The Puranas

                                                                

Link to Companion Podcast

The Puranas: Select Quotes and Commentary from "Mahagatha" by Satyarth Nayak

This is a book which samples various stories from the Puranas, principle Hindu texts about the lives and times of our various deities. Through these stories we are given guidance on how best to live life and produce spiritual achievement. Overall, I highly recommend it as a reader’s digest of the main Hindu epic stories outside of the Ramayan and Mahabharat, which of course are their own epics. It is not the complete set of Puranas, just a selection of 100 key stories as the title suggests. Given that our sacred number is 108, I am surprised that Satyarthji, the writer, did not simply add 8 more stories. It is smoothly written and relatively easy to digest the information. There are stories about all of the great deities in here, with special space given to Sri Krishna in the second half.

Satyarth is a great writer, and he did a good job of presenting stories in a logical and chronological order, where the Puranas themselves jump around a lot, have some conflicting accounts, and can be hard to follow. Many deities have multiple names, however, and as the names seemed to be cycled through randomly in Mahagatha along with many Hindi and Sanskrit terms injected without context, I cannot recommend this book for the Western reader. Even I, a devoted and practicing Hindu, had to keep my phone by my side throughout to look things up. If names were used consistently and foreign terms were given the proper introductions, I think this book could have more mass appeal outside of India.

I am also reading an abridged version of all of the Puranas by Bibek and Dipa Debroy, which is a wonderful book, but in an effort to cram as much key content into three volumes as possible, many key details are skipped that are given the proper time and attention in Satyarth’s book. For example, in Mahagatha I learned that neither Sri Ganesh or Sri Skanda were born of Bholenath and Parvati Ma coming together in traditional coitus. The abridged version by Debroy simply says that Lord Skanda “was born” and moves along with the story. So, cheers to Satyarthji for doing this important curation as a boon to readers. Below you will find some cherrypicked quotes that will give you, illustrious reader, a flavor for what his book is all about.

1. Keep the Channel Clear

 “Only when you stop seeing everything else can you see [Lord Vishnu].” – Saptarishis (49)

 The Seven Sages (Saptarishis) said this to Dhruva, a five-year old boy who was being harassed by his stepmother (his father, king Uttanapada, had multiple wives) and decided to propitiate Lord Vishnu, going on to become one of his most dear disciples. This is a great theme in the Puranas, that casual “check-ins” with the Lord are good but full devotion is the only path to real and lasting progress. To stop seeing everything else, one must first cleanse the consciousness of the happenings of the material world. Bholenath symbolizes this in part in His role as the Destroyer, as does his son Ganesh as the Remover of Obstacles. In the popular book “The Silva Mind Control Method” by Jose Silva, it is said that just as an electrical circuit works best when it is free and clear, the mind is also most powerful when completely clear.

 2.  Do Not Judge People by the Color of Their Skin

 “But Parvati’s complexion was not like the snow that crowned those peaks; it was like the soil that cradled them.”  (161)

 I was surprised to learn that Parvati Ma was originally dark in complexion, since every depiction I have seen of her is post her transformation into Gauri. A key message of the Puranic stories is to refrain from passing judgement on others based on the color of their skin, since two of the “Big Six” deities, Parvati Ma and Lord Vishnu (as Sri Krishna), are explicitly described as being dark in complexion.

 3. The Secrets of the Cosmos Reside Within You

“One does not need to wander through Brahmanda (the world) to gain wisdom. One can do so rooted to a single spot.” – Lord Vishnu (177)

Mystics have long stated that knowledge of the entire universe and the past, present, and future are contained within the seat of our consciousness and can thus be obtained through raja yoga (deep meditation) alone.

Some “woo-woo” media personalities like Billy Carson, Joe Dispenza, Joe Rogan, and, oddly, even Tucker Carlson have come to join this wave of thinking in the last year.

