A Library of Hindu Scriptures, Ṛshis and Purāṇas

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, simply known as Adi Shankaracharya, Sanskrit: आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Telugu: ఆది శంకరాచార్యులు, Hindi: आदि शंकराचार्य. Philosopher and Saint who consolidated doctrine of Advaita Vedānta The sacred land of Bhārata…

Kūreśa, simply known as Kuresha, Sanskrit: कूरेश, Telugu: కూరేశుడు, Hindi: कूरेश. Śrī Kūreśa, also known as Koorathālvār, (alternatively written Kūrathāḻvār), is a luminous figure in the history of the Śrī…

Mudaliyāṇḍān, simply known as Mudaliyandan, Sanskrit: मुदलियाण्डान्, Telugu: ముదలియాండాన్, Hindi: मुदलियांडान. Śrī Mudaliyāṇḍān, originally named Dāśarathi, stands as a beacon of unwavering devotion and selfless service within the illustrious lineage of…

Bhāskarācārya, simply known as Bhaskaracharya, Sanskrit: भास्कराचार्य, Telugu: భాస్కరాచార్యులు, Hindi: भास्कराचार्य. Bhāskara’s take on Advaita Bhāskara is the trail-blazer for the post-Śaṅkara schools of Vedānta which did not agree with…

Nimbārkācārya, simply known as Nimbarkacharya, Sanskrit: निम्बार्काचार्य, Telugu: నింబార్కాచార్యులు, Hindi: निंबार्काचार्य. According to him there are three equally real and co-eternal tattvas or principles: Brahman, cit and acit. While Brahman…

Vallabhācārya, simply known as Vallabhacharya, Sanskrit: वल्लभाचार्य, Telugu: వల్లభాచార్యులు, Hindi: वल्लभाचार्य. Vallabha’s philosophy is known as Śuddhādvaita. He is said to have written two commentaries on the Brahmasūtras, the Br̥hadbhāshya and the Aṇubhāshya, of…

Rāmānujācārya, simply known as Ramanujacharya, Sanskrit: रामानुजाचार्य, Telugu: రామానుజాచార్యులు, Hindi: रामानुजाचार्य. The most important exponent of Viśishṭādvaita Vedānta (qualified non-dualism) In the grand dhārmika tapestry of Bhāratavarsha, the life and…

The Bhavishya Purāṇa presents Caitanya Mahāprabhu as a supreme manifestation of Kali Yuga, born to spread Vaishṇava dharma across Bhārata.

The Bhavishya Purāṇa says Bhagavān Sūrya was born in Vaṅgadeśa as the poet Jayadeva to guide people in Kali Yuga along the path of bhakti.

The Liṅga Purāṇa names Lakulīśa as the twenty-eighth and last Yogācārya, an avatāra of Bhagavān Śiva who came to restore Pāśupata yoga in Kali Yuga.

Yādavaprakāśa, simply known as Yadavaprakasha, Sanskrit: यादवप्रकाश, Telugu: యాదవప్రకాశుడు, Hindi: यादवप्रकाश. The First Guru of Śrī Rāmānuja Śrī Yādavaprakāśa was a figure of considerable intellectual stature, widely recognized as a…

The Bhavishya Purāṇa counts Madhvācārya, founder of Dvaita Vedānta, among the great ācāryas of Kali Yuga born through the grace of Bhagavān Sūrya.

Two figures bear the name Daṇḍapāṇi: the Yaksha Harikeśa, guardian of Kāśī, and the son of Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva who sent a Kṛtyā against Kṛshṇa.

Suśīlā was one of five gandharva kanyakās who were cursed to become piśācas at the Acchoda sarovara and were freed in the Narmadā.

Dāruka is Kṛshṇa's charioteer in the Mahābhārata. Dārukā is the rākshasī of the Dārukāvana whom Bhagavān Śiva destroyed at Nāgeśvara.

Susvārā, daughter of the gandharva Svaravedi, was one of five gandharva kanyakās cursed to become piśācas and freed in the Narmadā.

The Daśāvatāra are the ten main avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu, from Matsya the fish to Kalki, who is still to come.

Sutārā, daughter of the gandharva Candrakānta, was one of five gandharva kanyakās cursed to become piśācas and freed in the Narmadā.

Dattātreya, son of the ṛshi Atri and Anasūyā, is an avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the avadhūta who learned from twenty-four gurus.

Suvarcā, wife of the ṛshi Dādhīci, gave up her life on his funeral pyre and was the mother of the ṛshi Pippalāda.

