| Vishwakarma Puja | |
The month of September brings with it an essence of the forthcoming festivities. The pleasant weather of early autumn, with cloud scattered across the sky looks more colourful with the numerous kites floating side by side on this festive day. The festival of the God of Architecture and engineering, Biswakarma, is celebrated in September by industrial houses, artists, craftsmen, and weavers. According to mythology it is he who created the entire universe as well as the heaven and the earth. Bishwakarma is also credited for creating the missiles used in the mythological era, including the Vajra the sacred weapon of Lord Indra, from the bones of sage Dadhichi. He is regarded as the supreme worker, the very essence of excellence and quality in craftsmanship. |
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The Mahabharata describes him as "The lord of the arts, executor of a thousand handicrafts, the most eminent of artisans, the fashioner of all ornaments ... and a great and immortal god..." He has four hands, wears a crown, loads of gold jewelry, and holds a water-pot, a book, a noose and craftsman's tools in his hands. Vishwabrahmins are descended from five sons of lord Vishwakarma. They are Manu (blacksmith), Maya (carpenter), Thwastha (metal craftsman), Silpi (stone-carver) & Vishvajnya (goldsmith). Bishwakarma revealed the sciences of industry to man and is thus the patron god of all the workers and engineers providing them with courage and inspiration. All over the country factories, workshops and manufacturing units are in festive mood. Shop spaces are cleared to make way for the deity. The Lord on the back of his appurtenance (bahana), the elephant, holds in his four hands, a water-pot, the Vedas, a noose and craftsman's tools. Viswakarma is said to have built the town of Hastinapur, the capital of Kauravas and Pandavas, the warring families of the Mahabharata. After winning the battle of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna installed Dharmaraj Yudhisthir as the ruler of Hastinapur. This is a local legend not borne out by mahabharata. Indraprastha Viswakarma also built the town of Indraprastha for the Pandavas. In Mahabharata, the creator is Maya, the other divine architect. The Mahabharata has it that King Dhritrashtra offered a piece of land called 'Khaandavprastha' to the Pandavas for living. Yudhishtir obeyed his uncle's order and went to live in Khaandavprastha with the Pandava brothers. Later, Lord Krishna invited Viswakarma to build a capital for the Pandavas on this land, which he renamed 'Indraprastha'. Legends tell us about the architectural marvel and beauty of Indraprastha. Floors of the palace were so well done that they had a reflection like that of water, and the pools and ponds inside the palace gave the illusion of a flat surface with no water in them. After the palace was built, the Pandavas invited the Kauravas, and Duryodhan and his brothers went to visit Indraprastha. Not knowing the wonders of the palace, Duryodhan was flummoxed by the floors and the pools, and fell into one of the ponds. The maids of the Pandava wife Draupadi, who witnessed this scene, had a good laugh! This insult from the maids of Draupadi annoyed Duryodhan so much that later on it became a major cause for the great war of Kurukshetra described in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. Viswakarma in Tamilnadu : In Tamilnadu, Viswakarmas are called in different names - Kammalar ,Viswakarma, Viswakarmala (Viswakarma, Viswarkarmala (including Thattar, Porkollar, Kannar, Karumar, Kollar, Thacher, Kal Thacher, Kamsala and Viswabrahmin. In addition, their names are varied from region to region. In Thanjavur area, Viswakarmas are being called as Paththar. In South, they are being called as AAsari. In South, under porkollar division, some sub section also there. Viswakarma Manattu Vahuppu is one among them. It is further subdivided into different subsects based on their worshipping the family god. The families who worship the same family God, needed not marry the girl or boy within the group worshipping the same family god because the entire group is treated as brothers. They worship their family god either during Mahasivarathiri day or Panguni uthiram day or Chithirai Month 18th day. On the Vishwakarma Puja, the rituals are followed by the distribution of "prasad". The yearly feast is cooked, where the workmen and the owners lunch together. Throughout the day colourful kites are flown. The sky fills up with all shades and colours. Chadials, Mombattis, Chowrangees, Petkattas, Mayurpankhis, Baggas fly high to establish the skills of the fliers. The sky becomes a war zone with the discarded kites dropping every now and then with the cry of "Bho-Kattaaa" from the distant roofs or parks. Vishwakarma puja is an inspiration for many to create new products and increase productivity for the working class. The workers at many places make resolutions to perform better from this auspicious day. For organising Vishwakarma Pooja in your premises - Please CONTACT US |
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