SYAMANTAKA or SHYAMANTAKA ??

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

 

That is very well written*. I heard the same from my Gurudev in 1970. He

said the 4th day after full moon, every month, was the curse. Because

of what you have so nicely described Lord Krishna was falsely accused.

 

One thing I noticed back then was the actual spelling in the actual

story as written in Sanskrit in the Srimad Bhagavatm is "SYAMANTAKA" I

checked the Apti Sanskrit to English dict... which said "Syamantaka"

was a radiant gem given by Surya to Satrajit. "The people mistook

Satrajit to be Surya Himself when ever he wore the gem". Obviously this

is a RUBY. The Sun's gem is ruby. And people thought Satraji was the

Sungod when he wore it.

 

Unfortunately this story has been handed down over the ages in Hindu

society, with out reference to the actual text. This has developed into

a mis-pronounciation of the Sanskrit word "Syamantaka" mistakenly said

as "Shyamantaka". Because of this mispronounciation it became a

mispelling, and because of mis-spelling there arouse the wrong notion

that Syamantaka is SHyamantaka - and that means a blue sapphire.

Accordingly it is now written in fables that the Syamantaka gem is

spelled as Shyamantaka as was a dark blue sapphire.

 

Anyone who checks the text of Srimad Bhagavatam will see the spelling

is "SYAMANTAKA" which is not the same meaning as SHYAM. I wish

somehow this mistake can be corrected as the fable is handed down

incorrectly, and the spelling is handed down incorrectly.

 

According to Jyotish, Shani, the Ruler of Blue Sapphire, is enemy with

Surya (his father) and thus it is unreasonable to assume that Surya

would give Blue Sapphires to his bhaktas, like Satrajit.

 

Also, when Satrajit wore Syamantake people "thought he was the Sungod"

- it is NOT said that they mistook him to be Shanideva.

 

Point is:

 

1) The Sanskrit spelling and word is SYAMANTAKA (not Shyamantaka)

2) Syamantaka is a Ruby (red) - Surya Ratna.

 

Otherwise I learned a lot from this story... Sukriya!!!

 

*--- Deepa H <debu7366 wrote:

>

> Curse to Chandra

>

> After one year, the first anniversary of Ganapati's coronation was

> celebrated. On that day, a special type of sweet dish (which was very

> dear to Ganapati) was offered in every household. Ganapati's belly,

> which was quite big further swelled after consuming the offerings. In

> the evening, when he wanted to prostrate before his parents, he found

> it difficult to touch his forehead and the feet simultaneously,

> because of his bloated abdomen. However much he tried, he could not

> perform the Sashtaanga Vandana (a traditional posture which involves

> touching eight parts of the body simultaneously while prostrating).

> Seeing this, the moon, adorning the head of Lord Shiva

> giggled.Immediately, Ganapati's stomach burst open and he collapsed

> on the ground, lifeless. Parvati was furious now. She said, Chandra,

> your crooked eyes caused my beloved son's belly to burst. Your face

> is most inauspicious. May those who see your face become victims of

> false allegations.

>

> Two undesirable incidents had taken place in quick succession.

> Immediately all the angels, including Brahma assembled there. They

> realised that there was no respite unless Parvati was pacified. They

> pooled all their energies together and fastened Ganapati's belly with

> a serpent and infused fresh life to Him. Parvati was now happy. The

> angels collectively prayed to Parvati. O Divine Mother, hitherto your

> son was the combination of the energies of Shiva and Shakti. He was

> Adipoojya (one who is worshipped first). But now, he is the

> agglomeration of all energies. Worshipping him will amount to

> worshipping all the Gods. Although the childish behaviour of Chandra

> brought about an unhappy incident, eventually it has turned out to be

> beneficial to Ganapati. But what about your curse? Because of your

> curse, no one dares to look at the moon. It is impossible for people

> to live without seeing Chandra, who confers a rare kind of coolness.

> Therefore, O! Divine Mother, please forgive Chandra by

> withdrawing the curse

>

> Parvati thought for a moment and said, What you are saying is true.

> But it is not good to withdraw the curse completely either.

> Therefore, the curse continues to apply to only those who see the

> moon on the fourth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada month. I

> hereby limit the curse to that extent.The angels were relieved to a

> great extent.

>

> It is said that anyone who looks at the moon on the night of the

> Ganesh Chaturthi will be falsely charged with theft or a similar

> crime. If someone inadvertently sees the moon on this night, he/she

> may remedy the situation by listening to (or reciting) the story of

> the syamantaka jewel

>

> Shyamantaka Gem/ jewel

>

> Towards the end of Dwapara Yuga, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Sri

> Krishna and was ruling the empire of Dwaraka.During that time, a

> person called Satrajit, who was a great Upasaka (worshipper) of Sun

> God lived in Dwaraka. Soorya, pleased by Satrajit's tapas, presented

> him with a gem stone called Shyamantaka. With the help of this

> precious stone, Satrajit started producing huge quantities of gold

> everyday. His wealth and fame increased day by day.

