Krishna and Satrajit

In the city of Dwaraka, there lived a man called Satrajit. Satrajit was a great devotee of Surya, the Sun God. He used to worship the Sun God and pray to him daily. Once as Satrajit was offering his prayers to the Sun God, he felt a strange force in the room. Satrajit opened his eyes and was flabbergasted to find the Sun God before him.

Amazed and thrilled, Satrajit fell at the feet of the God. ‘My Lord! You have come…You have blessed me with your presence…’ Satrajit was almost moved to tears. ‘There is absolutely nothing more that I need…’

Krishna and Kalayavana

In the first Yuga – the Satya Yuga, there lived a great king by name Muchukunda. He was brave and brilliant war strategist. Indra, the Lord of the Devas frequently asked him to help against the fight with the asuras.

However one particular battle between the Devas and the Asuras stretched on and on for many years. Muchukunda was so caught up in the battle that he forgot everything else. Every day was just a bloody battle between the Devas and the Asuras and nothing more. King Muchukunda carried on the battle on his shoulders....It went on and on and on.....

Krishna and Satya

The King of Khosala Nagnajit was very worried. He had a very intelligent and skilled daughter – Satya. Marriage proposals poured in from all kingdoms for seeking her hand in marriage…Satya uniformly refused all of them….Nagnajit was in a fix. He then talked to Satya (she is sometimes called as Nagnajiti)

‘Satya! You have refused all the marriage proposals…Why?’ He demanded anxiously from Satya,

Satya already knew whom she wanted to marry…But she felt very shy to admit that to her father…and besides there was also the question of whether …the man…would be interested in marrying her. Satya considered her father’s question and decided the best answer to the question, ‘Father! Organize a swayamvara for me…I wish to choose only the bravest man and marry him…’

The death of Narakasura - the origins of Diwali

Hiranyaksha was a very bad demon. He terrorized all the people in earth and heavens alike. Unable to tolerate him anymore, the people went to Lord Vishnu to protect him from Hiranyaksha. Lord Vishnu promised to help them.

When Hiranyaksha came to know of this, he got about thinking…To protect the earth and its people, Lord Vishnu has to first find the earth…I am going to hide the earth itself so that Lord Vishnu would not be able to find it…Thinking thus, Hiranyaksha using his powers and might pushed the earth itself off its axis!

When Hiranyaksha touched the earth to push her, an asura was created out of the contact between Bhumadevi, the Mother Earth and Hiranyaksha….

Rukmini and Krishna

Bhishmaka, the King of Vidharba, looked around his court with pride. His five sons were strong and powerful and were always around to protect him. Bhishmaka particularly relied on his eldest son – Rukmi, who was the strongest of them all.

However, now when King Bhishmaka thought of Rukmi, he became a little uncomfortable...,....Of late he was worried about the company that his son kept....Sishupala, Dandavakra, Jarasandha, Salva, Viduratha....They were not exactly role models for someone to follow. .Not good at all....Far from it..........

Krishna and Jara - The curse of Gandhari

Bheema and Duryodhana were eying each other murderously their maces in hand. The maces met in mid-air with such a force that the other Pandavas could feel the air around them vibrate….

The other Pandavas were furious as they watched the battle. Duryodhana – the vile scheming, jealous Kaurava was the root cause of the war…The Pandavas had suffered much at their hands. Until now Duryodhana had been protected with his generals and his soldiers. But now he was all alone…..All alone to face the wrath of the Pandavas….He had to pay for all that he had done to them ….

Gajendra, the elephant

In the Satya Yuga, there lived a great king by name Indradhyuma, who was the son of King Sumati. He was a spiritual king and great ruler. His people loved him and he took good care of them. Though he was very rich king, he was more interested in spirituality. Soon after his son Parameshthi came of age, Indradhyumna made his son the king and retired to the forests to meditate.

As Indradhyumna was meditating one evening outside his ashrama, Sage Agastiar came to the ashrama with his disciples. Sage Agastiar stood outside waiting for Indradhyumna to open his eyes and receive them. However Indradhyumna was so lost in the meditation that he did not even notice that anyone had come to the ashrama. He remained immersed in his prayers.

