The Ubiquitous Umbrella

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya

nama:

 

 

 

The Ubiquitous Umbrella

 

 

For long, whenever a caricature is drawn of a Londoner, he has always been

picturised with a bowler hat on his head and an umbrella under his arm. He may

forget even his preferred breakfast of bacon and eggs in the morning, but not to

carry his umbrella, we are told. London weather is said to be so nasty that

precipitations occur frequently and without notice-- hence its residents'

attachment to the umbrella. We in India too like to carry an umbrella during the

monsoon season (which, alas, has become almost non-existent during the last

couple of years). And ladies prefer the umbrella during rain or shine, to

protect their lily-white complexions from the Sun. This applies especially to

Japanese ladies, whom you always find (at least in movies) sporting trendy

umbrellas in their hands-so much so that it appears to be as much a part of

Japanese traditional costume, as the Kimono. However, as you would have

observed, the umbrella appears to be on its way out during recent years,

replaced by Raincoats, Duck-back wear and such-like, which provide comprehensive

and body-length protection against a downpour. The younger generation perhaps

considers the umbrella unfashionable and prefers to cover itself with shiny

plastic, leather and vinyl, as its answer to rains. Before it becomes extinct,

let us capture a few glorious glimpses of the umbrella's hoary history.

 

 

 

The Lord appears to have created us in His own mould, perhaps in the fond hope

that we would be as good and holy as He is. Though we have belied His

expectations, we do stick on to things that remind us of our origins and

parentage. We find, thus, that in carrying an umbrella too, we are only copying

Him.

 

 

 

My ever-critical daughter, peering over my shoulder, remarks, " You have got

away with quite a few wild statements in the past. You have linked the most

insignificant of things to the Lord, like a speck of dust, a blade of grass, a

strand of hair and even a piece of stone. This time, however, you are going too

far by trying to connect a mere umbrella with Emperuman and are surely going to

fail! Let me see how you do it! "

 

 

 

Ruing the misfortune of having to answer to mere infants with pretensions of

being literary critics at sixteen and spurred on by the compulsion of having to

prove her wrong, I lay the following lines before you, who are the final

arbiters in the matter.

 

 

 

To repeat, it is very much the Lord who first held an umbrella. Whenever you see

sculptures of the DasAvatArAs, you find that each avatAra is depicted with

distinct items in the Lord's hands. For instance, you are able to recognise Sri

Rama instantly by the bow and arrow He holds stylishly, Sri Krishna by His

flute, Sri Balarama by the Plough and Sri Parasurama by the murderous axe slung

over His shoulder. Similarly, the observant among us would have definitely

noticed the distinctive feature of the VAmanAvatAra-the Umbrella.

 

 

 

When the Lord makes His appearance at MahAbali's asvamEdha yAga in the form of

an enchanting BrahmachAri, short and sweet, radiating wisdom and penance, His

attire is completely in tune with the role adopted. As a BrahmachAri, He holds a

Dandam (a stick of the PalAsa tree) in His hand, has a belt of darbha grass, a

yagyOpaveetam sprawling resplendently in His chest and holds a Kamandalu or

water-container in His other hand. His chest is covered by deerskin, which the

Lord uses to hide the presence of the inseparable Sri Mahalakshmi. Onlookers are

so astounded by the beauty and splendour of the small boy, that they rise to

their feet automatically. They wonder whether it is verily the Soorya BhagavAn

who has honoured the sacrifice with his presence, or the illustrious Agni

himself. Such was the impressive entry made by Emperuman at Bhrigukaccham on the

banks of the Narmada, where the asvamEdha yAga was in progress.

 

 

 

The point of this lengthy description is that the BhAgavata PurANa tells us of

one very important item held in the Lord's hand, viz., an Umbrella-

 

" Cchatram sadandam sajalam kamandalum vivEsa bibhrat hayamEdha vAtam " . One

wonders-against which element did the Lord need protection, that He carried an

umbrella? Was it against the blazing Sun? It could not be, for the timely rise

and set of the Sun is attributed to his fear of the Lord- " bheeshOdEti Soorya: "

says the Taittiriyopanishad. Could it have been against pouring rain? This again

was not possible, for Varuna the Deity of Waters, VAyu the Windgod and Indra the

Chief of celestials, all of whom jointly send down rains, are in equal fear of

the Lord, says the same Upanishad- " BheeshAsmAt VAta: pavatE, bheeshAsmAt

agnischa indrascha " .

