Amarnath Yatra - Variation to the Myth

Yesterday, we read about the legend associated with the Amarnath yatra. There is a different version which is diametrically opposite to the above in terms of the location of the divine discourse.

Matseyndra Nath

The followers of the Natha sampradaya, i.e. the Natha community, have a different version. A fisherman by the name of Matseyndra Nath (Matsya – fish), once got swallowed by a huge fish which had got entangled in his net. The fish took him deep under the ocean. Since Matseyndra Nath had done good deeds, he did not die. The fish went and settled outside a make-shift home created by Shiva to relate the mysteries of his immortality. Shiva had selected this location so that no mortal could hear it (as against the cave as we read in the Amarnath yatra earlier).

However, while the fish was resting, Matseyndra Nath heard the full discourse and later after twelve years when he came out of the fish, he went on to become the founder of the Natha sampradaya, a sect of yogis. The sampradaya does not believe in caste system and Kings and untouchables, alike, have been the followers of this sect. The objective of the sect is to enjoy peace and tranquillity, at the same time also seek release from the cycle of birth and death. They also feel that for this one does not need divine intervention, it is based on ones actions and karma. Among the major disciples of Matseyndra Nath were Gorakhnath and Caurangi, with the former being very influential and also instrumental in spreading the teachings of Matseyndra Nath. They consider Lord Shiva to be the first in the line by referring him as the Adi Nath.

Navnath

Matseyndra Nath and the natha sampradaya have thier followers in different parts of the country, especially in Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Nepal. Matseyndra Nath, Gorakhnath and other seven such teachers are collectively known as the Navnath. The natha sampradaya have their own following with different myths associated with Matseyndra Nath, which we will not get into at this stage.

This variation is important especially for its difference. The people from the hilly terrain associate the myth of the Amar Katha in a mountain, whereas those closer to the sea, have an underwater association. Though Nepal can be seen as an exception, but the association of Matseyndra Nath, who is better known as Machindranath, has been discussed earlier in another article (Ratha-Yatra – In India and Abroad – Part 1 Nepal ). One of the versions even had a similarity with the earlier myth, where instead of Parvati acknowledging during the discourse, it was Matseyndra nath doing the same from inside the fish, when Parvati had dozed off! However, when Shiva learnt that it was someone else, he did not want to eliminate him, but blessed him to spread the good word. The significance of the natha sampradaya is more so, as it takes a Puranic myth and weaves around it secular credentials and thus has a wider base.

Amarnath Yatra

The Amarnath Caves

Amarnath yatra is one of the most arduous and sacred pilgrimage shrines for the devoted Hindus. The cave is situated at a height of close to 13,000 ft, which has a stalagmite in the form of a shiva-linga, which waxes and wanes with the waxing and waning of the  moon during the month of Shravan month of the Hindu calendar, which coincides with the months of July-August. The caves are closed all round the year, except during this period, when devotees brave the dangerously harsh temperatures, slippery paths and bad weather. This year the caves are open from June 25 to August 2^nd.

What is it about the place? First the legend.

Once, Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva the reason for his immortality. While she had been taking different births, he remained the same. Shiva avoided the discourse till he could, but then Parvati would not give up. At last Shiva decided to tell her the mystery, but wanted to ensure that none other than she should hear it.

Shiva identified a cave in the mountains and as part of the preparations for the secret discourse; he left his vahana, the Nandi Bull at Pahalgam (Bail gaon). He left the moon from his hair at a place called the Chandanwari and his snakes at the Lake Sheshnag. He left Lord Ganesha at Mahaguna Parvat and the five elements of life at Panjitarini. (All these are present day sites of reverence and part of the Amarnath yatra). Once inside the cave, Shiva opened his third eye, from which he created a ball of fire which destroyed all living being around the area, leaving the two, Shiva and Parvati all alone for the Amar Katha (immortal discourse). Shiva then sat on his deer skin and related the entire mystery.

