All that happens is for good

ALL THAT HAPPENS IS FOR GOOD

Once upon a time, there was a king. He had a wise minister whom he liked much. One day they went into the forest to hunt. Though they went deep into the forest, they did not see any wild beast to hunt it was getting dark and soon they lost their way. They were tired and dejected.While wandering in the dark, the king stumbled on a sharp stone and broke the little toe of his right foot. .!’. The king was now reeling with pain. To pacify the king, the minister said ‘Sir, All that happens is for good’. When he heard the remarks of the minister, the king became furious!  ‘You are an ungrateful fellow, instead of sympathizing, you are joking, and I will punish you.’ So saying the king pushed the minister in to an old dry well nearby, and went further alone into the darkness. Soon he saw some light in the distance .and started moving in that direction. To his surprise, he saw some savages coming towards him... As soon as the savages saw him, they jumped on him, overpowered and tied him with ropes. His protests saying he was a king had no effect on the captors. They could not understand his tongue.

They dragged him to a clearing in the jungle where a festival appeared to be in progress At the centre of a large gathering there was an idol of a deity and seated in front, was a fierce looking person, apparently their leader. A priest was getting ready for giving a sacrifice to the deity. As soon as the prisoner (our king) was dragged in, there was a great rejoicing in the crowd. It was clear that they were all waiting to witness the prisoner to be sacrificed to the deity. The savage chief gave orders to behead the prisoner as a sacrifice to please the deity.  The prisoner was made to kneel in front of the deity, the executioner lifted an axe. The prisoner realized his life was coming to an end. At that moment the priest shouted;” Our deity will not accept an imperfect person as sacrifice. Let us first make sure the prisoner is free from defect in all limbs”. A soldier was asked to carefully check the prisoner from head to foot limb by limb. He checked the prisoner limb by limb and declared he was perfect The crowd was cheering at each announcement. At last when he came to the right foot, , he noticed that the little toe was missing When he announced it, the priest declared the prisoner was not fit  for sacrifice and cannot be offered to the deity. The crowd which was waiting to see the sacrifice followed by a grand feast, let out a moan of disappointment! The Savage Chief reluctantly ordered the release of the prisoner, who had considered himself to be dead. 

It was with grate joy that the prisoner-our king, started back. It was then that he remembered that, had he not lost his little toe, by now he would have been dead! Yes, what the minister told was true; his loosing a little toe had saved his life and turned out to be for his good in the end. Then he remembered he had unjustly punished his wise minister, he was very sorry. He hurried back to the old well.

In the meanwhile, the minister also was undergoing fear and agony, The minister who was at the bottom of the dry well, was groping in the dark for some creeper or tree branch to pull himself out of the well. It was then that he heard a tiger roaring. When he looked up, he could see faintly, a tiger peering into the well. The tiger had smelled a human pray. The minister reasoned, even if he pulled himself out of the well, he would fall a pray to the tiger and he was sure to die. He decided to wait for the dawn. He was wondering what could be the fate of the poor king who was all-alone in the dark infested forest. After a long wait, during which, he occasionally heard the growl of the tiger, he heard the footsteps of someone coming towards the well... He was glad somebody might be coming to his rescue.

, The tiger saw the king with his sword approaching the well; it got frightened and ran away... The king saw the minister huddled below and pulled him out of the well. The minister said;” Sir, you must have had a tough time in the night. I am sorry I could not be of help to you.” The king was ashamed for his haughtiness towards such a faithful minister. He recounted all that had happened and how he narrowly escaped death, and said.” What you told is very true. All that happened was for good; if I had not lost my little toe, I would have been sacrificed to the deity. I am sorry I unnecessarily punished you by pushing you in to the well.” The minister replied, ”Even that was a boon. If you had not pushed me into the well, I would have been a pray to either the tiger or the deity”.

While they were talking thus, the day had dawned and the King’s soldiers had come in search of them. They had a happy union, and returned to the palace. Next day the king called the Assembly and recounted all that had happened. He praised the wisdom of the minister and honored him.

                                            All that happens is for good.

One should not get dejected and loose his cool if some unpleasant thing happens, but move on with courage and hope.

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Maarkandeya, the boy who conquered Death

Dear Children:        

 The hero of our story today is a boy who defied Death and became “Chiranjeevi”- or Ever-Living! Maarkandeya is ever remembered for the “Mrityunjaya Mantra” he gave to the world.

Long ago, there was a great sage called Mrikandu. His wife was Sumitra. The couple did not have a child for a long time. They did severe penance to please Shiva. Shiva was pleased with their penance and manifested before them and asked if they had any desire.  Mrikandu humbly asked for a son as a boon. Shiva gave a choice- Several children with long life but dull-headed ones, or a single son who would be wise and righteous, but had limited life. Mrikandu chose the latter, and Shiva granted the boon.

Soon Sumitra was in the family way and after a time, gave birth to a cute, bright boy. He was named Markandeya, the son of Mrikandu. The sages who studied his horoscope (position of planets at the time of birth), were surprised to find that the boy had all the features of a great person, but, alas, he was to live only up to his 16^th year !.Only the parents were told about this.

