Cosmic Macbeth. Soorapadman at Murugan's Cave, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Every high school student who's read Shakespeare's Macbeth knows the very heart of Macbeth's courage to be: 'Fear not, Macbeth. No man that’s born of woman / Shall e'er have power upon thee.' The tables are turned on him when he's vanquished by Macduff, not properly born but 'from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped'.
Similarly on a cosmic scene: asura Soorapadman. Why this thusness now? Well, yesterday - after not having visited for a long time - I trained north to the great Hindu shrine devoted to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/4978510635/in/photolis...). On the train I met a lovely originally Indian couple from the USA, devout and fuil of holy fervor for Murugan. We spoke of the fascinating Hindu divine cosmology and obviously also of Lord Shiva. And that brought me to that comparison with Macbeth.
Lord Murugan is younger than Soorapadman, one of the Asura, creatures, perhaps demons, sprouting from Shiva to do either good or bad. Soorapadman was bad with a capital B and evil with ditto E. But he could not be vanquished by anything that did not come directly from Lord Shiva himself so he rested assured in his wickedness. At last, aggravated by Soorapadman's misdeeds, Shiva decided to create again: good Lord Murugan. With his vel-shaped javelin, Murugan slew Soorapadman - to the latter's unexpected dismay - and rid the cosmos of that Evil. The inset photo shows the javelin cleaving the Wicked Demon.
Now, the Caves are devoted to Murugan, and Soorapadman is featured just outside high on the left as you enter from the top of this long staircase. Most people just pass by, intent on all the deities in the cave subservient to Murugan.
'Be sure', I said as we braked to a stop, 'to look up on the left as you go in; then the story will be complete!'
Cosmic Macbeth. Soorapadman at Murugan's Cave, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Every high school student who's read Shakespeare's Macbeth knows the very heart of Macbeth's courage to be: 'Fear not, Macbeth. No man that’s born of woman / Shall e'er have power upon thee.' The tables are turned on him when he's vanquished by Macduff, not properly born but 'from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped'.
Similarly on a cosmic scene: asura Soorapadman. Why this thusness now? Well, yesterday - after not having visited for a long time - I trained north to the great Hindu shrine devoted to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/4978510635/in/photolis...). On the train I met a lovely originally Indian couple from the USA, devout and fuil of holy fervor for Murugan. We spoke of the fascinating Hindu divine cosmology and obviously also of Lord Shiva. And that brought me to that comparison with Macbeth.
Lord Murugan is younger than Soorapadman, one of the Asura, creatures, perhaps demons, sprouting from Shiva to do either good or bad. Soorapadman was bad with a capital B and evil with ditto E. But he could not be vanquished by anything that did not come directly from Lord Shiva himself so he rested assured in his wickedness. At last, aggravated by Soorapadman's misdeeds, Shiva decided to create again: good Lord Murugan. With his vel-shaped javelin, Murugan slew Soorapadman - to the latter's unexpected dismay - and rid the cosmos of that Evil. The inset photo shows the javelin cleaving the Wicked Demon.
Now, the Caves are devoted to Murugan, and Soorapadman is featured just outside high on the left as you enter from the top of this long staircase. Most people just pass by, intent on all the deities in the cave subservient to Murugan.
'Be sure', I said as we braked to a stop, 'to look up on the left as you go in; then the story will be complete!'