Bhang is known as Siva's Regal. Lord Siva, one of the trinities of our Hindu religion, is known to be perennially under influence of Ganja (Marijuana) and Bhang (Cannabis paste), forever benevolent to grand a boon whoever prays him in earnest. That's why thr "ASURAs" or demons in Hindu mythology prefer to pray Siva to be granted their wish rather than the fastidious Avatars of Lord Vishnu, like Sri Ram or Sri Krishna who are tougher nuts to crack.
Demons are aware that it is very difficult to please Sri Ram or Sri Krishna who will grind their devotees, put them through all kinds of penance before granting them their desired boon. But if a devotee passes the rigorous tests, the boon granted by Sri Ram or Sri Krishna is long and permanent. However, Lord Siva who is perpetually stoned with Bhang and Ganja gets easily unsettled when disturbed by the clarion call of the devotee, mostly a demon who prays him in earnest and grants him the boon without any hesitation.
The best example is the case of Jayadrath of Mahabharat fame, the husband of Duryodhan's only sister Dushala. When the Pandavas were residing in forest, Jayadrath cast his evil eyes of their wife Draupadi and tried to molest her. Her five husbands caught him and punished him by shaving off his head leaving 5 strands of hair representing the Pandava brothers. Being their sister's husband prevented them from killing Jayadrath.
The humiliated Jayadrath stayed back in the forest meditating, chanting "Om Namah Sivay". His devotional hymns reached ears of Lord Siva. Impressed, He wanted to give something to Jayadrath and asked the later for a boon. Duryodhan's brother-in-law wished to kill the Pandavas. But Lord Shiva granted Jayadrath with a boon to be the cause of Abhimanyu's (the son of Arjun) death by staying undefeated for an entire day when the mighty Pandavas would be unable to defeat him.
But to the dissatisfaction of Jayadrath, Lord Siva stopped short of granting him the boon to kill the Pandavas. So, on that fateful 13th of Mahabharat war, as poor Abhimanyu entered Drona's "Chakrabyuha", the Pandava brothers sans Arjun couldn't enter inside the insidious "Chakrabyuha" to help the kid, as Jayadrath armed with Lord Siva's boon prevented them from entering it. End of the day, the tired, young warrior who fought bravely was helplessly killed in a melee. Even Sri Krishna had no antidote for Siva's boon.
Lord Siva, also regarded as the destroyer, is one of the 3 trinities in Hindu religion. The other two are Lord Vishnu the creator and Lord Brahma, the protector. The followers of Sri Vishnu are called Vaisnavites and those of Lord Shiva are known as Saivites. Historically the two sects are known to be at constant loggerheads. There are several instances of Saivaite and Vaisnavite Kings fighting each other in ancient and medieval India. The Saivaite Kings built several temples of Lord Siva around Bhubaneswar, Odisha the prominent one is the famous Lingaraj temple of Bhubaneswar built by Lalatendu Keshari. At least half a dozen of them are in a walking distance from our house in the temple city of Bhubaneswar. Happy MAHA SIVARATRI Sivaratri to all.
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