गले रेखास्तिस्रो गतिगमकगीतैकनिपुणे
विवाहव्यानद्धप्रगुणगुणसंख्याप्रतिभुवः।
विराजन्ते नानाविधमधुररागाकरभुवां
त्रयाणां ग्रामाणां स्थितिनियमसीमान इव ते॥
gale rekhāstisro gatigamakagītaikanipuṇe
vivāhavyānaddhapraguṇaguṇasaṁkhyāpratibhuvaḥ |
virājante nānāvidhamadhurarāgākarabhuvāṁ
trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ sthitiniyamasīmāna iva te ||
gale –neck; rekhāstisro –three lines; gati gamaka gītaika nipuṇe – expert in singing with gati and gamaka (both associated with the way in which vocal music is rendered); vivāha vyānaddha praguṇa guṇa saṁkhyā pratibhuvaḥ - reminding the auspicious thread made of three strings, tied during marriage (māṅgalyasūtra); virājante – embellishing; nānāvidha madhura rāgākara bhuvāṁ - the source of multitude of pleasing melodies; trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ - three musical notes (ṣaḍja, gāndhāra and madhyama); sthiti niyama sīmāna iva – boundaries delimiting musical notes; te – Your;
“You neck (containing vocal cord), which has the expertise of singing melodious tunes, has three lines. They remind us about the auspicious thread (māṅgalyasūtra) tied in your neck by Śiva, which is made of three intertwined (yellow) threads. The three lines also appear like boundaries delimiting musical notes.”
Śaṁkarācārya describes Her neck. He says that there are lines in Her neck. Three lines around the neck is described as the sign of auspiciousness in sāmudrikalakṣaṇa (study of body parts and its effects). On seeing these three lines, Śaṁkarācārya could immediately recollect about tying of māṅgalyasūtra on Her neck by Śiva during their marriage. Māṅgalyasūtra is made of three intertwined yellow colour threads and after intertwining, the thread that is to be tied becomes thick and in the centre of this thick thread , māṅgalya is fixed and the loose ends are kept open. Māṅgalya is explained as an object of auspiciousness that conveys happiness. An ordinary poet could have stopped at this point. But Śaṁkarācārya goes further and says that these lines not only reminds him about māṅgalyasūtra, but also reminds him about the boundary lines between musical notes. There are seven basic musical notes known as saptasvara (seven musical notes/sound) and these notes are sa, ṛ, gā, ma, pa, dha and ni and these notes are known as ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata and niṣāda. Out of these seven only three, which are mentioned in this verse are known as grāma. Since Śaṁkarācārya was expert in anything, including music, he chose only the three grāma-s to describe the three lines in Her neck. This also indirectly explains the qualities of a great Guru. A Guru should know almost everything, not merely mantras and rituals. From these lines, which are compared to grāma, all other musical notes originate. Therefore, he also establishes that everything originates from Her.
Further reading: According to Hindu Scriptures, a marriage has many ceremonies, out of which most important ceremonies are:
1. Kanyādāna, where the girl is given as a gift to groom’s family. This is only a gift and no monetary or material transactions are involved. Bride’s father is the one, who gives the gift to the groom.
2. Saptapadī, where the groom holding the big toe of the right foot of the bride and makes her to walk seven steps. While holding her big toe, groom’s right hand thumb should be facing upwards.
There are other rituals too, but tying māṅgalyasūtra is not mentioned in the ancient texts. It is important that kanyādāna should be performed during auspicious muhūrta. Someone could say that saptapadī should also be done during muhūrta. Muhūrta is 1/30 of 24 hours, which means 48 minutes, which represent time duration of two stars (nakṣatra-s). There are 30 muhūrta-s in a day and each muhūrta also has a name.
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