bharatayatra: part 1 - Sri Lanka: Kataragama

Kataragama must definitely rank as one of the most important locations of convergence of spiritual thought, nter-religious understanding and the oneness of humanity. Early in the morning, at the 4.30 am prayers, the devotees congregate at the premises, and within the same sanctum, there are Sinhalese Hindu priests and Buddhist monks. Outside the sanctum, in adjacent temples within the same compound, there are Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu priests, Hindu monks from India, Sinhalese Muslim priests and Tamil Hindu priests from India.

Its an amazing confluence. There is an elephant that keeps going around inside the campus, amidst hundreds of devotees thronging the pathways. The elephant goes to each place, the Kataragama temple, the Ganesha temple, the Buddhist temple, the Bodhi tree, the Siddi Sunni Muslim temple and other temples adjacent. At each of these temples, the elephant offers prayers and receives blessings from the priests.

At dusk hours, the hundreds of pilgrims crowd around the elephant excitedly, and keep taking photographs incessantly. The flashlights keep going off endlessly at very close range, and yet, the sacred elephant does not get startled.

There are pilgrims of all religions, and yet there is silence, sanctity and serenity. They are all happy. Long queues have patient devotees lined up. There are no VIP queues or shorter queues on payment basis. Amazing.

The most fascinating aspect of the sanctum sanctorum at the Kataragama Devale (= Temple) is that the iconic human-like deity is not established in stone or other forms. The story is that Kartikeya came to a closure on his journey away from Kailasa, after moving through the Indian Subcontinent and reaching Kataragama. He is supposed to have established himself at Kataragama and very soon the place began to be recognised as the Dakshina Kailasa.

Shiva followed Kartikeya, as he had done so, to all his locations earlier. Upon arrival at Kataragama, Shiva is thought to have settled at Wedahitykanda, a hill-top location, the highest in a complex of seven hills overlooking the river, countryside and the southern coast line of Sri Lanka. Kartikeya also had his presence at Wedahitykanda, at a hillside enclave, on a ridge just below Shiva's location. To this day, as you would visit the hill-top temples, you would visit the Kartikeya swami temple first, and later climb to the peak, to the higher ridge, and seek blessings from Maheshwara at the temple. Its an amazingly beautiful location.

It is said that at this location, Kartikeya and Shiva merged into one formless spirit, both being actually deities without human-like form, and converged into one singular aspect. Wedahitykanda and Kataragama are thought to be astral and cosmic gateways that our knowledge systems cannot comprehend. It is through these cosmic gateways that the unified aspect of Shiva and Kartikeya traveled back to Kailasa.

Kataragama seemed like an impossible dream, considering the situation in Sri Lanka during the previous several years. The country is much more peaceful now and seems to be settling down and becoming increasingly productive. There are only so many finite aspects of an island nation that are crucial and essential for its well-being. The first, of course, is water, mainly freshwater for drinking, agriculture and irrigation purposes. The second - would be the need to be careful with the nation's finances and not have to spend it up on fighting each other inside the island. The third important fulcrum would be to ensure human oneness, in spite of all the strife.

These three aspects are the common issues that are paramount to Kataragama, I guess. It is at the fringe of the forests at Yala, and inside a crescent of Wedahitykanda (Yala National Park), Lunugamvehera National Park and Uda Walawe National Park. The river, also known locally as Menik Ganga, flows southwards to Kataragama from Weheragala reservoir near Galge, at the common edge of Yala National Park and Lunugamvehera National Park.

It would have been so much more relevant for one to focus on the catchments and watersheds at Weheragala. But, this was Kataragama, and the southern abode of Kartikeya, and it was not the land of Shiva, in his aspect of Gangadhaara. I am sure that there would be an amazing understanding of Shiva and Kartikeya and Ganesha at Kataragama. It is also in the mystery of Sella Kataragama that one may find answers, and also at Wedahitykanda. What are the secrets of Kataragama, Wedahitykanda and Sella Kataragama?

bharatayatra: part 1 - Sri Lanka: Muneeswaram

Muneeswaram temple is in a better condition than the Tondeswaram Pancha-Ishwaram temple. The location is in a small hamlet beyond the Negombo creeks, north of Colombo, east of Chilaw. Most webpages, references, and maps seem to indicate the Muneeswaram temple at Puttalam. This is not correct. Chilaw is almost mid-distance between Negombo and Puttalam. The temple is only about 10 kms east of Chilaw on a very easy approachable road. There are other temples around the Muneeswaram temple. There seems to be mention of four Ganesha temples in a quadrant as four vertices to the Muneeswaram temple.

