Travelling by train from Xian to Moscow, and interacting with different people of totally different cultures, I have come to realize one thing – despite the apparent difference in language, culture, and cuisines, human beings are very similar… and why not? A lot of our behaviour is guided by our genes, and the genetic difference between individual humans around the globe is far less than the difference found in a single troop of chimpanzees. Not far ago (at least for a geologist), if we go back 70,000 years, all of us were part of a very close culture, living very close to each other. May be we were part of the same family.
While the look, dress, and music to which people danced and celebrated in Xian had no resemblance to the festive mood at a weekend at the Kremlin, one can still find that ancient connection. People strolling with their families, eating their favourite foods and drinks, children running around, laughing, gossiping, and having fun. It is like a pizza. The bread is same, it’s just the toppings that differentiates the different cultures.
It is the connection of emotions, coming from our limbic or mammalian brain (the bread of the pizza), that unites us.
Goddesses and gods…. stories and mythologies….all emerge from the same emotions.
On this occasion of the homecoming of Goddess Durga, the slayer of evil demon, let us look at the underlying connection that we have with fellow humans around the world.
The lion symbolizes strength, courage, and leadership. Goddesses and lions have an ancient connection. Is it because the lioness is the most powerful female species that hunts all by herself, and also provides for the pride? Is it because the constellation Virgo follows Leo in the sky (read heaven) above? I wonder!
It is a common myth that primitive men were hunters and women were gatherers. This narrow interpretation is a stereotype of our modern binary mind. Recent studies have shown that women played a broader role than just doing the household stuff. They went hunting, they wielded stone tools, and they painted the walls with cave art. Women were respected and powerful like the lionesses. Thus, the early ‘gods’ were not gods … but goddesses.
The idol above, from Anatolia, is the oldest unearthed representation of a goddess with felines as a pet. There are over 40 goddesses in Egypt that were associated with lions or other felines.
Many of such goddesses are married to gods represented by bulls. Asherah is one such ancient Semitic goddess (figure below) who is married to El, the Bull God. Some mythologists associate bull with the moon and lion with the sun, and the marriage represents the union between the two. It is not a coincidence that Durga’s husband is Shiva and he too is associated with Nandi the bull.
Like Durga, some of the ancient goddesses (below) also have a snake in their hands. Snake often represents fertility and vegetation in many tribes, and hence their association with goddess of fertility.
Cybele is a Greek-Roman goddess who has been inspired by the goddess of Anatolia. She is the earth goddess and is often called Great Mother, Mountain Mother, or the Mother of Gods. Parvati is another name for Durga and has its root in the word ‘parvat’, meaning mountain. Durga is the daughter of the mountain god, the ruler of the Himalayas, King Himavat.
That is not where the connection between Cybele and Durga ends. Both mighty guesses are associated with the sacrifice of bulls/buffaloes. The sacrifice of animals is commonly associated with mother goddesses and was an integral part of goddess worship in the Tantra cult of Hinduism (Read about tantric goddess Kamakhya).
Just like Durga, Ishar or Inanna was a Sumerian goddess of love and war. Her battle is referred to as the ‘Dance of Inanna’ which reminds one of the dances of Goddesses Kali, sometimes known as another form of Durga. Sumerians of Mesopotamia and Harappans of India were amongst the earliest people to build a civilization and they were connected through trade. There have been a lot of cultural exchanges between the two great civilizations, just like between the Greeks with the Indians. It won’t be far-fetched to expect that their narratives have influenced each other.
The narrative about the goddess has evolved over time in India. The earliest archaeological evidence of goddesses comes from Indus Valley seals. Here again, the goddess is associated with tigers. Uma and Ambika were the earliest references to a goddess in Vedas. She was later referred to as Devi or Shakti. The name Parvati and Durga came much later. It became common only during the Gupta Era (beginning ~319 CE).
The earliest Durga idols depict her killing a buffalo. In the above idol from Mathura, she has only four hands and her pet lion is missing. Some mythologists associate her with the killing of wild buffalos or pushing them out of lowlands during the ripening of crops. The time of ripening matches the time of Durga Puja. Others associate it with a fight between different tribes. There is a small tribe of 50 families in North Bengal who mourn the death of Ashura during Durga Puja.
By the 5th century, sculptures like the one above from Udaigiri, Durga idols are depicted with 10 hands and slaying a buffalo. The buffalo would evolve into a Buffalo-headed daemon later. It is only when she is fighting does she has the extra hands. At times of peace, while she is with her husband, she only has two hands. See the sculpture below.
It was smuggled out of Kashmir and later recovered from Germany….
The idol above is from a similar time as Ellora. Count the number of hands she has.
11th-century Chaulukya Dynasty.
In the beautiful sculpture shown above, built by the Pallava Dynasty, Durga has ten hands and is slaying a buffalo-headed demon, instead of a buffalo. In modern times, the buffalo demon Mahishasura comes out of its buffalo avatar before being killed by Durga. Not just Durga, even Mahishasur has evolved – from a humble water buffalo to a demon.
It is interesting that Goddess Durga with a lion vahan is worshipped in Eastern India where there are no lions. Since the eastern Indians were not used to Lions, the lions of early Durga idols are not perfect. They looked more like an iguana. I have seen similar deformation happening to pictures of elephants in Mongolia. the concept of elephants reached there with Buddhism which spread from Tibet. Asiatic lions are indigenous to Western India, and ironically in the west and north India Durga’s pet is a tiger. She is known as the Sherawali Mata.
Goddess Durga evolved further as tantric Buddhism took the idea to Tibet (Pladen Lhamo) and Japan (Butso-mo).
Pladen Lhamo of Tibetian Buddhism
My professor Anindya Sarkar rightly said, ‘history of religion is dynamic and hence interesting, contrary to the static versions perpetuated these days’.
Humans have a narrative-oriented brain. Our beliefs define our culture, and our culture defines us. If we look deep enough into the powerful ancient narratives, we can find a connection that can unite the world. That connection is the culture of celebration and fun that brings hope.
As we immerse the idol of Durga this Dasami and burn the effigy of Ravan in Dusshera, let us immerse our differences and burn our bigotry. We are all connected, and all our ideas are flexible. We evolve, as does our ideas of gods, goddesses and religion.
It is the connection of emotions that unites us.
Originally written by Subhrashis Adhikari in http://khonjtheeternalsearch.blogspot.com/
Author of 5 Questions of the Inquisitive Apes“Engaging and entertaining, this page-turner is remarkable in its narration and will give you a new perspective on various aspects of life. Wellresearched and heartfelt, the encouraging tone throughout the book tries to motivate towards a happier life.” – Times of India Link: https://www.amazon.in/Questions-Inquisitive-Ape-Subhrashis-Adhikari/dp/9387022552/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=subhrashis&qid=1570535712&sr=8-1
