Culture
Navratri Notes: Cows, Thrones, And Triune Goddesses Of Egypt
- What Egypt, Sumer, Greece, Rome, and ancient Israel have lost, India has safeguarded.
Dendera Temple for Goddess Hathor
The image is instantly recognisable around the globe—though not for the right reasons. Popularised by Erich von Däniken's works and the TV series Ancient Aliens, the 'Dendera Light,' a curious motif carved into the walls of a temple in Dendera, Egypt, has sparked fascination for years."
However, the carved motif on the walls of the Dendera temple should be of special interest to Hindus due to its rich symbolism.
The so-called ‘Dendera light’ is actually a depiction of the Egyptian Creation account. The primeval creator god Harsomtus is the snake emerging from the lotus. He is the son of Hathor – the great Goddess. The temple itself, built around 55 BCE ,was to honour the Goddess Hathor.
Hathor, the Cow Goddess
She was also the goddess of mountains and deserts. Goddess of minerals and foreign lands, She was worshipped for prosperity through trades with other lands.
When She is the sky Goddess She has the solar disc between Her horns. Hathor is the face of the sky. In a way She was the Horizon. She is also the Goddess who dwells in the grove at the end of the world.
We have already met her divine son Harsomtus. As the regenerative serpent, he renews the cycle of day and night.
The seven Hathors are called 'Athurai' or 'Atauria', the stars of Athy or the great sky Goddess. She also has the seven ears of the corn in Her hands indicating bountiful harvest. Here She becomes very much a fertility Goddess.
Incidentally, Persian tradition also has seven sisters who are present during the birth of a child. Rig Veda (X.5.5.) mentions the seven radiant sisters as well. The seven sisters were Arushis.
Nut- The Goddess of Sky
Nut (pronounced Nuut) is another celestial sky Goddess. She is the sky who emerges from the primordial ocean Nun. She contains all realms in Her and overarches all existence in a protective embrace.
She is also a Goddess of regeneration. She is the patroness of the star-filled sky. She was the mother of Gods. She gave birth to Gods through the earth God Geb.
She gave birth to five very important Gods of Egypt: Osiris, Haroeris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys, of whom Osiris was the eldest. He emerged fully crowned from his mother’s womb.
If this has resonance with Mahabharata then interestingly, Osiris is also the ruler of the realm of death and he is the one who is in charge of the weighing of one’s heart against the feather of Maat.
Isis, the Goddess of Throne
In contrast to monotheistic belief, ancient spiritual traditions carried a profound, instinctual understanding that the many goddesses were not separate, but diverse expressions of a single, profound spiritual reality.
Their varied forms and attributes were all threads of one divine tapestry, revealing the multifaceted nature of the sacred.
Just as how a Hindu naturally understands the various Goddesses as special manifestations of the same Divinity, the Egyptians would have understood the different feminine forms worshipped with different names as the same Goddess. She is Hathor at the Dendera temple. She is Neith at the temple Sais. She is Mut at Thebes. She is Ejo the Cobra at Buto. She is the Vulture Goddess at El Kab.
Hathor has the solar disc with the cow horns. But Isis also wears this. When Isis dons the cow horns, she channels the nourishing nature and the celestial essence of Hathor. The boundaries between these powerful goddesses dissolve.
A Hindu mind, familiar with the tale of Vikramaditya's throne—buried beneath the earth yet capable of transforming a humble shepherd into a king—can easily grasp the mystical connection between throne and kingship.
This imagery is integrated in the Hindu psyche. When Madhava Sadasiva Golwalkar became the second leader of the RSS at a young age, many were skeptical. In his inaugural address, Golwalkar invoked the legend of Vikramaditya's throne, saying that while he might be a person of simple mind, the position of Sarsanghachalak itself would guide him, much like the mound that held Vikramaditya's throne.
In an in-depth study of the symbolism common to the Vedic altar and the throne, archaeologist and Indologist F.D.K. Bosch pointed out the connection:
The throne is divine, upheld by the Goddess and anchored in Dharma and Rta. If a king strays from Dharma, the throne itself may become his undoing. This is powerfully shown in the Tamil classic Chilapathikaram, an epic of the Divine Feminine.
When the Pandya king realises he has unjustly killed an innocent man, he instantly falls from the throne and dies, acknowledging his departure from Dharma. The epic teaches that for those in power, when they err, Dharma becomes their executioner—enshrined in the very throne they occupy.
Being in the lap of the Goddess is not a privilege or a divine right to power and enjoyment for the ruler. Rather it is a responsibility that would determine his very life and death.
The Goddesses Hathor and Nut, once revered as divine cows, have all but vanished from the modern Egyptian world. Perhaps faint echoes of their presence still linger in folk traditions or small local cults, but these are mere shadows, fading into obscurity.
In India, however, cows remain sacred, and Kamadhenu is still honoured as a living, divine force. While the seven Hathors have lost their place of love and reverence in Egypt, India continues to revere the Sapta-Matrikas, and every year, the Karthika mothers are celebrated with glowing lamps in their honour.
If an ancient Egyptian adept devoted to Nut were to walk the streets of Egypt today, they would find it unrecognisable. Yet, in India, from the timeless tales of the Mahabharata to the vibrant festivals honouring the Goddess, he or she would feel instantly at home.
What Egypt, Sumer, Greece, Rome, and ancient Israel have lost, India has safeguarded. She is the land where the Divine Feminine thrives, where the goddesses of all lands find refuge. This is a blessing for the entire planet—and a sacred responsibility for every Hindu to uphold.