>

> One day Narada came to visit Sri Krishna. In the evening, Narada said

> that he had to return and sought Krishna's permission. Sri Krishna

> asked him why he was in such a hurry. Then Narada said, Today is the

> fourth day of the brighter half of Bhadrapada. On account of

> Parvati's curse, those who see the moon today will become victims of

> false allegations. I would like to return to the celestial world

> before moonrise.

>

> Sri Krishna notified about Parvati's curse in his kingdom and advised

> his subjects not to see the moon that day. He also remained indoors.

> It was evening time and the children in the palace had to be given

> milk to drink. But there was no milk in the kitchen. Sri Krishna

> himself had to go to the cowshed to fetch milk. He walked carefully

> with his head bent down in order to avoid seeing the moon. While he

> was milking the cows, he accidentally saw moon's reflection in the

> milk pot. Krishna became perturbed by this and returned to his palace

> with a disturbed mind.

>

> Many days passed and Krishna forgot the incident completely. Krishna,

> who held the financial portfolio, came to know about Satrajit and his

> magic stone. He summoned Satrajit to his court one day and said, Why

> don't you give that gem stone to me so that I can use it for the

> welfare of my subjects? What made Sri Krishna to ask for it was

> beyond everyone's comprehesion. Satrajit flatly refused to part with

> the precious stone.

>

> One day, Prasena, the brother of Satrajit went to a forest for

> hunting. He was wearing this gem stone at that time. Many days

> elapsed and he did not return from the forest.

>

> Satrajit became sad and said it would have been good if I had given

> the stone to Sri Krishna. Because I refused then, Krishna has killed

> my brother for the sake of the bead. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to

> believe him.

>

> Gradually people started to spread this allegation levelled against

> Krishna. When Krishna came to know about this, he immediately

> concluded that this false allegations was because of the fact that he

> had seen the moon on the forbidden day. How to come out of this

> crisis? He had to find a way out.Sri Krishna set out to search

> Prasena and went to the forest. During his search, he found Prasena's

> horse lying dead. He also spotted a lion's foot marks near the dead

> horse. He followed the trail and came near the lion's cave, where he

> saw the dead body of Prasena. The gem stone was not there on his

> body! He continued to follow the foot marks of the lion. After a

> while, he saw even that lion lying dead. There were signs of a fierce

> fight between the lion and a bear in that place. Now he followed the

> foot marks of the bear. It lead him to a cave. Krishna asked his men

> to wait outside and entered the cave all alone. The inside of the

> cave looked like a big palace. There, in a corner he saw a

> woman singing lullaby and a baby sleeping in the cradle. The lullaby

> was :

>

> Simhah prasenamavadheet simho jaambavataa hatah

>

> Sukumaraka ! maa rodih tava hyesha shyamantakahtc "Sukumaraka ! maa

> rodih tava hyesha shyamantakah"

>

> (Meaning : The lion killed Prasena. Subsequently, the lion was killed

> by Jambavanta. Dear child, don't cry. This Shyamantaka gem is all

> yours now)

>

> Hearing these words, Sri Krishna came to know everything. When he

> heard the name Jambavanta, some hazy memories came to him.The

woman,

> seeing the intruder, screamed loudly.

>

> Immediately, a huge bear came roaring and pounced upon Krishna. The

> two fought fiercely. After waiting for 12 days, Krishna's men who

> were waiting outside concluded that Krishna had died and returned to

> Dwaraka. Krishna's relatives heard about this, their grief knew no

> limits. They bagan preparing for the final rites for Krishna.The

> citizens of Dwaraka, after coming to know the real cause of Prasena's

> death, started blaming Satrajit for the false allegation he had made

> against Krishna.The fight between Krishna and Jambavanta continued

> for 21 days. Jambavanta, who was very old, started losing and finally

> cried out Rama ! Rama and fell at the feet of Krishna and said, O!

> Lord, You are none other than Rama. I am Jambavanta, your servant

> during the past Yuga. During that Yuga, I had once expressed a desire

> to have a one-to-one fight with you. You had then said that it was

> not proper to do so then and that you would grant my desire during

> the subsequent incarnation. You have done so now

> and you have successfully demolished my ego. To fulfil my desire,

> you have incarnated again. I beg for your mercy and forgiveness.