Markandeya grew up as a very brilliant boy who mastered all the Vedas and Shaastras even at his young age. He was very obedient and devoted to his parents and elders and everyone whom he met were immensely pleased with him.

 One day he was sent to the forest for collecting Dharba-grass and Samits , articles of worship. Sapta-Rishis, the seven great sages of Heaven, happened to pass by in the forest. They disguised themselves as ordinary ascetics and met the boy. .Markandeya did not know who they were, yet showed respect and prostrated before them. The ascetics in disguise were pleased with him, and the usual words of blessing ‘Dheerga aayushmaan Bhava’ (May you live long), came out of their mouth!  It was then, that Saptarishis realized that the boy whom they had blessed was destined for a short life! But, they had a gift from Lord Brahma that, what they uttered would always become true! They went to Brahma and told what had happened. –that they had inadvertently blessed the boy for long life while he was destined for a short life. Brahma smiled and said that it was the same destiny that had prompted them now to bless the boy, and the will of God would prevail. Neither the boy nor his parents and other humans were aware of all that happened.

Markandeya noticed that his parents were very worried and unhappy as days passed.  He said it was his duty as a son, to make them happy. When he pressed for the reason, they were in tears, they told him of his limited life. The boy said, “Do not worry on that account. I too want to live long as I have a lot to learn and do good to this world. I will do penance and pray Lord to give me long life”. He sought their blessings and went to forest to do penance. He installed a Shiva-linga at an auspicious place on the banks of Holy River Tungabhadra and began his worship of Shiva and do intense penance to please Shiva.

Soon, the day of his end of life came. He was in deep meditation. At the appointed time, the servants of Yama, the God of Death, came to him to take his life.  They tried to throw their noose on Markandeya. Markandeya who was in deep meditation suddenly felt his five senses (seeing,hearing, smelling, touch, and taste) were failing, but  his mind and consciousness were clear and sharp, because of his meditation.The Yama-dootas(servants of Yama) failed to pull out his soul. They had never experienced such failure in their task and had to go back to Yama without the boy’s soul. Yama was very angry as his servants could not enforce the laws of nature. He decided to do it himself .He rode his Buffalo and came to Markandeya, to throw his Paasha or noose and drag his soul.  Markandeya was hugging the Shiva-linga and intensely praying, unaware of these happenings. When Yama tried to pull the boy’s soul, an angry Shiva manifested from the Linga and demanded,” Yama, how dare you disturb my dear young devotee  when he is in deep meditation on Me”. Yama pleaded that Markandeya’s life was to end, and he had come to do his duty of taking away,the soul of the boy.

All this commotion distracted Markandeya . He opened his eyes, realized the situation and started praying to Shiva loudly :-

“ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे   सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् 

उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥“

                                                    
Om Try-Ambakam Yajaamahe 
Sugandhim Pusstti-Vardhanam
Urvaarukam-Iva Bandhanaan 
Mrtyor-Mukssiiya Maa-[A]mrtaat ||

Meaning:Ma
1: Om, We Worship the Three-Eyed One (Lord Shiva), 
2: Who is Fragrant (Spiritual Essence) and Who Nourishes all beings.
3: May He severe our Bondage of Samsara (Worldly Life), like a Cucumber (severed from the bondage of its Creeper), .
4: ... and thus Liberate us from the Fear of Death, by making us realize that we are never separated from our Immortal Nature.

Shiva was immensely pleased with this hymn from His devotee and, not only did He send away Yama ,but made Markandeya, a ‘Chiranjeevi’ or immortal.  The mantra or prayer became famous as Mahaa Mrutyunjaya Mantra or a hymn to win over Death.

Thus, Markandeya conquered Death and returned to

his parents, they were immensely happy and proud 

of such an illustrious son

.

This story illustrates that, with determination, perseverance and firm faith in God, most difficult things can be achieved

Mrutyunjaya, the boy, evolving into a Maharishi, and his adventures, is another interesting story

Ack. The hymn and its meaning from link; on WEB http://greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/sri_shiva-mahamrityunjaya_mantra.php

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                                               Sankalpa-A vow to God,

   Sankalpa is a Vow to God, expressed in Deva-naagari,a language given by HIM  !

You will have noticed that on special occasions, or while performing “Pooja” our elders begin the function by reciting ‘Sankalpa’ in Sanskrit.’ Sankalpa’ means, a vow or an affirmation to commence a job, and seeking God’s grace to fulfill it. It specifies elaborately, when and where the vow is   taken,ie. time and place, expressed in terms of God’s Creation of Universe.

If anybody asks you what day is today, you readily reply, it is 8^th of August 2013.This is as per English calendar (also called Gregorian calendar which came into use in year 1582)

It means: 8th day in the month of August in the year 2013 after a particular event, in this case, the period that has lapsed since the time of Jesus Christ

         But Hindu calendar counts the time more elaborately - from the time the Universe was created! This method of count is in vogue since thousands of years, and that count is closer to what the scientists of today estimate as the age of our universe!

Let me begin with a small story:  *1*

     Once a person did penance intensely to please Brahma. After a time, Brahma appeared before him and asked what he wanted. He said , ‘Lord, I am in urgent need of 10 lakhs of money for my daughter’s marriage. Brahma was amused at his paltry request, and said,

'You will have it in a minute’, and vanished. The person waited for a year and since nothing happened, again prayed to Brahma.  Brahma manifested and said “I told you, you will have it in a minute. I meant it in my timescale which is equal to 6 million years of you –humans!”      That is the Celestial scale of Time!       

The format generally used for Sankalpa is as below:-

A.     Time component:

Aadya Brahmanaha, dwitiya paraardhay, Sweta Varaaha Kalpay

Vaivaswata Manvantaray, Kali Yugay Prathama paaday,    

asmin vartamaana vyavahaarikay,Chaandra-maanena, Prabhavaadi shasthi samvatsaraanaam madhyay,

Vijaya naama Samvatsaray,Dakshinaayanay Varsha Rutou Shraavana maasay, Shukla pakshay,Dwiteeyaayam tithou, Guru Vaasara yuktaayaam-- - asyaam shubha tithou (On this auspicious day)…  then, B, the space component , is specified.

Earlier part in italics is in celestial scale of time or Deva Maana, beginning with the Creator-Brahma. Latter part in highlighted italics is in  Maanusha Maana ie human scale or  the current usage-Year, season, month, date, day etc.

Let us see the relation of these two Scales of time measurement:-

        Celestial scale (Deva Maana) and        Terrestrial   Scale                                                                                (Maanusha Maana)

       One day  in  celestial scale              One Year   in Human scale.

          One Celestial Year                                 360 Years of man

       Kali Yuga =1200celestial yrs.             4,32,000 years of man *

    Tretaa Yuga (Twice Kali yuga)              8,64,000 years of man

    Dwaapara Yuga(thriceKali Yuga)        12,96,000 years

   Krita Yuga( four times Kali)                   17,28,000 years

One Chaturyuga( a set of 4 yugas )          43,20,000 years of man               or ten times kali yuga 

One chatur-yuga is a Deva-Yuga                                                         71 Deva yuga is one Manvantara      =     30,65,71,428.5 yrs of man

One Kalpa =1000 Chaturyugas or 14 Manvantaras +6 Devayugas as Sandhyaamsha i.e. transition between Brahma's day and night.

One Kalpa is Brahma's half  day=       432 crores or                                                                                         4320million yrs of man  .                                   

Brahma’s one minute is 6 million years of man!

  Brahma’s life= Para or century =100 years.Two Paraardhas or half Century of 50 yrs

Each year has 360 days  called  Kalpa

 and each day has two half-days, day time in which the world is Vyakta  or manifested  and night , in which the world is Avyakta . or dissolved (it is there but not manifested)

  

During the day- time of Brahma, evolution takes place. And as the night sets in ,Pralaya or dissolution starts The cycle of evolution and dissolution starts as the next day dawns to Brahma.

Now, let us see the meaning of Sankalpa mentioned above:First,the celestial scale in italics- Deva mana

                                                                                                      Aadya Brahmanaha Dwiteeya Paraardhay=Second half century of First Brahma (in his51st year)

Sweta Varaaha Kalpay= In Sweta Varaaha Kalpa    

                                     

 Vaivaswata Manvantara: ,       Vaivaswata is 7th manvantara in the Sweta Varaha Kalpa.

Kali Yuge, Prathama paade     during  First Quarter of Kali Yuga (whose duration is 4,32,000years)*

                                             We are now in 5114^th year of Kaliyuga

According to Panchanga or Indian Almanac,it is 195,58,85,114  years since the beginning of Creation after the  last Deluge .

Brahma’s life span of 100 years is roughly equivalent to  311trillion ,40 million human years.!         

      

 It may be of interest to note that, according to Bhagavata Puraana, at the end of each day of Brahma, a Naimittika Pralaya  occurs when the living world will get consumed in a deluge, and, the next day starts with new creation.  At the end of 100 years life of Brahma, a Prakritaka Pralaya  occurs when the whole Universe will get absorbed into God, He is visualized as a small baby floating on a leaf in the Primordial  Ocean with the Universe within  His stomach. He creates a new Brahman and the process of creating Universe starts, all over again.

         

  

 Now we come to the present era: in Maanusha maana

( Asmin vartamaana Vyavahaarikay , Chaandramaanena Prabhavaadi Shasthi Samvatsaraanaam madhye Vijaya naama Samvatsaray…)In current usage of Chaandramaana, among the sixty years cycle beginning with Prabhava, the  current year is called Vijaya..

There are mainly two traditions of calculating the year in India (1) Souramaana or Solar calendar based on period of time taken by Earth to go round the Sun and, Chandramaana  (lunar),based on moon going round the Earth. In Tamil Nadu, the Solar calendar is followed while, in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the Chandramana is in vogue.

We have a cycle of 60 years, each with a name, starting from Prabhava, Vibhava and so on….The current year is called Vijaya Samvatsara.

Dakshinaayanay:  The year is divided into Uttaraayana and Dakshinaayana depending on the apparent movement of Sun towards north or south. Now it is Dakshinaayana

Varsha rutou, Season-Rainy season …There are 6 seasons of 2 months each.

