Govardhan Puja

During Diwali, many places in India observe what is known as Govardhan Puja. Let us go through the myth behind the puja first.

Once when Lord Krishna was a child, he saw his father make elaborate preparations for some worship. On enquiring he was told that they were preparing to worship Lord Indra, who was responsible for giving them rain, which led to the welfare of the people. Krishna reasoned with his father and all present, that it was not Indra, but mountain Govardhan who was responsible for the welfare of the people, as it was thanks to the mountain that they got grazing grounds for the cattle. It was the mountain which stopped the clouds and compelled them to rain and also gave them lots of greenery and different plants and shrubs required. Mount Govardhan was also home for numerous medicinal plants which was required for preparing local medicines. It made more sense to worship the mountain instead of Indra. At the end, Krishna convinced the people to stop the worship of Indra and start worshipping Govardhan Mountain. This angered Indra so much that he decided to punish the people of Vrindavan and sent merciless rains leading to days and nights of downpour. People got scared and went to Krishna, saying that they had angered Indra and something needed to be done.

Krishna, then came forward, worshipped the mountain as he had decided and lifted the  mountain in his last finger creating a giant umbrella to save the people from a potential deluge. Lord Indra was thus humbled, and accepted the supremacy of Krishna, and thus was started the practice of Govardhan Puja. Since this episode, Krishna was also referred to as Giridhari – the one who holds the mountain.

The myth makes a very important statement which is writ large in the theory of Mythology. No hero is forever. Indra had been a chief deity during the Vedic times, but by the Puranic age, Indra had lost considerable sheen. Gods like Vishnu (and his different avatars, like Ram, Krishna, etc.); Shiva and other gods had gained prominence. It is human tendency to demean someone to highlight the importance of another. This is exactly what happened to Lord Indra during the Puranic times. Indra who was also sometimes referred to as Devendra (Lord of the gods) was nothing but a caricature of a fallen god. There are numerous instances, where, even asuras have defeated Indra in battles and he has to seek help from Vishnu and other such gods. There is also the famous instance of Ravana’s son defeating Indra and earning the epithet of Indrajeet (literally - one who has achieved victory over Indra) in Ramayana. Such cases of old heroes making way for new are not unheard of in mythology. Many also see this conflict as a conflict of two cults, one gaining prominence at the expense of the other. Subsequently, Indra was relegated to a relatively smaller position of a smaller deity, that of being a god of rains.

Why only Mythology, isn’t the same visible in our real lives too? People who were heroes for our parents were not for us and our idols are not the ones our children look up to. But it is important to mention here that during the Vedic times, and in Rig Veda, Indra had occupied a prime position and a number of myths talk of his bravery and valour.

Chhath Puja

Chhath (literally means sixth) is celebrated on the sixth day of the month of Kartik from the Hindu calendar. It is also the sixth day after Diwali. This is a very important festival for the people of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and is also considered to be one of the few major festivals in the honour of Sun god.

During the Vedic times, Surya, the Sun god was one of the main deities in the pantheon of gods. Thus this festival seems to have its continuity and significance from the Vedic times. Before we venture into the myths surrounding this festival, it is pertinent to mention that this worship has similarity with a number of other cultures like Egypt, Greece and the Japanese who were the worshippers of Sun God. Egyptian god Ra, or Helios of the Greeks, or Shamash of the Sumerians, or the Japanese worshiping a Sun Goddess (only reference of Sun Goddess), were all major solar deities of reckoning.

Sun worship goes back to the Vedic age, with numerous hymns dedicated to Lord Surya in Rig Veda. The earliest reference of Chhath is found in Mahabharata which is credited to Karna, who was the son of Surya and Kunti and was also known as Surya Putra. Karna was made the King of Anga Pradesh, by Duryodhan, which is supposed to be the present day Bhagalpur in Bihar, and thus the prominence of the festival in and around the region.

Mahabharat also refers to Draupadi’s worshiping of Surya when the Pandavas were going through their share of trouble. Though Draupadi did not get any immediate results out of the worship, but they did regain their rights and their kingdom at the end of it. Thus began the practice of worshiping Surya for achieving something or some desire.

The unique thing about Chhath puja is that it is probably the only festival, where the Sun is worshipped in both the forms, i.e. both the rising as well as the setting. Since the river Ganga is the lifeline of the states mentioned above, as it flows throughout the region, the worship takes place at the banks of the river Ganga. Needless to say that Ganga has its own significance both in Mahabharat as well as in the Hindu religion. The practice of this worship has its yogic connections. It is said that in the Vedic times there were sages who would fast for unbelievable periods, and that the ability came from their gaining solar energy directly from the Sun. It is said that the rituals followed during the worship are quite similar to what the yogis of yore followed then.

As part of the ritual, people (especially women) observe fast and end up spending the whole day (sunrise to sunset) at the banks of the river. In this lies the significance of the festival. This whole day is used in a ritualistic detoxification of the body. The fasting followed by the sun rays especially during sunrise and sunset, gives an extra impetus on the different parts of the body and the much needed energy from the sun. As per the Yogis of the yore, sun helps in rejuvenating the skin and its rays at different times of the day, helps in improving the functions of different glands and their secretions.

