Faith of Sublanarya: The Many Faces of Sahasranama (Bonus: Dyeus, Tefnas, Shanka, Kartavirya, Narakasura)

Sahasranama is the almighty god of the Hamutian pantheon. He is part of a trimurti but Brahma, who acts as the creative force, and Shiva, who acts as the destructive force, arguably serve Sahasranama's vision for the universe. There are other interpretations of this relationship and some cults emphasize one of the trimurti over the others, but Sahasranama is the focus of most of Raj-Hamutian mythology.

These stories usually come in the form of his avatars acting to change the world and educate the masses. The most famous of his avatars is the Rama, who has been discussed in the Ramayana, but there were six avatars before him and have been two since. There is said to be a 10th avatar on the horizon but only time will tell. Now, let's look at the various avatars of Sahasranama.

 AVATAR I: MATSYA THE GREAT FISH

During the overthrow of Dyeus & Tefnas by the Devi gods, Mithras the Ocean Master was the only god to oppose Indrea the Storm King. When Indra cast down his brother into the sea, this caused a great flood. The flood threatened to wipe out the world and destroy the sacred texts. Sahasranama took the form of a great fish and talked with Manu the Great Sage. He told Manu to build a boat and fill it with two of each animal, his family, the wise men and women that would heed his call, and the sacred texts of Raj-Hamut. Manu obeyed.

He built a mighty boat and loaded it up with everything but the sacred texts were no where to be found. They had been stolen away by a demon name Shanka the Clam Demon.

Manu tried to chase down the beast on his boat but it grabbed the ship in its great maw. Mastya intervened, defeating the clam, rescuing the sacred texts, helping Manu's ship to safety and helping humanity survive the flood.

AVATAR II. KURMA THE WORLD TURTLE

This chapter begins with Durvasa the Sage. The sage was born when Brahma and Shiva got in a quarrel. The Destroyer left the fight in a violent rage and his wife, Shakti, decided she could not live with him in that way so she cut out his anger and deposited it in a mortal woman. The mortal gave birth to the sage and he was said to be wise but possess a terrible temper that even the Devi gods feared.

Durvasa wandered the world in a state of ecstasy after taking a vow to contain his anger. He came across a fey creature and the beautiful creature, upon his request, gave him a garland made up of bright & beautiful flowers she had been making. He wore it proudly around his neck and continued on his journey. He then came upon Indra the Storm King who was traveling on his elephant steed Airavatta, with the other Devi gods attending him. In a moment of inspiration, perhaps impressed or testing the god, Durvasa tossed him the garland. Indra caught the garland and played it upon Airavatta's head. The fragrant flowers attracted a bee that stung the elephant and Airavatta tossed the garland to the ground. Durvasa flew into a fury and, despite the pleas of the gods, laid a curse upon them that quickly sapped them of their power and immortality!

And so quickly the gods headed to Mount Madara with an intense plan to regain their immortality by ringing nectar from the cosmic sea.

Sahasranama took the form of a giant turtle and lifted the mountain onto his back, Shesha wrapped himself around the mountain, and the Devi gods prepared to churn the seas with the mountain acting as a churning rod to churn the sea and sift out nectar from it. They needed help and so they made a pact with some powerful demon lords and promised to share the nectar. They churn the sea and produce the nectar. Before the Devi gods cane use it, the demons steal it away.

Sahasranama turns from Kurma into the form a femme fatale before enchanting the demons to beg for her attention. She tricks them into promising her the nectar and, once they hand it over, Sahasranama returns the nectar to the Devi gods, returning their power and denying it to the demon lords.

AVATAR III. VARAHA THE WILD BOAR

The story goes that the gatekeepers of Sahasranama's abode were cursed and transformed into a pair of demons named Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Each brother were protected by a boon. Hiranyaksha wrote down a list of all the things he want immunity from: mankind, Devi, demons, weapons, poison, disease and he began writing down the list of dangerous animals. In his hurry to finish, he forgot several animals and went to go fill his stomach.

