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Posts Tagged: hinduism
Book
I took this pic when my dad was performing Shiva Puja during the Mahashivaratri festival. The book is printed in the Bengali script and is about the stories pertaining to the festival and the procedure of the puja. This was a random shot which I took but my dad’s finger on the book as he read it made it a nice composition. This book has been in my house since I remember. Much older than me in age….. kind of torn and beaten and has seen better days. It is brought out every year before every Mahashivaratri Puja and then kept back only to bring out the next year.
Mirabai Temple
Mirabai, the name itself fills me with reverence. It is not just her life and love for Krishna but also her simple poems. They fill you with such awe and tranquility and the love simply emanates from them. Meerabai’s life story is that of riches to rags. Born a princess to her adoring royal parents and married to a king who loved and adored her, her love for Krishna preceded everything. So much that she lived a saint in her palace and then left everything for her love to live with beggars and the poor (a dishonorable act for a queen in her days). She was tortured and banished from the kingdom for the unconditional love for her Lord…… even made to drink poison but her love never left her. It made states and kings to bend their rules and laws. Mirabai redefined LOVE – that love cannot be bound by any boundaries and it surpasses all!!! Love knows no shame no right wrong….. It is sublime. You can read more about her here.
This is the temple where Meerabai prayed and served her Krishna. Chittorgarh is her in-laws house. At first she only came down here to pray everyday. Then in the later part of her life she lived and served her Lord right here and then when her husband died, she was banished and wandered all over the country only to return here and it was here that she was given poison. Thousands throng here everyday to get a little piece of Meerabai. I did too!!! When I realised that I was kinda close to Chittorgarh. I changed my whole travel itinerary and drove 100’s of miles to be there. You can’t be in Rajasthan and not meet Meerabai. As I stood before the altar (pic 3) was so enthralled and as I looked for signs and traces for her presence, the peace that dawned on me at that moment was unbelievable. I could sit there all day.
I leave you with links to her poems in English and some with their translations in English:
Linking to Our World Tuesday, Tuesday around the world, Ruby Tuesday, Himmelsk#112, A piece of heaven
Sindoor Khela
Sindoor khela is part and parcel of the last day of celebrations of the Durga Puja. This is performed in front of the idol of the Goddess before she departs for her in-laws place. The sindoor (vermilion) is a mark of married life and applied on the forehead. On this day married women apply sindoor to the idol of the goddess and then every married woman goes around applying it on each other’s forehead and on iron bangles. The significance of this ritual is to pray for longevity of the life of the husband and peace and prosperity of the family. The color red signifies matrimonial bliss among Hindus.
Hands making an “X”
Shivratri at home
Last week we had Shivratri Pooja at home. We usually do it on the Shiva Lingams. My father was the designated priest. The Shivratri Pooja entails fasting the whole day…….. sometimes the previous day and the next day as well. Depends on the austerity of the rituals you wish to follow. The pooja takes place at the last prahar of the day or anything between 930 and midnight. My grandfathers both side usually did it at midnight……. but dad cheated improvised a little as we were all hungry tired and could not sustain any longer…… and did it earlier than usual. The Shiva Lingams are bathed in milk, yogurt, ghee, (clarified butter) honey, and sugar…… ie the panchamrit and lastly water. The offering of bel leaves and bel fruit is given and then lastly flowers, fruits and sweets. Lastly we pray for peace health and happiness of the whole family.
Posting it in Our World Tuesday Week # 27
Kumari Puja
During Durgotsav, Goddess Durga is worshipped in all feminine forms – Shakti, Shanti, Mother, sister and Daughter…… Kumari (unmarried girl). Little girls of age 3 to 9 are dressed up in the solah singars with alankars (jewellery) like bangles, earrings, necklace, Maang tika, bindi…… I honestly wouldn’t be able to translate all of them for you to sum it……. she is dressed like a bride and then the priest prays to her as he would to the Goddess. She is offered flowers, food of her choice (even Chocolates), incense and arati is done of her like it would be done of the Goddess. The best part of the whole thing is that the little girl then gets to bless everybody. I find it really hilarious when the little girl is asked to hold the shanti mudra and bless people who are more than 10 to 20 times her age.
Out of all the Kumaris that I have taken pics of during Durgotsav this little girl has captured my heart forever. She was so calm and serene all through the rituals……. probably bribed big time by her parents but the end result was beautiful. I was so enamored by her that I just couldn’t stop taking pics of her……. very very photogenic I have rarely seen a little girl of her age so patient and calm.
