#Thiruvadhirai, #ArudraDarshanam, a famous #festival in #TamilNadu and #Kerala

 

 I am sharing an excerpt from my book 'Kerala the Divine Destination' on this auspicious occasion. 

The legend behind the festival is very interesting. Lord Shiva was the only one amongst all the Devas who was not invited by Dakshan, the father of Goddess Sati, for the Maha Yagna which he was performing. However, though the Lord warned her about the consequences of being an uninvited guest albeit at her father’s house, Sati went for the Yagna. She was ignored and forced to hear her husband insulted by her father, upon which she immolated herself in the sacrificial fire. She was reborn as Goddess Parvathy, the daughter of Himavan and Myenadevi, and did penance for a long time for securing Lord Shiva as her husband. Meanwhile, an Asura named Tarakasur, acquired the boon of not meeting death at the hands of anyone except the combined power of Shiva and Shakti. The Lord was in meditation and nobody had the courage to disturb Him, but the Devas unable to bear the torture of Tarakasur instructed Kamdev to lure Lord Shiva with his cupid’s arrow to Goddess Parvathy who was doing penance and serving the Lord. Shiva was furious at being disturbed and opened his third eye to reduce Kamdev to ashes. Being pleased with her long penance, and recognizing his beloved Sati in this new Avatar, He accepted Parvathy as his consort. Rati, the wife of Kamdev wept at Lord Shiva’s feet, and being persuaded by Goddess Parvathy gave the solution for the resurrection of Kamdev as Lord Krishna’s son. An important part of the festival is the 'Ettangadi chuduka' , during which, eight different tubers are roasted in the fire. It is believed that Kamadeva's body is represented by the tubers and by this ritual, his body is resurrected.Thiruvadira being the day that Lord Shiva accepted Parvathi as his consort, the festival is more woman centric as women from the traditional Malayali families fast for the well being of their husbands and marital bliss, whereas unmarried women undertake the fast to get a good husband.

The day starts early in the morning with a visit and prayers to the nearest Shiva temple before sunrise in traditional attire.The women then prepare the Kanzhi – puzhukku for the meal. The Kanzhi is made of broken wheat. The Thiruvadira puzhukku is a delicious concoction of chembu (colocasia), chenai (yam), koorkai (chinese potato), Madhurakizhangu (Sweet potato) , all tubers, with payaru (red cow beans) and kaaya (raw banana).They are cooked with salt and freshly ground coconut. Another speciality of the Thiruvadira meal is the koova payasam, a sweet dish made of arrow root powder, jaggery and coconut milk. Even the women who are fasting can have these items as they do not contain rice and fasting during Thiruvadhira means abstaining from consumption of rice for the Malayali women. In Palakkad, the same pattern of early morning visit to the Shiva temple is followed. However their meal consists of Kali and Kootu.









The women gather for the song and dance routine, so typical of the festival, on the day prior to Thiruvadhira on the Makeeram star, which lasts through the night. A big brass lamp (nelavilakku) is placed in the middle and the women form a circle around it. They start dancing with swaying movements and clapping of hands to the rhythm of the song that is first sung by the leader and repeated by the group members. They start with the invocation of Ganapathy and Goddess Saraswathy. The Thiruvathira pattu (songs) are simple yet full of meaning. Their lyrics are about Parvathi’s love and longing for Shiva, her penance and the description Shiva’s power and divinity. The dance of Kaikottikali has been performed during Thiruvadira for ages and the hand movements and dance gestures are common to the region.The dress for the dancers is very traditional. It consists of two pieces, a cream coloured dhoti (mundu) and an upper garment (neriyathu) of the same colour. Generally there is a gold coloured border for both the garments.

At midnight there is a ceremony called pathira poochoodal, when the women will adorn the dasapushpam (10 important medicinal flowers) on their hair with utmost devotion. The pathirapoochoodal ceremony for a newly wedded bride is even more special and is called poothiruvadhira. The dance then continues until the wee hours of dawn. In the midst of all the ritual there is a unique ritual of consuming 108 betel leaves with scented arecanuts by the women. These leaves are first offered to Lord Shiva and then taken and chewed.


