Conception and Evolution of The Mother Goddess in India

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Conception and Evolution of The Mother Goddess in India

Article of the Month - June 2004

The Devi as Mother

Devi, the Divine Female, revered by all, as is

revered a mother, is better and universally known

as the Mother Goddess. Reverence for 'mother' is

inherent in any one born, a beast or a man, and

is the first pious impulse in a child, which shapes

the flesh to a human face. The first man, it seems,

while contemplating the idea of the unseen Divine,

looked at the face of the woman who bore him, the

protective, caring and loving mother, and discovered

in her the ultimate 'divinity' and the manifest

form of the unseen Divine. Devi, the Goddess, thus,

transformed as mother and is now since ages the

Mother Goddess. The Mother Goddess is India's supreme

Divinity. Myriad are her shrines and unending her

boons. Centuries long tradition of worship has

woven around her innumerable myths and the devotional

mind has discovered in her oceans of mercy. In

fury or in frown, she is always the same protective,

caring, loving Mother with a benign face and a

blessing hand.

Mother Goddess in the Indus Valley

Mother

Goddess in Terracotta

from the Indus Valley

This impulse seeking to combine the Divine with

mother seems to have been man's earliest spiritual

experience. At some point of time and perhaps for

an effective performance of worship rites, which

a believing or fearing mind necessitated, this

perception of mind was transformed into a material

medium. The Indus dweller further magnified it

when, for realizing his idea of the Supreme Divinity,

he elevated the Mother to the Mother Earth that

blessed him with grain, water, air, fire and afforded

for him a dwelling. The terracotta figurines of

the Mother Goddess, recovered in excavations at

various Indus sites (now mostly in Pakistan), are

not only the ever known earliest manifestations

of the Divine Power in any medium but are also

suggestive of a well evolved Mother Goddess worship

cult. As appears from the so far recovered figurines

of the Goddess datable from 3000 B. C. to the 1st

century B. C., this primitive manifestation of

the proto Mother in terracotta idols seems to have

continued to prevail till almost the beginning

of the Christian era.

Female Deity from Mohenjo-daro(Indus Valley) with Exposed Genitals

These figurines, being made

of clay and thus defining their kinship with the

earth, of which they are

cast, represented the Mother Goddess as Mother

Earth. As significant and suggestive is her iconography-

the large breasts filled with milk, uncovered genital

organs, beautifully dressed hair and a good number

of bangles on her wrists.

This is the iconic perception

of the Being who bears, feeds, takes all calamities

on her head and covers the born one under her

protective umbrella and, at the same time, defines

in the

modeling of her form an absolute aesthetic beauty.

As suggest her bangles, the traditional emblem

of marital state, besides a mother she is also

a consort. Thus, in her material manifestation,

She represents, with absolute motherhood, also

the absolute womanhood. She causes life and sustains

it, and is also the cause of life, its inspiration

and aspiration, and the reason to live.

Mother Goddess in the Vedas and Other Early Texts

In its contemplation, the Rigveda, which seems

to have conceded to the idea of the Divine Female,

takes two different lines, one mystic and the other

traditional. The traditional line was the same

as prevailed amongst the primitive Indus community,

which perceived the Divine Female as Mother Goddess.

The Rigveda calls the Female power Mahimata (R.V.

1.164.33), a term which literally means Mother

Earth. At places, the Vedic literature alludes

to Her as Viraj, the universal mother, as Aditi,

the mother of gods, and as Ambhrini, the one born

of Primeval Ocean. The Rigveda takes a mystic line, when it perceives

the Proto Female as Vak or Vani, which, as the

creative speech, manifests the cosmos and all existing

things. In Vedic mysticism the cosmos and all things

pre-exist but are unmanifest. The Vak, or Vani

makes them manifest.

The Proto Female has been

perceived also as Ushas, the glowing light of

early morning. What the darkness

of night makes unmanifest, Ushas makes manifest.

