Durga Puja and Lord Ram

Durga Puja begins today and is an important festival in West Bengal and the Eastern parts of the country and the entire Bengal wears a festive look. People celebrate the festival with all the gaiety and revelry that goes along with it.

Durga Puja is the celebration of the killing of the Mahishasura (This is Utkarsh Speaking: Mahishasura ) who had become a threat to all the gods and humans and was invincible except by a woman, due to a boon. After a fierce battle, Goddess Durga kills the demon.

However, this festival initially did not take place at this time of the year. An interesting need-of-the-hour is the cause of the celebrations at this time.

According to the Bengali Ramayan by Kritibash, Goddess Durga was worshipped in the spring season (and thus Durga Puja was also referred as Basanti Puja, the festival in the spring season), and never in autumn. But after an inconclusive battle with Ravan for many days, the gods advised Lord Ram to propitiate Goddess Durga and seek her blessings. But Goddess Durga was never worshipped in autumn, and thus Ram’s propitiating the Goddess is referred to as Akal-bodhan, akal meaning out-of-turn or out-of-season and bodhan meaning worship or invocation. In due course of time, the region started celebrating Durga Puja during the autumn and thus the festival is also known as the sharad-utsav or the spring-festival.

According to the same version of Ramayan, Ram took the blessings of Durga on the sixth day (Sashti) i.e. today, and went into battle with Ravan on the seventh day (Saptami) and killed Ravan at Sandhikshana or during the crossover between the eighth (Ashtami) and the ninth (Nabami) day, and cremated on the tenth day (Bijoya dashami).

The worship of Durga by Ram too has an interesting legend. According to some versions, Ram was advised to worship the goddess as she was considered to be the patron deity of the land of Kuber, i.e. Lanka before Ravan usurped it from Kuber and it would be in order to seek her blessings before invading the island. It is said that Ram needed 108 ‘neel kamal’ or blue lotuses to offer the goddess Durga and after a lot of efforts managed to get only 107 of them. Ram was also referred to as ‘rajiv-nayan’ or the one with eyes like lotus, and since he could not arrange for one more to complete a hundred and eight, he offered his eye by trying to pierce it with an arrow, but the goddess appeared at the right moment and granted him the blessings of victory. Some versions say that Ram did manage to get all the required lotuses, but the goddess hid one to test his devotion.

Since then, this has been a practice to propitiate Goddess Durga before heading for a war and the same is seen in Mahabharata, where Arjuna and Yudhishtir are mentioned to be worshipping Goddess Durga for the boon of victory. Later in history, we have seen Shivaji worshiping Goddess Bhavani, a form of Durga before heading for any battle.

It is interesting to see gods in their own right seeking blessings from goddesses prior to a battle. The cult of Mother Goddess was prevalent from the ancient times and Goddess Durga has always had a unique place in the pantheon. Though she is a goddess created by the gods to fight a demon, she does it without the direct help of any gods. She fights a relentless battle, till she eliminates the evil force, Mahishasura, who was threatening the universe and all the gods with his power. To sustain such a dominating feminine power, Shakti, it was imperative that the later puranic texts perpetuated her position of someone who has been victorious in battle.

Another interesting theory is that Goddess Durga was associated with mountains, (she is also referred to Vindhyavasini, one who resides in the Vindhyas, Parvati meaning daughter of the mountain or parvat, Vaishno devi, again residing in the mountains, to name a few) and was probably a deity of the locals who resided around mountains, where the terrain was tough. Such regions were at the periphery of civilisations and thus many a tribal community or marginalised sections of the societies dwelt in such regions. According to this theory, Goddess Durga is seen to have had her origin in such areas. Puranic heroes, like Ram, Arjuna, etc. worshiping the goddess indicates the assimilation of such goddesses in the mainstream pantheon, leading to the assimilation of the marginalised sections of the society into mainstream civilisation.

The above can be seen as an interesting example of mythology having a laudable function at its core, besides telling interesting myths.

Navratri Golu

An interesting aspect of Navratri in the southern states of India, viz. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is the display of Golu or Kolu as they are better known. Golu is a display of dolls in a particular format, especially in the form of steps or padis (in Tamil); usually nine or odd numbers like seven, or five. The display of dolls carry themes from mythology, like the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, scenes enacting the romance of Radha and Krishna or events from the life of lord Krishna as a child, etc.

