This is an article series. Please read all previous articles before reading this article. The URLs for all previous articles are located in the SPECIAL THOUGHTS section.
Daksha Prajaapati
Earlier, we learnt a little bit about the Devata in level 10, i.e., Aniruddha, Shachi Devi, Rati Devi, Swaayambhuva Manu, and Bruhaspati. The last Devata in this level is Daksha Prajaaapati, yet another Maanasa Putra of Brahma. Daksha Prajaapati is the Abhimaani Devata for Upastha i.e., Jananendriya (male and female genitals in all species). I wrote a full article on this topic. But since this is a difficult topic to talk about or write on, I decided to seek feedback before publishing. Based on the feedback I received, I decided that it would be best to postpone this topic to a future date. Interested readers are encouraged to study/research this topic in our Shaastra-s on their own. You can reach out to me privately, but I’ll share it with you only if I feel comfortable.
Now, let’s continue with the hierarchy of Devata-s and go up to Level 9.
Aham Vaayu
There is only one Devata in this level and he is referred to by the name Aham Vaayu. As had been mentioned earlier, there are some 49 different types of Vaayu-s in the Devataa Gana. While most of the other Vaayu Devata-s are in lower levels in the hierarchy, three among them are higher than all others. And, we had learnt about Pravaha Vaayu earlier. Aham Vaayu is higher than Pravaha Vaayu in the hierarchy of Devata-s.
As we had learnt earlier, that our main source of energy is Soorya i.e., the Sun (level 12). But Sun’s energy is very intense. We also learnt that Pravaha Vaayu (level 11) captures this intense energy emitted from Sun and steps it down to a level that the living beings can absorb. Further we learnt that the energy absorption is especially high when we are asleep, and that Aniruddha (level 10) is the Abhimaani Devata for our state of sleep. This is because of the deep breaths we take while we’re asleep. Recently, I learnt that how we breathe when we are asleep is equivalent to what the Yoga experts refer to as Ujjayi Praanaayaama. As a result, the energy we absorb through the breathing process is so high that, many times or almost every time we wake up from sleep, we find ourselves sweating.
But… for the energy to be absorbed and, in general, just to be alive… all living beings need the lungs to be functional. Among 5 vertebrate animals… mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians have lungs and absorb the vital energy they need through the lungs. Fishes, on the other hand, have gills and absorb the energy from the water around them through their gills. Most invertebrates do not have lungs. They absorb energy through their skin, tracheal systems or gills or, in some cases, even book lungs (lungs that look like books). Be it through the lungs, or gills, or tracheal systems, or book lungs or skin, the common factor is absorption of energy available in abundance in the Vaayu Mandala into our body. Some of us may remember from our high school biology classes that this process of exchange of oxygen and carbon di-oxide across a membrane is referred to as “osmosis”. Oxygen is just a medium or a carrier of the vital energy we need for our existence. This energy has to be continuously available for us to be alive. Thus, we are constantly in contact with the main source of energy that binds us with the universe. From a philosophical perspective (based on my understanding of what I’ve been taught) my take is that the Abhimaani Devata for the organ through which the exchange of this vital energy happens, is Aham Vaayu.
It’s worth mentioning in this context that, per AI Overview of internet search, lung failure is a major cause of death often exceeding 50% for severe cases. In biology, we may still remember reading about “alveoli,” which are small air sacs in the lungs. If they become brittle, then the exchange of vital energy is negatively affected, causing the lungs to fill up with fluids. As we know, any blockage in the exchange of vital energy leads to death. In animals with lungs, drowning and/or asphyxiation block the exchange of vital energy from the air, thus causing death. And in case of fish, being pulled out of water causes the gills to be no longer in contact with the medium from where the energy is absorbed i.e., water, thus causing death. Aham Vaayu is the Devata who keeps us in continuous contact with the inexhaustible source of the vital energy in the universe.
Also, the Abhimaani Devata for the northwest direction is Vaayu. It is not clear whether it is Pravaha Vaayu (level 11) or Aham Vaayu. My take is that there is no harm in considering both to be Abhimaani Devata-s for the northwest direction.
Next, we’ll learn about Devata in level 8.
