In Indian Mythology, all gods and goddesses have been depicted with a carrier or a ‘vahana’, which serves as a mount or a vehicle for the deity. Vah in Sanskrit means to carry or to transport.
Deities have always been depicted to have an animal or a bird as a vahana. This could be a real animal, or a mythological and sometimes even a combination of both.
In iconography, the vahana is both the symbol and the emblem of the deity that it carries. Nandi the bull, vahana of Shiva, represents strength and virility. Parvani the peacock, vahana of Skanda, represents splendour and majesty. The swan, mount of Saraswati, represents grace and beauty.
As the assistant of a deity, the vahana serves the function of doubling the deity’s powers. Durga the warrior destroys the demon Mahishasura with the aid of her mount, Manashthala the lion. Lakshmi, goddess of fortune, dispenses both material and spiritual riches from her mount, Uluka the owl. Ganesh, remover of obstacles, cannot go everywhere despite his elephant-like strength. However, his vahana, Mushika the mouse, can slide into the smallest crevices and overcome the greatest obstacles. He also carries Ganesh's benedictions.
The vahana symbolizes the evil forces over which the deity dominates. Mounted on Parvani, Skanda reins in the peacock's vanity. Seated on Mushika, Ganesh crushes useless thoughts, which multiply like rats in the dark. Shani, protector of property, has a raven in which he represses thieving tendencies. Under Shani's influence, the raven can make even malevolent events bring hope.
There are a number of smaller myths about each animal and its relation to the respective god and how they become their vahana.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Oppenheimer quotes Gita
In reference to the Trinity test of Atomic Bomb in New Mexico, the father of atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, famously recalled the Gita: “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky that would be like the splendour of the mighty one. . . . Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Was the scientist quoting the verses from Gita to justify the destructive invention, after all Mahabharata is replete with the usage of such destructive weapons?
It remains a matter of debate whether Oppenheimer misunderstood the overall significance of Gita. However, he did misquote a particular verse as a half-truth under an impression that the Gita is a treatise on war and peace only. War as envisaged by Gita is not incompatible with a life of peace and righteousness if waged for its preservation (as dharmayuddha).
In my opinion, Oppenheimer made a quotation out of context. In fact, the importance of Gita stems from its prescribed value of human life and fighting for its maintenance and resurrection if need be. Human beings then, perhaps, not only knew how to destroy but also realised the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The rules contained in Mahabharata generally governed issues ranging from the general prohibition of the use of weapons that caused unnecessary pain, to overcoming the enemy, to the treatment of the enemy’s property and persons in the conquered territory. If the modern laws of war were to require that when war breaks out, fighting must be conducted on the basis of ‘like with like’ or by using like weapons, it would not only minimise the impact of war but would also deter aggression and make war more humane.
Coming to the point of the use of nuclear weapons (called divyastra e.g. Brahmastra and Pashupatiastra) during the times of Mahabharata, before Arjuna acquired the divyastras from the respective gods, he was strictly advised by them to use it as a “threat weapon” rather than a weapon to be actually used in the war. There are extensive dialogues between various characters in the war of Mahabharata on not using the divyastras which were the ultimate weapons that any warrior could then possess.
At the end of the epic war, when Aswathama, son of Drona, frustrated by defeat in war uses the weapon, he is cursed by Krishna, and the same was diffused to result in minimal devastation.
Thus one can safely say that the quoting of Gita for the said event was definitely out of place and needless to say, a very poor justification.
Was the scientist quoting the verses from Gita to justify the destructive invention, after all Mahabharata is replete with the usage of such destructive weapons?
It remains a matter of debate whether Oppenheimer misunderstood the overall significance of Gita. However, he did misquote a particular verse as a half-truth under an impression that the Gita is a treatise on war and peace only. War as envisaged by Gita is not incompatible with a life of peace and righteousness if waged for its preservation (as dharmayuddha).
In my opinion, Oppenheimer made a quotation out of context. In fact, the importance of Gita stems from its prescribed value of human life and fighting for its maintenance and resurrection if need be. Human beings then, perhaps, not only knew how to destroy but also realised the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The rules contained in Mahabharata generally governed issues ranging from the general prohibition of the use of weapons that caused unnecessary pain, to overcoming the enemy, to the treatment of the enemy’s property and persons in the conquered territory. If the modern laws of war were to require that when war breaks out, fighting must be conducted on the basis of ‘like with like’ or by using like weapons, it would not only minimise the impact of war but would also deter aggression and make war more humane.
Coming to the point of the use of nuclear weapons (called divyastra e.g. Brahmastra and Pashupatiastra) during the times of Mahabharata, before Arjuna acquired the divyastras from the respective gods, he was strictly advised by them to use it as a “threat weapon” rather than a weapon to be actually used in the war. There are extensive dialogues between various characters in the war of Mahabharata on not using the divyastras which were the ultimate weapons that any warrior could then possess.
