Chiranjivin In Indian mythology
Mahabali, a righteous demon king who conquered heaven, earth, and the underworld, but was forced to give it back by Vamana.---Mahabali , also known as Māveli was a benevolent Asura King, and the grandson of Prahlada. The festival of Onam is celebrated in honor of this mighty king.The king was from the line of Diti, a deity in the Rigveda. Bali is the descendant of this line. The real name of Bali is IndrasenaBali was born of Devamba to Veerochana, the son of Prahlada. He grew up under the tutelage of his grandfather who instilled in him a sense of righteousness and Bhakti. Bali succeeded his grandfather to become king of the Asuras. There was peace and prosperity everywhere during his reign. He expanded his kingdom and usurped the heaven. The vanquished Devas then complained to their protector Vishnu, who assured them that he himself would restore the authority of Devas. Bali, at the behest of his Guru Sukracharya decided to conduct the Ashwamedha Yagam. During the Yagam, Vishnu, in the guise of a small Brahmin boy (Vamana), appeared before Bali and asked for three paces of land. Bali, who had vowed not to refuse anyone, promptly granted the wish, even ignoring the warnings of his guru. Vamana measured all the worlds and the sky with two paces. Then, Bali offered himself for the third pace and was thus banished to the Patala. However, impressed by Bali's unselfish devotion and unwavering "dharma", Vishnu granted him the permission to visit his subjects once every year.
Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu.----Parashurama (also known as Parasurama, Bhrigupati, Bhargava, Bhargava Rama, Jamadagnya as Jamadagni's son), a Brahmin, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-axe. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of warfare and other skills. He fought the advancing ocean back thus saving the lands of Konkan and Malabar. The coastal area of Kerala state along with the Konkan region, i.e., coastal Maharashtra and Karnataka, is also sometimes called Parashurama Kshetra (Parashurama's area). Some say it extends all the way to Mumbai in Maharashtra. Parashurama is said to be a "Brahma-Kshatriya" (with the duties between a Brahmana and a Kshatriya), the first warrior saint. His mother is descended from the Kshatriya Suryavansh clan that ruled Ayodhya and Lord Rama also belonged to.
parashurama belonged to srivatsasa gothra.It appears that the Haihayas may have been enemies and at war with several groups, including other Kshtriyas themselves. For example the Haihayas sacked Kashi during the reigns of King Haryaswa and King Sudeva (whom they killed), King Divodas and his son Pratarddana (who finally expelled them outside of the Vatsa Kingdom). All these kings were born in the Solar Dynasty and the Haihayas were a Lunar Dynasty.
The hostile Haihaya King Arjuna Kartavirya also defeated the Nāga Kshatiryas led by Karkotaka Naga and made Mahishmati (present day Maheshwar) the capital of his own kingdom.
All the five Haihaya clans called themselves together as Talajangha (Vishnu Purana IV.11).
According to numerous Puranas, the military corporations of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas, known as five hordes (pānca-ganah), had militarily supported the Haihaya and Talajunga Kshatriyas in depriving Ikshvaku King Bahu (the 7th king in descent from Harishchandra) of his Ayodhya kingdom.
A generation later, Bahu's son, Sagara recaptured Ayodhya after totally destroying the Haihaya and Talajangha Kshatriyas in the battle. King Sagara had punished these foreign hordes by ordering their 'heads shaved' (a common practice used to humiliate and shame the enemy in the ancient and modern world) and turning them into degraded Kshatriyas
Vibhishana, Ravana's brother who was made King of Lanka by Rama.---
Vibhishana or in Javanese language as Wibisanaor Wibisono is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama orderly. When his brother did not listen to his advice, Vibhishana joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.
In the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition, Vibhishana was one of the Gods of the Four Warrants (satara varam deviyo) until the Kotte period. According to the Ravana Katha of Wickramasinghe Adigar, after the defeat of Ravana,
Vibhishana transferred the Yaksha capital from Alakamandawa to Kelaniya.
n the 15th Century poem of Totagamuwe Sri Rahula, the sælalihini sandesaya, the Myna is ordered to carry the missive to Vibhishana at his temple in Kelaniya. After the 16th Century he was replaced as a God of the four warrants by the goddess Pattini. He continues to be worshipped by a diminishing number of adherents, mainly in the Kelaniya area.
