Shambho Mahadeva Shambho !!!

On the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri, I unravel my perception of the most enigmatic of the Gods in the Hindu pantheon

One moment, he's a picture of serenity, eyes half closed, calm and poised, sitting as if in a trance, contemplative, meditative and ruminative; in the very next, he's an outraged, menacing character, destructive and ravaging, like a bull in a china shop (no wonder, he has a bull, Nandi, as his vaahana (transportation vehicle)). In between these extremely polarized existences, He has myriad avataars, the eternal romantic consort of Goddess Parvati, doting father to Lords Ganesha and Kartika, buddies to Lords Vishnu and Brahma - in his role as the destroyer amongst the trimurti - who, amongst them, ensures equilibrium in the universe through the virtuous cycle of creation, sustenance and destruction. 

But, there's one aspect of Bholenath that has had me beguiled all along ... his sense of haute couture. He's a fashion designer's delight. He can pull off his matted locks with as much elan, as his tiger-skin wear. The nonchalance with which he wraps his neck with that king-cobra muffler, has all the hallmarks of sprezzatura (look that word up ... you'll be pleasantly delighted ). His ash-smeared arms, the hypnotic third-eye on his forehead, and the accoutrement that accompany him ... the trishul, the hour-glass shaped damru, all of it make for his mysterious mystique, and mesmerisingly magnetic charm

The gushing flow of Goddess Ganga from his majestic tresses, the crescent moon as his tiara, and his propensity to jump into a dance (of death ... the fearsome taandav), .... it's stands Him out as an icon, amongst the 33 crore Hindu Gods (or 33, depending on your Samskrit)

My family deity, in the temple right next to our ancestral home (tharavaad/vaariyam (തറവാട്/വാരിയം)), in the quaint and rustic village of Painkulam, in Thrissur district of Kerala, is an incarnation of Lord Maheshwara, as Thiruvanjikuzhi Thevar (തിരുവഞ്ഞികുഴി തേവര്‍). He dwells there, in a cave temple, on the banks of the picturesquely pristine Bharata Puzha (ഭാരത പുഴ) river. And that perhaps, is the reason for my fetish and fascination for Kailaasa Deva

The Bharata Puzha itself, is a study in contrasts ... calm and light in its ebb and flow during three quarters of an year, and gruesome, violent and treacherous, as it gushes its wild waters, destroying everything in its way, during the monsoon. I've always wondered whether it's a metaphor for the schizophrenic duality of the shaanta roopa and raudra roopa of Lord Shankara

As they say, there's much more to Him, than meets the eye .... but let me save it for another day 

ओम नम: शिवाय