WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOUR OF THE GOD'S?DOES IT SIGNIFIES THE PROPERTY OF THE GOD'

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOUR;-

06 FACTS;-

1-Shiva is white, Rama is sky blue, Krishna is black, Hanuman is Golden and Gowri is red (red+white+yellow in fact) in colour.Colour represents the specific attribute of a deity.

2-Though the God is unique, He takes different forms with different colours for each avatar. It means that there is some significance behind the colours .

3-Indra, Brahma and Durga were pink, Asuras and Rakshasas were brown. Vishnu, Ram and Krishna were blue. Somehow, an unnaturally blue Krishna was preferred over a naturally dark Krishna. ‘Because blue is the colour of the sky, of ether, of divinity,’ we were told.

4-And so we had gods who were always pink, demons who were always brown and dark gods who were always blue.

5-Ma Gauri as name depicts is white as her husband Mahadev Lord Shiva, this depicts their Intimacy of characteristics, bonding etc.

6-In humans it is the varna which is specified in jyotishya (Astrology) and the Kundali of a person this depicts the colour of human child when he is born and this affects its characterstics (not in a racist way).According to varna the gana is judged.

COLOUR & THE PROPERTY OF THE GOD'S CHARACTER;-

06 FACTS;-

SHIVA;-

Shiva is karpur Gaur - i.e. white as camphor, because he is totally nirlipta(not affected by samsara or worldly habits or wealth) he is always covered in white Bhasma (ashes which come out of his own agni stambha form [refer :Linga Purana]). Here is a example of different colours of Lord Shiva:

1) PURELY WHITE SADASHIVA;-

03 FACTS;-

1-SadaShiva is purely white. White colour here represents that SadaShiva is eternally pure and untouched by the Tri-Gunas (satwa-rajas-tamas) of Maya.

2-ACCORDING TO Shiva Purana;-

His neck had a blue hue ; he had five faces, three eyes , the cresent moon as crest-ornament and his left hand was apportioned to Gauri , who had the brilliance of lighting. He was white in complexion like camphor and wore all ornaments. Besmeared with white ashes all over the body and clad in white clothes,he shone brilliantly.

3-Shivam represents the Turiya state which is beyond realm of Maya here. Hence pure white colour of Sada-Shiva rightly represent it.

2) ADITYA VARNAM RUDRA (Golden Coloured Rudra):-

02 FACTS;-

1-There is also one form of Lord Shiva which is of Aditya Varnam(Solar/Golden Lusture). Rig Veda mention''Shining like the bright gold.

Salutations to him who has Golden arms and Golden complexion..

2-This Golden complexion of Lord represents the Purusha attribute of Lord:

the great Purusha, who is of Aditya Varna and beyond darkness. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death; there is no other way to the Supreme Goal.

3) NILA- LOHITA RUDRA (The Blue and Red Rudra):-

04 FACTS;-

There is also another form of Lord Shiva which is half blue and half red and called as Nilalohita .The blue and red colour form of Lord also has special significance .

2-ACCORDING TO YajurVeda,..''Oh you who punishes as per sin of people. Oh! Lord of Food. Oh! NilaLohita''.

3-All pervading lord born of body of Bhava, came out of Brahma by piercing his forehead. The lord who born of the heart of Shiva was originally blue but became red coming in contact with fire. It represents the form of combination of Prakriti and Purusha of the Lord. Because of the form with both blue and red colour resembling Kãla, Lord came to be known by the name NilaLohita.

4-Thus the Nila-Lohita form of Lord represents the Union of Prakirti and Purusha.

There are also other coloured forms of Lord Shiva which has it's own meaning. It is already proved that these colours have special meaning and colour of God shows that meaning.

SRI RAMA/SRI KRISHANA;-

03 FACTS;-

1-Talking about Shri Rama he is light-blue coloured signifying the calmness and politeness also the maryada(always being within human limits).

2-Dark Blue colour of lord Krishna is similar to the Sandhya Kal (Evening Time) where day meets night.

3-We can refer to traditional Patta chitras in Orissa where Krishna and Vishnu are always shown using black paint while Balarama and Shiva are always shown using white.

