Dakshinaya Punniyakalam - Aani masapiravesam 2024

Four Athenians run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry.   

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers.  It is one of Shakespeare's most popular and widely performed plays.  The play’s many role-reversals and changes in appearance are thematically tied to the solstice.

 

Today,  16^th July 2024  marks the birth of Tamil month of ‘Aadi’ ~ it is not simply any other masapirappu, but special as today is Dakshinayana Punyakalam.    In Hindu almanac, ayanam marks the 6 month period – there is Utharayanam and Dakshinayanam describing the movement of Sun to the Summer and winter.  Today’s masa pravesam marks the birth of Aadi masam and the start of Dakshinayanam. 

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.   A solstice is an event in which a planet’s poles are most extremely inclined toward or away from the star it orbits.  On our planet, solstices are defined by solar declination—the latitude of Earth where the sun is directly overhead at noon. On Earth, solstices are twice-yearly phenomena in which solar declination reaches the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south. During the June solstice (marked between June 20 and June 22), solar declination is about 23.5°N (the Tropic of Cancer).

 

thiruvabaranam worn by Ubaya Nachimar

Solstices and shifting solar declinations are a result of Earth’s 23.5° axial tilt as it orbits the sun. Throughout the year, this means that either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and receives the maximum intensity of the sun’s rays. (The only times of the year when the intensity of the sun’s rays is not unequal are the appropriately named equinoxes. Sometimes, solstices are nicknamed the “summer solstice” and the “winter solstice,” although these have different dates in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, meaning it experiences the maximum intensity of the sun’s rays and has the most hours of sunlight. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and has the fewest hours of daylight. 

Solstices now mark the beginning of winter and summer, but because some ancient cultures only recognized these two seasons (there was no autumn or spring), the solstices occurred in the middle of the season. Solstices are known as midwinter and midsummer for this reason. Since ancient times, many cultures have marked the solstices with holidays and festivals. 

Perhaps the most famous midwinter celebration is the Saturnalia of Ancient Rome. Saturnalia was celebrated the weeks leading up to the actual solstice. Saturnalia was a wild carnival, as well as a time to mark the passing of the seasons. During Saturnalia festivities, Romans enjoyed banquets, gambling, jokes, gifts, and a tradition of usurping strict social structures. At Saturnalia feasts, masters may have served their slaves, and a “King of Saturnalia” could be appointed to manage merrymaking—decreeing that guests must jump in a river or wear outrageous costumes, for instance.  In Finland, midsummer (Juhannus) celebrations include bonfires, saunas, and barbeques. Due to Finland’s proximity to the Arctic, the summer solstice itself can have very little darkness. This makes midsummer in Scandinavia an ideal time for weeklong outdoor music festivals and family vacations.  In Ancient Egypt, the summer solstice signaled the beginning of the new year. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, appeared soon after the summer solstice. Egyptian astronomers associated the annual appearance of Sirius with the seasonal flooding of the Nile River, which the civilization depended on for agriculture.  Due to its association with fertility and abundance, midsummer is often associated with romance and marriage. 

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 kalam.  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 : 

கழல்தொழுதும் வாநெஞ்சே, கார்க்கடல்நீர் வேலை,

பொழிலளந்த புள்ளூர்திச் செல்வன், - எழிலளந்தங்கு

எண்ணற்கரியானை எப்பொருட்கும் சேயானை,

நண்ணற்கரியானை நாம். 

எம்பெருமான் ஸ்ரீமன்நாராயணன்  - பரந்து விரிந்திருக்கும் கடல் சூழ்ந்த உலகங்களையெல்லாம் அளந்தவன்; அற்புத பெருமிதத்துக்கொப்ப  பெரிய திருவடியை வாஹநமாகக் கொண்டிருப்பவன்;  அளவிட முடியாத எல்லா  ஐச்வரியமும்  மிக்கவன்;  வடிவிலும் குணநலனும் இவ்வளவென்று  அளவிட்டு, நெஞ்சால் கருதி பார்க்கவும் முடியாதபடி அழகு விஞ்சியிருப்பன்;  புலவர்கள் தண்மதி என்றும் வேறு பலவெனவும்,  எந்த வஸ்துவோடும் ஒப்பிட்டுச் சொல்லவொண்ணாதபடி எல்லா வஸ்துக்களுக்கும் அப்பாற்ப்பட்ட வைலக்ஷண்யத்தையுடையவன்;   இவ்வளவு அருமைகள் அனைத்தும் உடையவனாக  பரமபுருஷனுடைய திருவடிகளைத் தொழுவோம், வா நெஞ்சமே! என்றாராயிற்று. 

At Thiruvallikkeni Sri Parthasarathi rightly the One who is Matchless and has no comparisons – had siriya  mada veethi purappadu.  The photos would describe better the beauty of Emperuman that made the garland and ornaments look more beautiful

 
adiyen Srinivasadhasan.
Mamandur Veervalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
16.7.2024