Talk:Veer Bhāva

By Vishal Agarwal

Many warriors and kings have expressed their bhakti toward the Divine by seeing the latter as an exemplary warrior fighting against evil enemies, oppression, and injustice. In the Veda-s, the martial feats of Indra Deva and so on provide many examples. In the later literature, we read of the battles of Viṣṇu, Śiva, Durgā, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, and other Divine manifestations against evil Asura-s in great detail. For example, in the Rāmāyaṇa, Śrī Rāma exhibits great nobility and valor waging his war to liberate his wife who had been kidnapped by King Rāvaṇa. In the same scripture, the feats of bravery of other Deities like Hanumān, etc. are legendary as well. Historically, people have used these narratives to draw inspiration to fight foreign invasions or evildoers.

Studies have demonstrated how medieval rulers often drew inspiration from the Rāmāyaṇa to fight Islamic invaders. Many Rajput families also worshipped their family tutelary Devī before waging war. Elaborate ceremonies were performed to propitiate the Devī and draw inspiration for valor on the battlefield. Some Deities like Rām Pīr (in Rajasthan, Sindh, and adjacent areas) and Mhalasā Deva and Khaṇḍobā Devī (in Maharashtra) are depicted as warriors fighting demons.

Many communities drew inspiration from them to fight invaders and oppression. The great emperor Śivājī is said to have received his sword from Mā Bhavānī to fight Aurangzeb, and the scene is depicted in numerous paintings even today.

Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708 CE) culled the valorous episodes from various texts like the Markaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the Rāmāyaṇa and composed exquisite poetry, primarily in the Braj dialect of Hindi, to highlight the heroism of these Deities and inspire the local community to raise arms against the tyranny of fanatical Muslim emperor Aurangzeb. This poetry is compiled in the Daśam Granth, which also has litanies of names of weapons and so on. The Granth is a premier example of Vīra-bhāva-bhakti. Even to this day, the Nihang-s and various other militant orders founded in the times of Guru Gobind Singh perform regular worship of Durgā.