Book Review: Meenakshi Jain's Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples

Temples have been bedrocks of the flourishing Indian civilisation. Any attack on temple is a collective assault on the people associated with the faith. Undermining the intent and iconoclastic zeal of the Muslim invaders and their explicit hatred towards idols and idol worship advocated by Quranic injunctions, the intellectual brigade of India has perversely defended ruthless marauding by perpetuating the myth of this practice of desecration of temples being carried out Hindu rulers. To defend the iconoclasm, apologists drew mischievously drew parallels with the practice of appropriation of idols by Hindu rulers in times of conflict.

Padma Sri Meenakshi Jain an authority on the Indian history chronicled the attacks on Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples in the Indian sub-continent for over centuries by the invading Muslim marauders in her work, “Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History”. Considered as a sequel to “Sitaram Goel’s Hindu Temples: What happened to them?”  and her earlier work on Ayodhya, by Indologists, Jain’s work offers the most comprehensive analysis of temple destruction in Medieval India.  This quintessential go-to source on the loot and plunder of the temples is no less than an encyclopaedia, for it backs every assertion with referenced studies and primary sources. The book besides discrediting the fallacious arguments of the Left shatters the mythical theories propounded by them. In tune with the popular adage, “History is written by victors” which implies that history is not grounded in facts but always interpreted by the winners to suit their perspective the Leftist historians tactfully distorting the facts and birthed a new narrative which was dutifully fed for academic and public consumption.

Repudiating the fallacies of the Leftist historians, Jain put appropriation of murtis by Hindu rulers in perspective by recalling a verse in the Purva Karana Agama which essentially prods the triumphant King to bring deities from defeated king and arrange for worship. It is supposed to serve two purposes-divest the ruler of the Divine protection and ensured that idols/ murtis remained under veneration.

By characteristically portraying the temples destruction as “a lust for plunder”, apologists whitewashed the motivated attacks of plunderers like Muhammed Ghaznavi, who revelled in the appellation of Muhamad bhutshikan, “Mahumad the breaker of idols”.

Yet the Leftists discredited the theology alluding to a theory of temples as centres of resistance had to be extricated for consolidation of authority. For over decades, this charade has been deeply instilled into the minds of unsuspecting Indians by churning out tonnes of literature to perpetuate the fakery. New hypotheses are constantly invented to simply pass off the desecration of temples and building of mosques over them as “a productive engagement with local traditions of temple architecture”. Without even sparing a thought about the sacredness, faith, the civilisational continuum of these divine spaces and emotional trauma inflicted on the millions by the destruction of the temples, scholarly articles perpetuated a vicious narrative. Conspicuously exonerating the plunderers of their malicious intent and their theological motivations, the apologists not only vindicated the vandalism, but failed to provide reprieve to the oldest civilisation which endured a barrage of attacks and invasions.

A one-sided interpretation of the facts has nearly wiped out the dogged pursuits of the santanis, who played with their lives to rescue, protect the murtis from marauders and ferret out idols of temples for safe keeping; the iconoclastic zeal of the Muslims and the resilience of various sections of Hindu society, who valiantly fought back to preserve their faith Jain gives an account of the wanton destruction in exacting detail and also brilliantly highlights the indefatigable efforts of rulers and Hindu community to resurrect temples. Spanning the sixteen chapters of the book are the devastating accounts of the barbaric attacks made on the glorious temples across the length and breadth of Bharatvarsha. It also encapsulates the unwavering faith of the santanis and active role played by the faith leaders who undertook adventurous expeditions and travelled miles along treacherous terrains, thick forests to save the murtis from falling into the hands of Sultans.

Barely years after the death of Prophet Mohammed Arab invaders began to strike at the Indian subcontinent. Upper Sindh region dominated by Hindu Rulers offered stiff resistance to the unceasing attacks of the Arabs. Finally, in 711 CE, Muhammed Bin Qasim established his firm hold on the Multan. In the conquest, the invaders destroyed the Sun Temple at Multan, the pride and glory of the people and reduced it to rubble. But by 1130 CE, Hindus reconstructed the temple and began worshipping the deity with undiminished enthusiasm and faith.

Soon Kashmir, the principal seat of Indian civilisation which is described as a place, “where there is not a space as large as a grain of sesamum without a tirtha” by Kalhana in Rajatarangini, was denuded and destroyed by the marauders. Sultan Sikander who earned the epithet of Butshikan, demolished, pulled down and desecrated and finally destroyed the temples by setting fire to the heaps of timber in the temples. Consequently, North India subjected to a torrent of invasions was bereft of notable tirthas. Delhi endured similar fate. Destroying Hindu and Jain temples, the invaders constructed mosques using the temple materials from pre-existing temples. Despite calamitous attacks on temples, in places of immense religious significance like Mathura, Brij, Brindavan, devotees refused to forsake the deities. Notwithstanding the attacks, Hindus would make concerted efforts to rebuild the temples though much less in grandeur but would fully restore ritualistic worship and observe religious customs discreetly.

