MANDALA

Origin of Nagaradhane

Snakes, especially the cobra have been revered from ancient times all over India. Due to their mysterious appearances and slithering movements, snakes had always been held in awe in India. Snakes find mention in famous religious epics like Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana etc. Hindu Gods like Vishnu and Shiva have been associated with snakes. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu takes rest under the shade of the giant snake, Adisesha. Lord Shiva wears a snake vasuki around his neck.

It is difficult to trace the origin of Nagaradhane, though the Bunts of Tulu Nadu claim to be kshatriyas of Nagavanshi descent, thus maybe snake worship was popularised by them. Though most rituals of snake worship are done by brahmins, there is not a single Bunt house that does not have a nagabana. Mostly, snakes were seen as a symbol of fertility. Elsewhere in India, snakes are worshiped during the Nagarapanchami Day. They are offered milk (research has shown that snakes are allergic to milk) and thilak is applied on their forehead.

The snake worship rituals practiced in Tulu Nadu are quite unique and different from the other rituals. Snakes have their own snake shrines in a sacred grove known as Nagabana. The shrines have images of cobras carved of stones. Accordingly, nobody is allowed to chop the tree near the Nagabana. It is also believed that snakes, specifically the cobras, are not be harmed or killed by anyone. If harmed, the individual has to perform a ritual to cleanse the sin of killing or harming the snake. The belief is that the individual who refuses to perform the ritual will be cursed by the

snake for eternity.

It can also be noted that in Tulu Nadu or the South Canara region in Karnataka, agriculture is predominant that too paddy is the main crop. In these fields snakes help in saving the crop from rodents. This can be a plausible reason for worship of snakes in line with other nature worships such as cow and the banyan tree.

The Ritual mandala drawn during ashleshabali at Belle Badagumane moodubelle,udupiThere are two distinct rituals performed in reverence to the snake. They are, Aashleshabali and Nagamandala. Of these, Nagamandala is longer and colourful than Aashleshabali. Nagamandala depicts the divine union of male and female snakes. It is generally performed by two priests. The first priest, called as patri inhales the areca flower and becomes the male snake.

The second priest, called as Nagakannika or the female snake dances and sings around an elaborate serpent design drawn with natural colours on the sacred ground. The ritual is supplemented by playing an hour glass shaped instrument called as Dakke. The drawings in five different colours on the sacred ground are white (white mud), red (mix of lime powder and turmeric powder), green (green leaves powder), yellow (turmeric powder) and black (roasted and powdered paddy husk). Aashleshabali is similar nature to the after death rituals performed for the humans as per the Hindu tradition.

The ritual, centered around the serpent design, continues till early in the morning. A similar kind of ritual is found in Kerala and is known as Sarpam Thullal and Sarpam Kali.all communities of tulu nadu revere .

Significance of Nagabanas

Nagabanas or the sacred grooves are deemed to be the resting place of the Snake God. Cutting of trees or defacing the groove is considered as sacrilege. People are wary of the wrath unleashed by the deity. Nagabanas have largely remained unspoilt and have contributed immensely to the preservation of valuable trees and medicinal plants in tulu nadu.

Bhootha Aradhane or Bhoota Kola

This dance form is widely performed in the coastal areas of Karnataka. The Bhootha Aradhane or Holy Spirit (Shiva Gana's) worship, includes a procession of idols depicting 'bhoothas". This procession is characterized by the beating of drums and bursting of firecrackers. After the end of the procession, the idols are placed on a plinth. Then, a dancer personifying a Bhoota (Holy Spirit) dances around the plinth with sword and jingling bells. The dancer dances vigorously at one point of time and then slows down, signifying that he is now a divine person.

This ritualistic dance form is performed by the people of south Karnataka. It is done to tranquilize the serpent spirit and is an extravagant affair held throughout the night. The dancers called the Vaidyas are dressed as nagakannika. They dance all night long around a huge figure, drawn on the sacred ground with natural colors, in a pandal specially erected in front of the shrine. This ritualistic dance is generally performed between December to April.

SARASWATI -THE HIDDEN RIVER

What happened to river Saraswati -did it change its course or do we call it by another name or did it sink into the earth due t o sesamic shifts or Tectonic uplifts.



Almost 13 km from Kurukshetra lies the ancient village of Bhoresaidan - named after the Kaurava hero Bhurisrava, who was one of Duryodhana's 11 distinguished senapatis during the Mahabharata war.A dusty road adjacent to the village leads to a yawning valley, flanked by rocks and covered with a soil that is a curious mix of various sedimentary deposits.

Rajesh Purohit, deputy director of the Kurukshetra-based Sri Krishna Museum, bends to scoop up some of the soil. "This soil has a lot of history," he says gravely. "After all, the river Sarasvati used to once flow here."

Purohit's contention is that the 'valley' is actually the bed of the Sarasvati, a fact which finds mention in numerous ancient literary texts, but whose existence has often been questioned by historians. "The discovery of the river bed," he says, "proves beyond doubt that Sarasvati is not a myth."

That myth may now be laid to rest forever as plans are afoot to revive a part of the course taken by this ancient river. The Haryana government has acquired almost 20 acres of land and work is under way on a 50 km-long channel in Kurukshetra, through which the river will flow again.

"The revival of the Sarasvati will benefit countless people in the region as it will augment ground water resources," says Darshan Lal Jain of the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, which is working with the government on this project. The plan is not to line with the river's course with bricks so that water can permeate the ground. With ground water levels dipping to as low as 150 feet, the river's revival may be a boon for parched Haryana.

A boon that would not have been possible without the discovery of the river bed. "In 2004, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred," recalls Purohit. "Water started oozing out from a palaeochannel (a dried river bed) at the Kapil Muni temple sarovar at Kalayat. We carried out studies of this water. Simultaneously, a scientific team studied its mineral composition."

Scientists from ISRO also carried out studies using space imagery and discovered a number of fossil valleys in upper central Haryana. "Mapping images of the palaeo channels showed that they corresponded to the archaeological sites of Haryana," says Purohit. "This means that these settlements came up near the river, as was the norm in those times and gives further proof that the river Sarasvati indeed existed," he says.

Incidentally, the debate about the existence of the Sarasvati has been continuing for a long time although lately, most historians have begun to concede that the river perhaps did exist. However, they still continue to debate the name by which the river was known, the route that it took and the reasons for its disappearance. "There is no doubt that the Sarasvati river existed. However, opinion is divided on whether it was known as the Sarasvati or the Ghaggar," says S Kalyanraman of the Sarasvati Research and Education Trust (SRET).

The idea that the ancient Sarasvati might be the modern-day seasonal river, Ghaggar, is not new. It was first put forward over 100 years ago by CF Oldham, an English engineer who observed that the dry bed of the Ghaggar appeared too broad for a seasonal river. He believed that the Ghaggar was, in fact, flowing on the bed of a bigger river that existed before. Archaeological excavations of the Indus Valley sites have also revealed numerous settlements along the Ghaggar, lending further credence to this theory.

But then, how did this river disappear? "Primarily due to tectonic shifts," says K S Valdiya of the Bangalore-based Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

"Tectonic uplifts caused the deflection of the waters of the Yamuna and Sutlej, which contributed the bulk of the expanse of the river. In a way, it was a case of 'river piracy'," says Valdiya, who recently delivered the keynote address at a conference on the Sarasvati that was organised by SRET.

Whatever the reason for its disappearance, this river sutra is far from over. And when this ancient river does start to flow again, everyone will be watching. After all, it is not every day that a river is reborn.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunday_TOI/Sarasvati_is_set_to_flow_again/articleshow/3902199.cms

Myth to reality: Sarasvati is set to flow again