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Hinduism - Who Is Lord Vishnu In The Hindu Pantheon?

Vishnu meaning the “all-pervasive” in Sanskrit, is one among the three most powerful deities in the Hindu pantheon, with Brahma, Shiva and the Goddess.

All three are significant for being largely unmentioned in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu religious books, and their rise, as well as the progressive eclipse of the Vedic gods, indicates a marked change in Hindu religious life.

Vishnu is the one who appears most often in the Vedas among the three.

Many hymns that mention him refer to him as a helper to Indra, the major Vedic deity, and one of Vishnu's epithets is Upendra ("junior Indra").

He also appears as an autonomous actor in certain late hymns, linked with wonderful works for the benefit of the cosmos, such as measuring out the universe in three steps.

Vishnu is also linked to the sun, both in terms of his ability to travel through the skies and his ability to fall on (and therefore "observe") everything.

Vishnu is the sustainer or maintainer of the universe, according to the holy trinity of Brahma Vishnu-Shiva.

Vishnu is pictured reclining on the back of his serpent couch, Shesha, in the primordial ocean at the moment of cosmic disintegration in one of the most prominent creation myths (pralaya).

Vishnu's navel produces a lotus, which opens to reveal Brahma, the creator, who starts the creation process.

When the time comes for disintegration, the whole process reverses, and the cosmos is pulled back into Vishnu, who is therefore considered as the source of everything.

The cosmos is also sustained by Vishnu's avatars or incarnations, who come into the world to restore balance to a universe that has been dangerously out of balance, generally as a result of an out of proportionally powerful demon.

There are 10 avatars as far as we know.

The Fish avatar, Tortoise avatar, Boar avatar, and Man-Lion avatar are the first four in nonhuman forms.

The other six are in human form, frequently as sages or heroes: Vamana avatar, Parashuram avatar, Rama avatar, Krishna avatar, Buddha avatar, and Kalki avatar.

In each of these instances, Vishnu takes on a physical form in order to avoid tragedy and preserve the cosmos' purity.

The theory of the avatars served as a means of assimilating existing deities into the broader pantheon while still granting them distinct status.

Although most of the avatars are no longer objects of devotion (the Boar and Man-Lion avatars each had a significant following early in the common period), Rama and Krishna's adoration has entirely exceeded that of Vishnu himself in most of northern India.

Vishnu is still revered throughout southern India, especially among Shrivaishnavas.

Apart from the avatar idea, notable local deities like as Jagannath, Venkateshvara, and Vithoba have all been absorbed into the pantheon as manifestations of Vishnu.

Vaishnavas and Shaivas established sectarian rivalry in medieval Hinduism, both claiming supremacy over their own deities (Vishnu and Shiva).

Despite the fact that Vaishnavas see Vishnu as the universe's highest force, his legendary persona and activities are vastly different from Shiva's.

Vishnu's headgear is a crown, and his persona is that of an all-ruling monarch, but Shiva is linked with ascetic life and practices (tapas) and hence with the religious force created by such acts.

Vishnu frequently succeeds by guile, ingenuity, and deceit, but Shiva eliminates his mythological enemies with sheer might, which is devoid of any finesse.

Each deity's followers recognize their divinity as the supreme force in the cosmos, from which all other gods get their power, and both are portrayed as kind and caring to their worshippers (bhakta).

~ Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Who Is Lord Shiva?

Shiva (auspicious) - One of the three most significant deities in the Hindu pantheon, together with the deity Vishnu and the Goddess.

All three are remarkable for being almost missing from the Vedas, and their ascent to power (and subsequent eclipse of the original Vedic gods) indicates a significant shift in Hindu tradition.

Shiva is the only one of the three who is not named in the Veda.

He is connected with the god Rudra, who initially appears in a few late Vedic hymns and is eventually described as the only ultimate deity underlying all things in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

In this upanishad, the term Shiva ("auspicious") first occurs as an adjective modifiying the feminine noun body.

Despite his presence in the upanishad as a supreme god, Rudra/status Shiva's is ambiguous.

He is characterized as a skilled archer who lives in the highlands (away from humans) and is commanded not to hurt either man or beast with his arrows.

Rudra/Shiva is undoubtedly not a Vedic god, and some have argued that his origins lay in the Indus Valley civilization, citing as proof one of the seals discovered at Harappa, an ancient city in Pakistan, depicting a horned figure sitting cross-legged as if in meditation.

This association is feasible, but it isn't really persuasive.

He may have joined the pantheon as a deity worshipped by ascetics, who have historically been connected with mountain settlements.

Shiva is associated with ascetics because of various ascetic characteristics ascribed to him, such as matted hair and an ash-smeared torso.

His marginal place among the gods might also be explained by his ascetic background, since he would have been a "outsider" to the Vedic sacrifice cult, which was the "established" religion at the time.

Shiva's dramatic entrance into the pantheon occurs during the account of his wife Sati's death.

In this myth, Shiva's father-in-law Daksha's disparaging remarks—that Shiva was an ascetic without money, work, or family who was unsuitable to enter respectable society—led to the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice as a demonstration of Shiva's power.

Shiva's iconography, mythology, and character have all kept this ambiguous, sometimes marginal nature.

The fact that he is a god whose nature enables him to pass transcend competing forces (or dualities) inside himself and the universe by being the potential of both forces at the same time is perhaps his most fundamental and significant attribute.

Shiva may symbolize both the wild and hazardous aspect of life as well as the polished and dignified side.

Atop the one hand, he had the look of a traditional ascetic, with matted hair, an ash-smeared physique, and a residence on Mount Kailas in the Himalayas.

He is, on the other side, Hindu society's ideal of a nice husband who adores his wife Parvati.

He has snakes on his body and is dressed in a bloody elephant hide, yet he also wears the Ganges River and the crescent moon, which are symbols of beauty, purity, and auspiciousness.

His mythic deeds emphasize his overwhelming power, which no foe can stand up to, as well as his sudden and sometimes impetuous temper, which is best seen in his destruction of Kama, the god of love; however, this sudden violence contrasts with his grace and favor toward his devotees (bhakta), for whom he is given the name "quickly satisfied" (Ashutosh), and to whom he will give almost everything.

He is historically portrayed as the expositor of the tantras, the most secret and secretive religious practice of all, yet being shown as simple and without deception (as Bholanath, the "simple lord").

This transcendence of all polarities may be observed in the representations that usually depict him, such as his form as Nataraja, which depicts several of his opposing attributes, or as Ardhanarishvara, which is half masculine and half female.

The linga, the pillar-shaped item that is his symbolic form, whose base and shaft are seen as signifying male and female reproductive organs, exemplifies this transcending of duality.

Finally, the tantric theory of the subtle body (the system of psychic centers, or chakras, that run throughout the human body), in which religious practice seeks for the union of Shiva and Shakti, exemplifies this transcendence.

Shiva encompasses all the conflicting possibilities for human experience, as Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty points out, and in legendary form gives a resolve that one ordinary human existence can never achieve.

In response to the earlier and more established concept of Vishnu's avatars, Shiva's adherents created a philosophy of avatars (incar tures of Shiva who come on earth in the guise of a variety of saints, sages, and lesser deities to restore balance and do other required deeds).

Shiva's avatars, unlike Vishnu's, do not seem to have been a mechanism to accommodate minor existing deities within the bigger pantheon.

The most significant of Shiva's twenty-one incarnations is Hanuman, who is the only one with a well-established separate cult.

The others were sages (such as Durvasas) and prominent creatures, but unlike Vishnu, the worship of Shiva's avatars has never overshadowed Shiva's own adoration.

See Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty's Shiva, 1981, and Stella Kramrisch's The Presence of Shiva, 1981, for further information on Shiva's mythology.

Also see Shaiva.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Parvati In The Hindu Pantheon?

("mountain's daughter") Parvati is the Hindu goddess Parvati, who is the wife of the god Shiva and the daughter of the minor deity Himalaya (the Himalaya Mountains personified) and his wife Mena.

Shiva has been lost in monastic seclusion since the loss of his first wife, Sati, and Parvati comes in human form to entice him to father the offspring required to defeat the demon Taraka.

Even as a kid, Parvati swears to have only Shiva as her spouse, according to her legends.

Shiva has made a vow of asceticism and is engrossed in profound meditation on Mount Kailas, so her parents attempt to dissuade her.

Parvati's initial attempt to stir Shiva's passion fails miserably.

Kama, the god of love, attempts to kill Shiva with a desire arrow, but Shiva shoots a torrent of fire from his third eye, burning Kama to ash.

Undaunted, Parvati enters the mountains and starts her own program of extreme physical asceticism (tapas): standing for long periods of time on one foot, suffering the heat of summer and the cold of winter, and practicing severe fasting (upavasa) and self-denial.

Shiva is ultimately awakened by the spiritual strength created by her austerity, and he appears to her dressed as an elderly brahmin.

He attempts to dissuade Parvati by making harsh statements about Shiva's lifestyle and behavior, but Parvati remains steadfast in her decision.

Shiva eventually exposes his actual self to her, and the two marry.

Shiva is the Hindu image for the perfect husband because of his love to his bride, yet their family life is uncommon.

The pair has no stable residence or means of support since Shiva is the metaphor for the ideal ascetic, and Parvati is sometimes shown as lamenting about being an ascetic's wife.

Their marriage, symbolically, marks the ascetic's domestication and entry into social and family life.

Their marriage exemplifies the cultural conflict that exists between the two most fundamental Hindu religious ideals: the householder and the renunciant ascetic.

Shiva and Parvati conceive offspring, but not in the traditional way: Skanda grows from Shiva's semen, which falls on the ground during their interrupted love-making, while Ganesh develops from the invigorated soil from Parvati's body.

Parvati, like other married Hindu deities, is seen as compassionate and gentle.

