On being ejected from the house, Vēthanithi went to the home of his
favorite whore. Even before his arrival, there was news about his
expulsion all over the town.
‘Hereafter, he is of no value to me.’ Entertaining such thought, she
chased him out of her house after raining down on him a torrent of words
of contempt.
Those harsh words pained Vēthanithi. He wriggled like a worm in loss of
respect. He wandered the street after street dazed without food or drink
and fell in a part of town in a swoon.
Waking up from his daze, he found the nightfall was imminent. ‘Harahara
Mahā
Dēva… Sambhō Śaṅkara
MahāDēva…
Namasivaya!’ People roared
streaming down the street. The bodies smeared with ash, the necks and
wrists with the Rudrākṣa Mālās (prayer beads) … fascinated him.
An old man was passing by him. He asked him, “Sir, what is special
today? Where are these people going?”
The man saw and took a measure of him up and down said, “OK… Are you not
aware of the celebration? Today is Mahā Śivarātri, an auspicious day.”
Vēthanithi having taken refuge in the bosom of women, had no idea of
Śivarātri (The Great Night of Śiva).
“Śivarātri, what is it?”
‘Someone like this.’ So thinking and feeling sorry for him, the elder
explained to him all about the greatness of Śivarātri. “Śivarātri comes
in Māci month (Feb-Mar), Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa Sathurdasi Titi. It is special to
Śiva.
It is the day (night) of Viratam (vow) equal to receiving fruits such as
redemption (absolution) from 10 million Brahmicides (killings of Brāhmaṇās),
benefits from 1000 Aśvamēdha
(horse sacrifices). “This day being that great, we seeking the grace of
Mahēṣa;
go to the
Śiva
temple nearby.”
Vēthanithi was joyous hearing those words. He walked fast towards the
temple.
In the temple, the preliminary Pūja
was over. The deity was bathed in clean water, seated on the golden
pedestal and decorated with flowers such as lotus, karavīram
(Sweet Oleander),
sathapaththiram (Lotus with 1000 petals) … Before the deity, there were
plates with rice and vegetables. Vēthanithi casing his surroundings
tiptoed into the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Inside the light was dim. He tore a piece of cloth from his loincloth.
He rolled it into a wick and lighted it. The lighted wick illuminated
the premises, he pilfered the food and parceled it in his torn cloth and
exited the premises quickly.
The guards on duty noticed it and chased him.
Vēthanithi
continued running paying no attention to them.
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