Historic Alleys

When royals were reborn from the golden womb

The sacrifices like Hiranyagarbha which had lost relevance in Northern India, remained in vogue for a longer time in the South, if only to Brahmaṇize the political powers of the area. Some royal families of the south are known to have continued with the Hiranyagarbha sacrifice to claim origin from the Hiranya Yoni. It was quite common in Venad and one can see mentions of it being practiced by the rulers of the kingdom of Travancore. It allowed them to sit and eat with Brahmins and chant the Gayatri, and rub shoulders with the exalted top tier. Manu Pillai had some time ago, penned a couple of humorous articles on this subject, one related to the Nayaks and another connected to Marthanda Varma.

As far as the Kerala royals were concerned, though they acquired the position by might or birth, they could not achieve parity with the clergy, namely the Nambuthiri, wearing a sacred thread, and possessing a direct link to the lords above, through the idol in the sanctum sanctorum. He ate separately and maintained a higher status than even the ruler of the area. This was obviously something the Chief could not tolerate, but then again, there was always a prathividhi, or a solution for it, the only issue being its inordinate expense. That was the Hiranyagarbha Vidhi. It was a sacrifice used to get divine sanction from the original creator – Brahma or Prajapati, who were born from a Hiranyagarbha or golden conception.

One could always compare all this with a parallel case of the Tipu Sultan who tried to obtain higher sanction and legitimacy as a Sultan, by appealing to the Calipha at Constantinople, and sending a large embassy and ample gifts. But let’s take a look at what this sacrifice entailed and some details, for it has thus far, remained a murky subject covered only briefly in passing, within most accounts.

The Yogic and pre-Aryan definitions of Hiranyagrabha (the mythological founder of the Yoga tradition – Hiranya – the Golden Jnana Bhaskara or Sun of Knowledge) will most surely confuse you, so suffice to state that it was a practice used by various rulers when faced with questions about their eligibility or even when a new ruler took over from another or after his death. It was not only used by male rulers, but also by female queens who ruled a land. It was one among the 16 maha daana (large gifts) to attain a higher Kshatriya level in the caste hierarchy and is also understood as a method of appeasement of the Brahmin clergy, in that ancient period. The brahmin also had a nice status within this, as the right to receive gifts was the most important privilege of the Brahmins! Now, how do you like that!  

Historian Romila Thaper, sets the background nicely - The Brahmana authors of the Puranas maintained that most dynasties were of shudra or mleccha origin. The social codes preferred that rulers be Kshatriyas, so many post-Gupta rulers claimed Kshatriya status, irrespective of what their original caste may have been. Vedic rituals became increasingly symbolic, replaced with new rituals such as the hiranyagarbha—the Kshatriya being reborn from a golden womb, to be able to claim status. Elaborate genealogies had to be fabricated linking these families through a myth with the kshatriya clans of the epics. A section in the inscriptions called prashastis- eulogies of the dynasty and king - provided the approved caste origin and are an indication of one process of legitimation. Controlling this process gave the Brahmanas fresh power.

New rules came into play, referring to the Puranas - Prajapati/Brahma is born from the Hiranyagarbha (created by Narayana), and Prajapati is Agni, Prajapati is the Purusha. So, the rebirth in such cases, and to avoid arguments, had to occur fresh and direct from Prajapati, to be a Brahman. That is the case if a Hiranyagarba was re-enacted. The ceremony had further specifics - In a ceremony to secure the union of a king with Hiranyagarbha he is washed over a golden (hirarnya) vessel with water containing the five products of the cow (pancagavya – milk, curd, butter, urine & dung) and the leavings of the offering poured with the Hiranyagarbha-sukta (RV. 10, 121) from golden jars (AV Par. 13): these leavings will transmit the power inherent in the sacrificial material and the mantras to the king. (RV is Rig Veda, AV is Atharva Veda, Parisista).

But researchers such as Eliade (1958) were of opinion that the rite for rebirth from Hiraṇyagarbha probably has a pre-Aryan (pre-Vedic) origin. According to him: The Rig-Veda says nothing of the Hiranyagarbha ritual, whether because it was not known in Vedic times or because it was not then practiced in the priestly and military circles in which the Rig-Vedic hymns were elaborated and circulated. The fact that the Hiranyagarbha ritual appears in the Atharva-Veda Parishishta, and that, in modern times, it is practiced chiefly in southern India (Travancore, Comorin) and in Assam, indicates a probable pre-Aryan origin. It is perhaps one of the traces left by the great Afro-Asiatic culture which, between the fourth and third millennia, extended from the eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia to India. However this may be, the Hiranyagarbha initiatory rite is especially important for the equivalence that it establishes between the three symbols of the Mother Goddess – the cow, the womb, and the pot.