The sthala-purana (= ancient story of the location) refers to the times of the Ramayana, of Ravana establishing the pre-ancient Shiva lingam, and of Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sugreeva and Vibheeshana conducting prayers at the location and offering abhishekham (= dedicated prayers with offerings to be poured on the Shiva lingam).

The Shiva lingam within the temple sanctum is ancient but was established by rulers in Sri Lanka or from Tamil Nadu during the anno domini years before colonisation by European rulers. There are many fascinating stories about the temple and its struggle for survival during the colonial years of the Portuguese. The local community managed to protect the temple through several years of passive and persistent resistance. many devotees lost their lives in the repeated attacks by the Portuguese.

Today, the temple is venerated and worshipped by hindus, buddhists and muslims. Prayers are mostly offered by buddhist devotees and the temple is a paramount example of the convergence of religions. 

bharatayatra: part 1 - Sri Lanka: Tondeswaram

Tondeswaram is one of the Pancha-Ishwaram temples of Sri Lanka. It is said that the Shiva Lingam at each of the Pancha Ishwaram temples were established by Ravana himself. A devotee of Shiva, beyond parallel in his times, Ravana was said to have sought protection to the island-nation with the blessings of Shiva, and thus, the five temples are found on the coast at various locations.

The Shiva Lingams that are said to have been established by Ravana are unique and different in form and shape. They are columnar and tall, almost in human size. The lingams at Tondeswaram and Muneeswaram are different in form from each other. Unfortunately, at both the locations, the lingams thought to be established by Ravana are not the sthala-lingams for prayers and ceremonies.

Tondeswaram has many unfortunate turns in its history. The Shiva temple, known to be a symbol of pride of the local community and seafaring traders from India and South East Asia, was destroyed repeatedly by the Portuguese rulers during their years of colonial presence in Sri Lanka. The plinth and the pre-ancient columns of the Shiva temple and Kartikeya temple at Tondeswaram are visible and exist in the premises. Today, there is a Vishnu temple on the earlier plinth of the Shiva temple. The Shiva Lingam, a pre-ancient one, thought and accepted by the local community as the sthala-lingam that could have been in the earlier Shiva temple is now located in the lawns of a Buddhist museum and temple complex and maintained decently and venerated and worshipped. 

Srimad Bhagavatam - The search for Adi Badri. - Part 1

I think it was the Ganesh Chaturthi of 2008 when the understanding of spiritual vibrations began to come together slowly, and yet, in a flood. I had thought of reading, or beginning to read the first volume of Srimad Bhagavatam, written by Srila Prabhupada. I had wanted to give it a try, and I am glad that I was humble, because I am never able to read without going beyond the first 2-3 pages of the Preface.

The moment I pick up the book, there are very gentle sensations within me. I am sure there will be many who will be amused by what I write, and similarly there will be those who will heckle me for an unscientific temperament. I am aware of only one aspect, a very primary aspect of science, and that is, to repeat a phenomenon again and again and again and again. I have done so, and I am not able to read beyond 2-3 pages without getting gentle sensations within me.

I cannot focus, and I cannot read properly. Mind you, I am not a biblio-phobic. On the contrary. I am totally, mindlessly, hopelessly addicted to books and reading. There is nothing that I would love to do more.

Anyways, on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi of 2008, after not being able to read the preface of the first volume of the Srimad Bhagavatam, I sat at my computer, and began to type the manuscript of "Srimad Bhagavatam - an attempt to understand". The words came by themselves. I typed the document in a non-stop mode. All alone. No. Certainly, not alone. Those who will understand, will know, and will certainly know who sat beside me, with the faint twirl of the peacock feather touching me, and who stood beside him, with the faint click of his prayer beads.

I will go into the details of the manuscript sometime later. I want to focus on one simple point for the purpose of beginning to try to understand what we can never begin to understand. There was one mention, that the great Maharishi Veda Vyasa, the author of the Srimad Bhagavatam, had written the several volumes at one location, at one non-stop attempt, at Adi Badri.

This mention got me very interested. At least, here was one actual fact. A location that could be verified in current times. Could such a place exist? A location that would need to be totally unlike the cave at Mana, north of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, where Maharishi Veda Vyasa took the help of Vigneshwara to write the Mahabharata.

