1.
Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
2.
Yajna
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Yajna literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering, and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda, the tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire. Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the Karma-kanda portion of the Vedic literature, the proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. Yajna have continued to play a role in a Hindus rites of passage. Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Yajna vedic rites, the word yajna appears in the early Vedic literature, composed in 2nd millennium BCE. In Rigveda, Yajurveda and others, it means worship, devotion to anything, prayer and praise, an act of worship or devotion, a form of offering or oblation, and sacrifice. In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, a Yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events. It is derived, states Nigal, from the Sanskrit verb yaj, the Sanskrit word is related to the Avestan term yasna of Zoroastrianism. Unlike the Vedic yajna, the Yasna is the name of a religious service, not a class of rituals. Yajna has been a part of an individual or social ritual since the Vedic times, when the ritual fire – the divine Agni, the god of fire and the messenger of gods – were deployed in a Yajna, mantras were chanted. The hymns and songs sung and oblations offered into the fire were a form of hospitality for the Vedic gods, the Vedangas, or auxiliary sciences attached to the Vedic literature, define Yajna as follows, Definition of a Vedic sacrifice — Apastamba Yajna Paribhasa-sutras 1. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad in verse 1.5.14, for example, uses the analogy of Yajna materials to explain the means to see ones soul and God, with inner rituals and without external rituals. Vedic yajnas are performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar. The functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations, the Adhvaryu is the priests assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin is the superintendent of the performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses. There were usually one, or three, fires lit in the center of the offering ground, oblations are offered into the fire. Among the ingredients offered as oblations in the yajna are ghee, milk, grains, cakes, the duration of a yajna depends on its type, some last only a few minutes whereas, others are performed over a period of hours, days or even months
3.
Shiva
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Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
4.
Parvati
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Parvati, also known as Urvi/Renu, is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion, as well as of divine strength and power. She is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess Shakti and she is the mother goddess in Hinduism, and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses. Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva - the protector and regenerator of universe and she is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and mother Mena. Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya, some communities also believe her to be the sister of the god Vishnu and the river-goddess Ganga. With Shiva, Parvati is a deity in the Shaiva sect. In Hindu belief, she is the energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings. In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is represented as the argha or yoni. She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace Hindu temples all over South Asia, parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for mountain, Parvati derives her name from being the daughter of king Himavan and mother Mena. King Parvat is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas, Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja, Adrija or Nagajaa or Shailaputri, Haimavathi, the Lalita sahasranama contains a listing of 1,000 names of Parvati. Two of Parvatis most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna, the name Uma is used for Sati in earlier texts, but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna and then addressed as Uma and she is also Ambika, Shakti, Mataji, Maheshwari, Durga, Bhairavi, Bhavani, Shivaradni, and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi, regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauris name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauris skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest, some scholars hold that Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature, though the Kena Upanishad contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati. She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu, and Indra, Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period, as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shivas wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa and the Puranas that the stories of Sati-Parvati, Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains
5.
Brahma
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Brahma is the creator god in the Trimurti of Hinduism. Brahma is also known as Svayambhu, Vāgīśa, and the creator of the four Vedas, Brahma is identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Kama and Hiranyagarbha, he is more prominently mentioned in the post-Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is conflated with Purusha, Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of a Hindu Trinity, however, ancient Hindu texts mention other trinities of gods or goddesses which do not include Brahma. While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology. Brahma, along with all deities, is viewed as a form of the otherwise formless Brahman. Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the members of the Trimurti, Vishnu. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a deity in India. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Brahma temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in part because related words such as one for Ultimate Reality. The existence of a deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic text. The spiritual concept of Brahman is far older, and some scholars suggest deity Brahma may have emerged as a personal conception and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle called Brahman. In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem brahman forms two distinct nouns, one is a neuter noun bráhman, whose singular form is brahma. Contrasted to the noun is the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is Brahma. This noun is used to refer to a person, and as the name of a deity Brahma it is the subject matter of the present article. One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, Brahma is discussed in verse 5,1 also called the Kutsayana Hymn first, and expounded in verse 5,2. In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn, the Upanishad asserts that ones Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living being. In verse 5,2 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇa, the post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. Brahma is a creator as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas
6.
