A. Royden D'souza

Aṅgirā. No genealogy bound him. He was not born, he emerged. One of the first visionaries, one of the founders of sacred insight, a being who heard the rhythm of the cosmos before anyone else understood its beat.

Brahmā meditated on devotion, knowledge, and sound. From his contemplation emerged a sage holding a shining vīṇā. He was Narada.

Dharma, born not as an enforcer of law, but as the living essence of righteousness. Brahmā welcomed him warmly.

Among Dakṣa’s daughters was Satī, child of extraordinary purity and strength. As she grew, her heart turned instinctively toward Śiva, the great ascetic, the silent lord seated on Kailāsa, who saw no difference between honor and dishonor, gold and dust, life and death.

Satya (Krita) Yuga In the earliest dawn of creation, when existence was still raw, trembling, and undefine, Brahmā opened his eyes upon the newborn cosmos. Vast emptiness stretched before him. The elements had formed, but life had not yet awakened. The worlds waited for minds that could perceive, shape, and sustain them. So Brahmā turned inward. From the stillness of his own mind, he created beings of pure thought. They emerged like sparks from his consciousness—radiant, wise

Tamasa was born in the lineage of the first Manu, descended from Uttānapāda, the father of Dhruva. He was called Tāmasa, meaning “born under the shadow,” not because he was evil, but because he would rule an age where the light of Dharma would face deep and persistent obscurations.

Raivata was born in the ancient lineage of Priyavrata, son of the first Manu, Svāyambhuva. But unlike his forefathers, Raivata was not born in a hermitage or palace. He was born on a mountain peak, where the wind rang like a crystal bell.

Among the many sons of Priyavrata, grandson of the first Manu, there was one child unlike the rest. His mother found that when he slept, the darkness of the hut thinned, as though a subtle dawn seeped out of his skin.

Lopāmudrā’s earliest memories were of Vidarbha’s palace, a world of shimmering silk, perfumed lamps, and morning music in polished halls.

Agastya begins not as a “character” but as a ṛṣi in the Veda, a poet-seer of Ṛgveda Maṇḍala. His origin myth is cosmic: Mitra and Varuṇa, gods of vow, law, oaths, behold the celestial Apsarā Urvaśī. A moment of desire flickers. Their semen spills.

Tāṭakā did not begin as a rākṣasī. She was born yakṣiṇī, a forest spirit of auspicious lineage. Her father Suketu had earned her from Brahmā through austerities.