Shakti: Power and Femininity in Art

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Shakti: Power and Femininity in Indian Art

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Long ago, there reigned a mighty king named Ila. Once while

hunting, he came upon a grove where Shiva was making love with

Parvati, and surprise of surprises, Shiva had taken the form of a

woman to please her. Everything in the woods, even the trees had

become female, and as he approached even King Ila himself was

transformed into a woman! Shiva laughed out aloud and told him to

ask for any boon except that of masculinity.

 

Thus says the Shaktisangama Tantra:

 

Woman is the creator of the universe,

the universe is her form;

woman is the foundation of the world,

she is the true form of the body.

 

In woman is the form of all things,

of all that lives and moves in the world.

There is no jewel rarer than woman,

no condition superior to that of a woman.

 

No wonder even the most powerful of gods, like Shiva above, crave

to enter the feminine form, hoping to acquire at least some of

her glorious power.

 

According to the Devi-Mahatmya:

 

By you this universe is borne,

By you this world is created,

O Devi, by you it is protected.

 

 

The earliest term applied to the divine feminine, which still

retains its popular usage, is Shakti. The word Shakti is used in

a bewildering variety of ways ranging from its use as a way of

signifying the ultimate primordial creative power, to expressing

the capacity or power of words to convey meaning. Etymologically

it is derived from the root 'shak,' meaning potency or the

potential to produce, an assertion of Her inherent creative

aptitude.

 

All interpretations of the word 'shakti' hold common one

parameter, namely power. Specifically, Shakti means power, force

and feminine energy. She represents the fundamental creative

instinct underlying the cosmos, and is the energizing force of

all divinity, of every being and every thing. Devotees believe

the whole universe to be a manifestation of Shakti, who is also

known by her general name Devi, from the Sanskrit root 'div'

which means to shine.

 

This feminine power has been given expression in a multitude of

female figures as also in abstract representations, both in

sculpture and painting.

 

Primarily, Shakti is depicted in art as one of the following

icons:

 

1). The Yoni (Female Generative Organ)

 

2). An Independent Goddess

 

3). The Goddess and God Together as a Couple

 

 

The Yoni:

 

In a tragic turn of events, Sati, the wife of Shiva ended her

life by jumping into flames. She had felt slighted at the

insufficient honor accorded to her husband at a ritual sacrifice

performed by her father.

 

Shiva became inconsolable following her death. He retrieved her

charred body from the fires, carried her on his back, and

wandered across the three worlds performing a mad dance of

seething destruction.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/pc83.jpg

 

Fearful that Shiva in his insatiable yearning may destroy the

entire manifested existence, Vishnu in his role as the preserver

of the world cut up Sati's body piece by piece to relieve Shiva's

burden. Her body was divided into a total of fifty-one fragments.

At each of the fifty-one spots where these pieces fell, a

pilgrimage center (Shakti-pitha) came into existence.

 

The most important and significant of these sacred sites remains

the place where fell Sati's organ of generation. This place is

today identified as Kamakhya in Assam, and a temple was built on

the hilltop to mark the spot. It contains no image of the

goddess, but in the depths of the shrine there is a yoni (vulva)

shaped cleft in the rock, adored as the one belonging to Sati

herself. A natural spring within the cave keeps the cleft moist.

During July-August after the first burst of the monsoon, a great

ceremony called Ambuvachi takes place. At this time of the year,

the water runs red with iron oxide, and the ritual drinking of

this elixir is symbolic of partaking the menstrual fluid of the

Devi.

 

In the branch of Tantra known as Shaktism, the menstrual taboo is

broken down and the menstrual fluid is regarded as sacred and

becomes the object of veneration. A menstruating woman is placed

in a special category during ritual practice. Her energy at this

time is said to be different in quality, and the rhythm that

occurs in her body appears to be related in a mysterious way to

the processes of nature. In the chakra-puja of the left-hand

Tantriks, menstrual fluid may be taken as a ritual drink along

with wine, and a special homage is paid to the yoni, touching it

with one's lips and anointing it with sandalwood paste. During

the whole proceeding, the participant continues to offer libation

from a yoni-shaped ritual vessel called the kusi.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/kusi.jpg

 

Both in physical appearance and metaphysically, the yoni is akin

to the lotus flower. Both represent the perfection of beauty and

symmetry. The yoni is likened to the lotus in the early stage of

its opening and also in its fully open form. In addition, the

lotus remains unaffected by the surface of the water where it

rests, and its petals also are not soiled by the mud they spring

from. Similarly, the yoni too remains perpetually pure and is not

soiled by any action. The Tantric Buddhist Goddess Vajrayogini

promises her approval and blessings to the man who worships her

in this way:

 

'Aho! I will bestow supreme success

On one who ritually worships my lotus,

which is the bearer of all bliss.'

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zo10.jpg

 

The yoni or female generative organ is thus venerated for its

obvious properties of fertility and growth. In addition it is

believed to be the seat of concentrated energy (tejas) which

gives rise to all creation. In fact the English word for yoni,

'vulva,' has a root meaning signifying a revolving or circular

motion, and indeed in occultism the vulva is conceived of as a

talismanic vortex, a whirling life force that concentrates a

fiery essence.

 

 

The Independent Image of the Goddess

 

In the Ramayana when Rama the virtuous prince, set out to fight

Ravana the mighty demon, he first invoked the goddess Durga. The

villain was eventually killed on the final day of the gruesome

battle, which lasted for ten days.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/dc85.jpg

 

In a continuing, unbroken tradition, this occasion is still

celebrated as Durga Puja. The festivities span nine days,

culminating on the tenth day in one of the biggest festivals of

India, namely Vijaya Dashmi, literally translated as the Tenth

Day of Victory. Significantly, in many parts this is an occasion

to celebrate military might and a symbolic worship of weapons is

still common. What greater paean can be sung to the power and

glory of the Goddess? It is the men who go out to war, but before

doing so they must invoke Shakti, deified as the Goddess Durga.

 

The word Durga is made up of 'Dur,' which means difficult, and

'ga,' meaning go against. Thus Durga is the triumphant aspect of

Shakti, which brooks no opposition.

 

In her iconographic representations too, Durga is invariably

shown adorned with weapons, poised for battle.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/op44.jpg

 

In fact many of the narrative depictions represent her battling a

hideous buffalo-demon, though, notwithstanding the essentially

gruesome composition, the goddess herself is always shown of a

pleasant and charming countenance, a picture of supreme beauty.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/bd46.jpg

 

According to Shankaracharya:

 

Who art thou, O Fairest One! Auspicious One!

You whose hands hold both: delight and pain?

Both: the shade of death and the elixir of immortality,

Are thy grace, O Mother!

 

The goddess embodies within herself both the creative and

destructive principles which are but one and the same.

While Durga is the most potent icon to express the aggressive and

destructive behavior of Shakti, Lakshmi is the quintessential

goddess who proclaims her creative aspect. Without exception

Lakshmi is depicted in art as full-breasted (symbolizing her

powers of nourishment), and wide-hipped (signifying her fertile,

child-bearing capabilities).

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zj62.jpg

 

It is also for this reason that she is almost always shown in

association with the lotus, which forms one of her most important

iconographic attributes.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/pc74.jpg

 

The image of the individual goddess stresses that her divine

power is not dependent on her relation to a husband-god, rather

that she bears her identity through her own right and might. An

apt epithet of Shakti in this context is 'Svatantrya,' meaning

independence or freedom, signifying that her existence does not

depend on anything extraneous to herself.

 

 

The Goddess and the God

 

In many instances, the goddess is shown coupled with the god, as

wife and husband. Like all goddess imagery this too has

metaphorical import. Consider for example the most evocative of

such depictions: the great goddess Kali dancing over the corpse

of her husband Shiva.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/gs09.jpg

 

This is a statement of the superiority of feminine divinity, and

indeed Shiva, addressing the goddess in an ancient text says: 'I,

the Lord of all, am a corpse without you,' and Krishna confesses

to Radha: 'Without you I am lifeless.' The intention here is not

to portray the goddess as a slayer of men but as the power

(Shakti) of Shiva, who without her is inert like a corpse.

 

The Shiva corpse may in fact be interpreted as representing the

Tantric adept performing one of his yoga exercises, the

'shavasana,' or posture of the corpse,' in which the yogi lies on

his back utterly relaxed in mind and body. All his energies are

abandoned and symbolically externalized in the figure of the

Shakti dancing above him. The purport being that detached from

his feminine side, the yogi is incomplete and as good as dead.

This belief is expressed in the words: 'shivah shakti vihinah

shavah' 'Shiva deprived of Shakti is a corpse (shava).' This

statement recurs in most of the Tantras in one form or another.

 

To regain his Shakti and return from his trance like state, the

power of the goddess must repossess and complete him. This

metaphysical process of union is depicted graphically through the

act of sexual intercourse. But it is no regular act of making

love. Here it is the woman who rides the male. In this inverted

sexual position, the female straddles the male and is the prime

mover and active power. This reverse act of lovemaking is known

in Sanskrit as viparita-rati.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/ht18.jpg

 

It signifies the feminine urge to create unity from duality and

its constant aspiration to unite with the male principle. This is

emphasized in the Gandharva Tantra where it is written that 'She

who is the sun, moon, and fire, lays down the purusha (male) and

enjoys him from above.' She (Shakti) is the active lover of a

quiescent Shiva and her union with him is critical for him to be

able to assert his divinity and powers. The very first verse of

the Tantric text Saundaryalahari states: 'If Shiva is united with

his Shakti he is able to exert his powers as a Lord; if not, the

god has not even the strength to move.' Indeed, she is the

potency that dwells in each of the male gods and the spark that

arouses them to action.

 

In fact She is His Power. If we accept the ancient Hindu precept

that divinity resides in each individual, we realize that Shakti

is the inherent power that lies in each of us. This is

independent of the gender of the individual in question.

 

Another popular image which shows the goddess as Shakti united

with her god is the Shiva linga. This is a composite icon which

shows a yoni and a linga (male generative organ), conjoined

together.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zc74.jpg

 

Though it is commonly believed that the Shiva-linga shows the

male organ penetrating the female, an actual physical appraisal

points to a contrary direction.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zl87.jpg

 

The yoni forms a pedestal and the abstract geometrical shape of

the urdhvalinga (erect phallus) rises out of the yoni (womb). The

linga does not enter the yoni (as is popularly believed), rather

it emerges from the yoni. According to scholar Stella Kramrisch,

this fundamental relationship of linga and yoni has been obscured

by patriarchal interpretations. Nevertheless, the ever-creative

yoni does assert itself, for the goddess as Shakti is the

essential creative matrix, underlying all that which exists.

 

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References and Further Reading:

 

Elgood, Heather. Hinduism and the Religious Arts: London, 1999.

 

Maxwell, T.S. The Gods of Asia (Image, Text, and Meaning): New

Delhi, 1997.

 

Mookerjee, Ajit. Kali (The Feminine Force): London, 1995.

 

Shaw, Miranda. Passionate Enlightenment (Women in Tantric

Buddhism): New Delhi, 1998.

 

Subramanian, V.K. Saundaryalahari of Shankracharya: Delhi, 2001.

 

Tigunait, Pandit Rajmani. Sakti The Power in Tantra:

Pennsylvania, 1998.

 

Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and

Civilization: Delhi, 1990.

 

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For the illustrations along with the text, the

HTML version of the article can be seen at:

http://www.exoticindia.com/article/shakti/

 

Nitin G.

http://www.exoticindia.com