(Compilation for a Discourse by N.R.
Srinivasan, Nashville, TN, USA, November, 2019)
My thoughts were drawn to a
Kalyanotsava Celebration on Karthik
Skanda Shashthi Day modeled after Hindu Samskara for humans extended to
some popular Puranic Gods, a brain wave of ancient Tamil Bhagavatas
inspired by Sita Rama Kalyana described in Ramayana with added fun and frolic
by modern devotees! Puranas, Pauranikas and Musicians have also significantly
contributed to this temple colorful celebration.
Devasena,
the celestial wife, is married in a traditional arranged marriage while the
earthy Valli is won by Murugan, resulting in a love marriage. It praises him as the god who is allowed to
have polygamy with two wives, Devasena – the daughter of Indra and Valli, a
hunter princess. Murugan is described to
equally spend his time on earth and in heaven.
Devasena and Valli are representations of Kriya shakti (the power
of action) and Icchaa Sakti, the symbol of the transcendental Jnaana-shakti
(the power of knowledge) say Pauranikas. In Tamil literature, two kinds of love are
mentioned: karpu ("chastity"), love bound in the traditional
marriage, represented by Devasena and kalavu, love before marriage,
conveyed by Valli, in
Gandharva vivaha
In
North India Kartikeya is generally considered as celibate and unmarried while
Ganesha is a celibate to South Indians.
Sanskrit scriptures
generally regard only Devasena as the consort of Kartikeya, while Tamils
glorify him with his two consorts, Devayanai (Devasena) and Valli. Who is right
we do not know? Probably it is a Tamil phantasy to celebrate his wedding with a
celestial and a hunter princess!
Ramayana which spent one whole chapter on Kumarasambhava does not talk
about these weddings. Vedas say Skanda
is Santkumara. I believe Rudra of
Veda was made the auspicious Siva, Uma daughter of
Himavan was made his consort of Siva and Sanatkumara was made their most
enlightened beloved son to spin into Skanda Purana!
Goddess
Lakshmi, had a fight with Lord
Vishnu as she felt that Bhrigu insulted her indirectly by hitting
Vishnu on his chest where Sri lived and thus left Vaikunta. She came and
settled on earth in disguise in the ancient city of Karavir (Kolhapur) and
meditated on Vishnu where today the Mahalaxmi temple is found. Lord Vishnu soon
arrived on earth searching for Goddess Lakshmi.
But He failed to find her and instead settled on Seshachalam
hills inside an anthill. During the search, Lord Srinivasa met the beautiful
girl named Padmavati.
This Vishnu in the anthill was an
incarnation as Srinivasa born to a woman named
Vakula Devi who was Yashoda in her previous birth. It is said that in
Dwapara Yuga, Krishna presented Yashoda a boon that he will be born as
Srinivasa to her and will marry Padmavati whose wedding she could personally
arrange and witness to fulfill her desire. Krishna and Padmavati both fell in
love and decided to get married to fulfill his promise to his mother. So it was not a lifetime arrangement of
universal binding force of love but just to complete the promise made. So after
marriage he continued to live separate from her. This wedding did not run smooth and he had a disturbed
life. Meanwhile Lakshmi being afraid of
losing him rushed to Tirumalai and got herself firmly established in his chest.
Only Vishnu’s other consort Bhudevi was hanging on to him with loyalty. That is
why even today Srinivasa Kalyanotsava is popular with Sridevi and Bhudevi and
not with Padmavati.
According
to folklore, Meenakshi was the daughter of Pandya King Malayadwaja Pandyan. She
ruled Madurai after her father and conquered many kingdoms. During one such
conquests she met Lord Shiva and fell in love with him. As promised to Meenakshi, Lord Shiva came to
Madurai as Lord Sundareswarar to marry her after which both ruled Madurai. This wedding was also fantasied as a romantic love story of ever ascetic Siva by
Tamils. Siva’s married life with Sachi was miserable and his marriage with
Parvati was no better though Parvati was very loyal and always appeared to pride
in her “sola singar” bridal
attire. She could never cherish her
desire to have a womb-born child? Yet people worship Siva-Parvati as happy married couple
praising them as “jagatah Pitarau”.