Mount Kailash
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Mount Kailash (also Mount Kailas, Kangrinboqê or Gang Rinpoche is a peak in the Kailash Range, which forms part of the Transhimalaya in Tibet. It lies near the source of some of the longest rivers in Asia, the Indus River, the Sutlej River, the Brahmaputra River, and it is considered a sacred place in four religions, Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The mountain lies near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal in Tibet Autonomous Region, the mountain is known as either Kailāśa or Kailāsa in Sanskrit. The name may be derived from the word kelāsa, which means crystal, in his Tibetan-English dictionary, Chandra identifies the entry for kai la sha which is a loan word from Sanskrit kailāśa. The Tibetan name for the mountain is Gangs Rin-po-che, Gangs or Kang is the Tibetan word for snow peak analogous to alp or himal, rinpoche is an honorific meaning precious one so the combined term can be translated precious jewel of snows. Tibetan Buddhists call it Kangri Rinpoche, Precious Snow Mountain, bon texts have many names, Waters Flower, Mountain of Sea Water, Nine Stacked Swastika Mountain. According to Hinduism, Lord Shiva, the Destroyer, resides at the summit of a mountain named Kailāśa. He is at once the Lord of Yoga and therefore the ultimate renunciate ascetic, according to Charles Allen, one description in the Vishnu Purana of the mountain states that its four faces are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli. It is a pillar of the world and is located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a lotus, in Jainism, Kailash is also known as Meru Parvat or Sumeru. Ashtapada, the next to Mt. Kailash, is the site where the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhadeva. Tantric Buddhists believe that Mount Kailash is the home of the Buddha Demchok and it is said that Milarepa, champion of Tantric Buddhism, arrived in Tibet to challenge Naro Bön-chung, champion of the Bön religion of Tibet. The two magicians engaged in a terrifying sorcerers battle, but neither was able to gain a decisive advantage, finally, it was agreed that whoever could reach the summit of Kailash most rapidly would be the victor. While Naro Bön-chung sat on a drum and soared up the slope, Milarepas followers were dumbfounded to see him sitting still. Yet when Naro Bön-chung was nearly at the top, Milarepa suddenly moved into action and overtook him by riding on the rays of the Sun, thus winning the contest. He did, however, fling a handful of snow on to the top of a mountain, since known as Bönri, bequeathing it to the Bönpo. The Bön, a native to Tibet, maintain that the entire mystical region. Every year, thousands make a pilgrimage to Kailash, following a tradition going back thousands of years, pilgrims of several religions believe that circumambulating Mount Kailash on foot is a holy ritual that will bring good fortune. The peregrination is made in a direction by Hindus and Buddhists
7.
Himalayas
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The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
8.
Nandi (bull)
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Nandi is the name of the gate- guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull which serves as the mount to the god Shiva. The word nandi has come from Tamil root word Nandhu means to grow to flourish or to appear which was used to indicate growing fluorished white bulls as well as divine bull nandi. The Sanskrit word nandi (Sanskrit, नन्दि has the meaning of happy, joy and satisfaction, almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. However, it is documented that the application of the name Nandi to the bull is infact a development of recent syncretism of different regional beliefs within Saivism. The oldest Saivite texts in Sanskrit, Tamil and other Indian languages, the worship of Shiva and Nandi can be trace to even Indus Valley Civilization time period. Nandi is described as the son of the sage Shilada, Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon — a child with immortality towards Lord Shiva and got Nandi as his son. It is said that Nandi was born from a Yajna performed by the Shilada, Nandi grew as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and he did penance to become the gate-keeper of the Lord Shiva as well as his mount. Nandi got the knowledge of Agamic and Tantric wisdom taught by Lord Shiva from goddess Parvati. These eight disciples are directed to eight directions of the world by Nandinatha to spread the wisdom he taught them, there are so many other puranic tales are available about nandi. One describes his conflict with Ravana, the anti-hero of Ramayana. andi who cursed Ravana that his kingdom would be burnt by a monkey, and later Hanuman burnt Lanka when he went in search of Sita, who was kept prisoner by Ravana in Ashok Vatika. Tamil Thiruvilaiyadal puranam mentions another story in which nandi ] as a whale and it tells that Parvati lost her concentration while Shiva was explaining the meaning of Vedas to her. Parvati incarnated as a fisherwoman for the atone, to unite his master and his beloved wife, Nandi took the form of a whale and started to trouble the people. Fisherwoman Parvatis father told that anyone who killed the whale will marry his daughter, later Lord Shiva took the form of a fisherman, killed the whale and got Parvati in her previous form. Agamas describe him in a form with the head of bull and four hands with antelope, axe, mace. In his mount form, nandi is depicted as a bull in all Shiva temples. This nandi form has been even in Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia. The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice, symbolically, the seated Nandi towards sanctum in Siva temples, represents an individual ] and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Parameshwara
9.
