Riddles in Hinduism is an English language book by the Indian social reformer and political leader B. R. Ambedkar, aimed at enlightening the Hindus, and challenging the static view of Hindu civilization circulated by "European scholars and Brahmanic theology". Ambedkar quotes various Hindu texts to criticize the "Brahmanic theology" of Hinduism. He discusses a variety of topics, including the contents, the authority, and the origin of the Hindu texts such as the Vedas; the absurdities, the contradictions, and the changing nature of the Hindu beliefs; and the discriminatory varna and the caste system, among other topics. The title of the book refers to questions ("riddles") that Ambedkar asks at the end of each chapter, encouraging the reader to think for themselves.
Ambedkar wrote the book during 1954–1955, but delayed its publication because he could not find a photograph that he wanted to include in the book. Ultimately, he could not publish the book because of lack of funds. After his death in 1956, the manuscript of the book remained at his residence in Delhi, and ultimately came in the possession of the Government of Maharashtra. The Government published the book in 1987 as part of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (BAWS) series.
The contents of the book, especially an appendix titled The riddle of Rama and Krishna, led to a political controversy, with some Hindu organizations calling them derogatory to Hindu gods. In Ambedkar's home state Maharashtra, the Hindu-centric party Shiv Sena organized protests demanding the removal of the appendix, and the Maratha Mahamandal held a burning of the book. The Government withdrew the book temporarily, leading to counter-protests by Ambedkarite groups. Ultimately, the Government resumed the publication, with a disclaimer that it did not endorse the contents of the appendix.
Publication history
In September 1951, Ambedkar resigned from the Nehru cabinet because of impasse over the Hindu Code Bill, leaving him without any official secretarial staff. He spent the last years of his life at 26 Alipur Road, a bungalow rented from the former ruler of the Sirohi State. There, Nanak Chand Rattu, a central government employee, worked for him after office hours, and typed several of his works, including the Riddles in Hinduism.
According to Rattu, Ambedkar wrote Riddles in Hinduism between the first week of January 1954 and the end of November 1955. Ambedkar asked Rattu to make four "press copies" of the manuscript, concerned that Hindu-owned presses would destroy the copies. Rattu states that the book was complete but its publication was delayed because Ambedkar was waiting for two photographs to be included in the book. The first photograph was that of India's first President Rajendra Prasad drinking water with which he had washed the feet of Brahmins at Varanasi in 1952. The second was that of India's first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru attending a yajna performed by Brahmins of Varanasi on 15 August 1947, to celebrate a Brahmin becoming the first Prime Minister. Ambedkar was able to find the photo of Prasad, but not the photo of Nehru.
During the last days of his life, Ambedkar wanted to publish seven books, including the Riddles in Hinduism, but did not have money to do so. He sought financial help from some industrialists and the government, and prioritized the publication of the Buddha and His Dhamma, which was published shortly after his death.
After Ambedkar's death in 1956, his wife Savita continued to live at 26 Alipur Road. Several papers containing Ambedkar's writings remained in a storeroom, and Rattu would dust and fumigate them occasionally. In 1966, a man named Madan Lal Jain purchased the bungalow, and rented two rooms to Savita Ambedkar. However, on 17 January 1967, he served her an eviction notice, and on 20 January, while she was away, entered her rooms accompanied by bailiffs and musclemen. These men dumped all of Ambedkar's papers in a yard, and several of these papers were destroyed in rain that night. Subsequently, Ambedkar's surviving papers came into the possession of the custodians of the Delhi High Court, and were later transferred to the Administrator General of the Government of Maharashtra.
Ambedkar's writings remained unpublished for several years. J.B. Bansod, a Dalit advocate, filed a lawsuit against the Government of Maharashtra, requesting access to Ambedkar's papers in order to publish them. In 1976, the Government established the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee to publish the papers. The Riddles in Hinduism was published in 1987, as part of the Volume 4 of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (BAWS) series. The published text was based on manuscripts of the book's chapters found bundled in a file, with Ambedkar's handwritten alterations. The final manuscript, if any, has not survived. Ambedkar mentions the title Riddles in Hinduism in his introduction to the book. Ambedkar's original plan for the book included 24 "riddles", which changed often in blueprints. The manuscript file includes a table of contents, which does not match with the actual contents of the file. For example, the file has a chapter titled Riddles of Rama and Krishna, which is not mentioned in the table of contents.
In 1988, Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan translated the book into Hindi language as Hindu Dharma Ki Riddle. In 1995, the Government of India's Dr. Ambedkar Foundation published a Hindi translation by Sitaram Khodawal, as part of Volume 8 of the Hindi translation of the BAWS series. In 2016, author-publisher S. Anand and historian Shobhna Iyer published an annotated critical edition, based on the BAWS text.
