Devalok

Stories 6

All kinds Origin Legend Local story Folk tale From the epics Festival story Temple legend In stone and bronze How a tradition frames it
Everywhere Pan-India 95 South India 67 West India 30 East India 22 North India 15 The Himalaya 12 Northeast India 5 Southeast Asia 4 Central India 4
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Tradition: Shaiva · clear

Legend · 5 tellings · contested

Brahma's fifth head and the skull that would not fall

Bhairava, born from Shiva's brow, cuts off Brahma's fifth head; the skull sticks to his hand and the sin of brahmin-killing follows him; he wanders as a beggar, kills Vishnu's gatekeeper, is fed blood from Vishnu's forehead, and is freed when the skull falls at Kashi.

Brahma, Shiva, Bhairava, Vishnu

North India Pan-India South India

Legend · 5 tellings · contested

Parvati wins Shiva

Sati is reborn as the daughter of Himavat and Mena and grows up loving Shiva.

Parvati, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu

North India Pan-India South India West India

Legend · 8 tellings · contested

The fifth head and the skull that would not fall

Brahma grows a fifth head, and with it pride or a false word.

Brahma, Shiva, Bhairava, Bhikshatana

East India North India Pan-India South India

Legend · 3 tellings · contested

Two origins of the discus

The Sudarshana is either Shiva's gift at Kashi after Vishnu offers his own eye in place of a missing lotus, or Vishvakarma's work from the radiance shaved off the sun.

Vishnu, Sudarshana Chakra, Vishvakarma, Surya

North India Pan-India South India

Legend · 2 tellings · contested

Vishnu and Rama as worshippers of Shiva

Vishnu offers a thousand lotuses and his own eye at Kashi; Rama raises a sand linga at Rameswaram before crossing to Lanka; the full record is I-10 in the interactions file.

Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, Sita

North India South India

Legend · 3 tellings · contested

Vishnu's thousand lotuses and his eye

Vishnu pledges a thousand lotuses to Shiva at Kashi; finding one missing, he offers his own lotus-eye; Shiva restores the eye and gives him the Sudarshana discus. The day is kept as Vaikuntha Chaturdashi; a related Kashi charter has Vishnu's penance create Manikarnika.

Vishnu, Shiva, Lakshmi

North India Pan-India