Hindu Gods in Western Central Asia

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Hindu Gods in Western Central Asia

Author: S.P. Gupta

Publication: www.asthabharati.org

April - June, 2002

URL: http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_Apr02/Hindu.htm

A Lesser Known Chapter of Indian History

 

It is common knowledge that Hinduism pervaded several countries of

South--east Asia which witnessed the rise and fall of several Hindu

dynasties. The rulers of these dynasties got constructed many temples

for Hindu gods and goddesses, Shiva and Vishnu including. Along with

Shiva and Vaishnava religions, Buddhism also penetrated the land

between Myanmar and Indonesia and flourished side by side as twin

brothers, sometimes in one and the same temple complex. The Chinese

or Eastern Central Asia is also known for Buddhist and the so-called

Hindu-Buddhist icons in Buddhist temples of Khotan, Dun-Huang, etc.

However, what is commonly less known is the fact that the five

Islamic Republics of the erstwhile Soviet or Western Central Asia,

Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, etc., did not witness the prevalence of

Hindu gods and goddesses, even though Buddhism had some presence

there. The purpose of writing this article is to show that this was

not the fact.

 

In the Central part of this region, there flourished the region

anciently called Sogdiana, covering largely the state of Uzbekistan.

There were centres where great works of art and architectures

flourished, viz. Varaksha, located near Bukhara, Afrasiab, the

ancient site of the capital city of Sogdiana, in the outskirts of

Samarkand, and Penjikent, an ancient small city, around 60 kms east

of Samarkand. Their flourishing period is bracketed between 5th

century A.D. and 9th century A.D. Belonging to 8th-9th centuries

bracket are also the works of great art reflecting Indian influence

in nearlby sites, such as the Shahiristan. Buddhism, of course,

flourished in a big way in Kigrhizia, Tadjikistan and southern

Uzbekistan where several monasteries have been excavated, dating back

to 1st century B.C.- A.D. bracket. It may be noted that the Arab

Muslims entered this area in the 8th century, often destroying non-

Muslim art and architectural remains.

 

The most important site for our study is Penjikent, a commercial town

with bazaars, covering an area of 13.5 hectares, in which around 130

houses and shops have been excavated. The structural remains of these

two to three storied houses, some of them very large, including

wooden posts and walls, have yielded many sculptural remains and

remains of painting. It is in them that we get the representations of

Hindu gods and goddesses as well as many decorative elements and

narrative scenes. It may, however, be noted that the Hindu gods and

goddesses depicted here were having some local overtones in the sense

that the form and iconography as well as their names had local

origins. In other words, as we see in south India, the north Indian

Kartikeya became Murgan but the iconography remained the same, in

Penjikent also the people who adopted the Hindu gods and goddesses

have them local names. This cross-fertilization of cultures is the

hallmark of Penjikent's Sogdiana civilization of the pre-Islamic

period. It may be noted that Hinduism alone was not the external

element which combined with the local pre-existing culture of

Sogdiana, in which a very popular regional religion

called 'Manichaism' was extant. In the north Iranian Culture,

Zoroastrian in particular was much more dominant. Nestorian

Christianity was also existing here. In fact Sogdiana was the melting

pot of cultures coming from various directions through the long-

distance trade mechanism.

 

Sogdiana witnessed Hinduism in the worship of five gods, viz. Brahma,

Indra, Mahadeva (Shiva), Narayana and Vaishravana. It may be noted

that out of these five, the first three Hindu gods were identified

with their own three gods. Brahma was identified with their own god

Zrvan , Indra with Adbad and Mahadeva with Veshparkar. The last two

had no local counterparts to impose upon the Hindu gods. The Sogdian

manuscripts have described them in iconographic terms, for example,

Brahma-Zrvan has been described as a god with a beard, Indra- Adbag

has been described as a god with a third eye, Mahadeva-Veshparkar has

been shown with three faces. As a matter of fact, some of the

pictures bore the names of these gods. V.A. Livshits deciphered such

a label as 'Veshpur(kar)' under a three-headed god.

 

At Penjikent a four -armed goddess riding a lion, sometimes found

near the image of Shiva is often depicted. It is possible that the

goddess meant here was Parvati although some scholars would like to

identify her with the Iranian goddess Nana depicted on some Kushana

Coins.

 

A mural of 8th century at Penjikent has three portable sacrificial

fire altars. Much of this picture is gone but what remains has at

least the picture of Mahadeva-Veshparkar. Thus, the two remaining

gods supporting two other altars could be Brahma-Zravan and Indra-

Adbag. As a matter fact, the name of the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahar

Mazda was totally avoided here, for whom Indra-Adbog was the

substitute.

 

Camel and ram have been used as a mount of some gods with Indian

features whose identity is very difficult to make. Dragon has also

been used as a mount but the identity of this multi-handed Indian

goddess from Temple II of Penjikent is not possible at this stage

knowledge.

 

The Russian scholars working here have been doing excellent work and

much of the archaeological remains of Penjikent can be seen in the

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.