Pranam 1 So all crows are also migrating to the USA along with the brahmin as their ancestors; in 1996 I saw rarely crow in USA; now I could hear their voice whether east or west. 2 Bakasana (Crane Pose) and Kakasana (Crow Pose) are among the first arm balances that many students achieve. Getting into the pose can feel nearly impossible—until it doesn’t. These poses offer you an opportunity to feel both strong and flexible, which can motivate you to challenge yourself in other ways in your practice. While Crane and Crow are technically two different poses, many people practice these as modifications of one another. Kakasana (Crow Pose) is done with your arms bent and your knees resting on your upper arms. In Bakasana (Crane Pose), your arms are straight and your knees are tucked closer to your underarms. Play with variations that work best for your body. To get into either pose, you need to activate your abdominal muscles, press into your hands, engage your shoulder blades, squeeze your legs together in midline, and above all else, trust yourself. Bakasana teaches you to create connections between your arms and knees, abdominals and spine, mind and body. 3 The cuckoo and the crow.
My father told me something, That I'd like you to know. It's all about the cuckoo And her feathered cousin, crow. Whether you see the other Or you see the one, Since both are black, the difference is apparent to none. But when the winter fades away Gives birth to colourful spring, The heavenly voice of the cuckoo, >From ancient trees doth ring. And so it is with the good, Outer appearances do not matter. It's with stuff that they are made of, That the world's attention is caught. So be like the cuckoo, child, he said. Develop your strengths within. Make a difference to every life you touch, By heralding the spring in. काक: कृष्ण :: पिक: कृष्ण : को भेद : पिककाकयो वसन्थ समये प्राप्ते काक: काक: पिक: पिक: The crow (is) black:काक: कृष्ण The cuckoo :(is) black पिक: कृष्ण what is the difference को भेद : between the cuckoo and The crow पिककाकयो ? Spring is obtained (It is during Spring that the difference becomes apparent) वसन्थ समये प्राप्ते that The crow is a crow and the cuckoo, a cuckoo. काक: काक: पिक: पिक: 4 Kāka (काक).—(crow) *Origin.* Kaśyapa was the son of Marīci, who was the son of Brahmā. Kaśyapa’s wife Tāmrā had many daughters like Kākī, Śyenī, Bhāsī, Gṛdhṛkā, Śukī and Grīvā. From Kākī were born the crows in the world. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 19). *Crows—the symbol of sin.* There is a reference in Śiva Purāṇa to this. Long ago the King of Kāśī had a daughter named Kalāvatī. Even in her youth, she received the "Śaiva pañcākṣara mantra." After that, she was married by Dāśārha, King of Mathurā, who was a sinner. When he touched Kalāvatī who was a holy woman, he experienced unbearable heat. Kalāvatī said that it was because of the King’s sin. So she took Dāśārha to the sage Garga, who purified Dāśārha with his mantras (incantations) made him stand in water. At once the King’s sins came out of his body in the shape of crows. Some of them flew away. Many of them fell down with their wings burnt. Seeing this, the sage Garga said that all those crows were the volume of sins accumulated in the course of the innumerable births through which he had passed. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pañcākṣara Māhātmya). 5 Kāka (काक) is the name of a tribe mentioned in the Gupta inscriptions. The Gupta empire <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/gupta#history> (r. 3rd-century CE), founded by Śrī Gupta, covered much of ancient India and embraced the Dharmic religions such as Hinduism <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/hinduism>, Buddhism <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/buddhism> and Jainism <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/jainism>. We know of the Kākas, an autonomous community mentioned in the Allahabad Inscription of Samudragupta. In Eastern Malwa we have two ancient place-names connected with the Kākas. One is the hill now called Sāñcī hill (the ancient) Kākanāda. The other is an ancient village called Kāka-pura, some 20 miles north of Bhilsa, and full of ancient monuments. Also see Kākanāda <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kakanada#history>: the name of a locality mentioned in the Gupta inscription No. 6 There are many references to the crow in the *Ramayana <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ramayana#purana>*. ( 4.1.55,// 6.23.11,// 6.41.20,// 7.18.26-28) There are 12 varieties of crows. The first variety is called Kaka because their cry resembles 'kaka'. In other words Kaka is an onomatopoeic name. Onomatopoeia indicates that the meaning of the word can be guessed from the way it is pronounced, like bow-wow' or 'meow-meow'. They are jet black in colour. They have big rough feathers and long beaks. They like to go places by flying. Their cry is a little harsh. They like to be in groups. They are lazy and cowardly. They are far-sighted as they can see long distances. They eat a lot and so they can be called gluttons. Their bodies emit a foul smell. The 2nd variety is known as Karata <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/karata#purana>. They are also jet black and long winged. They would be constantly producing their crying noises. They are very strong birds, but their beaks are small. They can fly fast in the sky. They are seen everywhere. They are not voracious eaters like the Kakas <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kaka#purana>. The 3rd variety is Balipushta. They are blue in colour and have smooth bodies. They are good to look at. They have small tails, beaks and stomachs. They eat very little. They are interested in places where there are people. They are not afraid of people and they are close to them. They like to remain single. Sacrificial food is given to these crows and that is why they are called Balipushta. The 4th variety is Sakritpraja. They are so called because they lay eggs only once in their lifetime. They are jet black in colour, except their necks which are whitish. They are tall and have broad wings. They can fly fast and high. Their diet consists of flesh, fruits and food grains. We can also see them in the forests. The 5thvariety is known as Dhvaksha.Theyare deep blue in colour. They have long beaks and legs. They are capable of flying in different postures and can fly very high. While attacking their enemies they scream loudly. They are not gluttons and are satisfied with small amounts of food. The 6th variety is Atmaghosha. Their colour is midway between black and blue. They cry in different modes. They like to be alone, unlike other crows which like to congregate. They build their nests on trees that are close to water bodies. They eat mainly small fish. They are found both in villages and forests. The 7th variety is known as Parabhrit <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parabhrit#ayurveda>. They are so called because they hatch the eggs of cuckoos without knowing that they are not their own eggs. They are blue in colour except the tip of their wings which are whitish. They are very good at building nests. They are afraid of two things -people and the rainy season. They can fly in various postures and they are fond of bathing themselves at any time of the day. They possess certain good qualities and are easily trainable. The 8th variety is Vayasa <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vayasa#purana>. These crows have very dark bodies and rough feathers. They eat the flesh of dead bodies. They are not good to look at. Their beaks are long, sharp and strong. They are often seen perching on goats, cattle, buffaloes and other quadrupeds, trying to get some pests that live there. Their cries are harsh and unpleasant. Their flight is slow. They prefer to live in villages and are hardly found in forest areas. They are mean minded and do mean things and they are scared of thunder and lighting. The 9th variety is called Ciranjivin. These crows live for long periods and that is why they are called by this name. Their bodies are jet black, but their necks, breasts and wings are a bit whitish. They do not fly high in the sky. They are afraid to fly over water bodies. They are gluttons and are never satisfied with their food and they can be seen eating constantly. Their cries are very harsh and unpleasant. They eat a variety of things and they have the advantage of side-sight. They are fickle-minded and show no stability in their behaviour. The 10th variety is named Maukuli. These are very small in size and are blackish white. Their tails and wings have some other colour and also some dots. They have small beaks. They are fond of eating powdered foods. They often swim and play in water bodies. They are tame with people. Their cries are not harsh. When there is a danger, they face it groups. They are easily trainable. The 11th variety is called Dronakaka or Raven. They have long bodies and are jet black in colour. Their beaks and legs are long. Their wings are broad and their feathers rough. They have sharp nails. They prefer to live in forests. They do not like the scent of human beings and are not easy to catch. They like to eat flesh and their cries are unpleasant and harsh. They attack other birds even without any provocation. They are also fond of fighting among themselves. They do not need much food. They are very cruel and show great daring when they are in groups. The 12th variety is known as Kakola <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kakola#hinduism>. They dwell among mountains. They are jet black in colour and their cry is harsh and unpleasant. They destroy all the small birds near their nests. Their necks are long and their feathers very strong. They fly fast. They often fight among themselves. They even harm many quadrupeds. They will be seen flying round and round. Their life span is very short and they live for a maximum period of 5 years. It is believed that they are one of the worst varieties of crows. 7 41st chapter of KarnaParva <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/karnaparva#purana>.(Mahabharatham, 41.19-29). A Vaishya <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vaishya#purana> lived in a country on the seashore. He was very generous and took pleasure in almsgiving. His young son used to feed the crows everyday with the leftover food in the home. By eating this food the crow became quite strong and fat. The crow then became very proud and it started insulting other birds in its category. Once it had the audacity to challenge a swan that came to the seashore in flying. There were many swans in the group. They simply smiled at the foolishness of the crow in challenging one of them to fly with the crow. The crow was ready to bet. The swans told the crow that it should not challenge a swan in flying and they were sure it would lose the bet. But the crow insulted them and told them that it knew 101 ways of flying The swan said it knew only one way of flying. They started flying. After some time the crow felt tired, but it had no place to rest. It fell into the sea. Then it begged the swan to save it. The swan saved it from drowning. The crow then eulogised the heroism of the swan and flew away to a distant place saying that it will not insult others any more. In this story, the poet has used many different names for the flight of the birds.[3] <https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/animal-kingdom-tiryak-in-epics/d/doc825722.html#note-e-174118> From this it is quite obvious that the poet was well-versed in ornithology. 8 Finally *Sri Kaagapujandar* (*Tamil:காகபுஜண்டர்*) is considered to be an eminent siddha <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddha> in Siddhar <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhar> tradition, a saint who has reached particularly exalted a high degree of physical and spiritual perfection. According to legend he lived around the 7th century CE. Jeeva samadhi of Sri Kaagapujandar is present in the Sornapureeshwar Temple in Thenponparappi village situated near Chinna salem, Villupuram District. His birth star is Ayilyam] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaagapujandar#cite_note-cv-2> Sri Kaagapujandar was mentioned by Karuvoorar and author K.S.Pilla as one of the 18 siddhars (பதினென் சித்தர்கள்) He also called as *Kaagapusundi*, *Kaagapusundar*, and *Pujankar*..Sri Kagapujandar, according to legend, has seen many destructions of the universe(pralaya) and recreation of new one as a crow, hence the name Kaga. Kagam in Tamil means crow. Sri Kagapujandar is the master in the art of Immortality <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality>. He is the one who gives diksha <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diksha> (initiation) to Shiva <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva> in every era. Sri Kaagapujandar gave upadesa (instruction) to Sri Vashistar, guru of Sri Rama <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Rama>. Siddhar Sri Roma rishi is said to be son of Sri Kaagapujandar. Once the gods Brahma <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma>, Vishnu <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu> and Shiva <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva> ended up in a heated argument to know who is the eldest, finally Narada <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narada> told them that there is only one Maharishi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi> who can tell who is the eldest. Trimurti <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti> wondered how old that Maharishi would have to be, in order to know who is the eldest. They came to know that Sri Kaagapujandar who saw many apocalypse, beginning of new era and new Trimurti for every era. Trimurthi praised Sri Kaagapujandar as a remarkable one and great siddha. KR IRS 12122 On Wed, 12 Jan 2022 at 00:07, 'venkat giri' via iyer123 < [email protected]> wrote: > Respected Sir/s, > > 1. For reasons not clearly known, crows rarely appear: > > After the disappearance of *SPARROWS *from the country's > urban landscape, the focus has now turned to the population of the common > Indian house *CROW*. ... Yet, crows have recently begun to disappear. > House crows are India’s most persistent companionate species and have > always flourished side by side with humans in villages and cities. > > “While biologists usually blame falling bird numbers on over-hunting > or habitat loss or industrialisation, such pressures do not weigh unduly > on house crows, which are never hunted, often indulged and hand-fed and > frequently worshipped” > > The Mysore City Bird Atlas, a pioneering effort to > comprehensively document birds by surveying the roughly 160 sq kms of > Mysuru city, does not indicate any decline in the population of house crows > over the last four years. > > Environmentalists, describe crows as a *“resilient*” species that keep > pace with the changing environment. > > Though urbanisation > affects the crow population, crows are very intelligent and adapt to the > changes. > > The trees are their favourite nesting and a nearby foraging area to meet > their food requirement. “. Depletion of tree cover— which is an > indisputable fact; is affecting crow population. Besides, this there could > be high pesticide and chemical content in food, whose leftovers crows > scavenge, ornithologists say. > > *STORY ….* > > *SILPHILLI **village is located in Surajpur Tehsil of Surguja > district in **Chhattisgarh,** India.* *Strange as it may sound, > residents of Silphili village in Sarguja do not know what a crow looks or > sounds like. and so, have never seen the dreaded droppings. The winged > scavengers, for some unknown reason, have never “graced” the village with > their presence. The village, 350 km north of the state capital **RAIPUR,** > has a population of around 2,000 people. **It produces high quality > vegetables, along with a dozen other villages located in a 5-km radius, and > boasts of some of the most fertile plots in the state. **People of the > village say: “Not only the present generation, but even our great > grandfathers and the generations before did not see a crow in the village.” > There is a forest cover near the village but no crow has ever flown in from > that side as well. The reason behind this dates back to the Ramayana era. > Crows, it seems, do not enter the village because of the wrath of Lord Ram.* > > * “During vanvas (exile) Lord Ram happened to pass through this area. One > day, a crow hit the toe of **SITA **with its beak. An angry Lord Ram shot > an arrow, which hit one of the eyes of the crow. Since then, crows have > never come to SILPHILLI. * > > *3. Crows-Concept born in mind representing pithrus* > > *As per Hindu mythology, Shani Bhagavan is usually mounted on a crow and > hence crows are offered food to please Shani Bhagawan. Some consider them > as ancestors who visit their hereditary families on Amavasya days. The > crows are given food on these days .The **PITRU** (Sanskrit: **पितृ**, > the fathers) are the spirits of the departed ancestors in Hindu culture. > They are often remembered annually.* *According to the ancient Hindu > beliefs the Crows are the linkage between the dead and living humans. On > the days of “SHRADH”; it is believed that an offering of food to the Crows > will be carried to one’s dead relatives.* *CROW/s, will eat the pindam > only when the pitrus have satisfied themselves at the sraddham .**So a > crow eating the pindam is a reflection of the pitrus satisfaction.** " > ye cha madvishayastha vai maanavaa: kshudayardita tvayi bhukte sutruptaste > bhavishyati sabandhava: " **ये च समध्विशयस्ते वै मानवाः क्षुदयर्दिता > त्वयि**, **भुक्ते* *सुत्प्रुतस्तेभविष्यतिसभान्धवाः**…..meaning any person > suffering in my world ( ie after death) with hunger and thirst shall be > satisfied when their sons and relatives feed you " Hence the feeding of > crows. Crows are supposedly having a perception of knowing the presence of > spirits.* > ----- > *Regards* > *V.Sridharan* > *Trichy* > > On Tuesday, 11 January, 2022, 09:30:11 pm IST, 'gopala krishnan' via > Thatha_Patty <[email protected]> wrote: > > > KAKKA- THE CROW 1. > > Dear friends, > > For reasons not clearly known, crows rarely appear in my area nowadays. > Seeing a crow, if I keep biscuit bits, it may eat two or three bits and fly > away. Many times the remaining bits are partially eaten by ants. > > I had posted earlier a lengthy posting about crows on 16-2-2011. This > posting is with additions and *with a lot of deletions of that posting. * > > Sincerely, > > Gopala krishnan 11-1-2022. > > *1. Feeding crow.* > > The practice of keeping a small quantity of fresh cooked rice in spatula > and offering to crows on the compound wall by about 11 AM has stopped > recently by my wife, because the crows do not appear to eat. I have > confirmed it from my wife. > > Every day night we keep a cup full of rice and morning it is offered to > cows. If crows come earlier they eat it now. Cows ate the remaining. In my > boyhood days my late mother used to say- *Rice to the size of a mango > must be kept in all homes in the night, if at all the lady of the house > is barren*. It was given to cows next day. Probably on those days kids > might have waked up in the night and asked for rice. > > Crows wake up and used to sit near the compound wall in the morning before > a few months ago also. First thing done everyday morning is offering > biscuit bits to crows. > > *What a coincidence*- While writing this, I heard two crows cawing( by 3 > PM) , immediately I offered biscuit bits on compound wall, one of them ate > half of the pieces and flew away. The other sitting on a branch of tree, > least bothered of biscuit bits. Probably it may not be hungry. Late evening > I found no biscuit bits. Some crows might have eaten them. > > While the crows ate rice offered after cooking, I had never seen cawing > more by the crows. One or two times they will caw, if the special crows > does not appear the others would leave without taking rice many a > times. As an observer this has made me to wonder. Many times the specific > crows are bigger in size. They came, take one or two beak full; patiently > the others waited, and then took in their beak full and flown away. > > 2. Crow – the representation of Pithru. > > It is the general concept among Hindus, that crows represent the pithrus. > I think large crows ate while rice offered might be my late elder > brothers for whom no Gaya srardha is performed. I cannot substantiate > this point, but the waiting of other crows ensures this. Probably the large > crows may be appearing now in their children’s homes. > > 3. Crows-Concept born in mind representing pithrus > > Probably as I have seen during sraadha, from boyhood days the belief > crow represent pithrus is in- born in my mind. This is before the age I > read books on this topic. Of late I think, since they represent pithrus, > they never come close to us. They keep small distance. (Lakshmana* > story- we should not keep attachment more. He had attachment with a deer > and born as deer*) > > It is very difficult to catch crow, put in cage and bring it up like > parrots. Decades before I read in Kumudam magazine about a Muslim boy > who brought up a crow. It was new information I read at that time. Decades > ago one of the members in Thatha Patti yahoo group wrote- In Bangalore > Crows always remained near city railway station. It was very difficult to > see a crow at other places. Rare information. > > *4. Crow - to eat pinda.* > > During sraadha, we ensure the crows come and eat the pinda. Since pinda > is a big ball of cooked rice, we also spread some rice. > > I recollect in my boyhood days, my mother asked me to locate whether crows > were there in nearby trees by the time pinda had to be offered,. Somehow > for the cooking smell or for reasons unknown, crows might be ready to eat > pinda and rice offered. > > My late father used to say, when crow caws before offering of > pindas-“Avarkku dhiruthi aayi”(Pithrus are in a hurry). I had seen a few > times the crow taking the pinda immediately on keeping or from my > father’s hands itself before keeping on the Tulasi matam. My father was > slightly unrest on srardha days till it was accomplished. > > ( In Kerala Tulasi matam is used to offer pinda or daily offering of > cooked rice. In the evening my late mother cleaned before lighting Lamp > there. It was/is never considered as patthu.) > > In places like Tutucorin, where crows have more sea foods we could see one > or two crows just coming and taking a beak full and flying away from the > pinda. Sometimes no crow could be located. Sasthrikals at Tutucorin would > say- if crows are not taking pinda, do not wait for them. They would > come and eat rice at their own time. Let bhokthas get up. > > However I had observed one thing-If at all 5 or 6 crows are there on > trees, until some bigger crows come and touch the pinda, others did not > come near Pinda. Today I think-Those sat on trees and waited for Balikakka > (large crowd) represented Jnatha- anjatha pithrus. Whenever sraadha is > performed, we referred Jnatha anjatha pithrus also. > > 5. Intelligent crow story in nutshell. > > Once a crow was very thirsty after eating some salty food item. It flew > to find a water source to drink water. It could find no water body to > quench the thirst. Suddenly it located a mud pot kept for cleaning with > some water at bottom of the pot. The crow tried to put its beak and drink > water. But water was at a low level. It found some stones nearby. It > carried them one by one in the beak and put in pot. Water came up. Crow > drank water, quenched thirst and flew away. > > 5a No questions to the story. > > The crow could have tilted the pot and drank the water easily. (*Crows > are experts in tilting*). I am reserving river Kaveri story in another > part of this posting. > > 6. Malayalam sayings- > > There are a few Malayalam sayings relating to crow. One is kakkaikkum > than kunju ponkunju( Their children are precious to everybody). > > Another is kakka kulichal kokkakumo ( By taking bath a crow cannot become > a stork). > > Third one is Echikai kondu kakkayae virattila( A person who is so > misery that he would not ward off a crow with the eating hand, in the > fear, the bits of rice in hand would fall down!). > > The fourth one is Vella kakka malarnnu parannu. (Impossible to happen) . > But I will be writing about white and blue crows in these postings > later. > > 6 Kakka piduttham(Crow catching). > > I do not know how the synonym originated, it means blindly supporting a > person with an inner motive of getting something done. It is also called *seva > pidikkuka in Malayalam. *After his requirement was met, they may stop > the blind support. > > *I will continue in next posting* > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1555288022.2888305.1641916803677%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1555288022.2888305.1641916803677%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iyer123" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1155536159.2902375.1641926244517%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1155536159.2902375.1641926244517%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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