Episode 30 - The four Pandavas who were left in the forest set off on a tour of the sacred sites of Ancient India, with the Sage Lomasha as their guide. At a stopover near the historic hermitage that once belonged to Agastya, we are treated to one of the stories about this fabled hermit.
I have to confess to skipping a second story, because I simply couldn't make much sense of it. While it tangentially involved Agastya, it also involved King Sagara, whose wife gave birth to a pumpkin and he was advised to put the seeds each in a vat of warm ghee, and each seed turned into a baby boy. The king had 1,000 sons from this pumpkin. The story then veers off to the draining of the ocean, and how the Ganga was drawn out of the heavens to re-fill the ocean, and how Shiva caught the stream in his dreadlocks. I guess I'll leave that bit for the unabridged podcast!
Next time, we'll get the story of Rshyashrnga, who was born from a deer!
I have to confess to skipping a second story, because I simply couldn't make much sense of it. While it tangentially involved Agastya, it also involved King Sagara, whose wife gave birth to a pumpkin and he was advised to put the seeds each in a vat of warm ghee, and each seed turned into a baby boy. The king had 1,000 sons from this pumpkin. The story then veers off to the draining of the ocean, and how the Ganga was drawn out of the heavens to re-fill the ocean, and how Shiva caught the stream in his dreadlocks. I guess I'll leave that bit for the unabridged podcast!
Next time, we'll get the story of Rshyashrnga, who was born from a deer!
Nalan (nala) would have to wait 7 1/2 years for the influence of Shani god on his life to be complete .. Hindu belief is that everyone falls under the influence of Shani god and has to endure a period which is 7 and 1/2 years of hardship and this period is supposed to shape and mould your life. for some this could lead to complete destruction etc ..
ReplyDeleteThis why he had to wait even after all that he had in his possession to overcome this. I'm bit disappointed that it all got lost in translation in this 3 episodes :(
Parthi
I'm sorry, but you must be familiar with a different version of the Nala story. The Mahabharata version is less well-known, but it is the one I presented. If you'd like to read the original text (translated by Ganguli), it is online here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03059.htm
DeleteIn this version, the gods of the two bad Yugas-- Dwapar and Kali scheme against Nala, and it is Kali who takes possession of Nala. There's no Shani in this version.
Thanks!