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Slokam 9
Chitraketu is induced by the Paramathma to visit mount Kailas to attain complete liberation.
The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal, close to the source of some of the longest Asian rivers: the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges) in India. Mount Kailash is considered to be sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism.
In Hinduism, Mount Kailash is known to be the abode of Lord Shiva where he lives with his consort Parvati and other gans. He resides on the peak in the state of meditation. Vishnu Puraan describes Kailash four faces that are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis. The pilgrims do parikrama (Kora or Walking around Mount Kailash) in the clockwise direction starting from the South face. It is believed that doing one-time parikrama is equivalent to turning one round of wheel of life. The mountain is the pillar of the world and the entire universe is operated from this place.
In Hinduism, it is traditionally recognized as the abode of God Shiva, who resided there along with his consort goddess Parvati and their children, lord Ganesh and lord Kartikeya.
In the Uttara Kanda section of the epic Ramayana, it is said that Ravana attempted to uproot the mount kailash as retaliation to lord Shiva, who in turn, pressed his right big toe upon the mountain, trapping Ravana in between.[7] This version of lord Shiva is also referred to as Ravananugraha, or favour form to ravana while seated in mount Kailash[8]
According to the epic Mahabharata, it is said that the Pandava brothers, along with their wife Draupadi, trekked to the summit of mount Kailash on their path to liberation, as it is considered to be a gateway to Heaven, also known as Swarga Loka.[9]
According to Charles Allen, one description in the Vishnu Purana of the mountain states that its four faces are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli.[10] It is a pillar of the world and is located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a lotus.[10]
It is said that Mount Kailas offers liberation to those who exit worldly existence on its premise.
Chitraketu finds Lord Shiva sitting with Uma devi on his lap, in public, without any reservation. Chitraketu is astonished by this apparent disregard of privacy, and bursts out in laughter, in front of them.
Uma devi is upset at this insulting laughter. She then curses Chitraketu to take birth in the family of low sinful family of demons.
The liberated atma of Chitraketu is subject to the test of a curse. A truly liberated atma should gracefully accept whichever state of existence it is put into.
This is a very important statement. It implies the definition of liberation. True liberation does not mean that the atma will not be subject to tests and tribulations. Actually Sri Krishna Paramatma asks Arjuna as to how he plans to face upto the challenges of the next world and the world after that, if he cannot take on the battle of Kurukshetra.
The liberated atma is that which will not be impacted by change in its situation. So the liberated Atma cannot be influenced by change of circumstances. It will accept adversity without being impacted in its dedication and surrender to the Paramatma. If the attainment of liberation is real and mature, there will be no remorse at a setback,simply because all rewards setbacks will be attributed only to the Paramatna and the results are placed at His feet.
Chitraketu, as a liberated atma should not have laughed at Shiva and Uma. It implies that Chitraketu still has a bit of advancement to gain. So chitraketu is put to the test by the Paramathma.
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Krishna Unlimited
United States
suresh