Vasuki: Shiva’s Greatest Devotee

Story

Simran, a little bubbly and curious girl, was enjoying her Summer vacation. She would get up late from bed, despite her mother's constant calls to wake up.

One day, her mother woke her up early, so she could participate in the morning puja (prayers).

Simran saw her Dadi praying. She asked, “Dadi, whom are you praying to?”

Her Dadi said, “I am praying to Bhagwan Shiva.”

Simran smiled and said, “You are a big devotee of Shiv Ji.”

“No”, said Dadi, “Vasuki is the biggest devotee of Shiv Ji”.

“Who is Vasuki?” asked Simran.

Dadi said, “I will tell you everything about Vasuki and his devotion to Bhagwan Shiv. Then you will know how big a devotee he was.”

Dadi began her story.

A long time ago, sage Kashyapa and Kadru had a child named Vasuki. Vasuki was a wise and kind serpent and had siblings like Shesha, who became Bhagwan Vishnu's bed, and Manasa, the serpent goddess. Vasuki was the king of snakes. He loved Bhagwan Shiva deeply. He admired Shiva's peaceful nature and amazing dance. He wanted to be close to Shiv Ji all the time.

So, he prayed to Bhagwan Shiva every day. One day, he said, "Dear Shiva, I want to be close to you always. Can I stay with you?"

Bhagwan Shiva smiled and said, "Of course, Vasuki. You can rest around my neck and stay with me forever."

From that day, Vasuki coiled itself around Shiva’s neck like a necklace. He was thrilled because he could be close to his beloved Bhagwan.

Then one day, the gods and demons wanted to churn the ocean to find something special called Amrita, the nectar of immortality. They needed a strong rope to churn the ocean, so they asked Vasuki for help.

Vasuki agreed because he wanted to serve Bhagwan Shiva. He wanted to prove his love and dedication to Shiva Ji by helping in Samudra Manthan, which would benefit the whole world. He became the rope for churning the ocean. Mount Mandara became the churning rod, and Vasuki wrapped itself around Mount Mandara to act as a churning rope.

The gods pulled one side, and the demons pulled the other. It was very hard, and Vasuki felt a lot of pain, but he didn’t give up.

During the churning, when the Gods and the demons were pulling Vasuki, he felt intense pain that he could not control himself and vomited.  A deadly poison, Halahala, came out of his mouth and fell into the ocean. It was so deadly that it could harm the whole world.

Everyone got scared and ran to Bhagwan Shiva.

Bhagwan Shiva, being kind and brave, drank the poison to save everyone. Vasuki felt sad that his beloved God had to drink the poison, but at the same time, he felt proud that he could help Bhagwan Shiva save the world.

“Dadi,” asked Simran, “Why did Bhagwan Shiva agree to keep Vasuki around his neck? Wasn’t he scared?”

Dadi smiled and said,” Bhagwan Shiva saw Vasuki's pure heart and deep devotion. Shiv Ji is fearless and kind, so he wasn’t scared of Vasuki. Instead, he welcomed Vasuki as a loyal friend and made him a part of his divine form. It also shows that Shiv Ji can control all beings, whether they are gentle or fierce, because of his immense power, calm nature, and wisdom.”

Vasuki’s selflessness and courage show us how to be good and brave. When we work together and help each other, we can overcome any problem!

Simran was happy; she gave a tight hug to her Dadi and went inside. She told her mother that she would get up early every day only if Dadi told her a new story every morning.