 4. Why the Clergy are Poor

 “How dare you kick Sri Hari? … You have transgressed and your entire varna [in this case, the Brahmin caste] shall pay for it now. Henceforth, I will never visit the houses of Brahmins and they shall always remain poor.” – Goddess Laxmi (209)

The sage Bhrigu dared to kick Lord Vishnu when he was in yogic sleep (yoga nidra) to wake him up upon visiting. I was terrified when I first read this, like damn, this fool Bhrigu messed it up for all of us! But then I relaxed when I remembered that there are many wealthy Sharmas in the world today, so this episode was perhaps more of a “stick” in the carrot and stick approach to motivating people, in this case to motivate the religious caste to focus on spirituality instead of worldly prosperity. In my case, I need wealth to do three things: (a) build our temples, (b) spread the message, and (c) serve as an attractive example for people who need the Goddess in their life but are so ensnared in chasing money that they will not listen to anyone but a wealthy person. Thus, I will have to acquire both kinds of wealth in order to fulfill my dharma.

 5. Sacrifice in Ancient India

 “A father was about to sacrifice his own son” (233)

I was surprised to see that Puranas contain a story eerily similar to the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. There are many other stories that span established religions with high fidelity, most notably the Great Flood stories of the Matsya avatar (Lord Vishnu became a big fish and saved his devotees when the world flooded) and Noah’s Ark. I intuitively feel that there is more information to be cracked out of these commonalities, but I have yet to uncover them.

“On the appointed day, all of Sagara’s sons left with the horse as the king sat down by the ceremonial fire with Anshuman. Awaiting their return after which the animal would be sacrificed.” (245)

I was reminded when reading this that there were some practices from ancient India that would most certainly be considered barbaric today. This passage refers to the Ashvamedha ritual, whereby ambitious kings would release a horse to roam around, declaring all traversed territory as their own, and then sacrificing the animal.

6. The Purpose of Suffering  

Although I believe mankind will always wonder why we see gratuitous suffering happening every day, the Puranas offer us some information to soothe, if not completely pacify, the spirit on this point. I often wonder to myself if we could not have simply been programmed to feel “as if” we had undergone the needful suffering, in order to appreciate joy, without actually having to experience the suffering:

 “[Where] there’s light, there’s darkness.”  - Lord Vishnu (144)

Bramha quotes Vishnu here to the devas (gods) regarding the poison that arose from Ksheersagar, the celestial Ocean of Milk, after Laxmi Ma emerged from its depths. It is a theme across all of Hinduism that good and bad, darkness and evil, are typically complementary parts of a whole, one giving definition to the other via relativity. Some go so far as to says that “bad” people have a different dharma (duty) than the rest of us, and so demons who do ill deeds are rewarded, as was Duryodhana, the enemy of Sri Krishna and Arjuna in the Mahabharat, because they are fulfilling their unique role, keeping a certain amount of “bad” in the experience of the universe. Maybe we don’t fully understand it as a species yet, but it seems to be there by design, and the answer may lie not in running from suffering but facing it bravely, and remaining open to what it may have to teach us.

 “I do [this] with all my devotees. Test his faith. Wring his heart to see how much devotion drips from it.” – Lord Shiva (196)

There is a common misconception that it is “easier” to get the things you want by praying to Lord Shiva as opposed to other deities. This is categorically false. While my anecdotal experience with our Lord is that He is more emotional and, while also omniscient, consciously takes on an innocent (“Bholenath”) sensibility, a thoughtful reading of the Puranas will leave the reader feeling that a certain price in austerity must be paid for any merit, no matter who a devotee propitiates.

“Peace can also lead to stasis, Devaraja. A state of inertia that does nobody any good. Sometimes conflict is also dharma. A bit of strife can goad the universe into action. Provoke a change so that we keep evolving.” – Lord Krishna (381)

This was Lord Vishnu’s response to Indra’s query about his role in cheating the asuras out of their share of amrita once the Ocean of Milk had been churned. So, for anyone reading this who stirs things up on purpose, this one is for you. We hope that all of our wars and conflicts are in alignment with our dharma, and lead to positive results and growth as outlined by Lord Vishnu.

 7.    The Real Nature of Demons       

In this book we see (and for me this is a first) a very nuanced picture of demons, as opposed to the tradition of believing them to always be horrendous and deserving of elimination.

