VISHUVAM OR EQUAL DAY AND NIGHT WHEN LATITUDE OF PLACE AND SUNS DECLINATION IS SAME , MALAYALAM NEW YEAR , SUNs ENTRY INTO MEDHAM RASHI ( MESHA , ARIES ) SEEDING TIME, TROPICAL SAYANA SUN BACKGROUND ZODIAC OF THE WEST , SIDERIAL NIRAYANA STAR BACK GROUND ZODIAC OF HINDUSIM , VISHU KANI, KONNA POO OR CASSIA FISTULA GOLDEN SHOWER FLOWERS , VISHU KAINEETAM, LORD VISHNU THE KAALA PURUSHA OR DIVINE MEDIATOR OF TIME , VISHU SADHYA OR FEAST - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
Above and below : Vishu Konna poo ( golden shower flowers ). We have a Konna poo tree in our home compound.
Vishu is the second biggest festival in Kerala and it ushers in the Malayalam new year . When I was a kid Vishu was bigger than Onam as we got the chance to burst crackers and light fireworks – a pretty exciting thing to do as a small child..
Below: Kerala at the times of Vishu, is a sight for the sore eyes. It has to be seen to be believed
This festival is celebrated by Hindus, unlike Onam which is celebrated by all religions of Kerala.
Vishu is derived from “Vishuvam” in Sanskrit and Malayalam, which means “equal”.
On the day of Vishu when the sun enters Medham rashi, the day is EQUAL to night. This means that the latitude of the place is the same as the declination of the sun.
What is declination of the sun?
If a straight line is drawn from the centre of the sun to the centre of the earth, the line will cut the earth’s crust at a place. The latitude of that spot is the same as the latitude of the sun, and hence called sun’s declination.
The sun keeps going up and down from the tropic of Cancer to the tropic of Capricon endlessly, as the earth is tilted to 23.4 degrees.
The tilt of the earth axis at 23.4 degrees , causes the seasons on the planet, which sustains life .
The earth revolves around the sun and rotates on its axis at the same time, keeping the planet alive. There is a divine ratio of 108 , between earth, moon and sun.
This was NOT accidental and Lord Vishnu took the Varaha ( boar ) avatar for this, to set things in the proper place, so that the earth continued as a rotating a devolving self excited dynamo.
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VISHNU AVATAR VARAHA BOAR , FIXING THE PLANET AT CONSTANT OF 108 AT AN AXIS OF 23.4 DEGREES VADAKAYIL
“ After planting the earth, He adorned it with mountains and then divided it into seven continents” - Vishnu Purana 1.4.45-50
The shadow cast by the Earth stretches back 108 times the diameter of the Earth and the sun is 108 times the earth's diameter. The distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
Mantras are chanted 108 times, and hence the Rudraksha rosary mala has 108 beads..
antar-maharnava upagatam adi-daityam
tam damstrayadrim iva vajra-dharo dadara
"The unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar for the rescue of the earth and pierced the first demon Hiranyaksa with His tusks." - (S.Baghawatam. 2.7.1)
If there were no seasons – there would be NO chance for Brahma and Shiva to create and destroy – like evaporation and condensation, to sustain life on the planet .
Birds and whales wouldn't migrate, bears wouldn't hibernate, and insect populations wouldn't cycle. Deciduous trees (those that shed their leaves before a cold season) and perennial plants would die, having been denied their required dormant season.
The cycles of flowering plants would be disrupted. All plant life on earth would be affected, and because the feeding and reproductive stages of nearly all animal-life on earth follows the seasonal changes in the plant world, the results would clearly be monumental.
Summer is warmer than winter (in each hemisphere) because the Sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle during summer than during winter and also because the days are much longer than the nights during the summer. During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the Earth at an extreme angle, and the days are very short.
There would be no ocean currents and monsoons, due to lack of clockwise and counter-clockwise vortices..
In a world without seasons, there wouldn't even be wheat., humans would probably never have advanced past a state of living in small, scattered settlements, scrounging for survival and often dying of horrific insect-borne diseases.
