meghnad was given a boon by Brahma that gave him knowledge of her mantra and the Tantric rites that he should perform to get her power. He did so and became very powerful, especially in the magical arts (like sorcery and illusions, since Nikumbila is the goddess of magic). Using this power, Meghnad defeated Indra, earning him the name Indrajit. Indrajit caused tons of problems for Lord Ram and his army during the Ramayan. At one point, He caused Ram and Lakshman to fall unconscious, and also nearly killed Lakshman. But luckily, Lakshman survived thanks to Hanuman and returned to kill Meghnad. He attacked Meghnad at the cave where he worshipped Nikumbila. If he disrupted Meghnad mid-worship, then Meghnad would be vulnerable, because he hadn't completed his sacrifice. Lakshman killed Meghnad, giving Lord Ram the upper hand in the war.

    Considering how powerful Pratyangira is, I'm not really surprised that Meghnad was as powerful as he was. Anyone would be if they worshipped her at his level. Well, you know what they say: Behind every great man is a great woman.

Nikumbila: Picture credit link

Pratyangira: Picture credit link

    What do you think of Pratyangira? Which of her names is your favourite? Did you know about Meghnad and Nikumbila? Comment below! (Please comment responsibly. Constructive criticism is welcome)

Lord Brahma's Family Tree

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     Lord Brahma gave birth to nine sages: Atharva, Bhrigu, Kratu, Marichi, Atri, Vashishta, Pulaha, Pulastya, Kardama, and a beautiful woman named Ahilya. He also gave birth to a man and a woman named Swayambhuva Manu and Shatarupa, respectively. Manu and Shatarupa got married and had three daughters named Akuti, Devahuti, and Prasuti. Devahuti married Sage Kardama and had six daughters, who married six of the seven sages. Shanti married Atharva, Gati married Pulaha, Havirbhu married Pulastya, Kala married Marichi, Khyati married Bhrigu, Kriya married Kratu, Shraddha married Angira, and Anasuya married Atri.

     Akuti married the sage Ruchi and they had a son and daughter named Yagna and Dakshina. Lord Yagna is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Dakshina is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. They got married and gave birth to twelve demigods called Tushitas.

     Atri prayed to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, who all appeared before him. The boon he asked for what was that the lord of the universe would be born as his son. But he didn't know which of the three was the lord of the universe. They said that all three of them were the lords of the universe. Hence all three of them would be born as his sons.

     Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and Parvati wanted to learn pativratya from Anasuya. Pativratya is how a woman should treat her husband with love and respect. They sent their husbands to go and ask her. So Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva appeared to Anasuya disguised as sages and asked Anasuya to teach their wives pativratya. But she had to be very loving to the three sages while doing so.

     Thanks to her great yogic powers, Anasuya knew who the three sages actually were. So, she turned them into six-month old babies and lovingly fed them. The goddesses waited for days for their husbands to return until they decided to go to Anasuya's ashram. There they saw her lovingly feeding their husbands as babies. They asked her to turn their husbands back to normal, which she did. The three gods were pleased with Anasuya and offered her a boon. She asked that they should be born as her children, just like how her husband had asked.

     Once, the king's soldiers caught some thieves who were hiding in the ashram of sage Mandavya. The soldiers also kidnapped Mandavya and impaled him. When he met Yamaraja, he asked him why he was punished and died in such a manner. Yamaraja said that it was because he had killed an ant in his childhood. Mandavya was furious that he was punished for such an innocent act. So, he cursed Yamaraja that he would be born as the son of a maidservant. Because of this curse, Yamaraja would eventually be born as Vidhura, a wise and important character of the Mahabharata.

     Meanwhile, a sage named Kaushik was feeling very sick and his wife was helping him walk. On the way, he stepped on sage Mandavya's body, and was cursed by Mandavya's soul that he would die at sunset. But, his wife loved him so much that she made the sun stop moving. Because of this, Rahu was able to eclipse Surya for a long time. This caused tons of problems in heaven and the gods had to ask Brahma for help. Brahma went to Anasuya and Atri for help. Anasuya calmed Kaushik's wife and told her to allow the sun to move. The Atri pulled Surya away from Rahu and the sun peacefully set and Kaushik died as per his curse. But, Anasuya brought him back to life and cured him of his sickness. Brahma was very grateful and as a thank-you, he was born from Anasuya as Soma, the god of plants and vegetables.

