Devon Ke Dev Mahadev ~ Shri Khandoba is one of the most popular tribal deities in the Deccan. In Maharashtra, besides being known as Lord Khandoba, he is also known as Yelkot & Malhari Martand. He is also identified with Mallana in Andhra Pradesh, Mailara in Karnataka & amongst a section of muslims as Mallu Khan. Lord Khandoba is widely believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva & is worshipped as the presiding deity by the Dhangar, Teli, Ramoshi & Mang communities & even by some in the Lingayat, Maratha, Deshastha Brahmin, Mali & Jains community as a incarnation of Lord Shiva. As the mythology goes, Lord Shiva assumed the form of Martand Bhairava to vanquish 2 asuras by the names of Mani and Malla. Along with his army of a crore which gave him the name Yelkot (leader of a army of a crore). He is said to have defeated the demon army. It is said that the duel between the God & the demon took place on a hillock called Jayadri, which is todays Jejuri, a town situated around 45 kms from Pune, Maharashtra. Because the Lord slew the demon using a sword called Khanda. He has come to be known as Lord Khandoba. Lord Khandoba is usually shown riding a white horse. This horse is said to be an offering to the lord by the dying demon Mani as his gesture of repentence. In return he was transformed into a demi-god & is usually present in Lord Khandoba temples & is even presented goat meat as a offering by the devotees. The unrepentant Malla was however decapitated by the Lord. Today the temple premise is almost covered with bhandara or yellow turmeric powder, because the root of turmeric is said to be in the shape of a linga, a phallic representation of Shiva. As is the belief the Lord manifested himself as a turmeric before a group of shepherds that were frequenting this hillock. Hence this Bhandara is always sprinkled over the idols. Another indispensable part of the Khandoba iconography is a dog. It is said that when Lord Khandoba slew the demon, a pack of dogs who assisted the Lords forces jumped in glee abandon over the corpses of the demons. Hence alongside the statues of the Gods there is also an idol of the dog. In the olden times, there were a group of boys & girls solemnized to the Lord. They were known as Vaghyas (representing the dog) & Murlis (representing the Lords concubines) respectively. They used to perform ritual dances before the God. Their matrimony was prohibited & the Muralis after attaining puberty were subjected to solicitation. But this practice, especially of the Murlis has been curbed in modern society & mainly by law. Also several other bizarre & rather crude tribal rituals related to these temples (& not in tune to todays sensibilities), have also been banned. The Lord Khandoba temples also has idols of his wives viz. Mhalsabai a Lingayat (a caste found in border of Maharashtra, Karnataka & Andhrapradesh. They are worshippers of Lord Shiva as the Linga) by caste & Banai a Dhangar (sheperd) by caste. Hegde Pradhan, the Lords brother in law (brother of Mhalsadevi) & commander of his armies is also venerated. Lord Khandoba also had other wives like Ramabai shimpin (weaver caste), Phulai Malin (gardener caste) & Khandai Bhagvin Telin (muslim oil maker caste). :-)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 10:00:56 +0000
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