Vedanam 2023

(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...

  Before his very eyes, Bali saw Vamana grow and keep on growing to immense proportions. Tears of wonder and awe fell from his eyes as Bali got the Vishwarupa Darshan of Lord Narayana. He saw the Virat Purusha. Rasatala was at His feet, the earth His sole, His knees the mountains, His thighs, the kingdom of the winds, His navel the sky, the seven seas within Him. On His chest, stars cluttered and formed a beautiful garland. In His heart, Bali found Dharma and Sathya, in His mind, Chandra, Lakshmi on His chest, the Sama vedas on His throat. His shoulders carried the Devas, His ears the directions and His head, the heavens. His eyes reflected the sun and His mouth held fire. On His face, Bali saw day and night. His shadow was Death. The rivers were His veins and the hairs on His body, the trees, shrubs and creepers one could find on earth. His body was home to everything movable and immovable. The immense form of Vamana as Lord Narayana towered towards the heavens. With one foot,...

  On the northern banks of the river Narmada, Bali was performing the Ashwamedha yajna under the supervision of his Guru Shukra and other Acharyas. As the yajna was progressing, everyone saw a glow emanating from somewhere. They looked around and saw the glow coming towards them. They saw a little Brahmin child walking towards them with the Kamandulu on one hand and an umbrella on the other. Such was the Tejas of the child that everyone assembled there stared at the child in wonder, thinking whether it was Surya himself who had come there, or Agni, the god of fire, or perhaps, Sanatkumara, the son of Brahma himself. Vamana walked into the yajnashala, cutting a radiant figure with his tiny chest showing the sacred thread that glowed like a streak of lightning, a charming jata on his head and the kamandalu and umbrella on his hands. Such was the glory and radiance of this child that everyone stood up in the yajnashala. King Bali rushed to the child, prostrated at his feet and rec...

  Aditi, the mother of the Devas was extremely unhappy seeing the pitiable condition of her sons. She confided about her worry for her sons to her husband Rishi Kashyapa Prajapathi. He advised Aditi to perform a vrat named Payovrat for Lord Narayana and seek His blessings. For twelve days, Aditi observed the holy fast and her mind attained peace and calm. At the end of her vrat, Lord Narayana appeared before her. Feeling overwhelmed with devotion and grief for her sons, Aditi could not contain herself before the Lord and started weeping. “I know what pains you, Mother.” Lord Narayana said. “Your sons will rise again in power but it will take time. For now, Bali’s fortune is very good because he has Shukra as his Guru. Nothing can defeat or harm Bali now. But very soon I will be back on the earth as your son and will help to defeat Bali.” Saying this, the lord departed. In time, Aditi gave birth to a son. The new born baby had the form of Lord Narayana, assuring Aditi that it ...

  Bali the king of the Asuras had lost his powers after the fight with the Devas. He approached his Guru Sukracharya and asked him for guidance and assistance. The Guru assured him that he would do everything in his power for Bali to get his power back. The Guru and his disciples, collectively called as Bhargavas, performed the Visvajit Yajna with Bali. The ritual went on for a long time. Through this Yajna, Bali received a golden chariot with powerful horses, a bow, a quiver that would always be full of arrows and a divine armour. Bali received these gifts with great humility. His power was slowly returning and day by day, Bali became more of his old self. He collected an immense army, feeling utterly confident. With this army, he approached Amravathi, the abode of the denizens of heaven. Amrathi was indeed heaven on earth, famed for its beauty, for its timeless and ageless citizens and harmonious living. Bali arrived at the gates of Amravathi and blew his conch, heralding h...

