The Endless Pillar of Light
How Lord Shiva appeared as a pillar of light with no beginning and no end.
Who Is the Greatest?
Long ago, Lord Brahma, the creator, and Lord Vishnu, the preserver, fell into an argument. Each claimed to be the greatest power in creation, and neither would give way.
As their quarrel grew, the worlds began to suffer. Then, between them, something appeared that silenced them both.
A Light With No End
A blazing column of light rose before them. It reached higher than the heavens and deeper than the underworlds. They agreed that whoever found its end would be the greatest.
Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upward. Vishnu took the form of a boar, Varaha, and dug downward. They searched for ages. Neither could find an end.
“The light had no beginning and no end, because it was Shiva himself.”
The Witness of the Ketaki Flower
Vishnu returned and humbly admitted that he had found no end. But Brahma met a Ketaki flower drifting down and persuaded it to bear false witness that he had reached the top.
At that moment Shiva burst forth from the pillar. He honored Vishnu for his truth. He declared that Brahma would not be widely worshipped in temples, and that the Ketaki flower would never be offered to him.
Where the Light Still Shines
Out of compassion, Shiva promised to dwell on earth as light, so that devotees could find him. Devotees honor the night of this appearance as Maha Shivaratri.
The places where he shines forth are the Jyotirlingas — the lingams of light. Twelve of them are revered across India, and a pilgrimage to them is one of the holiest journeys in Sanatan Dharma.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
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