Kaama
The Sanskrit word Kaama can take many meanings in many contexts. One of the meanings is “longing”. Longing is what connects the mind to the Indriya-s. How? Let’s do a recap of what we had learnt earlier. Previously, we had learnt that the earliest step in the genesis of the universe starts with the creation of Bhootaakaasha, which is filled with the 3 Guna-s i.e., Satva, Raja and Tama. Next step is the creation of the remaining 4 primordial elements, i.e., Vaayu, Teja, Aapa, and Prithvi. We also learnt earlier that these 5 primordial elements (Pancha Bhoota-s) are associated with 5 Tanmaatra-s (5 primordial senses), namely: Shabda (sound), Sparsha (touch), Roopa (form), Rasa (taste), and Gandha (smell). And we have 5 Jnyaanendriya-s (sensory organs) that sense the 5 Tanmaatra-s, namely: Karna (ear), Twak (skin), Akshi (eye), Jihvaa (tongue), and Naasika (nose).
In Bhagavad Gita, the Jnyaanendriya-s (sensory organs) have mostly been referred to by the term Indriya. But, the 5 Tanmaatra-s (5 senses) have been referred to by a few different terms such as Indriyaartha (2-58, 3-6, 5-9), Vishaya (2-61, 2-64, 4-26), Maatraa (2-14). The desire to experience the pentad of senses, present in the pentad of primordial elements, through the pentad of sensory organs is Kaama. And the Abhimaani Devata for this Kaama is also referred to by the name Kaama. This Kaama is the sixth, which rides on the aforementioned pentad.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 40, Shree Krishna has stated the following about Kaama and Krodha:
Indriyaani mano buddhi:
asya-adhishtaanam-uchyate |
Meaning, Kaama dwells in Indriya-s (sensory organs), Manas (mind), and Buddhi. If we take Manas and Buddhi as 2 internal mental faculties integrated into one, then we have 6 dwellings for Kaama. Thus, symbolically, Kaama is shown with 6 faces, or Shanmukha.
We learnt earlier that it takes 27 days for the Moon to complete 1 full circle around the Earth. To keep track of this, Vedic astrology uses 27 Nakshatra-s as reference points in the space. When a person is born, the Nakshatra in which the Moon is seen becomes that person’s Janma Nakshatra (birth star). Shanmukha’s birth Nakshatra is said to be Krittikaa. And therefore, Shanmukha is also called Kaartikeya.
Further, the entire universe comes alive only after Kaama, i.e., Shanmukha, comes into existence. Until that point, the entire universe is still in a very nascent and elemental state. Considering this, the ancient Vedic tradition considers Krittika Nakshatra as the starting point in the circle of 27 Nakshatra-s. We had learnt earlier that the month in which the Full Moon can be seen with Krittikaa Nakshatra is called Kaarteeka Maasa. For this reason, we see many parts of Northern India observe the first day of Kaarteeka Maasa as the new year day.
Referring to the Bhagavad Gita yet again, in Chapter 10, Verse 24, Shree Krishna says:
senaaneenaam aham skandah
Thus, Shree Krishna likens his ability to lead a battle army to Skanda, which is yet another name for Kaama / Shanmukha. As had been mentioned earlier, in God’s creation, we see not just day but night as well; we see not just summer but winter too. Likewise, in eternity, there are Saatvik Jeevaatma-s (Devata-s) and also Taamasik Jeevaatmai-s (Asura-s). Thus, it becomes imperative that where there is Good, there should be Bad too. Worse yet, in God’s creation, for every 1 Saatvik Jeevaatma, there are hundreds of Taamasik Jeevaatma-s (Asura-s) who are always out to destroy any/every part of the creation in any which way possible. Be it Hayagreeva who stole the Veda-s or Hiranyaaksha who threw the Earth out of its orbit or Narakaasura who imprisoned 16100 princesses, Asura-s are always up to some or the other evil because of their intrinsic vile nature. Their evil plans and deeds need to be curbed and they need to be prevented from harming the world. This is what the Devata-s are constantly striving to accomplish. The leader of this army of Devata-s is Skanda a.k.a Kaama a.k.a Shanmukha.
Here, we need to understand that the Sanskrit word for “Army of Devata-s” is “Devataa Sainya”, or simply “Deva Sainya” or even more simply “Deva Sena”. And Skanda is the commander of this army. And therefore, he’s referred to as “Devataa Sainya Adhipati” or simply “Deva Senaapati”. Going by the sources that I learnt from, it seems that there has been a misunderstanding regarding the term “Deva Sena”. People seem to have misunderstood the word “Deva Senaapati” and ended up interpreting the word “Deva Sena” as a woman. Even my internet search brought up a mention (quoted as is) “Devasena is generally understood to be the personification of the army of the gods (“Deva-sena”)”. (Please note that I do not prefer to use the word “Gods,” i.e., in plural. As has been mentioned earlier, I prefer to use the word “God” always in the singular. Thus, in most temples all across the world, the Moorti of Skanda is seen with 2 consorts, Valli and Deva Sena. We’ll come back to this a little later.
Indra
So far, we have learnt about the various Indriya-s (sensory and motor organs) and their Abhimaani Devata-s. There is one Indriya that we haven’t covered just yet, i.e., the hands. Among all the millions of species that exist on earth, it is only humans who have hands bestowed with functionality far superior to all others. Be it the ability to sculpt a wonderful idol, or paint a wonderful picture, or knit a beautiful sweater, or cook something tasty, or type up an article on the internet… human hands are far above all other species in their capabilities. Hands are so crucial for doing any Karma that it is ingrained in our languages too. In Sanskrit, the word “Karma” is a union of the word “Kara”, which means hands, and the syllable “ma”, which means knowledge. In the Telugu language, the word for “hand” is “Chai” and the word for “do” is also “Chai”. The functionality of all the 5 fingers is seen fully enhanced only in human hands. And the Abhimaani Devata for the hands is Indra.
Earlier, when elaborating on the 4 hands of Ganapati, it had been explained that all Jeevaatma-s have 4 hands. My take is that, like in the case of humans, the Jeevaatma’s 2 hands have manifested as 2 visible functioning hands, while the other 2 hands’ abilities have been distributed all over the body. In other words, Indra is the Abhimaani Devata over every muscle that we humans or any animal, invertebrate or plant species can move.
Further, Indra is like the overall director of all our Indriya-s i.e., both Jnyaanendriya-s and Karmendriya-s. This too has got ingrained in our colloquial language. An example from the Telugu language has already been mentioned above. In the Kannada language, when someone asks another person to, for example, “chant Vishnu Sahasra Naama” and the other person is unwilling to chant, the common response in declination is “nanna kaiyalli aagalla”. The Kannada word “kai” means “hand”. So, a literal translation of this sentence to English would be “not possible through my hands”. But we don’t chant with our hands. So, why should the response have anything to do with the “hand”? This is because language is the vehicle on which the culture rides. For countless generations, people of this culture have been aware that the Abhimaani Devata for hands in particular and all Indriya-s in general is Indra. Such expressions may be found pretty much in all languages of Indian descent.
We’ve also mentioned the Abhimaani Devata-s of different directions. Indra also happens to be the Abhimaani Devata for the East direction. And… most importantly, Indra is the highest among all the Baahya Prapancha Devata-s. Baahya Prapancha simply means the outer world. All the Indriya-s, and the primordial elements experienced through the Indriya-s, are outside of the Jeevaatma and we can reference them specifically.
Please note: While going over the details of the Vedic timeline, it had been mentioned that each Manvantara has 1 Manu, 1 Indra, 1 Upendra and 7 Rushi-s. The Indra of a Manvantara is a position that a certain Devata will hold for the duration of just 1 Manvantara. But the Indra position that is being talked about in the context of the hierarchy of Devata-s is valid for the entire duration of the existence of this Universe.
Coming back to the topic of the Moorti of Skanda with 2 consorts, my take is that in the Moola Roopa of Devata-s, Indra and Shachi are eternal consorts. Similarly, Kaama and Rati are eternal consorts. Therefore, since Indra and Kaama are at the same level in the hierarchy of Devata-s, they can be invoked in the same Moorti. And among the two Moorti-s on each side representing two consorts, the one to our left can be taken as Shachi (consort of Indra) while the other to our right can be taken as Rati (consort of Kaama). My take is that one can’t go wrong with the above line of thought.
Next, we’ll start looking at the Aantarika Prapancha Devata-s who are even higher than the Baahya Prapancha Devata-s mentioned above.
