Hari Aum.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Om Sri Durgayai Namah.
Let us continue from the previous post on the Lila of Parvati and Shiva \as described in the ancient scripture known as the Shiva Purana.
Himavan bowed and agreed to Shiva's request to be left undisturbed to meditate. He returned home to his palace and stated that nobody was to disturb Shiva in the Himalayas. Only he and Parvati would be permitted to go there to serve Him.
Taking Parvati with him one day, Himavan went to meet Shiva. He explained that his daughter desired to serve Him, accompanied by two of her attendants, for example by providing food and water; this would earn them much spiritual merit, he declared!
Shiva then looked at Parvati whom, He noted, was the very personification of beauty. She clearly had the power to shake even the most austere sage out of his meditation!
He, therefore closed His eyes, and drew His consciousness firmly within. Then, addressing Her father, He declared that an ascetic's abode was certainly not a suitable place for a young woman! He told the mountain King that he was welcome to serve Him if he wished, but his daughter was not to be permitted anywhere near Him.
Hearing these words, King Himavan politely asked Lord Shiva the reason for His refusal to permit his daughter to serve Him. Was She unworthy of serving Him, he enquired. What was the reason for Shiva's refusal?
Shiva replied to the mountain King, stating that it was well-known amongst ascetics, that women were the source of all delusional attachment and misery! By contact with a woman, worldliness would grow, detachment would be destroyed and one's spiritual practices would be sullied! As an ascetic, a woman was of no use to Him at all. He definitely did not want Parvati anywhere near Him, He declared!
Hearing these emphatic words of Lord Shiva, the mountain King felt greatly dismayed and uncomfortable. He did not know what to say and fell silent.
Parvati, however, hearing these words of Shiva, replied in a clear voice. Telling Him that there were two principles in the universe, ever in union and inseparable, She asked Him what He was trying to achieve by His meditation.
Stating that He was Purusha (the abstract, nameless, formless universe devoid of all qualities), She declared that She was Prakriti (the created universe with names, forms and qualities). Beings with name and form, including Him (as the saguna Brahman, God with name and form), included Prakriti, and were inseparable from Her.
When this was the truth, how, She asked, did He imagine that He would be able to carry on meditation in separation from Her?
Shiva, amused and pleased by Her reply, declared that He was the abstract Brahman and was perfectly contented this way. He had no need for Prakriti, He stated. They continued their conversation for some time, speaking sweetly and persuasively to each other, but neither gave in! They remained firmly convinced by Their own views!
Finally, Shiva laughingly declared that She could come to serve Him if She wished this so greatly, but He would remain immovable, and immersed in the abstract consciousness within. (Note- in this conversation, Shiva describes Vedantic philosophy, while Parvati explains the principles of the Sankhya school of thought-- these are two key systems of yogic philosophy).
Accompanied by Her two attendants, Parvati visited Shiva daily as He meditated in the snowy Himalayas. She performed many rituals of worship including pujas and so on, sang devotional songs dedicated to Him and chanted His holy names. Shiva noted Her worship and told Himself that He would accept Her only when there was no trace of ego remaining in Her. She would need to perform significant spiritual penance for this, He thought.
(Note- the Gurus say that this worship of Shiva by Parvati is a very important metaphor for the worship of God/Paramatma by the individual soul/jivatma. We realise one oneness with God, when we give up our individual ego or sense of separation from Him/the universe).
Days and months passed and there was no sign of Shiva leaving His path of asceticism. There appeared to be no inclination towards Parvati nor any wish to marry Her.
The devas were greatly dismayed and distressed by this, as Tarakasura continued to cause suffering in the cosmos. When would Shiva and Parvati unite for the benefit of the universe and produce a son who would be their protector, they wondered!
Finally, in desperation, Indra, King of devas, summoned, Kama, the extraordinarily handsome demi-god of sensual desire. Kama arrived at Indra's court, accompanied by his exquisitely beautiful wife, Rati, who was the embodiment of sensual pleasure.
Kama, who had a very haughty temperament, told Indra that his power exceeded that of anyone else in the universe. He held a divine bow made of sugarcane and five arrows made of celestial flowers (each arrow represented one of the five senses). He was the origin of sensual desire between creatures in the universe.
Declaring that nobody could withstand his power, he told Indra not to be disconsolate-- he would solve the problem! He would create sensual desire in the mind of Shiva to make Him desire Parvati and marry Her! A child would be born in no time at all, he said reassuringly, and the monstrous asura would thereby be vanquished!
