| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Goddess name "Balarama (strength of Rama)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS'NU. May have originated in Vedic times as an agricultural fertility deity. He is the son of VASUDEVA and DEVAKI, though born from the womb of ROHINI. Jointly with KRSNA (his brother), he is identified as the eighth avatara (incarnation) of Vis'nu, or, with RAMA, as the seventh. Legend describes how Vis'nu impregnated the belly of the goddess Devaki with two hairs, one black, one white. To ensure their safety against a demon king, they were transferred before birth to Rohini. Krsna grew to be dark-skinned, and Balarama light. The latter enjoys similar characteristics to Krsna but fails to attract the same popularity. He is usually depicted on the right side of Krsna, rarely standing alone. The consort of Balarama is REVATI and his sons are Nisatha and Ulmuka. Epithets included Ananda (joy). In Jainism he is known as Baladeva. Attributes: arrow, club, drinking cup, fan palm, honey pot, lotus, pestle, pitcher, plough, prayer wheel, shield and sword.... |
| Goddess name "Canda (violent)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Terrible goddess. A distinct form of DURGA and one of a group of nine NAVADURGAS (nine durgas). Canda, with Munda, was also one of the demons killed by a form of Durga known as CAMUNDA (contraction of the two demonic names). She is depicted with a large number of attributes. Also a form of MAHISASURAMARDINI.... |
| Goddess name "Hanuman (with large jaws)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Monkey god. Hanuman attends RAMA, one of the incarnations of VISINU, and personifies the ideal and faithful servant. He is the son of PAVANA, the god of winds, and is noted for his speed and agility in which context he is often worshiped by young men and athletes. He leads a mythical Forest army of monkeys, and is depicted as a monkey with a long tail. He takes a major role in the Ramayana epic searching for, and rescuing, the goddess SITA who has been captured by the demon Ravana. He may appear trampling on the goddess of Lanka [Sri Lanka]. Worshiped particularly in southern India but more generally in villages. Color: red. Attributes: bow, club, mane, rock and staff. May appear five-headed.... |
| Demon name "Kabandha" | Hindu | The chief demon of the Ramayana. Indra zapped him with a thunderbolt. Hindu |
| Demon name "Kuvalayapida" | Hindu | An immense elephant, or a demon in elephantine form, belonging to Kansa, and employed by him to trample the boys Krishna and Balarama to death. The attempt failed and the elephant was killed. Hindu |
| Goddess name "Mahisa (buffalo)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | demonic god. Depicted most frequently in the form of a buffalo, but he also confounds the gods by changing himself into many other animal guises. He is eventually slain by the goddess DEVI in the form of MAHISASURAMARDINI.... |
| Goddess name "Mahisasuramardini (slayer of the buffalo demon)" | Hindu / Puranic | Form of the goddess DEVI. Appearing from the fourth century AD onward, this goddess is a DURGA form of Devi. She possesses up to twelve arms holding an åśśortment of weapons and may be seated on a lion. According to legend, the form arose in response to the threat from the demonic MAHISA who was eventually slain by the goddess Devi with his own sword. Attributes: ax, banner, bell, bow, club, conch, drum, hook, lizard, mirror, noose, prayer wheel, shield, sword, staff and trident. Three-eyed.... |
| Demon name "Parasurama (Rama-with-the-ax)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS'NU. The sixth avatara of Vis'nu (see also RAMA) in which form he saved the world from an army of tyrannical warriors. According to legend, Rama, the son of a wise man, became a skilled bowman and in gratitude he went to the Himalaya where he stayed, devoting himself to SIVA. His consort is DHARANI. Though without his bow, Rama acted as a champion of the gods in a war against the demons and was rewarded with an ax. In another legend, Vis'nu took the form of Parasurama to rid the world of despotic rulers. This avatara appears in human form, with two arms and with an ax in the right hand. Other attributes: arrow, bow, knife, skin and sword. Also Parasuramavatara.... |
| Demon name "Pramatha" | Hindu | The tormentors, a clåśś of demons who attend upon Siva. Hindu |
| Demon name "Rama (pleasing)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS NU. The seventh avatara (sun aspect) of Vis nu. Rama began as a comparatively minor incarnation who became one of the great heroes of the Ramayana epic, as well as featuring in the Mahabharata. The son of Dasaratha and Kausalya, he was a king of Ayodhya who, in the Ramayana, slew the demon Ravana that had captured his consort SITA and was upheld as a deity par excellence in respect of manhood and honor, though his subsequent treatment of his wife might be regarded as cavalier (see Sita). The Ramayana epic was composed by the poet and sage Valmeeki during the reign of Ramachandra and it gave form to a story that had been in existence for many centuries as an oral tradition. Valmeeki portrayed Rama not as an incarnate deity but as a great mortal hero. The saga is strongly political and serves to unite a vast and fragmented people in a common focus, irrespective of caste and language. It defines the historical schism between the Hindu culture of India and the largely Buddhist tradition of Sri Lanka. Rama rides in a chariot and is depicted in human form with two arms, typically holding a sugar cane bow and with a quiver at his shoulder. Also Ramacandra.... |
| Demon name "Ravana" | s | The giant king-demon of Sri Lanka. One of the remaining ruling black magicians of the last days of the Atlantis period, he carried away Sita, Rama's wife, which led to the great war in the Ramayana. |
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