Thus Spake the Divine - Shiva’s Consort; Narayana’s Sister - 2

Thus Spake the Divine

Shiva’s Consort; Narayana’s Sister

Andal had a dream of marrying Sri Krishna, which she had sung in the form of Pasuram. As per Vedic Brahmin custom, sister of bridegroom helps the bride in wearing the wedding saree (koorai pudavai) and accompanies her to the marriage hall. Here, Ambal, sister of Krishna, did the customary ritual. This is sung in her Pasuram as follows:

“Mandirak kodi uduthi manamalai andari soottak kanakkanden thozhi nan”. The word ‘andari’ here refers to Ambal. Thus, Ambal, on one hand, is non-distinct from Ishvara and also His Wife. On the other hand, She is non-distinct from Vishnu and also His Sister. Once we realise this fundamental philosophy of Oneness among the Trios, we will not consider one superior to another. Then, distinction between Shiva and Vishnu will completely vanish. Conflicts between Shaivaites and Vaishnavas would also come to an end.

Action-less Brahmam manifests into many forms when there is action. Among these many forms, nothing is superior or inferior to the other. Similarly, there is absolutely no distinction between various forms and the Absolute Truth, which is the base for everything. If this wisdom dawns on us, there will not be any clashes, conflicts or differences of opinion in respect of our religion.

Ambal should confer Her grace on all of us to attain such feeling of equanimity. In temples, Ambal is in different forms. One among them is Durga in Shiva’s temple, around the sanctum sanctorum, we see idols of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Maha Vishnu (or Lingodhbhavar), Brahma and Durga. Among these, Dakshinamurti is alone. He has no wife. Durga has no Consort and She is also alone. Dakshinamurti would be holding japamala and a bundle of leaves (to signify books) in his hands. He is impeccably white.

Similarly, Sarasvati would be holding similar items as that of Dakshinamurti in Her hands. She is also very fair. Siblings look alike. Therefore, Sarasvati is sister of Shiva. Both are wisdom filled. Likewise, both Brahma and Lakshmi are golden-yellow complexioned and seated on Lotus. If Brahma is engaged in incessant creations, Lakshmi is engaged in creating wealth for sustenance of creations. Brahma and Lakshmi are therefore siblings.

Now, let us see Durga, who is all alone without any companion. She looks bluish black as Vishnu, holding Shankhu and Chakra in Her hands. She has fought and terminated (samharam) many Asuras like Mahishasuran. Therefore, it is amply clear that Vishnu is Her Brother. Vishnu is also same complexioned as Durga, holding f Shankhu and Chakram and taking frequent Avataras to terminate Asuras. Both Durga and Vishnu do samharam only to curtail evil.

Only these two manage this Universe, which is the reflection of Maya. That is why we call Vishnu as “Mayavi” and Ambal is called “Maha Maya”. These names have been in vogue right from the Sangam period. This duo is much closer to each other than other siblings. Durga is also called as Vishnu Durga. Brother-sister relationship between Vishnu and Durga is well-known to all, whereas the other two, viz. Sarasvati and Shiva and Lakshmi and Brahma are not so much popular.

It is customary to relate the acts of Maya with female gender. This characteristic is very much visible in Maha Vishnu. That is why He took the avatara of Mohini when distributing nectar between Devas and Asuras. To substantiate the truth that Vishnu and Ambal are One, Ishvara married Mohini. In terms of holy shrines of Vaishnavas, Tirupati is world-famous. You can see a lot of similarities between Venkata Ramanan and Ambal in Tirupati. Perumal wears only saree and not dhoti; Abhishekam is done only on Fridays, which is most suitable for Ambal. While Perumal’s Vahana is Garuda, here Simha Vahana (Lion) is seen; Lion is the Vahana of Ambal.

Appayya Dikshita has composed a treatise titled “Ratna Thraya Pareeksha”, wherein he addresses Ambal, Maha Vishnu and Parameshvara as three gems. These three are the variants of one Supreme Truth. Ambal is inseparably related to other two viz. Parameshvara and Vishnu; to one as wife and the other as sister. There should be Bhakti towards all these three forms without any discrimination. We should realise that the Absolute Truth is Shivam and Energy (Shakti) and its reflection into innumerable substances is Ambal or Vishnu.

I explained to you that, in principle, there is no distinction between Ambal and Vishnu. Now, let me tell you a story, which you may not be aware. You all must be familiar with Ramayana; but I am going to tell you the known Ramayana in an unknown way! Apart from Ramayana written by Valmeeki, Kambar and Tulsi Das, there are other Ramayanas written by different authors, such as Ananda Ramayana, Arputha Ramayana, Durvasa Ramayana etc. The story I am going to share now is available in one of these versions.

According to this story, Ambal was born as Rama and Ishvara came as Sita. Rama’s complexion is dark green. So, He is called “Maragathamani Varnan”. Maragatham means emerald. Poet Kalidasa addresses Ambal as “Matha Maragatha Shyama”, which means She is also dark green complexioned as is emerald. Muthuswami Dikshita also calls Meenakshi as “Maragatha Chchaye”. Beyond Creation, Sustenance and Destruction, when She remains Para Shakti, She looks reddish. However, when She becomes wife of Shiva, She looks green. It is this Ambal in green, who was born as Ramachandra and Ishvara became Sita.

In olden days, marriages used to be conducted at a very young age. To cheer up children from the tiring rituals like Homam etc., there were fun games, such as oonjal, nalangu, oorvalam etc. During oorvalam (procession), the boy would be dressed as girl and the girl as boy. To eradicate the threat of Rakshashas (demons), as a fun play, Ambal masqueraded as Rama and Ishvara as Sita. No one knew this. Even Rama and Sita were in a state of total unawareness of this fact. But during emotional outbursts, what is hidden in the subconscious mind bursts out; isn’t it? Such a scene comes in Ramayana.

Rama decides to leave Sita in Ayodhya and proceed to forest, as ordered by His father. At that moment, Sita gets highly emotional at His decision to leave her. She gets annoyed with Rama as to what kind of a man is He, who is scared of animals in forest and leaves His wife behind. In an emotional outburst, she speaks the truth! She tells Rama, “My father Janaka, who accepted you as Groom, is not aware that you are a woman in a man’s disguise!” This is exactly the dialogue in Valmiki Ramayana!

Sita thus reminds Rama that He is Ambal in a very subtle manner. Immediately, Rama is reminded of the purpose of His avatara (to exterminate Ravana and establish Dharma). He then takes Sita along with Him to the forest.

Ravana, who is to be exterminated by Rama, is a great devotee of Shiva. Initially, he wants Shiva to come and do the pooja in Ashoka Vanam. For that, he tries to lift Kailasa Mountain. But when Ambal embraces Shiva out of fear, Shiva presses the mountain by the fingertips of His feet. Ravana escapes somehow and runs to Lanka. Since, he is a staunch Shiva devotee, Ravana knows that Shiva is masquerading as Sita. Earlier, because of Ambal’s interference, he could not lift Kailasa and bring Shiva to Lanka. Now, on knowing the reality, he does not want Ambal to interfere again with his mission.

Therefore, he removes Rama from the vicinity, abducts Sita and brings Her to Ashoka Vanam. I have already told you about the love for one another between the inseparable two viz. Ambal and Shiva. Excluding the other always leads to commotion. Here, Ravana’s love for Sita turns into lust. But still, since he is a Shiva devotee, he could identify the secret of the avatara. As soon as he sees Hanuman, he thinks within himself, “Is it Nandikeshwar?’ Valmiki Ramayana asks, “Kimesha Bhagavan Nandi?” Ravana speaks as though he realises that Hanuman, a close devotee of Rama, is none other than Nandi, who is the aide of Shiva and Parvati in Kailasa.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.