The Daruka Vana Episode
In those days of the yore, there lived the group of Rishis (also referred to as the 10,000 monks in some accounts) in the dense Daruka Vana (the forest of Thillai trees- Thillai is a variety of the mango tree.). These Rishis, were extremely learned and unimaginably knowledgeable but did not understand that without divine grace, the human knowledge is of no use.These Rishis were consumed with pride and believed that they could bring all gods under their control by use of the mantras and yagnas.
The Lords, Shiva and Vishnu decide to vanquish the pride and arrogance of these Rishis. Shiva takes the form of Bhikshaatana (the naked mendicant, wearing only sandals) with surpassed beauty and Vishnu takes the form of Mohini.
They enter into the hermitage of these Rishis begging for alms. The women of the hermitage seeing the infinite beauty and grace of Bhikshaatana fall madly in love with him and forget propreity and proper conduct. When the Rishis saw Mohini's dazzling beauty and her enchanting dance, they become desirous of her and lose their minds.
When some of the Rishis see all this impropriety, they start a huge sacrifice. Deeming Bhikshaatana and Mohini to be the root cause of all this confusion, the Rishis direct this yagna against them. First they invoke a tiger from the sacrificial fire and throw it on Shiva-Bhikshaatana. The Lord catches the tiger, tears off its skin using his little finger and with grace, drapes it as his loin cloth.
Enraged and offended, the Rishis then invoke poisonous snakes out of the fire and throw it on Shiva-Bhikshaatana, He adorned them as his ornaments on his arms and neck. Then the Lord began his dance. The other set of two hands appeared , and his third eye shone on his forehead. And the Great Lord, danced to the tune of the Damaru or the hour-glass shaped drum, which was played by Lord Vishnu. The Rishis, now sent an apasmara (a black dwarf, a symbol of ignorance and laziness), the Lord continuing his dance, broke the back of the apasmara with his legs and used him as a dance platform. The Rishis now throw fire against him and the lord held the fire in his left hand.The powerful mantras used by the Rishis against Lord Shiva became his anklets.
With the Damaru in his upper right hand, the Fire in his upper left hand,the the Great God danced with all fervour and grace, with a smiling face. Such was the power of the cosmic dance that Lord Vishnu trembled, the Rishis fell to the ground. Goddess Parvati who had come to witness the dance shook with fear-The Power of the dance was unbearable. The Lord smiling, raised his left foot and seeing his form the Rishis attained realization. They all danced- the entire creation danced.
Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada
Lord Vishnu was so blissful upon witnessing this dance, that Adi Shesha could not bear the weight of Lord Vishnu. As Vishnu was seated on Adi Shesha, the thousand-hooded king of snakes , Lord Vishnu was so absorbed in the cosmic dance of Shiva that his body started vibrating to the tunes of Lord Shiva's dance.
It became very difficult for Adi Shesha to carry Vishnu any longer and he was on the verge of a collapse. He asked Vishnu about such increase in his bodily weight. Vishnu replied saying that this was because of the increase in his happiness due to witnessing the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva and he narrated the entire Daruka Vana episode.
On listening to this, Adi Shesha so wanted to witness the dance of Lord Shiva , he took leave from Vishnu and proceeds to do penance to get a boon from Lord Shiva, which is granted. Vishnu predicts that Lord Shiva would grace him with the boon, as well as to do a commentatory on Grammar and also in the Natya Shastra (art of dance). Adi Shesha being an evolved soul is granted his wishes and contemplates on how to descend on the earth to watch the cosmic dance. He finds that Gonika, a yogini has been praying for a worthy son to whom she could impart all her knowledge and wisdom.He decides to be born her son.
