The children were excited about the Navarathri holidays coming up. They were also thrilled about Vijayadasami, the day considered auspicious to begin learning, especially music and dance.
Shyamala Miss entered the class and noticed the festive air and excitement. She decided to teach them a Mahishasuramardhini Sthothram , and explain the significance.
The legend
“According to legend, Navarathri is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Devi, an embodiment of all the three female deities of the Hindu Pantheon — Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi, when she slays the evil Asura, Mahisha. Hence, she came to be known as Mahishasuramardhini — the one who destroyed Mahisha. This Sthothram is in her praise.”
“Now, can we do a quick recap of what we learnt earlier? We have done the history and evolution of the 72 Melakartha System, by Venkatamakhi . They are further classified into two sets of 36 Ragams each.”
“You also taught us these are further subdivided into 12 Chakras . Each Chakra comprising six Ragams each,” said Mukund.
“Correct. Now, we will learn about the Chakras and their nomenclature. We have a system called Music Pneumonic, which helps us to find the right number of the Chakras. In order: the first Chakra is known as Indu Chakra — the earth has one moon. Whereas, the second one is known as Netra Chakra.”
“Two eyes...wow,” says Rasa.
“Any guesses for the third? This one is difficult...it is Agni Chakra — there are three types of fire as stated in the Vedas, namely Dakshina, Ahvaniya and Garhapadya,” said Miss
“…is the fourth one Veda ?” asked Mukund
“You are right, Mukund...the fourth one is Veda Chakra , as the Original Hindu Scriptures are four in number — Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharvana. The fifth is Bana Chakra.”
“Arrow Chakra?” asked Rasa.
“Yes..because Kama or Cupid(Manmatha and Rati) is believed to have arrows with five different kinds of flowers — lotus, mango, jasmine, ashoka and lily. ”
“Interesting,” said Laya.
“The sixth is Ritu Chakra .”
“Oh! The six seasons — spring, winter, rainy, autumn, and..?”
“It is Vasanta, greeshma, varsha, sharad, sisira and hemanta,” said Miss.
“Okay, so Indu, Netra, Agni,Veda, Bana, Ritu, are the first six Chakras,” said Rasa.
“In other words, the Chakras belonging to the Suddha Madhyama 36 Melakarta Ragams ,” finishes Shyamala Miss.
“Indu...netra...agni..veda...bana...ritu...,” chorus the children merrily.
