Sri Bharatamata

Ashtottaram 89

 

89) OṀ KARSHAKA PŪJIṪA BHŪMYAINAMAH:

           OṀ (AUM) -KAR-SHA-KA-  POO-JI-ṪA- BHOO- MYAI- NA-- MA- HA

 

   (Karshaka: means-Farmer; Pūjiṫa: means-honor, worship, respect)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we hear the slogan-'Jai javān, Jai kisān', it automatically reflects the respect and affection every Indian has for the soldiers and the farmers. Bhūmāṫa takes care of the farmer as her child (raiṫubiḍḍa). From dawn till dusk, our farmers spent their life on the paddy fields and they are the back bones of our Bhūḋevi. Our Vedas and Sri Krishna decaled that 'annam Parabrahma svarōpam' means that 'food is Parabrahman' and it keeps our life force. We eat rice and food three times a day is happening only because of our farmers. Even our Indians living in abroad, when come home after work, they eat rice and curry at dinner and that's the only food satisfy them, even though there are a variety of ethnic foods available at restaurants. That shows how deep our habits are and thanks to our farmers, we are used to Indian food no matter how old we are and how long we have been living in other countries. This is because we grew up with rice, curry, chutney and yogurt as our main meal. We consider the rice, wheat and other crops as wealth and based on that, we celebrate 'Sankrānṫi' every year. We have many movies, songs and many more, celebrating the importance of our farmers and agriculture. The farmer's attire of his loin cloth, traditional shirt and head scarf represents our agricultural tradition and culture.

 

Many political parties use farmer as their mascot along with a sickle and hammer as their party flag and symbol. Some politicians use the cow, and the calf, as their party symbol. Our government has released stamps with the farmer and paddy on them. When we have draught and no rains, our priests perform homams and yajnas, to help the farmers and that has been a tradition in Hindu culture. Surprisingly, many times, right after those rituals, we had rain falls that helped our farmers and the paddy fields. However, we must also note that we always pray gods and goddesses not just for ourselves, we pray for the entire humanity, globally at large. During the election campaigns, our politicians promise our farmers that they have 5 year plan to help the agriculture and it's always part of their election campaigns.

 

During our festivals, especially during 'Sankrānti' festival, our farmers decorate their oxen and bullock carts with various colors, flowers and paper machete and carry processions on the streets. The importance we give to agriculture and farmers is unmatchable to any other culture or country. The farmers are portrayed in many movies to remind us that they are the back bone of our country and culture.

 

The land which treats the farmer as its child is our mother land and is 'Karshaka Pūjita Bhūmi'.