Vibhishana had a sattvic (pure) mind and a sattvic heart. From his early childhood, he spent all his time meditating on the name of the Lord. Eventually, Brahma appeared and offered him any boon he wanted. Vibhishana, said that the only thing he wanted was to have his mind fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord. He prayed that he should be given the strength by which he would always be at the feet of the Lord, and that he would receive the darshan (holy sight) of Lord Vishnu. This prayer was fulfilled, and he was able to give up all his wealth and family, and join Rama, who was god incarnate.
Vibhishana was the youngest son of Sage Vishrava, who was the son of Sage Pulatsya, one of the Heavenly Guardians. He (Vibhishana) was the younger brother of the Lord of Lanka, Ravana and King of Sleep, Kumbakarna. Even though he was born in the demon race, he was alert and pious and considered himself a Brahmin, since his father was intuitively such.
Due to Vibhishana's differences with Ravana and because he was against the act of kidnapping Sita, Ravana exiled him from Lanka. His mother, Kaikesi, advised him to go and serve Shri Rama, who was at that time assembling an army to conquer Ravana and to recover Sita. Lord Rama accepted Vibhishana's service and anointed him the Lord of Lanka after Ravana's death.
In the Lanka War, Vibhishana's knowledge about the secrets of Lanka proved invaluable to Shri Rama. Vibhishana freely divulged many secrets that became key to the success of Rama's attack, including revealing the secret path to the temple of Mata Nikumbala, the family deity of the Pulatsya Clan. Because of this, however, Vibhishana is also known as a traitor.
While modern readers tend to view the Indian epics with eyes used to seeing clearly defined good and bad characters, the Ramayana's characterisation is trying to represent the practical implications of the concept of Dharma. The epic stresses that niether Vibhishana or Kumbhakarna strayed from the path of Dharma and that there is no single way out of a moral dilemma. The Ramayana teaches that Kunbhakarna adhered to the Dharma of loyalty to his kin when his advice fails, while Vibhishana chose to oppose his kin when his advice failed.
Symbolically, Vibhishana represents devotion to Shri Rama, and as a demon devotee, he shows that the Lord does not distinguish between his followers based on birth or circumstances in life. The same aught can be read in the story of Prahlada and Narasimha.
When Vibhishana attained the position of the King of Lanka, he turned his subjects from the path of evil to the path of good and Dharma (righteousness). His wife, Queen Sarma also aided him in this effort.
When Shri Rama was about to leave Ayodhya at the end of his reign, Lord Rama in his original form of Shri Vishnu ordered Vibhishana to stay on earth and serve the people and guide them to the path of truth and Dharma. Hence, Vibhishana is considered one of the seven immortals, or Chiranjeevins. Lord Vishnu also ordered Vibhishana to pray the family deity of Rama's natal Sun Dynasty, Lord Ranganatha
Hanuman, who served Rama.---Hanuman , (also Anjaneya, Maruti), is one of the most popular concepts of devotees of God (bhakti) (devotion to God) in Hinduism and one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. He is the 11th incarnation (Rudra avtar) of Lord Shiva, and is considered the most powerful and intelligent amongst Gods. His most famous feat, as described in the Hindu epic scripture the Ramayana, was leading an army of monkeys to fight the demon King Ravana. He is also referred to as Bajrang Bali (Sanskrit: Vajranga) because his body was hard like a vajra. Hanumana is also known as Pavan-Putra (son of Pavana) and Vāyu-Putra because Pavan (the Hindu deity of the wind) had played an important role in Anjana's begetting.