>

> Sri Krishna then appeared as Rama and Jambavanta was overjoyed with

> nostalgia. Krishna caressed Jambavanta's body. All of a sudden all

> the injuries that Jambavanta had sustained during the 21 day fight

> disappeared and Jambavanta was free from pain now.Jambavanta

> surrendered the Shyamantaka Mani to Krishna. He also gave his

> daughter Jambavati to Him and accorded a respectful farewell to him.

>

> By the time Krishna returned to Dwaraka with his new wife Jambavati,

> his relatives had already started his last rites. Seeing Krishna, all

> his relatives jumped with joy and pleasant surprise. Krishna called

> for an emergency meeting of His ministers and other important people

> and in their presence, handed over the Shyamantaka gem to Satrajit.

> Now Satrajit put his head down in shame. He also trembled at the fact

> that he had become Krishna's foe. He was sure that the people on the

> street outside would chide him for his act. He thought for a while

> and sent a message to saying that he would give his beautiful

> daughter, Satyabhama to Krishna. Krishna agreed instantaneously.

> During the marriage, Satrajit gifted the Shyamantaka gem to Krishna.

> But Krishna politely refused.

>

> Narada, who was present at the marriage ceremony pleaded to Krishna

> thus :

>

> Lord! By seeing the moon on the forbidden day (fourth day of

> Bhadrapada), even you had to suffer the curse. Because of your

> immense power, you not only came out of the embarrassment, but also

> earned two more wives. But what about ordinary human beings? Is it

> fair to undergo humiliation just because one sees the moon? You

> should do something about this.

>

> Krishna closed his for a while and said, Narada, I am hereby passing

> a statute today. Those who worship Ganapati on the day of Bhadrapada

> Chaturthi (fourth day of Bhadrapada) and listen to the episode of

> Shyamantaka Gem and how I became acquitted of the false charges, will

> not suffer this curse even if they accidentally see the moon on that

> day.

>

> Thus the curse executed in the celestial world influenced Lord Vishnu

> on earth and eventually the day of Ganapati's coronation assumed

> great importance. Vishnu, who has played key roles in each and every

> stage from the Gajasura stage to removal of curse has indeed

> conferred more prominence to Ganesha phenomenon.

>

> This in short is Ganapati's story.

>

> As mentioned before, it is full of symbolic episodes and contains

> pieces of history from the celestial world. Bhagavan Vyasa has

> clearly stated that because of the difference in Kalpas (see below

> for the meaning of Kalpa), there will be minor differences in the

> history.

>

> Krita-Treta-Dwapara-Kali yugas (eras) put together make 43,20,000

> years. This is one circle. Thousand such circles constitute the

> daytime (half day) of Brahma. It is called as one kalpa. After this

> period, Brahma rests for exactly the same duration. That is His

> night. With His dawn, creation begins afresh. That is Brahma's second

> day, the second Kalpa. Creation takes place almost similarly in all

> the Kalpas. There may be minor differences.

>

> Puranas contain stories pertaining to several Kalpas. In addition to

> this, they also contain narration of episodes in a symbolic manner.

> This is the reason why there is minor difference in the story of

> Ganapati in different Puranas. Let us take a look at the Ganapati

> story found in different puranas in brief.

>

> Padma Purna

>

> When Parvati created an idol with flour (used for bath), the idol

> took the form of Gajanana .

>

> Brahma Vaivarta Purana

>

> Parvati performed a ritual called "Punyaka Vrata" and begot Vinayaka.

> Because of the evil effect of Saturn, the child lost its head. The

> angels then fixed an elephant's head and infused life in to the

> child. (This story is from a different Kalpa)

>

> Linga Purana

>

> Parvati's son took birth sporting an elephant's head. In order to

> cause hindrance to the activities of the demons, he was made the

> leader of obstacles.

>

> Shiva Purana

>

> The name of the child created by Parvati is Dandapani. He was

> beheaded by Shiva Himself. Later, Shiva travelled north and brought

> the head of an elephant, which was sleeping with its head towards

> north. He fixed the head to the beheaded child. (This story compares

> with the story of Ganapati narrated above. But there is no mention of

> Gajasura. This may be due to the change on account of the difference

> in Kalpa)

>

> Ganesha Purana

>

> Ganapati himself cursed Chandra. We see similar description in Skanda

> Purana also.(This pertains to a different Kalpa). According to

> Ganesha Purana, Ganapati's form is different in different Yugas.In

> kreta yuga -HE has lion as his vehicle and sports eight hands..In

> Treta yuga- He has peacock as his vehicle and has six hands..In

> Dwapara Yuga- He has elephant head and two hands.. In Kali Yuga -He

> has two hands and is white in colour..

>

> Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah..