Maybe no other faith glorifies the idea of love between the relations as Hinduism. This is apparent from the amazing variety of fabulous love stories that pullulate in Sanskrit literature, which is really one of the richest treasure hoards of instigative love tales.
The tale- within-a-tale-within-a-tale format of the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana lodges a lot of love legends. also there are the fascinating stories of Hindu gods and goddesses in love and the well- known workshop like Kalidasa's Meghadutam and Abhijnanashakuntalam and Surdasa's lyrical rendition of the legends of Radha, Krishna and the gopis of Vraj. Set in a land of great natural beauty, where the lord of love picks his victims with consummate ease, these stories celebrate the myriad aspects of the numerous- splendored emotion called love.
The Lord of Love
It's applicable, then, to know about Kamadeva, the Hindu god of carnal love, who's said to arouse physical desire. Born out of the heart of Creator Lord Brahma, Kamadeva is depicted as a immature being with a greenish or sanguine complexion, decked with beautifiers and flowers, armed with a arc of sugarcane, threaded with a line of honeybees and flowery arrowheads. His consorts are the beautiful Rati and Priti, his vehicle is a pantomimist, his principal supporter is Vasanta, the god of spring, and he's accompanied by a band of hop and players- Apsaras, Gandharvas, and Kinnaras.
The Kamadeva Legend
According to a legend, Kamadeva met his end at the hands of Lord Shiva, who incinerated him in the dears of his third eye. Kamadeva had inadvertently wounded the planning Lord Shiva with one of his arrows of love, which redounded in him falling in love with Parvati, his consort. From also on he's allowed
to be formless; still, Kamadeva has several reincarnations, including Pradyumna, the son of Lord Krishna.
Reconsidering the Love Stories
Classical love legends from Hindu tradition and myth of India are both passionate and sensuous in content, and noway fail to appeal to the romantic in us. These fables fuel our imagination, engage our feelings, sense and sensibility, and over all, entertain us. Then we readdress three similar love stories
Shakuntala- Dushyant tale
The legend of the exquisitely beautiful Shakuntala and the potent king Dushyant is a thrilling love story from the grand Mahabharata, which the great ancient minstrel Kalidasa retold in his immortal play Abhijnanashakuntalam.
While on a stalking trip, King Dushyant of the Puru dynasty meets the hermit- girl Shakuntala. They fall in love with each other and, in the absence of her father, Shakuntala weds the king in a form of' Gandharva', a form of marriage by collective concurrence with Mother Nature as the substantiation. When the time comes for Dushyant to return to his palace, he promises to shoot an envoy to companion her to his castle. As an emblematic gesture, he gives her a signet ring.
One day when the hotheaded hermit Durvasa stops at her shack for hospitality, Shakuntala, lost in her love studies, fails to hear the guest's calls. The temperamental savant turns back and curses her" He whose studies have occupied you would not flash back you presently." On the plea of her companions, the enraged savant relents and adds a condition to his curse- the statement" He can only recall you upon producing some significant remembrance."
Days roll by and nothing from the palace comes to cost her. Her father sends her to the royal court for their reunion, as she was pregnant with Dushyant's child. En route, Shakuntala's signet-ring accidentally drops into the swash and gets lost.
When Shakuntala presents herself before the king, Dushyant, under the spell of the curse, fails to admit her as his woman.
Heart-broken, she pleads to the gods to overpower her from the face of the earth. Her want is granted. The spell is broken when a fisher finds the signet ring in the guts of a fish- the same ring that Shakuntala had lost on her way to the court. The king suffers from an violent feeling of guilt and injustice. Shakuntala forgives Dushyant and they're reunited happily. She gives birth to a manly child. He's called Bharat, after whom India gets her name .
Legend of Savitri and Satyavan
Savitri was the beautiful son of a wise and important king. The fame of Savitri's beauty spread far and wide, but she refused to marry, saying that she'd herself go out in the world and find a hubby for herself. So the king chose the stylish soldiers to cover her, and the queen wandered throughout the country searching for a Napoleon of her choice.
