Dear ones, early this morning my husband was going out of the gate for a walk. Suddenly a parrot fell at his feet. He picked up the parrot and got a cup of water. The parrot drank the water and flew away. I was so happy when he told me. We have wild cats wandering about and the poor parrot could have been breakfast for one of them. It is hot in Delhi, and can you imagine that many peacocks died of thirst last year. Please keep a mud bowl of water for birds, wherever you live in the summer.

Coming back to the thirsty parrot tale, a parrot is considered a very auspicious symbol in Hindu faith. It symbolizes happiness, wisdom, and good fortune. It brings positive energy and prosperity to a home and their chatter dispels negative energy.

There are many references to parrots in Hindu literature. A parrot by the name of Suka was the vahana (mount) of Kamadev, the God of desire and his companion Rati. It is a symbol of love and passion. The parrot is also associated with the Goddesses Meenakshi, Kamakshi and Matangi who is a Tantrik goddess and one of the Das Mahavidyas. Suka, a special parrot was a messenger for Radha Rani.

Meenakshi

Meenakshi is a form of Parvati, who is associated with Prakriti (nature). She has a parrot in her hand or on her shoulder. Her association is with Nature. It is believed that when says a prayer to her, her parrot keeps on repeating the prayer. The parrot is also a celestial being.

Kamakshi

Kamakshi is associated with love and beauty, fertility and devotion. She is a manifestation of the divine feminine energy, Shakti. She is also shown with a parrot in her right hand which imparts knowledge of the 64 arts to her. Kamakshi eyes became full of desire, and she enlivened the corpse of Shiva who became Kameshwara. She grants blessings related to love, compassion and fertility. It is believed that the parrots taught the goddesses, skills such as singing, painting, archery and cooking.

Matangi

Matangi is depicted with a parrot in either one hand or both of her hands. The parrot is seen as her representation of her ability to convey to convey wisdom and knowledge through story telling. She is also seen as the Tantric form of Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the parrot is a symbol of speech, music and artistic expression.

Suka

Lastly Suka was a spiritual parrot who belonged to Radha Rani. He served as a messenger between her and Krishna. When it was time for Radha Rani to go back to the spiritual world, she said that he had to stay. He would always be with her, as he would narrate the stories about her and Krishna. Suka was reincarnated as Sukadev Goswami. He became the narrator of Srimad Bhagavatam, a sacred text recounting the pastimes of Krishna.

If you have discovered a truth, tell it first to a parrot! Every new truth needs an instant repetition. – Mehmet Murat Ildan

Aim Hrim Klim

By Unknown author – https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_2007-3005-49, Public Domain, Link