Why the idol of lord kartikeya is not floated in water in west bengal?
Answers
KÄrttikeya in Bengal is carefully thought about/believed as a life-creating ability godconnected with the harvest special celebration (with fun events). Probably he is the samepuranic god who is rememebered as commander-in-chief of the devas fighting the demonTarakasura. However, though both share the same name, the old stories/famous people andhistory connected with the two are very (much) different. KÄrttikeya, the god connected withthe harvest special celebration (with fun events), is worshipped on the last day of the monthof Karttik, when the harvest is yet to be done.
Like all mostly farming-based states, Bengal too celebrates its harvest special celebration (with fun events) immediately after the harvest, in the month of Paush which happens at the same time as the English months of December-January. This is carefully thought about/believed a time of great celebration with melas and pleased/with pleasure organised indifferent parts of the state. These are limited to covering a handful of newlygathered/collected rice and keeping it carefully in a corner of a room, and having the womenof the household offer worship to the leading gods of the harvest special celebration (with fun events) on Paush Sankranti which falls on 14th or 15th of January every year. The first harvestin Bengal, as in other parts of India, is always thought about/believed holy and untouchableand lucky. Apart from these (related to behaviors or other things that are always done the same way) associations, there is hardly anything (related to behaviors or other things that are always done the same way) in the celebrations which center more around the preparation ofdifferent savouries and distributing them among children.
The (series of actions always done the same way for religious or other reasons) connectedwith KÄrttikeya worship centre around young girls and old women. Girls well trained in (series of actions always done the same way for religious or other reasons) connected with thisworship alone are permitted to watch/ notice/ celebrate/ obey these (series of actions always done the same way for religious or other reasons) under the guidance and supervision ofolder women. The (living very simply and poorly) built into the worship is such that its(participation in a custom/following rules) has to be (did/done/completed) life-long, until thewoman breathes her last.
The (series of actions always done the same way for religious or other reasons) in itselfremains a prayer to secure/make sure of a safer and rich harvest, and the element of (living very simply and poorly) has a note of fear and fear and stress hidden in it. The (series of actions always done the same way for religious or other reasons) begins with everyworshipper decorating a mudpot with alpanas made from rice paste. On the day of worship,every worshipper first takes paddy in her pot; to this she adds a few cowrie shells, a few earsof corn, the vegetables available in that season, the tender stalk of a cane plant, dry betel bush nuts and some fruits available in that season.
The worshipper then keeps the decorated pots before the clay idol of Lord KÄrttikeya, wholooks like the puranic KÄrttikeya. A lamp fed with ghee burns the whole night before this idol.An arm twig is also planted right behind the idol and different kinds of fruits, betel-bush nut,egg, bananas and a particular variety of lemon are all bound to the twig. The priest invited forthis special occasion (sings, dances, acts, etc., in front of people) the main worship which iscompleted by evening. However the (not eating food) women connected with this worship stayawake the whole night before the idol.
These worshippers come mainly from the farming-based community, and the worship, along with (not eating food), continues the whole night with the singing of different (songs popular with a certain group of people).