Nandi Bull

Last time we read about Shiva as the Bull. But the best known bull is Lord Shiva’s vahana, the Nandi bull. A recent slip of my finger over my TV remote took me to a supposedly popular serial on Lord Shiva. One of the characters was being referred to as the Nandi bull and his only resemblance to the Lords vahana was a pair of stretched ears. The character depicted in the serial was nothing short of an apology of the mythical character, Nandi. This article is only set straight the record and an attempt to correct the sorry state of a majestic mythical character.

Unlike many vahanas of the prominent gods, Nandi is not just an appendage to the deity. Nandi is a character in its own right and has mythology attached to it. (Besides Nandi, Garuda, Lord Vishnu’s vahana is probably the only other vahana to share such distinction, if I may add). Different Puranas have mentioned about Nandi and a lot has been written about it. Though Nandi is depicted as a bull, many say that Nandi was a deity in his own right and was one of the door-keepers of Lord Shiva in his abode. He is also considered to be the chief gana (follower) of Lord Shiva and is the main disciple of Lord Shiva. Nandi in earlier times was imagined in the form and structure of Lord Shiva, except that he was bull faced. As an anthropomorphic deity, he had the body of a human, with four hands and a face of a bull. However, with time the human figure transformed into a permanent white bull.

                                                                             

A number of legends are associated with Nandi. Some say that Nandi was the son of a sage who got him by the grace of Lord Shiva, while some say that he was born out of Lord Shiva’s sides and later given to a sage, who brought him up. There is an interesting legend related to Nandi. Once when Shiva and Parvati were playing dice, Nandi was asked to arbitrate. However, Nandi declared Shiva as the winner during a dispute, when Parvati was the clear winner. This angered Parvati and she cursed him to suffer from a debilitating disease. Nandi is supposed to have made an emotional justification for his unflinching support to his Lord and the alleged bias was to be viewed as just another sign of his devotion to the Lord and nothing else! Parvati was moved by his explanation and suggested that during the next Chaturdashi if he offered what pleased him the most to Lord Ganesha, then he would be cured of his disease. It is said that on that day, Nandi offered green grass (the staple of a bull) to Ganesha and was soon cured of his disease. This act is considered to be the the genesis of the practice of offering ones choicest of foods on Chaturdashi to Lord Gannesha, whose other name is Ganapati, head of the ganas.

Another legend has it that during the amrit-manthan, it was Shiva who came forward to consume the poison (halahal) that came out of the churning of the ocean. While Shiva was drinking the poison, Nandi saw a few drops falling from his mouth. Lest the drops fall on earth, Nandi took them in his mouth. When everybody saw it and expressed their concern about Nandi’s drinking the poison, Shiva is supposed to have said, that nothing would happen to Nandi as he had all his powers and his protection. Today Nandi is found guarding all Shiva temples. In many south Indian temples, there is a custom of whispering ones wishes in the ears of the idol of Nandi, hoping that Nandi would carry it to his Lord.

The importance of Nandi can be found in the fact that in Bangalore, there is a temple which is entirely dedicated to Nandi. Situated in Basavanagudi, it has one of the largest idols of Nandi and according to a legend; the temple was built to appease a bull that would destroy all the groundnut crop of that area. The bull is supposed to have stopped doing the same after the temple was built and the villagers started holding a fair in its honour which is celebrated till date.

The worship of Nandi bull as an individual deity in its own right can be seen as a sign of the man’s dependence on cows and dairy culture as well as agriculture. A bull was a necessity both for agriculture as well as to ensure that the cow’s could be milked. Thus the significance of Nandi in the Indian pantheon cannot be undermined and projecting him as a perennially teary-eyed, sorry-faced figure, is – well, sad, to say the least!

Pics courtesy - Wikipedia 

Shiva – as a Bull

On the occasion of Shivratri, here is an interesting myth related to Lord Shiva and some of the most visited shrines of Shiva in the modern times. All of us are aware of Shiva’s vahana as the bull, better known as Nandi. But did you know that once Lord Shiva himself had to take the form of a bull as a disguise?

According the epic Mahabharata, Mb, Sage Vyasa had advised the Pandavas that they should seek pardon from Lord Shiva, since they were culpable of killing their own brothers and many more relatives during the war of Kurukshetra. On the advice, the Pandavas left in search of Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva was aware of this and was upset by the mass-murder that was about to be unleashed. He was also of the opinion that that the Pandavas would be guilty of this, and so to avoid meeting the Pandavas, who were seeking pardon, he took the form of a bull and went and into hiding amongst a herd of cattle.

The Pandavas seeking Shiva reached the herd but couldn’t identify Shiva from amongst the herd. On an advice from Narada Muni, Bhim took a gigantic form and spread his legs across two mountains, while the others kept pushing the cattle from under his legs. The idea was that all but Shiva would pass from under Bhim’s legs. When all the animals had passed through, Shiva in the form of a bull decided to sink into the ground below. Seeing this, Bhim tried to get hold of the bull by its hump and managed to stop Shiva from sinking under the ground.

