Mahadev, marooned!

 Mahadev, marooned? Yup.

Just a few days ago, there came a piece of interesting news. Interesting piece? That is hard to come by, right?
Well….
The piece was about the Kusheshwar Mahadev temple on the confluence of the Sunkoshi and an angry Roshi, in Sindhuli. According to the report, the temple wears a deserted look with the Roshi sweeping away a hume pipe that was acting as a bridge between Mahadev (the lord of the deities) and the devotees, who would come for puja from far and wide.  

Such audacity against the superlord? How dare you, Roshi? 

Such is the wrath of the Roshi (rosh, by the way is a Sanskrit word that means anger) that it swept away part of the BP Highway last September, leaving behind a trail of death and devastation. What old score did the Roshi want to settle with an artery named after BP Koirala? And what beef does she have against the good ole Shiv, almost always meditating (when not romancing with goddess Parvati) and ever ready to grant wishes of devotees.   

Well, yours truly has no idea. 

Given this unprovoked attack against the highway, yours truly wonders if the adherents of Koirala will declare the Roshi a regressive river one fine day. You see, the Koiralas, whom many compare with the Kennedys of the US and the Gandhis of India, have not been great lovers of Nepal’s mega rivers. In fact, the three brother prime ministers from the Koirala clan face charges of selling the Koshi, Gandaki and the Mahakali. 

This is not to mean that other PMs of Nepal do not face charges of selling away more of Nepal’s lifelines. They do. However, since the three are river systems in their own right capable of giving the country a turnaround, the sins of their sellouts are far greater. 

Back to the Roshi, which drains into the Koshi, the sorrow of Bihar that has turned into the sorrow of Nepal after the construction in 1950s of a Koshi barrage on swathes of Nepali territories using construction materials from Nepal apart from the labour of retired Gorkha servicemen as well. 

A raging Roshi barring the pilgrims from far and wide from making it to the temple has given yours truly some food for thought even as he continues to busy himself with Sisyphean drudgeries in this metropolis of illuminati (You see readers, writing, reading, contemplating is for lesser mortals like yours truly. As for great people, they are capable of far greater things).

Some years ago in Kedarnath, massive floods left behind a similar trail of death, devastation and a massive statue of Mahadev, stranded in the middle of nowhere. 

This marooning of Mahadev—in Kedarnath, in Sindhuli and elsewhere—is shocking, given that the good lord in meditation is supposed to have held the Ganga in his locks to protect this living planet from a raging river originating in Swarga (heaven). How is it that he cannot even tame a Roshi? Is the good ole lord keeping well? 

The plight of contemporary Nepal, the abode of supernatural beings, sapiens, flora and fauna, and numerous natural wonders is not much different from that of a helpless Mahadev on the banks of a raging river.  

A cursory study of goings-on around the world—from Gaza to the immediate neighbourhood to the distant shores of Europe, Africa and beyond—shows fabled deities of different societies nowhere in the sapien-made scheme of things. 

While wrapping up this piece, an adage comes to mind: Afai ta Mahadev uttana par, kaslai dinan var?   

Indeed, Mahadev himself has become helpless, who will he bless?  

Text: Devendra Gautam