Stories 11
Tradition: All traditions · clear
Nachiketa in the house of Death
Given to Death by his angry father, the boy Nachiketa waits three nights at Yama's house and receives three boons.
Prajapati falls apart and is rebuilt
Prajapati creates the worlds, the gods and the creatures out of himself.
Pushan, guide of the dead
The funeral hymn gives the dead to Pushan, who knows the far road; the Isha Upanishad asks him to uncover the face of the True.
Savitri and Satyavan
Savitri marries a prince fated to die in a year, follows Yama when he takes him and wins his life back with her words.
Subandhu's spirit is called back
Singers steady themselves and call a man's spirit back for sense, strength and life.
Sudarshana, son of Agni, conquers Death
Sudarshana, son of Agni and the princess of Mahishmati, vows to conquer Death as a householder through hospitality.
The Death-Night seen in the sleeping camp
Ashvatthama attacks the sleeping camp of the Pandava army by night.
The breath that never tires and the god that never sets
The Upanishads pair breath among the bodily powers with Vayu among the gods as the one that never tires.
The dove at the hearth
A dove, envoy of Destruction, has come into the house and settled by the fire.
The lamps that kept Death at the door
A bride keeps her fated husband awake and blinds Yama, come as a serpent, with lamps and a heap of gold; the tale told for the Yama lamp of Dhanteras.
Yama, the first to die
Yama chooses death, finds the path to the other world and becomes king of those who follow; the funeral hymn directs the dead to him past his two dogs.