Urnanabha was the son of Satyasabha. Overcome by lust, he married a woman of the lower caste, ignoring social custom, and lost all his wealth. He took to weaving for living. Once he gave a cloth, he wove, to a devotee of Siva. He followed the devotee to the forest and to the Bilwaka grove. When the devotee offered flowers and bilwa leaves to the lord, he too offered these to the Lord. He remained there for the rest of his life and after his death, he was born as a spider and continued to serve the Lord.
Wishing to test the spider-devotee, the Lord let the flame from the nearby lamp destroy the web. Determined, the spider built another web. However even this web was reduced to ashes by the flame. Deeply pained by what had happed, the spider fell into the flame and sacrificed his life. The legend has it that the Lord, out of his mercy, absorbed the spider-devotee was non other than Urnanabha and is being remembered for posterity through the word “Sir” of Sri Kalahasthi.
We see in each of the following legends, of the serpent, and the elephant, how after being born as a dumb creature due to a curse they attained immortality through their blind devotion.
The first legend tells us the tragic consequences of neglected duty through the life of the serpent’s previous birth.
When we examine the various episodes presented in the Sivapurana, we notice the special place given to the serpent among all creatures. So much so that when serpents are mentioned, the images of Lord Siva bedecked with serpents comes to one’s mind.
Once, long ago, the Devas proceeded to Mt. Kailash to have darshan of Lord Siva. At that time Lord Siva, while setting his ornaments in order, found to his annoyment that the serpent was missing. With Divya Drusti, he noticed that the serpent had gone to Patalaloka to see his wife. The serpent came late to the abode of Lord Siva and incurred the wrath of the Lord who cursed him that as he had neglected his duty; he no longer deserved to remain in Mt. Kailash. So saying, the Lord banished the serpent to the earth.
The serpent prayed to the Lord to grant him mercy. The Lord, pacified, indicated to the serpent that he should proceed to the Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and serve him and that he would be liberated during the fight that he would have with an elephant.
As ordained by the Lord, the serpent reached the Bilwaka grove and began to worship the Lord everyday with invaluable gems after purifying himself in the Suvarnamukhi River. He spread his hood to cover the Linga from sun’s rays and was serving the Lord with great devotion. We shall see how the serpent’s life became entwined with an elephant’s life and how the serpent was liberated.
In Mt. Kailash, one of the Sivaganas, Hasthi by name once committed the sin of disturbing the privacy of the divine couple. This story instructs us the code of social conduct to be eschewed. Just as the serpent had to face the consequences of neglecting his duty, Hasthi had to suffer for his misconduct.
One day, ignoring the guards, Hasthi entered the private chamber of Lord Siva and Parvati. On seeing the sivagana, Parvati got angry and cursed him. When he pleaded for mercy, Parvati told him that only Lord Siva could help him. She asked him to proceed to Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and worship the Lord on the banks of river Suvarnamukhi with devotion and said that he would be liberated there.
The serpent and the elephant reached Bilwaka grove independently and went about their worship with devotion to the Lord ignorant of each other’s presence. Each began to notice that the material they had placed for the worship was missing. Slowly they saw each other and began to develop suspicion and hatred against each other.
One day, the elephant was preparing for the worship and was cleaning the place with its trunk. The serpent, thinking that the elephant was it’s enemy, slipped into the elephant’s trunk and went deep inside. The elephant, unable to bear the pain and discomfort, started beating its trunk against rock. In this process, both died. In this manner, Lord Siva liberated these dumb devotees. Not only that, these dumb creatures were immortalized by the incorporation of their names into the name of the temple.
Even now, if one were to look closely at the Linga, the tusks of the elephant can be seen at the base, a serpent can be seen in the middle and at the back, near the base, a spider web can be seen. We are told that as this Linga is self-born it is considered very sacred and not touched even by priests.
Wishing to test the spider-devotee, the Lord let the flame from the nearby lamp destroy the web. Determined, the spider built another web. However even this web was reduced to ashes by the flame. Deeply pained by what had happed, the spider fell into the flame and sacrificed his life. The legend has it that the Lord, out of his mercy, absorbed the spider-devotee was non other than Urnanabha and is being remembered for posterity through the word “Sir” of Sri Kalahasthi.
We see in each of the following legends, of the serpent, and the elephant, how after being born as a dumb creature due to a curse they attained immortality through their blind devotion.
The first legend tells us the tragic consequences of neglected duty through the life of the serpent’s previous birth.
When we examine the various episodes presented in the Sivapurana, we notice the special place given to the serpent among all creatures. So much so that when serpents are mentioned, the images of Lord Siva bedecked with serpents comes to one’s mind.
Once, long ago, the Devas proceeded to Mt. Kailash to have darshan of Lord Siva. At that time Lord Siva, while setting his ornaments in order, found to his annoyment that the serpent was missing. With Divya Drusti, he noticed that the serpent had gone to Patalaloka to see his wife. The serpent came late to the abode of Lord Siva and incurred the wrath of the Lord who cursed him that as he had neglected his duty; he no longer deserved to remain in Mt. Kailash. So saying, the Lord banished the serpent to the earth.
The serpent prayed to the Lord to grant him mercy. The Lord, pacified, indicated to the serpent that he should proceed to the Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and serve him and that he would be liberated during the fight that he would have with an elephant.
As ordained by the Lord, the serpent reached the Bilwaka grove and began to worship the Lord everyday with invaluable gems after purifying himself in the Suvarnamukhi River. He spread his hood to cover the Linga from sun’s rays and was serving the Lord with great devotion. We shall see how the serpent’s life became entwined with an elephant’s life and how the serpent was liberated.
In Mt. Kailash, one of the Sivaganas, Hasthi by name once committed the sin of disturbing the privacy of the divine couple. This story instructs us the code of social conduct to be eschewed. Just as the serpent had to face the consequences of neglecting his duty, Hasthi had to suffer for his misconduct.
One day, ignoring the guards, Hasthi entered the private chamber of Lord Siva and Parvati. On seeing the sivagana, Parvati got angry and cursed him. When he pleaded for mercy, Parvati told him that only Lord Siva could help him. She asked him to proceed to Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and worship the Lord on the banks of river Suvarnamukhi with devotion and said that he would be liberated there.
The serpent and the elephant reached Bilwaka grove independently and went about their worship with devotion to the Lord ignorant of each other’s presence. Each began to notice that the material they had placed for the worship was missing. Slowly they saw each other and began to develop suspicion and hatred against each other.
One day, the elephant was preparing for the worship and was cleaning the place with its trunk. The serpent, thinking that the elephant was it’s enemy, slipped into the elephant’s trunk and went deep inside. The elephant, unable to bear the pain and discomfort, started beating its trunk against rock. In this process, both died. In this manner, Lord Siva liberated these dumb devotees. Not only that, these dumb creatures were immortalized by the incorporation of their names into the name of the temple.
Even now, if one were to look closely at the Linga, the tusks of the elephant can be seen at the base, a serpent can be seen in the middle and at the back, near the base, a spider web can be seen. We are told that as this Linga is self-born it is considered very sacred and not touched even by priests.
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