History & Heritage

Brahma Kshatriya

In ancient history, it is believed there were four Varnas — Kshatriya, Brahmin, Vaishya and Shudra. The Brahmakshatriyas were a creation from the Kshatriyas, and those same Kshatriyas later came to be known as Brahmakshatriyas.

It is widely known that Bhagwan Parshu Ram had vowed to eliminate the Kshatriyas from the earth. The story goes thus: one day Raja Sahastrarjun went to the forest for hunting. After travelling a long distance, he reached the ashram of Rishi Jamdagni (father of Parshu Ram) and forcibly took away the Kamdhenu cow. When Parshu Ram returned and found his father dismayed, he lost his temper. He reasoned with the Raja, but the Raja resorted to war. Parshu Ram slew the King and recovered Kamdhenu. Raja Sahastrarjun had 100 sons; they pledged to avenge their father and killed Rishi Jamdagni. On his return, an agitated Parshu Ram set out to kill the Raja’s sons — he killed 95; the rest escaped into the jungle, and Parshu Ram vowed to rid the earth of Kshatriyas.

In search of the Kshatriyas, Parshu Ram entered Raja Rattansen’s state in Sindh, then known as Sindhu-Dweep. Raja Rattansen lost the war and escaped with his wives into the jungle, taking shelter in the ashram of Rishi Dadhichi — on the conditions that they would not cross the ashram boundary and would accept whatever food was available. All five queens delivered a son each. The Rishi named them Jaisen, Binduman, Vishal, Chandershal and Bharat, and educated them in the Vedas and Shastras. One day Raja Rattansen went hunting and Parshu Ram killed him — a clue that the Raja’s family must be nearby. The queens accepted sati when the Raja’s pyre was lit, and the Rishi became guardian of the princes.

Years later, Parshu Ram reached the ashram and inquired about the princes. The Rishi said the boys were Rishi Kumars. Doubtful, Parshu Ram tested them and they qualified, yet he remained unconvinced. He asked the Rishi to eat with all five boys from the same utensil if the boys were truly Brahmins. The Rishi drew a line in the utensil to separate the food, and Parshu Ram was convinced. He took Jaisen with him to train him in dhanur-vidya (bow & arrow), and Jaisen guarded the ashram.

One day, suffering a severe headache, Parshu Ram rested his head in Jaisen’s lap and slept. A scorpion bit Jaisen’s leg. Despite severe pain he kept silent so as not to disturb his guru, but as the wound bled profusely his leg trembled and woke Parshu Ram. Learning the cause, Parshu Ram declared that such hot blood must belong to a Kshatriya. Jaisen accepted and sought pardon. This put Parshu Ram in a quandary: Jaisen had qualified in the Vedas and Shastras, so he must be a Brahmin and should not be killed — yet sparing him challenged his pledge. He cursed Jaisen to forget all the Shastra-vidya learnt from him. The guru-mantra given by Rishi Dadhichi — with the condition that the Kshatriya boys would never harass the downtrodden and would help the poor and needy — empowered Jaisen to regain all his learning. Thus the Kshatriyas became Brahma-kshatriyas.

The Rishi then took Jaisen and his brothers to their Kuldevi — Hinglaj Mata’s temple in the caves of Saptdweep — cautioning that Kuldevi Hinglaj Mata should be worshipped to avoid problems, and that Saraswat Brahmins should be respected likewise.

Later, some generations introduced themselves as Khatris. But the fact is that Kshatriyas and Khatris are basically Brahmkshatriyas. Their Kuldevi is Sri Hinglaj Mata, Kuldev Sri Varun Dev, and Kulbrahmins are Saraswat Brahmins. Thread dyeing & colouring, cloth dyeing, hand-block printing and carpentry were the main professions of the Brahmakshatriyas — who were popularly known as “Khatis”. The name Hinglaj itself means reddish; Hingula is the colour of sindhur and of blood.

