SAMASKARAS - RITUALS IN HINDUISM : Lord Ganesha and the Tulasi Leaves. , Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri blogs on sulekha, blogs, Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri blog from india

We are in the naimisharanya and the sages are assembled there. This time Shounaka and several other sages have also arrived there to hear the Puranas. It is noon. After having their lunch, the rishis are taking their rest, when in the afternoon Souti, the illustrious son of Romaharshana arrives there. Both father and son, belong to the suta class meaning they are raconteurs or ballard singers.

[Suta = the offspring of a brahmana mother and a kshatriya father]

Souti (son of a suta, hence Souti) is requested by Shounaka and the new crop of sages to recite a story from the Puranas so that they can increase their knowledge.

Being well versed in all the Puranas he begins to recite the Brahmavaivarta Purana which contains all the wisdom that one can find in the other Puranas. It has four parts and our present story is from the second part which is in the 'nature of gods and goddesses and the way in which they should be worshipped'.

Parashurama is in Kailas and he is in a hurry to meet Lord Shiva and Parvathi. Unfortunately the Lord and his consort are taking rest and their first born Ganesha is guarding the gate to Kailas.

"Satre Nagarum Pillai" (Please move a little) "I am in a bit of a hurry; let me go in and return quickly so that I can hasten home" so saying Parashurama pushes aside Ganesha.

"I do not know who you are"... "But even if you are the representative of the mightiest of the mighty I am sorry you will have to wait." "I am standing guard here on their express orders"

"Is that so? Since you are only a child I will tell you who I am. I am Parashurama - the destroyer of all the kshatriyas of this world. I am proceeding and stop me if you can." Such arrogance!!

There ensued a Dwandha Yudham (wrestling) between Ganesha and Parashurama and unable to withstand the onslaughts of Ganesha with his four hands and the trunk, Parashurama throws the Parashu at his tormentor. Now this axe, is a gift to Parashurama from Lord Shiva himself. So being a weapon from his father, the son could not deflect it completely. Instead of severing Ganesha's head, it broke Ganesha's left tusk.

Ganesha's face is covered with blood and just then Parvathi and Parameshwara, disturbed in their sleep come to enquire what the commotion is all about. Seeing her son in distress, she counsels Parashurama "He can take care of countless warriors like you, but because of his self control he is soft and does not even hurt a fly."

Parashurama, a true warrior, the world has ever seen, immediately worships, Ganesha with flowers, incense and other offerings but not tulasi (Basil)

Why? Before I proceed further I need to digress here, to show you how the people on earth worship him and the praise they heap on him for the services that he renders to them.

"Vakratunda Mahakaya Surya Koti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kurumeydeva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada "

"O Lord Ganesha of Large Body, Curved Trunk,
With the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
Make All My Work Free Of Obstacles, Always."

"Mooshika Vahana Modhaga Hasta
Shyamala Karna Vilambitha Sutra
Vamana Rupa Maheshwara Putra
Vigna Vinayaka Pada Namaste"

"Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the god that protects his devotees from any obstacles ( vighnam ). Hence the name Vighneswara. He is also described as the Supreme Leader ( Vinayaka). Thus he is the master of knowledge and achievement.As Ekadanta, the Lord has limitless powers. As Heramba, he removes obstacles. As Lambodara, He protects all worlds. As Surpa Karna, He shows compassion by giving the highest knowledge. All these names for Lord Vinayaka, who is the Lord of all Lords."

"Ganesha's Vehicle (Vahana) is the Mouse, symbolic of gnawing its way through everything, thus depicting the God's ability to cut through all obstacles".

Swami Chinmayananda, describes his Pranavaswaroopam in the following words: The term omkārasvarūpa ("Aum is his form") refers to this belief that he is the personification of the primal sound "AUM".

"(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka, Antariksha-loka, and Swargaloka. You are Om. (that is to say, You are all this)."

"Remover of all obstacles,
Pranava Swaroopi,
Embodiment of wisdom,
Devata of Muladhara Chakra!
O Lord Vinayaka,
The bestower of happiness
Who has Modaka in hand!
O Elephant-headed Lord!
Salutations unto Thee.
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha."

In the meantime Narada, has also joined the crowd at naimisharanya and his curisoty is kindled. "Why, One should not offer the Tulasi leaves to Ganapathi as an offering?"

Souti continues....

One evening when the clime is pleasant, a most beautiful damsel, with all the 32 Samudrika Lakshanams, presents herself before Ganesha, on the banks of the river Ganges where HE is meditating. Prodding him, with the stem of a lotus flower, she utters: "I am Tulasi. I am the daughter of King Dharmadhvaja and I am also meditating to get a good husband. I am attracted by your strange appearance and I have chosen you as my husband."

"Who Me?" is the immediate retort from Ganesha. "Listen woman, I cannot marry you. I am holding you in an equal position to that of my mother. Besides, I have no intention to get married. I think, it is foolish, to get married, as it brings a lot of unhappiness in one's life."

Rebuffed, she curses Ganesha. "Whoever you are, since you did not accept me in marriage, I curse you that you will never remain a bachelor in your life."

Ganesha loses his cool, and returns that curse with another curse. "For the affront that you showed me, I curse you that you will marry a Rakshasa, and then become a shrub."

Whether it is puranic days or the present times, when a woman is outwitted, by a man, God or Mortal she immediately supplicates to him.

When humbly, Tulasi approaches Ganesha for redemption from the curse, HE blesses her that she will be the most important ingredient in the offerings to Gods by mortals, and would be favoured by Narayana, in due course of time. "But I will not accept either you, your flowers or leaves."

The Purana ends here. My story continues for a couple of more paragraphs.

Tulsi ( Ocimum Sanctum)

"Leaves, flowers, fruits, root, branches and the main stem and everything about Tulsi is sacred; even the soil under the Tulsi plant is holy. In Sanskrit Tulsi is known by many names, including Surasah, Ajaka, Parnasa, Manjari, Haripriya (the beloved of Lord Vishnu) and Bhutagni (the dstroyer of demon). Hindu denominations defer in how they regard the Tulsi plants as the Goddess. Generally worshipers of Lord Vishnu revere Tulsi as Lakshmi or Vrinda, devotees of Lord Rama honor Tulsi as Sita , while followers of Lord Krishna vernerate Tulsi as Vrinda, Radha and Rukmani ."

Commonly called sacred or holy basil, it is a principal herb of Ayurveda, the ancient traditional holistic health system of India.

"Tulsi has, for thousands of years, remained one of the most cherished of India's sacred healing plants. Furthermore, in addition to being a pillar of the traditional Ayurvedic holistic health system, Tulsi continues to be spiritually honored daily by millions. So, it really can't be much of a surprise to discover that modern science is accumulating evidence in support of many of the traditional health promotion and disease treatment uses of Tulsi."

from the Introduction to Tulsi Mother Medicine of Nature by Dr.Narendra Singh and Dr. Yamuna Hoette. by Dr. Miller, who is a former Director of Research for the Canadian National Department of Health and Welfare.

In South India, Lord Ganesha, is credited with two wives, Anima and Mahima, the personification of the Ashta Sidhis. In the North, it is Riddhi and Siddhi, the consorts of Ganesha or Buddhi (intellect) and Siddhi(achievement).

The Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is very famous among aspiring intellectuals, because here Lord Ganapathi, bestows intellect on whosoever prays to him.

GANPATI BAPPA MORIYA

Ekadanthaaya Vidhmahee
Vaakrathundaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Dhantihih Prachodayaat

I am personally indebted to those unnamed contributors whose works has made this blog meaningful.

Rajaputhran.

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