GOD OF COMPASSION AND THE DIVINE PROTECTOR OF 'SRI PADA': TRENDS IN POPULAR BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA

Introduction

Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka has always coexisted with various forms of other religious practices oriented to deities, planets, astrology and demons (yakku), and some of these often figure in the Hindu tradition as well. However, the Buddhist doctrine in its canonical form stands apart from the culturally-specific forms of popular religious practices. Beliefs in gods and other supernatural powers and rituals are, in theory, inappropriate to be considered as part of Buddhism. But many anthropologists and sociologists who have spent extended periods of time in Theravada Buddhist societies have shown that Buddhists do believe in various types of supernatural powers and the magical efficacy of rituals which are outside the Buddhist doctrine. According to Obeyesekere (1962) astrology, gods and demon belief in 'Sinhala Buddhism' are guided by basic Buddhist principles such as karma, rebirth, suffering etc. So in that sense the practice of deity worship cannot be described as totally un-Buddhistic, yet at the same time it does not fall into the category of folk religious practices like bali and tovil adopted by popular Buddhism (see De Silva 2000, 2006). In Sri Lanka, there are four deities regarded as the guardians of the Buddha-sasana in the island: Vishnu, Saman, Kataragama, Natha and Pattini. Although Vishnu and Kataragama (Skanda) are originally Hindu gods, the Buddhists have taken them over as Buddhist deities, referring to them also by the localized designation, Uppalavanna and Kataragama. The role of Kataragama, Vishnu, Natha and Pattini worship in the contemporary Sri Lankan society has been well researched by several scholars (e.g. Obeyesekere 1984; Holt 1991, 2005; Gunasekara 2007) but the position of god Saman in the similar context has not been adequately investigated. Hence this paper explores the rise of the popularity of god Saman and his worship in contemporary Sri Lanka.

Deity Worship in Sri Lanka

This I explain through a study of one of the main shrines of the Saman worship, Sri Pada. God Saman is always worshipped along with the other guardian deities of Sri Lanka. He is one of the most benevolent deities in the Sinhala Buddhist divine hierarchy after the god Natha who is often identified with the next Buddha, Maitreya (Holt 1991). The operation of these deities and other lesser supernatural beings in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon has been sufficiently discussed by several anthropologists (e.g., Obeyesekere 1962, Kapferer 1983, and De Silva 2000). According to them, those figures operate through the moral logic of Buddhism particularly notions of karma, authority (varam) and merit. The order in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon has its own cult and special mode of propitiation, although Obeyesekere (1962, 1982, 1984) has pointed out that the hierarchy is integrated by the supreme position held by the Buddha in the pantheon and the dogma that all supernatural beings participate in the human world by the Buddha's permission or varama. The concept of varama organizes the dispersal or distribution of authority of the Buddha.

According to Obeyesekere, the power that is exercised by the gods is generated through their spiritual virtues - a combination of power with benevolence known as anubhava, "spiritual influence" and their physical attributes (1984: 62). All major gods, including god Saman, have the qualities, although they are not evenly distributed. Vishnu, Saman, and Natha, or example, are more benevolent than punitive, thus closer to the Buddha and they share some of his characteristics. Kataragama, however, is considered the most powerful and is more involved in matters concerning the human world.

In Obeyesekere's analysis, the most benevolent gods like Natha, Vishnu and Saman have been identified as dysfunctional (1984:65) and they have been replaced by the Gods like Kataragama (see 1977, 1978, 1982), Suniyam (1988: 112-132) and Godess Kali (1988: 133-162) who through their involvement in helping people have become the most popular figures in the current Sinhala Buddhist pantheon. Obeyesekere is right to the extent that, in postcolonial Sri Lanka, deities like Kataragama, Suniyam and Kali have become more attractive to Sinhala Buddhist devotees and thus have been elevated from their original position in the pantheon. The rise of popularity of these deities, Obeyesekere argues, is a response to changes in social, economic and political circumstances, and the resultant frustration and anxiety which sections of the population experience. The wide appropriation of these deities, particularly the god Kataragama, Obeysekere sees, as the 'adoption of traditional pathways to achieve new goals' (1977: 389). However, his claim on the decline of a benevolent god like Saman from his world-involved nature does not correlate with his popularity at Sri Pada in particular, and the province of Sabaragamuva in general. Saman might be not as popular as Kataragama, Suniyam and Kali, yet according to my observation, at his main shrines such as Sri Pada and Ratnapura, people still ask for his help (pihita) and believe that his compassion (karunava) will end their day-to-day personal crises.

In this paper, I explore the mundane intervention and popularity of god Saman in contemporary Sri Lanka through the ethnographic research that I carried out from August 2001 to September 2002, and briefly in 2006 at one of the most popular pilgrimage site in Sri Lanka, popularly known as 'Sri Pada' or the temple of the sacred footprint, also known to the English-speaking world by its Anglicized name "Adam's Peak". 1 I use 'Sri Pada' in this paper quite loosely but not to emphasise its Buddhist connection. Hence, hereafter I use 'Sri Pada' without referring to any religion. This temple is situated on a lofty mountain called Samanala (butterfly), roughly 7360 feet (2200m) above sea level. It rises dramatically on the south-western edge of the central hills as a part of the boundary between the Sabaragamuva Province and Central Province. This tropical forest mountain territory or Samanala adaviya comes under the jurisdiction of the guardian god Saman who is venerated along with the sacred footprint at this remote jungle temple. Both the peak and the mountain bear his name - Samantakuta (pali), and Samanala (Sinhala). God Saman also figures in the account of the first visit of the Buddha to Mahiyangana in the island, where the Mahavamsa itself refers to him as Mahasumana of the Samantakuta (Mv. Chap, v33). According to both popular tradition and chronicler accounts, it was at the special invitation of god Saman that the Buddha hallowed the mountain by leaving the impression of his left foot thereon during his third visit to the island. Since then, the Buddhists propitiate him as one of the benevolent guardian deities in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon. Before discussing Saman's popularity and his intervention on personal crises of his devotees, let me highlight some of his physical and spiritual attributes in detail.

