Vikramaditya picked up Vetal from the Ashoka tree, placed him on his shoulder and started walking silently in the pitch darkness. As they walked on quietly, Vetal said to the king Vikramaditya, ‘ O King you are an exceptionally brave and wise man. So allow me to tell you a tale for your amusement. Listen carefully and answer my question at the end.” Thus Vetal began narrating the tale of Dhaval-
Madhura was the most gorgeous looking among the celestial nymphs. All gods secretly desired her, but in her heart she was in love with Shiva. She did years of penance to please him but to no effect, as Shiva was lost in his meditation. Finally she set out to find him and reached Kailash. Lo! There he was seated in deep meditation. She quietly sat before Shiva with folded hands. After a while Shiva opened his eyes and saw the beautiful young woman seating before him. He instantly fell in love, and as the night progressed they couldn’t resist making love.
There once lived an old couple in the mountains. The old lady most of the time refused to cook for the old man, complaining her knees hurt and finding it hard to walk. One day the old man got really frustrated having to labour in the jungle as well work in the kitchen and in a fit of rage hit the old lady’s knees with a pestle. Plop! popped out a frog from the old lady’s knee. As the frog hopped around, he asked the old man to arrange a bride for him. With his wrinkled face and toothless mouth, old man looked carefully at the frog and said, “ I am too old and I can’t help you much in this matter. Why don’t you approach the chieftain of this hamlet. He has a beautiful daughter. Try your luck and see if he is willing to give his daughter to you in marriage”.
So went the frog hopping door to door asking for chieftain’s home. When he found the house he sat on the fence and with his hoarse voice croaked loudly, “Father -in- law, come out , please come out”. Chieftain came out but saw no one and went back inside. Again the frog croaked, “Father -in- law, Father-in -law, please come out.” chieftain would come out and and find no one . This went on for a while till chieftain found out it was a frog, sitting on the fence calling out to him. When chieftain asked him why he is calling him ‘father in law’, frog said, “Sir, I would like to marry your daughter”. Hearing this chieftain laughed out loudly and humiliated the frog for making such a ludicrous proposition. “Go away you stupid ugly frog, you are an insignificant creature. Don’t ever dream of having my daughter’s hand in marriage”.
There was a rich businessman in a small village of Tamil Nadu in southern India who had a daughter and a son. The brother and sister were very fond of each other. When the businessman arranged for his daughter’s marriage into a rich family, the sister promised her brother that if she had a daughter, the girl would be the bride of his future son (this is a common practice in southern states of India). Soon the sister had three daughters and the brother in turn was blessed with three sons. With the passage of time, the old businessman died of old age, leaving behind a huge debt for his son to deal with. As a result, the creditors who had lent money to the father took away almost all the wealth leaving the son and his three sons on the brink of poverty.
Etiological myths are explanatory tales about why things are in the world. For instance, one finds stories that explain why sky is blue? Why sun is so hot? Why men die? etc. etc. This curious tale from Battara tribe in Chetliguda district of Orissa explains how women got to have breasts.
Most of the myths associate goddess Renuka, mother of Parshuram suggest her role as a fertility goddess and is often symbolized in the form of a pot or ghata. However, Mala and Madiga communities of South Andhra see goddess Renuka in a different light and identify a peculiar kind of mushroom as her symbol. Whenever these mushrooms erupt over the soil they take it as a sign of the arrival of goddess Renuka, and celebrate it by singing the praises of her as a warrior goddess. These songs are sung by professional singers of the pambalavandlu community.
Renuka was the daughter of a mountain king (Shiva) and his wife Jamilika ( Parvati). She was married to sage Jamadgni who was known for his short tempered nature. Together they had a son by the name of Parshuram. Once a group of rakshasas attacked the mountain king and he ran and hid in a cave refusing to come out. When Renuka came to know of this she went to her husband Jamadagni, balancing seven pots containing rice and water on her head, to ask his permission to enter into the battlefield to kill the rakshasa. But Vishnu wanted to test her devotion towards her husband. He along with Narada, approached her in the form of a beggar while she was on her way to meet Jamadagni and begged for alms. Taking pity on the hungry beggars Renuka shared some grain and water with them. When Jamadagni came to know that part of his food was first shared with strangers he burned with anger and ordered his son Parshurama to behead his mother. Parshurama dutifully fulfilled his father’s command. But soon repented and chopped off his own hand in remorse for killing his own mother.
Who can forget the classic scene from Bollywood film Jane bhi do yaro when actor Om Puri enters the stage dressed as Bheema wearing aviator sunglasses and a mace across his shoulder, frantically pacing the stage? What unfolds then on is a theater of the absurd.
While depicting the epics , the folk theater utilizes exaggeration as a strategy and a technique to evoke contemporary themes. Stories that were never part of the written texts, were appended through impromptu performances in these folk theaters, to highlight any given contemporary issue. Popular mythologies thus used the contested space between the traditional and the colonial worldviews to change the landscape of Indian mythological narratives. The following episode noted in a folk performance from North Karnataka highlights the predicament of transgendered individuals .
There are many tales in the Vedas about Agni, the god who personifies the fire element. Here is an an intriguing tale from Adiparva (1.5-7), told by the bard Ugrashravas to Shaunak, who was performing a twelve year sattra. This tale is about why Agni went into hiding from the world and the other gods.
Puloma was married to sage Bhrigu. While she was pregnant with Bhrigu’s child, Bhrigu had to leave her alone at the hermitage and go away to attend a royal consecration. Meanwhile a Rakshas, by the name Puloman arrived at the hermitage. In the absence of her husband, Puloma as a duty bound wife received the Rakshas following the prescribed rites of hospitality. Having seen Puloma, the Rakshas was filled with passion and began to wonder whether Puloma was the same girl he had chosen as his wife, but instead was given to Bhrigu by her father. He wanted to clear his doubt before he made the next move. So when he saw fire (Agni) burning in the fire-pit (kunda), he commanded Agni to tell him the truth by revealing Puloma’s true identity. “If she is Bhrigu’s wife then I would carry her away, and if you tell me a lie then I would curse you”, he roared at Agni. Caught in the double bind, Agni chose to tell the truth and revealed that Puloma was indeed Bhrigu’s wife.
Instantly the Rakshas assumed the form of a wild boar and swooped down on the sage’s wife, swung her on to his back, and sped away. Unfortunately in the midst of this commotion the foetus she was carrying fell out of her womb. As it fell, it brightened the sky like a sun. As soon as Rakshas Puloman turned around and looked at the baby he was burnt to ashes by the incandescent light that emanated from the foetus. The baby eventually came to be called Cyavana, meaning the ‘falling one’.
Puloma, scooped up her son Cyayana and fled weeping so much so that her tears combined became a river that followed her. Meanwhile Bhrigu who was returning from his royal duty saw his wife and son distraught and in a state of panic and fear. He promptly questioned Puloma “Who revealed your identity to Rakshas?” “He could not have found out who you are by himself,” ranted Bhrigu. Puloma told him it was Agni who was responsible for her plight. In the heat of his anger Bhrigu cursed Agni ‘sarvabhaksho bhavishyasi”. From now on you will be omnivorous!
Hearing Bhrigu’s curse, Agni was incensed and rebuked Bhrigu, “How dare you curse me sage Bhrigu? I was only doing the duty of a witness. Don’t you know I am the ‘mouth’ that feeds the gods and ancestors, and it is through me they ‘eat’ the oblations they receive from the faithful? I am the carrier of sacrificial oblations to the gods and ancestors, and how could I be omnivorous?” Saying this Agni disappeared from the world and went into hiding.
When Agni disappeared from the sacrificial grounds, gods and sages were in great distress. They approached Brahma and told their plight. Brahma summoned Agni and pacified him by praising him as the maker of the world. And said, “O Agni, you will not be omnivorous with all your body, but only with certain flames. Besides, whatever you burn or ‘eat’ will be automatically be purified, hence you should not hesitate to resume your sacrificial duties.” Agni was satisfied with Brahma’s words and returned.
Indologists concur that the meaning of myths connected to Agni have to be understood in relation to the ritual texts of Brahmans.
Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat
Text Source: The Sanskrit Epics Representation of Vedic Myths by Danielle Feller
Location: Pan India
Image: Wikipedia courtesy http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-34377946-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/246951
Is chastity a desirable virtue only for a woman? And is chastity all about sexual fidelity? This story from a Tamil version of the Mahabharata illustrates how true friendship between men can be an equally lofty virtue.
One day, in Hastinapura, in a rare moment of relaxation, Karna happened to be playing dice with Duryodhana’s wife, Bhanumathi in her harem. Duryodhana was, however, not present, as he was out attending to the kingdom’s affairs. Meanwhile, Karna and Bhanumati were thoroughly enjoying the game. But as time progressed, Bhanumati slowly started to lose to Karna.
After driving through the thick forest for hours in the tiny village of Loliem at Canacona South Goa, we finally managed to locate the Betal shrine. The very first sight of Betal was unsettling to say the least. There was no shrine* but a towering black basalt stone idol of Betal, stark naked with his piercing gaze stood amidst thick green foliage of the rainforest. The smell of freshly soaked earth in first monsoon showers combined with the pregnant silence made the setting poignant. We were awestruck by the beauty and grace of the solitary god who stood mutely watching over his territory.