Earth without a tilt would be stratified into climate bands that would get progressively colder as you moved away from the equator. Humans would never survive the continuous winter of the high latitudes, and so we would likely congregate in the planet's tropical midsection with a dwindling fresh water supply..
If the habitable world were a humid tropical zone like the rain forests of the Congo, unrelenting rainfall would quickly erode soil in any areas cleared for farming, and would leach nutrients down below root level, swiftly rendering tilled land infertile for crops.
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DVAITA VEDANTA OF SANATANA DHARMA OR HINDUISM VADAKAYIL
Vishu is usually on 14thApril.
However in 2014, it is on April 15th.
On April 14that a place in Kerala slightly north of Kochi and south of Trichur, will have the same declination of the sun, on its passage northwards from the equator to the tropic of Cancer.
The Tropic of cancer is at 23.4 deg North and the Tropic of Capricon is 23.4 deg South. The sun will travel north till it reaches the tropic of cancer ( relative ) and then will turn back and proceed south to the tropic of Capricon — continiously and endlessly.
This means places North of tropic of cancer in India will never have the SUN DIRECLY OVERHEAD AT NOON .
When the sun is exactly overhead at noon, a vertical stick or a tall pillar on the ground will cast no shadow, and the light and dark hours of the day will be of same duration.
When the sun is overhead at the equator, ( declination is zero ) the sun will rise exactly at the east and set exactly at the west . But India does NOT extend to the southwards equator. On ships we have experienced this.
While places below the tropic of Cancer to the southern tip of India will have the sun directly overhead twice— one when the sun is travelling north and the other time when it travels south.
Vishu occurs on the first day when the sun is enters the rashi of medham on its passage NORTHWARDS from the tropic of capricon (via the equator) to the tropic of cancer..
April 14th marks the new year in accordance with Kolla Varsham the Malayalam calendar. This occasion signifies the sun's transit into the Meda Rasi (first zodiac sign ) according to Indian astrological calculations, and represents the vernal equinox.
The Malayalam calendar is a sidereal solar calendar. In Kerala Medam is seeding time.
Western astrology takes the tropical approach, whereas Hindu astrology takes the ACCURATE sidereal one. This results in the originally unified zodiacal coordinate system drifting apart gradually, with a clockwise(westward) precession of 1.4 degrees per century.
For the tropical zodiac used in Western astronomy and astrology, this means that the tropical sign of Aries currently lies somewhere within the constellation Pisces ("Age of Pisces"). Most perceptive modern Western astrologers, have advocated abandoning the tropical system in favour of a sidereal one. This is what happens when you steal without understanding the concepts.
Vedic Hindu astronomy uses sidereal time which takes into account the precession of the equinoxes—though the white man tries to ridicule us for NOT knowing this— and that too after immorally after copying from us.
The earth revolves around the sun in a ELLIPTICAL orbit -- and at the same time the earth wobbles on its own axis -- like a slowed down top, where it takes 25765 years for a full round wobble ..
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the apparent position of the sun moving on the celestial sphere.
The Hindu solar calendar starts on April 14–15 ( Kerala Vishu festival ) each year. This signifies the sun's "entry" into Mesha ( medham ) rashi .
Like I said before , the malayalam calendar is a siderial solar calendar. The position of the earth is reckoned with respect to the zodiacal constellation near which the sun can be found.
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VEDIC COSMOLOGY OF INDIA 5000 BC VADAKAYIL
The Indian national Saka calendar is used, alongside the Gregorian calendar, by the Government of India. The Saka calendar is also used in Bali with Hinduism religion . Here the medham starts on March 21st ( aries ).This is for uniformity to unite the country where there are different methods. The usage officially started at medam (Chaitra) 1, 1879 Saka Era, or March 22, 1957.
This system is totally based on revolving of the earth around the sun. It is independent of revolving of the moon around the earth. . This date March 22nd is chosen , as on this date, the day and night are of equal length in “both hemispheres of the earth”- basically at the equator.
Sidereal and tropical are astrological terms used to describe two different definitions of a "year".
