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42-544: There are a total of eight Ashtadiggajas and Ashtadikkarinis that stand guard over the eight zones: Besides the Ashtadiggajas, there are four elephants who support the earth from the four directions from the netherworld , whose names are given in the Ramayana : Virūpākṣa (east), Mahāpadmasama (south), Saumanasa (west), and Bhadra (north). The Matanga Lila associates the Ashtadiggajas as vehicles ( vahana ) of

84-529: A black shade. Vinata thus became the slave of Kadru. She would eventually be freed by Garuda, when he brought Kadru and the nagas a pot of amṛtam , in an episode called the Amṛtakalaśāpaharaṇam. On another occasion, Kadru suggested to Vinata that Vinata should take Kadru, and that Garuda should take her naga sons, to the beautiful island of Ramaniyaka in the middle of the ocean within the abode of snakes. Vinata and Garuda did as directed. After reaching

126-414: A boon. Kadru asked for a thousand naga or serpent sons who should be valiant. Prompted by her sister's demand for sons, Vinata asked for only two sons who should be more powerful and bright than Kadru's children. Kashyapa granted them their wishes. After his wives became pregnant, he advised them to look after the children, and then left for his penance in the forest. After a long time Kadru gave birth to

168-429: A corrupted account of the world-serpent. Love and Death On the wondrous dais rose a throne, And he its pedestal whose lotus hood With ominous beauty crowns his horrible Sleek folds, great Mahapudma; high displayed He bears the throne of Death. There sat supreme With those compassionate and lethal eyes, Who many names, who many natures holds; Yama, the strong pure Hades sad and subtle, Dharma, who keeps

210-449: A form of Shiva), who dwells with attendant ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines along with his consort Bhavani , as the progenitor of living beings and their sexual fluids flow as river Hataki here. When fire – fanned by wind – drinks from this river, it spits the water out as a type of gold called Hataka. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region. Sutala constructed by Vishvakarma ,

252-456: A moment of haste, she broke open one of the eggs, revealing a half-formed son. This son was enraged by his physical form and cursed his mother for her hasty act, saying she would be a slave to Kadru for five hundred years till the son from her second egg was born. He became a charioteer and herald for the sun god and the creator of the red sky at dawn, and was therefore named Aruṇa . Eventually, after five hundred years, Vinata's second son Garuda

294-565: A result, Vinata loses the bet and she and her sons are forced to become the slaves of Kadru and her sons. Another legend states that when Kadru asks Garuda to take her sons on his back to the abode of the sun so that they can pay obeisance, they are scorched. Vinata asks Garuda to carry the water of the Ganga from the netherworld and sprinkle it on the nagas to revive them. In another tale, Kadru and Suparna, another of Kashyapa's wives, disobey Kashyapa and disrupt some sages who are performing rites on

336-637: A suggestion by Kadru, asked Garuda to bring water of the Ganga from the netherworld. Garuda obeyed and brought the water to the southern bank of the Gautami river and sprinkled it on the snakes, which then revived. The place where this incident occurred is called Nagalaya, the abode of the snakes. In another version of the story related in the Adi Parva of the Valmiki Ramayana , it is said that when

378-461: A thousand eggs and Vinata to two eggs. The eggs were carefully incubated in containers with hot water or in jars which were kept warm. After a lapse of five hundred years, the eggs laid by Kadru hatched and her sons came to life; of these thousand naga sons, the most prominent ones were Shesha , Vasuki and Takshaka . All the serpents born in this world are the descendants of these thousand sons. Vinata became jealous as her eggs had not hatched. In

420-545: Is also a view that she was the daughter of Daksha, but it has not been established from Puranic literature . In the Aranyakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana it is mentioned that Daksaprajapati had sixty daughters of whom he married off Aditi , Diti , Danu , Tamra , Krodhavasa , Muni and Surasa to Kashyapa. Krodhavasa had eight daughters of whom Kadru was one. Thus, Kadru may alternatively be considered