#Thiruvadhira #Festival #Kerala #TamilNadu #Chidambaram #Kaikottikali #LordShiva

Stree-The Women of the Ramayana #book

Would you be interested in knowing about Kaikeyi, the gorgeous queen who turned a prince into God? What was the actual reason behind her actions? 

Did you know that a celestial nymph was cursed to turn into a monkey and went on to become the mother of Hanuman, the most worshipped devotee of Lord Ram?  

How did Lakshman manage to evade sleep for 14 years? 

Have you heard the story of Shanta, Lord Ram's elder sister?

A new book on the anvil,co-authored by Jai Shukla and Lalitha Balasubramanian, published by Om Books International, will excite readers with stories about these and other

lesser known women characters in the magnificent epic Ramayana, revered by many in the world. 

This book is available on 

https://amzn.in/d/bfZxZ00 

#ramayana #women

Holika Dahan & Holi - the Festival of colours

 The colourful festival of Holi falls on 6^th and 7^th March this year. And it signifies the victory of good over evil, as do most of our Hindu festivals, advent of spring, love and joy. The celebrations will begin on 6^th  evening on Purnima (full Moon day), with everyone gathering around the bonfire for Holika Dahan, also called Chhoti Holi. 

The celebration will extend on 7th  morning with people sprinkling colour on each other in absolute merriment, without any distinction between caste, creed or gender. This is called Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Phagwan.

Holi festival finds mention is ancient scriptures as well as the seventh century play Ratnavali and draws on two legends from Hindu Mythology. The bonfire is lit during Chhota Holi to symbolise the vanquishing of the demoness Holika by Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu wanted to become immortal and all powerful. He performed severe penance to invoke Lord Brahma. It is said that Lord Brahma granted him five boons in lieu of the boon of immortality which he wanted, that he would not be killed by man or animal, during day or night, inside the house or outside the house, on the ground or in the air, by any weapon. These boons made him almost invincible and he became a tyrant. His hatred for Lord Vishnu was due to Vishnu being the cause of his brother’s death. He even went to the extent of banning the worship of Lord Vishnu in his realm. But as fate would have it, his son Prahlad was a sincere devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried to make Prahlad give up his devotion to Vishnu.  Angered by his failure, he wanted to kill his own son and tried various means to do so, but each time, Lord Vishnu saved his devotee. Hiranyakashipu then called on his sister, Holika to help him. Holika had a boon in the form of a shawl that would protect her from being burnt in a fire.  According to the plan, Holika would sit covered with her magical shawl on a pyre of wood and the child, Prahlad, on her lap. The pyre would be lit and Prahlad would be burnt to death while Holika would be saved because of her divine shawl.  But when the pyre was lit, Lord Vishnu caused a sharp breeze to remove the shawl from Holika’s shoulders and cover Prahlad instead. Prahlad was thus left untouched while the demonness, Holika, was burnt to death. Even today, it is a common practise in some places to offer cereals to the bonfire and sacred hymns are chanted to destroy the evil in our minds. The ash from the bonfire is collected and smeared on the forehead to ward off evil forces.

 The morning of the next day is celebrated as Rangwali Holi. This celebration with smearing of colours and splashing coloured water on each other draws its origin apparently from the tales of Krishna and Radha. It is believed that the dark skinned Krishna was worried that the fair Radha and other girls like her would not like him and mentioned this to his mother Yashoda. Yashoda maiyya at once asked him to colour Radha’s face with whatever colour he wanted to, and thus began the tradition of Holi and the splash of colours. Holi celebrations in Braj, Mathura, Gokul, Nandgaon and Vrindavan, places where Krishna spent his childhood, are wonderful to experience. They start a week earlier itself and last for some more days after Holi.  Another place where Holi is played with abandon is Barsana, the birthplace of Radha Rani. Here, there is a difference in the way the festival is celebrated. The men of Nandgaon drench the women of Barsana with colours and want to enter the temple of Radhikaji, but the women resist by beating them with sticks, all played with fun and in the right spirit. This is called Latmaar Holi. It is said that Krishna too faced the same fate in the hands of Radha and the other Gopis. 

Colours are the essence of holi celebrations. Traditionally natural colours were sourced from plants, herbs, leaves and flowers like yellow from turmeric, green from mehendi and other leaves, violet and blue from indigo and berries, red from flowers like hibiscus and flame of the forest and brown from tea leaves. But in recent times, these have given way to chemical induced synthetic colours which sometimes harm the skin and eyes of people. It is high time we go back to our natural colours and play a safe and wonderful Holi.

The story of Navaratri for children

  

We are once again in the midst of our favorite festival Navaratri. But children, do you know the story behind this festival and why we celebrate it with so much fervor?

Once upon a time there was a demon or Asura called Mahishasur.  He had the face of a buffalo with two pointed and sharp horns and a human body.  Mahishasur prayed to Lord Brahma for many, many years, doing strict penance.

Lord Brahma appeared before him and said, “Hey Mahishasur! I am pleased with your devotion and prayers. I will grant you any boon that you want.”

The Asura was pleased. He said, “I want to be immortal. Grant me the boon that I will never die.”

Brahma shook his head. “I am sorry, Mahishasur. I can’t grant you immortality. It is against the law of nature. Ask for something else.”

Mahishasur thought for a moment. Then he said, “My Lord, grant me a boon that I cannot be killed by any God, Man or animal.”

“Thathastu!” exclaimed Brahma with a smile. The Asura, in his arrogance, had not considered a woman as being strong enough to confront him. 

Mahishasur became proud of his prowess and his invincibility. He started harassing the Sages, Maharishis, and conquered the whole world. He then moved on to heaven and the Devas had to concede defeat because of Lord Brahma’s boon.

The Devas rushed to Lord Brahma for a solution. Brahma said that only a woman would be able to kill Mahishasur. It was then that Lord Brahma, Mahavishnu and Mahadev created a beautiful, divine woman Shakthi called Durga Devi, with ten arms and a lion as a mount. Each of the Devas presented her with their weapon. She had a weapon in each of her ten arms including Mahadev’s Trishul and Mahavishnu’s Chakra, Brahma’s kamandala and Indra’s thunderbolt and presented a magnificent sight sitting majestically on her mount, the lion.

 Attracted by her magnificent beauty, Mahishasur expressed a wish to marry her. Durgadevi was angered by this and started a war with the buffalo faced Asura. The fierce battle lasted for nine days and nine nights. On the tenth day, Durga Mata vanquished Mahishasur  by piercing him with her trident.  Durga Mata is also called Mahishasuramardini and Simhavahini.

Thus the festival of Navaratri, meaning nine nights, celebrates the victory of Shri Durga Mata over the wicked Mahishasur. 

To know about how different States celebrate Navaratri in different ways read https://lalithabalasubramanian.blogspot.com/2019/09/5-states-in-india-celebrate-navaratri_14.html

Jai Mata Di

#Navaratri  #Story_for_children #DurgaMata #Mahishasur #Mahishasuramardini #Trident #Festival

ONAM-THE FAVOURITE FESTIVAL OF KERALA

 Happy ONAM! The magnificent festival of Onam celebrates the annual visit of Kerala's beloved King Mahabali Chakravarthy also lovingly called Maveli. Everywhere, we can find Onam Sadhyas being served on banana leaves in a traditional way and colourful pookalams decorating  the entrances of houses. No wonder then that it is the favorite festival of Keralites.

Here is an excerpt from my book Kerala the Divine Destination on this festival.