The Srimad Bhagavatam is totally unlike that of the Mahabharata. The greatest message ever given within humanity, the Bhagavad Gita, is just one happening on one day of the great Kurukshetra war, and yet, the Mahabharata has a spread of more than ten generations. The Srimad Bhagavatam was at least twenty times larger than the Mahabharata and was written after the Mahabharata. It was written on palm leaves, at a remote location, in stanzas that were poetic in variety, and was entirely in ancient Sanskrit.

There was no internet, stenographers, libraries, maps, CDs /DVDs /pen-drives or whatever. Nobody to guide him and nobody to edit the stanzas. How did he do it? How did he remember? How did he not forget and how did he not repeat himself? How was it stored? How did he refer to his text, if he wanted? He would have almost worked solely in the daylight hours only. How did he stay disciplined, determined and focussed on his work?

Where was this place, Adi Badri, that would have allowed the greatest writer of all that is known and all that is not known in humanity, the great Maharishi Veda Vyasa to write and complete the Srimad Bhagavatam?

bharatayatra: part 1 - Sri Lanka: Kataragama, Tondeswaram, Muneeswaram

There are so many countless layers of events, stories and places within this bharatayatra. I cease to be amazed now. I am no longer surprised by the miracles. They happen, all the time. I do not question them anymore, and I have stopped speaking about them. One has to just desire an aspect of the journey to occur, and it begins to happen.

In June 2011, on Facebook, came a sudden request for friendship from 'Masterwalkers Travels', a Travel Agency in Sri Lanka. Without much thought or query, but only with acceptance, I agreed to the 'invite'. Instantly came the message from Lasanthi Gunasekara of Masterwalkers Travels, inviting me to visit Sri Lanka and travel on any itinerary, either their pre-set tour, or one that I would design. This was what I was waiting for. I needed a good contact group in Sri Lanka, who would be ready to improvise, and agree with me about the itinerary that I would like to develop.

I asked them if they could design an itinerary that would focus entirely on Kataragama without any visit to Colombo, Kandy or Anuradhapura as most tourists would like to do. I must say, in appreciation of Masterwalkers Travels, and Lasanthi Gunasekara, that they never hesitated or questioned or hassled me with options to visit other locations. The agreement was immediate, and there was no ridicule. They did not question as to why an Indian would travel within Sri Lanka, and would not want to be a tourist or shopper or beach-hound, but would just like to go to visit one temple at Kataragama. But, I guess, it was the magic of Kataragama, and the spiritual strength of that place that made it all happen.

Lasanthi Gunasekara and the team at Masterwalkers Travels maintained a hectic routine of communication, working with me on the itinerary. I kept changing details, adding requirements, asking for information and troubling them enormously. They did not know me, and I did not know them. Nobody introduced us to each other. The e-handshake just happened, with the blessings of Facebook, on one fine day in June 2011.

Another development happened during this communication. I was reading up on Kataragama, the temples, the deity, the pilgrimage and the knowledge systems that abound. There are fantastic websites, with hundreds or thousands of pages, and hundreds of links about Skanda-Murugan-Kartikeya and Kataragama at http://murugan.org/research and at http://www.kataragama.org These websites provide splendid guidance and are doing tremendous service.

I had wanted to search for information of locations mentioned in the Ramayana, and especially of locations that would refer to Shiva, Ravana and Rama. Similar to the Jyotirlinga Shiva temples or the Vaishnava Divya Desams in India, the "Pancha-Ishwara" (= five Shiva) temples in Sri Lanka are the oldest, most pre-eminent locations of spiritual thought and aspects of worship to Shiva.

Two locations were crucial to the journey to Kataragama. Tondeswaram, near Matara, which was the southernmost, and Muneeswaram, at Chilaw, south of Puttalam, on the western coast, north of Colombo, seemed like locations that I would be able to visit and add value to the bharatayatra.

Kataragama - many journeys before the first journey of the bharatayatra

Kataragama seemed like the ideal location to begin the yatra from. This is where Kartikeya Swami had come to stay at the conclusion of his journey across the Indian Subcontinent and later, entered Sri Lanka. It seemed very simple, when I thought about it. Except for one fact, that, Kataragama was in Sri Lanka, and one had to plan for international travel. There was one crucial factor, however. The Kataragama temple was to be the first location on the yatra.

