Talk:Physical Beauty

By Vishal Agarwal

Physical appearance or strength is not a prerequisite to excel on the path of Bhakti. While Karma-yoga may sometimes emphasize physical fitness and the ability to labor, Bhakti-yoga transcends such limitations. It welcomes everyone equally, empowering individuals—regardless of their physical attributes or abilities—to cultivate devotion and achieve spiritual fulfillment with unwavering vigor.

Story – Bhagavān inside the King of Kaliṅga

In the land of Kaliṅga, now the state of Oḍiśā in India, a great king commissioned the construction of a magnificent temple dedicated to Jagannātha (Lord of the Universe), an incarnation of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. However, the temple stood incomplete without a Mūrti, the sacred idol. The king declared, “I seek the most skilled sculptor to carve the most beautiful Mūrti of Viṣṇu. Upon its completion, I will inspect it. If I am pleased, the sculptor will be rewarded with 10,000 gold coins. If not, the sculptor will face death.”

The challenge was daunting, and no sculptor dared to risk their life. Days turned into weeks, and still, no one came forward. Finally, an elderly sculptor approached the king with a condition. He said, “I will need 30 days to complete the Mūrti, and during this time, I must work in isolation behind closed doors. No one should open the temple doors until my work is finished. If the doors are opened prematurely, I will leave the work unfinished.”

Relieved that someone had taken up the task, the king agreed.

The sculptor entered the temple and began his work. Each day, the sounds of chisels and hammers echoed from within the temple. As the days passed, suspicion began to brew among the king’s ministers. They whispered, “What if this sculptor is an enemy spy, plotting to destroy the temple from within?” At first, the king dismissed their concerns, but as curiosity overtook him, he decided to inspect the progress nine days before the agreed-upon deadline.

The temple doors were flung open. Inside, they found an unfinished and seemingly unattractive Mūrti of Viṣṇu lying on the floor, with the sculptor still at work. The king, enraged by the sight, unsheathed his sword, ready to punish the sculptor.

Before the king could strike, the sculptor spoke calmly, “O King, you have broken your promise and opened the doors on the 21st day. This work is incomplete because of your impatience. I intended for you to realize that Bhagavān resides in all forms—beautiful or not. Just as Viṣṇu is present in exquisite idols, He is equally present in those we perceive as imperfect or unattractive. Now, as per my condition, I will leave this Mūrti unfinished. I urge you to install and worship it in the temple. If you desire, a more beautiful Mūrti can be created and placed elsewhere.”

The king stood stunned—not just at the sculptor’s audacity but at his own failure to keep his word. As he lowered his gaze in regret, a miraculous transformation occurred. The sculptor’s form shimmered and revealed itself as none other than Viṣṇu in His divine, four-armed form.

Humbled and enlightened, the king realized the profound truth: beauty and ugliness are perceptions of the human mind, while Bhagavān pervades all of existence. From that day, the king ensured that the unfinished Mūrti became the centerpiece of devotion in the temple, a lasting reminder of Viṣṇu’s omnipresence in all creation.

Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār (the Mother of Kāraikkāl)

In Southern India, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, is the port of Kāraikkāl. In the 6th century CE, there lived a rich merchant named Paramadatta. He married Puṇitavatī, who was a great Bhaktā of Bhagavān Śiva. One day, some merchants visited Paramadatta and presented him with two delicious mangoes. Paramadatta took the mangoes home and gave them to Puṇitavatī saying that he would eat them later. After some time, a Sādhu who worshipped Śiva arrived and begged Puṇitavatī for some food. As she had great regard for all Bhaktas of Śiva, Puṇitavatī served him food with respect and also gave him one of the mangoes.

Later, when her husband returned, he asked to be fed as well. She brought food and the second mango to feed him. Paramadatta found the mango to be extremely delicious and requested her to bring the second of the two mangoes that he had given her. But since she had given the other mango to the Sādhu, she became scared that her husband would be angry at her because he had no faith in Śiva and regarded all Sādhus as useless.

Abandoned by her husband, Puṇitavatī decided to devote her life to worshiping Śiva. But she was afraid that being a very beautiful woman, several men might harass her and ask her to marry them. Therefore, she prayed to Śiva, “Bhagavān, please change my looks to that of an ugly and an old woman so that I can worship you always without being disturbed.” Śiva knew that Puṇitavatī’s beauty was inside her beautiful soul, and she did not need external beauty to look pretty. Therefore, he granted her request and she became an ugly woman.

She wrote and sang beautiful hymns to worship Śiva. People worshipped and respected her as the ‘Mother (Ammaiyār) of Kāraikkāl’, and the name stuck. In her old age, she visited Mount Kailāsa and had a darśana of Bhagavān Śiva. Śiva asked her to settle down in a place called Tiruvalangāḍu, where she sang the praises of Śiva for the rest of her life. Thereafter, her soul merged with Śiva.

Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār’s life and songs are recorded in the Periya Purāṇam and Tirumuṟai – Śāstra in the Tamil language, along with the biographies of 62 other Nāyaṉmār saints.