All stories have a beginning and an end. That’s what makes a story. But what if a story has no end or conclusion. Here is a curious example where the storyteller tricked a King by not ending a story.

Once there was a King who was very fond of listening to stories. He would listen to each and every storyteller that would visit his kingdom and keep demanding for more stories. Often these storytellers would run out of stories and King would be disappointed because he wanted more. One day, the King sent his town crier around his kingdom with the announcement that the King would award a thousand pieces of gold to any storyteller who could make the king get tired of listening to stories and make him admit “I had enough.” Many storytellers from adjoining towns got excited about the prize money and thought of trying their luck. But soon they would exhaust their collection of stories and the King would be still looking forward for more stories.

Defeated and crestfallen the storytellers would return home. One of the storytellers who had tried his luck at meeting the challenge and lost, told his friend about the challenge of storytelling. “Well if you win the challenge you would get thousand gold pieces,” he told his friend.

The friend of the storyteller was tempted by the award money and thought hard the whole night. Next day he arrived at the King’s court and said he was ready to accept the challenge. King’s courtiers led him to the chamber where the King would listen to the stories. The King entered the chamber and settled down and the storyteller’s friend began narrating his story… ” Once upon a time, a large flock of parrots sat on a tree. The tree was located next to a huge field that was freshly harvested with the gathered grain left in a large heap in the field. The farmers were planning to husk it the next day and send it to the granary. Suddenly one parrot swooped down from the tree towards the heap of grain, it picked up a few grains in its beak and flew back to the tree. Very soon another parrot swooped down towards the heap of grain picked up a few grains in his beak and came back…” Thus the storyteller went on for hours narrating one by one the parrots swooping down and picking up a few grains. The King, according to the contract had to respond with ” Hmmmm…” to suggest he is attentively listening to the tale. But after hours of listening to the same thing the King was now getting tired, bored and sleepy, but the storyteller was still counting parrots swooping down one by one.

Shukra, a brahmana by birth was a son of sage Bhrigu, and an ardent devotee of Shiva. After years of penance he managed to please Lord Shiva who bestowed on him the secret of sanjivanividya– the secret knowledge of immortality, by which he could bring a dead person to life. People feared Shukra for his knowledge and power.  Soon Shukra pledged his allegiance to Asuras and became their preceptor , thus he was known as Shukracharya.

Once a dreadful battle broke out between Asura Andhaka and Shiva’s army. There were high casualties on both the sides and victory seemed far away from the grasp of Devas. At one point it appeared as though Devas would lose the battle as the Asuras literally outnumbered Devas. Nandi, Shiva’s commander wondered, “How is it possible that in spite of killing so many Asuras their numbers doesn’t seem to diminish”? He rushed to Shiva, his master and said, ” My lord, it is time you got into the battlefield, else Devas would certainly lose this battle. Our army is simply getting outnumbered and slaughtered by Asuras”. Listening to Nandi’s pleas Shiva entered the battle and began the massacre of Asuras. But there was no respite, as Asura soldiers kept on coming in hordes. Intrigued by this phenomena Nandi stealthily followed Asuras to their camp and discovered the secret. Shukracharya, the preceptor of Asuras was bringing the dead asuras back to life with the power of sanjivanividya.

Nandi rushed back to Shiva and described what he witnessed at the Asura camp. Shiva realised that if Shukracharya is abducted and hidden away from Asuras he would no longer be able to administer sanjivinividya and bring dead Asuras back to life, and devas could win the battle. Shiva ordered Nandi to capture Shukracharya and bring him. Nandi immediately went ahead and managed to abduct Sukracharya and brought him to Shiva. Shiva grabbed and tucked him away in his mouth, thus hiding Sukracharaya from the Asuras. Soon enough Devas won the battle and Asuras were vanquished. Now it was time to bring Shukracharya back into world from his mouth, else Shiva would have committed the grave sin of killing a learned and distinguished brahmana.
Alas! In the heat of the battle Shiva had unknowingly swallowed Shukracharya, and there was no way to spit him out. Shiva then released Shukracharya back into the world through his body fluid in the form of semen. Shiva thus addressed him ” O scion of Bhrigus! now that you are born out of my body fluids, you are a son to me.”

