When Vishnu Became Horse-headed

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When Vishnu Became Horse-headed

by Mantra & shlokas on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 11:26am

Thousands of years ago, there was a forest called Naimisharanya. Part of this forest was untouched by the evils of Kaliyuga " the era of falsehood. Many sages had chosen their home in that part of the forest. Among them was the learned Suta, who had grasped the meaning of the eighteen Puranas from Vyasa " the author of the Mahabharata and several Puranas .

The sages were distressed with the fear of the Kali and had come to Naimisharanya eager to hear the Puranas. Shounaka, a sage, persuaded Suta to narrate to them the divine auspicious Bhagavatam. He yielded to their request and said, "I feel blessed and overjoyed that I  have been asked to narrate the meritorious Purana. I bow to Devi Bhagavati, praised by all the gods, including Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Today, I shall  describe in detail and in plain language, the best of Puranas, that contains all the sentiments that a human being can conceive " the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam .

Once, Vyasa was touched when he saw two sparrows showering love on their little one. Observing their affection towards their young, Vyasa grew anxious and thought that if birds had so much affection, how much more affection human beings would have for their children. He thought nurturing sons was the highest happiness. He decided to perform penance in order to have a son but didn?t know which god to pray to. The gods told him that they were subservient to the Divine Mother and no one had the powers that she possessed. Vishnu then told him about the powers of the Devi.

Once, Vishnu, the sustainer of the universe, became tired after continuous battle for ten thousand years. Seated under the shade of the tree, Vishnu rested, placing his chin on his bow. Around that time, the devas came to him for his approval for a sacrifice. Finding him asleep, the devas grew anxious. They knew Vishnu would be angry if disturbed. Lord Brahma then created white ants and asked them to eat the front of the bow which was lying on the ground so that the other end would become free and would wake up Vishnu. The white ants did as they were told, but contrary to what the devas expected, instead of waking up Vishnu, the string snapped with a great force and cut off Vishnu's head. <span> </span>Thousands of years ago, there was a forest called Naimisharanya. Part of this forest was untouched by the evils of Kaliyuga " the era of falsehood. Many sages had chosen their home in that part of the forest. Among them was the learned Suta, who had grasped the meaning of the eighteen Puranas from Vyasa " the author of the Mahabharata and several Puranas .The sages were distressed with the fear of the Kali and had come to Naimisharanya eager to hear the Puranas. Shounaka, a sage, persuaded Suta to narrate to them the divine auspicious Bhagavatam. He yielded to their request and said, "I feel blessed and overjoyed that I  have been asked to narrate the meritorious Purana. I bow to Devi Bhagavati, praised by all the gods, including Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Today, I shall  describe in detail and in plain language, the best of Puranas, that contains all the sentiments that a human being can conceive " the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam . Once, Vyasa was touched when he saw two sparrows showering love on their little one. Observing their affection towards their young, Vyasa grew anxious and thought that if birds had so much affection, how much more affection human beings would have for their children. He thought nurturing sons was the highest happiness. He decided to perform penance in order to have a son but didn?t know which god to pray to. The gods told him that they were subservient to the Divine Mother and no one had the powers that she possessed. Vishnu then told him about the powers of the Devi.Once, Vishnu, the sustainer of the universe, became tired after continuous battle for ten thousand years. Seated under the shade of the tree, Vishnu rested, placing his chin on his bow. Around that time, the devas came to him for his approval for a sacrifice. Finding him asleep, the devas grew anxious. They knew Vishnu would be angry if disturbed. Lord Brahma then created white ants and asked them to eat the front of the bow which was lying on the ground so that the other end would become free and would wake up Vishnu. The white ants did as they were told, but contrary to what the devas expected, instead of waking up Vishnu, the string snapped with a great force and cut off Vishnu's head.