The Compassion of Lord Shiva

Sri Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval

Sri Sridhara Ayyaval used to visit the Temple of MahaLinga, Lord Shiva, in the nearby city of Madhyarjuna. Rain or shine, he would not miss visiting the temple. He preferred to see the Lord when there was not much crowd and so chose the early hours of the morning for the visit.

Once, Lord Shiva intended to test the love and devotion of Sri Sridhara Ayyaval. That day, Sri Sridhara Ayyaval was on his way to the temple as usual. He had to cross the river Kaveri in order to reach the temple. On reaching the banks of Kaveri he found the river flooded. Boatmen refused to ferry the boat across the river. Sri Sridhara Ayyaval could not bring himself to return home without seeing His Lord in the temple. Gazing at the tower of the temple on the other shore, Sri Sridhara Ayyaval stood with tear-filled eyes. He felt he must have offended the Lord in some way and that sin acted as a block to the darshan of His Lord. He composed a soulful prayer called 'AarthiHara Stotra' in which he prayed, "Oh Lord! Please bestow your loving and compassionate glance on me, who is suffering from the pangs of separation from you! You have the untarnished fame of relieving the one who merely chants your Divine name from the clutches of sorrow! How is it that though I have sought refuge in You, I am agonized? Did you not bestow your grace on the hunter who, on death bed, chanted your divine name 'Hara Hara Hara' unintentionally, while teaching his son the way to hunt-'Prahara, Aahara, Samhara'(attack, bring, kill)? Such being your compassion, how can you turn your face away from me who am piteously praying- 'Save me Lord Shiva!'

While Sri Sridhara Ayyaval was lamenting thus a priest of the Shiva Temple, who was known to him, came to him and gave Vibhoothi Prasada (Sacred ashes). He said to Sri Sridhara Ayyaval, "I did not find you in the temple today. Knowying that you would be saddened at not being able to cross the river and have the vision of the Lord I decided to come and give you the sacred ashes." Transported to Bliss Sri Sridhara Ayyaval prostrated before the priest and accepted the sacred ashes with reverence.

While Sri Sridhara Ayyaval moved towards his home, shedding tears of joy thinking of the love of the Lord towards His devotees, the question 'how did the priest manage to cross the flooded river?' arose in him. From his memory he recalled that the priest was not a bit wet and the sacred ashes smeared on his body were not sumdged! Sri Sridhara Ayyaval wondered if it was Lord Shiva himself who had come in the garb of the priest. Next day, the flood subsided and Sri Sridhara Ayyaval went to the temple and found the same priest there. Sri Sridhara Ayyaval thanked the priest for his kindness and said that his mind was at peace only after receiving the sacred ashes from him the previous day. The priest was utterly confused hearing this. He said, "Sir! I never came to the other shore! Indeed, who could have dared to cross the flooding river?"

On hearing this, Sri Sridhara Ayyaval was moved beyond words. He realized it was Lord Shiva himself who had taken pity on him and come to give the sacred ashes. With a grateful heart he sang the glory of the compassion of the Lord in the hymn 'Dayashatakam'. In this hymn, he sings, "Oh! The Compassion of the Lord! One is cleansed of all his sins the moment you cast your glance on him! When will you bless me so that I will always be immersed in the bliss of chanting the Divine names like 'Madhava', 'Murari', 'Kaamaarey', 'Shiva', 'Mahadeva', 'Govinda' and 'Purahara'! Be pleased to bestow two boons on me! That my mind may always be established in the Divine Form of Lord Shiva and that my tongue may always chant the Divine Names! In my last breath, let me chant the Divine Name 'Shiva'!"

Sri Sridhara Ayyaval, who composed 100 such verses glorifying the compassion of the Lord, was none other than Lord Shiva himself! Needless to say, he was an epitome of compassion! He could not bear to see anyone suffer. He considered even liberation a trifling matter as compared to compassion to all beings.

One day, while Sri Sridhara Ayyaval was on his way to visit the temple of Lord Shiva, he discoursed to his devotees emphasizing the glory of divine names and love for the Lord. Sri Sridhara Ayyaval looked unusually bright and lustrous that day. In the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord, with tears in his eyes, he prayed to the Lord through many verses. Overwhelmed by the pangs of separation from the Lord and unable to stand it any longer, Sri Sridhara Ayyaval rushed to the Sanctum of the Lord in order to embrace Him. While the priests attempted to stop him Sri Sridhara Ayyaval ran and disappeared into the Sanctum of the Lord. The Lord, in the form of Linga, shone brightly like a sun for some time. The awestruck devotees stood looking on, as this wonderful incident happened, and shed tears.


Also read: Sri Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval



Courtesy: http://www.sriayyaval.org,