Month: August 2016

  • How South Indians Celebrate Navaratri?

    The pious festival ‘Navaratri’ is nine night festival. However, it falls twice a year but the most significant one is Sharad Navaratri or Maha Navaratri. The devotees conduct all tantrums to appease nine goddesses, including goddess Durga, goddess Lakshmi and goddess Saraswati. These all deities are the representatives of ‘eternal power’.

    South India celebrates it with different names:

    In Andhra Pradesh, it is known as Bommla Koluvu. But Keralites and Tamilians call it Navaratri. Its joy and significance enhance for the people of Karnataka. They observe it for nine days and then, celebrate Dusshera on the tenth day. This tenth day is also famous as ‘Vijayadashmi’.

    How south India observes it in a different way?

    The event of placing Kolu and Kalash (brass pot) makes it outstand. The Kolu is a doll. It represents the goddess ‘Shakti’.

    South Indian style of Navaratri celebration:
    * It’s a previous night ritual. The worshippers clean the house and puja room as the deity paves in the clean surrounding.
    *  Festoons are made with the mango leaves. They are tied on all the entrances of various rooms and puja room.
    * People tend to keep the kolu dolls of previous years safe. They repair the broken dolls in advance. They renew those dolls using natural colours.

    Pooja preparations:
    * Purchase a couple of new kolu dolls. The pair (of male and female) includes the Marapachi dolls.
    * Kalasha or Kumbha (pot)
    * Sweets
    * Neivediya (fruits)
    * Betel leaves
    * Areca nuts
    * Coconut
    * Incense sticks
    * Earthen lamp
    * Lotus and Jasmine flowers for goddess Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga respectively.

    Pre-Navaratri preparations:
    * A night before ninth night of this festival, females design Kolam.
    * The Kalasha or Kumbha is kept on the Kolam. It also represents goddesses.
    * Kolu dolls are also put behind the Kalasha.
    * The kalasha is enticed with jewels, turmeric, sandal paste and flowers.
    * Betel leaves, cloves, areca nut, turmeric powder and coconut are placed in front of the Kalasha.
    * The prasadam is prepared with neividya, cooked rice and sweet milk.
    * A big earthen lamp is lighted before the Kalasha for nine days. It is also known as ‘Akhand Jyot’ since it is ignited for nine days continuously.

    How puja begins?
    Females take charge of this pooja in the family. The devotees keep fast on these nine days. But the priest-booking can also be done for observing it with holy customs. Let’s learn how it is performed.
    * Put all the things in the puja room that have been arranged a previous night.
    * Light the earthen lamp.
    * Chant the hymn “Om Aim Heem Kreem Chamundaaye Vichai”.
    * Light incense sticks and offer homam to the goddess.
    * Offer the coconut as well and break it.
    * On ninth day, unmarried young girls are fed with the prasadam.

  • What is The Traditional Way of Conducting Vedic Marriage?

    What is Vedic wedding?
    Hindus are the heirs of Aryans. They followed whatever rules which became a tradition. The marriage conducted under the prescribed vedas and sutras is known as Vedic wedding. It is also called vivaha. The bride and the bridegroom represent different paternal lineages. Hindus know it as Gotras. The pair gives birth to bundle of talents in the child. He/she continues the paternal linage.
    For solemnizing it, the community follows codified outlines. These outlines are termed as paddhatis in Hindi terminology. These paddhatis differ from place to place.

    Three stages of Vedic marriage:
    • Vagdana: The engagement ceremony is known as vagdana. Betrothal or engagement initializes the impending wedding ceremony of the couple.
    • Kanyavarana: Through this tradition, the maiden’s hand is laid in the hands of the bridegroom. It’s the final deciding of the marriage.
    • Vivaha: It’s the final tantrum of the wedding.

    How Hindus prepare wedding venue for bride and bridegroom?

    As the horn of wedding blows, the families stay busy in shopping, decoration and other arrangements. And when the day comes, the marriage venue is decorated no less than a bride.
    • Mandapa: The very place where knot is to tie is decided for erecting mandapa. Festoons of flowers and mango leaves are fasted around its territory. The couple takes pledge for accompanying each other during ups and downs of the life here. It also takes oath for dedicating their lives to the Grihasth ashram completely.
    • Kautukagara: The south pavilion of the venue is Kautukagara. This place is reserved for the family members of the maiden and bridegroom.
    • Decoration: Marriage is an auspicious occasion. It requires clean and pious vicinity around the mandapa. So, the wedding venue is decorated with various flowers. This is so because flowers are synonymous to piousness. And these are also offered to god. So, they are picked for enticing.

