"Hinduism": Through the Prism of Plurality of Diwali (and Kali Puja)

[Sukla Sen]

The essential point, here, is that, unlike any other major religion, what'd come to be tagged as "Hinduism", at some point of evolution, by aliens arriving from across the Indus River -- from the west -- was, and to a very significant extent still is, a broad basket of loosely interconnected heterogeneous traditions.

With no identified founder(s), no defined beginning and no apex holy text, as is perhaps largely the case with the folk religions.

Under its umbrella, it has a few dominant/classical traditions -- each consisting of multiple strands -- and so many local/folk traditions in constant and ongoing intimate interactions with one another.

In the process of growth, the dominant traditions have gradually embraced, adopted and incorporated the "local", or "folk", by somewhat reshaping themselves -- in region-specific manners.

That's how and why a "single" festival, despite quite a few very striking common features, presents itself in so many different formats.

The "single" is, in reality, banding together of quite a few (different). Each maintaining its own autonomy to a remarkable extent.

Multiple narratives have come to be loosely, and at times somewhat awkwardly, put together.

(To illustrate, in the mindscape of a Bengali (Hindu), even the imagination of Durga -- sort of her/his principal deity -- lets at least three distinctly different narratives coexist side by side, with no visible friction -- rather miraculously. 

Durga, for a Bengali, all at the same time, is:

I. Uma, married to substance-taking, simple-minded, bull-rider Shiva, with the Mountain King as her father and Menaka as the doting mother.

II. Sati, the daughter of ultra-haughty King Daksha, married to (fierce and, apparently, lowly) Shiva -- with enormous power for destruction when enraged.

III. Finally, the Durga born out of no womb but combined energies contributed by various divine figures --  bearing ten different weapons in ten hands and riding a lion -- meant to vanquish and kill the dreaded buffalo demon.

While the first and third both have (the same set of) two daughters and two sons, what about the second?

In any case, it's the first and third that dominate the Bengali imagination.)

This "organic" process of coalescing has, however, started being reinforced/replaced by certain deliberate centralising homogenising drives rather recently.

Of the two very interesting write-ups reproduced below -- both pretty intimately informed -- while the first maps out a broader conceptual framework backed up with relevant details, the second engages in a close microstudy of the evolution of the 

subject deity in a specific corner of the land that'd in course of time come to be known as India.

Sukla

I/II.

<https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/indias-many-diwalis-proof-of-the-unity-that-comes-through-diversity>

Diwali: Unity in Diversity 

~ Jawhar Sircar

Diwali or Deepawali is one festival that every corner of India celebrates, in some form or the other. It epitomises the operational plurality of Hinduism that has thrived for millennia without a high command and with no headquarters or one designated holy book. 

Historically, each region, sub-region, cult or sect chose from a long list of options of those festivals or rites that it would be observing and, more importantly, the manner in which it would do so. But local-level celebrations are not usually ‘regional variations’ of some pan-Indian universal model — because such standard model never existed. Each unit selected that components of a mega festival (or a part of it) that represented its own histories and aspirations. 

For a sharp example, let us turn to Bengal and large parts of Assam and Odisha to see how much of this region worships the fearsome, blood-drenched Kali on the darkest moonless Amavasya night — rather than celebrate Lakshmi’s Diwali, the ‘festival of lights’. Similarly, the South’s Deepavali is basically one night-long festival — quite different from the North and West’s 5-day Diwali calendar. 

The second day is Chhoti Diwali in the North but it is Narak Chaturdashi in the Deccan that celebrates Satyabhama’s (and her husband, Krishna’s) victory over the demon Narakasura. Kali came in to help and many in the West observe the day as Kali Chaudas. It appears that older regional beliefs had to be factored into the pan-Indian celebration. Incidentally, Narakasura has now started emerging as a historic symbol of ‘depredation’ upon heroes of indigenous origin — as a new component of the existing ‘social treaty’. Bengalis cal it Bhoot Chaturdashi and place fourteen lamps in different corners of their homes to take care of their of ancestors who revisit them — as ghosts on this fearsome night. 

