Saanp (साँप)

साँप, तुम सभ्य तो हुए नही,

नगर मे बसना भी तुम्हे नही आया|

एक बात पूछूँ? उत्तर दोगे?

कहाँ से सीखा डसना? विष कहाँ पाया?

- आग्येय 

कविवर अज्ञेय आधुनिक कलाकार के मर्मज्ञ एवं दार्शनिक कवि हैं। सांप कविता के आधार पर उन्होंने शहरों में रहने वाले कृतघ्न जनों को बड़े तीक्ष्ण ढंग से व्यंग किया है। सांप एक ऐसा जीव है, जिसे मानवीय व्यवस्था के अनुरूप सभ्य नहीं कहा जा सकता और ना ही नगरीय व्यवस्था के अनुरूप वह रह ही सकता है, फिर कवि को आश्चर्य होता है कि, वह ना तो सभ्य है और ना ही शहर में रहना उसे आता है किंतु उसका एक गुण है कि वह डसता है और ऐसा विष वमन करता है जैसे नगरों में सभ्य कहलाने वाले कृतघ्न लोग करते हैं। अतः कवि सांप को संबोधित करते हुए कहता है कि यह तो बताओ कि तुमने यह डसने की कला कहां से सीखी जबकि तुम वास्तव में नगर के निवासी नहीं हो। वास्तव में आज के परिपेक्ष्य में 'आदमी-आदमी को डस रहा है और सांप बगल में हंस रहा है'। अज्ञेय जी द्वारा रचित सांप मुक्तक काव्य नगरों में रहने वाले सभ्य कहलाने वाले व्यक्तियों पर एक तीखा व्यंग्य है। नगर में अनेक ऐसे व्यक्ति हैं जो दिखने में तो सभ्य लगते हैं किंतु उनके दंत(व्यवहार) सांप से भी अधिक विषैले होते हैं। कवि का विचार है कि सभ्य समाज में अनेक ऐसे लोग हैं जो सर्प से भी अधिक विषधारी हैं, और वे समाज में ऐसा विष फैलाते हैं जिसका कोई इलाज नहीं है। सांप वास्तव में सभ्य नहीं है और ना ही नगरवासी किंतु नगर में सभ्य जनों की भांति डसना जानता है, इस पर कवि को आश्चर्य होता है। प्रस्तुत मुक्तक नगर में रहने वाले सभ्य जनों को वास्तव में कृतघ्न होने के प्रति इशारा करना कवि का उद्देश्य है, और मानव मात्र को डसने वाले मनुष्य पर एकमात्र सांप के माध्यम से यह कविता व्यंग है।

I remember having studied this poem in the 8th grade Hindi text book. I loved the poem as it was the smallest to remember! I never cared to understand it then. However, now that I do understand the meaning and the timelessness of this poem, I do realize that this is such a hard satire on the mankind.

For my non-hind reading or speaking friends - 

The poet "Agyeya" is making a satirical reflection on the ungrateful, spiteful people living in the urban dream through the means of a snake. A snake is neither domesticated nor urban, hence can never be called a civilize being. Yet, it has its own quality of biting others and spitting venom - just like ungrateful beings do to others. The poet asks the snake that where did you learn such an act of spitting venom and biting others, when you have never lived in a civil society or have been into a city? As per poet, there are much more dangerous creatures in the society that call themselves civilized, yet are full of poison that is even more hurtful than a snake's venom. These people disguise themselves as learned, wealthy, kind or whatever, but do not give a moment to think about others. 

Don't you agree with the poet in his analysis?

Vyasa's agony

 ऊर्ध्वबाहुर विरौम्य एष न च कश चिच छृणॊति मे
     धर्माद अर्थश च कामश च स किमर्थं न सेव्यते
 न जातु कामान न भयान न लॊभाद; धर्मं तयजेज जीवितस्यापि हेतॊः
     नित्यॊ धर्मः सुखदुःखे तव अनित्ये; जीवॊ नित्यॊ हेतुर अस्य तव अनित्यः

These are the verses from original text of Mahabharata from the chapter 18. These are verses 49-50. In these verses Ved Vyasa, who is deemed as the author of the epic and possibly the great grandfather of the entire event, cries out loud throwing his arms up in the sky. He says - "With uplifted arms I am crying aloud but nobody hears me. From Righteousness is Wealth as also Pleasure. Why should not Righteousness, therefore, be courted? For the sake neither of pleasure, nor of fear, nor of cupidity should any one cast off Righteousness. Indeed, for the sake of even life one should not cast off Righteousness. Righteousness is eternal. Pleasure and Pain are not eternal. Jiva is eternal. The cause, however, of Jiva’s being invested with a body is not so." - transliteration taken from http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m18/m18005.htm.

Mahabharata is a text that has shaped the Indian philosophy and understanding for a very long time. The great epic moves from one story to the other exemplifying the role of various emotions and one's actions. It moves around the characters as they engulf themselves in the internal battle of duty, righteousness, pleasure and result of the actions they perform. It is well known to many characters in the epic as to they suffer for their own deeds and their actions do have reactions. Yet, no one tries to do what is right? The problem is "right" from which perspective? Mahabharata as an epic, opens a plethora of perspectives for us to look at its own characters.

The characters in the epic probably did not understood their own future. They did not even understood the full picture. But we as readers do. When Vyasa composed the epic, he named it "Jaya" meaning victory. He purposefully omitted the question "over whom?". The epic hints at one's victory over themselves. Only when we can learn from the lives of the characters in the epic and imbibe the true meaning, shall we be able to achieve "Jaya". But, who has the patience?

Mahabharata is not kept in many households. It is prohibited from bringing into homes and even reading from start to finish. People believe it may cause disagreements and quarrels in the household. Little do they realize that the book is full of learning for a household. Every character in the book is displayed to led a family life and participate in the procreation of the nature.

When Vyas completes his great epic, he wonders in dismay as to when shall people listen to him? He has been telling everyone to be righteous, be compassionate towards others. This is the only way that shall help everyone survive. Yet no one listens! Better still, no one listens even now......

Vyasa in his attempt to throw his hands in the air and trying to tell the path to everyone is portraying an image of a teacher or a preacher who has a message from the God himself. Ain't that a messenger? Ain't that is what followed in many other religions across the world? The issue in this approach is that of a compliance. When a preacher or messenger tells you a way, the followers must adhere to the path , else they shall digress. The hindu philosophy, however, takes a different approach of an ocean. The ocean is full of knowledge and riches. It is unto the seekers to find what they want in the ocean, using whatever way they want. Probably because compliance is hard to follow!

Sri Krishna told Arjuna the lessons of Gita and explained to him the path to lead a life. Even then we find it hard to live by the lessons from Gita. Compliance is definitely hard, even when the path is shown by God himself. 

Did Yudhisthira tell a lie?

Long time back I wrote a small article on the topic of Ashwathama’s death – “Ashwathama is dead”.  Ashwathama was the son of Dronacharya – the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas. Dronacharya could only be defeated when Yudhishthira confirmed the death of Ashwathama.

It is said the Yudhishthira was embodiment of the Dharmaraja himself and was known for his principles. It is said that his compliance to principles and rules was so impeccable that his chariot would always be levitated above the ground by about 4 inches. This was an extraordinary feat, only available to gods themselves. However, the moment Yudhishthira replied to Drona affirming the death of Ashwathama, his chariot dipped by 2 inches. Though Yudhisthira’s affirmation was truthful, it was not complete truth for Drona. Yudhishthira’s character was forever marred by this affirmation.

Dronacharya in his young days was a good friend with a young prince who later became a great king – Drupada of Panchal. When they grew up, their situations changed – Drupada inherited the kingdom while Drona resorted to teaching and gathering alms by begging. Drona went to Drupada and reminded him of the promises made in the childhood days and demanded half the kingdom. His demand was considered audacious and was laughed at in the court. A hurt Drona then went on to become the teacher in the Hastinapur court where he taught the Kuru princes. As a teacher he was expected to report on all his pupils to his patron – Bhishma and Dhritarashtra. He was expected to utilize corrective measures to make sure that the princes were learning properly and adhering to the principles. Even at the time of the Mahabharata war, Drona aligned himself to Kauravas due to his love for his own son and also because he was a salaried employee of the court.