Virabhadra
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Virabhadra or Veerabhadra is a fearsome form of the Hindu god Shiva. He was created by the wrath of Shiva and destroyed the Yagna of Daksha, after Dakshas daughter and he is described as a warrior who eventually blinded Bhaga, subdued Indra and broke, among many other countless gods, Pushans teeth. Other gods fled the battlefield unable to sustain his power, Sati was the youngest daughter of Daksha. When Sati grew up she set her heart on Shiva, worshipping him, in the Swayamvara of Sati, Daksha invited all gods and princes except Shiva. Sati cast her garland into air, calling upon Shiva to receive the garland, Daksha had no choice but to get Sati married with Shiva. One day Daksha made arrangements for a horse sacrifice called the Daksha Yaga. Satis urge to go to her due to the affection towards her parents overpowered the social etiquette for not going to an uninvited ceremony. Then Shiva came to know about this and with deep sorrow and anger, plucked a lock of hair, Lord Veerabhadra, and Rudrakali were born. To provide him the power, arrived Bhadrakali, an incarnation of Devi. Maheshwara replied, Spoil the sacrifice of Daksha and she too in her wrath, as the fearful goddess Rudrakali, accompanied him, with all her train, to witness his deeds. Shiva directed Virabhadra, Lead my army against Daksha and destroy his sacrifice, Lord Vishnu could not let his devotee - Daksha be mortified by Virabhadra. He therefore got astride his Garuda, armed as he was with Conch, Discus and Bow and Arrows and he immediately rained powerful arrows at his foe from all directions. Angered all the more by this unexpected attack, Veerabhadra also climbed a chariot. Both used celestial weapons - one upon the other, but none of them was affected in the least though they struck awe into the hearts of the onlookers, both were equally matched and both were adept and quick with their hands and weapons in offensive and defensive. Keenly watching the duel and thinking that Veerabhadra might come out victorious. Continuing the duel, Veerabhadra showered multiple weapons of tremendous power at Vishnu who retaliated with equal might, the firmament reverberated with thunder and lightning. Seeing Vishnus Discus approaching him thus, Veerabhadra coolly opened his vast mouth and swallowed it at one gulp, Lord Vishnu was astonished at this miracle and was filled with admiration for Veerabhadra. Instantly he flew to his side in great ecstasy and praised his erstwhile opponent thus,0 Veerabhadra Mahavira, there is none to equal you here nor in the seven worlds
10.
Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
11.
Bhadrakali
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Bhadrakālī is a Hindu goddess popular in Southern India. She is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. Bhadrakali is the form of Devi worshipped in Kerala as Sri Bhadrakali. In Kerala she is seen as the auspicious and fortunate form of Kali who protects the good and this goddess is represented with three eyes, and four, twelve, or eighteen hands. She carries a number of weapons, with flames flowing from her head, and her worship is also associated with the Tantric tradition of the Matrikas as well as the tradition of the ten Mahavidyas and falls under the broader umbrella of Shaktism. The Sanskrit word Bhadra Kali therefore can be translated to Hindi as Mahamaya Kali, there are at least three traditional versions regarding the origin-incarnations or avatar of Bhadrakali. The first version is from Devi Mahatmyam and basically a part of Shaktism, the second is associated with the Daksha and Dakshayaga, from the more Shaivism related tradition, and glimpses of this version can be seen in some Puranas. The third and the equally most famous one is her birth as the daughter of Shiva to liberate the world from demon Daruka. According to the Vayu Purana and the Mahabharata, Bhadrakali came into being by Devis wrath, according to Tantra Rahasya, she arose from the North face of Shiva, which is blue in color and with three eyes. The demon Darika, after intense ascetic penances and practices, secured a boon from Lord Brahma that he would be invincible, soon afterwards he began to harass the world and commit numerous crimes. When Lord Shiva came to know about the misdeeds of demon Darika and he opened his fiery third eye and the massive flaming form of Bhadrakali emerged. She was huge, wore a look and had countless hands. Shiva ordered Bhadra Kali to destroy Darika and she went through the forest, when Darika saw Bhadrakali, he laughed and dismissed her, forgetting that his boon of invincibility did not prevent him from being killed by a woman. After a fierce battle, Bhadrakali and her assistants finally finished him off, according to the Kerala traditions, the events described in the Markandeya Purana associated with Bhadrakali took place in Kerala, near Madayi in the Kannur District. Bhadrakali temples in Kerala commemorate this event during festivals and Bhadrakali is worshipped as the daughter of Lord Shiva. According to the Markandeya Purana, her worship purifies the devotee and she is seen to protect the honour of women and to bestow all spiritual knowledge. In Kerala, she called Virabhadra her brother and refused to be treated by him when she was attacked by the deity Vasoorimala and she said that a brother must not touch the face of his sister. Thus, mild pockmarks are sometimes visible on her face in some Keralan depictions of her
12.