At the end of the epic war, when Aswathama, son of Drona, frustrated by defeat in war uses the weapon, he is cursed by Krishna, and the same was diffused to result in minimal devastation.
Thus one can safely say that the quoting of Gita for the said event was definitely out of place and needless to say, a very poor justification.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Influence of Mythology in our daily lives.
How many of us have given this a thought?
Every day we use something from mythology without realising it.
Let’s start it from the days -
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday -- the day of Tyr, day of Woden, day of Thor, day of Freya, day of Saturn – Gods from Nordic mythology.
Your morning cereal, a grain product is named after Ceres, the goddess of grain. The month of January is named after Janus because he had two faces and could look both forward and backward, just like the named month, can look at the year gone by and the New Year!
The planets are all named after Greek gods. Lots of common popular names today also come from characters of Greek myths e.g. Helen, Alexander, Irene, Phyllis, Melissa, Sibyl, etc.
A number of common words and phrases have mythological references, like
• Odyssey – a long quest, from the story of Odysseus
• Tantalize – from Tantalus in Greek mythology who had food hanging
before him which he could never reach
• Panic – derived from Greek god Pan, who was thought to cause panic
• Syringe – from the syrinx, Pan's hollow reeds that functioned as
his musical instrument
• Nectar – from Greek nektaros which was the food of the gods
• Echo – from the Greek nymph Echo was turned into an echo
• Phobia – from Phobus, the god of fear
• Adonis – a handsome man, after the Greek Adonis
• Flowers like the narcissus, hyacinth, and crocus are named after
the boys Narcissus, Hyacinthus and Crocus of Greek myth who were
turned into these flowers by the gods
• Asia – from Asia the wife of the Titan Prometheus
• Europe – the continent, from Europa, a lover of Zeus
Besides the above, we have phrases like, “open up a Pandora’s box”, "Achilles heel", "cleaning the Augean stables", “a herculean task”, etc. all from Mythology.
Chemistry is replete with references from Greek mythology, elements like Mercury, Titanium, Niobium, Plutonium, etc.
A number of trademarks and brands have Greek influence, Nike, Atlas, Hercules, Amazon, Mercury, etc.
Without realizing, the influence of mythology is all around.
Every day we use something from mythology without realising it.
Let’s start it from the days -
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday -- the day of Tyr, day of Woden, day of Thor, day of Freya, day of Saturn – Gods from Nordic mythology.
Your morning cereal, a grain product is named after Ceres, the goddess of grain. The month of January is named after Janus because he had two faces and could look both forward and backward, just like the named month, can look at the year gone by and the New Year!
The planets are all named after Greek gods. Lots of common popular names today also come from characters of Greek myths e.g. Helen, Alexander, Irene, Phyllis, Melissa, Sibyl, etc.
A number of common words and phrases have mythological references, like
• Odyssey – a long quest, from the story of Odysseus
• Tantalize – from Tantalus in Greek mythology who had food hanging
before him which he could never reach
• Panic – derived from Greek god Pan, who was thought to cause panic
• Syringe – from the syrinx, Pan's hollow reeds that functioned as
his musical instrument
• Nectar – from Greek nektaros which was the food of the gods
• Echo – from the Greek nymph Echo was turned into an echo
• Phobia – from Phobus, the god of fear
• Adonis – a handsome man, after the Greek Adonis
• Flowers like the narcissus, hyacinth, and crocus are named after
the boys Narcissus, Hyacinthus and Crocus of Greek myth who were
turned into these flowers by the gods
• Asia – from Asia the wife of the Titan Prometheus
• Europe – the continent, from Europa, a lover of Zeus
Besides the above, we have phrases like, “open up a Pandora’s box”, "Achilles heel", "cleaning the Augean stables", “a herculean task”, etc. all from Mythology.
Chemistry is replete with references from Greek mythology, elements like Mercury, Titanium, Niobium, Plutonium, etc.
A number of trademarks and brands have Greek influence, Nike, Atlas, Hercules, Amazon, Mercury, etc.
Without realizing, the influence of mythology is all around.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Mark Twain..
Mark Twain once said - "Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for."
If Twain was alive today, he might have said - "Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may take up blogging."
If Twain was alive today, he might have said - "Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may take up blogging."
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Agatha Christie got me in trouble!
My wife is a great fan of Agatha Christie and recently she came across a quote of hers which says – “The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes”.
My wife wants me to be a successful writer sometime and she thinks blogging can take me there. So guess what happened???
My wife wants me to be a successful writer sometime and she thinks blogging can take me there. So guess what happened???
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