Story collected by : Vidya Kamat
Text source: Skanda Purana II.16
Location: Pan India
Image copyright : Vidya Kamat

In India rivers are venerated as mothers. And are given the status of ‘Jagat Mata’ or world mother, the same status given to cows. The tale of river Payoshani explains how the symbolism of the river gets equated to that of the cow.

King Gaya was known for his generosity and hospitality towards all, and especially towards ascetic Brahmanas. But Gaya’s charity and larger than life presence considerably diminished the power of the Brahmana’s asceticism.The Brahmanas became very unhappy, but they could neither curse Gaya nor bring down the power and influence he had acquired through charity. So the Brahmanas decided to force Gaya to commit a breach of hospitality in order to reduce his influence.

One day during the very hot days of summer, when the land is parched, and grass is dry, and cows yield less milk, the Brahmanas began arriving in large numbers at Gaya’s palace. Soon the numbers amounted to seventy million. They gathered around Gaya’s palace, demanding cow’s milk to be served as lunch.

Worried Gaya began searching for milk all across the universe. But even Indra’s Kamadhenu ( Wish-fulfilling cow) could not meet the demand of providing milk to so many ascetics, nor could Vishnu’s milky ocean hold that much milk. Finally Gaya approached Shiva who offered him the moon’s daughter, the crescent of the moon that rests on Shiva’s head. She assumed the form of a beautiful maiden and followed Gaya to his palace. She then served each and every one of the seventy million ascetics cupfuls of warm milk, refilling every now and then whenever the ascetics would demand for more.

Ascetics did not want to give up so easily. So they kept on drinking milk till their mouths could not swallow and their stomachs were bloated. Out of desperation they poked holes in the bottom of the leaf cup that was used to serve milk to them. But the cups kept on refilling with milk and started overflowing and began flooding the earth. Unable to hold the milk in their stomach, ascetics started vomiting milk through their nose and mouth.They became intrigued by the beautiful maiden who had the magical ability of producing milk in abundance, and began pursuing her. Soon the moon’s daughter reached the earth and immediately began flowing across the land as river Payoshani ( ushna paya= warm milk)

Story collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: Payoshani Mahatmya ; Water and womanhood by Anne Feldhause
Location: Maharashtra
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat.

You can’t miss noticing the temple of Ravalnath in villages of Konkan or Goa. Ravalnath’s distinctive presence makes it obvious that he is the principal guardian deity and an important gramdevata of the region.

But who is this god that goes by the name Ravalnath?
Besides the Konkan region and Goa, Ravalnath is rarely visible within the Indian religious landscape. Shrines of Ravalnath are mainly found between Kudal in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, and Goa, and in Belgaon and some parts of Uttar Kannada in Karnataka. There are as many as 49 shrines in Goa. and more than 211 shrines in Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra.

Considering the number of shrines dedicated to Ravalnath in Konkan and Goa, it can be said he is a god of the masses. Ravalnath is primarily a deity associated with the dispensation of justice. The three major shrines of Ravalnath are in Pedne ( Goa) , Chandgadh ( Kolhapur) and Otavane ( Sawantwadi). It is believed that these three shrines work in tandem to dispense justice to their devotees. These three Ravalnaths work like a bench of judges in a court. The belief is, at a time only two Ravalnath-s can dispense justice and give verdict to settle the dispute of its devotees. The third Ravalnath remains silent or rests, so to speak, in local parlance during this period. Once the deity gives the verdict, people follow it with utmost reverence and faith as they fear the deity’s wrath and the destruction that would follow if they disobey. The bond between god Ravanath and the people of Konkan Goa is that of affection but at the same time there is fear and reverence .

No one knows from where they came or how they ended up in Goa, but the priest of Lairai temple narrates the following tale about the Seven sisters. Seven sisters and their younger brother came from Karnataka region riding an elephant. They first stopped over at Mayem village in Bicholim Taluka of north Goa. As soon as they arrived, Mhamai the eldest of the seven sisters, sent the brother Khetalo to fetch fire from near by market. She wanted to set up a stove to cook food for all of them. Young Khetalo went in search of fire to the nearby market and got lost in the hustle bustle of the market. Mhamai then asked Lairai and Kelbai to go find out why Khetalo was taking such a long time to fetch fire. The two sisters found Khetalo engrossed in watching children playing games, having forgotten his errand to fetch fire. Lairai got furious and kicked him hard. Kelbai watched without intervening while Khetalo was being kicked. Lairai kicked Khetalo so hard that he got a permanent bent in his waist. Lairai repented her action and vowed to atone her sin by walking through fire. Kelbai too felt ashamed and guilty for standing silently and watching her brother being kicked. She too vowed that she would walk carrying fire on her head. Eventually the seven sisters and their brother dispersed among the various villages of Goa.