Hanuman was born to Anjana, a female vanara and Kesari male vanara on Mula Nakshatra, on the new moon day (amavasya) in the month of Margazhi (mid of dec and jan) in Anjaneri hill in the Brahmagiri hills near Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra. According to the Vedas, Anjana an apsara or a celestial being, named 'Punjikasthala', who, due to a curse, was born on Bhuloka (Earth) as a female Vaanara. She would be redeemed from this curse on her giving birth to an incarnation of Lord Rudra Shiva, that is also endowed with the Supreme Power of exalted devotion to Bhagwaan Hari. Hanuman is endowed with 28 transcendental divine opulences; with perfection in each. He is especially so because he is born with the Power of Rudra and with serious servitorship-devotion (called "Daasya Bava Bhakti" in Sanskrit) to Bhagwaan Hari or Bhagwaan SriVisnu in his incarnation as Bhagwaan Ramacandra, 18th Incarnation of Bhagwaan Hari; appearing in the Ikshavaku dynasty.
It is also said that Hanuman was born on Anjaneya Hill, in Hampi, Karnataka, near the Risyamukha mountain on the banks of the Pampa, where Sugreeva and Sri Rama met. There is a temple that marks the spot. One more place associated with birth of Hanuman is Aanjan. Aanjan is a small village about 18 km away from Gumla via Toto. The name of the village has been derived from the name of goddess Anjani, mother of Mahaveer Hanuman. Aanjani Gufa (cave) is at 4 km from the village upon a hill. Here mother Anjani used to live. Many objects of archeological importance obtained from this place has been placed at Patna Museum. There is an idol of mother Anjani with Hanuman in her lap near Anjani Gufa.
Along with Kesari, her husband, Anjana performed intense prayers to Shiva to beget Him as her Child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought.Hence, the Hanuman is also known as "Maharudra" because he was born out of the boon given to Anjana by the Shiva who is also known as Rudra. The Valmiki Ramayana, (Yuddha Kanda) states that Kesari is the son of Brihaspati and that Kesari also fought on Rama's side in the war against Ravana.
Different stories are told explaining Hanuman's birth.
One is that at the time that Anjana was worshipping Lord Shiva, elsewhere, Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, was performing the Putrakama Yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding, payasam, to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.
Being Anjana's son, Hanuman is also called Anjaneya (pronounced Aanjanèya), which literally means "arising from Anjani".
Sri Aurobindo states that "vanara" does not refer to "monkey": "Prajapati manifests as Vishnu Upendra incarnate in the animal or Pashu in whom the four Manus have already manifested themselves, and the first human creature who appears is, in this Kalpa, the Vanara, not the animal Ape, but man with the Ape nature", i.e. primitive man such as Homo erectus.
Hanuman, in one interpretation, is also considered as the incarnation of Shiva or reflection of Shiva also known as Rudra. Others, such as followers of Dvaita consider Hanuman to be the son of Vayu or a manifestation of Vayu, the god of wind. When Ravana tried to enter the Kailash (the abode of Shiva) called Lord Shiva "a monkey". Lord Shiva in return cursed Ravana that a monkey would burn his Lanka. Shiva took the form of Hanuman.
References to Hanuman in classical literature could be found as early as those of 5th to 1st century BC in Panini's Astadhyayi, Abhiseka Nataka, Pratima Nataka, and Raghuvamsa (Kālidāsa).
Vyasa, a sage who narrated the Mahabharata, he was also a sage in the epic.---Vyasa is a central and revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions. He is also known as Badarayana. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa, (the one who split the Vedas) or Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace). He is accredited as the scribe of both the Vedas, and the supplementary texts such as the Puranas. A number of Vaishnava traditions regard him as an avatar of Vishnu.Vyasa is also considered to be one of the eight Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to general Hindu belief.
Kripacharya, a teacher of the princes in the Mahabharata.---
Kripa (Kṛpa in IAST transliteration), also known as Kripacharya or Krupacharya, was the chief priest at the court of Hastinapura, in the Mahābhārata.
Not to be confused with "Kripa" (Kṛpā), a female given name.
He was the son of Sharadvan and Janapadi. His twin sister Kripi married Drona, the weapons master to the court.
He fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurava side. Afterwards, he was appointed to be the teacher and preceptor of Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna.
He is one of the seven Chiranjivin.
