Sindoor Goddesses of India: From Harappa to Hinglaj and Charani women
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Sindoor in India is linked to auspiciousness, femininity, fertility, and most surprisingly, ancient trade routes frequented by nomadic pastoralists. Worn by married women of India, the earliest reference to the use of sindoor comes from the Harappan civilisation, where clay figurines have been shown with sindoor in the parting of the hair. These figurines have been found in the Baluchistan region.Where is this sindoor coming from? In all probability from Darestan in Iran. It is known that during the Bronze Age, 2000 BC, there were wide trading networks. The Harappans procured lapis lazuli, a blue stone, from Afghanistan. So, obtaining cinnabar-mercury sulphide, which is sindoor -from Darestan in Iran is not implausible.Locally, along the Makran coast, sindoor is known as Hingula and was offered to Hinglaj Mata , whose oldest shrine is located in Balochistan. Even today, people travel from India to Balochistan in Pakistan to make offerings to this goddess. This site is considered a Shakti Peeth, associated with the head of the goddess, which was always covered with vermilion, or red powder.Shrines dedicated to such sindoor-smeared goddesses are found in Balochistan, Gujarat, Kutch, Sindh, along the Makran coast, and along the Aravalli mountains -even extending along trade routes into Madhya Pradesh and as far south as Odisha (Talcher), where red sindoor is found in the form of iron oxides. These are major Tantric locations, a network of occult sites visited by ancient shamans and pilgrims.The goddesses have a deep connection with women of the Charan community . The Charans are a unique community: poets who narrated ballads, keepers of royal genealogies, warriors who fought alongside Rajputs, and pastoralists closely associated with animal husbandry-particularly the breeding of buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels and horses.They narrated stories of Pabuji, the one who brought camels to India, and of Dev Narayanji linked to horse breeding in the Aravalli region. In these tales, the hero's mare is always gifted by a Charan woman or Charani-believed to be a living embodiment of the goddess, spiritually connected to sindoor-smeared goddesses. These were not symbolic abstractions but real women reputed to possess miraculous, magical powers -channels through whom the goddess spoke.These women are said to have aided Rajput kings, directed kings to dig step wells during droughts, fed armies using only a single piece of bread and a pot of buttermilk, and cheered them into battlefields to protect the herds. There are numerous stories of Charani women with miraculous powers.Some kings attempted to molest them, only to be met with curses and divine retribution, attacked by swarms of bees and snakes dropping from their umbrellas. In some tales, there is not a single Charan human-goddess but seven sisters, accompanied by a brother or uncle known as Bhairo. This motif of seven sisters and one brother can even be traced back to Harappan seals.The Charanis are worshipped even now in temples such as the Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan, Bahucharaji Mata and Khodyar Mata in Gujarat, and Hinglaj Mata in Balochistan. Traditionally dressed in deep red-the colour of sindoor-to embody auspiciousness, they sometimes wore black to communicate bad news or misfortune.The Khejri tree is sacred to the Charani women. It is said that when there was no wood and one such woman had no staff with which to churn buttermilk, she caused a Khejri tree to appear -from which she produced a limitless supply of buttermilk. In some stories, these women are described as daughters of snake gods; in others, they are nymphs who take the form of tigers. Now, tigers and the Khejri tree appear on Harappan seals-suggesting that the Charans may have been closely linked to, or descended from, the Harappan cities through the cult of sindoor. Women of this region wear bangles similar to the bangles manufactured in Harappan cities.The oldest image of Durga, dated to the 1st century BC, was found in Nagar near Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. It shows the goddess with two hands, plucking out the tongue of a buffalo. Intriguingly, in the Hinglaj Mata temple in Balochistan, there is still a site commemorating the tongue of the buffalo demon being flung to the side of the temple. The legend persists.Sufis of the region refer to Hinglaj Mata of Balochistan as Lal Chunariya Wali or Nani Devi. The name Nani connects her with Naina Devi of Uttarakhand and the goddess Nana, who was revered as a lion-riding goddess during the Kushan era. The sindoor goddess trail thus spreads over geography and history. Sindoor then becomes a marker of a civilisational network that predates the composition of the Vedas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Meet Retired Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal, who flew India's first supersonic fighter jet into the country
