The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume 6 Issue 2 2013 (Doi 10.1093/jhs/hit026) Birkenholtz, J. v. - Seeking Svasthani - The Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

The Journal of Hindu Studies 2013;6:198227
doi:10.1093/jhs/hit026
Seeking Svasth@na: The Politics of Gender,

Location, Iconography, and Identity in
Hindu Nepal
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz*
Abstract: The goddess Svasth@nas textual-ritual complex is one of Nepals most

popular traditions, celebrated in every Hindu household in Nepal. Yet, despite
her ubiquity and popularity, Svasth@na is nearly invisible both within and
outside of her own tradition. This article examines the elusive identity of
this local goddess in an effort to understand where and in what form
Svasth@na is and is not found and what this tells us about the politics of
gender, location, iconography, and Hindu identity in Nepal. I argue that
Svasth@na gradually transforms from an invisible, private, unfixed, indeterminate goddess into a visible, public, fixed, specific, and local protector of
place. In seeking to locate Svasth@na within both the pan-Hindu pantheon
and Nepals regional divine and human populations, we are able to see the
complexities of coming into being, of being female in Hindu thought and
practice, and of being Hindu in medieval and modern Nepal.
For eleven months of the year, the goddess Svasth@na, wrapped cosily in red cloth,
is safely stored in the homes of Nepals Hindus, locked away in closets or cabinets
or sometimes stashed (forgotten?) under a bed. During the twelfth month, the
winter month of M@gh (mid-January to mid-February), Svasth@na is not only
brought forth from these private, protected places but is also worshipped throughout Hindu Nepal as the local divine patroness of Nepals annual month-long recitation of the celebrated Svasth@na Vrata Kath@ (SVK), or The Story of the Ritual Vow to
the Goddess Svasth@na, and the ritual observance based upon it, the Svasth@na vrat.
The Svasth@na textualritual complex is one of Nepals most popular traditions
and, according to most Nepalis, is celebrated in every Hindu household in Nepal.
Yet, despite the ubiquity and popularity of the goddess Svasth@na, she is also
remarkably elusive and nearly invisible outside of and even within her own tradition. She is historically absent from the public sphere and confined instead to the
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*Corresponding author: jvanbirk@gmail.com
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
199
private domain of the home, where she is kept out of sight for the greater part of
the year. She thrives in the Kathmandu Valley and is worshipped elsewhere in
Nepal, but she is generally not known outside of Nepal or even among non-Nepali
Hindu communities in Nepal.1 She is the object of a communal worship ceremony
performed by hundreds of women and men in a public ritual space, yet is historically absent from most accounts of Nepals religious traditions. She is beloved by
Nepals Hindu majority, yet has largely escaped scholarly attention.2 How are we to
understand this goddess, who is so popular and celebrated by so many, but who
remains virtually invisible to those who are not explicitly looking for her?
Who is Svasth@na? In this article I present an exploration of the often elusive and
sometimes unexpected nature of this local Nepali Hindu goddess in an effort to
understand where and in what form Svasth@na is and is not found, why, and what
this tells us about the politics of gender, place, iconography, and Hindu identity in
the context of medieval and modern Nepal. Drawing on over a decade of archival
and ethnographic research, I retrace and reconstruct the emergent identity of
Svasth@na, the goddess whose name, quite literally, means ones own place. I
use, first, the prolific manuscript tradition of the SVK, which has an unbroken
history since the late sixteenth century that has produced hundreds of extent
manuscripts,3 and, second, other non-textual representations and associations of
the goddess found in sculpture and other artistic images. Specifically, I explore the
character and changing role of Svasth@na in the following contexts in which they
are most explicit: the narrative tradition of the SVK; an eighteenth-century statue
consecrated by the king of Kathmandu, which was until recently the only such
image of the goddess; other pictorial images that witness the transformation of
Svasth@na from a tantric symbol to an anthropomorphic figure, and; the Svasth@na
statue recently commissioned by locals and consecrated in Sankhu, Nepal. A
survey of these depictions of Svasth@na specifically highlights the ambiguity of
her character and more generally reflects the ambiguities and contradictions that
epitomise the feminine, both divine and mortal, in the Hindu tradition. I demonstrate that Svasth@na, whose newness calls to mind Indias relatively recent divine
phenomenon SantoXa M@, complicates the so-called wild (ugra) and mild (saumya)
categories to which Hindu goddesses are commonly assigned.4 She is, for example,
variously associated with benign consort goddesses such as P@rvata and Uma, local
manifestations of the fierce goddesses such as Durg@ and Taleju, and protector
goddesses such as the AXbam@tPk@. Such a diversity of identities within a single
goddess tradition is not unheard of among South Asian deities. A fellow secretive
Nepali goddess, Guhyesvara, for example, similarly exhibits a multitude of identities, which Indologist and Nepal scholar Axel Michaels argues are context-sensitive
(Michaels 1996). The kind of hybridity that these goddesses exhibit is significant
for our understanding and analysis of the goddesses of South Asia. Examination of
Svasth@nis different associations and representations invites consideration of the
ways in which her identity evolves according to the evolving sense of place and
community in the Himalayan region in which she resides among a diverse and
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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal
fluctuating mortal and divine population. I argue that over the course of her
history, Svasth@na undergoes a gradual transformation from a relatively invisible,
private, fluid, indeterminate goddess to a more visible, public, fixed, specific, and
local protector of place and, significantly, the embodiment of a place to be protected. I aim to demonstrate that while a fluid indeterminacy characterises
Svasthanis identity and while she is arguably more absent than she is present,
Svasthani nevertheless represents something female, local, and Nepali that is
empowering.
A brief survey of the SVK narrative tradition and ritual practice will help contextualise the discussion that follows. The SVK has an unbroken history that spans the
last five centuries and three languages (Sanskrit, Newar, and Nepali). From the
sixteenth century to the present, the SVK text expanded from a handwritten eightfolio palm-leaf local legend on the origin of the Svasth@na vrat, or ritual vow, into a
full-fledged Pur@>a of thirty-one chapters in over four hundred printed pages. The
text is read cover to cover, one chapter each night throughout the month of M@gh.
The narratives can easily be divided into three main sections. The first is concerned with the creation of the universe and its divine, demon, and human populations. The second focuses on well-known pan-Hindu accounts of the family
stories of DakXa Pr@japati, Sata Deva, Mah@dev, P@rvata, and others. The final section
concentrates on the domestic and marital struggles of two women, the pious but
ever-suffering Gomayaju5 and her selfish and sinful daughter-in-law Candr@vata.
Gomayaju is married as a child to an aged, decrepit man who dies soon after
leaving to beg for alms in order to support his newly pregnant wife. After her
son Navar@j is older and married, he goes in search of his father, at which time
Candr@vata abandons her mother-in-law and returns to her natal home. Gomayaju
performs the Svasth@na vrat, which effects the return of her son and his subsequent coronation as king of a neighbouring region. Navar@j sends for his wife, but
Candr@vata is waylaid when she desecrates pras@d from the Svasth@na vrat along the
way, which results in her suffering in great misery for many years. Once she
performs the Svasth@na vrat, Candr@vata is reunited with her husband and
mother-in-law and they all live happily ever after. The plight of Gomayaju and
Candr@vata and their son/husband, Navar@j, is regarded as a local legend of Nepali
origin and constitutes the entirety of the oldest SVK texts available.
Similar to the textual recitation, the Svasth@na vrat lasts the duration of the
month of M@gh. It is an annual re-enactment of the ritual vow or fast that female
characters in the SVK undertake in honour of the goddess Svasth@na in order to
earn a boon from her. The vrat can be performed individually in the privacy of
ones home or communally in Sankhu, a traditional Newar village located eighteen
kilometres east of Kathmandu. Nepalis believe that many of the events narrated in
the SVK occurred in or near the Sali Nadi, the river that flows near the village and
By way of background
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figures prominently in the text. There are several hundred female participants, but
the number of male participants in Sankhus communal vrat observance typically
does not exceed two dozen. The majority of participants are Hindu Newars, who
typically number several hundred, but there are also a large number (around one
hundred) of high-caste hill Hindus, i.e. Bahuns and Chetris (Skt Brahmans and
KXyatriyas, respectively), and an occasional smattering of people from among
Nepals numerous other ethnic groups.
Although the patron deity of the textual and ritual traditions that bear her name,
Svasth@nas physical presence in both the text and ritual is historically limited.6
Throughout her tradition, she exists largely as an aniconic goddess and, as we shall
see, iconographic representations of her are rare. Our first introduction to
Svasth@na in the SVK is therefore both fitting and ironic. In the oldest extant
manuscripts from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, it occurs in
the opening dialogue between the ascetic god Mah@dev (as Siva is commonly
referred to in Nepal and particularly in the SVK) and his consort P@rvata, in
which P@rvata asks him to tell her about the most difficult vow in the three
worlds. Mah@dev complies, but first relates the basic instructions for preparation
and performance of the vow, which includes meditating upon the image of the
Svasth@na. He offers the following rich physical description of the goddess:
Her beauty is luminous like the color of gold. She has three eyes and her face is
like a lotus. She is seated on a lion, and is decorated with all kinds of ornaments.
In her left hand she holds a blue lotus while making the fear-dispelling gesture.
With her right hand she makes the boon-giving gesture. She holds a sword and
shield upraised in her [other] right and left hands, respectively.
(Svasth@n@paramesvaryy@vratakath@ [sic] NS 693 [1573 CE])7
From this earliest portrait of Svasth@na, there are already clear signs that her identity
and nature are complicated. The fact that she sits upon a lion and holds upraised a
sword and a shield conjures images of the well-known goddess Durg@. At the same
time, however, she also holds a blue lotus and makes both the fear-dispelling and
boon-giving gestures, which evokes images of the popular goddess P@rvata. From this
very first introduction to Svasth@na, we can begin to understand that she does not
readily conform to either of the customary categories of the benevolent, married
consort goddess or the fierce, virgin warrior goddess to which divine women are
often assigned. That is, goddesses such as P@rvata, LakXmi, Saraswata, R@dh@, and Sat@
are extolled for their dual roles as benign, nurturing mothers and submissive, subservient wives. It is their married state that has rendered these divine women to a
large degree passive, for upon partnering with their respective male consorts, they
transfer their inherent sakti, or the female principle of empowering energy, to their
Svasth@na in the SVK narrative tradition
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the goddess Svasth@na appeared in the form described [earlier in the text], and
said [to Navar@j], O, young king! I am pleased because your mother is devoted
to me. All that has happened I made happen. I made you king. And so, if you
successfully protect your prosperous kingdom here in this world, you will
obtain liberation. (Ibid.)
Svasth@nas appearance and direct communication here is unexpected if we consider her conspicuous absence both elsewhere in this text and, more remarkably,
in later manuscripts.8 In the later SVK tradition, the goddess does not manifest
herself at all or speak with anyone. Rather, she is depicted as an omnipresent force
or entity whose mouthpiece and go-between is most commonly Mah@dev.
Nevertheless, from this rare appearance described above, we see a kind, generous
side of Svasth@na that shows her desire to reward her devotee. In this instance, it is
Navar@js mother Gomayaju who undertakes the Svasth@na vrat when she is abandoned first by Navar@j, who sets off to find his long-gone father, and then by his
wife Candr@vata, who selfishly returns to her natal home in the absence of her
husband. Gomayajus successful completion of the vrat results in the speedy return
of Navar@j and his subsequent coronation as king of a neighbouring region.
While the above example illustrates the benevolence of the goddess, a reflection
of her nurturing, mild side, the SVK narrative makes plain that Svasth@na also has
a wilder streak and may just as readily use her power to punish those who disparage her. This is best illustrated when the self-important Candr@vata desecrates
pras@d from the Svasth@na vrat. This occurs when her newly crowned husband
sends palanquin bearers to bring her back from her natal home. On their
return, the palanquin bearers see a group of apsaras-s perform the Svasth@na
vrat. After taking leave of their charge to witness the vrat, they return to
Candr@vata with some pras@d, which she promptly spits upon. She punctuates
her disdain with verbal insults to the goddess.
The brahmunic@ then became exceedingly angry and said to them, Sinners!
You left me here in the palanquin and are now speaking nonsense. From
consorts. In contrast, goddesses such as Durg@ and K@la are characterised by their
independence and lack of male partner, on account of (a lack of) which they retain
their sakti and consequently have the capacity to be wild and destructive (although
Durg@ in particular is also celebrated for her creative prowess and both K@la and
Durg@ are commonly approached by devotees as mothers). Because Svasth@nas
iconographic representation in the oldest extant SVK manuscripts suggests that
Svasth@na is not easily nor exclusively identified as either a so-called mild or
wild goddess, let us explore Svasth@nas role and nature in the text further.
Svasth@na makes only a single appearance in the oldest SVK narrative, which
dates to 1573 CE [Vikram Samvat 693]. One morning, while Navar@j performs his
daily rituals,
203
whence is the Svasth@na vrat? What god is she? What is this vrat? What rewards
are to be obtained? You are talking of matters unheard of! she exclaimed.
(Svasth@nipalamesvayyauvratakath@ [sic] NS 723 [1603 CE].)
When the palanquin bearers attempt to carry Candr@vata across a river shortly
thereafter, Svasth@na causes the waves of the river to swell and swallow all three
travellers.
By the grace of Svasth@na, the two devout bearers immediately ascend to heaven,
but she leaves Candr@vata to languish first in the river and then on the riverbank
for over two decades. Candr@vata rectifies her situation only when she successfully
performs the Svasth@na vrat. Svasth@na may not be demanding a blood sacrifice
from Candr@vata or other devotees, but her nature as revealed in these vignettes
suggests that Svasth@na is more than just a benign goddess having an off day and is
rather located somewhere between the benign and the fierce on the spectrum of
the divine feminine.
What further complicates Svasth@nas identity is that in the SVK narrative she is
by all accounts an independent goddess unattached or married to a male god. It is
true that in the oldest SVK manuscripts Svasth@nas physical presence is limited
and, even more so later in the textual tradition, largely overshadowed by the
presence of Mah@dev and, to a lesser extent, ViX>u. Underscoring the significance
of this notable independence and physical absence is the understanding among
devotees that Svasth@na is associated with Mah@dev as his consort, likening her to
the silent, supportive wife in the background. This may in part be explained by the
frequency with which she is referred to as Svasth@na Paramesvara, particularly in
the earlier years of the tradition, because Paramesvara is a title often associated
with Siva. Moreover, from the beginning of the written tradition, the opening
verses that constitute the p+j@vidhi, or ritual instructions, for the vrat clearly
state that Svasth@na is to be worshipped together with Siva. Mah@dev gives the
following instruction directly after the description of the goddess given above:
One should worship me, who also has four arms and whose symbol is the bull,
there [with Paramesvara]. Thus meditate on Svasth@na [sic] and Jagadasvara, O
Mah@deva. (Ibid.)
As a result of the brahmunic@s sin of insulting this vrat, when soon thereafter
the two bearers carried the palanquin across the river, the water swelled and
submerged all them and the brahmunic@. They did not have a chance to cross to
the other side. Paramesvara materialized on the bank of the river and said,
P@pini (sinful woman)! Do you understand the sin of insulting my vrat now?
For twelve years you must remain submerged in this water, but these two
palanquin bearers are my devotees. With her own hand she lifted the two
men up and sent them to heaven. Paramesvara then became invisible again
and left. (Ibid.)
204
In a 1603 CE [VS 723] SVK, in the Newar language translation of this Sanskrit sloka
there is little ambiguity about the relationship between Siva and Svasth@na:
Such is the image of Svasth@na Paramesvara. Such is also the image of Siva. The
only different feature is his vehicle, which is a bull. One should meditate on the
image of Sivasakti, with their four arms and three eyes. (Ibid.)
The designation of Svasth@na and Mah@dev as Sivasakti clearly identifies Svasth@na

