Last month, I made the community familiar with one of the unique festival of India, where the women keep a day long fasting and then worship Banyan tree seeking blessing for long life of their husband. Here you can get the details to refresh the old memory
There is always some story that goes around any of the Hindu festival. And vat Puja is not left behind which revolves around the story of Savitri & Sathyvan. The story has been recited since the Mahabharata and marks as a story of conjugal love conquering death.
Savitri & Satyavan
Savitri was the daughter of a great powerful king. As Savitri grew young, like tale of every father the king also started to look out for a suitable match. However, Savitri wanted to marry someone of her choice. In search for her match she fell in love with the son Satyavan of a dwelt king who lost everything and living a poor life in a hut inside a forest during their bad days.
They both decided to marry. Quite unhappy with her daughter choice of penniless boy, the king consulted the royal saint about the match. The saint annonces that the boy has been cursed and doomed to die after one year of marriage. Hearing the so called bad match the king asked her daughter to reconsider the groom choice but she refuses and stick upon her own choice.
Finally, with a heavy art, the king agreed for the marriage. He made a royal arrangement for the wedding. After the wedding both Savitri and Satyavan went back to forest to live theeir normal life. Both of them lives a happy life. On the last day of completing their one year. Savitri requested Satyavan to take her too to his work. They went to jungle and Satyavan made Savitri to seat under a Banyan tree and start cutting the woods. In a little while, he felt uneasy and colapsses on the ground.
Savitri, saw a Yama, who came to take Satyavan soul. With strong determination, she started requesting Yama, to leave her husband , on which Yama replied that the the time period of Satyavan has completed and that he can't do anything. Seeing no chance to getting back Savitri asked for a wish from Yama which was happily granted. She asked to have a baby from her husband. Hearing the unusual wish Yama has not with any choice but to give away Satyavan soul.
This is how the story goes by in hindu culture. Since then,the day has been celebrated as Vat Puja, which is resembling the Banyan tree under which Savitri got back her husband from Yama.
The story does give some deep insight on the symbolic vedic cycle.
Satyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of being within itself but descended into the grip of death and ignorance;Savitri is the Divine Word, daughter of the Sun, goddess of the supreme Truth who comes down and is born to save;Aswapati, the Lord of the Horse, her human father, is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes;Dyumatsena, Lord of the Shining Hosts, father of Satyavan, is the Divine Mind here fallen blind, losing its celestial kingdom of vision, and through that loss its kingdom of glory.Still this is not a mere allegory, the characters are not personified qualities, but incarnations or emanations of living and conscious Forces with whom we can enter into concrete touch and they take human bodies in order to help man and show him the way from his mortal state to a divine consciousness and immortal life."
Well, my main motto of sharing this story is to make people know some insight into Indian culture. The way the story gives a footprints of humans behaviour and character does implies that we aall are part of Vedic cycle and everyone needs to perform certain duty.
Thanks & Namaste
