A tiff between the couple

 

 

 

 

 

A tiff between the couple

 

        Once Lord Shiv and Goddess! Parvati were sitting at Mount Kailash.  Lord Shiv was in a playful mood. He looked at her and teased her “O! skinny Parvati when you, with a dark complexioned body embrace my fair body which is as fair as sandal, it appears that a serpent is wrapped around a sandal tree.  As on the new moon, moon light is devoured by the darkness so does your darkness shrouds my fair ness.”  Goddess Parvati who was reeling in joy in the embrace of Lord Shiv, was shocked to hear him utter such words.  She quickly drew herself away.  Her eyes turned red and her eyebrows quivered in anger and she threw a fierce glance at Lord Shiv and said,-“O! Wearer of ornament of moon, everyone in this world reaps the reward of ones own follies and deeds.  A selfish person is inevitably disgraced by others.  I underwent long penance to have you as my husband and the reward of such penance is that at every step..now, I am being disgraced by you.  O! Wearer of mated locks, Shankar! I am neither cunning nor an odd man out.  Rather it is you who is well known as being endowed with poison and blemishes.  God Surya is the witness of this all.  You are blaming me and causing headache to me. If you call me Krishna i.e. dark complexioned, then you too, are known as Mahakal i.e. Usurper and Destroyer of all. It is better that I go back to the Tapasya rather than receiving such insults from a sly husband like you.”  Seeing her fury and emotional outburst Lord Shiv suddenly turned affectionate and changed his demeanour. He gently said O! Daughter of Himvant! I am not all out to condemn and demean you.  I have only praised you out of love. I just narrated as how you got your this unique mind.  Why do you feel so perturbed?  If you are so angry then I will never say so, even in a lighter vein. Give up anger please. I bow before you with folded hands.”  Thus, Lord Shiv tried to appease Goddess Parvati in various ways but she had been so hurt that she remained inconsolable. Her heart kept on searing in anguish.  She jerked the hands of Lord Shiv away, let loose her hair and forcibly went away from him. Lord Shiv also felt hurt and said,- “You are indeed exactly like your father. As the sky scrapping peaks of King Himvant tend to shroud the sky, so is your heart…. so cruel and so callous.  Your nature resembles impenetrableness of a thick forest. Your gait is as winding…. as scathing as the rowdy internal paths in the mountains. Your association is as chilling as snow.  O! Skinny Parvati!  All these qualities you have inherited from your father alone.”  Hearing such harsh and humiliating words, Goddess Parvati began to fume in rage.  She fretted, “Lord Shiv! Listen, don’t see blemishes in gracious people. Better mind your own qualities you have inherited from your companions. You are as cunning as serpents, as dry as ash, as dark hearted as moon and as moron as a bull.   What is the use of narrating your own qualities?  It is sheer misuse of speech.  Having lived in cremation ground you have just become free from all bondages. Being in the habit of roaming around naked, you have no shame.  Being a wearer of garland of skulls, you have no affection. There is not an iota of sensitivity in you….”  She went on condemning husband Shiv in various ways and seeing the unending battle of words between them, the Ganas of Lord Shiv began to wail.

“Mother! Why are you deserting us?”Cried in a hoarse voice  Veerak whom Goddess Parvati adored as her son, clasped her feet as she began to go away.  “Mother, what has happened? Why are you leaving us all, in anger?  I will also follow you. If you did not allow me to come with you, I will jump off the mountain and end my life….”  Wailed the folk of Lord Shiv.  Goddess Parvati consoled  Veerak and said,-“Son! Do not grieve, you need not come with me or jump off the mountains. I am going away with a purpose. Listen, even though I do not deserve disgrace, Lord Shankar has disgraced me by calling me Krishna; I will therefore, undergo penance and turn into a fair one.  Since I am leaving… you should guard this place well.. lest Shankar should fall for some other woman. Take care that no other woman should enter my home.  As soon as you spot a woman here inform me I will take care of her myself.”  While hurrying up to go into the solitude of mountains to meditate, she instructed her faithful servitor. “All right mother, I will surely do so…..” Convinced filial Veerak.

 

        Goddess Parvati reached at Mount Himalayas. She gave up her ornaments and silken attire and sat down for meditation.

 No being however altruistic can exist in the creation without tasting enmity. It was so with nonchalant Lord Shiv too. He had killed one daitya named Andhak in the past. The son of Andhak named Aarhi wished to give Lord Shiv a tough fight and looked for an opportunity to settle score with him. As soon as Aarhi learnt that Goddess Parvati had left for her parental abode to undergo penance and Lord Shiv was left alone at Mount Kailash, he began to hatch a conspiracy. The spirit of revenge had driven him to undergo hard penance and obtain a boon from Lord Brahma to be immortal and only die when he assumed any other form of his choice any time. With such weapon and armour at hand, he found an opportune moment to take Lord Shiv to task for everyone knows that Lord Shiv is as good as Shav i.e. a corpse, when he is deprived of association of Goddess Parvati. Driven by revenge, the daitya assumed the form of a serpent and crawled around innocuous Lord Shiv. As none noticed his hidden intent, he crawled to the cave of Lord and in a moment assumed the form of Goddess Parvati. When Lord Shiv entered his cave, he was a bit amazed to found his wife in front of him. It was not in the nature of Goddess Parvati to leave a task unfinished once she had made up her mind to attain. Finding her there, Lord Shiv got alarmed. However, as a gesture of caring husband he embraced her and said,-“Girije(daughter of the mountains)! You appear to be in good mood now. You have come back knowing fully well that my world turns lifeless when you go away…” The feeling of his guileless heart found a spontaneous expression.