She may be spiteful in certain legendary myths, but on the whole she exudes a loving and motherly presence.

Her mythology is nearly completely linked to Shiva's, demonstrating her subjugation as the perfect wife, and her devotion is also frequently linked to him.

Parvati has a crucial role in tantra, a secret, ritual-based religious practice, since she is often shown as the one asking Shiva and later as the pupil receiving his instructions in tantric scriptures.

See David R. Kinsley's Hindu Deities, 1986, for further information about Parvati and all the Hindu goddesses.

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Hinduism - What Are Village Deities?

According to popular Hindu tradition, the universe has 330 million gods.

The richness of this mythic imagination can be seen in the composition of the Hindu pantheon, in which hundreds of major and minor deities have been given form, identity, and mythic history.

Yet aside from these deities, who have been given an identifiable form, there are also a host of village deities found throughout India.

In most cases, the village deity is exactly that—the deity who protects, watches over, and acts as a divine over seer for a particular village or locale.

One of their most common functions is to protect the village from disease, either of people or livestock, and to provide remedies when disease strikes.

They are also the guardians of the village, defending it from ghosts and unseen powers, as well as protecting the villagers from danger and misfortune.

The authority of these deities is generally quite limited—in most cases, it does not extend beyond the village itself.

In most cases, village deities have no well defined mythic history, form, or personality.

At times they will have a temple dedicated to them, but in other cases the village deity is believed to be associated with a particular tree or is represented by a post in the village square.

Village deities are usually nonvegetarian, demanding animal sacrifices and offerings of blood in exchange for their services.

Relationships with these deities are highly pragmatic—the villagers make offerings, and the deities protect, but beyond these offerings there is usually little organized worship.

If these deities have any organized priesthood, it is almost always non-brahmin because the impurity (ashaucha) generated by animal sacrifices would be unacceptable to brahmins.

These priesthoods are intermediaries between the deity and the villagers, usually communicating with the deities through dreams or possession.

In this way the deities’ wishes become known, and problems or concerns can find their solution.

In some cases, local deities have gained greater stature and have been assimilated into the pantheon.

For female deities, this process is fairly simple, since they can be brought into the pantheon by claiming that their temples are one of the Shakti Pithas, a network of sites sacred to the Goddess that spreads throughout the subcontinent.

Each Shakti Pitha marks the site where a body part of the dismembered goddess Sati fell to earth, taking form there as a different goddess; all these individual goddesses are thus seen as manifestations of a single great Goddess.

Male deities are more typically incorporated into the pantheon as incarnations of the deity Vishnu, and three major instances of the former are Jagannath, Vithoba, and Venkateshvara.

Village deities are less usually considered to be avatars of the god Shiva, although this has occurred with Khandoba, an important regional deity in the state of Maharashtra.

Hinduism - Who Is Mahasaraswati In The Hindu Pantheon?

The Devimahatmya, the oldest and most significant source for Goddess mythology, depicts the goddess Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi, and Mahakali in three separate manifestations.

The narrative starts with the creation of the universe.

The deity Brahma is attacked by two demons called Madhu and Kaitabha as he emerges from the lotus sprouting from the god Vishnu's navel.

Brahma attempts to avoid the demons, but Vishnu is unable to assist him since he is deep sleeping, overpowered by the Goddess's influence.

She only leaves Vishnu when Brahma praises the Goddess, allowing him to awaken.

The demons' brains are then clouded, allowing Vishnu to deceive (and slay) them.

Saraswati is the goddess of art, learning, and culture in the Hindu pantheon—anything involving the life and activity of the intellectual and aesthetic faculties.

Mahasaraswati is also associated with intelligence, implying that she has the power to influence people's perceptions.

See David R. Kinsley's Hindu Deities, 1986, for further information about Mahasaraswati and the Hindu goddesses.

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Hinduism - Who Is Lord Hanuman In The Hindu Pantheon And Hindu Mythology?

Hanuman is a Hindu deity with a monkey head.

Hanuman first appears in the Ramayana, the first of the two major Indian epics, where he is depicted as a minister of the monkey king Sugriva and a faithful servant of Rama, the epic's protagonist and god-king.

Despite his modest status in the Hindu pantheon, Hanuman is a very popular deity in contemporary India because he provides mankind with a god who is fundamentally similar to themselves (or what they would want to be), but on a larger scale and with more power.

Hanuman is thought to be the result of a mating between Vayu, the wind deity, and Anjana, the nymph.

Hanuman the child is always hungry after his birth, and one day he tries to devour the sun.

Indra, the gods' monarch and ruler of heaven, gets enraged at Hanuman's behavior and smashes him with a thunderbolt, fracturing his jaw (hanu).

When Vayu learns of his son's injuries, he gets enraged and stops doing his customary things.

Vayu's strike indicates that no one can live a normal existence since winds are responsible for all internal activities in Indian physics, including digestion, breathing, and excretion.

The gods realize their position after a short time and beseech Vayu for pardon; he is appeased when each deity agrees to offer Hanuman a wonderful gift.

