Sporting Spirit Among Our Gods

SPORTING SPIRIT AMONG OUR GODS

सदा भवानी दाहिनी, सम्मुख रहें गणेश, पंच देव रक्षा करें ब्रह्मा, विष्णु महेश ।

(Sada Bhawani Dahini, sammukh rahen Ganesh, Panch Dev raksha karen Brahma, Vishnu Mahesh)

With this invocation, I am presenting the query of my atheist friend in his own words:

“As per Ramayan and Mahabharata Rama and Krishna are the Incarnation of Lord Vishnu and both entered the earth to save Dharma and Adharma.
You may agree to disagree, call me a rambler, laugh at me, be angry with me or simply call me mad. But I think that the most stupid question is one that has not been asked. So I have to ask for clarification.
Since we have many Gods, they seem to be in competition to have an upper hand and try to test each other, not openly though. In the open, they worship each other, particularly Vishnu and Shiva.
For example:
Lord Shiva is deep meditation and God Of love Kamrup tries to disturb him but fails. Lord Shiva opens his third eye and burns him. Kamrup’s wife Rati pleads for mercy and here is what lord Shiva says :

जब जदुबंस क्रिष्ण अवतारा, होइहि हरन महा महिभारा ।
क्रिष्ण तनय होइहि पति तोरा बचन अन्यथा होइ न मोरा।
बालकाण्ड

(Jab Yaduvans Krishna Avatara, Hohiyi haran maha mahidhara,

Krishna Tanaya hohiyi pati tora, Vachan anyatha hoi na mora- Balkand)

(When Lord Vishnu incarnates as Krishna in Yadu clan, his son will be your husband, meaning Kamrup will return to you as Krishna’s son)
Now he could have spared them the long torturous wait and instead fixed a tenure of day one Yuga.
But he wanted to test the Vishnu!
And:


Ravana prays for Lord Vishnu’s blessings :


कर बनती पद गह दससीसा, बोलेउ बचन सुन जगदीशा।
हम का के मरह न मारे, बानर मनुज जातइ बारे।
बालकाण्ड

(kar viniti pad gah dashshisha, Boleyu vachan sun Jagdisha.

Ham ka ke marah na mare, Vanar, Manuj jatayi bare-Balkand)

(Ravana-O lord of the Universe grant me the boon that no one may kill be barring humans and monkeys)
He clearly asks for not to be killed by Humans and monkeys. He was hugely blessed by Lord Shiva and he knew he was so invincible and powerful to be killed by humans and monkeys.
But look what happens. Lord Vishnu incarnates as human as Rama and kills him. A clear case of back door entry.

See what happens:

जन डरपहु मुनि सिद्ध सुरेसा, तुहहि लाग धरहउँ नर बेसा।

(Jan darpahu muni siddh Suresha, Tumahi lagi dharhaun nar vesha)

(Do not be afraid, gods, for you I will take birth as a human)

And

निज लोकह बरंच गे देवह इहइ सखाइ, बानर तनु धर धर मह हर पद सेव जाइ।

(Nij lokah viranch ge dewah yiyah sakhaee, Vanar tanu dhar dhar har pad seva jaayee)

(Lord Brahman goes to his abode and instructs the Gods to take birth as monkeys on earth and serve Lord Rama)

Now tell me is it not cheating? Is it not Gods challenging each other for upper seat?”

Well, all what I could only say is:


हरि अनंत हरि कथा अनंता, कहहिं सुनहिं बहुविधि सब संता

(Hari anant Hari katha ananta, kahayin sunahin bahuvidhi santa)

(God is eternal, His stories are eternal and Saints and sages speak and listen to them in many ways)

 

Thanks Mai'm! You are absolutely right. When I read Bhagwatam, there are stories within stories going back to the very beginning of creation and that too without beginning and end. The average life span was also so long. The story of Sati taking birth as Parvati and doing tapa for hundreds of years, never growing old!!! Sita getting blessed by Narada for having a husband of her liking. Rathi and Ahilya waiting for yugas to be rejoined with their spouses.
The other day I was watching an interview of a famous Hindi film director who said as a child he and his siblings will listen story from their father which never ended.
Once I tried the same with my daughters when they were kids and carried forward the story for five days and thankfully my daughters wanted me to change it to another story.
It can really be a funny exercise. Human mind is a store house of imaginations.