Tales from Indian Mythology from a Story Keeper
An attempt for a non-judgemental and non-indoctrination look at Indian mythology
Hi Friends! Today let us take forward the twisting-turning tales we started quite some time back, about the weekday names, and the divine/semi-divine entities they are named after. As usual, there are stories that are new, and some which are repeated. Those that are new, let's discover together; and those that are repeated, let's rediscover … Continue reading 26 – Counting Out Days! Part Three.
Hi Friends! I have been quite irregular in posting, the past few days (and months)! So, I thought that it would be a good idea if we look at a few stories about days. Or the names we know them by, and see where it takes us. Fair warning, this may take longer than usual! … Continue reading 24 – Counting Out Days! Part One.
Hi Friends! Today let us finish the story about the (first) battle between Taraka-Asura ("The Strong Saviour") and the Devas ("The Bright One's"), fought to avenge the disrespect to Taraka's mother by Indra Deva in the form of a monkey. As mentioned earlier, the Deva army was led by eight of the dasa-dikpalas ("Guardians of … Continue reading 23 – When The Victorious Saviour Spared The Bright Monkeys
Hi Friends! Today let us take the story forward from where we left the action last time. Two battle-ready armies stood in front of each other, to fight for respect and supremacy. Let us learn a little more about their leaders, and champions. The Asura Army - The Saviour and Other Strong Ones The Asuras … Continue reading 21 – When The Divine Guardians Fought The Strong Saviour
Hi Friends! Today let us continue from where we ended last time. Vajranga fulfilled his promise to his mother, Diti, by defeating Indra. He had also obeyed his father, Sage Kashyapa, by sparing the life of Indra. On the suggestion of his great-grandfather, Lord Brahma, he started an intense penance, while submerged in a huge … Continue reading 20 – The Tale of the Saviour and the Disrespectful Monkey
Hi Friends! Today let us continue the tale of the underdogs, the one’s everyone expects to lose. Last time we looked at the story of the powerful unborn son of Diti. We saw how (as an embryo) he got broken before his birth, from a single daitya (“son of Diti”) who was pre-destined to defeat … Continue reading 19 – The Unbreakable One and his Unbroken Promises
Hi Friends! Today let us explore a story of the underdogs, the one’s everyone expects to lose. How would that affect their families? When a son or daughter wins, the happiest is their mother. What happens when the son or daughter loses? How does she cope with it? Keeping that in mind, let us talk … Continue reading 18 – Please Don’t Cry Brother Mine
Hi Friends! Today let us explore the story of the Moon (Chandra) and his descendants, the dynasty called the Chandra-Vansha, with few of the most interesting characters in the Indian mythological tales. Last time we covered the initial part of the story of the Dynasty of the Sun, or Surya-Vansha. Let us try and take … Continue reading 17 – The Moon and his Son
Hi Friends! Today let us look at Daksha Prajapati, the Skillful Master of Creation, and the story of a famous yagna of his. Daksha, the Skillful One, was one of the sons of Lord Brahma. He along with his nine brothers, together the Prajapatis, was entrusted with the work of creation. Daksha with his wife … Continue reading 15 – When Creativity of Skill and Ferocity of Nature Fought
Hi Friends! Today let us take the story of the Fourth Incarnation of Vishnu forward, and see what we can learn from it. We continue from the last post, with the almost “un-killable” Hiranyakashipu with his boons from Lord Brahma, and his “un-burnable” sister Simhika, with her fire-proof garment from Agni Deva, and their enmity … Continue reading 14 – The Story of the Scary One’s
Hi Friends! Today let us take the tale of the Dashavataar’s forward. Last time we covered the Third Incarnation of Vishnu. We also talked about the first mortal life of one of the Cursed Gatekeepers of Vishnu. This time we will be starting the story of the first mortal life of the other Cursed Gatekeepers … Continue reading 13 – Be Careful What You Wish For
Hi Friends! Today let us try to complete the story we have been talking about in the last post, and the one before that. As we saw that Garuda, the feathered son of Vinata, successfully snatched away amruta from the Adityas, to fulfil the terms for his and his mother’s freedom, set by the Nagas, … Continue reading 09 – The Eagle Landed, but the Vultures Fell
Hi Friends! Today let us explore a lesser known story, about two sisters who fought a lot, and how each suffered from that. As briefly mentioned in an earlier post, various daughters of the Skilled Master of Creation, or Daksha Prajapati, were married to the Sage Kasyapa (who may be the Kachchhapa we met earlier). … Continue reading 07 – The Sisters Who Didn’t Like Each Other
Hi Friends! Today let us quietly stand in the corner of the primeval sea and see what precious things or “ratnas” are received by the grace of the Great Turtle, the Kurma. As we saw in the last post Adityas and Daityas wanted for themselves the Nectar of Immortality or Amruta. So together, they pulled … Continue reading 06 – Gifts of the Turtle
Hi Friends! Today let’s talk about the second aquatic adventure story, which also features the Second Incarnation of the Dashavataar. As mentioned last time while Fishing in Troubled Waters, this is also a Genesis Myth, i.e. it tries to explain how things came to be. So here is “a” version of the Second Legend of … Continue reading 05 – The Churning of the Sea
Hi Friends! As promised last time, in this post we shall try and cover the various ways the world started, as per Indian mythology. As we discussed, the stories of creation are cyclical. In another post we shall look at the highly number-centric way they thought things repeated. It’s awesome fun, but it can wait. … Continue reading 02 – How Did It Start and Grow
Hi Friends! Everything has to start somewhere. Day starts with sun-rise. Some songs start with a beautiful melody. Some start with someone mumbling about something he/she feels strongly about. So, when the tellers and the listeners of stories, gather around a glowing thing (a fire sometimes, sometimes a screen!) this is what needs to be … Continue reading 01 – Who Started These Stories
Tales from Indian Mythology from a Story Keeper 