Hanuman has immense abilities as a result of these celestial blessings.

He is very powerful, as seen by his picture, which depicts him with bulging muscles.

He can also treat people using plants and natural remedies, as well as his magical skills to defend people from bad supernatural entities.

One of his most unusual divine gifts is the ability to live as long as he wants and to choose when he dies.

His greatest virtue, and many believe the true source of his power, is his devotion to Rama (bhakti).

Hanuman is an important character in the Ramayana who helps the plot progress.

Hanuman is sent with a troop of monkeys to retrieve Sita, Rama's stolen wife, and finds her imprisoned in the country of Lanka after a long and laborious quest.

Hanuman is given considerably more prominence in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas (a vernacular translation of the Ramayana), in which he is converted from a formidable monkey servant to a devotee (bhakta) whose only purpose is to serve Rama with passionate devotion.

This devotion forbids any kind of worldly connection, including marriage and family, and Hanuman continues to be a role model for a religious lifestyle that emphasizes celibacy and abstinence.

Celibacy is seen as a source of strength in Indian culture since it avoids the loss of a man's vital energy that occurs after ejaculation.

Hanuman's greatest attribute, according to his worshippers, is his capacity to function as a go-between for Rama, who is normally seen as far removed from human matters.

People feel a connection and kinship with Hanuman since he is also a devotee, despite the fact that his abilities are considerably greater than theirs.

In fact, they feel Hanuman's words have a larger probability of reaching Rama's attention and being acted upon.

Tulsidas, the poet-saint, names Hanuman as his messenger in a poem suitably titled the "Letter of Petition" (Vinaya Patrika), with the full assurance that his case would be heard in the heavenly court.

Hanuman's close relationship with heavenly power, his unquestionable abilities, and his perceived accessibility and empathy have all combined to make him one of India's most widely venerated deities, transcending sectarian lines.

He is often said to be a Vaishnava or follower of Vishnu because of his dedication to Rama.

However, in an unexpected twist, Hanuman is also adored by the Shaivites, Shiva's adherents, as an avatar or "incarnation" of the deity Shiva.

Hanuman is typically venerated on astrologically unfavourable days as a guardian god, to keep these inauspicious forces at bay.

His colossal strength, celibacy, and unwavering devotion have made him the patron god of Indian wrestlers, who attempt to emulate him while training.

Finally, he serves as a healer and a source of sustenance.

On the one hand, he is known for his work as an exorcist, assisting individuals in the exorcism of demonic spirits.

On the other hand, he protects life for those who know his particular phrase, which allows them to select their own death moment, just as he did.

Hanuman is just now getting the respect he deserves, despite his relevance in modern Hindu culture.

Sudhir Kakar, Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors, 1982, has further information.

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Hinduism - What Is The Hindu Festival Of Ganesh Chaturthi?

Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of Lord Ganesha.

Festival devoted to the worship of the deity Ganesh on the fourth (chaturthi) day of the bright or waxing half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada (August–September).

This holiday is celebrated all around India, but it is especially popular in Maharashtra.

Clay Ganesh idols are sanctified and adored throughout this event.

The figures are carried in procession to be ceremonially immersed in bodies of water at the festival's conclusion, whether the sea, a river, or the town pond.

Although Ganesh is a minor god in the Hindu pantheon, his function as Lord of Obstacles (Vighneshvar) makes him significant in daily life, since his presence may either help or impede one's endeavors.

As a result, Ganesh is always worshipped at the commencement of every attempt, as well as at the opening of all religious rites.

While Ganesh is revered in people's daily lives, Maharashtra's Ganesh Chaturthi celebration rose to popularity for political reasons.

During the British imperial reign, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the most influential actors in the nineteenth-century Hindu renaissance, pushed Ganesh Chaturthi as a visible manner to proclaim and celebrate a Hindu nationalist identity.

Outright revolt was unthinkable given the British government's strength, and all kinds of political opposition were severely controlled by the British government.

Because the British had a longstanding policy of not meddling with religious observances, the Ganesh celebration offered a method to get around these prohibitions.

In Maharashtra, the celebration of this event, particularly the processions to immerse the pictures in the sea, became a major stage for demonstrating and affirming Hindu cultural and political identity.

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Hinduism - What Is An Avatar?

Avatar has the literal meaning “descent” in the Sanskrit language. Avatar is the descent (of a god), or more popularly, the embodiment, of a deity on Earth in Hindu mythology.

The followers (bhakta) of the deity Vishnu, who believe that he takes a particular shape to assist the world, are the ones who have best developed the idea of avatars.

Other divinities have their own avatars, which may be discovered on the internet.

Hindus distinguish between full avatars, who possess all of the deity's power, and partial incarnations, or anshavatars.

Each of Vishnu's 10 complete incarnations has emerged to restore cosmic balance when the world has been out of balance.

A demon (asura) who has become too powerful and exploits that power to subjugate others is typically the source of such discord.

