Srimate
SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Of Pots and Pans
Historians usually refer to various periods in the history of mankind, by
the metal used during the period, for fashioning vessels and implements. We thus
have the Stone Age, the Iron Age, the Bronze Age, etc. Going by this practice,
we must dub our present times as the Stainless Steel Age, due to the widespread
use the steel-derivative has gained in all walks of life. Gone are the numerous
brass, bronze and copper vessels that were in use in all households till about a
quarter century ago. Silver vessels too are conspicuous by their absence in
every day use. The ostensible reason for the replacement of the aforesaid metals
with Stainless Steel is the apparent ease in cleaning and maintaining the
latter. Where Brass or Bronze required strenuous cleaning with messy blobs of
Tamarind or ash, Stainless Steel calls for much less labour and is easily
washed. While a few households still stick to Brass, Bronze and Silver for
reasons of aesthetics, orthodoxy or health-consciousness, Stainless Steel has
comprehensively replaced its competitors as the metal of choice for various
domestic applications.
This piece is
not intended as a tirade against ?ever-silver?, but as a general discourse on
vessels and their place in the Scripture. Be they animate
or otherwise, all creations form the Lord?s shareeram, according to the tenets
of Visishtaadvaita. In as much as they are an integral part of the Parabrahmam,
there is no essential difference between an erudite scholar and a senseless
stone. We hence find that even inanimate objects, forming part of the glorious
Bhagavat vibhooti, are as much entitled to recognition and appreciation, as are
their human counterparts. And if you think long enough and search deep enough,
you would always find some beautiful thing or the other about even the least
significant of the Lord?s creations. Against this background was born this
article is about Pots and Pans, which are normally considered to be essential
but insignificant parts of our household. Vessels may be
inanimate things per se, but they
have played extremely significant roles in the lives of many. Our scripture has
numerous such instances, where vessels have made or marred
lives. It is a vessel,
a golden one, belonging to Sri Ranganatha, that marks a turning point in the
life of Sri Vipranarayana. Engaged in nandavana kainkaryam for the Lord of
Srirangam, Vipranarayana falls prey to the charms of the wily Devadevi, who
practically enslaves the poor Brahmin and drives him away when he no longer has
any riches to offer her. Sri Rangaraja decides to take things in hand at this
stage and visits Devadevi?s house as Vipra?s messenger, offering her a golden
vessel as tribute. The vessel is one of those used for the Lord?s daily tiruvaaraadhanam at the temple and is
missed immediately. When inquiries reveal that it is Sri Vipranarayana?s
messenger who had delivered it, the King imprisons the poor, innocent Brahmin
for stealing. Unable to tolerate Azhwar pining away in prison, Sri Ranganatha
appears in the King?s dream, to tell him the truth and to reveal that the entire
play was enacted by Him to bring to light the glory of Sri Tondaradippodi
Azhwar, whose devotion had hitherto remained unknown and unrecognised.
If we stretch
things a bit, we would find that the Lord?s avataram had its origins in a
vessel. When the issueless Dasaratha performed Putrakaameshti desiring progeny, out of
the sacrificial fire emerged a wonderful figure, with a beautiful vessel grasped
in his hands, holding the vessel as dearly as one would hold his wife (the
latter part of the sentence is not mine, but Sri Valmiki?s). The container was a
magnificent one, made of glittering gold, with a luminous lid of silver. It was
huge in size and appeared to have been made with all the expertise at the
command of its divine makers. Dasaratha accepted the vessel containing the paayasam and carried it reverently on
his head. It was this divine paayasam
that led to the Emperor?s three wives conceiving and begetting glorious sons,
Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Though the actual role of the vessel in
the avataram may not have been crucial, yet, it must have been immensely proud
of having been instrumental in the most magnificent of the Lord?s avataras. Here
are Sri Valmiki?s words, dealing with the wonderful
vessel? ?Tapta jaamboonada mayeem
raajataanta paricchadaam Divya paayasa sampoornaam paatreem
patneem iva priyaam Pragrihya vipulaam dorbhyaam svayam
mayaamayeem iva? Vessels?
association with the Lord, however tenuous, doesn?t stop with the Ramavataram.
Devas and asuras were once engaged in the mammoth enterprise of churning the
?Peeta snigdha kunchita kesaanta:
subhaga: simha vikrama: amrita aapoorna kalasam
bibhrat valaya bhooshita: sa vai Bhagavata: saakshaat
Vishno: amsaamsa sambhava: Dhanvatari: iti khyaata: Ayur Veda drik ijya
bhaak? It is
significant that wherever Dhanvantari has a sannidhi, notably at Kanchi and
Srirangam, He is depicted with a pot in His hand. We are told by
the Bhaagavata Purana that the asuras snatched the pot of nectar from His hands.
