A short note on the Cult of Dattatreya

Considered as the foremost in the line of divine teachers to incarnate on earth, Sri Dattatreya is venerated by both the orthodox and subaltern Hindus. The Puranas mention Dattatreya as the son of sage Atri and Anasuya. The story of his birth found in the Puranas is full of absurdities. According to F.E.Pargiter, Dattatreya was a descendant (not son) of a historic person Prabhakara, who is called Atri or Atreya. Rigopoulos Antonia is of the view that Dattatreya was a Yogin- possibly a historic figure who became legendary and later adapted into the more sanitized and bhakti oriented views of the Puranas. Similar is the view of J.N.Banerjea who says that Dattatreya seems to have been a famous sage in actual life, who was deified. It was in the Puranic period that Dattatreya was raised to the status of an avatara of Vishnu.

According to Brahmanda Purana, Dattatreya did penance from his childhood and became a hermit. According to Markandeya Purana (dated between 5^th to 7^th century A.D.) he was staying near a water reservoir on Sahyadri mountain and was called Avadhuta. Avadhuta is a generic term for those enlightened sages of India who wander about, naked and free of all attachment to the world. In the Jabalopanishad, Dattatreya is referred to as a Paramahamsa and there is an Upanishad named after him. Texts like Avadhuta Gita and Tripura-rahasya are attributed to Dattatreya.

Dattatreya is always connected in tradition with the great Haihaya king Arjuna Kartavirya who propitiated him and was favoured by him. This means that Dattatreya was a contemporary of Parashurama, who exterminated Arjuna Kartavirya and who is also considered an avatara of Vishnu.

Evolution of Dattatreya’s worship

According to Harivamsha, Vishnu assumed Dattatreya’s incarnation for the specific purpose of the revival of true knowledge – Sat-dharma. This emphasis on the role of Dattatreya as the saviour of truth and knowledge is of cardinal importance in understanding of the Dattatreya’s cult. It is this emphasis that is the origin of the custom of referring to Dattatreya as Sri Guru. Once this concept of Dattatreya as ‘Guru’, the great preacher of dharma, had taken firm root in the religious tradition of the society, a very interesting phenomenon occurred. New sects and philosophical systems that arose later on, especially during the 9^th and 13^th century A.D., have attempted to bring Dattatreya and his great prestige in their fold.

The Shaktas were probably the first to do so, as the Markandeya Purana would show. It depicts Dattatreya engaged freely in the enjoyment of wine and meat and practising the five ‘ma’ kar rites of the Shaktas. He chose Mahur, the famous Shakta centre as his abode, according to that Purana.

Next came the Nath Sampradayins who claim Dattatreya as their guru. The Goraksha-Siddhanta Samgraha quoting the Tantra-maharnava mentions Dattatreya as one of the 12 great Nathas or Maha Nathas: seventh in rank. The Natha Yogins played a substantial role in the expansion of Dattatreya’s cult and it was primarily through Nathism that Dattatreya was introduced to the Marathi speaking area and was adopted by the Mahanubhavas. Similarly, the Aghoris consider Dattatreya, the first teacher (Adi-guru) and Shiva incarnate.

Shankaracharya’s relationship with Dattatreya

Shankaracharya is traditionally credited with the authorship of various hymns in Dattatreya’s praise, such as Dattatreya-bhujanga-stotra. According to Shankara-vijaya-vilasa, Dattatreya manifested himself to Shankaracharya at Badrinath. The Juna Akhada at Ujjain- one of the seven Akhadas founded by the Dashanami Naga Sannyasins has Dattatreya as its tutelary deity, identified as Rudra-Shiva. Dattatreya’s link to Shankaracharya and the Dashanami order was certainly inspired by the former’s characterization as a divine Jnana-Yogin.

The Mahanubhava sect

The Mahanubhava sect was founded by Guru Chakradhara (died 1272 A.D.). They acknowledge in the Reality of one god Parameshvar, who has five major incarnations: Krishna, Dattatreya and three sect figures namely Cangadeva Raul (Chakrapani), Gundam Raul (Govinda Prabhu) and Chakradhara. The Mahanubhavas rejected the caste system and the worship of idols and refused to acknowledge the ritual and scriptural authorities of Brahmins. They regard Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata and the Sutrapatha (a collection of aphorisms of Chakradara) as the standard and classical religious works.

Dattatreya Sampradaya

The Dattatreya Sampradaya was founded by Narasimha Sarasvati (1378-1458 A.D.) was a religious order, orthodox in its outlook and which stressed the values of ritual observances and believed in the varnashramadharma (caste system). The basic religious text of this Sampradaya is the Guru Charitra written in Marathi by Sarasvati Gangadhar around 1538 or 1550. The devotees of this Sampradaya consider and revere Sripada Vallabha (1323-1353 A.D.) and Narasimha Sarasvati as the historical avataras of Dattatreya. The important pilgrimage places connected with this Sampradaya are Audumbar and Narsobavadi in Maharashtra and Ganagapur in Karnataka. Popular saints of Maharashtra like Eknath and Dasopant were devotees of Dattatreya.

According to G.S.Ghurye the credit for the spread of Dattatreya’s cult in Maharashtra goes to Narasimha Sarasvati. Similar is the view of Rigopoulos Antonio who says that Narasimha Sarasvati may be considered as the actual founder of the religion of Dattatreya in the Marathi region.