In metaphysical theorization, which Vedic literature

enunciates, 'all things exist but become manifest

in Her, that is, in the Proto Female'. The Upanishadas

elucidate this Vedic proposition with greater clarity.

In their contemplation, the Upanishadas identify

this Vedic Proto Female as Prakriti, the manifest

nature, which is the material aspect of the Creation.

The Upanishadas suggest that She is the all-pervasive

cosmic energy inherent in all existing things.

The Vedas and Upanishadas weave around Devi a

body of mysticism, but, in popular tradition, as

suggests Harivansha Purana, a 4th-5th century religious

treatise, when it alludes Her as the Goddess of

jungle and hill tribes, She was yet the same simple

unmystified puritan Mother Goddess. Her ties with

the primitive man were emotional and relatively

strong. However, there also emerged, in simultaneity

to this worship cult, and obviously inspired by

Upanishadas' mysticism, a body of metaphysics,

which perceived the Divine Female as Shakti, the

guided cosmic energy and the transcendental source

and support of all creatures and all created things.

The Mahabharata, keeping in line with the Vedic

mysticism, alludes Her as the source of all things,

the spiritual as well as material. The epic enunciates

that all things, material and abstract, manifest

and unmanifest, are only the manifestations of

the Divine Female. According to the Mahabharata,

this metaphysical Being, the Mother Goddess of

the primitive man, is the basis, the root and the

root cause of everything. She is the eternal upholder

of Dharma and truth, the promoter of happiness

and the giver of salvation and prosperity but also

of sorrows, grief and pain. She removes obstacles

and worries and renders Her devotees' path detriment

free.

Devi in Puranic literature

During the period after the Mahabharata to the

emergence of the Puranic era around the 4th-5th

century A.D., the Devi is only the little quoted

theme in literature and art of the elite. The worship

of Devi was those days a wide spread phenomenon,

yet till her elevation to the status of a Puranic

deity, such worship was confined to only, or mostly,

around the remoter corners of the primitive world

of tribes. The tribes like Santhal, Bhumia and

others of Bihar, Orissa and Bastar yet have a live

convention of announcing their lineage at the time

of wedding of their sons as well as daughters.

Both sides begin with their origin, which is usually

from one of the nature gods and commit themselves

to Shiva, the Yogi of hills and their protector,

and Mahimata, the Mother Earth, as their Dharini,

the upholder. Quite interestingly, it depicts the

five thousand year long continuity of the cult

of worshipping Shiva, as the Mahayogi, representing

the Divine Male and Mahimata, the Mother Earth

or Mother Goddess, representing the Divine Female.

It was only after She was accommodated into the

Brahmanical pantheon, that the Mother Goddess was

an object of worship in the world of elite also.

The Devi theme, once it

becomes a part of the Brahmanical pantheon around

the 5th century A.D.,

almost explodes the entire body of Puranic literature,

with each Purana text coming out with one of Her

aspects or the other. Here, She not only occupies

the thinking mind but also its the altar. She is

invoked not only as the Supreme Power reigning

the cosmos and reigning above all gods, but as

the cosmic energy incarnate, She is invoked also

with greater thrust : "Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu

shaktirupen sansthita, Namastasye namastasye namastasye

namo namah", that is, 'O yea, the Goddess

who in the entire cosmos stands for energy form,

we make our salutations to Thee, over and over

we salute Thee' (Markandeya Purana).

Of all texts, the Markandeya Purana is most elaborate

in its Devi concept and related rites and is considered

as yet the most authentic document on the cult

of Devi. It contains a full book, known as the

Devi Mahatmya, conceptualizing and adoring Devi.

She has been identified in Markandeya Purana primarily

as Durga. On the face of it, the Markandeya Purana

seems to move away from the prior manifestation

of Devi as Mother Goddess, or Mother Earth, but

in reality it is only a continuity of the Indus

valley tradition. It is, at the most, a departure

from the iconic manifestation of the passive Indus

Mother Goddess to the operative personified representation

of the Divine Mother who abounds with myths of

Her origin and exploits, but She is yet the same

Mother Earth or the Divine Mother. The Devi Mahatmya

part of the Markandeya Purana is narrated by sage

Markandeya to king Suratha and merchant Samadhi,

who, having lost respectively their kingdom and

business, approach the sage for knowing from him

how to regain their prior status. After having

narrated the significance of the Divine Mother

and Her unique power, sage Markandeya asks them

to prepare an earthen image of the Divine Mother

and worship it. Obviously, even during Puranic

era, She best manifested as Earth and in an earthen

medium.

Devi in Metaphysical Perception

In Puranic literature, religious conventions,

anthropomorphic iconography and ritual practices,

the Mother Goddess has been diversely conceived

and variedly named. There is, however, a wondrous

unanimity in Her metaphysical visualization and

cosmic perception. In Her metaphysical perception,

whether it occurs in myths or legends, rituals

or rhetoric, classics or folk traditions, or to

the eye of a worshipper, painter, sculptor or poet,

She is the Adi Shakti, the proto energy including

in it all forms of vitality, strength, might, power,

force, proficiency, dynamism and all operative

faculties. As Adi Shakti, She represents Prakriti,

which operates in and on all things, the manifest

or otherwise, materially present or abstract. She

is the dynamic factor of the cosmos, and at the

same time She is Dhatri, the holder of all things,

whether static or moving, and is thus also constant

and firm. She is manifest nature and is thus materially

present, yet She is also the absolute Consciousness,

the thinking Mind, the universal Intellect and

the Controller of senses. She is thus the sleep,

thirst, hunger, as also the light, brilliance,

shadow and darkness. Modesty, contentment, compassion,

mercy, beauty, charm, faith, patience, quietude,

activity, movement as also vengeance, or even violence

are Her aspects. And, above all, She is the Universal

Mother.

Devi's cosmic perception is a mix of metaphysics

and mythology. In India's metaphysical perception

the Creation has been perceived as comprising of

two factors, variedly named as Prakriti and Purusha,

Matter and Self, Male and Female and the like.

Mythology identifies them as Shiva and Shakti.

Prakriti or Matter, which in metaphysical equation

Female represents, is the manifest aspect of Creation

while Purusha or Self its unmanifest aspect. In

mythological perception this equation undergoes

a change. Here Shiva is Shava, the inanimate Being

and Shakti, the energy incarnate, His enlivening

and operative power. Without Shakti Shiva is the

dead mass. Symbolically Shakti is the inherent

energy of all things, whether manifest or unmanifest.

This Shakti factor, a concept of metaphysics, is

perceived in mythological contemplation as Devi

and in primitive vision as the Divine Female.

Other Dimensions of Devi Related Mythology The primitive concept of the Divine Female seems

to be that of a non-operative boon giver votive

deity who the primitive man realized iconically

but did not humanize. The Puranic Devi, or the

Mother Goddess, despite the related metaphysics,

is more a humanized Being with an abundance of

mythology woven around Her. After the Puranas vested

in Her operative attributes, they conceived Her

not only in various roles but also with innumerable

personality aspects and in different manifestations.

There grew around Her theories of Her origin, myths

of Her manifest and incarnate forms, fables of

Her various exploits and annals of Her acts of

charity and benevolence.

As to Her origin, there prevail innumerable myths,

although only two of them are more quoted and have

greater relevance to the over-all Devi cult. One

of them points out towards Her exploits against

evil and restoring righteousness and in the other

She is conceived as preceding all of the Gods-Trio

(Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva).

In one case, She was created

out of the gods' celestial powers with all their

attributes vested

in Her. In the other, She had always existed but

appeared as and when required.

