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| The Story of Ganesa: 2. The marriage of Parvati and Siva | INDIAN MYTHOLOGY |
The Story of Ganesa: 2. The marriage of Parvati and Siva
When the Asuras
realised that they had been cheated, they decided to teach the Devas a lesson.
One of them, Tarakasura, began to meditate on Lord Brahma. The Lord was pleased
over his tapas and appeared before the Asura leader, and asked what boon
he wanted. “Let me be immortal!” said Tarakasura.
“No mortal can avoid death,” said Brahma, “so you my ask
for anything else.”
“In which case, please bless me that I shall die only at
the hands of a son of Siva,” said Tarakasura. The boon was granted.
Around that time, Siva’s consort Dakshayini had ended
her life by jumping into the fire at the yaga being conducted by her father,
King Daksha. Siva was beset with uncontrollable grief. He wandered among the
peaks of the Himalayas seeking peace to his troubled mind. He then sat in deep
meditation.
Meanwhile, Tarakasura led a formidable army of rakshasas
and challenged the Devas to a fight. The two sides fought a fierce war which
witnessed the demons inflicting an inglorious defeat on the Devas. They ran to
Lord Brahma and pleaded with him that he took back the boon granted to
Tarakasura. Brahma explained to them why he had to grant that boon to
Tarakasura and told them that they all would go to Lord Vishnu for advice and
help. They then proceeded to Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu.
After listening to the Devas, Vishnu said: “Dakshayini
has now taken birth as Parvati, daughter of King Himavan. You must ensure that
she is married to Siva.”
The Devas sent Narada as their emissary to Himavan who
was carried away by Narada’s suggestion that Parvati deserved nobody other than
Lord Siva for a husband. Himavan then went up to the Lord who was still in deep
meditation. After paying his obeisance to Siva, Himavan said: “O Mahadeva!
Please permit me to send my daughter Parvati to look after your needs and
comforts.”
There was no response from Lord Siva, who continued his
meditation. Himavan thought, as the Lord had not indicated any objection, he
must have accepted his prayer. So, he went back and sent Parvati to look after
Siva.
She was just waiting for this moment, as she had already
started worshiping the Lord in her heart, and she had also listened to Narada’s
praise of Siva. She had, therefore, decided that she would not marry anyone
other than the Lord Himself. Parvati lost no time in reaching the presence of
Lord Siva.
She engaged herself in chores like clearing and cleaning
the precincts where Siva was sitting in meditation and gathering fruits and
leaves that he liked to eat. Besides, she also sang songs extolling the virtues
of the Lord. This daily routine continued without any hindrance or a halt.
Siva never even for once opened his eyes to look at
Parvati who, without even a blink, waited for the Lord to open his eyes and
take a look at her.
Now, the Devas led by Indra were marking their time to
see that Parvati and Siva were married and Parvati bore him a son. Indra sought
the help of Kamadeva, the god of Love. At first he was not willing to extend
any help, but when he realised that what he would do would benefit the Devas,
he gave his assent.
Kamadeva and his consort Rati flew in their chariot to
where Siva sat in meditation. Kamadeva carried the arrow of Love with him. The
moment the divine couple alighted on the Himalayan peak, the flowers around
blossomed and the whole place was enveloped by all kinds of sweet fragrance.
The birds were alerted and they chirped melodious songs. Bumble bees encircled
the place whirring softly. Peacocks spread their gorgeous feathers and began to
dance. Lord Siva was disturbed in his meditation and opened his eyes. And what
he saw was Parvati in front engrossed in her prayers to Siva Himself.
This was the moment Kamadeva was waiting for. He was
standing behind a tree. From there he sent the flower covered arrow of Love
which hit Siva’s chest. The Lord looked around to find out who had sent the
arrow at Him. He saw Kamadeva hiding behind the tree. Siva was angry; He opened
his powerful Third Eye. The fire beam that emerged from the eye went straight
at Kamadeva who was reduced to ashes in a trice.
Now that His concentration was broken, Lord Siva got up,
still furious, and proceeded to His abode in Mount Kailas. Rati wept over the
ashes of her lord, Kamadeva. She could not console herself and decided to end
her life in the same fire that had taken the life of her lord.
At that moment, the Devas rushed in to prevent her from
taking her life. They consoled her, saying that soon after Siva and Parvati
were married, the Lord’s anger would subside and He himself would make Kamadeva
come back to life. Rati now sat down guarding the ashes of Kamadeva.