A display of Lord Vishnu's avatars at our friends Navratri Golu

Amongst the display the most important and a must have is the display of the Marapachi dolls which is a

pair of a male and female dolls. This pair is usually made of carved reddish wood and is sold in different sizes. During the display, they are adorned in colourful traditional dresses and jewelry. Usually, it is a tradition for mothers to give a pair of the marapachi dolls to their daughters during their wedding to begin the displayu of their own Golu at their new homes. Many collect dolls to form themes from mythical tales and over a period build a beautiful collection of such dolls. A pot or the kumbham, is also placed in the arrangement which gets a ritual worship during the nine days of Navratri. The pot is arranged either at the top most level or at the bottom, with a coconut or a pomegranate amongst mango leaves. Many scholars have indicated that the pair marapichi represent marital harmony and the pot and the selection of the fruits which remain fresh, indicate fertility.

The Kumbham and the Marapachi dolls at our friends Golu

The array of the dolls represents a durbar or the court of Goddess Durga before she leaves to eliminate Mahishasura or the buffalo-demon.

Though the practice of setting up the Golu has religious overtones due to the timing and the themes of arrangement, it seems to have more social relevance than anything else. This is a time when the women folk get together and help each other in setting the display. Later they go in groups to visit different Golu’s put up in the neighborhood. During such visits there is singing of religious songs and many other activities which focus on the women of the household. Snacks and certain staple offerings are served to the guests, which again display the culinary skills of the women folk. This serves as an interesting mingling of the women where each displays their imaginative skills of arrangement and religious knowledge. The dolls are then put back safely after the nine days for another year. 

Besides giving the women folk a source of entertainment and platform to showcase their skills, another important rationale of such festivals was to give a fillip to the agricultural economy. Such festivals kept the demand of clay up, even during non-agricultural seasons like this, as in the olden days such dolls were made of clay only, unlike today when many other materials are used to make them.

An interesting social custom, which aligns itself with the religious festivities and mythical themes.

In fact, the Japanese have a similar festival, known as Hina matsuri, or the doll festival. Hina means a doll and matsuri is festival in Japanese. Hina matsuri is a festival which is celebrated on March 3^rd every year to ensure a healthy life for young girls in the family.

Similar to the Golu display, in Hina matsuri too dolls are arranged over different steps, covered with a red cloth. In the topmost layer are kept dolls depicting the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In the subsequent layers are placed dolls which represent the men and women in waiting for the royal couple, followed by musicians, singers, courtiers and other items like arrangement of furniture, etc.

 

Hina matsuri (courtesy Wikipedia)

The origin of this can be traced to an ancient practice wherein straw dolls were made and set off in small boats in the river in the belief that the dolls had taken away with them the evil spirits which would have otherwise affected their daughters. In due course, it became a royal festival with all the royal trappings with it to modern times when every household with a girl child celebrates this festival. Till date, the superstition holds good that the dolls absorb the evil spirits and thus the dolls are kept back without delay, as any delay is believed to delay the girls wedding date.

Interestingly, in Hina matsuri too, the ceremonial dolls are handed over by mothers to their daughters!

Two festivals, both celebrated by women folk in similar form, by two different cultures. An interesting similarity!

 

Navratri

Navratri, as the name goes, is a festival of nine nights. Besides the fun and revelry, it has its own religious and social significance. But what seems to be lesser known is that this is not the only Navratri that gets celebrated. There are more than one Navratri in a year, though the one that begins today is the more popular one.

According to some, Navratri is celebrated four or five times in a year, but the most common are –

Vasant Navratri during the months of March-April, &
Sharad Navratri during September-October

Vasant is the spring season or beginning of summer and sharad is the beginning of winter. It is important to note that both are celebrated when Mother Nature undergoes important climatic changes. This highlights the significance of the worship of Mother Goddess cult and its most significant aspect of regeneration.

The vasant navratri is generally celebrated in the North, which also coincides with Ram-Navami which falls on the ninth day of the month of chaitra (thus vasant navratri is also sometimes referred to as chaitra-navratri). The sharad-navratri is generally celebrated in the West and other parts of the country, and in the East, it is celebrated as Durga Puja, which marks the slaying of the demon Mahishasura.

Navratri is the worship of the divine Mother and is a part of the Mother Goddess cult, a practice that found its origin during the Vedic times. The worship of

Shakti, the feminine creative principle has been an important practice in India from the times of yore. Worshipping a ghata, an earthen pitcher, (Read This is Utkarsh Speaking: Navratri ) with different grains and allowing them to sprout during the days of the festival is another very important ritual, which brings out the fertility aspects of nature. The sprouts are an indication of nature’s bounty, which was the prime concern of the primitive society which was agrarian. The fertility aspect makes Navratri a predominantly women centric festival, which however, has emerged as a social festival to reckon with. The importance of the cult of Shakti is such, that according to the Skanda Purana, even Lord Shiva is like a shava (a dead body) without Shakti! Needless to say, that Shakti is the primordial energy and the nine days of Navratri are to honour the nine different forms of Shakti, also known as the nava-Durga, or the nine-Durgas.

To conclude, Goa has an interesting version of the Navratri, which brings out the cult of Mother Nature worship very effectively. In Goa, goddess Durga is known by many names, some of them being Bhumika, Shantadurga, Sateri, etc. all of which are a form of earth goddess. On the first day of the Navratri, a copper pitcher is installed in some temples. The pitcher is surrounded with clay around it and in it are sown nine different grains. During the nights, folk songs and traditional dances take place amidst the worship of different village deities. The rituals are to seek abundance in harvest from the earth mother, and on the tenth day, the village deities are taken out in a procession. With time the folk dances have given way to the more popular dandiya and garba, but the rituals have not undergone much change and nor has the belief system.

During Navratri, over the next few days, we will focus on some aspects of the same, with a special emphasis on the ensuing Durga Puja.

So keep reading…..

Shrikhanda Mahadev

A lesser known shivalinga came to my notice recently. This shivalinga is natural and quite inaccessible, for majority of the devotees.

The shivalinga is in the form of a 72 ft gigantic rock, known as Shrikhanda Mahadev and is situated at a height of some 18000 ft above the sea level, on the mountains. The entire journey is planned over a period of ten days by the Govt of Himachal Pradesh which is open only for 15-20 days in July-Aug when the weather conditions are favorable. However, the journey is arduous and the trekking is quite tough.

The spot has an interesting legend associated with it. According to this, a demon Bhasmasur did severe penance to propitiate Lord Shiva and earned a boon. Bhasmasur asked for a boon of turning everybody to ash, by just putting his hands on him. On getting the boon, Bhasmasur tried to test it on Lord Shiva himself. Shiva ran away from him and hid himself in a cave. Later he took the help of Lord Vishnu, who met Bhasmasur in the form of Mohini, the enchantress. Mohini tried to lure him into a dance and during one of the movements, Mohini made Bhasmasur touch his own head, leading to him being reduced to ashes.

Bhasmasur & Mohini - A painting by Raja Ravi Verma

It is said that when Lord Shiva came out of the hiding from the cave, he appeared on the rock now better known as Shrikhand Mahadev. The rock has a crack in the centre of it, and this it gets its name from the same (khandit meaning crack).

As part of the journey to the spot, one comes across a cave, known as Devdank, the cave where Lord Shiva had hidden himself from Bhasmasur. Besides this, one also comes across a lake known as Nain Sarovar, a natural pond the source of which is believed to be the tears of Goddess Parvati. During the trek, the pilgrims take a holy dip at the pond and carry the waters back with them too.

Besides the legend of Bhasmasur, the place also has some association with the Pandavas of Mahabharat. According to the local folklore, the presence of huge rocks and boulders between the Nain Sarovar and Shrikhand Mahadev is due to the fact that Bhima was building a staircase to ascend to the heavens. These rocks are thus referred to as Bhim-shila or the rocks of Bhima. Some tales also claim that there are some ineligible writings found on the rocks and these were details of the adventures of the Pandavas, noted by Bhima himself.

It is interesting to find such inaccessible spots being associated with gods. The arduous trek and the tough weather makes access so tough that it does seem reaching such places only an act of divine intervention. Such spots also add to the local places getting its moment of glory, for however short span of time it be.