Gautama Maharishi had a grandson called Shardwan. Shardwan was born with arrows and was a born archer. He was from his early childhood, more interested in archery than in the study of the Vedas. He meditated and attained the art of all types of warfare. He was such a great archer that no one could defeat him. This created panic amongst the gods and specially Indra, the king of the gods felt the most threatened. He then sent a beautiful divine nymph from the heaven to distract the celibate saint. The nymph called Janpadi came to the saint and tried to seduce him in various ways. Shardwan was distracted and the sight of such a beautiful woman made him lose control. As he was a great saint he still managed to resist the temptation and controlled his desires. But his concentration was lost and he dropped his bow and arrows. His semen fell on some weeds by the wayside and divided the weeds into two from which a boy and a girl were born. The saint himself left the hermitage and his bow and arrow and went to the forest for penance. Coincidentally, King Shantanu, the great-grandfather of the Pandavas was crossing from there and saw the children by the wayside. One look at them and he realised that they were the children of a great archer Brahmin. He named them Kripa and Kripi and decided to take them back with him to his palace. When Shardwan came to know of this he came to the palace and revealed the identity of the children and performed the various rituals which are performed for the children of Brahmins. He also taught the children archery, Vedas and other shashtras and the secrets of the Universe. The children grew up to become experts in the art of warfare and this boy Kripa came to be known as Kripacharya who was now assigned the task of teaching the young princes all about warfare.
The picture above is a puppet form of Kripacharya and does not resemble the actual character.
Ashwathama, a man cursed to immortality and eternal suffering without love from anybody for his role in the murder of the five sons of the Pandavas and his attempted murder of Arjuna's grandson.
In the Indian epic Mahābhārata, Ashwatthama or Ashwatthaman was the son of guru Dronacharya. He is one of the eight Chiranjeevins. Dronacharya loved him dearly. Rumours about his death in the Kurukshetra war led to the death of his father at the hands of Prince Dhrishtadyumna. Ashwatthama at the end of the war promised Duryodhana that he would kill the Pandavas.
Ashwatthama was observing on the last day of the war, how an owl was attacked by crows in the day and how the owls attacked back in the night. So he surmised that under the laws of nature, a person can fight when he is strong. He, Kritavarma and Kripacharya tried to attack the camp of Pandavas and they were stopped by a demon kept by Krishna. However, Krishna also took the precaution of taking the Pandavas along with Satyaki to the river side of the Ganga.
Ashwatthama worshipped Shiva and offered his body as offering to Shiva. Shiva gave him the boon that whoever faces him that night shall die. Ashwatthama attacked the Pandava camp in the middle of the night, but by error ended up murdering the five sons of the Pandavas by Draupadi.
The Pandavas, incensed by this act, chased him resulting in his fight with Arjuna. During the fight, Ashwatthama invoked the extremely powerful Brahmashira weapon--which incidentally he had once tried to exchange with Krishna's Chakra without success--against Arjuna. Arjuna in response invoked the same weapon. Fearing the destruction of the world, the sages advised both to take back their weapons. While Arjuna could do so, Ashwatthama's weapon could not be withdrawn and he was given the option of choosing any single target to destroy. Out of strict observation of his promise to Duryodhana, Ashwatthama directed the weapon to the wombs of Pandava women. Among them was Uttara, Arjuna's daughter-in-law.
At this time, Uttara was carrying the unborn Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu, who upon birth would be the future heir to all the Pandava brothers. The Brahmastra weapon was successful in fatally burning the foetus, but Krishna revived the stillborn child and cursed Ashwatthama with leprosy and to roam the world for 6,000 years as an unloved castaway. In another version, it is believed that he is cursed to remain alive till the end of the Kali Yuga. It is believed that Ashwatthama migrated to the land currently known as the Arabian Peninsula. Another version goes to say that he is still on Earth in the form of cyclones and typhoons. An old fort near Burhanpur, India called Asirgarh has a Lord Shiva temple on top where it is believed that Ashwatthama offers a red rose everyday to Lord Shiva early in the morning.
Ashwatthama also had to surrender a valuable gem, Mani, set on his forehead, the wearer of which ceases to have any fear from weapons or disease or hunger, and ceases to have any fear of gods, Danavas and Nagas. This was taken from him by Krishna before his exile and presented to the Pandava king Yudhisthira.
