Had Lord Shiva and Lady Parvati lived till date,
they would have celebrated their __th marriage anniversary this Akshaya Tritiya![1]
Hindus worship them as God and Goddess. They believe that their miraculous
bonding formed the Earth and protected Her from the influence of
Asuras(infamous as 'demons').
I take this marriage as a historically
significant event. Among all the 33 crores[2]
Lords(a.k.a. Gods), the marriages of only two are remembered-- one of Shiva and
the other of Ram. Why? I asked this question time and again to myself and I
have come to an interesting conclusion based on what I have read and have
listened to from our “Holy Books”.
The marriage between Lord Shiva and Lady Parvati
was not a minor event- not at all. This marriage carried a sense of revolution
against the then social conditions and traditions. Of course, the parents of
Parvati- Himalaya and Menaka had no objections on the marriage. They had
probably feared the result of refusal to Lord Shiva[3].
Whatever it was, love or force or fear, the marriage was a great ceremony. It
was an event that could pave path for development of new culture, new
traditions. It was a ceremony that united people of two races- the indigenous
Dravidians and the immigrant Aryans!
Nothing but his existence is known about Lord
Shiva. His family name as well as clan has remained anonymous. Yet he was a
great warrior of the Himalayas. He had a huge army of Bhootas, Pretas and
Yoginis. Though the names might suggest that these were ghosts and demons, in
reality they were clans of nomadic indigenous people. As they had accepted
Shiva as Lord, I believe the Lord himself belonged to one of such tribes.
Immigrants have always troubled indigenous
people. Aborigines of Australia and Red Indians of North America are the
commonest examples of indigenous communities dissolved by the influence of
immigrants. Similar might have the situations then. The immigrants who called
themselves Arya or Noble must have tried to suppress the indigenous tribes.
Their true colors are shown where Indra describes himself victorious over the
people of the Ancient Indus Civilization. He had been there long after the
people had died of drought and famine but he called it his mass killing[4].
The statement had an effect upon the innocent people and Indra became their
Lord.
Lord Shiva with his huge army, however was able
to dominate the Aryas to some extent. He must have defeated Indra and gained
the dignity of being Lord of the Lords[5].
As a result, the Aryans had to do something to gain him into confidence. To let
Shiva marry Parvati was the best way to get his support and also expand their
culture. The denial was never made, the reason to which, I have given already.
The marriage ceremony of Uma-Shankar was grand.
People from all over the places of Jambudweep participated. The Aryans went to
the bridal side while the Asuras, Shiva’s Army along with many of the
sages came from groom’s side. The Chandra Shekhara guise of Lord Shiva was the
talk of the people. He had officially accepted to be one of the Aryans. As of
Lady Parvati, there was no match to her beauty. Her love and devotion had finally
met a happy end. I am not sure if their union gave rise to the Earth, but what
I am sure is that their union was an example that set the message of
co-existence.[i]
[1] I
am not sure of the actual date! The accuracy in the number of years has not
been provided to me!!
[2]
There are 33 classes of Lords in reality. Many Hindus believe it to be 33
crores(1 crore= 10 millions) because of the word “Koti” in Sanskrit which has
two diverse meanings.
[3]
Lord Shiva had previously loved and married Sati, the daughter of Dakshya.
Because Dakshya refused to accept Shiva as son-in-law(he had declared the
marriage as elopement), Sati died and Lord Shiva had nearly destroyed a race.
[4] Based
on the article on Indus Valley Civilization in Wikipedia.
[5]
Except Lord Shiva, none of the Hindu Gods are nomadic or dark-complexioned. It
is not by chance; Lord Shiva is the only Dravidian originated Hindu God.
[i] At
the End: It has been a common practice to write Lord in front of Shiva’s name. If
it is so, the name of Parvati should be prefixed by Lady. Although many people
would prefer writing Goddess before the name of Parvati, I have omitted the
use.
As to the matter related to Ram's marriage, it is remembered as marriage of Aryan Prince to a Dravidian Princess.
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