Kunal Roy
The cycle of time is infinitely cruel at times. It hardly matters whether it operates on this mortal globe or in the garden of Paradise or in the Netherworld. It seems as if there is no end of the pains and sufferings one is subjected to. A period of testing one’s power of endurance amid tears, sweat and the touch of fathomless grief! At this juncture the individual is estranged from all the blessings and happiness of the world around! Solitude wraps up the innate ambience and a continuous struggle follows to get rid of those clutches!
Parvati, the divine consort of Lord Shiva incarnated herself as Dhumavati, as she wore a white attire accompanied by the ceaseless flow of tears and the fountain of eternal sorrow. As she is the mother of the whole universe, she always shoulders the onus of protecting her children, despite all odds! It once happened that demon twins Malya and Mani desired to capture the Goddess by means of tantra! But Lord Shiva didnot want it to happen in anyway. He stood between the mother and her child. Parvati was overwhelmed by the staunch devotion of Malya. Her motherly affection flunked miserably to behold the truth behind the screen! And to protect Malya,Parvati assumed the form of Mahakali and engulfed Mahakal! The whole creation went into a status of utter chaos. Destruction became inevitable. Lord Vishnu, Brahma and other Gods look worried as they could not discover a path to save the creation from dissolution! On the other hand Parvati appeared as Dhumavati. She wept bitterly before the Lord’s trident as she stood all alone amid a dry desert! Sand storm followed and she severed all her worldly ties. She rode a crow, held a open vessel made of hay and sticks and proved to be a symbol of darkness! But the reality was something else. Her appearance actually symbolised that after “every dark night, a fresh, bright dawn appears”. Her grief was the harbinger of the days of delight which one always longs for! But before one witnesses such lovely aspects of life, one has to go through the various phases of ‘test’ which the destiny loves to take!
Life is always a potpourri of good and not so good times. This incarnation actually attempts to unfold the truth that our ‘thought’ determines our ‘action’ and the latter discovers the path for a complete execution! If the chain of thoughts is optimistic and seeks the good of others, the rest will simply take care of themselves. After all we can do small things in a big way, bearing in mind that life is not only a sum of steps but a few choices we make!!
Kunal Roy