Significance of Kalyana Utsavams

(My yoga instructor wanted a write-up on this topic! Wrote out something quick this morning!)

Devotees love to perform Kalyana Utsavams for the Lord- the most popular one being Srinivasa Kalyanam. Here, a wedding ritual is performed for Srinivasa and his consort at Tirupati. Similarly, Kalyana utsavams are performed for other deities in various temples and sometimes even at home.

In this abstract, we look at some of the reasons for performing a Kalyana Utsavam. What is the rationale behind this ritual? What does the devotee hope to gain through this elaborate puja?

Before we get into the details of Kalyana　Utsavam, it would be fitting to look at bhakti in general and see where this kalyana utsavam ritual fits in the entire bhakti landscape.　

Bhakti can be looked at in 9 different ways as per our scriptures- "nava vidha bhakti".

In this arrangement, bhakti can be classified in terms of:
3 ways of invoking the Lord (in terms of action)
3 forms of invoking the Lord (in terms of altar)
3 fold reasons for invoking the Lord


Three-fold way of invoking the Lord:
The Lord can be invoked in a three-fold manner: Using "kaayika karma" (through physical action), "vaachika karma" (through oral action) and "maanasa karma" (through mental action).

All types of puja and ritual come under "kaayika karma". This format gives the widest scope- prostration, circumambulation, lighting the lamp etc. is done by the body. This is "kaayika karma".　 Satyanarayana puja is a type of kaayika karma. Recitation of mantras is also part of the ritual, but it is predominantly a kaayika karma.

All types of recitation (paaraayana) of mantras and stotras and japa come under "vaachika karma". Here, the emphasis is mainly on recitation. The involvement of the body is minimal.

Any type of meditation and "mental recitation" of prayers comes under "maanasa karma".

In terms of complexity, "kaayika karma" is the simplest, vaachika karma is more difficult and maanasa karma is the toughest because the mind alone is involved in this activity.


Three-fold forms of the Lord:

While prayer can be in a three-fold way as kaayika, vaachika and maanasa, the Lord can be visualized in a three-fold way too.
The simplest form is to look at the Lord as a person, as an ishta devata with a specific form and with attributes. It could be as Rama or Krishna or Shiva or Devi. This is called "eka rupa ishvara" i.e. the Lord with a particular form.


Next, the devotee moves onto visualizing the entire cosmos as the body of the Lord, where the Lord is not one particular form, but appears as the entire universe. This is "aneka rupa ishvara" or the Lord as the vishvarupa.

Finally, the devotee sees the Lord as his own inner Self, as the very consciousness which illumines his own thoughts. This is "arupa ishwara" where the Lord is seen with no attributes.

Even here, we have a gradation. Eka rupa ishvara is the simplest in terms of visualization and arupa ishvara is the most abstract.


Three-fold reasons for invoking the Lord:

The Lord is invoked in three situations –

When we are in distress and we need a particular problem solved, the devotee becomes an "aarta bhakta". When we need a particular accomplishment, the Lord is invoked for success in the venture, the devotee becomes an "arthaarthi bhakta". Finally, when we realize the limitations of all accomplishment and we invoke the Lord to gain Him as an end in itself, the devotee becomes a "jignyaasu bhakta".


Nava-vidha bhakti and religious practices:



Our daily religious practice involves choosing one of the options from the above nava-vidha bhakti set. The simplest options are typically chosen from each set for daily worship.

The "kaayika method" is used as the sadhana. The Lord is invoked in a particular form (eka rupa ishvara) (as Rama or Krishna).

The reason for the puja is typically nitya-karma (as a routine) or in special cases, to ward off a particular problem (aarta) or accomplish a specific goal (artha).

The "shodasha upachaara puja" (puja with 16 steps) that is followed in most traditional homes is a typical example. We relate to the Lord as if He is a person (ishta devata) and offer water (aachamanam and arghyam), wash his feet (paadyam), offer food (neivedyam) etc.

In doing so, we develop a unique and personal relationship with the Lord and derive solace and comfort from it. Tyagaraja’s relationship with Lord Rama and Surdas’s relationship with Lord Krishna are examples where the Ishta Devata bhakti has reached culmination.


Kalyana Utsavam:

Kalyana Utsavam is a special ritual where we derive pleasure in conducting the wedding for the Lord Himself.

It is an extension of the "ishta devata" bhakti where in addition to the "shodasha upachara" that we perform on a daily basis, we extend the same concept to an elaborate "kalyana utsavam". Either we watch someone performing the ritual or we perform the puja on our own.

