imaging of deities often reflects their cultural history – hunting gods
reflecting hunting motifs, etc. It is not surprising, then, in the dynamic
cultural interactions of India today, deities are perceived in varying terms.
The intermingling of ethnic groups from various parts of India in a single
city; the work of popular artists who paint pictures of deities in ways
that combine features from several sources; the classicizing of folk deities
- all these factors have led to deities becoming more eclectic and even
to the emergence of “new” deities who combine features of old deities. Here
again a few illustrations of this process will suffice from the world of
goddesses.
The favored deity of orthodox Tamil sma ̄rtabrahmins living in Mumbai is
a goddess named Ra ̄ja ̄ra ̄jes ́warı ̄ (literally, “the sovereign of sovereigns”). This
is a deity/name suggested to the group by a swami visiting from Madras.
The goddess has roots in Tamil country – for example, as S ́iva’s consort in
the Co ̄l
̄
a court – yet she is considered “new” enough to be ascribed all the
attributes of all previous goddesses. Hence, on the one hand, she is said to
have been the favored deity of the famed philosopher S ́an.kara, and the one
to whom ancient mantras were addressed; yet, at the same time, her very
newness is indication that she is the epitome of goddesses. All s ́akti(power)
is vested in her. To enthrone her within oneself is to internalize the supreme
power of the universe.^15
Quite a different story is associated with S ́rı ̄ Jagadamba (Goddess of
the universe), the name given to the goddess of a shrine at Golkonda Hill
outside Hyderabad. She was once known as Ellamma, the goddess of the
Madigas, or shepherds, a “scheduled caste” also known as “dalits” (literally,
the “broken ones”) historically outside the pale of Hindu society. Ellamma’s
story, however, suggests how the shepherds perceive her true nature and
their own: once Ellamma was the primary goddess of the universe. Desiring
a sexual companion, she created first Brahma ̄, then Vis.n.u, both of whom
refused to have sex with their own mother. For this they were punished.
Ellamma then created S ́iva who agreed to comply with her request. But S ́iva
tricked Ellamma, saying she should give him her third eye, her trident, and
other paraphernalia. Now empowered, S ́iva reduced Ellamma to a weakened
role. She wandered about for some time, found work within a duplicitous
king’s palace only to lose favor and escape. She hid amongst the buckets of
pelt on which the Madigas were working. The Madigas “adopted” her and
she has protected them to this day.^16
Now the Ellamma shrine on Golkonda Hill has been taken over by an
inter-caste committee representing various constituencies in the Golkonda
area, which has sought to “upgrade” the shrine. While the priest of the
shepherds continues to function at the shrine, a brahman priest has been
installed. Rituals performed at the shrine are more nearly “a ̄gamic” – goat
Religion in Contemporary India 211