Hinduism – A Brief Summary

Derivation of the word Hindu

The word Hindu (in the form ‘Hidu’) appears to have been applied by the Persian Emperors Darius (522-486 B.C.) and Xerxes (486-465 B.C.) to the territory and people to the west and to the east of river Sindhu, while the Greeks referred to the people in the same region as ‘Indoi’ from which comes the word Indian. The ancient Parsi scripture- Vendidad mentions sixteen lands, the fifteenth being Hapta Hindu (Sapta Sindhu). The Sanskrit ‘Sa’ is changed to ‘Ha’ even now in some parts of India.¹ Panini uses the word ‘Sindhu’ as the name of a country. Saindhava means one who or whose ancestors lived in the Sindhu country.²

From Geographical connotation to Religious connotation

It is most striking that people we now call Hindus never used this term to describe themselves. The Vedas, the Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita which today are seen by many as the religious texts of the Hindus, do not employ the word Hindu. The term was first used by the Achaemenid Persians to describe all those people who lived on or beyond the banks of river Sindhu. It was only under the Muslim rulers of India that the term began to gain a religious connotation (from the earlier geographical connotation). But it was not until colonial times that the term Hinduism was coined and acquired wide currency as referring collectively to a wide variety of religious communities, some of them with distinct traditions and opposed practices. Communities like the Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Lingayats, each with their own history and specific view of the world were tied together under the blanket category Hinduism. Simultaneously, cultural, administrative and political changes, particularly social mobility, census operations, missionary activities and the rise of new groups like Arya Samaj endowed the term with meanings that we have come to associate with it today.³

Rajaram Mohan Roy, the first Hindu to use the word Hinduism

The term Hinduism seems first to have made an appearance in the early 19^th century and gradually gained provenance in the decades thereafter. Eighteenth century references to the religion of the Gentoos were gradually supplanted in the 19^th century by references to the religion of the Hindus. A preference for the Persian as opposed to the Portuguese designation of the Indian people. (Heathens was another word used to designate the Hindus by Christian missionaries). However it was not until the 19th century proper that the term Hinduism became used as a signifier of a unified all-embracing and independent religious entity in both western and Indian circles. The Oxford English Dictionary traces Hindooism to an 1829 reference in the Bengalee (vol-45) and also refers to an 1858 usage by the German Indologist Max Muller. Dermot Killingley however cites a reference to Hindooism by Rajaram Mohan Roy in 1816. As Killingley suggests Rajaram Mohan Roy was probably the first Hindu to use the word Hinduism.⁴

The word Hindu used as a title and as a religious connotation even earlier

The rulers of Vijayanagara kingdom like Bukka I, Devaraya II and Krishnadevaraya and the ruler of Mewar, Maharana Kumbhakarna had the title- hinduraya suratrana, that is, Sultan among Hindu kings and Maharana Pratap Simha of Mewar had the title, hindu kula kamala divakara, that is, the sun which brings bloom to the lotus of the Hindu nation.⁵ The word Hindu as a religious connotation was used in vernacular Hindu literature by poet-saints like Ekanath (1533-1599 A.D.), Kabir (1450-1520 A.D.), Vidyapati (1352-1448 A.D.) and Anantadas (born 1488 A.D.) in their works. According to David N Lorenzen, the beginning of medieval and modern Hinduism took shape when the mythology of gods like Vishnu, Shiva and Devi were composed in the Puranas around 300-600 A.D.⁶

Hinduism, a combination of religious ideologies

Hinduism is not a single religion like Islam or Christianity. It is a universe of religions. It represents the religious responses of different races and classes at various stages of cultural evolution. It includes the religious response of the aborigines, of persons who are bound down by custom and superstition and that of persons who have transcended them.⁷

In the words of P.V.Kane, Hinduism is a combination of many systems and religious ideologies including Vedic ritualism, Vedantic thought, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and primeval cults, adapted to the requirements of different men and communities with great disparities of intellectual and spiritual attainments.⁸

The capacity to incorporate and amalgamate other religions and alien cults in Hinduism is possible because of two basic Hindu doctrines: that God or Brahman is within everything, and can therefore appear everywhere, and that whoever is born in India is essentially a Hindu. The incorporation of aboriginal cults has occurred in Hinduism from the very beginnings. However, such incorporations became particularly prevalent in post-Buddhist times. To give examples, the Jagannath temple at Puri, one of the most important temple of India and patronized by many kings enshrines a deity of tribal origin. Similarly the most important features of the mythology and cult of Durga developed only in early medieval times taking up aboriginal elements. The sacrifice offered to Devi, for instance, is different from the Vedic form of sacrifice and even occasionally retains the idea of human sacrifice.⁹

Hinduism offers choice to its adherents

Hinduism comprises monism, pantheism, monotheism, polytheism, animism and even atheism (nirishvaravada) of the Samkhya type. Even those who are monotheists have the choice to worship God in the form of either Shiva, Vishnu or Shakti. With regards to prayers also Hinduism offers choice to its adherents. One may pray through Vedic hymns or non-Vedic hymns or even choose to compose one’s own prayer. It is not even necessary to pray to God and one may choose to contemplate him. The path to the realization of God is through bhakti, karma and jnana. Bhakti may manifest itself through prayer, song or dance or idol worship. Karma may be ritualistic or non-ritualistic and even rituals practiced may not be the same. Even the scriptures considered holy by the Hindus are divergent. For some it is the Vedas, for others it is the Puranas. But majority of the Hindus depend for their religious instruction mainly on custom, tradition and popular songs.¹⁰