This discord leads Vishnu to come in the shape of an avatar, kill the evildoers, and finally restore cosmic harmony.

Although the list of Vishnu's avatars varies, the following is the most widely recognized list:

Fish,
Tortoise,
Boar,
Man-Lion,
Vamana (dwarf),
Parashuram,
Rama,
Krishna,
Buddha,
and Kalki are some of the Maha(Major) Avatarsof Lord Vishnu.

The first three avatars are animals, the fourth is a hybrid mananimal, and the ones after that are legendary heroes and sages, with the exception of the Buddha, who is a genuine person who has been integrated into the Hindu pantheon.

The tenth form, Kalki avatar, is still on the way, and his arrival will signal the end of the age.

Vishnu's partial avatars—as sages, saints, and gods—are many and possibly infinite, allowing new Hindu groups to attribute divine power to their founders.

Although Vishnu is most frequently linked with the avatar idea, it has also been attributed to other Hindu gods.

The Mahabharata, the second of the two major Hindu epics, has an example of partial avatars in which all five Pandava brothers are partial incarnations of different gods.

In addition, Shiva worshippers have compiled a list of the god's twenty-one avatars, which include saints, sages, and lesser deities.

This list was most likely created in reaction to the Vaishnava concept of avatars, although Shiva's forms are much less prominent than Vishnu's; Vishnu's avatars include Rama and Krishna, both of whom are great objects of devotion in their own right.

The avatar theory is usually seen by Vaishnavas as a means to include existing religions into the pantheon by asserting that diverse deities are just different incarnations of Vishnu.

The Shaiva avatars were created considerably later, primarily to allow Shiva to have these forms as well.

Jagannath and Balarama are also mentioned as Alpa (Minor) Avatars of Vishnu.

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Hinduism - Who Is Indra In The Hindu Pantheon?

One of the most powerful and ancient Hindu gods.

His social standing has shifted throughout time, demonstrating how Hinduism has evolved.

Indra is the Vedic god par excellence in the oldest Hindu texts, the hymns of the Rig Veda.

Indra, like other Vedic deities, is linked to natural events, in this instance the force of the storm; he was thought to live in the area (antariksha) between the ground and the sky, where storms occur.

In many aspects, Indra seems to be a metaphor for the values and abilities praised in the Vedas, and (as many have deduced) by the Aryans themselves.

Indra is an indestructible warrior who is capable of amazing feats.

Indra's struggle with the snake Vrtra (1.32) is described in one of the key hymns in the Rig Veda (1.32).

Vrtra is eventually slain and chopped into pieces, enabling the dammed rivers to flow freely across the country.

Indra is a consumer of the intoxicating substance soma, which causes him to have enlarged reveries about his own magnificence; he is the ultimate man's man in a society where male values are normally emphasized.

Nearly a quarter of the 1,028 hymns in the Rig Veda are dedicated to Indra, who is regarded as the force that encircles the globe.

As the Hindu tradition evolved and grew, some of Indra's traits and functions remained consistent.

Indra's dominion is still the atmospheric zone between the ground and the sky in later Hindu mythology, and he is still revered as the deity of the storm, the giver of rain, and the wielder of the holy thunderbolt.

Indra is also one of the eight Guardians of the Directions, ruling over the eastern half of the continent.

Around the first century, however, several aspects of Indra altered; most notably, Indra was "demoted" to being only the ruler of the heavenly regions and the king of the gods.

His position is far more vulnerable, since he is considered as being impacted by the workings of karma, rather than being the greatest, unquestioned authority in the cosmos.

When Indra becomes spiritually fatigued or when a competitor on Earth is spiritually powerful enough to topple him, he is replaced.

The storyline of many tales in old Sanskrit scriptures is advanced by Indra's throne getting heated (a sign that a human person is gathering power to replace Indra) and Indra acting to resist this danger.

When the opponent is a celibate monk whose source of strength is renunciation, Indra generally sends forth an apsara (divine nymph) whose heavenly charms might seduce the ascetic and destroy his power by ruining his celibacy.

In other circumstances, the danger may come from individuals who have completed one hundred great sacrifices; in this case, Indra prevents the hundredth sacrifice by seizing King Sagar's precious horse.

Indra is the gods' king and ruler, but he can only sustain his position by keeping a close watch on any potential dangers.

The way Indra is depicted in various mythological stories reflects this loss of "divine" status.

He is depicted as a lecher and an adulterer in Ahalya's narrative, enticing Ahalya by taking the guise of her husband, the sage Gautama.

When Gautama realizes what has transpired, he curses Indra with a thousand vulvas on his body, however the punishment is eventually changed to a thousand eyeballs.

Indra's impotence in the face of his own passion, as well as his failure to bear Gautama's curse, are clear indications that his divine status has eroded.

Although he is still revered as the bringer of rain and the bearer of the thunderbolt, his meeting with the teenage deity Krishna demonstrates his weakened strength.

When Krishna convinces the village elders to stop giving to Indra, the latter responds by unleashing severe rains that threaten to destroy the settlement.

