What do Indians say about crows?

Crows hold a special place in Indian culture and folklore. They are seen as clever birds that are both revered and feared. Crows are found everywhere in India, commonly seen hopping around temples, foraging on garbage dumps, and cawing from trees. For Indians, crows signify both good and bad omens depending on the situation. They are thought to be the vehicles of ancestors and deities, as well as bringers of ill fate. Crows have a contradicting nature in Indian traditions – being symbols of deep wisdom yet also harbingers of death. This article will explore the various Indian perspectives on crows found in mythology, superstitions, spirituality, and literature.

Importance of Crows in Hindu Mythology

In Hindu mythology, crows hold great significance and are featured prominently in various stories and texts. They are associated with Lord Shani (Saturn), who is revered as the god of justice and righteousness. As per legends, Shani sits on a crow during his transits around the zodiac. Crows are therefore considered vehicles of Shani and thought to be under his protection.

Krishna, one of the most popular Hindu gods, is often depicted with a crow feather in his peacock feather crown. This is because according to folklore, a crow gifted its feather to Krishna when he was seeking feathers to decorate his crown. Krishna recognized the crow’s generosity in parting with one of its feathers and chose to honor the crow in this way. This crow feather in Krishna’s crown represents humility and the importance of even small offerings made with pure love.

Another prominent crow reference is found in the great Hindu epic Ramayana. When Ravana abducts Sita and takes her to Lanka, it is believed that a crow informed Rama about Sita’s whereabouts. Rama then declared that crows would have the right to eat rice offerings made in rituals, as a reward for helping him find Sita. This privilege of crows is seen as the origin of the practice of offering rice to crows during certain Hindu rituals even today.

Overall, Hindu legends emphasize the spiritual wisdom and assistance rendered by crows to important deities. Crows served as critical messengers and their services earned them an exalted position in Hindu iconography and practices.

Crows as Omens and Symbols in Indian Culture

Beyond mythology, crows have a major presence in Indian superstitions and are seen both as good and bad omens.

Good Omens

Crows are commonly associated with several positive outcomes in Indian culture:

• The cawing of crows signals the arrival of guests.
• Seeing a crow descend from the right side brings good luck.
• Crows settling near a house foretell prosperity for the residents.
• Catching sight of two crows signifies excellent news.
• A crow dropping excrement on your head is considered very auspicious.

In general, the presence of crows near homes or temples and their auspicious arrival from the right side is taken as a positive spiritual sign by Indians. Crows are seen as carriers of fortune when they act as messengers.

Bad Omens

However, crows can also be associated with negative outcomes:

• A crow cawing ominously predicts the arrival of undesirable guests.
• Seeing a flock of crows signals impending danger or death.
• Spotting a lone crow is an inauspicious sign, often signaling bad luck.
• If a crow descends from the left side, it is considered unlucky.
• The sudden unexplained departure of crows from a house compounds the residents’ fears.

The cries of crows, their movements from left to right, and scattered flight are thought to signify misfortune. Solitary crows and those perched on treasured objects like jewels are also seen as harbingers of ill fate.

Crows in Hindu Spiritual Practices

Beyond omens, crows also feature in Hindu rituals and spiritual practices.

Crows are offered food in several rituals, like:

• Shraddha – a ritual to pay homage to deceased ancestors, where crows signify the presence of souls.
• Bali – sacrificial offerings made to demons and divine entities, with crows representing messengers.
• Annaprashan – the first rice meal of infants, crows are fed as conduits to ancestors.

Feeding crows is considered an act that reaches departed souls. Since crows are thought to carry messages between this world and the departed realm, food offered to crows acts as sustenance for subtle bodies traveling through realms.

Some Indian temples and prayer rituals also invoke crows as divine entities. The crow is seen as the vahana (vehicle) ofhigher energies that can transmit chanted mantras and offerings to spiritual realms.

Crow symbolism adds a deeper spiritual meaning to many Hindu customs. From feeding spirits to delivering eternal messages, crows are viewed as mystic carriers between worlds in Indian traditions.

Crows in Hindu Calendar and Festivals

Crows also find an eminent place in the Hindu lunar calendar which is replete with astrological significances for different days.

