THE YAKSHAS, NAGAS AND OTHER REGIONAL CULTS OF
MATHURA
The architectural remains from Mathura
discussed, are a good indicator of the scale of organisation and popularity of
the multiple religious cults that existed in the region, but there were
possibly many other local sects and practices that flourished around the region
that did not have any monumental architecture associated with them. The cult of
the numerous Yakshas and the local village gods and goddesses are some of them,
and yet their popularity in the region rivalled the major sects like Buddhism
and Jainism at Mathura.
This blog, The Second Part of – “ THE NAGAS :
THE ORIGINAL RULERS OF INDIA” is a continuation from the earlier Blog and here
we discuss these popular cults of the region and their representation in the
sculptural imagery at Mathura. The repertoire of Naga and Yaksha imagery at
Mathura is extremely diverse, and they occur both as independent cults in their
own right, displaying certain iconographic conventions as is discerned from the
sculptural evidence, or as part of the larger Buddhist and Jaina pantheons, in
which they are accorded a variety of roles and are depicted variously. An
interesting fact to note is that these regional cults are dispersed quite
evenly in the region, and run parallel to most of the Buddhist and Jaina
sculptures. The beginnings of these cults can be traced back to the 2nd
century B.C.E, as exemplified by the colossal Parkham Yaksha, or perhaps even
earlier if one takes into account the various terracotta figurines that occur
as early as 400 B.C.E. They not only coexist and flourish in Mathura, along
with the many other religious sects, but also perhaps outlive the latter,
continuing to be an inevitable part of the local beliefs and practices of the
region in the present times. Religion in itself operates at different levels.
ranging from large scale dominant sects like Buddhist, Jaina and Brahmanical
ones, to the local and region specific gods and goddesses, Yakshas and Nagas,
along with the worship of and offerings made to domestic household deities. All
of these aspects arc amply reflected in the archaeological and epigraphic
evidence from Mathura.
Yakshas, Yakshis and other Demi-Goddesses of
Mathura
Commenting upon the research done on the
antiquity and development of the cult of the Yaksha in Indian art and
mythology, with special reference to the site of Mathura, G. Mitterwallner
emphasises that although there has been a lot of investigations done by known
scholars on the Yakshas of ancient India, there has been absolutely no work
done on the Yakshas of specific sites or cities so far, Mathura being one of
them.
The first comprehensive analysis on the Yakshas
was done by Ananda Coomaraswamy , who traced the development of the cult of the
Yakshas using a combination of literary and sculptural data. He discusses the
'Aryan as well as the Aryan elements in the evolution of the iconography and
religious history of the cult'.
His sources range from the Vedic texts, to the
Pali Buddhist and Jaina literature, along with the archaeological evidence
suggestive of the development of the cult. Discussing the multivalent attitude
towards the Yakshas, he debates both the benevolent and the malevolent aspects
of these deities as reflected in the literary texts, invoking fear at some
times and respect at others. Coomaraswamy discusses the antiquity of the cult,
stressing the various ways in which these gods were worshipped and enshrined,
at the same time undertaking a discussion on the cult of popular Yakshas, like
Naigamesha and Kubera that are represented independently, as well as occur as a
part of other religious pantheons like in Buddhist and Jaina ones. Interpreting
the use of the Yakshis as an artistic motifin Indian art, Coomaraswamy
underlines the deeper association of the Yakshas with the water cosmology
derived from the philosophic discussions of the Upanishads. Therefore, what may
appear to be representing a mere tutelary deity or an ornamental motif has in essence,
a deeper philosophical importance that is well represented in the ancient
Indian texts.
Tracing the development of the Yaksha cult in
the plastic arts of ancient India, Coomaraswamy points out to the antiquity of
the imagery of Yakshas, and sees them as precursors to the life size Buddha
images that were later modelled on the same pattern as those of the Yaksha
images, the artists drawing inspiration from the latter. This hypothesis has
been widely accepted in the scholarly circles, especially in context of Mathura,
where the Greco Roman influence is seen to have played an important role in the
development of the Mathura school of sculpture. Arguing against this contention
Coomaraswamy, along with other scholars like Vincent Smith and Growse, argue
for the indigenous development of the Mathura School, taking the pot bellied
Yaksha figures from Mathura as proto types after which the Buddha images in the
region were fashioned. Coomaraswamy therefore concludes, that this being the
case, it is not unlikely that Mathura would have produced the first Buddha
images and not Gandhara.
Reverting to our discussions on the Yakshas from
Mathura, it is observed that they can be divided into two broad categories,
i.e. either represented as free standing or seated figures carved in round, or
relief, that would have served as independent cult images, the second are the
Yakshas that occurred either as guardian deities or attended some worshipped
personage or cult emblems. The latter are especially seen in the case of Buddhist
and Jaina iconography, where they occur as attendants to the images of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas or the Jaina tirthankaras,
or are at times depicted as worshipping cult symbols like the dharma chakra,
stupas, etc. A third category can also be identified, which comprises of the
use of the imagery of the beautiful voluptuous Yakshis as ornamental motifs
depicted primarily on the railing pillars from Mathura. Here , we would like to
enumerate a few examples of each category from the various sites of Mathura.
The potbellied crouching dwarfs are the most
common representations of the seated Yaksha figures. In most cases the knee is
fastened to the belly with the help of a scarf, the facial features are
demonic, with earrings and necklaces forming a part of the ornamentation. In
some cases the arms of such Yakshas are seen as supporting a huge bowl,
resembling the Atlantes figures. In other instances these figures are depicted
with grotesque facial features and conspicuous genital.
The second most common representation of a seated
male Yaksha is one of a pot bellied male figure, squat-legged with a cup in one
hand and a money purse in the other.
These figures are often identified as
representing the god Kubera, and sometimes are depicted with a seated female
figure alongside, which may be taken to represent the goddess Hariti. Both are
assumed to fulfil fertility functions and worshipped independently in their own
right as well, apart from forming a part of Buddhist and Jaina iconography.
However, scholars have not been consistence with the identification of Kubera
images. The catalogues of the Mathura Museum by Vogel and Agrawala, exhibit these
inconsistencies, where in some cases such potbellied figures are identified as Kubera,
while in the others they are just termed as Yaksha figures. It may be noted
that in most of the Yaksha and Yakshi figures there are no inscriptions that
may facilitate their identification, or provide names of these gods and
goddesses. In some cases though, the identification of the Kubera and Hariti
images are possible. with a fair amount of certainty, especially where the
former is depicted with a mongoose and a goblet, two icons unmistakably
associated with Kubera, and the latter is depicted holding a child in her lap.
The hands in most of these sculptures are raised in Abhayamudra, and at times
Kubera is depicted with other religious icons as well like the dharma chakra.
In an interesting example of artistic improvisation from Mathura, Kubera is
depicted as being seated in Bhadrasana playing the harp, while Hariti is seated,
holding out her hand in Abhayamudra. Sometimes both the divinities are
surrounded by figures of devotees with folded hands paying their respects to
the gods.
Yet another category of male Yakshas can be
identified form Mathura, in most cases these Yakshas hold indistinct objects in
their hands, in one specimen a Varah faced Yaksha is seen as holding a long
necked bottle and a basket containing a garland, in another image the Yaksha is
seen holding a club and a vase. Other miscellaneous figures are depicted with
carrying various objects, like a trident or even a ram's head as depicted in
one particular specimen.
Aside from these individual specimens carved in
the round, there are many Yakshas that are depicted on bas-reliefs and that
form a part of the monumental architecture at Mathura. The most common ones are
depiction of the dwarf figures from the railing pillars and the bas-reliefs,
that show them crouched prostrate, with a standing female figure on their back.
Other dwarf figures occur on miscellaneous architectural pieces like doorjambs
and architraves, depicted as being pot bellied and with a grotesque facial
expression, and these fulfil the role of being attendant figures carrying
baskets with flowers and other offerings or at times with flywhisks in their
hands. There is only one representation of a Yaksha occurring independently on
a bas-relief, belonging to the Kushana period, which shows the figure wielding
a musala in his left hand, identified as Moggarpani Yaksha by Agrawala.
A distinct category of Yakshas from Mathura
depicts them as supporters of architectural parts or of bowls. The Yaksha
atlantes and some representations of them supporting the dharma chakra have
been mentioned. A large number of bowl supporting Yakshas have also come to
light from different sites in Mathura. The figures from Palikhera and
Govindnagar, being perfect examples of these. The stone bowl from Palikhera is
inscribed and is dedicated to the Buddhist sub-sect of the Mahasangikas.
Similar specimens have been further discovered
from Govindnagar, the best preserved specimen depicts a Yaksha carved in the
round, supporting a broken bowl on its head. The ornamentation on the figure
consists of a torque and earrings, and the facial expressions and the general
countenance deceives the figure for a female. There have been speculations
about the exact role that these bowl supporting Yakshas played.
Comparing the Mathura specimens with similar
examples from Amravati, Vogel mentions that many reliefs from the latter site,
feature a pair of bowl supporting dwarf Yakshas, which are placed at either
side of the entrance to the ambulatory path around the stupa. In many of the
sculptures male and female devotees are depicted as making offerings in these
bowl or else taking something out of them. On the basis of this it has been
concluded that similar Yakshas from Mathura too fulfilled the same
function-that they were placed at the entrance to a sacred stupa spot and
served as a bowl stand for offerings. This further conformed with their role of
a gatekeeper, a role that is normally assigned to a lot of Yaksas has when
associated with Buddhist and Jaina iconography.
Moving to the female counterparts, sculptural
representation of Yakshis from Mathura is overwhelming. The freestanding specimens
could have represented some local goddesses worshipped by the people. The other
female figures form a part of the architectural sculpture and are artistic
masterpieces. These figures are beautifully carved, depicted in various graceful
poses, and are mostly used as decorative motifs for the ancient buildings. The
standing or seated squatting female figures, mostly depicted with a child on
the lap, hands raised in Abhayamudra are identified as goddess Hariti. They occur
independently or with a similar seated male Yaksha figure, usually identified
with Kubera. The Kubera and Hariti figures depicted together in relief are
found in large numbers from Mathura.
The other categories of female Yakshis, depicted
on the architectural sculpture, occur in various poses. The Mathura artists
seemed particularly fond of depicting the shalabhanjika figures on the railing
pillars and reliefs. In most of these specimens, the female figure is depicted
in a graceful attitude, standing on a prostrate dwarf under a tree, with one
hand clasping a branch, while the other resting on the hip. Most of these
figures are depicted nude, but for the heavy girdle and the usual ornaments
like an elaborate headdress and necklaces and anklets. Other than the
shalabhanjika, the figures are sculpted in various other attitudes, like that
of loosening their girdles, or feeding a parrot, holding a stalk of flower,
holding a dagger etc.
An important category of female figures from
Mathura is the various matrika plaques that are found from the various sites in
the region. A lot of these plaques are from the site of Plaikhera that depict
these goddesses seated or standing in various poses. The number of female
figures depicted is not standardised and the number varies from two to seven.
Agrawala identifies these as depicting the cult of the saptamatrika or seven
mother goddesses, each of them identified with their characteristic emblems.
Most of these plaques belong to the Kushana period where the number of
goddesses depicted on a plaque does not seem to be standardised, but was
elastic and depended on the discretion of the artist or the patron
commissioning the sculpture. There are also a number of images of the goddess
Vasundhara, identified with ajar and the fish symbol, that are found from sites
like Palikhera and Bajna from Mathura. N.P. Joshi cataloguing these matrika plaques
from Mathura has classified them into various categories. Defining what would
really qualify as depicting a matrika in a plaque, he clarifies that female
figures with one child or two or more children are generally known as Mothers
or Matrikas and these are found in large number in Mathura, fashioned both in
stone as well as terracotta.
Further he identifies 13 broad categories in
them that roughly include women with human figures, standing or seated,
depicted with a child, matrikas with animal or bird faces with children, some
of the female figure holding a child are depicted together with Kubera, while
others are standing in a line without any children depicted. Joshi also points
out that none of the female figures are depicted with any weapons or with any
mount, an opinion that can be contested, when one considers the saptamatrika
plaque that is catalogued by Agrawala, which clearly depict each goddess with
her respective weapon and mount.
Apart from these matrika figures are also the
depiction of Brahmanical goddesses like Lakshmi, Vasundhara and the goddess
Durga in her Mahisasurmardini form. The Mahisasurmardini images are also
fashioned in Mathura in large numbers and it seems that the goddess was
worshipped popularly in the region. The earliest specimens of the Mahisasurmardini
plaques occur from the Kushana period and are fashioned in terracotta (Sonkh).
As for the geographical distribution of the
Yaksha and the other goddess images, they are to be found all over the region
of Mathura. The widespread distribution of these matrika sculptures is
acknowledged by Joshi, and the sites he mentions that have yielded these
sculptures are:
Manoharpura-Mathura City
Girdharpur
Nagla Jhinga
Potra Kund, Katra
Kankali Tila
Ral Bhadar
Palikhera
Sitala Paisa
Bajna
Dhangaon
Rani ki Mandi
Brindaban
Tayyapur
Arjunpura
Bhuteshvar
Kervi Village
Naya Village
Usphar
Mahaban
Kevala Village
Akrur Village
Considering the fact that some of the sites like
Jamalpur and Katra were considered as primary Buddhist strongholds in the
Kushana period, and similarly the site of Kankali was a Jaina site, Joshi
concludes that the find spots of various matrika figures indicate that the
matrika cult was basically an important popular cult accepted by the Buddhist,
Jainas and the followers of the Brahmanical faith, and that the entire region
was under its influence?
Collating the epigraphic evidence from Mathura
to these images, it may be observed that unlike the Buddhist and Jaina statues,
hardly any of the Yaksha, Yakshi or goddess sculptures were inscribed. There
are only a handful of examples where these statues are inscribed with specific
names of the deities mentioned, or that the donors have engraved their names
and the nature of their donation, a practice that is otherwise common to the
Buddhist and Jaina imagery from Mathura. The inscription from the site of
Nagala Jhinga, only the reading of which is available, dated to the 2nd century
B.C.E, records the setting up of a statue by a person by the name of Naka, who
identifies himself as being the pupil of a certain Kunika. The Yaksha image
from the site of Parkham is also inscribed, dating to 2nd century B.C.E, here
the sculptor again identifies himself to be the pupil of Kunika, probably the
same person as mentioned in the inscription from Nagala Jhinga, as both the
inscription are contemporaneous in date. The Yaksha itself is referred to as
the' Holy One' and no name is offered in the inscription of the deity. There
are also the finds of a Kubera sculpture and a female statue from the site of
Parkham, but the inscriptions on the pedestal of both these images are damaged
and no sense can be discerned from them. The site of Gayatri Tila has yielded a
statue of a pot bellied male figure attended by two standing females, the
sculpture being inscribed with a donative inscription, but due to the damaged
condition of the sculpture, only the names of the donors are preserved, and the
Yaksha represented by the sculpture cannot be identified.
