THE LETHAL POISON

 

Our daily life becomes so busy, hectic and at times it is overwhelming. There are so many desires of man and when he tries to curb them the internal conflict intensifies due to the force opposing it. Even the gods were not spared by desires and the desire to gain immortality gave rise to ‘HALAHALA’

Not all can handle ‘Halahala’. Halahala is a poison. It represents the pains, the sufferings that one gets while going through a severe penance and is the negativity that comes in the consciousness. There is an underlying symbolism. It is associated with a legendary or rather a mythological story of ancient Hinduism and is one of the most celebrated epics of Hinduism called the ‘Samudra Manthan’ i.e. the churning of the ocean.

Let me take you to this legendary katha of Samudra Manthan.

‘Halahala’ which is also known as ‘Kalakoota’ was the first outcome of the churning of the cosmic ocean, Kshirsagar. It was done to extract the divine nectar of immortality called ‘Amrit’. There was a belief that consumption of Amrit would make its consumer an immortal. So the Devas (Gods) and the Asuras (demons) carried out the Samudra Manthan.

 Symbolically speaking, Gods are the representatives of virtues or the good while demons are the representatives of vices which are the two aspects of human nature.

This task was delegated by Lord Vishnu. To churn the ocean, the Gods and the demons used Mandhara Mountain as the rod. Lord Shiva’s serpent, Vasuki was used as a rope. It was an enormous challenge between the two parties. And eventually, the first outcome of this churning process was this ‘HALAHALA’ – THE LETHAL POISON.

The gods were alarmed at the appearance of the pot of this lethal poison because this poison had the power to wreck the universe. They all rushed to lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva was the only one who knew to tame the deadliest one. Only he could give relief to the universe from the destructive and noxious outcome.  Lord Shiva, though is referred to as the Destroyer, took upon himself the task of swallowing the deadly poison to save the universe. He stored the poison in his throat and this turned the colour of his throat, blue and he is therefore also devoted as ‘Neel Kanth’.

This story symbolizes the equal participation of the good and the bad, the virtues and the vices in a personality. Gods, the representatives of good and Asuras, the representatives of bad work for the common goal.

The ‘Amrit’ symbolizes the ultimate achievement of the goal.

The ocean represents the human mind in which the thoughts act as waves. Ultimately one has to handle this ‘HALAHALA’ in order to stabilize himself and achieve self-realization.