Such festivals not only get people to spend time together, but also lead to some physical well-being. It is different matter that some sections of the society have misused such festivals for political positioning, but then what is a community if it doesn’t have its own share of both good and bad?

Rainbows

Something as beautiful and colourful as a rainbow couldn’t have escaped the imaginations of our early thinkers, could it? It is not that people then sought answers only for scary things, they were curious of such beautiful things too. So how does mythology see Rainbows?

Some of the mythologies have the rainbow associated with the destructive flood myth. As per the Biblical myth, a Rainbow is a sign of the Covenant (promise) made by God to Noah that there would be no such deluge again -           

·         Seven Noahide laws that emerged out of this covenant came to be symbolically represented by the seven colours of the rainbow.

·         The Noahide laws are considered basic principles of living righteously in a civilised society and a path to achieving salvation.

As per the Sumeiran Epic of Gilgamesh, the Rainbow is “jeweled necklace of Mother Goddess Ishtar” that she lifts on the sky, never to forget the flood that destroyed her children. An Australian Aboriginal myth says that after the floods, the Rainbow was used by the Supreme Being to ‘tie’ the rain-clouds and thus to hold back the rains.

However, not all myths are not associated with the Flood. Let’s see some of them.

·         As per the Greek myths, the Rainbow was considered to be a path made by Iris, the messenger, between Earth and Heaven.

·         As per the Hindu myth, Rainbow or the Indradhanush is the bow of Indra, the god of lightning and thunder.

·         According to Chinese mythology, the Rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by the Goddess Nuwa using stones of five different colour

·         In Nordic Mythology, a rainbow called the Bifröst Bridge connects the homes of the gods and humans. The Germans believe that the rainbow was a bowl that God used to colour the world during creation.

·         Sometimes, a rainbow is considered a bridge, which is formed when St. Peter opens the gates of Heaven to let in some souls. The colours of the rainbow are supposed to give a glimpse of the magnificence of the heavens.

The Irish leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold is usually said to be at the end of the rainbow. This place is impossible to reach, because the rainbow is an optical effect which depends on the location of the viewer. When walking towards the end of a rainbow, it will move further away.

Birthday Celebrations

What is it about Birthdays that need celebrations? Why do we ‘celebrate’ a birthday? My search takes me to the land of mythology (and occasionally History too) and this is what I find – two stories:

The Pharaohs of Egypt were supposed to be the descendants of the god Horus, who was considered to the first image of all the Pharaohs, though Ra the Sun god was considered to be the first Pharaoh. In those days, birthdays of the Pharaoh was celebrated with great pomp and show as it was the day to be honoured as the embodiment of god had graced the earth and mankind. It was during one such celebration, that the Pharaoh was celebrating his birthday, that he hanged the chief Baker.

Another story from the Bible says that Herod Antipas was celebrating his birthday and his daughter entertained him by dancing in front of him. This impressed Herod so much, that he granted her a wish. Herod’s daughter was coached on this by her mother Herodia and she promptly asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod did not quite wanted to dirty his hands with the murder of John the Baptist, but then he had no choice and immediately sent executioners to bring the head of John the Baptist. Herodia was against John as he had opposed the wedding of Herod and Herodia as she happened to be the widow of Herod’s brother.

Celebrations of birthdays were considered as evil by the early Christians who considered it to be a Pagan remnant. A birthday celebration was seen as self-indulgent leading to sinful behaviour like excessive drinking, etc. Also the above two myths had resulted in murders, which also got associated with early Christianity which led to such thinking. They also felt that on this day, people and the celebrant praised himself/herself as against god and thus the celebrations were looked down upon.

In due course of time, and with the arrival of neo-Christians, birthdays got associated with celebrations. Today, the birth of Jesus Christ is a mass celebration across continents. A remnant of the Pagan thinking however believed that on the day of one’s birthday, the celebrant was most vulnerable to both good and bad spirits. So on ones birthday, a celebrant was supposed to be surrounded by friends and relatives and all would wish good for the celebrant. This would deter the bad spirits from acting, thus began the concept of wishing well on Birthdays.

The usage of Birthday cake and candle too has its origin in Greek mythology. Greek goddess Artemis was the goddess of moon, and her birthday was celebrated once every month in ancient Greece. As a practice, the Greeks offered her a round cake (in the shape of a moon) and also lit candles on the cake in the likeness of a glowing moon! Needless to say that fire always had a special significance in religious orders and rituals. The practice got carried on to the modern age and today it is mandatory to cut cakes, lit with candles and making a wish.

Birthday celebrations have come a long way from the Pagans to today. But as someone has said – A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the free trip. And if you get gifts and wishes, take them as bonus!

A Quote by Joseph Campbell

‎"Whenever men have looked for something solid on which to found their lives, they have chosen not the facts in which the world abounds, but the myths of an immemorial imagination."
                                  - Joseph Campbell, "The Masks of God, Vol. I: Primitive Mythology"