 

 

 

We are told that the umbrella was a gift to the Lord by the heavens above, just

as the Yagyopaveetam was gifted by Brihaspati, the belt of Munji grass by

Kashyapa Maharshi, the kamandalu by BrahmA and so on- " koupeenam AcchAdanam mAtA

dyou: cchatram jagata: patE: "

 

 

 

Does the umbrella's association with the Lord stop with the VAmanAvatArA? Not at

all, as we shall see presently.

 

 

 

During the Ramavatara, in describing Sri Rama's return from His father's palace

without any of the trappings of the YuvarAjA due to KaikEyI's machinations,

Kamban says,

 

 

 

" kuzhaikkindra kavari indri, kottra veN kudayum indri

 

azhaikkindra vidhi mun chella, Dharumam pin irangi Ega "

 

 

 

To Kousalya, who had been expecting Her darling's return with all the trappings

of power like acolytes fanning Him on both sides, a courtier holding aloft a

decorated umbrella made of the purest of white silk and so on, Sri Rama's return

unaccompanied by any of the aforesaid adornments comes as a severe

disappointment.

 

 

 

We see thus that the Umbrella has for long signified power, prestige and

honour. That this is true today too, even at much lower levels, is seen from the

lackey following the village landlord, holding an umbrella over his head. And we

find Emperors being described as " Eka CchatrAdhipati " , indicating that their

umbrella of power extends over the whole world-this, however, is a misnomer, for

it is only Emperuman who could truthfully claim this title, being the Supreme

Lord of all the universes.

 

 

 

After His triumphant return from Lanka, Sri Rama accepts the throne of Ayodhya

at the request of Bharata. At the Coronation, signifying His overlordship over

all, a beautiful white umbrella is held over the head of Sri Rama. The good

fortune of holding the same falls to the lot of Shatrughna- " Cchatram tu tasya

jagrAha Shatrughna: pANdaram shubham " .

 

 

 

If Sri Rama was accorded the honour of a ceremonial umbrella only at His

coronation, Sri Krishna managed to corner the same on the very first day of His

birth. It is raining cats and dogs, the precipitation coming down in torrents,

when Sri VasudEva leaves KamsA's prison for the safety of NandagOkulam, bearing

the just-born Krishna. He is worried what would happen to the infant, if it were

to be drenched in the downpour. He need not have been concerned, for, the moment

he stepped out of the prison, there was AdisEsha, holding his hoods protectively

over the Lord, ensuring that not a drop of rain fell on the Paramapurusha's

tirumEni.

 

 

 

It is perhaps from this episode of the Strange Snake functioning as the Lord's

umbrella, that Azhwars, come up with the following formulation-

 

 

 

" chendrAl kudayAm irundAl singAsanamAm

 

nindrAl maravadiyAm-neeL kadaluL endrum

 

puNayAm maNi viLakkAm poompattAm, pulgum

 

aNayAm TirumArkku aravu "

 

..

 

Here too, the primacy of the Umbrella is evident from its being mentioned ahead

of the Lord's throne, footwear, boat, luminous lamp and the softest of beds.

 

 

 

We have seen that others hold an umbrella over the Lord's head, as a measure of

protection, honour and adoration. Is there any instance of Emperuman holding an

umbrella over the heads of others? Yes, indeed there is. He is so accessible and

likes so much to mingle with us, that He doesn't shrink from performing even the

most menial of services for His ardent devotees.

