REPORTS / MEMIOGRAPH

Socio-Religious Role of the Institution of Village Gods in the Western Himalayan Society, Dr. B.R. Sharma

Why Himalaya mountain has been a source of spiritual inspiration for the sages and mediators who called it 'Deva Bhumi' or 'the land of gods', is a matter to be seen. The whole of the region is full of mystic vibrations and the mythological approach of the authors of our epics has painted it as the land of divine spirits like Kinnaras, Gandharvas and Yakshas etc. In Skanda Purana2, there is a reference of the celestial marriage of Parvati, the daughter of mountain Himalaya, with Lord Shiva. In the Rigveda, there is a mention of a tribe known as 'Dasas' or 'Dasyus'. These were the people who fought against the Aryans. 'Divodasa' a king of the Aryan race fought against the natives for 40 long years. His main enemy was 'Shamber', the leader of the Dasyus. There are numerous references available in our mythology denoting the presence of mythological and historical races like Asurs, Rakshasas, Pishacas, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas etc. is this region in the remote past. Among many interesting customs prevalent in the hilly society, the institution of village gods is the most remarkable one. In about 18,000 villages of Himachal Pradesh, there are approximately 10,000 temple. The village gods and goddesses here are not the sitting spectators but are expected to behave like common human beings with sentiments and sense of pride. They some time cut jokes with the villagers feel offended over trifles and threaten to harm the evildoers. They dance with the villagers while being taken in wooden palanquins by their devotees. Palanquins are made after prescribed intervals and special type of wood is used as per the directions of the gods. The wood used to make a palanquin should either be from the forest of the deity or from any other place having links with the origin of the god or goddess. Village's god custom is more conspicuous in places of higher altitude of the overland. We find it in Shimla, Solan, Sirmur, Mandi, Kinnaur, Lahul and Spiti and parts of Chamba districts but in lower Shivalik areas like Bilaspur, Una, Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi and even certain parts of Solan district, this practice takes the shape of only established temples in the villages and worshipping of the idols or images of gods.

Click Here to order