An important question that induces our curiosity is: Why are cows worshiped on auspicious occasions like Gopuja, Graha pravasam (moving into a newly built home), etc? Bulls, unfortunately, do not receive the same attention as the cows do from the people. Further, bulls are mostly toiling in the agricultural fields with the farmers. Why is this discrepancy?
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| Jallikattu. readersdigest.in |
In a few articles on Indian bulls, I have come across a brief legend that is closely associated with Mattu Pongal. The Hindu legend goes as follows: God Shiva once had sent his gate keeper and mount/vahana Nandi (bull) ''Basava'', from heaven to the earth. The purpose was to convey an oral message to the people living on earth that they should have an oil bath (head bath, applying - gingelly oil all over the body and head; sort of massaging with oil) almost every day and eat once a month. God Shiva's intention was to avoid scarcity of food grains if people ate daily. Basava, the bull in a state of preoccupation, conveyed the message wrongly. He told the people that lord Shiva wanted them to eat every day and take an oil bath once a month. This ''slip of the tongue'' was unintentional, however, a diagonally opposite message had been passed on to the people by the bull. People also had begun to follow Shiva's advice and started eating daily, taking oil bath once a month. To avoid the shortage of food grains, now, the farmers had to cultivate more lands to produce enough grains to meet people's daily requirements.
Bull Basava 's wrong message had bad impact on the agricultural front. Simply a careless act. When god Shiva came to know that his message was distorted and conveyed to the people wrongly by the bull and this would lead to chaos in the villages, he was upset and annoyed. With no choice to pardon the bull, in a state of rage and fury, he banished the bull Basava to live forever on earth to help farmers cover more lands and raise extra food crops required for their daily needs by the people. Hence, we see more bulls in the agricultural belts, plowing the lands, pulling the carts, etc.
So, Mattu Pongal is also a joyous occasion for the hard working bulls to relax and take rest. Hence bulls are also worshiped on this occasion. Bull worshipping is common in Shiva temples where there is a bull stone image right before the Lord's shrine. Further, on the day of Pradosham (15 days a month, Trayodasi Thithi falls between 4.30 pm to 6.00 pm ) at all Shiva temples, Puja is first done to the bull and then to the presiding deity.
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| Pradoshakalam,decorated bull,Tiruvannamalai temple.Arunachala Grace |
The worship of cows and bulls on the day of Mattu Pongal is a special prayer for the prosperity and growth of the cattle population as well as our society with the blessings of gods Indra and God Krishna (Gopala), who himself was a cowherd.
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| Mattu Pongal. YouTube |
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| Jallikattu and cattle.m imes of India |
Wilson, Horace Hayman; Reinhold Rost (1862). Essays and lectures on the religions of the Hindus, Volume 2. Mattu Pongal. Trüber & Co. pp. 170–173. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/jallikattu-focus-on-safety-measures/article22364549.ece
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