Krishna’s
wedding with his legally wedded wives is never celebrated but only his wedding
with Radha is celebrated by Tamils in Temples which wedding never took
place. We also can’t keep tract of his
real wedding anniversary Day. I believe Radha Kalyanam has been devised by
Tamils influenced by the North Indian Tradition where Krishna is always seen
with Radha as though they are really wedded couple so popular with ISKCON and
Chaitanya movement. Even in Puri Lakshmi who was previously worshipped along
with Jagannatha was driven out projecting
Jagannatha as Krishna Avatar to
portray him with his siblings Subhadra and Balarama. Krishna remained sad as
his true love did not end in the sacred ceremony of matrimony. Other wives
realized his disappointment and grief and lived with him happily adjusting to
the situation of his frequent running to Radha!
Diwali Festival
again
highlights Rama performing his Raja dharma as well as Kshatriya dharma in
liberating a helpless captivated woman Sita but not his beloved wife. Why I say
so will be clear if you go through the exchange of worrds between Sita and Rama
when Hanuman brought her back from Asokavana after the killing of Ravana in
Valmiki Ramayana. Rama doubted her chastity and asked her to marry any one of
his already married brothers or even Vibhishana and live happily! How good
husband he is suggesting polygamy while he was believed in Ekapatni Vrata and recommend remarriage after divorce? Devastated
Sita entered fire to prove her chastity! This did not end here. She was
deserted during her pregnancy and later when she met her she was not welcomed she was swallowed by the Earth! So it was a Celebration of Women Liberation Movement. Whole Ramayana is
focused on Dharma and the rest is history.
Sita’s married life was most miserable yet Sita-Rama
Kalyonotsva is the most popular and colorful ceremony in temple as ideal
husband and wife glorifying his wedding with enchanting song “Seethakalyaaname Vaibhogame”. The
doom of his married life was clearly indicated in his horoscope.
Vedic Astrology says Lord Ramchandra had Cancer
ascendant with Moon in the first house with exalted Jupiter and therefore moon
is in own house with exalted Jupiter forming not only Hamsa yoga but a
Gajkesari yoga with Moon. Mars is exalted in 7th Capricorn forming Ruchak yoga
and Saturn in 4th in Libra forming Sasha yoga and Sun and Mercury in the 10th
in Aries where Sun is exalted and Venus exalted in Pisces in 9th aspect by
Jupiter forming Bhagya yoga. Yet having so many Yogas Rama could not escape the
consequences or the trials and tribulation, a human is likely to face. Mars in
7th gave Kuja dosha in married life and separation despite a powerful Jupiter
aspect in his 7th house. His wife was loyal and virtuous but a victim of
circumstances. In planetary war Jupiter is always defeated in war with Mars
despite the Hamsa yoga and Chandra Mangala and guru Mangala yogas. The
signification of 7th besides marriage also signifies war and he spent a long
time fighting wars. The exalted opposition of the Sun with Saturn caused a
friction with his father which caused him to go to exile. Traditionally Sun is
the father and Saturn is the son.
Though most divine weddings are ascribed to the
holiest day Panguni Uttiram on which day all the divine weddings are believed
to have taken place temples conduct Kalyanotsava as per the demand by devotees
on any day. It is also a rich source of income.
Venkateswara uses this ritual to raise huge sums of money to pay back
the loan to Kubera he borrowed for his grand wedding! Kalyanotsava ritual is usually performed seeking
the well-being of the entire humanity. However in Vaikhanasa Agama, which is in
practice in Tirumala to carryout temple rituals, Kalyanotsavam is popularly
known as “Vaivahika MahotsaThvam”. So the couples especially the newly weds, who
wish to have a blissful marital life with the blessings of Lord Venkateswara do
participate in Kalyanotsavam in big numbers.
If Birthday of a divine are celebrated on actual date why not Wedding Anniversariy as well as the day of Ascent? I believe it is altogether designed to
celebrate all these things on human scale or norms? A big question is whether
we need to perform all these human Samskaras on gods and treat them at par with
us instead spiritually focusing on them? We need it to manage temples
economically but not spiritually! Why
North Indian temple traditions have not
thought about such giant plans? We have to admire here over-flowing Tamil
Bhakti Tradition!
