Siva's Displeasure? Or Devi's? [was Kamakhya Temple, Assam]

[Guest guest]

Namaste Kalipadma:

 

Some members may not be aware of the unusal nature of the Kamakhya

Temple. It is one of the few Hindu temples which do not have a

murthi (i.e. an anthropomorphic statue; or, in the case of Siva, a

lingam) of the presiding deity. According to the old Sti legend, it

is the seat of the goddess's Yoni.

 

and indeed, the temple's sanctum sanctorum is a cave in which a

natural cleft in the rock resembles a Yoni. The temple was built

around it. This Yoni is always moist from a sacred underground

spring that runs through the cave. Amazingly, once a year (around

the time of the autumnal equinox), the spring waters naturally turn

red. Some geologists have attributed this to iron oxide deposits in

the rock, which are released due to seasonal effects during the

monsoon season. However, amount the devout, it is said that the

goddess' Yoni is menstruating.

 

It is said that this is when Devi attains her fertility to conceive

crops and otherwise renew the cycle of life on Earth. Only red

flowers, red vermillion, etc., are used in worshiping during this

time. Also, pieces of red cloth, soaked in the diety's menstrual

blood, are given to devotees as sacred symbols.

 

In recent years, I have heard reports that -- as part, I guess, of

the general climate changes occuring on Earth at this time,

Kamakhya's "menstrual cycle" has become unstable. I have heard that

the menstruation has failed once or twice in the last decade or so,

and has been last abundant and less predictable in other years.

 

And so when I read of the dying birds, I thought of the fate of the

temple, and the Earth, in general, if we allow either to "run dry,"

as appears somewhat likely, I fear. I thought of Devi's sadness

rather than Siva's displeasure. I thought of the birds as Devi's

bellwethers -- canaries in a coalmine, if you will -- warning us of

the fate that awaits those who neglect Her who provides them with

life and the means to live.

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe

 

 

, kalipadma@j... wrote:

>

> Are the pigeons cooked and eaten as <prasad> at the Kamakhya

Temple?

> (Sounds like a bad idea, if they're infected.)

>

> I recall reading that Lord Shiva once lost his temper when too

many of

> his devotees were asking for boons, and he turned them all into

pigeons.

> Ever since then, Shiva temples have purportedly attracted flocks of

> pigeons around them.

>

> What sort of omen can be interpreted from flocks of pigeons dying

around

> the Kamakhya Temple? Is Lord Shiva displeased? (As a Shakti

temple,

> what are all those pigeons doing there? I think Durga temples are

> supposed to attract monkeys -- Hanuman/ Langur Vir went into

service of

> Durga Devi after Lord Rama left his body.)

>

> --Len/ Kalipadma

>

>

> On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:29:31 -0000 "Devi Bhakta" <devi_bhakta>

> writes:

> >

> > GUWAHATI, India - 26 Feb 2004 07:33 (Reuters) - Hundreds of

pigeons

> > have died of a bacterial infection in an ancient temple in

northeast

> >

> > India in the past two weeks, but doctors have ruled out bird flu

as

> > the cause of their death.

> >

> > Bhola Nath Sarma, spokesman of the hilltop Kamakhya temple in

Assam,

> >

> > said around 1,500 of an estimated 5,000 pigeons had just dropped

> > their heads and died.

> >

> > "They just turn disoriented, drop their head and die. It's

getting

> > worse every day and we are afraid the disease might infect

> > visitors," Sarma said.

> >

> > Veterinary doctors who examined the birds said they were

suffering

> > from a common bacterial infection called septicaemia, which

could be

> >

> > cured with antibiotics.

> >

> > "These birds are not infected by the bird flu," Dr. Abdul Mukit

told

> >

> > Reuters on Thursday. "But they are flying all around the temple,

so

> > it is impossible to inject medicine on all."

> >

> > Tens of millions of chickens and other poultry have been

slaughtered

> >

> > in Thailand, Vietnam and China, three of the most severely

affected

> > Asian countries, as health authorities battle to stamp out the

virus

> >

> > which erupted in mid-December.

> >

> > Thousands of devotees visit the centuries-old stone temple to

> > sacrifice pigeons, goats and buffaloes and offer their blood to

the

> > goddess of strength for their wellbeing.

> >

> > Some just set animals and birds free within the shrine instead

of

> > killing them. The large population of pigeons is mostly donated

by

> > devotees.

> >

> > Two years ago, temple priests sacrificed several animals for

Nepal's

> >

> > King Gyanendra when he visited the temple to pray for the

wellbeing

> > of his family, provoking protests from animal rights activists.

> >

> >

http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp;:403dace9:a418cfb6b63b

> > 035?type=topNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4441794

> >

>

>

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