Nar & Narayan

In badrinath Dham there are two peaks behind the temple named as Nar & Narayan. In a previous incarnation the duo were supposedly born as the sages Nara and Narayana,and who performed great penances at the holy spot of Badrinath. Nara and Narayana were the avtar of Lord Vishnu. The twins were sons of Dharma and his wife Murti (Daughter OfDaksha) or Ahimsa..These two sages take avatars on earth for the welfare of mankind .There was an demon named Sahasra Kavacha. He had got boon of having 1000 Kavachas(armours).He had a boon that it will take 1000 Years to break each Kavacha, and the one ,who would break a Kavacha, would instantly die.Hence, first Narayana pennaced for 1000 Yrs and Nara fought 1000 Years with ShahasrKavacha and after 1000 Years, Nara was able to break his one Kavacha. As Nara broke the Kavacha,he died. But Narayan due his penance of 1000 Yrs could get back life of Nara and Narayan starts fighting and Nara starts penance for the next 1000 years.Nara and Narayana alternatively penace and fight for 1000 years and the cycle continued. At last, when they both were able to break 999 Kavachas. ShahasraKavacha hides himself behind the Surya with his last Kavacha due to fear that he would be killed by Nara and Narayana then. At this time, there was Pralaya(destruction) on earth due to the change of the Yuga. Thus ShashtraKavacha escapes death. In Dwapar Yuga,he was reborn as Karna with Kavacha and Nar and Narayan as Arjun and Krishna respectively.

Birth of Goddess Lakshmi

Sage Bhrigu was married to Khyaati who had two two sons Dhata and Vidhaata and a daughter Lakshmi. Lakshmi then married Lord Vishnu. This was the first appearance of goddess lakshmi. In her second appearance she appeared as the daughter of ocean. Once sage Durvaasa was wandering on the earth. He saw a beautiful girl with a garland. She presented the garland respectfully to the sage. Right at that moment, he saw Indra riding on Airaavat, the elephant. Instinctively, sage Durvaasa put that garland around the neck of Indra but Indra removed it and put it on Airaavat’s head. Airaavat pulled the garland with his trunk and smashed it on the ground. This whole sequence of events frustrated Durvaasa who cursed Indra that he will loose all his wealth. As a result Indra lost his wealth with a passage of time. Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi too didn’t stayed there. She made her abode in the abysmal depth of the sea. Very soon, the demons launched an attack on the gods and drove them out of heaven. Indra along with other gods approached Lord Vishnu. Pleased by their prayers, Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said-the only way to took out the lakshmi from the sea is to perform the churning of ocean with the help of demons. Following the advice of Lord Vishnu, the gods reconciled with the demons and convinced them to carry out the churning of the sea. Then they began the churning using Mandaraachal Mountain. As soon as the churning began, Mandaraachal began to sink. Lord Vishnu took incarnation of Kachchhap (the great tortoise) and bore the weight of the mighty mountain on His back. During the churning, Kamadhenu, the wishful cow was the first to emerge. It was presented to the sages as an aid for their Yagyas. It was followed by the Vaaruni devi, Kalpavriksha (the wishful tree) after which, beautiful apsaras appeared. The Moon followed the apsaras and was taken up by Shiva on His forehead. During the churning, huge quantity of poison had also emerged. It was drunk by Lord Shiva and some parts of it were taken up by the serpents. In the end, Dhanvantari himself emerged from the sea carrying the urn of ambrosia. It was during the churning itself that Lakshmi appeared once again from the sea holding lotuses in her hands. All the sages prayed her. Then taking bath with divine water, goddess Lakshmi took her seat in the heart of Lord Vishnu. When the demons saw that Lakshmi had chosen Lord Vishnu’s heart as her abode, they got perplexed. They at once snatched the urn from Dhanvantari and ran away. Then a row broke out among them over the drinking of ambrosia. Each of the demons wanted to drink ambrosia in maximum quantity. Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu also arrived there in the guise of an extremely pretty woman Mohini and took possession of the urn. Mohini had pleased the demons with her sweet smile while distributing ambrosia among the gods.Thus, the gods came to drink ambrosia. When at last, the demons realised that they had been cheated they immediately attacked the gods. But since the gods had regained their strength, they soon defeated the demons without much ado. Afterwards, the gods prayed Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven to rule it. Indra regain all his wealth. He prayed goddess Lakshmi with devotion and respect. Thus, Lakshmi had appeared as the daughter of Bhrigu and his wife Khyaati. Then second time, she emerged from beneath the sea during its churning. It is believe that one who read this story with devotion will never be deprive of wealth in his life.