Representation of Dattatreya

Dattatreya is now represented with three heads and six arms and is surrounded by four dogs of different colours said to represent the four Vedas and by a cow said to represent Mother Earth. This three headed portrayal of Dattatreya was popularized by Narasimha Sarasvati and one can find no certain reference to this modern three headed Dattatreya prior to the work Guru Charitra composed around 1550 A.D. The oldest carving of Dattatreya represents the deity in a standing posture with one head (ekmukhi) with two or four arms, often bearing the common emblems of Vishnu, coupled with the Padukas, usually placed in front of the murti. At Mahur Dattatreya is worshipped in one headed form. The Vishnu-dharmottara Purana says that Dattatreya should be sculptured exactly like sage Valmiki. In all Dattatreya’s shrines the chief object of worship is the Padukas (wooden sandals) of Narasimha Sarasvati.

At present, the Dattatreya cult is confined to western India – Gujarat, Maharashtra and northern Karnataka. Dattatreya is considered as the most potent deity for driving out evil spirits and today the important centres of the Dattatreya cult are more well known for their miraculous supernatural powers rather than centres of philosophical learnings or Yoga. There is little doubt the latter would have been more befitting to Sri Dattatreya’s role as Guru - the preacher of dharma, says M.S.Mate.

Reference

• Antonio Rigopoulous – Datta – The Immortal Guru, Yogin and Avatara, State University of New York Press, 1998

• M.S.Mate – Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1962

• G.S.Ghurye – Gods and Men, Popular Book Depot, Bombay, 1962

• Hariprasad Shivprasad Joshi – Origin and Development of Dattatreta Worship in India, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, 1965

• F.E.Pargiter – Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, London, 1922

• Jitendra Nath Banerjea - Hindu Iconography (Vyuhas and Vibhavas of Vishnu), Journal of The Indian Society of Oriental Art, vol - xiv, 1946

• I.M.P.Raeside – Dattatreya, Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, vol.45, No 3, 1982

• Haridas Bhattacharyya – (Editor) –The Cultural Heritage of India, vol – IV, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, 1956

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastras, vol -5, part-2, BORI, Poona, 1962

• Vettam Mani – Puranic Encyclopaedia, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1975

The Long-Lost Sect of Brahma

Brahma, distinct from Brahman, the all-pervading Eternal Spirit, is the first member of the Hindu Triad, the other two being Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma’s principal function is creation. The concept of the Hindu triad does not seem to have come into vogue until the advent of the Pauranic period, for in the time of Yaska, the deities who were generally grouped together as the triad were Agni, Vayu or Indra and Surya. According to Brindavan Bhattacharya, the above-mentioned Vedic gods were replaced by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva during the Pauranic period.

Allegorical meaning of the Hindu triad

With regards to the allegorical meaning of the triad, these gods represent the three fundamental stages of life, namely childhood, youth and old age or Brahmachari, Gruhasta and Sannyasi. Brahma’s features are exactly those of a Brahmachari, he holds a kamandalu, puts on a kashaya cloth and carries the Vedas, all of which are the requisites of a young Brahmachari. Metaphysically, the triad represents the three Gunas (principles) of the universe, namely Rajas (activity), Sattva (intelligence) and Tamas (inertia). Mythologically, Brahma created the world; Vishnu preserves the creation by removing the destructive elements in his various incarnations; and Shiva is responsible for pralaya or the dissolution of the world.

Prajapati, the creator during the Vedic period

We do not come across the name Brahma in the Vedic literature. The idea of the creator was present, but this creator was not yet identified with Brahma. The Rigveda mentions Prajapati as the creator and his name as a distinct deity occurs only four times. Prajapati became the most prominent god during the Brahmana period. The Brahmana literature presents Prajapati as a most significant god, and as a creator, he is identified with Vishvakarman. In the Brahmana period, Prajapati was not only the creator but also the preserver. The Brahmana period was the golden age of the institution of sacrifice, and Prajapati played a very prominent role in the foundation and development of this institution. The Aitareya Brahmana states that Prajapati desirous to propagate and to be many and having practiced tapas created the three worlds, from which arose three lights – Agni, Vayu and Aditya, from which arose the three Vedas.

Names and functions of various Vedic gods transferred to Brahma

Bruhaspati and Hiranyagarbha, independent divine figures in the Brahmana period and the early Upanishad period, came to denote the god Brahma in later times. Similarly, Prajapati’s function and name were also transferred to Brahma. In Mahabharata, Hiranyagarbha is the name of Brahma. According to Manu, Svayambhu, desirous to produce beings of many kinds, created a golden egg (Hiranyagarbha) and in that egg, he himself was born as Brahma and he is also named Narayana. Bruhaspati is often regarded as the forerunner or the prototype of Brahma. But in the Mahabharata, Bruhaspati makes his appearance as the domestic priest (Purohita) of the gods, an office that he held during the Vedic period, while Prajapati is mostly identified with Brahma, the creator. From this we can assume that Bruhaspati seems to fulfill a priestly duty, while Prajapati is the deity worshipped. Hence, of all the gods prominent in Vedic literature, it is Prajapati who has the greatest number of functional similarities with Brahma.