Another similar example is from the site of Ral
Bhadar, where an inscribed sculptured plaque, depict a seated male and female
figure, but only the concluding part of the donative inscription is preserved.
Similarly the site of Mora, apart from yielding remains of a Bhagvata temple,
has also yielded two inscribed statues of female figures, probably some
Yakshis, the statues of whom are commissioned to be made at the site by the
devotees.
The Naga Divinities at Mathura
As early as the 1880' s, Growse published a hand
copy of an inscription he found from the site of Jamalpur that provided
tangible proof to the existence of a Naga sanctuary at the site. The
inscription incised on a stone slab read 'the place sacred to the divine lord
of Nagas Dadhikarna' . The inscription proved that the site of Jamalpur was
probably associated with the worship of the Naga divinity by the name of
Dhadhikarna, and that the latter had a temple structure of its own there, perhaps
before the establishment of the Huvishka vihara at the site. This was further
confirmed by another inscription that came to light from the site, incised on a
pillar base donated to the Huvishka vihara, it was a gift from Devila, 'a
servant of the shrine of Dhadhikarna'. This apart from proving the historicity
of the Naga cult at the site also confirmed that the shrine of the Naga lord Dhadhikarna
and the Buddhist viharas coexisted and were contemporaneous to each other.
This was only the beginning to the finds of Naga
sculptures from Mathura. In 1908 Pt. Radha Krishna acquired a life size image
of a Naga, from the village of Chhargaon. The hooded Naga statue depicts the
deity with its right arm raised over the head ready to strike. The figure wears
a dhoti and an upper garment, and a necklace for ornamentation. The head is
surmounted by a seven-headed snake hood. The inscription on the back of the
sculpture, records the setting up of this image by two individuals during the
reign of the Kushana king Huvishka. The Chhargaon image seemed to have to some
extent provided a fixed iconographic convention for the freestanding Naga
images from Mathura, as several similar specimens were discovered from around
the region.
Growse discovered a Naga statue from the Tehsil
of Sadabad, which was in a better state of preservation than the Chhargaon
image, with the cup held in the left hand very distinctly, and the head as
usual surmounted by the seven-hooded canopy.
Another Naga statue came from the village of
Khamini, which can be stylistically ascribed to the Kushana period, and yet
another that was purchased from the shrine of Dauji in the present day Mathura
City, which was salvaged for worship by the local priest, and was enshrined as
Balrama in the temple at the site. From the inscription on the image it was
determined that it belonged to the Kushana period, and was only twelve years
later in date than the Chhargaon Naga. The continuity of Naga worship in the
succeeding Gupta period is ascertained by a Naga sculpture that was obtained
from somewhere between the villages of Maholi and Usphar, and the fragment
consisted of the hind portion of a coiled up snake carved in the round. The
roughly dressed base contained a Sanskrit inscription in two lines, ascribable
to around the 3rd century . recording the donation of the image. The owner of
the image had made a mud effigy on top of the image, which was explained, to
the visiting pilgrims as the popular legend of Lord Krishna subduing the Kaliya
Naga.
Scholars have emphasized a close association of the
Balrama cult of present day Mathura, with the Naga worship in the ancient past.
In fact it is no coincidence that the present day Balrama images are largely
fashioned after the Chhargaon Naga image.
Vogel has highlighted that the modern day white
marble images of Baladev, fashioned in Mathura, are stylistically, descendants
of the Chhargaon images with a few iconographic changes. The snake hood, in
accordance to the mythical legend of Balrama, is seen to represent the fact
that Baladeva was the incarnation of Naga Sesha, and the cup in the left hand
is indicative of the drinking propensities of the deity. Vogel goes on to
conjecture that perhaps the mythical personage of Balrama was developed from
the Naga lord, and if this being the case, one can trace the historical development
of the Naga Balrama in the region, which later became absorbed into the
Krishnaite pantheon. The Buddhist and the Jainas also to some extent sought to
adapt the popular worship of the Nagas into their religion. The Nagas in
Buddhist and Jaina iconography are depicted as devotees of Lord Buddha and the
Naga hood forms the headgear of the Jaina tirthankara Parshavanath.
The Nagas in the Krishna legend are depicted in
two ways--one is the Naga association with Balrama, who in Vaishnava mythology
is the older brother of Krishna, and second is the ultimate triumph of the
Vaishnava cult over the local Naga deities and their absorption into the larger
Vaishnava religion. The most popular perception, and the one that is supported
by the Epic and Puranic literature, is the association of the Naga with
Balrama, who in the Epics is depicted as the older brother of Krishna. The
Mahabharata and the Harivamsa Purana, both have preserved elaborately the
legends of Krishna and Balrama, being born in the environs of Mathura, and
therefore are inseparably linked to the region. Along with Krishna, Balrama is
also seen as a form of Vishnu, and an incarnation of the serpent lord Sesha.