   Names of  Twelve months of year and their corresponding season :Chaitra,Vaishaaka, (Vasanta Rutou) Jestha Aashaada (Ghreeshma rutou)  Shraavana, Bhaadrapada (Varsha rutou), Aashwayuja,Kaarthika (Sharad rutou), Maargashira Pushya  (Hemanta Rutou),  Maagha Phaalguna (Shishira Rutou)

Shraavana maasay : In the month of Shraavana

Shukla pakshay   In brighter Fortnight(Vaxing of moon)…(Shukla and Krishna pakshas –Vaxing and Waning fortnight)

Dwiteeyaayam tithou     Second day(15 days in each fortnight :PrathamaDwiteeya,Thriteeya,Chaturthi,Panchami, Shasthi, Saptami, Asthami, Navami, Dashami, Ekaadashi, Dwaadashi,Trayodashi, Chaturdashi, and Poornima or Fullmoon,/ Amaasya or no-moonday )

Guru vaasara     Thursday (7 days: Ravi,Soma, Mangala or Bhouma, Budha, Guru/Bruhaspati Shukra, Shani

   Thus this auspicious day is designated precisely.)

(B) Space Componant:-

Not only the time is specified linked to the creation of Universe, but Space is also specified as elaborately, linking to our location on Earth –  

We start with    Jamboo Dweepay, Bharata Khanday ,Bhaarata varshay, Meraoho Dakshina Dig-bhaagay,Kaaveri Teeray Mahisha puray Asmad Grihay,……

Roughly translated, it indicates:    Continent- Jamboo Dweepa ,Sub-continent Bharata Khanda,

Country, Bharata Varsha, South of Meru mountains,Near the banks of River Kauveri, In Mahisooru,town, and in our house!! 

, The Sankalpa thus locates us in Universal Space and Time. This makes us humble before God and His Creation.

Sources:

            Universal message of The Bhagavad Gita bySwami Ranganaathananda.*1* Vol. 2 p.314

                Sri Vishnu Puranam Vol.1, Ramakrishna Math,Bengaluru

                Srimad Bhagavata Maha-Purana  in English –Gita press, Gorakhpur.

                Wikipedia  Google

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RISHYASRINGA the sage with a horn on forehead.

 Dear Children,    Last month, we had read about Asthaavakra the sage with eight deformities.

Now, let us read about another great sage with a horn on his forehead! He was named Rishyasringa. Sringa in Sanskrit means horn.

If a person behaves as if he is ‘special’, we ask him in Kannada, “Do you have a horn on your head?” This figure of speech might have Rishyasringa as the origin!

 Vibhandaka was a sage of Treta yuga (Lord Rama’s period.) He was pursuing a very hard and strict penance, the intensity of which, frightened Indra, the Lord of Heaven. He became apprehensive that Vibhandaka might seek his throne as a boon to his penance. He decided to abort the possibility by obstructing the penance, Indra sent a Celestial Dancer, Urvashi,to entice Vibhandaka, and poor Vibhandaka, fell a pray. He forgot his penance and fell in love with Urvashi, who was very beautiful and talented. A son was born to them. As the boy was born with a horn-like projection on fore-head, he was named Rishyasringa.

As soon as Urvashi’s task of obstructing the penance was over, she left for Heaven, leaving the new-born child with Vibhandaka, though he pleaded for his love to her and her need to bring up the child.. This heart -less act of Urvashi made Vibhandaka to hate womankind. He decided to bring up the child himself and isolating the child from seeing any woman.

Under the care and tutelage of Vibhandaka, Rishyasringa grew up to be a great scholar of Vedas and Scriptures even at an early age. Because of his chastity and piety,he got a boon from Gods that wherever he went, there would be prosperity.

King Romapaada was ruling the Anga kingdom. Once, there was a severe famine. There was no rain and all lakes dried and crops failed.There was starvation deaths. King Romapaada had to find a solution. The Pundits in his court suggested that if Rishyasringa could be brought to the country, there would be rains and prosperity would return. The king asked his ministers to go to Vibhandaka with gifts and riches to persuade him to send Rishyasringa. But they said, as Vibhandaka hated women, he would not allow his son to come to the city, where the boy may meet womenfolk. After a lot of discussion, a plan was hatched: A group of beautiful women should go to the Ashram when Vibhandaka had gone out on a journey. They should take with them   fruits and riches which the people in the ashram would not have seen or tasted. They should meet the boy-Rishyasringa when he was alone and use all their guile and tempt him to come with them. Once they are out of the Ashram, the chariots waiting for them would bring them to Anga capital they should accomplish this before Vibhandaka returned.

  It was very difficult to persuade the women as it involved lot of risk and if they were caught in their act, they would face the curse of the sage. Finally they agreed to take that risk, to save the country from famine.