 “Just as Daksha’s daughter, Diti, gave birth to daityas [gods or devas], his other daughter, Danu, begot danavas, a wildly demonic race.”  (158)

 In some cases, the demons even had the same parents as the devas they fought. In addition, when the Ocean of Milk was churned to produce Laxmi Ma and the nectar of immortality (amrita), they did half of the churning work but were hustled out of the amrita by Narayan and the devas. I found it interesting that Lord Vishnu always seems to side with the gods / good, where Shiva seems like he could care less unless one party shows the appropriate devotion and respect, and then rewards transcending contemporary morality are given. As such, we see good, bad, and everyone in between praying to Lord Shiva throughout the Puranas, the Ramayan, and the Mahabharat, while it is only typically the good who pray to Lord Vishnu, and He always sides with them in battles. Bholenath seems to prioritize his devotees over morality, and vice versa for Lord Vishnu, based on how their personality is framed in the Puranas.

 “The gods gaped at each other in disbelief. The Goddess they had pulled out of the waters to defend them was shielding their foe.” (199)

 I was interested to learn that Laxmi Ma was related to asuras, and, upon some further outside reading, there are some tales that describe Her as the progeny of asuras prior to her emergence from Ksheersagar. Maybe that’s why it’s commonly said that “crime pays”.

8. Free Will

In Mahagatha both Hari and Hara lament a lack of free will:

“Are we truly the masters of Brahmanda, Sri Hari, or its slaves?” – Lord Shiva to Lord Vishnu (201)

“Do you know the curse of being omniscient, Rukmani? I do not possess the comfort of hope like humans do… I cannot hope because I already know… Mahadeva had [submitted to the will of Parabrahman] when he lost Sati. And I when I had defiled Vrinda. When, as Rama, I had banished Sita.” – Sri Krishna (363)

In the Puranas we are treated to an aspect of Bramha, Vishnu, and Majesh (Shiva), respectively, not as omnipotent and all-pervasive beings as they may be worshipped in their individual sects or “highest and purest” forms, but as supremely powerful beings who, powerful though they may be, still sometimes have to do things they don’t want to do. In this case, Lord Vishnu had to defile Vrinda, a pure devotee of His, as part of a larger play to foil the asura Jalandhar, who was roaming around with designs on Parvati Ma.

“’Creation gets tiring, Sri Hari. Sometimes I wish I, too, could play’, [said Lord Bramha]. ‘And sometimes I wish I could stop playing [responded Lord Vishnu, as Sri Krishna]’.” – (352)

Many Hindus know that Lord Bramha, the creator, is not worshipped on a standalone basis, ostensibly because Mahadev ordered it so after Bramha was discovered to be engaged in some highly deviant sexual behavior in the early days of creation. Subsequent to this story, however, we do see all members of the Tridev laughing and playing with each other, as here with Bramha and Lord Vishnu, and many beings successfully worshipping and obtaining boons from Lord Bramha. I have always thought it was odd that the being who created the universe should not be fit for worship. In addition, I find it interesting that Lord Bramha is heavily worshipped in Thailand and other parts of South Asia in a clean-shaven form called Phra Phrom.

 “’Yes’, Agni nodded. ‘Epochs change but events remain the same’” (288)

The Puranas confirm that everything we see and experience now will be repeated indefinitely in each kalpa. So you will be back. Back for all of the suffering. Back for all of the ecstasy. There is no real end. So make your peace with that now.

9. Sri Ram

Ma Sita, an incarnation of Goddess Laxmi, was the wife of Lord Ram, the warrior king incarnation of Lord Vishnu directly prior to Sri Krishna. Ma Sita was banished to the forest under false pretexts based on gossip about her fidelity, and this episode of Hindu scripture has easily been one of the most contentious over the years.

“Rama could not accept Sita but Krishna will accept you all.” – Sri Krishna (382)

This passage where Lord Vishnu expresses remorse for how Ma Sita was treated brought me some peace.

“The king unsheathed his sword and beheaded the Shudra.” (294)

There is a wild ass story about how Sri Ram killed a Shudra because the Shudra was praying and was not allowed to because he was a of a low caste in society, based on his birth. Between this episode and exiling his pregnant wife to the forest, there is no denying that the man was cooooold-blooded. I know I’m psychotic because I laughed when I read this story.

10. Sri Krishna

Sri Krishna is easily the most playful and beloved among all supreme avatars who have blessed Earth with their physical form.

