मृषा कृत्वा गोत्रस्खलनमथ वैलक्ष्यनिमितं
ललाटे भर्तारं चरणकमले ताडयति ते।
चिरादन्तःशल्यं दहनकृतमुन्मूलितवता
तुलाकोटिक्वाणैः किलिकिलितमीशानरिपुणा॥
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotraskhalanamatha vailakṣyanimitaṁ
lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale tāḍayati te |
cirādantaḥśalyaṁ dahanakṛtamunmūlitavatā
tulākoṭikvāṇaiḥ kilikilitamīśānaripuṇā ||
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotra skhalanam atha – all of a sudden, by mistake (wantonly) calling another woman with her family (lineage) name; vailakṣya nimitaṁ - (hanging down His head) due to embarrassment; lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale te – kicked Your Consort’s forehead with Your lotus feet; cirāt antaḥ śalyaṁ - long time acrimony; dahanakṛtam unmūlitavatā – totally burnt (by Śiva); tulā koṭi kvāṇaiḥ; jingling sounds of tiny bells in Her anklets; kilikilitam– sounds expressing happiness; īśāna ripuṇā – Śiva’s enemy.
“Śiva intentionally called Parāśakti by some other woman’s name. In anger, Parāśakti kicked on Śiva’s third eye, and Śiva hanged His head due to embarrassment. Manamtha who watched this scene made joyful sounds (giggling) which are like the jingling sounds from the tiny bells in Her anklets.”
This verse should be read along with the previous verse. In the previous verse, it is said that on seeing Her kicking ashoka tree in Her garden, Śiva became jealous of ashoka tree and wanted to have a kick from Her lotus feet. This is being explained in this verse. Parāśakti is very fond of Śiva, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 409, Śivapriyā. In fact, She is in no way different from Śiva. She is not a separate entity and She is one with Śiva all the time. If they are separated for a fraction of a second, the annihilation of the universe will get triggered. That is why, Lalitā Sahasranāma 999 said Śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī, categorically says that She is not different from Śiva.
The same concept is expressed in Soundarya laharī (verse 34) “O! Parāśakti! Your appear as the body of Śiva. I consider You as the sinless (meaning Pure) Śiva. The nine primary and secondary characteristics are common to both of You and both of You remain in the state of overwhelmed interdependency resulting in Blissful state.”
The present verse is an exemplary thought process of Śaṁkarācārya. This is called True Love for the Divine. There is no point in worshiping Her, keeping Her in a pedestal. This is dualism. In dualism, true blissful state and liberation can never be attained. Since Śaṁkarācārya (some Scriptures say that he is one of the incarnations Śiva) of was literally playing with Her, he could think of such wonderful descriptions. When we get such thoughts, we may consider these thoughts as Divine curse. No, such thoughts are not Divine curses; they are the reflection of our closeness to Divine, be it Śakti or Śiva. These kinds of worships are for Saguṇa Brahman (Brahman with forms and attributes). When these forms disappear without any efforts from our side, we move on from Saguṇa Brahman to Nirguṇa Brahman, where our merger with Brahman takes place, either in this birth or at least in the next birth. In the next birth, we always continue our spiritual journey, from where we have left in this birth.
Relationship between Śiva and Śakti is often depicted in romantic way. This is more predominant in Tantra Scriptures. Soundarya laharī is one of the prominent Tantric Scriptures; hence these types of descriptions remain scattered throughout this epic, more profound in the second part known as Soundarya laharī. This has already been explained.
Śiva was very jealous of the ashoka tree and He was carefully planning to get a kick from Her soft pinkish feet. He thought about some idea. Ideas are in plenty with Śiva, as He only revealed 64 tantra-s to the world through Her. Śiva wantonly called Her using some other name. She was very upset and became furious instantaneously. In the height of anger, She kicked on the third eye of Śiva. When She kicked on His face, Her anklets produced mild jingling sounds, as Her anklets have many minute bells. This jingling sound is compared to the giggling sound of Manmatha, who was burnt by Śiva, when he tried to play his trick on Śiva. It is only Parāśakti, who resurrected him and gave him a bodiless form. So, when Śiva was hit by Her, Manmatha, who was nursing vengeance against Śiva became happy. But he could not express his happiness openly as he knew that he will surely lose even the bodiless form. Hence, he only giggled, which only synchronised with the jingling sound of Her anklets.
This verse exhibits the poetic rhetoricalness of Śaṁkarācārya and should not be taken literally.
Advaith Ram
November 25, 2024 09:11 PM
Parasakti is worshiped for many qualities, one of which is Her Pativratyam as highlighted in "sudhamapya svadya" sloka...Amma would never kick Shiva, rather what happened was that, Shiva accidentally addressed "Gauri" as "Ganga" and was ashamed in a playful manner bent down to touch Her feet. Simultaneously She pulled Her feet back and using Her thumb gently pushed Shiva's head up and in doing so She activated His third eye, the same one which burnt Manmatha. The sound made by the ankles is akin to the laugh of Manmatha as ki ki ki.
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