Patanjalis Divine Birth - The Serpent Incarnation

Dadi**: Guddu beta, you know Lord Vishnu rests on a great serpent in the cosmic ocean?

Guddu**: Yes, Ananta Shesha! The thousand-headed snake!

Dadi**: That very serpent once became a human being. Can you guess who?

Guddu**: Who?

Dadi**: Patanjali - the sage who gave us the Yoga Sutras! Tonight I'll tell you the legend of his divine birth.

Guddu**: A snake became a sage? How?

Dadi**: Long ago, Lord Vishnu was watching Lord Shiva perform his cosmic dance - the Tandava. As Shiva danced, Vishnu was so enchanted that his body began to vibrate with the rhythm.

Guddu**: Vishnu was dancing too?

Dadi**: Not dancing - just feeling the dance so deeply that he became heavier and heavier with each beat. Poor Ananta Shesha, who was supporting Vishnu, began gasping for breath under the increasing weight!

Guddu**: Oh no! Was the snake okay?

Dadi**: When the dance ended, Vishnu became lighter again. Shesha asked, "Lord, what happened? Why did you become so heavy?" Vishnu explained about the beauty and grace of Shiva's dance.

Guddu**: What did Shesha do?

Dadi**: He was fascinated! He begged Vishnu, "Let me also experience such divine art! I want to learn dance, I want to understand what moved you so deeply!"

Guddu**: Can snakes dance?

Dadi**: Vishnu smiled and gave Shesha a prophecy: "One day, Lord Shiva will bless you to write a commentary on grammar. When that happens, you will also master the art of dance." Shesha was overjoyed!

Guddu**: So he needed to be born as a human?

Dadi**: Yes. Shesha began meditating on when and how he should incarnate on Earth. And during his meditation, he saw someone special...

Guddu**: Who?

Dadi**: A holy woman named Gonika. She had spent her entire life seeking spiritual knowledge, and now she was old. Her one sorrow was that she had no worthy child to pass her wisdom to.

Guddu**: She wanted a special student?

Dadi**: Every day she prayed, "Lord, send me a son who can receive my knowledge and share it with the world." One morning, as she prepared to offer water to the Sun God in her prayers...

Guddu**: What happened?

Dadi**: She closed her eyes, scooped water in her palms, and when she opened them - a tiny snake was wriggling in her hands!

Guddu**: A snake in her hands?!

Dadi**: Before she could react, the snake transformed into a small human being! The child prostrated before her and said, "Mother, please accept me as your son."

Guddu**: That's magical!

Dadi**: Gonika was filled with joy. Her prayers had been answered! She named him Patanjali - from "pat" meaning "fallen" and "anjali" meaning "hands folded in prayer." The one who fell into her praying hands.

Guddu**: Such a meaningful name!

Dadi**: Patanjali grew to become one of the greatest teachers of all time. He wrote three major works - the Yoga Sutras on meditation, a commentary on grammar, and a treatise on medicine.

Guddu**: All three?! That's incredible!

Dadi**: Mind, speech, and body - he mastered them all. Some say he also learned dance, fulfilling Vishnu's prophecy completely.

Guddu**: Is he still alive somewhere?

Dadi**: The legends don't tell us what happened to him after his work was complete. Perhaps he returned to being Shesha, continuing to support Lord Vishnu in the cosmic ocean.

Guddu**: So the snake who holds the universe also taught us yoga!

Dadi**: Everything is connected, beta. The cosmic and the personal, the divine and the human. Patanjali bridged those worlds, bringing heaven's wisdom to earth's seeking souls.

Guddu**: I like thinking of my yoga teacher as coming from a divine serpent!

Dadi**: Every good teacher carries something divine, beta. The question is - are we ready to receive what they offer? Goodnight, my little seeker!

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi!