Dance of Shiva

THE COSMIC DANCE OF SIVA NATARÅJA IS BOTH SYMBOL AND REALITY. IT IS THE MOVEMENT OF CREATION, PRESERVATION, AND DISSOLUTION.

THE TRIAD WHICH TAKEN TOGETHER IS THE PRINCIPLE OF MÅYÅ, GOD’S ENDLESS IMPULSE, TAKING place within each of us and within every atom of the universe. We are all dancing with Siva this very moment and He with us. In the midst of His agitated dance, God Siva’s HEAD is balanced and still, His EXPRESSION serene and calm, in perfect equipoise as to the unmoved Mover. His right EARRING, made of a snake, is masculine. His left, a large discus, is feminine. Together they symbolize the fact that Siva is neither male nor female, but transcends both. God Siva’s THIRD EYE is the eye of fire and symbolizes higher perception, extending throughout the past, present, and future. God Siva’s HAIR is in the long untended locks of the ascetic, flying out energetically.

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On His hair are the SERPENT SESA NÅGA, representing the cycle of years; a SKULL, symbolizing Siva’s power of destruction; the fifth-day CRESCENT MOON, symbolizing His creative power; and the GODDESS GANGÅ, India’s most sacred river, a symbol of descending grace. God Siva’s BACK LEFT-HAND holds a blazing flame, the fire God Agni, symbolizing His power of destruction, samhâra, by which the universe is reabsorbed at the end of each cycle of creation, only to be recreated again by God Siva. This hand represents NA in the Pañchâkshara Mantra, Na-Ma-Si-Vâ-Ya. His PLANTED FOOT stands for the syllable MA and symbolizes His concealing grace, tirodhâna Sakti, which limits consciousness, allowing souls to mature through experience. Siva dances upon the figure known as APASMÅRA, “forgetful or heedless,” who represents the soul bound by anava Mala, the individuating veil of duality, source of separation from God. Apasmârapurusha looks up serenely at Lord Siva’s raised foot, the ultimate refuge, release, and destiny of all souls without exception. Lord Siva’s LEFT FRONT HAND, representing the syllable VÅ, held in the elephant trunk pose, Gajahasta, points to His left foot, source of revealing grace, anugraha Sakti, by which souls return to Him. Left and right back arms are balanced, as are creation and destruction.

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Siva’s BACK RIGHT HAND, standing for the syllable SI, holds the thin waisted rattle drum, damaru, symbol of creation, srish†i, which begins with soundless sound, Paranâda, from which arises the mantra Aum.

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The FRONT RIGHT HAND is raised in the gesture abhaya, “fear not,” symbolizing Siva’s power of sthiti, preservation, and protection, and standing for the syllable YA. Lord Siva’s RAISED FOOT symbolizes His revealing grace, by which the soul ultimately transcends the bonds of ânava, karma, and mâyâ and realizes its identity with Him.

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Lord Siva’s SKIN is a pinkish color. His body is smeared with white HOLY ASH, vibhûti, symbol of purity. The BLUE THROAT represents His compassion in swallowing the deadly hâlâhala poison to protect mankind. He wears a SKULL NECKLACE, symbolizing the perpetual revolution of ages. The SERPENT JAHNUWI adorns His body, a symbol of His identity with the kundalinî power, the normally dormant spiritual force within man coiled at the base of the spine. Raised through yoga, this force propels man into God-Realization.

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Siva wears a TIGER SKIN, a symbol of nature’s power. His SASH, ka†ibhandha, is blown to one side by His rapid movement. The ARCH OF FLAMES, prabhâvali, in which Siva dances is the Hall of Consciousness. Each flame has three sub-flames, symbolizing fire on Earth, in the atmosphere, and in the sky. At the top of the arch is MAHÅKÅLA, “Great time.” Mahåkâla is God Siva Himself who creates, transcends, and ends time.

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Siva Na†arâja dances within the state of timeless transcendence. The double lotus PEDESTAL, mahâmbujapî†ha, symbolizes manifestation. From this base springs the cosmos.

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The four sacred Vedas, mankind’s oldest scriptures, intone, “To Rudra [Siva], Lord of sacrifice, of hymns and balmy medicines, we pray for joy and health and strength. He shines in splendor like the sun, refulgent as bright gold is He, the good, the best among the Gods (Rig Veda 1.43.4- 5).”

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“He is God, hidden in all beings, their inmost soul who is in all. He watches the works of creation, lives in all things, watches all things. He is pure consciousness, beyond the three conditions of nature (Yajur Veda, Svetâsvatara Upanishad 6.11 upm).”

 

Karwa Chauth

Origin of Karwa Chauth Celebration

Karva Chauth is made of two words, Karva means an earthen oil lamp and Chauth means four. Shiva, Parvati, and their son Kartikeya are worshiped on this day along with the 10 ‘karwas’ (earthen pots) filled with sweets.

The day of Karva Chauth is celebrated close to Diwali, exactly falls on the fourth day of the month of Kartik. The Kartik month celebrates the harvest time, where it is a time for meeting people and celebration. The Karva Chauth is a celebration of the beautiful bond between a husband and wife celebrating love and togetherness, Karwa Chauth is offering Argya to the moon using an earthen pot known as Karwa.

From sunrise till moonrise, she keeps a fast for the safety of her husband. Keeping a fast without drinking water and eating any food all through the day seems to be a difficult one but the doting wives perform all these with much love and respect in their head and heart for their husbands.

Tale of the Queen Veervati :

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful queen named Veervati who was the only sister among seven loving and caring brothers. In one of the Karwa Chauth, she was at her parent's place and began a strict fast after sunrise. In the evening she was waiting eagerly for the moonrise as she was suffering from hunger and thirst. The brothers were pained by seeing their sister in suffering. So, they created a mirror in a Pipal tree that made it look as if the Moon is up in the sky. Now, the moment Veervati broke her fast, the news that her husband has dead arrived. She kept on weeping and that's when a Goddess arrived in front and revealed that she was tricked by her brothers. Now, she kept the Karwa Chauth fast with full devotion, and seeing the dedication, Yama, the lord of death restored life to her husband.

From the Pages of the Mahabharata: It is said that Draupadi also observed this Karwa Chauth. Once Arjuna, the one whom Draupadi loved the most went to the Nilgiri mountains for self-penalty and thus the rest of the brothers were facing challenges without him. Now, Draupadi remembered Lord Krishna in this situation to ask what should be done to resolve the challenges. Lord Krishna narrated a story of Goddess Parvati where in a similar situation she performed the Karwa Chauth rituals. So, Draupadi then followed the strict rituals of Karwa Chauth and Pandavas resolved their problems.

The Story of Karwa:

There was a woman named Karwa who was deeply in love with her husband and this intense love gave her lots of spiritual powers. Once her husband was bathing in a river and that was when he was attacked by a crocodile. Now the courageous Karwa bound the crocodile with cotton yarn and remembered Yama the God of death. Yama was seriously afraid of being cursed by such a devoted and doting wife and thus he sent the crocodile to hell and gave life back to her husband.

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The Story of Satyavan and Savitri :

It is said that when Yama, the God of death came to acquire Satyavan's life, Savitri begged in front of Yama to grant him life. But Yama was adamant and seeing that Savitri stopped eating and drinking and followed Yama as he took her husband away. Yama now said Savitri that she can ask of any other boon except the life of her husband. Savitri being a very clever woman asked Yama that she wants to be blessed with children. She is a devoted and loyal wife and won't let any kind of adultery. Thus, Yama had to restore life into Satyavan so that Savitri can have children.

Why We Celebrate Karwa Chauth?

If we see the popularity of this festival, we see the prominence of the North and North-Western regions of our country. A huge chunk of the male population of these regions were the soldiers of the Indian Army and officials of the Military Forces and for the safety of these people, women of these regions started fasting. These armed forces, policemen, soldiers, and military personnel protected the country from enemies, and the women used to pray to God for the longevity of their men. The time of this festival coincides with the initiation of the Rabi cropping season which is the wheat sowing season in these aforementioned areas. The women of the families fill the earthen pot or Karwa with wheat grains and offer to God praying for a great Rabi season.

In ancient India, women of 10-13 years of age were married. Hardly they could enjoy their childhood or early teenage in such a marriage. Communication was also a big obstacle in those days. So, they couldn't come to their parent's home easily and it was also not considered good. So, you can say from an early age, a woman had to take full responsibility for a new household. From cooking to cleaning, she was the in-charge. But, she was basically all alone away from the loved ones in an unknown house and without any friends too. Where would she go while feeling alone or missing home? So, to resolve this problem, the women started celebrating Karwa Chauth in a grand way where married women of the whole village and some nearby villages used to congregate in one place and spend the day in joy and laughter. They befriended each other and called each other God-friends or God-sisters. One can say that this festival started as a means of enjoyment and to forget the fact that they are alone in their in-law's place. They celebrated the union among themselves on this day and gifted each other bangles, lipsticks, sindoor, etc. to remind each other that there is always a friend somewhere.