Visarjan

Last week was Ganapati Puja which marked the beginning of the ten day festival in Maharshtra. Last year during the ten-day Ganapati festival I had covered different facets of Lord Ganapati in details and all the articles are available in the Archives, or you can go through them through the following link – http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html

Like every year, the festival ends with various days of Visarjan, or immersion of the idols. After all the fanfare and the festivities, the idols are taken out in a procession and immersed in the sea. This is a ritual that is followed all over the country with all the idols that have been venerated, worshipped, and people go for such immersions with much joy and celebrations. In some parts of Bengal however, many women are seen shedding tears during the immersion of the Goddess Durga after the ten day festival of Durga Puja in Bengal. But this is because Goddess Durga arrives in Bengal as a daughter and the leaving of the daughter is always sad.

This leads to the basic question, why are idols immersed in water (river or sea)?

The arrival of any deity on such festivals is like the arrival of a new being. The entire process of the ceremony from the prana-prathishta to bhog to visarjan is akin to the human circle of life – birth, maturity and death. In Hinduism, death is not the end of the being, but is the beginning of another journey. Also, since gods don’t die, they just depart, immersion processions of idols become a cause for celebrations.  Also for mortals, after death, the ashes are immersed in the water, depicting the return to the basic elements. A visarjan is going back to where one came from. If we leave the modern ingredients (like plaster of paris, plastics, synthetics, etc.), the traditionally idols were made of clay. After visarjan, the clay idols are returned back to where they came from, thus maintaining an ecological balance. (Our forefathers, did not need lessons on ecology, and understood it just too well!)

To take the discussion of Ganapati’s visarjan further, as per the Puranas, Goddess Gauri (aka Parvati) made Ganapati out of clay, infused life in the clay model to make a son out of the same. During visarjan, the clay is just returned back to the mother earth, the universal symbol of Motherhood.

During the Vedic times, idols were made of clay and the immersion took place within one’s own wells and water-bodies. Since Ganapati is a harvest deity, immersing the idols in one’s own water-bodies ensured that the deity remained in one’s own land to ensure prosperity. But modern times do not provide for such rituals to sustain and thus people immerse in rivers and seas.

Many would here ask, then what happens to the idols which are made of metal and installed in the temples. The entire process of installations and the objective of such idols is different from that of the clay idols that are for temporary worship. Also, the deities need regular rituals if they are to be retained which is not possible at households and mandals. Temples can ensure the regularity of rituals and are thus made of materials with a greater permanency like metals, stones, marbles, etc.

Finally, on a lighter note, guests are welcome only when they stay for a limited period of time…..and so it is with gods and goddesses also! As a child, once I asked my mother – what is the big deal of offering prasad, i.e. offerings, to gods when they don’t eat? The answer I got was – if gods started eating all that people offered them, then people would stop offering to gods too! I guess the same is with the arrival and sending off of gods too!

The Third Sex - In other Mythologies

Reference to gods or goddesses like that of Bahucharaji is not very common to find in the other mythologies. But there are two different aspects to be observed in this case. One aspect is that of Bahucharaji as the universal mother goddess and the other is the aspect of Bahucharaji as the goddess of the third sex/trasvestites.

Similarity with Mother Goddess in other mythologies abounds and is not new to students of mythologies. One can compare Bahucharaji with any prime Goddesses of other mythologies.

What is of interest is parallels with Bahucharaji as the goddess of the transvestites. What does not exist is an exact replica or in the likeness of the goddess herself. However, there does exist references of gods or goddesses who are themselves of transgendered nature. References to ‘sex-less’, hermaphrodite, or castrated gods does exist in different mythologies, and some myths can get as gory as gory can be!

We will not get into details of all of them, but will refer to some of them by name and a brief description of them.

Issue of Male and Female – Hermaphrodite

In the earlier cultures some sort of a reproductive deformity or abnormality was seen as a state of blessedness. In the hunter-gatherer societies of the Neolithic era, such deformities were respected and were allowed to choose the sex that they wanted to play roles in and were considered to be a good omen. They were considered to be advocates of the gods and thus believed that such people were good.

In Babylonian culture such abnormalities were seen as gods way of reducing the population on earth, the basic reason of the flood, i.e the Flood of the Atrahasis, and thus were respected and never despised or looked down upon.

The Egyptians used the gods to symbolize the various combinations of gender and sex. According to their creation story, the first god, that was both male and female was Atum, which means asexual reproduction is divided in two, Shu and Tefnut, who in turn gave rise to Geb and Nut, Earth & Sky.

The Phoenicians worshiped the goddess Atargatis, who was hermaphrodite, whose priestesses, the kelabim, men were born, but had assumed a feminine role. The goddess, also known as Astarte, was transformed by Christianity in the devil Astaroth.

In classical mythology transsexual influence is evident in the description of the goddess Venus Castina as the goddess who attends and meets the aspirations of women's souls are in male bodies.

Some native American tribes had (and still do) the concept of the “two-spirited” person. These were considered both male and female. The female side was from the earth and the male side was of the spiritual world. Either way, both the male and female sides of a person are honoured and seen as both necessary for a person to be whole. In many cultures the “two-spirited person” is often valued as a shaman, a person who can walk in both the earthly world and the spiritual world. They are the “gatekeepers” to help people cross over to the spiritual world and back again to earthly, practical living.

Besides the above, there exist some very direct references of such Gods who we will describe in brief:

Hermaphroditos

In Greek Mythology, Hermaphroditos was the god of hermaphrodites and of effeminate men. He was numbered amongst the winged love-gods known as Erotes. Hermaphroditos was a son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the gods of male and female sexuality.

Some say he was once a handsome youth who attracted the love of a Naiad nymph named Salmakis. She prayed to be united with him forever and a god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one. At the same time her spring acquired the property of making men who bathed in its waters soft and effeminate.

In Greek vase painting Hermaphroditos was depicted as a winged youth with male and female attributes: usually female thighs, breasts, and style of hair, and male genitalia.

This brings us the next step in this subject, the homosexuals. Is there a reference of homosexual relationship in mythology? Keep reading to find answers to this question.

The Third Sex - 3

A number of myths abound in the region of Becharaji, which is associated with the eunuchs; prominent among them are that of the myths of Arjuna and Sikhandi of Mahabharata. Let us go through them briefly.

                                          

The Myth of Arjuna

After the 12 years of exile, as per the rule, the Pandavas and their wife, Draupadi had to spend an additional year in exile but incognito without detection. At this time, a long pending curse on Arjuna came of help. Arjuna in an earlier episode in Mahabharata was cursed for refusing the amorous advances of by Urvashi. She had cursed him to become a ‘kliba’, one of the third sex. For the thirteenth year, this was the best disguise for Arjuna.

It is said that before the Pandavas proceeded towards the kingdom of Virata, Arjuna is supposed to have visited Bahurcharaji. It is here that he hides his weapons and becomes what is known as a ‘Brihannala’, a professional dancer and musician trained by “gandharvas” or celestial beings. He transforms himself into a ‘kliba’ at Bahucharaji, before proceeding for the Kingdom of Virata. Before he left for Virata’s kingdom, Arujuna is supposed to have hidden his weapons in a thorny tree called the Sami tree in nearby Dedana village. As a part of the ritual, on every Dasherra day this tree is worshipped, and the ritual is known as ‘Sami-pujan’. It is said that this tree remains green all-round the year and does not either increase or decrease in its size.

Virata was a kingdom ruled by the Matsya king by the name Virata. Its capital was Virata Nagari, modern Bairat in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan.

The Myth of Sikhandi

An artist's impression of Sikhandi

The story of Sikhandi is well known and we will not delve in the myth which binds together some of the main characters of Mahabharata, viz. Bhishmapitamah, Princess Amba, King Salya, etc. What is of significance here is that Shikhandi was the son of King Drupad and was Princess Amba in his previous birth.