Children of Dharm

13 daughters of Daksha married to Dharma.Their names were as follows
1. Shradha
2. Laxmi
3. Dhriti
4. Tushti
5. Pushti
6. Megha
7. Kriya
8. Budhi
9. Lajja
10. Vapu
11. Shanti
12. Sidhi
13. Kirti
They give birth to Kama, Darpa, Niyam, Santosh, Lobha, Shrut, Dand, Naya, Vinay, Bodh, Vyavasaay, Kshema, Sukh and Yash. Kama got married to Rati and produced Harsh. Darpa married Hinsa and produced a son Anrit and a daughter Nikriti. Anrit and Nikriti got married and produced Bhaya and Narak and their wives Maya and Vedana. Maya produced Mrityu, the destroyer of all the creatures in the world. Vedana produced a son, Dukh. Mrityu produced Vyadhi, Jara, Shok, Trishna and Krodh. These are all the fierce appearances of Lord Vishnu. The thirteenth wife of Dharma, Kirti, was the most blessed because she also gave birth to Nar and Narayan, who were incarnations of Vishnu. The two sages set up their hermitage at Vadrikashram, which is today known as Badrinath.

Top 10 Creations

The duty of creation was assigned to Lord Brahma. In the following order the creations were done
(1) First Creation is of Mahat-Tattwa(The great Element). It consist of three Gunas - Sat, Raj and Tam.
(2) Second Creation is of Ahankaar
(3) Third Creation is of Bhoot Sarg from which five Tanmaatraa (smell, Tej, sound, taste, and Roop - form) of five elements are created.
(4) Fourth Creation is of senses - Karm Indriyaan and Gyaan Indriyaan.
(5) Fifth Creation is of Devtaa - Lord of all ten senses, created by Saatwik Ahankaar; including Man (mind).
(6) Sixth creation is of A-Vidyaa (darkness, or A-Gyaan, or ignorance). It is of five types - Taamistra, Andh-Taamistra, Tam, Moh, and Mahaa-Moh. They cover the intelligence of Jeev.
These were the six Praakrit Creations. Now listen to Vaikrit Creations.
(7) Seventh Creation is of six types of immovable trees. Trees
Vanaspati - which give fruits without flowers, e.g. Goolar
Aushadhi - whose life span is only one time, they destroy once the fruit has ripened on them, e.g. rice, wheat, gram etc.
Lataa - creepers - which grow with the help of something, e.g. Braahmee, Giloy and other creepers
Twaksaar - whose bark is very hard, e.g. bamboo etc.
Veerudh - the creeps which spread on land only and because of being heavy do not climb upward, e.g. melon, watermelon, etc.
Drum - where fruits replace flowers, e.g. mango, Jaamun etc.
(8) Eighth Creation is of Tiryak Yoni - animals and birds. They are of 28 types. They do not know about the Kaal (time) because of the excess of Tamo Gun. They know only eating and drinking, sleeping, enjoyment, and reproduction. Their smelling power is very sharp, but they cannot think.
(9) Ninth Creation is of human beings. This is of one type only.
(10) Devtaa; Pitar; Asur; Gandharv and Apsaraa; Yaksh and Raakshas; Siddh; Chaaran and Vidyaadhar; Bhoot, Pret, and Pishaach; and Kinner, Kimpurush and Ashwamukh - is eight types of Dev Creation. In this category first of all from his body of ignorance he created the Yakshas (spirits) and Rakshasas . Not satisfied with this creation Brahma gave up this body, which became the night. That is why they become mre powerful at night. Then from his body he created the Devas .After that he shed his body which became day. Then from his buttocks he produced the Asuras. Brahma then cast of the body & the body took the form of the evening twilight When Brahma gave up his body of anger, the hair turned into several species of snakes and the body turned into the Nagas or a race of snake-men.
Thereafter, the singing Lord produced the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the celestial musicians and dancers. This body took the form of moonlight and the Gandharvas and the Apsaras claimed it for themselves. Moonlit nights are the time when the Gandharvas and the Apsaras come into their own. Next from his body of laziness Brahma created the Bhoots (ghosts) and the Pisachas (spirits). These ugly creatures took this body of Brahma, which became the sleep. These species took to haunting people in their sleep and driving them insane. From his invisible body he created the Sadhyas (the enlightened ones) and the Pitras (departed souls). It is through the medium of this invisibility that those versed in the rituals contact the Sadhyas and the Pitras. This body is also called “antardhana” which means being present but invisible, so that the Sadhyas and the Pitras can see what is happening but themselves cannot be seen. From his reflection in the water Brahma created the Kinnaras and the Kimpurushas, a crossbreed species that specialized in moving from place to place, singing ballads. The cast of reflection of Brahma became the daybreak. .Then, by turns, the Lord produced birds from His age, sheep from chest, goat from His mouth, cow from belly, horse, elephant, donkey, deer, camel, from feet . From the innumerable body hair of the Lord, fruits, flowers and herbs were produced. From His east-facing head, Lord produced Gayatri mantra, Rigveda, and Yagyas. From His south-facing head, He produced Yajurveda. From west-facing head, He produced Samaveda and from His north-facing head, He produced Atharvaveda.