as Sivas consort, his sakti. This is explicitly stated again in the p+j@vidhi when, in
Sanskrit, Mah@dev explains to P@rvata that the devotee should worship you and
me in an image (ibid.). The Newar language translation provided immediately
afterward clarifies in the following way: P@rvata! In this vrat one does not perform
religious rites of other deities. If there is a statue of you [P@rvata] and me
[Mah@dev], then one should worship the statue (ibid.). Mah@dev here clearly
equates the goddess Svasth@na with his consort P@rvata.
Their conjugal association is further entrenched later in the SVK textual tradition on account of the fact that since the mid-eighteenth century the text also
introduces P@rvata and Sata Deva (as the goddess Sata is commonly referred to in
Nepal and the SVK), both wives of Siva. These two goddesses become prominent
divine players in the SVK with the incorporation of the popular DakXa Praj@pati
Sata DevaP@rvata cycle of myths in the course of the texts ongoing Pur@>icization
during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.9 Pur@>icization
refers to the process by which the SVK text transformed from a discrete local
narrative on the origin of the Svasth@na vrat into a Pur@>a text that encompasses
cosmology and genealogy of the gods and Manu, for example. Originally limited to
the story of Gomayaju, Navar@j, and Candr@vata, the SVK gradually comes to spend
the first two thirds of the text recounting the trials and tribulations of Sata Deva
and P@rvata before, during, and after their marriages to Mah@dev. The emphasis on
these divine wives as well as on other womanly, wifely, and motherly concerns
including child marriage, the move from ones maiti (natal home) to husbands ghar
(home), kinship, childbirth and child rearing, and widowhood serves to
strengthen Svasth@nas association with Mah@dev as his consort and wife.
At the same time, however, we see yet another important association and aspect
of Svasth@na in her association with the great goddess Deva, in the form of
Mah@m@y@. Deva/Mah@m@y@ is introduced into the SVK with the inclusion of the
popular creation myth of the daitya (demon) duo Madhu and Kaibabha during the
second phase of Pur@>icization the SVK experienced near the close of the eighteenth
century. Since then, this myth of the creation of the universe, in which the goddess
Mah@m@y@ plays a key role, has been the opening narrative of SVK texts. The
MadhuKaibabha episode, although originally from the Mah@bh@rata, is perhaps
most well known as one of the three main episodes of the Deva-m@h@tmya and is
also found in other Pur@>a texts such as the Devabh@gavata Pur@>a.10 The central
figure in this myth, particularly as presented in the latter two texts, is Devi, here in
205
When Sra Mah@dev arrived there, many gods, goddesses, and daughters of gods
had gathered on the top of Mount Kail@s and were performing the vrat of
Svasth@na Paramesvara. When P@rvata saw the face of Mah@dev, she said, This
vrat is only known in heaven. It is not known among those of the mortal realm.
Therefore, in order to teach the middle realm [i.e. the realm of mortals] you
should be pleased and send someone to instruct them. After saying this,
Mah@dev instructed a PXi named ?sava, ?sava PXi! Go to the realm of mortals
and whether there may be very rich people or whether there may be people
suffering greatly, to one person among both kinds of people, tell the precepts,
process, merits, and fruits of this vrat and then return. Meanwhile, the world of
the gods performed this vrat in heaven. (Svasth@nipalamesvayyauvratakath@ [sic]
NS 723 [1603 CE].)
Later in the kath@, when Navar@j sends palanquin bearers to return his wife
Candr@vata to him in his new kingdom, the travelers encounter a group of apsaras-s performing the Svasth@na vrat. It is this performance that evoked such
anger and impropriety from Candr@vata discussed earlier.
Along the way, there was a sudden shower of flowers on the bank of the river
next to the road. The palanquin bearers left their mistress and went to see this
unusual occurrence. In the place where there had been the shower of flowers,
the form of Mah@m@y@. Mah@m@y@ represents the illusory female principal of m@y@,
which can be used for constructive or destructive ends. It is she who enables ViX>u
to awaken and fight the daitya and she who deludes the duo, thereby contributing
to their final demise. In the popular contemporary SVK version of this narrative,
Mah@m@y@s role is limited to (the critical task of) awakening ViX>u so that he can
engage Madhu and Kaibabha in battle. There is at least one SVK that draws a direct
connection between Mah@m@y@ and the goddess Svasth@na by explicitly referring to
the Goddess of this episode as Svasth@na.11 Whether explicit or not, the immediate
presence of the supreme Sakti at the opening of a local text that extols the virtues
and power of the local goddess Svasth@na intimates a connection of consequence
between Mah@m@y@ and Svasth@na. This is significant because of the additional
association the Goddess of the Deva-m@h@tmya and Devabh@gavata Pur@>a have with
the goddesses Durg@ and K@la, which in turns reinforces Svasth@nas association with
these fierce warrior goddesses.
So what do we know of Svasth@na so far? We know nothing of her origin. While
most deities in the Hindu tradition have an origin myth and while vrat kath@-s
often narrate this myth, neither is true in the case of Svasth@na and the SVK. What
the SVK provides is an account of the origin of the Svasth@na vrat among the
human population. But it also makes it clear that the Svasth@na vrat was already
previously known within the divine realm. After Mah@dev travels to martyalok, the
realm of mortals, to take care of some business and returns back to Mount Kail@s,
we are told the following:
206

