ASTRONOMY The earth is made up of five elements (bhuta). These are earth, wind sky, water and energy.

There are seven regions in the underworld (patala). These are known as atala, sutala, vitala, gabhastala, mahatala, shritala and patala. The ground in atala is dark in colour; in sutala it is pale; vitala has ground that is red; in gabhastala the ground becomes yellow; in mahataka it is white; there are numerous stones and boulders in shritala; but in patala, the ground is laced with gold. Snakes and demons live in the underworld. Atala is ruled by the demon amuchi; sutala by the demon !aha"ambha; vitala by the demon #rahlada; gabhastala by the demon $alanemi% mahatala by the demon &irochana; shritala by the demon $esari; and patala by the demon &ali. The great snake &asuki lives in shritala and the great snake Shesha lives in patala. (&asuki is a king of the snakes (nagas). 'e was the son of (aksha)s daughter $adru and the sage $ashyapa. *sually, &asuki and Shesha are regarded as synonymous, the name Ananta also being used.) The eyes of the snake Shesha are like red lotuses. 'is comple+ion is white and he wears blue is thousand hoods glow with radiance. ,ust as ther are seven lokas which consitiute the neither regions, there are seven lokas which constitute the upper regions. The universe consists of fourteen lokas. The seven loka which form the upper regions are named bhuloka, bhuvarloka, svaroka, maharloka, "analoka, tapaloka and satyaloka. The smallest unit of time is a nimesha, the time it takes of the eyes to blink. -ifteen nimeshas constitute a kashtha, thirty kashitas are a kala, thirty kalas make a muhurta and there are thirty muhurtas in the space of one night and one day (ahoratra). The thirty muhurtas in a day are divided into ten units, each unit consisting of three muhurtas. The unit that corresponds to the time of sunrise is known as prata (dawn). The ne+t unit is called sangava (forenoon). -orenoon is followed by madhyahna (noon). e+t come aparahna (afternoon) and sayahna (evening). These five units made up of fifteen muhurtas, form the day. There is an e.ual number of muhurtas in the night. This should not be taken to mean that day and night are always e.ual. Sometimes the day is longer than the night and sometimes the night is longer than the day. (ay and night are e.ual twice a year. These two occasions are the precise midpoints of early autumn (sharat) and spring (vasanta). -ifteen days make up one paksha (fornight) and there are two pakshas in every masa (month). Two masas form a ritu (season) and three ritus are called an ayana. There are therefore two ayanas in every varha (year). The months !agha, -alguna, /haitra, &aishakha, ,yaishtha and Ashada are referred to as uttarayana. /orrespondingly, the months Shravana, 0hadra, Ashvina, $artika, Agrahayan and #ousha are referred to as dakshinayana. Svayambhuva !anu had two sons named *ttanapada and #riyavrata. #riyavrata)s descendants have already been mentioned. *ttanapada had a son named (hruva. (hruva pleased &ishnu through his tapasya and obtained the boon that a place would be reserved for him in the sky. (hruva became the #ole Star. This is in the constellation of

Shishumara (*rsa !inoris or the 1ittle 0ear). The moon, the sun, the planets and the stars, all revolve around (hruva. The sun)s chariot is made of gold and is drawn by seven horses. These horses are named 2ayatri, Trishtupa, Anushtupa, ,agati, #amkti, &rihati and *shnika. There are twelve adityas. 3n each month, two adityas, two sages. Two gandharvas, two apsaras and two rakshasa (demons) ride on the sun)s chariot together with the sun. This is as follows. (i) The months /haitra and &aishakha 4 the adityas (hata and Aryama; the sages #ulastya and #ulaha; the gandharvas Tumburu and arada; the apsaras $ratushthala and #pun"ikasthala; and the rakshasas 'eti and #raheti. (ii) The months ,yaishtha and Ashada 4 the adityas !itra and &aruna; the sages Atri and &ashishtha; the gandharvas 'aha and 'uhu; the apsaras !enaka and Saha"anya; and the rakshasas #ourusheya and &adha. (iii) The months Shravana and 0hadra 4 the adityas 3ndra and &ivasvana; the sages Angira and 0hrigu; the gandharvas &ishvavasu and *grasena; the apsaras #romlacha and imlocha; and the rakshasa &yaghra and Shveta. (iv) The months Ashvina and $artika 4 the adityas #ar"anaya and #usha; the sages 0haradva"a and 2outama, the gandharvas &ishvavasu and Surabhi; the apsaras &ishvachi and 2hritachi; and the rakshasas Apa and &ata. (v) The months Agrahayana and #ousha 4 the adityas Amsha and 0haga; the sages $ashyapa and 5itu; the gandharvas /hitrasena and *rnayu; the apsaras *rvashi and &iprachitti; and the rakshasas &idyut and Sfur""a. (vi) The months !agha and -alguna 4 the adityas Tvashta and ,ishnu; the sages ,amadagni and &ishvamitra; the gandharvas (hritarashtra and Suryavarcha; the apsaras Tilottama and 5ambha; and the rakshasas 0rahmopeta and 6a"nopeta. The moon)s chariot is drawn by ten horses. These horses are named 6ayu, Trimana, &risha, 5a"i, 0ala, &asa, Turanya, 'amsa, &yomi and !riga. 0udha)s (!ercy) chariot is drawn by eight horses; Shukra)s (&enus) by ten; !angala)s (!ars) by eight; and 0rihaspati)s (,upiter) and Shani)s (Saturn) also by eight. SHIVAS BLUE THROAT !any years ago, in satya yuga, the sage &ashishtha met $artikeya, the son of Shiva and #arvati. 'aving worshipped $artikeya, the sage said, 7#lease tell me how Shiva)s throat came to be blue.8 73 do know the answer and 3 will satisfy your curiosity,8 replied $artikeya. 73 was once on !ount $ailasa, sleeping on my mother)s lap. 3 heard my mother, #arvati, asked my father how his throat came to blue. And 3 will relate to you Shiva)s reply. The gods and the demons once got together and decided to churn the ocean (samudra manthana). The gods and the demons were desirous of obtaining the amrita (a life4giving drink) that was e+pected to emerge as a result of the churning of the ocean. 0ut when the churning began, some terrible poison came out and the gods and the demons were despondent at the sight of this poison, since they thought that it would destroy them all. They therefore fled to 0rahma for protection. 79hy are you so despondent:8 asked 0rahma. 7A terrible poison named kalakuta has emerged as a result of the churning of the ocean; replied the gods and the demons. 73t is threatening to destroy the entire universe. 3t has even turned the great &ishnu)s

comple+ion black.8 7The only solution is to pray to Shiva,8 said 0rahma. 7'e alone can deliver us from the effects of this terrible poison.8 0rahma and the other gods started to pray to Shiva. Shiva was pleased at these prayers and appeared. 'e swallowed up the poison. 0ut such was the strength of the poison that it made Shiva)s throat blue. The word nila means blue and kantha means throat. Since Shiva became blue of throat, ever since that day, he has been known as ilakantha. VEDAVYASA The sages re.uested 1omaharshana, 7#lease tell us how the sacred &edas came to be divided.8 1omaharshana recounted the following story. 9hen dvapara yuga arrived, 0rahma noticed that people were becoming evil and were no longer paying sufficient attention to the &edas. They were gradually deviating from the righteous path. 0rahama decided that the &edas needed to be divided so that their wisdom might be disseminated amongst people. 0rahma accordingly instructed $rishna (vaipayana &edavyasa to divide the &edas into four parts. &edavyasa had five disciples. These were ,aimini, Sumantu, &asihampayana, #aila and 1omaharshana. The four parts into which the &edas were divided were known as the 5ig &eda, the Sama &eda, the 6a"ur &eda and the Atharva &eda. #aila was taught the 5ig &eda, ,aimini the Sama &eda, the 6a"ur &eda and Sumantu the Atharva &eda. 7As for me.8 continued 1omaharshana, 7the great &edavyasa taught me the #uranas.8 #aila passed on what he had learnt to the sages 3ndrapramti and &ashkali. They were #aila)s disciples. 3ndrapramati)s disciple was !arkandeya. -rom !arkandeya the knowledge passed successively to Satyashrava, Satyashita, Satyarata and Satyashri. Satyashri had three disciples named Shakalya, 5athitara and 0haradva"a. 7Shakalya was so proud that his vanity led to his destruction at the time of $ing ,anaka)s horse sacrifice,8 said 1omaharshana. 79e don)t know the story,8 responded the sages. 79hat is this horse sacrifice that you are talking about: #lease tell us the story.8 This is the story that 1omaharshana told. $ing ,anaka organi;ed an ashvamedha ya"na (horse sacrifice). #eople came from far and near to attend the ceremony and numerous were the sages who graced the occasion with their presences. $ing ,anaka began to wonder if there was any way of finding out who was the best among all the assembled sages. 'e devised a plan. ,anaka decided to donate a thousand head of cattle, a thousand gold pieces, many villages and several servants. 'e then told the sages, 73 have gathered all these rices as a tribute to knowledge. 0ut 3 am unable to decide who amongst you is the most learned. 9hy don)t decide for yourselves: 1et the person who is the most superior among you claim all this wealth for himself.8 'earing this, the sages started to fight and argue. <ach wanted the wealth for himself. Therefore, each sage maintained that he was superior to all the others. Amongst the sages was the great sage 6a"navalkya and 6a"navalkya told his disciple, 7Take all this wealth to my home. 3 am the most learned amongst the sages. 3 have studied the &edas really well. 3 will debate with anyone who dares to challenge me and establish my supremacy. The other sages were naturally not at all pleased to hear these words and they began to debate with 6a"navalkya. <ven though all the sages combined against 6a"navalkya, they were no match for him and 6a"navalkya easily defeated them.

