1 The Legend of Lord Shiva BOOK 1 The Story Of Lord Shiva’s Marriage With Parvati: (Based entirely on Goswami Tulsidas’ classics: “Ram Charit Manas” & “Parvati Mangal”.) **##** Full Original Text, Roman Transliteration & A detailed English exposition with elaborate notes. Authored in English by:-- Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia Ayodhya (Faizabad, U.P.) Full address of Author—36-A, Rajghat Colony, Parikrama Marg, P.O.—Ayodhya, Pin—224123 Distt.—Faizabad, U.P. India. Mobile: +919451290400, +919935613060 Website: < www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com > Email of Author: (i) < [email protected] > (ii) < [email protected] > Facebook ID < www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 > Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchharia Google+: www.google.com#AjaiKumarChhawchharia Twitter < www.Twitter.com@AjaiChhawcharia > © By Author—All rights reserved by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission of the author-Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia. ** * 2 NOTE: This Book is also available at:-- (1) www.amazon.com in its Kindle version. (2) www.createspace.com in a Print edition. Language: English. CONTENTS Preface—Page: 3 Introduction—Page: 6 Chapter 1: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand—Page: 10 Chapter 2: Ram Charit Manas, Uttar Kand—Page: 242 Chapter 3: Parvati Mangal—Page: 248 A final humble word from the author—Page: 309 ------------*********---------- 3 The Legend of Lord Shiva BOOK 1 The Story Of Lord Shiva’s Marriage With Parvati: (Based entirely on Goswami Tulsidas’ classics: “Ram Charit Manas” & “Parvati Mangal”.) PREFACE This story of ours describes the legendary marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati, also known as Uma as well as Bhavaani. This book is based entirely on two classics of Goswami Tulsidas—viz. (i) Ram Charit Manas, and (ii) Parvati Mangal. Lord Shiva is the greatest of all the Gods in the pantheon. Hence, he is honoured by the title of “Maha-Deva”: ‘Maha’ means ‘great’, and ‘Deva’ means a God. He is a patron deity of ascetics, and even amongst the Gods he is revered as a great ascetic and the most enlightened One. He spends his time in meditation and contemplation, repeating the holy name of Lord Ram who is his chosen and beloved deity whom he reveres more than anyone else. Lord Shiva is detached from and disinterested in all the material things of this gross creation, its countless temptations, material comforts and pleasures of the sense organs, choosing instead to live in seclusion in the serene recesses of the snow- covered mountains of Mt. Kailash which he has made his home on earth. Being a God who has renounced everything of pleasure and comfort, being an ascetic who spends his time in meditation and contemplation, it is natural to wonder why he decided to “marry”! This story of Lord Shiva’s marriage with Parvati as we shall read in this book answers this precise question. It is a narration culled entirely from Goswami Tulsidas’ epic classic known as the “Ram Charit Manas” that describes the divine story of the time, the life and the deeds of Lord Ram who was an incarnation of the Supreme Lord in a human form. This book “Ram Charit Manas” has no parallel in the world of literature with regard to the beauty and magnificence of its poetry, as well as for the immensity and depth of its devotional message, and for the fountain of spiritual and metaphysical knowledge that it contains. The story of Lord Shiva’s marriage is included in Ram Charit Manas’ first Canto known as “Baal Kand”, from its Doha no. 47—to Doha no. 103. [A “Doha” is one of the many styles in which poetical verses are composed in Hindi, the language in which the original text is written. The other styles employed by its author, Tulsidas, are known as “Chaupai”, “Chanda” and “Sortha”.] The divine story of Lord Ram was first conceived in the heart of Lord Shiva who was its first narrator. Tulsidas wished to acknowledge this fact as well as express his respect to Lord Shiva and pay his obeisance to him. So he decided to narrate the divine story of Lord Shiva before he commenced on the narration of the main text of the book “Ram Charit Manas”. 4 Now, why did Tulsidas choose to describe Shiva’s marriage instead of any other thing related to the Lord? Well, the answer is this: Shiva had no intention of marrying for he had declared his intention to live a life of an ascetic. But it so happened that a demon named Tarkaasur was born, and the creator Brahma had prophesized that he can be eliminated or killed only by a son born to Lord Shiva. How will this be possible if Shiva remains submerged in meditation and remain aloof from this world? After all, how is it possible to have a son of Shiva who would eliminate the scourge of the demon if Shiva does not marry? So it was devised by the gods that Shiva gets married. In order to overcome his resistance and possibly flatly saying ‘no’, the supreme God, i.e. Lord Ram, himself requested Shiva to do so. Hence, this answers the question: why Shiva married? As for the question: why did Tulsidas wrote