Aarhi looked exceptionally officious and repentant as he said with a smile sporting at his lips,-“O My darling husband! I failed to focus in meditation. So, am I back to you.” Lord Shiv could not believe his ears. Never had he seen Goddess Parvati melting down to such humility and changing her mind so quickly that too, when Lord Shiv had made no attempt to persuade her or to bring her back to him by sending his messengers. How she loved and honoured her prestige in nuptial relation, was well know to him.

“You had left this place in a fury with a purpose. Penance was all, you had sat your mind on. By nature you are so stubborn that none can mould you.  How can you come back without attaining your goal? It is indeed strange….” He said with doubt. Aarhi did not bother to respond to such suspicion filled mind of Lord Shiv and went on attempting to comfort and caress Lord Shiv which was all the way and even more strange to digest for a mellowed husband such as Lord Shiv. In the moments of intimacy once he had tattooed a lotus flower on her figure. As they got intimate Lord Shiv found that the lotus was nowhere there all over the body of this Parvati. This missing link turned his suspicion into confirmation that the figure sitting in his lap was an impostor of his wife. He realized that a daitya had taken him for a ride by applying his illusory powers. Without letting him know about his identity having been revealed, Lord Shiv also used his subtle power. He aimed his invisible astral weapon, into the loins of Aarhi and ended him in a moment. Even the ganas of Lord Shiv standing guard at the entrance of the cave could not sense that the drama on going inside, had ended in the termination of life of a deadly demon. Poor Veerak who stood at the end of the cave watchfully guarded the entrance as instructed by Mother Parvati. He too, was unaware that a serpent had crawled in and assumed the form of Mother Parvati to take Lord Shiv for a ride. However, when Lord Pawan i.e.  God of wind saw a prettly lady lying dead in the premises of abode of Mother Parvati,  was taken aback. He flew to mount Himalaya where Goddess Parvati was seated in meditation to apprise her of the shocking incident. As soon as Goddess Parvati got the news, she began to seethe in rage. The memories of insulting speech hurled by husband Shiv had not yet dimmed in her mind. She was inwardly moved to imagine that in her absence some other lady had entered her private chamber. This news added deeper insult to her injured heart and she could not wait to think and learn the event by applying her wisdom and powers. The subtle missile of her anger spontaneously aimed at innocent Veerak whom she had entrusted the task of standing guard at the entrance of her abode to ensure that other female should attempt to attract her husband. Without giving a thought, she mentally cursed Veerak,-“Veerak! You allowed a woman to move near Shankar. You shall be born to a mother who will be dry of affection to you and rude.”

 Her roaring anger turned into a lion and she quickly mounted it. Just then Lord Brahma also appeared in front of her to bestow a boon as fruition of her hard penance.” Daughter! Stop doing this hard penance now. I am pleased with you. Seek any boon.” Said Lord Brahma.

 “Lord! I found Lord Shiv as my husband after sever penance. Yet, he keeps hurting and insulting me by calling me Krishna as I am dark complexioned. If you are pleased with my penance, then please make me as fair as gold. I long to be the eternal counterpart of my husband.” Goddess Parvati expressed her wish. Lord Brahma smiled and said,-‘Surely, Be it so. You will be the eternal soul mate of Lord Shiv.” Blessed and jubilant at her achievement, Goddess Parvati put on the best of her attire and ornaments and appeared at the entrance of her nuptial abode. Veerak who diligently stood there as duty bound and committed as a mountain, could not recognize her. As she began to enter, he stopped her and said,-“O lady. You have no business here.” Goddess Parvati was shocked. How could her servant who she treated as her son behave so rudely with her? Possibly he failed to recognize her as she had undergone a major transformation and became a new Goddess, matchless in beauty and grace. This elated her. But soon the fear that presence of another lady may have driven Shiv to not allow her there also sent a shiver down her heart. “Why?” her protest formed a single word.

“One daitya disguised as Mother Parvati had entered here. Lord Shiv has sent him to abode of Lord Yamraj,i.e. God of death”. Veerak, who had been instructed by Lord Shiv to be especially careful about anyone entering there, revealed the message of his master in the simplest words. His stubborn compliance of instructions of Lord Shiv seemed unbelievable to her. Repentance sprouted in her heart.

 “Veerak! I am your mother Parvati. Do not doubt me.’ Veerak was   taken aback. How could he fail in recognizing her mother?

“Veerak! Hearing from God Pawan that you let a woman in,I cursed you that you will be born to a mother who will be rude and cruel. I can’t take it back but….. I promise, you shall soon join us back after going through the curse only for a short while.”

 Veerak was overwhelmed. The surprising saga of having received a curse for no apparent fault of his own, chilled him. His grief knew no bounds to learn that he had to go away from his divine parents at mount Kailash. Yet the immediate lease offered my Mother relieved him that he had not to undergo long separation from them.’ Mother! I salute you. Lord Shiv can never accept any other woman then you. He is the greatest of yogis and the chastest. No temptation can swerve him. He rejoices only in Samadhi or in your association. The way he honours you… no husband can honour his wife…” Veerak went on showering words of praise of his Lord to drench the fire of anger and repentance engulfing Goddess Parvati. Parvati was reduced to a flowing stream of reverence for her husband that longed to merge with the oceanic love of Lord Shiv. Lord Shiv smiled to see her wife back to him with even more glittering grace and charm. The couple rejoiced and celebrated their union. As all Gods learnt that Mother Parvati had joined Lord Shiv back, they all rushed to have a glimpse of renewed look of Divine Mother in association with Lord Shiv. Esurient deities stood at the entrance of the holy cave. An alert Veerak however disappointed them all. “Lords! My parents are together after a long period of separation. Spare them, please.” His peremptory message turned the divine folk away.