Bhairava as an Evolving Folk Deity By Dr. Rufin Jeremy Saul

               In my research, Bhairava has come to be of particular interest. This god is little known in Thailand, except apparently as Phra Phiraap, a deity that seems to be found in the Ramakien. But in South Asia, Bhairava has a substantial cultural history as a folk deity. My own research on Bhairava has been concerned with his transformation in recent times into a god who performs great miracles for his devotees. Bhairava is scripturally understood as an angry manifestation of the god Shiva, who has various demeanors, not always angry by any means. As Bhairava, Shiva is fierce and traditionally demands blood sacrifice, similar to goddesses. He is also commonly depicted with dogs, since the dog performs as his vehicle (as most Hindu deities do indeed have an animal vehicle for moving around).

               Traditionally, Bhairava, as found in y studies, was well known and worshipped in the area of Rajasthan. He was particularly favored there in Rajput society. According to my Rajput respondents in the field, a Bhairava, in generic terms is one of three possible deified forms that a heroic Rajput warrior fallen in battle will become after death. The three forms are Jhunjhar, Bhomiya, and Bhairava. So, by this system, Bhairava would actually once have been a living man. But the picture becomes more complex than this, too, as Bhairavas are commonly represented in two forms: white and black. Basically, a white Bhairava is someone who had lived a morally pure life, but a black Bhairava is someone who had led a somewhat impure lifestyle. Respondents are not always sure of the details, so accounts of white and black Bhairavas may vary. Generally, a white Bhairava will perform auspicious acts, while a black Bhairava will be sought for dark or black magic involving demons and ghosts, as might be needed to resolve dire personal problems.

               An interesting historical dimension of this story is how Bhairava has potentially changed in recent decades in line with shifts in public devotional patterns. This seems to have particularly taken place at many shrines in Rajasthan, not only for Bhairava but for all shrine deities in general. This transformation can most obviously be seen in the favoring for vegetarian offerings for deities like Bhairava instead of sacrifice. Formerly, when Rajput nobles controlled the princely states of Rajasthan and their state treasuries, they were the chief benefactors of the most important shrines. But with the decline of Rajput power in post-independence India, Rajputs lost control of shrines to Brahmin priests and merchants, who became the dominant patrons. Merchants are famously vegetarian, and so their own ethos became the norm in shrine rituals.

               The result of this shift is that sacrifice for Bhairava has declined, and this god is nowadays more likely acclaimed as an avatar (earthly manifestation) of Shiva that has come to perform miracles in the world in this modern age. It is understood that humanity is living in a perilous era, when immorality is on the rise, so miracle deities are needed to give hope to humanity. In this setting, Bhairava is now popularly acclaimed to have always been a deity, not a living person, since the system of avatars indeed arises in canonical Hindu scripture and vegetarianism, which merchants uphold. Thus, in this new devotional regime, white and black have been somewhat blurred, as they are now just thought to be two brothers who are essentially the same kind of deity.