Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta

Only an artist can understand the despair of being abandoned by his muse, his lifelong inspiration. Only someone who had loved can know the immeasurable agony of losing the object of one's passion. Only a devout believer who has touched the Divine can know the soul-emptying misery of his Goddess being taken from him.

The union of the lingam and the yoni represented creation, a result of the partnership between the masculine and the feminine, an alliance between passive Space and active Time from which all life, indeed all creation, originated.

The lotus was a flower that retained its fragrance and beauty even while growing in slush and dirty water. It posed a silent challenge to the humans who visited the temple, to be true to their dharma even if those around them were not.

women are welcome. Similarly, there are temples dedicated to the female sanyasi path, where adult men are not allowed, like the Kumari Amman temple. There are temples for the sanyas of transgender people too. Misunderstandings arise because you worldly people don’t know enough about our sanyasi ways.’ ‘Okay, okay, I give up,’ said Raavan, holding his hands up in mock surrender. ‘Go for your pilgrimage. When is it? In a few months?’ ‘Yes.’ Kumbhakarna smiled and murmured, ‘Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa.’ We find refuge at the feet of Lord Ayyappa.

According to the ancients, this was the highest form of divinity that humans were capable of understanding. For the Saakshin Vishnu was the Primal Being. Floating through time. Witnessing it all, as people lived their lives and the universe breathed its karma.