Parvati till then had believed that she was very beautiful,
and was confident that one look at her and Siva would readily agree to marry
her. True, the Lord had opened his eyes and had looked at her as well. But
there was no hint that He had noticed her. Moreover, He had also left the
place, full of anger. Parvati, therefore, decided that she would meditate on
Siva. She began an intense tapas. She stopped eating any food, except leaves.
After some days she gave up that also. Her friends now called her Aparna.
After reaching Kailas, the effect of the arrow sent by
Kamadeva slowly faded. However, Lord Siva began to feel the intensity of
Parvati’s tapas. The Lord now had a change of heart. He decided to
present Himself before Parvati. He changed his dress and appearance and stood
before Paravati. But to his surprise he found that her mind was not wavering
and it was fixed on Siva, and Siva alone. He went up to the seven Rishis called
Saptarishis and requested them to go to King Himavan and discuss His marriage
with his daughter.
When the Saptarishis informed Himavan of Siva’s
proposal, his joy knew no bounds. He told them that the marriage would be
performed soon on an auspicious date. Lord Siva, accompanied by his entourage,
reached Himavan’s palace in time for the ceremony. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu,
Indra, and the Devas in full strength proceeded to attend the ceremony. Also
present were Narada, the Saptarishis, and many other rishis and munis.
Parvati was hoping that Siva would come dressed as a
bridegroom. She herself was bedecked in glittering ornaments and looked
beautiful, as she entered the bridal pandal. Himavan went through the
rituals meticulously and performed the wedding of Parvati and Siva in the
presence of that august audience. The couple received the blessings of
everybody present.
Viswakarma, the architect of the Devas, had put up a
beautiful palace for the stay of the newlyweds. On their way to the palace,
they went past Rati who was still guarding the ashes of Kamadeva. They went
near her and blessed her to enjoy a long life as a married woman. Siva then
opened his Third Eye from which emitted cool rays which fell on the ashes. They
brought back Kamadeva to life.
“O Devi!” he said turning to Rati. “Your husband has
regained his life. However, you alone can see him and none else will be able to
see his form. That, in a way, is good for him, because no one will then do any
harm to him. Moreover, nobody will be able to escape from his arrows whenever
he aims them at anybody. You will be able to see him always. This is the boon I
grant you.”
As they proceeded towards the palace prepared for their
stay, they were escorted by the invitees. The wives of munis led by Arundhati,
wife of sage Vasishtha, performed arati for the couple as they stepped
into the palace.
Viswakarma now
brought a wooden frame covered with a cloth. He said: “This is a unique
picture. It has two figures; one rivalling the other in beauty, and we are not
able to decide who is more beautiful!” He then removed the cloth.
The wooden frame had encased a lovely mirror. As they
looked into the mirror, the faces of Parvati and Siva bloomed with a smile.
Sage Narada interrupted: “Your smile does not provide an answer to Viswakarma’s
question!”
Lord Siva smiled again and said: “No doubt, Parvati is
more beautiful!”
Parvati, too, gave out a smile and said: “Who can say my
lord with the three eyes is not more beautiful? In fact, he is without a
match!”
After this interlude, the invitees one after the other
bade farewell to the bridal couple. Soon they were left alone in the palace. As
they went round, they saw a painting on one of the walls. It depicted two
elephants facing each other. They had raised their front legs, while their hind
legs struck a dancing pose. Behind the elephants was a pond in which a lotus was
in full bloom.
Parvati and Siva were fascinated by the painting. They
remained looking at it and appreciating the details for a long time. Suddenly,
a glow arose from a point between the elephants. The glow got enlarged and in
the centre there appeared Vighneswara. The glow surrounded his figure.
Though Vighneswara had the face of an elephant, it had a
divine brightness. The eyes appeared so peaceful and happy. The body had a
paunch which gave it a perfect shape. The hands were held up as if they were showering
blessings.
Parvati could not take her eyes off the figure in the
painting. On seeing Parvati’s face, Siva was extremely happy.
The figure now turned to the couple: “I am Vighneswara.
I remove all obstacles. I am also Vinayaka, with no peers. I am Ganapati, the
leader of the ganas. You will soon be blessed with a child. I will be born as
that child of yours. He will kill Tarakasura.”
Parvati was about to take Vighneswara into her arms, but
the figure disappeared. This brought wonderment to both Parvati and Siva. They
could not forget the event while they spent a wonderful time in that palace
made for them by Viswakarma.
Were they aware of the tragedy that was overtaking the
world at that time?
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