|
|
About the Shrine
|
Finally,
the day fixed for the Bhandara arrived. Shridhar had
not slept a wink the night before. He had, in fact,
spent the entire night wrestling with the problem
of how to feed his guests with the few provisions
that he had been able to collect.
|
 |
|
Trikuta
Mountain under Mist
|
|
|
However,
when he was unable to come up with a satisfactory solution
till the morning, he resigned himself
to his fate and got up to face
the day.
After his ablutions, he collected the various things that
would be required for the Puja that would precede the Bhandara
and sat down for the puja outside his hut. By midday his guests
started arriving. Finding him deeply involved in the puja,
they began to make themselves comfortable wherever they could
find place and began chatting with each other.
When
the puja was over Shridhar looked around and saw the huge
number of guests who had arrived. He greeted them respectfully
and was wondering how to tell his guests that he could not
feed them when he saw Vaishnavi coming out of his hut. She
walked up to him and told him softly that the food was ready
and that he should request his guests to come into the hut
and partake the meal. Shridhar looked at her disbelievingly
but she caught him by his hand and gently pushed him towards
his guests. Reluctantly, Shridhar walked up to his guests
and requested them to go into the hut and eat the food that
had been cooked. Since the hut was very small, a few people
got up and went in. However, Shridhar found that there was
still some space inside and so he requested a few more people
to come in. This continued till all the guests had miraculously
filled into that small hut. Then Vaishnavi put plates and
cups made of leaves called Pattal and Dona, before each guest
and began to serve them from a container she was holding in
her hand. Each guest was served his favourite dishes and they
ate till they were replete. Shridhar was in a daze. He could
not believe his eyes when he saw all the guests eating to
their heart's fill while he had had no food cooked. After
the guests had eaten they took their leave and departed. Even
though Shridhar was relieved that the Bhandara had been a
success and his self respect was still intact, he could not
help wondering that what had happened in his hut that day
was possible only with divine intervention. So, he decided
to get to the botton of the matter by asking young Vaishnavi
for an explanation for the mysterious developments of the
day. He called out to her. There was no reply. He called out
again and again but with the same result. Vaishnavi was no
where to be seen. Suddenly a feeling of emptiness engulfed
him. He felt as if something very precious had been taken
away from him. A burning desire to see Vaishnavi again seized
him. So, he hurried up the mountain to where he usually took
the cattle for grazing and began to look for Vaishnavi there,
but to no avail. She just could not be found. As the hours
ticked by his desire for meeting Vaishnavi began to grow more
intense and he began searching for her frantically. High and
low he looked for her, but in vain. Night fell and he had
still not found her. He resolved to spend the night on the
mountain so that he could start searching for her as soon
as the next day broke.
He spent many days and nights on the mountain looking for
Vaishnavi, but he could not find any trace of her. One day,
while he was standing in the Pai nallah on the Trikuta mountain
he happened to look up. He thought he glimpsed a person in
red clothes standing on a ledge on the cliff. The ledge seemed
to be adjacent to a place from where water was cascading down.
He decided to investigate. He made his way with great difficulty
up the cliff but found only some foliage and a small stream
of water flowing out of the foliage. There was no sign of
Vaishnavi. He went closer and peered behind the bushes and
found an opening in the cliff face. It was a cave. He crawled
into it and landed with a thump in cold, shallow water. He
was winded so he lay there trying to get his breath back back
and adjust his eyes to the gloom inside. After some time he
began to discern indistinct shapes and protruding rocks. He
got up and slowly began to feel his way deeper into the cave.
The cave seemed to turn this way and that as he continued
to wade ahead in the water. As he went deeper into the cave
it became darker and darker till he could see nothing. However,
he continued to grope his way and move ahead. Then he sensed
that he cave seemed to be ascending because the water level
began to fall. After some time his feet were on dry ground.
He sat down. Suddenly, the frustrationof not having succeeded
in searching out Vaishnavi and the desolation he felt at having
been separated from her overwhelmed him. A sob welled up from
deep inside him and tore out of his mouth. This was followd
by another and then another. And then he was weeping in anguish
with body racking sobs. While he wept he prayed to Shakti
to help him locate Vaishnavi. Suddenly, the cave was bathed
in ethereal light. The light shone upon him gently. Soon he
felt as if the light had entered his very core. He was calmed.
And then he had the vision. He saw Vaishnavi smiling at him
through the light. Suddenly she was transformed into a celestial
being of transcending beauty with eight arms and hands who
was sitting astride a lion. In her hands she held different
weapons and auspicious objects. In a mellifluous voice She
told Shridhar that She was indeed Shakti in Her incarnation
of Vaishnavi and resided in this cave in petrified rock-form.
She added that this cave on the Trikuta mountain was a unique
cave as it was only here that She was manifested in Her three
forms of MAHA KALI, MAHA LAKSHMI and MAHA SARASWATI. Divine
rays emanated from each form and coalesced to radiate beneficent
blessings upon all creatures who resided in the surrounding
areas. She commanded him to worship Her in the cave every
day. Thereafter, the vision ended. Gradually the light faded
and the cave was once again plunged into darkness. However,
Shridhar's heart was full of light. He had been blessed by
his Aradhya Dev. He could wish for nothing more. Slowly he
came out of the cave and wended his way down the mountain
to his hut in Hansali. Whoever saw him remarked wonderingly
at the glorious look of joy that seemed to suffuse not only
his face but his very being.
Henceforth, every morning before dawn broke, Shridhar would
make his way to the cave to worship the Goddess Vaishnavi.
Thereafter, he returned home to perform his daily chores.
His daily routine of going to the Holy cave to worship the
Goddess was not affected by the quirks of weather or the changes
in the seasons. Whatever the weather, every morning would
find him at the Holy cave Soon this came to be remarked upon.
Most of the people did not believe his explanation that he
went every morning to worship Goddess Vaishnavi in Her abode
in a Cave on the mountain. They reasoned that he could as
easily worship the Goddess in his hut like the others in the
village did. In fact, they further argued, he had been doing
so all his life till he suddenly started disappearing every
morning. Gradually word spread in the surrounding areas that
Shridhar disappears for a few hours every morning.
|
|
