Ravan - Part 1

Some time back, I wrote about Ravan’s family (Ravan's Family – Kumbhakarna, Ravan's Family – Surpanakha , ravans-family-meghnaad , ravans-family-vibhishan ). Some of my readers felt it strange that I left out Ravan himself. Was I playing safe and being politically correct? My answer to all is a loud No. I am a great admirer of Ravan as a character who had lots to admire about. A few aspects of his nature were definitely not what can be considered to be ‘popular’, to put it mildly, but even with them, the character of Ravan needs some critical appreciation.

Critics might question the timing of this article, especially when the nation is getting ready to burn effigies of this character, but then, man today is more rational than when the rituals started. I am hoping that today we can differentiate between what is good and what is evil and at the end of it all we will burn only the evil and retain all that is good.

Ravan was born to a Brahmin sage Vishrava and the Daitya princess Kaikesi (it is important to note that the word ‘daitya’ should not be understood as a giant; this could just be a community during those times, however, strength was a quality with this community as mentioned in the myth). It is said that Kaikesi’s father wanted her to marry the most powerful person on earth, so that they could produce exceptional children. He rejected all the kings, as none were greater than he. Kaikesi then identified sage Vishrava, but unfortunately she had approached him at an inauspicious hour. Vishrava warned her about this as this implied that her children would have evil leanings, but nevertheless agreed to marry her. Thus Ravan was half Brahmin from his father’s side.

Ravan is sometimes referred to as Dashamukha, implying that he had ten heads. In mythology, such references are significant. Some sources say that he was so named as his face reflected ten faces from the crystal necklace that his father had gifted him on his birth. A more commonly accepted explanation is that he was so intelligent, that he had the brains of ten people. Under the tutelage of his father, Ravan is supposed to have learned all the Vedas and other holy scriptures. He was also well-versed with the art and crafts of the Kashatriya community. Under the guidance of his maternal grandfather, he was well-versed with all the ethics of the Daitya community. He is also depicted with twenty hands, once again implying that he was very strong or that his strength was equal to that of ten people. He was gifted in music too, and was supposed to be an excelled Veena player.

Ravan is supposed to have undergone a severe penance to propitiate Lord Brahma, who pleased with his penance, granted him a boon. Ravan asked for immortality, but Brahma denied the same. Ravan then asked for invulnerability from all gods, and other heavenly spirits, besides demons and all kinds of serpents and animals. It was beyond his stature to ask for invulnerability from humans at that stage of his life (which is why Vishnu had to take the human form of Rama later in the epic).

Armed with the boon of invulnerability he was made the head of the Lankan army by his grandfather. But Ravan was not satisfied by just the leadership of the army and so asked for the entire Lanka, which was ruled by his elder brother Kuber. His grandfather suggested to Kuber to concede to his suggestion as Ravan was unbeatable. Though Ravan is supposed to have usurped the throne of Lanka, his subjects were very happy and satisfied under his rule. It is said that even the poorest of the poor in his kingdom had utensils of gold and hunger was not known to anybody. The fact that later poets have called Lanka a kingdom of gold could just be a metaphor for the great rule and life under the rule of Ravan.

Ravan was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once Ravan tried to please him by trying to take his abode with him to Lanka and in his devotion, he tried to uproot the entire Mount Kailash. Seeing his abode shake, Shiva got irritated with him and pressed him down with his toe. The pinning down was both painful and also a lesson of humility for him. To please Shiva he sang paeans in honour of Lord Shiva for many years. In Shiva’s honour Ravan is supposed to have composed the Shiva Tandav Stotra, a form of dance worship. Pleased with his devotion, Shiva had gifted him the coveted weapon, the Chandrahas (moon-blade), and Ravan became a life-long devotee of Lord Shiva. 

The episode has been very beautifully carved out in one of the sculptures in Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India –

Next we will read about Ravan and women in his life and his alleged misdemeanours.

Independence Movement & the Myth of Markandeya

In an earlier article, I had mentioned how Hindu mythology has played a very significant role in the Indian Independence movement (dated Aug 14, 2010). The then freedom fighters had made a very creative usage of themes from mythology to express to their fellow-Indians the plight of the country.

