Naag Panchami is celebrated on the 5th day of Shravan (as per the Hindu calendar; Shravan this year began on Tuesday, Aug 10th).
Long before the Aryans arrived in India, there lived a snake-worshipping Naga community, which in due course got assimilated in the Aryan community. The Indo-Aryan community in due course of time incorporated a number of their snake deities in what became the mainstream Hinduism.
There are a number of myths associated with this day. Prominent among them is that of a farmer who accidentally killed a few young serpents while tilling his land. The serpent avenged the death by biting all the members of the farmer’s family, except the daughter who was a devotee of the snakes. Thanks to her devotion, all the members were brought back to life and since then, on the day of Naag Panchami, farmers don’t till their land.
Another myth in south celebrates the day as a bond between a brother and sister. As per the myth, a sister had asked her brother to get her Ketaki (Screwpine) flowers for the worship of the Naga. Unfortunately, the brother gets bitten by a snake when he goes to get the flower. The sister then propitiates the king of snakes and revives her brother. Since then, on this day, a brother visits the sister on this day and she in return rubs milk or ghee on the back, spine and the naval of her brother.
Finally, one more myth! During the samudra manthan (the churning of the ocean), Lord Shiva drank the poison (halahala) to save the earth. However, a few drops fell on the earth which was taken in by the snakes, and they still carry it with them! People propitiate the snakes as a thanksgiving for taking the poison and not allowing it to spread on earth. As per the texts, samudra manthan is supposed to have taken place in the month of Shravan.
There are many such myths, which are regional and all seem to have the same underlying principle and that is, snakes were worshipped by people more out of fear, especially so when the community was primarily agrarian.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday the 13th!!
All of us dread Friday 13th, many unknowingly!
Ever wondered as to what is about Friday 13th that makes one dread the very day? Well it has to do with both History as well as mythology (but, yes!).
As per Christian mythology, Friday has always been a bad day – Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden on Friday, the great flood began on Friday, the temple of Solomon was destroyed on Friday and of course, Jesus was crucified on Friday.
Historically, Friday during the pagan Rome was the day for executions. For the pre-Christian religions, Friday was the Sabbath – the day of worship, and thus when the Church came into existence, this got to be known as the Witches’ Sabbath! There are many other references of Friday being a bad day, but I will skip the long list.
Now for 13! According to the Norse (Scandinavian) mythology, God Odin was hosting a dinner at his home for 11 of his friends. Everyone was having fun, when Loki, the god of evil, came in uninvited, taking the total to 13! At his arrival and after a few fights, the god Balder tried to kick Loki out of the party and it ended up with the death of Balder. From then onwards the Norse believe that 13 at a dinner party will bring ill-luck.
Friday was known to be a bad day and besides the above there are many more references of 13 being an unlucky number, and when both come together, it is a sure case of an evil congregation! Thus the fear of Friday the 13th!
Trivia – Did you know that the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively!
Ever wondered as to what is about Friday 13th that makes one dread the very day? Well it has to do with both History as well as mythology (but, yes!).
As per Christian mythology, Friday has always been a bad day – Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden on Friday, the great flood began on Friday, the temple of Solomon was destroyed on Friday and of course, Jesus was crucified on Friday.
Historically, Friday during the pagan Rome was the day for executions. For the pre-Christian religions, Friday was the Sabbath – the day of worship, and thus when the Church came into existence, this got to be known as the Witches’ Sabbath! There are many other references of Friday being a bad day, but I will skip the long list.
Now for 13! According to the Norse (Scandinavian) mythology, God Odin was hosting a dinner at his home for 11 of his friends. Everyone was having fun, when Loki, the god of evil, came in uninvited, taking the total to 13! At his arrival and after a few fights, the god Balder tried to kick Loki out of the party and it ended up with the death of Balder. From then onwards the Norse believe that 13 at a dinner party will bring ill-luck.
Friday was known to be a bad day and besides the above there are many more references of 13 being an unlucky number, and when both come together, it is a sure case of an evil congregation! Thus the fear of Friday the 13th!
Trivia – Did you know that the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Headaches!
Have you wondered why do we say – I am having a splitting headache?
According to Greek mythology, once Zeus heard that Metis would give birth to a child who would become the king of gods and would rival Zeus in wisdom and courage. To avoid competition, Zeus induced the pregnant Metis to his couch and tricked her to become small enough to swallow her up! This way, he had eliminated competition and had also the wisdom within him.