Thus Aries of the tropical zodiac is from 21st March to 20th April—while it is from 15th April to 15th May as per the siderial zodiac.
Both divide the ecliptic into a number of "signs" named after constellations, but while the sidereal system defines the signs based on the fixed stars, the tropical system defines it based on the position of vernal equinox (i.e., the intersection of the ecliptic with the celestial equator).
Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the two systems do not remain fixed relative to each other but drift apart by about 1.4 arc degrees per century..
In astronomy this is a difference between the length of a sun - tropical year (365.2422 rotations of the earth) and a star -sidereal year (365.2563 rotations).
The tropical system was adopted during the Hellenistic period and remains prevalent in Western astrology—basically lifted without commonsense from ancient Hindu astrology .. The Tropical Zodiac is the position of the sun referenced against the earth’s horizon at a particular locale which gives you the seasons as a measure of the flow of time. The framework for the 4 seasons are the 2 solstices and the 2 equinoxes. This is the one most western astrologers use.
The Sidereal Zodiac is the position of the sun referenced against the star background, as a measure of the flow of time. The framework for the star background is the constellations the sun passes in front of. This is the one perceptive astronomers use.
We can measure time by the seasons (tropical time) or by the stars (sidereal time). The sun, as the time hour hand, is common to both.
Tropical Zodiac:--Most people know what their birth sign is. They may be a Libra or a Taurus or one of 10 other signs of the Tropical Zodiac.
What does it mean?
It means that at the time of their birth, from an earth perspective, the sun was in 1 of 12 zones around the earth. Each of the 12 has an angular length of 300. 12 X 300 =3600. The frame of reference for these zones is the sun’s positions relative to the earth’s horizon. As the sun moves through the seasons its altitude changes and so do the compass bearings of its rising and setting positions.
None of these signs can be directly related to a group of stars that can be seen in the skies with one's physical eyes.
Sanskrit term Ayanamsa is the angle by which the sidereal ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is less than its tropical ecliptic longitude. Ayanamsa is around 24° today. The ayanamsha describes the increasing gap between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs. The ayanamsa, changes continually through the Precession of the Equinoxes at the rate of approximately 50" a year. Suryasiddhaanta states that ayanamsha was zero in 499 AD (Mesha Samkranti).
Tropical (sayana) zodiac is analogous to measuring the positions of trees and buildings sitting in a slowly moving bus. Sidereal (nirayana) zodiac, on the other hand, considers a fixed zodiac.
Astrologers when they use modern astronomical calculations to determine the position of celestial bodies, they need to take into account the difference caused by the different reference point used in specifying the longitude, and this they call the ayanamsa. As earth’s precession changes every year, the difference between the tropical zodiac and the sidereal zodiac changes. This difference is called “ayanamsa” (sidereal difference
The Islamic calendar is still lunar, with no correction for the extra days in a solar year. As a result, the Islamic months move forward by about 11 days every solar year. So, for instance, the month of Ramzan (or Ramadan) keeps shifting. It was in November in the year 2005.
Every calendar on this planet ,including the Mayan calendar has been lifted from the Hindu calendar.
During the equinox, a day has equal number of hours of daylight and darkness, which describes the origin of the word "Vishu" which in Sanskrit means "equal".
Malayalam Month ( sidereal ) / English Months
Chingam / 16 August -15 September
Kanni / 16 September -15 October
Thulam / 16 October -15 November
Vrischikam/ 16 November -15 December
Dhanu / 16 December -14 January
Makaram/ 15 January –14 February
Kumbham/ 15 February -14 March
Meenam/ 15 March -14 April
Medam/ 15 April -15 May
Edavam/ 16 May -15 June
Midhunam/ 16 June -15 July
Karkhidakam/ 16 July -15 August
On the day, the Sun leaves Meenam Rasi and enters Meda Rasi, it is Vishu Sankraman and Vishu is celebrated the next day. The first day for Medam is the unchangeable day of Vishu, whereas other festivals are determined according to the lunar asterisms on which they fall.
Tropical Zodiac/ English Months
Aries/ 21 March –20 April
Taurus/ 21 April –21 May
Gemini / 22 May – 21 June
Cancer/ 22 June –22 July
Leo / 23 July – 22 August
Virgo / 23 August –23 September
Libra / 24 September – 23 October
Scorpio/ 24 October –22 November
Sagittarius/ 23 November –21 December
Capricorn/ 22 December –20 January
Aquarius / 21 January –19 February
Pisces / 20 February –20 March
Mind you ,all these fancy English ( Greeko ) names are all STOLEN from the ancient Hindu calendar. All their constellations names too are stolen.
Just a few examples:
Tulam is Libra ( balance ).
Chingam or Simham is Leo ( lion )
Kanni or kanya is Virgo ( virgin girl )
Meenam is Pisces ( fish )
Kumbam is Aquarius ( water pot ).
Midhunam is Gemini ( couple )
The passage of the sun into the Medam ‘rasi’, is called`Meda sankramam’. Only when Meda sankramam takes places before the break of dawn on Medam 1 do we consider it the new year day and wake up to see the Vishukani.
The Indian system calculates a day from sunrise to sunset, unlike the western concept of 24-hour clock, which starts ticking off the day from 12 midnight.
Since the sankramam is after the sunrise on Medam day 1, this day fails to qualify as the new year day, and hence in 2014, April 15th is the day of Vishu.. Only after sunrise does the day begin for us. And sunrise on Medam day 2 is at 6.18 a.m. while it is still technically Medam day 1 till the next sunrise, only by which time Vishu kani time is over.
On Vishu day we invariably get to hear this song between Vishu Kani and sunrise.
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Mayil peeli choodikondum manja thukil chuttikondum
Manikkuzhaloothi kondum kani kanenam
Mayil peeli choodikondum manja thukil chuttikondum
Manikkuzhaloothi kondum kani kanenam
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Vakacharthu kazhiyumbol vasanapoo vaniyumbol
gopikamar kothikkunnorudal kanenam
Vakacharthu kazhiyumbol vasanapoo vaniyumbol
gopikamar kothikkunnorudal kanenam
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Agathiyamadiyante ashru veenu kuthirnnoru
Avalpothi kaikkolluvan kani kanenam
Agathiyamadiyante ashru veenu kuthirnnoru
Avalpothi kaikkolluvan kani kanenam
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Chethi mandaram thulasi pichaka malakal charthi
Guruvayurappa ninne kanikanenam
Lord Vishnu is associated with this holy day. He is the ‘Kaalapurusha’ or lord of Time in Hindu belief. As the Zodiac New Year starts on ‘Vishu’, devotees make oblations to Lord Vishnu ( especially his Krishna avatar ) for his blessings.
As I am typing this, I can see that my wife is preparing for the early morning 0430 hrs, Vishu Kani— she is busy rolling the wicks for the nilavilakku lamp, and I am busy munching on a sweet ripe mango too. The most important event in Vishu is the Vishukkani, which literally means "the first thing seen on the day of Vishu after waking up".
My wife will wake me and my sons at 0500 hrs on Vishu pulari ( dawn ) for seeing the Vishu Kani.
From 0445 to 0500 hrs we usually lie awake in the darkness ( because many houses in the vicinity would have started breaking high decibel crackers already ) , while my wife lights up the lamps and gives the last touches to the vishu kani.
The Hindu Malayali believes that his fortune for the year depends on the first thing he sees on the astronomical New Year day.
Then she will guide me to the kani first with her hands covering my eyes—and when I open my eyes for darshan , what do I see?
It is golden hue everywhere in the darkness — a divine cornucopia-- lighted and polished brass lamps ( nilavilakku ), a golden aramula metal mirror with her gold jewelry reflecting in it, golden shower kani poo, a golden Sri yantra, face of Lord Krishna in her IPad ( modern computer age , right ) , golden colour mangoes, golden kasavu cotton kodi mundu, plantains with lighted scented agarbatti stuck into it , betel leaves and arecanut, naiyappam , unhusked nellu rice overflowing from a brass nazhi vessel, ---
--- coconut, golden ripe papaya, golden large cucumber kani vellari , ganges water in polished brass kindi, a bhagawat gita, navadhanyam pulses, some seasonal vegetable and fruits, a small jack fruit, sindhoor, turmeric, camphor, some gold coins and currency for Vishu kaineetam —the works.