One day she reached a thick timber, where dwelt a king who had lost his area and fallen into his bad days. Old and eyeless he lived in a small shack with his woman and son. The son, who was a handsome youthful Napoleon, was the sole comfort of his parents. He diced wood and vended it in the country, and bought food for his parents, and they lived in love and happiness. Savitri was explosively drawn towards them, and she knew her hunt had come to an end. Savitri fell in love with the youthful Napoleon, who was called Satyavan and was known for his fabulous liberality.
Hearing that Savitri has chosen a poor Napoleon, her father was heavily downward. But Savitri was hell- bent on marrying Satyavan. The king acceded, but a saint informed him that a fatal curse was laid upon the youthful Napoleon He's doomed to die within a time. The king told her son about the curse and asked her to choose someone differently. But Savitri refused and stood establishment in her determination to marry the same Napoleon. The king eventually agreed with a heavy heart.
The marriage of Savitri and Satyavan took place with a lot of fanfare, and the couple went back to the timber shack. For a whole time, they lived happily. On the last day of the time, Savitri rose beforehand and when Satyavan picked up his dismissal to go into the timber to hash wood she requested him to take her along, and the two went into the jungle.
Under a altitudinous tree, he made a seat of soft green leaves and plucked flowers for her to weave into a symposium while he diced wood. Towards noon Satyavan felt a little tired, and after a while, he came and lay down resting his head in Savitri's stage. Suddenly the whole timber grew dark, and soon Savitri saw a altitudinous figure standing before her. It was Yama, the God of Death." I've come to take your hubby," said Yama, and looked down at Satyavan, as his soul left his body.
When Yama was about to leave, Savitri ran after him and contended with Yama to take her too on with him to the land of the dead or give back the life of Satyavan. Yama replied," Your time has not yet come, child. Go back to your home." But Yama was ready to grant her any boon, except Satyavan's life. Savitri asked," Let me have awful sons."" So be it", replied Yama. also Savitri said," But how can I've sons without my hubby, Satyavan? thus I supplicate of you to give back his life." Yama had to give in! Satyavan's body came back to life. He sluggishly woke up from the torpor and the two reluctantly walked back to their shack.
So strong was the single- inclined love and determination of Savitri that she chose a noble youthful man for her hubby, knowing that he'd only a time to live, married him with all confidence. Indeed the God of Death had to yield and bowed to her love and devotion.
Radha- Krishna amour
The Radha- Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It's indeed hard to miss the numerous legends and oils illustrating Krishna's love affairs, of which the Radha- Krishna affair is the most memorable. Krishna's relationship with Radha, his favorite among the' gopis'( cow- herding misses), has served as a model for manly and womanish love in a variety of art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif in North Indian oils. The allegorical love of Radha has set up expression in some great Bengali lyrical workshop of Govinda Das, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Jayadeva the author of Geet Govinda.
Krishna's immature rollicking with the' gopis' are interpreted as emblematic of the loving interplay between God and the mortal soul. Radha's hugely giddy love for Krishna and their relationship is frequently interpreted as the hunt for union with the godly. This kind of love is of the loftiest form of devotion in Vaishnavism and is symbolically represented as the bond between the woman and hubby or cherished and nut.
Radha, son of Vrishabhanu, was the doxy of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the rancheros of Vrindavan. Since nonage they were close to each other- they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together ever, but the world pulled them piecemeal. He departed to guard the merits of verity, and she awaited for him. He subdued his adversaries, came the king, and came to be worshiped as a lord of the macrocosm. She awaited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still awaited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that indeed moment her name is uttered whenever Krishna is appertained to, and Krishna deification is allowed to be deficient without the idolization of Radha.
One day the two most talked about suckers come together for a final single meeting. Suradasa in his Radha- Krishna lyrics relates the colorful erotogenic delights of the union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious' Gandharva' form of their marriage in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and goddesses of heaven. The savant Vyasa refers to this as the' Rasa'. Age after age, this evergreen love theme has occupied muses, painters, musicians and all Krishna addicts likewise.
Source:Vedanta society,Wikipedia
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