The end of the world

For many people, like for us, Hinduism at first is an unfathomable religion, with its millions of gods, multitude of legends and complicated rituals. It becomes somewhat more understandable when you realise that every god in fact is the embodiment of an aspect of the omnipresent God. Every day the Hindu’s can, if they wish, choose to worship another god according to its relevance for their karma, spiritual growth or prosperity at that moment.
Nepal is the only Hindu kingdom of the world (it still is: the position of the very unpopular king Gyanendra is more unstable than ever) and the king is considered to be the embodiment of the god Vishnu.
The three most important manifestations of God are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer as well as the reproducer. Every manifestation and incarnation of a god has an animal for vehicle and a consort with certain attributes and abilities.

Brahma, with four arms and four heads, appears least on the scene of temples and holy places, despite his sovereign position and the fact that he is the brain behind the four Vedas, the holy scripture of Hinduism. His consort Saraswati is spotted more often, in her appearance as goddess of Learning and Wisdom.

Shiva is Nepal’s most important god; his image can be found in thousands of temples, escorted by his vehicle, the bull Nandi, and holding a trident in his left hand. Shiva’s residence is Mount Kailash in Tibet and we’re told - especially by saddhus - that he is a passionate smoker of hashish. The lingam, Shiva’s fertile phallus symbol, is the predominant offering idol of Nepal.

One of his peaceful appearances is Pashupati, the god of animals and guardian of all living beings. Nepal’s most important temple, Pashupatinath, is named after this god. Another form of Shiva, exclusive for Nepal, is Machhendranath, the god of Rain and Monsoon and the protector of Kathmandu Valley. Shiva’s most fearful appearance is Bhairab, who carries weapons in his multitude of arms, wears a headdress of skulls and dances on a trampled body. Parvati, Shiva’s beautiful consort, symbolises beauty and peace, but in another appearance is the black goddess of death, Kali. Ganesh, the god with the elephant head, is the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Finally Vishnu, he is the preserver and guardian of life. In his four arms he carries a conch shell, a stick, a lotus flower and a disc. His vehicle is the faithful man-bird Garuda. He hates snakes and destroys them. His consort is Laxmi, goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. Vishnu has ten incarnations, amongst which Narsingha, Rama, Krishna and Buddha. In Kathmandu Valley Narsingha is worshipped very often. In his incarnation of Narsingha Vishnu had to perform a difficult task, which was to beat an invincible demon. The demon couldn’t be killed by a man or a beast, not by day or night and not by a weapon. Vishnu appeared as half man half lion, waited until dusk and used his nails to open up the devil and disembowel him; the monster subsequently died.

The story goes that Vishnu in his incarnation of Rama saved his wife Sita from the clutches of Rawana, the evil king of (Sri) Lanka, with the help of the monkey god Hanuman. The latter had to collect a rare herb from the Himalayas, but on the way forgot which plant it was. To successfully accomplish his task, he took the entire mountain trusting that the herb would be somewhere on it. Hanuman is often depicted on walls of hospitals, flying through the air with the mountain containing the medicinal herb in his hands.

The tenth incarnation still lies in store, but it will be as Kali, the Destroyer, who will end the world as we know it with his sword. Let’s hope that Brahma or Shiva will stop him for the time being. We have not finished cycling yet.