Creation of persecution complex and victimhood based on false equivalences is an art perfected by the left liberals. Their choicest weapons are often stories of perceived injustice from history and mythology. I was shocked and pained when I heard about how goddess Durga was depicted as a debauched prostitute by the commies at JNU to convert folks from Hinduism to their godless faith of Atheism.
It was amusing to see an anchor named Sunetra Chowdhary of NDTV defend it as “Alternative Reading” on Twitter (a certain Kamlesh Tiwari must have had a hearty laugh in the jail). Since I believe that Hinduism, and in general the Indian culture, is tolerant of dissent, I shall present my “alternative reading” of the willful vilification attempt by commies, JNU jholawallas and media.
So let’s first begin with the nasty legend propagated by the commies. As per their “Alternative Reading” Mahishasura was a benevolent dark skinned king who was revered by his subjects. There is an undertone to suggest that he was a non-Aryan/ native / dalit / tribal king. It is interesting to note that this undertone seeks to address the usual hunting ground of the leftists. The leftists claim that Durga was a beautiful fair skinned assassin sent by his enemies (presumably fairer skinned/ upper caste/non native Aryans) in the garb of a prostitute. She “allegedly” (thanks NDTV for enhancing my vocabulary) seduced the demon king and killed him while he slept.
Fair skinned Gods/ Goddesses – unfair assumption : Since the leftists have no records , ancient writings, religious books to backup their claims, I shall start from the first principles. Let us first address this supposed claim of fair skinned gods and goddesses in Hinduism. First the gentlemen Gods – The literal meaning of “Krishna” in Sanskrit is dark. He is often referred by many names indicating his dark complexion like “Shyam” (dusky) & “Ghanshyam” (dark like rain laden clouds). The idols of Krishna at Nathdwara in Rajasthan and Puri in Odisha depict him as black skinned, in contrast with other idols there. Vishnu, the preserver, is referred to being as dark skinned as a dark cloud (“meghvarna”) in this popular shloka
Vishnu is worshipped as “Shaligram” or a black stone in Badrinath – one of the holiest shrines for Vishnu believers. The same is the case for Shiva and Rama who are always depicted as dark skinned in all paintings and scriptures. Coming to the goddesses, there are nine forms of Durga (the same slayer of Mahishasura) , one each is worshipped during the nine days of Navratri. Infact Navratri is chosen as 9 day festival to coincide with the nine days of battle of Durga with Mahishasura. On the seventh day, “Kaalratri” the fearsome dark skinned, ferocious form of Durga is worshipped. Such a far cry from the fair maiden in the leftist agenda.
Devi Mahatamya – the only record of battle : Durga Saptashati / Devi Mahatamya is the only record we have for the battle between Mahishasura and Durga. The earliest manuscripts of the same are recorded in the 7th century CE. Wendy Doniger (because the leftists won’t accept any one else) estimates Devi Mahatamya to be composed around 6th century CE . It is part of the Markandeya Purana – earliest known purana. Interestingly the JNU/leftist “Alternative Reading” that describes Durga as a prostitute is devoid of any historical, religious references. I have read this scripture many times and it is shown that Mahishasura had usurped tri lokas (swarga, earth, pataal) – this was against the structure of Swarga for devas, Earth for other living beings, pataal for demons. He had leashed atrocities on all those who refused to hail him as one true lord.
In Hinduism demons are not equivalent of Satan in Abrahamic religions, they represent the balance between good and evil. In other words, Mahishasura was not killed because he was a dark skinned king of demons, but because he had upset the balance of structure and led to persecution of others. Since he had been given the boon by Brahma that he could not be killed by any man or deva or god (Shiva / Vishnu/ Brahma), Durga was created as the force of sacred feminine to kill him. Mahishasura didn’t think a woman could kill him.
I am surprised that the feminists at JNU are not offended by commies interpretation of Durga! Trash talking a woman with power by calling her a sex-worker is slut shaming a woman. Isn’t that exactly what feminists stand against?
Demonizing demon worship: One of the arguments used by the JNU folks was that Mahishasura is worshipped by “some” tribals, and Durga worship is forced as upper caste, thus proving Aryan conspiracy.
As I had mentioned earlier, demons/rakshasas are not outcasts in Hinduism. We also revere Prahlad (born to demon king Hiranyakashipu) and King Bali. In fact all the Hindus in Kerala look forward to welcoming Bali from pataal every year on the festival of Onam. Important to note here is that Bali was a good virtuous demon King who had conquered Swarga, Earth and Pataal and displaced devas. This destroyed the balance of tri lokas. Vishnu restored the balance by sending Bali to Pataal by taking the form of Vaaman Avatar. Bali is never vilified in the “Bhagvat Purana” that records this story. He is praised for being dharmic and keeping his word. He was later blessed by Vishnu and given the chance to visit his subjects on earth (Kerala) once a year. If Mahishasura was a benevolent king as depicted by JNU wallas, he would have received the same reverence as Bali in puranas.
Lastly in Hindu mythology, a distinction is made between an evil deed and an evil man. The latter is considered forgivable on repentance. All demons – Raavan, Kans, Shishupal, Chand, Mund etc were granted moksha (the most coveted aim of Hindu life) when they prayed for forgiveness in their dying moments. The pilgrimage at Vaishno Devi shrine is not considered complete till you go pray to “Bhairo” who was the demon killed by Vaishno devi. Banias (trader community in North India) like me worship Raavan on Dussehra because we believe he was an intelligent, wise man (before Sita’s kidnap). We pray to Lord Ram and say “let us not become arrogant with power like Raavan, keep us humble and grounded”.
So just because some tribals worship Mahishsura (assuming it is true and is not a contrived drama abetted by leftists), it doesn’t make Durga villainous. It just makes Hindu philosophy of forgiveness deeper. It just tells you that we must learn to differentiate between an evil man and his evil deeds.
Finally, in my opinion, an alternative reading should be based on coherent arguments not plain vilification. Wrapping your political agendas in the garb of “Alternative Reading” is not an act of scholarship. May the goddess forgive those who malign her.