As the tradition has it, a buffalo demon Mahishasura

ruled the earth. The tyrannous demon inflicted

upon all creatures great atrocities and rendered

life miserable. He even invaded heaven, the seat

of Indra and other gods and drove them out of the

holy place. Under a sanction from Brahma Mahishasura

was invincible against any male, a beast or human

born. After Brahma made the disclosure of his boon,

gods decided to seek a female warrior for eliminating

the buffalo demon. When they found none capable

to accomplish their object, they decided to create

such one out of themselves and by their own powers.

They decided to create a female warrior, who was

unique in might and unparalleled in beauty and

charm, as she could be required to bewitch and

beguile the demon also by them. Accordingly, her

head was formed by the powers of Shiva, her hair

by those of Yama and her arms, breasts, waist,

feet, toe-nails, fingernails, nose, teeth, eyes,

brows and ears respectively with those of Vishnu,

Moon, Indra, Brahma, Sun, Vasu, Kuber, Prajapati,

Agni, Twilight and Vayu. Her glittering jewels

and ornaments were Ocean's gift and her necklace

inlaid with celestial gems that of the great Serpent

Shesh.

The Devi emerged with three eyes and eighteen

hands carrying in them various celestial weapons,

the instruments of war and destruction- Shiva's

trident, Vishnu's disc, Varuna's conch, Vayu's

bow, Agni's dart, Yama's iron rod, Surya's quiver,

Indra's thunderbolt, Kuber's mace, Brahma's rosary

and water pot, Kala's sword and shield, Vishwakarma's

battle axe and many others. Himvana gave her a

lion to ride. The enthused gods rejoiced and in

gratitude prostrated before Mahadevi, as they called

Her. Mahamuni Narada then narrated to Her the plight

of gods, hearing which She proceeded to annihilate

Mahishasura and killed him in no time.

As significant is Her other cult. The text called

Devi Bhagawat was the first to propound it. After

the Great Deluge Vishnu emerged as a child floating

upon a fig leaf. In dismay, he asked himself as to who he was,

who created him and why he was there. Suddenly

there emerged a celestial voice that announced-

all that is, it is me. Me alone is eternal. Puzzled

he looked around and saw a celestial female with

four hands emerging before him. She carried a conch,

disc, club and lotus, wore divine clothes and jewels

and was attended by twenty-one powers, more important

ones being Rati, the goddess of love and erotic,

Bhuti, the goddess of riches and prosperity, Buddhi,

the goddess of wisdom, Kirti, the goddess of credibility,

Smriti, the memory, Nidra, the sleep, Daya, the

compassion, Gati, the movement and pace, Tusti,

the contentment, Pusti, the growth and affirmation,

Kshama, the forbearance, Lajja, the grace and Tandra,

the lethargy. Vishnu realized that She was the

Adi Shakti Mahadevi and bowed to Her in reverence.

Devi's Symbolism

In one mythological tradition, Devi's emergence

has been linked with Mahishasura. Mahishasura is

not the beast in man but rather the human face

taking to the face of a beast, and that too, to

none else but to that of a buffalo, the most insensitive,

self-contained epitome of evil. This suggests total

human failure, which none of the gods, equipped

only with this or that attribute or representing

just this or that virtue, could repair. Only Devi,

the supreme virtue equipped with all weapons and

means of war, the Divine Totality, could change

such state of affairs.

The other myth suggests that Devi preceded Gods

Trio. She not only annihilated evil and paved the

way for virtue and good to prevail but also revealed

cosmic mystery. Her multi-arms suggest Her multi-fold

protective umbrella and role. When Mahishasura,

the male, contains energy, it leads to evil, the

self-centered unguided might breeding ego, greed

to acquire and possess more, an ambition to conquer

and rule, but when contained in a female frame,

it is only the guided power eradicating evil, perpetuating

good and virtue and despite that She held arms

and resorted to killing, She has attending upon

Her only virtues and celestial attributes. She

is multi-armed but has a single head, that is,

whatever the number of operative organs, the guiding

faculty that breeds determination, is just one

and single.

