Jalandhara

[prasad1]

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Until I saw the Hindi TV series Shiv Shakti I was not aware of this Asura. When my mother used to chant Devi Mahatmyam, I loved it. Then again having lived in Bihar, near the Bengal border. I was well aware of Devi's stories.

Durga, a principal form of the Goddess, also known as Devi and Shakti.

According to legend, Durga was created for the slaying of the buffalo demon Mahishasura by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the lesser gods, who were otherwise powerless to overcome him. Embodying their collective energy (shakti), she is both derivative from the male divinities and the true source of their inner power. She is also greater than any of them. Born fully grown and beautiful, Durga presents a fierce menacing form to her enemies. She is usually depicted riding a lion with 10 arms, each holding the special weapon of one of the gods, who gave them to her for her battle against the buffalo demon. Durga Puja, held annually in her honor, is one of the great festivals of northeastern India.

Suddenly in this TV series, they introduced A powerful Asura Called Jalandhara. He was born when Shiva opened his third eye in his fury when Indra struck him with his thunderbolt. However, Indra was saved, and the energy emitted from the eye was sent into the ocean. The energy developed into a boy and was raised by Asura who claims to be the lord of the oceans. This lord of oceans, asura also claims to be wronged by Devas as all his possessions were stolen during the churning of the oceans. When Jalandhar grew up, he conquered the three realms - Svarga (heaven), Bhuloka (earth), and Patala (underworld). He married Vrinda, the daughter of Kalanemi. He is shown as stronger than Shiva, Skanda, Ganesh, Parvati, and other Gods All the Gods and the entire humanity is enslaved by Jalandhar. He can do this because of his wife being pativrita. So once Vishnu in his cunning ways tricks Vrinda, she commits suicide, then only Shiva can kill Jalandhar, and he does.

If all the devas and Gods are so powerless, why should Humans pray to them?


I am so confused and troubled by this series and its content. I believe in Nitgun Brahman.

Brahman And Nirguna: Beyond Attributes

Brahman, the ultimate reality in Hinduism, is often believed to be Nirguna, transcending all attributes.

theenlightenmentjourney.com

 

[prasad1]

The story of Jalandhara & Vrinda – Shiva Purana

The story of Jalandhara & Vrinda – Shiva Purana

In the chapter 13 to 25, of Rudra-saṃhita (Yuddha-khaṇḍa), there is a story of Jalandhara & Vrinda. once Brihaspati and Indra went to Kailash, to see lord Shiva. Shiva wished to test their...

www.dnaofhinduism.com

Vrinda was "pativrita", (dumb and subservient), knowing fully well, her husband Jaladhar's adharmic ways.
Jalandhar could not killed as he had a pativrita wife. So Vishu tricks Vrinda into having relation with him and thus Vrinda's status as Pativrita is broken. Then Shiva kills Jalandara now that the shield of the pativrita wife is broken.

In the meantime Jalandhar went to Parvati disguised as Lord Shiva, but was recognized by her. Being enchanted by the beauty of goddess Parvati, he looked at her with his evil intentions, but was immobilized by her wrath. Goddess Parvati then went to Lord Vishnu and narrated the whole tale. She requested Lord Vishnu to go to Jalandhar's wife in the guise of Jalandhar and act in the same way. This is summarization from TV show Shiv-Sakti.

Vishnu seducing Jalandhar's wife Vrinda: How justified?

If a Pativrita wife's husband can not be killed, why was Ravana not protected by his pativrita wife?

 

[renuka]

Actually the Puranas really give God a bad name.
Who would actually believe that Vishnu will slyly violate another man's wife.

I rather think the story is symbolic.

Vrinda was a pati vrata no doubt.
But a pati vrata should also guide her husband towards Dharma.
Vrinda failed there.
So Vishnu comes to guide her to focus on Him so that she can have viveka and know that pati vrata should also be aligned with Dharma.

So her focus shifted to be devoted to Lord Vishnu and not condone adharma by Jalandhara.

So Purana writes make all these sound as if Vishnu violated Vrinda.
May be her so called suicide is to a rebirth to take on a better life..cos she was reborn as Tulasi and was totally devoted to Vishnu.

But at the same time, the story goes that Vrinda cursed Vishnu that He will be separated from His wife hence in Rama Avatar, Vishnu is separated from Sita and Ravana eyes Sita.
So this is the part where I cant find a symbolic meaning as why did Vrinda curse Vishnu?

Now, your next question..how was Ravana killed when his wife Mandodari was also pati vrata.
Well, Mandodari did warn Ravana many times to let go of Sita and told him his actions are Adharmic.

Mandodari had viveka.
Her mind was focussed on Dharma but Vrinda's mind was not focus on Dharma but just blindly condoning her husbands wrong doing.

 

[prasad1]

Actually the Puranas really give God a bad name.
Who would actually believe that Vishnu will slyly violate another man's wife.

I rather think the story is symbolic.

Vrinda was a pati vrata no doubt.
But a pati vrata should also guide her husband towards Dharma.
Vrinda failed there.
So Vishnu comes to guide her to focus on Him so that she can have viveka and know that pati vrata should also be aligned with Dharma.

So her focus shifted to be devoted to Lord Vishnu and not condone adharma by Jalandhara.

So Purana writes make all these sound as if Vishnu violated Vrinda.
May be her so called suicide is to a rebirth to take on a better life..cos she was reborn as Tulasi and was totally devoted to Vishnu.

But at the same time, the story goes that Vrinda cursed Vishnu that He will be separated from His wife hence in Rama Avatar, Vishnu is separated from Sita and Ravana eyes Sita.
So this is the part where I cant find a symbolic meaning as why did Vrinda curse Vishnu?

Now, your next question..how was Ravana killed when his wife Mandodari was also pati vrata.
Well, Mandodari did warn Ravana many times to let go of Sita and told him his actions are Adharmic.

Mandodari had viveka.
Her mind was focussed on Dharma but Vrinda's mind was not focus on Dharma but just blindly condoning her husbands wrong doing.

An American idiom:

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemons suggest sourness or difficulty in life; making lemonade is turning them into something positive or desirable

You give a positive twist to a horrible story.

 

[renuka]

An American idiom:

You give a positive twist to a horrible story.

Puranas are written by humans, best is to read it with a pinch of salt.

 

[prasad1]

Puranas are written by humans, best is to read it with a pinch of salt.

This TV series is so bad that a 40 lb bag of salt is insufficient.

 

[sravna]

The world is of both good and bad, Bad is nothing but a form of divinity too but veiled by maya. So there is scope for bad to be as powerful as the good but with constraints. It cannot be permanent, It cannot ultimately overpower divinity though temporarily it can. The purpose of bad being there is in nature of divinity as maya is inherent in divinity but it manifests as bad only through the constructs of space and time. Otherwise it is equally spiritual and one with saguna brahman with the ultimate reality existing as nirguna brahman.

 

[sravna]

Also understand that divinity is not only made of courage compassion but with guile and persistence too and all balanced. So there is nothing wrong in Vishnu using guile to set right an impossible situation

 

[sravna]

If God does not possess guile then how can it at all exist in humans. The difference is guile is used for a higher end unlike by humans who use it for mean purposes

 

[renuka]

The world is of both good and bad, Bad is nothing but a form of divinity too but veiled by maya. So there is scope for bad to be as powerful as the good but with constraints. It cannot be permanent, It cannot ultimately overpower divinity though temporarily it can. The purpose of bad being there is in nature of divinity as maya is inherent in divinity but it manifests as bad only through the constructs of space and time. Otherwise it is equally spiritual and one with saguna brahman with the ultimate reality existing as nirguna brahman.

But do you seriously believe the Purana stories?
It really gives God a bad name.

Coming to Devas being helpless, that is believable as Devas are not technically God but they are spiritual beings with no free will and not capable of Moksha unless they take birth as a human.

Devas have limited powers and do face issues with Daityas.
Everything has a polar opposite.
So they too like us face problems.

The question is.." should we pray to them if they are actually helpless at times?"

Well, Yes and No.
Yes, if one isnt on the path for Moksha and No if one desires Moksha.

 

[renuka]

Also understand that divinity is not only made of courage compassion but with guile and persistence too and all balanced. So there is nothing wrong in Vishnu using guile to set right an impossible situation

No..God as in Nirguna Brahman is beyond any qualities.
He is beyond our perception.
There is no polar opposites in God because He is One without a second.