'Kerala is synonymous with its most important festival, Onam , which is celebrated in the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar, corresponding to the months of August-September. There is a festival atmosphere around the whole region, with each house having a pookalam, a floral rangoli adorning its portico. 

Come dawn and the mist is driven away by the first rays of the sun revealing a kaleidoscope of colours in each pookalam. Simple yet stunning, it’s floral magnificence captures the spirit of the land, the joy and merriment associated with the festival of the season  The making of the pookalam starts on the auspicious day of hastham (attam). Every day more and more intricate designs are added for a period of ten   days culminating in a huge magnificent floral carpet on the final day of Thiru Onam. Preparations for the festival also start on this Attam day.

Houses are cleaned, pickles are prepared, and everyone is involved in the festivities. In villages, people prepare swings hung between the boughs of two big trees and decorate it with flowers allowing for the entire span of ten days to be spent in joy and playfulness by the kids of the houses. The joint family system, or the Tharawad as it is popularly known, still prevails in most parts of Kerala. On Utharadam, the day prior to Onam, the members and dependants of the tharawad present the produce of their farms consisting of vegetables, fruits coconuts and three varieties of plantains to the Head of the Tharawad, generally the eldest person in the family. This is known as onakazhcha. 

In return, he presents them with a sumptuous feast. Utharadam is followed by the most important day of the festival, the Thiru onam.  

Legend has it that the great King Mahabali visits his subjects once in a year. Mahabali belonged to the Asura clan but was an ardent worshiper of Lord Vishnu. His bravery and strength of character earned him the title of "Mahabali Chakravathy" or Mahabali - the King of Kings. It is said that there was no poverty, sorrow or disease in the reign of King Mahabali and everybody was happy and content. At the request of the Gods, who were worried about the king’s growing strength and popularity, Lord Vishnu assumed the Vamana avathar, that of a poor Brahmin, and approached King Mahabali for a gift of a piece of land. The King who was known for his generosity did not disappoint, and requested the Brahmin to take as much land as he wanted. The Brahmin however had a strange request. He wanted land that would cover his three steps. Startled, the king agreed.  The Guru of Asuras, Shukracharya, recognizing the divine presence of Lord Vishnu, tried to prevent the King but in vain and lost one of his eyes in the process.Vamana, the Brahmin, began to expand and eventually increased himself to the size of cosmic proportions. With his first step he covered the whole of earth and with the second he covered the whole of the skies. He then asked King Mahabali for place to keep his third foot. The King realised that he was no ordinary Brahmin and so with folded hands and bowed head asked him to place his last step on his head so that he could keep the promise. The Brahmin placed his foot on the head of the King, which pushed him to patala, the nether world. There the King requested the Brahmin to reveal his true identity. Lord Vishnu then appeared before the king extremely pleased with his devotee’s generosity and benevolence. He asked the King to ask for a boon. The king was so attached to his subjects that he requested the Gods to allow him to visit his people for one day in a year to ensure their well being. The people of Kerala wish to show their beloved king that they are as grand and prosperous now as they were during his rule.

Rituals on the auspicious day of Thiru Onam begin as early as 4am. People wake up very early. The finishing touches and the last circle of flowers are added to the pookalam. Then they make a conical figure of clay depicting Thrikkakara Appan, Lord Vishnu in his Vamana avathar and place it in a the pride of place in the midst of the floral carpet. They decorate Thrikkakara Appan with a paste of rice flour and water, and flowers. Everyone wears new clothes or the Onapudava which are presented to them in a ceremonial manner by the head of the family. They prepare neivedyam, an offering to the God and begin their prayers.

