The Divine and the Demonic

Supernatural Affliction and its Treatment in North India

Dr Graham Dwyer

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9781134431090
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Based on fieldwork in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, this book focuses on supernatural affliction - illness and misfortune ascribed to demonic spirits or ghosts and to other mystical agents, such as sorcerers and witches. The study augments and extends the existing scholarship on a range of issues, including inter alia beliefs about spirit possession, sorcery, witchcraft and the evil eye. The themes of ritual practice, especially exorcism or healing ceremonies, Hindu priests and curers, popular Hinduism and pilgrimage are discussed, and the anthropology of South Asia is explored with an emphasis on medical anthropology and Indian ethnomedicine. At a theoretical level, the book sharply contrasts with much of the literature on spirit possession or on supernatural affliction and its treatment, as the author's phenomenological orientation involves movement away from psychological or psychiatric paradigms as well as from other forms of Western rationalism that have tended to dominate scholarly work. The book thus offers fresh insights, both in terms of understanding supernatural malaise and its treatment, and in terms of the application of the approach the author engages.

1
MEHNDIPUR
The fieldwork setting

Mehndipur village

The village of Mehndipur was initially brought to my attention through the work of Sudhir Kakar (1982), the Indian psychoanalyst whose writings on spirit possession and exorcism are well known in the West. He was one of the first researchers to go to Mehndipur. Together with Ashok Nagpal, a lecturer in the department of psychology at Delhi University, Kakar conducted a study in the village for a period of two months in the late 1970s (at a time when Satija and the team of psychiatrists who worked with him [see Satija et al. 1981] also did a short study there). Kakar’s study, however, was not extensive; on the contrary, it was small-scale, not only in terms of the brief period of time he spent in Mehndipur, but also from the point of view of the subjects who agreed to take part in it: only twenty-eight pilgrims were interviewed (cf. Kakar 1982: 281 n. 6). More recently, Jens Seeberg (1992), an anthropologist from Aarhus University in Moesgard, Denmark, did fieldwork in Mehndipur. This was a more comprehensive investigation. Seeberg spent five months in the village, beginning in December 1989. His work provides important ethnographicand anthropological data on Mehndipur itself and on the pilgrims who journey to it. More recently still, another key study was carried out in Mehndipur by Antti Pakaslahti (1998). This particular study has an explicit psychiatric focus (as in the work of Satija et al. 1981) and is primarily concerned with family-centred therapy on offer in the village; nonetheless, it has major ethnographicand anthropological value too, as does the film Pakaslahti made in Mehndipur in 1996. Indeed, Pakaslahti’s work is particularly noteworthy because it is based on extensive research in Mehndipur, research which the Finnish psychiatrist began in 1992 and which is still on-going.

Now, Mehndipur itself is approximately 100 kilometres from Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan. The three kilometre dust track that leads to the village from the main Jaipur–Agra road is traversed by tanga (a horse-drawn vehicle) or by jeep, for which each pilgrim (yatri) must pay the standard charge of two rupees.¹ On arrival the visitor who intends to spend the night or a longer period of time has the choice of staying either in a guest house or in one of the village’s numerous dharmshalas. Indeed, my research assistant, Bhati, and myself were accommodated in one of these. The majority of dharmshalas are relatively inexpensive. In fact some are free, though boarding charges vary dramatically in some of them from seventy-one rupees a night to as little as five. The standard price, however, is around ten rupees.

