The second day of Navarathri worship is devoted to the Goddess Brahmacharini – her story isn’t as complicated as her name because it’s a follow-up tale of Parvati, whose story we looked at yesterday.
Well the daughter of the mountains was eyeing the Himalayan bachelor and she wanted to marry him. As Lord Shiva himself was the primary Aadi Yogi who was constantly in an austere penance, what must you do to catch his attention ? Perform a severe penance in return, of course. A determined Parvati, who wanted to attain Shiva, underwent the vigorous atonement.
What followed was an extremely rigid routine of penance – Parvati resorted to sleeping on the ground and eating just fruits and flowers for a few years before she reduced her meal intake to just fallen leaves and then finally, abolishing eating (and drinking) altogether. She was malnourished, as she grew weak and fragile but she pressed on. Mind you, this went on for about a thousand years with nothing but Shiva on her mind.
Naturally, the news of her strenuous penance reached everyone’s ears (I’m assuming that it took a thousand years for people to be aware, due to the lack of technology and low reception in the mountains) including the creator, Brahma. An astonished Brahma then dropped by to grant her the boon that she wanted – to wed Shiva.
The austere penance semblance that Parvati was in later came to be known as the form of Goddess Brahmacharini.
She nourishes the values of discipline and restraint, to stay focused even in the face of adversities. Parvati probably faced bad weather conditions, temptations and other forces that tried to dissolve her concentration but her ardent devotion and focus on her purpose were never in vain.
A calm Brahmacharini rests amongst us, a graceful force that serenades us towards achieving our purpose with discipline and against any odds. Embrace her, appreciate her.
And that concludes the second of nine days ! We are still on the first set of three by the way, the spotlight’s still on Durga – she reigns for another day tomorrow.
File Photo : Upasana Govindarajan (Pen and Pencil).
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