A veteran recalls the beginning A new era in air power Live Events Logbook of the first solo flying on a MiG-21 by Air Marshal Brijesh Dhar Jayal, then a young Flight Lieutenant, in January 1963 at Lugovaya Airbase, Russia Training in the USSR Flying coffin label rejected Looking back at the MiG-21's service (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Indian Air Force 's first supersonic fighter, the MiG-21 , which has served for approximately 62 years, is preparing for its final flight this year. The aircraft will be replaced by the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A and Tejas Mk-2, which are expected to form the backbone of India's fighter fleet in the coming India, the jet was assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with more than 1,200 MiG-21s having worn IAF Marshal (retd) Brijesh Dhar Jayal, one of the first eight IAF pilots trained to fly the MiG-21 in the Soviet Union, recalled his first solo flight on the supersonic fighter in 1963, calling it 'the beginning of a lifelong bond.' Now 90 and living in Dehradun, Jayal is among the last surviving members of the pioneering batch that introduced the aircraft into Indian January 1963, at Lugovaya airbase in Kazakhstan, Jayal climbed into the cockpit of the MiG-21 for the first time. Thundering down the runway at 300 kmph, the jet lifted into the sky, marking the first solo MiG-21 flight by an IAF same year, Jayal co-founded No. 28 Squadron, the IAF's first MiG-21 unit. He flew the first brand-new jet from Mumbai, where Russian technicians assembled the aircraft, to Chandigarh after a stopover in was selected in October 1962 along with Wing Commander Dilbagh Singh, Squadron Leaders M S D Wollen and S K Mehra, and Flight Lieutenants A K Mukherjee, H S Gill, A K Sen and D Keelor. The group underwent four months of training in the Soviet Union, starting with six weeks of Russian language lessons and technical instruction.'For the first six weeks, we didn't even see the aircraft. We were immersed in learning Russian and studying the MiG's systems in detail,' Jayal recalled. All radio communication was required to be in Russian. Training took place in sub-zero conditions, often dropping to minus 20 degrees off from the outside world, the pilots only learned about the 1962 India-China war after their liaison officer mentioned it. Later, after negotiations, they managed to access radio broadcasts from AIR Indian pilots initially trained on the MiG-15 and MiG-17 before transitioning to the MiG-21. According to Jayal, the Soviet training system was rigorous. 'One must be grateful to the Soviet Union for having sustained a robust IAF by equipping it during a period of shortage of both resources and foreign exchange,' he the decades, the MiG-21 has been called the 'flying coffin' due to its accident record. Jayal dismissed this description as 'utter nonsense and completely unfair.''We had more MiG-21 squadrons than any other type, so naturally they featured more in accident statistics. But combat flying is not like driving a car — you cannot expect zero accidents. If you compare accident rates per 10,000 hours of flying, we were still better than many other air forces,' he said that while the MiG-21 was cutting-edge in its time, its design dated to the 1950s. 'Like all good things, it must end. We have overused it, and technology has moved on. But in its time, it was cutting edge,' he him, the jet's story was one of distinction. 'It flew more, fought more, and served India with distinction. It was never a coffin, but a warrior. It never let us down in any war, any combat,' Jayal said.(With inputs from TOI)
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Retired Air Marshal says MiG-21 was not a 'Flying Coffin', recalls how it beat four US fighter jets in Pakistan