In the midst of grave danger, Krishna calmly raises Mount Govardhan and holds it over their heads for seven days and nights, blocking the rain.

Despite his best efforts, Indra is unable to defeat the teenage Krishna, revealing once again where true divinity rests.

Indra is revealed to be the heavenly father of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers who are the epic's heroes, in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics.

Arjuna is courageous and gallant, the quintessential warrior who likes the clash of combat and is unrelenting in defending his personal and family honor, and he shares his father's virtues and flaws.

He may also be egotistical, narcissistic, and obnoxious, and he has a lot of extramarital affairs, some of which result in children.

Both are great soldiers when they're required, but they lack the other attributes that make them useful in times of peace.

This narrative of Indra and Arjuna demonstrates that Indra has descended from being the most prominent god to becoming a lesser deity who is not worshipped.

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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Lakshmi In The Hindu Pantheon?

Lakshmi ("prosperity," "good fortune") is the Goddess of Wealth and Abundance in Hindu mythology and Vishnu's consort and bride.

Lakshmi is said to be born when an ocean of milk is churned to produce the nectar of immortality.

Lakshmi is the purified essence of the primordial ocean, signifying all the wonderful things that come from it, much as butter is the refined essence of milk.

Lakshmi is the goddess of money, good fortune, and prosperity, and she is seen as the personification of all three.

Lakshmi is often shown with the lotus and elephant, both of which are symbols of good fortune.

Many of the photos feature gold coins falling from her hands, which represent riches.

Lakshmi is a powerful force in Hindu culture because of her powerful ties.

Lakshmi wields her power just by being present: when she arrives, she gives riches and good fortune, and when she departs, she takes these blessings with her.

People are naturally eager to please Lakshmi, given her power, particularly because she has a reputation for being capricious and fickle in her human relationships—a reputation that represents a realistic assessment of life's vicissitudes.

People are exceedingly cautious while dealing with Lakshmi because of her capriciousness and reputation for being somewhat bitter.

They want to avoid offending her, even if accidentally.

Diwali is Lakshmi's main yearly celebration, during which she is said to traverse the world.

People spend the days leading up to Diwali cleaning, repairing, and whitewashing their houses in preparation for the goddess's arrival.

People open all their doors and windows (to make it easier for her to enter) and arrange lights on their windowsills and balcony ledges to welcome her in on Diwali evening.

During Diwali, gambling is a popular pastime.

Gambling is normally thought of as a bad habit, but during Diwali, it underlines the link between money and Lakshmi, who appears as Lady Luck.

Despite her erratic personal interactions, Lakshmi is regarded as the ideal wife, especially in her love and obedience to her husband.

When Lakshmi and Vishnu appear together, she is much smaller, indicating her status as a servant.

Another popular depiction of the couple has Lakshmi rubbing Vishnu's feet, implying her wifely servitude.

Lakshmi is not only a role model for human spouses, but she is also said to be present in each one.

Married ladies are said to represent the household's good fortune.

It is widely acknowledged that families that are not respected will never be rich.

See David R. Kinsley's Hindu Deities, 1986, for further information about Lakshmi and all the Hindu goddesses.

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Hinduism - Who Is Sita In The Hindu Pantheon?

(“furrow”) Daughter of King Janaka, wife of the god-prince Rama (himself the deity Vishnu's seventh avatar or incarnation), and a key female character in the Ramayana, the first of the two great Sanskrit epics.

Sita's identity is nearly entirely derived from her husband, unlike many other Hindu deities, and she has no independent devotion or personality of her own.

Her kidnapping by the demon king Ravana is the central story point of the Ramayana, causing her husband and companions to search the world for her before fighting a climactic battle to reclaim her, which ends with Ravana's death.

Throughout the chaos, Sita quietly waits to be rescued, certain that this would bring more honor to her husband.

Sita is not born normally, according to her charter story, but is discovered in a furrow by King Janaka while he ploughs his field.

As a result, Sita has a strong connection to the ground, fertility, and prosperity; as David Kinsley points out, her marriage to Rama represents the union of the fertile land and a righteous monarch who would prosper it.

When she calls on the ground to swallow her up as a testimony to her virginity in response to Rama's allegations of unfaithfulness, she vanishes forever.

Sita's greatest virtue is her love for her husband, and she is a model Hindu wife in her unwavering devotion to him, much as many of the Ramayana's other characters exemplify cultural values.

When Rama is wrongfully banished in the jungle for fourteen years, she shows an early proof of her love.

Sita is resolved to follow him into exile, despite the fact that she has never known anything except wealth and leisure.

She believes that a true wife should always accompany her husband.

Rama complains, argues, and even prohibits her, but Sita refuses to obey her husband's wishes—perhaps the only time she does so.

She joins Rama and her brother-in-law Lakshmana in the jungle, happily accepting the harsh life of an ascetic in order to be with her husband.

When she is kidnapped and kept hostage by Ravana, her devotion to her husband is put to the ultimate test.

Despite Ravana's constant lobbying, threats, and efforts to persuade her that Rama has been murdered, she remains firm in her beliefs.

Ravana's feet are the only part of him she ever sees, according to one account, since she kept her eyes modestly downcast rather than gaze straight at another man like a loyal wife would.

When Hanuman, Rama's ally, finds Sita's hiding place, she refuses to let him take her away since it would entail touching another man and denying her husband the chance to save her.

Rama feels that she must have been disloyal to him throughout her lengthy incarceration, thus her love is severely tested once she is rescued.

This charge stems from the Indian traditional belief that women have much more sex desires than males, and far less capacity to manage them.

She begs Rama to build her a funeral pyre and enters it with the hope that the flames would not hurt her if she is innocent.

She emerges unhurt from the inferno, with the deity Agni (fire personified) as a witness to her virginity.

Despite this evidence, Rama exiles her from Ayodhya upon their return.

When Rama requests a second suffering, Sita asks the ground to swallow her up as a testament to her purity, and then vanishes.

Sita's capacity to endure both ordeals underscores the widely held Indian concept that women obtain power by their devotion to their husbands, power that may be so strong that they can even curse the gods.

Cultural signals regarding women's roles and the value of their interactions with others are encoded in this idea.

Sita is an ideal Indian lady who is devoted to her husband and his family first and foremost.

This represents the northern Indian marriage custom of bringing women into the groom's household and assimilating them into their married families, breaking their ties to their birth families.

Wives are supposed to put other people's needs ahead of their own in order to have a happy marriage.

A wife becomes an example for everybody to admire and revere in exchange for such self-sacrifice.

See John Stratton Hawley and Donna Wulff (eds. ), The Divine Consort, 1986; David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 1986; and Sara Mitter, Dharma's Daughters, 1991 for additional information about Sita and all the Hindu goddesses.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Who Is Soma In The Hindu Pantheon?

Soma is one of the Hindu pantheon's most mysterious deities.

The Rg Veda's 120 hymns to soma depict it as a plant, the juice extracted from that plant, and the deified form of both juice and plant.

The Vedic songs describe in detail how the sacrifice priests squeezed, strained, and filtered it before eventually consuming it, which gave them visions.

Although there is no consensus on what the soma plant is, these songs depict it as some type of mind-altering narcotic.

Since late Vedic times, its uniqueness has been forgotten, and several replacements have been utilized in ceremonies.

Although soma is described as hallucinogenic in the hymns, this does not have to be taken literally.

Such visions may be explained in purely psychological terms, as a result of the priests' elevated expectations in the sacrifi cial arena.

If soma was genuinely mind-altering, it couldn't have been an alcoholic beverage since it was produced and eaten on the same day, leaving no time for fermentation to occur.

According to one interpretation, soma was hashish (charas), which is still used in rituals today.

R. G. Wasson provided the most fascinating idea, claiming that soma was Amonita mus caria, a mind-altering fungus with a long history of usage in Asian shamanic traditions.

Despite the fact that Wasson's hypothesis explains soma's capacity to have rapid impact, many Indologists disagree.

Robert Gordon Wasson, Soma, 1971; J. Brough, "Soma and Amonita Muscaria," The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 34, 1971, for conflicting observations.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Who Is The Mother Goddess?

Durga ("impassable, inaccessible") - Although the word is commonly used as a more generic title for the Hindu Mother Goddess in her ferocious and strong form, it is a specific form of the Hindu Mother Goddess.

Durga mounts a lion and wields the weapons of all the gods in her eight hands, as represented in art and paintings.

Both of these characteristics match the description of the great goddess in the Devimahatmya, the oldest and most significant legendary literature utilized for Goddess worship as the highest celestial force.

The Devimahatmya's second popular name, the Durgasaptashati ("The 700 [verses] on Durga"), emphasizes Durga's widespread association with this great Goddess.

Durga is a significant goddess in the Hindu pantheon and current Hindu culture as a manifestation of the great Goddess.

The eighth day of the lunar month in both the waxing and waning half is considered holy to her, and her rituals are performed on those days.

The Nine Nights (Navaratri), which take place in both the spring and autumn, are her most significant festivities.

Durga is revered in each of these festivals in one of her nine incarnations (Navadurga), one for each night.

Durga is viewed as the incarnation of the Goddess in all her manifestations, as shown by the many goddesses as whom she is worshipped.

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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Ushas In The Hindu Pantheon?

Ushas is a goddess linked with and sometimes identified with the dawn in the Vedas, the oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious literature.

Her presence is therefore related with the regularity of the cosmic order, as she is depicted as illuminating the route for the sun and driving away darkness and evil.

Ushas is famous not for what she does—she is a minor divinity who appears in just a few Vedic hymns—but for being one of the few goddesses in the Vedas.

One of the reasons for the belief that the great Goddess, one of the three primary goddesses in later religious life, has her origins in indigenous goddess worship is the near lack of female divinities in the Vedas.

