The Birth of Luv and Kush

All of us have read in Ramayana about the Sita giving birth to twins after she was banished by Ram. She gave birth to Luv and Kush in the hermitage of Rishi Valmiki.

Here is a different version of the same myth.

After Sita reached the hermitage of Rishi Valmiki, she soon gave birth to a child, who was named Luv. Once when Sita had to go to the forest to collect wood, she left Luv in the custody of Rishi Valmiki. Soon Rishi got busy with his work and Luv crawled away to the forest after Sita.

When Rishi Valmiki realized that the child was nowhere, he got worried and thought that Luv must have wandered away and become prey to some animal. He didn’t have the heart to tell about his negligence to Sita and have her heartbroken. He took kusha grass (the auspicious grass that is used for rituals) and created another Luv!

Soon Sita came back with Luv and was surprised to find another child who was a duplicate of Luv. Since the child was created from the kusha grass, he was named Kush.

There are two theories to this. One is that in those days or the creators of this version did not understand the concept of twin births and so created this version. As mentioned earlier, twin births have always been a matter of intrigue to our early thinkers. So this could be seen as resolving an early problem or an intrigue and trying to seek an explanation that Science has now given to us.

Another more interesting theory is that if this version is true, then is this an early indication of cloning? Did our rishis have such knowledge? Given that we have to give some space for fictional aspect of the myth (rationalists would say, that even if it was a clone, the clone would still be younger than the original Luv!), then can this be negated? Or was it an idea that the author of this version had as wishful thinking that our present day scientists seem to be indulging in?

Or finally, is it that our skeptic and ever-doubting mind is seeing too much into a simple and an insignificant aspect of the epic?  

Myths are the creations of non-literate, unscientific, oral cultures. They were either seeking answers or giving explanations or setting standards, both moral and ethical. No aspect of any myth is insignificant as all myths carry symbols.

So are we missing something?

Hanuman Jayanti

Today is Chaitra Purnima, which is also celebrated as the birth date of Lord Hanuman. Though it is well known that Hanuman was the son of Anjani and Kesari, the chain of events leading to his birth is very interesting.

It started when Lord Shiva was very impressed with the celestial dance performed by Mohini, the female form of Lord Vishnu. So enchanted was he by the performance of the enchantress, that he offered her a gift. Mohini asked for the essence of what Lord Shiva stood for. Shiva then gave Mohini the seed of his tapas in the form of a blazing seed. Mohini took the seed and gave it to the sapta-rishis, the seven sages asking them to guard it well as this would take the form of a mighty being who would one day be a great support to Vishnu during one of his avatars on earth. The being would be legendary in more ways than one.

Later at an auspicious hour, the sapta-rishis gave the seed to the wind god, Vayu and advised him to give it to her who was worthy of Shiva’s seed. Vayu was secretly in love with Anjani, the wife of the monkey Kesari. Anjani was also a devout worshipper of Shiva. Once when Anjani was sitting atop a hill worshipping Lord Shiva, Vayu dropped the seed through her ears into her womb.

Before we proceed further, it is important to know Anjani a little better. Anjani was no simple monkey. Anjani was actually an apsara who was an attendant to Goddess Parvati in Mount Kailash. Once during a thunderstorm, she rushed into the arms of Shiva in sheer fear. This upset Parvati so much that she banished Anjani form Kailash and ordered her to live in the jungles with the monkeys! When Shiva realized Paravti’s folly, he blessed Anjani that she would bear a child who would be an embodiment of Lord Shiva.

The seed dropped in Anjani’s womb was soon born as the monkey child, Hanuman who was an embodiment of Shiva both in strength and wisdom. As destined, he went on to be a big support to Lord Ram, an avatar of Lord Vishnu and needless to say that he was legendary in more ways than one.

Lord Hanuman is thus known as Anajani Suta and Kesari Nandan after his parents Anajani and Kesari. He also known by all the names of the wind-god, i.e. Vayu, Pavan and Marut, viz. Vayu-putra, Pavan-putra and Maruti, respectively. Hanuman is also referred to as Raudreya after the Rudra form of Lord Shiva!

The Birth of Lord Ram

It is said that the Gods were fed up of Ravan and the demons who had made the life of Rishis and the gods miserable. It was time for Vishnu to take an avatar and Ram’s birth was imminent.

King Dasharath of Ayodhya was married to Queen Kaushalya, but they could not produce an heir. Dasharath married Kaikeyi, but the same and same with his third wife Sumitra too. After all the efforts, when the King did not have an heir, he was suggested to perform a Yagna and seek divine intervention.

During the Yagna, the Lord appeared from the flames and offered a bowl of divine potion for the Queens to consume. The King distributed the same equally amongst his three Queens. Some versions say, that both Kaushalya and Kaikeyi loved the youngest Sumitra so much that they decided to give some portion from their share to her and that is why Sumitra had two sons as compared to the other queens.

King Dasharath was soon blessed with four sons, Rama to Kaushalya, Bharat to Kaikeyi and the twins, Lakshaman and Shatrughna to Sumitra. The epic goes on to mention that Ram was born on the ninth day of Chaitra month (which is celebrated as Ramnavmi), Bharat early next day, i.e. on the tenth day of Chaitra and Lakshaman and Shatrughan were born during the latter part of the tenth day, thus establishing the seniority of Ram. Lakshaman and Shatrughan though mentioned as twins, the epic does not delve in the details of the same, w.r.t. them being identical twins or not.

