The bilvadalam

[Guest guest]

This being the week when we celebrated Shivratri, I would like to share what I

have read about the significance of offering the bilvadalam to Lord Shiva. In

the ShreeSooktham there is a prayer

 

" Aadityaa-varne Tapaso-dhijaato Vanaspatis-tava-vrukshotha-bilva " --

 

" Mother -- who is radiant as the sun -- the bilva tree was the result of Your

penance. May the fruits of this tree banish the darkness within (the ignorance

inside my heart) and the poverty and despair without (in my outer life) " .

 

It is said that Shree Laksmi Devi planted/created the bilva tree and performed

penance under this tree. The leaf of this tree " the bilva-dal " is offered to

Lord Shiva. The bilva dalam has three parts. By offering this to God, Man is

asking for the threefold blessing of -Aatmalakshmi, Dnyan-Lakshmi, and

Artha-Lakshmi. In return Man also assures God that 'I will dedicate the three

stages of my life - " Kaumaaram, Yauvanam, Jaraa (childhood, youth, and old age)

to you'. And how do I do that? The Gita suggests the ways of Dnyan, Bhakti, and

Karma. But at the most basic level, what Man can do is eliminate the three

Tamasic vruttis from his life i.e. 1) the clinging to pleasure which leads to

error and heedlessness of the higher ideals, 2) laziness or indolence and 3)

sleep. Bhagavan Krishna talks abt these Tamasic vruttis in the Gita (14.8).

 

Everytime we take the Bilvadal in our hand it would do good for us to pause and

think for a second abt the significance of what we are doing before we place it

on the lingam of Lord Shiva.

Om Namo Narayanaya!

 

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This explanation is based on Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale's discourses on the

SheeSooktham. For more background on Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale please

checkout the website http://swadhyay.org/swadhyay.htm