A story for you...
Feb 6 2007 | Views 2449 |
Comments (21)
Tags: Vishnu Shiva Pathanjali Manickavasagar Cosmic Dance Chidambaram
Tags: Vishnu Shiva Pathanjali Manickavasagar Cosmic Dance Chidambaram
Lord Shiva, apart from being considered one of the trinity taking on the responsibility of being the destroyer (of the ego), is also the Cosmic dancer, the One that moves the Cosmos through his consort Shakti who has the five elements in Her reins.
This Cosmic Dance is so mesmerizing that once, even Lord Vishnu stayed engrossed in it. Due to this, he let his body sag. He grew heavier and heavier until Adi Sesha, the five-headed serpent on which he lay, could bear it no longer.
This Cosmic Dance is so mesmerizing that once, even Lord Vishnu stayed engrossed in it. Due to this, he let his body sag. He grew heavier and heavier until Adi Sesha, the five-headed serpent on which he lay, could bear it no longer.
He asked Lord Vishnu, “O Lord, I am not able to bear your weight any more. Why are you growing so heavy?”
Vishnu came back to his original state immediately and answered, “Adi Sesha, I was engrossed in the Cosmic Dance of Shiva.”
Adi Sesha asked, “Lord, please tell me more about the Cosmic Dance.”
Vishnu said, “Shiva and I decided to test the integrity of some rishis and went there; Shiva in the form of a naked beggar and I as Mohini. The rishis were enticed by my beauty. Their wives, coming out to serve food to Shiva, felt sensually attracted. The rishis, hypocrites as they were, when they came to know of this, grew jealous and, in their anger, created out of their yogic powers, a ball of fire, a serpent, a tiger and a monster and flung them all at Shiva.
Shiva caught hold of the tiger, skinned it and wore the skin around his loins, caught the serpent and coiled it around his neck, held the ball of fire in his hand and trampled the monster with one foot, lifted his other foot and danced. It was this danced that I was witnessing.”
Adi Sesha, in all earnestness asked, “Is it possible for me to have a vision of this Divine dance?”
Vishnu said, “Yes, indeed! Go to Chidambaram and meditate upon Lord Shiva and you are sure to have your wish fulfilled.”
Thus Adi Sesha came to earth as Pathanjali Mahamuni, the famed author of the Yogasutras. He went to Chidambaram and prayed to Lord Shiva.
There was also another sage named Vyagrahpada there. He consecrated two Shiva Lingas and prayed to them. He was observing certain austerities for which he had to pick flowers that were as yet untouched. However, he found it difficult to get the flowers that were high up on the trees. By the time he found some way to pick them, the bees had tasted them. So he prayed to the Lord asking for a solution to the problem. He was endowed with the eyes, feet and claws of a tiger and hence the name Vyagrahpada (Vyagrah = tiger, Pada = foot). So, even before the break of dawn he could see the flowers, climb up the trees and collect them.
He continued with his penance and yearned for a vision of the Lord.
Manickavasagar is one of the famed quartet of Shiva’s devotees. He was on a pilgrimage to Chidambaram. On the way he visited Arunachala (Thiruvannamalai). Early in the morning that day in Margazhi, which is the coldest month, he saw young girls who had bathed and dressed freshly and were all singing songs in praise of Goddess Parvati. He was inspired by their piety and wrote the Thiruvempavai.
On Arudra day (the full moon day in the month of Margazhi falling in Dec-Jan), Lord Nataraja (Nata = dance, raja = king) appeared in all splendour for the sake of His devotees, Pathanjali and Vyagrahpada. At that time, Manickavasagar came there singing the Thiruvempavai. On seeing the Lord, he immersed himself in the Divine Vision of the Lord and was never seen again!
© riverine., all rights reserved.
In case you missed...
Some other recent posts by riverine
© 1998-2008 Copyright Sulekha.com Connecting Indians Worldwide, All Rights Reserved.
Recommend