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Throughout the vast subcontinent of India, countless deities have been revered for millennia. A multitude of captivating stories surround the gods, goddesses, and demons, believed to bring chaos, wonder, and miracles into the lives of us mere mortals here on Earth.
We have curated a list of 10 of the most bizarrely fascinating myths about some of the more colorful goddesses worshiped throughout India’s history. Ever wondered why the Sun travels across the sky every day? What birthed the stars? Where does lightning come from? Or how to save a goddess from being devoured by a giant toad during an eclipse?
Read on to uncover how the ancient people of India explained these perplexing and intriguing mysteries.
10. The Creation of the Stars
The once-nomadic Dewar people, now settled in parts of eastern India, recount a story in which the wind impregnated a beautiful, virgin goddess named Astangi Devi. She gave birth to twins, Suraj and Chandra, the deities of the Sun and the Moon.
In a time when Earth lacked nourishing plants, humans had to survive on twigs. Wanting to feed her twins something more substantial than sticks, Astangi Devi invented rice, bamboo, and other nourishing plants to sustain her children.
Unfortunately, a man on Earth grew envious of the food Astangi Devi’s children enjoyed, so he set fire to her crops. As Astangi Devi hurried to extinguish the flames, sparks flew into the sky, forming the stars. She then sent her children, the Sun and the Moon, into the heavens to protect them from human wrath.
9. How A Lonely Girl Became Loved Throughout The World For Eternity
In Madhya Pradesh, tribal bards tell the story of a young woman named Tambaku, who longed for love but was considered so unattractive that no man would marry her. Her father offered all his wealth as a dowry to the man who would relieve his daughter’s loneliness, but even the promise of riches couldn’t persuade anyone to marry her.
Consumed by her loneliness and sorrow, Tambaku died from a broken heart. Upon her death, the gods, who had cursed her with such unattractiveness, took pity on her. In order to right the wrongs of her painful life, they reincarnated her as the spirit of the tobacco plant, allowing her to be loved by men across the world for eternity.
8. How Marital Disputes Cause Lightning
It's common for husbands and wives to argue—that's simply part of life. However, few marital disputes are as dramatic as those between Nimibatapa, a goddess of the Sherdukpen people, and her divine husband.
When Nimibatapa enrages her husband, he loses control and chases her across the sky, his mighty footsteps creating thunder. As Nimibatapa flees, trying to avoid his wrath, lightning flashes from her genital area. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how thunderstorms are born.
Nimibatapa isn’t the only goddess whose marital troubles spark bad weather. Chigum-Erum, the waterfall goddess of the Miri people, is a bit of an exhibitionist. She often lifts her skirts to expose her lady parts to her husband.
When she does this, lightning bursts from her genitals (giving a whole new meaning to the term “flashing”). Her husband, unimpressed by his wife’s lack of modesty, spits at her. His spit causes hailstorms to erupt on Earth.
7. How The Ganges River Came Into Being
Long ago, Shiva, the dancing god of destruction, found himself in a tricky situation. After beheading a demon, he vowed not to put the demon’s skull down until it was filled. Unfortunately for Shiva, his blazing third eye was so powerful that it turned everything that entered the skull into ash before it could be filled.
Shiva journeyed to a hermitage, but the sages who lived there were away. Their wives, hoping to help, rushed outside carrying ladles of butter to fill the skull. However, when they saw Shiva, they lost all control. Dropping their ladles, they began tearing off their clothes in ecstasy.
The sages returned shortly after and were furious to see their wives throwing themselves at Shiva. Enraged, the sages attempted to kill the god. But another god, Vishnu, intervened and saved the day by transforming into a breathtakingly beautiful, virginal goddess named Mohini.
Mohini was so strikingly beautiful that she had the same effect on the sages as Shiva had on their wives. Soon, everyone was naked, and Shiva involuntarily ejaculated everywhere. Eventually, Mohini blinded Shiva’s third eye and filled the skull with her own blood, freeing Shiva from his vow.
In nearly every myth involving Shiva and Mohini (who is, in fact, Vishnu), a child is born from their proximity. In one tale, Mohini seduces Shiva by the ocean. They unite in a blissful moment of sexual ecstasy, and from their mingled love juices, the Ganges River emerges.
