1.The Story Of Maa Laxmi and Shree Vishnu.
Once Lord Vishnu ji got bored sitting on Sheshnag, and he thought of traveling on earth, many years had passed since he came to earth, and he started preparing for his journey, seeing his master getting ready. Lakshmi Maa asked, to Vishnu ji, kindly tell me “where should I go and what are the preparations going on?” Vishnu ji said, O Lakshmi, I am going to roam around on earth, then after thinking something, Lakshmi Maa said! Oh God, can I also come with you???? Lord Vishnu thought for a moment and then said, on one condition, you can come with me and after reaching the earth, do not look towards the north at all. With this, Goddess Lakshmi said yes and got her wish.
And early in the morning, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu reached the earth, the Sun God was rising, the night rain had gone away, there was greenery all around, there was a lot of peace all around at that time, and the earth was looking very beautiful. And Maa Lakshmi was looking at the earth, mesmerized by the mantra, and forgot what promise she had given to her husband. And while looking around, I didn’t realize when she started looking towards the north.
Maa Lakshmi saw a very beautiful garden in the north direction, and a pleasant fragrance was coming from that side, and very beautiful flowers were blooming, it was a flower field, and Maa Lakshmi went into that field without thinking.and plucked a pretty flower, When Maa Lakshmi came back to Lord Vishnu, Lord Vishnu had tears in her eyes, and Lord Vishnu told Maa Lakshmi that she should never take anything from anyone without asking. Should be taken, and also reminded of my promise.
When Goddess Lakshmi came to know about her mistake, she asked Lord Vishnu for forgiveness for this mistake, and then Lord Vishnu said that you will definitely be punished for whatever mistake you have made. From the field of the gardener from whose field you have plucked new flowers without asking, this is a kind of theft, hence now you stay as a servant in the gardener’s house for three years, after that I will call you back to Vaikuntha, Maa Lakshmi silently stand and bowed and said yes.
And Maa Lakshmi took the form of a poor woman and went to the house of the owner of that farm. The name of that farmer was Madhab and he has a small house it’s a hut. Madhav had a wife, two sons and three daughters, all of them worked in that small farm and used to survive somehow.
When Maa Lakshmi went to Madhav’s hut in the form of an ordinary and poor woman, Madhav asked, Sister, who are you? And what do you want at this time? Then Maa Lakshmi said, I am a poor woman, there is no one to take care of me, I have not even eaten food for many days. Give me any work, along with that I will also do your household work, just keep me in my house. Give me shelter in a corner? Madhav was a very good hearted person, he felt pity, but he said, Sister, I am very poor, my earnings barely meet the expenses of my house, but even if I had four daughters instead of three, I had to make a living, if you can become my daughter and be happy with the rough and dry food we eat, then come inside, daughter.
Madhav gave shelter to Maa Lakshmi in his hut, and Maa Lakshmi remained as a maid in Madhav’s house for three years;
The very next day after Maa Lakshmi had come to Madhav’s house, Madhav earned so much income from flowers that he bought a cow in the evening, then gradually Madhav bought a lot of land, and everyone also got good clothes made, and Then a big permanent house was also built, daughters and wife also got jewellery made, and now a very big house was also built.
Madhav always thought that I have got all this after the arrival of this woman, my destiny has come in the form of this daughter, and now 2-5 years had passed, but Maa Lakshmi is still working in the house and in the field. One day, when Madhav came home after finishing his work in the fields, he saw a goddess-like woman laden with jewels standing in front of his house. Looking carefully, he recognized her, this is my fourth daughter, i.e. it is the same woman, and I recognized that she is Goddess Lakshmi. By now Madhav’s entire family had come out, and everyone was looking at Maa Lakshmi with surprise. Madhav said, “Maa, please forgive me. We made you work in the house and fields unknowingly, Maa, what kind of crime is this?” Oh Maa, please forgive us all.
Now Maa Lakshmi smiled and said Madhav, you are a very good and kind person, you treated me like your daughter, like a member of your family, in return I give you a boon that you will never have shortage of money, you will get all the happiness that you deserve, and then mother sat in the chariot sent by her master and went to Baikunth.