Shiva pleased by the determination of the Pandavas, granted them salvation from their sins. A temple in the honour of Lord Shiva was built by the Pandavas, which is better known as Kedarnath temple and the hump that Bhim managed to hold on to is worshipped as a Shiva linga in the temple.

The other parts of the bull, gave birth to the other spots which came to be better known as Panch-kedar, which according to the Padma Purana are as follows –

Kedarnath – where the hump of the bull was held by Bhim

Maddhyameshvra – where the naval of the bull is worshiped

Tungnath – the hand or a limb of the bull is worshiped

Rudranath – the mouth of the bull is worshiped here

Kalpeshwar – the hair of the bulls head is worshiped here

In due course of time, the five temples which were supposed to have initially built by the Pandavas and then re-built successively are part of a pilgrimage and amongst the most visited temples of Lord Shiva. The temples stand testimony to the perseverance of the Pandavas and the initial reluctance of Lord Shiva who gives up on being followed.

Such myths abound in all the major pilgrimages associated with deities. They lend credence to the mass following and also become tall testimonies to faith and belief system of the masses.

Other articles on Lord Shiva –

This is Utkarsh Speaking: Mahashivratri 

 

This is Utkarsh Speaking: Mahashivratri - Part 2

This is Utkarsh Speaking: Sharabha Deva – A form of Lord Shiva 

This is Utkarsh Speaking: Lord Shiva's Wedding Procession 

 

Shakuntala – by Sage Vyasa

Shakuntala is one of childhoods most cherished and widely read romantic stories (or novels, depending on what one read). A sweet romance of a king who meets a damsel, express love, get married and part to return later. Enter an angry sage, who curses the lovely lady as a result of which the king forgets his lady love. Later Shakuntala goes to the court of the King, but loses the ring on the way, which finds itself inside a fish. The King is unable to remember his love, due to the curse of the angry sage, turns her away. The ring later finds its way to the King and he remembers everything and accepts Shakuntala and their child and all ends well.

Such a lovely story, which has its moments of love, separation, pathos and ends with ‘…..and they lived happily ever after’.

We get to read Shakuntala in two versions, first by Sage Vyasa in Mahabharata (Mb) and then later in the Sanskrit romance recreated by Kalidasa, in Abhigyana-Shakuntalam. The version mentioned above was a summary from Kalidasa’s version. Vyasa did not quite write the story this way. True to his nature, his Shakuntala was a smart, fire-brand woman, much like the later ladies of the epic Mb. It is important to understand Vyasa’s Shakuntala, as she happens to be the first major female character of Mb.

Vishwamitra and Menaka

Shakuntala was the daughter of Sage Vishwamitra and apsara Menaka. Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya, who had undertaken severe penance to become a sage and Menaka was sent by Lord Indra, to disturb his penance, by seducing him. Post seduction, Menaka gave birth to a baby, but both Menaka and Vishwamitra deserted the baby, who was a symbol of victory for Menaka, and that of defeat for Vishwamitra. It is said that Sage Kanva found the deserted baby under the care of peacocks, and thus named her Shakunta-lalita, ‘shakunta’ meaning peacock and ‘lalita’ meaning in the loving care of, which was later shortened to Shakuntala.

Shakuntala was brought up by Sage Kanva, in his ashram, and soon grew up to be a beautiful lady with the looks of her mother, Menaka. Once Dushyant, the prince of Hastinapur came to the ashram to meet Sage Kanva and was immediately smitten by Shakuntala’s beauty. When he came to know that the Sage was away on a pilgrimage with some other sages and would return only after a few days, he expressed his desire to marry Shakuntala. The lady suggested that they wait for her foster-father’s arrival, but Dushyant expressed his inability to wait and suggested the option of gandharva-vivaha (a custom where the elders were not required as long as the two had decided to get married). At this, Shakuntala agreed with a condition, that the child born of her would be the heir to the kingdom of Hastinapur. Dhushyant agreed and the two got married and after consummating the marriage, Dushyant left without bothering to wait for Sage Kanva’s return. He left with a promise that he would send for her soon.

Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta

When Sage Kanva returned, he was apprised of the wedding. Soon Shakuntala gave birth to a son, who was named Sarvadaman, the subduer of all. When after twelve years there was no sign of Dushyant, despite the numerous missives sent by Shakuntala, Sage Kanva suggested that Sarvadaman be taken to the King as it was time for him to learn the ways of a Kshatriya. When Shakuntala and Sarvadaman reached the palace of Dushyanta, and introduced themselves to him, he had no recollection of any marriage.

There follows an extensive dialogue, where Shakuntala stands her ground. Dushyanta makes some derogatory remarks about her and Shakuntala retorts back that her only objective was to get her son the rightful place and not to lead the life of luxury. She reminds him of the true role of a king and how his acts would leave a wrong impression on his subjects. Her speech impresses the courtiers. To cut short the story, after a strong dialogue between the two, where Shakuntala berates the King and looks down on him as a King, the gods from the heavens intervened and came to the rescue of Shakuntala and assured Dushyant about the truth of the wedding. Dushyant then accepted both and it is said that Dushyant is supposed to have told Shakuntala that he had recognised her immediately, but did not give in as his subjects would not have been able to accept her so easily. The approval from the gods had made things easy and better.

