Sunday, July 30, 2023

Uma, Shankara, Sharavana, Karthikeya.. and Uma's curse..



Uma, Shankara, Sharavana, Karthikeya.. and Uma's curse..
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In the Balakandam of Valmikiramayanam, the union between Uma the daughter of Himavan and Shankara, is described in Sargams 36 and 37
Rama and Lakshmana accompany sage Vishvamitra, on a mission to safeguard the yajna being conducted by the sage.
After successful completionn of the the Yajna, Sage Visvamitra takes Rama and Laksmana to the Kingdom of Videha..
They walk alongside the banks of Ganga.. bhagirathi..
During the journey, Visvamitra recounts the stories of the daughters of Himavan, Ganga and Parvathi, Parvathis marriage with Lord Shankara, the union between Uma and Shankara, the birth of Karthikeya and so on..
All that happened after that Shiva with a dark blue neck married Uma the darling of the Snowy mountain are describe in Sarga 36 of Balakandam.
Visvamitra tells Rama..
Rama, Lord Nilakanda of great spiritual powers married Devi Uma, and with great romantic desire, mated with her.. Their co habitation went on and on for thousand years.
Even after such a long mating the the birth of a child was not in sight. The Gods were apprehensive of the consequences.
They along with Brahma were worried as to how the universe would bear the power of a child born to Uma and Shankara .
So the Gods approache the Lord of the Universe, Shankara, prostrated befor him and requested as follows.
“ Our lord Mahadeva, your Grace is always eager to do only what is good and favourable to this world. We the Gods are making a request to you and may you be pleased to consider it. If the potency of yours is being born as a child in Uma, this world would not be able to bear it..Therefore, may you be pleased to stop this copulation with Uma and may both of you proceed on a penance.
For the protection of the world may you be pleased to just retain your potency within your own body ( and not transfer it to Uma) and thus may you be pleased not to destroy the whole world.
Listening to the entreaties of the Gods, Lord Shanakra replied that he would definitely do what was requested of him.
He assures that he would maintain his potency (retas) with himself without transmitting it to Uma.. But he asked as to where he should deposit the retas which has already moved from its static position in his body.
The Gods requested Shankara to deposit his retas which is flowing from his agitated self, on the earth, and said that the earth would carry it on her surface.
Thus told, the Lord transmitted his retas all over the earth and the flow covered the whole earth with all mountains and forests..
The spread was becoming unbearable for the earth, and so the Gods told the God of fire to enter the mass of retas somehow in the company of wind too. By the action of fire and wind the mass of energy flowing from Shiva took the shape of a huge white mountain with a massive growth of Shrubs of Kusha called sharavana..
It was from this massive Sharavana that Lord Karthikeya was born.
Then the Gods along with Sages worshipped uma and Shiva with a happy mind.
Then Uma the daughter of the mountains told the Gods.
“You Gods, you have managed to do something which is the most displeasing and painful to me. You are sure to suffer for causing me such displeasure. “
Saying so, Uma who shone like the Sun itself, took a little water in her palm and looked around at all the Gods assembled aroud, and made a curse as follows.
“ With fond desire to have a child I was mating with my Lord and you have put an end to that desire. Therefore, you Gods, you will never have any children born in your wives. And from this day onwards, may your wives bear any children.”
She cursed the earth too..
“ You earth, you thwarted my desire to have a child. Therefore you will have to bear the presence of many husbands of many forms. ( Every king is supposed to be the husband of the earth.) And you earth, you will never have the fortune of having the affection of a son.”
The Devas were filled with shame as they had deprived the Divine couple of their own child.
Uma and Shankara then proceeded in the diretion of Varuna and occupied the peaks of mount Himavat Sringa ( Kailas(?)
पुरा राम कृतोद्वाहो नीलकण्ठो महातपाः।
दृष्ट्वा च स्पृहया देवीं मैथुनायोपचक्रमे।६
नीलकण्ठस्य देवस्य दिव्यं वर्षशतं गतं।
न चापि तनयो राम तस्यामासित् परन्तप॥७
ततो देवाः सुमुद्विग्नाः पितामहपुरोगमाः।
यदिहोत्पद्यते भूतं कस्तात् प्रतिसहिष्यते॥८
अभिगम्य सुराः सर्वे प्रणिपत्येदमब्रुवन्॥९
देव देव महादेव लोकस्यास्य हिते रत।
सुराणां प्रणिपातेन प्रसादं कर्तुमर्हसि॥१०
न लोका धारयिष्यन्ति तव तजः सुरोत्तम।
ब्राह्मेण तपसा युक्तो देव्या सह तपश्चर॥११
त्रैलोक्यहितकामार्थां तेजस्तेजसि धारय।
रक्ष सर्वानिमान् लोकान् नालोकं कर्तुमर्हसि॥१२
देवतानां वचः श्रुत्वा सर्वलोकमहेश्वरः।
बाढमित्यब्रवीत् सर्वान् पुनश्चेदमुवाच ह॥१३
धारयिष्याम्यहं तेजस्तेजस्येव सहोमया।
त्रिदिशाः पृथिवी चैव निर्वाणमधिगच्छतु॥१४
यदिदम् क्षुभितं स्थानान्मम तेजो ह्यनुत्तमम्।
धारयिष्यति कस्तन्मे ब्रुवन्तु सुरसत्तमाः॥१५
एवमुक्तास्ततो देवाः प्रत्यूचुर्वृषभध्वजम्।
यत्तेजः क्षुभितं ह्येतत् तद्धरा धारयिष्यति॥१६
एवमुक्तः सुरपतिः प्रमुमोच महीतले।
तेजसा पृथिवी येन व्याप्ता सगिरिकानना॥१७
ततो देवाः पुनरिदमूचुश्चाथ हुताशनम्।
आविश त्वं महातेजो रौद्रं वायुसमन्वितः॥१८
तदग्निना पुनर्व्याप्तं सञ्जातः श्वेतपर्वतः।
दिवम् शरवणं चैव पावकादित्यसन्निभम्।
यत्र जातो महातेजाः कार्तिकेयोऽग्निसंभवः॥ १९
अथोमां च शिवं चैव देवाः सर्षिगणास्तदा।
पूजयामासुरत्यर्त्थं सुप्रीतमनसस्ततः।२०
अथ शैलसुता राम त्रिदशानिदमब्रवीत्।
अप्रियस्य कृतस्याद्य फलं प्राप्स्यथ मे सुराः॥२१
इत्युक्त्वा सलिलं गृह्य पार्वती भास्करप्रभा।
समन्युरशपत् सर्वान् क्रोधसंरक्तलोचना॥२२
यस्मान्निवारिता चाहं सङ्गता पुत्रकाम्यया।
अपत्यम् स्वेषु दारेषु नोत्पादयितुमर्हथ॥२३
अद्यप्रभृति युष्माकमप्रजा सन्तु पत्नयः।
एवमुक्त्वा सुरान् सर्वान् शशाप पृथिवीमपि॥२४
अवने नैकरूपा त्वं बहुभार्या भविष्यसि।
न च पुत्रकृताम् प्रीतिं मत्क्रोधकलुषिकृता।
प्राप्स्यसि त्वं सुदुर्मेधे मम पुत्रमनिच्छती॥२५
तान् सर्वान् व्रीडितान् दृष्ट्वा सुरान् सुरपतिस्तदा।
गमनायोपचक्राम दिशं वरुणपालिताम्॥२६
स गत्वा तत्र आतिष्ठत् पार्श्वे तस्योत्तरे गिरेः।
हिमवत् प्रभवे शृङ्गे सहदेव्या महेश्वरः॥२७
श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीये रामायणे बालकाण्डे सर्गः ३६
purā rāma kṛtodvāho nīlakaṇṭho mahātapāḥ |
dṛṣṭvā ca spṛhayā devīṁ maithunāyopacakrame|6
nīlakaṇṭhasya devasya divyaṁ varṣaśataṁ gataṁ|
na cāpi tanayo rāma tasyāmāsit parantapa||7
tato devāḥ sumudvignāḥ pitāmahapurogamāḥ|
yadihotpadyate bhūtaṁ kastāt pratisahiṣyate||8
abhigamya surāḥ sarve praṇipatyedamabruvan||9
deva deva mahādeva lokasyāsya hite rata|
surāṇāṁ praṇipātena prasādaṁ kartumarhasi||10
na lokā dhārayiṣyanti tava tajaḥ surottama|
brāhmeṇa tapasā yukto devyā saha tapaścara||11
trailokyahitakāmārthāṁ tejastejasi dhāraya|
rakṣa sarvānimān lokān nālokaṁ kartumarhasi||12
devatānāṁ vacaḥ śrutvā sarvalokamaheśvaraḥ|
bāḍhamityabravīt sarvān punaścedamuvāca ha||13
dhārayiṣyāmyahaṁ tejastejasyeva sahomayā|
tridiśāḥ pṛthivī caiva nirvāṇamadhigacchatu||14
yadidam kṣubhitaṁ sthānānmama tejo hyanuttamam|
dhārayiṣyati kastanme bruvantu surasattamāḥ||15
evamuktāstato devāḥ pratyūcurvṛṣabhadhvajam|
yattejaḥ kṣubhitaṁ hyetat taddharā dhārayiṣyati||16
evamuktaḥ surapatiḥ pramumoca mahītale|
tejasā pṛthivī yena vyāptā sagirikānanā||17
tato devāḥ punaridamūcuścātha hutāśanam|
āviśa tvaṁ mahātejo raudraṁ vāyusamanvitaḥ||18
tadagninā punarvyāptaṁ sañjātaḥ śvetaparvataḥ|
divam śaravaṇaṁ caiva pāvakādityasannibham|
yatra jāto mahātejāḥ kārtikeyo'gnisaṁbhavaḥ|| 19
athomāṁ ca śivaṁ caiva devāḥ sarṣigaṇāstadā|
pūjayāmāsuratyartthaṁ suprītamanasastataḥ|20
atha śailasutā rāma tridaśānidamabravīt|
apriyasya kṛtasyādya phalaṁ prāpsyatha me surāḥ||21
ityuktvā salilaṁ gṛhya pārvatī bhāskaraprabhā|
samanyuraśapat sarvān krodhasaṁraktalocanā||22
yasmānnivāritā cāhaṁ saṅgatā putrakāmyayā|
apatyam sveṣu dāreṣu notpādayitumarhatha||23
adyaprabhṛti yuṣmākamaprajā santu patnayaḥ|
evamuktvā surān sarvān śaśāpa pṛthivīmapi||24
avane naikarūpā tvaṁ bahubhāryā bhaviṣyasi|
na ca putrakṛtām prītiṁ matkrodhakaluṣikṛtā|
prāpsyasi tvaṁ sudurmedhe mama putramanicchatī||25
tān sarvān vrīḍitān dṛṣṭvā surān surapatistadā|
gamanāyopacakrāma diśaṁ varuṇapālitām||26
sa gatvā tatra ātiṣṭhat pārśve tasyottare gireḥ|
himavat prabhave śṛṅge sahadevyā maheśvaraḥ||27
śrīmadvālmīkīye rāmāyaṇe bālakāṇḍe sargaḥ 36

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