GAU MATA: Prayers, Painting, and Essay

 

GAU MATA: Prayers, Painting, and Essay

(3 min read)

This blog presents two prayers for GAU MATA, one by a gau bhakt, and another by ChatGPT; a painting by DALL-E; and an essay by an unknown author.

Three chantings daily of the prayer composed by the gau bhakt alongwith ceremonial worship of GAU MATA will absolve all past sins, and shower GAU MATA’s limitless blessings, subject to the condition that the worshipper is a true bhakt of Bharatiya Cow, and sincere in his/her prayer.

Benefits may also accrue from chanting of ChatGPT prayer, but further  details may be obtained from ChatGPT.

GAU MATA Vandana

(GAU MATA refers only to those Bharatiya ‘native’ cows who are direct descendants of Kamdhenu! This prayer should not be offered to cash-cows like Holstein Friesian, Jersey, and other foreign cows, the author has advised.)

O GAU MATA! Holy Mother!

Nourishing your calves, and

Your human children,

With Amrit from your bountiful udder,

Never complaining about insufficient fodder;

Giver of panchagavya,

To purify the sinners,

Covid kept at bay with Gobar-snan,

Life-long immunity granted with Gaumutra sevan.

During our life, O Kamdhenu,

You blessed us with your munificence,

After our death,

Only your sturdy, reliable tail

Enables a safe swim across the tumultuous Vaitarani;

O Jeevandayini,

O Mokshapradayini,

We offer sashtanga dandavat, i.e., prostrate salutations,

Bless us with health, wealth, peace, prosperity, and

All other mundane human expectations.

***

Painting of Holy Cow in Jiban Biswas Style by DALL-E

***

Prayer for “Cow, Holy Mother” by ChatGPT

 The prayer given below has been authored by ChatGPT, with minor edit by this author.

"O, beloved Cow, Holy Mother, source of sustenance and nurturance for all living beings. We turn to you in reverence and devotion, seeking your blessings for health, wealth, peace, and prosperity.

May your gentle and nurturing nature guide us to lead a virtuous life filled with compassion, kindness, and generosity.

May your generous nourishment bring us abundance and prosperity in all aspects of our lives. May we never lack the necessities of life and may our wealth grow with each passing day.

May your peaceful presence calm our minds and bring peace to our hearts. May we experience inner peace and harmony in our relationships with others.

O, Holy Mother Cow, we humbly request your blessings for ourselves and for all those who seek your divine grace. May your loving presence be felt by all and may we all live in your grace and protection.

We offer you our gratitude and devotion, now and always. Please accept our humble prayer."

Essay on Cow by IAS aspirant

The following is an essay by an IAS aspirant, a source claims. The candidate reportedly passed the UPSC exam. A reliable source in the UPSC, requested for a fact-check, regretted for lack of information regarding the year of the examination, and the Roll No. of the candidate.

“The cow is a successful animal. Also he is quadrupud, and because he is female, he give milk, but will do so when he is got child. He is same like God, sacred to Hindus and useful to man. But he has got four legs together. Two are forwards and two are afterwards. “His whole body can be utilised for use. More so the milk. What can it do? Various ghee, butter, cream, curd, why and the condensed milk and so forth. Also he is useful to cobblers, watermans and mankind generally. “His motion is slow only because he is of  asitudinious species. Also his other motion is very useful to trees, plants as well as making flat cakes in hand and drying in the sun. Cow is the only animal that extricates his feeding after eating. Then afterwards she chew with his teeth whom are situated in the inside of the mouth. He is incessantly in the meadows in the grass. “His only attacking and defending organ is the horn, specially so when he is got child. This is done by knowing his head whereby he causes the weapons to be paralleled to the ground of the earth and instantly proceed with great velocity forwards. “ He has got tails also, but not like similar animals. It has hairs on the other end of the other side. This is done to frighten away the flies which alight on his cohoa body whereupon he gives hit with it. The palms of his feet are soft unto the touch. So the grasses head is not crushed. At night time have poses by looking down on the ground and he shouts his eyes like his relatives, the horses does not do so. “This is the cow.”

Some people believe that the same officer may have drafted the APPEAL for Cow Hug Day! The remarkable improvement in his writing ability is owing to the regular, rigorous, and compulsory  in-Service training mandated by DoPT; though it is still work in progress.

