Oddly Enough: The Endangered Turtle Deity

People in eastern India are flocking to a temple to worship a turtle with natural markings on its shell resembling the eyes of Hindu deity Lord Jaganath, one of the incarnations of Vishnu.

The PTI news agency of India described the reptile as a soft shell Gangetic Turtle, which is on an official list of endangered species in India. Worshippers chased away forestry officials when they tried to rescue it.

Prasanna Kumar Behera, who is in charge of Orissa state’s Rajnagar district, said the captive turtle was in distress.

The markings on the turtle’s shell resemble the large, prominent eyes of Lord Jagannath, Orissa’s most popular Hindu deity, who is believed to bring fortune and good luck and who was himself washed up on a beach, according to legend.

'We tried our best to convince the priests and local people to hand it over to the forest department but the villagers are unrelenting,' said Behera. 'It is a case of mistaken identity as juvenile soft-shell turtles have markings on the carapace that resemble Lord Jagannath’s eyes. As these species grow, the shell markings vanish.'

India’s strict wildlife laws prohibit capturing creatures named on the endangered list of species and violators can be imprisoned for up to two years

Thanks to AFP and local news sources for this story.

Only Terry Pratchett could make it up.

Comments

[T C]

Iain, celestial dictator you say, is that what you see when you view the night sky, a dictator? Where should I look?

Is he near the belt of Orion, the big dipper, Arcturus? I have not been able to find this dictator, are you sure it’s not just another turtle shell staring at you.

[iain rae]

T C ,your celestial dictator is watching your every move,beware. He also has eyes in the back of his head.

[T C]

Iain, don’t sound so calm about all this, have you looked at your back in the mirror, you have those eyes!

[katie]

Dear Ruth,
Enuff with the turtle, already; it's too much of an allegory for the beloved Church of English.

[iain rae]

Looks like the Hindu faith has much in common with the Catholic faith. Both see religious imagery in everday objects such as clouds,or pieces of toast or the back of a turtle.

[T C]

Oddly enough, the turtle picture is more proof than most should need to believe that God is real.

The reason is most obvious, the shell of the turtle is completely aware of the eyes of the turtle, for the eyes on the shell replicate the eyes on the head of the turtle.

That is just the beginning, the shell of the turtle is completely aware of the view that all others have of the turtle.

This is why it presents the eyes on the back of the turtle; the turtle does not know this, yet all predators, and you I, and God know.

[T C]

That is a spooky looking image on the shell, and is that the head of the turtle with the same eyes, if so it replicates other eye duplications in nature, such as butterflies, and other critters.

[Rijuta Dey]

poor turtle! I speak for all Indians when I say that we as a people are too willing to believe in miracles...

[David]

Re Pratchett: you'll be remembering the lady in 'Small Gods' who said, It's turtles all the way down.