Myths of India
Gods, deities and other mythological characters
Monsters, monsters and fantastic creatures Animals and plants Natural phenomena and the structure of the world
Life and Death Treasures Children Legends of cities, houses and other places Legends of priests, healers and other characters
Creation of the world
The beginning of the Great Feud
The World of Brahma
The Incarnation of Brahma
Incarnations of Vishnu
Four centuries
The Virtue of Compassion
The Word of the King of Varanasi
Gautama and the Elephant
Yayati and his sons
How the Gods became immortal
Indra's Victory over Vritra
The Wrath of Rudra Shiva
The Maya Deceiver
The Fall of Tripura
Honest Kacha
Son of the Great Shiva
Ganesha is the God of Wisdom
How the ocean dried up
The descent of the Ganges to earth
The Frog Princess
Kubera and Ravana
How Shiva pinched Ravana's finger
The Birth of Rama
Frame Testing
Shiva's Bow
Battle
Liberation of the world from Ravana
The Dream of King Muchukunda
* * *
How many gods are there in total?
Agastya
Agni
Aditi
Brahma
Varuna
Gautama Buddha
Garuda
Dakini
Daksha
Durga
Indra
Kali
Manu
Maruts
Parvati
Pushan
Frame
Ribhu
Saraswati
Sita
Surya
Hanuman
Guardian Kings
Shiva
Pit
* * *
Amrita the drink of immortality
The origin of death
Mount Meru and the drink of immortality
Why do tigers look so sad
Manticore
Karkadann
Site search
Myths of ancient Egypt Myths of the ancient Slavs Fairy tales and legends of the northern peoples of Russia Fairy tales and legends of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East Fairy tales and legends of the peoples of the Urals and the Volga region Fairy tales and legends of the peoples of the Caucasus Myths of Japan Myths of Western and Southern Africa Myths and legends of the Gauls Myths and legends of Australia Mythology of Polynesia Myths of India Myths of Ancient Greece and Rome Myths of China Myths and legends of Vietnam Myths of the peoples of the Two Rivers Mythology of Vikings Mythology of Eskimos Mythology of Latin America Myths and legends of North America Folk legends of the Netherlands
Legends of Ireland Legends of Iceland Folk legends of Norway Myths and legends of Sweden Folk legends of Denmark Legends of Northern Germany Medieval epic of Southern Germany Legends and legends of France
Son of the Great Shiva
Shiva rode around his heavenly possessions on a white bull Nandi, holding in his hands a sharp trident Trishula, a magic bow Ajagva, Khatvanga a club with a skull on the end, a drum Damaru, like an hourglass, a rope to catch and bind those who are disrespectful.
Flashes of bright flame, noise and rumble accompanied his every step in the universe.
But when he returned to his home, the palace greeted him with silence, and on the face of his wife Parvati was written not joy, but sadness.
"Why are you always sad? "
Shiva asked her one day.
"Because I donot have a son," Parvati replied.
Shiva rolled up the floor of her sari and told her to take a lump of cloth in her hands:
- Here's a son for you.
Love him.
— Why are you laughing at me?
Parvati asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
But then the bundle of cloth, warmed by her hands and moistened with tears, moved and turned into a baby who screamed loudly.
Immediately the silence left the palace and joy came.
All the gods were called by the happy father for the holiday.
They brought gifts and admired the beauty of the little god, who was named Ganesha.
Shiva forgot to invite only one god Shani, the lord of the planet Saturn.
In retaliation, Shani cast a terrible look at Ganesha, and ... the baby's head fell to the ground.
Parvati was distraught with grief.
— I will resurrect my son!
Shiva exclaimed and put Ganesha's head back in its place.
But all the divine power of Shiva was powerless before the evil eye of the vindictive Shani.
The head did not stick and fell down again.
And then Shiva heard Brahma's voice: "Your son will not be able to live with this head.
Put any other one and it will come to life.
The head should be taken from the first person you see sleeping with his face to the north.
When the faithful bull Nandi heard these words, he rushed to look for the one who was sleeping with his face to the north.
At the gate of the capital of the heavenly kingdom, he saw a white elephant lying with its head to the north, and raised his sword over it.
The elephant woke up, trumpeted in fear.
Immediately Indra appeared, accompanied by his retinue.
After all, it was his elephant Airavata!
Indra, enraged, ordered a cloud of arrows to be brought down on Nandi.
But the faithful servant of Shiva turned into a brave warrior with the head of a bull.
He resisted the arrows, deflecting them with his left hand.
Indra threw the club.
But Nandi caught it on the fly and threw it back.
The club struck Indra in the chest.
While the latter was in confusion, Nandi cut off the elephant's head and sped off with his precious trophy so quickly that none of Indra's retinue could catch up with him Shiva put the elephant's head against his son's neck, and he came to life.
All the gods praised Shiva and his son, who had such a beautiful new head with a trunk.
But most importantly, along with the head, Ganesha inherited his wisdom from the elephant.
Books on the topic
Myths of Buddhism and Hinduism
Ananda Coomaraswamy, Margaret Nobel