Antiquity of Brahma’s worship

Brahma was an ancient god and he assumed various forms and names in different parts of India at different ages. According to Tarapada Bhattacharyya, there was a pre-Vedic cult known as the Ratra cult, mainly and originally associated with a creator god Brahma. In the Brahmanda Purana there is a verse that says that Brahma was adorable in the Sathya Yuga, Sacrifice (the period of Vedic religion) in the Treta Yuga, Vishnu was worshipped in the Dvapara Yuga and Shiva worshipped in all four Yugas. This verse thus indicates that the earliest religion consisted of Brahma worship and the worship of Shiva was really associated with Brahma’s. A Buddhist text Niddesa, mentions Brahma among the several deities worshipped during Buddha’s time. In Varahamihira’s Brhatsamhita, there are rules for the construction and erection of the image of Brahma, thus proving the widespread worship of the god during Varahamihira’s time (5^th or 6^th century A.D.). The Devi Purana (Upapurana) composed around 600 A.D. refers to the independent worship of Brahma. Brahma is mentioned among the principal deities worshipped in the 7^th century A.D. in Harsha’s plays and Bana’s Kadambari.

According to R.C.Hazra almost nothing can be known about the early history and character of the Brahma sect and the accounts which we find in the Markandeya Purana and Padma Purana are of comparatively late dates. But one clear factor about this sect was that it attached great importance to asceticism for the realization of Brahma, the Supreme Brahma.

Brahma was the god of Brahmanas and Rishis

The Brahmin caste must have a close relationship with Brahma as a god. This is evident from early Buddhist works like Majjhima Nikaya and Assalayana Sutta which claim that the Brahmins are the real sons of Brahma, they came from his mouth and were his real heirs. In Milinda Panha we hear that all men of those days, monks, itinerant teachers and Brahmins were worshippers of Brahma. Varahamihira gives a list of several sects that were flourishing a long time before his work was composed and here he mentions that the image of Brahma should be duly consecrated by Brahmanas well versed in Vedic lore and his worship should be according to Vedic rites, which shows that the main worshippers of Brahma were the adherents of the Vedic cult.

Tarapada Bhattacharyya opines that varnas (castes) were the names of different sects of India that existed in the pre-Vedic period. In the Puranas it is said that Brahma fixed the Brahma loka for Brahmins, the Indra loka for Kshatriyas, the Vayu loka for Vaishyas and the Gandharva loka for Sudras. From this, it may be inferred that the Brahmins were the original worshippers of Brahman or Brahma, Kshatriyas of Indra, Vaishyas of Vayu and Shudras of the Gandharvas. All these gods and sects were taken into a common homogeneous fold in the Vedic period, which gave a new form of worship of Brahma by introducing sacrifices and perhaps a new turn to the caste system.

Iconography of Brahma

According to Manasara, one of the standard works on sculpture, Brahma is represented with four heads, four hands, and one body. The palm on the left lower hand exhibits the posture of conferring boons (vara) while the right lower indicates protection (abhaya). The corresponding upper hands hold the water-pot (kamandalu) and the rosary (akshamala) or sometimes the sacrificial ladle. He is also sometimes shown holding a lotus and a manuscript of the Veda in his hands. His vehicle is a goose. He is attended by two goddesses, Sarasvathi on the right and Savitri on the left. Brahma with Savitri alone on his left side is called Prajapati Brahma and he has only one face. According to the text Rupamandana, the four faces of Brahma are symbolic of the four Vedas, the four yugas and the four varnas.

Worship of Brahma

It is said that vishesha puja for Brahma is forbidden and hence we rarely find temples exclusively dedicated to Brahma. However, in the triple shrine (tripurusha-prasada, trikutachala) for the tripurushadevas (Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara), Brahma is offered worship. But in the temples dedicated to Tripurushas located in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, the place of Brahma is occupied by Surya, the sun god.

Though temples dedicated to Brahma are rare, his figures can be found adorning walls, pillars and ceilings in temples belonging to other gods. Also at Ellora cave temples, a number of figures of Brahma are found, the most famous being his life-sized representation standing side by side with Shiva and Vishnu. Among the images of Brahma preserved in museums, the image of Trimurti, kept in the Peshawar museum, belonging to 3^rd century A.D., has the three heads of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In the Indian museum we can find the four headed Lingam, representing Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Surya. A four armed standing image of Brahma is preserved in the British museum and at Mathura museum we can find the image of Brahma seated on a lotus flower.

Temples dedicated to Brahma

The text, Rupamandana which contains the description of the temple of Brahma, mentions its parivara-devatas, the dvarapalakas, etc., which clearly indicate that the building of a separate temple for Brahma existed earlier. In the Madras museum, there is a bronze image of Brahma (utsava-vigraha) seated under a prabhavali which clearly points to the existence of Brahma worship even with grand festivals and processions.

The temple of Brahma at Pushkar in Rajasthan is one of the oldest existing temples dedicated to Brahma. We do not know the exact date during which the original temple was built, as all the old temples in north India suffered greatly at the hands of the Muslim rulers. The existing temple was rebuilt in 1809 A.D., by Gokul Chand Parekh, at a cost of Rs. 1,30,000. A stone inscription in Hindi in the possession of the Mahant of the temple says that during the time of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh (1699-1743 A.D.), a Brahmin lady named Bai Phundi repaired the temple of Brahma in 1719 A.D. In the temple the image of Brahma is about the size of a man, has four faces, and is in a sitting posture, cross-legged.