     After the incident with Brahma and the pillar, Shiva was still angry, that all the demigods, including his wife, avoided him out of fear. When Shiva saw how scared everyone had become, he took away his anger and sent it into his incarnation, Anasuya's son. Hence, Shiva was born as Durvasa, the sage who is known for his great temper. and Vishnu was born as Dattatreya, a powerful sage whose physical appearance is a combination of all three gods. Anasuya and Atri also had a daughter named Subhatreyi.

     Shraddha and Angira had four daughters and two sons named Utathya and Brihaspati. Brihaspati married Tara, the daughter of Surya, and had a son named Kacha, who became a sage. Chandra, the moon god, kidnapped Tara, and she became pregnant. She gave birth to Budh, the god of the planet Mercury. Budh married Ila, a woman who used to be a king named Sudyumna. Budh and Ila had a son named Pururavas, who was the first king of the Chandravanshis (the moon dynasty).

     Utathya had a wife named Mamata. They had a son named Dirghatamas, who was born blind, but still became a great sage. He married a woman named Pradweshi, and they had a son named Gautama, who also became a great sage. Brahma had a daughter named Ahilya and had set up a contest: Whoever went around the earth three times the fastest would marry her. Indra went around the earth three times and then demanded Ahilya's hand in marriage. But Narada Muni said that Gautama went around the earth three times the fastest. It turns out that Gautama had circumambulated the divine cow mother Surabhi, who was pregnant at the time. A cow represented the bountiful earth and so, Ahilya married Gautama, much to Indra's jealousy.

     Gautama and Ahilya had three sons named Nodhas, Vamadeva, and Shatananda, who became a priest. They also had a daughter named Anjana, who would be the mother of Lord Hanuman.

     Mamata had an affair with Brihaspati and they had a son named Bharadwaja, who also became a great sage. Bharadwaja had a son named Drona, who is an important character in the Mahabharata.

     Kriya and Kratu gave birth to 60,000 sages known as Valakhilyas. Bhrigu and Khyati had two sons named Dhata and Vidhata. They also had a daughter named Bhargavi, who was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Bhrigu also had another wife named Puloma. When she was pregnant, a demon named Puloman saw her and fell in love with her. Agni told him that she was the wife of Bhrigu. Hearing this, Puloman turned into a boar and abducted her. Her child fell on the grass and Puloma died. The baby was glowing so brightly that Puloman got burnt. The baby was named Chyavana, and he would become a great sage. Bhrigu was angry that Agni had given away Puloma's identity and so cursed Agni that he would be burn and consume everything.

     Vidhata had a son named Mrukandu, and Mrukandu's son is Markandeya, who is a famous sage who became immortal. Markandeya had a son named Bhavana Rishi, who married Bhadra, the daughter of Surya. They had 101 children named the Padmashalis, who became the Telugu population of India. Bhrigu had a third wife named Kavyamata, or Usanas. She had a son named Shukracharya, the god of the planet Venus. He is also the guru of the asuras and always brings the demons back to life after battles with the demigod.

     Once, Shukracharya was off praying to Shiva, the demigods attacked the demons, who ran to get help from Shukra's mother Kavyamata. She used her powers to put all the demigods to sleep. Vishnu realized that she had to die for the universe to progress. So, he used his chakra to chop off her head. Bhrigu was so angry that he cursed Vishnu to be born on the earth 10 times. Bhrigu then revived Kavyamata.

     Shanti and Atharva had a son who was a great sage named Dadhichi. Dadhichi also had a son named Kunda. Kala and Marichi had a son named Kashyapa, who became a famous sage and the father of tons of creatures: humans, animals, gods, and demons. Pulastya and Havirbhu gave birth to the sages Agastya and Vishrava. Agastya married a woman named Lopamudra. Vishrava has two wives named Idavida and Keshini. Idavida was the daughter of Bharadwaja and gave birth to Kubera, and Keshini gave birth to Ravana, Kumbakarna, Khara, Dhushana, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha, all of whom are famous demons in the Ramayana.

     Prasuti married the Chief Prajapati Daksha and had sixteen daughters. One of their daughters went to the underworld, and thirteen of them married the sage Dharma. Dharma, and one of his wives, Murti, gave birth to the twin-brothers incarnation of Lord Vishnu called Nara-Narayana. They performed lots of penance in Badrinath and became very powerful sages. Shiva wanted to show the world how powerful they were by throwing his Pashupatastra weapon at them. They were so powerful that the astra lost its power before it hit them.

     Once, Indra became very nervous because of Nara-Narayana's power that he sent Kama (love, desire), Vasant (spring), and beautiful nymphs to them to disturb them and stop their meditation. Narayana took a flower and placed it on his thigh. From his thigh came a beautiful nymph named Urvashi. She was the most beautiful nymph of all time and the other nymphs couldn't make themselves more beautiful. So they all went back to heaven along with Urvashi and Nara-Narayana continued meditating. Nara and Narayana eventually were reborn as Arjuna and Krishna from Mahabharata, respectively.

     One of Daksha's daughters, Swaha, married the fire god Agni and they had a daughter named Agneya, who married Uru, a descendant of Angira. Agni and Swaha also had three sons who carried offerings to and from heaven and yagnas on earth. They each had 15 sons, so there are 49 fire gods in total. The youngest daughter of Daksha, Sati, later married Shiva, but burned herself before she had any children.

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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Hindu Mythology: The Creation of the Universe #Part 3

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     The whole universe personified to form the great goddess Adi Shakti. She was so lovely that Brahma became attracted to her and began to chase her everywhere. When she turned into a doe, he turned into a stag. When she turned into a swan, he turned into a gander. He kept turning into the male counterpart of her female form. This is one of the reasons he isn't worshipped today because he is so busy chasing the physical world. Little did he know that she wasn't any ordinary lady, she was THE supreme goddess. She is nature, energy, and life. She was the universe herself, hence Brahma's daughter. But Brahma just couldn't see that because he was so distracted by her beauty.

     Lord Shiva had emerged into existence on his own and was disgusted and infuriated at the sight of Brahma chasing his own daughter. Shakti was his soulmate, and he didn't like that she was being chased simply because of her beauty without any respect at all. So, he threw one of his nails at Brahma and his nail turned into Lord Bhairav. Bhairav is an incarnation of Shiva and is as innocent as he is scary. Bhairav then used his nail to chop off Brahma's 5th head, leaving him with just four as a punishment. Bhairav and Shiva forever used Brahma's skull as a drinking bowl. This gave him the name Kapalika, the skull-bearer. Brahma's 5th head signifies the evil that tries to control you when you try to do bad things.
     After seeing all this, the sons of Brahma asked him why he did this. If he was a supreme being, then why could he not control his desire? Ashamed at hearing this, Brahma cast off his body before returning. This body became the darkness that spreads everywhere, making outer space look black.

     Lord Brahma made Manu the king of the earth. But, Manu asked Brahma to bring the earth out of the cosmic ocean. Brahma didn't know what to do.
     Lord Vishnu has a boar incarnation. His boar incarnation (or Varaha) has 2 forms. One is the red-boar incarnation, and the other is the white-boar incarnation.
     So, Lord Vishnu became the White Boar and came out through Brahma's nose. He then grew until he was the size of the biggest elephant. He dove into the ocean and lifted the earth to the surface with his tusks. He gently placed the earth on the surface of the Garbhodakasayi Ocean. One form of Shakti is the goddess Varahi. She has the head of a boar, just like Varaha. She was tasked with keeping the earth floating and making sure that it never sank into the ocean.
     Lord Vishnu then went to his heavenly abode, known as Vaikuntha, and all living and non-living things bowed to him.

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Hindu Mythology: the Creation of the Universe #Part 2

   Brahma then created passion, which took the form of a woman. the demons became entranced by her. From her body and moonlight, Brahma created Gandharvas (nature spirits), and Apsaras (nymphs/fairies). From his laziness came living ghosts. from his yawning came the Bhutas (undead ghosts), and Pishachas (zombie cannibals). From his navel came the Sadhyas (prayer deities), and the Pitas (Hindu astral deities). From invisibility, Brahma created the Vidyadharas (air demigods), and the Siddhas (sages). From his reflection, he created the Kinnaras (celestial musicians) and the Kimpurusas (half-lion men).

   After creating in this way, Brahma became very depressed and gave up his body. From that body's hair came snakes, and from the rest of the body came the Nagas (serpent-people).
   Brahma then created six immovable entities, animals, and humans. He then created four sages named Santana, Sananda, Sanaka, and Sanata-kumara. Brahma asked them to have children and continue the next generation. But the four Kumaras didn't want to accept household life because they wanted to worship God and become liberated.

