The devotees who arrived at Chhattisgarh’s Bhangaram Devi temple in Bastar region on Saturday were carrying their gods with them, but this was not just a day of worship; some arrived their with grievances.
Mangal Chand Markam of Keshkal block worshipped a deity for years, yet illness continued to affect members of his family. His complaint was that the deity failed in its duty of protecting his family, so he sought punishment. The complaints are about everyday life, including when a family member remains ill despite prayers. Or, when crops fail despite hard work. A household feels it has received neither protection, nor prosperity from the deity it worshipped for years.
“I brought the deity before Bhangaram Devi’s court,” he said.
“For minor complaints, the deity may simply be given a warning and sent back with advice to perform its duties better. But when villagers believe that a deity has failed to help or care for them over a long period of time, the punishment can be more severe. Such deities can be given a permanent punishment. Once a deity is placed there, it is no longer worshipped and the family or village then turns to another deity for worship, he added. Sinha explained that there is no written record of how the tradition began, but it has been followed for many years, with people from different villages bringing their grievances against their family or village deities. The proceedings also show how closely religion remains intertwined with everyday community life in this part of Bastar. Illness, farming, family welfare and misfortune — matters that might elsewhere be separated from religious institutions — become grievances that can be taken before a divine court.
A judgment is then pronounced according to the community’s traditional beliefs. Their symbolic representations are taken to a pit inside the temple premises, which the community refers to as a jail,” said Sinha.
Complaints against other deities are brought before her, devotees explain their grievances and what they regard as evidence is placed before the court.