In this context, we need to extend one of the reasons for which the Lord is invoked. In technical terms, it is called "sambodhana dhvani". Here, we use those attributes of the Lord that we see lacking in ourselves and through the prayer for that specific attribute, we gain that outcome.

When archana is done to the Lord with the name "ashokah", it is an example of sambodhana dhvani.

We face problems in life and grieve for different reasons. There is "shoka".

Hence, the Lord is invoked as "ashokah" (the one who has no sorrow) so that… that particular trait which is lacking in me and which He has in full measure, may come to me.

Kalyana Utsavam also falls in this category. We seek marital happiness in our lives. Either there is difficulty in finding a suitable partner or we find the happiness lacking in our married lives. Kalyana utsavams act as a "sambodhana" as it were. In conducting His wedding and see Him happily married, we ask for the same happiness in our own lives!


Hidden significance of Kalyana utsavam:

The Lord's consort is taken as a metaphor for the "jivatma", the individual Self. The Lord is the paramatma, the total Self. The jivatma gets deluded by moha (as Sita did when aspiring for the golden deer) and gets separated from the paramatma. Further, the jivatma suffers from the tyranny of the ten sense organs which go haywire (as symbolized by Ravana) and gets imprisoned in the ocean of samsara.

To restore the jivatma back to its rightful owner- the paramatma, we need an acharya, a guru. Hanuman in the Ramayana symbolizes the guru who helps the jivatma to again unite with the paramatma.

The union of the divine couple can be taken as a symbolic union of the jiva and the paramatma. The Kalyana Utsavam can be interpreted on these philosophical lines as well. Adi Shankara in the Atma Bodha and Sadashiva Brahmendra in the popular song "khelati mama hridaye" have interpreted the union on these lines.


Benefits of performing Kalyana utsavam:

It is often humorously mentioned that there is one relationship that the Lord misses. Since the Lord is the "causeless-cause", he has no cause and hence no parents, as it were! When we perform a Kalyana utsava for the Lord, in effect, He gets to enjoy the role of being our son!

For us, it is the Lord's saulabhya that we get the immense pleasure to be His parents when we perform the Kalyana utsava! It is like the bhaagya that Yashoda enjoyed in being the Lord's own mother in Krishna avatara. In the Srinivasa Kalyana Mahatmyam, it is said that Yashoda wanted to witness the Lord's wedding, an opportunity she never had in Krishna Avatara. In effect, she engineered Lord Srinivasa's wedding to Padmavati and had the opportunity to witness this blissful event. Such is the pleasure of performing or witnessing the Kalyana Utsavam.

As with any ritual, the variety of acts provide a wide canvas for the mind to rest. Our attention is rivetted on the Lord and His consort for the entire duration of the Kalyana utsavam. It enables the mind to develop single-pointedness (ekaagrata). A prepared mind becomes the right vehicle to absorb the teaching (gnyaana) and attain realization (moksha).

Every ritual provides an opportunity to fine-tune the mind for later gnyaana. The kalyana utsavam provides this benefit- a prepared mind, a key prequisite for gnyaana and the resultant fruit of moksha.

Drawing the Alimentary Canal

I watched my daughter drawing out the Alimentary Canal in her science notebook. She drew a bit of what should have been the head... (hopefully!), got the eraser out and rubbed it off, drew some more, erased more, made one more attempt to get the curve of the head right....only to be erased again!
There was growing frustration and I could sense it. The paper had lost its sheen. Several unsuccessful heads...lay etched to the paper surface...in concentric patterns. Any attempt to erase them off  would have left a hole in the paper. Already, the bright picture of the previous page, could be seen peeping through. The page was just about holding up, tenuously, threatening to give off any moment!

Nothing seemed to have changed over the years! We may not have those dull looking, grey "sandow" erasers anymore. They have been replaced with other erasers, more elegant and fragrant. But the eraser's job was still the same- it never erased the pencil marks. It simply removed that layer of paper!
And yes, drawing the Alimentary Canal was just as complicated. I was hoping that with the passage of time, it would perhaps have fewer parts, but no such luck!
I left my daughter make one last attempt to get the Alimentary Canal right. The precarious condition of the paper allowed just that. It was exactly like tight rope walking- you can't afford to make one mistake, not one use of the eraser. You had to get the whole thing right....in a single, unbroken swish of the pencil! Surprisingly, she got it right this time....almost!

Drawing the Alimentary Canal isn't elementary, by any stretch of imagination! There are two broad schools of thought when it comes to drawing the Alimentary Canal- first, sketch the basic outline of the human body and then fit the organs in it. The second is to draw all the organs out...and round it off with the outline of the human body. We have no idea in what order God fabricates this blessed thing- both seem equally challenging and impossible.