The Manifest Forms of the Divine Female

This Devi form, irrespective of Her origin-cult

and evolution, has multiple manifestations, the

prime ones being three. The Markandeya Purana and

almost all other Puranas perceive Devi, the Universal

Mother, primarily in Her role as warrior or destroyer,

sustainer and creator, three aspects of cosmic

act which vest with Trinity. As warrior, She is

Mahakali, the Destroyer who eradicates evil, evil

doers and wrongs and restores good and righteousness.

As sustainer, She is Mahalakshmi, who bestows bliss,

prosperity, wealth and material happiness and yields

good crop and abundant grain. And, finally, as

supreme wisdom and all knowing intellect, She is

Mahasaraswati, who nourishes all creative faculties,

arts, music, dance and creativity. In anthropomorphic

visualization Mahakali, is the Shaktirupa, the

energy incarnate and is hence multi-armed, their

number varying from four to eighteen or even more,

and carries in each of them an instrument of destruction.

She also grants abhaya and varada and thus, on

one hand eradicates evil and on the other protects

good ones.

The four-armed Mahalakshmi carries

primarily the lotus, which rises from the earth,

routes across

and above the water and sprouts into the air and

sky.

It pervades with its glow and fragrance all three

worlds. The four-armed shubhra-vasana, Mahasaraswati,

the Goddess clad in white, rides a lotus, and subsequently

a swan, both symbolizing purity, chastity and detached

knowledge.

The Puranas thus begin personifying Her in various

aspects and initiate Her variedly conceived iconic

and anthropomorphic formations. The warrior and

demon slayer Mahakali is perceived also as Durga

who for accomplishing Her object takes to other

forms and creates for Her aid subordinate powers

as Mahavidyas and Matrikas. Different from the

black complexioned Mahakali, who wears a ferocious

look, Durga, though still the same demon slayer,

has golden complexion, a benign face and feminine

softness.

The Puranas disapproved renunciation and discovered

in family life itself means of salvation. They

hence perceived their Divinities not as recluses

or mendicants but as householders, as the Divine

couples. They perceived the abstract Supreme Being

of the Vedas manifest as Gods-Trio, Brahma, Vishnu

and Shiva, and associated with each of the Trio

one of Devi's manifest form, Durga or Mahakali

with Shiva, Mahalakshmi with Vishnu and Mahasaraswati

with Brahma.

Shiva is also the proto lover and then Durga,

his consort, manifests as the humble domestic Parvati.

Parvati, the white complexioned daughter of Himalaya,

is also Shiva's loving Gauri. While in exile from

Baikuntha to hills of South, Vishnu takes to Venkatesh

as his name. Here his consort Lakshmi, or Mahalakshmi

emerges as Padmavati. When Vishnu incarnates as

Rama his consort Lakshmi emerges as Sita and when

he incarnates as Krishna, Lakshmi incarnates as

Radha. Brahma's consort Mahasaraswati is better

known as Sharada and most of her ancient shrines

are devoted to her only in her name as Sharada.

The ancient sculptures of Sharada follow Durga's

iconic norms.

Matrikas and Mahavidyas

The Puranas like Skandapurana, Devipurana, Brahmavaivartapurana,

Devibhagawata, Prapanchasaratantra, Lingapurana

etceteras, have conceived of other forms of Shakti

to couple other important male gods. The more widely

accepted number of such manifestations of Shakti

is seven, though in some of these and other Puranas

it is eight and even more. They are better known

as the Saptamatrikas, or Seven Mothers. In Matrika

cult, Brahma's consort is known as Brahmani, Shiva's

as Maheshvari, Raudri or Rudrani and Vishnu's as

Vaishnavi. In his Varah incarnation, Vishnu's consort

is Varahi and in Narsimha incarnation Narsimhi.

The consort of Shiva's son Karttikeya is Kaumari,

or Karttikeyani, that of Indra Indrani or Mahendri

and of Yama Chamunda or Chamundi.

There prevail two myths in relation to Saptamatrikas.

A demon Andhaka had the boon to get every drop

of his blood that fell on earth transformed into

yet another Andhaka. The demon thus multiplied

himself in the battlefield rendering his opponent

impossible to eliminate him. Once he attempted

to take away Shiva's consort Parvati. Shiva shot

an arrow at him. The blood gushed from his body

but only to create many more Andhakas. Finally

gods sent their Shaktis to assist Shiva. These

Shaktis licked each drop of demon's blood before

it fell on earth. Another version of the myth is

almost similar to it except that demon's name was

this time Raktabija and instead of Shiva his consort

Durga confronted him. Durga created Saptamatrikas

by her own power to assist her in eliminating the

demon.

Other significant manifestations of Devi have

been perceived in ritual tradition as Ten Mahavidyas.

Though a late cult, individually some of the Mahavidyas,

say Kali, have quite an early origin. Their number

coincides with Vishnu's ten incarnations and is,

hence, interpreted as the Shakta or Shaivite version

of ten-incarnation Vaishnava cult. In Devi theology,

Devi, like Vishnu, has been revered as the creator

and maintainer of the cosmic order. Sometimes Vishnu's

incarnations are considered as arising from these

Mahavidyas, as Kali becoming Krishna, Chinnamasta

becoming Narsimha and so on. These Mahavidyas are

Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshwari, Bagala,

Dhumavati, Kamala, Matangi, Sodasi and Bhairavi,

and are more or less the tantrika innovations of

the Divine Female.

Devi in Popular Tradition

The tradition of worshipping the Mother Goddess,

in whatever name, thus, has very early beginning.

It is believed Rama invoked Devi when he felt that

without her blessings he would not be able to eliminate

Ravana. Sikhs' tenth Guru Gobind Singh and the

great Maratha warrior Shivaji invoked her to assist

them in accomplishing their object.

During India's struggle for freedom her sons resorted

to Devi and perceived their land as Bharat-Mata.

Reciting Vande Mataram, that is, salutation to

Thee, Mother, they laid their lives for her freedom.

She is now India's most widely worshipped deity

and has associated with her more festivals and

events than has any other Divinity.

References and Further Reading

Aitareya-brahmana (the

Rigveda Brahmana) translated by Arthur B. Keith,

Delhi.

Bhattacharya, N.N.

The History of Sakta Religion, New Delhi.

Bhattacharya, N.N.

Indian Mother Goddess, Calcutta.

Brown, Cheever Mackenzie.

God is Mother: A feminine Theology in India,

Hartford.

Coburn Thomas B. Consort

of None, Sakti of All: The vision of the Devi

Mahatmya In The Divine Consort: Radha and Goddesses

of India, edited by John Stratton Hawley and

Donna Marie Wulff, Berkeley, California.

Devi Bhagavata Purana,

Banaras.

(Devi Mahatmya) The

Glorification of the Great Goddess edited and

translated by Vasodeva Sharan Agrawal, Banaras.

Dehejia, Vidya. Devi

: the Great Goddess, Washington D.C. & Ahmedabad.

Hymns to Kali (Karpuradi

Stotra), edited and translated by Arthur Avalon,

Madras.

Kinsley, David. Hindu

Goddesses, Delhi.

Kumar Pushpendra. Shakti

Cutl in Ancient India, Banaras.

Mahabharata. Edited

by Vishnu S. Sukthankar, Poona.

Marshall, Sir John

(edited) Mohenjo-dara and Indus Civilization

(3 vols.), London.

Rg-veda with commentary

of Sayan. Edited by Sontakke and C.G. Kashikar,

Poona.

The Sakta Upanishads,

translated by A.G. Krishna Warrier, Madras.

Skanda Purana. (3 vols)

Calcutta.

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