Budhvaar ki kahani

The fast is observed to promotes happiness in life. The devotees listen to this story before breaking the fast. Wednesday is also connected with Planet Mercury. Once there was a newly-wed. On a Sunday, he went to his father-in-laws house to take his wife with him. It was the first time after marriage. He was welcomed by the in-laws and was provided with best food and bedding. He forgot the outside world as he enjoyed the hospitality offered to him Monday and Tuesday were spent in other pastimes. It was now Wednesday. He told his mother-in-law, I have an urgent piece of work today. You send your daughter with me Immediately. But today is Wednesday. Mercury is not favourable to girls on Wednesday. It is considered inauspicious sending daughters in their in-laws house. I shall not send my daughter today, said the mother-in-law. The son-in-law was adamant. He insisted on leaving the same day. The in-laws agreed to send their daughter with him. They arranged a chariot for the couple. Soon, the couple reached near a township. The girl was thirsty. She said to her husband, I am very thirsty. Please arrange some cold water for me. The husband agreed and went towards the township. Another youngman resembling her husband brought water for her. She could not distinguish between the two. She took him for her husband and had a good chat with him. In the meanwhile, her real husband appeared on the scene. He was surprised to see his wife chatting . Both the males quarrelled among themselves and claimed the lady as their wife. To resolve the issue they went to the king and told the whole story. The king asked his minister to administer justice. The minister said to the constable, It is late evening. Lock them up in separate cells. Arrange strict night watch. I will give my judgement tomorrow.All the three were locked up in separate cells. It was dead of night. The real husband was very restless. Next morning the guard narrate the behaviour of the prisoners to minister. The minister said, The man who had a restless night is the real husband. His wife should be restored to him. He should be freed. Produce the second person in my court. The guards went to the prison cell. They set free the real husband and his wife. They were happy to be together again. The guards went to the other youngman. His cell was empty though locked from outside. The minister smiled and said, The missing prisoner is Mercury. Mercury rules on Wednesdays. This man challenged Mercurys authority. He felt offended and disguised himself as her husband to teach him a lesson. Today Is Thursday. Jupiter rules on Thursdays. Mercury disappeared exactly at sunrise. So, next time never send your daughters to their in laws on Wednesday.

Creation of Universe

During the period of Pralay, the nature exists in a state of equilibrium. There was neither day nor night, neither earth nor sky and neither darkness nor light. It is during this period that Purush (masculine forces of creation) separates from Prakriti (feminine forces of creation) and Kaalroop of God (eternal, unending form of the Lord) is visible. Purush is the first appearance of Lord. Prakriti is the sign of His action while Kaalroop is His supreme appearance. The Lord entered the Purush who is beyond all bonding. His entry is the first step. From here Prakriti infuse the Purush and sets the process of creation further.