Union of the divine couple should be taken as
symbolic union of the Jivatman with Paramatman as symbolized in Radha
Kalyanam that never took place! Kalyanotsva is interpreted on these
philosophical lines by Sankara in his Atmabodha and Sadasiva Brahmendra in the
popular song “khelati mama hridaye”.
Since Lord is the causeless cause He has no cause
and hence no parents as it were! When
we perform a Kalyanotsava for the Lord in
effect he gets to enjoy the role of being our son and we the unique privilege to
act as parents! It looks as though even
god is not exempt from this sort of human craving! The Kalyanotsava provides the opportunity to
tune the mind for Jnaana-- preparing the mind for Jnana and the resultant fruit
of Moksha. So focus spiritually and so do not anxiously wait for the moment of
“Mangalyam tantunahetur mama jeevana hetuna”
The proverb “marriages are made in heaven” suggests
that there is a divine power behind marriages, and so lends weight and
justification to a couple’s desire to marry. It can be said that in the case of divines who
have descended in human form on earth this decision is also taken in the heaven
by the divine will with a purpose. In Rama avatara the divine decision in
heaven was to solely preserve Sva -Dhrama so Rama has to suffer separation from
Sita forever and focus on Dharma for he was questioned by his consciousness
as a human being as well as a by citizen that doubted the chastity of Sita while Rama
was determined on Ekapatni
Vrata--steadfast devotion to one wife
as dharma guide line to every man! Also his troublesome marriage was predicted
by heaven as read from his birth horoscope.
The course of true love never did run smooth--people in love often have
to overcome difficulties in order to be with each other; true love always has
difficulties; there will always be
problems in a romantic relationship. Krishna could never marry Radha but his
sincere love lingered on. He was obliged to marry 16000 distressed damsels a
decision made in heaven too. He was able to persuade all his other legally
wedded wives to live with Radha mostly enjoying her company. This was a sword
edge walk but he could do it with his divine power with his multi-presence at
the same time as Narada witnessed seeing Krishna everywhere. He could live in
peace in pieces. Can humans do that? That reflects in Polygamy and polyandry we
come across in Itihasa which we believe as true history and accepted as human
Dharma. Also Krishna as human was killed by the arrow of a hiding hunter who
mistook Krishna for a deer. Thus the law of Dharma was justified on earthy
because in Rama Avatar Rama killed Vali by an arrow hiding himself behind a
tree!
Again Subhramanya’s wedding was a heavenly decision spoiling the celibacy
vow of Sanatkumara born as Skanda to Siva. Also the marriage of Devayanai as a
celestial and Valli as a hunter princess, a human. Sanatkumara was also sent as
Skanda to impart Jnaana to the world --Guruguha. He had to run between heaven
and earth! This also displays Vedic dictum aatmavat
sarvabhooteshu. samaanamaakootih sanghacchdvam, samvadadbvam --celestial or
human love as the universal binding force is the same for GOD created Kama
desire for all. Treat equally all who seek you!
Coming to Venkateswara Vishnu
descended on earth and assumed the human form on earth and went in search of
Lakshmi his consort who also descended on earth and assumed human form in
Kolhapur. Meanwhile in his human role he was strongly influenced by Kama and so
married Padmavati. in t5jhe process he fulfilled his promise to Yashoda who also
took the form of Vakuladevi. On having fulfilled his promise he freed himself
from infatuation of love accepted
Lakshmi in his chest when share ran to Tirumalai and also joined Bhoodevi
submitting to heavenly dictate Sreescha
Lakshmeescha patnyau (purushasookta) the twin consorts of Vishnu. That is
why nityakalyonotsva in Tirupati
takes place with Sridevi and Bhudevi and also in all other places where this
marriage is celebrated. As Venkateswara united with His Dharmic consorts lives
in Bhuvaikunta (Heaven on Earth) leaving his true love Padmavati in
Tiricchanoor on Earth. Tirupati is hailed as Bhuvaikuntha!