2. The war between Arjun and Lord Krishna
Once when Maharishi Galav was offering Suryaargya in the morning, the Chitrasen Gandharva’s spit fell in his palm while going in the sky. The sage got very angry due to this. He was about to curse her when he remembered his curse and stopped. He went and appealed to Lord Krishna. Shyam Sundar, being Brahmanyadeva, immediately took a vow to kill Chitrasen within twenty-four hours. To satisfy the sage completely, he took an oath at the feet of Mother Devaki and Maharishi.
Galav ji had just returned when Devarshi Narad arrived playing the veena. God welcomed him. After calming down, Narad ji said, “Lord! You are called the tuber of happiness, people become free from sadness by seeing you, but I don’t know why today a line of sadness is visible on the lotus face of your face.” On this, Shyam Sundar narrated the entire story of Galav ji and gave his vow.
Now what kind of peace does Narad ji have? Enjoyed it. He left quickly and reached Chitrasen. Chitrasen also fell at his feet and brought his horoscope etc. and started inquiring about the condition of the planets. Narad ji said, “Hey, what are you asking all this now? Your end is near. If you want your welfare, then just do some charity. Shri Krishna has vowed to kill you within twenty-four hours.” |”
Now poor Gandharva got scared. He started running here and there. He roamed around in the worlds of Brahmadham, Shivpuri, Indra-Yama-Varun, but no one even let him stay at their place. Who would borrow enmity from Shri Krishna? Now poor Gandharvaraj along with his crying women came to seek refuge in Lord Narad.
Narad ji was kind enough to say, “Okay, let’s go to the banks of Yamuna.” He went there and showed a place and said, “Today, at midnight, a woman will come here. At that time, you should keep wailing loudly. That woman will save you. But keep in mind, until she promises to remove your suffering. Till then you do it, don’t even forget to tell the reason for your suffering.
Narad ji also remained strange. On one hand, he explained this to Chitrasen, on the other hand he reached Subhadra in Arjun’s palace. Said to him, “Subhadre! Today’s festival is very important. By taking bath in Yamuna today at midnight and protecting the religion, you will get inexhaustible virtue.”
At midnight Subhadra along with one or two of her friends reached Yamuna to take bath. There he heard the sound of crying. Narad ji had already told about the greatness of Dinodhar. Subhadra thought, “Come on, let me loot Akshay Punya.” She immediately went there and found Chitrasen crying. He asked a lot, but he did not tell without a promise.
In the end, when they agreed, he clarified the situation. Now after hearing this, Subhadra fell into great religious dilemma and confusion. On one hand, Shri Krishna’s pledge – that too for the Brahmin, on the other hand, his own pledge. At last she decided to surrender and took him with her. After going home, he placed the whole situation in front of Arjun (Chitrasen was also Arjun’s friend). Arjun consoled Subhadra and said that your promise will be fulfilled.
When Narad ji got all this sorted out, he reached Dwarka and said to Shri Krishna, ‘Maharaj! Arjun has given shelter to Chitrasen, so you should proceed for war only after thinking carefully. God said, ‘Narad ji! At least try once on my behalf to convince Arjun and return him. Now Devarshi again ran from Dwarka to Indraprastha.
After listening to everything, Arjun clearly said – ‘Although I take refuge in Shri Krishna in every way and I have only his strength, yet now I am firm on never deviating from the teachings given by him – Kshatra-Dharma. |I will keep my promise only on their strength| only they are capable of giving up their pledge. Now Devarshi came running to Dwarka and narrated the story of Arjun as it was what should happen now? Preparations for war were made.
All the Yadavas and Pandavas appeared in the battlefield with the entire army. Tumul war broke out. A huge fight took place. But no one could win. At last Shri Krishna released Sudarshan Chakra. Arjun left Pashupatastra. Seeing the signs of destruction, Arjun remembered Lord Shankar.
He celebrated both the weapons. Then those devotees reached Lord Shri Krishna and started saying, “Lord! Ram always kept the servant interested. Vedas, Puranas, folk all kept.” It is your natural nature to forget your vow in front of the devotees. There must have been innumerable repetitions of this. Now end this leela here.
