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Sri Lankan Wood Sculpture

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This three-foot-high wood carving depicts a wonderful and colorful Hindu love story involving Shiva, Parvati, Rati, and Ananda.

Nux Vomica wood, a bаlsa like light wood. 

THE STORY GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

And Shiva was adorned with flowers, and the spring sprung and the environment was totally conducive to love. And Shiva opened His eyes and saw Kama Deva, the God of Love, and He looked around and said, “You dare to disrupt the meditation of a yogi.” And from his third eye came a blaze of fire and immediately burned Kama Deva, the God of Love, to ashes. And the Gods said, “Oh, we are doomed, now He’ll never fall in love, there’s no more love.” 

Rati, Kama Deva’s wife, the spring, she started to cry, “My husband, you’ve made me a widow, Shiva. We came here to do the work of the Gods and now I’ve become a widow. What a horrible thing for my life, to lose my husband in our prime. We were just awakening the spirit of love in all of creation so that creation can procreate. And now you’ve done this terrible thing.” Shiva said, “Why did he shoot an arrow at me?” 

“Because we want you to marry Parvati.” “Well why didn’t you just tell me that? If I marry Her to save creation that’s totally different than marrying Her from love and attachment. If creation needs my son in order to destroy the asuras, gladly I will marry. But if you want me to marry from attachment, and only from emotion, that marriage won’t be successful. Give me the object of my sankalpa and gladly I will marry.” 

Well, everyone was ashamed. And Rati said, “But my husband is no more, Shiva, please give me my husband back.” And Shiva said, “Spring, Rati, because of your devotion I’m giving you a boon, your husband will be eternal, and he will be unmanifest, he will be Ananga. Everyone will fall to the power of love, and everyone will rise to the power of love, but they won’t ever be able to see him. Everyone will be affected by love, he will be the strongest of the Gods, he can subdue anyone, but he remains Ananga (without a body, can’t see him).” 

Well Rati was very pleased that she got her husband back, but she said, “Shiva, that’s not quite enough, I’d like to see my husband again.” And there are two versions of the story here. One version says that Shiva gave her the boon that He would come back as Pradyumna, and that she would marry him again in the Dwapara Yuga, he would be the son of Krishna. And another version of the story says he would come back as Abhimanyu, and she will come back as Uttara, and again she will marry the son of Arjun. 

There are two versions of the story, but Love became Ananga. And now were going to worship the Anga, the body of the Goddess, which we happen to be wearing.