Mahabharata Quiz - 103

 

Question – 103

What does a nimitta mean? Why Arundhati- Vasishtha appearance was mentioned as a nimitta by Vyasa?

Answer:

The Vyakarana meaning of nimitta is that it is an unstable first cause from which a stable effect is formed.

(“yaḥ prekṣāpūrvakārī bhavati saḥ adhruveṇa nimittena dhruvaṃ nimittamupādatte vedikāṃ puṇḍarīkaṃ vā”. Maha Bhshya. on I.1.26 Vart.5.)

When the cause is ‘adhruva’ (not fixed, non-permanent) but it gives a result which is Dhruva – that is stable and fixed, such a cause is known as nimitta. So, in a nimitta, the cause is a temporary occurrence! But what is expected of it will have a lasting effect.

Since Vyasa mentioned Arundhati appearing to have kept Vasishtha at her back is a nimitta, it automatically means that it was not a permanent or long-lasting appearance. It appeared differently for flash seconds or minutes. That causes terror because it means that something is wrong cosmically.

Immediately following this observation Vyasa also talked about the mark on the moon having changed its position. That also implies that something went wrong in the celestial region.

Mahabharata Quiz - 44

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Question – 44

What is the basis of the claim that Adhika Maasa cannot occur in the month of Magha? The extended stay of Bhishma shows the probability for an Adhika Maasa in that month.

Answer:

Adhika Maasa is a lunar month that is caused by the difference between the solar and the lunar months due to the differences in the speed of the sun and the moon. The sun travels 1 degree a day and covers one month of 30-degree duration in 30 days. The moon moves faster and completes 30 solar days (one solar month) in approximately 29 days. In other words, every solar month is equal to one lunar month + 1 lunar day. Because of this, at the end of every year (12 solar months), 12 lunar days are formed extra. In two years, 24 lunar days remain additionally. In another six months, another 6 lunar days are formed. Thus, every two and a half years 30 lunar days are formed extra. Since this is the duration of a lunar month, this is expunged to adjust the lunar month with the solar month.

For identification of the Adhika Maasa, when two New-Moons (Amavasya) occur in a solar month, the lunar month following the first Amavasya is treated as Adhika Maasa. The month following the second Amavasya is treated as Nija Maasa. This follows the rationale that there must be solar ingress (saṅkramaṇa) in a lunar month. The lunar month not having a solar ingress is an Adhika Maasa.

The solar month stretching longer than the lunar month happens when the earth is at aphelion, that is farther from the sun. Because of this, the solar days range from 30 to 32 in the months starting from Phalguna to Ashvina. Adhika Maasa can happen only in this period.

On the other hand, in the months from Kartika to Magha, the earth is at perihelion, that is closest to the sun. The Panchanga will show 29 days for these months due to the faster movement of the earth during this period. Only in these months, Kshaya Maasa can occur. This is identified by two solar ingresses within a lunar month.

Any time a Kshaya maasa occurs, it would be accompanied with two Adhika maasa - one before and another after the Kshaya maasa. Kshaya Maasa repeats once in149-years. The last time it occurred in the year 1983 when the solar ingress into Capricorn (Makara Saṅkrānti) started after Shukla Pratipat of the lunar Pushya month and ended on 13th February before the lunar month ended. The very next month, Phalguna was an Adhika maasa with no solar ingress. Prior to the Kshaya masa, an Adhika maasa occurred in Ashvina. Thus, the stretching and shortening of the months before and in the middle are the result of the difference in the speed of the earth from farther to closer distances to the sun.

Thus, scientifically, it is impossible for an Adhika Maasa to occur in the month of Magha. In the Mahabharata, only in the beginning of that year (Krodhi), an Adhika Maasa occurred in Caitra. So, no Kshaya maasa could have occurred in Magha of that year. So, what happened then? How did the days get extended, forcing Bhīṣma to wait for the Uttarayaṇa to come up?

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Glacier burst at Chamoli, Uttarakhand

 

A tragedy by deluge struck the higher Himalayan regions seven years after a similar tragedy by a cloudburst around the same region in Uttarakhand. Having studied the floods at Kedarnath, Mantralaya, Kerala, the meteorological causes and the astrological causes I am posting here the astrological combinations that existed at the time of the breaking up of the Himalayan glacier near Chamoli.

At the moment of writing this not much information was available except one from a tweet that tragedy struck at Raini village around 10-45 am (7^th Feb 2021)

Though we have been expecting some kind of escalation on 10^th and 11^th February due to the conjunction of five planets in Capricorn, a different combination occurred  today (7^th Feb) related to water. Moon crossed Ketu in the watery sign of Scorpio. In the rainy season, this crossing over is accompanied with a sudden spurt in rainfall or a landfall - both ensuring destruction. We see a similar tragedy by water in the non-rainy season.

The sign of cancer – a watery sign is receiving the direct aspect from the 5 planets transiting Capricorn, the 4^th aspect of Mars and the 11^th aspect of Rahu (Rahu and Ketu aspect the 3^rd sign on both sides of their location. Though there are other aspects, these two aspects are found to be effective in many case studies) Ketu is aspecting the 5 planet combination in Capricorn. 

Moon, the lord of Cancer was in another watery sign, namely Scorpio crossing Ketu at 3-45 am  this morning (7^th February). So that is the most likely time of the initial break of the glacier which cascaded as time went by. By 5-30 am the moon crossed Ketu completely. 

By 10-45 am the moon shifted to a watery Navamsa, namely Pisces, ensuring floods.

Now looking at the afflicted sign, i.e. Cancer, it is fortunately empty. If any planet is posited there receiving the aspects from almost all the planets, then the people signified by that planet would have borne the brunt. The sign being empty but the signifier being water, water related facilities and structures would be affected. The casualties are likely to be limited, with the moon moving out of Scorpio by 4-15 pm this evening.

Coming to the identification of the location impacted, the sign cancer stands or Northern direction. In the Kurma Chakra division of the places given in Brihat Samhita, the regions in East in North India that include Mithila, Kasi and Kosala come under the sign cancer. These regions, connected with the Himalayan Rivers are likely to see a rise in water level. The overall scenario is likely to be under control with limited casualties.

Let’s hope the next date of concern – 10^th and 11^th February - passes off without much hardships to the people. The likely areas to be affected are NW India and South India at that time. 

Kerala floods caused by the ‘wrath’ of the deity?

Earlier published in PGurus.com

and

Bharatabharati

At a time Nature-induced unprecedented tragedy is sweeping across both human and divine abodes in Kerala, the question in the air is whether this is the result of the wrath of the deity at Sabarimala for interfering with the rules of the temple and taking it to the court to decide. The judges of the Supreme Court had reserved their orders, but did Lord Ayyappa deliver his judgement by making His abode inaccessible to all?

This is not the first time we are hearing this kind of justification for natural calamities. When the temple of Sri Raghavendra Swamy at Mantralaya was submerged by the floods of Tungabhadra in 2009, many people wondered whether it was related to the dismantling of the temple of Manchalamma, the family deity of Sri Raghavendra Swamy to provide place for his Brindhavan.

Similarly when a deluge struck at Kedarnath temple in 2013 caused by a cloud burst, many people attributed the resultant destruction to the wrath of Dhari Devi whose image was removed from her shrine just the previous day for the purpose of facilitating water storage for Alakananda dam under construction.

Linking natural disasters to the so-called ‘wrath’ of the deity is certainly disquieting in this age of reason. It also throws bad light on the deities in general and on Hinduism in particular. It raises many questions on the very concept of deities as benefactors and the way they ‘behave’ much like human beings in retaliating when things go wrong for them. The ultimate question is whether this is what Hinduism seeks to convey. This article is an attempt to answer these questions through two concepts, the concept of portents and the concept of deities as living consciousness.