The religious rituals are then followed by the most exciting part of the onam celebrations, the Onasadhya, the grand feast organized by each and every household. 
Traditionally the onam sadhya is served on plantain leaves in a row on a mat laid on the floor. There is a fixed order of serving the sumptuous vegetarian dishes and a set place for each dish on the leaf.  First the payasam , the sweet dish, is served on the lower right corner. Kichadi, curry, kootu, kalan, avial, and olan are served from right to left on the upper portion of the banana leaf. Then follow the pickles. The pickles are generally made of mango or lime and are served on the extreme left.  Bananas are then served on the left upper corner. The Pappads and plantain wafers known as varathupperi are served next to the pickles. After everyone is seated, rice is served. It is followed by a spoon of ghee and then sambhar. Rasam is next. The main sweet course is then served the adapradhaman and palpayasam. The meal ends with curd and rice.  It is to be noted that the entire meal is usually eaten with hand and not with spoons. The people also make it a point to offer the entire meal to Lord Ganapathi as an offering and then proceed with their own meals.

After this fabulous mouth watering meal, the youngsters seek enjoyment in games. 

There are various forms of onakalikal like Kummattikali, kaikotikali, pulikali etc. Kali means game and onakalikal means games played during Onam. The kaikotikali is a popular rhythmic group dance performed by the womenfolk of Kerala around a gorgeous pookalam with a ghee villakku (lamp) placed in the centre. 

The elderly people retire to play indoor games like chess or dice. The young men however prefer to play outdoor games like the panthukali, a ball game, or thekayyankali, a combat game or kutukutu which is similar to the nationwide popular game of kabbaddi.

The Vallamkali or the Snake Boat Race is the most enchanting facet of the festival of Onam.  The race was popularized by the first prime minister of India, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was so enchanted that he instituted a trophy for the winning boat. The event is promoted as a major tourist attraction of the state of Kerala and draws a large number of domestic and international tourists. The race is very competitive and requires great skill and balance. Even a small mistake by one of the oarsman may cause imbalance and lead to the boat overturning. This race instills a great sense of unity and team spirit amongst the participants.

Another important feature of the Onam festival is the elephant procession held in Trissur. The elephants are decorated with ornate gold caparisons on their foreheads and project a magnificent sight.

Onam in Trikkakara, a place 10 km from Kochi (Cochin) on the Edapally- Pookattupadi road, said to be the capital of the mighty King Mahabali is celebrated with great pomp and vigour. A temple with a deity of 'Trikkakara Appan' or 'Vamanamurthy' is also located at this place. The Ona sadhya is itself an offering to the Lord here. 

Onam is a festival which mirrors the cultural ethos and the unity and secular nature of the inhabitants of Kerala. The grandeur of the celebrations and the underlying faith of the people during the festival of Onam, can be actually experienced, if one takes part in the gamut of cultural activities held to mark the festivities.'

#Onam  #Maveli #MahabaliChakravarthy #OnamSadhya #Onakazhcha #VallamKali #Pookalam #Vamanamurthy #TrikkakaraAppan

Holi the festival of colours

 The colourful festival of Holi falls on 17^th and 18^th March this year. And it signifies the victory of good over evil, as do most of our Hindu festivals, advent of spring, love and joy. The celebrations will begin on 17^th  evening on Purnima (full Moon day), with everyone gathering around the bonfire for Holika Dahan, also called Chhoti Holi. 

The celebration will extend on 18th  morning with people sprinkling colour on each other in absolute merriment, without any distinction between caste, creed or gender. This is called Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Phagwan.