I have been traveling, since 1979, by myself, with family, friends and colleagues. I seem to be traveling every month. I have stayed at some places for more than a month, and some, for nearly a year and more. But, this bharatayatra, beginning July 2011 was very different. The transition from my 49th to 50th year was to be marked by this bharatayatra.

Therefore, to start on the yatra in July, and to start from Kataragama in July 2011, seemed like placing the second most impossible aspect at the front, and making it to be the fulcrum of the entire bharatayatra. The first most impossible aspect, of course, would be the trips to Kailasa, Kongur, and Kashgar in China. Most of these travel corners were being determined in May and early June 2011.

There was one problem, though. I had earlier planned for travel to Ladakh and had purchased air tickets etc and was ready to journey in the first fortnight of July 2011. If I would go on the journey, it would make it very difficult for me to travel to Kataragama and Sri Lanka. Should I then postpone the journey to Sri Lanka? I did not want to do so.

I had faith in Shiva. I have faith in Shiva. Totally. I knew that he would make it happen. The journey to Kataragama would definitely happen.

But, what of the Ladakh trip? It dissolved by itself, suddenly. On one fine day, the Ladakh trip was not existant. I was free of the journey. There was one small bonus, though. One of the air tickets gave me an opportunity to visit and seek blessings of Adi Badri and Adi Kedar. It seemed like the perfect way to start the yatra.

The case of the accurate astrologer
I had planned the journey to Ladakh sometime early in March 2010. The tickets and other arrangements were completed quite early to pick up low cost fares. I had not made any plans to visit Kataragama in Sri Lanka and even the thought or intention had not come about. For some other reason, I had to meet an astrologer, a friend, of whom I knew about for some years. I had gone to him with a different question, an aspect that had been troubling me for some years. We met in March, after I had purchased the tickets for Ladakh. We discussed the question that I had wanted to ask him, and he also looked at the details on my horoscope by merely wanting to complete his professional scrutiny.

Off-hand, he mentioned that due to some movement in my thoughts and behaviour, and according to the locations of the stars and planets on my horoscope, I would travel out of the country in July 2011 for a short trip. I was perplexed. I was sure that I was to travel to Ladakh in July 2011. Was Ladakh going to be considered by astrologers as beyond India's borders? Did astrological calculations go skewed in the upper Himalayas? I asked my astrologer friend if he was sure of my travel out of India in July 2011 since I had already booked tickets for travel to Ladakh and I was to be part of a group.

He smiled, and replied that he was not concerned about the Ladakh journey. He was convinced that I would travel out of the country. I wondered about the conflict in the schedule. My astrologer friend reaffirmed that whatever may, but, I would surely travel out of the country. Soon, June turned to July, and the Ladakh trip disappeared. The tickets and plans for Sri Lanka got completed, and friends joined me in the journey, and Kartikeya allowed me to travel to Kataragama.



Journeys before the first journey
The journey to reach Kataragama had many other earlier journeys. Each one was a miracle. The journeys did not edist even as invitations or as an inclination before they happened, suddenly. There was the trip to Jamnagar, Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple, Nageshwar areas, Dwarka temple, Okha, Okha-Bet Island, the Krishna Balarama temples at Okha Bet, driving through Porbandar, while visiting the Harsiddhi mata temple, and on to Somnath Jyotirlinga temple at Somnath, and later, the Ghatwad-Kodinar Rudreshwar Mahadev temple and the Balaji temple at Khorasa-Junagadh. I would never have been able to plan these journeys by myself, even if I would have wanted to.

There was that journey, one day, suddenly, to Tryambakeshwar Jyotirlinga temple. It just happened. Did not have ot plan for anything or any aspect of the journey. We rushed through the temple and I was able to offer the rudrabhishek (= sacred offering with liquids - water, milk, honey, curd etc - to the jyotirlinga) puja at the jyotirlinga despite misgivings and problems about the time-allocation for various rituals and devotees.

So, when does a pilgrimage actually happen, and get completed? I think, as in the Ashtavinayak yatra, there has to be a beginning point, a starting location, and one must return to the location to completely surrender with the diety for having allowed one to complete the yatra. In the Ashtavinayak yatra, it is known as 'Sankalp' (= oath of determination) to decide on a route, and to go ahead and actually be able to complete the journey. One has to return to the first temple though, and inform the priest that the journey was completed, and one would now break or terminate the 'sankalp' of having wanted to proceed on the yatra.