Some version go on to complicate the distribution of the divine portion as half to Kaushalya, out of the balance half, Sumitra gets a significant portion, and as an afterthought, Dasharath again distributed the remaining between Kaikeyi and Sumitra. This amounted to Sumitra consuming the potion twice. During the times of mythology, twins was a known fact, except that there was no explanation for the same. Thus such instances were created by the authors to explain and justify the concept of twins. This was necessary, as mythologies world across is replete with examples of trouble after the birth of twins, due to a proper understanding of the concept! (This is a subject by itself which we will discuss sometime in future).

The birth of mythological heroes has always been ‘different’ which is a precursor to the events that follow. Be it divine intervention or through ‘yagnas’ (sacrifices) especially in Indian mythology, the birth of a hero has always been different. The same can be seen in other mythologies too.

Guardians of Gandhiji

A recent book on Mahatma Gandhi by Joseph Lelyeld has created a furor in India. To correct myself, it is a review of the said book which has created a furor as the book has not been read as yet. The error of understanding is on the part of the reviewer or the author, is yet to be ascertained, but the ‘guardians’ of Gandhi have taken upon themselves to ban the book already.  India has a rich tradition of banning books without reading them – a rare distinction in a democracy!

A person of Gandhi’s eminence who was a champion of democracy and a person who had opened his own life to scrutiny by writing his brutally frank autobiography – does he need modern day guardians to protect him or his legacy? Who has given our politicians the right to ban a book which they have not even seen, forget read? Is this being fair to Gandhi who would have called for a debate, rather than take such a derogatory step? Are the people who are turning into his guardians, even eligible to lay a claim on his name or is regional association a good enough cause for ‘owning’ Gandhi?

Having taken it on them to guard Gandhi, I want to ask, does someone like Gandhi, need mortal aid? Is his legacy so flippant, that he needs some botched hands to guard him? Can his contribution not overshadow a few grey shades of humanity in him? Has there been any human being who is not a combination of both good and not-so-good qualities? Can anybody identify absolute goodness in any individual? And if yes, who defines such goodness?

There are many references in mythology, where we have treated our heroes in a similar manner. Bhishma from the epic Mahabharata is known for his great sacrifice as well as his contribution to the Kuru family, but we don’t forget to accuse him of his silence during Draupadi’s disrobing. Ram in Ramayana, known for his selflessness, bravery and his ability to mobilize support, is also remembered for his single act of banning Sita in his later life. Same with Krishna, the orator of Gita, a treatise of righteous path and Dharma, is nonetheless referred to as a ‘politician’ for certain acts or decisions taken by him during the war of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata.

Despite the singular acts of omission or commission by such mythological heroes, their contributions have not overshadowed their personalities. I would think that the same is applicable to a personality like Gandhi. The overall contributions have been assimilated, but errors (a debatable term) are being gloated upon. When we look at today’s politicians promoting their children, we accuse them of nepotism. When we read about Gandhi not championing the cause of his son, we call him a bad-father (and we also call him the father of our nation!). If this is not our inherent double-standards, then what is this?

Finally, I am a staunch critic of banning books, no matter what it says. Besides giving the book an avoidable publicity, banning also demeans the personality or the religion it allegedly defames. Democracy demands debate and advocates choice. As a responsible citizen, I must be given a choice to decide what I read and what I don’t.

Illiterates should not take this decision for me.

April Fool’s Day

What is it about April fool’s day, also known as All Fools Day? What is it that makes one and all make someone a fool and still get away with it?

The origins are traced to the change of calendars. Way back in 1564, King Charles IX changed the beginning of the year from April 1, to January 1. The change did not go down well with many and they stubbornly decided to continue with the old date. Many who accepted the change would make fun of people who did not accept the new date, by sticking a picture of fish behind them, and referring them to as ‘April fish’ which till date is how the French refer to April Fool’s day. Soon this became a custom of fooling people on this day.

There are also mythological references of this day. According to Roman Mythology, Pluto the god of Dead, once kidnapped Proserpina and lived with her in the underworld. Proserpina called out to her mother, Ceres, the goddess of grains and harvest, but all Ceres could hear was the echo of her daughter’s voice. Ceres looked for her daughter in vain and this fruitless search for her daughter is considered to be the mythological precursor of the fool’s errands which is so popular on this day.

According to Christian mythology, it was on this day that Jesus was sent from Pilate to Herod and back during his trial. This unnecessary back and forth sending was also the beginning of the famous fool’s errand. Some scholars also refer the act of Noah releasing the first dove to check if the flood waters had receded as being fooled by nature as the waters were still around.

In the medieval times the image of the Fool as the symbolic patron saint of the day was very prominent. The Fool was distinct in his multicoloured dress with a horned hat and a sceptre and a bauble in hand. To this day, we celebrate the day in all good earnest and with no malice. The best thing about this day is that nobody takes offense when you fool someone, which leads to a great amount of fun and joy, even if it is at the expense of someone else. This also has to do with the advent of the Spring season when people are in great spirits and thus celebrations are all centred around pranks, teasing and fun. This element of fun has been brought about very well by Shakespeare in his comedy, The Midsummer’s Night Dream, which celebrates the fun and frolic associated with the Spring. In India we start the season with the advent of the festival of colours, Holi, which too is all about fun and frolic.

So whatever, be the origin, historic or mythical, on this day, go ahead and have fun. Tease, fool and have fun, but make it harmless and don’t hurt sensibilities. A day when fooling is in order!