From various accounts, we have seen that the ruler passed through a replica golden cow, in order to be reborn. Why a cow?  As defined, the Hiranya Kamadhenu is a cow and as a creation of Prajapati, symbolizes him and is the holiest of all yoni’s.  Apparently, the image of pure gold is supposed to depict the female power of nature (Also, gold is in the Vedas is often declared to be life or, more often, the continuance of life), in the shape of either a woman or a cow, though I have not come across any references where a women’s shape is used for the replica. Nevertheless, as time went by, and as costs went up, the golden cow was substituted by a large bell or lotus-shaped vessel, and the process morphed into the Padma garbha. Is this also an answer to why Indians hoard so much gold?

The customary royal sacrifice was prevalent in various Indian kingdoms and more so among the Rashtrakutas of Deccan, as well as the medieval Tamilakam. In the case of Deccan, the Anandagotrins performed the Hiranyagarbha. But the repetition of the ritual after so many years mostly rejuvenated the persona of the wealthy ruler. In the Tamilakam, the Cholas and the Pandya kings performed it, and KV Krishna Ayyar feels the early Perumals and Cheras did so too. The practice was common in adjoining Venad and Travancore, especially after those kings became more powerful and rich. Though not recorded in the Cochin dynasty, there was at least one Zamorin of Calicut who attempted to have a Hiranyagarbha performed. Let’s now take a look at some of the historical records connected with these rites of passage of being reborn or twice-born.

The Venetian Niccolao Manucci (in India from 1653-1708) reported this amusing incident from Tanjore - Some years ago a Hindu prince called 'the Victorious' (Vijaya Raghava), whose country is close to Cape Comorin, sought to obtain the privileges of a Brahman, a thing that in that country is absolutely impossible.  However, the prince, anxious to carry out this design, called an assembly of all the Brahmans within his domains.  He gave them a great feast, and promised a large sum of money if they would grant him the right to enjoy their privileges.  To this, the Brahmans answered that he was asking an impossibility. Nevertheless, he continued to press them with such insistence that to get rid of him they told him that nothing of the sort could be effected until he was born anew in the stomach of a cow. Not to lose so excellent an opportunity, the prince caused a golden cow to be made secretly such as would suit his purpose.  Then he caused the Brahmans to be sent for, and once more renewed his demands.  The Brahmans gave the same answer as before.  At this, the king put on a look of sadness, but retiring, placed himself in the belly of the golden cow, which stood ready in a large hall close by.  All the Brahmans were called in, and then the prince issued from the cow and began to bellow like a calf.  They performed on him such ceremonies as are observed for a newborn child, in spite of his being then fifty-two years of age.

The Brahmans were much incensed at being thus overreached and asserted that he was not truly a calf.  At these complaints, the would-be newborn calf went down on all fours and bellowed louder than ever.  In spite of all this, they were not satisfied, and they made every effort to evade the claim of this prince.  To this intent, they set forth diverse reasons, to each of which an instant reply was produced.  Finally, they were reduced to asking that the cow might be sent to the temple where they dwelt.  When this had been done, the prince at last obtained what he desired, and enjoyed the privileges of Brahmanhood, and after him his posterity likewise.

At Venad - Travancore

William Crooke (Things Indian) - In the modern form of the rite, which was solemnized [in Travancore] in 1854 and again in 1894, the Maharaja entered a large golden vessel filled with water, which had been mixed with all the products of the sacred cow. A cover was put on the vessel, and he bathed four times in the liquid, while Brahmans chanted hymns.

The exact process follows the Atharvaveda-parisista 13 - He is then shut up in a golden vessel and left to meditate upon Hiranyagarbha, observing, in the interior, "a measure of seventeen (units) because seventeen is Prajapati's number·'. Afterwards, he is taken out and pressed down with a golden wheel. Then the brahmans declare that he has been favored or received by Hiranyagarbha (Hiranyagarbha-nugrhito 'si)…He then chants matraham janitah purvam martya-dharma sur-ottama \ tvad-garbha-sambhava esa divya-deho bhavamy-aham - " 0h! the best of gods, previously I was given birth to by my mother (and) was martya-dharma (one having the qualities of an earthly creature). (But) now owing to my (re)birth from your womb, I become divya-dcha (one having celestial body).