 

 

 

The residents of Gokulam had the practice of performing poojA every year to

Indra, the Chief of Celestials, who ensured timely rains, so essential for the

sustenance of both man and cow. Sri Krishna, intent on teaching arrogant Indra a

lesson, convinced His father and GOpAs that worship ought to be performed to the

actual benefactors of Gokulam, viz., the cows which showered wealth through

their munificent flood of milk, Brahmins who performed VEda pArAyaNam for

universal welfare and to the Govardhana hill, which was responsible for the

cows' well being. The GOpAs, impressed by Sri Krishna's well-reasoned arguments,

agreed and performed worship to the aforesaid, ignoring Indra. Indra was furious

at this and to teach the ignorant cowherds a lesson they wouldn't forget in a

hurry, sent down torrential rain, accompanied by terrifying claps of thunder and

continuous flashes of lightning, enough to blind the eye. Due to the incessant

rain, the entire Gokulam was almost submerged in floods, with men, women and

children shivering in the sharp wind and drenched to their skins, not to speak

of the cows and calves. And there was absolutely no sign of the downpour letting

up. All the Gopas ran to Sri Krishna for succour. And the Lord came to their

rescue by holding up a huge umbrella, under which all of them could stay safe

and secure against the onslaught of rain and hail. And what was this umbrella,

which could accommodate hundreds of cowherds and their families, along with the

innumerable cows and calves of Nandagokulam?

 

 

 

Assuring the shivering Gopas of immediate protection and to send a strong signal

to Indra, Sri Krishna, barely into His teens, just plucked up the massive

Goverdhana mountain with little effort (as if it was just a toadstool) and held

it up with a single hand for seven continuous days, not even shifting a foot,

affording protection to all the residents, man and beast, of Nandagokulam. And

Indra, having found out to his chagrin that his powers were nothing before Sri

Krishna's, stopped the rains and restored normalcy.

 

 

 

It is this episode, of the Lord having held a huge umbrella over His devotees,

which comes in for generous praise from all Azhwars.

 

 

 

Listen, for instance, to Sri Andal- " kundru kudayAi edutthAi guNam pOttri! "

 

 

 

Azhwars are so enamoured of the episode, of the little Lord having held a

massive mountain with His single palm for seven days together, to protect

unlettered cowherds and dumb cows and calves, that they recount it time and

again in their outpourings.

 

 

 

" malayai edutthu kal mAri kAtthu pasu nirai tannai

 

tolaivu tavirttha PirAn " says Sri Nammazhwar too.

 

 

 

However, I am forgetting the most obvious thing that comes to our mind, when we

talk about Umbrellas-they are the ones that Sri Varadaraja sports magnificently

over His majestic head, on the day of the GarudOtsavam. These umbrellas are

indeed stately specimens of their species-- broad, wide and fitting in every way

to the Paramapurusha they serve. We are told by Sri DoddayAchAr Swamy that these

umbrellas are studded with precious stones, with their sides decorated by

pearls. It is indeed a great sight to witness Sri Devadiraja adorned by these

umbrellas.

 

A great roar of devotion rends the air, as Sri TEpperumAL , in all His

majesty and splendour, with a prasanna vadanam, with

the chAmarAs waving gently, resplendent under the

famous umbrellas adorned with pearls and precious

stones, appears at the temple entrance, ensconced on

Sri Garuda.

 

 

 

It would appear that there is close competition between Sri Adisesha and Sri

Garuda, as to who would serve as an umbrella to the Lord. For, during Sri

Krishnavatara, Sri Andal tells us that VainatEya circled overhead when the

little Lord was tending to cows in the meadows of Brindavanam, protecting the

Paramatma from the blazing Sun and thereby preventing His already dark body from

acquiring a deeper shade of black-

 

 

 

" mElAl paranda veyil kAppAn Vinatai siruvan siragennum

 

mElAppin keezh varuvAnai VirundAvanattE kaNdOmE "

 

 

 

It goes to the credit of the Umbrella that it is one of the items to be offered

to the Lord during daily worship or TiruvArAdhanam.

 

 

 

All of us may be having any number of umbrellas at home: we need, however, to

acquire one more-one which would afford us comprehensive protection against a

heat more cruel than that generated by the Sun and more penetrating than mere

torrents of rain. This is the unbearable heat spawned by SamsAra, the unending

and vicious cycle of births and deaths.

 

Prapatti or Saranagati is the only umbrella, which can afford us the shade of

comfort against this heat. Once we surrender ourselves heart and soul to the

Lord, He gifts us this protective umbrella of " abhayam " , providing us safety and

security while we are in this mundane land and unimaginable bliss at the end of

this birth.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan