THE DIVINE ARCHITECT – VISHWAKARMA

ॐ विश्‍वकर्मा नमो नमः

OM VISHWAKARMA NAMOH NAMAH

SALUTATIONS TO LORD VISHWAKARMA

Lord Shiva lives up in the snow tipped peaks of Mt. Kailash. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi lived contentedly there for a very long time. Then one day Goddess Parvathi said to Lord Shiva, “All the other gods have magnificent palaces to reside in. Their palaces are grand. They have pillars of gold and silver, walls studded with precious stones and exquisite flowering gardens. Could we also have a palace of our own?”

Lord Shiva not wanting to deny a request from his devoted wife immediately summoned Lord Vishwakarma, the architect of the gods and said, “Vishwakarma, you are the architect of deva loka and magnificent cities. You are both the architect and divine engineer of the whole Universe. I request you to create a palace for me and Parvathi.”

Vishwakarma bowed before the Lord and with folded hands said, “It will be my honour to design the most spectacular palace for you and Goddess Parvathi.”

Lord Vishwakarma set to work right away. Vishwakarma's creation was a divine masterpiece. The palace of gold and precious gems stood as a testament to his unparalleled craftsmanship. The shimmering spires reached out the heavens. Delicate bridges of diamonds and emeralds connected the sprawling grounds. The tall, magnificent pillars that supported the palace were works of art each etched with delicate gold designs. The walls made of luminescent crystal reflected a mesmerizing array of colours with every shift of the sun, moon or star-light. The entire palace glowed and shimmered with a celestial radiance.

Surrounding the palace were gardens of unparalleled beauty, aglow with blooms in a myriad hues. The sweet fragrance of floral scents wafted in the breeze. Interspersed in the garden were exquisitely carved, gold fountains of crystal clear, cascading water that created gentle ripples in the pool below. Prismatic colours scattered in all directions as the sun rays played upon the water.

This wondrous, divine palace of serenity and peace was set on an island of gold in the middle of the mighty ocean – the Sone ki Lanka or Golden Island.

Both Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi were enchanted by the palace. Lord Shiva began to make arrangements for the Griha Pravesh or house warming ceremony. Ravana was a devotee of Lord Shiva. He was also extremely well versed in the scriptures. Lord Shiva decided to call Ravana to perform the puja at the Griha Pravesh.

Ravana arrived at the palace. He looked around the magnificent structure and was transfixed by its grandeur. Ravana had never seen anything so spectacular before. He wondered to himself, “This is the most exquisite palace I have ever seen. I wish it were mine.”

However, Ravana managed to divert his attention back to the purpose of his visit – the performing of the Griha Pravesh. Well versed in the mantras, rites and rituals Ravana completed the prayers and the puja with diligence and sincerity.

Once Ravana had completed the sacred ceremony Lord Shiva asked, “Ravana I am grateful to you for having performed all the rituals and prayers so perfectly. What can I offer you as Dakshina?”

Ravana still entranced by the palace was unable to contain his greed and blurted out quickly, “I would like you to give me this palace as dakshina.”

Lord Shiva is an ascetic who spends all his time in meditation. He is not enamoured by anything. He has no desire for possessions or wealth. These are immaterial trivialities for Him. He therefore had no attachment to the palace even though it was built for Him and his wife Goddess Parvathi. He immediately assented and said, “The palace and all that is in it is yours, Ravana.”

This is how the Sone Ki Lanka that was built for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi ended up with Ravana.

Though Lord Shiva had no qualms about giving the palace to Ravana, Goddess Parvathi was most annoyed with Ravana. She couldn’t understand how Ravana could appropriate the very home for which he had come to perform the Griha Pravesh. In her anger she said to Ravana, “Today you have taken away what is not rightfully yours. You knew that Lord Shiva would never refuse you anything. And you chose to ask for the palace Lord Vishwakarama had built especially for the Lord and me. Your greed has got the better of you. I curse this greed and vow that one day you will see this very Sone Ki Lanka go up in flames. Every bit of it will be destroyed by fire.”

In Treta Yuga once again Ravana coveted what was not his. His uncontrollable desire for Goddess Sita, Lord Rama’s wife, overpowered him. He kidnapped Sita and forcibly took her to his Sone Ki Lanka Palace. Lord Rama sent Hanuman to search for his beloved wife. Hanuman found a distraught Sita seated below a tree in an exquisite garden of the palace. Sita was weeping copiously and pining for Lord Rama. When he saw Sita sad and forlorn Hanuman was furious. He was so angry that when Ravana’s armed guards set fire to his tail he used the opportunity to set fire to all of Ravana’s Sone ki Lanka.

As he watched his beloved Sone Ki Lanka reduced to mere ash Ravana remembered Goddess Parvathi’s curse. Just as She had said the Sone Ki Lanka, which he had deviously acquired from Lord Shiva, was entirely demolished by the flames of a raging fire. Ravana watched helplessly as the fire mercilessly devoured his most treasured possession.

Vishwakarma was also the architect of capital city of the Pandava’s, Indraprastha. In an unfair division of the Kuru kingdom the blind king Dhritarastra gave his own son the rich and fertile lands and allotted all the almost barren stretches to the Pandavas. The Pandavas accepted the land and set to work on transforming the wasteland. It was on this land that Lord Krishna asked Vishwakarama to design the Pandava capital city - Indraprastha.