See David R. Kinsley's Hindu Deities, 1986, for further information about Ushas and all the Hindu goddesses.

~Kiran Atma

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Santoshi Ma

("the mother who satisfies") is a Japanese word that means "the mother who satisfies." Goddess who is one of the most fascinating Hindu deities, and whose recent meteoric rise in popularity exemplifies both the Hindu pantheon's flexibility and the way Hindu religion reflects and responds to changes in Indian society.

Santoshi Ma's success was largely fueled by the 1975 film Jai Santoshi Ma ("Victory to Santoshi Ma").

The film begins with Santoshi Ma's birth as the goddess Ganesh's daughter, but then shifts to one of her devotees (bhakta), Satyavati, and her earthly problems.

Satyavati is a newlywed who is having trouble adjusting to her new home, owing to tensions with her wicked sisters-in-law.

Satyavati's problems are solved by the end of the film, thanks to her unwavering devotion to Santoshi Ma.

Although it was largely responsible for spreading Santoshi Ma's worship, this film did not invent her.

The prescrip tions for Santoshi Ma’s religious vow (vrat) had existed before the film was made, and both the rite’s charter myth and the film focus on the problems of a new bride and their eventual resolution through her steadfast devotion to Santoshi Ma.

Santoshi Ma’s ultimate source is a mystery, but her iconography suggests that she is an amalgam of other female deities.

She is seated on the lotus, a feature associated with the goddess Lakshmi; she wields the sword associated with the goddesses Kali and Durga, as well as the trident associated with the god Shiva.

She shows the attributes associated with both married and unmarried goddesses: Like the married goddesses, she is nurturing and caring to her devotees, playing the role of the benevolent Indian mother, and like the independent unmarried goddesses, she is powerful and and potentially danger ous—one of the film’s climactic scenes shows her utterly destroying a temple after Satyavati’s sister-in-law intention ally ruined the sanctified food (prasad) meant for her devotees.

Yet she is also believed to have the power to grant her devotees’ requests, no matter how large.

Through her nurturing, benevolent character coupled with power, she crosses the usual boundaries associated with Hindu goddesses.

Part of the popularity of Santoshi Ma’s vrat comes from its simplicity, cheapness, and promise of benefits.

The observance is usually kept by women with the aim of attaining concrete goals for themselves and their families: get ting a job, passing an exam, conceiving a child, or arranging a marriage.

The rite involves weekly fasting (upavasa) and worship.

One of the social factors cited in Santoshi Ma’s explosive popularity is the steadily growing uncertainty in Indian (and South Asian) life, which makes very ordinary things difficult to attain and necessitates the use of all possible resources.

In this context, an inexpensive rite that promises concrete benefits for assiduous devotion is an attractive option.

Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Durga?

(“impassable, inaccessible”) Although the word is commonly used as a more generic title for the Hindu Mother Goddess in her ferocious and strong form, it is a specific form of the Hindu Mother Goddess.

Durga mounts a lion and wields the weapons of all the gods in her eight hands, as represented in art and paintings.

The Devimahatmya's second popular name, the Durgasaptashati ("The 700 [verses] on Durga"), emphasizes Durga's widespread association with this great Goddess.

Durga is a significant goddess in the Hindu pantheon and current Hindu culture as a manifestation of the great Goddess.

The eighth day of the lunar month in both the waxing and waning half is considered holy to her, and her rituals are performed on those days.

The Nine Nights (Navaratri), which take place in both the spring and autumn, are her most significant festivities.

Durga is revered in each of these festivals in one of her nine incarnations (Navadurga), one for each night.

Durga is viewed as the incarnation of the Goddess in all her manifestations, as shown by the many goddesses as whom she is worshipped.

You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.

Hinduism - Who Is Yama In The Hindu Pantheon?

God of Death and Personification of Death.

Yama is one of the eight Guardians of the Directions, and he is connected with the south, which is why it is considered an unlucky direction.

Yama is mentioned for the first time in the Vedas, the earliest Hindu sacred books, where he is referred to as the first mortal.

He was regarded as ruling over the World of the Fathers, where the good dead feasted and enjoyed themselves, since he was the first person to die (much as they had on earth).

Yama's image altered as the tradition progressed, until he was seen as the judge of the dead, reigning mostly over the areas of punishment, chiefly hells, where individuals suffered until they were reborn.

Yama is often shown with a noose, which he uses to drag out a person's spirit upon death and lead it bound to judgment.

Yama is shown in modern poster art as the ruler of the dead, sitting on a throne that is magnificent and black in hue; on his left is the scribe Chitragupta, who maintains a ledger book documenting human acts.

Yama is dreaded in Hindu society because of his function as the judge of the dead.

Yama is also known as Dharmaraja, the "Lord of Righteous Action," and one of his names is Dharmaraja, which means "Lord of Righteous Action" in Sanskrit.

In Hindu mythology, there are also stories of individuals who outwit Yama, the most famous of whom is Savitri, who manages to resurrect her spouse, Satyavan.

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