| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Goddess name "Narasinha (man-lion)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god Vis'nu. The fourth avatara of the god is depicted as a man-lion hybrid. According to legend, the demonic king Hiranyakasipu had taken on a dangerous invulnerability. To thwart this, VIS'NU took the form of Narasinha and hid inside a pillar of the king's palace whence he sprang, capturing Hiranyakasipu and tearing out his entrails. IconographicalIy, the scene is portrayed with the victim thrown across Narasinha's lap and the god's claws plunged into his body. Narasinha may also appear seated in a yoga position with the goddess LAKSMI on his knee.... |
| Demon name "Nataraja (lord of the dance)" | Hindu / Puranic | Form of the god SI IVA. Emerging from AD 1200 onward, this form depicts SI iva as lord of the dance ringed by fire and with one foot on a demon in the form of a black dwarf. Nataraja arguably epitomizes the moving power in the cosmos. Largely seen in southern Indian bronzes which display the dance-form anandatandava.... |
| Demon name "Pancanana" | Hindu / Puranic | demonic deity. Regarded as a form of the god SI IVA possessing five faces, each face having three eyes. Depicted with the naked body of an ascetic, wearing a necklace of snakes. Shrines symbolize the god with a stone, its top painted red and usually placed beneath a tree. Pancanana is worshiped extensively in Hindu villages throughout Bengal where women make invocations and anoint the stones, particularly when sickness strikes. There is a belief that children in the throes of epilepsy have been seized by the god.... |
| 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.... |
| Goddess name "Pidari (snake-catcher)" | Hindu / Puranic / later | One of the consorts of S IVA. A benevolent NAVASAKTI. The cult of Pidari probably evolved in the sixth and seventh centuries AD and is generally restricted to southern India. She is considered an aspect of the goddess KALI and is invoked in many villages to ward off evil and demons. She has most of the attributes of Kali and may also have snakes around her breasts, but may additionally be represented by a stone. Her cult moved at one time and reached a climax in eastern India between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Attributes: cup, fire, noose and trident. Also Pitali; Kala-Pidari.... |
| Demon name "Pradyumna" | Hindu | A son of Krishna and Rukmini who, as a baby, was abducted by the demon Sambara and cast into the sea and swallowed by a fish. The fish was caught and opened and the child was found inside. He was given to a woman in Sambara's house to raise. Narada informed her about the true identity of the child. When Pradyumna grew up, he battled the demon Sambara, defeated him. Pradyumna was later killed in a drunken brawl in his father's court at Dwaraka. Hindu |
| 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 "Sankhasura" | Hindu | A demon who warred against the gods, stole the Vedas and hid them at the bottom of the sea. They were rescued by Vishnu in the form of a fish. Hindu |
| Goddess name "Sarasvati" | Hindu | A sacred river in the Vedas, and as a river goddess she was often invoked to bestow vitality, renown. She is described as moving along a golden path and destroying the demon Vritra. Hindu |
| Planet name "Sukra" | Hindu / Puranic / Epic | This astral god was the personification of the planet Venus, he tutored demons on the side |
| Planet name "Sukra (bright)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Astral god. The personification of the planet Venus and the tutor of the demons. He may, on occasion, be represented as female, owing to the fact that he was once made to swallow his attendant Kaca and then restore him to life. Color: white. Rides in a golden or silver chariot drawn by eight or ten horses. Attributes: Book, prayer wheel, purse, staff, treasure and waterjar.... |
| Goddess name "Svadha" | Hindu | Minor goddess who helps with the destruction of demons. Hindu |
| Demon name "Uma" | Hindu | Consort of Siva, famous for her defeat of the army of Chanda and Munda, two demons. She is represented as holding the head of Chanda in one of her four hands, and trampling on Munda. The heads of the army., strung into a necklace, adorn her body, and a girdle of the same surrounds her waist. Hindu |
| Demon name "Varaha" | Hindu | The third avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a boar, who appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the earth and carried it to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Hindu |
| Demon name "Varaha (boar)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VISNU. The third avatara of Vis'nu, which appears as a boar. According to legend, he descends in this guise to the bottom of the primeval sea to rescue the earth, which has been removed there by a demon. He retrieves it in the shape of a girl. The avatara may be depicted in wholly animal form or as a human with a boar's head. Epithets include Adivaraha.... |
| Goddess name "Vrtra" | Hindu / Vedic | demonic god of chaos. A primordial being who existed before the formation of the cosmos and who was slain by the mother goddess SARASVATI.... |
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