The depiction of Bharat Mata, a personification of Mother Goddess, in chains has been a recurring theme in many a poster or old movies. With a budding printing industry, owned by the Indians, patriotic themes were transformed into images which were more evocative, expressive and communicative.

I would like to take one such instance which is supposed to have had a huge impact on people in those days, and that is the myth of Markandeya. According to this myth, Rishi Mrikandu and his wife Marudmati were devotees of Lord Shiva but didn’t have any children. They worshipped Lord Shiva and sought the boon of a son. Shiva gave them a choice of an intelligent son with a short span of life or a not-so-intelligent son with a long life. The Rishi opted for the first option and soon they were blessed with a son, who was named Markandeya, who was destined to die on his sixteenth birthday.

A Painting by Raja Ravi Verma

When Markandeya learnt about his impending death, he created a powerful mantra which is known as the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra, an incantation which could win over death. On his sixteenth year, Markandeya embraced the shiva-linga and uttered the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra non-stop. When the messengers of Yama, the god of death, came to take him they were unable to take him due to the power of the Mantra. This made Yama himself come to take Markandeya’s life. In his anger he threw the death-noose at Markandeya, which unfortunately fell on the shiva-linga. This angered Lord Shiva to no end and he rose from the linga to rebuke Yama. After a battle between Shiva and Yama, in which Yama lost, Markandeya was made immortal. Shiva is thus also known as Kalantaka or one who ends death. Since then it is also said that the continuous utterance of the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra, keeps death away.

In the adjoining picture, we can see the same myth being used for a different purpose. A close scrutiny of the picture shows Bharat Mata in place of Markandeya who is seeking divine intervention from the evils unleashed by the British (who replace Yama here and are thus compared with death). From the shiva-linga emerges Gandhiji who was seen as a saviour in those days. Gandhiji is shown with four hands, and each hand has aspects associated with him, his charkha, the spindle and his most important weapon, his writings, which are shown in the form of a newspaper. The four hands and the crescent moon on his forehead lend him a divinity due to the enormous task he had undertaken, that of eliminating the British from India. Another significant change is that Yama’s bull gives way to a cow in the second picture, which is again a sacred animal for the Hindus and a British sitting on it would have raised the passions of an ordinary Indian adequately.

Such imagery was perceived as a necessity in the pre-Independence days, as many were not educated enough to read the articles written by the stalwarts of the Freedom movement. Also, many of the writings were either not printed and if printed, were soon banned. Further, in India everybody is well aware of their myths and any association with such myths always has an easy recall and an immediate understanding. Such deification might not go down well in modern India, but way back then; such instances were not seen as an act of sycophancy, but sheer need to communicate with the masses which was largely illiterate.

This is one of the best examples of how mythology served such an important function in our Independence movement, especially at the grass-root levels. India was a land of many languages and writing and translating articles in many languages to all sets of people was a herculean task when information dissemination was not a simple activity as it is today. In such a scenario, a single picture could do what thousand words couldn’t.

With this, here’s wishing all my readers a very happy Independence Day!!

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?

Tandava

Yesterday we read about Bharatanatyam.

Today we will read about another dance form that has a popular mythological association is that of the Tandava-nritya by Lord Shiva. During every dance performance, an idol of Nataraja always adorns the stage and as the name depicts, Lord Shiva is the King of all dance performances (nat – dance/performance and raja – king). In due course of time, the image of Nataraja has become the symbol of India.

There are different versions of the reason behind the dance form by Shiva. Some say that the form depicts the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction wherein Lord Shiva is on a destructive spree before Lord Brahma can begin his creation, also referred to as the ananda-tandava.