APPEAL for Cow Hug Day

Animal Welfare Board of India (Bharatiya Jiva Jantu Kalyan Board) issued an APPEAL on 6^th February 2023 for celebration of 14^th February 2023 as Cow Hug Day (Gou Aalingan Diwas). The text of the circular is quoted below:

“We all know that the Cow is the backbone of Indian culture and rural economy, sustains our life, represent cattle wealth and biodiversity. It is known as “Kamdhenu” and “Gaumata” because of its nourishing nature like mother, the giver of all providing riches to humanity.

Vedic traditions are almost on the verge of extinction due to the progress of west culture over time. The dazzle of western civilization has made our physical culture and heritage almost forgotten.

In view of the immense benefit of the cow, hugging with cow will bring emotional richness hence will increase our individual & collective happiness. Therefore, all the cow lovers may also celebrate the February 14 as Cow hug day keeping in mind the importance of mother cow and make life happy and full of positive energy.

This issues with the approval of competent authority and on the direction of Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.”

AWBI Circular Dated 10.02.2023

“As directed by the Competent Authority and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the appeal issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India for celebration of Cow Hug Day on February 14, 2023 stands withdrawn."

***

Note: 

• Author's profile may be seen at http://amazon.com/author/pkdash
• Books by this author are available on Amazon.in, Kindle eBook, Flipkart, and Notion Press, Chennai.

***  

 

 

 

Prayers to Ma Saraswati

Blogger’s Prayer

ॐ ऎं सरस्वत्यै ऎं नमः।

ॐ ऐं ह्रीं सरस्वत्यै नमः।

With devotion recited  your Bija Mantra, O Mother!

या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता

या वीणावरदण्डमण्डितकरा या श्वेतपद्मासना ।

या ब्रह्माच्युतशंकरप्रभृतिभिर्देवैः सदा पूजिता

सा मां पातु सरस्वति भगवती निःशेषजाड्यापहा ॥

You know, Mother, that I know the full stotra,

But refrain from singing the whole lyric to save your precious time;

Ma Saraswati, Sashtang Pranam,

Buddhi-pradam Sharadam!

Remove the delusion and darkness of my ego, 

Forever reside in my heart;

You blessed a very-dumb wood-cutter,

Made him Kalidas;

You blessed this not-very-dumb son,

He is now a minor, self-proclaimed author;

Glory be to You, Venerable Mother!

Guiding me to learn of men (also women and other animals) and matter,

You taught me to read and think.

Of all that I write, You, Mother, are the true author,

Merely using me as your humble stenographer.

You also made me a blogger,

For worse or better,

Please, Mother,

Get me many a reader,

Intelligent, perceptive, and

Full of empathy.

Make my thoughts deep,

Words laden with meaning,

Sentences like mountain streams warbling,

Bless your child,

O Mother!

For missing or mis-spelt words,

For imperfect sentences, if any,

I seek your forgiveness,

O Parameshwari,

Always shower your blessings on me.

***

Readers’ Prayer

Ma Saraswati,

या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता, etc.,

Accept our prostrate salutations, and

This urgent petition.

O Mother,

For which sins in our previous lives

Have you inflicted on us

This babbling blogger?

A buffoon, and a bore,

Masquerading as an author,

There’s a fitter word for him that perfectly rhymes,

But cannot be used in a prayer.

Please tell him

To stop writing inane blogs, and

Not pester us for ‘Likes’ and more,

For his strange affliction,

His literary ambition,

Provide some permanent cure,

Get him a post-retirement sinecure.

Whisper to him,

Blogging is a huge waste,

To publish a book is best,

Through which he may present his charm,

But in our conviction, we stay firm,

Not to buy his next book, or

The previous ones.

***

 

Radha’s Diet Therapy: Part II

In my previous blog: Radha’s Diet Therapy: Part I, I had translated the Sambalpuri song, and had mentioned a similar Odia song rendered by Prafulla Kar. In this blog, I share my translation of the Odia song along with brief comments.

Thus Sang Radha

Odia Song: Boile Radhika…[i]   

(Translation by Prasanna Dash)

Have you any remedy,

O Dooti,

For my unbearable malady,

To soothe the pangs of separation?

What measures have you tried,

O Radha,

Why no medicine works on you,

Tell me of anything you need,

A favourite dish, maybe?