You see this is our ancient culture , running into thousands of years , of the world’s first civilization - and we are proud of it. .
We don’t go off tangent mimicking the decadent west, where your teenaged daughter will get 2 dozen unsolicited love letters and cards on Valentines day from known and unknown shady characters ...
When the decadent west were running around nakes, eating raw meat, staying in damp caves , doing GRUNT GRUNT for language, we were wearing silk and diamonds, eating from a cooked menu, writing poetry in a language thousands of years old, and staying in proper brick houses, with gardens with deers , peacocks and elephants.
These vulgar invaders robbed us blind in 250 years , converting India from the richest on the planet to the poorest -- and now want to make fun of our poverty.
After we receive the vishu kaineetam ( coins / currency ) from my wife, myself and my sons go to burst crackers and light fireworks. Crackers are burst on the previous day twilight of Vishu and after darshan of vishu kani.
I remember in my father’s village at Chemancheri, the entire village used to come for vishu kaineetam to VADAKAYIL HOUSE which was the first tiled and two storey house in the village. The white skinned Collector had crossed the paddy fields and come to Vadakayil house to collect money for the British World War 2 effort ( extortion really -- for he told my grandfather that he expects so much )
Our pet cats would be hiding in some dark corner, as they do NOT appreciate such light pyrotechnics and ear shattering sound .
As kids we used to visit our friends just to check out how many crackers they have burst and what type fireworks they have lit.
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So I would NOT allow our maid to sweep up the litter till our play mates had checked out – about 20 of them.
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So I would NOT allow our maid to sweep up the litter till our play mates had checked out – about 20 of them.
Then we take bath and wear vishu kodi which is basically new clothes . Many visit temples and give donations and food to poor people.
Vishu is celebrated with much fanfare and vigour by children in all parts of Kerala. For them it is a festival of light and fireworks called Vishu padakam.
And then later at noon there is of course the mouth watering feast called Vishu Sadhya –with sometimes as many as 64 dishes.
Konna poo is the state flower of Kerala.
It is the national flower of Thailand, as this was once a Hindu kingdom. You can still see the ancient Hindu temple ruins in Thailand.
Below: The Preah Vihear Temple ruins of Thailand.
Below: Samudra Manthan depicted at Preah Vihear temple
6000 year old Ayurveda uses the bark and fruits of the Konna poo (Cassia fistula) tree as they have great antioxidant properties and boosts the immunity system , and help in purification of the blood. It is called “Aragvadha” or “disease killer”.
Cassia Fistula is great in treating wounds. The specialty of the herb is that it promotes tissue regeneration. The juice extracted from the leaves is used for dressing the infected skin .The roots of Cassia fistula have anti-diabetic properties , to reduce blood sugar and regenerating the pancreas.
Vishu sadhya activates every single taste bud on the tongue ( sweet, salty, bitter , sour , pungent , hot etc ) and is basically vegetarian fare.
Traditional pickles made in traditional clay containers known as ‘bharani’. Kerala used to export spices in bharani.
Jesus Christ took a ship from Bernice in Egypt ( Red sea ) to Muzris ( Kodungallur ) in Kerala, the cultural center of the Calicut ( my hometown ) king.
Kodungallur ( Muzris ) had the world's SECOND synagogue, church and mosque. The church and mosque are still there. The synagogue was destroyed by the marauding Portuguese Catholics 500 year ago, and relocated to Kochi.
Cultivation of new crops commences on the next day after Vishu, and the activities would last up to the Pathamudayam day or the tenth day from the Vishu day.
Vishu sadya ( banquet ) is eaten on banana leaves, the narrow part of the leaf is on the left side, as is our culture. The end of the feast is with Paal Payasam, Pradhaman and Palada Pradhaman.
After which we give a nice BURRRRRPPPPPPP !
THIS IS WHO WE ARE !
CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
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