In my last post on Pitra Paksha and another post on the Pind Daan, we spoke about the rites and rituals involved in the offerings made during this time. The Pind Daan ritual is followed by the prayer offering to Lord Vishnu and Yama. While Yama is a god of death and is the caretaker of the souls in the nether world, Vishnu is the God who manages the functions of all the worlds and provides ultimate sanctuary to those who worship him.
Lord Vishnu is worshipped in form of the darbha grass, a gold image or Shaligram stone. The drab grass is known as Desmostachya Bipinnata scientifically. The drabha grass has been considered a sacred grass and has been used in religious rituals since Vedic times. Darbha is also called Kusha and it is considered perhaps the second most sacred herb in the Vedas after Soma. Darbha has very unique spiritual properties and is used in all religious rituals in the Hindu tradition. Darbha helps to protect from toxic radiation and negative energies of all types. It energetically shields the area around it from curses, ghosts, demons and the negative energies created by negative thoughts. It simultaneously works to carry and amplify spiritual energies and helps to connect with the higher spiritual realms. Darbha is not only useful in religious rituals, but also around the home, where it can be used to help shield people from the radiation from electrical appliances. Darbha also has healing properties and is used in Ayurvedic medicine.
The Shaligram stone is a fossilized stone used to invoke God, and referred as a representation of God. Shaligram is usually collected from sacred river beds or on the banks. Shiva worshipers use nearly round or oval shaped Shaligrams to worship as Shiva Linga. Similarly, Vaishnavas - the Vishnu worshippers, use a spherical black-colored ammonoid fossil as a representation of Lord Vishnu. The origin of the name is traced to a remote village in Nepal where Vishnu is known by the name of Shaligramam. Shaligram in Hinduism is also known as Salagrama. The name Salagrama refers to the name of the village on the bank of Gandaki where the holy stones are picked up. The name is derived from the hut (sala) of the sage Salankayana, who beheld the form of Vishnu in a tree outside his hut.
Padma Purana says that Vrinda Devi was born on earth to King Kushadvaja. She married Jalhandara, a demon king who had sovereignty over the nether regions and declared war on the Gods. He had a boon that he would be free from death till his wife Vrinda was chaste. Jalhandara drew strength from the chastity and purity of his pious wife, Vrinda. The power of Vrinda`s chastity was so great that Jalhandara could not be defeated by the Gods, even Lord Shiva. Helplessly, the Gods sought refuge in Lord Vishnu.
As a final resort, Lord Vishnu assuming the form of Jalhandara beguiled Vrinda, who mistook the form of Vishnu as Jalhandara. Her chastity was broken as she greeted Vishnu. Taking advantage of the situation, the Gods overpowered Jalhandara and killed him in the battle.
Soon Vishnu appeared in his original form much to the surprise of Vrinda. Understanding the reality, Vrinda became enraged and cursed Vishnu to become a stone for his act of deception. She cursed Vishnu for his stone hearted approach to spoil her chastity that led to the death of her husband. Soon she too burnt herself in the pyre of her husband.
Vishnu accepted the curse hurled upon him and appeared as a shaligram shila in the Gandhaki River in Nepal.
He also blessed Vrinda for her purity and chastity that she will eternally reside in Vaikuntha as his consort. He also transferred her soul into the plant of Tulsi and blessed her to be worshipped as Tulsi. He said that Tulsi will be the most auspicious and dear to him and no prayer is complete without an offering of Tulsi to him. Thus devotees of Krishna never go to him without an offering of Tulsi leaf. He promised to marry her annually on this day in the month of Karthik.
Every year Tulsi Vivah or ceremonial marriage is conducted for Tulsi and Vishnu as shaligram shila on Ekadasi, the eleventh moon of the bright fortnight of Karthik. All devout Hindu women pray to Tulsi and shaligram, on this day and perform a marriage ceremony to Tulsi and shaligram shila for meritorious benefits. By doing this, all sins get burnt away and deep seated desires get fulfilled.
In the Skanda Purana there is a statement praising the Tulsi tree as follows: ‘Let me offer my respectful obeisance unto the Tulsi tree, which can immediately vanquish volumes of sinful activities. Simply by seeing or touching this tree one can become relieved from all distresses and diseases.
The stones are worshipped as manifestations of Vishnu himself, identifiable from other stones by special markings which resemble Vishnu's paraphernalia such as mace, conch, lotus and disc (chakra). They are either black, red, or mixed in colour and are usually kept closed in a box and are only brought out for daily worship (puja). The stones are usually hereditary and are passed down through many generations, never being purchased or sold.
Lord Vishnu is worshipped in form of the darbha grass, a gold image or Shaligram stone. The drab grass is known as Desmostachya Bipinnata scientifically. The drabha grass has been considered a sacred grass and has been used in religious rituals since Vedic times. Darbha is also called Kusha and it is considered perhaps the second most sacred herb in the Vedas after Soma. Darbha has very unique spiritual properties and is used in all religious rituals in the Hindu tradition. Darbha helps to protect from toxic radiation and negative energies of all types. It energetically shields the area around it from curses, ghosts, demons and the negative energies created by negative thoughts. It simultaneously works to carry and amplify spiritual energies and helps to connect with the higher spiritual realms. Darbha is not only useful in religious rituals, but also around the home, where it can be used to help shield people from the radiation from electrical appliances. Darbha also has healing properties and is used in Ayurvedic medicine.
