Three Hundred and Thirty Million Deities

Hindu Mythology Hindus have one God. They also have 330 million gods: male gods; female gods; family gods; village gods; in geometrical patterns and in man-made objects. Then there a whole host of demons. But no Devil. The roots of mythology evolved from the times of Vedic civilization. The two great Hindu epics, The Ramayana & The Mahabharata tell the story of two specific incarnations of Vishnu. [ Rama&Krishna ]

Vishwa-Rupa or Virat-Swarup is the cosmic form of God. For Hindus, God is the container of all things. All existence is a manifestation of the divine. This understanding of the world makes no room for the notion of "Evil". Evil means that which is devoid of Godliness.When everything is God, then nothing, not even things we despise and shy away from, can be ungodly.

Good and bad are judgements based on human values. Human  values are critical though they may be to establish a civilized society and are based on a limited understanding of the world.When understanding changes, values and judgements change and with them society.

The Sanskrit word "Maya" refers to all things that can be measured. Human understanding of the world is limited, hence measurable, hence Maya. To believe that Maya is truth is delusion. Beyond Maya, beyond human values and judgements, beyond the current understanding of the world, is a limitless reality which makes room for everyone and everything.

That reality is God! 

Ratnakara

Ratmakara was a highway robber and killer. One day he attacked the sage Narada. "Why are you doing this?" asked the sage. "For my family", replied Ratnakara. "Will they pay the price of your misdeeds?" asked Narada. "Yes,They will. After all, I am doing this for them.", said Ratnkara confidently. Narada requested Ratnakara to check with his wife and son if this was really true.

Ratnakara ran to his home and asked his wife and son if they would share the burden of his karmic debts. "No", said his wife. "Why should I?, My duty is to keep your household. Your duty is to provide for it. How you choose to provide for your family is your concern, not mine."

Ratnakara realized that ultimately a Jiva is responsible for his actions. He gave up his life as a criminal and became the author of the great epic Ramayana that chronicles the life of a Prince who lets his destiny, not his desires, to shape his life. He was later on known as Valmiki. Valmiki is also quoted contemporary of Rama. Rama met Valmiki during his period of exile and interacted with him. Valmiki gave shelter to Sita in his hermitage when Rama banished her.

 Vishnudharmottara Purana says that Valmiki was born in the Treta Yuga as a form of Vishnu who composed Ramayana and that people desirious of earning knowledge should worhsip Valmiki.

An area in Chennai, Thiruvanmiyur derives it's names from Valmiki, Thiru-Valmiki-Oor. There is a temple for Valmiki located in this place, which is believed to be 1300 years old.

Radha&Krishna

Radha and Krishna are collectively known withing Hinduism as the combination of both the feminine as well as the masculine aspects of God. Krishna is often referred as Svayam Bhagavan in Vaishnavism theology and Radha is five elemental body of the feeling of love towards the almighty God Shree Krishna. Soul is a part of the God Shree Krishna and Radha is that feeling of love which connects a living being to his creator. With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess, for it is said that she controls Krishna. It is believed that Krishna enchants the world, but Radha enchants even him. Therefore she is the supreme goddess of all.

Radha is not Krishna's wife. Yet without her image, Krishna is never complete.She inspires him to play the flute. Without her, there is no music.

In some traditions she is considered Krishna's aunt. In others she is married to another man. In most she is older than him. Thus the love of Radha&Krishna defies all social norms.

Their meeting, when they are surrounded by a circle of dancing milkmaids, the Maha-Raas, always takes place at night, outside the village, in secret.

It represents the desires of the heart that unfortunately have to be denied or repressed or sublimated by the demands of the society. Though denied, repressed and sublimated, they exist. And Krishna acknowledges their existence.

While there are much earlier references to the worship of this form of God, it is since Jayadeva Goswami wrote a famous poem Gita Govinda in the twelth century of the Common Era, that the topic of the spiritual love between the divine Krishna and his devotee Radha, became a theme celebrated throughout India. The Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but Radha-Krishna. With the spread of Vaishnavism the worship of Krishna and Radha became the dominant form in the Manipur region.

Matsya

After finishing his duties as a King. Satyavrata lived a quiet life with his wife on the banks of a river. Once while bathing in the river he came upon a little fish who could speak. "Save me from the big fish, O mighty king, and i will save the world", he said. Feeling sorry for the small fish who talked big, Satyavrata took it out of the river and gave it shelter in his pot. So the Fish had to be moved to a large urn.