Characteristics of Hinduism

Hinduism does not venerate any particular person as its sole prophet or founder nor recognize any particular book as its absolute authoritative scripture. Further Hinduism does not insist on any particular religious practice as being obligatory nor does it accept any doctrine as its dogma.¹¹

By the very nature of its origin and growth, Hinduism has been exceedingly tolerant. As Hindu worship is personal rather than congregational in character, Hinduism allows its adherents freedom to worship his chosen divinity (ishtadevata).¹²

Hinduism is a dynamic religion which has exhibited, throughout history, a remarkable elasticity and responsiveness to the needs of different communities and to the demands of different ages and regions. It has never hesitant to sponsor new scriptures, new gods and new institutions.¹³

By and large, Hinduism has always tended to incorporate and assimilate new ideas and practices. It is a religion untrammeled by any fixed creeds, dogmas and rituals.¹⁴

One of the basic assumptions of Hinduism is that though religious practices and beliefs were bound to change according to different times and different climes, they could all be comprehended within a larger unity. Accordingly, Hinduism has always been variable, elastic and receptive.¹⁵

^{Lastly Hinduism is in a sense, an ethnic religion. It is not either propagated among or imposed upon the people. The Hindus are verily born and grow in Hinduism though many of them do not believe in many of its doctrines and practices. But this does not forfeits their claim to be called as Hindus.16}

Does Hinduism discriminate against people based on caste?

Caste exclusiveness and caste discrimination was practiced by the followers of Vedic cult. It was these followers who later composed Dharmasastras which denied the Shudras to study the Vedas or partake in Vedic sacrifices. But Vedic cult is a part of Hinduism and not Hinduism itself.

As Wilhelm Halbfass has observed, the Vedic texts contain no Hindu dogma, no basis for a creed of Hinduism, no clear guidelines for the Hindu way of life. The Vedic texts provide no clear identifiable basis for the cyclical world-view, the doctrine of Karma and rebirth, the ethical principle of ahimsa and the doctrine of final liberation (Moksha). Also the Hindu pantheon, the forms of worship and devotion and the temple cult are not Vedic.¹⁷

According to R.N.Dandekar, historical Hinduism arose as a kind of reaction against the peculiar religio-philosophical conditions which had been engendered by Vedism- particularly by its later phases. But being realistic and pragmatic the sponsors of historical Hinduism did not alienate completely from it and professed an allegiance to the Veda to encounter with the so-called heretic religious movements of the early post-Vedic period.¹⁸

How did the impression that Hinduism is discriminatory gained ground

The earliest written religious texts of India written in Sanskrit like the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Dharmashastras belonged to the Vedic cult, whose main followers were the Brahmins. When the Europeans including the English wanted to gain information about Hinduism, they approached the Brahmins as they alone knew Sanskrit and could explain to them about the contents of their texts. The Brahmins of that period though professing allegiance to various sects like Smarta, Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta provided information contained in the Vedic texts and an impression was created that Hinduism was Vedic religion. The Europeans had these texts translated into European languages including English and highlighted the discriminatory practices found in these texts. This information naturally entered in the history text books meant for schools and colleges where Hindu religion was equated with the Vedic religion. Hence the impression that Hinduism was a religion based on discriminatory practices was firmly implanted in the minds of the educated class. Also research on popular sects like Shaivas, Vaishnavas, the role of Tantras, assimilation of folk deities in Hinduism and similar such subjects had not taken place. Therefore intellectuals like Baba Saheb Ambedkar criticized Hinduism for its discriminatory practices. Probably Ambedkar was not aware of the Lingayat sect popular in the then southern parts of Bombay Presidency. Otherwise he would have surely embraced the Lingayat faith which is based on equality and bereft of superstitious ideas.

Hence it is this false notion of equating Vedism also called Brahmanism with Hinduism which has led people to believe that Hinduism is discriminative in nature. But the fact is Vedism is only a part of Hinduism which contains various Mathas (religious viewpoint) and Sampradayas (religious sects). Also as all religious sects of Hinduism (except for the Vedic cult) provides spiritual access to the Shudras and admit them into their orders, the allegation that Hinduism is discriminatory is totally wrong.

Why is the caste system still in India?

Now a question arises if only the followers of Vedic cult practiced caste exclusiveness, how come the Shudras themselves are divided into hundreds of castes and do not enter into matrimonial alliance with each other? The answer to this probably lies in the assumption that from time immemorial people of India engaged in different professions had formed into separate groups. Probably to protect the skills of their trade/professions, they married among themselves and this later became a custom. But unlike the Brahmins these groups never considered themselves superior to other groups and demeaned them nor claimed special privileges. This shows that Hinduism as a religion has nothing to do with caste, which was a social organization.

Reference

1. P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastras, vol – 5, part 2, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, 1962, p.1613

2. Ibid, p.1614

3. Harjot Oberoi – The Construction of Religious Boundaries : Culture, Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, 1994, pp:16,17

4. Richard King – Orientalism and the Modern Myth of Hinduism, Numen, vol 46, no. 2, 1999, p.165

5. Sitaram Goel – Hindus and Hinduism- Manipulation of Meanings, Voice of India, New Delhi, 2003, pp: 7-9

6. David N Lorenzen – Who invented Hinduism? Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.41, No.4, October, 1999, pp: 648,655

7. G.Hanumantha Rao – What is Hinduism?, in Prof. M.Hiriyanna Commemoration Volume, Published by Prof. M.Hiriyanna Commemoration Volume Committee, Mysore, 1952

8. P.V.Kane, Op.Cit, p.1621

9. Anncharlott Eschmann, Hermann Kulke, Gaya Charan Tripathi, Edited – The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, Manohar Publication, New Delhi, 1986, pp:79,80

10. G.Hanumantha Rao, Op.Cit, pp: 22,23

11. R.N.Dandekar- Insight into Hinduism, Ajanta Publication, Delhi, 1979, p.1

12. Ibid, p.5

13. Ibid

14. Ibid

15. Ibid

16. Ibid, p.2

17. Wilhelm Halbfass – Tradition and Reflection, Explorations in Indian Thought, State University of New York Press, 1991, pp:1,2

18. R.N.Dandekar- Op.Cit, p.13

Hanuman, the hero of the Vanaras

Ancient India was inhabited by Devas (Manavas), Asuras, Vanaras, Rakshasas, Yakshas, Nagas, Panis, Dasas, etc. All of them were human beings and claim descent from mythical Rishis. The Devas, Asuras (Daityas and Danavas) and Nagas were descendants from Rishi Marichi, while the Vanaras, Rakshasas and Yakshas were descendants from Rishi Pulastya. Hanuman famous for his strength, stamina and wisdom was born in a Vanara community and was a contemporary of Sri Rama, the ruler of Ayodhya. Hanuman was born at Anjanadri mountain situated near Hampi in Koppal district of Karnataka. His father Kesari was a chieftain and his mother was Anjana. The Puranic literature contains many stories about the birth of Hanuman which are not only fanciful but also disgusting and can be overlooked.

Vanaras were Humans

The word Vanar originally meant ‘the dweller of the Vana (forest)’. The Jaina Ramayana calls the Vanaras as Vanaradhwajas or people having a monkey flag as they had monkey as their totem or emblem. Valmiki refers to three type of people during the Ramayana period, namely Manavas, Vanaras and Rakshasas; who were all highly civilized. The political, religious and social organizations of the Vanaras were of the same pattern as those of the Manavas. The Vanaras led a simple life and were strict vegetarians. A purely vegetarian diet is an indication of their spiritual progress and advanced culture. The Vanaras believed in the principle ‘Live and to Let Live’ and did not involve in conquest of territories belonging to other people. They fought only in self-defense.

The Vanaras are reputed to be knowers of policy and possession of wisdom and to be acquainted with asthras (spiritual weapons). In the Kishkindha kanda (chapter xxxiii verse six) they are described as wearing garlands and clothes. They had an enlightened system of government, made gifts to Brahmins and cremated their dead; all of these shows that they were humans.

In Ramayana Hanuman is referred as mahakapi, that is ‘great monkey’. Probably this epithet was given by the poet due to the over activeness character of Hanuman. “The poet of the Ramayana may have known that the Vanaras were men of the jungle country. But he has served the purpose of the fantastic and marvellous side of his story by depicting Sugriva as a real monkey and his Vanara army as consisting of not only all kinds of monkeys but also bears” says Narayan Aiyangar. According to B.C.Majumdar a clan called Makkals lived in Tamilnadu and this Dravidian term Makkala or Makkada could be easily transformed into Markata (monkey in Sanskrit) and probably the poet of Ramayana made monkey of them. These Makkals once occupied the high lands of Central India including Dandakarnya of Ramayana. Unfortunately, the Vanaras are depicted as monkeys and there is an urgent need to portray and carve Hanuman as a human being, which he was.

Helped Rama fight against Ravana

Hanuman was a close associate of Sugriva whose Vanara kingdom is identified with Rshyamuka mountains near Hampi. Hanuman along with Sugriva and other Vanaras helped Sri Rama in his fight against Ravana. Hanuman accompanied Sri Rama on his return journey to Ayodhya and spent rest of his days with him.

Antiquity of the worship of Lord Hanuman

Before arriving at a date from which Hanuman came to be worshiped, we have to know the date from which Lord Rama came to be defied and worshiped as the worship of Hanuman is a sequel to the worship  of Rama.

According to R.G.Bhandarkar there is no mention of Rama in the works of Patanjali (2^nd century B.C.) Amarasimha (6^th century A.D.) too has not mentioned Rama’s name in his scheme of Brahmanic gods. Madhvacharya is said to have brought the image of Digvijaya Rama from Badarikashrama and sent Naraharitirtha to Jagannatha in 1264 A.D. to bring what was called the original idols of Rama and Sita. The cult of Rama therefore must have come in existence about the 11^th century A.D.

According to H.D.Sankalia, the Ramayana in its present state cannot be earlier than 5^th century A.D. and Rama’s identification with Vishnu, Krishna and Narayana and Sita with Lakshmi took place in Balakanda and Uttarakanda in about the 5^th century A.D. and it took a couple of centuries for people to actually start worshiping Rama. No temples were raised to Rama till the 10^th century A.D. but Ramayana panels frequently occur from 7^th century A.D. onwards.

The worship of Rama as an avatar of Vishnu is at least as old as the time of Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira who describes details of his iconometry and the worship of Rama started at least in the 6^th century A.D. is the view of B.P.Majumdar.

An inscription dated 2^nd century A.D. and found in Kosam village in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh mentions a person named Indraghosh offering prayers to Bhagawato Rama Narayana. On this basis B.C.Shukla says that Rama was deified by 2^nd -3^rd century A.D.

Sculptural evidence of Hanuman’s worship

We find the earliest surviving sculptures of Hanuman dating from the Gupta period, occur in friezes of Ramayana scenes. These continue to appear in both Shaiva and Vaishnava temples throughout the medieval period. The bronze tableaux of the Chola period includes Rama, Sita and Lakshmana with Hanuman kneeling or standing to one side in a servile pose. A single independent Chola image of Hanuman has been assigned to the late 9^th century A.D.

The oldest free standing image bearing an inscription and dated 922 A.D. is found in the ruins of a small monastery on the edge of the western group of temples at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. Two other large images from Khajuraho may date to roughly the same period and may indicate the endorsement by wealthier patrons of Hanuman’s popular cult. In subsequent centuries images of Hanuman appear at many locations in north and central India. For instance a 10^th century A.D. image From Singhbhumi, Bihar, a seated 12^th century A.D. image from Goa and a 13^th century A.D. mustached image from Mallar in Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh. During the rule of Vijayanagara empire between 14^th to 16^th century A.D. hundreds of Hanuman images were raised at Hampi in Karnataka.

Hanuman in coins

Hanuman’s form also appears on the coins of a number of dynasties, beginning with the 12^th century A.D. Kalachuris of Ratnapur (Madhya Pradesh). The Varman kings of the Chandela dynasty also issued coins bearing the figures of Hanuman. Other dynasties who issued coins bearing the figures of Hanuman include the Kadamba dynasty of Hanagal (11^th – 12^th century A.D.) and the founder of Vijayanagara kingdom, Harihara I and Bukka I.

Hanuman’s connection with Vrshakapi of Vedic era

F.E.Pargiter in an article in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, refers to a fable narrated in Brahma Purana about a man born from water having the nature of Shiva and Vishnu and called Vrshakapi. And he helped Indra, the Vedic god by killing his adversary Mahasani who had earlier defeated and humiliated Indra.

Vrshakapi was a Vedic character and a party to a dialogue forming the Rigvedic hymn X.86 to which other parties were Indra and Indrani. The dialogue arose out of Indrani’s jealousy of Indra’s attachment to Vrshakapi, his ally and friend, who is also described as Indra’s son.

Connecting the fable narrated in the Brahma Purana with the Rigvedic hymn, Pargiter says Dravidians worshiped monkeys and Vrshakapi represented some monkey-god whom he identifies with Hanuman. According to Pargiter it was common in Hinduism that local cults though at first superseded by the Vedic religion were not extirpated but reasserted themselves and survived by incorporation into Hinduism. Monkey worship among the Dravidians was at first overborne by the Brahmanic deities but was ultimately assimilated by the Brahmins.

Endorsing Pargiter’s views, K.Ramavarma Raja opines that Vrshakapi was an independent ruler and the chief deity of a wide spread south Indian cult. He helped Indra in recovering his lost kingdom and was treated by Indra as his brother. But later Vrshakapi surrenders his authority to Indra who assumes his (Vrshakapi) name and role and rules over Vrshakapi’s kingdom. Later when the Vedic age was followed by the Puranic one, Indra and other Vedic deities lost their supremacy and surrendered it in their turn to the highest gods of the Puranic age, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and Vishnu and Shiva assumed the title of Vrshakapi. In the epic story, Ramayana its hero Rama substituted for Indra and Hanuman for Vrshakapi. What Indra was in the Vedic age, so was Rama in the epic age and what Vrshakapi was to Indra, so was Hanuman to Rama.

According to Ramavarma Raja if a boar, a fish or a tortoise could be worshiped as a god at any place or time why could not a monkey too share the same honour? The Vedic religion in its growth and expansion absorbed the local cults and became popular Hinduism and the Vedic deities were superseded by or subordinated in power to the great popular gods or heroes who yet are regarded and treated as incarnations or descendants of the formers.

D.D.Kosambi has also pointed out that in the process of inducting the tribes into a caste society, the exclusive nature of tribal rituals and tribal cults was modified and tribal deities were equated with standard Brahmanical gods and their antecedents and rationale explained in suitable myths in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and in particular, the Puranas. The mechanism of assimilation followed a pattern. Some totemic deities, including the primeval fish, tortoise and boar were made into incarnations of Vishnu-Narayana. The monkey faced Hanuman, hugely popular with the cultivators, became the faithful companion servant of Rama, another incarnation of Vishnu.

The Ramayana had existed in oral tradition for a long time before it was recorded in writing. Valmiki the author of the Ramayana composed his work on the basis of the ancient stories current in the society. If Valmiki was a contemporary of Rama, as goes the Indian tradition, then the oldest Ramayana was sung in Vedic dialect, for Rama belonged to the Vedic age and the present Ramayana is a Sanskrit redaction of the Vedic Ramayana. According to R.S.Sharma the original Ramayana of Valmiki consisted of 6000 verses which were raised to 12,000 and finally to 24,000 and the Ramayana composition started in the 5^th century B.C. and has passed through five stages and the fifth stage seems to be as late as 12^th century A.D.

Ramayana being a kavya, it was possible for Valmiki to give a free rein to his imagination in creating the character of Hanuman. Perhaps he was inspired by the exploits of Vrshakapi while conceptualizing the character of Hanuman who was a son of a chieftain belonging to the Vanara community.

But Philip Lutgendorf opines that Valmiki characterized Hanuman in the role of the Vedic god Vayu. As we know Hanuman was called Vayuputra, had the ability to fly and possessed immense strength.

Paragon of wisdom, strength and devotion

Hanuman was a grammarian and knew the art of healing. The Ramayana says that no one equals him in the knowledge of sastras. Ramayana (Sundara Kanda) speaks of two varieties of Sanskrit which were in vogue at that time; one manushi Samskrita, the popular dialect and the Samskrita dvijatiriva, the language spoken by the cultured Brahmins, the shishtas and Hanuman was a cultured linguist and could speak in both varieties. Addressed variously as Anjaneya, Maruthi, Pavamana, Vayuputra, Ramabhakta, etc., Hanuman is considered to dispel fear, cure disease and give strength and stamina. To relieve children who easily get alarmed for trivial reasons or suffer from nightmares, yantras (talisman) of Hanuman are tied to their arm or around their neck. Hanuman is a bramachari and famous for maintaining strict continence. In all traditional gymnasiums called Vyayamashala, the portrait of Hanuman is hung and worshiped by all those who come there to exercise. Tulasidas wrote a devotional stotra (hymn) called Hanuman chalisa which is recited by devotees to obtain his (Hanuman’s) grace.

Reincarnated as Madhvacharya

In Madhva tradition Hanuman is highly revered and Madhvacharya, the propounder of Dwaita system of philosophy is believed to be the incarnation of Hanuman. Vyasaraya, the spiritual guru of Sri Krishnadevaraya, the famous ruler of Vijayanagara is said to have installed about 700 statues of Hanuman in various parts of the Vijayanagara Empire to inspire people develop manly qualities; who at that time had become desperate due to the repeated aggressive attacks by the Muslim rulers of the Deccan.

Popular God of Hindus

Once upon a time the worship of Hanuman was limited to south India, but now he is worshiped all over India. In southern India Hanuman is so popular that even insignificant villages have his shrines. His heroism, strength and devotion was so much admired that even after their conversion to Islam ex-Hindus erected shrines for him. Inscriptional evidence prove that in Rayalaseema (Andra Pradesh) certain classes of Mussalmans worship Hanuman. In the forts manned by chieftains shrines of Hanuman was built near the gates to infuse into the hearts of their fighting men the spirit of loyal attachment to their masters and indomitable heroism. In all temples dedicated to him, Hanuman is depicted as praying at the feet of Sri Rama or meditating under his favourite Parijata tree. In paintings he is depicted as flying by carrying a mountain in one hand or carrying Sri Rama and his brother Lakshmana on his shoulders.

Reference

Adya Ramachar- Anjaneya Vilasa, Sahitya Sanjeevini (Kannada work), Vardaraja Prakashan, 1997

F. E. Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Oxford University Press, London, 1922

Vettam Mani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975,

B. V. Kamesvara Aiyar- Valmiki’s Ramayana and the Western Critics, QJMS, Vol XVI, April 1926

P. C. Dharma- Social Life in the Ramayana, QJMS, Vol XXVIII, July 1937

John Dowson- A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History and Literature, London, 1879

Chintaharan Chakravarti- Tradition about Vanaras and Rakshasas, The Indian Historical Quarterly, vol I, 1925, Caxton Publication, Delhi, p.781

Narayan Aiyangar- Essays on Indo Aryan Mythology, Madras, 1901

H. Krishna Sastri- South Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses, Madras Government Press, 1916

K.S.Ramaswamy Sastri- The Aryan Colonies of Kiskindha and Lanka, Indian Culture, vol-5, July 1938-April 1939, no- 1-4

R.G.Bhandarkar –Vaisnavism, Saivism and minor religious system, Indological Book House, Varanasi, 1965,

B.P.Majumdar – Rama cult in early medieval India, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol-19, 1956

H.D.Sankalia – The Ramayana in Historical Perspective, Macmillan India Limited, 1982

B.C.Shukla- The earliest inscription of Rama worship, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol-51, 1990

Phlip Lutgendorf – Hanuman’s Tale – The message of a divine monkey, Oxford University Press, 2007

F.E.Pargiter – Suggestions regarding Rig Veda X.86, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July, 1911

F.E.Pargiter – Vrsakapi and Hanumant, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, April, 1913

K.Ramavarma Raja – The story of Vrishakapi and his transformations, QJMS, vol-21, 1930-31

