QUES ANSW DIVINE 2022-27 Dearfriends,
Theseare information posted by members compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s andstored in my computer. At this date I have no information of the membersposted. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, dated 26-01-2022 Q1 Do samayapuram mariamman isthe sister of Sriranganatha swamy?What are the attributes of samayapuramtemple? A1 There is a myththat Samayapuram Mariamman is the sister of Srirangam Lord Ranganathaswami. TheVijeyanagara king appointed a priest from the temple at Thiruvanaikoil toperform the regular 'pooja' and brought this temple under the Thiruvanaikoiltemple management. Q2 What is Gopika Geetham? A2 GopikaaGeetham is the celestial song sung by Vruja Gopis in praise of Lord Krishna. This projects the depth of Viraha Thaapam suffered by Gopiswhen Krishna diappears and their purePrema Bhakthi and the highest spiritual heights attained by them. This song alsobrings out the Sringaara Rasam of Gopis with Krishna. This finds its place inthe midst of DEEPAPRADKSHINAM The same tathwa is given in the form ofRAASAKREEDA in theTenth Skantham(middle) ofBhaagavatham The mythologicalstory goes like this:- Gopis whoenthralled in the presence of Krishna with ecstasy during the Raasa Leela,thoughtless about their worldlyduties, relations and existence and always longed for Krishna's company, had developed an EGO, i.e.each Gopi claiming that Krishna is hersand hers alone and He likes/loves her only. This possessiveness is Saathwic Ego as it relatesto Possessiveness towards Lord. Krishnaconsiders it the right time to help Gopis caste away this EGO too and give them the Knowledge (i.e. make themrealise the real nature). He disappearstemporarily from there midst and made Himself not reachable by them. At this time, Gopis felt loneliness and could notconcentrate on their work and grieved over the absence of Krishna. Theyrealised that without Krishna, nothingmoves, nor is it possible to do anything. And it is the presence of Krishnathat made them happy and active. Even Living became a torture without Krishna. Having realisedthis, they started wandering in the Kaalindhi River bank, where they used to be in the company of Krishnaand craved for his appearance byadmitting all their ignorance and egotism. The opening sloka brings out the import: Thisis the description of RAASAKREEDA Scene in Brindhaavan where in Krishna formed a circle by placing in betweentwo Gopis (Anganaam) One Krishna and inbetween two Krishnaas one Gopi (Angana) and finally in the Center of the circle Krishna again and madethem all feel the one-ness and enjoy total BLISS Q3 What is the mythological legend behindmattupongal? A3 Accordingto a legend, once Shiva asked his bull,Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eatonce a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eatdaily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fieldsand help people produce more food. Thusthe association of this day with cattle. Q4 Do bhogi pongal is attributed to Indra? A4 BhogiPongal- The first day of Pongal known as 'Bhogi Pongal' is a day forfamily gathering and is dedicated toLord Indra, the king ofthe deities and God of the Clouds andRains. Offeringsare made to him to please him so that he blesses us for the plentiful harvest. It is also the beginning of theNew Year according to the Malayalamcalendar and before sunrise, a huge bonfire of useless things inhome is lit that is kept burning throughout the night. All the time, boys beat little buffalo-hide drums known as 'Bhogi Kottus'. The housesare then cleaned till they shine and are decorated with Kolams painted using rice four. There are yellowpumpkin flowers are set in cow-dungballs in the middle of these designs. Q5 Do Thai pongal attributed to Sun God? Do it men to say all worshipinvariable sun once in a year? A5 Thesecond day of Pongal known as 'Surya Pongal' is dedicated to the Sun God. The granaries are kept full on this dayand SunGod with his rays are painted on a plank as he is worshiped withthe birth of the new auspicious month of Thai. Since theword 'Ponga' means 'to boil' representing plentiful and excess yield, a special dish is cooked on this day in anew mud-pot that comes in innovative shapes and have artisticdesigns on them called 'Pongapani'. The special dish is called'Sarkkarai Pongal' and is offeredto Sun God with sugarcane sticks. Q6 What is the miracle performed by Lordsundaresar on the pongal daay in Madurai? A6 It issaid that Lord Sundareshwar performed a miracle on this day of SOORYA PONGAL in the Madurai temple and breathed life into a stone elephant who ate sugarcanes. Onecan see the depiction of the event in the Meenakshi temple. Q7 What are the three versions about Kanumpongal ? A7 Kanum pongalhas three versions- seeing the elders,pray for brothers and pray for prosperity of the family . The latter two aredone by girls/woman Kanu Pongal when girls feed colored balls of cooked rice to the birds and crowsand pray for their brothers' happiness andthat they always remember them. In Tamil Nadu women perform this ritual before bathing in the morning. All the women, young and old, of the houseassemble in the courtyard. The rice is placed in the centre of the leaf, whilethe women ask that the house and family of their brothers should prosper .Another thing many do is leave food out on banana leavesfor birds to take. Many SouthIndian people will take the first bit of rice cooked in any given day and set it outside for the crows to take, so this is not necessarily a habit only for Pongal. Q8Do any speciality in Neivedyam on makara samkranthi day in many temples? A8 Tosymbolize a bountiful harvest, rice is cooked in new pots until they boil over. Some of the rituals performed in the templeinclude the preparation ofrice, the chanting of prayers and the offering of vegetables, sugar cane and spices tothe gods on samkranti day Devotees then consume theofferings to exonerate themselves of past sins. Q9Do Pongal has any mention in Puranas? A9 NO No Pongal, as all Indian festivals,have interesting legends attached to it. Originated as a Dravidian harvestfestival, it has found no mention in Indo-Aryan Puranas. -- 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/1497824167.1554839.1643166971017%40mail.yahoo.com.
