Depixelating God’s Colour
Bro, why are all your Hindu Gods blue in colour? Are they aliens?
No, that’s not the real picture & here’s the tea.
To understand what our favourite deities actually looked like, let’s consult the actual verses.
दुन्दुभिस्वननिर्घोष स्स्निग्धवर्णः प्रतापवान्।सम स्समविभक्ताङ्गो वर्णं श्यामं समाश्रितः।।5.35.16।।
The second half transliterates into “SamaH sama vibhakta ango varNam shyaamam samaashritaH.”
That is Hanuman’s description of Sri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kanda, in which “shayma” means a dark-brown skin complexion.
Similarly, take the prayer, “Vishvadharam Gagana Sadrusham, Megha Varnam Shubhangam,” which references Vishnu’s appearance as resembling a dark rain cloud.
The same is used along with ghana-shyama i.e. intensely bluish-dark skin comparable to that of a dark blue flower like atasi, to describe Krishna in many of the authoritative texts.
द्वापरे भगवाञ्श्याम: पीतवासा निजायुध: ।श्रीवत्सादिभिरङ्कैश्च लक्षणैरुपलक्षित: ॥ २७ ॥ ~ Srimad Bhagvatam, 11.5.27
In fact, Krishna in Sanskrit literally translates into dark, which is why another character in the Mahabharata, Drapaudi, and the curator of our Vedas, Vyasa, are also called “Krishna” in some places.
Even for Shiva, his Neelkantha name comes from his neck being blue due to his drinking of poison during the Amrut Manthan Saga but his skin is described as “karpura gauram” i.e. white like camphor. Interestingly, some texts also refer to him as “red” with white ash covering the skin, making him look fairer.
However, his Kaala-Bhairava form takes on black skin to represent his dominion over the eternal void of time.
Proponents argue that the “blue” skin concept comes from the intent of showing their non-human divine nature but as per some theories, it is more of a reaction to white colonisers making us feel inferior or ashamed for not being white.
Not to mention, there is a theory that we also popularly manufactured & exported indigo in the colonial era, and materials like lapis blue + aquamarine were the most commercially viable options for artists in that era, which is how painters like Raja Ravi Verma must’ve gotten around using it more frequently, leading to a more vocal depiction of blue divinity.
It is an irony & joke that while God himself chose a dark form to manifest on Earth, we bully dark-skinned people & chase whiter or fairer skin.