Kunal Chakrabarti- The Lily and the mud: D.D.Kosambi on Religion, Economic and Political Weekly, vol-43, No.30, July 26-August 1^st, 2008,

Dinesh Sakalani – Questioning the Questioning of Ramayanas, ABORI, vol -84, 2004,

P.V.Kane – The Two Epics, ABORI, vol.47, No.1/4, 1966

Evolution of Skanda-Subrahmanya as a popular god of Hindus

In ancient India there was an exclusive band of devotees whose special object of veneration was the worship of Karttikeya (or Skanda) also known as Murugan/Subrahmanya in south India.¹

Origin of Skanda

Skanda or Karttikeya appears to have originally been a non-Vedic god of the indigenous village populace who associated him with the non-Vedic tribal mother-goddesses and a host of malevolent uncanny spirits which attacked human beings of all ages with physical and mental illness. Skanda was intimately associated with Rudra, who also was originally non-Vedic and was propitiated and supplicated by the village populace and others belonging to the lower vagrant tribal strata of society for curing the many ills-both physical and mental.²

A folk deity

The complications experienced by women during pre-natal and postnatal stages were all taken amongst the common folks to have been caused by the influence of Yakshas and Rakshasas who must be propitiated with bloody offerings. Skanda was one of such folk deities in his original form under several names such as Guha, etc. He was closely associated with a cock which is the most accessible bird to be slaughtered in offerings as up to now. One of the 18 Grahas (evil spirits) was known as Skandapasmara or the spirit which brought about the convulsion of child-life under the effect of diphtheria.3

The evil spirits were supposed to cast their influence on the health of children up to the age of 16 years. All the female Grahas are named Matrikas and all the male Grahas are but different forms of Skanda.⁴

The account of the Mahabharata shows that many bloodthirsty gods and goddesses were worshiped by the people and Skanda was accompanied by such a team. All of them were produced by the seed or germ of Rudra. Owing to this reason these blood sucking ogres were admitted to the fold of Rudra’s host (Rudra gana). Rudra thus became the begetter of Skanda.⁵ In Mahabharata a list of different spirits like Devagraha, Rakshasagraha, Gandharavagraha, Yakshagraha, Pishachagraha are counted as different forms of Skanda and Rudra. It is obvious that all the tutelary goblins that were of an awful nature were assimilated in the cult of Skanda sometimes during the Kushana period.⁶

Assimilated into Hindu Pantheon

The Vedic elite in their confrontation with the indigenous village populace, tried to assimilate them into their Vedic cum Hinduistic fold by adopting their village gods and goddesses and admitting them into their Vedic cum Hindu pantheon.⁷

Skanda was one among the folk gods who entered the Hindu pantheon; to whom various legends and myths were composed in connection with his origin and his association with Hindu pantheon.

Epics and Puranas have references and episodes connected with his origin. He is generally regarded as the son of Shiva and Parvati while at other times as that of Agni and Ganga. It is mentioned that Shiva cast his semen into Agni who, being unable to bear it, cast it into the river Ganga. Hence Skanda is called Agnibhu and Gangaputra. As he was born from the semen of Shiva which fell into Agni, he got the name Skanda (fall). The semen was then transferred to the six Krittikas when they went to bathe in the Ganga, each of whom therefore conceived and begot a son; all these children afterwards become combined in one being having six heads and 12 arms and eyes. Hence he became known by the names of Karttikeya, Shanmukha and Shadanana.⁸

It has been mentioned in the Epics and the Puranas that as the gods had to suffer at the hands of the demons, so on the request of the sages and the gods, Skanda (Karttikeya) was made the chief of the gods army. As the generalissimo of the army of gods, Karttikeya killed the chief of the demons, Tarakasura.⁹

With regards to Karttikeya’s marital status we come across two diametrically opposite pictures of Karttikeya in the Puranas. One presents him as a bachelor, while the other presents him as a young hero married to two wives. Both traditions are prevalent in the country. In Maharashtra for instance Karttikeya is regarded as a confirmed bachelor. Even the mere appearance of women in his temples is strictly prohibited. For instance in the Karttikeya temple on Parvati hill near Poona. In contrast in the temples of the south, he is shown with two wives, Valli and Devasena.¹⁰

The Dharmasutras of Baudhayana (4th or 5th century B.C.) provides early reference to Skanda and his various names, e.g. Sanmukha, Jayanta, Visakha, Subrahmanya and Mahasena which were later on regarded as the various aspects and names of the deity.¹¹

Popularity of Skanda worship

The Mahabhashya of Patanjali suggests the wide prevalence of the worship of Skanda (Karttikeya) in the times of the Mauryas and so also in the Shunga period. It further suggests that the worship of Karttikeya along with Shiva was so popular among the general masses that the Mauryan government even thought of making money by selling the images of these gods. The cult of Karttikeya practically comes to the forefront in the early centuries of the Christian era which is attested by the tribal coins coming from the areas of eastern Punjab, Rohtak, Ujjain, Bhita and Ayodhya, the coins of Kushana king Huvishka and certain stone inscriptions as well as seals.¹²