Portents.

Portents are signs or omens that are supposed to indicate a calamity. Ancient sages of India had studied occurrence of such portents and found a link between an event and a violation or an event and an after-effect. Varahamihira in his treatise called Brihad Samhita had compiled the portents taught by sage Garga to sage Atri in the 46^th chapter of this book. These portents are basically related to the deities in the temple and the natural calamities caused by fire, rainfall, water (of the rivers) and wind that foretell the hardships to the people at large. According to the Vedic sages, they do indicate the displeasure of the deities. This concept seems to have thrived in the Hindu society for all these ages.

But this doesn’t clear the sullied image of the Hindu deities as angry ones and those who can be displeased. Are these deities ordinary mortals who show their displeasure when things don’t happen in the way they like, is the question that comes to our mind. Without stepping into theological realms, we can answer this by visualising the relationship between the deities and human beings in the same way how different elements of the earth behave.

The earth behaves like a single unit or a unitary cell. Whatever happens in Nature in one part of the earth has its impact in another part of the earth. The wind, the heat, the ocean currents, the atmospheric changes and the like do behave as parts of a single cell and interact and influence each other with the final result sinking on the earth impacting human life at some place in some way. This concept is almost accepted by the scientific community.

Our Vedic sages had gone beyond this level of understanding and treated the earth, the atmosphere and the stellar space as one unit- Bhu, Buvah and Svah –  because whatever happens at one impacts the other. A 4^th component ‘Mahat’ was discovered by sage Mahachamasya, that encompasses all the three (Taittirya Upanishad 1- 5.1). This fourth component is known as Brahma or Atma or we can name it as consciousness for our understanding.

This consciousness pervades all the three levels starting from the earth in the same way how our consciousness pervades our physical, vital and mental state of our own existence. Anything that happens in any part of our body would send a signal throughout the body and different parts of our body would react accordingly. This concept is applicable to our larger frame of existence, constituted by Bhu-Bhuvah-Svah. In this larger frame, every entity including human beings, animals, birds and even natural forces react or adjust with each other to attain a state of equilibrium – which at times appears as portents.

Consciousness as binding factor.

Though Hinduism is vast source of theological concepts on Gods, the underlying feature is that deities are living consciousness. The installation of the consciousness happens in two ways. The Universal consciousness is installed through mantra, yantra and tantra in temples. The consciousness of those who once lived in flesh and blood is also installed by the same means. This is based on the logic that nothing ceases to exist in Nature.  The feeling of I-ness, emotions, aspirations and thoughts that were very much real while alive cannot disappear into nothingness. All these as part of the consciousness are expected to live in a place while deified.

This is the idea behind many deities of Kerala, village deities and roadside deities who are supposed to guard from accidents those who seek blessings from them. These deities were once real persons who died while saving someone from death. Until a century ago this practice of deifying someone who died under distress was in vogue.

Lord Ayyappa was a historical person who has been deified due to the exemplary nature exhibited by him while alive. A major difference between Lord Ayyappa and other deities is that strict discipline is maintained both in the case of upkeep of temple and also in the lifestyle of the devotees who plan to visit the temple. This creates a kind of entanglement between the deity and the devotees in such a way that if anything upsets the equilibrium, it gets a reactionary manifestation somewhere.

A comparable incident can be quoted from Silappadhikaram, the Tamil Epic on Kannagi who lived 2000 years ago. It tells about a time when the door of the Durga (Meenakshi) temple at Madurai could not be opened. This was perceived as the anger of the deity and a search was on to find out the wrong committed. It was found out that an innocent Brahmin was wrongly confined and only when he was freed, did the temple door open automatically.

This shows that the stronger the power of entanglement between the deity and the devotee, instantaneous would be the result of the violation committed to anyone one in the entanglement.

These nuances help us to answer certain questions before us.

1. Many mistakes and wrongs are reported in many temples. But nothing of the kind of ‘wrath-manifestation’ happens in those places. So the whole idea of Lord Ayyappa showing his displeasure is wrong and silly.

Loads and loads of violations and wrongs are being done in most temples. The sanctity of those temples is definitely afflicted. This is certainly in contrast to Lord Ayyappa temple where strict adherence to discipline is followed. When it is violated, it is immediately detected through Prasna and rectified. This temple stands on a different plane.

2. Floods and natural calamities are seen in many other places too. Which deity is responsible for those calamities?

A deity is primarily a manifestation of consciousness of high level. This consciousness is present everywhere, even in the natural forces around us. When we are upsetting their equilibrium, they pay us back. The environment pays us back. Which deity was responsible for the Chennai Floods of 2015? It was the environment that showed its fury. As part of the environment we failed to act in unison with Nature as collective consciousness. The closing of waterways and damage to land paid back as ‘anger’ or ‘displeasure’ of the deity (Nature).

3. Kerala is in the front of receiving excessive rainfall all these years. It always stands the risk of floods and devastation caused by floods. Why connect such a natural occurrence with a deity?

Kerala had been receiving incessant rainfall almost on all years. But never in the known past of 100 years was a devastation of this extent experienced. When it happened, we look out for the causes. And there exists a cause now in making a tradition and discipline of this temple subject to judicial scrutiny. Never in the past had anyone dared to question the tradition of this temple. When it was questioned, a calamity broke out. This is as simple as that.

However the liberals would not take any of these ideas. Our only word for them is that at least by thinking in these lines people get awakened to a collective conscience of a responsibility towards our environment. Hindu Thought dictates that everything in the environment – including animals like cows are part of the entanglement of the consciousness. Let people awaken to the consciousness in everything, both sentient and non sentient and be aware of their right to existence and their right to their own tradition and not just the right to one’s own self-interest

Pralaya in Kedarnath – some musings (Part -5) (Many Gods of Hinduism)

Previous articles:-

Part -1  On the loss of Samadhi of Adi Shankara

Part -2 Energy network of Kedarnath temple

Part -3 Do deities get angry?

Part -4 Affinity with deities

 

Let me continue from the last article where I concluded "There is one more issue I want to share with readers. It is about – how the manifestation of so many Gods in so many forms and names had come to stay in our land."  In analysing this part, we would also be finding answers for the 3^rd issue raised in Part 3 that the Majoritarian religion decides the health of this country and that Mleccha religions have no place here.

 

 Let me begin this discourse with an amusing notion of Christianity in writing off sins.  In this modern age when a scientific innovation like internet comes in handy to reduce the sins (bad karma) committed by the Christians merely by virtue of they being the followers of the twitter account of the Pope, Hinduism stands out as a religion that can measure up to any scientific scrutiny and as Science Itself. This development from Vatican at this juncture of Paralaya at Kedarnath looks to me as a significant one as it reduces Christianity as a religion of no sound ideas, in contrast to Hinduism as a Thought in sync with Nature's order with which no other religion of the world can compare.  This is perhaps the New order in the post-Pralaya period that would draw the attention to Hinduism as a Supreme Thought satisfying every facet of human probing.

 

Like in the physical world, in the world of man, every thought, word and action must have an equal and opposite reaction. The reaction cannot be written off by a twitter account, but by solemn penance of regret and the reciprocatory experience related to the former thought or word or action or/and all the three combined that a person delivered in the past. Even in the case of reaction, Hinduism does not say that reaction would be the exact result of action, as we are not in a laboratory state of everything else being constant. Whatever backlog was present at the time of execution of action, would influence the outcome of the action thereby making the reaction not the exact reciprocal of the action. This is being implied in the famous Gita sloka,  " Karmani eva adhikarasthe".

