Birth Anniversary of Lord Krishna, Nandi Bull and Rudra Tandavam of Arthanareeswara

5125Th Birth Anniversary Of Lord Krishna
By D.K.Hari and D.K.Hema Hari, August 2013

 [bharathgyan@gmail.com]

 

The people of this country never had any doubts about the historicity of Krishna until the colonial invaders projected Krishna as a mythical figure cooked up by wonderful stories.

The story of Krishna is deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of India and the people of this land revere Him as a Divinity. The colonial hangover has however left a doubt on the historicity of this highly adored Divinity.

The science of Archeo-Astronomy has enabled us to go beyond the boundaries of conventional archaeology in tracing the historicity of some well known personages of this land, such as Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira and Shankara. Planetary configurations mentioned in the ancient scriptures pertaining to major events and personages connected, help us date events that happened around these personages, centuries and millenia ago, either manually or with more ease and accuracy, using Planetarium software.

As per the scriptures, Lord Krishna was born around midnight. That night was the eight phase of the moon known as Ashtami Tithi. The moon was near Vrshabha, the bull, i.e the Taurus constellation that houses the star Rohini. The star Rohini is known as Aldeberan in modern astronomy. The month was Shravana, one of the 12 months in the Indian calendar.

These details are clearly mentioned in the 10thSkanda, 3rd chapter of the Bhagavata Purana. The relevant sloka is,
Shravana vada ashtami, Rohini Nakshtra, uditam Lagnam

This detail combined with details of sky configurations for events that happened around Krishna’s lifetimes, namely the Mahabharata, leads us to the exact birth date for Krishna.

Courtesy Prof.Narahari Achar, Memphis University, USA
Such a search leads us to 27th July, 3112 BCE as Krishna’s date of birth in the Gregorian Calendar.

In Indian tradition, Krishna’s birth is also called as “Sri Jayanthi”. The word “Jayanthi” has an interesting connotation in Indian Astronomy. Indian astronomers have accorded special names to lunar phases occurring at certain stars.

The lunar phase occurring at Punarvasu star in Gemini constellation is called Jaya. The lunar phase occurring at Pushya star in the Gemini constellation is called Nasini. The lunar phase seen at Shravana star in the Capricorn zodiac is called Vijaya. Similarly, the phase of the moon occurring at Rohini star is called Jayanthi.

Krishna’s birth which happened when the moon was at Rohini star is called Sri Jayanthi.

Jayanthi also means celebrations and the word has thus come to be used to indicate birthday celebrations. Thus, the word “Jayanthi, over time, has also come to be used for the birthday celebrations of other great personages and we today celebrate Buddha Jayanthi, Mahaveer Jayanthi, Shankara Jayanthi, Shivaji Jayanthi, Gandhi Jayanthi, Ambedkar Jayanthi etc.

“Jayanthi” became popular because of association with Krishna.

Every year, for millennia, Indians have been celebrating Krishna’s birthday in the Shravana month, on Rohini Nakshatra, Krishna Paksha Ashtami (8th phase of the waning moon) based on these details in scriptures.

It is the year of birth however, which has been the missing piece in common knowledge.

Not only from Archaeo-astronomy, but also from a wholistic analysis of data across various disciplines, today we can conclude that Lord Krishna was born in 3112 BCE.

So, this year, 2013 CE, makes it the 5125th year since His birth, Sri Jayanthi. Let us celebrate this 5125th birthday of Lord Krishna, keeping in mind that India’s most beloved Divinity was indeed also a historical figure who had walked this planet about 5000 years ago.

While Divinity is a matter of faith, historicity is a matter of existence. With the unraveling of the dates for Krishna, what comes out for all to see is the beautiful blend of Divinity and Historicity in Krishna.  One does not preclude the other.

Nandi Bull - The Mysterious And Unknown Temple
By Tanya Raj, October 2013

[tanyaraj20@gmail.com]

I  got down from an auto rickshaw at the Temple Road in Malleshwaram –  one of the oldest settlements of Bangalore.  Took a seat outside the  ornate compound wall of the ancient Nandi Bull temple – Sri  Dakshina Mukha Nandi Thirtha Kalyani Devasthana – I wait for Renu,  who is running a few minutes late.  Opposite the road, stand the  golden domed Durga and Narasimha temples next to each other and a  Ganesha temple to the right.  The sound of chants, drum beats and  bells emerge from these ancient structures simultaneously as they  start their morning rituals.

The  morning is windy, with thick grey clouds hanging in the skies, above  the gulmohar lined street.  An old woman with matted locks of tied-up  hair sits underneath the canopy of an old banyan tree.  Her wrinkles,  as old as the banyan tree itself, stand testimony to the many seasons  of life she must have weathered.  Next to her, a flower seller is  busy packing small plastic bags with coconuts, incense sticks and  vermillion and placing it near the heaps of jasmine, roses and  marigold garlands.

Crows  make a cacophony along with the parrots and cuckoos, on the overhead  branches.  I finally spot Renu and get up to meet her.  We enter the  huge archway, with a giant Nandi Bull statue atop it and walk down a  few steps onto the cold and wet stone pathway leading to the inner  sanctum.

This  underground temple, which is said to be 7,000 years old, remained  buried under earth up until 16 years back.  It was found by labourers  digging the site for a building’s foundation and since then there  have been efforts to preserve this piece of heritage.  Another set of  stone steps lead us down to the main temple building housing the  Shivling at the far end, with a large black granite Nandi Bull  statue, resting on a stone slab on top.  Unlike other Indian temples,  this temple has no mandapa – a very uncommon feature.

In  the centre of this complex is a square pond, the corridors  surrounding it are supported with stone columns and adorned with  small brass bells suspended with chains from the ceiling.  We offer  our prayers at the altar and sit on the cold stone steps leading down  to the pond.  Some 15-20 water turtles swim in its murky green waters  that are occasionally disturbed by black fishes somersaulting out of  it.    A few turtles climb out of the water and onto the steps  displaying their moss laden shells.

"This  is a very Jagrit Mandir.  It is said that whatever you wish for here,  comes true," Renu tells me.  We both decide to take a chance and  throw a coin into the pond before making a silent wish.

As  I open my eyes, I notice a woman in pink salwar bend down at the  small Nandi Bull statue across the pond and whisper in its ear.   "What is she doing?" I ask Renu.

"It  is said that women should whisper their problems into the bull’s  ears and they reach God, whereas men are supposed to place their  index finger and thumb on the bull’s horns and see the Shivling  through it.  Devotees believe that this solves their problems,"  says Renu.

This  temple is unlike any other.  The large Nandi Bull on the stone slab  above the Shivling is unusual and unique.  A stream of water flows  out of the bull’s mouth and falls on the black graphite Shivling  through a hole in the upper slab.

We  approach the head priest of the temple – Ravi Shankar Swami – to  know more about the place.  He is a short, thin, middle aged man  wearing an orange dhoti, with sacred ash smeared in three horizontal  lines on his forearm, shoulders and back and a white thread (Janeu)  running across his bare body from right shoulder to left hip.

"Chhatrapati  Shivaji Maharaja’s father – Shahaji – used to come, pray at  this temple," he tells us.

"Where  is the water that is falling on the Shivling coming from?" I ask  him in English, which Renu translates into Kannada.

"No  one knows, is a mystery.  The water flows with the same intensity all  year round.  It falls on the Shivling which then flows into the 15  feet deep central pond.  An underground pipe connects the pond to the  outer well.  The well was used to water the fields in earlier days,  when there were no houses.  But no one knows where the water is  originating from," the Swami says.

I  look around this remarkable place; something I have never seen  anywhere and then look at the priest again.

"The  temple was underground for a very long time.  Since it has been  found, we have not changed anything inside the sanctum sanctorum.   The only changes that were made are to the outer walls and garden,"  says the priest.

"This  is a very unusual temple.  There is no mandapa covering the structure  and the Nandi Bull is on top of the Shivling, instead of, in front,"  I state.

"Yes,  and we have tried to keep everything intact.  Many people offer to  place marble and granite flooring, but we don’t allow that," says  Ravi Shankar Swami.

We  thank him for his time and go back to sitting near the central pond.   The peace and tranquillity of this place transported me back in time.   The stone pillars, pond and bells, everything seems to be telling  the stories of a bygone era.  After sitting here long enough, I could  almost hear the chants, mantras and bells from those ancient times  ringing in its every column.

How  to Reach:

The  temple is located on Temple Road at 15th  Cross in Malleshwaram (behind the Sai Baba Temple), Bangalore.   Sampige Road is the best route to get to this place which is open in  the mornings from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and in the evenings from 5 p.m.  to 8 p.m.  There are no admission costs.

Notes:

My  heartfelt thanks to:

-  Shri Ravi Shankar Swami, Head Priest of Sri Dakshina Mukha Nandi  Thirtha Kalyani Devasthana

-  Mrs. Renu Suhas for being my translator

-Mr.  Suhas Manjunath for translating the written inscriptions

Author  Biography:

A graduate from MatadorU’s Travel Writing course, I took a plunge  into my passion for travelling and writing after a long stint in Wall  Street companies.  I am a writer, have lived in India and United  Kingdom .   The variety of life keeps me alive and fresh and when I am not doing  anything, I can be found huddled up with a book in the remotest  corner of my house, letting my imagination take flight.

Rudra Tandava Of Ardhnarishwar
By Sandhya Jain, July 2013

 [jsandhya@gmail.com]

Kedarnath and Badrinath, two most beloved northern tirthas, have for the past two weeks witnessed an apocalyptic spectacle of pralaya with an enraged god and angry goddess stomping a dance of death in fierce tandem. As clouds burst, mountainsides crumbled, and torrential streams hurtled multistoried buildings, hydel projects, roads, humans and animals alike towards assured destruction, survivors and onlookers could only bow before the unmasked power of the elements.

Hopefully, puny men will stop believing they can “conquer nature”, play havoc with the divinity of earth and water, and expect benign gods. Not one corporate that lobbied energetically in Delhi and Dehradun for the back-to-back hydro projects choking the sacred Ganga could resist when Shiva and Parvati united as Ardhnarishwar and performed Rudra Tandava, crushing their grand delusions and constructions into nothingness. Gentle Vishnu, Badri Vishal, stood mute.

Some believe the Himalayas are the body of Shiva and Parvati as Ardhnarishwar; hence the divinity of the mountain range. The Himalayas look different in Nepal and India. The Nepalese side is harsh, rugged, male; the Indian side is softer, verdant, female. Actually, being the unity of Mahadev and Devi, the mountain is both, and the entire range is dotted with Shakti peeths special to both.

On a pilgrimage to Badrinath last year, a friend heard an unusual tale explaining Vishnu’s presence in Shiva’s abode. The guide was unable to tell the source of the narrative, but shopkeepers at the site were playing cassettes of this story.

The asura Utunga performed deep penance for thousands of years to please Surya, and sought the boon of immortality. Surya said such a boon could only be granted by Shiva, so instead Utunga asked for a thousand armours that no one could pierce to reach him; hence he is also called Sahasra Kavach (one with thousand protective covers).

Utunga conquered the three worlds and unleashed great tyranny on his subjects. The unhappy rishis urged Vishnu to help, but He was unmoved, telling Lakshmi that the kavach were so powerful that to attain the powers to kill Utunga, he would have to do tapasya for ten thousand years.

Lakshmi advised him to perform penance at Kedar Khand where Shiva and Parvati reside, as tapasya for a single day at that place was equal to hundred years elsewhere. So Vishnu appeared before their dwelling as a weeping child, moving Parvati to bring him inside her home though Shiva warned against it.

The child immediately took the form of Vishnu and revealed his purpose. Having brought him inside as a son, Parvati permitted him to do tapas there and the divine couple moved to the present Kedarnath shrine. Vishnu performed penance at the place which came to be known as Badrinath dham, in the form of Nar and Narayan. One day Narayan did tapasya and Nar fought Sahasra Kavach; the next day Nar performed tapasya while Narayan battled the asura.

In this way, 999 shields of Sahasra Kavach were pierced. The frightened asura sought refuge with Surya, who implored Vishnu to spare him while he was under his (Surya’s) protection. Vishnu obliged, but vowed to pierce the last shield and destroy Sahasra Kavach in the next yuga. In the dvapara yuga, Sahasra Kavach was born as Karna; his ishta deva was Surya. Krishna (Narayan) fooled him to give away his last kavach and Arjuna (Nar) slew him.

That is how the Pandavas are associated with both dhams. They went to Kedarnath to seek Shiva’s forgiveness for slaying their own relatives in the devastating war. And that is why Badri Vishal as son of Parvati could not stop her as she vented her divine wrath on disrespectful humans. The local people have suffered because they joined the ‘development boom’; the only penance is to restore the Himalayan vegetation to full glory over the next decade. No more dhabas near the Gangotri!

This brings us to the story of the iconoclasm at Dhari Devi’s temple, as highlighted by Pandit Sanjay Raut. It is said that in the British period, in 1882, there was a move to shift the Devi shrine, which immediately unleashed havoc in Kedar Valley; the goddess is the guardian deity of the Char Dham.

Dhari Devi (Kali) is a unique form of Parvati and Ganga (earth and water). Her open air temple on the banks of the Alaknanda in Srinagar, Garhwal district, is one of the 108 Shakti Peeth mentioned in Devi Bhagavat. It houses the ‘head’ of Devi. The body of Devi, in the form of a Sri Yantra, is housed at Kalimath temple in Rudraprayag district, in an exact NE-SW alignment, symbolizing Kali sleeping. The Kedarnath jyotirliñga is exactly north from Kalimath.

Uttarakhand’s woes began when, on June 15, 2013, under permission from the Supreme Court which has a tendency to rush in where angels fear to tread, Dhara Devi’s murti was removed to facilitate the construction of a dam against stiff resistance from locals who knew this would misalign the body of the sleeping goddess and agitate her. A few hours later, death and destruction rained upon the region.

Even the samadhi of Adi Sankaracharya was not spared as the Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, and Mandakini (three of the seven streams in which Ganga descended on earth) frothed at the sacrilege. Deforestation having destroyed the ‘locks’ in which Shiva controlled the power of the mighty river, nothing could be done but surrender till the goddess deemed fit to calm down herself.

Photographs beamed from the devastated region show the Kedarnath shrine wiped clean of all ‘development’, resembling its pristine serenity of five decades ago when not a single structure stood nearby to detract from its splendid isolation. This is how it was meant to be; the Pandavas and equal eminences went to all the holy tirthas on foot.

The gods have shown their will. But the debris of human mischief remains to be cleaned up – the destroyed infrastructure, cement, concrete, steel, bridges, heavy machinery, et al. It is a safe bet that the corporates and contractors behind the idea of ‘urja pradesh’ would have lost the courage to continue the projects in this volatile region. But they cannot be allowed to simply walk away. Having created the mess, they must be made to clean it up, even if they go broke in the process. The Supreme Court must ensure this, if only to atone for its own guilt in the environmental and spiritual genocide.

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 

(My humble thankfulness to Dr. D K Hari & D K Hema Hari, Sri Tanya Raj  and Ms.Sandhya Jain for the collection)

(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)