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Narada Jayanti is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Devrishi Narada Muni. According to Vedic Puranas and mythologies Devrishi Narada is a universal divine messenger and primary source of information among Gods. Narada Muni has the ability to visit all Teen Loks, Akash or Heaven Prithvi or Earth and Patal or Netherworld and is believed to be first journalist on the Earth. Narada Muni keeps travelling across the universe to communicate the information. However, most of His timely information creates trouble but that is for the betterment of the Universe.
Sage Narada is ardent devotee of Lord Narayana, which is one of the forms of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu in the form of Narayana is considered an embodiment of the truth. Narada Jayanti is observed on Pratipada Tithi during Krishna Paksha of Jyeshtha month according to North Indian Purnimant calendar. According to South Indian Amavasyant calendar Narada Jayanti falls on PratipadaTithi during Krishna Paksha of Vaishakha month. It is name of Lunar month which differs and in both type of calendars Narada Jayanti falls on the same day.
Dev Rishi Narad or Narad Muni is the son of Brahma and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He is known for gossiping and knows all the news from around the universe. He is also known for creating fights among people by spicing up facts. Rather, he is believed to be the first journalist on earth.
Normally in India, a person is called Narad Muni, if he tries to make two parties fight. One of the glorious descriptions in Vishnupurana says, “Naram nar samuham Kalahena dhyati Khandayatiti.” The one who is a fomenter of disputes among people is Narad. But he is never malicious or vengeful and never has any vested interest. He works for the ultimate good.
Narad Muni’s personality is quite complex. Even though he seems playful and happy all the time, he can also become serious and wise. As per the mythology, he has executed many miraculous tasks on lord Vishnu’s behalf.
Narad is shown a divine messenger. He is constantly wandering around in all three worlds and he gives information to all, the Devas, the Rakshas and the men. He is mentioned in Shabdakalpadruma as one who gives knowledge of God. “Naram paramatma vishyakam gyanam dadati iti nardah.” Let’s take a look at some amusing stories related with Narada…
Demon Jalandhar and Narad Muni
Samudra brought the mighty demon Jalandhar and thus Lakshmi, the daughter of Samudra, had a soft corner for him. As Jalandhar grew up he became the cruelest demon king and forced Indra and Devas to vacate their positions in Swarga. Vishnu remained neutral due to Lakshmi’s reluctance to harm Jalandhar.
However, Narad Muni created a problem for Jalandhar on two counts. He told the pompous king that Shiva’s riches and powers were by far the most superior and that his wife Parvati was the prettiest woman in the Universe. Jalandhar started pursuing Parvati and picked a war with Lord Shiva. Finally Jalandhar faced Shiva in a battle and the latter slit his throat by a fiery chakra produced from his left toe!
Narad and Tridevi
Once the Tridevi were having major ego issues with one another. A cold war was on. Narad intuitively perceived this turbulence. He approached each Goddess separately and deliberately sang laurels of the other two. In order to prove supremacy over the other two, each Goddess decided to perform a miracle.
The Goddess of Knowledge, Saraswati blessed a dumb and deaf man and made him a scholar overnight. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, turned a poor lady into a queen. Finally, the Goddess of Strength, Parvati turned a coward into a mighty army leader. However, all hell broke loose when the people of the kingdom rebelled against the army leader who tried to oust the Queen who had earlier wanted to punish the scholar for refusing to sing her praise! The goddesses then realized that it was Narad’s mischief.
Narad and Kansa
Kansa, as we all know, was a cruel king. He and other rakshas used to torture people. His sister Devaki got married to Vasudeva. After the ceremony, there was a divine prophecy that stated “O Kansa, you shall meet your end at the hands of the eighth child of Devaki.” On hearing this, the angry demon king imprisoned Vasudeva but left Devaki unharmed.
Later Narad met Kansa in secrecy and said, “O Kansa, the gods have conspired to kill you. Your father Ugrasen, Devaki and Vasudeva – all these people have joined hands with the gods.” On hearing this, Kansa was outraged. He immediately imprisoned Devaki and Ugrasen.
