Folk tale - Yamuna tricks Yama

Folk tale from Sikkim

Yamuna tricks Yama

… S. Balakrishnan

In the mountain kingdom of Nepal, there lived a girl named Yamuna. She had a naughty but lovable little brother who was fated to die at a very young age. On the appointed day, Yama Dharmaraja, the Lord of Death, came to take his life away. Yamuna thought of a quick action plan.

Tears rolling down her cheeks, she pleaded with Lord Yamaraja to allow her perform some puja to her brother. Who would not be moved by the tears of a little girl? Yamuna made elaborate arrangements for the puja and then dragged it on endlessly.

Lord Yama was getting impatient. He had so many other commitments and ‘dead’lines to be met! And once the appointed time lapsed He would not be able to take away the life of anyone. If He were to wait for this one life, He would be losing many.

At one point, Yamaraja could not wait any longer for the puja to come to its logical conclusion. Appreciating Yamuna’s love for her younger brother, and unmindful of the trick she played upon Him, the Lord of Death granted the boon of a long life to her brother. And the sister & brother duo lived happily ever after. As a token of gratitude, since then it has been the bounden duty of the brother to protect his sisters.

So goes the legend which is still remembered and celebrated as Bhai Puja (Brother Worship). This puja is observed on the second day after Diwali (which the Nepalese call ‘Tyohar’). Right from the age a boy attains six months, this ceremony is observed by his sisters. [In North India also, two days immediately after Diwali a ceremony called ‘Bhai Duj’ is observed.]

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On Bhai Puja day, the sister draws a circle around her brother with mustard oil. The oil circle is believed to protect him from Lord Yamaraja. Coins and rice - signs of wealth and prosperity - are placed around the seated brother. A lamp is lighted and she places before him trays of sweets, fruits, flowers and other auspicious items and offers them to him. When the ceremony is over, she cracks a walnut into pieces. The more pieces it breaks into, the better for the brother, because his troubles too would be shattered the same way.

Then follows another important part of the ceremony – applying of ‘tikka’ on each other’s forehead. Tikka is a paste of raw rice and vermilion mixed in curd and applied on the forehead on festive / auspicious occasions. At last comes the exciting part of the ceremony – exchanging of gifts. Rest of the day is spent swinging happily; swings are put up specially for the occasion. The ritual bonds the brother-sister emotional relationship.

In India too, where a sizeable population of Nepalese live, Bhai Puja ceremony is observed.

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S. Balakrishnan

e-mail: krishnanbala2004@yahoo.co.in