SHIVA

Mantra: Om Namah Shivaya

(I bow to Lord Shiva)

Fountain arise from a mass of matted hair,
The jatta; captured was Goddess Ganga,
Her pride was her tumultuous flow,
Shattered; gently she flows with Bhagiratha,
The pious king; washed the ashes of his ancestors
in the holy Ganges for salvation.

Divinity shines,
The snake round his neck,
Manifests evil courting death,
Unaffected and unperturbed,
Embraces light and darkness
in eqanimity,

The mountain of Kailash,
His abode,
The eternal yogi meditates,
Nilkanth, the saviour,
Swallowed poison; released,
when the ocean of milk was churned
with Vasuki, the king of snakes, as the rope.

Kindness so profound,
In company with lesser mortals,
To instill a sense of belonging,
Faith in complete surrender to God,
Devotion he seeks,
Wishes fulfilled when pleased with
prayers from demons and humans alike.

A woman's pride is his pride,
Sati's humiliation was his disintegration,
Bereaved by her death,
Tandav, the dance of destruction, began,
Fury brought annihilation to the creation,
Vishnu's chakra played the trick,
Brought Rudra from the brink.

He is the Purusha,
Cutting across the barrier of Maya,
Clad in tiger skin,
Ashes smudged on his forehead,
Trident in hand,
Third eye between the brows,
Foresees the future,
Danger averted,
Goodness prevails,
The Earth respires breathing fresh.

Purusha, the man, in consonence 
with oneself,
Finds his soul, the ultimate power;
Truth-Consciousness-Bliss,
The Brahman; in unity with universe,
Where OM resonates,
Shiva meditates in nothingness,

Ref: The story of Ganga
        The story of Samudra Manthan
        The story of Sati