Religious syncretism and 33 million deities
by Nanditha Krishna
Illustration: Amit Bandre
The Rigveda enumerates 33
devas or ‘shining ones’, representing primarily the forces of nature. Of
these, three were important: Agni or fire, Indra or rain, and Soma, a plant.
The popular deities today are two Vedic gods—Vishnu combined with a non-Vedic
Narayana, and Rudra combined with a non-Vedic Shiva—and the many forms of
Shakti, the supreme goddess. Agni, Indra and Soma, along with 28 others, became
‘minor deities’. Later, more minor deities were added to the Hindu
pantheon: ashtadikpalas (the eight guardians of directions), navagrahas
(nine planets), vasus (eight attendant deities), adityas (12 forms of the
sun), rudras (11 forms of Shiva), avataras (10 incarnations of Vishnu), along
with river goddesses, lesser-known forms of the main deities, village gods
and goddesses and demi-gods of Buddhism and Jainism.
The
original major deities of the Vedas became minor over time, while the minor
deities are today among the most important deities all over India. Of the
avatars, only Rama and Krishna attained cult status, while Shiva is
worshipped in different forms. This is how Indian religions were made inclusive
and expanded their pantheons to absorb everyone’s religious beliefs. Adi
Shankara recognised six cults in his time: Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta,
Ganapatya, Saura (Sun) and Kaumara (Kartikeya). While the six deities remain,
Surya, once the ruling deity of temples in Khajuraho, Modhera, Martand and
Gwalior, has been demoted to a mere navagraha.
Recently,
the C P Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research in Chennai organised
a seminar on minor deities in Indian art. Scholars from various parts of India
gathered to share the plurality and syncretism of Indian religious and social
traditions, as represented in visual language. Religious
syncretism is the blending of different belief systems, incorporating
other beliefs into an existing tradition. This occurs when such traditions
exist in proximity to each other and are catholic enough to accept each other’s
belief systems. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have made many adaptations over
millenniums, assimilating elements of several religious traditions both in
India and Southeast Asia.
Today’s
Hinduism is a combination of different forms of beliefs and practices. It is no
longer exclusively Vedic—it is the common people’s religion. Every village in
India has a village deity, usually associated with fertility, rains, disease
and so on. Shitala, a medicinal deity who cooled the body, became a dreaded
goddess of disease in North India. Jvara, the deity of fever, who is
propitiated as Jvarahareshwara in South India, is feared as the demon Jvarasura
in Bengal. Mari originally meant rain and the pearl-like raindrops were
called muthu-mari.
Unfortunately, their resemblance to smallpox boils made Mariamman of Tamil Nadu
into a dreaded goddess of disease. Thus, popular deities could change their
character as social problems arose.
Village
deities are generally made of terracotta, stucco or wood, and painted in brilliant
colours. They may be situated in a wooden temple as in Kerala and Karnataka, or
inside a simple brick-and-mortar shrine. Later, they were incorporated into
exquisite stone sculpture. Each has a unique iconography. For example, Shitala
in Rajasthan and Gujarat carries a broom and winnowing basket, and rides an
ass. In Tamil Nadu, most village goddesses carry Durga’s weapons. But Ponni,
the rice goddess, is depicted as a mere head: the earth on which the head is
placed forms her body.
Folk
deities may be grouped as gods of fertility, protector deities, fetishes (like
stones and trees) and hero stones. The famous Ayyanaar is a protector, while
goddesses protect children, combat disease and assure fertility. The popular
Ayyappa of Kerala was originally a forest deity. Indian deities are associated
with nature and natural resources like sacred groves and water bodies, the
rain, a good harvest, disease and safety. By invoking the sanctity of rivers
and lakes, animals and health, people protected the environment, controlled
disease and ensured sustainable lifestyles for themselves and other creation.
What
is amazing is the similarity among rural and tribal traditions across the
country at a time when there was no easy communication. For example, votive
offerings of terracotta horses to the deities of the sacred groves include the
horses of Ayyanaar in Tamil Nadu and Bankura in Bengal. Every state shares this
tradition, yet in no two states are the horses alike: that is the greatness of
the Indian potter.
The
minor deities were as important as the Vedic gods. A villager would never call
his local goddess minor. She is all-important for him. Sometimes, the deity
gets upgraded, such as Kamakshi of Kanchipuram, whose cult expanded when
Rajasimha Pallava built a new temple and a new icon. Meenakshi, originally a
goddess of fisherfolk, became the reigning deity of the new Pandya capital,
Madurai. New mythologies were created, but old attributes were retained. They
became aspects of Shakti or Vishnu or Shiva. This is how village deities were
integrated into an all-Indian pantheon. The speakers at the seminar gave us a
view of the many deities of their respective states, of dance forms like
theyyam in Kerala and bhuta kola in Karnataka that are used to invoke gods.
No
wonder it is said that there are ‘33 million deities’ in India. Yet every deity
is a singular manifestation of the Supreme and the most important deity of the
region. They are a reminder of a time when gods were invoked to protect people
and the environment, and when religion was catholic enough to absorb other gods
within an all-embracing belief system. That was syncretism, when the world was
too small for more than one supreme deity, and all the gods and goddesses were
merely different forms of the same Supreme Being and religious tradition.
Nanditha
Krishna
Historian,
environmentalist and writer based in Chennai
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