Crash course on Avatars!

Mahavatar Narsimha (Hindi, 2025)
Director: Ashwin Kumar

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34365591/

Growing up in the 1970s, the only way to learn about stories from Hindu mythology was through stories told by elders or in satsangs (religious gatherings). Later, we were introduced to Amar Chitra Katha comics, which were quite a hit among us, the children. We essentially heard most of our Hindu fables from these colourful books. Anything that came close to a TV production was an anime movie that came out, as an Indo-Japanese joint production, as 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' in 1993.

Currently, a plan is underway to develop a Mahavtar Cinematic Universe, comprising seven films based on Hindu mythology, over a span of twelve years (2025 to 2037). Given the quality of this project, I am confident that in the years to come, we will be immersed in a cinematic wonderland.

 

The filmmakers decided to start by depicting Vishnu's most fierce avatars. The half-lion, half-human Vishnu is His most combative form. 

Directly or indirectly, we are aware that Vishnu, as the protector of the world, assumes various forms to restore order when chaos (adharma) prevails. All in all, He had taken nine forms thus far (in this yuga), with one more to go at the end of times, Kalki Avatar. He is duty-bound to fight evil and must do so cyclically, as time progresses in cycles, with fission-explosion-entropy succession. 

There is also a subtle reference to the Avatars in evolution. The first Avatar is Matsya, in the form of a fish, who protects the people on Earth and their knowledge from a mammoth flood reminiscent of Noah's Ark and the preservation of species. Now, one may wonder why this motif of the great flood appears in many cultures. In the Zoroastrian tradition, Gilgamesh is also credited with saving humankind from floods. 

As life evolved from being sea-dwelling creatures and became land dwellers, so did Vishnu's avatar. It is said that Vishnu assumed the role of Kurma, a tortoise form, to help in the churning of the Universe to extract the elixir of immortality and other benefactors in a deathly duel between the Asuras and Devas. This event is immortalised sculpturally in the Swarna Bhoomi Airport in Bangkok. 

The third and fourth Avatars, Varaha and Narasimha, are featured in this animated offering. 

Back to avatars and evolution, Varaha is depicted as a wild boar, said to be one of the most sturdy herbivores adapted to land-based living. Despite being a herbivore, it can be a ferocious beast with rudimentary tasks and muscular limbs. In this juncture, life has firmly grounded itself on land. 

In the movie, a pair of twins, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyashipu, were born. They were Asuras because their mother was from the Asura lineage. Asuras do not automatically infer that they are bad, but rather the general narrative in the Vedic scriptures, over the ages, has transformed to mean so. Because they conceived at an inauspicious time, because their mother, Diti, felt horny, and despite her husband Kasyap's warning, they succumbed to lust. Thus, two of the nastiest Asura of the celestial levels were born. 

On a side note, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, the twins, were the reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, once the gatekeepers of Vishnu's abode, Vaikundam. Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by Brahma's sons for not allowing them to enter Vaikundam. Vishnu could not cancel the curse, but gave them two options. The first option is to be reborn seven times as a Vishnu bhakta (follower) or, alternatively, as an anti-Vishnu for three births. They chose the latter. Hence, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were their first births. The next two are from Rama's era (as Ravana and Kumbakarna) and Krishna's era (as Shishupala and Dantavakra).

Hiranyaksha decided to submerge Earth into the cosmic ocean. Vishnu, as Varaha, fought Hiranyaksha and scooped up Earth, as Bhumidevi, the female personification of Mother Earth, with it. Now, here is the interesting observation that some Hindu scholars agree on. Some of the ancient sculptures of Varaha, erected for worship, depict the Earth as a spherical object. This means that the Indians were aware of Earth's appearance. It is not surprising, as the likes of Aryabhatta had already made gigantic steps in the field of astronomy by the 5th century CE.

After Hiranyaksha's demise, his twin Hiranyakashipu went into intense penance, worshipping Brahma for his boon. Now, Hindu supreme powers are usually quite generous with their wishes. The important lesson in any story where wishes are granted is that the requester must be extremely careful and precise in their requests. So when Brahma did eventually manifest and was willing to grant his wishes, Hiranyakashipu made his request-not to die at the hands of any of Brahma's creation, not to die inside a residence or outside, neither during day nor night, not to be killed by any weapon, human, animal, demigod or serpent. He should not be killed by anyone born of a woman, whilst having supreme power over all living beings. He is bestowed the boon.

