Shri Shirdi Sai Speaks-14th April/ Shiv Puran-The reason of friendship between Shiv ji and Kubera.

Om Sai Ram ! Om Namaha Shivaya!

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Since about more than a month we all have been graced with the blissful darshan of the sacred shivlings around the world. But all this seems a little incomplete to me without the knowledge of the holy Shiv Puran. So how about we all start reading this sacred book together..And hopefully before I head to Kailash- we all will be blessed with the wonderful stories which are related to our creator. However, " The Shiva Purana has twenty-four thousand shlokas which are divided into six samhitas or sections." But I will not be posting any of the shlokas in these mails. I will be posting the most simplest version of the Shiv Puran with the blissful pictures of various temples as we go along- , so that it is easily understood by all of us and can also be shared with our children and grandchildren.May Lord Shiva bless us all in this journey of going one step closer to His Lotus feet . And last but not the least, My Humble Pranams to this Holy book along with all the Gods and Godesses ..

Om Shree Ganeshaya Namaha

Kubera is often depicted as a fat man, adorned with jewels and carrying a money-pot or money-bag, and a club.According to Hindu mythology Kubera is the god of wealth and son of Sage Vishrava who is the son of Lord Brahma. Kubera is widely known as the gods appointed guardian of the treasures of the gods and the nine special treasures of indefinite significance. But he is also the King of Yakshas and one of the Ashta-Dikpalas, representing the north direction. He is also referred to as Kuvera, Kuber, Dhanapati and Vaisravana. Kubers residence Lanka which he captured from the Demons was captured back by his half brother Ravana. When Ravana captured Lanka, Kubera moved to palace on Mount Kailash, in the Himalayas. Kubera is normally assumed as a dwarf with an ugly and deformed body having three legs, one eye smaller than the other and having only eight teeth. Because of his deformity Lord Brahma gifted him the Chariot Pushpak built by Vishwakarma, the architect of Gods. The magic Chariot Pushpak was stolen by Ravana and used for his misdeeds. This chariot, however, was handed back to him by Lord Ram after defeating Ravana. As the God of wealth and material, his responsibilities are to distribute them while creating wealth is with Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that Kubera flies in his Pushpak to distribute wealth to his devotees assisted by the Kinnaras and their female counterparts, the Kinnoris.

Kubera is said to have given a loan to Lord Venkateshwara for his marriage with Padmavati. According to the Vishnupuran the repayment will go on till the end of Kaliyuga. It is said that one who worships Kubera and Lakshmi together can never fall short of money and material comforts. By worshipping Goddess Lakshmi and Kubera together brings prosperity to the devotee by drawing new avenues and sources of income. Special puja of Kubera is performed by Hindus on festivals like Deepawali, Dusshera and Dhantriyodasi.

Naradji asked lord Brahma, when did lord Shiva make Kailash as his abode and what was the reason of friendship between Shiv ji and Kubera.

Brahmaji narrated the following story-

There used to live a brahmin by the name Yagyadutt in Kampilyanagar, who was proficient in the performance of Somyagya. He followed strict Brahman rules and he was expert in all the Vedas and puranas. He had a son named Gunanidhi. Though he was a scholar but at the same time he was irreligious and kept bad company. He used to indulge in evil activities like gambling. His father - Yagyadutt was unaware of his evil activities. Whenever he asked his wife about Gunanidhi habits and conduct, his wife used to tell lies and praised the conduct of Gunamidhi. Thus Gunamidhi's condition became worst day by days. Yagyadutt married Gunanidhi with a girl belonging to a well to do family. But his habits had not changed. His mother tried her best to make him understand, but it was of no avail. One day Yagyadutt saw, a gambler wearing his ring. He asked him about that ring. The gambler told him that his son - Gunanidhu had lost it to him, in the gamble. He also informed him that he had also lost numerous ornaments and other properties in the gamble. Yagyadutt became very angry. He married another woman after abandoning his wife and son.