The arrows ended. The Lord abstained from war. By embracing Arjun, he freed him from the toil of war and made Chitrasen fearless. Everyone said blessed. But Galav did not like this. He said, “It was a good joke.” The sage with a pure heart said, “Here I reveal my power.”
I burn Chitrasen along with Krishna, Arjun and Subhadra.” But as soon as the poor sage took the water in his hand, Subhadra said, “If I am a devotee of Krishna and my devotion towards Arjun is complete, then this water should be in the hands of the sage. This happened. Galav felt very ashamed. He saluted the Lord and returned to his place. After that everyone returned to their respective places.
3.Eklavya's devotion to Guru
Acharya Drona started imparting proper education in archery to the princes. Among those princes, due to Arjun being extremely talented and a devotee of Guru, he was the favorite disciple of Dronacharya. Dronacharya also had special affection for his son Ashwatthama, hence he was also the leader among all the princes in archery, but Arjun was more talented than Ashwatthama.
One night, when all the disciples were having dinner in the Guru’s ashram, suddenly the lamp got extinguished due to a gust of wind. Arjun saw that even after it became dark, his hand took the mouthful of food to his mouth. From this incident he understood that aiming requires more practice than light and he started practicing aiming in the darkness of night. Guru Drona was very pleased with his such practice.
He made Arjun adept in archery as well as in the use of weapons like mace, tomar, sword etc. In the same days, Ekalavya, the son of Nishad named Hiranya Dhanu, also came to Dronacharya’s ashram to learn archery, but due to being of lower caste, Dronacharya Did not accept him as his disciple. Disappointed, Ekalavya went into the forest. He made a statue of Dronacharya and started practicing archery considering that statue as his Guru. By practicing meditation with concentration, within a short period of time he became very adept in archery.
One day all the princes went for hunting with Guru Drona to the same forest where Eklavya had built an ashram and was practicing archery. The prince’s dog wandered and reached Ekalavya’s ashram. He started screaming on seeing Eklavya. Angered by this, Ekalavya shot his arrows at the dog and filled its mouth with arrows. Eklavya shot the arrows with such skill that the dog did not get hurt in any way but due to being tied with the arrows, it stopped barking.
On the return of the dog, when Arjun saw the skill of archery, he said to Dronacharya, “O Gurudev! From the skill with which the arrows have been fired into the mouth of this dog, it appears that there is a greater archer than me here.” ” Dronacharya reached Ekalavya with all his disciples and asked, “O Vatsa! Is it you who shot these arrows?” When Ekalavya accepted, he again asked, “Who is going to teach you archery?” Ekalavya replied, “Gurudev! I have accepted you as my Guru and learned archery.” Saying this, he took him and made him stand in front of the idol of Dronacharya.
Dronacharya did not want anyone to become a greater archer than Arjuna. He said to Ekalavya, “If I am your Guru then you will have to give me Gurudakshina.” Ekalavya said, “Gurudev! I am ready to give whatever you ask as Gurudakshina.” On this, Dronacharya asked for the thumb of his right hand from Ekalavya as Gurudakshina. Ekalavya gladly gave his thumb. In this way, when Ekalavya became unable to shoot the bow with his hands, he started practicing shooting the bow with his feet.
4. Lord Vishnu and Narad Muni Ji.
Once Narad Muni ji asked Lord Vishnu ji, O Lord, who is your most favorite devotee at this time? Now Vishnu is God, so he immediately understood what his devotee Narad Muni was saying and said with a smile. My most beloved devotee is a small farmer of that village. Hearing this, Narad Muni ji was a little disappointed and again asked a question, O Lord, I am your biggest devotee, then why not everyone’s most beloved?
Lord Vishnu ji said to Narad Muni ji, you yourself will answer this, go and stay in his house for a day and then tell me everything. Narad Muni ji reached that farmer’s house early in the morning and in the dark, saw just now. Now the farmer has woken up, and before now he has given fodder to his animals, then he wiped his face and hands, retired from his daily work, quickly took the name of God, ate dry bread and quickly went to his fields, all Worked in the fields all day.
And in the evening he came back home, tied the animals to their places, gave them fodder and water, washed his hands and feet, rinsed his mouth, then took the name of God for a while, then sat with his family and had dinner, talked for a while and then went to sleep. |
Now after seeing all this the whole day, Narad Muni ji came back to Lord Vishnu and said, Lord, I stayed with that farmer the whole day today, but he cannot even pronounce your name properly, he said for a while in the morning. Late in the evening and that too early, I meditated on you, and I chant only your name 24 hours a day, is your most favorite devotee still that poor farmer? Lord Vishnu ji, after listening to Narad, asked. Said, now you yourself give me the answer to this.
And Lord Vishnu ji handed over a pot full of nectar to Narada Muni and said, take this pot and circumambulate the three worlds, but keep in mind that if even a single drop of nectar falls down, then all your life and virtues will be destroyed. When Narada Muni returned to Lord Vishnu after circling the three worlds, he became happy and said, Lord, I did not let even a single drop of nectar fall down. Lord Vishnu asked, how many times did you take my name during this period? How many times did you remember me? So Narad said, Oh Lord, my entire attention was on this nectar, then how could I pay attention to you.
Lord Vishnu said, O Narad, look at that farmer, he remembers me regularly even while doing his work, because the one who chants me even while doing his work, he is my most beloved devotee, you are the whole day free. You chant while sitting, and when I gave you the work, you did not have time for me, then Narad Muni understood everything and holding the feet of God said, Oh God, you have broken my ego, you are blessed.
5. Hanuman in Ramayana war
Hanuman ji’s courage and divine deeds have been described in the Sundar-Kand of Ramayana. Hanumanji met Ramji during his exile when Ramji was searching for his wife Sita along with his brother Lakshman. Mother Sita was abducted by Ravana, the king of Lanka, by deceit. While searching for Sitaji, both the brothers reached near Mount Rishimukh where Sugriva along with his followers lived hiding from his elder brother Bali. The monkey-king Bali had thrown his younger brother Sugriva out of his kingdom due to a grave misconception and was in no way ready to listen to Sugriva’s reasoning. Besides, Bali had also forcefully kept Sugriva’s wife with him.
Seeing Ram and Lakshman coming, Sugriva sent Hanuman to know their introduction. Hanuman went near him in the guise of a Brahmin. As soon as he heard the first words from Hanuman’s mouth, Shri Ram told Lakshman that no one can speak like this Brahmin without knowing the Vedas and Puranas. Ramji did not find anything false in the mouth, eyes, forehead, eyebrows or any other physical structure of that Brahmin. Ramji told Lakshmana that on hearing the mesmerizing utterances of this Brahmin, even the enemy would give up his weapons. He further pleased the Brahmin and said that only the king who has such a spy will be successful without any hesitation. Hearing all these things from Shri Ram’s mouth, Hanumanji assumed his true form and bowed down at the feet of Shri Ram. Shri Ram picked him up and hugged him to his heart. On the same day, there was an unbreakable and eternal union between a devotee and God in the form of Hanuman and Lord Ram. After that Hanuman made friends of Shri Ram and Sugriva. Only after this, Shri Ram got Sugriva back his honor and glory by killing Bali and Sugriva along with his monkey army supported Shri Ram in the Lankan war.
In search of Mother Sita, a group of monkeys reached the south coast. But no one had the courage to cross such a vast ocean. Hanuman himself was very worried about how to find a solution to this problem. At the same time, Jamvant and other monkeys reminded Hanuman of his amazing powers.
As soon as Hanuman remembered his powers, his form expanded and he started flying across the ocean with the speed of the wind. On the way, he met a mountain and he told Hanuman that his father owed him a debt, and the mountain also requested Hanuman to take some rest, but Hanuman, not wasting even a little time, thanked the mountain king and Move ahead.
Later, he met a demon who challenged him to enter her mouth; as a result Hanuman accepted the challenge of that demon and very cleverly assumed a very miniature form and entered the demon’s mouth and came out. At last the demon hesitantly admitted that she was testing his intelligence.
At last Hanuman crossed the ocean and reached Lanka and was surprised to see the splendor and beauty of Lanka. And he also felt sad that if Ravana did not agree then such a beautiful Lanka would be destroyed. After that Hanuman saw Sitaji in Ashok-Vatika and introduced himself to her.
He also consoled Mother Sita and also requested her to accompany him back to Lord Shri Ram. But Mother Sita rejected it saying that if this happens then Shri Ram’s efforts will be harmed. Hanuman described Lord Shri Ram’s message to Mother Sita in the same way as a great sage tells people about the greatness of God.
After meeting Mother Sita, Hanuman started destroying Lanka to take revenge. To capture him, Ravana’s son Meghnad (Indrajit) used Brahmastra. Respecting Lord Brahma, Hanuman allowed himself to be bound by the Brahmastra. He also thought that by taking advantage of this opportunity, he would meet the famous Ravana of Lanka and also estimate his power.
When he was brought before Ravana, he told Ravana a warning message from Lord Shri Ram and also said that if Ravana respectfully returns Mother Sita to Lord Shri Ram, then the Lord will forgive him.
In anger, Ravana ordered Hanuman to be given death penalty but Ravana’s younger brother Vibhishana intervened saying that killing a messenger is against the code of conduct. Hearing this, Ravana ordered Hanuman’s tail to be set on fire. When Ravana’s soldiers were wrapping a cloth around Hanuman’s tail, Hanuman made his tail very long and after troubling the soldiers for some time, gave them the opportunity to set the tail on fire. As soon as the tail caught fire, Hanuman broke free from bondage and started burning Lanka and finally extinguished the fire in the sea and came back to Lord Shri Ram.
When Lakshman had become unconscious in the battle of Lanka, then Hanuman ji was sent to bring Sanjeevani herb from Dronagiri Mountain but he could not identify the herb properly, and once again showing his bravery, the entire Dronagiri Mountain became the battlefield and as a result saved Lakshman’s life. Feeling emotional, Shri Ram hugged Hanuman in his heart and said, Hanuman, you are as dear to me as brother Bharat.
The Panchmukhi incarnation of Hanuman is also an incident of the Ramayana war. Ahiravan, who was an expert in black magic, abducted Ram and Lakshman while they were sleeping and after hypnotizing them, took them to the underworld. Hanuman also reached the underworld in search of him. The main gate of the underworld was guarded by a young creature, Makardhwaj, whose body was half of a fish and half of a monkey. The story of the birth of Makardhwaj is also very interesting. Although Hanuman was a celibate, Makardhwaj was his son. After the burning of Lanka, when Hanuman went into the sea to extinguish the fire in his tail, a drop of his sweat fell into the sea. A fish drank that drop and became pregnant. This came to light when the fish was brought to Ahiravana’s kitchen. The strange creature that had survived was taken out of the fish’s stomach. Ahiravan raised him and made him the guard of the gate of Patalpuri.
Hanuman was unaware of all these things. Although Makardhwaja knew that Hanuman was his father but he could not recognize him because he had never seen him before. When Hanuman introduced himself, he knew that he was his father but still he decided to fight with Hanuman because protecting the gate of Patalpuri was his first duty. Hanuman easily subdued him and tied him to the main gate of Patalpuri.
After entering Patalpuri, Hanuman discovered that to kill Ahiravana, he would have to extinguish five lamps simultaneously. Hence, he assumed the Panchmukhi avatar (Shri Varaha, Shri Narasimha, Shri Garun, Shri Hayagriva and himself) and extinguished all the five lamps together and killed Ahiravana. After the killing of Ahiravan, Hanuman made Makardhwaj the king of Patalpuri as per the orders of Lord Shri Ram.
With the end of the war, Shri Ram’s fourteen years of exile also ended. Then Shri Ram remembered that if he did not reach Ayodhya as soon as his exile ended, Bharat would sacrifice his life. At the same time, he also realized that there would be some delay in going back there from the last day, thinking about this, Shri Ram was worried but Hanuman went to Ayodhya and informed about Shri Ram’s arrival and by saving Bharat’s life, Shri Ram was free from worries.
After being coronated in Ayodhya, Lord Shri Ram decided to honor all those who had helped him in defeating Ravana in the Lankan war. A grand ceremony was organized in his meeting in which the entire monkey army was honored by giving gifts. Hanuman was also called to receive the gift, Hanuman went on the stage but he was not interested in the gift.
Seeing Hanuman coming up, Shri Ram, filled with emotion, embraced him and said that there is no gift that can be given to him in return for the contribution that Hanuman has made through his selfless service and bravery. But in the form of love, Mother Sita gifted him one of her pearl necklaces.
After receiving the gift, Hanuman started breaking each pearl of the rosary and seeing this, the members present in the meeting asked him the reason for this, then Hanuman said that he was seeing whether his Lord Shri Ram and Mother Sita were present inside the pearls or not because if they are not in it then this defeat has no value for them.
Hearing this, some people said that Hanuman does not have as much love for Lord Shri Ram and Mother Sita as they think. On hearing this, Hanuman showed his chest to the people and everyone was shocked to see that the image of Lord Shri Ram and Mother Sita was actually present in his heart.
6. Evil Spirit Keechak
During the last year of exile with Draupadi, the Pandavas lived in the house of King Virat, changing their disguise and name. At that time, Draupadi had changed her name to Sairandhri and was somehow passing her time by becoming the maid of Virat King’s queen Sudeshna. Attachment to another woman is the cause of death.
Keechak, the chief commander of King Virat, was the brother of Sudeshna. Firstly, he was the brother-in-law of the king, secondly, the army was under his control, thirdly, he himself was famously strong and his one hundred and five equally strong brothers followed him. Due to all these reasons, Kichak had become autocratic and intoxicated. He was always arbitrary. He had no fear or hesitation even of King Virat. On the contrary, the king remained subdued by him and did not dare to say anything about his inappropriate behaviour.
The evil spirit Keechak once went to the house of his sister Queen Sudeshna for some work. Seeing the beautiful maid Sairandhri there, he became enamored with her. Keechak gave various types of temptations to Sairandhri. Sairandhri explained to her, “I am devoted to my husband. I never desire any man other than my husband. You should give up your sinful thoughts.”
But the lustful Kichak did not pay attention to his words. He also prepared his sister Sudeshna to send Sairandhri to his house. Even after Sairandhri’s refusal, Queen Sudeshna scolded him with authority and sent him to Keechak’s house to get some material for herself. When Sairandhri reached Keechaka’s house, the wicked man became determined to use force on her. She pushed him away and ran away and reached the Rajya Sabha. But Keechak reached there and in front of Raja Virat, grabbed her hair, threw him on the ground and stomped his foot. King Virat could not muster the courage to say anything.
Draupadi, who became Sairandhri, saw that Virat could not protect her from this evil spirit. Keechak became even more audacious. At last, being distraught, Draupadi went to Bhimsen at night and cryingly expressed her grief to Bhimsen. Bhimsen assured him. The next day Sairandhri, as per Bhimsen’s advice, talked happily to Keechaka and asked him to come to the theater at night.
King Virat’s theater was used to teach dance and music to harem girls. There the girls used to practice singing during the day, but it remained deserted at night. There was a bed there for the girls to rest, when it became dark at night, Bhimsen came quietly and slept on that bed in the theater. Kamandha Kichak came there fully dressed and sitting on the bed in the dark, mistaking Bhimsen for Sairandhri, he placed his hand on him. Bhimsen jumped and threw him down and sat on the chest of that evil spirit.
Keechak was very strong. He clashed with Bhimsen. A wrestling match started between the two, but Bhimsen soon overtook him and strangled him to death. Then his head, arms and legs were pressed so hard that they all entered inside his torso. Keechak’s body became a scary lump.
In the morning it was Sairandhri who showed the people the fate of Keechaka who insulted her. But one hundred and five brothers of Keechak caught Sairandhri and tied him. They took him to the crematorium with the intention of burning him in the pyre along with Keechak’s body. Sairandhri was crying. Hearing his lamentation, Bhimsen jumped over the city wall and reached the crematorium. He uprooted a tree and placed it on his shoulder and with that he sent all the brothers of Keechak to Yamalok. He cut the bonds of Sairandhri.Because of his lust, the evil spirit Kichak was killed and because of taking the side of his sinful brother, one hundred and five of his brothers also died a terrible death.