Tarangini A Keralaiyers E-Magazine for the changing times

April 2010

Vishu

Its meaning and

significance

Thrissur Pooram & Vadakkunnathan

A story behind the pooram of all poorams and

Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur

HAPPY VISHU!

In this issue:

Philosophy of Indian Classical Dance

The real goal of Indian dance forms and Adi Guru

Shiva, the teacher

From the Adukulai

Vishu Special: Mouth-watering

Chakka Pradhaman

to all our readers

I do read the Gita daily, but understanding

the meaning in a layman's language is a bit

difficult.. If Ananthu mama can give the mean-

ing for each chapter in every issue, I guess

people like me will be blesses enough to read

the chapters after knowing the meanings.

Also I feel that write ups on various temples

in and around Palakkad will add on to the

value of Tarangini. Kudos to the creators and

the contributors... And I really must admit

that Tarangini has started to re kindle the

urge of writing and creativity in my mind as

well, which I had stopped since I left college.

-Kirti

From the Editors

Dear Readers,

Thank you very much for your continued

support and cooperation to this venture

which is now only 4 issues old. We are striv-

ing hard to make things better, include new

topics, new columns and make the e-

magazine much more informative and enter-

taining. As regards the matrimonial column,

we are not venturing into that domain imme-

diately, we are sure other groups are doing a

very good job in that domain (sruthivani, ker-

alaiyers.com through kalyanam group) and we

would like the elders to take care of this ra-

ther than youngsters! But you never know,

there could be a matrimonial section in the

future!

-Navneet Narayan & Hridya Anand (Editors)

A laudable venture by youngsters,for the

youngsters by the youngsters! Wish all suc-

cess for the venture. I would suggest inclu-

sion of one more column MATRIMONIAL. I

know that there are enough portals catering

to matrimonial purposes, but one originating

from Tarangini will greatly help the Brahmin

diaspora in their search for suitable match for

thir wards.

-A. Ranganathan

I being a Palakkad Iyer now settled in Delhi

proud to read Tarangini. It is a great effort to

publish such a wonderful magazine about our

culture. My children will benefit to know

more about my native Kerala through your e-

magazine and of course I will get my old/

current memories of my Ayalur agraharam in

Palakkad. I wish you all success for your ser-

vice. Thank you,

-Ayalur Sreekanth

New Delhi.

I got an email from our Family Group, where-

in my brother/sisters had spoken highly about

it... So, being anxious I read it from beginning

to end.. And I have to agree, my elders were

right! A Great magazine... please continue the

tradition... we live in Canada & the article

brought back memories of our visit to Pe-

runkulam and Palakkad....Love

-Eswar

Tarangini is getting better and better over

every issue. I really like the explanations on

the Bhagavad Gita and the write ups on vari-

ous temple festivals.

Ungaloodu Abhiprayam

A Keralaiyers E-magazine for the changing times

April 2010

Volume I Issue 4

Tarangin i

Inside this issue:

Monthly

Visheshangals 3

Vishu 4

Mahatmyam of ―Om

Namo Narayanaya

Namaha‖

6

Humour 7

Kakka Raman and

Abhishravanam 8

Inspiration 11

Tips to avoid sun

burns in summer

11

Philosophy of Indian

Classical Dance 12

Internet Calling… 14

Thrissur Pooram &

Vadakkunathan 15

Save the girl child 17

Parur Saasthapreethi 18

Vedic Astrology 20

Devayani and Kacha 22

From the adukulai -

Chakka Pradhaman 23

We are very happy to bring

out the April issue just at

the time of the New Year

for us Keralaiyers—Vishu!

Tarangini wishes all its

readers a very Happy

Vishu, May this year bring

prosperity to one and all.

We are striving at making

the issues of Tarangini

better each issue and we

require your involvement

in these endeavours. May

this year bring in more

interesting articles to read

via Tarangini (Now now,

are we being too greedy!?

Aren‘t we entitled for a

Kaineettam too?)

Well, this issue consists of

the regular dose of articles

SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14

Vishu

15

Vishukkani kaanal

at temples in

Kerala

16 17

18

Shukla

Chaturthi

Vratham

19 20

Shukla Shashti

Vratham

21 22 23 24

Thrissur

Pooram

25 26

Mahapradosham

27 28

Chitra

Pournami -

Gajendra

Moksham

29 30

SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

1

Sankatahara

Chaturti

2 3 4 5

Sravana Vratham

6 7 8

9

Smartha

Ekadashi

10

Vaishnava

Ekadashi

11

Maha

pradosham

12 13

Sarva

Amavasya

14

15

Edavom

begins

16 17 18 19 20 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

Vikruthi

Samvatsaram begins.

Mesha Ravi

Sankraman, Suryan

enters Mesha Rasi

at 5.30 am IST

Medom month be-

gins; Vishu Punya-

kalam. Panchanga

Padanam at various

celebrated temples

Sarva Amavasya

Monthly Visheshangals: -K V Ananthanarayanan

The Vedas state that for Devas, one full year is equal to one day. Their day time is

Uttarayanam and Night time is Dakshinayanam. Since ancient times, it has also

been a tradition of treating Nature as God in our culture. We have even heard sto-

ries of rituals being performed to please Mother Nature. Water, Earth, Fire, Wind

and Space are the five forces of nature (Panchabhootangal) that control us.

The first day of Chithirai (Medam) month in tamil calendar is called as “Vishu punya

kalam”. “Vishu” literally means Early Morning. “Thula Sangrama Vishu” falls on the

third month after Dakshinayanam starts, when the earth is slightly inclined towards

the south. That’s when we offer our prayers to Water and Wind by taking an early

morning bath and doing tarpanam for our ancestors (considered to be in the form

of wind i.e. vayu). “Mesha Vishu Punyakalam” arrives three months after the begin-

ning of Uttarayanam (14th of January (Makar Sankranthi Day) i.e., when the earth is

slightly inclined towards the north. This is the day that we offer our prayers to the

Gods who are in the form of “jyothi” & the mother Earth who gives us different

kind of food to control our hunger & place to live. In other words, the day when

Earth and Fire are offered prayers. The New Year also starts on the same day.

The above matter clarifies and signifies the important aspects of the celebrations of

Vishu in the month of Chithrai. The preparation for the celebration of Vishu starts

from the previous day itself. The night before going to bed the elders of the family

spread rice on a taambalam and keep all varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers

(specifically kanipoo), God’s photo and a mirror. It is also customary to keep Gold

and Silver Coins in the coconut (broken in two parts) and money. The fruits, vegeta-

bles and things kept on the taambalam represent certain principles of our day-to-

day life. The main vegetables are ripe Cucumber, raw mango, bitter gourd, snake

gourd, lemon etc., and fruits are Jackfruit, banana, mango, grapes, apple etc.

The yellow colour is auspicious for any event/occasion. In this context, ripe cucum-

ber and lemon signify the above fact. The sour raw mango gives us visions of sweet

future yet to come when it ripens. In practice, just as the farmers who tie a stone at

the bottom of the small snake gourd for its elongated growth, similarly if we get a

good companion/friend/philosopher/guide, our lives would be smooth without any

hurdles. Our day-to-day life puts us through a lot of bitter experiences which should

Vishu -K V Ananthanarayanan

“The preparation for

the celebration of

Vishu starts from the

previous day itself.

