1. Sambhava Khandam - Himavans Daughter

Lord Muruga in Alangudi Guru Temple, Kumbakonam

SAMBHAVA KHANDAM

THE DAUGHTER OF HIMAVAN
    In the great holy mountain of kailash, Lord Shiva was sitting on a throne made of navarathnas along with Eshwari, glowing with a light as bright as a thousand crore suns rose at a time.
   Music of the devas and chants of the veda mantras filled the air.
   At such a beautiful time, Eshwari was alone looking fatigued.
   Lord Shiva understood the state of mind of Eshwari and asked her affectionately why her face was dull.
   Hearing the lords sweet voice, Eshwari replied " Oh great lord of the three worlds ! What is it that you do not know ? You know everything and yet you question me ! When i was born as Dhakshyani i was humiliated by my father Dhakshan, the son of Brahma. My father lost his affection for me because he hated you and i married you without his acceptance. When my father did a yagna, we both were not invited. Even though you advised me not to go to the yagna, i went to ask why he did not invite you. But father instead of welcoming me, he humiliated me and you. I could not bear the humiliation and i took my life by burning myself in the yagna fire.

That humiliation has not left my body yet. I wish to take a rebirth to cleanse me of the humiliation. Oh Lord, please grant me my wish !"
 The Lord was happy with Eshwaris request. He said," Jagajanani Ambigai ! You asked for the right wish at the right time. Good things will happen to the world. Your rebirth in the world will show a righteous path to the world. A king named ' Himavan ' lives on earth with wife Mena. The couple are a great devotee of me. They have been praying to me to get you as their child for many years now. This is a good time for their prayers to come true. My blessings are with you Devi ! Jai vijayi bava !"

 Eshwari was ecstatic on receiving the lords blessing and left to complete her rebirth.

  The mountain king Himavan was ruling the land of 'Oshathiprastham' for many years. One day he decided to leave the kingdom for a while. He removed his golden ornaments and wore a rudraksha garland. He removed his silk robes and wore only saffron clothes. He went to the nearby forest along with his wife Mena. In the foothills of the Himalayas, he sat along with his wife to meditate.

  

His face began to glow. His hair became matted. He did not care for the wind, sun, rain or fog. He kept Lord Shivas name in his speech and breadth.
 Near to the place were he stayed in the forest there was a lake. Beautiful 'neelothpala' flowers(blue lily) used to blossom in the lake. The king used to go to collect the flowers for his daily pooja.

One day when he went to collect the flowers for his pooja, he found that a divine light was coming from among the neelothpala flowers. He was surprised. He went near the flowers to find out the source of the divine light. He was amazed to find the source of the divine light was a girl child who was placed among the flowers. The childs body was shining like the full moon. She had beautiful round eyes and dark hair. The child had a beautiful smile on her face and four hands. On seeing this Himavan understood that Eshwari herself had come as a child to him. Eshwari changed her form and appeared as a normal human child. Himavan picked the child affectionately and held her close to his chest.

He took the child to his wife Mena. Motherhood blossomed insiside Mena. She took the child and fed her milk. Her eyes were filled with tears of joy. She named the child 'Parvathi'.
 Himavan took the child and went to his palace along with his wife. The news of the childs birth to the king spread in all directions. Himavan became philanthropic. He fed the poor. He did pooja to all the temples in his kingdom. His palace was always buzzing with activities and all the people were happy. Devas, saints, kings and queens came to bless Himavans family. Parvathi grew fast day by day. Himavan and Mena were filled with boundless bliss.
  When Parvathi reached the age of five, all her thinking began to converge on Lord Shiva. Parvathi along with her friends Iyai and vijaiyai would celebrate all the festivals of Lord Shiva. The desire to marry the lord grew strong at such an early age in Parvathis heart. She told her desire to her parents. They were surprised and even a little sad that they would have to get seperated from their daughter at such an early age.
    Parvathi on seeing the sorrow on her parents eyes, consoled them. " Being born a woman, one must have to leave her parents home and go to her husbands home one day or anther. Father, you are an ardent devotee of the great Lord Shiva, so you must be happy, not sad. I have decided to go to the Meru mountain to begin my meditation on the lord.
     The king built a home were his daughter could meditate on the Meru mountain. On an auspicious day, Parvathi left to the Meru mountain along with her friends Iyai and Vijayai.
   Lord Shiva was sitting under the shadow of a tree as Dhakshinamoorthy.