Dibyendu Bhattacharyay
State Aided College Teacher (Category – I), Department of English, Balagarh Bijoy Krishna Mahavidyalaya
Abstract
The Corona pandemic has taught us the necessity of three things – primarily the use of masks and maintaining hygiene and social distancing. Besides its importance in the space of performance, Masks have been ever important in the course of civilization. What symbolic significance doesmask bear, when used in the visual representation in mythology?With an elephant’s face, does Lord Ganesharepresent something deep or how is the portrayal of Lord Shiva – the destroyer as well as the most important of the holy trinity of Hinduism,in the form of an erect phallus significant? This paper shall make an attempt to unmask the ideas and identities behind the visual representationof some of the deities in Hindu mythology.
Keywords: Mask, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Hindu Mythology, ShaligramShila
Before we indulge in a discussion on mask, we have to have a working definition of what a mask is.Wikipedia might be an aid to understand how we are connected to it – “A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment.” (contributors)When we attempt to grasp the importance that the masks bear in the history of Culture and Civilization, we will be able to find that Masks have always gained a special importance in the theatrical space and have aided notoriously in the arena of performance. It has been used to embody characters representing ideas. It served its duty in the Greek Stage by keeping the anonymity of the actor and universalising the truth expressed through the character or the performance.But are theatres the only spaces that hold the mask important? Surely not. In the practice of everyday culture, it can be seen that ideas are masked or encapsulated to maintain the importance or the aura of those ideas in the course of history and human life. As an important and crucial element, a joker performing in a circus, points at our lack of a laughing mood in the modern rat race times; it gets perfectly delineated in the way Charlie Chaplin takes the Hitler-kind-of-moustache to hint at how laughter and fun can be picked out of the works and life of such a gruesome personality. It is worth mentioning that it was during Hitler’s time that the world, ready to fight in World War II, learnt the art of wearing gas masks. In a space that is completely different from the theatrical one, masks surely have always remained important inseveral ways.
So, beyond the theatrical space and its usual connotation, masked ideas have always remained prevalent in the course of human civilization. People have masked their identities and ideas to keep themselves beyond the grasp of the commoners. Along with technological changes – over a long period of time –it’s almost a parallel world now – the virtual one – ever existing, yet ever beyond reach.In our contemporary world, in order to hide identities, anonymity is practised in case of digital transactions by using VPNs[i] for accessing the deep web. The way the social media masks our real identities and the way avatars are used in video games etc., it can definitely be claimed that humanity is living in a masked form in the virtual world. So, under a masked identity, things are being done – from helping people to robbing them. All these are mere examples of a masked existence,apparently the real one, these days.
So, primarily masks are not a one day thing. Across cultures, it has ever been and it shall ever remain there to represent certain ideas innate. As discussed earlier, masks have long served the western stage, in the Indian theatrical space too, it has been conducive to presenting ideas. From Kalidasa to Karnad, all the most important Indian playwrights surely had to cater to masks directly or indirectly. In this context, it is worth mentioning that all of the classical Indian plays start by invoking several gods and goddesses, Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha being two of the most widely regarded.Lord Ganesha holds an elephant head and on our first glance at him, it seems he has worn only a mask, because except his look, every limb in his body is humanly.On the other hand, Lord Shiva is embodied as a Shivling[ii] or an erect phallus. In the context of Hinduism, several gods and goddesses are worshipped in the form of stones or clay statues. It can therefore be claimed that we mask the stones with divine feelings or cover the divine entities in the material form. There must be reasons behind this masked appearances being worshipped and being considered the forms or manifestations of the divine beings.The question arises then that are the gods, whom we worship, built of clay or rock, surpass the materiality and become ultimately the symbolic codes that require our active participation in order to decode the meaning they serve as symbols?Are there masked ideas present in mythology? Any interpretation in this case, is equal to peeling the scalps off an onion and every layer is significant.
Amid Corona pandemic, we – the bearers of the current civilization –got accustomedto use masks, keep social distance and the learnt the necessity of washing our hands with sanitizers. It seems quite obvious that these three activities, if not done anything else, surely have uplifted the value of the virus. Even in its microcosmic shape, the virus has not failed to achieve the aura it requires. It has been named as Corona, meaning the Crown, representing the crown of a king and in this context, the god of Death. The godvaries across cultures as well as ritual practices. In Hinduism, Lord Yama takes the human soul out of its earthly possessions. But Lord Shiva is actually associated with the idea of Destruction. Smeared with ashes, an ascetic, he is portrayed meditating on the top of the mount Kailasha[iii]. But, he is represented in another image – a phallic representation of him is worshipped as the Shivlinga. So, isn’t this an attempt to mask the actual image of the god with a symbolic one?
In Hinduism, there are three most important gods – Lord Bramha who creates, Lord Vishnu who sustains, and last but not the least, Lord Shiva who destroys.With his four heads Lord Bramhais considered a god who keeps notice of all four directions for the flow of knowledge. He is associated with the art of creation. It is he who has created the universe as well as the entities in it. Even after such a commendable task, he is not worshipped. Now, if it is considered absurd becauseeven a human form of a god cannot have four heads, it surely will be a wrong assessment. It ensures as well as signifies his ever-alertnessin all four directions. As mentioned earlier, Lord Vishnu, another important deity just like Lord Shiva, is worshipped in a masked identity. Lord Vishnu has had several incarnations of him, still in the common Hindu household, he is worshipped in the form of a ShaligramShila[iv] – a specific type of stone.
This paper, at this turn, is going to delve deep into understanding the way masked identities have been inserted in Hindu religious practices. Since Hindu pantheon doesn’t clearly mention which god is atop whom, the stories pertaining to their creation comes handy in ranking them as per their importance. The god, whose creation is untraceable, is the Devadidev[v] – Lord Shiva. It may seem to the common eye that a god, who is represented in terms of a sex organ – phallus to be specific – must be aggressively sexual. If the phallic symbol serves as his sexual prowess, a definitive question requires to be answered in this case.
Does Lord Shiva have a family? Yes. Has he fathered his children with the male seed? No. Particularly in Bengal, devotees worship Goddess Durga, as the wife ofLord Shiva and they have two sons and two daughters namely Lord Ganesha, Lord Kartikeya, Goddess Laxmi and Goddess Saraswati. But there is no mythological tale associated with this belief. The name Kartikeya is derived from the six forest virgins named Krittikas[vi], who were impregnated only bythe power of the semen of Shiva as it was flowing in the Ganges and they were having a bath in the holy river. So, clearly Kartikya was not born out of a naturalsexual intercourse, hence he cannot be claimed a ‘normal’ child of Lord Shiva.
On the other hand, the story about Lord Ganesha’s birth is completely different. It becomes easy to understand with one of his names – “Vinayaka” which means without a nayaka or male. Goddess Parvati moulded her out of the turmeric paste that she had smeared on her body and wiped as she was going to bath. So, he was born without a male.As Vinayaka did not allow Lord Shiva to enter the gate where Goddess Parvati appointed him as a guardian, the angry Shiva beheaded him and on his orders, when ganas brought an elephant head, Shiva attached it to the beheaded body of Vinayaka. The story of his creation is simple, but there surely are layers of interpretation associated with the symbol of the god with an elephant head.
Goddess Laxmi is the wife of Lord Narayana and there isn’t any tale associated with her creation. On the other hand, Goddess Saraswati emerged as the woman half when Lord Bramha separated himself into two halves – a man and a woman half.
So, with no children whom he can claim his own, the phallic representation of Lord Shiva is futile? Upon an observation of the Shivling, one can see its erectness, and stays still being inserted in a yoni and the tip of the leaf-shapedyoni is pointed towards the north direction. But when any visual representation – be it a sculpture on the walls of temples or any portrait painting – is brought forth, it can be readily observed that Lord Shiva is in meditation, with his eyes closed and sitting either on or very close to snow-capped mountains. His dress and close-eyed posture symbolises he is beyond the worldly affairs and the natural surrounding is very cold. He holds a trident as a weapon representing the triple state of the mind: Sat – Chitta – Ananda (unconditional truth – purified consciousness – tranquil bliss).
Unlike the woman’s body, spilling the male seed is a voluntary act. The ascetics do not indulge in any such activity. Lord Shiva is then the supreme ascetic who burnt even Kamadeva as he tried to make him fall in the traps of creation. He does not create – he holds his power and destroys. So, even when the phallus is inside a yoni, it doesn’t spill seed, rather it stays firm and erect. The erect phallus is upward and suggests the upper flow of the male seed that results in spiritual knowledge. Pattanaik writes:
The reverse movement of the semen is also a metaphor for the reversal of the senses so that they pay attention less to the material reality outside and more to the spiritual reality inside. This reverse movement is also known as the northern movement, towards the Pole Star, in contrast to the southern movement, out of the body, which results in children, family and social responsibilities. (Pattanaik, “Seven Secrets of Shiva” 25).
It is why the frozen nature cannot harm him, because he is like a sage who does not waste his semen on creation and the upper flow of the semen produces a heat in his body that protects him against the frozen backdrop. The yoni here is of Goddess Parvati – the daughter of the Himalaya. She is the nature herself. The Shivling, therefore, is the symbolic manifestation of the untamed self, connected to and controlled by nature.
Lord Vishnu is considered the Purusha– the supreme of being – who sustains life. In Rigveda, he is adorned as: “Sahasra-ShiirssaaPurussahSahasra-AkssahSahasra-Paat | Sa BhuumimVishvatoVrtva-Atya-Tisstthad-Dasha-Angulam”(1), which roughly translates he is the person with thousands of heads, eyes and feet – suggesting his infinite incarnations and he holds the world on all sides within his ten fingers. The visual representation hence become a small black rounded stone – the ShaligramShila – the rounded shape or circle being the purest form of geometrical shapes, ensures the purity of the conceived idea behind this.Lord Jagannath is another form ofLord Vishnu in which he is stark opposite to his human incarnation as Krishna.The Lord Jagannathform only has distinguishable eyes and nose. Such a facial gesture reminds us that in whatever form God is in, he is aware within himself about the devotees.
Lord Ganeshamight be junior to Lord Shiva, as the former is considered to be the child of the latter, but no Puja offering can start without worshipping Ganesha. He is to be worshipped first and only then the other gods follow. When we bring this god under the lens for interpretation, the elephant face, the pot belly and having a vahana[vii] as small as a rat, all seem to be arbitrary. Elephants are the most powerful and considered ever hungry and afraid of none. Such a creature is apparently untameable. But Lord Ganesha only holds the head of this animal – referring to his ability multiplied with such a magnificent head. On the other hand, his body – a man’s referring to the mahout who controls the elephant. So with elephant-like capability, Lord Ganesha embodies control over our earthly affections. One of the two tusks in his face is broken. For Elephants, tusks are for vanity, because they eat with other teeth. So, in the image of Lord Ganesha, again the broken teeth symbolises control or restraint. The goad that he holds in his hand also somehow conveys almost the same idea. This goad or ankusha resembles the English alphabet ‘r’. Its pointed tip symbolises aggression, whereas the bent part symbolises control. So, he is thus truly the child of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati – the symbols of nature in aggression and attempts to tame it are both present in his visual representation.
Hinduism holds almost everything sacred. In it, a piece of stone, a bull, a cow or maybe other animals are worshipped because it acknowledges the infinite incarnations of the divine being as true. When the attributes of a specific god have been required to be pointed out, the seekers of this ideology have attached it in a masked way. Drawing this argument, it can be commented thatLord Ganeshais not required to have an elephant head, but as he has, it actually represents the human consideration of the fact that in every attempt there is a possibility. Lord Shiva always points to a strong and powerful way of controlling life that is always under our choice – how to live a productive life.
Indian mythology, for ages down the line, has kept ideas and identities hidden in the veiled appearances and it has been done purposefully.So, even if the masked appearances of the divine entities in Hindu mythology sometimes appear to be absurd,only a true seeker can see beyond the curtain. It takes a conscious effort to lift the curtain and gradually as the seeker becomes able to move the layers off, s/he finds the path of the emancipation of the soul withthe epitome of true knowledge.
Works Cited
Contributors, Wikipedia. Mask. 3 January 2021. Web. 5 January 2021.
Michael, Jordan. Myths of the World. London: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pdf.
Pattanaik, Devdutt. Durga’s Secret. New Delhi: Westland Publication, 2017. Kindle.
—. Myth=Mithya. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007. Print.
—. Seven Secrets of the Goddess. New Delhi: Westland Ltd., 2015. Web.
—. Seven Secrets of Shiva. New Delhi: Westland Publication, 2016. Kindle.
Sinha, Shalini R. “Resurgence of Myths and Legends in Contemporary Literature of Indian English in an Emergent India.” N.A. (N.A.): 8. Pdf
[i]VPN is a Virtual Private Network that helps in accessing the online world anonymously.
[ii]Shivlingis a phallic representation of Lord Shiva
[iii]The abode of Lord Shiva.
[iv]A black slippery stone worshipped as Lord Vishnu.
[v]One who is beyond the grasp of all other gods.
[vi]Six virgin ladies who became pregnant whle bathing in the Ganges and would eventually give birth to Kartikeya.
[vii]Vahanameans the vehicle. Almost all the gods in Hindu mythology has an animal as vehicle.
Bio Note: Mr. Dibyendu Bhattacharyay serves as a State Aided College Teacher (Category – I) in the Department of English, BalagarhBijoy Krishna Mahavidyalaya. His areas of interest are Digital Humanities, Ecocriticism and Mythology. He may be contacted via email – dibyendubhattacharyay9@gmail.com.
[Volume 4, Number 1, 2021]