On fine morning, Gonika still unhappy that her desires are not fulfilled, decides to offer prayers to the Sun, and in the process, takes up handful of water to offer the water abulations (Arghya) to the Sun God. While Pouring out the Arghya she discovers a small snake in her palms which falls (Pata) on the ground and turns into a male child. This child asks her to accept him for a son and she gladly does that. Gonika names this son as Patanjali (Pata means fall, Anjali- means hands in the prayerful gesture), since he fell out of her palms when she was offering Arghya to the Sun God. Patanjali, accordingly proceeds to the Thillai forest and worships the Swayambhu (self-formed) linga of Lord Shiva on the south banks of the Lotus pond in the forest.
Vyaaghrapada was the son of Rishi Madhyandina, who lived on the banks of the river Ganga. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and also desired to see the Cosmic dance of the Lord. He was engaged in a stringent penance. He wished to offer flowers to Lord Shiva before the insects suck out honey and damaged the flowers. So, he prayed to Lord Shiva to get the feet of a tiger so that he could travel through the woods in the night to gently collect flowers for the worship and also asked for a bee's eyes so that he can identify flowers in the dark that are untouched by insects. Since he was granted his wishes, he came to be known as Vyaaghrapaada (the one with tiger feet). He also reached the Thillai forest and started worshipping the Swayambhu Linga, waiting for the day when he would be able to witness the cosmic dance.
Some accounts also speak of the three thousand dikshitars joining these two devotees, waiting to watch the Lord's Cosmic dance.
There's a legend which says that when the day of the cosmic dance came forth, Kaali, the Guardian diety of the Thillai forest, interfered and demanded from Lord Shiva that he can give darshan to his devotees only after he beats her in a dance competition.
The challenge is accepted and the competition begins. It was a tough competition and it didn't seem to end. The left ear-ring of Lord Shiva falls down and while he dances, he holds the earring by his left leg, lifts his left leg above his head and wears the earring, such that the falling down nor the wearing of the earring was noticed. This posture of lifting the left leg above the head is called Urdhva Tandava and is a posture that females are not entitled to practice. So, Kaali could not respond to Lord Shiva's posture and had to accept defeat and is said to have retreated to the outskrits of the Thillai forest.
This event was supposed to have taken place where presently thousand-pillared hall stands in the temple premises
The Ananda Tandava
The Lord fulfills his promise to his devotees on the day when the Sun is in the Pushya Constellation (Pushya/Poosa Nakshatra) in the month of Thai (Jan-Feb). When the day arrived, a rain of flowers fell from the heavens. The stage (Sabha) was all set- it was illuminated with the brightness of a thousand suns and moons.
In between all of this illuminated Sabha, appeared the form of Lord Nataraja along with his consort Parvati- his four arms holding the Damaru and the fire, and three eyes flashing on his smiling face, the apasmaara beneath his legs- the Lord showed his Lotus foot, dancing in enchanting rhythm and showing the Abhaya(fearlessness) gesture. All creation rejoiced when they witnessed this joyful dance (the Ananda Tandava)- all fainted in happiness and everybody joined in the dance.
Lord Shiva granted Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada two boons. They prayed to Lord Shiva that he should grant the joy of witnessing the Ananda Tandava to all his devotees, so that they can attain liberation (Moksha) by just having his darshan, at the Kanaka Sabha in Chidambaram and that he should grace them forever. The Lord granted these wishes.
The Ananda Tandava Posture
The Ananda Tandava posture of Nataraja represents panchakritya functions of the godhead that created the dynamic force that created the world
The demon under Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.
Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while his spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Apasmaara forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.
The Significance of Chidambaram
The myths and legends of Chidambaram state that Siva was compelled to continue his dance at Chidambaram, rather than in the Thillai forest, because he could see that the original site could not sustain the powerful energies of the dance.
He identified the snaking ida and pingala currents in our bodies with geographical locations north and south of Chidambaram, and then said that the central channel [natuvinadi] passed directly through Thillai, making it the centre of the universe
It is through this analogy that Chidambaram, according to local tradition, became the centre of the cosmos, the axisaround which all the rest of the universe rotates.