The National god of Yaudheyas

The numismatic evidence of Skanda’s worship is supplied by the Yaudheya coins of about the 2nd and 3rd century A.D. which contain his figure, sometimes one and at other times six-headed (Shadanana) carrying a spear and a cock or peacock in its two hands. The legend on some the Yaudheya coins read - ‘coin of Brahmanyadeva Kumara, the worshipful Lord, indicating that the coins were issued in the name of Brahmanyadeva Kumara as the spiritual as well as the temporal head of the Yaudheya Ganarajya. The Yaudheyas were the Ayudhajivi Kshatriyas, i.e., Kshatriyas living by their weapons and it is but natural that they would dedicate their State to the divine war god. In a Mahabharata passage; Rohitaka, the city of the Yaudheyas here named Mattamayuraka is called the favorite residence of Karttikeya which means he was the tutelary deity of the region.¹³

The earliest inscriptional evidence about a temple dedicated to the worship of Lord Karttikeya from Abbotabad in the Hazara district of present Pakistan refers to the temple of Karttikeya built by one Gasura Saphara, apparently a foreigner. This inscription is assigned to the 3rd century A.D. The inscription as well proves the popularity of the god Karttikeya with the foreigners, a fact amply proved by the coins of the Kushana ruler Huvishka. On the Huvishka coins Karttikeya appears as Skanda-Kumara, Vishakha and Mahasena.¹⁴

During the Kushana period Karttikeya was not only represented on the coins but also carved on stones. The earliest representation of Karttikeya in sculptural form is found at Mathura, where the Karttikeya cult was quite popular.¹⁵

Skanda worship during Gupta period

During the Gupta period the popularity of Karttikeya increased and Gupta rulers like Kumara Gupta I attached great importance to this god. Not only did he bear the name Kumara (the other name of Karttikeya) but also issued coins in his homage. His son Skanda Gupta also adopted Karttikeya’s other name (i.e. Skanda). The cult of Karttikeya was highly popular during the Gupta period is amply attested by the fact that the great Sanskrit poet and dramatist, Kalidasa immortalized the God by composing his highly famous work Kumarasambhava, which describes not only the birth of the god but also other legends associated with Karttikeya. Kalidasa also informs us that a temple of this god existed at Devagiri in Madhya Pradesh. The Bilsad inscription of the Gupta period also refers to a temple of Karttikeya at Bilsad.¹⁶

The cult of Karttikeya declined in northern India after 7th century after he was associated the Shiva as a member of his family and the cult of Karttikeya became a part of Shaivism.¹⁷

Skanda worship in South India

The worship of Murugan as Skanda is popularly called in Tamil is very old in south India. No deity in Tamilnadu claims so many votaries as Murugan.¹⁸

Murugan was called the Red God (Seyon) and was offered by his worshipers balls of rice mixed with the red blood of goats killed on his behalf. He was a hunter and carried the Vel or spear and was hence called Velan (spears man).¹⁹ The huntsmen and hills tribe or Kuravas worshiped this heroic god of war and his shrines were generally built on the tops of high hills or in the midst of dense forests.²⁰

The oldest Tamil hymns refer to him as the deity of the hilly region. The Tirumurugarruppadai by Nakkirar praises him as a child of the daughter of Himavat, borne down to the earth by Agni and nursed by the six Krttika devis in the grassy pool on the Himalayas. Here the identification of Murugan with Skanda (worshiped in north India) is complete.²¹ By about the 6th century A.D. the Skanda cult had shed its association with the earliest indigenous forms of worship practiced by the hill tribes, the Veddas and the Kuravas and had been incorporated in the Shaiva Agamas.²²

Skanda and Muruga coalesced in Subrahmanya

As Murugan and Skanda-Karttikeya were both originally war gods and had many common traits, these two gods were coalesced to give birth to the popular god Subrahmanya.²³ The name Subrahmanya is only an elaboration of the title Brahmanya, and this title in its turn probably owes its origin to the belief that Skanda is identical with Sanat Kumara, son of Pitamaha Brahma.²⁴

The name Subrahmanya is entirely absent in the early inscriptions found in south India. No reference to this name is found in any epigraph before the 8th century A.D. although the name is as old as the Baudhayana Dharma Sastra and therefore of north Indian origin.²⁵

Subrahmanya’s connection with the Serpent

In some unexplained way there exists an intimate connection between the worship of Subrahmanya and of the serpent.²⁶ Even at present Subrahmanya appears to the physical eyes of his devotees only in the form of a serpent. When a devotee of his god has invoked his help; the appearance of a serpent means that the god has granted the prayers.²⁷ Subrahmanya riding on a peacock, his marriage with the forest maid Valliyamman and the fact that his most famous temples are on hill tops show that he is connected with the ancient tree and serpent worship and the forest deities.²⁸

In Maharashtra, Subrahmanya is worshiped under the name Khandoba or Khandevar which means ‘sword father’. He is the tutelary god of shepherds and is worshipped as a household deity. As Khandoba he is represented as riding a horse and attended by his wife Makshara and a dog. The famous temple of Khandoba is at Jejuri 62 kms east of Pune and was erected in the 14th century. Khandoba is worshipped in Sri Lanka by the name Khandaswami, the name is only corrupt form of the name Skandaswami which in turn is another name of Karttikeya.²⁹

