VL 4 The goddess in religious practice: image worship, pilgrimage, festivals

Question 1

Terminology

Answer 1

imago:
in ancientRome,the mask of the ancestor,
- An array of Sanskrit terms:
- pratimā,“reflection”,“representation”,“imitation”
- rūpa,“embodiment”
-bimba, problematic etymology but meaning “reflection”
- arcā,“icon”,culticimage
- mūrti,“divinecoagulation”, “manifestation”
___________
o “image : all visual objects, whether or not imbued with esthetic qualities. It is inseparable both from the materiality, but also from its nature as an object endowed with agency, set in a given spacial and ritual context, and embedded in complex socio-religious dynamics.
o In South Asia, “the term ‘image’ covers a wide range of sacred objects and that the boundaries between ‘images’ and other ritual objects are fundamentally fluid” (Granoff and Shinohara, 2004, p. 3).

Question 2

Typology of images

Answer 2

• Cultic images
  – These can be man-made or of “non-human” origin, self-manifested (svayaṃvyakta) embodiments of the gods.
  – In the case of man-made images, enlivened by a complex ritual that led them to be endowed with the divine presence (pratiṣṭhā, ceremony involving the “opening of the eyes”).
  – These can be figurative or non-figurative (e.g., the liṅga, the buddha’s footprints”)
• Narrative images
  – Aim at representing specific events and persons.
  – Often embedded within a series of scenes belonging to a broader visual narrative.
  – Characterised by varied and complex relationship with literary narratives, when these are extant.
• Ornamental images

Question 3

The slow emergence of a figurative representation of gods and liberated individuals in Indian religions

Answer 3

• In Vedic times, gods and their cult are highly mobile, centered on the sacrificial fire.
  – The body of gods is “made of words”
  Ø Strong connection between mantras and the divinity, which will remain very strong even in later periods.
• Early Buddhist and Jain art do not represent anthropomorphically their founders until the 1st century CE.
  – Relics, stūpas, and symbols pointing at the Buddha’s presence are the centre of early Buddhist cult.
• What will become “Hinduism” will only develop a cult centered on permanently established temples hosting an image of the deity much later, with a boom in the 3rd/4th century CE.

Question 4

The spread of the cult of images and temple building

Answer 4

• New religious practices centred around the cult of images propel the building of temples throughout South Asia (and beyond). This was rendered possible by:
  Þ Royal patronage and donations by merchants to religious communities centred around monasteries and temples
  Þ The development of temple ritual (pūjā), with Brahmans acting as priests
• Temple: mandira (Sanskrit) / mandir (Hindi), built in stone from ca. 4th- 5th century AD

Question 5

Temple buildings consist of three main units, plus one:

Answer 5

– Garbhagṛha (“embryo house”, image cell, or sancta sanctorum) [Temple tower above the main room => Mount Meru]
– Maṇḍapa (halls): pillared or closed (space before accessing the main image, used for various purposes)
– Ardhamaṇḍapas (porches)
(Antarāla, the vestibule in front of the main cell)

Question 6

Temple ritual (pūjā)

Answer 6

• Worship of the god as the lord of the temple
• pūjā: Feeding and entertaining the deity several times a day (up to 8 times)
  => consists of 16 or 5 offerings “upacāra”
  => originates from the traditional worship and hospitality of a guest

Question 7

Five offerings (upacāra)

Answer 7

• (Rose) water
• Flowers
• Incense
• Food (rice cakes, fruits, ghee)
• Lights => āratī: the waving of an oil lamp or campho

Question 8

Pūjā
(“Worship”):

Answer 8

An Act of respectful honoring
Performed by
– Priests
– Laypeople
* In
– Homes
– Temples
– Monasteries
– Other religiously significant locations (e.g., rivers)

Question 9

Devotion (bhakti) and temple ritual

Answer 9

• darśana: vision of the deity as the goal of
  worship (seeing and being seen)
• prasāda: worshippers are given sacred food

Question 10

Bhakti: the social dimension of religion

Answer 10

Democratization of the access to liberation (mokṣa)
Bhagavadgītā 9.34:
Keep me in your mind with devotion, sacrifice to me, bow to me, discipline yourself toward me, and you will reach me!

Question 11

Pilgrimage
(tīrthayātrā)

Answer 11

• “Journey to a sacred place”
• Tīrtha: literally: “ford”
  => place of transition, connection between heaven and earth

Question 12

Pan-Indian pilgrimage sites

Answer 12

• 4“abodes”(cathur-dhāman) North: Badrinath
  East: Puri
  South: Rameshvaram West: Dvaraka
• 7“bestowersofliberation”(mokṣapradā)
  Places: Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridvar, Kāśi (Varanasi), Kañchi, Ujjain,
  Dvāraka
• 12“liṅgasoflight”(jyotirliṅga)ofŚiva
• 52”Throneseatsofthegoddess”(śakti-pīṭha)

Question 13

Durgā-pūjā

Answer 13

*celebrated in autumn during the month of Āśvin
* lasts 9 days: Navarātra
* royal ritual for success in battle: Durgā slaying the buffalo demon, restoration of the cosmic order, worship or weapons on Dasarā
* ancient harvest festival, fertility (bloodofferings)
=> Annual confirmation of the reign of a king through worship of the goddess

Question 14

Dīpavalī (Dīvālī)

Answer 14

• festival of lights, dedicated to Lakṣmī
• takes place in late autumn
• for: wealth and prosperity, fertility and abundant crops, good fortune in the coming year
• very popular among merchants (worship of account books) and cultivators (worship of crops)
• end-of the year motifs: return of the demon king Bali, Alakṣmī driven away through the lights, connection with Gaṇeśa