Devakī, wife of Vasudeva and a daughter of the Yādavas, is the mother of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who was born to her in Kaṃsa's prison.

Suyaśā is one of the two śaktis of Kumārasvāmi (Skanda), seen with Gajavalī at Kumāraśikhara on Mount Meru in the Kailāsa Saṃhitā.

Devāntaka, the younger son of the asura king Raudraketu, fought Mahōtkaṭa, the Kṛta-yuga avatāra of Gaṇeśa, and broke his tusk before he was killed.

Svāhā Devī is the wife of Agni and the devī of the word svāhā, which is spoken at every offering into the sacred fire.

Dhanvantarī is the divine physician who rose from the Kshīrasāgara with the pot of amṛta and brought Āyurveda, the science of life, into the world.

Svayamprabhā Śāṇḍilī Devī is a radiant devī who lives on Śṛṅgavān Parvata, the northernmost of the six varsha-parvatas of Jambū Dvīpa.

Dhanyā was one of three divine sisters cursed by Sanatkumāra to be born as humans, and she became the mother of Sītā.

Tārā Devī is the wife of the deva-guru Bṛhaspati, taken by force by Candra, and the mother of Budha, the deva of the planet Mercury.

In the Kalki Purāṇa, Dharma comes to Bhagavān Kalki as a brāhmaṇa and fights Kali beside Kṛtayuga.

Tārakāsura was an asura who won a vara that only a child of Bhagavān Śiva could kill him, conquered the three worlds, and was slain by Kārttikeya.

Citrasena was a king of grave pāpa who kept the Janmāshṭamī vow by chance on the Yamunā bank and rose with his ancestors to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Ketumanta was a Kaliṅga commander who came to the Kurukshetra war with the Kaliṅga elephant corps as an ally of the Kauravas.

Śailālaya was the father's father of Bhagadatta, king of Prāgjyotisha. By the power of his tapas he reached the abode of Mahendra.

Uddhava was the friend, disciple and minister of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who received the Uddhava Gītā and carried Kṛshṇa's message to Vṛndāvana.

Citrāyudha was a warrior allied with the Pāṇḍavas, named among their *rathas* in Bhīshma's count of warriors before the war at Kurukshetra.

Khāṇḍikya was a Janaka king who lost his kingdom to his cousin Keśidhvaja, refused to take it back, asked for liberation instead and attained it.

Śakuni of the Ikshvāku line was a prince who came to Hāṭakeśvara for the great gathering told in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa.

Ugrā was the queen of King Cakrapāṇi of Gandakī-nagara and the mother of the daitya Sindhu, who was born from the ocean.

Citraketu was a Pāñcāla prince who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Khāṭvāṅga Mahārāja fought for the devas, learned he had one muhūrta to live, gave up all attachment and reached moksha in that time.

Śalya, king of Madra and uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, was bound by his word to fight for the Kauravas. He drove Karṇa's chariot and fell to Yudhishṭhira.

Ugrabāhu was the king of Avantī in the days of Rāma-rājya, named at two svayaṃvaras in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Citraketu was a king of Śūrasena with ten million wives and no son, who met Bhagavān Saṃkarshaṇa, was cursed by Pārvatī and was reborn as Vṛtrāsura.

Khaṭvāṅga was a Solar dynasty king and ancestor of Bhagavān Rāma who reached sāyujya moksha in one muhūrta after serving the devas.

Samādhi was a merchant whose greedy family drove him out; he met Medhasa Ṛshi with King Sūratha and asked Devī Durgā for jñāna.

The Padma Purāṇa tells of Ugrasena, king of Mathurā, his queen Padmāvatī, and the daitya Gobhila, from whom Kaṃsa was born.

Citrāṅgada of Daśārṇa was a mighty warrior who fought Arjuna when the Aśvamedha horse reached his kingdom, then submitted and was invited to the yajña.

Kīcaka was the commander of King Virāṭa's army and brother of Queen Sudeshṇā, killed by Bhīmasena after he harassed Draupadī.

Hemāṅgī was the virtuous queen of King Vīravarman who remembered her past life as Mohinī and led her husband to Prayāga and Vaikuṇṭha.

Kalā, wife of the brāhmaṇa Śoṇa, kept her pātivratya even against the rākshasa Mārīca and was received by Devī Pārvatī in Kailāsa.

Kayādhu, daughter of the daitya Jambha and wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu, was the mother of Prahlāda and was taught by Nārada Maharshi while carrying him.