On emerging, he bowed before the tutelary gods of his kingdom, and the crown was placed on his head. The object of the rite is to elevate the Maharaja from the lower caste to which he rightfully belongs to the dignity of a Brahman, or as near this as it is possible for him to reach. After the 'Regeneration ceremony', the prince can no longer partake of food with the members of his own family, to whom he is now superior in caste as well as rank. But he is admitted to the privilege of being present when the Brahmans are fed, and he may eat in their presence. Formerly the Maharaja passed through a golden image of the cow. More recently a representation of the holy lotus of Vishnu was selected. After the rite, the image is broken up, and the (golden) fragments are shared between the Brahmans and the temple treasury.

The Kulasekhara mandapam or Aayiramkal mandapam was initiated by Dharma Raja MV in 1758 AD for the conduct of such elaborate royal rites and it appears that Swati Tirunal too went through the process. According to Samuel Mateer, such a ceremony cost upwards of £14,000 in the 19th century, a huge sum!! Interestingly, the King did not break up the vessel and give the pieces to the Brahmins, who by then had lost most of their earlier administrative powers, especially in Travancore.

As Manu Pillai puts it succinctly - Indeed, for all his power, Martanda Varma still did not enjoy a caste status equal to the (politically impotent) raja of Cochin, through whose veins coursed the bluest blood in Kerala. In fact, when the over-mighty warrior king met his rather demure Cochin counterpart, he was barred by custom from even taking a seat in the latter’s presence….And so it was that Martanda Varma too acquired the sacred thread and his social upgrade. His nephew would perform the ritual on an even more magnificent scale, with the result, the Dutch noted, that “not only has he himself been made a noble but his posterity also have been ennobled once for all". By the late 19th century, in fact, these procedures had “the desired effect, for since that time the people of Travancore have had a…sacred regard for the royal house". The “position of the Travancore sovereign has become somewhat parallel to that of the Pope in Rome," a court historian wrote, “and therefore neither the people nor the servants of the State would dare to disobey the king", let alone plot mutiny or murder.

It is believed that this was stated as a requirement by the Cheraman Perumal who divided his kingdoms. In connection with the subject, it may be worth mentioning that there is a tradition that both the Zamorin and the Rajah of Cochin have been unable to perform these ceremonies (Tulabharam and Hiranyagarbha) as each of them could perform them only in a pagoda situated in the heart of the other's territories, which would always be jealously guarded against. Trichur is said, to be the Zamorin's Jerusalem, or place to be won, and Taliparambu the Cochin Rajah’s!

Then there is the matter concerning the time validity of the conferral. The relevant Namboothiris had stipulated that Rajas of Travancore could always retain their dignity of the Samanta caste levels permanently but that the Kshatriyhood conferred on them by such ceremonies would be valid only for six years. When the British started to exercise power and restraint over the Travancore kingdom which was under huge financial stress, Lord Dalhousie, who was indignant at the colossal wasteful expenditure of Travancore state treasury through mahadanams among others, instructed Lord Harris, the Governor of Madras, to warn the Raja under the ninth article of the treaty of 1805 that the administration would be taken over from Marthanda Varma, and this finally brought a stop to the performance of the purchase of Kshatriyahood through Hiranyagarbha.

At Kolathunad

There was a documented instance when the Kolathiri faced problems in having the caste elevation ceremony performed, and I would guess the Zamorin had a hand in this.

Samuel Mateer explains - Namboodiris were reluctant to give Kshatriyahood to all the Nair lords, in 1617 A.D,  Kolathiri Raja, Udayavarman, wished to further promote himself to Kshatriya by performing Hiranyagarbha, which the Nambudiris refused (The Nambudiris of Taliparamba (Perumchellur) refused stating that the Kolathiri had no jurisdiction over the Perumtrikkovilappan. Consequently, Udayavarman brought 237 Tulu Brahmin families from Gokarnam and settled them in five Desams. The latter adopted Nambudiri customs and performed the desired Later, on the request of Raja of Travancore, 185 of these families were sent to Thiruvalla (Embraanthiris).

