| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| 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.... |
| Goddess name "Ratri" | Hindu / Vedic | Goddess of the night. Ratri is the personification of darkness bedecked with stars. Her sister is USAS, the dawn goddess, who, with Agni the fire god, chases her away. She is perceived as the guardian of eternal law and order in the cosmos and of the waves of time. Ratri is generally regarded as a benign deity who offers rest and renewed vigor, and who may be invoked to ensure safety through the hours of darkness. She deposits the gift of morning dew. However she also offers a bleaker aspect as one who brings gloom and barrenness.... |
| Goddess name "Raudri" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. One of a group of nine NAVASAKTIS who, in southern India, rank higher than the SAPTAMATARAS. She may also equate with the terrifying aspect of PARVATI as DURGA or KALI.... |
| 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. |
| Goddess name "Rhiannon" | Celtic / Irish | Chthonic horse goddess. The daughter of Hefaidd Hen and consort of PWYLL, she rides upon a white mare and is åśśociated with the underworld and with fertility. May be virtually synonymous with the Romano-Celtic goddess Rigantona whose name means great queen. Authors suggest she is modeled on the goddess MODRON and she partly equates with EPONA.... |
| God name "Rongomai" | Polynesian / Maori | Whale god. He is the son of TANGAROA, the creator deity responsible for the oceans and the fish, and the father of KAHUKURA, the deity responsible for the appearance of the Rainbow. He is also regarded as the ancestor of several Maori clans. Various traditions are åśśociated with Rongomai. In some regions of New Zealand he is also regarded as a god of war and is thought to have discovered the magic arts during a visit to the underworld, including the power of kaiwhatu, a preventative charm against witchcraft. Rongomai is sometimes mistakenly identified with RONGOMATANE, or Rongo, though the latter is generally considered a distinct personality. As the god responsible for the well-being of whales Rongomai may take the form of a whale, a guise in which he once challenged MARU, a more widely recognized New Zealand war god. Separate mythology places him in the heavens in the form of a comet.... |
| Goddess name "Rosmerta (great provider)" | Roman / Celtic / British / Gallic | Fertility goddess. Consort to the god Mercury. Probably locally worshiped and often depicted carrying a basket of fruit, purse or cornucopia. She and Mercury frequently appear together. In addition to her purse, she may bear a twin-headed ax or, alternatively, she may carry Mercury's caduceus (snake-entwined wand).See also MERCURIUS.... |
| God name "Rsabha (the bull)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | God. An unusual avatara of VIS'NU. Said to be similar to the Jain deity Rsabhanatha and therefore may represent an attempt to meld the two religions by absorbing Jainism locally.... |
| Goddess name "Ruoini" | Buddhist / Mayhayana | A minor goddess |
| God name "Sai' Al Qaum (the good and beautiful god who does not drink wine)" | Western Semitic / Nabataean | Local guardian deity. Known from two inscriptions at Palmyra which suggest him to be a protector of caravans. Attributes include a helmet. He may have developed from an Egyptian god Sai (Greek: Psais).... |
| God name "Sakti (energy)" | Hindu, Jain / Buddhist | Personification of a god. The effective power, or creative force, of a deity in the form of a female aspect. In a more specific context, the SAKTI identifies the creative force of the god SIVA, particularly the ugra or violent aspects DURGA and KALI. The Sakti may frequently have the same characteristics and carry the same attributes as the principal god. In Tantrism, the unity of opposites is defined by the Sakti, which is the yoni or female sexuality that unites with the male lingam of Siva.... |
| God name "Salevao" | Polynesian | Primordial god of rocks. He is the brother of SAVEA SI'ULEO, god of the dead, and the consort of PAPATUANUKA, the earth mother, who became pregnant and gave birth to Moa in the center of the earth. (Moa may have been the ancestor of mankind, roughly equating to Adam.)... |
| Goddess name "Samas'" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian | Sun god. The patron deity of Sippar and Larsa. His consort is the mother goddess A-A. S amas derives from the god UTU in the Sumerian pantheon. He is åśśociated with justice. His symbol is the Sun disc and a star surrounded with radiating Sunbeams. He may carry a single-headed scimitar embellished with a panther head. His sanctuary is known as the E-babbar. Also åśśociated with human-headed bulls. His attendant deities include Mes aru, justice, and Kettu, righteousness. He came to much greater prominence in the pantheon at Babylon from about the eighteenth century BC.... |
| God name "Sastra-devatas" | Hindu | The gods of Divine weapons in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the lords behind earthquakes, tidal waves, storms of all kinds, and lightning. Hindu |
| God name "Satrughna (destroyer of foes)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Minor god. The brother of LAKSMANA and a half-brother to the god RAMA. His mother is Sumitra. He may be depicted holding a fly whisk in each hand.See also LAKSMANA.... |
| Deities name "Saxnot" | Saxon | Tutelary god. He is mentioned beside Woden and Thunor as one of the deities to be renounced at Christian baptism. As Saxneat he was allegedly the founder of the Saxon royal dynasty in Essex. The name may derive from the word sahsginot meaning companion of the sword. He may also equate with the German god Tyr.... |
| God name "Seven Macaw" | Mayan | God of the Big Dipper Mayan |
| God name "Shaii" | Hindu / late | Astral god and bringer of misfortune. The cult of Shani evolved in about the eighth century AD with the advance of Indian astronomy. He is propitiated frequently to ward off ill-luck and may be depicted sitting on a lotus or riding in a chariot. Attribute: a staff.... |
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