Hiranyaksha was terrible titan that even caused the gods to flee. It is said after eating his fill, he set his eyes on Tefnas, the mother of the Devi gods, and stole her, the world itself, away and took her to the bottom of the cosmic sea. This wouldn't stand and the Devi gods asked Sahasranama for help. 

Sahasranama took the form a great boar, having seen that the demon forgot to name the beast, and attacked him. The demon king mocked the mighty boar but, in the end, Naraha lifted the world out of the cosmic sea and gored Hiranyaksha for good measure. And thus the cosmos were restored once more.

 AVATAR IV. NARSIMHA THE LION PROTECTOR

The fourth avatar of Sahasranama would come to the aid of a prince, Prahada the Kind, when he needed a protector.

Hiranyakashipu was wiser than his brother and he asked, since true immortality was not possible for a demon, that nothing that was created by the gods could kill him. This made him almost undefeatable but the gods tried to assault his palace. Mercifully, his wife, who was pure, was protected from the attack by Sahasranama's wife Padma. Hiranyakashipu's wife was pregnant and the unborn child's time rubbed off on him. After the demon king fought off the gods and his wife was returned, she gave birth to an innocent boy, Prince Prahada.

The boy was not only kind but a devotee of Sahasranama. This infuriated the demon king and he tried to arrange the boy's death but, each time the boy would surely die, he miraculously survived. When asked to proclaim Hiranyakashipu as the supreme ruler of the universe, the boy declines and declares that Sahasranama is an all-mighty and all-present. The king scoffs at his son and points at a nearby pillar:

"Oh stupid child of mine, Prahada, if there is a god who is mightier than me, if there is a god who knows more than me, and if there is a god who is everywhere, where is he now? If he is everywhere, than why is he not in this pillar?"

The boy responds, "He was, He is, He will be!"

The demon king becomes enraged and strikes the pillar, breaking it in half, and moves to hurt the prince. Before he can lay a hand upon the boy, Sahasranama in the form of a great white lion headed monster with many arms explodes into being from the pillar.

Nothing that Sahasranama created could stop the demon. But the prince was the creation of the demon king and Prahada's prayers were a creation of his own faith. And so it was the prayers stopped Hiranyakashipu.The being, called Narsimha the Protector, was in such a rage from the cruelty of the demon king that he disemboweled him upon his own throne. His rage would've gone on forever and perhaps destroyed everything but Prahada pleaded for him to find peace and he did.

Before Narsimha left, he declared Prahada the new benovolent king of the land.

AVATAR V. VAMANA THE DWARF

A noble king named Bali, Prahada's grandson, was a brilliant strategist and incredible warrior. He used his army to conquer the world and even the cosmos. He threatened the authority of the Devi gods and therefore the cosmic balance once more. Indra asked for Sahasranama's aid and so, taking the form of a dwarf monk, Vamana (mouse) carrying a wooden umbrella. He went to the home of Bali, amusing him with acrobatics and then asked for a small boon: three paces of land. The king laughed and agreed.

The dwarf grey to impossible proportions and took three steps: he first stepped from the world to the heavens and then from the heavens to the outerplanes before finally stepping. King Bali was unable to fulfill his promise and so, in a show of unparalleled honor, he offered his head.

The dwarf placed a foot upon it and agreed to spare his life but only after he returned dominion to the gods. King Bali agreed, was rewarded for his benovolence, and order was restored to the cosmos.

AVATAR VI. PARASHURAMA THE WEAPON MASTER

Parashurama (Bear) was the first of Sahasranama's avatars born to mortals to educate the masses about dharma. Parashurama's parents, Jamadagni the Sage and his wife Renuka, were blessed with a mystical cow called Surahbi that provided them with all that they need. The story goes that the boy Parashurama grew up to be the strongest and fastest in the land. He could fell a forest with one swing of his axe and leap over mountains in a single bound. Eventually, word spread and the demon king Kartavirya the Thousand Armed came and demanded the cow. Even though the sage and his wife refused, the demon king took the cow by force while Parashurama was away.

