Lingodbhava - Infinite Pillar of Light

Dadi**: "Guddu beta, do you know what a Shiva Lingam is?"

Guddu**: "The stone that we see in Shiva temples, Dadi?"

Dadi**: "Yes! But have you ever wondered how it came to be worshipped? Tonight I'll tell you the story of the infinite pillar of light - the Lingodbhava."

Guddu**: "Infinite pillar? What's that?"

Dadi**: "Long, long ago, at the end of a cosmic cycle, there was only a vast ocean of primordial waters. Lord Brahma, the creator, woke up Lord Vishnu who was sleeping on the serpent Shesha. And they got into an argument!"

Guddu**: "Gods arguing? About what?"

Dadi**: "About who was supreme! Brahma said, 'I am the creator, sustainer, and destroyer!' Vishnu said, 'No, I am!' They fought and fought, each claiming to be the greatest."

Guddu**: "That sounds like when Rahul and I fight about who's the best cricketer!"

Dadi**: *laughing* "Yes, beta, even gods can have ego! But then something amazing happened. Suddenly, a tremendous column of light appeared between them - so bright it outshone everything, stretching infinitely up and infinitely down."

Guddu**: "No beginning, no end?"

Dadi**: "Exactly! A voice from within the pillar said, 'Whoever finds my beginning or end shall be acknowledged as supreme.' So both gods set off to prove themselves."

Guddu**: "Did they find the ends?"

Dadi**: "Vishnu transformed into a giant boar and dove downward for thousands of years, digging through countless worlds. But the pillar went on forever. Brahma became a swan and flew upward through galaxies for thousands of years. Still no end!"

Guddu**: "So neither could find it!"

Dadi**: "Vishnu returned honestly and admitted defeat. But Brahma... he did something wrong. He found a Ketaki flower drifting down and convinced it to lie for him - to say it had been at the top and Brahma had reached there."

Guddu**: "He lied?! A god lied?"

Dadi**: "Yes, beta. Even the wise can fall prey to ego. When Brahma returned claiming victory, with the flower as his false witness, the pillar split open - and Lord Shiva emerged in all his glory!"

Guddu**: "Shiva was inside the light!"

Dadi**: "He was the light! He revealed that he was the source from which both Brahma and Vishnu had originated. And he was very angry at the deception."

Guddu**: "What happened to Brahma?"

Dadi**: "Shiva pronounced a severe curse: 'Because you lied, you shall never be worshipped anywhere in the three worlds. No temples shall be built for you.' And to the Ketaki flower: 'Because you bore false witness, you shall never be used in my worship.'"

Guddu**: "Is that why there are so few Brahma temples?"

Dadi**: "That's what the Puranas say! But Vishnu, who was humble and honest, received Shiva's blessings. Shiva said, 'Because you acknowledged the truth, you shall be worshipped throughout the worlds.'"

Guddu**: "So honesty won!"

Dadi**: "Always, beta. The story teaches that neither power nor knowledge alone can help us reach the Supreme - only surrender can. Vishnu surrendered and was blessed. Brahma tried to cheat and lost."

Guddu**: "And the Shiva Lingam represents that infinite pillar?"

Dadi**: "Yes! Every Shiva Lingam reminds us that the Divine is infinite, beyond all understanding. We celebrate Mahashivaratri to remember the night Shiva emerged from that pillar of light. And the twelve Jyotirlingas in India are said to be born from this very event."

Guddu**: "Dadi, I'll never lie about anything. I want to be honest like Vishnu, not like Brahma."

Dadi**: "That's my good boy. Remember - when we lie, even if no one else knows, the truth knows. And eventually, like Shiva from the pillar, truth always emerges. Sleep well, my honest Guddu!"