The Shaligram stone is a fossilized stone used to invoke God, and referred as a representation of God. Shaligram is usually collected from sacred river beds or on the banks. Shiva worshipers use nearly round or oval shaped Shaligrams to worship as Shiva Linga. Similarly, Vaishnavas - the Vishnu worshippers, use a spherical black-colored ammonoid fossil as a representation of Lord Vishnu. The origin of the name is traced to a remote village in Nepal where Vishnu is known by the name of Shaligramam. Shaligram in Hinduism is also known as Salagrama. The name Salagrama refers to the name of the village on the bank of Gandaki where the holy stones are picked up. The name is derived from the hut (sala) of the sage Salankayana, who beheld the form of Vishnu in a tree outside his hut.
Padma Purana says that Vrinda Devi was born on earth to King Kushadvaja. She married Jalhandara, a demon king who had sovereignty over the nether regions and declared war on the Gods. He had a boon that he would be free from death till his wife Vrinda was chaste. Jalhandara drew strength from the chastity and purity of his pious wife, Vrinda. The power of Vrinda`s chastity was so great that Jalhandara could not be defeated by the Gods, even Lord Shiva. Helplessly, the Gods sought refuge in Lord Vishnu.
As a final resort, Lord Vishnu assuming the form of Jalhandara beguiled Vrinda, who mistook the form of Vishnu as Jalhandara. Her chastity was broken as she greeted Vishnu. Taking advantage of the situation, the Gods overpowered Jalhandara and killed him in the battle.
Soon Vishnu appeared in his original form much to the surprise of Vrinda. Understanding the reality, Vrinda became enraged and cursed Vishnu to become a stone for his act of deception. She cursed Vishnu for his stone hearted approach to spoil her chastity that led to the death of her husband. Soon she too burnt herself in the pyre of her husband.
Vishnu accepted the curse hurled upon him and appeared as a shaligram shila in the Gandhaki River in Nepal.
He also blessed Vrinda for her purity and chastity that she will eternally reside in Vaikuntha as his consort. He also transferred her soul into the plant of Tulsi and blessed her to be worshipped as Tulsi. He said that Tulsi will be the most auspicious and dear to him and no prayer is complete without an offering of Tulsi to him. Thus devotees of Krishna never go to him without an offering of Tulsi leaf. He promised to marry her annually on this day in the month of Karthik.
Every year Tulsi Vivah or ceremonial marriage is conducted for Tulsi and Vishnu as shaligram shila on Ekadasi, the eleventh moon of the bright fortnight of Karthik. All devout Hindu women pray to Tulsi and shaligram, on this day and perform a marriage ceremony to Tulsi and shaligram shila for meritorious benefits. By doing this, all sins get burnt away and deep seated desires get fulfilled.
In the Skanda Purana there is a statement praising the Tulsi tree as follows: ‘Let me offer my respectful obeisance unto the Tulsi tree, which can immediately vanquish volumes of sinful activities. Simply by seeing or touching this tree one can become relieved from all distresses and diseases.
The stones are worshipped as manifestations of Vishnu himself, identifiable from other stones by special markings which resemble Vishnu's paraphernalia such as mace, conch, lotus and disc (chakra). They are either black, red, or mixed in colour and are usually kept closed in a box and are only brought out for daily worship (puja). The stones are usually hereditary and are passed down through many generations, never being purchased or sold.
A Shaligrama – which has the marks of a shankha, Chakra,
gada and padma arranged in a particular order – is worshiped as Keshava. With
the change in the order of the four symbols, the name of the Shaligrama stone
is also different and the images of such deities also have similar setting of
the four symbols. The various orders and names are given for the twenty four
permutations. These are well known names, which are the different names by
which Lord Vishnu is known in the Hindu pantheon. The various versions of the
Saligrama Shilas or stones vis-a-vis the order of the four symbols are -
- Shankha, Chakra, Gada and Padma - Keshava
- Padma, Gada, Chakra, Shankha - Narayana
- Chakra, Shankha, Padma and Gada - Madhava
- Gada, Padma, Shankha and Chakra - Govinda
- Padma, Shankha, Chakra and Gada – Vishnu
- Shankha, Padma, Gada, Chakra – Madusudhana
- Gada, Chakra, Shankha and Padma – Trivikrama
- Chakra, Gada, Padma, Shankha - Vamana
- Chakra, Padma, Shankha, Gada - Shridhara
- Padma, Gada, Shankha, charka - Hrishikesh
- Padma, Chakra,Gada, Shankha - Padmanabha
- Shankha, Chakra, Gada, Padma - Damodara
- Chakra, Shankha, Gada, Padma - Sankarshana
- Shankha, Chakra, Padma, Gada - Pradyumna
- Gada, Shankha, Padma, charka - Aniruddha
- Padma, Shankha, Gada, Chakra - Purushottama
- Gadha, Shankha, Chakra, Padma - Adokshaja
- Padma, Gada, Shankha, Chakra - Narasimha
- Padma, Chakra, Shankha, Gada – Achyuta
- Shankha, Chakra, Padma, Gada - Janardana
- Gada, Padma, Shankha, Chakra - Upendra
- Chakra, Padma, Gada and Shankha – Hari
- Gada, Padma, Chakra and Shankha - Krishna
- Shankha, Chakra, Padma, Gada – Vasudeva
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