As soon as they learnt that sage Vibhandka had left Ashram on a long journey, they hurried to carry out their plan. They went to ashram and met Rishyasringa and prostrated to him and inquired if he was fine and if his penance was without any hindrance. Rishyasringa had not seen such nice looking and attractive persons. He was very happy to meet them. He thought they were also some sages and welcomed the guests with courtesy and reverence. When he prostrated to them, they said, they wished to greet him in their special way. The leader went and hugged the boy, and offered the sweets and rare fruits they had brought. Rishyasringa, who had not seen a woman till then, felt it was a new and very pleasant experience. He was thrilled with the nice features, pleasant touch and sweet voice,and  the warm embrace of the lady  After a while in their pleasant  company, they requested him to come to visit their hermitage. Rishyasringa readily agreed.He came out of the ashram with the ladies and sat in the chariot which sped towards Anga desha.

 As the chariot with Rishyasringa entered the Anga kingdom, the spell of drought in the land was broken and it started raining! Everybody was dancing and singing. King Romapaada came out of the palace to welcome the honored guest who had saved the country from famine. In gratitude, Romapaada offered his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa. He was proud to have alliance with a sage like Vibhandaka and a scholar like Rishyasringa as his son-in-law. Though Rishyasringa was with a horn on his forehead, his innocent looks and pleasant manners, his radiant face and the scholarly knowledge, had won the heart of princess Shanta. Rishyasringa was also very happy in the company of the bride.

 King Romapaada was happy that his plan to end the famine had succeeded and also, his daughter was happy with Rishyasringa. But, he was worried how to face the rage of Vibhandaka, when he comes to know that his innocent son had been tricked out of ashram by the king. In order to pacify the sage,he kept large herds of cattle in the villages along the route from the ashram to the capital, and instructed the cow-herds to welcome Vibhandaka and    proclaim they are servants of sage Rishyasringa looking after the cows belonging to him.

 Sage Vibhandaka returned to the Ashram and was very angry that his son was missing.Soon, he found out that during his absence, King Romapaada had contrived to get his son out of Ashram to save his country from famine. Fuming Vibhandaka marched to Anga Desha. All along the way, he found people praising his son for saving them from famine; and saw the cattle and cow-herds belonging to his son. His anger gave way to pride for his son. On reaching the capital, he was received with great honor and led to the palace. The King himself came out to welcome him. He saw his son, Rishyasringa and the beautiful bride Shanta seated on the throne with the king, and was pleased with the honor and regard given to his son. He blessed the new couple for happy and contented life and asked his son to return to Ashram after they got a child who could be the heir to the king .He blessed the King and his Kingdom also for prosperity.

 Rishyasringa spent a few years in the palace, enjoying happy married life with Shanta. Shanta gave birth to a beautiful male child who was to be the next king. When Rishyasringa went to King Romapaada to bid good-bye, princess Shanta insisted that she would accompany him to the forest to remain with him to assist in his spiritual pursuits, as expected of a dutiful wife.

Sage Vibhandaka was immensely pleased that his son returned to ashram with his wife who had left the comforts of a palace to come to forest to look after his house and also pursue spiritual activities with her husband. Rishyasringa became a very great scholar in Vedic Rites.  King Dasharatha, on the advice of his Gurus, invited Sage Rishyasringa to come and conduct the Putra-Kaamesthi Yaaga for obtaining sons .The birth of Sri Rama and his three brothers was the result of this Yaaga supervised by Rishyasringa .

(Acknowledgement: “Maha Bhaarata “By Sri. Rajagopalachari that I had read is the main source for this article).

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Lilavati (Leelaavathi)  of Bhaskaraacharya

    Dear Children,

 Let us hear about a young girl, Leelaavathi ,  daughter of Bhaskaraacharya, a famous mathematician of India who lived in 12^th century. One of the books he wrote was named after her , and is famous  as Leelavathi  Ganita .

Bhaskaraacharya II was a great scholar in Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrology and a Sanskrit Poet as well. He adored his young daughter, Leelaavati who was a brilliant student of arithmetic. When she came of marriageable age, he found her an eligible boy. Being a good astrologer, he studied the horoscope of his daughter and, to his horror, found that there was a “Dosha” or defect in her time of birth ,due to which ,she would become a widow soon after marriage.. He used all his skill and fixed an auspicious date and time for marriage such that, she would not become a widow if she was married in that ‘lagna’.

In those days, there were no clocks, .Time was measured in a “water clock” where water was allowed to drip from one part of a vessel into another through a small hole and the level of water in the lower vessel indicated the time.

 Bhaskaraacharya set up the water clock carefully .The time of arrival of the auspicious ‘lagna’ was marked on the vessel to announce the time of marriage. Leelavathi often would come and peep to see the time. Though Bhaskaraacharya had used all his skill to avert the widowhood, Fate could not be hoodwinked! A pearl from the dress of the bride had slipped into the water clock, which nobody noticed. The pearl had clogged the hole. The rate of flow of water had changed and the Auspicious time  of Lagna had passed before the marriage! Leelavathi had to endure the widowhood at a tender age.

Since Leelavathi was fond of arithmetic, her father used to tell her stories and puzzles, in order to cheer her up, and  endure the grief .That is how Leelavathi Mathmatics was born! It became a popular text for children to learn arithmetic without the usual hardship or boredom!

  Here is a puzzle which my teacher used to tell as an example.

