Devdutt Pattanaik5 days ago
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Many such temples of Goddess Durga are found across the country, where she is shown as an independent and autonomous power.
Generally Hindu temples have more than one idol. People unfamiliar with Hinduism may possibly assume that Hinduism is polytheistic. But Hindus believe that these idols are different manifestations of the same divine power, given the form of a family. We can see this in the temples of Shiva, Vishnu and Devi.
Shiva was a recluse, who then became a householder. He is worshiped in Shaivism. In his images he is always accompanied by his wife Parvati and two sons Kartikeya and Ganesha. We feel protected by Kartikeya, while Ganesha nourishes us. Thus the two sons of Shiva fulfill our worldly needs. Shiva and Parvati, on the other hand, symbolize transcendental ideas like man and nature. This is Shiva’s family. When entering the Shiva temple, the first idol of his idols is the idol of Nandi bull and sometimes there is also the idol of Brahma or Vishnu in the form of Kurma.
Lakshmi and Vishnu are worshiped in Vaishnavism. It is mostly seen in South India. Vishnu is shown as reclining on Shesha Naga in the Padmanabhaswamy temple of Kerala and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu or as a four-armed standing Vishnu in the Tirupati Devasthanams of Andhra Pradesh. Although Lakshmi is worshiped along with Vishnu, her idol is usually in another temple. This is a symbol of their autonomy. In contrast, in Shiva temples the image of the goddess is accompanied by the idol of Shiva within the temple.
The Swaminarayan temples of Gujarat and Rajasthan are unique because in them the idols of Vishnu and Lakshmi are worshiped together. Children of Vishnu are not found in any Vishnu temple. However, this is extraordinary for a household deity. Vishnu and Lakshmi are surrounded by devotees like Vishnu’s vehicles Garuda and sometimes Narada and gatekeepers like Jai and Vijay.
Generally, instead of Vishnu, his incarnations Ram and Krishna are worshipped. Rama is worshiped with his wife Sita. Sometimes his servant Hanuman and his younger brother Lakshman are also present in the temple. Krishna is usually worshiped along with Radha.
Radha began to be mentioned with the emergence of Tantric traditions. Many people believe that Krishna and Radha were a transcendental couple. But in the Tantric tradition their union symbolizes a relationship that has no definition in custom or rule. Shiva is considered to be Parvati and Ram is considered to be the husband of Sita. Vishnu is also considered the husband of Lakshmi. On the contrary, this is not the case with Krishna.
In the temples of the Goddess, the Goddess is never shown with any companion or with her husband. She is shown as an independent and autonomous personality. In traditional goddess temples she is sometimes shown with a female companion. Chamunda-Chotila temple of Gujarat and Nanda-Sunanda temple of Uttarakhand are some examples of this. Or two men are shown on either side of them. It is believed that these are his sons – Bhairav and Hanuman, or Kala-Bhairav and Gora-Bhairav. He is often shown riding a tiger or lion, carrying various weapons in his hands. Despite wearing clothes like a newlywed bride, she carries weapons. The newlyweds symbolize the fertile aspect of the goddess while the weapons symbolize the protective aspect of the goddess. Through her protector-sons we are reminded that the goddess is autonomous.