Sage Agastiyar waited and waited and finally he lost his temper. 'He does not even stir...He purposely ignores us...You were born in the warrior class and it is your duty to look after the sages and the rishis...' Agastiyar said pointing angrily at the meditating King. 'You have ignored us for this I curse you...I curse you that you will be born an elephant...' Sage Agastiyar's disciples shuddered as they watched Sage Agastiyar's face turn purple with rage, his angavastra flying in the wind.

Sage Agastiyar's disciples felt that Indradhyumna was doomed. The great king would roam the earth as an elephant and meet his end....The disciples along with Sage Agastiyar left the ashrama. The disciples tried their best not to make the sage more angry as he huffed and walked straight without turning...

However king Indradhyumana did not even know the fate he had met at Sage Agaastiyar's hands....

Up in Vaikunta at Lord Vishnu's place, Lord Vishnu smiled when he heard Sage Agastiyar's curse....

Up in the heavens, there was a gandharva called as Huhu. He was singing and dancing with an apsara [a celestial maiden] when they both fell into a lake. Unknown to them, there was a great sage Devala, who was meditating near the lake. As they both fell into the lake, the water from the lake fell on the sage's face. This disturbed the sage's meditation. He opened his eyes angrily and looked around him and saw Huhu and the celestial maiden, looking at him with wide staring eyes. He took his water from his kamandalam, 'YOU DARE DISTURB MY MEDITATION! That is something I cannot forgive..you wretched gandharva...I curse you that you will be born as a crocodile, down on earth...'The sage threw the water on Huhu.

Before Huhu could even open his mouth and talk, he changed into a crocodile and disappeared from there. The apsara talked to the rishi, 'Sir! We did not know you were meditating here, sir! Please forgive him, this is a very harsh punishment for him,,,please sir!' She begged him. The sage looked at the apsara for a long time and closed his eyes. Finally he calmed himself and opened his eyes and spoke to the apsara, 'Huhu will be freed from his curse by Lord Vishnu...do not worry....' Saying thus he went back to his meditation. The apsara realized that the sage would not talk to her anymore, went back to the heavens.

Meanwhile true to Agastiyar's curse, Indradhyumna was born as an elephant in his next birth. He was Gajendra, and he was the king of elephants. As Indradhyumna was some one who had already felt God inside himself, thought he was an elephant, deep inside he still remembered his prayers...Gajendra still performed his puja in the morning and only then went about doing other work.

This went on for some time.

As Gajendra was guiding his herd through the various forests, they came to the beautiful forest in the Mount Trikuta. In between the mountain, there was a very beautiful lake.

It was in this lake that Huhu, the crocodile had made his home. Since the curse of Sage Devala, Huhu was very angry at everyone. He dragged anyone who came to the river to drink water from it, into the water and killed them. It was for this reason that the lake was avoided by all animals. However as Gajendra and his herd were new to the place, they did not know about the lake. As Gajendra was the king, he entered the water first to check whether the water was safe.

Huhu caught hold of Gajendra's feet and dragged Gajendra inside the water. Gajendra, acted fast. He signaled his herd to get back and asked them to stay away from the water. The herd stepped back. Gajendra fought with the crocodile trying to drag the crocodile out of the water and throw him out. However the crocodile was strong. It was proving to be an even battle. However Huhu being a crocodile was in his element – he was in water, where he was strong. Using the water, he was able to drag the elephant further inside the water. Gnajendra's feet was now bleeding and his feet was becoming numb. He realized that he could not win the battle against the crocodile. He told his herd to get back and leave him to his fate. His herd refused, but Gajendra ordered them to get back. Having no choice, the herd went back leaving their king.

After his herd had left, Gajendra tried putting up a fight again, but Huhu was more powerful. With a wail of frustration, Gajendra yelled, 'Adimoolame!'[The source of all Gods]. Gajendra then composed a sloka, praying to Lord Vishnu to come and protect him. [This sloka is called as 'Gajendra Stuthi'].

Gajendra was about to lose his footing totally was about to be dragged inside the water, when he saw the Dark Lord come on Garuda. Gajendra did not even notice that Huhu was dragging his feet away. He just kept staring at the Dark Lord. Lord Vishnu brought out his Sudarshana Chakra and threw it at Huhu. The Sudarshana destroyed Huhu the crocodile and the Gandharva who was trapped inside came out and bowed to the Dark Lord. Lord Vishnu blessed him and the Gandharva went back to the heavens!

Gajendra looked at Lord Vishnu and remained stunned, not able to move. Finally he wiped his tears of joy and bowed to the Lord. 'Lord, you have come and protected me!'

Lord Vishnu smiled, 'You are Indradhyumna, in your last birth Gajendra! A pious man and a great king! You are my greatest devotee and I wanted you to be a part of me always! I am so glad that Sage Agastiyar cursed you to become an elephant. This was the way where I could grant you moksha [salvation] to become a part of me, for all time!'

Gajendra could not talk as tear flowed freely. His Dark Lord had granted him salvation and he would be in Vaikunta with the Dark Lord always!

Bhasmasura and Mohini

Bhasmasura was an asura, who was driven by ambition to be the most powerful Asura ever. He saw the other Asuras and decided that he would perform severe penance to win the favour of Lord Shiva and become powerful.

So Bhasmasura prayed for a long time. He prayed and was soon absorbed in his meditation. Lord Shiva in Kailasha, heard his prayers and wondered who it was who was praying to him. Using the power of meditation, Lord Shiva realized that it was Bhasmasura who was praying.

Lord Shiva never differentiated between his devotees, whether they were Devas or Asuras. If they were true devotees he appeared before them, no matter who they were. Lord Shiva satisfied with Bhasmasura's penance prayed to him with utmost devotion and appeared before him.

‘Open your eyes, Bhamasura!’ Lord Shiva said appearing before him.

Bhasmasura opened his eyes feeling the divine voice flow through him. He opened his eyes and saw the beautiful three-eyed God before him. He bowed low and fell on his feet. ‘My Lord, you have come at last…’ He said looking at Lord Shiva once more.

Lord Shiva smiled, ‘You prayed to me…I came to see you… What do you wish for, Bhasmasura?’

Bhasmasura smiled, ‘My Lord! I wish to be immortal...'

Lord Shiva shook his head, 'No Bhasmasura. That is against the laws of nature. All of whom are born have to die...'

Bhasmasura pouted. He had so wished that Lord Shiva would make him invincible and immortal. Looking at Lord Shiva, Bhasmasura realized that no amount of pleading would change Lord Shiva's mind.

What should I ask...I need to become powerful...more powerful than...Bhasmasura looked at Lord Shiva as he had an idea...

'My Lord if I touch anybody’s head, they should be reduced to ashes…’ Bhasmasura said rather fast.

Lord Shiva frowned and wondered what prompted the Asura to ask such a wish. But then Lord Shiva remembered that Bhasmasura had prayed well and that he was duty bound to grant any boon that he sought for. So Lord Shiva raised his hand and granted Bhasmasura the blessing.

Lord Shiva did not realize his mistake until, Bhasmasura let out a maniacal laugh, He studied his hands and said, 'Now I am more powerful than anybody. I am more powerful than you Lord. I can even burn down Lord Shiva….if I wish….’

Lord Shiva winced when he heard this. He stared as Bhasmasura continued. ‘Now Lord! I wish to test my power. I…’ Bhasmasura said coming forward, ‘I will place my hand on your head….’

Lord Shiva backed away as Bhasmasura came forward….Lord Shiva realized that he could not take back his words. He would be reduced to ashes if he let Bhasmasura touch him. That would change the entire destiny...That was not the way the things must happen...So Lord Shiva did the only thing he could do...He ran and ran and ran, Bhasmasura followed him with his hands outstretched.

Lord Shiva was wondering what to do, when he prayed to Lord Vishnu the Preserver God. ‘Narayana, Please help me now….’ He said as he ran between a clump of trees inside a jungle…

Bhasmasura was about to follow Shiva inside the clump of trees, when he…stopped..

Before him stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was so beautiful and so graceful that for a minute Bhasmasura even forgot who he was…He blinked and stared at the woman again, ‘Wh…Who are you?’ He finally managed to say.

The lady opened her mouth and frowned looking at him, 'You don't come to someone's home and ask them who they are...You have to tell me who you are...'

Bhasmasura was having difficulty breathing. Slowly he inhaled and realized that the woman had asked him a question...'Bhasmasura...I ...I am Bhasmasura...' He croaked.

'Ok Bhasmasura,' The woman said looking at him with twinkling eyes. 'Now is the time you ask me my name...'

Bhasmasura felt silly as he spoke again, 'Who are you beautiful lady?'

'I am Mohini...' The lady said in a beautiful voice, which captivated Bhasmasura.

'Will you marry me?' Bhasmasura asked the words before he could stop himself.

Mohini gave a tinkling laugh and turned and walked away.

Feeling like an utter fool Bhasmasura also followed her. He followed her and slowly asked her everything about herself.

Mohini lived in the forest with her parents. She had come here to collect flowers for the daily puja at home.

'Mohini, what I meant back there was...' Bhasmasura said slowly, wondering whether Mohini would laugh at him again, 'will you marry me..I will take good care of you and keep you happy always.'

Mohini looked unhappy as she looked at Bhasmasura, 'You with your good looks...I would look to marry you..' Bhasmasura felt his heart swell. A woman like Mohini had called him a good looking man....But then why was she unhappy. Mohini continued, 'I am a dancer Bhasmasura. When I was younger I made a promise that I would only marry a man who can dance as well as me...'

Bhasmasura blinked. He had never danced in his whole life. But he promised himself. He would learn how to dance just to marry this woman...

Mohini looked at him and said anxiously, 'Don't worry I will teach you..If you follow my steps exactly the way I do it, I am...I am yours and I will marry you..' She said looking at Bhasmasura. Bhasmasura was ready to slay dragons for her.

So the two of them danced. Bhasmasura tried his best to copy Mohini's move as she smiled encouragingly at him.

They went on dancing, where Bhasmasura got better and better at copying Mohini's moves. Bhasmasura concentrated on dancing and on nothing else. Mohini soon had a move where she kept her hand on her head. Without thinking Bhasmasura did the same!

Unfortunately for Bhasmasura, his powers worked....

Mohini was looking at Bhasmasura's ashes as Lord Shiva appeared before Mohini. 'Thank you!'

'Anytime! Just think carefully next time, you grant anybody any boon.' Mohini laughed as she vanished and Lord Vishnu stood in her place.

Lord Shiva went back to Kailash, thanking Lord Vishnu.

Jalandhara and Vrinda (The story of Tulsi)

The story of Tulsi, the medicinal plant, begins with Indra, the Lord of the Heavens.

Lord Indra, was the king of the Devas. But he realized that people no longer looked up to him at the main God. This worried him a lot. He knew that people now looked up at Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva to guide them. Indra knew that he could not hope to confront Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. They were after all the Gods of Creation and of Preservation. But Indra could not understand, why people liked Lord Shiva. He was after all the God of destruction.

Indra was thinking. I will go and prove to the world that I am better than the Lord of Destruction, then people will look up to me too...However Indra had misunderstood...Lord Shiva was the Lord of Destruction...he destroyed all evil things in the world...he was the destroyer of the ego...the uncontrollable impulses inside us....

Indra went straight to Kailash and there wanted to meet Lord Shiva. However Lord Shiva using the power of his meditation, figured out that Indra was coming to meet him. Lord Shiva transformed himself to look like his gana and stood outside his door as a doorman. He stood there as Indra came.

'Let me in...doorman,' Indra said contemptuously at the doorman, without realizing who he was. 'I want to talk to Lord Shiva....and settle a matter once and for all...'

The doorman looked at Indra with amused eyes, 'What do you want to settle once and for all, Lord Indra?'

Indra looked loftily at the doorman, 'I want to prove that I am more powerful than Lord Shiva..' Indra said brandishing his Vajra angrily.