Iconographical features

Generally, God Saman is represented as white, that is 'pure', and his head is covered with a jewelled crown. He is mounted on a white elephant and carries a white lotus in his right hand. Unlike the other major gods, Saman does not carry a weapon. However, in one of the two images at the shrine at Sri Pada temple, god Saman is represented in white, with no crown, weapon or elephant, but his right arm remains in the posture of forgiveness or abhayamudra. This image is believed to be the 'oldest' Saman image popularly known as "handun deva rupaya" (lit. the god image that is made out of sandalwood). Remarking on the image, Paranavitana states "it is not impossible that this is the identical image fashioned by Devapatiraja in the thirteenth century" (1958:48). But the priest of deity Saman at the Palabaddala temple told me that this image is not older than hundred years, and it was offered to Sri Pada by the person called "Moses guru". The second image, popularly known as "ridi deva rupaya" (lit. the god image that was made out of silver), was originally placed in the shrine in 1940 and Saman is pictured with a crown, an elephant vehicle and a bow and arrow instead of a white lotus. Surprisingly, the sandalwood image of the god Saman is not identical with the silver image like most of the images of god Saman found in either mural or image form in the 'old' Buddhist temples in the Sabaragamuva area. Carrying a bow and arrow, wearing a jewelled crown and riding the white elephant vehicle are the most common features of the 'old form' of god Saman. The most remarkable of these features is the weapon (arrow) in Saman's left hand. Even at the Ratnapura main shrine of god Saman, the object of worship, which is paraded in the annual procession, is an arrow and not an image of the god. Interestingly, this 'warrior' character of the god Saman has completely disappeared in the modern form of iconographical and mythical representations of him. Hence, I suspect the 'ascetic' iconographical representation of god Saman might be a recent innovation in which his Buddhist character has been prominently remade. Today, there is no weapon in his [left] hand. Instead, he holds a white lotus and his right hand shows the posture of abhyamudra, the symbol of forgiveness. These Buddhistic benevolent forms of representing the god Saman can be widely seen in the shrines that have been dedicated to him at the newly emerged 'temples' in the Sri Pada area and in other Buddhist temples on the island. Furthermore, new pictorial images of the god Saman are now widely available for sale at the shops of the pilgrimage bazaars.

Main sites of worship

I now move on from his iconographical representation to the main places at which God Saman is worshipped. Besides the shrine at Sri Pada temple, the other main shrine is situated in the provincial capital of Ratnapura of the Sabaragamuva Province. It is popularly known as maha saman devale (The Great Saman Temple). There are also a number of other shrines dedicated to his name, among which Mahiyangana, Deraniyagala and Boltumbe are the most popular shrines where annually, in the month of August, colourful processions are held in his honour. The most spectacular celebration is always held at his main shrine, lasting for fifteen days. During this celebration his consort biso deviyo (the queen) and son, kumara deviyo (the prince) are paraded, together with the goddess Pattini, a form of worship that cannot be found at similar celebrations at other popular shrines of god Saman. At the major shrine in Mahiyangana, Saman is propitiated along with his sister, who is popularly known in the region as "maha loku akka" (literally, elder sister). What is significant is that she is not propitiated in any form at other popular shrines in the island, although Obeyesekere has found that the V&aumlautdda people in Mahiyangana-Maho Oya area propitiated her as a mother goddess or Maha Lokuvo or Maha Kiriamma. The V&aumlautddas too claim the god Saman as their own ancestor (2002: 29). Meanwhile, Paranavitana (1958) claims that the god Saman, originally Yama, the god of the underworld, is a demonic being and suggests that he was not an obscure god of purely local significance, but one who came from North India to later become the Buddhist god known as Saman. Evidence of Paranavitana's view is hard to find in the popular mythological discourses that surround the god Saman.

God of Compassion

However, Sinhala Buddhists generally view Saman as a pious disciple of the Buddha, who attained the first step (sovan) in the path of nirvana after meeting the Buddha at Mahiyangana during his first visit to the island. Hence, Saman is popular as the god of compassion (karunava), and the god who provides limitless help to humans. A devotee of the god Saman told me that he finds him the only 'Buddhist' god in Sri Lanka and for him, other gods are all Hindu. 3 Similar opinions were expressed quite regularly by many of the people with whom I spoke during my fieldwork. In particular, the chief kapumahattava of the main shrine in Ratnapura empathetically stated, "There is no Buddhist god other than god Saman. He met Buddha at Mahiyanganaya and became the first Buddhist 'upasaka' (pious lay Buddhist) in this country. Unlike other gods, he was born in this country and he is the most benevolent, compassionate and meritorious deity to whom Buddhists can worship without hesitation". Such assertions clearly indicate that the god Saman has come to be viewed as the "Sinhala Buddhist nationalist deity" in contemporary Sri Lanka. Hence, Saman is not usually approached for maleficent purposes or for vows of revenge; such intent is generally thought inappropriate for his benevolent nature. Though he is characterized as a benevolent and meritorious deity, he is, however, expected to inflict punishment on those who dishonour or show disrespect to the temple, which has become a territory under his jurisdiction (adaviya).
