Rain Gods - the deities

Last time, we read about the primeval mankind’s explanation of rains. We will now take up a few examples of rain gods in different cultures.

Zeus and his thunderbolt

According to the Greek mythology, Zeus, who was the King of gods, was also the god of the skies and rain. Zeus’s weapon was the thunderbolt which he would hurl at anybody who would displease him, thus the thunderbolt became a dreaded natural phenomenon and till date, a thunderbolt destroys wherever it falls.

The early Egyptians considered Min to be their god of rains whose symbol again was the thunderbolt. This god was quite similar to Zeus, though not in the hierarchy of the pantheon. Min was the rain god who aided the growth of grain and was thus also a fertility deity. During the later times, the Egyptians also worshipped Tefnut, who was a goddess. The name of the goddess is derived from the root tef, which meant “to spit or to be moist” and nu, which stood for the “sky” or the “waters”. Together it implied the waters which came from the sky. This also implied that Tefnut was worshipped as the rain-goddess, though, there isn’t much clarity on her role as a rain-deity. However, she is again sort of an exception as all the deities of rain were male unlike Tefnut.

Tlaloc

According to the Aztec mythology, Tlaloc was the god of rains and fertility and was a dreaded god. Appeasing Tlaloc was a ritual by itself and he was so feared that people then thought that if he was displeased then he would send in the floods. The ritual was not just inhuman it was also quite cruel. As part of the ritual, children would be tortured and made to cry; their tears would be collected in a ceremonial bowl and offered to the goggle-eyed and fanged Tlaloc before drowning the victims in an elaborate sacrificial ritual. All this, to appease the god who was often depicted as carrying thunderbolts and jars in which he kept the rain water.

The Mayans too had a god of rains and lightening, by the name of Chac. Chac besides being a rain god was also a fertility deity like many above as rains were very closely linked to fertility.

According to the Nordic Mythology, Thor was the god of thunderstorms and used to create thunder with his magical hammer, but they had a separate god in Freyr as their god of rains as well as fertility.

According to the Red Indian native tribe Navajo, Tonenili who was also known as the ‘water sprinkler’ was the Navaho god of water and was responsible for rain. He also caused thunder and lightning and considered to be mischievous. He was known to play tricks and would send in rain when least expected like on a clear day when people would step out for picnics. During drought there would be elaborate rituals to appease Tonenili and some aspects of the ritual would even be comical as per his nature of being a mischief-maker.

Yinglong

In the Chinese mythology, the dragons played a very important role and were considered to be very powerful and divine. Dragons were also known to be the controllers of all waters and were often very supportive of the mythical heroes. According to their mythology, dragons were capable of breathing out clouds and according to them that’s how the clouds formed. One such dragon was Yinglong (the Responding Dragon) who was considered to be the god of rain, and prayers were offered to Yinglong for receiving rains. The dragon sleeps all of winter and wakes up during the rainy season and thunders down as rain.

The influence of the Chinese dragons can be seen in Japanese mythology, where too the dragons were seen as water deities who were associated with rains and were often depicted as large serpentine creatures with clawed feet. In the Shinto religion, these dragons are associated with agricultural rituals and prayers for rain and the success of the fisher-folk.

As I mentioned earlier, not all associations of rains is with romance and getting cozy. Rains affect livelihood and had far larger and long-lasting implications for our ancestors and that can be seen in the depiction of rain-gods and in some rituals of the past. Sometimes the rituals seem inhuman, but let us not forget the times and the cultural milieu of the times and above all the faith-system, which is the most important aspect of every culture.

If any of you are wondering how come I have not spoken about the Hindu rain-god Lord Indra, then the reason is that Lord Indra is a subject of a larger discussion, which I intend to take up next time. Lord Indra is both a subject of heroism during the Vedic times and ridicule in the Puranas, and I intend to discuss the heroic aspects of Indra along with his association with Rain.

Lord Indra – next time. Keep reading and returning to this Blog!

Rain Gods - Introduction

With the recent spells of rains announcing the arrival of monsoon the country is celebrating the much awaited and the most celebrated season of rains. The rainy season is a season of love and romance and poets have made the most of this season by singing paeans on this season. Romance blooms and love is in the air. But monsoon is not all about romance and getting wet in the rains. From time immemorial it is all about livelihood more so in an agrarian society which was probably the first occupation of mankind.

For people all around the world, rains was a much needed season and also the most dreaded one. Not receiving rains would ‘burn’ their livelihood just as too much of it would ‘drown’ the same. This led to the ‘birth’ of the often-dreaded Rain gods. Let us know more of the Rain gods from across the world.

Pictoral representation of the separation of Rangi & Papa

But even before there were gods and goddesses, the primeval man had his own interpretation of nature. A very interesting myth of the Maoris (the early inhabitants of New Zealand) explains this natural phenomenon in this manner. At the beginning, the primeval set of parents were Ranginui, the Sky God, and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother (Rangi and Papa in short), but both were in close embrace. Gods were born out of this confluence, but they did not have enough space to move around! One of the gods, Tane who was the forest-god, decided to stand up erect and pushed his head high in the chest of the sky father pushing the sky up above and thus separating the two from the eternal embrace. Tane till today stands erect as a tall tree of the forest and till date the two, i.e. the sky and earth cannot meet. Occasionally the father sheds tears of longing for his mate, the earth and these tears come in the form of rain on earth.

The Rig Veda has a similar myth which goes a step further to imply that the parents are brought together in a sexual embrace which results in rain, which is symbolically compared to the reproductive fluid of the sky-father. Some hymns even mention of this embrace as dev-vivaha or marriage of gods which results in rain.

Be it tears or reproductive fluids, these beautiful imagery tries to explain the phenomenon of rains so well at the times when there wasn’t any other way to explain this natural phenomenon. Water is a sign of life and the above imageries lend credence to the importance of rains for the primeval mankind.

Rains have been explained here from a very primeval form of thinking. In due course of time, specific deities came into existence as different cultures developed and people found the need to explain such phenomenon in greater details and needed more clarity. 

Next time we will discuss some of the rain gods from different cultures.

Keep reading…


The above picture is courtesy Tara Lemana
http://www.redbubble.com/people/taralemana/works/2763989-rangi-and-papa

No liquor if you are below 25 years of age …

ü  But you can get married and produce children – i.e. take decisions on your family and issues related to the national population

ü  But you can vote – i.e. take decision as to who should run the government for the next five years (who when elected could tell you not to drink the same booze which they distributed to get where they are!)

ü  But you can start working and contributing to the national exchequer and also pay Income Tax to the same government who tells you to pay taxes but consume what they tell you to

Isn’t this ironic? The government the young adult elects is now telling him/her what to drink when – mild beer after 21, vodka, rum and whisky after 25! Isn’t this a classic case of moral policing of the medieval kind or is it the initial stage of moral talibanisation?

All this in the name of de-addiction policy!

Shouldn’t the great thinkers come up with a policy on –

·         De-addiction of corruption for the Politicians and Bureaucrats?

·         De-addiction of strikes for the governmental organization Air India?

·         De-addiction for the pathetic governance for the Government?

·         De-addiction of non-performance by the Municipal corporations?

Shouldn’t the great thinkers focus on shutting down the country-liquor production units? Shouldn’t they focus on shutting down bars and gutka shops near schools and educational institutes?  Shouldn’t they focus on educating the youth regarding the ills of drinking instead of banning the same?

With so much to do, what a way to waste the tax-payers (some of them being young adults) time and money?

Finally, may we ask the great thinkers of modern India, as to at what age did they start drinking?

Think of the plight of Mr. Mallya Jr. – liquor liquor everywhere, can’t take a sip! He can produce liquor, but can’t sip it for another year or so!!!

Importance of Asking Questions - Part 2

Yesterday, we discussed the subject matter with reference from Mahabharata. Today in the second and the concluding part, we will discuss the same subject with some other examples.

Let us take another example from Ramayan. When Lakshaman was lying wounded, Hanuman was entrusted with the task of getting sanjivani buti from the forests of the Himalayan range. Since Hanuman was not used to asking questions and that too in front of Ram, he left without asking for more details. If only he had asked questions about the kind of herb required, he wouldn’t have to bring the whole mountain for a small herb! But then some people never question, or rather, never ask questions! If only he had, the mountain eco-system would have been spared the massive displacement, besides saving much of his strength and energy for future!

From the Celtic Mythology, one of the most famous myths is that of Fisher King and the story of Sir Perceval. According to this myth, like all the Knights of King Arthur, Sir Perceval too was looking for the Holy Grail. During one such adventure of his, Perceval came across a castle in a strangely ruined land. Inside he sees an old man, who is ill, but invites Perceval to spend the night. The old man gives Perceval a special sword but says little else. After dinner, Perceval is witness to strange sights. A young man enters the hall with a white spear with a drop of blood on its tip. Then follow two more young men carrying candle holders. Finally enters a beautiful woman carrying a golden cup. Perceval is curious to know what was going on, but was too tongue-tied for the fear of offending his old host. The next morning Perceval wakes up to an empty castle. There was nothing and nobody. Perceval later learns during his journey that the blood on the tip of the spear was that of Jesus and the golden cup was the Holy Grail itself! If only he had asked, the old man would have been cured, who was Fisher King himself and the entire strange land could have been cured of a strange illness. Again, a classic example of not asking a question which could have solved his quest.

Finally, an example of not asking the right question; According to Greek mythology, Tithonus, the Prince of Troy was in love with the goddess Eos. Eos requested Zeus to bestow Tithonus immortality, but she forgot to ask for eternal youth for Tithonus. Thus in due course of time, Tithonus grew older and older till he shrivelled to nothing more than a voice. According to some, he turned into a cicada, which renews its skin every year! A case of asking not asking the right question.

In life we come across many a situation when we ought to have asked a question or better still, the right question. Never hesitate in asking a question as it is only a quest which leads you to solution. If Lord Buddha had not asked the basic question of what is life, would he have attained Enlightenment and left an entire world of knowledge and righteousness? If Sir Isaac Newton had not asked as to why the apple fell down, would he have discovered gravity? If Ferdinand Magellan, had not asked the basic question of what was beyond the horizon, would he have discovered that the earth was round contrary to the then prevailing notion of it being flat? All the questions asked were very simple and according to the times, extremely ‘fundamental’. But see what the rather fundamental and redundant questions have given the world.

To conclude, never shy from asking a question. I read an interesting quote which was something like this – a person is a fool for a few minutes for asking a question, but he is a fool for life for not asking a question. On a lighter note, imagine what would happen to the likes of Google, and other search engines, if we don’t have questions?

Importance of Asking Questions - Part 1

How many times have we felt – If only I had asked? The common thing about men not asking for directions and landing into trouble, children not asking questions in the class leading to not-understanding problems, and women waiting for men to ‘pop’ the question, and Executives not asking during official briefings, is all so very well-known with all the due complications and trouble.

Just what happens if one doesn’t ask questions? Besides remaining ignorant, it could also lead to a lot of trouble. Mythology is witness to this. Let us see how the course of mythical destiny might have changed, if only basic questions were asked.

The most classical case that comes to mind is from the epic Mahabharata. Have you ever wondered, what would have happened if only Kunti had asked – “What have you brought?” when her sons told her – “Look Mother, what we got”, while referring to Draupadi? Wouldn’t Mahabharata have been slightly (or a lot?) different if she had asked the basic question instead of saying “Share amongst yourselves, whatever you brothers have got”? Many might opine that probably the Pandavas might not have been as united as they were, or Arjuna might not have got to marry other ladies, which were the much-needed political alliances. Or just about nothing much would have happened! But definitely, a very sticky issue could have been avoided and Draupadi would have been spared many a humiliation which we get to see in the course of the epic.

Let us take another example from the same epic, and that is the case of Shahadev. It is said that Sahadev knew everything, including the outcome of the dice game. But he could not say anything without being asked! It is said that when Sahadev came to know about his divine capability, he rushed to tell everybody about it. On the way he met a stranger who advised him against doing that if he wanted God on his side. He further advised him that he should answer only when asked something, and not before. Some say, that Sahadev knew that the stranger was none other than Lord Krishna who was God himself, and so he did not go against the advice. Some versions say that he was warned that if he said anything without being asked, then his head would split into two. Sahadev went on to author many of the occult sciences and is also considered to be a great astrologer, who knew it all.   During the entire Mahabharata, nobody ever asked him his opinion on anything, and thus having known everything, including the outcome of every event, he could not help. Wouldn’t the outcome of the epic be a lot different if only someone had asked him some basic questions? Probably, Yudhishtir would not have played dice and lost everything, or even if he played, Sahadev could have warned Yudhishtir about Shakuni’s evil designs. But then nobody asked him!

Tomorrow we will conclude this article with a few more examples......