Indra
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Indra is a Vedic deity in Hinduism, a guardian deity in Buddhism, and the king of first heaven called Saudharmakalpa in Jainism. His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical to those of the Indo-European deities such as Zeus, Jupiter, Perun, Thor, in the Vedas, Indra is the king of Svarga and the Devas. He is the god of lightning, thunder, storms, rains, Indra is the most referred to deity in the Rigveda. He is celebrated for his powers, and the one who kills the great symbolic evil named Vritra who obstructs human prosperity, Indra destroys Vritra and his deceiving forces, and thereby brings rains and the sunshine as the friend of mankind. In Buddhism, Indra has been a popular deity, referred by many names and he is featured in Buddhism somewhat differently than Hinduism, such as being shown as less war oriented and one paying homage to the Buddha. Indra rules over the much sought Devas realm of rebirth within the Samsara doctrine of Buddhist traditions, however, like the Hindu texts, Indra also is a subject of ridicule and reduced to a figurehead status in Buddhist texts, shown as a god that suffers rebirth and redeath. In the Jainism traditions, like Buddhism and Hinduism, Indra is the king of gods, Indras iconography shows him wielding a lightning thunderbolt known as Vajra, riding on a white elephant known as Airavata. In Buddhist iconography the elephant sometimes features three heads, while Jaina icons sometimes show the elephant with five heads, sometimes a single elephant is shown with four symbolic tusks. Indras heavenly home is on or near Mount Meru, the etymological roots of Indra are unclear, has been a contested topic among scholars since the 19th-century, one with many proposals. The significant proposals have been, root ind-u, or rain drop, based on the Vedic mythology that he conquered rain, root ind, or equipped with great power. Root idh or kindle, and ina or strong, root indha, or igniter, for his ability to bring light and power that ignites the vital forces of life. This is based on Shatapatha Brahmana, root idam-dra, or It seeing which is a reference to the one who first perceived the self-sufficient metaphysical Brahman. This is based on Aitareya Upanishad, roots in ancient Indo-European, Indo-Aryan deities. Later scholarship has linked Vedic Indra to the European Aynar, Abaza, Ubykh, colarusso suggests a Pontic origin and that both the phonology and the context of Indra in Indian religions is best explained from Indo-Aryan roots and a Circassian etymology. Indra is also called Śakra frequently in the Vedas and in Buddhism, Indra has many epithets in the Indian religions, notably Śakra, Vṛṣan, Vṛtrahan, Meghavāhana, Devarāja, Devendra, Surendra, Svargapati, Vajrapāṇī and Vāsava. Indra is of ancient but unclear origin, the similarities between Indra of Hindu mythologies and of Thor of Nordic and Germanic mythologies are significant states Max Muller. Michael Janda suggests that Indra has origins in the Indo-European *trigw-welumos smasher of the enclosure, brave and heroic Innara or Inra, which sounds like Indra, is mentioned among the gods of the Mitanni, a Hurrian-speaking people of Hittite region. Indra as a deity had a presence in northeastern Asia minor and this tablet mentions a treaty, but its significance is in four names it includes reverentially as Mi-it-ra, U-ru-w-na, In-da-ra and Na-sa-at-ti-ia
