One of the striking feature of Indian gods and goddesses is their multiple heads. It is not just gods but demons and animals too are represented with multiple heads. Divine creatures having multiple heads is a significant feature of Vedic mythology which has been carried on later into the Puranas . In Vedic mythology, Agni has four heads, Parjanya has three, Brihaspati has seven heads. Thus there are references to three heads, four heads, five heads and even sahahtra meaning numerous heads for certain divinities. Among the Puranic gods, Brahma is said to have four heads. Bhagavad Puranas suggest that while Vishnu lay in deep sleep on the serpent Ananta, a lotus stalk emerged out of his navel and bloomed giving birth to god Brahma. As soon as Brahma emerged into this world he looked around in four directions and manifested four heads, one for each direction. Brahma’s four heads represent the space or four direction or four cardinal points. However there are certain Puranic texts that suggest Brahma originally had five heads and not four. So, what is the mystery behind the fifth head of Brahma?

There are various versions of this tale that introduces the fifth head of Brahma.
Vaman Purana states in the beginning of creation Vishnu lay floating on the waters. First he created Brahma who had five heads. His next creation was Shiva, who too had five heads. Both the gods started quarrelling about their superiority and finally Shiva in a fit of anger chopped Brahma’s fifth head. According to Skanda Purana, as Brahma and Vishnu sat arguing about who is superior, a fiery column emerged out of nowhere seeming to have no beginning nor end and stretching into the skies , Vishnu and Brahma decided to find its origin and its end point. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew skywards to lookout for the head of the column. And Vishnu took the form of the boar and dived into deep waters. After a while they returned and Shiva asked them “Did you find its source?’ and Vishnu admitted that he could not find its source. But Brahma uttered a lie and said he had seen its end point. Shiva immediately chopped Brahma’s fifth head for uttering that lie. Yet in another context it is said the fifth head of Brahma gazed passionately at his own daughter therefore Shiva chopped off that head. It is also said, that all the four heads of Brahma recited four vedas, ie Rigveda, Yajurveda, Atharveda and Samveda each, while fifth head could recite all the Vedas and also the Itihasa. This ability of Brahma to assimilate and hold so much of knowledge worried the other gods who begged Shiva to contain Brahma’s powers. Thus Shiva clipped the fifth head of Brahma with his nail of left hand. In yet another instance it is said that while arguing over who is superior between Shiva and Brahma, all five heads of Brahma started abusing Shiva, and in anger Shiva cut Brahma’s fifth head.

Brahma Purana itself gives an interesting variation of this myth. Once a fierce battle broke out between Asuras and Devas. While Brahma stood amidst armies of Devas, his fifth head which was of a donkey, brayed loudly- ” O you Daityas, why do you run away? Why are you scared of Devas? I shall devour all the Devas for you in a moment”. Hearing this the other Gods got scared and approached Vishnu. He heard them out and then said ” If you cut the head of Brahma and if it falls on earth it would destroy the whole Earth. You need a god who could hold his head in hand without letting it fall on the earth.Only Shiva has the strength to fulfil such an act. Gods thus approached Shiva who promptly cut Brahma’s fifth head . But the severed head got stuck on his palm- and Shiva could not shake it off. It had turned into a skull. Shiva thus roamed earth as Kapalika, or the skull bearer. In another version it is said Bhairav cut off Brahma’s head.

All the versions of the tale concur on the common motif that Brahma’s fifth head had to be clipped off as it spoke inanities, and Shiva is the one who cut off the the fifth head of Brahma. While trying to understand the meaning of the myth, the act of cutting of Brahma’s fifth head cannot be taken literally. But it has to be understood within the context of the Vedic ritual tradition.

Story Collected by Vidya Kamat
Source: Puranic Myth and Culture by S. A. Dange
Location: Pan India
Image Copyright : Vidya Kamat

Kashi is said to be the city of Gods. Kashi is specially known as the abode of Lord Shiva who is called as  Kashi-Visheshwara. There is an interesting myth that reveals how Shiva came to Kashi and chose to stay on in the city. The story is narrated in the Kashi-khand which is part of Skandapurana.

After her marriage with Shiva, Parvati travelled to Kailash mountain, the abode of Shiva to stay with him. But Parvati soon got bored of the solitude and silence of the mountains and started feeling lonely. She began impressing upon Shiva to leave the mountains for a city. ” People live in cities and we must live amidst them to be able to understand their problems. We can help them whenever they need us” Parvati argued. Shiva accepted Parvati’s demand, and thus Shiva and Parvati came to Kashi and settled amidst people. Soon hoards of minor gods also came to Kashi and made it their home. The city of Kashi thus got crowded with gods occupying each and every nook and corner of the city.

