Gaudavaho

Author(s): Vakpatiraj, Narhari Govind Suru, P L Vaidya, A N Upadhye, H C Bhayani
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 439

Gaidavaho
it was the great immortal god Siva, he immediately withdrew his noose which, however, left a scar (fog) on the neck because of friction.
142
37. There has been no rivalry for supremacy between the two great gods, Siva and Visnu and in many passages of the Mahabharata Siva is represented as being worshipped by Visnu and Krisna. In one such worship, Siva, wanting to test Visnu's devotion, saw to it that His third eye was displaced and lost. Visņu immediatly plucked out His own eye and offered it as a flower to serve as a substitute for His missing third eye. Cf. हरमाराधयति भक्तिजिज्ञासया हरेण तृतीयनेत्रं ललाटात् प्रच्यावितम् । ततः केशवेन qalutaqzi acool¿ qœar fromfar gone qzenGarrìfqafofa afafa: 1 कुसुमैरिव पत्रैरपि पूजा प्रसिद्धा || Com What Visnu offered was His eye looking like a leaf instead of the usual flowers.
38. The dark line surrounding Siva's throat is caused by the deadly poison which He swallowed. The Poet imaginatively identifies it with the shadow of His head cast on the throat, since the upper portion of His head is illumined by the moon on His forehead.
39. Both Siva and Parvati have each given up half of their bodies to stay blended together as Ardha-Nari-Natesvara. Therefore the moon also has reduced himself to the size of a digit in imitation of the divine couple for whom he is full of love.
40. "Siva is commonly represented as seated in profound thought, with a third eye in the middle of his forehead, contained in or surmounted by the moon's crescent; his matted locks are gathered up into a coil like a horn, which bears upon it a symbol of the river Ganges, which he caught as it fell from heaven; a necklace of skulls (Munda-mālā ) hangs round his neck and serpents twine about his neck as a collar (Naga-Kundala ); His neck is blue from drinking the deadly poison, which would have destroyed the world and in his hand he holds a Trisula or a trident called Pināka. His garment is the skin of a tiger, a deer or an elephant, hence he is called Krtti-Vasas. He is generally accompanied by his bull Nandi. He also carries the bow Ajagava, a drum (Damaru) in the shape of an hour-glass, the Khatvanga or a club with a skull at the end or a cord ( Pāśa) or binding refractory offenders. His Pramathas or attendants