Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. As Sri MahaShivaratri falls on 21-Feb-2020 (Friday), I am delighted to share an exquisite prayer on Lord Mahadeva by Lord Krishna taken from Mahabharata, Harivamsha Purana, Bhavishya Parva and Chapter 87.
As Mahabharata narrates, Lord Krishna visits Mount Kailash and performs a severe penance on Lord Mahadeva for 12 years and pleased with His penance, Lord Mahadeva appears in front of Him. This stuti was recited at that time. In this hymn, Lord Krishna mentions that, it is beyond His capacity to worship Lord Mahadeva and so is Goddess Vani (Goddess of speech). Lord Krishna worships Lord Mahadeva as the Pradhana Purusha.
In the subsequent chapter, Lord Mahadeva, in turn, worships Lord Krishna with two hymns (one of which I shared several years ago). In that chapter, Lord Mahadeva mentions that it is Lord Narayana who is the Pradhana Purusha and He Himself takes the 3 forms as Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra to perform the 3 different duties of creation, protection and destruction.
(In a lighter vein, regardless of whether there is any difference between them, they seem to be respectful to each other and in today's context, those of us who claim to worship them would do well to emulate our Lords.).
Returning to the topic, this is not an one-off statement in contrast to general theme. In Srimad Bhagavatam, Skanda 4, Chapter 7 and Verse 50-54, Lord Narayana corroborates this pellucidly to Daksha Prajapati.
shrIbhagavAn uvAca-
ahaM brahmA ca sharvashca jagataH kAraNaM param | Atmeshvara upadraShTA svayaM dRRigavisheShaNaH || 50 ||
AtmamAyAM samAvishya so.ahaM guNamayIM dvija | sRRijan raxan haran vishvaM dadhre saMGYAM kriyocitAm || 51 ||
tasmin brahmaNyadvitIye kevale paramAtmani | brahma rudrau ca bhUtAni bhedenAGYo.anupashyati || 52 ||
yathA pumAn na svA~NgeShu shiraH pANyAdiShu kvacit | pArakya-buddhiM kurute evaM bhUteShu mat paraH || 53 ||
trayANAM eka bhAvAnAM yo na pashyati vai bhidAM | sarva bhUtAtmanAM brahma sa shAntiM atigacChati || 54 ||
Meaning : I am indeed Brahma, Shiva, Ishvara, Atma and the root of this universe. Through my Maya, I assume different names and perform the duties of creation, protection and destruction. While I am the Paramatman and Brahman, ignorant people see me, Rudra, Brahma and other beings as being different from each other. As a person does not consider different parts of his body as different from himself, those who see me as the Paramatman does not see others different from me. Only those who do not harbor any difference among the trinity, who are omnipresent, attain peace.
We may or may not realize this - but Sanatana Dharma is in a very grave and precarious existential crisis. This is not the time to settle sectarian scores, an act borne out of ego that is not prescribed anywhere in our scriptures. This is not the time for the Hindu society to be a divided house. The survival and future of Sanatana Dharma depends on the youth to take interest in it, imbibe the scriptures as they are without any prejudices and with a balanced state of mind and carry the baton to the future. The only prayer we can make to the Lord is to make that happen through his divine grace.
May We Pray To Lord Mahadeva with this exquisite prayer by Lord Krishna!
With regards and Pranams,
K. Muralidharan Iyengar
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