Parashurama returned and hearing of these crimes, seeks out the king. He makes quick work of the demon army and eventually challenges the king himself. He marvels at Kartavirya's impossible size and his many arms-- for a moment. He then swings his axe, cutting off each arm, and strikes the king down just as easily as he cleaved the forest.

He retrieves the cow and returns home. Rather than praise him, his father scolds him for not trying to reason with the king first. He then tells him to go on a pilgrimage to consider his crimes. When he returns, he discovers that some demon warriors seeking revenge for their king killed both of his parents. He flew into a rage, hunted them down, and killed them too.

But he found no peace.

He went to the mountains and lived a life of austerity, non-violence and meditation. After much soul-searching, he found redemption and peace. He passed his teachings on and many priests teach his message about the dangers of the cycle of violence.

AVATAR VII. Rama the Warrior King (wolf) defeated the demon king Ravana and rescued his wife Sita the Devout Queen (dove) who was an avatar of Sahasranama's wife Padma.

The story gets proper description HERE.

AVATAR VIII. KRISHNA THE BEAUTIFUL

This is the last avatar born during the Wyrd Wars.


The story goes that the Krishna (Calf) was born to Devaki and her husband Prince Vasudeva. Vasudeva was the brother of a cruel tyrant named Kamsa. The tyrant heard a prophecy that the son of Vasudeva and so he arranged to have Vasudeva's children killed. When Krishna was born, he was whisked away across the river Yami and was replaced by an artifice by the gods. When Kamsa went to kill the infant, it took the form of the goddess Shakti the Mother of Many, Shiva's wife, who transformed into a cobra, bit his left leg and told him that his downfall was eminent.

Krishna was raised among the gopi (cow herders) and had a reputation as a mischievous but kind boy that played with the animals, flirted with the maidens and performed small miracles.

Famously, when he was but a small child, a fruit vendor saw him hungry and, despite being quite poor, offered the boy to eat his fill. For every piece of fruit the boy took, it was replaced with a portion of gold and jewels.

Another time, a flood threatened to destroy the village and ruin the crops of the people in the country side. Hearing the wailing and worry in the voices of his neighbors, the boy got an idea that no normal child could pull off. He lifted a mountain over his head, stood on the tallest hill over the fields, and shielded them from the rain until it stopped before returning the mountain. Some say he forgot where the mountain had been and put it back in the wrong place, explaining a large crater near Mount Giri.

After childhood, he would marry the gopi Radha who was an incarnation of Padma.

His feats made him popular and he soon befriended princes. When he heard of the wicked demon king Narakasura had stolen the sisters of his new friends he ventured to the underworld and stole them away from him. To preserve their honor, he married them all. His kindness was respected by all the princes.

For these reasons, Krishna is associated with love, marriage, mercy and is considered the ultimate embodiment of romance.

Krishna was happy and yet, he was poor and he feared he could not provide a proper home for his many wives. Shakti sought him out and told him his destiny: to kill Kamsa and claim his throne.

The story goes that Kamsa had taken to entertaining wrestling matches in his throne room and even allowed the fighters to kill each other. The story goes that Krishna went to the ring, revealed his identity and challenged Kamsa. The king was a mighty warrior and did not shirk from fighting Krishna who was much smaller than himself. Despite Kamsa's strength and size, Krishna evaded his every grapple thanks to the dancing he had used to amuse the maidens.

Eventually, he noticed the king was slow to move his left leg. But Kamsa was tough and no blow that Krishna struck seemed to harm him. Krishna noticed the king guarded his left leg, which had been bitten by the cobra all those years ago, and began striking it again and again. Kamsa was wore down and driven to his knees. Krishna pinned him and demanded he yield and surrender the crown. If he did so, Krishna would show mercy and release him. Kamsa agreed.

