Hey guys, do you know there is a rule to have a Joker carved in all Hindu temples? We know that
the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. Yet, there is such a rule,
it is not an option, all Hindu temples must have at least one carving of the Joker.
How did such a crazy rule come into effect? This makes no sense, right? Did the British,
force Indians to make such carvings during their occupation of India? Did they do this
to discredit Hinduism? No, the carvings of the Joker are seen in very ancient temples,
for example this is a 1300-year-old temple, and you can see the so-called Joker. Who is he? And
why do they still carve this joker in new temples? Nobody knows about him today, and if you ask any
expert or priest, they will refer to him simply as the Vidushaka, a sanskrit word that also means
clown or a joker. Some experts argue that there is a lot of humor in ancient Indian carvings,
so they dismiss this carving as just a joker or a clown. For example, you can see a dancing woman
here, and this guy has been watching her from the back while she is dancing, but she suddenly turns around
and reveals her face. And it turns out that he is a man, even though he has some parts of the woman, this face reveal
results in absolute horror for this guy. The sculptor actually carved a round hole in the mouth
to show the shock, and look at this accomplice of the scammer, she is absolutely loving what’s
going on, unable to control her laughter. Because of carvings like these, we can easily dismiss
this as a just another joker or a clown. But there is a problem, why does he appear
again and again in all the temples? Why is it mandatory to carve him in temples,
and he doesn’t do anything, he just stands there with his strange breakdancing move.
The truth is, this forgotten figure is not a joker, he is a saint by the name of
AstaVakra. And he is smiling, because it confuses people, he is smiling because it is easier than
explaining what is killing him inside. He is not break dancing, he has a medical condition,
called rickets. Deformity of the limbs is the result of extreme case of this disorder.
When we look at actual patients suffering from rickets, we can see why he is shown like this in
the carving. And that’s precisely what his name Astavakra also means, it means 8 bends or 8 curves,
and the carvings accurately depict his 8 bends. Now here is a fun fact: A certain species of
spider is named after him, these types are called Astavakra Sexmucronata, I mean you can definitely
see why this 8-legged insect is named after him. When did he live? There are 2 ancient Indian
epics, and he is mentioned in both of them, so he lived at least 2000 years ago, although he could
have lived in a much much older time. He is always shown with an umbrella, sometimes it is open,
sometimes it is closed, or he wears a long hat, which makes me think he was allergic to sunlight.
And we all know that Sunlight gives you vitamin D, and Rickets is caused by the lack of Vitamin D.
But all this doesn’t explain why this specific guy with rickets must be carved in all the Hindu
temples, right? I mean, there must have been lots of people with physical and mental abnormalities,
so why should the ancient builders carve just this guy everywhere? Because he earned it. He
is known for writing a very advanced book on metaphysics called Ashtavakra Gita. Some say, this
book is so advanced in philosophy, that it rivals the ancient text of Bhagavad Gita itself, and it
is also said to be written around the same time. But there is a shocking difference between his
book and the Bhagavad Gita, his book denies the existence of God, some even consider this book to
be the first atheistic text or Godless text, and he dismisses all duties and morals as unnecessary,
and talks about how to achieve enlightenment, and free your mind of all worries and fears.
It is strange, how an atheist, who denied the existence of God or Gods, can be carved in Hindu
temples. Why would ancient builders do that? Because he contributed to the society, in spite
of his physical limitations. Most people think Hinduism is about polytheism, but it also embraces
monotheism, theosophy and even atheism. The Indian culture is so old it includes all schools of
thought. This is why you see Buddha carved in many Hindu temples, remember Buddhism openly rejects
Hindu rituals, and you can still see carvings of Buddha. And Ashtavakra is essentially an atheist,
and you can see his carvings in all Hindu temples, at least most of them.
Now, interestingly, he is often carved in places where people are indulging in physical
pleasures. He is often shown looking at them and laughing at them, and we can only guess why.
Maybe it is a frustrated smile because he could not indulge in such sensual pleasures?
But he is shown laughing at them, almost ridiculing them for their physical cravings.
It is said that once he entered a royal court and people immediately started laughing at his
appearance. He patiently waited for their laughter to quiet down, only to laugh back at all of them.
He called them all. shoe makers, as shoe makers can only look at the skin of an animal,
he laughed at their superficial nature. He laughed at people who wasted their time on appearances,
he laughed at people who lost track of their lives because of sensual pleasures. There is
a very deep philosophy hidden in this carving, maybe that’s why it is carved in every temple.
But there is a strange twist, or an untwist in the story. He got cured of this condition.
We don’t exactly know how this happened, but according to some legends,
he was healed of all his deformities, and he could walk like a normal person again.
I think that some carvings show the healed version of Ashtavakra as well. In some temples,
you don’t see the “Joker”, but you will see a saint, but if you look at his hands,
you will see an umbrella, and a vessel, the same iconography of Ashtavakra. If you don’t see him
in this form, may be you will see him like a regular saint. I hope this video was as interesting to you,
as it was for me. I have been trying to find information about this guy for more than 10 years,
I was looking at his carving in every temple I went to, and nobody knew who he is. And it was
frustrating, and finally we figure out who he is. I think we are making progress in understanding
ancient temples, and I am grateful for your support. I am Praveen Mohan, thanks a lot
for watching. Don’t forget to subscribe, and I will talk to you soon. Bye!