Fw: Maangalya DhaaraNam - part-8

February 25, 2009

SrI:

Respected swamin,

I am sorry to have made the posts quite lengthy and boring too!

I wanted to write only 8 posts - 8 signifying maangalya sthaan.

That is why I squeezed the ideas.

About the sutra, the sacred thread - as far as I know there is no

stipulation of it in any texts - both in dharma sastras or jyothisha

texts. For PooNul there are stipulations. There are stipulations

on every kind of act in upanayana and in Choulam including how much to

pay and what to pay to the barber.

But there is no information on how to make thaali, the sacred thread.

This itself speaks about its later origin.

I have attached a photo of how the sacred threads are made in a place near Coimbatore.

It is a cottage industry in Tamilnadu!

But the golden Thirumangalyam is made at auspicious times.

In those days, elders used to fix the time for melting the gold for

thirumangalyam. The gold smith would be directed to follow that time.

Usually the mrudhu, laghu and chara nakshathra days are chosen. The

lagna will be of the benefics. Emphasis is on ashtama suddhi. The

maraka sthaan for both oneself and spouse must be devoid of malefics.

That is, the 2nd and 8th signs from lagna for melting gold must be free

of afflcition. Nowadays this is seen only in rural areas where people

buy from gold smiths.

About " vizhai " in PurananUru - the reference in that verse is to the

jewels of the queen of Aai Andiran who ruled the places near Pothigai

hills. This king was a VeLir whose antecedents are traced to the group

of people brought by sage Agasthya from Dwaraka soon after the deluge.

There are quite a few verses on this king in PurananUru. The 'vizhai

aNi' must be about some jewels which were dear to his queen - which

could not be removed by her. This is interpreted as something acquired

or worn at the time of marriage.

The golden amulets or some beads as amulets are there in most

communities in India. It was prevalent among vaishyas for the obvious

reason of protection from enemies in trade. The black beads are there

in some communities. I collected the information about this as found in

many communities but did not write about them in the posts. The common

thread found is that the custom of presenting some jewelery as bridal jewelery is there for long. The differences are however regional and

familial. There is no scriptural authentication for this. This exists

as a custom.

- jayasree saranathan

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On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 7:27 PM, Dr.V.Sadagopan <yennappan wrote:

- srinivasan sowmianarayanan

Oppiliappan

Sunday, February 22, 2009 9:30 PM

Re: Maangalya DhaaraNam - part-8

Respectful Madam, This posting is very exhaustive and it is difficult to read it at one go and digest. It speaks of your capability.

About the mangala sootra, there are some doubts:

The Sootra is prepared with how many threads? Is it three?

Was the thread made up of cotton thread originally?

Why the golden amulets are strung in the Sootra in accordance with the tradition of each family? Is it ordained in Sastras?

You have broughtout the Tamil expression- " Vizhai " from Purananooru. That is excellent. I went through different dictionaries and found among various meanings, one is striking: It is indicative of the woman who wears this thread around her neck is already a consort of a man. I don't want to use the exact words for decency .

I could only go through fast to complete this posting because of keenness. I shall go through it leasurely, to enrich my knowledge.

Thank you for educating us, you must be an incarnation of Sarasvati.

Regards,

Srinivasan