There may be moments when you had pondered, why do we do milk abhisheka to idols. It's just a stone, why there is a need to waste so much milk on a piece of stone?
Firstly, if we refer to Shastras, when idol is made, prana pratishta is done. That means, inviting the divine/positive energy to reside in the stone, in other words inviting god in to it. So, its no more a stone. Secondly, to retain the physical property of that stone it needs to be protected.
Main problem with stones is that, they can easily develop fissures or cracks if left unattended.
Cracks in stones can be caused by many different problems. A stone may begin to crack due to the soil underneath and around it settling over time. Moisture will be able to gather in this crack, and when the moisture freezes, the crack will be forced open wider. As more and more settling occurs, and the freeze/thaw cycle continues, the crack will continue to grow and become worse.
Milk has a protein in it which forms a protective layer on the surface of any body it is applied to, that's the reason most of the cosmetics are made out of milk, it protects our skin from getting dry. Similar goes for stones, by performing milk abhisheka, we pour milk on the stone and it creates a layer of protein on stone which prevents the stone from developing crack and fissures on it.
This is the reason you see that stone idols in temples remain shining and appear new for hundreds of years together. Whereas if you see idols in abandoned temples, they are in bad condition with lots of fissures and cracks on it.
For more information, refer to Agama Shastra.
I see ! Never thought of the reason before but yes I had always thought of milk being waste on the idols...but well its clear that its just not an ancient practice came out due to some unknown belief , but generated out of necessity....but since we have to use the limited resources in an efficient way so in modern times , a good idea will be to make an idol out of metal rather than stone...what do u think ?
ReplyDeleteIf we look at Agama Shastra, it is mentioned that idols which are fixed and are in garba gudi (known as Sthira pratista) must be made out of stone. Whereas idols which are used for ratha yatra (known as Chara pratista) must be made out of metals.
ReplyDeleteBut good question, I will find an answer for your question soon.
I see ! well in Jain temples too , I have noticed...most of the idols @ Garbha Griha are made of stone, but some are also made up of Asta-Dhatu...lets find the logic behind the concept mentioned @Agama Shastra .
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