O Dooti,

Please fetch forthwith

Kunja Binodia kanji,

Fried green banana rounds

from the fruit of the plant

Near the Kadamba tree,

A raita made of Narayana janhi,

Patitapabana dali,

Gobinda-Gopala khechedi,

Garnished with ghee in Hari’s name;

Serve all these delicacies

On the leaf-plate from which Madhusudana ate,

Include in remembrance of Mukunda,

A portion of ukhuda with diced ginger, and

Mohan-bhog for which I pine,

Lastly, a slice of Krushna kagezi lemon

To revive my palate;

After this soul-satisfying meal,

For my siesta,

Spread a Ghanashyama quilt

White and soft as lia.

Make haste,

O Dooti,

Fetch all these items

To get me over my nausea,

For me to once again

Savour the sight, smell, and taste

Of Krushna, life, and food.

 

That will cure my fever,

Says Purna Rama Bihari.

***

Odia Song and Sambalpuri Song

The lyricist for the Odia song is Purna Rama Bihari, and that for the Sambalpuri song is Gobinda; the singer and composer for the former is Prafulla Kar, and for the latter the singer is Fakir Pattanaik and the composer is Raghunath Panigrahi.

Which of these two songs is the original? Both these songs were released by Saregama India Ltd – the Odia song on 09/01/1988, and the Sambalpuri song on 25/05/1995. Hence, possibly, the Sambalpuri song is an adaptation from the Odia song.

Odia Song: Brief Comments

The song is a complex prayer. The dishes desired by Radha are incidental to the song - the gentle, playful waves of a deep ocean as it were; Radha’s love for Krishna and her reverence for Vishnu constitute the essence of this prayer. Radha fondly recalls the following names – Kunja Binodia, Narayana, Patitapabana, Gobinda, Gopala, Hari, Madhusudana, Mukunda, Mohan, Krushna, and Ghanashyama; of which a few apply to Krishna, and the others are the names of Vishnu.

Madhusudan’s Leaf-plate

Significantly, Radha asks Dooti to serve all these dishes she had ordered on Madhusudan’s plate, either a khali – a leaf-plate, or a piece of plantain leaf. Why from Madhusudan’s plate? Being so much in love with Krishna, she knows that the dishes she has sought are also her lover’s favourite dishes, and imagines him to materialise (Krishna could appear and disappear at will!) and feast upon it. Also, a married woman eats uchhista only if it be prasad offered to God, or from her husband’s plate. Radha is Sri or Lakshmi incarnate and for her Krishna is God, lover, and husband. That is why she desires to partake her meal from Madhusudan’s plate, after he has eaten.

Radha’s viraha: temporary or permanent?

Is the viraha temporary or permanent? The lyricist gives no clue.

While Krushna was at Gopa, sometimes he neglected Radha who suspected him of favouring one or more Gopis, and was torn by jealousy and anguish. However, Krishna always managed to placate her, once placing her lotus-like feet on his head to seek forgiveness: dehi pada pallavam udaram!

Radha with her confidant, pining for Krishna, Gita Govinda illustration, Kangra style, ca 1775-80. 

(Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

But Krishna left Gopa for good, never to return, and the separation for Radha was traumatic and permanent. How did Radha come to terms with her eternal grief? How else but by imagining Krishna’s presence everywhere and in everything around her including in the dishes she ate?

Krishna deserted her physically, but there was nothing Krishna could do if she visualised him in her mind’s eye every moment of her life, and felt his presence in every pore of her body and in every thought in her mind. Krishna could not deny to a devotee, so very much in deep love with him, his eternal togetherness, the Maha Rasa that is the Ultimate Bliss.

Where is Krishna?

Is he at Gopa, Mathura, or Dvaraka? Is Radha an ordinary gopi besotted with Krishna, or is she Lakshmi who resides permanently in Vishnu’s heart? Does she suffer the sorrow of separation from Krishna like an ordinary woman, or does she realise that Krishna, being Vishnu, is all the time with her?

This song is a prayer, and does not attempt to discuss these complex philosophical issues. Radha sings her prayer in her own style and the audience may make their own inference while recalling what God Himself had told Narada:

naham tisthami vaikunthe

 yoginam hrdayesu va

tatra tisthami narada

 yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah

In this song, Radha, a devotee, sings her soulful prayer.

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[i] Odia Song: Boile Radhika…

Lyricist – Purna Rama Bihari

Lyrics Source: You Tube song uploaded by Saregama India Ltd,

Singer & Composer – Prafulla Kar

Released on – 1988-01-09

Link for the song: https://youtu.be/RNZ1lDpvHmY?si=_go5r5l59jDZpxr5