Is kolam a waste one, in religious perspective?

Respected Sir

It was really sad that your elaborate and meaningful answer was neglected.

What is this kolam?? This is a familiar sight in front of any house in the southern parts of India. Various designs are drawn up daily on the floor early morning, using primarily the fine rice-flours (Rice pulverized in very fine grade). The kolams will be of many geometrical designs, connecting up innumerable tiny dots, or circling them.

In old days, people used to wake up in the morning and it was their habit to feed various insects, birds and animals, before they themselves had any food.

Hence Kolam is a ritual followed by Hindus to enrich the their tradition

Sri Sathya Sai Baba used to mention about “Sarva Bhootha Daya Pushpam”. (Daya or compassion towards all living creatures). The best way to show compassion is to feed them sumptuously. Those days, people, as they woke up in the morning, used to throw handful of rice or rice flours in front of their homes so that tiny ants and other insects could eat them. Gradually the rice flour was carefully placed in front of the houses, and this practice slowly developed into certain designs. These designs are known as kolams. Kolams indicates, mark of auspiciousness in a family.

Kolam is a daily tribute to harmonious coexistence.

It is a sign of inviting all into the home, not the least of whom is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity...

The different patterns / lines in the Kolam are meant to stop the evil entering the home, and positive energy vibrating around the house.

Drawing different types of Kolams by woman is a form of Physical and mental excises which help them to keep their mind and body fit for the day’s work.

Brahmin Kolam Designs

A Kolam drawn in front of the main entrance of a house gives LAKSHMI KADASHAM and also makes that house a bright one. Making Kolam with Rice flour in the early morning during Margazhi month( Dhanur Masam) gives us ozone breeze and makes us fresh.It also gives us some exercise to our body by benting and moving side by side,PADDIK KOLAM is very easy to draw and we must draw that PADDIK KOLAM for important functions at our Home.

Kolam In Pooja room with pure rice flour (Pacharisi mavu) is a must one . Now-a-days so many people stick the ready-made kola paper in front of the pooja room.It's not a good one. Drawing the Kolam with rice flour each and every day will give us happiness and also give exercise to my hands and also God Will shower His Blessings to us .Nothing will give more happy than this.

So Kolam is not a waste one in my aspect and it will give me so many good things in our life.

A thought provoking point. It is true that kolam (decorative drawing) put in rice flour incidentally serves to feed the small insects like ants. But our ancestors always thought in terms of many purposes (not only religious) for a single act. In the case of kolam:

1. It adds to the beauty of the place wherever it is put.

2. It gives a pleasant feeling both to the person putting it as well as those looking at it.

3. It gives good exercise for the person doing kolam

4. It increases the imagination of people drawing kolams to use various designs.

5. It increases concentration power of person engaged in the act of kolam

6 It can serve the purpose of competition amongst children

7. It enables one to keep his/her mind tranquil, as this is yoga by itself.

8. Kolams involving yantras will add to the power and sanctity of the place

9. If there is no kolam in front of a house, it is suggestive of some specific ritual/mourning there.

We can go on listing the utilities/benefits of kolam drawing, not confining to bhuta yagya alone. In any case kolam drawing can never be a wasteful job. Our ancestors would not suggest an act that can become wasteful as time passes by, by building multipurpose utility in a single act, so that even if one of them becomes redundant, others will take over.

No it is not a waste in a religious perspective ;nowr is it a waste in a practical persepective either.

No only is it kind to place foods for hungry creat-ures now living temporarily in bodies to house spirits using those bodies as vehicles to balance out the universe, who are a part of the Created,/Creator, but this practice successfully may distractsbugs and rats and cockroaches etc. from invading the homes of us who temporarily dwell in human bodies. It leads the other created-ures out of our homes and kitchens and towards where the kolam is placed.

Then why should not we ask "is making sweets for krishnajayanti and vinayagachaturti waste?" because we are making them. . Showing to the god's face and eating by ourselves. Are we not believing that god has accepted it. . In the same way, kolam is the way to welcome lakshmi to our houses. When we are ready to believe nivedhana and prasadha. . Why should not we trust in kolam? When we get a special guest to home will not we set-right things and decorate the home as much as possible? This is the same. . And we are inviting the god. .why should not we decorate with kolam. .

in olden days the art uses natural materials like rice and grains and natural colours like the Colour or turmeric and other natural substances which are easily available.now a days people are using chemicals and other toxic substance to create art.like using lots of ton of salt to create Independence day flag.if things like these are done then kolam or rangoli is waste of resource only.

the objective of kolam is to share the grains with homeless animals like stray cows and cattle,ants, insects etc.it is not done these days so in religious prospective the kolam used these days are for fancy and catching the attention and nothing more.

Nowadays we kills the ants using BHC powder. But ants are the part of nature and they eat the small insects and keep our plants healthy. So Hindus, especially Brahmins made it a custom to draw Kolam in front of their houses with flour so as to attract the ants. Using sand and other non-food powders for Kolam are not enough to fulfil this purpose.

The Pasuram is reproduced:

வெள்ளை நுண்மணல் கொண்டு சிற்றில் விசித்திரப்பட, வீதிவாய்த்

தெள்ளி நாங்கள் இழைத்த கோலம் அழித்தியாகிலும், உன்றன்மேல் உள்ளமோடி உருகலல்லால் உரோடம் ஒன்றுமிலோம் கண்டாய்,

கள்ள மாதவா!கேசவா! உன் முகத்தன கண்கள் அல்லவே

This pasuram is not in the tradition of Sanskrit Kaavya Shaastra but in Tamil literary tradition of "Pillaith thamizh", celebrating various stages of a child. Periyaazhvaar, the foster-father of AaNDaaL, is supposed to be the forerunner of this tradition. This form is extinct in Sanskrit and other languages, as the 'Nava Rasa' formulated by Mammata and other scholars of 'rasa shastra' does not include 'vaatsalya' and 'bhakti' which are the contribution of Tamil to Indian literature. In Surdas's poems, we can have a glimpse of 'pillaith thamizh' as in the poem 'maiya main nahin maakhan khaayo'.

In this form, the playfulness of children is described. Making houses of sand, keeping three pebbles to represent oven, miniature vessels of earth (Ceppu), are all part of this. In this form, the naughty boys playing pranks of spoilsport by destroying the sand house by female children, is also mentioned as 'chiRRil chidaiththal'. The aforesaid pasuram is in this genere of literature.

A home in Tamil tradition, is invariably decorated with 'kolam' at the entrance which is the barest minimum. Often women compete with each other in drawing intricate patterns with their skills, adding several dots with curved lines, spending hours. Even now in the month of Margazhi, this tradition is assiduously followed in villages and temple towns. Sometimes these kolams cover the breadth of the street ( Theruvadaichchaan).

Young playful girls imitate this tradition in their play while building sand house. For kolam, since they would not get rice flour, from elders, they would use white sand instead. Since the whole concept is fantasy, the kolam too is a part thereof.

The above paasuram, describes the playful nature. What is important is that the tradition of kolam is understood and adopted even in play. AaNDaaL describes young boy Krishna's (KaNNan in Tamil), pranks and says she would not frown even if he had destroyed the sand house built by her with mock 'kolam'.

In all traditional rites, 'kolam' / ranga valli / rangoli / alpanaa , is an essential decoration. The kalpa sutra also says: "sthaNDilam ranga valli aadibhiH alankrutya'. The decoration with various colours, which in India, was with natural products only, till two centuries ago, had the minimum framework of pattern with rice flour (arisi maavu, chourattha, chaaval kaa aata) and any further embellishment with colours.

In the pasuram traditional SrivaishNavaite scholars would stress on the words "kaNkaL' -eyes and provide esoteric meanings. As one with literary approach only, I would point out the unique usage of 'urodam' which I have not found elsewhere. Going by strict grammar of Tolkaapiyam, this adaptation of 'rosha' is interesting. This word as 'rosham' is still in use in Tamil, meaning 'being hurt, being vexed, getting provoked and getting angry without scope of retaliation', while the same word in other languages is confined to 'anger'. The Tamil adaptation amply portrays children's sentiments.

Note:The earlier question referred to was answered with quotes from Periyaazhvaar ( again in the mode of description of a young girl's playful nature) and Kumaraguruparar (in the nature of invocation of the Goddess Meenakshi in full form of worship) both describing 'kolam', the former as part of play and the latter as an essential feature of mode of worship.

Nothing is waste!

think positive about all, you will get positive

and

if you think negative you will earn negative