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Significance of the divine mounts of Gods and Goddesses
Goddess Saraswati: Swan and Peacock
Goddess Saraswati is the store house of knowledge and wisdom, and the lover of art and music. Lord Brahma, the divine consort of Goddess Saraswati, creates the beautiful Universe and Sarsawati ji completes the process by showering the knowledge required for comprehending the creation.
The pious and serene state of Goddess is depicted by her vahan i.e. swan. The pure white swan portrays the selfless realization of true knowledge and also the discrimination between the eternal and mortal. The Goddess is also accompanied with a peacock near her image that signifies the ignorant attitude and how one is tangled in the deceptive charm of beauty. By mounting on the peacock, Saraswati ji teaches that the external appearance is transitory and should not be given priority. It’s the divine inner soul that needs to be focused and revered.
Lord Vishnu: Serpent and Garuda
Lord Vishnu also known as Narayana is the maintainer who sustains the entire creation. Lord Vishnu is the strength to maintain goodness in the Universe and he is also the remover of darkness of illusion. The connection between Lord Vishnu and his ‘sesha naag’ is renowned where the Lord rests upon sesha’s form of snake. Sesha means ‘balance’, thus the Lord is laid upon him. Snake is a symbol of time, eternity and wisdom that shows the controller of time representing the absolute truth of life.
Garuda, the eagle god is also the Vahana of Lord Vishnu that is well known for its speed and mighty wings. At one instance, Garuda wanted a place even higher than Lord Vishnu but as he got acquainted of the powers of Lord Vishnu, he became his faithful devotee by surrendering himself as his vehicle. It symbolise the numerous flying thoughts of mortals and the way they are controlled by the Almighty.
Lord Shiva: Nandi bull
Lord Shiva is the embodiment of creating as well as destroying. He is worshipped for his supreme powers and signifies the union of duality with Goddess Shakti. The vehicle of lord Shiva, Nandi bull symbolise the brutal and aggressive attitude of humans. By mounting on the top of the bull, lord Shiva tames the evil energies and also controls the sexual impulses. Shiva controls the negative impulses by riding on its back and teaches the important lesson to mankind.
Goddess Durga: Lion
Goddess Durga, another form of Parvati ji is the ferocious depiction of powerful and warrior Goddess. She is the widely adored deity renowned for female energy or Shakti. Goddess Durga with three eyes and ten arms is mounted on the golden hairy lion that symbolise the removal of dark night through bright golden light. Defeating the demon Mahishasura, mounting on the lion represents the ferocious and wild nature of both the Goddess and her vehicle. The lion acts as the celestial vehicle and portrays the lordly powers of wild beast.
Lord Ganesha: Mouse
The one without whom every important work is incomplete and without whose grace our life is doomed is our own beloved Ganesha. The remover of all our obstacles, Ganesha is the store house of knowledge, wisdom and intelligence. Lord Ganesh is often seen riding the tiny moshika raj ‘mouse’ as his vehicle which is considered weak. Mouse is related with destructive traits that spoils the food and crops, especially. Here the mouse connotes the human mind that destroys the mental peace due to evil thoughts and energies, but by mounting on the devil energies, Lord Ganesha crushes them. The faithful devotion is depicted by bestowing a peaceful mind to the devotee and teaching us the power of goodness and faith.
Lord Brahma: Seven swans
Lord Brahma is the supreme deity known for creation of this Universe. He is upmost source of knowledge and his consort Goddess Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Brahma ji is known for the creation of Vedas that are the base of knowledge for this Universe. The four head and four armed God is the symbol of four vedas, four maha yugas and the fourfold social order. He is seen mounted on the chariot lead by seven swans as swan is the symbol of knowledge and discretionary powers. Swan is known for purity that teaches us to make right decisions in our life. Swan is also known for separating milk from the mixture of milk and water that reveals the characteristic trait of Lord Brahma to make fine distinction while creating the Universe.
Goddess Lakshmi: Owl
The Goddess of prosperity and wealth is the consort of Sri Mahavishnu and is highly revered by the Hindu devotees. She is the store house of wealth, good luck, fortune, beauty, charm and riches that defines her power of showering unlimited blessings. The vehicle of goddess Lakshmi, an owl or ‘uluka’ is often a negative connotation; therefore it is considered to be associated with Alakshmi (Goddess of inauspiciousness). It is believed that during the Samudra manthan, Lakshmi was born out of Amrit and Alakshmi emerged with Halahal. As owl is known for its nocturnal activity, it is associated with ill omen but for few the ability of owl to see only in darkness symbolise the capability of going from darkness to light i.e. materialism to spiritualism. The figure of owl with the Goddess is a reminder that the wealth and fortune are a trap and our inner conscious and wisdom keeps us away from the ‘adharmik’ use of that fortune.
Lord Indra: Airavata
The most powerful and excellent warrior, known as the King of Devas and also the God of War and Weather. The term Indra is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Ind’ meaning to be powerful and the one who defeats his enemy. He is even renowned for his arrogant traits, yet he is the chief deity in Rig Veda. To maintain dharma in all three lokas and fight against evil powers, Lord Indra is the heroic protagonist. The four tusked, white elephant is the vahana of this deity, which is said to have emerged during Samudra manthan. The mighty elephant is renowned for protecting the gates of paradise as well as other miracles. It is said that Airavata gathered water from the large lakes of Udaygiri Mountains and showers it in the direction of lord Indra; thus holding the ability of giving rise to clouds or pouring rain. The pious and spotless white creature is a symbol of purity and is known to be created during the beginning of life by Lord Brahma.
Lord Vayu: Thousands of horse
The great personification of wind, Lord Vayu is known as the initial partaker of soma juice. He is a dear friend of lord Indra and given equal respect and weightage. He is as swift as mind and also called as the God of Thoughts. He is one of the major elements of the five elements of the Universe and is also described as ‘Satata-ga’ (ever moving), ‘Pavana’ (wind), and ‘Gandha-vaha’ (the perfume bearer). He is the guardian of North West direction and the father of Lord Hanuman and Bheema. Vayu devta is often shown riding forty nine or thousand horses that helps to cover long distances swiftly within few seconds. Horse is known for its swift and mighty powers and is often symbolised as notorious and fast mind that flies from one thought to another in just few seconds. By climbing upon these horses, Lord Vayu tames the swift thoughts and brings stability and calmness in our mind. The white coloured horses that cover all the three lokas of the world are a symbol of victory over our evil and negative thoughts.
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
Fallacy of Menstruation: What are the scientific reasons behind menstrual myths?
All you ladies out there just be cautious as the devil of blood is right here every month and be prepared for peek-a-boo. Get set to stay away from the kitchen to temple to any pious work as its time to stay aloof and feel deplorable about yourself. “You are not allowed in social gatherings, stay away from here…You are impure!!” As soon as something like this pops up, it fills us with thousands of questions within us. We are compelled to consider ourselves impure and most of us simply accept it rather than discovering the rational point behind it.
According to the scientific definition, “Menstruation cycle refers to the cyclic, physiological discharge through the vagina of blood and mucosal tissues from the non-pregnant uterus; it is under hormonal control and normally recurs, usually at four week intervals, in the absence of pregnancy during reproductive period of the females”.
So this is a natural process which is essential for the female body and I don’t think that there is anything to be ashamed about, in accepting your body hormonal changes. During these 5 to 7 days, there are numerous myths and superstitions which are yelled upon you and probably few of them are quite funny and unreasonable.
Relation between Menstruation and Moon:
It is believed that the lunar cycle of moon and menstruation cycle are connected as in ancient times females used to menstruate as per the cycle of new moon to full moon. In fact the first calendars were based on the moon cycles and menstrual cycles. The lengths of both the cycles are approximately the same i.e. nearly 28 or 29 days. Scientists have also proven that the exposure to moon light during these days cause certain changes in the body and the menstrual cycle is also influenced by the moonlight.
Do not enter Temples or attend religious gatherings:
Women are restricted to enter the holy places and even today this myth is carried out in our society. Most of the temples and religious places have placed a large board outside, “Menstruating women are not allowed to enter”. On observing it carefully I wonder that how am I so unclean and what has my periods got to do with worshiping. So the basis behind this statement is that all the religious practices emit energy in the environment which directly affects our human body. During this period the female body is already releasing high amount of energy so she is advised to remain away from temples so that her natural energy release is not disturbed.
Do not touch the Pickle:
Girls are often told to stay away from touching the pickle as she is considered impure and her touch may spoil it. Seriously, can you beat that! Till today I had only heard that food get spoilt because of bacterial or fungal action but it can also get spoilt by my touch, strange myth. During ancient days this myth was strictly followed on the same pace as Brahmins avoided the shadow and touch of untouchables, similarly the touch of menstruating lady was avoided. Her touch was considered unfit so anything touched by her was not fit for consumption. As pickle often needs extra care and it gets spoilt by change in temperatures so our elders tried to blame ladies for it rather than the temperature change.
Do not enter the kitchen or cook food:
The idea of not entering the kitchen is much more prevalent in the hard core Hindu society. Apart from considering this period as a sin, the basic reason behind this ritual makes true sense. During menstruation period, the females are continuously releasing energy and turn weak and feeble. They are also prone to infections as they are sensitive and their menstrual waste is also unhygienic. Thus females are advised to rest for preventing the chance of infection through food and water and maximum rest is required for her body.
Do not wash your hairs:
When our elders scolded us for washing our hairs during menstruation period it sounded so funny to us. Now when I discover an acceptable logic behind it, this myth seems reasonable. As our body is weak during this period, extra energy is wasted while washing our hairs. As our vagina is exposed for a longer period of time during hair wash, there are also chances of infection from the dust in the environment and vice versa. Another reason for it is that the flow of blood reduces when it comes in contact with clean water, which is not advisable. Thus washing of hairs should be avoided for the first three days, at least.
Menstruation is a sin, therefore painful:
Ever heard anyone saying, “You are paying for your sins, your menstruation pain is a curse upon you”? Sounds weird! In earlier days people used to believe that menstruation is a curse and the pain varies according to your evil deeds. This is just a mere superstition and menstrual cramps are natural, it has nothing to do with your karmas. The blood flowing out of the uterus is thick with clots or lumps, so it becomes difficult for regular smooth flow. During first two days, the thick blood leads to rhythmic contractions in the body which causes cramps in the abdomen and backache. So from the third day onwards the blood flow becomes thinner and easier to release.
So India being a highly religious country, we value our traditions and norms but please raise your voice against the unreasonable myths and stop accepting the ideas as the way they are imposed upon you. Every idea has a rational behind it and the next time somebody instructs you during menstruation period, just let them know the logic or ask reason from them.
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
Shubhpuja.com 