Chandrayan -I
The probe that made us all proud can be used to deface our Mother Culture too! The one person who is capable of doing that and who never misses an occasion to do that has done such defacing again!
Who else but Mr Karunanidhi is again in the news with his prejudices against the Indian pride, past and culture.
In his urge to deface Hindu myths, he has lost the memory of the Tamil that nurtured him.
"ThingaLai-p-pOttruthum" is the opening verse of Silappadhikaaram praising the Moon.
The 'ThingaL kuzhavi Imayavar yEttha' as told by Ilango AdigaL is the myth of crescent moon
on the forehead of Lord Shiva.
Is Mr Karunannidhi ready to rubbish Ilango AdigaL for that
or even for the numerous other references to myths and gods?
The "Gyaayiru pOttruthum" that Mr Karunanidhi borrowed from Silappadhikaaram to justify the Surya namaskaar that he is doing everyday, also comes with the mythology of the sun going round the Meru.
Is he ready to brand all those verses found in numerous Tamil texts as rubbish?
No he won't, because Tamil is his mother language.
But he must know that the culture he is born is in and the religion he is born in also are to be revered as his mother.
The kind of virulent attack he is doing on the culture and religion he is born is akin to abuse of one's own mother. It is a pity that the numerous Tamil texts he has studied had not given him that sense of pride or ownership of his culture and religion.
Every time he finds himself cornered on an issue, he used to resort to writing poems by spewing venom on something Bharatheeya or Brahmanic in order to divert the attention of the public and the media.
When he could not handle the Utthapuram caste conflicts, he wrote a poem questioning the wearing of Tilak and sacred thread.
Now the unprecedented violence at the Law college (more of this can be expected in the coming days thanks to the venom of caste politics that has permeated even the youth) is needed to be diverted from the attention of the Public.
The success of Chandrayan -I looks like an occasion but what pep can be there if there is not hate-politics attached to it?
So here is our Chief Minister penning his rational thoughts on Moon (Chandra) from mythology.
Moon eloping with Guru's wife is his centre of attack.
But none can question him how he can promote an idea of 'kissing a young lady' (moon's probe on the moon is compared like this by him).
I am only reminded of the 6 blind persons probing an elephant and arriving at bizarre conclusions.
Hindu mythological stories are such that they are framed in such a form of stories as not to be forgotten easily, but could be understood only when one uses his brains to probe with the vision of 6 persons.
The formation of the planets and solar system have been encapsuled in those myths.
When it is said that moon eloped with wife of Guru (Jupiter ) that eventually resulted in the birth of mercury (budhan), it is about how mercury was formed in the early period of planetary evolution.
Jupiter itself is said to be part of a passing star. From Hindu thought we know that it was from the star Pushya.
Naturally Tara (which means star) is his wife. That is Jupiter had more of star nature or star-bulk in the early years.
That was disturbed by the Moon as a result of which Mercury formed from the parts of moon and Jupiter.
Moon itself was born of sage Athri, one of the Seven stars of the Saptha rishi mandala.
Science also has accepted that Moon's contents are not of earth or any nearby terrestrial planet. It was hurled in to the solar system from the star clashes and was captured by the earth into orbit.
Another story from Hindu mythology says that Mars was born of earth. That is why it is known as Bhouman.
Scientists too have acknowledged similarities with Mars and earth.
But not with moon and earth.
Another mythology about moon is about his 27 wives - who are none but the 27 stars that it treks one a day. The moon is said to be fond of Rohini among them.
That is because moon's path on the sky is closer to Rohini than to other stars.
Rohini is on the path of the zodiac where the planets travel.
That is why even other planets make a 'pass' at her.
From a narration in Ramayana we know that Saturn used to go near her.
But when he is near Rohini, the world used to experience famines.
So King Dasaratha was advised to pray to Saturn to spare Rohini.
The famous Sani sthuthi was composed by him then and heeding his appeal Saturn did not go near her.
This is an important information for scientists to probe whether Saturn changed from its course anytime in the past. Hindu mythologies give a number of clues on cosmos and scientists can take a leaf out of them and probe further.
Like this many facts of the past have been hidden in the mythological stories.
Hindu mythology has been a rich source of unraveling the history of the past of the world and the cosmos also.
By rubbishing them, Karunanidhi is only demonstrating the limits of his wisdom.
-jayasree
Related articles :-
http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2008/04/when-will-solar-system-end-from-science.html
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=okR0s7oC42UC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=Moon+and+Guru%27s+wife+tara&source=web&ots=lpojMuANOR&sig=3awda82W7ECU0ZqCk G6MvyOzK8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book result&resnum=1&ct=result
http://www.tamilhindu.com/2008/11/chandrayan-and-muka-poem/
CM rubbishes Hindu beliefs on moon
http://server1.dc-epaper.com/DC/DCC/2008/11/16/ArticleHtmls/16 11 2008 004 002.shtml?Mode=0
DMK patriarch and chief minister M. Karunanidhi, a professed atheist, does not miss an opportunity to rubbish Hindu beliefs, epics and ancient scriptures. His latest missile is a poem that starts beautifully romantic only to end up pouring scorn on the moon legends of the Hindus, who consider the moon a god.
Utilizing the occasion of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of Chandrayaan I landing on the moon, Mr Karunanidhi first described the moon to a young beautiful woman and said the MIP landing on the lunar surface with the national tricolour painted on its sides, "is like planting a kiss on a young lady." Terming the landing of the MIP as a proud moment for India and a "miracle in scientific history," he lauded Indian scientists for their achievement. "This has vanquished all lies and figment of imagination. (regarding moon). Indian scientists have joined American, Russian and European nations in probing the moon, he said in the poem.
Beneath the greeting message to the scientific community and the nation, the DMK chief chose to spike the Hindu mythology on Chandran (Moon God) and the explanation on lunar eclipse. Taking a dig at the Hindu legend that Chandran was Tara, wife of sage Brihaspati who is the lord of planet Jupiter, he said in the poem titled Pride, "the Chandran who became lover of Guru's wife Tara is glorified in the puranas." The poem of 14 lines refer to some other Hindu beliefs too, such as the one on the lunar eclipse-"Snakes two - Rahu and Ketu, swallow Chandran, and Panchangam (almanac) explain this as grahanam (eclipse)." Known to be a passionate torchbearer of the rationalist ideologies of EVR Periyar, the chief minister has been displaying little tolerance to the Hindus sporting vermilion or the Brahmins wearing the sacred thread. He even chastised his partymen for indulging in religious rituals or following superstitious beliefs.
As if to break the tradition retained by the Brahmin in practising Agama Sastras, he had passed laws to make the dalit students join a yearlong certificate course in these priesthood studies.
Hindu mythologies give a number of clues on cosmos and scientists can take a leaf out of them and probe further.