6a"navalkya then addressed the sage Shakalya. 79hat about you, Shakalya:8 he asked. 79hy have you kept .uiet: 3 know that you are full of vanity about your learning. 9hat about debating with me:8 73t is you who are proud and vain,8 retorted Shakalya. 73 will bring you down a peg or two. 3 am certainly going to debate with you.8 The debate started. Shakalya asked 6a"navalkya more than a thousand .uestions, but 6a"navalkya provided the right answers to all of these .uestions. 'e then told Shakalya, 73 will ask you a single .uestion. 3f you cannot give me the right answer. 3 curse you that you will die. Shakalya did not know the answer to the .uestion that 6a"navalkya asked. 'e therefore died. 0ut prior to these events having taken place , Shakalya had composed five sacred te+ts known as Samhitas. And he had taught these to his disciples !udgala, 2oloka, $haliya, !atsya and Shaishireya. 1omaharshana coninued with 6a"navalkya)s story. &edavyasa taught the 6a"navalkya)s story. &edavyasa taught the 6a"ur &eda to &aishampayana. &aishampayana composed si+ty4si+ samhitas and taught them to his disciples. These disciples came to be known as the charakas. 79hy did these disciples come to be known as the charakas:8 the sages asked 1omaharshana. 1omaharshana recited the following story. There was an occasion when an important religious rite had to be performed. All the sages agreed to meet on !ount Sumeru so that they might decide on the modus operandi for observing this religious rite. 3t was also agreed that any sage who failed to attend the assembly on !ount Sumeru would be regarded as guilty of having committed a sin. And the sin would be e.uivalent in severity to the sin committed from killing a brahmana. -or various reasons, &aishampyana could not attend the assembly. -or a sin that was e.uivalent to the sin committed in killing a brahmana. &aishampayana had to perform severe penance. This involved the observance of a difficult religious rite (vrate). &aishampayana told all his disciples, 7#lease help me in the observance of this difficult vrata.8 Amongst &aishampayana)s disciples was 6a"navalkya. 6a"navalkya said, 79hy are you bothering all these disciples: !y powers of tapasya are such that 3 alone can perform what is re.uired. &aishampayana regarded this as unwarranted vanity on his disciple)s part. 'e therefore told 6a"navalkya that he no longer wished to have 6a"navalkya as a disciple. 6a"navalkya should also return whatever it was that he had learnt from &aishampayana. 6a"navalkya therefore vomited out his knowledge of the 6a"ur &eda. To re4ac.uire the knowledge of the &edas, 6a"navalkya started to meditate. 'e prayed to the sun4god, Surya. -rom Surya, 6a"navalkya came to ac.uried knowledge of the 6a"ur &eda. 6a"navalkya taught this knowledge of the 6a"ur &eda. (Shuka 6a"ur &eda.) 6a"navalkya taught this knowledge to fifteen of his disciples. These disciples were named $anva, &aidheyashali, !adhyandina, Shapeyi, &idigdha, Apya, *ddala, Tamrayana, &atsya, 2alava, Shaishiri, Atavi, <ni, &irani and Saparayana. 9hy were &aishampana)s disciples known as the charakas: The word acharana means act. Since &aishampayana had committed an act that was the e.uivalent of killing a brahmana, his disciples came to be named /harakas.

1omaharashana also told the sages that he himself had taught the #uranas to si+ of his disciple. These disciples were Sumati, Akritavrana, 0haradva"a, !itrayu, Savarni, and Susharma. MANVANTARAS 1omaharshana ne+t told the sages about the various manvantara (eras). <ach of 0rahma)s days is referred to as a kalpa (cycle) and that there are fourteen manvantaras in each kalp. <ach manvantara is ruled over by a !anu and lasts for a duration of =>,?@,A>,>>> years. The gods, the seven great sages and the individual who holds the title of 3ndra change from one manvantara to another. 3n the present kalpa, si+ manvantaras have already passed. The first !anu was Svayambhuva. The second !anu was Svarochisha. The gods then were the tushitas and the paravatas, and there were twenty4four such gods. &aidha ruled as 3ndra then and the seven great sages were *r""a, Stambha, $ashyapa, 0hargava, (rona, 5ishabha and Angira. The third !anu was Buttama. The gods then were the sudhamanas, the devas, the pratardanas, the satyas and the shivas. The fourth !anu wa Tamasa. The gods of this manvantara were the satyas, the svarupas, the sudhis and the haris. Shibi held the title of 3ndra then, and the names of the seven great sages were $avya, 'arsha, $ashyapa, #rithu, Atreya, Agni and ,yotirdhama. The fifth !anu was 5aivata. The names of gods of this era were the vipras, the amritias, the supatis and various others. The 3ndra of this period was &ibhu and the seven great sages were #oulastya, &edavahu, 6a"uh, 'iranyaroma, &edashri, 0hargava and *rddhavahu. The si+th !anu was /hakshusha. The gods then was the adyas, prasutas, the bhavyas, the prithukas and the lekhas. !ano"ava held the title of 3ndra and the seven great sages were 'avirdhana, Sudhama, &ashishtha,&ira"a, #oulastya, #oulaha and !adhuratreya. The present !anu is known as &aivasvata and this is the seventh manvantara of the present kalpa. The gods of this era are the adityas, the vasus, the rudras, the sadhyas and the vishvadevas. The title of 3ndra is held by #urandara and the seven great sages are &ishvamitra, ,amadagni, 0haradva"a, Sharadvata, 2outama, Atri, &asumana, and &atsari. There will be seven more manvantaras in the future before the universe is destroyed. The eighth !anu will be Savarni. The seven great sages then will be 2alava, 0hargava, (vaipayna, $ripa, (iptimana, 5ishyashringa and Ashvatthama. The gods will be the amitabhas, the sutapas and the sukhas, and the title of 3ndra will be bestowed on &ali, the son of &irochana. The ninth !anu will be !erusavarani or (akshasavarni. Adbhuta will hold the title of 3ndra then. The seven great sages will be Skanda, !edhatithi, &asu, ,yotishmana, (yutimana, 'avyavahana, Sutapa and &asita. The tenth !anu will be (harmasavarni. The gods then will be the sukhamanas and the viruddhas. The title of 3ndra will be held by Shanti and the seven great sages will be 'avishmana, Sukirti. Atri, Apamurti, #ratipa, abhaga and Abhimanyu. The eleventh !anu will be 0havasavarni (alternatively known as 5udrasavarni). The gods then will be the nirmanaratis, the kama"as and the mano"avas. The seven great sages will be 'avishmana. &apushamana, &arnui, 0haga, #ushti, ishchara and Agnite"a and &risha will hold the title of 3ndra. The twelfth !anu will be 5itasavarni. The gods then will be the haritas, the rohitas, the sumanas, the sukarmas and the suparas. The title of 3ndra will vest with 5itadhama and

the seven great sages will be $riti, Sutapa, Tapomurti, Tapasvi, Taposhayana, Taporati, and Tapomati. The thirteenth !anu will be 5ouchya. The sutramas, the sudharmas and the sukarmas will be the gods then. (ivaspati will be the 3ndra and the seven great sages will be (hritimana, #athyavana, Tattvadarshi, irutsaka, ishprakampa, irmoha and Svarupa. The fourteenth and final !anu will be 0houtya. VENA AND PRITHU The si+th !anu was /hakshusha. Bne of /hakshusha)s descendants was the great king #irthu, the son of &ena. /hakshusha had a son named *ru and *ru had a son named Anga. Agna maried Sunitha, and they had a son named &ena. &ena was evil and when he became the king, he started to oppress the world and his sub"ects. The sages had no option but to kill &ena. The sages then began to knead &ena)s dead body. 9hen the right arm of the dead body was kneaded, #rithu was born. 'e emerged fully grown and with a bow and several arrows held in this hand. 'e as also dressed in invincible armour. Such was #rithu)s radiance that he bla;ed like the flaming sun. The sages interrupted 1omaharshana. 7'ow came &ena to be evil:8 they asked. 7And if &ena was evil, why wasn)t #rithu evil as well:8 they asked. &ena)s mother was Sunitha and Sunitha was the daughter of !rityu was really evil. 5ight from his birth, &ena tended to associate with this maternal grandfather and thus picked up evil ways. 'e stopped believing in the &edas . 3n fact, when he become king, &ena instructed that all ya"nas should cease in his kingdom. There was no need to pray to the gods. The only person who was deserving of worship was &ena himself. The sages tried to persuade &ena to give up his evil ways and bring him back to the righteous path, but &ena refused to listen. 3t was then that the sages slew &ena. 0ut &ena had no son. 9ho would be king in his place: There had to be a king, otherwise the kingdom would degenerate into anarchy. To obtain a son, the sages started to knead the dead body. 9hen the left arm was kneaded, a dwarf was born as a result of the kneading. The dwarf was dark in comple+ion and e+ceedingly ugly. 7Sit,8 the sages told the dwarf, 7nishida.8 (The word nishida means Cto sit)). All the evil that was in &ena)s body went into the body of the dwarf and the dead body was cleansed of all evil. The dwarf came to ac.uire the name of nishada from the word nishida. 'is descendants were also known by the same name and became a race of hunters and fishermen. They lived in the &indhya mountains. Thus, when the dead body was kneaded again, there was no more evil left and #rithu came to be righteous. The word prithu means plump. Since &ena)s right palm was fairly plump and since &ena)s son was born when the right palm was kneaded, the son ac.uired the name of #rithu. The sages arranged for #rithu)s coronation. The waters of all the rivers and all the oceans were brought for this ceremony. All the gods graced the occasion by their presence. Thus it was that #rithu came to rule over the entire earth. 'e ruled well and his sub"ects prospered. The earth yielded an abundant supply or foodgrains. The cows were full of milk. 3t was at the time that 0rahma organised a ya"na. Two classes of people known as the sutas and the magadhas were born from this ya"na. They were actually cross4breeds. The

sutas were, for e+ample, the offspring of kshatriya fathers and brahmana mothers. The sages asked the sutas and the magadhas to compose and sing songs in praise of the great king #rithu. <ven since that day, the sutas and the magadhas became raconteurs who sung songs in praise of kings. The sutas were asked to live in the region known a Anupa and the magadhas in the region known as !agadha. 'owever, #rithu)s sub"ects still did not possess any specific occupations. They therefore went to their king and said, 7#lease tell us how we may make a living.8 To achieve this end, #rithu decided to level out the earth. 0ut the earth was scared and, adopting the form of a cow, started to flee. This angered #rithu and he pursued the earth with his bow in his hand. 9herever in the three worlds the earth fled to. #rithu followed. 'e was determined to kill the earth. -inally, the earth sought refuge with #rithu himself. 7#lease do not kill me,8 she said. 73 am a woman and killing a woman is a crime. 0esides, if you kill me, how will your sub"ects make a living: 3 have a better idea. 3 have adopted the form of cow. !ilk me instead and your ob"ective will be attained.8 #rithu did what the earth had asked him to. 'e milked the earth. As a result of this milking, seeds of foodgrains emerged and people could make a living out of these. #rithu also used his bow to level out the earth. &illages and cities could now be built in the plains. <arlier, these had been unknown. Agriculture, animal husbandry and trade had also been unknown earlier. 3t was after #rithu that the earth came to be known as prithivi. This milking of the earth was in addition to the original milking of the earth that 0rahma had performed. 3n fact, the earth was milked once in every manvantara. THE PRACHETAS #rithu had a son named Antardhana and Antardhana)s son was 'avirdhana. 'avirdhana)s son was #rachivarhi. #rachinavarhi married Savarna, the daughter of the ocean. #rachinavarhi and Savarna had ten sons known as the #rachetas. The #rachetas were interested in meditating. They performed tapasya for thousands of years under the oceans. They were actually supposed to rule the earth. As long as the #rachetas meditated, they did not rule. The earth became dense with forests. Trees grew everywhere and so dense was the growth that the wind could not blow. -or the ten thousand years that the #rachetas meditated, their sub"ects suffered. The news of this mishap eventually reached the #rachetas and their anger was roused. Such was the fury of their anger that flames issued from their mouths and burnt up all the trees. Soma was the god of the trees. 9hen Soma saw that all the trees were being burnt up, he tried to pacify the #rachetas.