the daughters of the gods and the daughters of the n@ga-s were gathered together and sat doing the vrat of Svasth@na Paramesvara. Seeing this, the palanquin bearers returned to the palanquin with incredible happiness and said to
their mistress, Brahmunaju, we both are so very lucky. We saw the daughters of
the gods performing the vrat of Svasth@na Paramesvara. We brought flowers
from the vrat. We are very thankful. (Ibid.)
Master! Is there a vrat that you have kept very secret? What karman should be
done to benefit you? Gods, daitya-s (demons), n@ga-s, brothers and their own
wives, sons, and husbands, many relatives, each person who is a devotee: What
vrat is there that has been kept secret from these people? You should be pleased
and tell me. (Ibid.)
Moreover, despite the fact that P@rvata is herself present in the vrat kath@ and in
fact urges Mah@dev to make known the Svasth@na vrat among the human population as described above, in this opening dialogue she claims to be ignorant of the
rite. After P@rvata learns from Mah@dev that this secreted vrat is that of the goddess Svasth@na, she again asks,
Isvara, I have a great desire to listen to the story of who first heard this kath@
[of the vrat] and of who first performed this vrat, to listen to this vrat from you.
If I am worthy of this matter being told, then you should be pleased to tell it to
me in detail. Upon her asking, Sra Bhagav@na Mah@rudra related this matter in
detail. (Ibid.)
These inconsistencies reflect the complex nature of the Goddess figure in the
Hindu tradition. Svasth@na both is and is not P@rvata, and Svasth@na and P@rvata
are both emanations of the divine feminine. Given her various ties to P@rvata, it is
not surprising that Svasth@na is also positioned as Sivas consort in the text and in
the popular imaginaire. What is surprising, however, is that she is simultaneously
portrayed as independent and unfettered by a male companion or master.
Svasth@na is generally benign and benevolent, granting boons to devoted supplicants, but is also quick to temper and lash out at those who wrong her. With one
hand she sent the palanquin bearers to heaven and with her other she relegated
the sinful Candr@vata to a (temporary yet long) life of misery. She is depicted with
iconographic emblems that evoke images of Durg@, sitting astride her lion with
weapons raised. But she is likened to Mah@m@y@, whose creative and destructive
powers of illusion and delusion are perhaps most applicable for our understanding
of Svasth@na.
Svasth@na and her vrat are therefore evidently familiar to those residing in devalok.
Yet, curiously, in the opening verses of the oldest SVK manuscripts, the conversation between P@rvata and Mah@dev suggest that the Svasth@na vrat has in fact
been kept a secret from those in both devalok and martyalok. P@rvata asks,
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Svasth@na in art
The oldest image of Svasth@na
Given the varied narrative portrait of Svasth@na presented in the SVK, what do we
find when we examine representations of the goddess in the few non-textual
images of the goddess available to us? Just as, in stark contrast to the hundreds
of extant SVK manuscripts available to us, Svasth@na is notably absent (or at least
largely invisible) in the SVK, physical images of the goddess are few in number.
Svasth@nas ambiguous nature as somewhere between that of a mild and wild
goddess is initially reified in these limited images. However, it is in these
images that we also see the physical manifestation of the transformation of
Svasth@na into a protector deity.
In 1674 CE [NS 794] Prat@p Malla, the king of Kathmandu, consecrated an image
of the goddess near the royal palace in Kathmandu and so made permanent the
presence of Svasth@na in the Nepal Valley12 (Fig. 1). This is the first known, extant
physical image of the goddess and, remarkably, the only extant statue of Svasth@na
until the twenty-first century,13 a development discussed below. In this unique and
sizable statue, Svasth@na is almost identical with the description of her offered in
the earliest SVK manuscripts. She is seated upon a lion, and in her raised right
hand she holds a sword and in her raised left hand a shield. With her lower right
hand she makes the boon-giving gesture and her lower left hand makes the feardispelling gesture. She is ornamented with a flower necklace, earrings, and armlets
and a headdress. A blue lotus appears to hover near her upraised raised left hand
that holds the shield. Because of the layers of colourful red and yellow powder
used in deity worship, it is difficult to discern whether or not Svasth@na has the
stated third eye. It is similarly impossible to recognise Sivas token third eye.
Nevertheless, it is Siva, similarly situated and depicted with four arms, who sits
to the right of Svasth@na. He sits upon a bull, holds in his upraised right hand a
string of beads (akXam@l@) and in his upraised left hand a trident, and makes the
fear-dispelling gesture with his lower right hand while holding a p@tra or vessel in
his lower left hand. He is also draped with a garland of skulls, wears earrings and
armlets of serpents, has a crown on his head and a crescent moon in his matted
hair.14
In this singular image of the goddess, we see carved in stone the complexities of
Svasth@nas identity described in the narrative text. Perhaps the most visually
striking aspect of this image is that Svasth@na is depicted not alone but with
Siva. She is seated next to him in a manner emblematic of his union with his
consort, thereby assuredly announcing that Svasth@na is his consort. As such, she
immediately becomes interchangeable with the other personas of Sivas consorts,
most notably Um@ and P@rvata. Prat@ps inscription, however, clearly identifies the
female seated with the easily recognisable Siva as a goddess named Svasth@na:
Together with the Thrice Illustrious Siva, the Thrice Illustrious Svasth@na was
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established (sra 3 sivasahitena sra 3 svasth@na paramesvara . . . ). The goddesss name

