Bharat,
one of the oldest surviving civilization, is known for its culture and
festivals. Mahashivratri happens to be one the most sacred festivals that is
celebrated all over the country east to west and north to south. Bharat’s soul
lies in its sacred geography such as the twelve Jyotirlingas.
Lord
Shiva is worshiped all over Bharat transcending all artificially created social
barriers. His worship forms an important part of tribal culture. Though a particular
section of anthropologist, sociologists, historians and ethnologists have held
on to the view that several tribes of Bharat have barrowed and accepted many
Hindu traditions, gods and religious practices, Hindu population living among
tribal communities too have incorporated many tribal rituals, gods and
religious practices. In other words, this amalgamation of religious practices
among different communities of Bharat dates back to antiquity.
Scholars
having expertise on this area have observed that tribal and non-tribal
interaction in ancient Bharat started much earlier than the Vedic period. Vedic
seers and scholars incorporated the existence of Shiva, the God of tribal
communities in Vendangas, Sutras, Agamas etc. It is said that Shiva is the God
of Anadis meaning tribals. It’s in the context, this piece tries to locate the
existence of Lord Shiva in the Bhartiya tribal culture as we celebrate the
sacred festival of Mahashivratri.
We
find legends of Lord Shiva among the tribals Chotanagpur, now in Jharkhand. The
supreme God of Santhals, the largest tribal community of Jharkhand, is called
Marang Buru, Thakur Buru, or Mahadeo. His charecters, as narrated by the
Santhals, are very similar to that of Lord Shiva. Moreover, the great and
historic Jyotirlinga of Baidyanath, popularly known as Ravaneshwar Mahadeo, is
located in the Santhal heartland at Deoghar.
Several
lingams located on the banks of the river Ghaghar, flowing at the distance of
around 3.50 kilometers from Ghaghra, a block settlement are worshiped by the
Oraons (the third largest community in Jharkhand) and non-tribal households as
well. This place, called Devaki, is a sacred place for both the communities.
Such is the significance of the place that no day passes when hundreds of
devotees do not pay their respect to the countless number of lingams there.
Devaki is made of two words: Dev and Aki. In the Oraon language Aki refers to
house and Deva, for gods. It is therefore truly treated as house or abode of
gods. This place is treated as sacred as Deoghar and the main lingam is no less
than the lingam of Deoghar.
Tanginath,
a place located on the top of a small hill around 60 kilometers from Gumla township is famous
for a Shivlingam which is worshiped by the local Oraons and the Hindus. The
chief priest of this sacred place is from the Oraon community who performs
Pooja in a very distinctive style.
Such
legends of Lord Shiva are galore among many other tribal communities, for
example, Gaddis- a semi agriculturist and semi-pastoral community of the
Himalayan range in the state of Himachal Pradesh believes that Shiva dwells on
Himalaya bestowing constant benevolent gaze on his chosen devotees, the Gaddis.
The Koragas of Dakshin Kannada worship shiva in his many forms. They treat the very existence of the Lord as
the family member and share everything – pain and
pleasure
– with him. Lord Shiva’s place in rituals and religious practices of the Bhils,
Gonds, Kharwars is also unparalleled.
Various
narratives, mantras and beliefs among the tribals and folks are a testament of
Shivatattva retained by these people. Shiva belongs to them and they belong to
him. These communities of Bharat have created a unique relationship with Lord
Shiva.
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