Lord Vishwakarma is the celestial architect, master craftsman and the Indian counterpart of the Roman god Vulcan (refer to the article on Volcanoes, dt. 31/08/10). Vishwakarma is credited with having made the heavens and the earth and many a divine creation are credited to him.
Vishwakarma is considered to be ‘devshilpi’, the architect of the gods. In Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were given Khandavprastha, Lord Krishna invited Vishwakarma and asked him to build a capital for the Pandavas. As part of the capital which was named, Indraprashta, Vishwakarma also designed a palace for the Pandavas. The palace made by Vishwakarma was a palace of illusions, where the floors looked like still waters and the waters gave an impression of floors. It was a true architectural marvel which went on to provoke more jealousy in the heart of Duryodhana .
Vishwakarma was also responsible for creating and making chariots and weapons for the gods. One of his most important contributions was the vajra – the thunderbolt, created out of sage Dadhichi’s bones (this myth, some other day) for Indra. Another myth says, that when Shiva got married to Parvati, Shiva had requested Vishwakarma to make a palace of gold for them. Ravana (of Ramayana fame) was asked to preside over the rituals of the griha-pravesh, the house-warming ceremony. After the ceremony, when Shiva asked Ravana to quote his dakshina, Ravana asked for the palace itself! Shiva obliged and it is said that it was this palace that was later seen in Lanka, the capital of Ravana’s kingdom.
Lord Vishwakarma is generally worshipped on September 17. All factory workers, architects, artisans, etc. who make use of implements and machines, etc. worship Lord Vishwakarma on this day. The festival is more common in the eastern region of India, especially, West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura and Bihar.
Vishwakarma is considered to be ‘devshilpi’, the architect of the gods. In Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were given Khandavprastha, Lord Krishna invited Vishwakarma and asked him to build a capital for the Pandavas. As part of the capital which was named, Indraprashta, Vishwakarma also designed a palace for the Pandavas. The palace made by Vishwakarma was a palace of illusions, where the floors looked like still waters and the waters gave an impression of floors. It was a true architectural marvel which went on to provoke more jealousy in the heart of Duryodhana .
Vishwakarma was also responsible for creating and making chariots and weapons for the gods. One of his most important contributions was the vajra – the thunderbolt, created out of sage Dadhichi’s bones (this myth, some other day) for Indra. Another myth says, that when Shiva got married to Parvati, Shiva had requested Vishwakarma to make a palace of gold for them. Ravana (of Ramayana fame) was asked to preside over the rituals of the griha-pravesh, the house-warming ceremony. After the ceremony, when Shiva asked Ravana to quote his dakshina, Ravana asked for the palace itself! Shiva obliged and it is said that it was this palace that was later seen in Lanka, the capital of Ravana’s kingdom.
Lord Vishwakarma is generally worshipped on September 17. All factory workers, architects, artisans, etc. who make use of implements and machines, etc. worship Lord Vishwakarma on this day. The festival is more common in the eastern region of India, especially, West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura and Bihar.
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