ShivShakti - Tales Of Immortal & Innocent Love (#1 Of Series)

Parvati's Penance

Parvati opened Her eyes and found Herself in the chambers of Her room. She woke up with a start and was surprised to see Herself back in Her home palace.

She recalled the events of the previous day. She was upset about Rati's curse and Shiva's indifference. She was worried about these difficulties which acted as hindrances in Her path.

She decided to visit Maharishi Dadhichi for further advice. He assured Her and adviced Her to  make a Shivling with Her own hands and worship Him.

Parvati found a cool and calm place just near the foothills of the Himalayas. She chose this place as Her cottage and temple of worship. She was going to continue Her penance, even though She had to start from scratch again after Her previous failure to get Shiva's attention.

But what She didn't know was that Shiva was helping Her throughout Her journey continuously. Even though He was meditating, He watched over Her subconsciously. She had become a Shiva devotee and it was His duty to guide and protect Her now, even if He wanted to act cold towards Her approaches.

The truth is, in Rudraloka, Lord Sadashiva and Goddess AdiparaShakti are never separated from each other. They manifest as two sides of the same form of Ardhanarishwar. And Shiva being the Supreme Lord, knew about Parvati's identity. He was aware of Her struggles and contributed to help and support Her throughout Her path.

He saw Her pain and despair as His own. And an observer might say that it was Parvati who was struggling hard, but Parvati is Shiva's reflection Herself. They may look different to the observer due to ignorance.

We think that we are observing God through worship and prayers, and try to find Him outside. The truth is that He is within us. We are the manifestations of the Supreme Truth.  God is the observer and we are the observation. We are His creation and it is futile thinking about our own superiority when He's the essence of our existence.

We look at the world with our eyes and wonder how big the Universe is that it envelopes us within itself. But the Supreme Lord is even more magnificent and he entire Universe rests within Him. His vastness surrounds the entire Cosmos.

We are so small and so insignificant. Only enlightenment achieved through human conscience makes us significant. Parvati's penance is a reminder of the efforts man makes to unite with God. He may fail several times in the process but God supports Him throughout and ultimately he becomes one with the Lord.

At the moment, Parvati was trying Her best to make a Shivling from the mud and clay She had collected from the river banks.

No matter what She tried, She just couldn't shape the Shivling. Maybe because She had never seen one in real life. She was only trying to shape Her imagination according to the description given by Maharishi Dadhichi.

The sight was so beautiful for the Gods, that they stopped everything to observe Her. The Supreme Mother, who is the source of creation, and the storehouse of creativity, was struggling to give shape to Her creativity and imagination.

Such is the divine play of ShivaShakti that even though they know everything about the past, present and future, yet they engage in mortal ways of the world. Just to teach everyone about love and divinity.

Lord Vishnu decided to visit Parvati and watch the scene in person. He disguised Himself as a saint and lend Her a helping hand.

He quickly and smoothly shaped the Shivling like magic. Parvati was wonderfully surprised at His creation. It was so perfect and divine. And ofcourse it had to be perfect; it was created by the world's greatest Shiva devotee.

Her eyes widened in delight. Wonder shone like crystals in Her dark almond eyes as She thanked Him.

"Thank you so much, nobleman! I'm truly indebted to You for this help.  How can I return Your favour?"