Apart from Pushkar, temples dedicated to Brahma are found in Kheda-Brahma (belonging to 12^th century A.D.) in north Gujarat, at Nagara-Mahasthana near Khambhat or Cambay in Gujarat (reference to this temple is found in Prabandhachintamani, a work by Merutunga, wherein it is said that when Chalukya king Siddharaja (1095-1144 A.D.) was camping at Nagara-Mahasthana, when the flag was hoisted at the Brahma temple here, the flags of all the Jaina temples in Gujarat were lowered as per the king’s decree), at Dudahi in Uttar Pradesh, and at Basanthgarh (dated 7^th century A.D.) in Rajasthan.

Causes for the disappearance of the Brahma sect

In Mahabharata, it is said that when Brahma falsely claimed to have reached the top of the column (Sthanumurti of Shiva), Shiva cursed him, saying that he would never have a cult of his own. According to Sukumari Bhattacharji and Tarapada Bhattacharyya, these were mythological fabrications of the later period attempting to explain the actual absence or comparative rarity of the Brahma cult.

Jitendra Nath Banerjea says that the existence of feelings of jealousy and rivalry between various sects gave a free rein to the concoction of mythological stories and the construction of images in illustration to vilify the gods of their rival sects. For instance, Brahma is shown as Shiva’s charioteer in the latter’s Tripurantaka Murti or as his wedding priest in his Kalyanasundara Murti. Some Pancaratra texts, like Narada Purana and Bharadvaja Samhita write that gods such as Brahma should not be worshipped daily nor should ever be resorted to for the fulfillment of any desire.

Some scholars are of the opinion that the sect of Brahma became prominent during the period ranging from 200 to 600 A.D. and that the five gods of the smartas threw Brahma into the background towards the beginning of the 7^th century A.D.

According to R.S.Gupte, till the middle ages, Brahma was an important god who was worshipped. Later, many false stories were circulated about his personal character, which may have led the people to lose faith in him. Brahma having four or five faces so that he could look at his wife wherever she turned, Brahma falling in love with his own daughter, and Brahma taking another wife when his first wife Savitri delayed coming for Yaksha’s sacrifice, were apparently stories invented by both Shaivites and Vaishnavites to belittle and disgrace him in the eyes of the devotees.

Earlier the field of creation was specifically assigned to Brahma. But later he had many rivals like Rudra, Dharma, Manas, Ruchi and Akrti, who were said to be mentally created by Brahma and were also called as Prajapatis. This factor along with Brahma’s mild mild nature probably led to his decline in status.

Another plausible reason for Brahma, becoming rather unpopular among the devotees, according to Suresh Chandra was his granting of boons to Asuras without forethought. All the Asuras right from Hiranyakashyapu to Ravana received their boons from Brahma which made them singularly notorious for damaging the noble virtues of the world. Then it became necessary for Lord Vishnu to appear in his various incarnations to kill these Asuras. In the Puranas most of the Asuras are said to have obtained supernatural powers by a boon from Brahma and hence Brahma’s cult was considered mainly as a cult of the Asuras and that was one of the reasons for the decline of the sect of Brahma and his worship. The lack of his temples may have been another reason for the failure of the continuation of Brahma’s cult.

Reference

• J Gonda – Prajapati’s relations with Brahman, Brhaspati and Brahma, North – Holland Publishing Company, 1989

• Suresh Chandra – Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, Sarup & Sons, New Delhi, 2001

• Henry Cousens – The Temple of Brahma at Khed-Brahma, Annual Report – 1906-07, Archaeological Survey of India, 1909

• T.A.Gopinatha Rao – Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol – 2, part 2, The Law Printing House, Madras, 1916

• S.G.Kantawala – Cultural History from the Matsya Purana, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda, 1964

• M.A.Dhaky – Images of Brahma from Nagara, Khambhat, Jnana-Pravaha, Research Journal, No XII, 2008-09, Varanasi

• J.R.Joshi – Prajapati in Vedic Mythology and Ritual, ABORI, vol – 53, No.1/4, 1972

• N.R.Bhat –Shaivism in the light of Epics, Puranas and Agamas, Indica Books, Varanasi, 2008

• Sukumari Bhattacharji – Rise of Prajapati in the Brahmanas, ABORI, vol- 64, No.1/4, 1983

• Sukumari Bhattacharji – The Indian Theogony, Firma KLM Private Ltd, Calcutta, 1978

• Tarapada Bhattacharyya – The Cult of Brahma, Published by C.Bhattacharyya, Patna, 1957

• Har Bilas Sarda – Ajmer: A Historical and Descriptive, Ajmer, 1941

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

• R.C.Hazra – Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, The University of Dacca, 1940

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastras, vol -5, part-2, BORI, Poona, 1962

• Brij Narain Sharma - Social Life in Northern India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1966

• Vettam Mani – Puranic Encyclopaedia, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1975

• R.S.Gupte – Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, D.B.Taraporevala Sons & Co. Pvt Ltd, Bombay, 1972

• Brindavan C Bhattacharya – Indian Images – The Brahmanic Iconography, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 1978

Devi Kamakhya, the Yoni Goddess worshipped by the Hindus

Amongst the various Shakti Pithas in India, the temple of Kamakhya near Gauhati (Assam) occupies a prominent position. The Kamakhya temple is one of the few Devi shrines where, to this day, the daily worship of Devi Kamakhya includes the invocation of the sixty-four Yoginis who are named one by one during the puja. This probably shows that Kamarupa was also once a prominent centre of the Yogini cult. Tantric literary works like Kamakhyatantra, Yoginitantra and Upapurana like Kalika Purana provide information on the legend, glory and worship of the Goddess Kamakhya.