Līlāvatī and her husband Hārita did tapas at Maulisthāna for twenty-one yugas, and Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha appeared and chose to live there as their son.

Maṅgalā, second wife of the brāhmaṇa Śivaśarma, gave all her puṇya to the boar who had been Sudevā, and Sudevā rose to svarga.

Oghavatī, wife of Sudarśana son of Agni, kept her husband's vow of serving guests, and Dharma foretold that she would become a river.

Padmāvatī, queen of Ugrasena of Mathurā, was deceived by the daitya Gobhila in Ugrasena's form, and Kaṃsa was born of that union.

Reṇukā, wife of the ṛshi Jamadagni and mother of Paraśurāma, was a pativratā whose twenty-one cries of grief set the measure of Paraśurāma's vow.

Satyavatī, daughter of King Gādhi, was the wife of Ṛcīka, mother of Jamadagni, and in her later life became the sacred river Kauśikī.

Śāṇḍilī is a pativratā of the Mahābhārata who reached the world of the devas through devoted conduct as a wife, and told Sumanā how.

Sudevā, queen of Ikshvāku of Ayodhyā, showed kindness to a wounded female boar in the Padma Purāṇa and opened the way for her story.

Sudevā, first wife of the brāhmaṇa Śivaśarma, was born as a female boar and freed by Maṅgalā's gift of puṇya, in the Padma Purāṇa.

Sūkala, wife of the vaiśya Kṛkala, stayed faithful to her husband while Indra and Manmatha tried every means to move her, in the Padma Purāṇa.

Sulocanā, wife of Indrajit (Meghānāda), is praised for her devotion: she asked Bhagavān Rāma for her husband's head and joined him in the fire.

Sumanā, wife of the brāhmaṇa Somaśarma, taught the ten aṅgas of dharma and the bond of debt between parents and sons, in the Padma Purāṇa.

Suprabhā, daughter of the ṛshi Vadānya, was the unmatched maiden whom Ashṭāvakra married after his journey to the north, in the Mahābhārata.

Suvarcā, devoted wife of Dadhīci Bhārgava, cursed the devas to be childless and gave birth to Pippalāda, an avatāra of Rudra.

Vṛndā, the pativratā wife of the asura king Jalandhara, whose purity guarded him, cursed Bhagavān Vishṇu; the Tulasī plant and Vṛndāvana are linked to her.

The Nava Yogīśvaras are the nine royal sons of Ṛshabhadeva who became wandering avadhūtas and answered King Nimi's questions in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

Kaṇva, simply known as Kanva, Sanskrit: कण्व, Telugu: కణ్వుడు, Hindi: कण्व. Birth and Early Life Kaṇva Maharshi was born in the lineage of Kaśyapa Prajāpati. From childhood, he practiced austerities…

Nidāgha, son of Pulastya and disciple of Ṛbhu, learned advaita through the elephant and king question and reached moksha, in the Vishṇu Purāṇa.

Nimi, son of Dattātreya and grandson of Atri, performed the first śrāddha for his dead son Śrīmanta, and Atri then taught him the full rite.

Paippalāda Maharshi is the father of Kauśika in the Mahābhārata and the founder of the Paippalāda śākhā of the Atharvaveda.

Pañcaśikha, also called Kāpileya or Kāpila, is a great Sāṃkhya maharshi and the foremost disciple of Āsuri Maharshi, who taught Janaka the path to moksha.

Pañcaśikha is a great Sāṃkhya ṛshi who teaches King Janaka in the Mahābhārata that old age and death cannot be avoided, and that the Self is beyond both.

Pāṇini, grandson of Pitṛśarman, received the Māheśvara Sūtras from Mahādeva at Kedāra, the seed of the Ashṭādhyāyī, the Sanskrit grammar.

Kapila, simply known as Kapila, Sanskrit: कपिल, Telugu: కపిలుడు, Hindi: कपिल. The Birth and Early Life Once, Brahmā created Kardama Prajāpati and ordered him to populate the world with living…

Parāvasu, son of Raibhya, killed his father by mistake in the forest and then falsely blamed his brother Arvāvasu, as the Mahābhārata tells.

Parvata is a great ṛshi who came with Nārada and Devala to visit Dhṛtarāshṭra at his forest āśrama near Kurukshetra, as the Mahābhārata tells.

Kardama, simply known as Kardama, Sanskrit: कर्दम, Telugu: కర్దముడు, Hindi: कर्दम. At the beginning of the Kṛtayuga, the earth once again became devoid of progeny. There were very few beings,…

Pippala, son of Kaśyapa, did three thousand years of tapas, became proud, and was sent by Brahmā in the form of a sārasa bird to learn from Sukarma.

