Devlok With Devdutt Pattanaik Read online

  Meru and Kailasa are very different from each other, and always compete for attention. Meru has flowing rivers, streams, greenery, trees, fruits and flowers; it’s fragrant, colourful, rich and fertile. Kailasa is the opposite—it’s rocky, snow-covered, still, colourless, lifeless. The gods and their abode, Devlok, are associated with Meru and the vairagi, tapasvi Shiva, with Mount Kailasa. Nothing grows there, but it does not affect Shiva who is always in deep meditation and does not need anything. It’s a formidable mountain and people are afraid to go there.

  But Shiva, with his knowledge and power, meditating there by himself is of no use to anyone. Indra doesn’t dare to go there, so to bring him down from the mountain, the gods pray to Devi. Devi takes birth as Parvati, the daughter of Parvateshwar, god of the mountains. The most supreme of all mountains are the Himalayas and so Parvateshwar is also called Himavan; and Parvati is also known as Haimavati (daughter of the Himalayas). She is also known as Girija, daughter of Giriraj (king of the mountains), and Shailavati, she who is born of the stone (shila).

  She convinces Shiva to come down to earth and become a householder, partake in the world. She brings him to Kashi (Varanasi) where the river flows; that is, from the stable (sthir) world to the unstable (asthir) world. The tension between these two worlds constantly plays out in Puranic stories.

  We’ve heard very interesting stories about Krishna and Hanuman both having lifted mountains. Tell us about them.

  In the Bhagavata Purana, an angry Indra inflicts heavy showers on Gokul in an attempt to drown and destroy the village. Krishna lifts up Govardhan Parvat on his little finger and uses it as an umbrella for the people. Again, this demonstrates Krishna’s strength. Interestingly, it is also believed that Govardhan was made of cow dung (gobar); that it wasn’t a natural mountain.

  In the Ramayana, during the battle with Ravana, Lakshmana is injured by an arrow. The only thing that can save his life is the Sanjivani herb, which grows on the Gandhamadan Parvat (fragrant mountain) in the north. Hanuman is sent to fetch the herb, but he cannot find it. As time is of the essence, he picks up the entire mountain and brings it to Lanka. This shows his incredible strength.

  When Hanuman is flying towards Lanka to find Sita, he has many adventures. He encounters a number of dangers on the way, in the form of asuras and monsters (like Simhika, Surasa). He then comes upon Mainak Parvat. Mainak identifies himself as Himavan’s son. He asks Hanuman to rest against him, since he must be tired, and then proceed to Lanka. But Hanuman turns down his help, saying he has no time to rest. Mainak realizes what a great soul Hanuman is. So, Hanuman is called Mahavir, Sankatmochan, someone who will not rest until he has solved your problem. Mainak Parvat is a curious mountain because it rises up from the ocean to offer Hanuman rest, but when he refuses, it sinks back—almost like a mobile mountain!

  In another story, Ravana wants to take Shiva to the south where he resides. Shiva agrees, and Ravana picks up Mount Kailasa, arrogantly claiming to have Shiva in his possession. To squash his conceit, Shiva presses his big toe from where he sits on top of the mountain, bringing the mountain crashing down on Ravana. In many Shiva temples, there is an idol called Ravana-anugraha murti. Ravana is squashed under the mountain and is pleading to Shiva for forgiveness. The other idol is of Hanuman holding aloft a mountain. The contrast is between Ravana, who is arrogant and has little devotion (bhakti) and is crushed under the mountain as a result, and Hanuman, the true devotee, who can fly even while carrying a mountain. This is a visual method of explaining what true devotion is.

  Are any other mountains mentioned in the Puranas?

  There are stories about the Vindhyas.

  Vindhya was very conceited, and always quarrelled with the gods, grahas (planets), rivers and rishis. Once, he tells Surya that he’ll grow so tall that the sun god will not be able to cross over to the other side. Worried, the gods go to Rishi Agastya to intervene. Agastya goes to Vindhya Parvat; on seeing him, the mountain bows in respect. The rishi says that this helps me go southward so stay as you are until I return. It is believed that Agastya never returned, and the mountain is still bent over.

  Ravana’s kingdom, Lanka, is also on a mountain called Trikut Parvat, which is associated with the Vindhyas. Once, Vindhya gets into a wrangle with the wind god, Vayu, who threatens to blow him away. When Vindhya challenges him, Vayu becomes stronger and stronger. So Vindhya takes the help of Shesh Naag; he asks the serpent to wrap his coils around the base and hold on tight. The two strengths balance each other out—one, the movement of Vayu and the other, the stabilizing strength of Shesh Naag. This goes on for a while, until the gods ask them to stop it. On hearing Vishnu’s command, Shesh Naag relaxes immediately. Just then, Vayu releases a strong gust of wind and a piece of the Vindhyas breaks off and is swept away into the ocean where it becomes Trikut. On top of this, the kingdom of Lanka is established.

  In most of the stories about mountains, a common feature is that mountains are transported from the north to the south through some means, either by being carried or being swept away, and so on.

  Many important temples like Vaishnodevi and Tirupati are on mountaintops. Why is that?

  Mountains are considered close to the gods, as they reach the skies. People live on earth and gods up in the skies. Mountains connect the two. Towards the end of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas decide to retire from the world and go towards heaven (Swarga) by climbing a mountain as it is believed that the gates to heaven are there.

  It is said that Vishnu came to earth from his heavenly abode and started looking for a place that would remind him of Vaikuntha. The seven mountains at Tirupati reminded him of Shesh Naag, who has seven hoods. Thus the mountain range is known as Sheshachalam (that which looks like Shesha Naag), and the seventh mountain is Venkatachalam. Vishnu on this mountain is called Venkateshwar (god of Tirupati).

  Further in the south, Murugan’s idol at Palani is on a mountain. In Kerala, Lord Ayyappan is also known as Hari-Hara Suta (son of Vishnu, or Hari, and Shiva, or Hara); his temple is at Sabarimala on a mountain. It is said that those who sit on a mountain are tapasvis. So, Ayyappan, having tied a yogapattam (band) around his legs, sits and does only tapasya there. Vaishnodevi too is a tapasvini; she is not in her role as a wife (Bharya) here.

  In south India, all Kartikeya temples are found on mountains. What is the connection?

  Kartikeya is Shiva’s son. Once the two have a fight and Kartikeya decides to leave Kailasa, and head south. According to the jyotirlingas (local temple legends), Shiva goes after him to persuade him, but Kartikeya keeps going further away. Since there were no mountains in the south, his thoughts kept returning to his mountainous home. His mother Parvati decides to send him a mountain with a demon, Hidimba. Like human mothers pack lunch for their children, goddesses are bound to do something similar, but on a grand scale! This is why Kartikeya is always associated with mountains.

  Another story is that when he is warring with Taraka-asura, Taraka’s brother Surapadmana assumes the shape of a mountain. Kartikeya shatters the mountain with his lance, splitting it and creating a passage. This shows Kartikeya’s immense strength; he broke Mount Krauncha as well. So Kartikeshwara is strongly associated with mountains.

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  Karna

  Karna is my favourite character in the Mahabharata, as he is for many. There is perhaps an aura about him that makes him so popular. Tell us about him—how was he born?

  There’s a princess from the Yadava clan called Kunti, Surasena’s daughter given in adoption to Kuntibhoj. She serves Rishi Durvasa who blesses her with a mantra which allows her to summon any deva and beget his child. She can become an instant mother, without waiting for nine months. Sceptical about the mantra’s powers, she, in her childish curiosity, decides to test it. She calls Surya and gets a child. The child is special because he is born wearing a kavach (armour) and kundala (gold earrings). At first she is excited, but then she realizes that having a child while still a maiden would destroy her reputation.