Shiva Mahimna Stotra
Shloka 14
Meaning: O Lord with three eyes (Shiva): When the Devas and the Danavas (Asuras) were scared to death seeing the untimely destruction of the universe approaching all, you showered your grace on them by drinking the deadly poison. Because of that act, a dark stain appeared on your throat. Doesn’t that stain add to your beauty? Truly, even the deformation is praiseworthy for the one whose hobby is to remove the fear of the universe.
Reflections: Shri Pushpadanta refers to the churning of the ocean story. It is an interesting story, and it brings out Lord Shiva’s compassion for humanity and readiness to help all even at the cost of his life.
The churning of the ocean story: Once Devas defeated Danavas and then they became arrogant. Danavas are also referred to as the Asuras or the Daityas. Indra, the king of the Devas, was riding on an elephant. At that time Rishi Durvasa gave a garland to Indra. Out of arrogance, he placed the garland on the elephant. The garland attracted bees, so annoyed by the bees, the elephant threw it on the ground and crushed it under its feet. Rishi Durvasa saw this insult of his gift, so he cursed that Indra and all the Devas be bereft of strength and wealth. Thus, they lost their power and Danavas took away their kingdom and obtained control over the three worlds.
Then, Devas took refuge at the feet of Lord Vishnu, offered Him their prayers, and asked His advice. Lord Vishnu advised them to be friendly with the Danavas and with their help churn the ocean to get the Amruta (nectar) which would make them strong. Devas followed Lord Vishnu’s advice, developed a friendship with the Danavas, and both of them decided to churn the milky ocean.
With the help of Lord Vishnu, they brought Mandara Mountain from its base to the ocean. They requested Vasuki, the king of the serpents, to become a rope to help in churning the ocean. They wrapped Vasuki around the mountain. Danavas held the mouth part of Vasuki and Devas held its tail part. By Lord Vishnu’s grace, the churning was not harming Vasuki at all. During the churning, the Mandara mountain started sinking into the ocean as it had no solid base to support it. Again, Lord Vishnu in the form of a huge turtle supported the mountain. Now, the churning of the ocean began.
Due to the churning, the very first thing that came out from the ocean was concentrated deadly poison, called Halahala or Kalakuta. Its fiercely penetrating fatal fumes started spreading all over. No one wanted to drink the poison. All thought that the poison would spread all over and the world would come to an end. Terror-stricken, all the devas ran to the Kailasa where Lord Shiva was staying with Devi Parvati. They started praying to Lord Shiva,
“O Lord of the Lords! Thou great Divinity, Self, and the protector of the worlds! Save us from the poison that threatens the life of the three worlds. Thou art the master of the destinies of all beings, of their bondage and liberation. Wise people worship Thee as the Great Spiritual Teacher and remover of the sufferings of those who seek Thy shelter.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam 8.7.21-22)
Seeing the miserable condition of the Devas, the merciful Lord Shiva, the friend, and well-wisher of all, felt extremely pained and said to Parvati, “O Bhavani! See the pitiable plight of beings harassed by the poison Kalakuta produced at the churning of the ocean. So, I am going to drink this poison. May all beings be saved by it.” With the approval of the Devi, Lord Shiva drank the poison.
Shrimad Bhagavatam (8.7.43) says, “The deadly poison showed its destructive power even on this Divine Being, the Lord of the worlds. It turned Lord Shiva’s throat blue. But the poison remained only at the neck as a decoration proclaiming Lord Shiva’s passion for the welfare of others.”
Note: Up to this part of the story is relevant to the Shiva Mahimna Shloka-14. But, in order to complete the story of the churning of the ocean, I will summarize its remaining part.
Summary of the remaining part of the ocean churning story:
According to Shrimad Bhagavatam, after the poison Kalakuta, the following nine things came out of the ocean by its churning. Different people kept different things.
- Kamadhenu, a celestial cow. Brahma took the cow and then gave it to the Rishis.
- Ucchaisravas, a horse. The Danava Bali kept it.
- Airavata, a white four-tusked elephant. Indra took the elephant.
- Kaustubha, a gem of the species of Padmaraga. Lord Vishnu adorned his neck with that gem.
- Parijata, a celestial tree. Devas took it to the Indraloka, the abode of Indra.
- Apsaras, heavenly artists and dancers. They chose Gandharvas as their companions.
- Ramaa (Mother Lakshmi) emerged from the ocean. She married Lord Vishnu.
- Varuni, the presiding deity of liquors. Danavas took possession of Varuni.
- Finally came Dhanvantari with a pot of Amruta (nectar). Dhanvantari was a part of Lord Vishnu who promulgated Ayurveda, the science of health.
As soon as Danavas saw the pot of nectar, they stole it from Dhanvantari and ran away. Then, they were fighting among themselves regarding who would drink it first. The weaker Danavas wanted to create a problem. They said that Devas also deserve an equal share of the nectar. Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of a beautiful woman called Mohini and enchanted the Danavas. Infatuated Danavas asked Mohini to settle their quarrel. Mohini took the pot and asked Devas and Danavas to sit in separate lines. She then started pouring Amruta (nectar) into Devas’ containers which Devas drank.
One Danava Swarbhanu sat among the Devas in disguise. He sat between the Sun and the Moon. When Swarbhanu was drinking the nectar, the Sun and Moon realized who he was. They told Mohini about his cheating. Swarbhanu drank the nectar, but before the nectar went below his throat, Mohini cut his head with a disc. The head became immortal, and it is known as Rahu. His body was known as Ketu. Rahu and Ketu cause eclipses.
After Devas drank the nectar, the pot was empty. At that time, Mohini revealed to all that she was nothing but Lord Vishnu. Then, Lord Vishnu disappeared. Danavas fought with the Devas to defeat them. But, with the power of nectar, Devas were much stronger and they defeated the Danavas.
Back to the Shiva Mahimna Shloka-14:
Churning the ocean is a symbol of our inner struggle. When we try to realize the Ultimate Reality (our true Divine Identity), then in our spiritual path, churning starts in the form of an inner struggle between our divine and demonic qualities. It is also a struggle between our worldly desires which we have cherished so far and have worked for them and the new desire to make spiritual progress.
In our spiritual path, we may get some initial joy from our spiritual practices, but as we go further, we face terrible resistance that arises from our doubts, our own worldly desires, external obstacles, and the resistance that may come from family members, relatives, and friends, the pain of not making spiritual progress, and our own puny ego. This is like Kalakuta poison. In the life of Lord Buddha, we find that just before Nirvana, Mara attacked him with doubts, questions, and temptations. Lord Buddha defeated Mara with his strong determination and sincerity. We have to overcome this stage as all the realized beings have done. God’s grace and the Knowledge of the Ultimate Reality destroy these poisonous obstacles.
Swami Vivekananda Says that Unselfishness is God. Realization of God means attaining Oneness. In that state, one realizes that the One Existence which Vedanta calls Brahman has become the universe and all its beings.
In the Bhagavad Gita (18.20), Shri Krishna says, “The knowledge by which one indestructible Substance (Brahman) is seen in all beings, undivided in the divided – know that it is the Sattvika (superior) knowledge.”
If we remove the external differences of all beings and things, then what remains is ‘pure existence’, or Atman, or Brahman. At that time the little self which consists of body-mind, disappears. As a consequence, we experience other people’s joy as our joy and other people’s miseries as our misery.
Shrimad Bhagavatam (8.7.44) says, “Realized beings feel the sufferings of others as their own. Such fellow-feeling is the highest form of worship of the Supreme Being (Brahman), who is the soul (Atman) of all.”
Lord Shiva felt the pain and saw the worries of all the people, and he decided to drink the poison to make them free from their worries. This is the act of Oneness.
We find in the world that where there is love, or attachment, or fulfilment of selfish motives, people swallow the poison of insults and misbehavior of other people. For example, when children do not get what they want, they get angry at their mothers and little ones even kick them. But the mothers forgive their children and continue to love and serve them. Husbands and wives go through many adjustments and swallow unpleasant verbal exchanges and acts to continue their marriage relationships. In the jobs, employees who have difficulties finding other jobs tolerate and swallow their boss’s misbehavior. Without swallowing the poison of insults and misbehavior, the world cannot go on. When swallowing does not happen, then the anger comes out in a destructive form, and it does bring destruction. However, only a few people, out of their unselfish love for all, swallow insults and misbehavior of other people to do good to them.
Lors Shiva showed that the sign of unselfish love is to feel the pain of other people’s sufferings and swallow the poison by forgiving and forgetting their inappropriate behavior which came from their ignorance, poor judgments, and lack of self-control. This fellow feeling and swallowing out of love is only possible when one feels Oneness among all. When swallowing is done without feeling Oneness, it brings harmful physical and mental reactions. Let us try to achieve this Oneness.
mahendrajani 