7#lease restarin your anger,8 he said. 73t is time for you to devote attention to getting married and having children so that the world might be populated. 3 have with me a woman named !arisha, a daughter of the trees. #lease accept her as your wife.8 The ten #archetas married !arisha and a son named (aksha was born. DAKSHAS DESCENDANTS (aksha)s descendants have already been mentioned in the section on creation. The &ayu #urana now gives an account which is, in certain respects, contradictory to the earlier account. (aksha married Asikli, the daughter of &irana, (aksha and Asikli had a thousand sons named the 'aryashva. 0ut the sage arada persuaded the 'aryashvas that there was nothing to be gained by being interested in the material world. These sons therefore forsook the world and went away to meditate. (aksha and Asikli then had another thousand sons known as the Shavalshvas. 0ut arada persuaded these sons also to go away and meditate. Thereafter, (aksha and Asikli had si+ty daughters. Ten of these daughters were married to (harma. Twenty4seven daughters were married to the moon4god, /handra. These were the twenty4seven nakshatras (stars). Their names were Ashvini, 0harani, $rittika, #ushya, Ashlesha, #unarvasu, #urvafalguni, *ttarafalguni, !agha, 'asta, /hitra, Svati, ,yestha, &ishakha, Anuradha, !ula, #urvashada, *ttarashada, Shravana, *ttarabhadrapada, 5evati, 5ohini, !rigashira, and Ardra. -ourteen of (aksha)s daughters were married to the sage $ashyapa and all living beings in the universe are descended from $ashyapa. The daughters who were married to $ashyapa were named Aditi, (iti, (anu, $hasa, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, &inata, Tamra, $rosdhavasha, 3ra, $adru, and !uni. Aditi had twelve sons known as the adityas. These were the gods. Surabhi pleased Shiva with her tapasya and obtained the eleven rudras as her children. She was also the mother of all horses, cows, buffaloes and other .uadruped animals. DITIS CHILDREN (iti)s sons were known as the daityas (demons). (iti originally had two sons named 'iranyakashipu and 'iranyaksha. 'iranyakashipu was the elder. $ashyapa once organi;ed an ashvamedha ya"na (horse sacrifice). All the gods and the sages came to attend this sacrifice. A golden throne had been prepared for the chief priest. (iti was also present on the occasion then. She had, at the time, been bearing a baby for ten thousand years in her womb. 9hen all arrangements had been made for the sacrifice, the baby was born. The newly born baby ascended the throne reserved for the

chief priest and immediately began to recite the &edas. 3t was this baby who came to be known as 'iranyakashipu. 'iranyakashipu hung upside down for one lakh years and prayed to 0rahma. Through this period, he fasted. This act of tapasya so pleased 0rahma that he granted 'iranyakashipu a boon whereby the demon became invincible. Thus fortified, 'iranyakashipu started to oppress the world. 'e drove the gods out of heaven. 'iranyakashipu was eventually killed by &ishnu in his narasimha (half4man half4lion) incarnation. 'iranyakashipu had four sons named #rabhlada, Anuhlada, Samhlada and 'lada. 'lada)s son was Sunda and Sunda)s wife was Tadaka. 3t was this Tadaka whom 5ama (in the 5amayana) killed. Tadaka)s son was !uka. !uka was killed by Ar"una (in the !ahabharata). #rahlada)s son was &irochana and &irochana)s son was &ali. &ali was defeated by &ishnu in his vamana (dwarf) incarnation. &ali had a son named &ana. As for 'iranyakashipu)s brother 'iranyaksha, he had five sons. They were named *tkara, Shakuni, $alanabha, !ahanabha and 0hutasantapan. 'iranyaksha was killed by &ishnu in his varaha (boar) incarnation. 'iranyakashipu and 'iranyaksha had a sister named Simhika. (iti noticed that her sons and their descendants were suffering at the hands of the gods, often with the connivance of &ishnu. She therefore did her best to please her husband $ashyapa. $ashyapa was eventually satisfied and agreed to grant (iti a boon. 7#lease grant me the boon that 3 may have a son who will kill 3ndra.8 said (iti. This was slightly awkward for $ashyapa. The gods were also his sons, from his other wife Aditi. 'e told (iti that she would have to observe cleanliness for a hundred years. 3f she succeeded in doing this, she would indeed give birth to a son who would slay 3ndra. 0ut if she failed, the son would become 3ndra)s friend and companion. This condition (iti accepted. (iti started to perform tapasya so that she might have the son she wanted. 0ut 3ndra had got to know about what (iti was after. 'e hung around the hermitage, helping his aunt by fetching fruits, roots and wood from the forest. 0ut this attempt at aiding his aunt was merely a prete+t. 3ndra was the lookout for some unclean act that (iti might commit. inety4nine of the hundred appointed years passed. 3t was then that (iti made her first mistake. She was so tired that she fell asleep, resting her head on her thighs. 3n the process, her hair touched her feet. This was an unclean act. 3n a flash, 3ndra sei;ed his opportunity. ow that (iti had committed an unclean act, he

could freely enter her body. 'e entered (iti)s womb and found the baby there. 3ndra possessed a weapon known as the va"ra. 9ith the va"ra, 3ndra sliced up the baby into seven parts. The parts began to cry and 3ndra said, 7ma ruda,8 which means, 7don)t cry.8 0ut the parts continued to cry and 3ndra carved up each of the parts into seven more sections. There were thus forty4nine parts in all. !eanwhile, (iti had woken up and she begged 3ndra not to kill her sons. 3ndra agreed. The sons were born. 0ecause of the words indra had uttered, they came to be known as the maruts. Thanks to $ashyapa)s boon, they became friends and constant companions of 3ndra. They were elevated to the status of gods. KASHYAPAS OTHER CHILDREN 9hat of $ashyapa)s wife (anu: 'er sons came to be known as the danavas (demons). !uni gave birth to the gandharvas (singers of heaven) and apsaras (dancers of heaven). &inata had two sons named Aruna and 2aruda. Their sisters were the mothers of all the birds. $adru gave birth to the snakes (nagas). /hief among them were Shesha, &asuki and Takshaka. $hasa gave birth to sons. These sons were e+ceedingly ugly. The yakshas (demi4gods who were companions of the god $ubera) were descended from the elder brother and the rakshasas (demons) were descended from the younger brother. Surasa)s sons were other rakshasas. 3ra was the mother of all trees and herbs. $rodhavasha gave birth to the ghosts (pishachas). Tamra)s children were wild animals. THE ANCESTORS 79ho are the ancestors:8 asked the sages. 1omaharshana recounted the following story. 9hen 0rahma first started to created, the gods were born. These gods not only did not worship 0rahma, they started to create themselves. 0rahma therefore cursed them that they would become ignorant. The gods did not relish this idea, they therefore tried to pacify 0rahma. 76ou will have to perform penance for your sins.8 said 0rahma. 7As for the means of penance, why don)t you ask the beings whom you have created: They will instruct you in the ways of wisdom.8 The sons accordingly instructed the fathers. A person who instructs is known as a father (pita). The sons of the gods according became like the fathers of the gods and are revered as the ancestors (pitris). 3t is these pitris who are given offerings at the time of shraddha (funeral) ceremonies. 3n general, the pitris also include dead ancestors and the ten pra"apatis who rule over the universe.

The ancestors had a daughter named !ena who was married to 'imavana (the 'imalayas). !ena (alternatively !enaka) and 'imavana had three daughters named Aparna, <kaparna, and <kapatala. These three daughters meditated for two thousand years. <kapatala meditated under a snake4gourd (patala) tree. <ach day, she ate only one (eka) snake4gourd. 3t was thus that she came to ac.uire the name of <kapatala. The word parna means leaf. <kaparna ate only one leaf every day and thus ac.uired her name. Aparna ate nothing at all. Since she did not eat even a leaf, she came to be known as Aparna. Aparna was also known as *ma. And even as #arvati, since she was the daughter of the mountain (parvata) 'imavana. #arvati was married to Shiva. Their son was Skanda or $umara. Skanda got separated from his parents and was brought up by the $rittikas (goddesses or nakshatras). 'e therefore obtained the name of $artikeya. THE SOLAR LINE The sun4god Surya was born as the son of $ashyapa and Aditi. Surya was born as an egg (anda). -or days on end, nothing happened to the egg and the shell did not crack. &ishvakarma was the architect of the gods. 9hen &ishvakarma found that nothing was happening to the egg, he cracked it open with a blow. $ashyapa was initially alarmed at this act, since he thought that the son who was inside the egg might have died. 0ut he soon discovered that this was not the case and remarked, 7the egg (anda) has not died.8 -rom this e+pression, the son who was born came to be known as !artanda. As !artanda, Surya named Sam"na, &ishvakarma)s daughter. They had two sons and a daughter. The sons were named 6ama and &aivasvate (this was the one who became a !anu). The daughter was 6ami (or 6amuna). 0ut so strong was the sun)s radiance that Sam"na could not bear to look at her husband. She eventually thought of a way out. She created an image who looked e+actly like her. This image was called /hhaya (shadow). 73 am going off to my father)s house,8 replied Sam"na. 7#lease stay here and pretend to be Sam"na. Take care of my children and under no circumstances divulge that you are /hhaya. 73 will do what you ask,8 said /hhaya. 70ut there is a condition. 3 will not relate the truth as long as 3 am not cursed or as long as no one grasps me by the hair. 0ut the moment this condition is violated, 3 will reveal all.8 Sam"na agreed to this condition and left for &ishvakarma)s house. 3nitially, &ishvakarma was .uite happy to see his daughter. 0ut days passed and Sam"na did not return to her husband. &ishvakarma now reali;ed that something must be amiss and ca"oled his daughter to return to Surya. A thousand years passed. -inally, Sam"na could bear her

father)s scolding no longer. #retending to return to her husband. She left &ishvakarma)s house. She adopted the form of a mare and started to live in the region known as *ttarakuru. !eanwhile, Surya had not reali;ed that Sam"na had been substituted by /hhaya. Surya and /hhaya had parented two sons and a daughter. The sons were Savarni (who would become a !anu) and Shani (the planet Saturn) and the daughter was Tapati. /hhaya was clearly more attentive towards her own children than towards Sam"na)s. &aivasta did not mind this at all. 'e was the eldest and more collected and balanced. 0ut 6ama resented this apparent partiality. 3n a fit of childish petulance, he kicked /hhaya. 76ou have dared to kick your father)s wife,8 said /hhaya. 73 therefore curse you that your feet will decay. 3t is with these feet that you have kicked me.8 6ama went and complained to Surya. 'e had sinned, but he was no more than a child. !ight his transgression not have been overlooked on that account: 0esides, whatever the provocation, does a mother ever curse her own son: Surya did what he could to mitigate the effects of the curse. 0ut he also reali;ed that something must be wrong. 9hen he demanded to know the truth from /hhaya, she revealed nothing. 0ut when Surya threatened to curse her and grasped her by the hair, the conditions /hhaya had made were violated. /hhaya now revealed the truth. Surya went to &ishvakarma)s house to find out where Sam"na was. 'earing what had happened, &ishvakarma offered to slice off some of the sun)s energy. 3t was, after all, the sun)s great radiance that had motivated Sam"na to do what she had done. Surya was not averse to this idea and his appearance was greatly improved by &ishvakarma)s action. Surya got to know that Sam"na was in the *ttarakuru kingdom in the form of a mare. 'e adopted the form of a horse and "oined his wife there. As horses, Surya and Sam"na had two sons named asatya and (asra. Since the word ashva means horse and since these two had been born when their parents had adopted the forms of horse, they were also known as the two Ashvinis. They became the physicians of the gods. After the Ashvinis were born, Surya and Sam"na returned to their original forms. &aivasvata !anu was the eldest son of Surya and Sam"na. &aivasvata !anu performed a ya"na so that he might have a son. 0ut instead of a son, a daughter named 3la was born. Therafter, nine sons were born to &aivasvata. They were 3kshvaku, Sharyati, arishyanta, #ramshu, abhaga, $arusha, and #rishadhra. ahusha, (hrishta,

The kings of the solar line (surya vamsha) were descended from 3kshvaku. 3n this line was born 5ama of the 5amayana fame.

