Why would a god turn his back to his devotees and show his hind side? I asked the man who was talking to me from other side of telephone.

“It is really hard to answer this question on the telephone”. Mumbled the man, who had introduced me as the Pujari of the shrine. “Why don’t you come here and attend the annual jatra and all your questions would be answered.”

Armed with an invitation I decided to travel 400 kms from Mumbai in deep interiors of Maharashtra. The god in question is called Darling ( pronounced as the-r-ling), an avatar of lord Shiva.* What intrigued me was I had never heard of god being worshipped by his hind side — “dhunganacha dev“** ( the arse god) as one villager lovingly described him.  Located 60 km from Pandharpur, this sleepy hamlet of Chal, in Maharashtra comes alive on full moon of Chaitra ( Chaitra Pournima) to celebrate the wedding of lord Darling with his wife Mitabai . The Jatra festivities lasts for three days.

As we proceeded towards the shrine in pitch darkness on a mud road– few glittering lights in distance and blaring  noises of loudspeaker was the only visible signs of a temple activity. When we approached the temple we could see people had started arriving in groups.

The belief is- once the three-day celebrations are over, shrine is cleaned and locked. No humans beings, that includes the Pujari of the temple should stay or stray around the shrine. Else, bhutas , who come visiting the lord devour living beings that come in their way. A large water pitcher and a basket full of puran polis( a local preparation of sweet roti) are left for the bhutas( spirits) who then take over the premise after devotees leave.

After the wedding celebrations were over I gathered few village elders to solve the mystery of god Darling’s posture. The answers were as intriguing and confusing as the question itself.

According to Datta Dnyandev Lokre a village elder – “ A rich man from the village had two wives.  Both women bore children at the same time. But younger wife got jealous and came to lord Darling and asked the god to ‘ take away’ the child of other wife. Darling was very pained by the request but he had to oblige her request since he never declines vows made to him. He took away the child but to show his displeasure he turned his back to his devotees.”

In another version of the legend, narrated by Shivaji Waghmode, a village head– “Once upon a time a local king Jethoba, ruled over Chal . There lived a daitya*** in his kingdom. Daitya would harass his subjects and would devour them time-to-time. Jethoba could not get rid of daitya as he was very powerful.  Jethoba, a devotee of Shiva did penance for 12 yrs. Finally, Shiva was pleased by his devotion and he asked Jethoba to ask for a boon. Jethoba narrated the woes of his subjects and terror the daitya has caused in his kingdom. He pleaded Shiva to get rid of daitya and bring peace in his kingdom. Shiva came to Chal riding on his horse. A fierce battle broke between Shiva and the daitya. At one point Shiva entered a dari (meaning abyss in Marathi) and disappeared . As Daitya followed him , Shiva attacked the daitya and killed him. To celebrated the invisible form of Shiva hiding in the abyss, locals venerate him only by his hind part that remained visible but rest of his body disappeared in the mountains. He is called by the name Dariling from then on”.

One of the office bearer’s of the shrine committee had the following version. When Mughals conquered this region locals enclosed the shrine by brick and mortar so that Muslims would not desecrate it. After many years when Muslim rulers were defeated and left the region villagers decided to open the shrine. But they had forgotten which was the front gate and the hind gate of the shrine. They opened the shrine from opposite end. And first thing they found or saw of the deity was the hind side. They have worshipped the god in that form since then.

But the most probable explanation seems to come from a woman devotee who told me this version. “There was a jatra of this deity. After jatra got over everyone left the premise as mentioned in the tradition of the shrine. Unfortunately one poor farmer women forgot her child in the temple premise, as she left the shrine is great hurry. Everyone left the premise and the priest left the shrine locking its door behind. God Darling was waiting for Bhutas to enter in when he heard the baby cry. He knew if Bhutas were to see this baby they would not hesitate to devour it. God quickly grabbed the baby and turned his back, hiding him from the gaze of bhutaganas. Next day the child was found in market place. When temple pujari doors were opened the temple shrine after bhutas had left, he found that their god has turned his back to them.

This tale coincides with the belief that lord Darling is the protector of children. It is believed that Darling responds to the call of people when they prey for progeny. And if their vow is fulfilled they bring their young ones in this temple. A ritual is conducted next day of the Jatra- where the main pujari of the shrine throws these young wards from the temple rooftop – into the hands of anxious parents waiting to grab them. Devotees believe that this ritual strengthens their faith in the god who ‘safely’ delivers their children to them.

* I was told that god Darling- an avatara of Shiva originates from Ujjain, that is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. Originally the sect belongs to three brothers all known as Darling dev. The elder brother settled at Chal , middle brother stayed at Ambegaon and the younger brother lived in Tarapur village .

