The story of Swaminathan and Swami Malai from the Tamil Kanda Puranam challenges one of the accepted relationship hierarchies of Hindu mythology, albeit in a manner that is typical to the region. Usually the father-son relationship is one of obedience – be it Rama and Dasarath, Yayati and Puru and Bheeshman and Shantanu – in Hindu Indian mythology. This story however has a twist.

Swami Malai is a small hillock near Kumbakonam, a small town in Tamil Nadu. The temple at Swami Malai is one of the six important temples associated with the cult of Murugan. This story forms the sthala purana of the temple.

Many aeons ago, during the twilight that intervened between the Dwapara and Kāli Yugas, all men and women including barbarians and other workers of sin obtained entrance to heaven by visiting the celebrated shrine of Someswara (Somnath in Gujarat). Sacrifices, ascetic practices, charitable gifts, and all the other prescribed ordinances ceased and men thronged only to the temple of Siva. The old and young, those skilled in the Vedas and those ignorant of them, ascended to heaven, until at length it became crowded to excess.

Indra and other Gods, scared and afflicted as they were overcome by men and were nearly expelled from heaven invoked Siva. “O Sankara! By your favour now heaven is crowded with men and we are almost expelled from it. These mortals wander wherever and however they please each exclaiming himself/herself as “am the greatest, am the greatest”. Yama, the lord of Dharma and keeper of their good and evil deeds looks astonished. The seven hells were intended for these mortal wanderers of heaven but by your grace, having visited your shrine their all sins remitted and they attained most excellent life!”

Hanuman, in all versions of Ramayan has been depicted as a celibate. However there is one telling which puts him down as a married man. Not quite popularly told today, but according to Parashar Samhita he was married to a woman by the name of Suvarchala, and often referred to as Suvarchala Anjaneya. A temple in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh even has a temple dedicated to this form of Hanuman and this is one among his nine different forms. The author of this Samhita was a sage Parashar. It is important to note that this was not the same sage Parashar who has been designated as the father of Sage Vyasa.

According to this Samhita, Hanuman was the disciple of Surya, the Sun God. Surya was supposed to be proficient in nine different powers and had already taught Hanuman, five of them. However, there was a problem when it came to the other four. The rest of the four were meant for married people . This posed a problem for the eager disciple and the master too. It is said that the Gods were also worried as the nine divine powers were necessary for Hanuman as he would need them to assist Lord Vishnu’s avatar as Rama.

The creator god, the potter named Katya made a clay idol and locked it in a coffer and sent it down to earth. It penetrated several layers and dug itself into the soil where it lay until one day, two workers of the king Dhuri, Sarvan and Narayan stumbled upon it while they were ploughing his field.  They brought up the box with great difficulty and the goldsmith, Tatoba, after several attempts managed to break it open. The statue had turned into a little girl and the king and his wife, childless until then, brought her up as their own.

Soon it was time for Suravanti to wed, but that is when all the trouble started. She refused to get married. So, the king, her father, took her to the forest where he built a 7-storeyed tower and left her there. In the forest, one day Suravanti found her way to a cowpen that was extremely dirty. She swept it clean and continued to do so for a few days in a row, until the cow who lived there decided to find out who was behind the good deed.

Stories where in the beginning only women lived on earth without companionship of men is found across ancient mythologies. In this women- centric realm, men not only lose their position of power but are relegated to the position of slaves or victims of magic by which they service women in all kinds of jobs. Examples such as Amazonian women in Homer’s Illiad were sought and found somewhere near Lycia.  Diodorus mentions that the Amazons travelled from the Libya under Queen Myrina. People living under the rule of women suggest that in ancient cultures, matriarchal systems were the first social order of world. Arab geographers describe a great town in an island in the western ocean, which was free of men. Also similar ideas can be found in ancient Chinese, and Polynesian mythologies.

In Indian mythology we find a similar concept first mentioned in Mahabharata, in the context of fifth adventure of the Horse sacrifice or Ashvamedha. It is said that the horse entered a country inhabited only by women ruled by a queen Paramita.

Parashuram was the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. His story is a part of the epic literature and Parashuram is often cited for his unfailing loyalty to his father. Jamadagni was a Brahmin while Renuka belonged to the Kshatriya, or the warrior clan. Parashuram was a great worshipper of Shiva. He was a master at weaponry and is believed to have been teacher to the epic greats, Guru Dronacharya, Karna and Arjuna.