Let’s put it in different way. In this world every thing is made up of something. Objects are made of compounds. Compounds are made of molecules. Molecules are made of atoms. Atoms are made of particles. While one evolves out of the other, all of these levels of reality coexist and interact with one another. So too, is the construction of the human being. While the human is made of physical material, we are also constructed of subtler levels of reality, which are products of the invisible, primal essence called Prakriti in Sanskrit. Prakriti, which can be loosely described as unmanifest, primordial matter. This Prakriti ("matter") is infused with pure consciousness, which is called Purusha. Everything else emerges from Prakriti, and then is infused with Purusha. So, for example, all the levels of manifestation of the human are Prakriti, but have life due to the infusion of Purusha. Prakriti meant “that which give shape” Purusha is pure consciousness that sets the entire process of creation. Now how Prakriti forms different tools for itself, this is explain in following steps

Stage I-First of all, a single great element originated encompassing all the other lesser elements.

Stage-II From this great element originated three egos- Sattvic, Rajas and Taamas.

Stage-III Taamas created the subtle matter called tanmaatra. It’s name was sound

Stage-IV Sound created.sky

Stage-V The sky then created the sense of touch. Touch produced air. Hence, touch is the main feature of air; no one can see air but only have an experience of it through touch.

Stage-VI Air created Roop, which gave birth to fire with Roop as its main virtue.

Stage VII- Fire gave birth to taste. Taste produced water with taste as its main property.

Stage-VIII From water originated scent, which produced earth with scent as the main feature.

Stage IX The ego Rajas produced ten sense organs

Satge X Every organ has a ruling deity. But the ruling deities of these organs were produced by Sattvic ego

Stage XI The eleventh entity mind are Sattvic in nature. So mind control all the 10 senses

Prakriti
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Budhi

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Ego

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Satwik Rajsik Taamsik

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10 senses         5 tanmatra

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5 MahaBhoot(Sky,Air,Fire,Water,Earth)

All these elements have unique powers. Without their combination, creation of the universe was impossible. In the beginning, all these elements were present in the great egg, which came into existence because of the inspiration of the Lord. As this ball increased in size, it formed the base as Prakriti in which, Lord Vishnu Himself entered as Hiranyagarbh.

Narad-The Wanderer

It was the duty of Lord Brahma to create the world. In the initial round he created the many creatures with the help of his mental resolution. That is why they were known as “ Manas Putra”. The word manas means “mind”. King Daksha was one amongst them. Lord Brahma ordered Daksha to create universe by the help of copulation. Daksha Prajapati then married Asikti - the daughter of Veerni. Five thousand sons, were born to them, they were known as “Haryashrav”. But Narad played the trick. He brainwashed the minds of all the sons and directed them to follow the path of salvation rather than path of creating universe. As a result they didn’t took participation in increasing the number of population. After that, Daksha married Panchajani from whom were born thousand of son called as “Shabalashrav”. Again Narad played the same trick. All of them went in search of their brothers and followed the path of salvation and never returned back. Narada had changed their mind. They became wanderers. When Daksha Prajapati came to know he became very furious with Narada and cursed him to become an eternal wanderer. He said- "You will never remain at a place for long because you have misguided my sons to became wanderers" . Also from that day it is believe that it is inauspicious to go in search of a lost person by his brothers

