Shravanabelagola, January 30, 2006: The two-day ‘Mathru Vandana’ programme, homage to Kaalaladevi, who inspired her son Chavundaraya to sculpt Bhagawan Bahubali’s giant monolith at Vindyagiri, concluded with a colourful procession featuring various tableaus and folk groups from different Jain Mahila Sanghas going round Vindhyagiri hills and the town from Panchakalyana Mantap on Sunday morning.
Tableaus featuring various facets of Jain life and ideals were taken out in the procession led by an elephant with representatives of various Jain Mahilas Sanghas performing behind. The top honours of the procession was bagged by Hubli’s Shantinath Jain Mahila Samaj while the tableau by Chennarayapattana’s Jwalamukhi Jain Mahila Samaj came second. Kushmandini Mahila Samaj of Shravanabelagola and Vama Devi Mahila Samaj of Bijapur shared the third prize. Bangalore’s Chakreshwari Mahila Sangha received the consolation prize.
Later speaking at the valedictory ceremony, revolutionary Jaina Ascetic Tarun sagar extolled the role of a mother in the society and said one needs the blessings of three entities to attain happiness and peace in life.
If the first is the blessings of a mother as a child, it is a mahatma when you are young and God when you are old. Pointing out that Goddesses Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Parvathi symbolize Education, Wealth and Power with a reason, he said it was to remind a mother the values, duties and responsibilities she has to instill in her children if they are to become good well-behaved and successful cultured individuals.
Ruing that the world was changing and relationships were becoming more and more brittle, he said these were days one thinks twice before saying that a new- born resembles either the mother or the father. Man should realize that even an animal gives birth but being born in a species that can give him culture is a blessing.
Stressing on the role of a woman in ensuring that all in the family succeed, Tarun Sagar said though it is said ‘The man of the house’, everybody knows actually who is the ‘boss’ of the house. The same is true of our Union Government too. Everybody knows who is the boss even though Dr Manmohan Singh is the Prime Minister. Continuing, he termed the punishment meted out by the mother as the verdict of the Supreme Court that cannot be challenged even by the father, whose authority is just that of a High Court.
Jagadguru Karmayogi Swasthishree Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji graced the occasion and congratulated the women for turning out in large numbers and blessed them that all secure the instincts that made Kalaladevi make Chavundaraya what he was that today we have the divinity of Bahubali to savour.
Jayaratna Dharanendraiah of Mysore, Preethi Abhay Patil of Belgaum, Nalini Jawali of Hubli and Susheela Kailash Chand Bhaj of Bangalore, spoke. Harshini Sudhakar of Chellakere presided. – Jain Heritage Centres News Service (JHCNS)