MiG-21 vs 4 Pakistani F-86 fighter jets The fighter that shaped generations Live Events MiG-21: Training and adaptation Preparing for war Flying Coffin The future of MiG-21 (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The sun is finally setting on the MiG-21 , the Indian Air Force 's first supersonic jet fighter that has served for more than six decades. As the aircraft prepares for its final flight on September 19 at the Chandigarh airbase, one of its earliest pilots recalls how the jet once saved his life when four Pakistani fighters chased him during a Marshal (retd) Prithvi Singh Brar had just dropped two 500kg bombs on Pakistan's Rafiqul air base in 1971 and was heading back when four US-made F-86 Sabres appeared on his tail. 'The odds weren't good,' he told TOI with a chuckle from his Chandigarh home. 'I thought I was seconds away from death.' Years of training and instinct took over. Fighting crushing g-forces, he pushed his jet to its limits, stretching every rivet and bolt. 'The Pak jets dropped out. They couldn't keep up,' he said, pride still clear after 54 years. His MiG-21 brought him Brar, who later rose to become Vice-Chief of Air Staff, the MiG-21 was more than a machine. 'I love the MiG-21, it never let us down in operations,' he told TOI. 'When you fly an aircraft, you fly because you love it. It's like a sport.' Now 86, he first flew the jet over Chandigarh in 1966 and flew it for the last time in 2000, just two days before his in India in 1963, the MiG-21 was assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after being designed by Soviet manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich. More than 1,200 were produced for the IAF . The aircraft served in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, the 1999 Kargil War, and in 2019, when a MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down a Pakistani F-16, a claim Pakistan was among the first batch of Indian pilots trained on the MiG-21 in 1966, initially under 45 Squadron, which had trained in Russia. 'It was a supersonic delta-wing aircraft, which used to land at speeds of 330 kmph,' he told TOI. After training, his group joined No.1 Squadron in Adampur with new aircraft and adapted it to Indian conditions. 'We became a group of people who knew how to make the most of it.'At Adampur, pilots practised bombing and rocketing missions. Brar recalled an incident when a fellow pilot suffered an engine failure but still landed safely — a testament to the aircraft's design. A Tactics and Combat Development Squadron was set up there in 1970 to refine 1971, as war loomed, training intensified. 'It was the first time a single-engine, single-pilot aircraft was used for night flying,' Brar told TOI. Pilots flew sorties from Hindon to Amritsar for nearly six months before the conflict. When war began in December, the MiG-21 became a decisive factor. 'It was because of our training and the reliability and speed of MiG-21 that we could bomb several airbases of Pakistan. We surprised everybody with the MiG-21,' he also spent time in Iraq on a special assignment, training Iraqi pilots on the MiG-21's long service has been shadowed by its reputation. Over 200 IAF pilots lost their lives in crashes of different variants, leading to grim nicknames such as 'Flying Coffin' and 'Widow Maker.' Brar rejected these labels. 'The term 'flying coffin' was coined by the media — to convey the grief of a pilot's mother or wife — while covering an unfortunate incident. It was never how we, the pilots, saw the aircraft,' he told TOI. He insisted the IAF's accident rate has never been worse than that of the US or European air its peak, the IAF operated 400 MiG-21s across 19 squadrons. Variants such as the MiG-21FL, MiG-21M/MF and MiG-21bis served for decades, with more than 100 later upgraded to the 'Bison' standard. Between 2017 and 2024, at least four squadrons were phased out. Originally set for retirement in 2022, the timeline was extended due to delays in inducting the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Now, the IAF will replace the MiG-21 with the Tejas Mk1A and the Tejas Mk2, ensuring continuity with a new generation of indigenous said its retirement is overdue. 'An aircraft is made of certain material, which has a life. So, the aircraft was overdue for replacement,' he told TOI, adding that the Jaguar too should be phased out. Yet for him, the bond with the MiG-21 remains deeply personal. 'We learned to explore its best. It never let us down,' he said.(With inputs from TOI)
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
National Potato Day: The seriously misunderstood carb that might help you in weight loss, here's how
Whether you're mashing it up in a bowl and parking yourself on a comfortable couch, potatoes have been on the receiving end of bad press since as far as we can remember, especially since we took the 'diet culture' and 'carb awareness' too far. But even the so-called 'bad' vegetables deserve some limelight on their own day! It's National Potato Day on August 19, and on this day, let's debunk the myth that claims that potatoes are plain carbs that only add pounds to our bodies! National Potato Day Every year on August 19, we celebrate National Potato Day, a fun nod to one of the world's most beloved, versatile, yet misunderstood tubers. This humble tuber has powered civilizations, from ancient Peruvian farmers to modern athletes, and packs a surprising nutritional punch. As legend has