There was a village simpleton who dreamt of becoming a respected wise man as he was mocked by his friends as the village fool. One day he expressed his wish to his friends. “How can I become a wise man ?” he asked innocently. They advised him to visit the Guru who sat under the Peepul tree just outside the village boundary.

The village simpleton approached the guru who was none other than one of his friends in disguise as a Guru. Folding his hands, he asked” Sir, the whole village laughs at me and calls me an idiot. I want to become a wise man like you . What should I do to be a wise man?” Guru thought for a while and said, ” If you follow my instructions religiously, you will be a wise man one day. You will have to get me a large fresh fish from the river every day”. It was a strange request. But simpleton was desperate man, willing to do anything to achieve his goal.

He started getting fish for the guru every day. Guru would cut the head of the fish give it to dullard and tell him to cook and eat it as ‘prashad’ . Months passed by and the routine followed. One day, simpleton after handing over the fish to guru asked him” Sir, every day I get one whole fish. You give me the head as ‘prashad’. but what happens to the rest of body of the fish?” Guru laughed and said” Son, you have become a wise man now. you need not get me fish from tomorrow onwards.”

Story Collected by Vidya Kamat
Source: Kamala Nilakanth
Location : Kerala

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

This is a tribal myth from the Gond community, told during harvesting as part of ‘bidri rites’ or sowing time in the month of November.

Once Earth and Sky fell madly in love with each other. They decided to approach the creator Bhagwan and confess to him about their love.

Bhagwan was very happy and said” Let us get you married, and I will offer the bride”. Having said this, Bhagwan made grand preparations for the wedding and invited each and every creature to celebrate the event. All the creatures rejoiced as the festivities began. But the Jackal was grumpy and stayed aloof with a smirky smile. He did not take part in any of the festivities, nor helped Bhagwan to entertain the guests. As the moment of wedding approached, Bhagwan brought out the coy bride Earth clad in red wedding saree, adorned with the finest jewellery to offer her hand in marriage to the Sky. As she was about to offer her hand to the Sky, Jackal shouted in a loud and clear and contemptuous voice,” Surely Bhagwan has gone mad. The world is coming to an end!” Everyone in the wedding hall turned their heads towards the Jackal in shock. Earth, visibly startled and confused, halted her hand midway. Many were angry. But Jackal kept on repeating that Bhagawan is making a big mistake by agreeing to the marriage of Earth to Sky. “We are all doomed if Earth and Sky are married “he said adamantly.

Bhagwan patiently approached Jackal and asked him why he was uttering such unholy words during an auspicious moment. The cunning jackal replied, ” Oh Bhagawan! How come you have forgotten a simple truth? When Earth and Sky have their conjugal embrace there will be no space left between the two, and all the creatures living on Earth will be crushed to death. We all will die.”

Bhagawan at once realised the seriousness of his comment and immediately cancelled the wedding. Earth was married to Sun.

——————————–

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat

Source: Folktales from Central India by Durga Bhagvat

Location : Madhya Pradesh

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

“I am Black in colour”
That’s what Goddess Annapooreswari told the great King Valabhan Kolathiri.
Valabhan Kolathiri was known as the ‘Great and famous lord’ as he ruled over the land from his fort ‘Valpattanam’. With a battery of able ministers and a strong army of twenty five thousand warriors, King Valabhan was respected and revered by his subjects for being very just ruler. More over his subjects also praised the King for persuading goddess Annapoornadevi to come and stay in the village of Cherukunnu.

The legend is – once a sage from the Brigu lineage did prolonged penance at the shrine of goddess Annapoornadevi of Kashi. Pleased by his devotion towards her, Goddesses told the sage, she would accompany him to his land- Malayaland , today’s state of Kerala. Thus the Goddess and her attendants travelled by sea and landed at the west cost. From there she traveled into the interiors by road and reached the village of Cherukunnu where she held a feast for the Brahmins as it was an auspicious day, the dwadashi in the month of Makaram.

