Literatarot
XIII - Morte/Death
RigVeda Samhita
This card has been prepared by the sister/brother duo of Srishti Gautam and Janit Gambhir. Srishti Gautam nee Gambhir is a designer by profession, a self confessed workaholic. Bound by the career she has chosen, till it gives her the means to pursue freedom.
Janit Gambhir is a film maker by profession. At least for the most part. Film is his betrothed and the callings of his soul his mistress. And therein lies his eternal conflict. Janit’s quest in life is for perspective and understanding. To understand boundaries of human existence in order to realize that they exist only in perception. Janit is an energy healer by day as well teaching and teaching Reiki, energy work, tarot and energy massage.
Description :
Om trayambakam yajaamhe
Sugandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvaru kameev bandhanaat
Mrityurmukshiya mamrataat”
Meaning – let us worship Shiva, the three eyed one who is sacred and fragrant and nourishes all his beings. Just as the cucumber ripens and is released from it’s attachment to the creeper, may we be liberated from death (and everything associated with) and be granted and realize our immortality nature.
Legend has it that Sage Markande was born of parents who were Lord Shiva devotees. Lord Shiva appeared before them and blessed them with a child. But he gave them an option… they could either have a son that would be evil and live a 100 years or a pure hearted son who would only live to 16 years. The choice was easy; they picked the pure hearted Markande and brought him up as a Shiva devotee. As the fateful day approached… Markande went into deep meditation and started to pray to Lord Shiva.
In time Yamaraj, the god of death arrived. But even death cannot harm those who have the favour of Lord Shiva… and the meditation could not be broken. The god of death conceded helplessness. Markande went on to dedicate his newly granted life to Shiva and the prayer came to be called the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra.
Mrityunjaya as an avatar of Shiva is prayed to in order to free man from fear, from fear of death, ill, suffering and death itself. Shiva as the supreme all encompasses the world, joy and pain just as living and dying are within his jurisdiction. Even a single hair on a person’s head does not move without his knowledge and so when man prays, he prays for favour, for mercy and for salvation.
The image is Markande surrounded by the fire of mortal existence set against a backdrop of the clutter and colour of life. Shiva is aware and watchful, and the trinity (Trishul-Shiva’s spear) of existence exists all around… creation preservation and destruction… past present and future. Nandi (Holy cow- Shiva’s primary disciple), appears close to Markande, marking that Shiva is nearby and also total surrender to the lord is the need of the hour.
The watchful lord Shiva watches with his son, The lord Ganesha… signified by spheres or the cycle of life and inverted triangles or the God’s reaching down to earth emphasizing on the understanding… and that if Shiva wills it, life goes on (Ganesha’s head was severed and replaced with that of an elephant’s by Shiva).
Death the card stands for closure of things, or in other words a part of us dying. But only when a chapter ends can another begin.
Within the Mrityunjaya story lies a lesson to be learnt. Fear not from death and suffering and all shall pass for a better life ahead. Life rescues us from the clutches of destruction only to grant us a second life, something we all feel many times over in our lives. There is a divine plan… and our experiences teach us, change us, shake us into the many lives we live within one. Death card is nothing but a juncture – often a new lease on life.