Daksha Yajna
Brahma had a son by name Daksha. On hearing from his father about the immense benefits of doing Tapas, Daksha went to the mountains and did rigorous Tapas on Lord Siva. Much pleased with his penance, Lord Siva granted him many boons. By these, Daksha became the king of the Devas and the three worlds. Also, he was the most fortunate recipient of another boon, viz., that Sri Parvati herself was to be his daughter.
In one of the discussions between Lord Siva and Parvati, the latter asserted herself very much and gave herself airs of too much self-importance. As a corrective to this bumptiousness, she was ordained to take a human birth and return later on to Mount Kailasa. Parvati Devi came down to earth and was lying as a child in a tank. While wandering in the forest, king Daksha saw this child in the lotus pond, took her home and brought her up as his own daughter. She was known as Dakshayani and, as the years grew, she cultivated extreme devotion for Lord Siva; and expressed her resolve to marry only Lord Siva. Daksha was highly pleased.
Lord Siva in the guise of a hunter met Dakshayani alone, and assured her that He would marry her very soon. On hearing the news, the girl’s parents made arrangements to celebrate the marriage in a grand and befitting manner. But Lord Siva, instead of undergoing the prescribed ceremonies of marriage, entered the wedding hall abruptly and carried away Dakshayani in the presence of Daksha and other Devas who had assembled there to grace the occasion. This action of Lord Siva infuriated Daksha, and, forgetting all that He had done for him and the greatness of the Lord, Daksha began abusing Siva and belittling His Lilas.
Daksha had 27 daughters whom he had given in marriage to Chandra (moon-god). Chandra, instead of loving all the 27 wives equally, developed an intense partiality towards Rohini. Resentful of this action of Chandra, the other wives went and complained to their father, Daksha, about the partiality of Chandra. Daksha, on hearing this report from his dear daughters, cursed Chandra to be deprived of his Kalas (brightness). Much grieved and depressed at heart, Chandra at last made his way to Lord Siva and prayed to be saved from the curse of Daksha. And the Lord, out of compassion, retrieved him partially from the curse and saved him by wearing him on His own forehead. Hence we find changes in the phases of the Moon—gradual decrease of brightness during Krishna Paksha or the dark fortnight, and gradual increase during the Sukla Paksha or the bright fortnight. This action of Lord Siva further infuriated Daksha.
Lord Brahma had arranged for the performance of a Yajna and, as usual, to offer the sacraments of the Yajna to Lord Siva, the Lord of all Yajnas. Invitations were sent to all Devas as well as to Daksha. The whole host of Devas had assembled in the Yajna hall. Lord Siva had sent Nandi to attend the function and represent Him during the Yajna. Daksha, who also attended the Yajna, was filled with such envy and pride that he not only condemned Brahma for giving the sacrament to Siva but also went to the extent of blaspheming Lord Siva and treating His representative, Nandi, in the most contemptuous manner.
None of the Devas witnessing this behaviour of Daksha had the courage to protest. But Nandi was touched to the quick. Enraged much at the words of Daksha, Nandi cursed him to suffer in various ways and die a violent death, and to have a goat’s head in his next birth. He also berated the Devas for their indifference, if not cowardliness, in not admonishing Daksha for his blasphemy and cursed them to undergo torture and persecution at the hands of the Asuras Surapadma, Simhamukha and Taraka. With this Nandi left the hall in a rage.
After the departure of Nandi, the great sage and seer, Dadheechi Maharshi, approached Daksha and advised him not to act in that manner towards Lord Siva. He brought home to Daksha the various acts of compassion of Lord Siva and His Lilas. The sage entreated him to be more devotional to Him and leave off such haughtiness of spirit. But all in vain. At last Daksha decided to perform a Yajna in which he would neither invite Lord Siva nor offer the sacrament to Him.
At Kankhal (in Hardwar), on the banks of the Ganga, arrangements were made for the grand Yajna of Daksha. All the Devas were invited. Large scale arrangements had been made for receiving the visitors to the Yajnashala. Lord Siva alone was left uninvited. Dakshayani, who was at the time with Lord Siva at Kailasa, heard the news of the Grand Yajna of her father. Against the wishes of her Lord, Dakshayani, tempted by her keen and natural desire to attend the great function, hurried up to Kankhal, where the Yajna was in progress.
There was none to welcome her at her father’s residence. And worse still, she was openly insulted by her father and his party. News of this ill-treatment meted out to Dakshayani reached Lord Siva. He summoned god Veerabhadra and ordered him to make a clean sweep of the Yajna and the participants thereof. Veerabhadra rushed to the spot in great fury and dashed to pieces all the grand arrangements made for the Yajna; and almost all the participants fell a prey to his unbounded ire. Those who begged pardon of him were let off. While this work of destruction was going on, Lord Siva appeared before the Devas. At the request of Dakshayani, Siva brought back all the dead to life. After sometime, on the advice of Lord Brahma, his father, Daksha went to Varanasi to do Tapas for the grace of Lord Siva. Lord Siva appeared before Daksha and made him one of the leaders of His Bhuta Ganas.
