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RevitalisingRevitalising thethe SacredSacred

n Neera Misra

masterpiece titled Pārvatī years’ disconnection of our peo- ’s most excavated at Pañcāla Desha ple with our original textual sacred river maa (Ahichchhatra) during the 1940 knowledge interpretations has led Ganga is excavation, and now a prestigious to much misperceptions about display at National Museum, New our celebrated personalities of entangled Delhi. It has some unique fea- the past, especially Sri in a conflict tures: (a) Half moon indicating and Draupadī. There is, howev- 'Chandravanshi' lineage from er, a very intriguing relationship between A King Drupada, (b) Third eye of between Gangā Pārvatī and spiritual and Śiva, (c) Exquisite hairstyle Draupadī that helps put things in (showing Draupadī’s love for proper perspective. material, as we her hair). The book Kampilyamahatmya humans have simplified by Datta Gangā Pārvatī and draupadī Sharma* explains that Draupadī forgotten the Draupadī is generally known as is the reincarnation of mother sacred value the heroine of the Epic Pārvatī. Śiva predicted , the ‘’ of the and blessed Pārvatī to be born as and its ‘Greater ’ during the time the daughter of King Drupada of spiritual of the . She was Pañcāla. symbol in this the illustrious daughter of King Drupada of Pañcāla, who married Śiva curses Gangā & Pārvatī materialistic the Pandav prince of Vaisampayan said: ‘O king, world Hastinapura. Over a thousand once Śiva ji cursed Pārvatī;

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GANGA AND SPIRITUALITY

A discord had developed between Pārvatī and Gangā tual connect with our past, our nature and especially and Śiva faced continuous wrangling. Śiva tried to stop mother Gangā that is our savior from birth to death. this, but his words were not respected and so Śiva cast When our ’s and Shakaracharya’s developed a spell on them, to ‘go from the Devloka to the the ‘Chardham’ or ‘Tirath Yatras’, the basic concept was manushyaloka’. Gangā will be the wife of king Shantanu to make us humans keep connectivity with nature, to and Pārvatī will be the daughter of King Drupada’. Being meditate in a place of peaceful pristine energy, to intro- upset at this they pleaded with Śiva “… May our hus- spect and value human life. They had experienced the band be like you.” divinity in man and nature. Blending the physical and said: After the Swayamvara the metaphysical, the spiritual connect to provide ‘moksha’, Pandavas stayed for sometime at the wedding. It was which in effect means peace of mind, body and soul. then that Draupadī remembered Śiva and she decided Rituals were performed with natural ingredients, ‘Murtis’ to install Śivalinga of her heart’s desire. With the assent were made of mud, adorned with cotton fiber. There of her Pandavas she installed the lingam according to was no artificial plastic painted and synthetic material the vedic lore, on the south bank of the Gangā and at the then. Today tirath yatra’, for majority is no spiritual northern side of Kampilpura. quest. Today people don’t carry homemade food or eat It became known by the name of Kalesvara.“O local ‘natural fresh’ food. They eat multi variety ‘plastic’ Pārvatī, you will reside in secret in the country of packed food and water, leaving behind tones of waste Pañcāla, in the town of Kāmpilya, with the name of material at our sacred places. Kāmpilya vasini. There the Munis will perform a fire sac- Seers envisioned for a clean mother earth and struc- rifice”. In the third era called Dwapara yuga, there will be tured a ritual where material remains of ashes and a king of the Chandravansha, lunar dynasty. In order to bones were immersed in flowing waters. But the have children he will perform a yajña on the right bank of patronage for Culture and Spiritual practices that the Gangā. ancient Kings gave for healthy and moral social engi- You will be called Kra, , and Draupadī. Then I neering of society started vanishing over thousand will be the son of king Pandu, . In his heart there years ago. The priesthood had to survive on commer- will be my third eye. He will be your husband”. (Kāmpilya cial terms too, which led to denigration of values and Māhātmya - Chapter 5 page 46 concepts of man nature cultural verses 23-31). connect. The relationship between Śiva, WHAT WENT WRONG When the ‘atman’ leaves the Pārvatī, Gangā, and Draupadī is re- WITH GANGA? WE body it mingles with ‘paramatman’. lived in another generation, the his- When the soul leaves the body, the torical time known to us as Dvapara MISUNDERSTAND material being, too should not of Bharatiya ‘ itihaskaras’. Itihasa DRAUPADI, WE remain on mother earth and must means ‘as it happened or as experi- mingle with respect into the envi- enced’. Pañcāla Kingdom was the MISUNDERSTAND MAA ronment sources. Thus developed cradle of deep research and GANGA, TAKING THIS the vision of Sagara and we have and ancient texts that GODDESS OF OUR LIFE the Gangā Avataran, bringing god- explained the philosophy and sci- dess from heavenly rains to purify ence of Vedic visionaries. A very sig- AND CULTURE TO BE earth, wash away our material nificant trait of scholars of Pañcāla MERE RIVER FOR OUR remains, and give salvation. Śiva was the continuous debate and res- blessed Bhagirath and had to also olution of conflicts between material- SELFISH USE. sacrifice by sending down ism and spiritualism that affected WE HAVE LOST THE to ‘earth’ or plains. The penance humanity in every sphere of life. and sacrifice of our visionary Gangā is now also entangled in CULTURAL AND ancestors gave us Maa Ganga. the spiritual and material conflict. It SPIRITUAL CONNECT Society has reached a critical is our responsibility to ensure that point and another ‘Bhagirathi Gangā is with us as a healthy and WITH OUR PAST, OUR prayas’ is needed for sustaining Maa pure living source of divine power. NATURE AND Gangā, the trees and mountains, to What went wrong with Gangā? Just ensure clean and healthy life. While we misunderstand Draupadi, we ESPECIALLY MOTHER the physical cleaning of Ganga hap- misunderstand Maa Gangā, taking GANGA THAT IS OUR pens, the spiritual cleaning of hearts this Goddess of our life and culture SAVIOR FROM and minds is essential to keep Maa to be mere river for our selfish use. Gangā pure and healthy. We have lost the cultural and spiri- BIRTH TO DEATH (The writer is founder of Draupadi Dream Trust)

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