While walking down a lake one evening, Zeus had an unbearable headache. When he started howling in pain, Prometheus (another god who is supposed to have given mankind the art of fire) came to Zeus’s aid. With the help of his axe, he gave a splitting blow to Zeus’s head to release the goddess Athena, since then the goddess of wisdom and courage!
The imagery of splitting headache has stuck on since then!
While at it, the phrase chronic headache also has Greek origins. “Chronic” comes from the Greek god named, Chronos meaning “time”. When we talk about chronic headache we mean a re-occurring headache!
So next time you have a splitting or a chronic headache, feel good about its mythological origins!!
Before we wind up on headaches, the Chinese mythology refers to what is known as “Headache sutra” which is a Buddhist mantra which was recited by a Bodhisattva to chastise the Sun!
I am sure we don’t need such sutra’s, as our environment is enough to give us both splitting and chronic headaches!
According to Greek mythology, once Zeus heard that Metis would give birth to a child who would become the king of gods and would rival Zeus in wisdom and courage. To avoid competition, Zeus induced the pregnant Metis to his couch and tricked her to become small enough to swallow her up! This way, he had eliminated competition and had also the wisdom within him.
While walking down a lake one evening, Zeus had an unbearable headache. When he started howling in pain, Prometheus (another god who is supposed to have given mankind the art of fire) came to Zeus’s aid. With the help of his axe, he gave a splitting blow to Zeus’s head to release the goddess Athena, since then the goddess of wisdom and courage!
The imagery of splitting headache has stuck on since then!
While at it, the phrase chronic headache also has Greek origins. “Chronic” comes from the Greek god named, Chronos meaning “time”. When we talk about chronic headache we mean a re-occurring headache!
So next time you have a splitting or a chronic headache, feel good about its mythological origins!!
Before we wind up on headaches, the Chinese mythology refers to what is known as “Headache sutra” which is a Buddhist mantra which was recited by a Bodhisattva to chastise the Sun!
I am sure we don’t need such sutra’s, as our environment is enough to give us both splitting and chronic headaches!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Why should one have Chavanprash?
Once upon a time there was a sage by the name of Chavana. He was practicing penance near a pool in the dried river of Saraswati. A king passed by with his wives (yes wives!) and a daughter, Sukanya. Chavana was practising penance for a very long time, and ant-hills had formed all over him, with only two eyes gleaming out of the ant-hills. Curiosity got the better of Sukanya and she pierced them with a twig. Chavana’s penance was disturbed and he got angry. In his anger he cursed all of the king’s army to fall sick.
When the king learnt everything, he tried to appease the sage, but Chavana would hear nothing, unless Sukanya was married to him. The king had to relent and thus Sukanya was married to the old Chavana.
Ashwins, the twin gods saw the odd couple and advised Sukanya to leave the old Chavana and choose one of the two. But Sukanya would not leave her husband. So they suggested that they would make her old husband into young, but she would then have to select one out of the three.
So the three of them took a dip in the pool and out came all of them looking alike. Sukanya looked all three in their eyes and chose the young Chavana as her rightful husband.
It is after this myth of sage Chavana that the ayurvedic concoction Chavanprash, gets its name! So if you want to rejuvenate yourself and keep fit and young, don’t forget to have your daily dose of Chavanprash!
When the king learnt everything, he tried to appease the sage, but Chavana would hear nothing, unless Sukanya was married to him. The king had to relent and thus Sukanya was married to the old Chavana.
Ashwins, the twin gods saw the odd couple and advised Sukanya to leave the old Chavana and choose one of the two. But Sukanya would not leave her husband. So they suggested that they would make her old husband into young, but she would then have to select one out of the three.
So the three of them took a dip in the pool and out came all of them looking alike. Sukanya looked all three in their eyes and chose the young Chavana as her rightful husband.
It is after this myth of sage Chavana that the ayurvedic concoction Chavanprash, gets its name! So if you want to rejuvenate yourself and keep fit and young, don’t forget to have your daily dose of Chavanprash!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Symbolism in Mythology – Part 2
Staying with the subject of symbolism in Mythology, let us take another myth from the Sumerian Mythology and analyse the symbolism in the same.
Enki (a water god) pregnates Ninhursag (an earth goddess), who gives birth to Ninmu after nine days. Later when Enki sees Ninmu walking in the marshes, he pregnates her (his daughter), from the union of which was born, Nin-Kurra. Enki then pregnates Nin-kurra (his granddaughter) who then gives birth to Uttu. Before Enki could pregnate Uttu, Uttu asks him to get some vegetables out of the desert, which Enki does. Enki then pregnates Uttu (his great granddaughter).
