𝐢𝐤𝐬̣𝐮-𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬

 Farmers' Victory - 11 December 2021 To celebrate the victory of their protests, namely getting the three farm laws that would have hurt them repealed, the protesting farmers declared 11th December as Vijay Diwas (Victory Day). In honour of this, I offer my worship to Lord Balarāma today. Balarāma, Bearer of the Plough, is the god of agriculture.  Many æons ago, Balarāma, in a fit of rage, dragged the entire city of Hastināpura with his mighty plough. In December 2021, manifesting in the collective might of the farmers, he dragged Indraprastha (Delhi) with his plough, striking terror into the hearts of the oppressors. This victory is not an end. The struggle is not over. May Balarāma raise his plough again and again whenever there is injustice.

Karthigai Deepam, Karttik Purnima and Gurpurab 2021 The full moon day in the month of Karttik (roughly November), this year on November 19th, is celebrated as Karttik Purnima or Dev Diwali (Diwali of the gods) in northern India. Dev Diwali is also sacred to Jains. It is the day when some saints have been born, but more importantly, the day when the Chaturmas, four months of religious restrictions, ends. For Jain munis (ascetics), the Chaturmas means that they cannot travel. But on Dev Diwali, that restriction is no longer there. Also, Palitana, an important Jain pilgrimage site, opens up on this day.  I am grateful to my friend Mitali Shah for explaining the significance to me.  I begin my worship with Lord Ganesha, the first to be worshipped. For Sikhs, Karttik Purnima is Gurpurab, the birthday of Guru Nanak, founder of the religion. Here is a lovely painting of Guru Nanak that I have placed in my altar: By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/e2/8a/1897563e7eebdf8...

 Sūrasamhāram 2021 Veṯṟivēl, Vīravēl! Victorious Vēl, heroic Vēl! Today (9th November 2021) is Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī this year, known as Kanda Saṣṭi ( kanta caṣṭi கந்த சஷ்டி, or kanta caṭṭi கந்த சட்டி) in Tamil. Skanda is Lord Murugaṉ ( Murukaṉ முருகன்), also known as Kārttikēya. Ṣaṣṭhī means sixth day. Murugaṉ is Ṣaṇmukha ( ṣaṭ + mukha , six-faced), Āṟumugaṉ in Tamil ( āṟu-mukaṉ ஆறுமுகன்). He was born as six babies to the six Kr̥ttikā star goddesses, and when he reached Goddess Pārvatī's lap, he became one child with six faces and twelve arms. Thus, the number 6 and the ṣaṣṭhī tithi (6th date), especially in the śukla pakṣa (bright half, waxing moon) of a lunar month, are both very sacred to him. Every śukla ṣaṣṭhī is Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī. The śukla ṣaṣṭhī of the Kārttika month, this year falling today, is especially sacred. The name Kārttika is derived from the Kr̥ttikā stars. Also, this particular Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī is the day when the asura Sūrapadman...

  Yama-Dvitīyā 2021 This festival is the fifth and last day of Dīpāvalī 🪔 . It falls on the dvitīyā (second date) of the śukla pakṣa (bright half, waxing moon) of the lunar month of Kārttika. It is known as Yama-Dvitīyā, or more commonly as Bhrātr̥-Dvitīyā, the dvitīyā of the brother. This becomes Bhāī Dūj in Hindi, and Bhāū Bīj in Marathi. It has traditionally been a day when sisters honour their brother and receive gifts in return. However, I find this unequal and patriarchal. Hence, I am observing it this year as a celebration of siblings irrespective of gender. I see it as a day to worship several divine figures who are siblings. The name Yama-Dvitīyā arises because this occasion is a celebration of the sibling love of the twins Yama (god of death and justice) and Yamī (the river goddess Yamunā), both children of Sūrya, the Sun, and his first wife Saṁjñā. Along with these two, I include many other deities. The pictures are below. You can click on them for a clearer vi...

Radhashtami 2021, and a century of Bharati I have returned to this blog after a hiatus of several months. Today is Radhashtami  –  the birthday of Radha. Ashtami means eighth [day]. In each lunar month, there are two ashtamis: one in the krishna paksha ( dark half/ waning moon)  and the other in the shukla paksha ( bright half/ waxing moon). If one goes by the north Indian calendar, the krishna ashtami of the month of Bhadrapada is Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Krishna. The shukla ashtami of the same month is Radhashtami. This year, Janmashtami was on August 30, and Radhashtami is today, September 14, 2021. On this occasion, I present to you  Mahakavi C. Subramania Bharati (11 December 1882-11 September 1921)'s song to Radha, with music by me. Interestingly, the song does not feature Krishna's name anywhere. Bharati was mainly a Tamil poet. However, he was a polyglot. This song begins in Sanskrit and ends with three couplets in Tamil. The Sanskrit part is mor...