1
Q
Renuka
A
Goddess with the Transposed Head
2
Q
Lord Parasurama
A
6th Avatar of Lord Vishnu - Parashurama was born to the Brahman sage Jamadagni and the princess Renuka, a member of the Kshatriya class. When Jamadagni suspected Renuka of an unchaste thought, he ordered Parashurama to cut off her head, which the obedient son did. Later, to avenge the murder of his father by a Kshatriya, he killed all the male Kshatriyas on earth 21 successive times (for, each time, their wives survived and gave birth to new generations) and filled five lakes with their blood. In the Ramayana he encounters another avatar, Rama, who wins the bow of the god Shiva, which Parashurama had given to Rama’s father-in-law. Rama later subdues Parashurama when challenged to a fight. Parashurama is the traditional founder of Malabar and is said to have bestowed land there on members of the priestly class whom he brought down from the north in order to expiate his slaughter of the Kshatriyas.
3
Q
Māriyammaṉ
A
- smallpox goddess
- Māriyammaṉ, the smallpox goddess (can give smallpox or take it away), should not reside where she can hear the sound of the grinding stone that women use to grind flour and spices; in other words, people should not build their houses too close to Māriyammaṉ’s temples because it is too dangerous for people to live near her.
- In the past, whenever
an outbreak of small-pox would occur a clay
image of Mariyamman would be made, or a clay pot would be used to call her
down. Blood offerings would be made to her, she would be taken around the
boundary of the village, and then her image would be thrown into the river. If
she were satisfied with the devotions, she would take the pox away from the
village.
4
Q
Bavāniyammaṉ
A
- Devotees use Māriyammaṉ and Bavāniyammaṉ interchangeably.
- She is the Mariyamman of Periyapalaiyam village
- Many of the village temples in Tamilnadu have seven stones that are frequently
interpreted as the Seven Sisters or the Seven Mothers. The particular names of
the seven goddesses differ widely; most of the goddesses named are responsible
for disease and healing. Bavaniyamman devotees most often named Ellamma*
and Gangamma as her sister goddesses; several also named Kali as a sister
goddess. Some devotees told us that what differentiated Bavaniyamman from
Durga or Kali is that she is born in an anthill, but ultimately all three goddesses
are really the same goddess. What seems important is that the goddesses are
linked, and their identities and functions overlap and intersect. - Bavaniyamman typically requires blood sacrifices from her devotee.
5
Q
what does the word Māriyammaṉ mean?
A
The word Māri has a Sangam Tamil origin meaning “Rain” and the Tamil word Amman means “Mother”. She was worshipped by the ancient Tamils as the bringer of rain and thus also the bringer of prosperity
6
Q
Renuka Myth
A
- Renuka sees a male gandharva (celestial being that is a singer) in the reflection of the water and her chastity is lost. Renuka’s husband notices that she forgets to bring water and has lost her chastity so he asks his son Parasurama to kill his mother. His father gives him a boon. Renuka runs into a washerwoman’s house and Parasurama cuts off both of their heads. Parasurama asks his father to bring his mother back to life. He gives her a vessel of water and asks him to attach Renuka’s head to his body and sprinkled her with water. Parasurama attaches the wrong head to the wrong body. Jamadagni doesn’t take his wife back because she has the body of an untouchable. Renuka becomes the goddess Bavaniyamman (now she is everyone’s mother) and the washerwoman becomes Matankiyamman.
7
Q
Jamadagni
A
husband of Renuka.
8
Q
sakti/shakti
A
female power
9
Q
Matangi
A
- emerges from an anthill, out of the earth. She holds the heavens in the left hand and the serpent Adisesha in her right hand.
- associated with pratistha (stable foundation on which all life rests).
10
Q
King Arjuna Kartavirya
A
- Jealous of Jamadagni’s wealth due to owning a cow and steals the cow (Surabhi) and kills Jamadagni.
11
Q
Ekaveera devi
A
separated head of Renuka
12
Q
Ekaveera mata
A
the power present in
the axe of Parasurama. With this power only Parashuama cleansed the Earth 21 times by killing all kshatriyas.
13
Q
lila
A
- divine play
- conveys ananda (bliss)
- the idea of lila shows that the world is constantly in flux and that the world is in God’s play
14
Q
maya
A
illusion
ex) the attraction one feels towards the beauty of apple is maya. The embedding and coexisting of everything in the same apple is leela. Leela are actions.