At Calicut

S. N. Sadasivan explains this a reason for the conflict between the Zamorin and the Perumbadappu Raja and sets the background - The Raja of Cochin, who had been elevated to the Suryavanshi clan of the Samantha Kshatriya caste by the Namboothiri's openly insulted the Zamorin, who belonged to the Eradi subdivision of Samanthan Nair caste, by calling him a cowherd. The fuming Zamorin invaded Cochin. The Zamorin tried to elevate himself to the Samanta Kshatriya status by performing the Hiranyagarbha Yagna, but fierce opposition by his opponents (Most notable of whom were the Rajas of Cochin) forced the Namboothiris of Malabar to abandon the plan. Instead, the Zamorin was elevated to the Samanthan Nair caste by performing the Padmagarbha Yagna.

In history accounts, there has been only one recorded instance of the Zamorin trying to elevate his samanta status to Kshatriya by performing a Hiranyagarbha, an event connected to the Panniyur Sukapuram conflicts. The Panniyur faction is said to have earned the ire of the Zamorin when the Kalpakancheri Namboothiri did not allow the Zamorin to perform a Hiranyagarbha (or Padma Garbha). The Zamorin now turned to Chovaram/Sukapuraman and that may be how the Chovara personalities started getting an invite for the Ariyittu vazcha or Zamorin’s coronation. In all probability, Varikkumancheri Nambuthiri was one of those Brahmins who assisted the Azhvancheri to perform the caste elevation rite for the Zamorins. However, this important event or the performance thereof is not recorded in the Kozhikode granthavari, for some reason!

Dr A. Aiyappan, the prominent anthropologist did a little investigation and concluded that most Zamorin’s showed no interest in this so-called status climbing, though they as Samantas enjoyed the privilege of Sakshi bhojanam i.e., eating together with Brahmins, and that this was conferred to them by the Punnathur Valiya Raja. The late Zamorin PCM Raja informed him that there had been one instance of Hiranyagarbha performance, but future Zamorins considered it a total waste of money and did not repeat it, for the twice born status could not be transmitted to their heirs, i.e. his younger brother or sister’s sons.

DD Kosambi adds - The later brahmin scriptures (smriti) are as emphatic as Canakya, that kingship is essential for the preservation of the social order. The monarch had to use force and the 'Law of the Big Stick' (danda-niti) 'to keep the Big Fish from swallowing up the Little', though tribal society had never felt the need. Several southern kings of tribal origin boast of having had the 'Golden Womb' (hiranyagarbha) ceremony performed. This is carefully described in some Puranas, A large vessel of gold was prepared into which the chieftain would be inserted doubled up, like the foetus in a womb. The brahmin ritual for pregnancy and childbirth was then chanted by the hired priests. The man emerged from the 'womb of gold' as if reborn, having also acquired a new caste, or even a caste for the first time; this was not the caste of the rest of the tribe when they were absorbed into society, but one of the classical four castes, usually kshatriya, with the gotra of the brahmin priest. Some of the 'reborn' medieval kings might claim the brahmin and kshatriya caste at once... The brahmin priests received the golden vessel as part of their fee, which made everyone happy.

Ranjit Sau clarifies the evolution - Certain tribal chieftains had enlarged tribal property by trade or as mercenaries in more advanced armies. Some of them were tempted to find a means of converting that bounty into their private property. To that end, a chief had to rise above his tribesmen in some way. Here brahman priests offered help. For him, they could discover or invent ancestors in the epic, or write them in some ancient texts. To accommodate that crop of the imagination a new breed of mythology literature, the Puranas, sprang up. They claim immemorial antiquity but were written or rewritten by order, generally between the sixth and the twelfth centuries. Specializing in fabrication of myths, the Puranas made aboriginal rites (such as the very expensive Hiranya Garbha, which ordinary persons could not afford, thus leaving them at lower levels) respectable.

Summarizing, one can see show such sacrifices evolved over time as part of the class and caste system, how and why it was used to maintain and elevate prestige and how it declined as society changed and new norms of equality came to the fore.

References
Revisiting Max Weber's Religion of India – Romila Thaper
Background and variants of the Hiranyagarbha conception – Jan Gonda
Native Life in Travancore – Samuel Mateer
The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline - D. D. Kosambi
Scheduled Tribes Bill: For Whom and for What? Ranjit Sau
Zeitschrift_des_Vereins_für_Volkskunde - Schiengeburt – VT Zachariae
History of Dharmasastra (Ancient and mediaeval Religious and Civil Law), v.2.2 – PV Kane
Of cows, courts and princes – Manu Pillai (The Hindu 10/10/2016)
The Prince and the Golden Cow – Manu Pillai (Mint 28/06/2019)
The Rite of Hiraṇyagarbha: Ritual Rebirth for Social Acceptance - Jayanta Bhattacharya