Nepal

Hinduism

Hinduism’s 5,000 years of continuous development is rivalled only by the culture of China. It is a vast and complex collection of cults and philoso­phies, encompassing mother goddesses, powerful deities, cultural heroes, sacred trees, plants, stones, animals - even monotheism.

Hinduism results from the blending of various cultures, primarily the Aryan-speaking settlers from the Caucasian steppes who arrived in India around 1700 BC to mingle with indigenous Dravidian and Indus Valley civilizations. The Aryans introduced a Vedic religion emphasizing social structure and priestly rites. Their economy was cattle-based, resulting in the veneration of the cow which subsists to this day. The indigenous cultures contributed the phallic symbolism still found in the Shiva cult, and the devotional emphasis which pervades Hindu worship. Added onto this blend is a veneration of elemental forces and a reverence for natural powers as expressed in deities of places. Within this framework, much latitude is left for individual worship, centred around the offerings or puja which forms an important and colourful part of daily life in Kathmandu.

Beneath its vast pantheon, Hinduism has a stable core of philosophical beliefs. The ultimate end of ethical and religious disciplines is moksha, liberation from limited individual ego-consciousness and the realization of one’s fundamental unity with the ultimate Reality beyond distinctions, called Brahman. Hindus work towards this goal in a series of lives, their circumstances determined by kanna, which rather than impersonal fate is simply the result of past actions. The doctrine of kanna has been criticized as fatalistic, but it is a two-way street: if past actions are responsible for present suffering, present actions are determining future conditions here and now.

Hinduism embraces an enormous pantheon of diverse gods and goddesses, each capable of appearing in many different manifesta­tions. All are essentially expressions or aspects of the same formless Absolute, the ultimate reality called Brahman. Ordinary people don’t spend much time pondering such esoteric issues; they simply worship their preferred deities, hoping thereby to improve their prospects in this life and future ones.

The dizzying profusion of deities is supported by a rich symbolism which infuses Nepali art. Multiple limbs and heads express their limitless power; the fiercer ones are depicted trampling on a helpless corpse, representing ignorance. Major deities are easily identified by their emblems, symbols and gestures. The simplest indicator is a deity’s particular vahana or animal mount, usually crouched in a subservient pose opposite the main temple entrance. Shiva is attended by the white bull Nandi, Vishnu the winged bird-man Garuda; Durga rides a lion, and portly Ganesh a rat.

The Hindu triad (Trimurti) of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva was in place by the fifth century BC. Brahma, the Creator, is largely ignored in both Nepal and India - some say because his work is already completed - but Shiva and Vishnu are worshipped everywhere.

Shiva is the Destroyer and more importantly the Transformer, epitomizing the forces of vitality, change and fierce energy. He is manifested in 108 principal forms, often as the majestic Mahesvara, the Great Lord, with his beautiful consort Parvati on his knee. As Yogesvara he is a dreadlocked, ash-smeared ascetic seated in meditation atop Mt Kailas in Tibet; as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, he whirls as a multi-limbed embodiment of universal energy.

Nepal’s special patron, Pashupati, the benevolent ‘Lord of the Beasts’, is a remnant of an early cult worshipping Shiva as a guardian deity of cattle, who by extension became the protector of all creation. Shiva is also the terrifying fanged Bhairab, who embodies the principal of movement, and is placated with offerings of blood and alcohol. His universal symbol, the linga, is rendered as a stone cylinder, abstract or graphically phallic. This ancient emblem adopted from a Dravidian cult, serves as a symbol of generative power. Shaivite devotees paint their foreheads with three vertical lines representing the trident, another token of his power.

Vishnu the Preserver is a gender, more humanized deity concerned with the benefit of mankind. As Narayan he is the epitome of goodness and mercy, depicted as a handsome standing man holding a conch shell, discus, club and lotus. Vishnu is said to have been manifested in ten principal incarnations (das avatara), rendering him capable of absorbing elements of various ancient popular cults. Flirtatious flute-playing Krishna, for example, was adopted from a more ancient Dravidian cult, while Rama is the stalwart hero of the epic Ramayana. Even the historical Buddha was embraced as an incarnation, though in this case it was essentially theoretical. Vishnu also appeared as various creatures who saved the world in one legend or another, including a fish, tortoise, boar, man-lion, and dwarf. Since the 13th century Nepal’s kings have proclaimed themselves Vishnu avatar, in a tradition still respected today by many Nepalis. Devotees of Vishnu paint three horizontal lines on their foreheads and offer no blood sacrifices: Vishnu’s cult is based on the practice of bhakti or devotion.

The most popular of all Hindu deities is the pot-bellied, elephant-headed Ganesh, the bringer of luck and remover of obstacles. Loyal, strong and benevolent, the apparently jovial Ganesh is not beyond mischief or even malevolence if not properly propitiated. Thus he is worshipped so that he does not create obstacles and indeed removes them. He is invoked at the start of activities and journeys by both Buddhists and Hindus, and is always worshipped before any other deity so that the ensuing devotions will be successful. Other names for him are Lambodara, Big Belly, and Ekadanta, One Tusk. He is usually shown wielding a rosary, axe and radish, with a bowl of ladoo (milk sweets) raised to his trunk. He may wear a girdle of serpents and dancer’s bells on his stumpy legs. Ganesh appears every­where, in shrines of fierce as well as placid deities. He is wor­shipped with tantric rites, offered blood sacrifices, sesame, radishes, boiled eggs and, of course, ladoo.

Hindu goddesses take on one of two aspects: compassionate and motherly, or fierce and cruel. Their ultimate source is Shakti, the embodiment of cosmic energy in female form which activates

all that the male evokes. Tamely beneficent goddesses include Shiva’s spouse Parvati; Brahma’s consort Saraswati, the goddess of speech and learning; and Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu and the goddess of wealth and abundance, who is worshipped in the festival of Tihar.

Nepalis are most impressed by the fierce female manifestations like Durga, the slayer of the buffalo demon, who is celebrated in the great festival of Dasain. Bhagwati is a generic name for all sorts of goddesses of this type. Black-faced Kali evokes devotion despite her terrifyingly ugly appearance, while Chamunda represents the power of death. Sitala, the dreaded smallpox goddess, has become unemployed with the worldwide eradication of the disease, but she is still worshipped as a protector of children. There are also collective manifestations of feminine power, like the Ashta Matrika or Fight Mothers, emanations of Durga, worshipped with blood sacrifice. Local Newari divinities like the mai and ajima, or terrible grandmother goddesses, are often embodied in unadorned rocks, reminders of their ancient origins as nature deities.

Taken from "Odyssey Illustrated Guide to Nepal", © 1995 The Guidebook Company Ltd., Hong Kong.