Striking Terror: The Asbaran Of Iranshahr

 

A Clash Of Two Civilizations
In the West we learn about the Roman empire and its predecessor Greece, both civilizations being the very foundations of Western thought, civilization and culture. These were remarkable civilizations who advanced technology, science, political workings, social awareness, art and culture to high levels. None can argue the influence Greece and Rome historically, socially and culturally exerted upon Europe and indeed, the entire world. 

History has demonstrated that the East and the West are like the balance of a scale, or like the swing of a pendulum, or perhaps like opposites that attract. When we are attracted to opposites, we do bring with us our own existent natures, for we are but human. We as humans are the same, but due to where we live or our historical experiences we in our imagination tend to stress our differences, so as to maintain our identity. Hence human societies will be placed in a position of conflict and competition as we seek markets and resources to further benefit our own civilization. With this competition comes the natural need to downplay the other, regardless of how astounding or amazing the other may actually be, resulting in a socially felt prejudice that informs our every decision. You're amazing, you're wonderful and I really respect you, but I have to survive and therefore convince myself that I am a step or above you, though this may not really be the case. This is how nations inspire their own people to be ready for the eventual conflict that will develop between two civilizations, for as historian Will Durant wrote it is natural for two nations seeking to control the same resources or markets to go to war. It has always been so and remains the same today. The tiny ancient Greek city states went to war over a wheat field, great empires went to war for bigger prizes, markets or resources. Such was the competition which would develop between Rome and Persia in the era of late antiquity. 

In the 5th century BC the mighty Persian empire attempted to conquer Greece, which was not a united political nation but rather a collection of city states who warred often with each other. They were united in the linguistic and ethnic sense, all based on a common mindset which, defining Greek civilization, was based on the idea that the human being was at the center of the Cosmos. Thus the life and existence of the individual was ever important, this being reflected in Greek art, sculpture and philosophy. Social issues were dealt with as well, as topics for plays and dramas in the theater. The Greek city state was the fanciful and highly developed version of the ancient pre bronze age Pelasgian tribes, much as their northern neighbors such as the Thracians, Illyrians and Dacians maintained this clan based lifestyle rather than develop sophisticated cities with higher culture. But the creation of the city state did not eliminate the basic mentality of personal freedom among those early mountaineers and they became capable fighters who fiercely protected their personal state in the name of freedom and independence. The Persian empire, which held sway over large portions of Asia, Africa and what is now southern Russia, invaded Greece several times but was defeated time and again by these hardly inhabitants of those rocky hills of southeastern Europe. The famous last stand by the 300 Spartans and their allies at Thermopylae, the defeat of the Persian navy at Salamis, the destruction of the invading army at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, all became synonymous with defending Greece, thus Western civilization. The small but confident armies of Greece, always at war with one another but identifying as one people speaking one language, defeated the numerically superior Persian force which included in its ranks warriors from dozens of subject and tributary nations. Unity thus was proven to be an important factor on the battlefield, in maintaining cohesion and securing independence. When Alexander marched into Asia, he too defeated a large Persian force at the battle of Gaugamela, led by the Persian king Darius himself. This and other victories tended to inspire a sense of invincibility among the Macedonians and Greeks as well as their allies- Thracians, Illyrians and other southern European neighbors of the Greeks who served in Alexander's army. Thus, the conflict was viewed as a war against 'barbarians' (from the Greek vavaros, foreigner) which was a duty and struggle for what was then considered as Western civilization against the tyranny of the East. 

During what became known as the Persian Wars, Greek commentators described the armed conflict between the more numerous Persian forces and the Hellenes. They noted how Greek discipline and armor proved effective against the massed forces who attacked time and again the shield walls of the solid ranks of the bronze clad warriors, unable to move them. The Greek warriors, wearing armor and carrying huge shields that protected the torso from their helmeted heads to the greaves on their shins which reached down to their ankles, seemed impervious to swords, spears, axe and mace attacks by their Asiatic foes, who also used their powerful bows to release swift arrows that had little effect on the formidable body armor and great shields known as aspis of the Hellenes. At Marathon in 490 BC the invading Persian force numbered over 25,000 men while the Greek force was less than about half that number. Yet the defenders took the offense and prevailed over the invading Achaemenid empire, inflicting over 5,000 casualties while suffering only 192 themselves.  The story of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, that of the great invasion of Greece led by the Persian king Xerxes himself who was held off by a small detachment of Spartans and their allies headed by the famous general Leonidas, came down to us through the ages as a legend resulting in the Spartans dying to the last man with casualties inflicted on the invaders as being enormous. This stand inspired the Hellenes to unite in a treaty and achieve a great naval victory against the Persian fleet soon afterwards at Salamis. Indeed, the seemingly unstoppable Persian expansion was at last stopped. 

The struggle of civilizations as described by the Greek scholars was sometimes unfair and could be rather one sided. Indeed, the East was far more cultured and in many ways more civilized. The Persians built an empire and united disparate peoples speaking a multitude of languages from varied cultures into a single entity. About two hundred years before Alexander lived a great Persian king, Cyrus, of whom Alexander was in awe. He was a king who sought to unite all the peoples of his then powerful empire in a spirit of unity and is credited with issuing the world's first charter of human rights, respecting and tolerating all the peoples, religions and traditions in his empire, banishing prejudice and establishing equality for all. Cyrus became a model for Alexander to follow, who is believed to have ordered his Macedonian officers to marry foreign women so as to blend the races and do away with the idea of ethnic and racial supremacy. Later, the Roman empire after its rise would incorporate non-Italian born generals, consuls, senators and even emperors into its midst, making the Roman empire a polyglot society that lived according to principles rather than racial purity. This was the legacy of Cyrus The Great, the ancient king of the Persian empire. 

Just as Greek history and thought became the foundation of Western civilization, so did the now legendary military successes of the Greeks over the invading barbarians of the East inform the sense of invincibility in later Rome which was the heir of ancient Hellenism. The Romans built their war machine based on the idea of closely ranked, armed and armored men who presented a flexible movement of units who could stand together and present a formidable shield wall. This shield wall could advance or stand its ground as required. Much more effective and flexible than the Macedonian phalanx, that mass of armored men presenting a huge porcupine of bristling sarisas or 16 foot long pikes, the Roman legion, being able to move when needed, became an unbeatable force to be reckoned with which built an empire that centered around the Mediterranean sea. The domains of Rome eventually stretched from the British Isles to Africa, colonizing eastern Europe in the process (modern Romania, hence the name) and went on to control much of the Middle East. It was here however that Rome would come into conflict with the other great world empire of the day, that of Persia. 

The Rise Of Iranshahr

Iran, like Italy, seems to possess that amazing ability to rebirth itself time and again throughout history. Having been conquered by Alexander and controlled by the Macedonians for a time, under the dynasty known as the Seleucids, slowly the Persians made various attempts to reestablish their control. The Parthians were one such dynasty, an Iranic people of the steppe who first acted as mercenaries for the Seleucids but then grew in power and influence until they gained control from the now defunct Seleucid dynasty and soon began to rule Persia themselves. They engaged in some wars with the Romans who did try to control Mesopotamia, the lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. The Parthians however were weakened by these wars with the Romans and through internal strife of their own. One warrior named Ardeshir of the house of Sassan rose up and openly challenged the Parthian Dynasty, eventually defeating them in the battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD. Ardeshir then established the Sassanid Dynasty and set about to revive the glory of the Achaemenid Empire of the past, establishing Persia as a power once again as it was in the days of Cyrus and Darius. He established his power and consolidated his holdings, proclaiming himself as the Shahinshah, or King of Kings.  His brought up his son Shahpur as a warrior and took him on campaigns, announcing that he would be his heir. Upon his father's death and following in his footsteps, the new king Shahpur I would convert his kingdom into an empire which would be known as Iranshahr, or the realm of the Iranians, continuing the realization of his father's dream and vision. This entity would become a vast domain that eventually stretched from Syria to the far reaches of Central Asia, controlling the Silk Road spice trade and exacting tolls and tribute from the many merchants who did business in the cities of the fabled road that connected East and West. 

It was but a matter of time that the Roman empire, born in war and conquest and always seeking new markets to control, would make their attempt to defeat this new Persian entity and expand into the territory where Alexander once walked. Rome and Persia would be the balance of power in the the Middle East and the two empires would engage in almost constant warfare for the next five centuries. Confident as ever, the Romans made their move and began hostilities, marching their legions east from Syria to the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Rome had faced powerful enemies in the past, yet almost always prevailed. Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy and inflicted defeats on the Roman armies, but was forced to withdraw from the peninsula noting the staunch determination of the Roman legions; "one more such victory and I am lost" he is reputed to have implied, giving rise to the expression 'Pyrrhic victory'. Hannibal of Carthage also invaded the Italian peninsula and soundly defeated the Romans several times. Lacking siege engines, equipment and a steady flow of supplies, he was unable to breach the walls of the fabled city. Low on supplies and new recruits, he had to retreat from Italy just as Pyrrhus had done. The Romans rallied under the general Scipio, who would be awarded the title 'Africanus' for finally defeating Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC. North Africa, Greece and the Balkans eventually came under Roman rule. The Romans made mistakes, such as invading heavily wooded Germania where they were defeated at the battle of the Teutoburg Forest but learned from these mistakes, and made improvements in their military all the time, enabling them to conquer the vast territory they did. At Teutoburg they realized that their legions were invincible on an open plain or field as this is how the legion fought, but were useless fighting against tribesmen who concealed themselves in the tress and attacked the legion as if falling from the sky itself. Unable to use their standard tactics and formations, the Romans were soundly defeated. Germania was no great matter though, as the Romans were able to occupy the fertile valleys and plains of the Rhine region and established orchards of grape and fruit. There were no great empires or cities beyond the Rhine river, but beyond the Persian homeland itself were many rich urban centers waiting to attain the honor of paying their tribute to Rome. At least so the Romans thought. The next five centuries would be a giant stalemate that would weaken the two empires to the point of collapse, and the peoples of the Fertile Crescent suffer from the ravaging of the two armies. 

To expand his power and to fight on many fronts both in the east and the west Shapur quickly went about reorganizing his army, establishing various units and regiments. The Persians had a long relationship with the peoples of the steppe whom they both fought and hired as allies. These steppic peoples were a horse culture, people who learned to ride a horse almost immediately after they learned to walk. Therefore, cavalry became an important feature in the Persian army. There were tribesmen who made up the light cavalry who could ride circles around their foes, riding speedy horses and releasing volleys of arrows at their enemies, medium armored horse warriors who charged with sword and shield to effectively engage opposing cavalry, and then there were the cream of the army of Iranshahr- the invincible and much feared mounted warriors known as the Asbaran.

The Invincible Cavalry Of Heaven
The Asbaran were armored horsemen who wore chain mail sometimes studded with metal plates in the form of a suit which fitted closely to the body offering protection but also flexibility, while many others wore scale armor. They wore a pointed helmet upon the head and many sported a metal face mask giving them an awe inspiring appearance. Their mounts were covered in mail as well, and the sound of the armor was like the sound of a musical instrument jingling in time with the horse's gait. A charge of hundreds or thousands of these warriors resounded a frightening sound over the field of battle as the ground literally shook. The Asbaran were armed with a lance for the initial charge, then fought with sword, mace, axe or club and protected themselves further with a shield. They also carried a bow and quiver of arrows at their side. In short, the Asbaran warrior was the predecessor of the modern tank, both fearsome and magnificent to gaze upon. It is interesting to learn when we study history how ancient technology, like ideas, are somehow lost but then resurrected by succeeding civilizations. In the ancient world the armored Assyrian cavalry carried everything before it, feared and respected by the armies who opposed them or the multitudes who fell under their rule. The Asbaran seemed to be a reincarnation of that feared armored cavalry of the Bronze Age rising from the grave as it were, now in the many centuries series of wars between Rome and Persia. 

Eye witness accounts from Roman legionaries reveal the dread and fear these heavily armored horsemen drove into the hearts of the stationary infantry facing them. The Roman legions always took up their customary and orderly positions on the field organized into cohorts of six hundred men each, all in good order, ready to move on a moment's notice at the command of their consuls. The Persian army of Shahpur was lined up too but took a more aggressive action, initiating the attack almost immediately. First the light horsemen of the steppe would go forth in an attempt to draw the enemy out of formation. They would ride up to the lines of the legions, in groups of a few hundred or more, release a few volleys of arrows which one chronicler wrote would 'blot out the Sun and darken the sky'. Usually some Roman unit would give chase, only to confront the Persian regular infantry and engage in close combat. Some horsemen might attack and fight in close quarters with the Romans for a time, then suddenly retreat. The Roman legions, excellent in defense and virtually invincible in the use of infantry, might then believe they carried the day and the whole army began to move forward. They would then learn to their dismay that there was one more element of the Persian army they would have to face, the element that turned the tide of battle so many times. The Roman veterans of the Persian wars were awaiting for that moment of impact when the Asbaran would charge and smash into the ranks and lines of the legions, crushing the front line soldiers under the hooves of their heavy mounts. With momentum and speed, lances impaled the now defenseless foot soldiers. Then reaching for their swords or other personal weapons the Asbaran would wreak havoc on the legionnaires, literally cutting them to shreds. Roman gladius swords, renown since ancient times for their destructive power, were seemingly useless against the armor of the Asbaran warriors.

Modern depiction of Asbaran heavy cavalry smashing into the Roman ranks

Once the Roman legion was disorganized, the Persian infantry would intercede again and a savage hand to hand fight would ensue. The lighter cavalry could easily keep the Roman horse at bay, the latter rather inferior to the equestrian talents of the steppic riders, while the Asbaran and the infantry further decimated the ranks of the legions. Rome had known defeat before and had no fear of losing, but in the cavalry of Iranshahr they were learning something novel which their once invincible infantry never experienced before. In the Punic wars against Hannibal they learned how to deal with attacking elephants, observing that the animals were sometimes unreliable and could be turned. Yet the ever confident Asbaran cavalry, cleverly utilized by Shahpur's genius, affected even the morale of the Roman soldiers sent to fight in the east. They had never before encountered such a foe as these mounted Asbaran warriors. 

The Victorious Asbaran, drawing by Gambargin

Rome Humiliated

Shahpur had recovered much lost territory in the Fertile Crescent region and defeated the Romans in many battles. Perhaps the most humiliating defeat for Rome in her history however occurred at the battle of Edessa. The emperor Valerian was an aggressive emperor intolerant of Christians and Jews in his domains, while Shahpur's kingdom was one of tolerance and inclusion. He took a liking to the prophet Mani  and his dualist religion, allowing him to preach freely in his empire. But amid this spiritual perusing, Shahpur pledged to recover lost Roman territory in the Middle East. He began his campaign against the Persian empire in 257 AD by capturing the city of Antioch, then taking back all of Syria from Persian possession. Shahpur watched as the aggressive emperor marched east and gained a few victories. Confident, Valerian invaded Persian territory and entered the city of Edessa, after struggling with an invasion by the Goths. Here, a large portion of his army fell sick with a plague which was ravaging Asia Minor at the time. Shahpur sought to lay seige to the city, but the impulsive Valerian decided to meet Shahpur outside the city walls, and with a force of over 60,000 men took position on the field as the Romans always did. The battle proceeded as usual, with the light cavalry shooting their arrow volleys and enticing the legions to give chase, though in an orderly fashion. Shahpur ordered forth his Asbaran cavalry who decimated the Roman ranks, with the rest of the Persian army surrounding the Romans and trapping them. Nearly the entire Roman force was destroyed or taken captive. Valerian, surrounded by his praetorian guard, sued for peace but Shahpur instead took the emperor prisoner, the first time a Roman emperor would be taken captive. What was worse and damaging to Roman pride was the fact that Valerian would never see Rome again, as he would eventually die as a prisoner of the great Shahinshah. Valerian held the reputation of being the only Roman emperor ever to die at the hands of an enemy while being a captive. Some sources claim that Shahpur had molten metal poured down the emperor's throat after he offered gold and silver for his release, others that he was flayed alive. However, these are Roman reports that may be somewhat exaggerated. Shahpur did commission sculptors to honor his victory by ordering them to create friezes and carvings depicting the defeated Roman emperor Valerian on his knees before the mighty ruler of Iranshahr who sat upon his horse in victory and glory. It is said that Valerian was forced to act as a foot stool to assist his new master in mounting his horse. There was at least one carving commissioned that portrayed Valerian as a collared dog on a leash, held and controlled firmly by his master the Shahinshah. Whether this is truth or legend, Shahpur I was clearly not a man to toy with, and his fame was known in all of the ancient world.

The End Of An Era
Rome was an empire which eventually had two capitals, with the eastern half of the empire governed by Constantinople. There was movement on the steppes of Eurasia, most notably the Huns who displaced many tribes and peoples including the Goths who fled before them. germanic tribes began moving south threatening Italy. The western empire fell when Rome was sacked in 410 AD by the chieftain Alaric, and in 476 the Germanic chieftain Odoacer deposed the last emperor. Only in the east did Rome survive in the form of the Byzantine empire, with Christianity now the state religion. The movements of peoples in Central Asia also affected Iranshahr, however the Persians managed to keep their incursions at bay though these barbarian raids kept the Persian military busy on their northern frontier. In the meantime Rome, now Byzantium, continued the wars with the Persian empire, winning some ground in the Middle East and the Caucasus and then losing some. This went for a few more centuries, and these wars weakened both powers. The constant destructiveness of the wars affected he trust of the peoples of the  Fertile Crescent as well, who developed much disdain for the two warring empires. For all their efforts against the dangerous steppic tribes to guarantee the safety of an empire, Sasanian Iranshahr would fall due not to Turkic or Hunnish peoples from the steppes but because of bedouin tribes from the southern deserts. A new power would arise out of Arabia armed with a new faith, Islam, which would unite the once warring bedouin tribes who themselves served as mercenaries for both the Persians and the Romans. Taking advantage of political turmoil within the empires which were already weakened by centuries of war, the Umayyad dynasty in the 7th century would conquer Persia and stamp out the glory of the Sasanians forever. Iranshahr and its memory would be gone, and the state religion of Zoroastrianism diminished in the land where it developed. The eastern Roman empire, Byzantium, on the other hand managed to hold off the Arabian Saracens as they were called and maintained itself for another 800 years until the Ottomans, descendants of Turkic steppe peoples from Central Asia now armed with the Arabian faith of Islam, conquered Constantinople in 1453. 

Preserving The Memory Of A Bygone Age
Iran has demonstrated as a pattern in history the ability to rise, conquer, struggle with itself, fall and then gloriously rise again. The proud Persians always insisted on preserving their past. Many of the stories of the invincible Asbaran cavalry of old were preserved through the medium of bards and storytellers. In the 10th century, when the Islamization process was in full swing, dangerously coming close to replacing Farsi with Arabic as the language of the people, an author named Firdowsi compiled over 50,000 verses into what became one of the great epics of history, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings. This epic tells of the creation of the world, humanity and the founding of the Persian nation and empire. It is replete with tales of war and battles, heroes and champions, mythology and history based on the actual wars and struggles of the early kings and the various peoples of the steppes they had to vie with for power. The book mentions the heroes who set out to commit great deeds and feats of daring in battles that are as visceral as the Iliad, the Mahabharata or the Germanic sagas. An interesting feature of this epic, as is to be found in some of other earlier epics of humanity, is the role of women as warriors which is testified to by history. Women warriors were not unknown in ancient Iran, unlike in  Greece or Rome where the idea of a fighting female was unheard of. The Shahnameh epic mentions several of them, and ancient military history mentions them as well. Among the mounted archers of the steppes who fought for the Persian army were Scythian and Turkic tribal women who were excellent in the use of the bow and in horse riding. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the Persian military machine for the Romans though, was the presence of armored female Asbaran in their ranks, some of whom were commanders. In Rome the gladiatorial games sometimes saw the presence of female gladiatrix, usually women from wealthy families who indeed chose to become gladiatrix by choice. However, the profession never went beyond the realm of entertainment. In fact it was so frowned upon by Roman society that in 11 AD the senate began passing laws to limit women's involvement in the sport. Roman, like Greek women, could never have dreamed of joining he military, but in Iran women not only enlisted in the armed forces but were also held in high esteem and regarded with much respect. 

Two drawings of female warriors of Iranshahr, by the modern illustrator Gambargin

There is one such story of an Asbaran warrior who took part in one of the typical charges against the Roman infantry in one of the many battles fought between the mighty empires in the era of late antiquity. The story was one told and retold quite often among both the Romans and the Persians, therefore likely true. One Asbaran warrior who was one of hundreds who crashed into the Roman ranks in a particular battle, completely clad in chain mail and scale armor wearing a helmet with a bronze mask covering the face, was noted to be particularly fierce, impaling legionnaires with the lance then slashing with the sword and killing a great number of Romans. Realizing the necessity to bring down this warrior, the Roman commander ordered a dozen or so  Arab/Roman mercenaries to surround the mighty warrior. These Arab mercenaries were expert in bringing down armored cavalry, using ropes and lassos to pull the Asbaran from the horse. They then moved in with clubs to smash the warrior and stabbed deeply through the openings and joints in the armor using long blades for the nasty deed, a most effective way of dealing with these otherwise impregnable horse warriors. After the battle, it was customary in the days of old to strip the dead of their armor, as it was expensive and considered a prize that could fetch a decent payment back in camp, and the armor of an Asbaran horse warrior was considered special indeed. The Romans looked on in shock when they removed the helmet of this slain warrior and found that the fierce slain Asbaran wearing this magnificent suit of armor was none other than a woman. Indeed, the Shahnameh includes in its verses many names of such fierce warrior women clad in the armor of the Asbaran such as Gordafarid, Manijeh, Banu Goshasp, and the powerful queen Azarnidokht, among many others. Women in ancient Iran were not at all like the women of Rome.  

It may not come as too much of a surprise that the Romans, for long a foot soldier's army and seeing the need to improve their cavalry in the face of increasingly mounted enemies, incorporated the concept of the Asbaran into their own forces, for which the Byzantines became well known. They called these mounted and fully armored warriors Cataphracti, from the Greek language meaning fully armored or enclosed, as the appearance of these warriors testifies. We might be further surprised to note that the idea of the European knight had its origins in the Asbaran, not only in the use of armor but also in the code of chivalry. The Shahnameh is replete with stories of noble deeds and acts of mercy and forgiveness as well as the need to avenge a wrong on the part of the champions. Honor is held in the highest esteem, with one's word considered as sacred as any spiritual practice. When a word is broken or an insult perceived, the two parties affected agree to fight it out to the end in a duel that attracts the attention of the populace, as was the case for the events of Homer's Iliad. It is said that the King Arthur story may have its origins in Persian or Caucasian mythology. The name of Parsifal, one of Arthurs noble knights of the round table, is especially interesting as it does pertain to Parsi, the culture and language of the people of Iran. Yet for all the facts that point to Persian origins and connections in literature and in historical reality, the West remains indifferent to the feelings of the past regarding Iran. Perhaps one of the unspoken agreements in becoming the heir to Greece and Rome is for the West to maintain the somewhat unfair, exaggerated prejudice and mistrust of a nation that invaded the land of original democracy, ancient Greece, and was the virile competition to that lawmaker and stabilizer of Europe, Rome, for which we feel we are all indebted. Iran has gifted so much to humanity, its ancient spiritual path of Zoroastrianism having inspired the Abrahamic faiths with visions of the struggles of heaven and hell, the battle of light and darkness fortified with the concept of the free will of Man which begat the sense of compassion, charity and duty towards all people. Many however remain ignorant, by no fault of their own, of these contributions of this ancient civilization which placed the dignity of human beings above all else. Ignorance, due to the prejudice which was fostered perhaps by pride and the assumption of a power that was broken by the swords of this one time powerful eastern rival of mighty Rome. So, it seems that it is safer and more convenient to forget and ignore Iran's past than rightfully acknowledge her past glory. But we should remember that history is ongoing and never stagnant, and if the patterns persist, then Iran is destined to rise again. 

The poet Firdowsi, in preserving the Iranian language not only kept the memory of Sassanian glory alive but also reminded his people that women held a high place in ancient Persian society. These tales have strengthened Iranian women over the centuries and continues to inspire the young who are now confronting the chains of an imported religious ideology that doesn't see women in the same light but prefers to keep them in ignorance and darkness. Persian spirituality was all about the struggle of light against darkness, good fighting evil, and the day will come when the women of Iran will set out once again, as their ancestors did riding as Asbaran warriors in ages past. The Iranian people will know victory, for the swords of light and the armor of victory carries the day before them. 

Persian miniature from a medieval commissioned volume of the Shahnameh 

Copyright Ismail Butera, 2022



Highly recommended! Check out the fine art of this amazing illustrator Gambargin, who brings the past to life...
 
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Vyasa, The Homer Of India

India's Great Epic
Homer is credited with being the father of Western literature. We aren’t sure whether he actually lived or not but what has been recorded is that he was a bard who recited great tales based on events of the Trojan War which became known as the Iliad. So important was this and his other tale, the Odyssey, that some historians believe the Greeks adapted the Phonecian alphabet to create their own for the purpose of preserving these tales in written form. When a people set out to create high civilization, they ultimately require books and records to preserve their identity and pass it on to posterity. 

This occurred in most civilizations, the preserving of those narratives considered important for any particular culture. In India there supposedly lived a rishi or sage named Vyasa who dwelled at the edge of a great forest. From there he was a witness to the battles and events between the powerful Pandava and Kausara clans who fought each other on the great plain of Kurukshetra. These battles and wars as well as the evens surrounding the many characters in this epic became the very foundation of Indian epic literature, the myth that was at the heart of India’s civilization. Viyasa is said to have witnessed the battles and the events himself and as a consequence, he recorded the events in writing, which one day would become the great Mahabharata, a lengthy epic which still holds mass appeal for all Indians.

A Tradition Of Spirituality And Books
Vyasa is considered an important figure as he also divided the rather sumptuous religious text known as the Veda into four books, breaking it down so people can further study and research the teachings contained within and come to understand more intimately the meanings of the 'suktas' or verses, as the corpus of the Veda in one book would be far too huge to consume as one text. The four Vedas are the Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and the Atharveda. Thus Vyasa earned his name because vyasa in Sanskrit refers to dividing, splitting, organizing. It is obvious that someone or perhaps a group of people decided to compile and organize the various sacred texts in this manner. Vyasa is also credited with compiling other religious books such as the 18 Puranas and the Brahma Sutras, important in the study of the Sanatan Dharma path which non Indians know as a general term, Hinduism. Like the Greeks, the Indians gave the idea/person/group collaboration an identity, and named it as an individual, Vyasa. This is how the figure we can claim to be the father of Indian literature came to be known. We would have to search and investigate to find out if a person named Vyasa was an actual person, just as historians have been trying to prove the actuality of Homer or for that matter the existence of those who inspired several figures of the great religions of the world; Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Zoroaster, Mohammed and Arjun are not necessarily proven historical figures though they are accepted and agreed upon as having been ‘real’ by masses of humanity and those scholars who argue their existence. These figures, real or imagined, have been influential enough for the communities who embraced them, and because of that embracing we must accept them as pertinent, regardless of our own personal opinion about their veracity. The same can be said of Homer and certainly, for Vyasa. Such ancient literary bards, like the prophets and spiritual teachers mentioned, mean much to people and communities, so much that we are forced to focus our thought and discussion around them and we do so to this day. Time, events, the scope of history has been and to an extent still is viewed through the lens of such beings. They are larger than life and therefore we can say they are multidimensional. Such figures lend support like a necessary pillar to the temple of human civilization that upholds tradition and withstands the scrutiny of the consecutive centuries. 

India was aptly termed by historian Michael Wood as ‘the Empire of The Spirit’. Every aspect of Indian life and thought revolves around the seeking of divinity and the place (or places?) of humanity, the gods and the celestial beings in the universe, which is understood in a cyclical concept rather than the linear concept of time associated with Zoroastrianism or the Abrahamic faiths. Wherever one travels in India, the sense of the otherworld is ever present, based on the concept of maya, that all we see, hear and touch in this dimension is but an illusion because what we see and experience now was experienced before and will be visible to future generations, as everything comes round over and over. Indian civilizations have built great temples and architectural palaces, kingdoms went to war and seized land and wealth as anywhere and the kings of these many entities have known wealth beyond imagination. Yet Indian kings all understood that possessions are trivial compared to attaining enlightenment and divinity. The pursuit of divine knowledge permeates every aspect of Indian life and history. Therefore it is no surprise that this poet/bard Vyasa and his compilation of the great epic would be wrapped in a coating of Indian mysticism and otherworldly, celestial overtones. One of Vyasa's disciples, Ugrashravas, is credited with being a great narrator of the Mahabharata who became a great teacher himself by explaining the various lessons that are taught and described in the epic. Ugrashravas can be said to have set the example for future sages to follow, his commentary further expounded upon century after century like the great rabbis and sages of Judaism who maintained a tradition of theological debate that continues to this day. 

A Woman's Touch?

As in the narratives of most ancient civilizations there is an element of the otherworldly at play, for is said that Vyasa had some assistance from an apsara named Adrika. Apsaras are female celestial beings who inspire poets, dancers, musicians and artists, similar to the muses in ancient Greek mythology. Because the text of the Mahabharata was so long and there were so many events and personalities to keep track of, the apsara Adrika reminded Vyasa and assisted him in writing and preserving the epic, influencing even the language and the style of the verse. It was said that the verses are so bold and poignant, it could not have been written by a mere mortal. For example, the text is quite varied as it has some beautiful and tender passages of love and longing, even some laughter and comedy but also visceral descriptions of terrible battles that could compete with any violence found in the Iliad, the Persian Shah Nameh or the Germanic Sagas for bloodshed and slaughter. Yet it is all contained in the book, and in Indian literary legend credits the apsara Adrika for bearing witness to the vicious battles, assisting Vyasa in compiling and preserving the events of the epic in a textual format. Perhaps the Mahabharata is the work of several authors, as is believed are the religious texts of the world, and the likelihood that it is the work of several authors is all the more evident in the days of yore when most people were illiterate and writing was the special reserve of the elite, who hired literate scholars to create such texts for them. The connection with other dimensions and realms was a common feature in the ancient world, intertwined in the life of India, beings from heaven having had a hand in the creation of such important texts. Vyasa supposedly received visions and inspiration from Adrika, just as Arjuna sought guidance from Krishna. We have to wonder if a single male rishi or a group of men of an ancient, patriarchal India would have willingly composed the verses about the strong women of the Mahabharata such as Chitrangada, who defeats Arjuna in hand to hand combat and outdoes him in the art of archery, then takes him in and restores him to health, falls in love and bears him a son, who in time teaches this seeker of truth a lesson in karma and commitment- without giving a nod to the female apsara Adrika herself, who seemingly inspired Viyasa to write a few lines about women in a strong and powerful light. Or was Vyasa, or the more likely numerous authors of the text...just getting in touch with their feminine side? In Greek and Roman mythology, strong women are given their due mention but must be defeated, and are. In Indian epics, they are teachers in their own right, though they too must eventually take their seat in the shadow of men. Or, were some of the authors of the great epic actually women themselves? Apsaras are known in Indian literature and lore as dancing beauties who sometimes entice men or gods with their performance, their sensuality and grace. Yet Adrika assists Vyasa to compose verses replete with visceral combat, as it is related that both she and he were witnesses to mighty battles and conflicts. If she were a real person then we might compare her to Matilda, the wife of the Norman warlord William the Conqueror who subdued England after the famous battle of Hastings in 1066. The well known Bayeux Tapestry depicts in art the exploits of her husband which includes the events leading up to and through the great battle. Though the tapestry is said to have been commissioned by one Bishop Odo, its execution was carried out under the direction of Matilda herself. Glancing at the tapestry we could see that Matilda, like Adrika, was clearly no stranger to violence or the realities of warfare. 

Vyasa may represent an example of the scholars of early India, at the commencement of the Vedic period when Indian culture and civilization was coming about and texts being compiled. He may have been one person or a group of people the culture needed to identify so as to explain how their civilization and its thought developed. In what became a patriarchal society, of course a man had to be the one to be remembered as the compiler of that society’s texts and scriptures. Yet India is amazing in that these narratives always include the feminine aspect. If the apsara Adrika is a fictional character, then she represents the balance of male/female in the creative mind, much like the duality of gender associated with the god Shiva or even more importantly, as we read in the Rig Veda which explains that Shakti, the feminine essence of the universe, is responsible for organizing it all into both material and spiritual form. With that passage in the Rig Veda known as the Diva Sukta which describes the primordial source of the universe as the powerful and complete female, we understand why even in this patriarchal society the apsara Adrika is given her due in the history of the compiling of India’s great epic, which is as popular today as it was in the glory days of ancient India’s courts and kingdoms. As a mother is necessary to bring forth and nurture life, the apsara nurtures the poet and the artist, guiding them to create beauty so as to solidify the very foundations of civilization. The apsara Adrika is acknowledged in sculpture and art as well as in the narration and the recounting of the history of the epic and for being a guide to Vyasa that great bard and poet, the equivalent of Homer in ancient India. 

Ismail Butera, 2022

Why India?

 

Timeless Land, Patient People 

The past is ever with us and all that we are and have comes from the past. We are its products and we live immersed in it. Not to understand it and feel it as something living within us is not to understand the present. To combine it with the present and extend it to the future, to break from it where it cannot be so united, to make of all this pulsating and vibrating material for thought and action- that is life. 
~Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery Of India

I have been asked many times over why I am fascinated by India. I believe part of the answer can be found with the Indian concept of time and how to use it; for two years the Covid pandemic has caused those of us who live in our monitored and regulated modern societies to sit down a bit in the comfort of our homes and think, perhaps breathe or in essence meditate, on the reality of our existence. We who live busy lives seeking something new to do, to enjoy, to experience  or to advance our personal glory and gain have been forced due to the social limitations imposed by the pandemic to contemplate the inner life, finding contentment in our own space. What can be more 'Indian' than this? Time, space and nature has forced humanity to seek possibilities of other dimensions and realms of being and imagination by looking within. The Dharmic path is ever present but we are oblivious to its existence because we choose to make and seek noise and action rather than remain silent for a moment so as to hear the constant celestial music, the hum and rhythm of the universe. We are taught not to waste time by always seeking things to do to keep busy. Yet time is not something that can be wasted. In contemplation and meditation we can adjust, not to a work schedule but rather to an understanding of existence that puts us in touch with inner ourselves. In the Indian practice of pranayama, the control and realization of the breath is considered very important. According to the ancient sages one can live without water or food for days or even weeks, but one simply cannot live without air. Thus air, one of the essential elements, is respected and revered and the practice central to understanding how to contemplate and meditate on the life of the soul. All is contained in the breath, in the inhaling and the exhaling. If we can but realize this.
 

The Interconnectedness Of Particles & Musical Notes

I must admit, my first interest in India was musical, having fallen in love with her classical Hindustani and Carnatic traditions long ago. Music is an art but also a science in India, with scales and modes known as ragas and and rhythm called tala categorically and mathematically classified and associated since ancient times with the seasons and the climate, hours of the day, planets of the universe and with the cycles of life, death and reincarnation that would startle Pythagoras. Early morning ragas, mid afternoon and late evening ragas all have their purpose and are used as natural accompaniments to breathing practices, prayer and meditation, work and the creating of art, dance as well as enhancing even such temporal though very human and natural acts such as making love. All the arts, the sciences, the disciplines both spiritual and physical are all connected in Indian life according to the principles and understanding of the dharmic path. Music is no mere pastime in traditional Indian culture, and to study music it was important for one to seek a teacher known as a guru and to become 'tied' to the pandit, or master. One of the first lessons taught to a shishya or disciple is not how to play an instrument but how to understand and respect the elements of sound, known as Nada Brahma which is in essence, divinity itself. Musical notes are considered as living beings. A story is told to the disciple, according to the late sitar master Ravi Shankar, that when one pays a raga properly, the notes are content and they joyously dance upon the heavens, but if performed carelessly they are broken, they crash into one another and fall from the sky as wounded bodies fall on a battle field. This respect for the power of music always fascinated me about Indian culture, and over the years I went on to learn more about this fascinating civilization. Ethnic and folk music was my field of knowledge and expertise, but I did learn that this respect for art, science and mathematics permeated Indian culture in every aspect of life, from yoga and physical exercise to cooking. Everything is interconnected, therefore all things are part of a whole, manifested in a trillion, billion million forms. India's arts and sciences reflect that sense of many represented as multiple and singular at the same time. The concept of zero, created by Indian mathematicians, explains this completely. From nothing many, and from many nothing. One cannot be without the other, and form is but maya, or illusion. Ayurvedic medicine treats the whole person, body and soul, not just a single ailment. The inner truth is there, in oneness with the universe, and permeates all. Thus the common Hindu greeting 'Namaste', accompanied by the clasping of two hands as in prayer, is a gesture in which one soul greets another- "the Atma in me salutes the Atma within you". Indeed, we are all part of a greater cosmos. 

                               Master Alaudin Khan with his son sarodist Ali Akbar and sitarist Ravi Shankar on left

The history of India is very old, her civilization goes back some 5,000 years. The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro traded with the cities of the Middle East, exporting their Lapis Lazuli stone to decorate the jewelry and dress of Sumerian and Egyptian nobility. These very ancient cities are still a mystery to us, as we don't know the language they spoke or what gods they believed in, but we do know their cities were orderly and neat, with excellent plumbing and sanitation. When the Aryans migrated into India, they intermarried with the natives and brought about what we know of as Vedic India, which set the basis for what would be Indian civilization, much as the Dorian Greeks would migrate or conquer the Minoans, mix with them and create ancient Hellas. The stories of the Bronze Age were told and retold by the Greeks, such as the epic of the Trojan War. The same would be for India- the ancient tales and stories were handed down, sometimes altered or changed to fit the new narrative but the tales are there, to be written in the many books that would be created by this fascinating civilization, such as the religious texts known as the Vedas, or the epics that are popular even today, the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Upanishads. In all of these texts are to be found references that belie the stereotypes of India and her recorded history. The religious texts and their commentaries were compiled, so many that all of the texts meant for the purpose of understanding the three Abrahamic religions combined- the Torah and the Talmud, Quran and Hadith, the Christian Bible with it's New Testament and Gospels and all the pertinent commentary...are all dwarfed by India's contributions to religious literature. Just as there have been notable minds and authors of the monotheistic religious traditions, India too has had its sages over the centuries too numerous to list. The sub continent can boast as many or more saints, ascetics and holy men and women as well, and maintains a continuing tradition of renown and obscure religious figures who can be found teaching sitting crossed legged under a tree next to modern schools and universities, many with thousands of devotees squatting reverently at their feet. 

The fact that so many of the world's popular folk tales had their origin in India reveals an ancient form of teaching through the medium of oral storytelling. "Don't be greedy" teaches one tale, "let go of a little if you wish to gain much". Some of us can remember when we were young attending grade school and we read or heard the delightful tale of the monkey who reached into a jar for some nuts. His hand became stuck as it was full and could not be removed from the jar. The greedy animal clutched the handful of nuts and refused to let go and as a consequence the thief was caught. There is a Bengali  saying "if you start with too much, you end up with nothing", which reflects the wisdom of the ancient sages. The famous tale of the four blind men and the elephant, each touching the great beast but describing it as something different from one another- its ears great leaves on a tree, its legs columns on a temple, the trunk a hose, the tail a snake-is another world tale that had its origins in the sub continent. The sources of so many tales which had their origins in the Indian subcontinent are endless. In the 19th century the English-Indian author Rudyard Kipling would include many such folk tales in his works, which popularized Indian folklore around the world. 

The Empire Of The Spirit: Rishis, Gurus & Sages

Historian Michael Wood called India the empire of the spirit. "So many nations and empires rose from the sword" he wrote, "but India alone created an empire of the spirit". All through her long history, the pursuit of the spiritual was the pattern of Indian kingdoms and civilizations. They had their brutal wars and conquests, no question, but Indians never set out to conquer other lands, with the exception perhaps of the Tamil Cholas in the south of India who built a maritime empire that controlled the spice trade between China, Indonesia and the Middle East. Instead, outside forces and peoples invaded India over the course of the millennia and plundered her, raped her for raw materials and resources, enslaved the inhabitants and imposed their rule and their  gods on the people, the followers of history's oldest religion which we outsiders call Hinduism, which they know as the path of dharma. It was here that successive waves of invaders going back to the early Aryans were civilized by the natives, where the warlike king Ashoka became a follower of Buddhism and banned capital punishment and decreed rights for every living thing in his empire including animals, birds and fish as well as tending to the care of trees, rivers and streams. This is where the Moghul emperor Akbar, a son of foreign Turkic conquerors imitated Ashoka centuries later, reversing and converting the negative orthodox Muslim ruling view that saw Hindus as polytheistic blasphemers into a realm of remarkable coexistence and symbiosis influencing  the likes of Queen Elizabeth I, herself attempting to heal the rift between warring Christian factions in Britain. In the 20th century Mahatma Gandhi taught the then ruling British that a man in a loin cloth could be as erudite as any well dressed English gentleman, and could understand how to implement compassion and respect besides. Mark Twain said that in matters of the spirit the inhabitants of India are rich and we westerners, the paupers. Historian Will Durant wrote that while the East will seek technology and enterprise, it is to its benefit that the West will continue to learn patience, wisdom and compassion from the East. The internet has brought Indian music, dance, spirituality, yoga and meditation to the world and these disciplines have become as commonplace as the telephone. The rishi of the forest has conquered the city dweller of Paris, London and New York and changed their outlook drastically without ever lifting as much as a finger. 

So you ask, why India? Because she is the only ancient civilization that has maintained its past fully intact, despite the conquests and invasions, and she continues as she has always been. Her religion, the oldest on Earth, is ongoing and growing. Her customs and traditions reach back into distant antiquity, and are still the norm. Indi's manner of viewing the world, understanding the universe has remain unchanged. Critics of India can cite injustice and oppression, such as the economic division of class and the institution of Caste, probably brought about ages ago when the Aryans wished to separate themselves from the darker Dravidians, the Vedas even mentioning that the Untouchables or Shudra as being 'the feet of God'. Millions have been subject to centuries of social inequality which has been supported by religious texts and a higher caste sometimes exploitive Brahmin priesthood. Women have been relegated to a certain obscurity along with servant status whereby the wife and daughters of a family are considered near property of the father and husband, no different than as in ancient Greece or Rome or Islamic civilization, or China. The patriarchy rules in India and has ruled for thousands of years, as it has and still does in many other societies. There are problems and inequalities in Indian society to be sure that would cause one to raise an eye at my personal high regard for the culture of the subcontinent. It seems that only modern democracy and secularism has been able to minimize and defeat the role of caste in India, combined with teachings of compassion and caring by modern politician interpreters of Indian culture such as Mahatma Gandhi. Yet under the brilliant leadership of this man, millions of Indians came together as one and taught the British empire, who held onto the belief that it was their destiny to civilize the world, what it is to be civilized, what compassion and caring truly is all about, what being a human being in the world and a citizen of the universe really means. India has been to Asia what Italy was to Europe, a source of inspiration that provided the basics of science, culture, art and religion for an entire continent. Buddhism waned in India but spread to Central and Southeast Asia and China, then on to Korea and Japan and with it were exported various disciplines in science, mathematics, painting and sculpture as well as the marital arts for which East Asia is known today, having had their beginnings in the Indian tradition of Kalaripayattu.

Where did this inspiration to seek alternative views come from? Probably from the fact that there were literally tens of thousands of gurus and rishis with varied interpretations who compiled the ancient texts. In these many scriptures one can read competing views and opinions that vie with one another, as many if not more than the many views we read among the Greek philosophers, the Jewish rabbis or the brilliant authors, artists and inventors of the Italian Renaissance. The tradition of debate, analysis and thought was at one time alive and well in India, and this hasn't changed as it is still alive today. Just as there is a variety of religious expression among Hindus in India, let alone among the followers of the many minority religions, so are there variants that debate, contest and correct the inadequacies of ancient tradition and custom. This is what makes India so profound and her actions pertinent to our world today, considering she is the world's second most populace nation on Earth. India is connected to the rest of the world in a way her ancient past was not, yet she looks into her own created texts which are replete with the thousands of passages written by sages both known and anonymous thousands of years ago and their thought is applied to rectify situations. The Nasadiya Sutka or 'Creation Hymn' of the Rig Veda states something very clear and simple about the foundations of religion. It explains how the universe, the world and creation miraculously came into being as does any other religious text. Then it reminds the reader that all that has just been explained may be truth or it may be conjecture, that the gods may exist or they may not. The final analysis is left to the individual. This is unique among world religious scriptures, leaving it to the human mind to decipher as the individual sees fit:

Who really knows? Who will proclaim it?
Whence was it produced, whence its creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe
Who really knows whence it has arisen?

Whether the gods will created it, or whether He was mute
Perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not
Only He who is the overseer in the highest heaven knows
Only He knows...or perhaps, He doesn't know

And, begging forgiveness for my audacity and with respect to the ancient sages, I might add here what has already been written in one of the thousands of commentary about this verse;

Perhaps He who knows is but man, who admits he does not know
For he may be the only overseer of his own deeds