Kashi was ruled by a virtuous king Divodas. Divodas belonged to solar and lunar dynasties and was a very powerful king as he had the blessings of all the gods. As Kashi got more and more crowded with new gods settling in, Divodas could not perform his duties to his human subjects as their King. He finally confronted the gods and argued “The heaven is the exclusive abode of the gods, and nether region is the abode of Nagas and other semi divine beings. Earth was created for the human beings. Now that gods are living in Kashi and have crowded the earth, it is making life difficult for humans. As the the King of Kashi, it is my duty to bring justice to my subjects, so I would request all the gods to leave Kashi.” Gods were extremely saddened by Divodas’s order, but could not counter his argument. Thus all the gods had to pack their bags, and leave the city of Kashi. That included Shiva and his family .

Shiva with his wife Parvati chose Mount Mandar as their new home. But Shiva began to miss Kashi and longed for the life in Kashi. Gods were saddened watching Shiva being so unhappy and disturbed, and decided to help out by finding some space in the city of Kashi for him to stay. They tried various ways to enter the city but King Divodas was adamant and held on to his word ” No gods in Kashi please.”

Finally Vishnu and Vinayaka decided to find a solution to the problem. Vinayaka took the form of an astrologer and came to Kashi. Soon he became popular among the people of the city for his accurate predictions. Divodas too got the wind of the new astrologer in the town and decided to invite him to his court. Vinayaka went to Divodas’s court and proclaimed that a divine couple would visit the city soon and advised the king that people should obey couple’s advise, which will bring peace and prosperity to the city of Kashi. As predicted by Vinayaka, Vishnu and Lakshmi came in the form of a mendicant couple and started helping people with their problems. People soon started trusting them as the couple brought great relief to the people of Kashi by solving the problems they were facing. After gaining their trust Vishnu and Lakshmi began telling people to stop all the Dharmic activities in Kashi. People took their words to heart and stopped all the yagnas and offerings to the gods. And soon city of Kashi fell into the chaos and darkness of adharma. Lawlessness and crime increased, weakening the position of king Divodas. Shiva ceased this opportunity and attacked Kashi with his army and captured the city by defeating Divodas. Divodas was driven out of Kashi and Shiva resettled with his family and all the parivar devatas in Kashi and Kashi became the city of Gods.

In another tale narrated in the Harivamsha, it is said that Divodas was a great and virtuous King who ruled the city of Kashi. But he was deeply troubled that he had no son to hand over his kingdom. One day he came to know that there is a yaksha named Nikumbha who lives in Kashi and helps people with their problems. People praised Nikumbha for granting them their wishes and soon his popularity started growing. Divodas too tried to seek his blessings and sent his wife to ask for a boon to have a son. But Nikumbha did not help Divodas and refused to grant him the boon of having a son. Divodas got angry with Nikumbha and destroyed all his shrines in Kashi. As Nikumbha left Kashi he cursed Divodas that one day his city would get destroyed and will become like a cemetery. And indeed his curse came true. The city of Kashi was completelpely destroyed and turned into a cemetery. It is then Shiva who likes to live in cemeteries decided to come to Kashi and make it his abode. Along with Shiva came his parivar devatas and they too settled down in Kashi. Thus Kashi became the city of gods, and since then Kashi has been the abode of Shiva on this earth.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: as narrated by  Pranav Goghale. Textual source: Kashi Khand, and Harivamsa
Location : Kashi, Uttar Pradesh
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

In Maharashtra the word ‘Mauli’ means mother. But god Vitthal is often addressed as Mauli, meaning mother of the devotee, suggesting the androgynous nature of the deity as the ultimate creator of the universe. In bhakti poetry tradition the relationship between the male god and his devotees is constantly reinforced using the example of the relationship between a mother and her child. Speaking of mother and child bonding, the bond between the mother and her daughter is especially strengthened during the first pregnancy of the daughter. This tale from South India describes how Shiva chose to play the role of a mother to comfort and nourish a daughter during her
first child birth.