is also conspicuously painted above the stone carving further clarifying what was
already clearly stated in the inscription - though the date of this nametag, which
must be much newer, is unknown (Fig. 2). Nevertheless, scholars have all but
unanimously identified this happy couple as none other than Um@ Mahesvara.
Gautam Vajr@c@rya entitles his transcription of the statues inscription The inscription of Prat@p Malla at the base of Um@ Mahesvara at Tana Bahal (Vajr@c@rya
2003 [1976], p. 231).15 Similarly, although Hemraj Sakya and T. R. Vaidya first
identify the stone image as Swasth@naparamesvara, they immediately offer parenthetical clarification that this represents Siva and P@rvata (Sakya and Vaidya
1970, p. 141). What is surprising is that these scholars see but fail to consider the
importance of the differences in the physical representation of these two panHindu goddesses, Um@ and P@rvata, and the local goddess Svasth@na. Sakya and
Vaidya, for example, comment without further remark that in the Svasth@na statue
Figure 1. The Siva-Svasth@na statue installed in 1674 CE by King Prat@p Malla in Makhan Tol,
Kathmandu. Photo by author.
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the disposition of symbols in the hands of the two deities differs from the normal
Um@-Mahesvara image (ibid.). These differences in this stone image are that Siva
holds a vessel and, more importantly, Svasth@na holds a sword and shield. While
Siva here essentially conforms to traditional Um@-Mahesvara iconography, the
goddesss possession of both a weapon (the sword) and warfare-related armour
(the shield) is a notable divergence from Um@s conventional iconography. Um@
typically nestl[es] on her husbands left thigh with her right hand. Her left leg
raised on the seat. The lower part of her body is turned gracefully outwards with
her right foot hanging down and resting on the back of her tiny mount, the lion.
Um@ is holding a flower in her left hand (Sakya 2000, pp. 5960). The only aspect
of this established iconography that is found in the Svasth@na stone image is the
goddesss holding of a flower in her left hand. Even when depicted alone, Um@
often bears a string of beads, a vessel, sometimes a staff, and makes the boongranting gesture and sometimes the fear-dispelling gesture.16 In other words, as
Sivas peaceful, benign consort, she is not customarily associated with emblems of
war such as a sword and shield. These symbols are, on the contrary, typical of the
fierce warrior goddess Durg@.17
At one and the same time, then, Svasth@na is associated with Um@/P@rvata on
account of her physical proximity and demeanour with Siva, but also aligned with
Durg@ because of the weaponry she wields. The location of this Svasth@na image
further reinforces this latter association with the fierce warrior goddess. Rather
than installing this image in the goddesss own place, namely, in her own sanctuary or in the village with which her tradition becomes so intimately associated,
Prat@p placed it near the royal palace in Kathmandu.18 More specifically, he
erected the Svasth@na statue in close proximity to the main Taleju temple in
Figure 2. The srasvasth@na painted above this 1674 CE statue leaves little doubt as to the identity of the goddess seated next to Mah@dev. Photo by author.
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Kathmandus royal palace square. The statue is located in Makhan Tol, in a small
temple courtyard called Tana Bahal that is adjacent to the northern side of Talejus
storied temple. Upon entering Tana (which is the commonly abbreviated name of
T@n@deva or T@ra>a Bhav@na) Bahal through its west (and only) gate, Siva and
Svasth@na are the first deities encountered. Off to the south of them in the courtyard is a late-fifteenth-century small house-like temple dedicated to T@n@deva/
T@ra>a Bhav@na. This unimposing temple is, according to one local legend, intimately associated with Taleju. During the construction of the great Taleju temple,
portions of the temple fell down on Tana Bahal. An accomplished tantric then
prayed in this shrine who was instructed by an oracle to take a pinnacle of this
shrine and install it on the Taleju temple. Then the Taleju temple was completed
(Majupuria and Kumar 1993, p. 70). There are, of course, countless temples and
statues of any number of deities in the vicinity of Talejus watchful gaze from her
own temple. Even in the courtyard of Tana Bahal there are a handful of smaller
stone images of K@la and of ViXnu in the form of his fish avatar, which flank the
Siva-Svasth@na image, as well as of Ga>es. The inscription itself offers no indication
of the significance of its particular location, nor does the SVK manuscript make
any mention or even hint of this area in its local geography. However, I would
argue that Prat@ps choice of location in such close proximity to his favoured
Taleju and the royal palace cannot be merely coincidental.
What, then, is the connection between Taleju and Svasth@na? Talejus primary
role as the protective tutelary deity of the Hindu monarchy is well established.
Taleju, a local form of the goddess Durg@, was established as the tutelary deity of
the Nepal monarchy by Jayasthiti Malla in the fourteenth century. She has since
then served the historically critical and prestigious role of protecting the kingdom
through the medium of the monarchy. Her patronage and protection were of the
utmost importance to the Malla kings, such as Prat@p Malla, in the medieval period
and the Shah rulers in the modern period.19 I would like to suggest that Svasth@na
similarly emerged in Nepals divine pantheon as a protector deity and that it is in
this capacity that she shares mutual interests and associations with Taleju.
Whereas Taleju protects the political well being of the king and state, Svasth@na
protects the social, cultural, and religious well being of the state and its (Hindu)
population. To explicate this further, let us explore a brief but relevant tangent to
consider the significance of the goddesss name. The name Svasth@na is a composite Sanskrit word that consists of sva, which in a compound most often means
ones own, and sth@nam, which means place, standing, situation, abode, region,
and so on. Prin. Vaman Shivaram Apte provides a gloss for the whole compound in
his A Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary: svasth@nam[:] ones own place or home,
ones own abode (Apte 1998, p. 1737). The addition of -a to the compound then
feminises it. Svasth@na, then, is the Goddess of Ones Own Place. Given that the SVK
textual tradition is rooted in the Nepal Valley20 and that the tradition has not had
in historical or modern times any currency in India, it is reasonable to conclude
that ones own place here broadly refers to the Nepal Valley. To expand on the
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possible implications of each component of the goddess name, it is worth noting

that sva can also mean belonging to ones own caste or tribe (Apte 1998, p. 1736)
which suggests that Svasth@na serves also as a divine figure who represents and
protects a specific community that seeks protection or differentiation from other
communities. This interpretation is further supported by the additional definitions
of sth@nam Apte offers, such as (In politics, war &c.) [t]he firm attitude or bearing
of troops, standing firm so as to repel a charge and [t]hat which constitutes the
chief strength or the very existence of a kingdom, a stamina of a kingdom; i.e.
army, treasure, town, and territory (Apte 1998, p. 1721). These alternative ways of
translating and understanding the implications of ones own place yield additional levels of significance to Svasth@nas identity and relationship to the
Hindu communities that worship her. As the embodiment of ones own place,
she simultaneously represents the individual, the home or family, and the larger
local, regional, and eventually national community, all of which are engaged in
negotiating their specific time and place in the immediate and broader contexts of
their socioreligious and geopolitical standing. During Nepals medieval period and
well into the modern period, Nepal and its indigenous Newar Hindu population
were navigating their place and identity as Hindus and Nepalis in response to the
influx into the Nepal Valley of high-caste hill Hindus and orthodox Brahmanical
Hindu ideology and practice. Moreover, Nepal was also navigating its emerging
identity as the asal Hindustan, or pure land of the Hindus, which the ruling class of
Nepal consciously constructed vis-a`-vis what they perceived as the defilement of
India and its Hindu population at the hands of first the Mughals and then the
British. As the Goddess of Ones Own Place, one of Svasth@nas central roles is,
therefore, to demarcate and protect this place, this site of social, religious, and
cultural identity formation and negotiation, guiding devotees as they navigate
their way through complex relationships. In this way Svasth@na emerged as a
socioreligious ambassador for medieval and modern Nepal.
The idea that Svasth@na represents a place to be nurtured and protected continues to gain currency over the coming centuries, as evidenced by her eventual
association with the AXbam@tPk@, or Eight Mother Goddesses.21 In Nepal, these
goddesses all are classed as hitv@dyo, somewhat fierce or forbidding deities who
expect blood sacrifice (Slusser 1982, p. 322). In this way, the AXbam@tPk@ are linked
to Durg@ and Taleju. These goddesses are all invested with the critical role as
guardian protectors of Nepal Mandala (Slusser 1982, p. 344).22 In contrast to the
protection Durg@ historically offered on the battlefield and Taleju provided in the
royal courts, the AXbam@tPk@ physically demarcate the area they protect. This
protected area may be as local and personal as ones home, with the eight
mother goddesses personified in household tools (Iltis 1985, p. 641) or a neighbourhood, or a town or city (such as Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, which are
each encircled by AXbam@tPk@ temples), or a nation (ibid). This role of the
AXbam@tPk@ and Svasth@nas own role as a goddess of place and protection take
on new significance when the SVK tradition establishes a connection between the
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mother goddesses and Svasth@na, a connection that develops over hundreds of

years before it becomes physically manifest in the tradition.
Artistic images of Svasth@na in SVK manuscripts
In the nascent years of the SVK tradition in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the text described Svasth@na in words but offered no physical
representations of her. In the last third of the seventeenth century, a statue of the
goddess materialised near the royal palace in Kathmandu. Yet it is not until over
another hundred years later that we find the first artistic drawings and paintings
of the goddess. Since their gradual emergence beginning in the early nineteenth
century, the imagery surrounding Svasth@na has ranged from symbolic representations to anthropomorphic images that associate the goddess not with Siva/
Mah@dev but with the AXbam@tPk@. Initially, images of Svasth@nas likeness were
painted on the insides of the wooden covers that protected handwritten manuscripts, such as that on the front cover of an 1830 CE [NS 950] SVK (Fig. 3), the
earliest image of the goddess that I have discovered. Svasth@na is here seen with
her various emblems and seated with Ga>es to her right and Kum@r to her left.
More rarely is an image of the goddess included in the text itself. A SVK from 1885
CE [VS 1942], for example, offers several drawings of events described in the text,
including an unusual image of Svasth@na being fanned by a female devotee as she,
again outfitted with her symbolic paraphernalia (which rarely match those
described in the text itself), sits on an ornate chaise while seemingly greeting
and/or giving/receiving darsan from Mah@dev23 (Fig. 4).
In the same 1885 CE manuscript, there is another image (that precedes the one
just described) that provides an important link between earlier and later depictions of Svasth@na. The image presents a darpana, or mirror used for ritual purposes, situated between two trees (Fig. 5). In the middle of the darpana is drawn an
eight-petal lotus flower. Each petal is marked with the name of one of the eight
Mother Goddesses. The diagram as a whole is labelled as the yantra of Svasth@na
(srasvasth@naparamesvarakoyantra). This unusual symbolisation of the goddess
Svasth@na suggests a connection between Svasth@na and LakXma, the pan-Hindu
goddess of wealth, with whom the darpana is commonly associated. Aside from
their shared characterisation as benevolent goddesses and the fact that all goddesses are ultimately one with the Goddess, this association with LakXma is tentative. Perhaps more telling is the presence of a Svasth@na yantra at all, which may
reflect the influence of Tantrism on the Svasth@na tradition.
By the early to mid-twentieth century, both these sporadic individual portraits
of the goddess and the Svasth@na yantra evolve into a different image of the goddess that increasingly become a fixture in the majority of SVK texts from the midtwentieth century onwards.24 No longer seated upon a tiger, Svasth@na is now
pictured sitting in the middle a lotus flower. She is surrounded by the
AXbam@tPk@, each of whom is seated on a petal of the lotus and is identified by
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Figure 4. One of the earliest illustrations of the goddess Svasth@na in the pages of a SVK manuscript.
This Nepali language text was produced by lithography in 1885 CE (National Archives, reel no. I25/41).
their name, emblems, and vehicles, as seen in a 1947 CE SVK (Fig. 6). Under this reenvisioned picture in the 1947 CE SVK is a Sanskrit verse that describes this new
image of Svasth@na:
Svasth@na Jagadasvara is seated among the eight Mother Goddesses on an eight
leaf petal. Her beauty is radiant like the color of gold. She has four arms and
three eyes, and is adorned with all kinds of ornaments. She holds upraised [in
two hands] a sword and trident, and with her lower [hands] holds a shield and a
blue lotus (Sarm@ 1947, p. 3).
While it is common for pictorial representations of Svasth@na to deviate from the