Contents
As suggested by the book's subtitle - An Exposition to Enlighten the Masses - Ambedkar intends to enlighten the Hindus. The Hinduism discussed by Ambedkar is "a complex congeries of creeds and doctrines" that has "no definite creed". According to Ambedkar, the Brahmin writers' works on Hinduism lack rational thinking, while Riddles in Hinduism appeals to the rational side of the Hindu mind. Ambedkar recognizes that the Hindus are capable of rational thinking, and ends each chapter with questions ("riddles") that provoke the reader to think for themselves.
The surviving manuscript contains over 170,000 words. It features several incomplete notes from Ambedkar and chapters with missing text. It comprises 24 "riddles" and 8 appendices, categorized as religious, social, or political.
Introduction
In the introduction, Ambedkar describes the book as "an exposition of the beliefs propounded by what might be called Brahmanic theology". He states that he aims to encourage rational thinking among Hindus, and to show how the Brahmins have deceived and misguided the Hindus. He also states that the objective of the book is to challenge the sanatan (static) view of Hindu civilization propagated by European scholars and Brahmanic theology. He asserts that the Hindu civilization is not unchanging (sanatan): as an example, he states that the Brahmins stopped worshipping the Vedic gods when such worship became unprofitable for them, unlike the Jews who held on to their beliefs despite persecution. By challenging the characterization of the Hindu civilization as sanatan, Ambedkar intends to show that the Hindu society has seen radical changes in the past, and is capable of seeing more radical changes in the present and the future.
Ambedkar describes the Vedas - generally considered among the most sacred of the Hindu texts - as "worthless". He describes the Purusha Sukta as an interpolation in the Vedas, and states that the only reason the Brahmins portray the Vedas as infallible is because this hymn grants them superiority over others.
Ambedkar states that he is well aware of the risk of writing such a controversial book, but asserts that this is necessary to liberate the Hindu mind.
Part I: Religious
Riddle No. 1: The difficulty of knowing why one is a Hindu
Ambedkar discusses the vagueness of the term "Hindu": one cannot be called a Hindu for following a certain set of beliefs, because Hindu beliefs and practices vary widely (for example animal sacrifice and non-violence). He states that the Christians and the Muslims have more in common than the Hindus have in common with each other. Hindus include monotheists, polytheists and pantheists; even monotheist Hindus do not worship the same god. Several Hindus worship Muslim figures such as Pirs and Christian figures such as Mant Mauli. Ambedkar further states that the observance of the caste system does not make one a Hindu, because many Indian Christians and Indian Muslims also observe the caste system.
Riddle No. 2: The origin of the Vedas: The Brahmanic explanation or an exercise in the art of circumlocution
Ambedkar questions the origins of the Vedas, and discusses the Manusmriti commentator Kulluka Bhatta's description of the Vedas as "eternally pre-existing" (sanatana). According to Kulluka Bhatta, when the universe is dissolved in a pralaya, the Vedas are preserved in the memory of Brahma, and reproduced at the beginning of the each new era (kalpa). Ambedkar states that the Vedas could not have come into being ex-nihilo, and questions why the Brahmins do not openly state who created them.
Riddle No. 3: The testimony of other Shastras on the origin of the Vedas
Ambedkar states that the various Hindu texts offer 11 different mythical explanations for the origin of the Vedas, tracing their origin to different sources including Purusha, Prajapati, Indra and others. In his support, he quotes passages from several texts, including the Rig Veda samhita, the Atharva Veda samhita, the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, the Manu Smriti, and the various Puranas. Ambedkar asks why the Brahmin authors of these texts provide multiple "incoherent and chaotic" explanations about the origin of the Vedas.
Riddle No. 4: Why suddenly the Brahmans declare the Vedas to be infallible and not to be questioned?
Ambedkar states that the Brahmins describe the Vedas as apaurusheya (not man-made) and infallible texts, whose authority cannot be questioned. He then quotes various Dharma Sutras to illustrate that the Vedas were not always considered the sole infallible authorities. In the surviving text, Ambedkar intends to present a quote from the Shatapatha Brahmana, but the quote and the subsequent discussion is missing.
Riddle No. 5: Why did the Brahmans go further and declare that the Vedas are neither made by man nor by god?
Ambedkar states that the Vedas cannot be apaurusheya (not man-made), since the Anukramanis provide a list of sages who composed the various Vedic hymns. He also quotes some hymns from the Rig Veda, in which various sages describe themselves as composers of the hymns. He quotes ancient philosophers who considered the Vedas as authoritative because they were a product of competent and intelligent humans, thus confirming their non-divine origin. Ambedkar then discusses Jaimini's "absurd" explanations for the claim that the "Vedas are eternal and not made by man, not even by God." He questions why did the Brahmins like Jaimini make such "desperate" attempts to establish "a desperate conclusion".
Riddle No. 6: The contents of the Vedas: Have they any moral or spiritual value?