DHUNDHU 3n the solar line there was a king named &rihadashva. 'e had twenty4one thousand sons. The eldest son was known as $uvalashva. 9hen &rihadashva aged, he decided to retire to the forest with his wife. As for the kingdom, he resolved that he would hand it over to $uvalashva. 0ut as the coronation ceremony was about to take place, a sage named *tanka arrived in the capital. *tanka told &rihadashva, 7$ing, please do not retire to the forest "ust yet. 3f you do so, we will not be able to to meditate in peace. !y hermitage is on the shores of the ocean and the seashore is fre.uented by a terrible demon named (hundhu. 'e is so powerful that even the gods cannot van.uish him. 'e hides under the sand and meditates. 'e e+hales his breath once every year and when he does so, all hell breaks loose. Terrible sandstorms are unleashed and the sun is shrouded in dust. -or an entire week there are earth.uakes. 6ou cannot go away without doing something about (hundhu.8 72reat sage,8 replied &rihadashva, 73 have given up my weapons. 3t would be most improper for me to take them up once again. As for (hundhu, take my son $uvalashva with you. 3 am sure that he will van.uish the demon.8 $uvalashva and his twenty4one thousand brothers accompanied *tanka. They came to the shores of the ocean and started to dig up the sand in their search for (hundhu. 9hen the demon got to know about this, he unleashed a terrible storm. Tidal waves raged. -lames licked with tongues of fire. (hundhu)s soldiers attacked $uvalashva and his brothers. All the brothers e+cept three were killed. 0ut (hundhu had not reckoned with $uvalashva. The storm, the waves and the fire could do $uvalashva no harm. 'e killed the demon and thus ac.uired the name of (hundhumara. The sage *tanka blessed him. TRISHANKU -urther down the line, there was a king named Trayaruna. 'is son was Satyavrata. Satyavrata was e+ceedingly strong. 0ut such was his desire for riches, that he committed many sins. 'is father Trayaruna therefore decided to banish him. Trayaruna)s chief priest was &ashishtha and the sage also supported the king)s decision. 72o away,8 Trayaruna told his son. 73 do not wish to have a son who is like you.8 79hat will 3 do and where will 3 live:8 asked Satyavrata. 72o and live with the chandalas (outcasts),8 his father replied. Satyabrata went and started to live with the outcasts. 3n due course. Trayaruna retired to the forest and there was no king to rule over the kingdom. 3n the absence of a king,

anarchy prevailed. -or twelve long years it did not rain and there was a terrible drought. -amine raged. At the time, the sage &ishvamitra had gone away to the shores of the great ocean to meditate. The sage)s wife found it difficult to make both ends meet. There was no food to be had. She had no option but to sell off one of her sons in e+change for a hundred head of cattle. 9ith this wealth she proposed to feed herself and her remaining sons. The person to whom the son was sold, tied a rope around the son)s neck (gala) and proceeded to drag him away from the market4place. The son thus came to ac.uire the name of 2alava. Satyavrata discovered what was happening. 'e rescued 2alava and he also made arrangements to ensure that &ishvamitra)s wife and sons did not suffer in the sage)s absence. The entire family was looked after by Satyavrata. Satyavrata killed deer and other wild animals in the forest. 'e brought the meat to 2alava)s family. 'e also tended to his father who had retired to the forest. Bne one particular day, there was no game to be had. The sage &ashishtha possessed a cow. Satyavrata was not at all enamoured of &ashishtha. The sage had, after all, recommended that Trayaruna banish his son. Satyavrata therefore stole &ashishtha)s cow and slew it. 'e ate the meat himself and also fed part of it to &ishvamitra)s family. &ashishtha was furious to learn this. 'e cursed Satyavrata. 76ou have committed three sins (shanku),8 he said. 76ou have stolen that which belonged to others. That is your first sin. 6ou have caused unhappiness to yur father. That is your second sin. And you have stolen and killed my cow. That is your third sin. Since you have committed three (tri) sins. 3 curse you that henceforth you will be known as Trishanku.8 After the twelve years of drought were over, &ishvamitra returned from his wanderings and was delighted to learn that Trishanku had taken care of his family in his absence. (espite &ashishtha)s opposition, &ishvamitra arranged for Trishanku)s coronation. As a sage, &ishvamitra had ac.uired great powers. 'e used these powers to send Trishanku to heaven in his mortal body. This was such a wonderful act that everyone marvelled at it. SAGARA -rom Trishanku was descended a king named &ahu. &ahu was so addicted to material pursuits that he paid no attention to ruling his kingdom properly. &ahu)s enemies sei;ed the opportunity to defeat him and deprive him of his kingdom . &ahu and his wife fled to the forest. /hief among these enemies were the 'aihayas. 0ut they were aided by the Tala"anghas, the Shakas, the 6avanas, the #aradas, the $ambo"as and the #ahlavas. &ahu was old when this happened. !oreover, he was so grief4stricken at having lost his kingdom that he had lost all desire to live. 'e died in the forest.

$ing &ahu had two wives. Bne of these was named 6adavi. The second wife was "ealous of 6adavi and attempted to kill her by administering some poison. The poison however did 6adavi no harm. 9hen &ahu died, 6adavi decided to immolate herself on her husband)s funeral pyre. 0ut the sage Burva intervened. 7#lease do not do that,8 he re.uested 6adavi. 76ou are e+pecting and the act of killing the unborn baby would be a crime. 1ive and let him live. -or, he will rule well and will defeat his father)s enemies.8 #ersuaded by Burva, 6adavi did not kill herself. She began to live in the sage)s hermitage. 3n due course, she gave birth to a beautiful boy. 9hen the baby was born, the poison (gara) also emerged. Since the word sa means together with, the boy was given the name of Sagara. Burva took great interest in Sagara)s upbringing and education. 'e taught the boy the &edas and the art of fighting. There was divine weapon known as agneyastra. Sagara also learnt how to use this wonderful weapon from Burva. 9hen Sagara grew up, he decided to tackle his father)s enemies. The knowledge of the divine weapon had made him close to invincible. 'e defeated the 'aihayas, the Shakas, the 6avanas, the $ambo"as, the #arada and the #ahlavas. 0ut when he threatened to kill them all, these enemies sought refuge with the sage &ashishtha. The sage asked Sagara to spare them and saved their lives. 0ut they had to be given some sort of punishment. Sagara decreed that the Shakas would have half of their heads shaved off. As for the 6avanas and the $ambo"as, their heads were completely shaved off. The #aradas were instructed that they would have to sport long hair and the #ahlavas were forbidden to shave their beards. $ing Sagara thus con.uered this enemies and became the ruler of the entire world. 'e decided to perform a horse sacrifice to celebrate his victory. Sagara had two wives. They were named $eshini and Sumati. Sagara did not have any sons and his wives pleases Burva with their prayers. Burva granted them boons that they would have sons. The stipulation however was that one wife would give birth to a single son who would ensure that the line went on. 0ut the other wife would have si+ty thousand sons who would perish before having any children of their own. $eshini desired the single son and accordingly gave birth to Asaman"a. Sumati gave birth to a gourd. The gourd was reserved in a vat of clarifed butter. After nine months had passed, si+ty thousand sons came out of the gourd. Sagara)s sons prospered. 9hen a horse sacrifice is performed, a horse is left free to wander where it wills. At the time when Sagara organi;ed the horse sacrifice, he appointed his sons to look after the horse. These sons insulted the sage $apila and were burnt into ashes.

THE LUNAR LINE /handra or Soma was th son of the sage Atri. Atri was a very powerful sage. 'e was always busy meditating. -or three thousand years he performed tapasya, with his arms raised up into the air. 'e stood there, immobile like a tree4trunk. As a result of this wonderful tapasya, energy issued out of his body. The goddesses who preside over the ten directions assimilated this energy and produced /handra. 3t was in this sense that /handra was the sage Atri)s son. 0rahma gave /handra a divine chariot to ride on. This chariot was drawn by one thousand white horses. /handra ascended the chariot and rode around the earth twenty4 one times. 9hile he was doing so, some energy from his body fell down on the earth. This was the origin of the herbs. 0rahma appointed /handra ruler over herbs, seeds, brahmanas and the water. /handra performed a royal sacrifice (ra"asuya ya"na). The success of this ceremony however served to turn /handra)s head. The preceptor of the gods was 0rihaspati and 0rihaspati)s wife was named Tara. Although /handra had already been married to twenty4seven of (aksha)s daughters, he abducted Tara. The gods and the sages re.uested /handra to return Tara, but he would not listen. A terrible fight then raged between the gods and the demons, the gods fighting on 0rihaspati)s side and the demons on /handra)s. After Tara)s name, this samgrama (war). -inally, 0rahma intervened and sorted the matter out. /handra returned Tara to 0rihaspati. 0ut /handra and Tara had a son named 0udha. 6ou will remember 3la, &aivasvata !anu)s daughter. 0udha married 3la and their son was called #ururava. #ururava was the originator of the lunar line. PURURAVA AND URVASHI #ururava was a good king who performed many ya"nas. 'e ruled the earth well. *rvashi was a beautiful apsara. #ururava met *rvashi and fell in love with her. 7#lease marry me,8 he re.uested. 73 will,8 replied *rvashi, 70ut there is a condition. 3 love these two sheep and they will always have to stay by bedside. 3f 3 ever lose them, 3 will remain your wife no longer and will return to heaven. !oreover, 3 shall live only on clarified butter.8 #ururava agreed to these rather strange conditions and the two were married. They lived happily for si+ty4four years. 0ut the gandharvas who were in heaven felt despondent. 'eaven seemed to be a dismal place in *rvashi)s absence. They therefore hatched a conspiracy to get her back. Bn an appropriate occasion, a gandharva named &ishvavasu stole the two sheep. As soon as this happened, *rvashi vanished and returned to heaven.

#ururava pursued &ishvavasu and managed to retrieve the sheep, but by then, *rvashi ahd disappeared. The miserable king searched throughout the world for her. 0ut in vain. <ventually, #ururava came across *rvashi near a pond in $urukshetra. 79hy have you forsaken me:8 asked #ururava. 76ou are my wife. /ome and live with me.8 73 was your wife,8 replied *rvashi. 73 no longer am, since the condition was violated. 'owever, 3 agree to spend a day with you.8 9hen one year had passed, *rvashi returned to #ururava and presented him with the son she had borne him. She spent a day with him and vanished again. This happened several times and, in this fashion, *rvashi bore #ururava si+ sons. They were named Ayu, Amavasu, &ishvayu, Shatayu, 2atayu and (ridayu. YAYATI 3n the lunar line, there was a king named ahusha. 'e had si+ sons and the youngest was named 6ayati. After ahusha, 6ayati became king. 6ayati had two wives. Shukracharya was the preceptor of the gods and 6ayati married (evayani, Shukracharya)s daughter. The king of the danavas was &rishaparva and he had a daughter named Sharmishtha. 6ayati also married Sharmishtha. (evayani gave birth to 6adu and Turvasu and Sharmishtha gave birth to (ruhya, Anu and #uru. 6ayati loved Sharmishtha more. Shukracharya therefore cursed 6ayati that he would suffer from the untimely onset of old age. 9hen this happened, 6ayati was miserable. 'e was still not content with what he had savoured of the pleasures of life. 'e told his son 6adu, 7#lease take my old age and give me your youth in return. 3 will return your youth to you when 3 have finished pleasuring the "oys of the world. 7That 3 will not,8 replied 6adu. 76our old age is due to your own sins. 9hy on earth should 3 accept it: #lease ask my brothers instead.8 These words angered 6ayati and he curses 6adu that 6adu or his descendants would never be kings. 6ayat ne+t asked Turvasu, but again met with a refusal. A similar curse was therefore imposed on Turvasu and on (ruhya and Anu after him. The only son who readily accepted 6ayati)s re.uested was #uru. 6ayati blessed #uru and took his youth from him. Armed with this borrowed youth. 6ayati savoured the pleasures of the world and also performed many ya"nas. 9hen a thousand years had thus passed. 6ayati got tired of material pursuits. 'e returned #uru)s youth and got back his own old age. 6ayati retired to the forest, after having crowned #uru the king.