description of her given in the body of the SVK text, it is notable that in this image
she now holds a trident, one of Siva/Mah@devs iconic symbols. The inclusion of
the trident comes in addition to or at the expense of the shield and boon-giving
Figure 3. An early image of the goddess Svasth@na painted on the inside of the wooden cover of a
1830 CE SVK (private copy, Kathmandu).
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Figure 6. Svasth@na seated in the center of an eight-petal lotus and surrounded by the
?Xbam@tPk@ in a SVK from 1947 CE (Madan Purask@r Pustak@laya).
Figure 5. A Svasth@na yantra found in an 1885 CE SVK. The ?Xbam@tPk@ are represented as the
eight petals of the lotus flower situated in the middle of this darpana, or mirror (National
Archives, reel no. I25/41).
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In her abstract nature, placed at the point of definition of this protective

ma>nala, Swasthani [sic] is the place to be protected. The place differs for
each individual, family or community, so that she actually represents ones
own place (Iltis 1985, p. 642).
Many modern SVK texts from the past decade go one step further to state the
complexity of Svasth@nas personality and purpose, leaving little doubt as to the
significance of Svasth@nas relationship to the AXbam@tPk@ and the meaning of this
ma>nala. A SVK from 1970 CE, for example, adds an additional title to this picture
and verse that plainly states that the AXbam@tPk@ represent the eight natural forms
of the goddess Svasth@na (sra svasth@na deva k@ @bha svarupa). The mother goddesses
do not merely protect Svasth@na and all that she embodies - they are part of her
and her identity. Much like afflicting and healing goddesses, such as Sitala/H@rata/
M@riyamma@, who are both the disease and its cure, Svasth@na represents both the
place to be protected and is the source of its protection.
Interestingly, there is no mention of the AXbam@tPk@ in the earliest SVK narrative variant, nor is there any concrete historical evidence that documents the
origin and development of Svasth@nas connection with the AXbam@tPk@. It is
only in the nineteenth century that the AXbam@tPk@ first appear in the SVK narrative, and their presence is in name only much like the presence of Svasth@na
herself. In P@rvatas mission to win Mah@dev as her husband, upon Mah@devs
request, ViXnu instructs P@rvata to perform the Svasth@na vrat. In the course of
relating to her the necessary instructions, ViXnu describes the goddess Svasth@na,
just as Mah@dev does in the oldest extant SVK manuscripts when P@rvata asks
about the most difficult vrat. In an 1847 CE [VS 1904] SVK, for example, ViX>u
describes her as seated among the eight mother goddesses on an eight-petal lotus
flower (Srasvasth@naparamesvary@kath@ [sic] VS 1904 [1847 CE]). In some variants, his
instructions include telling P@rvata to worship Svasth@na and the AXbam@tPk@.26
This directive does not refer to an altogether different vrat, but rather suggests
the conflation of a vrat honouring the AXbam@tPk@ with the vrat of Svasth@na.
Interestingly, this close relationship between these goddesses is not present in
the oldest extant Nepali language SVK (dated to 1810 CE [Sakya Samvat 1732]) nor
and fear-dispelling gestures.25 More importantly, Svasth@na is no longer described

as seated upon a lion but is instead seated among the eight Mother Goddesses on
an eight leaf petal. The absence of the tiger immediately distances Svasth@na from
her association with Durg@ and her role as Sivas consort. The explicit connection
made here between her and the mother goddesses, however, only reinforces
Svasth@nas fierce, protective nature. Now encircled by the AXbam@tPk@, she is
situated at the center of their protective embrace. Svasth@na, who both represented the idea and protected the experience of place as a site of sociocultural
and religious identity negotiation among the people of the Nepal Valley, now also
represented the place to be protected. As Linda Iltis states:
216
does it seem to be a regular feature in the Newar language SVK variant tradition.
Yet by the mid-nineteenth century, this relationship is established and soon thereafter crystallised. It is perhaps fitting that the goddess Svasth@na, herself historically an aniconic figure, would become associated with the AXbam@tPk@, who are
also traditionally aniconic goddesses. What remains unclear from the text is who
first made this connection between Svasth@na and the mother goddesses and why.
Svasth@na in Sankhu
Svasth@nas association with the AXbam@tPk@ has been further entrenched in the
public imagination in recent years on account of a popular painting sold during
the annual month-long Svasth@na vrat and mel@, or festival, in the village of
Sankhu. Some years ago, local artist and farmer Bhupendra Man Shrestha was
inspired to paint his vision of the goddess Svasth@na, which clearly draws on
Svasth@nas modern ties with the AXbam@tPk@27 (Fig. 7). Svasth@na holds in her
two right hands an upraised sword and trident and in her two left hands a
discus and blue lotus. She is seated both on a lotus and in the middle of a
larger lotus, on the petals of which are situated the eight mother goddesses.
Hovering above the large lotus are two apsaras-s bearing garlands, and flanking
its sides are GaneX on the top left and Kum@r on the top right and two fierce deities
on the lower right and left. While images of Svasth@na have by this time all but
erased any traces of her once explicit and dominant association with Siva, this
painting includes a small image of Sivas head atop a linga and of his bull vehicle
below the large lotus housing Svasth@na and the AXbam@tPk@, next to an equally
small photo of the artist himself. It is this picture that Shrestha sells to numerous
devotees and pilgrims each year during the Svasth@na vrat and mel@ in Sankhu,
thus introducing into many Nepali homes a physical image of Svasth@na with the
AXbam@tPk@ for the first time.
In 2002, Sankhu locals commissioned a statue of Svasth@na designed by Shrestha.
The goddess Svasth@na in this image the first of its kind since Pratap Malla
consecrated his Siva-Svasth@na m+rti in 1674 bears notable similarities and dissimilarities with her earlier images. She is bedecked with what has become her
customary signalia in the local region based on Shresthas painting. Rather than
seated upon a lion and next to Siva, as in Pratap Mallas m+rti, but much like other
more modern representations of the goddess, Svasth@na here sits cross-legged
upon an eight-petal lotus constituted by the AXbam@tPk@ (Fig. 8).
Similarly striking is the brand new temple built to house the goddess Svasth@na
(Fig. 9). Also begun in 2002 and nearing completion in 2008 when I last visited
Sankhu, the temple is an exemplary illustration of traditional Newar woodworking
and craftsmanship. Yet it is also unlike any temple I have ever seen in Nepal or
elsewhere. It is built like an eight-petal lotus, with each petal dedicated to one of
the AXbam@tPk@. Along the upper part of the temple are sixty-four struts, each
depicting one of the sixty-four yoginas.
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This Sankhu m+rti of the goddess and her temple are unusual for several reasons. The statue is made of black granite, which is a common material for divine
images in South India, but less common in Nepal. More significant is the design of
the statue that has Svasth@na seated upon the eight mother goddesses. This is
remarkable because it reflects the relatively modern association found only
more recently in the textual tradition, on the one hand, and, on the other hand,
because it consequently deviates markedly from Pratap Mallas Siva-Svasth@na
m+rti. The new Svasth@na-AXbam@tPk@ m+rti reflects the transformation of the goddess from being identified first and foremost as the lesser-known local consort of
the pan-Hindu great god Siva, whose watchful gaze keeps an eye on Svasth@na, to a
more independent goddess self-assuredly situated among her host of fellow divine
female protectresses. Lastly, there is the mere fact of its existence, which comes
some five hundred years after the known beginning of the Svasth@na tradition and
over nearly two hundred years after the only other known statue was consecrated.
Conclusion
If we return to the initial question posed at the outset of this essay Who is
Svasth@na? it seems that we now have more questions than we have answers.
Svasth@na is a local Nepali goddess who embodies the diversity and hybridity of
traditional female and divine characteristics and associations. She is formidable
but also benevolent. She wields weaponry but is not a warrior, nor is she explicitly
a mother figure or a virgin. She has agency but little if any actual voice. She is
independent and claims no consort but is nevertheless closely associated with (and
often overshadowed by) Mah@dev. Like Nepals Guhyesvara, goddess of the secret,
Figure 7. A local Sankhu artists painting of Svasth@na surrounded by the AXbam@tPk@.
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who is variously regarded and worshipped as the Vaidic-Puranic P@rvata or