The night before

going to bed the

elders of the family

spread rice on a

taambalam and keep

all varieties of

vegetables, fruits,

flowers ...“

Page 4

Tarangin i

Kanipoo

not make us lose our faith, instead try to overcome them. To remind this fact, we

keep the bitter gourd. To signify the fact that we must be useful by all means to this

world, we keep ripe bananas as we all use almost all the parts of a banana plant. At

times, we meet certain people who do not treat us well or use harsh words against

us. We should remember them as people with good heart, signified by the Coconut

which has a sweet and soft interior but is rough on the outside. Similarly, Jackfruit

is surrounded by prickly thorns outside but has a sweet fruit inside which implies

that at times it might be difficult to overcome our troubles, but if we struggle hard

we will surely be able to achieve our goal. Apples, which are grown in harsh condi-

tions of high winter are soft and sweet help us understand that whatever our cir-

cumstances in life may be, we can use our resources in a proper way to lead a hap-

py life. Sweet and sour grapes tell us the story of life which tends to have ups and

downs.

On the day of Vishu early morning, our elders wake us up and lead us with our eyes

closed to the puja room and make us sit and view all the items kept in the taamba-

lam. The very first sight is that of our own face in the mirror which signifies that for

all our future endeavours, we are solely responsible—this is called Vishu Kani. To

start the day with joy and happiness throughout the year, the elders give Kani Pon

(master of day-to-day life in present scenario) as blessings to the younger ones. In

India, till date, in Guruvayurappan and Ayyappan temples all devotees visiting the

temple on this day early morning are given Kani Pon by the temple priest. On that

note, I would like to wish you all a very hearty - HAPPY VISHU!!

Vishu contd..

“The very first sight is

that of our own face

in the mirror which

signifies that for all

our future

endeavours, we are

solely responsible—

this is called Vishu

Kani. “

Page 5

Tarangin i

Vishu Kani

Trichy Sri Kalyaranaraman, one of the stalwarts in conducting discourses of the Srimad Bhagavatham, Srimad Ra-mayanam and other religious texts, nar-rated a story that gives us the signifi-cance, or Mahatmyam of the chant “Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha”.

Once, Lord Vishnu told Sage Narada to go and tell the words “Om Namo Nara-yanaya Namaha” in the ears of a cater-pillar near a river. Narada obeyed the words of the Lord, and went to the Earth, i.e. Bhoolokam and chanted the words into the caterpillar’s ear. To his surprise, the caterpillar died immedi-ately. Shocked and filled with grief, Narada went to Lord Vishnu and told him about it. The Lord then asked him to say the same words into the ear of a bird in a bush. Narada again went down to the Earth and did as he was told. The bird died once the words were said into its ears. Narada went back to the Lord and told him about the fate of the bird. Next, the Lord asked him to say the words into the ears of a doe playing in a garden. Narada, being an ardent devo-tee, did as he was told. The doe died as well. Next, he was told to say the words into the ear of a newborn calf. And the same thing happened to little calf.

Filled with remorse and guilt of bringing on the death of innocent lives, Narada went back to Vaikuntam to the Lord and asked him the reason behind these deaths. In response to his question, Lord Vishnu asked Narada to go to the palace of the King of Kaasi, where a crown prince was born after several

years, and chant the same words into the little boy’s ears. Narada reluctantly proceeded to Kaasi. On his arrival, the King welcomed him with the Poorna Kumbham, and shared the wonderful news of the birth of the prince with Narada. Narada asked to see the new born alone, to which the King gladly agreed.

Narada, now alone with the baby, was pondering over the fate of the baby, once he chanted the words into his ears. He was concerned about the King, as he was blessed with the baby after many years. However, since he cannot ignore the orders of the Lord, he unwillingly went near the baby’s cradle, which was made of gold, and said the words “Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha” slowly into the baby’s tiny ear. To his astonishment, the baby instantly sat up in the cradle and started talking!

The prince asked Narada, “Do you know the meaning behind the nama, Om Na-mo Narayanaya Namaha?” “No,” replied Narada. The baby stated that Narada was his Guru, as he was the cause for his soul, Atma, to get the form of a human, the Manushya Janma. Narada, perplexed at that statement, asked for clarification. “When I was born as the caterpillar,” explained the new born, “you said the words Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha into my ear. Immediately, I left the body and got a better form as a bird. Again, you came and said the same words in my ear, and I got an even better form, as a doe. Then, as a calf, and then finally a human being, which is the most blessed

Mahatmyam of “Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha”

- Shanti Tilak

“Narada obeyed the

words of the Lord,

went to Bhoolokam

and chanted the

words into the

caterpillar’s ear. To

his surprise, the

caterpillar died

immediately. “

Page 6

Tarangin i

form of life. Manushya Janma is the only janma in which you can attain the Paramatma by just saying the Nama – Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha.”

From the story, we learn that the human form is the most blessed form of life in which the Lotus feet of the Lord can be attained by just chanting the Nama. It is said that in Kaliyuga, one can attain Moksham simply by chanting the Lord’s name, Namasankeerta-nam. The soul, Atma, can get a human form only by performing a lot of good deeds, Punya Karma, in the previous births. Therefore, we should use our human form to do only good and no evil.

It is also said that when we recite slokas, or chant the Lord’s names, or do Poojas, we should say the words aloud, so that they reach the ears of the birds, animals or plants nearby, and help them get a better form in their next birth, like in the story above. By chanting the names of the Lord and enabling an Atma to attain a better form, we are doing a good deed. Another thing we learn from this story is that it is always good to recite the slokas loudly, so that the vibrations can reach other forms of life as well.

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

Mahatmyam of “Om Namo Narayanaya Namaha” contd...

Page 7

Volume I I ssue 4

About the author:

Shanti Tilak - I started off a lecturer in Chinmaya Mission College, Palakkad after completing my MA

degree in Economics at Government Victoria College, Palakkad. After my marriage with Tilak K. A, I

moved to Dubai where I worked in several banks including Citibank and ABN Amro Bank. In 1997, our

family moved to Chennai and stayed there until 2007 when our only daughter left for higher studies in

the US. Currently we are based in Doha. I am very interested in the rich Indian culture, religious prac-

tices and attending discourses . I also like playing veena, singing, designing clothes and sewing.

Humour

Have you heard about the

abhishravanam? At least till

about thirty years ago, in the

houses of affluent pat-

tars, when there was cere-

monial offering of food to the

learned Brahmins on occa-

sions like Sraadhdham, a

large number of loukeeka

Brahmins would be invited to

sit in a separate place with-

in the earshot of the elite pu-

rohitas partaking in the cere-

monial feast and chant some

manthras and sookthas (such

manthras were also called

Abhisravana manthras). The

loukeekas whose level of

knowledge of the vedic sook-

thas and chants was big zero

(this includes our hero) would

have learnt such chants by

just having heard it being

uttered repeatedly by many

of their profession-

al colleagues - an exercise of

parrot -

like repetition. Besides some

poor brahmins who could not

get to chant the verses in

spite of all earnest attempts,

the new entrants to the pro-

fession who were yet to

memorize the abracadabra,

would all sit in the group and

either move their lips or just

utter some inarticulate words

ensuring that the voice was

kept so low that others did

not know what these people

were uttering. The ordinary

onlooker’s impression will

be that the elite scholars

were chanting something in

deep meditation. Anyway

this exercise was carried

through because the Abhis-

ravana pattar would be also

given some dakshina (may

be four annas or if they were

lucky enough, eight an-

nas). If they were extremely

lucky, they may be offered a

meal (samaradhana), after

the ceremony .It was the

practice that any Brahmin

could come and sit in the

group even without be-

ing invited and he also re-

ceived the dakshina. So, the

crowd in those days could be

quite huge and some pomp-

ous householders who want-

ed to show off their devotion

in religious matters would

use all means at their dis-

posal to restrict the number

of Abhisravana pattars to

keep in control their expendi-

ture by way of dakshina. In

some cases the pattar of the

house would closely watch

the poor Brahmins chant-

ing and with great dexterity,

would identify the hapless

lipmovers and new entrants

and openly insult them and

ask them to get out. Instead

of dakshina the poor soul

would be abused with the

words like, “Peera pattarey,

enna oye, neer pulinguru,

pulinguru ennu japikkara-

thukku onakku naan kaasu

tharanamaa? Edatha kaali

pannu . (to translate –“you

wretched pattar you are

chanting something repeat-

edly like pulinguru [the tama-

rind seed---please just note,

the word is magical, when

you repeat the word silently

moving your lips there will be

very hectic lip movements

creating a profound impres-

sion on the person who is

watching], instead of the

manthras and for this have I

to pay you money? You im-

mediately get out of here).

Now this is the background

of a funny but costly tiff be-

tween our hero and a so

called prominent grihastha

KAKKA RAMAN AND ABHISHRAVANAM -K V Ananthanarayanan

“Peera pattarey, enna

oye, neer pulinguru,

pulinguru ennu

japikkarathukku

onakku naan kaasu

tharanamaa? Edatha

kaali pannu..”

Page 8

Tarangin i Humour

in our agraharam.

The prominent pattar

was a “mookkillaa rajyathey

murimookkan rajaavu” ( in

the country of people without

noses, the solitary man who

has a small lump in the place

of nose will be honoured as

king) of our agraharam. One

cannot but be skeptic

about his credentials as a

devout Brahmin. He had at

least one public sam-

bandham in which he had a

quarter of a dozen of

nair children in addition to a

near dozen progenies

through his Brahmin sa-

hadharmini and his over-

tures to greener pastures

even in the upper middle

aged status of his life had

earned him the fame as a

local don juan. But he want-

ed to flaunt his affluence by

celebrating religious ceremo-

nies in the noisiest of ways

with the least expenditure.

On one such occasion, our

Rama Iyer was the victim of

such an insult as men-

tioned above, and this was

all the more insulting to our

hero because the grihastha

concerned was a relative of

the grama vaadhyar (the

village priest) and this inci-

dent created some serious

loss in our hero’s profession

for livelihood which included

attending such religious cer-

emonies and

receiving the pittance of

dakshinas involved. Our he-

ro is very good natured but

his pride (whatever it is) and

his means of livelihood (a

still more obscure thing)

were affected and he was

raring to get even with his

tormentor.

Our hero got his opportuni-

ty: The vaideekas and

loukeekas of almost all the

agraharams around Kalpa-

thy usually met every day in

front of Kshipra Ganapathy

temple just opposite the

famous muniappan kada

(shop) at the ther mutti (the

place where the temple car

(Ratham) of Viswanathaswa-

my is parked on days other

than the three days of the

car festival) and exchanged

notes, and the loukeekas

would be invariably present

because it was here that

they were informed

about their job opportuni-

ties for the coming days,

whether it was some pooja ,

sraadhdham, hiranyam

etc. The main vaadhyars

chalked out the duty roster

for the lesser ones, and the-

se were occasions where

they exhibited their superiori-

ty over the latter souls. One

heartening feature in the

whole process is that the

noble vaadhyars of those

days never demanded a

kickback on the dakshinas

received by junior vaadhyaar

or loukeekas, whose cases

were referred to by them,

It was on one such day and

there was a sraadhdham in

the house of the VIP pattar

of the agraharam who had

become the enemy of our

hero. As luck would have it,

our grama vadhyar was not

present for the summit of the

day and snatching the op-

portunity, our hero spread

the hush and anonymous

news that there was a

sraadhdham at the house of

…Iyer and for Abhisra-

vanam, the dakshina would

Continued….

“As luck would have it,

our grama vadhyar

was not present for the

summit of the day

and snatching the

opportunity, our hero

spread the hush and

anonymous news that

there was a

sraadhdham at the

house of …Iyer and for

Abhisravanam, the

dakshina would be five

rupees per head …”

Page 9

Volume I I ssue 4

be five rupees per head and many vaideekas were spe-

cially attending. Remember five rupees forty years ago

was a very substantial sum.

The Sraadhdham day dawned. By 9 AM one could see a

long parade of vaideekas (and also loukeekas) most of

them clad in pompous somans and angavastras , sporting

prominent viboothi pattais or pattai namams making a

beeline to the house of the VIP grihastha. The grama

vadhyar who was present in the house and preparing the

days schedule for the sraaddham and the VIP pattar were

both surprised at the flow of such an elite crowd to the

household. The professional colleagues of the grama

vaadhyar informed him in whispers that they had all come

for the Abhisravanam and they knew how important it

was since the dakshina was five rupees per head. The

duo, the VIP pattar and the gramam vadhyar

were flabbergasted for a moment. Wrong news had been

spread. Ho wever the fact remained that there was a

sraadhdham and there was Abhishravanam also. And the

scholars who have come were all very learned, and at

least to save his face the VIP pattar could not deny the

news. The rich pattar had to shell out five rupees each to

at least the elite vaideekas, and the number of such per-

sons in Palakkad at that time was quite substantial.

Kaakka Raman had taken revenge for his disgrace.

Pattar’s Dictionary:

Sraadhdham: the annual death ceremony in honour of

dead parent. Done every year on the same Thithi (the so-

lar phase) and month of death

Loukeeka Brahmanan: the Brahmin who assists in cere-

monies but does not have the complete knowledge of

mantras and prayogas as a vadhyar

Dakshina : Money given as remuneration or gift for partici-

pating in religious ceremonies

Grihastha: One who is living in a house in agraharam,

especially the head of the household. Now it can be ap-

plied to anyone running a family anywhere in the world.

Agraharam: A street in the village traditionally inhabited

by Brahmins.

Sambandam: High caste people like pattars and nam-

boodiris having marital or extra marital relationships with

ladies of not so low caste (the ladies will be usually nairs

or ambalavasis. The children born will take the lady’s

caste)

Sahadharmini: the wife that a man is properly married to.

Grama Vadhyar: In good old days a vadhyar was as-signed the charge of conducting the religious ceremonies of a whole agraharam. He was almost a family member to all.

Continued….

Page 10

About the author:

K V Ananthanarayanan - I am Ananthanarayanan, a senior officer in the Indian Reve-

nue Service, a postgraduate in applied Physics with Industrial Electronics as specializa-

tion. The culture and divine nature of our country is more dear to me than my own

life...I had formal education in Sanskrit, and some parts of Vedas and can use Malayalam,

Tamil and a little Telugu in addition to English and Hindi. Posted as joint Commissioner

in Incometax at Trivandrum, an upper middle manager in the service of India.

Tarangin i

Mahatma Gandhi did not make history but it was history which made Gandhiji. Whereas, history did not make Jamsetji Tata, the Founder of

the Tata Group. It was Jamsetji Tata, a man of vision and creative ideas, who created history. One must note that it is easy to repeat history

but it is difficult to create it.

If it was one “ J “ – Jamsetji – who created the Tata Foundation, it was another “ J “ – Jehangir – affectionately known as “ Jeh “ JRD Tata -

to his colleagues and many friends, who successfully expanded, diversified and consolidated it. And, finally, it was then left to Mr Ratan Tata

to further consolidate the portfolios of the Group and transform it into a cohesive, dynamic, globally competitive and increasingly interna-

tional enterprise and leave his own personal stamp on the future with the tremendously innovative vision, since transparent into reality to

developing the world’s cheapest car, the NANO.

( One of Mr JRD Tata’s favourite quotes )

“ I have always felt that in running any enterprise, I would rather have a team of dedicated second-raters fully behind me than a group of

semi-geniuses who have a tendency to fight each other “.

Inspiration - K D Skandan

Page 11

Some tips to avoid sun burns / rashes in summer -Lavannya Krishna

Always have a bottle of Caladryl/ Calamine in the fridge.

Wash the affected area (face or any part of the body) with cold water. Wipe it gently with a soft cotton cloth (blotting type of cloth) & then immediately apply calamine from the fridge. It will be very soothing & the rashes / sun burns will van-ish off.

Everyday, eat salads made out of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, carrot & onions. Reduce spicy foods as much as possible.

Avoid pickle completely. Now you may ask “For thayir chadham what side dish can I have instead ?” Here is a remedy: mix finely grated ginger, carrot, cucumber, very little green chilli, little powdered hing (Perungaya podi), a bit of lemon juice & garnish with mustard, a dried red chilli & curry leaves in little coconut oil. This dish will be superb & soothing, not only for thayir chadham but also for any rice & also for chapathis. With chapathis, you can mix thick curd to the mix.

While taking a bath, squeeze some lemon juice in the water to chase away body odour & to keep yourself fresh though out the day.

During the day, try to have atleast 2 tender coconuts apart from drinking a minimum of 10 – 12 glasses of water.

HAPPY SUMMER!!

About the author:

I am Lavannya Krishna, daughter of Ranjani N and Krishnan-Late, successfully running a herbal

beauty clinic in Bangalore.

Volume I I ssue 4

About the author:

K D Skandon: I originally hail from Irinjalakuda, Trichur District and I

have been in Bombay for over the last 50 years. I served the Tata

Group for over 40 years with the great and late Mr Naval H Tata and

his son, the present Chairman of the Tata Group, Mr Ratan Tata and

retired in 2000.

The Indian classical

dance has its Adi Guru

as Shiva in his Nataraja

form. So why was Shiva

the Adi Guru? Why not

Vishnu or Bramha the

creator himself?

To get an answer to that

question, we need to un-

derstand the philosophy

of dance. Shiva is the

Adiguru in agamas

which are also known as

Tantras. There are 64

tantras for which he is

the author. These are in

the form of a dialog be-

tween Parvathi and Shi-

va. Tantra have been the

base philosophy from

where Indian dance got

its first form. Dance is a

way of communication

to this universe. It is

proved by the mudras it

uses.

Mudra in tantra as well

as dance is used to com-

municate a particular

idea to the audience. In

the sadhanas in tantra, it

is used to communicate

to the devata whereas in

dance, it can be used to

communicate to the au-

dience or to the whole

universe as well. Mudra

is a contribution of tan-

tra to the world. One of

the famous commen-

taries for Natyasastra

was written by famous

Kashmir shaivist and

tantrist Shri Abhinava

Gupta which is known

as Abhinavabhāratī.

What we see outside and

perceive by our 5 senses

is matter. We also see

that we use different

forms of matter like

flowers or food as offer-

ings to a particular deity.

Now this is an external

process but the same can

be done using mudras. In

the scriptures it is held

more powerful and bene-

ficial than external forms

of offerings. Mudra uses

certain postures of hands

to communicate to the

deity. Shiva was the first

to expound this in his

tantras and that is one of

the reasons why he is re-

garded as the guru in

dance.

This whole universe is

filled with dance. Dances

exist in the form of vi-

bration even in atoms. If

we delve deep into it, as

per particle physics, each

atom consists of protons,

neutrons, and electrons.

These are further consti-

tuted by a class of parti-

cles called Quarks.

Again, as per the latest

development in physics,

String Theory, the basic

element of the matter is

in the shape of a string.

It is nothing but vibrat-

ing energy and this actu-

ally is that form of dance

at the sub atomic levels.

Now from where did

matter originate? Phys-

ics tells us that it origi-

nated from energy. So

where did energy origi-

nate from?

This is a question that

has haunted the scien-

tific community for a

long time and in a recent

interview, Stephen

Hawkings, regarded as

the greatest in this field

currently in the scientific

circles, stated that it is

quite possible that ener-

gy may have originated

from consciousness. We

in India call that con-

sciousness as Shiva. This

Philosophy of Indian Classical Dance -Rakesh Ramachandran

“Mudra uses certain

postures of hands to

communicate to the

deity. Shiva was the

first to expound this

in his tantras and

that is one of the

reasons why he is

regarded as the guru

in dance. ”

Page 12

Tarangin i

whole universe is a manifesta-

tion of Shiva. Shiva exists in

this universe in the form of

dance and that is why when he

does the thandava the whole

universe proceeds towards its

essential and final destruction

which is nothing but a

preparatory phase for

the next creation.

The basic philosophy of

dance was captured

from the universe's ex-

istence by our rishis

and they developed the

Indian classical dance.

Today it has degenerat-

ed itself to an external

art form in which the

basic participants for-

get the whole philosophy of it.

It is in this period that under-

standing the basic philosophy

and evolution of Indian classi-

cal dance becomes a basic neces-

sity.

Unfortunately, most people now

consider it as a mere form of en-

tertainment. This is detrimental

to the whole development of In-

dian classical dance. If we un-

derstand the basic philosophies

of dance and put that into prac-

tice we will become like Shiva.

When we dance we can see the

whole universe in the thandava

state. Reaching that level

should be the goal of a person

who is venturing to learn Indian

classical dance, anything else is

futile.

You can reach fame, money,

and every other material things

but the same is reached by a

business man also just that he is

called as a business man and

you are called as a dancer. So

what is the difference be-

tween the two? This

would be the result of

learning any art form

without understanding

the basic philosophy be-

hind it. Dance and all

other art forms were de-

veloped in India with a

reason that went beyond

the entertainment value

associated with these cur-

rently. They were devel-

oped to enable each individual

soul to reach the supreme con-

sciousness.

Let that supreme Sadashivan

help us all in reaching the pure

form of dance which is the basic

existence of this whole universe.

Philosophy of Indian Classical Dance -Rakesh Ramachandran

Page 13

Tarangin i

About the author:

Rakesh Ramachandran - I hail from the family of Thrithalla Krishna Iyer. I am pres-

ently working in Jamcracker Technologies in Bangalore. I practicing psychology and also

Sri Vidya upsana in dakshina marga. My hobbies include writing and reading; I also en-

gage myself in intellectual debates in various topics including vedanta, agama, bhagavad

gita, political science, metaphysical science etc.

Internet Calling… -Poornima Srikanth

Gtalk to `see’ their

`Americkan’ kids, places

across the globe appear

just across the computer

screen. It indeed gives a

huge relief when senile

phrases like `gone are the

good old days of friend-

ship…’ give way to opti-

mistic notes, as our senior

generation decides to stop

fretting over the darkness

and light a candle.

Ours is an elephant family

with endless number of

cousins, uncles and aunt-

ies. Everyone met just on

devasham or some kal-

yanam…until a family

networking site said hi to

us. The site could help us

build our family tree (yes,

and accommodate our 100

plus clan!) and invite rela-

tives; and the family now

meets each other everyday

on our desktops. I was

surprised to see the active

participation from elders

and youngsters alike.

Sharing photos, events or

interesting links has nev-

er been easier. The other

day, I was raking my

head over choosing a

name for my child. When

I asked ammammai for her

suggestions, phat came

the reply – “Look in your

computer, it will have a

number of names”. OMG!

Gone is the age when

paatis referred Sahasra-

naamams for names.

From browsing for a reci-

pe or shlokam to e-

booking railway tickets,

internet has become a

close daayaadii of our

folks.

Well, as long as our

grannies don’t ask us to

download kaduku maangai

from the internet, I am

totally okay with technol-

ogy shaking hands with

them!

“ Hi Poornima, Mathur

Sesha Iyer Ranganathan

added you as a friend on

Facebook. We need to

confirm that you know

Mathur Sesha Iyer in or-

der for you to be friends

on Facebook.”

If you thought Mathur

Sesha Iyer Ranganathan

was my old college mate

or neighbour, you got it

wrong. It was my sixty

plus father-in-law sending

me a friend request in Fa-

cebook.

The advent of e-social net-

working sites has of

course conjured the youth

in its web magic. But our

senior citizens are left no

strangers too. Words like

`download’, `browse’,

`click’ have slowly seeped

into the lexicon of all

paatis and thathas. As more

and more parents take

shelter in video chatting

platforms like Skype and

“The advent of e-

social networking sites

has of course conjured

the youth in its web

magic. But our senior

citizens are left no

strangers too.”

Page 14

Tarangin i

About the author:

I am Poornima Srikanth, working as a Sr. Technical Author in FCI OEN, Kochi. I am married to Srikanth, and we are blessed with a son. I enjoy writing, blogging, sketching and painting. My grandfather PR Sankara Iyer was a connoisseur of Nama Sankeerthanam, and my father Tripu-nithura PS Ramachandran is carrying forth the tradition. Thanks to this lineage and my wedlock, I am very passionate about singing and participating in bhajans.

Thrissur Pooram & Vadakkunathan Temple

-P S Krishnan and P R Ramachander

Page 15

Tarangin i

Every year Thrissur Pooram is celebrated on Pooram

Nakshathram day in the month of Medam (April - May). This year

it is on 24th of April. Thrissur Pooram is known as Pooram of all

poorams. The present day form of Thrissur Pooram was started

by Sakthan Thamburan (Raja Rama Varma) in the Malayalam

era 9769 (1801AD). He took up the renovation of the

Vaddakkunnathan temple complex and built the four gopurams

(entrance gates). Shakthan Thamburan made the sprawling

Thekkinkadu Maidan the major venue of Thrissur Pooram and

entrusted the onus of holding the festival to the two public tem-

ples- Thiruvampadi and Paramekkavu temples. He himself is

said to have drawn up the 36-hour hectic schedule for the

Pooram festival.

On the Pooram day, Gods and Goddesses from nine

temples around Thrissur visit Vadakkunnathan temple to pay

obeisance to Lord (Sri) Vadakunnathan with five, seven, nine or

eleven elephants along with panchvadhyam, the rhythmic beat-

ing of the drums. These temples are :

1. Kannimangalam Sastha

2. Paramekkavu Bhagavathy

3. Panamukkam Palli Dhara Sastha

4. Karamukku Bhagavathy

5. Chembukkavu Kathyayani

6. Ayyanthole Karthyayani

7. Choorekkattu kavu Durga Devi

8. Laloorkavu Karthyayani

9. Neithilakavu Bhagavathy and

10. Thiruvambadi Bhagavathy

Through out the year the East, North and West Gopu-

rams (entrance) of Vadakkunnathan temple are kept open ex-

cept the South side entrance. The south entrance is opened only

on the Pooram day. The Pooram starts with the arrival of Kan-

nimangalam Sastha in the early morning who pushes open the

south door and enters the temple to pay obeisance to the Lord.

Then one by one all other cherupoorams visit the Lord before

1.30PM. All eight processions except Paramekkavu and Thiru-

vambadi are cherupoorams.

Thiruvambadi Thever starts at 7 Am with fifteen ele-

phants and reaches the Brahmaswom Madom. After Irakki pooja

at Madom Thiruvambadi starts at 1 PM to visit Vadakkunna-

than. This Madathil varavu is accompanied by Panchvadhyam

which lasts for hours. By the time Thiruvambadi reaches

Naikkanal, the Ilanjiththara Melam by Paramekkavu starts.

Paramekkavu Bhagavathy starts at about 12 Noon with 15 ele-

phants with Vadhya ghosham starting with Chembada, and Pan-

dimelam first kalaasam. By this time Paramekkavu Bhagavathy

enters Vadakkunatha temple, the artists finish second kalaasam

of Pandi melam. After wards the famous Ilanjiththara melam by

Paramekkavu starts, comprising more than 200 artists. Then the

Bhagavathy comes around Vadakkunnathan and comes out

through South gopuram to Thekkinkadu maithanam. From there

with 5 elephants she visits the statue of Raja and comes back to

participate in Kudamattam. By this time Thiruvambadi group

after meeting Vadakkunnathan, comes out through South Gopu-

ram and the 15 elephants stands in row to take part in Kudamat-

tam facing Paramekkavu Bhagavathy. The Pooram Festival is

celebrated by these two rival groups representing the two divi-

sions of Thrissur, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi vying with

each other in making the display of fireworks grander and more

colourful. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen

elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the

best elephants in Kerala and the most artistic umbrellas, several

kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display

(Kudamattam).

It is worth pointing an interesting sequence of events

here for the readers. It seems that until about 75 years ago,

there was no Kudamattam. The colour of umbrella on the ele-

phant carrying the God would always be green and others red.

At that time one Mani Iyer , who was a native of Thiruvambadi,

thought that it would be nice to have different colour umbrellas.

He made 14 green umbrellas and one red umbrella in consulta-

tion with the Thiruvambadi temple management. That year, the

Koodi Kazhcha started as usual with red umbrellas. In the mid-

dle, to the surprise of every body, the Thiruvambadi party

switched their umbrellas. The Parmekkavu party were not pre-

pared for it. It seems that they then rushed and changed to dec-

orative Patta Kodais. From then on, Kudamattam became an

important part of Pooram and we all have to thank a Keralaiyer

Shri. Mani Iyer for coming up with such an innovative idea. The

world famous Kudamattam lasts for nearly two hours and after

that Thiruvambadi Bhagavathy goes to Brahmaswom Madam

and Paramekkavu Bhagathy goes to her temple on the east

side of the main temple.

By 8.30 PM these poorams again comes to pay obei-

sance to Lord Vaddunnathan. By night 3.00 AM the fireworks

starts with the arrival of Paramekkavu at the pandal at Manikan-

dan Aal and Thiruvambadi at Nai kanal. This lasts till

5.30AM. Next day Pakal Pooram marks the end of the festival.

The grand finale of this festival of colour, music and fire works

would be marked with a function of bidding farewell to the dei-

ties of the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devaswams in front

of the Western Gate of the Vadakkunnathan Temple.

Vadakkunathan Temple : Vadakkunnathan Temple, is one of

the largest and ancient Shiva temples in Kerala. It is located in

the heart of Thrissur town. It is believed that Lord Parasurama

built the temple. Vadakkunnathan temple is surrounded by a

massive stone wall enclosing an area of nearly 9 acres

(36,000 m2). Inside this fortification there are four gopurams

each facing north, south, east, and west directions. The temple

is a multi-shrined complex in the center with three principal

shrines dedicated to Shiva (Vadakkunnathan), Shankaranaraya-

na and Rama.Here Lord Shiva is facing West direction. Apart

from these three deities Sree Parvathy and Sree Ganapathi are

also enshrined within the nalambalam of the temple. Lord Vettek-

karan (Siva in a hunter form) is also worshipped within the nalam-

balam enclosure. Outside the nalambalam, there are shrines of

Lord Krishna, Vrishabha, Parasurama, Simhodara, Dhar-

masastha and Adi Sankaracharya. Adi Sankara is believed to

have been born to the Shivaguru-Aryamba couple of Kalady in

answer to their prayers before Vadakkunnathan. A fairly large

white bullock on the verandah of the Nalambalam is worshipped

as Nandikeswara. Apart from these deities, devotees can offer

their prayer to Kasi Viswanathar, and Lord Chidambaranatha of

Chidambaram, Lord of Shiva of Rameswaram, Sree Kali of Ko-

dungallur, Urakam Ammathiruvadi, Lord Bharatha

(Koodalmanickam) at Irinjalakuda, Sree Vyasa (On the Vyasar

palakai ( stone - devotees write “Hari sree Ganapathaye Na-

ma:”•on this stone), Sree Hanuman and the serpent gods.

Speciality of Lord Vadakkunnathan : In the Garbhagraham the

lord is inside a huge mount of frozen ghee (Neiyyu Mala). This

neiyyu mala is about ten feet in height and is supposed to be

many centuries old (more than thousand years). The idol of Shi-

va, which is not visible, is covered under a mount of ghee, formed

by the daily abhishekam with ghee over the years. A devotee

looking into the sanctum can now see only a ten-foot high mount

of ghee decorated with thirteen cascading crescents of gold and

three serpent hoods at top. According to traditional belief, this

represents the snow-clad Mount Kailas, the abode of Parvathy

and Parameswara. Next time when you visit this temple please

ensure to stand in front of the Lord for few minutes and look care-

fully to notice the Ghee Mala behind the decorations.

Thrissur Pooram & Vadakkunathan Temple contd..

Page 16

Tarangin i

About the author:

P S Krishnan - I am a native of Pallassana East Village in Palakkad District, very famous for Meenkulathi

Kavu Bhagavathy kshetram. I left our Gramam in 1961 for my higher studies. After graduation I worked in

Govt.Victoria College, Palakkad as Demonstrator in Chemistry for a short period and then moved to

Mumbai where I have been living for 45 years now. I retired as an Executive from ICI after 33 year‘s of

service. I have been studying Vedam for the last eight years and have taken part in few Maha Rudram and

Athi Rudram functions in and around Mumbai. Often I write articles and many of them have appeared in

Pattars.com and Pallassanakizhakkegramam@yahoogroups.com.

Brahmins have been marginalised significantly since India's independence. Whatev-

er the cause or justification, it is a fact that Brahmins have been, and are being,

discriminated against and deprived of legitimate opportunities in the country.

The Pattars yahoo group frequently carries pathetic tales of Brahmin deprivation,

almost begging for financial and social support from fellow-Brahmins. Undoubtedly,

responses from fellow-Brahmins have been generous. Unlike other segments of

the society, Brahmins are socially handicapped from taking up menial jobs and la-

bour to support themselves and their families. The net result is that we now have

several Brahmin families below the poverty line. It is pathetic that Brahmins, who

once occupied intellectually superior status by merit, are now at the bottom de-

prived of even equal opportunity.

Girl children bear the burden of deprivation for obvious reasons and they suffer

neglect and social isolation, for no fault of theirs. Some are denied even the basic

education for want of resources. This cause for Girl children among poor Brah-

mins deserves to be taken up on priority, before they are consigned to their fate

by the society.

I am willing to provide financial support (for living and education @ Rs. 1000/- pm,

per head) for up to two (2) deserving and meritorious Brahmin girls until they

complete their Secondary School education. The proposed grant is for ONE

YEAR at a time, and extended at the discretion of the donor, based on the re-

view/appraisal of the beneficiary' s performance Brahmin friends, who know such

cases from their villages, may please refer those cases (with full information includ-

ing their contact details) to me at: iyer_venketesh@yahoo.com

SAVE THE GIRL CHILD- AN APPEAL -Venketesh Iyer

Page 17

Tarangin i

North Parur (now Para-

voor), is a very old and

growing municipality locat-

ed in Ernakulam district.

The Parur town is 19 kms

away from Alwaye (Aluva)/

Edappally in the city of Ko-

chi. One can call Parur, a

Temple Town for the num-

ber of marvelous temples that one can visit there.

The reason for so many temples in the region is at-

tributed to the influence of Travancore State and

Cochin State rulers who ruled North Parur for

many years. Also at different times in history, Karna-

taka Brahmins (Pottie, Embran etc), Tamil Brahmins

(Iyers) and GSB Brahmins (Prabhu, Shenoy, Pai etc)

came to this town, settled here and constructed

temples for themselves and for their workers who

spoke same or similar languages. Some of the fa-

mous temples found there are:

Sree Venkatachalapathi Temple Potten Street,

KMK Junction.

Sree Venugopalaswami temple, Chennaman-

galam.

Mookambika Saraswathi Temple- One of the

most important Saraswathy temples in Kerala

Peruvaram Mahadeva Temple.

Kannankulangara Sreekrishna Temple

Amman Temple –Near English High School

Besides these temples, the Sasthapreethi conducted

every year during Kumbha Maasam (Maasi Masam)

by the Pandi Brahmana Samooham is very famous

and popular like the Sasthapreethi at Kochi

Thekkethalam. The Samooham has on its member-

ship record, Brahmins who mostly migrated from

Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu during the last and

previous century in search of a livelihood and set-

tled down here at Parur. The Samooham also con-

ducts Maharudram during Vasantha Rithu and Bha-

gavathi Seva for 41 days during Adi masam (July 15

onwards). The Samooham organizes upanayanam

for deserving poor vatus and help poor Brahmin

families in the conduct of marriage of their daugh-

ters. The Samooham also runs a High School for the

benefit of all. The Sasthapreethi being a major

event attracts people from far and wide. Prompted

by an active member of the Samooham settled at

Bangalore, I had the benefit of participating in the

Sasthapreethi at Parur this year on 20th February

along with nine other members from the Pradosha

Pooja Group, Bangalore. We were requested to

join the Vedic chanting and for singing the Varavu

songs and Vanchi Paattu. It was a memorable and

exciting experience for all of us to be a part of the

celebrations.

The elaborate Mahanyasa Purasaram Ekadasavara

Parur Saasthapreethi -P V Anantanarayanan

Page 18

Tarangin i

Alankaram

Rudrabhishekam, followed by chanting of Taitreeya

Upanishad, Mahanarayanam and Rudra Kra-

marchana was a six hour religious exercise to all of

us. This was followed by Deeparadhana and singing

of Varavu songs and a sumptuous Prasadam lunch.

Paal payasam being the Mahaneivedyam, is prepared

with all care and devotion. I was informed by senior

members of the Samooham that late Ambi Maama

used to take extreme care in maintaining the quality

of milk supplied. Though he did not have a scientific

instrument to test the quality of milk supplied, he

would use a cane (Perambu) which he would dip in

the milk and examine the quality of milk supplied.

The Vanchi Paattu extending for about 90 minutes

in the late evening sung in the adjacent Madathumuri

Street of samooham was a delight to the ears of the

devotees present. There was a bhajan at the Pandal

followed by Deeparadhana, Varavu Pattu and invok-

ing of Sastha, Yakshi and Chellapillai. The pro-

gramme extended well beyond mid night and left all

those who experienced the festivities with a great

sense of satisfaction & awe.

I must mention, the excellent and elaborate flower

decoration to the lamps done by florists, specially

invited for the function from Kallidaikuruchi in Ta-

milnadu. Besides the sincere efforts by the office

bearers and committee members of the Samooham,

other members and well wishers, the smooth con-

duct of the Sasthapreethi was over seen by the 93

year old Sri Sahasranama maama (fondly called as

Chathu Maama).

I am sure, that by now, those of you from Parur

who missed this event are reminiscing the old mem-

ories of the functions you would‘ve attended and

are already planning your trip for the next

Sasthapreethi and those of you new to Parur, would

include this temple town in your travel plans to

Kerala! For your convenience, the Samooham also

takes care of your food requirements while visiting

this place.

Parur Saasthapreethi contd...

Page 19

Tarangin i

About the author:

I am P V Anantanarayanan, a retired. Sr. Manager from one of India‘s leading nation-

alized banks. I am a vedic & cultural enthusiast, actively involved in organizing and con-

ducting Poojas & Bhajans in Bangalore. A founder member of the Pradosha Pooja

Group, Bangalore which regularly conducts Pradosha poojas at various residences on

Pradosham days and Sasthapreethis at public venues in and around the city.

Prima Facie I wish to say that Vedic

Astrology is not a subject of so free

hand for any person to practice at

his will; nevertheless and very unfor-

tunately we see many people pro-

claiming them to be ―Astrologers‖

knowing not much or nothing at all

of Vedic Astrology jumping over to

become Astrologers after reading

few astrological books in order to

make fast bucks thus giving a inde-

cent burial to the sacred subject.

Vedic Astrology, so far as its predic-

tive part is concerned, is not such an

exact science as Physics or Mathe-

matics in which, it is possible for any

person to wriggle himself out of any

position however difficult it may be,

without the divine grace, but in the

case of Vedic Astrology, which is a

very close approach to a science,

divine grace must operate.

Though I learned the effect of plan-

ets on human being and to interpret

horoscope way back in early eighties

but I did not show much interest in

practising astrology then because I

understood that most of the astrolo-

gers in those days (& even today!)

followed the traditional way while

analysing horoscopes where lot of

superstitions were involved which I

did not like due my firm belief in the

fact that the ‗human beings are ra-

tional creatures‘.

I always believed in Karma and re-

birth theory; and also in one Supreme

God. I often opposed to the common

belief and general practise by many

Astrologers that such and such a sac-

rifice or grains or pulses or things

should be offered to such and such a

planet to appease it or pacify it be-

cause I firmly believe that planets are

just agents of one Supreme God indi-

cating only the effects produced by

such causes, without they themselves

producing the effects. In my personal

opinion Jupiter is neither Brahmin nor

Saturn a Sudra as referred in many

ancient classic works.

Even today most people (especially

in India) are under the false impres-

sion that performing certain astrolog-

ical remedies (Shaanthi Pooja) or

wearing any gem stone or changing

the alphabets in their name could

eliminate all their sufferings (Karma)

and bring them good luck. From an

astrological point of view, the timing

of the ‗punishments‘ imposed on a

person as a result of past birth Karma

is no doubt determined by the plane-

tary positions in a horoscope, howev-

er, undertaking certain remedial

measures before the completion of

‗at least seventy five percent of

‗punishment‘ life‘ would never wash

away the past birth Karma com-

pletely.

Similarly, many people believe that

choosing an auspicious date or aus-

picious time for giving birth would

make the newborn babies to feel

lucky after their birth. The belief

that infants developing birth de-

fects or becoming abnormal if born

during inauspicious day is deeply

rooted in our country; hence many

expectant mothers in our country

scheduled for delivery during inaus-

picious period always prefer cae-

sarean delivery either earlier or

later rather than taking ―risk‖.

But the truth is that however re-

arranging the date or time for de-

livery according to our convenient

during inauspicious days would

simply change the Rising Sign,

Moon Sign and the planetary posi-

tion in the Birth-Chart of the baby

and confuse the astrologers in the

later period but definitely not the

child‘s Karma!

The fundamental tenet is that

while passing through lives, every

individual acquire virtue for all vir-

tuous and noble acts; similarly

curse for sinful and wicked acts.

They go on accumulating till the

end of life; then the departed soul,

Vedic Astrology-as I see it N. P. Krishnan Iyer

(Vedic Astrologer and Author)

Page 20

Tarangin i

automatically carries with it the ac-

cumulated burden of both virtue and

curse which together constitute Pra-

rabdha Karma. Accordingly, under

the Law of Karma, an individual must

experience enjoyment as reward for

the righteous act and suffer punish-

ment for the evil act committed in

the past birth. There is no escape

from paying the penalty.

Nevertheless, we can try to clean

the ‗virus‘ adhered on to our soul (in

the form of curse) by practising med-

itation or introspecting or self-

analyzing or we can minimize much

of our sufferings with our own will-

power, with our positive thinking,

with our virtuous and noble-actions.

A noble action means discharging

our routine work honestly and sin-

cerely. None of our good deeds go

waste and they definitely yield good

results-- may be immediately or

within a short period or some time

after a long period, probably after

completion of our ‗punishment‘ life;

it all depends upon the way we dis-

charge our duties and perform our

action. However, it is not necessary

for any person to follow illogical way

or shortcut means to receive the

blessings of God immediately in or-

der to change his / her Karma; sim-

ple and sincere prayers have never

gone unheard. At last we must thank

God for creating us intelligent crea-

tures;

I am not against anybody preferring

to perform Shaanthi Pooja to escape

the wrath of past birth curse be-

cause certain powerful Shaanthi

Pooja definitely yield positive results

but the native must have already

completed seventy percent of

‗punishment‘ life. Performing any

astrological remedies (Shaanthi

Pooja) are just like moving a bail

application before the law-court;

whether to grant us bail or not, en-

tirely rests in the hands of the Judg-

es who take note of our case. Our

request will get materialized on the

merit of arguments and the presen-

tations of our case by our talented

advocate in front of the Judges. Simi-

larly, our devotion and our dedica-

tion while praying or performing

Shaanthi Pooja will bring us required

positive results provided the priest

or astrologer conducting the Shaan-

thi Pooja must perform like a talent-

ed advocate!

Vedic Astrology-as I see it Contd...

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Tarangin i

About the author:

N P Krishnan Iyer - I am from Nurani Agraharam, Palakkad and I have been settled in Navi-

Mumbai for quite some long years. I am married (my wife hails from Kumbakonam Brahmana)

and blessed with two children. I am astrologer by profession who thoroughly believes in Kar-

ma and re-birth theory. I have been writing astrological articles in a local newsweekly since

last three years. I wish you visit my website www.astrologicalguidence.com

Kacha was the eldest son of Brahaspathi, the son of Angeeras. He was an extremely handsome boy. His father was the Guru

(teacher) of all devas. When he was a young lad, the fight between Devas and Asuras was continuing. Devas had a complaint that

Shukra the Guru of Asuras was protecting the Asuras in a better way. Shukra had got the knowledge oh Maha Mruthyunjaya Man-

tram from Lord Shiva and he was using it to bring it to life all dead Asuras. The devas also wanted to learn that mantra. Kacha vol-

unteered to help them.

He went and approached Shukra as a student. Shukra accepted him and

started teaching him. Shukra had a very pretty daughter called Devaya-

ni. Devayani and Kacha being of the same age became very close

friends. The Asuras were looking at this happening with lot of suspi-

cion. They justifiably thought that Kacha’s intention was not to simply

gain knowledge but learn the Maha Mruthyunjaya Mantra from Sage

Shukra. So when Kacha had gone to the forest to graze the cattle of

Shukra’s household, they killed Kacha and made a wolf eat him. When

Kacha did not return, Devayani started crying. Since Shukra loved his

daughter very much, he chanted the Maha Mruthyunjaya Mantra to

bring back Kacha. Kacha came back to life in the stomach of the wolf,

pierced it and came out. The Asuras were very unhappy at the turn of

these events. So when next day, Kacha went to take bath in the river, they killed him, burnt him and mixed his ashes in the sea.

Again the same thing happened. To please his darling child Devayani, Shukra brought back Kacha to life using his mantra. This in-

furiated the Asuras. So next time when they hold of Kacha, they killed him, burnt him and mixed the ashes with an alcoholic drink

and gave it to their teacher Shukra. Shukra unknowingly drank the drink. This time when Shukra chanted the Maha Mruthyunjaya

Mantra, he came to life in the stomach of Shukra. It became evident that if he comes out, Shukra will die. Then Shukra taught the

Maha Mruthyunjaya mantra to Kacha who was within his stomach. Kacha came out of the stomach of Shukra and brought back his

teacher to life by chanting the mantra. Once it was over, Kacha told his Guru that he wanted to go back. At this time Devayani re-

quested Kacha to marry her, since she loved him. But Kacha told that since he came out of the stomach of Shukra, he was like a son

to him and Devayani was like a sister. Devayani cursed Kacha that the mantra that he has learnt would not be effective, if he chanted

it. Kacha also cursed Devayani that she would not get married to son’s of any devas.

Kacha went back happily and taught the mantra he had learned to others. Later Devayani married a king called Yayati. Shukra, who

got into trouble because of alcoholic drink, forbade, all Brahmins from drinking it.

*Picture acknowledgement: Indian Book House Ltd., Mumbai (Amar Chitra Katha)

Devayani and Kacha - retold by P R Ramachander

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Tarangin i

About the author:

P R Ramachander - A resident of Bangalore, my roots lie in Kerala and my life journey took me to other parts of

India before I settled in Bangalore. A scientist by profession and a story teller by heart is how I would like to de-

scribe myself. For years I worked in the field of science in a horticultural institute in Bangalore. Soon after my retire-

ment, the poet and the storyteller in me pushed itself out. Among the challenges I have undertaken are the transla-

tion of several slokas to English in a poetic form. These can be viewed at www.geocities.com/ramya475/ . I am a

poet in a very small way too. Some of my poems can be seen at www.poetrypoem.com/ramya475. My other inter-

ests are cartooning, history and sociology.

Chakka Pradhaman

Page 23

Tarangin i

Ingredients:

Jackfruit slices (10-12) or ready Chakka Varatti

Jaggery as per required sweetness

Ghee as required

Water - 1/2 cup total

Coconut milk - 2 cups

1 tsp ground cardamom

Coconut bits, cashew nuts fried in ghee

Method:

If you don't have readymade chakka varatti to start with, then please proceed to make it

using Jackfruit slices for this preparation.

Chakka Varatti: Make a smooth paste of jackfruit slices by grinding without water. Melt the jaggery in

water and add the jackfruit paste to it. Heat the mix with occasional stirring and cook until the required

chakka varatti consistency is reached. You may add ghee to the mix to make it more workable.

Chakka Pradhaman: Melt the jaggery in water. Add varatti (obtained as above or from a readymade

stock) and heat the mix to a boil. Keep on stirring the mix and add coconut milk. Allow it to simmer and

add cardamom and ghee fried cashew nuts/ coconut pieces.

From the Adukulai

Tarangini

Articles contributed by:

K V Ananthanarayanan

Shanti Tilak

K D Skandon

Lavannya Krishna

Rakesh Ramachandran

Poornima Srikanth

P R Ramachander

P S Krishnan

Venketesh Iyer

P V Anantanarayanan

N P Krishnan Iyer

Send us your write-ups/material at:

E-mail: ezine.tarangini@gmail.com

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/taranginiki/

Editors:

Hridya Ramani

Navneet T Narayan