Bhaktisandesam / Shiva- The Fascinating Deity

[Guest guest]

Hari-Om

 

The Powers Of Lord Shiva!

 

 

There are a number of mythological tales and legends surrounding Lord

Shiva. Here're a few popular ones:

 

The Ganges Comes Down To Earth

 

A legend from the Ramayana speaks of King Bhagirath who once

meditated before Lord Brahma for a thousand years for the salvation

of the souls of his ancestors. Pleased with his devotion Brahma

granted him a wish. He requested the Lord to send the river Ganges

down to earth from heaven so that she could flow over his ancestors'

ashes and wash their curse away and allow them to go to heaven.

Brahma granted his wish but asked him to pray to Shiva, for he alone

could support the weight of her descent. Accordingly he prayed to

Shiva and he allowed the Ganges to descend on his head, and after

meandering through his thick matted locks, the holy river reached the

earth. This story is re-enacted by bathing the linga.

 

The Tiger & The Leaves

Once a hunter while chasing a deer wandered into a dense forest and

found himself on the banks of river Kolidum when he heard the growl

of a tiger. To protect himself from the beast he climbed up a tree

nearby. The tiger pitched itself on the ground below the tree

fostering no intention to leave. The hunter stayed up in the tree all

night and to keep himself from falling asleep, he gently plucked one

leaf after another from the tree and threw it down. Under the tree

was a Shiva Linga and the tree blessedly turned out to be a bilva

tree. Unknowingly the man had pleased the deity with bilva leaves. At

sunrise, the hunter looked down to find the tiger gone, and in its

place stood Lord Shiva. He prostrated before the Lord and attained

salvation from the cycle of birth and death.

 

Why Shiva Is Worshipped In His Phallic Form

 

According to another legend, once Brahma and Vishnu, two other

deities of the holy Trinity, had an argument as to their supremacy.

Brahma being the Creator declared himself to be more revered, while

Vishnu, the Preserver, pronounced that he commanded more respect.

Just then a colossal lingam, known as Jyotirlinga, blanketed in

flames, appeared before them. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck

by its rapidly increasing size. They forgot their quarrel and decided

to determine its size. Vishnu assuming the form of a boar went to the

netherworld and Brahma as a swan flew to the skies. But both of them

failed to accomplish the self- assumed tasks. Then, Shiva appeared

out of the lingam and stated that he was the progenitor of them both

and that henceforth he should be worshipped in his phallic form, the

lingam, and not in his anthropomorphic form.

 

***************

 

Jai Shree Krishna !