Riddles in Hinduism

RIDDLES IN HINDUISM
born. This was Vishnu. The Devi asked Vishnu to marry her. Vishnu declined saying that she was his mother.
Devi got angry and burned down Vishnu to ashes.
Devi rubbed her palms a third time and had a third blister. Out of this third blister was born a third son. He
was Shiva. The Devi asked Shiva to marry her. Shiva replied: ' I will, provided you assume another body '.
Devi agreed. Just then Shiva's eyes fell on the two piles of ashes. Devi replied ' they are the ashes of his two
brothers and that she burnt them because they refused to marry her. ' On this Shiva said, ' How can I alone
marry? You create two other women so that we all three can marry '. The devi did as she was told and the
three Gods were married to the Devi and her female creations.
There are two points in the story. One is that even in doing evil Shiva did not wish to appear more sinning
than Bramha and Vishnu for fear that he may appear more degraded than his other two competitors. The
more important point however is that Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva had fallen in rank and had become the
creatures of the Devi.
Having dealt with the rise and fall of Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva, there remains the vicissitudes in the cults
of the two new Gods, Krishna and Rama.
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