 

One can plan an action and have complete control over the action. But one cannot be assured that the well planned action would give the expected and reciprocatory reaction / result. It is because the backlog of karma – even a part of it - if it is related to the action, would alter the outcome of action. The backlog would influence the result of the action which in practical terms would imply that we have no control over the reaction, as we have over our action. Our actions are not being done in a controlled atmosphere. But we can have control over the actions we do. It is here the Hindu Dharma steps in and tells us the do's and dont's for our actions.  

 

In this background where then comes God?

Why then are there numerous Gods in Hinduism?

 

There is one God, the all pervading, the all knowing Infinite entity. It is Brahman which is identified by this name because Brh means huge and that which keeps growing. This all pervading Entity is manifest in 5 forms.

(1) Para – the Omni present state

(2) Vyuha – in the state of created Universe

(3) Vibhava – as Avataras in this world.

(4) Antaryami – the In-Dweller in every being as "one who controls from inside".

(5) Archa murthy – as manifestation in Vigrahas, in temples and in Nature.

 

Depending on the mental evolution, a person can make a connect with any one of these forms or move from one form to another – in a single birth or in a series of births. The ultimate realisation is that God is Para – an omni present one and that everything is Him only (Vasudeva sarvam ithi – Gita 7-19). This includes one's own Self (Tat twam asi) too. Whether this Self becomes one with Brahman or identical to Brahman is a matter of interpretation by different schools of thought, but what cannot be denied is that this Self is in the nature of Brahman and when it Realises this, it gets Liberated from the cycle of rebirth.

 

In the scheme of social order we say that democracy is the supreme concept. There are no kings in a democracy but everyone is empowered like a king and all are equal. This supreme concept that man can conceive for humanity is existent in the Hindu concept of God – Man / Self relationship. (Identified as Self – egalitarianism covers other life forms too, namely animal and plant life which are also occupied by the same Self). The ultimate salvation is known as Liberation (Moksha) because only in that level Man / Self attains equality or oneness with Brahman.

 

Heaven and Hell which other religions have allotted for men, are only transitory and not the final destinations as per Hindu Thought (Vedanthic Thought). They are not final destinations, because a question comes how long a person can be in heaven or hell. If by a twitter account, a person's sins can be lessened, won't hell become shrunk someday? Won't heaven become over crowded someday? What happens when Heaven is overcrowded? Moreover the basic question is, what is Heaven? Can they establish the existence of Heaven?  Like this many questions would arise which cannot stand scrutiny by logic. Hinduism also talks about heaven and hell but they can be explained in a very logical way.

 

The ultimate goal is Liberation from being born again. Once Liberated, the Self is equal in status with Brahman and is capable of doing anything that the Brahman can do, except one thing. That is about the Creating of the worlds. Though the Liberated Self is capable of Creation, it is not expected to do that and this is where the difference in status comes between Brahman and the Self where Brahman is a shred higher than the Self. This can be explained by a simple analogy of a father and his son. The Son is the same as Father or a replica of Father. In course of time the son becomes equal to his father in all respects. He can do everything that his father can do – except one thing – that of copulating his father's wife (his mother) for procreation. He can procreate through his own wife and make his own worlds, but he cannot create the worlds that his father had originally created with the help of his wife (mother of the son). That is how we justify that Creation of the worlds or the Universes is a prerogative of the father / Brahman and not the Self though the Self is competent to do it. For every concept, there is precedence in our land. This concept of Creation being the sole prerogative of Brahman that no Self can take up that job can be seen in the episode of Vishwamitra being asked to stop creating the worlds for Trishanku.

 

These explanations are given here to show how perfectly logical the Hindu concepts have been. These are all Vedanthic concepts which cannot be just picked out by a google word search of the Vedas. These have been excellently encapsulated by our rishis in Brahma sutras and Upanishads. Even those who cannot understand these texts, can get them easy at hand by reading the Bhagavad Gita.  By all this I am coming to say that if this incomparable Thought says 'worship the idol' or 'worship this deity', know  that there is some meaning in it; if it says that there are many deities (read here the rationale of many deities) and  or that there are 3003, 303 and 33 deities (read here), know then that there is some rationale in these numbers of deities.

 

Continuing from the 5 forms of Brahman /God , these five forms can be understood in the following way by a comparison with water. Water is the basic necessity of life. Even if there is no food, a person can survive on water. Similarly a person survives solely on God who is manifest in 5 forms.  That water is also manifest in 5 forms. That is why the comparison with 5 forms of God.

Water is available in Nature – first as

(1)    Clouds which cannot be consumed directly to quench the thirst. This is comparable to Para manifestation. You realise that Para exists. You realise that Para contains all seeds of water, but it's beyond your reach. 

 

(2)    Water of the ocean which cannot be drunk directly but without which water cycle cannot be sustained. The Vyuha manifestation is similar to this. Without Vyuha manifestation, worlds cannot come into existence and life cannot thrive. It is difficult to use this level of manifestation, but a realisation of this manifestation occurs once a person starts thinking about the way Brahman is manifest.

 

(3)    Rivers that go everywhere so that people at different places draw water from them. This is comparable to Avataras of God which continue to exist for all times so that people of different generations draw the essence from them and enrich themselves. The knowledge of avataras and their purpose helps in improving the awareness level of a person on the existence of God and on how we have to fashion our lives to improve ourselves.

 

(4)    Water in a well which is used by the owner of the well. This is comparable to Antaryami manifestation which is about a close / intimate  and one- to -one relationship with God. The all pervading God becomes a personal God in this level who is recognised as one who resides within oneself. The water analogy also would show how easy it is to draw water from a well which is one's own. The personal God concept is the easiest way to drink 'water' of the Grace of God and mature further in Realisation of God.

 

(5)    Tap water. The water that descends from the cloud and goes into ground is drawn by someone else and directed to reach us through the pipe lines in such a way that all that we have to do is to just open the tap and drink water. This is comparable to the Vigrahas or idol worship. Idol worship is the easiest way to connect with God and draw His blessings. This is not the lowest form as it is mentioned last, but it is the easiest form in which one can form a connect with God and draw the energy. The water that initially originated in the clouds finally reaches every home and every place in a single home, wherever you want, through the taps. That is the benefit of idol worship.

 

Depending upon the preferences of the house owner, the taps are fixed in his house from which he draws the water when he wishes. The same rationale is applied to the manifestation of numerous Gods throughout our country.

Suppose you have to cross a forest, don't worry, God is manifest there as Vana Kali to give you protection.

Suppose you have to cross a mountain, God is manifest as Muruga to guide you safely.

Suppose you have to cross a tough terrain full of dangers, Shiva's deputies Veera Bhadra or Bhairava would be there to offer you safety.

Suppose you have to cross oceans, Varuna is there to protect you. The former Tamil lands of sangam period scattered in 49 small islands in the Indian ocean were constantly under threat from the oceans and tsunamis. The people of those lands conducted Varuna festival, as "Munneer nediyOn vizha" . Even the Parathavas (the fishermen community mentioned in the last article) had worshiped Varuna, says  Pattinappaalai, a Tamil Sangam text.

In the settlements in South India, the helping God was Indra, of clouds and thunder. This region was dependant on rainfall from cyclone from the Bay of Bengal. That is why the people of Pumpuhar in the east coast worshiped Indra by means of Indra festival.

 

In this way, many Gods became manifest, each of them identified with a specific benefit for a community or population in a location.  In this way Muttharamman was manifest in coastal regions from whom the Parathavas drew their strength for pearl diving.

Maariyamman was manifest wherever a threat of small pox was felt.

Sitalamma was manifest when a threat of an epidemic was seen.

Village deities were manifest to protect the villagers and boundary deities (Yellai amman) were manifest to protect the boundary from enemies. The basic nature in all these Gods and Goddesses is that they are easy –to-reach forms of Para – like the availability of water from clouds to taps in your house. 

 

But in any of these, a Jesus or Allah does not fit in! Whatever deity you are seeing as an idol anywhere in India is the simplified form of Brahman – in our analogy, water of the cloud, the Para! This kind of conceptualisation or logical connect is not there for the Mleccha deities. Let them be Gods of Mlecchas, but to bring them to our land and claim them to be Gods equal to Hindu Gods is an act of ignorance.

 

One may say that these Mleccha Gods are like other Gods of Hinduism. The Parathavas (part 4) of the 16^th century had no difficulty in converting to Christianity because they thought the same. Today also there are many Hindus who confer 'egalitarianism' for Gods of all religions.  They proudly flaunt their 'secular' thought by saying that they go to church or pray with Muslims as they don't find any difference between Gods. Readers would have read many articles on how this is not so. (sample ones are (here)  (here) and (here).  In this article let me bring to their notice an explanation that they would not have read anywhere except in Tamil texts.

 

The Tamil sangam texts contain so much information about Hinduism, Hindu  culture and the way of life of all the sections of the society that are applicable to people living in other parts of India in those days, say, in the pre Christian era. There is a specific sutra in the Sangam Grammar book of Thol Kappiyam, on how a deity is consecrated. (PuRaththiNAi Iyal – 63).

 

It is a 4 +2 process in which a deity can be "sighted" and made into an idol and then worshiped. Initially there must be a "Sighting"  (Kaatchi), which decides that it deserves to be worshiped.  Then a "stone" (Kaal kOL) is identified and cut out. Then it is "bathed in sacred waters" (Neer-p-padai).  Then the image of the being to be worshiped is drawn or carved out in this stone and installed (Nadukal), in the place where the 'sighting' was seen. With this the 4 step consecration is over. Then "offerings" (perum padai) are done by which formal initiation of worshiping is begun. Then "praising" or puja (Vaazhthuthal) is done by which worship is concluded. Worship of this consecrated deity continues for ever from then onwards.

The relevant Sutra in Tamil is as follows:

"காட்சி கல்கோள்² நீர்ப்படை நடுதல்³
சீர்த்தகு மரபில் பெரும்படை வாழ்த்தலென்று" (புறத்திணை இயல்- 63)

 

A transliteration of this:-

"Kaatchi kaalkOL neer-p-padai naduthal

Seer-th-thagu marabil perum padai vaazhththal enRu" (Tholkappiyam – II., PuRaththiNai iyal - 63)

Meaning:- "Sighting, finding a stone, bathing it and fixing it, and offering food in the great tradition and singing in praise"

There are two types of sightings. One is what people had seen as visions or a deity appearing in person, or speaking to them. In this case, the Para-Brahma in its various manifestations had made itself felt (like in many instances of Vana-Kali – infact the Tholkappiyam sutra mentions this sighting etc process in Mullai lands which are forest tracts) or appeared in person like in the case of Divya Desams of Vishnu. Every Divya Desa has its origin in Vishnu having appeared to saints or kings or a devotee and conferred some good on them or for the land. The place where such a sighting of Vishnu was reported came to have an idol of that deity in the very place where the sighting took place.

 

Even in the absence of such sightings, deities had been consecrated in the following ways:-

(1)    Para Itself is self-manifest in some form– This is called Swaymbhu. Lord Kedarnath comes in this category.  

(2)    Established by Devas.

(3)    Established by Siddhas and rishis.

(4)    Consecrated by humans.

 

The 2^nd type of sighting pertains to human beings! A popular example is Kannagi. She was seen being approached by a celestial car from the sky. Her departed husband appeared in celestial form from that car. She ascended the car with him and was gone. Some hunters in the vicinity saw this extraordinary sight and reported it to the Cheran King. The king decided to erect a temple for her at that site, for which he went to the Himalayas to cut out a stone and bathed it in the Ganges. Back home he had the image of Kannagi carved out in it and consecrated it on an auspicious day at that place where the sighting occurred. The consecration by Vedic Homas made her a three-in-one Shakthi having  Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Parvathy. The praising part of the episode speaks of her as the daughter of Himavan, - as she (the stone for making her image) was brought from the Himalayas.  A young woman of Pumpukar was thus made a deity on par with Parvathy. All these parts of the process starting from Kaatchi (sighting) have been detailed in separate chapters in Silappadhikaram.

 

This consecration took place in the beginning of the Christian era. But numerous consecrations of departed people had taken place much prior to this period. The Tholkappiyam sutra says that this is how the tradition had been or how it was in times prior to the time of Tholkappiyam. There are many sangam poems on such deifications. The sighting on such occasions was about the valiant soldiers who died by saving the country and / or people. The place where the dead body of such a valiant one was found was considered as "Katchi" (sighting). The above mentioned process of Kaatchi, KalkOL etc was done to those dead persons. Instead of carving out the stone, the name of the dead person was carved and consecrated at the very place where his body was found.  

 

In the instances where extraordinary sightings or experiences were seen or felt, the image of the dead person was drawn on the stone and worshiped. Those who go out to war with rivals in a bid to save their own country / community men, used to worship these deities. The departed ones of the consecrated deities are said to help them or accompany them or bless them in winning over the rivals and returning safely. Today these are known as Hero stones, but a reading of the sangam texts show that they were revered as Gods. There is even a verse in Purananuru that asks "Can there be any deity other than the one who died by killing an elephant in his bid to drive out the enemies."  (Pura nanuru 335). The one who saved masses and lost life in the process of saving was deified as a Deva!

 

This brings us to the concept of Hindu Thought that says that the Self can be born as a Deva, or man or an animal or a plant.  The Devas are not in some people in inaccessible lands. The Self that was once in a man's body goes to occupy a Deva body.  In this way, even the departed ancestor is considered as a Deva in Hindu Thought. The consecration on stone does happen for the departed ancestors too (or anyone who is departed) on the concept that stone binds energy (or the Self). But on the 10^th day after death, the stone is left in the flowing water. In the case of valiant deaths, the stone is consecrated in a site and worshiped thereafter.

 

This difference has a symbolism which can be derived from verse 263 of Purananuru, the Sangam text. This verse says that the deified person in the stone continues to protect the people who come to him seeking help. It is like, how the stone is stalling the waves of water, this Deva in the stone is stalling the flow of water of destiny of the people. This description rings a contrast to the stones that are installed initially for the departed ancestors. On the 10^th day, the stone in which the departed ancestor is fixated is left in the water as a symbolism for the departed one getting further taken away by the flow of Destiny.  But the stone (idol) of the departed person who died while saving the country becomes empowered to save the people against the current of Destiny.  This is how the concept of Devas with the power to save people is rationalised.  

 

There are many regional deities throughout India which were once living persons and have been deified due to some exemplary act they did while living or dying. Many regional sects have such deities worshiped exclusively by them. A common thread in all these deities is that they were all sons or daughters of this soil, suffered for this soil and its people and have been deified by them for glorification or protection or even to discourage them from harming them. One example for the last reason can be read in the 1881 Census records. It says that in a village in Punjab, in North West India, "an imperial trooper was once burnt alive by the shed in which he was sleeping catching fire, and it was thought well to propitiate him by a shrine, or his ghost might become troublesome. He was by religion a Musulmán; but he had been burnt and not buried, which seemed to make him a Hindoo. After much discussion the latter opinions prevailed, and a Hindoo shrine, with an eastern aspect, now stands to his memory." The unnatural and gory death of a person was feared to cause troubles to the people and therefore it was thought to be better to appease his ghost by worship.