The doorman if anything looked even more amused. 'I am supposed to guard Lord Shiva...Why don't you first show your powers before me...If you win...You can meet Lord Shiva...'

Indra was angry. But then you could refuse to fight when somebody openly challenged you..He accepted.

Indra and the doorman fought. The doorman fought brilliantly. Indra watched as the doorman became more and more angry. The doorman finally pushed him back with a great deal of force...Indra was about to get up when he had a sudden flash. No ordinary doorman could just push him away...This doorman...Indra realized with fear that the doorman could be none other than Lord Shiva himself. The doorman was eying him with sharp eyes, as Indra slowly got up on his feet. Indra realized that he had already tired himself and Lord Shiva looked like he had not even started fighting...Indra knew that he could not hope to match with a power like that. He slowly went towards the doorman and fell at his feet. 'Lord Shiva! I am sorry! I did not realize how powerful you are...You have destroyed my pride...'

The doorman looked at Indra angrily for some time. The doorman closed his eyes and Indra saw as the doorman curbed his anger with great difficulty. Indra saw something fly out of the doorman - something fierce, red and burning. Once the thing emerged from the doorman, Lord Shiva appeared before Indra in his normal form. Indra looked at the beautiful face of Lord Shiva and once again bowed to him, 'I am sorry my Lord!'

Lord Shiva smiled at Indra, 'Indra! You had made me very angry...I was actually tempted to open my third eye and burn you to ashes...' Indra shivered as he realized how close to death he had come...

'...But then when you fell at my feet, asking for forgiveness...I could not just hold any grudge against you...' Lord Shiva said as he shook his head. 'But my anger was quiet another thing...'

Indra looked at Shiva and asked wonderingly, 'What was the thing that came out of you, my Lord?'

Lord Shiva looked at Indra wondering whether he would understand, 'That was a personification of my anger...Because I was not willing to use it against you...my anger was dragged away from me...It is now inside the ocean...'

Lord Indra once again asked Lord Shiva for forgiveness and went back to his palace a wiser man...However that was just the beginning of the problems of Indra...

Lord Shiva being a very powerful person, his anger was very potent, When all his anger was deposited in the ocean waves, the anger immediately transformed into a young baby! The baby wailed and wailed...Lord Brahma the God of creations, heard the cries of the baby and came there. He picked up the baby in his arms. The baby he found was extraordinarily heavy.

As Lord Brahma picked up the baby, he felt the tiny hands of the baby pluck at his beard. The force with which the baby tugged at his beard was great, that Lord Brahma nearly cried out! Wiping the tears from his face, Lord Brahma looked at the child and said, 'You are very strong...You have brought 'jala' [water] in my eyes, by your strength...For this I name you Jalandhara [One who brings water].

As Jalandhara grew up, he became more and more proud of his strength. He realized that he could defeat anyone with his strength. The Gods hoped that Jalandhara would join them and they could make use of his strength. However Jalandhara had other ideas. He wanted to become the leader of the Asuras.

When he came of a marriageable age, Jalandhara went to a very powerful asura by name Kalanemi. Kalanemi was Ravana's [the nemesis of Rama – the hero of Ramayana] uncle. Kalanemi had a beautiful daughter by name Vrinda. Vrinda was extremely intelligent and she was a very great devotee of Lord Vishnu.

Impressed with Jalandhara's strength, Vrinda agreed to marry him. So Vrinda and Jalandhara were married a few days later.

Because of her devotion to Lord VIshnu, Vrinda had enormous amount of yogic powers. Vrinda loved her husband with all her heart and because of her, Jalandhara became powerful and invincible.

Shukracharya, the Guru of the Asuras, realized how powerful Jalandhara had become after his marriage to Vrinda. He decided to crown Jalandhara, the king of the Asuras. The Asuras also willingly followed the powerful Jalandhara. Soon Jalandhara ruled over the whole earth. All the kings on earth were defeated by the powerful Jalandhara.