Some interesting observations.

According to the Vysya’s version, Shakuntala was brought up with the full knowledge of the fact that she was deserted by her parents at birth. Her agreement to Dushyant’s proposal did not need parental approval, she took her own decision. She even made a condition, which goes on to show that she wanted to ensure that her child was not neglected as she was once and got his rightful due. At the court of Dushyant, she is not seen fighting for her right, but for the right of her son, as is evident in the elaborate speech, which has the courtier’s spell-bound and at one stage they begin to believe her. She is depicted as an extremely confident and determined woman, out to get justice without breaking down.

Kalidasa used the angle of the curse and the lost ring to justify the ‘forgetfulness’ of Dushyant, while Vyasa simply went ahead and exposed Dushyant’s lustful rendezvous. Vyasa’s Shakuntala was not the damsel in distress shedding copious tears. She fought for her right and got her way, and did not succumb to the man, irrespective of his position and stature. She was amongst the first women in Mb, who fights for her rights in a man’s world and gets her due.

Just why did the nature of Shakuntala undergo such a drastic change from the fiery to the abalaa-naari? Does this also show the change in the perception of people? The status of women in the Vedic times was much elevated as evident in many of the leading ladies of Mb, who were in a position of some authority like Shakuntala, Satyavati, Kunti, etc. But by the Puranic times, her position had fallen and she became more of an appendage or a mere shadow of man.  

While Kalidasa’s Shakuntala made good romantic, fairy-tale tear-jerker, Vyasa’s Shakuntala was more heroic and what a modern woman should be. The fire-brand version envisioned by Vyasa gives way to the tragic distressed woman of Kalidasa and unfortunately, the image has stuck on.

On this International Women’s Day, I hope the status of women is restored to the Vedic standards where we have seen the likes of Shakuntala who fought for her right and set the record straight with none less than a King.

Do I hear ‘Amen’???

The above paintings are from Raja Ravi Varma’s series titled Shakuntala sourced from Internet.

King Muchukunda – Indian Rip Van Winkle

Statue of Rip Van Winkle in Irvington, NY

As children all of us have read or heard about Rip Van Winkle. Rip Van Winkle is a short story, written by Washington Irving in 1819. The story is based during the years before and after the American War of Revolution. Rip Van was of Dutch origin and well-known in his village. Once to avoid his wife’s constant nagging about his laziness, he went to the mountains, and due to some strange turn of events, fell asleep for twenty years. When he woke up, he was an old man, and the village had changed and so had all the people.

Let me tell you about a Rip Van Winkle from Hindu mythology.

King Muchukunda was born in the Ikshvaku dynasty, also known as the Suryavamsha. Some of the well-known kings of this dynasty were the likes of Raja Harishchandra and Lord Ram. Once the gods were having a tough time with the demons and were losing all the battles. The gods approached King Muchukunda to bail them out till Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva was ready to take up the leadership. Muchukunda fought the demons for many years without rest. Later, Lord Indra approached him and asked him to ask for a boon for the services rendered by him. Muchukunda was so tired that he asked for the boon of sleep and whosoever woke him up, should be burnt to ashes.

Having received the boon from Indra, Muchukunda, went down to earth and found himself a cave and went off to sleep. According to the epic Mahabharata, ages later, during the times of Lord Krishna, there was a warrior by the name of Kalayavan who was undefeated in battles due to a boon he had received by the gods. It was foretold that Krishna would be the cause of his death, but in his arrogance, he did not heed it. He waged a war on Mathura and decided to face Krishna in a battle. When the two armies came face to face, Krishna started walking off the battle field.

Kalayavan followed him from the field, till he saw Krishna entering into a cave. Krishna found the sleeping Muchukunda, and spread his upper garment on him and hid himself. When Kalayavan entered the dark cave, he could not see anything, and when he noticed Krishna’s garment. He tugged on to it and woke up Muchukunda. As soon as Muchukunda, opened his eyes, Kalayavan was reduced to ashes, thus bringing an end to the terror he had unleashed.

Painting - Vishnu appears to Muchukunda in the cave

Muchukunda then saw Krishna and immediately realised that this was none other than Lord Vishnu. When Muchukunda came out of the cave, he noticed that it had indeed been a long time since he was sleeping and he found that men had become a lot shorter since his time. He realised that he was a misfit in the world, so on the advice of Krishna, he went towards the North to the Gandamadana Mountains to do penance to attain moksha.

King Muchukunda was supposed to be a king from South. The Muchukunda river, today better known as the Musi flows as a tributary of the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh.

Strange coincidences, sans the element of time, between the two stories of Rip Van Winkle and King Muchukunda, right?

Pics courtesy - Wikipedia