  There is a mango grove protected by seven rows of fences, each having a gate, guarded by a gate-keeper. The trees are full of nice juicy fruits. A boy pleads with the gate-keepers to be allowed to pluck some fruits. He   agrees to give the gate-keeper,  half of whatever quantity of fruits  he has at the time of crossing the gate, but pleads that the gate-keeper should give back  one fruit , This, he promises to each of the 7 gate-keepers,to which they agree.

 The boy plucks as many fruits as he wants, passes through all the 7 gates after fulfilling his promise to each of the gate-keepers.  

 When he comes out, he finds he has as many fruits as he had plucked!!! How many, he plucked?

It is desirable if it is answered orally. You may use pen and paper also!

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 Another puzzle which was popular in my school-days:-

Three friends go to a restaurant for snacks. They decide to share the bill equally. Each gives a ten rupee note. The bill is for Rs.25 and the waiter returns five one rupee notes. Each pocket one rupee and leave 2 rupees to the waiter.

On coming out, one of them pauses and says:- We had put ten rupees each, ie Thirty rupees. We got back one each. So, each have spent nine rupees, which makes it 9x3=27. we gave the waiter 2 rupees. It accounts for27+2=29. But, we came with 10x3=30 rupees. Where is the one rupee gone?

Can you find the one rupee which is lost?

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Sage ASTHAAVAKRA

Dear Children, Happy New Year- 2015 to you all !.

Often we see that a physically handicapped or deformed person is ridiculed or teased by other children. We assume he is useless or worthless. We often do not see or recognize the noble and bright personality behind the grotesque appearance.

Let me tell you a story of a person who was deformed and grotesque in appearance, but became a famous sage. He is Sage  Ashtaa vakra.  Vakra means deformed, Ashta means eight. He was deformed in 8 places,-hands, knees, legs , chest and head! You can see from the picture below, how he might have looked!

The story happened in the Treta yuga or Sri Rama’s time, and is mentioned in Mahaa Bhaarata of Dwaapara Yuga. During the wanderings of Paandavas in forest, they come to an Ashrama and Lomasa Rishi who was accompanying them tells this story of Asthaavakra

 Once there was a very learned Scholar- Sage Uddaalaka.  He was running a Guru Kula, a residential school, teaching Vedas. The students lived with the teacher and his family, learning Vedas and also assisting the family with minor chores. Sujaata was a daughter of Uddaalaka. She used to sit in the class and listen to Uddaalaka’s teaching Vedas to the pupils.

Kahola (also called Kagola) was one of the students in the Gurukul. He was a good student, he was honest, obedient and ready to be of help to the household.  Uddaalaka’s family liked him for his nature and treated him as a member of the family.  On completion of his studies of Vedas, Sujaata was married to Kahola and they set up a separate house . Soon, Sujaata was pregnant. She continued to listen to the teachings of Vedas by her father. 

The child in the womb of Sujaata could also hear the Vedas, and though not yet born, had acquired the knowledge of correct pronunciation of Vedas. Once a scholar came to Uddaalaka’s house. Sujaata and Kahola welcomed him and treated him very well. While talking to them, the scholar asked Kahola to recite a particular part of Veda. Kahola made several mistakes in pronunciation. Each time he made a mistake, the child in the womb of Sujaata would squirm in distress, as it also noticed the mistake! This happened eight times.

In due course, when Sujaata delivered the child, it was bright and with intelligent eyes, but was found to be deformed in eight limbs; hands, knees, legs, chest and head.  The ugly child was named   Asthaavakra meaning ‘crooked at eight places.’ But, when he grew up, he was found to be very intelligent, and learned, as he could remember all that he had heard while he was in the mother’s womb!

When the young boy went out to play, all the boys would make fun of him and tease him. But he would not mind. He would say, ugliness and deformities do not matter, a person is judged by his knowledge and honest living.  He was eager to teach them and help in their learning. Soon, in spite of his ugliness he was liked by everybody for his good nature and wisdom.

 Kahola could not earn much and was poor.  Sujaata once suggested to Kahola to go to King Janaka’s court and exhibit his knowledge and get a reward. Accordingly, he went to Mithila and announced himself in King Janaka’s court, seeking an opportunity to exhibit his knowledge. At that instant, an attendant came with a message from the queen and Janaka had to leave the court, asking the Court Scholar, Vidwan Vandi to test the new-comer.

In those days, one of the common methods of testing a person’s knowledge was to give a statement and ask him to prove or disprove it by argument. This is called ‘Tarka’Shaastra.  Vandi challenged Kahola for a debate on Scriptures.  Unfortunately, Kahola failed and Vandi taunted him to get drowned in shame. Kahola could not endure the shame and disappointment of returning empty-handed, and drowned himself. Uddaalaka who heard this tragedy, tried to console his daughter Sujata and brought her and Asthaavakra to his house where the boy got a very good education in all Vedas and Vedaangas. Since the boy had heard some of the Vedas even while in his mother’s womb, and was a prodigy, he became proficient in all Vedas even as a boy of 12.

Asthaavakra had heard how the Court Scholar, Vandi was the cause for his father’s dishonor and death. He wanted to challenge Vandi and defeat him and restore the honor of Kahola. He set out to Mithila to King Janaka’s court.

