Heritage Heroes

Zig-zagging at 9500’ above sea level in the Himalayas, unmindful of fatigue through forested, narrow paths that climbed and descended, we were suddenly pelted with hailstones.

 

There was no place for refuge and we plodded on. The skies opened up just as we walked into a wide, open space that was unbelievably flat given the surroundings. In front of us, a lake shimmered in the sun, golden sequins on a fluid deep blue. A little shrine was to the left. This is Dodital, in Uttarakhand, a lake, pristine and sacred. Dodital is the lake in which Parvati had bathed after instructing her son to stand guard and not let anyone in. The sannyasi who stays here permanently, tells us that surveyors have failed to fathom the lake. He has seen Parvati come as a swan, dive into the centre of the lake and offer prayers to a Shivalinga that is supposed to be in its depths. The temple itself is tiny, and a small amorphous looking stone is its most sacred emblem. This is supposed to be the head of Parvati’s child, after Shiva had severed it off during their battle.

Ganesha is the child created by Parvati and restored to life by Shiva with an elephant’s head. His Jayanthi is celebrated on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, the fourth day of the waxing moon in the Bhadrapada month (Aug - Sept). Several questions arise on Ganesha’s birth and battle. Why did he fight Shiva? Why did Shiva sever his head? Why is he venerated before we pray to anyone else?