PICTURING THE GODDESS: BAZAAR IMAGES AND THE IMAGINATION OF MODERN HINDU RELIGIOUS IDENTITY By Zo Margaret Newell Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Religion May, 2011 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor Richard J. McGregor Professor Ellen T. Armour Professor John J. Thatamanil Professor Jinah Kim Copyright © 2011 by Zo Margaret Newell All Rights Reserved i To my beloved husband, James and To Bhauji ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to each of the four members of my dissertation committee, Professor Richard J. McGregor, Professor Ellen T. Armour, Professor Jinah Kim, and Professor John J. Thatamanil, for their support and guidance in the intricate process of conceiving, producing, and defending this dissertation. I would also like to thank the staff and consultants of Vanderbilt University’s Writing Studio, particularly Gary Jaeger, Diana Bellonby, Patricia Conway and Josh Houston, for their patience and craftsmanship. Finally, I extend my thanks to Vir Singh Kalchuri, dear Bhauji, Chairman of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, Ahmednagar, India, for his unfailing love and encouragement, and to my beloved husband, James R. Newell, for everything. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………….iii TABLE OF FIGURES………………………………………………………vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION……………………………….…………..1 Theory and Method………………………………….2 The Narrative Myths of Colonial Construction and Sanatana Dharma …………………………………. 8 Insider/Outsider ………………………….………….10 Hinduism and the Study of Religion…………………28 Hindu and Hinduism as terms………………………. 31 “Greater” and “Lesser” Traditions in the Study of Hinduism……………………………33 Western Perspectives on Hinduism …………………35 “Renaissance” Hinduism ……………………………37 Colonial Construction vs. Sanatana Dharma………..41 Symbols of Unity: Mother Hinduism………………..48 Transliteration ……………………………………….52 II. HINDUISM………………………………………….………53 Introduction …………………………………………53 Conceptions of Hinduism …………………………..54 “Hindu” and “Hinduism” in the Late Colonial Era …………………………………………57 Quantifying the Divine ……………………………...57 The Importance of Visuality : “A real Hindu”: Calcutta 1883 ……………………...60 Who Defines Hinduism? …………………………….66 Constructionist and Sanatanist Positions …………....68 Textualism and its Pitfalls …………………………..71 Hinduism as (Sanata?) Dharma …………………….79 Conclusion …………………………………………..90 III. DHARMA AND IMAGINED RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN AN AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION………………………...92 Introduction…………………………………………..92 iv Mythic Narrative and “Mytho-pictures”…………….103 Dharma, the printed word, and the “real religion of the Hindus”………………....113 “Imagined Communities”………………………….…121 The dynamics of devotionalism ……………………...123 Bharat Mata, Calcutta, and the “New Indian Art”…………………………………....129 Conclusion …………………………………………...135 IV. PICTURING THE DIVINE: AESTHETIC UNDERSTANDINGS, EAST AND WEST………………………………………………….136 Introduction ………………………………………….136 Terminology………………………………………….137 Multiplicity in Hindu Art …………………………….143 Rasa: A Hindu Way of Seeing ………………………145 Cult Value, Exhibition Value, and the Power of Multiplicity …………………………………151 Adya Ma Shakti and “Photo Bhakti”………………….154 Powerful Warrior, Nurturing Mother………………….162 Conclusion …………………………………………….169 V. ENGAGING THE IMAGES: TAKING THE RELIGIOUS ON ITS OWN TERMS…………………………………………………………171 Introduction …………………………………………….171 Durga the Demon Slayer ……………………………….173 Images as Meaning-Making Symbols…………………..182 Cosmic Cow Iconography as Mother and Dharma …….190 A Goddess is Born: Santoshi Ma and Bharat Mata….….207 The Triune Goddess: Macro and Micro…………………209 Conclusion ………………………………………………217 VI. INDIA AS MOTHER’S BODY, INDIA AS CARTOGRAPHIC TERRITORY...………………………………………………..218 Introduction……………………………………………218 Bharat Mata: Mother Earth, Cartographic Symbol…….218 A Goddess is Born II: Bharat Mata and her Genealogy……………………….225 Mother as Nurturer…………………………………….234 The Goddess as Earth …………………………………237 The Goddess and Sovereignty/Royal Consort ………...238 The Goddess as Warrior……………………………….243 v Bharat Mata: A Hindutva Goddess? …………………..264 Conclusion …………………………………………….265 VII. CONCLUSION……………………………………..………....266 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………..282 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The Bloody Goddess Kali .................................................................................. 14 Figure 2 The Hindoo Mother ............................................................................................ 16 Figure 3 Burning a Hindu Widow .................................................................................... 18 Figure 4 Delhi Durbar....................................................................................................... 