The magic of fellow yatris
The magic of fellow travelers or yatris is amazing. From nowhere, never failing, there have been friends joining me in the bharatayatra. Also, there are new friends who meet up in the various locations. The aspect of individuals becoming friends, and friends becoming fellow travelers is a tremendous feeling. Trip after trip, journey after journey, the wish becomes the desire, the desire becomes the plan, the plan picks up points of action, and the action turns into reality. The reality gets a bonus, and becomes twice the joy, when a friend comes along and joins in the trip.

The first yatra, to the Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga temple, a journey that happened out of nowhere, saw me meeting up with Neetin Desai, Amar Supate, Shivaji Aiwale and Pichika Dharmadath. I had not met Neetin Desai earlier, and our friendship has grown since then. They have helped me internalise the spiritual energy. The temple, the priests and the Sahyadri hill ranges are exhilirating. Early morning fog, and the possibility of trekking in the wildlife sanctuary, and the added ability to go around for birdwatching was vital to get me convinced to begin planning the bharatayatra.

The Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple Shikaraa

Friends made during the yatra have stayed their course. Chaubeyji, the priest at the Adi Badri temple, retains contact and keeps track of my journeys in the mind and on land. We have discussed the story of Maharishi Veda Vyasa, and the possibility that the great sage may have written the Srimad Bhagavatam at Adi Badri in Haryana. For Chaubeyji, it does not seem like a possibility. For him, it is a certainty. He is absolutely sure that the Srimad Bhagavatam was written at the temple. When he explains it, and shows the various locations, you know that it could have certainly happened there. You can see it happen.

bharatayatra - is there a longer journey?

Is the journey much longer? Is the journey more intense? Are there several journeys within each other? Just about when I was assuming that there would perhaps be, a finite list of Shiva's halts in the Indian Subcontinent, I got to read that Parashurama established 108 Shiva temples in the Konkan Coast, in the lands that speak Malayalam and Tulu. Parashurama was known to be active on the Konkani and Gujarati speaking coastal areas also. Do we even know the number of Shiva temples that he is associated with in these regions?

The 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams are like trianges within triangles, and yet, some triangles away from triangles. Then, there are the many 'Paadal Petra Sthalam's of Shiva (= places where his footsteps have reached), that are also in good number. It would perhaps be more sensible, and humble, certainly, to begin with a smaller and very finite number of locations on this journey, and not succumb to the easy temptation of visiting more locations. Some temples may be in adjacent towns, and the temptation would be great.

There is certainly a longer journey out there. Kartikeya is known from Central China and also from Iran, in pre-ancient times. Shiva is known from Kashgar, reputed to be the pre-ancient Kashi. The city is known as Kashi since pre-ancient years to this day. Could Kongur have been the earlier place of retreat for Shiva and Ambika, before settling in Kailasa with Parvati?

What do we know of these places that tempt countless travelers through centuries? On any monday, on any Shivaratri, one has to just sit at peace at any of the Shiva temples and watch the sea of humanity that seeks blessings. Similarly, important days bring devotees to Parvati, Kartikeya and Ganesha. What brings them again and again? Simple and plain devotion. Why would devotees go to visit other temples in various places, when the deities are present in temples in their own towns? It is in the journey to visit temples in other towns, that the devotee becomes a yatri. The journey becomes a yatra. And, when one travels all over India, it is a 'bharatayatra'.

I thought that the name was quite apt, considering my name, and the geographical span of the land. But, there are locations outside of India. There are some shakti peethams (= Temples of Devi) and Shiva Sthals (= Temples of Shiva) in Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. There are equally important ancient locations in Sri Lanka, China and Bhutan. Perhaps Myanmar, Cambodia and Afghanistan. These are amazing lands, and each one of us, has but one life to live, and there is simply not enough time.

bharatayatra, is quite apt, for the journey and travels that I undertake. Most travels are serendipitous. Some require careful and attentive planning. The difficult part of the bharatayatra is to write it out in detail and allow for the information to be useful to others. The easier part of it seems to be to seek blessings and permission from Shiva to travel on the journey.

There are different components to the bharatayatra from Kataragama to Kailasa. There is a 'core' to the journey. The core is the visit to all the jyotirlinga temples. Beyond the 'core', are other regions and places. So, I would term the twelve known and generally accepted jyotirlinga temples as the 'inner core'.