According to a legend, once a group of sages from a particular school of thought started neglecting the rituals and worship and tried to find ways of superseding the gods. To teach them a lesson, Lord Shiva walked into the hermitage in the form of a handsome youth while all of them were busy in their yagnas. The wives of the sages were so enamoured by the looks of Shiva that they gave up all decency and started following him. Seeing this, the sages were enraged and thought of teaching a lesson to the youth. Through their powers, they created a ferocious lion, who was skinned in minutes by Shiva and used the skin to adorn himself (some versions say that he had walked in the hermitage nude to lure the wives of the sages). The sages then created a serpent which raised its fangs and Shiva picked it up and flung it around his waist. The sages then created a demonic dwarf, named Apasamara, the demon of forgetfulness. To control it, Shiva started the tandava and soon alighted atop the dwarf and crushed it. Seeing the earth shake and everything tremble under the impact of the dance, the sages came back to their senses and fell at the feet of Shiva. This is supposed to have taken place in a hermitage near the present day Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, where stands the magnificent temple of Chidambaram, one of the few temples to worship Lord Shiva in the Nararaja form.

Some versions also say, that Shiva and Vishnu got together to teach the sages a lesson. Vishnu took the form of Mohini to distract the sages and Shiva took the form of the handsome youth. While the wives ran after the ascetic, the sages got distracted by the presence of the enchantress. But thereafter there is no role of Mohini in the myth, except to watch the celestial dance performance of Lord Shiva.

The temple of Chidambaram also has another interesting aspect of the tandava nritya. According to some legend, there was a dance-duel between Shiva and goddess Kali, who too was doing the cosmic dance of destruction. During the duel, Shiva raised his left foot towards the sky (urdhuva tandava) a definite mail posture, which could not be performed by a female. Kali blushed and accepted defeat and it is said that since then Kali has been relegated to another temple in the outskirts of the city of Chidambaram. This myth is depicted in one of the halls of the temple of Chidambaram.

The Nataraja is generally seen with Lord Shiva standing on his right leg with the left leg raised. But in a rare form, in one of the halls of the temple of Chidambaram, the lord is seen doing exactly the opposite. The legend associated with this is that one of the Pandya kings who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva learnt all the forms of the tandava. While learning he realized how tough the form was and he felt that the lord had been standing in the same form for too long which must be painful and tiring. So he went to the said hall and started praying to the lord to change his form and give his right leg some respite. When nothing happened he took his sword to cut off his head. Seeing this Lord Shiva is supposed to have agreed to change his posture and this is probably the only place where the Nataraja is seen standing on his left leg with his right leg raised!

The angry form of the dance form, or the raudra-tandava was performed when Lord Shiva learnt about the self-immolation of his wife, Sati. Lord Krishna too is supposed to have performed the ananda-tandava atop a serpent in the episode of Kaliya-daman (http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2011/12/two-stories-and-one-meaning.html ).

The philosophers decipher meanings from different aspect of the posture and the form of the dance. Every aspect has a hidden symbolism, which is not something I would delve on. The artistic form of the tandava dance and the myriad myths associated with the form is by itself very intriguing and I hope I have been able to bring out the very spirit of the tough dance form.

Two of my articles on Lord Shiva which were written on the occassion of Shivratri have been published in the following Website -

http://espiritokashi.wordpress.com/category/journal/

Mahashivratri - Part 2

Yesterday we read about the devotion of Kannappa Nayanar.

Another myth which gives an example of appeasing Lord Shiva with devotion is the myth of Kirti-mukha from the Linga Purana.

A kirti-mukha at the entrance of a temple in Nepal

Many of us would have noticed a gory gargoyle like face staring down at us from the walls of temples at the entrance, especially in the South Indian temple architecture. It represents an ugly, but ferocious face with eyes protruding, but still referred to as Kirti-mukha the ‘glorious-face’. In an otherwise ornate entrance, this stands out as a stark blotch. What is it and why is it so placed?

