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Nandana (also called Amaravati) is a place for virtuous alone with celestial gardens.

History[]

In one version of mythology, Nandana was believed to be built by the major Hindu god Tvastr, who would one day try to kill Indra himself. For Indra's birthday, the gods were required to give presents to the king god. The other deities gave minor gifts like their daughter's hand in marriage, a dragon pet, or a book. However, Tvastr was greedy. He wanted to impress Indra and earn his respect, so that soon he would be king of the gods instead. So, he worked the gears of his brain and though of a gold paradise. Setting to work at once, he finished in a short time (in mortal terms, a few hundred years). Indra was not at all impressed that Tvastr did not give him his last few birthday presents, but when his next birthday came, Tvastr presented the beautiful village of Amaravati and the garden of Nandana to Indra. The other gods, on the other hand, were feeling guilty for giving such minor presents. Indra declared Tvastr his personal assistant and next-king, which was perfectly fine with Tvastr. After a long while of giving Indra directions and avoiding wars, Tvastr decided to launch the final attack. He put poison in Indra's nectar of immortality and hired demons to help him. However, someone saw Tvastr and warned Indra immediately. Tvastr, hearing that, called his demons and attacked. Unfortunately, Indra had all the rest of the gods on his side, who were immortal, but the demons were not. Once dead, they had to wait awhile to be "Reborn" again. The gods easily defeated the demons and, with Tvastr in the spotlight, rounded on him and hissed words of betrayal. Indra declared him a punishment, and celebrated. The problem was, they couldn't find a good place to celebrate. The only place was now Nandana, but the gods were reluctant. They thought Tvastr might put some traps. But he didn’t. After figuring that out, the gods declared that their celebrating place and the location of Lord Indra's palace.

Description[]

Nandana is the paradise of all the gods and the home to the Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree; the Parijata; sweet-scented flowers, and gold roads, hangings, and even buildings. The fragrant groves of flowers and shrubs are closely guarded by the apsaras, heavenly dancers who entertain the gods. Lots of the gods visit Nandana from time to time; it was also said to be a dirty road that had a sign that said "Warning: Danger ahead". The pillars of Nandana are composed of diamonds and its furniture is made of jewels. Breezes carry the sweet perfume of roses and jasmine. Every million years, there is a celebration, and there is music and dancing that even some mortals in the mortal world could hear.

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