Specific days in each month of the Hindu calendar are dedicated to crows and associated spiritual practices:

Key Hindu festivals also incorporate crow symbolism in customs:

• Diwali – Crows are offered food on Chitragupta Puja day of Diwali.
• Mahalaya – Crows represent departed souls during Durga Puja rituals.
• Holi – Colored powders are applied to crow effigies in some regional Holi customs.

The prominence of crows in the Hindu ritual calendar highlights their significance as spiritual figures that link humans, ancestors, and the divine.

Crows in Hindu Epics and Folk Tales

Crows play interesting roles in Hindu epics and regional folk literature.

The Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata contain crow characters and symbolism. Some prominent crow mentions are:

• In Ramayana, crows act as messengers informing Rama of Sita’s kidnapping.
• In Mahabharata, a crow steals Draupadi’s veshti (garment) prompting the attempted cheerharan (disrobing) scene.
• A Tamil folk version of Ramayana depicts the crow Kakabushundi as narrating the entire epic to Garuda.

Crow tales are also found in collections of Jataka tales (stories of Buddha’s past lives). The Kakajataka features a ruthless crow named Kaka who ultimately reforms. Folk tales also portray crows as cunning creatures outsmarting other birds and animals.

Across epics and fables, crows display a wide range of anthropomorphic qualities from speech to morality. Their complex characterizations reflect the Indian imagination of crows as intelligent beings central to spiritual stories.

Crows as Metaphors and Symbols in Indian Literature

Beyond mythology and folklore, crows have inspired poetic imagery in both classical and modern Indian literature.

Some examples are:

• The cries of lovelorn separated heroines are compared to the wailing of crows in Gita Govinda and Chandidas’ poetry.
• Crows sitting on a decaying corpse serve as symbols of mortality and metaphysical themes in Bhartrihari’s Sanskrit works.
• Rabindranath Tagore’s poems use crows as melancholy symbols of darkness and death.
• The cawing of crows creates ominous backdrops signifying decay, in Premchand’s Hindi short stories.
• Crows are depicted as gossiping creatures mirroring society’s idle chatter in Sudraka’s Sanskrit play Mricchakatika.
• Modern poets like Arun Kolatkar use crows to represent urban dystopias and disillusionment.

Whether as voices of sombre romance, spiritual decay, existentialism, or urban chaos, crows have been repeatedly invoked in Indian literary works for their metaphoric symbolism.

Scientific Perspective on Crows in India

Beyond cultural perceptions, a scientific view of crows in India reveals some key facts:

• There are several crow species found across India like the house crow, jungle crow, and large-billed crow.
• Crows are highly intelligent birds with advanced reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
• Crows exhibit complex social behaviors seen in few other birds like holding “funerals” and making gifts.
• Crows thrive around humans and adapt remarkably well to urban habitats across India.
• Crows do exhibit characteristics described in Indian folklore like mimicking speech and alerting other crows to danger.

Objective ornithological studies validate aspects of traditional Indian wisdom about crows. Science also sheds light on crows’ exceptional intelligence and environmental adaptations.

Urbanization has led to an explosion in crow populations and human-crow overlaps in Indian cities. This highlights the need for ecologically coexisting with these fascinating birds rooted deep within the Indian psyche.

Conclusion

Crows have a ubiquitous presence in Indian culture, myths, and daily life. They are woven profoundly into belief systems, rituals, arts, stories, and metaphors. While often portrayed as tricky and fearsome, crows more positively represent spiritual wisdom and divine connectivity.

Indians view crows as cosmic mediums – bridging this world and the beyond. Crows exemplify the contradictions within the Indian imagination – being revered yet feared, signaling doom yet destiny. Their benefits like scavenging garbage outweigh annoyances like noisy cawing. Respecting crows’ ecological space can lead to mutually harmonious existence in our shared habitats.

After all, the ubiquitous Indian crow sits perched between this realm and the next, myths and modernity, science and spirituality. Its mystique will continue capturing creative Indian thought while also reminding us of ecologically coexisting with all fellow earthly life.