about Shiva’s marriage when the main theme of his book “Ram Charit Manas” was the narration of the life and times of his revered Lord Ram, there are two important reasons—(i) It was Lord Shiva who had first conceived and narrated the divine story of Lord Ram, and Tulsidas wished to pay his respects to Lord Shiva before he starts writing on Lord Ram; and (ii) To explain why the Supreme Being who is supposed to remain aloof from the world had to get entangled in it in order to meet certain contingencies. In the case of Lord Shiva, it was the necessity to marry so that he can have a son who would kill the demon Tarkaasur, and in the case of Lord Ram it was the tyranny unleashed in the world by the demon race led by their king Ravana who had to be eliminated that the Lord had to come to earth as a human being, marry and go thorough all the travails of worldly life. Had Lord Ram not married Sita, it would not have been possible for the Lord to kill Ravana because there would have been no chance of Ravana kidnapping her and giving an excuse to the Lord to come and kill him. Similarly, had Lord Shiva not married Parvati, there would not have been a son born to them, and hence there would have been no one who could eliminate the demon Tarkaasur. This clearly draws a parallel between why Lord Shiva married and why Lord Ram had to marry. And this also explains why Tulsidas included this story of Lord Shiva’s marriage in his epic narration of Ram Charit Manas. One another reason for Tulsidas incorporating this story of Shiva’s marriage in a book basically dedicated to Lord Ram is this: Tulsidas wished to pay his obeisance to Lord Shiva whom even Lord Ram had himself praised and held in the highest esteem. Since the marriage of Lord Ram has been narrated in great detail in Baal Kand of Ram Charit Manas, covering nearly the full second half of this Canto, Tulsidas thought it prudent to first narrate the marriage of Lord Shiva as a token gesture of showing respect to the ‘Great God of all the gods’ to invoke the Lord’s blessings and grace before the actual narration of the story of Lord Ram begins later on in Baal Kand. It ought to be noted here that ‘Ram Charit Manas’ by Tulsidas is the only book describing the holy life and deeds of Lord Ram, popularly known as the “Ramayan”, that contains the story of Lord Shiva’s marriage. No other version of the Ramayan incorporates it. So, let us now start with the narration of this great story, “The Story of the Marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati”. Our Book has three chapters as follows— 5 (i) Chapter 1 is entirely based on Tulsidas’ well-known and most respected classic “Ram Charit Manas”, and quotes the entire text relevant to the subject. In this Chapter no. 1 we shall read the story of Lord Shiva’s marriage with Parvati as it is narrated in Baal Kand (or Canto 1) of the aforesaid book. It describes the story in great detail, including the previous life of Parvati when she was known as Sati, the reason why Shiva abandoned her, how Sati died and took a rebirth as Parvati, her determination to marry Shiva and doing a severe Tapa (penance) for this purpose, how Shiva, who had renounced everything after the death of Sati and engrossed himself in deep meditation, was prevailed upon by the gods to remarry her in her new birth as Parvati, why was this necessary, and then the book goes on to describe the fascinating details of the marriage itself. (ii) Chapter 2 meanwhile is also based in Ram Charit Manas, but it describes the period of time in Shiva’s life between the death of his consort Sati and her remarrying the Lord in her next birth as Parvati. This part of the narrative is culled from the aforementioned Uttar Kand (or Canto 7). (iii) Chapter 3 presents one of the other books written by Tulsidas that is entirely dedicated to the theme of Lord Shiva’s marriage, and it is called “Parvati Mangal”. The entire text of Parvati Mangal is included in our present book. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Sri Somil Bharti of Vrindavan who has kindly done the Roman Transliteration of the verses for me. I most humbly and prayerfully submit my efforts at the feet of my beloved and dearest Lord, Sri Ram, whom I love and adore with each pore of my existence. By writing on Lord Shiva I kind of follow on the footsteps of the great saint Tulsidas who also wrote on Lord Shiva as a means to pay his respect to the Supreme Lord of the World who has many names but one universal form. Date—18th November, 2015. Place: Ayodhya. Prepared and presented by: Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia: Website: < www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com > Email of Author: (i) < [email protected] > (ii) < [email protected] > Facebook ID < www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 > Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchharia Google+: www.google.com#AjaiKumarChhawchharia Twitter < www.Twitter.com@AjaiChhawcharia > -------------********----------- 6 The Legend of Lord Shiva BOOK 1 The Story Of Lord Shiva’s Marriage With Parvati: (Based entirely on Goswami Tulsidas’ classics: “Ram Charit Manas” & “Parvati Mangal”.) INTRODUCTION A brief outline of the story of Lord Shiva’ marriage with Parvati Once upon a time, Lord Shiva, the Lord of the entire creation (‘Akhileshwar’) went to sage Kumbhaj; he was accompanied by his wife, Bhavani, the Mother Goddess, who was also known as Sati, the pure one. The sage narrated Lord Ram’s divine story as he usually used to do at his hermitage. This filled Shiva with immense joy and made him feel ecstatic. On the request of the sage, Lord Shiva described Lord Ram’s ‘Bhakti’ (devotion) for the sage. After staying for a long time at the sage’s hermitage and enjoying the nectar of Lord Ram’s devotion as it poured out of constant discourses and discussions, Lord Shiva finally started on his way back to his own abode. Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu had incarnated as Lord Ram with a divine mandate to eliminate the cruel demons from earth, and at the time Shiva was on his way to his abode, Lord Ram was wandering in the Dandak forest searching for his abducted wife Sita who had earlier been taken away by the demon king Ravana. When Shiva saw his revered Lord Ram in the forest as he was passing overhead in the sky, he (Shiva) saw it as a rare opportunity to have a close-up vision of the Lord while he was alone in the forest in the guise of a hermit. Shiva could not resist the urge to smile and bow before his beloved Lord, Sri Ram, before moving ahead. But his wife Sati could not fathom the mystery of her enlightened husband, Shiva, bowing with great respect and getting his eyes filled with tears of love and affection for a prince grieving and searching for his lost wife. Though Shiva told her who this prince actually was, and that his searching for Sita was a well-thought out plan so that the demons are not warned that Lord Vishnu has arrived to kill them and that Sita was no one else but Laxmi, Vishnu’s eternal divine consort—because if the demons came to know the secret they would either escape or surrender before the Lord, and the Lord being merciful would be morally bound to forgive them. The whole purpose of Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as Ram would be nullified in this case. But Sati was so overcome with delusions that she would not listen. Such is the power of being stubborn and not paying heed to the advice of the wise ones. She doubted Shiva’s version and wisdom, wandering how it is ever possible for the Supreme Being to behave the way Ram was behaving. Wouldn’t it be expected from 7 the Supreme Being, whom her husband Shiva claims Ram to be, to know who had abducted his wife Sita, and to make matter worse he is not expected to wail and lament like an ordinary helpless man the way Ram was doing. So she wanted to test the veracity of Shiva’s statement. Shiva decided that this doubt in her mind is like cancer and it would be ruinous for her spiritual well-being, and therefore it is better to nip the bud at the earliest. So he gave her permission, but with a caveat to be careful and remain within limits of righteousness. Sati’s intellect and wisdom had been eclipsed by Maya (delusions), so she could not think properly. She disguised herself as Sita and stood on the way in the direction Lord Ram was moving ahead in the forest, in the hope that the Lord would not recognize her and think that he has found Sita. This would prove to her that Ram did not know anything, and he was like an ordinary man. When Lord Ram saw her on the path, the Lord paid his respects to her and asked politely where her husband Lord Shiva was, and what was she doing alone in this dense forest. She should better go back to her husband and say his respects to him. Sati was stunned and completely taken aback. Sati regretted her misdemeanors and her foolishness. She came back to where Shiva was meditating under a tree while she was gone. Shiva knew everything that was enacted by Sati, and he was very peeved that she had taken the form of Sita, the revered wife of Lord Ram whom Lord Shiva worships as his God. For Shiva, Sita was like his mother, and to imagine that his wife would assume the form of his mother was too much for Shiva to digest. He decided that now onwards he will have nothing to do with Sati in this body—because she had assumed the form of Sita. So Lord Shiva went quietly back to his abode at Mt. Kailash, without talking to Sati any further, and immersed himself in deep meditation on Lord Ram. Eighty- seven Samvats (centuries) passed. When Shiva woke up from his meditative trance, Sati came to offer her respects to him, but Shiva gave her a seat in the front of him instead of by his side as he usually used to do on earlier occasions. Shiva had mentally abandoned Sati, but since she was immaculate otherwise he did not physically left her. This seating alarmed Sati, and inspite of her repeated requests Shiva did not divulge the reason. Sati was very sad, and she knew that without Shiva’s love her life was meaningless. Meanwhile, her father, Dakshaprajapti, held a fire sacrifice, and he invited all the Gods to attend it, except Shiva with whom he nurtured some ill-will. When Sati saw the