Beyond the inner core, would be the outer areas in two parts, i.e., the southern core and the northern core. The southern core would be in Sri Lanka and the northern core woudl be in Nepal and Tibet in China.

Then, there could be the second set of places in homage to Shiva, being the Panchabhoota lingams  and the places in homage to Kartikeya, being primarily, the 'aaru paada veedu' (= the six places of Kartikeya's footfalls), or the 'ashtavinayaka' (= the eight temples in homage to Ganesha in Maharashtra).

The list goes on and on. There are also the 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams (= Splendid /celestial pilgrimage locations of the Vaisnavas) in homage to Vishnu, and the 52 Shakti Peethams (= pilgrimage centres of mother goddess of Energy) in homage to Devi Parvati. And, of course, in each region of India, there are more and more locations or sequences of temples. For example, Parasurama's 108 Shiva temples in the Malabar Coast.

Therefore, the bharatayatra from Kataragama to Kailasa is planned for a very simplistic core of locations. Starting with Kataragama, and always proceeding northwards, never doubling back, and returning to a connected route all the way.

There are also other options that present themselves all the time. For example, while at Kanya Kumari, one could also go to visit Thiruvananthapuram and visit the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, or spend more time at the Sri Vivekananda Centre. All good, honest and valid reasons.

The journey could be partitioned in these many ways -

Part One: In Sri Lanka. Kataragama, Tondeswaram and Muneeswaram. Does not include the three other Pancha-Ishwaram temples, Sri Pada or Adam's Peak or Mannar in Jaffna.

Part Two: In Maharashtra, India. The Ashtavinayaka (= eight temples of Ganesha) temples. Morgaon near Baramati, Siddatek near Daund, Theur near Pune, Ranjangaon on the Pune-Nagar Highway, Lenyadri and Ozhar near Junnar, Mahd near Khopoli and Pali in the Konkan near Karnala.

Part Three: In Tamil Nadu, India. Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi and Madurai. Including the southernmost Jyotirlinga temple - Rameswaram.

Thereby, the bharatayatra begins with the permissions of Kartikeya (at Kataragama), Devi Parvati (at Kanya Kumari), and Ganesha (at the eight ashtavinayaka temples) before visiting the first of the twelve jyotirlinga temples, i.e. Rameswaram.

I have decided, with a heavy heart, not to visit the aaru paadai veedu (= six footfalls, i.e., six places) temples of Kartikeya in Tamil Nadu, the five cosmic dance halls and five panchabhoota lingams of Shiva in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, during this initial journey. Many of the easily accessible Shakti peethams (= temples of Devi /Durga) and Vaishnava divya desam temples (= Vaishnava shrines) are also excluded in this initial yatra.

I am however including the second ring of jyotirlinga temples, being Parli Vaijnath and Aundha Nagnath in Maharashtra, and Jageshwar in Almora in Uttarakhand. There may be more temples to include, especially a Bhimashankar temple known from north India. Mahabaleshwar, Srikalahasti, Rudreshwar Mahadev at Kodinar-Ghatwad, Bhuleshwar and Walkeshwar in Mumbai may be included, if they get to be visited during this initial bharatayatra.

Kartikeya leaves Kailasa - The story and the mystery.

The story goes that there was a certain reward to be shared between Kartikeya and Ganesha. Shiva had to decide if the reward was to be shared or if it was to be given entirely to only one of his sons. There are many versions of this story, and some say that the reward was just a fruit, a magical fruit nonetheless, and other stories claim that the reward were two brides to be married to the two brothers. Anyways, Shiva determined a competition between the two brothers to help him choose. He asked them to circumnavigate the world, thrice, and return to Kailasa, to claim the prize. The brothers agreed to the competition.

Kartikeya went out, seated on the Peacock, his vaahana (= vehicle). He went about to complete the circumnavigation of the globe and completed three rounds and returned to Kailasa rapidly. Upon reaching Kailasa, Kartikeya found that Ganesha was seated comfortably, happy, and that he had already claimed the reward. On enquiry, he was told that Ganesha had moved, seated on his mushika (= mouse), that was his vaahana, and had merely done three rounds around Shiva and Parvati.

When asked for an explanation by Parvati, Ganesha had answered that, to him, his parents were his entire world. He had done what he thought was correct, and that he had gone around his parents, for they were the entire world. The answer had pleased Shiva and Parvati immensely, and they had given the entire reward to Ganesha, without waiting for Kartikeya's return.