As per the local lore, Sikhandi was not a man in the sense of having masculinity. So Sikhandi is supposed to be moving around in despair to attain masculinity to take part in the famous war of Kurukshetra, as he had to fulfil his wow of killing Bhishma. When after all the efforts failed, he was dejected and came to Bahucharaji. The lore goes on to say that in this region stayed a Yaksha by the name of Mangal. When the Yaksha saw Sikhandi, who was miserable and crying and pitiful, he asked her what was wrong. Sikhandi told him his story and how it was a desire to be a man and avenge the insult heaped onto him from his previous birth.

Hearing all this, the Yaksha took pity on Sikhandi and decided to trade genders with Sikhandi, till he achieves his imminent objective. The lore goes on with more twists and turns and adding to the already complicated issue, which we will omit here.

It is said that from that day onwards, this place gets its importance of a place where lost masculinity can be gained.

Though there is no empirical evidence to prove the veracity of either of the above mentioned episodes, but the popular local belief and the presence of the eunuchs in the region is enough to strengthen the belief system. Also the proximity of Virata and Panchala from Gujarat lends some credence to the association in some form or the other.

The fact that Lord Krishna had such an influence in the region and a follower of his in Arjun makes the myth highly believable for the local populace. It also gains currency in the fact that Mahabharata is an epic of India and the locale had a share of prominence in the great epic!

Third Sex - Part 2

This myth is considered to be the main myth associated with the goddess Bahucharaji and the temple premises bears testimony to such belief-system.

A King named Raja Vajsingh was from Kalri village and ruled 108 villages of Chuwala, Gujarat. He was married to a princess Vagheli of Vijapur taluka’s  Vasai village.  The king had other wives too, but unfortunately was not blessed with a child. When this princess conceived and a child was born in the middle of the night it was a girl child. The queen decided to keep this a secret and conveyed to the king through her maid that the queen had delivered a boy.

The queen always dressed the child, named Tejpal, in male costumes and took all the ladies around in confidence and sustained this secret till the child was of a marriageable age. Soon Tejpal was engaged to the princess of the Chawada, of the kingdom of Patan and were married.

Soon the princess came to know the much kept secret of Tejpal not being a man that all thought him to be. The princess was very unhappy and returned to her mother’s home, but the mother realised something was amiss. On enquiring she told her mother the truth and the news reached the king.

The king decided to find out the truth for himself and sent an invitation to Tejpal along with the others in the family, to visit them for “fun and food” as mentioned in the invitation.

Based on this invitation, 400 people all dressed up in ornaments and finery came to Patan along with Tejpal. When the food was being laid the king of Patan suggested that Tejpal took a bath before dining and since he was the son-in-law, he would organise a royal bath for him with a rubbing by his choicest of men. Tejpal was worried at the thought of a bath in the presence of men and when he was forcibly being taken for a bath, he removed his sword and ran away on a red mare.  All present were surprised at this behaviour of Tejpal.

Tejpal, fled out of the kingdom of Patan and rode off on his mare to a dense forest on the outskirts of Patan. Unknown to Tejpal, a bitch had followed him from the kingdom and when they reached the middle of the forest (referred to as Boruvan) it was evening. Tejpal was very tired and thirsty and stopped near a late (this lake is supposed to have been in the present day location of Mansarovar, near the temple premises). The bitch that was following them jumped into the lake to quench its thirst and when the bitch came out it had turned into a dog.

A Painting in the temple premises depicting the entire myth

Tejpal saw this and was surprised and to check this once again he sent his mare in the water first and soon it came out as a horse. Tejpal then took off her clothes and jumped into the lake and when she came out all signs of being female had disappeared and he had got a moustache! Tejpal was truly a man now!

Tejpal spent the night there and next day morning left the place after he had made a mark on a tree (now known as the famous Varakhdi Tree in the temple premises, as seen in the temple premises). The King of Patan, was well informed about the blessings of Ma Bhauraji but did have doubts if his son-in-law had actually turned into a man. It is said that Bahucharaji appeared in his dream and confirmed the same.

Later, along with his wife and in-laws, Tejpal, went to the place where he had made a mark on the Varakhdi tree, and is supposed to have constructed a temple and is supposed to have installed an idol in the honour of Bahucharaji. This Varakhdi tree today is a major place of reverence in the temple premises.

Needless to say that, this legend goes on to add credence to the theory of Bahucharaji’s association with those who lack masculinity. She is thus referred to as “purushattan denari”, giver of masculinity, in local hymns and bhajans.

Next time we will see references of eunuch's in epics and thier associations with Bahucharaji - a classic case of a common assiciation with myths that are well known.

The Third Sex - Part 1

Bahucharaji Mataji at Bahucharaji is one of the most sacred and famous Shaktipeeths in Gujarat. Bahucharaji or Becharaji as its better known is located in Bahucharaji taluka of Mehsana district in North Gujarat.

Goddess Bahucharaji is considered to be the primal deity of the Eunuch community of India. It is said that eunuchs from both the Hindu and Muslim communities attend the fairs and functions when held and some of the ceremonies and rituals of their communities are held at Bahucharaji.

Myths Associated with the Goddess

According to one of the folklores, Bahuchara was given in marriage to a prince who never spent time with her. Instead, he would go to the jungle every night on his white horse.

One night Bahuchara decided to follow her husband and find out why he never came to her. To keep up with his riding pace, she took a rooster and followed her husband into the jungle. There she discovered that her husband would change into a women’s dress and spent the whole night in the jungle behaving like a woman.

Bahuchara confronted him by asking him that if he was not interested in women then why did he marry her? To this the prince begged her forgiveness and said his parents had forced him into marriage so that he could father children.

Bahuchara declared that she would forgive him if he and like him worshipped her as a goddess, dressed as a woman. From that day onwards all such people worshipped Bahucharaji to seek redemption from this biological anomaly in the next lives.

In yet another folklore Bahucharaji was a daughter of one Bapal Detha of the Charan community. She and her sister were on journey with a caravan when a marauder named Bapiya attacked their caravan. It was common practice in the Charan’s that if overpowered by their enemies, not to surrender but to kill themselves. Shedding the blood of a Charan was considered a heinous sin. When Bapiya attacked the caravan, Bahuchara and her sister killed themselves by cutting off their breasts. Legend says that Bapiya was cursed and became impotent. The curse was lifted only when he worshiped Bahuchara Mata by dressing and acting like woman.

All these folklores go on to bring out the significance of the deity to the community of eunuchs or the transgendered in India. The significance to the community is such that even the Muslim eunuchs carry a certain interreligious respect for the deity and participate in the celebrations and certain functions held at Bahucharaji.

In Gujarat, the eunuchs are referred to as ‘pavaiya’s’ (a decent word) instead of the derogatory ‘hijda’ in the local language as is prevalent all over the country. They are also colloquially referred to as ‘masi’ which also stands for a maternal aunt.

                                                           

They are highly respected in and around the town of Becharaji, and blessings are sought of them for the well-being and the welfare of people. Their blessings are supposed to be very beneficial, but then so are their curses, if one antagonises them.                       

During my visit to the town, after recounting the significance of the goddess to their community, Saroja Masi (in the pic) handed over to us a blessed coin which was supposed to be very auspicious. They however make a living out of the money that they get by blessing people for getting their wishes fulfilled.

                                                                                          

It is said that since they have not received fulfilment of their primary urge of being of one gender, they have been empowered by the gods to grant wishes to the people of clear gender. They are blessed in a sense. However contradictory this sounds, this is a very important part of the belief system, and the eunuchs are always found singing and dancing at important events in Gujarat like that of marriages and most important at the birth of children and this is considered auspicious. The Gujarati’s do not shy away from seeking their blessings as shown above, rather they have a very strong faith in their blessings.

Before we move on to the other comparative aspects of this subject, mythical references of such instances of third sex in our mythology, I will recount one more very important myth related to Bahucharaji, in the next article in this series of “The Third Sex”. Keep reading.