18. Story of Ravana & Aathma Lingam

Ravana was the king of Lanka (present Srilanka). He was born to Sage Vishravas and the demon pdrenched Kaikesi, hence was a Brahmin by clan.

Ravana was a very powerful demon and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Initially, Ravana did great penance to please Lord Brahma and gained powers and kingdom. However, later he meditated on the name of Lord Shiva and became his staunch devotee.

Ravana was in deep devotional love with Lord Shiva. He was so overcome by this feeling that he decided to bring Lord Shiva to his kingdom and serve him before his eyes. 

(In another version, Ravana's mother prayed to Lord Shiva by making a Shivalinga of mud. However, the shivalinga was washed away by the sea everyday. Therefore, she asked Ravana to bring her a Shivalinga which she could worship everyday). 

Ravana performed severe austerities to please Lord Shiva. However, years passed by and Shiva was not invoked. In an attempt to invoke Shiva, Ravana resorted to extremities - he began offering is heads to Shiva. When all his nine heads were offered in the sacrifical fire, and he was set to offer his last and tenth head, Lord Shiva appeared. He said, "Ravana, Iam pleased by your penance and devotion. Ask me for a boon". 

Ravana asked Lord Shiva to come along with him. This meant that God was asked to surrender himself to a demon. However, Lord Shiva was compelled by his word and offered Atmalinga to Ravana.

Thus, Ravana approached Lord Shiva and asked him for a boon for his great penance and devotion - "O Greatest of Gods, the mighty Shiva. I wish that you come and reside with me in my kingdom".

Lord Shiva was bound by his promise. So He gave an Aathma Lingam to Ravana. The Atmalingam was a manifestation of Shiva's soul. However Shiva conditioned, "This is not an ordinary Shivalinga. Ravana, take this Atmalinga with care. Wherever it is first kept, it will get installed there".

Ravana accepted the Atmalinga with the condition that he would return to Lanka on foot and shall place the Atmalinga in his kingdom at an appropriate place. 

When the Gods came to know about the boon, they became worried. The possession of Atmalinga would increase the powers of Ravana. Indra, the ruler of heaven feared that Ravana would invade his kingdom and expel all God from heaven. Even Lord Brahma was worried seeing Ravana carry away the Atmalinga. 

The troubled Gods decided to approach Lord Ganesha. They prayed to Lord Ganesha to help them. Ganesha is an icon of wit and intelligence assured the Gods. He said, "How can I let a demon take away my father's soul? I shall bring the great Shiva back to his home in Mount Kailash".

Thus Ganesha thought of creating a stir which would forbid Ravana to leave the land of Bharatha (India) with the Atmalinga. 

Ganesha followed Ravana. Ravana was a Brahmin by descend and performed evening prayers everyday (Sadhyanaman). When the sun was about to set, Ravana was crossing a pastureland. The land had a rich grass bed and was meadowed by a river. 

A small cowherd was returning home with his herd. When Ravana saw the cowboy, he called him and said, "Boy, I have travelled miles since morning. Thexsun is about to set and I need to offer evening prayer and perform some ablutions. This is a very pious lingama and I cannot place it on the ground. Can you hold it, while I offer prayers?"

The boy innocently nodded in agreement. He said, "I will hold this Lingam. But you should return timely. My herd is standing unattended. Also, the Lingam appears to be heavy. If I am unable to bear its weight, I shall call your name thrice. If you do not return in three calls, I shall place the ligam down".

Ravana was pleased to hear that cowboy had agreed to hold the Ligam. He told the boy his name, "I am Ravana". 

Ravana handed over the Ligam to the boy and ran towards the river. He took a dip and began reciting the prayer. Just then there was commotion in the herd. The boy found that the Ligam was too heavy and therefore he began crying out in panic, "Ravana, please come and take the Lingam".  

Ravana who waa observed in prayers, failed to   hear the call. The boy iterated, "Ravana, my herd is unattended. I am unable to balance".

Just then, Ravana completed his prayers. He felt he was illudated by a voice. It was not apparet to him that the boy had been calling his name. 

The boy now gave the final call, "Ravana, I am finding it difficult to balance. Please come and take this Lingam".

This time, the boy's voice echoed in the surroundings. Ravana rushed out of the river. He was drenched, but immediately ran towards the boy to take hold of the Ligam. But the boy placed the Ligam in the ground.

Ravana ran shouting towards the boy to prevent him from placing the Lingam. But it was too late. 

Seeing the Lingam on the ground, Ravana gathered all his strenght to uproot it. However, the Lingam did not move. The force however caused the Ligam to dent, acquiring resemblance to cow ear. Hence this Lingam came to be known as 'Gokarna'. Ravana's called this Lingam 'Mahabakeshwara' meaning the mighty God whose strenght cannot be surpassed!

Seeing this strenght fail, Ravana was filled with fury. He realised that his years of severe penance to achieve Lord Shiva had gone undesired. 

The cowboy stood watching the efforts of Ravana. He smiled mutely and then jiggled chasing his herd. Ravana overhead the boy and ran towards him. He sored and hit the boy hard on his head with his close fist (this is called kuttu). The kuttu hit ordinary boy turned into the divine form Ganesha, Lord Shiva's dear son!

Ravana now realised that the sequence of events were planned to instill Atmalinga on the land of Bharata. He believed deceived by Gods and returned to Lanka. 

The place where Atmalinga was pergorce placed by Ganesha is sacred. The Lingam is now housed in the Temple of Mahabaleshwara. The Temple has a Ganesha statue with a hollow on the headside signifying the kuttu.

It is believed that Lord Ganesha can be pleased by doing kuttu (gently tapping both temples with folded fists).