The answer had angered Kartikeya. It implied that they had not valued the determination and hard work that he had put in while traveling around the entire world thrice. In anger, Kartikeya left Kailasa and traveled out of the Himalayas.

There is certainly an aspect of mystery about the exact nature of reward that was to have been shared between Kartikeya and Ganesha. One story reveals that it was supposed to have been a celestial mango given to Shiva by Narada when the latter visited Kailasa. The celestial nature of the mango was that it was a "fruit of knowledge" (= gnyana palam), coupled with excellent taste. 

Being young lads, the story goes, the desire to possess the entire fruit was competitive. An intriguing aspect of the competition is the immediate acceptance of the challenge posed by Shiva for the winner to be declared after knowing who circled the world and came back before the other. Perhaps, Shiva, had no other option but to accept Ganesha's intelligent maneuver in declaring that his parents were the world for him, and going around them, and thereby winning the mango-fruit. For, after all, wasn't it supposed to be the 'fruit of knowledge'? Who else could lay claim to it, other than the one with the sharper strategy?

The other mystery could be that it would have probably taken a tremendously longer time for Kartikeya to have gone around the world, and return to claim the mango-fruit. That was however not so, declares the Puranas. It is thus written that Kartikeya traveled on his celestial vaahana (= vehicle), the blue peacock, and returned in the "blink of an eye". 

This really intrigues me. If Kartikeya did return in the 'blink of an eye', it would have still taken Ganesha more time to actually walk around his parents. Anyhow, Kartikeya returned to Kailasa, understood that he had been outsmarted, and got angry. It is said thus, that there was perhaps inherent reason for Narada to visit Kailasa, and incite a family fight, and break up the happy household of Shiva and Parvati and cause the events in the future to begin to uphold all over the Indian Subcontinent. 

The call of the ancients - the reason for the yatra.

It was the awesome geographical span of the story that captured me. That, and the amazing precision of locations, events and places in the numerous stories that seemed never ending. One story went into another. One religion wove into another. Historical and pre-ancient time-spans seemed to enter mythology and mythical individuals, deities and demons were in and out of real events. How could one not be captivated by it all?

There was Valmiki, the sage, whose childhood had not been in an ashram, had never been taught the vedas, and had never led a saintly life. He had never travelled out of his forest, and he had never written a textual line, leave alone poetry. Yet, he is the fountainhead of the Ramayana, and he describes Rama's journey throughout the Indian Subcontinent and to battle with Ravana in Lanka. Not forgetting Rama's wedding in Mithila, how did Valmiki come up with so many people, events and places, in perfect rhythmic poetic lines, in a language that he had not learnt? And, the magic of it all, so many thousands of years later, the story is the top bestseller of all times.

There was Shiva, the dancing destroyer. One of the trinity. Deadly and yet benevolent. He kills his son, and brings him back to life, but with the head of an elephant. How does one even imagine such a concept? So many thousands of years later, can we think of an India or an Indian who does not understand Vigneshwara? Nobody would ever argue against the very concept. Its simply not done. But, once you have accepted Ganapati and before you know it, you are  swept and drowned into the hundreds of stories that have numerous tales about the lovable deity.

There was Vyasa, the supreme. Definitely, to be recognised as the best writer of all times, for his books are being read, interpreted, established as spiritual, cultural or religious schools of thought, and rewritten by countless students-sages-scholars through thousands of years. Who can better his mastery over words, characters, events and thought? His teachings have become the established way of choosing right over wrong. The Bhagavad Gita is always the first choice of reference for any teacher to examine, if one is going to teach ethical behaviour. Millions of people through many centuries would have picked up the Bhagavad Gita to choose their path ahead when in  grief and distress.

The ultimate attraction was Kartikeya. Shiva's son, Shanmukhananda. In a moment of disagreement with Shiva, the young Kartikeya leaves Kailasa and travels throughout the Indian Subcontinent. His journey is known to us through hundreds of stories in excellent detail, from the early years, of how he came to be Shanmukhananda to the stories that we do not know. He is the major deity to be uncovered in the Indus scripts of ancient Meluha. He leaves the region, and the Saraswathy River goes underground. What was the story? Towns and cities recounted by Vidura during his travels while the Kurukshetra war was being fought, are no longer present. Later, the journey of Kartikeya through Maharashtra, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and finally to Kataragama in Sri Lanka, is tremendous. The precision cosmogeography of Kailasa and Kataragama at 81 deg. E Longitude is the most amazing aspect of spiritual knowledge possible in the Indian Subcontinent.