It was in this cave of Amarnath, where the discourse was supposed to have taken place.

From here there are different versions of the legend. We will go through them briefly.

One version says that under the deer skin was an un-hatched egg of a pigeon. In the course of the discourse, the egg hatched and out came a pair of pigeons. Since they had heard the discourse, then have become immortal and pilgrims say that even today, a pair of pigeons are found flying around during this season of pilgrimage.

Another version says that from the egg came out a parrot. Shiva had told Parvati that she should continuously acknowledge, by saying “Hm”, during the discourse as he would be in his yogic trance. When the egg hatched and the first thing the parrot learnt was the “Hm” uttered by Parvati. In due course of the discourse, Parvati had fallen asleep and it was the parrot who had kept acknowledging during the entire discourse. When Shiva came to know about it, he was angry and sent his trident to kill the parrot. The parrot flew away from the chasing trident and entered into the mouth of a yawning wife of Sage Vasishta. The parrot entered into the womb of the wife, but did not want to come out as he had known all the mysteries of life and did not want to enter the world of Maya, illusions. Later with the intervention of Lord Vishnu, a child was born the sage’s wife, who became famous by the same of Sage Shuka (Shuka is parrot in Sanskrit).

Shiva also ordained that anybody who visits the Amaranath caves during this auspicious period will be released from the cycle of birth and death.

Ice Shiva-lingam

There is an interesting myth with the discovery of the caves. Once a shepherd, by the name of Buta Malik was given a sack of coal by a saint. When he opened it at home, he found it full of gold coins. The grateful shepherd went back to the spot to thank the saint, but found the caves. Since then the caves have become an important place of pilgrimage. Yet another version says that in those days, Kashmir was nothing but a huge lake. Rishi Kashyap drained the waters of the lake into rivers and rivulets and later Rishi Bhrigu visited the Himalayas to discover the cave along with the shiva-linga. The previous one gives the place secular credentials, where a Hindu shrine is discovered by a Muslim, though many say that Buta Malik was from Gujjar community.

Though the Amarnath yatra has had its share of controversies due to the impact on national security as well as the environment due to rampant pollution, the yatra has its picturesque moments, besides spiritual and divine moments. For the believer, it is a quest of immortality and for the adventurous it is the thrill of the tough terrain; in both the cases it draws lakhs of devotees every year.

After all, both the believers as well as the adventurous are ‘seeking’!

Mangoes – Nothing 'aam' about it

Show me a man who doesn’t like mangoes and I’ll show you someone with faulty taste buds! Mangoes – the ripe, luscious, fruits which have something in them, that makes a child out of a grown-up man or a woman (lest I be accused of being sexist!). Mangoes, ripe or raw are a culinary delight. This King of fruits is an all time King of good times (no pun intended!).

There are other fruits in the market, but none hold sway on man and its kind the way mangoes do. Have you ever heard crates of bananas being sent to a daughter’s in-laws house? Have you ever brought crate-full of apples and had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and look forward to the same for the next day too? Have you ever seen any other fruit evoking such erotica the way a certain lady squirms on your TV screen with a ripe mango? So what is it about the fruit that makes one go all out for it.

The answer lies in antiquity, like all quests lead you to!

According to a Vedic myth, Surya bai, the daughter of the Sun god was transformed into a golden lotus to avoid being troubled by an evil sorceress. The sorceress was angry when she found out that the King of the land had fallen in love with the lotus, so she burnt the flower to ashes. Love triumphed as a beautiful mango tree grew from the ashes of the flower and Surya bai stepped out of a mango which was found on the ground. The King recognised his love and the two were united.

Lord Buddha was given a whole mango grove for him to rest whenever he wanted to. Since then the mango tree was considered as a wish fulfilling tree. Mangoes are considered to be a symbol of love. The Mango leaves are considered auspicious especially in marriage rituals, which are used to assure the birth of sons. It is said that whenever there is a birth of a son, the mango tree bears new leaves. Lord Ganesh is seen carrying a ripe mango in one of his hands as a sign of attainment, the aspiration of every devotee of his. In Kalidasa’s Shankuntala, Kama, the god of love is supposed to have used the flowers of the mango tree to invoke love between Shakuntala and King Dushyant through one of his arrows. Goddess Ambika from the Jain mythology is traditionally shown as sitting under a mango tree.

