<p>All of us know that the square thing to do will be to take responsibility for our actions. Yet many of us try to wheedle out of a sticky wicket. Many of them have no compunctions about passing the buck. Most people no longer feel accountable for the mistakes they commit until it becomes obvious or they are brought to book. We seem to have forgotten that moral responsibility can boost our morale. </p>.<p>The Shiva Purana highlights this virtue powerfully. Parvathi had set her heart on marrying Shiva. She was aware that Shiva was leading an ascetic life. Therefore, she decided to win his heart by serving him. However, Shiva did not seem to notice her.</p>.<p>In the meanwhile, Indra, had commissioned Manmatha, the god of love to instill interest in the heart of Shiva towards Parvathi. Accordingly, Cupid set forth with his consort Rathi and friend Vasantha to ground zero. Just when Manmatha was all set to shoot a romantic floral arrow to complete his assignment of making love blossom between the couple, Shiva sensed something amiss. He opened his third eye in fury and set Manmatha ablaze.</p>.<p>When Parvathi saw Manmatha reduced to ashes, she was aghast. She was further horrified when Rathi decided to immolate herself at the demise of her partner. At that moment a voice from the skies prophesied that Manmatha would be revived back to life when Shiva married Parvathi and Apsara Rathi would do well to hold on to life until then.</p>.<p>Though Parvathi could see it for a fact that Shiva was least interested in her, she took it upon herself to make the oracle come true. She took moral responsibility for the disaster and performed severe austerities to please Shiva. Yet, her sincerity did not seem to gain Shiva’s attention. Parvathi agonised when Shiva chose to ignore her. But what bothered her even more was the fact that she failed in reuniting the duo who were inadvertent victims of bizarre circumstances. Her helplessness to unravel the intertwined destinies of the characters with diametrically opposite temperaments made her decide to take up Samadhi or giving up her life voluntarily. </p>.<p>The fact that Shiva later relented and married her after testing her <br>love maybe another story. But one cannot dismiss the power of Parvathi’s sense of moral responsibility that made it possible.</p>
<p>All of us know that the square thing to do will be to take responsibility for our actions. Yet many of us try to wheedle out of a sticky wicket. Many of them have no compunctions about passing the buck. Most people no longer feel accountable for the mistakes they commit until it becomes obvious or they are brought to book. We seem to have forgotten that moral responsibility can boost our morale. </p>.<p>The Shiva Purana highlights this virtue powerfully. Parvathi had set her heart on marrying Shiva. She was aware that Shiva was leading an ascetic life. Therefore, she decided to win his heart by serving him. However, Shiva did not seem to notice her.</p>.<p>In the meanwhile, Indra, had commissioned Manmatha, the god of love to instill interest in the heart of Shiva towards Parvathi. Accordingly, Cupid set forth with his consort Rathi and friend Vasantha to ground zero. Just when Manmatha was all set to shoot a romantic floral arrow to complete his assignment of making love blossom between the couple, Shiva sensed something amiss. He opened his third eye in fury and set Manmatha ablaze.</p>.<p>When Parvathi saw Manmatha reduced to ashes, she was aghast. She was further horrified when Rathi decided to immolate herself at the demise of her partner. At that moment a voice from the skies prophesied that Manmatha would be revived back to life when Shiva married Parvathi and Apsara Rathi would do well to hold on to life until then.</p>.<p>Though Parvathi could see it for a fact that Shiva was least interested in her, she took it upon herself to make the oracle come true. She took moral responsibility for the disaster and performed severe austerities to please Shiva. Yet, her sincerity did not seem to gain Shiva’s attention. Parvathi agonised when Shiva chose to ignore her. But what bothered her even more was the fact that she failed in reuniting the duo who were inadvertent victims of bizarre circumstances. Her helplessness to unravel the intertwined destinies of the characters with diametrically opposite temperaments made her decide to take up Samadhi or giving up her life voluntarily. </p>.<p>The fact that Shiva later relented and married her after testing her <br>love maybe another story. But one cannot dismiss the power of Parvathi’s sense of moral responsibility that made it possible.</p>