As for 6adu, he was given some minor kingdoms that lay to the west. 3n similar fashion, Turvasu was given some kingdoms towards the south4east. (ruhya and Anu received kingdoms that lay towards the west, as had 6adu. The descendants of 6adu were known as the 6adavas. 3n this line was born $rishna. Also in this line was born $artavirya Ar"una. KARTAVIRYA ARJUNA There used to be a king named $ritavirya and $ritavirya)s son was known as $artavirya Ar"una. Ar"una performed tapasya for thousands and thousands of years. Through this meditation, he pleased the sage (attatreya and obtained four wonderful boons from the sage. The first boon gave Ar"una a thousand arms. The second boon gave him the power to use his persuasion to bring back evil people to the righteous path. The third boon was that he would con.uer the entire earth and rule it according to the dictates of righteousness. The fourth and final boon was that Ar"una would meet his end at the hands of an individual who was in very way his superior. 'aving obtained these boons, Ar"una con.uered the whole earth and ruled it well. 'e performed ten thousand wonderful ya"nas. The gods, the sages, the gandharvas and the apsaras always attended these ceremonies. 'e ruled for eighty4seven thousand years. Bne of Ar"una)s ama;ing deeds was his defeat and capture of 5avana, the king of 1anka. The sun4god, Surya, once came to visit Ar"una in the disguise of a brahmana. 73 am hungry,8 said Surya. 7#lease give me some food to eat. 3 will reward you well. 3 am Surya.8 79hat sort of food will please you:8 asked Ar"una. 79hat will 3 bring:8 73 want to eat up all the material ob"ects that there are on earth,8 replied Surya. 7#lease burn them up so that 3 may eat my fill.8 7'ow do you e+pect me to burn up all these ob"ects:8 asked Ar"una. 73 am only a human and have very limited powers.8 Surya then gave Ar"una many divine arrows and a wonderful .uiver to keep these arrows in. These arrows had the property that they burst into flames as soon as they were shot. 9ith these arrows, Ar"una burnt up everything and Surya ate his fill. 'ermitages, villages, cities and forests burned. &aruna was the god of the oceans and &aruna had a son named Ashvina. This son performed a lot of tapasya and became a sage named &ashishtha or Apava. &ashishtha performed tapasya under the water for ten thousand years. 9hen he finished his meditations and returned to his hermitage, he found that the entire place had been burnt up by Ar"una. &ashishtha was greatly incensed. 7Since you have not spared my hermitage, 3 curse you,8 said &ashishtha. 7 o one who bears your name will ever again become a king. There will be a #andava named Ar"una, the son of $unti. 0ut he will not be a king simply because he will bear your name. 3 also curse you that you will be killed by #arashurama.8 Ar"una was eventually killed by #arashurama. THE GODS AND THE DEMONS

The gods and the demons did not like each other and fought several wars with each other. There were twelve such terrible wars. Bn one particular occasion, the demons were defeated by the gods. <+tremely disheartened, they went to visit their preceptor, Shukracharya. (son of sage 0hrigu.) The demons told Shukracharya. 79e have been defeated by the gods. 9e have no option but to go and reside in the underworld.8 7(on)t be so disconsolate,8 replied Shukraacharya. 73 will protect you. 3 know that 0rihaspati, the preceptor of the gods, has obtained wonderful powers by praying to the fire4god, Agni. The gods thrive on these powers. 3 will pray to Shiva and obtain powers that can counteract these. Till 3 come back, please be patient. 9hy don)t you give up arms and live as hermits till 3 return:8 The demons agreed to this proposition. They informed the gods that they had given up arms and that the gods could do as they willed. They had become hermits and would not fight. !eanwhile, Shukracharya started to pray to Shiva. Shiva appeared before Shukracharya and discovered what the sage desired. Shiva was prepared to grant these powers, sub"ect to a condition being met. Shukracharya would have to meditate for a thousand years. And throughout this period, he would not be allowed to speak and would have to live on smoke. Shukracharya began this process of meditation. The gods got to know what was happening and decided that this was the opportune time to attack the demons. 79hat are you doing:8 said the demons. 79e have given up arms. This is not the time to fight.8 0ut the gods would not listen. The demons therefore fled to 0hrigu)s wife and asked her to protect them. Through her powers, the saintly woman completely paralysed 3ndra so that he could not move. At the sight of what had happened to their leader, the gods fled in disarray. 79hy are you running away:8 asked &ishnu. 7As for you, 3ndra, enter my body. 3 will take you away from this place.8 3ndra entered &ishnu)s body and &ishnu proceeded to take him away. This angered 0hrigu)s wife and she threatened to burn up both 3ndra and &ishnu. 0ut before this could happen, &ishnu sliced off the lady)s head with his sudarshana chakra (a bladed4discus). 0hrigu was aghast at this act. 7$illing a woman is a sin,8 he told &ishnu. 76ou have committed a crime. -or this crime, 3 curse you that you will have to be born several times on earth. As for my wife, through my powers 3 will resurrect her.8 This is what 0hrigu did and this act terrified 3ndra. 'e got e+tremely worried that once Shukracharya returned, there would be no way of controlling the demons. 3ndra had a daughter named ,ayanti. 'e told her, 7Shukracharya is meditating. #lease go and try to distract him. !ake sure that his meditation is not successfully completed.8 ,ayanti did as her father had asked her to. She started to fre.uent Shukracharya)s hermitage and served him faithfully. 3n due course, Shukracharya)s meditation was completed and he obtained the desired boon from Shiva. Bnce this task was accomplished. Shukracharya noticed ,ayanti.

79ho are you and what are you doing here:8 he asked. 79hy have you been serving me thus: 3n any case, 3 am pleased with what you have done for me. #lease tell me what boon you desire.8 70e my husband for ten years,8 answered ,ayanti. Shukracharya agreed. Shukracharya and ,anati had a daughter named (evayani. !eanwhile, 0rihaspati adopted Shukracharya)s form and started to live with the demons. The demons were naturally glad to have their teacher back. They did not reali;e that the person whom they took to be their teacher was actually 0rihaspati. After the ten years were over, Shukracharya returned and found that the demons were following 0rihaspati. 79ho is this person whom you are following:8 he asked. 72ive him up. 3 am the real Shukracharya.8 7 ot at all,8 retorted 0rihaspati. 73 am the real Shukracharya.8 The demons did not know what to make of this. The two looked e+actly alike and there was absolutely no way of telling them apart. <ventually they concluded that the person with whom they had been associating for the past ten years must be their real guru (teacher). This choice so angered Shukracharya that he left in a huff. 9hen the demons reali;ed their mistake, they sought to pacify Shukracharya and bring him back. 0ut the harm had already been done. The demons could not e+ploit the powers that Shukracharya had gained. VISHNUS INCARNATIONS 0ecause of 0hrigu)s curse, &ishnu had to be born several times on earth. These are known as avataras (incarnations). The &ayu #urana now catalogues &ishnu)s ten incarnations. These are as follows. (D) !atsya or fish. (A) arasimha or half4man and half4lion (=) &amana or dwarf. (E) (attatreya, the sage. (F) 0havya. (?) #arashurama. (@) 5ama. (G) &edavyasa. (H) $rishna. (D>) $alki. EPILOGUE 1omaharshana finished his recital of the &ayu #urana and told the assembled sages, 76ou are indeed lucky. 6ou have heard that which is most sacred. This holy act will undoubltedly take you straight to heaven. A person who listens to a recital of this sacred te+t is rewarded with wealth, health and a long life. All the sins that a listener may have committed are forgiven. (o you know how the knowledge of this #urana was passed down through the ages: 3t passed from &ayu to *shana, from *shana to 0rihaspati, from 0rihaspati to Savita, from Savita to !rityu, from !rityu to 3ndra, from 3ndra to &ashishtha, from &ashishtha to Sarasvata, from Sarasvata to Tridhama, from Tridhama to (hanan"aya, from (hanan"aya to $ritan"aya, from $ritan"aya to Trinan"aya, from Trinan"aya to 0haradva"a, from 0haradva"a to 2outama, from 2outama to iryantara, from iryantara to &a"ashrava, from &a"ashrava to Somashushma, from Somashushma to

Trinavindu, from Trinavindu to (aksha, from (aksha to Shaktri, from Shaktri to #arashara, from #arashara to ,atukarna and from ,atukarna to &edavyasa. 3 learnt the #urana from the great &edavyasa himself. This is a lineage of sages that is truly sacred.8

'ome
The Bhavishya Purana The Bhavishya Purana is the eleventh among the Puranas and it contains five parts. The first part contains a description of the genesis, greatness of the deities and worship of Lord Vishnu, Shiva and Surya. Second, third and fourth parts describe about the greatness of Shiva, Vishnu and Surya respectively. It gives very accurate forecasts about Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, the fall of Sanskrit and coming of other languages, about the coming of Buddha, Madhavacharya, handragu!ta, Ashoka, "ayadeva and #rishna haitanya and about #utubuddin $ the Sha%s ruling &elhi' The fifth part contains a description of the heaven. Li e other Puranas, Bhavishya Purana also contains a description of the ancient ings and !handra and Surya dynasties. Interestingly, Bhavishya Purana contains a description of a game that resembles modern chess to a great e"tent. In all, the sub#ect matter of Bhavishya Purana seems to be an attempt to prove and establish the supremacy of Brahma. The Bhavishya Purana is an ancient te"t authored by Sri Veda Vyasa $uni, the compiler of the Vedic te"ts. It is listed among the eighteen ma#or Puranas. Bhavishya means %future% and Purana means %history%, so the te"t&s name would translate literally as %The 'istory of the (uture%. Though the te"t was written many thousands of years before the recorded events too place, by the power of his mystic vision, Sri Vyasa was able to accurately predict the happenings of the modern times. )ne of the te"t&s poetic styles is to present the events as though they have already happened. This is a common practice in Sans rit poetry, and does not indicate that the boo was written in modern times. $odern westernised scholars, who eep cooing about the forecasts of *ostradamus, re#ect the contents of Bhavishya Purana mostly on the grounds that its information is too accurate. But we should as ourselves+ If there was an empowered saint, who new past, present and future, and if he chose to write a boo named %the 'istory of the (uture%, shouldn&t it contain accurate information about the modern times, as the title suggests, -e cannot dis.ualify it simply because it spea s accurately of the British controlling India, 'itler fighting the world, and $a" $ueller misrepresenting the Vedic teachings. %Veda% means nowledge, and the Vedic te"ts contain nowledge of everything / past, present and future. This Purana consists of 0 chapters. -e are giving giving bellow some of the available translations. (('( Biblical and Modern )istory 1(rom the Pratisarga Parva, !hapters (our to Seven.2 Suta 3oswami said+ )nce upon a time in 'astinapura, Pradyota the son of

4shema a was leading an assembly and meanwhile the great sage *arada arrived there. 4ing Pradyota happily honored him. 'aving him seated on the seat the sage told ing Pradyota, %5our father was illed by the mlecchas, therefore he attained 5amalo a or the hellish planet. If you perform a 6mleccha/ya#na7, then by the effect of this sacrifice your father will attain the heavenly planets.% 'earing this ing Pradyota immediately called the best of the learned Brahmanas and started 6mleccha/ya#na7 in 4uru setra. They built a ya#na/ unda which was 89 yo#anas in s.uare :8;< miles=. They meditated on the demigods and offered oblations of mlecchas. There are haras, hunas, barvaras, gurundas, sa as, hasas, yavanas, pallavas, roma#as and those who are situated in different dvipas and in amaru, china and the middle of the ocean> all of them were called with the mantra and burnt to ashes. Then he :the ing= gave da shina :donation= to the brahmanas and performed abhise a. ?s a result his father 4shema a went to the heavenly planets. ?fter that he became famous everywhere as a mleccha/hanta or destroyer of mlecchas. 'e ruled the earth for ten thousand years and went to heaven. 'e had a son named Vedavan who ruled for two thousand years. ?t that time the 4ali purusha prayed to Lord *arayana along with his wife. ?fter sometime the Lord apperared to him and said, %This age will be a good time for you. I will fulfil your desire having various inds of forms. There is a couple named ?dama and his wife 'avyavati. They are born from Vishnu/ ardama and will increase the generations of mlecchas. Saying this, the Lord disappeared. 'aving great #oy the 4ali purusha went to *ilacha Vyasa said+ %*ow you hear the future story narrated by Suta 3oswami. This is the full story of of 4ali/yuga, hearing this you will become satisfied.% In the eastern side of Pradan city where there is a a big 3od/given forest, which is 89 s.uare yo#anas in si@e. The man named Adama was staying there under a Papa/Vri sha or a sinful tree and was eager to see his wife 'avyavati. The 4ali purusha .uic ly came there assuming the form of a serpent. 'e cheated them and they disobeyed Lord Vishnu. The husband ate the forbidden fruit of the sinful tree. They lived by eating air with the leaves called udumbara. ?fter they had sons and all of them became mlecchas. ?dama&s duration of life was nine/hundred and thirty years. 'e offered oblations with fruits and went to heaven with his wife. 'is son was named Sveta/nama, and he lived nine/hundred and twelve years. Sveta/ nama&s son was ?nuta, who rulled one/hundred years less than his father. 'is son 4inasa rulled as much as his grandfather. 'is son $alahalla ruled eight/hundred ninety five years. 'is son Virada rulled 89A years. 'is son 'amu a was devoted to Lord Vishnu, and offering oblations of fruits he achieved salvation. 'e ruled B9C years and went to heaven with the same body being engaged in mleccha/dharma. 'aving good behavior, wisdom, .ualities li e a brahmana and worship of 3od, these things are called mleccha/dharma. The great souls have declared that the dharma of the mleccha is devotion to 3od, worship of fire, nonviolence, austerity and control of the senses. The son of 'amu a was $atocchila. 'e ruled for D0A years. 'is son Loma a ruled 000 years and went to heaven. 'is son *yuha :*oah= ruled for CAA years. 'e had three sons named Sima, Sama and Bhava. *yuha was a devotee of Lord Vishnu.

)nce the Lord appeared in his dream and said+ E$y dear *yuha, please listen, there will be devastation on the seventh day. Therefore, you have to be very .uic that you ma e a big boat and ride in it. ) chief of the devotees, you will be celebrated as a great ingF. Then he made a strong boat which was *++ feet long, ,+ feet %ide and *+ feet high. :In the Bible the ?r is described as, %Its length was BAA cubits, its width was CA cubits, it had three stories and its height was BA cubits.%= It was beautiful and all the living entities could ta e shelter in it. 'e then himself rode in it, engaged in meditating on Lord Vishnu. Lord Indra called the devastating cloud named Sambarta a and poured heavy rain continuously for GA days. The whole earth, Bharat/varsa, had merged in the water and four oceans came up together. )nly Visala or Badari asrama was not submerged. There were <A,AAA great transcendentalists in Visala who #oined with ing *yuha and his family. ?ll of them were saved and everything else was destroyed. ?t that time all the sages praised the eternal energy of Lord Vishnu. Being pleased by the prayers of the sages, the Vishnu/maya reduced the waters of devastation. ?fter one year gradually the earth become visible. Hnder the hill there is a place named Sisina and the ing was situated in that place with his other people. -hen the water completely dried up, ing *yuha came bac to his place. Suta 3oswami continued+ The mleccha, ing *yuha became attached to Lord Vishnu and as a result Lord Vishnu increased his generation. Then he created a language fit for the mlecchas, unfavorable to the Vedas. 'e named it as brahmi/ bhasha, or brahmi language, full of bad words, for increasing the degradation of 4ali/yuga. The Lord who is 'imself the master of intelligence gave this language to *yuha. *yuha named his tree sons opposite. They were nown as Sima, 'ama, 5a uta and also 5a uta, Sapta putra, Iumara and $a#uya. The name of their countries were nown as $adi, 5unana, Stuvaloma, Tasa and Tirasa. 'ama who was the second son of his father, had four sons now as 4usa, $isra, 4u#a and 4anaam. 4usa had si" sons / 'avila, Sarva, Toragama, Savati a, *imaruhaI and $ahavala. Their sons were nown as 4amala, Sinara and Hra a. ?nd their countries names are ? vada, Bavuna and Jasana. ?fter telling this story Suta 3oswami influenced by 5oga/nidra entered mystic slumber. 'e wo e up after two thousand years and thereupon he said+ E*ow I7m going to say about the generation of Sima. Because he was the first son of his father he became the ing. This mleccha ing ruled over the country for CAA years. 'is son ?r ansoda ruled for GBG years. 'is son Sihla ruled for G9A years. 'is son Iratasya ruled the same length as his father. 'is son Phata#a ruled for ;GA years. 'is son Jau ruled for ;B0 years. 'is son Iu#a ruled the same length as his father. 'is son *ahura ruled for 89A years, and he destroyed his many inimical ings. 'is son Tahara ruled the same length as his father. 'e had three sons+ ?virama, *ahura and 'arana. Thus I have e"plained the generation of mlecchas with the indication of their names only. The mleccha language is considered the lowest language because it bears the curse of goddess Sarasvati. Thus I have summarily

narrated the rise of the mlecchas in 4ali/yuga. Sans rt is the language by which the whole Bharata/Varsa is being praised and glorified. The same language, after going to another country became the mleccha language and mlecchas too advantage of it. ?fter hearing all this, the sages situated in Badari ashrama, worshipped Lord *ara/*arayana and meditated upon them for ;AA years. -hen they wo e up from their meditation, they in.uired from their teacher Suta 3oswami+ E) disciple of Sri Vyasa, you are so fortunate and greatly intelligent, may you live long. *ow please tell us who is the ing at the present time,% Suta 3oswami said+ E?t the present time, the 4ali/yuga has already passed its BAAA years. *ow the ing San ha is ruling the earth and in the mleccha countries the ing named Sa apat is ruling. Please hear about how they came up.% -hen the 4ali/yuga passed ;AAA years, the dynasty of mlecchas increased. They created many paths to grow and gradually the whole earth become full of mlecchas. The spiritual master and teacher of the mlecchas was named $usa. 'e was residing on the ban of the river Sarasvati, and he spread his doctrince throughout the whole world. ?s soon as 4ali/yuga started, the devotion to the Lord and the language of the Vedas were destroyed. There are four inds of mleccha languages+ Vra#a/bhasa, $aharastri, 5avani and 3arundi a. In this way there are four million inds of other languages. (or e"ample+ paniyam :water= is called !ani, bubhu sa/hunger is called bhukh. Paniyam/drin ing is called papadi and bho#anam/eating is called a anam. Isti is called suddharava, istini is called masapavani, ahuti is called a#u and dadati is called dadhati. The word pitri is called paitara and bhrata is bather and also pati. This is the yavani lanugage in which the asva is called aspa, Ianu is #ainu and sapta/sindhu is called sapta/hindu. *ow you hear about 3urundi a language. Javi/vara :the first day of the wee = is called sunday, phalguna and chaitra months are called pharvari :(ebruary=. Sasti is called si"ty, these inds of e"amples are there. !rime is becoming prominent in the holy place of Sapta/puri. 3radually the people of ?ryavata are becoming theives, hunters, bhillas and fools. The followers of mleccha/dharma in foreign countries are intelligent and having good .ualities, whereas the people of ?ryavarta are bereft of good .ualities. Thus the ruling of mlecchas is also in Bharata :India= and its islands. 4nowing all this, ) great and intelligent sage, you should #ust perform the devotional service to Lord 'ari. The great sage Sauna a in.uired+ EPlease tell us, what was the reason that the mlecchas did not arrive in Brahmavarta. Suta 3oswami said+ That was by the influence of goddess Sarasvati that they could not enter that place. By the order of the demigods, when the 4ali/yuga pursued his 8,AAA years, a brahmana named 4asyapa come down to earth from the heavenly planets with his wife ?ryavatil. They had ten spotless sons who are

nown by the names+ Hpadhayaya, Ki sita, Patha a, Su la, $isra, ?gnihotri, Kvi/ vedi, Tri/vedi, !atur/vedi and Pandey. ?mong them was the learned one full of nowledge. 'e went to 4ashmir and worshipped goddess Sarasvati with red flowers, red a shata :rice=, incense, lamps, naivedya :food offerings= and puspan#ali :flower offerings=. To please her he praised her with some prayers, as ing her for better nowledge of San rt to put mlecchas into illusion. Being pleased by his prayers she remainded situated in his mind and blessed him with nowledge. Then the sage went to the country nown as $isra and put all the mlecchas into illusion by the greace of goddess Sarasvati. Then he made 8A,AAA people as dvi#as or twice born brahmanas> he made ;,AAA people into vaishyas> and the rest of them as shudras. 'e came bac with them and staying in ?rya/desha :India= he engaged in the activites of the sages. They were nown as ?ryans and by the grace of goddess Sarasvati their generation gradually increased upto G million, both the men and women with their sons and grandsons. Their ing, 4asyapa muni, ruled the earth for 8;A years. There were <,AAA sudras in the county nown as Ja#putra :Ja#put= and their ing was ?rya/prithu. 'is son was $agadha. The sage made him a ing and left. Sauna a in.uired+ %) disciple of Vyasa, ) Lomaharsana, please tell us who were the ings to rule the earth in 4ali/yuga, after $agadha,% Suta 3oswami said+ -hen ing $agadha, the son of 4asyapa was ruling the earth, he remembered his father&s administration and he separated the ?rya/ desha :India= into many states. The state which is on the eastern side of Pancala is nown as $agadha, the state of 4alinga is on the east/south side, the state of ?vanta is in the south, ?marta/desha is to the south/west, Sindhu/desha is on the western side, 4ai aya is to the north/west, $adra/desha is in the north, and 4oninda/desha is to the north/east. These states are named according to his sons& names. ?fter performing a sacrifice he gave the states to his sons. Lord Balabhadra became pleased with his sacrifice, and Sisunaga appeared from the sacrifice as his son. 'e ruled for 8AA years and his son 4a avarma ruled for DA years. 'is son 4shemadharma ruled for <A years and his son ruled for 0A years. 'is son Vedamisra ruled for 9A years. 'is son ?#ata/nipu ruled for CA years. 'is son Karbha a ruled for GA years, his son Hdayasva ruled for BA years, his son *anda/Vardhana ruled for ;A years, his son *anda/suta, who was born from the womb of a sudri or a low class lady, also ruled for ;A years. 'is son Pranancala ruled for 8A years. 'is son Parananda also ruled 8A years. 'is son Samananda ruled for ;A years. 'is son Priyananta ruled for ;A years, his son Kevananda also ruled for ;A years. his son 5a#na/bhanga ruled for 8A years. 'is son $auryananda ruled for 8A years. ?nd his son $ahananda fuled for 8A years. ?t this time Lord 'ari was remembered by 4ali. ?t that time the great and famous 3autama, the son of 4asyapa introduced the Buddhist religion, and attained Lord 'ari in Pattana. 3autama ruled over 8A years. (rom him Sha ya muni was born, who ruled ;A years. 'is son Shuddhodana ruled BA years. 'is son Sha yasimha became the ing on Satadri after ;AAA years and he ruled for 9A years, by which time all the people were Buddhists. This was the first position of 4ali/yuga and the Vedic

religion was destroyed. If Lord Vishnu becomes a ing then all the people would follow 'im. The activities of the world are carried out by the prowess of Lord Vishnu. 'e is the master of maya or the illusory energy and whoever ta es shelter of that Lord 'ari, though he may be a sinful and abominable person, will become liberated. Buddha/simha was born from Sha yasimha and he ruled for only BA years. Buddha/simha7s son was !handra/gupta, who married with a daughter of Suluva, the 5avana ing of Pausasa. Thus he mi"ed the Buddhists and yavanas. 'e ruled for 9A years. (rom him Vindusara was born and ruled for the same number of years as his father. 'is son was ?sho a. ?t this time the best of the brahmanas, 4anya ub#a, performed sacrifice on the top of a mountain named ?rbuda. By the influence of Vedic mantras, four 4shatriyas appeared form the ya#na. ?mong these four Pramara was samavedi, !hapahani was ya#urvedi, Shu la was trivedi and Parihara a was the ?tharvavedi. They were accustomed to ride on elephants. They ept ?sho a under their control and annihilated all the Buddhists. It is said there were G million Buddhists and all of them were illed by uncommon weapons. ?fter that Pramara became ing in ?vanta and he constructed a large city called ?mbavati for his happiness. It was as big as G yo#anas or about B; miles. Then Suta 3oswami said+ %$y dear brahmanas I7m being influenced by yoga/ nidra, therefore, please go to your respective ashramas and meditate on Lord Vishnu.% ?fter the completion of ;,AAA years, Suta 3oswami said+ -hen the ali/yuga had passed his B,08A years, at that time the ing was Pramara who rulled 9 years, from him $ahamada was born. 'e ruled B years and his son Kevapi did the same. 'is son Kevaduta also did the same. (rom him 3andharva/sena was born, who went to the forest after ruling for over CA years and having given his ingdom to his son Shan ha. Shan ha ruled for over BA years. Lord Indra sent a heavenly girl to 3andharva/sena named Viramati. ? #ewel li e son was born form her womb. ?t the time of his birth, there were flowers raining from the s y, many auspicious instruments were played and the wind was blowing pleasingly. The name of the baby was Siva/drishti, who later left for the #ungle with his disciples. ?fter ;A years he became perfect in 4arma/yoga. -hen ali/yuga copmleted B,AAA years, the terrible symptoms of ali had appeared. That baby too birth in the secret place of 4ailasa, by the benediction of Lord Shiva, to destroy the sha as and to increase the ?rya/dharma or the Vedic reigion. 'is father 3andharva/sena named his son as Vi ramaditya and become happy. This child was very intelligent and very pleasing to his parents. -hen he was C years old, he left for the forest to perform austerities and he continued it upto 8; years. ?fter 8; years he went to the holy city named ?mbavati with all the opulence and accepted the transcendental throne sent by Lord Shiva. (or his security goddess Parvati created a Vetala :a ing of ghosts= and sent it to ing Vi ramaditya7s palace. )nce the powerful ing went to the temple of Lord Shiva named as $aha aleshvara, who is the chief of the devas, and who has a bow named Pina a. There he worshipped Lord Shiva. In that place he built a religious council hall with the pillars made of various metals and decorated with many inds of #ewels and covered with so many plants and creepers and flowers. In that hall he ept a celestial throne. 'e invited the foremost brahmanas who are well/versed in Vedic nowledge, worshipped them

with proper hospitality and heard many religious histories from them. ?fter that one demigod named Vitala come there having a form of a brahmana. 3lorifying and blessing the ing, he sat down on the seat and said+ ) master of this earthly planet, ing Vi ramaditya, if you are very eager to hear them I will describe the stories and histories to you. Thus ends the seventh chapter of the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana. (('- The Prediction of .slam 1(rom the third part of the Pratisarga Parva.2 Shri Suta 3osvami said+ In the dynasty of ing Shalivahana, there were ten ings who went to the heavenly planets after ruling for over CAA years. Then gradually the morality declined on the earth. ?t that time Bho#ara#a was the tenth of the ings on the earth. -hen he saw that the moral law of conduct was declining he went to con.uer all the directions of his country with ten/thousand soldiers commanded by 4alidasa. 'e crossed the river Sindhu and con.uered over the gandharas, mlecchas, sha as, asmiris, naravas and sathas. 'e punished them and collected a large ammount of wealth. Then the ing went along with Mahamada /Mohammad0, the !rece!tor of mleccha1dharma, and his followers to the great god, Lord Shiva, situated in the desert. 'e bathed Lord Shiva with 3anges water and worshipped him in his mind with pancagavya :mil , ghee, yoghurt, cow dung, and cow urine= and sandalwood paste, etc. ?fter he offered some prayers and pleased him. Suta 3oswami said+ ?fter hearing the ing7s prayers, Lord Shiva said+ ) ing Bho#ara#a, you should go to the place called $aha a shvara, that land is called Vahi a and now is being contaminated by the mlecchas. In that terrible country there no longer e"ists dharma. There was a mystic demon named Tripura, whom I have already burnt to ashes, he has come again by the order of Bali. 'e has no origin but he achieved a benediction from me. 'is name is $ahaoda and his deeds are li e that of a ghost. Therefore, ) ing, you should not go to this land of the evil ghost. By my mercy your intelligence will be purified. 'earing this the ing came bac to his country....... That city is nown as their site of pilgrimage, a place which was Madina or free from into"ication. 'aving a form of a ghost :Bhuta=, The symptoms of my followers will be that they first of all will cut their genitals, have no shi ha, but having beard.......Therefore, they will be nown as musalman. The intelligent ing, Bho#ara# established the language of Sans rit in three varnas / the brahmanas, shatriyas and vaisyas / and for the shudras he established pra rita/bhasha, the ordinary language spo en by common men. ?fter ruling his ingdom for CA years, he went to the heavenly planet. The moral laws established by him were honored even by the demigods. The arya/varta, the pious land is situated between Vindhyacala and 'imacala or the mountains nown as Vindhya and 'imalaya. The ?ryans reside there, but varna/san aras reside on the lower part of Vindhya. The musalman people were ept on the other side of the river Sindhu.

)n the island of Barbara, Tusha and many others also the followers of Isamsiha were also situated as they were managed by a ing or demigods. (('* The Prediction of Buddhism 1(rom the ;Dth chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.2 Long ago in the country nown as !itrartha, the inhabitants of the heavenly planets used to come to play during the time of autumn. )ne day a heavenly apsara now as $an#ughosha came to that place where the sage Shu a was residing. Seeing this beautiful boy, she tried to attract him while singing and dancing, being overwhelmed by lusty desires. She praised him with a beautiful prayer holding her hands and bowing down. Somehow, she pleased the muni. Then the glorious Shu a, hearing this auspicious prayer as ed her to re.uest a benediction. $an#ughosha humbly said+ F) lord, you are the protector of those who came to your shelter, therefore I7m at your shelter, please become my husbandF. The sage accepted her and after some time they produced a son named 6$uni7 who performed austerity very strictly upto 8; years. 'e married the daughter of Svarnadeva, the god of gold. They gave birth to a daughter named 4innari. She was very young and beautiful. She performed austerity to please Lord Shiva, and as a benediction lord Shiva instructed her to a sober sage $a aranda. Then her father, $uni, as ed lord Shiva to bless her, so that they will successfully ma e progress in this world. Lord Shiva said+ Hpto BA years you will en#oy your country in the middle of the earth, then it will be destroyed. ?fter hearing this $uni went to his place with $a aranda and resided there. ?s soon as the ;Dth year started the battle too place among those ings who too birth as the incarnations of the associates of4rishna. Bauddha, the lord of nyuhas :the lessened people= attac ed the beautiful city of *etrapala, thin ing that this city is wonderfully decorated with various inds of #ewels. The powerful ing Bauddha/simha who had seven/million soldiers, fought with those ings who had only three million soldiers. The fight went on terribly between the armies for seven days and nights. The great powerful ings, who illed all the inimical armies protected by Baudha/simha, were 5oga/ simha, Bhoga/simha and Vi#aya. ?fter that more Buddhists came from the countries nown as Shyama and Iapa a, and all of them were magicians. ?gain they had a large battle which lasted for one month. Then *etrasimha arrived with seven million soldiers protected by eight generals, for the destruction of the Buddhists. Being afraid, all the Buddhists left India completely and went to !hina to continue the war from there. The opposite army also continued following them. -hen they arrived on the ban of the 'uha river, it was the month of $agh, the second half part of the month of Ianuary, the fight too place again. There were one million soldiers each from the countries of Syama and Iapa a, and ten million soldiers from !hina assembled for a fight. )n the other side, 4rishnamsa, Keva, *etrapala, $andali a, Khanyapada, Lallasimha, Talana and Iana naya a were the generals, each of them having one million soldiers. There was a terrible battle between the Buddhists and the ?ryans. In that war seven million Buddhists, and two million ?ryans were illed. Being afraid the Buddhists ran away from the battle and went to their home to produce a

wooden army with the help of a machinery arrangement. They made ten/thousand elephants :made out of wood= along with warriors, one million horses, one thousand buffaloes, one thousand hogs, one thousand tigers, one thousand swans, and seven thousand camels. ?ll these creatures had wooden warriors on their bac . Thus with the wooden army which was 8;C,AAA in number, they illed two million soldiers protected by 4rishnamsas. Seeing this wonder Iayanta, the e"pert fighter shot fire arrows toward the wooden armies, so that they were immediately destroyed, being burnt to ashes. )nly three million shatriyas :warriors= were left, and they glorified the proficient warrior Iayanta again and again. Then the Buddhists from !hina, made a twenty thousand strong iron horse calvary and sent them to fight. The powerful warrior 5ogasimha, riding on an elephant held the bow and arrows in his hands and shot to the nec of the iron warriors. Being afflicted by the arrows of 5ogasimha five thousand soldiers were illed. Seeing this, Bauddhasimha made an iron tiger and sent it to 5ogasimha. By the attac of that iron tiger the brave 5ogasimha was finally illed, and then Bhogasimha riding on a horse, went to fight with the tiger. 'e illed the tiger by throwing a missile, and roared loudly. Then a lion was sent to him by Bauddhasimha and thus he :Bhogasimha= was illed by a lion. -hen the son of Swarna/vati :Iayanta= saw that his maternal uncles were already dead, he rode on a powerful horse and went to Bauddhasimha. 'e too illusory arrows and put the opposite army into delusion along with Bauddhasimha. 'e captured ten/thousand ings including Bauddhasimha, and returned to 4rishnamsas having destroyed the mechanical armies. Then all of them happily went to the city and forcibly ElootedF the wealth from the palace, which was very opulent, and came bac the fort of the ing. Iayanta came and released Bauddhasimha. ?fter being released he offered his daughter Padma#a to Iayanta and also offered 8AA,AAA,AAA golden coins for the pleasure of his in law. ?fter that all the Buddhists made their vows there itself saying E-e will never go to ?rya/desa to invade the country.F Then they offered their homage and left. They went to *etrapala with their three million remaining soldiers. (('2 The Prediction of .ndia3s #ings 1(rom the B8st chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.2 Suta 3oswami said+ The great powerful ing of $adra esa worshipped the mendicants of the heavenly planets :the ?svini umaras= for five years and after having received a benediction from them he produced ten sons and one beautiful young daughter named 4antinati. 4ing $adra a invited $ahara# Suryavarna :the present ing of 'astinapura=, and gave his daughter to him with proper conduct. 'aving accepted the new wife, Suryavarna .uic ly returned to his home with his army. There was a mystic demon named 4arbura, the son of Bigbhisana, when he saw 4antimati the daughter of ing $adra esa, he came there and idnapped her in their presence and went to a mountain called Sahyadri. Seeing this incident $ahira#a became very upset and lamented again and again. $ahira#a came to 'astinapura and sent a message to 4rishnamsa. 'e e"plained everything to him and immediately with five hundred warriors 4rishnamsa went to Sahyadrimountain and said fearlessly+ E) best of the demons, please listen. 5our

father Bibhishana is a great devotoee, and you are the dear son of him, therefore, you should not act in this manner :sinfully= which is the cause of the destruction of family. Ko you remember, long ago mother Sita was idnapped by Javana and what happened to him,F The ra shasa said, %Previously she was the daughter of a 3andharva and my beloved wife, but because of a curse by a sage she too birth on the earthly planet. Therefore, feeling her separation I went to $adra esa. ?lthough I stayed there so many days, being afraid of the ing I could not idnap her. *ow she is in my control, but if you defeat me in battle you can ta e her bac . Then 4rishnamsa started fighting with him with a sword and it went on for seven nights. (inally he defeated the ra shasa, and with 4antimati came bac to Kelhi to see $ahira#a. The ing :$ahira#a= offered 8A,AAA,AAA golden coins to the great 4rishnamsa. Then he came to Pramdavana, or the forest called Pramoda, with his friends. Suta 3oswami said+ There was a powerful ing named Purnamala in Pattana. 'e worshipped the Vasus for five years and received a benediction from them. By their blessings he had ten sons and a daughter named Vidyun mala. (or the marriage of his daughter he invited ing $ahira#a and with seven million soldiers he gave his daughter to the son of $ahira#a :Bhima=. Bhima came bac happily to his home :'astinapura= with his beautiful wife. Then the ing of paisaca/dasa, Sahoda, came with ten/thousand mlecchas to get Vidyunmala. They came to 4uru shetra by the order of Bali, the grandson of Prahlada $ahara#a. They bro e the deities of gods, illed so many cows and in the places of sacred water they put cow/blood. Sahoda, the mleccha ing, wrote a letter and sent it to $ahira#a. 4ing $ahira#a answered+ %) mleccha ing, you are the master of the mlecchasi, why are you worried about Vidyunmala, 5ou should now that I7m the one who can shoot arrows #ust by hearing a sound and I7m the central point of the country of the thieves.% Then the ing went to 4uru shetra with three million soldiers. There was a large, terrible fight between them. ?t night in the month of Iesta :Iuly=, Bali $ahara#a came from Patala, the lowest region with ten/thousand demons and illed the soldiers of the ing very .uic ly, eating them again and again. The ing, being afraid too shelter of goddess Sarasvati. ?fter that immediately 4rishnamsas arrived and illed the ten/thousand demons. They came to Bali, the lord of the demons, and pleased him with their words. Then Balira#a said+ I7m very pleased with you, now you can as for any benediction. They said+ These demons should never come to ?ryadesha :India= with you, all of you should stay always in mleccha/desha and eat the followers of mleccha/ dharma. Balira#a became upset hearing these fearful, terrible words. Then 4rishnamsa said+ as long as I7m in this world you should simply stay in your home, after that you come here and do whatever you li eF.

'earing this the mleccha ing Sahoda went bac to Jasatala, the si"th lowest region of demons. ((', The Prediction of Nimbarka Acharya 1(rom the 0th chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.2 The sun god, being pleased by the praise of the demigods, said+ By the order of the Lord 4rishna, Sudarshana will ta e birth in the Kvapara/yuga, and will be nown as *imbaditya :*imbar a=. 'e will be able to remove the declination of religious principles. Suta 3oswami said+ *ow you hear about the pastimes of the great *imbar a. Lord4rishna personally ordered him to appear on the auspicious ban of *armadariver, which flows to the southern side of mountain $eru. That state is nown as Tailanga, the place used by the devarsis, the godly sages. Lord 4rishna said+ %5ou receive nowledge from devarsi *arada and establish the true principles of religion. 5ou should remain in $athura, *aimisaranya and Kvara a.% Lord Sudarshana accepted the order of Lord 4rishna sarying, %5es,% and appeared on the earth to fulfill the desires of the devotees. There was a broad/ minded holy brahmana living in the auspicious state of Tailanga. 'is name was ?runa and was well versed in the Vedas and Vedangas. 'is wife was nown as Iayanti. They were living an austere life li e the sages. The brilliant luster of Sudarshana suddenly entered in the heart of Iayanti, and by that luster she loo ed brilliant li e the moon. -hen the time arrived with all auspiciousness and good .ualities, in 3aura pa sha purnima of 4arti a month, Vrisha rasi, the moon in 4ritti a, the five grahas :planets= situated in higher places, in the evening at the time of sunset, in $asa/lagna, the Lord of the universe :Sudarshana=, who engaged the whole universe in Vedic religion, appeared from mother Iayanti :as *imbar a=. )ne day Lord Brahma went to *imbar a7s ashrama #ust before the sunset and said+ ) brahmana, I7m very hungry, as long as the sun is in the s y, please give me something to eat. :I will not eat after the sun sets=. The brahmana :*imbar a= gave him food and while he was eating the sun went down. Then the brahmana by his power ept a sudarshana on a nimbe tree. Lord Brahma wondered seeing that sunli e shine and paid his obeisances to the brahmana by lying flat on the ground. Pleased with his austerity Lord Brahma said+ L"cellent. 5ou will become famous on this earth, and you will be nown as *imbaditya :*imbar a / )ne who made the sun appear from a *eem tree=. (('4 The Prediction of Madhva and Sridhara 1(rom the 0th chapter of the Pratisarga Parva.2 Brihaspati said+ Long ago, during the age of treta, ) Indra, there was a brahmana named Sha rasharma, in ?yodhya. 'e worshipped demigods such as the ?svini 4umaras, Judras, Vasus, and Surya with the mantras mentioned in the 5a#ur/ veda. ?fter worshipping, he satisfied them by offering oblations every day. Thus

being pleased with his worship all the BBA million demigods awarded him all desired ob#ects and even the rarest things. By the benediction of the demigods the brahmana lived on this earth for ten/thousand years without getting old and having no disturbance. ?fter leaving his body he become the Sun/god and predominatedthe sun planet for one hundred thousand years, before going to Brahmalo a. 'e spent eight thousand celestial years for visiting the higher planets and then returned to the sun planet. 'earing this, Lord Indra with his sober intelligence began to worship the sun/god along with other demigods in the month of Iune/Iuly. )n the purnima, the full moon day, the sun/god came down to the earth and said to demigods+ I will ta e birth in 4ali/yuga in Vrindavana and this brahmana will e"ecute favorable acts for the demigods. 'e will be born as a son of $adhava, named $adhu and follow the Vedic path. Suta 3osvami said+ Saying this the sun/god created a light from his body and sent it to Vrindavana. ?ttracting all the irreligious people with pleasing speech he gave them Vaishnavi/sha ti or the spiritual energy of Lord Vishnu, the bestower of en#oyment and liberation. Thus he become famous, nown as $adhvacarya. Iiva said+ In the age of Kvapara, there was a brahmana named $egha Sharma. 'e was very much religious, intelligent, learned and a follower of the Vedic path. 'e was engaged in farming, and with the ten percent profit from farming he was worshipping the demigods every day with devotion. )nce there was no rain during the administration of $ahara#a Shantanu for five years, but the farm of $egha sharma was about four miles wider and was watered by rain. *aturally the grain/ rate increased and $egha sharma became rich by ta ing advantage of the scarcity. )ther people being so distressed too shelter of the ing. The ing called $egha sharma and said+ ) great brahmana, I offer my obeisances unto you,please became my 3uru and guide us, so that we can be free from the scarcity. $egha sharma said+ when the month of Shravana :Iuly/?ugust= starts, you should call twelve Vedic brahmanas to chant one/hundred thousand times the mantra of the sun/god with the proper mind. Then on the full moon day :purnima= offer one tenth the number of oblations in the sacrificial fire, through the brahmanas. If you could do this as mentioned, you will become free from an"iety. So the ing performed accordingly and fed all the brahmanas, then the sun/god being pleased by this poured heavy rain on the earth from all sides. ?fter this ing Shantanu, engaged in performing Surya/vrata and become a greatly pious person. -hoever he touched with his hand immediately turned to a young man. By the mercy of the sun/god, $eghasarma lived for five/hundred years, being freed from old age, and then went to sun/planet. ?fter 8AA,AAA years he will attain Brahmalo a. -hile he was spea ing thus, sun/god revealed his identity to Iiva and went to Prayaga :?llahabad= and being in a happy mood he said to the demigods+ EIn ali/yuga, when the mlecchas will be ruling the ingdom, I will come to Vrindavana and preach for the mission of the Kevas.% Suta said+ Then the sun/god descended in Vrindavana as a son of Keva/sharma, named Sridhara. 'e studied Srimad Bhagavatam very deeply and a great commentary on it which is nown as Sridhar/bhasya, the commentary of Sridhara.