We stop here to see the inherent symbolism, in this utterly scandalous myth. The repeated incest in the following degrees indicates irrigation of the same land, which was formerly a desert. Enki was also a water god and thus the significance of the union of water and earth. The nine days can be symbolic of 9 months or the sprouting of grains after nine days. The sexual symbolism which seems to be overdone is nothing but constant or repeated irrigation efforts of a desert / arid land, which gets cultivated and turns fertile.
Let us take the myth further. At one stage Ninhursaag removes Enki’s seed from Uttu’s womb and paces it in her own womb. This is symbolic of the process of replanting the sprouts from one spot of land to another. From this plantation comes out 8 different types of vegetables which are eaten up by Enki, himself, and he is diseased in eight parts of his body. Ninhursag then disappears which leads to drought everywhere. A fox them brings back Ninhursag, places Enki on its reproductive organ giving birth to eight deities who heal the eight diseased parts of Enki.
The second portion of the myth is replete with symbolism. Enki’s falling ill can be seen as over-irrigation leading to a condition of drought and overdoing of the sexual activity leading to sickness all over. The diseased parts and then the curable vegetation is symbolic of the role of medicines (or medicinal plants) as the function of death and birth – of sick cells and the birth of new cells.
The above symbolism is quite unique to Sumerian myths. By representing the forms of nature as anthropomorphic (having human like feelings) gods and telling stories about their mutual relations in terms of human psychology, the Sumerians were able to understand and accept the workings of the natural world in a manner that would have been impossible on a purely logical and descriptive basis. The devious ways of water as it is coaxed thru the irrigation channels and the manner in which it sinks into the thirsty earth, enables even us to understand a good deal about the concept of Enki as a water-god and god of wisdom and about his relation to fertility.
A scandalous myth seen thru the prism of symbolism, throws up an array of beautiful thought process of the times. Don’t you agree?
Enki (a water god) pregnates Ninhursag (an earth goddess), who gives birth to Ninmu after nine days. Later when Enki sees Ninmu walking in the marshes, he pregnates her (his daughter), from the union of which was born, Nin-Kurra. Enki then pregnates Nin-kurra (his granddaughter) who then gives birth to Uttu. Before Enki could pregnate Uttu, Uttu asks him to get some vegetables out of the desert, which Enki does. Enki then pregnates Uttu (his great granddaughter).
We stop here to see the inherent symbolism, in this utterly scandalous myth. The repeated incest in the following degrees indicates irrigation of the same land, which was formerly a desert. Enki was also a water god and thus the significance of the union of water and earth. The nine days can be symbolic of 9 months or the sprouting of grains after nine days. The sexual symbolism which seems to be overdone is nothing but constant or repeated irrigation efforts of a desert / arid land, which gets cultivated and turns fertile.
Let us take the myth further. At one stage Ninhursaag removes Enki’s seed from Uttu’s womb and paces it in her own womb. This is symbolic of the process of replanting the sprouts from one spot of land to another. From this plantation comes out 8 different types of vegetables which are eaten up by Enki, himself, and he is diseased in eight parts of his body. Ninhursag then disappears which leads to drought everywhere. A fox them brings back Ninhursag, places Enki on its reproductive organ giving birth to eight deities who heal the eight diseased parts of Enki.
The second portion of the myth is replete with symbolism. Enki’s falling ill can be seen as over-irrigation leading to a condition of drought and overdoing of the sexual activity leading to sickness all over. The diseased parts and then the curable vegetation is symbolic of the role of medicines (or medicinal plants) as the function of death and birth – of sick cells and the birth of new cells.
The above symbolism is quite unique to Sumerian myths. By representing the forms of nature as anthropomorphic (having human like feelings) gods and telling stories about their mutual relations in terms of human psychology, the Sumerians were able to understand and accept the workings of the natural world in a manner that would have been impossible on a purely logical and descriptive basis. The devious ways of water as it is coaxed thru the irrigation channels and the manner in which it sinks into the thirsty earth, enables even us to understand a good deal about the concept of Enki as a water-god and god of wisdom and about his relation to fertility.
A scandalous myth seen thru the prism of symbolism, throws up an array of beautiful thought process of the times. Don’t you agree?
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