** When I discussed the term ‘dhunganacha dev’ with the pujari , he refused to acknowledge such a term and said it would be derogatory to use such description for the god. I also noticed there was an attempt to rewrite the original history of the shrine, which was originally worshipped by hatkar and dhanagar class (shepherd caste).

***In Hinduism, the Daityas are a clan or race of Asura as are the Danavas. Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the Devas because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers. The female Daityas are described as wearing jewelry the size of boulders.

Story Collected By Vidya Kamat

Stories told by :Sudhaker Dnyandev Lokre, Shivaji Waghmode, Ratnaker Gaikewad, Ushabai Farad

Location : Chal, Maharashtra.

Image details: Image of lord Darling at Chal.

Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

Not many in India choose to worship Ravana, the evil demon king from the celebrated epic of Ramayana. However, there are a few examples of tribal communities who consider Ravana as their ancestor and worship him with reverence. Obviously the worship of Ravana is not a taboo. Here is a curious tale,  how a village ended up worshiping Ravana as their village deity. Sangola village in  Akola district of Maharashtra, worship Ravana during Dusshera and Diwali,  by offering him puja instead of burning his effigy as the rest of India.

According to the locals, around two hundred years ago, villagers of Sangola, decided to install a new idol in their village temple. They contacted a well known sthapathi or sculptor, living in the nearby village of Babhulgaon, and  requested him to make the idol of their god for their temple.  They supplied him with wood from the holy tree that grew in the temple premise, and asked him to carve out an idol of lord Rama as per his imagination.  The sculptor quoted  a  very steep fee and he also wanted all the money in advance; so every villager chipped in their share of a few rupees and raised the funds.

A few months later the sculptor asked the villagers to come and collect the idol as he had completed the finishing touches. With much anticipation and with due preparation to receive the deity,  village elders proceeded to Babhulgaon beating drums and cymbals to celebrate the arrival of the god. The sculptor handed them the idol , wrapped up in a piece of cloth and walked away without exchanging any words.  When the villagers unveiled the idol they were taken aback. Neither the sculptor had carved the idol out of wood as they had ordered,  nor could they recognise the idol (as they assumed it would be of lord Rama).  Instead the idol was made of stone , and was of a fierce warrior with ten heads and ten hands, holding a weapon in each hand. Obviously, the sculptor had played some kind of a prank on naive gullible villagers, by sculpting the idol of Ravana instead of Rama

Confused and perplexed, villagers eventually decided to accept the idol after prolonged deliberations. They put the idol on the bullock cart and accompanied by drumming of  dhols and cymbals they started  back for the village. But as soon as the procession reached the village boundary, the bulls could not move any further. As villagers gathered around the idol; they heard their elders narrate the story how they were tricked by the sculptor. They unanimously decided to receive Ravana with same devotion  that they had for lord Rama. They installed the idol at the village boundary and decided to worshiped Ravana as the village deity. They believe that after the arrival of Ravana Maharaj, as they lovingly call him,  Sangola village became a prosperous town.   The tradition of worshiping Ravana continues till today, with a special puja being offered during Dusshera and Diwali.
Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat

Text Source: Vinake, Santosh,  Lokaprabha, 23rd October, 2015, Vol: 76, pp40-41

also see; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTqaCuGoZ5Q

Location: Maharashtra

Image Detail: Idol of Ravana, from the collection of British Museum

Image Source: Wikipedia

We all gathered around my sister to listen to her holiday experiences from Sikkim and Gangtok- northeastern town of India, sharing border with China. Suddenly, in an animated tone she said “ Oh I must tell you the story of Harbhajan baba ! A soldier who mans the Indo China border.” We all bust in smiles “ What’s the deal sis? Isn’t a soldier supposed to patrol the border?”

“Yes. But he is dead long ago!” she said in a bit of huff. Now it was our turn to feel alarmed. “You mean a dead soldier patrolling the border?” “Yes and trust me there is a shrine for him. We visited the shrine on our way to Nathula Pass and paid our homage. ” We all huddled around her for the full version of Harbhajanbaba’s legend.

Harbhajan Singh was an ordinary sepoy in Indian army in mid 60s posted on Sino-Indian border near Nathula pass. One day as he was escorting a caravan of mules from one post to other he got swept away in the flowing stream. For two days Indian army carried out a search for his body but they failed to find it. Few days later, one of the colleague of Harabhan Singh dreamt of Harbhajan , telling him how he died and where to find his body. He also told him he is still doing his border patrolling duty. His dear friend just felt that he is too grief stricken by his friend’s death and probably his dream is a result of anxiety and sadness he felt so ignored the dream. Few days later he dreamt again the same dream where Harbhajan gave a detailed instructions of the place where his body was lying and asked him to build a Samadhi for him. This time his colleague reported it to his senior and an army search party was deputed to carry out a manhunt for his body. To the surprise of all, body was found exactly in the same place as described by Harbhajan in the dream. A Samadhi was built as per Harabhajan’s wishes.

