A History of India, Third Edition

THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA

In a similar way other local gods emerged as major figures of the Hindu
pantheon. Minakshi, the ‘fish-eyed’ goddess of the Pandyas of Madurai,
remained the dominant deity. Her incorporation into the patriarchal
Sanskrit tradition was achieved by identifying her with Shiva’s wife,
Parvati, and making the marriage of Shiva and Parvati the central feature
of the cult of Minakshi. This marriage is still celebrated every year by a
great procession.
While Chidambaram and Madurai are thus associated with Shiva, the
other great god, Vishnu, has his major South Indian centres at Tirupati and
at Srirangam, where he is worshipped as Shri Venkateshvara and Shri
Ranganatha respectively. On the Deccan, at Pandharpur, many pilgrims are
attracted by the cult of Vithoba similarly associated with Vishnu.
Also on the Deccan are the pastoral gods such as Khandoba, whose
great temple at Jejuri near Pune attracts many high-caste Hindu devotees,
as well as the tribe of the Dhangars, shepherds of the highlands. In former
times Maratha rulers also worshipped this god whose impressive temple
was built at the behest of the Holkars of Indore. In eastern India Jagannath
of Puri is another striking example of the transformation of a tribal god
into a great deity of the Hindu pantheon. The icon of this god is made of a
big log of wood and some of his essential priests still belong to a local
tribe. As ‘Lord of the World’ (Jagannatha), however, he has been identified
with Vishnu and as such attracts pilgrims from many parts of India. The
best-known example of this transformation of a local god into an
incarnation of Vishnu is, of course, Krishna, who was originally a god of
the herdsmen around Mathura in Northern India.

Divinity and territory: the gods and their samantas

As well as having definite local connections and being rooted in a place
where they ‘live’ or ‘dance’ or have otherwise manifested themselves, the
gods of the Bhakti cults often also have a ‘territory’—a region in which
their influence is particularly strong and with whose traditions they are
intimately related. As incarnations of great gods like Vishnu and Shiva,
they are part and parcel of the ‘great tradition’; in their particular
manifestation, however, their power (shakti) and sanctity (mahatmya)
radiate only within certain limits. This power is most concentrated at their
site (kshetra) or seat (pitha) and the Bhakta can feel it almost as a physical
sensation. Towards the periphery of the territory their power diminishes
and the power of neighbouring gods takes over. Beyond these limits a god
is neither feared nor worshipped.
This territorial radiation of regional gods prompts comparison with the
territorial sway of the medieval kings of India’s regional kingdoms. The
king was also thought to embody the power and cosmic functions of one
or the other of the great gods. Many kings were celebrated as