Indian religion is replete with ritual and symbolism, tradition and complex practice held in place by strict rules of behavior and personal hygiene maintained and followed by every level of society, from the Brahmin priest to the lower caste Untouchable. Yet, it can never be said in the Hindu world that there is one religious authority that decides what is faith and religion, or how the universe came into being, which allowed for such diversity of thought and interpretation in classical India. The Rig Veda, in which the American author Ralph Waldo Emerson found "unfathomable power and unbroken peace" is a religious text like no other. Rather than lay down a series of events and and dogmatic beliefs that lead to the creation of the universe and the world that must be acknowledged as true lest one be considered for heresy, it puts forth varied views and leaves it to the reader and religious practitioner to decide for him or her self the nature and essence of the heavenly realms, or question whether such realms exist at all. Followers of India's native religions, which should be more properly termed Sanatan Dharma rather than our western, generalized  handle of Hinduism, have never felt the need to go out of their native land to conquer in the name of any of the hundreds of thousands of deities or incarnations which are beseeched by hundreds of millions of devotees. Indians throughout their history have not engaged in holy wars or in the proselytizing of the faith, for it can be said there are as many faiths in India as there are Indians. Islam entered India in the north in the Middle Ages and brought an end to the classical age in a series of at first destructive raids and then conquests, considered to be the bloodiest in history. Universities were destroyed and scriptures burned as temples were leveled, their stones and bricks used to construct mosques to honor Allah, the god of Abraham. The British, though secular, conveniently preached the word of Christ to the 'heathens of the east', excusing their bold conquest and occupation according to their own understanding of manifest destiny. Gandhi and the entire Indian nation following his direction taught them the error of their ways and displayed the virtue and compassion of the living Jesus in the form of marches and peaceful demonstrations by millions of Indians of all faiths, united in a revolution of peaceful resistance for the independence of their country. Again, here we can see the dichotomy of India- while peacefully resisting the British to gain independence in the spirit of ahimsa- non violence and respect for all creatures...some 2 1/2 million Indians volunteered for service in the British military during WWII. Attempts by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan to secure Indian support by offering arms and ammunition to revolt against the British Empire failed. Indians instead chose to defend democracy against what they saw as evil and darkness. They served in the Pacific, in North Africa and Europe, receiving praise for their bravery and fighting abilities, most notably from British general Montgomery, American commanders George Patton and Eisenhower, even German high command commandant Erwin Rommel. This choice of Indians to support Britain and democracy rather than fascism certainly forced the Crown after the war to reconsider its hold on India and rescind its claim. Had Britain lost India she might have lost the war. 

The Soul At Peace, The Body In War

The empire of the spirit was an empire however made up of human beings, as anywhere else. While India advanced the life of the spirit and encouraged the enhancement of the soul, human beings will seek wealth, power and glory and will fight with their neighbors to achieve these ends. Kingdoms rose and fell in Indian history, and the wars have been as cruel, bloody and destructive as anywhere. The ancient texts tell us of terrible wars between kingdoms and these great epics came  about to explain these struggles and the reactions of the heroes and champions who participated in them. Like all mythological literature, the Indian epics are a study in human personality and how humans react to various issues and situations. Indian epics of love and war are marked by their connection with the life of the spirit, a portrayal of how we humans react to such experiences. The ancient authors of these books did not try to cleanse or purify the stories, but rather preserved for future generations the acts and deeds of human beings according to the mentality and the ways of the time. All is fair in love and war the saying goes, and the ancient composers of these texts made this point very clear. Everyone in India listens to the storytellers recite their lines which explain in detail the glorious courts of old, the intimate love between two characters, or the terrible experience of warfare that could vie with the Iliad or the Germanic sagas with their visceral detail. What is fascinating about these tales such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana is that they are as popular today as they were in the most ancient times, and have been read or heard in a non stop continuous cycle since the most distant days. The empire of the spirit acknowledged that human beings are naturally prone to stray from the path of the soul, and it is only by returning to the dharmic path can one attain contentment, even amid a life of chaos and upheaval. Like the followers of other religions, the adherents of Sanatan Dharma acknowledge that evil and greed exists, and the scriptures explain how one should proceed to bring about harmony in the world through struggle and endeavor. Perhaps this is why India, the empire of the spirit, has always produced such daring warriors. A culture of peaceful meditating gurus produced a nation of fierce warriors thanks to the many epics and tales recounted, studied and expressed in art, music and dance. The Indian balances these realities and explains that these realities are part of this cycle of existence. In the stories the gods and deities battle one another, make allies and conspire or vie with one another, and they do so for a variety of reasons. They are deities for sure, but they are human in personality so that human beings can imitate them and understand the teachings of the texts. The gods are beyond human reach but not beyond human comprehension, feeling or emotion, acknowledging the Rig Veda's claim that perhaps the gods came first, or perhaps they are but a figment of human imagination. The era of ancient Greece and the European Enlightenment both saw philosophers questioning whether other-worldly powers and deities actually exist, and the discussion goes on even today between believers, atheists and agnostics. This has always been the norm for India, and continues unto our own time as well, though this is nothing novel for the followers of Sanatan Dharma. Most won't even give the discussion a second thought. For them, it's not important, but the reality of human greed and evil must be countered, regardless of one's personal belief. 

The Power Of Shakti

Regarding India, we are forced to ask an ongoing question pertaining to the position of women, for which we can be readily and justifiably critical. We need to remember that when Vedic society was coming together and the texts were being written down as guides and codes for society, the stories and tales from the older civilizations that grew up along the Indus and other areas in India were already old and many of these tales made their way into the new Aryan dominated culture, just as the stories of the Etruscans, the Volsci and the Samnites were handed down to the Romans. The new conquerors created their civilization based on what was there before and as everywhere, that which was seen as compatible with their narrative remained and other elements were ignored. But nothing can ever be completely forgotten. Just as the patriarchal Greeks continued to tell stories of the fierce warrior women known as the Amazons or the Romans recounted tales of the brave Camilla who fought the allies of Aeneas the Trojan, so the epics of strong women remained in the folk memory and the literature of India. The story of Chitrangada in the epic the Mahabharata, she who defeated Arjuna, beloved of Krishna in combat and then marries the hero only to be abandoned by him, is a particularly interesting character. She has a son with Arjuna whom she names Babhruvahana who grows up without his father who left to seek his own destiny, traveling and learning with Krishna. In a battle the son accidentally shoots his father who he does not know with an arrow. Wounded by the shot, Arjuna asks the skillful archer where he learned to shoot the bow like he did, and the son informs Arjuna that he learned from his mother the great warrior princess Chitrangada, with Arjun realizing now this was his own son whom he abandoned years ago. Chitrangada is a great warrior who is famous for her military prowess on the battlefield and she passed on her martial skills to Babhruvahana. The story of Arjuna is one that may be interpreted as a warning for those who seek spiritual enlightenment so as to not become so involved in the attaining of it that one selfishly forgets others in the process, as Arjuna eventually forgot about Chitrangada and their son. She was one of his teachers, his guru as it were, who forced him to stop and think, to contemplate. He nonetheless leaves her and Babhruvahana and goes on his way until the fateful meeting once again with his offspring. Chitrangada mysteriously disappears from the epic after this incident. Another strong female character in the Mahabharata is Draupadi, who also was adept in the martial arts. She is however forced to marry Arjuna and his four other Pandeva brothers. She is strong willed and known for being rebellious and outspoken; so much so that when the text was being compiled some gurus actually demanded that her person be omitted from the text. With this factual knowledge about the history and methods of compiling the story for inclusion in a great epic, we can see how she and other strong female figures from the past diminished in daily importance in India as elsewhere. In an age when only scholars and the nobility could read or write, that which went into a book was meant to be set as dogma and that which was omitted was, according to the male dominant mindset, done so for good reason. While the common folk told and retold the stories of such powerful women and wondered at the stories recited about the warrior goddesses, Apsaras and Dakinis of the scriptures, it was the patriarchy informed by Brahmin priests and Kshatriya warriors who had the last say in defining the role of women in society. There are many other stories in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Indian epics that tell of great women warriors of the past, such as the stories of Ulupi and Shikandini, as well as the many folk tales of heroines that have been passed down through the millennia down to our own time.

Durga and her forces defeat the evil buffalo god Mahishasura, Temple of Mahalbalipurnam

Yet, as much as these tales of women warriors were controlled and eventually nullified by the male patriarchs as they were in Greece, Rome and elsewhere in India there has always been an ongoing tradition of women rising up to challenge tyrants and invaders. Though their daily lives and roles have been ordained and controlled by a male patriarchal mentality, these women seek their inspiration from another, even higher source. The goddess Durga is a warrior goddess who defeats evil gods and tyrants, leading celestial and human forces to victory. Also the terrible goddess Kali is the avenger and destroyer of the evil ones. Both goddesses are depicted in literature and art, portrayed in music and dance leading armies of dedicated and brave beings such as Apsaras (divine beings, like the Greek Muses) into battle. The virtues of dedication and bravery are stressed in these stories. It may be the reason why India has produced so many powerful women over the centuries who have risen up to lead armies against invaders. While the Greek and Roman stories were meant for entertainment as neither society approved of women joining the ranks of the military, India has an ongoing tradition of such women who have proven themselves in the most dangerous and trying circumstances. There have been women warriors among many Indian kingdoms such as the Mahrattas and the Rajputs who fought against other kingdoms, the invading Moghuls or against the British as the Rani of Jhansi did. Onake Obava slew invading Moghul soldiers as they attempted to sneak through an opening into her besieged fortress, using a heavy kitchen implement as a weapon. Into our own era we might make mention of Phoolan Devi the Bandit Queen who was married off as a child to a much older man, terrorized by the local male Thakurs of her village for her disrespect and outward displays of defiance, then returned to seek vengeance on those and in turn brutally tormented her former tormentors. The list is too long to enumerate here but all of these women sought inspiration from the personalities in the religious and mythological texts that are part of the Indian literary and folk tradition despite the reality and clear imposition of the powerful patriarchy that defines our stereotyped vision of India. In ancient Greece and Rome many vase paintings and sarchophagai depict champions such as Hercules and Theseus battling armed Amazons. These were stories meant to entertain, but no Greek or Roman husband would ever consider a female member of his family taking up arms.  On the contrary, the stories of such armed women in India as well as the numerous sculptures and depictions one can view in their thousands in temple art however are an ongoing tradition that inspires free thinking women to this very day. 

                                      

On every temple we can see the armed celestial female guardians and the Apsaras who stand with a bow at the ready, guarding the sanctity of the temple and all who enter there. Despite the dominance of the male in this patriarchal society, girls and women of all ages as well as boys and men are constantly reminded of the power of the feminine, which stems from the concept of Shakti. The men who maintain their dominance on the society see it as something that needs to be controlled but for a thinking Indian woman, Shakti is liberation and power. And the male oligarchs know this, too well. 

In the ancient Indian texts it is written that Shakti, the feminie essence, is the source of all creation, the word meaning energy, ability, strength, power, effort, capability. It is a creative and sustaining force as well as destructive. Mahadevi, or as she is sometimes known Ada Parashakti, is the primordial goddess which is Shakti manifested. The earliest example of the reverence towards 'Shakti' is a triangular shaped artifact known as the Baghor Stone found near the Son river in Madhya Pradesh, dated to about 9,000 BC. South India also worshipped the female essence, which was called Amma. The Deva Sukta hymn number 125 in the Rig Veda makes clear the very essence of Shakti in detail:

I am the queen, the gatherer of treasures, most thoughtful the very first of those who merit worship. Thus the gods have established me in many places. In many homes do I enter and abide, through me alone all are nourished with abundant food and solace. Each man sees, breathes and hears the word outspoken. They know it not, yet indeed I reside within as the ver essence of the universe.

Hear one and all the truth as I declare it! I verily myself announce and utter the word that gods and men alike welcome with joy. I cause the man or woman I love exceedingly to become mighty, brave and formidable, nourishing that being as a sage, a knower of Brahman. I bend the bow for Shiva that his arrow may strike, so as to slay the hater of devotion, light and goodness. I rouse and order battle for the righteous, it is I who did create the Earth and Heaven, I who reside as their inner controller. Upon the world's summit I bring forth sky, the Father. My home is deep in the waters, in the ocean as Mother. Then I pervade and permeate all existing things as their inner, supreme self made manifest with my body and form which is formless. I created all worlds at my will, sans any higher being. The eternal and the infinite consciousness, my greatness dwelling in everything, in all. Yay, 'tis I and none other, I am she. 

Modern painting depicting Chitrangada and Arjuna

Every Indian woman is raised and instructed thus to endeavor to be at heart a compassionate, nurturing and caring being who is constantly inspired and stimulated by the deeds of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati as well as Durga, Kali and the many manifestations of the Deva and the religious figures enumerated in the spiritual and mythical texts as well as by the real life heroines of the past. A mother loves and cares for her children and her family and is giving and generous to her community, but will never hesitate to come to the aid of or protect that family or community if endangered. She is the bringer and nurturer of life and is also the defender of the life which she has brought forth, and it is the woman who transfers the traditions and knowledge of the distant past to her children. The Deva Sukta hymn defines the feminine essence perfectly. As a mythologist and one who studies ancient literature and epics, I find there are few places on Earth that take their ancient texts as seriously as Indians do, and this is due to the fact that these texts are alive and as pertinent to Indians today as they were thousands of years ago, with or without the presence of a dominant male patriarchy. It is obvious that in the distant Indian past, women were respected as the bringers of life therefore thought of as close to the gods in their being. While we are quick today to criticize India for its patriarchal rule and the subsequent mistreatment of the female, we should also acknowledge that even the gurus and sages, kings and princes who sought to limit the power of women in the Vedic age when religion was being codified had to acknowledge the powerful presence of the female archetype in ancient India's culture and belief systems. Just as the likes of such reformers as Gandhi were able to begin the process by which the injustices of foreign rule and the caste system could be reversed, Indian women today are realizing that their ancient past, which for them is still part of the present, guarantees their not only equal but important position in society. It will be interesting to see how they will proceed and progress to attain their rightful place in society based on the acknowledgement and implementation of this most ancient knowledge found in the very foundations of culture.
                                             

                                      Hoysaleswara Temple Relief, Karnataka   Photo Courtesy Shieri Yamafuji

The Lesson Of India

India today is essentially the same India that it was thousands of years ago, the unique ancient civilization that continues to think, react and deal with life as it did ages ago, responding to questions and issues utilizing ancient wisdom and views. Imagine what we can learn from such a great civilization through our link with the living mentality of our human past. There are literally tens of thousands of literary, oral and historical sources from which we can find inspiration to learn about the past and subsequently move forward into the future. I am interested in the literature that draws from tales and legends that Indians themselves listen to most intently and continue to portray in art and sculpture as well as the historical record which demonstrates how the people of the subcontinent were able to withstand countless invasions yet maintain their culture, religion, traditions, languages and identity, their sciences and complex mathematics, the arts and the spiritual practices meant to improve the quality of our duration in this dimension, all of this which will better the life of the world. These gifts from Mother India, that all embracing empire of the spirit, continues and remains unchanged from the earliest age when humanity was near to the very dawn of civilization. She remains and advances though the continuous cycles of time, seemingly reincarnating over and over again, and we can only wonder what is yet to be reborn in the future. This living and breathing civilization fascinates me, and her epics, religious texts and folk stories inform me of who India is and what her people are all about, and for that matter what humanity is all about. India will absorb and patiently bear the brunt of time and the burdens of mankind, then give to the world that which she has learned and experienced, for the better of all. She is like the all loving and compassionate mother, the holy Ma who gives ceaselessly of her love though she be abused and tormented, sometimes forgotten. We are all like the hero Arjuna, setting out to seek enlightenment and like him we will ultimately hurt someone along the way, as he hurt Chitrangada and their son Babhruvahana, all in the name of seeking higher callings and enlightenment. We are human and we will make mistakes, and perhaps karma will cause us to realize the good or evil we performed in our past, as we read and learn about human nature in such stories.  It is clear that this is their purpose. India is the Chitrangada of the world, confident and forever patient, caring and compassionate, for her wisdom is not limited by the restraints of servitude to the material things of this life. This has been India's pattern throughout history, the recurring cycles of her experiences, her ability to forgive those who inflicted pain and torture upon her, the willingness to bear the burdens of humanity's dark side yet teach in a way that brings illumination to those same beings dwelling in that same darkness, she is a testament to the patience of the great culture of this great civilization. India is surely the empire of the spirit. 

                        Copyright Ismail Butera, 2022