Vishwakarma Puja
September 17, 2014
A Brief Information about Vishwakarma Puja
Lord Viswakarma is the presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects. Son of Brahma, he is the divine draftsman of the whole universe, and the official builder of all the gods’ palaces. Viswakarma is also the designer of all the flying chariots of the gods, and all their weapons.
In Hindu mythology, Viswakarma is considered as the Divine Architect. He is called ‘Devashilpi’ or ‘The Architect of Gods’ . His mother was Yogasiddha, sister of Brihaspati. His father was Prabhas, the eighth hermit of the legendary Astam Basu. The Rig Veda describes Viswakarma as the god with multi-dimensional vision and supreme strength. He is able to predict well in advance in which direction his creation will move.
Vishwakarma Puja
Hindus widely regard Viswakarma as the god of architecture and engineering, and September 17 every year is celebrated as Viswakarma Puja — a resolution time for workers and craftsmen to increase productivity and gain divine inspiration for creating novel products. This ritual usually takes place within the factory premises or shop floor, and the otherwise mundane workshops come alive with fiesta. Viswakarma Puja is also associated with the buoyant custom of flying kites. This occasion in a way also marks the start of the festive season that culminates in Diwali.
Vishwakarma’s Architectural Wonders
Hindu mythology is full of Vishwakarma’s many architectural wonders. Through the four ‘yugas’, he had built several towns and palaces for the gods. In “Satya yuga”, he built the Swarg Loke, or heaven, the abode of the gods and demigods where Lord Indra rules. Viswakarma then built the ‘Sone ki Lanka’ in “Treta yuga”, the city of Dwarka in “Dwapar yuga”, and Hastinapur and Indraprastha in the “Kali yuga”.
-Swarna Lanka
According to Hindu mythology, ‘Swarna Lanka’ or Golden Lanka was the place where the demon king Ravana dwelled in the “Treta yuga.” As we read in the epic story Ramayana, this was also the place where Ravana kept Sita, Lord Ram’s wife as a hostage. There is also a story behind the construction of Golden Lanka. When Lord Shiva married Parvati, he asked Viswakarma to build a beautiful palace for them to reside. Viswakarma put up a palace made of gold! For the housewarming ceremony, Shiva invited the wise Ravana to perform the “Grihapravesh” ritual. After the sacred ceremony when Shiva asked Ravana to ask anything in return as “Dakshina”, Ravana, overwhelmed with the beauty and grandeur of the palace, asked Shiva for the golden palace itself! Shiva was obliged to accede to Ravana’s wish, and the Golden Lanka became Ravana’s palace.
-Dwarka
Among the many mythical towns Viswakarma built is Dwarka, the capital of Lord Krishna. During the time of the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna is said to have lived in Dwarka, and made it his “Karma Bhoomi” or center of operation. That is why this place in nothern India has become a well known pilgrimage for the Hindus.
-Hastinapur
In the present “Kali Yuga”, Viswakarma is said to have built the town of Hastinapur, the capital of Kauravas and Pandavas, the warring families of the Mahabharata. After winning the battle of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna installed Dharmaraj Yudhisthir as the ruler of Hastinapur.
-Indraprastha
Viswakarma also built the town of Indraprastha for the Pandavas. The Mahabharata has it that King Dhritrashtra offered a piece of land called ‘Khaandavprastha’ to the Pandavas for living. Yudhishtir obeyed his uncle’s order and went to live in Khaandavprastha with the Pandava brothers. Later, Lord Krishna invited Viswakarma to build a capital for the Pandavas on this land, which he renamed ‘Indraprastha’.
Legends tell us about the architectural marvel and beauty of Indraprastha. Floors of the palace were so well done that they had a reflection like that of water, and the pools and ponds inside the palace gave the illusion of a flat surface with no water in them. After the palace was built, the Pandavas invited the Kauravas, and Duryodhan and his brothers went to visit Indraprastha. Not knowing the wonders of the palace, Duryodhan was flummoxed by the floors and the pools, and fell into one of the ponds. The Pandava wife Draupadi, who witnessed this scene, had a good laugh! She retorted, hinting at Duryodhan’s father (the blind king Dhritrashtra) “the son of a blind man is bound to be blind.” This remark of Draupadi annoyed Duryodhan so much that later on it became a major cause for the great war of Kurukshetra described in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.
Vishwakarma Puja is the most secular puja in India. It is celebrated by people from all backgrounds alike. It is perhaps the only puja which is celebrated according to English Calendar. Although, it falls on the last day of the month of Bhadra according to Hindu Saka Calender, we remember it as 17th September which is more convenient to us. And that is how all of us remember it. Earlier it was celebrated by mainly mechanics and construction people in a big way and other people used to have a low key celebration. But, nowadays Vishwakarma Puja is a big affair and everybody seems to celebrate. Vishwakarma Puja is very different from other pujas in Hindu. We have tried to jot down a few:
- No animal sacrifice is ever associated with it.
- Since Vishwakarma Puja was celebrated by mainly mechanics and construction laborers, sometimes we even see that there is no idol in the place of worship and instead tools and instruments are placed there. The above picture shows one such kind of puja. It also propagates the work is worship philosophy.
- Vishwakarma Puja does not need any priest. It is only our devoted belief that is required for a Vishwakarma Puja.
- We never heard of any religious aspersion during Vishwakarma Puja. He is supposedly very loving God. It is perhaps because hardworking people Gods don’t have time to think about those petty things.
- It is also seen that Vishwakarma Puja is celebrated by people of all belief. It is the Puja of a working community. Forgetting religious tensions, everyone comes together to celebrate this Puja.
This are the reasons why we like this Puja the most. Happy Vishwakarma Puja.
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