In the Lion’s Royal Shadow
By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
Lions have long been symbols of royalty across the world. In India, kings sat on lion thrones (simha-asana) and Durga, the patron goddess of royal households, is shown riding into battle on a lion. Uniquely, in our country, lions are also linked with ascetics and their guardian goddesses. Both kings and ascetic were called shardula, a mythical being that is part lion, part tiger and even part elephant.
The motif of the lady on the lion originated not in India, but in the Middle and Near East. Its emergence and popularity across Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism reveals how ideas travel across geographies in history.
Take the case of Singapore, in the Malay peninsula. The city is named after the lion, even though the big cats never existed in Southeast Asia. Legend says that a local prince saw a lion there in the 13th century — an idea that could have come with Tamil sailors. The people of Sri Lanka call themselves Sinhala, or the lion people, even though there are no lions in the island country. The name is traced to their first king, Vijaya (descendent of lions), who migrated from India.
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