Tuesday, a confluence of divine energy

As more number of people chase material goals, their quest for inner peace and harmony has gone up proportionally. 

I am asked for advice on whether a particular day in a week is known to help them establish a positive inner connect between faith and a healthy life. We are ready to go the extra mile to find that harmonious blend. 

After worrying over money, today the second most important goal for most of us is good health and mental peace. We all want to perform better, live in better homes and sleep peacefully. While every day is a good day, some days are held special by many. Tuesdays are in fact considered to be special from time immemorial. The day is equated with Mars, the Greek god of war, while in Norse mythology it is believed that Tuesday stands for a day of single combat. In the Far Eastern cultures of Japan and Korea, the day is said to signify ‘fire day’. 

Closer home, it is held that the lord of the earth is Tuesday, also referred to as ángarakan and is considered to be the life blood of terra firma. The day signifies ground, heat and fire.  Hence, Tuesday is considered an auspicious day for sowing and any other agrarian activity. If it isTuesday it is a very good day for undertaking property registration and related deeds. 

However, since it held to be a day of ferocious power, many families prefer not to hold weddings on a Tuesday, preferring instead, to conduct it on Wednesday. Interestingly, women undertake fasts on Tuesday or light a lemon lamp on this day during rahu kalam seeking Durga’s divine grace in their quest for a groom. 

Durga, or Sri Sakthi is the go-to deity 

She is the only one who can balance out the all-fiery combo-power of angarakan and rahu, and take the sting out of their ugram. Their combined power is akin to what modern writers refer to as the clash of two alpha males. Durga appears as the calming influence, as well as the one who helps things move forward towards a successful and harmonious resolution. 

This is the reason for many women observing the Tuesday puja during rahu kalam. During that hour, they propitiate Durga with fervour and belief, while they chant their prayers and light a lamp made of fresh lemon. It is the popular belief that if you observe this practice for six Tuesdays at a stretch, your wishes would come true. Women, particularly those wishing to get married are known to follow this regimen. The Durga temple in Mangadu has the reputation of attracting women devotees who want to be blessed with a child. Before they visit Mangadu, they observe a fast, and light a lemon lamp, every Tuesday, for six weeks. 

This year’s Navarathri is special as Vijayadasami falls on a Tuesday. Vijayadasami is the day considered to be a highly auspicious day for em barking on any quest — be it knowledge, art, money or simply, inner peace. 

Tuesdays are also associated with Murugan, whose birth star is Visakam, a celebrated star. Like angarakan, Mururgan is identified with all earthy things. A number of men propitiate Murugan on Tuesdays. The other powerful deity associated with Tuesdays is Nrisimha, who assumed the shape of half-lion, half-man in order to subdue the ego of Hrinyakashyap by tearing into him and bathing his hand in Hrinyakashyap’s blood. 

Praying to Nrisimha helps one to be at peace with oneself. 

Thus Tuesday is a confluence of a divine energy — Durga, angarkan, Murugan and Nrisimhan. During Navarathri, the divine energy is said to be all-pervading, culminating in knowledge-quest, which is necessary for humanity to progress on all fronts. 

Navarathri is one of the oldest practices to have survived the test of time. In recent history, Vijayanagaram and Mysuru dynasties are credited with helping the festival flourish. Successive rulers from those kingdoms were keen patrons of art and culture. When they were not occupied with war, they turned their  attention to improve agriculture, the economy and took interest  in art and culture. Tradesmen and managed to survive during peace times, and agricultural activity resumed when men returned from war. 

Navarathri was and continues to also be an economic activity. Economists stress upon the need for circulation of money to prevent stagnation. During the ten-day (Dussera) festival, people purchase clothes, ornaments, dolls, seek out our homegrown grains and lentils. 

In later years, Navarathri has also morphed into a social science kit for those bringing up children. In the absence of Google and Wikipedia, parents had to come up with interesting ways to impart knowledge as well as moral and cultural values. The idea behind the nine steps of doll display is to challenge the creative bent of mind in one to line up dolls and figurines, each with a tale to tell. If the display is an expression of artistry, the mathematical precision with which they are aligned and the geometric patterns of kolams is a sign that left and right side of the brain need to be aligned and balanced.