6. Why The Sun Crosses The Sky Every Day
Usas, the Vedic goddess of the dawn, is the subject of numerous myths, many of which seem to contradict each other. While most stories describe her guiding the Sun god, Surya, as he journeys across the sky, other versions tell a very different tale.
One story about Usas describes how she drives her golden chariot across the sky at dawn, revealing her beautiful breasts, which fill the heavens with brilliance and radiance. The Sun god, Surya, pursues her relentlessly, burning with desire to possess the enchanting Usas.
This is the true reason why the Sun tirelessly crosses the sky every day. Usas isn't lighting the way for him at all—she’s simply going about her own affairs while Surya chases her endlessly. No one knows what will occur if Surya ever catches Usas. Perhaps new rivers will spring forth.
5. How Phalli Saved Sacred Sacrificial Liquor From The Thirst Of A Demon Queen
The Vedic text Jaiminiya Brahmana recounts the tale of Dirghajihvi, a demon queen with a remarkably long tongue. She was constantly licking up the sacred liquor called soma, which was offered in sacrifice to the gods.
Indra, the god of thunder, sought to put an end to Dirghajihvi's misdeeds. However, despite his efforts, he couldn't stop her. Indra then entrusted a hero named Sumitra with the mission of enticing the queen with the long tongue. Unfortunately for Sumitra, Dirghajihvi rejected him and mocked his advances, as he possessed only one penis.
While most women are content with a single phallus from their lover, this was far from enough to satisfy the demon queen. Her entire body was enveloped with multiple vaginas, making it nearly impossible to find adequate lovers.
Realizing that Sumitra could never win over the demon queen with only one phallus, Indra sought to level the playing field by bestowing Sumitra with many penises all over his body. Dirghajihvi found herself drawn to the irresistible charm of Sumitra's numerous phalli, eagerly agreeing to engage in passionate union with him.
This turned out to be Dirghajihvi's undoing, as Sumitra's many penises became trapped in her many vaginas. Unable to escape, the demon queen fell victim to Indra's vengeance, who appeared just in time to slay her while she struggled in the very trap she had unwittingly become part of.
4. How Snakes And Scorpions Became Venomous
Manasa, the goddess of snakes and poisons, is believed to protect her followers from snakebites. While her parentage remains a subject of debate, many of her devotees in Bengal believe she was created when Shiva accidentally ejaculated onto a lotus flower, and his semen trickled down to the underworld.
The mother of the king of snakes took Shiva’s 'seed' and shaped it into the beautiful goddess Manasa. Naturally, Shiva was drawn to the stunning goddess, but after she convinced him it wouldn’t be proper to make love to his own daughter, he agreed to have her live as his houseguest. His wife, however, was less than pleased upon meeting Manasa, and believing the goddess was her husband's lover, she gouged out one of Manasa’s eyes.
Shiva, always getting himself into trouble, eventually fell gravely ill due to a potent poison called Halahala, which he had stored in his throat. This poison was created when the gods churned the great cosmic ocean in an attempt to save the universe from particularly dangerous demons.
The poison produced was so powerful that it could destroy all life. The only way to contain it was for Shiva to swallow it, pledging to keep it safe in his throat for all eternity.
In the end, Halahala overcame Shiva, and so Manasa, the goddess of poisons, was called upon for aid. Kneeling beside him, she drew the poison from his throat, restoring Shiva to full health. Manasa then shared half of the Halahala with the snakes and scorpions on Earth, keeping the remainder of the poison stored in her empty eye socket.
3. How The World Will End
Kali is renowned as the demon slayer and the goddess of time and the end of days. She has been worshiped in numerous forms throughout India for centuries. Depending on the legend, Kali is depicted with either black or blue skin and wields weapons in each of her many hands, along with the severed head of a demon. She wears a necklace made of decapitated heads and a skirt fashioned from severed arms.
One of the most well-known stories about Kali involves the gods facing a demon named Raktabija, the blood-seed, who could not be killed without creating more demons. Each drop of his blood that touched the earth would spawn a new blood-seed, and those, too, could not be destroyed without giving birth to even more demons.
