by Sudha Murty
2 In some versions, Brahma is considered to be Manmatha’s father.
3 The celebration of Holi is also attributed to the mythological tale of Prahlada, a daitya king.
4 The fortnight between a new moon day and a full moon day is called Shukla Paksha.
5 The fortnight between a full moon day and a new moon day is called Krishna Paksha.
6 The jyotirlinga is an iconic representation of Shiva. It is said to have emitted light.
7 Every year, the birth of Ganesha is celebrated on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada.
8 A sculpture of this battle can be seen at Ramappa Temple in Telangana, and paintings of the event are on the ceiling of Virupaksha Temple in Hampi.
9 It is a philosophy that preaches that the soul and God are one.
10 Her prophecy would come true much later, during the reign of Janmejaya in the kingdom of Hastinapur, when the serpents would be sacrificed as revenge for his father’s death. Janmejaya was the successor of Parikshit, grandson of the Pandava Arjuna.
11 Today, the hills where Vishnu meditated are called the Tirumala Hills and the area below has come to be known as Govindarajpatnam, or Tirupati.
Notes
Gods and Their Abodes
Deva or Asura Abode (Ancient Name) Abode (Modern Name)
Brahma Pushkar Pushkar
Brahma Kapala Badrinath
Satyaloka
Shiva Mount Kailash Mount Kailash
Kashi Varanasi or Benares
Vishnu Vaikuntha
Tondamandalam Around Tirupati
Lakshmi Karvirapura Kolhapur
Indra Indraloka/Amravati
Ravana Lanka Sri Lanka
Jyotirlingas
Name Place State
Somnath Prabhas Patan, Saurashtra Gujarat
Nagesha Darukawana Gujarat
Mallikarjuna Srisailam Andhra Pradesh
Mahakala Ujjain Madhya Pradesh
Amaleshwara Omkara Madhya Pradesh
Vaijanatha Paraji Maharashtra
Bhimashankara Bhimashankara Maharashtra
Trumbakeshwara Nashik Maharashtra
Grishneshwara Ellora Maharashtra
Rameswaram Rameswaram Tamil Nadu
Vishweshwara Kashi Uttar Pradesh
Kedareshwara Kedar Uttaranchal
Immortality Loopholes
Devotee Boon Loophole
Sunda and Upasunda Cannot be killed by anyone but each other Died fighting each other over a beautiful maiden
Taraka Cannot be killed by any man or god Died at the hands of a child, Shiva’s son
Tripurasuras To be rulers of three invincible cities, whose weakest moment would occur during their alignment once every thousand years A single arrow used by Shiva during the alignment
Gajasura Cannot be killed by anyone who desires something Destroyed by Lord Shiva, who desires nothing in the world
Vritrasura Cannot be killed by any weapon made of wood or metal Slain by weapons made from the bones of the sage Dadhichi
Hiranyakashipu Cannot be killed by a human or an animal, in the morning or at night, inside or outside the house Killed by a half-man, half-lion at twilight in a doorway
Jalandhara Cannot be destroyed by anyone other than Shiva, who was like his father Died at the hands of Shiva
Madhu and Kaitabha Can choose the time of their death Chose to die after Vishnu obtained a boon from them asking them to die at his hands
Guha Cannot be killed by a man or a god Was killed by two gods merging to form a deity, Harihara
Read More by Sudha Murty
The Serpent’s Revenge
Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata
How many names does Arjuna have?
Why was Yama cursed?
What lesson did a little mongoose teach Yudhisthira?
The Kurukshetra war, fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas and which forced even the gods to take sides, may be well known, but there are innumerable stories set before, after and during the war that lend the Mahabharata its many varied shades and are largely unheard of.
Award-winning author Sudha Murty reintroduces the fascinating world of India’s greatest epic through the extraordinary tales in this collection, each of which is sure to fill you with a sense of wonder and bewilderment.
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The Magic of the Lost Temple
City girl Nooni is surprised at the pace of life in her grandparents’ village in Karnataka. But she quickly gets used to the gentle routine there and involves herself in a flurry of activities, including papad making, organizing picnics and learning to ride a cycle, with her new-found friends. Things get exciting when Nooni stumbles upon an ancient fabled stepwell right in the middle of a forest.
Join the intrepid Nooni on an adventure of a lifetime in this much-awaited book by Sudha Murty that is heart-warming, charming and absolutely unputdownable
Read More by Sudha Murty
The Bird with Golden Wings
Stories of Wit and Magic
What would you do if a bird with golden wings alighted on your terrace and offered you fabulous riches?
A poor little girl is rewarded with lovely gifts when she takes pity on a hungry bird and feeds it all the rice she has, but what happens when the girl’s greedy, nosy neighbour hears the story and tries to get bigger and better gifts for herself? Why did the once sweet sea water turn salty? How did it happen that the learned teacher forgot all his lessons and had to be helped out by the school cook? And what did the king do so that the people of his kingdom did not come to know that he has horrible donkey ears hidden under his turban?
For answers to all this and more, delve right into another fabulous collection of stories by Sudha Murty.
THE BEGINNING
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PUFFIN BOOKS
UK | Canada | Ireland | Australia
New Zealand | India | South Africa
Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
This collection published 2017
Copyright © Sudha Murty 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Jacket images © Neelima P Aryan
ISBN: 978-0-143-42786-5
This digital edition published in 2017.
e-ISBN: 978-9-387-32645-3
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
