Goddess Kali

What is it about Goddess Kali that makes it so grotesque and repulsive? What is in the depiction of the goddess that invokes a sense of fear and a sense of worry? Her complexion, her nakedness, her blood-lust and her uncivilised conduct is not only deplorable but equally embarrassing for all.

She is quite an antithesis to the very concept of Mother Goddess. Instead of dressing up in bridal finery like all the other goddesses, she shuns clothes. She doesn’t tie her hair like all the other goddesses, a sign of total disdain for homely norms. She does not partake of pleasing food as others, but prefers blood! Unlike all the other goddesses, she is not a meek shadow of her husband; rather she actually puts her foot on him, a concept that is blasphemous to all and sundry. She is a goddess who lacks grace, benevolence and femininity. So what is it about her that could have been misunderstood?

In myths lie messages and the hidden symbolism. If you view Kali through the metaphysical lens, then there is nothing that can upset anybody. She is depicted to shock one and all as she is making a radical statement by her appearance and her conduct.

Kali’s nakedness represents the raw form of nature, that which cannot be bound by the norms of man-defined culture. Hair has always been a metaphor of sexuality. In the olden days, a woman’s hair-do communicated her status. Unmarried girls were supposed to plait their hair; a married woman was supposed to oil and have a centre parting and knot her hair. She was not supposed to be seen with untied hair outside her bedroom. A widow was supposed to be sans-hair. Kali’s disheveled and untied hair indicated that she was not bound by the sexual norms laid down by the people. She represented the untamed, wild aspect of life.

Kali has been the epitome of cultural reversal. She does everything that a ‘cultured’ woman would not dare do. Her lack of dressing, her mad murderous dance and her anti-culture stand, forces one and all to see things that we detest, fear or suppress in our lives. She forces us to see the raw and naked form of things that exist outside the purview of human moral or ethical standards. She is a reminder of the fragility of culture. Her nakedness represents the collapse of modesty and all that culture so strongly tries to uphold. She represents what can happen when a society does not respect the feminine forces of the world. She shows that the same docile woman who is the fountainhead of creation can lead to destruction in the goriest form, if and when provoked.

Her stepping on her husband is a challenge to the institution of patriarchal values. It’s a reminder to the ‘upholders of the moral conscience of the society’, not to rid the woman of her rights and dues and the respect that she so deserves. A woman who is expected to worship her husband can step on him to protect her own self-respect. Many modern writers see Kali as the goddess of feminism.

Our early thinkers who have given docile goddesses, have ensured that the modern-day self-made gods of the world do not get carried away and are kept in check by giving us the likes of Goddess Kali too!

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali to all my readers!!!

utkarsh

Chhoti Diwali or Narak Chaturdashi

The day prior to the actual Diwali is known as Chhoti Diwali (Small Diwali) or sometimes Narak Chaturdashi.

The myth concerning this day is related to a fierce demon king by the name of Narakasur, who was the king of Pragjyotishpur, a place south of the present day Nepal. He had defeated Lord Indra in a fierce battle and taken away the earrings of Goddess Aditi. Goddess Aditi happened to be related to Lord Krishna’s wife, Satyabhama. Besides the earrings, Narakasur had also imprisoned sixteen thousand girls who were the daughters of different gods and saints.

When Satyabhama came to know about it, she was furious and sought the help of her husband, Lord Krishna. She asked for the empowerment, so that she could vanquish the demon herself. Lord Krishna was aware that Narakasur was cursed to die in the hands of only a woman, so this empowerment was necessary. Krishna, empowered her, and also decided to act as her charioteer in the battle against Narakasur.

On the day prior to Narak Chaturdashi, with the help of Lord Krishna, Satyabhama manages to not only kill Narakasur but also recovered the precious earrings. She also releases the sixteen thousand girls. However, to save the girls the embarrassment of being in the confines of a demon, Lord Krishna decided to marry all of them, and grant them legitimacy.

As a mark of victory, Krishna smeared his forehead with the blood of Narakasur and when he arrived the next day, his wives massaged him with perfumed oils and gave him a royal bath.

Since then it has become a custom in parts of Maharashtra, to get up early on the day of Narak Chaturdashi and have an oil-bath before sunrise. Many apply kumkum on their foreheads, as a ritual before the bath, imitating the smearing of the blood of Narakasur by Lord Krishna.

The myth further states that Bhoodevi (Mother earth) who was the mother of Narakasur, declared this day as a day of celebrations and not mourning. Thus this day is celebrated as Chhoti Diwali!

Dhanteras

‘Dhan’ means wealth and ‘teras’ means the thirteenth day of the month. Dhanteras is a day better known for the worship of Goddess Lakshami, the goddess of Wealth. Why on this day and what is the significance of this day?