In the heart of Tamil Nadu, a little distance away from Chennai, flows the Varahanadi also known as Cankaraparani River. It is a perennial in a land of seasonal rivers and carries the mythologies of the region within her waters as it rushes into the sea, south of Pondicherry. This is the river around which the old and famous kingdom of Gingee flourished and where the epic heroine Draupadi came to reside and establish her cult.

The story of the river however has nothing to do with Draupadi but is linked with that of Vishnu and Shiva. Its name Cankaraparani is another name for the Ganga; it is the Tamil version of Shankarabharani which means the ornament of Shiva.  In ancient times Gingee was considered to be a holy site, much like Benares where the Ganga flows. It was known as Sheo Gingee (Shiva’s Gingee). The main story of the river has more to do with Vishnu than Shiva. According to Alf Hiltebeitel (The Cult of Draupadi 1-Mythologies: From Gingee to Kurukshetra), the birth of the river is linked to a relatively unknown king of Kanchipuram known as Nantacola Raja.

Once upon a time, when Krishna was with his wife, Rukmini, Narada Muni walked into their home, greeting them with his signature lines: “Narayan Narayan”. The gleam in his eyes gave Krishna a hint that Narada was up to some mischief. Krishna smiled. After the initial courtesies, Krishna asked Narada the reason of his arrival.

Narada was evasive and wondered aloud whether a devotee ever needed to have a reason to meet his idol. Krishna was not one to be taken in by such talk and he knew only too well that Narada would never come to the point directly. He decided not to pursue the matter further and let Narad have his way. He would gauge the situation as it evolved.

Rukmini offered Narada fruits and milk but, Narada refused because he said that he was too full and wouldn’t be able to have even the smallest piece of a grape. At that Rukmini was quick to ask him where it was that he had been before he came into their home.

Without looking at Krishna, Narada said that he had been to Vrindavan. The gopis, especially Radha, he said had forced him to eat so much that if he had one more morsel his insides would burst. The mention of Radha made Rakmini anxious and her face reflected her displeasure. This was just the reaction Narada was waiting for.

Krishna knew what was coming. He asked Narada to tell them what had happened there.

Narada said, “Well, all I said was that I had been to Mathura and had met Krishna. No sooner had I said that, they left all their work and began asking about you. All except Radharani, she stood in a corner and heard them silently. She had no questions which was surprising.”

Rukmini too seemed surprised but she didn’t say a word. Narada did not need any coaxing to continue, “I couldn’t help but ask her why it was that she had no questions. She merely smiled and said: ‘What does one ask about someone who is always with you?” Narada paused and looked at Rukmini.

Rukmini’s face had changed colour. She seemed angry. Krishna decided to keep quiet. Surprisingly, Narada too decided to enjoy the silence in the room. After a few minutes he belched. The sound of his burp was enough to destroy Rukmini’s poise. Upset, she asked him whether the reason for his visit was to taunt her and let her know that Radha didn’t feel the absence of Krishna who had left her a long time ago. And she went on to tell Narada, she was Krishna’s wife and his present. Radha was his past and that is where matters should rest. There was no need to discuss this any further.

By this time Narada was beginning to enjoy himself. “Past, what past? That’s not the feeling I got when I went to Vrindavan. Radha doesn’t speak about the lord in past tense. He exists in every moment of hers. Isn’t that surprising? I actually wonder how?”

Rukmini was getting angrier and angrier and even more so because Krishna was quiet and smiling. And addressing Narada though it seemed that she was indirectly speaking to Krishna, she said “Munivar, there is no doubt about my love for the lord though I do not believe in quantifying my love, and so it is a waste of time comparing. But I know that there can’t a greater lover of the lord than me.”

So saying Rukmini left the place in a huff. Krishna smiled and Narada bowed and left saying, “Narayan Narayan”.

A few days later Krishna fell ill and no medicines could cure him. Rukmini was worried. A celestial vaidya arrived at their home saying that he had been sent by the Ashwins, the celestial doctors. The vaidya was none other than Narada in disguise and, needless to say, the entire charade was a joint act by Narada and Krishna.