Balarama is also closely associated with drinking and intoxicants , and in some
legends is also seen as an agricultural deity.
The parallels of this latter aspect, of Balarama
being an agricultural deity, are also traced to the ancient Nagas, who were
closely connected with water--the element all-important for agriculture. These
two attributes use of intoxicants and the association with agriculture-have
shaped the iconography of the Balrama images in which he is depicted as a Naga
deity holding a cup in this left hand and a plough over his shoulder.
N.P. Joshi , concentrating his study on the
iconography of Balarama images, using a combination of literary and sculptural
evidence, perceives the Naga worship in India as primarily a folk cult and
opines that the theory that Balrama as an incarnation of Vishnu might have .got
further impetus from the followers of the Naga cult because it conferred a
superior status on their deity. He stresses that from Kautilya's Arthasastra,
it is evident that Naga worship was extremely popular in Mauryan times and that
is amply depicted from the sculpted panels of Bharhut, Sanci and Amravati. The
anthropomorphic representations of Naga at Mathura start as early as the 3rd
century B.C.E, culminating into the establishment of the two Apsidal Temples
dedicated to the cult at Sonkh. The lack of iconographic evidence in the Gupta,
and later in the medieval period, is interpreted as the result of the
absorption of the cult into the ever-growing Brahmanical pantheon. At the same
time, the evidence of the worship of Balrama, running parallel to the other
Naga deities at Mathura, is seen in the many kinship triads depicting the
Vrishni heroes, Balrama being one of them along with Vasudeva. Since in the
literary texts, Balarama is associated with Krishna, who is also identified as
Bhagavata Vasudeva, the epigraphic evidence from the doorjamb inscription from
Mora, dated to the 1st century B.C.E, a mention has been made of a shrine that
was dedicated to Bhagavata Vasudeva, but Joshi feels that the inscription could
be well read Bhagavta Baladeva as well. Therefore the crux of his theory is
that while the worship of local, or folk as he terms them, Naga divinities was
popular in Mathura from the 3rd century B.C.E continuing to the early Gupta
period, there is equal evidence for the worship of Balrama during this period
as well.
The early Naga imagery from Mathura went a long
way in defining and refining the iconography of the Balrama images of the
region, but a well-developed independent formula for Balrama was yet to come
into existence.
The followers of Krishna therefore, according to
common scholarly perception, declared the Naga images to represent the older
brother of their divine hero. The conversion was made in such a manner that the
rural population could still continue to worship their familiar snake hooded
idols under a different name. The imagery of Krishna subduing the Kaliya Naga
in some ways is used as a metaphor to represent the undermining of the popular
cult of the Nagas, and the superimposition of the greater Vaishnava worship
over them. The Buddhist sangha, it is assumed, absorbed the Nagas into their
religious imagery due the immense popularity of the latter cult with the common
population.
In a recent study, Julia Shaw and John Sutcliffe
have added the dimensions of economic determinism to this assimilative
practice. They feel that the traditional models on Buddhist propagation in
ancient India, address the issue of the Sangha's appropriation of the local
nature spirits, drawing from textual accounts the Buddha's subordination, and
the ultimate conversion of the powerful Nagas and Yakshas.
From the observations and chronicles of Faxian,
the Chinese pilgrim, who visited India in the 5th century C.E., the
incorporation of the Naga shrines into the monastic compounds was largely
connected to the popular perception of the Nagas as fertility and protective
deities, and that such a practice would therefore ensure adequate rainfall and
protection against natural calamities. Shaw and Sutcliffe have taken up the
case study of the Sanci landscape, and argued for a model of monastic
landlordism according to which they claim that the 'spatial dynamics of the
"early historic complex" are repeated throughout the Sanchi area and
it provides an empirical basis for suggesting some form of interdependent
exchange network between local oligarchs, landowners, labourers and monks.
How do the Naga images figure in here? First,
the presence of the Naga images situated within the boundaries of the hilltop monastic
complexes are seen to form a part of the wider 'Buddhist landscape', and
secondly, these images are seen as manifestations of the local Naga dynasty,
who appear to have been closely connected with the patronage of dams and
Buddhist sites in the area.
Further the association of the Nagas with water
and fertility in the common belief systems of the people also encouraged the
monks to have their images installed within the monastic complexes, or near the
water bodies like the dams in the area. Therefore Naga worship as part of
Buddhist practice was not because the Sangha sought to convert the local
population, but rather because its effects were in harmony with the Sangha's
wider economic concerns with agrarian production as an instrument of lay patronage.
There are two aspects to the argument made by
Shaw and Sutcliffe, one concerning the role of the monastic establishments in
agricultural expansion, and the second, the role the Naga deities played in
this practice of rural expansion/monastic landlordism that was undertaken by
the Sangha. While the first part of the argument is worked out well, using
archaeological data, with regard to the spatial distribution of monasteries in
the countryside of the Sanci landscape, the connection made with the Nagas is
not very clear especially, with respect to their role in this economic process
and their concomitant assimilation within the Buddhist sect. There have been
many arbitrary presumptions that are made in drawing out this working
hypothesis of the growth and development of the Naga cult in general, and its
assimilation into the larger religious systems of the ancient period.
First is the assumption that the Naga cult was a
folk or a rural form of worship, primarily associated with agriculture. This
has prevented any further studies on the specificities and the finer aspects of
the growth and development of this cult in specific regions, in my study this
is applicable to Mathura. Secondly is the claim, that these cults and their
modes of worship are absorbed into, and modified by the larger pan Indian
religious systems like Buddhism, Jainism and later the all-encompassing
Brahmanical pantheon. The example of Mathura is quoted by Shaw, while
discussing issues of assimilation and integration, stressing the fact that the
Nagas were gradually assimilated into the Bhagvata tradition, and thus the
iconographic resemblance of the ancient Naga and later Balrama images is no
coincidence. The fact that Balarama in the Bhagvata tradition is a deity
closely associated with agriculture, provided further credence to the theories
of fertility and the agrarian aspects of the Naga cult. Issues of royal
patronage are thrown into the argument by using the evidence of the political dynasty of the Naga rulers in the region, who were
believed to have greatly supported and patronized the cult. Therefore, though
issues of economic determinism and the theories of monastic landlordism may
seem plausible to an extent, the association with Nagas and the functional
aspect of the cult in this process remains precarious.
Confining our study to the region of Mathura, we
argue that the Naga cult in the region, during the period under study, enjoyed
unparalleled popularity and was equally complex and diversified as any other
major religious cult of the time-be it Buddhism, Jainism or the Vasudeva cult
at Mathura. Naga icons at Mathura do form a part of the Buddhist and Jaina
pantheons, but there is an overwhelming amount of sculptural representations of
Nag a divinities that are worshipped in their own right. It can be agreed upon
that perhaps the popularity of the Nagas at Mathura encouraged the Buddhists to
assimilate them into their religious iconography and represent them in the
Buddhist architecture at Mathura, but at no point of time in the region does
the Buddhist faith supersede the popularity, or is able to fully convert the
Naga deities into being a subsidiary part of their religion. On the contrary
the Naga cult at Mathura continues to run parallel to the Buddhist one, and
both coexisting in the same landscape enjoyed generous patronage from the local
population. There is no evidence of contestation or confrontation between the
two cults, but an amicable sharing of the same space, as well as a healthy
interaction between the two religions?
The assumption that the Naga cult received any
Copious patronage from the political dynasty of the Naga rulers at Mathura, and
that the Naga religion played any role of legitimation, which may be evident
from the Naga kings being portrayed as manifestations of the Naga divinities,
is not borne out by archaeological evidence. Going by the sculptural data
available, the Naga imagery at Mathura begins as early as the 1 st Century
B.C.E, way before the Naga dynasty is established at Mathura, even the Apsidal Temples at Sonkh dedicated to the cult predate
the Naga dynasty at Mathura. The epigraphic evidence also does not provide any
indication to extensive patronage by the Naga rulers. In fact almost all of the
inscriptions on the Naga images are dated to the Kushana period and mention the
names of the Kushana rulers, primarily Kanishka and Huvishka.
Theories of economic determinism or monastic
landlordism are not really applicable for the region of Mathura, which is
predominantly perceived in literary sources as a region closely connected to
the trade nexus of North India, and archaeological evidence has not revealed
any monumental architecture that may be connected to any extensive agricultural
practices in the region, for instances dams or reservoirs as in the case of
Sanci. Further throughout our work, We have argued, that Mathura as a region
was extremely cosmopolitan in nature, and the spatial dynamics here were very
complex, thus the region cannot be distinctly divided into urban and rural
pockets. The religious cults of Mathura formed a part of this larger
cosmopolitan set up and operated at different levels, the Nagas being no
exception. The ritual and functional importance of the Naga deities, in the
Buddhist pantheons in particular, and in the region of Mathura in general, is
therefore, different to what it may be in the case of Sanci or other Buddhist
sites.
It also seems evident that the Naga cult in
Mathura was extremely local or regional in nature-that is to say that some of
the Naga deities are mentioned by name in the inscriptions and these seem to be
popular local Naga gods worshipped by the people of Mathura. The sculptural
representations of the Naga divinities at Mathura is also extremely diversified
and include individual standing Naga figures, as well as Naga and Nagi plaques,
sometimes being adored by a group of worshippers. The Naga-Nagi plaque from the
site of Dhruv Tila represents the two figures standing side by side holding
water vessels in hand. A similar sculpture, dated to the Kushana period is
found from the site of Ral Bhadar in Mathura, where a Naga figure is t1anked on
each side by two female Nagis, on the pedestal is a group of twelve figurines,
five males, five females, and two children, probably representing the donor and
his family. The inscription on the pedestal is dated to the reign of Kanishka
and records the donation of a tank and a garden to the Naga lord, who is
mentioned by his name as 'Naga Bhumo'. In other two sculptures the female Nagi
is depicted alone flanked by two attendants holding spears in their hands, the
canopy over the head of the Nagi consists of a row of radiate heads.
From the headless Naga figure obtained from the
river Yamuna, the inscription engraved in Kushana Brahmi reads the name
'Dadhikarna', which probably was the name of the deity. As it has already been
discussed that the temple of this Nagaraja existed at the site of Jamalpur,
therefore this image would also have belonged to that site and would have
represented the said Naga deity. The Naga Bhumo is mentioned in the Ral Bhadar
plaque and in many other cases the Naga deities are simply referred to as the
'Holy One'.
The regional and local popularity and
significance of these deities is further emphasized by the find of a Naga-Nagi
plaque from an unknown site from Mathura, dated to the reign of the Kushana
king Kanishka, donating the a temple to the Naga goddess on behalf of the
entire village.
The Popular Regional Cults of Mathura
The history of ancient Indian religion is
primarily traced from the Sanskrit and Pali sources, signifying the development
Vedic religion in the ancient past, to the growth of sects like Buddhism and Jainism,
followed by the complex development of the Brahmanism, that later in the modern
period came to be referred as Hinduism. Mythology and legends as part of this
religious literature provide insights into the history of religious cults
prevalent in a region. These sources provide regional references to the
mythical characters and gods and goddesses, and to various events that take
place in a region. The stories or the life events of Krishna and his entourage
at Mathura are a good example of this. Similarly, the Buddhist sources mention
certain places that are associated with important events from the life of Buddha
that later are considered sacred to the followers of the religion. Though
religious cults like Buddhism, Jainism and branches of the Brahmanical religion
like Vaishnavism are considered pan-Indian in nature, the literary texts
provide certain regional, spatial and temporal contexts to the development of
these religious cults. Alternatively, these religions are then perceived to
constitute the popular cults of those regions. These literary references are
then corroborated with archaeological evidence from the specific regional sites
to provide incontrovertible proof for their existence and practice in the
region.
Archaeologically, the presence and popularity of
a particular religious cult in a region is usually gauged by the extent of
monumental architecture, sculpture and epigraphic evidence dedicated to that
particular cult. This is often taken in association with the textual sources
that will in some ways provide a cohesive framework within which this
archaeological data can fit in, and a linear trajectory to the growth and
development of that religious cult in a specific region be traced. A
distinction is further made between the mainstream religious cults and the
other 'folk', 'rural', 'tribal' or 'popular' cults that may have also coexisted
within a shared geographical space. The latter are always studied as being
subordinated or subservient to the larger religious systems, and are perceived
as often being erased out or assimilated within the mainstream religious cults.
The Nagas, Yakshas and other local gods and
goddesses form the category of the so-called rural or folk cults at Mathura.
These is largely due to the fact that these cults do not have any extensive
religious literature attributed to them, nor are there any large-scale
religious buildings dedicated to them. But this may not always be the case, for
instance the scale and organisation of the Naga cult at Mathura need not be
re-emphasised. Out of all the sites that have yielded Naga images at Mathura,
Sonkh seems to have been the stronghold of the cult in the region. Further in
almost all the inscriptions, mention is made of temple structures being
dedicated to the Naga deities. The Naga Bhumo from the site of Ral Bhadar is
dedicated a tank and a garden, the Chhargaon Naga image, according to the
inscription on it was set up at a tank dedicated to the Naga, and the temple
ofthe Naga Dadhikarna at Jamalpur is well known from the inscription.
Similarly, in the case of the Yaksha cult at
Mathura, there are no elaborate religious texts that trace the origin and
mythology of these cults, neither are there, any huge monumental architectural
structures that are dedicated to them. The references to the Nagas and Yakshas
in textual traditions are very ambivalent in nature, this being particularly true
for the Yakshas, who are viewed as both malevolent and benevolent deities.
Coomaraswamy while tracing textual references to Yakshas in the Vedic sources
begins with discussing the etymology of the word 'Yaksha', and believes that in
the earlier texts the word has been described variously and its meanings have
been much disputed amongst scholars. Therefore in strictly Vedic terms it may
be translated as 'sacrificial offerings' or at times it is used for 'worshipful
deity' or even a 'phantom'.
The haunt or abode of a Yaksha can be outside a
city, in a grove or a park, on a mountain or a ghat, by a tank, or at the gate
of a city or even within the palace precincts. The Yakshas in most cases,
especially in the Pali Buddhist sources have a very regional context and are
seen as being associated with specific cities or inhabiting the forests or
outskirts of a urban centre. These Yakshas were at times also seen as
malevolent creatures that are to be propitiated with offerings and were finally
subdued by Buddha, who then converts them into benevolent deities. The Nagas on
the other hand, are mentioned in the Epics to have inhabited an abode of their
own, which was the underworld or the patalaloka. They appear as constituting
the group of the demigods in Buddhist literature to which belong the Devas and
the Yakshas as well. Both the Nagas and the Yakshas were worshipped under
similar conditions in the Early Historical Period, and both were depicted by
the main religious movements as adherents to their doctrines, and later getting
integrated into their respective pantheons. The Nagas and Yakshas therefore, in
literature are always placed in a subservient position and are eventually
portrayed to be assimilated into the mainstream religious systems.
However the popularity of the cult of the
Yakshas and Nagas in the region of Mathura is unchallenged. Most of these gods
and goddesses operate at a very local/regional level, and are worshipped in
different ways by the local population in Mathura. The earliest literary acknowledgement
of these regional deities is perhaps in the Arthasastra of Kautilya that takes
into account the presence of desadevatas or desadaivatas, which refer to the
tutelary deity of a region or a kingdom. Kautilya also acknowledges the
existence of local rituals and means of worship at the local temples and the
fact that people stuck to their beliefs and practices that they were accustomed
to.
One can also observe the different levels at
which these cults are operating. While the Naga cult at Mathura had temple
structures and tanks built and dedicated to them, as the Buddhists and Jains
had monasteries and temples, a lot of local cults flourishing in the villages
and cities in Mathura did not have any monumental architecture associated with
them. The cult of the Yakshas and village gods and goddesses were some of them,
yet they had a large following amongst the people and were as popular as these
other mentioned cults. In most cases the Yaksha images were placed in an open
space probably under a tree and worshipped, and hence did not
have any architectural monuments dedicated to them. The freestanding image of
the ancient Manibhadra Yaksha from Parkham is an example of a cult, which
seemed to have been very popular. The Yaksha is worshipped till date in the village
and an annual fair is held in its respect in the month of Magh (January). The
same can be true of the various local village gods and goddesses, as well as
common ancestors that are worshipped throughout the region today. We do not
find any big temple structures associated with them, but there are local
shrines at sacred spots consecrating a male and female deity respectively.
These may have, in the ancient period, taken forms of stone slabs or sacred
altars placed under trees and could be worshipped by local people who
worshipped them with offerings in their own ways.
Coomaraswamy points out to this fact that a lot
of tree spirits and local deities were worshipped in this manner, and that the
sacred tree and the alter are two elements of local practice that may have been
taken over by Buddhism by older cults, and in the case of the Bodhi tree this
transference can actually be seen. It is believed by scholars that even the
Jaina tradition of the ayagapattas may have emerged from these sacred altars and
slabs placed on small platforms for folk divinities? This could be an example of certain popular
religious practices being assimilated and modified and then incorporated into
the Jaina religious system. But assimilation could work the other way round as
well. Vidula Jayaswal in her ethnographic study of the use of terracottas in
the Ganga Valley sites highlights the existence of many Devi-thanas and
Baba-thanas, which are local shrines consecrating male and female deities
respectively. She feels that though the local goddess here is seen in relation
to the Sakti cult, yet the custom originated essentially on the local
magico-religious practices? Even in the
present times, though these small structures are said to represent Durga or the
Sakti cult, the modes of worship and offerings to these are defined by the
popular belief systems and local practices. There are no elaborate Brahmanical
rituals that are carried out at these shrines.
The diversity of the local cults in Mathura
during the ancient period was perhaps also reflected in the sculptural data.
The various categories of the Yaksha images would have represented these
innumerable divinities that were worshiped throughout the district. Though
scholars have identified and discussed some of these deities, like Moggarapani
Yaksha, Kubera, Hariti or Naigamesha images, there are many others that do not
lend themselves to any identification because they are not mentioned in any of
the religious literary texts. Apart from the stone sculptures, Mathura has also
yielded a variety of terracotta images of probable female Yakshi. All of these
local goddesses could have formed an important part of the local belief system
of the region, and could have had popular local legends associated with them,
that do not get reflected or recorded in the religious literature of the
period. The regional context and the local popularity of these cults are also
reflected in the fact that most of these images were consecrated in smaller
makeshift shrines, located at a sacred spot in the villages and the deities
were too well known to the people to have their names categorically spelt out
in the inscriptions.
The legends and the stories of these local gods
were perhaps circulated amongst the local population in form of popular stories
and became part of larger oral traditions that never found mention in any of
the literary writings.
The pilgrim circuit of
Mathura today is dominated by the Krishna bhakti and most of the sacred spots
are associated with the Krishna legends. However within this tradition are
vestiges of the ancient cults, like those of the Nagas, Yakshas, local devis
and devatas. The fact that a good number of devi shrines remain integrated with
the brajparikrama shows the resilience of these cults. The presence of the worship
of various sacred trees and groves in the Krishna bhakti can also be seen as
the continuation of older practices of the worship of tree spirits that played
an important part during the ancient period at Mathura. In the present times at
Mathura when even the ancient images are salvaged by people to be worshipped as
some Brahmanical deity, as is done with the ancient Naga image at Sonkh, which
now enshrined in a temple and plays the part of goddess Camunda, there are a
number of local spots with small shrines and icons that form a part of local
religious practices connected to ancestor worship of some tutelary deities. The
Parkham yaksha is a perfect example of the resilience of these
popular cults.
