A Library of Hindu Scriptures, Ṛshis and Purāṇas

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, the great teacher of Advaita Vedānta, who revived Sanātana Dharma, wrote the bhāshyas and set up the four Amnāya Pīṭhas.

Agrabhuk is the famous sant of the Rāmānanda mata, Vareṇya reborn, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Bhairava of the Aghora path is a yati born of the aṃśa of Bhagavān Kapālī Śiva at Kāśī, a disciple of Śaṅkarācārya in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Bhāratīśa is the birth of the Mahārudra who destroyed Hirbu, a śishya of Śaṅkarācārya, as the Pratisarga Parva tells.

Bhāskarācārya · bhāskara-ācārya Bhāskara’s take on Advaita Bhāskara is the trail-blazer for the post-Śaṅkara schools of Vedānta which did not agree with Śaṅkara’s brand of advaita based on māyāvāda, the theory of…

Bhaṭṭojidīkshita, author of the Siddhāntakaumudī, is told in the Bhavishya Purāṇa as Bhagavān Sūrya born at Kāśī in the house of Vedaśarman.

Bilvamaṅgala is the southern paṇḍita, Śūra reborn and friend of Akbara, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Bopadeva, a brāhmaṇa of Totādri and bhakta of Kṛshṇa, retold the Bhāgavatī Kathā as the Hari-līlāmṛta and received the māhātmya of the Bhāgavata.

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

Caraṇadāsa, Vardhana reborn, is the author of the Jñānamālā, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Duṇḍhirāja, author of the Jātakābharaṇa, was born at Kāśī from Skandha, produced by Bhagavān Gaṇeśa, and became a śishya of Śaṅkarācārya.

Giriśarmā is the vipra born of the tejas of Śeshanāga Rudra, a disciple of Śaṅkara at Kāśī, as the Pratisarga Parva tells.

Gorakha is the yogī who was the śishya of Macchanda and who goes to devaloka, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Haridāsa Gāyaka, Madhu reborn, is the knower of all rāgas, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Haripriya is the name under which Śambhu, a disciple of Mukunda, was born in the family of Candrabhaṭṭa, in the Pratisarga Parva.

Īśvarapurī was Dhātṛśarman reborn by the tejas of Bhagavān Sūrya, a mahātmā of Baṅgāla who became a disciple of Kṛshṇacaitanya.

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.

Jīvānanda, disciple of Śrī Kṛshṇacaitanya with Rūpānanda, composed the Shaṭsandarbha, the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Adbhuta is the tenth of the fourteen Indras, as the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Adhaḥ is the ninth of the ten Āśā Devīs worshipped in the Āśā Daśamī vrata of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Aditi is the mother of the twelve ādityas and wife of Kaśyapa, through whose Payovrata Bhagavān Vishṇu was born as Vāmana.

Āgneyī is the second of the ten Āśā Devīs worshipped in the Āśā Daśamī vrata of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Agni is the deva of fire, who carries oblations to the devas in yajña, witnesses sacred vows and guards the southeast as a lokapāla.

The Agnishvāttas are a class of Pitṛs of living men, who receive tarpaṇa with sesame and sandal water in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Ahi is number 26 of the forty-five devatās of the Vāstu-maṇḍala in the Madhyama Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Ahirbudhnya is the devatā of the nakshatra Uttara Bhādrā; his worship on that day brings supreme peace.

Aindrī is the first of the ten Āśā Devīs, the direction-devīs worshipped in the courtyard of the house for the fulfilment of wishes.

Aiśānī is the eighth of the ten Āśā Devīs, the direction-devīs worshipped in the courtyard of the house for the fulfilment of wishes.

Ajaikapāda, the Rudra of Kumbha, son of Vasuśarmā by Śiva's aṃśa, who conquered death as Mṛtyuñjaya and came again as Purīśarmā.

Ajita is the avatāra of Śrī Hari in the Cākshusha manvantara, son of Vairāja and Sambhūti, who churned the ocean and bore Mandara as the tortoise.

The Ājyapas are a class of pitṛs who receive tarpaṇa of water mixed with sesame and sandal, named in the Uttara Parva.

Alakshmī, also called Jyeshṭhā, is the elder sister of Lakshmī, who lives in the Aśvattha tree by the will of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Ambā is named in the Pratisarga Parva as the maker of Ambāvatī, the divine city in the southern direction where King Pramara ruled.

Anaghā, printed Nadī, is the wife of Dattātreya and the form of Lakshmī; the daityas who lifted her onto their heads lost their śrī.

Anila is the fifth of the Eight Vasus in the list Sumantu gives to Śatānīka in the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Aniruddha is the grandson of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and son of Pradyumna, who married Ushā after being taken to Śoṇitapura.

Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadrā, husband of Uttarā and father of Parīkshit, who died fighting inside the Cakravyūha at Kurukshetra.

Abhitaṃsa is a king of the Candra line in the Dvāpara Yuga, son of Adhitaṃsa and father of Samuttaṃsa, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Acala and Vṛshaka were brothers of Śakuni of Gāndhāra and maternal uncles of Duryodhana, who fought in the Kaurava army.

Adhitaṃsa is a king of the Candra line in the Dvāpara Yuga, son of Anutaṃsa and father of Abhitaṃsa, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Ādityavardhana is a king of the Candra line in the Dvāpara Yuga, son of Sūryayajña and father of Dvādaśātmā, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Āgnīdhra was the eldest son of Priyavrata, ruler of Jambū-dvīpa, and father of nine sons who each received a varsha.

The line of kshatriyas that the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells arose from the yajña-kuṇḍa on Ābū, and the Pramara, Cayahāni, Śukla and Parihāra kings whom Sūta gives as the Agnivaṃśa.

Ahi is a king of the Ikshvāku line in the Satya Yuga, son of Vishvagaśva and father of Bhadrāśva, who ruled 35,300 years, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Ahīnaga is a king of the line of Kuśa in the Tretā Yuga, son of Devānīka and father of Kuru, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Ahīnara is a king in the line of Parīkshit at Hastināpura, son of Udayana and father of Niramitra, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Āhuka was a leading chief of the Yādavas in Kṛshṇa's time, named in the Śānti Parva and the Mausala Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Aindrāśva is a king of the Candra line in the Tretā Yuga, son of Dhanayāti and father of Rantīnara, in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Aja is the son of Raghu in the Raghu line, born by the vara of a brāhmaṇa, and a keeper of the Bhīma Dvādaśī in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Aja and Bhoja were two allied kings who fought on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra and are named as rathas by Bhīshma.

Ajāmīḍha was the last Candra-vaṃśa king installed at Hastināpura, chosen by Brahmā to stay on earth under Kuśa's rule after the war with Rāma.

Ajamīḍha, son of Bṛhat in the Pūru vaṃśa, was through his three wives the forefather of Viśvāmitra's line, the Pāñcālas and the Kurus.

Ajātaripu is a king of the Magadha line, son of Vedamiśra, who ruled 50 years, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Ajaya is a king of the Cayahāni line, son of Mahādeva and father of Vīrasiṃha, as the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells.

Anasūyā, wife of Atri Maharshi and mother of Candra, Dattātreya and Durvāsa, is one of the greatest pativratās in the Purāṇas and the Rāmāyaṇa.

Avyayā stayed devoted to her husband, a brāhmaṇa who lived a hundred years in adultery, entered his funeral pyre and was honoured by Yama.

Bālavatī, daughter of Kaṇva, kept a ten-year Sūrya vow and put her feet in fire for Bhagavān Sūrya, who took her to Sūryaloka.

Candrabhāgā, daughter of King Mucukunda, kept Ekādaśī from her eighth year and made the divine city of her husband Śobhana stable.

Divyā, the pativratā wife of Bhṛgu, rose to pronounce a śāpa on Bhagavān Vishṇu, and he severed her head with the cakra, in the Uttara Parva.

Guṇavatī, a brāhmaṇa woman of Māyāpurī, kept the Ekādaśī and Kārtika vows all her life, reached Vaikuṇṭha and was reborn as Satyabhāmā.

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.

Śabarī, a disciple of Mataṅga Muni, waited all her life for Bhagavān Rāma, offered him fruit, guided him to Sugrīva, and then rose in the fire of her tapas.

Satī Sumati The narrative of Satī Sumati and Kauśika Brāhmaṇa is a significant episode within the broader context of the Dattātreya Māhātmya of Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, illustrating the profound power of…

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.

Adṛśyantī, wife of Śakti and daughter-in-law of Vasishṭha, heard Vedic verses from her unborn son Parāśara and so brought Vasishṭha back to life's purpose.

Agastya Maharshi, born from a pot, husband of Lopāmudrā, who digested Vātāpi, drank the ocean and humbled the Vindhya.

Akṛtavraṇa was the devoted disciple of Paraśurāma and the narrator of Paraśurāma's account to the Pāṇḍavas in the Mahābhārata.

Ananta Muni is the brāhmaṇa of the Kalki Purāṇa who saw Vishṇumāyā as a whole second life lived inside one sea-bath.

Apāntaratama was born of Sarasvatī at Nārāyaṇa's command to divide the Veda, and returned later as Kṛshṇadvaipāyana Vyāsa.

Āpastamba is named in the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa among the ṛshis who composed the dharmaśāstras.

Arishṭanemi is a ṛshi of the Kaśyapa gotra who teaches King Sagara the path to moksha in the Mahābhārata's Mokshadharma Parva.

Ārshṭisheṇa was a ṛshi on Gandhamādana whose āśrama the Pāṇḍavas reached on their northward journey in the Mahābhārata's Vana Parva.

Arundhatī is the faithful wife of Vasishṭha Maharshi, who taught a secret dharma in the Mahābhārata and in the Bhavishya Purāṇa keeps and teaches many vratas.

Āruṇi Maharshi, a mind-born son of Brahmā, transformed a cruel nishāda by his gaze and taught his son Śvetaketu the knowledge of Brahman.

Āruṇi was a disciple of Dhaumya who lay in a broken field-bank to stop the water, and was named Udbhāsaka by his guru.

Arvāvasu was the son of Raibhya who bore a false charge of killing his father and asked Indra to restore the dead, as the Vana Parva tells.

Ashṭāvakra Maharshi, born with eight deformities yet master of the Vedas, defeated Vaṇḍin, freed his father and taught the Ashṭāvakra Saṁhitā.

Asita Devala was a householder ṛshi of perfect equanimity who learned mokshadharma from Jaigīshavya and taught in several parvas of the Mahābhārata.

Asita Muni is one of the five great ones to whom the devas gave the five wish-fulfilling cows of the churning, in the Uttara Parva.

Āstīka, son of the ṛshi Jaratkāru and the nāga Jaratkāru, stopped Janamejaya's Sarpa-yāga and saved the nāgas.

Āsuri is a ṛshi who knew Sāṅkhya, named with Kapila, Voḍhu and Pañcaśikha and called upon in the suprabhāta stotra of Śaṅkara.

Atharvan is a ṛshi of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, husband of Kardama's daughter Śānti, father of Dadhyañc and a ṛtvija of Yudhishṭhira's Rājasūya.

The Svāyambhuva Manvantara is the first of the fourteen manvantaras, ruled by Svāyambhuva Manu, whose children began the family lines of humankind.

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

The Auttama Manvantara is the third of the fourteen manvantaras: the age of the Manu Auttama, with its Indra, devas and saptarshis.

The fourth manvantara, of Tāmasa Manu: his birth in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, his line in other Purāṇas, and the Bhavishya Purāṇa's fall of the Vedas and burning of Tripura.

The Raivata Manvantara is the fifth manvantara, ruled by Raivata Manu, son of King Durgama and Revatī, the maiden born of the fallen Revatī nakshatra.

The sixth manvantara: how Ānanda became Cākshusha Manu, his line in the Agni Purāṇa, the devas and ṛshis of his age, and the Maruts born in it.

The Vaivasvata Manvantara is the seventh and present manvantara, ruled by Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Sūrya and Saṃjñā Devī.

The Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the eighth of the fourteen manvantaras, an age still to come, in which Bali Cakravartī will become Indra.

The Daksha Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the ninth of the fourteen manvantaras, still to come, ruled by Sāvarṇi, son of Daksha, with Adbhuta as its Indra.

The Brahma Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the tenth of the fourteen manvantaras, ruled by a Manu who is a son of Brahmā, with Śānti as its Indra.

The Dharmasāvarṇi Manvantara is the eleventh of the fourteen manvantaras, an age still to come, when Bhagavān Śrī Hari will appear as Dharmasetu.

The Rudra Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the twelfth of the fourteen manvantaras, ruled by Sāvarṇi, son of Rudra, with Ṛtadhāma as its Indra.

The Raucya Manvantara is the thirteenth manvantara, whose Manu Raucya was born to the Prajāpati Ruci after Ruci's stotra to the Pitṛs.

The Bhautya Manvantara is the fourteenth and last manvantara, whose Manu Bhautya was born to the muni Bhūti by the vara of Agni-deva to Śānti.

The Vāyu Purāṇa describes the seven manvantaras still to come in this kalpa, from the eighth, Sāvarṇika, to the fourteenth, Bhautya.

Arkasāvarṇi is the first of the seven Manus to come after Vaivasvata in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Bahuḷā Bahulā was the renowned and celebrated wife of King Uttama, the son of King Uttānapāda. Her marriage to King Uttama was compared to the union of Indra and Śacī…

The Bhūtarajas are a group of devas named in the Bhavishya Purāṇa among those of the manvantaras to come.

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

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

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

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

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.

The Padma Purāṇa, named for the lotus from Bhagavān Vishṇu's navel, is one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas: creation, tīrthas, vratas, Tulasī and bhakti.

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

The Skanda Purāṇa, largest of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, is named for Skanda, son of Bhagavān Śiva, and is a treasury of the tīrthas of Bhārata.

The Vāmana Purāṇa, told by Pulastya Maharshi to Nārada, with its Saro Māhātmya: Vāmana and Bali, Śiva and the Devī, the tīrthas of Kurukshetra.

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.