Ever wondered why the sun crosses the sky? Or why most men love tobacco? Let’s see how the traditional tales from various regions of India attempt at answering these questions, with their very own Goddesses being the protagonist of these stories!
Tambaku
In Madhya Pradesh, tribals narrate the story about a young woman named Tambaku who yearned to be loved by a man but nothing of the sort ever happened because she was considered to be extremely ugly by the men around her. Her father was willing to offer everything that he owned as dowry to the man who would marry her but no such man ever came. Happy Ho organizes best Meditation and Tarot classes in Noida and Delhi NCR area in India.
Eventually, Tambaku died alone with a sorry and sad heart. The very Gods who had cursed her with her ugliness, felt her plight and made her reincarnate as tobacco, something most men would love for almost their entire lives.
Manasa
Manasa is the Goddess of snakes and poison. Those who wish to be protected from snakebites worship her. Regarding her creation, it is believed that Shiva once accidentally ejaculated onto a lotus blossom and his semen dribbled into the underworld. The mother of the King of Snakes took his semen and fashioned it into the beautiful Goddess Manasa.
Shiva tried to make love to Manasa and even took her to his home as a guest. But Manasa convinced him of how ill it would be for him to make love to his own daughter. Also Shiva’s wife, upon learning about Manasa, grew angry and scooped one of her eyes out.
But the story doesn’t end there.
During the Samudra Manthan, in which both Gods and Demons were trying to churn all the precious materials out of the ocean, there also emerged a poison named Halalala. This poison would kill anyone or anything that would come in contact with it. Nobody except Shiva could even consider destroying this poison.
And so Shiva did come and save the day by swallowing the poison. But eventually, the poison started getting the better of even Shiva, resulting in him turning blue. So Manasa, the goddess of poison, was called to save Shiva. She sucked the poison out of his throat and soon Shiva regained his health. Manasa gave half the poison to snakes and scorpions on Earth and kept the other half inside her empty eye socket.
Mohini
One time, Shiva beheaded a demon and said that he wouldn’t put the skull down till it was filled. Unfortunately, Shiva’s third eye was so powerful that it would turn whatever was put into the skull, into ashes in a second.
Shiva went to a hermitage but all the sages were away. The wives of these sages came outside with butter that was meant to fill the skull. However, the moment they laid their eyes on Shiva, they went into a mode of ecstasy where they started tearing their clothes off.
When the sages returned to see their wives naked, they became furious and made a plan to kill Shiva. However, Vishnu came to save the day. He took the avatar of a beautiful virginal Goddess named Mohini. Mohini had the same impact on the sages which Shiva had on their wives.
Soon after, everyone was dancing naked in ecstasy. Meanwhile, Mohini blinded Shiva’s third eye and filled the skull with her blood, releasing Shiva from his vow.
It is said that whenever Shiva and Mohini are in each other’s company, a child is born. One time these two engaged in sexual pleasure beside the ocean and from their combined flowing love juices, Ganga was born.
