History of Bengali Language and Literature c6.s6: 7. The Çaiva-cult, how it faced Buddhism
History of Bengali Language and Literature c6.s6
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7. The Çaiva-cult, how it faced Buddhism
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It was to the growing influence of the Çaiva religion that Buddhism eventually succumbed in India. The conception of Çiva, as we find it in the Purāṇas, is grand beyond all description. In the Vedic literature, he had been known as Rudra Deva. There he was the God of destruction, awe-inspiring, with four arms, each of which held a different weapon, and amongst which his trident and the Pināk carried at their points the grim terrors of death. The movements of this god, in infinite celestial space, made the great planets crush each other, and his trident pierced the elephants who supported the ten points of the compass. All other gods fell on their knees, and cried for protection, when Çiva danced in wild and destructive ecstacy at the time of the final dissolution of the universe.
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But the Purāṇas completely changed the Great God. We have heard of the fiery planets growing cold with lapse of time in the celestial regions, the pleasant verdure of shrubs and plants covering those orbs from which once emanated sparks of living fire. The God Çiva has passed through a similar transformation. In the Paurāṇik age he is represented as the very personification of calmness.
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∗ Very lately Babu Nagendranath Vasu has discovered several versions of songs about Govinda Chandra Raja, in the villages of Orissa. These versions appear to be more correct and reliable than their Bengali prototypes. The custodians of the songs there have been, as in Bengal, the Yogis who were doubtless an important class of men in the Buddhist society.
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Çiva as Rudra Deva.
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The Paurāṇik conception borrowed from Buddhism.
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The destructive elements have all been eliminated, and he is now quiet and dignified, absorbed in Samādhi. This Samādhi is akin to the Nirvāṇa of the Buddhists. The Great God is above all desire, as was Buddha. Çiva kills Madana, the God of Love, of whom another name is Mara; and Buddha’s struggles with Māra and eventual conquest over him are well-known. He is represented as an ascetic with the beggar’s bowl in his hand. He has a golden palace at Kailāsa; and Kuvera, the Lord of Wealth, is in charge of his store. But the Great God has nothing to do with wealth. He lives by begging, sleeps in the burning ground and remains absorbed in contemplation. In this respect also, he was verily like Buddha, who, though a prince, left the palace of Kapilāvastu to embrace the life of a bhikṣu. Çiva’s company is sought for by the resplendent gods of heaven, but ghosts and goblins are his companions. Buddha, though a prince, mixed with the poor and the lowly, and thus showed that he scorned none.
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Çiva drinks poison to save the world.
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When the ocean was churned by the gods, Lakṣmī, the Goddess of wealth, arose from it. Viṣṇu seized her as his prize; the great diamond Kaustuva, also fell to his share. The majestic elephant Airāvata, the incomparable horse Uchchaiḥçravā, and the celestial Pārijāta tree, which arose next from the ocean, were given to the God Indra. Last, though not least, appeared that ambrosia which had the effect of giving immortality to him who partook of it. This was divided amongst the assembled gods equally. Çiva meanwhile, remained in Kailāsa, absorbed in samādhi, caring not whether the universe were lost or gained by the other gods. But at a second churning of the ocean from which the gods had expected yet more prizes, streams of deadly poison issued from it in overwhelming quantities, with clouds of smoke that looked like curling snakes. This threatened to flood the universe and destroy it. The gods were awe-struck. They knew not how to protect the world from the destruction which seemed to be impending. In their despair, they called on Çiva to save creation. The Great God's heart was moved with compassion. He gathered the floods of poison in his out-stretched hands and drank it all up, in the presence of the wondering gods. But the poison he drank left a blue mark on his throat, and he is called Nilakantha or the Blue-throated. This episode is narrated in such a manner in the Purāṇas, that it seems to me to be analogous to the story of pain and sacrifice undergone by Buddha, who suffered for the sake of suffering humanity.
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Let us picture to ourselves the image of the great Çiva. He is like a mountain of white marble, tranquilly seated in the posture of Samādhi. On his forehead is the crescent moon. From his matted locks flows the pure stream of the Ganges, that goddess whom his mercy melts into an unceasing fountain of white waters. In this attitude he may be compared very aptly to some mountains of the Himalayas, with the young moon shining above its cloudy height, and the perennial flow of the Ganges pouring over its steep regions. The heads of venomous snakes peep out of the locks of Çiva, as they do from the recesses of the great mountains.
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His figure compared to Mount Himalaya.
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The image of Çiva, as made in clay and marble, in the villages shows the quietness and composure of Buddha, and both are now so like one another! Yet nothing could have been more dissimilar than the original conception of Rudradeva—the Çiva of the Vedas.
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Myth and history confounded in India.
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The best points of Buddha's life are ascribed to Çiva. The Purāṇas represent him as embodying all the attributes of Buddha's greatness. One point may be urged in favour of Buddha. He was a living person of flesh and blood, and as such, the influence of his sternly real personality might be presumed to produce far greater results than that of a mythological God. In India, however, this matter is viewed in a different light. Here, when a saint or great religious teacher dies, he is at once deified. He becomes one of the glorious gods and in popular estimation he occupies a place not far remote from that ascribed to the celestials. On the other hand, thousands of men and women in India, believe in every word of the Purāṇas. To them Çiva is as real as any historical personage. Buddha, though deified, could not claim the grandeur of the back-ground which sets forth the luminous figure of the great God of the Hindu Trinity. Infinite space, the whole of heaven and earth and the solar regions, are represented as the incidents of that back-ground. Çiva has no birth, no death; his eyes never close, they are raised heavenward, lost in celestial reverie, and they scarcely look down towards this mundane world of ours, except for the sake of mercy. Buddha, already divested of his original glory, and reduced to Dharma Ṭhākur, became quite lustreless in the eyes of the people, before this great and resplendent divinity of the Hindus.
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Çiva has one element, however, which is wanting in the conception of Buddha. This is the sanctity of the nuptial vow, which sheds glory on his abode at Kailās. Buddha's emancipation could not be complete without deserting a devoted and loving wife. But Çiva and Durgā, the ideal couple, cannot be dissociated from one another. Durgā, who is also called Satī and Annapurnā, is the goddess who distributes rice to the hungry. To the world she is as mother, who cares not for herself, but for her children only; and Çiva is the ideal of a Hindu householder, never ruffled in temper, immoveable, immaculate and merciful, their union representing the fulfilment of the spiritual vows given and accepted in marriage, that two will live for one another and for others. How perfect this mutual love was, is proved in the death of Satī. Her devotion to Çiva was so great that she could not bear to hear him abused by her father Dakṣa. Feeling that the blood of the defamer of her lord ran in her own veins, she considered her body itself as unholy, and gave it up in a flash, to be born again as a daughter of Himabat. In this new life she passed through severe penances and sacrifices to be worthy of being united in marriage to Çiva. In the stoical asceticism of Buddha, these domestic features find no place, and while assimilating the quintessence of Buddhism, the Çiva religion has this point in addition, which at once appealed to the Hindus a people conspicuous for their strong domestic instincts.
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The domestic virtues extolled in the Çiva religion.
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Buddhism, as presented to us on the eve of its downfall, combined sceptical views with gross superstition. The light that it had given to India, had spent itself in ages gone by, and in the shape in which it existed latterly, could scarcely commend itself to the Indian people, accustomed as they were, to live in a highly spiritual atmosphere. Dharma and Çiva in the popular notions of the period, appeared as very humble deities, whose function suited the requirements of the rustic folk who worshipped them.
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The oldest songs relating to Çiva, which fall within the scope of this chapter, shew nothing of that high conception of him which distinguished the period of the Paurāṇik Renaissance. They were meant for Bengali villagers, and Çiva figures in them as assisting in the work of the rice-fields, and even ploughing them himself like any peasant. Even in the Çuṇya Purāṇa, there is a song devoted to Çiva in his agricultural capacity, from which we may take the following extract * :—
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জখন আছেন গোসাঞি হয়। দিগম্বর।
ঘরে ঘরে ভিক্ষা মাগিয়া বুলেন ঈশ্বর ॥
রজনী পরভাতে ভিক্ষার লাগি যাই।
কুথাএ পাই কুথাএ না পাই ॥
হর্তকী বড়া তাহে করি দিনপাত।
কত হরস গোসাঞি ভিক্ষাএ ভাত ॥
আঙ্গার বচনে গোসাঞি তুমি চস চাস।
কখন অন্ন হএ গোসাঞি কখন উপবাস ॥
পুখরি কাঁদাএ লইব ভূম খানি।
আরসা হইলে জেন ছিচএ দিব পানি ॥
ঘরে ধান থাকিলেক পরভু সুখে অন্ন খাব।
অন্ন বিহনে পরভু কত দুঃখ পাব ॥
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“ The Lord is without any raiment. “ He begs from door to door. “ At dawn of day he rises, and goes out to beg. “ Some people give him alms; by others he is refused. Sometimes he lives on *bayra* * and *haritaki* † only. But Oh, how happy is he when they give him the begger's rice!
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“ I say unto you, O Lord, why don't you plough? “ By begging, you often have to fast, and you get rice only now and then.
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“ You must select a muddy soil for cultivation, but if you can't secure this, and dry lands fall to your share, you should water them well.
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“ When you have rice at home, how glad will you be to take your daily meal! How long will you, O Lord, suffer for want of food?
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“ Why not cultivate cotton, O Lord; How long will you wear a tiger's skin?
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“ You besmear your body with ashes (Bibhuti). “ Why not cultivate mustard and *tila*. ‡ (So that yon may have oil to anoint yourself). And be sure to grow plenty of vegetables. Above all, don't
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কাপাস চসহ পরভু পরিব কাপড়।
কত না পরিব গোঁসাই কেওদা বাঘের ছড়॥
তিল সরিসা চাষ কর গোঁসাই বলি তব পাএ।
কত না মাখিব গোঁসাই বিভূতিগুলা গাএ॥
সকল চাস চস পরভু আর রুইও কলা।
সকল দব্ব পাই যেন ধন্য পূজার বেলা॥
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Çunya Purāṇa.
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∗ Terminalia Belerica. † Terminalia Chabula. ‡ Sesamum Orentale.
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forget banana plants, so that for the Dharma-pujā nothing may be wanting."
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The agricultural capacity of Çiva retained in the later Çivayanas.
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In the Çivāyana, or songs of Çiva by later writers, who were the exponents of the Çaiva cult in Bengal, we find a chapter devoted to Çiva's agricultural speculation and experiences. The traditions about Çiva related in the Purāṇas have no bearing whatever upon these. We shall here quote a passage from the Çivayana of Rameçwar, a writer of the 18th century, which will at once recall the anecdotes of Çiva related in the Çunya-Purāṇa. Rāmeçwar, Kavichandra and other writers, though their own idea of Çiva was of the high classical type, could not help embodying these humble episodes in their descriptions. This shows how greatly the rural people of Bengal favoured them. A song in honour of Çiva, though noble in all respects, would not be perfect in the popular estimation unless it included these humbler aspects of his character, that had found favour in the country for centuries. In that chapter of the Çivayana to which we are referring, Bhima, who first appeared in the Çunya Purāṇa as a devoted servant of Çiva in the rice-fields, still retains the tradition of this character, co-operating with Çiva in his field-labour.*
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"Çiva sits in the field and says to Bhima the ploughman :—
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∗ ক্ষেতে বসি কৃষাণে ঈশাণ বলে ভাল। চারিদণ্ডে চৌদিক চৌরস করে চাল ॥ আড়ি তুলে ধারে ধারে ধরাইল ধান। হাঁটু পাড়ি ঈশানেতে আরম্ভে নিড়াণ ॥ দল দুব্বা সোলা শ্যামা ত্রিশিরা কেসুর।
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“Good. In four Daṇḍa’s time* you must level the ground perfectly on all sides.”
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“The rice was planted in several places on the ridges between the furrows, and Çiva, kneeling, applied himself to work with a weeding hook.
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“The grasses called Dala-durbā and Çyāma,† Triçirā ‡ and Kesur § were weeded out with care, and the straw in the field was quickly cleared. The old fellow || would not leave the field for one moment, but kept watch over it like a tiger.”
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Altogether it is a long description, giving every detail of the field-work of the Bengali peasantry from which we have taken only the above short extract. Means are suggested for the destruction of the mosquitoes and leeches with which the marshy fields of Lower Bengal, are infested, and other precautions are given by which the peasant may secure a good harvest. From the language in which these episodes are couched, I am inclined to believe, that they formed part of some old song of Çiva which Rāmeçwar was incorporating in his
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গড় খড় নানা খড় উপারে প্রচুর।
বাদ নাহি বাণ যেন বসি থাকে বুড়া।।
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Çivāyana by Rameçwar.
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* A Danda is 24 minutes. 7½ Dandas make a Prahara and 4 Praharas make a day (12 hours). Time is reckoned in Bengal-villages by this standard even now.
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† Species of Cyperus.
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‡ Grass with three blades
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§ Scirpus kyseer.
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|| Çiva is here meant.
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poem without much revision. There are many passages such as—
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বারটি বারঠে চেকুড়াব ঝড়াউড়ি।
গুলামুখি পাতিমারে পুতে যার লুড়ি।”
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which it is difficult to explain, because of the antiquated words and provincialisms used—peculiar to the locality in which the author lived. The somewhat revolting story of the intrigue with Durga, in the guise of a Bāgdinī woman, which is told of Çiva by these writers must also be referred for its origin to the late Buddhistic age. They incorporated in their songs tales which had been prevalent amongst the rustic people of Bengal at that period when moral ideas become confused under Tāntrik influences.
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Three elements are found in the later Çiva-poems. (1) There is the Paurāṇik element, with its grand conception of Çiva, which, as I have said in the foregoing pages, shews traces of the spiritual influence of Buddha's life (2) We have the humbler attributes of the divinity, ascribed to him by villagers and peasants under Tāntrik influences. (3) and again, counteracting these last, we have the purity and perfection of family relationships, as represented in the ideal Hindu household. Here inspite of many conflicting interests of the undivided family, the prescence of its head brings harmony and peace, the result of that spirit of forbearance that he has gained by the long habit of viewing all mundane concerns from a lofty spiritual stand-point. Here the mistress of the house-hold lives entirely for her lord, for her children and for others, without a thought of personal comforts inspired only by holy love—a perfect picture of patient suffering and unflagging devotion.
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In Bengali songs of Çiva, this last trait reaches a high stage of development, showing the peculiar bent of our vernacular genius in conceiving and idealising purely domestic subjects.
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Kailāsa, the City of Çiva, is the abode of bliss, where gold and lead have the same value, where the tiger and the lamb, the mongoose and the serpent are friends, and drink from the same fountain, forgetting their natural enmity. The love, harmony and tranquility which pervade Mount Kailāsa, are all inspired by Mahadeva himself, whose holy dwelling-place is thus strangely unlike the heavens of other gods, glittering with gold and making the impression of the aggrandised capital of some worldly monarch.
Cites (3)
- Kapilavastu
- Śivāyan (Rāmeśvar) — Rāmeśvar, Bengali
- Śūnyapurāṇa — Rāmāi Paṇḍit, Bengali