Petra, Jordan – Is it an ancient Shiva Temple complex? (cont.)
By Bibhu Dev Misra (IIT, IIM)
It is unclear to
historians whether all the representations of the female goddess
found in Petra refer to Al-Uzza or to the Nabataean goddess triad
of Al-Uzza, Al-lat and Manat. Although it is has been supposed
that the consort of Dushara may be Al-Uzza, the depictions of Al-Uzza
in other places of Arabia do not support such an association. Al-Uzza
(the ‘Strong One’) was the goddess of the morning and
evening star. Isaac of Antioch referred to her as Kaukabta, ‘the
Star’. She was sometimes depicted riding a ‘dolphin’
and showing the way to sea-farers. She is, thus, the counterpart of
the Indo-European goddess of dawn, Ostara, and the Vedic ‘Usas’.
In the Rig Veda, there are around 20 hymns dedicated to the
Usas, the goddess of dawn, who appears in the east every morning,
resplendent in her golden light, riding a chariot drawn by glorious
horses, dispelling the darkness, awakening men to action, and
bestowing her bounty and riches on all and sundry. The phonetic and
symbolic associations between ‘Uzza’ and ‘Usa’
indicate that they are derived from the same source. Al-lat, on the
other hand, was widely regarded as ‘the Mother of the Gods’,
or ‘Greatest of All’. She was the goddess of fertility
and prosperity and was known from Arabia to Iran. It is more likely,
therefore, that the consort of Dushara at Petra, symbolized by the
lion, was Al-lat and not Al-Uzza. However, it has been observed by
historians that Al-Uzza and Al-lat were used quite interchangeably by
the Arabs, and sometimes one gained prominence over the other. It is
worth mentioning in this context, that the Hindu goddess of death and
destruction – Kali - bears stark resemblances to the third
goddess of the Nabataean triad – Manat – who is
generally represented as the terrible, black goddess of death.
Certain rituals
associated with Shiva-Durga worship can also be found reflected in
the religious practices of the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans ritually
made animal sacrifices to Dushara and Al-Uzza, at the ‘High
Place of Sacrifice’ in Petra. The Suda Lexicon, which
was compiled at the end of the 10th century, refers to
older sources which have since been lost. It states: ‘Theus
Ares (Dushrara); this is the god Ares in Arabic Petra. They worship
the god Ares and venerate him above all. His statue is an unworked
square black stone. It is four foot high and two feet wide. It rests
on a golden base. They make sacrifices to him and before him they
anoint the blood of the sacrifice that is their anointment.’
The practice of anointing the Shiva Linga with red
vermilion powder (Kumkum) continues to this date in India. It has
also been noticed that most of the Djin blocks at Petra are located
close to sources of running water, a fact which has left historians
in a dilemma. However, such a peculiar alignment of Djin blocks can
be easily explained once we remember that one of the most common
practices of Shiva worship is to pour a kettle of water (or milk,
curd, ghee, honey etc.) over the Shiva-Linga. This act is symbolic of
the sacred river Ganges, which, after emanating from the toe of
Vishnu, flows down the matted locks of Shiva. This is the reason why
nearly every Shiva temple is also associated with a natural well or
spring or a source of running water.
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