Hi friends and fam! How are you all? I am good and expect the same from you. After a long gap, I am back. Thank you for supporting me. Today I am here with few stories from Hindu Mythology which most of us are unaware and it's important to read. 

Hindu Mythology is a collection of stories found in texts like Vedic Literature, epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranas. Illustrations of major deities in Hindu mythology named Trimurti (also known as Tridev)- Lord Brahma (the creator), Lord Vishnu (the preserver) and Lord Shiva (the destroyer). Their feminine counterparts are Goddess Saraswati (wife of lord Brahma), Goddess Lakshmi (wife of lord Vishnu) and Goddess Parvati (wife of lord Shiva). The rest of gods and goddesses are the avatars of above major deities. 

Now, let us look at short stories taken from epic Mahabharata.

Story-1 : Story of Shakuni. (One of the major characters in Mahabharata. He was maternal uncle of Kauravas). 

Shakuni was the son of Subala, Gandhara's king and his mother was Sudarma. He had a hundred brothers and one sister, Gandhari, who was married to Dhritarashtra. Shakuni was always angry that his sister had been married to a blind prince. Gandhari's astrological charts showed that her husband was destined to die. So, they got her married to a goat to neutralize the situation. She was later married to Dhritarashtra, after the goat died. When Dhritarashtra found that he had married a widow, he captured King Subala and his hundred sons. He imprisoned them and fed them very little everyday, with the intention of starving them to death slowly. King Subala and all others princes gave their share of food to young prince, Shakuni so that he would take revenge. Thus, Shakuni lived while his father and brothers died of hunger. King Subala told his son Shakuni “ Make a dice out of my thigh bone. It will have magical powers and give you whatever result you want”. When Shakuni was released, he poisoned Duryodhana's (his nephew, eldest of Kauravas) mind against Pandavas which ultimately led to a war. Thus, in the Kurukshetra war, Shakuni succeeded in seeking revenge when all the Kauravas were killed.

Story-2 : Gandhari's Curse 

After the Kurukshetra war, Gandhari blamed lord Krishna for her loss and cursed him and his clan would be wiped out. One day, when sages Vishvamitra, Kanva and Narada visited Dwaraka, a boy dressed as women hid a mace in his dress and asked them if she would have a baby boy or girl. The sages were insulted. They cursed that whatever was under the dress would cause their destruction. So, Balarama took the mace, ground it to powder and threw it in the sea. One day, a fight broke out among the vishnis. They struck each other with weeds growing at the side of water, that had sprouted from the mace powder and were long and sharp. They all died bringing an end to their clan. Balarama could not bear the sorrow of having lost his men. He went to the seaside and gave up his body. It is said that he converted into a large snake with five heads and drowned himself into the sea, as he is said to have been an incarnation of Lord Vishnu's faithful follower, Sheshnaag. Krishna too could not bear the loss of his men and his brother. He went to the forest and climbed a tree. There, in his sorrow, he was sitting on a branch when a hunter mistook him for a bird and shot an arrow towards him. The hunter had made the arrow from the mace that Balarama thrown away. This way, Gandhari's curse and the sages curse came true.

That's it for today guys. Do like, comment and follow my page for more. Share the above stories with your friends and family. Thank you.