Indra, feeling cheered by the confident words of Kama, immediately instructed all the devas to assist the demi-god of desire and his wife, in their efforts. They were to visit Lord Shiva while Parvati was present and do the needful. There was no time to waste, declared the King of demi-gods!
Accordingly, Kamadeva hastened to the snowy abode of Lord Shiva and prepared to perform the work assigned to him! He began by unleashing the power of nature-- spring!
In the cold and lonely cave, celestial flowers of great beauty bloomed filling the air with wonderful scents. Beautiful birds appeared and began to sing sweetly, while bees buzzed with a pleasant humming sound.
Smiling at his enchanting wife, Rati, Kama prepared himself to shoot a flowery arrow to create passion in the mind of Shiva.
He was initially dismayed to see no chink in His armour—Shiva appeared to be completely cut off from the world. At that moment, Parvati appeared and Kama himself, was completely enchanted. As the Mother of the universe, She was so beautiful that no words could be found to describe Her.
As Parvati approached Shiva, filled with love and longing, He briefly emerged from His meditation. Kama was delighted, seeing a perfect opportunity and immediately struck Shiva with a flowery arrow of sensual desire.
Seeing Parvati of flawless beauty, Shiva now began to muse upon Her charming appearance. What an exquisitely beautiful, shapely form! What a marvellous creation! He reflected that She appeared to be absolutely perfect in every way-- she was the embodiment of all beauty in the entire universe!
Suddenly, He stopped Himself. Realising that He was feeling sensual desire, He reflected that this was quite extraordinary! There must be a reason for this occurrence! Looking around, He saw Kama holding his bow, having just released another arrow at Him!
Lord Shiva's face underwent a complete transformation at the sight of Kama. His serene, pleasantly smiling countenance was replaced by an expression of immense fury! From the space between His eyebrows, in the centre of His forehead, from the mystical 'third eye', a great flame suddenly issued forth!
This terrible fire engulfed the entire sky and covered everything, creating fear amongst all beings. In a state of terrible panic, the devas rushed to Shiva to placate Him. As they arrived, they saw the mystical fire converge upon Kama, whose body was instantly reduced to ashes.
Seeing this, Rati, the wife of Kama was plunged into grief which caused her to faint, while the demi-gods attempted to soothe and revive her. The devas lamented greatly at the fate of Kama and pleaded with Shiva to revive Him. They begged for forgiveness for attempting to destroy His meditation.
Hearing their pleas, Shiva declared that He was pleased with them and blessed them. Reassuring Rati, He said that she would be reunited with her husband in the future. During the avatar of Narayana as Krishna, Kama would be born as His son, Pradyumna. Rati would also take birth on Earth at the same time and events would unfold in such a way that they would again be husband and wife. Much relieved, the devas venerated Shiva and departed for their heavenly abode.
Shiva, having blessed them all, now suddenly disappeared. He had decided to meditate elsewhere in more tranquil surroundings!
Parvati, observing these dreadful events, had felt deeply distressed. One moment, it had seemed that Shiva was warming to Her, He had looked at Her with love and affection-- and then He had suddenly become furious, reduced Kama to ashes and vanished! She could not understand what the matter was!
She felt severe pain at the separation from Him and feeling greatly upset, returned home. When her father and family heard of the horrific events that had unfolded, they tried in many ways to soothe and console Her. However, She remained inconsolable with grief at what had occurred. Eating, sleeping, walking, talking-- there was no company, and no activity that could alleviate Her pain. The pain that had ensued as a result of the disappearance of Shiva.
Finally, after some time, Narada appeared. He consoled Parvati, telling Her that there was no doubt that She would be united with Shiva. However, the method was not beauty and sensuality, he said, but rather, it was spirituality.
She needed to perform tapas, severe tapas to please the Lord of yogis. There was no other way, he declared. If She performed this penance, the result was certain. This was the truth, and of this, there was not the slightest doubt.
Telling Her to abandon all ornaments and wealth, and all sensual pleasure, he advised Her to leave the palace and retire alone to the forests. There She should become the very embodiment of asceticism, the very form of sadhana. She should match Shiva in His tapas-- this and this alone was the way to reach Him.
Parvati, upon hearing these words, felt immeasurably relieved. She had found a way to reach Shiva. She knew that Purusha and Prakriti are always united everywhere in the universe-- this is the infallible truth of the yogis.
To be continued....
Om Sri Durgayai Namah.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
