The Peninsular Expedition: Day 9

There are a couple of things that the reader should keep in mind before proceeding any further:

• I am a self-declared atheist. So much so that when I filled out the census form for my household, I ensured that my religion or lack of which, was put on record.
• I really have little prior knowledge of what I’m posting about in this post, apart from little bits and pieces I have collected over the years. I’ll be basically trying my best to condense all the information available on these links. I am aware that there must be more extensive and authoritative texts available, but I’m afraid I don’t have the time for it. I hope that these 3 links will cover most, if not all, that is important and relevant.
• This post doesn’t really have anything to do with my trip, but it does set the stage for Day 9, which has everything to do with what will happen on Days 10 and 11.
• I’ve tried to maintain a sense of humor throughout this post. If this offends you, don’t read it. It’s only there in the hope that the average reader gets some incentive to hang on till the very end.

Once upon a time, the devas (or gods, in Hinduism) managed to upset a muni (sage). This muni then proceeded to lay a curse on the gods (yes, you read that right), which could only be removed after obtaining the amritum (ambrosia) from Palazhi (the source here is of questionable authenticity). Naturally, things are never that straightforward and the asuras (alleged demons) intercepted said amritum. Now, one peculiarity about Hindu deities is the ability for them to take on different forms at will. Lord Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, although conventionally seen as a male figure, is capable of taking on the form of Mohini, a beautiful female. It is in this form that she infiltrated the asura camp and reclaimed the amritum.

Once upon a(nother) time, an asura Bhasmasura underwent a penance to seek a boon of Lord Shiva, the destroyer a.k.a. the original transformer. He asked for the ability to burn to ashes anything he placed his palm upon. As soon as Shiva granted this wish, the asura tried to place his palm upon Shiva’s head, at which point, said god immediately went to hide behind a peepal tree to hide. He called for Lord Vishnu, who arrived, took on his female form as Mohini, bewitched the asura (there are a number of things I’d like to say at this point regarding Hindu mythology and current society, but that’s for a different time) and made him place his hand over his own head to vow fidelity. If you were paying attention, you’d understand why he promptly self-combusted. However, here comes the slightly disconcerting part: Lord Shiva, after seeing Lord Vishnu (both males, by the way) in his female form was overcome with passion and their (ahem) union led to the conception of Dharmasastha, their son. (Again, a number of things I can say about contemporary society and religious texts, but I won’t)

Now as with most stories of years bygone, there always exist multiple versions of the truth, which by now has become an extremely subjective thing. The tale I am about to relate is not about Vishnu or Shiva, but about Lord Ayyappan, behind whom there is history and then there’s legend. I’m feeling inclined towards sticking with the latter in this post, even though every fibre in my body is telling me that I should stick to well documented facts. But then again, if every religious text ever written contained no hearsay and was followed to the letter, the world would have been a rather confusing place.

Once upon (yet) a(nother) time, there was another asura Mahishasura. Now, Lord Brahma, who is widely acknowledged in Hinduism to be the creator god, is known to grant boons to even unscrupulous characters, under the precondition that they undergo A sufficiently sincere penance. This is precisely what the demon Mahishasura did, and was granted the boon that he would be immortal to all men. He then promptly went about wreaking havoc on the countryside – the usual pillaging of villages, with the customary scenes of screaming women, burning houses, mooing cows and the lone baby left in a hut with the mother screaming outside till a hero comes to the rescue (sorry, I don’t quite know what came over me – maybe something from a previous life). As always, the little loophole (i.e. the fact that other sex could still whoop his ass) allowed the gods to send Goddess Durga to take care of him.

Naturally, his death caused considerable anger and bloodthirstiness in his immediate relations, and his sister, Mahishi, undertook a penance along the same lines as that taken by her brother. Lo and behold (I’ve always wanted to work that into a piece of writing), Lord Brahma appeared in front of her and granted her a boon – that she would be immortal to all save the son born of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma, having learnt nothing from the outcome of his last boon, and obligated to fulfill this one too, went ahead and granted this one too. What ensued was simply a resumption of the reign of terror under Mahishi’s brother, Mahishasura.

Once upon (I can’t quite believe this is the fourth time I’m having to do this) a time, over eight hundred years ago, when the country of Pandalam was ruled by the Pandya dynasty, there lived a just king, who was loved by all his subjects. This king’s name was King Rajashekara and under his rein, the region flourished and prosperity abounded. But the king and his wife had one sorrow – they were unable to conceive a child, a son who would become the heir to the throne. The couple prayed endlessly to Lord Shiva to grant them a child. He heard this prayer and sent down Dharmasastha in the form of Ayyappan (yes, about a thousand words into the post, the protagonist makes his first appearance).

Since this post is dragging so much, I’ll be forced to tell the rest of the story tomorrow. Assuming anyone even wants to read it. Trust me, it’s all leading somewhere.