In this context I would like to draw your kind attention to Spiritual
thoughts of sex life based on Divine Wedding by Srila
Prabhupada:
We come
across divine weddings similar to humans but is sex possible between different
persons in the spiritual world and how can they be divine at the
same time? Drawing reference to Srimad Bhagavatam 5.17.12, Srila Prabhupada
explains that people have sex in the spiritual world and there is no
possibility of conception there in Heaven. Whatever happened in Purana happened
on Earth!
The term sex is in reference to the
Sanskrit concept of rasa, the original spiritual relationships. In the material
world this rasa is best reflected as mundane sex. But even in this there are
many gradations according to the degrees of covering by the three modes. The
Taittiriya Upanishad describes the degrees of enjoyment among the different
human species, from the common man, to the Gandharva, Apsara, Siddha, Deva,
Devadeva, Devendra, Brahma, etc.-- each being one hundred times greater or more
complete than the previous.
As you go from lower species to higher
species, what we refer to as sex exists in many different ways. It is the same
for all the sensory activities. For example, our system of digestion is very
gross. After we eat, the food is digested, and the waste is passed out. In the
higher species such as Gandharvas, the waste products are evaporated into the
air automatically. There is no passing of waste. So the entire system of
digestion is much more subtle, which is in tune with their own subtle
existence. The activity of sex is similar. As you move up through the species
it becomes more and more subtle, and less physical. For the Gandharvas it
involves mostly singing, for Apsaras it involves mostly dancing. For higher
Devatas it involves mainly sight. When you come to the level of Lord Brahma,
sex involves mainly the intellectual process. When you compare it to some of
the lower species such as insects, they appear as completely different
activities. For example after the praying mantis mates, the female eats off the
head of the male. This is the same activity the Gandharvas are performing by
singing. The only difference is that the coverings of the modes are so thick and heavy that it comes
out in such a low aspect. Now if there is such a huge contrast even between
material sex, then what to speak of the difference between material and
spiritual sex. Ultimately sex is the transmission of a relationship. When we
are covered by the modes, this relationship takes a lower physical nature. As
you go through to higher species, the relationship becomes less and less
physical, and more subtle. When you come to the spiritual platform, it no
longer is a physical or mental activity, but a spiritual exchange of a
relationship. This exchange of relationship on the spiritual platform is called
rasa. Thus when Srila Prabhupada refers to sex between different living
entities in the spiritual world, he is referring to an exchange of a spiritual
relationship. Srila Prabhupada mentions this in his purport to Srimad
Bhagavatam 5.17.12:
“Another point in this verse is that in
all eight of these heavenly verses although men and women enjoy sex pleasure,
there is no pregnancy. Pregnancy takes place only in lower-grade life. For
example, animals like dogs and hogs
become pregnant twice a year, and each time they beget at least half a dozen
offspring. Even lower species of life such as snakes give birth to hundreds of
young at one time. This verse informs us that in grades of life higher than
ours, pregnancy occurs once in a lifetime. People still have sex life, but
there is no pregnancy. In the spiritual world, people are not very attracted to
sex life, due to their exalted devotional attitude. Practically speaking, there
is no sex life in the spiritual world, but even if sometimes it does occur,
there is no pregnancy at all. On the planet earth, however, human beings do
become pregnant, although the tendency is to avoid having children. In this
sinful age of Kali, people have even taken to the process of killing the child
in the womb. This is the most degraded practice; it can only perpetuate the
miserable material conditions of those who perform it.”
In the higher planetary systems
conception occurs only once in the life, just prior to death. It is actually a
great benefit for the female denizens of heaven, as they know when they are
going to die. For the males on the other hand it is quite sudden and shocking.
Of course, due to their absorption in sense gratification activities, even the
females may be taken by surprise. The descriptions of the death of the higher
beings are described in detail in the scriptures. The heavenly dwellers will be
enjoying with their consort, drinking the soma rasa (a heavenly intoxicant),
without any idea what is about to occur. At the point when their Punya
(accumulated pious results) is finished they will suddenly fall from the
heavenly realm (ksheene punye
martya-lokam vishanti). There will be nothing supporting them below their
feet. As they fall through the ethereal space, they can still see the heavenly
abode, and they see their consort has immediately taken another partner for
enjoyment, as though they had never existed. As he falls through the space, he
comes to an area which is frequented by many lower beings. These beings know
the area where the celestial beings fall through, thus they wait there to eat
them as they fall from their heavenly abodes. These lower beings begin to
devour the living entities heavenly body as he falls towards the earthly abode.