Soon Jalandhara set eyes on Indra's heaven. Up in the heavens, Indra and the other Devas, were totally unaware of Jalandhara's plans. With an element of surprise, Jalandhara attacked the Devas. The Devas unable to protect themselves, were routed.

The Devas did not know what to do. Even Indra's Vajra, which was the most powerful weapon they had...they could not even hurt Jalandhara. All the Devas went to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma looked at Devas and spoke to them. He told them all about the birth of Jalandhara and finished by telling them, 'Jalandhara was born out of the anger of Lord Shiva, so he can be defeated only by Lord Shiva...'

Indra said, 'If we go and ask Lord Shiva and talk to Jalandhara...do you think it will work...'

Lord Brahma looked doubtful but he nodded his head, 'We will have to ask him, but Jalandhara has become so arrogant, I doubt whether Lord Shiva can make him see sense..'

Agreeing to the requests of the Devas, Lord Shiva went to talk to Jalandhara. However Jalandhara was so arrogant that he openly insulted Lord Shiva!

Jalandhara yelled as Lord Shiva, 'You call yourself an ascetic...How dare you? If you are an ascetic, why do you need a wife...Send Goddess Parvathi away...You don't need a wife and claim to be yogi at the same time...'

With great difficulty Lord Shiva curbed his anger and tried to talk sense to Jalandhara. However Jalandhara became more and more haughty and turned down Lord Shiva's offer for peace.

Lord Shiva went back to Kailash and told the Devas all that had happened between him and Jalandhara. Lord Shiva finished by saying, 'I am afraid, we need to destroy Jalandhara...he had become too arrogant...I will lead you to battle.

The Devas cheered. If Lord Shiva himself lead them to battle, they were assured of victory.

However the next day, Lord Shiva found that Jalandhara was very powerful. He had both physical strength and he also had the power of illusion....Lord Shiva found Jalandhara to be a very strong...

Jalandhara used all his powers and created a powerful illusion to trap Lord Shiva, his gana and the Devas. Not expecting the attack, Lord Shiva and the others were stunned as they were struck inside the illusion.

Seeing Lord Shiva and the others struck inside the illusion, Jalandhara went to Kailash, where he saw Goddess Parvathi....Jalandhara smiled slyly as he used his powers and changed his form like Lord Shiva.

Jalandhara went to meet Goddess Parvathi looking like Lord Shiva, 'Parvathi! I have come back victorious...I have defeated Jalandhara...'

Goddess Parvathi looked at Lord Shiva and frowned at him. She felt something was wrong....She closed her eyes and used her powers to sense who was before her...

When Parvathi opened her eyes...she was angry...'Jalandhara! You dare come here in my husband's form...' She walked up and picked up her sword and pointed it at him.

Jalandhara knew that Goddess Parvathi was a very strong warrior, as good as her husband. He was already weak from his powers of illusion and his fight with Lord Shiva. He knew he could not fight Goddess Parvathi now...He ran from there...

Goddess Parvathi was sitting there furious, when Lord Vishnu came there. 'Parvathi! What is wrong...?

Goddess Parvathi told Lord Vishnu everything. 'How can Jalandhara be so powerful...?'

Lord Vishnu said, 'Jalandhara was already powerful...He has now married Vrindha...She is my greatest devotee...Every time Jalandhara goes to war, she prays to me. She gets a lots of powers by her prayers. It is because of her that Jalandhara is becoming invincible...'

Goddess Parvathi looked at Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu looked at Goddess Parvathi, with troubled eyes. He knew what he had to do...But could he do such a thing to his own devotee....Lord Vishnu unhappily walked out of there and went back to Vaikunta. He knew he had no choice but to do what he had to do....

The next morning, as Vrinda knew that her husband would begin his battle with Lord Shiva, she started her prayers for his welfare. As she was deep in her meditation, she saw someone enter her room. She opened her eyes and was startled to find her husband before her. She blinked as Jalandhara came before her and told her with pride, 'I have done it....I have defeated Lord Shiva...Now there is no one as strong as me....' He said with pride as Vrinda thanked Lord Vishnu. She stopped her prayers to prepare for the celebrations for her husband's victory.

