The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Vasant Panchami
India to earn their living by trading
or other businesses. This four-fold
varna plan does give the general status
picture, but the specifics are much
more detailed.
Varnashrama Dharma
In the dharma literature, varnashrama
dharma is the ordering of dharma or
religious duty based on the hierarchical
social ordering of the four major social
groups (varnas) and the four successive
stages of life (ashramas). According to
this theory, all people would be able to
discern their social status and appropriate
function based on their social class
and stage of life. The interrelationship
between these two sets of categories is
often used to denote traditional Hindu
society, in theory if not always in fact.
The term survives in modern times,
but because the doctrine of the
ashramas is now largely ignored, those
who uphold varnashrama dharma are
primarily defending the hierarchical
social divisions commonly known as the
caste system.
Varuna
In the Vedas, the oldest and most
authoritative religious texts, Varuna is
a deity associated with the sky, with
waters, with justice, and with truth.
Varuna belongs to the earliest layer of
the Indo-Aryan deities; this is clearly
shown by comparisons with the
Avesta, an ancient Iranian sacred text
that shows many parallels with the
Vedas, and with even older epigraphic
sources. As portrayed in the Vedas, however,
Varuna’s influence has clearly
declined—there are far fewer hymns
addressed to him than to deities such as
Indra, Agni, and Soma, and he seems to
have played a far less important role
than these other deities in Vedic religion.
In the Vedas, Varuna is portrayed as
the guardian of rta, the cosmic order
through which the world proceeds. As
the deity associated with the high heaven,
he also watches over the deeds of
human beings and punishes them for
any transgressions. The best known
hymn to Varuna, Rg Veda 7.86, shows
Varuna’s connection with justice, moral
order, and the waters. The hymn is the
lament of a person who has committed
some offense against Varuna and whose
sin has become visible through being
afflicted with dropsy, in which the body
retains its fluids and swells. The speaker
begs Varuna to reveal the forbidden act,
“committed under the influence of
liquor, anger, or heedlessness,” so that
Varuna may be propitiated and the sufferer
healed.
Despite his virtual eclipse early in the
tradition, in the later tradition, Varuna
retains his association as the god presiding
over the waters. He is also considered
to be one of the eight Guardians of
the Directions, each of which is associated
with one of eight points on the
compass. Varuna presides over the western
direction.
Vasant Panchami
Festival falling on the fifth day
(panchami) of the bright (waxing) half
of the lunar month of Magh
(January–February), celebrated as the
first day of spring (vasant). This day is
considered sacred to the goddess
Saraswati, patron deity of the arts,
music, and learning. In her honor, celebrants
sing songs in melodic modes
(ragas) associated with spring. Given
Saraswati’s connection with learning,
this is also traditionally reckoned as the
day on which young children should
begin their studies.
Vasant Panchami is also associated
with Kama, the god of love, since the
coming of spring brings the reappearance
of flowering plants, with their
scents and colors. This is supposedly
the day that Kama attempts to instill
erotic desire in the god Shiva’s heart,
first by bringing spring to Mount
Kailas, where Shiva is meditating, and
then shooting Shiva with one of his
flower arrows. Shiva awakens from his
meditation, becomes angry at Kama,
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