Ashwatthama was one of the three survivors of the Kaurava army, along with Kritavarma and Kripacharya. He is believed to be an incarnation of Rudra, later day Shiva, who voluntarily consumed the poison of vengeance without concern about its consequences. Ashwatthama is destined to be one of the seven saptarishis in the next manavantara.
here are several other personages known as chiranjivins, like Jambavantha ---
Jambavantha (also known as Jambavan or Jamvanta or Jambavaan) (Sanskrit: (जाम्बवान) is a sloth bear in Indian epics and one among the Immortals like Hanuman . He is also considered King of bears and first son of Brahma, before humans were created. Jambavan was present when the churning of the ocean took place and is supposed to have circled Vamana seven times when he was acquiring the three worlds from Mahabali. He was the King of the Himalayas who had incarnated as a bear in order to serve Lord Rama. He had received a boon from Lord Rama that he would have a long life, be handsome and would have the strength of ten million lions.
Jambavantha had killed a lion, who had acquired a gem called Syamantaka from Prasena after killing him. Many experts believe this gem was later renamed as the Koh-i-Noor diamond of the present day.Krishna was suspected of killing Prasena for the jewel, so he tracked Prasena's steps until he learned that he had been killed by a lion who had been killed by a bear. Krishna tracked Jambavantha to his cave and a fight ensued. After twenty-eight days, realizing who Krishna was, Jambavantha submitted. He gave Krishna the gem and also presented him his daughter Jambavati, who became one of Krishna's wives. In the epic Ramayana, Jambavantha helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. Later, it is he who makes Hanuman realize his immense capabilities and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka.
(Jambavan)Markandeya, a great rishi.---
Markandeya is an ancient rishi (sage) from the Hindu tradition, born in the clan of Brigu Rishi. He is celebrated as a devotee of both Shiva and Vishnu and is mentioned in a number of stories from the Puranas. The Markandeya Purana especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage called Jaimini and a number of chapters in the Bhagavata Purana are dedicated to his conversations and prayers.He is also mentioned in the Mahabharata.Markandeya is venerated within all mainstream Hindu traditions.
Today, Markendeya Tirtha, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana is situated on a trekking route to the Yamunotri Shrine in the Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand.
One legend relates the story of how Shiva protected Markandeya from the clutches of death. (Yama)
Mrikandu rishi and his wife Marudmati worshipped Shiva and sought from him the boon of begetting a son. As a result he was given the choice of either a gifted son, but with a short life on earth or a child of low intelligence but with a long life. Mrikandu rishi chose the former, and was blessed with Markandeya, an exemplary son, destined to die at the age of 16.
Markandeya grew up to be a great devotee of Shiva and on the day of his destined death he continued his worship of Shiva in his form of Shivalingam. The messengers of Yama, the god of death were unable to take away his life because of his great devotion and continual worship of Shiva. Yama then came himself in person to take Markandeya's life away and sprung his noose around the young sage's neck. By accident of fate the noose mistakenly landed around the Shivalingam, and out of it, Shiva emerged in all his fury attacking Yama for his act of aggression. After defeating Yama in battle to the point of death, Shiva then revived him, under the condition that the devout youth would live forever. For this act, Shiva was thereafter known also as Kaalakalaya, meaning 'one who brought death, to death himself'.
Thus Maha Mrityunjaya Stotra is also attributed to Markandeya,and this legend of Shiva conquering death is inscribed in metal and worshiped at Tirukkadavur in Tamilnadu, India.A similar account is also given in Narasimha Purana, although in that version Markandeya is rescued by Vishnu after he recites the Mrityunjaya Stotra.
The Seven Immortals in Chinese mythology
Also known as The Seven Masters of Quanzhen, The Seven Elders of Quanzhen or The Seven Perfected Beings.- Ma Yu
- Tan Chuduan
- Liu Chuxuan
- Qiu Chuji
- Wang Chuyi
- Hao Datong
- Sun Bu'er:
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