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This Shiva-linga that Ganesha prevented from reaching Lanka is located at Gokarna along the Konkan coast.
In Haryana, in Pahowa, Kurukshetra district, is a temple dedicated to Kartikeya. No woman is allowed to enter this temple as the deity here is a bachelor and because the deity is the god of war and death.
For Hindus, maya is a constructed reality. More accurately, maya is the measuring scale that values and devalues all things in Prakriti, and by doing so gives rise to Brahmanda, an individual’s perception of the world. It is neither a bad thing nor is it a good thing. It is just the way the human mind perceives reality. Animals do not live in maya, because they do not possess imagination. Human beings do. Humans are therefore subject to maya.
At first the Mimansikas were terrified. They realised this naked man was no ordinary man. Fear turned to awe as the performance continued; it was mesmerising! Shiva’s hands, feet and body moved gracefully, in perfect coordination. His whole form seemed to expand. The ends of his hair rose up to touch the skies; the stars and the planets stopped to gaze. The tips of his fingers grazed the horizons where the gods assembled spellbound. The thud of footsteps forced the demons and serpents to rise from their subterranean kingdoms. Such a performance had never been seen before. No nymph had danced
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Maya gives us meaning to survive this world until Shiva, the destroyer, gives us the strength to outgrow fear and hence outgrow dependence on constructed realities. Shiva helps us realise that heroes, villains and victims are creations of fear. When fear is destroyed, there is no hero or villain or victim. Shiva, the destroyer, thus offers wisdom to outgrow fear. This is liberation. This is moksha.