Vishwakarama a divine architect quickly transformed the rugged forest land and the infertile stretch of land mass into the most majestic city. It was a marvel of architectural opulence. The Pandava ruler, King Yudhisthira’s palace was as exceptional structure renowned for its intricate designs and architectural brilliance. The walls were encrusted with precious stones that created a kaleidoscope of coloured patterns. Perhaps the most striking feature of the palace was that it was a masterpiece of illusion. The floor of the palace was built with captivating illusions that often confound visitors. The extraordinary reflection of the floors made them seem like pools of tranquil waters. Whereas the water in the pools within and outside the palace was so still and clear that they gave the illusion of being hard flooring.

Once the construction was completed King Yudhisthira invited the Kauravas to the palace. Duryodhana and his brothers, curious to know what the Pandavas had built on the wasteland accepted the invitation.

Duryodhana was bedazzled by the extraordinary and opulent palace. He was amazed by its beauty and splendour. He was also extremely envious that the Pandavas had been so fortunate. He could not bear to see that his cousins, despite all his attempts to thwart them, were prospering and growing from strength to strength,

The palace was a palace of illusion and had been created in such a manner that should a person look at it with jealousy in their heart he would be deceived by the interiors and things in the palace. Duryodhana, unable to contain his curiosity, kept wandering further into the palace. The more he saw of the palace the more envious he became. As his heart filled with jealousy the magical illusions of the palace came into play. He saw what he thought was an expanse of water but when he came near it he realized it was just a floor inlaid with beautiful slabs of marble. He smiled and took his first step across the floor. Splash, he fell into what was actually a pond of marble filled with clear water! Totally drenched he pulled himself out of the water as his staff rushed to dry him off. Many of the onlookers were most amused to see the soaking wet prince clumsily drag himself out of the water. Duryodhana was embarrassed and upset and grew more cautious of his movements. He walked a little further and thought he saw a pool of water. Not wanting to make the mistake of falling in again he began to carefully walk around it. This time it was not a pool of water but hard floor. Duryodhana looked sheepishly down as others looked curiously at him wondering why he was taking such a round-about route. The palace played yet another trick on the unsuspecting Duryodhana. He tried walking through what he thought was a doorway only to end up bumping his head hard against a blank wall. The bump may have left him with a bruised forehead but it was his ego that was really bruised. This time Draupadi could no longer contain her laughter. Her peals of laughter resounded through the halls. Humiliated Duryodhana glanced at her with anger. Not one to be cowed down Draupadi retorted, “The son of a blind man is bound to be blind."

A mortified Duryodhana was enraged by her comment and never really forgave her for it.

Not much later he invited the Pandavas to his palace for a game of dice. He pitted Yudhishthira, a novice at dice, against his uncle Shakuni, a master at dice, with the sole purpose of acquiring all that the Pandavas possessed. As expected, Yudhishthira kept losing. But so great was Duryodhana’s anger against Draupadi for mocking him that even after acquiring the Pandava’s kingdom and making the five Pandava princes his slaves Duryodhana went one step further and demanded Draupadi in a wager. Yudhishthira lost Draupadi too. Even this did not quench Duryodhana’s rage. He wanted to humiliate Draupadi just as she had when she mocked him at the palace in Indraprastha. Seething for revenge Duryodhana ordered Draupadi to be dragged in by her hair into his palace hall. His hatred and envy made him lose all sense of propriety and he ordered that Draupadi be disrobed in front of all those present in the hall. It was when Draupadi called out to Lord Krishna in piteous despair that her ordeal ended. Lord Krishna instantly came to her aid and protected Draupadi from further humiliation.

Lord Vishwakarma is credited with building many architectural marvels, palaces for the gods and several towns through the four yugas. In Satya Yuga he built the abode of the gods and demigods, Swarg Lok. In Tretya Yuga the magnificent Sone ki Lanka was built by him for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. In Dwapar Yuga Lord Krishna’s city of Dwarka was built in a single night. In Kali Yuga,

Vishwakarma is said to have created Hastinapur and Indraprastha.

Vishwakarma made all the weapons and flying chariots of the Gods. The Pushpak Viman was made by Vishwakarma. It was Vishwakarma who created Lord Indra’s thunderbolt Vajra and Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra.

According to the Puranas during the Samudra Manthan, when the ocean was churned to bring back Devi Lakshmi, fourteen precious entities emerged too. One of these fourteen was Lord Vishwakarma. He is regarded as the divine carpenter and architect of the universe. The greatness of his works is mentioned in the Rig Veda and Sthapatya Veda, a supplementary branch of the Atharva Veda, which deals with planning, design, and construction.

The son of Brahma, Vishwakarma is honoured and celebrated every year in the month of September. His birth is celebrated with much pomp and reverence especially by those who use machinery, tools and other implements in their work. In fact, the idol of Lord Vishwakarma is placed alongside work tools, machinery, computers and laptops and worshipped. On Vishwakarma Jayanti devotees pray for success in their respective fields of work and for the smooth and safe functioning of their machinery and appliances.

LIFE LESSONS

1. Like Lord Shiva we must learn not to get enamoured by material things.

2. Unlike Ravana we must not covet things that are not ours.

3. Like Lord Vishwakarma we should try to create beauty in the world around us.

4. Like Hanuman we should learn to fight against injustice.

5. Like the devotees of Lord Vishwakarma we should learn to worship our work.