Devdutt Pattanaik | The return of idolatry

As Hindu Rashtra prepares to establish itself with the grand inauguration of the Ram temple of Ayodhya on January 22, it is good to remind ourselves that 200 years ago, the Hindu elite was defensive and apologetic about Hindu idolatry. 

Two extremes 

The 19th century saw the rise of the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj, and the Paramhansa Samaj, which focussed on Hindu intellectualism, on social and cultural reform, and criticised ritualism as superstition. Greater value was placed on the Upanishads, and its lofty abstract ideas. This was part of the great Hindu Renaissance. Mythos was eclipsed by Logos. 

But a counter movement soon rose — one that felt all Hindu rites and rituals were rational and scientific, and there was no need for reform. The reformers coined the word ‘Hinduism’ in the early 19th century so the orthodoxy coined the word ‘Hindutva’ in the late 19th century. This clash between reformers and orthodoxy, between Hinduism and Hindutva, became famous as the clash of the Samajis and the Sanatanis. It continues even today. Some would argue it resonates with the tensions between the book-loving Protestants and the ritual-loving Catholics, the stark Sunnis and the more colourful Shias.

Swami Vivekananda tried to balance the two. He forged neo-Vedanta using nationalistic language, but did not abandon the worship of Kali images that were dear to his guru, Ramkrishna Paramhansa. His status as a celibate monk granted him authority among the masses. But his love for meat shocked the conservatives, especially the influential Brahmins and Banias of North India. 

Even though most Hindus ate meat, since the 17th century there was a movement to equate vegetarianism with purity, and purity with the highest forms of Hinduism. This was particularly seen in the influential mercantile community of North India. Vegetarianism enabled elite Hindus to mock Muslims and Christians as ‘meat-eaters’. This was the perfect counter to Muslims and Christians mocking Hindus for idolatry. 

Shamed for worshipping idols, puritanical movements emerged where greater value was given to the formless god (nirguna brahman) even as the community sang devotional songs describing the feats of god with form (saguna brahman). Mahatma Gandhi’s mother Pultibai was part of one such movement, Pranami Vaishnavism. 

Temples to the rescue 

There is no image worship in the Veda. That was a religion of a nomadic pastoral people, who lived in North India 3,000 years ago. The people they engaged with worshipped gods in the form of trees, animals, rivers, mountains, rocks, and stars. Image worship in its earliest form was perhaps worship of rocks raised in memory of heroic men and women, probably kings and chiefs. It became formalised as temples, only between the 5th and 15th century CE. In this period, Brahmins used Vedanta to justify image worship.

The god in the temple was not imposed from outside; he was homegrown, originating from the local geography, hence emotionally connected to the local people. The king secured popular support by declaring himself as a ‘steward’ of this local deity. His Brahmin bureaucrats who also served as temple priests connected the local god to cosmic Puranic gods like Shiva, Vishnu and Devi. This became explicit in Puri Odisha, where the Choda-Ganga (13th century) and Gajapati kings (15th century) said that to challenge the king was to challenge the lord of the land (rashtra-devata Jagannath).

Kingship in Mewar was linked to Eklingji (Shiva), the king of Mysore to Chamundi (Devi). The Vijayangara kings were linked first to Virupaksha (Shiva), and later to Tirupati (Vishnu). These temples were centres of great wealth and symbols of political power — making them important targets of Muslim warlords who began raiding India from the 10th century CE and establishing their rule after the 12th century CE. The anti-idolatry zeal helped them motivate their armies, and justify their economic and political ambitions.

When the Mughal empire waned, royal families used temples to reassert their authority and enhance their prestige. Rajput kings declared they were defenders of images of gods whose temples were destroyed by Aurangzeb. Thus, in Rajasthan we find Krishna images brought from Vrindavan being housed in ‘havelis’. Govinddevji was housed in Jaipur, Madanmohanji was housed in Karauli, Srinathji was housed in Udaipur. 

The power of festivals involving image worship in mobilising Hindus, as a collective, was realised by Balgangadhar Tilak in the 19th century when he transformed a private ritual of Ganesh puja and made it a public celebration in Pune, where all could participate. The kind of participation it has evoked since has been unprecedented. The festival was sponsored by Bollywood stars to boost their image. Soon politicians got into the act. In the 21st century, Ganesh festivals are being promoted in Gujarat and Punjab, regions where the practice was unknown even in the mid-20th century.

Today, Hinduism cannot be delinked from idol worship. Durga festival mobilises the Bengalis, Ratha Jatra mobilises the Odias, Kanwar yatra (collecting Ganga water for Shiva temples in the village) mobilises the Hindi-speaking youth. No one is defensive of idolatry anymore. Everyone insists it is an ancient Vedic practice, 5,000 years old. No one feels the need to respond to the idolatry-shaming still indulged by missionaries, colonisers, rationalists, or atheists.

(Devdutt Pattanaik is the author of more than 50 books on mythology. X: @devduttmyth.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.