The legend of Omkareshwara
Situated on the banks of River Narmada is the Omkareshwara Jyotirlinga. The Legends have it that once Vindhya Mountain boasted of its height and might. Narad provoked Vindhya and said that it is nothing in comparison to the Meru Mountain. Hearing this, Vindhya felt jealous and prayed to Lord Shiva to establish a Shiva Linga on the banks of Narmada River.
Puffed by Shiva’s presence there, Vindhya grew taller and taller to compete with Sumeru. This disturbed Surya’s routine circumambulation of the Universe and one half of the Universe remained dark. Devi Bhagavati asked Sage Agastya from Varanasi to visit Vindhya, who out of veneration for the Muni bent down. Agastya asked Vindhaya to be in that position till he returned return from Dakishna Bharat and chose never to come back again.
When Narad revealed Krishna’s secret
Kansa was attacking Krishna only on a premise. His suspicion was confirmed by Narad who spilt the beans by revealing the true identity of Balarama and Krishna as the seventh and eighth sons of Devaki. He said, “Balarama is not the son of Rohini as is made to believe. He is the seventh son of Devaki. The daughter of Devaki was actually Yashoda’s child, a form of the Lord’s Yoga-maya. The infant was interchanged with Krishna, the eighth son of Devaki, to save him from your clutches.”
Narad and Durvasa
Once, Narad was sitting in Lord Shiva’s court on Mount Kailasha. Sage Durvasa entered the assembly carrying a huge bundle of books. Ignoring the assembly he went and sat next to Shiva. Shiva smiled and asked about his studies. The saint proudly announced how he has read all the books. Narad stood up and called Durvasa a donkey carrying the burden of books. The sage thundered in wrath.
Narad retorted, “There you are! You have not been able to get over your passions in spite of being a scholar. You have ignored the assembly and gone to sit by lord Shiva, What good is scholarship without patience and forgiveness?” Durvasa realized his folly, threw away the books and went into penance.
Narad Muni’s monkey face
Once, when Narad was meditating, other gods tried to disturb him by sending Kama (lord of lust). Kama tried a lot but did not succeed. Kama started praising Narad loudly. He said that Narad is better than Shiva who not only won his feelings of lust but also his anger. Narad opened his eyes after hearing all this praise. Narad went to Shiva and shared the story; Shiva listened patiently but advised Narad not to tell Vishnu. Narad couldn’t stop himself. He went to Lord Vishnu and repeated the whole story. To teach Narad a lesson, Vishnu set up a kingdom by his powers where a princess Vishwamohini was about to choose her groom. Inf;ated by his ego – Narad passed by and thought if Shiva and Vishnu can have wives, why can’t I. He prayed to Lord Vishnu and requested to help him in marriage.
Vishnu made his face like a monkey. Later on when Narad was rejected he got angry and cursed Vishnu that you will have to suffer for a wife like me, and only monkeys will help you. Vishnu smiled and blessed him as that was the beginning of another epic – Ramayana.
A legendary figure
Narad is a truly global character who never required any passport to straddle Trilok. He was an institution in itself – a man of such diverse communication aptitude was not an ordinary sage, but a fierce intellectual with encyclopedic knowledge. It is mentioned that Narad knew all the 64 Vidyas. Narad is considered as one of the 12 chiranjivis. ‘Chiranjivi’ means one who lives forever. He is also regarded as the ‘mind’ of God – one who always knows God’s wishes.
Narad’s Bhakti Sutra
The Bhakti Sutras of Narad is one of the wonderful books on devotion and has no parallel. These texts outlive the philosophy and the classical authority of the concept of Bhakti. The ancient form of Sutra literature in Sanskrit is often very terse and its meaning is obscure and is liable to various interpretations. Fortunately, the Bhakti Sutras of Narad stand out their clarity, simplicity and internal coherence. The Narad Bhakti Sutra is a very ancient and authoritative scripture.
The Narad temple
Narad Temple is dedicated to the divine sage. These temples are located in Chigateri,which is 50 km away from Davanagere, and in Korva, which is 29 km north-east of Raichur in Karnataka. Korva is a beautiful island surrounded by the Krishna River. Korva is looked upon as a holy place and is popularly known as Naradgadde – one of the most scenic islands on the Krishna River.
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