Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods & Mushroom Goddesses
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| The chatra is a unique symbol found over and over again all over India, the Middle East, and the Far East, throughout ancient history. Chatra is Sanskrit for “umbrella” or “parasol” (as they referred to them in ancient times), and appears as a recurring religious symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Similarly, the word chatraku means mushroom in Kannada, a Dravidian language spoken in parts of India, and heavily influenced by Sanskrit. I will leave it up to the reader to decide whether or not they think this is really a mushroom by the numerous examples I’ve shown in this book. The Buddha is often depicted under these “chatras.” (28b, g, j). Wasson makes the following comment about the chatra, in Soma: “‘Mushroom’ in classical Sanskrit is chattra. In the sense of ‘mushroom’ this word may not have existed in Vedic times; certainly, the Aryans did not bring it down from the North. The word itself comes from the root chad, ‘to cover,’ and its primary meaning is ‘parasol.’ For southern peoples the parasol, furnishing protection from the sun, is of importance, and from Cambodia to Ethiopia, it is a symbol of authority, in India, the mark of the Ksatriya caste, the rulers, the Rajputs. Until recently the northern peoples have not known the parasol or the umbrella. When the Aryans invaded Iran and India, they gave to this newly discovered utensil an Aryan name, Chattra, and later extended the meaning of that name to embrace the fleshy capped fungi.” (14) One does not have to wonder if the chatra is really an umbrella “parasol” or if it’s a mushroom. Depictions of the Buddha, c. 1-100 AD, holding an actual mushroom in his hands should suffice to make the point clear for the most skeptical (28a). Another similar symbol in Hindu and Buddhist tradition is the Sanchi Stupa, a Buddhist complex in the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is shaped like a mushroom, to a lesser or greater degree, and this can be seen in some of the imagery, which usually has a dome on top, and lots of dancing figures all around. The trick in viewing this is to look for the center people, and see how the people on both sides are facing towards the center (stem) of the mushroom. Only the stem column is not facing either direction. That is the mushroom shape (28f). This similar arrangement can be seen on a stele of the goddess Epona from Thrace (27c). |
  R: (28g) Central Javanese period Indonesia c. 800-900 AD L: (28j) Seated Rshabha, Bihar, Eastern India c. 650-700 AD   R: (28a) Buddha offering protection 1-100 AD  (28f) Sanchi stupa, Madhya Pradesh, India (14) Secret Drugs of Buddhism, p. 63 |
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