The story of Sushila and Kaundinya
One day, Sushila, Kaundinya’s wife sees some women performing a pooja under a tree. When she asks them about it they say, “We are praying to Lord Ananta, the cosmic form of Lord Vishnu, Sesha, the serpent with a thousand hoods on which lord Ananta rests and MahaLakshmi, his consort in the form of Yamunadevi today.
We invoke Ananta by placing his idol or a Purna Kalash on a wooden platform. Then we place another smaller Purna Kalash on the platform to represent Yamunadevi. After this we twist and coil the sacred ‘Darbha’ grass to create a symbolic representation of Sesha.
We offer a red silk thread with 14 knots to lord Ananta while performing the pooja. After the pooja, women tie this Ananta thread on their left arms and men tie it on their right arms. And we remove these threads from our arms after 14 days.
We perform the Ananta Chaturdashi pooja for 14 years and lord Ananta blesses us with divinity and wealth. When the Pandavas were exiled for 12 years, Lord Krishna had advised them to perform this pooja for 14 years to regain the kingdom that they had lost.”
Sushila decides to perform the pooja along with these women. But she does not discuss it with Kaundinya. Kaundinya’s small business starts growing slowly. Kaundinya, however, assumes that his business is flourishing only due to his efforts and intelligence. He is unaware of the vow that Sushila has taken to please lord Ananta.
One day, he sees the red silk thread on Sushila’s left arm. When Kaundinya questions her, Sushila tells him everything. Kaundinya scoffs at her ridiculous beliefs and forcefully removes the Ananta thread from Sushila’s arm and flings it into the fire.
Kaundinya’s business starts dwindling and they are reduced to penury in no time. Kaundinya realizes his folly and decides not to rest until lord Ananta forgives him. He walks off to the forest.
Kaundinya comes across a mango tree laden with ripe luscious mangoes but they are all infested with worms. He then finds a cow and a calf standing on a barren field. Both look thin and sad. He spots a bull at some distance. The bull looks lonely but seems calm and composed.
On walking further he comes across two interconnected lakes. He is not able to refresh himself because of the foul stench that emanates from their waters. He then sees an angry donkey who is braying loudly to himself. Kaundinya runs away from the donkey and stumbles over an elephant. He is frightened out of his wits but regains his balance. Nothing makes sense to him.
He regrets the day he flung the sacred Ananta thread on Sushila’s arm into the fire. He falls on his knees and begs for forgiveness from the lord. But he does not get any reply so he decides to hang himself.
An old Brahmin hobbles past him just then. The Brahmin takes him into a dark cave which leads to a brightly lit palace. Kaundinya finds himself in the midst of an assembly of learned people. He sees the old Brahmin walking straight to the throne. Kaundinya realizes that lord Ananta himself had come to save him.
He bows down humbly before the Lord and asks for forgiveness. Lord Ananta tells Kaundinya that he can rid himself of all his sins if he performs the Ananta Chaturdashi pooja for 14 years.
Kaundinya asks the lord about the strange sights that he had witnessed in the forest. Lord Ananta says, “The mango tree was a Brahmin in his previous life. He was very knowledgeable but never imparted his knowledge to others. The cow is the Earth who has eaten all the seeds of all the plants that had grown on her. So she and her children have nothing to feed on now. The bull symbolizes religion. No one understands his faith but he has faith in his faith and that is enough for him.
As for the two lakes, they were sisters but they never cared to share their waters, which was their wealth, with others. So no one touches their waters now. The donkey represents anger and cruelty. He is stubborn, refuses to let go of his anger and kicks people cruelly when his flaws are brought to his notice. So he has no friends and keeps seeking attention. And the elephant you stumbled over was your own pride! These are the follies of mankind Kaundinya. Only when you shed your pride could you recognize me as Ananta.”
On hearing all this Kaundinya too decides to perform the Ananta Chaturdashi pooja every year.
The 14 knots in the Ananta Threads
Ananta Chaturdashi falls on the day of Lord Ganesha’s visarjan, the 14th day of Shukla Paksha, the waxing phase of the moon in the month of Bhadrapad (August-September). We invoke 14 Gods during this pooja. Also, we should perform the Ananta Chaturdashi pooja for 14 years. And we know the Ananta thread has 14 knots and we remove it after 14 days. But why do we do all this?
Lord Ananta presides over the 14 lokas and he radiates his divine energies in all these realms on Ananta Chaturdashi.
Sesha leads us to lord Ananta
According to the Puranas, Sesha, the cosmic serpent is constantly in touch with Lord Vishnu and is the primary recipient of Anantaprasada. He is Kundalini Shakti, the dormant energy of consciousness that lies at the base of our spine in our body.
According to Kundalini Yoga, a branch of Tantra Yoga, our astral body, the Sukshma Sharira, has three channels: the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis.
The Ida and Pingala nadis intersect at the Sushumna Nadi in our spinal cord at three places: the Muladhara Chakra in our pelvis, Ananhat Chakra in our chest and in the Ajna Chakra which lies between our eyes on our forehead.
These three intersecting points are psychic knots and are called Brahma Granthi (pelvis), Vishnu Granthi (chest) and Rudra Granthi (forehead).
Ideally, our life energy (Prana) should flow freely through our bodies. But these psychic knots, the Granthis block the free flow of Prana in the upward direction.
The Brahma Granthi limits us to the physical dimension. It keeps us rooted in our senses and nurtures our fears. The Vishnu Granthi keeps us entangled in our bonds and creates emotional turmoil. It nurtures our ego and sense of power. The Rudra Granthi prevents us from looking beyond our limited sense of self and blinds us to the benefits of serving others.
When we pray to Sesha on Ananta Chaturdashi, our Kundalini Shakti, which lies like a coiled snake at the base of the Muladhara Chakra awakens and energizes. This releases our Prana which flows upwards to the Vishnu Granthi.
The Ananta thread on our arm energizes the Vishnu Granthi in our body and releases our trapped Prana. We can tune into the energies that lord Vishnu radiates in the cosmos on this day so we experience ‘Ananda.’ Since we are in complete harmony with these divine energies, we can detach ourselves from our Rajasic tendencies like ambition, bondage and love for power, create space for Bhakti ( Yamunadevi) and she leads us to Lord Ananta…
Photos given by: Giridhari.
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