Kama: Liberation(Vol-II)

Glossary

To be updated as story progresses.

Dakshina: the payment a teacher takes in return for education. In ancient India, Brahmins were the teachers of society. They lived a humble life, begging alms and taking donations. Whatever they got they had to sustain a livelihood with it. They were very respected, the highest caste because they had knowledge. As teachers they helped students learn from scriptures and nature both. At the end of the journey, the student was required to give a dakshina. It was never something too difficult. Except in certain cases, as in Mahabharata, where Ekalavya had to give his finger.

Rajan/Maharaja/ Maharajadhiraja: king

Senapati: commander-in-chief

Shiva and Sati: Shiva is the God of Destruction in the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. His other names are Mahesh (Great God), Mahadeva (Greatest of Gods), Rudra (The Angry/Howling One), Chandrasekhara(Chandra means moon and this name means one with the moon on his head), Soondarmurthy (most handsome man in the world), Bholenath (the innocent one whose heart melts easily) and many more.

Sati was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, a son of Brahma. Since Shiva had cursed Brahma, Daksha hated him. Shiva's ascetic lifestyle, his association with ashes and the dead were also disliked by him. Fate was such that his own daughter fell in love with Shiva, and so did the god himself. The two married against the wishes of Daksha. Sati tried to convince her father of Shiva being the perfect man for her, and Shiva himself was kind to Daksha, but the latter didn't budge.

Shiva and Sati lived happily in Kailash. One day, news reached her of Daksha conducting a yagna. She was shocked that her husband wasn't invited and questioned the sanctity of the yagna. Shiva asked her to not go there since she wasn't invited, but Sati argued she was the daughter of Daksha, so of course she would be welcomed. Defeated, Shiva allowed her to go.

Sati was disrespected by Daksha and he badmouthed Shiva in front of all gods. Sati was so heartbroken that she used her divine powers to burn herself.

Shiva was angered beyond comprehension. He destroyed the yagna, punished Daksha and his supporters and with the burnt body of Sati on his shoulders roamed the cosmos. His divine duties were left unattended and the world plunged in darkness. To prevent more trouble, Vishnu used his Sudarshan chakra to cut the body of Sati into pieces. Wherever the pieces fell on earth, a Sati Peeth was formed. These exist to even this day.

Shiva never married and went back to his solitary lifestyle. But the power of love is immense. Sati reincarnated as Parvati to the King of Himalayas. She too grew up loving Shiva, and slowly came to know about her past life. However, Shiva was in no mood to fall in love again. He tested and tested Parvati. Once he realised that Sati was same as Parvati, he came to a mediating Parvati in the disguise of a man and advised her to not marry Shiva. He told her that a beautiful princess like her deserved the luxury of a palace and a handsome young man, not someone as ugly as Shiva who lived with ghosts and ghouls. Parvati was angered and would have cursed this man for his audacity, when he revealed himself to be Shiva. The two reunited and married again.

A son by the name of Kartikeya was born. He went on to defeat demons and become the Senapati of gods. They had many more children, including Ganesha and Ashok sundari. Parvati, being the incarnation of Adi Shakti, the primordial Mother Goddess, took many forms to defeat evil. Two of those avatars are Durga and Kali.

[I kept this story because the parallels are necessary to understand the tale of Rudra and Indumala]

Rani/Maharani: queen