The whole of the last month of the Hindu calendar was dedicated to lord Shiva, variously called as Bhola, Shankar, Mahesh or several other names depicting his independent, idiosyncratic ways. Shiva is supposed to the destructor among the triumvirate of the three lords comprising Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. lord Shiva is given the epithet of Mahadev, lord of the lords. In the auspicious month, Shravan, lord Shiva is worshipped all over the country. In this month we find the devotees, the Shiva Bhakts, wearing saffron dresses moving on the roads and streets all over the country. These devotees called Kawanrias make seemingly impossible efforts to bathe the Shivalingas of the various temples within their reach as it is this offering of water on the Shivalinga that is supposed to please the lord.
Why this scramble to offer water to the lord takes such an extreme form may appear inexplicable but it definitely seems to take the form of a mass hysteria. For anyone who doesn’t understand Hinduism such a scenario may defy logic but that is what is called faith in Hindu tradition. And lord Shiva has a huge crowd of followers because these followers identify themselves with the simple ways of the lord. You do not need precious gifts or items to please the lord. Even a pot of simple water can be offered and the lord is pleased. It is this belief that makes people travel far and wide. The most interesting aspect is that people do not ask for any boon. They are satisfied just by offering the water to the lord. The most unbelievable sight is at Baidyanath Dham, in the Deoghar town of Jharkhand state where devotees travel hundreds of miles barefoot just to offer a pot of river water to the lord cutting across caste and class.
Initially, it was Deoghar popularly known as Babadham that was known for the famous Shravan fair that in popular ling is also called ‘Bol Bam’. Deoghar is one of the twelve top shrines of lord Shiva in the country which are called the Jyotirlingas. The other eleven being the Somnath, Sri Shailyam, Mahakal, Omkareshwar, Bhima Shankar, Rameshwaram, Nageshwar, Kedar Nath, Tryambakeshwar, Kashivishwanath and Ghusheswar. These Jyotirlingas are the shrines that every Hindu longs to have darshana of. The popularity of lord Shiva is for several reasons. First and foremost is his role as the destroyer of the universe or srishti. Every cycle of creation of this universe comes to an end and this destruction is the precursor to the new creation. lord Shiva with his famous dance tandava and his third eye effects this destruction that pave way for fresh creation. The lord is also known to have swallowed the poison that had come out of the churning of the ocean. This act of his was to save the universe from the deadly poison, consuming which lord Shiva’s throat turned deep blue and gave him the name Nilkantha. lord Shiva is thus believed to be the God who saved the universe.
He is the common man’s God, simple and without pretensions who lives in the open on mount Kailash and is accompanied by common man, the down trodden and the ghosts. He rides an ox and does not wear costly robes. The lord is supposed to be simple and innocent who can be pleased by anybody making sincere efforts. That is the lord of the lords.
The writer is a professor of management and public speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com
