The Glory of God: A Summary of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana: ( 04/04/2013. )

The Jewel Syamantaka:- Krishna’s wife was Satyabhama and Satyabhama’s father was Satrajit. Satrajit sat down on the shores of the ocean and began to pray to Surya. Surya was pleased with his prayers and appeared before Satrajit. Satrajit could not see Surya very well and said, "Lord, the sky you appear like a burning ball of fire. Yet you have appeared before me and I am not able to see much." Surya was wearing a jewel known a syamantaka on his throat. On hearing what Satrajit had said, Surya took off this jewel and laid it aside. Satrajit could now see Surya properly. Surya’s eyes were brownish yellow and his body was birht, short and of a copper colour. Satrajit bowed down before Surya and Surya offered to grant him a boon. As a boon. Satrajit wanted the jewel and Surya granted this wish. Satrajit put it round his neck and entered the city of Dvaraka. But because he was wearing the jewel, his body was radiant and energy seemed to flow out of him. T...

  Nahusha and Yayati     1.Nahusha had six sons. Their names were Yati, Yayati, Samyati, Ayati, Vivyati and Kriti. Yati had no desire to be king, so Yayati became king after Nahusaha. Yayati had two wives. The first was Shukra’s daughter Devayani and the second was Vrishaparva’s daughter Sharmishtha. Devayanai’s sons were Yadu and Turnvasu. And Sharmishtha’s sons were Druhya, Anu and Puru.       2. Because of a curse imposed on him by Shukra, Yayati became old much before he should have been. He called his eldest son Yadu to him and said, "I have become old much before my time. I still want to enjoy material things. Please take my old age for a thousand years." Yadu refused and Yayati cursed him that no son worthy of being a king would ever be born in the line of Yadu. Yayati asked Turvasu, Druhya and Anu. But they too refused and were given the same curse by their father. Yayati asked Puru and Puru immediately agreed to his father’s reque...

Raji :        Pururava’s son Ayu had five sons. Their names were Nahusha, Kshatravriddha, Rambha, Raji and Anenah. Raji had five hundred brave sons. Many years ago, the devas and the asuras fought a war. Both the devas and the asuras went to Brahma and asked, "Who will win this war?" Brahma replied that the side for which King Raji fought would win.      The asuras came to Raji and asked him to fight on their side. "I will," said Raji, "provided that you make me Indra after the devas have been defeated.      "This we cannot do," replied the asuras. "We cannot promise you one thing and do another. Prahlada will be our Indra."      The gods too came to Raji and asked him to fight on their side. And faced with the same condition, they replied. "Yes indeed, you will be our Indra."      Raji fought on the side of the gods and killed the demons. After the enemy had been defeated...

    Satyavati and Richika        Gadhi was descended from Jahnu. Gadhi had a daughter called Satyavati. The sage Richika wanted to marry Satyavati. But Gadhi had no desire to marry off his daughter to an old brahmana who was also very hot-tempered. So he demanded one thousand horses were to be fleet of foot and white in colour with black ears. But Richika managed to get such horses from Varuna and thus married Satyavati.      Satyavati wanted a son. So Richika performed a yajna and obtained some rice prudding as a result. But Satyavati wished that her mother might also have a son. Richika, therefore, prepared a second bowl of rice pudding. He gave the two bowls to Satyavati and said, "This is for you and this for your mother." He then went off to the forest.      But Satyavati’s mother said to her daughter, "Usually people want good sons for themselves, they are not keen about obtaining a good brothe...

    Chandra:-      Having heard accounts of the kings of the solar dynasty, Maitreya wished to hear of the kings of the lunar dynasty, Parashara obliged.      Brahma’s son was Atri and Atri’s son was Chandra. Brahma made Chandra the ruler of stars and herbs. Chandra performed a rajasuya yajna (royal sacrifice). But because he successfully completed a rajasuya yajna, Chandra became arrogant. The guru of all the devas was Brihaspati and Brihaspati’s wife was Tara. Chandra kidnapped Tara. Despite Brihaspati’s repeatedly requesting him to return Tara, Chandra refused. A war began between the two sides. Since Shukra did not like Brihaspati, Shukra took Chandra’s side. Also on Chandra’s side were the danavas. Rudra and Indra sided with Brihaspati.      Since the war took place over Tara, it came to be known as the tarakamaya war. It was a terrible war and it seemed as if the whole world might be destroyed. The en...

      Nimi   Ikshvaku had a son named Nimi. Nimi once started a yajna that went on for a thousand years. He wanted Vashishtha to be the main priest. But Vashishtha said that he was already busy with the yajna that Indra planned to conduct for five hundred years. He asked Nimi to wait. He promised to come to Nimi’s yajna as soon as Indra’s was over.   Nimi returned without saying anything and Vashishtha assumed that Nimi had agreed to wait. But Nimi began his ceremony with Goutama and other sages. After finishing Indra’s yajna, Vashishtha came to Nimi’s yajna expecting to be the chief priest there. But he found that the sacrifice had already been begun with Goutama as the chief priest. Since he felt insulted, Vashishtha cursed Nimi that he would henceforth be without a body. Nimi felt this curse to be unfair. So he too cursed that Vashishtha would be without a body. Vashishtha however, received antoher body. Thanks to the gods Mitra and Varuna...

    Soudasa      In Bhagiratha’s line there was a king called Soudasa or Mitrasaha. One day the king went out hunting in the forest and saw two tigers there. He killed one of these with his arrow and before dying, it adopted the form of a fierce rakshasa. The other tiger said, "I will have my revenge" and disappeared.      Some days later, King Soudasa began a yajna. The priest for this yajna was the sage Vashistha. Vashishtha finished his rituals and left. But the rakshasa adopted Vashishtha’s form and sat down in Vashishtha’s place. "At the end of the ceremony get me some rice and meat to eat," he said. "I am returning in a short while." Having said this, the rakshasa went away. But it adopted the form of a cook and cooked some human meat. Unknowingly, King Soudasa placed this meat in a golden vessel and waited for Vashishtha’s return.      When Vashishtha sat down to eat, he was served this meat. In a tr...