Tattva

Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritham

Dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge (Gita 4:8)

[For the upliftment of the good and virtuous, for the destruction of evil, for the re-establishment of natural laws, I will come in every age.]

So goes the well-known verse from the Bhagavad-Gita. The popular connotation of this verse is that the divine promised to manifest as an extra-ordinary life form to protect the good and destroy evil. I’d like to think that it means the divine will manifest in ordinary life forms to take up the extra-ordinary deed of confronting evil whenever there is threat to the good. This is especially true about the Hindu dharma and Hindus. Every time Hindu dharma was attacked, not only did it survive the onslaught but also came back as a stronger force to reckon with. For this, all credit goes to our valiant Hindu protectors whose sacrifices have kept the Hindu Dharma alive and vibrant in today’s world. Deservingly, the vast stretches of history have salvaged the saga of many Hindu heroes for posterity, but many more have been lost to oblivion, but what will remain is their brave deeds, that will inspire generations of Hindus. These following paragraphs are a humble attempt to pay homage to some of those little known heroes whose contribution to protect the Hindu Dharma is no less than that of a Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana Pratap or Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Alexander tamed: Intoxicated by success of easily over-running Persia, Alexander dreamt of overlordship of Bharat. Ably defending our motherland against the Greek aggressor, Purushottam deservingly secured a place in history. But the death knell to the arrogance of the daring Greek commander was when an arrow from a Malava warrior pierced his chest and felled him. It was symbolic of his downfall and he never recovered from it. The Malavas demonstrated extraordinary courage to confront a superior military force.

“Oh Hindu hero!! I salute you for avenging an attack on Bharat”. Somnath and Sriranganatha temples stand tall:  

When Somnath temple was desecrated again and again by fanatical Muslim invaders, it rose from the ashes like a Phoenix. This would not have been possible but for the courage and sacrifice of thousands of Hindus who laid down their lives to protect and salvage this sacred shrine. Their sacrifices inspired thousands more to rebuild it when it was destroyed completely. Similarly, during the times of the Vaishnavite seer, Srimad Vedanta Desikar (disciple of Srimad Ramanujacharya) the temple of Srirangam was attacked by Malik Kafur, a fanatical Muslim convert. The idols were stolen and taken to Delhi but retrieved by the tireless efforts of many Hindus. Later, a savage attempt was made to attempt to destroy the temple. The Hindus there alongside Vedanta Desikar, brick walled the sanctum sanctorum and in the ensuing struggle to save the shrine, 13000 Hindus including Sudharashana Bhattar a disciple of Vedanta Desikar laid down their lives.

“Oh Hindu hero! I salute you for reinforcing my faith”.

Fearless Brahmins (Gymnosophists): During the times of Alexander, many Brahmins [NOT to be misconstrued that one becomes a Brahmin by birth, rather one becomes a Brahmin by sheer merit] roamed the length and breadth of Bharat spreading the message of freedom. The Greeks called them Gymnosophists. These Brahmins feared no king nor general. Many of them were put to death by the Greeks fearing they might cause uprising in areas under Greek control. Their inspiring words galvanized the people to defend and protect their motherland at all costs. Even when parts of Bharat were briefly captured, the oppressive foreign rule was overthrown sooner than later. This would not have been possible but for the courage of these learned men.

“Oh Hindu hero! I salute you for instilling courage in me”

Sashisharan Komandur is a PhD student at the Industrial Engineering Department at University of Washington. You can reach him at sash.kom@gmail.com

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