For many years a merchant from South India worshipped Shiva and prayed to him to bless him with a child. Eventually, Shiva blessed him with a daughter. When this young girl came of age, the merchant married her to the son of a wealthy family from another state across the river Kaveri. Unfortunately, the merchant died of old age without getting a chance to see his grandchild. Soon the girl became pregnant with the her first child. As per the custom her mother invited the girl to her parental home for the delivery of her first baby. But the husband of the girl advised her, “Your mother is now old. Why do you want to burden her in her old age. Instead she can come and stay with us and help you with our first child.” The daughter readily agreed and conveyed the message to her old mother. The old lady too consented to visit her daughter with all the paraphernalia needed for delivering the baby. Meanwhile river Kaveri got flooded blocking all the travel across the river. The old lady could not cross the river and come to her daughter’s house.

Everyday the daughter would wait at the door way for her mother, counting days and thinking she would turn up today or tomorrow as her delivery date drew near. She kept thinking ” My mother will bring all the clothes for the new baby and saree for me and she would also bring some of my favourite food along. Oh mother! how much I miss you now as I am going to be a first time mother”.

The due date drew closer , but the water from the river Kaveri refused to subside. Meanwhile, Shiva who was observing the daughter of his devotee felt pity for the new mother to be, and took the form of her mother. Like her mother, his back was bent, his hair were white, and he carried a bamboo staff in his hand. He walked towards the girls’s house, taking slow steps and panting a bit. Uma and Ganga were sent ahead as servants with bundles of goods needed for the new mother.The girl was overjoyed to see her mother. ” I have bought you new sarees, and jewels and your favourite sweets” said the old lady. The very next day the daughter went into labour and Shiva as the old woman helped the daughter deliver the baby like a professional midwife. A baby boy was born, whom Shiva cleaned and bathed in perfumed water, placed him in the cradle and and gently rocked him to sleep singing lullabies. Shiva diligently performed each and every duty a mother would do for her daughter during her first delivery.

When the floods receded, the old lady- the real mother of the girl arrived at her house. When the daughter saw the two woman face to face, she cried ” Oh God! who is my real mother? ”
Shiva smiled at the girl, blessed her and quietly disappeared into the sky.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: Tamil Temple myths by David Shulman
Location : Tamil Nadu
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

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 many folk traditions in India the first creator is always the Mother- nature.

The following tale is collected from the Nukulamma temple of Ankapalle town of Vishakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh. This tale presents ‘Para Shakti’ or the supreme feminine power as the first creator of this universe. To create the universe she laid three eggs. Two of them remained unhatched but the third one hatched and Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara ( Shiva) were born. Parashakti as a young devoted mother suckled and nourished them into strong healthy adolescents. When they came of age she gave them each their own cities to dwell and rule. Shiva was given the city of Devagiri to rule. But over a period of time all her three sons turned rogue and disobedient and disregarded her authority as their mother.

One day Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva gathered in Devagiri, enjoying their time together and as usual ignoring their mother. Parashakti decided to teach the boys a lesson. She transformed herself into a twelve hooded cobra and coiled around the city of Devagiri. A fierce battle broke between Parashakti and her three sons- Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva. Parashakti easily won the battle and she killed her sons by biting them on their heads. But, being the loving mother she was, she became very sad and unhappy, and she brought them back to life, whereupon Brahma Vishnu and Shiva admitted their wrong doings and surrendered themselves to her power and authority. She forgave them and established them as ‘Gods’ who would always look after the interests of mankind and take care of them.

Some Folk-myths try to remind the supreme position of the Mother Nature. Lest we forget.
———————————————-
Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Textual Source: Shree Padma, Vicissitudes of the Goddess, OUP, New York, 2013
Location : Andhra Pradesh
Image Copyright : Vidya Kamat

If you are lucky on the eve of Diwali, then you may be a winner all the way through the New Year!
That’s the belief which prompts people of India to gamble the whole night long before they usher in Hindu new year during Diwali festival. Traditionally gambling is prohibited in Hindu religious doctrines except on the night before Diwali.
Interestingly, chaupar the game of dice as it was called in ancient India was a very popular form of gambling. It gets its mention in Rig Veda as well as in Atharveda. Rigveda records the story of sage Kavasa Ailusa, who was a great sage but a diehard gambler and eventually lost everything in his life to the game of dice.

A chaupar ‘board’* is traditionally an embroidered cloth in the shape of a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns and each column is divided into eight squares. The ‘dice ‘are seven cowry shells or oblong wooden dice known as pasa, pasak, parsa .

There are archeological finds that reveal that chaupar was played in Mohenjo-daro and Harappa during 2500 BCE. The same dice game was also used for divination purposes and the text written in 4 C. AD. called ‘Pasak Kevali’ is a manual dedicated to reading the signs of dice throws for the purpose of divination. In the epic Mahabharata, the game of dice, plays a central role in the plot, suggesting that this game of dice was much more than a common game played solely for the sake of entertainment.

Once there lived a rich landlord in an Indian village. He was an arrogant and vain man who believed that no one can be greater than him. Not even Lord Shiva! to whom the whole village bowed with great reverence and devotion.

One day he decided to take the matters in his hands and establish his superiority once and for all. He asked the town crier to announce that from now on, no one should worship Shiva or sing praises or offer prayers to Shiva. Instead, people should invoke the landlord’s name so that they can get help and justice, because “ There can’t be any other saviour besides me” he declared to the villagers from the town hall. If any villager was caught praying to Shiva he was beaten brutally by the landlord’s men. The villagers continued living in fear of the landlord’s goons who terrorized them all the time. Finally, they could not bear the fact that they could not pray to Shiva, their beloved god! So they appealed to Shiva to resolve the situation.

Shiva heard the villagers’ cry for help and decided to teach a lesson to the landlord. Dressed like a wandering mendicant Shiva entered the village temple singing praises of Shiva. Soon he was caught by the landlord’s men and warned about uttering Shiva’s name in the village. But the mendicant would not stop. Guards caught hold of the mendicant and presented him before the landlord. The landlord shouted at the mendicant “ How dare you to disobey my orders! You talk of Shiva. But what has he done? I am the one who pays the workers. Gives them food and shelter and takes care of their sustenance. Think of me as your saviour, not Shiva.”

The mendicant went back to the temple, his body sore and in great pain. The Landlord decided to go about his daily chores. He had to go to the fields and keep an account of the yield produced by his vast farms. He told his wife “My dear, I have to inspect the work in the field. So I will come home late in the afternoon. Don’t wait for me, feed children and you too have your food. Let everyone have their food on time.”

As the landlord left the house, Shiva assumed the appearance of the landlord. He was a perfect lookalike of the landlord — mustache, height, complexion, and even the voice matched that of the landlord. No one could make out any difference. Shiva now entered the home as the landlord and immediately instructed his staff, “ I have just heard that there are imposters sneaking into the village. They may try to enter my home assuming my form and rob me. Be vigilant. Don’t be deceived, if you find any of them trying to enter my home throw them out and give them a good beating.” He then stepped into his room and closed the door. The landlord’s wife was surprised to see him back so soon. “ Oh dear! You told me you would be late for lunch. What happened?” asked the bemused wife. “I have a bad headache, so came home early. I am going to lie down and rest for a while. So don’t disturb me.” replied Shiva from the room.

Meanwhile, guards posted themselves at the gates with cudgels. By noon, the actual landlord returned from fields. Hungry and tired, he tried entering his home. The guards noticed him and stopped him, believing this must be the imposter the master told them about. They yelled “You scoundrel! Do you think you would fool us by dressing up like our master? You are an imposter!” They did not listen to his explanations and thrashed him black and blue.

One day Parvati, the consort of Shiva requested Shiva to tell her a story. “ Oh lord ! tell me a story that no one has heard before”, she pleaded. Shiva agreed and compiled a fresh tale for her. Shiva closed the door to the bed chamber so that no one else should hear it. While he was closing the door one of Shiva’s minions concealed himself as a tiny fly and entered the bedchamber and listened to the tale sitting unnoticed on the wall.

Once he heard the story he could not contain himself and shared the story with his wife . She then went ahead told the story to her companions with the rider “ please don’t tell it to anyone”. Finally the story got shared among everyone as it completed its circle and reached Parvati’s maid, who told it back to Parvati. Parvati was aghast. How could Shiva cheat her by telling a story that everyone knew? She immediately reported it Shiva and accused him for cheating her.

Shameless goddess!

Isn’t that a strange name for a goddess? And why is she Shameless?

However, Devi Mahatmya a text dedicated to worship of Devi, does not record any such name. Probably this may not be the original name of the goddess whose idols today are referred as Lajja gauri or Shameless goddess.

Excavations around Alampur, Nagarjunkonda, in Andhra Pradesh, Siddankotte in Karnataka and Ter, Mahurzuri , Bhokardan in Maharashtra during early 19th century revealed these strange female idols in explicit erotic postures. These female idols were presented in supine positions, with legs spread wide open, her genitalia and heavy breasts exposed to the viewer’s gaze. However the heads of these idols were missing, instead a lotus flower was carved in place of the head.

While scholars have tried to enumerate who the goddess could be and why she is represented in such explicit posture, here is an etiological myth that links the origins of this goddess to Parvati.