it, potatoes were first cultivated between 5000 and 8000 BC in what is now southern Peru and northwest Bolivia. After the Spanish brought them to Europe in the 16th century, these humble tubers eventually became a global staple for good reason In France, the agronomist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier famously promoted potatoes as a nutritious food during the late 1700s. He used clever publicity, like hosting fancy dinners and encouraging 'theft' from a guarded potato patch, to convince people to embrace them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The 5 Books Warren Buffett Recommends You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In 2008, the United Nations declared it the International Year of the Potato to highlight the crop's critical role in global food security and nutrition. Closer to home, National Potato Day is celebrated every August 19, offering a moment to appreciate the spud through tasty dishes and fun potato-based festivities. Across centuries and cultures, from the Andes to your dinner plate, potatoes have been a go-to for energy, comfort, and nourishment. Low in calories, high in nutrients, and wonderfully filling, potatoes can actually support healthy weight control when prepared right. Potatoes get a bad rap as a 'plain carb', but dig a little deeper and you'll find they're packed with nutrients, fiber, and even weight-loss perks. Potatoes: The nutrient-rich carb we've misjudged Despite being lumped in with diet villains, potatoes are far from empty calories. They bring fiber, vitamins, and minerals to the table. For example, 100 g of boiled potato (with skin), according to UCL Davis Health , offers about 87 kcal, mostly from water and carbs, plus vitamin C, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, and potassium. More fascinating, colored potato varieties, like purple or red, deliver powerful antioxidants similar to berries. And their skin adds fiber that helps digestion and gut health. But can potatoes help in weight loss? Turns out, it does. Here's how the potato surprises many: yes, they can support weight control when prepared smartly. Nutrient density and satiety: Potatoes are often viewed as empty carbs, but they're packed with vitamin C, B6, potassium, magnesium, and even small amounts of iron and folate. They're also very filling, ranking highly on the satiety index , meaning they help curb hunger and reduce snacking. Resistant starch for gut health and fullness: There's resistant starch (a fiber-like compound that feeds beneficial gut bacteria and promotes fullness) in cooked and even more in cooled potatoes. This form of starch resists digestion, fuels good gut bacteria , helps regulate appetite, and even reduces calorie absorption and supports blood sugar balance. What research tells us A study by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center found that people who replaced some meat with potatoes did not worsen blood sugar levels and, in fact, lost weight. In an 8-week controlled study with individuals who had insulin resistance, a low-energy-density diet including potatoes led to a 5.6% weight loss, comparable to a bean-based diet. Smart ways to consume potatoes: Preparation matters According to research, people can eat potatoes and still lose weight, as long as the preparation is healthy. As health experts point out, it's not the potato itself but how it's cooked. Fried or loaded versions, like fries or chips, are calorie traps. In contrast, boiled or baked potatoes (with skins) are low in calories, filling, and supportive of weight management. A Harvard study found that replacing potatoes with whole grains can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, but baked or boiled spuds in moderation still fit a healthy diet. So, how to make potatoes in a healthy and smart way? Cook with the skin on: It retains up to 90% more vitamin C and B-vitamins than peeled potatoes. Cool before eating: Chilled potatoes, like in salads, boost resistant starch for better digestion and satiety. Avoid fatty toppings: Skip butter, cheese, and bacon; pick herbs, spices, or yogurt instead. Make them the star of a balanced meal: Pair with protein and veggies for a full, nutrient-rich plate. Try veggie mash-ups: Mix with cauliflower or leafy greens to bulk up fiber and lower calories. Potatoes may be the most misunderstood carb in the kitchen, but with a different and smarter approach, they might have a better and healthier reputation in no time. As we mark National Potato Day, it's worth honoring this humble spud for its rich history, cultural impact, and surprising health perks! Dig in, celebrate creativity, and give this classic crop its well-deserved shine. Enjoy the meal, but mindfully! How black coffee can help you lose weight!
