Shoola Vratam 1914

The traditional katha

This is the katha told by families who keep this vrata; no Purana source was found for it.

"Shoola" is the trident. Shoola Vratam is kept for Lord Shiva, mostly in Tamil Shaiva homes and temples, and at its centre is the trident in Shiva's hand.

For Tamil Shaivas the trident is more than a weapon. It is worshipped as a deity of its own, Astra Devar or Soola Devar, and because Shiva bears it he is called Soolapani, "he who holds the trident." Its three prongs are seen as the three gunas that run through all creation, and as the cutting of the soul's three bonds: ego, illusion and the load of past karma.

Between Thanjavur and Kumbakonam, near Ayyampettai, is the village of Soolamangalam and its temple of Lord Kirthivaseswarar. The temple's story tells that the trident, Soola Devar himself, came here and worshipped Shiva. Pleased, Shiva granted him a boon: in every festival procession, and when the Lord is taken to the waters for the holy bath, the trident would walk ahead of him, and in every Shiva temple the trident would be worshipped first. So even today Astra Devar leads the Lord's processions, and Thai Amavasai is a great day at Soolamangalam.

The katha also remembers those who kept this vrata in hard times. Lord Vishnu is said to have kept it. Parashurama, the warrior sage, kept it before he met the mighty king Kartavirya, and by its strength he defeated him.

Its blessing comes from the trident's own nature. The trident walks before the Lord and protects him, and in the same way it protects those who honour it: no enemy can come near one who keeps Shoola Vratam. Families who keep it think of Shiva with the trident in his hand, and pray for the same protection on their own path.