Karpoora-gauram Karun-aavataaram

Sansaara Saaram Bhujagendra Haaram,

Sadaa Vasantam Hridayaaravinde,

Bhavam Bhavaani Sahitam Namaami.

Lord Shiva, as white as camphor, the personification of compassion, the essence of creation, garlanded with the king of the snakes, I beg that together with Mother Parvati, they reside forever in the lotus of my heart.

Lord Shiva is celebrated by the Shavivite sect of Hinduism as the form of God himself, while in the Hindu Scriptures, Lord Shiva is acknowledged as an expansion of God Almighty and the greatest teacher of devotees and the supreme devotee to God.

In the Shukla Yasjurveda, there is a whole chapter dealing with Lord Shiva known as Rudra Sukta consisting of just more than fifty vedic mantras. He is addressed as ‘Rudra’ – the howling one, as he is the Lord of all the souls who are made to live in hell and the underworlds as result of their bad actions. Lord Shiva is regarded as one of the top three deities in the Hindu religion and sits on an equal level as Brahma and Lord Vishnu as the rulers of this particular cycle of creation.

He represents the highest form of wisdom and devotion. In the Raamaayan of Tulsidas Ji, Parvati asks Lord Shiva who does he worship, and Lord shiva replied that I only chant the name of Shri Ram, the incarnation of the Lord of the Universe.

In the Narada Pancharaatra, the foremost guide on devotional practices within Hinduism, Narad Muni asks Lord Shiva to expound the rules of the devotion and Lord Shivas reply is the whole body of the text. The same applies for the Ramayan, as it is recounted by Tulsidas Ji firstly as a discussion between Lord Shiva and mother Parvati. It is due to the grace of Lord Shiva that we know about activities and pastimes of God.

Hindus are advised in the scriptures to worship Lord Shiva together with his spiritual energy – Ma Parvati. She is the personification of the power of Lord Shiva. Shiv Ji’s main task in the cycle of creation is destruction of evil and Mother Parvati embodies the physical strength he needs to complete the task. Mother Parvati was born as the daughter of the Himalayas in the stores of the Puransas and we are told her various ‘leelas’ – pastimes. She helps the demigods win countless battles with the demons in her forms of Durga and Kali. She is the Mother figure of all the demigods and represents marital stability and peace, thus she is worshipped by all Hindus for the sake of their family.

Lord Shiva and Parvati are the exemplary deities, who bless and protect all. Lord Shiva is knows as being pleased with even one second of pure devotion and is thus the easiest to please of all deities. we are encouraged to worship of Lord Shiva-Parvati for a variety of material reasons, but the scriptures admonish us to worship them for self-realisation and devotion to the lotus feet of the Lord God Almight. His devotion is recognised even in the Raamayana by Lord Rama Himself when He established the Shiv Lingam at Rameshwaram before He crossed the ocean to do battle with Ravana. Lord Raama made the declaration for all devotees to know ‘Shiva Samaana Priya Mohi Na Doojaa’ – there is no one as dear to Me as Lord Shiva is, because he is My best devotee. We should all learn from Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati by studying their teachings, and seek their blessings for happy life, mental peace and spiritual devotion to the Lord.