Stories 7
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
devotionbooncreationdisguisesupremacycursemarriagepenancepridetestdancepilgrimagesacrificebirthemanationfirebeheadingdemon slayingdesireiconographyausteritychurningcombined formcosmogonyhomecominglingapoisonrebirthriveratonement
Tradition: All traditions · clear
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Andhaka, the blind demon who wanted his mother
Parvati in play covers Shiva's eyes and the worlds go dark.
In stone and bronze · 2 tellings · contested
Dattatreya: the three natures in one son
The sage Atri and his wife Anasuya earn great merit through their conduct and austerity.
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Ganga comes down through Shiva's hair
King Sagara's sixty thousand sons, hunting his stolen sacrificial horse, accuse the sage Kapila and are burnt to ash by his glance.
Festival story · 1 telling · contested
Kartik Purnima at Pushkar
The fair opens with the month of Kartik and closes on its full moon.
In stone and bronze · 3 tellings · contested
The Elephanta bust: Trimurti or Sadashiva?
A seven-metre three-faced bust fills the south wall of Elephanta's Cave 1.
Temple legend · 4 tellings · contested
The Pushkar sacrifice and Savitri's curse
Brahma kills the demon Vajranabha with his lotus-weapon.
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Vamana and King Bali
The generous asura king Bali grants a dwarf brahmin three paces of land; two strides cover heaven and earth, Bali offers his own head for the third and is sent to rule Sutala with Vishnu as his doorkeeper.