Legend associated with the goddess Kamakhya

According to Kalika Purana, Sati, wife of Shiva had gone uninvited to a Yajna organized by her father Daksha and after being humiliated by Daksha immolated herself. Hearing this Shiva in full fury came and destroyed Daksha’s Yajna and carrying Sati’s corpse, he moved hither and thither in frantic sorrow. In order to relieve Shiva of the corpse, Vishnu cut it into pieces and the Yoni of Sati fell over a mountain in Kamarupa. The mountain represented the body of Shiva himself and when Sati’s genital organ fell on it, the mountain turned blue. Hence, the name of the hillock where the temple stands is known as Nilachala (blue mountain). The goddess herself is called Kamakhya because she came there secretly to satisfy her desire (kama) with Shiva.

Worship of Yoni (vulva)

Originally, the male and female organs were worshipped as symbols of procreation and fruitfulness. At Mohenjodaro we come across the models of Linga and Yoni which were probably used as life bestowing amulets. The origin of the Yoni cult of the later Tantras must therefore be sought in the prehistoric ruins of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Being the centre of the Shakta cult, Kamarupa with its chief temple at Kamakhya enshrines not an image of a goddess but a sculptured symbol of a Yoni (vulva) on a block of stone inside a cave. The stone is kept moist by the oozing of a natural spring within the cave. The offerings of flowers and leaves are made on the Yoni.

Originally a tribal deity

The name of the goddess Kamakhya may be traced to the Austric words Kamoi (demon), Kamoit (devil), Komin (grave), Kamet (corpse), Kamru (name of a god), etc., and according to Dr. Kakati, Kamakhya might have been originally a spirit of the graveyard and represented an ancestor spirit in the form of an ancestral mother. Further, he presumes that the Yoni goddess sprang up somewhere in South-East Asia amongst peoples with leanings towards ancestor-worship and believing in the protective powers of an ancestral mother and that she migrated to India and elsewhere with the migration of the Austric people like the Khasis. That the Khasis worshipped this god is evidenced by the existence of a shrine named Griva Kamakhya, representing the shoulder of the Supreme Mother situated on the southern slope of the Jaintia hills (Gaur at Sylhet in Bangladesh) and considered the holiest shrine by the Khasis and the Jaintias (a sub-group of the Khasis). Also, another shrine of Kamakhya (in Kanaighat at Sylhet in Bangladesh) containing the stone emblem of the left thigh of the Supreme Mother, known as Bama Jangha Pitha was built by Jayanta, a king belonging to the Jaintia tribe.

Sanskritization of Yoni worship

Somewhere between 200-500 A.D., Naraka, an adventurer from Mithila, founded a kingdom in Assam after defeating Ghataka, the king of the Kiratas (Khasis). As a follower of the Shakta cult, he found in the local goddess Kamakhya a manifestation of divine energy and to win over the allegiance and support of the local populace, he may have extended royal patronage to the cult of Kamakhya. The Mother-Goddess in Kamakhya could very easily be brought into alignment with other forms of the Mother-Goddess like Durga, Kali, etc. He must have imported the Brahmins to support his regime and his new cult of the goddess Kamakhya. After the process of Sanskritization began, the goddess was called Kamakhya (from the original name Kamei-Kha) by the Hindus and Yoni puja was given Puranic authority, in which Yoni was associated with the genital organ of Sati which fell down on the place where the present temple of Kamakhya stands. The Kalika Purana also mentions that immediately after Naraka became the king of Assam and was placed in charge of the goddess Kamakhya, the name of the province was changed from Pragjyotisa to Kamarupa. According to D.C.Sircar, the different names of the Mother-Goddess in Hinduism appear to have originally indicated different tribal deities who were afterwards identified with the wife of Shiva. The association of Shakta deities like Durga, Kali, Kamakhya, etc., of the Puranas and Tantras with tribal deities is also supported by R.C.Hazra, who feels that the above-mentioned goddesses were modelled on the tribal deities. Also, as Kalika Purana records that the goddess was already there before the advent of Naraka, it is reasonable to believe that Kamakhya was originally a tribal goddess who was later given a place of honour in the Hindu pantheon.

Antiquity of Devi Kamakhya

The Kalika Purana which provides information about Goddess Kamakhya was composed during 10th - 11th century A.D. But reference to Kamarupa and Kamakhya is also found in Devi Purana, a work dated 7th century A.D. that shows that the worship of Kamakhya became prevalent in Kamarupa much earlier than 7th century A.D. However, the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang who lived for some time at the court of Kamarupa king Bhaskaravarman (600-650 A.D.) is silent about the goddess Kamakhya. On this basis, D.C.Sircar opines that the presiding deity of Kamarupa did not quite attain her preeminence in the days of Hiuen Tsang. Hence the inference that we can draw for the probable eclipse of the worship of Goddess Kamakhya is one – the ascendancy of Kapalika Shaivism with the passing of political power to the Mleccha or Mech dynasty set up by Salastambha in about 655 A.D., and second, a natural disaster might have destroyed the original temple of Kamakhya leading to the stoppage of her worship.

Revival of Kamakhya worship in the 16th century A.D.

The name of the king who had the original temple built is not known, nor do we know to which dynasty he belonged. Various sources of Assam history only mention Narakasura, the mythical founder of the temple. In the closing years of the 15th century, Vishva Singha (Biswa Singha), the Koch king had the original stone-built temple excavated from the debris and surmounted it with a new shikara as a gesture of thanksgiving towards the goddess, who is said to have graced the king with victory against the Ahoms.

The Garos (belonging to the Mongolian stock) and their matriarchal form of society are generally mentioned as having been the guardians of this religious centre prior to its reclamation by the Hindus under king Vishva Singha, the predecessor of Naranarayana. This view is supported by the traditional belief amongst the local priesthood that the former worshippers of goddess Kamakhya were Garos and pigs were offered as sacrifices. Hence even now Brahmin widows refuse to partake in the food offerings of the goddess, as they are supposed to be polluted by the memory of pig sacrifice.

Goddess offered with human sacrifice

Goddess Kamakhya was offered human sacrifices, and there used to be a class of people called Bhogis who were voluntary victims to the goddess. From the time that they announced that the goddess had called them, they were treated as privileged characters and could do whatever they desired until when they were sacrificed at the annual festival. It is said that at the dedication of the temple in 1565, the heads of 140 men were offered to Devi Kamakhya. In 1832, the government put a stop to human sacrifice at the temple. At present, animal sacrifice is a regular part of the daily worship at the Kamakhya temple and one goat is sacrificed each morning by the temple authorities and the blood and the severed head are offered to the goddess. And during the Durga festival, buffaloes are sacrificed instead of goats. It is interesting to note that only male animals may be sacrificed to Devi.

An earthquake had destroyed the original Kamakhya temple

A very strong tradition runs to the effect that Kalapahar or Kalu Khan, the general of Sulaiman Kararani of Bengal who ruled from 1563-1572 A.D., invaded the Koch territory and by defeating Naranarayana and his general Chilarai caused serious damage to the temple of Kamakhya. Later, it is said that Naranarayana and Chilarai repaired the temple and brought it to its present shape. But the two inscriptions on the west wall inside the Kamakhya temple mention that the temple was built (not rebuilt) by Sukladdhvaja, the younger brother of Malladeva, better known as Naranarayana, the king of Kochbehar. Hence, according to R.M.Nath the story of Kalapahar destroying the temple of Kamakhya has no historical support and is perhaps simply the outcome of the stories told by some Bengali relatives of the pandas of various depredations caused to many temples by Kalapahar in that province. According to Biswanarayan Shastri, in the middle of the 16th century A.D., due to a natural calamity, say an earthquake, the temple of Kamakhya was destroyed and the Yonimandala (the cave) was covered by boulders and heaps of stones, and the puja and japa could not be performed.

Menstruation, a holistic concept

In ancient times, the earth was identified with women and this identification implied that the functions of the earth and those of women were alike, mainly to produce crops and children respectively. Just as a fertile field yields a good crop, the sign of a menstruating woman signifies she is fertile and ready to bear children. In the Tantras, special importance is attached to the menstrual blood, which is considered a life-giving power. For a Shakta, menstruation is a holistic concept and signifies a religion. The term ritu, which signifies menstruation also signifies the cyclical change of the seasons as well as orderliness in the cosmos. Thus, it is believed that the menstrual cycle in the female body corresponds to, and represents, the cyclic change of the seasons and the orderliness of the universe.

In accordance with the above concept, in the temple of Kamakhya, every month, rituals are held to signify the goddess’s menstruation. And every year in the month of June, the Ambuvachi/Ambubachi fair is held and pilgrims from different parts of Assam including West Bengal and Odisha visit the temple during this fair. The Ambuvachi/Ambubachi is a menstruation ritual that lasts for three days and it is believed that the goddess Kamakhya becomes impure due to menses. During this period the temple doors are closed and pilgrims are not allowed inside the temple. On the fourth day the doors of the shrine are opened to the devotees. To symbolize the occasion only red flowers, red vermilion, etc. are used as red signifies the menstrual flow. On this occasion, pieces of red cloth with the deity’s menstrual blood are given to devotees as sacred symbols.

Reference

1. Banikanta Kakati – The Mother Goddess Kamakhya – A Study of Mother Cult of Assam, Publication Board, Assam, 1989

2. B.K.Barua & H.V.Sreenivasa Murthy – Temples and Legends of Assam, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1965

3. George Weston Briggs – Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis, Motilal Banarsidas, 1938

4. Dinesh Chandra Sircar – The Shakta Pithas, Motilal Banarsidass, 1950

5. Vidya Dehejia – Yogini Cult & Temples, A Tantric Tradition, National Museum, New Delhi, 1986

6. David Kinsley – Hindu Goddesses, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 2006

7. Pushpendra Kumar – Shakti Cult in Ancient India (With special reference to Puranaic Literature), Bhartiya Publishing House, Varanasi, 1974

8. S.K. Tiwari – Tribal Roots of Hinduism, Sarup & Sons, New Delhi, 2002

9. R.Das Gupta – An Architectural Survey of the Kamakhya Temple, Gauhati, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol – 22, 1959

10. B.K.Barua – A Cultural History of Assam, vol – I, Published by K.K.Barooah, Nowgong, Assam, 1951

11. R.M.Nath - Kalapahar and the Kamakhya Temple, The Journal of the Assam Research Society, Vol – IV, July 1936, No.2

12. Biswanarayan Shastri – The Destruction of the Kamakhya Temple as referred to in the Yoginitantra, The Journal of the Assam Research Society, Vol – XXV, 1979-80

13. N.N.Bhattacharyya – Indian Mother Goddess, Indian Studies: Past & Present, Calcutta

14. R.C.Hazra – Studies in the Upapurana, vol – II, Calcutta, 1963

15. Kartikeya C Patel – Women, Earth & the Goddess: A Shakta Hindu interpretation of embodied religion, Hypatia, vol – 9, No.4, 1994

Genesis and evolution of the worship of Lord Ayyappa

Today, Lord Ayyappa is familiar all over India. But once upon a time, his worship was confined to Coorg (a district in the state of Karnataka), the west coast south of Mangalore (in Karnataka), Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Ayyappa is a dweller of the forest in both Coorg and Kerala country. The Coorgis emphasize his prowess in hunting. In Travancore, he is a friend of the peasants guarding their fields and crops and an enemy of wild animals. He is also the lord of rain and of demons. In the Tamil country, he retains his control over rain and demons and he becomes the protector of the village from evil spirits.

According to P.Thankappan Nair, there are three distinct stages in the evolution of the cult of Chathan (as Ayyappa was called earlier in Kerala). In the first instance, he is merely a spirit. In the second stage, he becomes the guardian of villages and the god of hunters. Finally, he is given an honoured place in Hindu mythology and is elevated to Shastha.

The principal votaries of Chathan till the beginning of the 20^th century were the primitive Velan, Panan, Pulayan, Kuniyan and other tribes of Kerala as well as the hill tribes inhabiting the high ranges of the state of Kerala. While for the hill tribes, Chathan was their god of hunting, for the tribes inhabiting the plains, he was a malevolent, malignant and heinous poltergeist.

The popular conception of Chathan is that he is a boy of 12 years; hence, he is called Kuttichathan. One who propitiates him at home in secrecy will gain health, wealth and fortune. Chathan seva (worship of Chathan) is confined to the low castes. Kuttichathan’s elevation to Dharma Shastha at Sabarimala is evident from the fact that he is worshipped there as a 12 year old boy.

Chathan elevated to Shastha

Over a period of time, Chathan was elevated to the status of Shashta or Ayyappa and became the favourite deity of the Malayalis. It became an invariable rule in Kerala that in every temple, be it Shiva or Vishnu, there must be in its south-west corner a shrine for Ayyappa. He was considered by them to be the guardian of the land and as such, eight mountain tops along the western ghats are surmounted by eight temples in which are set up eight images of Ayyappa to protect the country from all external evils and misfortunes. Keralolpathi mentions that the god Shastha was made the guardian of the eastern slope and was propitiated for the defence of the land frontier against the incursion of foreigners into the country. Hence, many of the Shastha temples are located in the forest regions.

Ayyappa in Coorg

All over Coorg, there are jungles dedicated to Ayyappa called Devara Kadu or God’s jungles where formerly all hunting was taboo. It is believed that Ayyappa hunts in these jungles at night and he may be heard whistling to his pack of dogs. Coorgis do not hunt on Saturdays and Wednesdays even in other jungles as Ayyappa hunts on these days. Saturday is specially sacred to Ayyappa as it is the day of his birth. Shrines of Ayyappa are common in Coorg especially in gardens, jungles and on the crests of mountains and these shrines vary from crude earthen platform around the foot of trees to regular temples. At some of his shrines especially where Brahmins are priests only vegetarian offerings are permitted whereas in other places, blood sacrifices and offerings of toddy are allowed.

Ayyappa in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, Ayyappa is known by the name Ayyanar/Aiyanar and his worship in temples is performed by non-Brahmin priests and non-vegetarian offerings are made. While in Tinnevelly and Tanjore districts, he is given a higher status, in other parts of Tamil Nadu he is one of the guardian deities of the villages and as such is attended by bhutas and pisachas. Ayyanar is depicted as having long curly hair, a crown and earrings of gold leaves. In his two arms he holds the bow and the arrows. He is dark in colour and is seated on a throne below a banyan tree. Some of the malignant demons that attend to Ayyanar are Kuttisattan, Sattan, Karuppan, Mundans and Gulikar. One figure of him at Valuvur represents him riding an elephant while a figure from Rameshvaram represents him as riding on a horse.

Buddhist origin of Ayyappa?

Many scholars regard Ayyappa worship as a relic of Buddhism and in support of it, they point out that Sastha as referred to Ayyappa is one of the names of Buddha. Also, the sing-song repetition of ‘sharanam Ayyappa’ by the pilgrims to the famous Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala is again said to be a relic of Buddhism, because of the association of the triple sharanam formula of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha with the Buddhists. According to P.Thankappan Nair, the shrine at Sabarimala is petty old and is believed to have been originally a great Buddhist vihara. Buddha as conceived and worshipped in the Tamil country was ultimately included in the Hindu pantheon and a Puranic story invented for his origin at a later period of the history of Hindu iconography, opines P.Thankappan Nair. The rites observed by Ayyappans together with abstinence from animal food and drinks, prove that Buddhist doctrines underlie the Sastha worship. But V.Narayana Pillai refutes this view and notes that the word Shastha means one who teaches, instructs, rules, etc., and the word may be applied to any deity whose main functions are protecting, teaching, guarding, etc. Accordingly the village deity Ayyappa who discharged these functions was also called Shashta. V.Narayana Pillai also points out that the images of Shashta do not show any resemblance to the images of the Buddha. The Shastha image of the famous Sabarimala temple is represented with a crown and jewels and ornaments and this image answers closely to the description of Aiyanar, a village deity of Tamil Nadu. Also, in some temples Ayyappa is represented as riding a horse. Hence V.Narayana Pillai asserts that it is not Buddha but Aiyanar the village deity worshiped in Tamil Nadu which is worshiped as Shastha in Malbar and he is also identified with Sattan or Chathan.