According to the myth of samudra manthan – the churning of the ocean, during the churning many things came out of the belly of the ocean. Among them, one of them was Goddess Lakshami. Since she came out of the ocean on this day, this day is considered to be the birth-anniversary of the goddess. Thus started the practice of worshipping the goddess on this day.

Dhanteras is also known as Dhanwantari Trayodashi. According to the same episode of samudra manthan, amongst other things, this day also saw the appearance of Lord Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods with Ayur Veda, a treatise on medicine for mankind. Dhanwantari Trayodashi is also a celebration of the gift of Ayur Veda to mankind given by Lord Dhanvantari.

Finally, another myth tells us why we light a lamp the whole night on the day of Dhanteras. According to the myth, it was destined that the son of King Hima would die of a snake bite in sleep, on the fourth day of his wedding. His wife who was very intelligent decided to defy destiny. On the fateful day, she collected all her wealth and jewellery and kept it at the entrance of her bedroom. She then lit up the whole room with numerous lamps and started singing songs and telling stories, non-stop to her husband.

In the middle of the night, Lord Yama came in the form of a snake to take away the life of King Hima’s son. But the son was not able to fall asleep due to the non-stop story telling of his wife. Also, the numerous lamps, blinded Yama and he could not enter the bedroom. Yama in the form of the snake then decided to wait, and went and sat on the heap of wealth and jewellery. The night passed and the hour passed off, thus not giving Yama a chance to take the life away. Yama had to leave, thus giving the King’s son a lease of life. Dhanteras is thus also known as a day of Yamadeep-daan a practice from then onwards, to keep a lighted lamp on for the whole night as an act of benevolence towards Yama, the god of death.

It is worth noting that Hinduism is probably the only religion or culture where wealth is worshiped and the same is not looked down upon as crass or overt-indulgence in materialism. To all who say that wealth is to be shunned, can take a back-seat for at least today, as it is only impractical to deny the importance of wealth. A day like this enables one to differentiate between the worship of wealth and the indulgence of wealth. So go ahead and pay your obeisance to the Goddess of Wealth who might be knocking at your doors!

Rangoli

Rangoli is an Indian folk art which involves painting on the floor. The word Rangoli is derived from the words ‘rang’ meaning colour and ‘aavali’ implying rows, giving us an array or an arrangement in colours. The paintings can have different themes or motifs, but the idea is to generate a flurry of colours which makes it look good and pleasing to the eye. Call it Kolam as they do in South India, or Alpana as in Bengal or Madana in Rajasthan, or Aripana in Bihar, Rangoli by any name means the same. Generally the motifs of a Rangoli are common sights like, flowers, plants, birds like peacocks and swans, animals, or gods and goddesses or simple geometric designs.

The earliest mythological reference of a Rangoli is found in Chitra Lakshana, a thesis on Indian paintings from the days of yore. According to this, a king and his subjects were extremely sad on the demise of the only son of their high priest. Everybody offered prayers to Lord Brahma, the creator for returning the life of the boy. Lord Brahma was moved by the collective mourning and requested the King to draw a picture of the dead boy on the floor in his likeness. On seeing the portrait, Lord Brahma put life in it, thus giving life to the boy once again and relieving the kingdom of its sorrow. This is considered to be the first reference of Rangoli or art on the floor.

Ramayana has reference to Rangolis too. It is said that people in Ayodhya painted rangolis to welcome Ram when he came back from his exile. It is also said that drawing colourful lines invites positive energy into the household and keeps the negative forces outside. Some people believe, that during the exile, when Lakhsman left Sita to go in search of Ram, he is supposed to have drawn such lines, to keep the negative forces outside the line, what is better known as ‘Lakshaman Rekha’ – i.e. lines drawn by Lakshaman.

Another myth says that once upon a time there was a pious man by the name of Sudharma. A time came when he could not concentrate on his prayers and meditation. So he approached his guru, by the name of Rishi Vairata. The rishi suggested to him to go to a quarry nearby and ground some stones into powder. He was then advised to use that powder to paint religious designs outside his home at the doorstep. From then onwards he would get up early in the morning, have a bath and draw designs like the swastika, sun and the moon and other such symbols. Seeing a drastic change in his well-being, the neighbours too started the practice, and it is said that in many South Indian families the ladies still do this, except that they use rice flour, and the art form is known as Kolam.

The concept of Rangoli emerged from the very basic idea of Hinduism, care for all. In early days, Rangoli’s were drawn with ground rice flour. This enabled the ants and birds to come and feed on it, thus making their otherwise hard life that much easier. It was an ideal case of harmonious co-existence.

The importance of Rangolis, is specially enhanced as it is a custom to draw footprints approaching the home. These imply Goddess Lakshmi’s footsteps inside the house which brings in prosperity and luck.

Over time the concept of Rangoli has evolved into a more intricate array of colours, or in combination of flowers, but the fact remains that it is still appealing to the eyes and to the guests who are welcome during festivals.