Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik by Pattanaik Devdutt

Author:Pattanaik, Devdutt [Pattanaik, Devdutt]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9789386057488
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2016-07-11T16:00:00+00:00

The vahana of Saraswati . . .

Is also a hans, like Brahma’s. If you observe miniature paintings carefully, you’ll see her vehicle is depicted as a bagula, crane, which is a symbol of concentration. Different concepts emerge from the different animals.

It’s clear that Vaishno Devi’s vahana is a lion, but which of the two is Durga’s vahana—tiger or lion?

Durga is shown with a lion in Bengal and with a tiger in Punjab, where she is known as Sherawali, but they are understood to be the same goddess. There’s a lot of confusion between lions and tigers in India; while African lions are huge, the lions in Gir forests are not as dramatic—they’re just like big cats. Asiatic lions were never so powerful, but all over the world lions are a symbol of royalty. Even in places where there have never been any lions, like in China, they are the emblem of the king. The word Singapore means city (pore) of the lion (singha) and Sri Lanka’s flag has a lion symbol on it. So, Durga is a goddess of kings. The throne of a king is known as singha-asana—the seat (asana) of a lion (singha).

On the other hand, the tiger is respected all across India. It is known as vyaghra in Sanskrit. A tiger is known to be very protective of its family, and it’s beautiful to observe cats in general taking care of their young ones. So, goddesses are usually associated with the cat species, and whether it’s a lion or a tiger varies in different states.

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