[Reader-list] Cultural roots

Sat Aug 28 19:18:26 IST 2010

Dear All,
Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them.  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all dissatisfied with INDIA.  
Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the lord Krishna took his birth where in we all celebrate it as "KRISHNASHTAMI".  Now the woman celebrate "2 puja" in this month not just in a part  or region but through out the united India.  
The first one is  "mangala gouri", worshiped by girls on "Tuesday" for their better life in starting from the marriage year to 5 years.

HistoryLong long ago a boy who was studying under a guru went from 
house to house seeking alms. This was a tradition then and the Guru and shishya 
only took what was needed for the day. But strangely this boy refused alms given 
by the queen of the land and took alms from other women. The king and the queen 
of the land were staunch Shiva devotees but did not have any children. The queen and the king discussed this strange incident and 
the next day, the queen again offered rice to the young boy. But the boy did not 
accept it.

The king came and asked why he was not taking the rice from 
the queen.

The boy said that the king and queen did not have children 
and it would not be wise to take alms from a couple who is unlucky. The king got angry and said only Lord Shiva can decide who 
should be lucky and unlucky. The king who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva 
soon realized that the boy was Shiva in disguise. He then prayed to forgive his 
arrogance and asked to be blessed with a child.

Shiva blessed the couple but said their child will only live 
for sixteen years.

A boy, Chandrasekhar, was born to the couple and soon time 
passed by and the boy became a teenager. The king and the queen remembered the 
words of Shiva and decided to send young Chandrasekhar, who was fifteen, to 
Kashi. It is believed that those who die at Kashi will never be born again.

Young Chandrasekhar was informed about his fate and without 
any other option he followed his uncle to Kashi. On the way, the young boy saw 
several new things. In a garden, they met a lovely princess. The boy and the 
uncle heard the princess discussing the glory of Mangala Gowri Puja. It was the 
Shravan month and the girls were performing the Mangala Gowri Vratha. The 
princess was saying that whoever she marries will live a long life because she 
performs the Mangala Gowri Puja with pure heart and devotion. 

The boy and the uncle moved forward and they met a prince who 
was sick. He explained to them that he was to marry the princess of the kingdom 
tomorrow but he was ashamed to go in front of people as he has fallen sick. The 
prince asked Chandrasekhar to help him out by appearing in the marriage 
function. Chandrasekhar agreed. 

Young Chandrasekhar appeared as the groom and the first day 
of the marriage function passed away smoothly. That night Chandrasekhar was to 
turn sixteen. He explained about his fate and about the real prince to the 
princess and decided to leave next morning to Kashi. 

But that night the princess saw a snake approaching 
Chandrasekhar; she grabbed a handful of unbroken grains used to perform Mangala 
Gowri Puja and threw it on the snake. The snake fell dead. She took the snake 
and hid it in the Kalash used to perform the Mangala Gowri Puja. 

Chandrasekhar left the next morning and he left his wedding 
ring there. The other prince took the place for the day’s wedding ceremony but 
the princess was not ready to marry him. She said firmly that Chandrasekhar was 
her husband and she will only sit next to him. 

Chandrasekhar reached Kashi and a year passed. He did not 
die. The strength and devotion with which the young princess performed the 
Mangala Gowri Puja saved him. While returning back to his kingdom, Chandrasekhar 
again reached the same spot. He longed to see the young princess even though he 
believed that she was happily married to the prince. 

Chandrasekhar heard that the princess was in the habit of 
feeding all the people who passed by her kingdom. He went and sat among the 
people who was partaking the food offered by the princess. Soon the princess 
appeared. She was closely examining all the people who were eating. She has been 
doing this from the day Chandrasekhar left; she was sure that one day he will 
pass by her kingdom. 

In no time, the young princess recognized Chandrasekhar. She 
showed him the wedding ring. The young Chandrasekhar could not control his 
tears. He said he did not die. The princess said she knew it and explained what 
happened on the night when he turned sixteen. Soon they got married and lived happily there after.
                                                ***********************************

The 2 Nd  one is "Varalakshmi puja" celebrated by woman specifically married on 2nd Friday( alternately 4Th Friday) to obtain children,wealth and long life for their "mangala sutras"(Husband).  

History 
In the kingdom of Magadha of yore, there lived a brahmin woman 
called Charumathi in a town named Kundina. The prosperous town was the home of 
Charumathi and her husband. She devotedly served her husband and her 
parents-in-law. Impressed by her piety, Goddess Mahalakshmi appeared in her 
dream and asked her to worship Vara-Lakshmi (literally, boon granting - goddess 
of wealth) and seek to fulfill her wishes. Varalakshmi is yet another form of 
Lord Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Thus was prescribed the 
Friday of Sravana month preceding the full moon day for the worship. 
When Charumathi explained her dream to her family, she found 
them encouraging her to perform the pooja. Many other women of the town also 
joined her in performing the pooja in a traditional way and offered many sweet 
dishes to the Goddess Varalakshmi. They prayed with deep devotion: 
"Padmaasane Padmakare 
sarva lokaika poojithe
Narayana priyadevi supreethaa bhava sarvada" 

The well dressed women made offerings of delicious feast with 
utmost devotion. As they went round the deity in prayer, dazzling jewelry is 
said to have appeared as ornaments on the bodies of these worshippers and their 
houses filled with riches. They rewarded the priest who assisted them in 
performing the pooja and they all partook in the feast. The women expressed 
their gratitude to Charumathi who shared her dream and helped them become 
prosperous. 
This pooja came to be practiced year after year by women. Done with 
devotion, it is said that boons would be granted and thus many wishes would be 
realized. 

Regards,Dhatri.

--- On Fri, 8/27/10, Tapas Ray [Gmail] <tapasrayx at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] <tapasrayx at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Big Hi to all
To: "readerlist" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Friday, August 27, 2010, 9:28 PM

Is it Varalakshmi or Varaha Lakshmi? It should be the latter if you
consider the authority of the Nandikula Purana. The story is that
Kartik went hunting wild boar one day. A particularly uncooperative
animal attacked him instead of dying without fuss. Poor Kartik called
out, "Sistuh! Save me!" Lakshmi heard his cries, came running with a
brass pot full of gold coins, which pot she brought down upon the
offending boar's thick skull with the full force of her comely arms,
whereupon the said varaha died, heaving a sigh of relief for leaving
the mortal coils behind at last.

On 27 August 2010 20:36:50 UTC+5:30, we wi <dhatr1i at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Dear All,
>       Wishing you all belated VARALAKSHMI PUJA wishes.  Those who are all
> interested to know more about this are open for a discussion.
> Regards,Dhatri.
>
>
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe
> in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
_________________________________________
reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
Critiques & Collaborations
To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header.
To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>