Missed the morning, but came for the evening, and what a show it was. Sivan’s bhootavahana demanded Kailaya Vadyam. They don’t enter the temple, but wait outside. And when He emerges–they take over. There were lines of drummers and kombu players with their large curved instruments; it was a nothing short of a spectacle, meant to steal your heart away and make you follow this strange man.
The moment recalls the brahmacharin’s questions to Parvati, whose heart is given to Siva in Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava (Canto 5, verse 66 onwards):
...करेण शंभोर्वलयीकृताहिना सहिष्यते तत्प्रथमावलम्बनम् ॥ ५.६६ ॥"
त्वमेव तावत्परिचिन्तय स्वयं कदा चिदेते यदि योगमर्हतः ।
वधूदुकूलं कलहंसलक्षणं गजाजिनं शोणितबिन्दुवर्षि च ॥ ५.६७ ॥
चतुष्कपुष्पप्रकराविकीर्णयोः परोऽपि को नाम तवानुमन्यते ।
अलक्तकाङ्कानि पदानि पादयोः विकीर्णकेशासु परेतभूमिषु ॥ ५.६८ ॥
अयुक्तरूपं किमतः परं वद त्रिनेत्रवक्षः सुलभं तवापि यत् ।
स्तनद्वयेऽस्मिन् हरिचन्दनास्पदे पदं चिताभस्मरजः करिष्यति ॥ ५.६९ ॥
इयं च तेऽन्या पुरतो विडम्बना यदूढया वारणराजहार्यया ।
विलोक्य वृद्धोक्षमधिष्ठितं त्वया महाजनः स्मेरमुखो भविष्यति ॥ ५.७० ॥
द्वयं गतं संप्रति शोचनीयतां समागमप्रार्थनया पिनाकिनः ।
कला च सा कान्तिमती कलावतस् त्वमस्य लोकस्य च नेत्रकौमुदी ॥ ५.७१ ॥
वपुर्विरूपाक्षमलक्ष्यजन्मता दिगम्बरत्वेन निवेदितं वसु ।
वरेषु यद्बालमृगाक्षि मृग्यते तदस्ति किं व्यस्तमपि त्रिलोचने ॥ ५.७२ ॥
निवर्तयास्मादसदीप्सितान्मनः क्व तद्विधस्त्वं क्व च पुण्यलक्षणा ।
अपेक्ष्यते साधुजनेन वैदिकी श्मशानशूलस्य न यूपसत्क्रिया ॥ ५.७३ ॥
How will this hand of yours, with the wedding thread bound upon it, endure the first grasp of Sambhu’s hand, which is encircled by a serpent? (5.66)
Consider for yourself whether these two can ever be joined: the bride’s silken garment marked with the sign of the kalahamsa swan, and the elephant hide that showers drops of blood. (5.67)
Who, even an enemy, would approve of your feet—which used to tread upon flowers strewn in the courtyards—leaving marks of red lac upon the cremation grounds where hair is scattered? (5.68)
Tell me, what could be more incongruous than this: that the dust of funeral ashes, so easily obtained from the chest of the Three-Eyed God, will find a place upon these two breasts of yours, the proper seat for yellow sandalwood paste? (5.69)
And this is another mockery awaiting you: when you, who ought to be carried by a lordly elephant, are seen mounted upon an old bull after your marriage, the common folk will look on with mocking smiles. (5.70)
Two things have now become objects of pity through their desire for union with the wielder of the pinaka bow: that radiant digit of the moon, and you, who are the moonlight to the eyes of this world. (5.71)
O fawn-eyed one, is there even a single quality sought in a bridegroom to be found in the Three-Eyed God—he whose body is misshapen, whose birth is unknown, and whose wealth is indicated by his nakedness? (5.72)
Turn your mind away from this unworthy desire. Where is one such as he, and where are you, endowed with auspicious marks? The virtuous do not expect the Vedic consecration of a sacrificial post for a stake in a cremation ground (5.73)
To all of which, Parvati answers:
अकिञ्चनः सन्प्रभवः स संपदां त्रिलोकनाथः पितृसद्मगोचरः ।
स भीमरूपः शिव इत्युदीर्यते न सन्ति याथार्थ्यविदः पिनाकिनः ॥ ५.७७ ॥
Though possessing nothing, he is the source of all prosperity; the Lord of the three worlds, he frequents the abodes of the ancestors. He is proclaimed as Siva despite his terrifying form; for there are none who truly know the reality of the wielder of the Pinaka bow.
For my part, I cannot tell whether the Kailaya Vadyam outside the Sivan Koyil that day is the disguised Brahmacarin’s posed challenges or Parvati poised responses. Perhaps, both.
Brahmotsavam Day 3 Schedule:
7:00 AM - Chandrasekara Silver Palanquin Procession.
10:00 AM - Abhishekam
7:00 PM - Bhoota Vahanam