Vedanam 2023

  (Image credited to the respective owner) There was a king named Sagara who wanted to perform the Ashwamedha Yajna. The ceremonial horse for the Yajna had been let out to roam over the kingdom. However Indra stole the horse and kept it hidden in a place unknown to anyone.   When the horse didn’t return after a very long time, Sagara advised his sons to search for the same. They all left the kingdom and searched for the horse all over the world. Not finding it anywhere, they decided to search for it in the nether world. They dug the earth with their powerful arms and went into the nether world. After searching for a while they came across a cave inside which a Rishi was sitting in meditation with his eyes closed. The sons of Sagara also found the ceremonial horse grazing outside the cave. Anger overtook them. “Look at this thief!” One of the princes exclaimed. “He steals our horse and is now sitting here with his eyes closed as if he doesn’t know a thing!” The princes dr...

  (Image credited to the respective owner) There was a king named Ambarisha who was a just and pious man. He had already attained the ultimate knowledge that everything on earth is fleeting and temporary and one should not lose their purpose or wisdom by hankering after trivial things. Even though he was a king, he was not materialistic or worldly-minded. He focused his devotion on Lord Narayana and lived his life in detachment. Maha Vishnu was immensely pleased with his devotion and gifted him His Sudarshan Chakra as a protective shield. Once Ambarisha and his wife followed the rituals of Dwadashi Vrat for a whole year and were about to break their fast on a particular Dwadashi when Sage Durvasa visited them. The king and his wife received and worshipped the sage appropriately and invited him to have food at their home. Durvasa was pleased with their humility and said that he would come to their home after taking a bath. A lot of time passed and still Durvasa Rishi hadn’t come...

(Image credit to the respective owner) Markandeya lived in an ashram built on the banks of the river Pushpabhadra. Ever since the twin deities Nar and Narayana had visited him, the sage spent all of his time in silent meditation upon them. He forgot his daily rituals of worship and could see only the Lord everywhere. One day, a strong wind began to blow. Heavy rain clouds gathered on the sky and thunder and lightning wreaked havoc upon the earth. It started raining very heavily and soon the whole earth was taken over by a deluge. Before Markandeya’s very eyes, the earth disappeared under the waters of the ocean. He saw all the worlds, the Devas and all celestial beings floating in the water. He found himself floating too, without any sense of direction or destination. Hunger and thirst troubled him. There was intense darkness around him. He kept getting tossed by one wave after another. He knew he had conquered death but still fears crept up in his mind. He drifted in the water in ...

  (Image credited to the respective owner) The Bhagawatham mentions a Rishi by name Markandeya who is believed to have witnessed the Mahapralaya and survived it too. Markandeya was born into a pious family. At a very young age, he mastered all the holy scriptures and lived the life of a Brahmachari. Such was the power of his tapas that he is said to have even conquered death. The Devas were always in awe of him. However, King Indra doubted Markandeya’s righteousness. Wanting to test as well as disturb the yogi’s resolve, Indra sent his people to play havoc and disrupt Markandeya’s tapas. He sent the Gandharvas to the Rishi to unsettle him with their songs and dances. Vasantha, the spring season and Manmatha, the lord of love also tried to divert Markandeya’s mind. The Apsaras were dancing before him. Manmatha kept his bow ready, to shoot a five-pointed arrow that could disturb the five senses of Markandeya, who was into deep meditation at that time. When the great Rishi opene...

  There was a king named Satyavrata who was a just ruler and a pious devotee of Lord Narayana. One day, he was performing his daily bathing rituals on the banks of the river Kritamala. He had taken up some water in his palms and was offering the same to the sky when he saw a tiny fish floating in the water in his palms. He dropped the fish into the river. To his amazement, the fish started speaking. “Have pity on me. I am very small and I am afraid that the big fish in the river will eat me up. Please give me shelter.” Satyavrata felt compassion for the fish and collected it inside his kamandalu. He took the fish to his home. The next morning, he saw that the fish had grown in size. “The kamandalu is too small for me.” The fish said. “Please put me somewhere spacious.” Satyavrata put the fish in a large pot. But in a very short while, the fish grew again in size and asked for a bigger vessel. The king put the fish in a pond and the same thing happened there too. No matter how...

  When the Asuras found their king at the mercy of Vamana, having lost all his possessions on earth, they rushed towards the child with upraised weapons. However, Bali stopped them. “This is not our time to fight. Do not fight, it is futile.” Garuda, the vaahan of Narayana tied up Bali. There was a major uproar from everyone assembled there. However, Bali smiled serenely. He knew why this had happened. Narayana must have laughed when Bali had declared himself to be the monarch of the earth, and told Him to ask for anything. Through this defeat, Narayana had relieved Bali of his illusions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Perhaps Lord Narayana would punish him further to humble him. When Bali looked at Vamana, he found only compassion and love in His gaze, and he realized that he had been wrong. Vamana would not punish him, but had blessed him by getting rid of his ego. The lord wanted to show the world that the quickest way to dissolve one’s ego is by surrendering to the Divine. Bali’s eyes...