This takes us to one of the most important sites of Shaivite centres of devotion, the Ekambareswar Temple at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. Translated literally, ‘Eka’ means one and ‘amaram’ means Mango tree, together, Ekambaram means One Mango Tree and Ekambareshwar means god of the one mango tree. The temple was built during the Pallava rule and completed by the Chola rulers. But there is mythology around the temple and one of the most important area of the premises, which has a mango tree!

It is said that once goddess Parvati was doing penance under the mango tree in the temple premises. To test her devotion, Shiva sends fire at her. Parvati took the help of Lord Vishnu, who with the help of the rays of the moon managed to cool the tree as well as Parvati. Shiva then sent the river Ganga to disturb Parvati’s penance. Parvati convinced Ganga that they were sisters and that she should not disturb her penance, to which Ganga agreed. Parvati then made a shiva-linga out of the sand and got united with Shiva. Shiva here came to be known as the Ekambareshwar or the god of the Mango tree.

A depiction of the myth at the temple premises

The Mango tree at the temple premises

The tree in the premises is said to be the same tree under which Parvati performed her penance. The tree is sacred and unique in the fact that the four branches of the tree represent the four Vedas and it is said that the tree bears four different kinds of mangoes in four different seasons. (What is not mentioned however is that it is highly possible that someone in the days of yore had probably done some intelligent tree-grafting, which has survived till date – but then followers of faith do not see eye-to-eye with the doubting-Thomases of the modern world!).

Mangoes have not been a topic of discussion just in mythology and religion. The uniqueness of the fruit is supposed to have first travelled outside India, during the travels of the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang who is considered to be amongst the first to take the tales of the fruit outside India. Later the Portuguese took the fruit out to other parts of the world. There are numerous Indian folk-tales which have the eating of the mango associated with miraculous child-birth and seduction. There are legends about the royal courtesan in the kingdom of the Vaishalis, who came to be known as Amrapali since she was found under a mango tree. (But then that is a story from history and we will not discuss that here at the moment).

To conclude on a doubting note; according to many scholars, the story of Adam and Eve took birth in the tropical zones which are not conducive for the growth of apples and pears. What could be highly probable, keeping in mind the tropical weather, was that the fruit could be either the papaya or a mango; papaya being highly improbable as a fruit of seduction (!), could it have been the mango, which hasn’t quite lost that charm even now?

Lord Shiva’s Wedding Procession

It is said that when Shiva’s marriage with Parvati was finalised, like all grooms he too was invited with his relatives to the brides place on the day of the wedding.

Since Shiva had no relatives as such, he is supposed to have asked all his friends and acquaintances to accompany him. Since his friends were not from the ‘mainstream civilisation’ of the times, the wedding procession was quite a site. It also reflected on Shiva’s far from homely lifestyle, which to everybody’s horror was definitely horrifying, to say the least.

His wedding attire was tiger-skin for dress and a snake for a necklace. He had ashes smeared over him, and his unkempt hair in matted locks! He was sat atop his vahana, the Nandi bull and the whole sight was a far cry from what any bride’s family would have preferred to see. The members of the wedding procession too were worth a sight. Shiva was accompanied by ghosts, goblins, gnomes and all sorts of weird creatures from the crematorium, where Shiva spent most of his time. Many of them were bedecked with skulls and bones and some of them were smoking hemp!

When the procession reached the doors of Parvati, all the women-folk who had gathered to greet the procession ran away in fear. Parvati’s mother, Menaka, refused to greet such a hideous crowd and a semi-drunk groom! It took a lot of cajoling from Parvati for Shiva to look more worldly and pleasing at least on the wedding day. So to conform to the societal norms, Vishnu and Brahma who were part of the procession, and other gods got together, bathed him with perfumed water, and adorned him with gold, silver and gems! With proper dresses and combed hair, he is supposed to have looked more handsome than Kamdev himself, thus making him more acceptable to his would-be-mother-in-law, Menaka, who was too happy to wed her daughter to the erstwhile mendicant!

 (A 1955 Hindi film, Munimji, has a song ‘Shivji bihane chale palki sajaaike………’ which describes the entire episode very beautifully.)

Shiva’s marriage to Parvati was his second marriage. Earlier Shiva had married Sati, in which Sati had followed Shiva to Mount Kailash and after getting his reluctant consent, had married him. This was more of Shiva giving in to Sati’s worship. This did not make him any more husband than what he already was. He more or less remained the same ascetic and yogic that he was prior to Sati coming to Kailash. He remained far from the society and the worldly ways of life and Sati was content being his wife, nothing more.

But in the second instance, Parvati insisted that he come and wed her in the most proper manner. Shiva and Parvati were to be a worldly couple and the two get married by the Vedic rites, performed by none other than Lord Brahma himself. This was Parvati’s way of educating Shiva, the acceptable norms of a worldly society of which she was a part of and this time; unlike in her past form of Sati, she did not want an ascetic and a yogi for a husband. She wanted a worldly man with all the emotions and longings for a woman. She wanted children, a family and a loving husband. This can also be seen as taming of Shiva in worldly ways. She was going to be his Shakti (power) and the two together would signify the male and female principle of the cosmos.

Hereafter, the saying शक्ति के बिना शिव भी शव के समान हैं meaning ‘Without his Shakti, Shiva is nothing but Shava (corpse)’, would have its true meaning.

Ganapati – Birth

The birth of Ganapati has its own myths. However there seem to be quite a few of them in the texts.

The most common one was that of Parvati giving birth to Ganesha all by herself, i.e. with the help of Shiva (thus also referred to as Vinayaka – ‘vina’ i.e. without; ‘nayaka’ i.e. male principle). Once Parvati wanted to go for a bath and so she created a child from her ‘ubtan’, i.e. turmeric paste (and thus Ganesha is also referred to as Dhûmravarna, "the Lord with a tawny colour") with instructions not to allow anybody inside the house. As luck would have it, Shiva returned from somewhere and Ganesha stopped him, unknown to him that Shiva was his father (though not biological). To cut short the whole story, a battle ensued between the two and Ganesh was beheaded by Shiva. Later, on realising the mistake, an elephant’s head was attached to the body of the child Ganesha. This is the most common and well-accepted myth from Shiva Purana.

Staying on with Parvati, another myth says that once the used bath-water of Parvati was thrown into the river Ganga, which in turn was drunk by the elephant-headed Goddess Malini. In due course of time, she gave birth to a baby with four hands and five elephant heads. Goddess Malini claimed the child to be hers, but Siva declared the child to be Parvati’s. Shiva then reduced the five heads to one and thus was born the elephant-headed god.

Still another myth says that once Shiva had slain Aditya, a son of Sage Kashyapa. Though Shiva restored the dead son, it did not pacify the sage who cursed him that his son would lose his head too. When this happened with Ganesha later, the head of Indra’s elephant was used to stick to the body of the child.

A lesser known myth says that a child was born to Parvati after a long tapa, penance. All the gods were invited by Shiva and Parvati to see and bless the child. All gods blessed the child except Shani dev. He did not want to look at the child as his gaze could harm the infant. But Parvati insisted that he see the child. But as is known, Shani’s gaze was so severe, that one look at the child and the child’s head gets severed. Lord Vishnu immediately mounted Garuda and flew to the Pushpa-Bhadra river and got the head of a young elephant and joined it with the body of the child Ganesha. This myth, though lesser known, is documented in Brahma Vaivarta Purana.