Stories 5
Tradition: Vaishnava · 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.
Saraswati: daughter, consort, or both
Brahma's body splits into a male and a female half.
The gatekeepers who chose three hostile births
Vaikuntha's doorkeepers bar the Kumaras, are cursed to be born away from Vishnu, and choose three lives as his enemies over seven as his devotees.
The release of the elephant king
An elephant seized by a crocodile lifts a lotus and calls on Vishnu, who arrives on Garuda and frees both animal and captor with the discus.
Vrinda's curse and the wedding of Tulsi
Vrinda, deceived by Vishnu in her husband Jalandhara's form, curses him and is reborn as the tulsi plant, whom Vishnu marries every year.