SRI HANUMAN;-

02 FACTS;-

1-Mantra Reference;-

अतुलितबलधामं हेमशैलाभदेहं

दनुजवनकृशानुं ज्ञानिनामग्रगण्यम् ।

सकलगुणनिधानं वानराणामधीशं

रघुपतिप्रियभक्तं वातात्मजं नमामि ॥

2-This mantra from SunderKand of Ramayana depicts Characteristics of Shri Hanuman. Here Haemshalbdeham means 'body like Golden Mountain'. The golden color of his body depicts that he is beautiful and powerful (full of tejas) that is his body has become golden coloured due to Shri Rama bhakti or chanting of continuous Shri Ram Name

MANY FORMS OF GODDESS ;-

07 FACTS;-

1-Goddess Kali,in her more primal form is dark, dark as the night. She is Kali, the dark one, bold & wild . This is her prakriti, her nature, her being. In calendar art, this blackness of Kali has turned blue and purple, and ornaments are strategically placed to hide her nakedness and she is shown stepping on Shiva . But this, is Bhadra Kali, the modest Kali, a slightly domesticated form of the Goddess who devotees can enshrine in their homes and worship.

2-The other Goddess Kali, the truly wild and primal one, who cannot be brought into the house is not bhadra. That Kali is a-bhadra – dark, naked, ferocious, gaunt, aroused and bloodthirsty. Her name is rarely spoken; she is worshipped in the wilderness, in crematoriums, by followers of Tamoguni doctrines that are best kept away from the household.

3-Black colour then means nature red in tooth and claw, the most primal of elements, the undiluted rawness of being which thrives in violence.

4-According to the scriptures, the gods begged her to marry Shiva, the ascetic, who shut his eyes in indifference to the world. Kali then took a dip in the river Yamuna and emerged as Gauri, the radiant one, the golden one, the fair one, smeared with turmeric.

5-If -Goddess Kali was Chandi, the wild one, then Gauri was Mangala, the auspicious one. If Kali was Bhairavi, the fearsome one, then Gauri was Lalita, the graceful one. If Kali was Raktapriya, the one who loves blood, then Gauri was Kamakshi. Thus black and white become symbols of wildness and domestication in the context of the Goddess.

6-Kali’s blackness percolates into the river Yamuna which is constantly described by poets as being a sad river, sluggish in its flow, morose(ill-tempered) in its character. Her vahana or mount is the river turtle. She is linked with Yamini, the goddess of the night, who mourns for her brother, Yama, the god of death, who lives on the other side of the Vaitarni, the river that separates the bright land of the living from the dark land of the dead.

7-Yamuna needs to be contrasted with Ganga, the fair river-goddess, who bounds over rocks and cascades down mountains, gurgling with foam, riding river-dolphins, cheerful and mischievous and full of life.Yamuna is associated with Vishnu. On her banks, he dances as Krishna. Like her, he is dark. Ganga is associated with Shiva. She emerges from his topknot while he meditates.He, like her, is fair. Just as Kali is what Gauri is not.

COMPARISON BETWEEN SHIVA & KRISHANA;-

03 FACTS;-

1-Krishna is what Shiva is not. Krishna is full of life, a lover, a dancer, a warrior. Shiva is the still, serene mendicant. Krishna lives on river banks in pastures and fields. Shiva lives on icy mountain tops away from civilization. Krishna is dressed in silks and gold and pearls and anointed with sandal paste. Shiva wears animal hide and is smeared with ash. Krishna is a worldly god; Shiva an otherworldly sage.

2-Krishna is black, Shiva is white. Perhaps physics has the answer.Physics informs us that when light is thrown on a surface and all colours of the light spectrum are absorbed then what we see is the colour black. If instead all colours of the light spectrum are reflected back then what we see is the colour white. Krishna, who is Ranganatha, lord of colours and drama, embraces all the colours of life, and who celebrates all the emotions of worldliness, is therefore black.

3-Shiva, the ascetic, who reflects back all emotions and chooses to stay disengaged, is naturally white.Thus the colors convey deeper truths. On the body of the Goddess, black is about wild nature. On the body of God, black is about worldliness. On the body of the Goddess, white is about domestic culture. On the body of God, white is about ascetic transcendence.

THE THREE KEY POINTS;-

1-As colours, black and white have great symbolic meaning, and more than racial memory, these mythic codes perhaps yield a great influence over our views about complexion and our colour prejudices.Perhaps in our desire to be cultured and in our aspiration to otherworldly, we choose white over black. But then the wild side beckons and the thrills of simple worldly joys enchant, and we surrender to the black. And as we struggle between white and black, we realize it is human to be grey.

2-Lord Ram ,Lord Krishna or Lord Shiva have spiritual bodies .Sky colour represent their eternal spiritual body.Their bodies also always remain same

with all bliss and knowledge.The spiritual bodies have characteristics

of sat ,chit and ananda; viz eternity ,full of knowledge and bliss.Their bodies are eternal.Whereas our bodies are made of material having characteristics of birth,growth ,old age and death.So our body is temporary.We should learn that there is only one God who expanded in different forms which are also eternal.

3-Also we should not fight on the basis of colour, caste, religion or country because we all are relatives having our common original father the God whom He is called by different names in all religions.

.......SHIVOHAM......