History ofthe pilgrimage centre

According to the local inhabitants, Calcutta and Radhakishan Chamriya dharmshalas are the oldest in the village. They were built less than seventy years ago. Formerly, it is said that pilgrims travelled to the shrines during the day, returning home again a little after sunset. This, I believe, provides an important clue to the actual age of the village as a pilgrimage centre. Its popularity seems to have developed particularly since the 1930s. There were no lodging houses before 1930, and the local inhabitants claim that there were only one or two prasad valas (sellers of offerings made to deities) operating in Mehndipur before this date, whereas today there are more than fifty. Furthermore, Balaji temple itself is less than a hundred years old. I was told by the shrine functionaries that it was constructed when Ganesh Puri was alive, a charismatic healer who was probably the first mahant (priest) at the shrine. He lived for eighty years. (According to his nephew, Ramjilal, Ganesh was born in 1899 and expired in 1979.) The second healing temple, known as Tin Pahar Vale Baba dedicated to Bhairava – so named because it is located on the triple peak of the largest hill overshadowing Mehndipur village – was originally built a little later, though the present, more recent construction was erected only forty-four years ago. A small plaque on one of the inner walls of the temple bears the names Punam Chand Jain and Hanuman Das Jain, the two men who donated money for this in 1959 (2016 Vikrama Era). Previously, as I was informed by the priests at the temple, there was only a small building on the site in which the principal murti (image of the deity) stood, the other important idols being left unsheltered outside. This temple was said to have been built during the period when Ganga-Nath (1877–1978), a senior contemporary of Ganesh Puri, was the incumbent.² Before this mahant took charge of it, the priests at the shrine told me that a few devotees from Udaipur, a small village three kilometres west of Mehndipur, used to perform arati puja there (worship with a lighted lamp [dipak]). But at this time and for many years after Ganga-Nath became priest, they commented that few pilgrims from beyond the local villages in the area journeyed to the temple. The temple on the hill adjacent to this, however, is evidently the most recent of the three original healing shrines in the village. It is dedicated to Sheshanaga, the thousand-headed serpent god upon whose hood, according to myth, Vishnu reclines during pralaya (the dissolution of the universe – cf. Brockington 1991: 195). It was founded only fifty or sixty years ago during the time of Kajor Nath, a priest who was ninety years old and who was still the incumbent when I carried out fieldwork in Mehndipur.

In addition to the relatively young age of these temples, and dharmshalas, it is clear that the pilgrimage centre only recently became popular from the dates marked on many of the pitristhan (literally, ‘place or site of an ancestor’), which are erected at the rear of Balaji mandir and on the two hills rising out of the valley in which the village lies. I was informed both by priests and pilgrims, as well as by healers (bhagats), in Mehndipur that a pitristhan is made here when a deceased member of a particular family communicates his or her wish to reside in this sacred place. But it is also said that one may be set up after an ancestor spirit (pitri devata) takes rebirth (punarjanm) in memory and honour of it. None of these simple stone monuments seems to have been built before 1940, with the vast majority of them appearing since the late 1960s.

Nonetheless, according to every priest operating in Mehndipur, the village has been an important place of pilgrimage for millennia. The Bara Hanuman Upasana (‘The Great Worship of Hanuman’), a book sold in the local bazaar, which contains information about the principal healing shrine as well as over 700 different bhajans (hymns) or mantras (magical formulae),³ states that Balaji temple was founded 5, 000 years ago (Anon. 1990: 19). While this is, of course, unrealistic, one of the local myths recorded in the text is worth citing. Below is a summary of the story of the origin of the temple and of how Ganesh Puri became the mahant:

In the beginning there was a deep forest. Lions, tigers and numerous wild animals roamed about in it. Moreover, the people who lived there were continually full of fear because of thieves and bandits. Now, long before Kishor Puriji⁴ became the mahant, his forefathers, whose names are unknown, had a dream, and in that dream-state they began to walk. They did not know where they were going. Then they experienced an amazing event. From one side flames appeared and there was suddenly a tremendous sound of animals. The animals encircled a place in the forest where the idol of Balaji appeared. They circumambulated that spot three times and prostrated themselves before the idol of Balaji. After worshipping the god, the great army of animals returned to the place from which it came.

There was a man called Gosaiji Maharaj⁵ who travelled to this place and had a vision of this, an event that occurred long before his birth. He was slightly afraid and returned to his village but could not sleep. He was thinking about the happening, and as soon as he slept he had a dream that there were three temples in which there were three idols. At that moment he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up. Take charge of my service, and my power will be increased.’ But Gosaiji ignored the command. Finally, Hanuman revealed himself and told Gosaiji to worship him.

The next day Gosaiji Maharaj approached the idol of Balaji in the place where he had received the vision. He heard the sound of drums and trumpets, but no one could be seen. He gathered the people of the area and informed them about what had taken place. They decided to build a small house for Gosaiji and prepared food for him. Gosaiji performed many miracles. This was at a time when the ability to perform wondrous deeds had almost disappeared.

Later a king helped him to dig the idol of Balaji from out of the earth. They dug hundreds of feet into the soil. However, although they continued to dig, they failed toreach the feet of the idol. At last the king decided to leave.

Now, the image of the deity was not carved by any craftsman. It was a single piece of stone on the hill. In fact, it seemed to Gosaiji that the entire hill had become Balaji himself. At the feet of the god there was a small bottomless lake. From Balaji’s left breast water flowed continuously into it. And even after the idol was dressed with clothes, water unceasingly flowed as a river into the lake. In this manner, Balaji established himself in that place, with two other helpful gods in accompaniment.

The village pantheon

The other two deities alluded to in the myth cited above are Bhairava and Pretraj. Balaji, Bhairava and Pretraj are the three main deities in Mehndipur. The second of these is a Sanskritic god and an avatar (incarnation) of Shiva, as is sometimes said to be true of the first (cf. Siva Purana: 3.8.2 and 3.17.70; Tulsidas’ Sri Hanuman Calisa, Shloka: 6). The third, by contrast, is a local deity. In Sanskrit texts, there are numerous descriptions of Balaji and Bhairava. One of the best known sources for references to Balaji, the infant form of the god Hanuman, is the Ramayana. In this great epic, the core of which is thought to have been composed in the fifth or fourth century BCE (cf. Brockington 1991: 54) by the sage Valmiki, Balaji or Hanuman is portrayed as having immense power and strength (bal), which no demon foe can rival. But not only is Hanuman, son of Anjani and Vayu, the wind god, ‘a fire to consume the forest of the demon race’, as Tulsidas poetically describes him (1991: 596), he is also depicted as being full of compassion (karuna), as one who removes suffering, pain and distress. In the Sri Hanuman Calisa, written by Tulsidas (probable dates 1543–1623 CE – cf. Brockington 1991: 186), the author writes:

With (Hanuman’s) grace all the impediments
And difficulties in the world can be overcome easily . . .
Evil spirits cannot come near your devotees,
Lord Mahavira,⁶ who chant your name.
Chanting your name constantly, O Hanuman,
One can be cured of all disease and pains . . .
Whoever comes to you for fulfilment of desire,
Achieves great fruition in his life . . .
Shri Rama has great affection for you, O Mahavira,
The decapitator of evil spirits and protector of saints . . .
One can reach Rama chanting your name
And become free from suffering of many lives . . .
Other gods may not take care to take heed,
But one who serves you, O Hanuman, enjoys all pleasures.

(Shlokas: 20–35)

The deity’s dual qualities of power or immense strength and compassion, which are emphasised by every pilgrim who travels to Mehndipur, are features of Bhairava’s nature too, though it is essentially his fierceness (pracandta) that tends to be stressed. In Sanskrit literature, he is often depicted as brandishing various weapons, including a sword, goad, axe and arrow on one side, and a bow, trident, club, noose, and a skull mounted on a staff on the other side (Agni Purana 1.52.10). He has long protruding teeth and matted hair (cf. Dange 1986: 120). His appearance is terrifying, and in Mehndipur he is often referred to as the wrathful form of Shiva (Shiva ka kruddh rup). According to the Siva Purana, he came into existence when conflict arose between Brahma and Vishnu (Siva Purana: 3.8.1–66). Brahma, engulfed by maya (illusion), haughtily proclaimed himself to be reality itself, the sole unchanging entiy. Vishnu thus became enraged. But the rivalry between the creator and maintainer of the universe ended suddenly with the intervention of Shiva, the great destroyer. The latter manifested himself as Bhairava, the god with ‘terrifying features’ (ibid.: 3.8.47): ‘By the time Brahma could reflect properly, the great being (Bhairava) was seen immediately as the third-eyed Nilalohita (Shiva) with the trident in his hand and an eye in the forehead. Serpents and crested moon constituted his ornaments. . . . Bhairava . . . cut off Brahma’s head with the tips of the nails of the fingers of his left hand’ (ibid.: 3.8.40–1, 52).

The severing of Brahma’s head is alluded to in the Kurma Purana as well (also see Hiltebeitel et al. 1989: 8–9 and passim ). But in this version, Shiva appears in a blackened form: ‘After fighting a great battle with Brahma, Kala Bhairava cut the face of . . . Brahma. The god died, his face being cut by god Shambhu (Shiva)’ (2.31.30). Bhairava, in fact, is known to have eight different forms,⁷ the Kala or black Bhairava being just one of these. In Mehndipur the term Kala (black) Bhairava is often used, as is the term Lal (red) Bhairava, and at Tin Pahar Vale Baba, at the feet of one of the five images of the deity, there is a small effigy of a black dog (kutta), the god’s vehicle (vahana). But the term that is most commonly used at the pilgrimage centre is Kotval, meaning chief officer or chief of police. This term is a fitting one, since it is said that one of the god’s major functions is to capture the malevolent spirits responsible for causing illness (rog) or calamity (vipatti) and to bring them into the court (darbar) of Balaji, the deity who, according to pilgrims, priests and healers, possesses supreme power (sab se jyada shakti). Because Bhairava’s position in the local divine hierarchy is inferior to Balaji’s (he is held to operate under Balaji’s authority), he is viewed as being a little less powerful (thori kam shakti).

Pretraj, the third principal deity, however, is thought to be the least powerful (sab se kam shakti) and is sometimes referred to as Bhairava’s messenger (dut) or servant (sevak). According to the local myth, which has a number of versions, the deity was originally an evil spirit whose tyranny knew no bounds. The valley between the two hills where the temple of Balaji now stands was his dwelling place, and he refused to allow anyone to pass by. Any person who attempted this was instantly killed or developed an incurable and painful disease. The people of the area out of fear thus decided to build a shrine and dedicate it to the ferocious spirit. This was an attempt to placate the ghost. But as soon as it was completed, it was destroyed by Balaji. This happened a number of times. On each occasion a shrine was constructed, the following morning the frustrated builders found that their work had been in vain; for the monkey god had reduced the monument to rubble. This vexed Pretraj who entered into a fierce struggle with Balaji. The former, however, was quickly subdued. He recognised that he was no match for Rama’s help-mate. During the conflict, he also became aware th...

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• LIST OF PLATES
• LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
• INTRODUCTION
• 1: MEHNDIPUR The fieldwork setting
• 2: SUPERNATURAL MALAISE AND KEY PATTERNS OF AFFLICTION CAUSATION, ATTRIBUTION AND VULNERABILITY
• 3: SORCERY, WITCHCRAFT AND THE EVIL EYE
• 4: HEALING AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SELF IN EXORCISM
• 5: HINDU PRIESTS AND HEALERS
• CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX 1 TOWARDS DEFINING A MANTRA
• APPENDIX 2 MANTRAS USED BY PILGRIMS IN MEHNDIPUR TO GAIN RELIEF FROM SUFFERING AND AFFLICTION
• APPENDIX 3 MANTRA AND YANTRA
• APPENDIX 4 INVENTORY OF SYMPTOMS AND AILMENTS RECORDED IN MEHNDIPUR
• APPENDIX 5 GENEALOGIES OF PRIESTLY FAMILIES
• APPENDIX 6 TABLES
• GLOSSARY
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY