Lord Brahma created 4 sons from his mind - the great sages, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanat kumara. They left the earth and traveled to Vaikuntha in search of Lord Vishnu.
Brahma's sons, looked physically like very young boys. They left Earth and reached Vaikuntha, eager to see the lord. At the gates, they find two guards, Jaya and Vijaya guarding the entrance. The guards on seeing the rishi's, assumes the sages to be young boys and halts them. The great sages who were very eager to meet the lord are angered by this act and curses the 2 guards to a demonic life on earth. Lord Vishnu on hearing the commotion, comes to the gate, and the sages upon seeing the Lord, loose their anger and are greatly pleased. He apologizes for their ill treatment at the hands of His gatekeepers, while He grants Jaya and Vijaya the luxury of being rid of their miserable earthly life by Himself. Upon hearing this, they fall from Vaikuntha to Earth.
After creating sons from his mind, Brahma created the first Manu, Swayambhuva and woman, Satarupa from his body. Brahma asked them to procreate and populate the Earth. One of the sons of Lord Brahma, Daksha married 13 of his daughters to Sage Kashyapa.
Diti, Daksha's daughter, was one among them. One day, Diti, asks Kashyapa to bless her with a child. Kashyapa asks Diti to wait for some time, as it was dusk - an inauspicious time - and a time that is reserved only for prayers to the Lord. However, Diti being adamant and passionate, compelled the sage for physical intimacy during hours of dusk. For this inauspicious act, she was cursed with 2 demons who would later plague the world but the sage Kashyapa cheered her up by saying that they would be released from this world by the Lord himself.
After 100 years of pregnancy, 2 sons were born to Diti. The time of their birth, was marked bad omens. The 1st conceived was named Hiranyakashipu and the second, Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was a tall and powerful being. He had a violent temper and his choice of weapon was a club. He did not fear death and hence terrorized even the Gods. The three worlds shook at the mere sight of him as he wandered through the universe looking for a worthy adversary. He dived into the depth of the ocean to pay a visit to Varuna (God of the celestial ocean.) There he taunts Varuna to fight him. The clever Varuna tells him that, he is a ruler now and his days of making war are over. He adds that if Hiranyaksha wanted to fight an undefeated hero, he should try fighting Lord Vishnu. By saying this, he not only saves himself from sure defeat at the hands of Hiranyaksha, but diverts his adversaries attention to a new challenge. Hiranyaksha enraged, steals the earth, brings it to the bottom of the ocean and shouts out at the 3 worlds for a worthy challenger to challenge him.
In the meanwhile, Manu approaches his father and tells him that his growing family (all living entities) required space to live. The earth was submerged in water and was deep down in the ocean. Brahma was worried and as He thought for a solution, a small Boar (Varaha) - the size of the tip of his thump - came out of from his nose! The Varaha flies into the sky, quickly gaining in size, from the dimensions of a thump to that of an elephant, to that of a mountain. Brahma, His sons and other brahmana's chants the vedas in praise of the Varaha, who is none other than Lord Vishnu! The Varaha, dives right into the water with a great roar, splitting the ocean in two.
Lord Vishnu, in the form of the Varaha, (Varaha avatara) reaches the bottom and lifts the earth from the depths of the ocean. He picks up the earth in between His tusks and raises her (mother earth) towards the surface.
Enraged, the asura, Hiranyaksha follows suit in pursuit of the Lord while hurling abuses at Him. Unfazed, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Varaha, places earth over the water first and then turns His attention to the asura. A fierce battle ensues, the like of which neither the Gods or the Demigods have watched. All forms of celestial weapons and cosmic forces were hurled at each other by the warring adversaries, and the battle was witnessed by all divine creatures. In the end, Hiranyaksha was slain by Lord Vishnu after which, he returned to Vaikuntha. He was praised and worshiped by all Gods, demi gods and brahmana's for saving them from the viciousness of the demon.
Key take-away's:
1) Notice how the words 'Manu' and 'Man' are related!
2) It was Lord Vishnu's intention to fill Diti's womb with Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were none other than his gatekeepers - Jaya and Vijaya.
3) In the story, The word Earth can be considered to be the whole of earth itself, like - a globe, a planet etc. - or it can be considered as the land form on which all animals exist - which was submerged in water at the time of creation.
Brahma's sons, looked physically like very young boys. They left Earth and reached Vaikuntha, eager to see the lord. At the gates, they find two guards, Jaya and Vijaya guarding the entrance. The guards on seeing the rishi's, assumes the sages to be young boys and halts them. The great sages who were very eager to meet the lord are angered by this act and curses the 2 guards to a demonic life on earth. Lord Vishnu on hearing the commotion, comes to the gate, and the sages upon seeing the Lord, loose their anger and are greatly pleased. He apologizes for their ill treatment at the hands of His gatekeepers, while He grants Jaya and Vijaya the luxury of being rid of their miserable earthly life by Himself. Upon hearing this, they fall from Vaikuntha to Earth.
After creating sons from his mind, Brahma created the first Manu, Swayambhuva and woman, Satarupa from his body. Brahma asked them to procreate and populate the Earth. One of the sons of Lord Brahma, Daksha married 13 of his daughters to Sage Kashyapa.
Diti, Daksha's daughter, was one among them. One day, Diti, asks Kashyapa to bless her with a child. Kashyapa asks Diti to wait for some time, as it was dusk - an inauspicious time - and a time that is reserved only for prayers to the Lord. However, Diti being adamant and passionate, compelled the sage for physical intimacy during hours of dusk. For this inauspicious act, she was cursed with 2 demons who would later plague the world but the sage Kashyapa cheered her up by saying that they would be released from this world by the Lord himself.
After 100 years of pregnancy, 2 sons were born to Diti. The time of their birth, was marked bad omens. The 1st conceived was named Hiranyakashipu and the second, Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was a tall and powerful being. He had a violent temper and his choice of weapon was a club. He did not fear death and hence terrorized even the Gods. The three worlds shook at the mere sight of him as he wandered through the universe looking for a worthy adversary. He dived into the depth of the ocean to pay a visit to Varuna (God of the celestial ocean.) There he taunts Varuna to fight him. The clever Varuna tells him that, he is a ruler now and his days of making war are over. He adds that if Hiranyaksha wanted to fight an undefeated hero, he should try fighting Lord Vishnu. By saying this, he not only saves himself from sure defeat at the hands of Hiranyaksha, but diverts his adversaries attention to a new challenge. Hiranyaksha enraged, steals the earth, brings it to the bottom of the ocean and shouts out at the 3 worlds for a worthy challenger to challenge him.
In the meanwhile, Manu approaches his father and tells him that his growing family (all living entities) required space to live. The earth was submerged in water and was deep down in the ocean. Brahma was worried and as He thought for a solution, a small Boar (Varaha) - the size of the tip of his thump - came out of from his nose! The Varaha flies into the sky, quickly gaining in size, from the dimensions of a thump to that of an elephant, to that of a mountain. Brahma, His sons and other brahmana's chants the vedas in praise of the Varaha, who is none other than Lord Vishnu! The Varaha, dives right into the water with a great roar, splitting the ocean in two.
Lord Vishnu, in the form of the Varaha, (Varaha avatara) reaches the bottom and lifts the earth from the depths of the ocean. He picks up the earth in between His tusks and raises her (mother earth) towards the surface.
Enraged, the asura, Hiranyaksha follows suit in pursuit of the Lord while hurling abuses at Him. Unfazed, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Varaha, places earth over the water first and then turns His attention to the asura. A fierce battle ensues, the like of which neither the Gods or the Demigods have watched. All forms of celestial weapons and cosmic forces were hurled at each other by the warring adversaries, and the battle was witnessed by all divine creatures. In the end, Hiranyaksha was slain by Lord Vishnu after which, he returned to Vaikuntha. He was praised and worshiped by all Gods, demi gods and brahmana's for saving them from the viciousness of the demon.
Key take-away's:
1) Notice how the words 'Manu' and 'Man' are related!
2) It was Lord Vishnu's intention to fill Diti's womb with Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were none other than his gatekeepers - Jaya and Vijaya.
3) In the story, The word Earth can be considered to be the whole of earth itself, like - a globe, a planet etc. - or it can be considered as the land form on which all animals exist - which was submerged in water at the time of creation.