19 Figure 5 Kali Devi ............................................................................................................ 22 Figure 6 Bhumi Devi, Vishnu, Lakshmi........................................................................... 24 Figure 7 Rani Sati, 1930s.................................................................................................. 25 Figure 8 The Splendour that is India................................................................................. 27 Figure 9 Harihara, 9th century, South India (Chicago Art Institute)................................ 76 Figure 10 Harihara, lithograph, 1910s .............................................................................. 77 Figure 11 Dattatreya, lithograph, ca 1910s....................................................................... 84 Figure 12 Ardhanarishvara, 1950s.................................................................................... 85 Figure 13 Krishna Murlidhar and Shrivaidh Shastriji....................................................... 98 Figure 14 Gandhiji and Nationalist Heros in Heaven..................................................... 100 Figure 15 Kamadhenu nourishes all communities.......................................................... 110 Figure 16 Matr Bhumi, Bharat Mata as Mother Earth.................................................... 112 Figure 17 Sita trial by fire, 1890s .................................................................................. 119 Figure 18 Adya Ma Shakti.............................................................................................. 159 Figure 19 Smashana Kali, Ravi Varma Press ................................................................. 164 Figure 20 Mahishasuramardini, German lithograph, 1890s .......................................... 178 Figure 21 Mahishasuramardini, Indian lithograph, 1900s.............................................. 179 Figure 22 Mahishasuramardini, embellished, Ravi Varma Press, 1900s ....................... 180 Figure 23 Durga battling Mahishasura, Ellora, 7-9 centuries CE................................... 181 Figure 24 Mahishasuramardini, Kalighat style............................................................... 188 Figure 25 Cosmic cow, menaced, trade label, ca 1880s ................................................. 191 Figure 26 Kali Ma, Kamala Art Cottage, Calcutta, 1900-1920...................................... 213 Figure 27 "Bharat Mata," A. Tagore, 1905..................................................................... 226 Figure 28 Mahakali, Mahasarasvati, Mahalakshmi, lithograph, Ravi Varma Press....... 229 Figure 29 Bharat Mata, trilingual caption, ca 1920/1930s.............................................. 230 vii Figure 30 Nationalist Bharat Mata, 1930s ...................................................................... 233 Figure 31 Pilgrimage poster, Kamakhya temple, 1970s................................................ 237 Figure 32 “Durgi Ticket”/Trade label, Maharajah of Jaipur at Durga's feet .................. 239 Figure 33 Shivaji receives Bhavani's sword, Ravi Varma Press, 1910-1920s................ 241 Figure 34 Trade label, Britannia with trident and lion.................................................... 245 Figure 35 Durga on short-maned lion, gouache, 19th century........................................ 246 Figure 36 The siege of Lanka/Lankashire, 1930s........................................................... 250 Figure 37 Svantantra ki Bharat, 1930s........................................................................... 251 Figure 38 Gandhi in Bharat Mata's lap, Kanpur, 1930s................................................. 252 Figure 39 The Heroine of Jhansi, Maharani Lakshmi Bai.............................................. 255 Figure 40 Sarojini Naidu as Padmini.............................................................................. 256 Figure 41 Dukhi Mata, India grieving the deaths of her martyr sons............................. 257 Figure 42 Mahatma Gandhi at war ................................................................................. 258 Figure 43 Bharat Mata as Kali, with Annie Besant ........................................................ 260 Figure 44 Krishna rescued from slaughter, lithograph, 1910s....................................... 271 Figure 45 Map as murti, Bharat Mata temple, Varanasi................................................. 277 viii INTRODUCTION In this project, I consider the relationship between Indian bazaar art of the late colonial era and the formation of a modern, pan-Indian Hindu religious identity. I claim that the popular, mechanically reproduced lithographs of the modern mother goddess Bharat Mata deserve more attention