Enchanting Indrani
I ndrani: Demons Daughter, Queen of Gods is a fascinating book on one of the lesser celebrated deities Indrani. Also called by the names Shachi and Aindri, she is the wife of Indra, mother of Jayant, Midhusha and Rishabh. She is mentioned a few times in the Rigveda, and is said to be the most fortunate of females, “for her husband shall never die of old age.” The Taittiriya Brahmana states that Indra chose her for his wife from a number of competing goddesses, because she surpassed them all in voluptuous attractions. In the Ramayana and Puranas she appears as the daughter of the Daitya (demon) Puloman, from whom she has the patronymic Paulomi. She was ravished by Indra, who then married her and killed her father to escape his curse. She is known for her erotic beauty; according to the Mahabharata, king Nashua became enamored by her beauty and she escaped from him with difficulty. As promising as Madurika K Maheshwari’s previous works, Hariti From Ogress to Goddess. Hariti: A Buddhist Deity, and Kubera: God of many Hues, this book too brings alive the legend of the lesser known deities Indrani. The book takes us through the journey from the Rig Veda upto the present era. Indrani starts her journey from the Rig Veda and travels up to the present era. Indrani has never been held in very high esteem as a goddess, she was the daughter of a demon but went on to become the queen of gods, thus makes her story very enthralling.
The book takes us through the history of mother goddesses in India from Indus Valley Civilization, to the Vedic times, the Epics, her appropriation in Jaina and Bouddha tradition and lastly, her union with the Saptamatrikas and worshiped as one of the Yoginis. It also presents intriguing insights into roles of gods and goddesses of Hindu mythology. The impulse to combine divinity with mother seems to be one of the earliest expressions of spiritual experience, the book details the significance of its material medium and its possible (hypothetical) influence on the Vedic tradition where Mother Goddesses is revered as symbolizing life, nourishment and fertility. The book also provides a most comprehensible version of the Indra Indrani union, it details the multiple versions of how the demons daughter came to the Indra’s (king of Gods) wife from different Hindu texts and folk legends. The book also details forms of her worship in Hindu tradition as queen of gods, her personification in nature as nature, rivers and her invocation connected to belief in her magical and tantric powers. The book makes a mark because of its discussion on the absorption of this goddess in Jainism and Buddhism. Like the Hindu tradition, she remains secondary to Indra but finds important place in the practice of Buddhist tantra. The book highlights her inclusion into the Saptamatrika and also traces her versions as it exists as local village goddesses.
The book is also remarkable for the pictorial journey of Indrani. Well illustrated and interpreted, the book provides a remarkable collection of her visibility at Indian (and abroad) archeological sites and museums. Containing innumerable photographs and drawings, this book is a useful publication on the history and iconography of Indrani and would interest anyone studying, Hindu art, religious history and iconography.
The book opens possibility of exploring the perception of Devi in India as an interesting mix of metaphysics and mythology. In Vedic literature, religious conventions, ritual practices and archeological iconography she is widely conceived, yet there is a marvelous unanimity in her metaphysical visualization and role in cosmic evolution. In her metaphysical visualization, myths, legends, rituals she symbolizes all forms of vitality, strength, might, power, force, dynamism, operative faculties.
Her role in cosmic evolution, is that of the manifest energy, the all pervading dynamic force that brings change, consciousness, universal intellect; she is also associated with primeval desires like hunger and thirst as well as qualities like brilliance modesty, contentment, compassion, modesty, mercy, charm, patience, faith, activity, violence and thus Universal Mother.
The tradition of worshipping the goddess thus, has had a very early beginning. Her most contemporary version is the national personification of India as
Devi; Bharat Mata. Emerging from the freedom movement in India she is now the most revered deity and is associated with more festivals and events than any other Divinity. This book remains descriptive yet it may help one understand the symbolic force she has gained over centuries so to analyse both its significance and its problematics.