GO PADMA

By: Smt.Meera Tadipatri

Pic.Courtesy : Smt. Savitha Vittal,TX

Chaturmasya Audio Link:

For sAdhakas like us, to focus and do puje we need a jaDa object called pratima.

While using these jada-pratima, we should know:

1. The jaDa-ishvara difference. That is, jaDa vigraha, stone etc., are NOT Bhagavan ,, but Bhagavan IS present both inside and outside that jaDa-pratima in a way that is meant to BLESS us. 

This Bhagavan
2. He is NOT physical.
3. He is purna jnana-ananda mayaa.
4. This same Bhagavan is present INSIDE our deha, inside our "JIVA" as Bimba.
5.  we use all these pratimas to do bhAhya puje knowing that He is non-different
from our Bimba.

Sri Harikathamruta Saara lists 8 *types* of jaDa pratimas:
1. dAru -- tree
2. lauhi = metal
3. lepya/mayi = painting
4. lekhya = written/drawn like rangavalli
5. saikati= mud
6. manimayi = beads like pache-kallu Vittala in sode.
7. shaili = stone
8. manomayi = the mental picture
During Chaturmasya, one such method of remembering Bhagavan is to draw "Go Padma" Rangavalli and in that adhistana/place, we worship Bhagavan Shri Hari.

The story is basically, every lady should do this vrata as even Devata Stri-s do it during this period.

[If a question is asked why not men, then the answer is the chintane that is involved in this vrata is from Bruhadaranya Upanishad which men should do as part of veda-adhyayana form]


As for the Rangavalli:

The brief chintane is:
1. The "go-padma" represents Vedamata Laxmi  in the form of a cow.
2.  In Her, all the devatas in the brahmanda get ashraya/support for their sadhana.
They are represented by small 33 padmas inside the cow as parivara devatas.
3.  Along with them,  all jada pratikas -- puja-pujya vastus are also drawn.
4.  Six small kamalas are drawn separately to represent the loka-paalaka devatas.
They are the supreme tAttvika Devatas in whom all the rest reside.

Bhagavan is the support of Laxmi and He is present in everything along with her without any break -- when you draw the rangavalli,  every grain, dot, lines, curves, every color, empty space and all the puja-pujaka vastus He is present. Yet He is different from all these prakruta and chetana vastus.

The detailed chintana krama:
Why only 33 devatas?

Bruhadaranya Upanishad, Shakalya brAhmana says there are several of them -- 33 crores and in them 33 are  superior and in whom all the lower devatas are present as subordinate. They are called parivara devatas.
Thus the 33 represents the 33 tAttvika devatas. Here again taratamya need to be noted.

Who are they?
Vasu 8+ Rudra 11+ Aditya 12 + Stanayitnu, the lord of lightning + yajna = 33

They are called Vasu, Rudra and Adityas. Note that these devatas are NOT the popular VAsu-Rudra- Adityas but these are tattvabhimani devatas.

Vasus: 8
1. Vayu/Brahma
2. Bharati/Saraswati
3. Garuda
4. Rudra
5. Suparni
6. Uma
7.  Indra
8. KAma.

[All the in between kaxa devatas also should be included]

Rudra 11
They are the 10 indriya abhimani devatas plus Bruhaspathi, who is for buddhi.

Aditya:
They are the 12 presiding devatas of months [here instead of Indra and Vishnu Chandra and Yama need to be taken]
1. Dhata
2.  Mitra
3.  Aryama
4.  Varuna
5. Chandra
6.  Vivasvan
7.  Tvashta
8.  Yama
9.  Amshu
10. Bhaga
11. Pusha
12. Parjanya
Among these 33, 27 are under the complete control of the top six devatas. Thus these 6 are separately again represented by 6 small kamalas called Mohini. They are:

1. Vayu
2. Bharati
3. Garuda
4. Rudra
5. Suparni
6. Uma

Again, here 3 constitute the family of other 3 higher than them [husband-wife]. Again among the 3 [head of families], 2 family are again dependent on one family and in that again the wife is dependent on husband aka Vayu devaru.

This Vayu is dependent on Laxmi who is dependent on Sri Hari. This is the chintana krama of Go Padma.

Shri KrishnArpanamastu !!

Other Puje/Vratas