After a fairly long
time, I got some time to read through some Tamil literature. Sure, the gap was
not just due to time; it was also a decision not to read Manickavaachakar for some time. This week, I decided to read but not Manickavaachakar . Instead I read
Abirami Andathi and a bit of Sundarar. They were melting as well. Many of the
poems made me stop to reflect. Intensity was pretty strong. This particular
poem from Abirami Andathi caught me thinking deeply…
மொழிக்கும், நினைவுக்கும் எட்டாத நின்திரு மூர்த்தி, என்தன்
விழிக்கும் வினைக்கும் வெளிநின்றதால், விழியால் மதனை
அழிக்கும் தலைவர், அழியா விரதத்தை அண்டமெல்லாம்
பழிக்கும்படி, ஒரு பாகம் கொண்டாளும் பராபரையே
The poet is
surprised that Shakti appeared in front of him as a result of his prayers and
puja though She is beyond all that languages could describe and thinking could
explain. He is also wondering how She could take up the left half of Shiva
while Manmadan was burnt by Shiva when he tried to distract Shiva from his
Tapas
The
"Ardhanaree" form fascinated me too. I always wondered why Hinduism came
up with such an idea. Is it to show / depict that genders do not matter or all
genders are the same/equal or irrespective your gender you are part of a
creative whole or only if genders work together in harmony great things are
accomplished or one gender alone is not sufficient for the world to thrive and
hence it is better for both the genders to behave themselves or is it to show
that all of us have "prescribed qualities" of both genders in us . I
don’t know the exact answer but this form keeps me thinking.
In addition to the
above questions about Ardhanaree form, like the poet, I am also wondering how
was it possible for Her, when Manmadan was not able to do!! Not only he failed
to distract Shiva, he turned to heap of ash just by His look! But She could become
half of Him. More interestingly He did
not even consider burning Her… rather He invited Her and merged Her to be His
better half! What made Her special? Does
Shivakami mean the one likes Shiva or the one liked by Shiva? Is She Shivakami
because She liked Him or because He liked Her or both. The word is so
intelligently coined, it can be interpreted in any of the three ways…
Interesting… Though I read this particular poem only now, the question had struck me a while ago - much before reading the poem. I was thinking about Her so deeply for
about a month or so. I should say, my love for Parvathi grew multi-fold in the
last one year…
Why is She special
and how could She do it with such an ease? Was it Her beauty? No, it can't be!
He was ascetic! There was no way that He would give in! Moreover, She would not
have used it as a means for sure… She is not Menaka or Ramba or Urvasi after
all… Was it Her equal mental stature? Maybe… Was it Her quest for knowledge
about tapas? Maybe… I feel, more than all that, it is Her pure and divine
intention… manmadan had intentions to distract Him but She did not! The other part of the question is, why
did She decide to be part of Him? She could produce anything She needed without
Him! So what made Him so special to Her? She was also a great tapaswini and was
not distractible at all. But, She joined His celestial dance! Laasya (feminine
version of Shiva Thandavam) was formed! 108 ways of tapas was described and
shared with rishis! Everything They created together was divine and only divine… Nothing substandard… Births of
Ganesha and Murugan were mystique… Ganesha came from Her alone and Murugan came
from Him alone! What does Their story convey? I am still curious… Maybe more than ever before… Hope I find
an answer sometime in my life…
Coming back to the poem, maybe it should have been "வியக்கும்படி" instead of "பழிக்கும்படி". I feel just
for rhyming purposes the poet must have
used "பழிக்கும்படி"… If he was
intentional about the choice of word, I would probably fight him…