We are puzzled?why should Dhanvantari, described as being brave as a lion,
meekly let the precious pot of nectar be snatched away from Him by a bunch of
asuras? The ever-playful
Lord, enamoured of assuming one role after the other, having brought out nectar
from the depths of the ocean as Dhanvantari, obviously desired to take another
avataram for its distribution. He then appeared before the contending party of
Devas and asuras in the form of a delightful damsel, Mohini, and charmed the
asuras off their feet. The infatuated asuras entrusted the pot of nectar to the
Mohini for fair distribution between themselves and the Devas: what happened
thereafter is history. We have so far
seen three occasions on which the pot or vessel had an extremely close
association with the Lord. One more such instance occurred in Sri Krishnavatara
too, making the pot indeed fortunate. Since Gokulam
was ?seer malgum Aayppaadi?,
prosperous beyond measure, milk and curds were stored not in small vessels, but
in big, capacious pots. Once, to elude pursuers who were after Him for some
misdemeanour or the other, Sri Krishna hid Himself in one such huge clay pot,
belonging to one Dadhibhaandan, who promised not to reveal
It is perhaps to
commemorate His close association with the pot, that the Lord is to be seen
during every Brahmotsavam in many Sannidhis, with one of His hands inside a pot,
with a blob of butter in the other. The ?Vennai Taazhi Kannan? tirukkolam is indeed one which captures
your heart. At Tirumala, the Lord dons this role while ensconced on the ?Chandra
Prabhai?. Emperuman is
enamoured of not only carrying pots, but also of breaking them, we are told by
the Bhaagavata Puranam. Once, when Yasoda was busy churning out butter from
curds, ?Vennai vizhungi verum kalatthai verpidai
ittu adan osai ketkum? ?Uruga vaittha kudatthodu
vennai urinji udaitthittu pondu nindraan? As a result, all
the households in Nandagokulam sported broken pots and dented vessels, all the
handiwork of Emperuman?s
association with pots doesn?t stop there. All of us have
seen or at least heard of the ancient art form, ?Kudakkoothu?, where the artiste dances
with a pyramid of progressively smaller pots balanced carefully on his head.
This sort of dance requires utmost concentration, balancing skills and a sure
step. The slightest error in movement could send the pots crashing down, putting
the dancer to shame. Would it surprise you to know that this extremely difficult
art form too was performed by Sri Krishna with ease and abandon? Sri Periazhwar
tells us that You can almost
picturise the scene. There is an admiring crowd of Gopis and Gopas standing
around, with Sri Krishna in the middle, dancing away with abandon, with a number
of pots balanced on His head. With each facile movement of His, the Gopis hold
their breath, fearing that the pots would come crashing down, but with a
graceful counter movement, Here are some
interesting stipulations about vessels, from the
Smritis. During
the performance of a Shraddham for one?s forefathers, it is customary to appoint
brahmanas to officiate as Visvedeva, Pitru and Sri Mahavishnu. And all of us
offer them food on plantain leaves, at the end of the shraaddha homam. However,
befitting the stature of these exalted guests, food is to be offered to them in
vessels made of Gold (in the case of Visvedeva) and Silver (for Pitrus), say the
procedures relating to Shraaddha
Prayogam. Since we are unable to do this actually, we recite mantras telling
the guests that food has been served in these valuable containers, instead of on
disposable plantain leaves. And when oil is given to the invited brahmanas for a
cleansing dip prior to officiating in the proceedings, it is to be offered in
vessels made of copper, says Tirukkudandai Sri Gopala Desikan?s Shraadha Prayogam.
Even in
auspicious karmas, the ubiquitous pot of water plays a prominent role, as an
accommodation for various Devatas whose presence is requisitioned, whether it be
a simple Punyaahavaachanam or an
elaborate Udaka
Shanti. How nice would
it be if food kept in a vessel never diminished or was ever exhausted! It would
solve all problems of having to buy costly groceries month after month, wouldn?t
it? When a horde of guests descends on us without notice, wouldn?t it be nice to
have a vessel which had an inexhaustible supply of food? Our normal vessels and
containers are designed to hold a particular quantum of food and become empty
once the same is taken out. However, Draupati had a unique vessel?an Akshaya Paatram?which provided unlimited
supply of food, irrespective of how many there were to feed. This was a gift to
her from the Sun God, who found that the Pandavas, even during their jungle
sojourn, had to entertain quite a large number of Brahmins and others as guests,
who were loathe to parting company with the five brothers, despite their loss of
kingdom and power. It was this Akshaya
Paatram that came to the rescue of Draupati many a time, saving her from
embarrassment and trouble, especially when the easily irascible Durvaasa
Maharshi dropped in for lunch along with his large entourage, without any
notice. If the Lord were
to visit your home, what would you think of offering Him first and foremost?
