One of the major incarnations of Lord Shiva was that of Maharishi Durvasa. Lord Shiva took his eighth incarnation on earth in the form of Maharishi Durvasa. Maharishi Durvasa is famous for his anger. In the Puranas, the name of sage Durvasa is mentioned along with the main sages, and he sometimes becomes extremely angry without any reason. He is capable of giving all types of worldly blessings and curses.
Maharishi Durvasa is recognized by his unique form and his immense spiritual power. His incarnation was assumed by Lord Shiva to test his devotees. The specialty of Maharishi Durvasa lies in the power hidden in his anger, which he displayed many times to overcome various difficulties. His incarnation imbued the devotees with a sense of purpose and devotion and gave them the opportunity to experience divine powers.
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The unmatched devotion and penance of Maharishi Atri and Anasuya blessed them with the blessings of the Trinity. When the lineage of these two sages progressed and they were unable to have children, they prayed to Lord Brahma for guidance. Brahmaji told him the way to worship the Trinity and suggested him to do penance on Rikshakul mountain.
Maharshi Atri and Anasuya started performing penance on Rikshakul mountain following the advice of Brahma. He remained absorbed in the worship of God and penance for many years. His loyalty and warmth started having a positive impact. The three gods saw the penance of these sages and expressed their happiness towards them.
The Trinity asked Maharishi Atri and Anasuiya, “Do you have any wish that we can fulfill?” Seeing their incompetence, Maharishi Atri and Anasuiya sought the boon of having a son from the Trinity. Hearing his wish, the Trinity blessed him with three sons born from his soul.
After this, the three sons of the Trinity incarnate in the form of Som, Dattatreya, and Maharishi Durvasa near Goddess Anasuiya in the ashram located in Chitrakoot. Anasuiya ji nurtured these divine children and gave them religious education.
Incarnation
The incarnation of Maharishi Durvasa tells the devotees the importance of meditation and self-control and inspires them to follow this path. The story of this incarnation is inspirational for the devotees of Lord Shiva.
Maharishi Durvasa is famous as the eighth incarnation of Lord Shiva, known for his special quality and his ritualistic devotion to anger. Durvasa was a great sage who was born from a part of Srihari, i.e. Lord Vishnu. His name ‘Durvasa’ is due to a special quality of Lord Shiva, namely his anger, which made him unique and fierce.
Maharishi Durvasa’s unique anger and his high penance powers made him famous among the gods and goddesses. Once, Durvasa Maharishi met Lord Shiva and asked for a boon that he would be given the ability to control his anger. Lord Shiva, who is almighty, fulfilled his wish and blessed him to appear in Hemkund mountain of Uttarakhand in the form of his eighth incarnation.
After this incarnation, Maharishi Durvasa resolved to control his anger and on the strength of his penance he created many places of pilgrimage and areas. This incarnation of his shows the worshipers of Lord Shiva that by controlling anger they gain divine powers and can succeed in self-control.
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According to a legend, Maharishi Atri and his wife Anasuiya did not have any children. To get the solution to this problem, both of them sought help from Lord Brahma and following his advice, decided to perform severe penance of the Trinity on Rikshakul mountain.
Seeing this penance, the Trinity blessed Maharshi Atri and Anasuiya, famous for the purity of soul and rituals, that they would appear in the form of three sons.
After this boon, in the form of the Trinity, Som was born from the part of Lord Brahma, Datta from the part of Vishnu, and Durvasa Maharishi from the part of Shiva, all three sages were born. These three sons started raising Maharishi Atri and Anasuiya with their education and respect, due to which their life became religious and truthful.
Purpose
The birth of sage Durvasa is linked to an incident that took place between Lord Shiva and Parvati, which is described in Chapter 44 of Brahmananda Purana. Once, there was a heated argument between Brahma and Lord Shiva, due to which Lord Shiva became extremely angry. Fearing this anger, all the gods and goddesses got painted and hid in their respective places.Upset, Shivaji’s wife Parvati told him that due to his anger it had become difficult to live with her. Lord Shiva decided to transfer his anger into Anasuya, the wife of sage Atri. After accumulating anger in this form, Anasuiya became pregnant by the illusion of Lord Shiva.
Anasuiya gave birth to sage Durvasa from this part of Lord Shiva. Sage Durvasa was especially angry in nature because he was born out of the anger of Lord Shiva. That’s why he lived in excitement since childhood and the emanations from his eyes were as bright as fire.
Sage Durvasa got a great status among the gods and goddesses and his name became famous especially because of his anger. This state of his reflects his special powerful and spiritual influence, which he received from the part of Lord Shiva.
