Passage 8

A story of Shivarathri festival at Shrishailam

Shivarathri is celebrated in all Shiva temples, Shrishailam is a particularly famous temple of Shiva. There is a fine story told about this festival at Shrishailam. At the foot of the Shrishailam range of hills there is a village, where a boy of nine years named Bala Ramanna, attended primary school. He learned from his friends at school that their sisters and brothers-in-law were coming to their homes in order to attend the Shivarathri celebrations on the Shrishailam Hills. Ramanna came home and wanted that his mother should send his sister and brother-in-law too to the festival. His mother told him that he had no sister and, therefore, no brother-in-law. But he would not listen. He said he must have a sister and a brother- in-law like his friends. So his mother just to quieten him, said, "You have a sister and a brother-in-law, but they are in the temple on the Shrishailam. Their names are Bhramaramba and Mallikarjuna." She gave him the names by which Shiva and His consort are known - Bhramaramba meaning 'bee' and Mallikarjuna meaning the 'white jasmine.' These names are very apt, because the consort draws inspiration, instruction and wisdom from the Lord even as the bee draws its sustenance from the jasmine flowers.