Many years later, when the questions arose on Yudhishthira’s character, Sri Krishna came to his rescue. Sri Krishna explained that Drona had forever worked in situations that favored himself. He had been blindsided by his love for his son. Drona demanded the kingdom to provide for his son. Drona served in Hastinapur as he wanted to provide for his son. Drona refused Eklavya, because he wanted to be a teacher only for Kuru princes. Drona refused to teach Karna for his low birth. Drona aligned himself with Kauravas, because Ashwathama was a friend to Duryodhana. Every time, when the choice presented itself to Drona, he always chose what benefitted him and his son. Based on all this, Sri Krishna decreed that Drona had lost his right to listen the truth. Hence it was his fault and not Yudhishthira’s.

How is this story relevant to us? We live in a world that is driven by information. Information that is collected by us through many sources. And then we analyze the same for ourselves and then relay the information with our own flavor attached to it. At times, we form opinions that are stronger than the information itself and bias our judgement. We all play the role of an influencer for at least someone in our own life – parents, children, spouses or siblings are the easiest examples. With the increasing popularity and the ease of resource, the social media is proving to be the largest behemoth in the field of information dissemination. I would urge everyone to be cautious while assimilating all that the social media has to offer. Use it wisely, else you too may lose the very right to listen the truth. 

Jeevan ke rang - Colors of life

मन में इच्छा थी,
    जीवन में रंग भरने की। 
रंग ढूंढने चला मैं,
    लाल नीले हरे पीले - सभी रंग। 
कभी होली, कभी दीवाली,
    कहीं लालिमा, कहीं हरियाली। 

ऊँगली पकड़ खड़े होते देखा,

    गिर गिर कर उठते देखा। 
उन्मुक्त हँसी से खिलखिलाते देखा,
    निश्छल मन से जीते देखा। 
किसी के विरह में बिछड़ते देखा,
    मिलान की ख़ुशी में फूलते देखा। 
फिर एक दिन,
    अचानक सब कुछ बदल सा गया।  
निश्छलता के रूप में छल आ गया,
    जोश से भरे चेहरों पर आयु का आवरण छ गया। 
झुर्रियां दिखने लगीं,
    साँसें उखाड़ने लगीं। 
अपने पराये होने लगे,
    विरही हैं प्रेम की आस तलाशने लगे। 
इतने रंग दिखने लगे,
    जीवन के चित्रपट भी छोटे पड़ने लगे।
जीवन में कितने सारे रंग थे,
    और हर रंग के अपने ही मायने थे !
अब तो बस मन में इच्छा है,
    जीवन के सभ रंग देखने और समझने की।

Karwa Chauth - Why does moon rise so late?

I have often wondered as to why the moon rises late on the Karwa Chauth night. It’s probably because our hungry stomachs rebel and start cursing the moon instead of praying, that slows it down!

Actually on a full moon day, the moon rises exactly at the time of sunset. The moon takes 27.3 days to travel once around the earth. This is also the next full moon day. To travel 360 degrees in 27.3 days, the moon moves approx. 13 degrees towards the east every day. Thus the moon rise increases by approx. 48 min per day in relation to the sunset. On the Karva Chauth day – 4 days after the full moon day, the moon rises 48*4 = 192 min (3 hrs and 12 min) after the sunset.

Now please do notice the moon rise timings everyday and see the pattern!

Karwa Chauth - a festival of love for couples

We celebrated the coveted festival of Karwa Chauth a few days ago. My wife has always been very enthusiastic for this one day and does everything to make the day special for both of us. Over the years we have got connected with the world through the social media and many other means. Interestingly, the social media has opened us to a wider horizon and scads of ideas and opinions. One such opinion (and quite popular one0 piqued our interest – “Karwa Chauth has become regressive, and is still being used to bind women in a golden cage!”

Both of us brainstormed, discussed and debated at many a points to understand the meaning of the opinion and the festival itself. And then we realized that we need to understand a bit more prior to passing our own opinion on the subject. Per my understanding, opinions cloud your ability to see clearly. We must try to stay away from them. It is on my wife's insistence that I chose to write on this topic. Please allow me to present my not so contiguous thoughts, that may make sense by the end.

While growing up we all listen to stories and think about those as well. However, when we feel we are grown up – we want to listen only to philosophies and leave the stories to our children. What we forget is that every story is laced with the important lessons from philosophy and teaches one to understand the meaning in their own context! Stories are powerful messengers. To understand the festival, let’s listen to a couple of stories.

In the great epic Mahabharata, there is a time when Arjun has to leave his brothers and wife – Draupadi in the forest and go to a hill performing penance. As per the rules of the penance, he is supposed to spend a year away. At the same time, this happened to be the year when he was to be the husband for Draupadi. Draupadi starts missing Arjun. The rest of the four pandavas and Draupadi suffer troublesome circumstances and misfortunes. Draupadi calls for Sri Krishna and expresses her grief. Sri Krishna suggests her of a ritual suggested by Lord Shiva to Parvati. This ritual was to be observed on an auspicious day known as Karwa Chauth to keep the issues away from the martial life. Sri Krishna recommends Draupadi to follow the same ritual to rejuvenate her marriage and pray for victory for Pandavas in the upcoming war.

In another story, the Karwa Chauth was mostly celebrated in the regions that have been prone to wars or attacks from outsiders. In many scenarios, the men would leave the old, children and women back in the security of the fort, while they go out into the battlefield to face the enemy. Due to the resources being scarce, the women in the fort started the tradition to observe fast to save the food for the men fighting for the security and independence. This action became a tradition over the period of time and became the festival as we know today.

In yet other retellings, Karwa Chauth became a festival in the middle ages, for the married women to bond with other married girls by celebrating it together in masses. This helped them to recreate their marriage scenes for their amusement. While enjoying so, they wish to meet again and hence wish to remain married further and praying for a long life for their spouses. This developed a romance between them and their spouses.

Perhaps, the most prominent story that helps understand the meaning of long life of the husband is that of Satyavan and Savitri. Savitri followed Lord Yama who came to take the life of Satyavan away. Yama could neither take Savitri with himself, and could neither leave her behind. Through her devotion for her husband and sharp wittedness, Savitri made Yama to agree to giver herself a boon to bear children. Yama agreed to her demand. And then realized the wit of Savitri, since she could not bear children as Yama was taking away Satyavan. Yama finally had to return Satyavan back to life.

In many parts of India – particularly north, the Kartik month of the Hindu lunar calendar is celebrated with the sowing of the Rabi crop or the winter crop. This crop is sown after the monsoon season is over. During this time, the fields are often filled with insects and reptiles of all sorts. While the farmers are out in the field working, their wives back home celebrate this festival with earthen pot known as “Karva” on the fourth day of the dark fortnight. Thus giving the name – Karwa Chauth.

All the stories hint towards the purpose of the festival which hasn’t changed – happiness and wellness in one’s life. In none of the stories, the women were forced to observe the ritual or the fast. They did what the felt right at the moment. The stories do make a point of wishing for a long life of a husband through the deeds of the woman. Yet, the undelying tone is for the general good for the community and the social fabric. At the same time, the stories emphasize on the role of women in the society. They are seen as the preservers, protectors and guardians of resources and most importantly taking the onus of the family when the male is not around. The women are not subservient to the male, but have a parity.

People today argue the relevance of the stories and how could a simple ritual extend their spouses life? We do agree that fasting or praying on this particular day would not help increase the spouse’s life. Had this been the case, the insurance companies would have lobbied around to exercise a ban on the celebration! But this is a festival that brings them together for a happy life. A life that they can enjoy and cherish for longer time. This makes them remember the facets of their married life even longer.

Over the years, the observation reveals both the partners – bride and bridegroom – observing the fast for each other. While growing up, we have seen numerous couples getting ready on this day and enjoying each other’s company as if their married life starts now. This is a great feeling for them as it rekindles the feeling of joy and romance in their hearts, which is usually lost in the mundane tasks of the life all year long. This is a day for them to remind of themselves as being together and working as a couple for every situation, rather than being an individual that they always are in their profession. This has given an altogether a new meaning to a festival that has been around for ages.

The meanings, motives and the methods may have changed over the period of time. But the festival even today serves the purpose of bliss in martial life. It is up to oneself to see the rituals as regressive or oppressive, but for me it has become a symbol of love and devotion to my spouse without whom the journey of life is incomplete.