GAJASURA SAMHARA

THE SLAYING OF THE ELEPHANT DEMON

Gajasura Samhara, Halebid

I had the good fortune of visiting the wonderful Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebid last weekend as a part of our trip to Chikmaglur, the details of which will be put up on the blog soon. Among the several soap stone statues that adore the outer walls of these exceptionally beautiful temples, one that mesmerized me the most was that of the Gajasura Samhar - Shiva the destroyer slaying the demon Gajasura by performing the tandav nritya inside his belly. As our guides, first in Belur and then in Halebid explained us the details of the statues, I realized that I had no idea about this episode from the colorful Indian mythology. Of course, one of the first things that I did that evening when we were travelling from erstwhile capital of the Hoysalas to the port city of Mangalore was to read about it. Not so surprisingly, there seem to be several different narratives, mentioned in our Puranas about this tale, some of which I have mentioned below.

The Elephant Demon & the Elephant God: According to one legend, Gajasura a 'good' demon impressed Lord Shiva with penance. When the Destroyer appeared before him and asked him for what he wished, the Asura asked him to reside in his stomach. The Lord agreed, of course without thinking of the consequences like he has done so many times and for which he has earned the name of Bhola Shankar. With Shiva away, Goddess Parvati who had no idea about the incident was worried and approached Lord Vishnu to find her husband. The Savior realized that Shiva was inside Gajasura's stomach and devised a plan to get him back. He transformed Nandi, Shiva's consort into a dancing bull and dressed himself as a flutist and went to the court of the great demon. Gajasura being impressed with the flutist's show told him to ask for whatever he wanted. When the flutist asked him to liberate Mahadev, he fell to his feet realizing that it was none other than Lord Vishnu. After liberating Shiva, the demon requested the Lord to take his head to Kailash and he complied. When he reached his abode, Shiva was stopped by a young boy. Unaware that he was his own son, Shanker chopped off his head, enraging Parvati who threatened to destroy the world unless her son was brought back to life. To pacify her and to revive his dead son, Ishwar attached Gajasura's head to the headless torso and thus was born Lord Ganesh.

While I personally consider this version of Gajasura Samhara to be the most 'accurate', there mare many questions that remain unanswered. Firstly, there are very few 'good' demons mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. The one that are mentioned like Prahlad and Emperor Bali are celebrated for their impeccable character and conduct. However, no such praise is showered on Gajasura. The most important episode from this tale is that of Shiva emerging out of the demon's belly. However, if he was a good demon, it is doubtful that Shiva would have killed a devotee of his in such a brutal manner. Thirdly, there are many stories of how Lord Ganesh got his elephant head and not all start with the tale of the elephant demon.

Teaching the wicked sages a lesson: Another version of the story is from the Varaha Purana. The sages of the Darukavana, the Deodar forests had become arrogant of their powers. In a bid to teach them a lesson and break their false pride, Lord Shiva in the form of a young and attractive mendicant went to their forests along with the charming Mohini, the female form of Lord Vishnu who played a critical role in denying Amrit to the Asuras during the Sagar Manthana or the Churning of the Ocean. The sages were spell bound by Mohini's beauty whereas their wives were enchanted by Shanker. When the sages understood the clever ploy of the Lord, they were enraged. To destroy him, they used their tantric powers to create a mighty demon in the form of an elephant called Gajasura. As he attacked Shiva, a war ensured between the two during which Shiva slayed the demon and wore his hide around his body. The problem with this story is that it does not talk about how Shiva killed the elephant demon; nothing is said about the famous portrait of the Destroyer dancing on the head of his fallen foe.

Shiva - The Protector of the devotees: After having undergone severe penance, Gajasura - the elephant demon became extremely powerful and strong. In fact, even the Devas were said to have been scared of him. With power going into his head, he started harassing the devotees of Lord Shiva in Varanasi, asking them to worship him. As his atrocities increased, Shiva appeared before him and killed Gajasura. He skinned the animal and wore its hide around his body. This version is narrated in the Kurma Purana where Shiva is referred to by the name of Krittivasa, one who has skin as his garment. There are conflicting views as to where this incident occurs. Some believe that Shiva killed Gajasura in Varanasi whereas others say it took place in Valuvur in Tamil Nadu, where the presiding deity is Lord Shanker in form of Gajasamharamurthi.

The Shiva Puranas give a slightly different version of this tale which is pretty similar to the one mentioned in the Kurma Purana. Here Gajasura is said to be the son of the Mahishasura, the buffalo demon who was killed by Goddess Durga. To avenge his father's death, he is said to have performed a penance. Lord Brahma was impressed and granted him a boon that he would be killed only by a Jitendriya, one who has overcome all lust and desires. Thinking that he was invincible, the demon harassed the people of the Earth, asking them to worship him instead of the Gods. He went to Benares and attacked the sages who prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Shanker, moved by their cries for help appeared and destroyed Gajasura. On the request of his enemy, he took his head as a trophy and wore his skin around his body. It is said that Gajasura's body become the Krittivasesvara linga of Lord Shanker.

THE DESCENT OF THE GANGA

BHAGIRATH PRAYATNA

Ganga – the National River of India, for years, has been an integral part of the historical, religious and cultural heritage of the people of the Sub-continent. Ever since the decline of the Indus Valley civilization, the Ganga and her myriad tributaries have taken the centre stage in the transformation of Indians from small agricultural communities that settled on its banks, nearly four millennia ago, to a nation that is on the threshold of becoming a Superpower, today. In fact the Ganga upholds the virtue of ‘Unity in Diversity’ which is the cornerstone of the Indian culture, as it takes as many as six headstreams (Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi) and five confluences (Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Devprayag) to form the mainstream of the mighty river. In fact the many symbolic meanings of the river on the Indian Sub-continent were spoken to in 1946 by Jawaharlal Nehru in his book – ‘The Discovery of India’

"The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man

Although geologists believe that the Ganga, along with its mythical father, the Himalayas, was born as a consequence of the collision of the Indian and the Asian plates around fifty five million years ago, the Puranas give various versions for the birth of the river. According to one version, the Ganga was born when the sacred water from Lord Brahma’s kamandalu became personified as a maiden. The Vaishnavas believe that the Brahma had reverently washed the feet of Lord Vishnu’s fifth avatar – Vamana, and collected the water in his kamandalu. According to a third version, she was the daughter of Himavan, King of the Mountains, and his consort Mena, and thus a sister of the Goddess Parvati. However, all accounts declare that she was raised in the heavens, under the tutelage of Lord Brahma.

Several years later, a king named Sagara of the Suryavamsa or Solar dynasty, ascended the throne of Kosala. He had sixty thousand sons from his wife, Sumati and one son, named Asmanjan from his other wife, Kesini, whom he later abandoned for being wild and wicked. When the king chose to perform the Ashwamedha Yagna, his royal agents lost the track of the sacrificial horse. According to one version, the horse was stolen by the jealous Indra, who did not want the Yagna to succeed and hid it in a cave where Rishi Kapila was meditating in order to escape being accused of stealth. Sagara ordered his sixty thousand sons to track down the horse. The proud and mercurial princes raged across Bharat, burning down forests and uprooting life and property to find the horse. They finally arrived at the quiet spot where the great sage was sitting in meditation. Besides him, was tied the white sacrificial horse. Thinking that the sage had abducted the horse, the enraged princes condemned the Rishi as a thief started hurling abuses at him. The powerful Kapila who had not opened his eyes for several years turned the princes to ashes using his mystic powers.


Worried for his sons, the king sent his grandson, Anshuman, the son of Asmanjan to enquire about the princes and to retrieve the horse. When the young prince reached the cave where Rishi Kapila was meditating, he returned the horse and informed him about the fate of his uncles. He also told Anshuman that the souls of the dead princes could only raise to heaven would be through the offering of niravapanjali with the sacred waters of the Ganga, which was flowing only in the Swarga. According to another version, the information regarding the death of his uncles and about the relief from Kapila’s curse was given by Garuda, maternal uncle of Asmanjan.

Bringing Ganga back to Earth was a near impossible task and required many years to be spent in tapasya and prayer. The Kosala kings of successive generations could not do this while managing their duties as kings. As a result, the sins of the thousand princes multiplied in their destructive energy, and began resulting in natural disasters. The kingdom began to lose its peace and prosperity, and by the time Bhagiratha, a descendent of Sagara and a forefather of Lord Rama, ascended the throne, he found it impossible to attempt to govern in this situation that had only one solution.

Turning over the kingdom to trusted ministers, Bhagiratha set off to the Himalayas to perform an arduous tapasya in the extreme climate. For one thousand years, he performed an excruciatingly harsh penance to please Lord Brahma. At the end of the thousand years, Brahma came to him and told him to ask for anything. Bhagiratha asked Brahma to bring down the river Ganga to earth so that he may perform the ceremony for his ancestors.

Lord Brahma asked Bhagiratha to propitiate Lord Shiva, for only he would be able to break the Ganga's fall. It was the largest river, and it would be impossible for anyone save Him to contain the destructive impact of this event. Bhagiratha performed a tapasya for Lord Shiva, living only on air. The compassionate Shiva appeared only after a year's penance, and told Bhagiratha he should not have to perform tapasya to accomplish a noble goal such as this. He assured Bhagiratha that he would break Ganga's fall.

After eons of being flattered and praised by the Devas, Ganga had become vain. She scoffed at Brahma when he asked her to flow down to earth, but could not disobey him as he was her father. But Ganga was sure, as much as Bhagiratha was afraid that no one could stop her fall, which would devastate the Earth for a long time. As she cascaded across and down from Swarga, Bhagiratha and celestial observers were terrified of the roar generated by the gallons of water as the Ganga descended down. But Lord Shiva appeared from out of nowhere and captured all of Ganga just as she launched herself onto Earth, in his jata (hair). Ganga struggled to set herself free, but Shiva could not be budged. Bhagiratha worshipped Shiva, who let Ganga free after crushing her vanity. She flowed, and is still believed to flow, from Shiva's jata down to Earth at a gentler pace. The touch of Shiva further sanctified Ganga. King Bhagiratha led the way for Ganga on his chariot, and she followed him across the north and east of Bharat and finally merging with the ocean. In her course she washed the ashes of Sagara's sixty thousand sons, who ascended to heaven while praising and blessing Bhagiratha.

As Ganga travelled to the nether-worlds, she created a different stream to remain on Earth to help purify unfortunate souls there. She is the only river to follow from all the three worlds - Swarga (Heaven), Prithvi (Earth) and, Patala (Hell). Thus is called "Tripathagā" (one who travels the three worlds) in Sanskrit language. Because of Bhagiratha’s efforts, Ganga descended on to Earth and hence the river is also known as Bhagirathi, and the term "Bhagirath Prayatna" is used to describe valiant efforts or difficult achievements.

Another name that Ganga is known by is Jahnavi. Story has it that once Ganga came down to Earth, on her way to Bhagiratha, her rushing waters created turbulence and destroyed the fields and the sadhana of a sage called Jahnu. He was angered by this and drank up all of Ganga's waters. Upon this, the Gods prayed to Jahnu to release Ganga so that she could proceed on her mission. Pleased with their prayers, Jahnu released Ganga from his ears. Hence Ganga is also mentioned as ‘Jhanavi’, which means ‘The Daughter of Jhanavi’.

The Amazon which is around 7000 km in length is three times as long as Ganges. Unlike the Nile, Hwang-ho, Tigris-Euphrates or even her own cousin, Indus (Sindhu), the Ganga is no one of the earliest cradles of human civilization. But Ganga holds a unique distinction, of being the holiest and most celebrated river ever known to man. This river is mentioned in all ancient Indian texts, with several hymns being dedicated to her and many festivals being celebrated in her honour, even today. In her 2500 odd km long journey from the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas to its sink in the Bay of Bengal, Ganga plays several roles in the lives of Indians. For a pious Hindu, she is a revered goddess and bathing in her waters causes the remission of all sins and facilitates the attainment of liberation from the cycle of life and birth. For a farmer who cultivates paddy on the banks, the river is a perennial source of water and a supplier of fertile soil. For the River Dolphins (Susu) and Gavial (Gharial) that inhabit it, she is a mother who sustains all their needs. And finally for India, Ganga is her lifeline, her soul, her eldest and most beloved daughter and a companion in good and bad times. Perhaps, the most fitting tribute to this great river is given by the veteran Bollywood lyricist Shailendra in the song ‘Hothon pe Sachhai’ where he pens down the following lines:-

Hothon pe sachhaee rehti hain
Jahaa dil mein safaee rehti hain
Hum us desh ke wassee hain
Hum us desh ke wassee hain
Jis desh mein Ganga behti hain