As the days passed, the fish kept growing in size. Satyavrata had to move it from the large urn to a pond, from the pond to a river and from the river to the sea. As the fish went across the ocean, beyond the horizon, it told Satyavrata," Soon the heavens will burst and torrential rains will flood the earth. The sea will rise and submerge the land. When this happens collect the seed of every plant and a pair of every animal and wait for me on a boat with your wife."

Realizing, this was no ordinary fish, but Vishnu himself, Satyavrata did as he was told. The great fish appeared before him, bigger than before, with a horn on its headd. Satyavrata tied his boat to the horn with Adi Sesha as the rope. The fish then towed the boat through great deluge to the only piece of dry land, the peak of Mount Mandara. There Satyavrata and his wife waited for the waters to recede.

While the seed of every plant and a pair of all animals would establish the new world.

Matsya is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the form of a fish. Often listed as the first avatar of in the lists of the ten primary avatars of Vishnu. Matsya is described to have rescued the first man. Matsya is depicted in two forms: as a zoomorphic fish or in an anthropomorphic form. In the latter form, the upper half is that of the four-armed man and the lower half is a fish. The upper half resembles Vishnu and wears traditional oranaments and the kirita-makuta as worn by Vishnu.  

Enlightenment Through Dance

According to Skanda Purana a group of Rishis was performing Yagna in forest when Shiva passed by. Shiva was naked and the wives of the Rishis were aroused by Shiva.

Losing all interest in the Yagna, they pursued Shiva. This angered the Rishis. They used the power of Yagna to create a tiger, a venomous snake and a demon.

Shiva flayed the tiger alive, and wrapped the skin around him. He caught the snake and wound it around his neck like a necklace. Then, leaping on the demon's back, he began to dance.

As he danced, the sages realized Shiva was God and his dance was a visual discourse on the true purpose of existence - not to indulge the ego and change the world but to discover the divine within with the help of the divine without.

The Curse of Kaikeyi

Kaikeyi in the Indian epic Ramayana, was one of King Dasharatha's three wives and Queen of Ayodhya. In Ayodhya Kand Rama says that Kaikeyi is their younger mother. But in Aranya Kand Rana says "In any way,dear Lakshmana, you are not supposed to deplore another mother of ours, but you go on telling the topics of Bharata, the King of Ikshvakus."

As we all know that Lord Ram went to Varnas for 14 years, it is a myth that Lord Ram was cursed by Kaikeyi. This myth is based on the curse given to Lord Ram by Kaikeyi.

Kaikeyi cursed Lord Ram saying that if the kingdom was ruled by a king like him for the next 14 years, the earth will destroy.

Since Lord Ram did not want the earth to destroy, he went to Varnas for 14 years.

He left his Paduka for his kingdom, so that the people of his kingdom could take decisions by taking his blessings.

Rama is the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is the central figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals and his greatness. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. Born as the eldest son of Kaushalya and Dasharatha, ruler of Kosala kingdom, Rama is referred to as the the Perfect Man and his wife Sita is considered to be an avatar of Lakshmi and the embodiment of a great woman. Rama's life and journey is one of adherence to Dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life and time.

The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent. Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty. The deity Hanuman declared Rama to be a Supreme being, and said that, by chanting the name of Lord Rama, all earthly problems may be resolved. By chanting the name of Lord Rama 10 million times, Moksha can be achieved.

Brahma's fifth head!

According to Shiv Purana after Brahma created his daughter, she went around him as a mark of respect. Brahma created a woman named Shatarupa to help him with his job of creation. According to the myth, Shatarupa was so beautiful that Brahma became completely infatuated with her and stared at her wherever she went. Shatarupa was embarrassed bu this attention and tried to escape his gaze, but in every direction that she moved, Brahma sprouted a new head until he had developed four. The frustrated Shatarupa became desperate and began to jump to try to escape his gaze. This prompted Brahma to sprout yet another head on top of the others to keep her in sight.

When she flew skywards, he popped a fifth head on top of the other four. This display of unbridled passion disgusted the daughter. It is said that Shiva admonished Brahma for his "unholy" behavior towards Shatarupa and chopped off the fifth head as punishment. Brahma had given the into the carvings of the flesh and abandoned the work of the soul and for this Shiva's curse was that people should not worship Brahma.

The story also goes on to say that Brahma has been continually reciting the four vedas ever since as a form of repentance, one from each of his four heads. While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, several puranas describe him being born from the lotus emerging from the navel of god Vishnu.  Other puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology. Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the other members of the Trimurti, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is the hindu creator god. He is also known as the Grandfather and as a later equivalent of Prajapati, the primeval first god. Brahma, due to his elevated status, is less involved in picturesque myths where gods take on human form and character, but it rather generally abstract or metaphysical ideal of a great god.