When Krishna released him and turned to greet the cheering crowd, Kamsa pulled out a dagger, the same dagger he had meant to kill the baby Krishna, and went to stab him in the back. Krishna's wives intervened, leaping into the ring, tearing the king apart.

When they stood not a thread or drop of Kamsa was left and Krishna was king.

Krishna was also played an important role in the Last Great War as the companion of its hero, Prince Arjuna.

IX. PRINCE SIDDHARTHA THE AWAKENED SOUL

Siddhartha was the latest avatar of Sahasranama and was seen as an answer to the problems of living in the modern age. He was born during the Golden Age of Raj-Hamut and the legitimacy of his teachings are a subject of debate. Followers of his teachings call themselves "The Awakened".

Siddhartha was a prince and was the only child of the king. His family was warned that if he left the palace it would spell the end of their dynasty. They kept him inside, sheltered from the real world, and he became spoiled. Eventually, he became curious about the outside world and sneaked out of the palace.

On his outing, he encountered an old man, a dying man and a man's corpse.

Having realized that suffering was so common, even universal, he sought out knowledge from temples across Sublanarya. He eventually became an ascetic, one who abstains from earthly pleasure and comforts. He sat under an ancient tree and began to meditate. He achieved a mystical state and survived under the tree for years. After his meditation, he achieved enlightenment and learned four noble truths.

Four Nobles Truths

1. All life is suffering.
2. The source of suffering is desire.
3. To stop suffering, you must rid yourself of desire.
4. You can only rid yourself of desire by living righteously.

Siddhartha shared the truths until the day of his death, where he sat under the tree, and his soul left his body for Nirvana.

How to live righteously, as described in the fourth truth, is very much up for debate and various schools of "awakening" teach different paths to righteousness.

X. THE PROMISED AVATAR

It is prophesied that a tenth avatar will bring about the end of this cycle. He will be known by his white horse with wings and he will bring about the end of this cycle. Many have claimed to be the world-ender but all chalatans have been revealed and punished.

DYEUS THE SKY FATHER

Title(s)

The Lion God, The Heavenly Wind, The Patriarch, The Father of Fathers, The Pridelord

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Lawful Good

Symbol

A circle with an arrow pointing and a lion

Portfolio

Skies, winds, creation, storms, masculinity

Domains

Tempest, War

Worshipers

Catfolk, hamutians

Favored Weapon

Spear

TEFNAS THE EARTH MOTHER

Title(s)

The Lioness, The Mother of Mothers, The Pridemother, The Matriarch, The Heart of the Desert

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Symbol

A circle with a cross and a lioness

Portfolio

Earth, life, creation, earthquakes, femininity

Domains

Nature, Life

Worshipers

Hamutians, catfolk

Favored Weapon

Shield

TEFNAS THE CLAM DEMON

Title(s)

The Knowledge Thief, The Armored Beast, The Clasping Killer

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

A clam shell with fangs

Portfolio

Seas, storms, sea monsters, armor, thieves

Domains

Nature, Tempest

Worshipers

Pirates, thieves, bandits, sea witches, druids

Favored Weapon

Flail

KARTAVIRYA THE THOUSAND-ARMED DEMON

Title(s)

The Many-Armed, The Grasping King

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Symbol

A many armed starfish

Portfolio

Battle, regeneration, strength, mutation, greed

Domains

Death, War

Worshipers

Trolls, greedy kings, bandits, gladiators, warriors

Favored Weapon

Swords

NARAKASURA THE LUSTY

Title(s)

The Flesh Thief, The Slave Breaker, The Blood Merchant

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Neutral Evil

Symbol

A bloody chain

Portfolio

Slavery, lust, harems, torture, cruelty

Domains

Death

Worshipers

Slavers, oni, cruel masters, rapists, marauders

Favored Weapon

Whips