రచనలు : అసురులు మరొక కోణం - సాయి స్వరూప
శ్రీమతి సాయి స్వరూప గారి - " అసురులు మరొక కోణం - Of Asuras and Alternate Readings
https://www.myind.net/asuras-and- alternate-readings"
A big addict to old Telugu puranic films, I remember this film
Bhookailas vividly. It had the story of Ravana Brahma's attempts to
acquire the Atmalingam of Lord Shiva. In the popular lore, Ravana
is the antagonist. But this movie had him as the protagonist. I
can't help sharing one of my favorite songs from the film -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7voWulyF2mc
The scholar that he is, Ravana does deserve his share of tales and
movies as a protagonist (especially when it is Sr NTR donning the
role with Sri Ghantasala singing for him, the combination is
deadly! :-)). Coming back to the point of the reverential attitude
towards the titans in our Puranic lore.
Asuras fundamentally are not 'hated' in the Hindu Puranic lore like
the 'evil' is despised in the Abrahamic lore. Rather, they stand as
examples for the pinnacle of human achievement when it comes to
Tapasya. They also exemplify scholarship. They are ambitious just
like many of the Kings revered in the lore (Like Bharata, Sagara
and others too have undertaken conquests). They upheld the
knowledge of Vedas. The conversation between Hiranyakashipu and
Prahlada in Andhra MahaBhagavatam is a proof.
చదువనివాఁ డజ్ఞుం డగు
జదివిన సదసద్వివేక చతురత గలుగుం
జదువఁగ వలయును జనులకుఁ
జదివించెద నార్యులొద్ధఁ జదువుము తండ్రీ!
The one who does not pursue knowledge remains ignorant. The one who
studies can acquire the ability and discretion to identify the
'sat' and 'asat'. To the one born as a human being, the pursuit of
knowledge is a must. This is why I shall send you to study under
the tutelage of Aryas (the noble scholars). Study well, my son.
Forget the demonic side of Hiranyakashipu, How many among today's
fathers tell their children that the aim of education is to acquire
the discretion to separate truth and untruth?
After the schooling, here is what Hiranyakashipu asks Prahlada
ఉత్సాహ ప్రభుమంత్రశక్తి యుతమే యుద్యోగ? మారూఢ సం
విత్సంపన్నుఁడ వైతివే? చదివితే వేదంబులున్ శాస్త్రముల్?
వత్సా రమ్మని చేరఁ జీరి కొడుకున్ వాత్సల్య సంపూర్ణుఁ డై
యుత్సంగాగ్రముఁ జేర్చి దానవవిభుం డుత్కంఠ దీపింపగన్
Filled with eagerness and joy about his son's education,
Hiranyakashipu welcomed Prahlada. Seated the boy on his lap, he
asked, "Did your pursuit of Vidya encompass the Kshatra (warriorly)
skills and endow you with the requisite capability? Did you also
pursue the path of knowledge? Did you complete the study of Vedas
and Shastras?"
In response, Prahlada cites his devotion to Vishnu and we all know
the story after that. But one of Prahlada's noteworthy responses is
about what his studies encompassed.
చదివించిరి నను గురువులు
చదివితి ధర్మార్థ ముఖ్య శాస్త్రంబులు నేఁ
జదివినవి గలవు పెక్కులు
చదువులలో మర్మ మెల్లఁ జదివితిఁ దండ్రీ!
As the teachers taught me, Father, I studied the Shastras like
Dharma and Artha and much much more. I studied the various books
and also realized the essence of all that I studied.
Those of us looking down upon Asuras will have a lot to learn from
the conversation about their passionate pursuit of Vedic knowledge
and patronage of scholars who were well versed in these studies.
This also counters the half-baked claims about Asuras being a race
different from Aryas and that they denounced the Vedic system.
Ravana's compositions perhaps are another example.
But barring the exceptions like Prahlada, the Asuras drifted. Many
of them who acquired powers of invincibility, lacked the discretion
of using those powers. Some of them gave into temptations that made
them lose discretion. Most of them asked for their destruction by
violently stopping the offering of the havis by the Rishis to Suras
(or Adityas headed by Indra). In a way, they interfered with the
religious freedom of the Rishis, sometimes resorting to violence
and even rape. (Wasn't the whole scholarship and the power of
Tapasya coming to a zilch here?)
.
This formidable combination of merit of Tapasya and antagonizing
attitude often united the world against the Asuras and required the
Supreme forces to manifest in order to eliminate them. To their
credit, each of the Asuras has been instrumental in adding a deity
to our Hindu pantheon. Tarakasura forced the reunion of Shiva with
Shakti resulting in the birth of Kumara. Ravana forced Vishnu to
manifest as an ordinary human being and the devas as Vanaras.
Hiranyakashipu's merit went ahead making Vishnu alter the
manifestation to become Nara-Hari. Each of them disrupted the
universal balance causing the universal forces to synthesize a
counterbalancing force. The scholar Bhagavandas in his work,
Krishna, A study in the theory of Avatars calls the disrupting
forces as Prati-Narayanas who cause the manifestation of Narayana.
Those sympathizing with Asuras would be doing a great disservice,
not to others but to themselves by ignoring this repeated lesson
from the history. Revere their knowledge and celebrate their
contribution like the Shiva tandava stotra of Ravana is sung today
in almost all the Shiva temples and in popular media. Also, revere
the valuable lessons that they left us (they did so at a high cost
and we better respect that).
The patrons of 'alternate readings' better keep that in mind before
propagating baseless theories about Rama being an invader and Devi
Durga being a prostitute. Apart from being useless, such ill-
intentioned theories only serve to cause animosity and don't really
add value to any knowledge system. There is no such thing as
blasphemy in the Hindu eco system. Only point to note is that this
universe can very well do this job of repeating the lesson with
ease when the spirit of harmonious coexistence is threatened. As
someone quoted, "Nothing in this world can do the job of repeating
itself as history does."
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत। क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति ॥ - कठोपनिषत् १।३।१४
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Pic Credit: By Jonoikobangali (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
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