While being eaten alive, the heavenly being observes his previous realm, and
sees his previous consort continuing to enjoy with other men. At this time, due
to the intense pain in his heart, he begins to cry, and his soul leaves his
body through his eyes within a tear drop. The tear drop falls to earth and
mixes with the rain clouds. When the rain falls, the soul of the heavenly being
lands on the earth and enters into a seed of grain. The grain grows and is
latter eaten by a human. The soul of the heavenly being (along with his subtle
covering) thus enters into the semen of a human and is latter born within the
earthly abode.
In the Gita Krishna briefly describes this process:
te tam bhuktva svarga lokam vishalam
kshine punye martya-lokam vishanti || 9-21 ||
kshine punye martya-lokam vishanti || 9-21 ||
“After enjoying in the heavenly abode
(svarga-loka), when their pious results are exhausted, they again enter the
abode of death”.
Krishna’s use of the word vishalam is significant, they do not
just enjoy, as we enjoy. But their enjoyment is extremely vast. Their sense
perception is hundreds of times greater than ours. When they smell a flower, or
when they taste something, they are experiencing something completely different
than what we are experiencing through our senses. (that is why Krishna mentions
one flower, one leaf, one fruit--pushpam patram phalam toyam). It is like someone having a cold and a stuffy
nose trying to smell a flower. They will not experience the flower. We are
similar when compared to the higher heavenly beings. We are not actually
experiencing matter in its true state. We have no idea of how something smells,
tastes, or feels. This is what is described in the Taittiriya Upanishad. And as
you go up to even higher beings, the case is the same for them, until you
finally come to Lord Brahma, the engineer of the material universe. Only Lord
Brahma can experience matter in its true fullness. Only he knows what a flower
actually smells like, or what taste, touch and sight actually are. What then to
speak of sense perception beyond matter. Spiritual sense enjoyment, cannot be
understood by anyone within this material world. Even material sense enjoyment
cannot be understood, it is practically limitless, yet higher, much higher, is
the spiritual sense perception. Thus Krishna describes it as su-sukham kartum avyayam. By using the
prefix “su” Krishna is stating that it belongs to an entirely different
category from the ordinary happiness of this world.
In the purport Srila Prabhupada
mentions the various grades of enjoyment, from the snake up to the demigods.
When you compare the enjoyment of the demigod with that of the snake, they have
very few similarities, what to speak of the spiritual enjoyment in Vaikuntha.
We cannot compare it even to the highest activities within this world, even
though it may be described in similar words. As far as pregnancy not occurring
within the spiritual realm, this is an obvious fact, as there is neither birth
nor death. Pregnancy is a process of the cycle of birth and death. In the Gita
Krishna explains that whatever has a beginning in time will also have an end.
Thus whatever is born is sure to die. I would not put too much importance on
this statement in trying to understand what is this spiritual sex being
referred to, as it is just a general fact, and not a particular description.
The “sex” that occurs between two living entities within the spiritual realm is
simply an exchange of a direct loving relationship between the two due to
each-others appreciation for the others service to Krishna. It has no
connection with the concept of sex as found within the mundane realm.
You can see above how even
gods submit themselves to human emotions
and Dharma (Manava Dharma) while born as human beings at human level! Law makers
cannot be law breakers! This is the purport of Kalyanotsava in temple
ingeniously projected and displayed in temple festivals motivated by Puranas.
With our limited understanding of the highly exaggerated riddles and parables
in Puranas we remain confused and misled by misinterpretations of Puranas in
their following and teaching. Reading
through the very descriptive married/love life of various gods in Puranas one
wonders whether any moral can be drawn at all to lead a happy married
life? It is doubtful even some of the
divine weddings celebrated in temples really took place?