 

Confusions arose in the way of worship after people were Islamised. Yet another incident recorded in the report prior to this information speaks about a dilemma among a community on how to do ancestral worship after a part of the community was converted into Islam. A common ancestor had died and the converted people could not forget the age-old practice of worshiping the ancestors. Finally it was decided to build a grave for the ancestor facing the South in the Mohammedan way and construct a shrine upon it facing the east in the Hindu way! Whatever be their religious identity today, the fact is that these people belong to this land from a long chain of ancestors who were Hindus. The same holds good for Indian Christians too.  Their deities were from this soil. Their deified ancestors were from this soil and the valiant heroes who became deities to protect them came from this soil, died for this soil and died for their ancestors. If they fail to form a connect with these deities, only they will be the losers.

 

Their imported Gods from Israel or Mecca have no affinity to our land. They were not sons of our soil nor were they deified in the way our departed people were deified to become powerful Gods. So they cannot give what the Gods of our land can give. Nor are they manifestations of Brahman, the Supreme Power that exists in Nature. (Recall whatever is written above. There are 2 types of manifestation, one, Brahman Himself manifesting in 5 forms of which the 5^th one is in the form of idols. The numerous naturally occurring Devathas such as Vana Durga are part of these manifestations. The other type is that of Man becoming Deva.). Even if they claim that they too had sightings or marvels done by their Gods of Mleccha lands, that is not because of any power on their part. That is because of the power of this land.

As I wrote in Part 3 of this series, the shape of the land does matter in the manifestation of unique energy forms in a land. The triangular shape identified with Kali Yantra traps or aids in the manifestation of unknown energy forms. It must be noted that Bermuda Triangle is a region where unknown and powerful energy get manifest within a region of triangular shape. England where crop circles that defy the present scientific knowledge appear in great numbers is triangular in shape. Similarly Sicily where such crop circles appear frequently also is triangular in shape. For more details go through the article here.

 

The naturally occurring triangular shape of India facilitates the manifestation of Energy forms which when channelized through Vedic Homas and tapped through meditation, result in the manifestation of Gods of different hues, which are all Brahman in some form.  It is possible to establish temples anywhere in the world, but for God to have come down by His own to take up a home for Himself, the triangular shape of Bharat acts as a facilitator. That perhaps explains why our ancients refused to move out of Bharat, but drove out those who did not comply with Dharma in this land.  Hinduism is the natural religion of India and India is the home of Hinduism. This status cannot be changed. If people – like the current generation of secularists and Mleccha religionists – try to disturb this equation, the land and the manifested deities would flare up until it regains the original equilibrium.  We are crossing such a period of flaring up. The Pralaya at Kedranath is one such indiactor.

 

Why a person thinks of God?

Basic human tendency is craving for something. After the fulfilment of every kind of wish, man moves to craving for higher levels of wishes – something like what is explained in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. People can be categorised on the basis of the wishes they nurture towards God. They are 4 in number.

 

(1)    Those who seek wealth or gratification of material or mundane desires.

(2)    Those who seek release from the sufferings they experience

(3)    Those who are keen on knowing what all this stuff about God is. These people ask about what is Self, what is Atman and why we are born and so on. All these three categories of people develop a connect or affinity with God in the course of seeking to fulfil their wishes.

(4)    Those who are wise (gyani). These people have no wishes to be fulfilled as they realise that all these - even the wishes - are His Creation and that we are all a part in His Creation Play.

 

A cursory reading of these four types of wishes would show that there is no scope to go beyond the first two levels in the case of Mleccha religions. The natural desire of man with a thinking mind is to move over to the 3^rd level of seeking answers to questions about himself and the world outside. The Mleccha religions give no scope for that search.

 

The first two categories centre around the last 3 manifestations of Brahman namely Avataras, Antaryami and Vigrahas. The 3^rd category is in the intermediate period between last three and the first two forms of manifestations (Para and Vyuha). The 4^th category people see Brahman as Para.

 

One example for the 4^th category can be shown from the episode on Shabari in Ramayana. Shabari was serving the rishis at Matanga ashrama. When the time came for the rishis to depart, Shabari wanted to accompany them. But they asked Shabari to stay back to serve Rama when he would be visiting the ashrama.  By serving Rama, she would attain higher realms. A question comes why the rishis didn't stay back for some more time to have a darshan of Rama. Were they not interested in getting the darshan of Rama? The answer is that they were already enlightened ones and had attained oneness with Brahman. In that state they can see Rama or Krishna in any place they want and at any time they want. Such is the power of the one who is a gyani (wise) and who is in the verge of attaining Liberation or had attained Liberation. For such wise beings, God in a form or a manifestation makes no difference with what they eternally know as God.  

 

Explained in this way, the ultimate aim of birth is to realise the Self as one with Brahman. This happens at the Thought level. It is by thought, all our words and actions are shaped.  Actions further beget reactions.  That is how the cycle of karma keeps rolling endlessly. Now start reading from the 3^rd paragraph in the beginning of this article. For all our actions to be channelized, redefined and refined, we need a God – a focal Brahman who serves both as a means and also as an end.

 

In the process of connecting with God, the more you are maturing, the closer you come to God. The instances of God appearing in person (in the form that the devotee has worshiped) or speaking to God or the voice of God heard as Akasha vani are not impossible. The so-called "wrath" of God as witnessed with Dhari Devi can be explained in this context.

 

Let me narrate an incident from Manimegalai, one of the 5 Tamil Epics to explain the above paragraph. This text written by a contemporary of the author of Silappadhikaram puts its date somewhere in the 1^st or 2^nd century AD. The narration I am going to give here refers to the period of Parasurama explained in this Epic. Parasurama's wrath was not confined to North India alone. The kings of the South also were greatly frightened by the vow of Parasurama. The Cholan King ruling form Pumpukar decided to live in hiding in Kodagu in the ashram of sage Agasthya.  He anointed his son, Kanthaman,  born to a concubine to the throne as he felt that Parasurama would not consider Kanthaman as a Kshatriya. This king had 2 sons.

 

Once when a married Brahmin woman by name Maruthi came to take bath in the river Kaveri, one of the sons of King Kanthaman called her with a desire to possess her. This shocked Maruthi who went into the temple of Sambapathi (the Protector deity of Jambhu dweepa. In Tamil it is known as Sambu theevu, and hence the deity is named as Sambu Devi or Sambapathi) and cried why the deity did not kill him or teach him a lesson the moment he cast his eye on a married woman. Note this is similar to how people think that the God they devoutly worship does not redeem their suffering. Let us see what the deity says in reply. It says that if a woman treats her husband as God and serves him as God even while not serving any other God, whatever she says would happen. If such a woman says 'let it rain now', it would rain immediately. (There is a Thirukkural of the same meaning.) Though Maruthi served her husband as God, she worshiped other Gods too, which made her less powerful in converting her thought into instant action to be done by Natural forces. The deity reasoned that it is because of this, the king's son did not get instant rebuke.

 

Note here, the rebuke is not supposed to come from the deity, though we formally say that the deity punishes people for the misdemeanour. But what the deity says here is that the rebuke or punishment or reaction to happen to the opponent who causeed harm to one, comes as a result of what one is possessed in terms of strength of the mind or thought and work – which in this case is her complete devotion to her husband by not even diverting her attention to God.

