|
|
 |
| |
Gods,
Myths &
Religion |
| |
Home
> Travel
Guide > About Nepal
> Gods, Myths & Religion |
| |
|
|
| |
The
two dominant religions in Nepal are Hinduism and Buddhism. These
two religions have existed in perfect harmony in Nepal for many
centuries and the same Gods and Goddesses are often given a
different name in each one. All religions are tolerated in Nepal
but conversions are officially banned. In reality many have
concerted to Christianity. There are Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and
people who follow animistic religions living side by side.
|
|
| Hindu
Deities |
|
Indra
Indra is the forgotten God. He is the King of the Vedic
Gods and also recognized as the God of Rain residing in heaven.
It is hard to find a shrine of Indra although an important festival
of Kathmandu is the Indra Jatra Festival. He is usually
shown on a chariot wearing a crown.
Present day Hinduism has three major Gods. They are Brahma,
Vishnu and Shiva and form the holy trinity.
Brahma
Brahma is the creator and the four Vedas are said to
have emanated from his mouth. Brahma is depicted having four
heads and four arms. Since creation has already taken place,
Brahma has lost his importance in the lives of Hindus. His consort
is Saraswati, who is recognized as the Goddess of Learning.
She is shown playing the stringed instrument Veena and
sitting on a white swan, her vehicle. She is also seen sitting
on a lotus.
Shiva
Shiva plays a more dominant role in the lives of Nepali Hindus
and also has the more important temple (Pashupatinath) built
in his name. He is the destroyer or regenerator as to regenerate
he has to destroy. He is mostly represented by the phallic symbol,
the Lingam, which symbolizes his creative powers. His
vehicle is the bull Nandi, always seen outside Shiva
shrines. He is shown holding the trident (Trishul) and
wears a necklace of the rudraksha beads. He has more
than a thousand names some of which are Shambhu, Shanker,
Bholanath, etc and he exists in many manifestations. Some
of them are the Nataraj (the dancing Shiva), Pashupatinath
(Lord of living beings), Bhairav (dangerous or fearsome
aspect), Ascetic (wearing a tiger skin and smoking Ganja).
As Bhairav he wears a garland of human skulls and is shown killing
a demon. His abode is in Mt. Kailash in Tibet. His consort or
Shakti is Durga who is also known as Parvati
or in the fearsome manifestation of Kali who requires
blood sacrifices to appease her. There is Taleju Bhawani
who is embodied in the Living Goddess Kumari. She protects
Nepal and its rulers. She is known as the Great Mother Goddess
and is found in various forms like the Astamatrikas (eight
Mother Goddesses) who protect the three cities of the valley.
There are also the Nava Durgas (nine Durgas) who are
also protective deities and represented by masked dancers. Then
there is the Bhadrakali (dangerous aspect of Durga).
Bhadrakali or Bhairavi is shown wearing a garland of
human skulls. All the major Gods have their creative energy
in their consorts called Shakti. There are countless shrines
to Durga in her many forms. Her vehicle is the tiger.
Vishnu
Vishnu is also an important God in Nepal. He is the Preserver
and is mostly found in the form of Narayan as there are
countless Narayan Mandirs, one of which is the famous
Changu Narayan. It is said while Vishnu slept on the
cosmic floor, Brahma emerged from his navel and created
the universe. He has ten incarnations and they are: Matsya
(fish), Kurma (tortoise) Barahi (boar), Narshimha
(half man half lion), Vamaha (dwarf), Parshurama
(Brahman) and Ram (the idol of manhood) followed by the
popular Krishna (cowherd). Incarnation nine can be confusing
as Hindus accepted Buddha as the ninth in line, thus eliminating
any clash between the two religions. The last one, number ten,
Kalki is yet to come. Vishnu carries a conch shell and
chakra (wheel) accompanied by Nagas the snake
gods. His vehicle is the Garuda (half-bird half- man).
The sleeping Vishnu is shown sleeping on a bed of snakes. Laxmi,
the Goddess of Wealth is the consort of Vishnu. She has four
hands and is shown holding a conch shell and lotus blossom with
two of her hands while the other two are in the varada
and abhaya mudra (symbolic postures). She is shown wearing
a crown of jewels and arms are bedecked with brilliant gems.
Goddess Laxmi is usually seated on a lotus flower.
Ganesh
Ganesh is yet another popular God in Nepal. He is a favourite
as He removes all obstacles from your path whatever you wish
to achieve. Ganesh has an elephant head complete with a snout.
Legend offers an explanation saying that Shiva in a fit of anger
cut of his son's head mistaking the youngster sleeping next
to his mother for another lover. But when he realized his blunder
he asked Brahma to bring him back to life. According to Brahma's
demands he brought the nearest head available and it happened
to be that of an elephant. Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Shiva's other son is the Warrior God Kumar, also known as Kartikeya.
Hanuman
Hanuman is the monkey God. He is Ram's faithful assistant and
helped Ram to defeat his enemy Ravan, the demon king.
He is found in front of most Ram temples. Sometimes he is by
himself, like at the entrance of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Kathmandu.
He is often covered in vermillion and dressed in a red cloth.
|
|
| Buddhist
Deities |
|
Adi
Buddha
Adi
Buddha is the original Buddha who is timeless with no beginning
and no end. He is infinite; self created and appears as a blue
flame out of a lotus blossom. Swayambhunath represents the Adi
Buddha.
Dipankar
Dipankar
is one of the earliest Buddhas who came before Shakyamuni Buddha.
He is one of the deities of Mahayana Buddhism. He is either
shown sitting or standing with a monastic garment draped over
his left shoulder. At the time of his birth there was seen a
manifestation of a large number of brilliant lights. Hence his
name is Dipankar.
Dhyani Buddha or Pancha Buddha
Dhyani Buddha
or Pancha Buddha (five Buddhas) is the Buddha who emanated from
the Adi Buddha. They are altogether five and represent different
aspects of Buddhism. They are found represented in courtyards,
on doorways, on stupas and chaityas. They are always shown seated
in a meditative position. In the chaityas four of them are shown
facing the four cardinal points while Vairochana the senior
most occupies the center. In Kathmandu they are popular as the
Pancha Buddhas.
Amitava
Amitava is
the Buddha who came before Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha.
He is from a previous age of man. He is the most ancient of
the Dhyani Buddhas and is said to reside in heaven in peaceful
meditation.
Gautam Buddha
Gautam Buddha
is the historical Buddha who appeared about 2500 years ago.
He was born a prince but abandoned his princely status to lead
the life of an ascetic. He attained enlightenment and taught
the Buddhist way of life, which is gaining popularity today.
He was born Lumbini which, today lies in Nepal.
Maitreya
Maitreya
is the future Buddha who is to appear one day from Tushita heaven.
At present he is said to be living as a Bodhisattva preparing
to descend to earth as a human. He is represented in yellow
and shown holding a lotus stalk in his right hand. He is expected
to arrive 4000years after the historical Buddha (Gautam).
Manjushree
Manjushree
is the God of Wisdom in the Buddhist pantheon. He is shown carrying
a sword and a book. He is the equivalent of the Hindu Goddess
Saraswati. Legend has it that it was he who used his magic sword
to cut open a gorge at the south of Kathmandu valley, draining
out the lake waters.
Avalokiteswara
Avalokiteswara
is one of the 108 forms of Lokeshwara. Avalokiteshwara does
not accept nirvana considering it a selfish act. In his hand
is seen the indestructible jewel. He is a savior and protector.
He avoids nirvana in order to help those in distress. Such an
act of sacrifice symbolizes compassion. In Tibet he is revered
as Chenresik.
Tara
Tara
is a Goddess who is recognized by both Hindus and Buddhists
but play a greater role in Buddhism. The Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti
and the Chinese Princess are jointly held responsible for bringing
Buddhism to Tibet and are represented by the White and
Green Taras.
|
|
| Myths
|
|
The story of Narshimha, the half-lion half -man incarnation
of Vishnu is an interesting one. It is said that the demon Hiranyakashyapu
was given a boon by Brahma that he could not be killed neither
on land nor in the water; no weapon made by man could slay him
and he could not be killed during the day nor at night. Then
Vishnu took the form of Narshimha and placing the demon on his
lap, he used his claws to rip open its stomach just as twilight.
In this way the demon was killed between day and night, on his
knee (neither land nor sea) and using hands not made by man.
There is an interesting story told about the water tank in Bhaktapur
called the Siddha Pokhu. An expert tantric from Thimi was urged
by his curious wife to show some of his secret powers. Finally
he gave in and told her he would transform himself to a giant
serpent. But to become human again he would need her assistance.
He would give her some magic rice, which she was to throw at
him when in the form of the snake. Late that night when he appeared
before her as a snake, it was so enormous that she panicked
and ran away. He tried to catch up with her but failed and just
then dawn broke and he had to find a place to hide. By then
they had arrived near the water tank in Bhaktapur. So he dove
into the water but his wife never returned and he remained a
serpent trapped in the tank. Since then he hated the people
of Thimi so much, that he devoured any Thimi residents who came
near the tank. This scared the local residents no end and no
one dared to go near it for years.
|
|
| Religion
|
|
Hinduism
Hinduism Is one of the oldest religions in the world and has
a large following in Asia. It goes back more than 1000years
BCE. Over the years it has blended various cultures especially
that of the Aryans who arrived in India about 3700 years ago.
There they intermingled with the Dravidians and were influenced
by the Indus valley civilization. Some of Hinduism's holy books
are the Upanishads, Bhagawad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The religion originated from the ancient Vedic scriptures.
Hinduism believes in reincarnation and that after many rebirths
one can achieve Moksha, which means release from this cycle
of rebirths. The rebirth of a man can be in the lower form such
as that of an animal. The Hindu religion has given rise to the
caste system, which divides humans into high and low castes
beginning with the Brahmins to the lowest, the untouchables.
The caste also designates a person's profession, e.g. A Brahmin
is a priest while the Kshatriya is a warrior and the untouchables
do the lowly chores of sweeping and cleaning toilets. The large
number of Gods found in the Hindu pantheon is merely representations
of the different attributes of God. For details see "Gods
and Goddesses".
In Nepal, the holiest of Hindu shrines is the Pashupatinath
temple of Shiva. On most festivals devotees arrive here to pay
obeisance to the God of destruction and regeneration. For most
people in Nepal, religion is a part of everyday life. The day
begins with a prayer or temple visit and ends likewise. Every
morning the important temples are swarming with devout Hindus
and Buddhists; from little children to the very old, they come
to pray.
Buddhism
The concept that gave rise to Buddhism was that emphasis should
not be laid on rituals and rites but rather on self- improvement
and the eventual achievement of enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautam
Buddha was a teacher who taught the principles of enlightenment
and how to achieve it, through meditation and devotion.
There are Gods and Goddesses in Buddhism but they are also subject
to karma and the reality of death and rebirth, like human beings.
The original teachings did away with rituals and the worship
of deities but gradually over the years, Buddhism came under
the influence of Hindu ritualistic practices and the Buddhist
pantheon has grown considerably to include Godlike deities like
other Buddhas besides the Shakyamuni and many Bodhisattvas who
are technically not deities but are worshipped like one.
Buddhism first split into two major schools:
| • |
The
Theravada or Hinayana, which is prevalent
in South-east Asia. |
| • |
Mahayana,
which predominates in India and Nepal, led to the formation
of Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism (Diamond vehicle). Buddhism
arrived in Nepal before reaching Tibet and it is believed
when the Nepali Princess Bhrikuti married the Tibetan
King Tsong Tsan Gompa she along with a Chinese Princess
converted him to Buddhism. Today there are many sects
like the Nyigmapa, Kagyukpa,and Gelugpa. |
In Nepal, much of the early form of Buddhism that existed in
ancient India is still preserved but has been merged with Hindu
rituals. This is Newari Buddhism based on Mahayana. In fact
in some parts of the valley as in Bhaktapur, Theravada Buddhism
is still practiced and also taught in the monasteries. The most
active among the Nepali Buddhists are the Newars of Kathmandu
valley. They have their priestly caste (another Hindu influence)
called Bajracharyas who conduct the prayers and Karmacharyas
who help in the performing of rituals. Vajrayana is also practiced
by Newari Buddhists who perform secret tantric rituals within
the temples, which few people know anything about.
Along with Newari Buddhism, there exists in Nepal what is termed
Tibetan Buddhism, which is focused in Boudhanath. After the
invasion by China many Tibetan monks walked over the Himalayas
and settled around Boudha. They have built many monasteries
around the stupa and perform their pujas and ritual alongside
the Tamangs who are Nepali Buddhists. Tibetan presence in Swayambhunath
is far less pronounced than in Boudha as most prayers and other
ceremonies are conducted by Newari Buddhists.
|
|
|
|
|
M.jpg)