Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed the party workers through video conferencing today on the occasion of launch of Congress party’s digital campaign Jan Jagran Abhiyan. In his address, he advised the party workers to attack BJP saying the party follows Hindutva ideology, which is different from Hinduism. However, as always, the Kerala MP made a goof-up in his address, as he distorted a well-known story from Puranas regarding Lord Shiva.
Giving an analogy from Hindu mythology, Rahul Gandhi said that Lord Shiva had swallowed the entire universe. While concluding his address, Rahul Gandhi said, ‘Like Shiv Ji had swallowed the entire universe, the ideology of Congress will swallow the ideology of BJP. You will not even know, you will not know and it will disappear (the BJP ideology). And that hatred that is being spread today will disappear. And the future that can’t be seen today will become visible’.
“शिव भक्त” राहुल गांधी के ज्ञान की पराकाष्ठा देखिये… pic.twitter.com/flyd1AsPdg
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 12, 2021
However, Rahul Gandhi massively misquoted Hindu scriptures when he claimed that Shiva had swallowed the universe. Because Lord Shiva had swallowed poison with the potential to destroy the entire universe, he didn’t swallow the entire universe. Shiva drinking poison is one of the most well-known stories from Hindu texts, and it is ironic that janeu-dhari Rahul Gandhi misquoted such a well-known story.
The incident is from the story of Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk to obtain amrita (nectar), which has been narrated in Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana. According to the story, when the Devas and Asuras had come together to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality, lots of other things had appeared before the nectar. One of them was a lethal poison named Halahala, which was so powerful that it could destroy the entire creation. To protect the three worlds, Lord Shiva had consumed the poison. It had turned his neck, which is the reason that he is also known as Neelakantha, where Neela means blue and Kantha means throat in Sanskrit.
This story is also part of Vishnu’s ten avatars, as he had taken the form of a turtle to keep the mount Mandara in place on the ocean bed, which was used to churn the ocean.
Gandhi said this while asking his party workers to ‘crystalise the ideology of Congress’. He said that BJP has discovered their ideology, and has crystalised their ideology, and Congress also has to the same. He said that after Congress crystalises its ideology, it will envelop their ideology, like Shiv had swallowed the entire universe. He further said that he has been studying the ideology of Congress for last 10-12 years, and it is like beautiful jewel with unending power inside, and it is important that Congress workers discover it.
Rahul Gandhi misquoting the Samudra Manthan story is even more ironic, because just minutes ago, he had claimed that he has read Hindu texts. While claiming that Hindutva allows to harm innocents but Hinduism does not, he had said that he had read the Upanishads and other texts, and nowhere it is mentioned that people from other religions can be harmed.
“…I have read the Upanishad’s…where is it written to kill an innocent man?…”
— INC TV (@INC_Television) November 12, 2021
Shri @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/35q1U5omW6
‘I have read the Upanishads, where it is written that you should kill an innocent? Have not seen it’, Rahul Gandhi said in his address. He was saying this while claiming that BJP and RSS follow Hindutva, not Hinduism. It is interesting to note that Rahul Gandhi claims the Upanishads, as there are 108 known Upanishads. Moreover, the story of Shiva consuming poison is narrated in Puranas, not Upanishads.
His full speech can be watched below.