  On seeing Dhanvantari, the Asuras wasted no time and rushing to Him, grabbed the vessel and ran off. The Devas could only watch in silent stupefaction. They cried out to Lord Narayana who assured them that He would help them. Meanwhile, the Asuras had already started fighting amongst themselves. Some of the righteous Asuras were insisting that the Amritha should be shared equally amongst the Devas and the Asuras while many others opposed them. They saw someone walking towards them – a woman of immense beauty. Such was her physique that they were all rendered speechless and lost track of their minds. Everything about the woman was just perfect. The moment she came near them, the Asuras surrounded her and started asking her questions. “Who are you? We are the Asuras, the sons of Kashyapa. This is Amritha, and we all are unable to decide how to share it. You take it and impartially distribute the Amritha amongst us.” The beautiful woman was none other than Mohini, another in...

  Slowly, the ocean started bringing forth its secrets. The first to come out was the dreadful poison Halahal. It was so fierce that the very air turned foul and toxic and the Devas and Asuras could no longer stand there. They sought out the help of Mahadeva, Lord Shiva, in despair. Mahadeva heard their prayers. He collected the poison in His palms and swallowed it. The poison got stuck in His throat and stayed there forever, turning His neck blue. It only seemed to enhance the beauty of Mahadeva, like a dark jewel placed on His bright neck. While Mahadeva was drinking the poison, few drops fell on to the earth and were consumed by reptiles like snakes and scorpions and some creepers who are still poisonous and are avoided by bees, birds and beasts. The churning was resumed and this time, a divine cow came out of the ocean, named Kamadhenu. The Rishis took this cow with them to aid in their yajna. Next came Ucchaishravas, a majestic white horse. King Bali immediately sought i...

  The Asuras plucked the Mandara mountain out of the earth with their powerful arms and both the Devas and Asuras carried the mountain to the ocean. However, the mountain was so heavy that they dropped it, unable to bear its weight. Lord Narayana came to the rescue and lifting the mountain, He took it to the ocean. The serpent Vasuki agreed to be the churning rope when he was promised a part of the Amritha. The churning began. Lord Narayana went towards the head of Vasuki and the Devas followed Him. This enraged the Asuras who felt that it was beneath their dignity to hold the tail of the serpent. To pacify them. Lord Narayana relinquished the head and along with the Devas, grabbed the tail of Vasuki to churn. Alas, Mandara was so heavy that it began to sink in the ocean! Maha Vishnu went under the ocean and took the form of a giant tortoise – Kurma. He lifted the mountain on his back. Mandara rose out of the water amidst great cheering from both the parties. Here, the Bhag...

  While the Devas and Asuras were always rivals, once it so happened that the Devas lost all their strength and the Asuras began to conquer them. Worried about the future of the universe, the Devas approached Lord Brahma, the Creator to seek His help. Lord Brahma advised the Devas to seek Lord Narayana. The Devas, along with Lord Brahma approached Maha Vishnu and asked for His guidance. “I know what you need to win over the Asuras.” Maha Vishnu said. “First and foremost, you need to make peace with them. You need time to recover your strength and should avoid any fights. You need to obtain Amritha, the nectar of life which will grant immortality to you. To get this nectar, you need to churn the ocean using Mount Mandara as the churning staff and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. This churning will require powerful hands and you will need the assistance of the Asuras for the same.” Maha Vishnu also gave some advice to the Devas. “Whatever happens, agree with the Asuras for every...

  In a hill named Trikuta, there was a garden named Rituman which was a paradise in itself. One could find every kind of tree, flower, fruit and animal there. In this hill, lived an elephant with his herd. The elephant was the leader of the herd and is referred to by devotees as Gajendra, and this leela of Maha Vishnu is named as Gajendra Moksham. This story is very special. I grew up listening to this story and simply love it because for me, it stands as a validation that no cry or prayer goes unheard in the Universe. Once, feeling thirsty, Gajendra entered a lake with his herd. After drinking water, the herd bathed in the lake. Unaware to the elephants, a crocodile stealthily swam up to the herd and clutched the leg of Gajendra. The elephant trumpeted loudly in pain. But try as he might, he could not lift his leg from the jaws of the crocodile. Seeing their leader in trouble, the other elephants tried to help him, but all their efforts went in vain. The crocodile kept tryin...