While we are aware of the Diwali in the Indo-Ganga region of worshipping Lakshmi on the middle of the five days, most may not have heard of a folk tradition called “driving out Alakshmi” to cleanse the household of the ‘unclean’. It is done in parts of western Bengal and though some also worship Lakshmi within their homes on this day, this period is surely reserved for Kali in the East. The South also believes in praying to ancestors and, incidentally, celebrates its Festival of Lights on this night — a day before the main Diwali and Lakshmi puja of the North. 

It is quite intriguing that the core Diwali legend of the North, the victorious return of Ram to Ayodhya, hardly finds mention in the South and East. Even the rite of the annual cleaning and repainting of one’s house that is compulsory in the North is not enforced in many other parts of India. The bursting of fire-crackers became universal from the 1940s when sound was more exciting than just light — but, this culture may also disappear soon, as environmental dangers are realised and laws become tighter. 

In many regions, festivities are over that night, but several others in the North and West move on to celebrate Govardhan Puja or Annakut, worshipping Krishna with the choicest of foods. This day also marks the beginning of the Vikram Samvat New Year in Gujarat and some other pockets and it is also observed as Bali Pratipad or Bali Padayami. All societies open small windows for the redistribution of wealth through gambling or gifting and the South legitimises the roll of the dice on this occasion. 

Cleaning and decorating cattle is also a must in many parts of India. The last of the series, Bhai Dooj, is celebrated all over, except the South. Sisters place an auspicious black tilak on the forehead of their brothers to ward off danger and death, recalling deadly Yama’s love for his sister, Yami or river Yamuna. 

Hinduism is not a fixed menu but a a ‘multi-option offer’ and local customs represent the ‘social pact’ that best suited the local community. Quaint local customs probably represent pre-existing social rituals that were dovetailed.

A mega-festival like Diwali basically provided the overarching Magna Carta, the ‘great treaty’ of the people, that accorded legitimacy, piety and comfort to all sections. Any attempt to standardise or impose elements will surely destroy the painstakingly-established but delicate Hindu equilibrium.

II. 

<https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/art-culture/kali-deity-bengal-symbol-of-class-caste-resistance-uprising-111699690701840.html>

How did the figure of Kali become a symbol of resistance in Bengal?

As Kali Puja takes place on the night of Diwali, here is a look at the changing iconography of the deity, and how she came to be associated with uprising in Bengal in the 18th-19th centuries

Priests worshipping the Goddess Kali, 19th century. 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Priests worshipping the Goddess Kali, 19th century. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By Tanushree Bhowmik

LAST PUBLISHED

12.11.2023  |  04:00 PM IST

“…a head full of thick curly hair, a red hibiscus tucked behind one ear, the dacoits came charging with a war cry.” Bankim Chandra immortalised thus the image of Bengal’s ill-famed dacoits in his writings. At the turn of the 18th century till the mid-19th century, undivided Bengal was the hunting ground of dacoits, who unleashed terror on the landed rich and the British East India Company. Such was their terror that the English word ‘dacoit’ was especially coined by the British from the Urdu word, ‘dakait’ (from which comes the Bengali ‘dakat’) for official use to record their crimes.

Most of these men came from the lower class and caste, driven to become dacoits by the exploitative social and feudal structure of then-Bengal. Many of the famous leaders of these bands attained Robin Hood-like legendary status because of their financial support to the poor, and became part of literary imagination and local myth of Bengal. Interestingly, tightly interwoven with the tales of these dacoits were tales of their reverence of Goddess Kali – the dark-skinned, open haired, unique mother figure.

In Hinduism, Kali is the first of the Tantric Dasa Mahavidya, the ten forms of Shakti. Her worship in Bengal had always been away from the domestic confines, till Krishnananda Agamavagisha, a 18th century tantric saint from Nabadwip, domesticated the goddess’s form. Saints and poets like Ramprasad, through their poetry and songs, nurtured her transformation into Shyama, a mother and a daughter figure that the households worshipped. Maharaja Krishna Chandra (1710-1782) of Nadia and his landlords patronised the worship of Shyama, and the present form of Dipannita Kali Puja on the night of Diwali was born.

