Valentines Day, Manmada & Shiva Ratri
Valentines Day, Manmada & Shiva Ratri Valentine’s Day and Maha Shiva Ratri fall within a span of few days this year (2023). It occurred to me that in our tradition, Valentine’s Day can probably be associated with Manmada or Kamadeva, and it reminds me of a beautiful chapter from the Balakanda of Valmiki’s Ramayana. Rama and Lakshmana have left Ayodhya with Rishi Vishwamitra enroute to Sidhdhashrama. On the way, they come to the confluence of Rivers Ganga and Sarayu (modern day Ghaghara River). They approach an ancient ashrama where innumerable rishis have have been doing tapas for thousands of years. Seeing that ashrama and its intense spiritual energy, Rama asks Vishwamitra about the history of this incredible place. Vishwamitra smiles and tells him that thousands of years ago manmada roamed this area in his body. During the same time, Sthaanu (Shiva) used to do intense tapasya in this very same ashrama. One day Shiva got up from his samadhi and as he was going s...