Marital status of Ayyappa

On the west coast there is a belief that Ayyappa is a celibate but in the Tamil country he is usually portrayed as having two wives, Puranai and Pudkalai. In southern Travancore too he has two wives, Madana and Varnani.

Sanskritization of Ayyappa

While local forest deities like Sattan (Chathan), Aiyanar, etc., are found mentioned in Sangam works, we do not find references to Shastha or Ayyappa in them. The first serious notice of Ayyappa is found in Keralolpathi, a work of 17^th or 18^th century A.D. Similarly, there is no mention of Ayyappa in early Sanskrit works. It is only in the Bhagavata that we learn for the first time that Hara fell in love with Vishnu in his form of Mohini and from the union between them, Shasta, Arya or Hariharaputra is said have been born. According to V.Narayana Pillai the origin of the name Hariharaputra can be explained by the supposition that it is the result of an attempt on the part of Shavites and Vaishnavites to incorporate the Dravidian village deity of Aiyanar or Chathan/Sattan into the Hindu pantheon.

Ayyappa’s birth in Kerala

Regarding the story of Hariharaputra (Manikanta or Ayyappa) migrating to Kerala, it is said that a rich Brahmin by name Vijaya lived in the kingdom of Pandya. He longed for a son and was advised to pay obeisance to Sabari, the great devotee of Sri Rama. As advised by her, Vijaya had a dip in a nearby tank which is today known as Sabarithirtham and his sins were washed away. Lord Shastha appeared before him and promised him that he (Shastha) would become his son in his (Vijaya’s) next birth.

Vijaya was born as King Rajashekara in the palace of Pandalam/Panthalam, a petty kingdom in Kerala. Rajashekara was a pious, noble, charitable and just ruler who had no issues. Once during the course of a hunting expedition, he came across a child on the banks of river Pampa and on the advise of a Brahmin (sage Agastya) he brought him home and named him Manikanta as he had a golden bell on his neck. Soon after Manikanta’s arrival, the queen of Rajashekara delivered a baby boy. As Rajashekara had selected Manikanta as his heir-apparent, the queen was jealous of him and wanted to get rid of him as she wanted her son to be the next successor. Along with her Diwan, she hatched a plan for a pretended severe sickness for which the milk of the leopardess was the remedy prescribed by the royal physician.

Manikanta volunteered to get the leopardess milk and went alone to the forest. It is said that on his arrival, all the sages transformed themselves into leopards and Devendra himself assumed the form of a tiger. Manikanta reached the palace riding on the tiger, accompanied by the leopards. The Raja sensed the supernatural powers of Manikanta and realized that he was none other than Hariharaputra.

Sage Agastya came to the palace and told Rajashekara about the divine drama and the fulfillment of the divine ordinance of Lord Dharma Shastha’s twelve year stay at his palace. The Raja requested the Lord to stay in his country and Shastha pointed out a spot where a temple was to be built by shooting an arrow that hit the great banyan tree Saramkuttiyal. The Lord then ordained that the temple should have 18 steps representing the five indriyas, the eight rajas, the three gunas, vidya and avidya. He also prescribed the austerities to be observed by devotees before undertaking a pilgrimage to the temple. After giving these instructions, the Lord disappeared.

At present, the Sabarimala temple is open for fifty one days during December and part of January. The pilgrims subject themselves to forty one days of austere diet and complete sexual abstinence. The pilgrims are distinguished from the general mass of people by their blue, black and ochre-coloured dress. Apart from Sabarimala, other prominent temples of Ayyappa are located at Achencoil, Kulathupuzha, Arienkavu and Thagazhi. In Hindu mythology, Sattan, Shashta, Aiyan, Aiyanar, Ayyappa and Hariharaputra are synonyms used to refer to the same god. The story of Ayyappa illustrates clearly how local cults all over India are woven into Sanskritic Hinduism which makes a local group become part of an all India community.

Reference :

• P.P.Narayanan Nambudiri – Bhakti Cult in Kerala, Proceedings of the Indian Historical Congress, volume -42, 1981

• P. Thankappan Nair – The Cult of Chathan and Sastha worship, Quarterly Journal of Mythic Society, volume – 60,1969-70

• M.N.Srinivas – A Brief Note on Ayyappa, the South Indian deity in Prof Ghurye Felicitation Volume, Edited by K.M.Kapadia

• T.A.Gopinatha Rao – Elements of Hindu Iconography, volume-2, part-2

• V.Narayana Pillai – Shasta Cult in Travancore. Is it a relic of Buddhism?, Proceedings of the Indian Historical Congress, volume – 3, 1939

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