Lord Ganesha is one of the dearest gods of Hindus. Lord Ganesha is worshipped by every Hindu before doing any auspicious work or even before worshipping other gods and goddesses and his festival Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the major festivals of India. God Ganesha is especially popular among the kids too who love to listen to the stories...
Every year Shri Krishna Janmashtami is observed to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. Various Krishna Raslila are an inseparable part of Krishna Janmashtami celebrations. Raslila is an incident from Sri Krishna’s life enacted through songs and dance. Among all the stories of Krishna, the birth story of Krishna has greater significance, specially for Janmashtami as the festival itself...
Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan is the festival of brothers and sisters- the special bonding that is shared by siblings. There is this ritual of tying rakhi to brother’s wrist by sister on the day of Raksha Bandhan festival. There are many stories behind this simple act of tying the sacred rakhi thread on brother’s wrist and giving it the...
Savitri was the beautiful daughter of Aswapati, the king of Madra Desa (Madra Province). She selected Satyawaan as her husband. Satyavan was a prince in exile whose father Dyumatsen had lost his kingdom. He lived in the forest with his blind father and mother. When Narada Muni – a divine sage and a traveling monk with the ability to...
Lord Hanuman or Anjanyea Swami is one of the most revered gods worshiped in India. His devotees joyfully celebrate Hanuman Jayanti- the birthday of Shri Hanuman- on the day of Chaitra Purnima (Full moon day of Chaitra month falling in March-April). Some of his ardent followers recite Hanuman Chalisa everyday. Here we narrate the mythological story of birth of...
From among all the legends related to Holi, the mythological story of Holika and Prahlad is the one most closely related to this festival of colors which also represents the victory of good over evil. This is the story of Bhakt Prahlad (devotee Prahlad), his evil father Hiranyakashyapu and his demon aunt Holika after whom the Hindu festival Holi...
This is a mythological story that establishes connections with two aspects related to Lord Shiva- Mahashivaratri festival celebration and Tryambakeshvar as the abode of Lord Shiva. The legend of Shiva Linga or ‘Lingodbhavamurthy’ is the story of effort to establish supremacy of power among the Hindu Trinity of Gods- Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, the Lord Shiva. This mythological legend...
Samudra Manthan- the churning of sea- is one of the greatest Indian mythological legends from ancient sacred writings ‘Puranas.’ The legend story of Samudra Manthan establishes many religious beliefs including two related to Lord Shiva. One- Why night vigil (raatri jaagaran) is observed and devotees stay awake all night on Mahashivratri festival. Two- Why Lord Shiva is also called...
This is the story of marriage of Shiva and Shakti for the second time on the day before new moon in the month of Falgun which is celebrated as Maha Shivaratri. Once Lord Shiva and his wife Sati or Shakti were passing by a forest where they met Lord Rama who was in search of his wife Sita being...
This is a story of Lubdhaka – a poor tribal man who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once he went into the deep forests in order to collect firewood. When it became very dark, Lubdhaka lost his way to home. He was terribly scared when he heard the deep growls of wild animals. To protect himself from...