Satadeva, wife of Siva, as a Tantric, alcohol-accepting goddess (e.g. Guhyak@la), as
a Mah@yanist or Vajray@nist Buddhist goddess, Buddhist Sakti or consort of
Hevajra, and last but not least as a folk deity (Michaels 1996, p. 316), Svasth@na
has not yet fully revealed her identity. While at times these goddesses may conform to the traditional categories of the so-called mild and wild goddesses, they
just as often highlight the shortcomings of these umbrella categories and demonstrate the fluidity and hybridity that in fact characterises many South Asian goddesses. The Svasth@na goddess tradition reveals a productive blurring of potentially
false or misleading boundaries and dichotomies, such as private/public, local/
regional/supraregional, and Brahmanical/folk. Michaels conclusion that the uncertainty surrounding Guhyesvaras identity is what gives her and other goddesses
unlimited, boundless power (Michaels et al. 1996, p. 30), can well be applied to
Svasth@na. This inability to neatly categorise and contain these goddesses reflects
Figure 8. The statue in Sankhu of Svasth@na seated upon the AXbam@tPk@ prior to its installation
in her own temple. Photo by the author (January 2005).
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the fluidity of their individual and collective identities as wild or mild. The
dynamic tension between Svasth@na as mild consort goddess and Svasth@na as
fierce(r) protector goddess is in large part what gives her currency among and
makes her accessible to her devotees.28 Moreover, it highlights the fact that goddesses like Svasth@na, like the women who look to them for guidance and support,
possess creative powers that can be used for productive or destructive ends and
have different roles to play in different contexts.
What is more striking than this fluid indeterminacy is the shift we see from
Svasth@nas clear association with Mah@dev to her intimate ties with the
AXbam@tPk@. Svasth@na will inevitably continue to be likened to Mah@devs
famous wives, Sati and P@rvata, because their myths constitute the bulk of the
modern SVK narrative, thus insuring her continued if somewhat ambiguous relationship with Mah@dev. At the same time, however, the portrait of Svasth@na the
SVK paints increasingly presents her pleasantly but firmly situated in the protective embrace of the eight Mother Goddesses, not Mah@dev. In doing so, there is a
simultaneous softening of Svasth@na as a woman gathered together with her
female friends and an immediate emboldening of her as a fierce, protective
deity. These transformations evoke the idea of the sweetening of wild goddesses,
which refers to gradual favouring of a wild(er) goddess less wild, sweeter aspects
according to the needs, desires, and perceptions of the goddess devotees (Michaels
et al. 1996, p. 32).29 The K@la tradition in Bengal, for example, illustrates this phenomenon insofar as Bengalis embrace the goddess motherly persona as the allcompassionate Mother more so than her fierce, destructive aspects so visible in
her iconography and mythology (McDermott 1996). In the case of Svasth@na, the
sweetening process is neither definitive nor linear, as Svasth@na seems to maintain
Figure 9. The new Svasth@na temple in Sankhu nearing completion in January 2008. Photo by the
author.
220
a balance between the wild and mild aspects of her identity, whether emphasis is
placed on her association with Mah@dev or the AXbam@tPk@. For example, there is a
notable desexualisation of the goddess as she is further removed from her male
partner. At the same time, once her sakti is no longer safely mediated through Siva,
Svasth@na has the potential to become hypersexualised as an independent, fierce
goddess. To suggest that Svasth@na has ever been or would ever be identified
primarily as a fierce goddess is to overstate the case. If anything, despite her
more explicit association with the AXbam@tPk@ in contemporary iconography, devotees continue to celebrate Svasth@na in her sweeter role as P@rvata.30
It is nevertheless important to note that, as Linda Iltis rightly points out, the
fierce nature of many Hindu (and Buddhist) deities, particularly in Newar contexts,
is an expression not of malevolence, but of protective potency (Iltis 1985, p. 23).
Moreover, there is a shift in the implication of who and/or what is to be protected.
The goddess herself is now both protector and herself protected. As what is in
need of protection evolves with growing import from the individual to the family
and home to the local and then regional community to the nation, Svasth@na, as
protector of these places and peoples and their associated local and translocal
identities as Hindus and as Nepalis, herself becomes a place to be protected. This
is particularly true during three key periods of transformation in Nepals medieval
and modern history. First, in the wake of the Gorkha conquest in the eighteenth
century, there was the rise of the high-caste hill Hindus and the encroachment
of their orthodox, Brahmanical religious orientation into the social, political,
and religious domain of the local, indigenous Newar Hindu (and Buddhist)
population, which was subsequently subjugated. Second, during both the colonial
and Rana period in the 19th century and the post-Rana and -colonial periods in
the 20th century, the ruling elite in Nepal actively positioned their kingdom as a
as the Hindu kingdom as a means of justifying and maintaining their ruling
power and independence. Third, in response to the Maoist insurgency (1996
2006) and the subsequent fall of the royal monarchy in 2008, many ethnic
groups in Nepal have sought to reassert their presence and group identity vis-a`vis the long favoured and sociopolitically dominant high-caste Hindus. Reassertion
of Newar Hindu identity and practice may provide some explanation, for example,
as to why Sankhu locals commissioned their Svasth@na statue within the past
decade.
That these sociocultural and political understandings of the goddess as a protector of ones own place and as a place to be protected continue to be embraced
and propagated in the Nepali imaginaire today is exemplified by the illustration on
the inside cover of Tarthal@l R@jbha>n@ras 1985 Sra Svasth@na Brata Kath@. The picture depicts a large ray of light that emanates from an om
q symbol, passes through
the royal Nepal crown, and shines upon the full length of an outline of modern
Nepal. Spanning the length of the country are the words srasvasth@nanam, leaving
little doubt that Svasth@na embodies the historical social, cultural, religious, and
political specificity of Nepal.
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But the evolution of the goddess Svasth@nas identity, function, and image were
gradual. She initially seems to have lived only within the pages of the vrat kath@
text that bears her name. A vibrant description of her is available from the earliest
dated materials of her tradition, yet for centuries it offered only a verbal, onedimensional representation of the goddess. The lack of artistic representation of
Svasth@na is notable, given the growing popularity of the goddess and her tradition
evidenced by the vast number of extant SVK manuscripts from the sixteenth
century to the present day. One wonders if, at least initially, Svasth@na was physically represented and so worshipped in the form of the SVK text itself, much like
the cult of the protective PancarakX@ goddesses. According to art historian Jinah
Kim, the PancarakX@ goddesses owe their cultic presence to the physicality of the
[PancarakX@ s+tra] in which they reside, for the book is worshipped as a collective
icon of the five protective goddesses (Kim 2010, p. 1).31 Neither Nepals harsh
environment nor historically non-literate culture was conducive to the reproduction of a lay textual tradition. Physical representations (i.e. inscriptions, statues,
etc.) of Svasth@na could have more easily withstood the tests of time and environment. Yet hundreds of SVK manuscripts survived and are virtually our only
source for accessing the history of the text and its patron goddess. This speaks to
the personal, private, and decidedly local not to mention determined and relevant nature of the goddess and her tradition. There are very few sightings of
Svasth@na outside of the text and outside of the homes of her devotees.
Nevertheless, while Svasth@nas import and presence continues to be tied to the
SVK text, Svasth@na imagery gradually became increasingly dynamic and evolved
into two-dimensional artistic renderings and three-dimensional images in stone.
From an essentially aniconic image to anthropomorphic in theory to anthropomorphic in reality, over the last five hundred years of her tradition, Svasth@na
emerged from the conceptual realm into the material realm.
We still know little of Svasth@nas actual origin, though all extent evidence
available to us suggests a quiet birth in the same vein as the relatively new
goddess SantoXa M@, who appeared unannounced, without a historical predecessor
per se, and without great fanfare in vrat pamphlets in last half of the twentieth
century. Continued scrutiny of the epigraphical information often (but not always)
contained in the six hundred plus SVK manuscripts preserved in Nepals archives
or in the hundreds of private copies owned by families throughout Hindu Nepal
may eventually yield more insight as to machinations (human or otherwise)
behind the creation of the goddess Svasth@na, though her origin may always be
shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, in seeking to locate Svasth@na within both the
pan-Hindu pantheon and Nepals regional divine and human populations, we are
able to see the complexity of her identity and the evolving nature of her associations and functions. These reflect the complexities of coming into being, of being
female in Hindu thought and practice, and of being Hindu in medieval and modern
Nepal.
222
Acknowledgements
References
Apte, P. V. S., 1998. The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary. Kyoto: Rinsen Book Company.
Bennett, L., 1983. Dangerous wives, sacred sisters: social and symbolic roles of high-caste women
in Nepal. New York: Columbia University Press.
Birkenholtz, J. V. 2010. The Svasth@na Vrata Kath@ tradition: translating self, place, and
identity in Hindu Nepal. Ph.D. Dissertation, South Asian Languages and Civilizations,
University of Chicago, Chicago.
Brinkhaus, H., 2005. The Pur@>ization of the Nepalese M@h@tmya Literature. Paper read
at Fourth Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas
(DICSEP 4), at Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Buhnemann, G., 2003. The Hindu pantheon in Nepalese line drawings: two manuscripts of the
PratiXbh@lakXa>as@rasamuccaya. Varanasi, India: Indica Books.
Hawley, J. S., Wulff, D. M. (eds). 1982. The divine consort: Radha and the goddesses of India.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Hawley, J. S., Wulff, D. M. (eds). 1996. Deva: goddesses of India. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Iltis, L. L. 1985. The Swasthani Vrata: Newar women and ritual in Nepal. Ph. D. Dissertation,
Languages and Civilizations of Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison.
Iltis, L. L., 2003. Goddesses, place, and identity in Nepal. In: Mills, M., Claus, P., Diamond, S.
(eds). South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia, pp. 257260. New York: Routledge.
K@yastha, C. NS 1124 [2004]. Sra 3 Svasth@na Vrata P+j@vidhi va Kath@ [The ritual manual and
story of the vow of Sra 3 Svasth@na]. Lalitpur, Nepal: Nepal Sanskrti Laypau.
Kim, J., 2010. A book of Buddhist goddesses: illustrated manuscripts of the Pancaraks @
S+tra and their ritual use. Artibus Asiae 71: 259329.
Kinsley, D. R., 1986. Hindu goddesses: visions of the divine feminine in the Hindu religious
tradition. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Levy, R. I., with the collaboration of R@jop@dhy@ya, K. R. 1990. Mesocosm: Hinduism and the
organization of a traditional Newar city in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Majupuria, T. C., Kumar, R., 1993. Kathmandu Durbar Square (Hanuman Dhoka old palace: in &
around). Laskhar (Gwalior), India: Smt. M.D. Gupta.
McDermott, R. F., 1996. Popular attitudes towards K@la and her poetry tradition: interviewing Saktas in Bengal. In: Michaels, A., Vogelsanger, C., Wilke, A. (eds). Wild
Research for this article was supported by a Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation

Research Abroad Fellowship (20042006) and a Mellon/ACLS Doctoral Dissertation
Completion Fellowship (2008). I would like to thank the following friends and
colleagues in Nepal without whom this research would not have been possible:
Prakash Man Shrestha, Prabin Raj Shrestha, and Bhupendra Man Shrestha in
Sankhu, and Kasinath Tamot, Jwala Tuladhar (Sthapit), and the helpful staffs at
the Nepal Research Center, National Archives, ?s@ Saph+ Kuthi, and Kaiser Library
in Kathmandu. I also thank Anjali Nerlekar, Nida Sajid, Meheli Sen, Mukti Lakhi
Mangharam, and Triveni Kuchi of the South Asian Studies Working Group at
Rutgers University for their insightful critiques of an early draft of this article
during my tenure as an ACLS New Faculty Fellow in the Department of Religion at
Rutgers.
223
Notes
1 Some Buddhist Nepalis know of Svasth@na and her tradition, but Indian Hindus
living in Nepal, for example, are generally unaware of her. Linda Iltis (cf. fn 2
below) states that the SVK has been translated into Hindi and perhaps Maithili,
but offers no verifiable citations (Iltis 1985, p. 8). Robert Levy (1990, p. 425) reiterates Iltis assertion and offers a single citation, which I have been unable to track
down and verify. There are, however, four extant Svasth@na dramas that are written
in a mixture of the Newar and Mithili languages. These texts, one of which is
undated while the other three range from the early eighteenth century to the
late nineteenth century, are the only known Svasth@na dramas and the only
known extant SVK texts in Mithili (Birkenholtz 2010, p. 114). The SVK tradition
is celebrated to varying degrees among communities of Nepali origin in Sikkim and
the Darjeeling district in West Bengal as well as within the Nepali Hindu diaspora
abroad (cf. Iltis 2003, pp. 25960). My research has yielded no further evidence to
goddesses in India and Nepal: proceedings of an international symposium, Berne and Zurich,
November 1994, pp. 383415. Bern, Germany: Peter Lang.
McDermott, R. F., Kripal, J. J. (eds). 2003. Encountering K@la: in the margins, at the center, in
the west. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Michaels, A., in collaboration with Sharma, N. 1996. Goddess of the secret: Guhyesvara in
Nepal and her festival. In: Michaels, A., Vogelsanger, C., Wilke, A. (eds). Wild goddesses
in India and Nepal: proceedings of an international symposium, Berne and Zurich, November
1994, pp. 303342. Bern, Germany: Peter Lang.
Michaels, A. et al. (eds). 1996. Wild Goddesses in India and Nepal: Proceedings of an
International Symposium, Berne and Zurich, November 1994. Bern, Germany: Peter Lang.
Par@jula, B. VS 2059 [2002]. Sra Svasth@na Vrata Kath@. V@r@>asa: Trim+rti Prak@shan.
Rao, V. N., 1993. Purana as Brahminic ideology. In: Doniger, W. (ed). Purana Perennis:
reciprocity and transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, pp. 85100. Albany: State
University of New York Press.
Regmi, D. R., 1966. Medieval Nepal. 4 vols. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay.
Sakya, H., Vaidya, T. R. (eds). 1970. Medieval Nepal: colophons and inscriptions. Kathmandu,
Nepal: T. R. Vaidya.
Sakya, J. B. (eds). 2000. Short description of gods, goddesses and ritual objects of Buddhism and
Hinduism in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Handicraft Association of Nepal.
Sarm@, A. VS 2045 [1988 CE]. Swasth@na [sa:sodhita tath@ parivarddhita sa:skara>a].
Kathmandu, Nepal: Sramata GhanalakXma Sarm@.
Sarm@, B. M., 1947. CE. Sra Svasth@na Vrata-Kath@. Ban@ras Siba: Gop@l Press.
Slusser, M. S., 1982. Nepal Mandala: a cultural study of the Kathmandu Valley. 2 vols. Vol. 1.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Srasvasth@naparamesvary@kath@ [sic]. VS 1904 [1847 CE]. Kathmandu, Nepal: National
Archives..
Svasth@nipalamesvayyauvratakath@ [sic]. NS 723 [1603 CE]. Kathmandu, Nepal: National
Archives..
Tamob, K. VS 2047 [1991 CE]. Svasth@na Vratkath@ Parampar@: Ek Simh@valokan.
Madhuparka, JanFeb, 516.
Vajr@c@rya, G. V., 2003 [1976]. Hanumandhoka Rajadarbara. Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal and
Esiyali Adhyayan Samsthana.
224
4
5
6
7
8
10
date of the Svasth@na goddess or SVK tradition outside of Nepali cultural areas in
the medieval or modern period.
The work of two American scholars in the mid-1980s provides the most extensive
available research on Svasth@na and her textual and ritual tradition. In Dangerous
Wives and Sacred Sisters: Social and Symbolic Roles of High-Caste Women in Nepal (1983),
Lynn Bennett presents an overview of the SVK narratives and ritual in a chapter
devoted to mythological representations of women for Parbatiy@, or high-caste,
women in Nepal. Linda Louise Iltis presents a comprehensive study of the
Svasth@na ritual at Sankhu and its role in the religious lives of Newar women in
her 1985 Ph.D. dissertation, The Swasth@na Vrata: Newar Women and Ritual in
Nepal. Iltis has also subsequently authored a couple of articles related to Svasth@na.
There are over six hundred SVK manuscripts alone preserved in Nepals National
Archives. The Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMPP) began to
collect and microfilm SVK texts in the early 1970s, but some two decades later
ended their documentation of SVK texts because they had already amassed several
hundred. There are also close to one hundred SVK manuscripts preserved in other
smaller archives and libraries in Kathmandu. In addition to these archival collections, many Hindu families pass down from generation to generation handwritten
copies of the text.
For discussion and examples of this categorisation, see, for example, Hawley and
Wulff (1982, 1986), Kinsley (1986), Michaels (1996), and McDermott and Kripal (2003).
Gomayaju is also widely known as Gomeju and less frequently as Gomaya among
Newars (the suffix -ju is added to names as an endearment). In contrast, among
non-Newar Nepalis, most notably high-caste Hindus, that is, Bahuns and Chetris,
Gomayaju is known almost exclusively as simply Gom@, Gom@ Bhabbina, or Gom@
Br@hma>a.
This article focuses almost exclusively on the textual aspect of the Svasth@na tradition, although the associated ritual tradition is referenced when relevant.
Unless otherwise noted, all (Sanskrit, Newar, and Nepali) translations are mine.
She does appear in the same fashion in a 1603 CE [VS 723] manuscript that is a
Newar language translation of the oldest manuscript quoted here. More commonly,
however, in later manuscripts it is the god Harihar who approaches Navar@j while
he performs his morning rituals.
I take the term Pur@>ization from Horst Brinkhauss (2005) paper entitled The
Puranization of the Nepalese Mahatmya Literature. V Narayana Rao, however,
introduced the term Pur@>izing in his 1985 essay entitled Pur@>a as Brahminic
Ideology (Rao 1993).
In the SVK, the Madhu-Kaibabha episode is told as follows: While ViX>u sleeps
soundly on his serpent within the waters of the universal ocean, a lotus arises
from his navel, seated upon which is Brahm@. While Brahm@ contemplates creating
the world, two powerful daitya-s, Madhu and Kaibabha, born from ViX>us earwax,
begin to harass Brahm@. He quickly beseeches Mah@m@y@ (or Yogam@y@, the allpervading illusory energy of god in the form of a goddess) to awaken ViX>u, which
she does. ViX>u engages Madhu and Kaibabha in war for some 5000 divine years, but
cannot defeat them. He therefore invites the daitya-s to ask of him a boon, but they
retort that they should offer him a boon because ViX>u was the one defeated in
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
battle. After securing their word that they will give him whatever he asks, ViX>u
asks that he be able to kill the two daitya-s with his own hands. Angered and
deceived, Madhu and Kaibabha, seeing the world around them made only of
water, ask in return that ViX>u kill them in a place not made of water. ViX>u
cleverly places the daitya-s on his lap and kills them.
This is Acyut@nanda R@jop@dhy@ys Newar language SVK printed in 1980 entitled
Svasth@na dharmavrata kath@. The author researched older SVK texts and manuscripts
in order to write a contemporary SVK that was faithful to the older SVK tradition
(Iltis 1985, pp. 623; the authors son, Bhasu R@jop@dhy@y, personal communication,
2005). This suggests that the explicit connection between the goddesses Svasth@na
and Mah@m@y@ has other historical precedents in earlier SVKs.
Historically, Nepal referred solely to the area of todays Kathmandu Valley and its
surrounding environs. I use the term Nepal Valley to refer to this medieval region
that consisted then of the Three Kingdoms of Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan), and
Bhaktapur and other villages nominally under their control.
According to the amended colophon of his 1654 [NS 775] SVK, in 1669 [NS 789] a
Brahman named Motir@j installed an image of the goddess Svasth@na at Bakh+ B@h@l
in Lalitpur. Unfortunately, this statue is no longer in this location and its whereabouts are unknown. I first learned of this text and its mention of this earliest
