The Wedding

• June 20, 2017
• Pt. Telluckram Maharaj

THE WEDDING OF LORD SHIVA AND PARVATI DEVI.

The kathas of Sati Kand and Parvati Kand of the Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana have to be taken together to understand the significance of the marriage of Lord Shiva.

Durga Mata (Jagat Janani – the mother of the universe) took avatar as Sati Devi, the child of Daksha and was married to Lord Shiva. She gave up her body at her father’s yagya and was re-incarnated as Parvati Devi, the child of Himaachal to continue her devotion to Lord Shiva. At first she was unsuccessful but after receiving the advice of Narad Muni she engaged in tapasya with greater intensity until she succeeded in winning the hand of Lord Shiva once again.

CHILD OF DAKSHA

As a child of Daksha, Sati is acting a role to show the effects of worldly attraction. Daksha, the son of Lord Brahma was a Prajapati in charge of the creation and population of the world and so represents worldly and not spiritual affairs. Sati being his daughter developed these tendencies also.

She displayed ignorance and doubt as shown by her inability to recognize Sri Raam and to understand why Lord Shiva bowed to Him.

Her desire to go to her father’s yagya against the advice of Lord Shiva represents a person seeking happiness and fulfillment in the material world. Realization of the futility of worldly actions to bring about permanent happiness is shown in the katha as Sati giving up her material body with Daksha’s yagya being destroyed in the process.

CHILD OF HIMAACHAL

Sati is reborn as Parvati Devi, the daughter of Himaachal. Himachal is the personification of the mountain -characterized as being unshakable and immovable. Parvati acquired there qualities also and so had a strong resolve from birth to continue her worship of Lord Shiva. However at first she was unsuccessful due to the lingering effects of vasanas of her past life and karma.

STUDENT OF NARAD MUNI

After her initial failure, she listened to the advice of Narad Muni and continued her devotion.This shows that the readiness of the student is an important necessity for the appearance of the appropriate guru to show the way ahead. It also shows the need for rigorous tapasya in transforming the mind and consciousness of the devotee to eliminate all traces of ego and pride that may hold one back from progress. Now she is successful in winning His grace.

WHAT DOES THE WEDDING SYMBOLIZE?

In the Purana, the wedding is described as an actual event taking place at Himaachal’s palace in the mountains, very much like a wedding in today’s society. Spiritually it represents the union of a devotee’s mind and intellect with God, so the wedding really occurs in the consciousness of every individual. When a person’s senses are withdrawn from the materialism of the world, and the mind and intellect are focused on, and have become one with the Divinity present within the heart, this is the wedding of Parvati Devi and Lord Shiva.

WHAT IS THE RESULT OF THE WEDDING?

After the marriage, Kartikeya, the God of war, is born. With His six heads, He represents the power to remove completely all ignorance and evil that threaten the individual from all directions while living in the world. Then what happens? Lord Ganesh is born. This represents knowledge and wisdom. There is no more ignorance and doubt in the mind.

CONCLUSION

Tracing the activities of Durga Maata as Her incarnations as first Sati and then Parvati Devi shows how an individual, having come from God, eventually goes back to God. Like all major kathas of the Puranas, it shows the spiritual progress that is capable with tapasya and dedication. It shows also the effect of materialism and ego that may temporarily hinder this development. But from God we come, in God we live and to God we return.