15
Q
The Three Krishna’s of Vrindavana
A
- The infant subsumed in play
- The rowdy trickster boy
- The mischievous young lover
16
Q
Kamsa
A
Krishna’s uncle that tries to kill him.
17
Q
Putana
A
- demon who is disguised as a lovely woman
- she feeds Krishna and tries to poison him but Krishna sucks the life out of her
18
Q
Indra (from Krishna’s story)
A
- Indra sends a rainstorm on Vrndavana to
chastise the cowherds for
neglecting him - Krsna protects people by holding aloft Mount Govardhana as a huge umbrella with his little
finger for seven days.
19
Q
Kaliya
A
- many-headed serpent Kaliya, who has poisoned the waters of the Kalindi and killed many cows.
- Krsna dances on his head His body having been smashed
Krsna, at the pleading of Kaliya’s wives, grants
him his life and sends him away to an island in
the ocean.
20
Q
Vrndavana
A
temporary home of Krsna during his
youth
21
Q
Sabari from Ramayana
A
- Sabari was a woman saint in Ramayan period. She belonged to the hunter’s tribe. She used to pick fresh, tasty fruits and keep them for Sage Matangha. Pleased by her selfless service, before his death, Matangha told her: “One day Lord Rama will come and bless you.”
- Sabari was not sure whether the fruits were tasty, sour or poisonous. She wanted to offer the sweetest among the fruits to Rama. So she tasted them first a little and threw away all that was sour and not good. And then she offered him sweet fruits only. Sabari attained Moksha (liberation).
22
Q
Bhrngin
A
- Born from the sweat of Shiva’s brow
- Bhrngin means a bee or a beetle
- He is the three-legged men
- He is also seen as one of the ultimate devotees of Shiva
- He becomes the embodiment of a Shiva-centric universe
- Bhrngin has a divided mind because he sees Shiva and Parvati as separate
- Bhrngin only sees Shiva and doesn’t acknowledge Parvati so Parvati curses him and Bhrngin becomes only bones and nerves (In old South Indian ideology, bones and nerves are associated with male and blood and flesh are associated with female. Shiva gives Bhrngin a third leg).
23
Q
Ellaiyaman
A
- she is known as the mother/goddess that protects a particular region in the south.
- Ellai means boundary, so she is known to protect the village from evils entering the village. She is a mix of two ladies one a local tribal woman(Chaakali/Maadiga) another Goddess Renuka. When parashuram chopped head of Renuka he chopped local maiden of Renuka too as she opposed beheading Renuka. When he sought boon from Jamadhagni to make his mother alive he gave some holy water to sprinkle on the corpses so that they become alive. In a hurry Parashuram intermixed the heads of two ladies with one another. There came two different woman One with Renuka head and local girl body and another with local girl head and Renuka body. By seeing this Parashuram said My mother has changed and called her Mari amman one with black body and white face so she is called as Karumari amman. Another was named as Ellaiyaman who is mother of all or Jagadhambha who protects the boundaries and protect from evils.
24
Q
ARDHANARISVARA
A
- composite male-female figure of the Hindu god Shiva together with his consort Parvati.
25
Sabari
Parvati took the form of a tribal woman. Shiva desires after her.
26
Asura
an older order of the gods who embodied the primal powers of the universe, galaxy and the natural forces that govern life.
27
Varuna
- greatest Asura
- Administrator of Cosmic Law
- Initially a sky god who is later
associated with the sea. In the earliest layer of
the Rigveda, Varuna is the Guardian of Moral Law, one who punishes those who sin without remorse, and who forgives those who err with remorse.
28
Yaksa
- the name means a wondrous thing
| - nature spirits
29
Mithra
- Like Varuna, Mitra’s name is derived from the noun mitram, meaning “a bond.”
- Mitra orders social relationships and presides over the social order within society.
30
Aryaman
god of friendship
31
Indra
INDRA ARISES AS KING OF THE GODS AT THE TIME WHEN THE ARYAS WERE MIGRATING
FROM BALKH (IN NORTH AFGHANISTAN) INTO INDIA AND THE REGION OF THE
SAPTASINDHU OR 7 RIVERS. AS THEY ENCOUNTERED MANY CONFLICTS IN ROUTE, THE
OLDER PEACEFUL ARYA’S SENSE OF AWE IN THE COSMIC ORDER NEEDED TO BE SET ASIDE
IN FAVOR OF A HEROIC WARRIOR GOD. THE VRTRANI, “OBSTRUCTION” OR “OPPOSITION”
THEY FACED BECAME PERSONIFIED AS VRTRA. DANDEKAR INSISTS THAT HE WAS A MORTAL
HERO MADE A GOD.
32
Indra vs. Varuna
Indra is associated as god of rain, Varuna as god of sea
33
Euhemerism
- The idea that myths are based on real events
this term emerged from what Euhemerus said which was that gods are great men worshipped after their death
ex) imagining that characteristics of Zeus are based on the actions of a real person
34
Bṛhaspati
- God of Jupiter
- sage counselor of Indra in his war against the titans, or asuras.
- Brihaspati later is added as his
counterpart as part of a growing
tension felt by brāhmaṇas
towards the kśātriyas. As Vedic
myths allude to their theft of both
the cows and the wives of
brahmans. Brihaspati has no
Indo-European cognates and is
relevant specifically to the social-
political context of Vedic India.
Here ritual power balances out
militaristic power.
The pattern of dual-divinities like
Indra-Brihaspati, or Varuna-Mitra
before, helped avoid religious
schisms among the Āryas.
35
Vishnu
- ASSOCIATED WITH THE FERTILE WATERS OF LIFE
- Vishnu is characterized as sipivista (this means an expanding, active male organ). This means that Vishnu was originally the god of fertility and verility.
- also had the form of a bird.
- the bird was seen as a symbol of fertility but then got shifted to be seen as a symbol of solar.
36
Andhakasura
- born from the sweat of Goddess Parvati's hands.
- The couple decided to give the child to Hiranyaksha, a Daitya king, who was childless and was praying for a son. Hiranyaksha adopted the child as his son. When he grew up, he was crowned the king.
- Andhakasura, as he came to be known, performed sever penances to Lord Brahma.
- Impressed by his devotion, Lord Brahma asked him, “What do you wish for?” Andhakasura asked him for victories throughout his life and immortality. Lord Brahma granted him the first boon, and added, “I will not be able to grant you immortality as death is inevitable part of life.” He instead blessed him that he will die when he will seek the unattainable.
- Andhakasura, armed and protected by the blessing of Lord Brahma, raged a vicious war against the gods. Andhakasura and Lord Shiva started fighting, but Andhakasura soon realised that he was no match for Lord Shiva. He fled and hid himself in Goddess Parvati’s chambers, with the intention to abduct her and teach Lord Shiva a lesson. This angered Lord Shiva so much that he struck his trident at him. As soon as the blood flowed out of Andhakasura’s body and fell on the ground, thousand more demons took birth.
- Lord Vishnu intervened. After being suspended on Lord Shiva’s trident for over thousand years, Andhakasura realised his mistake and sought forgiveness form Lord Shiva. Finally, peace reigned again on earth and the heavens.
37
Mount Govardhana
Lord Krishna was thus given the title of Govardhandhari or the one who lifted Mount Govardhan. Here, Indra's pride is shown as being humbled by Krishna, who is holding the mighty mountain on the tip of his finger
38
Balarama
- elder half brother of Krishna
- Sometimes Balarama is considered one of the 10 avatars of Vishnu
- God of strength and agriculture
- Other legends identify him as the human incarnation of the serpent Shesha.
39
Gandharva
- Husbands of asparas (water nymphs)
| - they are musicians and are semi-divine
40
Aiyanar
- a guardian deity, who is believed to protect the villages from all sorts of external threats
- represented as a warrior mounted on a horse
41
dharma vs. rita
Dharma overshadowed Rita in the later Vedic Era. While Rita encompassed the ethical principles with a notion of cosmic retribution, Dharma was said to be a path to be followed as per the ordinances of Rita
42
Rita
- Rita is an all-pervading cosmic order that provides balance in both the natural world and human society. It is because of Rita that the seasons change, and that the sun rises and sets. Rita not only controls the forces of nature, but also moral values and human suffering.
- Rita is protected by the Gods Varuna and Mitra
43
Dharma
religious and moral law governing individual conduct
44
Karuppanaswami
- avatar of Vishnu because he appeared out of Vishnu's right hand
- known as the dark god
- warriar, and guardian and is one of the folk dieties associated with Aiyanar.
45
Karpu
chastity of woman
| - Devasena ( consort of Kartikeya) is the epitome of chastity and purity
