After the celestial wedding of Meenakshi (Goddess Parvati)
and Sundareswarar (Lord Shiva) there was a sumptuous feast. All the people who
attended the wedding were all praise for the rich delicacies served. The
wedding feast also showed a divine leela of Shiva. He blessed his gana
Gunddodharam with an insatiable hunger. The story symbolically shows that
hunger of Shiva is also one of his destructive power.
The master chef who prepared the feast had accepted Shiva to
arrive with his large contingent of bhuta ganas. But Shiva only arrived with a small
retinue. So much of food remained uneaten. So the chef asked Meenakshi the
bride and queen of Madurai as to what should be done with the food.
Meenakshi complained to Shiva that she was expecting a large
entourage with him and prepared the feast accordingly. She wanted to know what
should be done with the rich food.
Shiva smiled and looked around and saw Gundodharan. He was a
big-bellied dwarf who served as the attendant of Shiva. He was also canopy
bearer of Lord.
She looked at Gundodharan and filled his stomach with the fire
of hunger. Within few seconds, Gundodharan told Shiva that he was very hungry.
Shiva asked Gundodharan to partake in the wedding lunch.
Shiva then told Meenakshi that let Gundodharan first finish
his feast. Then he will ask him to go to Kailash and get all the bhuta ganas.
In a split of a second a hungry Gundodharan reached the dining
hall. Attendants spread banana leaf and started wiping it clean. A hungry
Gundodharan pushed the leaf aside and told the attendants to get rid of the
rituals and put the food on bare floor.
He himself emptied pots of rice on bare floor and started
eating. Pots of rice along with various curries arrived and vanished quickly.
Food started disappearing from the kitchen.
Gundodharan kept demanding dishes. Finally, sweets arrived
and vanished in seconds. There was no food left in the kitchen. The chef was
clueless.
With the fire of hunger of Shiva burning in this stomach,
Gundodharan set his eye on the uncooked food items. He started consuming
uncooked rice and vegetables.
The chef ran to Meenakshi and complained about the
insatiable appetite of Gundodharan.
Shiva walked in and asked Meenakshi whether Gundodharan had
finished eating and should he send in the rest of bhuta ganas.
Meenakshi who realized that this was her husband’s divine
play told him that she had no intention in emptying the granary of her kingdom.
Shiva smiled and took back the hunger fire of Gundodharan.