STRANGE RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS

There have been certain quaint burials in our country. This practice prevailed from the 13th to the 17th century. Such quaint ideas were of ancient origin and they can be traced to Scythian times. In a specially prepared tomb, the body of the dead King was placed on a mattress, with spears fixed on the ground on either side of the corpse to support a roof. In the other parts of the square pit, various members of the king's household like his butler, cook, steward, groom and chamberlain were buried. All of them were strangled to death and laid near their master. In addition to the king's horses, his golden cups and some of his valued treasures are buried. Then a mound of sand was raised around it. There are reports of this practice having taken place in Karnataka. Loyal servants of the kings died when their masters expired either by committing suicide or by entering fire or were buried forcefully. Such an act was called Kilgunthe.

There was yet another gruesome type of burial in South India, especially in Karnataka and Andhra. Certain section of people called the Lingayats who hung Lingas on their neck observed a strange ritual. They buried the wife along with the dead husband. These people dug a hole deep enough to come unto the woman's neck and placed her into it, making her to stand. Then they shovel sand around her and trampled with their feet until she was well covered. Thereafter they place a huge stone over her. A similar custom prevailed in Assam during the 17th century. When the Raja of the country dies, they dug a large tomb and placed his wives and concubines as also his horses and equipage, carpets, gold and silver vessels, grain, etc and food materials that would last for several days. Later the tomb was covered.

The cutting of the feminine breast has been a peculiar practice in different parts of the world including India. In India it prevailed among the Cholas in Tamilnadu and also in Gujarat. It not only existed among the Hindus but also with the Buddhists. In the Divyavadana, a Mahayana text of probably the 6th or 7th century A.D, mention is made of this practice. Buddha, in a previous birth was a woman named Rupavathi. She came upon a starving woman who was about to devour her newborn child. Thereupon she cut off her breasts and gave them to her for food. Later her breasts were restored.

In Gujarat there is the story of a woman who was traveling to a neighboring village was attacked by some tribal men. Then she snatched a sword from one of them and cut off both her breasts. She then perished and she is worshipped as a Goddess still there. In the entire history of this peculiar custom the best example can be taken from the Chola period in Tamilnadu. Kanaki, on hearing that her husband,Kovalan was wrongfully sentenced for stealing an anklet of the queen, cried on the streets of the city of Madurai, then plucked her left breast and hurled it onto the streets. As this legend of Kanaki in the Tamil classic, Silapathikatram ascribed to the 6th or 7th century A.D, it may be presumed that this custom was known and practiced in the Tamil Ian country during that period.

In Indian literature, whether it is Brahminical, Buddhist, Jain or Muslim, mention has always been made of the circle as Chakra or Mandala or Ivim. The circle has a mystic significance and hence its popularity from antiquity. It has been employed in social life, witchcraft, sports and many other aspects of life. In the Ramayana, Maricha, a demon tried to impersonate Rama. Sita insisted on Lakshmana going to its help. But before leaving Sita, Lakshmana anticipating trouble, drew a circle around her with the help of his arrow and asked her not to leave it, as it would bring her great danger. That circle is called "The Line of Lakshmana" or "Lakshman Rekha".

The most famous concept of the circle among the Buddhists is the Dhamma Chakkar the "Wheel of Law that the enlightened one or Buddha set in motion by preaching the Law. In the Jatakas it was mentioned as being employed in fixing the eyes to induce a trance and was credited with magical powers. It has been held by some that the Buddhist Stupa was a representation of the Chakra or wheel and that it was probably an adaptation of the earlier Brahminical circle.

The circle was familiar to Indian Legists who called it the Mandala. The King, Ministers, Kingdom, Fortress, treasury and army were the five constituent parts of the circle according to them. The theory of the circle came to be employed in warfare by early Hindus and later by Muslims. It was declared that the political forms of array of an army were like those of a staff, a snake, a circle (Mandala) and in detached order.

The circle manifests itself as an element of witchcraft rituals and worship. Prior to the calling of a demon, it was necessary to draw a circle and perform the requisite rites so that it might appear personally. The circle was also connected with the worship of Lord Shiva. He is supposed to hold a Chakra in one of his hands. The circle was also employed to inveigle the unwary to death through human sacrifice.

The protective influence of the circle is preserved in the Indian folklores from ancient times. In the Panchatantra (4th-5th century), mention is made of a king Badrasena whose daughter was endowed with all the 32 excellent marks of perfect beauty and she was calledRatnavali. A certain demon visited her evening with an idea of taking her away, but she could not be neared as she drew the protective circle around her. The ring or circle was also utilized in civil and military life. In the 16th century, the Mughal King Babar, circumambulated the bed of his dying son, Humayun, and prayed that the illness may come to him. It so happened that Humayun recovered and Babar died.

The circle seems to have continued to the 19th century as well. In 1885, in the Punjab, a severe attack of cattle disease, which claimed many lives, took place. When none of the vets engaged by the Government could do something, the villagers asked for the services of a holy man. He drew a circle around the surviving herd of cattle. Then residing on horseback, he sprinkled some holy water and recited some mantras. That measure seems to have cures the cattle.

The circle appears to have survived till date, although not in its original form or intentions. In certain parts of South India, it is still used among the weaker classes.

The Ramayana tells how Ramachandra perished with his followers in the Saryu. The Jain work, Kuvalayamala Katha, mentions how great sins like murdering one's own father or mother even disappears from those who take bath at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna. It was more of a superstition than a religious rite, as the Jains did not attach any significance with rivers. Any Brahmin, who is generally exempted from death penalty, was given the punishment of being drowned if he insults the King or his Queen.

The ancient belief that emancipation could be achieved through immersion in sacred waters of any holy river was persistent mainly in the 7th century and prevailed for many subsequent centuries. Even Kings followed this practice and probably the earliest ruler who slew himself at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna was the famous Ganga king, Sivamara 1 who lived for 110 years. In the 9th century, a Rashtrakuta monarch called Dhruva also shared the same fate. The great chandela king, Dhangadeva, also adopted this custom. The Khajuraho inscriptions tell us that this famous king held sway over the entire earth and he lived for more than 100 years. He entered the Ganges muttering prayers and drowned himself.

Not only kings but also even ministers and common people sometimes shared this mode of death. Some 11th century writers point out that men of distinctions excepting Vaishyas and Sudras did not follow this custom. These people when they were tired of life or suffered by some serious afflictions, or some bodily defects or old age or infirmity seems to have immersed themselves in holy waters. The Brahmins and Shatriyas who were prohibited from committing suicide were allowed to drown themselves at holy rivers on an eclipse provide they employ someone to do this for them.