Murugan, the deity - a very brief introduction

It is believed from the archaeological evidence of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, that Murugan, or Skanda, or Kartikeya, was known in the ancient civilisation of these places. He was known through the ancient city kingdoms of Meluha (as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa civilisations were earlier known) as a fierce God, capable of severe destruction. He was also known as an expert hunter.

Even within the domain of Harappan knowledge, Murugan was considered as an ancient God. Cankam poetry presents Muruku (Murukan) or Murugan as one of the most primitive gods of the Tamil peoples. Cankam poetry is the pre-Pallava poetry that describes the Tamil culture before its contact with the Sanksrit language.

There is a deviant aspect of the representation of Murukan in the Meluha finds. This deviant aspect depicts 'Murukan' as being formless. The manifestation of Murukan as known in pre-contemporary or through recent history is usually through a living human body, specifically of a priest or a woman. The human-manifestation through a priest is usually rhythmic and verbal. The manifestation through a woman extends to rhythmic dance accompanied by verbal incantations that may be addressed to someone in particular or none among those present. The manifestation through the priest may conclude after a certain period by itself, while the woman may need assistance from another woman or a priest who would know how to go about it.

Murugan is, of course, known as the war-general of the gods and also as a wandering hunter, throughout the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka. Significantly, the prominent aspects of representation of the formless deity, Murugan, is with his spear, 'Vel' (= Tamil). The single-headed spear is specifically distinct from the three-headed spear, 'Trishul' of Shiva, his father. Murugan is also usually identified with the blood-red colour, and sacrifices, and thus, the most determined of his devotees undergo and inflict upon themselves, severe ceremonies that lead to excessive bleeding and enormous pain.

The form of devotion, rituals and prayers to Murugan have continually changed during the Anno Domini years. Some temples are as yet witness to severe forms of devotion by inflicting pain whereas the gentler rituals and ceremonies have also gained prominence throughout the lands south of the Mount Kailash. Murugan is now traditionally represented in these lands as Kartikeya, Shanmukhananda, Kumara, Skanda or Palani Andavar. Most devotees and knowledgeable followers of Murugan today would rarely question or discuss or be familiar in detail with the earlier known aspects of the deity without form.

The recent hundreds of years of contemplation through devotion of Murugan, in the various temples, and through rituals and sacred ceremonies is of Kartikeya, the handsome householder, or Shanmukhananda, the innocent infant, or Palani Andavar, the mendicant-lad, or Skanda, the youth-as-a-war-general, who probably never caused destruction to human civilisation.

Sri Ram Raksha Stotra - journeys in the mind

Well-meaning people, friends, family and colleagues always have advice for us. I tend to accept everything without question, assuming that there is a greater design in the scope of events in life. People close to me, at least some of them, feel that it is extremely wrong of me to accept such advice. After a while, I realise that there was indeed a greater design in what was happening, and I was glad that I had accepted the advice when it came. These, such circumstances or events, I feel, are the bricks that can be put together in the journey within each person's life.

One such advice was from a respected elder, sometime in 2009, I think, in February, if I remember correctly. It was to start chanting the Shiva Panchakshara Mantra, and to attempt one 'mala' (= one round of 108 prayers beads in one string) at least. I asked simpled questions, out of ignorance. Was there any specific time to recite the mantra? Could one eat non-vegetarian food on the same day? Should one recite the mantra at dawn or at dusk?

The elder had only one answer. He said that I should recite the mantra at the time when I feel I needed to do so. The call would come on its own. So, I became greedy. I asked the elder, if I could recite the mantra for more than 108 times? Could I do it twice on the same day? Would I get more support if I chanted more? He smiled, for he knew that I was just joking with him. It was the first time that we had met, and yet, it seemed like he could read me well.

He raised the benchmark, based on my responses. He advised me to additionally memorise the 38+ stanzas of the 'Sri Ram Raksha Stotra'. I agreed with him. He commanded that sort of obedience and faith. I knew that the Sri Ram Raksha Stotra would be in Sanskrit and that it would be extremely difficult to memorise the 38+ stanzas when I could not even read or speak Sanskrit. But, I accept advice, and I believed that I could do so.