Interpreting Vedic mantras – The Hindu

During weddings, a yoke is placed on the bride’s head. The mantra recited is a reference to the story of Apala, who had a skin disease. She prayed to Indra, who got rid of her disease. The mantra says Apala glowed like the Sun, when she was cured. A woman is compared to the cool Moon, not the glaring sun. So why the equation to the Sun? Here a reference to Andal’s ‘kadirmadiyam pol mugathaan’, would be useful, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. She says Krishna was like ‘kadir’ the burning rays of the Sun as far as the Kauravas were concerned. But to the Pandavas, He was pleasant like the Moon. There is also a story in the Adi Parva of Mahabharata, about two brothers — Sunda and Upasunda. They had a boon, that none could kill them. The only way for them to die would be if they killed each other. Armed with this boon, they created havoc everywhere. So finally, Brahma sent a beautiful woman called Tilottama to get the brothers to fight each other. The two…