The RUDRAKSH has always been an important object when it comes to spirituality, seekers of spirituality and common folk.
There’s always a certain level of mysticism associated associated it.
RUDAKSH – comes from RUDRA (the fierce form of Lord SHIVA) and AKSH (TEARS).
Legend has it that when RUDRA meditated for many years (because of the loss of GODDESS SATI/DASHAYANI/)
It all started when Queen Prasuti desired a daughter, Lord Brahma advised her and her husband Daksha PRAJAPATI (who was BRAHMA’s MANASAPUTRA) to meditate upon the Goddess Adi-Parashakti. They gave up their royal robes, put on the guises of saints, and sat in a forest and meditated upon Goddess Adi-Parashakti. After a long time, Goddess Adi-Parashakti appeared awakening Daksha and Prasuti from their penance. Adi Parashakti invited them to request the desired boon from her, Daksha asked the Goddess to take birth again as their daughter. The Goddess gave them their consent but also gave them a warning that if ever she should be insulted, she would take up her Celestial form and disown them. Daksha and Prasuti agreed to take care of her.
Back in their palace, Adi Parashakti again took human birth at the bidding of Lord Brahma. Daksha and Prasuti named their daughter Sati. Daksha was a son of Brahma and a great king in his own right. As the daughter of King Daksha, Sati is also known as Dakshayani. Sati was a newborn to Daksha and Prasuti’s 23 daughters. In bidding of Adi-Parashakti to take human birth, Brahma’s design was that she would please Shiva with humble devotions and wed him. It was natural that Sati, even as a child, adored the tales and legends associated with Shiva told by sage Narada and grew up an ardent devotee. As she grew to womanhood, the idea of marrying anyone else, as intended by her father, became unfair to her.
To win the regard of the ascetic Shiva, the daughter of king Daksha forsook the luxuries of her father’s palace and retired to a forest, there to devote herself to austerities and the worship of Shiva. So rigorous were her penances that she gradually renounced food itself, at one stage subsisting on one leaf a day, and then giving up even that nourishment; this particular abstinence earned her the name Aparna. Her prayers finally bore fruit when, after testing her resolve, Shiva finally acceded to her wishes and consented to make her his bride.
An ecstatic Sati returned to her father’s home to await her bridegroom, but found her father less than elated by the turn of events. The wedding was however held in due course, and Sati made her home with Shiva in Kailash. Daksha, depicted in legend as an arrogant king, did not get on with his renunciative son-in-law and basically cut his daughter away from her natal family. Daksha organized a yagna ritual and invited all the Gods, Goddesses and princes. But he did not invite Shiva or Sati because he was unhappy that his daughter had married Shiva. Sati learnt about the yagna and asked Shiva to go with her. When Shiva refused, Sati insisted upon going and was escorted by Shiva’s troops to her father’s kingdom. Upon reaching, Daksha got angry on seeing her and yelled at her telling her she was not welcome. Sati tried to make him understand but it was no use.
It is said that when Daksha did not stop yelling, the angered Sati took the form of the goddess, Adi Parashakti. Lightning and thunder threatened to destroy the Earth. All sorts of calamities arose as Mother Earth couldn’t bear her strong radiance and power. The Gods, saints, sages, her mother, father and her sisters trembled in fear and respectfully saluted her, who was the Mother of the Universe (Jagadamba). Adi Parashakti introduced herself as the Eternal Power to Daksha and cursed him to be killed by Shiva, inclusive of all the Gods, princes and Goddesses. She cursed the yagna ritual, that it will never be completed, that Tamas would subdue its Sattvik nature.
She declared that from that moment, she renounces all the mortal relationships, nothing binds her.
She gave her final salutations to her husband Lord Shiva, and the mother of this mortal body, and then she prayed, hoped, that she be reborn to a father, whom she could respect.
So saying, Devi Sati immolated her mortal body through the invocation and provocation of her yogic powers.
As the Tatva of Shakti left the mortal shell, the mortal body of Devi Sati collapsed to the floor in scorching flames.
Angered and grief-stricken Shiva learnt about Sati’s death and he rendered a terrible “Tandava” or dance of destruction, the more Shiva danced, the more destruction arose. Later, Shiva pulled two locks of hair and fell it on the ground. One arose Virabhadra, Shiva’s destructive and terrible incarnation, having eight hands holding weapons and possessing a dark complexion. The second arose Bhadrakali, the Supreme Goddess’s violent and intense incarnation, having eighteen hands holding weapons like a discus, dagger, trident, spear, mace, scimitar, sword, vajra, conch shell, demon head, drinking vessel, goad, waterpot, cleaver, shield, bow and arrow. Shiva ordered them to wreak havoc. Virabhadra and Bhadrakali were assisted by eight other Goddesses named Kali, Katyayini, Chamunda, Ishaani, Mundamardini, Bhadra, Vaishnavi and Twarita who appeared at their side. In other versions, it was said that first Virabhadra arose and after he was held captive by Vishnu, who was protecting Daksha since he was Vishnu’s devotee and the Lord had promised him protection in time of need, Shiva created Bhadrakali who freed Virabhadra and was embedded in him and rendered him more powerful.
Daksha himself was decapitated by Virabhadra, while, others fell upon Daksha and Bhrigu’s demon armies. After the night of horror, Shiva, the all-forgiving, restored all those who were slain to life and granted them his blessings. Even the abusive and culpable Daksha was restored both his life and his kingship. His severed head was substituted for that of a goat. Having learned his lesson, Daksha spent his remaining years as a devotee of Shiva. Out of grief and sorrow, Shiva carried Sati’s body reminiscing their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu had cut her body into 51 body parts using his Sudarshana Chakra which fell on Earth to become holy spots to pray to the Goddess named Shakti Peeths, to complete this massively long task,
After the incident Lord Shiva was SO GRIEF STRICKEN that he took the form of BHAIRAVA (one of he eight forms of RUDRA) and immersed himself into deep meditation in KAILASHA.
When he opened his eyes many many years later, several drops of TEARS fell down from his eyes out of compassion for DAKSHAYANI and for other beings of EARTH which he had destroyed earlier during the RUDRATANDAV.
These TEARS fells on the GROUND and became RUDRAKSHA TREES. These actually originated in SOUTH EAST ASIA – JAVA, BORNEO & SUMATRA
The BLUE RUDRAKSH fruit (from the picture in the top) is from HAWAII.
RUDRAKSH fruits from India & NEPAL are usually GREEN in color.
Here’s a video of how a RUDRAKSH is made frfom a RUDRAKSHA TREE
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