The Domestic Life of Gods by Devdutt Pattanaik

Author:Devdutt Pattanaik [Pattanaik, Devdutt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789353052836
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2018-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

Ganesha has an elephant’s head, a corpulent body and a serpent tied round his stomach. Elephant, pot belly and serpent are material symbols. That the upper part of his body is created by Shiva and the lower part by Shakti makes him a liminal deity who brings together God and Goddess, soul and substance, spiritual bliss and material delights. Ganesha is the lord of thresholds, sitting between yoga and bhoga, discipline and indulgence, monastic orders and fertility rites, Vedic speculation and Tantrik rituals. In some scriptures, Riddhi and Siddhi, wealth and wisdom, are his wives. Subha and Labha, auspiciousness and profit, are his sons. Santoshi, satisfaction, is his daughter. His rat represents the unmanageable, stubborn problems of life that he keeps at bay. Ganesha is thus the god of the present, sitting between the past and the future, removing all obstacles, ensuring the realization of every dream.

With a child in her arms, the Goddess is no more the terrifying Kali. She is Gauri, the mother. In Maharashtra, following the rains, Gauri, dressed in green, is worshipped along with Ganesha. Green is the colour of vegetation, motherhood, fulfilled desires. Gauri represents fulfilled desires, the fructification of earth’s fertility. She is the domesticated form of the Goddess. Her hair is tied in a bun with a string of flowers.

Later in the year, around the time of the autumn harvest, the Goddess is worshipped dressed in red with hair unbound. In this form known as Durga, she is a warrior, riding into battle on a lion, holding weapons in her hand. In Bengal, this form is associated with gods and goddesses who are described as her children. They include two daughters, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Thus, the children of the Goddess embody wealth and knowledge, brain and brawn. They are born only when Shiva, consciousness, becomes her husband and stops being indifferent.

Finally, just before winter, is the festival when the Goddess takes her most sexual and violent form, that of Kali. In this form she is no longer the milk-giving mother. She is the bloodthirsty killer. In this form she demands replenishment of her energy. Blood and milk, like water and sexual fluids, are forms of rasa. By drinking blood she is able to provide milk for her children.

When winter gives way to spring, the Goddess once more becomes the virginal bride of Shiva. The marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated on the night known as Maha-Shiva-ratri. A fortnight later, the death and resurrection of Kama is celebrated during Holi, a festival of colours when men and women throw water on each other to soothe burning passions. Thus through a cycle of festivals, the Goddess ensures the participation of Shiva in the wheel of samsara.

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