Relentless attacks of maraduders failed to dampen the faith and belief of santanis, who at the whiff of an impending attacks removed murthis from temple precincts to avoid defilement. Often smaller murtis are ferried away in saddle bags to safer places. One such interesting detail of the migration of Sri Srinathji has been vividly presented in the book. Following Aurangzeb’s royal decree to raze every temple in Mathura to ground in 1669, murtis of Govinddeva were removed from temple. One image was concealed in Agra and hurriedly reinstalled in a house of a devotee. But the deity soon left for Kota and as per directions of the ruler, moved to Kishangarh, Chaupsani on Jodhpur border. After the King of Mewar deputed one lakh Rajputs for its protection, Gosains set out on their journey with the murti to Udaipur, 40 km north of the Udaipur, the bullock cart carrying the murti got stuck. Believing it to be the divine wish, a temple was soon constructed and the murti was installed in the temple on 10^th Feb 1672 at Nathdwara. After nearly two years the murti was consecrated. Often times, murtis have been on a move for decades, till a propitious occasion for their reinstatement could take place.

Incidentally of the nine navnidhis relocated from Braj, four navnidhis- Sri Nathji, Sri Navanit Priya, Sri Vittalnath and Sri Dwarakanth found shelter in Mewar. Three of them- Sri Gokulnath, Sri Gokulchandrama and Sri Madanmohan settled in Jaipur, Sri Mathuresh was moved to Kota and Sri Balakrishna to Surat. Despite the threat of the Muslim sword hovering over their heads, sanatanis risked their lives to save deities. Flight of navanidhis is just one of the shining examples of the exalted attempts and heroic resistance displayed by Hindus.

While some attempts to save murthis have been successful, it would often take years, decades and centuries to retrieve and safely reinstall the murtis in temples. Many times, the murtis are lost forever. Notably all the events of desecration have been handiwork of the invaders, emperors or sultans with no involvement of political circles. 

Nearly every nook and corner of the Medieval India bore the brunt of the barbaric attacks of Muslim invaders. Due to fear of Aurangzeb’s iconoclastic zeal, officiating priests of temples- Varadaraja, Ekamresvara and Kamakshi Amman were quietly removed from temples and after the danger subsided, the murthis were brought back. In this case after 22 years, murthis returned to temples. Similarly, for over thirty years idols of Sri Jagannath were absent from Puri. Sometimes, the murthis are buried in sand to protect them from sacrilege.  

Several Hindu rulers generously donated lands and funds to rebuild the demolished temples. Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire, The Marathas, The Gahadalvas, The Rajputs stood forth as “Champions of Hinduism” and played a phenomenal role in rebuilding of temples and preserving the dharma of the land.

Even Portuguese invaders, unleashed a wave of destruction and divested the hallowed land of Gomantak or Goa of its sacred heritage. Described as the land of Parashurama, temples in 58 of the 76 villages were completely destroyed and churches were built in their place.

For all the dubious virtuosity heaped on the undeserving Mughals, almost no temples were allowed to exist in Mughal palace towns throughout their rule. The high-ranking Hindu officials used to obtain a special permission to build small temple in their private spaces surrounded by high rise walls. None of the temples had the hallmark Shikara and remained hidden while the visible mosques dominated the landscape. Hardly any temples were built during the Muslim reign. After the rise of British colonialism, new temples were built. But unfortunately, even after independence, the spate of Hindu civilisation which has endured severe suppression found no hopes of revival. With government tightening its hold and control over the temples, depriving them of necessary fund to maintain and run them, the travails of the santana dharma in its land of origin seems to be unending. The criminal neglect and apathy of the Archaeological Society of India and thriving idol smuggling gangs have only alleviated the ordeals faced by Hindu civilisation.

By systematically obliterating tales of heroic resistance of Hindus from the academic discussions, Leftists have denied the younger generation an opportunity to appreciate and venerate our ancestors who made supreme sacrifices to preserve the identity and traditional heritage of the land. Through unbiased interpretation of the events by painstakingly putting all the facts together, Meenakshi Jain has presented a cogent and coherent picture of the Medieval India. Her invaluable contribution towards understanding the resilience of Hindus and their unwavering faith in dharma will serve as guide for us and the younger generations as well. This outstanding compilation will go a long way in inspiring the deracinated Hindus who wallow in defeatist attitude. The book is more relevant than ever to stir the latent Hindu conscious which till date fails to appreciate the trials and tribulations faced by our revered ancestors to protect, safeguard and preserve the culture for posterity. This absolute must-read should be part of everyone’s personal library.

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