Having travelled around the world and interacting with different people I have come to realise 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 is just 0.1%. While the look, dress and music to which people danced and celebrated in Xian had no resemblance to the festive mood in a weekend at Kremlin, one can still find an underlying connection. People strolling with their families, eating their favourite foods and drinks, children running around, laughter, gossip and fun. It is the connection of emotions that unites us. Goddesses and gods.... stories and mythologies....all emerge from the same emotions. On this occasion of homecoming of Goddess Durga after slaying the demon, let us look at the underlying connection that we have with the world.
Lion symbolises strength, courage and leadership. Goddesses and lions have an ancient connection. Is it because the lioness are the most powerful female species that hunt themselves 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 to hunt, 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 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 moon and lion with sun, and the marriage represents the union between the two. Durga's husband is Shiva and he too is associated with Nandi the bull.
Like Durga, some of the ancient goddesses (below) have a snake in their hand. It represents fertility and vegetation.
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 of Durga and has its root in the word 'parvat', meaning mountain. Durga is the daughter of mountain god, the ruler of Himalayas, King Himavan. There is another connection between Cybele and Durga. They both are associated with sacrifice of bulls / buffaloes. 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 'Dance of Inanna' that reminds one of the dance of Goddesses Kali, another form of Durga. Sumerians of Mesopotamia and Harappans of India were amongst the earliest people to build a civilisation and they were connected through trade. There has been a lot of cultural exchanges between the two great civillizations, just like between the Greeks with the Indians later. It won't be far fetched to expect that they have influenced each-other.
The goddess has evolved over time in India. Goddess and tigers have been found from Indus Valley seals. Uma and Ambika were the earliest reference of goddess in Vedas. She was later referred to as Devi or Shakti. However, the name Parvati and Durga came much later. It became common only during Gupta Era (beginning ~319 CE).
The earliest Durga idols depicts 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 killing of wild buffalos or pushing them out of low lands during the ripening of crops. The time of ripening matches with the time of Durga Puja. Others associate it with fight between different tribes. There is a small tribe of 50 families in North Bengal who mourn the death of Ashura during Durga Puja.
The 5th century sculpture (above) from Udaigiri shows Durga with 10 hands slaying a buffalo. It is only when she is fighting does she have the extra hands. At times of peace, while she is with her husband, she only has two hands. See the sculpture below.
The idol above is from similar time as Ellora. Count the number of hands she has.
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 Durga with a pet lion is worshipped in Eastern India where there are no lions. Tigers are more common there. Since the eastern Indians were not used to Lions, the lions of early Durga idols are not perfect. They looked more like iguana. I have seen similar deformation happening to pictures of elephants in Mongolia. the concept of elephants reached there with Buddhism that spread from Tibet. Asiatic lions are indigenous to Western India, and ironically in west and north India Durga's pet is 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).
There are two types of people around the globe. One who find faults in other groups to feel better, others who find faults in their own kind to become better. My professor Anindya Sarkar rightly said, 'history of religion is dynamic and hence interesting, contrary to the static versions perpetuated these days'. 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.
Lion symbolises strength, courage and leadership. Goddesses and lions have an ancient connection. Is it because the lioness are the most powerful female species that hunt themselves 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 to hunt, 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 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 moon and lion with sun, and the marriage represents the union between the two. Durga's husband is Shiva and he too is associated with Nandi the bull.
Like Durga, some of the ancient goddesses (below) have a snake in their hand. It represents fertility and vegetation.
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 of Durga and has its root in the word 'parvat', meaning mountain. Durga is the daughter of mountain god, the ruler of Himalayas, King Himavan. There is another connection between Cybele and Durga. They both are associated with sacrifice of bulls / buffaloes. 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 'Dance of Inanna' that reminds one of the dance of Goddesses Kali, another form of Durga. Sumerians of Mesopotamia and Harappans of India were amongst the earliest people to build a civilisation and they were connected through trade. There has been a lot of cultural exchanges between the two great civillizations, just like between the Greeks with the Indians later. It won't be far fetched to expect that they have influenced each-other.
Ishar or Inanna, Sumerian goddess of love and war
The goddess has evolved over time in India. Goddess and tigers have been found from Indus Valley seals. Uma and Ambika were the earliest reference of goddess in Vedas. She was later referred to as Devi or Shakti. However, the name Parvati and Durga came much later. It became common only during Gupta Era (beginning ~319 CE).
Durga Slaying Buffalo, 3rd Century CE, Mathura
The earliest Durga idols depicts 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 killing of wild buffalos or pushing them out of low lands during the ripening of crops. The time of ripening matches with the time of Durga Puja. Others associate it with fight between different tribes. There is a small tribe of 50 families in North Bengal who mourn the death of Ashura during Durga Puja.
5th Century Mahishasuramardini from Udaigiri Caves, Bhopal
The 5th century sculpture (above) from Udaigiri shows Durga with 10 hands slaying a buffalo. It is only when she is fighting does she have the extra hands. At times of peace, while she is with her husband, she only has two hands. See the sculpture below.
Shiv Parvati at Mount Kailash.... Ellora 6th to 8th century CE (Cave 29, or Dhumar Lena) .... Ravana trying to lift or shake the mountain from below.... This type of sculpture is known as Ravananugraha, a common theme since Gupta era.
The idol above is from similar time as Ellora. Count the number of hands she has.
Mahishasuramardini from Rani ki vav, Patan, Gujarat.
11 th century Chaulukya Dynasty.
Mahishasura Mardini, 7 th century Pallava Dynasty, Mamallapuram.
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.
2019 idol of Durga
It is interesting that Durga with a pet lion is worshipped in Eastern India where there are no lions. Tigers are more common there. Since the eastern Indians were not used to Lions, the lions of early Durga idols are not perfect. They looked more like iguana. I have seen similar deformation happening to pictures of elephants in Mongolia. the concept of elephants reached there with Buddhism that spread from Tibet. Asiatic lions are indigenous to Western India, and ironically in west and north India Durga's pet is 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).
There are two types of people around the globe. One who find faults in other groups to feel better, others who find faults in their own kind to become better. My professor Anindya Sarkar rightly said, 'history of religion is dynamic and hence interesting, contrary to the static versions perpetuated these days'. 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.
Written by Subhrashis Adhikari
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
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