I Kali, thus entered the homes and hearts of common Bengalis but she remained the natural presiding deity for the terrifying dacoits of the land, blurring the lines between devotion and drawing blood. The day of Dipannita Kali Puja, is a good time to understand her association with dakats and sub-altern, class and caste-related armed resistance. For this, one needs to understand her origin and evolution.

She is a deity who came to being as a result of the amalgamation of the subaltern Magna Mater, fashioned from the imagination of nature as a mother—with elements of fertility, destruction and vital force. The name Kali first appears in the Mundaka Upanishad (5th century BC), where she is one of the seven tongues of Agni, the god of fire. She finds a brief mention in the Mahabharata but rises to prominence in the 6th century AD, Devimahatmy. Then on, till the 15th century, her tales became frequent in puranas and tantras, till her present iconography emerges in 17th century.

Scholars argue that she arises from the pre-Vedic, ancient cult of village goddesses who were frontiers of resistance against dreaded communicable diseases and disasters—the different Chandis, Tara, Kalika, Kali Bai, Kalika mata, Yallamma—all of whom demanded appeasement through sacrifices and self-mutilation. This mother figure of fear and protection blessed and protected (often misplaced) pursuit of resistance and fight. 

According to colonial records, dacoity was most rampant in the districts of 24 Parganas—Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman, Nadia, Murshidabad, Medinipore, and Jessore (now in Bangladesh). Even today, these areas in Bengal are dotted with Kali temples that were allegedly established by dacoits, colloquially and almost affectionately known as the Dakate Kalis or Kali of Dacoits. In the heart of modern South Kolkata is Manoharpukur Road, named after Manohar dakat, who worshipped a small black kasauti stone as Chhana Kali---chhana being a Bengali word for small or child.

Kolkata was a jungle infested by tigers when around 550 years ago, when Chitreswar or Chite dakat ruled the area that later came to be known as Chitpur Road in Kolkata—now renamed Rabindra Sarani. His reign extended up to Howrah, Hoogly, Nadia and Bardwan and he looted cotton and salt ships of the East India Company, and its merchants on the Bhagirathi and Adi Ganga. Chite saw a dream and fashioned a ten-handed, golden hued Durga idol from neem wood and worshipped her as Kali. A royal Bengal tiger idol was placed next to the Kali idol to pray for safety of his men from the menace of tigers in the area. He established what is the oldest Durga idol in the city of Kolkata in the Adi Chitreswari temple.

One of the most famous Dakate Kali is the 500-year-old temple in Bansberia, Hoogly, established by Raghu dakat. He and his brother were daily wagers who led a band of dacoits along the river Bhagirathi, robbing the rich and providing for the poor. Raghu forfeited dacoity and stopped human sacrifice after coming in contact with the Shakta saint and poet Ramprasad. He began the practice of offering roast Bombay duck to Kali, which continues till date. Raghu also is said to have established the Ratanti Kali temple and the Tribeni Kali temple on banks of Bhagirathi.

In 1900, Sister Nivedita reinvented the image of Kali as the symbol of political resistance by the revolutionaries for the independence movement. In Shantipur, Nadia a group of young revolutionary men started a Kali Puja, the first community Kali worship of the town, which became known as Bombete Kali Pujo. Named after the founding armed revolutionaries, who were called Bombete by the locals, a colloquial word for pirates, Bombete Kali is counted amongst the Dakate Kalis of the state and is worshipped till date.

On 28 September 1905, the day of the Mahalaya, in the wake of the Bengal Partition, thousands of devotees congregated at the Kalighat temple where the priest administered the vow of abiding by the Swadeshi movement. Kali was accepted as a symbol of the motherland. Bengal’s lasting association with Kali was thus etched in the indelible inks of the Partition.

Tanushree Bhowmik is a Delhi-based food historian and development professional

 

[Sukla Sen]

Bhagwan ji,

Nice that you've cared to share the very essence of your views.

But, would you also kindly elaborate:

I. What is "horrible and non scientific"?

II. Why and how?

Guess that'd help enlighten the readers here a hell lot.

Sukla

On Mon, Nov 13, 2023, 20:24 Bhagwan Awaghade <awbha...@gmail.com> wrote:

It's a horrible and non scientific

Bhagwan Awaghade 

 

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