According to a myth, there was a ferocious demon by the name of Jalandhara who had wreaked havoc in all the worlds and had evil designs on Parvati, who he thought did not quite deserve Shiva for a husband. He sent his emissary, Rahu to Shiva to give up claim on Parvati for the sake of the mighty Jalandhara. As soon as Shiva heard the message, he got angry and in his rage a dangerous devouring being emerged from his eyebrows. This being was breathing fire and raging with terror. The sight put fear in the heart of Rahu and he begged Shiva to save him. Seeing this Shiva ordered the being to leave Rahu. But the being was created to devour Rahu and so was hungry and asked Shiva and his hunger had to be satiated and since he was the creator, he needed to resolve the same. Hearing this, Shiva simply said – “Go ahead and eat yourself”. No sooner had Shiva said this, that the being started eating himself starting from his feet, to body and then arms. Just when only the face was left, that Shiva stopped him and was so impressed with his devotion towards his creator, that Shiva blessed him and named him Kirti-mukha or the face of glory and gave it a place of honour on the ramparts of the temple.

The presence of Kirti-mukha can be interpreted in many different ways. It can be seen as a symbol of utmost devotion, where one does whatever the deity asks one to do, including killing oneself and the face is a reminder of such devotion. Installing it at the entrance is to remind one of the extremity of the devotion and if the one entering into the temple is willing to or capable of touching the extreme.

The other possible philosophical interpretation is the presence of un-reigned aggression and passion existing within each one of us and how this raging fire is all all-consuming one. How such fire can be the cause of one’s own destruction should be known to each one of us, who are seeking divine blessings (and help at times). The knowledge is key and the message is that the solution is within us, it’s just that we are not aware of it or have not accepted it hitherto.

Many have interpreted this as a reminder to keep ones evil thoughts outside the temple and keep one’s mind clean of such evil thoughts when one is seeking His blessings. This is the most common interpretation and many who do not know the genesis of the mukha could say that. Some even say that this has been a part of an adornment from the Vedic times and the authors of the Linga Purana simply wove a beautiful myth to reason out the odd part of the temple architecture.

What do you think?

Mahashivratri

Today is Mahashivratri, the day of Lord Shiva, one of the key members of the Holy Trinity from the Hindu pantheon. There are a number of myths associated with Shiva, but the common thread in all of them is his anger and the easy appeasement of Lord Shiva. Compared to the other gods, the worshipping of Lord Shiva is not very ritualistic and the focus is on devotion. Be it the singular minded focus of Sati or continuous meditation of Parvati or dogged perseverance of Ravana, Shiva is appeased only by devotion and by anybody. There are a number of myths associated with this aspect of Shiva, but I will take up some of the uncommon myths associated with this aspect of Lord Shiva.

The first among them is the story from the Periyar Purana, that of Kannappa Nayanar, , who is considered to the epitome of devotion in South India. Kannappa was born in a tribal family and was not well versed with the rituals of worshipping Lord Shiva, but that did not deter him from worshipping a shiva-linga regularly. Since he was a hunter by profession, his hands were always soiled by the blood of his kill, so he carried the water from a nearby river in his mouth and the flowers on his own head to offer to the shiva-linga. Thereafter he would offer the best part of the animal that he would have killed to the shiva-linga. His ignorance of the rituals and the method of the choice of the offerings would upset a local Brahmin who was ritualistic to no end. This went on for some time till the Brahmin sought divine intervention.   

So one day Lord Shiva asked the Brahmin to hide behind a tree and observe whatever happened the next day. Next day when Kannappa reached the temple, he found blood oozing out of one of the eyes drawn on the shiva-linga. He was very upset and started rubbing herbs that he thought would heal the wound, but this did not help. Kannappa immediately took out a knife and cut out his one eye and stuck it on the shiva-linga, and the blood stopped. Kannappa was thrilled and started dancing with joy. But then he noticed that the other eye had now started bleeding. Immediately Kannappa decided to give up his other eye too. But if he did so, he would turn blind and would not know where to stick the other eye. To avoid this, he put his toe on the spot of the bleeding eye on the shiva-linga and cut his other eye too. Seeing this Lord Shiva appeared and blessed him with gave him his eye-sight back and the Brahmin hung his head in shame.

