BharatiyaStories

  Bana and the Lord of Madurai, Sundareshwara Banabhadra was a singer in the temple town of Madurai. He used to play a string instrument called the yazh in Tamil. Every day Bana used to come to the temple in the night and sing songs in praise of the Lord while playing his instrument. Rain or shine, work or illness, the Lord and the townsfolk always used to see him standing behind Lord Nandeeshwara in front of the main deity. Bana was particularly fond of singing when the priests and devotees carried the Lord towards the silver roofed hall (Velliyambalam) towards his sleeping quarters near the sanctum of Devi Parvati. (This daily ritual in Madurai is famous and is followed even to this day where the dancing Lord reaches his sleeping quarters after his day’s activities of blessing the millions who throng the temple). While people liked his music and saw him everyday, he did not expect any praise from the public or money for his service. The Lord and the mother were pleased with...

  The story of a bhakta – Narahari Sonar- Part 1 There are bhaktas of all kinds in Sanatana Dharma. We have many Gods and many forms of worship. Does it mean that only a particular form of God will help me? Is there a hierarchy in the Gods? These are questions that many of us have daily. Let us see if we can find the answers through a story. We all know that the naughty but powerful Vittala resides in the beautiful temple of Pandarpur. One of the defining traits of Vithoba (as Vittala was fondly called by the townsfolk) was to play with his devotees and give them his blessings. This is about one such blessed person who was felt by Vittala as deserving of his grace and blessings. In the temple town of Pandarpur where Vittala resided, there lived a gold smith called Narahari. Narahari got the name of Narahari Sonar as he was a gold smith by profession. He was an excellent craftsman and was known across the many towns in the area for his jewellery and silver ornaments. He was ...

  The story of a bhakta – Sakkubai- Part 2 We saw in the last story about Sakkubai, a young girl born in a pious and humble family in Pandarpur. The father of a young man from the town of Karaveerapuram Krupanaraya came to Pandarpur and asked Sakkubai’s father for her hand in marriage to his only son, Oaduraya. Sakku’s dad gladly agreed without knowing that the whole family – Krupanaraya, his wife Gayyalibai and the bridegroom, Oaaduraya were mean, unkind and miserly and were disliked in their town. Sakkubai came to her new home fully of hope and happiness. A different truth awaited her. She was pushed into a life of slavery doing household work, fetching water and even pounding grain from morning till night. Her mother in law did not even give her proper food. Her husband and father in law instead of intervening were also mean and angry with her all the time. Sakku’s parents once visited her and were tearful to see their precious daughter wearing torn clothes and looking thin ...

The story of a bhakta – Sakkubai Once upon a time, in a small village near Pandarpur there lived an old couple. They were humble, pious and hard working. They did not have any children of their own and prayed to the Lord of Pandarpur to bless their home with a child. The Lord of Pandarpur blessed them with a beautiful girl chid. The happy couple named their daughter Sakkubai. Sakkubai, was very devoted to her parents and imbibed their sense of bhakti and love for Vittala of Pandarpur at a very early age. She used to assist her mother in the chores in the house. She used to gather flowers for the puja, clean the puja mantapa and participate in the daily rituals with her parents. When Sakkubai reached marriageable age, her parents looked for a suitable bridge groom for their daughter. During that period there was a beautiful town on the banks of the Krishna river called Karaveerapuram. Karaveerapuram had lush fields, beautiful water bodies and flowers and fruit orchards. The town...

  DharmaVyadha – Knowledge from any source In Bharat, knowledge was a repository of everyone and one could learn from any person. The story of Dharma Vyadha is given as an example of this principle of being a seeker of knowledge irrespective of the source or the social status of the giver This is the story narrated by Markandeya to Yudhistira. Kaushika was engaged in intense tapasya in the middle of the forest. The penance had been going on for many years and he had been at it without food and water. Intense tapasya by someone means that the said person has the ability to focus on things. This focus is very powerful and can cause intense heat and power. Kausika was sitting under a tree reciting the Vedas. The excreta of the crane fell on Kausika   Once he was sitting under a tree reciting vedas. A crane sitting on the tree left excreta on him from above the tree. Kausika who was immersed in his chanting looked up got ir...

  Narahasura – The end Naraka the son of Lord Narayana and Bhudevi had moved from being a warrior with some divine blessings to an asura who was misusing his power and strength to kill dharma. His friendship with others of the adharmic kind like King Kamsa and Banasura made his arrogance and atrocities worse. His kingdom Pragjyotisha was fertile and prosperous due to the presence of Devi Kamakkhya. Despite his atrocities, he was powerful due to the blessings from his parents and the presence of the Devi. The doings of Naraka earned him the name of Narakasura. During this period, Sage Vasishta used to reside in the Nilanchal hills of that region. He once visited the Kamakhya temple and wanted to take the darshan of the Devi. Narakasura’s powerful ministers prevented the sage from entering the kingdom. Angered at this disrespect the Sage cursed Narakasura that Devi Kamakhya will vanish from his kingdom and his death will soon occur in the hands of his mother. (The local folklor...