Popularity of Skanda/Subrahmanya worship in South India

As a guardian deity Skanda is enshrined in almost every Shiva temple of importance in south India. He is par excellence the god of youth, of energy and virility.³⁰ The worship of Skanda gained great popularity in the south certainly greater than that of any other ancillary god of Shaivism as indicated by the fact that only in connection with the worship of Skanda was an independent text (Kumara Tantra) needed for instructing worshippers about the various rituals. Apart from what is laid down in this tantra, each temple of Skanda in the south has evolved its own tradition. The god enshrined in the temple at Palani for example is presented as an ascetic thought neither the Puranas nor the tantra support this. In some temples Shakti, the weapon of Skanda shaped like a lance, made of bronze or silver or gold is installed in the place of the image of the god.³¹

Royal patronage to Skanda

The names Skandavarman, Kumaravishnu, Skandashisya and Skandamula among the kings of the Pallava dynasty prove that Karttikeya was very popular during the Pallava period.³² The Cholas also held this god in high esteem. Most of the Shiva temples built during their period had separate shrines for the god Subrahmanya.³³

Skanda/Subrahmanya in Art

There is an unbroken continuity in the evolution of the Skanda cult in the Tamil land as evidenced by the presence of the statues of this god dating from the 7th century A.D. There is a temple of Balasubrahmanya constructed at Kannanur dated A.D.871-907. It is perhaps the earliest dated temple built with stone from the base to the finial. At Tiruvengaivasal there is a rare sculpture of Subrahmanya (11th century) in bas-relief in the virasana pose.³⁴ The synthesis of Skanda with Siva and Uma were expressed in the Somaskanda sculptures of the Pallava period from 7th -8th century. Somaskanda bronze images of the Chola period represent on the same pedestal Siva and Uma with baby Skanda in between.³⁵

Kavadi, offerings to Lord Muruga

Such is the popularity of Muruga cult among Tamil speaking people that even today one can see devotees; men, women and children visiting his shrines, chanting his holy names and carrying over their shoulders, Kavadi or ornamented bamboo poles to which are hung small pots containing milk, sugar, honey, flower and fruits. The person who undertakes this rite has to observe certain austerities.³⁶

Reference

1. Pranabananda Jash – Some aspects of Karttikeya worship with special reference to Bengal., Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol 42 1981, p.163

2. V.M.Bedekar – Kartikeya (Skanda) in Sanskrit literature with special reference to the Mahabharata. From a folk spirit to the chief war god. ABORI, vol 56, no 1/4, 1975, p.168

3. Vasudeva S Agarwal - Ancient Indian Folk Cults, Prithivi Prakashan, Varanasi, 1970, p. 87

4. Ibid, p. 88

5. Ibid, p. 70

6. Ibid, pp: 88,89

7. V.M.Bedekar – Op.Cit, pp: 168,169

8. Pranabananda Jash – Op.Cit, pp:164,165

9. Kanchan Sinha – Cult of Karttikeya in Northern India, The Journal of The Bihar Puravid Parisad, vol 9 & 10, Jan-Dec, 1985-86, pp: 168,169

10. N.R.Bhat –Shaivism in the light of Epics, Puranas and Agamas, Indica Books, Varanasi, 2008, pp:492,493

11. Pranabananda Jash – Op.Cit, p.163

12. Kanchan Sinha – Op.Cit, p.170

13. J.N.Banerjea – Pauranic and Tantric Religion (Early Phase), University of Calcutta, 1966, pp: 148,149

14. Kanchan Sinha – Op.Cit, p.171

15. Ibid

16. Ibid, p. 172

17. Ibid

18. K.R.Venkataraman, Skanda Cult in South India- The Cultural Heritage of India – vol- iv, Editor- Haridas Bhattacharyya, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, 1956, p.309

19. P.T.Srinivas Iyengar – History of the Tamils from the earliest times to 600 A.D., C.Coomarasawmy & Sons, Madras, 1929, p.76

20. V.Kanakasabhai – The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago, The South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society, Tirunelveli Ltd, Madras, 1956, p.229

21. K.R.Venkataraman – Op.Cit, p. 309

22. Ibid, p.311

23. Asim Kumar Chatterjee – The Cult of Skanda-Karttikeya in Ancient India, Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, 1970, p.64

24. R.C.Majumdar, Editor, The History and Culture of the Indian People, vol- ii, Age of Imperial Unity, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 2001, p.468

25. Asim Kumar Chatterjee – Op.Cit, p. 76

26. H.Krishna Sastri- South Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses, Madras Government Press, 1916,p. 177

27. P.T.Srinivas Iyengar – Op.Cit, p.76

28. H.Krishna Sastri- Op.Cit, p.177

29. Swami Parmeshwaranand- Encyclopedia of the Shaivism, vol-3, Sarup&Sons, New Delhi, 2004, pp:73,74

30. H.Krishna Sastri- Op.Cit, p.183

31. N.R.Bhat – Op.Cit, pp: 495,496

32. Asim Kumar Chatterjee – Op.Cit, p. 68

33. Ibid, p. 70

34. K.R.Venkataraman- Op.Cit, pp:310,311

35. Ibid, p.312

36. Ibid, p313