Polar opposites are because of the effect of Maya and it affects everyone from Devas to humans but NOT God.

Vishnu using sly tactics in the Purana story is totally unacceptable.
It equals to rape and thats why I do not believe the story.

If Indra used deception to trick Ahalya thats believable becos Indra is a Deva and a Deva too in under the effect of Maya.

In Greek philosophy Zeus raped Leda the wife of King Tyndareus and she gives birth to 2 sets of twins, one set fathered by her husband and the other set fathered by Zeus and the story goes that out of the 4 of them, half brothers Castor and Pollux eventually become the constellation Gemini.

Something is seriously wrong with all these stories if we take it literally.
I feel most of these stories are symbolic.

 

[renuka]

If God does not possess guile then how can it at all exist in humans. The difference is guile is used for a higher end unlike by humans who use it for mean purposes

God does not possess guile because He is One without a second and beyond Gunas..hence called Nirguna Brahman.

We humans have guile because we are not Nirguna and we are under the influence of Maya.

 

[sravna]

Renuka,

Thank you for your response. Do you believe everything ultimately derives from God? So how do you interpret evil? It is said it is because of maya. A little bit of thought would say the purpose of maya is to correct than solely misleading. It is spiritual too akin to saguna brahman but the method is different. While saguna brahman driven spirituality characterize a set, maya influenced characterize the other.

Nirguna is without qualities. Dont take it in a facile way. Quality is something that stands out. In nirguna nothing stands out as all are in perfect balance. Just like courage, compassion, guile and persistence are in perfect balance and are equipped to meet any situation.

 

[renuka]

Renuka,

Thank you for your response. Do you believe everything ultimately derives from God? So how do you interpret evil? It is said it is because of maya. A little bit of thought would say the purpose of maya is to correct than solely misleading. It is spiritual too akin to saguna brahman but the method is different. While saguna brahman driven spirituality characterize a set, maya influenced characterize the other.

Nirguna is without qualities. Dont take it in a facile way. Quality is something that stands out. In nirguna nothing stands out as all are in perfect balance. Just like courage, compassion, guile and persistence are in perfect balance and are equipped to meet any situation.

Lets try to decode the Purana.

I was reading the corresponding Sanskrit shlokas and it mentions the act of kissing and sporting with each other.

Lets look at it from a deeper perspective.

When our soul is " kissed" by Divinity we sport with the leelas of God and attain spiritual realization and loosen our shakles to the material world.

So Vrinda's soul after being the beloved of Divinity dropped her attachment to her husband Jalandhara.
Hence she gives up her body in a fire and is turned into ashes and is reborn as Tulasi which becomes the sacred plant which is inseperable from Vishnu.


Ok..next is why did Vrinda curse Vishnu if she became realized and devoted to Him?

Well, Vrinda was a grhasta..a householder's Dharma is for both husband and wife to grow spiritually but in this case Vishnu went against the norm by liberating Vrinda instead of the usual husband and wife growing together in spirituality.

So since Vishnu went against grhasta dharma and separated Vrinda from her husband by liberating her..so Vishnu had to Himself experience being separated from His wife in His incarnation as Rama.

So the so called curse by Vrinda is only denoting that for every action done even by Divinity, there is a reaction to follow.

Like how Rama shot Vali from the back and to pay for this " unjust" act, in the next incarnation as Krishna, the hunter who was Vali in his previous life shoots Krishna's toe thinking its a deer.

So its not about God being guile in anyway.
Just that the puranas are written as parables and its taken too literally.

 

[prasad1]

Unfortunately part of Purana's on TV are only stories for mass consumption. There are no moral or symbolic values. So they give distorted views about Hinduism to the world. They are highly immoral and give license to the degradation of ethical values.
If Vishnu can rape a Vrida, so can goonda rape a women doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal. I am not saying that there is a correlation between the two incidents, but is indicative of the mentality.

 

[renuka]

Unfortunately part of Purana's on TV are only stories for mass consumption. There are no moral or symbolic values. So they give distorted views about Hinduism to the world. They are highly immoral and give license to the degradation of ethical values.
If Vishnu can rape a Vrida, so can goonda rape a women doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal. I am not saying that there is a correlation between the two incidents, but is indicative of the mentality.

I agree with you.
The views are distorted and give humans the licence to do as they please.