    How wedding occurs?
    • Hosting: The bride’s father hosts the procession by welcoming. He revers god and the ancestors while uttering his paternal lineage, the geographical location, the lunar year and date.
    • Chanting verses: The priest takes charge on host’s behalf and chants verses from four Vedas. In India, the priest is booked in advance. But finding and booking priest in Melbourne (for example) is tough. So, they do so in advance.
    • Invoking deities: The priest’s chanting invokes deities. Further, he worships different deities through kalasapuja, Raksavidhanam,and Matrkapuja etc..
    • Vistara offering: Meanwhile, the host or the father offers vistara to the bridegroom. He welcomes him by handing over a bundle of 25 kusa grass’ shoots. Groom’s acceptance honours yajmanas (host).
    • Padyam and Acamanam: Subsequently, the host caters groom the water for washing feet (which is known as Padyam) and rituals like sipping holy water (which is known as acamanam).
    • Honouring groom: Then, a kalasha (copper pot) is filled with honey, curd, and ghee. The groom takes in during rituals after appeasing gods and cows.
    • Gauri worshipping: Then comes the turn of the bride. She worships goddess Gauri and appeases her.
    • Gargpadhhati: It is a ritual in which the maternal uncle of the bride accompanies to the mandapa. He drops a curtain between the bride and the groom on an auspicious occasion.
    The above said Vedic rituals may vary from place to place and people to people.

  • Why & How is Maha Shivaratri Celebrated?

    The night dedicated to lord Shiva is ‘Maha Shivaratri’. It’s a Hindu festival. Devotees celebrate it with fervor. The environment echoes with the ringing of bells and conches.

    When does Maha Shivaratri fall?

    Maha Shivaratri falls in the Hindi month of Phalgun (or February/March as per Gregorian calendar). It comes on the Krishna Paksha Trayodashi or Chaturdashi of Bikram Samvat. Reverends conduct ‘Jaagaran’ to worship Mahadeva throughout night.

    Why it is celebrated?

    Shiva is a legend himself. His legendary is mentioned in Garuda Purana and many other scriptures of Hindus. Let’s catch a few famous mythologies that stat the significance of this festival.

    Lord Shiva is considered as an illuminating figure. Let’s learn ‘Why’. It was the time when there was no cosmos. Lord Brahma suddenly came out of lord Vishnu’s navel.  A rift broke out between them over claiming superiority. Lord Shiva intercepted. He set them off to find the north & south end of the pillar of light. Brahma took avatar of a swan while Vishnu became a boar.

    A flower namely ‘Ketki’ told a lie to favour Brahma. He claimed that he had found the southern end. And lord Vishnu told the truth of finding no end. Lord Shiva got angry over liar Brahma. He cursed him to deprive of being worshipped.

    Another is the story of Samudra Manthan. The churning of ocean produced a byproduct called ‘Poison’. Lord Shiva saved the earth from the impending destruction due to that poison. He bears earth in his stomach. He choked it in his neck that turned his throat in to blue. This is why he is known as ‘Neelkantha’.

    One more story also goes of Maha Shivaratri. King Chitrabhanu had regression of his past life. He recalled that he was a hunter then. One day, he did not make out any hunting. It was only mean of earning bread and butter. So, he sat on the bael tree. With empty stomach, he kept awake throwing leaves down at Shivalinga. Canned water in his hand was dropping down. It was the night of Maha Shivaratri. Involuntarily, he did fasting and worshipping of lord Shiva.

    Appeased lord called him to his abode when he took his last breathe. Lord’s messengers had a terrible fight with the messenger of Yama (the deity of death) since they wanted to take him along. The former messengers defeated the latter.

    How people celebrate this festival?   

    Worshippers take a bath early in the morning. They add a few drops of Ganges water to it for purifying themselves. Wearing clean cloths, they head to the temple with offerings. Hindus living abroad book priest online to conduct Shiv puja at home.

    The offering of betel leaves, applewood, sandalwood paste, vermillion, and fruits made him happy. The worshippers light incense sticks and an earthen lamp before his idol.

    The prayer begins with offering water and milk to the Shivalinga. Afterwards, they circumambulate it three to seven times. Then, they offer the offerings. Chanting Shiva’s favourite mantra ‘Om Namah Shivay’, they appease him.