Stories 8
Tradition: Shakta · clear
Bhrigu tests the three gods
Sages send Bhrigu to find out which god is greatest. Brahma swallows his anger, Shiva raises his trident until his consort calms him, and Vishnu apologises after being kicked; the sages choose Vishnu. Temple and popular tellings add Lakshmi's departure, the Tirumala descent and curses on Brahma and Shiva.
How Shiva became half woman
Brahma makes a world of male beings that cannot multiply.
Madhu and Kaitabha
Two demons born from Vishnu's ear-wax threaten Brahma and steal the Vedas; who saves the day depends on the sect — Vishnu as Hayagriva in the epic line, or the Goddess who must first leave Vishnu's body in the Devi Mahatmya.
Mahishasura's boon: no man shall kill him
The buffalo demon Mahishasura wins a boon that no man can kill him.
One being, three functions: the Trimurti idea
The Maitri Upanishad names Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu together as portions of one being, matched to the three gunas.
Saraswati: daughter, consort, or both
Brahma's body splits into a male and a female half.
Vishnu cannot wake until the Goddess withdraws
In the Devi Mahatmya Vishnu lies in yogic sleep on the waters while Madhu and Kaitabha threaten Brahma; only when Brahma praises Mahamaya and she leaves Vishnu's body can he rise and fight.
Who made whom: the Devi Bhagavata's frame
The Goddess creates the three gods to do the work of creation, preservation and destruction, carries them to her island Manidvipa, turns them into women for a hundred years, and returns them with their consorts to their tasks.