Savarkar’s Coding of Hindutva; Metacode Rashtra, Part 9; Code Mythos (2/20); Codeelement Hindu Pantheon
When we think of Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar, we often picture the fiery nationalist, the revolutionary in exile, or the thinker behind the idea of Hindutva. But one of the most fascinating aspects of his thought is how he used myth – especially the Hindu pantheon – as a tool to construct national identity and legitimize political order.
Gods as Symbols of Resistance
For Savarkar, the Hindu gods were not just deities to be worshipped. They were symbols of courage, struggle, and unity. In moments of crisis, he invoked Rama or Krishna, imagining them marching with their mythical armies of millions to the aid of freedom fighters. This wasn’t mere piety – it was a deliberate act of myth – making.
Like Christianity’s idea of angelic legions ready to intervene, Savarkar saw in these myths the power to inspire ordinary Hindus to face oppression and hardship. Myth, for him, was political fuel.
History as a Cycle of Struggle
Savarkar believed history unfolded in cycles: one generation fights for freedom, the next enjoys it, and the following loses it again. Even the universe, he argued, moves through such cycles. At the heart of life, he saw only two drives – survival and reproduction – echoed in myths like the battle between Rama and Ravana over Sita or Yashoda’s love for Krishna.
In these stories, Savarkar found not just religion, but timeless lessons about human struggle, community, and sacrifice.
Myth as Social Glue
Savarkar elevated the gods into role models, embodying virtues that could stabilize society. He turned to the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, seeing in them emotional resources to strengthen patriotism. Myths, he argued, were like a “social charter”: they gave sacred meaning to moral codes and political duties, reinforcing unity through shared symbols.
In this sense, religion was not an eternal truth handed down from above. For Savarkar, it was something humans could build. He saw himself as a myth-maker – a shaper of religiosity – using history and science to craft narratives that bound the Hindu community together.
The Contradictions of Myth
Yet Savarkar’s reliance on myth also reveals contradictions. He pushed for the abolition of the caste system, but still valued it as a deeply rooted social framework shaping Hindu identity. He blurred the line between myth and history, treating Rama and Krishna alongside historical heroes like Shivaji as part of the same narrative of Hindu unity.
This strategy allowed him to weave a vivid story of Hindu Sangathan (consolidation), one that Hindus could see as both historically grounded and spiritually legitimized.
Pan-Hinduism as Political Myth
Here Carl Schmitt’s observation comes to mind: “No line of reasoning, however clear, can withstand the power of genuine mythical images.” Savarkar, however, gave these “myths” a political, not a religious, meaning. For him, Pan-Hinduism was not theology—it was a political myth, a narrative that gave coherence to the Hindu nation.
But there is a problem. Myths are inherently ambiguous, open to multiple meanings. This “polytheism of symbols,” as one might call it, makes it hard to fix a stable political order. In the end, Hindu Sangathan itself risks becoming a myth, and Hindu Rashtra merely a sacred ideal rather than a political reality.
Myth, Martyrdom, and National Identity
To overcome this, Savarkar bound myth tightly to ritual and action. He saw martyrdom, hero-worship, and patriotism as ways to give flesh to the myth of Hindu unity. Figures like Shivaji became objectifications of the Pan-Hindu myth, while values such as desabhakti (devotion to the nation) and the sacred love of the motherland were elevated into community-defining ideals.
In this way, Savarkar’s myths were not just stories of the past. They were tools to shape the present and secure the future.
👉 Takeaway: Savarkar was not only a revolutionary or a political thinker. He was also a myth-maker. By blending gods, history, and heroes into a shared narrative, he sought to create a Hindu Rashtra rooted in both religious imagination and political struggle. His use of myth shows us how powerful—and how problematic—stories can be when they are used to construct national identity.
💭 What do you think? Do you think myths and religious symbols can still play a role in shaping national identity today? Savarkar blurred the line between gods like Rama and Krishna and historical figures like Shivaji. Do you see this as a strength (unity) or a weakness (confusion)? How should societies balance between myth (symbolic imagination) and history (verifiable fact) in nation-building?
👉 Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Sources:
MEHRING, Reinhard. 2001. Carl Schmitt zur Einführung. Junius Verlag: Hamburg.
SAVARKAR, Vinayak Damodar. 2007. Hindu Rashtra Darshan. Bharat Bhushan. Abhishek Publications: New Delhi.
SAVARKAR, S. S. and G. M. JOSHI. (Eds.). [HS]. 1992. Historische Statements (Prophetic Warnings). Statements, Telegrams & Letters. 1941 to 1965 by Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Veer Savarkar Prakashan: Bombay (Mumbai).
SAVARKAR, Vinayak Damodar. 1971. Six glorious (golden) epochs of Indian history. Savarkar Sadan: Bombay.
SAVARKAR, Vinayak Damodar. 1950. The story of my transportation for life. Sadbhakti Publications: Bombay.
SAVARKAR, Vinayak Damodar. 1941. Whirlwind propaganda: Statements, messages and Extracts from the President’s Diary of his Propagandistic Tours, Interviews from December 1937 to October 1941, (Ed. by A. S. Bhide, Bombay).
SCHMITT, Carl. 1963. Der Begriff des Politischen. Duncker & Humblot: Berlin.
WOLF, Siegfried O. 2010. Savarkar’s Strategic Agnosticism. A compilation of his political and economic worldview, in Heidelberg Papers in South Asian Comparative Politics (HPSACP), No. 51, Heidelberg University, Germany.
WOLF, Siegfried O. 2009. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar und sein Hindutva-Konzept. Die Konstruktion einer kollektiven Identität in Indien [“Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his concept of Hindutva: The construction of a collective identity in India.”]. Online Dissertation: Heidelberg University: Heidelberg.
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