Shastras tell us that honoured guests like the Lord and Acharyas have to be
welcomed with a pot full of water?a Poorna Kumbham. Even today, we see this
being done whenever an Acharya visits a home or public place. If fact, the
Scripture tells us that the Lord desires little from us by way of ?upachaaram? (ministration), except for
the aforesaid Poorna Kumbham, some
water to wash His holy feet with and a few words of enquiry as to His
welfare? ?Anyat poornaat apaam kumbhaat, anyat
paadaavanejanaat Anyat kusala samprasnaat na cha icchati
Janaardana:?
Talking of
vessels, it is customary to maintain at least three sets of vessels in the
household?one meant for the Lord?s tiruvaaraadhanam, one intended for use
in Pitru kaaryam like Shraaddham, Tarpanam etc. and the third
set meant for our own use. Ideally, these different sets of vessels should not
be mixed up and vessels intended for use by one class should not be interchanged
with the others. And where there are two or three males in the house, each
should have his own ?Teerttha
paatram? for performing Sandhyavandanam, etc. And according to Manu, vessels
made of bamboo or clay are fit for use by Sanyasis. Sri Mahabharata
asks an interesting question. How would you carry an open vessel brimming over
with oil? You would be extremely careful in holding the vessel in your two
hands, walking gently and with care, all your concentration focussed on carrying
the container safely, without spilling oil. This would leave you little thought
to spare for other matters. The Lord asked
Naarada Maharshi to do exactly this?to go round the world carrying a vessel full
of oil held in his hands. And on the Maharshi?s return, the Lord asked him how
many times thoughts of Emperuman had crossed his mind during the endeavour.
Narada laughed and said, ?Are you joking? With a full vessel of oil in my hands,
all I could do was to concentrate on carrying the same safely. I can?t very well
keep thinking about you, with such an onerous task entrusted to me.? The Lord
too laughed in turn and told Narada that if people of the mundane world
remembered Him even once during their day of toil, it would be equal to Narada?s
normally constant thoughts of the divine. The point of the
story is that the Lord recognises the lives of tears and toil that we are forced
to lead due to our accumulated baggage of Karma and makes due allowances
therefor, in reckoning our sincerity and devotion to Him. He recognises the fact
that we are only ?part-time? devotees and refrains from comparing us
unfavourably with ?full-time? ones like Azhwars and
Maharshis. Which would you
say is the biggest vessel? A cauldron, the biggest you have seen? No, it is the
Earth which is the biggest ever vessel, says the Yaksha Prasna of Sri Mahabharata, for
Mother Earth contains everything within Herself. The other day I
was watching a craftsman in a vessel store etch the name of the customer on the
vessel she had bought. Such branding of vessels is essentially intended to
identify its owner, in case of a mix-up. I realised with a start that the
practice was very much similar to Samaashrayanam, which involves the
branding of the devotee?s shoulders with imprints of the Shankha and Chakra. And
just as the initials of the owner are etched on the vessels to indicate
ownership, the branding with the Lord?s insignia is also supposed to indicate
that we belong to the Lord and to none else, that just as vessels are for use
according to the owner?s whims and preferences, we too are abject Seshas or
slaves, to be used by the Lord according to His
wishes. Let me conclude
this piece with an interesting titbit?do you know which famous Rishi had his
origins in a pot? Extremely short in stature but tall in glory, an admirer of
Sri Rama whom the Prince of Ayodhya visited at Dandakaavanam and from whom He
received the Vishnu Dhanus and other divine weapons, one who drank up the entire
waters of the ocean, one who destroyed the rakshasas Vaataapi and Ilvala, one
who is held in high regard both by Saivites and Vaishnavites and one who is
closely identified with Tamizh? This Maharshi, whom Sri Rama Himself addresses
as ?Bhagavan!?, is none other than Sage Agasthya, who is also known as ?Kumbha
Sambhava:?, ?Kumbhee soonu:?, due to his having originated from a ?Kumbham?
(pot). So, Pots are not
as insignificant and inconsequential as they appear to be, are
they? Srimate Sri
LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra
Mahadesikaya nama: dasan,
sadagopan Azhvar EmberumAnAr JeeyAr ThiruvadigalE Saranam http://www.vedics.net
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