Today, 17th July 2016 marks the birth of
Tamil month of ‘Aadi’ ~ it is not simply any other masapirappu, but special as
today is Dakshinayana Punyakalam.
A few days ago, on 20th June as
the Sun sank beneath the horizon, it was the longest day of the year and media
reported that for the first time since
1967 the summer solstice coincided with a rare ‘strawberry’ moon. Don’t get carried away by the fancy name - moon
will not appear pink or red, although it may glow a warm amber. Away in North America June’s full moon signals the
beginning of the strawberry picking season.
A
solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year (in June and
December) as the Sun reaches its highest or lowest excursion relative to the
celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Astronomy has been important to
people for thousands of years ~ our greatest epic Mahabaratha has references to
seasons, eclipses and astronomical events, perfectly recorded. Finding out time and predicting things by
referring to astronomy is strongly inculcated in Hindu culture. In all our rituals, we do ‘sankalpam’ ~ a
formal statement of intent chanted loud designating the occurrence, its timing and its
purpose. Now it is Kali Yuga and in all
sankalps contain the place ‘ Bharatha varshe Bharata kande, Kali yug and ‘ ayana ’ – may not require any greater
detail, as we all know that each year is divided into two halves, known as
ayana. The six month period—either Uttarayana or
Dakshinayana.
Today
marks the beginning of Dakshinayana punya kalak. The angular distance of a heavenly body from
the celestial equator will be either negative if the planet is above the
northern hemisphere, or positive, in case the planet is above the southern
hemisphere. This is also commonly known as a declination or Ayana. Dakshinayana is the six-month period between Summer
solstice and Winter solstice, when the sun travels towards the South on the
celestial sphere.
All
these may sound too confusing for intelligent persons .. .. Sriman Naryana in
His vamana avatar accepted gift of land, then grew in such gigantic proportions
that His crown ripped through the space and extended beyond the Universe – we,
the followers of Sriman Narayana knew His exploits too well and always look at
His Lotus feet and there is nothing for us to think of or worry about other
than our Saviour ~ the most benevolent Sriman Narayana. Sri Peyalwar says :
படிவட்டத்தாமரை
பண்டுலகம் நீரேற்று,
அடிவட்டத்தால்
அளப்ப நீண்ட - முடிவட்டம்,
ஆகாய
மூடறுத்து அண்டம்போய் நீண்டதே,
மாகாயமாய் நின்றமாற்கு.
Here are some photos of Sri Parthasarathi Perumal on the
occasion of Dakshinayana punyakala purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni.
Adiyen
Srinivasadhasan.
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