When he tried to enter the King’s Court, the guards refused to admit him as he was too young and looked very ugly.  The boy protested that he was fully qualified.  The Prime Minister of King Janaka who was passing by, heard this and came to test the boy. He was much impressed by the boy’s knowledge and cleverness and asked the guards to allow him in.

 King Janaka was holding Court.   All were surprised and amused to find this Asthaavakra,a boy with deformed limbs, coming to challenge the famous Scholar,Vandi .They wondered if the boy also  would be dishonored and ridiculed by Vandi, like his father.

Asthaavakra said, “A person should be judged, not by his physical appearance but by his knowledge and ability. A person’s gray hair does not make him an Elder, He has to be wise, instead!

Vandi put very tricky and difficult questions and found Asthaavakra, a good match. Soon he had to accept defeat at the hands of Asthaavakra .Everybody in the court praised Ashtaavakra and Vandi had to  beg pardon for treating Kahola, the boy’s father, so badly as to cause his drowning.
Vandi was so much ashamed that he attempted to get drowned. But Lo! he came out of water, a Celestial being.!

Vandi revealed that he was son of Varuna, the God of Ocean, and due to his arrogance, he was cursed by a Rishi to become a human,When he begged pardon, he was told that the curse would end when he got vanquished by a mere boy. Vandi was grateful to Ashtaavakra for restoring to him ,his celestial body. With Varuna’s favour, Kahola was resurrected and restored. Asthaavakra got all the deformities removed when he had a dip in a holy lake. Uddaalaka, Kahola and Sujaata were immensely happy and  proud of this young boy.

 King Janaka was much impressed by the knowledge and keenness of intellect , and took him as the chief conductor of a Yaaga he was  performing. Asthaavakra became a great sage.

  We should not judge a person from his appearance or ignore or laugh at physically handicapped persons. We should try to look for and bring out latent skills in them.

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Deepavali festival

 Hi Children! Here is Hapymantata Wishing you all a Very Happy Deepavali and a Pleasant New Year!!

                                    New Year? Well, the people who are in business start their fresh book of accounts from this day and so they call it a new year.

Deepavali or Diwali as it is called in North India, is a joyous occasion all over India celebrated with lights and crackers, new clothes and sweets, meeting friends and relatives, and having a swell of a time! It has also a great significance – it denotes Victory of Good over Evil, end of Misery and beginning of Joy.

Only a fortnight back, we had a long spell of festivities- Navratri or Dussera. Now this Deepavali is celebrated for three days in South India as

(1) Naraka Chaturdashi, the 14th day of darker half of Ashwayuja* month, 

(2) Amavasya, the no-moon day, and

(3) Bali Padyami, the 1st day of Brighter Half of Kaartika** month.

In olden days, main activity on Naraka Chaturdashi day was to get up early, get caster oil smeared on from head to foot by an elderly person ,and have a hot water bath using ‘soap-nut powder to remove oil( This is called ‘oil-bath!,) all this, before sun-rise! Then put on new cloths and light crackers. Previous day was called ‘neeru tumbuva habba, i.e. festival of filling water , because,water had to be collected and stored and heated for the whole family to have ‘oil bath’.

Indian calendar months- Chaitra Vaishakha Jeshtha Ashada Shravana Bhadrapada Ashvayuja* Kaartika** Margashira Pushya  Maagha Phalguna  (starting from april ending in march)

In North India, it commences one day earlier, on Dhan-Teras, and ends on Bhai-beej, one day after Bali Padyami i.e. for total five days.

  There are a few interesting stories connected with this Festival.

   Sagar-Manthan

Sagar Manthan-Churning of Ocean of milk
by Danavas & Devas

(1) Both the good and righteous Devas and the Wicked Danavas were aspiring for Amrita, the elixir which would make them immortal and free from the fear of Death. The Ksheera Sagara (Ocean of Milk) was to be churned to obtain Amrita. So Devas and Danavas jointly started churning the ocean of Milk, using Manthara Mountain as churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope to churn. Lord Vishnu took the form of a Tortoise to carry the mountain on its back and prevent it from sinking. As the churning progressed, a number of precious articles emerged. One of them was Dhanvantari, the Doctor carrying a pot of Amrita, and another was Maha Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth.  Dhanvantari and Maha Laxmi emerged on Dhanteras day.  Lord Vishnu married Laxmi on Amaavasya Day and so that day is celebrated as Lakshmi Pooja day.     

Dhan Teras: “ Dhan” means “Riches like gold and precious ornaments etc. ‘Teras’ is ‘thirteenth day’ The day is auspicious for Dhanvantari who represents Health, and Laxmi the goddess of wealth, both dear to man.

(2) Another legend is, - A young prince named Hima was married to devoted and intelligent princess. But an astrologer predicted that on the 4th night after marriage, the prince would die of snake-bite. That was the Dhanteras Day.  The clever princess lit a number of lamps all around the house and collected all the gold and jewelry at the entrance of her room and was worshiping Goddess of Wealth- Laxmi.  She kept the prince fully awake throughout the night with songs and prayers. So, when Yama came in the guise of a snake, he could not approach the prince unnoticed, due to the brightness of lights and the shining ornaments.  The night passed thus and the princess saved her husband from snake-bite.! Smart girl isn’t it?

