The joy of Shiva - good wishes of Mahashivaratri महा-शिव-रात्रि !

वन्दे शम्भुं उमा-पतिं सुर-गुरुं वन्दे जगत्कारणम्
वन्दे पन्नग-भूषणं मृगधरं वन्दे पशूनां पतिम् ।
वन्दे सूर्य-शशांक-वह्नि-नयनं वन्दे मुकुन्द-प्रियम्
वन्दे भक्त-जनाश्रयं च वरदं वन्दे शिवं शंकरम् ॥

vande shambhum umA-patim sura-gurum vande jagat-kAraNam
vande pannaga-bhUShaNam mRiga-dharam vande pashUnAm patim |
vande sUrya-shashA~Nka-vahni-nayanam vande mukunda-priyam
vande bhakta-janAshrayam cha varadam vande shivam sha~Nkaram ||

vandé shambhum umā-patim sura-gurum vandé jagat-kāraṇam
vandé pannaga-bhūṣhaṇam mṛiga-dharam vandé pashūnām patim |
vandé sūrya-shashāṅka-vahni-nayanam vandé mukunda-priyam
vandé bhakta-janāshrayam cha varadam vandé shivam shaṅkaram ||


This classic mantra in praise of the Great Lord, mahAdeva (महादेव), the Great Time (mahA-kAla महा-काल) is a good source for various names of Shiva (शिव) which also define its attributes for the form-meditating devotee.

Let us see them one by one.

The -am at the end of all the words makes them the object of 'vande', that is, I [give] praise to the "...-am"

shambhu
The root verb 'sham' (शम्) means to pacify, calm down, even be tired, suppressed, to destroy. Shiva in his rudra (रुद्र violent) form destroys the bad and in its benign form brings peace, calmness of a yogI (योगी). The same root is in the name sha~Nkara (शङ्कर) which mean that which does 'calming', that is, brings calm, peace, good.


umA-pati
We saw in an earlier post the name umA (उमा), for pArvatI (पार्वती). When the beautiful young princess, daughter of himAlaya (हिमालय) decided to win over shiva by her beauty and service she failed miserably. In the process, even kAma (काम), the god of desire was burnt alive, forever without a body. He was henceforth called ananga (अनङ्ग) - one without a body.

This made pArvatI even more determined and she chose the path of the ascetics. When she made her decision known, her mother menA (मेना) cried out in anguish - 'u mA' उ मा (oh! no.). And hence pArvatI got her name as 'umA'.

Of course, when the divine lady were to penance, as tough as she did that she even stopped eating fallen leaves (for which she was called a-parNA अ-पर्णा, without leaves), the divine god can't resist for too long. Convinced of her devotion, shiva finally weds her. And hence he is called 'umA-pati' = husband of umA (उमा).


sura-guru
He is also called the guru of the gods themselves. The divine beings are called devatA (देवता) or deva (देव) and are the multi-faceted manifestation of the same divine principle, somewhat like the Greek gods. There are many occasions when they all go to Shiva for help. The most dreaded times of the churning of the celestial ocean produced, as its first output, the poisonous halAhala (हलाहल), which was like a black dense liquid that suffocated everyone. Whenever I think of this, the image of oil and gas extraction comes to my mind. How poisonous natural oil is as is, it destroys beaches, soil, water everything. The same oil when tamed and purified properly is the greatest boon of modern age!

So, when halAhala was suffocating everyone, it was Shiva who drank it up and stopped it in his throat, and got a new name - nIla-kaNTha (नीलकण्ठ blue throat-ed).

jagat-kAraNa
While devotees of various forms of the same divine principle claim that their favorite (iShTa इष्ट) deity is the one and all, cause of the creation etc., we must understand it properly, without bias.

The 'concept' of Shiva is that of change, the transformer. Change being time, he is called mahA-kAla, the Great Time. And hence, he is the cause of the universe. Nothing is beyond Time. All things happen in its domain.

His association with Time is unambiguous - snake, moon, the Sun and Moon as his two eyes, and his very name mahA-kAla (Great Time) all suggest that shiva is the paramount concept of time and change.

pannaga-bhUShaNa
The snake is another symbol of Time. Even the symbol of snake eating its own tail, that Kekule saw in his dream, helped him think up the molecular structure of Benzene, one of the major breakthrough of organic chemistry. Shiva has wrist bands, necklaces, arms bands of such snakes. While other sophisticated gods have golden jewelry to adorn them, Shiva has the raw nature embodied in him. The river ga~NgA, the snake, the bull, the tiger skin, living on snow mountains, the ashes, the primordial instrument of Damaru (डमरु twin drum) - all are evidence of Shiva manifesting in the creation! The TIME is in everything. Everything is transforming every moment, and this is Shiva!

mRiga-dhara, pashUnAm pati
Shiva represents the force of life, he sustains the living beings. He represents fertility, the regenerative force. This is important to remember, because people mistakenly think he is the destroyer! He is the transformer, old to new, new to old. The support of all life force, animals. His symbol of lingam (लिङ्गं) and his ride the bull, both represent the regenerative force of life, without which there would be no such discussions possible! Growing up with synthetic values make people wonder about the forms of Shiva.

sUrya-shashA~Nka-vahni-nayana
This comes back as him representing Time. He is called tri-netra (त्रि-नेत्र), tryambakam (त्र्यम्बकं) - the three eyed. Sun and Moon are his two normal eyes - marking the movement in the physical world, day and night. The third eye is the eye of knowledge, the fire that burns the dead junk of desires, removes the darkness of ignorance and shines inside out. It is the eye with which he destroyed kAma-deva (or desire).

May the Great Lord bless you on mahA-shiva-rAtrI महा-शिव-रात्रि !

See this older post for more Shiva mantras.

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and now the language aspects of the shloka -

वन्दे = vande = i praise

शम्भुं = shambhum = to the shambhu

उमा-पतिं = umA-patim = to the husband (pati) of pArvatI (umA)

सुर-गुरुं = sura-gurum = to the guru of the gods (sura)

जगत्कारणम् = jagat-kAraNam = to the cause (kAraNa) of the world (jagat)

पन्नग-भूषणं = to the who who has ornaments (bhUShaNa) of serpents (pannaga)

मृगधरं = to teh sustainer (dhara) of living beings/animals (pashu)

पशूनां पतिम् = pashUnAm patim = to the protector (pati) of animals (pashu)

सूर्य-शशांक-वह्नि-नयनं = to the one whose eyes (nayana) are the sun (sUrya), moon (shashA~Nka) and fire (vahni)

मुकुन्द-प्रियम् = to the one dear (priyam) to viSHNu (mukunda)

भक्त-जनाश्रयं = to the refuge (Ashrya) of the devoted (bhakta) people (jana)

च = and

वरदं = to the giver (-da) of boons (vara)

शिवं = to the auspicious (shiva)

शंकरम् = to the one who does (karam) good (sham)




(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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Body is instrument for all (good) deeds - शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम्

शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम्

śarīramādyaṃ khalu dharmasādhanam

sharIramAdyaM khalu dharmasAdhanam.

This body is surely the foremost instrument of doing [good] deeds
kAlidAsa in kumArasambhavam [5.33]

This is also the motto of AIIMS - All India Institute of Medical Sciences, premiere medical institute in New Delhi, akin to John Hopkins of USA.

When pArvatI (पार्वती) decided she was only going to marry shiva, she had tried to impress shiva with her beauty. She became an attendant at his Ashrama. At the appropriate moment, prodded by indra, and aided by vasant (spring), kAmadeva shot the arrow of desires at shiva, just when he saw pArvatI.

When shiva was disturbed for a moment, he quickly regained his focus, found the culprit in kAma (desire), vanquished it by burning it to ashes with his third eye of knowledge. i.e. he killed his desire through the laser of his knowledge eye.

Thus humiliated, pArvatI became determined to win him with her penance, if not by beauty. She decided to win shiva with penance and austerity. When her mother heard of this resolve, that her flower-delicate princess-daughter of tender age will do penance like hardened ascetics in the cold snowy himAlayas, She tried to stop her, and said 'u maa' (उ मा) "oh [dear] no!". And from that day on, pAravtI was also called 'umA'

pArvatI did penance that was unheard of. There were grades of hardship ascetics were doing. Some would eat no grain. some would eat only fruits, no roots since eating the root kills the plant. Some would eat only fallen fruit. some gave up fruits also and only survived on leaves. Some would only eat fallen leaves.

What hardships! Self inflicted to experience the lack of desire, and control of kAma.

But pArvatI went one step further, because shiva was not yet impressed with her penance. She vowed to not even eat the fallen leaves! People cried out at such harsh vow, and old ascetics tried to convince her to leave such hard resolves. But she stuck to her resolve. And she was called aparNA (अपर्णा), a-parNa-aa = one without [eating] leaves. -aa suffix makes it feminine.

Over time, pArvatI lost much body fat, and she was looking bodily weak, more like a sannyAsI than a young maiden princess. Then moved by this, shiva comes to her, disguised as a ascetic himself.

After accepting her hospitality, he asks:
- Are you getting wood [for fire rituals, yaGYa] and kusha grass easily [making bed]?
- Is the water suitable for bathing?
- Are you doing penance according to your abilities only [and not overexerting yourself]?
- [for] the body is surely the foremost instrument for all [good] deeds [actions, duties].

On knowing her intention of penance, to test her, or for his own amusement, the disguised shiva starts to talk bad about shiva, of his being poor, roaming the cemeteries, having serpents around him for garlands and wristbands, elephant skin for a dress ... to which the devout pArvatI vehemently counters.

Of course, we know how the movie ends :) :)
Happily ever after!

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And now the language aspects -

sharIramAdyaM (शरीरमाद्यम्) = sharIra (शरीर) + Adyam (आद्यम्)
sharIra = body
Adyam = first
Adi (आदि) = beginning

khalu (खलु) = for emphasis and also used at times as meter filler

dharmasAdhanam (धर्मसाधनम्) = dharma (धर्म) + sAdhanam (साधनम्)
dharma = duty, right act, what needs to be done ...
sAdhanam = instrument



(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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"The Force" is in your hands - कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः

lakShmI in the finger tips, saraswatI on the palm |
shaktI is situated in the wrist, it is auspicious to see the hands ||

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः, करमध्ये सरस्वती ।
करमूले स्थिता गौरी, मंगलं करदर्शनम् ॥

karAgre vasate lakShmIH, kara-madhye saraswatI |
kara-moole sthitA gaurI, mangalaM kara-darshanam ||

there is another variation as it appears in AchAra-pradeepa as follows -
करमूले स्थितो ब्रह्मा, प्रभाते करदर्शनम्
but i think it makes more sense to use the gaurI. more on that below.

this shloka is to be recited in the morning. when you get up, just sit in the bed, don't rush out to get ready. say this shloka with eyes still closed, and open them by the fourth part (ma~NgalaM karadarshanam) and see your hands and smile. after this still don't rush out, say another shloka (coming up in next post), and THEN get down from the bed.

this exercise is so good, that it helps you stabilize your blood pressure. if after lying for 6-7 hours, you suddenly get up, there can be a pressure drop in the brain and this is known to be the most important factor in early morning strokes. both shlokas when said slowly will take about 1-2 minutes which is sufficient to get your brain used to new blood pressure.
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there are many beliefs, faiths and for many we don't know the reason or there might be no reason but to simply strengthen the faith (maybe superstition?)

in hinduism a central idea is that the creator entered the creation, and enlivened it! that is why we say that there is the divine in all of us, all life forms, even inanimate things। that is why the supreme is also called 'antar-yAmI' (अन्तर्यामी) i.e. one who moves inside (us, living things).


the shine of the diamond, the stickiness of the gecko feet, the long snapping tongue of a frog, the "7 tons a day feeding frenzy" of an orca whale are all the same divine shining! but what does it mean to say that the divine is in us?

and what about the trinity of creator, sustainer and the transformer (also called the destroyer)? how do we interpret them in tangible ways, for those who are more into GYaan yoga (ज्ञान-योग) than bhakti yoga (भक्ति-योग) ?

there are three phases of a thing - creation (coming into existence), sustenance and destruction (going out of existence). destruction is just a type of transformation.

creation needs knowledge, hence the creator brahmA's (ब्रह्मा) consort is saraswatI (सरस्वती) - the divinity of knowledge. sustenance needs resources, hence the sustainer viShNu's (विष्णु) consort is lakShmI (लक्ष्मी) - the divinity of wealth, resource, prosperity. transformation needs energy, hence the transformer shiva's (शिव) consort is shakti (शक्ति) - the divinity of energy, also called as pArvatI (पार्वती) gaurI (गौरी) etc.

now the shloka!
lakShmI is in our fingers. why? because all we do to make resources, create or earn them, to type in a blog, to make a space shuttle or to plough the fields, we do it because of the opposable thumbs! because we can HOLD things in our hands and make tools etc. imagine if we didn't have the fingers and opposable thumbs! any progress ever? see the pigs and lions, still as they were!

the palm like a book! the destiny on our palms! we make our own destiny with knowledge! or maybe they just didn't find a better place for saraswatI :) but there lies saraswatI.


and the wrist, the power to use the hands is from the wrist, where lies the shakti, pArvatI. also, just like shiva is mahAdeva ('greatest god', explanation in later posts), pArvatI being shakti is the most important one! she powers the other two! imagine without energy to work or think would your body or brain be of any use? you first need energy, only then can you do anything.

the divine manifestation is divided in three main categories - creation (kartA, कर्ता) , sustenance (bhartA, भर्ता), transformation (hartA, हर्ता) . and all these are powered by the three goddesses! and all these three powers are right there in your hand.

so when you get up in the morning, don't whine, but rise and shine!
the entire power of this universe - create, sustain and transform - is in your hands!
be glad you have your hands, think for a moment if you didn't! it will be like you were without the divine force!

while you have this faith in the divine, please do not let anyone take advantage of you because of your faith. that is not faith anymore, that is your foolishness and others' selfishness! beware of fake gurus, and fake godmen! the real ones don't ask for any favors, they don't try to save god or truth. we all HAVE to pay for our actions!

so why is the version with "gaurI" better than that with "brahmA"? well, the other two are the goddesses, and wrist goes well with power, energy.

[sun photo,courtesy Karasán Krisztina]

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and now the shloka at hand:

kara = hand
agra = front, ahead; agre = in the front (-e suffix for in, on) [careful, it is not the same as the city Agra of the Taj Mahal, that should be correctly written as AgarA (आगरा)]
karAgre = in the front of the hand i.e. fingers
other words: agra-ja = born (ja) ahead (agra) = elder brother
agra-jA = elder sister (jA = born, feminine)

vasate = lives; root vas, vasati - singular, third person

lakShmIH = the divinity of prosperity (material and spiritual); consort of divine lord viShNu, the sustainer
from the word lakShya = goal
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kara-madhye = palm;
madhya = middle, (of hand); madhy-e = in middle

saraswatI = divinity of learning, knowledge; consort of divine lord brahmA, the creator
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kara-moole = in wrist
moola = base, root; mool-e = in the base
kanda-moola-phala = stems, roots and fruits (diets during fasting that avoid grains)

sthitA = situated
gaurI = pArvatI, shaktI, consort of shiva; fair colored; consort of shiva the transformer.
mangalaM = auspicious
kara-darshanaM = looking at hands




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(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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