A churel – A female ghost of South Asian folklore

                

A churel, also spelled as churail, chudail or chudel  is a female ghost of South Asian folklore, which is equivalent of Lilith and well known in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The word “churel” is also used colloquially for a witch.

India is a land of myths & legends – centuries of profound history has given this land endless fables rising from every nook & corner. When it comes to ghostly icons, one is obviously drawn to the globally acclaimed vampires, werewolves & Halloween charades. However, it is quite interesting to note that Indian Ghost Stories have its own counterparts to compete with this global folklore, some of which have more horrifying track records. The Indian counterpart for the witch is called Chudail or Chudel (चुड़ैल )(pronounced as chew-dale). In many places, it is also referred to as Daayan (डायन) (pronounced as dye-en), although there are many conceptual difference of opinions between these two terms regardless of their common origin. A Chudail is an Indian Witch or Female Ghost and is believed to arise from the death of a woman during child birth. Indian witch stories have many variations across the different states of India. For e.g. the north Indian states often believe that the Chudail can change its physical form and lure young men. Once she lures them into a lonely place, she pounces on them to either kill or have physical contact with them. In both the cases, the victim is supposedly drained off his life. The Chudail is supposed to live near graveyards or deep inside the forests.

Om Namah Shivaya

    
Om or Aum is the pranava or seed mantra of all mantras. The two syllables na- and mah- can be translated as “I humbly bow to you”. The three syllables shi-vaa-ya invoke Lord Shiva and all his energies to bless us and lead us to the highest state of peace and meditation. The mantra should ideally be chanted twice a day (morning and evening) for 108 times each. The two words, namah and shivaya, are also referred to as the panchakshara (five letter) chant. It is said that those who chant these five holy letters while meditating on Lord Shiva will be blessed by visions of Shiva – the Lord of the yogis.

Statue of God – The sadhu

     

India is the Land of Gods, and we see and serve to god in the form of sadhu….

The Sadhu usually wears on his forehead the three lines of the god’s trident drawn in ash or sandalwood paste which may be vertical or horizontal. Endless variations of these sectarian marks, depending on the sect, are possible. They may decorate their bodies with various lines and markings, cover the entire torso with ashes, carry a metal trident and wear rosaries. The hair and the beard are uncut and matted.The Sadhu is credited with much of the development of Indian culture, art, architecture, music, poetry and literature, influencing and forming the very world he has abandoned with his endless travels from one sacred site to another, singing songs and reciting poetry and carrying icons, paintings and other sanctified objects.

lord of the cremation – Shiva

                          
Shiva, the third god of the Hindu triadition, has three eyes, the third one (between the eyebrows) being usually closed, except at the time of destruction of things. He wears long hair, supports the holy Ganga river on his head and the crescent moon on his matted hair. He has two to four arms, holds a trident in his hand, is naked except for a tiger-skin, besmears himself with ash and is decorated with snakes on his head, neck and arms. He is very fair-coloured but has a blue throat due to his having drunk poison during the time of the churning of the ocean by the gods. In his other hands he holds an axe, an antelope, and an hour-glass shaped drum called a ‘damru’. He wears a garland of skulls and is also known as the lord of the cremation grounds. His consort is Parvati and he is the father of Ganesha and Skanda (Kartikeya). His vehicle is the bull called Nandi.

The Mahamrityunjaya – Victory from death

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Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is one among the finest Mantra’s in Indian Mythology and Spirituality belongs to Lord Shiva.It is a combination of three hindi language words i.e. “Maha” which means Great , “Mrityun” means Death and “Jaya” means Victory which turns into Conquer or victory over death. It is also known as “Rudra Mantra” or “Trayambakam Mantra”. Rudra refers to Lord Shiva.

Om Trayambakam Yajamahe, Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam,

Urvarukmiv Bandhanat, Mrityurmokshaya Mamratat.

त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।

उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् म्रुत्योर्मुक्षिय मामृतात् ॥

The Shani Dev – one of the nine Navagraha or planets

ShaniDev is one of the (Planet)”Navagraha ”which are the nine primary celestial beings in Hindu astrology, or Mtyhs. The word Shani (Saturday) also denotes the Seventh day or Saturday in most Indian languages.Shanaye Kramati – the one who moves slowly, as Saturn takes about 30 years to rotate around the Sun. Shani is also known as Shanaiscarya, Shani Bhagavan, Shaneesvara, Saneesvara, Shaneesvaran, Shani Deva.

Shani is a Lord and son of Surya (the Sun God) and his wife Chhaya (goddess of Shadow) and hence also known as Chayyaputra. He is the cousin of Yama, the Hindu God of death. It is said that when he opened his eyes as a baby for the very first time, the sun went into an eclipse, which clearly denotes the impact of Shani on astrological charts. He is known as the greatest teacher. He is known in Hindu scriptures as the greatest trouble maker as well as the greatest well wisher. He is depicted dark in colour, wearing cloths in black, holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and variously mounted on a black vulture or a raven.