Once, a demon named Andhakasura spread his rule over the world. On Lord Vishnu’s advice, the Devatas prayed to Lord Shiva for his defeat. Andhakasura was in fact a son of Shiva, born when Shakti playfully touched Shiva’s third eye during meditation, and was gifted to Hiranyaksha as a boon. Unaware that Shiva lived at Mandara-giri, Andhakasura went there, saw Parvati, and — struck by her beauty — sent an army to capture her. The demon had a unique power: every drop of his blood that touched the earth gave birth to a new Andhakasura of equal energy.

Lord Shiva took the form of Maha Bhairava and pierced the demon’s chest, but countless new Andhakasuras arose and covered the battlefield. As Shiva fought them almost single-handedly, sweat fell from his forehead to the ground, and from it Charchika (sprinkled all over with blood) and Mangala (giver of all happiness) were born. They devoured all the Andhakasuras and drank every drop of blood, turning the war within seconds, and Shiva reduced the original Andhakasura to ashes with his third eye.

Lord Shiva gave Mangala the boon of a planetary place in the sky, as Mars; and told Charchika she would be worshipped by all beings as an incarnation of Adi Shakti. Charchika went to Haingulatadri and was thenceforth called Hinglaj.

Shree Varahi Mata

Varahi Maa is one of the Matrikas, a group of seven mother goddesses in the Hindu religion. With the head of a sow, Varahi is the Shakti (feminine energy, and sometimes consort) of Varaha, the boar avatar of Lord Vishnu.

It is described in the Devi Mahatmya, in the context of the Shumbha–Nishumbha Vadh from the Markandeya Purana, that the Matrika goddesses appear as shaktis from the bodies of the gods. In a later episode dealing with the killing of the demon Raktabija, the Mother Goddess Durga creates the Matrikas from herself and, with their help, slaughters the demon army. When the demon Shumbha challenges Durga to single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas back into herself. In the Vamana Purana, the Matrikas arise from different parts of the Divine Mother Chandika — Varahi arising from Chandika’s back.

The Matsya Purana tells a different story of Varahi’s origin: she, with the other Matrikas, is created by Shiva to help kill the demon Andhakasura, who could regenerate from his dripping blood.

Varahi is the goddess of the Earth. It is proven from the lives of several devotees that those who believe and surrender to her are sure to be blessed with a house or land of their own. She is the Bhoomi Devi.

Most Suited Time, Days & Items for Varahi Pooja
Time	Night is best. Midnight prayers are most suited for immediate solutions.
Days	Navratri, Ashtami and Panchami are Varahi’s days. Tuesdays and Fridays are best suited.
Morning Pooja	Chandanam (Sandalwood)
Evening Pooja	Kumkumam (Deep Red)
Night Pooja	Kurudhi (red kumkumam mixed in water), Kumkumam
Preferred Saree	Gold / Yellow and Red
Preferred Flowers	Pink Lotus, White Lotus and Pomegranate flowers

The Manai

Many a household in our community worshipped Varahi Mata with their own family idol, installed by ancestors. During the Partition of India, we migrated to Mumbai and brought these idols as the only form of our existence. It is known that Maa Varahi’s statue was brought later from Pakistan by the elders of our community. Initially, the Manai — Man ji Murad Puri Karanwari Mata jo Sthan — was built near the well in B K Chawl. The old Manai is still present.

Through the help of generous donations from members of our community, we built the new Manai in B K Society in 1961, and today we are fortunate to be part of the celebrations of its Golden Jubilee.

Through this journey of 50 glorious years, community members have been very kind and thoughtful in contributing to the good cause. Services were offered in the form of Tan, Man and Dhan, as per each individual’s capacity. We celebrated the Silver Jubilee in 1986–87, silver coating was done on the throne, and today a modern look — interior and exterior — has been given with the help of donations from our community members. It is with Mata’s blessings, the hard work and dedication of members, that we have prospered and achieved success — in spite of the personal setback of partition in 1947.