When Gunadhi came to know about his father's second marriage, he moved to another place, cursing his fate. He kept on walking till he became tired. He sat under a tree and started thinking about his further course of action. His heart was full of remorse and he repented for his past actions. As his mind was engrossed in such kind of thoughts. He saw some villagers going towards the temple. They were carrying prasad in their hands. "Since Gunanidhi was hungry, he followed them and after reaching the temple he sat at the main gate of the temple. In the night, after the accomplishment of the Pujan, the devotees went to sleep.Gunanidhi entered the premise of the temple. The flame of the lamp was gradually becoming dim as the result of which he could not see properly. He tore some pieces of cloth, he was wearing and made a thick wick and put it in the lamp. Now the light was sufficient to enable him to see whatever had been offered to the deity." "He carried as much fruits and other eatables as possible and tried to sneak out from the temple. Unfortunately, he dashed against a devotee who woke up and chased him - shouting thief-thief." "Hearing his cries all the other devotees woke up and caught Gunanidhi. He was given such a nice thrashing that proved to be fatal and as a result Gunanidhi died." The Yamadut's arrived to take his soul to yamloka. But right then, the Shivaganas arrived and prevented the Yamadutas from carrying his soul. They informed the Yamdutas that Gunanidhi was entitled for Shivaloka as he had devoutly observed the Shivaratri fast, had listened to the tales of Shiva and lighted up the lamp which was about to go off. The Shivaganas also informed the Yamadutas that, in his next birth Gunamidhi would become the king of Kalinga." "In this way Gunanidhi attained to Shivaloka.

In his next birth he was born as a son of king Arindam- the king of Kalinga. He was named as Dama." "When he was still young, his father Arindam died. So Dama succeeded as the king of Kalinga. He renovated all the Shiva-temples, which came under his jurisdiction and passed a stricture which made the worship of lord Shiva compulsory for all the subjects. By the blessings of lord Shiva, he became the king of Alkapuri and was known as Kubera."

"During the Padma kalpa, Sage Vishrawa was born to sage Pulastya- the manasputra of lord Brahma. Vishrawa's son - Vishrawan ruled over Alkapuri for a long time. This city was constructed by the deity Vishwakarma. Vishrawan was a great devotee of Lord Shiva." "During the kalpa named Meghawahan, Gunanidhi did a tremendous penance for ten lac years. As a result of this penance his body was reduced to skelton." "Lord Shiva became very pleased with him and appeared before him, accompanied by his consort Parvati. He told Gunanidhi to ask for any boon, which will be fulfilled." "When Gunanidhi heard Shiva's Voice he opened his eyes, but his eyes were dazzled by the sheer radiance of lord Shiva. He requested Shiva to restore the power of sight in his eyes. Shiva blessed him, as a result of which he was now able to see the divine sight of lord Shiva.
Kuber had not seen Goddess Parvati before and was astounded by the splendour and beauty of Goddess Parvati who was bedecked with jewels. Goddess Parvati mistook Kuber’s staring for evil intention and she cursed that let one of his eyes burst.
Kuber was now left with one eye and he explained that he had no evil intention and he had stared as he had not seen such fine gold jewellery before.
Goddess Parvati realized her mistake and immediately the one eye that Kuber had lost grew but remained smaller than the other one.Shiva also made Kuber one of the Ashta Dikpalas and he guards the northern direction.
Goddess Parvati made him the god of wealth and material possessions."Lord Shiva then blessed Gunanidhi to become the king of the kings. He also assured him that he will always be present in the vicinity of Alkapuri. After blessing Gunanidhi , - both Shiva and Parvati went to a place called Vaishveshwar. Kailash mountain was situated near AlkaNagri.
Shiva goes to Kailash

When Rudra - the Ansha of the Almighty brahma, heard about the tremendous penance, Kubera was doing he started to play his 'damaru' (drum), the sound of which reached all the three worlds. Rudra then reached the place where Kubera was doing penance." "Hearing the sound of his damaru, all the deities including Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashia appeared before him." "When Kubera saw lord Rudra before himself, he offered his seat to him and worshipped him. He also worshipped the other deities. Rudra was so pleased with Kubera that he decided to stay near him. He called Vishwakarma and ordered him to conduct his abode at Kailash mountain, so that he could live in the vicinity of his great devotee-Kubera. Kubera constructed a beautiful city as per his instruction. An auspicious moment was chosen and Shiva went to live at the Kailash mountain. He was coronated by the deities." Brahamaji in this way told Narada about Shiva's departure to Kailash mountain.
[Will continue tomorrow with the Shiv Puran about the wonderful story of why Lord Shiva married Sati inspite of being a Yogi]