It was at that minute at the battlefield between Lord Shiva and the real Jalandhara that Lord Shiva stabbed Jalandhara straight in the chest with his trishul. Without her wife's prayer to protect him, the weapon pierced into his body, killing Jalandhara then and there.

Back in Jalandhara's palace, Vrinda felt something wrong as she looked at her husband...She had felt something bad happen to her husband...But her husband was standing before her...How was that possible....

She looked at the Jalandhara before her and said, 'Who are you? You are not my husband....Where is he?' Vrinda looked around her palace with tears, 'I stopped my prayers...My husband...What happened to him...?'

Jalandhara vanished from there and in his place stood Lord Vishnu...But Lord Vishnu was looking at Vrinda with unhappy eyes and sad face...

Vrinda looked at Lord Vishnu and glared at him and whispered, 'What have you done? How is my husband....?'

Lord Vishnu spoke quietly, 'Jalandhara is dead, Vrinda' Vrinda let out a wail as Lord Vishnu continued, 'Your husband was becoming invincible because of your prayers, Vrinda...As long as you were praying for him, nothing could defeat him...'

Vrinda shouted at Lord Vishnu, 'I believed you and you let me down...I loved my husband and you cheated me...You stood like a stone, while my husband was dying in the battle...for this I curse you...' Vrinda said in an angry voice, 'I curse you that you will be trapped in a stone...'

Lord Vishnu nodded his head in a melancholy manner. 'I accept your curse, Vrinda...But remember, it was also your duty to stop your husband, when he did anything wrong...Your husband was behaving arrogantly and hurting others...He went to the extent of going to asking Lord Shiva to give up Goddess Parvathi...'

Vrinda looked at Lord Vishnu with wide fearful eyes as Lord Vishnu continued, '...Still nothing happened to him, because your prayers protected him...'

Vrinda looked heartbroken as she fell down. Vrinda breathed her last...Lord Vishnu was beside her looking at the dead face of his greatest devotee...

Lord Shiva and the Devas came and found Lord Vishnu sitting heartbroken beside a dead Vrinda. Lord Shiva came and told Lord Vishnu, 'Please do not grieve for her. She will be reborn as Tulsi...one of the greatest medicinal plants in the world...None of your prayers shall ever be complete without worshiping you with Tulsi leaves...'

Due to the curse, it is believed that the spirit of Lord Vishnu was captured in the stones near the river Gomti called as 'Saligram'. These stones are considered as sacred because they are representations of Lord Vishnu. It is also believed that Vrinda cursed Lord Vishnu to be separated from his wife and it was because of this curse that Rama [Vishnu'a avatar] was separated from Sita when she was kidnapped by Ravana, the King of Lanka. 

The birth of Uruvashi

Lord Vishnu once incarnated as the twin sons of Dharma and Murti – Narayana and Nara. The two were great devotees of Lord Shiva. They meditated and performed severe penance to understand the Brahman [The force which runs within us all].

As they performed severe penance in the forests of Badrinath, they grew powerful and strong. In fact their penance grew so strong that Indra the Lord of the Devas got worried.

He looked at the two of the sages. I will appear before the two sages and grant them some boon...then they will stop their penance...If they continue this way....they may even become more powerful than me!

He stood before the two sages who were deep in penance. 'Open your eyes great sages! I am pleased with your devotion! I wish to grant you a boon!'

Indra saw that the two sages did not even open their eyes. Indra did not realize that the two sages were not after any boon or any favour from any God. They were just meditating for the joy of it, not for any other reason....

Indra tried again. 'Open your eyes, sages!'

The sages did not even seem to hear them. Indra was frustrated. Here were two sages who did not want anything from him...The King of the Devas...

Indra got angry. Using his powers he summoned all the wild animals in the forests. The animals were dragged towards Indra. 'Attack the sages!' He commanded the wild animals and stepped back to watch what happened.

Indra was shocked on what happened next. The animals came close to the sages, looked peacefully at the meditating sages and forgot all about attacking them! The power of the meditation of the sages was making the animals forget their hunting instincts....

Indra was now scared badly. The sages were not doing anything. They were affecting their surroundings by the power of heir meditation. If this went on the two sages would soon come after his throne and there was absolutely nothing he could do about that....

Indra being the Lord of the Skies, summoned all the powers of the weather. He ordered the clouds to shower rain, cyclones and thunder at the spot where the two sages were meditating...

Indra should have however known better. The weather did not even affect the two sages....If was as if the sages did not even know that something had changed in the weather. They just continued with the meditation unmindful of anything. Even the hurricane did nothing to the two sages.

Indra thundered back to his heavens angry that two sages had made a mockery out of him....The Great Indra! He fumed. He looked around his court angrily at the Apsaras and the gandharvas....Then suddenly Indra had another idea...So what if the two sages did not want anything from me....The apsaras...they are the most beautiful women in the world...Nobody can resist watching them dance. I will send to dance before the sages...I will see how they continue with their meditation....

That was exactly what Indra did. For safe measure, he sent the Kama Deva, the God of Love and Vasanta, the Lord of Spring with the apsaras. He even sent the gandharvas to play their enticing music to charm the sages.

So the apsaras, gandharvas and the two Gods went before the two sages, who were deep in meditation. Vasanta using his powers transformed the wild forest into a beautiful garden. The gandharvas filled the garden with heavenly music. The apsaras started dancing.

By this time the two sages finished their meditation and opened their eyes. They saw around them and saw that everything around them had changed....The sages saw the apsaras dancing before them...

Narayana, the elder among the two sages came towards Kamadeva with a curious expression. 'May I ask a question?' He asked him. Kamadeva was thrilled. The apsaras had broken the concentration of the two sages. He asked the sage, 'Yes sir!'

'Who are these women?' Narayana asked him.

Kamadeva smiled and said, 'They are the apsaras of heaven. Lord Indra has sent them to you, so that you can also enjoy their dance....'

Narayana and Nara looked at each with with amused glances. The wind blew up and a flower blew towards Narayana. Narayana placed the flower on his thigh.

And Kamadeva looked astonished as the flower transformed into a woman.... Not just any woman....she was ravishingly beautiful.....She was enchanting. The woman looked so beautiful that the apsaras from heaven actually looked....not so beautiful before her....

Narayana looked at Kamadeva and said, 'I think you can take this woman with you! By my powers I am sure she can dance as well as any of your apsaras. I think you can take her back to Indra. I am sure he will enjoy her dance as well!'

Kamadeva looked at Narayana with awe and realized that the two sages were Maharishis and had overcome all desires. Kamadeva looked at the woman said hesitatingly, 'Who is she?'

Narayana smiled, 'She came from my thigh, so you can call her Uruvashi! ['Uru' means thigh in Sanskrit] She will as good as any of your apsaras. Take her with you!'

Ashamed Kamadeva went back to Indra and also took Uruvashi back with him....Kamadeva told Indra all that had happened and Indra realized that the two sages were more powerful than him and let the matter go!

However Lord Shiva did not want the matter to go...He knew that the two sages were extraordinary. He wanted the whole world to know about the power of the two sages....He watched with pride as the sages rejected all the temptations of Indra...But Lord Shiva realized that if the true glory of the two sages had to be brought out, he had to do something.....

He looked at the Pashupatastra [Shiva's most powerful weapon] with him and smiled. He knew what had to be done....

Lord Shiva took his Pashupatrastra and hurled it at the two meditating sages. The whole world watched with fear and astonishment not understanding....Why would Lord Shiva hurl the most powerful weapon known to man at his most favourite devotees? Not only that...the Lord was destroying the world....Why?

The weapon whizzed past the atmosphere at the two sages, who were now deep in meditation.

The world watched with wonder....The power of the meditation was such that the weapon did not create a scratch on them or anywhere else....The weapon just disintegrated when it reached the two sages....Everything was exactly the way it had been....

The world realized that the power of the sages was so great that not even the most powerful weapon could hurt them....

Lord Shiva smiled as the Pashupatastra now reached him again. The world now knew of the power of his devotees!

-From the Bhagawat Purana