The sages at "Daarukaavana" were arrogant that their rituals and sacrifices were more than enough and all of life's goals could be achieved through them. Lord Shiva appears as a "bhikshaatana" (wandering mendicant) and captivates everyone.
Later, he teaches the sages and instructs them that rituals alone cannot be the end-all and be-all of life. While rituals are important from one standpoint, they have some limitations and must necessarily be followed by the "path of enquiry" so that the Truth of life can be known.
The form of Bhikshaatana is tied to this episode in the puranas.
It is based on this incident that Ramana Maharishi has composed the vedantic work -"Upadesha saaram" where the entire range of spiritual sadhanas is presented in a step-by-step fashion.
The painting is based on a photograph from the net. It is about the size of an A4 sheet on water-color paper.
That looks like a photograph! is there anything you can't do? :)
ReplyDeleteThank-you sooo much Sarah! You made my day!
DeleteThis one is amazing too.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for your comments Malathi!
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