“Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana and Rithu... what are they?” asked Shyamala Miss.
“Miss, are they not a part of the 72 Melakartha System ?” asked Laya.
“I think they are further classifications. Is the name, Chakra, Miss?” asked Mukund.
“Correct, Mukund. These are the names of the first six Chakras , each of which have six raga s . So, there are a total of 36 Suddha Madhyama Melakartha Ragas. Now, we will move on to the next 36, which have three swaras in common. Do you know what they are?”
“Sadjamam, Panchamam and Prathi Madhyamam ,” said the children.
Wheels of knowledge
“The seventh Chakra is known as the Risi Chakra ,” explained the teacher.
“After the saptharisis ?” asked Rasa
“Yes, Rasa. We have the seven famous sages — Gowtama, Viswamitra, Kashyapa, Jamadagni, Bharadwaja, Atri and Vasishta — who form the group Saptharisis . The eighth Chakra is Vasu. The Vasus are a group of eight Devas or celestial beings, namely Aapa, Dhruva, Soma, Dava. Pratyusha., Anila, Anala, and Prabhasa.”
“We will remember this miss,” said Rasa.
“The ninth Chakra is Brahma,” continued Shyamala Miss
“But is he not the creator?” quipped Mukund.
“This refers to the mythological mention of the nine cycles of the universe, each presided by one Brahma. They are Atri, Angirasa, Brighu, Daksha, Kashyapa, Pulaha, Marichi, Vasishta and Pulastya,” said the teacher. You have to remember and store these important facts. Next, we have the directions, or the tenth Chakra , which is Disi,” she added.
“That’s easy — east, west, north, south, north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west. But that is only eight, not 10,” exclaimed Rasa.
“They are known as the Ashtadikpalakas — Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruddhi, Varuna, Vayu, Kuber, Isana...and Akasa and Patala,” said Shyamala Miss.
“Now I get it. That is why, we left out the first and the last,” said Mukund.
“The11th Chakra is Rudra, a group of 11 Devas headed by Lord Siva — Aja, Dwasha, Ekapada, Triambake, Aparajita, Isana,Tribhuvana, Sambhu, Hara, Rudra and Ahirputniya . So, the 11 Chakra is named after them,” added Dhyamala Miss. “The final, 12th, Chakra, is Aditya.”
“Does not Aditya mean the Sun?” asked Rasa.
“Yes, Rasa, but this refers to the 12 Suryas in the Cosmic Universe — Poosha, Bhaskara, Marichi, Arka, Khaga, Surya, Mitra, Aditya, Ravi, Bhanu, Savita and Hiranyagarbha. So, all the 12 Chakras can be remembered with the help of these names which denote specifics.”
“Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana, Rithu, Risi, Vasu, Brahma, Disi, Rudra, Aditya....” the children chant happily, as the bell chimes, heralding the end of the session.
Game: Cues and clues
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