This is where Kali enters the narrative. Although many different stories are told about her origin, they all agree that she was the gods' only hope against Raktabija. Riding into battle on a black lion, Kali unleashed a relentless killing spree. She killed every demon in her path, drinking every drop of their blood before it could touch the ground and create more demons.
In this manner, Kali exterminated all the blood-seeds. However, she became intoxicated by the blood of the demons and continued her rampage, creating chaos on Earth. The gods pleaded with Shiva to stop Kali's wild and destructive dance.
In an attempt to slow her down, Shiva lay among the corpses scattered at her feet. When Kali realized she was dancing on top of her consort, Shiva, she stuck out her tongue in embarrassment for almost killing him. Finally, her frenzied killing energy began to subside.
Many of Kali’s followers believe that one day she will resume her wild dance. When she does, her energy will be so intense and chaotic that it will shake the very foundations of the Earth, bringing about the end of the world.
2. How To Save The World From An Eternal Solar Eclipse
The Khasi people, an indigenous tribe residing in northern India and parts of Bangladesh, tell a story of a tiger named U Khla who spotted a beautiful girl named Ka Nam drawing water from a well. U Khla dragged her back to his lair with the intent of devouring her. However, upon realizing that she was too slim to make a satisfying meal, he decided to keep her alive and fatten her up with candies until she grew large enough to fill his stomach.
As Ka Nam matured into a woman, her captor invited his friends over for a feast where Ka Nam was to be the main dish. Luckily for her, a compassionate little mouse took pity and showed her the way to the cave of a toad magician named U Hynroh. Ka Nam managed to flee the tiger’s lair. When U Khla returned with his guests, they were furious to find their promised meal had escaped, and they tore him apart in their rage.
Ka Nam’s situation was still dire, as the toad magician had taken a liking to her and transformed her into a hideous toad-like creature, making her his servant. Once again, the mouse showed kindness and guided Ka Nam to a magical tree that reached all the way to the sky.
In her toad form, Ka Nam climbed the magical tree and reached the sky kingdom where Ka Sgni, the Sun goddess of the Khasis, took pity on the hideous girl and allowed her to live in the outhouse. One day, Ka Nam shed her toad skin to brush her hair, and Ka Sgni’s son saw her, falling in love with her instantly.
The Sun goddess, moved by her compassion, stole Ka Nam’s toad skin and burned it to ashes, freeing her from the magician’s spell. U Hynroh, enraged by this, chased the Sun goddess across the sky for many days in an attempt to devour her. When he finally caught her and swallowed her, the first solar eclipse occurred. The frightened people on Earth began screaming and pounding their drums and cymbals in panic.
U Hynroh, fearing the approach of an army, spat out the Sun goddess and returned to his cave. However, he occasionally returns to try to devour her again, hoping the people on Earth will be too distracted to assist Ka Sgni. As a result, worshipers of Ka Sgni believe it is crucial to make a lot of noise during a solar eclipse to prevent the Sun goddess from being consumed by the vengeful toad magician once and for all.
1. How The Smallpox Goddess Lost Her Arms And Legs
Mandodari, worshiped in a region near Malabar, was the wife of the demon Daruka, whose terror was causing great unrest among the gods. To put an end to his reign, the goddess Bhadrakali was sent to kill him and stop his havoc.
Determined to save her husband, Mandodari embarked on a series of severe devotional practices to Shiva, Bhadrakali’s father. Finally, Shiva, moved by her devotion, granted her the powerful gift of a few drops of his divine sweat.
With her new pungent weapon in hand, Mandodari confronted Bhadrakali when the goddess returned from slaying Daruka. Mandodari flung droplets of the magical sweat at Bhadrakali, and where the droplets landed, smallpox sores began to appear.
Bhadrakali fell gravely ill, prompting Shiva to create a hero from his third eye to lick the deadly smallpox sores off her body. As the hero was Bhadrakali’s brother, he was prohibited by the rules of modesty from licking her face (it was deemed acceptable to lick her body but not her face).
Left with a flawless body but a pockmarked face, Bhadrakali, furious at Mandodari, severed her arms and legs. Afterward, Mandodari became an armless, legless goddess, worshipped by those seeking relief from smallpox.