Few days later Indian Jawans patrolling the Sino -Indian border saw a lone soldier in Indian army uniform riding on a horse patrolling the border. The man did not belong to their regiment. Meanwhile Chinese post too from other side of the border confirmed the sighting of a lone soldier riding a horse. It was believed that Harbhansingh, as promised was on his patrolling duty. Since then it is believed that Harabhanjan singh has given timely warnings to Indian army of possible dangers from Chinese army and loopholes in Indian surveillance systems. His warnings have been proved very accurate so far. Indian army has a great reverence for this holy ghost who is still committed to his duty.

Harbhansingh’s Samadhi contains three rooms. In one of the rooms there is a bed and his army uniform is laid on it, with his boots kept by the side of bed. According to the belief every morning the uniform is crumpled and boots are covered with dirt suggesting that someone might have used them overnight.

Ceremoniously every day his boots are polished and freshly ironed uniform is laid on the bed. This ritual is carried out till this date. Indian army has accepted the holy ghost as part of its serving troops and every year in September Harbhajan Singh is sent on an annual leave to his home town in Punjab. Army has continued to pay him the salary and his rank is raised to that of Captain. Every year Captain Harbahjan Singh accompanied by two soldiers and a trunk with his belonging travels in train to his home town and similarly returns back on his duty after a month long leave. The army maintained this tradition, till Captain Harbhan Singh ‘retired’ from the service few years back.

Today Harbhajanbaba’s shrine is located amidst lush green forest land against the picturesque backdrop of waterfalls of Nathula Pass near the river Teesta civilian devotees from all religions, locals, trekkers as well army personnel stop by to pay him respect, believing that this holy ghost protest them from calamities and danger of this difficult terrain.

It is believed the Chinese army sets aside a chair for this lone Indian soldier when they meet Indian army for their monthly flag meet.

Story collected by Vidya Kamat

Story told by Vinaya Shinkre.

Location : Nathula Pass, Sikkim

Inputs from

Not colours, but sticks and stones; that is how Holi is celebrated in a village near Mathura. Better known as the festival of colours, Holi brings about water-drenched, colourful euphoria among the people in most parts of the country. But the Lath Mar Holi celebrated at Barsana near Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh is a different game altogether.
Lathmar HolI? What is that?
A literal translation would be ‘Beating Sticks Holi’. In this, the women of Barsana beat up the men who come from the neighbouring village of Nandgaon to play Holi with them.
Why do they do that? And why do the men come every year to get bashed up?
Barsana is believed to be the birthplace of Radha who was Krishna’s lover and divine consort. The story goes that Krishna slapped mud or a brown coloured powder on her cheeks because she was fairer than him. Radha beat him with a stick for this and when he brought his gang of guys from Nandgaon, Radha and her friends beat them all up. The men came with colours and water. Even today the men of Nandgaon where Krishna grew up come to Barsana and the ritual is replayed. The men rush in praying colours and water and try to get to a temple dedicated to Radha in order to hoist a flag on its roof. They come padded and well-armed with protective shields. The women await their arrival with sticks in hand and start raining down their sticks on their backs as soon as they start trooping in, in groups. Some men are forced to dress up in skirts and sarees too! While the men try and get to the temple, the women make every attempt to block their path and not let them anywhere near it.
Really? That’s how it started?
Well, that’s what we have heard. But it is also possible that the ritual is aboriginal in its origins. Over the years, the practice grew popular and was made part of the larger mythological narrative.
Aboriginal practices? Such as?
Lighting of bonfires, dancing in streets, shouting obscenities, throwing mud at each other, playing pranks on women, women playing on the swings (dolayatra), throwing water at each other etc; these are all aboriginal practices. In some cases communities often got together to hurl abuses at a god or each other or garland deities with shoes — Holi is a fertility festival and probably was celebrated by aboriginal people in a similar fashion. But what we have retained today is the lighting of bonfires and splashing water and colours on each other.
Sounds fun?
Of course it is. It was also a lot of fun when it was first played eons ago. It was also a festival meant to denote the end of a year. That is why we light a bonfire which, in a way, is how you bring closure to the past and set the stage for all things new in the New Year.
I am confused– is this a New Year Celebration?
Not exactly. In the Hindu calendar, Holi comes before the year ending festivals that are celebrated by most communities sometime around the middle of April. It is a harvest festival. But the LathMar Holi carries some traces of the way the new year-year end festivals were celebrated.
Like what?
During ancient times in Europe, the Maypole and in India during the Vedic period, the Indradvaja festival was celebrated. For this, a pole was erected in the centre of the village, it was decorated with flowers and fruits and people drank, partied and danced around it. At the end of the celebration the pole was set on fire. The belief was that fire would kill evil and usher in a new beginning. Holi or Hutasani means that which is brought to closure by fire. Also soon after Holi, the New Year is brought in by several communities in the country.
And is Holi celebrated in March every year?
It could be in February or March. The celebrations are during spring. The festival period starts ten days before full moon of Phalgun (February – March). But the Holi or bonfire happens only on the last day or the full moon day of Phalgun. In Manipur, the Holi festival lasts the entire 8-10 days.
Interesting. And is there any other story of Holi ?
Yes. There is a story that says Holi was celebrated by burning the demoness Holika, sister of demon king Hiranyakashipu and father of Prahlad. In south India, Holi was celebrated as the lamentation of Rati wife of Kama who was burned by Shiva.
(You can read the full story here.)

Information collected by: Vidya Kamat
Text Source: Hindu World: An encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism By Benjamin Walker.
Location: All India

Every time I visited my grandparents’ house in Salcette Goa, I would accompany Thomas, who worked in our house, to the shrine outside the village. In reality there was no temple or a shrine or even an idol at the spot, but a huge Banyan tree with a hollow base which looked like it was the entrance into a tiny cave. Unlike other temples where there is an idol which is decorated with flowers and perfumes and the place is buzzing with devotees, this shrine was stark, empty and devoid of any decorations. However, there were signs that oil lamps were being lit regularly as dark soot had blackened the roots of the Banyan tree.
Every Wednesday, we would walk up to the village boundary where the tree was located with a bottle of country liquor and a roti or bread made of husk with a preparation of meat placed on top. We would also carry a small bottle of oil to light the lamp. I had also seen people leaving leather shoes and rough woolen shawls (kambal) under this tree. Thomas would light the lamp and then ask me to place the food and liquor at the base of the tree. Our offerings were always made after the sunset. Before leaving we would fold our hands in reverence, circumambulate the tree once and quietly walk away without talking. Thomas would warn me not to look behind.
Curious about the entire proceedings I once asked my granny: “For whom do we carry this food?” She said, “He is our Rakhno.” Rakhno in the language of the region (Konkani) means protector. A guardian spirit. For us Rakhno was a village spirit who protected all of us. We worshipped him and at the same time feared him.
No one knew how he looked but there were many opinions — some said that he was a tall man who was dressed like a shepherd. He wore a woolen shawl on his shoulders and carried a wooden staff. Some believed that he carried a sword rode a horse and always moved with a band of followers. What everyone agreed on was that he had a fearsome gaze and that if you looked into his eyes you would either end up dead or crazy.
My mother had her own story of Rakhno which I have tried to tell in her words, as I remember it:
“Once I and my friend went to the riverside to play. The river was little distance away from the centre of the town. We were there a long time and got so busy gathering pebbles that we did not realize that the sun had set and night was approaching. We were alone and the darkness made us afraid so we began to cry. Suddenly we heard a male voice calling out to us. “What are you two girls doing so late in the evening?” His voice was rough and commanding.
Frozen with fear, we could not speak. We could not see him but the voice was clearly emanating from a few feet away. He rebuked us for being out so late and said he would drop us home. “I will walk behind you” he said. “Now get moving”, he ordered.
We clutched each other and began walking. We could hear the sound of leather shoes marking the road behind us. It was a peculiar sound, that which you hear when someone walks in a new pair of shoes. He was probably carrying a wooden staff which he banged on the ground with every step he took. His footsteps were very heavy so we presumed he must be a tall man. We reached my friend’s home and the sound of the staff stopped. In a gruff tone he asked my friend to run into her house. “Don’t look back”, he warned. I realized I was all alone. I could see the lights of my house in the distance. I began to run but my feet were getting heavy. I was sweating and panting profusely and as soon I stepped onto the doorway I collapsed. I don’t remember anything after that…”
My Granny believed it was Rakhno who had safely brought her daughter home. Since then she had set up this practice of sending food to this village deity every Wednesday.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat

Told by : Sitabai Pai Panandiker

Location: Salcette . Goa
Tags: Village spirit God, Rakhno, Village guardian, belief, meat, food offerings,