King Prithu-The Avtar of Lord Vishnu

In the lineage of the king Dhruv, was a king named Anga. Anga's wife was Sunita. They had a son named Vena. Since childhood Vena was evil by nature. Hence he grew up to become a very cruel ruler. After many attempt he could not able to change his attitude and his cruelty became aggravate day by day. One day the Sapt Rishis killed him for the sake of Dharma. They decided to churn his body to produce new king . From the legs of the dead king (whose body had been preserved), a dwarf was born. He was known as Nisada and his descendants were called the Naisadas. They inhabited the hills and forests and became hunters and fishermen. But Nisada had served the purpose of removing the evil from Vena's body so that a righteous king could be produced. This time the sages churned the arms of Vena's body and a couple was born. The male, Prithu, was an incarnation of Vishnu. The extremely beautiful female, Arci, was an incarnation of Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort). After Prithu had ruled for some time, the citizens approached him and said that they were starving because the earth refused to yield crops. Instead it gobbled up their seeds. Prithu took up his bow and fixed an arrow on it directed at the earth. As the earth saw him, she turned into cow and fled, afraid like a deer chased by a hunter. No matter where she went, Prithu was there. Realising that it was impossible to escape, she pleaded for mercy. As per the wishes of the earth, still in a cow's form, a calf was arranged for and out of affection for the calf, the earth gave plentiful milk to one and all. She soon began to yield crops and other material much needed by mankind. From this time onwards the earth came to be known as "Prithvi" or the daughter of Prithu.

The lineage of King Prithu was as follows

Dhruv –Vatsara– Pushparna– Vyustha–Sarvateja–Chakshusha– Ulmuka– Anga– Vena

Bara Kaun?

Narada was extremely devoted Lord Vishnu. Once he had a doubt in his mind. Did his master, Lord Vishnu too consider Narada to be his most devoted disciple? He approached Lord Vishnu and put the question before him. Lord Vishnu told Narada that one farmer in a certain village was his most dedicated devotee. Narada became angry. To look into the matter he reached the village to observe the farmer. The farmer rose early in the morning. After completing his morning tasks he left for the fields. On the way he stopped at a temple and offer his prayer and left in few seconds. He worked hard through out the day. On the way back he again stopped at the temple for a few seconds. Narada watched the farmer for the next seven days but found no change in the man's activities. Narada rushed back to Vishnu's abode, and complained that how can a man who devote just few seconds could be greater devotee? Lord Vishnu said "I'll answer your questions later, In order to complete a ritual that I have undertaken for the welfare of the people of the world, I need you to go around the universe carrying this cup full of oil. But you must be extremely careful not to spill a single drop else all my efforts will be wasted." .Full with pride at being the chosen one, Narada set off. He started concentrating block out all thoughts from his mind to ensure that no oil fell from the cup. He returned in due course and returned the cup to his master told that not a drop had been spilt. Lord Vishnu inquired, "Narada, during your journey how many times did you remember me?" Narada humbly replied, "I didn’t remember you because I was doing your work ".Lord Vishnu explained, "The farmer who lives his life of poverty with no protection from the heat or cold and with bare food throughout the year, never complain but takes time twice a day to remember me. He does not ask for wealth or greatness but thanks me for what he has. This is why he, and many others like him, are my most loved devotees." Narada had learnt his lesson .

Freedom from Curse

According Puraan ,at the foot of the Trikut hill was a deep lake. A huge crocodile lived there. One day an elephant came there for a bath. The crocodile took the elephant's leg in his jaws and began to drag him deep into the lake. Despite all his attempt the elephant could not able to set himself free. The elephant, sensing that he was losing the battle, prayed to the supreme god Vishnu for assistance. There was no response.. The crocodile kept on pulling the elephant into the lake. Elephant was on the brink of death. Then he prayed Lord Vishnu for the last time. At this moment he mounted Garuda and came there to help elephant. Lord Vishnu kill crocodile with the help of chakra.
Both the elephant and the crocodile had been humans in their previous lives. The elephant was Indradyumna, a pious king. Once he was in a reflective mood and he did not greet the sage Agastya who had come to meet him. Agastya was famous for his rash temper and he changed the king into an elephant for this indecency. Indradyumna attained freedom from the cycle of rebirth after this encounter. The crocodile was a Gandharva chief named Huhu. Huhu was bathing in this lake with a crowd of Gandharva women. The sage Dewala was standing in the water meditating. To impress the women in his company he playfully pulled the sage by his leg. The sage cursed Huhu and changed him into a crocodile. Thereafter Huhu lived in the lake as a crocodile until he was restored to his Gandharva form by the sacred touch of Vishnu's disc. Because he had died at Vishnu's hands, he too secured a permanent place in heaven.