Stories 10
Tradition: Vaishnava · clear
How Shri became Vishnu's inseparable consort
The Vedic Shri of prosperity rises from the churned ocean as Lakshmi, surveys every being and chooses Vishnu as her husband.
Jagannath and the Sabara chief
Tradition says Vishnu was first worshipped in the Odisha forest as the blue stone Nilamadhava by the Sabara chief Viswavasu, before returning as the wooden Jagannath; scholars argue over what that means.
Purusha and Narayana on the waters
The cosmic person of the Purusha Sukta and the Narayana who rests on the waters are fused into Vishnu's cosmic identity, pictured as Anantashayana.
Saraswati: daughter, consort, or both
Brahma's body splits into a male and a female half.
The birth of Ganesha
Parvati wants a guard of her own and shapes a boy from the paste on her body.
The fish that warned the Bhils
A fish warns a brother and sister of a flood; afterwards Bhagwan, or in one telling Rama, sends them to repeople the world.
The lotus from Vishnu's navel
During the dissolution Vishnu lies on the serpent Ananta in the cosmic waters.
The lotus from Vishnu's navel
Vishnu enters the cosmic egg on the causal ocean and a lotus grows from his navel bearing Brahma, who will create the worlds.
Vaikuntha, the abode without care
Vishnu's heavenly abode, its gatekeepers and general, and the two answers to where it lies.
Why Brahma has four heads
Brahma's four heads face the four directions and stand for the four Vedas.