Gandharva
Gandharvas (from the Sanskrit: गंधर्व, gandharva, possibly meaning "fragrances") refers to a group of low-ranking male nature dieties that appear in both Hindu, Buddhist and sometimes even Jain mythology. In both traditions, the gandharvas are closely related to the wilderness as well as the creative arts, particularly music.
In Hinduism
In the Hindu tradition, the term ghandarva is used in both the singular and the plural to refer a particular divine being and a race of related demigods, respectively. The former sense of the term is prevalent earlier on in the Vedas, where the celestial ghandarva acts as messenger between the gods and human beings, commonly holding the secrets of the gods and revealing them to all beings. Fittingly, this ghandharva is considered a personification of the light of the sun. In a similar role, Gandharvas prepared and guarded Soma, the intoxicating ritual beverage which was thought to bestow power on both gods and human beings alike.
The term ghandharva also came to denote an entire race of male nature spirits, the nature of whom is capricious, to say the least. They have incomparable healing powers and are identified in the Rg Veda as the physicians of the gods; but, in contrast, they are also capable of causing madness. In their more unnerving forms, they are said to haunt remote areas such as forest glades and ponds. As such, it was considered necessary to keep the gandharvas appeased with offerings, obeisances and prayers. Some are part animal: often their face was that of a bird, and their hindquarters those of a horse or donkey. This human-animal hybridity lead some 19th century scholars to draw a connection between the theonym gandharva and that of the Greek centaurs, although this ostensible association has been met with strong opposition from most Indo-Europeanists.
Later literary sources such as the Puranas describe the gandharvas as handsome, youthful men. Gandharvas are said to have superb musical and dramatic skills, and often filled the role of entertainers in the heavenly courts, appearing at banquets and other special events to create beautiful music for the gods. Such associations occur most frequently with the storm-god Indra, for whom the Gandharvas dance, sing and play games in Svarga ("the good kingdom"), Indra's glorious abode atop the mythical Mount Meru. Iconographical depictions attempt to synthesize all these aspects of their character, and so the gandharvas are commonly pictured in flight with their musical instruments abreast, scarves and flower garlands rippling behind them.
Gandharvas also have strong symbolic connections with marriage and procreation. They were said to be husbands of the Apsaras, female nature spirits of the clouds and water who dance to the music created by their spouses. In Hindu law, a so-called Gandharva marriage is one contracted by mutual consent and without formality, and is considered among the various legitimate types of marriage. Contrary to this connection with proper domesticity, there is a prevailing belief in the Hindu tradition that these gandharvas will occasionally visit earth and persuade young unmarried women into amourous encounters, only to vanish after impregnating them.
In Buddhism
Just as in later Hinduism, Buddhist theology considers gandharvas (or Pāli Gandhabba) to be a race of demi-gods, ranking among the lowest variations of devas. They are classed among the Cāturmahārājikakāyika devas, and are subject to the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Guardian of the East. Buddhist gandharvas are known for their skill as musicians, as well as their connection to the wilderness. Here they are among other wild beings that can potentially disturb a solitary monk in his attempts to meditate. They are connected with trees and flowers, and are described as dwelling in the scents of bark, sap, and blossom. Gandharvas also possess the ability to fly through the air.
Among the notable gandharvas in Buddhist mythology are Timbarū, Pañcasikha, and Mātali. Timbarū was a chieftain of the gandharvas. Pañcasikha acts as a messenger for the Four Heavenly Kings, conveying news from them to Mātali. Matali, meanwhile, is the charioteer and representative for Śakra, Buddhist equivalent of Indra, and the Trāyastriṃśa devas over which Sakra ruled. One popular love story in Buddhist lore links these three gandharvas. Pañcasikha was immediatly stricken with the pangs of infatuation when he saw Timbarū's daughter Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā dancing before Śakra, but was unable to act upon his feelings, since Suriyavaccasā was at that point in love with Sikhandī, Mātali's son. Pañcasikha went to Timbarū's home and played a melody on his lute constructed of beluva-wood, singing a love-song into which he wove themes about the Buddha and his Arhats. Later, Śakra prevailed upon Pañcasikha to intercede with the Buddha so that Śakra might have an audience with him. As a reward for Pañcasikha's services, Śakra was able to get Suriyavaccasā, already pleased with Pañcasikha's display of skill and devotion, to agree to marry Pañcasikha.
Ghandharvas are also closely related to Buddhist soteriology. According to the Janavasabha-sutta (DN.18) sentient beings are reborn among the Gandharvas as a consequence of having practiced the most basic form of ethics. Accordingly, it was considered embarrassing for a monk to be born in no better birth than that of a gandharva. Gandharva or gandhabba is also used in a completely different sense, referring to a being (or, strictly speaking, part of the causal continuum of consciousness) in a liminal state between birth and death.
In Indian Classical Music
There are many singers who were popularly known as Gandharvas for their mastery of Indian Classical Music. All of them, at one time or another, were theater personalities who acted in various musicals. Their style of Music is known as Natya Sangeet in Marathi Language, literally meaning Dramatic Music. They were not related to each other in any way except that the vast majority of the general population, dominantly in the State of Maharashtra of India, regarded them as the masters of the Indian Classical Music.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Dallapiccola, Anna. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson, 2002. ISBN 0-500-51088-1
- Friedrichs, Kurt. "Gandharva" In The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion. Edited by S. Schumacher and Gert Woerner. Boston: Shambhala, 1994. p. 115. ISBN 087773433X
- Zaenher, R.C. Hinduism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966. ISBN 0-19-888012-X
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