Gods going through the sky in their decorated chariots, she asked Shiva the reason. The Lord told her everything. Sati then insisted that she be allowed to go to attend her father’s fire sacrifice. Shiva told her that since he was not invited by Daksha, it will not be in order for her to go there as it would invite scorn and insult. Showing her stubborn nature for the second time, she insisted that she will go. So Shiva thought that it is the proper time to get rid of Sati in the physical form also as she had become too arrogant and there was no hope of ever rectifying her. He allowed her to go. At her father’s place, things became nasty. She was neither welcome nor would anyone show any respect to her. Like Shiva had predicted, she was ridiculed and made into a laughing stock. The things came to a head when she discovered that during the actual rituals of the sacrifice, no offering was being made to Shiva who was supposed to the ‘Maha-Deva’, the Great God. She found that all the other Gods, even the most inconsequential minor ones, were proudly accepting gifts and sneering at her! 8 Angry and humiliated beyond measure, she jumped into the blazing fire to end her life, declaring her eternal love for Shiva and vowing to be with him in her next life. When Shiva came to know of the entire episode, he became angry too, and sent his devotee Virbhadra to take revenge with Daksha. Virbhadra completely ruined the fire sacrifice and punished all the attendants. [This part of the story is the first phase of Parvati’s life. It is narrated in detail in Tulsidas’ ‘Ram Charit Manas’, Baal Kand, from Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 48—to Chaupai line no. 5 that precedes Doha no. 65.] Now we come to the second phase of Parvati’s life, the phase in which she was reunited with Shiva in a marriage ceremony that Tulsidas has elaborately described in his classical composition ‘Parvati Mangal’, a book exclusively dedicated to the marriage of Shiva with Parvati. At the time of burning her tainted body by jumping into the fire of the sacrifice, Sati had asked for a boon from Lord Hari (Vishnu)—that she must have love and devotion for the holy feet of Lord Shiva in any birth she takes. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/65/5] If we closely examine the developments we will see something obvious—that is, though Sati had doubted Shiva’s wisdom and tested Ram’s integrity by assuming the form of Sati, she had deeply regretted it (Ram Charit Manas, 1/53—1/54/1-2, 1/58/1-4). She had realised that being exceptionally righteous, Shiva had abandoned her because she had assumed to form of Sati whom Shiva worships as Mother Goddess. But the damage had already been done. So one of the reasons why Sati decided to burn herself by jumping into the fire pit was to discard this corrupted body by which she took the form of Sita and annoyed Shiva. She rightly thought for once that if she sincerely wished to be reunited with her beloved husband, Shiva, then it has to be with a new body. It is now clear why she asked ‘Hari’ for the boon, instead of say Brahma, the creator who must also have been present on the occasion, because it was Vishnu (Hari) whom she had offended by testing him in the form of Sita. In her new birth, Sati became a girl child in the household of Himvant, the king of the snow-clad Himgiri, the mighty Himalayas. [It is the mountain range to the north of India.] In this birth she was known as ‘Parvati’. Ever since she took birth there was happiness and all round welfare in Himvant’s kingdom. Once the celestial sage Narad arrived at the place and seeing the palm of the child Parvati he made a prediction indicating that her husband would be none else but Shiva. This was an incredulous proposition that made her parents very depressed as Shiva was an ascetic and no one has access to him. But this prediction nevertheless kindled love for the Lord in the heart of the young Parvati who determined that she will break all stereo types and show to the world that everything is possible by firm determination. So she did the severest form of Tapa (penance and austerity) imaginable, and became deserving to marry Shiva. Lord Brahma himself announced it and assured her that her wishes would be fulfilled. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/74/1- 8—to 1/75/5.] Meanwhile, ever since Sati had burned herself, Shiva was unhappy. The Lord loved Sati inspite of her mischief. So when he was in deep meditation, Lord Ram appeared to him and requested him to forgive her as she has done severe Tapa to clean herself, and was completely devoted to him. Lord Ram finally expressly asked Shiva to go and marry Parvati. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/76, and 1/76/5-8.] 9 Shiva replied that though this would not what he would like to do if allowed to choose, but since it is the wish of his beloved Lord Ram he has nothing to say and would do whatever the Lord asks him and whatever pleases the Lord. Lord Ram told Shiva that he has kept his promise of leaving Sati because she had assumed the form of Sita, but now he must respect what Ram advises him. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/77/1-7.] Shiva wanted to test Parvati’s love and devotion for him, so he sent the seven celestial sages known as ‘Sapta-rishis’ to go and find out the depth of Parvati’s commitment to him. The sages went and tried every trick they could think of to dissuade Parvati from marrying Shiva, but faced only rebuttal from her. Finally they blessed her and paid their obeisance to before reporting back to Shiva about her sincerity and honesty. Shiva was very pleased, but being a veteran ascetic, he once again immersed himself in deep meditation on Lord Ram, forgetting about the immediate task at hand. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/77—to 1/82/1-4.] In the meantime, a cruel demon named Tarakaasur began wreaking havoc on the world, and the creator Brahma determined that he can be only be killed by the son of Shiva. But the problem was that Shiva was lost in meditation, and unless he marries there was no chance of him begetting a son. So the Gods collected in a great huddle and asked Kamdeo, the god of passion and lust, to sacrifice himself for the larger good of the rest of them. This was kind of igniting passions in Shiva’ heart so that he would have a desire to marry. Kamdeo knew that he was playing with fire, because to disturb Shiva in his meditation would certainly invite his sternest of wraths. And this is exactly what happened. When Kamdeo shot an arrow of flowers at Shiva, the Lord woke up and glared at him with fire blazing from the third eye in his forehead. Kamdeo was immediately reduced to ashes. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/83/8—to 1/87/1-6.] Kamdeo wife Rati asked for forgiveness from Shiva, insisting that her husband had not done anything for some personal mischief but to serve the interests of the Gods who had asked him to go and disturb the Lord so that he can be married. So, Shiva blessed her that she would be reunited with her husband when Lord Vishnu incarnates on earth as Lord Krishna. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/87/7-8—to 1/88/1- 3.] All the gods assembled and requested Shiva to marry Parvati who had already successfully done severe Tapa to marry him and had been granted such boon by the creator Brahma. So the process of the marriage between Lord Shiva and Parvati was set rolling. Both the bride’s side (Himvant) and the groom’s side (the Gods) made elaborate preparations, and the marriage was formalized with great fanfare and ceremony like the way Lord Ram was married to Sita. Tulsidas’ book ‘Parvati Mangal’ skips all the background developments that led to this marriage and focus its attention on singing about the events that were directly associated with the marriage itself. This part of the episode has been briefly dealt with in Ram Charit Manas, and it is certainly not as detailed as in Parvati Mangal. Perhaps Tulsidas wrote ‘Parvati Mangal’ to fill this gap—to describe in detail the divine marriage which he could not do in Ram Charit Manas because of some constraints. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/88/4-8—to 1/103/1-4.] By and by it so happened that Shiva and Parvati had a son known as ‘Shatbadan’ who eventually killed the demons Tarakaasur. [Refer: Ram Charit Manas, 1/103/6-8.] -----------********---------- 10 The Legend of Lord Shiva BOOK 1 The Story Of Lord Shiva’s Marriage With Parvati: (Based entirely on Goswami Tulsidas’ classics: “Ram Charit Manas” & “Parvati Mangal”.) Chapter 1 ŚrīRāmaCaritaMānasa The divine story of Lord Shiva’s marriage with Parvati (also known as Uma and Bhavaani) according to Goswami Tulsidas’ “Ram Charit Manas”: 1/45/3—1/46/1; 1/47/1; And 1/48/1—to 1/104/1. The story of the marriage of Lord Shiva, also known as ‘Mahadeva’, or the great Lord of all the gods, with Parvati (also known as Uma) has been narrated in detail by Goswami Tulsidas in his epic book “Ram Charit Manas”. The story is contained in its Baal Kand (which is Canto 1 of the aforesaid book), from Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 48—to Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 104. However, some of the verses that precede Doha no. 47 lay the background of the story: the place and the time when it was narrated, by whom, and for whom, it was done. THE BACKGROUND:-- Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line nos. 3-8 that precede Doha no. 45:— ∞∑§ ’Ê⁄U ÷Á⁄U ◊∑§⁄U Ÿ„UÊ∞ – ‚’ ◊ÈŸË‚ •ÊüÊ◊ã„U Á‚œÊ∞H 3H ¡Êª’Á‹∑§ ◊ÈÁŸ ¬⁄U◊ Á’’∑§Ë – ÷⁄UmÊ¡ ⁄UÊπ ¬Œ ≈U∑§ËH 4H ēka bāra bhari makara nahā'ē. saba munīsa āśramanha sidhā'ē. 3. jāgabalika muni parama bibēkī. bharadvāja rākhē pada ṭēkī. 4. [Once upon a time as was usual, all the sages and seers had assembled at Prayag, a place where three holy rivers, viz. the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati, have their confluence. They used to come here every year on the auspicious occasion of “Makar Sakranti”1. They stayed at the place for the whole month, and on the final day took a bath at the confluence of the rivers before heading back to their respective hermitages. However, on one such occasion, sage Bharadwaj, who lived permanently at