Significance of the temple design
The Chidambara Rahasyam-
To the right of the idol of the Nataraja Vigraha inside the Golden Stage (Kanaka Sabha), are hung 5 strands of golden Vilva leaves, hid by a curtain thats black on the out side and red inside.
This is the Chidambara Rahasyam- the soul in our bodies is believed to be present in the heart, in a small space filled with vacuum, whose diameter is one-tenth of the diameter of one strand of hair, the space behind the Vilva leaves is reminiscent of the vacuum in which the soul of the universe resides.
This residence of the soul or aatma sthanam is the Kanaka Sabha, and the aatma is the Paramaatma, namely Lord Nataraja, who performs the cosmic dance from within us. Just like our aatma is the centre of our existence, the Kanaka Sabha is the centre of existence of the entire universe.
That is why Chidambaram symbolizes the Aakasha Tattva (ether or vacuum) of all the Pancha Bhootas sthalas.
All we need to do is, surrender ourselves to Lord Nataraja, whose consort is the enchanting Shivakaamsundari, so that through his cosmic dance from within ourselves, he leads us to Moksha.
http://www.iyengaryoga.in/life_patanjali.htm
http://www.chidambaram.rajadeekshithar.com/temple_history.htm
In those days of the yore, there lived the group of Rishis (also referred to as the 10,000 monks in some accounts) in the dense Daruka Vana (the forest of Thillai trees- Thillai is a variety of the mango tree.). These Rishis, were extremely learned and unimaginably knowledgeable but did not understand that without divine grace, the human knowledge is of no use.These Rishis were consumed with pride and believed that they could bring all gods under their control by use of the mantras and yagnas.
The Lords, Shiva and Vishnu decide to vanquish the pride and arrogance of these Rishis. Shiva takes the form of Bhikshaatana (the naked mendicant, wearing only sandals) with surpassed beauty and Vishnu takes the form of Mohini.
They enter into the hermitage of these Rishis begging for alms. The women of the hermitage seeing the infinite beauty and grace of Bhikshaatana fall madly in love with him and forget propreity and proper conduct. When the Rishis saw Mohini's dazzling beauty and her enchanting dance, they become desirous of her and lose their minds.
When some of the Rishis see all this impropriety, they start a huge sacrifice. Deeming Bhikshaatana and Mohini to be the root cause of all this confusion, the Rishis direct this yagna against them. First they invoke a tiger from the sacrificial fire and throw it on Shiva-Bhikshaatana. The Lord catches the tiger, tears off its skin using his little finger and with grace, drapes it as his loin cloth.
Enraged and offended, the Rishis then invoke poisonous snakes out of the fire and throw it on Shiva-Bhikshaatana, He adorned them as his ornaments on his arms and neck. Then the Lord began his dance. The other set of two hands appeared , and his third eye shone on his forehead. And the Great Lord, danced to the tune of the Damaru or the hour-glass shaped drum, which was played by Lord Vishnu. The Rishis, now sent an apasmara (a black dwarf, a symbol of ignorance and laziness), the Lord continuing his dance, broke the back of the apasmara with his legs and used him as a dance platform. The Rishis now throw fire against him and the lord held the fire in his left hand.The powerful mantras used by the Rishis against Lord Shiva became his anklets.
With the Damaru in his upper right hand, the Fire in his upper left hand,the the Great God danced with all fervour and grace, with a smiling face. Such was the power of the cosmic dance that Lord Vishnu trembled, the Rishis fell to the ground. Goddess Parvati who had come to witness the dance shook with fear-The Power of the dance was unbearable. The Lord smiling, raised his left foot and seeing his form the Rishis attained realization. They all danced- the entire creation danced.
Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada
Lord Vishnu was so blissful upon witnessing this dance, that Adi Shesha could not bear the weight of Lord Vishnu. As Vishnu was seated on Adi Shesha, the thousand-hooded king of snakes , Lord Vishnu was so absorbed in the cosmic dance of Shiva that his body started vibrating to the tunes of Lord Shiva's dance.
