All Blogs · Theology Thursday ·Jun 23, 2021

The Stories of Fathers

These are the stories of protective fathers in Hindu Theology.

These are the stories of Mothers who had to abandon their children in Hindu theology.

Devyani & Shukracharya

There was a King Yayati married to a woman named Devyani. As part of her wedding "gift," Devyani demanded a handmaid. But not just any ol' girl would do. She wanted Princess Sharmishta -- a woman who tried kill her by pushing her down the well -- to be Devyani's beck and call. Sharmishta had to oblige since her father greatly relied upon Devyani's father for guidance and support.

Everything was fine until one day, Sharmishta asked Yayati to give her a child because she was longing to become a mother. Yayati obliged and gave her not only one but three sons. When Devyani learned about their affair, she told her father, Shukracharya.

Shukracharya, a guru of the demons, cursed Yayati with premature old age, but gave him a loophole to escape: he can swap ages with one of his sons.

Krishna & Vasudeva

Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva, were imprisoned by her evil cousin, Kansa, who was given a premonition that "Devaki's eighth son will kill you."

Sure enough, one by one, Kansa wasted no time in ensuring none of the babies lived past their birth. When Devaki gave birth to her eighth child, Krishna, something strange happened.

The gates to their prison unlocked and the guards outside fell asleep. This gave Vasudeva the perfect opportunity to rescue his newborn from Kansa's loathe.

Vasudeva safely carried Krishna into the dark night, in the middle of a rain storm, and across the river to a nearby town. Krishna was left inside the home of another couple who had also just welcomed a baby girl.

Hanuman & Vayu

When Hanuman was a child, he woke up from a nap feeling really hungry. He saw the sun and thought it was an orange. As he leaped into the sky towards it, Rahu -- the one normally responsible for "swallowing the sun" and giving us a solar eclipse -- saw what Hanuman was about to do. Rahu ran to Indra, the King of the Gods, to ask for help.

Unaware of Hanuman's naive intentions, Indra struck Hanuman with a weapon so forcefully, that it knocked him to the ground unconscious, and with a broken jaw.

When Hanuman's father, Vayu (the God of Wind), got wind of the situation, he was so furious that he decided to go on a "strike." That meant no more breeze to cool the earth, no power to move the rain-bearing clouds, or even enough air to breathe. To appease Vayu and to resume normalcy, all of the Gods united to gift Hanuman a wide range of powers.

This is the reason he is one of the most powerful dieties in Hinduism.

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