The Curse of Nandi
Akhirasena, the king of the Asuras, had a daughter Surasai by name. To avenge the defeat of the Asuras at the hands of the Devas, Sukracharya, the Asura Guru, taught Surasai all the Arts of Maya. Surasai became an adept in those Arts, and was herself aptly called Maya. To bring back the lost glory of the Asuras, Maya determined to beget children through a great sage, so that the descendants could be more powerful than the Devas. With this in view, she approached the place where Kasyapa Rishi was doing rigorous Tapas.
By her magic spells she created a beautiful garden in the forest; and there she was, dancing and enjoying herself as part of the beauty of Nature. Disturbed by this interference, Kasyapa woke up from his meditation and saw a beautiful lady before him. By the secret powers of Maya, the Rishi fell victim to her charms and easily yielded to her proposals. Both the Rishi and Maya spent happy days together, roaming about gaily in the forest. Maya bore three sons and a daughter to the Rishi. The first son was Surapadma, the second Simhamukha and the third Tarakasura. The daughter’s name was Ajamukhi. Of the sons, Simhamukha had a lion’s face and Tarakasura an elephant’s; and Ajamukhi had the face of a goat. Along with them there arose a huge army of Asuras to help these leaders in their oncoming fight with the Devas.
Surapadma and his brothers, while they were yet young, requested their father and mother to prepare them for a life of glory and victory. Kasyapa Rishi told them to lead a virtuous life and do rigorous Tapas with intense devotion to the Lord. He cited the story of Markandeya to show how the power of his devotion to Lord Siva had protected him even from the grip of Lord Yama.
But Maya, mindful of her mission, was not satisfied with this advice to her sons. She entreated her sons to do rigorous Tapas on Lord Siva and to obtain boons by which they could have suzerainty over the Devas and live happily and gloriously.
After some time, Kasyapa realised his folly in having allowed himself to become a victim to the wiles of Maya and left them all and went his own way. As advised by their mother, Surapadma and his brothers proceeded north to perform intense Tapas. After making every arrangement carefully for the performance of their penance, they commenced their Tapas. Years passed. They obtained no results. Hence Surapadma and his brothers doubled their austerities, cut off every limb of their body and threw them one after another as an offering into the sacrificial fire before them. Even then Lord Siva did not appear. Finally Surapadma offered himself in the fire and died. The other brothers were also preparing themselves for a similar sacrifice when Lord Siva appeared before them, brought Surapadma back to life and granted a number of boons prayed for by them.
Having thus achieved their aims, they came back triumphantly to their mother who gladly welcomed them home. Maya sent them to Sukracharya, the Asura Guru, for further advice and guidance. Sukracharya gave them detailed instruction for leading an extremely sensuous life of pomp and glory. He addressed them thus: “When people say ‘everything is done by the one Supreme Being and He dwells everywhere,’ they are telling a stupendous lie. The Lord has created all other creatures and plants simply for man’s enjoyment. Might is Right. No one will derive any pleasure by acting upto the high-sounding precepts like ‘Do always good, avoid evil things.’
“The so-called Lord’s Lilas are just like the places and persons we experience during a dream. Everyone is the same in the creation of the Lord. To favour some as saints and sages and condemn others as ignoramuses and sinners is nothing but injustice and partiality. As the Lord has granted you all the boons you desired, it is up to you to utilise them in the proper way. You have got immense power now. You can do and undo things. Hence start at once on the mission of your life for which your mother Maya has been yearning so much. Fight against the Devas. Overthrow them from their power. Strip them of their riches and glory. Lord it over them. Make them your slaves.
“Live a life of ease and pleasure, using every object you could conceive of for your sensual enjoyment. Eat, drink and be merry. Live gloriously. Extend your sway over all the worlds created by Lord Siva. You should reign not only over them, but also establish your dynasty to rule over everyone for generations to come. Thus you will restore the glory now lost to the Asura dynasty.” In these thrilling and perverse words Sukracharya instructed Surapadma, Simhamukha and Tarakasura.
After having received the benedictions and final exhortations of their Guru Maharaj, Surapadma and his brothers began their career of conquest over the Devas. Surapadma established his capital at Mahendrapuri, in the South. Simhamukha had his capital in Asuram, in the North. Tarakasura built his capital near Emakoodam. These cities were duly planned and perfected by the divine architect, Visvakarma. The three brothers had their own independent kingdoms established around their capitals and were reigning over them, to the terror and dismay of the Devas.
Not satisfied with the vast kingdoms allotted to them, the brothers then proceeded to the habitation of the Devas to deprive them of their sovereignty and freedom. Surapadma invaded Indraloka, took Indra prisoner and made him work as a fisherman in the capital! Brahma was asked to officiate as the Purohit. Vayu, the god of wind, was appointed as the sweeper of the streets of his capital; to Varuna, the god of rain, was assigned the task of sprinkling gentle drops of water over the streets to lay the dust; the Sun was given to his son, Banukopan, as a toy to play with; Lord Vishnu alone was left undisturbed. In this way Surapadma, along with his brothers, subjected the Devas to every kind of ignoble persecution and insult. These privations and dishonour they had to undergo as a punishment for cowardly indifference they showed when Daksha blasphemed Lord Siva. The curse of Nandi had come home.
No comments:
Post a Comment