It became very difficult for Adi Shesha to carry Vishnu any longer and he was on the verge of a collapse. He asked Vishnu about such increase in his bodily weight. Vishnu replied saying that this was because of the increase in his happiness due to witnessing the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva and he narrated the entire Daruka Vana episode.
On listening to this, Adi Shesha so wanted to witness the dance of Lord Shiva , he took leave from Vishnu and proceeds to do penance to get a boon from Lord Shiva, which is granted. Vishnu predicts that Lord Shiva would grace him with the boon, as well as to do a commentatory on Grammar and also in the Natya Shastra (art of dance). Adi Shesha being an evolved soul is granted his wishes and contemplates on how to descend on the earth to watch the cosmic dance. He finds that Gonika, a yogini has been praying for a worthy son to whom she could impart all her knowledge and wisdom.He decides to be born her son.
On fine morning, Gonika still unhappy that her desires are not fulfilled, decides to offer prayers to the Sun, and in the process, takes up handful of water to offer the water abulations (Arghya) to the Sun God. While Pouring out the Arghya she discovers a small snake in her palms which falls (Pata) on the ground and turns into a male child. This child asks her to accept him for a son and she gladly does that. Gonika names this son as Patanjali (Pata means fall, Anjali- means hands in the prayerful gesture), since he fell out of her palms when she was offering Arghya to the Sun God. Patanjali, accordingly proceeds to the Thillai forest and worships the Swayambhu (self-formed) linga of Lord Shiva on the south banks of the Lotus pond in the forest.
Vyaaghrapada was the son of Rishi Madhyandina, who lived on the banks of the river Ganga. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and also desired to see the Cosmic dance of the Lord. He was engaged in a stringent penance. He wished to offer flowers to Lord Shiva before the insects suck out honey and damaged the flowers. So, he prayed to Lord Shiva to get the feet of a tiger so that he could travel through the woods in the night to gently collect flowers for the worship and also asked for a bee's eyes so that he can identify flowers in the dark that are untouched by insects. Since he was granted his wishes, he came to be known as Vyaaghrapaada (the one with tiger feet). He also reached the Thillai forest and started worshipping the Swayambhu Linga, waiting for the day when he would be able to witness the cosmic dance.
Some accounts also speak of the three thousand dikshitars joining these two devotees, waiting to watch the Lord's Cosmic dance.
Nataraaja Painting. Please note Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada
The Dance Competition: Thillai Kaali vs NataraajaThere's a legend which says that when the day of the cosmic dance came forth, Kaali, the Guardian diety of the Thillai forest, interfered and demanded from Lord Shiva that he can give darshan to his devotees only after he beats her in a dance competition.
The challenge is accepted and the competition begins. It was a tough competition and it didn't seem to end. The left ear-ring of Lord Shiva falls down and while he dances, he holds the earring by his left leg, lifts his left leg above his head and wears the earring, such that the falling down nor the wearing of the earring was noticed. This posture of lifting the left leg above the head is called Urdhva Tandava and is a posture that females are not entitled to practice. So, Kaali could not respond to Lord Shiva's posture and had to accept defeat and is said to have retreated to the outskrits of the Thillai forest.
This event was supposed to have taken place where presently thousand-pillared hall stands in the temple premises
The Ananda Tandava
The Lord fulfills his promise to his devotees on the day when the Sun is in the Pushya Constellation (Pushya/Poosa Nakshatra) in the month of Thai (Jan-Feb). When the day arrived, a rain of flowers fell from the heavens. The stage (Sabha) was all set- it was illuminated with the brightness of a thousand suns and moons.
In between all of this illuminated Sabha, appeared the form of Lord Nataraja along with his consort Parvati- his four arms holding the Damaru and the fire, and three eyes flashing on his smiling face, the apasmaara beneath his legs- the Lord showed his Lotus foot, dancing in enchanting rhythm and showing the Abhaya(fearlessness) gesture. All creation rejoiced when they witnessed this joyful dance (the Ananda Tandava)- all fainted in happiness and everybody joined in the dance.
