mamtc

mamtc

Monday, July 16, 2012

Pelops and Chiralan - Sons offered as feast to Gods


 Pelops people at Zeu#83FF6.jpg
Image source
Greek mythology:
Pelops:
Son of Tantalus, king of Mt.Sipylus.
Cannibal feast:
To offer Olympians maybe to humiliate them, the dad voluntarily cut his son Pelops into pieces and made his flesh into a stew and served it to gods.
Demeter, who was mourning about her daughter's kidnap by Hdes wasnt thinking and ate the shoulder and the stew. The other gods understood the plot and got angry.
Resurrection:
They brought Pelops back to life with the remains but since his shoulder was digested by Demeter, had to be replaced with ivory.
Gift:
After Pelops' resurrection,he was taken to Olympus, was taught drive the divine chariot.

Hindu mythology:
Sreeralan/Chiralan:
Son of Sirutonda, king of Chola dynasty.
Prelude:
South-Indian puranas insist on importance of panhandling and "guest is god" mantra, in hinduism it is a great sin to deny food to a hungry soul and greater the sin to treat guests with disrespect. And if the beggar is a devotee of Shiva, all the more sinful.
Source
They have thousands of stories to insist this and playful avatar/disguise stories of the gods to test their devotee's devotion. This is one of them.

Cannibal dinner:
Lord Shiva once disguised as Vairavar and visited Sirutonda nayanar and asked for food.
He asked for a 5 year old boy without deformities to be cooked and served.
The parents compiled and happily cooked their son except the head and served their guest - panhandling devotee of Lord Shiva.

Resurrection:
Both started to eat and Vairavar insisted Chirutonda to ask his son to join the dinner. The confused helpless Sirutonda Nayyanar didnt know what to do and not to offend the guest he went out and called for his son, to both parent's surprise their son came running back.
The parents were so happy and rushed to see the guest, the dinner and the guest both had disappeared.
Gift:
The lord Shiva, his wife Parvati and his sons Ganesha and Murugan showed up and blessed the family and took them to their abode in heaven and gave them place to reside there.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
You can accept and comply to the request of a cannibal only if he/she has the ability to resurrect.
Armin Meiwas - german cannibal , that Florida guy -Tyree Lincoln Smith can't bring you back to life, so politely refuse to serve them or to be served and call 911.

My mom, while growing up, she would tell all these stories and read articles from newspapers about black magic which would say that all sacrifices would ask for the first born child. And she would say that a mom's position is justified if she has to sacrifice her kid, because she could pop out any baby anytime before menopause but if she looses her husband she just becomes an outcast. That taught me my place and deep inside that I should never say no to her, till today ;-)

I behaved, I behave and I will behave, mommy. Indian tiger parenting for you all. ;-)