Holi festival finds mention is ancient scriptures as well as the seventh century play Ratnavali and draws on two legends from Hindu Mythology. The bonfire is lit during Chhota Holi to symbolise the vanquishing of the demoness Holika by Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu wanted to become immortal and all powerful. He performed severe penance to invoke Lord Brahma. It is said that Lord Brahma granted him five boons in lieu of the boon of immortality which he wanted, that he would not be killed by man or animal, during day or night, inside the house or outside the house, on the ground or in the air, by any weapon. These boons made him almost invincible and he became a tyrant. His hatred for Lord Vishnu was due to Vishnu being the cause of his brother’s death. He even went to the extent of banning the worship of Lord Vishnu in his realm. But as fate would have it, his son Prahlad was a sincere devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried to make Prahlad give up his devotion to Vishnu.  Angered by his failure, he wanted to kill his own son and tried various means to do so, but each time, Lord Vishnu saved his devotee. Hiranyakashipu then called on his sister, Holika to help him. Holika had a boon in the form of a shawl that would protect her from being burnt in a fire.  According to the plan, Holika would sit covered with her magical shawl on a pyre of wood and the child, Prahlad, on her lap. The pyre would be lit and Prahlad would be burnt to death while Holika would be saved because of her divine shawl.  But when the pyre was lit, Lord Vishnu caused a sharp breeze to remove the shawl from Holika’s shoulders and cover Prahlad instead. Prahlad was thus left untouched while the demonness, Holika, was burnt to death. Even today, it is a common practise in some places to offer cereals to the bonfire and sacred hymns are chanted to destroy the evil in our minds. The ash from the bonfire is collected and smeared on the forehead to ward off evil forces.

 The morning of the next day is celebrated as Rangwali Holi. This celebration with smearing of colours and splashing coloured water on each other draws its origin apparently from the tales of Krishna and Radha. It is believed that the dark skinned Krishna was worried that the fair Radha and other girls like her would not like him and mentioned this to his mother Yashoda. Yashoda maiyya at once asked him to colour Radha’s face with whatever colour he wanted to, and thus began the tradition of Holi and the splash of colours. Holi celebrations in Braj, Mathura, Gokul, Nandgaon and Vrindavan, places where Krishna spent his childhood, are wonderful to experience. They start a week earlier itself and last for some more days after Holi.  Another place where Holi is played with abandon is Barsana, the birthplace of Radha Rani. Here, there is a difference in the way the festival is celebrated. The men of Nandgaon drench the women of Barsana with colours and want to enter the temple of Radhikaji, but the women resist by beating them with sticks, all played with fun and in the right spirit. This is called Latmaar Holi. It is said that Krishna too faced the same fate in the hands of Radha and the other Gopis. 

Colours are the essence of holi celebrations. Traditionally natural colours were sourced from plants, herbs, leaves and flowers like yellow from turmeric, green from mehendi and other leaves, violet and blue from indigo and berries, red from flowers like hibiscus and flame of the forest and brown from tea leaves. But in recent times, these have given way to chemical induced synthetic colours which sometimes harm the skin and eyes of people. It is high time we go back to our natural colours and play a safe and wonderful Holi.

Book Review of When Krishna was Cursed

 

I am a hardcore devotee of Sri Krishna and I pick up any book which is connected to the Lord. But honestly, it was the intriguing title which drew me to this book ‘When Krishna Was Cursed’ written by Rohan Vinayaa and published by Vishwakarma Publications. The evocative cover designed by the Book Baker’s design team was an added attraction. The author deftly meanders through the incident of Satrajit’s anger over the mysterious disappearance of his beloved younger brother and the invaluable Syamanthaka gem in the forest. The anger is directed at Sri Krishna, who had expressed a desire to use the gem for the benefit of the Yadava clan. Satrajit accuses Krishna of murder and theft. What follows is an interesting narrative of Krishna’s journey into the forest in an effort to clear his name.

The story is written in a gripping style, the language is simple and easy to understand and the author showcases his interest in Hindu Mythology.

My rating for this book is 5/5 and I would recommend it as an easy yet interesting read to everyone who has even a fleeting interest in Mythology.

The link to buy: https://www.amazon.in/When-Krishna-Cursed-Rohan-Vinayaa/dp/9390869536/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XBOYDQ9OOK9J&keywords=when+krishna+was+cursed&qid=1642509665&s=books&sprefix=When+Kri%2Cstripbooks%2C664&sr=1-1

#Krishna #The_Book_Bakers #curse #Mythology #When_Krishna_was_Cursed #Vishwakarma_Publications #BookReview #Rohan_Vinayaa,