The ten Pracetasas, sons of King Prācīnabarhish, did ten thousand years of tapas in the ocean, married Mārishā, fathered Daksha and attained moksha.

Kāśyapa, simply known as Kashyapa, Sanskrit: काश्यप, Telugu: కాశ్యపుడు, Hindi: काश्यप. Kāśyapa (Read as Kaa-sya-pa, meaning born of Kasyapa) was born in the lineage of Kaśyapa Prajāpati. He was a…

Puṇḍarīka was a young brāhmaṇa who gave up all he owned, settled at Sālagrāma, learned from Nārada, saw Bhagavān Vishṇu and was taken to Vaikuṇṭha.

Mataṅga, simply known as Matanga, Sanskrit: मतङ्ग, Telugu: మతంగుడు, Hindi: मतंग. Birth and Early Life In the Gautama vaṁśa, a brāhmaṇa had a son named Mataṅga. He was raised with…

Pushkara, son of Varuṇa, is the teacher of the second part of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, where he teaches Rājadharma and many sciences to Paraśurāma.

Raivata Manvantara, simply known as Raivata Manvantara, Sanskrit: रैवत मन्वन्तर, Telugu: రైవత మన్వంతరం, Hindi: रैवत मन्वंतर. The fifth Manu, known as Raivata, was born from the union of King Durgama…

The Svārocisha Manvantara is the second of the fourteen manvantaras, ruled by Svārocisha Manu, with the Tushita and Pārāvata devas and Vipaścit as Indra.

Svaroci, simply known as Svarochi, Sanskrit: स्वरोचि, Telugu: స్వరోచి, Hindi: स्वरोचि. The Extraordinary Birth of Svaroci The story of Svaroci begins with a brahmana named Pravara who lived in the…

Pravara, simply known as Pravara, Sanskrit: प्रवर, Telugu: ప్రవరుడు, Hindi: प्रवर. Pravara is a virtuous scholar from the village of Aruṇāspada who traveled to the Himālaya mountains using a magical…

Varūthinī, simply known as Varuthini, Sanskrit: वरूथिनी, Telugu: వరూధిని, Hindi: वरूथिनी. Varūthinī was a beautiful and famous apsaras who lived and played among the peaks of the Himālaya mountains. She…

Manoramā, simply known as Manorama, Sanskrit: मनोरमा, Telugu: మనోరమ, Hindi: मनोरमा. Manoramā is a vidyādharī princess whose rescue from a terrible curse led to her becoming the wife of the…

Kalāvatī, simply known as Kalavati, Sanskrit: कलावती, Telugu: కళావతి, Hindi: कलावती. Kalāvatī is a girl with a magical connection to the moon who survived great sadness to become a queen…

Indīvarāksha, simply known as Indivaraksha, Sanskrit: इन्दीवराक्ष, Telugu: ఇందీవరాక్షుడు, Hindi: इंदीवराक्ष. Indīvarāksha was a powerful Gandharva who was turned into a scary monster after he tried to learn medicine in…

Auttama Manvantara, simply known as Auttama Manvantara, Sanskrit: औत्तम मन्वन्तर, Telugu: ఔత్తమ మన్వంతరం, Hindi: औत्तम मन्वंतर. The Auttama Manvantara (also known as Uttara Manvantara or Uttama Manvantara) is the third…

Uttama, simply known as Uttama, Sanskrit: उत्तम, Telugu: ఉత్తముడు, Hindi: उत्तम. The biography of Uttama, also known as Auttara, is a significant historical account found within the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, specifically…

Bahuḷā, simply known as Bahula, Sanskrit: बहुळा, Telugu: బహుళ, Hindi: बहुला. Bahulā was the renowned and celebrated wife of King Uttama, the son of King Uttānapāda. Her marriage to King…

Daksha Sāvarṇi Manvantara, simply known as Daksha Savarni Manvantara, Sanskrit: दक्ष सावर्णि मन्वन्तर, Telugu: దక్ష సావర్ణి మన్వంతరం, Hindi: दक्ष सावर्णि मन्वंतर. The Daksha Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the ninth among the…

Brahma Sāvarṇi Manvantara, simply known as Brahma Savarni Manvantara, Sanskrit: ब्रह्म सावर्णि मन्वन्तर, Telugu: బ్రహ్మ సావర్ణి మన్వంతరం, Hindi: ब्रह्म सावर्णि मन्वंतर. The Brahma Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the tenth among the…

Rudra Sāvarṇi Manvantara, simply known as Rudra Savarni Manvantara, Sanskrit: रुद्र सावर्णि मन्वन्तर, Telugu: రుద్ర సావర్ణి మన్వంతరం, Hindi: रुद्र सावर्णि मन्वंतर. The Rudra Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the twelfth among the…

Raucya Manvantara, simply known as Rauchya Manvantara, Sanskrit: रौच्य मन्वन्तर, Telugu: రౌచ్య మన్వంతరం, Hindi: रौच्य मन्वंतर. The Raucya Manvantara is the account of how the Prajāpati named Ruci, originally a…

Ruci, simply known as Ruchi, Sanskrit: रुचि, Telugu: రుచి, Hindi: रुचि. Overview Ruci was a Prajāpati and viprarshi who lived during the transitional period preceding the Raucya Manvantara. Originally a…

Bhautya Manvantara, simply known as Bhautya Manvantara, Sanskrit: भौत्य मन्वन्तर, Telugu: భౌత్య మన్వంతరం, Hindi: भौत्य मन्वंतर. The Bhautya Manvantara is the fourteenth and final manvantara described by Maharshi Mārkaṇḍeya. It…

Vibhāvarī, simply known as Vibhavari, Sanskrit: विभावरी, Telugu: విభావరి, Hindi: विभावरी. Vibhāvarī is a celestial princess of the sky who overcame a heavy burden to find a new path as…

The Varāha Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas: the teaching Bhagavān Vishṇu as Varāha gave to Bhūdevī after lifting her from the waters.

The Vāyu Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, a Śaiva Purāṇa told by Sūta Romaharshaṇa at Naimishāraṇya from the teaching of Vāyu Deva.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, told by the ṛshi Parāśara to Maitreya in six aṃśas, with Vishṇu-Nārāyaṇa as the supreme Brahman.

Padma Purāṇa, simply known as Padma Purana, Sanskrit: पद्म पुराण, Telugu: పద్మ పురాణం, Hindi: पद्म पुराण. The Padma Purāṇa is one of the grandest and most extensive of the eighteen…

Skanda Purāṇa, simply known as Skanda Purana, Sanskrit: स्कन्द पुराण, Telugu: స్కంద పురాణం, Hindi: स्कंद पुराण. The Skanda Purāṇa is the largest and arguably the most geographically and devotionally detailed…

The Śiva Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, told by Sūta to the ṛshis of Naimishāraṇya in seven saṃhitās on Bhagavān Śiva.

The Agni Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, told by Agni-deva to Vasishṭha: an encyclopaedia of 383 chapters on dharma, pūjā, statecraft and moksha.

The Bhavishya Purāṇa is the Mahāpurāṇa of Sūrya Nārāyaṇa and of the future: dharma, saṃskāras, vratas, mahā-dānas, dynasties and the course of Kali Yuga.

The Liṅga Purāṇa is the foremost Śaiva Mahāpurāṇa: the appearing of the Jyotirliṅga, Pāśupata yoga, bhasma, Nandīśvara and a Śaiva cosmology.

The Brahma Purāṇa is the first of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas: 246 chapters on creation, Purushottama Kshetra, Kṛshṇa, dharma, Yoga and the Gautamī.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, the eighteenth Mahāpurāṇa, tells of the cosmic egg: creation, worlds, lineages, Paraśurāma and the Lalitopākhyāna.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, 18,000 ślokas in four khaṇḍas, teaching Śrī Kṛshṇa as Parabrahman and Rādhā as Mūla Prakṛti.

The Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa is Vyāsa's Purāṇa of bhakti in twelve skandhas, told by Śuka Maharshi to King Parīkshit on the banks of the Gaṅgā.

The Garuḍa Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, taught by Bhagavān Vishṇu to Garuḍa, on dharma, pūjā, the life after death and moksha.

The Kūrma Purāṇa is told by Bhagavān Vishṇu as the Tortoise; it teaches the oneness of Hari and Hara and holds the Īśvara Gītā and the Vyāsa Gītā.

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, told by four wise birds to Jaimini, and home of the Devī Māhātmya.

The Matsya Purāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas: the teaching Bhagavān Vishṇu as the fish Matsya gave to Vaivasvata Manu during the pralaya.

The Nārada Purāṇa, also called the Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa, is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, holding bhakti to Bhagavān Vishṇu as the highest dharma.