I conoclasm is an expression of fanaticism and intolerance, and images have often been destroyed for religious and political purposes throughout history. Beyond barbarism, iconoclasm is primarily an instrument of power. Its gore intends to instil an element of fear among the masses. This ideology of brutality has its antecedents in history, replete with examples of iconoclastic destructions. Catherine Nixey's The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World describes in eye-popping graphic details the destruction and gore of the ancient temples of Serapeum in Alexandria and the Parthenon in Athens.
Chairman Mao Zedong of China ordered the destruction of countless historical monuments and works of art during what is known as the Cultural Revolution. In 2001, Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban leader, ordered the blowing up of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan. Initially sculpted in 507 CE, this ancient sandstone carving was once the tallest Buddha. The Taliban fighters fired at the Buddha with tanks and artillery shells. When that failed, they ordered the planting of explosives to destroy it. The Taliban fighters drilled holes into the statue to plant the dynamite. Drilling the holes took 25 days. The Islamic State did the same to the temples of Palmyra.
For Indians, Hindus specifically, the massive destruction of temples and the desecration and dismemberment of their deities throughout the past millennia have been an acute source of transgenerational trauma. No standing grand ancient Hindu temple older than about a hundred years exists in and around the National Capital Region of Delhi, accentuating this trauma. Among thousands of silent yet in-your-face reminders of that trauma are the ruins of 26 Jain-Hindu temples in Mehrauli, near Delhi. The Muslim rulers destroyed the temple complex to erect a victory tower and the Dome of Islam Mosque. Meenakshi Jain's book Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History details Hindu deities' desecration and destruction, and their preservation at significant risks by the faithful.
Over time and maliciously, Leftist historians perpetuated a narrative that, historically, Hindus were not attached to their sacred spaces, such as temples. Their argument supporting this blatant misinformation is that Hindus did not leave a textual or literary record of such destruction or trauma. Padma Shri recipient Dr Meenakshi Jain presents evidence to the contrary in her painstakingly exhaustive research. Jain's book Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples presents numerous examples of the destruction of Hindu temples. The book also presents heartbreaking stories of hiding and protecting deities from the temple.
Amidst this gloom, we have accounts of the deities of Shrinathji and Govind Dev temples that lift our hearts and spirits. For example, the story of the deity of the Shrinathji temple is awe-inspiring. Fearing an imminent attack on the temple, the Shrinathji temple deity was taken from the Govardhan hills near Mathura to Agra, Kota, Kishangarh, and then to Udaipur.
There are several similar stories of flight mentioned in Jain's book. This anthology presents a selection of short stories of the deities' flights, inspired by Meenakshi Jain's book.
I am incredibly grateful to the authors who have contributed to this anthology. It is a varied group of authors both in experience and style. I appreciate the editorial support of Prof. Ramesh Raoji and Mike Thorn. Most authors also received help through the INDICA writers' workshop with Andrew Otis Haschemeyer.
Last but not least, my gratitude is also due to Sri Hari ji for his inspiration and support in publishing this anthology.
It has been a great pleasure working on this project. I have tried to do my best. If there are errors and shortcomings, they are mine and mine alone.
The perils of not having your own historians were encapsulated in an old African saying: 'Till the lions (i.e., the hunter) have their own historians, the history of the hunted will always glorify the hunter.' India is perhaps a rare exception to that adage. Though divested of political power for long stretches of time over considerable parts of their land, Hindus managed to leave substantial records of their endeavours to protect their civilizational heritage in the turbulent medieval era. By all standards, it was a remarkable accomplishment.
The first contemporary account to have come to us dates to the time of Mahmud Ghaznavi's invasion of Somnath. Dhanapala, a Jain poet and scholar at the court of the Paramara king, King Bhoja, composed the Satyapuriya Mahavira Utsaha in 1024 CE. It is the only surviving eyewitness account of Mahmud Ghaznavi's attack on Gujarat, including on the revered city of Somnath.
Dhanapala listed the numerous cities devastated by the invader: Srimala (Bhinnamala), Anhilavadau (Anhilvada Patana), Caddavalli (Candravati), Soratthu (Sorath), Devalavadau (Delvada), and Somessar (Somnath). He further asserted that Mahmud could not destroy the image of Tirthankara Mahavira at Saccaur (Satyapura); 'For can even a large number of stars dim the light of the Sun or snakes swallow Garuda?"
Another valuable work is the Vividtirthakalpa (1333 CE) by Jinaprabhasuri (1261-1333), the leader of a branch of the Shwetambar Jains. Jinaprabhasuri visited several ravaged Jain holy sites in north India and, to reassure his community, recorded the triumph of the faith in every instance of its encounter with Islam. Though kingdoms collapsed and cities were reduced to ruins, the images continued 'working their magic'. Several other works composed in the medieval period narrated how images mutilated by iconoclasts demonstrated a 'heightened ability to perform miracles.
Temple hagiographies (mahatmyas) and site histories (sthala puranas) composed in those tempestuous times, like the Ekalinga mahatmya, gave considerable thought to the protection of sanctified spaces and images from iconoclastic fervour.
In south India, the most prominent work to address the horrific new reality is the Madura Vijaya, a Sanskrit poem composed in the fourteenth century by Ganga Devi, the wife of Prince Kampana of Vijayanagara. Ganga Devi recounted how Kampana was visited by a lady (perhaps Goddess Minakshi), who described the forsaken state of south India and beseeched the prince to liberate it from the Muslim Sultanate at Madurai. Kampana was the restorer of dharma, and the benefactor of countless temples in the Tamil land, several of which had been converted into mosques. He overturned the kali age and re-established the golden era.
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