Thread by @DefiledGod

That Gita Shloka reminded me of something.

When bhagavAn performs a penance towards mahAdeva for gaining a son, he adopts this form:

जटी चीरी जगन्नाथो मानुषं वपुरास्थितः 

[The master of the Universe, was in a form like a human, wearing matted hair & a strip of cloth]+

विस्म्यस्थितलोलाक्षाः सर्वदेवगणास्तथा । आश्चर्यं खलु पश्यद्वं न भूतं न भविष्यति

[The gods were rolling their eyes in wonder, “Look at this wonder, there has never been anything like this in the past nor will there be in the future”.]+

This form astonished the gods for two reasons -

1) They had never before seen bhagavAn bowing to another, and were struck with wonder by his soushIlya

2) He was wearing a single strip of cloth. His backside was visible. bhagavAn's backside is more beautiful than his front!+

That is why the gods were saying, "nothing like this will be in the future. No form of bhagavAn reveals his backside as beautifully as this one does, wearing a single strip of cloth".

I'm serious. Acharyas have themselves said a darshaNa of his backside is more fruitful😄+

This form was enjoyed in 2 different ways by 2 j~nAnIs

यत्र विश्वेश्वरो विष्णुस्तपस्तेपे सुदारुणम् 

[Vaishmapayana: Where the Ruler of all the gods, viShNu, was undertaking a very severe penance.]

Note that Vaishampaya calls this a very severe penance+

Vaishampayana, despite knowing bhagavAn as master of the Universe, was struck by the tenderness & beauty of the form.

Thus, seeing bhagavAn sweating near a hot fire and carrying out a penance, he felt a paternal love like Nandagopa. Thus he calls the penance very "severe"+

In contrast, here is how mahAdeva enjoys the form:

ततः प्रीतः प्रसन्नात्मा ललाटाक्ष उमापतिः ।

[Then, the consort of umA (who imparts j~nAna to all), who has a third eye signifying j~nAna, with clear mind regarding knowledge of Brahman, was delighted (by the darShaNa)]+

While Vaishmapayana was fretting about how bhagavAn's tender body was unaccustomed to harsh penances, mahAdeva focused on the unique seva of bhagavAn's backside, not seen in any other avatAra & revelled in it.

One had "paternal concern", the other had a "lover's delight"+

This is what bhagavAn means in the gIta when he says different devotees approach him in different ways.

mahAdeva, btw, was exhibiting the same love for bhagavAn's body as Hanuman did for rAma, or the gopIs did for Krishna. "gopIShvar"? Maybe😄//