In memory of the emerging of Dhanvantari  ,Amrita and Laxmi, and Laxmi marrying Vishnu, Dhan teras  and Amavasya are celebrated with festivity and worship of Dhana Laxmi.

It is interesting to know that Jains celebrate Chaturdashi as Day of attaining Nirvana by their last teerthankar Lord Mahavir.

Sikhs celebrate the day as the day of liberation of their Guru Har Govindsingh from prison in Gwalior where the Moghul king Jahangir had imprisoned him.

In South India, , first day of Deepavali is  Narak Chaturdasi, then Amavasya for Laxmi pooja, and the third day , Bali Padyami. Did you wonder that these two days were associated with two Demons (asuras) Narakasura and Bali while all other festivals celebrate gods and goddesses like Rama, Krishna or Lakshmi?  There are two interesting stories!

1)     Naraka Chaturdasi: The demon Naraka-asura was the son of goddess Bhudevi (Earth). He was very powerful and he conquered both Earth and Heaven and usurped Indra’s throne. He abducted 16,000 damsels and kept them imprisoned in his palace. These damsels prayed to Lord Vishnu for saving them from Narakaasurs’s atrocities. Krishna, who is an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, and Satyabhaama, the incarnation of Mother Earth, came to their rescue and engaged   Narakaasura in a fierce battle. They finally defeated Narakaasura by using the weapon Sudarsana Chakra, and released all the damsels. Krishna drove Narakaasura to Paataala (the Netherworlds) restored to Indra his kingdom, and the people on earth were freed from Narakaasura’s tyranny. This brought great joy to people on Earth. In memory of this, the day of liberation is celebrated with sweets, lights and fireworks.   ‘But why celebrate an incident which occurred long back?’ you may ask. It is to commemorate the Victory of Good over Evil, which is relevant even today.

Now the story of second demon- Bali:

2)    Bali Padyami:   Bali or Maha Bali was also an Asura or Demon by birth.     But he was a very good person, though born in a demon’s family. He was the great-grandson of Hiranya-kashipu the cruel demon, but like his grandfather Prahlada, Bali was a very pious man and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He acquired a lot of power by intense penance, and fought with Indra, the lord of heaven and defeated him. This was to avenge the humiliation suffered by his father at the hands of Indra. He conquered both Heaven and Earth and established his rule over them. But he ruled the Earth well and was loved and respected by all. He performed a number of Yaagas (sacrificial ceremonies) to please Gods and was famous for his generosity, giving Daana i.e. alms to needy.  Nobody returned from him without getting what he asked. He would adhere to his word at any cost. All this good qualities had earned him great respect and love from his subjects. But the gods like Indra, Agni etc. who had been assigned specific duties of governance by Lord Vishnu, could not carry out their duties. They had been deprived of their posts. They prayed to Vishnu for getting back their position and dignity. Though Bali was very upright, his subordinates became arrogant with power and started misusing their powers and harassing people. So Lord Vishnu took his fifth avatar on earth, as Vaamana (the Dwarf), to limit Bali’s power and restore Heavens to Indra. This is how He did it:

                         Vamana  coming to King Bali for alms

            Bali was performing a Yaaga, at the end of which he was to offer Daana i.e. alms to the needy. Just at that time, a young Brahmachari, a bright lad, dwarf in build, came to Bali  seeking alms.

Seeing this bright young lad, Bali was very much pleased and asked Vamana what he needed. Vamana said “I am a Brahmachari, I have no wants except a small piece of land, just three measures by my feet”! Bali laughed, ‘It is too small an area, ask for something bigger, and I will give it’. The boy said. ‘No. I am satisfied with only that much land, but you have to give me your word that I get the land measured  by my three steps., and solemnize the promise by pouring holy water with a tulasi on to my hand.’ Shukracharya the preceptor of Asuras suspected that it was Vishnu who had come in this form to deprive Bali of his kingdom of heaven. He warned Bali not to agree to such a   promise, but Bali says he would not go back on his words, once given. Holy water was poured into Vamana’s hand, and as the water was poured Vamana the dwarf started growing bigger and bigger!

            Soon Vamana the dwarf was sky high - he had become Trivikrama! 

                                           Vamana growing to Trivikrama

With one footstep he covered the entire earth. With the next step he covered the whole firmament, the Deva loka. Vamana then asked,” Where shall I place my foot to measure the third step? Bali realized that it was Lord Vishnu who had come to take back what He had allowed Bali to occupy. And to do that He had come in the guise of a Brahmin asking for alms! With all reverence and humility Bali sat and offered his head for Vamana to place his next step on! Vamana placed His foot on Bali’s head and sent him down to Netherworlds (Paataala). As Bali was loved by people of this world and he also loved them, he requested that he be allowed to come back to earth once a year, on this Kaartika Prathama to meet his subjects. Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with Bali and granted this boon. On Bali padyami day, people on earth believe that Bali comes back from Paataala, and they celebrate his return.

A good person is always remembered and honoured for a long time even if he is no longer with them.

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