nama rupa of devi devata

   The most intriguing part of the Hindu devi devata is that of nama (names) rupa (face), functions or powers, and number of hands and the articles held in the hands (shastra). These may, at the outset appear ridiculous, but well founded by agama shastra and purana (epics) to some extent. However, the symbolism in these scriptures is extremely difficult to understand. Let us take the case of the deity narasinha where the figure is half lion and half human; incidentally, there is the Sphinx in Egypt where the body is of a lion and the face of a human! Is this a strange coincidence or there is some secret behind this? 

   According to the vishnu purana the lord descended to earth to resurrect the veda and help the saints whenever there was total devastation, pralaya. Lord Shree Krishna says, "I shall take birth here to restore dharma whenever there is total annihilation". One such avatara is that of Lord narasimha who had to kill the wicked king hiranyakashipu who was harassing his own child prahlada who was devoted to Lord narayana. There is a long, long story behind this and we will keep this for a detailed study later. Here, the Lord had to come half human and half animal since the wicked king hiranyakashipu was bestowed with a boon that no animal or man could kill him!
  There is another version about King narsimha deva ruling North of trivishtap (Tibet) about half a million years ago! Not only narasimha deva, even  shiva, vishnu, brahma and kubera were ruling along the Himalayan kingdoms from meru parvata to present day China. Rk Veda mantra are quoted to narrate the history and geography of Bharat dated back to 0.5 Million years  (See 'The Sphinx Speaks' By J. Singh, Delhi 1956). These Kings were virtually gods to their subjects and common people worshiped them according to tradition. 

  Curiously enough, this Sphinx and the figure of narasimha devaru leads some to query whether there was transplantation of organs?
   There are a number of other deities who have animal head and these too have to be accounted for. For instance, the goat is called 'aja' in Samskruta bhasha. the term 'aja' also means brahma and ghee derived from goat's milk. This 'aja' is associated with the Veda. Similarly, monkey, horse, and such other animal-heads are adoring the deities. In Rk Veda mantra the Horse means speed, Bow and Arrows mean the creative forces. The term 'monkey' here stands for mind and the deity of Mind is the Moon and hanuman is the deity of life-force (prana). The elephant head for the deity ganesh is indicative of keen eyes, sharp eyes and all round alertness or awareness. Thus the symbols used in the epics have hidden meanings and these have to be decoded.

   There is yet another possibility in putting the faces of animals and birds to deities. May be, these plants, animals, and birds have attained divinity by constant contemplation (dharana) on brahman and there by came to be worshiped by humans, too. Suggestions are welcome in this regard.
   Every avatara of Lord vishnu has been misinterpreted by the pundits. The evolution of life-forms, the ancient history and geography are not considered by samskruta vidvans. These shall be reviewed in the next few blogs.