Column by Devdutt Pattanaik | Narada: the original provocateur

‘Who is the most chaste woman in the world,’ asked Narada. This created chaos in the heavens, especially when the sky said none was more chaste than Anasuya, wife of sage Atri. So, the three great gods went to Anasuya in the form of three handsome sages.

‘How may I serve you,’ asked Anasuya. Give us the milk of your body, they asked, knowing fully well that Anasuya was childless. But she was not hurt. She looked up at the three men as if they were her children and instantly milk flowed from her breasts and the three gods transformed into infants — her babies.