If you manage to get the outline right, there is an overwhelming sense of accomplishment all right, but it lasts only till you start drawing the organs out. There is just a bewildering number of items to be fitted. By the time, you come to the end of the body, where the inverted V of the legs touch the trunk, you figure out that you've drawn only the stomach and the liver! You have the entire folds of the intestine, both the small and the large... to now be fitted. It's like reaching Lands-end...there isn't space any more; you simply have to jump over the cliff! You curse yourself for drawing the gullet so long....so that it has sagged right upto the lower abdomen leading to this space crunch!
Fixing this problem is no easy task. The next attempt is worse in execution. Now, everything is bunched up to the top. The gullet ends at the throat, the stomach at the chest and by the time you finish small and large intestine, you're still at the torso! You're left with the rectum or anus or whatever that organ is...and still have miles to go...before you can go! You murmur an audible what the hell to yourself and with contempt, extend the rectum all the way to lands-end till it starts resembling the gullet both in its shape and length! It doesn't look right anymore and everything has to be erased. In the process, you've erased the outline of the Mona Lisa...the only part that you got right...and can't redraw even that!

You abandon Plan A and move to Plan B. Plan B definitely looks like a better idea. You take your own time and space to draw all the organs out and  simply have to draw the body contours in keeping with the organs. It seems such an intuitive method and you kick yourself for not using this approach earlier. After an hour of feverish work, you've got it all right- the esophagus, the stomach, the liver, the pancreas, the small intestine, the large...every thing drawn to a nicety.
Reality strikes when the outline has to be drawn. With the organs all far flung out, by the time you've penciled the body, it ain't a human being anymore, it starts rivaling a map of India! Even giving allowance for obese individuals, this isn't like anyone on this planet. The shoulders have to be extended so that arms can come down wide, the arms have to come down wide to fit the overly bloated stomach. The waist has to be wider because the intestines are sticking out...and by the time you come to the rectum and decide to the draw the legs, the page has come to a close! There's no room for the legs...and the drawing bears an uncanny resemblance to the digestive system in a tortoise! You have half a mind to write P.T.O. at the bottom of the page...and draw the legs possibly on the following page!!

I've often wondered why an Alimentary Canal needs an individual's face to be side-faced, I mean, it's always a profile. There's not a single Alimentary Canal out there, where an individual can have a straight face and still have an Alimentary Canal! It's like one of those pictures of Kapil Dev. I don't even know if he can stand straight. All the pictures show him completely twisted, with a bent knee and a bent elbow...half a feet above the ground...and eyeballs exploding from their sockets...as he looks over his shoulder....on the verge of delivering the ball!

Many years ago, we were at an Inter School Science Project. Our teacher was insistent that it should be a "working model" of the Alimentary Canal. We worked diligently over many weeks...struggling with thermocol and a heated knife, cardboard and fluorescent paint, staying up for many hours after school. Our handiwork was finally ready and we landed up at Amoolak Amichand School. (I can't get the spelling right, but it is close.) Our Science teacher hadn't had time to see the final creation. She would see the exhibit just like the chief guest....right at the venue!

It was the most gigantic Alimentary Canals ever made by mankind! By the time, we stitched all the thermocol pieces together, the gullet had to begin right at the ceiling. The rectum of course, was close to the floor. It was a brilliant effort. Adhir, Kumar and myself glowed with genuine pride as we surveyed the final product. A group of Auxilium Convent girls (who also had an exhibit in the same room) looked on in awe....and we hit the ceiling, just like our handicraft. The fluorescent paint made the whole thing simply leap out of the wall. It was a "working model". We snaked a transparent pipe all the way....tediously....from the mouth...through miles and miles of the digestive system...right till the rectum.  The bucket was also ready. It had tasty juice, made with multiple packs of concentrated "Rasna" syrup...in a bright tinge of orange! Kumar managed a ladder somehow. He stood precariously perched...with his head hitting the ceiling...with a mug of Rasna juice in hand. Adhir squatted with the bucket.... at the rectum... all attentive.  Miss Almeida looked on. The Rasna was poured into the mouth. We could see it moving through the multitude of body parts...till Adhir collected it at the bottom! And yes, you simply needed more mugfills to repeat the process.
If at all we had a difference of opinion, it was only about who would sit with the bucket. No one wanted to do the dirty job!! Occasionally, Kumar didn't pour it right...and drenched Adhir with a mugful of fresh Rasna, completely ruining the uniform.

I didn't have much to do. I looked at the Auxilium girls. They were laughing their guts out. I looked at Miss Almeida. I saw a grimace on her face....a pained expression.. you might say. She clearly wasn't impressed. I wonder why.