Hindu Scriptures say that there are
nine types of association between Bhagawan and ourselves. One is Husband-wife
relationship--He is husband and we are wives. This is the association showed by
the Gopikas. When Paramathma played His flute those gopikas who were attending
to their children, tending to their mortal husbands and looking after the needs
of cows and calves, left their activities and joined Krishna. This may be
extended to all creations too as union of Jivatmas with Paramatman. Probably this philosophy brought in Polygamy
and Polyandry among Devatas as well as Puranic Society and also later brought
in as human norms!
REFERENCES:
Jahnava Nitai
Das, Gods, Demigods and Incarnations Bhaktivedanta
Krishna-
conciousness Philosophy
Swami Prabhupada,
Bhagavad Gita, Macmillan Company, New York.
APPENDIX
DIVINE WEDDINGS OF FULL HUMAN AVATARS GO THROUGH MANAVA DHARMA OF PRAJAPATYA (PROGENY
We discussed above how divine weddings on earth reflect human earthly experience of pain, pleasure and progeny. Our historians strongly believe and justify with archeological and planetarium studies that both Rama and Krishna were also divine historic figures. Based on our Puranas we have the following details as to how both Ikshvaku and Yadu dynasties have left behind a saga of historic record. But in the case of Siva-Parvati, Subhramanya-Valli- Devayanai and Gajanana with Gajanini or Vinayaka with Siddhi and Buddhi, they being not human Avatars their wed-locks resulted at spiritual level of sex enjoyment with no further promotion of progeny. We will discuss it later.
Rama
ruled 11,000 years as mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana, Vishnu Purana,
Harivansha Puran, Agni Puran, Srimad Bhagavat Maha Puran (Lakshmana,
Bharata andShatrughna are his siblings and they are
also avatar of lord Vishnu)
\
In
the Ramayana, we find that, Lava and Kusha were the sons of
Rama.Puranas provide a genealogical list from Kusha to Brihadbala, who
was killed by Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata war (3138 BCE).
Ikshvaku dynasty ended with Sumitra.
This was also mentioned in Matsya, Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas.Vishnu Purana also mentions that
He, who was called Maya Moha in his previous birth, will
be born as Siddhartha to King Suddhodhana. By propagation of his
teachings, many give up their traditional Vedic religion to adopt new
religion of Buddha and will be called as Bauddha
Buddha
was the contemporary of Kshemajit, Bimbisara and AjataSatru, the 31st,
the 32nd, and the 33rd kings of Magadha. The Buddhistic works say that
Buddha was Seventy-two years old at the time of Ajata Satru’s
coronation. According to the Puranas AjataSatru’s coronation
was in 1814 BCE.
As
Siddhartha was born in lineage of Lord Rama in Ikshvaku dynasty, people
of his generation might have considered him to be incarnation of Rama
or Vishnu.
Lord Krishna, the Dwarkadheesh, the son of Vasudev, had 80 sons.
The list of the 80 sons of the Lord from his eight prime queens
(ashta patraanis) are available in literature. Krishna’s son Pradyumna
and Aniruddha are considered to be devatas and are worshiped in
Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai. Aniruddha’s son was
Vajranabha. His son was Pratibahu. Pratibahu’s son was Subahu. Subhau’s
son was Shantasen. Shantasen’s son was Shatasen about whom we hear as
the last ruler of Yadu dynasty!
I believe in the great deluge
of Dwaraka Queen Rukmini, her son
Pradyumna and her grandson Aniruddha were spared who being gods
(devatas) ascended to heaven after Krishna’s departure. Hence their
worship continues. Rukmini as Lakshmi was also worshiped for
some time on the Ratnavedhi in Puri Jagannath and later thrown out
bringing Subhadra to the front from the back (or placed at a distance)
and to the right of Lord
Jagannatha on the dais.
WHY SKANDA & GANESHA ARE NOT INTERESTED IN PRAJAPATYA
(PROGENY) LIKE RAMA & KRISHNA?
It is popularly believed and glorified
in our temple worship that Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati had two sons
named Kartikeya (Kartika) and Ganesha (Vinayaka) which is far from truth. The elder was Kartikeya and the younger
Ganesha. In South India Kartikeya is popularly known as Lord Subramanya.
Kartikeya has two wives having the
names: Valli and Devasena. He got his name from the 6 Krittikas who brought him
up and consequently has 6 heads. Temples dedicated to Kartikeya are found in
the Indian states of Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra. According
to the Puranas ascetic Siva got attracted to voluptuous Parvati, but Kartikeya
was not the outcome child of that union. The rhetus of love infatuated Siva got united with his other wife Ganga
(forcefully tied with him) whom he carries always on his head and so Kartikeya
is Gangeya who got nurtured by 6 Krittikas.
An entire Purana, the Skanda Purana, is dedicated to Kartikeya that
inspired Kalidasa to write the lyric Kumarasambhava which vividly
describes the circumstances leading to Kartikeya’s birth including the
lovemaking of Shiva and Parvati. Kings Kumaragupta and Skandagupta belonging to
the preeminent Gupta dynasty have been named after him. But somehow, worship of
Kartikeya in North-India began to decline from 5th century CE on-wards. Only in
East-India (Odisha and Bengal particularly), he has importance and the Kartik
Purnima is celebrated every year in his memory and honor till today. In
Karnataka and Kerala, Kartikeya is worshipped as Subramaniya and there are
temples dedicated to him in that name and form.
Kartikeya is worshipped as Murugan in
Tamil Nadu (south India). In fact he is the Tamil hill-god there. The famous
Batu caves, situated about a hundred kilometers from Malaysia’s capital Kuala
Lumpur has a 140 feet high statue of Murugan. It is the tallest in the world. Kataragama is a
pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda
people of Sri Lanka.
People from South India also go there to worship. The town
has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara
also known as Kataragama deviyo located in the Monaragala District of Uva province,
Sri Lanka 228 km ESE of Colombo,
the capital of Sri Lanka.
The first elaborate account of
Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Hindu Sanskrit epic Mahabharata where he is
said to have been born from Agni and Svaaha (Fire gods). Ramayana version of
the birth of this fertility and harvest god is close to that in Puranas and is
the most popular story concerning his birth.
Over a course of time Parvati consoled to the situation and accepted Kartikeya as her adopted son compromising with Siva who always denied her a womb-born child. Coming to the question of who is the elder between the two adopted sons of Ganesha and Kartikeya, for both are not womb-born to Parvati, two epics and some Puranas indicate that he was the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati. In Shiva Purana, Kartika is seen helping Shiva fight the Parvati created body-guard Naramukha Vinayaka worshiped in a lone temple in South India. In Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is said to be the elder son of Shiva, and Ganesha the younger. Kartika is shown the younger of the two through the manipulative Tamil politics, to please Parvati and made to believe Ganesha is considered closer to Parvati than Kartikeya. Tamils venerate Siva-Parvati as ideal parents of the world.
Over a course of time Parvati consoled to the situation and accepted Kartikeya as her adopted son compromising with Siva who always denied her a womb-born child. Coming to the question of who is the elder between the two adopted sons of Ganesha and Kartikeya, for both are not womb-born to Parvati, two epics and some Puranas indicate that he was the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati. In Shiva Purana, Kartika is seen helping Shiva fight the Parvati created body-guard Naramukha Vinayaka worshiped in a lone temple in South India. In Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is said to be the elder son of Shiva, and Ganesha the younger. Kartika is shown the younger of the two through the manipulative Tamil politics, to please Parvati and made to believe Ganesha is considered closer to Parvati than Kartikeya. Tamils venerate Siva-Parvati as ideal parents of the world.
This is how the drama took place as
per the story. The celestial muni (devarshi) Narada was taken into
confidence and it was agreed by the trio of Narada, Parvati and Shiva that a
contest would be held to circumambulate the Brahmanda (universe) and
whoever of Kartik and Ganesh would walk around first, he would be declared the
elder. While Kartika sped around the world thrice on his carrier The Peacock,
Ganesha did the same by walking around Shiva and Parvati and was the first to
complete the task. Ganesha was naturally declared the winner and won the
privilege of receiving the divine fruit of knowledge from Narada. This victory
made Ganesha the god of wisdom. Ganesha became the wiser and was consequently
declared the elder of the two by Narada and Parvati with Shiva toeing
reluctantly. Ganesha was also made the first demigod to be worshipped as god.
To clear the obstacle for Ganesha to get precedence over the somewhat
biological elder brother Kartikeya, Shiva, under influence from Parvati,
sidetracked Kartikeya by dispatching him to South India under the pretext of
providing protection to the inhabitants there.
According to some opinion, Ganesha is
the first born since he is referred to as UMA sutam (son created by Uma) and Uma was born prior to Parvati,
another confusion. Uma is introduced to us in Upanishads as daughter of
Himavan, a great Vedic scholar, but nothing is said about Siva being her
husband. I believe Vedic Uma later became Puranic Parvati hailed as Meenakshi
and got married to Sundareswarar.
There is a verse on Shiva which says
that Kartikeya is elder who got angry when his parents produced another son
Ganesha.I am convinced that biologically or
historically Kartikeya is the first born. But to bring around angry Parvati, Ganesha (surgically created) was
manipulated to be called the elder though he was not the first son of
Shiva-Parvati. But this is only in South India. No matter how much one may try,
you can’t change date of their emergence. So Kartikeya remains the elder one
for the vast majority of Indian populace.
Ganesha was brought to public domain
and politicized by Bala Gangadhara Tilak during 19th/early 20th century India.
The idol god became the rallying point of the Hindu Ganesh Puja is a highly
commercialized annual festival in Mumbai and in some population to fight
against the British colonial rule. As a result of this, Ganesha became the most
popular god of Maharashtra since those days and continues to remain so in other
parts of India too. In East India, Ganesha is revered primarily as a god who
dispels obstacles (vighna nashaka) and only after that he is the god of
wisdom.
Sanatkumara is introduced to us as
Skanda in Chhandogya Upanishad. Siva requested him to be his son according to
Siva Purana to which he agreed subject to a condition that his decent on earth should
not be associated with any woman and also consequent of sex act he being
eternal celibate. You know the rest of the story of Kumarasambhava. That is why
Skanda is called Guruguha known for his Vedic Knowledge who even taught Siva.
Eventhough we hear about puranic
weddings of Skanmda with Valli and Devbasena , Ganesha with Ganeshini or Siddhi
and Buddhi we do not jhear about any child bweing born out of these wedlocksa
similar to the Srinivasa-Padmavati marriage. This is explained by Srila Prabhupada
as follows:
Srila Prabhupada mentions in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 5.17.12
explains although men and women enjoy sex pleasure, at higher level than humans,
there is no pregnancy. Pregnancy takes place
only in lower-grade life. This verse
informs us that in grades of life higher than ours, pregnancy may occur once in
a lifetime. People still have sex life, but there is no pregnancy. In the
spiritual world, people are not very attracted to sex life, due to their
exalted devotional attitude. Practically speaking, there is no sex life in the
spiritual world, but even if sometimes it does occur, there is no pregnancy at
all.
Buddhism and Jainism
According to Richard Gombrich, Skanda
has been an important deity in Theravada Buddhism pantheon, in countries such
as Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Nikaya Samgraha describes Skanda Kumara as a
guardian deity of the land, along with Upulvan (Vishnu), Saman and Vibhisana.
Similarly, the 16th-century Siamese text Jinakalamali
mentions him as a guardian god. There are Buddhist Sinhala shrines such as at
Kataragama dedicated to Skanda which have historically been officiated by Hindu
priests, which attracted Buddhist devotees and enjoyed royal support. Since the
1950s, states Brian Morris, the Kataragama shrine of Skanda has attracted over
half a million devotional pilgrims every year, most being Buddhists.
In Chinese Buddhism, Skanda has been
portrayed as Weituo, a young heavenly general, the guardian deity of local
monasteries and the protector of Buddhist dhamma. According to Henrik Sørensen,
this representation became common after the Tang period and became well
established in the late Song period. Skanda was also adopted by Korean
Buddhism, and he appears in its woodblock prints and paintings.
According to Asko Parpola, the Jain
deity Naigamesa, who is also referred to as Hari-Naigamesin, is depicted in
early Jain texts as riding the peacock and as the leader of the divine army,
which are both symbols of Kartikeya.
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