The vaidya examined Krishna and said gravely that he was suffering from a debilitating disease which had no cure. Rukmini looked worried and asked him to save her husband. After a long pause, he said that there was a cure but it was not easy to procure. Rukmini asked him to go ahead and tell her what he needed to help her husband get better.

The vaidya said that he would need the water which had washed the feet of someone who loved or adored Krishna. Krishna would have to drink the water and only then he could be cured. Rukmini was taken aback. She did love the lord, but making him consume water which had washed her feet, would be a sin. After all Krishna was her husband. She could not do that she said. Queen Satyabhama and the other wives also declined.

The vaidya then went to Radha and told her everything. Radha immediately poured some water on her feet and gave it to Narada in a cup. Narada warned her about the sin that she was about to commit but Radha smiled and said, “No sin can be greater than the life of the Lord”.

Rukmini was embarrassed when she heard this and accepted that there was no greater lover of Krishna than Radha.

While this story is brings out the conflict between Rukmini and Radha, it also ends up pitching two kinds of love. Love within an established relationship and love outside a relationship. Rukmini’s love is that of a wife, who seeks love in return for love. She is also constrained by society and its do’s and don’ts. Radha’s love is not bound by a social contract and is thus boundless and free of expectations. Besides, Radha’s love is unconditional and non-reciprocal. It is perhaps this factor that made Radha’s love greater than the rest. It is also probably the reason why the love story of Radha and Krishna is more popular than that of Krishna and Rukmini or other consorts.

DISCLAIMER: Talking Myths Project does not discriminate between genders nor does it endorse beliefs, practices and rituals that suggest one to be inferior to the other

STORY COLLECTED BY: Utkarsh Patel
TEXT SOURCE: Srimad Bhagvatam, Astadala Yogamala-Volume 3
LOCATION: Pan India
IMAGE DETAILS

In the Puranas, it is said that in the later ages (Kaliyuga perhaps), even an ordinary man/king can acquire the position of Indra, the king of gods. The Vishnu Purana has the following story which tells us how a mortal king became an Indra. Once there was a bitter war between the gods and the demons. The war went on for a while and there seemed to be no resolution in sight. Finally, both sides approached Brahma the creator and asked him who would eventually win this apparently unending war. Brahma thought for a while and said, “The side that the King Raji, who rules the earth, supports by taking up arms on its behalf will win this war”.
The demons were quick to approach Raji and asked him to aid them in the war. King Raji agreed but on one condition. After the war, he said, he wanted to be crowned Indra. Now the demons were in a fix. How could they possibly guarantee the kingdom of gods, even more so because Indra Prahlad’s term was not yet over? Dejected, they withdrew in disappointment.
The gods came in next with same proposition. King Raji put forth the same condition. The gods agreed at once and soon Raji joined their army and as predicted, helped them win the war. Indra had to step down and accept Raji as the supreme king of the gods. He bowed before him and placing his foot on his head said, “You have saved me from great danger, I acknowledge you as my superior and my king. From now you will be known as Indra”. But Raji was content to remain on earth and so he asked Indra to continue as his representative on the throne of heavens. Indra agreed. So even though Indra performed all the kingly duties, the oblations and sacrifices reached Raji. Although Indra was unhappy, he could do little but accept the situation since that had been the condition the gods had accepted for their victory.
However matters got out of hand when Raji’s son wanted to perpetuate the arrangement after his father’s death. Indra opposed this idea but was compelled to yield at the end. Sad and frustrated, he went to his teacher Brihaspati and asked him for a morsel of the sacrificial butter. Brihaspati was sad to see Indra’s plight and said, “Had you been courageous enough to win the war for gods earlier, you would not have ended up thus. But I can help you to regain your sovereignty.”
Brihaspati set up a yagna for Indra which would help him regain his lost powers. The yagna made Raji’s sons arrogant, they began mocking the Vedas and neglected their religious duties and ended up as enemies of gods. And at a point when they had become too weak to put up a valiant fight, Brihaspati advised Indra to kill them and reclaim his position as the king of gods.

Story collected by: Vidya Kamat
Text source: Vishnu Purana – Book IV. Chapter IX
Location: Pan India
Image details: Indra (MATHURA), Collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image Source: Wikipedia