Shashthi
Shashthi ( Sanskrit षष्ठी ṣaṣṭhī , literally the sixth ) is a Hindu mother goddess associated with Skanda . As a folk deity, she protects children and mothers at birth. It is mainly worshiped in the East Indies, especially in the Bengal region . It corresponds to the Buddhist goddess Hariti . Shashthi is also seen as a goddess of fertility and reproduction who blesses people with children (especially male offspring) and is said to prevent miscarriages. It is believed to protect newborn babies from evil forces, diseases and others. Shashthi is mainly worshiped by the lower castes , especially women. She is considered an aspect of the goddess Durga , is also called Skandamata and is also worshiped by many (sterile) mostly married women who want children. In the Brahma Vaivartha Purana , Shashthi is regarded as the sixth aspect of Parama Prakriti (universal feminine energy).
Their myths and the form of their worship are described in detail in the Shashthi Mangal-Kabyas , Bengali literature, from the 17th century. But it probably goes back to an older oral tradition. She is mainly worshiped by women. Originally she was mainly malevolent (a kidnapper, murderer and devourer of the newborns), today she is regarded exclusively as a benevolent goddess, who is considered to be the savior and protector of children and is revered in every household as the protective deity of the house.
Ritual and worship
Shashthi's worship takes place on the sixth day after a child is born, as it is believed that children who survived will stay alive, as well as on the sixth day of each lunar month of the Indian calendar . Your puja takes place in forests ( Aranya-Shashthi ) and especially under the Kadamba tree . Sacrifices are made to her with a traditional hand fan . Women partially fast that day and only eat fruit. In some regions women also wear a thread around their wrist. A cat is worshiped along with Shashthi. It is often venerated in the form of a round red stone ( salagram stone ) under a banyan tree , a tree or an earthen water pot or a purna ghata , a water bowl filled with coconuts and mango leaves. The banyam tree can be decorated with flowers or sprinkled with rice and other gifts.
In northern India , Shashthi is worshiped during childbirth, puberty, and marriage rites. In Odisha she is in the " puerperium " (a kind of "resting room" for the woman after the birth, "lying-in-room") on the sixth day and on the 21st day after the birth of the child and on each subsequent birthday of the child, until he or she reaches the age of sixteen, adored. In Bengal all kinds of things are placed for the goddess, such as an earthen jug with water covered by a napkin, peeled and cooked rice, bananas and sweets, bangles and pieces of gold and silver. The mother puts pen and paper on a table, believing that the goddess Shashthi will come into the house at night when everyone is asleep and write congratulations for the child on a piece of paper with invisible ink and thus bless them for the future. Elsewhere, a lump of cow dung wrapped in red cloth or paper with cinnabar is placed in the chamber. Here the newborn is oiled and festively dressed with clothes and rings. The naming ceremony follows .
Aranya Shashthi (literally: "Forest Shashthi") is particularly popular on this day . On this day, a son-in-law is invited to his father-in-law's house and greeted there in the traditional way. When the son-in-law comes with the daughter, the mother holds out a thali or a platter containing grass and five other different fruits. The mother-in-law blesses him so that her daughter and son-in-law would have a perfect family life and have sons and daughters by the grace of the Shashthi deity. She does this by pouring grass and grains over the head of her son-in-law, which is said to be very cheap. Then she puts a little quark mark on his forehead , called Phota , and puts a yellow thread known as Shashthi thread on his wrist. This is nothing more than a ritual to honor the motherhood of your child by welcoming and entertaining the son-in-law in the father-in-law's house. The mother-in-law is thus expected to maintain the continuity of motherhood through her daughter's lineage. This ritual is carried out especially in Bengali families after the first years of the daughter's wedding until the birth of the first child. The feast is combined with mutual gifts and a rich meal (mainly fish and desserts) with the favorite dishes of the son-in-law, to whom the fans-in-law are fanned out all the time, in the house of the in-laws. However, this practice is performed without remembering the real meaning of this ritual. Performing the ritual of Aranya Shashthi is nothing more than a fertility ritual . This ritual, also known as Jamai-Shashthi , serves to bind the son-in-law ( jamai ) closer to the bride's parents and to ensure that the son-in-law treats the daughter with respect for the rest of the year.
iconography
Shashthi is depicted as a motherly, often nursing goddess. She is yellow in body color and is shown with one child on the hand and one on her arm. Your vahana is a black cat. She is sitting on a large lotus . Their lower hands hold sword and shield, while their upper hands hold sacrificial bowls ( kalasa ). She wears a crown on her head.
In the Kushan period she is shown as a two-armed and six-headed maternal goddess. Several coins, sculptures and inscriptions are from 500 BC to 1200 AD by the six-member Shashthi. There she appears next to Skanda and Vishakha . The central head is surrounded by five female heads.
mythology
The following two stories come from the Shashthi Mangal Kabyas and Bengali folk tales.
There was once a wealthy farmer who had seven sons. They were all married to nice and beautiful girls. But the youngest son's wife was very greedy. She notoriously stole groceries and other delicious desserts and pushed them onto a black cat. In order to get revenge, the cat stole all the children that the woman gave birth and placed them in a temple for the goddess Shashthi. Eventually the woman prayed to the goddess and was advised to make a picture of a cat and worship the goddess Shashthi in order to have her babies back.
Another far more popular myth tells in a similar way:
There lived a merchant named Sayabene . His wife, a worshiper of the goddess Shashthi, was blessed with seven male offspring by the grace of the goddess. All children grew up and married. Sayabene's wife did not forget the goddess and worshiped her together with her seven daughters-in-law. One day it happened that after the woman had prepared the offerings for the goddess Shashthi, she left the room and asked the youngest daughter-in-law to take care of the sacrifice in her absence. But she was pregnant at that time and could not resist the temptation to take some of the delicious offering that was to be offered to the goddess. Her mother-in-law returned and was angry about the lack of an offering. The youngest daughter-in-law blamed the black house cat for this offense. The black cat, the Shashthi's mount, heard this from outside and decided to let the daughter atone for the false accusation. In the meantime, the youngest daughter's son was born, and the black cat now found a suitable opportunity for her punishment. She stole the baby from its cradle in the room the first night when the mother was sleeping. When the mother woke up, she was amazed to find that the baby was missing. She gave birth to male offspring (six in total) one at a time, and they were all stolen in the same way. The next time the daughter went into labor, she went to a nearby forest to give birth to her next (seventh) son. After the birth, she took the child on her lap and decided to stay up all night with the aim of ensuring that this child is not also stolen in the same mysterious way. Unfortunately, she fell asleep late at night when the cat appeared to steal this child too. While the cat was holding the baby in its mouth as it walked a bit, the mother woke up and caught the black cat. She discovered the black fur on the floor and passed out. In the meantime, the cat reached Shashthi Devi and told her about the incident. The goddess felt sorry for the woman and reprimanded the cat for her harsh treatment of the youngest daughter-in-law.
Now the goddess took the form of an old woman and appeared before the young daughter-in-law, who had meanwhile regained her consciousness, and told her that by treating the black cat badly and giving her the missing part for the sacrifice of Shashthi, that her mother-in-law had prepared, pushed her, exposing her that she is now being deprived of her sons as a punishment. In addition, she showed no respect for the goddess Shashthi, the protector and giver of children. The youngest daughter-in-law now understood that the old woman was none other than the goddess Shashthi in disguise. So she begged the goddess for forgiveness for her wrongdoing and the goddess forgave her. The youngest daughter recovered her seven sons by the grace of the Goddess and returned home with the children. From then on, the youngest daughter-in-law became a strict admirer of the goddess Shashthi.
This myth illustrates Shashthi's position as a goddess for the well-being of children and protector of mothers from all odds. Women in particular should avoid harming the (black) cat, their Vahana (sacred animal), as this arouses the wrath of the goddess.
literature
- Sukumari Bhattacharji: Legends of Devi. Hyderabad 1998, ISBN 81-250-1438-1 .
- Pradyot Kumar Maity: Human Fertility Cults and Rituals of Bengal: A Comparative Study. New Delhi 1989, ISBN 81-7017-263-2 , pp. 66-70: Shashṭhī
- Doris Meth Srinivasan: "Ṣaṣṭhī". Many heads, arms, and eyes: origin, meaning, and form of multiplicity in Indian art. Brill, 1997, ISBN 90-04-10758-4 , pp. 333-335.
