Karna Veda, Kalinga War and Child Hanuman

About 10 days ago we got an opportunity to attend a semi-mass bratopnayana (thread ceremony) of boys and karna veda (piercing of ear-lobes) of girls. (Traditionally, ear-lobes of girls are pierced in their childhood, to enable them to wear ear-rings.) In all, there were 4 boys and 5 girls. The youngest boy and girl were below ten and the oldest boy and girl were in their teens.

These children and their parents, who are first cousins (our relatives), live in the USA. They decided to perform the ceremonies at one go, flew down to India did the job and dashed back after one week.

The venue was a resort in sylvan surroundings on the beach just off Puri.

There was a large colourful tent under which there was one main mandap and 4 smaller mandaps, all festively-decorated. The 4 boys were seated in their respective mandaps. Their heads were tonsured and they wore saffron-coloured loincloths like sanyasis. Seeing them, the wife commented, “They look like Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughna.” The rituals were a long-drawn affair stretching over almost the whole day. At the end, each boy, dressed like a sanyasi and wearing the sacred thread and carrying a small palm-leaf chhatri (umbrella) over his tiny head, went around soliciting bhikshya (alms).

Compared to this, the rituals for the girls were rather short and brief. In the beginning, all the 5 girls were seated on the main mandap, puja was performed and in the second phase, each girl was called to the mandap separately.

In the morning, while driving from Bhubaneswar to Puri, we crossed the river Daya. This is the historical river on the sands of which the famous Kalinga war was fought in which Ashoka vanquished the mighty Kalinga Sena. It is said that so many people were killed in it that the water of the river became red with blood and streams of blood flowed on the bed of the river. The sight of so much bloodshed completely transformed Ashoka. From Chandashoka (the violent Ashoka), he became Dharmashoka (the spiritual Ashoka). He vowed to shun violence and embraced Buddhism. The story has been beautifully picturised in the Hindi movie ‘Asoka’, with Shah Rukh Khan in the title role.

The venue was on the confluence of the river Bhargavi and Bay of Bengal. The river merges into the sea at this point. We observed that in the morning, the water of the river was flowing into the sea and in the afternoon, the reverse tides were pushing up the water of the river. I was reminded that in literature, a woman is compared to a river and a man, to the sea. Just as river-water ultimately becomes one with the sea, in the same way, it is said, a woman reaches her fullness on becoming one with her man!

We stayed overnight and early next morning, I went to the beach to watch the sunrise. As usual, it was a fascinating sight. I have always been enchanted by sunrise and sunset. Even when in my house, I watch the sunrise whenever possible. In the late afternoons, slow and progressive disappearance of the sun behind the hills and trees is particularly very attractive.

I had read in my childhood that once the child Hanuman felt attracted by the rising sun and thinking the crimson ball to be a ripe fruit, prepared himself to leap towards it and gobble it up. He could have done it easily! His mother Anjana, realizing what disaster the disappearance of the sun would cause to the Creation, dissuaded him from doing so, with great difficulty!

It was a very enjoyable trip.

TAIL PIECE

The price of onions in India has touched the sky. From the normal rate of Rs. 12 a kg, it has jumped to Rs. 70-80. Here is the reaction of Bachi Karkaria, my favourite wordsmith:

“Dish of the Day: Chicken No Pyaza”

ADDENDUM

Later I read from a source that bratopanayan is the ceremonial taking the children (both boys and girls) of all varnas to the gurukul for commencement of his/her education ( a form of the modern day school-admission). It is mentioned in Yajurveda. The process is prescribed in Manusmruti. Later, when the status of women in society was gradually belittled, the ceremony came to be performed only for boys. Still later, the ceremony was slowly diluted. With establishment of formal schools, gurukuls disappeared and bratopanayan became a formal ceremony, bereft of its original spirit and sanctity. Gradually, the ceremony became confined to brahmins and kshatriyas. It became an expensive affair. Merely to comply with the social requirement, some kshtriya families started organising it just before the marrige of the boy, to cut down the expense.