Hindu Gods in Western Central Asia A Lesser Known Chapter of Indian History

Author: S.P. Gupta
Publication: www.asthabharati.org
Date: April - June, 2002
URL: http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_Apr02/Hindu.htm

It is common knowledge that Hinduism pervaded several countries of South--east Asia which witnessed the rise and fall of several Hindu dynasties. The rulers of these dynasties got constructed many temples for Hindu gods and goddesses, Shiva and Vishnu including. Along with Shiva and Vaishnava religions, Buddhism also penetrated the land between Myanmar and Indonesia and flourished side by side as twin brothers, sometimes in one and the same temple complex. The Chinese or Eastern Central Asia is also known for Buddhist and the so-called Hindu-Buddhist icons in Buddhist temples of Khotan, Dun-Huang, etc. However, what is commonly less known is the fact that the five Islamic Republics of the erstwhile Soviet or Western Central Asia, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, etc., did not witness the prevalence of Hindu gods and goddesses, even though Buddhism had some presence there. The purpose of writing this article is to show that this was not the fact.

In the Central part of this region, there flourished the region anciently called Sogdiana, covering largely the state of Uzbekistan. There were centres where great works of art and architectures flourished, viz. Varaksha, located near Bukhara, Afrasiab, the ancient site of the capital city of Sogdiana, in the outskirts of Samarkand, and Penjikent, an ancient small city, around 60 kms east of Samarkand. Their flourishing period is bracketed between 5th century A.D. and 9th century A.D. Belonging to 8th-9th centuries bracket are also the works of great art reflecting Indian influence in nearlby sites, such as the Shahiristan. Buddhism, of course, flourished in a big way in Kigrhizia, Tadjikistan and southern Uzbekistan where several monasteries have been excavated, dating back to 1st century B.C.- A.D. bracket. It may be noted that the Arab Muslims entered this area in the 8th century, often destroying non-Muslim art and architectural remains.

The most important site for our study is Penjikent, a commercial town with bazaars, covering an area of 13.5 hectares, in which around 130 houses and shops have been excavated. The structural remains of these two to three storied houses, some of them very large, including wooden posts and walls, have yielded many sculptural remains and remains of painting. It is in them that we get the representations of Hindu gods and goddesses as well as many decorative elements and narrative scenes. It may, however, be noted that the Hindu gods and goddesses depicted here were having some local overtones in the sense that the form and iconography as well as their names had local origins. In other words, as we see in south India, the north Indian Kartikeya became Murgan but the iconography remained the same, in Penjikent also the people who adopted the Hindu gods and goddesses have them local names. This cross-fertilization of cultures is the hallmark of Penjikent's Sogdiana civilization of the pre-Islamic period. It may be noted that Hinduism alone was not the external element which combined with the local pre-existing culture of Sogdiana, in which a very popular regional religion called 'Manichaism' was extant. In the north Iranian Culture, Zoroastrian in particular was much more dominant. Nestorian Christianity was also existing here. In fact Sogdiana was the melting pot of cultures coming from various directions through the long-distance trade mechanism.

Sogdiana witnessed Hinduism in the worship of five gods, viz. Brahma, Indra, Mahadeva (Shiva), Narayana and Vaishravana. It may be noted that out of these five, the first three Hindu gods were identified with their own three gods. Brahma was identified with their own god Zrvan , Indra with Adbad and Mahadeva with Veshparkar. The last two had no local counterparts to impose upon the Hindu gods. The Sogdian manuscripts have described them in iconographic terms, for example, Brahma-Zrvan has been described as a god with a beard, Indra- Adbag has been described as a god with a third eye, Mahadeva-Veshparkar has been shown with three faces. As a matter of fact, some of the pictures bore the names of these gods. V.A. Livshits deciphered such a label as 'Veshpur(kar)' under a three-headed god.

At Penjikent a four -armed goddess riding a lion, sometimes found near the image of Shiva is often depicted. It is possible that the goddess meant here was Parvati although some scholars would like to identify her with the Iranian goddess Nana depicted on some Kushana Coins.

A mural of 8th century at Penjikent has three portable sacrificial fire altars. Much of this picture is gone but what remains has at least the picture of Mahadeva-Veshparkar. Thus, the two remaining gods supporting two other altars could be Brahma-Zravan and Indra-Adbag. As a matter fact, the name of the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahar Mazda was totally avoided here, for whom Indra-Adbog was the substitute.

Camel and ram have been used as a mount of some gods with Indian features whose identity is very difficult to make. Dragon has also been used as a mount but the identity of this multi-handed Indian goddess from Temple II of Penjikent is not possible at this stage knowledge.

The Russian scholars working here have been doing excellent work and much of the archaeological remains of Penjikent can be seen in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.