and death. They do not describe Shiva’s eternal, invisible, all-pervading and cosmic
form as the ‘Great Lord of Gods’, the ‘Maha-Deva’.(^2) The fact is, both Vishnu and Shiva are the same Supreme Being’s two
manifested forms with which the latter carries out two functions in creation—that of
sustenance as Vishnu, and of conclusion as Shiva. Primarily therefore, Shiva and
Vishnu are the same Supreme Being known as “Brahm”. Hence, it does not matter
what Vishnu says about Shiva, and vice versa.
Remember: Shiva is an ardent devotee of Lord Ram, and it is well known that
Lord Ram is none but Lord Vishnu in his manifested form as a human. Shiva has
Lord Ram firmly enthroned in the sanctum of his heart as his revered deity and Lord.
He constantly repeats this holy name of Lord Ram and uses it not only to do
meditation himself (refer: Baal Kand, Chaupai line no. 3 that precedes Doha no. 60)
but also as a means of providing liberation and deliverance to a dying man by uttering
this holy name in the latter’s ears (refer: Baal Kand—Chaupai line no. 3 that precedes
Doha no. 19; Chaupai line no. 8 that precedes Doha no. 51).
The fact is that the divine story of Lord Ram’s activities on earth were first
conceptualised in the heart of Lord Shiva before they came to be known to the world
as the epic known as “Ramayan” (refer: Baal Kand, Chaupai line no. 11 that precedes
Doha no. 35).
In a similar vein, Lord Ram—who was a visible form Lord Vishnu who is
primarily invisible—had explicitly said that no one is as dear to him as Lord Shiva
(refer: Ram Charit Manas, Lanka Kand, 2nd half of Chaupai line no. 6 that precedes
Doha no. 2). The Lord has gone further to clearly assert that if one wishes to attain
him then he must first worship Lord Shiva, thereby unequivocally establishing the
mutual respect Ram and Shiva have for each other (refer: Ram Charit Manas, Lanka
Kand, from Chaupai line no. 8 that precedes Doha no. 2—to Chaupai line no. 3 that
precedes Doha no. 3)
The idea is that one should not think that Vishnu had insulted Shiva in anyway
whatsoever. That is why Shiva smiled and accepted Vishnu’s advice as is evident
here—Shiva has immediately called his Bull and asked him to summon all the
attendants so that they can accompany him in the marriage procession.
If the gods will move with their own armies of followers and attendants, why
should the main hero, the ‘groom’, be left behind from following suit?
(^3) Shiva’s Bull is his nearest and constant companion. He is also known by the
name of “Brhingi” –refer: Amarkosha, 1/1/43.
Nandi is also Shiva’s mount, guard and gate-keeper—refer: Kalidas’ “Kumar
Sambhava”, 3/41.
So, when the need arose to call others, Shiva asked Nandi, or “Bhringi”, to call
out aloud and summon all the other attendants who were eagerly awaiting orders from
their Lord to join his marriage procession.]
Á‚fl •ŸÈ‚Ê‚Ÿ ‚ÈÁŸ ‚’ •Ê∞ – ¬ ̋÷È ¬Œ ¡‹¡ ‚Ë‚ ÁÃã„U ŸÊ∞H 5H
ŸÊŸÊ ’Ê„UŸ ŸÊŸÊ ’·Ê – Á’„U‚ Á‚fl ‚◊Ê¡ ÁŸ¡ ŒπÊH 6H
∑§Ù©U ◊Èπ„UËŸ Á’¬È‹ ◊Èπ ∑§Ê„ÍU – Á’ŸÈ ¬Œ ∑§⁄U ∑§Ù©U ’„ÈU ¬Œ ’Ê„ÍUH 7H
Á’¬È‹ ŸÿŸ ∑§Ù©U ŸÿŸ Á’„UËŸÊ – Á⁄UCÔU¬ÈCÔU ∑§Ù©U •Áà ßπËŸÊH 8H
siva anusāsana suni saba ā'ē. prabhu pada jalaja sīsa tinha nā'ē. 5.
nānā bāhana nānā bēṣā. bihasē siva samāja nija dēkhā. 6.
kō'u mukhahīna bipula mukha kāhū. binu pada kara kō'u bahu pada bāhū. 7.
bipula nayana kō'u nayana bihīnā. riṣṭapuṣṭa kō'u ati tanakhīnā. 8.