Amma’s Tales restarts after a fairly long hiatus. Sorry folks, but life outside of this world interceded!
With that out of the way, we begin with a story on Shiva. Amma says, the lingam representations of Shiva are considered very special with each one having a special significance (see Knock on the head)! And lingams made by Shiva himself ought to be even more special!! The story goes:
It was time for the world to come to an end. Brahma thought, “Ah! Pralayam! The end of the world…a chance to begin afresh, and get rid of what was old and not working. Sweep my mistakes under the proverbial rug and get a free do-over! I love my job!”
Brahma started up the process of destruction of all creation…the plants, the animals…all life would be submerged. He took the nectar of immortality, prized by the devas, and was wondering where to keep it safe during the upheaval that was sure to occur during the pralayam.
As Brahma pondered the question, he wandered over to Shiva to seek his help. He said, “Shiva, I need a really safe place to keep these things. But the flood waters sometimes get really powerful and I am worried the nectar will get washed away. What can we do?”
Shiva thought about it for a bit and then said, “Here’s my kamandalu. Keep the nectar in it! I will seal it with a coconut and then you can be sure this will not break. Leave it on Mount Meru, that ought to be high enough.”
Satisfied, Brahma said, “Now I am little relieved. Onto the pralayam then! “
With a new bounce to his step, he stashed away the kamandalu atop Mount Meru, the tallest mountain on earth, and Brahma settled down for the long penance. As Brahma concentrated his power upon the task at hand, the seas whipped themselves into a fury. Winds howled and rains lashed the earth. The sea water rose alarmingly, churning itself in fury. The waves crashed upon the land and chunks of the earth were submerged. Trees toppled and cities vanished.
Lost in meditation, Brahma didn’t even notice the cataclysm that was taking place. He didn’t see that the power of his penance, had made the seas rise so high, the waves were threatening to envelop the heavens as well!
The devas were also watching the earth slowly get drowned. Suddenly, Agni, the god of fire shouted in alarm, “Look, the waves are crashing onto Mount Meru itself! The nectar has been washed away!”
Indra, the king of the devas, and all the assembled devas watched in horror as the kamandalu carrying its precious cargo floated away. They tried shouting to Brahma to wake up and rescue the vessel, to no avail! Brahma was completely immersed in the task at hand. Panicking, the devas rushed to Shiva and said, “O Shiva, it’s a catastrophe! The kamandalu with the nectar of immortality is lost to the floods. What will happen if the nectar falls into the hands of the rakshasas? You must help us! Brahma is so lost he doesn’t realize the grave danger he has placed the world in!”
Calming the worried devas, Shiva said, “Don’t worry. The kamandalu is mine and I have sealed it so nothing will be lost. Let the pralayam work itself out. I will then go and rescue the nectar.”
After the seas had subsided and the world was calm again, Shiva sprang down to the earth. He spotted the kamandalu where it had wedged itself into a deep crevice in the earth.
“Hmm,” thought Shiva. “This is a stickier situation than I had thought! If I pull this with all my power, it is bound to crack in Bhoomidevi’s grip. And I don’t want to accidentally spill any of the nectar.”
Finally he decided what he had to do. He said to Indra, “Indra, I am not going to be able to rescue the vessel intact. But I will make sure no one will be able to take unfair advantage of the nectar.”
Then Shiva bent and caught hold of the vessel that contained the nectar and he cracked it open himself. The nectar gushed out only to be caught in Shiva’s hands and guided safely into a waiting vessel. But one drop managed to escape and dripped to the ground. As the drop of nectar seeped into the ground, Shiva quickly bent down and fashioned the earth there into a lingam. Miraculously at the same time, the broken kamandalu also transformed itself into a lingam.
And so, Shiva saved the nectar of the gods from wasting away. And even today, near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, the lingams of the Kumbeshwarar (the pot itself) and Someshwarar (from the earth that had the nectar) temples stand in tribute to the deity who created them.
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