Phalguna is the last month of our Vedic calendar. The full moon day of the month is celebrated as Holi festival. It is the last significant festival of the year. Year's closure comes colourfully with Holi and on a buoyant note. Holi serves as an occasion for reunion of friends and those who recently might have turned “non-friends.” Inclusive festival, one may wonder, and it indeed is.
There are various narratives around Holi. One is Hiranya Kashyap’s sister Holika getting burnt while trying to harm her nephew Prahlada, a famous devotee of Vishnu. Another is the Dahan or burning of Kaama, the cupid lord known as Manmatha. This has more significance from learning perspective and can also drive normative insights. Man-matha holistically means “churning of the mind”- indeed a holy act.
After losing his wife (Sati viyoga), Shiva takes up severe sadhana. Then a demon called Taraka asks for the boon of “death only by the son of Shiva”, knowing well that there is no such son. The Devatas requested Manmatha or Kaama to bring out Shiva from the sadhana and to start grihasti status with Parvati, reborn Sati in the Himavanta household. Kaama, the Manmatha distracts Shiva and faces his fury. He immediately gets reduced to ashes. Shiva and Parvati marry and Kumara gets born. As willed, Taraka got killed by Kumara. Taraka’s calculations went wrong when he started erring by indulging in negative karma of harassing the pious.
Upon the prayers of Rati, the wife of Kaama that Manmatha’s act was to benefit the larger world, he was restored to aid the srushti (creation) to continue. Thus, Kaama dahan and Kaama’s reunion with his wife quickly happened around Phalguna Purnima. Purnima is special when the Moon (Chandra) is with full kalaas. It is said that “Chandrama manaso jaata”- Moon is the mano-karaka, one who causes mental vibes and moods. Even oceans soar on Purnima day. The seekers are aware of Purnima powers. Manmatha by risking to do good for the world, though suffered temporarily, got restored and won an eternal name for his good deed. Kumara who commanded divine armies won. Figuratively too, Devasena is his wife. The outcome of the Kaama dahana is “Kumara Sambhava”, happening of the SON. Kumara, also known as Skanda did the pranava upadesha to Shiva, thus becoming Guru to his own father. This lesson for us that one should be open to learning even from NextGen as learning is sacred.
(The writer is a Professor at VPSM Navi Mumbai. Experiences and views are personal)
Full version of the article can be had at:
https://www.ainavolu.in/phalguna-purnima-the-narratives-and-the-normative