This aspect of devotion can be seen as de-ritualizing the worship of Lord Shiva and making the deity more accessible to the common man and in some cases to the outcastes of the society. The people who were not educated, lived in the fringes of the society due to the caste-structure could also worship Lord Shiva, irrespective of the fact that they were meat-eaters or drank alcoholic drinks. Shiva was like one of them. The myth actually makes the Brahmin redundant. The genesis of this myth could lie in the fact that the hegemony of the Brahmin class could have made the gods virtually inaccessible to the common man. The notion that the way to god was through the doors of the Brahmin class only was causing concern to a set of worshippers who did not want to go through the mumbo-jumbo and such feelings could have given rise to such myths. The myth espouses pure devotion, devoid of any rituals.

This myth also introduces to a different form of iconography. In many parts of India, faces are drawn on the shiva-linga and the face usually denotes a virile face. Sometimes there is a face carved on the linga too. This shows that the worshippers were not content with the phallic look of the linga but wanted to associate a more virile and strong appearance on the symbol or rather a form to the formless.

Next time we will take another example of extreme devotion…..keep reading.

For more articles on Lord Shiva -

"Lord Shiva's Wedding Procession" 
http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2011/03/lord-shivas-wedding-procession.html

"Sharabha deva"
http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2010/12/sharabha-deva-form-of-lord-shiva.html

Devi Annapurna

This myth is in continuation to the game of dice being played by Shiva and Parvati. After Shiva was upset for losing everything to Parvati in betting during the game of dice, he was upset and left for the forests. Lord Vishnu intervened and made him agree to play the game again, wherein he won all that he had lost. Parvati got angry and accused him of cheating, which led to a verbal altercation. Lord Vishnu then appeared and reasoned out with both, that it was his wish that came out once the dice were thrown. It was all an illusion created by him which led to the delusion! We will take the myth from here.

The altercation between Shiva and Parvati, soon became a philosophical debate. At one point, Shiva reacted that everything in the world was maya, illusion, there was nothing in real. What you see exists like a mirage, not a reality. He goes on to say that everything including food is an illusion. Parvati is Mother Nature herself and the mother of all, felt insulted. She did not agree with this aspect of Shiva’s philosophy and to prove her point decided to leave and left in anger.

Parvati’s leaving created a chaos in the world. Life came to a standstill and there was no growth and generation. Man, animals all started perishing for want of food. Even the sages felt that salvation could not be achieved, if the body was not nourished. Seeing so much of sadness and anguish, Parvati was moved to tears. She could not see her children suffering. So she appeared in Kashi, Benaras (present day Varanasi), and opened a kitchen from where she started serving food to one and all.

On hearing this, Shiva ran to Parvati with his begging bowl and told her that he was wrong. Food was not an illusion and it was the only reality, if there was one. Parvati smiled and fed Shiva with her own hands. This form of Parvati came to be worshipped as Annapurna (anna means grains and food, purna meaning completeness) Devi.

In one of temples in Varanasi, it is said that the offerings is first fed to the devotees and the goddess is offered bhog or prasad only after all the devotees have been fed – this is in continuation with the underlying message that the goddess Annapurna feeds her children first.

In Gujarat, she is worshipped in Unjha as Umiya Mata. In one of the temples of Annapurna Devi in Cherukunnam, Kerala, every devotee is served food in the temple. As part of the practice, a small food packet is hung in one of the branches of a tree. This is to cater to the thieves who move around at night, even they should not go without food, after all, they too are children of the Goddess, slightly wayward, though! Close to Chikmagalur, Karnataka, in the temple of Annapurneshwari Devi (as she is known locally), all the devotees visiting the temple are provided breakfast, lunch and dinner and even shelter at night. In Bengal, Annapurna Devi has been eulogized in the poem Ananda Mangal, written by Bharatchandra Ray.

Annapurna Devi is worshipped across India. Food is critical to survive and without food, no amount of philosophy or debate or higher thinking can mean much, if the body does not receive nourishment. This myth elucidates this very basic aspect of life. Probably that is why in our religion, we do not observe a complete fast. Even during fasts, some nourishment is provided to the body in the form of milk, milk products, fruits, etc. to sustain and carry on with your faith and belief system. The body cannot and should not be deprived of the basic nourishment that it needs. The simple myth carries a very important message.