 

However, said the deity, that the reaction would come late – say, within 7 days when he would be punished by the king. If Maruthi had been cent percent steadfast in her power of attention to her Husband as God, it would have become possible for the deity to hand over the punishment instantly on anyone who casts his eye on her with evil intentions. Such a punishment was given in the case of another woman, by name Vishaka, when the other son of the king Kanthaman wanted to possess her which he thought he could signal by taking out the garland wound on his head,  and throwing it on her shoulder. With this intention, when he raised his hand towards his head, it could not be brought down. Vishaka's steadfastness in her sense of morality, facilitated an instant deliverance of punishment to the one approached her with a wrong intention.

 

This narration is being told here to show 2 ideas. One is that the deity giving a 'punishment' or 'not giving a punishment' is not the deity's making, nor is it its intention. The punishment to the one who causes suffering is related to the already existing inner nature of the one who suffered. A seemingly innocent one may be getting a raw treatment from another. But the 'another' may not be getting any punishment immediately or within a palpable time frame. The reason is as much traced to the moral and spiritual uprightness of the supposedly innocent one. He must be having a karmic burden that warrants a suffering and hence however he may be innocent in a given situation, the perpetrator of the crime could not be punished immediately. 

 

What we must note here is that God has no role in having caused the suffering to the innocent or in having let off the criminal. It is all about a realignment of the plus and minus of all the players involved with God as the witness. The Vishaka episode shows that the more one is upright, no one can afford to cause harm to them. The rebuke would be instant and heavy too as if one who hits the mountain would get badly hurt while nothing would happen to the mountain. In this context I want the readers to relate the gory scenes and the hardships witnessed in the pralaya in Kedarnath.  Any experience comes in proportion to what we already possess as told in the case of Maruthi and Vishaka. 

 

The 'wrath' of the Dhari Devi can also be understood from this narration, in that the more powerful the deity is, any violation done to it would invite instant backlash. This deity has expressed itself as a Akasha vani in the past. That must have alerted the people on the kind of supreme manifestation in Dhari Devi. Those who disturb Her would stand disturbed.

 

The second idea is about a woman treating her husband as God! A woman who is devoted to her husband in the nature of Sthree dharma told in scriptures is supposed to attain higher realms that even her husband cannot attain. What is implied here is the 'attitude' that such a woman has towards her husband which is in the nature of attitude or devotion towards God. Here the husband is not a God, but by treating him as God such a woman finds it possible to show selflessness, compassion, care, servitude, and such other qualities that make one saatwic.

 

One easy example is the way such a woman forgets even her hunger until her husband has finished eating. Only after he eats, she would take whatever is left over. Imagine a man sitting in his puja room and doing the Puja. This woman would have kept everything ready for his Puja besides taking care of cooking and children at the same time. The man would be shouting at her at times – in the middle of the Puja - why this thing is not here or that thing is not proper. You can see how his concentration is distracted. Even during the long course of the Puja he may even be feeling the pinch of hunger and hurrying up to finish the Puja to take up his food. But in all these, the woman would be very much concerned about how his needs are taken care of, to the extent of not thinking about her burden of work or hunger or anything about herself. This is the attitude needed to show towards God. What a man could not exhibit in his devotion to God, a woman can show in real time experience by treating her husband as though he is a God.  It is because this attitude comes easy and works out easily, devotees like Aazhwars imagined themselves as women and treated God in Nayaka- Nayaki bhava.

 

Finally, it is the attitude or thought that determines how well we grow in our path of Realisation. It is by Thought, the Brahman replicated Itself in the beginning of Creation which Upanishads say, 'It Thought May I become Many, and It became Many'. If some day the scientists identify something as the initial force that caused Creation to happen, it would be this Thought. Down the levels of Creation, this Thought continues to exist in us as our thought. It is by thought and through thought that we think of God whose identity became manifest through Thought. The journey from thought to Thought is enshrined in our existence within the Karmic map. When this map is dismantled, this journey comes to an end or it is vice versa. The legends connected with Badrinath and Kedarnath signify such an end which in other words is known as Mukthi or Moksha.  The final journey of the Self thus takes place in India only. India belongs only to Hinduism!

(Concluded)

Pralaya in Kedarnath – some musings (Part -4) (Affinity with deities)

Previous articles:-

Part -1  On the loss of Samadhi of Adi Shankara

Part -2 Energy network of Kedarnath temple

Part -3 Do deities get angry?

 

The deity has a close affinity to the place where it stands as a self-manifest one (Swayambu) or where it is consecrated by mantra, yantra or tantra. The people who worship the deity get a close affinity to the deity in such a way that they share a mutual give and take relationship with the deity – something like what Krishna tells in Bhagavad Gita (3-11 - devān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ/ parasparaṃ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha// "Cherish the Devas with this, and may those Devas cherish you: thus cherishing one another, ye shall gain the highest good.").

This affinity is coming for too long in the past that the affinity continues to exist for those who continue to worship that deity, and it exists for some more time even in the case of those who have stopped worshipping the deity, until the mutual give and take relationship is completely weakened. Here the reference is to those who have converted from the Hindu fold to Mleccha religions.

In this context I want to draw the attention of readers to one Mr Joe D Cruz, hailing from the fisherman community of Tirunelvely district of Tamilnadu. His present religious identity is Roman Catholic but his intrinsic identity is Paravan or Parathavan. Prathavas were one of the communities that appear frequently in olden Tamil Sangam texts. Not less than 5 such texts make a mention of them. The Arittapatti inscriptions near Madurai also make a mention of a Parathava King at whose instance the inscription (and donation to Jains) was made. The time period was 3^rd century B.C. This is being told here to show the evidence for the existence of Parathavas from such an antiquity.  The issue that I am going to narrate here pertains to these Parathavas. It is something unique and necessary to understand the mutual affinity between Gods and human beings. Those who can understand Tamil may click this link and listen to what he says.

http://rsschennai.blogspot.in/2013/06/excellent-speech-on-our-history-and.html

I am giving here the facts from his speech relevant to this article.

The Parathavas were not just fishermen, but were engaged in pearl-diving off the Tuticorin coast (this place was known as Korkai during the times of Pandyan kings). Pearl diving is a very old occupation of these Parathavas which made them rich. It was their leading occupation during the times of Pandyan kings. The second in line to the Pandyan throne was always stationed at Korkai (known as Tuticorin now from "Tuttu kudi" which means "scattered settlement because people stayed there only during the pearl diving months) as we can note from Silappadhikaram that the king who ascended the Pandyan throne after the death of Nedum cheziyan (who ordered death for Kovalan), came from Korkai. The pearl diving Parathavas had a good hold on the Pandyan kings and enjoyed many benefits as they were primarily responsible for the multiplication of the Pandyan wealth (from pearls).

This important occupation was hazardous and the one whom they depended on for their protection in this occupation was Goddess Muttharamman! Mutthu in Tamil means pearl and the Goddess who protected them in pearl diving and helped them in amassing wealth was Muttharamman. Even now we can see many Muttharamman temples close to the coast in Nagarcoil, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamilnadu.

This deity is primarily their deity, consecrated by them and worshiped by them at all times in the past.  In course of time though other people also started worshiping her, the Parathavas retained their primary right over this deity. One such right was that only Parathavas must lift Her up from Her base and mount Her on the carrier during the annual procession. Things came to such a pass that most of the Parathavars have been converted into Christianity. On one occasion, recalls Joe D Cruz, there were no Hindu Parathavas in the vicinity of the Muttharamman temple. So others in the town decided to carry Her and mount Her on the processional vehicle. To their dismay they found that the deity could not be lifted at all and stood rock hard. This made them look out for a Parathava even if he was a converted Christian. One Anthony Picchai, a habitual drunkard agreed to try his hand, as no other Parathava was ready to do it due to the preaching that they have to shun 'other religions' and not believe in the Hindu deities as they are mere idols of stone!

When Anothony Picchai lifted it, the idol came along as though it was waiting to be lifted by a Parathava. It was a wonder that though he was professing Christian faith, his identity  as a Parathava meant something. It was just enough that a person coming in the lineage of Parathavas must touch the deity so that the deity makes Herself ready to do what he wishes! This man wanted to lift Her, and She made Herself pliable. What an affinity is this!! How did this happen?

This man was ex-communicated by other converted Parathavas, but the episode demonstrated that age-long affinity is not easy to erase. It also demonstrated that Hindu deities are NOT just idols or stones. They have some life or energy in them which Science has not yet known / or may never know. We call this as Atman or Adhyatmika present in the idol. This Atman in the deity which had been in mutual connect with the Atman of scores of Parathavas for more than 2000 years seems to recognise the Atman in the Parathava, Anthony Picchai even though he is presently not in mutual connection with Her. The Mutual link is weakened over time as She is no longer being nurtured by the Parathavas. There may come a time when that link will completely fade away. It seems that such a time is almost nearing because, the reason for which the Parathavas have left her, could not be achieved. It can be said that it is almost gone now.

Why did they leave her? Why did they break an age old bond between the Parathavas and Muttharamman? The reason was to retain their rights to pearl diving. Their history shows that they converted into Christianity under an agreement  to get arms from the Portugese to keep off the Mohammedans from usurping their rights in pearl diving. They made a promise to the Portugese on Muttharamman that they would start worshipping their God if they were given the arms they required to fight the Mohammedans. They got the arms and kept up the promise to convert to Christianity, but forgot the promises made to Muttharamman for thousands of years by their ancestors. The result is seen in these 400 years since conversion. What they thought as their right and livelihood is no longer there. Their wealth, livelihood and status have all decreased so much that they are facing the threat of losing even the fishes if Sethu Samudram Project is going to be implemented. These are the people who are fighting for stalling the Kudam kulam Nuclear plant as they fear that their land would turn into a graveyard. How a steady deterioration have come up after they broke their bond with Muttharamman!

But they have managed to survive with fishing occupation where we find some old habits still continuing. They have age old practices of invoking Hindu Gods to safeguard them while venturing into the sea. Certain types of fishes are too huge and even five times larger than their fishing vessels. If they come near them, they used to put their hand on the head of the fish and make a vow to Kumari amman, that they would not harm it and in reciprocation the fish also would not harm them. There is mythological story among the Parathavas by linking the giant fish to Skanda and a vow on the mother of Skanda that would protect them from any harm from the giant fishes.

Similarly during their fishing trips, they used to break a coconut to Lord Muruga / Skanda  when they cross Manappad and to Kumari Attha (Kumari amman) when they cross the tip of Cape Comorin. Why should they do that unless it is a tested and trusted way of ensuring their safety for ages into antiquity? No Christian God came to their help.

The interesting connection to Skanda in this part of Bharat is that it is here Skanda came to kill the demon Surapadman (asura / a native of Southern hemisphere). Surapadman's abode was Lanka where he imprisoned Jayantha, the son of Indra. Skanda rescued him and killed Surapadma. The seas engulfed the region of Surapadma, named Mahendra puri in Lanka after he was killed. But then the sea water receded after washing off Mahendrapuri. This is perhaps the first ever sea level rise experienced in the Bay of Bengal region after the end of Ice age. Or it could even be a tsunami that was triggered off Sundaland which had many regions above the sea level at that time.

The light blue region around India and Srilanka were once above the sea level. "A" points to the location of Tiruchendur. The region of Surapadman is said to be in Lanka as per Kanda Purana and it was inundated after he was killed but the land regained its original shape. This part off the Indian shore / sea  needs to be explored as this forms a link with Sangam age settlements and the story of Skaanda and Meenakshi.

The Tamil texts do speak of  Meenakshi – Sundareswara and their son Ugra Kumara in whose times the first sangam assembly was held (around  12,000 years BP). Tiruchendur was the place where Skanda rested after killing Surapadma.

An interesting topographical information is that Kedarnath, Kalimath and Madurai Meenakshi temple and Tiruchendur lie close to within one degree of the same longitude.

Kedarnath  & kalimath– 79.4 degrees E

Tiruchendur  - 78.116 degrees E

Madurai – 78.119 degrees E

If we connect these places, it looks as follows.

 

 

The line just goes a little to the east of Tiruchendur but between Srilanka and Tiruchendur which was a landed area 10,000 years ago. That is, the original Tiruchendur could have been far into the place which is under the sea now.

If the Kedarnath – Kalimath represents an Energy field, it exists and extends to Tiruchendur as well.

The very shape of the land where Tiruchendur Murugan temple is situated is a triangle. In the picture below, one can see the temple located in the protruding part of the land. 

 

Just south of it is where Manapad lies.

We can see that Manapad also lies in a triangular part of the land. It is here the Parathavas break a coconut as an offering to Lord Muruga, whom they call as "Macchan" meaning brother in law. According to kanda purana, after killing Surapadma, Muruga married Devyani who was the daughter of Indra and sister of Jayantha for whose sake Muruga fought with Surapadma. The Parathava tradition is that Devyani belonged to their clan!! The lullabies that parathava women sign even today refer to this idea that Muruga married Parathava girl! The lullaby also refers to the 2^nd wife of Muruga, namely Valli.  The story has a manifestation on land too. In Manappad there is a cave called "Valli's cave" which was supposed to enhance a seeker's spiritual energy. A similar cave is said to exist in Tiruchendur also. A common feature is that both these places are triangular in shape.

When the Portugese came, they were ship wrecked near Cape Comorin, but washed ashore in Manapad. Once there, they started their missionary works by talking about the miraculous power of the mast with which they managed to reach the shore, whereas the fact was that this region had saved the Parathavas too in their fishing trips as they are still accustomed to remember Lord Muruga while crossing this place.

Francis Xavier who was deputed to teach them Christian ways stayed in "Valli's cave" which has existed from pre-Christian` era and had claimed that he got miraculous powers by doing penance in that cave.  Today an engraving stands at the entrance of the cave that says "This cave, the dwelling of a Saivite Sanyasi  has been sanctified by the prayers and penance of St Francis Xavier". What a mis-appropriation of a native symbol that was home for a Saivite sanyasi!  The so-called healing properties or miracles in this region reported by Christian Missionaries actually come from time immemorial. This region is also triangular in shape like Tiruchendur. Take a look at the following pictures.

 

 

Manappad also lies in the same longitude as Tiruchendur.

Tiruchendur – 78. 116 degrees E

Manappad – 78.38 degrees E.

As per Tamil texts, Meenakshi of Madurai married Shiva (Sunaderas) at Mount Kailash. The marriage was held in a grand fashion, such that the Himalayas were pushed down by the weight of the people who attended the marriage. It was to balance the land mass, Shiva requested sage Agasthya to go to the South. Triyugi Narayan temple near Kedarnath holds the same story. But a real time marriage is mentioned in Tamil texts which resulted in the birth of Kumara known as Ugra Kumara Pandya. The olden Pandyans had a titular name "Gowriya" meaning "coming in the lineage of Gowri / parvathy. After Meenakshi's marriage to Shiva, Shiva ruled the Pandyan country as Sundaresa. It was somewhere  in the Indian Ocean. Sundaresa as Lord Shiva along with Agasthya gave a written script for Tamil. To encourage patronisation of that script He initiated the Tamil sangam Assembly. Kumara or Skanda was the Tamil icon and it was during his reign, Tamil was developed further through Sangam.