Meanwhile the King Valabham Kolathiri got the news of Goddess’s arrival in his land and he rushed to meet her. The pious King bowed low and requested her to grant permission to build a temple celebrating the memory of her visit. The Goddesses could not refuse the King’s request and thus Valabhan quickly ordered the building of a grand temple for the goddess. He invited the best craftsmen and architects for the job. When it came to the making of the idol, Goddess appeared in King’s dream asked him to cast the idol using panchloha (an alloy made out of five metals). King immediately set the best goldsmith in the land on the job. When the goldsmith completed the idol the King was dismayed to see the idol had turned black in colour. He admonished the goldsmith to adjust the proportion of the metals in the alloy and ordered more gold to be added to the cast so that the Goddess would acquire a glowing complexion. But inspite of adding more and more gold to the alloy, the casted idol invariably would turn black in colour. King was disappointed and unhappy as he could not understand why the cast was turning black. Late evening the King fell asleep burdened by the thought that temple consecration was getting delayed due to the black idol. That night Goddess appeared in his dream and said “Oh King don’t you worry about my complexion because I am black in colour. I am Maha Kaleshwari, the black goddess. Go ahead and cast my idol in the black panchaloha metal”.
King got the idol recast again and consecrated it in the temple.
Since then Goddess Annapoornadevi has stayed on at Cherukkunu, and she came to be known as the black goddess or Maha Kaleshwari.

Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat

Source: Lore and legends of North Malabar by Vanidas Elayvoor

Location Kerala

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

The image of a snake or serpent brings to the mind those archetypal associations of jealousy, animosity, vindictiveness, and even anger. Indian mythology is replete with serpent stories portraying various aspects of this archetypal symbol. But what if a snake gives up his natural tendency of animosity and vindictiveness and turn into a kind and benevolent creature? The great acharya Ramakrishna Paramhansa told the following story to his disciples while explaining the role and function of anger.

Once upon a time, a group of cowherds used to graze their cows in a nearby pasture. A venomous snake had made a corner of this grass field into his abode, and was notorious for biting and killing anyone who ventured into that area. Everyone was scared of him and avoided the area he occupied. One day a holy man from the nearby village came passing through the grass field. The cowherd boys came running towards the holy man and warned him “Oh sir, Please avoid crossing that area as a dangerous snake lives there, he might bite you”. The Brahmana said “ I am not afraid of snakes because I know a secret mantra that can make snake poison ineffective. This mantra will protect me. “Saying thus he walked on towards the pasture. As the boys were scared, they did not dare to accompany him. Suddenly, the snake slithered out of the bushes, reared up, spread his hood and came hissing towards the Brahmana ready to strike him down. Seeing the snake Brahmana began chanting his mantra and the snake immediately lost its power and fell limp at his feet like a worm.

Every local version of Ramayana has tried to include additional details to Valmiki’s Ramayana, that they thought were missing or lacking in the text. Thus every local version enriches the original text with layers of counter narratives adding to the tradition of Ramayana in India.

Bundeli Ramayana from Bundelkhand an area sandwiched between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is no exception. Sung in the oral form, the following incidents are added in Bundeli Ramayana to throw light on some of the unanswered questions in Valmiki’s Ramayana text such as who was Rama’s sister?

Not much is known about Rama’s sister Shanta. The only time she is mentioned in Valmiki’s Ramayana is when Dasharath invites sage Rishyasringa to officiate the sacrifice of Putrakameshthi, to get son/s and an heir to his kingdom. After the completion of the  sacrifice Dasharath offers his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa in lieu of his officiating fee. Valmiki does not tell us anything about Shanta’s birth. The question becomes interesting as all the queens of Dasharath were childless. Who then was the mother of Shanta ? Bundeli Ramayana tries to address this lacuna through the following tale.

Once King Dasharath and his friend King Janak was on a hunting trip. As they tracked their prey, King Dasharath inadvertently entered a forest patch where men were barred from entering. The belief was the forest resonated with feminine power and was strictly reserved for women, and if any male would enter the forest, he would turn into a female. Dasharath, having entered the forest by chance turned into a woman. For years he wandered around in female form. Then one day he met a man, had a relationship with him and conceived a child. This female child was named Shanta. After the birth of Shanta, Dasharatha regained his maleness and returned to his palace with the child. Thus Shanta became Dasharath’s first child, but he was her mother.