Kedara Gauri Vrat Katha | Legends of Kedara Gauri Vrat

Kedara Gauri Vrat Katha

In ancient times, there was a highly ascetic sage who was known by the name of Bhringi Rishi. Bhringi Rishi was an ardent and devoted follower of Lord Shiva, and he remained constantly absorbed in the devotion of Shiva Ji, worshipping Him in various ways. However, the sage had faith only in Lord Shiva and had no feeling of devotion towards Goddess Shakti in his heart. Although Shakti and Shiva are one, Bhringi Rishi did not worship them jointly.

Bhringi Rishi became so deeply absorbed in the worship of Lord Shiva that, out of ignorance, he began to neglect Goddess Shakti. Due to this neglectful behavior of the sage, the heart of Goddess Adi Shakti was hurt, and She became angry. Goddess Shakti then absorbed all the energy present within the body of Bhringi Rishi. In fact, the energy residing within the sage's body was none other than Goddess Gauri Herself.

The energy that emanated from the body of Bhringi Rishi, that is, Goddess Gauri, expressed the desire to merge into Lord Shiva and, in order to please Shiva Ji, observed the Kedara Vrat. Pleased by the penance of Shakti, Lord Shiva granted Her a place in His left half for residence. From that very moment, this form of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti became known in the entire world as Ardhanarishvara.

Since this Vrat was observed by Goddess Gauri to please Lord Shiva, it is known as the Kedara Gauri Vrat.

Another Legend of Lord Ardhanarishvara

In the Shivamahapurana, in the latter part within the Shatarudra Samhita, another legend related to the Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva is also found, which is as follows -

Nandishvara said - "In ancient times, even after Lord Brahma created the universe, its expansion did not occur. At that time, Brahma Ji became worried and thought that without the grace of Lord Shiva, creation could not be accomplished. Therefore, in order to please Lord Shiva, Brahma Ji engaged in intense Tapasya. Pleased by the devotion and faith of Prajapati Brahma, Devadhideva Mahadeva became pleased and manifested before him. Upon beholding the divine form of Lord Shiva, Brahma Ji was overwhelmed with joy. Bowing before Him in full prostration, he began to sing His praises.

Delighted by the praise, Lord Shiva said - 'O child! I am fully aware of your wish. You have performed severe penance with the desire for creation and the expansion of beings, and being pleased with this, I have come to grant you a boon.' Saying this, Lord Shiva manifested the supreme Shakti, Goddess Shiva, from His Vamanga, i.e., left side and granted him the vision of His Ardhanarishvara form.

Upon seeing the supreme Shakti manifested from the left side of Lord Shiva, Brahma Ji bowed to Her and began to praise Her in this manner - 'O Shive! O Devadhideva! Lord Shiva has manifested me for the purpose of creation. It is from this Supreme Shiva that the entire creation has become possible. O Shive! I have repeatedly created Gods and sages as my mind-born sons, but since they possess only the intellect created by me, the expansion of creation has not taken place. Therefore, I wish to create a Maithuni Srishti, i.e., procreative creation. In this creation, growth will occur through the union of male and female, but for the fulfillment of this purpose, women are required, and I have not been able to create such a noble lineage. O Devi! All powers have originated from You; thus, You are the primordial divine Shakti. I repeatedly pray to You. O Jagajjanani! Kindly grant me the power to create womankind. For the expansion of creation, please incarnate through Your aspect as the daughter of my son Daksha Prajapati and fulfill this purpose. Only then will the creation expand.'

Pleased by Brahma Ji's prayer, the Devi Maa said - 'O Prajapati! Do not worry, so it shall be. I grant you the power for the expansion of creation.' Thereafter, Goddess Shiva manifested from the space between Her eyebrows a Divya Shakti, i.e., divine power endowed with brilliance equal to Her own.

Lord Shiva beheld that Shakti and said - 'O Devi! Perform Tapasya to worship Lord Brahma and fulfill his wish.' The Shakti manifested from Goddess Shiva accepted Mahadeva's command and said - 'O Mahadeva! Your command is accepted with reverence.' In this way, Brahma Ji obtained the Brahmasvarupa Shakti. Thereafter, Goddess Shiva and Lord Shiva merged together and became established in the form of Ardhanarishvara.

Subsequently, the Brahma Shakti manifested from Goddess Shiva performed penance and, after attaining Siddhi, was born as the daughter of Daksha Prajapati. Receiving the blessings of the Goddess, Lord Brahma, filled with joy, began the creation of Maithuni Srishti, and thus the expansion of creation commenced.'"