    As you can guess, Brahma got angry at their refusal and arched his eyebrows. From his arch came a blue and red-skinned baby, who cried out and asked Brahma for a home and a name. Brahma calmed him and since he had cried out so worriedly, he was named Rudra (The Roaring god). He became the god of hunting, storms, and terror. His home would be within the moon, sun, fire, sky, water, earth, the heart, the senses, and meditation. He was also given eleven wives known as Rudranis. Their names were Diksha, Svadha, Iravati, Ambika, Ila, Sarpi, Niyut, Dhriti, Dhi, Rasala, and Uma.

   Since he was one of the Prajapatis, Rudra listened to his father and began to increase the population by a lot, with children and grandchildren who resembled him in looks and furious nature. with fire coming from their eyes, they tried t destroy the universe and Brahma became frightened. He told Rudra that he must not create children like this and that he must meditate to purify himself. Rudra obeyed and went off into the forests to begin penance.

   From his senses, Brahma created more of his children, who instantly became wise sages. They were named Kratu, Angira, Pulaha, Atri, Bhrigu, Pulastya, Marichi, Vashishta, Daksha, and Narada Muni.
   Desire and lust came from Brahma's heart; greed came from between his lips; religion came from his chest, while irreligion came from his back. Anger came from between his eyebrows; the oceans came from his lower body, as well as evil activities. Rishi Kardam emerged from his shadow and the goddess Vak, goddess of speech, came from his mouth. From his 5 mouths, the Vedas and Puranas (holy books/scriptures) were created.

   Brahma created a second body for himself and while he was thinking about what to create next, a man and woman emerged from his body and fell in love with each other. The woman was Shatarupa and the man was Swayambhuva Manu. They had 5 children. 2 sons named Uttanapada and Priyavrata, and 3 daughters named Prasuti, Devahuti, and Akuti. Prasuti married Daksha, Akuti married sage Ruchi, and Devahuti married Rishi Kardam. In this way, the universe became populated.

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The Creation of the Vedic Universe #Part 1

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When Brahma's lifetime ended, Lord Shiva opened his third eye to destroy the universe. The universe was also destroyed due to a great fire coming from the mouth of Lord Sheshnag. Because of the heat, the great sages in the planet Maharlok retreated to the higher planet of Janalok.

The fire burned for 100 celestial years, which is equal to 36 thousand earth years. After that followed another 100 celestial years of undescribable rain with powerful strong winds. It flooded and began filling up the universe with water until the three worlds were completely inundated. Lord Narayan lay at the bottom of the universe on the white coils of Lord Ananta Sheshnag, as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. He half-closed his eyes and went into a state of deep yoga-nidra, which is sleep meditation.

After one thousand yuga cycles, Lord Narayan focused on karma which is sprouted from his navel as a lotus flower. Then Virat-rupa appeared in his glowing form, which dried up all the water. Finally, the lotus flower bloomed, bringing Brahma into being. Because he couldn't see any cosmic manifestation, he looked all around him and upwards, creating 5 heads.

Brahma then wondered where he had come from. Surely there must have been a source for his lotus flower. But no matter how close he got to Vishnu's navel, he still couldn't figure out where the lotus came from. After going past his chakra, Brahma returned to his lotus and began to meditate. After 100 celestial years, he could see Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, whose body was the full length of the 3 worlds.

After seeing the magnificent divine at the bottom of the ocean, he came to the conclusion that he was seeing his creator. He asked him about the construction of the universe, which he was worried about. Lord Narayan advised him to always be fixed on him and he won't be nervous about populating the universe.

After Narayan vanished, Brahma did as he was told and meditated on him for another 100 celestial years. Brahma became both powerful and knowledgeable. Narayan entered Brahma's body as Kshirodakasyi Vishnu, which made him want to create. Brahma went into the whorl of his lotus and split it into 3 parts and later into 14.

Lord Narayan had already created 6 things, which were: knowledge, the forces of nature, sense perceptions, false ego, the controlling deities, and the ignorant darkness. Brahma then created 5 things for people to live through: the fake conception of life, sense of death and fear, self-deception, sense of ownership, and frustration.
     Brahma felt bad after creating these things, as he felt that they caused people to be sinful. So, he meditated, focusing on Narayan in order to purify himself before continuing to create.
     He then created attachment, death, madness, anger, ignorance, and envy. Disgusted, he took off that body of ignorance, which possessed some impure creatures. These creatures chased him and cried out "Eat him!" and, "Don't spare him!" Brahma couldn't teach his own creations, his sons, to protect him and not eat him. So, those who said that he should be eaten became Yakshas (demonic spirits of wealth), and those who said that he shouldn't be spared became Rakshasas (demons, evils, devils, monsters).

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