Veranda Tales-Dance of enchantment
Storytelling has been an integral part of my life since childhood. I grew up listening to stories during the hot summer evenings and nights with my cousins. Mothers and grandmothers would gather all of us children for story time. It was usually pitch dark except for a very faint light coming from the flickering candle. Power cuts were as frequent as the hot and humid summer days. We all spread out on a cool concrete floor or bamboo mats on the veranda intently listening to fascinating stories about kings, queens, princes, princesses, and peasants alike. Stories about love, life, families, and people entertained and taught us life skills. These stories transported us to distant worlds, strange yet familiar. Often the same story told by two people sounded different as storytellers added new twists and turns adding their personal style and flair to the stories.
Storytelling wasn’t limited to summer evenings and bedtime. I was surrounded by adults who didn’t pass up an opportunity to share their wisdom using the art of storytelling. These rich vibrant oral traditions include songs, poems, stories, and సామెతలు (Sametalu are proverbs in Telugu). Men and women sing songs as they work in the fields, grinding grains and spices and doing other daily chores at their homes. Stories are often used to teach important life lessons, interpersonal skills, and survival skills. These stories and the time spent listening to them made our lives richer leaving an impression on me. This series is all about reliving those memories as I share these stories.
ఎవడి నెత్తి మీద వాడే చెయ్యి పెట్టుకున్నట్లు (evavdi netti meeda vaade cheyyi pettukunnatlu)
A very long time ago, there was an అసుర (asura) named భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). Asuras are an ancient class of human-like living beings in Indian religion which include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. అసుర (asura) is a Sanskrit word that simply means not సుర (Sura) or దేవ (Deva). Suras or Devas are heavenly beings or deities who are benevolent and good. Asuras on the other hand fall into two categories, good and evil. Good asuras are led by వరుణ (Varuna), a Hindu god associated with sky, oceans and water. Evil asuras are led by వ్వ్రిత (Vritra), a Hindu god who personifies drought. Suras and Asuras are half-brothers representing good and bad similar to yin and yang. Asuras are power seekers. Good asuras use their powers for good and are favored by Devas as a result. Bad asuras use their powers for bad and are at odds with Devas.
భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) set out to acquire powers by becoming a devotee of శివ (Shiva). He engaged in తపస్య (tapasya), a deep spiritual meditation for a very long time. తపస్య (tapasya) isn’t like sitting on your yoga cushion and meditate while thinking about what’s for dinner. It took years of giving up family, friends, and all the comforts of life. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) would have sat under tree in a forest in deep meditation for years on end for his prayers to be heard. శివ (Shiva) is The Destroyer within the త్రిమూర్తి (Trimurti), the Hindu trinity which includes బ్రహ్మ (Brahma), The Creator. and విష్ణు (Vishnu), The Preserver.
At last, శివ (Shiva) heard భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura)’s prayer. He came down from కైలాస (Kailasa), where he resides, to visit భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). He appeared before భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) who was in deep meditation. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) opened his eyes to find శివ (Shiva) and fell on his feet. శివ (Shiva) asked భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura), “What do you want as a reward for your devotion?”. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) asked శివ (Shiva) to make him immortal and all powerful. శివ (Shiva) refused to grant immortality. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) then made a strange request. He asked శివ (Shiva) to grant him the power to burn anybody and anything he put his hand on into a pile of ashes.
All powerful శివ (Shiva) must not have heard the sameta, “కాలు జారితే తీసుకోగలము, మాటలు జారితే తీసుకోలేము (Kaalu jaarithe theesukogalam, maatalu jaarithe theesukolem)” which means “We can recover when a foot slips, but we can’t recover from a slip of our tongue”. You can’t take back the words once they are spoken. శివ (Shiva) was bound by his word to grant భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura)’s wish even though he couldn’t really understand the request as it sounded like a useless one. He probably considered the request innocuous. As soon as శివ (Shiva) granted his request, భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) told him that he was now more powerful than శివ (Shiva) as he could burn him down to ashes if he wished. He wanted to test the boon by putting his hand on శివ (Shiva)’s head. శివ (Shiva) started running for his life with భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) chasing after him with an outstretched arm. శివ (Shiva) realized he made a mistake in granting the boon, but it was too late. He called out to విష్ణు (Vishnu) to save him and took shelter in a forest.
భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) was just about to follow శివ (Shiva) into the forest when he spotted a beautiful maiden at the entrance of the forest. He stopped in his tracks, enchanted by her beauty. He wanted to find out who she was. When he asked her what her name was, she replied, “You first tell me who you are''. He introduced himself and expressed his desire to marry her. She told him her name was మోహిని (Mohini). She then told him that she was a dancer and that she made a vow to herself to marry only a dancer. Whoever she marries would have to be a great dancer like her. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) said he didn’t know how to dance. మోహిని (Mohini) offered to teach him and asked him to follow along.
She initiated a dance named ముక్త నృత్య (muktanṛtya is dance of liberation in Sanskrit), a dance for the ముక్తి (mukti is liberation in Sanskrit). భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) was following మోహిని (Mohini)’s steps and dancing along. They were both moving and dancing in sync as భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) was able to keep up with మోహిని (Mohini). భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) was thoroughly enjoying the dance. He was so focussed on the dance matching every single one of Mohini’s dance poses. Towards the end of the dance, మోహిని (Mohini) placed her hand on her head and so did భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). His newly acquired power worked as he turned into a large pile of ashes.
All this time, శివ (Shiva) was hiding in the forest watching the dance. He came out to thank the beautiful maiden who saved him from his predicament. He couldn’t find her. As he was looking for her, he spotted a cheerful విష్ణు (Vishnu) smiling back at him. He thanked విష్ణు (Vishnu) for saving him by taking the form of మోహిని (Mohini), the goddess of enchantment. మోహిని (Mohini) is one of విష్ణు (Vishnu)’s avatars and the only one where he takes a female form. విష్ణు (Vishnu) smiled and cautioned him to be careful when he grants powers to people in the future.
This sameta, ఎవడి నెత్తి మీద వాడే చెయ్యి పెట్టుకున్నట్లు (evavdi netti meeda vaade cheyyi pettukunnatlu) says, “don’t foolishly follow along hurting yourself”, by referencing the story of భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). The literal translation of this sameta is, “It is like placing his hand on his own head”. The context of the story of భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) is important to understand this sameta and its important message.
The story has a lot of moral messages besides the obvious one that says, “don’t bestow powers on people who can abuse them”. The other one is శివ (Shiva)’s commitment to his word. He honored his word by granting భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura)’s wish. శివ (Shiva) reached out to ask for help when he was in need. Another moral is about the importance of friendship. విష్ణు (Vishnu) came to శివ (Shiva)’s rescue honoring their bond of friendship. It also offers a moral message about following blindly without exercising caution. భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) ended up dead by foolishly following మోహిని (Mohini) without giving a thought to what it would do to him.
The story of భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) is enacted in many Indian dances. I heard this story many times as I was growing up. The story continues to be fascinating as it takes me through a myriad of emotions. A clam feeling comes over me when I visualize భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) in deep meditation in a peaceful forest, followed by the image of శివ (Shiva) in కైలాస (Kailasa) opening his eyes as he hears the prayer, and then appearing before భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura), kindly gazing at his devotee. I can picture his puzzled expression when he hears భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura)’s strange request and grants it anyway. I am amused as I picture all powerful శివ (Shiva) running as భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) pursues him with a realization that even a almighty god could be vulnerable. It dawned on me that శివ (Shiva) could have probably opened his third eye to take care of భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). He didn’t have the heart to harm భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) as he still had respect for his devotion. I heave a sigh of relief when మోహిని (Mohini) manages to cleverly eliminate the threat thereby saving her friend.
భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) didn’t get his wish to be immortal, however his name lives on as his name is forever linked to మోహిని (Mohini), the enchantress. Some people tease smokers calling them భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura) got his wish in the end, even though it was not the way he would have wanted it to be.