Mahadeva

You.
Dark of form,
with ash-smeared body,
gnarnled, matted hair,
rudrakhsha and tiger skin.

You.
Who resides in the snow-clad abodes
of Kailasa, the five Kedars,
Mani Mahesh and Shrikhand Mahadev.
In Benares and Ujjain and Nasik.
And in the hearts of a countless.

You.
who are AshtaMurti, Chaumukha, Triambaka,
Sadashiv, Omkara, Rudra, Arunachalam,
Natraja, Pasupati and Ardhanarishvara.
Shankara, Shambhu and AdiYogi.
Bholenath and Kalabhairava.

You.
Who are without beginning and without end.
From whom the holy Ganga emanates.
On whose head rests the crescent.
The father of time.

You.
Who is merged into utter and absolute stillness.
Who exists in the emptiness beyond all that is.
Who is unbounded and all pervasive.
Whom tonight celebrates.
A night of intoxication and rapture.
Of fixity, enlightenment and dissolution.

You.
I humbly dedicate this to you.

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PRALAYA*

While under COVID lockdown, and on a walk, I came across this striking metal mural of Lord Shiva – the Destroyer. I thought it apt for days like these when the end of the world seems nigh. And here below is my poem inspired by it:

SHIVOHAM SHIVOHAM

Presenting Adi Sankara’s Nirvana Shatakam, which summarizes the basic teachings of Advaita Vedanta, or non-dualism. It was written around 788-820 CE. Immerse yourself in the depth and import of the words!

On Meeting Her Again

Desire manifests
and the heart longs again
The Universe delivers
A sense of expectation develops

Night of the Third Eye

Tonight
On the most glorious of nights

Nataraja

Dance

SALUTATIONS TO SHIVA

Chanting for those inclined to listen, by American kirtan singers Krishna Das & Jai Uttal; it’s “aum namah shivaya” and “boom shankar” in equal parts.

The Shiva Trilogy

…and here I go again! Rendered three ways – pencil, crayon and paint on canvas.