Svasth@na image in Chhatrab@hadur K@yasthas (2004) introduction to a reprinting
of an 1844 [NS 964] SVK text. Tamob also mentions this statue and inscription in his
essay Svasth@na vratkath@ parampar@: ek simh@valokan (p. 14). Prior to Tamobs and
K@yasthas relatively recent discovery of the 1655 SVK manuscript that mentioned
the 1689 installation of a Svasth@na image in Lalitpur, scholars believed that Prat@p
Malla presented us with the first and one of the only stone images of the goddess
Svasth@na. This perception is in fact still largely the case because of the limited
publication and circulation of Tamobs and K@yasthas work.
Cf. Sarm@ (Swasth@na, 131) who offers a similar description of the Siva-Svasth@na
statue, though he confuses Svasth@nas right and left hand gestures. He also writes
that Sivas gesture of the right hand is the boon-granting gesture, when in fact the
gesture made is that of the fear-dispelling gesture. Tamob makes the same claim
with regard to Sivas gesture (Tamob VS 2047 [1991 CE], 15).
Cf. ibid., fn 72, p. 138.
Cf. Buhnemann (2003, pp. 39, 56, 59, 84, 136).
Cf. Ibid.
That her statue was not placed in the village of Sankhu where Nepalis believe much
of the SVK narrative took place is not as surprising as it might seem at first glance.
While the limited evidence suggests that the SVK written tradition emerged out of
the Nepal Valley, the tradition does not become explicitly linked to Sankhu until
the eighteenth century. Note that Motir@js 1669 Svasth@na image, for example, was
installed in his own place, true to the nature and function of the goddess and her
tradition. So perhaps Prat@p Mallas choice of locations for his 1674 statue was
chosen for this same reason.
Taleju remains an important political deity despite the official dissolution of the
250-year-old Shah monarchy in 2008. Her blessing and protection is sought by the
current governing prime minister and political party.
12
225
226
20 I employ the term Nepal Valley to refer to the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding environs that historically constituted Nepal in the medieval period.
21 In India, the common number of m@tPk@-s is seven, called the Saptam@tPk@. While
the number and identity of these goddesses do vary, the constituent members of
the AXbam@tPk@ in Nepal most commonly are Brahm@ya>a, Rudr@ya>a/Mahesvara,
Kaum@ra, VaiX>ava, V@r@ha, Indr@ya>a, C@mu>n@, and Mah@lakXma (Cf. Regmi 1966,
p. 578; Slusser 1982, p. 322) (In India, Brahm@ya>a and Indr@ya>a are usually known
as Br@hma>a and Indr@>a, respectively.) As is evident from their names, the majority
of these goddesses are consorts of well-known gods such as Brahma, Siva, Kum@r,
ViX>u, and Indra. Individually, the AXbam@tPk@ exist as sakti-s, or personifications of
the feminine energy sustaining their male counterparts, and are each typically
depicted bearing their name, token symbols, and vehicle, all of which correspond
with those of their male partner.
22 This is in contrast to the pacific nature attributed to many of these goddesses in
the Indian tradition.
23 This particular manuscript is noteworthy because it is the first lithographic SVK
produced. The National Archives catalogue card indicates that the text was found in
the possession of a Nepali local from N@l@, a village located northeast of Bhaktapur,
but the text was printed by the Trajachandra Yantr@laya in Banaras. This image of
Svasth@na betrays its Indian origin in the distinctive Rajput style of drawing. This
presentation of the goddess is not seen elsewhere among printed SVK texts.
24 Here I refer specifically to printed Nepali language SVK texts (in contrast to the
more traditional handwritten Newar language texts).
25 Her image eventually becomes stabilised among printed Nepali language SVKs in
the second half of the twentieth century, where she consistently is presented as
holding upraised a sword and trident in one hand each, while with each of her
other two hands she holds a blue lotus and makes the fear-dispelling gesture. This
standardised image remains in contrast to the centuries-old description of the
goddess given in the body of the text.
26 Specifically, ViXnu instructs P@rvata as follows: Draw an eight petal lotus on a
mirror on a gold, silver, or copper plate. Write the om
q symbol in its center and
there perform the worship of Svasth@na and the eight mother goddesses in/on the
eight petals (Par@jula VS 2059 [2002]).
27 Although his family owns a handwritten SVK text dated to 1764, Shrestha reads a
contemporary Nepali language printed SVK book each year because he cannot read
the Classical Newar language or Newar script in which his familys handwritten
manuscript is written.
28 It is important to remember, however, that Svasth@na is traditionally only worshipped during the winter month of M@gh and historically spends the other
eleven months of the year wrapped in a protective cloth (covering the SVK) and
locked behind cabinet doors. Only time will tell how this may change with the new
Svasth@na statue and temple in Sankhu. In contrast, other popular goddesses in
Nepal, such as Durg@, are more physically present and accessible throughout the
year. Nevertheless, Lynn Bennett (1983, pp. 261308) argues that high-caste Hindu
men in Nepal are far more involved with Durga than women are (p. 269), whereas
women are generally more involved with the rituals and texts concerning P@rvata
227
and other gentle forms of the goddess (p. 273). Bennett offers both sociocultural
and practical reasons to accounts for these preferences. On the one hand, she
argues that in some respects Durga embodies a predominantly male perception
of women (or at least part of the male perception) that women themselves only
partially share (p. 269). On the other hand, Bennett suggests that womens greater
involvement with the mild forms of the goddess rather than the wild forms may be
due to the fact that women are barred from performing the blood sacrifices of
which Durga and her hosts are so fond (p. 273). Both of these reasons may account
for the general popularity and accessibility of Svasth@na, who, as I have shown,
demonstrates clear associations with fierce goddesses like Durg@ and Taleju, yet
does not require any blood sacrifices that might stain her predominant reputation
as a benevolent, domestic goddess.
29 Cf. McDermott (1996).
30 Notably, the vast majority of contemporary SVK books (i.e. printed Nepali-language
SVKs from the mid to late twentieth century to the present) found in the bazaars
in and around the Kathmandu Valley have on their covers or cover pages an image
of the divine couple Mah@dev and P@rvata. Some of these images have the couple as
if posed for a family portrait (sometimes with Ga>es), while others show Mah@dev
blessing a meditating P@rvata. The occasional cover depicts Mah@dev alone in
meditation.
31 Kim further explains that the PancarakX@ s+tra, an eleventh-century CE text, has
remained one of the most utilised texts among the Newar Buddhists of Nepal
(ibid.).

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The Journal of Hindu Studies 2013;6:198227

Seeking Svasth@na: The Politics of Gender,

Abstract: The goddess Svasth@nas textual-ritual complex is one of Nepals most

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University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Svasth@na in the SVK narrative tradition

Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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The designation of Svasth@na and Mah@dev as Sivasakti clearly identifies Svasth@na

Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

established (sra 3 sivasahitena sra 3 svasth@na paramesvara . . . ). The goddesss name

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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possible implications of each component of the goddess name, it is worth noting

Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

mother goddesses and Svasth@na, a connection that develops over hundreds of

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

While it is common for pictorial representations of Svasth@na to deviate from the

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

In her abstract nature, placed at the point of definition of this protective

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and fear-dispelling gestures.25 More importantly, Svasth@na is no longer described

Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Figure 7. A local Sankhu artists painting of Svasth@na surrounded by the AXbam@tPk@.

Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

who is variously regarded and worshipped as the Vaidic-Puranic P@rvata or

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz

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Politics of Gender, Location, Iconography, and Identity in Hindu Nepal

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Research for this article was supported by a Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation