He jumped down from His Mount, collected the Modakas and climbed back to His mount.
Moon, on seeing this , laughed at Ganesha.
Angry at being ridiculed, Ganesha plucked out His Tusk, pierced the Moon causing Moon to lose its brightness.
Later at the request of th Devas He restored Moon to its early splendour with the condition that the Moon shall wax for Fifteen days and wane for fifteen days.
There is another version which says that Lord Shiva took Moon and kept Moon on His head after informing Ganesha and Moon was back with waxing and waning.
There has been a spate of emails to me on this question.
And there was the question in Yahoo answers.
“Between Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, why is Brahma (the creator) worshipped the least ? I am told that it is because Brahma was cursed by somebody. If that is true, this means that our God performed deeds bad enough to be cursed. It also means that there was somebody who also possessed more power that our Creator. Please explain.”
Hence this post.
Who are the parents of the Trimurtis, Brahma Vishnu and Shiva?
Brahma is portrayed as the son of Vishnu in all the Puranas, having come out of Lord Vishnu’s Nabhi(Belly Button)
Vishnu Purana says that Rudra was born of Kashyapa so are the Twelve Adhiyas, including Vishnu.
Vishnu Purana maintains that Vishnu is the Supreme Lord and the othertwo murthis are from Him.
Brahma Purana says that Rudra is the son of Braham(please read y post)
Shiva Purana declares that Vishnu and the other Devatas originated from Shiva.
There is direct reference to Shiva in the Vedas(read my post)
We find that Devi Bhagavatha stating that Devi is the Creator of all the devas including the Trimurthis.
The Bhagavad Gita states that Krishna is the Supreme Deity.
In the same breath it declares that in whatever form one worships,Krishna grants one’s wishes as That Form.
Why such seeming contradictions?
Added to this the core philosophy of the Vedas.
Para Vidya (beyond this world Knowledge) and Apara Vidya (worldly Vidya.
Of Reality without Attributes ,Nirguna Brahman and Relity with Attributes,Saguna Brahman.
There is also the interpretation, that Shiva is the Potential energy, Vishnu the Kinetic energy which moves and Brahma, an aspect of Kinetic energy.
Let us see what all this means.
As ordained by the Vedas, the Para Vidya is Real, that is of realizing the Ultimate Reality.
Vedas are uniform in the assertion that the Brahman , Reality is with out Attributes and can , at bes,t be described by the process of exclusion of Attributes, the neti Nyaya,.
That is ,trying to determine and explain Reality by excluding the attributes known to Man, like Long, Tall, Short,big,small….
That which remains after excluding all these attributes, what does remain?
To our limited mind which is conditioned by the twins of Space and Time,it appears to be Zero.
This is what the Sunyavadins of Buddhism arrive at.
Is that so?
Let us look at this with the help of a simple example.
A Flower has many attributes, properties,
It has colors of various shades, size, shape,smell and more properties which can be perceived by our senses through our mind.
When you remove all these what does remain?
We can not comprehend that all one can say.
There has to be something to hold down integrate all these attributes to present a Flower.
It need not mean that there is nothing because we are not aware of it for my mind tells me that the are many things which I can not KNOW but FEEL.
Like Hunger, Thirst, Sex to cite a few examples.
Knowing is different from feeling.
God can be felt not known.
The mind tries to give a description of feelings but never a definition.
You can describe Hunger but never define it except by various symptoms.
Similarly Reality can be described but never defined for it is beyond us.
Tamil Language has two beautiful words for God.
Kadavul, One who is beyond Mind.
Iraivan, One who permanently resides in the Heart.
Heart feels which can not be deciphered by them Mind.
Reality comes under this category.
So God/Reality can only be felt.
Now have N number of individuals with varying dispositions.
Depending on one’s disposition one realizes , understands, feels Realty or God.
Those who want to see God as a male, Female, a Friend, A child, a Lover …
All can realize through any of these approaches.
Hinduism looks for God in Man.
As such the limitations of Man has to be understood.
With the available tools Man has, one has to realize God,Reality.
This Hinduism does.
So worship of Gods in many forms and many Devatas.
This is a step to understanding realizing the Reality.
So the Gods described, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the expressions of this.
It is equally essential that, to reinforce Faith in the Mind, to believe that what one follows , is the Best nd Superior to others.
This process is called Henotheism.
So each Purana declares the deity it is named after as the Best and superior to the others.
Hence , Brahman with out attributes is the Reality and the Gods explained in Puranas and their explanations are bit a step to realize Brahman.
The question of the parentage of any of these deities do not arise at the Highest level of Knowledge.
This also has a logical limitation.
The cause for any thing must end at one place,be it Science or Religion.
Please read my post Many Gods in Hinduism, Yes and No.
One of the methods I have adopted in tracing the movement of Human migration and the Sanatana Dharma is to check the geographical locations mentioned in the Hindu Texts and cross checking them with the geographical locations available to-day.
Another was linguistics.
Yama, God of Death ridinga Buffaloe.
Yet another approach as through the Cultural practices and religious landmarks, signs.
I have posted quite a few articles on this basis to show that it was Sanatana Dharma that was practiced in the world, with no exceptions.
In the middle of this quest it struck me to check these facts through the Deities worshiped by Sanatana Dharma, that too the Deities that are not so popular as Rama , Krishna, Shiva or Murugan.
One such Deity is the God of Death Yama.
Yama is the son of Surya, the Sun God and He is the personification of Dharma ho discharges His functions with out fear or favour.
The famous Temple of Yama is in Srivanchiyam Tamil Nadu.
Worship of Yama in the world in other cultures.
In the Pali canon, the Buddha states that a person who has ill-treated their parents, ascetics, holy persons, or elders is taken upon his death to Yama.Yama then asks the ignoble person if he ever considered his own ill conduct in light of birth, deterioration, sickness, worldly retribution and death (mrtyu). In response to Yama’s questions, such an ignoble person repeatedly answers that he failed to consider the kammic consequences of his reprehensible actions and as a result is sent to a brutal hell “so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result…
In Chinese mythology, Yan (Chinese: t: 閻, s: 阎, p: Yán) is the god of death and the ruler of Diyu. From Vedic Sanskrit Yama Rājā (यम राज, “King Yama”), he is also known asYanluowang (t: 閻羅王, s: 阎罗王, p: Yánluówáng, w: Yan2-lo2-wang2 and t: 閻, s: 阎, p: Yán). In both ancient and modern times, Yan is portrayed as a large man with a scowling red face, bulging eyes, and a long beard. He wears traditional robes and a judge’s cap or a crown which bears the character 王, “king.” He typically appears on Chinese hell money in the position reserved for political figures on regular currency.
These Chinese beliefs subsequently spread to Korea and Japan. In Japan, he is called Enma (閻魔, prev. “Yenma”), King Enma (閻魔王, Enma-ō), and Great King Enma (閻魔大王, Enma Dai-Ō). In Korea, Yan is known as Yeomna (염라) and Great King Yeomna (염라대왕, Yŏmna Daewang). In Vietnam these Buddhist deities are known as Diêm vương and are venerated as a council of all ten kings who oversee underworld realm of địa ngục.
Emma is depicted with a civil servant’s hat that is similar to the Chinese adapted notion of the Yan who is a judge, whereas the earlier Yama of the Sainokawara folktales are more akin to demons of the Underworld and therefore resemble most the Indo-Iranian / Saka and Tibetan versions.
“Enma face” (閻魔顔 Enma-gao?) is an idiom used to describe someone with a fearsome face.
“If you lie, Lord Enma will pull out your tongue” (嘘をつけばと閻魔さまに舌を抜かれる?) is a superstition often told to scare children into telling the Truth.
Yama in Iran.
A parallel character in Iranian mythology and Zoroastrianism is known as Yima Xšaēta, who appears in the Avesta. The pronunciation “Yima” is peculiar to the Avestan dialect; in most Iranian dialects, including Old Persian, the name would have been “Yama”. In the Avesta, the emphasis is on Yima’s character as one of the first mortals and as a great king of men. Over time, *Yamaxšaita was transformed into Jamšēd or Jamshid, celebrated as the greatest of the early shahs of the world.
Yama in German.
In a disputable etymology, W. Meid (1992) has linked the names Yama (reconstructed in Proto-Indo-European as *yemos) and the name of the primeval Norse frost giant Ymir, which can be reconstructed in Proto-Germanic as *umijaz or *jumijaz, in the latter case possibly deriving from PIE *ymyos, from the root yem “twin”. In his myth, however, Ymir is not a twin, and only shares with Yama the characteristics of being primeval and mortal. However, Ymir is a hermaphrodite and engenders the race of giants.
Yama in Java.
There is Yamadipati in Javanese culture, especially in wayang kulit shadow puppet shows. The word adipati means ruler or commander. When Hinduism first came to Java, Yama was still the same as Yama in Hindu myth.
In Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamian (Anatolian/Middle-eastern semitic) lord of the Underworld
“Nergal (arrow shooting god of II Kings 17:30) a Babylonian god and king of the Underworld “Lord of the great dwelling.” When ejected from heaven he invaded the underworld with fourteen demons. … Nergal is also the god of plague with Namtar (evil god, negative aspect of fate, disease bringer), his symbols are a sword and a lion’s head. From the contract tablets found by Rassam at Tel-Ibrahim it appears that the ancient name of Cuthah was Gudua or Kuta. Its ruins were 3,000 feet in circumference and 280 feet high. In it was a sanctuary dedicated to Ibrahim (Abraham). Both the city and its great temple, the later dedicated to Nergal, appear to date back to Sumerian times. Nergal (Heb. nereghal, a Babylonian deity of destruction and disaster, associated with the planet Mars (god of war and agriculture — See also Hercules, Ares -son of Zeus, Zivis, Zio, Tiwas, Tiw).
The practice of taking a vow to smash a Coconut, this is different from breaking the Coconut in the Temple, here the Coconut is thrown at a Stone in the Temple in front of the Idol, in many Temples there are enclosures for this and the broken pieces are picked up by the people around.
This custom has been there in most of the Tamil Brahmin Homes.
This is not restricted to retrieving the lost objects alone,
This practice is followed for success in any endeavour or for successful completion of any major event like Marriage and even for a safe journey.
My mother used to follow this custom so regularly I use to remark that In Lord Shiva‘s House every one will suffer from dsentery because of the Number of Coconuts e break for Ganesha.!(Those ho collect the smashed pieces either eat them ra and many use this for preparing Coconut Chutney)
May be it is irrational to perform this, but this works for us, and for many more irrational people like me,
So long something works for me it is fine.
I do not look into the rationality behind it.
After all Life itself is irrational.
We use the same technic with Garuda for additional support!
He who hides the world by illusion, He who controls his five senses,
He who is a dwarf, He who lies down on water,
He who troubles bad people, He who is remover of death and birth,
He who is black, He who is on the side of Lakshmi,
He who has the Bird Garuda on his flag.
He who is a boar, He who has lotus like eyes,
He who is the man-lion, He who puts an end to hell,
He who is not clear to us, He who is permanent,
He who is Vishnu, He who is endless, He who is without change,
He who was born out of water, He who is an expert in mace,
He who looks after all beings, He who is the one with fame.
He who is the Lord, He who lifted Govardhana mountain,
He who lifted the earth, He who is the Lord of universe,
He who is meditated by sages, He who is addressed by Yagnas,
He who is the Lord of the Yagna, He who is the vehicle of Yagna,
He who holds the wheel, He who holds the mace,
He who holds the conch, He who is the greatest among men,
He who lives in Vaikunta, He who controls bad people,
He who holds earth inside his Tummy, He who wears red cloths,
He who is Trivikrama[1], He who is the past, present and future,
He who is the holy trinity, He who is the Lord of Yadavas,
He who is Sri Rama, He who is Parasu Rama, He who is Hayagreeva,
He who is gross, He who is angry, He who was produced before everything,
He who is the consort of Lakshmi, He who carries Lakshmi, He who is the Lord of Lakshmi,
He who does only good, He who has weapons for doing good only,
He who was tied by a rope in the belly, He who cuts off bondage,
He who has a pretty hair, He who killed the asura Kesi,
He who should be prayed to, He who blesses,
He who is Vishnu, He who is joy, He who is the son of Vasudeva,
He who has golden virility, He who enlightens, He who is ancient,
He who is greatest among men, He who is everything, He who does not have stain,
He who is pure, He who does not have any properties, He who has stable characters,
He who has gold like body, He who shines like the Sun,
He who is black like a cloud, He who has four hands,
He who is always all right, He who has lotus like eyes,
He who is like flame, He who does not have any shape,
He who has a form, He who is blessed with good form,
He who knows everything, He who assumes all forms,
He who is the God of all, He who sees in all directions,
He who is wisdom, He who is steady, He who is stable,
He who is full of wisdom, He who is the divine, He who is the Lord,
He who is the chief of Yoga, He who is the ultimate lord of Yoga,
He who is a Yogi, He who is personification of Yoga,
He would become purified from all sins and would become one with Vishnu,
He would get the effect of performing one thousand Chandrayanas[2],
And he would get the effect of performing one hundred marriages,
He would give the effect of giving away hundreds of lakhs of cows,
And also get the effect of performing an Aswamedha Yaga.
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