ImportMaster at 05:51, 31 October 2022

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{{short description|Hindu sage}}
{{For|the dog|Kratu (dog)}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| name = Kratu
| father = [[Brahma]]
| spouse = Kriya or Santati
| siblings = Punya and Satyavati
| children = The 60,000 Balakhilyas
| affiliation = [[Saptarishi]]
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
'''Kratu''' ({{lang-sa|क्रतु|lit=strength}}) is described as one of the [[Mānasaputra|manasaputras]], the mind-born children of the creator deity, [[Brahma]], in [[Hinduism]]. He is also a [[rishi]], who appears in two different ages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2015-12-21 |title=Kratu: 23 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kratu#purana |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

He is considered to be one among the seven great sages of the age of the first [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], the [[Saptarishi]]s, believed to have originated from the mind of [[Brahma]]. In another legend, he is believed to have been born from his father's left eye.

==Legend==
In the Svayambhuva [[Manvantara]], Kratu is a [[Prajapati]], a son of [[Lord Brahma|Brahma]]. He is also the son-in-law of Prajapati Kardama. His wife is named Kriya. It is said that he has 60,000 children. Their name is included in the eighth book of the [[Mandala_8|Rigveda]]. Kratu also has two sisters, Punya and Satyavati (not to be confused with [[Mahabharata|Mahabharata's]] [[Satyavati]], the great-grandmother of the [[Pandava|Pandavas]] and the [[Kaurava|Kauravas]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2015-12-21 |title=Kratu: 21 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kratu#sanskrit |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:14th century Ahobila Narasimha Swamy temple, Upper Ahobilam, Andhra Pradesh India - 4.jpg|thumb|Statue of Garuda, whose birth is associated with the sons of Kratu.]]
He is also stated to be married to Santati in the [[Puranas]], and the pair has sixty thousand children, called the Balakhilyas, who were each of the size of a thumb, but possessed great mastery over the senses. According to the [[Mahabharata]], while helping the sage [[Kashyapa]] with a sacrifice, they carried with them chips of wood, even as the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] brought heaps of logs. They were insulted when [[Indra]], the king of the devas, laughed at their efforts. By the power of their penance, they started to create another Indra. Terrified, Indra sought the assistance of Kashyapa. The sage pacified the Balakhilyas, and told them that the fruits of their penance would not be in vain; They would be employed to bless [[Vinata]], who was also performing a penance at the time, with a son who would be able to overpower Indra. Accordingly, [[Garuda]] was born to her, who would defeat Indra and the devas, procuring [[amrita]] to release his mother from [[Kadru|Kadru's]] bondage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-01-28 |title=Story of Bālakhilya |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241448.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> In a different account, the Balakhilyas were able to please [[Shiva]], who gave them a boon that they would be able to produce a bird, which would steal a pot of amrita from Indra.<ref name="sage">{{cite book|title=Ancient sages|pages=26-28|publisher=Sri Ramakrishna Math|location=Mylapore, Chennai|last=Sathyamayananda|first=Swami|isbn=81-7505-356-9}}</ref>
According to the [[Shiva Purana]], due to his spouse [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati's]] suicide during the [[Daksha yajna]], Shiva sent his followers to massacre everyone who attended the sacrifice, which included Kratu. As instructed, his followers started punishing each and every deity and rishi who attended the holy sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Menon|first=Ramesh|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/870703420|title=Siva : the Siva Purana retold|date=2006|publisher=Rekha Printers|others=Ramesh Menon|isbn=978-81-291-1495-2|location=New Delhi|oclc=870703420}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Vanita|first=Ruth|title=Shiva Purana: The Birth of Kartikeya (Sanskrit)|date=2000|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05480-7_7|work=Same-Sex Love in India|pages=77–80|place=New York|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|access-date=2021-11-30}}</ref> Both the testicles of Kratu are described to have been severed during this massacre.[[File:Daksha yagna.jpg|thumb|Daksha insults Shiva while arguing with Sati.]]When the attendees and survivors begged for his forgiveness, Shiva agreed, but as a punitive measure, he turned the attendees into animals, or found a suitable punishment for their sin. After his testicles were restored, Kratu married Sannati, the daughter of Daksha. The seven sages, which included him, were all transformed into pygmy sages, no bigger than the joint of the thumb. They immediately started to resort to a life of piety, becoming renowned students of the [[Veda]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maitreya Upanishad|url=http://www.advaita.it/library/maitreya.htm|access-date=2021-11-30|website=www.advaita.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPurana|title=Brahmanda Purana}}</ref>

Rishi Kratu was again born in the [[Shraddhadeva Manu|Vaivasvata Manvantara]] (the seventh and current ''manvantara'') because of Shiva’s boon. In this ''[[Manvantara]],'' he had no family. It is stated in his origin here that he was born from the hand of Brahma, whereas other rishis are described as having been born from other parts of the deity's form. As he had no family and no children, Kratu adopted [[Agastya]]’s son, Idhmavaha. Kratu is considered one of the [[Bhargava|Bhargavas]], a descendant of [[Bhrigu]]. In the [[Matsya Purana]], it is said that his mother’s name is Poulomi. He is also considered one of the [[Visvedevas]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kratu Rishi|url=https://www.radha.name/news/general-news/kratu-rishi|access-date=2021-11-30|website=www.radha.name}}</ref>

== Comparative mythology ==
It is possible that Kratu shares a cognate with the [[Greek mythology|Greek mythological]] deity [[Kratos (mythology)|Kratos]], whose name is also associated with strength.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lowe |first=Ramesh Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8svAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=kratu+kratos&q=kratu+kratos&hl=en |title=Language of the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa |date=1987 |publisher=Indo-Vision |pages=239 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bhrigu]]
*[[Kashyapa]]
*[[Agastya]]

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

{{Rishis of Hindu mythology}}

[[Category:Prajapatis]]
[[Category:Rishis]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]

Kratu - Revision history

ImportMaster at 05:51, 31 October 2022