Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
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Deities name "Lokesvara (lord of the world)" | Buddhist | Generic name for a group of deities. These are thought to be a syncretization of Hindu and Buddhist deities and include such gods as SIVA, V IS'NU and others which have come to be defined as forms of a primeval buddha or DHYANIBUDDHA. The lokesvara are usually repre sented by a small figure, identified as ADIBUD DHA or AMITABHA, which rests on the head of the main statue. Also a group name for the many forms of the Buddhist deity AVALOKITESVARA.... |
God name "Madhukara (honey maker)" | Buddhist | God. Derived from a Hindu deity and equating with Kama. He rides in a chariot drawn by parrots. Color: white. Attributes: arrow, banner, bow and wine glåśś.... |
Goddess name "Maha-Sarasvati" | Hindu / Puranic | (1) Goddess. An emanation of LAKSMI. Attributes: Book, hook, lute and rosary.(2) Goddess. Buddhist. A variety of SARASVATI. Depicted upon a lotus. Color: white. Attributes: garland of pearls and white lotus.... |
God name "Mahakala (the great death)" | Hindu / Puranic | (1) God. A violent aspect of S IVA. His SAKTI is Mahakah. Rides upon a lion. Color: black. Attributes: five arrows, ax, Brahma-egg, club, cup, rosary of skulls, staff and trident. Three-eyed. Also considered to be a form of the god BHAIRAVA in which context he is a guardian of the faith.(2) Guardian god of tents and science. BuddhistLamaist [Tibet]. Derived from the Hindu god S iva and an emanation of the five DHYANIBUDDHAS. Also one of a group of DHARMAPALAS with terrible appearance and royal attire. A deity of riches. He treads on the god Vinayaka, or on a man, a corpse, or on two elephant-headed men. Color: black, blue or white. Attributes: mainly elephant skin, prayer wheel and trident, but may hold various other objects.... |
God name "Mahamayuri" | Buddhist | Snake god Hindu / Buddhist / Mahayana |
Deities name "Mara (the destroyer)" | Buddhist | (1) God. An evil deity who puts obstacles in the way of the BUDDHA. The equal of the Hindu god Kama. In Buddhist tradition, the Hindu gods INDRA, BRAHMA, VIS NU and S IVA are maras who become vanquished by various Buddhist deities. Attributes: fish standard.(2) God. Hindu. An epithet of KAMA(DEVA).... |
Goddess name "Marici (shining)" | Buddhist / Mahayana | (1) Astral goddess. An emanation of VAIROCANA and also his female aspect or SAKTI. She is further identified as a buddha-designate or BODHISATTVA. She may also be the mother of SAKYAMUNI (a form of the BUDDHA). Considered by some to be the equal of the Hindu SURYA. She may be depicted in a three-headed form (as the Sakti of HAYAGRIVA), in which case her left head is that of a pig. She rides in a chariot drawn by seven boars. Color: red, yellow or white. Attributes: arrow, bow, fly whisk, horse's head image in the hair, needle, prayer wheel, staff, sword, thread and trident. Three-eyed.(2) Demiurge. Hindu. A product of the creator god BRAHMA.... |
Goddess name "Maya(devi)" | Buddhist | Mother goddess. The mother of the BUDDHA perceived as the world lotus or PADMA from which the Buddha was born. She equates with the Hindu goddess LAKSMI. The term is also applied to the personification of the visible universe and, in Hinduism, as an epithet of the goddess DURGA.... |
God name "Nan-Sgrub (the black one)" | Buddhist / Tibet | God. Possibly a counterpart of the Hindu god KALA. In Lamaism he is a form of YAMA. He stands upon a man. Color: dark blue. Attributes: cup and knife.... |
Goddess name "Nirrti (destruction)" | Hindu / Vedic / Puranic | (1) Destructive goddess of darkness. Known chiefly from the Rg-veda, Nirrti has a generally malignant aspect and is åśśociated with pain, misfortune and death. She is believed to live in the south (the land of the dead). She is dark-skinned, wears dark dress and receives the dark husks of sacrifice. She is feared by many Hindus, whose offerings are frequent and repeated. In later Hinduism, Nirrti changes sex and becomes a dikpala god of terrifying appearance, guarding the southwestern quarter; he has various consorts including Davi, Kalika and Krsnangi. He stands upon a lion, a man or a corpse. Attributes: javelin, shield, staff, sword and teeth.(2) God. Buddhist. A dikpala or guardian. Color: blue. Stands upon a corpse. Attributes: shield and sword.... |
Deities name "Paramasva" | Buddhist | Great horse god usually depicted trampling four major Hindu deities underfoot. Buddhist |
Deities name "Paramasva (great horse)" | Buddhist / Mahayana | God. Considered to be a form of HAYAGRIVA depicted with four legs and trampling the four major Hindu deities underfoot. Color: red. Attributes: arrow, bow, head of a horse, great lotus, lotus, staff and sword. Threeeyed.... |
Goddess name "Prasannatara" | Buddhist | Rather minor goddess who tramples upon some Hindu gods Buddhist / Mahayana |
Goddess name "Prasannatara (the gracious Tara)" | Buddhist / Mahayana | Minor goddess. Regarded as a form of RATNASAMBHAVA who tramples on Hindu gods including INDRA, BRAHMA, RUDRA and Upendra. Color: yellow. Carries a large variety of attributes. Three-eyed.... |
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.... |
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.... |
Deities name "Samvara (keeping out)" | Buddhist / Mahayana | God. One of the emanations of AKSOBHYA and also of HEVAJIRA. In Lamaism he is a four-headed tutelary yi-dam god. His SAKTI is VAJRAVARAHI. He stands upon one or more four-armed Hindu deities including Kalaratri and BHAIRAVA. Color: blue or black. Attributes: ax, bell, cup, drum, image of Aksobhya on the crown, image of four-faced BRAHMA, knife, moon disc, skin, staff and trident.... |
God name "Sani" | Buddhist | Astral god Hindu / Buddhist |