Lord Shiva granted Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada two boons. They prayed to Lord Shiva that he should grant the joy of witnessing the Ananda Tandava to all his devotees, so that they can attain liberation (Moksha) by just having his darshan, at the Kanaka Sabha in Chidambaram and that he should grace them forever. The Lord granted these wishes.
The Ananda Tandava Posture
The Ananda Tandava posture of Nataraja represents panchakritya functions of the godhead that created the dynamic force that created the world
The demon under Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.
The Fire in this hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.
The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life.
The Ring at the back, or the arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.
The drum in his hand signifies the origin of Life.
The lotus pedestal signifies "Om", the sound of the universe.
His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.
His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).
The crescent moon in his hair signifies benevolence and beauty.
The flowing of river Ganges through his matted hair signifies eternity of life.
The sreading of his hair and drape signify the force of his dance.
Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while his spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Apasmaara forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.
The Significance of Chidambaram
The myths and legends of Chidambaram state that Siva was compelled to continue his dance at Chidambaram, rather than in the Thillai forest, because he could see that the original site could not sustain the powerful energies of the dance.
He identified the snaking ida and pingala currents in our bodies with geographical locations north and south of Chidambaram, and then said that the central channel [natuvinadi] passed directly through Thillai, making it the centre of the universe
It is through this analogy that Chidambaram, according to local tradition, became the centre of the cosmos, the axisaround which all the rest of the universe rotates.
Significance of the temple design
- The place where temple located is the center point of world's magnetic equator.
- Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).
- The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.
- The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaakshara padi - pancha meaning 5, akshara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA:", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.
- The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA: inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths.[16] The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).
- The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.
- Sri Nataraj Mandir at Satara is a replica of this temple.
Pagoda di Scialembrom [Chidambaram]", by Giulio Ferrario from Il Costume Moderno o Antico, an Italian edition, 1828, a drawing of the main gopuram and detailed plan of the central structure
The Chidambara Rahasyam-
To the right of the idol of the Nataraja Vigraha inside the Golden Stage (Kanaka Sabha), are hung 5 strands of golden Vilva leaves, hid by a curtain thats black on the out side and red inside.
This is the Chidambara Rahasyam- the soul in our bodies is believed to be present in the heart, in a small space filled with vacuum, whose diameter is one-tenth of the diameter of one strand of hair, the space behind the Vilva leaves is reminiscent of the vacuum in which the soul of the universe resides.
This residence of the soul or aatma sthanam is the Kanaka Sabha, and the aatma is the Paramaatma, namely Lord Nataraja, who performs the cosmic dance from within us. Just like our aatma is the centre of our existence, the Kanaka Sabha is the centre of existence of the entire universe.
That is why Chidambaram symbolizes the Aakasha Tattva (ether or vacuum) of all the Pancha Bhootas sthalas.
All we need to do is, surrender ourselves to Lord Nataraja, whose consort is the enchanting Shivakaamsundari, so that through his cosmic dance from within ourselves, he leads us to Moksha.
Bibliography
www.wikipedia.orghttp://www.iyengaryoga.in/life_patanjali.htm
http://www.chidambaram.rajadeekshithar.com/temple_history.htm
Thank you for giving more informations abt tantric stories.Iam from kerala and i would like to discuss more abt tantra and sidha parambara if any one interested pls contact we can make a group and discuss .
ReplyDeletethank you
my email id anoopsry@gmail.com
Thank you for giving the information about the tantric subject.my name is anoop i would be more intersted to discuss more about tantra and sidha parampara in tamilnadu if any one intersted pls contact me and if any one knows more informations pls share with me and also i can share my experience also .
ReplyDeletethankyou anoopsry@gmail.com
mob:09446345208
@Anoop: Thank you.This was not a tantric account. This is the purana behind the Chidambaram temple. Will publish more blogs on Siddha Parampara, if God wills me to do so.
ReplyDelete