The Universe had something up its sleeve. Hiranyakashipu's pregnant wife was kidnapped by the lustful God of the Skies, Indra. He was intercepted by the celestial sage, Narada, who took the pregnant mother under his care. The unborn child grew up exposed to songs praising Vishnu, to the extent that the child, Prahlada, became a devoted devotee of Vishnu.

Trouble brewed when the father, Hiranyakashipu, tried to market himself as a true god to his subjects. The recalcitrant Prahlada continued singing praises to Lord Vishnu, much to his father's chagrin. The son was punished again and again, only to be miraculously saved. At the point of reckoning, when told to show the might of Vishnu, the Lord appeared from the walls of a pillar, in a corridor, at twilight, to be mauled by a half-animal, half-man Narasimha, with His bare claws, without any weapons, keeping within the terms of his boon. 

The computer graphics are excellent. Similarly, the choices of colour, background score, storytelling, and continuity are also captivating. After the near demise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Hollywood, the Mahavatar Cinematic Universe is here to take over where it left off. 

The story of evolution continues with human avatars of variable intellectual capacity, such as Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna or Buddha. Kalki will appear at the end of times.

P.S. In future, when you find yourself stuck with a genie in a situation where you are granted three wishes, be wise. Ask for a wish where you never run out of wishes!

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Life's a beach

Sacred Games (Season 1; 2018)

Life is like being at the beach. Sometimes the water is cloudy or appears unsightly with floating particles. The waves may be high and dangerous to be around. It may be too windy. The beach may be too crowded for comfort. At other times, it may just be perfect. We are only supposed to enjoy the moment whatever the circumstance. Forget the flare of the sun, the heat, the sunburn, the sticky bodies, the sand and the mess the wind and sea-water do to your hair. That is life for you and me. You are supposed to get the best out of it - the ups, downs, warts and all.  

This Netflix flick has an entirely Indian plot, setting, cast with a story written by an Indian author. With a background of gangsterism and communal violence, it traces through the story of a Brahmin boy who went through a tumultuous childhood to end up as a Don in Mumbai. It unravels the saga of crooked politicians, corrupted policemen, a web of dishonest businessmen, a trail of counterfeit, transborder deflection and a world of sex and vice.

One may say that this is the typical plot in most blockbuster Hollywood movie anyway, but the storyteller managed to keep his audience at the edge of their seat second-guessing what the event that would happen in 25 days was all about. And the first season ended with a cliffhanger. The mystery still remains to be discovered.

Another thing captivating about the series is the title of each episode. It each carries with it an Indian tale, folklore and myth waiting to be told.

Aswatthama, son of Drona, the great teacher of both sides, fighting on the side of the Kauravas, killed the last remaining heir of the Pandavas. For that, he was cursed by Krishna with immortality and festering physical appearance. In the series, the protagonist, after his death, narrates his life story and hopes that his sins would be washed by preventing further catastrophes. In modern India, there are many reported sightings of an unsightly appearance of an apparition in the death of the night in temples, trying to clean its compound. Village folks insist it is Aswatthama himself.

Halahala is the poisonous fumes culminating from the serpent head as the Asuras and Devas were using it to churn the Ocean of Milk. Shiva inhaled the fumed as turned blue in that episode. The protagonist was holding the truth and was feeding the police bit by bit.

Atapi and Vatapi are folklore demonic cannibalistic characters who entice hunger travellers for a meal. Atapi will masquerade as a Brahmin and would call for Vatapi when food is ready who would feast them (the travellers). This is a metaphorical reference to religion. Like opium, it relieves the pain but then turns you into an addict. Religions prepare your soul for the slaughter. The episode tries to expose the devious nature of religions in provoking chaos and bloodshed among brothers.

Brahmahatya is commonly referred of the killing of a Brahmin, which is a big crime in Hinduism. Pandits, however, concur that it is not the life of a Brahmin that is valuable but any life, especially of a wise one. It also goes back to the Kurukshetra wars, when Drona, the great teacher of both Pandavas and Kauravas was beheaded for a just cause, for dharma, for equilibrium. Incidentally, Drona is also the father of Aswatthama, the one with the curse of immortality. Aswatthama has a reason for his anger. An elephant was named Aswatthama just to confuse Drona and send him off-guard before the slaying. The ever-truthful eldest of the Pandava brothers told a white lie to affirm Aswatthama's death (not to the human Aswatthama)! Truth is neither black or white, it is multilayered.

Sarama means dog. All of us are just metaphorical dogs being pulled around on a leash to the whims and fancies of the self-appointed peddlers of truth. We are not interested in doing the right thing but just conforming to the majority. Even the motto of Mumbai Police is 'Protect the law, destroy evil'. It is not to protect justice or dharma; just defend the decree deemed sacrosanct by the majority or the powerful.

Pretakalpa refers to cremation ritual. Every now and then, we need to rebrand ourselves. Kill the negatives and bring out the positivities. Still, you need both to spark. 

Rudra is the personification of the most vicious form of Shiva. He is sometimes necessary to re-calibrate a broken system. 

Yayati is cursed with premature ageing but manages to swap it with his son. After his long life, he returns the boon to his son to say, "indulge in something that does not decline with age. All the sensory pleasures cannot satisfy the lust of a single man,"

The makers of the show are unapologetically pro-BJP as many of the narrations, and historical footages put Congress leaders in a horrible light.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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Two sides of the coin?

The Ramayana

R.K. Narayan (1972)

We all know the story of the Ramayana. The original epic poem contained 24,000 verses and 500 chapters, written by Valmiki in 4 BCE. It has many versions as it had been translated into many Indian languages and non-Indian languages. As the Hindu influence spread over the archipelago, Ramayana had been narrated in Thailand, Malaya. Indonesia and Burma. The version that was written by the Tamil poet, Kamban, is said to give plenty of weightage to Ravana's courts' proceedings and Sita's predicaments after the well-fought war against Lanka. 

The discourse that went on among the Asura brothers on the days before the Northerners' attack is worthy of mention. It tells us a lot of how civil servants or any member of an organisation would (‽ or should) react in a case of a moral dilemma. When Raavan summoned his brothers to help him out against attack from Rama's Army and his band of monkeys, each of them responded differently. 

Vibishana, the honourable one, totally disagreed on Raavan's action of kidnapping somebody's wife against all her cries and pleas and justifying his misdeeds as a tit-for-tat against violence against their sister. He did not want to condone any of his actions. Hence, he fled the scene and did not want anything to do with the defence of Lanka. But, he went on to volunteer information to the enemy which eventually caused Raavan's downfall. Is that right? It could a subject of protracted discussion.

Then, there was Kumbakarna, another brother who also did not approve of Raavan's kidnapping of a respectable woman. Because of the brother's previous help to him and the fact that 'blood is thicker than water', Kumbakarna decided to stay back and fight for his brother. To him, the familial bond was more important than judging the merit of Raavan's misdeeds.

On the other hand, Kuberan the sloth was oblivious to everything that was going on. He was in a deep slumber as he always was when all these was going on. Only when he was provoked at the climax when everything was going on, he charged headlong. By then it had a little bit too late. Does that not remind you of many around us who seem aloof of their surroundings. Only when things go pear-shaped, and things hit the fan, do they suddenly peel open their eyes to see.

Sita's Fire Ordeal
exoticindiaart.com

If you think Ramayana is all about the stoic Rama and his stance of facing all adversities like a good son and a good ruler, you are wrong. Sita had her fair chance of misfortunes. She thought she was getting married to be a queen, but turns of events eventually made her end up dressed in bark parchment to undergo exile in the forest for 14 years. As if that was not enough, Sita had to be kidnapped. Despite being faithful to the vows she made to the celestial bodies during the wedding, her chastity was suspected. Of all persons, it had to be Rama. She saw the change in him after the release from Lanka. Rama did all the search and fight not for love and affection but as a duty. Anyway, that is what is expected of a king-in-exile when his consort is abducted. And of all things, Sita had to prove her innocence via a fire ritual. For Rama, the people's perception was more important. Is this the Dharma that he talks about? Things were never the same after that. Her later self-imposed exile is a testimony of that.

People spent a lifetime trying to read and re-read the Ramayana to understand the wisdom imbibed in its poem. Narayan condenses the whole epic into a small, readable edition for the general public to peruse in any way they want; as a story, a philosophical discourse or a holy book.