“How else will we find new answers? How else will we evolve if we do not examine things? If we do not reinvent?” – Sri Krishna (353)

Sri Krishna here convinces villagers that they do not need to worship Lord Indra to propitiate rain, and on a higher level sets the tone of constant debate, iteration, and improvement that is hallmark of the Sanatan Dharma. Hinduism is not a religion of hard-line dogma to be adhered to, but a conceptual framework providing various tools for spiritual accomplishment. Many Shaivite Punjabis drink and eat meat, while many Vaishnav Gujaratis strictly disallow these indulgences, however neither group will deny that the other is a full-fledged part of Hinduism, albeit through a different approach.

“You must hold it aloft like how I am holding Govardhan. It will not be easy. Your fear will keep pressing down upon you but you must lift it as high as you can.” – Sri Krishna (356)

When Indra asked Sri Krishna how to overcome fear, this is the advice he was given. Sri Krishna constantly encouraged those in his good books to be brave, to stop running away in fear from monsters, real or imagined, and instead run toward the Divine with purpose and love.

“’Just as a toy can never be human, a human can never be a god’, [said Sri Krishna] … The mace smashed his chariot and the disc severed his head” (392)

In contrast to Vedantic mantra of “Shivoham” and certain writings of A.C. Prabhupada which encourage devotees to imagine themselves as the Divine, Sri Krishna here reminds us of the importance of humility, lest we get too big for our britches like Paundraka, the Lord Vishnu imposter who was summarily executed.

11. Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva, the Destroyer, is often misunderstood in the West. When He is being introduced, people often downplay his more aggressive aspects and say that he destroys to make way for new creation, but all would be wise to remember that there is a reason why He is called the Destroyer, and that He has no enemies because whomsoever decides to step up to Him has been shut down immediately. In fact, He wears a garland of His enemies’ skulls, and I think that alone tells the whole story.

“Mahadeva shall now be worshipped more as a lingam than in his actual form.” – Maharishi Bhrigu (208)

This is a pronouncement Bhrigu made after he went to visit Mahadev [Lord Shiva] and the Lord was in amorous union with Parvati Ma, as they are often wont to be. It is surprising that a mere rishi could pronounce anything with respect to the Lord of Lords, and perhaps this is something Mahadev wanted to transpire anyway. While modern scholars generally agree that the lingam was oversexualized due to disinformation during the time of the British Raj, this Puranic story seems to suggest some phallic connotations. Based on my experience so far, I won’t be surprised if I encounter another story elsewhere in the actual Puranas that gives a totally different Lingam origin story.

“Like how I calmed Ganga. Like how I calmed Kali.” – Lord Shiva (256)

Outside of the occasional outburst, Mahadev’s personality as described in the Puranas is that of the most calm, smooth, tranquil, and cool cat in the universe.

“’So, deva bridles devi again,’ Parvati glanced at Shiva. The Destroyer offered her a flower. ‘Devi, too, curbed Mahishasura. Devi, too, curbed Raktabija. Deva also bridled another deva when I as Sharabh calmed Sri Hari as Narasimha. When Sri Hari calmed my Rudra Tandava. It is never about deva [male] or devi [female]. It is forever about counteracting any poison that threatens the cosmos. And poison has no gender.’” – (256)

Lord Shiva is always described as supremely patient, attentive, and playful with his wife, our beautiful Goddess Parvati. He is a man of extremes, and I’m all about it.

“I weep because I now see that purity and pollution lie inside us and not outside. That Mahadeva sees karma and not varna. And that He offers Himself only to those who offer all of themselves to Him’” – Sage Veda (400)

Lord Shiva is known for caring more about a devotee’s true innermost feelings than outward displays of religiosity. Here he makes this abundantly clear by ignoring the technically correct but spiritually devoid propitiations of the sage Veda in lieu of the low-caste hunter Bhila, who was firmly devoted to Bholenath and made simple offerings of meat each day, which would normally be sacrilege.

Parting Remark

Some of the stories in the Puranas, such as that of the mountain Vindhyachal which grew tall enough to block the sun (296), are very clearly fantastical allegory, so I would encourage every reader not to take it or my commentary literally, but rather use this discussion as a springboard to your own personal joy and discovery of the Puranas and all of the great Hindu scriptures. Pranam and may Mahadev smile on the devout reader.