RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF KARTIK
If the every-day calendar year is taken as beginning in January and ending in December, we can consider the Kartik Snaan festival on the full moon day of the month of Kartik as the last major religious festival of the year.
The entire month of Kartik is regarded as auspicious – with Kartik New Moon celebrated as Divali and Kartik Full Moon as a special day of prayer and purification with ceremonial bath in the holy waters of the Ganga.
Kartik Full Moon is sometimes referred to as Dev Divali, being the day in which the Devatas celebrated Divali after being freed from the tyranny of Rakshasas like Tripurasur and Tarakasur.
WHY ARE THE RIVERS REGARDED AS DEITIES
Many great civilizations in history flourished on the banks of great rivers, and it was the same in India. It is easy to see how the ancient communities depend on the rivers for sustenance. Water for washing, cooking, irrigation, transport and disposal of waste made life in the communities possible. Even in death, the river bank was the location for cremation as disposal of the ashes and mortal remains of the deceased was easily done through the river. Therefore it is logical that rivers were considered Deities.
ORIGIN OF THE GANGA
The Ganges (Ganga Maa) has been considered one of the holiest rivers in Indian civilization since ancient times. Its origin is at the feet of Lord Vishnu in Vaikunta, she flows to the earth through the hair of Lord Shiva, and meanders across the land until her meeting with the sea in the bay of Bengal.
A king of India named Sagar, an ancestor of Sri Raam, was having an Aswamedha yagya. In this ceremony a horse was let loose and was followed by the king’s army. If any local rulers challenged the authority of the king they would capture the horse and so declare their intention to fight the king’s army. If the horse was left free to roam throughout the kingdom, then the king knew he had the support of all the divisions of the kingdom.
Indr deva stole the horse and hid it in the ashram of Kapil Muni. The king’s army, made up of 60,000 sons of Sargar, mistakenly assumed that Kapil Muni was responsible and they challenged the sage to a battle. They were no match for the sage, who destroyed them all in an instant with his spiritual might. When Kapil Muni was asked how these men who had died by his hand could find peace in the afterlife, he replied that if the holy waters from heaven would wash over their mortal remains they would find salvation.
Bhagirathi, a descendent of King Sagar, did tapasya to Lord Vishnu for Ganga to descend on the earth, and also prayed to Lord Shiva to cushion the force of the water so it could flow gently to the earth from his head as a holy river. In this way Ganga Maa flowed over the ashes and bones of the 60,000 deceased ancestors of Bhagirathi and so liberated them. Ever since, Ganga Maa is consider a symbol of purity on earth and capable of washing away sins of the devoted.
HOLINESS OF KARTIK MONTH
The Hindu month of Kartik (mid Oct./mid Nov) is considered to be one of the holiest of Hindu months. Besides the celebration of Divali and the Snaan (bathing) festival on full moon day, the entire month is dedicated to prayer of various kinds.
The harsh monsoon rains are over, the flooded rivers have subsided and it is safe to bathe and frolic in them once again.The water is cool and refreshing. So a daily bath in the water conditions the body for the coming cold of the winter season. The moonlight of the autumn nights is especially pleasing and auspicious. It is said that the rivers and ocean absorbs the spiritual power of the moonlight and blesses the bathers as they dip themselves in the water during this period.
RELATION OF KARTIK WITH LORD SHIVA – After the destruction of Tripurasur, Lord Shiv bathed in the ocean during Kartik and did tapasya on the shore to atone for the necessary task of removing these three rakshasas from the world. Similarly Karttikeya also destroyed Tarakasur at this time. RELATION OF KARTIK WITH LORD VISHNU – Lord Vishnu’s Matsya avatar took place at this time to rescue the Vedas from captivity at the hands of Rakshasas. RELATION OF KARTIK WITH LORD KRISHNA – Lord Krishna performed Damodar Lila in this month when he was being mischievous as a child and had to be tied up to a mortar by Mother Yashoda.
WHY IS THE KARTIK SNAAN AUSPICIOUS.
The entire month is dedicated to Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva. Bath in the holy river is considered auspicious throughout the month. However the day of full moon is considered especially holy. In the Puranas, when Lord Ganesh won the contest between him and Kartikeya by doing pradakshina around his parents rather than going around the world, Kartikeya was encouraged by Narad Muni to leave Kailash forever. He journeyed to South India, never to return. Lord Shiva and Parvati Devi visit their son once a year. Lord Shiva sees him on new moon day and Parvati Devi sees him on Full Moon day.
After her long journey to visit Kartikeya, she took bath in the waters outside the ashram. The refreshing nature of the water, coupled with the joy of seeing her son, caused her to bless all rivers and oceans on the face of the earth with the spiritual power of Ganga Maa on that day, which was Kartik Full Moon. This makes puja, prayers and bath at the rivers and oceans on this day very auspicious.
MAKING KARTIK SNAAN RELEVANT TO EVERYDAY RELIGIOUS PRACTICE
It is common Hindu practice to ask for blessing of holy water each and every day at bath time regardless or whether it is Kartik or not. A simple prayer invoking the waters of the seven holy rivers to bless and purify us can be used in our daily routine.
GANGE CHA YAMUNA CHAIWA
GODAVARI SARASWATI
NARMADE SINDHU KAVERI
JALESMIN SANIDHIM KURU
It means “I pray to Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, the seven holy rivers of the land to purify this water and so bless me”. May this holy occasion of Kartik Snaan bring peace and blessing to us all.