A Parathava myth also says that they came from the race of Varuna (sea) and sprang along with Skanda. After a deluge they landed here in their boats. There is a place called "Dhonipuram" – Dhoni means boat – where they were supposed to have landed. This myth fits with the references in sangam texts on Pandyans losing their land to seas and coming to the present day mainland of South India. All this is being told to show how the antiquity and tradition of the Parathavas was connected with Hindu Gods such as Skanda and Kumari amman. Their affinity with these Gods goes to such a remote past.

Even the powerful Pandyan kings did not disturb their livelihood, but gave protection to them. But no one could help them – definitely not Christian Gods – after they made a break-away from the powerful guardian, namely Muttharamman  who protected their livelihood and life. One may say that they converted under duress. Many people converted under duress into Christianity and Islam, but the other side of the story is that their age-old protectors, namely the Gods of their families, of their clans and lands are left out. The mutual nourishment of each other as told by Lord Krishna in Bhagawad Gita – which is very much the way the Nature behaves like in water cycle, is disrupted by those who started professing religion which is not of this land of Bharath.

The same can be understood in the case of deities. Nourish the deity and the deity would nurture you back. What you give to the deity is recycled back to you.  The identification of the deity or consecration of the deity or the self manifestation of the deity had happened only in Hindu religion.  No other deity of the Mleccha religions can be an equal to these deities as they were not identified with Naturally existing forces - which are nothing but the manifestation of Brahman, the Omni Present Force which is the substratum and also the Atman of all that is within Itself. This makes it possible for the Atman inside the deity, say in this case Muttharamman and the Atman inside the Parathava to be in bond due to a long time courtship-like- connection.

When the deity is strengthened, it gives you back when you are in need. When the deity is not strengthened, it is not capable of giving you. This is what I meant in the concluding line of the last article – when the deity flourishes, those who depend on It would also flourish; if the deity is disturbed, those who depend on It would perish. A fitting example was seen in the disturbance caused to Dhari Devi which led to instant calamity for all those in that region.  Elders termed it as "wrath" because in that way people would remember better and be punctual in their duties to the deity.

The incident with Parathavas is not an isolated case. The affinity with deities had existed for all the people coming under what we call now as "caste". In many temples, people of certain caste are said to have some rights. From historical accounts, it is seen that the so-called most degraded caste named "Palli" had a right in the Parthasarathy temple of Triplicane in Chennai. The Kulasekara Alwar festival was celebrated by Pallis as he was the King of their caste. This alwar was a king in Chera lands but the celebration was in Triplicane in Chennai by Pallis who were once his subjects. This is historical information hinting at a migration of some Pallis from Chera Nadu to Chennai.  The problem of accommodating the immigrants is an universal one and the low status of Pallis could be attributed to this factor. This is a different thread where we can show some other factors of how people of different castes had their own temples which were not open to others. The so-called caste clashes, untouchability and bar on temple entry had their genesis in different reasons in the past and certainly not on Hinduism as a religion. I will write them at an appropriate context later.

In the present context let me quote another instance from "Castes and tribes of Southern India"  by E. Thurston (1909 edition) . The Pallis  held the first right to the most important camphor offering ritual in Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore.  There was a legal case to retain this right with Pallis in the Madras High court in the late 19^th century which they eventually won. The Pallis even claimed that the temple was their own temple. This could come from some affinity that Pallis had with the deity. When we search for that affinity we find that the Pallis had built this temple at Mylapore . This had happened after the original Kapaleeswara temple on the shores was destroyed by the Portugese where the Santhome church stands now.

Yet another information from Thurston says that the Pallis of Santhome region claimed that they converted into Christianity along with their king Kandappa Raja who ruled Mylapore. This shows that some upheaval had happened at that time when the original Kapaleeswara temple was trampled and some Pallis had stoutly stood by the deity of Kapaleeswara and managed to build a temple for Him inland, while the ruling King had subdued under Portugese pressure and converted into Christianity  along with Pallis owing allegiance to him.

The Pallis devoted to Shiva had built the Kapaleeswaar temple. If their descendants had continued with that devotion, the affinity with Lord Shiva and themselves could have certainly made them powerful people,  that they were once.  The Pallis had exhibited their affinity to Lord Shiva in Kancheepuram too. One of the Gopurams of Ekambaranathar temple in Kancheepuram is known as "Palli Gopuram" as it was built by the Pallis. Thurston says that if any repair works were required, it were done by Pallis only. This kind of commitment and attachment to the deity increases the bond between the deity and the respective communities. Suppose someone else wants to repair it, it would not materialise. Unless a Palli comes and touches a stone atleast symbolically, the work would not progress. But in due course if the Pallis stop worshiping this deity, this affinity would wear off.

Here a question arises, what use with the affinity?

Did God save the devotees who went to have his dharshan in Kedarnath?

Didn't they have the affinity with God?

Why then they were not saved?

Why then many of them had to struggle for days in remote locations?

These are the questions uppermost in the minds of most people. The same question can be raised in the case of Parathavas too, as to why Muttharamman did not save them in the first instance itself when they were struggling to thwart Mohammedan advances?

The answer can be best explained from the happenings in the pralaya at Kedarnath.

People were left stranded at many places in the region of the pralaya. They were stranded at different places – some of which were separated by deep gorges or gushing floods that it was difficult to cross. Though help arrived to their places, they could not be rescued immediately because of the gorges and floods.

Like the situation seen in this picture, people are at one place and the personnel who have come to rescue them are at the other side. Though the distance between them is small, the obstacle to be crossed is serious. The agony and exasperation continues for the stranded people till the personnel make arrangements to help them cross the obstacle. The only solace for these people is that help is at a visible length. They can be assured of rescue sometime soon.

The same holds good for devotees too. However devoted they may be, if there are obstacles to be overcome by way of prarabhdha karma, the period of agony and waiting will be there.  Even though God is willing to help them immediately, the obstacle comes in the way of their rescue. The consolation is that God (rescue personnel in the above example) however is making arrangements to rescue them. Some of them may have been rescued on the first day itself and some others may have to wait for 10 days or more for the rescue. In this scenario, the sincerity and speed of the rescue personnel cannot be doubted. God's intention too cannot be doubted. But if we are trapped in remote places – due to the intensity of our past karma- it does take time to get rescued. For those whose time of Mukthi had come, they had joined Him and those whose Prarabhdha karma required them to suffer, had suffered.

The Vedanthic idea of God is that God is not an outsider, nor He is one who delivers judgement or punishment. Our actions determine what we get, He is only facilitator for everything to happen. Like air or Vayu which is regarded as the Prathyaksha Brahman, He is inside us as breath and outside us also. We breathe the air into our lungs and there it becomes the vital air that gives us life. Like that He is everywhere around us, we have to deeply inhale Him and keep Him within us. There inside He starts enlivening us. This realisation is Faith, this is how Faith works!

Once we realise that He is giving life to us from within, we understand that everything is being controlled by Him. Even though this is a perennial fact, the moment we realise that He is controlling us from within us, we have nothing to do. He gets us moving, He gets us into life and he gets us into death. Death will be understood as a process by which He takes us with Him and therefore no question of loss of faith or loss of power of Lord when a calamity of the kind that happened in Kedarnath strikes.

There is one more issue I want to share with readers. It is about – how the manifestation of so many Gods in so many forms and names had come to stay in our land. With that I will complete this short series in the next article.

(continued)