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 ...