462-598: Is said to surpass that of Svarga. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala. The Vishnu Purana , states the seven realms of Patala, which are located one above the other, are seventy thousand yojanas (a unit of measurement) below the Earth's surface. Each of them extends ten thousand Yojana s. In Vishnu Purana , they are named as from

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504-463: Is the kingdom of the pious asura king Bali . The dwarf Avatar of Vishnu , Vamana , sent Bali – who had conquered the three worlds – by requesting three paces of land and acquired the three worlds in his three paces. Vamana sent Bali to Sutala, but when Bali surrendered to Vishnu and gave away all his belongings to him, Vishnu in return made Bali richer than Indra , the deva-king of heaven. Bali still prays to Vishnu in this realm. Highly impressed by

546-522: Is the lowest realm and the region of the Nagas, ruled by Vasuki (the snake that hangs around Shiva's neck). Here live several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hoods is decorated by a jewel, a source of light of which illuminates this realm. In early Vajrayana, Patala (Tibetan: sa 'og ས་འོག་ "the Underground") is understood as a grouping of underground paradises inhabited by nāgas and asuras above

588-404: The sarpa satra yagna (snake sacrifice) that would be performed by King Janamejaya of Hastinapura . Kashyapa was upset by this curse, but Brahma who happened to be there told him such a curse was essential as serpents had become very dangerous to society. Brahma then gave Kashyapa the antidote for snake poisoning. Kadru won the bet as the nagas had wound around Uchchaihshravas's tail, giving it

630-525: The Ashtadikpala , eight divine guardians of the directions. It states that the Unborn (Creator) took half shells of the cosmic egg in his hands; the Ashtadiggajas - eight elephants led by Airavata emerged from the shell in the right hand as the sages chanted the saman hymns; while the eight cow-elephants came from the left shell as their consorts. Ashtadiggajas reproduced with their consorts, populating

672-465: The Kriyātantras , which are associated with the kīla , the phenomenon of the tertön and terma and water magic and with the attainment of vidyādhara ( Chinese : 仙, 仚 ; pinyin : xiān ) status. These practices have been largely ignored after the early period of Tibetan Buddhism and Tangmi but originally were popular. The importance of Patala to esoteric Buddhism lay in its role as

714-419: The punshchalī s ("those who wholly give themselves up"), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death. Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava (possibly

756-453: The Disc sits atop the shoulders of four elephants that stand on top of a giant turtle. There is a legendary fifth elephant that plummeted into the ground and left a legacy of valuable minable materials. Patala In Indian religions , Patala ( Sanskrit : पाताल, IAST : pātāla, lit. that which is below the feet ), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under

798-432: The Nagas headed by Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm. Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it. The first region has the cities of the daitya Namuchi and Naga Kaliya ; in the second Hayagriva and Naga Takshaka ; in the third, those of Prahlada and Hemaka; in the fourth of Kalanemi and Vainateya; in the fifth of Hiranyaksha and Kirmira and in the sixth, of Puloman and Vasuki. Bali rules as

840-520: The Naraka realm. While the story of the establishment of Patala as an asura realm is attributed to the defeat of the asuras on Mount Meru , in Buddhist scriptures this is due to their defeat by Śakra using a mantra of Mañjuśrī instead of by their defeat by Vishnu; this is the explanation given for the appearance of Śakra wielding the banner of Mañjuśrī in iconic imagery. Patala is associated with

882-411: The banks of the Ganga. As a result, they are turned into rivers. Kashyapa is only able to restore them to their original forms by performing a penance to Shiva . Generally, Kadru is described as the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and the wife of the sage Maharishi Kashyapa. The Hindu epic Mahabharata , which gives a detailed tale about her, recognizes her as one of Kashyapa's many wives. There

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924-730: The colour of Uchchaihshravas, the divine white horse that had emerged from the ocean when it was churned by the devas and asuras to generate nectar. Without any guile, Vinata said that it was pure white. Kadru contradicted her and said that its tail was black. An argument ensued, and Kadru challenged Vinata to a bet, saying that whoever lost the bet would have to become the other's servant. Intending to cheat Vinata, Kadru called her thousand sons to coil around Uchchaihshravas's tail neatly so that it appeared black in colour. While some of her sons obeyed her instructions, others refused to oblige her. Those who disobeyed her instructions were cursed by Kadru, and she prophesied that they would be charred alive in

966-495: The destination Kadru asked Garuda to take her sons to the abode of the sun to pay their respectful obeisance. Garuda carried the naga sons of Kadru on his back and approached the sun. As he flew closer, the nagas could not withstand the heat and started falling off him to the ground in a faint, on the island of Virana. Hearing the cries of her children, Kadru was deeply distressed and blamed Garuda for what had happened to her children. Vinata, distressed by her son's plight and, following

1008-419: The devotion of Bali, Vishnu gave him a boon that He Himself would perpetually stand as the watchman to Bali's palace. Talātala is the realm of the asura-architect Maya , who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as Tripurantaka , destroyed the three cities of Maya , but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him. Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) –

1050-471: The earth above them is supported on the head of the tamasic (dark) form of Vishnu , the thousand-headed nāga Shesha . Sometimes, Shesha is described as residing in the lowest region of Patala instead of below it. Below the regions of Patala lies Naraka , the Hindu Hell – the realm of death where sinners are punished. Different realms of Patala are ruled by different asura and Nagas; usually with

1092-540: The earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as underworld or netherworld. Patala is described as more beautiful than Svarga (subtle dimensions, loosely translated as heaven). Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes. In Vajrayana Buddhism , caves inhabited by asuras are entrances to Patala; these asuras, particularly female asuras, are often "tamed" (converted to Buddhism ) as dharmapala or dakinis by famous Buddhist figures such as Padmasambhava . In Hindu cosmology ,

1134-589: The forests, the mountains with elephants. They aided the gods in defeating the demons in battle. The popular rendition of the World Turtle supporting one or several World Elephants is recorded in 1599 in a letter by Emanual de Veiga. Wilhelm von Humboldt claimed that the idea of a world-elephant may be due to a confusion, caused by the Sanskrit noun Nāga having the dual meaning of "serpent" and "elephant" (named for its serpent-like trunk), thus representing

1176-762: The granddaughter of Daksha. Vinata , Kadru's sister, is another wife of Kashyapa. According to the Sabha Parva of the Mahabharata , Kadru lived in Brahmaloka , the abode of Brahma. In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata it is stated that to destroy the embryo in a woman, Kadru enters her womb by assuming a very tiny form called "Skanda graha". Kadru was the younger sister of Vinata, and when they both lived with Kashyapa as his wives and attended to all his comforts he blessed them by granting each of them

1218-532: The highest to the lowest as: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Garbhastimat, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala. In the Bhagavata Purana and the Padma Purana , they are called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. The Shiva Purana , replaces Mahatala with Tala. The Vayu Purana calls them Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Gabhastala, Mahatala, Sritala and Patala. The seven Patalas as well as

1260-493: The laws of old untouched. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable lists Maha-pudma and Chukwa are names from a "popular rendition of a Hindu myth in which the tortoise Chukwa supports the elephant Maha-pudma, which in turn supports the world". The spelling Mahapudma originates as a misprint of Mahapadma in Sri Aurobindo 's 1921 retelling of a story of the Mahabharata . In Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novels,

1302-464: The mother of snakes and Suparna. Before going on an errand, Kashyapa instructed his wives not to leave the house as they would create mischief and do evil acts and eventually come to grief. In spite of these instructions, Kadru and Suparna went out to the banks of the Ganga where enlightened sages were performing sattra rites and started disturbing the rites. Infuriated, the sages cursed them to become rivers. Kashyapa returned home to find his wives, but

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1344-406: The other. While Kadru gives birth to a thousand nagas, Vinata bears two sons, Aruṇa and Garuda . Kadru is also portrayed as more scheming and wily than Vinata. She challenges Vinata to guess the colour of the tail of Uchchaihshravas , the divine white horse. After Vinata says the tail is white, Kadru tricks Vinata by directing her sons to coil around the horse's tail, causing it to appear black. As

1386-446: The realms of Patala. The Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage Narada to Patala. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga. Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely asura maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold. The Bhagavata Purana calls

1428-467: The sage Kashyapa in Hindu scriptures . Kashyapa is the son of Marichi , who is a manasaputra , a mind-born son of Brahma . Kadru is best known as the mother of the nagas , the race of serpents. Legends of Kadru detail her relationship with her elder sister Vinata , who was also one of Kashyapa's many wives. In one story, Kadru and Vinata vie to bear the children of Kashyapa who are more powerful than

1470-444: The seven lower regions bila-svarga s ("subterranean heavens") and they are regarded as planets or planetary systems below the earth. These regions are described as being more opulent than the upper heavenly regions of the universe. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The asura architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala

1512-543: The sons of Kadru , headed by the Krodhavasha (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Takshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear Garuda . Rasātala at the sole of the feet of the universe form of Vishnu is the home of the Asuras – Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents. Patala or Nagaloka

1554-409: The source of alchemy and magical science or vidyā , immortality and enjoyment, particularly the opportunity for the (male) vidyādhara to have intercourse with female non-humans. It was also viewed as a source of flowing waters. Kadru Kadru ( Sanskrit : कद्रू , lit.   'tawny', IAST : Kadrū ) is usually regarded as the daughter of Daksha and the consort of

1596-533: The sovereign king of Patala. The Bhagavata Purana presents a detailed description of the seven lower realms. A similar description of the seven Patalas also appears in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana . Atala is ruled by Bala – a son of Maya – who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women – svairiṇī s ("self-willed"), who like to marry men from their own group; kāmiṇī s ("lustful"), who marry men from any group, and

1638-454: The universe is divided into the three worlds: Svarga , Bhumi or Martya (earth/mortal plane) and Patala (gross dimensions, the underworld ). Patala is composed of seven realms/dimensions or lokas , the seventh and lowest of them is also called Patala or Naga-loka , the region of the Nagas. The Danavas (children of Danu ), Daityas (children of Diti ), Rakshas and the snake-people Nagas (serpent-human formed sons of Kadru ), live in

1680-503: The wives so that they would beget children again by the grace of Ganga. Kashyapa invited the sages to participate in the fourth-to-sixth month hair-parting ceremony of his pregnant wives. After the sages were fed, when Kashyapa respectfully stood before them with his wife to thank them, Kadru looked at the sages and gave them a sly look with one of her eyes. The sages were annoyed and cursed Kadru to lose that eye. Thus, Kadru became one-eyed. Once, Kadru called Vinata and asked her to tell her

1722-563: Was born in the form of a huge bird with immense power. As soon as he was born he flew away with grace, seeking food. According to the Brahma Purana , Kashyapa, who is also known as Prajapati Kashyapa, was approached by the Valakhilyas. Offering him half of their ascetic powers, they requested that he beget them a son who could take revenge on Indra who had insulted them. Kashyapa then had one son from each of his two wives, Kadru

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1764-403: Was told of the incident by the sages. When Kashyapa asked how he might retrieve his wives, the sages advised him to do penance to Shiva at Gautami Ganga. Kashyapa prayed by reciting a hymn that praised Shiva in the role of a triad, his role in the three worlds, and his three gunas (qualities of virtue, merit, excellence). Pleased with Kashyapa's hymn, Shiva restored to him his wives, and blessed

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